WrestlingNerd Presents: WWE Raw Review 8/20/12 (Raw is Filler)

What up wrestling fans, I'm the WrestlingNerd bringing you another written review. Today, we take a look at WWE Raw 8/20/12. After the events of SummerSlam, what happens next? Let's find out and start the review. 

We open up the show with Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman. Both guys talk about breaking Triple H and how they forced him to quit WWE. Brock says, "Good job" to referee, Scott Armstrong. That WWE referee plan is bulls***. Paul declares Brock the new King of Kings and the conqueror of the WWE. In other words, Brock thinks of himself as a God. Hmmm…..God in WWE? Something about this sounds familiar. Paul really knows how to cut a promo. I know I've mentioned this before, but boy can he play the part. It was a basic opening that shows the events of the main event and how Triple H is down on himself.

Match #1: Kofi Kingston, R-Truth, and Sin Cara vs Prime Time Players and Cody Rhodes

Remember when Truth used to be bat s*** insane, but in an entertaining way? Now, it's just sad. The match was fair. The finish comes when Sin gets a pinfall over Cody. Once again, Cody was obsessed with removing Sin's mask. He claims Sin's ugly, but wants to remove his mask? If he's ugly, why not just ignore the mask and be grateful? I think he's compensating for something.

Winner via pinfall: Sin Cara, Kofi Kingston and R-Truth 

Match #2: Ryback vs Dead Jobbers

David Otunga wants to help AJ, but ends up getting put into a match. Lawyers really need to learn when to shut up. Yeah, you've seen this match before. Ryback is getting ready for that Shell Shocked, but…..Jinder Mahal interferes? There you go. That makes the rivalry more interesting. Jinder locks in the Camel Clutch, but Ryback powers out. Jinder retreats, but not before King is amazed with the double Shell Shocked. I think King's commentary is starting to give me cancer. I understand that the commentators are fed certain lines, but this is getting sad. 

Winner via DQ: Ryback

Wait, so AJ is gonna book Chris Jericho and Dolph Ziggler in a rematch with major stipulations? If Jericho wins, he takes the MITB briefcase, but if Dolph wins, Jericho is fired? Why didn't they just do this at the SS if they weren't gonna wait until Night of Champions for a rematch? But-chk,ig-ek-bu-ch-ik-gaaaa!!! Now, I don't hate this idea. In fact, I think it's a great idea…..Best reserved for PPV. It also feels rushed, and you know how I feel about rushed storylines. 

Match #3: Alberto Del Rio vs Randy Orton

Del Rio starts off by complaining, so now he has to deal with Super Snake. Actually, Randy hasn't been so super lately, which shows that he's getting more punishment for the failed drug test. Personally, I don't have a problem with this. Sheamus comes out and does his role model antics. I'm figuring out that Sheamus is supposed to be a rebel/hooligan, which is why he does the things he does. There's nothing wrong with that, but I find it funny to point out since we're encouraged to be a star. Yeah, so Del Rio was about to win this match with the Backstabber…

Carlito: The f***!!!"

Randy had his foot on the rope, but the ref is about to blow the call. Never fear, Super Irishman is here to save the day. You think with all that money, Del Rio would pay off the refs. I wonder if that's WWE next storyline with Del Rio? Randy hits the RKO after Del Rio starts to complain. 

Winner via pinfall: Randy Orton

Match #4: Damien Sandow vs Brodus Clay

I just realized something. People poke fun of WWE's PG rating, and we have a dancing dinosaur….

MY GOD!!! What have we done!!! No wonder Damien wants to rid the world of this. Damien wins with a rollup, thus keeping the rivalry going. Again, he beat Christian cleanly, but struggles against Brodus? Why do I even bother? I want to see more Damien on this show. He really is a breath of fresh air. Brodus takes out Damien and invites kids to sing and dance. I love you, you love me…….What is happening!!!

Winner via elegant rollup: Damien Sandow

Shawn Michaels talks to us via Rock-ellite. He admits that he lied to Triple H and knew that Brock was gonna win the match. He also speculated the end for Trips, but didn't want to say that towards his friend. Regardless, he's proud of his friend and Trips has nothing to be ashamed of. I don't know why, but I pictured Trips sitting at home, counting his money during this scene. Yeah, I don't think Trips has anything to be ashamed of either. 

Match #5: Big Show vs David Otunga

He might have a Harvard degree, but that won't do jack s*** against Show. Big Show PUNCH!!! Worst legal counselor ever!!!

Winner via pinfall: Big Show

Match #6: Kane and Zack Ryder vs Daniel Bryan and Miz

Ryder, you can be on TV this week, but the catch is you have to be Kane's bitch. The match didn't last long and it ended when Bryan gave him a YES! NO! slap. Once Bryan escapes through the audience, Kane completely loses it and destroys Ryder. Kane SMAAAASSSSH!!! I guess this means Kane/Bryan will continue, which I don't have any problems with. 

No Contest

Match #7: Divas Battle Royal; #1 Contender to Divas Championship

For a Diva battle royal, they sure were missing a good chunk of the diva roster. Still recommend for people to just give up on this division. You will save you hair in the process. Hey, WWE isn't putting an effort into it, why should I? Kaitlyn eliminates Eve and she's the new #1 Contender. I was just saying last week that Kaitlyn is somebody they should start using a lot more of on this show. At least they're doing that. That's something, right? The match was pretty sloppy. 

Winner via pinfall and NEW #1 Contender to Divas Title: Kaitlyn

Did you forget that Brock beat Trips last night? Don't worry, WWE will remind you five million times. WWE: Cuz we think you all have the attention span of Jerry Lawler *insert thumbs up*. I love Michael Cole's insult towards Lawler. Homework, what's that? 

Match #8: Chris Jericho vs Dolph Ziggler; Contract vs Contract match

We find out that Brock has left the company….again. Yeah, I'm not buying this crap. I'm really disappointed with WWE here. While the match was good, it wasn't given nearly enough time. Again, this should've happened last night, but somebody wasn't thinking straight. Dolph wins cleanly with the Zig Zag. After the match, Jericho hits the Codebreaker on Dolph and waives goodbye to the fans….again. Jericho is fired. Big deal, Jericho gets fired more than Homer Simpson and George Jetson combined. He'll find a way back…..I think. 

Winner via pinfall: Dolph Ziggler

CM Punk is going to announce John Cena as the new #1 Contender, but wants Lawler to apologize for his 'brilliant' commentary. Punk is taking the spotlight, so time for Cena to steal it once more. Punk is getting tired of taking a backseat towards Cena, Dwayne Johnson, and Trips. Punk wants Cena to claim that Punk is the best in the world to get a title match. UGH!!! Cena says, blah blah blah, good guy stuff, blah blah blah, BUY MY T-SHIRT, blah blah blah, *insert name of city here*, blah blah blah, I will never back down. I said it a while back and I really believe it. Cena has been cutting the same promo for years. There's minor tweaks to it, but it really is the same promo. Yeah, so Cena doesn't bow down to Punk's demands. Punk stands there and does nothing…..UGH!!! Once Cena leaves, Punk gets angry and tells Lawler to tell everyone that he's the best in the world. UGGGGGGGGH!!! CM Punk, what have they done to you? Lawler declines, so Punk takes him out to end the show. Okay, I was started to enjoy this scene, but I watched this a second time and it got worse for me. I even watched it a third time and it gets worse. I said it last night and I'll say it again, why are they forcing Punk's heel turn so much? Just face the facts. Punk isn't gonna be that cool, anti-hero character and is gonna be one of those whiny heels. You know? Those whiny heels that you see from every single heel in the business. Instead of making Punk look like a different character, they've reduced him to be the cookie cutter face/heel. I don't have a problem with Punk playing the villain. In fact, the guy is brilliant at the role, but let him be his OWN heel. Let him have his own motives and not be the cliche heel that you've seen for years. To me, this is a missed opportunity for something great. 

Overall Impression:

I gotta be honest. I wasn't the biggest fan of tonight's show. For a show following the second biggest PPV of the year, you usually have high expectations for new storylines or big follow up. A lot of the show was filler with very little new developments, which is a big letdown considering that SS was last night. The matches were just there and not a whole lot stood out from them. I still wonder why they didn't do the contract vs contract match at the PPV and not waist it on Raw? I wouldn't be surprised if the match was great, but you lose out on most of the match because of commercial breaks. There was a lot of story of Trips possibly retiring, but that was about it. I honestly expected more out of tonight. The opening was very promising, but it went downhill pretty quickly. I feel bad cuz I normally don't get this upset with the product, but there's just been a lot of missed opportunities lately. I better wrap this up before I start to piss somebody off. 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.