CONTACTABOUTFACEBOOKTWITTERPODCAST IPHONE APPANDROID APPAMAZON APPRSS
Pro Wrestling Torch
Pro Wrestling Torch Reaches The Most Wrestling Fans Every Week: #1 in iTunes • #1 on iPhone and iPad • #1 on Android • #1 on Kindle
GOT THE PWTORCH APP YET?
iPhone & iPad
Android
Amazon Kindle
Windows Phone
PWTorch Phone App
PARKS'S TAKE
PARKS'S TAKE: Was Christmas Eve Raw fantastic fun, or a waste of time?

Dec 26, 2012 - 8:25:42 PM
PLEASE TAKE A MOMENT TO BOOKMARK US & VISIT US DAILY


StaffParks_wide_1.png




For what will amount to a throw-away episode of Raw, the Christmas Eve edition of WWE's flagship show has certainly garnered a polarizing reaction from fans on message boards and Twitter. The opinions range from believing the show was a fun romp, a light-hearted show on a night when few would be watching; to thinking the show was, for most of it, traumatizing to any young fans who may be watching, and nearly three hours of WWE's weak brand of comedy.

Your mileage may vary of course, but I had pretty low expectations going in. They sank even lower after Santa was run over by Alberto Del Rio who, last I checked, had turned babyface. To make matters worse, he was confronted backstage by the entire WWE roster, which included John Cena at his over-acting "finest." Even William Shatner would accuse Cena of chewing the scenery. Booker T. abiding by Santa's wishes for a Miracle on 34th Street Fight between Cena and Del Rio couldn't quite save the segment, though it did begin the evening's theme of pun-tastic gimmick matches.

Babyfaces came out on top in all nine matches on the show, to continue trying to give fans a good time on the night before Christmas. The amount of replays of Santa getting run over rivaled the number of replays WWE showed when they started the Raw three-hour era. The tone the announcers and everyone else took during the show of Santa's condition reminded some of more serious moments in WWE TV history, and there's an argument to be made that reality and storyline shouldn't be mixed in such a way. However, WWE can't just stop telling "injury" stories simply because folks have been injured (or worse) on television for real in the past.

A.J. Lee and Dolph Ziggler's backstage holiday snuggle-fest was entertaining and it gave them alone time to develop some one-on-one chemistry that the viewers can relate to. Santa miraculously recovering as the beeping of his heart monitor turned to a Christmas Carol was encouraging.

Some have argued that John Cena vs. Alberto Del Rio made a mockery of street fights, and was not a worthy main event. I had to laugh at Alberto Del Rio finally getting hold of a box, only to discover a teddy bear...and then using the bear as an offensive weapon against Cena. I thought that was the comedic highlight of the night.

This Raw will be forgotten by next week, if it hasn't been already, in WWE lore. It's true that if you missed it, you didn't miss anything big. But that wasn't the point of this show...the point, with the heavy comedy and babyface wins, was to put a smile on people's faces (a Vince McMahon trademark phrase). And if you invested three hours watching Raw on Christmas Eve, I'm hoping you found something on the show that made it worthwhile.

Greg Parks has been a columnist for Pro Wrestling Torch since 2007. Follow him on Twitter @gregmparks for live Tweeting during Raw, Impact, and PPVs, as well as other bits of wisdom. Comments, questions and feedback are welcome, and can be sent to g_man9784@yahoo.com.


We suggest these recent related articles...
PARKS BLOG: With ratings down, WWE Summerslam setting up to be a high-stakes event
SHOW RESULTS - 7/18 WWE NXT in Venice, Fla.: PARKS'S in-person report on Finn Balor vs. Tyler Breeze, Eva Marie, Uhaa Nation, more
PARKS'S TAKE: Looking at storyline possibilities for each MITB Ladder Match participant
prowrestling.net
CLICK HERE FOR EVEN MORE PW.NET HEADLINES


CLICK TO EMAIL THIS ARTICLE
CLICK HERE TO RETURN TO MAIN LISTING

NEW! SIGN UP FOR FREE PWTORCH BREAKING NEWS EMAIL ALERTS
BECOME A PWTORCH VIP MEMBER
-FORMER MEMBERS LOGIN HERE TO RENEW
-NEW MEMBERS CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP
SELECT BY ARTICLES CATEGORY
SEARCH PWTORCH.COM



CLICK HERE FOR LIST OF UPCOMING PRO WRESTLING EVENTS
MORE HEADLINES AT AFFILIATE SITES
MMATorch
LATEST HEADLINES - CLICK TO READ CLICK HERE FOR MORE MMATORCH HEADLINES


PWTORCH POLL - VOTE NOW!
RAW POLL 10/12: Vote on Monday's show
 
pollcode.com free polls


RAW POLL 10/12: What was the Best Match on Raw?
 
pollcode.com free polls
MCNEILL LIVECAST POLL: TNA will have a 32-person tournament to determine a new Hvt. champion - your thoughts?
 
pollcode.com free polls
CENA POLL: If John Cena takes a year-end break, who should win the U.S. Title from Cena?
 
pollcode.com free polls
VOTE IN OR SEE RESULTS OF PREVIOUS POLLS



LATEST HEADLINES - CLICK TO READ CLICK HERE FOR EVEN MORE INC HEADLINES

_
LATEST FREE AUDIO SHOWS - CLICK TO LISTEN VIEW MORE PWTORCH LIVECAST EPISODES
DOWNLOAD PWTORCH LIVECAST APP
SUBSCRIBE TO PWTORCH LIVECAST IN ITUNES


ABOUT US

THE TORCH REACHES MORE COMBAT ENTERTAINMENT FANS THAN ANY OTHER SOURCE

PWTorch editor Wade Keller has covered pro wrestling full time since 1987 starting with the Pro Wrestling Torch print newsletter. PWTorch.com launched in 1999 and the PWTorch Apps launched in 2008.

He has conducted "Torch Talk" insider interviews with Hulk Hogan, The Rock, Steve Austin, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, Eric Bischoff, Jesse Ventura, Lou Thesz, Jerry Lawler, Mick Foley, Jim Ross, Paul Heyman, Bruno Sammartino, Goldberg, more.

He has interviewed big-name players in person incluiding Vince McMahon (at WWE Headquarters), Dana White (in Las Vegas), Eric Bischoff (at the first Nitro at Mall of America), Brock Lesnar (after his first UFC win).

He hosted the weekly Pro Wrestling Focus radio show on KFAN in the early 1990s and hosted the Ultimate Insiders DVD series distributed in retail stories internationally in the mid-2000s including interviews filmed in Los Angeles with Vince Russo & Ed Ferrara and Matt & Jeff Hardy. He currently hosts the most listened to pro wrestling audio show in the world, (the PWTorch Livecast, top ranked in iTunes)


REACHING 1 MILLION+ UNIQUE USERS PER MONTH
500 MILLION CLICKS & LISTENS PER YEAR
MILLIONS OF PWTORCH NEWSLETTERS SOLD
PWTORCH STAFF

EDITORS:
Wade Keller, editor
(kellerwade@gmail.com)

James Caldwell, assistant editor
(pwtorch@gmail.com)

STAFF COLUMNISTS:
Bruce Mitchell (since 1990)
Pat McNeill (since 2001)
Greg Parks (since 2007)
Sean Radican (since 2003)

We also have a great team of
TV Reporters
and Specialists and Artists.

PWTORCH VIP MEMBERSHIP

PWTorch offers a VIP membership for $10 a month (or less with an annual sub). It includes nearly 25 years worth of archives from our coverage of pro wrestling dating back to PWTorch Newsletters from the late-'80s filled with insider secrets from every era that are available to VIPers in digital PDF format and Keller's radio show from the early 1990s.

Also, new exclusive top-shelf content every day including a new VIP-exclusive weekly 16 page digital magazine-style (PC and iPad compatible) PDF newsletter packed with exclusive articles and news.

The following features come with a VIP membership which tens of thousands of fans worldwide have enjoyed for many years...

-New Digital PWTorch Newsletter every week
-3 New Digital PDF Back Issues from 5, 10, 20 years ago
-Over 60 new VIP Audio Shows each week
-Ad-free access to all PWTorch.com free articles
-VIP Forum access with daily interaction with PWTorch staff and well-informed fellow wrestling fans
-Tons of archived audio and text articles
-Decades of Torch Talk insider interviews in transcript and audio formats with big name stars.


**SIGN UP FOR VIP ACCESS HERE**

CONTACTABOUTFACEBOOKTWITTERPODCASTIPHONE APPANDROID APPAMAZON APPRSS
VIP SIGN-UP
VIP LOGIN
THE TORCH: #1 IN COMBAT ENTERTAINMENT COVERAGE | © 1999-2013 TDH Communications Inc. • All rights reserved -- PRIVACY POLICY