Solid outing from the WWE -- really enjoyed what they had to offer. It wasn't a PPV of the Year candidate or anything, but a very good way to end the year, especially with the title changes we saw.
Ryder and Ziggler were bound to do a good job and they did not disappoint. I'm glad Ryder got a chance to be the United States Champion. It took a long time, but the pay off was sweet. The crowd is into him, he works hard, he's constantly improving -- Ryder has impressed the hell out of me, as of late. Last year, I would never have thought he'd be in this situation, but he pushed himself and finally got the nod from the WWE. His reign has the potential to be very good for him, as well as the WWE. No matter how "silly" of a character he is, I can't see him losing it any time soon, so with some quality wins and good matches, he'll be able to carry on the standard that Ziggler set before him. I have high hopes for Ryder, the guy has potential.
Now, onto the loser of the opener; Dolph Ziggler. He had an excellent reign, improving day-by-day and quickly became one of the fastest rising young guys in the business today. Much like Ryder, it was his hard work that got him this far, along with his natural athletic abilities. You don't go from Nicky in the Spirit Squad, to United States Champion and fringe main eventer overnight. I can see a few more matches on Raw with Ryder, but I think he's basically done with the United States Championship and the midcard, for now. He's good at what he does, gets great heat, and has a manager to tag along for the ride and one that can garner some damn good heat in her own right. He's a throwback, a classic. Right now, I think he's poised to make the jump and win the Royal Rumble. A few losses to Ryder won't hurt him, especially if he's looking good against the likes of Randy Orton and John Cena. What would of hurt to have him win the Rumble and go on to challenge CM Punk at WrestleMania for the WWE Championship? The 'Mania card is going to be carried by Rock and Cena and if they have enough confidence in that selling big, which they should, let Ziggler have this. He's ready. If not then, let him move along to something bigger, at least. A hold over feud with a main eventer wouldn't hurt.
Onto my next point about TLC: Daniel Bryan cashing in. This was great. I've already spoken about it in the other thread, but this was a good move. I can see why some were upset with Big Show winning the title, only to lose it minutes later, but it makes sense. It gives them a feud to jump into right away, while resting Mark Henry. The story writes itself, especially when you consider the past few weeks/months and what has gone on with Bryan/Henry/Show. Great surprise on the card, even if it was a little bit expected. That's the thing about MITB, even if you see it coming, the excitement will get you every time.
Overall, this card was carried, in my eyes, by those two moments and the solid work guys like Rhodes/Booker, Orton/Barrett, and especially Punk/Del Rio/Miz put in. I was also mildly surprised by Nash and Triple H too. The other huge thing about this card, was The lack of John Cena. I think the WWE really proved something to itself here and maybe even learned to trust guys like Punk even more. That will be even more true if the buyrates are strong. I mean, it gave Cena some time off, but be also didn't need to be there. This is the "first step" to WrestleMania, in a way, but we already know where he'll be. Rock wasn't there, Cena didn't need to be either.
All in all, great show.
