(Modern Day) Raw Thoughts - September 13 2010

• Man, I hated that opening segment. Cheesy, goofy Cena. Making a (recent) former Women's champion look like absolutely nothing. And mostly booking a tables match, negating most of my interest in the main event.
• No new music then, despite "season premiere"? No new logo, either.
• I don't know who the guest star is, (well, I understand, they've explained, but I've never heard of him) but there is plenty of interest and noise for the opening. Seems like a good booking.
• I love that music for Ochocinco. I'm sure that means something in the US, but it reminds of a) a show called Superstars (not the WWE one) and b) Lawrence Taylor at Wrestlemania
• Miz was.....well......awesome in that opening segment. That, my friends, is crowd heat.
• Great shirt, too.
• Hang on, isn't this the first week of Monday Night Football in the States? Does it really make sense to have an NFL star on? Won't people see him and go, "oh yeah, I should see what the score is" and flip over?
• Why haven't they explained why Alex Riley is still around? Didn't he LOSE? What's the point of trying to win NXT if runners up are about the place?
• King actually used the word "Cole" and not Michael. He never does that. I wonder if he was told to, to play up the differential between the two.
• There will be some that didn't care for that first match (or matches) but I thought the booking was really good. I might have given Bryan two more minutes dissecting Riley, to show his dominance, but that match made me want to see Bryan v Miz, and that is the point. Well done.
• Sometimes you can't explain why something is funny. Edge and Jillian made me laugh out loud then. (a true use of the phrase 'lol', I guess. I hate that little thing. And what's worse is that I use it. How often does one use 'lol' and actually mean it. If you were texting in on the train and actually laughed out loud everytime you put 'lol' people would think you were a nutter.)
• Henry/Edge/Bourne - ludicrous. Break that down, and it helped nobody. That made Bourne look like nothing, then Henry squashed Edge, who wrestles for the world title this week. If that is meant to be ok for Edge because he'd already had one match, then a) tell us and b) if you aren't going to tell us, book it obviously, and give it more than three minutes.
• I really don't like the divas spinning the wheel. I wouldn't mind if it were Divas who don't wrestle doing it, but it devalues them as athletes. Maybe the Bellas should do it.
• The 'song and dance' thing was largely complete nonsense and a waste of TV time.......until DiBiase started singing. I won't lie to you, I thought that was hilarious. DiBiase has awesome comic timing, and Maryse's mannerisms were good too. I'd still wipe this segment given the opportunity, but that did get me. I liked King's Patterson quip too.
• As much as I love William Regal, you know the show is going nowhere when he is on it these days. Miz v Bryan aside, has anything come even close to making me want to see the PPV so far? Not at all.
• Wow, you know what I'm about to say is a rarity but..........I think WWE could learn something from TNA with that John Morrison segment. I think fans need a reason to relate to their WWE superstars, and want to know more about them. You could have presented a pre-produced, 60-second video package on John Morrison using Parkour to train. But doing with weird camera angles, zoom and a robotic Cole voiceover, it felt soulless and pointless; at odds with the seriousness of the match. TNA's reaction approach would have worked here.
• We're at the top of the hour. Nexus haven't even been mentioned yet, by the way.
• Sheamus v Morrison just saved Raw. That was a terrific brawl, showing you can book an arena wide No-DQ match without excessive use of weapons, and with a liberal sprinkling of athleticism. That match could not have been done by anyone else in WWE but Morrison.
• There is a hint of the Jeff Hardy about Morrison right now. Seriously, if they get hold of him and push in the right manner, continue having him do things like jump off the tron and so forth, he can do what Jeff Hardy did. When Jeff wrestled Randy Orton (I think it was at Rumble 2008) he got over in about three weeks. He was amazing in the build to that match. Morrison needs a build to something at the next PPV, and a big win.
• LOL (really) @ Jericho having a pop at Cole. (twice)
• He's a quick typer, the GM, isn't he?
• I'm not crazy about a handicap match (I'm writing this before it happens) because it can't help anyone, but I did enjoy that exchange between Cole and Jericho.
• WOW - That was one hell of a finish with Jericho and Tyson Kidd. If you didn't see it, I almost can't describe it. Tyson Kidd went for a Super Huracanrana, but Jericho somehow dropped down, clutching Kidd. It looked like a piledriver, but Kidd stopped short, and it transitioned into a Walls of Jericho.
• Of course, WWE ruined it by not even showing a replay!
• Were Pete Rose's (grand)kids wearing Zack Ryder headbands? Cool!
• Regal as Goldust was funny, but these two could actually have a really decent match if presented with the opportunity.
• An overbooked main event that realistically suggested that only Cena or Orton would be able to defeat Sheamus, although we probably knew that anyway. Nexus were booked as idiots again, suggesting time may soon be up for them. Barrett hit his finisher on Cena, though - I still think there is money in them wrestling one on one. Perhaps if Cena wins Nexus disbands, or something.
• I don't think Orton winning means anything really, but I did like the creativity of the finish, turning an Attitude Adjustment into an RKO.
• This show was on the negative side of OK, just about. There were some bits I liked (I thought the FCA match was excellent) but a lot of it will hurt them long term, and I didn't really think they hyped the PPV well.