Knee-Jerk Reaction (02/13/12)

Anytime RAW goes vintage, I go vintage. Tonight, WWE is going not-really-but-still-a-little old school with the reappearance of HBK. Whilst I heart HBK very, very much, I’m not too keen on his arrival. It only means more Taker/HHH drama. The only way I’m investing in this match for a third straight year if HBK and Kane are not only involved in the match’s buildup, but a part of the match itself. And not just as a special guest referee.

WHAT I LIKED:
Kingston vs Jericho: I remember seeing this matchup here in Dallas at Night of Champions a couple years ago. Kingston defeated Jericho for the Intercontinental Title in an upset that night. It was a pretty good match from what I remember. No such luck tonight. Still an okay match, but no upset win tonight for Kofi – and not even after two Trouble in Paradise finishers. If you can’t win a match after two finishers to your opponent, you really are being overlooked. Kofi didn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell of winning the Elimination Chamber match anyway, but this all but sealed his fate.

Big Show vs Orton: I loved how well the announcers did of putting over the fact that this match, this mini-rivalry is only in progress because Daniel Bryan played the two of them against each other. When the announcers do the jobs they’re paid to do, I don’t have so big of a problem with them. Randy Orton did a lot with the big man tonight, who didn’t do such a bad job himself, so I have to give this match a passable grade. LOVED the “You Fucked Up” chants! Big Show seriously fucked up too. I was expecting Orton to call him ‘Stupid!’ but I guess he only reserves that for mid-carders. Or maybe for guys he’d stand a chance against in a real fight. Oh, and how awesome is Daniel Bryan? Tres awesome! Great dusty finish to this match. The best part about it is that Bryan went over his two real competitors on RAW and not on Smackdown. If this happens on Smackdown, it all but guarantees Daniel Bryan won’t enter Wrestlemania as World Champion. But since I can’t see them putting Bryan over twice in one week, there just may be a chance for him yet!

HBK/HHH: HBK! Nice to see ya. I seem to remember asking you to never come back, but I guess a one-time appearance isn’t so bad. I love how well HHH & HBK play off of each other. They’re such good friends that they can say almost anything to each other and know exactly what it means and knows exactly how to respond. I thought we were getting somewhere when Triple H brought up the fact that Shawn failed to end Taker’s streak as well, but no. Shawn had to go talking about how he was ‘at peace,’ so I guess my dreams of a Fatal 4-Way between these two, Undertaker and Kane won’t happen. Oh look, another Undertaker video. That’s new. Ha, and he even cut off his fake hair in the video. Kane is gonna be pissed.

Cena/Kane/Eve/Zack: LOL! That was the funniest damn thing I’ve seen in a while. And WWE wasn’t even trying to do that. You’re telling me Kane didn’t notice that Eve jumped out of the ambulance? I figure the mask must affect his peripheral vision, but does it affect his sight from the rear-view mirror as well? To her credit, Eve does seem to have some mad lip-locking skills. Poor Zack. It looks like he’ll be the one embracing the hate… and embracing something else as well… solo. Hold on a second, I guess Kane got to the hospital(?) and discovered he was missing a passenger.

Punk vs Miz: Well, I guess The Miz isn’t winning the Elimination Chamber. He seems to be in pretty deep shit backstage after his brain-fart last week. That loss was too quick for anyone who calls themselves a former World Champion. That was almost Jack Swagger territory. Punk was going to win the match regardless, but Miz should have been allowed to put up a little more of a fight.

Cena’s Closing Promo: “We all hate you.” Yeah, that pretty much sums it up. Nice chanting, San Diego. Still with the adapt and overcome speeches, Cena? We don’t hate you because Kane made us hate you or because we think you’re soft. We hate you because you’re stale and lame and you refuse to change. It’s annoying. Somebody probably should have shown Zack Ryder how to fake walking on crutches. It’s not as easy as the paraplegics make it look. Despite all of that, I liked this segment for some odd reason. Zack Ryder took a hell of a bump. That’s some toughness right there. A lot of credit to him.

WHAT I HATED:
Mass-Debaters: I guess this is a new idea and I do like novelty. It’s a change from the norm of having one man talk in the ring and then he gets interrupted by another and than another and than another, ad-finitum. But man was this brutal. Chris Jericho delivered a decent promo. CM Punk was pretty good. Kofi Kingston at least made sense, which is more than I can say for Dolph Ziggler and The Miz. And R-Truth just has the audience in the palm of his hands. I don’t know if half the stuff he says is scripted or not. I’m seriously starting to think this new persona of his may not be kayfabe. This segment failed miserably, but I give WWE credit for trying new things. I’ll give ‘em even more credit if they never do this ever again.

Ziggler vs Truth: I blinked. I missed it. This is what happens when you give more time to needless and pointless promos than to the scheduled matches on the card.

Tamina vs Bella Slut#1: Seriously? This match couldn’t have been erased off the card to give Dolph & R-Truth a little more time? I like that they’re calling Tamina by her surname now. Show the family legacy! Won’t help much, but it’s something.

QUOTE OF THE NIGHT: “You sit there on your ranch with your wife and your kids. Not a care in the world. But I’ve got responsibilities. Real life responsibilities.” – Triple H
Wow. Since when did family become fiction? Since when did a wife and children become the opposite of real life responsibilities? I avoid having a wife and kids like the plague because I don’t want the responsibility. If it’s that easy, please, by all means, sign me up. Piece of cake.

So, let me get this straight. All six of the members of the RAW Elimination Chamber match were in matches against each other tonight. Punk, Jericho & R-Truth won the matches. Only Jericho’s match went longer than five minutes. Oh, and the Elimination Chamber PPV is this Sunday. Is anyone having to rack their brains too hard as to which two are the favorites to win this match? It’s either Punk or Jericho. WWE isn’t even trying to hide this fact. Should make for some easy points in the PPV League…

Stars Tagged In This Post:
Big Show, Chris Jericho, CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, Dolph Ziggler, Elimination Chamber, Jack Swagger, Kane, Kofi Kingston, Night of Champions, R-Truth, Randy Orton, RAW, SmackDown, Sting, The Miz, Triple H, Undertaker, WrestleMania, WWE, Zack Ryder