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Last week was a mixed bag on Raw. I won't spend too much time since it's getting late. Tonight is the go home show for the Royal Rumble PPV this Sunday. As of right now, there are only three matches:
- Miz (c) vs Randy Orton - WWE Championship Match
- Edge (c) vs Dolph Ziggler - World Heavyweight Championship Match
- The 40 Man Royal Rumble Match
The big things from last week's Raw:
Cena started out the show with what has become his typical "comedy" promo where he made lame jokes and talked about poopy. The Miz interrupted him telling Cena that whoever wins the Rumble better challenge the Smackdown champion because they weren't going to beat The Miz. Cena of course turned this into a joke, saying that was a good idea because Cena vs Miz doesn't sound like a WrestleMania main event. Great job burying your champion. The Nexus then came out, and the match was made of Cena vs Punk for later in the night, and if any of The Nexus interfered, they would be out of the Rumble.
Randy Orton defeated Dolph Ziggler clean in a #1 Contender vs #1 Contender match. This made absolutely no sense to me. First, why put these two against each other to begin with? It's not like Ziggler is bumping the ratings, and of course there was no build to the match anyway. Second, Ziggler needs to be built as a credible contender so much more than Orton, so for him to be beat clean makes him look like a non-threat against Edge. Both of these guys should have been in squash matches last week and this week to build them up. Orton couldn't have buried R-Truth? It's just dumb booking, and adds to the trend that has been going on for years and years of never fully getting behind young talent allowing them to break through.
After the match, The Miz (with Alex Riley) laid out Randy Orton and gave him a serious beat down. This is the first time I can remember them making The Miz look like a serious champion. It's about time because the "undeserving champion" role doesn't do anyone any favors. It would really be nice if The Miz could get a clean win in the middle of the ring against Orton on Sunday.
John Morrison beat Daniel Bryan in a very quick match that had a commercial break go through the middle. It was a good match, but rushed, and we saw more commercials than match. After the match, we saw The Bellas backstage talking about how hot John Morrison was, and then talking about taking Daniel Bryan's virginity. If this was legit, Bryan would be the luckiest man on earth, but since it's not, I feel so bad that he's in this stupid program.
Cena and Punk had a great main event. I thought it was a huge mistake having these guys go for nearly 15 minutes on a free show, but it turned out to be a great segment. The end came when Cena was in control. Then a mystery man, Mason Ryan, ran onto the ring apron. He kicked off security. Cena was distracted, and Punk kicked him in the head. Ryan then got into the ring. Punk offered himself up, and Ryan booted him in the face. This spot was meant to be announced as Cena being DQ'ed with Punk getting the win, but apparently Justin Roberts missed his spot to announce the finish. Ryan then hit his finisher on Cena which is essentially the Side Effect which is a hilarious rib at Fatt Hardy. Punk got down on one knee and presented Ryan with a Nexus arm band. Ryan has a great look, but is very, very, very green. It will be very interesting to see how they use him, and if he'll even be called Mason Ryan.
The biggest negative for me was an impromptu jobber Royal Rumble. Ted Dibiase Jr was at ringside yelling how no one believed he would win the Rumble (true). He challenged anyone in the back to an over the top rope challenge. Of course, Mark Henry came out. Then just about every other jobber (including R-Truth) hit the ring and they had a battle royal. Once everyone was almost out, Sheamus hit the ring. Of course he was going to get the win, and look strong. Well, actually, he was dumped by Mark Henry in about 20 seconds. Yes, Mark Henry was put over here. Sheamus has become a complete joke since winning The King of the Ring. Between his silly costumes, stronger than every stereotypical accent, and continued losing streak, he is becoming a very, very bad cartoon character. Oh yeah, Ted Dibiase got tossed in about 10 seconds.
Putting these jobbers in a battle royal does nothing to sell The Rumble, and only points out to fans how few legitimate contenders there actually are for the match.
Beth Phoenix vs Melina for the title has been announced for tonight.
And in a completely throw away match which goes to illustrate how meaningless the titles are, WWE Champion The Miz will face off against World Heavyweight Champion Edge. This match was mentioned in passing last week, with the announcers making no effort to put it over as anything special. I have to expect that Orton and Ziggler get involved somehow, probably leading to a Miz/Ziggler vs Edge/Orton tag match on Smackdown. Especially because there have been rumors of a reuniting of team Rated RKO.
