Wade Barrett delivers a Wasteland to Randy Orton. Unsurprisingly great match between United States Champion Dolph Ziggler and John Morrison given their excellent chemistry in the ring. The crowd hating on John Morrison did no favors for the Shaman of Sexy in this contest, but it just goes to show how over Ryder is now as compared to six months ago. Smart move in having Ziggler retain the belt here and cut a nicely done promo, only for the New York native Zack Ryder to interrupt his celebration ceremony and get the better of the U.S. Champ. After that huge reaction Ryder received at the start of the show, they must fully capitalize on his popularity now more than ever by giving him the United States Championship. Although it wasn't as great as their previous encounter at Vengeance last month, Divas Champion Beth Phoenix and Eve still provided a brief, painless match. The crowd wasn't buying into either Diva, but the extremely awesome finish with Beth Phoenix Glam-Slamming Eve off the top rope saved this contest for sure. The Lumberjills at ring-side didn't do much besides provide eye candy for those in the front seats, but at least they avoided a usual over-booked finish. More importantly, Phoenix once again successfully retains the strap going into WrestleMania. Fun promo from The Rock that was mainly used to kill time, but also kept the hot crowd on their feet. It didn't do much for this viewer, but it's miles better than the "via satellite" promos we've been accustomed to over the past few months. It's segments like these that exemplify why the Rock the best talker in the history of the business. Extremely enjoyable Survivor Series tag team elimination match that saw everyone receive their respective moment to shine. Aside from Sin Cara's unexpected injury early on, the story-telling aspect of this bout was at its highest, with the the survival stipulation making every elimination much more suspenseful. I was pleasantly surprised to see Wade Barrett and Cody Rhodes pick up the victory here, as it's pretty rare to see Orton ever take a pin-fall, but the commentators covered it nicely with Sheamus's disqualification and the numbers game coming into play at the end. Bonus points go to the Intercontinental Champion for finally giving in to the various requests by deeming the knee-pads that were so long overdue. The reactions both Rhodes and Barrett received during the match get them over in a huge way, and it's only a matter of time before both of these strong heels are placed in the World Championship picture.
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Sheamus brutally attacks Wade Barrett. Refreshing opening to the show with World Heavyweight Champion Mark Henry ambushing Daniel Bryan backstage. It was a nice change of pace to kick off the broadcast in this manner, as well as successfully maintaining Henry's hot heat going into Survivor Series. Keeping Bryan in the title picture is a very smart move if they plan to have him cash-in against the World's Strongest Man next year at WrestleMania 28. Good match for the time it was given with United States Champion Dolph Ziggler going over Sin Cara. These two work well together, so it surly should have exceeded five minutes. Nonetheless, the post-match beat-down was logical and set up the following contest nicely. Despite their similarities in size, Mason Ryan and Jack Swagger did not put on an entertaining match. Not that it was a bad contest, but Ryan isn't great at keeping the viewer's attention during his matches. Regardless, Ryan is certainly improving in the ring, and putting him in the ring with Swagger will only help him more. Intriguing promo from a sidelined Christian, who additionally announced his presence at Survivor Series despite his injury he suffered last weekend. Unlike past promos, Christian seemed to have took on a more serious, ruthless side to his character. Here's hoping they slowly evolve Christian into a legitimate heel upon his return rather than being booked terribly as a lesser-version of the "Creepy Little Bastard". Another enhancement talent match with Ted DiBiase defeating NXT Rookie Derrick Bateman. I'm not sure if it was piped in or not, but DiBiase really looks to be connecting with the crowd a lot with these recent victories. Impressive showing from Bateman, who should continue to be featured on television if Creative has any plans for him following his recent stint on this season's NXT. John Cena looks to deliver an AA to The Miz. Besides Michael Cole's usual annoying antics. his opening segment with Jim Ross in the "Michael Cole Challenge" was mildly entertaining, especially Ross's dance that has absolutely hilarious. Although I had small hope of Ross regaining his rightful place on commentary, it's not surprising to see Creative once again drop the ball on the quality of the announcing booth, as well as unnecessarily embarrassing J.R. with his weight issues. CM Punk's ending involvement finally exclaimed Ross as a better commentator than Ross, and choking Cole with the Anaconda Vise submission hold was well-deserved indeed. Decent tag team match that saw Intercontinental Champion Cody Rhodes and Hunico defeat the team of WWE Tag Team Kofi Kingston and Sin Cara. Rhodes's new music and look for that matter certainly has me impressed, as his gimmick with the mask certainly ran its course. After picking up the pin-fall victory in this contest, there's no doubt in my mind that the Intercontinental Champion can finally break out in coming months into a future World Heavyweight Champion. Throwaway match between United States Champion Dolph Ziggler and Mason Ryan. Thankfully, the bout was only a minute and successfully hid Ryan's true weaknesses inside the ring, but the continuous losses for Ziggler are building up quickly. I'm not looking forward to his upcoming contest with Morrison over the title, who also means next to nothing at the moment. On the bright side, Ziggler's promo before the contest was nothing short of excellent, and will make a perfect replacement for Christian at Survivor Series. Shockingly garbage segment featuring the return of Mick Foley and John Cena in a parody of "This Is Your Life". Now, I understand it was supposed to come off bad in order for the Rock to come out and put an end to it, but this served no purpose rather than to squeeze in a few cameo appearances. Unless Cean turns heel on Sunday, this an absolute wasted return for Foley while kissing up to Cena in his hometown of Boston. Forgettable match between Jack Swagger and Sheamus. This is a confrontation I would have wanted to see a year ago when both were simultaneously World Champions, but it was too short and uninspiring to mean anything. Wade Barrett upsets the Viper in England. Predictable, yet well-done opening promo to kick off the show from Randy Orton and Wade Barrett. It's usually the same formula we see every week, but it succeeded in hyping the main event of Orton vs. Barrett and setting up Christian vs. Sheamus. On a side note, Barrett's canned heat was painfully obvious, when they should have just instead let him receive the hometown cheers he deserves from England. Another great match between Christian and Sheamus, but it was no different than anything we've seen from them before. Don't get me wrong, it was an entertaining match that got great time in the opening slot, but it always ends with the same outcome of Sheamus emerging victorious. Hopefully, this will be the blow-off match before these two move on to bigger and better things on SmackDown. Quick, painless enhancement match with Ted DiBiase going over Jinder Mahal. I'm loving how they are finally giving DiBiase these victories to help get him over with the crowd, hopefully building towards an eventual rematch with Intercontinental Champion Cody Rhodes. Despite Mahal's potential, I can't blame Creative for making him nothing more than a jobber for up-and-coming stars since he receives minimal heat from the crowd. Good match between World Heavyweight Champion Mark Henry and Mr. Money in the Bank Daniel Bryan that was kept short only five minutes, but told a story while saving the full potential of this bout for a later date. Bryan's offense got him over the audience extremely, while Henry's logical win and post-match beat down on the American Dragon once again established him as threat going into Survivor Series. Big Show's promo didn't do anything for this viewer, but Henry saved this program with his mic work that coincidentally had me shockingly anticipate their pending match next Sunday. Worthless match with Big Show dominating three local athletes in a handicap bout. Sure, it was a bit impressive, but we've seen it all before, as well as the fact that the World's Largest Athlete has already been made out to look dominant since his return last month. |
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