Jim Ross is back with another blog over on jrsbarbq.com. Here are some highlights:
- Jerry Lawler defeating Miz somewhat surprised me but John Morrison getting involved certainly enhanced my interest in the Falls Count Anywhere, WWE Title bout next week between the two former tag team partners. The Miz-Morrison match will be in Phoenix where I will be attending the Fiesta Bowl on Saturday night. I'll just miss the WWE in the desert as we head home on Sunday for a little B-Day observance back in Norman on Monday.
- King had all kinds of travel woes on Monday including getting separated from his luggage. He told me that he did not take a jacket or coat with him on this trip, he hates 'em, but that he did "bring a hoody.....and gloves." Classic.
- The CM Punk/Nexus affiliation is intriguing. More questions than answers which is good. There is strength in numbers and it certainly puts the 'hero,' John Cena, in an uphill struggle. Punk is excellent both in the ring and on the mic and I look forward to seeing how the Cena-Punk scenario plays out over time. If they don't get it on until the Royal Rumble match, I wouldn't be offended. Sounds like Cena-Punk could theoretically be a solid WM27 attraction. Time will tell.
- Lots of crazy rumors floating around the MMA message boards about Brock Lesnar these days. Some fans feel that Lesnar is looking to leave UFC and return to WWE. That decision would floor me. It doesn't seem to make sense at this time for Lesnar to leave UFC as there is too much Octagon money on the table for Brock to walk away at this time. I just can't see the athletic freak going back on the WWE road for any significant length of time especially with young children at home and Brock being most comfortable when he is in the Minnesota woods enjoying family life and hunting. Don't get me wrong, as a fan I would embrace a Lesnar return to WWE and it 'might' happen on a sporadic basis some day but not any time soon.
i can see Lawler vs Miz at the Royal Rumble for the world title
Me too. I think that Morrison might have to be involved due to his rematch clause. So a triple threat?
Either way, the focus of the PPV will be on the Rumble match itself. They're lucky that they can get away with having an average match for a World Championship and not have it affect the buy rate in a big way.
With CM Punk now as the leader of Nexus, does this now mean Barrett is out? I hope not, he's awesome. Preferably joint leaders of Punk and Barrett, but even if Barrett is just a normal member, that would be awesome.
With CM Punk now as the leader of Nexus, does this now mean Barrett is out? I hope not, he's awesome. Preferably joint leaders of Punk and Barrett, but even if Barrett is just a normal member, that would be awesome.
I'd prefer Barrett to stay involved with Nexus as well. He is an excellent heel so would be daft for him to work with Cena against Nexus. I say keep him in as Punk's number 2 or as a co-leader
Me too. I think that Morrison might have to be involved due to his rematch clause. So a triple threat?
I could be wrong but if he loses next Monday he doesn't get a rematch does he? I thought it was only champions who lose the belt that get rematches not unsuccessful challengers?
I could be wrong but if he loses next Monday he doesn't get a rematch does he? I thought it was only champions who lose the belt that get rematches not unsuccessful challengers?
Yeah, thats correct. But if it isnt a clean finish then maybe he could say he wants one ?
I could be wrong but if he loses next Monday he doesn't get a rematch does he? I thought it was only champions who lose the belt that get rematches not unsuccessful challengers?
I thought it worked both ways, not sure though. It seems as every title match on PPV always had a rematch. You're probably right.
Ted DiBiase needs to be drafted to Smackdown as soon as possible. He isn't progressing anywhere on Raw and his character has been relegated to jobber status after the match with Santino Marella.
DiBiase at one point in Legacy was at the top end of the card and looked to have a great future in the company. This obviously hasn't turned out right for Ted due to WWE's booking.
Cody Rhodes has found success on Smackdowd, Ted could and should also.
Maryse also needs to split from DiBiase. Neither is benefitting from being associated with the other and it would be better for Maryse to get back to a singles career, to assist the Divas Division.
The Miz came was coming out of Raw pretty badly after his second consecutive defeat to Jerry Lawler (a result that never should have happened) but partly redeemed himself with the beating up of The King later in the show.
Miz and Morrison ATM is being treated as a mini side feud to Miz and King, which doesn't look right.
Morrison is trying to enter the main event scene and a Miz-Morrison Title match at the Royal Rumble with some good build up on Raw could have made this a pretty good match at the PPV with some real potential.
Instead Miz vs Morrison is now taking place next week on Raw (which suggests JoMo will not be getting a 1 on 1 title opportunity at the PPV) and the King-Miz rivalry seems to be continuing.
If Miz needs to have two feuds running. Why isn't an active Raw wrestler in one of them instead of a commentator? There's many guys on the roster who could benefit from a feud with the WWE Champion.
A-Ri appears to be breaking away from the Miz. Good idea but needs to run for a while before it takes place, just to give a bit more establishment for Riley and to make the split mean more in the storyline.
The Melina heel turn is great as Melina IMO works a lot better as a heel. The only issue I see with it is that it happened too quickly and no real motivation has been given for it. Melina teasing to turn before doing it would have been better. Still agree with it though and a Natalya vs Melina feud should provide some good wrestling.
Great win for Orton (biased I know) and gives him some momentum. Where this leaves Sheamus though is anybody's guess.Orton still appears to be in the WWE Title picture.
Did originally think that putting the KOTR title on Sheamus was a good idea but now having seen it in action not so sure.
Sheamus didn't really need to win KOTR as he was already a two time WWE Champion and was becoming established in the main event scene.
Now when he enters in his new outfit it just doesn't look right, and it appears WWE has only done this to prepare for a returning King of Kings, but Sheamus had already beaten up Triple H and kept him from wrestling for nearly a year anyway. This King vs King aspect didn't need to be included and think that someone like Drew or ADR or even JoMo would have benefited more from winning the KOTR.
And until Triple H does return. WWE seems unsure what to do with Sheamus. Perhaps winning some matches and being one of the top guys in the Rumble is the way forward. If he can have a good Rumble match then that would greatly benefit Sheamus.
Tyson Kidd's new character took a huge knockdown last night. Built up in the Bryan segment only for the Henry match to happen. Kidd isn't rising up the card anytime soon on Raw.
Would have liked to see Cena and Punk in a one on one fued but am intrigued to see where Nexus progress from here with Punk involved.
It does ask a lot more questions which is good. Where's Barrett? Is he involved in this? Why has Punk joined the Nexus?
It will be interesting to see what happens when Wade does return. I don't see him as being a part of this plan by Nexus but don't think he will turn face either. He shouldn't anyway as mentioned he is a great heel and needs to stay as is.
Nice to see Nexus doing the old Nation of Domination hand gesture. Shout out to the history of WWE.
As mentioned should be interesting where this goes, and overall have to say even with a couple of issues with character development and feuds was a pretty good Raw.
Am I the only one then that thought CM Punk joining nexus was great.
I also like the way he was 'tapping up' Sheamus, It would be so awesome if the nexus expanded to a huge group of most of the heels in the WWE hell bent on taking out Cena.
Also thought the way he joined with the armband was cool, you could hear the men marking out, (me included) and a nice CM Punk chant started, Quality tv I thought.
Am I the only one then that thought CM Punk joining nexus was great.
I also like the way he was 'tapping up' Sheamus, It would be so awesome if the nexus expanded to a huge group of most of the heels in the WWE hell bent on taking out Cena.
Also thought the way he joined with the armband was cool, you could hear the men marking out, (me included) and a nice CM Punk chant started, Quality tv I thought.
I loved it too. But then I think Nexus are great and didn't want them to quietly disband.
Am I the only one then that thought CM Punk joining nexus was great.
I also like the way he was 'tapping up' Sheamus, It would be so awesome if the nexus expanded to a huge group of most of the heels in the WWE hell bent on taking out Cena.
I was hoping for an "Alliance To End Cenamania" angle with Edge, Jericho, Sheamus and The Miz last year.
I was hoping for an "Alliance To End Cenamania" angle with Edge, Jericho, Sheamus and The Miz last year.
The irony being that the alliance to end hulkamania actually worked, as reaction to the angle was so negative a heel turn was deemed necessary to rescue Hogan's career.
sergio2006, the issue with doing that angle is it inevitably kills the things credibility when a large group of heels can't take out one man.
Comments
- Jerry Lawler defeating Miz somewhat surprised me but John Morrison getting involved certainly enhanced my interest in the Falls Count Anywhere, WWE Title bout next week between the two former tag team partners. The Miz-Morrison match will be in Phoenix where I will be attending the Fiesta Bowl on Saturday night. I'll just miss the WWE in the desert as we head home on Sunday for a little B-Day observance back in Norman on Monday.
- King had all kinds of travel woes on Monday including getting separated from his luggage. He told me that he did not take a jacket or coat with him on this trip, he hates 'em, but that he did "bring a hoody.....and gloves." Classic.
- The CM Punk/Nexus affiliation is intriguing. More questions than answers which is good. There is strength in numbers and it certainly puts the 'hero,' John Cena, in an uphill struggle. Punk is excellent both in the ring and on the mic and I look forward to seeing how the Cena-Punk scenario plays out over time. If they don't get it on until the Royal Rumble match, I wouldn't be offended. Sounds like Cena-Punk could theoretically be a solid WM27 attraction. Time will tell.
- Lots of crazy rumors floating around the MMA message boards about Brock Lesnar these days. Some fans feel that Lesnar is looking to leave UFC and return to WWE. That decision would floor me. It doesn't seem to make sense at this time for Lesnar to leave UFC as there is too much Octagon money on the table for Brock to walk away at this time. I just can't see the athletic freak going back on the WWE road for any significant length of time especially with young children at home and Brock being most comfortable when he is in the Minnesota woods enjoying family life and hunting. Don't get me wrong, as a fan I would embrace a Lesnar return to WWE and it 'might' happen on a sporadic basis some day but not any time soon.
Me too. I think that Morrison might have to be involved due to his rematch clause. So a triple threat?
Either way, the focus of the PPV will be on the Rumble match itself. They're lucky that they can get away with having an average match for a World Championship and not have it affect the buy rate in a big way.
I'd prefer Barrett to stay involved with Nexus as well. He is an excellent heel so would be daft for him to work with Cena against Nexus. I say keep him in as Punk's number 2 or as a co-leader
Is a possibility in the next few weeks if he has nothing to do.
I could be wrong but if he loses next Monday he doesn't get a rematch does he? I thought it was only champions who lose the belt that get rematches not unsuccessful challengers?
Yeah, thats correct. But if it isnt a clean finish then maybe he could say he wants one
or it could be Lawler vs Miz with Michael Cole as the Guest Ref
Smackdown drew the biggest episode of the year with 165,000 viewers
Raw's highest figures were 137,000.
WWE have had a minimum of 18-million viewers for the year
April had almost 2-million viewers for the month
top 10 wrestling shows of the year
1 smackdown 165000
2 smackdown 157000
3 smackdown 147000
4 raw 137000
5 raw 137000
6 smackdown 135000
7 raw 133000
8 raw 133000
9 smackdown 130000
10 Smackdown 130000
Raw beat out TNA in the UK ratings (1st showings only)
32 -17
tna's impact highest episode drew 129,000, which put it as the eleventh most watched non PPV episode of the year.
TNA had over 8-million viewers for the year
Ted DiBiase needs to be drafted to Smackdown as soon as possible. He isn't progressing anywhere on Raw and his character has been relegated to jobber status after the match with Santino Marella.
DiBiase at one point in Legacy was at the top end of the card and looked to have a great future in the company. This obviously hasn't turned out right for Ted due to WWE's booking.
Cody Rhodes has found success on Smackdowd, Ted could and should also.
Maryse also needs to split from DiBiase. Neither is benefitting from being associated with the other and it would be better for Maryse to get back to a singles career, to assist the Divas Division.
The Miz came was coming out of Raw pretty badly after his second consecutive defeat to Jerry Lawler (a result that never should have happened) but partly redeemed himself with the beating up of The King later in the show.
Miz and Morrison ATM is being treated as a mini side feud to Miz and King, which doesn't look right.
Morrison is trying to enter the main event scene and a Miz-Morrison Title match at the Royal Rumble with some good build up on Raw could have made this a pretty good match at the PPV with some real potential.
Instead Miz vs Morrison is now taking place next week on Raw (which suggests JoMo will not be getting a 1 on 1 title opportunity at the PPV) and the King-Miz rivalry seems to be continuing.
If Miz needs to have two feuds running. Why isn't an active Raw wrestler in one of them instead of a commentator? There's many guys on the roster who could benefit from a feud with the WWE Champion.
A-Ri appears to be breaking away from the Miz. Good idea but needs to run for a while before it takes place, just to give a bit more establishment for Riley and to make the split mean more in the storyline.
The Melina heel turn is great as Melina IMO works a lot better as a heel. The only issue I see with it is that it happened too quickly and no real motivation has been given for it. Melina teasing to turn before doing it would have been better. Still agree with it though and a Natalya vs Melina feud should provide some good wrestling.
Great win for Orton (biased I know) and gives him some momentum. Where this leaves Sheamus though is anybody's guess.Orton still appears to be in the WWE Title picture.
Did originally think that putting the KOTR title on Sheamus was a good idea but now having seen it in action not so sure.
Sheamus didn't really need to win KOTR as he was already a two time WWE Champion and was becoming established in the main event scene.
Now when he enters in his new outfit it just doesn't look right, and it appears WWE has only done this to prepare for a returning King of Kings, but Sheamus had already beaten up Triple H and kept him from wrestling for nearly a year anyway. This King vs King aspect didn't need to be included and think that someone like Drew or ADR or even JoMo would have benefited more from winning the KOTR.
And until Triple H does return. WWE seems unsure what to do with Sheamus. Perhaps winning some matches and being one of the top guys in the Rumble is the way forward. If he can have a good Rumble match then that would greatly benefit Sheamus.
Tyson Kidd's new character took a huge knockdown last night. Built up in the Bryan segment only for the Henry match to happen. Kidd isn't rising up the card anytime soon on Raw.
Would have liked to see Cena and Punk in a one on one fued but am intrigued to see where Nexus progress from here with Punk involved.
It does ask a lot more questions which is good. Where's Barrett? Is he involved in this? Why has Punk joined the Nexus?
It will be interesting to see what happens when Wade does return. I don't see him as being a part of this plan by Nexus but don't think he will turn face either. He shouldn't anyway as mentioned he is a great heel and needs to stay as is.
Nice to see Nexus doing the old Nation of Domination hand gesture. Shout out to the history of WWE.
As mentioned should be interesting where this goes, and overall have to say even with a couple of issues with character development and feuds was a pretty good Raw.
I'll bump this after Undertaker loses clean to him on April 3rd.
Could this be part of the "much bigger picture" that Wade Barrett was talking about a few months ago?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPYrHsO_-H0&feature=related
EDIT: I just heard it 2 more times :eek:
That's a gimmick I just want to see end and soon
It has been drawn out long enough and they must have an idea by now about who it will be
I also like the way he was 'tapping up' Sheamus, It would be so awesome if the nexus expanded to a huge group of most of the heels in the WWE hell bent on taking out Cena.
Also thought the way he joined with the armband was cool, you could hear the men marking out, (me included) and a nice CM Punk chant started, Quality tv I thought.
I loved it too. But then I think Nexus are great and didn't want them to quietly disband.
The irony being that the alliance to end hulkamania actually worked, as reaction to the angle was so negative a heel turn was deemed necessary to rescue Hogan's career.
sergio2006, the issue with doing that angle is it inevitably kills the things credibility when a large group of heels can't take out one man.
I wouldn't put it past WWE,having Cena squash a bunch of heels inside a triple cage.
Good start and what was needed IMO