Hello everyone!  I'm sorry you haven't heard from me sooner, but it's been quite an eventful week.  I apologize for not getting my reviews up, but that's not to say that you won't get any input on this week's shows.  Since I didn't have time to do each individual review, I figured I'd combine the best and worst of each show in one big article entitled "The Week in Review".  I hope this format works, but if it doesn't, I'll just have to make more of an effort to not miss my individual reviews in the future!

RAW

-The Bret Hart saga that began last week with his assault is over.........for now.  Vince fired Bret at the beginning of the telecast and announced a new GM.

-Let the speculation begin because the new GM is..............a computer?  As of now, Michael Cole gets emails (which sound suspiciously like instant messages from MSN) from the new GM, who is anonymous.  Unlike most, I like the idea, as even for a little while, it adds another unanswered question to keep viewers tuning in. 

-Either the new GM is brainless of connected.  The first act from this anonymous GM was to hire the whole NXT renegade group.  I'm pretty sure that in most jobs, breaking into live broadcasts, destroying pricy equipment, injuring a superior and a champion would be grounds for detainment in a jail cell, but in the WWE, it's grounds for hiring.  Interesting plot twist, but it makes it pretty clear that this GM is a friend to the NXT group.

-Sheamus absolutely deserves the spot he has.  The mini swerve he pulled in the opening segment was genius.  Just when everyone thought he had turned a corner, he showed his true colors and got the boo birds.

-I did not like Cena challenging Sheamus that night, mainly because it's become his M.O. and is entirely too predictable.  Throwing Vince in the mix as referee was a nice touch though. 

-Jericho putting his career scared the hell out of the internet fans, because we know that Jericho is hosting a new gameshow which put him on the hotseat with management, so this stipulation had many believing this would indeed to Jericho's finally match.

-Glad Jericho got the win, because he's so talented and you can use him in any part of the broadcast.  WIth that said, he did an amazing job of putting Bourne over even in a loss.  I still expect Bourne to hold U.S. gold within the next calendar year. 

-I speculated that Jericho might lose and be the anonymous GM, given his connection to Barrett, but after his win and the chummy phone call Vince had with this person, the safer pick for active wrestlers as GMs is Triple H.....

-Ted Dibiase dumping Virgil is a good thing, and picking up Maryse is a better thing, but clearly WWE hasn't gotten the memo that Ted stinks and doesn't deserve any of this.  Why not put Maryse with Miz like they teased in the past?  At least he is going somewhere in the company.

-I'll give credit where credit is due though, as Ted had the line of the night.  When Virgil asked "what will you do for protection?", Ted calmly responded "I'll go to the drugstore."  Just enough innuendo to keep the Attitude Era geeks satisfied with "risque" programming.

-Natalya also had a great line, as she shared my sentiment that the NXTers deserved jail moreso than contracts.  Plus, the interview was done to hype Natalya's Raw in-ring debut which is certainly a positive.

-Natalya faced Tamina, who has absolutely no redeeming qualities.  I may have said it before, but it's worth repeating: she is an ugly chick!  I literally think that if I polled 100 guys, every one of them would be repulsed by her. 

-I like Natalya doing the Sharpshooter better than that spinning lariat, but I still think she needs a powerful finisher like a powerbomb or something.

-Very cool entrance by NXT as they walked in a straight line like an army.  Although with the bands, it's a little too Nazi-ish perhaps for this Jewish writer. 

-As this NXT group takes shape, I think it's clear that Barrett, Tarver, and maybe Sheffield should do the talking, while Slater, Barrett, Gabriel, and Young should do the wrestling.  This would highlight their skills best, because some of them just suck on the mic.

-With that said, it was pretty funny to hear Tarver mention all of his kids.  Who knew he had so many?  Also, it was great to hear Young reference himself as "the black John Cena".  This is something from his developmental days, and look carefully, because he DOES look like John Cena!

-At this point, it was interesting how they all tried to apologize but got booed.  Fans were unsure where the thing was going now that thad had contracts, but I'm glad no one had sympathy for them.

-The best part of this segment was the unveiling of what I think is the group's name, The Nexus.  Wade Barrett used the term in his promo, and letting you in on a secret, the WWE copyrighted that name just last week, so I'm pretty sure that's their name and what they N armband stands for.  Excellent name choice. 

-Another sexual inneundo line from Ted as he refuses a match with John Morrison for Maryse.  I'm not a Maryse fan, but given the choice at wrestling or a beautiful new girlfriend, I'm choosing the latter every time.

-As for me, I was more than happy to not have to see Ted perform, especially when Zack Ryder was his replacement.  I've made no secret of the fact that I support my own, especially when they are ultra talented, and I believe Ryder is doing a great job with his character. 

-Morrison wins when he actually somewhat hits Starship pain.  This is an improvement from his usual complete miss. 

-Decent Cena promo, and I like that he didn't accept the apology.  I'm also a big fan of the tension between Vince and Cena.  With the mixed reactions he gets, I think he'd benefit a lot from being anti-Vince moving forward.  Hell, it helped him in the short term with his feud against Batista, who was sided with McMahon.

-Primo is a heel now?  It's great to have a guy turn against the crowd when the crowd hasn't seen him since Bush was president. 

-Lame match.  I get that they want to push an Alicia/Eve feud without having them fight one on one yet, but I'd rather a diva tag than that crap.  Hell, here's an idea.........create tension beyond just the belt by making it personal!  It's so outlandish, it just might work!

-I, unlike others, like that Orton's face character isn't so different than his heel character.  It is his heel tactics that made people like him in the first place, so why change him?  However, I'd limit his mic time, as his mic skills aren't great, and he gets over better by his acting and his wrestling.

-Mark out moment for me!  Miz interrupts Orton!  I've been saying it's only a matter of time before Miz is main eventing, and this is just a tease of what's to come. 

-Very cool segment and I like the possibility of a Miz/Orton feud much more than the current Edge/Orton feud.

-However, Edge did a nice job at the end of this segment with his spear and one cryptic line.  Just when I start to doubt Edge, he does something cool to pull me back in.  Still think he's better off as a face though.

-So Vince is an enforcer, not a referee.  Not sure how that helps any, especially since Nexus has 7 people and Vince is one man at 64 years of age.  He couldn't stop them if his life depended on it!

-Sheamus is a pretty good wrestler, but I'd like for him to add a couple of more power moves.  I think a solid spinebuster would be good for his arsenal as well as another slam.  He needs to be all about picking guys up and throwing them down. 

-Good match before Nexus interferes, but is that Cena's rematch?  Kind of lame if you ask me, but the Nexus angle is greater than the title right now so it really doesn't matter.

-Vince had us all going for a moment thinking he was the leader of Nexus.  Thankfully he's not, because had he been, the angle would have been deader than Gary Coleman.

-Too soon?

-Before Vince was beat up, he said the new GM will reveal something next week.  So not only do we sitll NOT know if Nexus has a leader, but we also have an announcement to ponder.  We're getting back to a point where each episode leaves us with just as many questions as the one before, which keeps people tuning in.  Glad WWE figured that out again.  It's only what enabled them to become what they are in the first place. 

NXT

-The new announcer is both more attractive and more energetic than Savannah.  I think this is a clear upgrade.

-Just as I say that, she says that The Miz and Alex Riley weigh a combined 244 pounds...........yea, even 2 of ME weigh more than that!

-Percy Watson annoys me.  He's a lot of flash with very little to offer outside of it.  First lesson in wrestling:  you can only get the crowd fired up when you can back it up!

-Average match, but you could see that the pros had to slow down to work with the rookies.  If you ever doubt someone's in ring ability, remember how quickly they execute in the big leagues.  No matter how many moves you might do in a given match, it's still impressive to do them fluidly.

-Glad Miz and Riley got the win, as I need Watson to get eliminated.  As bad as this sounds, I was amused at the fact that he has heat on him backstage (legit heat).  I guess cockiness doesn't get left in the ring.......not smart kid.

-Titus O'Neill is a liar!  While most of what he said is true in his promo video, he is NOT in the Gator hall of fame.  I have been unable to find any evidence of this, and I've been a Gator fan all my life.  I love that he's a Gator and does the chomp when he comes out for a match, but don't lie.  Come on man!

-Apparently McGillicutty is Joe Hennig's mother's maiden name.  That is what WWE told us, except that it isn't.  I appreciate the effort to explain the stupid last name, but you can't fool me.  Just let him be Hennig and be done with it!

-At least Mikey M beat Titus quickly.  I can't support my fellow Gator until he shows me more, and these matches are just tough to watch.

-Hennig's finisher needs to be crisper.  It's not bad though.

-Cottonwood vs. Kaval means David vs. Goliath.  Boy do I hate these matches.

-Just as I suspected, little guy does well until he gets caught and ruthlessly thrown to the mat for the pin.

-This match did not showcase Kaval well.  The Warrior's Way is a very overrated move and none of his other offense was all that impressive in this one. 

-Just a disclaimer for all those that will probably start a crusade against me based on that last statement:  I don't dislike Kaval, but I don't think he's been properly showcased on WWE TV yet.

-I like Lucky Cannon's video and his story makes me want to support him as a babyface.  If he can build on that character, he may actually have something. 

-Speaking of having something, Kaval now has a nasty pink shirt to go with his 0-2 record.  On top of that, I'm not sure if I love his interaction with Laycool or hate it.  I think I love it because I think I really dig Laycool's annoying antics. 

-The Raw GM emails Cole to say that Nexus' actions against Vince McMahon will be met with appropriate consequences.  I thought about saying that the GM was the one that hired Nexus, but if they weren't employed, they would have caused more problems, so I think it's fair.  Not sure what "appropriate consequences" are, but we'll see.

-Cody Rhodes does beat Cannon in under 5 minutes, but Cannon disappoints me greatly, as he takes Cross Rhodes very poorly.  The move usually looks really devastating, but this time it looked eh.  Most of wrestling is taking punishment, so the kid definitely has something to think about.

-With that said, I want a "I got lucky" shirt.  It works on many different levels....

-Interviews are pretty standard.  They all sell themselves decently well, but Kaval needs to not talk.  His voice is just plain too deep.  Couple that with his new pink shirt and it's a ridiculous image. 

-Again, Percy Watson is NOT entertaining.  He is just plain annoying and I hope he gets eliminated first.  Rhyming is cute, but there is no way anyone can ever take him seriously. 

-Poor Matt Striker.  This time Husky Harris beats him up to end the show.  Especially now that I've met him, I feel bad that he gets crapped on as NXT host.  I mean, he did wrestle........why not have him wrestle a match against Harris next week?

-Voting is next week, and I will be casting my vote for Percy Watson to be eliminated.  Who's with me?

Smackdown

-So Smackdown will have a Money in the Bank to get an opportunity within a year to cash it in.  I don't like that this basically kills the concept at Wrestlemania, but I do like that main eventers will probably be in it.

-I still don't get how Vince McMahon can be portrayed one way on Raw, and be kissing Drew's ass on Smackdown, even when he's not there.  I get that Drew's "the chosen one", but it's kind of a big plot hole for me.

-I do like that they tied Vince's injury to Teddy's power though, and I'm glad Matt Hardy is reinstated.  There's only so long you can keep someone out and having them run in before it gets old.

-Solid promo by Swagger, but is he Bret Hart?  Making excuses for a loss?  I guess it gets heel heat, but I'd rather he just say that he's mad about losing and will make people pay because he suffered and his dad suffered on father's day (nice touch on that line by the way).

-Swagger is now officially tall Kurt Angle.  He's been using the amateur wrestler thing, wearing red, white and blue, but now using the ankle lock?  Couldn't he use ANY OTHER SUBMISSION???  He needs to learn another, because being constantly compared to Kurt Angle will not benefit him in the long run. 

-Nice job by Big Show selling the injury though.  For what it's worth, it makes Swagger look legit.........until he loses to a midget at Money in the Bank.

-Very solid match next, and it was good to see Christian and MVP get some revenge on Hawkcher (it's the best I could come up with!).  Add Kofi and Dolph Ziggler into the mix and you have what makes Smackdown great, a solid wrestling contest that takes up a quarter of an hour. 

-Rey will address the fans next week.  It's always good to give your new champion time off the week he wins the belt.  Way to start your reign Rey!

-Nice promo by Kane.  Typical scary stuff with his language, but how is he so sure CM Punk did this to his brother?  At what point did it become clear that he needed to target Punk?  Still kind of a plot hole there. 

-Apparently people are happy to see Matt Hardy back...........take that smarky crowd who calls him Fatt Hardy!

-There's no question that Drew's push is over at this point.  He had a decent match here, but 2 losses to Matt Hardy means move to the back of the line. 

-To add fuel to the fire, Teddy Long announces that Drew's visa expired and he is escorted out of the building.  Not sure where this can go, but clearly Drew is not going to be competing for anythign meaningful anytime soon.  I'm fine with that, provided Cody Rhodes and Dolph Ziggler are the next 2 in line to feud with Kofi for the IC belt. 

-Speaking of Cody, he finally has a character!  It might be a cross between Derek Zoolander, Michael Kelso, and "The Narcissist" Lex Luger, but at least he has something to build on. 

-He had some great lines in the promo, but there were times that it felt a tad awkward.  For a long promo though, it was very solid.

-I loved the one time he posed as he said "Dashing Cody Rhodes".  Very Zoolander-esque, but almost too funny to be heel.

-Now that he has a character, let him go in the ring and pose after he hits moves.  That type of gimmick and his elite wrestling ability can take him very far. 

-I thought Ziggler deserved next opportunity, but then I saw his backstage promo with Vickie.  The guy can wrestle, but he is softspoken and almost comes off as gay.  How can I take him seriously as a cocky, jerk of a heel?  He asked for in IC title shot, and I think he'll get it, but I hope he doesn't win.  I am not high on him at the moment. 

-Why is Rosa Mendes jumping rope?  There's really nothing else to say about that.

-I loved that Flawless was coming down to commentate, but they got like 5 seconds of commentary in because that's how long the match was.  I know Rosa sucks, but for commentary sake, give at least a few minutes! 

-I love the name "blondetourage" for Kelly Kelly and Tiffany.  I'm just waiting for a TNA mark to tell me that WWE ripped that off from "Kongtourage" in TNA and that TNA has all the good ideas. 

-Will the blondetourage fight Laycool for the cochampionship?  It might be an interesting idea......

-Interesting promo from Alberto Del Rio (Dos Caras to those who know of him from Mexico or from working house shows).  Great look, bad mic skills.  I was not a fan of this promo, but I do see potential in him to grow with his spoken word.

-Punk comes out and claims he is innocent.  While many heels might say this and be lying, I believe Punk.  If Punk did it, he'd be bragging about it from day 1.  The fact that he hasn't said a word tells me that he is innocent and Kane is taking it out on the wrong man.  Of course, it could end up being Kane, making this angle complete crap.  On record, I want to say that I liked the potential of this angle just like I liked the potential of "what's in Kane's bag/'is he alive or dead'", but that angle was ruined and I believe this one will be as well.

-Fun little match ensued and it was interesting to see the thing spill out to outside the whole arena.  That's not something you see every day, so it certainly perked you up.

-I'm not sure where this is going, but I suspect that they both will be in Money in the Bank, but unfortunately, Punk won't win because of Kane.  That sucks, because this mini feud is costing Punk precious time that should be spent plotting at how to become champion again.

-I am absolutely spent from doing this triple show review.  I thought it would be a great way to catch up, but it really ended up being long and tough.  I don't think I'm going to miss another review, but I may try this bullet point format for at least one of the shows.  Let me know with comments whether you like this format better or the typical paragraph format.  Anyway, things will get back to normal next week.  I hope you enjoyed all the shows, and if you haven't, go watch them now!