The WWE PPV Hangover: Various thoughts on Bragging Rights, Wade Barrett beats Randy Orton by DQ with John Cena's "help," Kane buries Undertaker alive, and more

By Rich Twilling

-The WWE Bragging Rights pay-per-view took place last night in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and it was one of the worst WWE pay-per-view efforts of the year. The two big title matches had disappointing finishes and the elimination match did not mean anything before, during, or after.

-Wade Barrett said John Cena would be fired if Barrett did not beat Randy Orton (but not win the title) in the main event. Well, that gave away the finish. Going in, I thought WWE would put the belt on Barrett and get people talking, creating some interest.

Instead, they went with the very disappointing finish of having Cena rely on Barrett's unfortunate terminology. Cena attacked Barrett and Barrett won the match because the attack forced the referee to disqualify Orton.

The bigger problem is Barrett and Cena are the top program on Raw right now. Orton, the WWE Championship, has become an afterthought on Raw. There are times when the championship means very little and now is one of those times. A program with Barrett as champion, Orton chasing, and Cena stuck in the middle would have been very interesting.

-Nobody cares about the Raw vs. Smackdown "rivalry." If they did, maybe the elimination match between the shows would have meant something, but it didn't. What does the winning show get? Nothing. What does the winning wrestler(s) get? Nothing. No title shot. No nothing.

On top of that, WWE had an opportunity to get someone really over by winning this match. The Miz, Ezekiel Jackson, and/or John Morrison could have used the win on Raw. Alberto Del Rio, Kofi Kingston, and/or Jack Swagger could have used the win on Smackdown.

Instead, they went with Edge and Rey Mysterio. Edge and Rey Mysterio? More than ten combined World Championships between the two. Multiple secondary championships. Two men that have won the Royal Rumble. Two men that have main evented numerous pay-per-views. Why did they need this? This match was meaningless, but a win for someone coming up could have given it some meaning.

-Kane buried The Undertaker alive with help from The Nexus. The last time Taker was buried alive, he left in his American Badass character and returned as the Deadman. Hopefully this is the end of this championship feud.

What I want to see is Kane drop the belt to someone, and then Taker come back to get his revenge. Three straight pay-per-views of Kane vs. Undertaker championship matches in 2010 is not the way Smackdown (or WWE) should be going right now. For some, it was a fun trip down memory lane. For most, it was campy and corny. If you want to see more of The Nexus, that should be happening.

-John Cena and David Otunga became WWE Tag Team Champions. There is nothing wrong with that really because the tag titles don't mean anything in WWE. However, WWE thought throwing Cena into a wrestling match, unadvertised, on a pay-per-view was a good idea? I wonder how many PPV buys were lost because Cena was not advertised for a match.

-Daniel Bryan and Dolph Ziggler had a damn good opening match. I don't understand why matches like that, from two guys like that, cannot be main eventing these shows. WWE has a plethora of wrestlers that are entertaining AND great in the ring. Why not go all the way with this youth movement, while still utilizing veterans effectively? Instead, we get a lot of the same stuff.

-The Divas Division still means nothing. The champion(s) are heels lacking charisma and there is not a babyface the fans want to see unseat them. A good division would have a great heel champion and a very compelling, sympathetic babyface chasing that champion. This division has neither.

-I will say this about the Ted DiBiase vs. Goldust feud. It's been a long time since WWE put any thought into a lower card feud. Remember the Attitude Era? Every feud and program was thoughtful and meaningful. Not everything is going to be a main event level feud, but it's nice to see these guys involved in a program.