Official Raw/Smackdown Aftermath, Ratings and Review Thread

Grade tonight's RAW.

  • A

  • B

  • C

  • D

  • F

Results are only viewable after voting.
RAW/The Slammy Awards-12/13/2010

David Arquette/Shocker of the Year Award

Arquette is here...and he might be hammered drunk. He plays the heel role, as if he had any choice. Nexus wins the Shocker award, and definitely should have. Wade runs his mouth a little bit too much, and gets thrown into a match with The Big Slow.

Big Show vs. Wade Barrett

Only two things I liked about this. 1. Show taking Wade's award away from him, daring him to get it back. 2. It ended quickly. I am totally uninterested in most everything Show does now-a-days, and besides taking the Slammy, this was no different.

Kelly Kelly/Tyson with his Bodyguard presenting the Despicable Me Award/CM Punk

Tyson Kidd needs to cut his goddamn hair, NOW.

Kelly Kelly is still the hottest chick in the WWE, and it isn't even close, I don't care what any of you say. I would have given this award to Mr. McMahon for kicking Bret in "the gut," but I guess McMahon really can't show up right now (kayfabe and whatnot). Punk is a good choice though. I'm interested to see who Punk is talking about, hopefully it's Daniel Bryan.

Kofi/Daniel Bryan vs. DiBiase/Ziggler

This was nothing. Short match, a few spots, etc. Kofi still looks as though he has no idea how to pace a match out. He's either full-tilt, or in complete rest. Nothing in between, and that's why I think Kofi is horribly overrated.

Santino and Vladimir/Slammy Award for Best Host/Pee Wee Herman

THIS is how you put together a random tag team. You make them not-so-random. You keep together, and find common ground. It's not that hard. Santino and Kozlov were funny as hell tonight. Anyway, the award goes to Pee Wee Herman, and unfortunately his speech goes on about a minute too long.

Cody Rhodes vs. Miz-Ark

Always happy to see a Cody Rhodes win..and a Miz-Ark loss. How does Mark Henry still have a job??? Still, Cody beat a monster of a man, which can't hurt his credibility.

Jerry Lawler and Vickie present the Award for Holy S*%# Moment of the Year/John Cena

Lawler is hilarious here. This promo, right here, shows Jerry Lawler is NOT the problem on commentary, Vince McMahon is. Plain and simple, it's Vince's fault that Lawler isn't funny anymore.

Cena wins this for FU'ing Batista off of the car. This is bullshit. COMPLETE bullshit. Orton's RKO from the AirBourne was a hell of a lot sweeter than this. This FU off of the car shouldn't have even been nominated. This is garbage, and it makes me not even want to talk about what happened after. Barrett re-hires Cena, they are having a chairs match at TLC, blah, blah, blah. Complete bullshit.

David Arquette/The Little Demon Girl/Miz and Riley

I think it's awesome that they brought this girl in. Her face was the most memorable thing of that night, outside of Miz winning. Miz comes out, and takes her trophy. Gives him major heat at least. GM says it's Miz vs. Mysterio...just great.

Miz vs. Mysterio

I still think Miz is incredibly boring, but he's cheating to win all of the time, and I like that. Not every heel champion needs to be dominant, and he's playing the coward quite well. This match wasn't anything special, but it worked.

Edge/Christian/Meltdown Award

This was beyond disappointing. E&C are really funny together, and WWE did nothing with it. They were boring, and Edge won for beating up the computer. Calling Cole a tool was pretty funny though.

Sheamus vs. John Morrison

Good way to set up their match at TLC. I think Morrison wins at TLC, setting up Miz/Morrison at Royal Rumble. HHH returning at TLC? Screwing Sheamus out of his title shot? I think it's possible.

I'm skipping EVERYTHING having to do with the Women. It all sucked.

Edge vs. Jack Swagger

Swagger loses again, which shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone. Man, Edge is out of shape.

HBK/Moment of the Year

I wish they had gone with HBK/Bret Hart together, giving them both something for that awesome moment. But, Shawn at Mania had to be recognized.

Randy Orton vs. David Arquette/Alex Riley

I think the interactions between Arquette and Orton were the highlight of the night. Every time Orton looked at Arquette, I Marked-TFO. Orton is still a master of in-ring psychology, and can stare a hole through anyone. Props to David for taking that HUGE powerbomb. Great segment here.

Michael Cole/Line of the Year

Did they even tell us what the specific line was?? I don't think so. Cole babbles on and on, and is getting more annoying by the second. Pretty sad when you're forced to turn your play-by-play guy into a heel because he's already hated that badly. How about firing him istead?? Any takers??

Superstar of the Year

Cena wins this award, and I shouldn't be shocked. Was this really a fan poll? Just curious. I think it should have gone to Orton, but whatever. I guess going from the most hated heel in the business to the most popular means nothing :wtf:

Cena vs. Otunga

David Otunga makes John Cena look like Kurt Angle out there. Otunga is so terrible, I am actually in shock that he still has a job. Terrible match, with Cena squashing him. I hope this Nexus thing goes somewhere soon, it's getting old.

OVERALL: B

This was a good show. Lots of comedy, the Arquette/Orton thing was awesome, and it didn't really have a dull moment. Definitely an above-average Raw.
 
I'm surprised no one has mentioned it, but the Ziggler/DiBiase vs. Kofi/DBD tag match ended in a total botch. DiBiase rolled out of the ring without making the tag, Bryan tagged Kofi and Ziggler came in to run interference, ultimately taking Trouble in Paradise for his efforts. Kofi pinned him and DiBiase came in to make the save, but stopped short as the referee hit the mat for three and Kofi's music hit. Kofi stared at the referee looking bewildered, holding up three fingers and asking, "THREE!?" Cut to Maryse and Vicki who look surprised. Kofi and DBD celebrate, Kofi's expression basically being, "Okay, then! That was fucked, but we'll take it!" I rewound my DVR and watched it again to make sure I saw what I thought I saw. Am I the only one who noticed this?

They sure are making Riley pay for keeping his job. Teaming with David Arquette and taking the pin? Sheesh.
 
WWE Monday Night Raw - December 13, 2010

Slammy Awards - I figure I'll just group all the various award presentations into one bit here. I liked how the awards were generally treated this year as opposed to last year. Last year's Slammy show absolutely sucked but the award presentation themselves had something of a different feel about them. The first award, Shocker of the Year went to The Nexus and rightfully so. Barrett comes out and gets himself a little trophy and does his thing alright. Tyson Kidd showed some personality out there when he came out with Kelly Kelly to present the Despicable Me award. Jackson Andrews just looks fucking monsterous beside Kelly & Kidd. CM Punk won the award, rightfully so, for singing Habby Birthday to Mysterio's daughter. It had a legitimately creepy feeling to it and anytime you can make a little girl cry in wrestling is a fantastic heel moment. I love what Punk's been doing on commentary and he deserved that one. For Guest Star Shining Moment of the Year, I thought William Shatner should've gotten it personally. Shatner doing his thing is just great and I think is legitimately funny. However, I will say that Pee-Wee Herman's guest star stint went loads better than I thought it would. I definitely didn't agree with the Holy *#&$ Award. Randy Orton & Even Bourne both got hosed. Orton hitting the RKO while Bourne was going into Air Bourne was just plain sick. Eat a pecker Cena. The Oh Snap Meltdown Award presentation was fun and I know some people hated it but I thought Edge made it work by just going apey on the laptop. It was great seeing Christian come out there with Edge and their little back and forth was funny. The Knucklehead Moment of the Year didn't make a lot of sense, but LayCool looked hot when they came out and accepted. The WWE Moment of the Year was nice and it was good to see Shawn Michaels again, even though he wasn't in the arena. His last WWE match and a sequel to possibly the greatest WM match ever was a helluva moment. Quote of the Year with Michael Cole being his usual tool self was fun. I like Michael Cole with the character he's been doing this year. As for Superstar of the Year, of course John Cena is gonna win that. I'd have marked out and started humping air if anybody else but Cena would've won that. Overall, the Slammy Awards in and of themselves were fun. There were a few legitimately funny moments and some appearances by guys that we miss and haven't seen in a while. Nothing overly fantastic about them but they didn't come across as much of a joke as they have before. Thumbs Up

The Big Show vs. Wade Barrett - I didn't really see what the point of this match was to be quite honest. Show did his thing being a dominant physical force with Barrett eventually just taking a powder and getting counted out. Nothing much to say here and it just wasn't interesting to watch. Thumbs Down

Daniel Bryan & Kofi Kingston vs. Dolph Ziggler & Ted DiBiase - I was disappointed in this match and it just didn't really seem to click. It should have gone for much longer than it did, considering who was in it. I very much believe that the match was intended to be longer but DiBiase botched the save after Ziggler got hit by Trouble in Paradise. Thumbs Down

Mark Henry vs. Dashing Cody Rhodes - Surprisingly, I thought this match was pretty decent while it lasted. I thought it'd be Mark Henry just dominating Cody Rhodes all over the place but that's not what we got. Cody Rhodes got in a surprising amount of offense against Henry and was able to score a decisive victory. It's nice to see a match up featuring a 400 pounder actually end with the much smaller wrestler getting a clean and decisive win. Thumbs Up

The Miz vs. Rey Mysterio - Overall, I thought this was a pretty solid match. It wasn't a classic and there was a major botch, but it was nicely paced with both wrestlers getting in some offense. Del Rio's interference in the match was more a distraction than anything else as it didn't incapacitate Rey. Miz rolled him up for a small package and got the win a little past the 7 minute mark. Nice heel win for Miz, and yes heels are supposed to cheat to score most of their victories, and a little extra heat for Del Rio/Mysterio at TLC. Thumbs Up

Sheamus & John Morrison - I was disappointed at first that the match was thrown out, though only for about 5 seconds because I realized that this meant they were probably going to be added to the ppv. Morrison & Sheamus really went after each other here and I liked the energy and aggression. After the match gets tossed, the Raw GM announces that they'll have a ladder match at the ppv and the winner becomes the new #1 contender for the WWE Championship. Sweet. Sheamus goes to work on Morrison again and tosses him up over his head onto a ladder that he has set up. It looked great, sounded great and hurt a little. Thumbs Up

Diva Battle Royal - There was some succulent female flesh all over the place in this match if nothing else. As a Diva battle royal, I knew that this wasn't going to be some all out classic but I just couldn't really get into this too much. Battle royals that last 3.5 minutes just don't float my boat, though there were a few legitimately fun eliminations that happened. Michelle McCool won the thing and thus became Diva of the Year. Can't say that I'm surprised. It was alright for what it was but that just wasn't much. Thumbs Down

Randy Orton vs. Alex Riley & David Arquette - It was predictable but I liked it because I got to see Mr. Courtney Cox put through a table. I knew it was gonna happen and I liked it anyhow. Arquette was a good sport and was good in his role all throughout the night. He came off as an annoying little shit and that's exactly how everyone wants to see him when it comes to anything wrestling related. This was my little feel good moment of the night as seeing Arquette stretchered out just made me feel all warm and tingly. Thumbs Up

John Cena vs. David Otunga - Basically, this was a squash match that we all knew Cena was going to win. It was kinda fun seeing him whack Otunga with a steel chair several times afterward. Wade Barrett comes across as very calm throughout the whole night and it makes me wonder and hope that he has something up his sleev come TLC. The closing segment gave the fans a feel good moment, their hero came back and all was right with the world. Thumbs Up

Overall Show - I wasn't really expecting much from this show but I thought the majority of it was pretty fun. Wrestling content on the show was pretty weak overall and I wish that hadn't have been the case. However, there were some fun moments with the Slammys themselves and I thought they did a good job of building interest for the TLC ppv. Four matches were announced tonight: John Cena vs. Wade Barrett in a Chairs Match, John Morrison vs. Sheamus in a #1 contender Ladder Match, Dolph Ziggler vs. Kofi Kingston vs. Jack Swagger in a triple threat Latter Match for the IC title & a Divas tag team Table Match with Nataly & Beth Phoenix vs. LayCool. I'm especially looking forward to the two ladder matches announced, both because they could very well steal the show and what's at stake in the matches. I thought the Slammys has been the weakest of Raw's 3 hour specials, but it was still much better than last year's Slammys and a more entertaining show than I thought it'd be.

Grade: B-
 
My main gripe with the entire show was that it was perfectly obvious that the awards were fixed in such a way as to set up matches and promos. You can't tell me that Cena winning Holy %#@* Moment, then bringing out Barrett for his Cena decision was not a setup. Everyone and his brother knows that the award was bullshit. Cena gets "rehired", wins Superstar of the Year and conveniently is there to walk to the ring for his match. Yes, that was supposedly due to fan voting, and Cena is logical under those circumstances. Saying it's based on fan vote always sounds fishy to me, anyway. I seriously question the legitimacy of "fan voting", even with NXT. Regardless of the fact that Miz had a better year than anyone, you can easily make the case that, if it was staged, it had to do with screen time and opportunistic timing. Miz held a good portion of the show and developing the Cena angle at that point was the ideal scenario for Creative to capitalize on it. Sure, it's wrestling and wrestling is staged, but you'd think that, especially with awards that were not based on a fan vote, they would have made some of them seem a bit more logical so that people wouldn't think what I'm thinking.
 
Smackdown
Date: December 17, 2010
Location: Cajundome, Lafayette, Louisiana
Commentators: Josh Matthews, Michael Cole, Matt Striker

Back to the Friday show this week after a long wrestling week. It’s the go home show for TLC which I liked last year so hopefully they can give us something good here too. This should be a decent enough show I’d assume as it’s Smackdown after all. We’ll get the fallout from Edge more or less being involved in the death of Paul Bearer. That was his second death I believe? Anyway let’s get to it.

Theme song opens us up. It’s getting better every time I hear it.

Here’s Edge to an ERUPTION. He talks about how bizarre the last few weeks have been but has a video about it to truly show us how weird it’s gotten. Cue Benny Hill music. This just hammers in the reality of how stupid this whole thing has been. Anyway Edge says this is all about Kane and it’s all because he’s evil. So says the man that caused a guy to be shoved off a ladder after kidnapping him for a month.

Edge reminds us of how evil Kane has been the year, mainly focusing on the whole Undertaker thing. He wanted to fight fire with fire with Kane so he got down to Kane’s evil level. No one thinks he went to far, at least not the audience. Edge: Kane has lost his mind, even moreso than usual. Fan: HE LOST HIS HAIR TOO! Edge says he’ll win tonight and that’s about it.

Miz vs. Rey tonight. Should be good.

Kane is distraught apparently and might not be at the PPV. Edge asks what we’re going to do as he doesn’t want the title by forfeit. Notice the very subtle face aspect right there. Alberto comes in and says that Teddy wanted to see him. Rey comes in too and says no don’t give him the shot. If Kane isn’t back by Sunday, it’s a triple threat TLC match for the title between these three. That was a bit random. Alberto doesn’t like being a backup plan so Teddy just makes it a fatal fourway for the title in a TLC match. I guess 7 gimmick matches were too many?

Kofi Kingston/Kaval vs. Dolph Ziggler/Jack Swagger

Should be good. Swagger vs. Kaval, who still has a somewhat bad ankle, starts us off. Kaval goes for a Tajiri handspring into a cross body but Swagger catches him in a nice display of power. Kofi comes in and everything goes insane with dives, leaving the good guys in the ring as we take a break.

Back with Swagger holding Kaval on the mat with a double chickenwing. We’re mainly talking about the triple threat IC Title match which is kind of awkward as everyone but Kaval isn’t in it. Off to Ziggler now who keeps it on the mat. Striker picks Swagger for the ladder match as does Cole. Matthews says Kofi will win due to his hunger. Kaval accidently tries to tag out in the wrong corner which gets a nice reaction from Dolph.

Kaval reverses a German by the American but can’t tag the African. Kaval has been in this for about 90% of the match but he keeps fighting and a double stomp keeps Swagger down. There’s the tag and here comes Kofi. Striker gets a good line: Who needs a ladder when you’re Kofi Kingston? Boom Drop to Ziggler and here comes Trouble in Paradise but Ziggler ducks. SOS gets two as Swagger saves. Kaval takes him to the floor and there’s Trouble in Paradise to end this at 7:05 shown of 10:35.

Rating: B. Fun match here with a shortened version of the standard formula. It was still well done though and the result is a good tag match. Kaval is growing on me every time I see him and this was no exception. Ziggler’s selling of that kick is perfect as he collapses every time it hits him. Good match.

Swagger beats up Ziggler post match, prompting Vickie to reach new levels of screeching.

Some new guy that looks to be about 15 talks to Miz. Miz isn’t sure why he’s here as he already beat Rey to start his week. Miz: How did you start you week Jack? Jack: Actually….Miz: Actually I don’t care. Miz lists off everything he’s done this week which is an amazing list actually. After he lists off all the days, Riley busts out A PARTRIDGE IN A PEAR TREE! Good stuff.

JTG has his own segment now where he hypes up TLC. It’s called Straight Outta Brooklyn. See it’s funny because he talks strangely.

Kaitlyn and Kelly are talking when Drew comes up to hit on Kelly. Drew is tall, handsome and has charm. Naturally he’s a heel. Why not? The acting here is pretty awful but Drew says he’s a different person outside the ring. He asks her out but Kaitlyn comes up to save her before there was an answer.

It’s the return of Grooming Tips with Dashing Cody Rhodes! I need these tips! This time it’s about hair, including a special portion on selecting the right hairdryer as it needs to look right and feel right in your hand. It’s going to be spending a lot of time there so make sure it’s the right one.

Cody Rhodes vs. Chris Masters

Decent pop for Masters who now has pyro. Masters takes over with power to start and hits a gorilla press. And never mind as Cody shoves him off the top while he’s getting punched in the corner and the Cross Rhodes ends this in maybe 1:00 at most.

Rey Mysterio vs. The Miz

Should be good again. Stalling to start as Cole praises Miz and how awesome he’s been this year, which is true. Rey slips a bit on a leapfrog and Miz gets a clothesline to take over. Matthews and Striker commend Miz so Cole says there’s plenty of room for them on the Miz Train to Mizville. Miz takes out the ankle of Rey and gets a baseball slide to send Rey’s ribs into the post.

Rey speeds things up but can’t get the 619. Seated Senton to the floor takes down Riley though as we take a break. Back with Miz holding Rey on the mat as the crowd is WAY into this. Rey gets a spinout DDT to take care of the momentum and both guys are down. They slug it out from their knees with Rey winning, allowing him to hit a springboard cross body for two.

Miz stomps away and hits the running corner clothesline to further his dominance. For some reason he goes up though and that of course doesn’t work very well for him at all. Top rope rana puts the champion down for two. He sets for the 619 but Riley distracts. Alberto comes out and trips up Rey to give Miz a rollup for two. Rey gets the 619 and kicks Alberto and sets for the springboard splash. It eats knees though and that’s enough for the pin at 9:30 shown of 13:00.

Rating: B-. Solid stuff again here as Miz gets to rub elbows with guys like Rey. That’s nothing but good for him as he’s going to have good matches with them as well as it makes him look all the more legit. This was pretty good actually as Miz delivers another good but not great match which is certainly his custom.

Alberto beats down Rey again but Edge saves. Teddy makes a tag match for the main event with the teams being exactly who you would expect them to be.

Back from a break and here’s Laycool. They’re here to protest the tables match on Sunday, saying that it won’t happen. They just refuse to do it because it’s barbaric and here come Natalya and Beth with their own table. Natalya asks when Laycool started making the decisions here. Without missing a beat they say in unison: “We run this show.” Laycool says that Natalya and Beth belong in the men’s division based on their looks.

We find out why Beth never talks as she cuts a really weak promo against Laycool. It does amuse me that they find Beth and Natalya masculine when their boobs are hanging all over the place. They unwrap the gift table they have and there’s a caricature of Laycool on it. At least I think it’s Laycool. The good girls beat up Laycool but can’t put Layla through it like they want to.

Tag champions in action next.

Santino Marella/Vladimir Kozlov vs. Chavo Guerrero/Tyler Reks

Another non-title match for Chavo here. Santino vs. Reks starts us off and the comedy begins early. Off to Kozlov who gets beaten down with ease also. The camera is rather odd here as they’re filming through the middle and bottom rope rather than the typical shot they have. The two smaller guys come in with Santino beating on Chavo. I would say Santino winds up playing Ricky Morton but that feels too wrong to say.

Santino literally swims over to Kozlov who is pounded on by Chavo. His solution: KICK HIM IN THE FACE. Chavo tries to come off the middle rope but runs into Kozlov’s Cranium. Here’s Santino again and the CORBA pins Chavo. You would think him yelling COBRA right before Chavo turned around would tip Chavo off. Match ran about 3:40.

Rating: C-. Glorified comedy match but that’s all it needed to be really. Santino continues his ridiculously popular run and I have no problem with them giving him a tag title given the pops he’s getting. If the fans are as into him as anything else all night, why not? It’s not like the titles meant anything anyway. Match was filler but it wasn’t aiming any higher than that which is fine.

Ezekiel Jackson will be on Smackdown next week. Odd but ok.

Raw Recap and PPV rundown eat up some time.

Alberto Del Rio/The Miz vs. Edge/Rey Mysterio

Ricardo’s mic isn’t working at first and he seems a good bit ticked off about it. Most of the intros occur during a break which is nice as we get more wrestling. Edge vs. Miz starts us off here. Edge gets beaten down by both guys for a good while until he brings Rey in. It’s Rey’s turn to get beaten down for awhile now also.

We’re five minutes into this now and it’s been one sided almost the entire time. After one of the longest extended heel beatdowns to start a match I can remember Edge comes back in but Riley stops the spear on the Miz. Edgecution gets two instead as Alberto makes the save and Josh coughs a lot. Kane is here!

Edge hits the spear on Miz and here comes Kane. He takes down Edge which would be a lot more dramatic if Kane hadn’t already had two matches with him recently. A bunch of Smackdown guys come out to pull Kane off Edge and a big pull apart brawl ends the show. We’ll say the match ended at about 9:00. Edge gets a spear to Kane to end things.

Rating: C-. Kind of an underwhelming main event with the LONG heel beatdown being the vast majority of this one. The ending hurts it a bit but it’s refreshing to see Kane finally showing some anger rather than moaning and yelling about how mad he is. This wasn’t a great match or anything but it worked fine for a main event with all three guys in the at the time triple threat and then Kane running in at the end. Not bad but nothing great.

Overall Rating: B. Solid show this week and a good buildup to the PPV. I’m really not sure why they nixed Rey vs. Alberto. I know Rey is working hurt so maybe that had something to do with it as Rey couldn’t work a one on one match on his own. The show had some very solid wrestling on it combined with the final push for the matches Sunday. I’m not interested in Edge vs. Kane still, but adding the other two in helps a bit as it opens up some more doors. Good show overall with solid stuff throughout.
 
WWE Friday Night SmackDown! - December 17, 2010

Opening Segment - On the surface, the opening with Edge just coming out and giving the kind of promo he did could be viewed as boring. Personally, I thought the simplistic and straightforward approach that they took here felt kind of refreshing. It was a promo segment that lasted a little over 5 minutes and Edge was basically able to get across what he needed to. He didn't scream, he didn't jump around or do any sort of big scary impressive voice, he just said his peace. I thought the little video montage of his past weeks of torturing Kane & Paul Bearer with "Yakety Sax" playing was a nice little touch. The stuff that they've done over the past month with this feud hasn't exactly been what I'd call great or anything, but it is what it is. Thumbs Up

Kofi Kingston & Kaval vs. Dolph Ziggler & Jack Swagger - Very fun, fast paced tag team match to start the night off with. To variable degrees, Kofi, Kaval & Swagger have all had some involvement in the IC title picture and bringing them together here worked. Kaval did his thing in there, which continues to just be plain fun to watch. The crowd was majorly hot for Kofi tonight and that spring board clothesline he hit on Dolph Ziggler looked fantastic. Kofi & Kaval pick up the win a little past the 11 minute mark after Ziggler catches Trouble in Paradise. I like how Ziggler sells the kick and just falls bonelessly to the canvas. Just looks realistic to me. Post match, having Swagger punch Ziggler was a good little finishing touch because I like the idea of the two of them not just teaming up together at the ppv to keep Kofi grounded before eventually turning on each other. It's a little tweak in the formula that works for me. I just wish Swagger would've maybe pie faced Vickie before walking out of the ring as it would've just been a near perfect ending. Thumbs Up

The Miz - I thought that the little backstage promo from The Miz was a good one because it's very easy for a viewer to believe that The Miz truly believes everything he says. Miz describing his week, how he's been all over the place and what he's done; his "week of a champion" bit was well done and he seems extremely confident. Riley jumped in looking like a goon but got a laugh out of the crowd so it was all good. Thumbs Up

Kelly Kelly & Drew McIntyre - I thought this was a pretty decent backstage bit with these two because I think it's nice that the WWE has been injecting more overall personality into McIntyre's character over the past several weeks. We all know that he's the brooding Sinister Scotsman and all that, but he's had a much more cocky/arrogant demeanor about himself in the ring and his facial expressions have shown that lately. Nothing spectacular about this or anything, but it's sort of nice to see a bit of a roguish side to McIntyre. Kaitlyn getting in between the two and playing the role of twatblock worked out ok too. Thumbs Up

Dashing Cody Rhodes vs. Chris Masters - Yeah I don't really know what the point of this was. The match barely lasted over a minute and literally did nothing but eat up about 65 seconds of airtime. It took either guy, seperately, longer to get to the ring than this thing lasted. Pretty weak shit here. Thumbs Down

The Miz vs. Rey Mysterio - Great match from Miz & Mysterio here. Competitive back and forth match that saw both wrestlers looking good and strong throughout. The Miz looked like a legit heel champ against Mysterio and got himself a good heel victory. Alberto Del Rio did interfere slightly by jerking Rey's leg out from under him. However, Rey ultimately took him out of the match. As Rey goes for the springboard splash, he lands on Miz's knees and Miz scoops up the win at the 13.5 minute mark. The Miz's victory wasn't a dominant win but it was pretty damn close to being clean. Miz moves into TLC with some momentum after scoring two wins over 2 time World Champion this week. The post match stuff with Edge & Del Rio getting involved worked and Teddy Long set up a tag match for the main event, which should be pretty fun. Thumbs Up

LayCool, Natalya & Beth Phoenix - I honestly enjoyed this segment a lot. It's simply not very usual for the Divas to actually have anything going in the way of actual feuds or storylines but I liked this tonight. LayCool didn't really come across as a couple of ditzy schoolgirls tonight and did sort of behave more along the lines of what you'd expect from a "Diva". Natalya & Beth came out carrying a table in Christmas wrapping that they eventually ripped off exposing a fun charicature of LayCool that I thought was pretty funny. Layla looked like a mix of a squat little troll and a leprechaun while Michelle looked like this big nosed witch with anorexia. The crowd was reacting well to the segment and nearly putting Layla through a table was a great tease. This could honestly be an interesting little match at TLC because, let's face it, we all wanna see LayCool slammed through tables. Thumbs Up

Santino Marella & Vladimir Koslov vs. Chavo Guerrero & Tyler Reks - The match in and of itself was actually pretty solid for what it was, but I just wasn't into it. The outcome was painfully obvious the moment Chavo's music hit. Tyler Reks just looks like a physical beast but the WWE wasted him here. Santino & Koslov did win at the 3.5 minute mark after Santino hit Chavo with The Cobra. Thumbs Down

Edge & Rey Mysterio vs. The Miz & Alberto Del Rio - Pretty standard, though a fun tag team main event for the show. Everybody in the match got some time in the ring to show their stuff and deliver a little final push for their matches at TLC. Kane made his return here, first time he'd been seen all night, and hits the ring where he & Edge brawl. I liked the idea of virtually the whole SmackDown! locker room emptying to seperate them only for them to keep going at it. The match itself ended around the 7.5 minute mark with, I assume, is a no contest. The show ends with Edge hitting The Spear on Kane and landing right hands against his head. Thumbs Up

Overall Show - Strong go home show from SmackDown! heading into TLC. I like that the WHC match will now be a Fatal Fourway TLC match with Mysterio & Del Rio involved. I'm not really sure why they went this route, but I think it'll just make the WHC match all that much better. Kane & Edge have had some pretty decent matches but, truth be told, I wasn't hugely anticipating their match at TLC so this should be good. The tag bout that started the show off was a great match and the triple threat ladder match between Kofi, Ziggler & Swagger could potentially be a show stealer. The first ever Divas Tag Team Tables Match is an interesting little novelty that could prove to be a quality filler match. The Miz came off looking like a very credible heel champion tonight in my eyes and I'm hoping to see him retain the title at TLC.

Grade: B+
 
Enjoyed Smackdown once again tonight with some strong build going into TLC on Sunday. The Tag Match was pretty good as was the brawl between Kane & Edge to end things,Im looking forward to the 4-Way TLC Match as well. Miz & Rey had a Great Match once again as they did on RAW,both looked strong going into the PPV. Kofi & Kaval vs Jack Swagger & Dolph Ziggler was good and I would like to see Kofi win the IC Title again on Sunday. Loved the Divas Segment and Laycool being on the Table was funny as hell and I do want to see them go through that Table.
 
Overall,as you expect, a solid Smackdown! On Friday. It was a great go home show. The tag match with Kaval, Kofi, Zig and Swag was a really good match and its insane how over Kofi is right now. I expect him to be World Champ in 2011. The mysterio and miz match was good but the tag team main event was a disappointment. Overall, solid shows as always.

RATING: 8
 
The William Regal vs Daniel Bryan match on Raw, was your typical old school, on the mat WRESTLING match. I think that half of the boys in the back should of took notes on the match. Thats what I think they need to get back to, are those types matches. If they got 20 minutes and put it on a ppv, it would possiby be a show steelier. It was a match that you didn't see guys flying off the ropes and landing on the floor. They kept it on the mat, and went back to the roots of wrestling. Great Job by both talents...
 
WWE Monday Night Raw - December 20, 2010

Opening Segment - I liked the opening segment of Raw a lot for a lot of reasons. Miz did his thing and gave a solid heel promo and got some great heat from the crowd. "A Mizmas Carol" skit was hokey as hell but the reason I liked it was because it touched on some of the general complaints that I've heard about Miz being champion from both a storyline perspective and from various forums posts. They also used this to set up the six man tag team main event match in a creative way by having opponents of Miz's WWE Championship past, present & future. John Morrison came out to a good response and he played the straight man alright. Nothing groundbreaking but at least he didn't try to cut some sort of corny joke. He did come across as generally more serious than how he's usually been depicted and that to me is a step in the right direction. The Miz getting clotheslined on the ramp by Orton was a hot way to close the segment. Like I said, I did find the whole A Christmas Carol stuff a little hokey, but I did think it was a creative way to build up the main event. Thumbs Up

Melina vs. Eve Torres vs. Alicia Fox - This match only went about 3 minutes but it was still well above average for what we usually see from the Divas. It was a good physical match for the Divas in which all three were aggressive and wanted to be #1 contender for the WWE Divas Championship. This match wasn't earthshattering or anything but there was some decent wrestling shown on the part of all 3 women. The ending comes with Melina being up on Alicia's shoulders while Eve jumps off the top for a crossbody block on Melina. Melina ducks down into a victory roll to score the win. The timing was a little off on the move but, as I said, it's loads better than usual and a good step forward. Natalya coming to the ring to shake Melina's hand only to get the taste slapped out of her mouth worked for me. I figured a heel turn was coming and I liked how that came about. Actions speak louder than words after all and this should be a pretty decent feud. Thumbs Up

Daniel Bryan vs. William Regal - I liked this match and thought it was a very solid 5 minute match between two guys that legitimately know how to mat wrestle very well. It was also a pretty physical match and it looked to me as if both Bryan & Regal were giving some fairly stiff shots to one another out there. It's nice to see Regal get some time on Raw and I liked the whole pupil vs. student vibe I got from the match. Bryan gets the win after getting Regal in the LaBell Lock after countering the Regal Stretch. I like it when opponents try to fight out of the LaBell Lock and keep Bryan from locking it in, it makes it look more realistic. On a side note, the Bella Twins looked mouthwatering out there tonight. I think they do need to get Daniel Bryan into a good feud with someone pretty soon because he just seems like he's in something of a holding pattern right now. Thumbs Up

Santino Marella & Tamina vs. Ted DiBiase & Maryse - Didn't really care at all about this match. Too much comedy involved and none of it funny. Ted DiBiase actually looked pretty good in there tonight, better than he's looked in a long time, and was pretty much all over Santino through most of the match. The end comes when Tamina catches Maryse with a nice looking super kick before hitting the Superfly off the top rope for the win. Just didn't do anything for me. Thumbs Down

John Cena, Dolph Ziggler & Vickie Guerrero - There was good and bad in this segment. The bad was that Cena was annoying the shit out of me at times. When Cena does his little cutesy goofy stuff, it just leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I get it, he's happy to "be back" even though he never actually went anywhere, but damn brother, act your age a little bit. The good for me was Vickie Guerrero and just the sheer overall reaction of the crowd out there. This was a hot crowd and it's hard for me not to appreciate a segment when the live crowd is into it as much as the folks in Austin were into this whole deal. Vickie Guerrero gets MASSIVE heat here. Ziggler barely said a word, which was unfortunate as I really don't think he needs Vickie anymore. I admit that I chuckled some during the jokes and at all the boos whenever Vickie opened her mouth. I think that the segment also ran a bit too long, so there's definitely a mix in on this. But, for me, I thought that the good was enough to outweigh the bad. I can understand if anybody wasn't really into all this, Cena was a little intolerable out there at times, but I think it was just the sheer crowd enthusiasm here that I dug more than anything else. Thumbs Up

John Cena vs. Dolph Ziggler - My asshole tighted up when it was announced that this match was taking place. With all the Cena hype and love going on, I was fearful that Ziggler was going to be offered up as a sacrificial lamb to Cena in a 90 second squash match. Thankfully, however, what we got was a damn good competitive match. This was a really good back and forth match and Ziggler looked really good in there against the WWE's top star. It wasn't the best I've seen out of Ziggler overall, but he looked resilient and was going toe to toe with Cena. The live crowd was also eating this match up, sitting on the edge of their seat. There were a good number of near falls in the match and I have to admit that I thought, for a few seconds, that Ziggler was going to get the win due to Vickie's distraction. Dolph misses Cena after trying to hit him with the IC title and gets hit with the Attitude Adjustement. Cena picks up the win at the 13.5 minute mark. The follow up with CM Punk coming in and hitting Cena with the chair was a nice touch, so it looks like it'll be Punk vs. Cena next. This was an entertaining match and a very strong showing here for Dolph Ziggler. Thumbs Up

Randy Orton, John Morrison & Jerry The King Lawler vs. The Miz, Sheamus & Alex Riley - I thought that this was a very fun six man tag team main event that tied in a lot of various feuds and angles altogether into a single match. John Morrison, The Miz & Sheamus looked especially good out there with Morrison displaying a lot of tenacity, The Miz as an opportunistic tool & Sheamus as just a big bully. Lawler's contribution to the match was just enough and the crowd was really into it. I think that Morrison was the overall centerpiece of the match as the heels went to work on his knee a lot, which meant that JoMo had to show some grit and determination. About the 14 minute mark, Lawler tags himself in and I figure that this is where The Miz will put him away. However, as he hooks Lawler up for the Skull Crushing Finale, Orton swoops in and hits the RKO, allowing Lawler to get the win at about 14.5 mintues. It was a fun ending with Orton allowing Lawler to get a little payback. Of course, I've little doubt that people will be pissing and moaning that The Miz got pinned. Post match, the Raw GM pings in and announces a match between The Miz and Randy Orton tomorrow night on the live episode of SmackDown!, so that match should be the blow off to this feud and I'm really really hoping that The Miz comes out with a win. Very fun main event match. Thumbs Up

Overall Show - I thought Raw was a great show tonight overall. There were a few little hokey things that happened but I liked the overall creativity with how the main event match was built up. Cena was a little embarassing at times, but I really dug the enthusiasm of the crowd and the heat Vickie drew. The Divas match was solid and good for what it was, the Daniel Bryan vs. William Regal match was very solid and I'd like to see them get about 15 minutes someday and it's just nice to watch two guys that really know how to mat wrestle go at it. Cena vs. Ziggler was a great match and was a great opportunity for Ziggler to shine against the biggest star in wrestling. Ziggler looked like a contender and made it a competitive match. Punk jumping Cena after the match was nice and this could very well be an entertaining feud as both of these guys have lots of charisma and know how to talk on the mic. The six man tag team main event match was a lot of fun with a lot of action and some good storytelling going on. Overall, just a great and entertaining 2 hours that just seemed to fly by for me.

Grade: B+
 
Good show last night. Here are my thoughts:

The opening segment was good. I was expecting a little more interaction between Miz and Morrison. Instead, it very slowly set up the next few weeks and was more important in setting up the main event. I was little worried when Orton and Sheamus came out, becuase I really dont want them involved in the title match, but it was needed for the main event. Either way, it wasnt a bad way to start off the show.

The triple threat Divas match to name the #1 contender for the Divas championship was ok. Nice powerbomb by Alicia and the ending was pretty cool. After Melina wins, Natalya comes in the ring to congratulate her and Melina slaps her, confirming the reports of a heel turn. Happy to see this as she has really slowed down since her return a few months back.

Daniel Bryan and William Regal was bound to be good before it even started. Trainer vs Trainee. For a short five minute match, this was really good. Really good chain wrestling in the beginning, then awesome back and forth with European uppercuts, showing the aggressive sides of the two. After Bryan wins with the LaBell Lock, he gets some action and has a little make out session with both Bellas. Really funny here. I'm very curious as to where this is going next.

Mixed tag match was nothing special. I chuckled a little because of Santino and his back, but other than that, it was just Tamina doing the splash on Maryse to pick up the W.

The Cena/Ziggler/Vickie segment was awesome. Cena comes out all jolly because Nexus isnt here tonight. His jollyness spreads as the entire arena is electric, even the We Hate Cena guy in the front row who Cena hugs. We see the clip of the chairs from TLC not once, not twice, not even three times, but four times. It was funny, but a little excessive. Thats my one complaint. From there, Vickie and Ziggler come out and now the fun begins. Vickie tries to talk and gets some major boos. It was pretty much deafening. She tries 5 or 6 times to talk, but its almost impossible to hear her over the boos. I was laughing hard here. Finally, she talks, King and Cena exchange fat jokes about Vickie, and we have a match with Ziggler and Cena. The crowd excitement carried over to the match as they were still electric for the match. Of course Cena wins here, but he and Ziggler worked very well and Ziggler got a huge rub from this match. Also, we get to see it again on Smackdown (live), this time with Vickie in the match. Ziggler is moving up.

After the match, Punk leaves the commentary desk, enters the ring, and hits Cena with a chair. All I'm gonna say is that I am pumped for this feud and cant wait to see what happens between these two.

The main event was good. We continue the feuds with Sheamus and Morrison, Miz and Orton, and Lawler and Riley inside the match. It was a fun match, but I didnt like the ending. I dont really like having Lawler pin Miz. I dont have a problem with Miz getting pinned, its just the person who pinned him. It probably would have been better for build if Morrison had pinned him. However, I guess I can let this one slide because it give King a little moment and there is still over a month to continue to build the match at Royal Rumble.

Overall, very fun Raw. They have been on a roll and it continued last night. I give it a B+/A-. I feel like a B+ is a bit too low of a grade, but I dont feel it was worthy of an A-. Still a very good episode though.
 
Hey guys, i just got to watch my tape of RAW and i have to say wow. it was great....minus the ghosts of Christmas etc.

My question to you guys/gals (if there are many female wrestling fans lol) what was your fav match/section of RAW? and tell me why you liked this RAW.

Cheers.

Melina def. Eve and Alicia Fox in a Triple Threat Match

U.S. Champion Daniel Bryan def. William Regal

WWE Tag Team Champion Santino Marella & Tamina def. Ted DiBiase & Maryse
-Pre Match Santino/Tamina and Maryse thing

John Cena def. Intercontinental Champion Dolph Ziggler in a Non-Title Match
-Cena being attacked by Punk

Randy Orton, John Morrison & Jerry Lawler def. WWE Champion The Miz, Alex Riley & Sheamus

My personal favorite has to be.....WILLIAM REGAL VS BRYAN DANIELSON....i mean DANIEL BRYAN. because like when i saw them both i actually remembered reading that Regal taught Danielson and I remember Danielson saying he wished Regal was HIS NXT pro, then Punk said it, i was like wow....it was an actual Rookie vs Pro match, Teacher vs Student. I loved it.
 
WWE SmackDown! - December 21, 2010

The Miz vs. Randy Orton - This was a great match and I was a little surprised to see the show start off this way. Both Orton & Miz looked great here and The Miz continues to look like someone that belongs in the main event scene in my eyes. It's good for The Miz to be in this type of match with Orton and, thankfully, the WWE avoided having Miz lose the match cleanly. As the title wasn't on the line, I was worried that they might have Miz do the job. The DQ finish was a bit of a letdown after such a good match and I honestly would've preferred that The Miz got a pinfall victory here. Still, a great match to open the show with Orton winning via DQ in about 14 minutes. Thumbs Up

Big Show, Eve Torres & Hornswoggle - I honestly saw this segment coming weeks ago. I knew that they'd do a Christmas skit sometime close to the holiday with Show dressed as Santa and Horny as an elf. You know something, I honestly didn't mind thing and I actually thought it was kinda cute. I thought it was funny when Show's chair broke after sitting in it, just a nice little unexpected moment. I would have preferred that they'd have left this skit out but I thought it was alright. I loved the ending with Cody Rhodes coming in and beating the snot outta Horny, though I can't say that I'm overly thrilled at a Cody Rhodes/Big Show feud. It'll most likely just be Show dominating the much smaller Cody and, if Cody does score any wins, they'll be via count out or DQ most likely. Still, a decent little segment for what it was. Thumbs Up

Santino Marella vs. Chavo Guerrero - This match served no purpose at all except to be used as filler. If they were going to do this match, I wish that they'd have just done it over on Superstars. A forgettable 3 minute match in which the outcome was entirely known before the bell rang. I hate the Cobra, I honestly do. It's the single lamest and most ridiculous finishing move in wrestling today. I just think that there's been too much Santino going around lately and his charm is starting to wear thin on me. Thumbs Down

Edge & Kane - I thought that this promo segment was pretty lackluster and on the boring side, mostly due to Edge. Edge was extremely flat out there and it just seemed that there was no energy about it and his promo was just uninspired. I thought that Kane did a good job and it's good to see him changing back to the way he was prior to the whole Paul Bearer kidnapping stuff. Kane came across as colder and more calculatng than he's been in the past month. I would prefer that this feud be over quite frankly but I'm not surprised to see that it's going to last at least to the Rumble. I'm hoping that, overall, the second half of the feud is better than the first half and I think there's a decent chance of that with Kane getting back to what's made him so great the past 6 months. Still, Edge just dragged this segment down. Thumbs Down

Drew McIntyre vs. Kaval - What the hell was this??? McIntyre beats Kaval in less than 30 seconds. I honestly have no idea what the WWE is doing with Kaval. Sometimes he looks as though he's about to break through the glass ceiling and other times, like last night, any progress he's making just gets obliterated. This was both worthless and pointless. Thumbs Down

Rey Mysterio & Kofi Kingston vs. Alberto Del Rio & Jack Swagger - Damn good tag team match here with a lot of energy going for it. The crowd was extremely hot for Kofi & Rey and all four of these wrestlers have really good chemistry together. All four of them were able to showcase themselves and the match was given a good amount of time. I continue to be impressed by Kofi's high risk moves off the top. He hit a springboard high cross body on Swagger that looked incredible. He's just able to leap so high and such a distance that it's just really great to watch. Rey & Kofi eventually get the win about the 14 minute mark after Kofi hits Swagger with Trouble in Paradise followed by Mysterio hitting a splash off the top rope for the win. Great tag match and it's just a shame that the WWE's actual Tag Team Division isn't a tenth as competitive as these sort of tag matches are. Thumbs Up

John Cena vs. Dolph Ziggler & Vickie Guerrero - Cena vs. Ziggler II was another great match and another standout performance from Dolph Ziggler. Vickie's presence in the match added a little bit of extra heat and overall crowd enthusiasm, even though they were really into this match anyhow. Great action and very competitive on both sides. Dolph Ziggler has stepped up his game by leaps and bounds since becoming IC champ and he looked like a star against Cena. I don't know if this match was quite as good as their first match on Raw but it was damn close. I think we were all a little surprised at just how good of a match their first one was and how great Ziggler would look during it. Ziggler flipping out of the Attitude Adjustment to hit a FameAsser on Cena looked great. Predictably, however, Cena does get the win after hitting the Attitude Adjustment at the 14 minute mark. Nobody really expected Ziggler to win but there was some great action, good storytelling and a great showing from Ziggler. Thumbs Up

Overall Show - Overall, last night's SmackDown! was a strong show in my opinion. The three main matches featured on the show were great and this was a much better show than the live episode of SmackDown! when it debuted on Syfy. I do think that the first hour started to drag some after the first 25 minutes or so as there was about 3 straight segments that just didn't do it for me. Santino vs. Chavo was forgettable, Edge kind of sucked the life out of what could have been a solid promo segment and I hated seeing Kaval squashed by Drew McIntyre in less than 30 seconds. The three main matches on the card, however, were all highly entertaining and competitive. The overall grade of the show, to me, was brought down by those 3 consecutive lackluster segments because they did sort of drag down the energy generated by the Miz/Orton match. Still, a very solid episode of SmackDown!

Grade: B
 
The ratings for Monday's Raw are in and I'd say that the WWE has to be pretty pleased with the results in general. The show pulled a 3.3 rating with a 3.2 for hour 1 and a 3.4 for hour 2 with an average of 5.16 million viewers. Great numbers for Raw particularly when you consider that Monday Night Football had over 17 million viewers that night.

I'd say that the numbers might go down some next week as last Monday had fall out from TLC but it's still a good thing for Raw when it's able to draw over 5 million viewers up against MNF.
 
Raw last night was great. I think the Cena episode was well done and shouldn't be b othered abt. It's just an insult. The heat Vickie was drawing was maybe preparing Cena for what he'll get when he defeats Undertaker's streak.
 
A Solid Live Smackdown last night on USA. I enjoyed Cena/Dolph Round 2 shall we say and I was hoping for John to drop Vickie with an FU but settled for him giving her a kiss. Looks like we are heading for a John Cena/CM Punk Feud which should be awesome. The Tag Match with Rey & Kofi vs Alberto & Swagger was great,The Miz/Randy Orton Match was good as well. Big Show's Santa Segment was hilarious with him breaking the chair and reading the Christmas Tale. So all in all a 3 Great Shows this week in Texas with TLC,RAW,and Smackdown.
 
The early rating for Tuesday's special live episode of SD! on USA is out and I'd say that Vince is probably pretty pleased overall. Viewership and demo numbers haven't been released yet, but Tuesday's SmackDown! pulled a 2.5 Nielsen Rating, which a significant increase from the average 1.7-1.8 that SD! pulls on Syfy on Fridays. While this is only speculation, I'd say that an audience of about 3.5 million is a reasonable assumption for the show's overall viewership.
 
Really didn't wanna see Miz lose again on SD!, but he did... at least it was via DQ. Dunno if it was just me, but it seemed as if the Alex Riley card was pulled way too many times in that one match, which made it obvious Randy was going to somehow win.

Would have liked Miz to win here, as i would have thought this feud has run its course with JoMo being the new #1 contender... but oh well.

Dolph Ziggler: Wow, just wow. Iv'e said it several times, and i'll say it again, i just love watching him do his thing. He is brilliant, and is a future world champ for sure.

Good show overall, and i for one would much prefer seeing it on tuesday's on a regular basis.
 
I don't know about everyone else, but to be honest I think this was disappointing for Smackdown. I think that the rest of the show was really overshadowed by the RAW superstars, not to mention seeing one of my favorite rookies from NXT getting squashed...

EDIT: This also might be the wrong place to pose this question but did Ziggler's Zig-Zag change? I remember seeing it differently
 
A little more info has come out regarding the 12/21 episode of SmackDown!. Some sources still put the rating at 2.5 and a report at PWInsider.com states that its sources say that the show did a 2.2 Nielsen Rating, which it scored for both hours, with 3,812,000 viewers.

Once things get a little more back to normal in the coming week, the rating issue should be cleared up. At any rate, it's been a long time since SmackDown! scored 3.8 million viewers so the WWE has to be pleased all the same.

UPDATE: According to Larry Csonka at 411mania.com, last Tuesday's live SmackDown! pulled a 2.54 Nielsen Rating with 3,812,000 viewers. The first hour of the show drew a 2.49 rating while hour 2 drew a 2.59.
 
WWE Monday Night Raw - December 27, 2010

Opening Segment - Raw opened solidly overall for me with Cena coming out and doing his thing. He was still being kinda cutesy out there but very much toned down from what we saw last week. Punk's appearance and part he played in the segment was ultimately what made it for me. For all intents and purposes, Punk basically spend the majority of his time calling Cena a bully without actually saying the word bully. I like that Punk didn't get into the ring with Cena and the bit about him not playing Cena's game and that they're going to do things on his term was classic heel. I'm intrigued by the idea of Punk calling Cena out and having a big surprise for him. Good solid segment to start things off. Thumbs Up

Santino Marella vs. Ted DiBiase - Waste of time. The match lasted about 2 minutes and Santino wound up with the win in about the most generic fashion. He didn't even use The Cobra. If they're going to do this kinda stuff, I wish they'd just save it for Superstars. Thumbs Down

The Miz, Alex Riley & John Morrison - They cut to a little backstage promo with The Miz & Riley talking about how they're going to dominate Lawler & Morrison tonight. Morrison shows up and does a good job. He seemed more relaxed to me, more comfortable than he did last week, even though he did ok last week, so he's continuing to take good steps forward. JoMo states that if he loses against Riley that he'll forfeit his #1 contendership for the WWE Championship but if he wins, he gets to name the time and type of match that they have. Once again, nothing jaw dropping here but more signs of improvement and more steps forward. Thumbs Up

John Morrison vs. Alex Riley - Solid 5 minute match. Nothing really to write home about, but the stipulation of the match coupled with The Miz's presence told a good story. I had no illusions that Morrison would lose this match, but the match did its job and generated more heat for the Miz/Morrison feud. The ref sending The Miz back after JoMo "slipped" while going for a move on the ropes was a nice little touch. JoMo gets the win around the 5 minute mark and says that he wants the match next week on Raw and that it's a Falls Count Anywhere match. I was very surprised by this as I figured we'd see this at the Royal Rumble. Good build up for the feud and what should be a great match next week. Thumbs Up

Daniel Bryan, Tyson Kidd & Randy Orton segments - I just figured I'd put all of these little promo segments under one thing. Tyson Kidd is another guy that seems to be showing some improvement. He did alright with what he was given and more of his personality is showing through. Jackson Andrews is friggin' huge, just one bit intimidating looking sumbitch. The crowd was super hot for Orton and I definitely prefer him in the tweener mode he's in right now. I think it suits him perfectly. His mannerisms the way he speaks, the cold gaze just all works well with his character. I would've liked to have seen Daniel Bryan participate a little more in his segment with Kidd but he got himself a pretty decent pop from the crowd. Thumbs Up

Mark Henry vs. Tyson Kidd - Pretty lame match here. Henry pretty much batted Tyson around as if he was little more than just a minor annoyance. I was hoping to see the WWE do something with Tyson Kidd, but that's probably not going to happen given the ease that Henry won his match. Thumbs Down

The Miz - The Miz gave a great promo tonight and his interactions with the live crowd were just downright fun to watch and listen to. The Miz mentioning great names like Verne Gagne, Lou Thesz & Harley Race and saying he's better than all of them is a classic heel. Some people are no doubt rolling their eyes at that, which they should because that's the whole point of The Miz saying it. All the stuff with the "What?" from the crowd and Miz repeating himself while making fun of the fans was great. Just an overall really fun heel promo from The Miz. Thumbs Up

The Miz vs. Jerry The King Lawler - This match wasn't some technical masterpiece, but it wasn't intended to be. The match told a damn good story and was a fine set up for Miz's match against Morrison next week. I very much like the WWE's use of Lawler in these situations. The Miz doing the overconfident young heel bit during the match was perfect and the impression was given that he could beat Lawler at any time. John Morrison came down to the ring about 8.5 minutes in to support Lawler. The match ends about the 10 minute mark with Miz being counted out after JoMo hits the running knee on The Miz outside, giving Lawler the win. This was a fun match for me because of the story that it told and the build up it gave. I'm glad to see JoMo is being more aggressive in his pursuit of the WWE Championship. Thumbs Up

Melina & Alicia Fox vs. Gail Kim & Eve Torres - This match wasn't great by any stretch, but it was better than what I was expecting. I like the fact that the WWE has been focusing more on the Divas that can actually wrestle in recent weeks. The crowd was flat here, but that's to be expected. If the WWE is actually beginning to do more serious stuff by constantly featuring their more talented in-ring Divas, then it'll take a little time for fans to get into that. Still, it was a pretty good effort and there wasn't any sillyness going on so the past several weeks overall have been definite steps up. Melina & Alicia get the win after Melina hits the Sunset Split on Gail Kim. The post match stuff with Natalya was ok, nothing spectacular but nothing bad. Just kinda there. Could be a fun little feud. Thumbs Up

Daniel Bryan vs. Zack Ryder & Jerry Lawler Beatdown - Raw came back from commercial with the match already in progress, which is pretty unusual because the never does that. Bryan got the win via the LaBell Lock. The Raw GM pinged in afterward and I thought he was gonna make a match. As Cole is reading the email, which is little more than just a holiday greeting from the GM, The Miz jumps over the barricade and beats the ever lovin' shit out of Jerry Lawler. I liked Miz's aggression here and it pretty much showed fans that Miz can handle Lawler with no problem when he gets serious. The Miz has been all over Raw tonight but I don't have any problems with that as it's a nice change from all the times we've seen Cena's presence dominate episodes of Raw. Good beatdown from The Miz and a good way to generate heat. After all, he beat up an old man and a beloved legend in a classic heel fashion. Thumbs Up

Randy Orton vs. King Sheamus - Great main event match for Raw. This was a textbook 15 minute match in which both guys get themselves over by having a competitive back and forth match. Going into the match, I really wasn't sure who was going to win here. I was leaning towards Orton but it wasn't really clear. There were some fun near falls during the match and both wrestlers looked strong. The ending comes with Sheamus doing a slingshot shoulder block into the ring, which he'd done earlier to Orton, only for Orton to catch him in the RKO as he's flying over the ropes. Nice. Quality tv match to close up the in-ring action for Raw in 2010. Thumbs Up

Closing Segment - Cena comes to the ring first and calls out CM Punk only for The Nexus to come down to the ring. Otunga climbs in the ring, tries to apologize and asks Cena for a truce. Cena doesn't go for it, Otunga leaves only to sick Nexus onto Cena in the ring. Basically, it turns into a Nexus beatdown with all the members of Nexus hitting their finishing moves on Cena. As they're leaving, Punk's music hits and he walks down the ramp to the ring. He hits Cena with the GTS, gets a chair and looks like he's gonna waffle Cena but he sits down instead. He then picks up a black Nexus armband that Otunga dropped in the ring and puts it on and the crowd pops pretty well. Punk climbs to his feet raises one arm and fist clenched in the air with Nexus doing the same. So CM Punk is now in charge of Nexus. I thought the segment came off well as people were basically hanging on everything Punk was doing out there. I loved the slow and deliberate manner in which he was doing things out there, keeping suspense up. It wasn't presented as Punk being something of a "higher power" or anything of the like, more that he's inserted into a leadership role to reenergize The Nexus and use the momentum and overall equity that's been built in Nexus over the past 6 months. That's probably the way to go as Nexus has really been losing steam. Fun way to close out Raw. Thumbs Up

Overall Show - I thought the final Raw of 2010 was a really fun show. The Miz was all over the place tonight and was great in his role. His match with Lawler told a great story and helped to serve as a platform for furthering his feud with JoMo. Morrison looked good this week also and continues to make positive steps forward. I was surprised to see that his match with Miz takes place next Monday on Raw, which should be a great match. The match between Orton & Sheamus was a great main event. Competitive, back & forth with both men coming out looking strong no matter who won. CM Punk being the new leader of Nexus is a fun concept. Punk can very much talk on the mic, he's got tons of charisma and being a multi time World Champion gives Nexus a certain degree of credibility that it didn't have before. The WWE needs to do something with Daniel Bryan, however. He needs to be put into a quality feud for the United States Championship. Overall, I thought Raw tonight was a lot of fun and the build up for Raw next week is something I'd love to see the WWE do more often.

Grade: A-
 
WWE Friday Night SmackDown! - December 31, 2010

Opening Segment - I enjoyed the opening to SmackDown! a lot. Vickie Guerrero & Dolph Ziggler came out at the top of the show to some great heat with Vickie looking under the weather and Dolph sort of supporting her as they made it to the ring. Vickie got monster heat as usual and told the crowd she'd been diagnosed with vertigo. Dolph did well in his role looking and sounding like the supportive and caring boyfriend and all. Kofi Kingston comes out and talks a little smack to both of them saying he should be IC champ. Swagger comes out a little bit later and does his thing as well before the whole situation turns into a brawl with Kofi ultimately getting the best. Teddy Long comes out and makes a triple threat match for the IC title between the three. I was pleasantly surprised to see these three starting the show instead of Edge or Kane. They got a lot of time on the mic and all of them did a solid job. It's nice to see Kofi & Ziggler get some mic time as it's something of a rarity. Good opener for the show. Thumbs Up

The Big Show vs. Dashing Cody Rhodes - Pretty close to your typical 3 minute match with The Big Show. The crowd was actually hot for this and it was better than I expected it to be. It was good to see Cody Rhodes was more aggressive than I thought he would be but he did spend the majority of the time getting tossed around. Rhodes took something of a Big Show version of the Stinkface that Rikishi used to do and the crowd got into it. Rhodes played his part well by checking his face afterward in the mirror on the back of his jacket. Cody ducks out of the ring to be counted out when Show is ready to hit the Knockout Punch. It wasn't bad for what it was, but I just can't get too excited about this feud. Thumbs Down

Holiday Party Skits - My stomach churned a little bit when Teddy Long mentioned that he was having a New Year's Eve party because I knew that there'd be skits backstage. TNA had some absolutely awful ones on iMPACT! and I didn't have high hopes for these. To be perfectly honest, these skits weren't really bad all told. The cornball comedy that Vince loves was kept to a minimum. Really the only thing that just made me roll my eyes was the Swagger Soaring Eagle being there, but he didn't do anything at least. Chavo Guerrero getting "drunk" and calling everyone a bunch of jerks, only to be told by Teddy that the champagne he was drinking was nonalcoholic was kinda funny mostly because Chavo played his part well. The big fight that they had at the end of the last party segment was set up really predictably and stupidly really though it was mostly a food fight segment rather than a brawl so it was tolerable. I expected the worst here, something along the lines of what we saw on iMPACT! this past Thursday, but I thought this was alright. I can understand if people thought this was a waste of time, which is what it actually was truth be told, but the potential for horrendous comedy segments here was there and I'm glad that the WWE didn't go down that road. Thumbs Up

Drew McIntyre vs. Trent Barretta - Pretty decent 4.5 minute match here and was a good showcase match for McIntyre. I like the fact that they've finally begun letting McIntyre inject some actual personality into his character and it's good ot see Barretta get some time on SD! because the guy can work. Barretta had a good showing of himself overall. The match ends with Barretta going for a pancha over the top rope on Drew but Drew moves out of the way with Barretta crashing to the floor and "knocked unconscious". It looked great and I liked that the ref stopped the match after that as Barretta wasn't responsive, giving Drew the win. Afterward, McIntyre picks Barretta up from the floor, Barretta doing well in selling his part as he looked kind of limp, and hits the Future Shock DDT on the floor. I loved that because it made McIntyre look heartless in basically beating down an injured man and generated some great heat. I'd love to see these two get about 15 minutes sometime and I hope this isn't a one time thing. Thumbs Up

Edge & Rey Mysteiro vs. Kane & Alberto Del Rio - Fun tag team match here with a hot crowd and good energy. All four wrestlers did well in their roles here and it was a good match all around. It wasn't a classic by any stretch, but it was very solid and brought together these two feuds as they've been sort of intertwined for the past several weeks. Mysterio & Edge win at 13 minutes after Mysterio nails Del Rio with the 619 only for Edge to hit the spear. Fun match and I was surprised to see that this match didn't close the show. I'm glad for this because it's nice to see the IC title match as the overall main event for the show and I have a feeling it'll be the better match. Thumbs Up

Natalya & Beth Phoenix vs. Team LayCool - Really good match here from the Divas. I know that might not exactly sound like much, but this legitimately was a good match. It told a good story and these four women have good chemistry together. These four can also work well inside the ring. The crowd was into it and was the latest of several strong matches from the Divas. The match lasted a good 10 minutes, something that's almost never happened on Raw or SmackDown! with Natalya & Beth getting the win after Michelle McCool takes the Glam Slam. With the signing of Awesome Kong and a definite increase in quality in Diva matches the past several weeks, maybe at long last the WWE is actually going to make the Divas a relevant portion of the product. Thumbs Up

Dolph Ziggler vs. Kofi Kingston vs. Jack Swagger - Great triple threat and main event match to close the show. Some people aren't that wild about triple threat matches but I think that the WWE does a great job with them most of the time. All three of these wrestlers have great chemistry and can really go inside the ring. All of them were able to show off during the match and, at about 16.5 minutes, were given a lot of time to put on a damn fine match that told a great story. At one point late in the match, Kofi hits Swagger with Trouble in Paradise and has the match won but Vickie Guerrero puts Swagger's foot on the ropes to stop the count. Not long after, Ziggler sneaks in through the back door with a roll up on Kofi with a handful of tights to retain the Intercontinental Championship. This definitely leaves things open for Ziggler & Kofi to continue as Kofi came really close to winning the match only to be cheated out of it. Very strong match here and a great tv main event. Thumbs Up

Overall Show - Last night's SmackDown! was a strong show to close out the year. Everything on the show last night had a point, except for the holiday skits but they honestly weren't anywhere close to being the train wrecks I thought they'd be. I like the direction that they're going with in rebuilding Drew McIntyre as he just seems to be much fresher overall. The tag team match was a good solid match with good storytelling and I'm glad to see that it didn't close the show. The Divas had a strong showing last night with one of the better women's matches to make it onto television this year. The Diva Division overall has looked much stronger in the past month than it's looked maybe in the entire decade. The triple threat IC title match to close out the show was great and it was also great to see the mid-card guys close the show out. The WWE has had a very strong mid-card scene in 2010 and it's always good to see 3 talented guys get an opportunity to shine. I see no reason really why either Kofi or Ziggler shouldn't be main eventing sometime this year. Ziggler has been a great IC champ and Kofi is just ready in my view.

Grade: B+
 
Tonight was a great RAW that not only made up for last week's let down, but also kept up the pace of leaving us with interesting cliff hangers.

Before I review the rest of the night, I just want to list my two let downs. One, they really didn't do enough to address Cena's injury. Even if he's going to be back as early as next week, I think they should have over-sold the hell out of his injury. Second, no Daniel Bryan. I don't know it they had a reason for leaving him off, but he's almost always the high point of the night. Nonetheless, let's get on with the review.

RAW Opened with Michael Cole doing a monologue. It was... confusing.

Miz vs. Morrison in a Falls Count Anywhere Match for the WWE Championship- After the theme song, we jump right into Morrison vs. Miz. I can't believe they gave us this epic match for free. It was fantastic with a ton of twists and turns, some major spots, some big bumps, and JoMo's brilliant creativity and Miz's fantastic ability to engross the audience in the match. Both Miz and JoMo had moments where they stunned me. Miz kicked out of Starship Pain, and Morrison managed to kick out after he went flying through a table while doing Starship Pain. It was jaw dropping. Miz managed to retain cleanly after a Skull Crushing Finale onto a mat outside the ring. If you missed RAW tonight, at least find a way to watch this match. 8.5/10

Melina, Alicia Fox, and Maryse vs. Natalya, Eve, and Brie Bella- After this red hot opening, WWE gave the audience a chance to settle down with a multi-woman divas match. Melina lead the team of RAW heels while Natty lead the face team of herself. Brie and Nikki switched places early on in the match and took care of Maryse, and then Natty managed to best both Alicia and Melina before tagging in Eve who made the pin, giving the faces the win. There were a few good parts in the match, including a nice discus clothesline from Natty, and Eve actually doing something worthwhile. 5/10

Santino and Kozlov vs. The Usos- Interestingly, Tamina came out against her brothers to support her boyfriend. Santino and Kozlov dominated for most of the match, but after Kozlov barely got clothesline out of the ring due to some odd botch, one of the Usos countered the Cobra with a Samoan Drop. However, Santino and Kozlov got theirs by taking out both the Usos post match. I expect an Koztino-Uso title match to occur sometime before Mania. This match was simply a build for it. 5/10

CM Punk came out to cut a promo about how he is the leader of Nexus now and that he is the one responsible for taking out Cena. He cut a decent promo where he mocked Cena, but was interrupted by Barrett. Barrett corrected Punk on two counts. One, Barrett, not Punk, took out Cena, and two, Barrett, not Punk, is the leader of Nexus. They bickered for a while before CM Punk invited Nexus out to make a decision. Before Otunga could say, "I'm a talentless joke," we got an email from the GM announcing a Triple Threat Cage match for a shot at the title at Royal Rumble including Orton, Sheamus, and either CM Punk or Barrett. CM Punk graciously stepped aside, allowing Barrett to compete for the spot at number one contender.

Alberto Del Rio came out to talk about how great he is and how he was going to win the Rumble, but R-Truth came out to interrupt him. I don't trust R-Truth anymore. He said he'd take on all of Nexus at the same time, but he never did. He didn't even fight one of them. He lied to me. He lied to all of us. After R-Truth finished telling off Del Rio he slapped him, and we had ourselves a match

R-Truth vs. Alberto Del Rio- There's not much to say here, it was a pretty good match with decent back and forth with Del Rio going over using the Crucifix Armbar. Truth took FOREVER to tap, but he did. 6.5/10

Next, we see Wade Barrett backstage talking to Nexus. He tells him he can make them all champions, and they all seem inspired. Then CM Punk comes out after Barrett leaves and shakes everyone's hand, so it looks like maybe they have already chosen their side.

Orton vs. Sheamus vs. Barrett in a Steel Cage- Despite the obvious logical flaws, it was a decent match with good wrestling. By logical flaws, I mean there were several times that any of the three competitors could have escaped but somehow manage to not. The actual wrestling was good though, and Sheamus looked especially great. Barrett actually should have won, and CM Punk even offered him help by trying to help him climb over the wall, but instead ripped the Nexus armband off of Barrett and kick him to the ring. Sheamus took advantage by delivering a devestating Brough Kick to Barrett, but was hit by an RKO seconds later, allowing Orton to walk out the cage door unchecked. It was a good ending, but I just wish it wasn't Orton who won. 7/10

It was a very solid RAW with a great opening and closing and managed not to have a dull moment throughout the night. Overall, I give this show a 7/10.
 
JGlass14 said:
Tonight was a great RAW that not only made up for last week's let down, but also kept up the pace of leaving us with interesting cliff hangers.

Before I review the rest of the night, I just want to list my two let downs. One, they really didn't do enough to address Cena's injury. Even if he's going to be back as early as next week, I think they should have over-sold the hell out of his injury. Second, no Daniel Bryan. I don't know it they had a reason for leaving him off, but he's almost always the high point of the night. Nonetheless, let's get on with the review.

RAW Opened with Michael Cole doing a monologue. It was... confusing.

Miz vs. Morrison in a Falls Count Anywhere Match for the WWE Championship- After the theme song, we jump right into Morrison vs. Miz. I can't believe they gave us this epic match for free. It was fantastic with a ton of twists and turns, some major spots, some big bumps, and JoMo's brilliant creativity and Miz's fantastic ability to engross the audience in the match. Both Miz and JoMo had moments where they stunned me. Miz kicked out of Starship Pain, and Morrison managed to kick out after he went flying through a table while doing Starship Pain. It was jaw dropping. Miz managed to retain cleanly after a Skull Crushing Finale onto a mat outside the ring. If you missed RAW tonight, at least find a way to watch this match. 8.5/10

Melina, Alicia Fox, and Maryse vs. Natalya, Eve, and Brie Bella- After this red hot opening, WWE gave the audience a chance to settle down with a multi-woman divas match. Melina lead the team of RAW heels while Natty lead the face team of herself. Brie and Nikki switched places early on in the match and took care of Maryse, and then Natty managed to best both Alicia and Melina before tagging in Eve who made the pin, giving the faces the win. There were a few good parts in the match, including a nice discus clothesline from Natty, and Eve actually doing something worthwhile. 5/10

Santino and Kozlov vs. The Usos- Interestingly, Tamina came out against her brothers to support her boyfriend. Santino and Kozlov dominated for most of the match, but after Kozlov barely got clothesline out of the ring due to some odd botch, one of the Usos countered the Cobra with a Samoan Drop. However, Santino and Kozlov got theirs by taking out both the Usos post match. I expect an Koztino-Uso title match to occur sometime before Mania. This match was simply a build for it. 5/10

CM Punk came out to cut a promo about how he is the leader of Nexus now and that he is the one responsible for taking out Cena. He cut a decent promo where he mocked Cena, but was interrupted by Barrett. Barrett corrected Punk on two counts. One, Barrett, not Punk, took out Cena, and two, Barrett, not Punk, is the leader of Nexus. They bickered for a while before CM Punk invited Nexus out to make a decision. Before Otunga could say, "I'm a talentless joke," we got an email from the GM announcing a Triple Threat Cage match for a shot at the title at Royal Rumble including Orton, Sheamus, and either CM Punk or Barrett. CM Punk graciously stepped aside, allowing Barrett to compete for the spot at number one contender.

Alberto Del Rio came out to talk about how great he is and how he was going to win the Rumble, but R-Truth came out to interrupt him. I don't trust R-Truth anymore. He said he'd take on all of Nexus at the same time, but he never did. He didn't even fight one of them. He lied to me. He lied to all of us. After R-Truth finished telling off Del Rio he slapped him, and we had ourselves a match

R-Truth vs. Alberto Del Rio- There's not much to say here, it was a pretty good match with decent back and forth with Del Rio going over using the Crucifix Armbar. Truth took FOREVER to tap, but he did. 6.5/10

Next, we see Wade Barrett backstage talking to Nexus. He tells him he can make them all champions, and they all seem inspired. Then CM Punk comes out after Barrett leaves and shakes everyone's hand, so it looks like maybe they have already chosen their side.

Orton vs. Sheamus vs. Barrett in a Steel Cage- Despite the obvious logical flaws, it was a decent match with good wrestling. By logical flaws, I mean there were several times that any of the three competitors could have escaped but somehow manage to not. The actual wrestling was good though, and Sheamus looked especially great. Barrett actually should have won, and CM Punk even offered him help by trying to help him climb over the wall, but instead ripped the Nexus armband off of Barrett and kick him to the ring. Sheamus took advantage by delivering a devestating Brough Kick to Barrett, but was hit by an RKO seconds later, allowing Orton to walk out the cage door unchecked. It was a good ending, but I just wish it wasn't Orton who won. 7/10

It was a very solid RAW with a great opening and closing and managed not to have a dull moment throughout the night. Overall, I give this show a 7/10.
Click to expand...

You are the first guy to actually use the rating system (1-10) the correct way. 5/10 is something that is average and right in the middle. You and KB, FTW. 9/10 or 10/10 should be saved for the very rare special occasions.

I completely agree with all of your ratings. A 7/10 is a damn good show. I thought tonight's show warranted that. We kicked it off with a 25 minute match that went back/forth. I got to enjoy the first half hour of Raw for a change instead of listening to a promo. I would have given it an 8/10 for enjoyment factor. They made me believe they had a past and made me believe there was hatred.

Also props to the crowd for being white hot during the steel cage match. Those guys don't take huge bumps but they did a great job of keeping it tense by a lot of escapes. It was enjoyable even though I knew it wasn't going to be anything special.
 
Instead of running throught the show top to bottom, Ive decided to add my own hits and misses for Raw starting in 2011. Some of you may disagree, and feel free to rip apart my post if you do. That being said, here are my Raw hits and misses for the January 3rd 2011 edition of Monday night Raw.

Raw Hits:

Miz vs John Morrison: This was a major hit as it was an excellent match. Both men set the tone early with their respective ring entrances as Miz was heavily booed, and Morrison received the biggest pop of his career. As for the match itself, it delicered on so many levels. Morrison taking out Riley early truly allowed for this to have some semblance of a one on one match between the two. The chemistry was evident of them being former tag team partners was obvious, and Morrison looked like a star throughout the match. I thought Morrison a tool when he first picked the match, but his neutralization of Riley negated that thought. Miz continued to be an opportunistic champ as he was dominated for much of the match, but took advantage of Morrison's one mistake in trying Starship Pain through the table when Miz wasn't nearly enough incapacitated. Both men came out looking strong in the match and there were times where Morrison really looked like he could win the match. Excellent job by both men and a major Hit for the first match of 2011.

Wade Barrett/CM Punk faceoff: This was a major hit as well, as both men presented compelling arguments as to why they should be the leader of Nexus. I liked how each picked out the flaws in the other as hyocrites, rather then one trying to play the face and the other the heel. The "gentleman's agreement" at the end with CM Punk allowing Barrett to participate in the Steel Cage match was nicely done as well, although it was fairly obvious both heels were quite insincere in this. Punk continued to show why he may be the best in the business right now on the mic, and Punk claiming Cenaq traits of Hustle Loyalty and Respect was brilliant as well. I liked how Nexus stood aside and didnt necessarily pick sides here, as they let the two top stars of the group decide amongst themselves. An excellent segment, and a major Hit.

Santino Marella and Kozlov vs the Usos: I don't watch Superstars, but apparently the Usos have a nice winning streak going for them there against makeshift tag teams. the match itself was nothing special, but its nice to see another team as a legitimate threat to win the tag titles. I wish the announcers would have played up more the fact that the Usos have been winning alot lately, but that's a minor complaint. There's also a nice backstory for the feud involving Tamina, as she formerly managed the Usos, but is now Santino's girl. I have hopes this can turn into an actual rivalry in the tag team division, and I think Tamina will play a pivotal role if it does. A Hit for this match and the aftermath that followed.

Randy Orton backstage promo: It was nothing earth shattering, but it was straifght forward and to the point. Orton laid out his plans for 2011, and did so with conviction. I personally am for the badass Orton who will step over anyone in his way to win the WWE Championship, as its consistent with the character that Orton plays. A Hit for this short promo.

Alberto Del Rio vs R-Truth: While I hated the fact that Del Rio appeared on Raw(more on that later), with little explanation, this was a good match. R-Truth looked as good as he has in the ring in a long time, and Del Rio continues to show why he is a future star. Truth has settled in as a mid-card jobber to help elevate people above him, as he did with Barrett a month ago, and Del Rio tonight. I deon't like that the announcers push Truth as a top dog and beating him is a major accomplishment, because its not. Still, this match served its purpose by helping to further elevate Del Rio with a win heading into his important match with Mysterio on Friday. A minor Hit for this match.

Nexus/Barrett/Punk backstage: Again, the dynamic here was well done. Barrett pleaded his case as to why he was a strong leader, and Punk insincerely accepted it, as did the rest of Nexus. Again, I like that Nexus stayed out of the way and let the two major players settle it their way. Punk shaking hands with each member of Nexus was a nice piece of foreshadowing of what was to come in the cage match later. A solid Hit for this segment.

Wade Barrett vs Sheamus vs Randy Orton: This was a solid cage match that started slow and really picked up as the match moved along. Barrett performed well in his first cage match, andf Orton and Sheamus were very good as well. The problem with the match was that you knew some type of interference was coming against Wade, and the match only seemed to be building to that moment. Logically, there were moments when all three could have escaped the cage, but wated around for the obvious interference. Speaking of which, Punk's interfence was predictable, but it was a nice touch of symbolism as he ripped the Nexus band off of Barrett as to say," you're out, and Im in." I don't like the amount of jobbing Sheamus has been doing lately, especially if he's going to be feuding with HHH soon. But since they decided to not go with Morrison and Miz at the Rumble, Randy Orton was the logical and best choice to win the match. A solid Hit for this match, both in terms of quality and for furthering storylines.

Overall Show: This was an excellent show that not only featured an excellent WWE Championship match, but it also began the build to the Rumble and furthered the CM Punk leadership role in Nexus. I could have done without a gimmick steel cage match that was announced during the show, as it shows WWE propensity for throwing too many gimmick matches at the viewers. But in this case, it served a distinct purpose, and that was to signal the changing of the guard in Nexus. The tease of a possible John Cena return was nice as well, as it will be intteresting to see both he and Barrett looking to seek revenge for CM Punk's actions against them. A major Hit for the show overall.

Raw Misses:

Miz/Alex Riley backstage promo: So Alex Riley was eliminated from the match by Morrison' Shining Wizard off the barricade to the point where he needs medical attention and help leaving the ring area, but he's fine 10 nminutes later to be part of a promo. Miz is most effective when he's calm and steady when he's talking, and all he did was scream and yell here during the promo. I generally enjoy Miz' promos and the interaction between him and Riley. But this one was not only illogical, it included terrible delivery by Miz. A Miss for this segment.

Six Divas tag team Match: The match in itself was fine, but Melina had no business taking the pinfall. She's the number one contender, and needs all the momentum she can get heading into her match with Natalya. Instead, she was pinned by Eve, who hasn't been relevant in a long time. This is poor booking at its worst by having a Diva who means nothing scoring the pinfall on the number one contender. We've yet to get an explanation for Melina's heel turn as well, which makes matters worse. The wrestling here was fine, but the booking was attrocious, and this earns a major Miss.

Alberto Del RIo appears on Raw: This furthers shows that the brand split in WWE in 2011 means nothing. What makes matters worse is that absolutely no reason was given for why Del Rio was there! I have no problem with him beating R-Truth, because he's virtually irrelevant. But Del Rio appearing on Raw for no particular reason kept Raw superstars such as the United States Champion Daniel Bryan off of Raw, which is a joke. If you're going to have Del Rio on Raw and want to do the first week of the New Year big, why not have Del Rio vs Daniel Bryan in a match where both wrestlers are relevant, and the outcome wouldnt be predictable? It baffles me that WWE would leave a major player like Bryan off the show, and use a Smackdown superstar instead. A major Miss for this idea.

Gimmick Matches: They're fun and enjoyable, but what purpose did they really serve tonight? Miz capatilized on a Morrison mistake, he didn't use a foreign object or outside interference to win the match. Couldn't he have done the same in a standard one on one match? I enjoy stipulation matches greatly, but I feel we've been given too many between the gimmick PPV's and the recent trend of more on free TV. The announcement of the Steel Cage match felt TNA-like because it was announced 45 minutes into the show, and no reason was given as to why a steel cage was necessary to determine the No. 1 Contender. The ends justified the means in this case in the payoff between Punk and Barrett, but there was no hype or sense of anticipation for this match as it was thrown in there in the middle of the show. I think if WWE was more stingy with stipulation matches over time, the ones they would announce and hype heavily would feel much more special when they are used. Although the execution worked out, the concept itself was a failure, which gives this a Miss.

Final Thoughts:

Overall, this was an excellent Raw to kick off the new year. The Miz/Morrison match was an excellent 20 minute spectacle with the crowd firmly behind Morrison. There seems to be a determined focus by creative on the value of the WWE Championship, which should be the central storyline of every show. Cole and Matthews did an excellent job of hyping the meaning of the belt throughout the show, and Randy Orton did the same in his short but effective backstage promo. The show opened and closed with strong, lengthy matches, and the hype towards the Rumble really began to take shape tonight. The "New" Nexus storyline also shaped out nicely, and Punk was gold as always on the mic. Im not a fan of so many gimmick matches on free TV after a recent PPV chalk full of them. But both served a distinct purpose in moving forward towards the Rumble, and furthering the Nexus storyline. A very good show to start 2011, and certainly a major Hit overall.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

A
Live Discussion: RAW 29/10/07
24 25 26
Replies
632
Views
34K
EtherBoo
E
A
  • Locked
Live Discussion: RAW 22/10/07
14 15 16
Replies
382
Views
23K
BooCocky
B
A
[OFFICIAL] NXT Aftermath, Review, and Ratings Thread
15 16 17
Replies
418
Views
111K
The People's Peep
T
M
Next RAW Brand Champions
Replies
4
Views
778
Banes
B
J
Official Main Event Aftermath, Ratings & Review Thread
2
Replies
35
Views
13K
Radical
R

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 1 (members: 0, guests: 1)

Members online

No members online now.
Total: 221 (members: 0, guests: 221)

Forum statistics

Threads
174,826
Messages
3,300,733
Members
21,726
Latest member
chrisxenforo

Share this page

Back
Top