Raw

So Raw was pretty sweet last night - some parts were more or less predictable than others, but it was a solid show which I enjoyed immensely.

I was surprised at Chris Jericho's firing, especially how seriously it was treated in the follow up - now I'm assuming this is a kayfabe firing unless there's something mega-serious going on that we don't know, but it was handled well and it will be interesting to see how it is gotten around. Will Jericho get shipped to Smackdown? Will (more likely) Vince overrule his daughter's edict? It's just one more thing that we know will be followed up upon, presumably next week when Vince is on the air.

Also surprising was Ted Dibiase's return; although once he did, I saw his turning on Manu and Sim Snuka coming a mile away. Orton-Rhodes-Dibiase is a much stronger faction than anything that would have involved Manu and Snuka, so I'm glad this is how it shook out. Personally I wish they could get another really mayjah name or two involved - would that The Rock were still around - so that it didn't still look like Randy Orton and his two stooges, but if they take this the route they did Evolution 5 years ago, it won't be long for Rhodes and Dibiase to come off as strong and worthy members of the Legacy.

Not surprised at the sneak attacks of the show - Rosa Mendez attacking Melina and Mike Knox attacking Rey Mysterio has been par for the course for weeks. Excited again about next week, that they're finally going to have a Knox-Mysterio match. Also hoping Mendez's being barred from ringside is a ban of Steph's that VKM will lift upon his return next Monday - along the lines of Matt Hardy when he was doing a similar schtick, 'if you can't beat 'em, and there's money to be made, join 'em'.

Match wise, I think I'll forgive the Punk-Regal bungle #2 because it will lead to a definitive match next week with no DQ. My guess is Punk will go over here, as the IC belt is one they're willing to bat around on TV a bit. Shawn Michaels vs. John Cena was also spectacular, and Shawn going over clean ... usually I would disapprove of this even as a Shawn fan (1 - he's older and Cena should get the rub, 2 - it should be a very rare thing for your champ to be beaten clean), but it made sense here. Shawn has a real case for entry into the Rumble, or perhaps even to interject himself into the contract signing on Monday between his boss JBL and John Cena. He has a pinfall win over the world champ at 'his Wrestlemania' - this, to me, is the beginning of his writing his own ticket out of servitude.

Add all this to the newsworthy announcement of Steve Austin's induction into the Hall of Fame in his home state of Texas this year, and it was a great show, and next week is shaping up to be strong and newsworthy as well. Ooooh if only they'd book this well year round, instead of when they have weeks to go between PPVs to keep interesting, and the road to Wrestlemania to start down. EXCELLENT Raw.