#americandragon: There were a sizeable amount of boos mixed in with the cheers as he came out to the ring and even a ‘You Suck’ chant gets started later on. It seems like they’re hinting that both Show or Bryan could turn heel, so they can pick one of the two when they eventually make up their minds. They’re trying to have it both ways. I guess who does make the turn could depend on who wins the Rumble. If Orton returns in his hometown to win it, then he could face a heel Bryan. He’s showing more personality now as a heelish champion then he has in his entire WWE career. I’m watching Bryan talk and he’s starting to remind me of someone else in WWE, but I can’t quite put my finger on it. Speaking of turns, it almost seems like they’re setting Mark Henry up for a face one, the way he’s been portrayed lately. I mean he was pretty epic last week on commentary. Not sure how I feel about that, but he was awesome as a monster heel. He’s banned from ringside for the WHC match tonight and if he stays away, he faces the winner next week for the title.
#formerpartners: So we have a brewing feud between former Nexus/Corre/Tag partners in Gabriel and Slater. It’s both good and bad because it gives Gabriel some screen time but we do have to watch Slater, which is not always preferred. Gabriel could be a decent mid carder if he’s given the right amount of time to develop. His high flying style is a hit with the crowd and he can also through in some mat based skills. A distraction by Hornswoggle allows Gabriel to hit the 450 Splash for the win. He does need actual victories in order to be taken seriously, not ones aided by Swoggle, though this may be a way of extending the feud beyond one match.
#verycheapheat: So Rhodes is out and cuts a promo as he walks to the ring. He bashes on Laredo, the town Smackdown is at, for alot of them speaking Spanish and being familiar with the INS. I don’t really get that as it’s kind of a low blow and Cody can get heat without going the cheap route. In 2012, Cody claims he is going to pull an ‘Ultimate Warrior’ by holding both the IC and WHC titles, though it could also mean he’ll go bonkers. He already did so when he broke his nose, but this might be different. He’s not out to just talk but to face Ezekiel Jackson and of course Cody wins after hitting his usual moves.
#threestrikes: This could be the third strike for Drew McIntyre if he doesn’t beat Ted DiBiase now. It turns out Ted invited Cole to a Posse tailgate, which I’m sure was received well. Hunico and Camacho come out on their low rider bike for commentary and the script for this one pretty much writes itself. Or not since DiBiase picks up a clean victory and I really thought Hunico would interfere to help McIntyre win. Hunico was actually decent on commentary, having a little verbal back and forth with Booker T.
#greaterwhite: So is Sheamus feuding with Wade Barrett or Jinder Mahal? Or both? He’s facing Mahal now, but it still seems like Creative isn’t quite sure what direction they should take Sheamus. He’s claimed that he’ll win the Rumble, but then again so has Santino, so that doesn’t mean much. This is actually a good match that goes on for quite some time before Sheamus wins with the Brogue Kick.
#headache: That’s exactly what I’m getting watching this Santino-Otunga match. Surprisingly, David Otunga’s Travel Mug picks up the victory and thankfully that is over. Now we can get on with the show. Or not since it’s a RAW Rebound to take up more time. What a waste.
#planetfunk: I’m still not sure what the deal with this new Brodus Clay. It’s such a departure from the vignettes they showed hyping his return as a monster heel. Of course they aired before his return was put off continually. We don’t get to see him gyrate in the ring as he beats Tyson Kidd in like 20 seconds, which is probably a good thing. He has his dancers, its almost as if they’re trying to make another Godfather with the dancers taking place of the hos. Right now he’s being treated as a comedy act which doesn’t bode well for his future.
#obligatory: Yes it’s a Divas match and I’m pretty sure they’re obligated to have some sort of match on every episode of RAW and Smackdown. You sure won’t see this as a show’s main event, like Impact did a few weeks ago. This week is a continuation of the Natalya-Tamina ‘feud’ which is the only coherent storyine in the division, which isn’t really saying much to begin with. Natalya gets squashed yet again and no matter how many times it happens, I’ll write how horrible it is that she’s getting buried like this. There are numerous articles on the Webbernets about what can be done with the Divas division, and most of them involve The Anvilette playing a huge part.
#windsofcharge: Tamina is barely out of the ring before Wade Barrett’s music hits and he comes out on stage to cut a promo. He knocks on Sheamus and there could be some material there for the feud given their England-Ireland ties. He challenges Sheamus to a match next week and leaves by saying ‘God Save The Queen’ which was pretty awesome and something he should do more often.
#danielandgoliath: I know the No-DQ and No-Countout stipulations are meant to ensure there’s a clear winner, but I have a feeling that this won’t end clean. That feeling is only reinforced when Bryan calls out his ‘girlfriend’ AJ to come down to the ring. Show makes his feelings on the match clear when he takes Bryan’s offered hand and immediately turns it into a big press. D-Bry tries to get some offense in, even going up top but gets caught in a huge Spear by Show. Bryan finally gets some offense in via a steel chair but it has no effect on Show as he smacks the chair to the floor with that Angry Show look on his face. Bryan’s expression at this point is pretty funny as he gets those big bug eyes. After some effort he finally gets Show on his knees and pointedly delivers a DDT on top of the mangled steel chair. It’s notewrothy because pretty much all Bryan’s offense has consisted of kicks and chair shots. His reason for calling AJ to the ring comes into play as Show inadvertently runs her down as he’s chasing Bryan. Medics are called to the ring and they proceed ot cart her off as the crowd chants ‘She’s OK’. Bryan berates Show for being reckless and causing all this and Show seems genuinely shaken up by what he did. We might not have gotten resolution to the match, but perhaps we got some for the heel turn situation. Show’s contriteness clearly marks him as the face in the situation and Bryan not showing as much emotion as him marks him as the heel.
