Official Raw/Smackdown Aftermath, Ratings and Review Thread

[Jack-Hammer]

Pretty much the entire first hour sucked and was a waste. Lots of corny comedy skits and I was reminded of just how ultimately useless the Slammy Awards are in general.

I thought the show picked up nicely, however, in Raw's usual timeslot. While there were still some Slammy's presented, most of them were far less painful than the crap we were subjected to in the first hour of the show. When you take the Slammy Awards out of the equation, then Raw delivered some very good wrestling, good solid hype for TLC and a surprise return.

Punk's "tribute" to Johnny Ace was pretty funny and was nicely done. Some people in the audience probably didn't know a lot about what was going on as far as the old footage really showed Ace looking like the complete idiot that he was during his days in the ring. Nice way to keep heat on the Punk/JL relationship.

Triple H did a solid job on the mic of putting himself over and his words regarding The Undertaker could be a hint of another match between them. His feud & match with Kevin Nash hasn't been a hot feud, but I prefer what they've done with it overall rather than have it eat up air time when there are just other things going on that are more interesting. They haven't shoved this feud down our throats and tried to make it seem that it's the center of the universe.

The four way match between Daniel Bryan, Dolph Ziggler, Cody Rhodes & Zack Ryder was an awesome effort. All four men worked their asses off and helped do a good job of putting some final hype for Ziggler vs. Ryder. There were some great near falls, especially in the closing minutes. Ziggler hitting the Zig Zag on Bryan was his first clean win over Bryan and it made sense as Bryan is the only one in the match who didn't have a match at the ppv. Great 3.5 star effort in my view and Ziggler taking Ryder's Slammy Award was a nice touch.

Cena's shots towards The Rock for accepting the "Gamechanger of the Year" Slammy worked in my opinion. The fans popped when they thought Rock was coming out and booed heavily when they realized he wasn't there. If anything, it put heat on Cena and I'm sure the WWE had to have known that'd be the case.

Punk & Orton vs. Miz & Del Rio was a fun tag match and it was booked perfectly in my view. Orton is taken out of the match due to Barrett's interference and Miz is able to lock in the SCF for the win. He & Del Rio gained some heat and I thought the match did a solid job of portraying the heels as threats to Punk. Even though Punk will almost surely retain this Sunday, it was still nicely booked. Basic booking, but at least it makes sense.

Cena vs. Henry was pretty solid. Henry looked dominant and got in a lot of offense on Cena. The match went to a 10 minute no contest, though I would've LOVED to have seen Cena pinned because it wouldn't have hurt him and would've given Henry a good dose of momentum going into TLC.

Kane's return was very nicely done and the new mask looked awesome. Kane looked and seemed generally more menacing and intimidating than he's been in a while. With the way the wig looked, the fact that Kane has slimmed down since the days when he last wore the mask and the facial hair; I thought Kane actually did have a decent resemblance to The Undertaker.

If you take the first hour out of the picture, Raw was a solid B in my view. With the first hour factored in, I dropped the show down to a C+, maybe even just a C. The first hour was really so bad that it did drag the show down overall, there was just no way around it. The regular 9-11 pm timeslot did just fine with solid storyline progression, good wrestling matches and a memorable return from Kane. If WWE wants to do a particular annual 3 hour special, I'd much rather have them do Old School Raw than this tripe we go through with the Slammy Awards each year.

 

[Papa Pillman]

The four way match between Daniel Bryan, Dolph Ziggler, Cody Rhodes & Zack Ryder was an awesome effort. All four men worked their asses off and helped do a good job of putting some final hype for Ziggler vs. Ryder. There were some great near falls, especially in the closing minutes. Ziggler hitting the Zig Zag on Bryan was his first clean win over Bryan and it made sense as Bryan is the only one in the match who didn't have a match at the ppv. Great 3.5 star effort in my view and Ziggler taking Ryder's Slammy Award was a nice touch.

This is a solid re-cap of the match. I was thoroughly entertained the enitre length of that contest. All four men legitimately worked their asses off as Jack-Hammer stated, and they really had good chemistry together. I also want to commend Zach Ryder. The man could have looked badly out of his league in the ring with three such high level performers, but he managed to hold his own quite nicely and not seem out of place at all. All four guys are talented and over and the crowd really seemed to eat it up the whole time. That was a PPV quality effort that was delivered.

I also thought the King did a nice job on commentary of putting over how good of a match the audience was getting treated to.

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

I liked Raw. Even though the opening segment went too long, I thought most of it was funny enough. even JR forgetting his rap and rescuing it with ".....so kiss my ass". The spinaroony as a bit much though.

the rest of the show was fun, furthered stories, had a few soild-really good matches, and left you asking questions. So it did everything your TV show should do.

 

[XXJJ]

The first hour was a trainwreck. No more 3-hour raw please. The regular part of the show was fine.

Kane returning was the highlite by far. He didnt get a big reaction though. I do miss the non PG crowds at times. You get a much different atmosphere with a bunch of drunk young adult males, than you do with a family friendly crowd.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

WWE Friday Night SmackDown! - December 16, 2011

Opening Segment - Good mic work from both Booker T & Cody Rhodes to start things off with. When Booker speaks with a controlled enthusiasm, not the rambling & often incoherant hodgepodge we hear from him on commentary most of the time, he does a solid job on the mic just as he showed here. His comment towards Rhodes trying to use him to become legitimate was a nice touch because the whole purpose of this feud, ultimately, is for Cody Rhodes' stock to rise. As far as Cody Rhodes goes, really nice work from him in my view. Aside from the sinister laugh, which we didn't hear much of this time around, he's got it in my view. His facial expressions and body language is really good and Cody just comes across as someone that you can see has improved his overall game a helluva lot in the past year and a half. I'm looking forward to their match at TLC. Thumbs Up

1. Daniel Bryan vs. Cody Rhodes - Very nice match between Rhodes & Bryan. I like the fact that there wasn't any interference from Booker here and both guys were able to put out a very solid 8.5 minute match. It wasn't the best these two are capable of, but they both looked strong, each got in a good deal of offense and looked crisp while doing it. Bryan did a good job of continuing to sell his injured ribs, so he continues to have something of an out for coming up short here. The end comes when Rhodes reverses a roll up attempt by Bryan, very smoothly at that, and quickly hits Cross Rhodes for the win. Rhodes got a win over a game opponent heading into TLC. Now as long as WWE doesn't screw up and give Booker the strap, it's all gravy for Cody. **3/4

2. Alicia Fox vs. Natalya - Generally speaking, same old same old from the Divas. Alicia & Natalya are two girls that can put on entertaining matches, the problem is that they were only given a minute here. Alicia gets the win via small package, but it was ultimately over with too quickly to rate. N/A

Jack Swagger & Mark Henry - Decent, brief backstage segment with Henry expanding his heel character a bit by negotiating with Swagger to injure Big Show in his match tonight. If he does, he'll be first in line for a shot at Henry's title. Swagger showed some good intensity as well as nice facial expressions when replying to Henry that he'd do it for himself rather than because it's what Henry wanted. It was nice work, but the problem is that Swagger just doesn't have any credibility to back up the intensity at this point. I'd love to see a turn around for Swagger in 2012 because he does have the ability, but it's hard to get overly excited about him and his match against Big Show. Thumbs Up

3. The Usos vs. Epico & Primo - Pretty good match while it lasted. It needed to be longer than the 3 minutes it lasted in order to get the full effect, but both teams worked well together and packed in a good amount of action in the time that they were given. Epico & Primo continue to look good and they do have legit chemistry together. The end comes with Primo knocking one of the Usos legs out from under him as he climbed the top turnbuckle and managed to hit a modified version of the backstabber for the win. *1/2

4. Big Show vs. Jack Swagger - While much of this match went about as I expected, it was still much better than I thought it would be. There was some nice physical action from both guys and Swagger continued to show good intensity. We had a little too much of Show just swatting Swagger around for my taste, but at least this wasn't a 90 second squash job to make Swagger look like a complete tool. The Swagger Bombs Jack hit on Show looked good and there Swagger did take some of Show's best shots. Swagger manages to reverse a chokeslam attempt into a victory roll in which he locks in the ankle lock. Swagger works the ankle for a bit all while Mark Henry has been sitting at ringside. Show kicks out of the ankle lock and then hits Swagger as he's coming in with WMD for the win at the 6 minute mark. After the match, Show tosses Swagger outside the ring and Henry gets up out of the chair he's been sitting in. He hits Swagger in the back, taking him out, and then uses the chair to knock the crap out of a nearby camera guy. It was a nice heel spot for Henry, especially with Show screaming that he was a coward. All in all, a much better match than I expected and some good heat put on Henry. **1/4

5. Ted DiBiase vs. Heath Slater - Not really much to talk about here. It was a decent 3 minute match but ultimately nothing to get excited about. I will say, however, that it's refreshing to see that DiBiase continues to at least show some level of personality and excitement. It's a welcome change from the drab, generic presentation he's given us for the majority of his WWE career. DiBiase gets the win over Slater via Dream Street. *

6. Sheamus vs. Jinder Mahal - Mahal actually attacks DiBiase after his match with Slater and Teddy Long comes out and makes his match with Sheamus. Their match was better than DiBiase vs. Slater, mostly just because of how much fun Sheamus is to watch. I like that hard hitting, physical, stiff as shit looking style he has in the ring. It just completely suits his character as a big Irish lug. Mahal got in more offense than I expected, so at least it wasn't a total squash. Sheamus does eventually get the win, however, at the 4 minute mark after hitting the Brogue Kick. *1/2

7. Randy Orton & Zack Ryder vs. Wade Barrett & Dolph Ziggler - Great tag match to close the show out with. They were given a good amount of time and all the wrestlers involved were given a chance to show what they've got. Ziggler continues to shine inside the ring. His moves are crisp and he's so athletic that it looks as though he requires virtually no effort to do them. Barrett looked solid here as well and both he & Ziggler looked strong against their respective opponents at TLC. The crowd was definitely pro Ryder tonight as the popped for everything he did. The ending comes a little past the 16 minute mark as Ziggler runs into an RKO from Orton. He & Barrett stare each other down to close the show. ***1/4

Final Thoughts - This wasn't a red hot go home show, but it was a very solid 2 hours of mostly wrestling. Cody Rhodes & Booker T did a good job with some final hype for their match at TLC. They've gone the route of Cody being the young upstart that's been unable to get the best of the wiley veteran so far, which is a good sign that Rhodes will retain at TLC. The build for Henry vs. Show tonight wasn't as physical as we've seen in past weeks, but that doesn't bother me because we've seen a ton of interaction from these two for a while so using body language, taunts and general presence to put the final touch on the build for their match is fine with me. They used the main event as a final push for Orton vs. Barrett & Ziggler vs. Ryan and, again, I thought it worked out just fine. Barrett has 2 pinfall victories over Orton and while they could've done more with this, they should have a solid match at the ppv. As for Ziggler vs. Ryder, it's been building for months. If you're not ready for the match by now, then you might as well just give up. As for the wrestling action, it was very solid overall. Very good opener from Cody Rhodes & Daniel Bryan. Epico & Primo continue to look very promising as a tag team. Big Show & Jack Swagger put on a pretty fun match and one that turned out to be much better than I was expecting. Sheamus & Jinder Mahal put on an ok match, though the outcome was never in question. Sheamus just looks like a guy that's waiting around at the moment and I'd say he'll be the one working a program with Mark Henry over the WHC next. Not a hot show, but an entertaining show nonetheless.

Grade: B-

 

[Jack-Hammer]

WWE Raw Supershow - December 19, 2011

Opening Segment - I thought this was a strong opening for the show. It was just a different sort of formula than we usually see and it worked. For me, it worked because the WWE heavily acknowledged the title changes that took place at TLC. Punk sharing the spotlight with Ryder & Bryan is interesting, it's something that we've not seen the WWE Champion do before. Both Bryan & Ryder got good responses from the crowd and Bryan showed some nice intensity on the mic. The minute I saw Miz, Ziggler & Del Rio come out, I just knew there'd be a 6 man tag main event between these three. Not exactly "creative" but it'll no doubt be a solid main event. Nice way to introduce two new champs live on Raw and a good means of ultimately setting up the main event. Thumbs Up

1. Randy Orton vs. Wade Barrett - Good match from Orton & Barrett that could have been better if they'd given them a few more minutes. What I liked most about this match is that, again, Barrett came off as someone that can go toe to toe with Orton. He's an overall stronger heel now than he was when he was feuding against Cena. There was some good physical back & forth action though I thought the ending was a bit of a letdown. Since when did a thumb to the eye warrant disqualification? It seemed kind of weak and if they were going to go this route, why not just have Barrett deliver a low blow instead? After all, it's simply a much more physically impactful looking move. Barrett beat Orton down a bit following the match and used Waseland to put him through a table, so Barrett ultimately did look strong throughout despite the somewhat goofy DQ ending. Orton wins it at 8 minutes but gets left laying. **3/4

2. Beth Phoenix vs. Alicia Fox - Waste of time. Typical 1 minute Diva crap with Alicia getting the win. N/A

3. Sheamus vs. Jinder Mahal - This match was ok while it lasted and I thought it was a little better than the one they had on SD! this past Friday. Mahal was much more aggressive here and got some good shots in on Sheamus before Sheamus basically went Hulk and delivered the Celtic Cross for the win. Again, this match just seemed like a reason to get Sheamus on television and it makes me wonder what WWE Creative has in mind for him. *1/4

John Cena, Mark Henry & Kane - Good segment here with Cena keeping the corny jokes to a minimum. He was trying to be a little PG cute, but he didn't take it very far. Cena called out Kane to discuss what happened last week when Mark Henry's music hit. Henry came down the ramp and to the ring very slowly and gingerly, so he's definitely hurting if his groin injury is as bad as is being reported. Henry does his thing on the mic, which has been quite good for a while, and threatens Cena for a bit. We all knew that Kane was coming so it was obvious that this was just bluster between Cena & Kane. Kane's music hit and he came out to a nice response form the Philly crowd. Kane does have that ominious presence now that he really hasn't had in quite a while and I thought him teasing about going after Mark Henry at first was a nice touch. After all, Henry did put him on the shelf. Kane does go after Cena, Cena clotheslines him over the top but is pulled outside. Kane tossed him over the announce table and them basically smothered him out. I've actually had that done to me for some of my job training and it can be panic inducing. It looked viscious and it just looked a little different. Kane ripped Cena's shirt off and left him lying there. Cena sold the after effects of Kane's attack and I like that we don't really have any answers just yet and I'm thinking that Kane ripping of Cena's shirt will have some part to play, like it's some sort of trophy or something. Thumbs Up

4. The Usos vs. Epico & Primo - Fun, energetic tag team match. It didn't last all that long, just about 3.5 minutes, but I thought they packed a lot of action into the time they were given. The crowd didn't really respond to either team but, to be fair, this is the first time these four guys have gotten any real exposure on Raw in a very long time. Epico & Primo continue to show good continuity as a team and having Rosa as the chicken head eye candy is, quite frankly, the very best use for her. The ending comes after one of the Usos tries to knock Primo out of the ring but Primo pulls down the tip rope and he flies over it. The remaining Uso, can't remember which, then does take out Primo before Epico hits the Backstabber for the pin. **

5. Cody Rhodes vs. Santino Marella - Brief squash match for Cody Rhodes. Santino did get in a little offense, pretty much what you'd expect, but Cody dominated the match. Santino goes for The Cobra at one point but it's blocked and Cody lands the Alabama Slam for the win. Quick & painless. 3/4*

WWE Tribute To The Troops Video - This was a cool video presentation that showed some of the highlights of the Tribute special as well as WWE stars interacting with military personnel & their families. The Tribute is one of the classiest things WWE does and I'm glad that they don't try to somehow exploit their involvement in doing stuff for the military. It's beneficial for WWE of course, but they don't try to put themselves over but rather they use it to put over the service men & women. Thumbs Up

Big Show - Big Show was awesome here. This is probably the best he's ever been on the mic and delivered an emotional promo here. Show's facial expressions, his body language, the tone of his voice and the fact that he looked as if he was about to shed a tear for a few moments really capped this off well. Big Show tried to do the "right thing" and congragulate Daniel Bryan and did a great job of making you think that he just wanted to lash out and go destroy him. Josh Matthew's comment about Big Show being the shortest WHC in history made me wonder if Show was gonna just beat the snot out of him. I'm guessing that Henry is gonna try and continue to play an "understanding" guy for a bit before he blows his stack and ultimately goes heel. Thumbs Up

6. CM Punk, Daniel Bryan & Zack Ryder vs. The Miz, Alberto Del Rio & Dolph Ziggler - Fun match to close the show out with and all six of them got time to get in there and show their stuff. Ultimately, Bryan & Ryder carried most of the match with Punk coming in off the hot tag to help take up the slack. Bryan & Ryder absorbed a lot of punishment from the heels, which they needed to do I think in order to come out of the match looking strong. In the closing minutes, the action breaks down with all the guys going at each other until only Bryan & Del Rio are left inside the ring. Del Rio gets the upper hand and rams Bryan's shoulder into the ring post before going for the armbar. I was a little worried here because I thought that WWE might actually go down the road of having Bryan lose here. However, Bryan reverses the move and slaps the LaBell Lock on Del Rio. Del Rio sells it well and fights it for a bit before ultimately tapping, giving the faces the win at the 12.5 minute mark. Punk, Bryan & Ryder celebrate post match and all get great responses from the hot crowd. ***

Final Thoughts - Overall, Raw was a big improvement over last week's show. Last week's Raw would've been just fine had it not been for the first hour of the three hour special dragging the overall show down. The opening segment was pretty cool and Bryan & Ryder got some real exposure by sharing the spotlight a bit. Orton & Barrett put on another fun match, though the DQ finish was kind of foolish in my view. Sheamus & Cody Rhodes both looked good in their filler matches. I hope they find something meaningful for Sheamus soon. The segment with Cena, Kane & Mark Henry was well done. All three did a good job in their roles and Kane's presence if more menacing now than it's been in years. The tag match between Epico & Primo and The Usos was good while it lasted and with Air Boom still the champs, maybe the tag scene can get back the steam it lost during Bourne's suspension. Big Show delivered a helluva good promo in my view and it looks like he's heading towards a possible heel turn. The main event was a fun match and it was a nice touch having Bryan score the win with him forcing Del Rio to tap out. Cole was on Bryan's case all night and said during this match that Bryan was going to have one of the shortest reigns in history. The fact that Cole said that gives me some hope that Bryan is going to be given a real, solid run with the title. Overall, an entertaining show that did a good job of putting some young, over babyfaces front & center.

Grade: B

 

[WWEIsLife2]

Good RAW tonight,

I loved Punk,Bryan,and Ryder coming through the Philly Crowd. The 6-Man Tag was fun and Cole ranting/crying was funny in a pathetic way.

Orton/Barrett was decent,I guess they will have their blow-off Match here at some point.

The Cena/Kane thing is interesting,not sure why Kane stole Cena's Shirt.

Beth losing quick was odd but I know they are trying to make Alicia Fox a Contender again.

I also liked Big Show's interview,possible Heel turn coming?

 

[OddFuture]

Tonights Raw was actually pretty good. I liked the opening segment in particular because it showed all 3 champs in the ring at once which I thought was nice and refreshing. I did feel that CM Punk was hogging all the talk time and was kinda disappointed that all Zack didn't say more than his usual Woo-Woo-Woo thing. Good thing the Royal Rumble is in a little more than a month so they can get a feud for the WWE Championship going.

 

[Aberle4Life]

Did anyone else notice the ref throw up the dreaded "X" for Alberto Del Rio after the main event ended? Also, the referee said something to Punk as we was about to raise their arms, and right after Punk and Bryan headed out of the ring to celebrate and the cameras did not show inside the ring again.

Hopefully ADR is alright; it didn't look like anything bad happened, but maybe he was legitimately injured while in Bryan's submission hold. To come out of TLC okay but get hurt tonight in a regular match is just odd.

Overall, a solid RAW tonight I think. Kane was incredible and Cena did a great job of selling the torment. Awesome giving the Usos and Primo/Epico some time as well. It was a very good show coming off the PPV, and I look forward to the build for the ROYAL RUMBLE!

 

[metalbass]

Pretty solid RAW tonight. As for Kane ripping off Cena's shirt I think it's obvious. The shirt says, "Rise Above Hate". Kane is going back to his old roots again where his life was swallowed by hate from what his brother did to him, how he burned his face etc. It's a subtle message but I can see the correlation, which leads me to believe we'll see Kane vs. Undertaker at WM28.

 

[rge2010]

So Punk, Bryan and Ryder main eventing was one of the LOWEST rated main events of the year!!!

Punk was meant to be the saviour and fans have been clammering for Bryan and Ryder to get their gold and now they have it seems nobody cares or can be bothered watching!!!

Dont expect a Cena heel turn anytime soon because it is pretty obvious Punk isn't ready to carry the show. Despite Cena main eventing 90% of Raws this year and fans apparently 'bored'...this proves he can draw more than anyone on the roster.
_________________________________________________________________

As previously reported, Monday's WWE RAW Supershow drew a low 2.92 cable rating and averaged 4.29 million viewers for the two-hour broadcast.

A closer look at the ratings on a segment-by-segment basis does not bode well for the drawing power of CM Punk, Daniel Bryan and Zack Ryder.

RAW's opening segment did a strong 3.36 rating, a sign that fans were interested in the fallout from the previous night's TLC pay-per-view.

The Randy Orton vs. Wade Barrett match lost 721,000 viewers, a significant drop. Beth Phoenix vs. Alicia Fox rebounded, for a gain of 277,000 viewers. Jinder Mahal vs. Sheamus lost 247,000 viewers and the John Cena promo that featured Kane and Mark Henry gained 428,000 viewers - doing a 3.18 quarter rating.

Epico & Primo vs. The Usos and Cody Rhodes vs. Santino Marella lost 719,000 viewers. Backstage segments with John Laurinaitis and The Bella Twins, Hornswoggle and a Big Show interview lost another 56,000 viewers.

The RAW six-man main event with CM Punk, Daniel Bryan & Zack Ryder vs. Alberto Del Rio, The Miz & Dolph Ziggler drew a very low 2.67 rating - making it one of the lowest-rated RAW main events of the year.

The overrun only gained 59,000 viewers. RAW's overrun usually gains significantly more viewers than that.

 

[Marv95]

Newsflash: the ratings are bad because the product is bad. Yeah the IWC got what they wanted, but just because they got what they wanted doesn't mean they're sold on it. The way Danielson and Punk got to where they at was so counterproductive and insulting to the fans' intelligence it's not funny. Punk has the ability to "carry" the company but it won't do any good if they continue to screw it up.

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

"insulting fans' intelligence". No, that has nothing to do with it. Wrestling fans are the dumbest people on the planet. Don't believe me? Look at the looney tunes 80s or jerry springer 90s. Then look at how popular they are.

My theory is, Punk sells a lot of shirts but has low ratings. Who does punk appeal to? Net fans and older fans. Who watches Raw on their computer and thus, aren't recorded by Nielsen? Those same fans. The fault is in the logic of "RATINGS=BE ALL MEASUREMENT!!!!!"

 

[Jack-Hammer]

WWE Friday Night SmackDown! - December 23, 2011

Opening Segment - I thought the opening of the show last night worked well to establish the tension between Bryan, Henry & Big Show. Show & Henry both did well on the mic, I thought Show's facial expressions & body language did a really nice job of selling his frustration at the situation. Daniel Bryan came out to a very nice response from the audience and I liked how he addressed the various "shortcomings" he has as a WWE superstar, and Michael Cole did a good job of putting those "shortcomings" over even if he was a little over the top at times. The announcement of a match between Show & Henry to determine the #1 contender had me a little dubious. Henry's hurt so I wasn't expecting much, yet I was hopeful. Overall, a good segment to start the show off with and set the tone for this potential three way feud. Thumbs Up

1. Zack Ryder vs. Cody Rhodes - Nice work here from both wrestlers. I thought they looked evenly matched throughout the match, both got in a good amount of offense and generally looked to be on the same level. It worked for me because both guys are mid-card champs. There were a couple of nice near falls here and there and I thought the commentators did a solid job of keeping the Booker T/Cody Rhodes situation at the forefront. The end comes when Booker T, in the "holiday spirit" stands up on the announce table and starts singing "Cody The Red-Nosed Reindeer" to provide a slight distraction. Ryder capitalizes with the Rough Ryder and gets the win at the 9.5 minute mark. The ending didn't hurt Rhodes or Ryder as the match had been very even throughout. Ryder didn't need to lose here and Booker T's distraction gives Cody an excuse. Overall, a very solid tv match. **3/4

Teddy Long Backstage Segment - Harmless for the most part, but still pretty lame. Some corny comedy here and there with Santino & Aksana involved. Watching Teddy Long do that dance or whatever it's supposed to be is awful. It was a painless segment, but I thought it took up some onnecessary time overall. The only positive really was the announcement of Ziggler taking on Daniel Bryan in the main event. Thumbs In The Middle

Big Show & Mark Henry - I thought I'd be disappointed when their match was called off but I really wan't. David Otunga came out in his sweater, carrying his coffee and announced that Henry vs. Show wasn't gonna happen as Henry wasn't medically cleared. The reason was Henry's aggravated ankle injury led to a dangerous increase in blood pressure. We all know that Henry's groin is pulled so I've no problem seeing this match put off until where he can perform adequately. I thought Show sold his frustration nicely and the WMD to Otuna looked great I thought. Thumbs Up

The Miz - Initially, The Miz comes up to Teddy Long backstage and asks what he's doing. Teddy doesn't know what he's talking about & Miz puts himself over. You know, the usual stuff that he does. The Miz then comes out to the ring and basically holds the show hostage while Michael Cole gives him a standing ovation. Miz was ok on the mic but I find myself growing a little frustrated with him basically dong the same schtick he's been doing. He's a talented guy, but he's lost a lot of heat over the past month or so and this stuff isn't really helping him get it back. Thumbs In The Middle

2. Sheamus vs. The Miz - The match was good while it lasted but, overall, I'm disappointed here. There was some good action and they packed in a lot of action in the time they were given, but the match lasted 3 minutes. It lasted 3 minutes with Sheamus winning via The Brogue Kick. I can understand Sheamus going through guys like Heath Slater & Jinder Mahal in that time, but not someone who spent almost the first half of 2011 as WWE Champion. Very strange booking here. *3/4

Randy Orton & Wade Barrett - Solid work from Barrett on the mic & his brawl with Orton was nicely done. They didn't try to go over the top with it and Orton's facial expressions, his body language and the "slithering" movements he did really capped this brawl off nicely. Barrett got in some nice shots but Orton controlled most of it, eventually spilling out into the parking garage. Orton ultimately hits the RKO on Barrett on the roof of the car. Overall, this feud has been really even and this was a logical way to keep it going and keeping the score even with Orton getting the best of Barrett here since he was put through a table on Raw this past Monday. Thumbs Up

3. Kofi Kingston vs. Primo - A short match, but a good one. Both of them looked very crisp in the ring together and I thought they showed some great chemistry. While only 3 minutes, they packed a good deal of action into the time given. Both guys hit a couple of nice spots, such as Kofi's high cross body & Primo hitting an arm drag from the top rope. As both guys are recovering, Kofi pops up out of nowhere and hits Trouble In Paradise for the win. A fun match and, again, a logical means of keeping this tag team feud going. **1/4

4. Daniel Bryan vs. Dolph Ziggler - This match was flat out fantastic. In my view, it's the best match these two have had on television together. They had a couple of matches on tv last year about this time that were also really good, but I thought this one just had a level of energy that put it over the top. Bryan & Ziggler delivered a lot of great, back & forth action in one of those matches in which you almost hate to see someone lose. The crowd was eating it up and you could tell that they appreciated the effort being put out. Both of them sold each other's moves well and looked resilient as they took some of each other's best moves, landing some great near falls. During the match, Jack Swagger comes down to ringside and does interfere slightly at one point, prompting Big Show to come down as well. Eventually, Show & Swagger get into an altercation on the outside and both of them come into the ring, effectively ending the match in a no contest. I was a little disappointed the way the match ended but, frankly, I do understand the logic of it. I think Bryan would have gotten the win but, at the same time, Ziggler has lost a lot of matches lately so having him lose cleanly so soon after dropping the United States Championship could have hurt him. And, of course, having Bryan lose would've been disasterous. I would love to see these two have a full blown feud at some point in time. I think there's money to be made. ***3/4

5. Daniel Bryan & The Big Show vs. Dolph Ziggler & Jack Swagger - Teddy Long made the Bryan vs. Ziggler match a tag team match. It was a fun tag match with the crowd still being really hot from the singles match. Show looked impressively dominant against Swagger & Ziggler. Show was talking a little bit of trash to Bryan a couple of times in the match, nothing overt, but just enough to keep the tension between the two on the surface. The ending comes when Swagger clips Show from behind, causing him to fall close to his corner and allowing Bryan to make the blind tag. Bryan goes for the missle dropkick but it's countered by Swagger who tries to lock in the ankle lock. Bryan, however, counters and winds up pulling Swagger to the map and putting him in the LaBell Lock. Swagger taps, giving Bryan & Show the win about the 7 minute mark. Bryan celebrates the win by posing for the fans with the title while Show looks up at him outside the ring. **3/4

Final Thoughts - I thought last night's show was really entertaining and several current programs were progressed in a logical and thoughtful way. The opening segment worked nicely in establishing a possible three way feud for the title, depending upon how long Henry is on the shelf. I thought that they also did a good job of pushing along the Booker T vs. Cody Rhodes and the Randy Orton vs. Wade Barrett programs in thoughtful, logical ways that weren't over the top. They were also done in ways in which none of the characters' credibility was hurt, which is always a nice touch. There was some really good wrestling content on the show as well in my view. Ryder vs. Rhodes was a solid, even looking match between the two regining mid-card champions in WWE. Kofi Kingstin & Primo delivered a fun, high energy match that kept the focus on their tag team feud and pushed it along nicely. Daniel Bryan vs. Dolph Ziggler was a helluva match, one that I almost hated to see end. The ending for the match was logical as neither of them really needs a loss at this time, but it did hurt the overall match slightly. Had it not been for the ending, the match would've definitely been four stars in my book. The tag team match to follow up was fun, well paced with lots of energy, good offense and a hot crowd. Daniel Bryan making Swagger tap was the right call as a loss won't hurt Swagger as losing is what he's done for much of this year. As on Raw, Bryan was booked well and it at least appears, at least for now, that WWE is firmly behind Bryan's run with the title. They showed a cool video package on the show featuring Punk, Ryder & Bryan, the three new champs on the roster, so that's a good indicator, as is Michael Cole's continuous barrage of negativity towards Bryan, that Bryan MIGHT get a real run as champion. The only real negative about the show was Sheamus vs. The Miz. Miz has lost some heat over the past few months and having him, a guy who spent roughly 6 months as WWE Champion, job out cleanly in 3 minutes just didn't strike me as a great move.

Grade: B+

 

[XXJJ]

Here are the quater ratings breakdown. Not a good sign that the main event was the lowest rating of the night. I dont think this hurts Punk. But I dont see someone like Daniel Bryan is going to be in many raw main events in the future. Its not a good sign that the one match they really promoted throughout Raw had the lowest rating.

Q1: 3.4 rating - C.M. Punk introduces himself, Daniel Bryan, and Zack Ryder as champions, Dolph Ziggler, The Miz, and Alberto Del Rio out

Q2: 2.9 rating - John Laurinaitis books the main event, Randy Orton vs. Wade Barrett, two commercial breaks

Q3: 3.1 rating - Orton vs. Barrett continuation, Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler discuss Triple H vs. Kevin Nash, Alicia Fox vs. Beth Phoenix

Q4: 2.9 rating - Shemaus vs. Jinder Mahal, WWE Network video, Kane and John Cena highlights, two commercial breaks

Q5: 3.2 rating - John Cena promo, Mark Henry out, Kane out to attack Cena, tag match entrances

Q6: 2.8 rating - Epico and Primo vs. The Uso Brothers, Royal Rumble commercial, Cody Rhodes and Santino backstage segment, Cody Rhodes vs. Santino Marella

Q7: 2.7 rating - Tribute to the Troops video, The Bella Twins, John Laurinaitis, David Otunga, Vickie Guerrero, and Hornswoggle backstage, Big Show interviewed backstage, main event ring entrances

Q8: 2.6 rating - Daniel Bryan, C.M. Punk, and Zack Ryder vs. The Miz, Alberto Del Rio, and Dolph Ziggler, two commercial breaks

Overrun: 2.8 rating - Main event continuation and post-match celebration

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

Here are the quater ratings breakdown. Not a good sign that the main event was the lowest rating of the night. I dont think this hurts Punk. But I dont see someone like Daniel Bryan is going to be in many raw main events in the future. Its not a good sign that the one match they really promoted throughout Raw had the lowest rating.

Q1: 3.4 rating - C.M. Punk introduces himself, Daniel Bryan, and Zack Ryder as champions, Dolph Ziggler, The Miz, and Alberto Del Rio out

Q2: 2.9 rating - John Laurinaitis books the main event, Randy Orton vs. Wade Barrett, two commercial breaks

Q3: 3.1 rating - Orton vs. Barrett continuation, Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler discuss Triple H vs. Kevin Nash, Alicia Fox vs. Beth Phoenix

Q4: 2.9 rating - Shemaus vs. Jinder Mahal, WWE Network video, Kane and John Cena highlights, two commercial breaks

Q5: 3.2 rating - John Cena promo, Mark Henry out, Kane out to attack Cena, tag match entrances

Q6: 2.8 rating - Epico and Primo vs. The Uso Brothers, Royal Rumble commercial, Cody Rhodes and Santino backstage segment, Cody Rhodes vs. Santino Marella

Q7: 2.7 rating - Tribute to the Troops video, The Bella Twins, John Laurinaitis, David Otunga, Vickie Guerrero, and Hornswoggle backstage, Big Show interviewed backstage, main event ring entrances

Q8: 2.6 rating - Daniel Bryan, C.M. Punk, and Zack Ryder vs. The Miz, Alberto Del Rio, and Dolph Ziggler, two commercial breaks

Overrun: 2.8 rating - Main event continuation and post-match celebration

Ratings are an estimate correct? How much you guys want to bet that the difference between 2.6, 2.7, and 2.8 isn't statistically significant enough to draw a conclusion (as in, it could have been in any order). Bottom line is, the whole last hour is down. Why might that be? My guess is something else is on TV at that hour that caters to the same demographic.

Also, Maybe the WWE should start the show earlier. In the east, that's 10-11, a lot of their demographic isn't up at that time. Back in hogan's day they had more kids and did saturday mornings. Now, I'm not suggesting they go to that extreme because I'd guess that during Hogan's era, and probably even Hart's time, that there was a larger percentage of kids in the audience. Just to tweak the format.

Although I will say that looking at the last half of the show, clearly they're molding their program (at least on that night) after their demographics, having a very smark-heavy main event assuming the kids are asleep already and the only people up are their fans.

I'm not worried. WWE looks at more advanced metrics and have people smarter than us to analyse those numbers. If a change is made, it will be for good reason.

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

If you think that the WWE is "going downhill" or whatever based on ratings. consider this, in February 1997, Raw was in massachusetts, Rock vs HHH, the arena is so small you can hear a TON of individual whistles and screams, this young guy named Rocky Maivia doesn't get any reaction as a babyface, takes a shitty looking everything, throws a shitty looking everything, and this Hunter Hearst Helmsley has a gimmick that is your run of the mill rich guy gimmick and Honkey Tonk man comes out because they consider him the greatest IC champion ever. Also, I'm pretty sure ratings were lower then than now and that's with less people owning a TV (so less overall viewers), less channels to compete with, and less secondary mediums to watch Raw on.

 

[HoHo]

Don't forget Raw is in Chicago tonight I believe, and the Fans in the Arena should go nuts when CM Punk comes out.Also the Royal Rumble will possibly have two World Title matches, who will Punk and Bryan be facing, I hope we don't have a Big Show heel turn, I hate him enough, don't add to it WWE.Also another it begins video tonight, should be the final ones.I hope we get enough clues to figure it out if it's Jericho or Taker.Heard on twitter, Jericho is done with Wrestling, but WWE is smart getting us sucked in for something big, and doing something out of the box from what he thought was going to happen.Should be a Raw to remember!

 

[JohnJohnson]

If you think that the WWE is "going downhill" or whatever based on ratings. consider this, in February 1997, Raw was in massachusetts, Rock vs HHH, the arena is so small you can hear a TON of individual whistles and screams, this young guy named Rocky Maivia doesn't get any reaction as a babyface, takes a shitty looking everything, throws a shitty looking everything, and this Hunter Hearst Helmsley has a gimmick that is your run of the mill rich guy gimmick and Honkey Tonk man comes out because they consider him the greatest IC champion ever. Also, I'm pretty sure ratings were lower then than now and that's with less people owning a TV (so less overall viewers), less channels to compete with, and less secondary mediums to watch Raw on.

First of all the ratings were about the same in Feb of 97 as they are now. And that was with half of the wrestling fans watching Nitro. The fact that they are doing the same with no other wrestling show airing at the same time is evidence of a decline. Secondly, the fact that less people owned a TV at the time only hurts your argument more. If more people have a TV now, then more fans would be able to watch Raw and the ratings should be higher. More TVs tuning in = higher ratings genius. And please tell me, what does the size of the arena in Massachusetts that night have to do with your argument on ratings? Besides that, the match between Rock and Triple H wasn't even a main even match, and please tell me how every move was "shitty"? You're not explaining anything. You are just spamming us with you personal vendetta against the Attitude Era AGAIN. Plus in case you haven't noticed, those 2 "shitty" wrestlers became 2 of the biggest names in the industry and to this day are still the most over people to get in the ring. Both of them are more over than the current baby faces "Punk and Cena" and both Triple H and Rock have feuded with them this year. In both cases the fans were behind the 2 "shitty" wrestlers. But I guess once again we are just idiots for not liking your ideal image of a super hero show Mr. Batman,

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

First of all the ratings were about the same in Feb of 97 as they are now. And that was with half of the wrestling fans watching Nitro. The fact that they are doing the same with no other wrestling show airing at the same time is evidence of a decline. Secondly, the fact that less people owned a TV at the time only hurts your argument more. If more people have a TV now, then more fans would be able to watch Raw and the ratings should be higher. More TVs tuning in = higher ratings genius. And please tell me, what does the size of the arena in Massachusetts that night have to do with your argument on ratings? Besides that, the match between Rock and Triple H wasn't even a main even match, and please tell me how every move was "shitty"? You're not explaining anything. You are just spamming us with you personal vendetta against the Attitude Era AGAIN. Plus in case you haven't noticed, those 2 "shitty" wrestlers became 2 of the biggest names in the industry and to this day are still the most over people to get in the ring. Both of them are more over than the current baby faces "Punk and Cena" and both Triple H and Rock have feuded with them this year. In both cases the fans were behind the 2 "shitty" wrestlers. But I guess once again we are just idiots for not liking your ideal image of a super hero show Mr. Batman,

You are one dense motherfucker. K, the ratings are a percentage. So, in 1997, less people had cable right? So, 3% of say 250 is less than 3% of 300 right? So, if two ratings are the same from two different times (3%) but more people have a TV now, then MORE people watch now right?

The size of the arena doesn't have much to do with ratings, it's that I'm not a dumbfuck and I don't put all my evidence into ratings. Fact is, the house was shit, maybe 5,000 people, in the eastern corridor where the WWE draws a lot of fans typically.

Second, they were competing against Nitro, but a lot of fans watched both. Not only that but if you're so stupid that you think that the ONLY competition is "nitro vs raw" then we should probably stop discussing this. WWE has more channels to compete against as well as other mediums of entertainment. In other words, WWE faces more competition for ratings now than then. 25 channels vs 500 channels dude. Plus a lot of people watch on the web.

No, I didn't know they became two huge stars. I'm just a dumb 15 year old who started watching because of Cena....o wait, I've been watching since before the attitude era. Everything Rock did looked like shit because he was awkward, he flailed around on a hiptoss, didn't get much of a reaction either way. There weren't even "rocky sucks" chants really, just a lot of nothing. Not only that, but how could you NOT tell that I was being sarcastic? My point was that in 1997, they drew a shitty house, but the foundation was there because obviously, Triple H and Rock went on to become huge stars.

I don't have a vendetta against the tude era. I do think it's overrated by most people on here who 1) became fans during the tude era and don't realize that it alienated as many wrestling fans and gained as much hatred from normal people becaus it was a jerry springer show and 2) don't understand how to analyse business.

How the fuck do you know what kind of show I like to see? Everything about your post just seems really uneducated. From your piss poor analysis of 'NITRO WAS ON, MOAR COMPETITION" (which as I said, isn't fucking true because their competition isn't just one other program, it's every channel), your completely made up "well...you like superheros" bullshit and how you ever drew that conclusion, and your inability to see that I was clearly being sarcastic when i shit on the Rock vs Tripl H match. True, it really wasn't a very good match because neither guy had come into their own yet, but they both obviously had a ton of potential. Rock having athleticism and Triple H putting everything into his character.

The overall point of my post was that the WWE has been a LOT less healthy than they are now and were fine. So we should stop freaking out and look at things in perspective.

 

[stephenjpunk317]

http://stephenjpunk.blogspot.com/2011/12/raw-reaction-122611.html

My RAW reaction. I think it was solid here and there, but that ending segment with Kane and Cena just fell flat. I thought Kane didn't know how to really react to all the chants and what not coming from the crowd. He just kept rambling and it didn't seem to go anywhere. I was afraid WWE wouldn't know what to do with Cena until the Rock can come back and get things going for Wrestlemania, but this wasn't very good. On the flip side, Cody Rhodes and Booker T look to be good working together. Ziggler beating Punk was definitely a surprise and I'm interested to see their match next week. Those creepy videos should come to a close next week, so there's another thing to be pumped about. That R Truth return was solid, and hopefully him and miz will work together against each other.

 

[LSN80]

Raw Hits:​

R-Truth returns: My biggest fear with R-Truth returning was that they would turn him back in the smiling and dancing R-Truth leading into him being the obvious babyface in his feud with the Miz. Fortunately, they didn't do that. Truth was already good for laughs as a heel with his gimmick, so it's not hard to believe that he could get over as a face with the same crazed behavior. Further, I love the idea of him taking his anger out on Miz slowly, rather then "finishing him off" in one night. The Cena/Miz match was nothing more then a setup for this, serving its purpose as well. This has the potential to be an excellent feud if done right, and it's off to the right start.

Booker T vs Cody Rhodes: First, let's get the negative out of the way. Booker T is a legend, and including the Rumble, this was only his fourth match this year. With no plugging or advanced notice, they just showed the two walking backstage with the match being "next." That being said, the match was very good. Other then a few blown spots, the two of them work very well together, and this showed last night in what turned out to be the longest match of the night. The counters and the reversals were excellent at the end, and Cody has become quite the ring general in time. Booker gets the clean win, and the feud will obviously continue. **1/2

John Cena/Kane confrontation: I loved this, absolutely loved this. It was reminiscent of Piper's Pit, where Piper was telling Cena that the chants directed at him had to be affecting him. This was quite similar. Kane's reasoning for attacking Cena was rational for his monster character. The chants may not bother Cena the human being, but they for damn sure should be bugging the John Cena character. Kane simply pointed out the fallacy in never feeling hate, and how Cena is a liar in essence for not expressing hatred now and then. Cena's facial expressions, especially when he hung his head at the end, were fantastic. I don't know where they're going with Cena the character, or with the feud with Kane, but three weeks in, I'm loving it.

Gauntlet Match: This went in the direction I expected it to go, as I didn't see them getting to Henry due to his injury. Punk beating Swagger was also predictable, as Swagger is nothing more then a jobber to the stars these days. Despite being a few steps off from their last encounter, Ziggler and Punk had a terrific little match, which definitely whetted my appetite for their WWE Title match next week. I expected Ziggler to move on to bigger and better, but didn't think it would happen this soon. In the likely event he loses the match, it's still an upward step for an incredibly talented wrestler. Further, I enjoyed how Lauranitis came out to "do the right thing" in appearance, when he obviously was there to screw Punk. Further, when was the last time you saw a wrestler lose in the second match of a three man gauntlet match? It doesn't happen very often, so this was a good thing as well. **3/4.

Zach Ryder and Eve vs Tyson Kidd and Natalya: This was more of an opportunity to showcase Ryder then it was to be anything meaningful. With the Rumble 5 weeks away, they don't need to start building towards anything with Ryder just yet, if he will have a match there at all. The goal here is to make Ryder look credible, and they did well here. They obviously want to protect Beth Phoenix, so Natalya was the right Diva to lose here, especially with Beth losing last week. A good way of mixing two divisions into one, and a nice showcase and spotlight for Ryder. *3/4.

Raw Misses:​

David Otunga vs Big Show: I'd hate to see WWE's legal council if David Otunga is their idea of a lawyer. Further, this was simply a way of keeping the World Championship picture relevant on Raw, but it didn't work. Bryan looks like a heel by continuing to mock Henry but run away, and Henry doesn't look like he'll be wrestling anytime soon. Further, Henry never touched Big Show, and this match was ruled a DQ? There's no logic there. Show should have been able to manhandle and destroy Otunga here before Henry and Bryan came out, but they went the incredibly cheap route instead. 1/4*

Alberto Del Rio promo: WWE has gone out of their way in the past months to have his face opponents rip him apart for his speaking ability, yet they bring him on the show just to have him cut a promo from a wheelchair? He and Rodriguez actually looked almost sympathetic here, which isn't a good thing for one of your "top heels". Further, Del Rio said nothing of substance or relevance. Give the man the time off to heal before the Rumble, he's not going to be forgotten that quickly.

Brodus Clay's debut delayed: I've said this before, and I'll say it one last time here. It feels like WWE is trying to hype Clay's debut and make the fans eager for him, but it's doing the opposite for me. Every time they hold his debut off further, I care less. If they don't debut him next week, my apathy will turn to total disinterest, which isn't something you should want for a re-packaged superstar making his return.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Final Thoughts: This was a very good show. WWE took a serious and straightforward approach to this show rather then using it as a continuation of the holidays. They continue to build towards a big Raw main event between Punk and Lauranitis at some point, Cena and Kane has some logic to the feud and the mystery of where they're going with Cena's character and it's evolution is fantastic. I'm excited to see Punk vs Ziggler for next week, and where they go with Ryder as well. Next week should kick into overdrive for the Royal Rumble build, so it's an exciting time to be a WWE fan right now, Good show overall. B+

 

[JaylisJayP]

I had completely forgot about the entire Brodus Clay storyline to be honest. When JL was on the phone with him I was like "Oh yeah, they're still talking about that guy."

Are they seriously going to debut him next week? He's going up against:

- Punk/Ziggler title match
- 1/2/12 reveal
- Very good Cena/Kane storyline brewing

Not to mention anything else they do with Truth/Miz.

I mean, at this point there's probably no good time to debut him anyway...unless they introduce him as the Anonymous Raw General Manager...heh, that's be awesome.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

This past Monday's Raw showed signs of improvement when it comes to the ratings.

The final Raw of 2011 drew an average of roughly 4.5 million viewers, which is up in recent weeks. The first hour drew about 4.33 million viewers while the second hour increased to just slightly under 4.6 million. I'm guessing the Nielsen Rating is somewhere in the neighborhood of a 3.1. Not record breaking but this is back in the usual area where Raw has been during this fall television season thus far.

This is positive news for Raw as the second hour has been drawing less viewers than the first hour has for about 11 weeks now. This week's Raw broke that trend by adding almost 300,000 viewers in hour 2. The highlights of hour 2 consisted of CM Punk's gauntlet match against Jack Swagger & Dolph Ziggler and the Kane/John Cena confrontation.

Next week's Raw could be telling as far as CM Punk's WWE Championship future is concerned. Expect Punk's match against Ziggler for the title to be heavily hyped on SD! this Friday and throughout the show on Monday.

 

[Yesiamaduck]

Well that was a better then expected edition of Superstars this evening.... wait, what do you mean that was Smackdown? Oh God that roster is so unbalanced right now.

This has to be the worst card I've seen on Smackdown for a while, if not ever! It opened and closed strongly but inbetween it was just a showcase of how thin the Smackdown roster is at the moment, with all the injuries not helping matters!

Jinder Mahal Vs Ted DiBiase

Alicia Fox & Katlyin Vs Natalya & Tamina
A word with Duck: I have no idea what happened at the end of the match, is Tamina a face now or is Natalya? It was car crash booking at it's worst, not only does Natalya seem weaker then ever she doesn't even appear to be a heel anymore after the strange out of the blue turn by Tamina.

Hunico Vs Justin Gabriel
Ducks thought: Who is this guy? Hunicho already in a 2nd Tag team? What happened to his bond with Epico and Primo... what wait huh... oh so Hunico won clean then? Why introduce the other guy! Oh a double team move, that was kind of nice.

Big Show Vs David Otunga (W/Mark Henry)
Ducks Thoughts:This was what they went with for the start of the 2nd hour... think about that for a moment.

Ezikiel Jackson Vs Drew McIntyre
Ducks Thoughts: WWE just confirming the existance of these 2 guys who haven't been seen on TV for a while, McIntyre is signed to Smackdown then immediately threatened with the sack by teddy long for being too expensive, then why sign him? Also Jackon with hair isn't going to get him anymore over

Sheamus Vs Heath Slater
Ducks Thoughts: RATINGS!!!

Randy Orton Vs Wade Barrett
Ducks Thoughts: The only worth while match of the night, it was enjoyable and ended fairly well. Orton is now out of action, the is now NO star power on Smackdown at all.

Oh yeah and the opening segment with Cody, Booker and Dustin was very well executed, props to that... but just look at that card... LOOK AT IT! 3/10