-- 12/14 WWE Raw Reax

Ted Johnson of Detroit, Mich. (1.0): Best Match: Cena vs. Orton. Worst Match: Dennis Miller vs. The Audience. This was another awful Raw. I will probably be one of the many to flock to Spike TV and TNA or to my local channel 33 on January 4. If you are in Detroit, you get a classic wrestling show bonus on Monday Nights. I was flipping through channels and found Classic Big Time Wrestling airing on WHPR tonight during Raw's second hour. I have no idea how long this show was on, but I was so grateful to see a 1972 Sheik vs. Andre The Giant match! It made my night go better. Plus, I didn't have to put up with all of the fake laughter from The King and Michael Cole. They may have been the only ones laughing at Dennis Miller's attempts at jokes. I really wish WWE would stop the comedy. Here's hoping Jim Ross returns soon.

Terrie Neilson of Las Vegas, Nev. (5.0): Best: MOTY choice. Worst: Regal/Kozlov/Jackson vs. Christian/Kane/Khali. I'm reading reviews and reax, and I guess I stand alone in thinking Raw was better than most people think. It was hardly great - last year's edition was much better - but it wasn't a complete washout. The idea that Superstar of the Year was determined by a tourney and not some kind of vote seemed ridiculous. Cena winning over Randy Orton to get his heat back bothered me, too. No attempt was made to call out the poorly executed finish of the Cena-Sheamus, which could actually have helped Cena's promo. He did acknowledge the loss, but not the "controversy" of the finish. And where was that tiny sliver of a table souvenir? As far as award shows go (even parodies), they all suffer from long-term memory loss. Save for the Michaels-Taker MOTY and Superstar of the Year, just about every other winner came from the second-half of the year. But this award show did have some of the vintage moments of past shows: the invading protester (Batista), the Oscar flasher/streaker (BDJ), the major profound statement (Shawn's rematch challenge, Miller's plug for USA Cares), bombing jokes (sorry, Dennis, but it's not all you), correcting verbal faux pas (Jericho's "regain" to Big Show's "retain"), politically incorrect behavior (BDJ, Goldust), and the Metallica self-serving pissing on Jethro Tull Grammy moment (Jericho, Punk). The "weight" and "looks" jokes continued, though; oh, joy. I actually have no problem with the way DX retained the title. Edge's return seems clearer, which Jericho will need to focus on. Shawn needed something big and tangible to show he can go hard after a major goal and win (if he is indeed going to re-match with Undertaker at WrestleMania, which seems too out there this far in advance). And Shawn channeling Dennis Miller on Jericho's way out (Summerslam '05, anyone?) was a sweet touch. I've been a fan of Dennis Miller for a long time. WWE pushed him for his Emmys wins but not his past award show hosting experience (Emmys, ESPYs). This was not a good mesh, simply because Miller's humor has never really been geared toward a young crowd. But I did see some good moments. His promo with Jericho was well done, as Jericho made for good verbose foil for Miller's rant. He should have been a guest GM only and let someone with more "mainstream" humor have the Slammy's gig. He would have done better than Piven.

John Hamilton (0.0): Best Match: There were matches? Worst Match: DX vs. JeriShow. This show made it official for me: I won't be watching Raw for a while. The guest host concept has jumped the shark, and the best reason to watch, Jericho, will no longer be there. What an awful way for him to go out. WWE does everything backwards nowadays. A face team, DX, takes the cheap way out to avoid defending their belts, which to me made them look like cowardly heels, not the brilliant tacticians Triple H loves to think they are. Then, a bunch of non-Raw guys, who don't have a dog in the fight, help escort Jericho off Raw. No sense whatsoever. Wrestling 101, Vince: when starting a feud like Kofi Kingston vs. a faction, Legacy, you start with the lower end guys, Ted and Cody, to build to a showdown with Orton, not vice versa. The Divas match was awful, Big Dick Johnson was awful, Dennis Miller was awful, and Michael Cole looked and sounded like a tool - and not in an amusing way. Oh boy, we now get guaranteed Cena victories until he regains the title. Way to eliminate what little suspense there was. His spaz routine on the mic was the usual played-out garbage he spits out after a loss. ROH, here I come!

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