Kester's WWE Raw Rundown: The Slammies are awarded, The Shield attacks Ric Flair, and Big E Langston makes his debut

By Ryan Kester

John Cena and AJ Lee

Ah, it feels good to see crazy heel AJ again. She is really at her best with this character, and she provides a good foil to Cena's carefree babyface persona. She isn't back to the levels she once was, but seeing her take steps in that direction is great.

While I am happy to see Langston get called up, his debut felt rather flat. Pairing him with AJ is smart, but I felt they needed to hype him up somehow. The Shield's run-in debut worked because it was in the middle of a hot match and served as the climax of that action. Langston's attack debut just sort of happened.

The Shield

The Shield had another great night. Ric Flair's return was awesome, and feeding him to The Shield was a wise move. It gave the group a great deal of heat when they attacked a man that had such a hot return.

As a side note, I enjoyed Flair's interaction with Punk and Heyman as well. WWE is doing well to keep Punk relevant and in the public eye during his latest pre-winter injury.

The Slammies

Without a doubt, the awards were the low point of the show. WWE does well when they give out an award and treat it seriously, but far too many of the Slammies were ridiculous and used for comedic effect.

Still, I enjoyed Triple H returning to accept the match of the year award, and the announcement of Undertaker not being done was enough to intrigue viewers to tune in for the beginning of the Road to WrestleMania. I simply wish all of the awards were treated as an actual big deal.

Overall Show

Last night's show was fun. The awards I could take or leave, but the returns were done well and the show had an energy about it that most three hour Raws lack.

If you have any questions or comments or just wish to chat with a fellow wrestling fan about whatever, then feel free to email me at ryan.kester@gmail.com or follow me on Twitter.