The Wrestling – From top to bottom, I found at least some enjoyment in every match last night. The tag team match to open the show served it's purpose very well and Bourne/Kofi continue to shine in the ring and as developing Champions. The Diva's match was better than expected from a technical standpoint and I was impressed with Eve's efforts. Rhodes vs. Orton was another entertaining match (I'll get to the outcome in a few minutes). The Mark Henry and Big Show match was extremely good, in my opinion, all things considered. Both men looked strong and the ring collapse was still effective, despite being done a few years ago. Cena gave one of his better in-ring performances during the main event, but again, I'll discuss the finish later. Christian and Sheamus was fine, but as I stated before, I just don't think these two are clicking very well together and I'm ready for them to move on. The one match that fell short of expectations for me was the tag match between Miz, Truth, Hunter and Punk. Excluding the interference and finish completely, I wasn't all that impressed with the match. It wasn't awful, by any means, but not as good as it should have been with the amount of talent they had in the ring.
Del Rio Retains – This is a double-edged sword for me. The positive being that Del Rio retained and Cena will likely move out of the title picture for the time being. The end, though. The negative coming soon.
Dolph Ziggler – I thought having Dolph wrestle back-to-back matches was a very smart, simple subtlety that worked. Ziggler is VERY good and I liked giving him the win over Ryder immediately following his loss in the opening tag bout. Ryder is over and he'll get his opportunity at some point, but he doesn't lose anything by putting over Ziggler in a pay per view match. Ziggler does gain some, however, and if WWE has any plans to elevate him to the next level at some point (and I suspect they do), it's simple solutions like this that can go a long way in doing that.
Mark Henry Continues – I already put over the match, but I'd like to give additional praise to Mark Henry and WWE's continued persistence in putting over the World Heavyweight Champion in just about every "right" way possible. Mark Henry will get a clean win over Big Show soon enough – I suspect at Survivor Series – but last night's match was booked excellently. It was a non-finish, but one that was appropriate given the circumstances. Had it not been for the screwy finishes in the other two main events, the ending to this bout would have no criticism from me at all. On its own, this match and the result was just about flawless.
Nick was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, and lived there until the age of 18, when he decided to pack his flack jacket and move to New York City.
