Ted Dibiase is really coming into his own as a heel.
Evan Borne getting a win of Zach Ryder was awesome.
Randy Orton is getting over as a face, but I’m not a fan. He still behaves as a heel, but the fans pop for him…
Jericho looked good in the ring with DH Smith.
Miz challenging Bret Hart was expected, but I’m not looking forward to seeing the Hitman in the ring again.
William Regal rapping was funny.
The NXT rookie vs. pro match had good booking, especially since Daniel Bryan finally got a win (all be it over Santino). Wade Barrett, David Otunga, Justin Gabriel, and Heath Slater had good in ring showings in the match.

That’s all that I have for now.

But now, looking back, I realize that if Shawn truly does retire (and he has stated that he will try to stay retired if he does), a little part of me will die. I’ve been an HBK fan since I started watching in the early ’90′s. He’s always been my favorite, and my wrestling hero. So if he is truly gone, then RAW will never be the same. I will probably start tuning in to TNA more often, just like 1998 after he went on his 4 year leave. Back then, I started watching WCW instead of WCW sometimes, though I mostly still watched RAW over Nitro.  I guess that a chapter in my life will end with Shawn Michael’s career.

But with every ending chapter, there is a new beginning. Jack Swagger won MITB, so that’s good news. Yoshi Tatsu picked up a win in a 26 man battle royal, which is cool. And Chris Jericho beat Edge, which surprised the hell out of me, but if they are going to make the feud last then Jericho needs to pick up a few more wins. I would have really loved to Triple H put over Sheamus, but at least Sheamus looked strong in defeat, losing only because he got overconfident and didn’t try for the cover after hitting a pump kick. Triple H had a much worse Wrestlemania debut, and look where he is now. And they may be trying for a Hart Dynasty face turn, seeing as how the Hart Dynasty played a big role in Bret Hart’s match with Mr. McMahon. That may mean a renewed push for the babyface THD, and they may very well get a title shot out of  it. The rest of the card was fairly predictable and lame. Cena, Orton, and Mysterio all won their matches, even if none of that made sense for their feuds. With the exception of Orton. Although, it would have been interesting if DiBiase would have won.

All in all, it wasn’t a great PPV, but the final farewell of Shawn Michaels made it all worth it, from a personal perspective. I am torn. If he comes out of retirement, he sort of cheapens Taker’s rare breach of kayfabe. I did get to see one last DX reunion and one last match with Jericho,  but I would love to see one last world title reign, and one last feud with Hunter Hearst Helmsley…. oh well.

Shawn, enjoy your retirement. You’ve earned it.

Honestly, NXT confuses me. It’s not bad. I like the concept, but I’m not really sure how it’s going to play out. The only people who have really impressed me so far are Justin Gabriel and Wade Barrett. Daniel Bryan is great in the ring, but I find him extremely dry. Heath Slater is ok, I guess, but getting a win over Carlito isn’t exactly prestigious. The rest of the people are just kinda of… unimpressive.

I have mixed feelings about the Wrestlemania card. On the one hand, Edge vs. Jericho for the World Heavyweight title promises to be a great match (at least if Edge is physically capable of WM level performance. I haven’t seen him do much but spear people since his return). HBK vs. Undertaker II… unless it ends in some sort of tainted finish, which seeing as how the stipulation is pinfall or submission only, I don’t see happening, I can’t be happy about it going either way. I don’t want Michaels to retire, nor do I want him to end Taker’s streak. Honestly, the streak is the only thing keeping Taker relevant at this point.  HBK is my hero, and I’d hate to see him go. Either way I lose with this match. Randy Orton vs. Ted DiBiase vs. Cody Rhodes has potential. Though I have no idea why they did an Orton face turn. I would have turned Ted face. Well, I guess that’s why I’m not booking WWE. Sheamus vs. HHH. I do hope this isn’t just a squash match, and that Sheamus actually gets put over. The Celtic Warrior grew on me during his title reign, and I would like to see him have a long career. show-Miz are doing great as the Tag champs, and I like seeing Miz with three belts. I just hope that Morrison and R-Truth get in some offense. It would be a shame for them to get squashed. The Money in the Bank match is pretty unpredictable. Christian is probably the odds on favorite, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Kofi or Swagger got it. McIntyre may have a shot. Ziggler, Hardy, Borne, Shelton, MVP, and Kane are all unlikely considering their recent pushes. It could be an entertaining match, especially since most of those guys have the athleticism to excel in that type of match, and Christian and Hardy built their careers on ladder matches. McMahon vs. Hart is not so impressive, and Cena vs. Batista is downright boring. Cena winning is almost a given.

And finally TNA. Well, TNA is weird. RVD and Jeff Hardy are certainly going to help them, and I’m glad they are actually signing talented people now. But RVD, Jeff Hardy, and Eric Young versus the TNA Kliq? Hall, Waltman, and Nash still on TV? No thanks. RVD and Hardy should be in X-Division matches with MCMG, GenMe, Amazing Red, and the numerous other talented high fliers in TNA. Taking on the nWo… I mean, “the Band” is not the best way to use them. Sting’s heel turn sucks. Aj Styles is not a good fit as mini-Flair, and Hulk Hogan and Abyss are just boring me. Also, Eric Bischoff should not be allowed on television. I think that’s all I have for now.

January 25 RAW:
I came late into the show, and missed the beginning, but the DX promo I saw seemed pretty good. Hunter and Shawn showed some internal tension going into the Rumble. Good, because that will come into play in my later predictions. The problem I have though, is that they didn’t even mention that they were the Unified Tag Team Champions,  and they are still champs going into the Rumble. I guess my theory that the WWE was trying to make the Tag Titles relevant was wrong, eh?

The DX vs. Legacy match was pretty good. Michaels was performing at a PPV level, and Rhodes and DiBiase stepped up their game pretty well. The weak link, unsurprisingly, was Triple H, who undersold through most of the match, in my opinion. There was a spot that looked like a botch, when Michaels went for a Sweet Chin Music on DiBiase, however, both men played it off well as a miss, so it may have been intentional. For two teams that are teasing breakups, all four men seemed to be working well with their partners. Fortunately, after DX picked up the win, the tension returned.

The MVP-Miz promo wasn’t great. I was unimpressed with the Miz and MVP was doing only okay. Which is strange since I usually love both men on the mic.

Big Show vs. MVP squash match. Yeah, it builds Show’s momentum for the Rumble, but kills MVP’s and thus degrades the United States Title. Should have booked Miz to cost MVP the match.

The Legacy promo displayed the right amount of tension, and started out strong, but Orton dragged it down.

Cena and Dule Hill had a good backstage segment, and Dule continued to be good through the Miz’s boring exchange with him.

Maryse’s promo was decent, and Dule interupting it was well done and funny.

The Eve vs. Maryse match was decent, but the ending was anti-climactic.

Mr McMahon’s promo about Bret Hart was good. Cena’s interruption was even better. I was really impressed with Cena’s mic work. I’m not sure it wasn’t a shoot, honestly.

The Miz vs. Kofi Kingston started strong, but the cheap finish ruined it. It makes MVP look like a tweener, rather than the face. If Miz had actually cost him his earlier match, it might make sense, but…

Carlito cut a nice promo with Dule. I was impressed. I was also looking forward to Carlito vs. Kelly Kelly, but Santino interrupted. Which would have been fine. Carlito vs. Santino might have been interesting. Swagger interrupting and dominating Santino, however, was lame and predictably boring. I would have rather seen Carlito and Kelly Kelly…

A lame segment with CEna, Dule, James Roday, and Alicia Fox. What more to say except, that Dule is way better than Roday in my opinion.

Alicia Fox vs. Gail Kim was decent for a Divas’ match. Gail Kim picking up the win was expected, and a good call in my opinion. A match between Kim and Maryse should be interesting.

Cena vs. Sheamus was predictable. Cena was more of the same, while Sheamus continues to improve. Who knows, maybe one of these days Sheamus may look like he deserves that title on his waist. The finish was good though. Orton RKOing Sheamus was a great way to build momentum for the Rumble, and preserve Cena’s. However, Cena AAing Orton and looking like the great victor destroyed the WWE Championship match’s credibility completely.

I don’t have notes for TNA, but in my opinion the only thing they got right on the show was Desmond Wolfe beating Sean Morley. The Knock-Outs match was impressive, except the finish. I’m certainly becoming a fan of Hamada, I’ll say that much. The AJ Styles Ric Flair promos were pretty unimpressive. Team 3D cut a decent promo, and actually, Saggs of the Nasty Boys did pretty ok on the mic. Knobbs, however, was terrible, and reminded me that they haven’t been relevant since 1989. And they were only barley relevant then.  Why would Hall and Waltman attack Angle? Honestly. I don’t know. I suppose the X-Division six man tag was impressive, almost. I think it could have stood to be a little less fast paced, honestly. It was overbooked. So much so that I honestly stopped paying attention to the show altogether, and missed the subsequent match and the main event.

I also managed to catch the end of Smackdown, and not only am I dissappointed that DX are still tag champs (don’t get me wrong, I love DX, but I would rather see HHH vs. HBK at Wrestlemania than anyother possible match with the current roster. Except maybe Jericho vs. HBK or Jericho vs. Edge, and neither of those are very likely0), but they didn’t even defend them. instead there were two singles matches, and since they were both no contests, it saves Punk, Mysterio, and DX’s momentum for the rumble. It also built some for Batista, and Undertaker, and set up a great  Rumble rivalry between Batista and Triple H.

Which brings me to my Rumble Predictions. I’m going to go with, Orton, Taker, and Mickie James to win their respective title matches. For the Rumble itself, I’m pulling for Batista. Triple H should eliminate Michaels, and Batista should eliminate HHH during the subsequent staredown. This sets up some good rivalries going into ‘Mania, but honestly, I’m tired of seeing Triple H, John Cena, Randy Orton, Undertaker, and Edge in the title picture. Batista is there occasionally, but not always. The last time Michaels was a serious contender for the title was… well, I don’t even know honestly. Same with Jericho. First Undisputed Champion, but can’t get a world title to save his life these days. Fortunately, he doesn’t need it anyway. Nor does Michaels for that matter. In short, it’s time for a change in the title scene, and maybe sheamus is he best thing to happen to the WWE Title since before it got that goofy spinner makeover. Please, can we get the OLD title back? Please?

The opening segment with Christian and CM Punk wasn’t that great. Possibly because I’m getting tired of Punk’s heel run. It was okay before, but now it’s stale. Time for a reinvention. I’ve never thought Christian was that great on the mic, but he wasn’t too bad tonight.

The Shelton Benjamin vs. Chavo Guerrero match was alright, but they could have used both men better. I figured Shelton would pick up the win, and I wasn’t surprised by it, but they did give Chavo some time toshow is talent and it wasn’t quite the squash match I expected.

Zack Ryder’s promo wasn’t great. He got good heat, and some of his lines were okay, but I just don’t think the WWE needs another arrogant young heel making his name by retiring legends. Can we get a new concept for heels, please?

Ezekiel Jackson vs. Vladimir Kozlov was an alright match, considering their sizes, but it went the wrong direction if they are trying to seriously put Kozlov over as a face. Since Jackson qualified for the Homecoming match, a win for Kozlov would put him over, especially if Regal got involved and Kozlov overcame the odds, and Jackson wouldn’t be too hurt by it. It doesn’t seem Kozlov is getting much love from the fans, though.

The short Mark Henry-Tony Atlas segment got a laugh out of me, and I thought it was well done, though I don’t know what they are trying to do here. Give Mark another heel turn? I was enjoying the World’s Strongest Tag Team concept. Henry and MVP did well together most of the time. They  didn’t really have time to build up real chemistry in the ring though. Not going over with the fans?

The Punk vs. Henry match was pretty good. Punk performed at the level I expect him to, and Henry did well. Henry’s “hulking up” was obviously a taunt to TNA, which I suspect we may see more of  in the future. Still waiting for the Atomic Leg Drop. Punk picked up the win, as I expected.

Overall, it was an alright show. About as good as an old Heat before a PPV. If they are trying to use ECW as a place for they’re young talent and their undercarders to get TV time, I guess it’s a success, but this Homecoming idea pretty much eclipses that. Even if the competitors are half alumni and half current ECW guys. CM Punk, Matt Hardy, Kane?    These guys aren’t, or at least shouldn’t be, undercarders. I don’t know what WWE is trying to do with ECW, especially now, but I’ll watch and see what happens with it.

Let me clarify a few things first. I’m not really a TNA fan. I will try my best to give TNA a fair shot in this blog, but I can make no promises. Secondly, I apologize in advance if I am biased toward HBK and Chris Jericho. Those two are my favorites, and have been for as long as I’ve been watching. Bias is tough to beat. That said, I will try to be as objective as possible.

I had wanted to post my top ten picks for the first decade of the new millenium, as seems to be the trend in the wrestlig blogs right now, but,honestly, I haven’t been watching observantly all decade, and I would likely end up mirroring the blogs I follow anyway. So, instead, I will start by giving my thoughts and ideas on the first Monday Night RAW of the year.

On to RAW. Overall, I felt it was a solid show to start out with, but perhaps my opinion is colored by the fact that I’m just so glad that the Montreal Screwjob is finally getting put to rest. At least I hope so. The show opened with a pretty well done segment of Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart burying the hatchet over the incident, and Shawn Michaels did a good job making Bret Hart look like a good guy. I’m not a big Bret Hart fan, I never cared about the Screwjob, since the Hitman’s job was to put over who Vince said to put over, when he said to put them over, especially if you are planning on jumping ship. I think Bret Hart was a great wrestler, an excellent technician, but I never thought he was good on the mic. The opening segment, until he called out Michaels, was not that impressive. In the exchange with Michaels, I found myself drawn in by HBK’s words, but the Hitman was a big turnoff. I even shuddered a few times when I thought they were going to do a Michaels heel turn, which I somewhat expected. I thought it was a good way to open up the show, and a good way to set up a possible Michaels-Hart team up at Wrestlemania against Vince and (probably) Triple H (they seem to be hinting at a Helmsley heel turn in my mind).

The first match on the card was Maryse vs. Brie Bella. As far as Diva matches go, it was okay. I thought Maryse did well with her spots, and didn’t notice the Bellas make any major botches, so that is a success as far as I’m concerned. Maryse picked up the win after a Bella switch. The match was short, and that makes it all the better. I believe that Maryse is going to be the next Divas’ champion, seeing as how they were setting up a potentially good feud between her and Melina before Melina was injured, and her dominance in this match is reinforcing that belief.

The Miz’s short promo with Maryse as eye candy was intriguing, though Maryse’s lack of a verbal response and her facial expressions made her seem accepting, and almost enthralled by the Miz’s statements of grandeur. Not the way I would have played that off, but they could be going somewhere with that.

The Fatal Four Way was kind of bland. Swagger, MVP, Mark Henry, and Carlito? Are those the only guys they have to contend for the U.S. Title? With Kofi getting a big push, I suppose so. It would be refreshing to see Primo, Chris Masters, Evan Bourne, or even Chavo or Santino get some lime light, though I’m glad to see Carlito again at least. There were a couple interesting spots, but nothing really spectacular. Swagger seemed to be having trouble setting up for the Playmaker at the end, but the execution was good. The highlight of this match was the Miz on commentary. He wasn’t that great, but he got in a nice zinger with his comment that Henry should be on “The Biggest Loser” instead of RAW. He seemed a little bit stilted at times, but I don’t know why that would be, I normally enjoy his mic work. MVP picked up the win, and I suspect that he may get the United States Title back soon, and hopefully the Miz will get a push to bigger and better things.

The Jeri-show promo was kinda lame, since they already played out the “break up” conversation last week, but I thought Jericho did a good job, as usual, interacting with the guest host, but I think Bret Hart was a little lack-luster.

The DX promo was funnier than most of the recent ones, mostly because of Shawn Michaels’ beard comment and Santino. I’m a big DX fan, but I think they are missing the mark with the whole Hornswoggle thing. At least now Shawn is trying to back off the “pet” gimmick or whatever, but it seems like Trips is just laying it on all the thicker. Santino’s Jericho impression was hilarious, and I loved his screaming. I also enjoyed the line “Good luck with the suck it.”

DX vs. Jeri-Show. I was afraid this match was going to be bad for the performance level I expect from three of the men in it, but quite the opposite in fact. This match was the highest level of intensity I’ve seen on RAW in a long time. The tension it built was great. Jericho got some great heat doing the Hulk Hogan taunts. I expected him to bust out an Atomic Leg Drop. But he didn’t. He had a great exchange with Michaels when he botched (I think it was a botch) a lionsault reversal, and tried to go into the Walls of Jericho. Hornswoggle came into the ring a couple times, and got a well deserved boot to the head from Jericho at last. But, that distracted the referee long enough for DX to prove to be better exploiters of the rules, and nail him for the win. The post match promo wasn’t that great. I guess I expected more of DX than just spouting off a catchphrase, but Big Show’s reaction to the loss, and Jericho’s exit were phenomenal. Very emotional stuff. Too bad they were the heels.

The McMahon-Orton exchange wasn’t great. Orton bartering his Legend Killer epithet for a number 30 Rumble entry? Lame.  The Legacy part of the promo was good. DiBiase and Rhodes finally grew a pair and stood up to Orton. Maybe the Legacy face turn they’ve been hinting at, or at least the breakup they’ve been hinting at, will happen before 2011.  We can only hope.

Sheamus’ promo was good. He got good heat. Evan Bourne finally gets some mic time, and he did okay. Too short for me to say it was good, but it was adequate. The foregone conclusion of the subsequent match made it less interesting than it could have been. If Evan Bourne is jobbing to Swagger a few weeks ago, any belief he would even be at the Royal Rumble is negated. Not to mention the misuse of Evan Bourne in general. They should have had Bourne in the Fatal Four Way, and a more established person, like MVP stand up to Sheamus.

Which reminds me. Where the hell was Cena? I didn’t see him at all tonight. Not that I’m a big fan of his, but it strikes me as odd, that WWE’s poster boy of the PG-era didn’t appear on the first RAW of the year. Not even in a backstage promo.

The Kofi-Orton match up was better than I expected it to be as well. There were some good spots, and it was a high intensity match, which is always a good thing. DiBiase and Rhodes at ringside didn’t really add to the match at all, in my opinion. Maybe if they had been on commentary, taunting Orton, or just yelling at him occasionally, it might have been better. My question is, are they grooming Kofi to be put over by Sheamus? Or will they turn DiBiase face and put him over? I don’t know.

The ending segment with McMahon and Hart was good, but only because it set up the inevitable McMaon-Hart feud. McMahon’s excellent babyface portrayal up until the sucker punch of betrayal was great. Hart, on the other hand, didn’t do so hot on the mic, and I think he undersold the one bump he took.

My overall impression was that RAW may be getting better than it has been in 2010, but then the high intensity may have just been trying to compete with TNA.  I honestly don’t want to see a renewal of the Monday Night Wars. Especially not wit Eric Bischoff being involved with TNA. Vince Russo, Bischoff, Nash. Aren’t these the guys that killed WCW? Is that what TNA is trying to do? Seems like it. They seems to be collecting WCW’s old roster. They lost the first time, do they really feel the need to try it again? I don’t like what happened during the original Monday Night Wars, especially the sleazy tactics and backhanded deals. I don’t want to see the business marred by that again. Friendly competition is fine. I encourage it. More places for the young talent to go. But TNA seems like its completely anti-WWE. WWE, on air, never to my knowledge, slanders TNA. I could be wrong about that, but either way it’s pretty crappy.

That’s enough for a first on topic post. I will certainly try to improve my writing as the blog progresses, and I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it.

For future reference: I do not possess any sort of long term spoilers, nor am I interested in them. I do not know what is going to happen from week to week, anymore than the average mark, but I do conjecture alot, and will share what I think is possible. However, these predictions are my opinions only.