After watching last night's (06/21/11) Monday Night Raw, I turned off the TV and, for the first time in quite some time, was thrilled with the program as a whole. I feel like Raw has been a little better than usual recently, but there are still boring and wasted segments far too often. That wasn't the case last night, and three points stuck out in my mind when all was said and done, so let me briefly touch upon those.
Firstly, I have to talk about CM Punk. I am admittedly biased in favor of Punk (with Jericho gone at the moment, Punk has moved into my top spot as personal favorite), but it really sucks that the rumors were true and he's walking away for now. Still, I thought his promos were awesome, and even marked out a bit when he called himself a wrestler and actually spoke the words World Wrestling Entertainment (it's sad that on a wrestling program, you get excited when someone says taboo words such as "wrestling" or calls the company by its name, but that's the state we're in here). But ultimately, if he's going to go out, I think it was great that they decided to use his contract running out as the actual reason in storyline for his departure next month. Having that final match before his hiatus take place in Chicago, his home town, is that much more exciting.
On a side note, let me explain why Punk gets so much of my praise. To me, he's this generation's Chris Jericho, and to go further into that, I feel that both of those guys are the wrestling equivalent to a five-tool player in baseball (someone who hits for average and power, has speed, can field well, and has a strong arm...basically someone who can do it all). As it pertains to wrestling, these two have what I feel are the five "do it all" tools for pro wrestling: someone who can wrestle well within his own skill set/wrestle against any style, carry a bad opponent, cut a great promo, be entertaining as both a face and a heel, and have an intricate, interesting storyline centered around them. Jericho had it (until he returns, I sadly must refer to him in the past tense), and Punk definitely has it. It's a shame that for whatever reasons involved, he's walking away. Hopefully it won't be permanent.
Sticking with baseball analogies, if CM Punk is the equivalent to a guy in fantasy baseball who has been ranked number one all year with solid numbers across the board, then R-Truth is absolutely the guy who has been unbelievably on fire for two months straight and threatening for that spot. I always knew if they pushed Truth he would be good, but I don't think anyone could have imagined that he would have been this good. We already knew he could wrestle, but good word, every promo he cuts is a 10. When he said, "I got okie doked by Little Jimmy!", not only did I pause my DVR so I could laugh hysterically, then replay it three times in a row, but I officially named that the line of the year. If nothing else, R-Truth is, in my mind, somewhat of a throwback to attitude era heels such as Edge, Christian, and Kurt Angle. Not only do you take him seriously as a competitor and his in-storyline gripes, but he's always funny, we're always happy to see him, and the show is better for having him on it.
While I'm at it, let me not understate the importance R-Truth's creation of "Little Jimmys". As an adult male that hates John Cena (like most other adult males), we never had a name to call all of those stupid, mindless little kids who don't know any better but to cheer for Cena...they were just stupid little Cena fans. Now we have something: Little Jimmys. And dammit, that name couldn't be any more perfect and hilarious.
Speaking of R-Truth, the entire promo with him, Christian, and The Miz was complete gold. Aside from The Rock's return promo (which, let's face it, was legendary), that three man weave from last night may have been the most entertaining in-ring promo in the last few years.
Lastly, what made last night's Raw such a great show was that the matches, for the most part, were actually good, enjoyable, and had a nice pace to them. Dolph Ziggler vs. Kofi Kingston in the two out of three falls match was great and featured awesome WRESTLING. The triple threat match between CM Punk, Rey Mysterio, and Alberto Del Rio was excellent for the fact that unlike most WWE three ways, all three men were in the ring at the same time for a good portion of the match. Bryan Danielson against Cody Rhodes was solid, as expected, and the main event was entertaining as well (all matches like that should be elimination style, like last night).
It's amazing, but great WRESTLING + great promos = great show. Who knew.
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