WWE Raw 11/21/11 Minutiae: Analysis, Thoughts and Grade

WWE Raw SuperShow came from Hershey, Pa. As always, hit up Kaleb Kelchner's blog for the run down.  One day removed from Survivor Series, the show needed to deal with the fallout form the Pay-Per-View. Let's get to it.

The Good:

+ Opening Segment. Punk is the best promo artist in the WWE. Lauri came across alright in his opening bit. The crowd responded as appropriate. I love Punk and Lauri's developing dynamic. The opening served its purpose to establish the main event next week and set up a few matches for the evening. Lauri botched the Ryder/Ziggler match total, but it was enjoyable.

+ Del Rio/Ryder. Ryder had some nice antics before the match. Ryder has been on a tear as of late, so him taking a loss was okay. Del Rio displayed intelligence, working over Zack's arm. Ryder got enough offense to at least get a little credit. All right enhancement match.

+ Sheamus/Swagger. All right match, but a small bit of storytelling helps. I was reminded of when Vickie was SmackDown General Manager and now. She is much better as a manager. Good finishing sequence that I wasn't expecting.

+ Rhodes/Marella + Promo. This was more for the promo. I was a little worried if Rhodes could thrive without the mask, but his promo laid it to rest.  The squash of Santino simply enforced Rhodes' 'unbeatable' line. I like the possibilities for the Booker/Rhodes feud.

+ Punk/Ziggler + promo. He's ready to split from Vickie. I liked Ziggler's confidence in his promo. I think he's going to get his push soon. Nice display of mat wrestling in the opening moments. Ziggler's handstand was nice showboat spot to cover Punk's botch on going to the outside. Couple of nice dramatic spots in the match. Crowd was hot throughout the match. 

I really want to know why this wasn't the main event. Oops, just marked out. Ziggler nailed a stiff looking drop kick, which opened up Punk's lip. One of the best matches this month, if not the past six months. The match was that damn good. Ziggler lost nothing in this match and actually gained some credibility in defeat.

+ Barrett/Kofi + Promo. The video promo before the match was nice. A nice bit of storytelling in this match with Orton coming out. A couple of fun spots helped the flow of the match. All in all, a good TV match with sufficient time and enough offense to keep Kofi relevant. Kofi sold Wasteland like death. I like the developing feud between Orton and Barrett as well.

+ End Segment. Cena was good at working the crowd and playing to the chants. Good form for him tonight. Miz reverted to his logical heel form tonight as well. Well done interaction between Awesome Truth and Cena tonight and a nice subtle sell for WrestleMania 28. Cena did a small bit of shooting with dropping the "No one sees you as a threat" line.

The dissension was a little awkward and forced. That said, Miz and Truth are strong enough to stand on their own. Nice possibilities for a feud in the future. Truth should be the face in the feud should it occur.

+ Heel Development. The WWE took some steps to address one of their weaknesses tonight, which has been the heels. Awesome Truth, Ziggler, Rhodes and Barrett all received a good shine tonight. Nice job to the creative team.

+ Future Booking. For the record, announcing the main event for next week is a good idea.

The Meh:

~ Nash promo.  Nash had some all right intensity during the segment, but he was slurring his words pretty badly. It served as a fair reminder of the feud between Nash and Triple H. But to be honest, I could do without him on TV.

~ No Jonah Hill. Honestly, I wasn't overly excited for it. But who knows what would happened otherwise. 

~ Big Show promo. This didn't do much for me. With that said, Big Show was tolerable and it served it's purpose. He's better when he is not cracking awful jokes.

~ No Brodus Clay. Whatever heat they built up for Donkey Kong's cousin has been lost at this point. The anticipation has peaked. To be fair, after remembering all his matches on Superstars, I don't think we missed anything.

The Bad:

- No Main Event. The end segment probably could have been done at the top of the second hour and accomplished everything it needed to do. The breaking up of Awesome Truth is a big deal, but Ziggler/Punk could have done much more with the overrun.

Random Thoughts:

Punk had a great dodge on wrestling Ryder.

Folks are going to look Ryder's loss as a burial. But please remember that Ryder wasn't on TV six months ago. Taking a loss once in a while is okay, Broskis. Just breathe.

"Swag man. Zig Zag man."  I love Booker.

Did Sheamus botch a Shining Wizard?

I think Nash was drunk. He was slurring pretty badly tonight. Given the fact he was pulled from all future dates, something is up.

Rhodes' music fits his "barely sane" gimmick nicely.

Dolph gets the award for outfit of the night.

Punk choking out the Del Rio. Punk grabbing the ropes. He's in full anti-hero tweener mode now. For the record, I'm okay with that.

Please blow off Del Rio and Punk. Ziggler and Punk has money written all over it.

Kofi continues to pay for Evan's sins.

"I'm not qualified to deliver a baby," says the man who talks about Mangina.

Notice the difference between when Punk name drops Ryder and when Cena does it?

Cena is in the twilight of his face run.

"From the rooter to the tutor of your fruity booty." Damn I love R-Truth.

And thus ends Awesome Truth.

Overall Grade: B+/A-

Raw absolutely crushed it tonight with storyline advancement, two great matches and addressing some areas that needed it. There really wasn't an overly weak segment tonight throughout the broadcast. The flow of the show was a little odd, but honestly, I understand why they did it.

I suspect some folks are wondering about Brodus Clay. Honestly, I don't think we are really missing much. Punk, Ziggler, Rhodes, and Cena were all in great form tonight on the stick, and the Ziggler/Punk match was top notch and actually PPV worthy. Kofi and Barrett did a great job tonight as well.