2012 Discussion

Discuss Raw in 2012.

Daniel Bryan vs Punk RAW 1/30
From one of the better RAWs in recent memory, I think Orton/Ziggler is pretty close to nomination worthy too, and continues Bryan's great recent run. Pretty awesome TV match with plenty of time, a ton of stiff kicks and chops and really evenly worked which is great in a champion vs champion match, both guys came out of it looking good. Liked Punk's arm selling too, the bulldog spot was a nice touch. Finish might annoy some, I was hoping for a sneaky small package win for Bryan, but I don't think it hurt the match, and looking back it probably made more sense then either guy going over clean. Liked that Jericho came out when both guys were out and it also lead to a pretty amazing celebration from Bryan, sitting in a heap shouting and celebrating while clearly almost dead from the punishment he took.

Dolph Ziggler vs Sheamus Raw 3/12
Another good performance by Dolph. Both guys go totally wild in a meaningless match featuring Dolph throwing Sheamus into the announcers table cause Sheamus to get a big welt on his back Match had a little botch with Finlay's finisher but Dolph sold the Brogue kick great.

Mark Henry v. CM Punk - Raw 4/2/12
Really this was a fucking great tv match. Easily the best Raw match since Cena v. Rey, and honestly on first watch I thought this was the better bout even with the problem of a commercial that missed most of a Punk hope spot sequence. Both guys were really good in this. Punk actually sold the damage from Jericho's attack on his back and ribs last night better here than he did in their match. Henry was his awesome shit talking self and was really working some stiff shots in this. There were a couple of cut off spots in here that were absolutely sickening. Lots of good teases as it kept building and every time you thought the comeback was there it wasn't. Henry even gave us a nice belly flop bump. Henry's selling in this match was infuckingcredible as he was given Punk's shots enough to look like they had him on the ropes, but not enough to make him look like less than a monster. Punk working a Tajiri like flurry to bring him down with a high kick ruled. I also loved the stiffness of the Punk high knees and this is an instance where I thought the count out finish was brilliant as it re-established Henry as an ass kicker, but without totally killing Punk. Post-match stuff was great too. Awesome match.

Mark Henry v. CM Punk - Raw 4/2/12
This was amazing. The opening stuff with Punk trying to keep distance and chuck Henry away from him was great, so was the rest of the match, Punk laying in brutal and high knees and at the same time delivering great selling. Henry was at his best, everything he did looked like it could just devastate you, from something as simple as a shove to his CRAZY Vader Bomb. The shit talking and playing to the crowd throughout all of this were top notch. His selling to Punk attempts to chop him down ruled, then when Punk finally gets him the crowd just goes crazy which was an awesome moment. His selling of the Savage elbow ruled aswell, you see he's still monster but he still had to chew on that blow. Finish looked really nasty.

CM Punk vs. Mark Henry - RAW 4/16 London (No DQ, No Count Out)
This wasn't as good as there match on the RAW after Mania but still very good. Henry's bumps off Punk's suicide dive and running tightrope bulldog off the barricade were great. I thought Henry's offense looked especially great in this including a headbutt to Punk's chest at the beginning that looked vicious, the catch and throw into the barricade and two nasty clotheslines. The steel chair was used well in the match and I liked the chair shot to Henry's midsection a good bit. I thought the finish was done well and at the same time still protected Henry. My biggest beef with this is I felt there should have been more longer and more structured Henry control segment. Other than that this was very very good.

CM Punk v. Daniel Bryan Raw 5/28
This had all the good features of the previous tv matches from earlier in the year and an actual finish. I had figured they would go the route of an AJ or Kane run-in but instead we got the exposed turnbuckle finish which was actually well set up and a reasonably good way to give Bryan a win. This had plenty of time to develop and all the staple spots you want with enough variation where it didn't feel like a by the numbers match.

Daniel Bryan vs. John Cena 8/6
Nice to see a singles match between company top guys without any shenanigans and it delivers of course. So many inspired moments in this one, some of these counters really looked like something from an Otsuka/Yamamoto match. Loved all the Hammerlock struggling, simple but cool and the counter into the AA attempt rocked. Bryan at this point is great at working over a much bigger guy than him and he really kicks the hell out of Cena. He's also gotten almost Negro Casas-ish in how he gets the crowd to do what he wants and centers the match around himself without taking away from his opponent, he was great at working indy crowds and it's good to see he's gotten great at worken huge crowds aswell. Finish was amazing

Sheamus vs. Daniel Bryan - RAW 07/30/12
This was about violence and some of it was fairly shocking for a Raw match, with a fallaway slam into the barricade, nasty cane shots including several straight to Sheamus' head, and both guys bumping off the stage. Sheamus' elbow strikes looked great here—better than Punk's for sure. I thought they could have at least teased the LeBelle Lock (all we got was some early arm work), but for the most part they were pretty creative in working their signature spots into this setting. Bryan also slipped out of the White Noise so we didn't get that dumb finish.

Team Hell No (Kane, Daniel Bryan) vs. CM Punk, Dolph Ziggler - 10/01/12
Kane and Bryan work un-naturally well together, this pairing could turn out to be the worst or best thing that ever happens to both men. Kane is real good at controlling the match whilst Bryan throws fits at ringside. Bryan's character is perfect as it is, he's the perfect mix of comedy and wrestling. He's been thrown so much shit in the past year but he's managed to turn every single bit of it into pure gold. Punk and Ziggler both lookde a little weak for my liking here, considering one is the face of the company and the other is a MITB case holder, a little more from those two would've been appreciated. I really like the whole Heyman/Punk pairing, but the Vickie/Dolph pairing has really run it's course by this stage. There's only so much screaming at ringside that one can take. Nothing too memorable here, but it's still a blast as some easy-watching. ***

CM Punk v. Vince McMahon (Raw 10/8/12)
Vince does babyface work better than most of the roster. I marked for the announce table dive, I marked for him pushing the announce chair into Punk's nuts, and I popped like a giddy shithead when he tackled Punk at the beginning. It reminded me of Vader v. Dustin Rhodes. None of it seemed out of the realm of possibility, either and I bought that Vince could actually make these sorts of comebacks on Punk. This was the dickhead Punk that won me over in 2010. He gets a cheap shot to start out a match with a 65 year old non-wrestler and fires away at him relentlessly. Maybe it was the shaky video I was watching, but most of everything looked super rough and snug. The kendo stick stuff was really neat, and, again, I BOUGHT IT. I bought that Punk would be hesitant to get back in the ring and keep going. His reactions of sheer disbelief that McMahon wasn't a pile of broken shit on the ground by now were just about the most fitting in this kind of situation. Then he gets a kendo stick of his own and retreats on the KENDO STICK DUEL just to hit a low blow. Low blow was violent-looking, too. The Cena/Ryback finish with Punk bailing with his title made this feel old school. Oh yeah PUNK SAID 'WHAT A MANOUVRE'!!!!!!!! This was spectacular.