Not even appearances from Triple H, The Road Dogg, Lita, a handful of former WWE stars and the return of Kane could save this week’s Monday Night RAW. The awkward corniness that is the WWE Slammy awards, combined with mediocre wrestling, made for a less than stellar show.
In the end, Kane’s return made for an interesting few final minutes, but three hours of mediocre content set the tone.
The writing for this episode was bland and unoriginal. The fact that the best the creative team could do with Tony Atlas was making him laugh uncontrollably proves that they are all out of ideas. The Vicki Guerrero/Goldust segment was a mess too. In the end, The Slammy’s felt like any other awards show- only worse.
Overall, it just felt extra staged. And that’s saying something, especially considering the PG nature the show is currently engrossed in. The thought of suspended disbelief seems like impossibility right now. That’s not to say the show isn’t enjoyable anymore, it just lacks any real punch.
There was barely any storyline this week as well, with Triple H setting the tone for what appears to be a lackluster encounter with Kevin Nash at TLC.
As it stands, there’s little to get excited about right now.
The alluding to a superstar debut on January 2nd is intriguing- it just isn’t enough though.
Matches:
Big Show vs. Wade Barrett: Barrett is in the middle of a push and even though he has talent, this match was an utter bore. After Barrett brought a chair into the ring, he was disqualified and Show even got the better of him as he punched the chair out of hands and hit a lariat that sent him out of the ring.
Zack Ryder vs. Daniel Bryan vs. Intercontinental Champion Cody Rhodes vs. United States Heavyweight Champion Dolph Ziggler: This match could have been stellar. Two commercial breaks during the course of the action ruined any flow this match could have had. Nevertheless, it’s an important win for Ziggler, who hit the Zig-Zag on Bryan for the win. All four combatants had moments to shine and went through their high impact arsenal. Although it was entertaining at times, especially with all the nearfalls at the end and high impact moves, it could have been a more seamless experience.
Alberto Del Rio and The Miz vs. CM Punk and Randy Orton: This was mostly Orton and the Miz until Punk and Del Rio got the hot tags and went through their movesets. Once everyone started to dance, the match got interesting. Interference from Wade Barrett continued to spice up the match, as it allowed Punk to be isolated and fall victim to the Skull-Crushing Finale, earning The Miz the win. After the match, Del Rio and Miz used a ladder and continued the beat down on Punk.
Sheamus vs. Jinder Mahal: The match never started, but it was sure finished after Sheamus nailed Mahal with the Bicycle Kick. Waste of time. Sheamus needs to be in the ring with someone who can push him to the next level. As of right now, there’s no one on the roster that matches up well with him.
John Cena vs. World Heavyweight Champion Mark Henry: Hard to get into a match when it goes to a commercial break before it really gets started. The match itself was a bore. That is until Kane hit the ring and took both Cena out with a wicked chokeslam. Unfortunately, that wasn’t all that enjoyable either. Sporting a mask that made “The Big Red Machine†look like a “Predator,†it was all a little too ridiculous to believe.
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