I know you're big on Edge, but "great"? ...You're way overstating the level of his matches since returning to SD....
*Vs. Swagger on PPV was dull.
*Vs. Del Rio was TV fodder with a dirty finish. (No direct criticism of the workers, but equally so, nothing to write home about as a result.)
*Vs. Ziggler.... TBH, I remember the segment with Vikki & Edge, but not the match.... Didn't make anywhere near the impression that his matches with Kofi & Bryan did though.
*Vs. 3-way qualifyer... Was ok I guess, but again "great"?
...Has he even had any other notable matches during this period to consider?
His run on Raw was horrible, with absolutely no good matches. on Smackdown, with the exception of his match with Otunga, they have all been great. I am speaking of great as in TV matches great. TV matches are different than PPV matches, that's why I stayed away from his match against Swagger, as even though it wasn't anything horrible, on the scheme of PPV matches, it wasn't good. But you put his matches against Del Rio and Ziggler and compare it to the rest of matches we have gotten on TV as of late, and with the exception of some other Ziggler matches, there is just no match.
...Any thoughts on how you'd have played that one? (Jus' for the hell of it, like...)
Big Show would have gotten counted out. As Big Show sees Del Rio coming back he goes after him and beats him around the ring, however, as the count wines, Del Rio manages to outrun Big Show to the ring. Show gets counted out. I then would have given Del Rio and Mysterio around 4 minutes to work a singles bout ending in Del Rio winning with a roll up.
You're honestly saying that WWE didn't hype/tease an Otunga swerve or Miz cashing in? You're joking...? What has all that shit on Raw been in recent weeks (see Otunga) or the promo that very night (see Miz) then?
Regardless, I'm not condemning it because those things didn't happen and I acknowledge they, belatedly, brought a little 'sizzle' to the situation by having Cena screw Barret in the rematch on Raw, but I'm simply saying as bigger deal as this was made out to be; the culmination of how many months TV?... The pay-off was weak.
Last night's Raw pissed all over Survivor Series IMO
With Miz, all Miz was saying is that he may cash in the briefcase and screw the situation. Then again, it wasn't the first time he had done that. He did the same thing for Summerslam, Bragging Rights and others.
As for the Otunga deal, they are indeed teasing something happening inside Nexus, but I don't think they even implied it that the changing of the guard inside Nexus was going to happen at Survivor Series. You knew it was possible it might have happened, but it wasnt something WWE specifically led you to believe.
And with the ending of the match, I am not saying it was the right decision. By every means, it felt anticlimatic. I am just saying that some people hate on the ending because by some reason, they feel that WWE didn't deliver. I by all means think that they could have gone through a more elaborate, intriguing ending. However, I see it as WWE having the opportunity to go with groundbreaking (the first step in Cena turning heel) and just letting it slide for one of the basics they had advertised.
Summarizing, I feel WWE could have and maybe should have gone with something else, let's say bigger for this ending (HHH returning, Orton turning heel on Cena getting him fired losing to Barret voluntarily, Cena himself turning heel, Nexus screwing Barret), but I don't feel cheated because it didn't happen since it wasnt something explicitly teased. There was a chance it might had happen, but nothing else. That's like getting pissed because every Mania there is the chance of The Rock wrestling and it doesnt happen.