Official Raw/Smackdown Aftermath, Ratings and Review Thread

[Jatycre]

Did anyone else catch Triple H completely squashing BOTH Tyson Kidd and David Hart Smith AT THE SAME TIME? That was one of the worst things I've seen on WWE TV in awhile. What the heck sense does that make? Let's bring the Hart Dynasty over to RAW only to have DX, more specifically Triple H, completely squash them. Ridiculous.


The worst part is, it started out as a decent match. Kidd and Shawn were really working good together. But you knew as soon as Triple H came in, everything was going to the crapper. Which, of course, it did. He completely squashed both of them, effectively burying them.


Way to go WWE, that's the perfect way to build new stars up, by letting Triple H squash them. I mean, it's always worked before right? Why not do it some more? Sometimes I wish I could smack someone in WWE creative a good one.

 

[Coco]

Did anyone else catch Triple H completely squashing BOTH Tyson Kidd and David Hart Smith AT THE SAME TIME? That was one of the worst things I've seen on WWE TV in awhile. What the heck sense does that make? Let's bring the Hart Dynasty over to RAW only to have DX, more specifically Triple H, completely squash them. Ridiculous.

For goodness sake... They got in plenty of offense in on HBK. Personally, I feel that their inconsistent booking on SmackDown most of the time leaves them in a position where they should be feeling damn lucky to be breathing Triple H's air, forget getting tons of offense in on Michaels! What did you expect the Harts to do? Win? You're dreaming, especially after DX already put over one new tag team this year (Who look just about ready to crash and burn. Why risk giving another turkey the big rub from them?), and are setting themself up for major a tag title shot. Sure, Triple H got the hot tag and it was all downhill for the Harts from there, but what did you expect? This is how he gets booked. I'm too burned out on it to even complain anymore.

At least I got to see Natalya last night. Hottest woman in the E at the moment for my money, and the highlight of that match.

Raw last night was a wild ride. Kofi-Orton is continuing to travel the right path. Sheamus gained a lot from beating Finlay, eliminating Kofi, and being involved in a confrontation with John Cena. Jesse became Raw's best guest host. We got a good first-time-ever match between Punk and Cena (Which Punk gained a lot of credibility from being involved in, don't think he didn't. Nobody sees him as Cena's equal, so him hanging on in the STF was big.). You can't ask for a more solid Raw. Stars were made and enhanced last night, and just about everyone looked good. I'm glad I've tuned into Raw for the last couple weeks because I think the show is making pretty good strides in the right direction after some pretty awful summer and fall shows that I had a hard time watching for the most part. Tonight accomplished everything it needed to and more than I expect from WWE these days.

 

[ShadowrealmBG]

I thnk that Ventura has to be a part of the creative team in the company last night he did a wonderful job with all the conspiracies an putting the new guys for the chance to have a shot at the title it was obvious that in the battle royal we win the guy from Raw because there was only one guy from SD (RTruth) but i think the show was really good i think that the ending was also really good it puts Sheamus strong and very good i hope they will give the push he needs . Its interesting wen we come to Royal Rumble who is gonna be the winner of that match sense we have all these pushes of young guys

 

[Kenny Powers]

Last night Raw was better then it was last week. Which was remarkable since last week was one of the best Raws we have seen in a while. I loved Jesse Ventura because he came out and spoke his mind. It could of easily went south by having Jesse in a wrestling match which thank God that didn't happen. I'm sure that Jesse and Vince had no interest in doing that whatsoever so I'm thankful for that.

Jesse said what we all said and wanted which was new feuds and new champions. I loved seeing CM Punk and Cena battle. It was a great match but kinda of a shame since I know these two could have great PPV matches between each other. But, Punk is bound for something else by elevating R Truth on Smackdown. DX vs. The Hart Foundation was a breath of fresh air too. I really didn't understand why Swagger was on a team with Chavo and Masters. I really thought Swagger should of been considered for the battle royal but then again he hasn't beaten anyone except Evan Bourne.

The only problem I saw on Raw was the terrible gimmick pilgrims vs. Indians match. I mean Kelly Kelly an Indian? really? It also looks like Gail Kim can't be trusted in the ring again. It looks like Kim and Fox might feud together which doesn't excite me in the least, but at least Kim is getting some exposure for once. Maryse made her awkward return via Gobbedly Gooker. I'm sorry I know she is hot but she doesn't impress me at all. She is as horrible on the mic as she is horrible in the ring. She isn't as bad as Lacey Von Erich, but I don't think any woman on earth is to be honest.

Another bad segment on Raw although short, no pun intended, was the DX/ Hornswoggle segment where Hornswoggle's "lawyer" serves DX and affidavit. At least Hornswoggle was off Raw this week, but next week probably a good portion of Raw will be revolved around DX and Hornsowggle. Just awful.

It was great to see Jesse and Vince behind the announce booth to do some real commentary for a change. Maybe Vince was a bit uncomfortable but he started to loosen up later on. The guy hasn't called play by play in years so I think we have to give him a break on this one. I thought Vince and Jesse had a great chemistry we haven't seen since the 80's. You really can't teach that. Striker and Matthews can take all the classes they want, but they will never be more then robotic drones.

We got to see the big man Sheamus qualify as the #1 contender. It may be a gamble but compared to the same crap we have seen for the past year its a nice change. Sheamus may go places or he may not, but at least its something new. Jesse calling Cena a cookie cutter champion that Vince chose for us to want was great. Cena and Sheamus had a pretty good promo even though Sheamus really didn't say much.

Sheamus has every down as far as the look and the ring ability goes, but he needs to work on new material. His mic skills are really weak. I still think these two will show us something special in a few weeks. Overall I thought Raw was great mainly because the guest host was great and allowed the show to be focused on the new stars instead of himself or his new television show.

I'm afraid Raw's momentum will change these next few weeks with the celebrity hosts such as Verne Troyer hosting. Verne can't even walk and hasn't been relevant in years. The last time he was on TV was when he was on the Surreal Life reality show, driving his motorized cart naked and drunk. I think next week's show will cater around Hornswoggle, Verne, and other dwarfs. Hopefully they will limit his and Hornswoggle's segments. God forbid they put them both in the ring together. That would not only be terrible because no one would want to see it, but also because Verne is pretty much handicapped.

Anyways, at least Raw has been showing great progress in the last few weeks.

 

[Theo Mays]

Raw last night was fantastic. The last two Raws have been awesome. And that's because the host actually cared and was a former wrestling personality. Ventura was by far the best host we've had. Piper is up there as well. But Ventura was great. And no one has been even close to him when it comes to hosting. And him and Vince behind the mic made my night last night. I love them two together, such great chemistry.

A little disappointed that Sheamus won the battle royal, but looking back it is a pretty logical choice and Ventura did a great job of putting him over. Next weeks Raw worries me and I'm afraid it is gonna take a step back. Mini me hosting, plus court with Hornswoggle, his lawyer, and DX. I can see Verne being the judge. Hopefully though they continue in the right direction and continue to build up TLC. Overall last nights Raw gets a solid 4.2 stars from me.

 

[Jatycre]

No one expected the Harts to win over DX. We just didn't expect them to get squashed, both at the same time, by Triple H. I don't know if you realize it or not, but that's a pretty effective way to bury them with the crowds. Making it look like they had a small chance against Shawn, but no chance in hell against Triple H, makes them look incredibly weak. There was a much better way to pull that match off without it turning into a squash match at the end. Of course, it's Triple H, he's going to completely destroy people. It's what he does. It's what he loves. He has to make sure everyone knows that once he hits the ring it's all over. No one's better than Triple H. What a joke.



Punk's job to Cena wasn't any better. He came off looking very weak. Cena hit all his moves, and Punk was lucky to get any offense in at all. It made it seem as though Punk shouldn't have even been in there, that he was lucky to last that long. Which in turn makes the fans look at Punk as though he's not on Cena's level, and shouldn't be in any kind of championship picture.


I guess that's my biggest complaint with WWE these days though. No one in that place seems to understand in ring psychology, or telling a story in the ring. They don't understand that the way the match is presented impacts both guys. If it isn't done right, someone's coming out of it looking bad. In this case, Punk, and the Harts. Neither of which should be held back by John Cena or Triple H at this point. WWE needs fresh blood, Cena and Triple H aren't getting the job done anymore. The ratings NEED to come back up, they're getting lower and lower. The same old guys squashing everyone else just isn't going to get it done anymore.

 

[Mr. TM]

Great Raw on Monday. It had everything I wanted, and for a three hour show, there were few low points. However, the Divas match was horrendous. The reference of calling them Indians seems so outdated, even for the WWE.

But as I am an optimist, I like to focus on the good parts of the show. Awesome guest host, and multiple great matches leading up to the main event. The main event was also a great match, and I was glad Sheamus won, and I even knew he was going to win it, as it made the most sense. The heel turn at the end for Jesse was great, with the contract signing being one of the best of those segments I have seen in a while.

The DX match was good, everything went as planned. Harts were never gonig to win that match, and DX got some momentum back while making the young kids from Calgary look good.

give that Raw an A-

 

[beefthelegend]

Is it possible that Maryse was even worse on RAW than she was before she got hurt? I mean the match was abysmal. Not even two really good workers like Gail and Melina could save the match. She looked all kinds of awkward. Even her pin looked misplaced...but incredibly hot.

Also, off topic a bit, did she get new-or better- implants?

 

[MikeKillam]

It's about 40 minutes into Raw this week, and I'd thought I'd start the review post.
So far we've had:
-15 minutes rant between DX and Jerishow
-A divas match that showcased the ring-return of Maryse
-Sheamus vs. Santino
-Jericho get dissed by Mini-me

Alright, the DX/Jerishow thing at the beginning started good, but lost steam about half way through. It's the same old thing we've been hearing from Jericho for months now, and the same thing we've been hearing from DX against every opponent they've had. As much as I love Hunter and Shawn, does anybody else think they look ridiculous? They're middle aged men that are future Hall of Famers, dressed like John Cena... They are walking WWE Merch adds... They're not 24 anymore guys, and personally, I'd take it more seriously if they addressed the fact that they're legends of this business...

Skipping right to Sheamus... They decided to give this guy the push, and that's probably because Kofi and Orton are getting a good program right now. That's cool, and I'm all for WWE pushing new guys, but at least do it right. Ok, he put Cena through a table. That's the way to do it... He's at least a small amount more credible. So what are we gonna do next? We're gonna have Santino come out and punk Sheamus. Make him look like a total tool again. And then somehow we're supposed to believe that Sheamus destroying WWE's resident joke makes him eligible to face Cena for the title? yeah...

OK, so it was just proved once again to me that Raw needs a General Manager. I like this guest host thing, and it's had it's good moments, but tonight is just awkward. I really don't care about Verne, and he's made a match I also don't care about... Mark Henry vs. The Miz for later tonight.

The Miz is right, Henry has no personality. WWE has given him no time to be anything other than a giant jobber in the industry. Let's see if the Miz somehow pulls out a cheap victory or loses via countout or something stupid.

What are your thoughts on Raw this week?

 

[MikeKillam]

Hey look, Kofi got ambushed on the way to the ring tonight... Who else saw that coming? Let me guess what's about to happen in their match tonight...

I would give anything to see this actually continue the feud and push Kofi even higher... Orton can NOT bury Kofi tonight.

 

[Suneeboy]

Hey look, Kofi got ambushed on the way to the ring tonight... Who else saw that coming? Let me guess what's about to happen in their match tonight...

I would give anything to see this actually continue the feud and push Kofi even higher... Orton can NOT bury Kofi tonight.

I thought that was great. They screwed the babyface. We all know that 1 one 1 Kofi will win, but Orton used heel tactics to get the win. Great match and it builds BOTH wrestlers.

The feud can now continue and still has interest because Kofi hasn't pinned Orton 1 one 1 in a match yet.

When Kofi wins at a PPV its going to be huge and he will go to the next level. The build for Kofi is awesome. Did you hear the Randy sucks chants??? Great stuff. We will have a LEGIT main eventer come Wrestlemania. This is the best the WWE has built a REAL main eventer in the last 5 years sans Jeff Hardy.

 

[manmagoonbt]

This has been like the most boring raw ever tonight. Nothing exciting has happened yet. And they set up another lame main event. Who cares about either possible handicap match next week.

 

[MikeKillam]

People can debate what WWE did with Kofi and Orton tonight, but I thought it was an overall success and a great job done by all involved. Kofi has been getting the push every week for about a month now. He's always one step ahead, and if he kept going just punking out Orton every week, it would get a bit ridiculous. Orton did not bury Kingston tonight, he beat him. But the WWE did it the smart way. Orton needed the win to stay the top heel in the company, and Kofi needed the push at the same time. So it took Rhodes and DiBiase coming out and attacking Kofi to get him to the point where Orton would face him. And they gave Kofi a few strikes in the match to build tension. The end is what really made this work. Orton could have pinned him after the RKO and left, cementing the end of it. But he picked up Kofi and hit the DDT from the top rope. Now everybody knows Kofi will be back for more and for good reason.

Now, WWE could kill two birds with one stone here. They could give Kofi and Orton a match at TLC. Make it a No DQ match, and at the end have Legacy come down per usual and get involved. Kofi fights off DiBiase but Rhodes gets Kofi down. In the end have Kofi come back and hit Rhodes with the Trouble in Paradise and then have Orton hit Kofi with the RKO and get the win. At the end of the match have DiBiase and Rhodes raise Orton's hand, but DiBiase lays out Orton and walks out on Legacy. This way Orton gets the win with the help of Legacy, but Kofi gets the big match against Orton. AND DiBiase gets the push against Orton. You can then have Kofi/DiBiase vs. Orton/Rhodes the next week or something...

 

[cole924]

Troyer was absolutely awful tonight. Vince dropped the ball big time. Raw/WWE were gaining momentum and I just felt Raw tonight brought it all back to square one.

Opening segment is your typical blah blah time killer. We understood that. We followed that up with 5-10 minutes of commercials and a worthless divas match that had the crowd asleep. The show progressively got worse and even the main event was lackluster. Everything with Troyer in between was atrocious. A surprise show up by Carlito only to be embarrassed, was embarrassing for the WWE. It's actually OKAY to have wrestling take place on the show. In fact, it'd be welcomed.


The only good thing to come out of tonight was the Kofi/Orton battle continuing to gain momentum. Their feud is getting a very solid storyline to back it up. I'm almost more intrigued with that battle than I am with any other feud currently going on. I'll even go as far as saying I would believe in a Kofi title reign in a year or two.

Other than that.. Raw was a complete bore. I can guarantee you the numbers will be low 3's w/ a drop in the 2nd hour.

 

[Ambiguous Turd]

Troyer was absolutely awful tonight. Vince dropped the ball big time. Raw/WWE were gaining momentum and I just felt Raw tonight brought it all back to square one.

Opening segment is your typical blah blah time killer. We understood that. We followed that up with 5-10 minutes of commercials and a worthless divas match that had the crowd asleep. The show progressively got worse and even the main event was lackluster. Everything with Troyer in between was atrocious. A surprise show up by Carlito only to be embarrassed, was embarrassing for the WWE. It's actually OKAY to have wrestling take place on the show. In fact, it'd be welcomed.


The only good thing to come out of tonight was the Kofi/Orton battle continuing to gain momentum. Their feud is getting a very solid storyline to back it up. I'm almost more intrigued with that battle than I am with any other feud currently going on. I'll even go as far as saying I would believe in a Kofi title reign in a year or two.

Other than that.. Raw was a complete bore. I can guarantee you the numbers will be low 3's w/ a drop in the 2nd hour.

You are very much on target with your analysis, and are most likely on target, as well ... with your ratings prediction.

However, its painfully obvious that the Little People Court segments were scrapped at the last minute, so they had to come up with some time filler crap ... well, at the last minute.

Again, this was poor planning on WWE's part in not being able to see that the Little People Court segments were going to be a huge bomb with the audience. And because of their lack of foresight in being able to sense this from the beginning, they had to do a rush job of filler stuff at the last second with Troyer.

I fail to believe that this is the absolute best they could come up with for the guy. Not to bring him down to ringside to do anything at all? Just to sit there in a chair and rap with MVP and Mark Henry? Downright awful.

But again, this should not take away from the fact that WWE made the right call to ditch the Little People Court segments, as that would have been ten times worse than what we saw tonight.

But yeah ... same ol' blah blah blah confrontation to open the show. Average match at the end to close the show. Nothing special at all.

Carlito segment was predictable, but decent. It was good to see Carlito, a fresh face that hasn't been seen in some time, at least.

Women's tag match, nothing special.

Miz and Henry was .... okay.

Very bland Raw. Absolutely NOTHING compared to last week's Raw and last week's Guest Host.

Jesse Ventura for Raw (Heel) Color Commentator (not Analyst).

 

[cole924]

You are very much on target with your analysis, and are most likely on target, as well ... with your ratings prediction.

However, its painfully obvious that the Little People Court segments were scrapped at the last minute, so they had to come up with some time filler crap ... well, at the last minute.

Again, this was poor planning on WWE's part in not being able to see that the Little People Court segments were going to be a huge bomb with the audience. And because of their lack of foresight in being able to sense this from the beginning, they had to do a rush job of filler stuff at the last second with Troyer.

Very bland Raw. Absolutely NOTHING compared to last week's Raw and last week's Guest Host.

Jesse Ventura for Raw (Heel) Color Commentator (not Analyst).

I actually forgot about the whole Little People Court segment and how they had to come up w/ time-killers instead. That's a very good pt and probably why Raw didn't have any ebb-flow to it. That's a really good point, Lord Sidious.


On your point about the commentating... I just watched the main event from SS (Cena/HBK/HHH) and I actually enjoyed Striker because he kept saying "I told you King, I told you. I love it." He was actually cheering on the fact that Shawn turned on HHH.

It reminded me of something Heenan would say. Instead of always giving us the technical aspect, maybe Striker should focus on that type of color commentating. It was actually enjoyable. They could use that on Raw again. I wouldn't even mind seeing the King go back and being a heel. They always use him randomly in the ring. Maybe he could screw someone over?

 

[X]

So I skipped through last night's Raw on my DVR around 2 AM, and wow, what a terrible show I missed. Actually to be honest there were parts of it that were very much worth watching in my opinion. The opening promo segment between Jerishow and DX, while a bit long, was very well done by Jericho, as he continues to show why he's one of the best guys to ever work a mic in this business, single handedly drumming up serious interest in this tag team title match at TLC, although they've made it rather painfully obvious that DX will be winning the titles. Still, I'm intrigued by the match-up.

While I very much dislike Sheamus being given the push he is (he came out to absolutely ZERO reaction from the crowd), I did actually really like the promos that Cena and Carlito cut on each other, Carlito particularly continuing what Jesse Ventura said last week about how Cena is the "poster boy" and how everyone in the locker room is dying for Cena to lose and how they're all "sick of him". That was actually very well done.

Unfortunately, that's where the positives from Raw end. The Kofi-Orton match was decent for what it was, but my god Verne Troyer was hands down the worst guest host yet. In large part due to just how depressing it is to even look at the guy, no offense, but he must be in really poor health because his body looks like it's about 10 seconds away from collapsing in on itself. Really sad to watch. I tried my best to give him a chance and listen to him, but within 2 minutes of his little promo I had to fast forward, I could not fucking take it any more. The first segment with the Miz was awful enough, but then later on Mark Henry comes out and fucking attempts rapping? Wow, I had to shake my head, as that was hands down the most embarrassingly awful attempt at rapping I have ever seen in my entire life.

So, like usual, I found enjoyment out of about 20 total minutes of Raw, while the rest of the show ranged from mediocre to absolutely unwatchable drivel. Not a good episode all around, maybe around a C grade from me at best.

 

[Kenny Powers]

I think Raw will continue to drag with these guest celebrities. Troyer wasn't bad as ZZ Top but he was still in the bore category along with Cedric the Entertainer and Al Sharpton. I knew we couldn't see a memorable Raw like we did the last 2 weeks with Piper and Ventura. It could of been a lot worst, but there was nothing exciting to talk about last night.

Maryse looked hot and I could actually understand her promo for once. I'm still not impressed with her ring ability, but I have seen worse. Mark Henry's rap was more embarrassing then his affairs with Mae Young and Chyna put together. The world's blandest man didn't convince anyone with his performance last night.

The Miz got some good heat, at the expense of telling jokes older than the Titanic. The only thing memorable about last night was Orton's attack on Kofi and Carlito's promo on Cena. Cena's character actually looked like a bad ass for once compared to a teen choice awards presenter. I wish I could say the same about Sheamus' character.

Unfortunately, Sheamus represented every heel we have seen before. A big man beats up a jobber and wants to confront the main eventer, only to leave like a coward to the back. That really doesn't get Sheamus over. He doesn't have to put Cena through a table every week, but have him do something for a change.

Even though Carlito may have received no reaction, it was still a good promo. I really feel WWE can take advantage of this and have the main eventers against the mid carders for the future. Instead of seeing DX and Jerishow for months. I really don't know Verne was shorter than a equipment case. Nice job in pointing that out to the world WWE.

Well luckily we were all saved from the terrible little people court segment. I still feel that they may use that segment later down the road. We also know that Shawn Michaels speaks leprechaun. Something I could of gone years without knowing. Anyways last night was really bland. I have seen worse, but last night was just boring.

I think we will see the same formula for next week's show too until after the PPV.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I honestly don't know what everyone is complaining about. Though, since it was a show put on by the WWE, that in and of itself is enough for some to complain about. I thought last night's show overall was very solid. Troyer wasn't a great host, but then he didn't really do much to get in the way either. The only part about last night's show I hated was the whole interaction between Troyer, Mark Henry and the Divas.

Maryse looked hot as hell and actually cut a coherant promo for once. I'm not overly impressed with her in-ring abilities right now, but she seems to have injected even more of the arrogant, hot girl attitude into her character. Truth is, it makes me wanna see her do her thing again just like the BP's entrance makes me look forward to everytime they come out.

The Miz got good heat last night and they're at least trying to put Mark Henry over as a legitimate threat for the United States Championship. Not saying it's great, but I enjoy the Miz so it could potentially come out as enjoyable overall.

I wish that they would have had Sheamus do more last night, but I do understand the whole "leave them wanting more" philosophy. Even if people hate Sheamus, they're going to be very curious to see what happens in his match against Cena. Carlito cut a pretty good promo last night, though I feel it should have been Sheamus cutting it if the WWE is so intent on pushing him. That was a definite screw up on WWE Creative's part.

As far as Cena goes, I like how he came across last week. He seemed legitimately pissed off, looked serious and looked very much as if he wanted to tear somebody up. I'd love to see the WWE stick with this new, harder side of Cena for a while.

I couldn't be more thrilled that the Little People's Court segment was skipped last week. I don't give a shit if it was the last minute or what, anything would have been an improvement over it. While I have no doubt that they're probably going to move it to another week instead, I hope against hope that they somehow just decide to drop it altogether.

I love how the Kofi/Orton feud is working out. Orton got some great heat last night and the story was progressed along nicely. Kofi has gotten the best of Orton up until now so the playing field needed to be leveled a bit with Orton coming out on top and leaving Kofi face down in the ring. Kofi sold everything great last night and I especially love how he twisted his body after the DDT Orton gave him.

I liked the Jeri-Show and DX segments, in large part because it was a serious promo between the two. I mean, DX wasn't telling corny jokes and all that other shit that's made them nigh unwatchable at times. I enjoyed the match between Jericho and Triple H, a very good performance by both of them and a nice progression of their feud for the tag titles. I was also kind of surprised by listening to the Big Show on commentary last night. Honestly, I thought he was actually pretty decent. I think with a little work, he could be come a good heel commentator. He just seemed comfortable to me and, even though Jericho was his partner, was putting him over well. I figured it'd be HBK being the mouthpiece out there, but I thought the Big Show did ok.

Last night was a good solid show for the most part. Nothing overly spectacular happened, just a nice solid progression of storylines and feuds and some solid wrestling for the most part.

 

[Ambiguous Turd]

This week's edition of RAW with Verne Troyer as special guest host scored a 3.2 cable rating. The show did hours of 3.28 and 3.08.

Well, is this really any big surprise with a Guest Host like Verne Troyer? With the planned Little People Court segments announced ahead of time last week for Raw, and with a Guest Host like Verne Troyer announced .... it should be of no surprise that this simply was an advertisement for wrestling fans to go elsewhere, as there were far more entertaining things on Monday night this week.

I think it's pretty clear by the drop in ratings from last week, which was somewhat sizable, that Verne Troyer is simply no Jesse Ventura to wrestling fans. You bring someone in like Jesse, and he will certainly help keep wrestling fans tuned in to USA Network on Mondays.

 

[And I'm Awesome]

It's 10:30...it's the go home show to TLC. So far, they've made Kofi - Orton for TLC, which was good. They've spent the night hyping Sheamus through a series of Celtic Warpath vignettes, which are very old for me. We've seen the same footage week in and week out. I understand that Sheamus has only been on RAW for 6 weeks, but come on. I'm tired of seeing Sheamus powerbomb Noble, kick the King in the face, and drop Cena through a table. Let him take out someone on the roster (with a bit more starpower than Santino) instead, and make a statement that way.

We just got done watching Chavo vs. Swoggle version 8234938295958382. This time with divas! Great, so now not only can Horny not wrestle, but Chavo, who can at least look competent in the ring, is gonna stand on the apron while Jillian and Eve go at it. Oh, and we had to get Master's dancing pecs on the screen.

Oy vey. This is not a good go home show. I'm not feeling any real reason to watch TLC now. That could change in the next half hour, but...

Oh, hey! Now Cole & King are in the ring to hype TLC. Because, y'know, we wouldn't want to put too much wrestling on a WRESTLING SHOW. Ugh. Somebody shoot Vince. Maybe then at least we'd get multiple matches with meaning in the first hour and a half of the go home show...not just Orton-Kingston.

Well, Miz looked good. Now if they can just get Swagger back on TV and in his face, I'd have two feuds I cared about on RAW.

Edit: Can we see Sheamus put the celebrity guest host through a table every week? Just the celebrities, not the wrestling guys. I would've paid good cash to see Sheamus put Troyer...or better, Piven, through a table

 

[JGlass]

It's been a while since I've done a RAW review, and while I really should be writing a paper about our founding fathers, Thomas Paine in particular, I'm going to procrastinate instead and watch RAW and review it.

I thought Cuban did a good job coming out and pumping up the crowd. It didn't do much for me as a fan from New Jersey, but when you can get the live crowd going, that is going to pay off for the rest of the night.

First match- Cena vs. Carlito- Carlito looks like crap, but I'll chalk that up to ring rust... for now. There are times he has really impressed me; that did not. Shamus came out for the distraction, but was chased off by big bad Mark Cuban (ha) and about 20 WWE security guards, which wouldn't have stopped a REAL bad ass, but that's besides the point. Clearly, tempers will flare later tonight during the highly anticipated "standoff. Cena turned it around and won though, a very good way to start off the show and get the crowd even more pumped. Match wasn't anything special, but got the job done I guess. 5/10

Orton comes out to demand he gets his ban lifted- I love how in wrestling you don't have to say anything relevant to your situation and you can still believe you get your way. So the threats come out, and Cuban stands his ground. Good joke about NBA refs haha. Sounds like we're getting Kofi vs. Orton round 2... and yes! We do! Cuban as ref, sounds like a good way to get RKO'd... but who cares, I love this feud! One other note: I don't know if Cody writes his own material, but he's doing very well on the mic. He used to sound so contrived, but lately he's had better flow.

Bourne and Primo vs. Legacy- This will show you legacy, run your mouth off to the guest host, face a guy who's done nothing significant since losing the tag team titles, and a guy who's most recent accomplishment was teaming up with Hornswogle. I like both Primo and Bourne, but Legacy should beat them handily. Will they though? In my experience, if you mess with the guest host, his/her boys will beat you down.

They started the match without the home audience, which I don't like. It look like Legacy has been beating on Primo for a while. Cody is God fan in the audience? Evan Bourne finally gets in, and he does his stuff pretty well. He does a very nice headscissors take downs, but a lot of his stuff is just silly spot work. Bourne gets a couple nice moves in, looks like he might have botched a huricaranna, but does ok. DiBiase turns it around, and hits him with his finisher and gets the win. Match was ok, better than the first, but still nothing special. 6/10

Mark Cuban ejects Legacy after the match, which I can totally get behind. I thought it was funny that he couldn't get his own "Nananana Hey Hey Hey Good Bye" cheer to catch on.

Note on the Shamus promo: I think this is the first time since his feud with Chuck Pulumbo over Michelle McCool that Jamie Noble has been featured in a promo of any sort. I don't even know if he even was in a promo like that back then, I believe that was late 07-early 08.

Maryse vs. Gail Kim- Maryse looked red hot prior to her injury, and looked decent in her first match back, but can she handle Gail Kim? Probably, she's the only person worthy on the roster to take on Melina for now. Gail looks pretty decent in this match, getting in a lot of offense early on, including a couple of good sliding spots. But Maryse countered that with a nice slap to the face. Lol at Maryse running. What an ending, a kick to the ankles will do it to ya.

I saw that look on Kelly's face following the match, and knew there was gonna be some bad blood. Melina has become so dull since she's become such a good two shoes. I feel like if they paired Maryse up with a big woman like a Bethe Phoenix or Chyna, it would really add to her character. That way, she can be the bitch who wins her matches by kicking her opponents in the back of the leg when they go for a top rope move, and her amazon friend can push around girls like Kelly Kelly and Melina outside of the match. Too bad nobody will ever put that much thought into the diva's division.

WWE Writer 1: Dude, wouldn't it be so hot if we had Maryse dress up as the Gobbeldy Gooker (sp?) and hit Melina with the head of it?
WWE Writer 2: Dude, I'm hard already, let's do it.

Oh hai Dx. HHH is rhyming while HBK is praising baby Jesus. I'd so buy a pair of Dx slippers, they look comfy. Why is Shawn whispering? I feel like he's going to try to lure HHH under the mistletoe. A big box? What... or WHO could be inside... oh its Hornswagle, and he's made his way onto a shirt! Good for you little guy. Now leave. Now. Shawn does a bad Chewie impression. That wasn't a very funny segment.

Cole gets a woody over Sky Sports renewing their contract.

More Shamus promos. Apparently he's not the nicest guy. Kofi vs. Orton next! I'm pumped.

Kofi vs. Orton- Kofi starts off REAL strong early. After getting backed into the corner, he slides out of danger, hits Orton with some quick hits and kicks, a European uppercut, then sends him out of the ring. He hits an over the rope move, but the party ends after Kofi misses with some high risk stuff. Orton's turn now, as he starts punching and stomping away at Kofi. Big scoop slam from Kofi followed by an even bigger knee drop. This crowd is definitely a fan of the faces, as they are really cheering Kofi. Long rest hold by Orton, Kofi does not seem to phased by it, just a little uncomfortable. Kofi finally breaks out, and just starts hammering away with the fists. Cuban pushes him back, but Kofi just goes in for some more, and then a huge uppercut! Legsweep, and now time for the Boom Boom Leg Drop. Kofi boomin away with his hands but Orton dodges the Trouble in Paradise and counters with a backbreaker. He's doing his stupid stalking thing for the RKO. Kingston countered with a backslide pin, and Cuban goes for a VERY fast three count... but who cares, Kofi won a cheap won. Cole stole my line when he said turn about is fair play. 8/10

Nice payback Cuban. But he gave Kofi vs. Orton at TLC! Unfortunately, I bet we see Orton use Legacy to pull out a close win. The good news is, this definitely isn't over. I'd love to see this rivalry go all the way through Wrestlemania. Have them meet in the Royal Rumble and then in an Elimination Chamber at Elimination Chamber, and they can definitely stretch this to Wrestlemania. Call me crazy, but this is my favorite thing that Orton's ever done as far as I can recall.

Miz vs. Mark Henry- Miz can draw heat like a mother fucker, and that is good news for the WWE. I don't think anybody really thinks Mark Henry is going to win this, but at least Mark Henry isn't rapping, or whatever that was. I predict Miz tries a whole bunch of crap on Mark Henry, but nothing works, and he wins the match by distracting the ref, and then cheating.

So far Miz actually has gotten in some small offense. Small kicks and elbows, but now Mark Henry is selling his hits like he's Hulk Hogan. Miz is getting in some pretty good offense, he just kicked Henry outta the ring, and then again into the ring steps! Still, nothing hurts Henry, and he just choked the Miz out a little. Miz goes for a high rope move, and gets caught my Mark Henry again, but this time Miz gets a nice looking DDT in, and pins Henry. A good clean win for our friend The Miz. 6.5/10

Jeff Hardy DVD- I can't decide if I want to see this. I mean, I really liked him, and he's definitely an interesting guy, but he kind of annoys the hell out of me at the same time. How many times can you be given everything and piss it all away?
Jeff Hardy: Three

Chris Masters is hanging out with Cuban, which seems pointless, unless thay are really somehow related, they look like they could possibly be.

Hornswpgle and Eve vs. Chavo and Jillian- I used to not even bother reviewing divas matches, but then I broke up with my girlfriend and this is all I have now. Eve has had her ups and downs, more recently it has been downs, but I have faith in her. I am enjoying Cole teasing King about his marriage record. I'd marry Eve. Eve really only seems to have a few things going for her, and one of them is her dropsault. Did Hornswpgle just yell something in English? Eve gets the pin with a flip onto Jillian. Typical quick divas match.

Chavo attacks Hornswogle. Why doesn't Eve kick his ass? She's taller than him. Probably wrestles better than him as well. Oh here is Chris Masters! He's going to be a face and save Eve? Weird, but I'm sure after he wrestles Chavo once or twice, he'll disappear... again. Oh he flexed his pec. Everyone is looking on mesmerized. Congratulations Chris, you have a gimmick, your boobs dance. Hornswogle made me laugh for the first time ever by trying to make his pecs dance as well. I'll give the whole match+segment a 7/10. I'm just impressed that Hornswogle did something funny, and Eve is so hot.

Blah blah TLC is this Sunday. Got it.

Time for Jericho sans Big Show vs. Dx- I am... not excited for this match. I love Jericho, I like HHH, and I can appreciate HBK, but I don't wanna see Dx pound on Jericho for 20 minutes. Wow, that's a lot of "Jericho Sucks!" signs. I'm sure that was planted, but still pretty impressive.

Would you give Jericho any of those slammys? I'd say you have to give them tag team of the year (though it could go to Dx). I am not very good at recalling particular matches, but it's gonna be hard to beat Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels at WM25. I would actually give Jericho the Superstar of the year again from a fan's standpoint, but kayfabe-wise he hasn't done anything too spectacular. I would definitely give Jericho the Using Words the Target Audience Doesn't Understand Slammy.

Match finally starts, and Dx kicks Jericho's ass for a while, until Jericho shoves the ref into HHH. HBK comes in to beat up on Jericho until Show comes to beat up Shawn. Big Show pounds on Shawn until HHH hits him with a chair. It's like a mosquito bite though, and Big Show punches the chair into HHH's face. HBK takes out a ladder and starts putting it into the ring, but Jericho slides into the ladder, shoving it into HBK. Big Show picks it up and hits both members of Dx with it. They sandwich both members of Dx into the ladder, and Jericho hits it with a steel chair. This has turned into quite the ass rape. It's clearly a little preview of the brutality we will see on Sunday.

Cole: This is symbolic of climbing the ladder on Sunday- He says as Jericho climbs a ladder.

Match+Segment- It's just what I expected: Dx would beat on Jericho for a while, Jericho would cheat, and all hell would break loose. Whatever happened to Mark Cuban bouncing people from the arena? I give it a 6.5/10

Shamus and Cena talk about their feelings about the match on Sunday- Markie Mark is back. Shamus comes out with his whole, "I shouldn't have to be here," look on his face. Cena comes out, and is surprisingly stoic.

Mark is going to ask 3 questions, and you can say whatever you want. I don't see this ending in people hitting each other...

Why are you going to win this Sunday?
Shamus talks and I can't pay attention because his accent is so weird.
Cena remains cool and says no comment. Everyone cheers. If only a real debate was that easy.

Are either of you concerned about participating in a tables match this Sunday?

Shamus thinks Cena isn't scared enough. "Yer even dumba ten i thaw" He says he will beat him twice if Cena invokes his rematch clause.
Cena takes a dramatic pause. Cena chant gets going. He says no comment, probably because he knows this is stupid.

Considering the match is just six days away, is there anything you would like to say directly to your opponent.
Cena says, "Fuck you Mark, I'll ask the questions here." He tells Shamus he talks a lot, and that he better believe what he's saying. The guy dressed as Hogan is booing Cena, he must not like faces who get pushed through the roof and hold the belt for a long time. Cena finally opens up and talks about himself and how great he is. Cena points out he's wrestled a lot of guys who said they were going to end Cena's career, and he's survived. True. He's faced a lot of people who were bigger and badder than Shamus. Hustle Loyalty Respect. The Champ is Here. And Cena is angry at Shamus.

Was there a question here? You said you were gonna ask a question. Nope, no question, but Shamus is throwing a fit. They are flipping stuff all over the place. Shamus shoves Cuban and then a surprised Cena. He throws more stuff around, sets up a table, and then gets pushed by Cuban. Shamus looks to be about... 280 pounds. Cuban looks to be about... 180 pounds. I believe it. Shamus then proceeds to knee Cuban in the gut, which puts him down for the count. Shamus then puts Mark Cuban through the table, and screams a lot. Some of the Dallas Mavericks come out and chase Shamus out of the ring. I don't know what he's scared of, it's not like they're the Detroit Pistons.

Overall, this RAW was slightly above average for me. The high was seeing Kofi and Orton go at it, and the low was the ending. Making people talk about their feelings regarding a match is just dumb, and I don't want to watch it. I'd give tonight's show a 6/10. It was a good show, but there have been much better recently.

 

[Kenny Powers]

After tonight's Raw, I don't care who TNA brings in on January 4th. Even it is the Nasty Boyd and Ed Leslie. It's sad but at least that would be more entertaining then the same mindless dribble we have been seeing on Raw lately.

I'll give credit where it's due though. Cuban wasn't horrible, but he did annoy the piss out of me. Even though Sheamus put him through a table, Cuban looked more legit then the #1 contender himself. I know it was his hometown, but that is pretty bad when Mark Cuban gets a louder reaction then you.

It looks like Raw is going back to that usual formula of lets have Hornswoggle in every other skit. I mean he is already on there with DX most of the show, and to add insult to injury we have Chavo vs. Hornswoggle part 97? At least Masters is getting a reaction, but honestly he has to do more then just jiggle his pecs.

Kofi went over on Orton, that is really the only mildly entertaining skit on Raw this week. Damn where is Jesse when you need him. Maybe Dennis Miller will do a better job, but I'm predicting Sheamus and Cena's encounter to be atrocious at the PPV. Also, where the hell was the mention of Umaga? I'm glad they nixed the midget court segment, but couldn't they have saved at least 5 seconds to show a video of Eddie Fatu, instead of showing mindless boring Sheamus videos?

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I thought Raw was a very solid show tonight and it has my interest up for TLC. I knew the Carlito/Cena match would ultimately lead to some sort of mini confrontation between Cena and Sheamus. The match itself was far from great, but it wasn't supposed to be after all, it was to set the tone for what would happen later in the night between Cena and Sheamus. I know it's not the standard, pointless matches that TNA puts on just for the sake of putting on matches, but the goal was accomplished.

The thing with the Divas I thought was actually somewhat interesting. Maryse is still hot as hell and really seems to pull off the bitchy hotgirl thing fairly well, it has a lot to do with the talk to the hand mannerisms. Maryse is pretty much the only Diva on Raw worth watching really. It's not saying all that much, but then again I don't expect all that much from the Divas.

The Orton/Kofi feud continues to grow and interests me more and more each week. These two should have a good match at TLC and TLC can just be the beginning of what could be a really fantastic feud when it's all said and done. I like how the WWE has been doing these matches in which both guys seem to be more than able to beat one another and hold their own. Just keeps it fresh and makes you want to see what happens next.

The Miz was great, few can draw heat in wrestling today as well as the Miz. His match with Mark Henry was also nothing special. But, also it wasn't really supposed to be. The Miz comes off the match with a lot of heat, retaining the title and moves onto other things.

The thing with Hornswoggle was kinda bad, but not nearly as bad as we've seen it or it could have been. Once more, the WWE decided not to do the Little People's Court segment, so I'll take what they did with Hornswoggle tonight over that anytime. It was pointless sure and the show could've done just as well without it. I was a little surprised how quickly the crowd warmed up to Chris Masters and his patented pec jiggle.

I found myself enjoying the aspect of the DX/JeriShow match at TLC even more. While I'm almost certain DX will walk away with the titles, it should still be a good match. JeriShow came off looking strong tonight and left DX laying, which is always nice since I love seeing someone get the best of DX. If DX would forget the corny merchendise skits, they'd be completely watchable instead of just watchable half the time.

The confrontation between Sheamus and John Cena came across well in my view. I was a little surprised at how it was set up. I just figured they'd both just stand in the ring and just talk on the mic. I like the more serious side of John Cena personally, he can actually be a little intimidating when he puts his mind to it. I thought that Sheamus worked the mic pretty well and I'm looking forward to the match this Sunday. Leaving Cena laying and putting Mark Cuban through the table was an excellent touch. I thought that they were going to have Sheamus punk out to him after being pushed on his ass, which would have completely ruined the match. Cuban was a good sport going through with it, he's obviously not afraid of a few bruises here and there.

Overall, I enjoyed tonight's Raw very much. Raw has built up its portion of the TLC ppv very well in my view. I thought tonight was a pretty good, solid show.

 

[Dagger Dias]

I felt that this week's Raw got off to a slow start, but it really picked up in the end. The beginning part with Cuban I didn't really care for.... and not even Cena could keep my interest during the Carlito match; but then again I was responding to debates in 2 other threads while watching that match.

It got better after Orton came out. Cuban should have been RKO'ed for some of the things he said, but as an Orton fan perhaps I was biased. Cody was good on the mic tonight. Then a match was next featuring Legacy VS A new team called "Two jobbers who have nothing better to do right now so let's put them in a match and randomly make them lose to Legacy." Also known as Bourne and Primo. I like Bourne, but teaming him with Primo is not going to do him any good.

Then we have our weekly random divas match that no one cares about.... After that match, Maryse and Kelly looked interesting for a moment there. Wouldn't that make for a GREAT feud if Maryse wins the Divas Championship?

The DX "commercial" segment was funny. Hornswoggle is being as annoying as always, but I enjoyed the humerous advertisements for DX's items. I'd honestly buy most of those things if I had enough money.

Kofi and Orton was great, but I feel that they should have waited until the PPV to have this match. I now expect their next match to be even better than this one because it was very entertaining.

The Miz retained the US title against the World's Strongest Jobber after that in a match that was kinda boring. I'm not a big fan of Mark Henry's. The Miz has been growing on me so much though, he's still the "Marty Jannetty" of Miz and Morrison though.

Then we had an interesting segment between Hornswoggle, Chavo, Eve, Masters, and Jillian. It was alright, but mainly because Eve was in it. Am I the only one who is not creeped out and grossed out by what Masters does with his chest muscles? It may have saved his career since he actually has segments now, but still.... STOP IT MASTERS! I don't want to see him doing that ever again because it creeps me out.

Then we had the match with Jericho and DX. I was laughing at all those "Jericho sucks" signs. There must have been an "I hate Jericho" fan club meeting at the show that night or something.... Very amusing.

Finally.... the confrontation between Cena and Sheamus. This was the best part of tonight's show. Sheamus cut a good promo although part of it was very tough to understand, and we had some laughs about that in the LD. Then Cena did another one of his ruthless promos that he is known for. Sheamus attacks him and sends Cuban through a table.... that was cool how Cuban was willing to take a bump unlike most of the guest hosts.

I enjoyed most of the show, although some parts of it not so much. I give this week's Raw a 5 out of 9. It was good, but it lost a lot of points because of not being able to keep my interest at some parts.