(5) Eve def. Naomi to retain the WWE Divas Championship
Interesting choice having Naomi win the Santa's Helper battle royal before TLC. With news that Triple H wants to focus on the Divas going into 2013, I actually didn't mind them going in a surprising direction. Eve was going to retain, so her opponent really didn't matter; why not have some fresh blood rather than the same Kaitlyn and Layla matches we've been watching for months.
No matter how WWE.com would like to cover up their losses with a happy-go-lucky "re-structuring" article, the Divas need help. They have for years, but after the loss of Beth Phoenix, the tragicly short run of Kharma and yes, Kelly Kelly, they're in awful condition. Even the Belle Twins were better than the Funkadactyl from Tough Enough. They've made a bold statement hiring Sara Del Rey. Now go out and get Cheerleader Melissa and Jessicka Havok, mend a broken bridge with Mickie James and promote up Paige and Summer Rae from NXT. Just some ideas.
Naomi wasn't terribly impressive in her execution, but I appreciate that she tried to expand past the typical Lou Thesz cat fight territory most Divas matches break down into. Her top rope twisting crossbody attempt wasn't pretty, but at least she had the ambition to go for it. At the very least, it shows she may have the motivation to do and be something different. I'm willing to give her a chance, so long as it's Naomi and not Cameron. I don't care if she turns into Lita in between the ropes, it is inexcusable to me that the only member of Tough Enough still around is the first moron eliminated… BRING BACK IVELISSE!
Rating: C-
(6) The Big Show def. Sheamus to retain the World Heavyweight Championship
I like the work between Big Show and Sheamus, but I feel like they really exhausted their best effort at Hell in a Cell earlier this year. Sometimes it's ok to just have one great match. The chairs match was definitely better than Survivor Series, but ultimately there wasn't a whole lot of new content, save for Super Chair. The two of them do work incredibly well together, as Sheamus is a great wrestler who can match power with the Big Show, finally giving the World Champ an opponent besides John Cena to trade shots with. But with nothing terribly refreshing about their third encounter in as many months, it didn't bring enough to the table – or the absurdly large chair, as it were – to hold my interest.
Rating: B-
(7) The Miz, Alberto del Rio & Brooklyn Brawler def. 3MB
Earlier I praised WWE's decision to turn del Rio face by using the Spanish announce team; now it's my turn to whine about the next step in the process. WWE brought out the Brooklyn Brawler to team with del Rio and the Miz. I'll say that again: WWE brought out…THE BROOKLYN BRAWLER…etc.
You know, that guy John Cena used to make fun of in his "Five Questions with the Champ" videos on WWE.com? It should have been Ricardo. The WWE Universe loves Ricardo, and it would have further helped to get del Rio over as a new top babyface. But instead they shifted the focus from ADR to a guy more obscure than all three members of 3MB, if that were possible. Maybe WWE thought they could draw a cheap pop from the Brooklyn crowd and create a cool moment for the Universe; it didn't work, because nobody cared. Not the live crowd, not the fans watching at home.
And here's what really bothers me about this decision: WWE has a hard enough time getting people to care about del Rio. He barely manages to draw heat as a heel – even though he's easily one of the best in-ring talents on the roster – so how do they expect him to get over as a babyface with crap like this? To make matters worse, nobody ever told the Universe that the Miz is now a good guy. He may work the cheap local pop into all his promos, but he's still a smug little worm that people love to hate. They really weren't obvious enough with the turn; the casual fan is spoon-fed by modern entertainment, you can't expect them to read in between the lines anymore. So you've got the Miz, who the fans don't know what to do with, Alberto del Rio, who's about as well-recived as an atheist in the deep south, and the Brooklyn Brawler.
Tell me WWE…what could possibly go wrong?
Rating: D
