John Cena and Roddy Piper
I enjoyed the work of Piper in the opening segment. He brought the type of intensity and focus that makes him who he is. Last night wasn't the time for the rambling lunacy that Piper is capable of, and having him rein it in while getting his point across was effective.
It intrigues me that WWE is finally giving some notice to the negative reaction that Cena is receiving. I'm not convinced that a heel turn is imminent, but the simple fact that Cena isn't just pretending like the boos aren't there will go a long way towards making him seem fresh again.
CM Punk vs. Alberto Del Rio
The added stipulation felt unnecessary, but the match itself was very entertaining. Slow to start, but by the time it was over they had the crowd eating out their hand.
The ending of the match, with Punk doing something he could have been disqualified for to win leads me to believe we'll be seeing a match at TC between these two. Hopefully, it can be the blow off, and WWE can take some time and figure out what they're going to do with Del Rio. The man needs a long-term feud with someone that will actually put him over.
Daniel Bryan and Mark Henry
Daniel Bryan's promo lacked a bit of logic, but I like the intensity he's been displaying. It can border on cartoonish at points, but he gets the crowd behind him when he goes there. If it's working, don't try and fix it. If nothing else, it was nice to see someone speak passionately about the World Heavyweight Championship. The men in the WWE title picture would do well to do the same.
I am looking forward to tonight's Smackdown if for nothing more than to see what they do with Bryan and Henry together. The last thing I want to see if Henry dropping the title, but WWE has done a good job of drumming up a believable feud between these two men, and they have me looking forward to the next phase.
The Miz
Miz returned to his darker, edgier character that WWE has experimented with before. While this is something I called for in a recent Reaction, they need to take the character a few steps further or it will fizzle like it has before.
Miz would do well to change his look up, get some darker, messy hair, and get a new set of trunks and boots. This gimmick is something that would work well for the upper-midcard or main event, but it can't be approached half-heartedly. If WWE wishes to make Miz darker and a threat, they need to make him look the part.
Dolph Ziggler
Dolph Ziggler continues to impress me. While I think the showoff gimmick will be more of a transition than a gimmick that will get Dolph in the main event, I am enjoying the fact that Ziggler is gaining heat from his own promos and his own actions rather than relying on residual heat from Vickie.
Every week, Ziggler delivers in the ring. My only gripe about him has been his mic work, but he seems to have found an outlet he is comfortable plugging into. I can only hope he continues to grow in the coming weeks, but I am confident that he will.
Zack Ryder
Zack Ryder got another win on Raw, but it was over a very underutilized and unmotivated Jack Swagger. Ryder needs a feud to really show what he is capable of producing, but his best shot at that seems to be ascending the card and quickly escaping his reach.
What worries me about Ryder is that despite all of his raw potential, WWE doesn't seem to know what to do with him. He's an anomaly that got over due to his own online efforts and it feels like WWE simply doesn’t know what way would be best to utilize his talents.
Overall Show
Last night's show was very entertaining. There was a throwaway Divas match that did nothing but give the ladies some air time, and Zack Ryder's match left a lot to be desired. That's me nitpicking, however, as the show was a solid two hours of entertaining television.