Official Raw/Smackdown Aftermath, Ratings and Review Thread

[Jack-Hammer]

WWE Monday Night Raw - October 12, 2010

Opening Segment - When Cena came out more along the lines of his usual self, I felt my guts churn a little bit. He came out to the ring doing his usual thing more or less before The Miz & Alex Riley came down to the ring. As usual, The Miz gave a good promo and put himself over and went on about how he should be the captain for Team Raw at Bragging Rights. He and Cena had a little back and forth before Wade Barrett came out and did a good job of reminding everyone that Cena is essentially Nexus property at the moment. The Raw GM chimed in and made a match between Cena & The Miz as to who will be captain of Team Raw. Barrett gets into it momentarily with Riley & The Miz before Cena breaks things up. This was a good opening segment, not the best I've seen, but it was good due mainly to The Miz & Wade Barrett's presence and sets up a good main event for the night. Thumbs Up

R-Truth vs. Ted DiBiase - This was the first qualifying match to see who ends up on Team Raw at Bragging Rights. I just wasn't feeling this match, one reason I think is because R-Truth and Eve just annoy the shit outta me when they do this rapper/rap video ho thing they do. The match was generally pretty solid while it lasted, a little on the short side but these sort of matches in which the winners are members of a team almost always are. Truth gets the win about the 3.5 minute mark with a little distraction via Goldust. This was alright in general I suppose, but it just didn't click with me. Thumbs Down

John Morrison vs. Tyson Kidd - This was a very fun little match while it lasted. Lot of high energy offense and pinfalls crammed into about 3.5 minutes. Both Kidd & Morrison looked pretty strong and the crowd was into it from the opening bell. Morrison hits the C4, which looks great and gets a big pop from the crowd for the win. JoMo winning here was pretty much guaranteed but it was still an entertaining match. I'd love to see these two be given about 15 minutes sometime in the future. Thumbs Up

Santino Marella vs. Zack Ryder - I honestly do think Santino is a guy that could be a good wrestler in the WWE, but the comedy stuff just kills me. Santino is crazy over with the crowd and gets the win here in about 2 minutes. Honestly, I don't see why Santino Marella is part of Team Raw now. Really, neither of these guys should be on the team and I knew that this just wasn't going to end well no matter what. I have to say that Team Raw isn't shaping up all that great right now with Santino & R-Truth on board. Thumbs Down

Randy Orton vs. Justin Gabriel - I thought this was a pretty good match featuring the young up and comer in Gabriel against the reigning WWE Champion. I was worried that this was going to be some 2 minute squash match, but Gabriel held his own and pulled out a strong showing against the WWE Champion. Gabriel continues to impress me inside the ring and he worked hard here. Randy Orton ultimately gets the win at the 11 minute mark, as was no doubt in my mind. Gabriel kinda sorta hits the 450 splash, landing on Orton's back and right arm. I'm assuming that it was supposed to be a clean miss but Orton didn't roll out of the way in time. Orton wins via the RKO not long afterward. Thumbs Up

Sheamus vs. Daniel Bryan - I have to admit that my asshole puckered just a little bit tighter here as I thought this match could possibly be telling. Since Raw was close to Bryan's hometown tonight, I wasn't really sure what to expect here. I was surprised pleasantly to see that Daniel Bryan put up a really good effort against Sheamus and gave him a good match. It was a pretty physical match as both gave and took some of the others' best shots. Sheamus ultimately did get the win about the 7 minute mark, but Bryan did make him earn it. It was a very nice recovery from last week's bit of odd booking. Sheamus being on Team Raw over Bryan does make sense right now. I know that Bryan is the United States Champion, but Sheamus was WWE Champion this time last month. Thumbs Up

John Cena & R-Truth - This backstage segment with Truth & Cena stuck with me as Cena didn't say a word throughout with Truth kind of lecturing him a little, telling him how the boys in the locker room didn't care for Cena being with Nexus. Truth telling Cena that the way out of this mess was to quit had me thinking about what Cena said last week about loving the WWE and about how this is all he has. It made me think that maybe, just maybe, the first seeds of a legitimate heel turn were planted here with Truth basically telling Cena that he needs to walk away from the business and company that he loves rather than be part of Nexus. Thumbs Up

CM Punk vs. Evan Bourne - This match was generally a 2.5 minute squash match that showcased Punk in a way that we haven't seen in a long time. Punk looked very strong and outright vicious against Evan Bourne tonight. After getting the win with the GTS, Punk beat down Bourne for a few minutes outside. Punk slammed Bourne against the ring post and slapped on the Anaconda Vice for a good period of time. Since Punk's feud with Rey Mysterio ended on SmackDown!, he really hasn't had all that much going for him and hasn't looked as strong as he did against Bourne tonight in a while. Punk's now part of Team Raw. Thumbs Up

Natalya & LayCool - This is the first time I can recall any of the Divas giving a legit, meaningful attempt at cutting a promo in the ring in a very long time. I thought all three looked pretty hot and LayCool was actually pretty tolerable on the mic tonight. They did some of the usual mindless chattering, but not nearly as much as usual and Natalya, while not exactly spectacular, was solid. It wasn't great in my view, but it was actually pretty decent and was far better than I expected it to be. I give them credit for trying hard and for actually building up a Diva title match for once. Thumbs Up

John Cena vs. The Miz - Pretty good match to close the show between The Miz & John Cena. The no DQ stipulation meant that outside interference was guaranteed. The Miz ultimately looked strong and did well against Cena and there was a little outside interference from Alex Riley. Michael McGuillicutty & Husky Harris hit the ring ultimately cost Cena the match. The Miz pins Cena at the 10.5 minute mark to become the captain of Team Raw. If I'm not mistaken, this is technically the second time The Miz had beaten Cena recently and, for the third time in a little over a week, John Cena loses a match. I like that The Miz won the match and I think it was the right call to make going forward. Thumbs Up

Wade Barrett & John Cena - The post match stuff with Barrett & Cena basically showed why the aspect of Cena being part of The Nexus is so intriguing right now. The Raw GM chimes in and makes a match between Harris & McGuillicutty vs. Randy Orton & John Cena next week. Barrett really egged Cena on during this segment and gave some great mic work. The fans were practically begging Cena to beat Barrett down and Cena's body language and expressions, coupled with the overall selling of his frustrations, worked very well. There are so many different directions the WWE could go with this and there's really no indication at this time in which way it's ultimately gonna go, which is helping to keep me intrigued. We all get the sense that Cena is eventually gonna beat the shit out of Barrett and the build to that has been great. However, is that what will happen exactly that way? Will a swerve be pulled only for Cena to reveal that maybe he willingly decided to embrace Nexus? Will he replace Barrett as leader? Will he find some way to take Nexus apart from the inside without being fired? Have to keep watching to find out. Thumbs Up

Overall Show - Overall, I thought that Raw put on a very strong show tonight centered around Bragging Rights while combining that with The Nexus situation. I'm not really all that keen on the SmackDown!/Raw rivalry at this point really, but it gave all the matches on Raw tonight meaning and reason to take place. The outcome of most of the matches were pretty obvious, but most of them were still very fun and entertaining to watch all the same. The angle with Cena & The Nexus could go any number of directions ultimately and kept the intrigue going without dominating the entire length of the program as it did last week.

Grade - B+

 

[Jack-Hammer]

The numbers are in for last Friday's episode of SmackDown! and the signs are a little encouraging. Last Friday's show drew a 1.8 Neilsen Rating with 2.61 million viewers. That's up from the show's debut on Syfy, which drew a 1.7 rating and 2.5 milion viewers. It's not a huge increase, but I'm sure the WWE will take it as a promising sign that they'll eventually rise to the 2.0 mark, as I'd guess that's what they'd want at this point. At least the numbers didn't go down.

 

[Y-2-Jay]

Natalya & LayCool - This is the first time I can recall any of the Divas giving a legit, meaningful attempt at cutting a promo in the ring in a very long time. I thought all three looked pretty hot and LayCool was actually pretty tolerable on the mic tonight. They did some of the usual mindless chattering, but not nearly as much as usual and Natalya, while not exactly spectacular, was solid. It wasn't great in my view, but it was actually pretty decent and was far better than I expected it to be. I give them credit for trying hard and for actually building up a Diva title match for once. Thumbs Up

Nice review i agree with most of it except this. This part of the show was easily the worst part for me. From the terrible "insults" to the the piss poor "fight" at the end of the segment and what did it for me was that the camera got a clear shot of one of the Bella's throwing the worst punch ever even for diva standards that punch was fucking terrible the whole thing for me was a big fat fail the one good thing that came from that horrible segment was that it built the match up a little. It is your opinion though and i respect that but i would have gave it a big fat Thumbs Down!!!

 

[Wade's Public Transit Bomb]

I posed this question in the spam section and I will do it here:

Is there anyone manlier than Wade Barrett?


The Barrett/Cena stuff was really the positive highlight of the show. Wade Barrett doing a fucking headbutt automatically makes this show at least a B-. And man, was that just a BRUTAL headbutt. The sound of it really reminded me of a weak mic spike or something. It also convinced me that if Wade was to some how magically turn face, he would kick all kinds of ass as well. Barrett in the opening segment sounded like an abusive husband from some movie. He was damn good. And in the ending segment, he was a complete pompous asshole. He actually inspires me to be the best bitch I can be.

Cena was awesome as well. When he finally fights back, that arena will be rocking like the August 9 (the Raw before Summerslam) was.

Why is Orton considered a "good" wrestler? He completely made Justin Gabriel look like a fucking idiot and bad wrestler tonight. Okay, Justin isn't blow your socks off, but this has to be the worst match he has had like ever. It was like they set this out to be a squash match, but about five minutes in they decided it needed to be longer. You got Orton, THE BABYFACE, playing Gabriel's role, WHICH IS THE HEEL. Wanna know why Orton is completely uninteresting as a babyface? Well, if Sheamus's matches didn't show it, then watch this one.

The worst part was the finish. Sure, it was ugly and I have little doubt that Justin isn't still feeling that. But for Orton to sell the impact like he f'd up his shoulder for like 5 seconds only to turn around and pose and smile as if he was just coming out and hamming it up for the crowd. Bullshit. Orton sucks.


The other matches:

- RTruth vs Teddy Jr. Has Teddy Jr. like ever beaten Truth? And have they ever had a good match together? I thought the match dragged and it was only five minutes.

- Morrison vs Kidd. When are people going to realize that Morrison does his monkey shit to compensate for his complete lack of anything that would make him interesting? Next match.

- Santino vs Zack Ryder. This was actually a hard match for me to call. I thought it was a fun little match. The aftermath was good too.

- Bryan vs Sheamus. I guess it was a good match, but there's just something about Daniel Bryan that I don't get. I am sure he volunteers at animal shelters and delivers babies in his free time, but I just can't find him interesting.

- Punk vs Bourne. Was what it was.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Nice review i agree with most of it except this. This part of the show was easily the worst part for me. From the terrible "insults" to the the piss poor "fight" at the end of the segment and what did it for me was that the camera got a clear shot of one of the Bella's throwing the worst punch ever even for diva standards that punch was fucking terrible the whole thing for me was a big fat fail the one good thing that came from that horrible segment was that it built the match up a little. It is your opinion though and i respect that but i would have gave it a big fat Thumbs Down!!!

Oh sure, I can get where anybody could hate the stuff with LayCool. The biggest reason why I gave it a thumbs up was because it's so outside the norm for how the WWE approaches the Divas. As I said, how often is it that any of the Divas get anything even remotely approaching legitimate mic time for the purposes of building a feud and/or a championship match? It's such a rarity that the segment last night was actually something of a novelty. It wasn't a great performance, don't misunderstand me, but I do have to give them credit for trying and the WWE for actually attempting to do something on Raw with the Divas thats even remotely meaningful because it virtually NEVER happens.

 

[GCoh]

Wade Barrett & John Cena - The post match stuff with Barrett & Cena basically showed why the aspect of Cena being part of The Nexus is so intriguing right now. The Raw GM chimes in and makes a match between Harris & McGuillicutty vs. Randy Orton & John Cena next week. Barrett really egged Cena on during this segment and gave some great mic work. The fans were practically begging Cena to beat Barrett down and Cena's body language and expressions, coupled with the overall selling of his frustrations, worked very well. There are so many different directions the WWE could go with this and there's really no indication at this time in which way it's ultimately gonna go, which is helping to keep me intrigued. We all get the sense that Cena is eventually gonna beat the shit out of Barrett and the build to that has been great. However, is that what will happen exactly that way? Will a swerve be pulled only for Cena to reveal that maybe he willingly decided to embrace Nexus? Will he replace Barrett as leader? Will he find some way to take Nexus apart from the inside without being fired? Have to keep watching to find out. Thumbs Up



Grade - B+[/QUOTE]

Is it me, or does the addition of Husky and Hennig make no sense for Nexus? I know Barrett said "Do the right thing" and that could mean anything, because last week he said they were definitely not part of the Nexus. WWE could go a lot of ways for next week, but heres hoping for a Cena/Orton victory next week. What do ya'll think?

 

[goodlay]

Raw was pretty solid last night. I don't really know how I feel about Team Raw, or Team Smackdown, or the Bragging Rights PPV concept at all, seeing it was poorly done and just felt thrown together at the last minute last year, but whatevs.

DBD/Sheamus was MILES ahead of what we got last week. They actually got to put on a real match this week, and it was definitely worth watching.

Miz/Cena was good but it's really starting to lose its luster. It's cool to see Alex Riley being Miz's little bitch, but still getting over at the same time.

As for the Nexus angle? I like it, but it's reminding me too much of HBK/JBL. They aren't really doing anything to really set it apart from that angle.

The thing about Nexus is they have their big moments (their amazing initial attack on Cena and on Raw itself, Cena joining Nexus, etc.) but after that the angle really just loses steam and the same shit happens. Like after the first beatdown by Nexus on Raw, they just kept interrupting matches and doing beat downs, and it got old very fast. Now with Cena joining Nexus, once again, at first it was amazing, but now it's kind of losing steam. Another thing, can't Cena at least fucking come out to the Nexus music and wear the black and yellow?

Overall though, Raw was solid last night and I like where the company is going. New stars are getting pushed hard, there is way more emphasis on the lower and middle guys on the card, and WWE is trying to shake things up overall.

I'd give the 10/11 edition of Raw a B+

 

[ctln4rko]

loved raw for many reasons. First, Riley actually put his mic skills out there, which made me happy. I am indescribably happy that Miz is the team captain- he is my favorite wrestler. I loved his and riley's segment- "Oh well, there goes the element of surprise" LOL. the team, except for morrison, punk, and sheamus sucks. I never got into r truth, with his stale entrance and moves. amazed they jobbed ryder to a jobber, but rtyder was doing great. VERY glad Cena can't disobey barrett, looking miles forward to Orton and Barrett. Really great match between Gabriel and orton, gabriel really got great spots in. Did not see the rko coming. One second, holding shoullder, next rko. SO happy Punk was drafted. really hopes he gets pushed to championship status. so, yeah. if i forgot anything, i'll add it on l8ter. o i couldnt stop laughing when gabriel botched the splash. that really looked painful. Punk all but got a standing ovation. His hair was awesome 2. I read a report from some1 that went, building round boos for bourne. poor guy. Half the crowd was booing for cena. loved it. just want him heel. tired of him being hero. simple as taht

 

[Mitch Henessey]

John Cena/Miz Segment

Cena talks about never giving up. He tells the fans that he's going to have to do some things that he doesn't want to do. The Miz and Alex Riley interrupt. Miz mocks Cena's care for the fans. Miz wants to be captain of Team Raw. Cena says Miz being captain would be like Betty White posing in Playboy. Thank you WWE and Cena. I know have a nude image of Betty White in my mind. Anyway, Wade Barrett comes out. He says Cena needs to focus on the WWE Championship match at Bragging Rights. Alex Riley hints at Miz cashing in his briefcase. Miz is pissed because Riley ruined the element of surprise. The mystery GM interrupts. The GM announces Cena VS Miz for later. The winner of this match will be the captain of Team Raw. Miz and Barrett exchange some unkind words. Riley and Miz attack Barrett. Cena stands by and does nothing, but this doesn't last long, because Wade Barrett calls Cena to his aid.

I really enjoyed this segment. Besides the damn "what!" chants from the crowd, everything here was enjoyable. You could feel the tension between Cena and Barrett. Miz was entertaining on the mic, and the lackey, Alex Riley spoke a few words here. I'm not too crazy about Riley so far, but I haven't seen too much of him, so I guess I'll have to give him more time.

Ted DiBiase VS R-Truth-Winner Becomes A Member Of Team Raw

I like R-Truth's new music, but Eve's dancing makes everything feel over the top. The match was okay. Goldust and Aksana distracted DiBiase by flaunting The Million Dollar Championship. Truth took advantage of this, and he was able to pick up the win. I still can't believe Goldust is being given a storyline with some build. I don't have a problem with Goldust, but I doubt that this feud will do anything for him or DiBiase.

John Morrison VS Tyson Kidd-Winner Becomes A Member Of Team Raw

Apparently, this was supposed to be a triple threat match, but DH Smith is now where to be found. I really enjoyed this match. Kidd is one of my favorites. This match had fast pace to it, and there were lots of counters here. Morrison's new finisher looks great, and he still seems to be riding a nice little push.

Slater, Otunga, and Gabriel question Michael McGillicutty and Husky Harris' motives. Barrett interrupts. He pushes Otunga to wrestle Randy Orton. Otunga gets Barrett to pick Justin Gabriel, and this made me very happy, because I'm sure Otunga VS Orton would've been terrible.

Santino Marella VS Zack Ryder-Winner Becomes A Member Of Team Raw

Yeah, this was just a silly match. Santino hits the Cobra for the win. I was surprised by the out come of this match. We've been seeing more of Ryder, and I know he was squashed by Sheamus in a WWE Championship match not too long ago, but still, it was a WWE Championship match. I thought Ryder was on his way to some sort of push, but things don't seem that way as of now.

After the match, Tamina comes down to celebrate with Santino. Marella seems to be intimidated, but he lets his guard down after a while. They touch Cobras after the match, and Tamina seems to have the look of love in her eyes. Tamina seems to be santino's next girlfriend. This relationship could be better than Santino and Maria or Santino and Beth Phoenix. But it's way too soon to judge it now.

Justin Gabriel VS Randy Orton

Slater and Otunga get tossed from ringside early. I was kind of glad WWE did this, because the Nexus beat downs can become stale after a while. Gabriel caught Orton on the shoulder with a 450 Splash. Orton clutches his shoulder, but as he stands near Gabriel, he hits the RKO out of no where. It seems like Orton faked the shoulder injury, because he showed no signs of being hurt after the match was over. He even did his signature pose. King and Cole didn't point this out.

I thought this match was pretty solid. You knew Orton was going to win this, because he was going to gain some momentum heading into Bragging Rights, and beating up one of his opponent's stable mates was a perfect way to do that.

Daniel Bryan VS Sheamus-Winner Becomes A Member Of Team Raw

For a minute, I thought Bryan was going to get squashed again, but this was a very good match. This match was very competitive and physical. Some of the kicks Bryan dished out to Sheamus looked very devastating. Sheamus hit the Brogue Kick for the win, and the outcome here really didn't surprise me. Sheamus is coming off of a big loss to Orton at Hell In A Cell, so two straight loses in a row would've hurt his character.

Cena and R-Truth are shown in the locker room. Truth suggests Cena should quit. He tells him that this would be the only way out of the Nexus mess.

Tribute To The Troops highlights are shown.

CM Punk VS Evan Bourne-Winner Becomes A Member Of Team Raw

CM Punk has been traded to Raw!!!! I was happy to see Punk come to Raw, but I was afraid he might lose to Bourne here. But Punk came out with a fury. He destroyed Bourne, and he hit the GTS for the win. After the match, Punk continued his assault on Bourne. This was great. Punk can be a great heel, and I think he could breathe life into the WWE title picture if he's given a chance. I hope this a sign of Punk being pushed hard, because I've already gotten my hopes up.

Natalya/Lay-Cool Segment

Natalya cuts a promo on Lay-Cool. She talks about winning the Unified Divas Championship. Lay-Cool interrupts. They make fun of Natalya's looks, and a picture of her with Jim Neidhart's beard is shown. Lay-Cool gets the last word, and they try to leave, but all of the face Divas on Raw stop them. Layla gets thrown into the ring. Natalya catches her in the Sharpshooter, but Michelle makes the save. Lay-Cool escapes through the crowd.

Lay-Cool is usually involved in the best Diva segments, and nothing changed here. This made me laugh, and Natalya is pretty decent on the mic, so I didn't have a problem with anything that went down here.

John Cena VS Miz-Winner Becomes Captain Of Team Raw-NO DQ Match

This was a fun match. Riley interfered quickly, but that was expected. Harris and McGillicutty also got involved here, and Miz was able to pick up the win to become the captain of Team Raw.

Wade Barrett Continues To Push John Cena

After the match, Cena tried to get some payback on Harris and McGillicutty, but Barret stops him. The GM interrupts. He announces Cena & Orton VS McGillicutty & Harris for next week. Barrett tells Cena if he loses, Harris and McGillicutty are in Nexus. Barret pushes Cena to fight him. He calls Cena a coward, and then he mocks his signature "you can't see me!" taunt. Cena walks to the back ashamed, and this how we end this week's edition of Monday Night Raw.

I thought last night's episode was great. We saw tons of wrestling, but you knew that was coming because people had to qualify for Bragging Rights. Still, almost Evey match was high quality, and the Cena/Barrett segments were very good. Cena is doing such a good job at playing a guy who's backed into a corner, and the fans will probably explode when he finally defeats Barrett and Nexus.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

The ratings for last night's Raw are in and the show had a tough night against some pretty stiff competition. The show scored a 2.9 Nielsen Rating with 4.3 million viewers. Raw went up against The Jets vs. Vikings game on Monday Night Football scored a 12.5 rating with 17.3 million viwers. Raw also went up against The Atlanta Braves vs. San Francisgo Giants playoff game which drew a 3.4 rating with roughly 4.7 million viewers.

The overall demos aren't out but Raw took a hit in the males 18-49 demographics but the teenage audience, the males 12-17 demographic, was the largest since the August 30th episode of Raw. When it comes to the numbers, last night's Raw had mixed results. The show drew the third rating in 5 weeks to draw under a 3.0 Nielsen Ratinng and was down roughly 500,000 viewers than last week's. However, the strong showing among the teen male demo probably helped the show still draw well over 4 million viewers.

 

[WWEIsLife2]

I thought RAW was excellent last night and Im enjoying the Cena/Nexus Storyline right now espeically with Wade Barrett trying to push Cena to hit him. The Bragging Rights Matches were fun with Morrison/Kidd & Sheamus/Bryan being the Best ones of the night. I also liked Randy Orton & Justin Gabriel's Match,kinda glad Orton did not hurt his shoulder after the 450 attempt. John Cena & Miz had a Solid Main Event and the aftermath was like I said very well done. Looking forward to Next Week before the PPV.

 

[Morpheus101]

John Cena has basically rejuvenated the Nexus angle to the point that it can grow again and be taken seriously (soon to add McGillicutty and Harris). People bash Cena to high heaven, but he is one of the best "actors" in the WWE and his acting skills have sold the "Oh shit I'm in Nexus" angle 1,000 times more than I'd have though possible.

A great Raw though...next weeks Raw should be even more intriguing.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

WWE Friday Night SmackDown! - October 15, 2010

Rey Mysterio vs. Dashing Cody Rhodes - This was a good strong match to kick the show off with. The crowd was hot for it and Mysterio & Rhodes put up a very good effort. Cody Rhodes looked quite strong against Rey, he looked like a star against a former World Champion. Mysterio ultimately gets the win at the 10.5 minute mark to earn a place on Team SmackDown! at Bragging Rights. I can’t say that I’m surprised that Mysterio got the win but I honestly was surprised how good Cody Rhodes looked against him. Thumbs Up

Big Show, Hornswoggle & Kaval - I liked the backstage segment featuring these 3. Hornswoggle didn’t really do anything, which means he didn’t fuck things up. I do like this new easy going and fun loving side of The Big Show. He’s been the big angry, one dimensional giant for so long that it’s refreshing to see a different side of him. Kaval did quite well in the segment and was able to hold his own. With Show being the multi time World Champ and captain of Team SmackDown!, Kaval could’ve potentially been just made to look completely inferior here and I’m glad they didn’t go that route. I’m not really a fan of 5 minute challenges in general and one between these two just screams mismatch. Still, a solid backstage segment. Thumbs Up

Paul Bearer Video - I thought that Paul Bearer spoke quite eloquently during the promo/video segment. Say what you want about the WWE but there’s no denying that they have a fantastic production crew. I have to admit that I also like the fact that Paul Bearer isn’t speaking in the ultra high quivering voice that he used back in the old days and it set things up nicely for the confrontation to come at the end of the night. Thumbs Up

Jack Swagger vs. MVP - These two have been putting together very solid matches against each other and this one was a disappointment. It was simply too short to really do much of anything. Swagger gets the win via the ankle lock submission about the 2.5 minute mark. It wasn't horrible, but it was ultimately much too short. Thumbs Down

Alberto Del Rio vs. Chris Masters - This was far too short to really be judged on much of anything. Chris Masters rarely makes appearances on SmackDown! and it’s just to lose when he does. Del Rio gets the win here via the armbar submission about 2 minutes and 20 seconds in. I like that Del Rio is on the team, but this is just one of those matches that just didn’t click. It was too short with absolutely no doubt whatsoever who would take the win here. Thumbs Down

Edge vs. Dolph Ziggler - This was a friggin’ great match these two had. It was back and forth, very competitive and more than enough big moves to make the audience sigh and awe. As with Cody Rhodes against Mysterio, I was a little surprised at how strong Ziggler looked against Edge. Ziggler hit Edge with a Zig Zag against the ring steps that looked sick and gave people a legitimate reason to think Edge might be counted out. Of course he managed to get back in at the last possible instant, as he was supposed to, but it was still a very cool spot. Edge ultimately gets the win by catching Ziggler with a spear as Ziggler leaps off the middle turnbuckle at the 13 minute mark. Great match. Thumbs Up

The Big Show vs. Kaval - For the most part, this match was what I envisioned it to be. Show basically slapped and tossed Kaval around the ring with Kaval’s offense having very little effect until there’s about 30 seconds left in the 5 minute challenge. Kaval started pouring it on about that time and was stunning Show and dropped him to his knees. I wasn’t that wild about this in general, but Kaval did show a lotta heart here and it’s nice to actually see him get some sort of victory. It might not be a traditional victory, but it’s better than losing. I can understand if anybody rags on this match, but I liked the effort here and I was surprised to see Kaval actually come out winning. Thumbs Up

Tyler Reks vs. Kaval - I really have no idea who this guy is. I know he’s been signed to the WWE for a while and has worked a lotta dark matches but this is the first time I’ve seen him. My first impression was that he looked like a caveman on steroids. He challenged Kaval for his spot on Team SmackDown! and Kaval accepted even though Teddy Long said he didn’t have to. Dumb move on Kaval’s part, but a gutsy one at the same time. The match didn’t last but about a minute as Kaval was selling the wear and tear of hanging 5 minutes with The Big Show. He misses the Warrior Stomp and Reks gains control with a big running shoulder block. Reks’ finishing move looked friggin’ awesome as he put Kaval into a Torture Rack backbreaker, flipped him off his shoulder like Cena does when giving the AA but shifts his body somewhat into a different position so that it ultimately comes out as a modified DDT. I would have preferred Kaval remained on the team, but at least he has a victory under his belt on the show now. Once again, I understand if a lot of people aren’t exactly thrilled with this turn of events, but I was impressed by what I saw of Reks thus far and since Kaval is so new to the brand in and of itself, it does kind of make sense that he wouldn’t be on the team for Bragging Rights. Thumbs Up

Kofi Kingston vs. Drew McIntyre - This match is a big disappointment if you’ve seen these two wrestle one another in the past. The match lasted about 2 minutes and 20 seconds with Kofi getting the win via Trouble in Paradise. Just not nearly enough time here for these two. I would’ve preferred that they just wait until next week and had this match to determine the 7th member of the team so that Kofi & Drew would get the time to put on a great match that we know they’re capable of. Thumbs Down

Kane & The Undertaker - I thought that Kane delivered another good promo tonight, maybe not as good as some of the others he’s done but it was still very solid. Kane’s been money on the mic over the course of the storyline with The Undertaker and he’s been instrumental in keeping people interested in this. Taker came down and started beating down Kane to the degree that Kane tucked tail and ran. Taker then ignited Kane’s pyro before using his “powers” to send a lightning bolt hurdling a Paul Bearer and Kane. That was something we haven’t seen Taker do since the late 90s I think. I know that some think the usage of these “powers” as of late is kind of corny but I found it kind of nostalgic. If anybody but Taker and Kane in wrestling today tried to do a gimmick like theirs, they’d probably get a reaction similar to Robbie E & Cookie. Nothing overly special here, but I thought it was solid. Thumbs Up

Overall Show - SmackDown! was a great show tonight overall. My only real complaints involve a couple of too short matches, but the rest of the show worked out very well I thought. Most of the wrestling content on the show was at least quite solid and a few matches were downright great. Mysterio & Cody Rhodes and Edge & Dolph Ziggler were great matches that showed two young guys look very strong against a couple of seasoned veterans that’ve won 11 World Championships between them. The Big Show was doing commentary out there during a number of the qualifying matches and I thought he did a good job. He was out there putting over the guys wrestling in the matches, no matter who won or lost, and I thought that was a nice touch. He didn’t come out there and relentlessly pop off jokes. He just put over the brand, the team, the matches & the wrestlers that were out there. Tyler Reks making it onto the team was a surprise. Unlike Kaval before tonight, I believe that Reks has actually won some matches on SmackDown! before right? His finisher tonight looked awesome. As I’ve said in past reviews, the formula that SmackDown! uses is great in my opinion. Strong wrestling content mixed with some strong promo segments while hyping their portion of an upcoming ppv is a formula that works for SmackDown!. It’s been working for a long time so there’s no need to try fixing what doesn’t need fixing.

Grade: B+

 

[klunderbunker]

Smackdown
Date: October 15, 2010
Location: Rose Garden, Portland, Oregon
Commentators: Michael Cole, Todd Grisham, Matt Striker

Nothing specific to talk about here other than we’ll set up the Smackdown Bragging Rights team. That and we’ll probably set up Kane vs. Taker for the PPV. Wow maybe there was more to the show that I thought. Let’s get to it.

The theme song is growing on me a bit. It still has nothing on the previous one though.

We open with an outside shot of the arena where Taker is standing on the roof. Paul has a challenge for him tonight.

Teddy is in the ring and talks about Bragging Rights. There will be a series of qualifying matches tonight.

Team Smackdown Qualifying Match: Rey Mysterio vs. Cody Rhodes

I like the sound of this match. Cody grabs a wristlock to start as Rey does a reversal sequence that is similar to Owen Hart’s counter sequence that ended in the nip up and arm drag. I’ve always wondered why all the flips and spins were necessary there. Do they really gain anything?

619 misses early on and points to his face which is a very nice touch as we go to a break. We see that during the break Cody hit the Beautiful Disaster kick to take over. Lots of mat work by Cpdy here including a crossface chickenwing. He’s no Bob Backlund. Almost all Cody here as he counters Rey’s bulldog with a wheelbarrow suplex.

The match at the PPV is 7-7 and one fall to a finish. I’m sure there isn’t a PPV based around survival matches that this would be perfect for or something like that coming up. I mean it’s not like this show is completely unnecessary or anything. Rey blocks a sunset flip by kicking Cody in the head. Can’t beat that. Dropping the Dime gets two. 619 and springboard splash end it.

Rating: C+. Nothing all that great here but it wasn’t bad really. Rey came back and won a bit too easily for my tastes but it certainly wasn’t horrible. I don’t think anyone expected Rey to lose here that’s all fine and good. Really just a basic match without any drama but it wasn’t bad at all.

Show is talking to Hornswoggle in the back and Kaval comes in. He wants a spot on the team and Show turns him down. In a funny bit, Kaval asks Show what he did in his first match. He beat Hulk Hogan for the world heavyweight championship. She says Kaval wouldn’t last five minutes. I think that’s what he says at least as I can barely hear over Horny’s sound effects. If Kaval can last five minutes vs. Show he’s on the team.

Paul Bearer offers Taker a Buried Alive match for the title. I have no idea why but he makes Steven Colbert pop into my head.

Team Smackdown Qualifying Match: Jack Swagger vs. MVP

Show is here on commentary and Cole goes straight after him about turning his back on Team Raw last year. As embarrassing as it is, I like the eagle. Show asks Cole why he loves Miz so much which Cole avoids. Fast paced start here as MVP avoids an attack from Swagger and takes over.

And forget about that as MVP’s shoulder hits the post. And now MVP takes over again. All this has happened in the first minute of the match so it’s not like I’m skipping anything. Ballin hits as Striker, Grisham and Show get after Cole. On the floor for a bit where MVP beats up the eagle and throws it onto the announce table. Swagger gets mad and throws him back into the ring for the ankle lock and the tap out. Very sudden ending.

Rating: D+. Nothing much here at all as they flew through it for some reason. It wasn’t horrible but at the same time it just didn’t have any meat to it at all. Swagger looked good though as he just destroyed MVP after it seemed like he turned on the jets. For like three minutes though this was ok I guess.

Taker is still on the roof.

Team Smackdown Qualifying Match: Alberto Del Rio vs. Chris Masters

Well you have to have one squash here and there I guess. Show is still on commentary which is a nice little addition. Masters hits a Jackhammer for two and goes for the Masterlock immediately. Alberto goes for the arm and after a minute or so of basic stuff, a very nice setup and the cross armbreaker end it. The setup for it got a big pop.

Rating: N/A. Just a quick and glorified squash here to get Alberto on the team. Nothing that bad though.

Alberto won’t shake Show’s hand.

Same Knucklehead package we’ve seen on two other shows this week.

Edge is up next.

Team Smackdown Qualifying Match: Edge vs. Dolph Ziggler

Non-title of course here. He has the skull cap again which is a nice touch for some reason. Dolph is alone here. We point out that Show, Edge and Ziggler have all been involved with Show. Striker wants to run down the beach with Kaitlyn in linen pants. How do you reply to that?

The girls are watching in the back and Kaitlyn looks very good in this sleeveless full body black suit. Edge dominates early as you would expect him to. Edge pounds away until we hit the floor where Edge misses a spear and hits a Zig Zag to send the back of Edge’s head into the steps.

We take a break as Edge beats the count back in. Back with Ziggler having a chinlock on Edge. And so much for the advantage as a splash misses in the corner. Ziggler gets a middle rope sunset flip but Edge counters into a slingshot into the post. The Edge-O-Matic gets two. Sleeper almost goes on but Edge counters into the Edgecution (he’s rather vain with these move names) for two.

Show really likes the match and while it’s good it’s not as good as he thinks it is. Zig Zag is blocked and Edge misses the spear. And then a few seconds later Ziggler goes to the middle rope and Edge spears him out of the air for the pin. Nice looking shot but it looked more like a modified spinebuster than a spear. Still worked though.

Rating: B-. Solid match here as Ziggler continues to look good. There’s no shame in him losing to Edge as much like Miz losing to Orton a few weeks ago, there’s no reason for him to get such a win yet. This was fine as Ziggler got to show off and Edge got an impressive win. This worked fine.

Taker is, you guessed it, still on the roof. Is he trying to summon Gozer the Gozarian or something?

Raw Recap wastes a good four minutes. Gee wouldn’t that be a good amount of time for like, a match?

Team Smackdown Qualifying Match: Big Show vs. Kaval

Five minute time limit here and if Kaval survives he’s part of the team. Kaval does not have to beat Show. BIG chop to Kaval at about 4:35 to go and the small man is in trouble. Total dominance here as Show tells Kaval to stay down.

Still all Big Show here. 90 seconds left. Minute left and Kaval gets knocked to the floor. 45 to go. Show grabs him by the top of the head and pulls him over the top. Kaval gets some kicks but caught in a choke with 5 seconds left but the clock goes out with no chokeslam. The announcers speculate that Show didn’t want to beat Kaval in this.

Rating: N/A. Not really a match as Show just beat him up for four and a half minutes while Kaval got in some kicks at the end. What exactly did this prove though? If this had been a regular TV match it would have been the definition of a long squash. What does Kaval prove here? That he can’t stand a chance against Big Show? Not sure if this does anything or not.

Back from a break and Kaval is still in the ring. And here’s some guy with long dreadlocks and regular tights. It’s Tyler Reks. Wow does anyone remember him? He says he’s the new breakout star and can beat Kaval. Here’s Teddy who says no we’re not doing this. Kaval says let’s do it and the spot is on the line.

Team Smackdown Qualifying Match: Kaval vs. Tyler Reks

A series of kicks sets up Warrior’s Way which misses less than 30 seconds in. Reks hits some power stuff into a reverse FU into a DDT for the pin. Well that was unexpected. Lasted maybe 75 seconds.

Cody shows us how to cut fingernails. He adds in nail polish on occasion.

Team Smackdown Qualifying Match: Drew McIntyre vs. Kofi Kingston

Final match here. Kofi needs this as he has had no direction at all since his feud with Dolph ended. Kofi goes insane to start but jumps into a big boot in the corner to take him down. Cole somehow forgets that Kofi was on offense just seconds ago but whatever. He runs down the roster for the Raw team and the match sounds relatively even. Trouble in Paradise hits from NOWHERE to end this in less than three minutes. Cole didn’t even get through the Raw analysis before this ended.

Rating: C-. Very quick but I feel bad about giving almost no grades for the majorit of the show. This wasn’t much at all but Kofi’s speed was great. I’m not sure I get the point in having Drew go down that fast but at least Kofi looks good. Very quick match that really could have gone on longer.

Taker is in the building finally.

After a break, here’s Kane. Kane says he’s better at everything than everyone and that the crowd fails at everything. Kind of a weaker promo here but the delivery is solid. In short, Kane is awesome, Taker can’t beat him, the crowd is full of failures. And of course here’s the Deadman.

He took off the coat somewhere in between which is odd but whatever. By his standards he sprints to the ring. Big staredown and Taker looks right at Paul. And then at Kane. Taker beats him down and now everything is ok with him apparently. Kane runs and Taker does his post fire thing and shoots lightning at Kane and Bearer to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. I wasn’t as huge on this show. There was a point to everything though which is the best part. Also they fit seven matches into a single show which is rather impressive. It’s fine for what it’s supposed to be but it wasn’t as good of a show as they’ve had lately. Decent show though and even good at times with Bragging Rights looking much better now. Nothing terribly bad, although I question Reks being on the team. Should be ok though.

 

[Uncle Chester]

I thought Smackdown was great this week. 2 very enjoyable matches, and a very solid promo by Kaval. I definitely enjoyed how it was wrestling oriented for most of the show. I give it 3 3/4*.

 

[The Calgary Kid]

Major props to Edge and Ziggler for putting on an awesome match. It was arguably the best TV match on any show in months. Very, very solid.

I was surprised they had Reks appear the way he did. He basically comes out of nowhere, and the majority of people are wondering who the hell he is, then squashes an already beaten down guy to claim a spot on the team representing the show at a PPV. If he had had a match last week, it would have made a lot more sense and even made people think, oh THAT guy. Instead he shows up and does next to nothing to make his way into an important (in theory) PPV match. I feel like he should have had at least some sort of build.

Another random thought: am I the only one who hates Del Rio's gold lamé trunks? It makes him look like a stripper. When he comes to the ring in a car wearing those and his scarf, it makes me chuckle at the prospect of him getting pulled over dressed like that.

 

[Morpheus101]

The hope of a Cena heel turn is alive....did any of you notice the loud "boo" when Cena told Orton he'd break his leg, if he tried to kick Cena in the skull? Goes to show that Orton is the #1 face at the moment. WWE should really ride with this.

 

[CKguy217]

I enjoyed it when Hornswoggle got on commentary, it was quite funny.

This Nexus angle with Cena is quite awesome. I'm excited to see where else this can go. This is to me, one of the top storylines in quite a while.

 

[klunderbunker]

Monday Night Raw
Date: October 18, 2010
Location: Pengrowth Saddledome, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Commentators: Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler
Guest Star: Bobb'e J. Thompson

We open with Teddy Long coming out, saying he is taking over Smackdown tonight. And that cues up an e-mail. GET OUT OF MY RING. Teddy brings out the trophy from last year and says it belongs to Smackdown. Another e-mail says get out or else. Teddy goes to argue with Cole but we get another e-mail, which Teddy reads. Ok he doesn’t read it as he closes the computer.

He brings out Team Smackdown’s captain, Big Show. And here comes the rest of the team. And here are Miz and Riley. And the final member is BIG ZEKE. Ok then. The big showdown starts and it’s on. Smackdown clears the ring and Show says that they’ll leave if we get captain vs. captain tonight. Teddy leaves with the computer.

We recap the ending of Raw last week with Cena and the Nexus/Barrett.

Hart Dynasty vs. Cody Rhodes/Drew McIntyre

Red tights for Drew tonight and Smith is fine it seems. This is non-title mind you. No Smith yet which makes me wonder what’s up. And never mind as here he comes, cleaning house. Powerslam to Drew but Cody makes the save. They set for the Hart Attack but David drops into the Sharpshooter instead. This allows Drew to hit Futureshock to end it.

Rating: C-. Almost too quick to grade here as nothing really happened. This was just a way to get a quick match on TV and have the breakup angle furthered which I think worked pretty well. I do wonder why as soon as the titles change we HAVE TO split up the team but that’s WWE for you.

Orton says he wouldn’t put it past Cena to cost him the title and he’ll punt him if need be. Cena says try it and he’ll tear the leg off. WE WANT BRET chants during this.

We come back to a music video for Get Krunk or whatever the song is called.

Goldust vs. Zach Ryder

Again with having a point to everything here. Final Cut ends this 20 seconds in. DiBiase runs down to steal the belt back but Aksana keeps it from Maryse as Final Cut hits DiBiase.

Orton vs. Kane on Friday. That’s a feud I’ve always wanted to see.

Video about the Wrestlemania Reading Challenge.

Barrett tells Cena to give Harris and McGillicutty everything he has tonight. Cena likes the sound of this. Oh and get Barrett some water.

Some kid is playing Smackdown vs. Raw and Miz pops up. Ah ok he’s in Knucklehead and Miz literally picks him up. And here’s Show for the save.

Barrett throws the water in Cena’s face, saying it was delicious.

John Cena/Randy Orton vs. Husky Harris/Michael McGillicutty

Nexus comes out to stand on stage. Michael and Cena start us off as Cena hits a release fisherman’s suplex where McGillicutty lands on his ass. Back and it’s Orton hitting his perfect dropkick on the perfect son. Not much going on here as you’re just kind of waiting on the big thing to happen. McGillicutty hits his neck snap off the middle rope which was kind of nice.

Hot tag to Orton who comes in to beat the hell out of everyone. He points at Barrett and sets for the RKO. BIG FU to Harris and the RKO ends McGillicutty. Cena has a big old celebration and is clearly rather happy.

Rating: C. Average stuff here and the ending was appropriate. There was no way the Super Friends were losing here and they shouldn’t have. This was of course to set up the post match angle which is fine. Using a match to set up an angle is fine and it worked rather well here I though. Average match and nothing special but nothing bad either.

Post match Barrett says chill and says Cena needs to get out or he’s fired. The big beatdown starts and Cena isn’t allowed to do anything. Randy fights them off for awhile but the numbers game catches up to him. Everyone hits their finishers as Cena is mocked.

Barrett calls Cena in after the 450 ends Orton. Cena has to give Orton an FU (yes I know the real name and I don’t particularly care) or he’s fired. Cena sets him for it but Barrett says give Orton to me. Wasteland destroys Orton even further.

After a recap of what just happened, here’s Vickie to take credit for Smackdown being here and brings out Dolph. He goes on about how much he cares about Vickie and here comes Bryan!

He proposes a champion vs. champion match at the PPV which is what I think everyone expected to happen. And it’s on that fast. Ziggler wants to go right now an there goes the jacket and Bryan gets slapped. Vickie jumps in front of Dolph but Bryan gets to him anyway. LeBelle Lock and Ziggler is tapping.

Here come some Divas with a bucket of confetti which is thrown at Vickie, bucket and all. They start dancing with Bryan and his dancing isn’t much at all but he’s trying at least.

Natalya vs. Alicia Fox

Sharpshooter ends it in like a minute. Total squash. Here’s Laycool to bitch about Calgary and Canada in general. Michelle locks on a Sharpshooter while Layla takes pictures but it ends badly for the non-Canadians.

We see Show hurting Bourne last week.

Show is with Long and Horny as Josh comes up and asks if it’s brazen to invade the show. Long says it’s brazen to show up and ask stupid questions. Horny waves the battle flag and Smackdown’s whole roster is here.

Video package on how awesome WWE is, which is because of “recent politics” coming against WWE. You have got to be kidding me. This eats up like 3 minutes.

Barrett won’t let Cena leave.

The annoying guest star introduces Big Show.

Big Show vs. The Miz

Show brings the entire roster with him. Miz implies he’s coming alone but the whole Raw roster is here. Show sends him to the floor early and the beatdown is almost on. Teddy comes out and changes it to a battle royal which gets a BIG response. I like this better actually.

Battle Royal

Basically everyone on the roster other than Nexus and really big stars are in this. We go to a break after the announcement. Big brawl to start of course and there’s no real way to say what’s going on. Horny drills Cole with the flag. And now he’s on headset. Nothing of note is going on in the match here.

Reks goes out which I think is the first guy from either team to go out. Various people go out and no one of note really matters. This is more about the commentary battle. Santino is out as Smackdown is winning. Gallows is out. Morrison and Del Rio put each other out and there go Swagger, Punk and someone else that you can’t see. Swagger grabs Edge who put him out and goes for his ankle.

We’re down to Rey, Jackson, Drew, Sheamus, Kofi, Miz, Show, Bryan and Cody. Kofi is out as is Mysterio. Miz is hiding on the floor. The final five are Miz (on the floor), Bryan, Sheamus, Show and Jackson. Bryan is tossed easily as Sheamus and Jackson get a double suplex on the big man. That was cool.

Horny leaves the broadcast booth as it’s a glorified….one on one match as Jackson is out. Miz comes in as it’s 2-1. Here’s Edge though as he never went over to make the save and leaving Show and Edge as the winners. So this was a team battle royal or something? Ok then.

Rating: D+. Not much here as it was just kind of a big mess for the most part. It’s hard to grade battle royals but this one was pretty bad. The ending was fine but I think it foreshadows a Raw win on Sunday. I like this better than captain vs. captain though so it’s not all bad.

Nexus is still in the back and Barrett says we’re going to practice what happens when he wins Sunday. Cena is forced to raise Barrett’s hand as the show ends.

Overall Rating: B. This was another highly energetic show. They REALLY played up the team vs. team match and Cena/Nexus tonight and it worked very well. They know what they’re doing here and it’s been working the last two weeks. This wasn’t as good as last week’s show but it was still rather solid. Very good go home show and I’m ready to see the PPV, even though it’s the third in five weeks which is nuts.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

WWE Monday Night Raw - October 18, 2010

Opening Segment - Last night’s Raw was the go home Raw to Bragging Rights and they started things off well. A SmackDown! invasion of Raw is a logical way to go with things. Teddy Long came out and basically took over the spot as GM. The crowd response was good as they booed Teddy Long, as they were supposed to since this was Raw he was taking over. The brief little stuff with the anonymous GM was fun and it was kinda nice to see Cole & the laptop get some cheers. The Raw GM threatens long, telling him multiple times to get out of the ring, so Teddy Long going out and unhooking the laptop was a nice little touch. Teddy brought out the SmackDown! team for Bragging Rights and hyped their victory at the ppv, bringing out the trophy and all. The Miz & Alex Riley come out after Big Show’s team assembles in the ring, does good work on the mic before bringing out the assembled Raw team. Ezekiel Jackson is named the 7th man of Team Raw and when comparing the two teams, I have to say that I’m much more impressed with SmackDown! in general and that’s due mostly to Santino & Zeke’s presence. Miz tells Show to get out of their ring and Show agrees if Miz will wrestle him later on in a Captain vs. Captain match and Miz agrees. This was a good way to start off the show as a final push for Bragging Rights. I’m not sure how genuinely interested people are in the brand rivalry this time around, but it was a good solid way to start this show off. Thumbs Up

Dashing Cody Rhodes & Drew McIntyre vs. The Hart Dynasty - Decent tag team bout here, though really nothing to write home about. Rhodes & McIntyre looked strong and I do like that WWE is at least giving their tag champs some good exposure on both shows. McIntyre & Rhodes spend much of the match beating on Tyson Kidd before Smith gets the tag. Smith is dominant for a while, more than holding his own off the hot tag. The ending comes when Smith, instead of going for the Hart Attack, decides to try locking in the Sharpshooter at the last moment. Kidd yells, Kidd gets distracted and McIntyre gets Smith in the Future Shock DDT for the win at the 3.5 minute mark. Nothing special about the match, but it was decent for what it was and it served its point as the next step in the break up of The Hart Dynasty. It’s also good that the WWE Tag Team Champions looked strong and are racking up wins. Thumbs Up

John Cena & Randy Orton - This was a brief backstage segment with these two that generated some good tension for their tag team match. We’ve seen Cena & Orton team ups before and it’s good that the WWE doesn’t try to make these two more friendly as they’re just two character personalities that should not click. Orton threatens Cena if he tries anything in the match with a punt and Cena responds by threatening to break off Orton’s leg if he tries. I like that Cena responded in kind instead of doing the ultra face thing and make some witty little comment or joke. Thumbs Up

Goldust vs. Zack Ryder - What the hell was the point of this? Goldust beats Zack Ryder in about 30 seconds before DiBiase comes in and works over Goldust for a few bit. Goldust gets the upper hand and hits DiBiase with his finisher while Maryse chases Aksana as she runs off with the Million Dollar Championship. It’s a shame that they’re wasting Zack Ryder with nonsense like this. Thumbs Down

Wade Barrett - Wade Barrett continues to impress and the WWE continues to successfully pile heat on him. Backstage with Nexus, Barrett tells Cena that he wants him to test McGuillicutty & Harris tonight and to go all out. Cena, as one would figure, sees a little glimmer of hope now that the leash has been taken off for tonight. Barrett orders Cena to get him a glass of water, which he does eventually only for Barrett to toss it in his face after taking a few sips after saying it was delicious. Nexus would be completely lost without Barrett, he’s the glue that’s held the faction together and has made it relevant from its beginning. Thumbs Up

Randy Orton & John Cena vs. Michael McGuillicutty & Husky Harris - Pretty decent tag team match here, again nothing overly special, but the two rookies did look pretty good against John Cena for a while. Cena worked most of the match before eventually getting the tag to Orton. Orton gets the pin on McGuillicutty vis the RKO after Cena stops Harris from interfering by hitting the Attitude adjustment at the 8 minute mark. Cena was elated with being able to shirk off some frustration on Nexus and the emotion showed. Nothing overly special, but it was a good solid tag match all around. Not sure what it means for the two rookies and Nexus, but it was a solid match. Thumbs Up

Nexus Beatdown Of Randy Orton - Barrett orders Cena to step out of the ring several times before Cena reluctantly agrees. Nexus surrounds the ring and beats down on Orton. The beating is the basics for what we’ve seem from Nexus, but it’s still a great way to generate heat by beating down the WWE Champion. Slater, Otunga & Gabriel all land their finishers on Orton before Barrett calls Cena into the ring. The tension between Cena & Barrett is still there and WWE has done a great job of building it. Barrett ordering Cena to land the AA on Orton before eventually telling him to give Orton back to him as he didn’t want Cena stealing his spotlight. Orton did a nice job of selling the beating and was lip as a noodle throughout all this. Barrett lands Wasteland and they all stand around Orton’s prone body. I think it would’ve been a nice to touch to still have had Cena deliver the AA to Orton but I’m glad they held off here. The Nexus hasn’t had Cena do anything overt when it comes to attacking or hurting other wrestlers yet and that’s a good thing that they’re building that up because it’s coming sooner or later. Thumbs Up

Vickie Guerrero, Dolph Ziggler & Daniel Bryan - Vickie comes out and introduces Dolph Ziggler and the two head down to the ring. Ziggler gets on the mic and cuts a decent promo about how much he loves Vickie and all this. Daniel Bryan’s music hits and he comes out to a good pop before he and Ziggler have a little back and forth. Bryan continues to play the “average” guy well and challenges Ziggler to a match at Bragging Rights. I figured this match would happen because the United States and Intercontinental Champions battled last year. Also, over this past weekend, I’ve read reports of these two having a match at Raw house show that was said to have been fantastic. Vickie slaps Bryan, Bryan takes it out on Ziggler after knocking him outside. He locks in the LaBell Lock on Ziggler outside and keeps it on for a while. For some odd reason, the Divas come out and do some nonsense with Vickie before eventually getting Bryan to dance with them. The shit with the Divas was unnecessary, completely, but I liked the segment overall. Nothing extraordinary, but it sets up what should be a great match at Bragging Rights. Thumbs Up

Natalya vs. Alicia Fox - This was pretty much what you expected. Natalya gets the win in about a minute before LayCool comes out and annoys the crap out of everyone. I’m really getting over the LayCool thing and I’m just wanting them to go away now. Shit segment here. Thumbs Down

Stand Up for WWE Video - I’d heard that Vince had ordered this created to combat the various “disparaging remarks” made against the WWE. Some can hate or love the WWE, but they have got a great production crew. The video basically hypes the WWE product in and of itself featuring brief bits of interviews from celebrities praising WWE, clips from the reading celebration, stats on the WWE audience, total ppv sales, stuff from the Make A Wish Foundation. I’d have liked it a lot more if they’d have just come out and said what some of these nasty remarks were and all, but the video was very well done and put together. Thumbs Up

Battle Royal - The match started out as a Captain vs. Captain match between The Big Show & The Miz. However, after virtually all the rosters of Raw and SmackDown! were out there, Teddy Long makes it a battle royal. It was decent as battle royals go, though I’ve definitely seen much better. Hornswoggle was out there bothering the shit outta Michael Cole and you could hear them fighting and bickering. Horny laughing a bit was kind of annoying, but I laughed a little at him and Cole. The rivalry between Edge & Jack Swagger heated up as Edge accidentally helped eliminate Swagger. Swagger pulls him under the ropes to the outside and slaps on the ankle lock. The ending of the match was done nicely with Ezekiel Jackson and Sheamus from Raw working over Show. The Miz lurks outside the ring, ducking down so nobody can see him. Show manages to eliminate Jackson and The Miz hops in ready to take out Show with Sheamus help. Edge suddenly appears and intercepts Sheamus with a spear while Show eliminates. Sheamus is then eliminated and SmackDown! wins the battle royal. Thumbs Up

Overall Show - I thought that last night’s Raw was a pretty decent show, though it was far from great in my view. Nothing stands out in particular as far as wrestling matches go, though the tag match with Cena & Orton and the battle royal were both solid. I give Raw credit for the final push towards Bragging Rights. The brand rivalry really isn’t something that I’m all that interested in, but there was a lot of energy on the show last night and it showed. There were a few lousy segments, mostly involving Divas so that was no big surprise there. It wasn’t the strongest go home show I’ve seen for Raw but, then again as I said, the Bragging Rights concept generally isn’t something that interests me all that much. It wasn’t a bad show, but I didn’t think it was a great one either.

Grade - C+

 

[Jack-Hammer]

The numbers for this past Friday's episode of SmackDown! are in and I'd say that the WWE and Syfy are pretty happy. The third episode of SmackDown! to air on Syfy scored a 1.87 rating with 2,876,000 viewers. That's up from the 1.81 and 2.6 million viewers of last week and up from the 1.7 2.5 million viewers that the show's premiere for the network generated. The show was up 17% in males 12-17 and 10% in the males 18-34 demo.

So, with two episodes airing after SmackDown's debut, they've added almost 400,000 viewers. It's a good sign and with a strong main event for this week's show already hyped on Raw last night, this Friday's show should also draw well.

 

[FightOwensFight]

Just wanted to add my two cents on last night's Raw.

1.) Really liking Rhodes and McIntyre as the Tag Champs. They are definately growing on me and having them pick up mostly clean wins does nothing but build their credibility.
2.) I am looking forward to what Tyson Kidd will do on his own. He really looks like he has some skill and his demeanor lately just screams "arrogant SOB" so to see him go heel will be nice.
3.) The beatdown of Orton. I loved that they teased Cena giving him the AA only to have Barrett finish him himself. You know it is coming where Cena will have to do something like that, but just to put that scare into the Cenation was fun to see.
4.) Natalya needs to stop going for the sharpshooter after hitting one move. She clearly has skill in the ring so let her show it. That hooked arm suplex she delivered last night was impressive.

 

[Wade's Public Transit Bomb]

Gotta start with Wade Barrett and Cena and the other dudes. Wade is an incredible character actor. When he is being bossy and demanding, you believe it. When he is being an bully, you want to see someone slap the smirk off his face. I think his on air chemistry with Cena is insane. He treats him like his little buddy. haha

The assault on Orton was really well done. I was scared that Orton was gonna RKO someone, which would've defeated the idea of strength in numbers. But he didn't. Wade changing his mind and not wanting Cena to take the attention away from him was a really nice touch. I think that is a very "subtle but not subtle" factor: Cena ain't gonna do nothing to help Wade unless told. It really adds to the story I think.

As far as the other guys go. I may be alone, but I am really digging Health as the most vocal, yet least threatening dog of the pack. There's something about that redneck yelling at Cena just makes me laugh. But I still want to punch him in the face. (*sigh* so conflicted) I also think Gabriel's low-ness helps too. Ok. I love his bad attempts at facial expressions that aren't a smile. Otunga doesn't add anything though.


As far as the rest of the show goes.. It was just so "flippy floppy" in flow. It was like "Bragging Rights Build > Wade/Cena > Bragging Rights Build > Wade/Cena > Bragging Rights Build > Wade/Cena > Bragging Rights Build > Wade/Cena." Not the best merger of two unrelated shows.

I didn't mind the opening. I was actually hoping Cole would do a sissy slap exchange with Teddy. Teddy taking the lap top was a nice touch.

Didn't care for the Hart Kids vs Rhodes and McIntyre. That crowd last night made me proud to be an American. There's no way in hell America would cheer for two guys as a "blah" as those Hart Kids.

Maryse and What's-her-mammaries literally fighting over the Million Dollar Title > Anything else involving the divas.

Orton/Cena vs Husky/Lil Hennig.. I am still trying to figure out you land on your bum from a suplex. Husky was great in this match. They did a good job of protecting the Genesis dude because this match was pretty good. The aftermath was awesome.

People dog on the Bellas, yet apparently Gail is a "great" worker even though she botched THROWING A BUCKET OF STUFF ON SOMEONE. Good thing Vickie knows how to be ridiculous because she sold that glitter like she was Carrie White on prom night. I wasn't offended by Dance Daniel Revolution, but it didn't wow. I gave it 1 Barrah Headbutt.

Nattie/LayCool. Next.

You know what? I liked the battle royal as well. Sheamus would make a great tag partner to like maybe half the roster based on how well he worked with the other guys. I thought the ending with Zeke/Miz/Sheamus teaming up to take out the Big Show looked awesome. Normally when guys who aren't partners try to do "tag team stuff", it comes across as forced. But those three guys really looked like they knew each other their whole life. haha

Wade is Amazing. But you already that.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

The numbers are in for Raw last night and they can claim a bit of a victory generally speaking. Last night's episode of Raw pulled in a 3.09 Nielsen Rating off of a first hour rating of 3.06 and a second hour of 3.12, which will be rounded to a 3.1. The first hour of the show drew 4.42 million viewers while the second drew 4.53 million for an average of 4.47 million, or roughly 4.5 million.

It's not a spectacular number, but staying in the low 3s is much better than being out of them as Monday Night Football has been thumping Raw more or less. The show's rating was up roughly 7% compared to last week while viewership was up by 5%. With last night being the go home show to Bragging Rights, interest should be up next week for whatever the fall out of the show is, especially with the John Cena situation.

 

[Mitch Henessey]

Teddy Long Invades Raw

This week's Raw started off with Smackdown's GM, Teddy Long invading the competition. Long brags about Smackdown being the superior brand, and of course the mystery GM had to interrupt. Long decided to unplug the computer. Michael Cole wasn't too pleased about this. Team Raw and Team Smackdown had the usual face-off, and we got to see the return of Ezekiel Jackson here. Miz VS Show is announced for later.

I thought the opening segment was okay. The trash talking here was expected, and Big Zeek's return was a surprise. It seems as if WWE is pretty high on Big Zeeke. Putting him on Team Raw for a return is a nice start, and it'll be interesting to see how far they go with him.

Drew McIntyre & Cody Rhodes VS The Hart Dyansty

The match here was solid, but you just knew The Harts weren't going to win here. There was some miscommunication towards the end as The Harts went for the Hart Attack. The issues between DH Smith and Tyson Kidd continued to get worse. The Hart Dynasty's split should be coming very soon. Natalya is starting to go off on her own. DH Smith and Tyson Kidd will eventually be in singles competition, and I don't think that's a good sign for them. The Raw roster is pretty stacked, so once these two go their separate ways, I do think they'll get lost in the shuffle. Their one on one match could make it to a Pay Per View, but I think there's a good chance we'll see it on Raw.

Goldust VS Zack Ryder

So now Goldust is squashing Zack Ryder? This was kind off odd. I know Ryder has been on his way to jobber status as of late, but watching Goldust receive any kind of push is just weird to me. Ryder has a good character, he isn't bad in the ring, and he does have a lot of personality. I thought the stuff with Edge might be going somewhere, but now he's returned to Smackdown, so it looks like we'll be seeing a lot more of Ryder being squashed in the future. After the match, Maryse went for the Million Dollar Championship, but Aksana was quick to snatch the belt, and she ran backstage with the gold as Maryse chased her. Ted was too busy watching all of this, and DiBiase's lack of attention allowed Goldust to get one final shot in.

I really can't stand DiBiase, but believe it or not, Goldust has actually made this storyline a lot more interesting. DiBiase is extremely boring and dull, but at least he's working with someone who can be entertaining.

Randy Orton & John Cena VS Husky Harris & Michael McGillicutty

This match was solid. I thought there would be some tension between Orton and Cena, but they worked together. I always enjoy watching Orton and Cena as a tag team, because they have some nice chemistry and they really seem to click as a team.

After the match, Wade Barrett ordered John Cena to leave the ring. Nexus tore apart Orton, as Cena was forced to watch from ringside. Barrett continued to push Cena after the beat down. Cena VS The Nexus has been the best thing going on Raw. This storyline keeps getting better and better every week. Cena did such a great job of showing his excitement after the tag match was over. He looked torn as he was forced to watch Nexus destroy Orton. You could see how he wanted to help Orton, but he knew he couldn't, or else he would be fired.

Daniel Bryan Challenges Dolph Ziggler

This started off with Vickie praising Dolph, but the US Champion interrupted. Bryan challenged Dolph to a match at Bragging Rights. Ziggelr tried to use Vickie as a shield, but Bryan was able to catch him, and get the LaBell Lock on the outside. After all of this was over, the Divas came down to embarrass Vickie by throwing red confetti all over her. Bryan gets in the ring, and he celebrates by dancing with the Divas. This was hilarious. I never thought I would see Bryan "bust a move."

Natalya VS Alicia Fox

Natalya was able to pick up the win with the sharpshooter here. This was just another way for Natalya to gain some momentum as she heads into the match with Lay-Cool. Lay-Cool continued to taunt Natalya after the match. They tried to attack her again, but Natalya was able to get the best of Team Flawless. Nothing special here. This was a usual Lay-Cool segment where Michelle and Layla talk about how perfect they are, and they make sure to run down their opponent for not being beautiful. I really can't get into this, because I'm pretty sure the Divas Championship will still be in Camp Lay-Cool after Bragging Rights.

Raw VS Smackdown Battle Royal

Miz VS Show didn't last long. Both teams began to scuffle at ringside, so we got to see a battle royal instead. Edge and Show were the last men standing for team Smackdown, but I just couldn't get into this. The battle royal was okay, but this just didn't excite me for the match at Bragging Rights. I know Sunday's PPV is supposed to show us who "the dominant brand is" but I'm more excited for other matches on the Bragging Rights card.

This Raw was pretty decent. I have a hard time getting into the Raw VS Smackdown stuff, so I'm not too excited about the match at Bragging Rights. Cena VS Barrett continues to get better every week. John Cena looked so pissed when Barrett threw the water on him backstage. You could just feel his anger, and I can't wait to see what happens during the match on Sunday. The matches on last night's show were solid. My favorite match was Cena and Orton VS Harris and McGillicutty. We didn't see that much of Bobb'e J. Thompson, but I enjoyed the segment with Miz and Big Show backstage.