This is from WWE Magazine I believe.  Nice job of keeping up with storylines boys.

Monday Night Raw
Date: October 8, 2012
Location: Power Balance Pavilion, Sacramento, California
Commentators: Jim Ross, Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield

After last week’s lowest rating in fifteen years, Vince is back tonight for a State of the WWE address. Love him or hate him, when he’s on TV the fans pay attention. Granted having a lower level Monday Night Football game isn’t going to hurt anything either. Other than that, we’re likely to have another legend, maybe Vince himself, tell Punk that he needs to fight Cena in the Cell. Let’s get to it.

Here’s Cena to open things up. He asks if the people missed him and the fans cheer, which surprises both him and me. Cena talks about how he’s been gone awhile (it’s been two weeks) and he’s gotten to experience things for two weeks. He goes through the basics of various storylines and asks AJ out on a date. Maybe to In and Out (California staple) for a Double Double?

Also Vince is here tonight and Arnold Schwarzennegger is the social media ambassador tonight (seriously) and we’ve got a one armed man in the ring tonight. He talks about the fans losing their voice and the WWE Title losing its voice as well. Cena sums up Punk’s reign in a nutshell: if no one wants to watch, it doesn’t matter how many days he holds the belt. He tells Punk to be a man and define his legacy by facing him in the Cell.

As Cena is leaving, here’s Ryback. Apparently it’s just for a match as Cena walks past him.

Ryback vs. Primo/Epico

I’m not going to bother doing commentary on these matches anymore. The cousins get in some offense, Ryback kills them both, double Shell Shock at 2:33.

Brodus Clay vs. R-Truth

It’s a regular hat for Brodus this week. Now this is an interesting match. Before the match, Truth says they can’t fight because Little Jimmy is going through puberty and wants to dance. It turns into a dance party, and by that I mean the other four stand there and watch Little Jimmy dance.

Thankfully Vince pops up on screen and says dance up the ramp because it’s time for the State of the WWE Address.

Here’s Vince to criticize what we just saw. He says there’s room for that here, along with leprechauns, goat faced vegans, masked luchadors and more. We have drama, action, romance and comedy, but above all else, we have action. Here you want to see the best against the best….and here’s Punk, in a bright yellow shirt. But I guess since it’s Punk it’s much more ok than the ones Cena wears right?

Vince immediately says the shirt is ugly and yells at Punk for interrupting. Punk wanted his name mentioned and thinks it was a shot at him for not being mentioned and not getting inside the Cell with Cena. Punk blames the fans for his issues and doesn’t like the fans that ironically chant his name as well. He asks if Vince respects him and Vince respects Punk being champion for 323 days. However, he doesn’t respect Punk being a Paul Heyman guy. Vince isn’t a CM Punk guy which sets Punk off.

Punk goes into a tirade about how a year and a half ago he talked about being a spoke on the wheel and now he is the wheel. He’s the best thing WWE has today and he isn’t appreciated. Where’s his appreciation night? Punk threatens to leave again and this time he wouldn’t come back, even though he’s the reason Vince has any money left. If not him, then who makes this place go around? Vince says the fans make this place successful and right now all the fans want someone to shut Punk’s mouth.

Vince says Punk isn’t one of the all time greats like Andre or Bret or Shawn or Steve Austin. The Austin mention makes Punk go into a rant about Austin running away and being scared of people. Austin’s greatest accomplishment was beating up a clueless millionaire. Punk goes on ANOTHER rant about how the company and Vince have slapped him in the face for years, so Punk slaps Vince across the face, causing Vince to fall down faster than he does from a Stunner. Vince wants to fire him but that’s too good for him. Tonight it’s Vince vs. Punk or Punk is fired. Heyman really doesn’t like this idea but Punk loves it.

Tag Team Tournament Semi-Finals: Prime Time Players vs. Sin Cara/Rey Mysterio

Cara and Young start things off with Cara starting to speed things up very quickly. The twisting armdrag out of the corner puts Young down as does a rana. Off to Rey who low bridges Young and hits a seated senton off the apron. Titus misses a charge and Cara takes him out as we head to a break. Back with Titus hitting a backbreaker on Cara before bringing in Young for a bearhug.

Cara slams Young down as the camera freaks out. It looks like it’s shaking or something. Anyway it’s off to Rey who speeds things up and gets two on Young. Cara kicks O’Neal in the head and hits a springboard missile dropkick to take him down. Young hits the release gutbuster on Cara but Cara isn’t legal. The gutbuster doesn’t work on Rey and it’s a 619 and top rope splash for the pin on Young at 7:25.

Rating: C. This was a good speed vs. power match and there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s the classic formula and when you have guys in there that know how to do it, things work very well. Good stuff here as Rey and Cara fit the role of the local luchadores perfectly. One thing though: STOP WITH COMMERCIALS IN SEVEN MINUTE MATCHES.

Heyman still isn’t sure on this and wants Punk to lose so that Vince doesn’t go insane on them. Punk laughs it off.

Wade Barrett vs. Sheamus

My mind will be boggled if there’s a conclusive ending. They fight over a headlock and here’s Big Show 15 seconds in. He doesn’t do anything but walk around ringside and Barrett gets jumped. Sheamus takes over with a headlock and hits a slingshot shoulder before hooking another headlock. Wade fires off some elbows in the corner but Sheamus fires off one of his own. A suplex gets two for the champ but he can’t hit a Regal Roll. Instead it’s a knee lift to send Barrett to the floor but Barrett trips him on the apron and pulls Sheamus to the floor.

We take a break and come back with Sheamus breaking a hold and sending Barrett out to the floor. An uppercut sends Barrett up the stage a bit but Wade comes back and kicks the steps into Sheamus’ knees. Back in and it’s another chinlock which doesn’t last long. Barrett sits him in the ropes (not on them) and kicks Sheamus’ head off for a delayed two. A top rope elbow misses for Barrett and Sheamus comes back with a clothesline. Barrett tries the elbow but Sheamus steps to the side and gets the ten forearms in the ropes. We get a Dusty Rhodes reference and freaking Tensai comes in for the DQ at 12:34.

Rating: B-. Tihs was getting good until the ending. To be fair, this is happening because Sheamus jumped Tensai on Smackdown to cost Show a match so it makes sense. Why they had these guys who could have a PPV title match one day go twelve minutes on Raw is beyond me, but at least there wasn’t a winner. These two have great chemistry together.

Tensai and Barrett beat Sheamus down but Tensai gets kicked in the face and Barrett is sent to the floor. Show gets in and blocks the Brogue Kick before shoving Sheamus to the floor with a SICK thud.

JR goes to talk some sense into McMahon.

Punk comes in to see AJ and she accuses him of being afraid of fighting both Cena and Vince. Punk says whatever happens is on her head. This seemed pointless.

Antonio Cesaro vs. Tyson Kidd

Before the match we see Cesaro at an American restaurant complaining about how fattening American food is. Non-title here and man alive Cena was right about Cesaro’s nipples. I think I left that out earlier but there were comments about said nipples. They fight over arm control with some nifty moves before Kidd gets a victory roll for two. That gets him nowhere though as Cesaro kicks his head off to take over.

Cesaro puts on the cravate and guillotines Kidd on the top rope to send him to the floor. Kidd speeds things up and hits a hard kick to the chest followed by another one through the ropes. A slingshot cradle gets two as does a slingshot legdrop to the back of the head. Kidd misses a springboard elbow though and the big uppercut takes Kidd’s head off. Neutralizer ends this at 4:25.

Rating: C+. I really liked this one as they had Cesaro looking very strong out there. Kidd is always fun to watch as the guy is just talented all around. The Neutralizer looks good for a finisher too and he can hit it on almost anyone. This was nowhere near a squash either which helped things a lot. Good stuff.

HELL NO vs. Dolph Ziggler/Alberto Del Rio

Non-title again here. The champs argue over who starts and the crowd explodes. It’s Bryan vs. Ziggy with Bryan taking over on the arm. Off to Kane and Del Rio with Kane intentionally short arming a tag attempt. Ziggler charges in and gets an uppercut to the face. Cole and JBL get in an argument over Mil Mascaras as Ziggler is thrown to the floor. Bryan tags himself in and hits a big running knee off the apron to take over.

We take a break and come back with Bryan kicking Dolph’s head off and getting into another argument with the crowd. Del Rio comes back in and puts on a chinlock, followed by a hip swiveling neckbreaker from Dolph for two. Alberto and Bryan trade rapid fire kicks in the corner but Bryan misses a running kick in the corner. We get into some standard tag stuff with Bryan being cut off from Kane by both bad guys. Well, both bad guys not named Bryan as he’s still a heel. Alberto hooks a chinlock followed by a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for two.

Back to Ziggler who prevents another tag despite taking a shot to the face. Del Rio comes back in with a kick to the face for another two. Another chinlock goes on as this match is DRAGGING. Bryan avoids a charging Del Rio, sending the shoulder into the post. There’s the tag to Kane and the big fried freak takes over with some clotheslines.

A double chokeslam is broken up and a Fameasser gets a VERY close two on Kane. Kane hits a sidewalk slam on Dolph and goes up, but Bryan tags himself in and hits a top rope dropkick for two on Dolph. Del Rio misses a charge and hits the floor. Vickie is up on the apron, giving Dolph a rollup for two. A Buzzsaw kick to Ziggler sets up a chokeslam from Kane for the pin at 16:00.

Rating: C+. Cut three minutes out of this and it goes WAY up. Kane and Bryan work well together and the fans are still into them, but we need some more of their segments to get their fire back. Until then they’re just a dysfunctional tag team and we’ve had a lot of them over the years. Not bad here though as they picked up a lot at the end.

JR finds Vince in the back and talks about the JR Appreciation segment from after Raw went off the air last week. Vince called JR a friend and as a friend, JR says don’t do this, because “remember what happened to the King after he fought CM Punk.” JR goes into JR mode and says what he’ll say if Vince wins.

Now, I kid you not, here’s LARRY KING in the arena for a sitdown interview with The Miz. Apparently it’s Miz’s birthday and he wants King and King’s wife to sing Happy Birthday. King has another guest: Kofi Kingston. Kofi plays to the crowd and Miz freaks out. Miz goes off on King’s history of divorces and calls Kofi and Larry amateurs. Larry’s wife throws water on Miz. Miz starts taking his jacket off but Kofi jumps him and throws Miz off the stage.

We look at Austin vs. McMahon in WWE 13. Next.

Tag Team Tournament Semi-Finals: Rhodes Scholars vs. Santino Marella/Zack Ryder

The Scholars think this is a mismatch. The winners of this get Rey and Cara. Gee I wonder who is going to win here. Cody and Ryder start things off with the heel in control. Off to Sandow who misses his wind-up elbow, allowing for the tag to Santino. The Cobra is loaded up but the Disaster Kick ends Santino at 3:07.

Rating: D. It was short and the ending was almost never in doubt. What else are you expecting from something like this? Sandow getting pushed like this is a good thing and the more Cody on my screen the better my show becomes. At least the match didn’t last long, which is all you can ask in something like this.

As the Scholars leave, Encore comes down and beats up Santino and Ryder.

Heyman comes to see Vince in the back and begs for McMahon’s mercy on Punk tonight. Vince goes off on Heyman for poisoning Punk’s mind but Heyman says he’s here for Vince’s sake. Heyman invokes HHH’s name to shake Vince up a bit.

Divas Title: Eve Torres vs. Kaitlyn

Layla is on commentary as she always is anymore. Apparently she gets the winner of this. Eve is champion coming in just in case it’s like 2031 or something. Kaitlyn takes over to start and suplexes Eve down a few times followed by a fireman’s carry into a kind of Torture Rack. Eve rakes the eyes and kicks out the bad ankle to take over. Kaitlyn hits a backbreaker but it hurts her ankle again. Eve goes after the ankle by standing on it before putting on a heel hook for the tap at 2:54. This wasn’t terrible at all.

Layla makes the save and Eve becomes all nice and sweet again.

Alberto is in the back with Ricardo when Josh comes in with a Tweet for him to read. Del Rio isn’t interested but it’s from Randy Orton. Orton says he’ll be at Smackdown on Friday. Del Rio isn’t happy.

Larry King and his wife are leaving when Bryan comes up to him. Bryan wants advice on being called a goatface and hits on King’s wife. She says no and Kane comes up to say he carries the team. The usual argument ensues. When I said more segments, I didn’t mean with Larry King. Larry and his wife leave. Kane: “That was Larry King? I thought it was Skellator.” Eh not bad but it’s no “my name is Gerald.”

Heyman thinks the way out of this is for Punk to beat Vince so badly that Vince can’t make another decision ever again.

Vince comes out for the match but Punk jumps him on the way to the ring and beats the tar out of him before the bell. Vince spears him down but Punk beats him in the head. The high kick puts Vince down and I don’t think the bell every rang. They head to the floor and Punk puts on a headset. “WHAT A MANUEVER!!!” I laughed out loud.

Vince sends Punk into the post after escaping the GTS. He sends Punk FLYING over the announce table and grabs a mic. Vince DIVES OVER THE TABLE and beats up Punk! He rams a chair into Punk’s crotch and we head back inside. Vince is bleeding from the eye but he grabs a kendo stick. I think Vince’s ear is bleeding also. Punk bails and tells Heyman to bring the title, but Vince stops him and lays out Heyman with a shot to the head. Vince gets the title and stands in the ring with it and the kendo stick, challenging Punk to come fight him.

Punk finds a kendo stick and gets in. They BEAT THE TAR OUT OF EACH OTHER with the sticks and Vince knocks the stick out of Punk’s hands, sending Punk to his knees to beg. Punk hits Vince low and beats on him with the sticks. He loads up the GTS but FEED ME MORE hits and the fans LOSE IT. Punk runs but Cena comes out and sends Punk back in. Ryback kills Punk with the clothesline but Punk escapes Shell Shock.

Punk bails and Vince gets the mic. He says it’s either Punk vs. Ryback or Punk vs. Cena in the Cell. If Punk doesn’t decide, Vince makes up his mind for him. Punk is TERRIFIED to end the show. This wasn’t a match but man it ROCKED.

Overall Rating: B-. This is another example of an episode of Raw that would have been AWESOME at two hours but the third hour brings it down. The pacing was fine this week which is the major issue the show had last week. This wasn’t a classic or anything but it was WAY better than what we’ve been getting lately. They actually did some stuff here instead of just chasing themselves around in circles. Also, look what happens with FAR less backstage GM nonsense.

Results

Ryback b. Epico/Primo – Shell Shock

Sin Cara/Rey Mysterio b. Prime Time Players – Top rope splash to Young

Sheamus b. Wade Barrett via DQ when Tensai interfered

Antonio Cesaro b. Tyson Kidd – Neutralizer

HELL NO b. Alberto Del Rio/Dolph Ziggler – Chokeslam to Ziggler

Rhodes Scholars b. Santino Marella/Zack Ryder – Disaster Kick to Marella

Eve Torres b. Kaitlyn – Heel Hook

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews

It’s already known that he’s going to be there for a State of the WWE Address.

Thoughts on what he’s going to say/announce?

I can’t imagine it’ll be anything but Cena vs. Punk for the Cell, which will likely result in Vince being the next legend to talk to Punk.

For some reason wrestling fans expect wrestlers to be able to do everything. I’m not sure where this comes from but I think it has something to do with the theory that wrestling is based around being able to do a lot of moves. This is another of those ideas that needs to be crushed and needs to be crushed quickly. Today I’m going to be talking about wrestlers using the moves that they’re supposed to use and why the amount of moves someone uses is completely irrelevant to their talent level. Let’s get to it.

Back in 1997, Shawn Michaels had a “knee injury” and couldn’t wrestle at Wrestlemania 13, so instead he did commentary on the world title match. That night, Sid defended the world title against the Undertaker. During the match, Sid was in control and Shawn said something like “Sid doesn’t deviate from his game plan that much, because that power takes him everywhere he needs to go.”

That right there is a lesson that a large amount of wrestling fans need to learn. Today, you hear people talking about guys like Punk and Bryan and using the words Best in the World to describe them. Their justification for this seems to be that Punk and Bryan put on long and entertaining matches with a wide variety of moves. These same fans tend to criticize guys like Hogan and Cena for using a much smaller moveset.

Think about it: how many times have you heard someone criticize Cena because “he only knows five moves”? If you’ve heard it once, you’ve heard it way too many times. This is a stupid thing to say for a number of reasons which we’ll cover today. Not only is this stupid to say about Cena, but it’s a stupid thing to say about anyone.

Let’s take a look at the greatest wrestler of all time: Hulk Hogan. Love him, hate him, whatever you think about him, there is zero denying that since 1980, no one has had a bigger influence on professional wrestling. No one has been a bigger star than Hogan and few have become a bigger household name (which is another article for another time as well). In short, he’s the biggest star ever in wrestling and there isn’t much to argue about that.

Now that being said, I don’t think anyone would call Hogan a ring general, in the sense that he wrestled a lot of matches the exact same way. Hogan had a formula to his matches and he rarely shifted from that formula. There isn’t much denying of that, nor is there really any denying that Hogan used probably less than ten different moves (punch, big boot, legdrop, high knee, choke, back rake, suplex, ax bomber and that’s about all that jumps to mind) in his entire career.

Here’s the big secret though: there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. Hogan wrestled a very basic style and found something that worked (aside: how many botches can you think of from Hogan when he was in the red and yellow? I’d be impressed if you could come up with more than five. The guy was a very safe worker which he never gets credit for) so he never really shifted from it.

Why did Hogan never change or mix it up? Well why should he have done so? Hogan got some of the biggest reactions for well over 20 years doing the exact same stuff, and it never stopped working. Hogan got to the top of the wrestling world using the same formula and it never stopped at all. Somehow being the biggest star ever made him into the worst wrestler ever.

Another subject that often gets the same reaction is the current biggest star in the world, John Cena. I’ve never been what you would call a Cena hater. I’ve never come close to one and I likely never will be one. I’m not a huge Cena fan either, but I respect the guy. One of the biggest knocks on Cena is that he doesn’t have as wide ranging of a moveset as Bryan or Punk. This is another criticism that has a true premise (Bryan and Punk likely do have more variety in their offense) but an untrue conclusion (this makes them better wrestlers).

Cena’s offense (which has more than five moves: shoulder block, AA, STF, Shuffle, top rope legdrop, spinout slam. There, idea proven wrong) is one based around firing up the crowd at the right times. Look at his matches with Punk. I don’t think anyone would suggest that they’re boring and I don’t think anyone would suggest they’re bad. Cena and Hogan both are masters at making comebacks and working a crowd, just like guys like Bret and Shawn were.

This is what makes Hogan and Cena great: they know how to work a crowd. Look at the biggest names in the history of wrestling (in no order): Hogan, Cena, Rock, Austin. What do these four have in common? Among many other things, they play to the crowd. That’s what makes them great. They get the fans to care about them and get the crowd to care about them. The true test of the greatness of a wrestler is the amount of a reaction they can draw from an audience.

Think of it like this: when is the last time you remember Cena coming out to no reaction? Ask the same question about Rock, Austin or Hogan. The people respond to them and care about them. How many wrestlers have you seen come out and no one moves? How many times have you seen a tag match with the hot tag without a reaction from the crowd? The match may be fine from a technical standpoint, but no one cares at all. I can’t count how many indy matches I’ve watched with a lot of flips and high flying moves and ten minutes after the match I can’t remember the people in it. That’s not a good sign.

Let’s take a look at another side of this. Another criticism of guys like Cena or Hogan is that they don’t know how to perform moves like Punk and Bryan do. Is this honestly believed? Do you think Cena couldn’t do a hurricanrana if he tried to and practiced it? Let’s take a look at this from the other perspective: what do you think would happen if Punk tried to AA the Big Show? Even with months if not years of physical training, do you think he could pull it off on that frame? Cena uses his physical abilities in the right way. Here’s another example of that which might make a little more sense.

When the names of worst wrestlers in the world are brought up, one that is often mentioned is The Great Khali. Usually when people say this, I roll my eyes because it’s clear these people have little idea what they’re talking about. Khali is legitimately over 7’0 and weighs probably 400lbs or so. He has physical attributes that only a handful of people on the planet have. In other words, almost no one in the wrestling world are built like Khali.

SO WHY WOULD PEOPLE WANT HIM TO WRESTLE LIKE EVERYONE ELSE??? Khali doesn’t run the ropes or use armbars and wristlocks because it would be REALLY stupid for him to do so. He’s a freaking giant, meaning that everything he does is enhanced. Khali using a simple move like a chop isn’t the same as say Michael McGillicutty using a chop. You’re talking about a guy’s arm probably being ten feet off the ground and coming down with 400lbs of weight powering it. His size alone makes it look painful.

No, Khali can’t get down on the mat like a Bret Hart or fly through the air like a Kofi Kingston, but Bret Hart can’t make power moves look as devastating as Khali and Kofi can’t realistically use a chokebomb as a finisher. It would make no sense for them to try because that’s not their natural strength. Complaining because Khali can’t perform basic wrestling moves is ridiculous because he doesn’t need to perform them to be effective.

In short, the idea that a wrestler’s ability is tied to the amount of moves that he uses is ridiculous. To say that for example Daniel Bryan is a better wrestler than Cena because he uses a ton of submissions makes no sense. If that’s what determined who the best wrestlers in the world were, William Regal vs. Dean Malenko would have headlined about seven Wrestlemanias in a row. Wrestling is a performance first, not an athletic event first. It’s about using what works, not using everything there is.

Monday Night Raw
Date: September 24, 2012
Location: Times Union Center, Albany, New York
Commentators: Michael Cole, Jim Ross

There are two top stories tonight and both of them involve health issues. First and foremost we have Jerry Lawler’s first interview since having his heart attack two weeks ago. This should be a feel good moment which is always cool to see. Other than that we have the recently operated on John Cena talking about his timetable for a return to the ring. Let’s get to it.

Punk and Heyman are in the ring to start. Punk is in a chair and Heyman says that the show won’t be going on until justice is served. We get a clip from the end of last week’s show with the referee missing Punk having his foot on the ropes. Heyman asks Brad Maddox, the referee and former FCW wrestler, to come out here, apologize, and tender his resignation.

Maddox comes out and says that it was his first main event match and he was nervous. He admits he was wrong but he isn’t going to resign. Punk pops out of the chair and yells at Maddox, asking how he got this job. Maddox says that AJ called him when Raw expanded to three hours. Heyman goes into an NFL-inspired rant about how Maddox is a replacement and pulls out an eye cover with the WWE and NFL logos on them.

This brings out AJ who says that Heyman needs to stop making assumptions. Punk goes on a huge rant against AJ, talking about how he’s the reason she has a job. He accuses AJ of hating him because of the whole jilting storyline from over the summer. After a clip of Punk turning down her proposal, Punk talks about how AJ sent him a bunch of texts and wore his shirt all the time. Punk implies that AJ skips because of how good the sex was with him.

Heyman asks if he can take over and drops to a knee in front of AJ…..and asks her to marry him. He talks about how powerful of a couple they would be, even outranking HHH and Stephanie. Heyman will come up with all of the ideas and AJ can take credit for all of the brilliance. She smiles a bit and slaps him in the face before leaving.

Post break Maddox talks to AJ who says that if what happened last week happens again, Maddox will never work in this business again. AJ says this while looking on the verge of another nervous breakdown. She stops responding to him while looking off into the distance.

Dolph Ziggler vs. Kofi Kington

Another Twitter induced match here. Truth is here with a soda and popcorn. Vickie makes fun of Little Jimmy and the end result is Vickie taking the soda to the face. Vickie and Truth get ejected before the match starts. Kofi knocks Dolph to the floor quickly and hits a BIG flip dive to take Ziggler out as we take a break. Back with Ziggler in control and avoiding a charge in the corner. A reverse powerslam gets two for Dolph.

Ziggler dropkicks Kofi down and hooks on the chinlock. It’s so much nicer to have Cole being neutral here like he was last week. It’s making a notable difference. Ziggler misses a splash in the corner and the comeback is on. The Boom Drop hits but the kick is caught. SOS is countered but Kofi hits the pendulum kick in the corner. Springboard right hand gets two as does the springboard crossbody. Kofi misses a shot and there’s the Fameasser for two for Dolph. This is getting good. Zig Zag is blocked and the SOS gets a VERY close two.

Kofi goes to the corner but jumps into a dropkick. Ziggler’s feet are caught in a catapult to send Ziggler into the corner. He jumps at Kofi but Kingston rolls away into the corner, coming off the top with a HUGE spinning crossbody for an even closer two. The kick misses again and the Zig Zag FINALLY gets the pin at 11:04.

Rating: B+. There’s a lot to say about this one. First of all, WHAT A MATCH. This was one of the most exciting TV matches I’ve seen in months with some insane near falls. More importantly though, THIS is why Ziggler got over in the first place: having these awesome matches and making it look like he could beat anyone. They desperately need to rebuild him as he’s clearly destined for the world title, but having him lose all the time and then giving him the title is going to ruin what could be a good title reign by making him look like a loser. Have him get some wins like this and the problem goes away though. Great match.

We get a recap of the awesome ending to Smackdown with Kane and Bryan having their psycho bonding moment resulting in a pile of bodies around them.

Earlier today, Bryan and Dr. Shelby had lunch and Shelby has an idea for how to build trust with Kane and Bryan. Kane comes up and is apparently the waiter. Bryan orders the steamed vegetable platter and a tag partner who isn’t a freak. Shelby says this isn’t Kane, but rather Gerald the friendly waiter. Gerald says there’s a new cook because the old one got on his nerves. Apparently the old cook had his face dipped in a deep fryer and his beard was sprinkled over every meal served today. Shelby asks Kane if he’s serious, but Kane says his name is Gerald.

You get to name the team name for Bryan and Kane.

Prime Time Players vs. Santino Marella/Zack Ryder

See how easy it is to get people on the roster doing stuff? This is where a tag division can help you: you can get people on the show and you can get a lot of them at once. Ryder and Young start things off with the former getting caught in a flapjack for two. Ryder misses a cross body and hits the ropes, followed by a Young chinlock. Zack fights up and dives into a tag to Santino, who hits his usual stuff and gets two off a headbutt. Things break down for a second and Titus gets a blind tag. He blocks the Cobra and the Clash of the Titus gets the pin at 1:54.

There’s a special guest here tonight.

Here’s Mick Foley who is indeed the special guest. He’s here as a member of the WWE Universe who occasionally sees things on Raw that move him. A year ago, he saw the emergence of CM Punk. Foley talks about how Punk was the voice of the voiceless and here’s the champ to interrupt him. Punk tells Foley not to grandstand out here and asks for respect.

Foley talks about how a year ago, he sent a text to Punk after Punk won the title, asking how it felt to be the biggest star in the business. Two minutes later, Punk replied saying that it meant a lot to hear that coming from Foley. Foley believes he’s one of the only people that Punk responded to that night, so as someone Punk has deemed relevant, Foley is concerned about Punk’s change of attitude and his alignment of Paul Heyman.

Punk yells at the fans and tells Foley that Foley has no idea what he’s talking about. Foley says he used to be a Paul Heyman guy until he stopped listening to Heyman, which is when he finally became something in this business. Foley thinks Punk has been listening to Heyman for a lot longer than a month. Punk doesn’t but it but Foley says that he isn’t accusing Heyman of lying through his teeth, but rather of looking out for himself instead of Punk.

Foley asks a very interesting question: why would one of the best talkers of all time need a mouthpiece? Punk has to decide if he’s going to be an inspiration or a Kool-Aid drinker. If Punk doesn’t want to talk about that, Foley can talk about something he certainly knows about: Hell in a Cell. Fourteen years ago Foley was thrown off the Cell and since then, he hasn’t had to earn any kind of respect. He lists off some names that have earned respect in the Cell like Shawn, Undertaker and HHH, but Punk doesn’t seem impressed.

Punk asks if Foley wants the old CM Punk. Foley says he wants Punk to show that he’s the best in the world by stepping inside the Cell with John Cena. The fans want it too but Punk talks about how he’s heard this speech from Foley and Cena and Hart and look where he is now: in the ring with someone else beneath him. Punk has done everything that everyone has told him he had to do to earn respect but he hasn’t gotten it yet. He talks about Foley jumping off a house and setting himself on fire and all those things, but Punk isn’t going to lower himself to that.

Punk talks about the amount of days that he’s been world champion, whereas Foley says the important number is 29. That’s the amount of time that Foley held the title in his three reigns. It’s not stats and numbers that make you a legend but the moments that you have in the ring. Foley has talked to AJ and even though Cena has had elbow surgery, he should be ready for the PPV. It’s up to Punk if he wants to fight Cena in the Cell. Great segment here as Foley can still talk with the best of them. Punk looks a little shaken.

The Miz vs. Ryback

Non-title here. Miz gets in a single shot to start and is launched across the ring. Ryback misses a charge into the corner but Miz’s neckbreaker is countered into a powerslam. Ryback slams the champ’s head into the mat and Miz bails to the floor. Miz manages to kick him into the barricade and hits some kicks to the head and the low DDT back in the ring for one. A powerbomb kills Miz and we’ve got a fan in the ring. There’s the clothesline to take Miz’s head off. Shell Shock and Miz is done at 2:56. Basically a squash which is a great sign for Ryback.

Back to Kane and Bryan who are now eating lunch together. Kane says they’ll never be friends and Bryan agrees. They reminisce over making eight people scream with Kane pounding the table like he hit the guys and Bryan shouting YES over and over. Mae Young pops up and says she’ll have what they’re having, ala When Harry Met Sally. These two are pure gold together right now and this was another hilarious segment.

AJ talks to the referees in the back and reenforces the fact that there won’t be instant replay in the WWE. She says that it’s ok to make mistakes and go have a great rest of the show. They leave and here are Alberto and company. Tonight it’s Alberto/Otunga/Ricardo vs. Sheamus/Sin Cara/Mysterio. AJ leaves and Ricardo is all fired up about this.

Wade Barrett vs. Tyson Kidd

Kidd fires off some dropkicks to start but gets kicked in the ribs to slow him down. Barrett puts him in the ropes and kicks him in the face and out to the floor. I’m digging this slower pace from Barrett and the beard is a great touch. Back in and Kidd gets his sunset rollup for two but walks into the Boss Man Slam for two. The forearm/elbow to the head which is called the Souvenir knocks Kidd out for the pin at 2:20.

It’s time for the interview with Lawler who is sitting on a freaking throne. That’s awesome. Lawler gets a huge ovation. His voice isn’t sounding right but it’s because he had a ventilator down his throat for so long. Lawler says he remembers Hart and Punk having their confrontation but he doesn’t remember anything after that. He doesn’t even remember his match that night. When he woke up, he thought he was in Aruba with his girlfriend where he had been two weeks before the heart attack.

Lawler is overwhelmed by the response and thanks the fans for their love. Cole asks the big question: when is Lawler going to be back? Jerry says this was a long time coming, as he had to sit by Cole for three hours every week and anyone would have a heart attack from that. He’ll be back as soon as his doctors say it’s ok for him to do so. This was an awesome moment.

Ricardo Rodriguez/David Otunga/Alberto Del Rio vs. Rey Mysterio/Sheamus/Sin Cara

Ricardo introduces himself in a funny spot. This is joined in progress after a break with Otunga getting beaten up by Sheamus. Cara and Mysterio hit big dives through the ropes to take out Alberto and Ricardo, but it seems to have hurt Rey’s knee. Cara comes in and speeds things up against Ricardo who is wrestling in a tux. Rey is back on the apron now. A shot to the back of Cara’s head gets two and it’s off to Del Rio.

Alberto kicks Cara in the ribs and hits a Rollins Blackout for two. Ricardo comes back in and goes for Cara’s mask, only to get arm dragged down. Hot tag brings in Rey who speeds things up and hits his kicks to the head for two. Rey goes up but gets caught by a running enziguri to the head for two. The Prime Time Players are watching in the back. Back to Ricardo who gets some basic stomps and brings in Otunga. Make that Alberto as the heels are tagging in and out very fast as is the custom in WWE anymore.

Del Rio hits another running enzugri for another two and it’s off to a chinlock with a knee in the back. Rey fights up and hits a dropkick and makes the tag to Sheamus. Otunga escapes White Noise and ducks the Brogue Kick before tagging in Rodriguez. There are the ten forearms and one more after the shirt is ripped open. 619 takes out Ricardo but he has to beat up Alberto. Sin Cara comes in with a springboard Swanton for the pin on Ricardo at 7:46 shown.

Rating: C. This was fine for what it was. The good guys got to beat up the bad guys, but we need another opponent for Sheamus. I’ve heard rumors of a name but I don’t want to spoil it. Either way it’s WAY better than Alberto, so hopefully the announcement of the next feud is made on Friday because I can’t take more of Del Rio’s whining. This was fine and felt like a fun house show main event.

Otunga takes a Brogue Kick post match.

Back to the diner with Shelby, Kane and Bryan all at the table now. The waitress brings a plate of vegetables and a plate of meatballs and puts them in front of the opposite person that would usually eat either. Both take bites to learn how the other half lives. Kane belches loudly and Bryan says it wasn’t as bad as he thought it would be before vomiting on Shelby’s lap. Kane of course bends over to look and says check please.

Cole gives us the options for Kane and Bryan’s team name:

Team Teamwork

Team HELL NO

Team Friendship

The team is officially named…….Team HELL NO by a pretty wide margin. That’s the name I was hoping for. As they stand there though, Sandow and Rhodes run in and jump the champions. Cody names their team Team Rhodes Scholars.

We recap Heyman proposing to AJ earlier as well as Foley and Punk.

Layla/Alicia Fox vs. Eve Torres/Beth Phoenix

Layla and Beth start but it’s quickly off to Alicia for a sunset flip out of the corner for two. Beth powerslams her down and hits a slingshot suplex as she tags in Eve for the neckbreaker and the pin at 1:30.

Post match Kaitlyn comes out and says she found the security footage of her attack. The face couldn’t be seen, but it was a blonde. Eve accuses Beth but she says no. Eve decks Beth and lays her out with the neckbreaker.

Brodus Clay vs. Tensai

They charge at each other and fight over a tieup. Brodus headbutts him down and hits the suplex but the splash misses. Tensai’s backsplash misses….and here’s Big Show. Tensai gets knocked out for the DQ at 1:48.

Brodus charges into a knockout punch too.

Orton vs. Big Show on Friday.

Here’s Cena to close things out. The fans are mostly booing him even though his arm is in a sling at the moment. He wasn’t supposed to be here but he needed to be here to thank the fans personally. He thanks the fans for their support of the cancer research support which is very cool. Cena says it’s been a rough week and it sounds great to hear those boos again. We get a Cena chant and there isn’t any sucking involved.

Cena wants to apologize to Chad Patton and Brad Maddox, the referees that have been in trouble. He says consider the source, and also apologizes for Punk. Punk has misquoted Cena by saying that leaving Night of Champions as champion would be a moment. Cena goes into a PG tirade which makes me chuckle for some reason. He also wants to apologize for the sling he’s in. Cena can’t guarantee anything other than he’s going to walk into HIAC as a fighter.

That brings out Punk and Heyman with the champ saying that Cena should be a politician. There’s one CM Punk and he beat Cena at Money in the Bank last year and back to back years at Summerslam. Punk isn’t about to lose to a one armed man, so Cena says why don’t you just fight me in the Cell and see what happens. The champ says no with a reason being that Cena keeps getting title shots.

That’s not the top reason though. Cena isn’t going to be medically cleared because of what Punk is going to do to him. Punk says run because if Cena is around when Punk turns back around, he’s going to hurt John like he hasn’t been hurt in a long time. Punk turns around and counts but Cena pulls out a lead pipe. Heyman runs and Cena hits Punk in the ribs with the pipe. Cena: “REAL MEN WEAR PINK!” John says that’s a pipe bomb as Punk crawls away to end the show.

Actually scratch that as Punk is shown in the back walking by a line of people.  Foley looks at him but Punk keeps walking.  Punk turns around and kicks Foley in the groin.  He turns around and sees RYBACK.  Punk backs away terrified to really end the show.

Overall Rating: B. I don’t know what changed in the WWE lately but they’re on a roll. Since Night of Champions there’s an energy that this company hasn’t had in a long time and it’s showing off. Between the tag division actually existing and Bryan/Kane stealing every show and Punk nailing it on the mic and Sheamus FINALLY not feuding with Del Rio anymore and a bunch of new guys getting pushes, things are really looking up around here. This was another good and entertaining show, and it’s so nice to be able to say that about Raw again.

Results

Dolph Ziggler b. Kofi Kingston – Zig Zag

Prime Time Players b. Santino Marella/Zack Ryder – Clash of the Titus to Marella

Ryback b. The Miz – Shell Shock

Wade Barrett b. Tyson Kidd – Souvenir

Sheamus/Sin Cara/Rey Mysterio b. Ricardo Rodriguez/David Otunga/Alberto Del Rio – Springboard Swanton Bomb to Rodriguez

Eve Torres/Beth Phoenix b. Layla/Alicia Fox – Swinging Neckbreaker to Fox

Tensai b. Brodus Clay via DQ when Big Show interfered

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews

Cena had elbow surgery today but it doesn’t seem to make a difference as he’ll only be out 2-3 weeks and the PPV is in about 6 weeks.  See what happens when you give yourselves some space between PPVs?  Good things can happen.

Monday Night Raw
Date: September 17, 2012
Location: Webster Bank Arena, Bridgeport, Connecticut
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield, Jim Ross

It’s the night after Night of Champions and we have a dispute in the world title scene. Cena and Punk went to a draw last night and now we have six weeks to set up Hell in a Cell and the final showdown (for this feud). Also we have some great news in that Lawler has gone home after the heart attack last week and we have JBL filling in for him. JBL was awesome last night so I have no issues with him here tonight. Let’s get to it.

Here’s Heyman to Punk’s music to open the show. He talks about Cena not winning the title last night and mentions the controversy from last night’s main event. Heyman asks referee Chad Patton to come out and we get a still photo from last night which shows all four shoulders down. Patton says he made the right decision which Heyman agrees with. Heyman talks about some fan cam footage showing the ending of the match. Apparently it’s been taken off Youtube but we see it anyway.

Heyman rants a bit more and here’s Cena. Even his Titantron stuff is now pink. Nothing wrong with charity stuff. Cena tells Heyman to shut up and says it was the right call. Cena says it wasn’t him that took the video down and says that last night he said to Chad that you can’t end the match in a tie because it’s like ending the Super Bowl in a tie. John wants to know if that gives Punk the respect that he craves and Heyman says it does.

Cena says that they have different definitions of respect because a draw isn’t something that gets respect. He wants to know who the winner is and he wants to know tonight. Punk isn’t here tonight apparently but Heyman is the voice of the voice of the voiceless. Cue Alberto of all people to complain about the Brogue Kick being legalized at the last minute. Del Rio wants another title shot so here’s AJ who has no jurisdiction over that I don’t think. Tonight it’s Punk/Del Rio vs. Sheamus/Cena. Heyman goes after AJ but she skips away.

Cole is wearing a Long Live The King shirt. That’s a nice touch. He’s alone at the commentary table right now. We see a Tout from Lawler from last week and we’re told he’s gone home to Memphis. That’s awesome news. Lawler will be here via satellite next week.

JBL comes out for commentary. AND SO DOES JIM ROSS! WITH THE BEARD!

Sin Cara/Rey Mysterio vs. Epico/Primo

Cara and Primo start us off and some double teaming gets two on Primo. Off to Rey as we take a break. Back with Epico holding Cara in a front facelock before it’s back to Primo. A tornado DDT puts Primo down and it’s off to Epico and Rey. Rey speeds things up and it’s back to Cara. Both cousins get caught in a 619 and Cara hits a Swanton for the pin on Epico at 6:52. Most of that was in the break so no rating but it was a squash.

Post match the Prime Time Players jump Mysterio and Cara. My goodness it’s almost like THERE ARE TAG TEAMS THAT ARE FEUDING FOR A SHOT AT THE BELTS! LIKE A DIVISION! Titus says they’re tired of having things taken from them and Young says that ends now. The Players seem to be a lot more serious now.

The new champs defend against the old champs tonight. See that? FIVE actual teams!

We talk about breast cancer a bit.

Miz has his own talk show called MizTV now.

Beth Phoenix vs. Eve Torres

Non-title here and Layla is on commentary. JBL is back on the conspiracy theory thing from last night. Beth shoves the new champion down as Layla thinks Eve is behind Kaitlyn’s injury. Beth pounds away on Eve and is being all aggressive here for some reason. She loads up the Glam Slam but Eve kicks Beth in the shin to break it up. That gets her nowhere as Beth pounds on Eve in the corner. Eve escapes snake eyes and rolls Beth up for the 1:47. What was up with this? Eve looked like she was a jobber until the end.

Layla and Eve have a staredown post match.

Brodus Clay vs. Heath Slater

They’ve cut out Brodus’ speech before the intros. The good news here: Cesaro is on commentary and is being asked about Brodus a lot. Slater gets in some offense to start but Brodus makes his comeback. A Cesaro distraction lets Slater hit what I think is his finisher (falling cutter) for two. Slater goes up and jumps into the headbutt. The splash gets the pin at 2:05.

Here’s Miz for his talk show. He brags about keeps the title last night and talks about what you get an Intercontinental Champion. You get him a talk show of course. He talks about how great his show is compared to everyone else because he’ll be controversial and awesome. He proved that last night when he beat the three best guys his guest could throw at him. Here’s Booker and Miz talks about how his career is better than Booker’s. Miz points out that he beat three guys BLINDFOLDED last night. That’s awesome indeed.

Miz won’t let Booker talk but the fans chant for Booker. Miz asks about the Brogue Kick being reinstated and thinks it’s because Booker misses the spotlight. Booker finally gets in a word and says that Miz needs a new guest. It’s someone used to beating more than one person at once. Cue RYBACK! YES! Miz runs and Ryback destroys the set. A couch misses Miz and the idiot fans chant Goldberg as usual. HE GORILLA PRESSES A SOFA! GOOD FREAKING NIGHT! Did I mention I’m a big Ryback fan?

We see Lawler’s Tout again and hear the announcements from earlier.

Josh interrupts Punk and Heyman in the back. Punk isn’t looking forward to teaming with Del Rio tonight and is annoyed at still not getting respect.

Santino Marella vs. Dolph Ziggler

JBL isn’t a Cobra fan to say the least. Santino tosses Ziggler down to start and gets dropkicked in the face. Dolph whips him in and Santino power walks. A jackknife cover gets two and Santino hooks an armbar. Ziggler comes back with a neckbreaker and elbow drop for two. He stuffs the Cobra in Santino’s mouth (keep it PG please) and it’s a slow motion slugout. Santino does his comeback stuff but there’s no Cobra. Vickie steals the sock and the distraction lets Ziggler hit the Zig Zag for no cover. Another Zig Zag gets the pin at 4:10.

Rating: D+. It’s a freaking sock. Why is this supposed to be entertaining? I get that it’s for the kids and at least it didn’t have magical powers tonight, but the fact that I just had to type that should sum up all of the problems that I have with this character right now. At least this was a squash, but it says a lot that this is Ziggler’s biggest win in weeks.

Wade Barrett vs. Justin Gabriel

Gabriel speeds things up to start but Wade kicks him in the ribs and we head to the floor. Back in the ring and Barrett works over the ribs and back some more. A right hand to the head gets two and it’s back to the ribs. The fans who still won’t shut up now want Nexus. Barrett’s pumphandle slam is countered and Gabriel hits a top rope Lionsault for two. Barrett pulls on his nose and hits a big forearm/punch for the pin at 4:12.

Rating: C. Not bad here but I’m not wild on Barrett using a forearm as a finisher. It does fit with his character at least which is the right idea. I’m certainly not a fan of the match focusing on Gabriel’s ribs before a big right hand ending the match. Still though it’s good to see Barrett back and I like his grizzled look better than the clean cut one.

Truth and Kofi are having a birthday party but they can’t figure out who it’s for. It’s for SUBWAY and the Jerrid guy is here with sandwiches for them. The guys leave and here’s Sandow with an idea for a sandwich. Ryder shows up and offers the WOO WOO WOO You Know It sub. Ryback comes up and takes a sandwich. FEED ME MORE. He takes another sandwich and leaves. This goes less than nowhere. It takes us backwards.

Sheamus and Cena are in the back and Cena looks distracted. He didn’t win last night and he isn’t sure what’s going to happen in the future. Sheamus says don’t worry about it and we’ll toast the end of Punk’s reign tonight.

Kane and Bryan are telling anyone that will listen that they’re the tag champions. That would be they’re alone and shouting that they’re “the tag team champions.”

We get a clip of Lawler landing in Memphis.

Tag Titles: Kofi Kingston/R-Truth vs. Kane/Daniel Bryan

The place EXPLODES for Bryan. Kane and Bryan get in an argument before the match about who starts and the fans chant YES. Bryan and Kofi start things off and dang can Kofi jump. Off to Truth as the former champions work over the arm. Bryan charges into Truth’s boot and a cross body gets two for Kofi. Off to Kane and Kofi fires off some shots to the body which get him punched in the face. Kofi low bridges Kane and backdrops Bryan onto the big man. They get in a fight over THAT too and we take a break.

Back with Truth breaking free of a bearhug from Kane and getting some feet up in the corner. A middle rope dropkick puts Kane down and it’s off to Kofi who comes in off the top with a shot to Kane’s head. The top rope crossbody gets two for Kofi and there’s the Boom Drop. The kick is caught in a chokeslam but Kofi escapes and goes up, only to jump into the uppercut. Kane holds his arm up for the chokeslam and Bryan tags himself in, leading to argument #3.

Truth gets the tag and hits the spinning forearm to Bryan followed by the release sitout suplex for two. Back to Kofi who cranks on the arm a bit and the former champions hit a double Russian legsweep for two. Bryan sends Truth into the buckle with a drop toehold and it’s off to Kane with the top rope clothesline.

The low dropkick gets two on Truth and the sidewalk slam looks to set up the chokeslam, but Kane has to stop to look at Bryan who tries another blind tag. Kane tries to chokeslam him but Bryan guillotines him on the ropes. Little Jimmy gets two on Kane as Bryan saves his mistake. There’s the chokeslam to Truth but Bryan tags himself in for the NO Lock and the submission at 12:46.

Rating: C. This is another example of a match that isn’t so much good as it was entertaining. The arguing champions are still great and the division actually means something at this point which is more than they’ve been in years. I have no idea where this is going but it’s very entertaining.

Post match they fight AGAIN over who is the tag team champions. I can feel my old English teachers cringing at that line. Bryan wants to hug it out as Kane has both titles. They hug and Bryan steals a belt, leading to fight #5.

BE A STAR! FROM LAST MARCH!

Randy Orton vs. Tensai

Tensai powers him into the corner to start and elbows Orton down before working over the back in the corner. A powerslam gets two and it’s time for more face crushing. Time for a bearhug and then a nerve hold. Sweet goodness this is dull stuff. Orton finally hits a powerslam and the Elevated DDT and after the first attempt is countered, the RKO gets the pin at 6:00.

Rating: D. SWEET GOODNESS FIRE TENSAI ALREADY! The guy is not interesting at all and he’s dragging down every match he’s in. Orton had a great match last night but here we get this dull thing because we need to sit around and let Tensai use his slow and incredibly boring offense. The Japanese thing does nothing for him at all either. Just dreadful and Orton is better than this.

Otunga and Del Rio meet with Punk and Heyman with Harvard Boy saying he thinks Punk sleeps in a box on the street. Punk whispers to Heyman and Heyman says Del Rio should go back to Survivor Series last year where Punk beat him for the title.

Here’s Sandow to make fun of the commentary tonight. He has a list of vocabulary words that may help us for the upcoming school year. Sandow explains a few words before Ryder finally interrupts him. He has two words for Sandow: shut and up.

Zack Ryder vs. Damien Sandow

This is joined in progress with Sandow (in light purple tonight) controlling Ryder with a headlock on the mat. Ryder sends him to the floor and hits a plancha which gets two back in the ring. Sandow comes back with a knee to the ribs followed by a chinlock. A Russian legsweep sets up the wind up elbow for two. A rollup and small package get two each for Ryder and a facejam takes Sandow down.

Ryder hits a running forearm in the corner but Sandow heads to the floor before the Broski Boot can hit. Back in and Sandow runs into the knees in the corner. There’s the Boot but it only gets two. Not that it matters though as the double arm neckbreaker gets the pin at 5:34.

Rating: C-. Nothing much to see here but at least Sandow had to go a bit longer in the ring. He and Ryder do seem like a natural pairing but I don’t know if I can see a full on feud between the two of them. At least it’s better than Sandow getting beaten up by Brodus all the time though. Not much here though.

John Cena/Sheamus vs. Alberto Del Rio/CM Punk

Punk holds up the title for a LONG time before the match starts. We come back from a break and the match STILL hasn’t started. Del Rio and Cena start although I didn’t hear a bell. Del Rio fires off some kicks to the legs but Cena comes back with a monkey flip and backdrop for two. Off to Sheamus who beats up Del Rio a bit more before it’s off to Punk. Cena comes in and immediately tries the AA but Punk bails to the floor where he wants time out.

Cena got thumbed in the eye somewhere in there and Punk stomps away on him. Off to Del Rio who works on the arm a bit. Cena finally gets in a shot and brings in Sheamus who hits the ten forearms in the ropes. White Noise hits and Sheamus loads up the Brogue Kick. He has to stop to take out Punk though and Del Rio takes Sheamus down. Punk comes in and hooks a bow and arrow to take over.

Del Rio comes back in for a chinlock followed by the Blackout (it’s the running foot to the back to drive Sheamus into the mat. NXT Champion Seth Rollins uses it as a finisher) for two. Del Rio charges into the Irish Curse and both guys are down. Double tag brings in Punk vs. Cena with John starting his finishing sequence. The Shuffle is blocked but Cena counters into the STF. Alberto makes the save but Sheamus kicks Del Rio’s head off. The AA hits and gets the pin at 9:48 but Punk’s foot was on the ropes. The referee missed it and we have another messy call.

Rating: C. Standard main event tag match here with the ending being messed up to set up another match in the future, which we only kind of needed after last night. As long as Del Rio and Sheamus don’t have their fourth match on PPV I’m ok there, but I’m guessing we’ll get a challenger for him on Smackdown. The match was fine but it wasn’t the super match the announcers hyped it up as.

Punk yells at the referee post match and won’t let him leave. He follows the referee up the ramp to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. I liked this show a lot and if they didn’t have about an hour in the middle of it, the show would have been a great one. I’m REALLY excited about the idea of Ryback and Brodus having title feuds and the pushing of Sin Cara is a good sign too. We’re getting a significant amount of new people being pushed and that’s something that has been needed for a long time. Good show tonight and a good followup to the great PPV last night.

Results

Rey Mysterio/Sin Cara b. Epico/Primo – Swanton Bomb to Epico

Eve Torres b. Beth Phoenix – Rollup

Brodus Clay b. Heath Slater – Splash

Dolph Ziggler b. Santino Marella – Zig Zag

Wade Barrett b. Justin Gabriel – Right Hand

Daniel Bryan/Kane b. Kofi Kingston/R-Truth – NO Lock to R-Truth

Randy Orton b. Tensai – RKO

Damien Sandow b. Zach Ryder – Double Arm Neckbreaker

John Cena/Sheamus b. CM Punk/Alberto Del Rio – AA to Punk

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews

Night of Champions 2012
Date: September 16, 2012
Location: TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield

It’s another WWE PPV here and in this case almost everything is for a title. This doesn’t really mean much as almost every show has four or five title shots but it’s an interesting theme I guess. The main event here is Cena vs. Punk III for the title with Punk defending for once, which is the third combination they could go with in their series. Other than that not much really stands out here so let’s get to it.

Pre-Show: Battle Royal

Brodus Clay, Epico, Primo, Justin Gabriel, Tensai, Tyson Kidd, Michael McGillicutty, Zach Ryder, Titus O’Neal, Darren Young, Jinder Mahal, JTG, Drew McIntyre, Heath Slater, Ted DiBiase, Santino Marella

The winner gets a US Title shot at Cesaro later in the night. Cameron is back from suspension apparently. Anybody but Santino. Anybody. Slater asks everyone to stand back so he can dance and he’s eliminated by 15 people at once. McGillicutty is thrown out as is DiBiase in about 40 seconds. Brodus dumps Primo and Mahal a few seconds later. The problem in battle royals is that there isn’t much else to say other than who tosses out who until we get to the end. Brodus puts out Epico and Tensai LAUNCHES Gabriel out.

Kidd is sent to the apron and tries a slingshot hurricanrana but gets powerbombed onto the pile of people. The monsters square off and Santino tries a double Cobra to no avail. The Players and McIntyre team up and dump Brodus, who may have hurt his shoulder. The Cobra puts JTG out and Ryder dropkicks McIntyre out. Brodus leaves and his shoulder seems fine so maybe it was just something quick. There’s the Cobra and it drops Tensai and Young, with the latter getting covered.

O’Neal dumps Santino and we’re down to Titus, Young, Tensai and Ryder. Titus suplexes Young onto Tensai before the partners go after Ryder. The Players double team Ryder but get dumped by Tensai. Tensai thought Ryder went out but he slid back in. Tensai charges into the double knee in the corner but he blocks the Rough Ryder into a powerbomb position. He goes to dump Ryder but Ryder counters into a hurricanrana to eliminate Tensai for the win at 5:42.

Rating: C-. It’s a battle royal so there isn’t much to say here. Ryder getting the shot is fine as the fans are going to react to him. He doesn’t have much of a chance against Cesaro but that’s ok as I’m sure more than one other title will change hands tonight. This was about what you would expect, but at least Santino didn’t win which would have been insufferable.

The opening video is all about Cena vs. Punk. They aren’t even hiding that the Smackdown Title means nothing does it?

Cole talks about the Lawler story and says that Jerry is going home this weekend. That’s great to hear. JBL is introduced as the replacement and says that he’s just keeping the seat warm for Lawler.

Intercontinental Title: The Miz vs. Sin Cara vs. Rey Mysterio vs. Cody Rhodes

Before the match, Miz complains about having to be in this and says that he’s going to file a complaint against Booker T for making him do this. Miz is champion coming in if you’re new at this. Rey is sent to the floor to start but Cara sends Cody to the floor as well before armdragging Miz outside too. Cody and Rey come back in as Cara drops to the mat for no apparent reason.

It’s time for the masked guys to fight. I know this has been a match people have wanted to see and I’m not really sure why. Rey takes Cara down for two but Cody makes the save. The unmasked guys go at it for awhile and everything breaks down. Rey goes up but takes too long so Cara goes after him. The Disaster Kick hits Cara but Miz breaks up a superplex so he can hook a Tower of Doom which gets two on Rey. Miz sends Cody to the floor as the fans sound like they’re chanting for Cody.

The short DDT gets two on Rey but Cara comes back with some high flying stuff to send Miz to the floor, followed by a big dive. Rey hits a headscissors on Cody on the floor followed by a seated senton off the apron. Cara gets two on the champ off a slingshot senton but he gets sent into the corner for the corner clothesline from Miz. Rey comes in with a kind of Vader Bomb for two (why has that move become so popular lately?) but Cody jumps him from behind for two of his own.

Cara puts Cody in 619 position but gets sent into the post by Miz. Miz goes after Rey but winds up taking the 619 instead. The top rope splash gets two for Rey on Miz but Cody saves. Cody tries to steal the pin on Miz but Cara saves. Cody goes for Cara’s mask but Rey saves. Rey gets sent to the floor with his sliding bump and Cara hits Cody in the head with an enziguri from the apron.

Cara tries to put another mask on Cody but Miz runs in and hits a backbreaker/neckbreaker combo for two on Cara. Miz tries to powerbomb Cara but Cara puts the mask on him instead. Cody tries Cross Rhodes on Cara but Miz bumps into them (he can’t see because of the mask) and hits the Finale on Cody for the pin to retain at 12:42.

Rating: B-. This was a great choice for an opener as they hit a great streak of near falls and saves in there. The ending was creative but I’m really not sure what it added. Miz pinning Cody doesn’t mean anything significant and he would have hit the Finale on him in that situation if he could see or not. Good opener here which got the crowd fired up.

The Prime Time Players are talking to Eve when someone comes up to tell her there’s an emergency. Eve runs off and finds Kaitlyn down with a bad ankle. She isn’t sure who attacked her but Eve says they’ll figure out something.

We recap the Anger Management story with I believe the same video that aired on Friday. Basically Kane and Bryan both have anger issues and have been sent to anger management, resulting in some wacky outcomes and a tag title shot tonight.

Kofi Kingston/R-Truth vs. Kane/Daniel Bryan

Kane and Kofi start but it’s quickly off to Truth. The big man powers Truth down and it’s off to Bryan for some NO kicks which drive him crazy. Truth armdrags him down and it’s back to Kofi with a top rope forearm for two. A BIG kick to the face puts Bryan down and it’s back to Truth for the spinning legdrop. The champions are the heels here by default, but it’s more like they’re just the less popular team.

Back to Kane who pounds Truth down into the corner and stomps away a bit. Back to Bryan and the fans erupt. The fans are going to turn this guy face by force soon and it’s going to be massive. Bryan fires off some kicks for two and it’s back to Kane for a low dropkick for two. The challengers try to work together but Bryan misses a dropkick in the corner and it’s time for a fight.

They almost brawl but Bryan wants to hug it out, drawing the pop of the night so far. JBL freaking out over stuff is something I’ve missed. Truth FINALLY makes the hot tag after apparently writing the great American novel while the challengers hugged. Kofi hits his usual stuff and it sounds like the fans are booing him.

Kane pulls Bryan to the floor to avoid Trouble in Paradise and they get in another argument. Kofi dropkicks Kane and (almost) hits a flip dive onto Bryan. NO Lock to Kofi doesn’t work as Truth makes the save to more booing. Bryan kicks Kofi in the face but Kane tags himself in and loads up the clothesline. Another argument with Bryan lets Kofi run up for a rana but Bryan holds Kane’s foot. Kane stays on the top but Bryan shoves him off into a splash to Kofi to win the titles at 8:30.

Rating: B-. This was different but the fans ate it up with a spoon. There was absolutely no other option for this match as Kane and Bryan are currently over like free beer in a frat house. The pop for the win is bigger than probably all of the reactions for a tag title match in the last five years combined, so at least people are paying attention now.

Both guys say they’re the champions post match but Kane sends fire from the posts to end the argument.

Kaitlyn can’t go tonight and Eve says no one deserves the title match tonight. Booker says Eve can have it. Teddy isn’t pleased.

Cole and JBL talk about breast cancer and how WWE is partnering with a cancer research foundation which is why the middle rope is pink. Nothing wrong with that at all.

US Title: Zack Ryder vs. Antonio Cesaro

Ryder won the preshow battle royal to get this shot. The word of the night is Unfair, which is what Cesaro thinks this match is. Cesaro takes him down with ease to start but Ryder takes Cesaro down by the wrist to counter. A flapjack and dropkick get two for Ryder but Cesaro shrugs them off and hooks a chinlock. A clothesline gets two for Cesaro as does the gutwrench suplex.

Cesaro gets the same off a regular suplex and the fans cheer for Ryder. They slug it out but Cesaro throws him into the air and hits the European uppercut for two. Cesaro hooks a reverse neckbreaker but pulls Ryder onto his back for a submission hold. Ryder escapes and hits a discus lariat for no cover.

A rollup gets two for Ryder as does a middle rope dropkick. Ryder hits a neckbreaker for two and Cesaro rolls to the apron. He goes up but Ryder brings him down with a hurricanrana. Ryder loads up the Broski Boot but Aksana pulls him to the floor. Back in and a European Uppercut sets up the Neutralizer to retain the title at 6:40.

Rating: C-. This was perfectly fine. It wasn’t a great match at all but for a thrown together PPV title defense this was fine. Cesaro needs a bit more development but he’s fine having random challengers like this one. Ryder is good to throw out there as the people still like him so the fans react to what he does. Nothing great but this was fine.

Otunga, Del Rio and Rodriguez are in the back. Ricardo has his neck brace off and Otunga yells at him, saying it needs to be on at all times even though Ricardo says it’s not hurting anymore. They call Ricardo stupid and he puts the brace back on.

Dolph Ziggler vs. Randy Orton

Basic grudge match here. The fans like Ziggler and they fight over a lockup to start. Ziggler avoids a right hand and brags about doing so. A clothesline takes Ziggler down and Randy stomps away. Dolph comes back with a dropkick and a neckbreaker for two. Cole is playing the straight man on commentary here tonight and it’s really refreshing. Orton counters a suplex into a slingshot suplex for two.

The backbreaker sets up some clotheslines from Randy but he can’t hook the Elevated DDT. The camera keeps cutting to Vickie and it’s getting distracting. Ziggler tries a hurricanrana but Orton counters into a powerbomb. Orton gets shoved off the top and a missile dropkick gets two for Ziggler. Dang it quit cutting to her. We get it: she’s on the floor and shouting a lot. We can see that very clearly from the regular camera shot.

Ziggler drops a bunch of elbows capped off by the jumping elbow for two. Off to a chinlock with the headstand by Ziggler but this time he bridges forward to crank on the neck even more. Back up and another dropkick gets two for Ziggler. Dolph goes up but gets crotched and superplexed down for two. They slug it out and Ziggler holds his own. He runs into an elbow but takes Orton down with the Fameasser for two.

They head to the floor with Orton taking over. He hits the Elevated DDT off the barricade but Orton throws Ziggler back in instead of taking the countout. That only gets two back inside and Orton loads up the RKO but gets countered into the sleeper. Orton throws him off his back, throws Ziggler into the air and pulls him into the RKO for the pin at 18:15.

Rating: B+. Very good match here with Ziggler more than hanging with Orton. JBL pushed the idea that if Ziggler cashes in, Orton should get a title match. My guess is that they’ll go with that feud after Orton gets back from the movie which isn’t a bad idea. I’m not wild on Ziggler losing AGAIN but at least it was in a competitive match.

We get a sneak preview of Dredd 3D.

Divas Title: Layla vs. Eve Torres

I can’t say I blame them for swapping in Eve. Kaitlyn just can’t do anything in the ring. JBL is talking about the Loch Ness Monster and other conspiracy theories for some reason. Layla grabs a quick rollup for two followed by a headlock. You can see the fans walking to the back during the match. A low dropkick takes Eve down and they shake hands, only for Eve to get a cheap shot to take over. Eve hooks a headscissors choke as the fans chant OLE. Layla makes a comeback but misses her bouncing cross body. The rolling neckbreaker gives us a new champion at 6:35.

Rating: D+. The match was technically fine but my goodness the crowd being silent brings it down. Eve being champion makes sense but it’s not like the title changes anything with her. She’s FAR better in the ring than some of the girls on the roster so I can’t complain much there, but they’ve treated the title like nothing for so long that this doesn’t mean anything at all.

Some cancer survivors are here and at least they’re not booed.

Now we get a video about breast cancer.

Bryan is shouting about being the tag team champions and runs into AJ who is just standing around with her hips cocked to the side in a short skirt. She doesn’t say anything so Bryan keeps walking and runs into Dr. Shelby. Kane shows up and shouts that he’s the tag champions (I’m not messing up with grammar. That’s what they’re saying).

They get in another fight and AJ snaps and tells them to calm down. Shelby makes Bryan congratulate Kane but Kane won’t say anything. Bryan yells that he’s the tag team champions but Kane pops up and pours Gatorade over Bryan. Kane: “I’M GOING TO DISNEYLAND!” Stop the shot. Just cut it now. This isn’t going to be topped. Kane can be heard running off shouting that he’s the tag team champions and AJ loses it with laughter.

The look on JBL’s face somehow makes it even better. “I came back for THIS???”

After that hilarious moment, we bring it way down with a recap of Del Rio vs. Sheamus. In short, they had a match, Sheamus beat Del Rio, they had another match, Sheamus beat Del Rio again, Del Rio complained, now they’re having another match and Sheamus can’t use the Brogue Kick.

Smackdown World Title: Alberto Del Rio vs. Sheamus

Sheamus is in mostly white attire here which isn’t a great look for him. We get the big match intros which is a nice touch. Before the bell here’s Booker T. He’s concluded his investigation into the Brogue Kick and the move is legal, thereby making the last two weeks TOTALLY POINTLESS. Sheamus fires a quick Brogue Kick but takes out Otunga instead. Referees come out to take Otunga to the back.

JBL defends his own loss to Mysterio in 23 seconds as Sheamus pounds away in the corner. A neckbreaker gets two for Sheamus and we head to the floor where Sheamus hits the shoulder from the apron. Del Rio throws him off the steps into the announce table to take over. Back in the ring and Del Rio cranks on the arm followed by a kick to the ribs. Del Rio uses Seth Rollins’ Blackout for two. Cole is talking about the history of the title and thankfully they say it only goes back ten years.

Sheamus’ shoulder gets sent into the post and a double ax off the top to the arm gets two for Alberto. Del Rio goes up again but Sheamus knocks him off, only to have Alberto grab an armbreaker over the ropes. An attempt at another ax handle is countered by an ax handle from Sheamus. Sheamus fires off more running ax handles and rams Alberto face first into the post.

There are the ten forearms in the corner and Alberto is in trouble. White Noise is countered into a Backstabber for two. The fans want Ziggler. The Cross Armbreaker is countered into White Noise and the fans still want Ziggler. The Brogue Kick misses and there’s the enziguri in the corner for a very close two. Another Brogue Kick misses but Sheamus escapes the Armbreaker but he can’t hook the Cloverleaf.

Sheamus charges at Del Rio but gets low bridged and his arm is trapped in the ropes. Del Rio fires away kicks and Sheamus is in trouble. There’s the Armbreaker but Sheamus rolls on top of Del Rio and powerbombs him down to break the hold. Brogue Kick misses and there’s the Armbreaker AGAIN. Sheamus almost taps but makes the ropes with his feet instead. The corner enziguri misses for Del Rio and the Brogue Kick finishes clean at 14:27.

Rating: B. These matches are fine but there are three problems with the feud. First and foremost, the story is incredibly boring. I mean, they’re REALLY boring. Second, Sheamus is not going to tap out to the Armbreaker. It’s flat out not going to happen, just like 99.99% of all heel submission holds in world title matches. It just does not happen in the WWE. Third, Sheamus has beaten him twice coming into this so what was the point of a third match? This feud needs to be over now, just like it needed to be over a month ago. Still though, pretty good match.

Video on the National Guard which has some members here tonight.

We recap Punk vs. Cena. Punk has been champion for about ten months but he thinks he can’t get respect because of Cena. Tonight he gets to define his reign, whatever that is supposed to mean.

Heyman is in the ring and praises Punk, saying that Punk has described himself as a Paul Heyman Guy.

Raw World Title: John Cena vs. CM Punk

Punk has the old school hoodie on and comes out first. Cena has a new shirt. Punk’s trunks are Yankees colors. My goodness they’re pushing the tar out of this heel turn. After the big match intros we’re ready to go. Punk is getting booed but it’s not 100%. He holds up the title for like a minute before the match starts. It’s a pose off and Cena throws his shirt to the crowd where his dad catches it.

Cena takes him to the mat and Punk’s trunks even have pinstripes on them. Cena gets a quick headlock but it’s released quickly. Cole and JBL keep rattling off stats and histories which is much better than Cole laughing at stuff. A quick release fisherman’s suplex puts Punk down but Punk elbows Cena in the face to escape. Punk takes over with a headlock takeover and the dueling Cena chants begin.

Cena misses a charge in the corner and Punk dropkicks him in the face for two. They’re still in first gear. Punk walks over Cena’s body to get to the corner for some posing. That was awesome and he escapes the AA attempt on top of that. A DDT gets two for Punk and he fires some elbows to Cena’s chest. Off to a chinlock followed by a bridging Indian Deathlock and Heyman has those evil eyes going on.

They head to the floor as Cena tries to get a breather but Punk sends him right back inside. Cena baseball slides him to the floor and throws Punk into the crowd. A suplex on the floor takes Punk down and we head back inside. The AA is countered into a high kick and it’s off to a camel clutch. Back up and Punk fires off some jabs for two. The GTS is escaped and Cena starts his finishing sequence, only to counter the spinning slam into a cross body for two.

Cena avoids the neckbreaker and takes Punk’s head off with a clothesline for two. The Shuffle is blocked and Punk gets two off a neckbreaker. Punk goes up for a cross body but Cena rolls through into an AA attempt but Punk grabs the rope to block. Cena busts out a suicide dive to take Punk out. Not bad at all. Back in and Punk slaps on a very quick Anaconda Vice but Cena gets on top of Punk and puts on the STF. Punk rolls out of that into a Crossface but Cena stands up with it and slams Punk down to escape.

They slug it out with Cena taking over but he walks into a leg lariat. The knee in the corner sets up a clothesline followed by the Macho Elbow for two. Cena counters the GTS into the STF and JBL (I feel like I’m on Sesame Street) freaks out. Punk gets to the rope and the GTS hits clean for two. A kick to the head gets two and Punk slaps him in the face. GTS and AA are escaped but Cena hits the spinning slam and Shuffle followed by the AA for a VERY close two. Heyman looks like he’s 13 and finding a Playboy.

Cena goes up but misses the top rope Fameasser and there’s the high kick for ANOTHER close two. They’re in the main event slugout mode now and it’s great stuff. Punk hits some shots to the face and a spinning backfist. A knee to the head gets two and Punk goes up, only to miss a moonsault. It wouldn’t have hit even if Cena had stayed in the same place. AA is countered and a not so great GTS gets two.

Punk tries a Rock Bottom for two. Cena hits an AA out of nowhere for two. Cena puts him on the middle rope and tries a belly to back superplex but Punk knocks him off. John runs right back up and hits a middle rope German for the pin and the title at 26:54. Both of their shoulders were down and I think you know where this is going.

Yep the referee is saying not so fast (my friend) and it’s a draw.

Rating: A-. While it’s not as good as MITB (that’s an unfair expectation though) and a bit below Summerslam if I remember that match right, this was still top shelf stuff. The ending sets up another match in the Cell where it belongs and I’d certainly like to see another match between these two. I’m not wild on the ending but it makes perfect sense. Great match too.

Punk clocks Cena with the belt.

Overall Rating: A-. This was an excellent show with nothing bad on it at all. The worst match was probably the Divas and that was pretty much fine. Most importantly of all though: they treated the belts like something that mattered tonight and it made a noticeable difference. JBL on commentary was great and Bryan/Kane are still great. You had two really good matches and a bunch of other solid ones. Very good show here and probably their best PPV since Wrestlemania.

Results

The Miz b. Sin Cara, Rey Mysterio and Cody Rhodes – Miz pinned Rhodes after a Skull Crushing Finale

Kane/Daniel Bryan b. Kofi Kingston/R-Truth – Kane pinned Kingston after a top rope splash

Antonio Cesaro b. Zack Ryder – Neutralizer

Randy Orton b. Dolph Ziggler – RKO

Eve Torres b. Layla – Spinning Neckbreaker

Sheamus b. Alberto Del Rio – Brogue Kick

John Cena vs. CM Punk went to a draw

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews

The show is tomorrow and it feels like we could spend another month building it up.Starting with the preshow and the match that it sets up, there’s no way to know what’s going on.  The obvious answer is it depends on who wins the battle royal, and since we don’t know who’s in the battle royal, there’s no way to know who is getting the shot and therefore if I think they’ll win.  My guess is that it’ll be Kidd or Brodus and I can’t see Kidd getting the title.  Brodus……I can’t quite see that either but the match would be a tossup.  Other options would be Christian or Big Show but I can’t see it being the Canadian.  If it’s Show…..yeah they’d likely give him the belt.

Kane and Bryan winning the tag titles is the only logical ending to the tag title match.  There is zero reason to have Kofi and Truth keep the titles while Kane and Bryan are doing the most entertaining stuff in the company by miles and miles.  If there’s anything that should be a layup for the bookers, it’s this.

As for the IC Title, the usual way of thinking would say Miz retains the title because he sneaks in and steals the pin, but for some reason I don’t see that happening. Cody winning the title and setting up a mask vs. title match against either Rey or Cara would work fine, or either masked guy could take the title.  It would possibly give the fans a reason to care about Cara, but I don’t think it would do much good.  Rey has no need for the thing other than to feud with Cody more, but I think if it’s going to change it goes to Cody.  Odds are it’ll stay with Miz though and that’s probably the right idea.  One other thing: I love the combination of the title and the established feud.  That’s an old school booking move and the current product could use more of those techniques.

Kaitlyn vs. Layla.  The coin came up heads so we’ll say Layla retains.

Ziggler vs. Orton.  This is one of those matches I’m not sure where they’re going.  Orton is leaving to film the movie so he doesn’t need the win, but at the same time Ziggler is Mr. MITB which means he’s hardly ever allowed to win a major match.  My instinct would be that Ziggler wins andtakes Orton out somehow so Orton can go film the movie and then perhaps Ziggler wins the title in the meantime, setting up a rematch later on for the title.

I’ve been watching wrestling for a very long time and honestly I can’t think of a world title feud that interests me less than Sheamus vs. Del Rio.  Sheamus is one of my favorite guys but sweet goodness this feud isn’t doing anything for anyone.  Del Rio is such a boring and uninteresting character and he’s lost clean(ish) to Sheamus every single time.  What in the world is the point in seeing this AGAIN?  Yeah Sheamus can’t use the Brogue Kick, but he has like 3 other finishers so it doesn’t mean much at all.  Sheamus to retain and PLEASE let that be the final time these two fight ever again.
That leaves the main event with Punk vs. Cena and they really could go either way with this.  At the end of the day, Punk is living in Cena’s shadow and it’s driving him crazy.  ALl roads lead to January and the Rumble match with Rock, which likely sets up the rematch with Cena at Mania 29.  Based on that, I’ll go with Punk to retain here, but I don’t know if he’ll survive all the way until January.  Either way the reign isn’t lasting until my birthday in February.  Punk to retain but not by much.

Overall, this is a show that has the potential to be good on paper but the build for it hasn’t quite worked.  The whole company is running at half speed at the moment and they need a shot in the arm.  The stories aren’t bad but they’re not doing a good job of making people care.  It’s like they’re running with an anchor and they need something good to light a fire under them.  Maybe that’s this show.

Last night when I was writing the review I was thinking about Lawler and not really focused on the promo and I thought I’d talk about it a bit more here.I thought the promo was excellent and it really sold the story they’re telling.  The idea of Punk being delusional about his greatness and having the issue of respect going to his head and beyond is a classic but in Punk’s case his reign is starting to back it up.  Having Bret, one of the guys that Punk was so sure he was leaps and bounds ahead of take the champ down with a single punch was great as it woke Punk up and brought him somewhat back to reality.  You could see it in his eyes at the end of the night that he had gotten a wakeup call and that he could see the potential of what could happen to him on Sunday.

Also you have Cena who is his usual self and great in the big match promo.  People criticize him for being too perfect, but that’s the way his character is.  I really don’t get the idea of him being untouchable as he’s lost over and over throughout the last few years, including losing clean in the biggest match of his life.  I can kind of understand the idea of people not being happy that the loss just bounced off of him, but that’s how Cena works: he wants to be in WWE and do his thing no matter if he wins or loses.  He takes everything in stride and realizes that tomorrow is a new day and a new chance to win.  He’s very optimistic and he doesn’t dwell on hislosses.  That’s his character and I don’t get why people hate it so much.

Overall it’s a great promo and it makes me want to see their fight on Sunday even more.