Thoughts on the Cena swerve?
I was calling for Cena to return to RAW as soon as he was sent to Smackdown. I was shocked that they sent him over in the first place, that's for sure, surprised as hell, but there are too many reasons for Cena to stay on RAW.
Shocky pointed out that the USA Network would be PISSED if the show's top draw was sent to another network, and that's probably the biggest and best reason for Cena staying.
All in all, I don't understand the point of doing it other than to get a reaction, but that's what wrestling is, getting reactions. Definitely set up a nice close to RAW. Cena made two new enemies tonight.
How fucking weird was the booking tonight?
Twas very strange indeed. I owe Sam a shoot on tonight's events, so I'll break it down one at a time...
Battle Royal- Why did Mason Ryan last as long as he did? At least 3/4 of Apple stayed for a while. Was happy to see Kofi and Big Show work together to win, and obviously that pick of Cena to Smackdown to open up the show was absolutely stunning. I figured he'd come back, but that doesn't change the fact that I was blown away by the fact he went over in the first place.
John Morrison attacks R-Truth- First of all, amazing promo by R-Truth, but it may have been a little too funny for a heel. Easily the most entertaining he has ever been since his return, possibly ever. Morrison jumping R-Truth was cool, but why the fuck did the refs come out to break it up? Where were they last week when Truth was kicking the shit out of Morrison?
Top two explanations:
Serious Jones: They were worried about inhaling second hand smoke.
Remixie Steamboat: It's a hate crime when a white guy jumps a black guy, so they had to come out to prevent it from happening.
Eve vs. Layla: Dude, Layla has become the hottest diva on the roster in my eyes, no way around it. I might have to go digging through the avatar stash for a Layla avatar to replace my Natty one, as Natty has been irrelevant for months now. Rey Mysterio coming to RAW is an interesting choice. They did it a two years ago and it didn't work out, but I suppose Rey needs some new faces to feud with. I'm predicting a Sheamus-Rey feud early on. A heel Daniel Bryan/Mysterio feud would also be fucking awesome.
Kofi vs. Sheamus- Thrilled to see Kofi get the win here, the Double Trouble in Paradise was awesome. I was shocked to see Orton go to Smackdown, figured he was taken off the table when Cena left, whether it was permanent or not. Good call on sending Orton over to Smackdown, though. The show needs a top star, and Orton will hopefully bring in more viewers. Plus, he'll have a whole new cast of characters to feud with.
JR vs. Cole- I went to the bathroom to specifically avoid this, but it stretched out so long that I still wound up catching most of it. I don't understand what they have to gain from these matches. Everyone already loves JR, and everyone already hates Cole. Nothing is going to change.
Randy Orton vs. Dolph Ziggler- I legitimately thought Ziggler was Alex Riley until about 2 minutes into the match when I saw DZ on his trunks. I saw others confuse him for Evan Bourne and Ted DiBiase. Stupid move getting rid of his look. Orton won with a surprise RKO, but nobody was surprised. You could even tell Ziggler knew it was going to happen, "Oh gosh, I'm gonna turn around and get RKO'd aren't I?" Yup. Sin Cara gets drafted to Smackdown. Fairly pointless since he doesn't have any established rivalries on either brand, but whatever.
Rey vs. Barrett- Rey won of course. As it should be. I like Del Rio to RAW, opens up to a whole bunch of new upper-mid card feuds, which is exactly where he should be feuding. Show to RAW is okay too. I don't know what I'd do with him, but the WWE will think of something. I wonder what this means for the Kane/Big Show tag title reign, though.
6 Man Tag- Mark Henry turns? Pointless, he's much more fun as a face. I was hoping for a Kool-Aid man angle where he bursts through a wall a-la The Shockmaster. Those dreams got poured down the drain along with the Kool-Aid. Having Miz pick up the win after the turn was a nice touch. Punk and Christian impressed me during this match, but not much else. I feel like a total smark for saying that, being that those two are internet love children number one, but they clearly out performed the others. Cena getting drafted back to RAW and knocking everyone silly was a nice touch.
I'm upset that Sheamus and Daniel Bryan didn't get drafted, but there's still the supplemental draft for that I suppose. I have a feeling we'll see Brodus Clay come to RAW as well.