LIVE Raw thoughts (Slammy Awards Edition) - December 17, 2012

11:06 - Okay, once again.....I'm interested in the AJ turn and how that impacts her volatile relationship with Dolph and Vickie....but I'm not sold on this new dude.  Honestly, could they have picked a stranger looking person?  He looks like a reject Nation member (with the black/yellow/red/green color scheme).  I recognize they need some fresh characters and I'm not opposed to that, but wouldn't this have been a perfect opportunity to reintroduce Jack Swagger?  He's got history with Dolph and Vickie (making the conflict interesting) and he quit while AJ was GM, and she tried to get him to come back.

Anyway, strange episode tonight that failed to live up to MY expectations.  Especially with all the returns and special appearances, and coming off of a strong PPV.  Let's see how the rest of WWE Week goes.

11:05 - Still intrigued b this AJ turn and how she continues to interact with Vickie.

11:00 - Cena will likely call AJ crazy for her erratic behavior, but is Cena any better?  He should've been furious coming into tonight's show, but instead he's giving a rousing speech in favor of Flair.  Then he attacks Dolph, suddenly seemingly fuming with anger.  And now he's all jokey coming into this match.

10:57 - AJ's theme really changes significantly as it continues to play on.

10:40 - I'm guessing Rock vs. Cena wins this.  If not that, Undertaker vs. Triple H.  That's what I think people will vote for, anyway.

10:27 - For newcomer of the year, you've gotta go with Ryback.

10:24 - It's no secret that I found ADR unbearably boring as a heel.  I'm willing to give him a shot as a face.

10:20 - I'm reading a lot of comments on Twitter about how John Cena wasn't acting like a babyface by attacking Dolph Ziggler from behind.  I don't have a problem with that.  To me, that falls into the category of somebody getting what they deserve.  I'm still bothered by the fact that he left Ric Flair to his own devices in a potentially dangerous situation.

10:08 - I don't think it was necessary for Dolph to say "just like you."  An unnecessary low blow.  I think people would've put two and two together if he just used his words deliberately.

9:59 - Wouldn't the greater revenge be to let the bell ring and THEN beat up Dolph?  That way, Dolph either wins by DQ or Big Show manages to pin him.  Either way, the Money in the Bank contract is lost.

9:49 - It is remarkable how many of these Slammy Award categories have nothing to do with actual wrestling.

9:45 - I'm SHOCKED that Zack Ryder and Layla came out to Zack's music, and not Layla's.

9:32 - I don't even need to see the other nominees.  Anger management MUST win.  And might we see the return of Albert?

9:29 - At least JBL's "match of the year candidate there" comment made me laugh.

9:20 - Hustle....what?....and Respect?  Loyalty, right?  Where the hell was Cena during that whole routine?  Daniel Bryan and Kane come out for the save.  Ryback comes out for the save.  Where was Cena?

9:14 - Wow, these commercial breaks are dreadful.  And did John Cena walk into the abyss or something?  He's clearly in the arena and he just called Flair the man.....yet he didn't save him during Punk's attack, and now he's not doing anything when the Shield are SLOWLY making their way to the ring.

9:05 - IF the fans really did vote for Cena to win, Punk brings up a lot of great points as to why they're idiots.  From a kayfabe perspective, this really HAS been the worst year of Cena's career.  And Punk deserves to be Superstar of the Year solely for that awesome t-shirt.

9:02 - Really?  Even for a pandering Cena, how could he possibly think that Flair is the Superstar of the Year?

9:00 - Again....don't get what's written on the envelope if we vote for the winners.  And I'm to believe that this overwhelming negative response to John Cena ALSO voted him to win?

8:56 - So that Flair soundbyte had to be an error, right?  I can't get over that.

8:52 - Wow, was that the most anticlimatic way of introducing Ric Flair EVER?  My God.....how incredibly underwhelming.  Honestly, that was terrible.

8:43 - At this point, I'm just going to tell you who I would vote for.  I'm done voting.  Too much trouble and all the lame or obvious options are winning.  By the way, I'm intrigued by this AJ arc.  Is she a heel?  I don't know, because she still doesn't get along with Vickie.  Her character truly excelled when she straddled the line earlier this year, so let's see what she can do with this.  I just wish she had a more enjoyable foil than John Cena.  Punk, Bryan, and to a certain extent even Kane had deeper characters that allowed them to truly react to her actions.  Cena....not so much.

8:36 - I'm kinda in love with the fact that "Best Kiss" is just AJ's various kisses with the different Superstars. I'm going to either vote her and Punk (because of the kiss where she pushes him through the table) or Kane (because of the one where she jumps into his arms).  Eh, I'll go with Punk.

8:34 - More time has been devoted to explaining how to vote for the Slammy Awards than any of the matches tonight.

8:26 - Please, I'm begging you....just put a little message at the bottom of the screen telling viewers they can vote for the next category during a match.  Then have somebody come out, announce the nominees and the winner.  This whole process of going to a commercial break so that people can vote must be KILLING the live audience.

8:22 - Ah yes, my least favorite way to create a new #1 contender.....having the challenger beat the champion in a non-title match.  Hate.  It.

So this has to go to Brock, right?

8:17 - Hmmmmm, if the fans are voting for the winners of each category using WWE Active, why did Booker have a sealed envelope revealing the winner?  Well deserved, though, for Kofi.  Still digging the Brad Maddox character.

8:13 - Okay, I was finally able to vote for the first category (I went with Punk GTSing Rock, but sorta regret not voting for Kofi's awesome handstand), but don't tell me we're going to have to wait for everybody to vote in between every single announcement of nominees.  I did mark out for that Boogeyman entrance, though, and Booker's reaction was awesome.

8:05 - I'm here with my LIVE thoughts!  And it looks like Rey Mysterio added a vest to the continuously growing layers of his attire.  And somehow Sin Cara is now at ringside.

By the way, I have the WWE App and it's up to date.  I STILL can't figure out how to vote for any of the categories.  And yet they're already giving an award out after this match?  Fail.