Posted on 29 Dec 2009


So...after 2 extremely disappointing Raws in a row, it wouldn't be hard to be the better show this past month. I mean, all those lame Santa Clause and Christmas puns last week and then the abomination of the Slammy Awards the week before...things are starting to look rather dull in the WWE Universe. Sometimes I wish for a cosmic explosion to shake things up a little. Well...looks like my wish may have came true...

Raw immediately kicks off with Jericho outside, and this I loved. He's trying to get back onto Raw with a megaphone and a petition to sign along with some signs. Jericho's entertaining as hell! And to have him weaseling his way onto Raw every week could be a great angle to run with for quite a while before he eventually gets one last chance and blows it. Good stuff!

From there we go to the Cena and Sheamus promo. Cena wants a table match, Sheamus doesn't. Good heel heat to reject the gimmick match and he paid for it. Considering how they've weakened Sheamus's character over the past month I didn't have a problem with this anymore. I've come to accept that Sheamus isn't a monster anymore, he's starting to become one of those smarter-than-you heels. Dodging challenges, hitting refs (late spoiler alert), and such. It's ok, but he needs to keep the tough guy image to himself at the same time. Don't worry though, they fix that later thankfully. Oh yeah, Sheamus went through a table and looks like Cena has the advantage going into the main event later.

After the commercial, we get out first glimpse at Timbaland who does not know how to play the crowd all that well. I laughed though when he called Cena Vs. Sheamus for tonight the MATCH OF THE CENTURY (insert echo & fart noise). Oh well, it's in the script I guess.

Another backstage segment right after with Orton saying it's time to break up Legacy. More like it's time to go back to that Dibiase turn angle now that the DVD's out tomorrow! So they have some tests tonight to see if they're in...or they get knocked the F out!

Jericho's still outside protesting, this is great!

Ted Dibiase Vs. Evan Bourne: Decent match, I really thought Ted was going to lose here but it looks like they throw us the curveball and keep us on our feet. Good work. Dibiase goes over and Orton seems a little unhappy.

Cody Rhodes Vs. Mark Henry: Now I really thought Cody was going to lose this match! Then from there Ted could've said his longtime partner and running buddy but that was not meant to be as Cody Rhodes actually beat Mark Henry. Wow. Another curveball, Orton even patted Cody on the back! So it looks like it'll happen later down the road.

Backstage again, this time with Jillian signing and she's horrible as usual. Then we randomly skip over to Triple H duct taping Hornswoggle to a skateboard. For some reason, I actually chuckled. Honestly, that's what I'd probably do with a midget too. Shawn looking serious was a good sign, worried about the Bret Hart rumors and such. It actually made tonight's promo seem even more important and looked like DX could be splitting up. Then Hunter throws Hornswoggle into Jillian, I don't care anymore.

Divas match...YAWN! Huh? A promo?! And a pretty good promo too by Maryse! I like the half english, half french thing. Immediately makes the fans hate her. I hate french too so it all worked except for the fact that she's the hottest diva on both rosters right now. Do we have an actual angle building up for a Women's title? Wow.

Jericho's outside still but this time Big Show shows up. They cut what could very well have been THE funniest promo of the WWE this year all while being serious. It's as if they were actually breaking up. Big Show hands an envelope to Jericho and he has a huge smirk on his face. IMMEDIATE THOUGHT: A ticket to tonight's show?

And the moment we've all been waiting for...Vince addresses the Bret Hart rumors. We get a VERY NICE video package of Bret and then Vince says that we will never see Bret Hart host Raw. You knew this wasn't the end of it but it got a great reaction from the crowd. Out comes HBK, which makes things ten times more interesting!

Shawn completely ignores the Bret Hart rumors and goes straight back into wanting that match with Undertaker at WrestleMania 26. Looks like that one's gonna go full steam! Unless of course, Bret gets in the way and stops that match from happening...but who knows. Vince, classic heel, says he won't give the fans that match either! Now Shawn's really mad and gets under Vince's skin by asking why he's afraid of Bret Hart. This was a well-written promo and came off great. It teased a whole lot of stuff and the climax of Vince announcing Bret returning got a great reaction! The question is...what's the "good stuff" that Vince and Shawn are thinking about? Screwjob attempt? Looking very forward to Raw and not even worrying about TNA!

NOT DONE YET!

Cena's getting interviewed about the match tonight with Sheamus when the champion jumps him and lays the boots into him. YES! He still looks like an aggressive badass. This small segment actually helped Sheamus and made him look better in my eyes than he has since winning the tournament way back when.

Another backstage segment with Timbaland, this time with more divas and MVP. Kofi high fives and it looks like a Black Parade sans My Chemical Romance. Miz interrupts the whole thing and opens his talented big mouth. Timbaland makes it so if Kofi beats Miz, he'll get his title match asap. I'm liking it!

So we get Kofi Vs. Miz, and these two work great together! Kofi got a great Trouble In Paradise on Miz for the win in match number one.

Match number two was great too! I was really hoping they wouldn't throw the title on Kofi just because his feud with Orton seemed over. Key word: Seemed. Orton comes out and costs Kofi the title and when he's interviewed in the back, he says he's going to end the feud next week. Another great thing to look forward to next week! Oh yeah, Miz is still US Champion! WOOT!

Out comes DX, but more importantly...Chris Jericho. He's got the front row ticket. IMMEDIATE THOUGHT: I'M RIGHT AGAIN!

Why on earth would Big Show choose his partner to be Chavo Guerrero? The guy is 2-65 on Raw this year and has lost to Hornswoggle 20 times! And he chose this guy to face Shawn Michaels and Triple H?! Weak.

The match was ok, but the key factor was the ending promo. Jericho and Big Show get their rematch next week against DX for the tag titles. Another big match that'll be given the proper time thankfully and here's hoping Jerishow win them back!

And finally...Sheamus Vs. John Cena for the title. Another OK Match. Here's the spoiler I alluded to earlier, Cena has Sheamus in the FU (I refuse to call it the Attitude Adjustment) and Sheamus shoves the ref on purpose to get disqualified. See...he is a smart heel! They get into a fist fight post-match with Sheamus standing tall at the end to look strong again.

Overall, it was a pretty good Raw to end the year on. Not one of their bests. But next week's is shaping to be pretty damn exciting. And it should be that way considering TNA's trying to give them a run for their money. TNA so far only has Hogan coming out and cutting a promo. We've seen Hogan on TV every week for the past 3 years, he's been on CNN, Sportscenter, Off The Record, UFC, MTV, and probably on HGTV. It's his 8th return to wrestling in 10 years. It's been done and I'm not really sure my interest has peaked on that.

Raw though...you have Bret Hart. The first time he's been in WWE in 12 years. The first time he'll be used properly in at least 12 years. WCW failed at booking him. That's a big enough draw! Then they threw in the tease of Vince and Shawn possibly screwing over Bret again! Add Kofi Vs. Orton in a decent match along with Jerishow Vs. DX, you know these guys are going to bust their asses! And guess what? No John Cena next week! How can you argue with that about being a good Raw?

I rest my case. For my final thought, I'll leave you with a quote from The Joker in The Dark Knight which could very well be applied to the Vince to get some excitement back into the product...

"All he needed...was a little push!"

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