Being a huge fan of Jewel's music, I was really looking forward to her stint as co-guest host with her husband, Ty Murray, on Monday's Raw.
But, boy oh boy, Jewel stunk up the joint and was outdone by Ty.
While it pains me to say that, let's review.
Ty and Jewel:
1. Divas segment. REACT: Jewel slapped Jillian Hall, which was unexpected and was a hard hit. Jewel outsinging Jillian Hall was expected and pleasant to my ears. Ty and Jewel hanging out with the Divas, though, accomplished nothing.
2. Jewel injured? REACT: Was Jewel really hurt riding a mechanical bull? Or was this all bull? I didn't buy it, even if it was legit. Although her twitter (twitter.com/jeweljk) said she did hurt herself last week.
3. Diva bull riding challenge. REACT: Normally, I wouldn't complain of such a thing. But with the slowest mechanical bull I've ever seen, I was bored. Eve, Kelly Kelly and The Bella Twins had no problem staying on the bull for their turns. And that was ridiculous. Have any of you seen these things and actually thought you'd stay on one?
4. Miz and Big Show. REACT: I laughed when The Miz said he didn't mean to be "spoiling the party." The Miz and Big Show had strong verbage with Ty, who cut a few funny one-liners. Big Show falling off the bull and then punching the bull didn't do much for me.
5. Funny Ty. Jewel's humor dry. REACT: Yes, I have just bashed Jewel. My apologies.
6. Ty and Jewel make a match. REACT: Their only executive decision the entire show.
7. PBRNow.com. REACT: That's the link for Ty's next rodeo gig. Good plug.
8. Jewel's "Stay Here Forever" CD for the Valentine's Day movie. REACT: A good plug for Jewel.
9. Oops! REACT: While WWE.com did a good job with the link (tymurray.com), I don't think I heard any Raw mention that Ty and Jewel will be on "Dancing With the Stars" on ABC beginning March 9.
Guest grade: Jewel's five seconds of singing and being on Raw prevent her from a failing grade. Yes, she was that bad. Ty didn't hurt her grade. Grade: D.
The matches:
1. Maryse beats Gail Kim to become the new Divas Champion. REACT: It was good to see this match get some time, and it was one of the better recent women's matches.
2. Kofi Kingston, Evan Bourne, Yoshi Tatsu beat Randy Orton and The Legacy (Ted DiBiase, Cody Rhodes). REACT: I like how Orton said he taught The Legacy too well and that everyone was his fault. I actually bought it, especially after The Legacy said they had their own plan. The pace of this match was fast at first, but slowed down when Orton and Kofi were wrestling. Bourne's resiliency and high-flying was the highlight, along with Orton snapping nicely on Rhodes and then DiBiase. Orton being the face in this feud concerns me alot, but I like this becoming a probable WrestleMania triple-threat match.
3. Christian beats Carlito in a Money in the Bank Qualifying Match. REACT: This was a decent match, even though it was obvious Carlito had no chance of winning. While Christian will definitely be a top-two favorite in this WrestleMania eight-man match, I'm curious who else will be in it.
4. Unified Tag Team Champions The Miz and Big Show beat Mark Henry and MVP. REACT: Big Show implementing a spear was nicely done, and it was good to see him get the knockout punch. Match was decent.
5. John Cena beats WWE Champion Batista by disqualification. REACT: It was crazy-stupid that this match had no time at the end, but the payoff was strong with a quick DQ after a low blow by Batista to Cena right after the bell. Batista was really put over, and that was refreshing.
The angles
1. John Cena vs. Vince McMahon. REACT: Those rumors of a face McMahon turn to help the real life political campaign of his wife Linda won't be happening anytime soon. This feud is fine as long as it doesn't go full-blown like Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. McMahon did.
2. Vince McMahon vs. Bret Hart. REACT: I'm enjoying this alot. I like how Vince said he wanted to wrestle Bret before the car hurt Bret's leg. I also like how Vince invited Bret back next week to "say a proper farewell." Multiple WWE sources said McMahon is considering having Bret win the WWE Title at WrestleMania. That would be shocking, as it seems like Cena-Batista will be a world-title singles match and not a tag-team match with stipulations.
Officially set for WrestleMania
1. World Heavyweight Champion Chris Jericho vs. Edge. REACT: While Jericho went on a minute too long, I like how Edge wasted no time making his decision as to which champion he wants to wrestle.
2. Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels. REACT: Wow. The streak vs. retirement. It doesn't get any bigger than that. I thought the post-confrontation clips were well-done. I liked Michaels' "I did what I had to do" and "I'm not just hoping for a reaction, I'm counting on it" quotes. While Michaels' begging Undertaker, who looked very old, by the way, was strange, the segment was strong. I'd buy the show just for this match.
3. Money in the Bank Ladder Match. REACT: Christian is in. I don't see him winning, although I do wonder if a win was promised to him when he signed back with WWE.
Raw grade. REACT: Wrestling and the push for WrestleMania, with three matches officially set, bump up the D guest grade. It was that good of a show. Grade: B.
Other possible WrestleMania matches
In order of probability:
1. John Cena vs. WWE Champion Batista. REACT: This one is all but set.
2. Vince McMahon vs. Bret Hart. REACT: All but set, and scary that it's leaning toward a one-on-one encounter.
3. Legacy in a triple-threat match. REACT: This needs to be settled.
4. Rey Mysterio vs. CM Punk. REACT: Mysterio pinned Punk in the Chamber, and we've heard of a mask vs. hair match.
5. Triple H vs. Sheamus. REACT: HHH did pin Sheamus in the Chamber, and these two do need a match. It's just a strange pairing.
Next week's guest hosts
Cheech and Chong. REACT: God help us. I guess they can't be worse than Ty and Jewel.
Hall of Fame
Ted DiBiase Sr., Antonio Inoki are joined by Wendi Richter. REACT: That's refreshing to see Richter added. She's one of my early favorites as a young lad. I enjoyed seeing the Rock 'N' Wrestling clips and the wrestling cartoons. Those ruled! I remember waking up every Saturday to watch those.
LATEST HEADLINES AND MY REACTS
WWE
Connecticut Post article said WWE's answer to "How many wrestlers have died while under contract with the WWE?" is "only five." REACT: Sounds close to accurate, and it's good to see a number on this always-sad picture.
Drew McIntyre's backstage nickname is reportedly Avatar because his girlfriend Tiffany reportedly controls him. REACT: Still a strong power couple, but he's losing points.
Jim Ross said Matt Striker is on an "adjective rush." REACT: Striker can be annoying at times.
Slim Jim is the official sponsor for WrestleMania. REACT: OK. Now we just need a Randy Savage appearance at WrestleMania!
NXT face-heel breakdown has pros (3 faces, 5 heels) and newbies (4 faces, 4 heels), with 2 heel-heel pairings, one face-face pairing and five face-heel pairings. REACT: More heels means more drama, and that's good for this show.
Also
Former ECW wrestler New Jack said he is donating his brain after death to medical research. REACT: I think it's great wrestlers are doing this. New Jack's brain would be unique for sure.
