WHAT I LIKED:
Opening Segment: The Authority is back and so is the exposition-laden opening segments. Helluva pop for Triple H and Stephanie McMahon. Even they were visibly surprised at it. Maybe they should take a week off every month. Maybe they should take every week off every month. I'd LIKE that. Just leave Kane in charge. At least they kept this relatively short. Less than 10 minutes. The matches announced during this segment wasn't exactly anything to cheer over though. I laughed at the Vicki Guerrero vs AJ Lee match. I don't want to see that. And the upcoming Brad Maddox vs Randy Orton No DQ match is likely to end up in the HATED category. I can't see that being good at all.
Intercontinental Championship: I'm glad this match is happening and wasn't just forgotten about. I'd rather they had built it back up through some type of ongoing rivalry, but beggars can't be choosers. I want Big E Langston to win the Intercontinental Championship because it seems that WWE is intent on pushing him. That's a good thing. He's a BIG man that has some athleticism and WWE hasn't had that since the days of Brock Lesnar and Bobby Lashley. Plus, I really want to see another black man elevated into the main event in the future. As of right now, Langston seems to be the obvious candidate. WWE will have to go back to the drawing board with Curtis Axel because he's not working out well right now. Joe Hennig is a great performer, but Konnan is right... he has no charisma. Paul Heyman would be great as a coach and I can't believe that even he couldn't help. That's two strikes against Henning as he didn't quite work out as Michael McGillicutty either. Perhaps the third attempt could be as a babyface actually named Joe Hennig. That'd work for me.
Real Americans vs Miz/Kingston: I mostly LIKED the announcement that the Real Americans would be getting a Tag Team Title shot on Smackdown and that they'd be a part of the Traditional Survivor Series match at Survivor Series, teaming with The Shield against The Usos, Cody Rhodes & Goldust and a mystery partner. I LOVED the 'Cesaro Section' signs in the front row. I really want for Antonio Cesaro to garner more and more fans so WWE will have to take notice at how awesome he is. And I LIKE the seeming heel turn from The Miz. His best days were as a heel and he lost a lot of status by turning babyface. I don't know if this is a real heel turn or not, but I certainly hope it is.
3MB vs Truth/Woods: I'm excited to see Xavier Woods in WWE. I figured he'd be making his debut after his name was mentioned on RAW a few weeks back. I don't watch NXT with any regularity but from what I have seen, Woods is WWE ready. I don't LIKE that he's aligned with a career underachiever like R-Truth upon his debut, but maybe this partnership could be beneficial for both of them. Not if they're going to be dancing black stereotypes, though.
12-Man Tag: I was hoping that this match would be the Traditional Elimination match at Survivor Series. I'll take this match on RAW and the lesser match at Survivor Series, but I think this match would be better at the PPV. After watching the excitement in this match, I stand by that previous statement, albeit it's always good to get some PPV worthy matches on free TV. The main reason I wanted this match to be the Traditional Survivor Series match is because of the tension between the Wyatt Family and The Shield. They are combustible elements and seeing if they would come to blows would be a great side-story to an already loaded PPV matchup. Yet at Survivor Series, they won't even be in the ring together. That sucks. But this match didn't. That's what matters.
WHAT I HATED:
Orton vs Maddox: I was actually LIKING that match, or at least the start of it when Brad Maddox got about three offensive attacks on Randy Orton. Then, predictably, Orton came back and destroyed Maddox. It wasn't really even a match. But what earned this a spot in the 'HATED' category was Micheal Cole's line: "Do you think Randy Orton is ready for The Big Show on Sunday?" That made me roll my eyes. Orton just beat down a non-wrestler and somehow that makes him ready for a 7-foot-2, 500 pound monster like the Big Show? I mean Brad Maddox isn't a small man. He has a decent build, but he's nothing compared to Big Show. If Orton had done that to Khali, I'd understand the comparison.
Divas Musical Chairs: That. Was. So. Stupid. Who could possibly have thought that playing musical chairs on live television was a good idea? Even worse is playing 'scripted' musical chairs on live television. Natalya didn't even make an attempt at trying to sit down. It was obvious that she was supposed to - Why am I even recapping this?
Big Show vs Ryback: Ryback cannot catch a break. Either that, or WWE cannot book him for shit. Does anybody ever win a match against the #1 contender the week before the PPV? Not that want for Ryback to win this match, but as I said last week, I actually LIKE Ryback and would like to see him succeed in WWE. But the way he's booked, he's most likely going to always be the BIG guy who loses more matches than he wins. And I doubt we'll ever see him as WWE/World Champion if this trend continues. WWE made a big mistake by turning him heel. He hasn't been the same since. I sort of tuned out of this match since I already knew what the outcome would be, but I had to pay attention after Ryback hit the Shellshock on Big Show. I admit that I was second guessing myself. But after all the work that Ryback did (Big Show had almost no offense in that match), all it takes is one punch for Big Show to win. Such is the life of being a heel not named Randy Orton in WWE.
Broadway Brawl: WWE has to know how talented both Dolph Ziggler and Damien Sandow are, right? They have to know. I sometimes wonder if they honestly do. And if so, why stick them in a match like this? A 'Broadway Brawl' sounds like something that was just thought of right before the show started. Even Triple H admitted he didn't quite know what it was. It turned out to be nothing more than a hardcore match with musical instruments as weapons. It also turned out to be a pretty fun match. I'll give them credit for this turning out okay, but the opposite could have happened as well. They don't get credit for rolling the dice and getting lucky.
Cena/Del Rio: The surprise was supposed to be that Cena wasn't really injured. But my surprise was that Cena was actually faking an injury. He does know how to sell! Considering that almost no one expects for Alberto Del Rio to defeat Cena at Survivor Series, would it be the worst thing in the world if he actually was fake injured? I mean, give Del Rio a fighting chance. Or the perception of a fighting chance, at the very least.
QUOTE OF THE NIGHT:
"Where did we get all of these guitars? Did Double J leave 'em?" - JBL
MATCH OF THE NIGHT/BEST IN SHOW:
The Intercontinental Championship match was the best of the night. Big E Langston has the solid support of the fans and of the WWE brass and of yours truly. The IC Title isn't as prestigious as it used to be and it's not going to get any better around Langston's waist, but this is a step in the right direction for a BIG man who has a lot of promise in him. WWE is certainly hoping that he pans out. I am as well.
REACTION:
It seems that 'mystery' partner isn't so mysterious anymore, huh? I'm as happy as anyone to see Rey Mysterio back in action, but I question why he'd come to the rescue when he isn't actively involved in any rivalries or storylines that I know of. It'd have been better if they'd waited until Survivor Series and announced his return at the moment of the match ala Daniel Bryan and his return after tie-gate.
I admit. I was biased going into tonight's RAW because of the word 'country' attached to it. It was a pretty fun show and aside from a few missteps, the country gimmick worked out. I'd have rather they didn't do gimmick shows right before a PPV because it takes the attention away from the PPV. But WWE did a decent job of still making the PPV matches a focal point and adding to said PPV. You'd think that since there is such a thing as a traditional match when it comes to Survivor Series, they wouldn't wait until the last moment to make that match, but you'd be wrong. I should just be happy that the match was made. For a last minute match, it's not so bad. There's also a Divas Traditional Survivor Series match that had the same amount of thought put into it: none. John Cena and Alberto Del Rio did nothing to change the given outcome of their match. And Big Show & Randy Orton's match was made worse, if you can believe it, by the revelation that there would be no outside interference. Of all the matches that The Authority and The Shield and HBK interfered in between Daniel Bryan and Randy Orton, NOW they want to step back and make it even? Nobody wants to see Big Show vs Randy Orton in a straight singles match. It will be slow and clumsy and full of rest holds. Not PPV quality.
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