WWE followed up their weak Fatal 4 Way effort with a strong episode of Raw. We learned that Bret Hart had been fired as GM of the show and a new anonymous general manager was announced. We also got more from the NXT crew and a few solid wrestling matches.

- The opening to the show was good, except for John Cena doing his jokey routine one day after being screwed out of the WWE title thanks to the NXT guys and Sheamus. I did enjoy Cena sneaking in a use of the word “jimbrones,” though. Anyway, as corny as the anonymous general manager emailing during the segment was, it was effective.

Announcing Vince McMahon as the guest referee and then having him just be an outside enforcer was a little lame, but maybe that was just a mix up on the announce team’s part.

- I thought the segments involving NXT were well done. Wade Barrett comes off like an absolute star on the mic and hopefully his ring work can back that up and push him to the next level. He explained why he would band together with all the men he had beaten in the competition, saying it was because of loyalty and a pact they had made. I’ll buy that. At least WWE has tried to explain some of the more illogical things in this story so far.

You knew the NXT7 would interfere in the main event match between Sheamus and John Cena but I liked that they turned on Vince McMahon at the end of the show. While many people are complaining that the NXT guys are now babyfaces because of that, I just don’t see it that way. The whole time they’ve been attacking both faces and heels, so turning on McMahon only shows their ruthlessness and that it’s them against the WWE.

- I enjoyed the follow-up Evan Bourne v. Chris Jericho match, as would be expected. I thought some of the stuff was a little too similar to their previous night’s match but that’s a nitpick on my part. Jericho saying he would retire if he lost was a clear tease for the IWC after all the recent Jericho contract speculation.

- The Miz came off strong during his interaction with Randy Orton. He could definitely benefit from a program with Orton, but it seemed more like a side bit to the Orton-Edge feud.

- There was no guest host and, not surprisingly, the show was better for it. We got a stupid mixed tag match with Khali and Eve against Alicia Fox and Primo, but I’ll take that over silly guest host filler any day.

- I really like the Ted DiBiase-Maryse pairing. They seem to have chemistry and I think they can help elevate each other to new heights. And I’ll never complain about seeing Maryse twice in one program.

- Again, a nice Raw that has me very interested to see what happens next week. I would assume the GM will be revealed and there are a lot of good guesses out there as to who it will be. I might have a post up tomorrow on that topic so stay tuned.

WWE wisely kept the NXT angle going last night, with the group being featured throughout the episode of Raw. We got a couple decent matches and a few more announced for this Sunday’s Fatal 4 Way pay-per-view.

- I’m in the minority here, but Bret Hart just does not seem smooth on the mic at all anymore. Slipping up and saying “WWF” is no big deal, but he seems to stumble through his words a lot and say the same things over and over. It didn’t help that he was up against Wade Barrett, who is calm and cool on the stick. Barrett also mentioned that Daniel Bryan had been kicked out of the group for showing remorse, which is a decent excuse for his firing. If anything, it also will establish Bryan as a strong babyface with an ax to grind if he does come back.

I liked the opening segment, though. It got over the idea that the NXT gang has absolutely nothing to lose and it gave some explanation for their actions. The attack later in the show and subsequent brawl between the NXT guys and the WWE performers was good. It sent the message that the NXT rookies are legit threats, since Randy Orton, Edge and Sheamus came out to help. I could have done without Santino Marella being involved, but mostly because he’s just a lame comedy act.

The ending of the show, with NXT “abducting” Bret Hart and tossing him in a limo that smashed into cars like a pinball was effective. The angle is definitely the biggest thing WWE has going for them and I’m very intrigued to see if anything comes of it during the PPV, which is clearly WWE’s goal.

- The pay-per-view has basically been buried. I had to laugh when Michael Cole said a match had been added to an already huge pay-per-view, when the show only had two scheduled bouts at the time.

- The Miz v. R-Truth v. John Morrison v. Zack Ryder fourway match was good. It showed the limits of a fourway match, but they also incorporated some nice spots. I didn’t like that the whole reason for Miz winning the US Title seemed to be to show fans that anyone can win and someone can steal a pin.

It also set up a Miz v. R-Truth title rematch at the PPV.

- Speaking of which, it seemed like Cole and Lawler were treating fans like total idiots throughout the show. I understand explaining the fourway matches once, and telling how anything can happen. But to continue to harp on it made it seem like we’ve never seen a fourway match before.

- The main event, which was first a one-on-one match of Orton v. Sheamus and turned into a tag match with Cena and Edge added, was pretty good. It went about 20 minutes. You could tell, though, that the wrestlers were drawing out the ending, and we got the payoff when the NXT guys were shown attacking Hart on the jumboscreen.

- The Evan Bourne v. Chris Jericho match wasn’t anything special, but it helped to build Bourne and furthered Jericho’s “frustration angle.” I’m wondering how this will all play out, especially since Jericho was absent from the lineup of wrestlers who were “guarding” from NXT at the end of the show.

- Cena’s mid-show promo was typical fare. He came out, spoke in his country and western twang, then yelled a lot. But it did the job of building the NXT group as a legitimate threat.

- The Eve & Gail Kim v. Maryse & Alicia Fox match was worthless. Kim didn’t even tag into the match. But it did give the announcers a chance to tell us that the four women will be involved in a fourway title match at this Sunday’s show. Yawn.

- The Big Show/Main Event Mark v. Ted DiBiase/Virgil match was lame, but the crowd was into it. I admit, I got a kick out of Mark doing the worm, and Lawler saying, “We haven’t seen this in a while.” Really, though, the guest hosts need to go and this was just another example of it.

- Overall, this was an entertaining show, mostly thanks to the NXT cast. WWE is doing nothing to build to the pay-per-view, though, and is counting on the possibility that the NXT crew could disrupt it as a selling point.

Monday’s WWE Raw was certainly memorable for a number of reasons. For about two hours and 50 minutes, it was the worst episode of the program I can even remember. Then something happened that took us back to a time when things were a little more unpredictable and Raw would end with something compelling to stir interest and leaving you thirsting for the next show.

Wade Barrett and the rest of the NXT season one rookies came to the ring during John Cena’s bout with CM Punk and unleashed a vicious attack on Luke Gallows, Serena, Jerry Lawler, Matt Striker, Josh Mathews, ring announcer Justin Roberts, Punk, Cena, and anyone else at ringside. They literally tore apart the ring and broke the announce table, with Cena receiving the largest beatdown.

The situation was a great way to end the show and the mission was accomplished because I’m dying to see where this is all going. It has a big time nWo feel, especially because the group attacked faces and heels. Hopefully the explanation we get is a good one because this has a lot of potential.

Many people noticed that Michael Cole was able to slip away from the attack. Perhaps it will be revealed that he was behind the whole thing. That could be interesting and a great way to get him out from behind the announce table. As we saw a few weeks ago during his faceoff with Daniel Bryan, Cole has the potential to be a strong heel manager. Perhaps Jim Ross could step in and replace Cole as Raw’s lead announcer once again, although it seems unlikely at this point.

Either way, fans are talking, and while this segment didn’t save the show, it distracted from how truly awful the large portion of Raw was.

Thoughts on the rest of this pitiful show after the jump (if I can find enough adjectives to describe how bad it was):

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