WWE Raw Report

Date: 11/17/08 from Atlanta, GA.

The Big News: You mean besides Brock? Survivor Series is this Sunday.

Show Analysis:

The show started with the Stephanie McMahon Self-Aggrandizement Station, also known as the “WWE Superstar Forum.” Basically the idea was all the wrestlers got to ask questions of Stephanie and she would blow them all off like the ineffectual pawns that they are. It’s funny how we always get these types of segments when the McMahons are “in charge” of the show. It’s bad for the product to emphasize GM characters over wrestlers, but it’s certainly good for the booker’s ego when she is also the GM. And isn’t that what’s truly important?

Randy Orton wanted to know why John Cena is getting the title shot at Survivor Series. Stephanie blew him off, saying that was Shane’s decision and Cena was a top contender before he got injured. Cody Rhodes wanted to know why Orton wasn’t suspended for punting Ted DiBiase. Stephanie basically ignored him and made Orton vs. CM Punk on Raw in a 30 man lumberjack match. Randy Orton complained, but Stephanie blew him off and asked for the next question.
Santino had a question. He noted the presence of Acorn (Akon), and had a rap in that spirit. He turned a baseball cap to the side and commenced the rap, “My name is Santino and I’m from Europe/I like my pancakes with maple syrup. I lost my title to William Regal/His knee to my head should have been illegal. Now I’m healthy and it is vital/I want back my IC title.” He celebrated and told Regal that he got served. This was awesome even by Santino standards. He’s supposed to be a heel but all the other wrestlers including the faces were cracking up in the ring. The crowd cheered at the end and Akon seemed greatly amused as well.

Stephanie blew off Santino by noting he had two rematches in Europe and lost. JBL wanted to know where Vince is, because he wanted to talk to Vince. Of course, Stephanie blew him off too, saying Vince is out of the picture and she’s in charge. Shawn Michaels wanted to fight JBL. Stephanie McMahon made it 0 for 14,000 in wrestler requests by saying he would need to be patient, but he attacked JBL anyway.

Kelly Kelly beat Victoria. The Raw women are wrestling the Smackdown women in a Survivor Series elimination match, so this was a preview. Kelly used a whirlybird, dropkick and handspring elbow. Victoria retaliated with a clothesline, back breaker and torture rack drop. Kelly then rolled up Victoria for the pin. Victoria jumped Kelly after the match and gave her the widow’s peak. As Victoria was about to leave, the Raw women came out and attacked Victoria. Beth gave her the widow’s peak. “They came out in just the nick of time,” Jerry Lawler noted as the ref tended to an unconscious Kelly in the ring.

Batista beat Manu in what they announced as Manu’s singles debut. They gave Manu offense here, but having a monster lose his first singles match in four minutes isn’t what I would do. Manu hit a Samoan drop, threw Batista into the post, applied a nerve hold, used a corner avalanche and hit a diving head butt. Batista cut him off with a spear and Batista bomb for the pin. After the match Rhodes thought about getting into it with Batista but decided against getting squashed again. Batista then said he has waited three years to beat up Randy Orton and he will do it at Survivor Series.

They brought out Chief Jay Strongbow in front of the crowd, which was nice of them to do but the crowd didn’t react. Backstage, Randy Orton reprimanded Cody Rhodes for not getting into the ring with Batista. Rhodes told Orton to keep talking, because that’s what Orton does best. They aired a video package on Evan Bourne and he came out on crutches to talk about his return. Mike Knox came out and starred at him a while. They then did a wacky segment backstage where Shawn Michaels feigned nervousness about teaming with Rey Mysterio for the first time but then became more confident and enthusiastically greeted the returning Dolph Ziggler.

Miz and John Morrison beat Rey Mysterio and Shawn Michaels. Michaels hit a baseball slide and pescado on Miz and Rey gave Morrison a tope. Rey hit a senton off the top and huracanrana on Miz. The heels gained control on Rey. Miz threw him into the post, and Morrison used an abdominal stretch and stomach breaker. Rey hit a dropkick and made the tag. Michaels came in with a flying forearm, inverted atomic drop, body slam and elbow off the top on Miz. Rey gave Miz a monkey flip and 619, and Michaels hit sweet chin music. However, Morrison snuck in a superkick on Michaels and Miz covered for the pin. This was a fun match and it was nice to see them put over the younger guys.

Chris Jericho told Stephanie that everything will change when John Cena returns to Raw. He said that Cena is a bad influence, and that he will cause chaos and trouble. Thus, he concluded that he needs to retain his title. Kane and JBL met backstage. JBL said they are compatible as partners. Kane responded that JBL’s hobby is financial analysis and Kane’s is electrocuting groins with car batteries. Kane said that if JBL gets in his way there will be a mutiny.

CM Punk backstage said that the last few weeks have been frustrating. He doesn’t know why Orton kicked him in the head, but suspects it was to make a statement and it ended up ruining Punk’s miracle year. Punk said that with the lumberjacks, Orton won’t be able to go anywhere. Punk noted he hasn’t been handed everything; he has worked for it. Punk vowed payback. This was an excellent, serious promo. I think WWE probably doesn’t have a clue what a good promo Punk is, particularly as a heel. That’s going to be a revelation when they do.

JBL and Kane beat Cryme Tyme. This was pretty much a squash. JTG and Shad did gain a little offense at the beginning with shoulder blocks. However, the heels gained control on JTG and never looked back. Kane gave JTG a side slam and clothesline off the top. Kane was setting up for a choke slam but JBL tagged in, hit the clothesline from hell, and scored the pin. They teased dissension afterwards for Survivor Series. Backstage, Mike Knox jumped Kofi Kingston and Evan Bourne and hit Bourne’s injured leg with a crutch.

William Regal and Matt Hardy fought to a double count out. Regal prior to the match complained about his reception. He said that the United Kingdom is more respected around the world than the United States because of its respect and loyalty. Both Hardy and Regal dropped the other on the apron, and threw the other into the barricade. They kept brawling and were counted out. They continued to brawl after the match was over, and had to be separated by officials. Regal is always great in this capacity.

Chris Jericho came to the ring for a promo. He put over his history, beating Steve Austin and the Rock on the same night to become undisputed champion. He said that is bigger than anything Cena has done. However, Jericho still needed more, so at Unforgiven he won the first ever scramble match. Actually, that was Matt Hardy. Jericho continued on anyway, recounting his recent wins. He said he is the best in the world and he won’t let Cena take what is his. Jericho said he would save Raw by taking out Cena. This was good, although Jericho has kind of settled into a stock promo.

Randy Orton beat CM Punk in a lumberjack match. They did some spots early where one wrestler would fall out of the ring and get pounded. Jerry Lawler explained the idea behind the lumberjack match, which was a cool touch. Orton worked over Punk. Punk came back with a swinging neck breaker, forearms, slaps, a spinning back fist and a high kick. He went for go 2 sleep but Orton hit a back breaker. Orton was knocked outside and Punk hit a crossbody off the top to the floor. In the ring Punk was distracted by Regal and Orton hit the RKO for the pin. After the match Orton went for the kick again but Batista stopped him with a spear. The lumberjacks then got in a big brawl.

Final Thoughts:

I thought this was an overall good go home show for Survivor Series. I can’t say I’m terribly excited about the card, but they did fine with what they have. This will be a very interesting buy rate. It’s got two huge question marks: what the return of Cena means and the effects of the economy. They have built Cena’s return very well so one would expect that to move some pay-per-views. On the other hand, this is the first big traditional WWE pay-per-view since the economy tanked and the economy has hit the pay-per-view industry very hard. I’m not sure how all that will play out, but it will be interesting to see.

I won’t be doing the report next week since I’m taking a red eye flight that evening. Jeuron Dove will be filling in, so be sure to check that out. Also, at the time of the merger I mentioned that I was debating whether I would continue doing these reports. I was vacillating on it for a while but I’m pretty much settled back in my routine now. So I do plan on continuing for the foreseeable future. I wanted to mention that because I realized I hadn’t said anything about it for months and I hadn’t intended to leave it as some sort of continuing open question.

WWE Raw Report

Date: 11/10/08 from Manchester, England.

The Big News: Jeezy’s not the only one.

Show Analysis:

Batista came out to start the show. He said he wouldn’t whine about losing the title, but that he would invoke his rematch clause. Stephanie McMahon appeared on the screen and said that Batista would get a future title shot but that he won’t get the shot before Chris Jericho wrestles John Cena at Survivor Series. She added that this edition of Raw would be about finality, including Rey Mysterio vs. Kane in a no DQ match and Jericho vs. Shawn Michaels in a last man standing bout. She disingenuously thanked Batista for being understanding.

Randy Orton then came out and said that Batista would have to wait for his title shot because Orton will be getting the next one after Cena. Orton said that he has always been better than Batista, and that he was kicked out of Evolution because he was the most successful. He argued that Batista couldn’t beat him then and can’t beat him now. The crowd started chanting “RKO.” Batista said he’s better than Orton in every way, and the crowd booed Batista. Batista suggested Batista vs. Orton for Raw, and the crowd again chanted RKO. Batista went for the Batista bomb but Orton escaped.

William Regal beat Santino Marella to win the Intercontinental Title. I guess they got tired of Santino as champion, which is too bad since it was an entertaining act. Santino before the match announced that he was so confident in his ability that he was dumping the Honk-a-Meter and debuting the Honk-a-Perfect-Mountie meter. He noted that their combined reigns lasted 123 weeks and that he would top that. The crowd chanted for Santino, and he comically acted flattered.

The weird crowd reactions continued, as Regal didn’t get much of a pop. He destroyed Santino in a squash, pinning him with a running knee. The crowd didn’t react all that big, as I suspect a lot of people wanted to see Santino continue as champion. William Regal then cut a great bizarre promo after the match. He was like a 70s face, only his character is a heel. He said that he is proud to wear the title with pride and dignity as an Englishman and that he will represent the UK around the world. I’m glad they just let him stay as a face in his home country.

Mike Knox beat D-Lo Brown. Knox has a great beard. I’ll give him that. This was just a total squash. Knox hit punches, knees, a big boot and the downward spiral for the pin. Michael Cole said that Knox is surling. He’s eloquate, that Michael Cole.

They then went backstage, where Beth comforted Santino. Santino said that what happened was a tragedy, and that in his frustration he called Shane McMahon. Apparently he was rude so Shane made Beth vs. Mickie James for the women’s title. Beth was angered and broke Santino’s phone. Santino was about to cry.

Following another John Cena returns video package, Chris Jericho came out with his title and had a message for Cena. He pointed out that Batista beat John Cena and that Chris Jericho beat Batista. Thus, via MMath, Jericho will defeat Cena. Jericho said that he exposed Michaels’ fans for the hypocrites they are and then destroyed Michaels in his own match. He said that he would finish the story on Raw, and that Cena should watch to see that not every story has a happy ending.

Rey Mysterio beat Kane. Prior to the match Kane said that he enjoys torturing the innocent and he’ll do that to Rey. Rey used a drop toe hold to send Kane into the steps. He went for a crossbody off the apron but was caught. Rey then hit a moonsault off the barricade. Kane threw Rey into the barricade and undid the turnbuckles. He went for the choke slam but Rey escaped. Rey went for a pescado but was caught with an uppercut, which was a cool spot. Rey hit the 619 and went for a springboard splash but Kane caught him by the throat. Rey again used a drop toe hold to send Kane into an exposed turnbuckle and hit a botched senton off the top for the pin.

Manu and Cody Rhodes approached Randy Orton. They said that they had a week to think it over, and that they decided they would not in fact let Orton punk them out. Orton responded that Ted DiBiase was the weak link and Orton did what they didn’t have the guts to. Orton said that neither of them is in his league. Rhodes slapped Orton and glares and grunts were exchanged.

Batista was scheduled to wrestle Randy Orton, but Cody Rhodes and Manu came out. Rhodes said that Orton can’t beat Batista but that he will. Orton apparently agreed, as he just left and let Rhodes take the match. This was quite the lame bait and switch. Of course, Batista destroyed Rhodes. He used a big boot, clothesline, spine buster and Batista bomb for the pin. Afterwards he speared Manu too, just to emphasize what geeks those guys are.

Beth Phoenix defeated Mickie James to retain the women’s title. Mickie was on offense for most of the match, going for pins. She went to the top, but Santino stopped her. Mickie knocked Santino down but Beth then rammed Mickie’s head into the post and pinned her.

Chris Jericho beat Shawn Michaels in a last man standing match. Before the match they aired a dramatic package on the feud between these two, and it left me so frustrated that just last week Michaels was using the feud as a punch line. Michaels mauled Jericho with punches. Michaels hit the forearm, nipped up, used a scoop slam and went for the elbow off the top. However, Jericho got up his knees. Michaels hit a springboard crossbody to the floor. Michaels went for sweet chin music but Jericho gave him a bulldog on the floor.

Jericho used a slingshot to sent Jericho into a mailbox on the floor. Michaels then sent Jericho into a car with a hip toss. Jericho applied the Walls on top of the car for a while, and Michaels was out for a nine count. Jericho went for a double ax handle off the car but Jericho punched him in the gut. Michaels threw Jericho off the stage and hit Jericho with the camera crane. Jericho got up at 8.

Back at the ring, Jericho grabbed a ladder. He hit Michaels with it twice. He then tried a third time but crashed into the post. Michaels threw the ladder at Jericho. Michaels hit an elbow off the ladder, putting Jericho through the announce table. JBL then went to interfere but Michaels sidestepped him. Jericho hit Michaels in the head with the title belt, but Michaels beat the count. Michaels then hit sweet chin music, but JBL immediately followed by clocking Michaels in the head with the chair. Jericho got up before the count and that was it. This was a tremendous match with a great finish.

Final Thoughts:

Paced by a great main event, this was a definite improvement over recent editions of Raw. I’m also encouraged that they’re going to start with a bunch of fresh feuds. I do wish, however, that more of the feuds featured a young guy against an established guy. Instead, it’s the same established guys rotating feuds and it kind of buries everyone else. The perfect example is that it looks like Orton will be feuding with Batista, rather than the feud with CM Punk that they had already set up anyway.

Just as a final note, you can check out my coverage of UFC 91 this week at CBSSports.com. I’ve got a piece on the Randy Couture vs. Brock Lesnar fight, as well as my predictions for the entire card. I’ll also be live blogging from Octagonside in Vegas this weekend, so check it out. I hear rumors that there will be a bunch of people from this website there, although my plan is to avoid them like the plague if at all possible.

A Proud Day for America

WWE Raw Report

Date: 11/03/08 from Tampa, FL

The Big News: Raw celebrated its third episode with a special 800 hour edition of the show.

Show Analysis:

Given that this was episode 800 of Raw, they aired historic Raw clips throughout the show. It felt flat to me given they did the same gimmick less than a year ago for 15 years of Raw and released a three disc DVD on the subject to boot. Randy Orton came out to start the show and took a seat at ringside until Shane and Stephanie McMahon responded to his ultimatum that either Mike Adamle goes or he goes.

Matt and Jeff Hardy wrestled MVP and The Brian Kendrick. Can you guess who did the job? The Hardyz were successful early with double teams but the heels briefly took over. Kendrick hit a low dropkick and went for the Kendrick, but Jeff escaped and made the tag. Matt hit a bulldog/clothesline combination and a side effect on MVP. Matt went for the twist of fate but MVP escaped. The finish was a reversal of old face/heel tag matches. MVP made the tag to Kendrick but the referee didn’t see it. As the referee escorted Kendrick from the ring, Matt and Jeff double teamed MVP with a twist of fate and swanton to score the pin. I liked the finish.

William Regal won an 8 man battle royal to earn an Intercontinental title shot. The participating wrestlers kind of branded the title at a low level, but that’s nothing new. Priceless dumped Snitsky together, but then Ted DiBiase eliminated Cody Rhodes and Manu. Regal took out Jamie Noble. DiBiase got rid of JTG and then disposed of Shad. Regal finally jumped DiBiase from behind to score the victory. Next week Raw is in England to Regal will be the face. That should be fun.

Shane McMahon came to the ring to address Randy Orton. Mike Adamle joined them, and said that he wanted to be a neutral general manager and not take sides. He said he thought that made him special, and seemingly was about to cry. He continued that when he slapped Orton he became what he didn’t want to be. He concluded that the job corrupted him and he resigned. Adamle’s acting here was bizarre, much like his entire tenure as GM.

Randy Orton said that Adamle owed him an apology. Shane said that in fact Orton owed Adamle an apology. Shane said he spoke to Orton’s doctors and that Orton has been cleared to compete for weeks. Orton said he wanted to return at Survivor Series, but Shane instead told him he would be wrestling CM Punk on Raw.

Vladimir Kozlov beat Bret “Hitman” Haas. This was not a very good imitation, and the fans didn’t react at all. I’m not sure whether that’s because most of the current WWE audience doesn’t know Bret very well or because they aren’t at all into Haas. Haas said Kozlov screwed Kozlov, which got absolutely no reaction. Kozlov won quickly with the head butt.
DX returned again. They’re kind of like Roger Clemens by this point. They did a comedy promo before their match. Michaels said he couldn’t get over how Miz and John Morrison were mocking them, and talked about HHH’s big nose. HHH blamed the camera. Michaels said that you can mock his kids, punch his wife in the face, but that you can’t insult his chaps. Is it really worth emphasizing that even your most serious storylines from only a few months ago are fake and unimportant for the sake of a one-liner?

HHH then said he was annoyed at them for mocking Michaels going bald. Michaels said he didn’t recall that, and that we should never speak about that again. They then showed high school photos of Miz and Morrison and made fun of them. Eventually Miz and Morrison came out. The positive of this segment was that HHH and Michaels were mostly funny, particularly compared to the rest of the “comedy” on the show. There were two negatives. First, Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler were doing their uproarious fake laughter that undermined the jokes. Second, they treated Miz and Morrison like total jokes.

HHH and Shawn Michaels beat Miz and John Morrison. While the promo buried Miz and Morrison, the match itself made them look stronger than I expected. Michaels hit an inverted atomic drop, body slam and top rope elbow on Miz. He went for sweet chin music but Morrison stopped that. They worked over Michaels, who hit an enzuigiri on Morrison and got the tag to HHH. HHH gave Morrison a high knee and face buster and Miz a spine buster. Morrison did Michaels’ flying forearm, nip up and sweet chin music on HHH. Miz then went for the pedigree on HHH but HHH escaped. Michaels gave Miz sweet chin music and HHH hit the pedigree for the pin.

JBL suggested himself as general manager to Shane McMahon. Shane suggested instead that he wrestle on Raw. For some reason, JBL assumed that Shane meant he would be included in a three way cage match for the title. Shane instead said that JBL would wrestle the Undertaker.

Beth Phoenix, Layla, Jillian Hall, Natalya, Katie Lea, Victoria, Maryse and Lena beat Kelly Kelly, Candice Michelle, Mickie James, Michelle McCool, Brie Bella, Eve Torres, Tiffany and Mae Young. The match was brief and really brutal. Mae is sadly completely immobile by this point so she basically held up her arms and the heels all tried to bump around for her. Key word: tried. This was hardly Dusty, Tully and Arn. Beth rolled up Mae for the pin. This was a unique match. Never in the history of professional wrestling has a match had a lower ratio of people in a match to people doing stuff.

CM Punk beat Randy Orton via DQ. Punk hit a springboard clothesline, punches, a spinning back fist, high kick and high knee. Orton escaped the bulldog and set up for the RKO. At that point, Ted DiBiase inexplicably ran in and attacked Punk for the DQ. Why? What is this man’s motivation? If he hates Punk, which is the story, why wouldn’t he wait for him to be pinned and then jump him? Why would he possibly interfere at the precise moment that Orton was most in control?

This makes no damn sense, other than they wanted Orton to return, they didn’t want Punk to lose, and they wanted Orton to look strong. But sorry, that is not the character’s motivation. That is the booker’s motivation, and the fans don’t give a shit about the booker’s motivation. A character should have a reason for the things that they do. This is kind of fundamental to any story telling endeavor. If you can’t rationally explain why a character is going to do something, don’t book that character to do that thing!

Orton responded to this by punting DiBiase in the head. The crowd chanted “RKO” which I’m pretty sure was not the desired reaction. They carted off DiBiase, and those two idiots Rhodes and Manu were bewildered why Orton did that. Orton said that he was kicking some sense into DiBiase, and that if they had a problem they should do something about it. They didn’t, so Orton said there may be hope for them.

Stephanie McMahon met with Mike Adamle backstage. Adamle said that the McMahons were always undermining him and contradicting each other. Adamle said that Stephanie is a megalomaniac. Stephanie told him not to blame her for his inadequacies, and said that controlling Raw is her birthright. Wow, it’s like a glimpse into the writers’ meetings. Shane told Stephanie he had an announcement that she didn’t know about.

Undertaker beat JBL via count out. This was another nothing match with another crap finish. Undertaker dominated. He hit a choke slam and went for the tombstone, but JBL escaped. JBL and Taker bumped heads and JBL fell to the floor. JBL got up but decided not to re-enter the ring and was counted out. Shawn Michaels then ran out and threw JBL back into the ring for a tombstone.

Shane McMahon backstage told Chris Jericho that if he beat Batista he would defend the title at Survivor Series against John Cena. There will be more on this in the final thoughts.

The fun continued with Kung Fu Naki, Hornswoggle, Boogey Man, Goldust, Sgt. Slaughter, Hacksaw Jim Duggan, Dusty Rhodes, Teddy Long, Jesse, Festus, Lilian, Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler dancing in the ring. This was supposed to be funny, I think, but they showed the crowd in the background and everyone was just blankly starring, not reacting, dancing, laughing or anything else. Ron Simmons said “damn” and that was that. Total crap.

Kane and Mark Henry beat Kofi Kingston and Rey Mysterio. This was another very brief match. The faces got a little offense for like a minute. Kofi went for a frog crossbody off the top but he got caught by Henry with the world’s strongest slam for the pin. After the match, Great Khali made the save with chops. He’s now pretty much officially a face, and the crowd did react positively to that one.

Another weird segment was up next. Stephanie said that she liked John Cena challenging for the title at Survivor Series, but wished that Shane consulted her first. They then said that Vince would be proud of what they’re doing, like he is dead or something.

Chris Jericho beat Batista in a cage match to regain the title. Batista hit a power slam, clothesline, and sent Jericho into the cage. Jericho went for the Walls, but Batista pushed Jericho away through the ropes. Jericho screwed up and lost his hold of the ropes, so he then had to desperately grab the cage and pull himself back in to keep from winning. This was the most obvious blown “escape the cage” spot I think I’ve ever seen in a WWF/WWE cage match.

Jericho went for the code breaker but Batista threw him into the cage. Batista went for the spear but ran into the cage. Jericho tried to climb out, but Batista caught him by going through the door. Batista hit a spine buster and went for the Batista bomb off the top, but Jericho grabbed a steel rig from the top of the cage and hit Batista with it. Jericho tried to climb out. Batista grabbed him by the air, but Jericho kicked him and escaped. This was a great finish.

Final Thoughts:

This was a terrible show. The booking was mostly crappy. The wrestling was mostly crappy. The comedy was mostly crappy. And it lasted forever. I think that Raw for most of this year has been good, but at some point this fall it fell off a cliff and now Raw is like Homer Simpson tumbling down Springfield Gorge. For the love of God I hope he hits the bottom soon.

The booking on Raw right now is so awful. John Cena is returning and rather than slowly building him towards an important title match they put him in a title match in his first match back. He hasn’t done anything to “earn” the shot, and the title shot adds nothing to what you already have with his return. You then have the choice of beating John Cena in his first match back, switching the title for the third time in a month or providing a crap finish to the biggest match on one of your bigger shows. Have they formulated a plan for this finish? That’s a serious question. I’m not sure they’ve gotten that far.

It certainly wouldn’t be an anomaly. Did they have a plan when they booked Chris Jericho vs. Batista for the title? The scenario where Jericho lost the title just two months into his run and then won it back again two weeks later certainly didn’t help anyone involved. It seriously undercut Chris Jericho’s momentum as a heel, made Batista look like an overconfident fool, and devalued the title. It’s like they booked Batista vs. Chris Jericho for the title without thinking through a finish, and then had to throw something together with no ideal options. Again, the show desperately needs long term booking.

Yet another example of that is Randy Orton. He has been a hot performer in recent weeks. Clearly his return should have been presented as a big deal, both because it could have helped make a show feel important and because it would provide him some momentum coming back into the top picture. Instead, he returned with no advance notice, completely forgotten in the middle of a three hour show. If they had built up his return over a period of time, it would have made him feel so much more important. And even if you wanted to use him to help pop a rating on this week’s show, you should have advertised it last week! This is not hard stuff.

And to boot, you have Orton immediately face CM Punk, in what presumably is a feud you should have set up and built for a major show. Did he face Punk immediately because they had some plan to set up something big? Why, of course not. Rather, it seems they just came up with the idea for the match and then pulled out a completely illogical conclusion just so they didn’t have to provide a finish.

Even if the booking wasn’t pull out your hair horrendous, it wasn’t like this show provided good entertainment. They had three hours but only one match was really given time to breathe. Everything else felt rushed. There was one comedy segment after another and the majority bombed. All around, this was just not a good show.

On the plus side, this show will be completely forgotten about by this time tomorrow, so get out and vote. We can’t vote for a better WWE writing team, but we can vote for a better government.