JC's Take: WWE Week in Review 1/3-1/9

JC's Take: WWE Week in Review 1/3-1/9

Hello everyone. Welcome back for my review of anything and everything WWE from this past week.

-I'll start off with the WWE Title picture on RAW. The first match on RAW for 2011 was a great WWE Title match between The Miz and John Morrison. It was a great way to kick off the new year, especially if it means more of an emphasis on wrestling in 2011. The match was ***1/2 stars, and it probably would have been **** if it wasn't for the involvement of Alex Riley. Morrison stepped up in a big way and showed once again he can have a good match and is ready to step up into the main event scene. So of course, the WWE decided to put Randy Orton in the WWE Title match at the Royal Rumble. Why not go Miz/Morrison again? They showed they could put on a good match with one another, and the Rumble match sells itself so you can take the risk with Miz/Morrison. My theory is this: People believe Morrison can now beat Miz, but most don't believe he can win the Rumble. People believe Orton can win the Rumble, and he adds star power to the match. So why not have the two where they would look strongest. Instead we get an Orton/Miz match. Orton's character has become stale and almost boring, so I wish they had gone with Miz/Morrison instead.

-So it looks like C.M. Punk is officially the new leader of Nexus after Wade Barrett failed to win the #1 Contenders Match on RAW. They had a good promo exchange in the middle of the ring setting up the stipulations later for the match. I thought they were going with a rift in Nexus, especially after Gabriel and Slater seemed to pledge their support to Barrett before the match. They may still be going on that route, but with Barrett showing up on Smackdown this week they may just forget about the whole thing all together. I hope they don't because there is a good chemistry between Barrett and Punk, but neither of them are ready to assume a face role. They should both be heels heading into Wrestlemania. And of course there is John Cena. He'll play into this somehow. I don't know if Cena/Punk can have legs going into Mania, but if any two people can make it work it is Punk and Cena.

-This is the major problem with RAW: no established mid-card feuds. Everybody is just a character floating around with no sense of direction. Their most over mid-carder is Santino, and that is sad. Daniel Bryan is the United States Champion and he wasn't even on RAW this week. The Intercontinental Title is prominently displayed on Smackdown, but Bryan gets squat on RAW. Ted DiBiase Jr appears to be in the doghouse for some reason. Bryan could be having a good match or feud with DiBiase, Tyson Kidd, or even William Regal. It'd be nice to see more people get involved with different members of Nexus, allowing people like Bryan and a returning Evan Bourne to feud with the power group Nexus. RAW needs to get its mid-card going headed into Wrestlemania.

-Smackdown also had a nice first show of the year. The Edge/Kane Last Man Standing Match was a good brawl. It appears that it is the end of the Kane/Edge feud, which has to be a good thing. Kane had an ok run with the World Title, and he deserved the run for being such a good company guy over the last decade. But it is time for Kane to move on to something else. Edge is still champion and hopefully this reign will last longer then his other reigns. At the moment, there is no one else that should hold the title on Smackdown. I'm still holding out hope for an Edge & Christian reunion when Christian is healthy again. For the people hoping for Christian to get a shot at the World Title, his best chance might be against Edge. The two have a good chemistry together and can put on a good match in the ring, and entertianing promos outside of it.

-Although we can always hope for an Edge/Christian program, Edge's next title defense will be against Dolph Ziggler. With less than a month til the Rumble, I'm assuming we will get this match there. It's nice to see Smackdown give a young talent a chance to go after the World Title. Ziggler has shown in recent months in his matches against John Cena, Daniel Bryan, and Kofi Kingston that he can put on good matches in the ring. And with Vickie Guerrero on his side, he doesn't have to worry about getting over on the mic. Vickie can take care of that for him. There's already a backstory with Vickie and Edge, so they should have something to go with right away on this week's Smackdown.

-Was that really the end to the Rey Mysterio/Alberto del Rio program on Smackdown? A countout victory for del Rio? You weren't worried about protecting Rey Mysterio during his World Title reigns, but now you are? Del Rio could have used a clean pinfall win in the supposed final chapter of their feud. He is a star on the rise and should be in the World Title picture sooner rather than later. There is no one else for him to feud with on Smackdown on the face side. He's too good to be fighting for the Intercontinental Title. I think after the Royal Rumble we see del Rio starting to climb up to facing Edge for the World Title.

-I'm curious to see if Wade Barrett is officially a member of the Smackdown brand. His attack on the Big Show seemed out of nowhere. It was either just a way for Barrett to make a statement, or it is the start of a new program for him, completely washing his hands of the Nexus. If he is on Smackdown, I'm assuming he will be the one facing the Undertaker at Wrestlemania. Barrett did lead the Nexus when they helped bury the Undertaker alive. Barrett is a young up-and-comer who is way ahead of the curve. He definetely could use the rub of beating Taker at Mania. It would show that he can be a dominant force on his own, without the Nexus. I don't know if "The Streak" will ever be broken, but Barrett has a good chance of being the one to do it.

Other WWE Notes

-Wrestlemania in 3D? It could happen. The WWE is apparently negotiating with Fathom Events to put Wrestlemania and future WWE Pay-Per-Views in theatres, and at some locations in 3D. This is a good move by the WWE. UFC and Boxing are both already played in theatres, so it seemed like only a matter of time before the WWE got in the game. It's a cheaper way for fans to watch PPVs, which could lead to more revenue for them down the road if they get good business from this.

-The first WWE Hall of Fame inductee will get announced tonight. It's pretty early for an inductee to get announced, which means it has to be big. The smart money would be on Shawn Michaels. He'd be the big WWE guy to get inducted this year. But the wild card? Sting. The WWE has been trying to get Sting in with them for years. If they announce him this early, he could make a surprise appearence in the Royal Rumble match and set up a program with somebody headed into Wrestlemania. With Mania being in Atlanta, the former home of WCW, and with the 10 year anniversary of the demise of WCW months away, it is expected to be a WCW heavy class in the Hall of Fame. Sting is the best option the WWE could get for this, and I think they could pull it off with the right amount of money.

-Apparently a fan is suing the WWE for injuries sustained to his leg during the Rock/HHH 60 Minute Iron Man Match at Backlash 2000. The fan was 7 at the time, and is 17 now. The injuries didn't stop him from playing football or racing stock cars, however. After that story came out, he defense attorney said he had to go through treatments before all of this to help get his leg right. To me, this just seems like another person in America trying to get a stupid amount of money by filing a ridiculous lawsuit. Not all of the "evidence" is out yet, but I'd be surprised if this ever made it into a court room.

That's all for today. I promise to have an NFL Divisonal Round preview this week. I might also do another WWE blog this week, time permitting.

Until next time,

Justin C