It’s been a while since I’ve caught Raw and it not been on my DVR, so I figured I’d throw up some reaction to it since I caught the last hour or so live. The part I’m going to really talk about, though, is the contract signing, since I didn’t see anything before 10:30, and the rest of what I did see wasn’t really worth commenting on.
In the last month, they’ve done more to build up Brock vs Cena to me than they did the entire year they had to build up Rock vs Cena. I don’t know if maybe I’m just more excited to see Brock than I was Rocky, but I’m digging the way that they’ve handled this. After a year of watching and listening to Rock and Cena jaw jack and take shots at each other, I like the fact that Brock has just been kicking Cena’s ass for a month. It gets us more to the point of the story and lets us know that Brock is a force to be reckoned with here in the WWE. I’ve really dug the “UFC-like” buildup videos they’ve been doing with Brock, and he comes across really well as the guy who’s done it all and is just back to kick ass and take names. He’s also been doing a good job in proving that by getting the better end of all of his mixes with Cena.
I really liked tonight’s contract signing, and I usually hate these things. Honestly, my favorite part was when Brock went over his list of new demands. Now, I really liked it when Punk did this last summer, but that was to really get him over with the fans and for his demands to be so outlandish that they were humorous. Brock’s demands just came across as almost diva-ish, and that was a great turn to this character. Brock’s back for the money. He’s not here to be a WWE Superstar. He’s not here for the fans. He’s here for Brock. I thought that watching him put Johnny Ace over the barrel, and to have Johnny Ace show that he wasn’t happy, but to suck it up and give in, was great. It put importance on Brock, and in a lot of ways, it made Cena look better despite not being in the ring. Cena has spent the last year letting us know that he’s here for the fans. He’s here because he loves it. Heck, he ripped on Rocky for a year and Rock did nothing but talk about how much he loved being back. Brock shows up and puts it on front street that he’s not here for anyone but him, and to further that, let’s throw some more money on the table to make him happy.
Cena coming out even made me happy, because he wasn’t the John Cena that I hate. He was mad. He was determined. He didn’t dance his way out of the curtain and smile on his way down. This was a John Cena that meant business, and this, honestly, is a John Cena that I can get behind.
This segment, honestly, made me more excited about their match at Extreme Rules than I ever was about Wrestlemania. Hopefully they’ll deliver.
-Shane
Kick Out At 2! 