Raw Thoughts

So when Raw did good last night, they did very very good. And what didn't work wasn't awful, although there were definitely some missed opportunities and some things which could have been better. So I give Raw a B in terms of following up on last week's spectacular edition. In no particular order, stream of consciousness style ...

Let's start with the mixed bag that was Mike Tyson. He didn't do an awful job as guest host, but I've seen better as well. He was almost TOO enthusiastic - although I did enjoy the bait-switch at the end (he'd been siding along with Chris Jericho to get a spot back on Raw, and was going to team with him against DX at the end of the night - eventually revealing himself wearing a DX shirt and Kayoh-ing Jericho ... not exactly new but entertaining).

Vince McMahon got crowd heat, though I'm afraid not the right kind, with his promo against Bret Hart; I understand Bret not being there last night as Wrestlemania is still 3 months and a bit away, and you don't want to rush too much of a good thing, but I think Vince could have worked with what he had a bit more.

Speaking of heat - the crowd last night was TOUGH! I enjoyed the banter between Randy Orton, John Cena, Kofi Kingston and Sheamus, but as soon as John Cena started getting chummy with Kofi the crowd became firmly ... pro-Randy Orton?! Huh? That to me was the big story of last night. Loved the Mike Tyson's Punch-Out! references by Cena, and the Triple Threat Match, though predictable as a way of determining a #1 World Title contender, wasn't a bad one. It'll be interesting to see how they play heel-heel with Randy Orton challenging Sheamus; this often doesn't work, but if anyone can pull it off it's Orton. I was only disappointed in Kofi Kingston's reasoning as to why he should get a title shot - because he hasn't before. OK - but neither has Santino Marella, and that doesn't mean he deserves a shot. More? The better angle for Kingston to get into this match would have been to point out he has also BEATEN Randy Orton, so they stand at a pretty near-even feud.

Speaking of Santino Marella though, he was a part of a lost opportunity last night which kind of disappointed me - Jack Swagger promised to not be sent over the top rope before the Royal Rumble, or obviously even AT the Rumble, thus propelling himself to the #1 contender slot the Rumble winner is guaranteed. And yet, when Santino Marella came out to take Swagger up on this challenge, over the rope Swagger went. See, this won't help Santino significantly - not enough to make it a start towards him winning the Rumble anyway, while Swagger could have used that kind of a hook to get people talking about him as a potential dark horse contender. Unfortunate.

On the other hand, though, NOT wasting opportunities were MVP and the Miz, who both delivered absolutely GOLD promos about both of their histories. Talk about opposite sides of the tracks these two - on FIRE! Can't even describe how well they built their characters up - be sure and Youtube, or check out on WWE.com, their promo. It was fantastic. Meanwhile the tease continues for the friction within the Legacy, even extending on down to Cody Rhodes and Ted Dibiase, who bickered between themselves over who would win the Royal Rumble ...

In short then, Raw was MILES better than the don't-care variety hour it had been in the month leading into Christmas; someone woke up and realized the Rumble's up and the Road to Wrestlemania is on. At the same time, there's still plenty of room to improve and on the optimistic side I expect it to get nothing but better as the Granddaddy of 'em All, 2010 edition, gets closer. WWE always brings their A-game for that and are already teasing some awesome fights in terms of Bret-Vince, and Shawn Michaels-Undertaker which they teased again (Michaels was MVP of the night in terms of the main-eventers by the way; Miz and MVP stole the show but Michaels wanting to complete his tour of contrition and suck up to Mike Tyson, Triple H's uncertainty about it, Tyson's rejection of those overtures and ultimate joining of DX, was a great storyline that threaded the evening together). Solid B show, with much potential to churn out A shows as the month(s) progress(es).