Best match: Raw chamber

Worst match: Cena-Kane

This show was great fun live, so it gets a thumbs up from me. However, I gather I might not have felt the same if I bought it on TV instead of seeing it in person, which is the way it usually goes. The crowd was pretty tame but certainly wasn't dead by any stretch. It also needs stating how much more enjoyable wrestling is when you don't have to listen to Cole.

Some quick notes:

- Hunico beat Alex Riley in the dark match.

- Lawler apparently missed his cue, because he didn't come out when they played his music. They did the national anthem, then he finally came out.

- I was shocked the Raw chamber opened as I was positive it would be the main event. This match really was a treat. Kofi's spot leaping off the top of the pod got the biggest pop of the match. The prevailing feeling I came away with after watching such a talented group of guys is thinking just how legitimately great Ziggler has become. I don't know if the camera caught it but he was doing chin ups in his pod before he came into the match.

- The Smackdown chamber wasn't strong top-to-bottom like Raw's was, but the ending was the highlight of the show. The crowd was super hot for Santino, and when it came down to him and Bryan people were just losing it pulling for Santino. There was legitimate sadness when he lost, which is great in making Bryan an even bigger heel. Spot of the night goes to Big Show throwing Bryan through the pod. That got a rise out of the audience.

- I can't tell you anything about the Laurinaitis segment because the portion of the crowd that was actually invested in it was too busy trying to start a "Sexual Chocolate" chant to care about the dialogue.

- There was a hysterical botch during the Cena-Kane match, and since I haven't read anything of it on here, they must have done a good job hiding it on the broadcast. After the match started, the ambulance actually drove away for some reason. When Cena and Kane got to the stage Cena motioned in an aggravated way for them to back the ambulance back into the arena. As for the match itself, after how great the chamber matches were it didn't really seem like anyone had the energy to get into it. Both men's insistence on walking across the arena to retrieve wheelchairs and gurneys ended up almost being comedic. It was really quite anticlimactic.

Overall, a fun show to experience in person and a good effort by all involved.

Biggest pop:

1. Punk

2. Santino

3. Cena

Biggest heat:

1. Laurinaitis

2. Bryan

3. Miz

- Justin Weaver

Hi Dave,
 
Slight thumbs up for me.
 
Best match: SmackDown! Chamber
Worst match: the 15 or so minutes wasted on video packages, farting, and boring GMs.
 
I thought the RAW EC was well done. Kofi took a pounding in that match, and I believe his performance in there was underrated. I think the Jericho injury angle was a nice twist, in the sense that it's usually a face that is in that predicament. I'm glad that Punk won and that we'll be seeing a great match between those two at Mania. I thought the divas match was really good. That's the first time in a long time I enjoyed a divas match. It's a shame that they didn't start the build for this match a little earlier than they did. Either way, I look forward to a potential Beth-Kharma match at Maina, but I wouldn't be opposed to putting Tamina in there too for a triple threat.
 
The SD EC stole the show IMO. I thought the match was well booked. Going in, I couldn't understand why they would put Santino in there, but in the last minutes of the match, I actually thought there was a chance that he could win. I'm glad Daniel Bryan won, but I'm still scratching my head at a pairing with Sheamus at Mania. IMO, it's clear his feud with Big Show isn't over (forget the Shaq match, they've overdone the celebrity match at Mania with Show already). I also liked the spot with Show ripping of the top of Bryan's pod.
 
The Swagger-Gabriel match was filler, as expected, but the bigger waste of time for me was all the other non-wrestling stuff. Why not put another match in there instead, such as a tag title match, or give more time to one or both of the chamber matches? The Cena video package was well put together, but why couldn't they have saved that for RAW? Same with the Laurinatis nonsense, and don't get me started on anything involving Hornswoggle. Natalya deserves much better than this farting gimmick, considering she's one of only 4 divas on the roster that can actually wrestle. If I had paid $50 to watch this at home, instead of going to a casino for free to see it, I would have not been happy. Cena-Kane is what it is. Hopefully that angle is over, and now they can focus Cena clearly on Rock.
 
Overall I did enjoy both Chamber matches, which is what was mainly advertised, and what I had been looking forward to all along. A complete opposite from what has to be the worst Royal Rumble ever last month.
 
Thanks,
Ryan Goodman
Las Vegas, NV