Biggest surprise of the first half of 2010

[Dum Dum Dudley]

After the responses from the 'Biggest disappointment' thread i posted earlier, i'll go down the positive route and see what we thought were some of the biggest suprises of the first half of 2010. Just a few rules though. Some 'suprises' are not eligible because they weren't really suprises.
Edge's RR return: About 90% of the IWC knew he was going to return so i won't count this as a suprise.
Taker-HBK II: We all knew they would put on a good match so i don't think anyone was really suprised at the quality of their match.
When i say suprise, i don't exclusively mean a shocking return or 'The Nexus' angle. It can be anything; a superstar, a feud, a match, an entire PPV. Just something that exceeded expectations and left you pleasantly suprised.

My choice would be the Kofi/McIntyre/Long feud. I didn't think it could last very long as the whole premise is that VKM has McIntyre's back so i thought it would get very repetative, very fast. But creative kept putting so many different spins on it that i genuinely enjoyed their work. Long is closed to being fired, then McIntyre is fired only to come back and be given back the title. This allowed Kingston to get involved and their match at Fatal-Fourway was a very good match. I'm not saying this was the greatest thing of the calender year, not by a long shot, but it was something that exceeded expectations.

 

[Ferbian]

The definite biggest surprise of the 2010 thus far would have to be The Nexus invading RAW.

There is no doubt about that. The fact that this forum was basically exploding. As well as the fact that the I am pretty certain that the fans were buzzing to find out what was going to happen next. I was hyped a lot. Especially due to the fact that Wade Barrett had become one of my favorites. This just solidified the fact that I absolutely loved this guy. Loved NXT. This build one of the greatest storylines in recent history.

This forum went as far as to call it the greatest ending for RAW in years. It did what we all want an episode to do - Answer questions while rising new ones.

Another surprise would definitely have to be Jack Swagger winning the Money in the Bank. Only to go on and become World Heavyweight Champion. We hadn't seen much from him ever since he moved to RAW. Which was a shame. But this definitely turned it the other way for Jack.

And of course I couldn't possibly leave out this one. It's not the biggest by far. But it was definitely a surprise - CM Punk's head getting shaved. We didn't expect to see that. I sure didn't at least. So it was very surprising.

 

[dman1373]

I thought jack swagger winnin the mitb was a big surprise and hbk puting his carrer on the line was surprising, and Randy Orton turning face surprised me. But their are two above them all. The nexus invasion at number two, as I never would think that super cena would stay down, and finally number one...............Bryan Danielson getting fired. That was so surprising as it looked like the WWE was going to push him to the stars because he got a win over the Miz on Raw, he had a great fued with cole starting, and he was in the nexus. I remember seeing a thread something like "Daniel bryanson fired from the wwe". I thought it was either a what if thread or a total bullshit. I then looked at it still said bullshit. I then went to the link to wwe.com, and still called bullshit. Even when messeges from the offices came to the forrum saying it was real, thats when i called bullshit more. I still can't beleive it. Not because of I really think its at work, but just because the WWE gave up the current best wrestler in the world.

 

[gers09]

it has to be Nexus invading raw no one saw that coming the best ending to raw in years and it made raw very interesting it done something wwe hadn't done in a long time made me need to watch the next week

another great moment was last Monday randy RKO on evan that was a great OMG moment

 

[emilygoindown]

when Jeff hardy made a surprise return to TNA on January 4th this year. Surprised no one even mentioned that. I also love the WWE's current Nexus angle. Was also surprised by daniel bryans wwe release (though i do feel he is overrated a bit).
Also was surprised and upset over batista leaving the wwe.

 

[CorkscrewBackElbowDrop]

when Jeff hardy made a surprise return to TNA on January 4th this year. Surprised no one even mentioned that. I also love the WWE's current Nexus angle. Was also surprised by daniel bryans wwe release (though i do feel he is overrated a bit).
Also was surprised and upset over batista leaving the wwe.

dude, everyone knew this was going to happen
i'm going to have to go with bryan danielson getting fired, just came out of nowhere and made me a pissed man

 

[RKOx7]

I agree with the Danielson getting fired... that was a crazy shocker... however, that wasn't planned so I won't call it the biggest surprise.

Mmm, I marked out when Edge returned and won, as a face, so even though 90% of the IWC called it, myself included, I was still shocked and in awe

...but yeah I think it easiest is Nexus invading RAW and destroying superstars left and right for... what? 5 weeks now?

 

[newc868]

Nexus invasion, Swagger MiTB, Edge RR... they'll be what the year is remembered for but I think Shawn Michaels at Elimination Chamber was a great surprise.

I mean we knew he was going to be involved somehow but he just popped out of the bottom and then 'Taker heard some Sweet Chin Music. Brilliant because I was looking around the ring trying to find a spot where he could be and didn't think of that.

 

[Cookie14]

There have been a lot of things that have suprised me so far this year.

WWE releasing Shelton, Carlito, Knox, Mickie and others. I know they were never going to be Main Event, but it was still a suprise to see them released.

The WWE Draft, taking SD's biggest stars in Edge and Jericho and putting them on Raw, leaving SD completley lacking in big names.

Heel/Face turns, specifically, bringing Edge back as a face (which was such a failure that they had to turn him back heel, but has lost a lot of momentum that he used to have IMO as a result of the spell as a face), and Big Show suddenly becoming a face almost overnight, just because he went to SD in the draft.

The (slow) return of a tag team division. With The Uso's and the Hart Dynasty, I feel the tag division will just continue to get better during the rest of the year.

But the biggest suprise for me has to be the lack of an authority figure on Raw. We had the guest hosts, Then Bret Hart, now we have a laptop running the biggest show of the biggest company in wrestling. It all just seems a bit poor and not thought through.

I know that the new GM will probably be involved in the Nexus storyline in some way, but this should NOT happen. Raw needs a big name GM who can run the show for a long time, not someone like Michael Cole who will only be GM until this angle is over.

Sorry to be so negative, but the thread asked for a 'suprise' not a 'highlight'

 

[The 1-2-3 Killam]

Nexus invades Raw: This is the most obvious choice that everybody is already talking about, but it doesn't make it any less true.

Mickie Jams: Even Shelton Benjamin's WWE release wasn't that big of a shock to me. And moreover it didn't really matter because he wasn't a contributer in any way as far as I'm concerned. But Mickie James release was huge for me. I didn't see it coming at all, and while I knew she was having issues with management about her weight, I really didn't think they would be stupid enough to fire her over it. A little belly fat? Please... She's still one of the best divas of all time IMO, and even if she gained 30 pounds, it wouldn't make a difference. What I thought was even more of a surprise, is how much they buried her over it. The whole "Piggy James" thing? Really? Let's take a girl who's been great for you for years, and was the diva you had Trish Stratus pass the torch to...and terrorize her over some weight gain before kicking her on the way out the door... I wasn't so much surprised by her being let go, as I was by the way in which they did it. I lost a lot of respect for VKM over that.

HBK's Retirement: I know that we all knew about HBK vs. Undertaker II pretty much as soon as the first one was over, but the retirement angle wasn't really made public knowledge until well into 2010. And even then people were really unsure of how legit it was. There was a lot of talk about something unusual happening so that Taker could keep the streak alive and HBK could stick around. I knew Taker was going to win that match, but I never really expected Shawn Michaels to retire as soon as he did. I'm happy for him, but I sure do miss him and think Raw could definitely have used his skills in the coming years of building young talent. The really chill retirement ceremony on Raw was another big surprise for me. I was sort of expecting a big Ric Flair type send off.

 

[Ruthless-RKO]

For me it has to be the whole Nexus invades Raw angle..even to this day, i'm still excited to see where WWE will go with this...and every week has be thirsty for more..

Honourable mention goes to...Swagger winning MitB..and winning the World title after 3 days..

 

[I_Am_Electro_Boy]

I'm going to have to say when I heard that Batista was leaving WWE, I know we knew a few weeks before he actually left but when I heard I was really shocked.

Also Jack Swagger winning mitb and winning the world chmpionship was a huge shock because he was jobbing week after week before wm but then out of nowhere he wins mitb and then a few weeks later he bcomes world champion.

 

[CyDeez]

There aren't really a whole lot of things to choose from LOL... At this moment the only thing I can think of that surprised me was when Sheamus won at Fatal 4Way... I didn't expect that... Also, Rey winning The WHC that same night too!

 

[SpoodBeest]

The biggest shock to me was figuring out that RAW was invaded by NXT's season one rookies. It was news to me because that "Viewer's Choice" edition of RAW was so damn terrible it put me to sleep well before the main event. The next day I check, and the internet went crazy after it happened. I then watched it and thought that I had just witnessed a great ending. It was so unexpected on a show that was just so shit terrible.

I really wished I could have watched it live when it was going on cause I probably would have marked out from my bed where I was watching. But now this unexpected occurrence has lead to one of the most interesting angles the WWE has had in a very long time. You just watch RAW every week to see what the Nexus are going to do next.

So for pure shock value, I believe the Nexus invasion/storyline has been the most surprising, and welcomed choices the WWE has made this year.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

There have been a lot of things that have suprised me so far this year.

WWE releasing Shelton, Carlito, Knox, Mickie and others. I know they were never going to be Main Event, but it was still a suprise to see them released.

Shelton Benjamin was dead weight that had gone as far as he had, Carlito was a drug addict who failed to go to rehab after failing the Wellness Policy for the second time, Mike Knox was dead weight that was going nowhere and Mickie James wants to be the next Carrie Underwood. No big losses here to any degree.

The WWE Draft, taking SD's biggest stars in Edge and Jericho and putting them on Raw, leaving SD completley lacking in big names.

The Undertaker, Rey Mysterio, CM Punk, & The Big Show are all big names and they're on Smackdown.

Heel/Face turns, specifically, bringing Edge back as a face (which was such a failure that they had to turn him back heel, but has lost a lot of momentum that he used to have IMO as a result of the spell as a face), and Big Show suddenly becoming a face almost overnight, just because he went to SD in the draft.

Edge was brought back as a face, didn't stay a face for long and now he's one of the top heels in the company again. If the WWE had kept him as a face, despite the fact that he wasn't getting over as well as they'd wanted, that'd be something to really complain about. They saw the problem, they fixed it, no fuss, no muss. The Big Show has been stuck as a one dimensional heel for a long while now. Pairing him up with Jericho & The Miz helped make him more interesting than he been in years. The WWE Draft has always been seen as something of an opportunity for freshness. New talent on a new brand being given a fresh start

The (slow) return of a tag team division. With The Uso's and the Hart Dynasty, I feel the tag division will just continue to get better during the rest of the year.

I like the fact that the WWE has taken its time in building the tag team scene. One thing that the WWE has started to do over the course of this past year is take its time in general. They've gone back to building storylines, feuds and angles up over a longer period of time instead of trying to cram as much as they can into shows in order to have it ready for ppvs.

But the biggest suprise for me has to be the lack of an authority figure on Raw. We had the guest hosts, Then Bret Hart, now we have a laptop running the biggest show of the biggest company in wrestling. It all just seems a bit poor and not thought through.

The Guest Host concept isn't going to last forever of course. The WWE is going to keep at it for a while longer, but the writing is on the wall. Bret Hart as the Raw GM was a good idea and I'd have no problems if it kept going. But, the anonymous Raw GM is great in my view. It's got people wandering and talking as to who the Raw GM is going to turn out to be. It adds a bit of mystery to wrestling and mystery is something that's hard to find, thanks to the internet now. People are wondering if the Raw GM is going to be connected to The Nexus. Is he/she the mastermind of the group? Could it be Triple H perhaps? Some are wondering if it could even be Bryan Danielson worked into the role if the WWE is able to bring him back after the 90 days are up. Lots of potential outcomes, lots of potential directions in which it could go.

I know that the new GM will probably be involved in the Nexus storyline in some way, but this should NOT happen. Raw needs a big name GM who can run the show for a long time, not someone like Michael Cole who will only be GM until this angle is over.

I think it'd be a great idea. The WWE doesn't necessarily need some big name wrestler to come onto Raw and play the character of a GM. They've done that for a long time anyhow. They're doing something different, something to shake things up and keep people guessing. As for Michael Cole, there's no guarantee that Cole will have anything to do with the GM angle or The Nexus. There hasn't been any buzz about Michael Cole turning heel and hooking up with The Nexus, or being the mastermind for weeks now. Just another example of having to keep guessing and wondering what's going to happen.

As to the topic in general, the biggest surprise of 2010 is easily The Nexus Invasion of Raw. It was completely unexpected from the point of view of the audience, the WWE managed to keep it secret, it's been treated as a big deal by the WWE and has probably been the most talked about topic in wrestling for the past month.

 

[Cookie14]

Shelton Benjamin was dead weight that had gone as far as he had, Carlito was a drug addict who failed to go to rehab after failing the Wellness Policy for the second time, Mike Knox was dead weight that was going nowhere and Mickie James wants to be the next Carrie Underwood. No big losses here to any degree.

I never said they were likely to be main eventers, but they have been solid performes for a fair while now. Shelton is a solid mid-card guy, Carlito could have been good in the tag team division with Primo, or had another US title run. Knox could have been similar to Mark Henry 5 years ago, solid midcarder, but believable in a short-term main event fued. Mickie James is easily the best WWE dive since Lita and Trish left, how is that not a big loss?

The Undertaker, Rey Mysterio, CM Punk, & The Big Show are all big names and they're on Smackdown.

Taker is part time. Mysterio can not carry a main event fued, he can be a part of one, but he can not carry it in the way Edge or Jericho can. Punk is being kept well away from the title picture, and has been since the start of his fued with Rey Mysterio. Big Show was involved in tag team fueds on Raw, because he didn't fit into the main event scene there, the only reason he does on SD is because there is no one else.

Edge was brought back as a face, didn't stay a face for long and now he's one of the top heels in the company again. If the WWE had kept him as a face, despite the fact that he wasn't getting over as well as they'd wanted, that'd be something to really complain about. They saw the problem, they fixed it, no fuss, no muss. The Big Show has been stuck as a one dimensional heel for a long while now. Pairing him up with Jericho & The Miz helped make him more interesting than he been in years. The WWE Draft has always been seen as something of an opportunity for freshness. New talent on a new brand being given a fresh start

Edge is one of the top heels in the company? He isn't even one of the top heels on Raw. He's behind Sheamus, the Miz, Nexus, Hell, even Michael Cole gets more heat than Edge these days.

I like the fact that the WWE has taken its time in building the tag team scene. One thing that the WWE has started to do over the course of this past year is take its time in general. They've gone back to building storylines, feuds and angles up over a longer period of time instead of trying to cram as much as they can into shows in order to have it ready for ppvs.

In case you missed it, I was saying this was a POSITIVE thing that WWE has done to suprise me.

The Guest Host concept isn't going to last forever of course. The WWE is going to keep at it for a while longer, but the writing is on the wall. Bret Hart as the Raw GM was a good idea and I'd have no problems if it kept going. But, the anonymous Raw GM is great in my view. It's got people wandering and talking as to who the Raw GM is going to turn out to be. It adds a bit of mystery to wrestling and mystery is something that's hard to find, thanks to the internet now. People are wondering if the Raw GM is going to be connected to The Nexus. Is he/she the mastermind of the group? Could it be Triple H perhaps? Some are wondering if it could even be Bryan Danielson worked into the role if the WWE is able to bring him back after the 90 days are up. Lots of potential outcomes, lots of potential directions in which it could go.

HHH or Danielson as GM? Are you telling me that you think this would be a GOOD idea for WWE?
HHH will eventually be cleared to wrestle, and when he is, we all know he will go after the person that took him out, Sheamus. But that won't make sense if he has spent the last few months guiding a group of people to attack the biggest threat to Sheamus' title.
Danielson? Can't appear on TV until the end of his 90 day no-compete clause. When that expires, do you really think he will stand around for a few weeks/months, however long it takes for the Nexus angle to play out, without getting in the ring? I could understand you saying his name in this situation IF he was better on the mic than in the ring, but this is far from being the case. The only way to make Danielson look good is to get him in the ring, not behind a mic.

 

[Dave]

I would have definitely have gone for Edge’s return at the Royal Rumble if it had not been for the Nexus coming to Raw.

For me, both of those angles and surprises have made me very happy to keep paying my money every week and keep watching the product that is on show. I consider myself to be somewhat of an Edge mark and seeing him turn up at Royal Rumble was amazing. More over, seeing him actually win it o his return was riveting and very worthwhile. The only thing that stops me from saying it was the best surprise of the year is that is was probably one of the worst kept secrets in the history of the WWE. Everyone knew that Edge was scheduled to be back for WrestleMania and he could possibly make it back to the Royal Rumble at a push. With that being said, it did take away from the experience when he did actually show up.

The Nexus angle is one that has everyone talking though. When you talk about surprises, there is nothing that comes close to the Nexus rocking up on Raw to beat the holy Hell out of everyone that stood before them. I have heard people say on a continual basis that The Nexus angle is what has gotten them back into wrestling and has garnered so much attention from casual fans that the Raw ratings continue to rise, week after week. Over the year, there is nothing that has surprised me more than the Nexus turning on Raw and I think that it probably wont be surpassed this year at all.

Perhaps when Triple H decides to return to Raw, I might have a new favourite but for right now, The Nexus is my pick by far.

 

[therockiswwf]

Though we knew about it before it happened.
Bret Hart returning- I never ever thought he would come back. When I read that he was coming back I was shocked. When he actually came back I was just speechless that he actually came back.
Honorable Mentions
Mickie James release- I was surprised by this. I don't believe she was released for her weight, she must have done something but they wouldn't release someone because of their weight (except Rikishi but that was only because he refused to lose weight and he was huge and Big Daddy V but that was because they were forced to). She must have done something and the piggy james storyline to me was just a storyline and nothing else. If they really wanted to punish her with that storyline they would have made her lose the match instead of win.
Nexus- No explanation needed.
Daniel Bryan released- F you mattel
Jack Swagger winning the MITB- I really thought he was their just for a pay check.
Primo, Yoshi Tastu, and Jillian still have jobs
Edge RR return- With his injury (which I saw happen live) I thought he still would have been out for at least 2-4 more months. (For those who want to know how it happened, Edge threw Jeff hardy into the turnbuckle and then edge ran at him but Hardy move and when Edge reached the turnbuckle he stopped and then fell and that is when the ref put the X sign up. When Edge was getting helped to the back he grab a microphone and said sorry)
Rey Mysterio winning the world title- Since he was not going to even be in the match in the first place I thought he had no way of winning.
They have not made a big deal about the SES mystery masked man which is surprising to me.
Carlito actually lasted as long as he did.

 

[LongLiveTheStreak]

I have to go with the #1 suprise of the year Nexus innvading Raw. No one saw it coming. For the first time in a couple of years, Raw ended with me anxious and dying to se what happens next. And they have kept me interested.

An honorable mention for me is Rey Mysterio winning his second world title. Over 4 years since Rey last held the championship. I thought WWE would never let him become champ again, that they would done it for him by now. He works so hard while performing for his size and is truly dedicated to the business, his fans, and heritage. Rey deserves it.

 

[thedude19766]

I say Mickie James got fired from the WWE I knew Knox,carilto and shelton gets the ax but Mickie james got the AX and it was a slap to the face and how come jillan,tatsu and primo have jobs not mickie james? give me a break!

 

[Kaneanite]

What about Sheamus? Here is some guy that came out of no where, went in, beat the face of the company and walked away with gold. Now he's on his second title run, and has beaten Cena in 3 paper-views. Last August if I said Sheamus would be WWE Champion 1 year from today, for the 2nd time in his career, would any of you even know who I was talking about?

 

[Daniel]

There have been a few, so here are three...

Nexus invading Raw - I think it came completely out of the blue for everyone. Everyone was deliberating over what each NXT Rookie would do after the show individually. But to have them all turn heel was huge. No one was expecting it. If you look back at the first season, I defy anyone to sit back and say that Justin Gabriel could be a convincing heel. But he has been the standout for me. All 8 of them took out John Cena and anyone else around. And then they tore apart the ring, exposing the wood and padding. It was genuinely the best thing i've seen in wrestling. Look back at the thread made about it, a lot of people felt the same way.

Jack Swagger's leap from the lower midcard to the main event in five days - While everyone tipped Christian, Kofi Kingston or Drew McIntyre to be victorious in Money In The Bank, Jack Swagger came from nowhere to surprise a lot of people. And just when you thought they might build him up for a few months, he cashes it in on the next SmackDown. To me that was surprising and significant. He is the future of WWE.

And finally, Randy Orton's face turn - I'm surprised no one else has mentioned it. He went from being the biggest heel in the whole company to rivaling John Cena for pops. And the most surprising thing about this - the turn was done due to the fans reaction. He wasn't pushed as a face, DiBiase and Rhodes were meant to be the good guys in the Legacy break-up. But for some peculiar reason the fans took Orton to their hearts. And you know what? May have helped his career no end.

 

[Lionheart_Y2J_fan.]

I don't think anyone has mentioned it yet but what really surprised me was Sheamus taking out HHH. I thought that Triple H was gonna be a huge part of the first half and i thought that he would actually win a title.

And of course like everyone else has said The Nexus.

 

[RiVaLGaMeR]

Everyones going to have opinions but no one should claim theirs is 100% just their opinion. Its not fact. My opinion Is either, Brets return to WWE, Kane MITB/WHC, and Nexus. I dont really know which one is the bigger surprise, the surprise for me that made me most happy and excited was Kanes push into WHC. For two years im serious i was thinking im sick of seeing Kane just being that scary guy, i mean a little ago it died like everyones beaten him. Kanes the only guy really in a story line now. Hes looking for the assailant of his brother. And now hes WHC so you know Taker vs Kane is going to happen. And its going to be a huge match, probably HBK/TAKER status. I mean i cant wait for my long days to be over so i can see Smackdown this friday, i dont read the spoilers, but i want to see where its going.

 

[Sonics Garage]

The Nexus invasion of Raw did surprise me. I never expected that. And it was great. It still is. But when it first happened, it was something you wanted to watch on youtube over and over again.

Sheamus and Swagger solidifying themselves in the upper mid-card/main event area. Never thought this would happen. I knew Swagger had promise and Sheamus had a unique look, but these two guys since Wrestlemania are true players in the E.

That's about it. There are other minor surprises like Evan Bourne getting a pretty nice push and Jericho retaining at Wrestlemania.