As we all gathered with family and friends on New Year's Eve, we were joyous. I'm sure everyone reading was like me, hopeful that 2011 would bring success and joy greater than any previous year. Some of us may not be so lucky....
The Miz undoubtedly was surrounded by tons of friends (because who wouldn't want to celebrate with "The Awesome One"?), but most certainly had to think in the back of his mind that with a new year could come the loss of his title. His #1 contender scheduled a falls count anywhere match for the first Raw of the year, and there was a very real possibility that the reign of awesome could end.
Even more on edge had to be Wade Barrett. Though he was not present at last week's Raw, Barrett I'm sure is well aware that the group he created was usurped from him by a Straight Edge sneak. The English superstar had to be questioning if he could get his group back, and if not, where does that leave him?
Clearly, this first show of the year had a lot hanging on its shoulders. While it cannot match last year's which marked the return of Bret Hart to Raw, there were certainly issues to resolve. Did Miz lose the title? Did Barrett lose Nexus? And most importantly, where did each man fall in this week's HOT or NOT? Let's find out:
HOT
1. The Miz/John Morrison - It was announced a few hours before Raw that this title match would open the show., making it the first television match of 2010. Already, it's a match of the year candidate. There was action, big spots, intrigue, near falls, pain, and a fantastic win for the champion. These guys put on one of the best television matches I've seen in a while and kept the crowd on the edge of its seat. It's clear that these guys CAN headline a Pay Per View with matches like that, so it's kind of disappointing that they won't be now. Still, this performance should allow for a more heated feud to happen between them in the future that will include headlining shows. One last thing: can people please STOP saying that Miz can't put on a good match? Clearly, that's nowhere close to true.
2. Randy Orton - Guess who will get the title shot at the Royal Rumble? If you answered the man who has been in every Raw title match since Fatal 4 Way in June, you would be correct. Yes, despite all of the other new editions to the main event scene, it has been Orton who has constantly been involved with the title. Although he lost to Miz on his rematch clause at TLC, Orton again became #1 contender after winning a triple threat cage match with that stipulation. As much as I don't like it and wish that Morrison could have gotten that PPV spot, Orton lands on the HOT list for his achievement last night.
3. The Usos - Yep, I'm surprised too. However, the Samoan duo that has been irrelevant since getting killed by the Hart Dynasty got a clean pin over the Tag Team Champs. This could mean a tag title shot in the future, but what's even more intriguing is the story behind the story. Tamina left the Usos due to her infatuation with Santino. She is currently dating him and mimicking his moves in the ring. However, I noticed that as she hit the Cobra last night, she looked more confused than happy. Could it be that she's stringing him along to help her "bruddas"? This could get very interesting moving forward......
NOT
1. Wade Barrett - The "It sucks to be me" award is a landslide this week. It's Wade Barrett, and nobody in the wrestling world could possibly have a worse week. Barrett returned to Raw and tried to take back the group he created. He failed. CM Punk outsmarted Barrett, who lost his armband, his group, and his livlihood as a wrestler. It probably feels like losing a girlfriend to a friend. For a guy that has only known a career of being backed by peers, he'll now have to go it alone. Worse still, he also lost the #1 contendership to Randy Orton, and without Nexus, who knows if he is good enough to regain it on his own? It should be interesting to see what Wade Barrett does on his own, but for now, it has to suck to be Wade Barrett.
2. R-Truth - What a comeback.....or not. Did anyone else remember that Truth was out about a month with an illness? Yep, this was his big return and what a return it was! He got to come off as racist against Mexicans and subsequently was made to tap by the Mexican aristocrat in the ring. In a sense, his actions and punishment SHOULD come off as heelish, but with Alberto Del Rio fully entrenched as a heel, he was cheered. Still, Truth hasn't won anything in a while, and his sickness cancelled any plans of Truth taking out Nexus with Cena or screwing Cena and joining them. Thus, the sickness pushed Truth into irrelevance and jobber status. Oh, what could have been.....
3. Melina - She's a heel now? Yes, apparently trading slaps can do that, but where is the explanation? Are we just supposed to be like "she slapped a babyface, so she's bad now?" Seems kind of lame if you ask me. Even worse, she isn't so subtle about her personality change,. She now wears black and scowls, which is an old school trick meant to introduce new audiences quickly to a character to know if they should cheer or boo. The thing is, she's been known by WWE audiences for about 5 years. There should be a REASON that she turned heel, and "she wants the title" won't suffice. She won the #1 contender's match BEFORE turning, so something deeper is needed. GIVE IT TO US!! Oh yea, she might want to win matches too. Getting embarassed by Natalya and Eve will not make people believe that you are going to take the title off of Ms. Neidhart.
Again we are left with a cliffhanger, just the way I like it. What will become of Wade Barrett? Will he fight for his life on Raw? Maybe go to Smackdown? Time will tell. It should also be interesting to see John Cena come back next week knowing that his tormenter no longer has a group backing him, but that group has a new leader that hates him just as much. Man, it never ends for Cena! As for this show, if you like wrestling, this was the show for you. There was a ton of in ring time on this show, which given the time of the year, makes a lot of sense. The Royal Rumble is coming up, so individual stories don't need to be pushed so strongly yet. Thus, why not give the fans some great matches to watch each Monday? I'm not complaining! Here's hoping we get a better balance next week though, with the stories progressing and some more excellent wrestling.
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