Wednesday, May 26, 2010

OTL, Raw & NXT - Quitters & Winners


This past week has already given us some quitters and winners from Over the Limit PPV, WWE Raw and WWE NXT. Over the Limit saw one championship change over while the rest of the matches went by the book. WWE Raw saw a new champion crowned and a new GM instated, as well as one superstar deciding to officially "quit". On WWE NXT we saw more from former contestant Daniel Bryan and Michael Cole, plus the latest elimination.

Starting with OTL, there wasn't too much in the way of surprises for this Pay-Per-View. The only belt to change hands was the IC title, with Kofi defeating Drew McIntyre. Everyone else held onto their belts, although Swagger did so by getting DQ'd. That will lead to Big Show demanding a rematch, and likely being automatically inserted into a Fatal 4-Way by Teddy Long. As for the remaining spots, that's a good question. It could be CM Punk and Mysterio, or MVP or even Christian getting in. Or they may not even do a Fatal fourway for the World Title.

On Monday Night Raw, the show opened with Batista whining about what Cena did to him at OTL, tossing him off the top of a car down through the stage. Batista was all bandaged up and in a wheelchair in the ring. He said he'd get a WWE title match again when he was back from rehab. Just then, the new General Manager of Raw was introduced, Bret Hart, who came down to address The Animal's demands. Bret gave him the option to fight in a Fatal 4-Way Qualifying match. Batista said he was too hurt to do so, so Bret said his opponent, Randy Orton, wins by forfeit. Batista didn't like the new GM's decision and kept throwing a tantrum for the fans, before finally yelling that he quit. Is it the last we've seen of him? Probably not, I mean how many times has the Undertaker died and come back, or has Jericho or Vickie been fired, etc etc.

So on Raw, because Bret is new GM he gave up the US Title. Former champ The Miz competed against R-Truth to determine the new owner, and R-Truth won it. Nice to see Truth get a singles title, which could push him towards bigger and better things in the future. Still you have to wonder about the validity or power of the Intercontinental and US Titles in the past few weeks. Both have been vacated, and won or given away under questionable circumstances. Drew getting fired then getting the title given back after Kofi won it, was a new twist, but still weakened the belt just a bit. Bret Hart didn't really win the US Title, Hart Dynasty came in to help put Miz down for the Sharpshooter. Kinda makes Bret look like Santino did when he first won the IC title.

As for WWE NXT, the Daniel Bryan and Michael Cole stuff has been pure gold. In fact, Bryan cuts some great, realistic promos and Michael Cole is doing a good job as well. I've never had anything against Cole, but some hate him. Still, it's fun to watch him play a heel role, and maybe he'll become someone's manager, or even step into the ring at some point. The Bryan losing streak and elimination now make more sense as it set this story up.

Speaking of eliminations, the latest to go was Heath Slater. Barrett, Otunga and Gabriel are still around in the 1, 2, 3 spots for the finale next week. It'll be interesting to see which way it goes. Barrett has got the heel presence, but you can't deny Otunga's charisma and personality for a WWE role. Like I've said before, I bet we'll see most of the NXT rookies re-appear at some point in new roles.

The other question regarding NXT, if they're trying to create a reality show like American Idol or Dancing with the Stars, why not let the fans vote? Obviously if fans had been voting we wouldn't have been treated to the Daniel Bryan-Michael Cole saga, but still, maybe WWE should try a season of NXT with fan voting in place, just to see what happens. They want a superstar who will entertain the fans and maybe sell tickets, let the fans choose one. Just an idea.

CM Punk didn't appear on NXT Tuesday night, nor did Carlito, for the reasons of being bald or being fired from WWE. It'll be interesting to see if the bald-headed StraightEdge leader is shown on Smackdown or stays in hiding.

And as for the SES mystery man, it's likely to be either Cody Rhodes, as a reader here suggested, or Joey Mercury, originally the tag partner of John Morrison in MNM. You'll recall he took a ladder to the face during a ladder match and was wearing a protective face mask. Wearing a black mask/hood may be a good idea for now, but he'll be revealed in time.

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