The WWE got back to respectable with Raw last week. I missed Smackdown because my awesome cable provider showed the episode after MITB ppv. Morons! I had to resort to reading the results. I've said it for weeks that Raw is the 2nd best show next to Smackdown and with rumors flying that Edge and/or Jericho are heading to Smackdown, the show will only get stronger. Raw should have been focused on the whole three matches planned for Sunday. Instead, it focused on two and gave us way to many damn time wasters and fillers. The roulette came back and I could see it go away for a long time again. Before I start, the Showstoppers hosts talked about"franchise" guys and of course left me off the show so I have my own list and I only need two not five.
You can make a case for only 2 wrestlers that can carry a franchise right now and that's Cena and Orton. I'll listen to arguments for Cena. As John said, he does sell merchandise to kids. He has mic skills and some wrestling skills. He's certainly passionate for wrestling. For my money, you can have Cena everytime. If this were a fantasy football draft, you can have Chris Johnson and I'll continue to take Adrian Peterson. They both are great and have their pros and cons. So with that said, my pick and the only franchise player in wrestler today is Randy Orton. How John kept him off his list is shameful. I was dumb founded when I heard his list and they were talking about 5 guys and he still didn't take Orton. Randy is the complete package and guess what? The monster push he's receiving, kids will start to beg their parents for his merchandise. Say what you want about Orton taking the wrestling biz to seriously, that's exactly the guy I want playing for my team. I'll give credit to one man none of the them had, Chris Jericho. I've said it time and time again, he's done more for young wrestlers since returning in '07 then any wrestler in the decade. He's put over young talent, loses cleanly to them and built up 3 different titles in this run, World Heavyweight, Tag and IC. Orton and Jericho are cornerstones, the rest is simply second tier.
The artist formerly known as Chad Johnson starts the new season of Raw, which isn't a good start. I thought I'd hate him and turns out, I didn't. The Miz made Chad look silly and Chad looked confused. However, the ending with a match between Miz and Bryan 6 days from their ppv showdown, that was awesome. I was hoping that'd be the end of our "guest star" and Raw would concentrate inside the squared circle (no luck).
The match for obvious reasons wasn't great. Miz pulled the classic heel work of faking an injury. They certainly didn't do Riley any favors by losing in a minute but you have to put someone down and it wasn't going to be Bryan with his U.S. title shot Sunday. Miz and Bryan have a chance to steal Night of Champions. Their feud has been the 2nd best in the company, better than everyone except Taker and Kane. I'm not counting the 6 pack because there hasn't been a main feud. I was caught off guard with the ending. I thought for sure Bryan would take the face plant and Miz would get the last laugh. Now, I'm torn on who will win.
Good to see Bourne is still alive. The bad thing with the roulette, horrible gimmick matches. Body slam challenge anyone? Boy, I really wanted to see that. I like real matches and certain gimmicks. Bourne isn't and hasn't been used correctly since Summerslam and losing to Edge in 3 minutes helped my case. Oh and then get speared, the defense rests your honor. I don't get it. Meanwhile, Henry comes out and beats a contender for the company's biggest title. Please, let Edge go to Smackdown for the move to Sy-Fy.
Time Waster 2 and 3 are worth mentioning only to make fun of terrible writing. The dance off and the trading places segments were horrible. The only thing that was good on any of them was Teddy singing. Sure he was off key and Maryse should have danced more slutty, but hey I laughed. I like Dibiase and another wrestler not used to his potential.
Speaking of potential, I'll never argue about Morrison's athleticism after what I saw Monday night. Sheamus and Morrison was an excellent match. We haven't seen two guys use the arena in a long time. Kofi and Orton at Madison Square Garden and the boom drop through a table was the previous moment that came into my head. Morrison's high cross body reminded me of the attitude era. The dialogue may not be as edgy (read "I'll kick your fanny") but Orton's attitude and mannerisms and this match is showing signs of a new attitude. I like them pushing the envelope a bit. Morrison is showing exactly why he has some many fans screaming for his push. Two weeks in a row, he's had good matches. All the credit should not be given to him, he was facing Chris "the best in the world at what I do" Jericho and the champ. Jericho costing Morrison made my night.
I should rephrase that, Jericho made my night. His promo was fantastic. My only complaint is he didn't tell Cole to and I quote, "shut the hell up". He came close. I thought he was back in and then the announcement of a steel cage through me for a loop. I like all three competitors and even if DHS went out quickly, Kidd and Jericho put on some nice in ring work. The leap off the top into a Walls attempt was Bret Hart 1-2-3 Kid all over again. Dangerous finish off the top rope as Kidd nearly was dumped on his head. At least Jericho gets back in the main event. The WWE would throw everyone on a roller coaster ride if Jericho won the title and Miz cashed on him. The fans would turn and begin to root for Jericho more and he'd be a face again. Won't happen, but thinking about it was nice for those 2 minutes.
Back to reality, wait is wrestling reality? Anyone, Orton and Cena rejuvenated the crowd from near death after trading spaces. Raw did have a first, first time Orton and Cena fought as faces. Crowd seemed pro Orton. The "boo yeah boo yeah" punches coming back from commercial was perfect timing. The Nexus may not have looked very strong tonight as the cronies went through tables and so did Barrett. I'm good with that though because tonight was about Orton and Cena. I would have liked to see Barrett put someone through a table but at least he hit Wasteland, stupid finisher, before Orton dropped him. I searched high and low for anything on Cena after Raw finished. One of the best counters into an RKO might have cost Cena as he looked hurt afterwards. He took the fall mostly on his shoulder and grasp it. With no report, he may have been acting and a darn good job because I was pondering it. The WWE title was showcased and that's a solid ending. Randy's mega-push continues and yet, I don't think he wins the title. The match however will be damn good. I think tonight was more about showing who the new man is for the E. When's the last time Cena lost cleanly to another face? No clue because no one has been elevated to Cena's level for years. Now, as I said in the second paragraph and back in April, Orton's the new face.
Besides way to much filler and nearly killing the crowd with trading spaces, Raw finished strong. Bryan and Miz is a show stealer candidate. Raw should have done more for this pay per view. Two matches and a inter-promotional match is not nearly enough with the under card. Morrison is getting a look while the rest of the roster has been sitting. I was happy Kidd and Bourne were on TV but the supposed "Night of Champions" won't even have the tag champs on it. Melina and LayCool weren't even shown which takes away the meaning of the unification match. The ending saved Raw from shear disappointment to slightly disappointing. With Night of Champions this Sunday, I will be back with my picks. Why? Good question because this year my picks suck.
J Call
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