WWEekly Wrap-Up: December 19, 2011

Hey guys, I got four shows to cover today, so let’s just GO!  GO!  GO!

Monday Night Raw from Norfolk, VA:  December 12, 2011

Tonight was the Slammy Awards, a useless gimmick nowadays.  I’m in a rush, so no real analysis.

Jim Ross won for “Tell Me I Did Not Just See That” Moment of the Year.  JR had a rap-off with Michael Cole for the Slammy that was just awful.  Well, JR can’t be good at EVERYTHING, I guess.  Cole got his lines right, but it was still just a bore and didn’t need to happen.  Somewhere, Drew McIntyre was thinking “this is what I lose screen time to?”

The “Holy Bleep” moment of the year went to the Big Show/Mark Henry superplex that blew up the ring.

The Big Show def. Wade Barrett via DQ

A lousy match that did nothing good for either man and didn’t really advance any storyline.

ROAD DOGG JESSE JAMES announces the “Pipe Bomb of the Year” award to CM Punk for, well, naming the award.  He had a lot of fun at John Laurinitus’s expense with a manniquen… and ruined the song “You Got The Touch” from the Transformers movie for the foreseeable future for me.  Thanks, Punk.

The “Divalicious Moment of the Year was presented by Lita, ironic since the winner of the award, Kelly Kelly (for winning the Diva’s Championship) can’t actually wrestle while Lita can.  This one I’ll focus a bit on.  The other three nominations was Natalya doing a double sharpshooter on LayCool, which was awesome, Kharma destroying Michelle McCool, which was fun, and Beth Phoenix doing a Glam Slam on Eve from the top rope, which was especially awesome and probably the best thing the Divas Division did all year.  Kelly winning the title from Brie Bella… was pathetic.  Neither Diva could wrestle, neither are interesting, and only one of them I’d say is entirely attractive.  But that’s the problem with the Divas Division, isn’t it?  Today, the WWE Divas are about being centerfolds and eye candy and not about competing in the ring.  Say what you will about women like Trish Stratus, Torrie Wilson, Lita, Melina, Gail Kim, and others, but while they looked like Playboy cover girls, they could at least perform in the ring.  Today, you got three.  Beth Phoenix, Natalya, and Kharma, and Kharma is out pregnant while Beth Phoenix and Natalya lose matches they have no business losing.  I’m hoping AJ develops quickly so we can have one more Diva who can work.  Everyone else… if they got fired tomorrow, I’d have the biggest smile knowing that they can’t waste my time anymore and credibility can return to the Divas Division.

The “OMG Moment of the Year” award went to Triple H Tombstone Piledriving The Undertaker at WrestleMania, something that, if any legitimacy were in these awards, would have gone to Punk running off with the WWE Championship or the Superstar Walkout earlier in the year.  But, being Mr. Boss’ Daughter has advantages.  No wonder he cheated on Chyna!  Why have legitimate love when you can bone the boss’ hot daughter and own the company one day?!  Eyyyyyyyyerooooooollllllllllllll!

Trips talks trash about Nash.  Next!

“Trending Star of the Year” had an interesting twist.  It was a fatal four-way where the first person to trend on Twitter got the award.  Not that I think it mattered.

Dolph Ziggler def. Zack Ryder, Cody Rhodes, and Daniel Bryan.

Oh my God, this match was a whole lot of fun on an entirely awesome level.  All four didn’t have perfect mesh, but for a Raw match to go two commercial breaks and keep interest was something to behold.  If you wanted great mainstream wrestling, this was the match you wantedto see.

Anyway, Zack Ryder won the award, but Dolph runs off with it after a sneak-attack.  Sets up Sunday pretty well.

“Game Changer of the Year” was awarded to The Rock challenging John Cena to WrestleMania.  Now, I’d have accepted it if one of the nominees wasn’t something else that shouldn’t have been nominated for something this fake.  Edge’s forced retiring.

Now… I’ve criticized the WWE over many things over the years.  Lackluster PPVs.  The Divas Division.  Devaluing their titles.  The Divas Division.  Piss-pour matches.  The Divas Division.  Their over-valuing of their inner circle of stars, such as Triple H, John Cena, Randy Orton, The Miz, and the like.  The Divas Division.  Throwing the fans’ emotions and opinions in their faces.  THE DIVAS DIVISION!  But the one thing I’ll always criticize them for and never apologize for is their use of real life situations in their storytelling.

Now, admittedly, this isn’t much storytelling, but think about it for a minute.  The WWE is saying that, with this award, Edge being forced to retire due to years of compiling injuries working for their company, injuries that threatened his very way of life, and the WWE is saying that it wasn’t nearly as important as another WrestleMania.  Someone lost their career due to medical reasons and you’re saying “Thanks, but something that hasn’t even happened yet, has had minimal impact on the company, and will have minimal impact on the company, is more important than you, an established multi-time World Champion, losing your career.”  This is why I have no problems calling the WWE product complete and utter bullshit.  I’m sorry, but that’s exactly what it is today.  Bullshit.

Years ago, I went to an autograph signing for Edge’s new book when he just turned monster-heel after his affair with Lita, yet another example of the WWE exploiting real life situations.  During my time in line, Edge laughed with, talked to, and appreciated all the fans.  He loved what he did and this gesture by the WWE is not only a big middle finger to him but to all the fans who lost one of the company’s best.  I do like watching pro wrestling, but I can’t stand WWE’s business or story practices at all lately.  When the wrestling goes, I’m probably going too.

Alberto Del Rio & The Miz def. WWE Champion CM Punk & Randy Orton

A decent match that I can’t say much about.  After the match, when Orton ran off after Barrett mid-match, Del Rio and Miz worked over Punk with a ladder.  Miz got on the mike and was even more boring than usual.  Funny… his mic skills got him to a WWE Championship and now they’re keeping him from won.  Funny ol’ world, ain’t it?

“A-Lister of the Year” went to Snooki.  Ugh.  Well, competing in a match at WrestleMania will do that.  Still think the Muppets were more entertaining, though.

Sheamus vs. Jinder Mahal went to a no contest because of a pre-emptive strike before the match.

“Superstar of the Year,” as supposedly voted on by the fans, went to CM Punk and was accepted by John Lauranitis.  I’m sorry, but this guy’s just not interesting (Lauranitis).  Seriously.  If he’s supposed to be a super heel, he’s the most boring super heel of them all.  On the upside, at least you can listen to him talk… if you can hear him.  More than I can say for Michael Cole.

John Cena vs. Mark Henry ended in a No Contest.

Simply put, Kane returned with his mask and an iron helmet over it.  Guess someone was playing Skyri… you know what?  No!  I’m making a stand!  NO MORE SKYRIM JOKES!  PLEASE!  No more arrows to knees!  No more Fus Ro Dahs!  No more bastardizing dragons!  NO MORE!  These jokes have had less shelf life than GameCubes and duct tape jokes when the Wii came out!  Seriously!

Oh yeah.  Kane chokeslammed John Cena and a good time was had by all.

Raw was terrible.  Five matches, one of them didn’t last five minutes, one of them didn’t start, and one of them didn’t end.  Not a good showing, especially for a three hour show.

I give the December 12, 2011, Monday Night Raw… one and a half out of five stars.

WWE Tribute to the Troops fromFort Bragg, NC:  December 13, 2011

The WWE had their second Tribute to the Troops show outside of the Middle East.  This one was even in an arena so you couldn’t even tell you were in a military facility.  I dunno… I still miss the use of an actual Iraqi or Afghan US military base for the backdrop, but last year’s outdoor event at a Texan base was pretty good too.  This felt like another WWE show.  Still, it's great that they do this for the troops and their families and they do deserve props for this.  But with the recent pull-out of Iraq, I'm wondering how many more of these will be in the pipeline.  I'd like to see it continue post-war simply for doing an awesome gesture.  On the plus side, we got lots of matches to work with and they were pretty decent ones… for the most part.  Let’s just get started.

We had the President of the United States, Barack Obama, give a special tribute to the troops via video, which was nice.  Lilian Garcia sang the National Anthem, which was awesome.  There were celebrities throughout the night with shout-outs or live performances, which was varied.  The worst was George Wallace.  It reminded me that comedy is a dead art today.  Call me old-fashioned, but today's comics think just saying things in a funny way will make it funny.  Either that, or they have to use excessive swearing, shout at the top of their lungs, or be offensive to certain sects so everyone else will find it funny.  This is why I stopped watching Family Guy and Simpsons.  It wasn't funny.  It was just boring.  He did say that in 2012 he'd give all service men and women free tickets to his show.  Hopefully, the troops will have be able to find something better in Las Vegas.  Nickelback and Mary J. Blige were just forgetful at best.

Okay, the matches.

Randy Orton vs. Wade Barrett ended in a double count-out

It wasn’t bad and whetted the pallet for the pay-per-view, especially when David Otunga, interfering afterwards, got put through a table for his troubles.

Zack Ryder def. Jack Swagger

Good match, Sgt. Slaughter was there.  He put the Camel Clutch on Swagger after the match for messing with him.

Kelly Kelly, Eve Torres, Alicia Fox, and Maria Menounos def. Beth Phoenix, Natalya, and the Bella Twins.

Yes, you read that right.  A daytime newscaster won a match, even getting the pinfall.  For crying out loud, WWE, keep the celebrities out of matches already!  Just because it worked with Snooki doesn’t mean it’d work every time.  Seriously, the Divas Division is already a pathetic mess and this doesn’t help matters.

Daniel Bryan def. Intercontinental Champion Cody Rhodes

Good match, ended with Booker T interfering.  Good stuff, getting fans read for Sunday’s bout between he and Rhodes.

Primo & Epico w/Rosa Mendez def. WWE Tag Team Champions Air Boom in a non-title match

A good at geam match,   I’m glad to see Epico sticking around, glad to see Rosa do anything, and glad to see Primo escaping Superstars and NXT.  Spoiler alert, this won’t end well for them.

Sheamus def. Drew McIntyre

Wait, DREW MCINTYRE?!  REALLY!  AWESOME!  Oh… he lost a virtual squash match… never mind, false alarm…

John Cena, The Big Show, & WWE Champion CM Punk def. Alberto Del Rio, The Miz, & World Heavyweight Champion Mark Henry

Basic six-man, but not bad.  Hulk Hogan, I mean, John Cena, got the pinfall for the fans to go home happy, ending with a big thank you to the soldiers, rightfully so.

It was a decent show for the troops, but it was too celebrity-bogged in my opinion.

I give Tribute to the Troops 2011… three and a half out of five stars.

Friday Night SmackDown from Rraleigh, NC:  December 16, 2011

Again, we’re just getting into it.  It was considerably better than Raw, though.  Joy, the status quo is back!

Intercontinental Champion Cody Rhodes def. Daniel Bryan

An okay match.  Not as good as their previous two, but not bad.  The point was to fuel the fire between Rhodes and Booker T for Sunday, so it accomplished that, I guess.

Alicia Fox def. Natalya

I gotta wonder if Natalya said or did something that’s causing her to job out to all the worthless talents on the Divas roster.  The match stunk, end of story, WWE, get some new Divas STAT!  Or better yet, don’t mistreat people like Gail Kim or randomly fire people like Melina.

Primo & Epico w/Rosa Mendez def. The Usos

It was basic.  Next!

Big Show def. Jack Swagger

It wasn’t bad.  Basic, but Swagger didn’t look like a shmuck, which I’m happy to have seen.  What was fun, though, was seeing Mark Henry attack the cameraman afterwards.  I love random violence in wrestling, don’t you?

Sheamus def. Jinder Mahal

It was quick and boring.  Next!

Randy Orton & Zack Ryder def. Wade Barrett & United States Champion Dolph Ziggler w/Vickie Guerrero

A good main event that had some good spots.  Cookie cutter, yes, but if the cookie is still good, why break the mold?  Better yet, these four can work a match.  While I still say Randy Orton’s ring skills leave a lot to be desired, he can still carry a match.  Again, Ziggler does no wrong in the ring lately and Ryder has shown he’s deserving of his push by busting his chops through most of the match.  And, of course, Barrett is no slouch in the slightest.  I predict he WILL be a champion some time in the next year… it may be late in the year, but I’ll stand by that prediction.

I give Friday Night SmackDown for December 16, 2011… three and a half out of five stars.

WWE TLC from Baltimore, MD:  December 18, 2011

Yeah, we’re covering Sunday’s PPV this time!  I wasn’t going to, but when I was basically given it as an early Christmas Gift, I decided to hold off my blog to include it and try something new.  After all, Sunday is the seventh day of the week to me and PPVs should be included when applicable.  Let me know what you guys think.

TLC was another good pay-per-view with fun matches and a subtle hint of story, which I liked.

United States Championship match:  Zack Ryder def. Champion Dolph Ziggler w/Vickie Guerrero to WIN the United States Championship

What an awesome way to start the event with an awesome match between two truly awesome superstars.  Both were truly in sync and didn’t disappoint.  The high points were awesome, the emotion ran high, and it was something you could truly enjoy.  Just to add to the emotion, Ryder’s dad was in the crowd, hugging his son after the match.  Good stuff.

WWE Tag Team Championship Match:  Champions Air Boom def. Primo & Epico w/Rosa Mendez

Another decent match that wasn’t advertised beforehand.  Good stuff, maybe a little basic, but it got helped with Rosa dancing pretty much the whole time… I’m gonna like Rosa at ringside, aren’t I?  I hope this doesn’t end Primo & Epico’s push because I think they can be just as exceptional as Kofi Kingston and Evan Bourne.  Good match.

Divas Championship Match:  Champion Beth Phoenix def. Kelly Kelly

Another unadvertised match.  Basic Divas match… bad.  Some of Beth’s moves were totally brutal looking through and I actually got a lot of joy out of seeing that happen to Kelly Kelly in-ring.  Surprising finish though, as it wasn’t a Beth Phoenix finisher that won it.  It was a reverse electric chair.  Huh.  Okay then.

Tables Match:  Randy Orton def. Wade Barrett

An okay match.  Barrett looked sharp as usual.  Actually, on Orton… Orton looked darn lazy at some points.  He just seemed like he was just going along for the ride.

Sledgehammer over a Ladder Match:  Triple H def. Kevin Nash

As a Kevin Nash fan, I’m kind of bummed to hear that this may be his last match.  Anyway, this wasn’t a bad bout at all.  I’ll always say that Triple H is one of the most overrated wrestlers of all time and I think this match, combined with the match with The Undertaker earlier in the year, exposed him as such.  Maybe that’s why he cheated on Chyna.  She wrestled better than he could!  There were some good brutal spots, but that ending got dragged out forever.  I get it, the WWE wants to remind us that Triple H is a badass.  You want to convince me?  How about he makes his own matches more interesting.  The match ended with Nash getting stretchered out for taking a sledgehammer to the face.  Kayfabe, of course.

Sheamus def. Jack Swagger

Leading up to the Pay-Per-View, I was surprised that neither Sheamus or John Cena had a match.  Well, backstage antics with Theodore Long and Hornswoggle fixed Sheamus’s issues.  Decent match, Swagger came to show again, but the result was NEVER in doubt.  I’m growing intrigued as to what the payoff for Sheamus is, though.  Could it be that HE ends up with the match with The Undertaker at Mania?  A better championship reign?  It’s got me thinking.

World Heavyweight Championship Chairs Match:  The Big Show def. Champion Mark Henry to WIN the World Heavyweight Championship

A quick match, but it got all the points out.  While it was quick, I can’t say it was terrible… it just needed time.  Then again, a long match between these two probably isn’t in our best interest.  Big Show wins, Mark Henry brutalizes Big Show afterwards, and then… THE VALKYRIES ARE FLYING, THE DRAGON HAS LANDED, IT’S DANIEL BRYAN!

MONEY IN THE BANK CASH-IN FOR THE WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP:  Daniel Bryan def. Champion The Big Show to WIN the World Heavyweight Championship

Pinfall, awesome, rubs it in Cole’s face, and something that should have happened earlier finally happens.  My only fear is that the WWE didn’t do enough to build him and sell him as a champion.  That’s because of all the losses they threw at him over the course of the year.  Ah well, we’ll see how it goes.  If he can hold the title up until Elimination Chamber at least, I’ll be happy.  I just don’t want him to end up like Christian and lose it on SmackDown the following week.

Interconeinental Championship Match: Champion Cody Rhodes def. Booker T

This wasn’t a great match, honestly. Rhodes looked sub-par tonight and the ending was just confusing. If they were trying to sell two earlier attacks on Booker T, they did a bad job of it. This isn’t the end of the feud, though, so we’ll see where it goes.

Tables, Ladders, & Chairs Match for the WWE Championship:  Champion CM Punk def. Alberto Del Rio w/Ricardo Rodriguez and The Miz

 It was an awesome match.  Not because of skill, because Miz doesn’t have any, but it was the spots that really made the match, namely handcuffs being used cleverly and Ricardo Rodriguez taking the bump of the night by falling off of the top of a tall ladder and into tables set out on the outside.  Punk was awesome as usual, Del Rio continues to legitimize why he’s thought so highly of, and Miz… well, he didn’t terribly embarrass himself.  That’s something to be said.

TLC was just as good as Survivor Series, maybe even better.  I enjoyed the matches in general and the new alignment for the titles are just about ideal now for me.  If we could swap out Cody Rhodes for Dolph Ziggler for the Intercontinental Championship, it’d be perfect, considering the current roster.

I give TLC 2011… four out of five stars.

That’s it for me and Raw for THIS week just went off the air… and I need to watch it.  See you guys Saturday!  And be sure to look out for the return of The Back Stack and the first part of the Legend of Zelda Retrospective some time soon.  Oh yes, and I’ll also do that Rocky & Bullwinkle review I wanted to get to for a few months now.

Cheers;

Graves

WWEekly Wrap-Up: Week Ending December 10, 2011

And here we are again.  Welcome to another WWEekly Wrap-Up.  I apologize for missing last week’s Wrap-Up, but sometimes life can get a little busy.  If it means anything, I found the previous week’s WWE offering to be very lackluster and nothing to write home about.

I want to talk about two things from last week’s Raw and SmackDown.  First on Raw.  The end of John Morrison’s career.  How does it end?  Does he get a grand match late in the show?  Does he get a tribute of any kind?  Does he come close, yet fall short, in a title bout of some kind?  No.  What happens?  He gets squashed by his less-talented former tag team partner, The Miz.  Rumor has it that Vince McMahon wasn’t high on John Morrison for a variety of suggested reasons, either for letting his girlfriend Melina sleep around with the locker room, Vince not being convinced that he could win any kind of fight, or what have you.  While I can’t comment on that first bit, as for the second one… yeah, I’m not convinced more than half your roster could win a real fight, but hey, unassuming packages, right?

No, I’m more irritated with the WWE’s handling of John Morrison as a whole rather than just this one instance like I was critical of them when Lita left years back.  It always ended up being a tease.  He was put in great matches, had great performances, was put in the title picture multiple times, and lost to WWE darlings like The Miz, only winning against them when Rey Mysterio fails a welfare policy test and has to drop his title.  The fans were seemingly very into him and you WANT your fans to be into your Superstars, don’t you, WWE?

So, yeah, not happy about that.  Now onto SmackDown.

…IT SUCKED.  Let’s leave it at that.

Monday Night Raw from Tampa, FL, on December5, 2011

Monday Night Raw was actually the better show between the two this week.  When that happens, you know SmackDown had to be exceptionally bad… most weeks, anyway.

We start off with The Miz, Dolph Ziggler, Alberto Del Rio, and John Cena talking WWE Championship opportunities.  Ummm… shouldn’t the actual Champion be taking part in this in some way?  Anyway, all four will end up with matches tonight and if they win, they’ll be included in a TLC match against CM Punk for the WWE Championship.  This means we can have a potential Five-Way.  Of course, my highest hope is that this’ll end up just being a one-on-one between Punk and Ziggler, but no way I’m that lucky.  This segment was… routine.  There wasn’t a lot to say.  Anyway, the Miz is first and his opponent is Randy Orton.  Joy.

The Miz def. Randy Orton (countout)

This was another uninspired match between these two.  I was never particularly impressed with their matches when they were feuding over the WWE Championship earlier in the year/last year and this match was no exception.  Barrett comes out and distracts Orton long enough to be counted out.  Nothing really worth mentioning.  Miz is in the match.

Alberto Del Rio def. Daniel Bryan

A short match and it hurts in two ways.  One, Daniel Bryan has to sell rib injuries and obviously isn’t permitted to do his best stuff, not to mention tap out quickly to the Cross Armbreaker.  Second, it doesn’t make Daniel Bryan, injury or not, seem like a credible contender to the World Heavyweight Championship, which is what the Money in the Bank Winner always is.  Face or heel, I think the title holder needs to be treated as such at all times to remain as an ever-lingering threat to the championship.  And guess what?  The WWE doesn’t do that.  Nope, let a perceived weakling take the title!  That’s the way to tell the fans the holders are the best in the world!  Oies…

Kelly Kelly & Eve Torres def. Diva’s Champion Beth Phoenix & Natalya

Within thirty seconds, Kelly Kelly rolls up Beth for the win.  What do I need to say about this?  Y’know, WWE, this is not the way to convince us that Kelly Kelly, Eve Torres, either of the Bellas Alicia, Kaitlyn, or any of your other hack Divas can actually work a match or deserve to be called a champion, even in a world of pre-determined results.  You only hurt the credibility of those who we know CAN wrestle.  If I was a Diva, I’d make like the beautiful and amazing Gail Kim… and just walk out on you.

Anyway, the Interim GM, John Laurinitas, has a special surprise for John Cena.  His opponent tonight is Zack Ryder.  As a bonus, if Ryder wins, he gets the United States Championship match against Dolph Ziggler.  So, yeah, two friends going against another with their shots at the titles they want on the line.  Good heel heat for Laurinitas, but an admittedly bad premise when you want Cena to be your ever-loved face of the company.

John Cena def. Zack Ryder.

Oh, for those of you who thought Ryder would go over Cena in ANY fashion, I laugh at your misfortune.  Yeah, okay match, Ryder puts up a good show, but Super Cena wins in the end.  The two get into an argument, Ryder yelling how that it was his one opportunity at the title.  Ryder had been petitioning for weeks and had been denied a US title match.  So, yeah, he’s pretty peeved about it.  Cena returns to the locker room and says that Ryder still deserves a US Title Match.  The GM agrees to give Ryder one more chance to earn a title match if Cena gives up his spot in the WWE Championship match.  Cena agrees in an effort to make him better loved to the Internet Wrestling Community… but since he’ll get another title shot down the line anyway, I doubt it’ll work out.  As for Ryder, he has another match immediately against…

No Disqualification:  Zack Ryder def. World Heavyweight Champion Mark Henry (non-title)

Okay, I also thought it was going to be Brodus Clay who would make his debut here.  Now, anybody whose anybody would have seen Ryder winning this coming, especially when it was made No Disqualification, but against the World Heavyweight Champion?  Ummm… you guys DO know he’s one of your two top dogs in this company, right?  Hell, if I were Ryder’s character, I’d say “screw the United States Championship!  I’m a World Heavyweight Championship contender now!  I just beat the World Heavyweight Champion!  Who cares if Cena did the heavy lifting?  I BEAT THE WORLD CHAMP!”  Anyway, this match wasn’t as good as Cena/Ryder and not as long either.

Kevin Nash def. Santino Marella

Since I was a WCW fan at one point, I enjoyed seeing another Kevin Nash match.  What I didn’t enjoy was, well, being a more educated fan seeing a modern Kevin Nash match.  It wasn’t even a humorous match, considering Santino was involved.  In fact, I almost figured it’d be shorter than that Divas debacle from earlier.  Shows what I know.

Sheamus def. United States Champion Dolph Ziggler w/Vickie Guerrero

Probably the match of the week and can you expect anything else from Dolph Ziggler?  Really?  Honestly, my fear is that I’m going to run out of things to say about him.  There are other wrestlers I’ll go on about in a good way, but one of them is consistently ragged on (Daniel Bryan), one of them is perpetually inactive (Undertaker), one of them is the WWE Champion and doesn’t get as much air-time as he should (CM Punk), and the other just jumped ship to TNA (Gail Kim).  Anyway, good match, Ryder distracts Ziggler, Sheamus gets the win, and Ryder lays out Ziggler again.  Fun stuff overall.

We end on the contract signing for the WWE Championship Triple Threat between CM Punk, Alberto Del Rio, and The Miz.  Punk echos all our thoughts with this one.  These are boring.  These are predictable.  I wanna get to the action too.  One thing to note… I know John Laurinitas is supposed to get under fans’ skin, but calling himself Mr. Excitement than suggesting to end the signing with a photograph?  Y’know, I get the character they’re going for… NOBODY is that self-contradictory.  Anyway, Punk raises hell, lays out Del Rio, lays out Miz, the end.

Raw was pretty darn bad.  There were a couple good spots and Dolph Ziggler, of course, kept it from being a total waste of time.  Everything else felt more like a chore rather than a diversion.  I just didn’t have a lot of fun tonight.

I give Raw for December 5, 2011… Two out of five stars.

Friday Night SmackDown from Jacksonville, FL, on December 9, 2011

We begin the show with Booker T having been attacked by Cody Rhodes for supposedly berating Rhodes.  Y’know, I understand that they want an angle for Booker T to come back to the ring, but this thing with Rhodes is a REAL stretch.  It’s not creative, it’s not interesting, and it’s causing Michael Cole to be exposed as the terrible announcer he is.

Onto something happy, Lillian Garcia, the best WWE announcer since Howard Finkel, is back!  YES!  And, of course, since WWE can’t let their fans be happy with anything not CenOrton Circle related, Rhodes interrupts to say that he’s doing commentary for the evening.  Y’know, for as bad as Cole talks about how bad Booker T is, I can understand how much jubilation he was experiencing with Rhodes on commentary.  Rhodes actually makes Cole sound better by comparison.  Seriously, with Rhodes’s droning, low volume, date rapey voice, I can safely say that Michael Cole is no longer the worst option for regular commentary on a weekly basis.  Hell, commentary on SmackDown became so unbearable that I actually muted it out.  Now, Booker T wasn’t the best, I admit, but it was still fun with just how wacky he was.

It begs the question, though.  When Booker T does return to active competition, who replaces him on SmackDown?  Do they replace him at all?  Well, they better.  Josh Mathews is a hack commentator as it is and Michael Cole has single-handedly brought down commentary as a whole.  Now I can safely say that there is one thing TNA does better.  I’ll take Mike Tenay and Taz over Michael Cole and Not-JR any day.

All right.  Let’s begin.

Beat The Clock Challenge:  Wade Barrett def. Ezekiel Jackson in 7:53

The premise is simple.  Whomever between Wade Barrett and Randy Orton wins their match in a faster amount of time wins the right to declare their match’s stipulation at the TLC Pay-Per-View.  Hmmm… four options, two of which require either a title or a weapon to be on the line, which isn’t the case between Barrett and Orton… so really, take your pick.  Either the admittedly bland tables match or the one-note chairs match.  Joy.

Anyway, this match was nothing to write home about, but certainly wasn’t bad.  Barrett is still one of the WWE’s better superstars, but I can’t help but feel Jackson is falling into a major rut in his career in the WWE.  He had so many videos hyping his return, and he returned as a nondescript entrant in a generic battle royal in last week’s dismal holiday SmackDown.  At this point, I think you can put him on termination watch.

Teddy Long puts David Otunga in a match with Sheamus.  Goodie.  David Otunga in a wrestling match.  (Note the sarcasm)

Daniel Bryan comes out to talk to Josh Mathews about his loss last week to Mark Henry in the steel cage.  I seriously see Daniel Bryan becoming a major player.  A little bit Bret Hart, a little bit Mick Foley, a little bit CM Punk… lots of good stuff.  Michael Cole decides to pick an argument with Daniel Bryan.  This leads to Daniel Bryan getting jumped by Cody Rhodes for his troubles.  Apparently, the WWE is still convinced that burying whomever holds the Money in the Bank contract is still the way to convince us that the holder is a deserving future champion.  Honestly, the only two I remember NOT being ragged on constantly while they were the Money in the Bank contract holders were Kane and Jack Swagger, and both cashed in their contracts either immediately or within the week.  Then again, Swagger got ragged on his entire championship reign into one of the most ineffectual times in WWE history.

Cody Rhodes leaves commentary at this point, so commentary got modestly better… but Cole is still there, so you shouldn’t hope for much more.

Zack Ryder def. Heath Slater

Dear God, Lilian Garcia saves WWE audio…

Ah, excuse me.  Anyway, Ryder wins a quick match that is nothing special and probably just made for the purpose of selling to non-believers that Ryder is US Championship material.  Then the WWE’ll have him lose against Dolph Ziggler just to spite the Internet Wrestling Community.  Because that’s how the WWE rolls.  Yeah, screw storytelling!  Making our fans pissed off is the way to do business!

…Y’know, I sometimes wonder why I still watch this company post-Invasion.

Ted DiBiase def. Jinder Mahal

Yes, because far be it from the WWE to put undercarders on their pay-per-view!

This match did show why I have little patience with the WWE nowadays, especially with their commentary.  We spend the entire match with Michael Cole’s whining, arguing, and complaining and Josh Mathews doing the obligatory Kmart advertisement.  How long has this show been on?  Only 44 minutes? ARGH!  You know, if the WWE didn’t care about this match, why should I?  DiBiase wins the match, Mahal looked terrible again, DiBiase looked passable, fine, WWE.  I won’t care about this match.

Big Show in a ‘confrontation’ with Mark Henry in another of my absolute least favorite things about the WWE… an over-abundance of face-to-faces where nothing new or interesting happens.  One says “I’m going to win” or “I’m gonna hurt you,” the other says “no, I’m gonna hurt you” or “I’m going to win.”  Typically this ends with a fight of some kind and either one leaves the other laying or one runs off.  Any wagers on that happening here?

Guess what?  It does.  Mark Henry gets left laying and Big Show focuses on the ‘injured’ leg.  Way to go, WWE.  Way to make one world-tier champion look dominate and the other look like a chump.

Hornswoggle comes out to be a special guest ring announcer.  Michael Cole uses the term “horsing around” when Hornswoggle and Lillian dance together in the ring.  A veiled shot at Lilian Garcia that is in really poor taste.  I don’t know if it’s Vince McMahon or Triple H, but it’s really classless.  And I find Lilian Garcia more beautiful than most all the Divas roster.  Whoever is behind these jabs, screw you.

Sheamus def. David Otunga

Nothing much to say here.  Sheamus’ matches are typically fun and Otunga didn’t look entirely useless, surprisingly.  Decent, but uninspired, especially for one of the WWE’s biggest stars heading into a Pay-Per-View.  Knowing our luck, they’ll make Christian wrestle while injured and have him job out to Sheamus again in a TLC match just to really cheese off fans.

Intercontinental Champion Cody Rhodes def. Daniel Bryan (disqualification)

It was a decent match for what it had to be, what with Daniel Bryan having to sell the rib injury.  Booker T comes down to attack Cody Rhodes from the earlier attack.

We get some backstage fluff between Teddy Long and Aksana… primarily pimping the WWE Network.

Diva’s Champion Beth Phoenix & Natalya def. A.J. & Kaitlyn(?)

Hey!  Guess what?  The WWE got wise to me calling modern Diva matches the Beer Run Matches that now they don’t give you the luxury of taking this time to restock your refreshments!  This match was taped, a heel turn for Kaitlyn was made, and it got cut all together from the show!  While I appreciate the WWE not forcing the same repeated match to us for another week, at least three of the four Divas involved here CAN wrestle.

One of these Divas is not like the other!  One of these Divas can’t work a match!  If you guessed the one turning heel, NOOOOOOO!  REALLY?!  ^_~

Randy Orton def. United States Champion Dolph Ziggler w/Vickie Guerrero with two seconds remaining

While I’m certain the result was pretty much pre-determined, it was still a generally good match.  I hate these Beat The Clock matches that take place after any other Beat The Clock match because I think the time really constricts what Superstars can do in the ring.  It’s ridiculous, really.

Anyway, Dolph Ziggler can do no wrong in the ring, even when he’s jobbing out to Randy Orton.  And yes, I know, technically Orton’s the higher-tiered Superstar, but bare in mind that I consider jobbing in terms of in-ring ability, not standing in the company.  Now, Orton isn’t a bad wrestler, but he’s very uninspired to me.  He gets by on aggression and crap-tastic storytelling in modern WWE.  Some may say that Stone Cold Steve Austin got by on aggression too, but at least he could be coherent, consistently compotent, and just damn entertaining in the ring.  Orton… just doesn’t have that.  I find him boring, to be honest.  And the fact that it was HIM that beat Christian in two days for the World Championship this year was what ticked me off the most, not just Christian losing in two days after he busted his hump for 14 years before being unceremoniously gyped out of it.

Speaking of dubiously short title reigns, Dolph Ziggler gets brutalized by Orton after Wade Barrett attempts a sneak attack.  Orton power bombs him through a table (Orton using the Power Bomb REALLY doesn’t look right…) and the match between he and Barrett is made to be that boring Tables Match we heard so much about.  Of course, since Mark Henry vs. Big Show is a Chair Match, Triple H vs. Kevin Nash is a Ladder Match, and the WWE Championship match is a TLC match, it was the only option remaining.  Yes, really suspenseful.  You really wanted to change things up on us, WWE?  Should have had Orton pick something else.  When was the last time we had an Ambulance Match?  I don’t care if it’s Tables, Ladders, and Chairs themed for the Pay-Per-View.  There’s no suspense in guessing the match type like this.  You should have just called it a Tables Match from the get go and be done with it.

SmackDown was… annoying.  I’ve been pretty fine with SmackDown generally speaking, but tonight was a chore to watch.  We had the graceful return of Lilian Garcia, but Michael Cole had one of his worst nights of commentary ever, and turning it into a case where Josh Mathews had to save it only made things worse.  And Cody Rhodes out there for about 40 minutes worth of regular commentary made it unbearable and just not entertaining.

I give SmackDown for December 19, 2011… One and a half out of five stars.  It really missed the mark with me this week.

That’s all for me.  Hopefuly we’ll get better stuff next week.

Until next week, I am Master Graveheart, tagging out.

Updates resume this week

Hey guys, sorry for the lack of updates.  Real life can catch up to someone, especially towards the end of a college semester, during a job hunt, and Christmas Shopping.  I missed a Back Stack and a WWEekly Wrap-Up, not to mention my Rocky & Bullwinkle NES review.  So, tomorrow, in addition to The Back Stack, I'll also touch on key points of what happened last week, particularly John Morrison's departure from the WWE, the new John Cena angle, Ziggler awesomeness, Miz's rape-face, and an absolutely STUPID SmackDown on Tuesday.

So, that's it.  Hope you'll check the blog out when it gets a real update.

The WWEekly Wrap-Up - Week ending November 26, 2011

Hey folks, sorry it took me so long to post this this week.  As you can tell, my Thanksgiving weekend got me a little on the busy side, so please forgive me.  I'll try to be on time this up coming Saturday.

I was also thuroughly enjoying the Michigan vs. Ohio State game where my Wolverines finally got it right against the team to the south. To my Ohio readers... yes, I'm a Michigan fan, but I still hope we can get along. ^_^

Also, as you could tell, my NES review of Rocky & Bullwinkle & Friends didn't go up because of the Thanksgiving weekend.  I AM still working on the first few parts of the Zelda retrospective too... as well as working on Skyward Sword, which is friggin' awesome... so expect those soon.  In the meantime, let's talk about the WWE's week!

I gotta say, this was a WONDERFUL step up from the previous week.  No, it wasn't perfect and there were some really stupid story bits that happened for various reasons, but it was still enjoyable, compounded only by an awesome Survivor Series, which we'll cover first, so let's get to it!

Survivor Series from New York City, NY - November 20, 2011

Survivor Series was an AWESOME show.  No, I didn't care one bit about the return of The Rock.  I cared about it because it was Survivor Series, the first pay-per-view I vividly remember, and I was actually there too.  1991, Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, MI, The Undertaker topples Hulk Hogan, the lingering feud between Randy Savage and Jake Roberts (stemming from one of the most horrifying moments in my young wrestling fandom), and the massive Survivor Series-style tag matches including all-time greats like the Legion of Doom, Ric Flair, Rowdy Roddy Piper, The Rockers, The Million-Doller Man, The Big Boss Man... I friggin' loved that show and it's the standard I use for all wrestling shows today.

That having been said, this Survivor Series wasn't nearly as good as that one was, but considering some of the garbage the WWE's put out in recent years, it was still a treat.  The thing is, with this past WrestleMania, WrestleMania XXVII, I was venomously disappointed and told myself I woudln't invest in another WWE Pay-Per-View until they improved their product.  No, I didn't buy this event because they improved their product, I'm just a sucker for the Survivor Series.  No, I don't plan on ordering WrestleMania XXVII in April, Rock vs. Cena or no Rock vs. Cena.  I MIGHT order the Royal Rumble because that's another event close to my heart, but that's to be determined.  Maybe the undercard will settle things for me.

Onto Survivor Series and our first event is... Raw General Manager and Executive Vice President of Tallent Relations John Laurinitus telling us it's his 10th anniversary in the WWE.  Okay, fine.  Maybe he'll have a hellish night or he'll play a big part in the events tonight.  Well, I'll tell you right now, he does aproximately jack squat.  Okay, for real, onto the first match.  I'll try to keep this shorter than I did my first WWEekly Wrap-Up.

United States Championship:  Champion Dolph Ziggler w/Vickie Guerrero def. John Morrison

This was a damn fine match.  Dolph Ziggler continues to prove why he's so awesome and John Morrison is entertaining as always.  What ruins this though, and I'm sorry to say this, are the New York fans.  Yeah, I know, we all wanted it to be Zack Ryder in the match instead of John Morrison, but hey, the WWE rarely favors people wrestling in or relatively close to their hometowns.  Just look at Jim Ross.  Heck, if Ryder was in this match, he probably woudln't have won.  This tells me a few things.  One, with John Morrison's WWE career wrapping up (reportedly not renewing his contract that expires soon), the WWE wanted to push other Superstars who are going to be with the company for the long haul like a Dolph Ziggler... and possibly Brodus Clay tomorrow.  Two, the WWE eventually would like someone as popular as Zack Ryder to be the next United States Champion so that they could push his merchandise and let Dolph Ziggler move onto bigger things, like a meaningful World Heavyweight or WWE Championship reign.  So, yeah.  Great match, shame about the fans.

Diva's Championship Match:  Champion Beth Phoenix w/Natalya def. Eve Torres in a Lumberjill match

This was a very sloppy match and it goes to prove my point about today's Diva's Division.  It's boring.  It's the beer run match of the night.  Sure, some like Beth Phoenix, Natalya, A.J., and Maxine do seem like they honestly try, but who is the WWE kidding trying to sell people like The Bella Twins, Kelly Kelly, Alicia Fox, Kaitlyn, or Eve Torres as the successors to the greats like Trish Stratus, Lita, Chyna, Melina, Gail Kim, Victoria, Jazz, Molly Holly, and the like?  Yes, I know, Eve Torres said on her Twitter that they try really hard to put together a strong match for the fans.  Fair enough, Miss. Torres, but effort does not make for quality matches.  Actual in-ring skill does and, with the exception of the four I mentioned, the Diva's on the roster today do not.  I am not counting Kharma, formerly Awesome Kong, in that because she's sidelined with a real life pregnancy and, well, I honestly don't expect her to come back once she's given birth.

Anyway, Beth Phoenix manages to save this debacle of a match with a Glam Slam from the top rope on Eve Torres which, admittedly, looked pretty sick.  Splat!  But, yes, this was definately the low spot of he show.  Wherever the Fabulous Moolah is up there in Heaven right now, she must simply be facepalming...

5-On-5 Survivor Series Match:  Team Barrett (Wade Barrett, Cody Rhodes, Hunico, Jack Swagger, and Dolph Ziggler) def. Team Orton (Randy Orton, Sheamus, Kofi Kingston, Mason Ryan, and Sin Cara)

Before I get into this, let me talk about two things.  One, Dolph Ziggler is pulling double duty tonight.  While I appriciate getting to see him strut his stuff, I just need to ask one thing.  Why?  Was Drew McIntyre busy?  Do you really have something about not using Curt Hawkins or Tyler Reks?  What about Primo?  Or William Regal?  Heck, tell Matt Striker to throw on the tights again!  I get it, you don't want to use those guys at all, but for as long as Ziggler was in this match, you could have put them in and there would have been no harm, no foul.  I know Christian got injured, but you didn't need to use Ziggler like this and hurt his push.  It just makes him look silly after he boasted about being that good.

Also, on a more serious note, the Sin Cara injury.  This really sucks.  There's no other way around it.  Some people are claiming that he botched his jump outside the ring and that's what injured him, but it was also reported that his tendon just snapped as he made the jump, leading to the botch.  Whatever is true, I need to say that, towards someone who just injured himself, the "You f*ck*d up" chants were really tasteless.  I complained about the fans with the Ziggler/Morrison match, but this was just aweful and I'm really embarassed for those who did those chants.  Reports are saying Sin Cara is going to be out around nine months, which means he'll not only miss WrestleMania this year (which sucks in itself), but he may not even be good to go by SummerSlam if his rehab has complications.

One last thing.  The term "classic Survivor Series match."  Ummm... no it isn't.  The old Survivor Series matches had teams of four, just like WCW's War Games matches (which so need to be brought back).  Just a nitpick.

Anyway, this match did a lot of things right.  First, Hunico.  I was really afraid that he was the one who was going to get the shaft in this match.  For a newer superstar like him, he didn't need it.  In fact, I gotta say, I was really impressed with him overall.  I hope the WWE writers don't get bored with him and write him off like they did with people like Reks, McIntyre, Yoshi Tatsu, and Ted DiBiase Jr..  He was the second to last man eliminated in the match entirely, which should tell you all you need to know about how much time he got to shine.

As for the final result, it ended the way it should have.  Team Barrett wins and nobody really looked weak, save for Dolph Ziggler.  Unfortunate injury aside, everyone really got a chance to shine in this match.  Barrett and Rhodes survive for their team, last eliminating Randy Orton, with Hunico more or less sacrificing himself for the end distraction that would lead to the end.  I feel it was the best case scenario and the match ended up being much better than I anticipated, hiccups at the begining aside.  it was a pretty sizable match at 22 minutes... though nothing compared to Survivor Series matches of old that went around 30-40 minutes.

World Heavyweight Championship:  The Big Show def. Champion Mark Henry via disqualification.

I know I said that the Diva's Title Match was the worst match of the night.  This one almost took that crown, if not for one thing.  The Big Show, a 7' tall, 450+ lb man, does a flying elbow drop from the top rope.  That is 450+ kinds of awesomeness.  Seriously, no big man does stuff like that even for spot situations.  Big props.

Anyway, Mark Henry kicks Big Show in the boys, gets disqualified, keeps his title because of it... and gets destroyed by an angry giant.  Whoops.

WWE Championship:  C.M. Punk def. Champion Alberto Del Rio

THIS was the match of the night for me.  Lots of wonderful action between two people who know their way around in the ring.  I won't say it was one of the best I've ever seen, because it wasn't, but it was a damn fine match that I thouroughly enjoyed.  Even better, Howard Finkel, legendary announcer for the WWE for over 30 years, did the introduction for Punk, in Punk's slight against Del Rio's personal announcer, Ricardo Rodriguez, as well as announcing him as the eventual winner.  A fantastic WWE Championship match.

There was only one downside and that this wasn't the main event.  Again, the world-tier championships are the pinnicle of the industry and should be treated as such.  I don't care if The Rock was making his comeback and I don't care if the main event featured John Cena.  They're not the champions.  Mark Henry and Alberto Del Rio, now C.M. Puk, are.  That just bugs me.

Speaking of... let's get to it.  The final match of the night.

The Rock & John Cena def. The Awesome Truth

Yeah, we all probably saw it coming, but it was entirely the wrong direction for this match, I think.  I think this match should have pushed the rivalry between Cena and Rock leading to the end of their year-long build-up at WrestleMania.  Instead, we get a match made as a showcase for these two.  I don't understand why we COULDN'T have a showcase of Cena and Rock and still have them lose to get them ready to get at each other's throats.  They don't need the push.  It's John Cena and The Rock.  The Miz and R-Truth, however, do.  I've never been sold on The Miz as a main eventer, let alone WWE Champion, and while I do believe R-Truth IS a main eventer, not many other people do.  THEY needed this match more than Cena and The Rock.  And heck, a loss for Cena and Rock would have done wonders to push their anamosity towards each other in building up the hype for their WrestleMania match, which I think the WWE's done a poor job of building up, which isn't to say they haven't tried to hype it.

Anyway, the match itself was good, though.  Whereas the fans hurt two matches earlier in the night, they added to this one.  With the Rock showing that he hasn't lost a step in being gone for seven-some years, the fans chanted, rightfully so, "you still got it!"  When Cena came in and tried busting out some ugly-looking new moves (for him, anyway), the fans fired back, rightfully so, "you still suck!"  That had me laughing my rear-end off.  Anayway, yes, decent match, not happy with the direction, but we'll talk more about that when we talk about Raw.

Overall, Survivor Series was a great show and I'm happy with this show.  Mind you, I'm not sold on buying other pay-per-views just yet.  The WWE needs to step it's weekly show quality up considerably for me to commit to that.

I give Survivor Series 2011... four out of five stars.  Great show.

Monday Night Raw from Hershey, PA - November 21, 2011

Someone asked me why I'm not refering to this as "Raw SuperShow" like it's supposed to.  Why?  Because it's stupid.  With as shallow of a roster as the WWE has today, it's a wonder the brand exteniton still exists.  And besides, SmackDown has Raw superstars on it every so often too, so why isn't that "SmackDown SuperShow"?

Anyway, Raw... it wasn't bad.  Much better than last week.  Not much to say until towards the end, so let's get started.

C.M. Punk came out and cut a promo with John Laurinitis to help put over Zack Ryder and set his new status quo.  His and Ryder's matches for the night are set and the WWE Title rematch between him and Del Rio is set for next week.  Standard stuff.

Alberto Del Rio def. Zack Ryder

This was a little confusing and short.  I can't say it was a good match, though there were some okay spots.  With them trying to push Ryder, it was also unnecessary because he didn't exactly look strong in this match, nor did Del Rio for that matter.  It felt like filler to me.

Sheamus def. Jack Swagger

Nothing special, but nothing bad either.  It was solid for TV, but I can't hep but feel that Sheamus recovers into a victory way too fast.  When he's on the cusp of defeat, he quickly pulls out a victory in the end.  It's a little lazy, if you ask me, but I don't really want to call him lazy since he does put on quality matches.  It's alsoa shame how far Jack Swagger continues to fall.  He was once thought of highly enough to become World Heavyweight Champion, but even then was considered a jobber.  It felt not only like a wasted reign, but a waste of a Money in the Bank briefcase.  I expected more at this point in his career because he's definately a lot more talented than this.

Kevin Nash came out and cut a promo on Triple H, who should be returning soon if storyline holds true.  Not much to say here, but I would like to see Nash in a match with other people before he climbs in the ring with Triple H eventually.

Intercontinental Champion Cody Rhodes def. Santino Marella

I'm not as harsh on this match for it's shortness as I am on the Ryder/Del Rio match from earlier because it dida lot in the short time it had... although the length of this match probably made some recent Divas matches feel proud by comparison in terms of length.  Anyway, for as short of a time we had, it was okay and nobody really got hurt by it.  I still hate Cody Rhodes's new theme though.  Who cares if he doesn't have the mask anymore?  Bring back the hoodie, bring back the creepy promos, and bring back the baggers.  THAT was good character stuff.

WWE Champion C.M. Punk def. United States Champion Dolph Ziggler w/Vickie Guerrero

Hot damn was this an awesome match!  Two of WWE's most talented and did it deliver.  And on Monday Night Raw of all places!  This is the type of match we need to have on Raw more often.  In this era defined by the likes of John Cena and Randy Orton, it's great to see two peole in the title picture who can actually make the matches exciting.  Both men proved why they're two of the absolute best today.

Agian, the only thing hurting this is it wasn't the closer to end the show strong.  After all... WWE Champion.  Just saying.

Big Show talks about his mauling of Mark Henry.  ...next!

Wade Barrett def. Kofi Kingston

This was a good match too, but SO unnecessary.  What was unnecessary was Randy Orton, coming out and spooking Barrett at the end of the match.  Why?  Barrett outwrestled and outshined Orton the night before at Survivor Series.  Why does Wade Freakin' Barrett have to sweat Randy Orton AT ALL?  Oh, wait, he's part of the CenOrton Circle.  Nobody gets to truly go over those two.  Sorry Wade.  I predict your jobbing out to Orton at the TLC pay-per-view, and you don't deserve it.

John Cena, The Miz, and R-Truth had a promo to close us out.  Cena came out to talk about Survivor Series... which begs the question... WHY?!  Let's say that the kayfabe (pretend) WWE DOESN'T take interferance into account when scheduling the show.  So, in their infinate knowledge, they decide to have the last for segments be as follows:  WWE Champion vs. United States Champion, Big Show promo, Barrett vs. Kingston, Cena promo.  Look, I don't care how big they try to buff Cena for this generation, him speaking nowadays is about as boring as paint drying in Death Valley.  It's just aweful.  If anything, this whole thing should have been entirely reversed, maybe switching the promos around.  End with the champion vs. champion match to build up to next week's main event, start with the Big Show promo.

Anyway, Cena gets Miz and Truth to turn on each other, resulting in The Miz hitting the Skull Crushing finale on R-Truth on the stage after leading him to believe that they're going to go after Cena.  The real reason this happened was revealed later as R-Truth was found in violation ofthe WWE's welfare policy.  I'm going to ignore some of the other controversies coming out about this and just say that if the wellfare violation was the reason Truth and Miz lost the Survivor Series match, it's still doing a disservice to the Rock and Cena's build-up towards WrestleMania.  And yes, you COULD have done this even with Awesome Truth winning.  And no, WWE, The Rock hitting the Rock Bottom on Cena after the match doesn't have the same effect, either.

Overall, Raw was good.  A little mind-bending, but good.  Cena and Orton being so spotlight to the WWE really hurts C.M. Punk the most tonight in terms of his standing in the company, but it isn't worth crying over too much.

I give Monday Night Raw for November 21, 2011... three out of five stars.

Friday Night SmackDown from Wilkes-Barre, PA. - November 25, 2011

The show tonight was another mix of good and bad.  I'd say it was definately more solid than Raw, but I still say Punk and Ziggler on Raw trumps anything done tonight.

The show begins with Mark Henry talking about Survivor Series, coming out in crutches, selling the nearly-broken ankle he suffered at Survivor Series at the hands of The Big Show.  Big Show comes out and runs him down, Mark Henry responds, and Big Show punches out Mark Henry with the W.M.D. for his troubles.  Fun stuff, basic stuff, Big Show leaves.  And then, with Mark Henry still unconcious in the ring...

MONEY IN THE BANK CASH-IN FOR THE WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP:  Daniel Bryan def. Champion Mark Henry

Daniel Bryan rushes down the ring, cashes in his Money in the Bank briefcase, slowly... slowly... slowly rolls over Mark Henry and gets the pinfall victory!  The man is really milking the celebration after, even taking time to rub it in Michael Cole's face, who has criticized him from day one in the WWE.  It's just a great celebration in the end and awesome to see a well-liked, TALLENTED WRESTLER get to win the...

Yeah, okay, we know what happened.  SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long comes down and nullifies the match on the grounds that Mark Henry wasn't cleared to compete.  He gives Daniel Bryan back his Money in the Bank briefcase and puts him in a fatal four-way for the #1 contendership later tonight.

Are you kidding me, WWE?  No, it isn't the fact that you did this fake out, it's the disregard for what the Money in the Bank briefcase is.  It's meant to be used anytime, anyplace, anywhere.  By doing this, it pretty much disregards that clause in the contract.  It shouldn't matter if Mark Henry was deemed "not cleared to compete."  the whole thing is just boggling.  Even worse was Theodore Long's promo about it, acting like he's giving Daniel Bryan an even trade-off.  Are you high, WWE?

That rant out of the way, let's continue.

Hunico def. Justin Gabriel

A decent match, all things considered.  While I'm glad Hunico isn't quite being forgotten about yet, I can't help but feel that Justin Gabriel is.  It's just sad the standing some once promising wrestlers are at nowadays.

Diva's Champion Beth Phoenix & Natalya def. A.J. & Kaitlyn

This was just a squash match and not even an entertaining one.  Really, the only one who didn't belong in this match was Kaitlyn, but the other three are very talented in-ring competitors.  Then again, so was Savannah and she was fired before having an actual match in the WWE.  Anyway, after the match, we get the makings of an A.J. and Kaitlyn split... and I normally woudln't care, except... A.J. is a tallented wrestler.  Kaitlyn is not.  Knowing the WWE, they'll push Kaitlyn and poor A.J. will be future endevored (fired) within a year.  I mean, heck, they put her over A.J. and Naomi on season three of NXT.

Also, it looks like Alicia Fox will get the next shot at Beth Phoenix, even though I think she was technically supposed to get it at Survivor Series.  And seriously, there are three Divas in the WWE today whom I think can go toe-to-toe with Beth Phoenix.  First is A.J., who just got squashed.  Second is Natalya, who is Beth's running buddy.  Third is Kharma, who is currently sidelined due to real life pregnancy.  Yeah... the WWE's Diva's Division is a mess.

Daniel Bryan and A.J. were seen talking backstage about the missed opportunity Bryan had earlier.  Wade Barrett, also in the Fatal Four-Way tonight, comes up and mocks the two, calling A.J. a 14-year-old girl to boot.  So wonderfully evil you just love to hate him, that Wade Barrett.  Anyway, the promo ends with Bryan telling Barrett off and A.J. kissing him on the cheek for good luck.  Oh goodie, another spontanious romance angle for Daniel Bryan.  Careful, A.J.  The last three didn't work out so well.  Gail Kim got buried in the company and was driven to quit and the Bella Twins are still the Bella Twins.  Careful now.

Sheamus & Zack Ryder def. Dolph Ziggler & Jack Swagger w/Vickie Guerrero

Pretty strong tag match here and everyone got the chance to look good.  Not much to say, really, except I think this helped balance out Ryder's showing on Raw... which admittedly wasn't his fault, it was WWE's stupid booking practices.

Ted DiBiase def. Heath Slater

Oh, lookie!  Fresh off his suspension, Heath Slater is back!  I did not care.  Oh, lookie!  Ted DiBiase's son, Ted DiBiase, is tryingto become a face and he apparently has DiBiase Possie gatherings in parking lots before the show!  I do not care.  Oh, lookie!  Jinder Mahal is yelling on the Titantron in supposedly Punjabi!  I REALLY do not care.  The match was just basic, too.  Nothing special, but I won't call it bad either.

World Heavyweight Championship #1 Contender's Match:  Daniel Bryan def. Cody Rhodes, Randy Orton, and Wade Barrett

This match... bugged me.  It seemed really slow to me and I wouldn't accuse either of these superstars of being slow wrestlers, because they're not.  Sure, Orton's BORING in the ring, but he at least has a good pace to his matches, as do the others.  And heck, sometimes, Daniel Bryan can be downright speedy.  Yeah, this one was a bit of a let-down considering three of the four are superb in-ring competitors (Orton being the odd man out), but it did it's job.

I know I nitpicked, but I think SmackDown this week was actually somewhat stronger with high points and low points.  While the story wasn't as coherent this time around in terms of figuring out what's coming up, there were some enjoyable moments tonight.

I give SmackDown for November 25, 2011... three out of five stars.

Next week, SmackDown will be live on Tuesday.  No, I'm not going to do the WWEekly Wrap-Up on Wednesday in response, because I want to keep a schedulehere.  Tuesda for the Back Stack, Thursday (finally!) for Grave Issues, and Saturday for the WWEekly Wrap-Up.  It'll also give me time to add in any news stories that happen during the week.

So thank you for reading this week!  This has been the WWEekly Wrap-Up.  I'm Master Graveheart, tagging out.

The Back Stack – November 16, 2011 Pulls

And welcome to The Back Stack.  In the spirit of Linkara’s “That’s All I’m Saying,” I’m going to review my pulls from the previous week and share my thoughts.  Hopefully, when you all go out to the comic shop for your next pulls, you’ll think about something I talked about and pick them up… or if you see me rag on something, you’ll think twice.  My philosophy on comics is that regardless of who the headline character is, a good book should thrive and a bad book should be either overhauled with a new creative team or be scrapped altogether.  I’ll end each one with the note of whether or not I recommend it or if I’d take a pass on it if you’re not a collector (like myself) or an avid fan of the series who’ll buy it no matter what.

Also, while I DO read a lot of DC, I’m primarily a Marvel guy, even more so with the shift of the New 52.  While the DC re-launch HAS made me a fan of Batman, seeing him be a more compassionate and caring superhero, it’s sadly soured me on Wonder Woman and partially soured me on Superman (at least in Action Comics… the only thing bugging me about present-day Supes is that stupid “armor” he’s wearing.  Comic companies, NEVER LET JIM LEE RE-DESIGN ICONIC HEROES AGAIN!).

That said, let’s begin.  A note, though.  There WILL be spoilers where I see fit, which goes against my “two-year rule,” in which I won’t publically talk about spoilers with anyone without asking them first or unless it’s been two years passed since the subject in question.  Also, for this week, I wasn’t able to buy everything I normally pick up (and I pick up a lot, mind you) nor have I been able to read everything I did pick up because I had a little game called The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword to buy this week.  And yes, the Zelda retrospective reviews are coming… they just won’t be every other day like I mentioned.  Life and all.

Okay, let’s start.

The Amazing Spider-Man #674 was… meh.  It’s the first issue off of the very fun Spider-Island event comic in the Spidey Universe and it really disappoints.  We get the return of The Vulture, which was good.  It seems like he’s going to have a new air about him which I applaud since some of Marvel’s lower villains, particularly Spidey’s Rogues Gallery, seem to be relegated to jokes.  I remember in the prelude to Spider-Island, Firestar, Gravity, and the insanely awesome Spider-Girl, members of the sadly unapriciated Young Allies, were getting overwhelmed by Hydro-Man.  What happens?  One page later, Spidey swings by, throws an ice capsule at him, and saves the day interesting.  Not only is that NOT how you show a hero being a strong superhero, it’s not how you treat newer or sparingly-used superheroes who you want to push to the public, and it’s not how you handle a villain whose been a tough opponent for Spidey before.

Anyway, the other problem with this issue was that, once again, the city is turning on Spider-Man.  Spidey gets seen with a dead body and the police open fire… this on the heels of Spider-Man saving everybody from the effects of Spider-Island.  Yeah, we get a celebratory rave of some Spidey fans, including Mary Jane who recently confessed her love for him again (albeit under her breath), but I swear, New York City in the Spider-Man Universe is so bi-polar towards him it isn’t even funny anymore.

Verdict – Pass

Avengers #19… another meh book.  This one, however, didn’t feel as weird.  There were some humorous bits of newscasters pimping or trying to demonize Captain America forming a new Avengers team in the wake of the Fear Itself event (which I have mixed opinions on, but we’ll get to that later).  Spoiler alert, the cover.  It will spoil most of the new team for you.  There is one red herring on the cover, but I expect that individual to join later.  I am glad to see Ms. Marvel on the main Avengers team for no other reason then to see one of Marvel’s best female characters getting more spotlight time.  I’m sorry, but I don’t consider Spider-Woman one of Marvel’s best female characters.  Rogue?  Yes.  Storm?  Definitely.  Spider-Girl?  Absolutely.  Spider-Woman?  Eh… This one wasn’t bad and we get a neat cliffhanger at the end, as well as an interesting mystery.  While it isn’t that much better than Spider-Man was, it does give you a solid story with elements that make you interested in the next few issues.  I still prefer New Avengers over this Avengers title, but this one can be good too.

Verdict – Recommended

Avengers Academy #22 continues to be one of Marvel’s best titles and a personal favorite of mine.  In the wake of last issue’s apparent death of Jocasta, Magneto has been brought in and, naturally, the students of Avengers Academy are freaking out over it.  I won’t go too much into it but we get some good bits here.  I think Finesse steals the show with this one, coming to Quicksilver’s defense when he’s confronted by his father in a genuine display of emotion, something she’s not done a lot as a part of her character… then again, a couple issues ago she made out with Reptil before they were preparing for their own deaths in the Fear Itself tie-ins.  Strong book, fun bits, still love it.

Verdict – Highly Recommended

Deadpool #46 continues a VERY funny arc where Deadpool fights an evil version of himself made up of pieces of him that have bonded together.  Not a lot to go into, but it is entirely enjoyable, especially after the mess that was the last story arc.  By the way, in the  last issue, Evil Deadpool threw some jackass out of plane in mid-air while he was on fire.  That got me gut-bustingly laughing, but something else stuck out at me about that.  The preview section of the issue advertised “Flying on Fire Man #1” which ripped a panel from that same issue as the cover art.  If that comic actually came out, I would SO buy it just for the laugh.

Verdict – Recommended

Next up is the merciful end of Fear Itself with Fear Itself #7.3.  Yes, I know that there is still The Fearless, which I didn’t pick up this week because of money constraints, but this is the last one in what is supposedly the main story.  This one focuses on Iron Man having a meeting with the supposedly late Thor’s father, Odin.  This one I expected more out of only because it seems that Iron Man had really been stroking his man of science-ness when the subject of God or gods came up.  But, no, it’s fairly clean cut.  The issue ends with its third straight “take back” of the 7.whatever issues.  In #7.1, Bucky didn’t really die.  In #7.2, Thor is seen opening his eyes in wherever he was.  In this issue, the genocide of Paris at the hands of the super powered Grey Gargoyle was undone.  This one is still the best of the three issues… but that’s not saying much.  We do get a bit that I hope gets expanded upon with the Grey Gargoyle in a containment chamber.  He apparently begins to pray in the wake of what he did during the events of Fear Itself.  I’m kind of hoping this gets expanded upon.  A villain’s remorse at the wake of what he did when he was more or less turned into a demonic berserker.  Sadly, it’s not enough to tell you that you should pick it up and it’ll probably be collected with the initial hardcover and possibly trade paperback.  Especially since the revival of Paris really does feel like a cop-out.  That’s what these 7.whatever issues have been.

Verdict – Pass

Ghostbusters #4 continues the team’s comeback.  I’m not sure if the events of the recent video game are entirely cannon with this comic, but I’m not going to assume that they are, especially with rumors of Ghostbusters 3 being in the works.  The book deals with Ray and his premonitions of the return of Zuul.  Other ghostly activity begins to grip New York and it ends with the prophecy showing the death of the Ghostbusters.  It’s a fun book that in my opinion nails the personalities of all the characters involved.  If you’re a fan of the Ghostbusters movies, I say you should give this a shot.  If you don’t know who the Ghostbusters are, this series doesn’t really leave you in the dark on too many things… but I highly suggest watching at least the first movie just to know some of the homages and details more thoroughly.

Verdict - Recommended

Green Lantern Corps #3 was good… and there isn’t much else to say about it.  The battle against the enemies in this issue, who can also seemingly control the green energy of willpower, leads to a rescue attempt going bad.  There’s not much else to say about it.  It’s got some good character moments and it makes you wanna see what happens in the next issue.

Verdict – Recommended

The Incredible Hulk #2… I think I’m abraisive towards this comic simply because I absolutely loved Greg Pak’s run on the book.  It turned The Incredible Hulk into one of my absolute favorite characters and I was so disappointed to see it go… not to mention to see ANOTHER series get a stupid re-numbering.  Seriously, comic writers, re-numberings DO NOT HELP!  And they’re damn sure not going to change the stigma that has been established for comics that you’ve buried yourself in by making events of the past a “must read to understand” situation.  That ranting aside, this was decent.  We still don’t know exactly how The Incredible Hulk and Bruce Banner got separated, but it seems that Banner is the one who isn’t happy with it.  He can’t reconcile with his wife, the Red She-Hulk, and he’s obsessively trying to re-create the moment he became The Incredible Hulk and has had varied success… just not with himself.  There wasn’t anything in terms of action here, but we get some good story development.  I still recommend it, just not if you’re looking for a lot of Hulk smashing this month.

Verdict – Recommended

Justice League #3 continues the made for trade origin story of the new Justice League.  Wonder Woman shows up here and is a bit thoughtless as to the world around her as she openly hunts for harpies in Washington DC.  There is a cute moment between her and a little girl with ice cream though.  Also, we see Victor Stone begin to become Cyborg, which I’m guessing will be completed next issue.  This was a very action-centric book so there isn’t much to go on, other than groaning at Green Lantern calling “dibs” on Wonder Woman.  I’m just not sold on this yet, but am willing to see this origin story out.

Verdict - Recommended

Now it’s time to talk about Wonder Woman #3… I’m not happy with this book in general.  I think I went through a lot of denial these first few issues with Wonder Woman’s characterization.  This issue was a grim reality for me… Brian Azzarello is the absolute wrong person to be writing Wonder Woman, let alone redefining the character.  Wonder Woman was once the compassionate, heroic, peace-loving spirit of truth in the DC Universe.  This Wonder Woman is a battle-happy, over-aggressive, anti-hero-like, generic demi-god.  Yes, folks, Wonder Woman is no longer born from clay and blessed by the Greek pantheon and is now simply Zeus’s daughter.  That stupidity aside, the Amazons and the Greek gods themselves leave so much to be desired.  Since I’m going to go on a long-winded rant for the good with our next comic, I’m going to save you guys the headache here.  Your must watch video is Linkara’s Amazons Attack prologue video.  Compare the original history and characterization of Wonder Woman and the Amazons to this one and you’ll understand just what’s gone wrong here.

But the retcon isn’t the biggest fault with this book and, in fact, this series.  It’s just about everything else.  Wonder Woman has acted unheroic, the Amazons are just plain baffling at times, and it’s just not a fun book.  Since the first trade and hardcover is six issues long, I’m willing to see where this goes and hope this was just another made for trade story.  However, I’m not going to give this series much more of a break because I can see this getting even stupider.

Verdict - Pass

X-Men #21 continues a hopeful revival of the series.  Before, they were one-off X-Men adventures that were either good or just downright stupid.  They also had a habit of crossing over with other heroes a lot.  One thing I don’t like about this series is the title.  We have a book out right now called X-Men Legacy which stars Rogue.  Fine, but it used to be called X-Men too.  I really don’t know why they changed the name of X-Men to X-Men Legacy and came out with this.  How are we supposed to figure chronicle numberings?  Same with Captain America & Bucky and Captain America.  Stuff like this is just downright stupid.

What isn’t stupid, however, is the setup for this book.  The X-Men have learned of foreign powers getting their hands on Sentinels and they send a task force to put an end to it.  The team consists of Storm, Colossus, Domino, Warpath, Psylocke, and Jubilee.  Yes, Jubilee.  For those who don’t know, Jubilee was depowered after the events of House of M and eventually re-powered… with vampire powers from the beginning of this series.  It’s weird, yes, but now hopefully we won’t get any more jokes about her power being “razzle dazzle.”  That was always Dazzler’s M.O.  Besides, I always liked Jubilee.  She was my main on X-Men Legends… but that was also for the sheer fun of seeing her punch-out some of the big bads she has no business competing with.

Anyway, the book is already shaping up to be a lot better than it had been before.  The X-Men had grown to such large sizes that we really do need books like this to give them all their spotlight time.  I mean, let’s face it, we haven’t had an X-Men writer as talented as the former creative team of Justice Society of America (before their own stupid split) that can balance 20-some superheroes in one issue.  This is a nice alternative, though.  The X-Men books have always been favorites of mine and this one is shaping up to be a treat with three of my favorite X-Men (Storm, Psylocke, and Jubilee) in the mix.  If I have one downside to say about this team is that there’s not a lot of personality to this team.  Unless Jubilee’s suddenly going to start being like she was back before she was a vampire and Colossus regains his personality, this one could get real dull.

Also, I need to echo Linkara’s thoughts as to superhero teams.  I like my teams bright and colorful too.  This team is NOT bright and colorful… at least not as much as I’d like.  Yeah, we got Psylocke’s purplish blue, Jubilee has her bright yellow trenchcoat that’s just perfect for sneaking around, and Colossus has his red and yellow ensamble.  However, black is the dominate color with this team.  Besides Colossus and Psylocke (though with her it can be tough to tell sometimes), everyone has predominately black.  Domino is wearing all black, Warpath is wearing black with red trim, Storm is wearing black with gold trim, and Jubilee is wearing all black under her yellow coat.  This may be the Power Rangers fan in me talking, but what’s wrong with each individual having their own dominate color scheme?

That gripe aside, this book is a lot of fun two issues into the new era.  There’s a good twist with the Sentinel project at the end that really makes the situation feel that much more grim and the characters are generally enjoyable.  The only exception is Warpath, who doesn’t exhibit much personality at all, and Domino, who doesn’t exhibit much of anything under suspicion of being dead.  Good book, just hope for some more personality.

Verdict – Recommended

Finally, there’s the last book I want to talk about today.  X-23 #17.  Yes, I’ve recently heard that this, along with another book I like, Herc, is being cancelled along with Iron Man 2.0 (which I didn’t like so much, in spite of me giving it every opportunity to win me over).  This is a huge disappointment for me.  Some people look at X-23 and see her as just “Wolverine with boobs,” but I see her as her own character on her own merits.  A tortured woman who keeps herself distant from the world and who has never known what it’s like to truly be loved by the people around her.  Yes, she had a boyfriend at one point, apparently, but I didn’t read much about her until her Women of Marvel one-shot, so I  hope you’ll forgive me.  Still, this run has been good and this issue was a lot of fun.  Laura is babysitting Reed and Sue Richards’s children and all hell breaks loose.  I think we could have gotten some more comical bits, considering the set-up, but X-23 has rarely been a book focused on humor.  It’s been pretty dramatic at times.  I’ve really enjoyed this series.  As this seems to be the start of its final arc, I hope anyone who’s been intrigued will give it a shot on its final few issues.

Verdict – Recommended

As I’m still recovering from Skyward Sword, I may or may not pick up my entire pull this week either.  I will pick up what I saved from last week though as, well, it’s my shop’s policy to not keep books in the pull boxes for more than a month and I don’t wanna lose track.  Next week is a big reprieve week for me, so I’ll definitely be able to catch up then.  I don’t know if I’ll cover those leftover books on next week’s back stack yet, though, because these things can get pretty long on certain weeks and, as a personal preference, I don’t like long blog posts.  Heck, my first WWEekly Wrap-Up was over 11 pages in its initial draft before I reformatted it for the blog.  Still, I’m finding my blogger legs and I hope you’re all willing to stick with me for this ride.

This has been The Back Stack and… I’ll work on the closing statements.  ^_^;