A Special Raw ... And a Special Birthday!

So we didn't ultimately ITVR this past week due to the fact we never did catch the entirety of Smackdown - though a goodly amount of it. Bottom line, there wasn't much to talk about newsworthiness-wise. Don't take that the wrong way though. While not game-changers, Raw and Smackdown were both good shows; Daniel Bryan and AJ continue to have an excellent dynamic, with, I think, an AJ heel turn imminent (and by extension a Daniel Bryan face turn, or a repairing) after her wailing on Natalya following another verbal lashing by Bryan - who delivered, by the way, a tremendous promo. Raw was strong as well, featuring Brock Lesnar in UFC countdown-style sitdown interview segments which worked well for him, John Cena cut a more serious promo than he has done in a long time, some more excellent work between CM Punk and Chris Jericho, and all around the WWE pulling out the stops for their overseas fans. There were just no major title changes or storyline progressions, or much that happened off-camera, to make the week feel particularly special.

Back Stateside this week, however, we have a three-hour Raw special tonight - note the airtime change at 8pm instead of 9pm, although still at 9 in Canada on the Score. It is also a bit ironic that John Cena, Raw's poster boy, will be putting in some overtime tonight ... his 35th birthday! We wish, of course, all the happiest returns to the Doctor of Thuganomics ... I mean ... the Champ ... I mean, John. :)

We will be podcasting early this week to make up for missed time; please tune in midweek this week (Wednesday or Thursday at the latest) for an ITVR where we recap tonight's Raw special and preview this Sunday's Extreme Rules pay-per-view. Meanwhile, be well!