"WWE RAW" 1-17-11 Talkback (Spoilers)

[The Penguin]

Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, everyone.

WWE RAW #921
Monday, January 17, 2011 @ 9 p.m. ET/8 CT on USA Network

'NEX' TO FALL?
The victim of CM Punk's malicious battering weeks ago, John Cena makes his way back to Raw in an attempt to deconstruct the second manifestation of The Nexus - this one under the command of Cena's opponent, The Straight Edge Superstar.


Please remember that not everyone reads spoilers for taped programs and direct or side comments about WWE shows that have yet to air are not acceptable in this thread. Additionally, spoilers for shows that air after the show that is the subject of this thread do not belong here.

[Mesousa]

Raw isn't over yet, but I'll already make some thoughts as I'll sleep shortly.

1. Marrison/Bryan should've been longer.

2. Too many freaking commercials and not enough freaking wrestling.

3. They had some sort of mini-Rumble with the low-carders for the lulz. It was weird.

4. There was a Derrick Bateman promo. It became the highlight of the night.

5. The Rumble is gonna be freaking awesome. Why? There's 40 men now.

[Wonderwall]

4. There was a Derrick Bateman promo. It became the highlight of the night.

That was painful. I'll be glad when NXT finishes so these guys don't come up until they're ready, if ever.

5. The Rumble is gonna be freaking awesome. Why? There's 40 men now.

I don't know, I'm cautiously optimistic as 30 is the perfect number. 40 might be overkill and I can't help that they are tinkering with perfection.

Edit: Hey it's Welsh Batista

Also I think the most entertaining thing I saw was how casually DH Smith looked when he got eliminated. I've never seen a guy, even in an impromptu skirmish in wrestling, walk away so nonchalantly. guess he realized how bad that whole Women's Match/ Ted/ Rumble thing was.

[Jin Kazama]

Edit: Hey it's Welsh Batista

That's exactly what I thought when I saw him. A Tattoo-less Batista.

[Azrayel]

That's exactly what I thought when I saw him. A Tattoo-less Batista.

My thoughts too. I took me a while to figure out it was Mason Ryan

Daniel Bryan and Morrison was a good match but it should have been longer. The rest of the show was alright.

[hobbyfan]

What worked:

John Morrison over Daniel Bryan. This, dear friends, is how you build up a contender for the US title without a heel turn. Best match on the show, and King Sheamus' promo post-match was icing on the cake.

Mini-Rumble 2011. It started with a Ted DiBiase open challenge, which we all knew would be answered by Mark Henry, who dismissed DiBiase with ridiculous ease. Everyone gets some shine time this year, it seems, with the field expanded to 40. We'll see if Beth Phoenix gets in again this year, or are they making sure she doesn't?

In the middle:

Derrick Bateman's commercial parody, with voiceover by Mark Henry. I found this to be funny. Derrick needs to work on the hair, though.

Mason Ryan debuts as a member of Nexus. I don't see the resemblance to Batista. Ryan has a face more closely resembling, say for example, Steeler legend Franco Harris. However, he doesn't fit with Nexus. Now, Wade Barrett's team will need a 5th guy. Maybe they call up Michael Tarver for Smackdown. Now we know why they're expanding to 40. Both Nexus teams will be entered, and we'll really have a rumble, West Side Story style. Cole can play Officer Krupke for all I care.

Miz beating down Randy Orton, after Orton disposed of Ziggy Dorkdust (Dolph Ziggler to you laymen). At least Miz isn't dressing in the dark anymore, but he & Riley still look like preppies.

Tag title match & Natalya-Maryse. Both, I think, were scheduled last week, but got pushed aside. Tonight, neither match gets too much time. Bad idea.

What didn't work:

Nexus backstage segments. The Straight Edge Nexus is doomed to fail. You know what they say. If it ain't broken, you don't fix it, but Uncreative does anyway. If they wanted Punk to remain a cult leader, they could've kept the SES going on Smackdown, but chose instead to cut his two followers. Real swift, Johnny Ace, as usual. NOT!

I don't think we're going to get any more Hall of Fame announcements until, per tradition, after the Rumble. They announced HBK last week just to try to pop a rating and draw viewers away from the BCS. Not sure if that worked.

[Spike Mcdougal]

Okay hobbyfan already pointed it out in the time it took me to type this but I'll still say it



Not that I don't mind a forty man Rumble but I think they did this to accommodate for Punk's Nexus and Wade Barrett's "Nexus 2" which If true I think is kind of unfair but if they other guys ganged up on both groups it would be worth it although after the By The Numbers segment it's possible that they did this so Kane or someone else can break the single elimination record

[mumbo]

Very good main event between Punk and Cena, and now Punk's Nexus gets its badly needed enforcer, Mason Ryan. Seriously, no one's afraid of a group that consists of McGillicutty, Harris, Otunga, and Punk, but now they've got someone to match Big Zeke. Barrett's group will no doubt get a fifth member before the Rumble, whether it be Tarver or someone else.

A 40-man Rumble sounds good to me. I know 30's the perfect number, but with two Nexuses to squeeze in there they've got to do it. That'll add a good 20 minutes to the match too, right? So I guess they only need one more match on the card, besides the two world title matches (probably Natalya/Melina). The Rumble's always good, so the more the merrier, I say. Just don't go with 50 next year :/

Rest of the show was pretty solid. Glad to see Miz get a good beatdown in on Orton, and that Lawler didn't save the day or anything. It's also that time of year again when I see the brand split starts to dissolve, with guys showing up on both shows. It always happens as start on the road toward WrestleMania. Besides that, not much else to comment on.

One number they didn't mention in their Rumble by the numbers thing was entry #14. Almost every guy who has entered at this number have had a terrible time within about a year after the Rumble. Look into it, it's uncanny. There's only a few exceptions. I should try and find back the article I read on it...

EDIT: I see the 25th anniversary of the Rumble is next year...

[KJ Styles]

I honestly think a 40 man rumble guarantees one or more comebacks (HHH, Jericho, Christian, maybe even Batista although that's a longshot). I'd like to see either Jericho or Christian win it if one or both of them are involved, but if not I hope it's someone who hasn't won it before like Punk or Del Rio. I definitely don't want Cena or HHH winning (if HHH is involved).

Speaking of Batista, I honestly thought that's who Mason Ryan was at first glance until I saw how much shorter he was than Dave. It'll be interesting to see how he develops, as well as whether or not Barrett's crew gets another member and if they still call themselves Nexus or not.

They can make it like an nWo Wolfpac vs Hollywood-like angle. If Undertaker isn't healthy enough to compete at WM, then they should have it so that the members of both groups (minus Punk, whom will likely face either Cena or Orton) fight over the right to the name Nexus.

[The Penguin]

"Cena, I think it's safe to say that nobody wants that. You're played out."
Brother Punk speaks the truth! I don't know that I can take another Cena title reign in the first half of 2011.

"It's PG, I'm doing the best I can."
You're best isn't good enough, John. I don't hate Cena as much as most, but his childish insults wouldn't be used by an actual child.

So I guess Santino & Kozlov were supposed to face the Usos last week. I think Jimmy & Jey would have preferred to have the match last week after Punk and Nexus had beaten them down.

That John Morrison video first appeared this past week on WWE Superstars. Just thought I'd share.

John Morrison was a good addition to the U.S. Title picture after Daniel Bryan beat The Miz, so it was nice seeing them in the ring together. I don't know if this is set to be a feud now, but I'd be a bit disappointed if Morrison goes from earning a WWE Title shot on PPV to competing for the U.S. Title so quickly. I liked King Sheamus declaring that with his new title, he should win the Rumble.

I guess after John Morrison marveled at Bryan & the Bellas, the Bellas marveled at him. I half expected Nikki & Brie to bet one dollar... Canadian on being Daniel Bryan's "first" (Did they just call him a virgin using PG language?). At least Nikki's intentions now seem less than genuine.

Orton hitting the RKO as Ziggler went for the Zig Zag came so out of nowhere that I barely caught it. It was an exciting finish to a match that was a bit too short. Miz’s attack on his number one contender showed that even though he backed off the apron last week he is not backing down in his effort to defend his WWE Championship.

I didn't really get Eve and Melina being on commentary after Miz temporarily dispatched The King. Melina did the 'I'm just her to study' thing and got picked on by Cole for it. Not cool. Also not cool was Maryse trying to blame her loss to Natalya on Ted DiBiase. I guess she thinks his "loser" is rubbing off on her.

The guy who issues the top rope challenge always gets more than he bargained for and that was certainly the case here with Mark Henry answering DiBiase's call. With a challenge between two guys, the statement that Yoshi, Regal, Kidd, Ryder, Primo, Young, Truth, Smith and Sheamus were apparently trying to make didn't make a ton of sense. Mark Henry was still the winner when part two was over.

Derrick Bateman is my favorite NXT Rookie this season, but I didn't quite understand why he and "The Derrick Bateman Institute" were introducing World’s Strongest Man (for men). It was a bit funny, but seemed odd.

I always love the 'Royal Rumble by the Numbers' video. Good stuff.

While not announced in the arena, the WWE.com RAW results say CM Punk beat Cena by DQ thanks to current FCW Champion Mason Ryan attacking him. I find it interesting that a man that security tried to stop like he was a fan was able to get into the ring and just stand there. Skip Sheffield's injury left a big hole in The Nexus and new or old version, it is good that they have finally filled it.

On a side note, I wonder what one of WWE's hotter developmental talents debuting as a WWE Superstar means for the future of NXT?

One number they didn't mention in their Rumble by the numbers thing was entry #14. Almost every guy who has entered at this number have had a terrible time within about a year after the Rumble. Look into it, it's uncanny. There's only a few exceptions. I should try and find back the article I read on it...

That would be interesting to see. If you find the article, please let us know here. I don't think WWE wants to cite a stat like that though.

I don't know, I'm cautiously optimistic as 30 is the perfect number. 40 might be overkill and I can't help that they are tinkering with perfection.

I've got the feeling too. It may not be that bad, but it instantly made me think of the tremendous overkill that was WCW's attempt at their own Royal Rumble—the convoluted, 60-man, 3-ring "World War 3" PPV. I guess we'll see how it goes.

Plus, I'm going to miss that sweet commercial they have been running since TLC. "29 are going over... I am going on."

[EinBebop]

On a side note, I wonder what one of WWE's hotter developmental talents debuting as a WWE Superstar means for the future of NXT?

Unless you start recycling guys (which may not be a bad idea) NXT kinda burns through the talent pool pretty quickly, I think. While Tough Enough could be used to feed NXT, it's probably intended to replace it.

On a side note, Macho Man Randy Savage is in the upcoming WWE All-Stars game! And he showed up to cut a promo! I smell a huge hall of fame announcement coming... hope Shawn's feelings aren't hurt if someone else steals the spotlight at the induction ceremony.