Vickie's Performance Evaluation

Another instance of the WWE trying to hype Raw up better these days. Not only is Bray Wyatt coming, but Vickie Guerrero is going to have a performance review on Raw tonight.

What direction should the WWE go with this? Will she be promoted to be the regular GM? Will she be relieved of the duties she does have? This could very well turn into the kind of situation when the WWE teased having Triple H get rid of John Laurinaitis over a year ago. That ended up getting interrupted. Who would interrupt Vickie's possible termination? The Shield? If they had not lost so much relevance in recent weeks, they would be a good option. The McMahons definitely do not seem to like the job Vickie is doing, in terms of the storyline they are running, so a change in the kayfabe status quo of Raw may not be surprising. Who takes over? The McMahons try to run things themselves? That could further a storyline of tension between all three even more. That would be a good idea. It would be better than just tossing in a new GM and nothing being taken to another level.

Does Vickie deserve to be replaced? I'm not talking in terms of the storyline right now. Just in terms of quality of the show, should she not be an authority figure? I think they should move on. I know she gets a ton of heat, but I know a lot of fans who have said that Vickie makes them want to change the channel. And Vickie does not really serve a unique role in the position she is in. What do I mean by that? Go back to when John Laurinaitis was running things. He was an executive. His issues with CM Punk made perfect sense with the storyline they were running at that time. What does Vickie really bring right now? They should find someone to be the GM that could actually add something more to the show. Get someone that can help them run some unique storylines for a while. Get someone popular that the fans would want to see. Get someone controversial that will make the fans want to tune in to see what happens next. Bring back Laurinaitis so the fans can see him get beaten up again. Right now, Vickie Guerrero doesn't offer any of these things. Personally, I just find her annoying at the moment.

The Devil Came Down To Hershey

With the sudden return of John Laurinaitis, the possibility of that Cena heel turn just became greater. Laurinaitis came back on Smackdown last week and did not receive a warm welcome from The Rock. Is this foreshadowing that Cena will join forces with Laurinaitis at Wrestlemania? Laurinaitis is definitely a great heel figure for Cena to align with to drive the point home that he will now be a heel.

Assuming the WWE is finally going for that heel turn, should they have not tried to build up to it at all? They could have made it a sudden turn that came out of nowhere. With Cena's recent behavior and the return of Laurinaitis, a lot more fans are expecting a turn than you would have gotten if they just kept the feud simple until the match. That would make the moment even more shocking. After all these years, Cena finally goes heel? That would have some fans marking out. Right now, it just doesn't feel the same when I'm expecting it to happen and it seems likely.

Nothing Without Laurinaitis

Back when I was talking about the end of John Laurinaitis in power, I don't think I did proper justice to what would happen to his two sidekicks, Eve and Otunga. I should have. Obviously, without Mr. Excitement in that GM role, Eve and Otunga would not be featured as prominently as they were before. That is exactly what happened.

When Eve returned, she found herself without that gimmick she had alongside Laurinaitis. What has she done instead? She has been involved in the storyline with AJ, but AJ is obviously the one getting the major push right now. Eve doesn't really have that strong purpose. Pairing her with Miz regularly might be a good move. Personally, I was expecting a feud between Eve and Layla over the title. Why not? Eve is a heel and Layla is a face. Both won a Diva Search. It could be a good feud, but the WWE needs to actually go in that direction. Just making a basic title feud would be dull. There is room for potential.

Otunga doesn't have anyone to play an attorney for with Laurinaitis gone. He did have that brief minor feud with Brodus Clay, but the WWE was inconsistent with even that. Brodus Clay is back to beating jobbers, who are now putting up more of a fight. Once again, there was potential to do something good here. Didn't happen.

I still would have continued having Laurinaitis be GM for a few more months. The longer it lasted, the better the feuds and storylines for his sidekicks. The way things went down, nothing great was really developed for either Eve or Otunga before the plug was pulled, and the WWE has been inconsistent since. With a heel GM backing those two, feuds would have been risen to a whole new level. The faces who feuded with them would have something to actually overcome and the fans would love seeing the heels get it in the end. Only Laurinaitis really got it, and too soon to build up the other two properly.

People Power Ends

Let me go back to what I said before No Way Out.

Unless the WWE plans to bring in a controversial replacement for Laurinaitis or make their summer angle revolve around Laurinaitis trying to revolt in some way, John Cena should be the one losing.

Obviously, John Cena did not lose. No clear signs of Laurinaitis trying to regain his power have popped up. How about a controversial replacement? The WWE has decided to run with interim GMs. That is not something I had in mind, and I definitely would not consider it controversial, but it is an interesting thing to do. There have been a lot of legends who have been in charge in the last few years. We have already seen Mick Foley. How about Bret Hart? I would be happy to see Stephanie McMahon again. And even though William Regal is still on the roster, it would be nice to see him used in a relevant role again, even if only for a short period. Moreover, depending on what the WWE does with the future GMs to come, this can branch off to that controversial summer angle. Simply rotating GMs is not good enough to count as a big angle. Nevertheless, it does get people interested in who may be coming back to run the show and the kind of things that might happen.

John Laurinaitis is gone. Would they bring him back for a run as interim GM? It would be funny if that somehow led to him regaining full power. As of now, he is gone. I honestly think he should have lasted longer. And then you have the issue a lot of people may have. Did Cena have to be the guy to get rid of him? I would have had a good feud between Laurinaitis and Triple H, but that was long before Triple H and Brock Lesnar started their issues. Before that, everyone would have said that CM Punk should be the guy who topples Mr. Excitement. CM Punk's whole gimmick last year was that he was anti-establishment. Laurinaitis was his enemy. I wouldn't say that the WWE shifting away from that is an example of bad writing or not being able to follow a storyline through. I would say that it is an example of once again putting the centerpiece in a spotlight where he may not have belonged. Did Cena really need to look like a hero here? Whatever some people want to say, he did end up looking like a hero. They spent a long time building up Laurinaitis, and it paid off for Cena.

And ratings? I read that it was a 3.42 for Raw this week. That is a very good number and will definitely help elevate the low yearly average Raw has gotten so far in 2012. For the sake of comparison, not one Raw during the summer of 2011 saw an average rating as high as a 3.4. People tuned in to see Laurinaitis go? Fans are always talking about this guy being the reason for bad ratings, but if ratings do eventually sink back to anything around a 3.0 or lower (before football season), what will the excuse be then?

Dance Or Die

I'm not allowed to ever mention my favorite singer, am I?

Vince McMahon returned on Raw, made fun of Jim Ross, danced a little, put John Laurinaitis in a "Do or Die" situation, and got killed off again. On Smackdown, it will be revealed that John Cena might end up being fired, if he does not defeat Big Show in that cage match. In other words, someone is going to lose their job.

Did the match really need that added stipulation? Just go back to how the match looked before this week. John Cena vs. Big Show in a cage was going to be the main event of a PPV, trumping World title matches. These two have faced each other before in PPV matches that did not involve a title. It wasn't the main event then, so what makes this feud worthy of it now? Enter Vince McMahon and John Laurinaitis. Putting the GM job on the line definitely makes it worthy of the top match on the card. But making it seem like Cena now has something to overcome? He has beaten Big Show lots of times. I have to admit, they at least made things more interesting to try to draw in buys.

Who will win? Obviously, no matter what happens, it can all be undone very easily. Cena has been "fired" before. Remember when Cena was drafted to Smackdown? That didn't last long. But how should the WWE handle this situation? Laurinaitis losing his job will lead people to wondering who will be in charge next. How will that person run things? Will Laurinaitis try to fight back? If Cena loses, that will cause even bigger controversy. Of course, they didn't exactly follow up with that kind of direction the last time they did it very well. Unless the WWE plans to bring in a controversial replacement for Laurinaitis or make their summer angle revolve around Laurinaitis trying to revolt in some way, John Cena should be the one losing. That would be the only real outcome that will get people wondering whether the status quo will really change or not.

Laurinaitis Done?

They are promoting Vince McMahon returning to evaluate the job John Laurinaitis has been doing as GM. They did something similar a few months ago with Triple H and Laurinaitis. Obviously, that ended up not ending Mr. Excitement's run. It eventually led to him getting more power. Having Triple H coming back to do it again may have been repetitive. Besides that, Triple H already has a storyline going on. Having Vince McMahon himself return to do this should make it a lot more interesting.

Will they end the reign of terror? Ending it now would be rather abrupt. John Cena is still feuding with Laurinaitis and Big Show. They would have to find a creative way of tying that in. I remember that they teased that "The Board" could have fired Laurinaitis back when he first started feuding with Cena and Cena saved him, but repeating that same kind of thing would be a waste. I do expect something big to happen, but does it need to be Laurinaitis leaving? A lot of fans seem to blame him for the horrible ratings Raw has been getting. I don't think that is fair. Ratings were dropping even before he appeared last year. And who can you really replace him with? Teddy Long? I doubt he can draw. Nevertheless, I think tonight will probably be the start of one of those angles where the GM must prove himself or get fired. Do or die. And with the strong possibility of some big summer angle, I wouldn't be surprised if they are prepping to get rid of Laurinaitis. A change of power is always a big angle.

In a completely unrelated note, I know some people are getting excited about the possible Mickie James heel turn in TNA. Just keep in mind that Mickie turning heel is not the same as turning back into a psycho heel. Her character will still depend on TNA storylines and booking. And I remember once commenting on someone who said Mickie James should turn heel back in around 2008. I said the WWE would try to turn her into Victoria if they did that. Remember how poorly the WWE used Victoria in the end of her career? If TNA insists on pushing Gail Kim as still the top heel or uses Mickie as simply a jobber to Velvet Sky or Brooke Tessmacher, TNA would probably end up making Mickie into what I hoped the WWE would not in 2008. Knowing TNA, they probably will mess up.

The GM's Assistant: Eve Torres

The WWE can call Eve's role whatever they want, but she is pretty much the assistant to the GM, John Laurinaitis. Many women have had this kind of role before, with various degrees of power. Even a few guys have been in this position. There have been heels and faces who have taken on similar versions of this role. For a diva, like Eve, having this role puts you in the periphery. Eve has not been involved in the major diva division feuds and storylines for over a month now.

How is it working out for her? So far, it seems to be working out fine. Just looking at the role she has, the things she is being written to do, this is a good way to get the fans connected to her. She was one of the heels who stood up to Big Show and humiliated him. She is also getting rubs from associating with Laurinaitis, who a lot of fans despise, and by working against other top faces, like Cena himself.

Stepping away from the role she is playing, how is Eve Torres actually doing in playing this character. There is where I see a problem. She does have a great role, which allows her to be featured weekly without even having to wrestle. She does look sexy, which would please a lot of guys. Problem is, I don't feel she is doing enough with how she plays the role. When she talks, I find her trying to be professional too much. I am not saying she should try to be as annoying as Vickie Guerrero to get cheap heat, but put more emotion into it. I think this is a character that can definitely use more emotion. Her performances are dry. If she was a serious face character feuding against a strong heel, I might understand a need for her to hold back. As it is now, she is going out there to play a heel character meant to get heat. Laurinaitis and Otunga go out there to play roles to get them hated. You already know I think Laurinaitis is doing his job fine. Otunga even seems to be putting more feeling into his effort than Eve. And all he ever does is flex and drink coffee! Point is, Eve has a gimmick, but I think she can definitely be doing more than just dressing for the part and following the script to really make herself stand out. 

Brief Raw 4/30/12 Notes

A lot has been happening recently, so I am going to have to touch on a lot of subjects on one go.

First, Brodus Clay went back to the jobber circuit on Raw. He beat JTG. Of course, this was a special Raw. Most of the matches were dedicated to finding a new #1 contender. Next week, the WWE should be back on track to something. He can continue his feud with Jack Swagger. But after that? The WWE really seems lost with this guy. It's not like he's a major priority. Just give him time to dance and do his act, and everyone will be happy. I would have had Miz win the U.S. title and feud with Brodus. It seemed like they were finally going somewhere with the guy. Just pick a direction and go with it.

New Tag Team Champions are Kofi Kingston and R-Truth. Giving them the tag titles is not shocking at all. I would have given them the tag titles long ago. What about Primo and Epico? I really don't think they will be going anywhere special with Abraham Washington, but it will be interesting to see what the WWE at least attempts.

Layla returned at Extreme Rules and won the Diva's Championship. On Raw, she retained in a quick match against both Bellas. Later on, it was announced that Brie and Nikki were fired. Obviously, their contract did run up and they are not staying. The firing is a kayfabe way of writing them out. Could they have just let them leave and be forgotten? Probably, since they have done things like that before. I'm not going to criticize them for the way they handled things. Waste of time. However, the recent title changes just seem like a mess. This is an even more awkward exchange than what happened last year at the beginning of 2011. The title went from heel Beth Phoenix to Nikki Bella, then to face Layla. Why did they bother with Nikki at all? Makes you wonder why they didn't give John Morrison a reign last year before he left. He was more deserving. Did the WWE think Kharma was going to be back? And I read those reports that Beth's injury was fake. That makes things even more awkward. Why would you fake an injury like that? And in a Lumberjill match, where they could have easily have had the same kind of injury made from a shot to Beth's ankle during a bunch of divas attacking her? And the fact that Beth being taken out of the picture doesn't really do much? Beth is out and The Bellas are gone. Those are three heels right there. This is a mess.

Speaking of a mess, John Cena seemed to be taking a break after Extreme Rules. Having him return to Raw to give an update and say a farewell would have been one thing, but they actually build who he will be facing at the next PPV? John Laurinaitis was definitely a shocking choice. I, like many others, felt it would be Tensai going against Cena, so Cena could avenge that loss from a few weeks ago. Having Cena face the GM is more interesting. But what about that injury? The guy gives this emotional speech, then pops back up like everything is okay and will be competing at the next PPV? What? And they beat him down again on Raw, focusing on his arm. Can he stay down this time? Just for two weeks? Let's really see how the WWE can do with CM Punk as top face of Raw, without Cena on the show. Can two weeks really kill you?

Eve Eying Laurinaitis

It looks like the WWE are going down the direction of having Eve use her female assets to get in good with the GM of Raw and Smackdown, John Laurinaitis. Of course, it helps that she also had a hand in helping Laurinaitis win at Wrestlemania. When Eve gave her promo right after Wrestlemania, this was definitely one of the possibilities laid out that the WWE could have followed up with Eve. However, this is not a direction I am loving.

Is it necessary? I still don't think the storyline between Eve and Zack Ryder got a good finish. Ryder looks like an idiot after Eve manipulated him again after revealing she was using him in the first place. If you were going to put Ryder back with Eve, and then even bring Kelly Kelly into the story, you would have had a very interesting storyline right there. And what about Miz? He is the guy who beat Ryder. Seeing as how he is somewhat lost in the shuffle, teaming him with Eve to feud with Ryder and Kelly Kelly for a while would not have been horrible. It would have given more individuals some interesting focus.

Eve can potentially get a major rub from working with Laurinaitis, the top heel authority figure. Does she really deserve it? I am all for Eve being used right, but I already gave how I would have done things right now. I have no problems with the WWE pairing her with Ryder, getting her involved in the feud between Cena and Kane, turning her heel by using Cena in the storyline, and most of whatever followed for her after that, but they just seem to be pushing her up that kayfabe ladder. Too much? I understand every diva they pushed to be a success since Trish left has failed in one way or another, but will investing all this really lead to a success? I know Eve has gotten some good heel reactions in the past few months at times, but that does not necessarily mean her overness is solidified. That is to say, is she a hated heel outside of fans just chanting insults at her? Is the WWE really getting her over with this?

Just to switch things slightly, I just want to end with how the WWE is pushing Eve's gimmick. She is a woman who uses her body to get what she wants. Is this really PG? Don't get me wrong, I'm not a PG guy. I'm 26. I can spend hours on Youtube looking at hot women in their lingerie or spandex. I'm no rapist or sexist, or anything like that. I'm not a parent. I let my 5-year old nephew watch wrestling with me, but he doesn't understand storylines. Point is, this isn't an issue for me because I take it personally offensive. I just find it annoying. On the one hand, the product is toned down to attract a younger audience. On the other hand, you have slutty storylines going on. I think this might be one of the sluttiest storylines on Raw in the diva division in some time. The Bellas being prostitutes for guest hosts was more of a joke a lot of fans made up, not really the idea the WWE was pushing. And I can't think of anything else near to this present diva angle since then. They used this idea to turn Eve heel. Then they used it again to hook Eve back up with Ryder, which then led to Ryder getting humiliated again. And now, they keep it up so they can sell the idea that Eve wants to use her looks to get in good with the GM? How long do they plan to keep pushing this gimmick? I would say parents would have a right to put their foot down and not let their children watch this stuff. I'm not looking to get into a debate with anyone about the difference between the various ratings, but when I see little kids in the audience, I know the WWE is attracting an audience that this kind of storyline may push the boundaries for. I just hope the WWE doesn't push this too much harder.

The Miz: From Losing Streak To...

The Miz is no longer on that big losing streak. He won it at Wrestlemania. Night after that, he beat Zack Ryder.

Was it worth it? In terms of the storyline, Miz's frustration in not being able to make it onto the Wrestlemania card, after winning the main event last year, motivated him to find a way to get into a match. Granted, saving John Laurinaitis was nothing too fancy. But it got him the spot. After that, he came through for his team. Most of the guys in the tag match to crown one GM did not even have that much of a storyline build in getting selected. Drew McIntyre was a random substitution for Christian. Booker T was a surprise final choice for Long. Point is, as I have said before, that losing streak Miz had for him was not necessarily a bad thing. It was a storyline that paid off in the end. It put some interest in this guy.

But where does he go from here? There is still a small amount of hype from him being the guy who got the job done for the heel team. But will they follow up properly? He beat Zack Ryder, but who can he really feud with now? Or enter a good storyline with? Remember that losing streak Sheamus had last year? It ended with him winning the U.S. Championship. The title reign was not too awesome, but he went on to be involved in Orton/Christian, turned face, went on a big winning streak, won the Royal Rumble, and look at him now. The whole world hates him for squashing Daniel Bryan at Wrestlemania to win the World's Heavyweight Championship. Doesn't get any better than that. Will Miz go down a similar path? Miz, much like Sheamus last year, has held a World title before. I would not be surprised if he wins one again one day. Right now, however, I am having a tough time thinking of a good position for this guy. There are no top faces to work with him who are free. That leaves the midcard, but what midcarders can he enter a legitimate feud with? Kofi Kingston? Over what? Booker T might be a nice choice, but they may not head in that direction. In the end, unless the WWE really has a good plan for the guy, he might have been better off with that losing streak.

I talked about the guy who got the job done for the heel team, but what about the woman who got the job done for them? Eve screwed Ryder. Who really didn't see that coming? Ryder would look like a giant idiot if the WWE did not have him continue in the storyline against Eve, even if just to tell her off. The night after Eve cost the face team the match, she did another heel promo. Reminded me of how this kind of started. When she first turned heel, she would do these promos to put over that new heel character. Aside from putting over John Laurinaitis, this new promo did nothing new. It reset the same heel character people already knew she had. Unless they plan on formally aligning Eve with Laurinaitis, there was no real development here. I guess they can now go back all the way to when they were building a feud between Eve and Kelly Kelly. Will they put the title on Kelly Kelly first? Whatever they do, it would be best not to mess things up with celebrities for a while.

Team Long Vs. Team Laurinaitis Preview

When I got up on Tuesday, I expected to log onto my favorite pro wrestling message board and see a topic with over 100 posts about Christian being suspended for violating the WWE Wellness Policy. Why else would the WWE write him off the huge tag match to decide the boss of both shows? That stupid hairstyle he now has? He has been out with an injury for a while, but if he was healthy enough to take a beating at the hands of CM Punk, I don't see what the problem would have been in having him involved in a large match featuring a dozen wrestlers, not to mention mascots and GMs that will be at ringside to eat up some time. Christian could have definitely have done a little bit and taken a little bit.

Who did they replace him with? Drew McIntyre. That makes this even more awkward. They take out a former World Champion, and one of the heels to first side with John Laurinaitis, and replace him with a guy who is barely finding a place in the midcard recently? In terms of the storyline, McIntyre makes sense. He has had issues with Teddy Long. But they announced him joining the heel team only in passing. Could they maybe have done a backstage segment for it? What would that really have ruined? Two less minutes for the closing promo between The Rock and Cena, or have the overrun last a little longer? Obviously, it's not like there were a ton of other credible heels with nothing else to do for Wrestlemania on the active roster. If they had not gone with McIntyre, it probably would have been Jinder Mahal. I think we dodged the bullet on that one.

Aside from the switch with Christian and McIntyre, the final two members for both sides seems pretty strong. Miz is on the heel team. That is not shocking. He saved Laurinaitis from Santino. In a reversal of what happened there, Booker T saved Long from Mark Henry to get a spot on the face team. Wasn't expecting him at all before Raw. Nice surprise. Not a shocking surprise, but nice. Both Miz and Booker T have that credibility.

I'm not going to run through all the members of the team. I just wanted to mention the recent additions and changes. Moving on, who will win? Not only do I want John Laurinaitis to be GM of both shows, I think it is heading in that direction. Things would be pretty flat if Teddy Long were to run both shows. There is more potential with a heel GM that a lot of people despise, while a lot of other people are finding funny. Laurinaitis is fresher than Teddy Long right now. Obviously, there will be some shady happenings. The GMs arguing with the ref and fighting each other are almost guaranteed. Will there be someone betraying his team? Not necessary, but it could make things more interesting for what happens after Wrestlemania. In the end, I think it is a good idea to have just one GM. And Laurinaitis would not be a horrible choice.

Otunga's Rise To The Top

Less than a year ago, David Otunga was a part of a heel tag team that was going nowhere and being used poorly. They held the tag titles, but they were not really being pushed. That should sound very familiar. Epico and Primo aren't exactly being pushed well right now. But that comparison is not my point right now.

Look at Otunga now. He is the top henchman for John Laurinaitis, he has some kind of gimmick going for him, and he is going to captain a team at Wrestlemania that consists of several former World Champions. He is getting major rubs here. He is being allowed to look very impressive. Am I saying a World title reign is coming his way this year? No. But I have to give the WWE credit for good development. If anyone is going to take the U.S. title off Santino, just looking at the current roster and storylines, it should be Otunga. Now, am I saying Otunga is flawless? A lot of people might still criticize Otunga's ring work. They might say is is limited and not too great. Does it even matter? As long as he is not a danger to himself or his opponent, or so sloppy that he brings down the quality of the match or makes the other guy look bad too often, just let it go. He seems solid enough to deserve this push. Besides, being at the side of Laurinaitis so often is a good excuse not to push him in the ring too often. He can get developed just through promos and backstage segments. It is almost like he is getting periphery treatment. I am not a fan of the guy, and I don't really see myself becoming a fan, but the WWE seems to be doing a good job here.

Teddy Long Ran Raw For The Night

The General Managers switched shows this week, which is a continuation of the storyline feud between Teddy Long and John Laurinaitis. There was that epic segment with Santino. He beat Jack Swagger for the United States Championship. Teddy Long was among the faces out there to support Santino and celebrate with him after, while Laurinaitis was there just to try to screw Santino and Long. After the win, Long kicked Laurinaitis out of the building.

After that, nothing with Teddy Long. I know the commentators sold the idea that Long was running the whole show, but I would have liked more segments to actually sell how Long is running the show, including building up allies for his war against Laurinaitis and interacting with heels who do not like what he is doing. Time that could have gone for those kinds of segments went to The Rock, and I am not going to complain about that. That was The Rock that could entertain well. And of course, other segment time had to be devoted on Raw to Shawn Michaels, Cena, and so on. I can understand why Long did not get more time, but that does not mean I have to like it.

I'm expecting better on Smackdown. The main reason for that? Smackdown doesn't really have all the epic feuds going on for it that Raw is featuring build for. There is more time for Laurinaitis to work. On Smackdown last week, he teased putting Long's girlfriend in a match with Kane. I don't know about anyone else, but that certainly draws my interest. I know, bring in Orton for the save, but it is still an interesting thing to tease. I really have hope for a good Smackdown this week.

Back to Raw for one last point. Jack Swagger lost his title. Disappointing? It is to me. He did not do anything good with the title at all. Blame the WWE for that, not Swagger. Before him, Zack Ryder did not do anything with the title, either. What will Santino do with the title? That is up to the WWE. Right now, he seems to be just a supporting character in the feud between Laurinaitis and Long. The longer that continues, the longer you may not have a good U.S. title feud. An obvious feud you can see forming is between Santino and Otunga. That might actually be good. Am I saying that the WWE should have Santino lose it to Otunga next week? No. Nevertheless, I wouldn't be surprised if the WWE did something like that.

Laurinaitis Readying His Troops

When the WWE started pushing this idea that John Laurinaitis was going to try to gain control of Smackdown, I was hoping for a storyline featuring a plan from Otunga that was a little more sneaky and intriguing, culminating, of course, in some action in the ring. It seems they are just going to have the two GMs go against the each other. Not directly. Alberto Del Rio, Christian, and Mark Henry have aligned with Laurinaitis. Otunga, obviously, is with Laurinaitis. Who does Teddy Long have on his side so far? Zeke. Yep. Smackdown's screwed.

I have nothing against doing it this way. It is still reminiscent of when the GMs used to feud against each other in the past. If you are an Otunga fan, you also have to be liking how they are using him. He beat Zeke clean. If the WWE is going for Team Long vs. Team Laurinaitis at Wrestlemania, that might make it tougher to have that potential MitB match, especially with so many injuries. How would it be if Team Long vs. Team Laurinaitis was a battle royal, not a tag match? On the yearly Drafts, you usually have Team Raw vs. Team Smackdown in a battle royal, so what I am talking about isn't too unusual. Then again, with so many battle royals recently, it may be repetitive. Obviously, potential faces for Long to have on his side are not abundant right now, so it will be interesting to see if they can pull together some big names.

What I also like about doing it this way is that it does not look like Laurinaitis simply trying to overthrow Long, and Long then being on the defensive. Long is standing up and fighting back. I especially liked his short segment with Laurinaitis and Otunga on Raw. And they are selling the idea that he may be the one taking over both shows. Of course, in the end, I would rather Mr. Excitement got the win in this feud. Much more potential there.

Laurinaitis Going For Even More Power?

It was only mentioned in a brief backstage segment, but it could be the seeds for a great storyline. John Laurinaitis is back as GM of Raw. His henchman, Otunga, seems to have a plan for him to solidify that position with the Board and gain control of Smackdown too.

When was the last time the head of Raw and the head of Smackdown feuded against each other? It was fun when Eric Bischoff and Stephanie McMahon did it many years ago. Have a storyline putting John Laurinaitis against Teddy Long? Why not? If the WWE should follow through with giving Laurinaitis control of both shows, that would make a feud between John Laurinaitis and Triple H even more interesting down the road. Laurinaitis would become the most powerful heel to not be a part of the McMahon family.

I'm also interested to see what the WWE has planned. In kayfabe, it would be what Otunga has planned. I hope it is not lowly comedy skits, which simply makes the heels look like fools for some cheap laughs. Since there is so much going on around this time of year, it may get the short end of the stick. Then again, Smackdown doesn't really have a big storyline going on for it, aside from World title matters. Raw has World title matters, Cena/Kane, Cena/Rock, Triple H/Undertaker, and you can count the recent drama with Laurinaitis in that too. Smackdown can use more major creative attention. There is intrigue here, so it might work out well, but there was also intrigue over Jericho for a while. Where did that lead? Same old Jericho. Oh, but he did bring in that fancy jacket, of course.

Laurinaitis Not Done

Looking back at what I wrote the last time, I realized I did not mention the segment featuring Otunga and Sheamus. I was talking about how almost all the segments on Raw were devoted to main-event matters. Sheamus/Otunga does fit in to what I was saying. Otunga was out there to further the storyline involving John Laurinaitis with his promo. That storyline involving the GM position is a major Raw storyline. It has taken the main-event spot for some weeks recently. And Sheamus? He won the main event of the previous PPV. Unless they screw him out of his title shot, he will face a World Champion at Wrestlemania. His match with Otunga furthered his momentum. Yes, even this segment put over main-event matters.

I am going to bypass talking about a potential heel turn for Mickie James to talk about John Laurinaitis. I will be talking about Mickie James first thing next week. Why Laurinaitis now? The WWE put off announcing whether he would be fired or not, as his GM role goes in kayfabe. The verdict? He is not fired. That decision may get buried down by so many things going on recently on Raw alone, but it is big. Is it a good decision? If the WWE is not going to make Chris Jericho's return more important by bringing in an authority figure that may side with him against CM Punk, or bring in a new one for CM Punk to start a fresh feud against someone in a business suit, why not keep Laurinaitis? After Triple H is done with The Undertaker, he and Laurinaitis can work against each other on Raw. When you have two bosses working against each other on the same show, it can make things more interesting. Remember when and how Ric Flair came over to the WWE after WCW ended? He and Vince McMahon both had power. They feuded against each other. This led to the brand split. I'm not saying anything that big will happen here, but it can still be good. Technically, Triple H has more power as COO. But that just makes it even more confusing as to how Laurinaitis seemed above him in a few instances last year. Nevertheless, the WWE can still make it work. It was obviously not Triple H's decision to keep Laurinaitis, in terms of the storyline. In the end, I'm glad Laurinaitis will stick around.

John Laurinaitis Done As GM?

When I talked about the possibility of CM Punk knocking off John Laurinaitis at the Royal Rumble, I was imagining CM Punk hitting one of those stiff kicks on the Executive Vice President of Talent Relations and Interim GM of Monday Night Raw, who would obviously be trying to screw him out of the WWE title. The WWE could then run an injury angle and find a new GM, which I mentioned before I was hoping would be Stephanie McMahon. It looks like the WWE might be prepping to get rid of the on-screen character of John Laurinaitis, as far as having him running Raw goes, but they are going about it differently.

Laurinaitis put his foot in his mouth by saying he would screw Punk out of the title. Triple H, who is still COO, will evaluate the job Laurinaitis has been doing next week on Raw. That is actually a smart move. It might make people wonder, will Laurinaitis really screw Punk? And after Punk attacked him? Screwing Punk will obviously cost him his job, since Triple H is a face, but will the current Raw GM just put his desire for revenge above his desire to stay in power? That is an interesting position right there. I am not convinced they will sell the PPV on just that, but it is good for the storyline.

Even if Laurinaitis does call it all down the middle, Triple H is obviously not on his side, so that may leave a vacancy for a new Raw GM. Who is it going to be? I am not going to waste anyone's time by giving more reasons why it should be Stephanie McMahon. I want to look at some of the other options. Triple H again? That would basically put things back to where they were a few months ago. And how will having Triple H, a face, really benefit the storylines heading into Wrestlemania? He has already feuded with the guy that is against authority. That guy is now a face too. I cannot imagine what other major feuds Triple H can benefit for other wrestlers. I'm not talking about his own personal feuds. I am talking about how he, in his position of power, might influence other feuds. I don't think having him back in the same spot again so fast is needed. Vince McMahon? If they were bringing him back, I don't feel like they would have Triple H be the one handling this situation. Besides that, even though a feud between Vince and Punk will be likely sooner or later, I would still build it up more. Wait until next year's Wrestlemania. You can toss in names like Jim Ross or Mick Foley, but I would see better possibilities with a heel GM or one that is treated as a tweener. That is where Punk's current gimmick will shine the most. If he is in there with a face GM, and especially one that the fans may easily side with, having him be against the guy in charge would not work too well. Bringing back in Stephanie McMahon, I still think she's a good fit. Leave it there.

John Laurinaitis may lose this on-screen role, but I am still hoping he comes back in some other capacity. Yeah, he lacks charisma and all that, but not all great heel need to be cool or too annoying. He is a guy people can hate and easily find things to make fun of. I could buy him as a boss, as someone in charge. Whether you like it or not, even if he loses his GM job next week, he isn't really going to be wished his best in his future endeavors.

Kevin Nash Takes Out Triple H

If pro wrestling really was about trying to hurt your opponent, Kevin Nash would have one of the greatest finisher moves ever. That huge attack he gave Triple H on Raw was to write Triple H off due to the injury he had suffered the night before. Triple H will be out for at least a month, meaning he will miss Survivor Series. The WWE's own website is reporting it, and I doubt it is all kayfabe.

Obviously, this will put a dent in the WWE's plans. Triple H was one of the top guys on Raw since his return. He was involved in a power struggle with John Laurinaitis, feuding against Miz & R-Truth, and looked to be going back into his singles feud with Kevin Nash. If anything, his feud with Kevin Nash just got raised to an even higher level.

The dent is not too huge. CM Punk will get his feud with Alberto Del Rio. John Cena and The Rock move on to Miz & R-Truth. You have a lot of midcarders on both brands who can make for a classic Survivor Series match. The divas look like they may be heading into a large match too. If not, Alicia Fox is heading into a title feud against Beth Phoenix? Large tag match makes more sense, since it is Survivor Series coming up. Big Show and Mark Henry are not finished yet, although I wouldn't mind them being involved in one of the elimination tag matches as captains for their respective teams. Leave Big Show's rematch for Smackdown or the PPV after Survivor Series. Point is, not much harm was done to the potential of the Survivor Series card because of Triple H's injury. The main draw was going to be The Rock anyway.

One last point on Triple H. I am not usually the guy who says that the WWE is doing something that makes no sense at all. When I see other people doing that, I can usually either see the WWE's side of what they are doing or just feel the whole thing is so trivial, it can be overlooked. On Raw, Triple H revealed he was still COO. That means he was still technically overseeing everything. All he lost was control of Raw to Laurinaitis. But if he still outranks him, doesn't that make all the protesting the WWE had going on seem meaningless? So what gave Triple H the right to run Raw in the first place? What happened to the Anonymous Raw GM? And if Triple H only lost control of Raw, why can't he still push his weight over on Smackdown? If control of Raw was all he lost, why were Smackdown workers against him too? I can understand the WWE's dilemma a little. If they take away Triple H's COO position and name Laurinaitis new interim Raw GM, who is the new COO? Why could they not just name Laurinaitis interim COO until the Board of Directors chooses a new one? The way things are working out, Triple H still should have had the authority to overrule whatever unfair decisions he felt Laurinaitis made. Also, Triple H would still have power, which would make a lot of the wrestlers who protested against him unhappy, especially the heels. Moreover, Triple H still had the title, but he was not doing anything too major with it. So what's the point? They should have just given it to Laurinaitis. Hopefully, when Triple H returns, they can pretend he is no longer COO, just like they are pretending a computer no longer runs Raw.

Up High, Down Low

Raw managed a 3.25 rating this week. Compared to how it has been doing in the past few months, that is great. But there is more to the story. The first hour received over a 3.4 in the ratings. The second, on the other hand, dropped to the same area you would expect from the recent numbers, a 3.02. That is a clear sign of something.

Raw did start with the controversy that started at the end of last week. The wrestlers and other workers walked out. How did Triple H handle the situation? Not surprisingly, John Cena was the first guy out to support him. Sheamus and CM Punk followed. While Sheamus and Cena were going at it, Vince McMahon made his return. He announced that Triple H was going to be relieved of his COO duties. Up to this point, things were progressing fine. I believe the big mistake the WWE made was revealing John Laurinaitis has the new guy in charge so fast. Obviously, a lot of people were expecting this guy. I was hoping for a swerve myself, but choosing him makes sense in the storyline. But the problem was not drawing the moment out. Have Vince announce that there will be a new COO, Raw GM, or whatever they want to do, announced later in the night. Make it seem like the Board of Directors is finalizing the decision. Leave Triple H in charge until the decision is announced. Have the workers who are on strike return, since Triple H will no longer be COO anyway. He would simply be serving out his remaining hour or so. The mystery of who will be in charge will lead to fans tuning in. It may not have been as much as the first hour got, but it would be better than a 3.02. Would the new GM be Mick Foley? Announced as The Rock, who would then appear live via satellite? Austin? Stephanie? Vickie Guerrero? All the surprises were really killed in the first hour. Yes, Miz and R-Truth "returned" in the main event, but that was not teased throughout the night, so how could that draw anyone very well? They could have had Laurinaitis be announced as the new boss between the start of the second hour and the main event. Let him then set up CM Punk vs. Alberto Del Rio, and then change it to a tag match later on to include Miz and R-Truth. Triple H could have booked all the other matches on the card. Having Laurinaitis be in charge may not help ratings too much in the long run, but doing things this way might have helped salvage the ratings for at least this Raw. Nevertheless, ratings were still up overall.

John Cena was not in the main event. Did that impact anything? CM Punk was. Triple H came out to make the save for him. CM Punk is pretty much becoming Triple H's sidekick. But let me go back. CM Punk took on Alberto Del Rio in a non-title match. After it was changed to a tag match, Del Rio walked out on Punk. That is not surprising from a heel. No sign of Cena. I see a problem there. John Cena is the one getting his rematch at a PPV, but with the way things went down in this match, you would think Del Rio and Punk had a feud going on. Obviously, this whole picture could have broken down two ways. Triple H was not going to feud with Del Rio right now, so he is going after Miz and R-Truth. Who joins him? Both CM Punk and John Cena were attacked by Miz and R-Truth. Punk and Cena are both self-righteous guys, which would make it easy for them to side with Triple H and go after Miz and Truth. Cena has a rematch coming from Alberto Del Rio. CM Punk is the one who Del Rio walked out on this week. Both guys have an issue with Del Rio there. I would have rushed Cena's rematch on Raw prior to the next PPV, and possibly have Truth and Miz get involved. That would leave Cena to team with Triple H against those two. Punk could then be given or earn a singles shot at Del Rio at Vengeance. This would not be a depush for Cena. The storyline involving Triple H is currently the major storyline, not the WWE title feud. As I said before, Cena wasn't even seen during the main event this week, even though his opponent for Vengeance was there. The way things are going down, Cena may actually be losing some momentum. Is that a good thing or bad thing?

Raw started out well, went stale, and ended a little messy. They did not do a proper job of keeping suspense going into the second hour. They did not do a proper job of promoting the feud between Cena and Del Rio as best as they could. That 3.25 will not help them save this year from being the worst in terms of average yearly rating in over a decade. People do not like Laurinaitis, but that does not mean people will tune in to see what evil things he will do or see him eventually get a Pedigree. The WWE has to step things up more than that.

The Conspiracy Continues?

I am glad with how the major storyline going on right now has progressed recently. Triple H defeated CM Punk to stay COO. Prior to that, there were some issues with R-Truth and Miz. Those issues came up again on Raw. This all eventually led to Miz and R-Truth being released in kayfabe (storyline). Go back a step. Kevin Nash did show up to try to get involved in the match. John Laurinaitis definitely does want some power.

Things are getting drawn out. This is exactly what I wanted to see. This is storyline development. No wasted promos about ice cream and being held back, all of which seems to lead to no real end in the plot. How could it be even better? How about some swerves? Kevin Nash returning did not surprise me. He has issues with both CM Punk and Triple H. If you were watching Raw and Smackdown, you know why. Laurinaitis getting involved in all this does not surprise me either. He is either out for power or the pawn of someone else. Even R-Truth and Miz doing there thing on Raw did not surprise me. They were talking about the job Triple H was doing and all that for weeks now. The WWE was not giving a good reason for them to really be against Triple H, but they brought it recently. You can see why these guys would want to really align with Laurinaitis now. Everything is making sense, and that is good, but I would still like to see a good shocker. Have someone join the heels that would be totally unexpected. Cena? Would the WWE do it? The way things are going, a bitter Del Rio will probably be released and joining Laurinaitis next. In any case, if not having someone turn, have someone else return and join in this. Nash's return was somewhat surprising, but he did return earlier this year and had been waiting for something to do for months. Can the WWE do better? In any case, things do seem to be getting interesting again.

CM Punk. He wasn't hitting Triple H with the mic this week. And he didn't kick Cena in the head after tagging with him in the main event. He is pretty much a face now. He was a tweener before. How does that make CM Punk fans feel? He did this whole bitter, self-righteous rant a few months ago. He sold thousands of shirts and could barely get Raw ratings above a 3.2. He is the savior of pro wrestling. In the end, nothing has really changed. It helped to start this storyline that is now going on, but no legitimate change has been made. But he now seems to be getting tamed. His promos are no longer really about overrating himself and putting down those with whom he is feuding or the status quo. His promos now revolve around continuing the storyline. Of course, I am only basing this off of one night. Then again, I really can't picture the WWE spending too much more time on having Punk rant needlessly. He is not The Rock. He is not drawing that epically. I am not complaining about this, and I certainly am not doing this to really point out that I saw it coming, but I am pointing this out to show that this really is how the WWE typically handles things. CM Punk will get his rematch for the WWE title, but who is now holding the title? The man who holds the record for holding it more times than anyone else. He has not beaten Ric Flair's record yet, but why not? Who else is the WWE going to have do it? CM Punk?