WWE Monday Night Raw Recap 11/16/09: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
The Good
Opening of the show – Roddy Piper and The Iron Sheik: Funny way to open the show. If you’re a fan of my “Witticisms” you know that I feel that the Iron Sheik is comic gold. Not sure if he knows it or not.
The Miz in ring Promo: Gee, the Miz can get heat anywhere he goes. I’d like him to stay away from relying on “me vs. the crowd’s city” but he was still effective.
U.S. Title Match: The Miz vs. MVP: I enjoyed this match. Back and forth, with MVP getting a lot of offense. The ending came when The Miz capitalized on one mistake by MVP, and hit the SCF for the pin. I like the way The Miz usually gets the win because he uses his head and anticipates mistakes.
Match Rating – 3.5 out of 5 stars
Chavo Guerrerro vs. Santino Marrella: Now this was two funny, physically gifted athletes putting on a clinic of how to make a match entertaining, from a comedic perspective. Santino got the win when Hornswoggle distracted Chavo…well, that part I could’ve done without, but the rest of the match was funny to watch. When Santino was taking off his jerseys, he had the crowd captivated like only he can.
Match Rating – 3 out of 5 clown faces
DX Promo with Hornswoggle: This is a lukewarm “Good”, because up until the point that HHH gave Hornswoggle the Pedigree, it was the same rote DX promo that I’m beginning to get sick of. That might’ve been the point though. Here’s a thought…does this possibly plant the seed for a DX heel turn? Not sure, but if not, I still don’t like the fact that there is no tension between these guys whatsoever going into a Triple Threat Match for the title.
MSG and the WWE Music Video: I don’t usually include promotional videos in these Recap/Reviews, but hailing from New York, and having remembered a lot of those moments, I was moved to include it in my “Good” column.
Chris Jericho promo with Roddy Piper: Chris Jericho, Roddy Piper? Together? Where else could this segment have landed up? Both men were on their game here, with Jericho’s priceless facial reactions stealing the show.
Diva’s Title Match – Melina vs. Alicia Foxx: This turned into a “LumberJILL” Match, which was kind of annoying, but did the job of promoting the Surivor Series match, which is commendable. Very short match, with Melina picking up the relatively decisive win. Another lukewarm “Good” here, but I felt like the match was good enough, despite being so short.
Match Rating – 2.5 out of 5 stars
Roddy Promo in ring Promo with Vince McMahon: Now this is why I thought the “Host” idea would work when I first heard of it. Bring these legends back, and let them do their thing. Now, Piper’s thing just happens to be ranting like a lunatic, and rant he did. The best thing about Roddy is you can never tell when he is going “rogue”, and off-script. The back and forth between he and McMahon was both nostalgic, and entertaining.
Sheamus annihilates bell ringer and Jerry Lawler: Sheamus continued his build toward being the biggest badass on Raw. Nice kick to the head of Lawler. They have something going here. Here’s hoping that they don’t screw it up.
Jack Swagger vs. Evan Bourne: Another lukewarm “Good” here, but good nonetheless. I’m not a big fan of the revenge pin, which this basically was, with Swagger getting the win after having lost to Bourne the previous week. I said it in a “Witticisms” this weekend…why have Swagger lose last week in the first place? I enjoyed this match, short as it was, and Swagger’s powerbomb looked sick.
Match Rating – 3 out of 5 stars
Roddy Piper vs. Vince McMahon turns into one of the best segments I’ve seen all year on Raw: No, Vince McMahon didn’t come out. Randy Orton did. And he kicked the snot out of Roddy Piper, but Kofi Kingston came in to make the save. I started to roll my eyes, and then the two younger stars put on an arena brawl that was exciting and innovative, and frankly reminded me of something out of ECW, circa 1995. And that’s a really good thing. The highlight came, when after Kofi smashed a technician’s case into Orton’s head, he laid him on a table, and jumped off a railing onto him. They first teased it, with the refs pulling him away, and the crowd was in a frenzy when he broke away and hit the move. I haven’t been this excited about a WWE segment in a while.
Triple Threat Tag Team Match – DX vs. JeriShow vs. John Cena and The Undertaker: Wow…long entrance for The Undertaker…like no one’s seen him in more than five days. So what if he’s on Raw? Great moment when HBK and Undertaker were in the ring alone. The Big Show excels when he doesn’t have to carry a match by himself. Not a lot of storytelling here…just a lot of action. Everyone pretty much hit their finishers at the end, with John Cena getting the pin on HHH after the Attitude Adjustment. After the match, Undertaker gave Cena a Tombstone, which was interesting.
Match Rating – N/A, in my opinion, because this was more of a physical promo than an actual match. Bottom line was it was very entertaining.
The Bad
John Cena’s Promo: Que the Funny, then the serious. Nah…not buying it.
The Ugly
Great show tonight, so nothing here.Â
TWD is currently looking for a second TNA writer. Interested parties should contact Jason Le Blanc or Ray Bogusz via their emails: jleblanc@thewrestlingdaily.com and rbogusz@thewrestlingdaily.com
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One of the better RAWs I’ve seen in a long time. The one downside (other than that horrendous waste of a women’s match) was the fact that Miz came OUT FIRST!
He got what sounded like the heel pop of the night. Hands down most entertaining guy on “The E” right now.
Funny… I thought it was a better women’s match then I’ve seen in a while… I’m not good at judging them though. I think they’re all horrible.
Generally speaking, when you’re watching “The E,” all women’s matches are horrible unless they involve some combination of two of the following women (as singles wrestlers)
Mickie, Beth, Natalya, Gail on a good night.
Mickie is still blindly loved. Her name shouldn’t be put anywhere near Gail Kim or Natalya. Keep her with Phoenix and McCool.
The set up for Orton’s punt on Piper was clearly botched. For me, it actually kind of tainted the whole brawl that followed. Does that make me a bad person?
No, the brawl would have been that much better if the friggin’ sound guy hit the music on time. So, I am with you that it was somewhat tainted. 8.5 out of 10 on the brawl?
Thirded. I would’ve thought Orton could’ve come up with something better than, “they messed up so I’m going to switch back to the stomps.” Oh well. Still nice brawl.
Noticed the botch… to be honest brawl literraly made me forget about it until I just read this… but at the time? Bad form sound guy.
I didn’t have problems with Raw except:
1) The botched “punt”
2) Divas match
3) DX promo that ran entirely too long.
4) (And my biggest gripe of all) The fact that I still have no good reason to watch the Raw Triple Threat match. -_____-
Biggest WIN of the night (for me anyway) – The destruction of the little annoying green guy. I said to myself that years ago, that would have equaled a heel turn for DX.
I know. My siblings were entertained and my sister was rolling on the floor laughing when DX pwnd Swoggle. I for one, think DX does some of the stuff they do just to piss Vince off. I refuse to believe they actually like what they’re doing half the time. I’ve also concluded that neither member of DX could care less about this match because IF Cena wins, he will have “overcome the odds” for the umpteenth time so who really gives a crap ya know?
Just a side note, I’m going out on a limb here and say HHH manages to win the belt from Cena. Why? Because Cena vs HHH hasn’t been done as many times as Cena/Orton. If it happens (God no!) then you heard it here first because WWE Creative values “shock factor” over anything that makes any kind of sense.
How ’bout Undertaker interference and eventual-as-the-gimmick-I’m-parodying…bong…bong…bong…title unification!?! Is it me, or is it weird that over-the-top gimmicks have gone the way of the PG-plus rating?
I liked the Undertaker interference. I was ill that Cena got the win for his team so The Deadman taking him out was great. I was also a little ticked that we got a rushed match. I figured it would be that way though considering Vince isn’t one for giving away PPV worthy matches on TV. The concept in itself is worthy enough for a PPV. I know I’d buy it if the right persons are involved.
Naa…not just you. The gimmicks have def turned PG. Someone pointed out last night on Facebook that Raw is so PG that even the fans have gone with it. (In reference to some guy telling King to “F Sheamus up” instead of actually dropping the F-Bomb.) I’m also really, really reaching my breaking point with DX. I want Shawn separated from Hunter. But then, I’m just a selfish fan who’d rather watch Shawn or Hunter feud with people like MVP, Sheamus, or Legacy on their own rather than a group. I’m tired of the cheap plugs. Hell they both wear so much merchandise every week that they really don’t have to say anything. But whatever.
im going with the hbk heel turn for shock factor value….maybe the tombstone was a tease of wm 26????
I didn’t watch the show, but I might have to catch a replay. Sounds like it was a good show.
I would have to say, compared to everything else WWE’s been churning out recently, I think this was one of the better shows!
Sure, more time for The Miz/MVP match wouldn’t have been bad, but anytime you have Piper, Sheik, and DX on the same card, you know it’s going to be pretty damn entertaining!
really good RAW… i’ve always loved Piper he just HAS IT. In fact (and i may stand alone here) i can see his influence on both the Rock (the only person who can rant like Roddy) and Stone Cold (Piper was anti-establishment before there was an establishment).
anyway as for the show, quality. Miz is great, i just hope noone goes and turns him heel. MVP showed YET AGAIN why it makes no sense that the E are shitting on him. I personally think Hornswoggles DX stuff has been hilarious. Diva was a big improvement on what we’ve seen (guys Melina CAN wrestle). Triple Threat tag was just awesome. Suprised to see HHH take the pin which was cool, nice to see the WWE remembers that although Cena is SUPER….. TAKER IS INVINCIBLE.
BUT
I HATE CROSS PROMOTION SURVIVOR SERIES MATCHES…. THEY MAKE NOSENSE. WHY WOULD GUYS WHO WERE BRAWLING LAST PPV SUDDENLY WANT TO BE ON THE SAME TEAM. THERE IS JUST NO BUILD TO IT. HOW CAN YOU FEEL LIKE A TEAM WHEN YOUR NEVER TOGETHER.
WWE SPENDS THE WHOLE YEAR COMING UP WITH GIMMICK PPV’S AND THE ONE PPV THEY ALREADY HAVE A GIMMICK FOR THEY ARE BURYING….. WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH THEM
p.s. and pls use MVP
I agree about the PPV thing. While they may all be “heels” or “faces” it still makes no sense to have guys teaming up a month after they all beat the hell out of each other for brand supremacy. It’s kind of like that Annual WWE Draft they do each year…which this year it went to total crap when they ended up having about 4 more drafts to make up for all the BS moves they pulled in early April.
Shane, Vinve is my pet name for Mr. McMahon, thank you very much.
You must’ve been in a good mood, compared to last week
Funny Juan… I was actually in a really bad mood on Monday Night… a pattern for me, I guess. I guess my opinion really depends on the quality of the show after all. Thanks for noticing though.
Hornswoggle predigreed in the Garden! NYC Baby!!
Well, I see that my decision to avoid RAW like a puss-oozing leper was a wise choice, indeed.
God, DX makes me queasy. Just slap a pair of fishnet pantyhose on ‘em; whores should always look their part.
Woooo! STTA on TWD? Our stock just shot through the roof, children!
Unfortunately I’m betting on Randy Orton winning the Rumble. If not Orton to kill that loop hole of not being able to challenge Cena for the belt, Jericho wins it.
I have a feeling that MVP winning either of those are a very long shot. How about shooting for a tag title run?