Raw 11-23

I want to say to everyone: I'm sorry. My pay per view picks were horrible and if you made any bets. You lost money listening to me. I hope you listened to Larry or Eric instead. I had no idea what I was thinking. I may have to retire after tonight after that. Plus Larry told me I've got no idea about history of wrestling. We will get to that. Anyway, Raw is a special three hour episode this evening. The Body returns to wrestling for the first time in years. I better see some damn wrestling and build feuds for the next pay per view.

Before Raw begins, I have to dissect Survivor Series. I am happy with a few things the WWE decided to do on Sunday night. The WWE must be serious in pushing Miz, Sheamus and McIntyre. I applaud having the three being the survivors in their match. The result continues their push and keeps the momentum going. Some, larry, will argue that Morrison will look bad because of the two losses in a row on pay per view. I doubt that and will ultimately lead to one more pay per view match with Miz and Morrison. I love Kofi being the only survivor in his match as well. The push for Kofi has been fantastic and hope the Orton feud keeps going on Raw. However, why the hell would you have Punk beat R-Truth right away in the match? R-Truth is getting over with the fans. He had a great promo with Punk on Smackdown last Friday night. You ruined the momentum. Great job. The other problem is having Ziggler lose yet again for the IC belt. Showstoppers hosts John and Larry hate Dolph and feel he doesn't deserve the belt. WRONG! Wrestlers need opportunities and he has been along with Morrison great in the ring. The WWE has to give the guy a shot or send him to ECW to win the ECW title. I would complain about what they did with Rey as well but I heard he needs knee surgery. Rey won't be around for a while so I understand why the WWE booked what they did. Rey will return and extract some revenge on Batista. As far as the world belts: I was fine with both outcomes. Undertaker will now feud with the piece of crap Batista on Smackdown. Yeah I hate Batista. He can't wrestle unless the other opponent can make him look fantastic (See HHH, Orton, Rey). Raw makes sense to have Cena as their champ. Who will he feud with now though?

I love when Raw opens up with the best heel in the business right now in Randy Orton. He is the perfect heel. Although, we have seen Cena Orton way to many times, I wouldn't hate to see it again. I really missed Jesse. He is one of the greatest talkers in wrestling history. He is also one of the smartest men ever in the business. I love Revolutions in wrestling. Jesse is so spot on when he talked about the same guys getting shot after shot at the WWE title. I love the idea of pushing someone who has never had a shot at a world title ever. The WWE needs to develop new talent and this is the way to do it. New blood all over this Raw. DX vs Hart Dynasty. Punk vs Cena. My head might explode because I am so happy. My only problem with this set up is the Kofi Orton feud will not continue.

Kingston vs Ziggler
Well I complained about Ziggler not getting a push and of course what happens? He gets on Raw and has to compete with the hottest star on Raw. The best thing the WWE could do for three hours is have some of the best in ring workers time to showcase their talents. This match had promise to be a great contest. The WWE has three freaking hours to book matches. The opening match doesn't last more than 6 minutes. Are you serious? Plus you bury a talented guy like Ziggler because Kofi is getting the big push. The fans will never buy into Dolph if you bury him. I will never buy Matt Hardy any longer because he has been buried on Smackdown. Would you ever buy into Chavo as US champ? Nope but he has enough talent in the ring to be a US champ. I like pushing Kofi against wrestlers who won't be harmed by a loss, such as Orton. The guys who have never got a World title before should be showcased. First match failed in my eyes.

Sheamus vs Finlay
Here is a case of something I can be ok with. Finlay is a guy who can lose and no one cares. He is an older wrestler and will never be the future of the WWE. Sheamus is a guy who has been getting a big push. The glorified squash match was not something I thought would happen. Sheamus beat down after the match was a surprise as well. The WWE is pushing Sheamus correctly though. He looked strong again just like last night on Survivor Series. I just didn't like the fact that this match was way to short again. I can't wait for the 30 more backstage promos.
I received a text from Larry just now about the WWE has to take the less talented and use them as jobbers. You are wrong Larry. I said you can push the young talent without burying the rest of the wrestlers. I agree you have to push young talent but once they squash young talent. Who will push the young talent after the rest of the wrestlers look weak? Think about it.

CM Punk vs Cena
Damn right Punk. Im fat and Im not stronger than you. I will be eating my weight on Thanksgiving because of tradition. I really like Punk. If you know anything about me, it is I love real wrestlers. I like guys who can go in the ring. As Larry would say, I am a technical guy. Punk fits the mold of a technical wrestler. The whole straightedge persona is real but I understand if you get bored with it every week. The WWE did a great job last Smackdown in turning the tables on Punk. If you use a guy like Truth, who is the complete opposite of Straightedge, the feud can work. I don't think fans in arenas are drug free or alcohol free which means they will back a guy who is just like them. Why did Austin get over? Fans connected with him. You can use Punk in the complete opposite fashion. Finally we saw a great contest for Raw. The match was given time to work. The two men worked hard to make the contest feel like a semi main event. I thought for sure the match would be over when Cena locked in the STF. Punk mocking Cena was a nice touch in the match. If Punk is in the doghouse, it didn't show tonight. He looked great in a loss. Cena had to use a FU from the top rope to beat Punk. I loved the match and even in a loss, Punk looked like a real contender tonight. If you didn't like that match, you can suck it.

Again we see a great retired wrestler have fun at the expense of Vince. Ventura and McMahon had a great backstage promo. The bow tie was icing on the cake. Everyone loves seeing Vince being humiliated. In fact I don't mind seeing Ventura and Vince on the mic because I bet they are better than Cole.

Swagger, Chavo, Masters vs MVP, Henry, Truth
Did you really think any team with Chavo on it was going to win? MVP and Swagger have been drifting the last few weeks. At least Swagger has had somewhat of a feud with Miz. Where is the payoff in that? I have no clue. Miz should be facing MVP or Bourne for the US title. Swagger is the one getting screwed in this match. He should have been in the Battle Royal. I am happy that Truth got the win to help him gain back what he lost at Survivor Series.

DX has a nice promo on the Survivor Series match. I wondered where WWE was going to go with DX after HBK hit Sweet Chin Music on Hunter in about 5 seconds in the match. I guess they are going to be together for a while longer and everything is ok for now. My only problem is Hornswaggle and DX thing is continuing. Can't we just move on? I don't mind Hornswaggle and the midget crotch chops are funny. I just would rather see DX embrace the little man and move to an actual feud with wrestlers.

Evan Bourne vs Primo
Just think how good Bourne would have been in WCW cruiserweight division back in the late 90s? Primo where the hell have you been? I guess you won't be around for a while again since Orton beat the holy crap out of him before the match started. Why the hell did the WWE showcase all this young talent if Orton was going to get into the battle royal anyway? Now I love Randy Orton and would be ok with Orton Cean as I said earlier in the blog. The difference is I thought a guy who never got a chance for the World title was going to. I am rooting for Kofi to eliminating Orton and keeping the feud going.

McCool, Jillian, Eve vs Melina, Mickie, Kelly
WTF was up with the heels music? I had to agree with McCool this was the "stupidest" which isn't a word. The return of the Gooker made it even more stupider lol. Are you freaking kidding me? Another great time waster. How does this help the Diva division? I like the Diva title and I think it serves its purpose. Some of the women like Melina, Mickie and wait as I was writing that. Mayrse turned out to be the Gooker. Yes, I couldn't be more excited. Why? Maryse is fine as hell and can wrestle. Finally Melina might actually get some real competition. I take it all back for that segment. I was very shocked to see Maryse and now the Raw Diva division has a purpose.

DX vs Hart Dynasty
Before this match even starts, I want to just say I hope this gets plenty of time. I see a bright future for the Hart Dynasty and they should be put over in a loss by DX. Does anyone else feel the irony in this match? Hart vs HBK? Tyson Kidd was the last wrestler ever to pass through the Hart Dungeon. We all know the history of HBK and Bret Hart. Ok maybe it is just me who feels this is awkward. I felt the Hart Dynasty should be getting a push for the Tag titles a few ppvs ago. I would still like to see Hart Dynasty vs JeriShow. I would also like to see Natalya wrestle more often. The Dynasty could eventually hold tag and women titles at the same time on Smackdown. Although the match was to short in my opinion. The WWE did a nice job giving the Dynasty a slight rub vs DX. To finish off the segment, Jericho announces DX vs JeriShow at the next pay per view in a TLC match. Show is not on a personal day. He is actually hurt and won't be around until the pay per view. He is having minor surgery on his knee. Somewhere right now, Larry just screamed like a girl for the match. I love Jericho talking about the importance of the tag titles. I agree when JeriShow won the tag titles, it felt important. Now, once again, the WWE has watered down the tag titles. I think this feud will help scale up the titles but I would like to see JeriShow keep them. Why? Jericho would stay on both Raw and Smackdown if he holds the belts.

Batista in ring promo. I just don't see why everyone loves Batista. His promos are boring, as the crowd might have told you. Rey is having knee surgery again and will be out. Rey will be back sometime and he and Batista will have a real feud. I would love to see Kane and Batista wrestle so Batista isn't wrestling for the World title. Smackdown needs to step it up in the feud department. I thought Rey and Batista would help the show. Now that Rey is out maybe Kane and Batista can.

Cryme Tyme vs Legacy
The wild card to win this Battle Royal is Ted Dibiase. The movie is coming out soon. The WWE teased us with a face turn by Teddy. I would hate to see it happen so quickly. I like Teddy and he has a ton of potential. He is a future main event but don't shove him down our throat to quick. I would like to see more fun teasing with Orton and Dibiase. The crowd has been dead all night. They just haven't been into anything and especially this match. You knew Legacy would win. Last week they weren't even on the show. Tonight, both men get a chance in the Battle Royal.

A Jeff Hardy DVD is coming soon. I will be picking that up for sure. I love Jeff Hardy and wish he comes back by Mania. Let the Hardy Party begin! I hope he gets cleared of his charges. If he does, I am sure Vince would bring him back.

Every week Santino makes me laugh. I wish for breasts to Santino but you can't just like the white meat. Oh sorry I'm going off topic. Gotta love when bad things happen to Vikki.

Breakthrough Battle Royal
I love Ventura and Vince being at the broadcast table. I bet Jim Ross was loving this in Oklahoma. The monkey suit made Vince look worse than the Fink. At least I will be entertained by Vince and Ventura. Orton did the coward heel thing since he was on the outside for the most part. The battle royal finally got going when Sheamus throughout Truth. I guess someone had to go first. I can't believe Legacy went out like they did. Kofi Orton and Sheamus are the final three. I guess it will be a Raw guy. Kofi takes out Orton. Sheamus is going to win this battle royal. Are you kidding me? I can't believe this. At least Orton and Kofi feud will continue. I am really shocked that the WWE pushed this kid so quickly. I would highly doubt he will beat Cena but this is huge for Raw. You push a new heel for the WWE title. I really like the move a lot. Kofi and Cena would have made no sense. The only other guy I could have seen was Dibiase. I like how the WWE will wait on that for another time down the road. Cena don't tease me when you say someone will beat up Michael Cole. Cena must have knew that was my x-mas present. Cena is so passionate in promos. The WWE must really believe Cena vs anyone will be a good enough reason for fans to buy a pay per view. I hate when Cena uses the world "war" when talking about a feud. I believe that word should not be used. Ventura surprised me when he turned the heel switch on. I was hoping Sheamus would knock out Cena before Raw ended. A powerslam through the table to cap off a night showcasing tons of young talent. I said the fans would give a crap about Sheamus if he had a real feud. Now I will see if I was right. I still think it might be to quick but hey its new blood on Raw getting a shot.

Overall I thought the show was successful. I would have liked to see some of the matches go longer. The ending with Sheamus winning was a nice twist. Raw has some great feuds going on right now. Kofi and Orton will keep going. I am interested in how the WWE will book DX and Jeri without Show right now. Next week, Verne Troyer is hosting Raw. Hornswaggle is suing and I am sure Mini Me will be the judge. It writes itself really. You can keep track of the FWF right here on BBSD. Yours truly is still in the lead after tonight. BBSD radio shows will be back next week as well. After my ppv picks, you should have probably stopped reading this at 'I'm sorry'. I promise you one thing, I will pick better on the next pay per view. Oh and all that stuff in the beginning about retiring. I am the Ric Flair of BBSD, I will never retire...as long as Im employed at BBSD.

J Call