WWE Raw Report
Date: 12/20/10 from Austin, TX.
The Big News: Raw was a light hearted and wrestling heavy show Christmas week.
Show Analysis:
The show began with a Christmas Carol theme. Miz came out and gloated about retaining his title. Alex Riley joined him as the Ghost of Christmas Past. He showed video of the Jerry Lawler/Miz ending and tried to show Miz the error of his ways. Miz said he doesn’t regret that. Michael Cole was next out as the Ghost of Christmas Present. He told Miz that he needs to change and that he should be ashamed of the Randy Orton match. Miz responded that what is important is whether he retained the title.
Finally, we got the Ghost of Christmas Future, which was a picture of Miz girl with moving lips. She said Miz needs to change his ways or Morrison will beat him. Miz said he is the future. John Morrison came out and said this was stupid even for the Miz. Morrison vowed to win the title and beat up Alex Riley. Sheamus ran out and took out Morrison. Lawler punched Riley at ringside. The GM then announced Miz, Riley and Sheamus vs. Orton, Lawler and Morrison for the main event. Orton attacked Miz on the stage. This was a stupid segment.
Melina beat Alicia Fox and Eve Torres to be crowned number 1 contender for the women’s title. Natalya did commentary. Alicia hit a power bomb on Melina. Eve used a clothesline and standing moonsault on Alicia. The finish saw Melina on Alicia’s shoulders as Eve went for a crossbody off the top. However, Melina rolled through with a victory roll on Alicia for the pin.
Melina was smiling after the match but then Natalya went to shake her hand. Melina slapped Natalya in the face and left with a scowl. There is this emerging trend that turns seem booked more to be surprising in timing than to be effective in getting over the turn. It’s a terrible trend and Melina has about as much momentum coming out of this as Hart Dynasty did coming out of their split.
Daniel Bryan beat William Regal. They actually gave them time, which made me very happy. The Bellas accompanied Bryan to the ring. They acknowledged that Regal trained Regal. They started with chain wrestling. Bryan hit a series of stiff kicks. Regal retaliated with elbows and knees. They traded European uppercuts.
Regal went for the Regal stretch but Bryan escaped. Regal went for a butterfly suplex but Bryan avoided that and applied the LeBell lock for the tap. Regal applauded Bryan afterwards and the Bellas took turns kissing a confused Bryan. Regal appears to have slowed down as a wrestler but this was still a lot of fun.
Backstage, Orton told Morrison that if Morrison beats Miz, Orton will be coming for him. Morrison replied that he will be ready. Elsewhere, Tamina was standing on Santino’s back giving him a massage. Maryse came in and stood on Santino’s back to argue with Tamina. Then we saw Mark Henry and Gail Kim discussing how happy they were that Nexus wasn’t at the show. Vickie Guerrero and Dolph Ziggler walked by and they didn’t feel all that great any more.
Santino Marella and Tamina beat Ted DiBiase and Maryse. Santino was selling back pain throughout this match. Santino was running wild on DiBiase and set up for the cobra. Maryse came in, turned around the cobra, and used it on Santino. Tamina then came in and gave Maryse a superkick and the Superfly splash for the win. She carried Santino up the stage as Santino blew his trumpet and sold his back. I enjoyed this segment.
Backstage, some dude gave John Cena flowers. He immediately gave them away to a production girl. Yeah, I’m not sure either.
John Cena came out in a jovial mood. He hugged a guy in a “We hate Cena” t-shirt at ringside. He celebrated Nexus being gone. He showed a bunch of angles of chairs falling on wood at TLC. He said that now he can focus on winning the Royal Rumble and regaining the title at WrestleMania.
Vickie Guerrero and Dolph Ziggler came out to nuclear heat. The fans kept exploding in boos whenever Vickie tried to talk. She eventually said that Cena wasn’t the only one who won at TLC and that Ziggler retained his title. Vickie then demanded an apology from Lawler for his jokes about her weight. Lawler and Cena traded fat jokes about Vickie back and forth. Vickie slapped Cena. Finally, the GM made Cena vs. Ziggler. The crowd made this segment.
John Cena beat Dolph Ziggler. Ziggler worked over Cena. Cena came back with shoulder blocks, the Cena slam and the five knuckle. Ziggler avoided the FU and applied a sleeper but Cena reversed into the STF. Ziggler tapped but Vickie had the referee distracted. Ziggler then hit the famouser for two. Ziggler removed a turnbuckle and went to hit Cena with the belt as the referee attended to the turnbuckle. However, Cena avoided the belt and hit the FU for the win.
After the match, CM Punk went into the ring and hit Cena with a chair. Cena got up quickly and was angry. Backstage, Punk explained that he gave Cena a dose of his own medicine. This was a weird start to a feud with the heel making such a tame and ineffectual attack, but I’m all for a Punk-Cena feud.
Backstage, Sheamus told Jerry Lawler that there is room for only one king. Lawler said they have been calling him King since 1974. Sheamus said the king is dead, long live the king. Elsewhere, Vickie Guerrero was angry at Dolph Ziggler. Ziggler challenged Cena to a rematch on Smackdown. Vickie made it a handicap match with Cena against Ziggler and Vickie.
Randy Orton, Jerry Lawler and John Morrison beat Miz, Alex Riley and Sheamus. The heels worked over Morrison, concentrating on his left leg. Morrison eventually tagged Orton. Orton hit clotheslines a powerslam, an Angle slam and a draping DDT on Miz. Sheamus broke up the pin attempt. Morrison took out Sheamus to the outside. Orton went for the RKO on Miz but Riley came in and got the RKO instead.
Lawler tagged in and hit some punches on Miz. Miz went for the skull crushing finale but Orton came in with an RKO on Miz and Lawler covered Miz for the victory. This was a good main event. The booking was a little strange with the next title challenger almost the third man in the match for the faces, but they still have plenty of time to set up Miz-Morrison at the Rumble and it’s not like that’s a money match anyway. After the match, the GM announced Miz vs. Orton for Smackdown. So they really want to pop a rating on Smackdown tomorrow for whatever reason.
Final Thoughts:
This was a good show.
The Big News: Raw was a light hearted and wrestling heavy show Christmas week.
Show Analysis:
The show began with a Christmas Carol theme. Miz came out and gloated about retaining his title. Alex Riley joined him as the Ghost of Christmas Past. He showed video of the Jerry Lawler/Miz ending and tried to show Miz the error of his ways. Miz said he doesn’t regret that. Michael Cole was next out as the Ghost of Christmas Present. He told Miz that he needs to change and that he should be ashamed of the Randy Orton match. Miz responded that what is important is whether he retained the title.
Finally, we got the Ghost of Christmas Future, which was a picture of Miz girl with moving lips. She said Miz needs to change his ways or Morrison will beat him. Miz said he is the future. John Morrison came out and said this was stupid even for the Miz. Morrison vowed to win the title and beat up Alex Riley. Sheamus ran out and took out Morrison. Lawler punched Riley at ringside. The GM then announced Miz, Riley and Sheamus vs. Orton, Lawler and Morrison for the main event. Orton attacked Miz on the stage. This was a stupid segment.
Melina beat Alicia Fox and Eve Torres to be crowned number 1 contender for the women’s title. Natalya did commentary. Alicia hit a power bomb on Melina. Eve used a clothesline and standing moonsault on Alicia. The finish saw Melina on Alicia’s shoulders as Eve went for a crossbody off the top. However, Melina rolled through with a victory roll on Alicia for the pin.
Melina was smiling after the match but then Natalya went to shake her hand. Melina slapped Natalya in the face and left with a scowl. There is this emerging trend that turns seem booked more to be surprising in timing than to be effective in getting over the turn. It’s a terrible trend and Melina has about as much momentum coming out of this as Hart Dynasty did coming out of their split.
Daniel Bryan beat William Regal. They actually gave them time, which made me very happy. The Bellas accompanied Bryan to the ring. They acknowledged that Regal trained Regal. They started with chain wrestling. Bryan hit a series of stiff kicks. Regal retaliated with elbows and knees. They traded European uppercuts.
Regal went for the Regal stretch but Bryan escaped. Regal went for a butterfly suplex but Bryan avoided that and applied the LeBell lock for the tap. Regal applauded Bryan afterwards and the Bellas took turns kissing a confused Bryan. Regal appears to have slowed down as a wrestler but this was still a lot of fun.
Backstage, Orton told Morrison that if Morrison beats Miz, Orton will be coming for him. Morrison replied that he will be ready. Elsewhere, Tamina was standing on Santino’s back giving him a massage. Maryse came in and stood on Santino’s back to argue with Tamina. Then we saw Mark Henry and Gail Kim discussing how happy they were that Nexus wasn’t at the show. Vickie Guerrero and Dolph Ziggler walked by and they didn’t feel all that great any more.
Santino Marella and Tamina beat Ted DiBiase and Maryse. Santino was selling back pain throughout this match. Santino was running wild on DiBiase and set up for the cobra. Maryse came in, turned around the cobra, and used it on Santino. Tamina then came in and gave Maryse a superkick and the Superfly splash for the win. She carried Santino up the stage as Santino blew his trumpet and sold his back. I enjoyed this segment.
Backstage, some dude gave John Cena flowers. He immediately gave them away to a production girl. Yeah, I’m not sure either.
John Cena came out in a jovial mood. He hugged a guy in a “We hate Cena” t-shirt at ringside. He celebrated Nexus being gone. He showed a bunch of angles of chairs falling on wood at TLC. He said that now he can focus on winning the Royal Rumble and regaining the title at WrestleMania.
Vickie Guerrero and Dolph Ziggler came out to nuclear heat. The fans kept exploding in boos whenever Vickie tried to talk. She eventually said that Cena wasn’t the only one who won at TLC and that Ziggler retained his title. Vickie then demanded an apology from Lawler for his jokes about her weight. Lawler and Cena traded fat jokes about Vickie back and forth. Vickie slapped Cena. Finally, the GM made Cena vs. Ziggler. The crowd made this segment.
John Cena beat Dolph Ziggler. Ziggler worked over Cena. Cena came back with shoulder blocks, the Cena slam and the five knuckle. Ziggler avoided the FU and applied a sleeper but Cena reversed into the STF. Ziggler tapped but Vickie had the referee distracted. Ziggler then hit the famouser for two. Ziggler removed a turnbuckle and went to hit Cena with the belt as the referee attended to the turnbuckle. However, Cena avoided the belt and hit the FU for the win.
After the match, CM Punk went into the ring and hit Cena with a chair. Cena got up quickly and was angry. Backstage, Punk explained that he gave Cena a dose of his own medicine. This was a weird start to a feud with the heel making such a tame and ineffectual attack, but I’m all for a Punk-Cena feud.
Backstage, Sheamus told Jerry Lawler that there is room for only one king. Lawler said they have been calling him King since 1974. Sheamus said the king is dead, long live the king. Elsewhere, Vickie Guerrero was angry at Dolph Ziggler. Ziggler challenged Cena to a rematch on Smackdown. Vickie made it a handicap match with Cena against Ziggler and Vickie.
Randy Orton, Jerry Lawler and John Morrison beat Miz, Alex Riley and Sheamus. The heels worked over Morrison, concentrating on his left leg. Morrison eventually tagged Orton. Orton hit clotheslines a powerslam, an Angle slam and a draping DDT on Miz. Sheamus broke up the pin attempt. Morrison took out Sheamus to the outside. Orton went for the RKO on Miz but Riley came in and got the RKO instead.
Lawler tagged in and hit some punches on Miz. Miz went for the skull crushing finale but Orton came in with an RKO on Miz and Lawler covered Miz for the victory. This was a good main event. The booking was a little strange with the next title challenger almost the third man in the match for the faces, but they still have plenty of time to set up Miz-Morrison at the Rumble and it’s not like that’s a money match anyway. After the match, the GM announced Miz vs. Orton for Smackdown. So they really want to pop a rating on Smackdown tomorrow for whatever reason.
Final Thoughts:
This was a good show.
posted by Todd Martin at 9:44 PM
2 Comments:
I found the Cena-Vicki-Ziggler skit to be far funnier than Miz's parody of "A Christmas Carol". Miz is far too self-absorbed, character wise, to ever be compared to Ebenezer Scrooge.
Vickie, clearly embarassed by the reception she was getting in her home state, couldn't help but blush and have a few laughs of her own, which the cameras caught. I smell a screwjob finish in the rematch, unless Vickie ends up doing the J-O-B.
Lawler gets the win back from Miz, which is fine. They have time to finish Morrison vs. Sheamus before moving on to the Rumble and Miz, who still needs credibility. This is not 2001-2, and Miz is far from a Chris Jericho clone, so the creative clowns need to wise up, fast.
Melina's heel turn, if you can call it that, was underwhelming. Period.
Nice! Happy new year to everyone, and a great 2011!
Post a Comment
<< Home