LIVE Raw thoughts

11:11 - Raw was a mixed bag tonight. Some curious booking decisions (Morrison/Sheamus, Truth/Del Rio again), and I'm not thrilled that we're going to be seeing Orton/Miz again -- nor am I pleased with the repeated use of Jerry Lawler -- but the Punk/Nexus stuff was intriguing. I do hope that Gabriel and Slater are reintegrated into Nexus last week, because without them, it really does begin to resemble the nWo B-team. What did you all think?

10:55 - It didn't make all that much sense when Alex Riley continued carrying around the Money in the Bank briefcase. It makes even less sense that he's now carrying around a regular briefcase.

10:51 - I love the Cena/Punk feud, but damn....can Cena quit it with the "CM Sucks" stuff? So forced and lame.

10:48 - CM Punk gets to wear TWO t-shirts, and nobody could lend David Otunga a new one?

10:45 - Nobody could get David Otunga a new t-shirt?

10:44 - "I'm wearing a harness!" Careful Punk, that didn't work out too well for the last guy.

10:33 - An INCREDIBLY well deserved Hall of Fame nomination. On top of being the greatest of all time (note I said "the" and not "one of the"), Shawn Michaels is a legitimate happy wrestling story. Somebody brought up an interesting scenario a while back: Imagine Shawn Michaels never returned after his initial retirement in the late 90's. I would say that, in 2011, Shawn Michaels' reputation amongst his peers, the fans, and his employers has been overwhelmingly positive. And it's 1,000% because of his actions and behavior since his return. All of the good will he's developed with those around him was achieved over the past seven or so years. If he never returned, he'd forever be remembered as this impossible person to work with. And to many people, his backstage behavior would overshadow his stellar ring work. It's genuinely nice that he was able to turn his life and career around.

10:19 - Another interesting development in the Nexus initiation. And, to their credit (given their relative greenness), Gabriel and Slater did a great job of building realistic tension and drama and capturing the emotions of the live crowd. I do hope that these two aren't out of the group, as they're two of the more established and credible characters (especially Gabriel). To tell you the truth, when the initiations began, I thought Punk would accept the members that were UNWILLING to attack their own. My guess is that Gabriel and Slater retain their spots by saving Punk from Cena.

10:12 - In the category of "Duh!" - The Rock?!?!?

10:09 - So based on all this talk about the Hall of Fame inductee being "the greatest of all time"....it's gotta be Shawn Michaels, right? The only other person I could think of is Sting, should they decide to keep it decidedly WCW. But Arn Anderson -- with all due respect to his amazing talents -- would be a let down for many casual fans due to this big build. Maybe Jake Roberts? Another long shot - The Undertaker? Maybe the Flair route of being inducted while still active.

9:58 - Not sure how I feel about pitting Sheamus and Morrison against each other once again. For one, it's a match we've seen an awful lot over the past couple of months. Secondly, does either man stand to benefit? Morrison has already beat Sheamus the past couple of times, so does a victory really help him? On the other hand, losing to Morrison AGAIN, in addition to losing the triple threat last week, DOES hurt Sheamus. But does winning help? Not entirely. It just levels things out. And after losing the title match last week, losing to Sheamus doesn't do Morrison any favors, either.

9:54 - I really thought Otunga would be the one to fill that unenviable last initiation spot. I was initially worried about having one of the Nexus guys get decimated by the Big Show (way to make the individuals look weak), but they made it clear that Otunga wasn't fighting back. He was just supposed to instigate a fight and then take a beating. That's okay.

I'm undecided on Punk and Nexus coming out to the classic Nexus music. Part of me feels like they should come out to Punk's music when he's with them (with the classic music reserved for any combination of the other five members). But for the moment, I'm mostly unbothered by it. I won't like it if Punk ditches his music altogether, though.

9:37 - For these Nexus initiations, I think I'd like to be the second to last person to go. You gotta figure that with each initiation, one person is "eliminated" from initiating the others. And you also have to figure that whoever goes last is going to get the least attractive offer (you have to end things on a high note for the fans). So, the second to last person is going to be in the best position.

9:34 - "It still works." Okay that was pretty good.

9:33 - Do we really need to spend this much time on two announcers bickering?

9:12 - An interesting open to Raw. By the way, I like Punk's Nexus-ized t-shirt. and I don't really have a problem with all of Nexus wearing it. The initiation idea is interesting, and I liked each person's reaction to having to attack McGillicutty. Harris was the most reluctant, which makes sense given their NXT season 2 connection. Otunga was most open and aggressive, which is also consistent since he seems to have the least emotional connection to any of the other members. And Gabriel's hesitation opens the door for a face turn later on. And there's no cooler visual than when Punk gets on a knee and his minions place the victim on his shoulders so that he can give the guy a GTS. Carrying McGillicutty out on their shoulders was a nice touch as well, showing that he's not just another victim. Interested in seeing what else is in store tonight. What are the chances of this Punk/Cena feud lasting until WrestleMania? Well, I can hope!

9:01 - Starting off the show with Santino & Vladmir, eh? Surprising. I'm still hoping Tamina turns on Santino and helps the Usos win the titles. As far as the first inductee to the Hall of Fame? My guess: Shawn Michaels. Most predictable guess? Arn Anderson. Long shot? Sting.