RAW 7/11/11

[Lady Redfield]

One of the things I didn't like about it was the list of demands.....as soon as I heard them, I knew the contract signing wasn't going to happen....I know Punk wants to leave IRL but that glimmer of hope that he would stay was there and drew me to the segment even more but as soon as he started listing his face on the turnbuckles, a private jet...yeah.

The part I did not get is how Vince would back down from Punk and want to re-sign him following ridiculous demands yet would go ahead and fire Cena, who is obviously the bigger star of the two. I could understand if he would 'do anything' to keep Punk because Punk would be a huge loss to the WWE but, let's face it....as much as I worship Punk and hate Cena, Cena would be the bigger loss, not Punk....so that didn't make too much sense to me. Still didn't take away from the intensity of the segment for me.

 

[Axis]

I like Sultan and LIBERT4D. Though being in CAPS LOCK does him no favors.

In any event, I disagree with Sultan's sentiment. I thought Cena brought a lot and really stepped up his game. He turned this from a Punk angle into a genuine Punk/Cena angle. The Punk/Vince stuff didn't necessarily further the angle a lot, but it was entertaining and pretty signifiant in what it actually was. I thought it was believable. Punk has shown that, like he said, with a microphone he is very powerful. The response to this has been quite loud, both among fans and even some mainstream press. What newspapers covered Cena vs. R-Truth? Vince has been set back by a guy that he seemingly underestimated, and now he's trying to sweep it under the rug in anyway possible. Seemed realistic enough to me.

 

[Luke Flywalker]

^Exactly. Not to mention Cena broke from his norm of childish, kiddy-appeasing, gimmicky outbursts and actually displayed who he is on the mic when he's serious.

And the entire underdog vs. dynasty rip was an incredible analogy and anyone who cannot see that is quite oblivious to anything going on anywhere. That entire idea was perfectly crafted, especially with the thins Cena had said earlier on his own about being an underdog. And the way Cena snapped over it, especially being called a New York Yankee... that was just downright brilliant. Cena's not a representative for the guys in the back anymore who can't get pushed... he's the ultimate push... that's clear as day... and Cena lives it up, meanwhile Punk is who Cena used to be...

...this is the best STORY I've seen on wrestling in quite some time, and yes, we HAVE had a few good ones recently, but this one takes the cake. Instead of labeling everything certain writer's do as trash, maybe you should understand when a trashy writer actually puts out a decent script.

BTW, I don't want to misinterpret what Sultans09 said, but.. you were talking about The Rock and not Punk when you said you don't want to believe anyone but the writers are "putting Cena in his place", correct?

 

[Sultans09]

When Cena was serious, he was good. But the nonserious stuff overshadowed the serious stuff. For example, when he rambled on about what he would like to do to Vince McMahon. That was very counterproductive to say in the least.

 

[monkeystyle]

When Cena was serious, he was good. But the nonserious stuff overshadowed the serious stuff. For example, when he rambled on about what he would like to do to Vince McMahon. That was very counterproductive to say in the least.

This. Cena was great in the opening segment so I wasn't annoyed that he interrupted the last one, as I hoped for more of the same but then he opened his mouth and the usual Cena-isms came out and totally sucked the wind out of the closing segment.

 

[...god...]

I thought the promo was very intense and sold the PPV brilliantly. Yeah, it wasn't as over-the-top and cutting edge as the first, but it wasn't suppose to be. Why try to out do it? The meaning was solely to switch and assert the role, which was perfect because they almost made it seem like Cena was once again trying to come to the aid of someone getting over and suddenly take their side (e.g. the Daniel Bryan case). But now, Punk's the underdog, Punk's the fan favorite for the most part. The demands were comical, don't see the big fucking deal, the whole point was he was going to leave ANYWAY and he was just fucking with Vince because that's what he deserved, it got him over, THAT was the purpose. It sold the PPV and set the atmosphere like no other. Naturally, people who stick with Cena would still cheer him, as what he's saying fits his character and vice versa with Punk, whom neither of which like Vince. Not that convoluted. Wrestling shouldn't be black and white always if ever, it makes it more entertaining and interesting when characters and roles are more complex as they present people with in depth morality issues (mainly why the late 90's were so successful).

 

[Luke Flywalker]

I had honestly forgotten about the face as a rug thing, but I don't think people caught on to Cena's subliminal enhancement of his Massachusetts accent and that bit being a little mafia-style rant. Regardless, you all clearly put more weight on that bit of dialogue than I did, and you're right, it does bring it down a bit... but it also played in perfectly to what Punk was saying about Cena taking everything so lightly and not fighting to prove himself to everyone anymore. He still rebounded with a nice performance with getting pissed at Punk...

Remember, when the mic is in Punk's hand, it's a weapon. With Cena, it's just a prop... a toy...

 

[He who knows more than Nation]

Well, regardless of feelings about this segment, Sunday will be CM Punk's chance to prove himself as a draw.

 

[ackj]

I don't think people caught on to Cena's subliminal enhancement of his Massachusetts accent

That's actually one of the things I really don't like about him. His "accent" changes every night. Sometimes he sounds like he's from the south, sometimes boston, sometimes the ghetto.

 

[MizMasta3000]

I've never caught on to his Souther accent