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Josh Watts of Rifle City, Ky., college student (8.5): Best match: John Cena vs. C.M. Punk. Worst match: R-Truth and Powerballin' vs. Jack Swagger, Chris Masters, and Chavo (only for who Swagger was teamed with). I loved the idea of the "Breakthrough Battle Royal." If there's one thing the wrestling world needs, it's younger talent getting their shot to rise to the main event. Kofi vs. Ziggler was a decent match and it was great to see Kofi further his momentum. Cena vs. Punk was a great match-up and the kind of thing I'd love to see more of on free TV. The six-man tag to qualify was a disappointment. Swagger had to be teamed up with two jobbers? That was the man I hoped was going to win it all as soon as the Breakthrough Battle Royal was announced. Still nice to see MVP, Henry, and R-Truth with forward momentum, though. All of them are deserving of a main event spot if utilized properly. It was a bit of a disappointment that Bourne vs. Primo didn't take place as I'm sure it would've been a great match. At first it upset me that Orton made it into a battle royal for talent that'd never had a title, but then I realized that was exactly the type of heel heat they were trying to get and I accepted it. The video package for "the Body" and Mr. McMahon was a lot of fun, and really made me look forward to the commentary even more. With the divas match, it seemed like WWE was trying their hardest to offend people. It was all made up for with Maryse's return. DX steamrolling the Hart Dynasty was a bit of a let-down to me, as it reinforced that a tag team not made up of two main-eventers likely won't be holding belts for a long time. It also just felt unnecessary. Jericho's promo ripping apart DX after the match was amazing, though. Not sure how I feel about a ladder match with the Big Show involved. Will all four belts be suspended above the ladder? What happens if, say, Michaels gets two down and Jericho gets two down? Would Shawn Michaels and Chris Jericho be the new Unified Tag Team Champions? I suppose we'll just have to wait and see if a swerve like that occurs. Maybe Jericho will get all four belts down by riding piggyback on Big Show's shoulders. Batista came out to a chorus of cheers and I'm wondering if there's anything WWE can do at this point to get people to boo him. I'd bet money on Kane taking a pin on Smackdown to give Batista momentum, but hopefully he doesn't just go back to mid-card floundering after that. Cryme Tyme vs. Legacy was a solid match. When Legacy won I was hoping for Ted to win the Battle Royal by last eliminating Orton. The Battle Royal was very good for that type of match and was only made better by McMahon and Ventura's commentary. Sheamus with a title shot is a very interesting turn of events, and I can see it going very well or not so much depending on how the next couple episodes of Raw are booked. Interesting to note, the only person in the WWE to hold a clean win over the Number One Contender for the WWE Championship is Goldust.
-- 11/22 WWE Survivor Series PPV Reax
Gavin Duenas of Bristol, U.K. (7.5): Best Match: Team Kofi vs. Team Orton. Worst Match: Divas. As a stand-alone event, this was a very good PPV. Cena vs. Triple H vs. HBK was a fantastic match, but anyone hoping for an end to DX is almost certain to be disappointed. I can see them both remaining babyfaces even if they end up wrestling each other. Triple H really is an expert politician; by taking two pinfall losses in a week to Cena, he knows that he is fueling the hostility towards Cena's superman act. It’s nice to see him getting pinned, and good that he is much leaner and more mobile in the ring now, but ultimately Triple H still isn’t doing anything to help anyone. I can’t help but view the Undertaker in a similar light. There is no denying that live crowds love his entrance, but I believe that a wrestler at his age and in his condition should not be holding a World Title. Smackdown would be much better right now if he had put Punk over and quietly slipped into the upper mid-card. Undertaker just isn't very good anymore, and was completely exposed by sharing a ring with Jericho, who is at the top of his game. I love Kofi’s push and think it has been done expertly so far. The ending to his match was a bit predictable, in that it seemed obvious he would overcome the odds, but it worked. It seems that WWE is serious about him. The short glimpse of what Kofi and Punk could do in the ring together was also tantalizing. Great to see Team Miz so dominant as well. I’m not sure Sheamus is ready to be put in a position to draw money, but Drew McIntyre is developing into a very good talent and The Miz is excellent right now. I can’t remember anyone being so obviously ready for a main event push since Eddie Guerrero in 2003. He has everything it takes to succeed, and if he isn’t main-eventing six months from now, it would be a criminal waste. Finally, another good outing for Matt Striker, whose commentary is so enjoyable. Shock of the night for me was Striker acknowledging Jerry Lawler’s rich title history, despite his success coming elsewhere. Sometimes I wonder how he gets away with it. Next we know, he’ll be referring to the WWE Universe as "fans" and Divas as "women wrestlers." Well, Jesse Ventura beat Striker to the punch using the term "pro wrestling" on Raw.
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