Unlike last year, where the buzz around Edge winning the title after cashing in his Money in the Bank title shot was all about how WWE could think on the fly and come up with something genuinely unexpected that could make even the most cynical fans get over-excited, this year's show was all about keeping the status quo. Unfortunately that status quo involves the chosen one's (HHH, Shawn Michaels and John Cena) remaining strong at the expense of [debatably] other more deserving talent. Their defeats of Randy Orton, Edge and Umaga means that the top 3 heels on the brand all suffered big-time losses at the hands of the increasingly dominant babyfaces. When Edge and Orton got one over on DX before Christmas and the 40 year-old pranksters were finally given opponents who stood a chance to winning against them (unlike the Spirit Squad or the Macmahon's) and it looked like we might for an interesting feud which could carry these 4 men up until Mania if they wanted it to. However last night the now serious DX didn't even worry about pinning them, they just beat them to living hell. Now, call me an old fart, but isn't that what the heels should be doing ahead of the big-time babyface comeback? One beating does not make a feud but one hell of a beating sure ends one. To cap it all off, DX don't even bother pinning them and inflicting the ultimate humiliation of taking away their tag team titles? Why? Because they don't mean a damn thing no matter who holds them. Don't believe me then check out the lack of interest in the tag team turmoil and the non-pushing of Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin and it should make abundantly clear just how tag teams are view in WWE.
Which brings us to Umaga, who prior to last night was one of the most interesting characters on Raw for the simple fact that he was actually allowed to get some heat! Eeven it wasn't always the most logical (like his beat down on Jeff Hardy) at least he was being lined up for something. Unfortunately this moment was at New Year's Revolution and with one swift roll-up that has now gone and another character has been steam-rollered by super-champ and we have yet another meaningless title match with no real buzz behind it. Unfortunately I don't think this is going to the last we see of this feud but as is so often the case in wrestling today once the first match is out the way neither WWE or TNA give the fans a reason to care about what happens next as what happens in the first place wasn't particularly interesting or original and they wander why the ratings are dropping. I'm not saying Umaga should have won but surely there are more interesting finishes than having Cena roll-up the Samoan Bulldozer and have him get off scot-free. But then again, if Umaga really is WWE's attempt at copying Samoa Joe in TNA then it should only be inevitable that his undefeated streak ended with a whimper rather than a bang.
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