WHAT I LIKED:
Opening Segment: Already with the CM Punk chants! I LOVE IT!!! Kudos to Randy Orton for just ignoring and overpowering them. That took some resolve. You could tell he was coached up before he came out and it showed. Orton isn't exactly the best promo man and it was gutsy to send him out there first against the crowd. But he did what he was supposed to do, shutdown the 'CM Punk' chants and actually delivered a good promo. A month from now when they are in Chicago, that will not be the story.
The Shield vs Langston, Kingston & Mysterio: I was under the impression that WWE was attempting to turn The Shield into babyfaces or at least tweeners as they feud with The Wyatt Family. It shouldn't be too tough a task to accomplish, as they're super-over and very popular. But having matches against Kofi Kingston, Big E Langston and Rey Mysterio doesn't help that. Maybe it's a slow turn. But as per usual, The Shield's 6-Man Tag matches are a highlight segment because they are always so damn competitive. I don't agree with Michael Cole much, but he said that The Shield has so many different styles and that's what makes them work so well. He's right. I know WWE is intent on breaking them up to give Reigns a push, but the longer they can hold off on that, the better.
Christian vs Swagger: You have no idea how excited I am that Antonio Cesaro is in the Elimination Chamber. If we have to lose CM Punk, Cesaro entering the main-event or even upper-mid-card picture is a nice consolation prize. I don't expect Cesaro to win, but he'll gain some standing just be being involved. Christian, on the other hand, I'm not as excited for. I mean, he's about the most injury prone superstar in WWE, going into a match that is custom made to create more injuries. He might not make it out of the chamber. He might not make into the chamber. That being said, I do LOVE Christian but I don't expect him to win the match either. I did expect him to win this match, though. The storyline seems to be that Cesaro is climbing while Jack Swagger is declining. It'll probably lead to a split between them - something I do not want but will gladly take if it means Cesaro gets a push. Swagger had his chance and blew it last year.
Tag Team Championship: It is. It is a cage that I see hanging above the ring. I appreciate the announcers trying to make this cage match seem special due to the rules having it only pinfall or submission, but that only makes the match worse. Why even have a cage if you don't have to escape to win? I'll tell you why. Because the New Age Outlaws are too old to climb over and out, which sort of suggests that they've been booked to retain. This match was slow, as you might imagine - considering 3 or the 4 competitors on the wrong side of 40, but it picked up after the commercial break. The moonsault off of the top of the cage was pretty amazing, even though it didn't land properly. Great spot. Decent match.
Batista/Del Rio: Are they going to continue this farce? I guess they feel they need to since Batista keeps getting booed. Give him a heel to beatdown to make him more LIKEable. Makes sense, but it will fail. Alberto Del Rio actually cut a decent promo against Batista and had a hell of a point about himself winning all of the titles while Batista was gone. Who would've thought that it'd be Del Rio who echoed CM Punk's sentiments? All this is going to do is make people cheer for Del Rio. I think the IWC are pretty much set against cheering for Batista in this current run. Even if they do take a LIKING to Batista in this rivalry, when he goes on to face Randy Orton at Wrestlemania XXX, the tide will turn.
Bryan vs Orton: This match is starting with 25 minutes to go in the broadcast. That means we're in for a good, lengthy match. If you give Daniel Bryan anything more than 10 minutes, you have the makings of a four-star match. Give him more than 20 minutes, and it's five-star territory. This match didn't quite hit the five-star boundary, but was a solid four. It was a good match to end RAW on in any case. WWE knows that since the smarks are missing, they should at least give us Daniel Bryan in the main event to assuage our growing discontent. I don't know why or LIKE Corporate Kane coming out to interfere. It just served to take away from Bryan's win. I thought maybe with Kane's interference, we might get Punk running down to make the save, but it was for naught. Just wishful thinking.
WHAT I HATED:
#BNB: I've actually started to LIKE Bad News Barrett. I'm surprised that they actually allowed him to announce that the SuperBowl last night was the most watched event in history. I thought for sure they'd want everyone to think that Wrestlemania held that honor. What I HATED, was Jerry Lawler's response to Barrett. "Hopefully next week, you won't be around." What the fuck does that even mean? I thought he was going to announce some kind of WWE draft or something by saying that, but nope. Nothing. No context whatsoever. I would tell Lawler to stick to what he's good at, announcing,. but he's not even good at that.
Ryder vs O'Neil: What's with the ominous music for Titus O'Neil? From everything we know about him, he's a fun-loving guy who likes to play around. That's his best foot forward. Turning him into a heel is one thing, but getting rid of the personality that made him and the PrimeTime Players fan-favorites is just stupid. I don't disagree with breaking up PTP, though. WWE was never going to push them as a legitimate tag-team. They were always going to end up just like Cryme Tyme. Even their breakup echoes Cryme Tyme. If it continues, Titus will be future-endeavored and Darren Young should be lost in the lowest-card for years. For the record, I really LIKE Titus O'Neil and I think he can make on his own. But to do so, he's going to have to be a babyface and he's going to have to retain his personality. Or maybe Pancake Patterson's personality. Maybe he can call everyone a washrag. But please, no more vomiting.
Black History Month: I commend WWE for trying to appreciate their black superstars of the past, but for whatever they've done in the past, it has no bearing on the present. WWE does not push black superstars. The highest ranking black superstar they have right now is Big E Langston, who is the reigning Intercontinental Champion but who has seen his push get diminished over the past month or so. But that may have more to do with WWE having no intention of ever pushing the IC Title as a second-tier championship title. There's not a one top superstar in WWE right now that's black.
Dance-Off: I will always HATE these stupid dance-offs. I'm glad that Emma is on television, but I don't want to see her dance. I want to see her wrestle. She's not terrible at it. She is pretty terrible at dancing.
Sheamus vs Axel: This should be great television. I can't imagine this matchup being slow, mundane and boring enough to make the crowd restless. If WWE was booking this show ensure the crowd didn't have any downtime to chant for a particular defunct superstar, they failed with this match.
Ziggler, Truth & Woods vs The Wyatt Family: Could they have saddled Dolph Ziggler with worse tag partners than R-Truth & Xavier Woods? Where are The usos? Is this punishment for Ziggler's promo after Smackdown? It doesn't matter anyhow. After The Shield won their earlier six-Man tag match, The Wyatts have to win to stay ahead of them. Ziggler is good competition, but Truth & Woods are not. Ziggler brought some life and competitiveness (is that a word?) into this match, but he couldn't win it alone. I only wish he wasn't booked to take the pinfall. He didn't deserve it.
Naomi vs Aksana: I'm glad they are pushing Naomi as an opponent for AJ Lee. That's about the only diva that can challenge AJ for the Divas Title. Part of the reason I'm glad is because once AJ does defeat Naomi, it opens up her card for Wrestlemania XXX. My prediction is that a diva not currently on the roster will face AJ for the title and I have no reason to think otherwise. Having AJ Lee on commentary was a bold move, considering she's in a relationship with CM Punk. If anything, this was a power move on WWE's behalf, daring AJ to say anything. AJ didn't mention Punk, but she was money on the mic as usual with her quips about 'glitter & estrogen' and making fun of Cameron being a glorified cheerleader, while she was actively cheering on Naomi - complete with pom-poms - in the match. But hey, she's good at it! Notice I said nothing about the match...
QUOTE OF THE NIGHT:
"Being famous doesn't make you a champion. Cajones makes you a champion." - Alberto Del Rio
I wish Alberto Del Rio would had said that to The Rock. I wish he'd have said that for two reasons. One, because he needs to hear it. Two, because Rocky would have had an excellent comeback for it.
MATCH OF THE NIGHT: Clearly the match of the night was Daniel Bryan vs Randy Orton. Any match with Daniel Bryan in it is usually a lock to win this honor. I should just start saying the usual. You'll know what I mean.
BEST IN SHOW:
I'm going to give this award to Randy Orton instead of his opponent tonight. He was half of the Match of the Night and he cut an excellent promo to start off RAW. Plus, he's still playing the uneasy, unsettled, unsure champion to perfection.
REACTION:
I'm not a fan of the edict that Randy Orton has to face each one of his Elimination Chamber opponents over the next few weeks. While Randy Orton vs Daniel Bryan is exciting, and Orton vs Christian this Friday on Smackdown seems like a good matchup, the other matchups don't scream fun. While I'm certain Antonio Cesaro could make his match against Randy Orton competitive, WWE crowds don't respond well to heel vs heel matches. And speaking of responses, the last time Orton vs Sheamus happened there was an overwhelming negative response. And don't even get me started on the negative response Orton vs Cena will elicit. Not good television going forward, but they have to work with what they have.
The main reason WWE has to get CM Punk back is because they have established a huge gap between main-event and non-main-event. It's a glaring disparity between the Orton's, Batista's and Cena's of the WWE and the Kingston's, Christian's and Mysterio's. Daniel Bryan exists in that gap, but that's about it. WWE needs more top level superstars. Sheamus coming back helps, but not enough. Not on a night where John Cena was out with an injury. WWE cannot afford to lose Punk too. Something has got to give.
WWE handled the first CM Punk-less show well. They basically just ignored the WWE Universe's chants for Punk. It helped that Omaha, NE isn't exactly known for it's rowdiness. They got lucky for that venue. But even before they go to Chicago, there will be louder and prouder crowds and it won't be so easy. But this is the problem with WWE right now. Why would you want to ignore the pleas of your fans? Why would you not bend over backwards to give your fans exactly what they want? How is that not best for business? Vince McMahon has grown WWE into a very lucrative company thanks to his and his father's genius ideology. But it's not a success unless it has a fanbase. Without the fans, there's no PPV buys. Without the fans, there are no TV ratings. No live crowd. No merchandise sells. No money. If your fans are crying out for you to do something, shouldn't you do that thing? WWE fans want Daniel Bryan as WWE World Champion. We want CM Punk back. If Vince McMahon is the genius he's purported to be (and he is), he'll do just that. Thinking you know better than your fans is a great way to lose them.
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