The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: Monday Night Raw 8.16.2010
by John Lamb on Aug 16, 2010 11:40 PM EDT
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Quick Results:
- John Cena confronted Nexus and the Anonymous GM arranged individual rematches between Team WWE and The Nexus. Any Nexus member who lost would be jettisoned from the group
- Wade Barrett defeated Chris Jericho
- Michael Tarver defeated Daniel Bryan after The Miz and Alex Riley distracted Bryan
- Justin Gabriel defeated Randy Orton (Bret Hart was subbed out by the GM) via countout after Orton and Sheamus brawled into the crowd
- David Otunga and Skip Sheffield defeated R-Truth and John Morrison
- Jillian, Alicia Fox and Maryse defeated Divas Champion Melina, Eve amd Gail Kim
- Heath Slater defeated Edge via countout
- John Cena defeated Darren Young. After the match Cena was allowed to leave the ring before Nexus administered a beat down on their former comrade.
The Good
- "That Which Doesn't Kill Us Will Only Make Us Stronger" - A lot of us last night were wondering how exactly Nexus would be able to get their heat back after the questionable ending of the SummerSlam main event. Well, if the opening segment of Raw was any indication it looks like the WWE Universe is still red hot for them. I thought Cena absolutely killed it on the microphone as he is the master of poking fun at his foils without outwardly burying them (Triple H being the exact opposite). I may not like when Super Cena shows his his face but I must say that I do find him entertaining for the most part. The individual matches that our anonymous GM set up was something that a few of our commenters predicted and it looks like it will be a way to trim some of the fat from Nexus, if you will.
- "If those trunks get any smaller we'll have to change the rating of this show." - Well played, Cena.
More after the jump!
- Wade Barrett vs. Chris Jericho - Very good television match between these two despite the fact that the result was never really in question. Both individuals got an equal amount of offense in on one another and displayed good chemistry. The finishing sequence was especially awesome as Wade Barrett countered the Codebreaker into the Wasteland to pick up a big win over the former seven time World Champion. Barrett looked very strong but I am certainly looking forward to seeing him work more as his moveset is kind of lacking. That is something that will come with time (unless you're Daniel Bryan, of course!).
- Daniel Bryan vs. Michael Tarver - Again, a predictable ending but Daniel Bryan looked like an absolute star against Tarver tonight. He dominated most of the match and only lost thanks to a distraction from The Miz and Alex Riley. Tarver certainly did not look like anything special but this match was more about advancing the Miz/Bryan program. I'd be interested in seeing these two given a little more time as their styles are intriguing: Bryan's MMA influenced style and, of course, the boxing prowess of Tarver. Who needs Couture vs. Toney when we have these two? Bonus points go to The Miz for an absolutely brutal Skull Crushing Finale on the Money in the Bank briefcase.
- Alex Riley - Awesome promo work. I think he has a future as Miz's lackey after his time on NXT comes to a conclusion.
- John Morrison and R-Truth vs. David Otunga and Skip Sheffield - The wrestling may not have been very good but the match served its purpose: to make Sheffield and Otunga look like legit forces. Sheffield looked like a monster in the ring as there is no question that he is the muscle for Nexus. I can't decide which I like better: Sheffield's clothesline or JBL's Clothesline from Hell. Obviously Stan Hansen's lariato reigns supreme but the hierarchy needs to be established. Help me out in the comments.
- The Fat Has Been Trimmed - And then there were six. Darren Young has been the odd man out since the start of this angle so it makes sense that he was the causality of tonight's self-imposed elimination matches. The match with Cena and Young wasn't too bad as Young got a surprising amount of offense in but it felt as though every one of Young's moves was followed up by a pin attempt. It made sense from a storyline point of view but it was just a tad bit boring to watch. I'll be curious to see how Darren Young moves on from here: will he fade off into the sunset or accept his destiny and form a tag team with his half-brother and Caucasian doppelganger John Cena?
The Bad
- WWE Tag Team Championships - So the World Tag Team Championships and the WWE Tag Team Championships were unified and now have been consolidated into one set of belts known as...the WWE Tag Team Championships. Interesting, very interesting. Also, the new belts are ugly as sin. They kind of resemble the Diva's butterfly title belt.
- Randy Orton vs. Justin Gabriel - I wasn't sure how the WWE would weasel Bret Hart out of wrestling tonight but once the switch was made to Randy Orton the ending became painfully obvious. The match really wasn't anything special as Gabriel got some token offense in before being sent to clown school by Orton. Gabriel may have earned the countout victory thanks to interference from Sheamus but he really looked like just another guy after all was said and done. A far cry from being the next to last survivor for Nexus just 24 hours ago.
- Six Diva's Tag Match - I don't hate women's wrestling, I swear. I just don't like the current crop of Divas for their in-ring ability. Cole saved this segment from being a complete disgrace by mentioning the Boogeyman biting Jillian's growth off of her face a few years back. Respect.
- Heath Slater vs. Edge - The match itself wasn't too bad but the ending was absolutely dumb. Obviously the writing team wanted to but Slater over Edge without actually putting him over! The ending would've been a bit more believable if Edge would've crashed into the steel steps after Slater sidestepped the Spear. Edge going head first into the ring steps is probably TV-14, though, so that wouldn't fly. Oh my.
The Ugly
- I Have Received An E-Mail - And I quote, "Please end this talking computer angle sooner rather than later. It's brutal."
- Jason Sudeikis, Charlie Day and Justin Long - Super pointless...and I'm a huge Charlie Day mark.
- Vicious Chair Shots... - ...aren't so vicious when they are delivered to a person's back and not their head. I'm not advocating unprotected headshots but the ban on chairs to the skull is just plain stupid.
- Justin Long and the Great Khali Talk Relationships - Wow. Just...wow.
To paraphrase Wade Barrett: rumors of Nexus' demise have been greatly exaggerated. Despite picking up some victories vi nefarious means the Nexus look to be stronger than ever after dropping Darren Young from their ranks. Hopefully over the next few weeks the remaining members of Nexus will be involved in more singles matches so that they can really cut their teeth against the best of the best.
I am concerned with the chances that either John Cena will work his way one by one through Nexus until they are all vanquished or that the group will continue to downsize after members fail to prove their worth on a weekly basis. Unless one of the members of Nexus manage to win a title between now and Night of Champions their next pay-per-view appearance will be at Hell in a Cell. That gives the WWE about a month and a half to plan out their next moves.
Not a bad show overall. It went a long way in calming some of my fears about the future of the Nexus. Definitely looking forward to next week's episode.
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Is it me or is Orton more over than Cena at the moment?
The pop he got was massive, granted it was immediately following a chorus of boos, so my ears could’ve decieved me but still when this guy is out there he has the crowd in the palm of his hands. But his over-acting with his arms flailing out and about on when he ran back to Sheamus after the chair shots to RKO the pale one was hard to watch, as he looked like a wild gorilla. Barrett vs Jericho was a solid match, and one of the better opening matches since I began rewatching Raw. I don’t think Skip’s clothesline is much more than Batista’s was when he was knocking out guys with it ie. Benoit, Jericho, HBK. Hopefully he finds a good finisher, and I PRAY TO GOD it’s not a powerbomb, whether it be sit-out or jacknife.
As for the GM, I’ve only been watching since July, but could the GM be HHH, I mean “I’ve got two words for you”, and I doubt they’d have Shawn say what was said today about Bret.
Sorry for rambling.
"Dawson was NOT a hype job. Dude schooled Adamek, beat Tarver twice (neither competitive), beat Johnson twice (once close, once a wipeout) and even beat Harding when Harding was still good. That is not hype. Those are results. I love how people see a guy lose once and all of a sudden nothing they ever did means anything. You are dead wrong."
- Dan Rafael
No need to be sorry!
Thank you for contributing!
The reactions that Orton has been getting lately have been white-hot. He is kind of like a new version of “Stone Cold” Steve Austin in the sense that he really hasn’t changed anything about his character yet the crowd ultimately turned him face. I think Cena and Orton are one-two when talking about the most over people in the company. Cena is still number one, though, because the kids and women love him. The smarter crowds usually crap all over him but most weeks he gets an enormous amount of love from the fans.
I am in total agreement with you when it comes to some of Randy’s mannerisms. Something about them are really, really unsettling
I’m thinking that the GM will end up being Triple H. They’ve been throwing a lot of red herrings out there lately but my gut feeling says that when all is said and done it will be The Game who was pulling the strings all along. I think that is the only way he can come back as a heel.
Well my Theory is that its gonna be the Rock.
I kept hearing how he was gonna come back temporarily to the WWE around summerslam so this could be it.
I am Angry and when BattleMoses is angry Mr. Bigglesworth is upset,and when Mr. Bigglesworth is upset people DIE!!!!!!!!!
I keep having a bad feeling that WWE will eventually find a way
to screw the Nexus angle up, and one thing I know I would hate is if HHH was announced as the leader of Nexus to further sell him as a heel. Barrett is doing great being the voice, HHH would bore everyone to death.
"Dawson was NOT a hype job. Dude schooled Adamek, beat Tarver twice (neither competitive), beat Johnson twice (once close, once a wipeout) and even beat Harding when Harding was still good. That is not hype. Those are results. [b]I love how people see a guy lose once and all of a sudden nothing they ever did means anything. You are dead wrong.[/b]"
- Dan Rafael
Random thoughts
First time in a long long long time I actually liked Cena. I died laughing when they showed the picture of Slater as Wendy. The similarities between Cena and Young are frighteningly obvious. Great line about Cena’s mom and Buckwheat.
I have to admit, Skip “The Animal Stone Cold Dave Batista-Lesnar” (lets face it, he has Austin’s head, and country-boy attitude, Batista’s body, and Lesnar’s shoulder shrugs) Sheffield showed last night that he’s actually good in the ring, and not just a big guy. Otunga still looks out of place. Good match overall, but Morrison and Truth kinda got buried.
New tag belts? Ew…Hearing Gabriel cut a promo for once was good though.
Riley would make the perfect teammate to the Miz. Future tag champs! Two guys with the same attitude and mindframe, and not two guys just thrown together because they need something to do and/or are just heels and faces (Truth/Morrison, Edge/Jericho)
Kudos to Cole (first. time. ever.) for the Boogeyman reference. Ah, the good ol days. I loved that character btw, I don’t care how goofy it was.
Columbus til I die, Columbus til I die. I know I am, I swear I am, Columbus til I die!
"Turner, at midcourt...inside it, at the buzzer, GOT IT!!!!"
We're the Big Ten, who the F@*# are YOU??!?!?!
by Andrew Tolliver on Aug 17, 2010 10:28 AM EDT reply actions
Jlamb
I share your opinions on a lot of issues but I’m going to disagree that the ban on skull shots to the head is stupid. It’s not stupid, it’s long overdue and a great start to limiting concussions in wrestling. I know you know this is the right thing to do. So as fans we should applaud the actions taken to protect wrestlers and not vilify them because we are used to that old style that LITERALLY scrambled brains and shortened careers and caused wrestlers to pill pop to stop the pain.
Good bye chair shots to head and never come back. Hopefully TNA gets it right soon too.
Freedom is a road seldom traveled by the multitudes...
That’s why I am all for the ban on unprotected chair shots! I don’t see anything wrong with a wrestle getting his hand up to block the force of the chair. Unprotected – What the Rock did to Mick Foley…protected – anytime a wrestle clearly puts his arm over his head.
There are problems with protected chair shots. Even if you get your hand/arm up to “protect” you still have no idea of the velocity of the chair. There have been plenty of times that I’ve seen what should have been a protected chair shot not be protected well enough so why chance it?
I mean you’re risking a lot for a visual you really don’t need.
Danielson taking the SCF on the briefcase was not cool in my book either.
Freedom is a road seldom traveled by the multitudes...
Even if you get your hand/arm up to "protect" you still have no idea of the velocity of the chair.
Better you get your arm bruised than your brain…
Columbus til I die, Columbus til I die. I know I am, I swear I am, Columbus til I die!
"Turner, at midcourt...inside it, at the buzzer, GOT IT!!!!"
We're the Big Ten, who the F@*# are YOU??!?!?!
by Andrew Tolliver on Aug 17, 2010 12:59 PM EDT up reply actions
I understand where you are coming from but then a majority of what these guys do should be outlawed. Money in the Bank is consistently one of the most entertaining matches of the year but all it is is a bunch of dudes trying to one-up each other by doing extremely crazy and dangerous stuff. There is an element of danger in almost everything they do night in and night out. The only way to get rid of that is to go back to the style of wrestling that was prevalent in the 50s and 60s when the bodyslam was finisher du jour.
Good points.
What can we say about ‘Bryanson’? I just wish we could skip forward to a year or two so we can see Bryan Danielson’s heel persona. I miss his “I have till FIVE!” routine.
I could actually see Alex Riley feuding with Miz in the future. You can almost see Riley trying to become the ‘alpha male’ of the pair. Riley’s a star on the mic but I’m still not totally sold on him being a complete product in the ring (not that the WWE demands that to be successful).
Skip Sheffield is a beast and I’m already a fan. Ever since he got rid of his country bumpkin act, he’s been really watchable every week. His clothesline is the best in the business right now and he’s only been called up to the WWE in less than six months. He’s truly the Juggernaut of the Nexus and if he’s groomed right, the WWE can have a legit monster that can terrorize their main event baby faces in the future. Hopefully, they’ll come up with the a name for his clothesline finisher because it’s all in the marketing.
I thought Gabriel did well for himself. He’s growing into his own and I thought his kicks were solid and he has a striker-highflyer moveset, which is very refreshing on WWE television. He’s a one-move pony right now but that’s only because he’s held back on WWE TV. He has a match with Kaval in FCW that was very solid. He showed a lot more of his abilities in that match. Of course, Kaval had a lot to do with it, but Gabriel showed he can hang.
Agreed on the Slater vs Edge outcome. I thought the finish was fine but a huge crash would have provided a little more excitement to the result. Slater didn’t embarrass himself at all in that match and it was nice to see an improvement.
I didn’t mind the new tag belts at all. The color looked like a crazy bronze but that’s better than any belt that spins. Just putting it out there.
Yes, the mystery macbook GM has to go. The crowd doesn’t like it at all and legit crowd heat is never good for any angle. I’ll even take HHH at this point. Somebody shoot me.
BTW – nobody tops Stan Hansen.
by FighterHayabusa on Aug 17, 2010 4:13 PM EDT reply actions
Great analysis.
Skip Sheffield has really grown on me since the formation of the Nexus but I find his comically overdeveloped body a bit off-putting. His head just doesn’t belong on that body.
Stan Hansen is on a shortlist of dudes I wouldn’t want to cross in real life.
A heel Danielson would be awesome but I’m just happy that I can watch him weekly on Monday Night Raw and not have to scour for footage of him on the interwebs (not that his sudden celebrity will discourage me from taking in his awesome pre-WWE work!).
Exactly & thanks jlamb.
I never would have thought they’d let ‘Bryanson’ do his thing on Monday Night RAW. I’m very pleased they haven’t really truncated his moveset or even Kaval’s for that matter.
Who would have thought we’d see a Ghetto Stomp on WWE TV? I’m now looking forward to seeing Alberto Del Rio. I pray they let him do a lot of his lucha libre moveset but that might be asking too much. :/
by FighterHayabusa on Aug 17, 2010 5:32 PM EDT up reply actions
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