Ok--let me make sure I'm CRYSTAL CLEAR on this one. John Morrison (arguably the best performer in WWE) wasn't even on at least three pay-per-views this year, but SHEAMUS is gonna HEADLINE??

I'm not sure, but there appeared to be a "Rex Ryan Tear" in the eye of Sheamus after he won the break-through battle royal?

Vince and Ventura just made it even more apparent how horrific Cole and King are.

Sheamus's nickname should be "The Celtic Coma" because the guy is sleep inducing.They'd be better off bringing back Jeremy Piven and making him the # 1 contender then trying to push a guy who has the personality of a carrot and with hair to match. I don't know what wwe creative is smoking but it must be some powerful stuff.

I didn't watch Raw, so when I went online today and found out that Sheamus is Cena's next challenger, my jaw hit the floor. When Sheamus went over Shelton Benjamin in his last ECW match, I didn't think that it was a huge issue; after he pinned John Morrison at Survivor Series, I didn't think that it was a huge issue (although your response to my comment made me reconsider, Kevin), but this latest development is too much. Sheamus' leapfrogging over a former ECW champion, the current US champ, and everyone else after just five weeks sends - or amplifies - the wrong message.

I have a funny feeling that Sheamus wins the WWE title at TLC. I know that's not your favored outcome. But if they've pushed Sheamus this far then why not push him all the way?

I would rather have a new face like Sheamus as WWE champion than to see Cena & Orton for the 457th time. If they put the belt on Sheamus I'd like to see him hold onto it until Wrestlemania XXVI and then drop it to Kofi Kingston.

I'm surprised you didn't comment on Maryse's difficulty in getting out of the Gobbledy Gooker outfit. The Great Khali could have got to the ring quicker than it took for Maryse to set herself free.

If Mickie James has a weight problem it wasn't apparent to Lawler who called her "Pochahottie." Just thought I'd get that off my chest.

I have a feeling this won't be the last time we'll be seeing DX and The Hart Dynasty especially if DX wins the tag team titles. Imagine if the DX dropped the tag belts to the Harts in Calgary or Montreal. It might be an opportunity too tempting for Bret to pass up. Revenge is a dish best served cold.

Taz had the line of the night after seeing Vince do commentary (via twitter, and I paraphrase):

"It's like constantly telling your dog not to piss in the car, and then you get in the car and take a piss."

I am quite surprised Kevin you did not note for the first time in her nine months with WWE ... Diva Gail Kim was allowed to speak ... yes speak. Since february 9, 2009 she has been a mute ... now maybe they will allow her to wrestle and win. Maybe?

RESPONSE FROM KE: Well, she has spoken on WWE Superstars during the "Ask the Divas" segments.

Kevin, Are you blind? Sheamus is one of the most talented young workers on the roster! Forget that crap about him kissing HHH's ass whatever your beef is wit him you need 2 drop it because in my opinion we are looking at the future in Sheamus and judging by last nights raw the future maybe closer than you think.

RESPONSE FROM KE: Hey, we all have our opinions and I respect yours. BTW, the fact that he was Triple H's workout buddy had been out there for a little while and I never mentioned it (although several readers posted comments about it). After Monday night, however, I thought it was a legitimate point to bring up.

And for your information he only lost to Goldust once which was a fluke he destroyed him 4 other times. Sheamus = Future WWE Champion like it or not!

I loved the Vince/Jesse commentary segment, it really took me back to the 80's. Taz had a funny comment on Twitter, about Vince on commentary last night... @OfficialTAZ - "Let's say, u tell your dog for years not to piss in the car. Than as soon as U get in the car...u piss! There's my 2 cents." Lmao!

Right - I saw Jesse when a battle royal for the right to face Backlund in the Main Event at the Arena, must have been 82. My friend and I were big Body fans, abd we were very excited. I believe Bob won by countout. Good times!

Spot on Kevin about Ventura vs. Backlund. I saw the Civic Center match with my dad. I remeber thinking that Backland ALWAYS pinned Ventura clean in their matches but he would not always win against Ventura's partner Adrian Adonis by a clean pin fall.

Doing a breakthrough battle royal on the same night as bringing back old memories and characters...not sure if it is good or bad. A mix nostalgia and pushing a new era may be good for diversity but it doesn’t really work for me. Let the new era take over. Out with the old in with the new!

I hate seeing Punk lose...

I wouldn’t have mind seeing Kofi and Cena. Kofi is the only one right now that could provide some mystery corncerning hitting a big win. Matter of fact, why did the WWE miss the chance of creating the DiBiase/Orton feud and starting the Kofi/ Cena program.

Cena's promos are sooooo corny!

Sorry, but the whole show was flatter than my pre-pubescent daughter. I'm a big Ventura fan but the show just never had that spark. I pretty much suffered through the whole show.

The pay-off for the Santino skit was priceless.

Perhaps using a cheat sheet is better than butchering the superstars' names.

RESPONSE FROM KE: Good point. But all he had to memorize was John Cena vs. CM punk and DX vs. The Hart Dynasty. That's not very hard.

Sheamus ey? I've never prayed for a cena victory more in my life!

I thought this was a solid show. Ventura was entertaining. I did get nervous when Orton got into the battle royal that he was going to win.

Did anyone else notice that the old WWF logo wasn't blurred out during the old clips of Ventura and Vince doing commentary? I think that was the first time it has happened. Ventura also referred to the company as the WWF when referencing his time wrestling, which seems to never be done anymore. It was good to see the past acknowledged for what it is.

It will be interesting to see how Sheamus performs at the PPV. I am surprised by the amount of push he is getting. It was great to hear Ventura reference Sheamus' need for for a tan. During the confrontation with Cena, I thought about how Cena used to be the one I thought could use a little sun. Man, Sheamus has some pale skin!

When you read about this fellow Sheamus' history in pro wrestling, it seems like he could be an interesting character -- at least he's shown that in the past. He's a guy in his early 30s who has paid his dues in smaller promotions.

There appears to be a fair bit they could do with him, in terms of character development, but so far we've seen almost none of that as he squashes people in short order on his way to the top of the card. The WWE hasn't demonstrated much creativity with this run.

I think Ziggler needs repackaging. I wouldn't give up on the guy. There's not much he can do wtih that silly persona.

Ventura really found his calling as a colour commentator in the old WWF. It would be interesting to see if they could lure him back again, for more than a cameo performance.

This RAW had a feel to it that hasn't been around in a while. For once it didn't feel like a celebrity guest host, it felt like a RAW from the Monday Night Wars era, everything I wish Piper's RAW at MSG would have been.

I was actually excited when Ventura announced there would be a DX vs Hart Dynasty match. I can't remember the last time I sat glued to RAW waiting for a match.

Then that last match/segment with Sheamus killed all of the good vibes, and sadly there was to be no turning to TNT to watch the end of Nitro this night.

Only the WWE could do something everybody wants to see- new blood in the championship picture- and screw it up. Even TNA gets that right.

I wonder if R-Truth was included amongst the "never been World Champions" as a shot at the TNA title. On the other hand, former ECW champs Swagger, Henry, and Chavo all attempting to get in the battle royal pretty much solidifies that title as not World Title level.

I am not a fan of Sheamus but I can say that I am glad that WWE is making an effort to elevate somebody hell anybody. Hopefully at TLC he can get in some offense and have a good showing. I am hoping that this is not a transition thing and that the "Celtic Warrior", like Kofi can be elevated to the next level. RAW was interesting last night which it hasn't been for a long time. Obviously Jerishow is going to drop the belts to DX considering that Show has a knee injury that requires surgery. I don't really care if DX gets the belts but why not give them to somebody else to give a young tag team the rub, and anyways isin't there supposed to be a HHH vs. Michaels match at WM26? This whole thing confuses me. Anyways I'm glad Punk got a chance to show himself against Cena, I'm glad he got to keep some of the credibility he has left. I like Batista's new character but it seems near impossible for him to draw heat. Hell I just want him to say something to get cheap heat to draw something besides mostly cheers. As much as I don't want to see Batista vs. Taker again hopefully they can do something short. Another thing that worries me about the two is that considering how injury prone Batista is and how Taker seems slower than usual it's troublesome to think about them in a possible TLC or Ladder match for the WHC. They can't possibly have two table title matches? Hopefully WWE is taking a step in the right direction and not fooling us all with the potential "new" faces of RAW and eventually the WWE.

Well its nice to know that the people behind the curtain do hear the fans.....but then they go and make Sheamus the #1 contender...Huhh???
I guess now a days your resume needs to consist of wins over Goldust, Jamie Noble and Shelton Benjamin in order to be the top challenger....which means Drew McIntyre should have his shot in about another month or so....Zack Ryder is more qualified to be a contender then those two (seriously bro).

But then all John Cena had to do was to show up on screen in his cheap imitation Florida Gators style t-shirt and j-shorts to actually make me want to see the pale fella win....Cena is like a Yankee fan, you just want to slap them in the face.

And did anyone else notice they used Tatanka's theme for the 'Indians' team...whatever happened to that guy ?

RESPONSE FROM KE: I did notice the Tatanka theme. Too bad Chief Jay Strongbow wasn't still around when theme music became a staple.

I see a lot of potential in Sheamus, but I agree that his push is totally undeserved at this point. Speaking of which, I was incredibly disappointed in both Sheamus and Randy Orton, barely involving themselves in the battle royal, especially since I was almost certain one of them was going to win.

I haven't been able to bring myself to care about the Batista storyline at all. I suppose it's mostly because of the nonsensical premise on which it was built. They've portrayed it like Mysterio interfered in Batista's match to "cost" him the title. Someone should remind Dave that Mysterio was a participant in the match. Was he supposed to sit back and intentionally lose the match!? I can't get past how idiotic the angle has been from the start, which prevents me from caring at all about the new heel Batista (I've never been his biggest fan, anyway).

I thought that it was going to be Gail Kim in the Gobbledy Gooker costume, especially when the announcers starting mis-pronouncing the name (maybe I'm reading too much into it, but "gook" being a derogatory word for Koreans, I figured that's what the mispronunciation was all about).

All in all, an above-average Raw.

RESPONSE FROM KE: On the Batista turn, his motivation isn't supposed to be logical. Of course Rey had every right to break up the pin and prevent Batista from winning. But in Batista's twisted mind, his friend was stabbing him in the back. It plays into Batista's frustration at failing to win the title so many times and when he does win, his reigns never last more than a week.

Sheamus is main-eventing in only his second PPV appearance, and the buy rate won't suffer because its a gimmick-themed show.

Young wrestlers who want to move to the main event level take notice. Being best buds with Triple H is how you play the game and move up the ladder.

Jesse Ventura & Vince doing the matches was awesome - and if apparently that hatchet has been buried? Who's next ? "wink wink" - Anyways - Kevin to you did Cena look actually agitated at what Ventrua was saying about him ? Seemed to be a little over the line of what he probably expected - Sheamus kind of has that Ludvig Borga thing going..the scary man of Finland .. think Sheamus has to sell a little more martial arts type of skills to sell his prowless, though I did like the aggressive way he won the Battle Royal

i dont mind this sheamus build.
only because the top guys will do what the want, and im pretty sure it wont last.

my big problem with him though is that he doesnt seem rabid and agressive enough.
he does agressive things... but takes about 20 seconds between each.
i think he needs to come off as more of a monster by hurrying up his attacks sequences, or atleast just DOING SOMETHING during his pauses, not just standing there being nervous.

favorite moment of raw was when orton axed sheamus with his signature backbreaker. i loled

@Mike in AZ: If you're talking about the old WWF logo (80s-mid 90s), that was never blurred out. It was Attitude Era WWF logo that the F was blurred. Of course, any new material shown today using the classic logo is using the variation (first seen as one of Cena's first logos), like in the video-game Legends of Wrestlemania.

And I'll just say this...if Sheamus is going to the top, he better make a good build-up. Stop the redundant squashes, make some quality work in the ring, then some mic time. If he really is that big of a buddy with HHH, he should learn a thing or two from him in that department.

"I don't know what wwe creative is smoking but it must be some powerful stuff."

Someone's gotta' fill Kendrick's void...

I noticed former ECW champions were able to compete for a chance at the WWE or World Title. I guess that belt doesn't matter as much. The DX skit was funny and I guess mini me will be the judge at little people's court next week. I hope it's a short segment. (No pun intended). I'm hoping Shamus push doesn't hold back rising stars like Kofi. Shamus does have potential, but as we saw from the crowd Monday, nobady cares yet.

I think that Sheamus ought to win one of the lesser titles before getting a shot at the WWE title. The guy didn't even win the ECW strap, for ****'s sake!

I think that a guy should be over or have heat before he challenges for the big belt. Kofi's got the fans behind him. Sheamus, by comparison, does not have enough heat. He doesn't have half the heat that Miz does, and yet he's getting an opportunity that Miz is not. That seems wrong to me.

Now okay, it is possible that in the time between now and the PPV, Sheamus will manage to get a lot more heat, but I don't consider it likely.

I'm not sure what the chances of this are, but I suppose it's possible that the #1 contender will be changed before the PPV like most of Team Smackdown was changed before Bragging Rights. We can hope...

I'm probably one of the few people (besides Trips) who likes Sheamus. I think he has a lot of potential, but giving him a title shot at this point is rather absurd. But, on the other hand, I'm glad that SOMEONE NEW is being given a title opportunity. Hopefully Sheamus will be built up in the coming weeks as a legitimate threat and that he won't be completely squashed at TLC.

"the whole show was flatter than my pre-pubescent daughter"

That's just wrong.

i noticed tatanka's theme as well.

it seems to me like sheamus needs a personality. i think at this point, the best option is a shot at cena, some kayfabe humble pie, and then a run elsewhere. i've thought for weeks that the perfect kick in the rear for the tag division would be to have sheamus and finlay team up. sheamus gets a good, stiff worker who plays a good heel to feed off of (and the gimmicks are easy to unite), finlay maybe gets the tag team straps for a bit, which he would certainly deserve with all the good work he's put in, and the tag division gets to replace jerishow while building a future star.

In response to Maryse being the Gooker: I THOUGHT the Gobbledy Gooker had some sexy legs during that entrance.

As for Sheamus's push, I'm looking forward to that match. Whether he deserves it or not, the champions in the WWE don't face a wide enough variety of challengers. I'm glad that their skipping the formula this time, but I'm also disappointed that it couldn't be someone like Shelton Benjamin in that spot. I've been behind him ever since that tournament on Smackdown, when he first went solo.

On the bright side, he and Christian are finally going to go at it again, and it'll be on Pay-Per-View. I can't even remember the last one that Shelton was featured on.

MARYSE! Monday night's just got sexy!!!!!!

Then they got ruined when the ghost who walks came out with a main event push, looks like Sheamus played the game and won.

Props to you HHH for holding down people with personality while he gets a push - for once i yearn for the shoulder block, leg drop, STF, AA combo.

As for Mr Ziggles how about gicving him a Curt Henning like character? Think it would suit him.

I was swearing at the women's match ><) that meant something fans could take the women's division seriously.

Is it just me or with the two big pushes for kids (Kingston & Sheamus) are the other young future stars put on the backburner? Legacy has fallen way down. Swagger looked like a future champion on ECW, now he's with Chavo & Masters. Miz was fueding with Cena and now doesn't even get a match on RAW. Evan Bourne.. enough said. MVP, I've given up hope for him sadly. Sheamus just hasn't been around long enough for this. Oh well at least some young kid is getting a push.

Oh yeah.. Go Mickie!

RE: Shelton on a PPV

Shelton fought John Morrison on a PPV in the summer when Morrison was doing his face turn. It was a decent match, the only thing I really remember from it though was Morrison quasi-botching a 450 splash from the ropes that Shelton had to run under to get catch him.

sheamus reminds me of willy, the school's groundskeeper from the simpsons.

A decent Raw for a change. The "body' has certainly lost none of his skills on the mic and his ego is still has big as ever. The best moment of the night for me was the return of Maryse. She is a hottie

I can't believe the amount of Sheamus-hate. Who else would you like to see elevated?

Swagger? The guy shows zero effort and emotion and hasn't since he debuted. Hell, even Jim Ross has mentioned this.

MVP? You're going to elevate a guy whose been around for years and goes on prolonged losing streaks? BTW, he also works poorly in the ring with just about everybody - he even has awkward matches with Jericho, who usually makes everyone look good.

Henry? I'd rather slit my wrists.

Ziggler/Morrison? Are either of them over 6-feet tall? Neither would be believable as champ.

Rhodes/Dibiasi? Hasn't Cena already beaten BOTH of them in a match together? They'd need much longer sustained singles pushes to wipe the stench of their sneaky wimpy heel team persona off them.

Sheamus makes the most sense because he's got the prototypical size (very Rock-like in proportion); the most unique look the WWE has seen since Lesnar; and he hasn't spent the last couple of months losing to midcarders, so his credibility - if not totally established, at least isn't bruised.

Plus - it's a match against Cena, and everyone who isn't a Cena mark is going to be rooting like hell for him to get his ass whupped.

The only hickup in this whole thing was that Monday's RAW should have been the one that was held at MSG. I think the fans there wouldn't have been sitting on their hands when Sheamus punked Cena.

But then again, we're New York, and New Yorkers know something important when they see it.

Two points:

1) Cena's shirt hurt my eyes. God, any kid wearing that junk will obviously not be lost. Also, Punk should have quite clearly won, but I guess that goes without saying.

2) Miz has a _lot_ of heat. For a crowd that seemed pretty quiet, they sure got irritated with the awesome one.

Can you confirm or deny any of these rumors going around Kevin?

Is it true that...

-The Ravens are about to sign a new kicker named Randy Orton?

- Vladimir Kozlov is about to take a leave of absence because he has lost his smile?

- Hornswaggle's attorney in " Little People's Court" is none other than Orioles owner Peter Angelos?

- That Shane McMahon left WWE because Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler kept laughing at him?

- When his doctor recently asked Ric Flair to give a blood test he bladed right in the doctor's office?

- Cody Rhodes is perfecting a new finisher named the Lisper in the Wind?

- Vince McMahon has a garbage truck parked outside the Baltimore City Courthouse awaiting the Sheila Dixon verdict so he can "take out the trash?"

RESPONSE FROM KE: Good stuff. If it wasn't so Baltimore-centric it would be a strong contender for Comment of the Week.

maryse gets hotter the more i see her

Did anyone else notice that at the beginning of the show when Jesse came out the jumbotrons to either side of him said "The Governer"?

Nice spelling. Between that and the late theme music last week for Kofi, the production team is really on a roll.

The guy WWE hand-picked to be the chosen one is Sheamus

Uhm, no. WWE hasn't committed to anything with Sheamus except giving him one of the 3 or 4 headlining matches for a random pay-per-view, which may or may not even exist in 2 years (I highly doubt Cena/Sheamus will go on last).

Still, this spotlight could do as much harm as good for him (which was true of any up-and-comer, except Ted DiBiase who was the wisest choice). I read over & over in the Ross Report about how wrestlers need to run when given the ball, but I cannot pinpoint many examples in recent years where they have truly hand the ball to someone. Until now.

Sheamus will be lucky if he doesn't fumble.

I loved the backstage segment with Santino and Vickie, her face before the cake was priceless.

"Vince and Ventura just made it even more apparent how horrific Cole and King are."

I hadn't thought about that but you are right! Something fresh and interesting with the announcing would help give Raw a boost.

Sheamus' fast rise is surprising but I do not have a problem with it. HE matches up well physically with Cena, better than Kofi. There is a lot that WWE creative can do with Sheamus...we'll see. At least it is something different, so everyone stop complaining and give it a shot.

Swagger is the other heel who might match up well with the bigger guys, but his character on Raw needs even more work than Sheamus at this point.

I like Sheamus because he reminds me of a man I knew personally, who was also from Dublin. FYI, the man I knew was just sent to jail for stabbing his ex-girlfriend, just missing her heart, having watched terrorist videos to "beef" himself up.
i.e. Sheamus comes across as a total maniac. That coupled with his unique look will get him over soon.

did not like the diva match since the only face that ever got in was melina and to me it was obvious that a female was in the costume. was glad that mickie got some what of recognition with the faces being the indians since she is native american. Stunned that Sheamus is getting a shot at the title here enen though from the start of the match you could see that it was either him or Orton great booking their you can really tell who is in control their i can't keep putting the belt on me so lets get a freind a chance.

Kev, not sure what your problem with the Shemus push is.

Does he seemingly "deserve" it? NO. But this is what the WWE needs to do to expand its cards, is push new guys to the top, and quicker.

Right now you have Shelton Benjamin #1 contender for teh ECW title (not a bad reward for putting over Sheamus in ECW if you ask me). Sheamus as #1 contender to Cena. Orton putting over Kofi Kingston in a BIG way.

To me, the higher ups are finally getting up. Veterans shouldn't be fueding with eachother regularly . . . if anything, save those matchups for mega-PPV's.

Guys like Sheamus, whether if fails or not, need to be put over.

If CM Punk can get a push out of nowhere with his limited athletic talent, guys like Benjamin, Sheamus, etc need to get a push.

Miz has the United States Title, so I"m not worried about him.

Only Jack Swagger and Evan Bourne are getting the short end of the stick, but there is plenty of time for them to get their due.

I guess you couldn't feel my intended sarcasm. I was shooting for the comment of the week.

@Aaron Goldstein,
I think that is the purpose of the DX/Dynasty match on RAW to test their efforts and see if they should be the ones to beat DX for the titles.

I think the youngsters held up their end of the match, so I expect DX will lose the titles to them, kinda to say, "hey, we don't resent you just because of what their uncle is doing and we'll give you a fair shake."

Plus, if it works as an additional "olive branch" to Bret, then all the better. Conversely, if Bret Hart still despises DX with equal animosity after they put over his own family members, then it just makes him look all the more bitter.

In light of the new next big thing: Sheamus…. And Drew McIntyre….

Clearly Vince has learned nothing from his forcing his buddies down our throats in a hurry. I would have thought he had enough business savy to have learned this lesson after the attempt with Lex Luger. By the way, how many years ago was that?? But we’ve had to sit through the fast and legendary rises of The Great Khali, Vladamir Koslov to name a few.

Whether face or heel, fans need to want to buy into the character. Shawn Michaels said that in his book. Vince just gives a guy a belt and thinks that’ll work. The guy needs to get over, THEN get a belt (or at least a shot at one). Vince just hasn’t learned this yet and given his age, it is unlikely he As far as I can remember, since I’ve been a fan (25 years) the only two who made a successful quick rise are Undertaker and The Rock. And they took a lot longer than 5 weeks. At least Kofi earned his push from getting over with the fans.

On Drew McIntyre…. I’m not saying the guy is doomed to failure…. But the odds of that happening go way up if he keeps bringing up that ridiculous endorsement that Vince gave him. It has been the WRONG kind of heat. The days of Vince being a monster heel and everyone associated with him turning into one are over. In the minds of fans, anyone Vince publicly names a “future WWE champion” stinks of backstage brown nosing and that is not the heat that wrestlers should have.

So, here’s what should happen: Sheamus does his repetition of Koslov and plummets to the bottom. HHH makes a stink over his workout buddy being demoted to a jobber in ECW in a backstage skit at the Royal Rumble. Shawn tells him off and says he needs to get over himself and stop using his backstage power….(whether or not it’s true, it’s a perception of the fans that HHH does that) and there is heat between them in the Rumble match. They end up as the final two. Shawn kicks him out of the ring and wins. HHH gets back in and lays him out. Shawn cashes in his title shot at the next PPV and wins the belt from Cena. HHH wins the Elimination chamber match and gets the shot at WM26. Vince and HHH team up to try to get rid of Shawn for good. Shawn wins the match and has his moment with the belt at WM. Vince storms down to the ring, and Shawn super kicks him to kingdom come, and “breaks his neck.” Vince is forced to “retire” and Shawn then on the spot retires himself while still being champion. (reliving those controversial lost my smile days!!) Then he becomes master and ruler of the WWE (on television) and takes over the booking behind the scenes. (Shawn knows better than Vince on getting guys over) HHH doesn’t like that because that’s his inheritance….Then Shawn makes HHH’s life hell because he’s lost his backstage power.

How good a story is THAT??

I made the trip up to Hershey from Bmore and noticed that the crowd wasn't really hot for this, I would've much rather that they waited for this show to be in Baltimore or even in N.Y. because of how hot the crowds are, Jesse contrary to some reports didn't really get that much of a reaction like I think he would've here. We're stuck with the little people is Raw, wich should be nice for the kids but not for the conventional fans, I'm hoping that at least we'll get the opening pyro display as that will probably be the most exciting thing to occur.

I was there, and when Kofi put randy over the ropes, the place lost it! Now, as for Shame-on-us WWE writters, seriously sheamus won't sell tickets, he isn't even entertaining. Ted jr., Jack Swagger, John Morrison, Kofi Kingston, MVP, should have all be considered. The real crime is..Kane...only 1 day for a title....seriously

The 'E might as well have Hornswaggle face Cena. I mean, the midget hasn't lost a match in months and months. His streak is longer than anyone else's at this point and since apparently squashing a jobber is means a title shot, Swaggle should have a Mania main event.

On a serious note, Sheamus should be crapping himself right now, because any and all heat he has gained (which is none) is going to get absolutely murdered but the merchandise machine that is John Cena. I wrote last week how Cena is a functional tweener. The last thing you need for a heel you are trying to get over is put him up against a mega star that half the audience despises already. What the 'E is trying to do is give Sheamus the same thing they gave Cena in '03. Backlash 03 he faced Lesnar in a competitive match that was never in question for the WWE title. It did make Cena legitimate as a contender. Two things are different from that situation. Cena has personality and superman levels of charisma and people react to him. Secondly, it took Cena almost 2 full years after that to get the title. I like the idea of having random people getting random shots on random meaningless PPVs. Sheamus, however, is just going to lose any and all momentum he had. I would've booked Kingston v Cena. Orton rko's Kofi through a table. Kofi wins the Rumble last eliminating Orton. They face off for the Mania spot at Elimination Chamber. Orton puts Kofi over, Kofi beats the unbeatable monster Batista at Mania and you have your next John Cena 2005. But that would be too logical.

I'd still consider Chris' post for comment of the week -- even if you just use this one point: "When his doctor recently asked Ric Flair to give a blood test he bladed right in the doctor's office"

I literally laughed out loud.

I love the Sheamus situation. Not because I am too fond of the Irish ghost, but because every time I watch a match, I want to believe that the outcome isn' obvious. That everyone can win. Hell, I'd event let one of these nameless jobbers get a fluke win over a Vance Archer once, so that Archer goes berserk and becomes far more dangerous.
I guess few of us expected Sheamus to become the number one contenter when Jesse explained the rules of the night. Yes, we all believed in Ted DiBiase, and after his elimination, most of us probably believed in Kofi. So Sheamus came out as a big surprise, and that's good, just like Bourne's win over Swagger two weeks ago, when he broke the All American American's streak out of the blue.
According to me, the bookers should concentrate on eliminating logical mistakes and incoherences in promos and backstage talk. But for me to remain interested in matches, I must feel that anything can happen, even a win by someone who doesn't seem to have a lot of momentum and doesn't look like a "logical choice".

Still speechless about the Sheamus push.

Did anyone else notice Natalya telling Tyson to "make him pay" when he had Shawn in the headlock? I found that interesting and was expecting the commentators to comment on it. but nope it passed un noticed. Loved the little dig they had at her father as well.
King apparently was using a cheat sheet to call the smackdown matches as well.
I am hoping that this is all a process of building up THD for the tag titles.

Kev,

You need to go to this link:

http://owwfan.com/viewtopic.php?f=162&t=24125&p=197761#p197761

There's a clip on this page of Jesse Venture and Jim Norton from The Opie and Anthony Show getting into an argument about politics. Jesse is made out to look like a big baby.