January 12, 2011

WWE Monday Night Raw Review: Jan 10/11

Here it is, my first Raw review of the new year. Yes, I am aware that it's the second episode of Raw for 2011, but I was out of the country last week. So here it is, new year, new review.

WZ Coverage

To start off, Nexus is looking pretty good without Barrett. It was a fairly standard beatdown, but I think it got the attention it was hoping to.

This whole initiation thing isn't sitting well with me. I'm not overly surprised, but it still bugs me. Why would WWE do something like this in a PG environment. Don't get me wrong, I'm not defending PG, I just think that they should try to stay within the constraints of PG if that's what they're going to be. Granted this could be a turning point in the PG era. Maybe that's reading too much into it.

Punk has some great mic skills and I'm digging his new look. When he still had the long hair and Jesus beard, he looked like a hippie. Now, he actually looks like a leader. His appearance fits the part better than it did before.


The other thing I just thought about is, if you want to be the strongest group in WWE, why intentionally weaken your members with these initiations?

Match 1: Truth vs. Del Rio

First off, lol at Ricardo rubbing his face. I have no idea what that was about. the jacket didn't even come near him.

Typical annoying cheap pop crap by Truth pre-match. Del Rio's entrance is something I enjoy, but then I'm into classic cars. The cars, the honking, his own ring announcer, it all goes towards a very good heel gimmick.

The match itself was pretty meh. Stupid ending to say the least. Del Rio looked good, but the finish was dumb. On a related note, wouldn't the match normally have been tossed? I'm just thinking about other matches where one of the opponents has put his hands on someone interfering. It doesn't make sense. WWE needs some consistency.

Rating: 6/10

Post match promo was great work from Del Rio. Again it goes into his gimmick very nicely. For some reason, Ricardo is dancing and singing. It's mildly funny but not my thing.

Good to see King back at the announce table. Also good to hear him ragging on Cole.

I'm sick and tired of the anonymous GM. Enough already. Give us a fucking name. An actual person. Anything. Just stop with the emails.

Again, it's nice to hear someone making fun of Cole. I did kinda laugh when King closed the computer to shut it up and it still worked. That was pretty good.

Here we go with what is possibly the oldest hazing ritual known to man: lashing. I'm moving on now.

Match 2: Danielson and Henry vs. Kidd and DiBiase

Thank God Danielson shaved. That beard didn't look right on him. Couldn't they have found a better partner for him? Mark Henry was by far the weakest link in this match. Where's Anne Robinson when you need her?

I think this match would have been better if it was given more time. 3 of the 4 men were good wrestlers so there was a chance for some great action. That said, I'm glad it ended when it did because I don't like watching Mark Henry sweat on everyone.

Rating: 6/10

I guess Big Show is the new face of Smackdown. He's the one doing all of the cross-brand stuff lately. Nothing necessarily wrong with that, but could the face of the brand be someone who is maybe a little more compelling?

I guess facing Big Show is Otunga's hazing.Needless to say, I saw this coming. Of course Show is going to completely destroy Otunga. Nothing shocking.

Match 3: Morrison vs. King Sheamus

Decent match. I've seen better, but I've also seen much worse. Good long match from both men. I may not like Morrison, but he did alright here tonight.

Rating: 7/10

Slater and Gabriel are now told to hit one another with kendo sticks. Good for them they didn't do it. I wish they'd hit Punk instead of just walking out, but either way, it works.

First HOF inductee is up after the break. They keep saying he's the best ever and stuff like that. Don't they say that about at least one inductee every year? Anyways, I can't wait to see who it is.

FUCK YEAH HBK!!! Sorry. I just marked out a little. I kinda thought he was going to be in the Hall of Fame. It's really good to see.

God I missed his entrance. Del Rio, again perfectly befitting his gimmick, spoils the moment and turns it into something about himself. I forgot how much I missed Sweet Chin Music too. I wish he'd had a chance to actually say something. Either way, the 2011 HOF is off to a great start.

Riley is getting better with his promo skills. Miz did well here again. He usually delivers with his promos and I wasn't disappointed.

Here's a holy shit moment for you: Looks like Punk is getting ready to jump off the Tron as his own initiation. Aw, turns out he was strapped to a harness with two guys holding him up. I enjoyed that. He honestly had me going for a split second.

Again, I really liked his promo. He made a lot of good points.

Oh shit, here's Cena. I'm not even going to bother with this. Suffice it to say Cena was describing himself more than he was Punk. Great, now there's a match between them for next week.

Match 4: Miz and Riley vs. King and Orton

Could we please get King out of the ring? He shouldn't be wrestling anymore. The match had a few decent parts, but other than that it wasn't worth my time. Way to go King, you continue to take time away from those who actually still have a career. The only saving grace (if this can even be counted) is that King didn't pin Miz.

Rating: 5/10

Average Match Rating: 6/10 (-0.1)

Match of the Night: King Sheamus vs. Morrison

Overall Show Rating: 6.5/10 (-1)

Magic 8-Ball:

More Divas please

HOF gets even better

Slater and Gabriel end up with Barrett on SD

AJ Lee joins Nexus

That's all for this week. I'll do something on my wishes for 2011 for this week and I may even start a new storyline if my creative juices are flowing enough.

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