Good promo from Booker T and Intercontinental Champion Cody Rhodes to kick off the show. Their rivalry needed this one last promo to get me excited about their upcoming title match at TLC, and they succeeded. Rhodes to significantly improve on the mic every week, and Booker also got serious as well when he needed to. 

Great match between Cody Rhodes and Daniel Bryan in their third rematch from over the past week. Their chemistry keeps their matches intriguing, as shown in the very cool finish to the bout. Although I'm not high on the idea of Bryan losing again, Rhodes's win at least gives him the momentum he needs going into Sunday.

Pointless Divas match with Alicia Fox once again burying Natalya. It still amazes me as to how they can book one of the best female wrestlers in the division as an enhancement talent on a consistent basis, whereas lesser performers in Kelly Kelly and Eve continue to get title shots handed to them. In a perfect world, this segment was only used to either push Fox towards the title picture or foreshadow an eventual Natalya face turn.

Quick, but decent tag team match with Primo and Epico picking up yet another victory, this time against the Usos. Both tandems work well together, so more time could have made this match more memorable. As stated by the commentators, Primo and Epico deserve a shot at the WWE Tag Team Championships and will hopefully receive it sooner rather than later. 

Typical squash match with Big Show basically dominating Jack Swagger the entire bout, but I was glad to see the flashback from Swagger's match with Show from last year. The All-American American was able to get a minimal amount of offense in towards the end, so the story-telling here was the mai focus. The true highlight of this whole segment was the fact that Mark Henry blindsided a cameraman with a chair to the back, further proving his line about how "expect the unexpected".

Brief words from Barrack Obama to kick off the show that were kept short and sweet. The  video packages throughout the night from various celebrities were a nice touch to the good feel this show gave off. 

Solid match between Wade Barrett and Randy Orton in a preview from what we'll see in their Tables bout  at TLC. Both got in their respective moves and traded offense, and the double count-out keeps both rivals strong going into Sunday.

Decent match from Zack Ryder and Jack Swagger, but nothing we haven't seen before. Ryder's quick promo before the bout regarding United States Champion Dolph Ziggler was a nice tie-in to the show's theme as well as introduce the legendary Sgt. Slaughter down to the ring to manage the Long Island Iced Z. Ziggler's sold Slaughter's clotlhesline like a beast, and Ryder's victory over the irrelevant Swagger gives him some momenteum going into Sunday. Additionally, watching Slaughter lock Ziggler in his own submission hold was a funny moment.

Quick, yet unsurprising Divas tag team match that served its purpose. Showing footage of Maria Menounos's appearance on Raw from two years ago was a smart move by informing viewers who have forgotten. With that being said, Menounos was the main focus of this contest due to her status as a celebrity, but looked pretty impressive with her roll-up victory over Divas Champion Beth Phoenix.

Entertaining match from Intercontinental Champion Cody Rhodes and Daniel Bryan, as their perfect chemistry makes their matches worth watching for sure. Although they could have gone a bit longer and provided more than what we got, having Booker T involve on Bryan's behalf was nicely done and gives Rhodes all the more reason to be angrier towards the former World Champion.

Formulaic tag team match with Primo and Epico defeating WWE Tag Tag Champions Air Boom in a non-title match. Nearly two months ago, Air Boom was basically unbeatable, and now can't even win a match. I'm all for pushing the new tandem of Primo and Epico and eventually crowning them tag team champs, but they need to be featured on television more often if they wish to garner any legitimate heat.

Throwaway filler Sheamus dominating Drew McIntyre within minutes, in a bout that only saw McIntyre get in one offensive move. It's shocking to see The Chosen One misused so greatly over of the course of 2011, as he has fallen tremendously since his move to Raw back in April. These two foreigners have terrific chemistry and could provide a great rivalry if done right, but having McIntyre lose consecutive matches and come off as a joke in his television matches will not make the crowd take him seriously.

Enjoyable performances from Nickelback, Mary J. Blige, and George Wallace that were evenly distributed throughout the show. Being the huge Nickelback fan I am, it was fun to see them perform two of their best songs live to a wrestling audience. Blige's respective songs were a blast as well, while Wallace succeeded in telling some humorous jokes audience members of all ages could understand.

Strong six-man tag team match main event with John Cena, WWE Champion CM Punk, and Big Show defeating the team of The Miz, Alberto Del Rio, and World Heavyweight Champion Mark Henry. It was given great time, and everyone involved got in their spots at the end to send the crowd home happy. As much as I don't like Henry taking pin-falls, it was logical aftermath from the Slammy's and was due to him taking two finishers, so I guess it's fine in my book. Classy conclusion to the show with Cena cutting a promo on the troops while the entire roster came out to greet fans in the crowd.

Overall, a much better edition that provided two enjoyable hours while feeling more like an actual wrestling broadcast similar to Raw or SmackDown rather than a filler two-show program. Unlike years past, all the solid action made it to television, while the handful of celebrity appearances made the show noteworthy and media-friendly. WWE never ceases to amaze me with the amount of class and thought they provide to those protecting the United States  annually with Tribute to the Troops, and this year was no different.

Although some may argue that the opening segment with Jim Ross and Michael Cole was pure campy comedy at its worst, it's been proven in the past that Ross increases ratings. Sure, Ross forgot his lines during the rap, but his attempt at a Spin-a-roonie got a chuckle out of this viewer.

It's always good to see The Million Dollar Man and Mick Foley make appearances on Raw, but I would have much rather preferred to see the RKO on the steel steps take the Slammy here. Ironically enough, Big Show and Wade Barrett much of the same during their match this year as they did at last year's Slammys, with it being complete throwaway with a weak finish. Barrett didn't need to lose momentum to Show, but at least he was able to regain it back later in the night. 

Hilarious segment from CM Punk and his inside jokes regarding the man formerly known as Johnny Ace. The montage of various mistakes, botches, and flat out silly instances from the past year was great as well. Bonus points for the BG James return and not losing his magic on the mic.

Kelly Kelly may have captured the Divas Championship for the first time in 2011, but any of the other candidates winning the Slammy for Divalicious Moment of the Year would have been fine by me, especially Kharma's electric debut back in May. The never-ending feud between Kelly Kelly and Beth Phoenix unfortunately rolls on, but the slap Kelly delivered could be heard all around the world. If nothing else, nice cameo appearance by the influential Lita to host the award.

Triple H's return was well done, at least making an attempt to hype his upcoming Ladder match with Kevin Nash at TLC as more than an afterthought. On a side note, I'm afraid the Game was hinting at a third match with Undertaker at next year's WrestleMania, which is the last thing I would like to see occur in Miami at this point.

Refreshing change of pace to open SmackDown with the visual of Booker T left lying at the hands of Cody Rhodes. It goes to show that anything can happen prior to the broadcast going live, as well as the fact that the Intercontinental Champion gets some nice heat here. If nothing else, it was pleasant not to hear Booker on commentary for the second week in a row.

Better than expected match between Wade Barrett and Ezekiel Jackson in the Beat the Clock Challenge. Given the fact that these two rivals have provided boring bouts in the past, their styles meshed nicely during this contest that ended an extremely impressive slam from Barrett. The Englishman's promo that followed was just as great as always, furthering the rivalry between himself and Randy Orton.

Although I've just about had enough of Michael Cole by this point, Daniel Bryan showed some good intensity here in his promo in addition to the emotion he exhibited about his loss last week to Mark Henry. Cody Rhodes also came off as demonic after attacking Bryan, setting up their scheduled match nicely.

Quick, painless squash with Zack Ryder defeating the useless Heath Slater. Ryder continues to build more and more energy from the crowd as weeks progress, and it's about time he finally wins the United States Championship.

Decent match from Ted DiBiase and Jinder Mahal, but it wasn't given enough time to anything truly memorable. No one will care for this rivalry if DiBiase continues to get the upper hand over Mahal each and every week. While I am indeed enjoying the push DiBiase is receiving, he needs significant wins over credible Superstars if ever wants to move up the card.

Entertaining opening with John Cena being interrupted by Alberto Del Rio, The Miz, Dolph Ziggler and finally John Laurinaitis. Cena didn't deliver enough aftermath from last week's Piper's Pit, but both Ziggler and Miz made valid points here with improving mic work. Del Rio continues to retread the same material he's had since he debuted last year. This segment was certainly successful in setting up the rest of the show.

Okay match for what it was between The Miz and Randy Orton. I would have liked to hear the commentators acknowledge the fact that it was Orton who Miz faced last year at TLC, but no such luck. Orton came off as a complete dope for purposely losing the match by count-out to attack an interfering Wade Barrett, who of which wasn't even touched by Orton whatsoever. Meanwhile, any edge that Miz gained in the past few weeks is now gone with this weak finish to a contest.

Quick match between Alberto Del Rio and Daniel Bryan, but I'd prefer a much longer bout given the clash between their two similar submission styles. Bryan deserved to look a bit stronger in defeat after last week's World Heavyweight Championship match, but given the fact that his sustained injury was played up during the contest, he didn't lose much.

Forgettable Divas tag team match with the team of Kelly Kelly and Eve yet again defeating the Divas of Doom. They've beaten the rivalry between these four Divas to death by this point, and I'd much rather see Alicia Fox get a shot at the belt than Kelly for the hundredth time. It's not really considered an "upset" as Cole said for Kelly given how she's beaten Phoenix numerous times in the past using the same exact move, but we're apparently supposed to be oblivious to that. On a side note, it was a smart move in airing the newest "It Begins" video on television rather than just YouTube in order to further hype and build up even more anticipation for the fans not familiar with the vignettes.

Good match between Zack Ryder and John Cena, but with both competitors being faces, the already dead crowd wasn't sure on who to cheer for. Although Ryder looked great in defeat, Cena's victory was extremely predictable as he lays down for absolutely no one. If nothing else, a cool finish with Cena reversing Ryder's finisher into an Attitude Adjustment for the victory.