Raw 7-19

The WWE continues to confuse and infuriate me. I wanted to like Money in the Bank. I wanted to believe this was going to be the time the WWE pushes the right guys. I thought Christian would get his shot to be the man on Smackdown. I may have been over .500 on my MITB picks, I still feel like a big loser. Raw should answer some questions I have after last nights show. I'm pretty sure you aren't going to like what I have to say about the pay per view. So let's get this out of the way: send your hate mail to jcall@bigbadsportsdaddy.com. There now you have the address before I even begin.

The fact is the WWE ruined both Money in the Bank matches. Kane winning on the same night of the pay per view wasn't the worst decision of the night. I can already see the end of the title reign for Kane. He will face, presumably Swagger sometime in the next few months, not Summerslam because Undertaker won't be ready. Kane will look like he's about to keep the belt and the bell will toll. Kane will be distracted since he's the real culprit. Swagger will win and run out of the building carrying the World title. Taker will walk down the ramp and there goes the entire story. Sorry to ruin it for you. So Kane gets a whole 2 or 3 month title reign. I guess it's better than one day like his first one.

The biggest blunder was Miz winning the Raw ladder match. Miz isn't ready to be the face of a show let alone the #1 show. Miz is a nice piece of the puzzle. He can be a wrestler you can elevate someone else over. He draws decent heat, in ring and mic skills. I can't see him as a franchise guy. Granted, Sheamus wasn't ready but his push was done very well. He was new, came in as a monster and started dominating. That works because fans now believe Sheamus can win any match he is participating in. Can you think that of Miz even after he cashes in? I won't. Miz will never be more than a mid-card wrestler. The only way fans will buy him as world champ is if he cashes in like Edge. Edge was on the same level as Miz and won when Cena couldn't move. Now Edge is a 6 time world champion. However, Edge won those titles after doing Lita in real life and plastering himself as a real life a-hole. Miz was on "The Real World". That's not the same. Some will say how great this move is and pushing different talent. I'm all for pushing the new talent, there's others out there who deserve it in more. My Raw pick was Edge. I threw Miz out the window. I would have been happier with Morrison than Miz. Poor Morrison is turning into the Marty Jannetty of M'n'M. Just remember everything I said about Miz because he's going to be a transitional champion. One and done.

A great way to start Raw. The match was fantastic. I would have paid to see a match that good. I thought Jericho would win at first. Orton and Sheamus will be a lot of fun to watch and better than their first. Cena is going to be facing Nexus. Orton needed something and main eventing the second biggest event works for me. Orton got screwed at Wrestlemania. This is a great way to make it up to him. At first glance, Orton won't take the belt from Sheamus. But I still love the contest.

I wasn't surprised, neither should u, when Nexus beat them both up. We haven't seen the last of Edge and Jericho and hopefully it will be a special match at Summerslam. Has a main event on Wrestlemania been an under card the same year at Summerslam? While you search for that on Wikipedia, I will say no. Nexus has to continue beating up established stars. I would like to see them concentrate on one guy, Cena, and leave everyone else so we can get more stories for Summerslam.

Eve had a crappy match with Alicia last night. She had an even worse match with Mayrse tonight. Dibiase and Morrison continuing is a good thing. Mayrse might even leave Dibiase for John if his losing streak continues. Dibiase needs the mustache like his old man. I would like to see the Million dollar belt added to the mix. Summerslam would be a nice place to have a Million Dollar Belt challenge.

I know Sheamus and Evan wrestled several times. I still liked the contest. Sheamus used some unique offense since Evan is so small. The cheat to win shows Evan is strong enough to beat Sheamus. All I can say is thank you Truth for stopping Miz. This isn't the right time to cash it in. I was shocked how the fans reacted to Miz trying to cash in. Truth or Evan should take the US title off Miz so he can concentrate on being the first to ever lose when he cashes in.

The WWE showcases the tag teams so well. After a money show, they don't show off The Dynasty. Nope, rather have Santino and Kozlov beat Ryder, who doesn't deserve being buried, and Regal in a joke match. Ryder should be in a real feud and not teaming with Regal. Where the hell was The Dynasty? Tag team division has been a joke after JeriShow had the belts. All that hard work was wasted because writers are morons.

Barrett almost killed Henry. He botched the finisher and that's another reason you shouldn't try to lift a big man like Henry. Barrett didn't throw Henry like Cena can throw Show. Next time he will know better. Still impressive he got him up. The best Cena could do was Kahli? The WWE is going to be in trouble. Of course I liked Bret coming back. I am still waiting for Triple H to come back. The team would have been stronger without Kahli. It's about time 7 men teamed up to take on the Nexus. Orton and Sheamus were out with the WWE title match. I want to see War Games and I think we will eventually. You can't blow it the first go around. Plus if Trips comes back at Summerslam as the head of Nexus, then we can eliminate Kahli and Bret and get some real wrestlers.

Raw tonight had its ups such as the beginning with Orton, Jericho and Edge. I enjoyed Sheamus and Bourne. The Nexus bailing is smart booking because they shouldn't be made to look weak right now. I didn't like The Dynasty being left off the show and the time waster of Santino and Kozlov. Cena finally has a team and it's got some real players. Truth came back was a nice surprise, I didn't see coming. I want to see more before I go all out for Summerslam. Is Miz going to float until he cashes in? What about his US title? Bourne isn't part of the Cena's group so it's high time the high flyer gets the belt. Raw has my interest, now can it keep it for until the summer's biggest event. Make sure you check out Showstoppers and Wasp's TNA blog weekly. I will give one Showstoppers host credit, John got one MITB ladder match correct. I'll be back next week.

J Call

Money in the Bank Picks

My apologizes because this pick blog is going to be quick. The matches set up seem to have a really good story. This pay per view is going to dictate how the rest of the year is written. One MITB ladder match winner could cash in the very same night. Raw shook off my negativity and I think I will fork out the 45 bucks to order this bad boy. I don't need any more time because it's time to nail some pay per view picks.

Unified Tag Team Championship
The Dynasty (c) vs The Uso's
If you read my Raw blog and last weeks Building a Star blog, you would know I'm high on the Dynasty. Ok, John wrote about the Dynasty, I'm telling you I like them. This feud was written by lazy ass writers who didn't do a darn thing correct. This title defense should mean a lot more than what it does. For the sake of the tag titles, keep it on The Dynasty. I'm picking The Dynasty.

Diva Championship
Alicia Fox vs Eve
No hope for this contest. Give it back to Eve because Alicia sucks. They won't, Alicia keeps.

Women's Championship
Layla vs Kelly Kelly
Honestly, I don't care who wins. I don't think either of them are worthy of the Women's title. Neither can out wrestle McCool. I will say this has been a better story than Raw's Diva match. I'm taking Kelly Kelly to win.

Raw Money in the Bank Match
Mark Henry vs Morrison vs Orton vs Jericho vs Edge vs Bourne vs Dibiase vs Miz
Raw has the better Ladder match. Orton had the most amazing RKO on Raw so the momentum is there for the Viper to take the briefcase. We can cancel out Henry, Bourne and Miz. They are nice pieces but won't win. I would love to see Jericho take this match and get back on track. I don't see it. Edge has been pushed aside every week and has been barely noticed unless he's getting his butt kicked. That is why Edge will win.

Smackdown Money in the Bank Match
Christian vs McIntyre vs Hardy vs Kane vs Big Show vs Punk vs MVP vs Ziggler
I love seeing Christian and Hardy in this match. They along with Ziggler will steal the pay per view. I think we will see some sweet high spots with the big men. As in the Raw match, you can throw out guys like MVP, Hardy and Ziggler (as much as I like him). I know the WWE is looking at Kane in a different way after his first promo about the Taker. Punk has won 2 times and 3rd isn't the charm. Edge wins the Raw and his former partner in crime Captain Charisma Christian, YES CHRISTIAN finally gets the push he deserves.

World Championship
Rey Mysterio vs Jack Swagger
The ankle lock isn't original since Angle used it a ton. However, I like Swagger using it as it gives him something to use even on a guy like Big Show. Rey has been weak since winning the belt last month. Is he a one month wonder? Nope, the underdog finds a way to win.

WWE Championship Steel Cage
Sheamus (c) vs John Cena
Nexus will show up. I know you are shocked. You would have never seen it coming. Sheamus won the belt with the help of them at Fatal Four Way. I liked the way Raw ended with Sheamus helping Cena out. It was a way to believe Sheamus cared about Cena. His character isn't one to help out unless it's for his own cause. It will be because he keeps the belt and to end the show happily, Nexus starts beating them both up and Triple H returns.

J Call