I've been burned before by WWE, but I don't think there's ever been a better platform for a John Cena heel turn than right now. Save for the kiddies, the fans are clearly behind The Rock in their little feud and at this point there's almost no use in trying to get more fans on Cena's side. It's never gonna happen. I expect something to happen in their match - either someone is going to walk out or someone is going to turn on their partner. I'm hoping it's Cena, but like I said, I've been burned before...
Dolph Ziggler def. John Morrison to retain the United States Championship:
WHAT I LIKED: Did you hear the boos for John Morrison? Man, I know Ryder is popular right now, but Morrison had nothing to do with him being slighted in this match. Don't get me wrong, I love the fact that the fans "Want Ryder" because I do too. If they're this rowdy against John Morrison, I can't wait to see how they treat John Cena. Lack of Ryder aside, this match didn't deserve the "Boring" chants it got at the beginning. I want Ryder to succeed as much as the next Broski, but you can't disrespect the two extraordinarily talented guys in the ring. Ziggler & Morrison are both amazing talents and they put on a really good match despite the crowd.
WHAT I HATED: The story WWE doesn't want you to know about why they've all of a sudden pushed John Morrison again is that Morrison's contract is almost up. I doubt Morrison would resign with WWE if they kept treating him the way they had been. Personally, I hope Morrison does give WWE the finger and goes to TNA, where they'd respect a man of his talents.
Beth Phoenix def. Eve Torres, retaining the Divas Championship:
WHAT I LIKED: Is there something I was supposed to like? (Okay, the top-rope Glam Slam was pretty awesome...) This match is just filler. Hell, all these diva matches are just filler until Kharma returns and injects some much needed novelty into this division.
WHAT I HATED: Has it been a year yet? WWE sat on Kharma (no pun intended) for so long before finally allowing her to debut and it backfired on them. I know they have to be kicking themselves that they only got a month or two out of her before she was ineligible to compete. Sad thing is, I strongly doubt Kharma will be coming back after her baby is born. There's a lot more to motherhood than just giving birth.
The Rock's Promo:
WHAT I LIKED: I usually don't recap promos in the PPV KJRs, but Rocky was so on his game tonight that I had to make an exception. Eat you heart out John Cena, you'll never cut a promo this good on your best day. You'll never have the crowd eating out of the palm of your hand like this. Unless, of course, your palm is filled with Skittles and the crowd is filled with eight-year olds.
WHAT I HATED: If I have to nitpick, I have to mention that this was just done to be filler because once again, WWE didn't book enough matches to fill the entire three hours. Don't get me wrong, it was a great way to fill time, but even the best filler in the world is still just filler.
Team Barrett def. Team Orton, with Barrett & Rhodes as the 'sole' survivors:
WHAT I LIKED: If there's one thing about this match that I realized above anything else, it's that it's been a long time since I've been able to watch Smackdown. That might change starting next week. If Barrett & Rhodes are as on fire as they showed in this match, I almost have to start back watching Smackdown.
WHAT I HATED: I know Ziggler had already performed, but it wasn't cool having him eliminated so early in the match. Despite his match earlier, his beatdown via Ryder and subsequent elimination will be what the lay-fan remembers about Ziggler tonight. On one hand, I liked that Sheamus was eliminated via DQ because it adds to the rage they attribute to him. But I also know that the reason why he was eliminated via DQ was because they wanted to save him from a pinfall or submission elimination. After all, he is a SUPERFACE-in-training. Can't have both SUPERFACES pinned, huh?
Big Show def. Mark Henry via DQ, Henry retains the World Heavyweight Championship:
WHAT I LIKED: The top-rope elbow drop was hilarious... mostly because he totally missed. Yes, he technically did hit Mark Henry with an elbow, but his ass hit the mat first. I call that a miss. I also liked the intentional DQ, if for nothing else than to put me out of my misery.
WHAT I HATED: The law of averages must be correct because this is something I haven't missed on Smackdown. The "Boring" chants were correct. Hell, this match was so boring, the crowd started chanting for Daniel Bryan, and we all know how boring Vince thinks he is. I don't understand why anyone thinks we want to see two big behemoths try to wrestle a technically sound match. Especially, two BIG OLD guys. It's not these two are spring chickens. They've each been in WWE for over 10 years and wrestling for longer than that. I thought they'd spare us the agony of more after destroying the barricade, but that was just a red herring. I was hoping that Daniel Bryan would come out and cash in MITB to save us from this reign of horror with Mark Henry as World Champion. But then again, I kind of like Bryan's decree to wait 'til Wrestlemania.
CM Punk def. Alberto Del Rio, becoming the new WWE Champion:
WHAT I LIKED: Howard Finkel! That was a classic moment. CM Punk's reaction when he finally came out was just perfect. You can't script stuff like that. WWE's writers definitely can't. What a great match! I couldn't even come back and update this portion of the blog because I was so entranced in this match. I knew it would be a technically sound, very competitive match and I wasn't disappointed. I hope CM Punk has a lengthy title run because god knows he deserves it. And was it foreshadowing that they put the ad about Steve Austin after Punk's title win? I sure hope so. Personally, I'd rather see a Punk/Austin match than Cena/Rock at Wrestlemania XXVIII.
WHAT I HATED: I wonder if WWE gets paid for advertising the cars that Del Rio drive into the arena. I've noticed now that they almost always tell us what type of car it is, when they didn't before. I'll admit, its great advertising, but to the wrong demographic. Let's face it, the majority of WWE fans can't afford those vehicles. I know I can't. When Del Rio starts driving '04 Ford Explorers, then we'll talk.
The Rock & John Cena def. The Miz & R-Truth:
WHAT I LIKED: Thank you, New York City for giving Cena the ovation he deserves! And for blowing the roof off of Madison Square Garden for The Great One! I liked that Miz & Truth turned their backs to Cena and Rock as they entered. That was a nice touch.
WHAT I HATED: I don't know who the old lady was that Cena gave his shirt to - somebody's widow, apparently - but leave it to Cena to play the role of public relations. Did anybody else wish that the announcers would just shut up and let the NYC crowd carry the match? They were awesome, but the announcers just shrugged off everything that they chanted so that Cena wouldn't look bad. For the last time, I don't 'have to respect Cena.' And he isn't 'the most controversial figure in WWE,' he's the most hated. The match itself really pissed me off. Rock & Cena were just throwing Truth & Miz around like ragdolls. After everything they've done to make WWE interesting over the past few months, they deserve better than to be treated like jobbers.
QUOTE OF THE NIGHT: "That's all you got!" - Dolph Ziggler
I don't know if everyone heard this quote, but it was awesome in the moment. As Mason Ryan was posing on the ring during his entrance of the Traditional Survivor Series match, Ziggler screamed this at him. And how true is this quote? Ryan has absolutely nothing to offer in the ring other than an amazing physique. Cue CM Punk's 'BIG man fetish' rant that Triple H adamantly denied, but he knows its true.
I have to give R-Truth an honorable mention with his "Nothing... pigeons don't talk," quote. I was rolling during that exchange. The audience didn't even 'WHAT' him after that. It was too funny.
Overall, not a bad PPV. Albeit, I wish they had done just a little bit more in the Rock/Cena confrontation. One of them needs to be a clear heel in this match, and that person is John Cena. If they want, they could change him back right after Wrestlemania, but it needs to happen for now.
This PPV was almost garnered towards the IWC, what with Team Orton losing, Beth Phoenix winning and CM Punk becoming WWE Champion. All that needed to happen was for Cena to turn heel for it to be perfect. Oh, and for Zack Ryder to actually be in a match. Can't forget about that.
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