WWE Monday Night Raw Analysis: The Good, the Bad and the Neutral

Monday Night marked the last edition of Raw before Night of Champions this Sunday night.

Heading into Night of Champions, the matches scheduled for the card are the following:

- WWE Champion Alberto Del Rio vs. John Cena

- World Heavyweight Champion Randy Orton vs. Mark Henry

- CM Punk vs. HHH (No DQ Match)

- WWE Tag Team Champions Kofi Kingston and Evan Bourne vs. The Miz and R-Truth

- US Champion Dolph Ziggler vs. Alex Riley vs. Jack Swagger vs. John Morrison (Fatal Four Way Match)

- Diva's Champion Kelly Kelly vs. Beth Phoenix

Did WWE's last Raw before the big PPV make you more interested in buying Night of Champions?

In this analysis of Raw, we'll see the good, the bad and the neutral aspects of WWE's last edition of their flagship show before this Sunday. 

The Bad

John Cena and Bret Hart defeat Ricardo Rodriguez and Alberto Del Rio.

I understand the purpose of this match being on Raw.

Raw took place in Ontario, Canada loves Bret Hart and it was a sensible way to get him on the show.

Cena and Rio are facing off for the title on Night of Champions, and you can't give too much away of them wrestling one another because then there wouldn't be much incentive to pay for a $50 PPV to watch these two wrestle.

Still, it was bad.

This match was used as a prop to illustrate just how big of a coward Rio is and to reinforce Cena's notion that Rio is "scared" of Cena. I get that. I think I've gotten that ever since Cena was crowned the No. 1 contender.

But couldn't the WWE pair Rio with a legit heel wrestler to face Cena and another face wrestler in a real tag team match?

I'm sorry, but I just hate these types of matches.

Kelly Kelly defeats Vickie Guerrero.

Again, I'm all for angle advancement. But this was still bad. I mean, when Kelly Kelly was going for that bulldog, am I the only one that laughed at the botched spot because of Vickie not being an actual wrestler?

I can't stand non-wrestlers such as Ricardo Rodriguez, Bret Hart at the present and Vickie Guerrero wrestling in matches on TV. They're unbearable to watch.

It was nice seeing Swagger get the better end of Ziggler for once, but the negatives outweighed the positives too much for it to be neutral. 

The Neutral

Alex Riley and John Morrison defeat Dolph Ziggler and Jack Swagger.

OK, I liked this match. There was nothing wrong with the match at hand. The match advanced the angle of Ziggler/Swagger/Guerrero, with Ziggler bailing on Swagger when he had a chance to break up the pin of Riley on Swagger.

This also led to Teddy Long announcing the Fatal Four Way match for the US Title at Night of Champions.

However, I can't stand seeing Swagger get constantly jobbed out.

I'm being serious with this question, in terms of wins on Raw/Smackdown/PPVs, is Swagger even in double digits in the calendar year of 2011?

The guy is a former World Champion, but combine the fact his reign left more to be desired and that he hasn't done anything since losing the title last summer, how are we supposed to buy this guy as legit threat?

I don't understand it, because he has all the makings of a credible main event heel.

Swagger proved that when he first debuted on ECW.

Since losing the title, he's been seen as a legit threat one time...in the feud between Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler.

You would think after gaining some of his heat back during that feud that the WWE would do something with him.

They have, but they continue making him look like a big joke. When Ziggler states "Swagger isn't in his league," it's hard to argue against that notion.

In order to make this feud truly worth caring about, they need to make Swagger look like he's on the same level as Ziggler.

The Miz defeats Kofi Kingston.

Nothing bad, nothing great here.

The match served its purpose, stressing that Miz and R-Truth are legit threats to the Tag Champions.

Again, the match served it's purpose, but once you've seen one Miz/Kofi match, you've seen them all. 

The Good

Cody Rhodes defeats Randy Orton.

I love the chemistry between these two guys. Some people have the opinion that Orton's matches are boring, but since he turned face, I'd say he's one of the best in-ring performers in the WWE today.

Mark Henry continued making his way out to the entrance ramp, trying to get into the head of Randy Orton, which was perfect for the advancement of this feud.

Henry continued getting too close to the ring with his steel chair, distracting Orton and allowing Rhodes to hit his finisher for the huge upset.

This match was perfect because it served three purposes:

1. It furthered the character development of Mark Henry looking like a "monster" and an unstoppable force in his quest to claim the World Title.

2. It furthered the irony of Henry continuing to play mental games with Orton, when Orton is usually the perpetrator in such events.

3. It gave Rhodes a much needed victory to potentially propel him to the main-event scene.

All in all, a great main event to a rather mediocre Raw.

The HHH/CM Punk Promo

This was about as good of a promo as a promo can get.

In preparation for Punk and H's match at Night of Champions, they put all of the material they had and let a national audience witness it.

Of all of the matches at Night of Champions, this is the match that I look forward to the most. I think most people can agree with that opinion.

Final Show Rating: 7/10