Monday Night Raw SuperShow: Slammy Awards Edition Review - December 12, 2011

CM Punk captures his fourth Slammy Award.

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.

---

Zack Ryder is the "Trending Superstar of the Year".

Excellent Fatal Four Way Match including Daniel Bryan, Intercontinental Champion Cody Rhodes, United States Champion Dolph Ziggler, and Zack Ryder that certainly wins the match of the night. All four young stars pulled off some amazing spots respectively, specifically Ryder's Rough Ryder over the shoulders of Rhodes. The Trending Superstar of the Year just further exhibits WWE's obsession with Twitter, but Ziggler stealing Ryder's award as well the victory gives him the heat he desperately needed going into the title defense this Sunday.

It's understandable from a story-line standpoint as to why John Cena an The Rock won the Slammy Award for Game Changer of the Year, but Edge's dramatic retirement from April deserved it much more. Nonetheless, Cena's speech on the Rock and tying in the fact that he wasn't there live adds a more determined side to his character as we near his highly anticipated bout with The Rock in Miami.

Solid tag team match that the challengers The Miz and Alberto Del Rio pull out a victory over the team of WWE Champion CM Punk and Randy Orton. Decent action was featured throughout that ended with Barrett distracting Orton to further their feud while Miz resumes his edgy character as well as Del Rio. Playing the numbers game against Punk makes the WWE Championship match at TLC more intriguing despite the predictability.

Of all the fantastic celebrities featured on WWE television this year, Snooki had to win the Slammy Award for A-Lister of the Year? I guess it's not all that surprising with her performing at WrestleMania 27 and all, but that just might be my hate for the horrendous Jersey Shore show talking.

Filler segment with Sheamus brutalizing Jinder Mahal within seconds. I was quite shocked not to see Sheamus nominated for any major awards or featured at all throughout the show, but he's currently in his waiting period over on SmackDown anyways. On the other hand, Mahal has so much lost potential that there is absolutely no point in pushing him at this point where the crowd doesn't care whatsoever.

---

Kane returns with a new intimidating look.

Due to this popularity with the fans and past history with being the Superstar of the Year, I was surprised not to see John Cena take the award this year given how he was featured in the main event match, but I was very glad to see CM Punk rightfully take home the golden prize instead. Having John Laurinaitis accept the award on Punk's behalf was logical with Punk's being injured earlier in the show.

Slow match between John Cena and World Heavyweight Champion Mark Henry that was not as strong as I expected it to be. Thankfully, Kane's return saved the lackluster bout and sent chills up my spine, making it one of the most intriguing endings to Raw in a good while. Kane's new masks, attire, and entrance music now make him the intimidating monster he once was, hopefully turning back heel in the process following his attack on Cena.

Overall, not as bad of a show as many people are making it out to be, as I personally enjoyed most of the Slammy Award segments with the various cameos by DiBiase, Foley, Goldust, Mysterio, and Christian among others. Sure, the three-hour aspect of it made the program drag along and was unnecessary, but it successfully got this viewer a bit more excited for TLC in six days while featuring a handful of notable returns despite the minimal action featured on the show.

---