LIVE Raw thoughts - May 11, 2015

10:52 - Alright folks, I'm going to watch the rest of this from bed.  Overall my thoughts are that it was a good show, but not QUITE as exciting as last week.  But still a step in the right direction.  I'll tweet any last minute thoughts!

10:29 - Adding a new PPV exclusive to the PPV?  Very savvy.  Could pay off, too.

10:27 - I mean at a certain point, they're going to have the New Day bring up the fact that Michael Cole can't figure out which member is which, right?

10:10 - The question is, what do you do with the title now?  I would do the same thing that they're doing with the United States title -- give it to an established main eventer who isn't going to be in the main event picture at the moment.  Personally, I thought it should've been Roman Reigns, but he seems destined to be in the title picture for now.  It should definitely be somebody that is considered a "big deal" and somebody that the WWE is very hesitant to ever have lose.  Honestly, Orton isn't a terrible choice.

What I wouldn't do is give it to Ziggler or Barrett.  The former because they have a track record of not getting behind is title reigns completely.  The latter because they treat him like a loser whenever he's got a title.  And I wouldn't give it to Ambrose, either (not established enough for a long enough period of time), but he's not a terrible choice.  And I wouldn't give it to a newcomer like Neville, either.  Allow the man to rebuild the title, not hope for the title to build up the man.

10:00 - I'm guessing Daniel Bryan officially retires.  Which is, sadly, probably for the best.

9:59 - Did I just see that Big O guy from the Zack Ryder show on the Tough Enough tryout videos?

9:54 - I still hate that instead of capitalizing on Sandow's new found overness and allowing his character to evolve, they've returned him to the same exact role he was playing prior to getting over (just now as a face)....but I did get a kick out of that Mega Powers handshake recreation.

9:37 - I didn't catch that Reigns/Kane segment because I had to fix a clog in my tub.  I literally chose to fix a clog in my tub over watching Reigns vs. Kane.

9:27 - I'm actually surprised that Reigns is getting such a warm reaction. I figured the fans might view him with resentment since he got the super push in favor of Ambrose.

9:20 - I continue to love this US Title Open Challenge.  We are pretty much at 100% for awesome matches.  And wow, they did an awesome job of protecting and making Neville here.  Awesome stuff, as far as I'm concerned.

8:58 - It is so odd that WWE's top babyface and the face of the company is shocked that fans predominantly rooting for him.

8:49 - They might as well call this match "course correction," between reuniting Rowan and Harper and giving Fandango his original theme back.

8:33 - Sheamus is doing what I had been asking him to do since he debuted on the main roster -- essentially, wear his typical street clothes.  It's such a tiny thing, but street clothes gives these Superstars an identify....so much more so than simply wearing a WWE t-shirt over their wrestling attire.

8:26 - In a four man competition, why exactly should we be impressed that 25% of people think Ambrose will win the title?

8:17 - I'm kinda disappointed that they're putting Ambrose in the opening match.  The crowd is dying to see this guy....why not make them wait a little?  Also, side note, but I kinda miss those sleeveless hoodies he used to wear down to the ring.

8:09 - I know we have some hometown bias here, but it's great seeing Ambrose so over with the crowd.

7:59 - I will mention one thing before the show begins:  I absolutely HATE that Damien Sandow is exactly where he was pre-Mizdow, after the whole Mizdow thing got him so over.  This should have ended with him finding his own identity.  Hell, his promo a week or two ago explicitly made fun of the impersonation portion of his gimmick.  And now he's back to dressing up like other Superstars with a goofy nickname.  No progress made whatsoever.

Also, let's not act like Triple H has been gone for six months.  It's been a couple of weeks....does it really warrant a grand cold opening and "he's baaaaaack"?

7:32 - I'm torn here.  After last week's show, I'm actually semi-looking forward to discussing Raw.  But at the same time, the show tends to be better when I don't do LIVE thoughts.  What to do, what to do?