2 Raw, 2 Furious 08.31.09

Posted by Ryan Byers on 09.01.2009

Cody Rhodes shunning his father to join the darkside highlights a 2R2F full of cowbell, the Shockmaster, and the world reduced to a village of 100 people.

Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to 2 Raw, 2 Furious. This is 411's one and only real-time recap and review of Raw, hosted by myself (Ryan Byers) and Chris "Tougher Than a Two Dollar Steak" Landsell. This week hosting Raw wasn't the only thing that Chris and I had on our 411mania dockets. You see, our regular columns switched positions in the lineup. His If I Can Be Serious for a Minute now runs on Wednesday Mornings, whereas my Into the Indies has taken his old slot on Tuesday mornings. Be sure to check both of those columns out, as they're more fun than Tammy Lynn Sytch after a two day bender.

However, while you're waiting for I2I and Serious to show up in your queue, perhaps you should take a look at us taking a look at Raw. Last week featured the fallout from Summerslam and the buildup to Breaking Point, which both Chris and I thought was better than most of what was done for the prior pay per view. Will this week's show keep that momentum alive?

Find out after the banner.



Pre-Show Scuttlebutt

Ryan: It looks like we've got an interesting lineup for tonight.
Chris: I haven't looked.
Ryan: Duthty ith the GM, daddy.
Chris: Take it to tha pay windah if you weel.
Ryan: Plus Jericho vs. MVP, Show vs. Henry, and a US title four-way with the interchangeable midcard guys.
Chris: Jericho isn't jobbing to ANOTHER half-the-opponent guy is he?
Ryan: Well, Show can't.
Chris: Why?
Ryan: It sort of kills the mystique they've been rebuilding for him. I've got no problem with him dropping a fall to Henry eventually, but it seems like something that should be the end of a program, not something in the middle.
Chris: Well they'd better not have him DQ'd again. That makes Henry look weak.
Ryan: Well, there's always a double DQ or a DQ followed by Henry doing something physically impressive.
Chris: I like a double count out actually, with both guys slugging it out up the ramp.
Ryan: Also not horrible.

Chris: Have you ever done the exercise where the world's population is boiled down to a village of 100 people, and they ask you how many would be white, Christian, European and so on?
Ryan: No, I've never even heard of it. I'd imagine the numbers for the groups you mentioned would be very small, though.
Chris: It is absolutely fascinating. For example, one person would have a college education.
Ryan: That sounds about right. I think that as of the last census, 10% or so of the US population did.
Chris: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNnbO8x4JAY
Ryan: I'm amazed that the South Pacific got one person in there . . . and that person would probably be Umaga.
Chris: Indeed.
Ryan: Five would be animists? I don't even know what that is.
Chris: Believers in animal spirits.
Ryan: Fourteen atheists! Represent!
Chris: And people ask me why I'm an activist for diversity.
Ryan: This could use some sexual orientation stats, though I guess those numbers would be harder to confirm.
Chris: 5:00 is the scariest part.

Chris: Sonjay Dutt's bacne is on my TV in hi def.
Ryan: In what context?
Chris: RoH on HDNet.
Ryan: I forgot he'd gone there, honestly.
Chris: I believe Delirious may be the most underrated enhancement guy around. He can make ANYONE look like a million bucks.
Ryan: There's a reason they've had him training people.
Chris: It's not just his training though. I take it you are aware of my fondness for Kenny Omega?
Ryan: I'm aware of a lot of people's fondness for Kenny Omega. He's coming along nicely.
Chris: It started when I saw him lose to Delirious in Toronto, looking like a million bucks in the process.
Ryan: I'll probably be getting to some of his DDT work sooner rather than later.
Chris: I just watched him hit a top rope electric chair German.
Ryan: There's a pal of his from the same camp named Mike Angel who is also starting to make some waves overseas.
Chris: Omega could have been great in WWE had he come along now and not when he did.
Ryan: What do you mean when he did? I'm pretty sure now is when he's coming along.
Chris: He was in WWE developmental.
Ryan: I didn't realize that.
Chris: He was too small and couldn't talk.
Ryan: There was a lot of that going around in developmental a few years ago.
Chris: Nowadays his size is exactly where they want it to be, and they can teach him to talk
Ryan: Hell, talking doesn't even mean that much anymore if you're an undercard guy.
Chris: And even people who have obvious impediments, like Knox and his teenage voice, have been given gimmicks that fit it.

Chris: I name-dropped you in the Impact report by the way, during the Hamada match.
Ryan: Oh?
Chris: "Taz says Daffney is zombie hot. FREAK! Wait, they're starting Hamada in a no DQ match? Why? She has a look, I'll give her that, which will be a big help. Somewhere Byers is drooling."
Ryan: I would probably be drooling if I watched the match.
Chris: She looked good.
Ryan: That's the word on the street. Actually, Hamada/Daffney has lead to a fight on the SHIMMER forum as to whether Daffney is any good.
Chris: Well, she sure looked good on Thursday, and in today's environment she looks good by comparison. In WWE she'd be behind Mickie, Natalya and Beth. Maybe Melina.
Ryan: I'd put her behind Gail, Jillian, and Katie Lea as well. Possibly even McCool.
Chris: Although none of those women have shown anything recently. Hell, neither has Nattie.
Ryan: But, if you consider the fact that Daffney has now been in wrestling in some way, shape, or form for over TEN YEARS now, she's surprisingly bad.

Chris: And now, Prince Nana is going to WRESTLE.
Ryan: huh, haven't seen that in a while.
Chris: My son now prefers Colt Cabana to John Cena.
Ryan: You have succeeded as a parent.
Chris: My GOD Nana in a singlet looks like Mark Henry after a tummy tuck.
Ryan: I'm amazed nobody said that six years ago when Nana was significantly fatter.
Chris: And Ernie Osiris looks like Necro Butcher.
Ryan: Well, the gimmick is he's homeless, so it's not that much of a stretch.
Chris: I just saw a beard beal.
Ryan: That's pretty awesome.

The American Dweam Opens the Show

Ryan: huh, Lillian's still here. I could've sworn I read she was done last week.
Chris: I wondered about that. I think it's September 1.
Ryan: Shame they can't get her for one more national anthem on 9/11, though I guess not a day they're running TV this year.
Chris: It's a Friday.
Ryan: Indeed.
Chris: Smackdown . . .
Ryan: Okay, yeah, I suppose that does air on Friday. I was thinking of Tuesday, the taping day.
Chris: How much time do we have left until Legacy interrupts?
Ryan: Eight minutes.
Chris: I'll go three.
Ryan: This is the first time I can recall seeing Dusty in HD. It is not kind to his forehead.
Chris: He has a little Abdullah thing going on there
Ryan: He's not quite as bad as Abby. Abby can hold a Cuban cigar in the ravines on his forehead.

Orton Interrupts

Chris: I win.
Ryan: Three on the nose by my clock, well done.
Chris: Somebody shaved their noggin this morning
Ryan: Hopefully he used the HeadBlade system, which I wholeheartedly endorse: http://www.headblade.com.
Chris: I too hertily endorse this product and/or service.
Ryan: They've actually got an interesting chance to further the Legacy storyline tonight. Subtly, they've been playing up the fact that Cody is more loyal to Randy than Ted is. Ted got a match with Orton, and he actually worked it as a competitive singles match. If Cody takes a dive here, you do a good job of furthering the aforementioned storyline.
Chris: Indeed. The important thing there is not to rush the Ted turn out of that. Cody lays down, Orton gets the easy win, Cena beats him silly, and then next week Cody mentions it in passing to Ted. If they go right for the all-out argument, they kill the subtlety too soon.
Ryan: I would agree. Don't forget that we now also have Brett to work in to all of this.
Chris: Maybe as the guy whispering that Ted is not on their page. Have a few matches where Cody takes the fall because Ted is slow to make the save or is distracted outside.
Ryan: Perhaps culminating in a match in which the same thing happens but with Randy on the losing end . . . because, the way that Orton has been built up, the character wouldn't care until it personally affects him.
Chris: However, the problem there is that you either go with the brother-brother feud first, which seems wrong, or you put the Cody-Ted feud first, which puts Brett above Cody on the card.
Ryan: Problem solved: If you also get the title off of Orton during all of this in an unrelated (or even related) manner, you can do Orton-Ted as a semi-main feud. (And thus concludes this edition of fantasy booking theater.)

Gail Kim vs. Beth Phoenix vs. Jillian Hall vs. Alicia Fox vs. Kelly Kelly vs. Rosa Mendes in a battle royale for the number one contender ship to the Divas Title

Ryan: Lawler begging that Rosa doesn't hurt herself walking down the aisle is great unintentional comedy.
Chris: So does Gail win this?
Ryan: No, I doubt Gail wins it. I'm banking on Alicia to build off of last week's win.

Chris: They're like grunting tennis players.
Ryan: Kelly actually looked pretty competent there fighting off Alicia and Jillian.
Chris: Kelly can look good in stretches, as long as she sticks to what she's good at.
Ryan: You'd think Gail would stay away from that "missed cross body" spot for a while.

Ryan: Did I completely miss Beth getting eliminated, or is she just hanging out?
Chris: That is EXACTLY what I was about to type, but I caught a glimpse of her on the apron.

Chris: At least they let the wrestlers be last in the match.
Ryan: I don't know if the wrestlers being last in the match is all that great if they're going to look as bad as Gail and Jillian did there. 'Twas not pretty.
Chris: No indeed. Gail hasn't exactly been on a role recently, huh?
Ryan: No, she has not been doing too well at all. It makes me wonder how much of that epic feud in TNA was attributable to Kong.
Chris: Of course, this is the same person who almost kicked Jazz's head three counties over on her debut.
Ryan: And broke her collarbone slipping off of the top rope against Nidia. We could go on, really.
Chris: I remember seeing that superkick and thinking, "OH SHIT!"
Ryan: I have a feeling that Jazz managed to give her a receipt somewhere down the road.
Chris: I miss Jazz. Jazz vs. Beth would have been great, as would Jazz vs Kong.
Ryan: I haven't even read Jazz's name on low-level indy results lately.
Chris: She's retired. She's having kids with Rodney Mack, I believe.
Ryan: Yes. She definitely had one, and I believe that I read she was pregnant with a second several years ago.

Winner: Beth Phoenix
Ryan: Up until we got down to Phoenix, Kim, and Hall, this was standard battle royale fare with the exception of one surprisingly good offensive flurry from Kelly. I thought that the subsequent tease of Beth's elimination by Kim was rather well put together, mainly due to Phoenix's selling as opposed to anything related to Gail's offense. Then we went in to the Hall vs. Kim portion of the match, which felt like it lasted an eternity. Anybody who has read this column for more than a week knows that I am a fairly big Jillian Hall mark, both in terms of how she gets across her character and in terms of how she works in the ring. However, she looked absolutely hideous here, and it appeared to be primarily due to the subpar offense of Gail Kim. As much as we all loved her elsewhere, Kim has seriously underperformed in WWE to the point where you wonder whether they should have signed her instead of just calling up another diva du jour from developmental. DUD.

Commercial Break Banter

Chris: I wonder who is eventually going to take the belts from JeriShow
Ryan: Oh, Christ, not you too. Do we REALLY have to do the mashup name for every tag team that comes on to the scene? Those are starting to drive me crazy.
Chris: I believe tag teams should have names. Otherwsie they feel like two guys thrown together . . . which, of course, both teams in the Breaking Point title match are.
Ryan: Tag teams having names are fine, but guys on the internet pretending their witty by coming up with these craptastic hybrid names are driving me crazy.
Chris: Normally I agree . . . JeriShow I like though.
Ryan: And, before anybody says it, I'm fully aware of the irony of me making fun of guys trying to be witty on the internet.
Chris: Careful, they'll call you arrogant!
Ryan: Please, I've been called arrogant since day one on this site.
Chris: TNA fans call me a WWE mark. WWE fans call me a TNA mark. It's fun.
Ryan: I know what you mean . . . those guys who love Osaka Pro can't stand me saying anything good about Okinawa Pro and vice versa.

Chris Jericho vs. Montel Vontavious Porter

Chris: This is a good match
Ryan: It's going quite well, yes. I was expecting it to, though, given the similarities between Jericho and Benoit's styles and the great matches MVP had with Benoit . . . plus MVP has improved a fair amount since then.
Chris: And of course they're being given time and a fairly prominent feud with which to work.
Ryan: Odd how people are chanting MVP's name here and not, say, when he was put in to the ring with Triple H several times after switching brands.
Chris: Or against Jack Swagger.
Ryan: Michael Cole exclaims, "There's a reason that Jericho's a nine-time Intercontinental Champion, King!" That's largely because they couldn't figure out what to do for him for several years, Mike.

Chris: Please ban the Playmaker.
Ryan: Amen.

Ryan: This was a tough match to pick a finish for . . . on one hand, Jericho hasn't won in a while, so you needed to give him something. But, on the other hand, with MVP cheating to win last week and not winning clean here, he looks like a bit of a joke.
Chris: At least it was competitive. I think the only way it could have worked was with a roll-up and Jericho's feet on the ropes.
Ryan: That would have been nice.

Winner: Chris Jericho via pinfall (Codebreaker)
Ryan: Just last week, Chris and I were talking about Jericho being in a bit of a rut when it came to his matches. For whatever reason, this week he decided to break out of that rut with a vengeance. Though this match needed to be a few minutes longer to have the potential to move from "good' to "excellent," it was just about as good a match as you are going to see in the time that the two men were allotted. It was also a match that was helped significantly by the crowd reaction, as they were more in to MVP as a babyface than any crowd since he jumped to Raw, with the possible exception of the audience in Vegas last week. Everybody involved in this one gets a huge thumbs up. **1/2

Hornswoggle vs. Chavo Guerrero, Jr. In a bullrope match

Ryan: Dusty Rhodes' most famous match was a Texas bullrope match? That's news to me, though I was always partial to the bunkhouse stampede.
Chris: Sorry, my eyes are still bleeding from Dusty's grin.
Ryan: That's the kind of face that should be on money.
Chris: So you could take it to to the pay windah?
Ryan: And then use it to engage in your choice of wining and dining with kings and queens or sleepin in alleys and dining on pork and beans.

Chris: Do we really want to see another Chavo-Hornswaggle match?
Ryan: You could have asked me that question a month ago and the answer still would have been "no."
Chris: Ummm, a bullrope match requires you to tie your opponent?
Ryan: First time I've heard that one.

Ryan: Chavo Guerrero becomes Mantaur redux!
Chris: Mooooooo Chavo!
Ryan: You know, if Chavo makes this his regular gimmick, he'd be a main eventer in CHIKARA.
Chris: Bull Buchanan?
Ryan: He could also work in JERSEY All Pro.
Chris: I think we've milked this one for all it's worth.
Ryan: And Horny gets a taste of rump roast.
Chris: We need to steer this back to wrestling.
Ryan: Agreed. How weird is it that Evan Bourne is Hornswoggle's sidekick instead of the other way around?
Chris: Dude, you just watched a midget cowboy beat a Latino in a cow suit by tying him up. A wrestler being the sidekick of a comedy act is positively normal by comparison.

Winner: Hornswoggle via hog tie
Ryan: DUD. You're shocked, I know.

Chris: I cannot BELIEVE we missed the chance to make a cowbell joke. We are fired from nerd-dom.
Ryan: Cowbell joke?
Chris: You MUST have heard of the "Needs more cowbell" sketch from SNL. You know, Christopher Walken as Bruce Dickinson.
Ryan: No clue. I don't even know who Bruce Dickinson is.
Chris: http://www.monkeybriefs.com/view/video/More-Cowbell-|-Original-Full-Version-|-SNL_2373.html
Ryan: I'm not getting it.
Chris: I never said it was funny. It's a classic though.
Chris: People love it.
Ryan: People are odd.
Chris: The most famous line, by the way, is "I got a fever, and the only prescription is more cowbell."
Ryan: I see.

Mark Henry vs. The Big Show

Ryan: And here comes our clash of the titans.
Chris: I hope the ring is reinforced Gorilla!
Ryan: Would you stop?
Chris: It looks like Mark Henry went through the car wash.

Chris: You can't headbutt a Samoan! Oh wait...
Ryan: There's a long, racist history of headbutts on minorities having less effect. It's not just a Samoan thing.
Chris: Samoans are also immune to piledrivers, though.
Ryan: They are not, however, immune to love when it feels just like a piledriver, which, from what the Birdman tells me, happens sometimes.

Ryan: Well, here's our DQ . . . follwed by the KO punch. I did not expect that one. I figured that they'd give Henry the advantage coming out of the match even if they did a screwy finish.
Chris: Well, at least Henry didn't look like too much of a chump. Everyone has gone down to that punch, even Taker.
Ryan: Yeah, Henry just wound up looking like a guy who legitimately got screwed over.

Winner: Mark Henry via DQ (Exposed Turnbuckle Attack)
Ryan: This was slow. This was plodding. However, if you expected it to be anything other than slow and plodding, you're not that sharp. Given the limitations of the two men in the speed department, this turned out to be a perfectly acceptable television match, and, as noted, they managed to protect both of the show's giants so that neither one came out looking much weaker than the other. That is particularly important when you're trying to sell a pay per view in part on a confrontation between the two big men. I wouldn't necessarily want to see Henry and Show come back from this in a pay per view singles match, but I have no problem whatsoever with the problem of paying to see them in a tag team encounter with their respective partners. *1/2

Dusty Rhodes has Fun with DX

Ryan: Wow, how are we only an hour in to the show? It's not been bad, but I feel like I've been watching for twice as long.
Chris: They sure did pack a lot into that hour. I think that's why. It was what, four matches?
Ryan: Yeah, that sounds right. Maybe it's because I'm used to seeing Horny and Chavo in the semi-main.
Chris: There were five if you call that a match.
Ryan: They're probably giving that slot to the women's title match tonight.
Chris: Which is a good decision with Beth vs Mickie, in theory, anyway.
Ryan: Eh, it's a women's title match on free TV.
Ryan: I doubt they'll be given the opportunity to do that much regardless of where they're put on the card.

Chris: They just showed The Fingerpoke on tv!
Ryan: They sure did . . . and DX never would've let the fingerpoke of doom happen even though they did the exact same angle for the European Title.
Chris: Oh, that was great, Dusty mentioning that Shawn's title reign was bad for the company.
Ryan: It was a thing of beauty. And it's really true . . . no matter how much HBK is beloved by the internet crowd for his workratez, he has never been a major drawing card like Austin or Hogan.
Chris: I don't know if I liked that or the Mero potshot better.
Ryan: The Mero potshot was just weird . . . he stopped doing anything that the company should be mad about over two years ago. And, even still, he was hardly a "no-talent" as Triple H stated. In fact, during the period that they were talking about, he was a better wrestler and a bigger star than HHH.

Kofi Kingston (c) vs. Mike the Miz vs. Carlito Colon vs. Jack Swagger for the United States Title

Chris: Did I just hear a pop for Miz?
Ryan: I didn't pick up on it as being bigger than what Swagger or Kofi got, but it wasn't complete indifference either.
Chris: Kofi is looking pretty good tonight.
Ryan: He looks good most nights in terms of his athletics. It's just a matter of getting the company to treat him as as big of a star as his feats can make him look.

\Ryan: And now I wonder what exactly they do with Kofi and that title since they've put Mr. Kingston over all of the viable contenders for the strap in one match.
Chris: Maybe that's the point . . . build him to the main event level by having him prove his superiority over the whole midcard.
Ryan: Again, you remain significantly more optimistic about the upward mobility of the four guys who were in that match than I ever will be.
Chris: Not all of them. Carlito is going nowhere, but I think the other three CAN move up given the chance.
Ryan: I'm not disputing that. I'm disputing the fact that they'll be given the chance anytime soon.
Chris: But you can say the same for anyone on Raw not named Cena, Orton or DX.
Ryan: Indeed I can.
Chris: So it's not like the booking of these four is the only bad thing.
Ryan: No, but it's one of the worst things given how stale the main events have been throughout all of 2009 and how easy it would be to remedy that by strapping a rocket to just one or maybe two of those wrestlers.
Chris: One has but to look at Smackdown to see how easy it is to elevate someone.
Ryan: Indeed.

Winner: Kofi Kingston via pinfall (Trouble in Paradise)
Ryan: This was a quick match featuring everybody and their dog doing every highspot that they know. It's not the sort of match that I want to watch every week, but it's entertaining to have one of these "sprints" every now and again. Aside from one or two moments in which guys were out of position and fell on top of each other, it was perfectly acceptable wrestling. **

Mickie James (c) vs. Beth Phoenix for the Divas' Title

Ryan: Jesus, is not Mickie's match. That landing from the tree of woe did not appear to be the best, nor did the shot to the post . . . nor did that bump off the shoulderblock.
Chris: Most of the women have been off tonight.
Ryan: Please pin her, Beth. Dammit, Mickie, stay down.
Chris: Wow, a shoulderbreaker. Don't see that often.
Ryan: That's a former finisher of the Rock, you know.
Chris: And Papa Shango.
Ryan: And Scott "Flash" Norton!

Ryan: See how Mickie has been holding her arm? She's either better at selling than I ever thought, or something is wrong.
Chris: It's a stinger, and I don't mean Steve Borden.
Ryan: Okay, she used the "bad arm" to hold herself up during the rana. She's selling.

Chris: Well, if the point of this is to assert Beth's dominance, it's working.
Ryan: Absolutely. I fear the toll that it's taking on Mickie, but it's working.
Chris: She can lose now and it won't matter.
Ryan: Bingo.
Chris: Like that.

Ryan: That would have been a great time to debut a new woman . . . running in on a badly beaten Mickie.
Chris: If they had one to debut.
Ryan: Serena Deeb is ready to go.

Winner: Mickie James via pinfall (Tornado DDT)
Ryan: I have a feeling that this will be a very polarizing match. If you're somebody who is adamant about professional wrestling needing to be a work and as safe as possible for the competitors, chances are that you hated this one because a lot of the build and excitement resulted from Mickie James being whipped across the ring in a reckless manner that posed the risk of legitimate injury to her. However, if you're the kind of person who wants the most visually impressive match possible with no regard whatsoever for the safety of the performers, chances are good that you were either fine with this or went beyond being fine with it and actively enjoyed the battle. Personally, I fall somewhere in between the two extremes, so my rating will as well. **

Smarky Mark Out Moment

Ryan: SHOCKMASTER.
Ryan: RAW.
Ryan: DEBUT.
Chris: It's Santino.
Ryan: ha, solid Double A cameo.
Chris: I was hoping for a Terra Ryzing mention.
Ryan: Dusty's facial reaction to Santino was pure gold. The only thing that would have made that better would be if they managed to actually get Fred Ottman in to reprise his role, which you think would be easy given that he's related to Big Dust by marriage.
Chris: Alas, seven people would have gotten it.
Ryan: Seven people got what we actually saw, and I'd imagine only three of those understand why it was Arn doing the Shockmaster voice in tonight's skit.
Chris: I'm disappointed we have had no Midnight Rider or Dusty finishes yet.
Ryan: If they do a Dusty finish that puts the title on Cody Rhodes for thirty seconds, my head will implode.
Chris: You and everyone else.

BREAKING NEWS!!!!!

Ryan: Breaking news: WTSB Radio in North Carolina reported today that TNA star Christopher Daniels (Daniel Covell) was arrested on DUI charges this past Friday in Smithfield, NC after he was pulled over for a traffic violation and a breathalyzer test registered he had a 0.14 blood alcohol level. He was released on $2,000 bond.
Chris: Breaking news: John Cena will not quit. How sad is it that I'm almost glad to see it's "only" a DUI?
Ryan: The way TNA operates, this should result in him getting an X Division Title reign. Had there been more than "just a DUI," he would be beating Kurt Angle on the tapings tomorrow.

ECW Main Event Announced

Chris: Dear ECW: You don't matter.
Ryan: Well, yeah. You're just now picking up on that?
Chris: Up until now they were playing a very important role in preparing young guys for Raw or Smackdown. They've never done somthing like that.
Ryan: You don't think Zeke and Kozlov are being groomed?
Chris: Sure they are. But when you take over half the show to air a match from almost 6 months ago . . .

Next Week's Host Is . . .

Ryan: Bob f'ing Barker.
Chris: Come on down!
Ryan: If there is no Plinko board, we riot.
Chris: Who will get spayed or neutered?
Ryan: It's a great excuse to bring back Ernest "The Cat" Miller and "The Dog" Al Greene.

Randy Orton (c) vs. Cody Rhodes for the WWE Title

Chris: TREMENDOUS.
Ryan: Dusty learned something from all of those Horsemen beatdowns he had to take over the years.

DX Runs In and Gets Laid Out

Chris: CUE BATISTA!
Ryan: No way. They've got to let the heels win out here.
Chris: Logically, yes . . . and I'm glad to see they went with that.

RKO on Dusty!

Ryan: Now Cody's loyalty gets tested . . . and he falls in line with Orton. PERFECT.
Chris: That boy has some great facial control.
Ryan: I think that's the best Raw angle that I've seen since Orton DDT'ing and kissing Steph.
Chris: I wonder about the crowd chanting for Cody though. Maybe they have Ted ask him why he didn't do something about it? I don't see how else they get from there to a face Ted, IF that's where they're headed.
Ryan: I don't think it's about babyfacing Ted as much as it is keeping Cody a heel, i.e. establishing that he's the opposite of Ted. You've just got to give Cody a few minutes of mic time next week to expound on his loyalty to Orton even in the face of daddy getting killed, and you're set.
Chris: I'll buy that for a buck. It's amazing how many people want to use elaborate plot twists and schemes to further angles, when it can be accomplished with some facial expressions and an RKO.
Ryan: Are you listening, TNA?

To Sum It All Up

Chris: I've been trying to figure out what the difference between this week's show and most others has been. They had the same stupidity with Chavo and Hornswaggle (which could have used more cowbell), they had the Mr Potato Head Midcard (copyright 2009 Byers-Lansdell Productions) all in one match, they had DX being, well, DX. . . and yet it all seems to be going somewhere. MVP and Jericho had a solid match, the women managed to recover from some BAD botches to completely restore Beth Phoenix as a badass in under two hours, we finally got an intelligent GM heel turn, and even Chavo-Hornswaggle seems to be going somewhere.

The best part of the show was without doubt the closing, which was perfect in every way. The face starts to hold his own, so an extra heel comes down. Two faces come down to even the odds and, as should happen with equal numbers, the faces gain control. Then the fourth heel steps in and the bad guys stand tall. That would have been good enough, but the RKO was a great addition that many would not have expected, and the slooooooow turn by Randy coupled with Ted's "WTF?" and Cody's facial expression of turmoil turning into downtrodden acceptance . . . it's a simple business folks. Make them hate the bad guys for being dicks, and they will love the good guys for beating them against the odds. You don't need scalding hot coffee, rats in cages, poles, jingoism or being humiliated by a midget. Now if only they could take some of the Mr Potato Head crowd and make them mean something . . .

And that does it for another week. Be sure to follow all of 411's various Twitter fees for the latest news on the site!

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Ciao!