WWE Monday Night Raw 12/19/2011 - The Good, The Bad And The Ugly

I was tickled that CM Punk was trusted to open Raw last night. He's been in the WWE Title picture since the summer, and has been having a pretty solid run so far, but up until now, WWE seems to have been hedging their bets on their burgeoning star, allowing pretty much any other storyline to take center stage over what's going on with CM Punk. This week, however, Punk wasn't just holding the title, he was acting like the champion, an important part of which is being a ringleader and makeshift master of ceremonies.

Even better, Punk brought his bros along in the form of new World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan and new United States Champion Zack Ryder, even giving a nod to he and Bryan's shared history on the independent scene. It was a great segment largely because it really did feel like something new, and even acknowledging the material's scripted nature, it was hard not to get caught up in the feeling that "our guys" won. Which is kind of the whole point of wrestling, right?

Taken without context, Randy Orton vs. Wade Barrett was a perfectly acceptable match. Trouble is, it's not only something we've seen a lot of recently (including a Table Match at TLC the night before), but whatever story WWE is trying to weave is completely beyond my comprehension.

At TLC, in the first major singles match of their feud, Orton defeated Barrett by RKOing him through a table. Normally, Table Matches are an easy way to let a heel steal a win without making the face look weak, but in this case, WWE booked the face to go over, proving that Barrett isn't capable of winning via a fluke or fortunate circumstance.

On this week's Raw, Barrett showed that he can't win in a fair fight either, thumbing Orton in the eye to get disqualified. Who could possibly be at all interested in a fight between an unbeatable good guy and a bad guy who can't ever beat him? Further, since they already did a Table Match, where else is there to go? A No DQ Match where the Viper beats the holy hell out of Barrett, in shades of Orton/Christian? Yawn...

I might be in the minority here, but I'm totally onboard with Alicia Fox's new "Furry Rihanna" gimmick, consisting of her bright red hair and a new, inexplicable fuzzy hood with ears. Is she a sexy bear? A poorly designed, but thematically appropriate fox? A generic furry? A girl who asked her boyfriend to pick her up "something cute" from Comic-Con? Whatever it is, I like it. A-lot. Not enough to start attending Anthrocon or anything, but still.

But as much as I like Alicia Fox's new look, there's absolutely no way that I can condone the match she participated in this week. Going into Divas Champion Beth Phoenix vs. Alicia Fox, I was hoping for a veritable squash, or at least an easy win for The Glamazon, building her up for a future feud. I was also, prepared, however, to see Alicia steal a win with a roll-up or even after interference from Kelly Kelly or Eve. What I wasn't ready for, however, was for Alicia to beat Beth clean following a wacky neckbreaker and a move that I will henceforth be referring to as the Jesus-Christ-That-Can't-Be-Safe Leg Drop.

I get that Beth can't just steamroll through the entire Divas roster with no opposition, as much as I might like to see it, but Alicia's win came out of absolutely nowhere, and there was no effort made to protect Beth. She's the Divas Champion, I.E. the best Diva in WWE, and yet she can be put down by a broad half her size and pinned clean in a heinously short match. This is why no one cares about WWE's Divas division.