This was the first Raw I've watched in...well, years. Where has this R-Truth been hiding? I knew he was good in TNA, but the guy has been gold as a heel.

John Cena is still...painful on the mic. That Del Rio/Big Show segment was....cringe inducing at best. It practically killed the rest of the show. I truly feel bad for Del Rio to be in a feud with Show, as that can't do him any favours after getting his huge push on Smackdown.

Kevin, last month you made a list of your 10 favorite wrestlers. And now that truth is heel, would you put him on the list?

RESPONSE FROM KE: Yeah, he'd have to be on there somewhere. The funny thing is that I have been an R-Truth fan ever since he was in TNA and was frequently saying that ge should get a push (either as a face or a heel) after signing with WWE. However, a few months ago, I came to the realization that WWE was never going to push him -- and then they did.

R-Truth is on fire. His apology to the soda near about killed me. "It was refreshing!"

He is definitely playing around a bit with racial stereotypes & identity, which is sometimes a little uncomfortable but also adds another edge to the gimmick.

if he takes the strap off Cena I will take back all the bad things I said when Christian lost to Orton. I'd love to see Truth as a delusional heel champion.... a la King Booker!! Will that happen? doubtful. Wish it would, though.

Wow this was one of the best Raw's of the year! And the best part? A beer bath with my 2 all-time favorites, Cena and Austin! Now if at some point we could have the ultimate dream match between Stone Cold and Cena, it would be amazing, and probably the only time I'd root against Cena (let's face it, Stone Cold is the greatest of all-time, period). Next week is must see, and not cuz of the Miz, but because Austin's running the show!!!!!! If only Smackdown could have shows as good as Raw, I'm starting to get bored with Randy Orton as champion, enough so that on a very rare occasion I'd kinda like to see a heel win it, preferably Mark Henry, Christian, or The Great Khali. Henry would be my first choice, he's the world's strongest man and one of the most underrated stars in the WWE. Why he's never been more than ECW champ is beyond me, and The Great Khali is really underutilized as well.

I will say that I've never been a huge SCSA fan and I am now at the point of seriously not being able to stand that guy. I'm so sick of SCSA. He is nothing more than a bully. Plain and simple and I think it is wrong how he is continuously celebrated. He should not have gotten involved in the match but I wouldn't have expected any different from SCSA or WWE. The babyfaces sure seemed like heels during that match to be honest. Even Lawler was spewing heel announcer speak. For WWE to have this huge anti-bullying campaign its odd how SCSA is the biggest bully of them all. I grew up in the South and knew plenty of SCSA types. They are not funny, cute, etc. They are mentally deranged people that get off on hurting others and only understand things when they themselves are finally put down. It wasn't cool then and it isn't cool now. He was never that great of a wrestler back in the day and I never understood the SCSA love affair. Didn't like him on TE either. Again, just a bully. His act has been old since.....oh 1998 or so.

I would love to see nothing more than a SCSA beat down of epic proportions. We all know WWE would NEVER let the big bad SCSA get destroyed Nexus-style like John Cena did. After which, have some Divas come out and do their finishers on him. That ought to be humiliating enough for him to never come back. It would be one of those classic sitcom episodes where the entire school finally turns on the bully and banishes him completely. And I almost forgot, the beer is setting a great example for kids considering this is a "kids" show.

Finally glad to see Zach Ryder on RAW again!!!!!!!!!! He showed himself well in the loss. May end up getting a slow push. I hope so.

They need to be careful that they don't turn R-Truth into a cartoon heel. The right mix of crazy and intense will work.

Kev, I just can't look at SCSA without thinking of Stunning Steve Austin. It's always kept me from getting into his character. How about you?

I've enjoyed him on Tough Enough though.

...somebody needs a hug...

Do u ever see WWE adopting a WWE Divas tag team Championship....Just curious

Not that there is anything wrong with having a few beers, but I was a little surprised that Cena was sucking them down like Austin. I wouldn't think that Cena and beer would be a very good message for Little Jimmy.

Hey Kevin,

Are you going to Capitol Punishment and RAW the next night in Baltimore? I was just wondering. I have to say, I am kinda mad that we don't get the Austin-GM-All Stars Night on our 3 hour RAW. What kind of 3-hour theme do you think we will have?

RESPONSE FROM KE: I'll be at the PPV but have a prior commitment and won't be able to make it to Raw.

Eli Arbaiza totally agree with your comments re: Mark Henry and Championshipss. would love to see the main belt on him.

With regards to the Great Khali however I think his main attribute and selling point (i.e. his size) makes it difficult to let him be Champion, because at some point you have to have someone beat him and as proven by his fued with cena the other year, you can't have anyone beat Khali and it look realistic (John Cena making him tap was the worst moment i've ever seen in WWE, and i've been watching since 1989!)

The exchange between McMahon and Truth was great! "Let me tell u something R... R is your real first name isnt it" "correct"!! Good stuff... Also Even tho no one really cares anymore... With McMahon in the ring... The Anon GM chimed in. So who is this big letdown of a GM even tho McMahon did say "I got this one"? Steph or a surprise return from Shane are prob the only people that won't be groan inducing in my eyes. Austin stunning Miz before the match ended was dumb and I don't like that at all from an "official". So to reward his interference he is in charge next week?! Really? Really?!

r truth is gold atm. everything he has done since turning heel has been fantastic.

he does need some more seriousness. but he needs to mix them together. the funny with the intense.

the rest of raw was quite bad i thought.

Hey Angelina, you know "Stone Cold" is just a character, right?

I think that WWE needs to take the belt from Cena. He is already as elevated as he can get, and he doesn't need to be the champion at the next WM to fight The Rock. R-Truth, on the other hand, would make a great heel champion in the Edge mold (before he went all Rated-R on us) or the Jericho mold: talented but willing to resort to heel tactics to win. I think we need that in a heel champion. Yes, Truth is witty and he's a good technician as well. So, in order to keep heel heat on him and not let him become a heel that the smarks cheer, he needs to do things to maintain the old-school Zybysco-style heat.

I like SCSA but hard to argue the point about WWE's anti-bully campaign and SCSA's bully like face character.

My thought's on Last week's Raw,(could not comment earlier because of the issue we had with posting the comments)

I think the technical Glitches with the R-truth segment at the start were a part of a Big Conspiracy :p.Glitches could not have come up on a better time lol.R-truth can take an advantage of that situation next week.
Cm punk/rey mysterio match was decent.Thank god mysterio didnot put on a win with his over hyped (hurts like sh**) 619.The best part were CM punks facial expressions
Ziggler/kingston felt like i have seen the thing a 100 times before.
I think kharma did a decent job with the mic and i am very happy that Good ol fatass Douchebag JR got what he deserved.You should see the auditions for TE1 or TE2.Where JR was a total douche during the auditions.I hope kharma comes back and gives JR an implant buster.Although he sure does have Man-boobs.
Jack/evan match was lame.Another mysterio in the making i assume.Don't want him 2 see as a future world "HEAVYWEIGHT" champion.When the big belt can hide little Evan Bourne.Fella :p
Alex Riley def is turning into a babyface and seems like is on his way to a bigtime star.I kind of liked his music and the green effects on titantron.Btw i guess riley was either wearing a 2$ suit or the suit was very badly stitched.Because the miz ripped his jacket apart with his bare hands.I mean what;s with this Hulk hogan stuff goin on lately.I can imagine Hulk ripping apart his tshirt.But Riley ripping Miz's shirt jacket last week,Miz doing the same this week and even Lawler ripping off cole's clothes.What's wrong with thier clothes?.Btw i thought cole was goin back 2 his heel character when he started bashing riley.I was very glad to see cole/lawler back to normal.Because i guess all of us seriously don't want another cole/lawler match at a PPV taking a spot of other superstars.
Regarding cena.The less i speak about him - the better.
I don't know what WWE is planning for RIo..Apart from him cutting promos with Rental cars.
And i guess everyone missed out on the part where Cole actually gave spoilers for Tough enough.He gave away that Jeremiah went home and i was like WTF.He just spoiled the entire show!.I hope wwe keeps a check on Cole's mouth giving away too much.I hope he doesn't announces the winner on Smackdown!

As for our very own Broski.Will we ever see Ryder actually making it to the Front stage instead of hanging around with cena for like 5 secs backstage every week.Btw I do remember that about an year back ryder used to get a decent amount of time on raw.He also had a decent segment with ashton kutcher.But now he is all backstage.

Btw Kevin.why does Wwe brings all its superstars to raw and smackdown when many of them are seen like for a second backstage?

My Thought’s on SMACKDOWN,

I think Smackdown is becoming unbearable by the day.I guess many of us like me used to tune into smackdown earlier just to watch Undertaker.
I am already bored of feel good Christian-Orton feud.Now that Christian has apparently turned heel.It still doesn’t interests me.
Regarding Cody Rhodes, he has become a pain to watch with his awful promos.I mean when the hell will this guy will stop to sell his stupid Facial reconstructive surgery gimmick when we can’t even see a tiny scar on his face.He has been wining over that for 6 months now.I guess WWE is making sure to make Smackdown as bad as possible.
I think Jinder Mahal made a strong debut.Much better than the so called International “botch-botch” Sincara.But me being from India doesn’t have anything to write anything Jinder Mahal’s favour.
Talking about Sincara I still can’t understand why WWE invested so much in this guy who is nothing but a pot full of botches.I guess John Morrison has better moves and performs them with perfection.Sincara only looked good in his promos which were shown before his debut.There was this one move which was the major part of the promos.Sincara giving headscissors and then landing on his feet.That never happened.
The Best part is Booker T’s annoying commentary when Sin cara is out in the ring.

Booker T – “Whaa-What the hell! I have never seen anything like that before.This kid is Unbelievable!. HAHAHAHA”
Sincara comes out and gives a never before seen Chest-scissors to Cody Rhodes.

Booker T – “ Woaaa! Wo-wo WOWWW. I have never seen that before!. Hahahaha”

Kevin - I couldn't agree more about R-Truth needing to get serious. He's already crossing the line between "dangerous nutjob" into "comedy nut job." As funny as his Civil War dress-up and promo was, he really does not seem like any sort of threat to Cena right now. If WWE had guts, they'd use that to their advantage and have Truth actually BEAT Cena in a shocking upset. I mean, the still have 10 months until Wrestlemania...they're not really going to have Super Cena mow through everyone, are they??

To the people complaining about SCSA being a bully and WWE's involvement in anti-bullying awareness... WWE is trying to get people to not be bullies in real life, while their product is ENTERTAINMENT. It is not people being themselves. Learn to separate the two. Especially you, Angelina.

You know what i will never understand you guys and your hate for cena, i just will never understand it. The guy has worked on his character for a long time and i see the accomplishment, Do most of you recall, hulk hogan was thunderlips before he was just hulk hogan. Just face the fact the cena is good role model for the kids, he is not made for you, he puts out a positive message and i think some of you think you wish that you could be like him. hmmmmmm?

I am taking my 7-yr old son to Capital Punishment and I am seriously worried about this card. The only announced match is Cena vs. R Truth. While I'd love for R Truth to get the mega-push and somehow take the title, we know Cena will win in a squash. I'm sure we'll get another Rey vs. CM Punk match and a Big Show vs. Albert Del Rio. Needless to say, there's nothing exciting on this card. Next week's All Stars show is likely to be a betetr show.

Did anyone catch Michael "The Tool" Cole's comment during the Zack Ryder match? He said Kofi was going to provide a good match up with Zack Ziggler? Bring back JR!

While R-Truth is kinda funny as a heel, I have somewhat of a hard time really hating on him, I loved his previous gimmick (I don't know, proly cuz I love rap, hence one of the reasons I'm a big Cena fan). He was definitly over with the fans singing "what's up" along with him, I probably would've given him his big push but as a face and on Smackdown, they really need some top-level talent.

SCSA has always been a badass, bully tweener...good lord. They're not going to change him because of some PR move anti-bullying campaign. C'mon, people.

Just have to ask with rumors of Mick Foley's return do you think he will be reveled as the Raw GM i did like Raw as well R Truth and Stone Cold hilarious much better than TNA i kind of like the push Kelly Kelly is getting hopefully see some gold around her waist soon .

RESPONSE FROM KE: I don't see Mick being the GM. Not a big enough surprise.

I've always liked R-truth, he has always been fun to watch wrestle, and this new side of him is killer. F.y.i R-truth got his start in the WWE before he ever thought about going to Tna. Does anyone remember his WWE Rookie name? It's similar to his new one since it seems he has a fascination with letters of the alphabet. ;The answer is K-quik.

R-truth has proven 1 thing to me... he is an elite heel (persona & mic skill wise), now just make him a credible in-ring threat like you where saying Eck and I honestly think you can move the Miz (after the Riley program) to Smackdown to become the alpha heel over there... people forget that after of the $ in the bank cash in Orton never got his revenge on the Miz, would like to see a longer program between them two personally... I think I know what I've hated about Del Rio's promos for a while now: It's that annoying way he yells his own name at the beginning. It's good when Rodrigez says it like that, but not him. He just needs to say it all quiet and smooth-like, which is what hispersona was advertised as intially, The "Dos Equis" guy.

As far as the WWE's anti-bullying campaign goes, I thought it was hysterical how they had the Bella twins in their anti-bullying commercial a week after they basically verbally trashed Kharma for being pregnant - tell me that's not ironic.

Good thing the Kofi-Ryder match was a non-title matchup....for Ryder's wwe internet championship that is

CENA IS A ROLE MODEL FOR KIDS. YEAH!RIGHT
he was drinking beer in front of all the kids. Enough of cena already, he is boring.
Give cm punk a push.
And when was the last time supercena lost cleanly.

R-Truth is the most interesting character in quite some time. Just hilarious. As much as I have enjoyed the Miz the last two years, Truth is even better.
They gotta keep the push going.

Kevin, It definitely caught me by surprise that WWE was not only acknowledging Zack Ryder's YouTube Videos but also promoting them during his (also surprising) match on Raw. Do you think the only reason WWE used him on Monday is because the next Raw (3-Hour All Star episode) is held in Long Island (Uniondale), NY and they plan on giving him a segment?

R-Truth has definitely tapped into something. He was comedy gold in the opening segment, just because it was so surreal. What's made him compelling is that you don't know exactly what he's going to say or do next.

A few weeks ago I realized that, essentially, Killings' character is a full-on paranoid schizophrenic. The distrust and conspiracy theories, the mumbling to himself, the friendliness that switches over into anger. It's rather like someone you'd see at a street corner downtown (and it's really not singular to one particular race) Other than Foley's Mankind, it's the most credible "mental health issues" gimmick I can recall (guys like Norman or George Steele were much more cartoonish). As long as he mixes the meanness with the comedy he'll keep from crossing the Santino Line. The bonus for R-Truth: if he rambles or his promo lines don't make sense, it's all in character!

It was also refreshing in general to see Killings, Riley and the Miz interacting with McMahon and Austin. After an era where so many of the top guys got to regularly work with the Boss, it really gave some credibility for them to share time onscreen. Even when Riley knew the post-match ring was for Cena and Austin alone, I was glad to see Austin give him the extra rub by tossing a Stevewiser outside the ring to him.

P.S. On Riley: he was very over with the crowd, with a well-designed intro (wish they'd given this type of music to Daniel Bryan). His facial expressions are good, and his non-match brawling has a nice realistic look to it. He just needs a distinct move set and a catchphrase or two to truly grow beyond just being the former Mini-Miz. At least the stupid "R" varsity jacket seems long gone.

It always amuses me when Cena marks accuse those of us who dislike Cena of being jealous of him. This isn't the place for a diatribe against Cena, but I assure you his physical attributes have absolutely nothing to do with it.

To give you something to think about: name the last time Cena lost cleanly.

I've got to admit, Truth is growing on me. It's far too slow of a process for me to root for him, even against Cena, but I don't actively dislike him. I am worried that his character sometimes skews too far into stereotype and cartoon, and I don't trust creative to consistently know where that line is.

I just don't get why the last two times there's been a face guest referee, they've cost the heels the match. We know that in the PG era, faces are king, and the higher you rank, the more of a classic face you need to be (see Orton's split-kick celebration), but for creative to be so blatant is surprising, even by the PG era standards.

I guess I understand the people who are mad at Stone Cold for being a "bully." It's easy for some to forget that what we watch is an entertainment product and that wrestlers are playing roles. I don't think it's fair to call Stone Cold's character a bully, though. We can agree to disagree. However, to disregard his contributions to the modern WWE, and the fans who continue to love him for it is, for me, inexcusable. Without Stone Cold, the WWE would never have surpassed WCW, which wouldn't have caused WCW to get panicked and eventually resort to horrible angles like the Fingerpoke of Doom. Without Stone Cold, it's very possible that there would be no WWE today. That deserves, if not your fanship, then at least your respect.

I just don't get Del Rio. He does nothing for me. The cars are pretty, but I watch Top Gear on Mondays after Raw for my exotic car fix. I know he's hear to stay, but I find myself wishing I could fast forward whenever he shows up. I wish Punk could get the push they're giving Del Rio.

I'm guessing they're putting Zach Ryder on TV more so when Andy takes his rightful spot as the bottom jobber, they'll need to use Ryder more often.

I'm ok wit hthe Austin beer show. It's reliable and it's the last piece if the Attitude Era now that HBK left the building with his DX persona. The best part is when they get stiffs like Orton and Riley involved. Or better yet convincing the heel to drink with him and then the stunner with the beer flying like 20 feet in the air perfect. Anytime Michael Cole gets a stunner I'm all for it. I'm sure JR will be at the table next week.

Actually, Raymond Reid, R-Truth's name was spelled K-Kwik, and that piece of "trivia" is very well known in most wrestling fan circles.

Anyway, the company will do themselves no favors by having Cena stomp all over Truth at CP. They need to make it at least an even, knock-down, drag-out fight; with maybe even having him upset Cena for the title. They don't help themselves by continuing to make Cena practically invulnerable.

When the agrument of when the last time Cena lost cleanly comes up people bash Cena for it. Read this slow so you can understand...Nothing goes on TV, a PPV, NXT, Tough Enough, WWE.com, DVDs, hats, t shirts, keychains,ipod holders, or special collectors cups from 7-11, without the Vince McManahon stamp of approvel on it. If Cena doesn't lose clean it is by Vince's design.
As Booker T would say, "Don't hate the player hate the game."

So people complain about Cena never losing cleanly? Like Andre the Midget said, it's because of the way he's booked. Besides, how often do faces lose cleanly anyways? Usually if it's a dominant monster (The Great Khali) or maybe a mid-card face against a main-event heel. Besides, even though I know that it's very unlikely for Cena to lose cleanly, there's still a level of suspense that he can lose, sometimes it's kinda interesting to see how a heel will cheat to beat him. Anyways, I can name about 3 times he's lost cleanly since 07:
1-hour match on Raw with Shawn Michaels
Tables match against Sheamus for the WWE championship
vs. JBL in parking lot brawl at the GAB in 08
But then again, since Orton turned face, how often has he lost cleanly?

My first time posting, but I wanted to respond to a few things I have been reading above.
First of all, I just want to say that this blog (and the comments) are top notch and informative. Thanks for writing these posts, Eck.
Second, I wanted to articulate exactly why some of us dislike Cena as vehemently as we do, since there seems to be a genuine disconnect between his fans and detractors. I can only speak for myself, but I would say the biggest problems I have with Cena are the uninteresting matches and storylines his character and booking inevitably generate, and the inescapable feeling of having my intelligence and savvy insulted by each promo he cuts.

I think it is pretty well accepted by most fans that Cena is basically booked as invincible and perfect. He wins almost every match he is in and can only be defeated by heel trickery or cheating (which is also surprisingly rare against him). This results in matches which have pre-determined outcomes that everyone knows long before they begin (just look at last month’s “I-Quit” match as an example of one where we knew weeks ahead who would win). This further results in matches which are not interesting, regardless of the quality of work in the match itself (since the outcome is never in doubt). Competition (even scripted competition) derives a huge share of its excitement and energy from the sense that anyone can win. This is why we love to root against the Yankees, Manchester United and the Patriots. People like underdogs, they like a sense of parity in competition, they dislike monolithic champions that cannot be unseated.

In addition to the antipathy that Cena generates through his unbeatable champion booking, there is a distinct note of pandering to his character and promos which has a lot to do with why I dislike his character. This pandering aspect is best summed up by his co-opting of the armed forces. The only other people in American life who have identified themselves so closely with the military without actually serving in it are politicians! Saying that “we support our troops” has become a short-hand for having a good character, being patriotic and strong. Politicians (and Cena) use these connotations to try to co-opt the honor of those that have served in the military for themselves. The continuing pandering use of the dog-tags and salute insult the intelligence of the fans. We are supposed to cheer for him because “how could you possibly cheer against someone that supports the troops?” Meanwhile, Randy Orton has actually served in the military but you would never know it from his promos. This naked condescension towards the fans and our ability to think critically is what really makes me dislike Mr. Cena’s character.
As a person, I’m sure he’s not a bad guy and I wouldn’t mind meeting him anytime. It is just this character which is really grating and annoying to so many of us. Sorry to go so long, just had a lot to say.

@ Mr. Tom

This articulate opinion lives up to the your assessment, with which I concur, of the little village the Eck-meister has assembled here.

Re. the Cena character, let's not forget that a fair bit of this lengthy ultra-babyface run of his occurred during a "goody-two-shoes," pretty vanilla timeframe, whatever the reasons (political campaigns, major sponsors) may have been for all that.
Additionally, in the overriding blueprint of pro wrestling, the fan is supposed to cheer for good guy and ultimately that loyalty is rewarded with victory. (At some point in "fandom," it gets cools to pull for the bad guy, but I think that's a different discussion.) In many ways, this hero embodies the societal norm of the time for "all that's good and pure" -- Cena, Hogan, Backlund, Bruno, maybe even Bret Hart. Even when a heel gets a long title run (think JBL), what's driving the story and our rooting interest is the desire to see this amoral monster get his come-uppance. So, as annoying as the Cena character may be, there's precedent if not an archtype for it.

A columnist at another stop in my cyber-reading recently offered the opinion that, while there a numerous good "storyline" reasons for turning Cena heel (he even offers an elaborate piece of year-long fantasy booking for the idea), it would be illogical in every other business sense to turn him, so they won't. I'll tell you where to find this if you'd like, but I must warn you that the Comment section won't be nearly as stimulating as this one.

Thanks again for sharing your "voice."