MARK OUT: To temporarily forget that wrestling is fake because something cool happened. Urban Dictionary
PAUL HEYMAN / CM PUNK PROMO: MARKED OUT!
RAW began with Heyman in the ring. This alone is enough for me to be excited about whatever is about to happen. And of course, just like usual, he doesn’t disappoint. He pulls the crowd in with his words, gets great heat, and leaves me wanting to hear more. Punk’s music hits and then HE proceeds to own the ring. Heyman and Punk’s back-and-forth with the crowd and each other was fantastic. They ended the segment with a “hug it out” moment, and with Punk having a crazy look in his eye. This was a mark out moment…something that was vastly entertaining and worth my time as a fan. It got me thinking that something BIG could go down this Sunday between these two, and maybe even Brock Lesnar. Loved being a wrestling fan during this moment. A great start to RAW!
MARK HENRY def. THE GREAT KHALI: MARKED OUT!
What started as a check out initially (after coming back from a commercial break and seeing the Great Khali in the ring) soon turned into a mark out moment for me. I know, I know. Some folks might think it’s impossible to enjoy a Great Khali match, but I totally did. Mark Henry is extremely talented in my opinion, and has returned with the same furious energy he had back in 2011. That year he had an amazing heel run with the World Heavyweight Championship, and I feel like he hasn’t missed a step since he’s come back. This was a quick match with Henry getting the W, but he also decided he wanted to cause more pain in the ring. So, he re-entered and delivered a World’s Strongest Slam to Hornswoggle and received strong heat for it. Hey…it’s what he do!
VICKIE GUERRERO / PAUL HEYMAN / VINCE MCMAHON (via 80’s cellphone sound effects): MARKED OUT!
Again, Heyman makes me interested in whatever he’s a part of. Ususally I check out at Vickie’s backstage segments, but this one had Paul E., and it didn’t disappoint. He asks for a stipulation to be added to Punk and Rock’s WWE Championship match this Sunday at Elimination Chamber from Mr. McMahon himself…well…via Vickie’s phone being on “speaker.” If the stipulation had not been added, and I had not started to think about ALL of the possible swerves and angles it could create, I probably would have checked out of this one the minute I heard a “dial tone” when Vince ended the call. Do you still get dial tones on YOUR iPhone when the call has ended? I know I don’t. Luckily, I had a juicy addition to the Punk/Rock/Heyman storyline to cushion the use of the SUPER CHEESY special effects WWE Creative brought into this one.
CHRIS JERICHO def. DANIEL BRYAN: MARKED OUT!
I’m a Jerichoholic. I admit it. Big whup. Wanna fight about it? So of course, his segment with Teddy Long and Booker T AND his match with Daniel Bryan were mark out moments for me. His mockery of Booker T was great, and then he and Daniel Bryan put on a wrestling clinic. These two guys will go down in history as two of the best in-ring performers ever. Perfect match. Perfect finish. Really impressed with RAW by this point.
SHEAMUS / JOHN CENA / RYBACK def. 3MB: …checked out…
I mean…it is what it is. Team Supermen vs. Team Mid-low carders who are “rocking” a modern-day “3-Count” gimmick. You knew what the finish to this one was once they announced the match would take place. All 3 big baby faces landed their finishes on each member of 3MB at the same time. My only hope is that this clean and HUGE finish for the baby faces means that they might LOSE to the Shield this Sunday at Elimination Chamber. As Ryberg would say, “FEED ME…NEXT!”
BIG SHOW’S “PROMO-LESS” PROMO: MARKED OUT!
I’m a sucker for good heels. Show is a GREAT heel…especially when he’s not talking. This pleased me. Have him go on a respectable rampage…and then not say a word. Good move. Liked it.
JACK SWAGGER (w/ DUTCH MANTEL) def. ZACH RYDER: MARKED OUT!
DUDE! “Dirty” DUTCH MANTEL?!?!?! WHAT?! Marked. Out he comes with Jack Swagger, which at first made me say…huh? But then I immediately hit my Twitter account with a slew of tweets about how “Uncle Zeb” was back. Well…now he’s “Zeb Coulter,” but nonetheless, Dutch Mantel was back on TV. He’s a great wrestling mind that will do nothing but improve Swagger’s move up the ranks towards a WHC title. Oh yeah, Swagger ruined Ryder something fierce then slapped on the ankle lock…er…”Patriot Act” for the win. As for Ryder…I guess he just has to be happy they’re letting him job on RAW instead of Saturday Morning Slam.
MIZ def. CODY RHODES via DQ: MARKED OUT!
Honestly, my marking out didn’t happen until the end of this match, although the match was enjoyable to watch. I marked out the moment Cesaro got involved and proceeded to basically face-rape the Miz with the security barricade. Did that statement make you go, “face-ra…whut?”…go watch the video clip of Cesaro DESTROYING Miz. Fake? Yes. Did I care while watching it? Nope. Marked.
BRODUS CLAY / PRINCESS ALBER…TENSAI def. PRIMO / EPICO: …checked out…
I’ll be talking more in depth about how badly the WWE’s Tag Team Division is gasping for air later this week in my “Thoughts From Ringside…“ article, but seriously? I wasn’t entertained by this match really at all until Clay’s dancers did some nice tag team work against Primo and Epico’s manager Rosa. Overall though? Meh…didn’t love it…didn’t hate it…would have been a good bathroom break spot…
THE SHIELD PROMO: MARKED OUT!
I believe in the Shield. I see this group being a faction that will ONLY keep getting stronger. This unit can make these three men into BIG stars. Ambrose, Rollins, and Reigns all seemed to hold their own on the mic and delivered an intense message to the WWE Universe: “WE ARE WORTH WATCHING!” These guys do a good job of reminding me of the feeling I used to get watching the original “nWo/outsiders” invasion back in ’96. It’s fresh, entertaining, and rebellious. After they cut their fantastic promos, Team Supermen entered the ring during a Super Bowl/Shield Blackout, and proceeded to whoopin’ up on “The Bringers of Justice.” Great segment. Made me excited for their match this Sunday, AND gave me hope that we might actually see a Shield victory at the end of the night.
*WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION* ALBERTO DEL RIO def. DAMIEN SANDOW: …checked out…
I wish this was a solid match between the WHC Del Rio and one of my favorite HEELS in the company in Damien Sandow. But it wasn’t. It was basically a squash match for Del Rio and it made Sandow look weak. These two probably could have put on a great 25-30 min match. Sandow’s mic skills are fantastic. I marked out for that. I REALLLY hope there is a glimmer of hope into a decent push for Sandow soon. He needs to be elevated into a MAJOR heel role if Team Rhodes Scholars is in fact done (which is a whole other issue I have with the Tag Division…but I digress…). Loved his mic work – marked for that..the match otherwise…meh…too short…too one-sided… NEXT!
*INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPION* WADE BARRETT def. KOFI KINGSTON: MARKED OUT!
First off, Bo Dallas attacks Barrett before the match starts back stage. LOVED that. They’ve definitely got a 123-Kid/Razor Ramon storyline going with these two that I’m beginning to love. It worked before, it can work again. Great way to go into this match, which was very solid and enjoyable (aside from Barrett’s finishing move. I just really can’t get behind the Bull Hammer).
KANE def. DOLPH ZIGGLER: MARKED OUT!
This was a great match to determine who would be the last man in the WHC #1 Contender match this Sunday at Elimination Chamber. Kane got the victory with the choke slam. Loved the ring work between these two, but this was a quick one. Would love to see a longer match soon. Ziggler being out of this match (and not having a match now at EC) makes me think he may even cash in the briefcase this Sunday. I still think he’ll actually cash in AT Wrestlemania and be the first man to do so, but this made me at least start wondering, “what if?”
*WWE CHAMPION* THE ROCK PROMO: MARKED OUT!
Let me say this first…I like the Rock. I’m not one of the many “smart” fans that are turning their backs on the guy and saying he shouldn’t be here. C’mon son! He’s the Rock. He helped elevate the company to new heights and continues to do so.
HOWEVER…I don’t think he should be champion. It makes TOTAL business sense to put the strap around his waist and see what kind of money/ratings/media coverage you can gain from it. I just don’t think it helps benefit the WWE product in the long run. We all know that he’ll only be champion until Wrestlemania, then he’s gone again. I’d love him being back a WHOLE lot more if he wasn’t in the WWE Title picture, but he is, and we ALL have to deal with it. So…sit down and either mark out or check out…
His story was cheesy yes, but entertaining. My mark out moment came when Punk rushed the ring however, and I LOVED that Punk landed a GTS…AND stole the WWE Title. Fantastic ending to Rock’s promo. Hopefully Punk will wear the belt out to the ring this Sunday night. I know Punk’ll some how probably STILL lose the match, even with the stipulation added, but I can hope for some good pre-match emotion between the two. Punk having Rock’s belt should DEFINITELY add to that emotion.
RAW 2/11/13 OVERALL: MARKED OUT!
You could have probably guessed it, but I loved RAW last night. Even though there have only been 6 episodes of the program this year, this was EASILY the best one they’ve produced so far. The matches were great, segments were great, and even the “fluff” was somewhat entertaining. After two of the highest rated, but most mediocre RAWs in the last five months, we were finally awarded a great show from start to finish. What this really showed me, was that they CAN utilize a three hour time slot IF they take the time to book it correctly. Last night FLEW by, mainly because I was enjoying the content SO much more than I have the last few months. It’s like the old saying goes, time flies when you’re marking out I suppose. My only hope is that we continue to get such “mark out” quality out of WWE programming in the upcoming weeks. We’re on the “Road to Wrestlemania,” so let’s keep this kind of momentum going into Sunday night’s Elimination Chamber.
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