WrestlingNerd Presents: WWE Raw Review 4/30/12 (Rise of the Robots)

What up wrestling fans, I'm the WrestlingNerd bringing you another. Today, we take a look at WWE Raw….

Okay, okay. I get it. I'm sorry and it will never happen again. Today, we take a look at WWE Raw STARRING Brock Lesnar on 4/30/12. With Extreme Rules over, what happens next? Let's find out and start the review. 

We open up the show with John Laurinaitis. Even during the intro, WWE is holding true to the demands Brock made. He had his own title during the intro. At this very moment, CM Punk is wondering what he did wrong during his contract negotiations. Anyway, Johnny brags about changing the entire landscape at ER. He introduces Brock Lesnar. I'm surprised he showed up when he did, since Brock did say he shows up whenever he feels like it. Oh well. Brock arrives and cuts a very short promo. Anyone notice how Brock was staring in the exact same spot during his promo? Either Brock was concentrating on his promo, or he was reading his lines from a distance. This is what we call HYPER VISION!!! Anyway, Triple H interrupts the love-fest. He says all the contract negotiations that Brock received last week will no longer happen. That means no private jets, limos, extra money, and the title will be go back to normal. Well, at least I don't have to worry about Brock threaten this page again. Trips says nobody is bigger than the company…..and I'm sure the smarks are having a field day with that one. Johnny isn't happy about Trips getting in the middle of this since he oversees the talent relations, but Trips refuses to accept the new deal. To add insult to injury, Trips rips off the contract. What a waste of paper. He could've used it as toilet paper. Trips says he wants Brock to stay and be apart of this company, but within reason. So, the choice for Brock is to either go back to the original contract or leave the WWE. Well, there's always option C. Option C is where Brock tries to make it in the NFL, but I don't recommend that approach. Johnny keeps telling Trips that he's being unreasonable, but Triple H isn't interested in what Johnny has to say. Needless to say, Brock isn't happy about losing his ridiculous demands, but Trips isn't budging. At one point, Trips ended up turning his back because of Johnny's constant bitching and Brock attacks. Trips tries to fight back, but Brock was too much to handle. He locks-in the Kimura Lock and proceeds to bend Trips' arm. A few of the WWE Superstars arrive, but the damage has been done. Yeah, you're a little late there guys. Was traffic terrible? Officials arrive to separate the two while medics check up on Trips. It would late be revealed that Triple H's arm was broken. Now, I don't know a lot about broken bones, but do you have the ability to move your fingers in the event of a "broken arm"? Oh well, it's not important. What is important is Brock continues to be out of control while Trips was no match for Brock. These two will definitely be having a rivalry when Trips heals from his "injury". That could be interesting. Brock was taken out of the building for the rest of the show.

Match #1: Miz vs Santino; Beat the Clock Challenge

Eve announced a Beat the Clock Challenge. The overall winner would be the #1 Contender to the WWE Championship. This match was similar to their match in the ER pre-show. It was nothing special, but not terrible either. The finish comes when Miz hits the Skull Crushing Finale at the 4:18 mark. He was able to defeat Santino this go around, so I guess he ate his Wheaties for breakfast. The Beat the Clock Challenge would be one of the main themes for tonight. Kinda surprising since you usually get a fallout of new storylines after a PPV, but that wasn't the case tonight. 

Winner via pinfall: Miz

Match #2: Layla vs Brie Bella vs Nikki Bella; Triple Threat for Divas Championship

The match starts and the Bellas are still arguing over the events of last night. Layla hits a drop kick and sends a Bella over the top rope. Layla gets a rollup on…….which Bella is this? Screw it, I'm just gonna call her Bikki Bella. Layla is still champion after a 10 second match. That was easily the most strenuous match of the night, don't you agree? Man, I need a break after that one…..

We would later find out on WWE.com that the Bellas ended up getting fired. So, I guess they were unable to get a new deal in time and this is the way of writing the Bellas off TV. I don't think this is a big lose at the end of the day. Yeah, we no longer have twins on this show, but I'm sure they will find a way to cope without the Bellas. 

Winner via 10 second clinic and still Divas Champion: Layla

Match #3: Chris Jericho vs Big Show; Beat the Clock Challenge

Aw, Jericho and Show. Something about this seems familiar…

This match went all the way through the time limit. The finish comes when Show tries to tackle Jericho, but ends up going through the barricade on the outside of the ring. Jericho is back in the ring, but is a second too late. So, Miz is still the #1 Contender at the moment. I do wonder how much longer Jericho will be sticking around. 

No Contest due to time limit

Match #4: Brodus Clay vs JTG

JTG? More like JobberTG, LOLZ. Brodus wins the match with the Funk It. It was a short match. After the match, Brodus invites a bunch of kids in the ring to do THE DACTYL!!! So, did Brodus' mini-program already end? Reckon, that's probably the best way to go about it, but Brodus does need to do something else besides beat up jobbers and doing his little dance. Then again, he's pretty much a comedy character, so what the hell do I know. 

Winner via pinfall: Brodus Clay

Backstage with Johnny and Eve. She tells Johnny that he needs to think hard about what kind of leader he will become. Yeah, I think Johnny will have a revelation and realize something is wrong with him. Roboinaitis will get repaired and he will make some good decisions for this company. I mean, what ELSE can they possibly be thinking here? 

Match #5: Randy Orton vs Jack Swagger; Beat the Clock Challenge

So, Biff Tannen gets to fight for a chance to becoming WWE Champion, but Dolph Ziggler is nowhere to be seen? I guess Dolph is extinct after his match with Brodus. Yeah, I need to stop that. For the first time in a while, the audience started to wake up. They really were interested in Randy this evening. Not sure why, but it was nice to see some energy in the crowd. Even though most of the BTC matches have been short, I liked how this one went about. This was probably the best match of the night. The finish comes when Randy hits the RKO at 4:16. That makes Randy the new leader of the BTC Challenge. 

Winner via pinfall: Randy Orton

Match #6: Primo and Epico vs Kofi Kingston and R-Truth; WWE Tag Team Championships

Primo just kicked Little Jimmy? Ohhhh…..Little Jimmy said to f*** you up. The match was pretty decent, but nothing amazing. The finish comes when Kofi hits Trouble in Paradise and we have new Tag Champs. We just crowned new tag champs and……nobody really seems to care. It's really hard to be excited for new tag champs since tag team wrestling isn't what it used to be. Now, I'll be fair and say Kofi and Truth can probably add something to the belts. It's certainly possible. Plus, AW talked to Primo and Epico after the match and they seem to be talking business. WWE might be working on the tag division, but it's gonna take some time. Tag Team wrestling hasn't been meaningful since a decade ago. Plus, I'm not a big fan of the tag title design. Then again, I have talked about this already, but who thinks of Trojan helmets when you think tag team wrestling? Those things look like they belong in the NCAA, not the WWE. Well, let's give it a chance and see how this turns about. 

Winner via pinfall and NEW Tag Team Champions: Kofi Kingston and R-Truth (BOOM Jimmy?)

Match #7: Kane vs Great Khali; Beat the Clock Challenge

Oh man. This was NOT a good match. It was slow, boring, and very unrealistic. I know it's pro wrestling, but they could've tried a little better. I swear that Khali gave the laziest kick-out ever. It's like he didn't care anymore. Like the Jericho/Show match, this one went to a no contest since they ended up going the distance. After the match, Kane Chokeslams Khali. Well, that was probably filler. 

No Contest

Match #8: Daniel Bryan vs Jerry "King" Lawler; Beat the Clock Challenge

This was the final BTC Challenge. If neither was able to beat the time, Randy would get the title shot. However, Bryan is going up against a senior citizen. Go King? It was pretty clear who Punk's next opponent was gonna be. I guess they had nobody else to turn to, so time to bring in a 60+ year old man to do the job. Get it? Do the job? And……we've officially hit a new low on this page. Bryan applies the YES Lock and wins the match in two minutes. After the match, Punk comes out to the entrance ramp and poses with the championship, while Bryan thinks he will be the YES Champion. I'm pretty excited for this match. We know what Punk and Bryan are capable of. It really show that WWE is starting to embrace the Yes since they are putting him against someone bigger. What I can't understand is the internet complaining about a match they wanted to see. The argument is they didn't like the way it was brought forward. For s*** sakes, just be happy we are gonna see the rivalry/match. I would rather see the rivalry than never witness it, so who cares if it was put together in an anti-climatic fashion. I think this can be a really good match at Over the Limit. I hope we get a couple of matches between the two and it isn't a one-time deal. This can be very interesting.

Winner via submission and NEW #1 Contender to WWE Championship: YES YES YES

Not only has John Cena arrived to the building, but we find out that Johnny will be putting him in a match for OtL. Didn't Cena say he was gonna take a break? That had to be the worst vacation ever. Well, that's what happens when you let David Otunga handle your contract negotiations. Cena comes out and has his arm in a sling. He thought it was broken or torn, but says he's just in pain and will be back as soon as possible. Johnny heads towards the ring and says he brought in Brock to test Cena. Cena doesn't buy this since he knows that Johnny has been trying to break him. Cena, you were on such a roll, but then you go back to poop jokes. Well, at least this wasn't as bad as some of the previous ones. Johnny reveals Cena's next opponent. It's….it's…..IT'S……IT'S!!!!!!!!!!!!!……Sakomoto? Oh, Lord Tensai is right behind him. My bad!!! Tensai and Sakomoto surround Cena, but Johnny is right behind Cena and hits him in the head with the mic. All of the sudden, Johnny says Cena will be going up against him at OtL. The three guys continue to attack Cena. They even got a chair and used it on Cena's injured arm. The show ends with the bad guys standing tall. Wait, so Roboinaitis is going to fight Cena? Oh man. I didn't think it would happen, but I it finally did. James Cameron was right. Robots are taking over the world. No…..NO….NOOO!!!!

So, where do I begin? I'll say this. I didn't see this announcement coming. I can see a lot of people not liking this move. I'll admit, it's pretty out there. Then again, it does a couple of things. For months, Johnny was just a bad guy who had his moments, but he went full-blown dictatorship here and decided to use his power to deal with Cena in his own right. Of course, we have to assume that Johnny will be using……People Power? Is that what People Power is? People working together to achieve Johnny's ambitions and goals that he couldn't get in his younger years? I think I just blew my freakin' mind. Again, I don't hate the idea of this match, but I'm not in-love with it at the same time. I can see a lot of people not liking it since it doesn't really connect with what happened in the Brock/Cena match at ER. I always tell people to wait and see where they are going with this before judging it. Maybe Johnny and friends take out Cena at the PPV and that's where Johnny can really become power hunger? That's my early theory, but who really knows? There's other ideas, but I'm being lazy tonight. 

Overall Impression:

I'm partially split with this episode. I enjoyed certain parts of the show, but there was parts the dragged in my eyes. The intro was interesting and intense. The Beat the Clock was interesting at times, but there were times where the BTC Challenge did seem to drag. Most of the matches didn't really stand out and some of them felt kinda dull. Then again, most of them had to work extra hard at ER and I can understand the competitors having a light week. Still, for a show that featured 8 matches, only two of them stood out. For some reason, I was expecting a lot more promos and new storylines to be brought to the table. It's pretty custom to get a lot of new things after a PPV, but I guess they wanted to change things up today. We saw a couple of new rivalries like Brock/Trips and Punk/Bryan. Things continue to grow between Cena and Johnny, so maybe that was the storyline from the beginning. It was never about Cena and Brock, as it was always about Cena and Johnny. John vs John? Again, I don't completely love the idea, but I will wait and see where they are going with this before critiquing it. Besides, it might be fun and interesting. There was enough new/interesting things to keep you invested in tonight's show, but some of the action can really take you out of the show. Still, this was a fair episode to sit through, but I was split on most of the night. Extreme Rules was so good that it gave everyone a hangover, so maybe that's why I feel like this? There's still SD to get through and I'm sure they need to address new storylines on there, so that could be interesting. Either way, it seems WWE was not only building up OtL, but they are working on the summer programs. Brock and Trips is easily something I don't see happening until SummerSlam or later. Plus, Cena can still get written off the show by the insane robot. Did nobody watch the Terminator movies? Why are we not in a panic-mode with Johnny's actions? That's gonna do it for the review and I hope you enjoyed it. As always, tell me what you thought of my review or tonight's show. I will see you guys and girls on the next WrestlingNerd show. See you next time.