I liked the way they used the McIntyre loss to play up his immaturity in defeat. It'll be interesting to see how that plays in down the line, if at all. They could just forget it, too.

I thought the recap they did of the buildup to the Michaels/Undertaker match was very well done, especially with the background music playing.

Ziggler was awsome in that match. He pulled out some moves I've never seen before.

I don't see how Morrison is going to be on the card, though. Maybe another IC title match against McIntyre, or Miz-Morrison II?

Kevin, I know it's a bit early to tell, but what chance do you think there is, if any, of Jericho retaining at Mania?

I was not happy that Michelle McCool won from Mickie James. Mickie should of kept her title and what is Vickie Guerrero interfering again I was so happy when Vickie was off the show.. Also I liked Batista a lot better when he was a nice guy. This Villain/Heel does not suit him very well. Sorry Batista, I loved you before, but not now. Have to go with Cena.

Kev, I agree with you that Friday was a night of upsets.
I think that perhaps Drew Mcintyre will defend the Intercontinental Title at Mania. This is why he was booked to lose on Friday.

In regards to the Women's title match, I sensed that mickie James would be "screwed" out of her title when they announced that Vickie Guerrerowould be the 'special referee".I agree with you that Mickie deserves better,especially since she is one of the better women's workers in the business.Maybe she is getting ready to take some time off to focus on her music career.Also, I believe that Beth Phoenix will challenge Michelle Mccool next.She has been teasing the face turn for a while and is tough enough to quite actually beat both Mccool and Layla.Kev, your thoughts on this please.

Hey Kev, what do you think of a triple threat between R-Truth, Morrison and McIntyre for the IC title at WM? Would seem like a good way of getting all 3 on the card, and I can imagine it would be a pretty good match. I'd just hope for our sake as much as Morrison's that if they did do the match, they didn't make it another dark match.

Am I the only one who is frustrated with people with titles not losing them when they get pinned? Both The Miz and Drew lost their matches, neither of the matches was announced as non title matches and the titles did not exchange. Is this an announcer problem, a management problem or am I blowing this out of proportion?

Does this mean we have to put up with more of the "Piggy" James shtick? It was amusing at first, peaked at the Royal Rumble, now it's just old and tiresome. James is a better performer. Why strip her of the title? Not to mention the outcome of the match was foretold by the choice of refs. On a night full of surprises, it was disappointing to see one match that was depressingly obvious and altogether forgettable. Yawn. Also, enough with Mysterio. Pass Punk the mic and let him bury the Little Guy with the Big Heart. His act is staler than Cena's.

First and foremost, the video package for Michaels/Taker was one of the most chilling that i've ever seen.

No one should be surprised at the results yesterday. with regards to morrison, i was thinking halfway through the match that he was gonna lose. mostly because i got to thinking about The Miz. And how now that he can be on smackdown weekly, he and john morrison can renew their rivalry. after all, miz is red hot as a heel and they're trying to push morrison as a babyface (fighting through ankle injury and dvd out). So Miz vs. Morrison at WM? I think so.

the cm punk match shouldnt be a surprise either. mostly because that hair vs. mask match at wrestlemania should be all but set.

kane is one of the "big guys" that you need in the mitb to make some of the spots look good. like he did last year. i hope mcintyre defends his belt somehow at WM

I think puttin the straigt edge society wid vince nd shawn wid bret wudve been awesome....and cena taker cudve occured...if dat had happened id hav my doubts bout da streak....and perhaps sidin da animal wid randy against legacy wudve worked....i also feel dat trips is gonna interfere in da hbk taker clash nd setup his rumored heel turn..

It seems to me that Morrison and McIntyre will likely have an Intercontinental Title match at Wrestlemania. Maybe even a triple threat with R-Truth. I was very surprised, but pleasantly, with Ziggler getting into MITB. Also, it seems like Kane is in every year to act as a pillow.

I am curious to see how Miz is used at Wrestlemania. I guess a tag team title match, but I'm not sure who they will meet. Hopefully it is used as an opportunity to get The Hart Dynasty over more.

So I guess that Undertaker has joined Batista in an unofficial move to Raw. I'm OK with that for now, but hopefully there will be more mixing of rosters leading to Wrestlemania like there was last year. It was fun to watch HBK taunt Undertaker on both Raw and Smackdown.

Edge's babyface shtick seems forced. I wouldn't be surprised if they turn him soon after his program with Jericho is over. He is much better as a heel and he could help other people get over as faces, which is something the WWE really needs at this point since all the younger stars getting pushes are heels, except Morrison and Kofi.

Kev, do you think the WWE will ever reward Shelton Benjamin for the outstanding performances he puts in every year in the MITB match? Just curious.

Kevin,

How about McIntyre vs. Morrison vs. R-Truth Triple Threat for the IC Title?

Plus, could see McCool vs. James vs. Phoenix for the Women's Title as well.

Now with Mickie losing there is not a single face champion on any brand either man or woman.

For the past year, Vickie has been insulted about her weight.

For the past 3 months, Mickie has been insulted about her weight.

You'd think Vickie would side with Mickie, right?

Todd Grisham gets a bigger reaction from the crowd than Drew McIntyre.

In regards to the Mickie James / Michelle McCool match. If a wrestler hits a referee and gets disqualified, how is it that a referee can put her hands on a wrestler?

Glad to see Dolph Ziggler in the MITB, but I can do without Kane again, but I'm guessing that Drew McIntyre will defend his title @ WM26.

Morrison and McIntyre had to lose to setup an IC title match between them. It may even end up a three way with R-Truth.

Usually I'd have agreed about the Kane victory over McIntyre but since Smackdown is generally so fantastic, I'll give it a pass since I think those writers know what they're doing.. I bet it will be a good thing.

As for the Mickie result.. well I can't see how that will turn out for the best. Unless Mickie does win it back at Wrestlemania :).

For every year that Benjamin does not get released, it's obvious that they're keeping him around for a spot in the Money in the Bank match.

For the first time in over a year I thought Raw was better than Smackdown this week.

Everything you said is true. I agree. I think Smackdown are focusing on the heels nows because WWE is getting predictible. You can;t have morrison winning over and over even though i would like to see him but this years wrestlemania wwe has so many ways to lead a rivalry to a match at wrestlemania so lets see what happens. btw I enjoyed the shows and your comments.

I'm not so shocked by the results of the MITB qualifying matches as I am that Mickie dropped the title. Unless I'm wrong now all titles are on heels.

WWE Batista-heel
World Jericho-heel
Intercontinental McIntyre-heel
US Miz -heel
Tag Showmiz -heel
Diva's Maryse- heel
Women's McCool-heel

Its now almost a sure bet that some titles will be changing hands at WM as the WWE is big on the "feel good" moments. I don't mind any of the champions now. I just wish they would have given Mickie the belt going into WM. To me Maryse and McCool are close to the same look and character..... not that the look is bad.

The crowd was totally dead during McIntyre's promo, and all I could think was "Damn, why can't they react that way to Sheamus?" I actually like McIntyre. Despite how he's been pushed due to backstage politics the same way Sheamus has been, I think they've pushed him the right way: gradually, letting him build up heat over an extended period before putting a title on him, and when they did put a title on him they made it the IC strap instead of the world championship. So the crowd reacts to McIntyre with apathy, and if they continue to do so then he'll probably end up buried. Meanwhile they boo Sheamus, and WWE interprets that as good heat instead of X-Pac heat. I wish it could be the other way around.

Another thing that struck me during the show was when Todd Grisham said everybody who had won MITB and cashed in the contract had won a World Heavyweight TItle or WWE Title. So, what, are they just going to pretend Ken Anderson never existed? Mr. Kennedy won MITB, cashed in on Edge, and lost.

Why is it that if a wrrestler hits a referee he/she gets dq'd, but it's okay for a referee to hit a wrestler.

I am also disapointed that Mickei James lost the belt to Michelle McCool

Glad to see that Dolph ZIggler won a spot in the MITB ladder match. I can do without Kane again, but hopefully this means that Drew McIntyre will be defending the IC title @ WM26.

Making fun of weight is the Diva kiss of death. Let Mickie's burial for pursuing musical interests begin. It took 3 weeks, because the WWE did not want to take the heat for a story line in such poor taste. How long will it take before Mickie is in something like a hog pen match like poor Vickie Guerrero

Mr. Benjamin looks to be making the most of his slight post ECW push, but lets hope the SES continues relevance, because they are about the best thing on WWE programing. I think you are forecasting right about the Punk v. Rey Mysterio match. I really hope they do not do a hair vs. mask match. The reality in hair vs. mask match is that both will lose in the fans eyes and neither will be elevated. It is a true lose lose situation.

Drew botched several spots, especially the ending. Kane looked upset and even Charles Robinson gave him a lecture. He really looked not ready for prime time vs. Kane. Is he going to be booked as a sore loser in the future? If so, it is bad for his future career in my estimation. Regardless, he looked very green during the match. I was laughing that if this is VKM new hot boy, the WWE is a world of trouble.

Mr. Ziggles appeared very selfish during his match. I guess the fact that future opportunities have been diminishing has made him hungry to put himself over. I hope R-Truth and Morrison make it to WM. This was a very good match. I would have loved an extra 20 minutes to watch it unfold.

Miz's wardrobe choice was awful. It looked like a TJ Maxx special. Daniel Bryan was dressed better than the Miz. I really believe that he was only lacking one of those 1980's piano key ties to complete the look of the '80s romantic comedy dork. Add the fact that Edge carried him in the ring. The Miz's in ring performance was nothing special. The reality is that the Miz really belongs on NXT show as much as the rookies do. He is not ready for prime time. One great fried chicken promo does not make a superstar. The Miz has more work to do.

Jericho=Great Promo. I can't wait to see the retribution you rightly suspect his devious mind has in store for Edge.... The plot thickens.

If only Raw had great wrestling and interesting stories like Smackdown.

While I agree it's a head-scratcher to have Kane stop McIntyre's streak, it is completly logical for Kane to be in MITB. Simply put, he serves the important part of "squishy landing pad" for the huge spots that we are certain to see. i'm also willing to bet young Drew will be defending, perhaps against Morrison and/or R-Truth.
I still am very curious about Kofi kingston's involvement. I know I'm repeating myself, but for the last 6 months I would've bet ANYTHING that Kofi was winning MITB, but now, I'm not sure he's going to even be on the card.

I think WWE is just going to leave Shelton Benjamin in a box and only let him out when the MITB match rolls around.

this "night of upsets" theme may be a swerve. I got a feeling JoMo will find a way to make it into the MITB anyway. You know who I really wanna see there? Evan Bourne. He could have an amazing WM moment, especially if he could do the Shooting Star Press from the top of the ladder. Can you imagine how big that would be? Even better than Jeff Hardy's moments.

I like McIntyre but I don't mind him losing. I would rather the IC title be defended at Mania.

Sucks about Mickie losing her title. WWE needs to do something about their Divas situation. On Smackdown, only 1 face(Mickie) and 4 heels(McCool, Layla, Beth, and Natalya). 5 if you count Serena.

By contrast, Raw has 6 face divas(Kelly, Gail, Eve, Bellas, Melina) and 4 heel divas(Maryse, Alicia, Katie Lea, and Jillian).

Shouldn't it be called Sports Entertainment Mania? :)

I like the Morrison, Truth, Ziggler match although I had Morrison winning the MIB match. But Ziggler desreves a shot he is a good talent who has been buried for a few months now.

I hated the Kane/McIntyre ending, really a botched ending? VKM's boy was beat with a big boot?

They spent most of this year building Miz up to be a big named heal and he goes to smackdown to basically job a match to Edge? Why build him up to make him Job a match? The Big Show would have been a much better choice to have lose to Edge.

Rey and Punk would make a great match and I think Punk is a main eventer and deserves a chance at a quaility WM singles match.

"I think puttin the straigt edge society wid vince nd shawn wid bret wudve been awesome....and cena taker cudve occured...if dat had happened id hav my doubts bout da streak....and perhaps sidin da animal wid randy against legacy wudve worked....i also feel dat trips is gonna interfere in da hbk taker clash nd setup his rumored heel turn.."

As the Miz would say, REALLY? really? Really. REALLY?

I was so pleased to see Ziggler get the win in the triple threat match, I actually cheered and threw my arms in the air when it happened. WWE hasn't been able to make me do that for a very long time indeed. I thought for sure that Morrison was heading to WM after hitting his Starship Pain on R-Truth. But finally, someone on the booking team has seen the light, and has put Ziggler on the card for the biggest show of the year. It's been long over-due.

As happy as I was at that moment on the show, I felt the complete opposite after the Kane/McIntyre match. It doesn't make sense for Kane to be beating McIntyre at this point in the career of the "chosen one". And Kane in a ladder match isn't all that exciting either. His presence in last year's MITB match wasn't much to shout about. Hopefully McIntyre will end up on the show in some other way.

I agree that the outcome of the Benjamin/Punk match was an upset, but, unlike the Kane/McIntyre match, this one actually makes sense. Benjamin is probably the best guy in the business when it comes to MITB matches, and I'd much rather see Punk in a singles match against Mysterio.

So, I do have mixed feelings about how this particular show was booked. Some good decisions, some bad. But there's bad, and then there's Michelle McCool beating Mickie James for the Women's Title after James had held it for a pathetic three weeks. Whoever decided on this outcome must have a screw loose. It's ridiculous that James was made to endure that "Piggie James" nonsense, and now, after seemingly getting the last laugh over the heels, she goes and loses the belt quicker than Vickie Guerrero can say "Excuse me". What a joke. I pray that this is all leading to something at WM, when James will finally get the very last laugh over McCool, by beating her in a lengthy match with a proper referee.

Rob,

You're wrong. Mr. Kennedy didn't cash in on Edge -- Edge challenged him to a match for the rights to the contract, which Edge won.

Then Edge cashed it in eventually and won the title.

-Scott

"Am I the only one who is frustrated with people with titles not losing them when they get pinned? Both The Miz and Drew lost their matches, neither of the matches was announced as non title matches and the titles did not exchange. Is this an announcer problem, a management problem or am I blowing this out of proportion?"

Joe,

They weren't announced as title matches, thus they are non-title matches. That's just a given thing. Happens all the time. So yes you're blowing it out of proportion. If it were a title match, at the beginning, they'd say "This is for the _____ title". Wrestling 101.

Any Money in the Bank match that doesn't include Shelton Benjamin is simply not worth watching.

The man elevates any ladder match by four notches, at least.

Rob Brown

Kennedy didn't lose a title match to Edge, he put his briefcase up in a match vs. Edge and lost it.

"Am I the only one who is frustrated with people with titles not losing them when they get pinned?"

_________________________________

I get more frustrated when people lose titles due to someone else getting pinned. I'm looking at you, Three-Way.

Good for Ziggler. He looked liek he took a really bad spill towards the end of the match. When he smacked his head on the apron from the top rope. Good finish.

Feels like it's been a few weeks since Punk has put up a W. I would love to see the SES get some gold.

Ah, okay. Thanks for the clarification.

Guess there was a reason for Mickie losing:

WWE Diva Mickie James had immediate surguery yesterday and today due to a bad staph infection in her leg. James posted a photo of her leg wrapped in a cast on her official twitter account.