BRM's thoughts on the 1/24/2011 Raw

[Big Red Machine]

TRY TO BEAT EDGE BATTLE ROYAL- LAME! This made no sense! Why the hell are Swagger & McIntyre here? And why would the Raw GM give SD guys a chance? And why is he allowed to book them in matches? And if he wants to humiliate Edge, why only have THREE guys?

CM PUNK PROMO- Punk steals a catchphrase from Roderick Strong. Never thought I hear that.
Beard-tista will be going by his FCW name, Mason Ryan.

NEXUS-CORRE CONFRONTATION- This was done well… and we got an explanation for why the SD guys are here, so that was good. Everytime Jackson opens his mouth, all I can think of is “this is the pro wrestling version of Pedro Cerrano from the Major League movies.
DEL RIO & SHEAMUS vs. MORRISON & HENRY- 5.75/10. I was scared that they were going to have Henry defeat Del Rio.

DIVAS TITLE MATCH: Natalya(c) vs. Melina- OUCH! That finish looked sick. And I mean Melissa’s Kondo Clutch on MsChif level sick. The match really doesn’t deserve it, but just because of that and Nattie escaping the other cool looking submission, I will give this 4/10.
When did Melina lose the paparazzi and red carpet? Those were great for her gimmick.
Also, why are we doing this NOW, instead of at the PPV on Sunday?

LAY-COOL CHALLENGING NATTIE AT ROYALE RUMBLE- Yes, Lay-Cool does deserve their rematch… but why do this NOW, with only SIX DAYS OF BUILD and blow off the Nattie-Melina feud, which has almost a month of build… for free on Raw? It makes no sense. This is the type of dumb promoting I expect from TNA! Why not just do Nattie vs. Melina at Royale Rumble and then do Nattie vs. Lay-Cool at Elimination Chamber?

NEXUS BACKSTAGE SEGMENT- This was a pretty good segment, but what was the point Mason Ryan not saying his first line in Welsh, rather than English?

CENA INTERVIEW & CONFRONTATION WITH MIZ- this was extremely well done.

EDGE vs. THE MIZ (w/Alex Riley)- 6.25/10. I should have expected the non-finish here. Anyway, the one thing they did here that I didn’t like was Ziggler taking the RKO. I would have had Miz manage to hit Orton with the briefcase before he could hit Ziggler with the RKO.
This is the Raw World champ vs. the Smackdown World champ. This match should have been the main event. No excuses. Even with a BS finish, it is still champion vs. champion.

WADE BARRETT PROMO- GREAT!

DANIEL BRYAN & THE BELLA TWINS vs. TED DIBIASE, MARYSE, & ALICIA FOX- No Rating. This did a fine job of advancing two different angles at once, and with the finish they were doing, it didn’t need to be long.

BACKSTAGE SEGMENT WITH DRAGON, GAIL KIM, & THE BELLAS- am I the only one who finds it sad that making out with Dragon is the most significant thing Gail Kim has done on WWE TV in almost a year? And is it bad that I popped when I realized that Dragon was with Gail? It is definitely a better end to this angle than Dragon getting with one of the Bellas and it gets Gail TV time… but it still seems like something out of a slash-fic.
Props to the guy in the column from a few weeks ago who called the “virgin-vegan” confusion.

Now… I know this is nitpicking, but it is a pet peeve of mine, so I feel justified in mentioning it. After Bella #2 insulted Gail, Gail reacted by slapping her. Gail Kim shouldn’t be slapping people. Gail Kim should be throwing forearm shot or punches! Gail Kim is known for being a good wrestler and for being (at least kayfabe) tougher than many other women. In the same situation, would Lita or Sara Del Rey or Cheerleader Melissa or Mickie James or Mercedes Martinez slap the Bella? HELL NO! They would start wailing on her with forearms and punches! And Gail should have, too.

HARRIS & MCGILLICUTTY vs. KOZ-MARELLA- 4/10- Husky needs a different finisher. Shelly-Shock just doesn’t work for him.

CM PUNK vs. WADE BARRETT with John Cena as Special Guest Referee- No Rating. I liked this a lot. Not sure why, but I did. The GM seems to be turning vaguely heel. I also thought the show-ending schmoz was a great idea.
Overall… this was pretty bad. It had some good segments but had no good wrestling on it at all (like Impact without MCMG).

[kirbs2002]

DIVAS TITLE MATCH: Natalya(c) vs. Melina- OUCH! That finish looked sick. And I mean Melissa’s Kondo Clutch on MsChif level sick. The match really doesn’t deserve it, but just because of that and Nattie escaping the other cool looking submission, I will give this 4/10.

I'm 100% convinced that they blatantly stole this spot from Melissa-MsChif.

This spot also confirmed my long standing belief that MsChif is STRONGER than Melina...

Hidden text.

...Because when Melissa did her Kondo Clutch, MsChif didn't quit.

[cero2k]

TRY TO BEAT EDGE BATTLE ROYAL- LAME! This made no sense! Why the hell are Swagger & McIntyre here? And why would the Raw GM give SD guys a chance? And why is he allowed to book them in matches? And if he wants to humiliate Edge, why only have THREE guys?

the only thing i thought about this is "if edge simply jumps and DQs himself, no one gets the No40 spot, and he is still fresh for Miz vs Edge...

DIVAS TITLE MATCH: Natalya(c) vs. Melina- OUCH! That finish looked sick.

I think that this helps natty a lot, to move away from the Hart Dynasty thing, and take her "forced" finished to a whole new level, the bad thing is that not many divas may be able to bend like Melina does...

CENA INTERVIEW & CONFRONTATION WITH MIZ- this was extremely well done.

it was this segment that made me realize how long since Cena has been away from the title scene...

EDGE vs. THE MIZ (w/Alex Riley)- 6.25/10. I should have expected the non-finish here. Anyway, the one thing they did here that I didn’t like was Ziggler taking the RKO. I would have had Miz manage to hit Orton with the briefcase before he could hit Ziggler with the RKO.
This is the Raw World champ vs. the Smackdown World champ. This match should have been the main event. No excuses. Even with a BS finish, it is still champion vs. champion.

Personally, Ziggler sucks at the commentating table, he's just too much of a nice and fair guy. he's supposed to be cocky, he's not supposed to be like "i want edge at his fullest", he should be more like "too bad for him, not that it matters when facing me" BTW, Vicky PWND King during commentary, if he's gonna make fun of the heels, be sure to not screw up your jokes...

DANIEL BRYAN & THE BELLA TWINS vs. TED DIBIASE, MARYSE, & ALICIA FOX- No Rating. This did a fine job of advancing two different angles at once, and with the finish they were doing, it didn’t need to be long.

just when i was starting to like the daniel/bellas entrance...oh well, at least i'm linking the whole Bella heel idea, now the switcharoo makes more sense...

[Big Red Machine]

EDGE vs. THE MIZ (w/Alex Riley)- 6.25/10. I should have expected the non-finish here. Anyway, the one thing they did here that I didn’t like was Ziggler taking the RKO. I would have had Miz manage to hit Orton with the briefcase before he could hit Ziggler with the RKO.
This is the Raw World champ vs. the Smackdown World champ. This match should have been the main event. No excuses. Even with a BS finish, it is still champion vs. champion.

Personally, Ziggler sucks at the commentating table, he's just too much of a nice and fair guy. he's supposed to be cocky, he's not supposed to be like "i want edge at his fullest", he should be more like "too bad for him, not that it matters when facing me" BTW, Vicky PWND King during commentary, if he's gonna make fun of the heels, be sure to not screw up your jokes...

I interpreted Dolph's tone as veiled sarcasm.

[Rabid619]

I interpreted Dolph's tone as veiled sarcasm.

It sounded too goody too shoes for a heel in to my ears. I could understand the "lets watch the match" but not the i want him at 100%. Dolph as a douche is what should have been there and that isnt what he got.

[Big Red Machine]

I interpreted Dolph's tone as veiled sarcasm.

It sounded too goody too shoes for a heel in to my ears. I could understand the "lets watch the match" but not the i want him at 100%. Dolph as a douche is what should have been there and that isnt what he got.

He really isn't that much of douche. Maybe back in early 2009, but since the the Vickie relationship his has been more of an arrogant jerk and less of a douche.

[Rabid619]

He really isn't that much of douche. Maybe back in early 2009, but since the the Vickie relationship his has been more of an arrogant jerk and less of a douche.

Is there a big difference between a douche & a jerk?

[Big Red Machine]

He really isn't that much of douche. Maybe back in early 2009, but since the the Vickie relationship his has been more of an arrogant jerk and less of a douche.

Is there a big difference between a douche & a jerk?

A jerk is just arrogant. A douche is a downright despicable person (IMO, anyway).

[Rabid619]

A jerk is just arrogant. A douche is a downright despicable person (IMO, anyway).

Either way, once Dolph puts on a headset you'd think he was a face. If they're going to put him at the announcers table he needs to be a jerk. I got very annoyed with the I want Edge at 100%. He contradicts himself by attacking Edge to cause the DQ.

[KILLdozer]

as BRM said tho its false niceness,,the 100 percent thing is him just acting like a nice guy basically,,,almost like a heel trying to act like a face,,saying all this good stuff about him and how he wants him to be completely healthy for the match,,,then throws it all away by showing you what a jerk he really is by attacking him,,so your right,,he does contradict himself there

[Darkil]

To set the record straight

Jerk = Dolph Ziggler

Douche = Michael Cole

[Big Red Machine]

Was perusing through the archives for research and found the following statement:

BACKSTAGE SEGMENT WITH DRAGON, GAIL KIM, & THE BELLAS- am I the only one who finds it sad that making out with Dragon is the most significant thing Gail Kim has done on WWE TV in almost a year? And is it bad that I popped when I realized that Dragon was with Gail? It is definitely a better end to this angle than Dragon getting with one of the Bellas and it gets Gail TV time… but it still seems like something out of a slash-fic.

How little I knew.