Powell's WWE Raw Hitlist: John Cena vs. Zack Ryder, C.M. Punk gets the better of The Miz and Alberto Del Rio, Dolph Ziggler vs. Sheamus, Randy Orton vs. The Miz, WWE Network video


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Powell Editorials


Powell's WWE Raw Hitlist: John Cena vs. Zack Ryder, C.M. Punk gets the better of The Miz and Alberto Del Rio, Dolph Ziggler vs. Sheamus, Randy Orton vs. The Miz, WWE Network video
Dec 6, 2011 - 02:10 PM


By Jason Powell

Dot Net Members are listening to my 55-minute audio review of Raw, and the two-hour Shawn Daivari interview. Join us on the ad-free version of the website by signing up for membership via the Dot Net Members' Signup Page.

WWE Raw Hits

John Cena vs. Zack Ryder: WWE went overboard with Ryder last night, as correspondents who attended the show noted that the crowd was getting tired of seeing him and his entrance by the end of the show. They're trying to establish Ryder as Cena's little buddy. I'm all for Cena having a friend that can be used as a setup man that heels can use to get to him, but a comedy character isn't exactly what I had in mind for that role. Nevertheless, it was an interesting match pairing that led to an interesting story with Cena sacrificing his own title match to help Ryder get his. Why do I still suspect that Cena will end up in the WWE Championship match at TLC?

Contract signing: I would have had a problem with the way this played out if John Cena was in the C.M. Punk role. The difference to me is that they are still trying to establish Punk as a top babyface, whereas Cena is firmly entrenched in his role. The segment didn't do anything to get me excited about the pay-per-view main event, but Punk's longterm popularity is more important than one match, so I was okay with the way they made him look strong. Of course, the downside is that it did even more damage to Miz, who already had a bad night (see the Misses section), and Del Rio. By the way, I got a kick out of John Laurinaitis calling for the group photo.

Alberto Del Rio vs. Daniel Bryan: This is the one time that Del Rio actually looked good last night. Plus, they gave Bryan an out by having him sell a rib injury suffered at the hands of Mark Henry on the live Smackdown. Del Rio didn't gain much from this, but at least they protected Bryan.

Sheamus vs. Dolph Ziggler: A fun match while it lasted. Ziggler continues to be the most entertaining guy to watch in the business in terms watch a character progress into a main eventer. Dolph may have lost this match, but it was good to see him in the main event mix briefly and get a chance to boast about being the longest running champion in the company. It was also nice to hear John Cena mock the way WWE overdid the "Showoff" gimmick last week.

WWE Raw Misses

Randy Orton vs. The Miz: They spent the last two weeks building up The Miz by having him take out R-Truth and John Morrison, only to have Orton dominate him during this match. Granted, Miz went over due to a count out, but it felt like they undid whatever good they did when they were trying to give Miz more of an edge. He looked like a pest heel and undeserving of a title shot. Meanwhile, Orton looked like a major league meathead for basically handing Miz the win by running after Wade Barrett, only to be outsmarted by Barrett seconds later. This match didn't do anyone any favors.

Zack Ryder vs. Mark Henry: I'm not a fan of seeing Henry lose matches as it takes away from his dominance even when John Cena is responsible for it. One can only hope that Henry is made to look strong next week when he faces Cena in the Raw main event.

WWE Network video: I'm still recovering from the seizure that this video induced.

Kelly Kelly and Eve vs. Beth Phoenix and Natalya: The presentation of this match was flawed. They waited until after Kelly pinned Beth to make a big fuss over Beth and Natalya losing for the first time in months. It may have meant something if they had actually taken the time to establish that the duo was on a winning streak before they lost the match. Plus, listening to Michael Cole attempt to establish this as a major upset was odd considering that Kelly pinned Beth at least twice on pay-per-view while defending the Divas Championship.

Kevin Nash vs. Santino Marella: It was a simple squash match designed to make Nash look good, yet Santino was able to beg off from the sledgehammer just seconds after taking the Jackknife powerbomb. Strange.

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