First Raw of the New Year....

.......And what a Raw it was. I know it seems like Miz and Morrison are the secondary story to the Cena/Punk feud, but they opened the show with an amazing Falls Count Anywhere match that served it's dual purpose. It put Miz over as a credible champion, and showed Morrison's crazy parkour style and gave him a taste of the Main Event level. I'm sure before they hit the curtain, Alex Riley was thinking "Shit. What's going to happen to me this week?". But really, he's doing better than that one guy that won Season Two of NXT. What was his name?

They threw the obligatory 3 minute diva match in early this week. I don't see why it had to be a Six Man tag. Why not just have Melina interfere in one of Nattie's matches or something?

Seems like The Usos are the treading water on Raw. How many times have they been Number One Contender only to come up short? Unless the Tamina/Santino romance is a swerve for Jimmy and Jey to gain control of the belts, I don't see the point of this. Why did they split up The Dudebusters again?

I liked that they didn't open the show with Punk and Nexus. It built the suspense of the story and I know that was the part of the show I was waiting to see. Was Wade Barrett suppose to be part of the original storyline or was he rushed back because of Cena's injury? I'm curious to see how far WWE pushes Punk with this angle. Could he win the Rumble? With Orton in the title match it seems wide open this year. But once again, I feel that if this story does make it to Wrestlemania it's just so Punk can be led to slaughter. It's not what I want, just what I feel is going to happen. But I do look forward to the interaction of the two.

Alberto Del Rio defies the Brand Extension by showing up tonight. I like Del Rio, and I hope that he doesn't get buried too much this Friday in the blow-off match with Mysterio on Smackdown. He cut a good promo and then had a nice match with Mr. Jobber To The Stars, R-Truth. My only complaint? Somebody needs to tell Truth that when you're in an arm bar, it fucking hurts. It's not like the Sharpshooter where you might have a chance to get out of it, Del Rio is BREAKING YOUR ARM. Tap out. Immediately. That's what's up.

If you've watched WWE for more than 5 minutes you knew how the Main Event was going to end. Face vs. Heel vs. Heel. Winner faces Heel champion. A nice, fairly long cage match with Orton winning by escape, which saves anyone from having to eat the pin. When Punk climbed the cage just to pull off Barrett's Nexus armband, I died laughing. Punk is the master of subtlety.

So now we have our WWE Championship match set for Royal Rumble. We also have word that Cena "might" be back next week. This Raw was a good show for setting up the storyline elements for the next PPV with little crap in between. I'm looking forward to next week, how about you?

Smark/Mark

The world of wrestling is filled with many types of fans. Old school, casual, closeted, and former fans. But the two types of fans that most frequent this site are the marks and smarks. The know it all internet savy insiders and the fans of Sports Entertainment. These two types will come together in this column to discuss the events of the week. Sometimes we will agree, sometimes we won't. This is Smark/Mark.

SMARK



MARK

THE PLAYERS

Jarrod Atkinson- Started watching wrestling around WrestleMania 3. Watched religiously until Wrestlemania 8. Made his triumphant return to wrestling in 1999. Started following the "Dirt Sheets" a few years later. A fan of WWE, TNA, WCW, knowledgeable in ECW and ROH, Jarrod spends several hours on various sites dedicated to wrestling and fills most of his Twitter post with the subject. SMARK.

Daniel Bittle- Wrestling fan. WWE fan. Always calls Ring Of Honor "ROA". Recently started watching wrestling again on a regular basis. MARK.

That's us. now let's start things off with the Inagural Edition of SHUT UP, MEG!.......



Shut up Meg is my way of randomly telling someone who is getting on my nerves on a social networking site to shut the hell up. But since we're talking public figures here, I'll call them out. This week's Shut Up Meg goes to Matt Hardy.

I have been a Matt Hardy fan for over 10 years. Everybody loved the Hardy Boyz, myself included. He's always played the underdog face roll perfectly. His winning of the US Title and then the ECW Championship portrayed him as a fighting champion. He got screwed over with multiple injuries in the last year or so, which slowed down his push. Lately he's been in the role of staring at the lights while Drew McIntyre moves past him on the depth chart. And what wrestling fan hasn't made the occasional Fatt Hardy joke? So when he got sent home and then started his YouTube ramblings, I was sure as shit he was about to be released. But when he didn't, and then he started to question if it was all a work or not, I admit I was intrigued.

BUT, then he started this split personality crap. I know you think that this is going to get you internet buzz like it's 2005 again, but seriously Matt, just shut up. Johnny Ace is probably frothing at the mouth waiting to release you, but for some reason WWE hasn't pulled the trigger. Sit at home, work out, start OMEGA again for all I care. Just SHUT UP. This Matt/Matthew thing is like a car crash. I don't like it, but I can't look away. Just wait until your contract is up, be Matt Hardy, and go to TNA if they want you. Just cut the split personality crap.





Yes, grapes are a big part of his gimmick. Dixie Carter, be warned. If this Sunday goes the way I think it will with the reveal of "They", you will be the next victim of Shut Up, Meg.

There are a lot of stupid things going on, from "and I quote" to Goldust molesting a belt, to Undertaker and Kane pretending like it is 1998 without the cool Kane. That is not who I want to tell shut up. The other day I went to a TNA house show, my first taste of TNA by the way, and I heard a crowd member try to start the chant "WWE sucks". I can't understand this, not that I am taking up for the WWE, its just I don't understand why you have to hate one to like the other. Maybe I am naive but to me it is stupid to have to hate one if they are quality shows.

Hmm, it does say wrestling in the logo...

Where the hell was the WRESTLING at in the first half hour of Impact? I know that "They" are suppose to be a big deal leading to the Pay-Per-View, but come on. The whole night for me was a wash. I didn't give a crap about any of the matches. I left the room or changed the channel several times. Which is the complete opposite of how I felt about the house show in Oklahoma City last week. I hate to be on the Blame Russo wagon, but damn. With no horrible writing or presence of their camera hogging owner, TNA puts on a good show.

10/8/10

Edge defeated Jack Swagger via pinfall, spear.

Really good match to me. I like The Swagger Soaring Eagle. Swagger needs a win though to keep this feud on an even ground, but a really good wrestling match in my opinion.

I liked Edge vs Jack, even though as good as they are the match should have been better. Love the eagle.


Layla defeated Kelly Kelly via pinfall, Neckbreaker.
I am a big fan of LayCool. The wife is not. I know this is all just a time killing feud until Beth Phoenix gets back, but it also gives Natalya a chance to shine. Poor Smelly Kelly, always on the short end of the stick.

Diva matches, who cares? I watch the entrance and that's about it.

Cody Rhodes & Drew McIntyre defeated Kaval & Kofi Kingston via pinfall, CrossRhodes to Kaval.
Yawn. After McIntyre's music I fast forwarded to the end. I could care less about everyone in this match except Kaval.

I haven't been a fan of the champs but I am starting to be. I am a big fan of high risk, and there was non of that, so i should be a fan of Kofi but I am not. And Kaval, I don't get it.

Dolph Ziggler defeated MVP via pinfall, Zig Zag.
I have been a huge fan of Ziggler's work for over a year. He is a bump machine and the Zig Zag is one of my favorite finishers. This was a great match. I loved the actual wrestling part and I can deal with the storyline aspect. Poor MVP has been treading water and really could benefit from a heel turn.

I like Ziggler and I hope he is done with the cry baby.

Rey Mysterio defeated Alberto Del Rio via pinfall, Frog Splash.

As much as I hate Rey Mysterio, he delivers some solid matches. Alberto Del Rio has been on a roll since his debut and I hope that he can move to a solid feud after his Mysterio program ends.

I can't get enough of Alberto Del Rio. Even if it means having to deal with Rey Mysterio.

And the rest.....

To be honest, with Christian being injured, the only reason I really enjoy Smackdown just got traded to Raw. I am not a Cole Miner and Matt Strikers exaggerations are starting to annoy me. The Undertaker and Kane storyline is something that has never been of interest to me. The Big Show's segment with The Dudebusters was good on paper for building to Bragging Rights, but I just don't see Show coming out on top of The Miz in what will be the second year of Miz versus an old tag team partner.

All in all not a bad show. Some good matches, not all, and for the most part the story lines were alright. I do have to say I hate Cole, and not just because he was making fun of us video game geeks, but because his voice is annoying. I can't stand the Kane-Undertaker thing. all I can think is that The Undertaker is going to retire and they want to send him out with a "Big Bad" to beat.

FLASHBACK!

This is what Matt Hardy wants you to remember: His triumphant return to the WWE on his 89th day of his no compete clause. The worked shoot story that brought forth his "Will not die" attitude. So is WWE trying to recycle storylines like they have a bad habit of doing?

That's all for this week, thanks for reading. Comments both positive and negative are welcome.

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