LIVE thoughts on a terrible show produced by a moronic company - January 27, 2014

11:05 - A bit of a shaky Raw but most certainly a step in the right direction.  That was an INCREDIBLE main event, though, and I love the possibility of some tension between the Shield and the Wyatt Family.  That could be VERY intriguing.

11:03 - I recognize he's not 6'5", but Bryan is so mega over and so incredibly exciting in the ring.....why wouldn't you want him in the main event?

10:54 - I give Reigns credit.  The Superman punch could look hokey, but hey makes it work.

10:42 - Yeahhhh, I recognize you're wearing a neon based clothing line....but I'm not digging that electric blue belt, Cena.

10:30 - Thrilled to see Jake Roberts inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.  He was one of my favorites growing up and this is very well deserved.  More than anything, though, I'm glad he appears to be healthy now.

10:27 - By the way, Paul Bearer is my prediction.  Or Honky Tonk Man.  Or Jake Roberts.

10:23 - I still find the Bellas to be the most unlikable faces on the entire roster.  And I still hate the method of jobbing out a champion just to create a new #1 contender.  AJ is quickly descending into the territory of losing all of her matches, but winning the title match.  Who does that help?

10:19 - What is with this trend of keeping things in your back pocket while you wrestle?  Jeff Hardy always did it, but the Usos and recently John Cena have done it as well.  And now AJ has a hat strapped to her back pocket.

10:16 - So, to be clear, Batista let two innocent guys who did absolutely nothing wrong (Cody and Goldust) because he wasn't willing to just face Brock?

10:05 - I am getting a kick out of Road Dogg's reactions throughout the match.

9:55 - "In the immortal words of Selena Gomez...."  Okay, that made me chuckle.

9:48 - Yeah, let's give the victory to the one guy in the entire building who didn't get a response from the crowd.

9:46 - "Cheering for everybody but you, Del Rio!"  Loved it.

9:41 - Del Rio seemed legitimately upset about JBL acknowledging the audience.  My argument is that, considering how consistently and strongly he's pushed, Del Rio should be able to hold the crowd's attention on his own.  I don't blame Kofi as much because WWE hasn't given the audience much of a reason to care about him.  But Del Rio is another story.

9:33 - Let me guess....we're about to job one of the (potentially) most exciting guys on the roster to one of the dullest guys on the roster.  Greaaaat.

9:25 - Is that Iron Man on the back of Ryback's singlet?

9:15 - Wow, I actually expected Miz to win.  Awesome.  And I did get a kick out of the Cleveland crowd chanting "Cleveland Sucks!"

9:11 - Bet it's been a while since either of these guys got in-ring introductions.

9:03 - I will say this:  It's somewhat surreal to see Lesnar, Orton, and Batista in the ring together.

8:59 - Batista doesn't seem to be responding well to the crowd's reaction.

8:54 - Are any two characters as pointless now as the Raw and Smackdown General Managers?  Between the existence of the Authority and the non-existence of the brand extension, what purpose do they serve?

8:38 - I still don't understand what the hell they're doing with the Miz.  Is he a heel?  A face?  Are we supposed to just forget what he did to Kofi Kingston?  And will they think of a way to make BOTH Dolph and Miz job?

8:15 - An overall good segment that acknowledged the elephant in the room.  It also gave some sort of pay off.  The thing is, if the plan was ALWAYS for the Authority to keep Bryan out of the Royal Rumble, why not acknowledge that in a backstage segment prior to the Rumble match?  It puts some heat on the Authority and the audience wouldn't have AS MUCH of a negative reaction towards the match itself.  Like I said in the intro, the fans blamed Mysterio (because he was #30 and the last chance to be Bryan) and Batista (because he was viewed as the one getting the moment) because they wanted Bryan.  If they realized his absence was part of the story and perhaps building to something bigger, the tension might not have been there.  If it was planned all along, the execution was weak.

Oh, and regarding the opening segment.....while I appreciate the fact that they're acknowledging their error, I don't think many fans would be satisfied unless Bryan wins the title.  And even if he does, I think fans would have preferred him winning the Rumble.  So why not have Bryan win (giving him a moment) and then have Batista win the title at the Elimination Chamber?

And speaking of Batista, I'm THRILLED they didn't have him come to Bryan's rescue.  It would have been cheap and I thinkt he audience would have caught on to the attempt to leach off his heat.

8:04 - And for those of you keeping score, Triple H and Stephanie will be playing the roles of heels tonight.  The good news is that they're definitely acknowledging the chants and the negative feedback -- with the over the top comments about it being a satisfying show.  And Triple H's not-quite-as-subtle "awww, did somebody not get what they want."

7:23 - I had originally intended to completely boycott this show, publicity-wise, by not doing a LIVE thoughts post and not discussing it on Twitter.  But then I had a change of heart.  I figured I could either discuss the company's attempts to redeem itself, or rip it apart if they were so incredibly stubborn that they didn't change course for WrestleMania.  So expect a certain level of bitterness in tonight's review, because I really cannot get over what transpired last night.

The best thing about tonight's show, however, will be the live audience.  It's easy to blame certain behavior on "smark" audiences, but the fact of the matter is that when a live crowd becomes part of the show, that crowd's behavior catches on pretty quickly.  Take, for instance, the whole "Fandangoing" trend.  One particularly unique crowd started it, and it caught on.  This whole idea of "hijacking" the show has that same potential.  And I, for one, hope it does.  This company DESPERATELY needs to learn a lesson, and perhaps the only thing that can get them to listen is if they're unable to put on the show THEY want, because the audience won't respond to anything unless it's what WE want.

What we saw last night was, in Mick Foley's words, disgusting.  Daniel Bryan lost clean to a guy in order to build him up so that he can be John Cena's opponent.  He was then completely left out of the Royal Rumble, which killed the match and severely harmed two big babyfaces (Rey for not being Bryan, and Batista for taking Bryan's spot).

Perhaps most ironic of all, however, is the fact that the individuals who are taking Bryan's spots as the face of the company, despite what he fans want, are people who CANNOT react positively to the live audience's disapproval of them.  Orton loses his cool and Batista is even worse.  Say what you want about John Cena, but the guy is able to think on his feet and reacts to the audience.  You have to at least respect that.