Welcome to this week’s edition 10 count! This is a weekly column that will feature 5 things from Raw and another 5 from Smackdown! that could use improvement. On Raw, John Cena challenged Vince McMahon’s ego and thus, CM Punk’s suspension was lifted. Later in the week on Smackdown!, Randy Orton stood tall over Christian and Sheamus.

Suspended indefinitely on your flagship Brand? Call 1-800-SUPER-CENA, he will beg and plead for your job back!

1!

John Cena’s promo at the beginning of the show made him seem too much like a “goodie two shoes“. Last week, Truth put him through a table. A few weeks back, he lost to CM Punk in a singles bout. Now Cena looks a little weak going into the PPV, whereas Punk is on fire. He did do a good job of putting Punk over and saved face with his closing promo with Mr. McMahon but more needs to be done. Punk has all of the leverage going into MITB. Cena needs some of it back. He could very well get it in his hometown of Boston this Monday.

2!

Creative needs to put together a more formidable tag team than Santino and Kozlov. Their comedic tag team gimmick was great when Santino hosted his Tea Party with “Sheamoose from Irish land” but it has since gone stale. If you’re going to build up The New Nexus as dominant champs, pick two fresh faces and make them a team. Maybe a combination of Mysterio/Big Show, Bourne/Kingston, or even a Ryder/Riley tandem. I am not a fan of Creative just stringing two guys together but it is the formula they have gone by for some time now.

(Side note: I hope Zack Ryder’s little stint on stage was not short lived. As I said before, he deserves a storyline, even if it is in the dreaded Tag Team Division. WOOx3)

3!

I am very disappointed in two of Raw’s top mid-carders, Kofi Kingston and Dolph Ziggler. For two guys who can put on a hell of a wrestling match, they can’t talk on the stick if their lives depended on it. They both were given a promo opportunity Monday night, where they have failed before, and where they continue to fail. Dolph seemed uninterested in the entire promo and Kofi couldn‘t acquire the crowd’s attention with his interruption. Ziggler is a step ahead of Kofi as far as mic skills but they both have a lot of work to do if they want to break out of the mid-card.

4!

The Raw MITB participants are just about all paired in feuds with one another. They need to break away from these small feuds and have contact with others in the Ladder Match. Have The Miz V.S. Mysterio, Bourne V.S. R-Truth, and A-Ry V.S. Del Rio this coming Monday night. That will excite viewers even more for Raw’s MITB Ladder Match which already has a slight edge over Smackdown!’s star power wise.

5!

So far, the build toward MITB’s main event has been superb. I was excited when the Cena/Rock bout was announced for WM28 but I am even more excited for Punk/Cena. With that said, the hype could’ve been better this past Monday. I, like everyone else knew that CM Punk would somehow be reinstated and put back into his WWE Championship Match at MITB. Punk should’ve shown his face on Monday night. This week’s Raw was taped in Vegas right after Raw Roulette so we know Punk was in the building. Have an angle where Punk sneaks into the building and kidnaps The Chairman, much like Austin did when he was “fired” during the Attitude Era. Now that would’ve been good wholesome PG television!

Now on to SmackDown!’s side, where Johnny Curtis continues to make eyes and ears bleed.

6!

I liked the fact that Smackdown! opened with a segment on the MITB superstars. But there were a couple of problems. It was too short and the fans didn’t get to hear all of the participants speak. Having all competitors voice their opinion on the match gives the fans a chance to learn more, thus wanting to root for or against them. Another issue is that Big Zeke doesn’t have a match, and I’m wondering if it would have been so bad to have him in the match instead of maybe Heath Slater?

7!

Jinder Mahal has now been squashing opponents left and right. It is great that Creative is pushing this guy because he has the potential to do what Muhammad Hassan couldn’t do as a top foreign heel a few years back. Put this guy in a storyline and have him showcased on PPVs. Leave Khali as his body guard for a while longer and have Mahal turn into a monster that puts fear in the eyes of anyone who crosses his path. Then, if The Undertaker or Chris Jericho returns put them in a feud with Mahal. There is more money in a heel like Mahal than Creative thinks.

8!

Now, I am not a fan of Booker T on commentary and that is well documented. But the fact that Michael Cole points out of all Booker’s mistakes isn’t helping out the situation. And it is a little distracting during matches and entrances. Also Booker T, where are your testicles my friend?  You are a former wrestler and shouldn’t be punked out on a weekly basis. There is a way to put over Mark Henry’s scary persona without looking like a little girl. Remember Taz on commentary? He put over a great deal of guys without making it seem like he was petrified.

(Side note: No need to worry friends, I have inside information That Booker T is being replaced on commentary by The Great Khali. That was some serious journalism by the Punjabi giant last week!)

9!

I don’t agree with the outcome of matches like Kane/Henry or Slater/Gabriel against the Usos. Kane won MITB last year and went on to be a monster heel. Look at him now. He has been has been squashed by Mark Henry on more than one occasion. I get that they want Henry to look unstoppable going into the PPV, but what storyline are you trying to sell more? Henry/Show or The MITB Ladder Match which features Kane? And I’m fine with The Usos picking up the victory here. But afterwards Slater and Gabriel should have blown up on one another because of the flop. Why keep them together? They have just lost their rubber match and that takes them out of contention for the Tag Titles. Have them split and give viewers a reason to care that they’re a part of MITB.

10!

Smackdown! Creative continues to fail with Christian being the top heel. This guy was on his way to being a great World Champion after Extreme Rules. Where is he now? Being pushed out of his top heel spot by Sheamus. Christian needs a heel makeover. Take a look at these few things. 1. His nickname is Captain Charisma. 2. His theme music is very upbeat. And 3. He doesn’t use dirty tactics. How much of that sounds like a heel to you? It’s hard to believe he is going to lose against Orton for the 4th consecutive time and if that’s the case, Creative needs to give this guy a lot more heat if he is to remain a top heel.

Ring the bell!

That’s the count for this week. Thank you for taking the time out to read my column and hopefully you’ve enjoyed this week’s edition of The 10 Count! Don’t forget to read next week’s edition. Raw is in my hometown and I’ll be there Live taking notes on where it could’ve been more kick ass! So next week’s edition is basically The Live Edition!  Please feel free to leave a comment and I’ll do my best to reply.