The Stories:
Mark Henry and Ryback continue their paths of destruction. They both win in easy fashion on Raw, but the bigger piece was seeing them in the ring destroying Drew McIntyre with finishers. Each man tried to top the other and it was fun to watch. It really seems like the crowd is into the feud and could easily be an old fashioned slugfest at Mania. I get excited at the spots we could potentially see from each man, as well as the continued feats of strength for the next 4 weeks. Neither guy loves to talk on the microphone which makes this feud very different with limited options. I still think they will take full advantage of their actual match at Mania. (even though they are scheduled to fight at Smackdown.)
Grade: B
–Brock Lesnar destroys The New Age Outlaws to interrupt their match against Rhodes Scholars. He accepts the match with Triple H IF he signs the contract before they reveal what the stipulation is. Sometimes, a few moves and simplistic logic is the best way to book a feud with a guy who is there and one who is not. It was great to see Lesnar come out and take apart HHH's boys. I really enjoyed this and feel like Lesnar and Triple H will continue to one up the other. Give me Steph, Vince, Sable, and the whole she-bang! I want to see the personal conflicts from everyone involved in the next 3-4 weeks.
Grade: B+
– The Miz and Chris Jericho put on a pretty good match after an AWFUL segment that included Wade Barrett. Jericho threw Miz into Barrett, which then gave Barrett the opportunity to attack Jericho. Jericho and Miz both hit their finishers on Barrett and stand tall. They book a Triple Threat Match next week on Raw for the Intercontinental Championship. I fully expect Barrett to win via Countout or Disqualification to keep the title. This will give Jericho and Miz, two former IC Champions, into a 3 way at Wrestlemania. That would be a great opener to the night, or even a filler with great action and good storytellers. It benefits Barrett to be in the ring with two guys who know how big Wrestlemania can really be. The Highlight Reel was terrible, the match was okay, and the potential is solid.
Grade: C-
–Jack Swagger and Alberto Del Rio picked up single's victories over Sin Cara and Antonio Cesaro. I want to see Cesaro in a feud, not a whipping boy for EVERY main eventer. We will not be getting that though. Del Rio and Swagger were a little physical, but Swagger was able to escape. This was the feud I was starting to warm up to, but it fell really flat for me. I need to see something more from Del Rio, as he still is a face that is relying on an announcer to get him over with the crowd. There is no luster on him, no bright spots on a consistent basis. I feel like this feud took a big step backwards for me.
Grade: C-
