Raw: LIVE THOUGHTS

9:01 - I've mentioned in the past how disappointed I am that they're turning Edge heel again, without really giving him a solid chance as a face, but I must admit that I really enjoyed his justification on Raw last week. The only thing that kills it is that he gave such a typical heelish promo on the prior Smackdown. But his comments on Raw were really good -- he genuinely did want to be a good guy, and just as things were beginning to work out, the carpet was pulled from underneath him. And he sorta snapped as a result. Just wish they didn't do that interview on Smackdown.

9:15 - "I lived through her first reign on Smackdown" - Michael Cole. Actually, Michael, you experienced her ENTIRE run on Raw as well. Sheesh.

Anyway, I'm a little torn on the opening. On the one hand, I question what purpose the Guest Hosts will serve if they don't wield any authority. It's just going to be awkward. Then again, I think a permanent GM is beneficial. But it's Vickie Guerrero, reunited with Edge. Edge doesn't need the "heat" assistance. But who does? Chavo Guerrero, who was just moved to Smackdown....presumably to be paired up with her.

9:23 - Jericho's current story on Raw has me scratching my head. I mean, he goes from World Champion and top challenger on Smackdown, to hopefully competing for the Unified Tag Titles with Miz on Raw. How was this move a step up for him?

9:25 - I'm curious, but at what point did they decide to make Raw's ropes white? And I think they were silver last week. They haven't been red in a while. Yet NXT is yellow and Smackdown is blue.

9:31 - Ironically, every time I see Flava Flav I think about that Jimmy Kimmel/Chris Benoit/Father of the Year Award joke. And the Now Network commercial.

9:38 - I legitimately love the philosophy of throwing two guys together when they don't have direction on their own. Look how it worked for John Morrison and The Miz. Or the New Age Outlaws. Hell, even Booker T and Goldust! Hope this works for the Colons. And I think the idea of Dibiase paying people off to beat up Truth he submits and becomes his aide has potential.

9:50 - Gotta say, I like how Evan Bourne enters the ring.

9:57 - I will say that Cena is pretty good about mixing up his color scheme when it comes to his merchandise. Before the orange he was doing black, green, and yellow. Before that it was black, blue, and red. But am I the only one who feels like he's been rocking the orange for, like, an incredibly long amount of time? Time to release a new shirt.

Oh, and I think the stipulation will be a career ending match.

10:06 - Wow, did anybody else find Batista's bump when Mark Henry entered the ring INCREDIBLY cartoonish?

10:08 - See, this is another reason why I'm not a huge fan of turning Edge heel again. A month ago he was a fan favorite, having barbaric feuds with Jericho and badmouthing Vickie. Now he's buddying up with both of them (Edge and Jericho teamed at recent live events).

10:23 - By the way, here are my predicted rankings for the next NXT:

1 - Wade Barrett
2 - Justin Gabriel
3 - Heath Slater
4 - Darren Young
5 - Daniel Bryan
6 - David Otunga
7 - Skip Shepfield
And voted out at 8 - Michael Tarver

10:25 - Oh John Morrison.....goes from pinning the World Champion on Smackdown to teaming with Goldust, Santino, and Yoshi Tatsu on Raw. And I repeat - how is this a step up for him?

10:36 - Is Matt Hardy's new gimmick that he gets his ass kicked by a tall, skinny Scottish guy? Yeah, that's about right...

10:46 - Am I the only one who's a little afraid that they're actually going to act like next week's Raw is on the moon?

10:55 - Here's one reason why I'm not sure this Orton face turn will work. Or, at the very least, why he won't retain his tweener attitude. Quite simply, even if they're having him beat up celebrities and don't have him be nice to fellow faces, they're still having him act like a face. He's put in precarious situations that he seemingly can't get out of, but he somehow does. And if he doesn't, he elicits fan sympathies. Slowly but surely he'll become a typical babyface.

11:06 - So Vickie resigned, eh? Maybe she can return to Smackdown where she's more needed. Alright, off to watch 24!