Main Event
Date: October 3, 2012
Location: BOK Center, Tulsa, Oklahoma
Commentators: Michael Cole, The Miz

This is the debut of a new show because seven and a half hours of free TV a week wasn’t enough apparently. The main event tonight is Punk vs. Sheamus in a champion vs. champion match which could main event a PPV, but instead we’re getting it on Ion Television at 8pm on a Wednesday night because that’s how WWE works. Let’s get to it.

The opening video is just about the exact same thing any opening video is. The theme song sounds like something from Shinedown.

Miz and Cole are in the ring to open things up. Cole talks about the champion vs. champion match which is just thrown together and there’s no reason for them to fight other than they’re champions. They talk about Punk a bit and here’s a video on Punk, likely from his DVD. There are some clips from what looks like IWA-Mid South. This is definitely from the DVD as it talks about his beginnings. We get some OVW and ECW clips as well. We move on to Punk rising up the WWE ladder and I don’t get why we’re seeing this. If this was some big major show it would be one thing, but this is on ION Television, not NBC.

Punk is in the back warming up when Striker has a question for him. He’s going to win tonight and maybe that’ll be enough for him to get some respect.

Sheamus makes fun of Punk for wanting respect and is going to give that to Punk by kicking him in the face.

Here’s a video on Sheamus so he doesn’t get jealous.

Sheamus vs. CM Punk

Non-title of course. We get big-match intros at least. Punk grabs a headlock and shouts spots in Sheamus’ ear as is his custom. Sheamus puts on one of his own as it looks like we’re in for a long match. Punk takes him to the corner but Sheamus kicks Punk away. The Smackdown Champion (Sheamus) pulls himself to the top but gets shoved to the floor as we take a break.

Back with Sheamus guillotining Punk on the top rope and stomping away in the corner, only to get pulled face first into the middle buckle. Punk drops a knee for no cover. That spot between Sheamus’ eyes seems to be bleeding. Punk goes after the shoulder and hits a neckbreaker for two. Sheamus gets back up and starts speeding things up with a high knee followed by a powerslam for two.

Sheamus sets for the ten forearms in the ropes but Punk blocks the first one and hits a high kick for two as we take another break. Back with Sheamus holding his arm on the floor. The arm seems to be fine though as he snaps off a forearm and hits a slingshot shoulder for two. Sheamus loads up the Brogue Kick but Punk hides in the corner. The buckle pad is pulled off as Punk is pulled out and there are the ten forearms to the chest.

White Noise gets two and the fans are getting into this. Heyman seems to be praying or muttering to himself at ringside. Sheamus loads up the Cloverleaf but Punk punches his way out of it. There’s a running knee in the corner followed by the Savage Elbow for two. The GTS is countered and Sheaamus gets the Cloverleaf on in the middle of the ring.

Punk manages to get to a rope and Heyman is panicking even more. They both come out of the corner and Punk charges into the Irish Curse. Sheamus charges again but Punk drop toeholds him into the exposed buckle and rolls Sheamus up with the tights for the pin at 12:18 shown of approximately 18:18.

Rating: B. Good match here and the fact that there was as close to a clean pin as there was is amazing. Sheamus hadn’t lost a singles match since like July but at least it was to another main event guy. For a first match on a new show this was excellent and it was a very good match all around anyway.

Post match Sheamus says he gets why Punk doesn’t get respect. He promises a Brogue Kick for Punk in the future.

Miz and Cole talk for a good while.

After a break, Punk and Heyman are incensed at being accused of winning through means not entirely on the level. Heyman wants to know what Punk has to do to earn Josh’s respect and Josh of course says it’s to go inside the Cell with Cena.

The main event for next week is Show vs. Orton so Show says that it’ll be Orton’s last appearance on this show next week.

Tag Team Tournament First Round: Santino Marella/Zack Ryder vs. Tyson Kidd/Justin Gabriel

Santino and Gabriel get things going with Gabriel grabbing a quick headlock. The winners of this get the Rhodes Scholars. Gabriel tries a leg sweep but Santino jumps over it and tries one of his own in slow motion. Off to Ryder and Kidd which goes nowhere so it’s back to Gabriel who double teams with his Canadian buddy. A kick to the face gets two on Ryder and it’s back to Kidd. Kidd and Gabriel work very well together. Kidd launches Ryder over his head and into a kick from Gabriel for two.

Everything breaks down and Santino has issues getting thrown to the floor. Kidd gets a spinning rollup for two but charges into the knees in the corner. Tyson crawls into the corner and looks painfully obvious doing it for the Broski Boot. Ryder hits a good looking flip dive to take Gabriel out and the Cobra advances Santino and Ryder at 4:03.

Rating: C. Gabriel and Kidd looked like a polished team here while Santino and Ryder looked like a pair of comedy guys who got thrown together into a tag team because the fans love both of them. It wasn’t a bad match or anything but it’s really just kind of there, which is the problem with most tournament matches you’ll ever see.

Overall Rating: B-. this is an interesting show for a number of reasons. First of all, this felt like it was booked in reverse. Isn’t the idea of the main event match on the Main Event show to be THE main event? As in the match that goes on last? Once you watched that match, are most people really going to stick around for a face vs. face tag match? I’d be surprised if they did.

Second, this show really doesn’t need to exist. This easily could have been Superstars put on Wednesday instead of a brand new show. Then again people are probably going to think it’s just something they threw together instead of making a new idea, which is understandable all around.

Finally, I likely won’t be watching this on a regular basis. It’s a perfectly acceptable hour of TV and had a good match, but does anyone really believe this is going to be what the show looks like at the end of the year? WWE will get bored with it and they’ll turn it into Superstars II, which is fine, but don’t expect people to care about it. In short, this show makes eight and a half hours of WWE programming a week, and I was perfectly fine having seven and a half.

Results

CM Punk b. Sheamus – Rollup after a drop toehold into an exposed turnbuckle

Santino Marella/Zack Ryder b. Tyson Kidd/Justin Gabriel – Cobra to Kidd

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews

Smackdown
Date: September 28, 2012
Location: First Niagara Center, Buffalo, New York
Commentators: Michael Cole, Josh Matthews

After last week’s tag team show, it’s time to put some focus on the world title match at the upcoming PPV. By that I mean actually setting up a match there. The main event for tonight is Orton vs. Big Show which would be fine to make a #1 contenders match. Show returned from a brief absence on Monday and beat up various big men so I guess he’s a heel again. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of last week’s events.

Do You Know Your Enemy? Mine is Garrett Bischoff. Why is he back on my TV screen now?

Here’s Big Show to open the show. Show says he wants the world title because he lost the title in 45 seconds last time. Then the guy that beat him lost the title in 18 seconds. Show didn’t get to be in the main event of Wrestlemania and he didn’t get to be champion and that’s not cool with him. He says he’s the only person that can beat Sheamus, but here’s Orton with a rebuttal.

Orton says that to deserve a shot at Sheamus, you have to go through him. That’s perfect as tonight’s match is for the #1 contendership. Show says tonight it’s either going to be an RKO or a KO. Here’s Alberto and please don’t make this a triple threat. Please. Del Rio says the two of them need to go to the back of the line, and there’s an RKO for him to end this segment. THANK GOODNESS.

US Title: Antonio Cesaro vs. Santino Marella

Cesaro pounds him down to start as Matthews talks about how Santino and the Cobra have made up. Some suplexes from the champ (Cesaro) and puts on a cravate before Santino makes his comeback. The gutwrench suplex is countered into a sunset flip but the European Uppercut puts Marella down. The second attempt at the suplex hits but Cesaro talks enough trash to let Santino hit a superkick of all things for two. Cesaro goes up but Santino makes the stop and backdrops Antonio off the top. Santino misses a top rope headbutt and the Neutralizer retains the title at 4:10.

Rating: C. This was by far the most competitive match these two have ever had but they’re almost a month after the point where people buy Sanitno has having a chance at beating Cesaro. This is what I don’t get about WWE’s obsession with endless rematches: there’s no one else they’re willing to try out with a title shot? No one at all? I have trouble believing that.

We get the My Name Is Gerald bit from Raw. Kane is so awesome at these things.

Natalya vs. Beth Phoenix

Before the match, Eve Touts how serious she takes the attack on Kaitlyn. Feeling out process to start with both girls trying to get control. I believe this is their first ever match. Beth controls on the mat with a headlock but Natalya escapes a slam to tick Phoenix off. Natalya slaps her in the face and the fight is on.

Beth, the hometown girl, hits a Russian legsweep to take over and is put in the Sharpshooter two seconds later. She does the fastest crawl I’ve ever seen to make the rope and Natalya freaks out. Nattie charges at Beth and tries a rolling cradle, only to get caught in the Glam Slam….for two. Natalya grabs a fast rollup but Beth rolls forward into one of her own for the pin at 4:15.

Rating: C+. Best Divas match I can remember in a long time here. The hometown thing worked here with the fans being really into Beth. It’s remarkable what you get when you have girls that can wrestle a match and look like they know what they’re doing rather than looking like they’re struggling to remember how to run ropes.

Post match here’s Eve to say that Beth is suspended until the investigation into who attacked Kaitlyn is concluded. Natalya yells at Beth and says not to blame her.

Booker and Teddy talk about a tag team tournament to find #1 contenders for the titles at HIAC. Beth comes in to complain and apparently Booker isn’t even watching the show. Eve pops in and says she has the authority to do that. Booker says Eve doesn’t have that authority and reverses the decision. Eve sucks up as usual and Beth leaves. Booker isn’t happy so Eve blames Teddy. Booker isn’t sure who to trust.

Breast cancer stuff.

Raw ReBound.

Zack Ryder vs. Wade Barrett

No entrance for Ryder and I think you know where this is going. Barrett immediately shoulders him down then kicks Ryder in the ribs. Pumphandle slam gets two as does a slingshot belly to back backbreaker. Off to a surfboard hold but Ryder fights up and hits a facejam and middle rope missile dropkick. Barrett avoids the Broski Boot and hits a clothesline to send Ryder to the floor. Back inside and the Souvenir ends Ryder at 3:15.

Rating: D+. This was your standard Barrett squash since he came back. The problem with that is these matches aren’t really doing anything for him. He talked about being open for business a few weeks ago and then never mentioned it again. Barrett as a mercenary would work fine given how he always talked about how he was here for the money and not titles. Just squashing jobbers with an elbow to the head isn’t getting him anywhere.

Diner skit #2.

Here’s Miz for MizTV. The guest tonight is Sheamus who interrupts Miz’s intro. Sheamus looks about 300% tougher in jeans when you can’t see those white legs of his. He takes the mic from Miz and thinks Miz is suffering from memory loss after the beatdown from Ryback. Sheamus keeps asking Miz questions but won’t let him answer. He runs down Miz and in a way the IC Title by saying the best Miz can do is host a C list talk show. Miz talks about how he’s in a movie and a book now and you’ll have to pay to see it. You can pay to hear him on Sirius Radio and you can pay to see him compete in the ring.

Miz talks about how Sheamus is going to get taken out by an RKO or a WMD at HIAC. I feel like I’m on Sesame Street. Sheamus says no one takes this championship more seriously than he does and while he likes to have fun and joke around, the title means more to him than anything. Since Sheamus is cutting a good promo, here’s Vickie to interrupt him.

She introduces Ziggler and says that he’s the real guy Sheamus needs to worry about at the PPV. Ziggler says the main event tonight as well as Sheamus’ title reign is irrelevant because Ziggler is the next champion. Sheamus says Ziggler may get lucky with a cash-in…and that’s all he says. Then he jumps Ziggler and Miz and launches them both to the floor.

This segment was going well until Ziggler came out and said the exact same thing he’s been saying for four months. It’s really hard to buy Ziggler as a real threat when Sheamus has beaten him so many times. Once he wins the title, it’s going to take awhile to take him serious as a champion, but that’s clearly his fault and not the company’s for having him lose over and over again right?

We get the brackets for the tag team tournament:

Usos

Rhodes Scholars

Marella/Ryder

Gabriel/Kidd

Kingston/R-Truth

Prime Time Players

Epico/Primo

Mysterio/Sin Cara

We get the full Lawler interview from Raw. That’s still awesome. One question though: is it still a Raw exclusive if it’s shown in full on Smackdown as well?

Tag Team Tournament First Round: Usos vs. Rhodes Scholars

Sandow and Jimmy start us off. Sandow would be the Scholar and if I have to explain who Rhodes is, you’re beyond my help. Damien controls to start but walks into a Samoan Drop and both guys tag out. Jey hits the running Umaga attack in the corner for two on Cody as things break down a bit. A superkick puts Cody down but Jimmy’s splash hits knees. Cross Rhodes hits and we’re done at 1:54.

Diner sequence #3.

Video on some global summit that WWE was involved in.

Ryback vs. Tensai

Another good reaction for Ryback. They fight over a lockup to start and Ryback sends him into the corner. Tensai gets in some headbutts and a splash in the corner but Ryback suplexes Tensai down. The clothesline is countered into a Baldo Bomb for a pair of two counts. Now the clothesline hits and Shell Shock keeps Ryback undefeated at 2:06. The finisher was impressive but I’m not sure this proves that Ryback is for real like Cole says. I mean, it’s just Tensai.

Del Rio attacks Orton in the back on the way to the ring. He slams a case into Orton’s knee as well.

Big Show vs. Randy Orton

There’s no Orton due to the attack in the back so here’s Del Rio instead. Del Rio talks for a bit before Orton jumps him and limps to the ring to have the match anyway. After a break we’re ready to go and Orton is very tentative to mix it up for multiple reasons now. Show gets him into the corner but Orton comes out with right hands. Show gets a knee in though and Orton is down quickly.

A second attempt at the chops in the corner is blocked and Show takes him down with a single shot to the ribs. He stands on Randy’s ribs and puts on a stomach claw, which is one of those usually lazy moves that works a bit better for Show. The Final Cut (Eye of the Hurricane) gets two but Orton barely has anything left. They head outside and Orton gets dropped onto the barricade as we take a break.

Back with Orton trying to make a comeback and countering the chokeslam into a DDT for a very delayed two. Orton can’t follow up at all here because of the ribs. His knee seems to be fine after having a BIG FREAKING CASE slammed into it but you can win them all I guess. Show pounds on the ribs some more and beats on Randy in the corner. We head to the floor and Show gets rammed into the post to give Orton a breather.

As Show is getting back in, Orton tries for the Elevated DDT but he can’t find a way around the powers of fat. Instead he hits an RKO out of nowhere but it only gets two. Orton loads up the Punt as a last resort but charges into a chokeslam….for two. A second chokeslam kills Orton dead for the pin at 9:32 shown of 13:02.

Rating: C+. I liked this match for a few reasons. First and foremost, Big Show is not Alberto Del Rio and he’s getting the next title shot. Second, this match was more realistic than most you’ll see anymore. Orton hit one big move the entire match and other than that it was pretty much a squash. Having Orton be competitive in this match after being attacked would have been absurd, so having Show dominate here made perfect sense. Also, since it deserves a second mention, Del Rio isn’t getting another shot!

Show lays Orton out with the WMD post match and says he’ll see Sheamus at the PPV.

Overall Rating: C+. This was another pretty good episode. Not having Kane and Bryan on the show was likely a good idea after last week. You don’t want to run the risk of running the pairing into the ground and giving them a week off is probably the right idea. Ryback got another win over someone who at least looking intimidating and we have a bunch of tag matches coming up. This show built for the future and it did it in a good way. Good stuff tonight.

Results

Antonio Cesaro b. Santino Marella – Neutralizer

Beth Phoenix b. Natalya – Rollup

Wade Barrett b. Zack Ryder – Souvenir

Cody Rhodes/Damien Sandow b. Usos – Cross Rhodes to Jimmy Uso

Rybac b. Tensai – Shell Shock

Big Show b. Randy Orton – Chokeslam

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews

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

Smackdown
Date: September 21, 2012
Location: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Michael Cole, Josh Matthews

Night of Champions is over and not a ton has changed on Smackdown. Sheamus is still the champion after pinning Del Rio with a Brogue Kick. This is of course more exciting than the other two times he pinned Del Rio with the Brogue Kick because in this, the move wasn’t legal until seconds before the match. Hopefully someone new challenges the champ before HIAC. Let’s get to it.

Do You Know Your Enemy? Mine is a hospital that is letting its service to customers fall apart because it let a ton of its workers go to cut costs.

The main event is a tag match of course. In this case it’s Ziggler/Del Rio vs. Orton/Sheamus.

We open the show with EDGE! It’s Philly so you know the fans erupt for him. He has really short hair now which is a look that kind of works for him. Edge says coming out here like that never gets old. He’s here because Philly is the home of the Broad Street Bullies and because it’s been 18 months since his retirement. He’s been able to sit at home and watch WWE as a fan again, but he’s never seen anything as crazy as he’s seen lately.

We get a clip from Monday with Bryan and Kane arguing over the titles and then hugging it out before shouting at each other that they’re the tag team champions. He doesn’t understand how this could happen and would like an explanation, which leads to him being cut off by Bryan. Bryan corrects Edge on his use of pronouns. THEY didn’t become tag team champions. Bryan is the tag team champions.

Bryan starts yelling again but Edge says chill. He asks Bryan about the little world Bryan lives in now but Bryan says he’s a rock and at one with his emotions. Edge says excuse me when Bryan says all this, which Bryan interprets as repressed thoughts about Vickie. Bryan says Edge’s theme music (You think you know me) tells the whole story: no one really knows Edge. If Bryan really knew Edge, he would know that hasn’t been his theme music in years.

Bryan says there is nothing anyone can do to make him snap. Edge: “Well played grasshopper.” Edge says that wasn’t his intention but it sounds like a challenge. It turns into the Bugs Bunny/Daffy Duck routine of yes it is/no it isn’t before Edge turns the tables and Bryan goes into a rant of NO IT WASN’T which draws out Kane.

Kane and Bryan argue over the same thing they always argue about before Edge shouts them down. Kane: “Edge, calm down buddy. You know Dr. Shelby has some great relaxation exercises.” Edge snaps again because while he gets Bryan being at peace and such, he doesn’t get Kane at all. Edge gives us a quick history of himself vs. Kane, including the weddings and the torture they’ve put each other through. He leaves out the time that he caused Kane to seemingly murder his father but there’s a lot of history to get through.

Kane wants to rectify this right now and steps back as if to fight. Edge takes his jacket off but Kane opens his arms to hug it out. Edge is a combination of reluctant and shocked but he eventually hugs Kane. Bryan SNAPS, shouting NO over and over again for no apparent reason. Edge and Kane open their arms for a group hug and Bryan looks like it’s Christmas morning.

This draws out Sandow for no apparent reason. He’s here to help of course because for the last fortnight, this serial has been brought down by the attempts at hugging it out. He blames the fans for bringing down the show before Edge cuts him off. Edge talks about how he’d rather watch the champions hug it out for the whole show instead of listening to Sandow for thirty seconds. Edge says Sandow should come out and fight one of these two and after a lengthy audience poll, Kane is picked as the opponent.

Kane vs. Damien Sandow

This starts after a break and at the end of the previous nearly 20 minute segment. It was entertaining and got the job done though which is all that matters. Kane knocks Sandow to the floor with a shoulder to start and an uppercut knocks Damien to the floor. Back in and a big boot takes Sandow down again.

Damien bails to the floor but runs into Bryan. Sandow guillotines him on the ropes to take over The offense only lasts a few seconds as Sandow walks into the side slam and there’s the top rope clothesline. Bryan gets on the apron as Kane is loading up the chokeslam. The distractions lets Sandow hit his neckbreaker for the pin at 3:05.

Rating: C. As I’ve said for a few weeks, the idea of Sandow getting ring time with these bigger names is a great thing for him. While it wasn’t clean, a pin over Kane is by far the biggest win of his career so far and it’s a great sign that he was put into a segment with a hall of famer and the hottest act in the company. That’s a great sign for Sandow and the match wasn’t terrible. Another good thing here: Bryan didn’t attack Kane. It was Sandow’s finisher alone that got the pin on him.

Back from a break….and it’s more Kane. He’s freaking out looking for Bryan but finds Dr. Shelby. Shelby tries to calm him down but Kane calls Bryan a goatface. Bryan pops up for ANOTHER argument until Dr. Shelby snaps. Shelby wants to try a trust exercise. Kane promises to not rip Bryan’s beard off in exchange for his title back. That’s not enough though as Bryan cost Kane a match. Shelby offers to talk to Booker and get Bryan a match tonight. That makes Kane feel better and he says he’s the tag team champions before leaving.

I’d like to note we’re about 35 minutes into this show and we’ve seen NOTHING but Bryan and Kane stuff. They’re going to run this into the ground and they’re going to do it soon.

Tonight the Brogue Kick controversy continues. WHY DOES IT HAVE TO CONTINUE? It’s over.

Booker comes into his office to find Del Rio. Alberto calls Booker a coward and wants to know why the Brogue Kick was reinstated. Booker says his investigation was over. The kick is dangerous but it’s legal. If Alberto doesn’t want to get hurt, don’t mess with Sheamus. PREACH IT BOOKER MAN! Alberto asks for another title shot but Booker says Alberto has to earn it. He can do that in the tag match apparently.

Eve comes out for commentary.

Layla vs. Natalya

Layla easily takes Natalya down to start but she keeps pointing at and glaring at Layla. Natalya gets in a shot to the ribs and puts on an abdominal stretch which Layla rolls out of. Sharpshooter is countered and the Layout gets the pin on Nattie at 1:30.

Alberto Del Rio/Dolph Ziggler vs. Sheamus/Randy Orton

Pretty early for the main event. This is joined in progress after a break but it doesn’t look like we missed much. Sheamus and Del Rio start things off and Alberto pounds Sheamus down into the corner. Sheamus shrugs him off and brings in Orton for a dropkick for two. Back to the champ to pound on Del Rio some more, only to be sent into the corner and get caught by a running kick to the shoulder.

Cole talks about JBL climbing a mountain because Sheamus vs. Del Rio isn’t capable of holding his interest. A shoulder block takes Del Rio down but the managers get on the apron, letting Ziggler get in a shot to take over. Off to a chinlock from Dolph before it’s back to Del Rio. This is dull stuff so far. Del Rio hooks a chinlock of his own but Sheamus gets up with ease.

A powerslam puts Del Rio down and it’s off to Orton who cleans house. Both heels get powerslams but Del Rio hits a Backstabber for two. It’s Ziggler vs. Orton now with Ziggler hitting a dropkick for two. It’s back to Del Rio but Orton dropkicks him to the floor almost immediately. Hot tag brings in Sheamus who cleans house again but Dolph avoids the Brogue Kick. Irish Curse gets two on Ziggler and there’s an RKO to Alberto. Brogue Kick takes out Ziggler for the pin at 8:19.

Rating: C. Standard main event tag here but the most important thing is that Del Rio didn’t get to prove anything. Hopefully that means a new opponent will show up for HIAC which would be great news. Ziggler losing again is annoying but that’s what you have to expect in WWE. The match started slow but it picked up by the end.

Daniel Bryan vs. Cody Rhodes

Feeling out process to start with Bryan taking over, only to yell at the crowd and let Cody get in some offense. Bryan moonsaults out of the corner and clotheslines Cody down followed by a dropkick in the corner. He loads up the NO Lock but here’s Kane. The hold never goes on and Cody uses the distraction to hit Cross Rhodes for the pin at 2:10.

Back from a break and Kane and Bryan are fighting some more. Well it had been a full ten minutes so it’s to be expected. Bryan wants to know why Kane did that but Kane has no idea what Bryan is talking about. Kane says they’re even so Bryan says Kane belongs in a basement. Kane says Bryan belongs in a petting zoo. They yell some more until they see Sandow and Rhodes standing off to the side. A tag match is made for later tonight. The champs argue over who the other guys are more scared of.

We recap the end of the PPV and Raw.

Brodus Clay vs. Heath Slater

Brodus does his full intro again. It’s a dance off to start as you would expect. Brodus takes over with his usual power stuff and there’s the release suplex. And here are Jinder Mahal and Drew McIntyre to jump Brodus for the DQ at 1:10. So is Brodus feuding with these two now instead of Cesaro which was teased on Monday? Or is it the rest of the world vs. Planet Funk?

Santino Marella vs. Antonio Cesaro

Well of course Brodus can’t fight Cesaro. It’s time for Santino to fight him for the 95^th time this month. Cesaro immediately takes him down and hits the gutwrench suplex. Off to the cravate but Santino comes back with his usual. There’s the Cobra but Aksana distracts him again. Aksana tries to get the sock but falls into the ring. Cesaro hits the European Uppercut and in the distraction, Santino rolls him up for the pin at 1:50. Well of course since there is NO ONE ELSE IN THE COMPANY that can fight Cesaro.

Cesaro dumps Aksana post match in five languages.

Kane/Daniel Bryan vs. Damien Sandow/Cody Rhodes

This is a lumberjack match for no apparent reason with the Usos, Kidd/Gabriel and the Prime Time Players at ringside. The non-champions don’t even get an entrance. Kane and Cody start things off with Rhodes being pounded down very quickly. Cody brings in Sandow but Kane has to pull him into the ring. There’s the low dropkick but Bryan tags himself in before Kane can cover. Guess what that leads to.

Cody got tagged in during the argument and Bryan fires off kicks at the chest. Bryan goes to tag Kane but shouts NO instead. The Disaster Kick gets two on Bryan and Sandow jumps Kane on the floor. Cody and Bryan collide in the ring and it’s off to Kane a few seconds later. Sandow avoids a chokeslam once but the second attempt works, but here’s Cody with a chair for the DQ at 4:09.

Rating: C. Another match that didn’t have time to go anywhere but wasn’t horrible. I guess we have a fifth team now which is ok, and it’s good that this wasn’t long and didn’t have a definitive ending. It’s good to see these guys having something to do, which has been the problem for guys like Cody for awhile. When all else fails, throw them into a tag team. It can work a lot of the time.

Post match Bryan stops Cody from using the chair but can’t bring himself to hit Cody with said chair. Instead he hands it to Kane who blasts Cody out of the ring. Bryan gets his own chair and they take turns destroying Sandow with it. They probably hit him twenty times between the pair of them. Kane puts his chair down and beats up the other three teams, feeding them into Bryan for chair shots. Bryan and Kane stand in the ring with their titles and chairs as bodies surround them. They argue one more time to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. Well…..that was certainly different. Throughout the show I was thinking that this was a bad idea as it was all about Bryan and Kane. Then it occurred to me that the biggest complaint I’ve had for months about Smackdown is that it’s the same stuff week after week. On this show, Sheamus and Del Rio were an afterthought and that was a nice change of pace. I’m worried about them running this angle into the ground, but man the ending here was fun. Now that they’ve got a hot act, they need to use that to build up the division as a whole. Fun and different shot tonight, which might be what they needed.

Results

Damien Sandow b. Kane – Double Arm Neckbreaker

Layla b. Natalya – Layout

Sheamus/Randy Orton b. Alberto Del Rio/Dolph Ziggler – Brogue Kick to Ziggler

Cody Rhodes b. Daniel Bryan – Cross Rhodes

Brodus Clay b. Heath Slater via DQ when Jinder Mahal and Drew McIntyre interfered

Santino Marella b. Antonio Cesaro – Rollup

Kane/Daniel Bryan b. Damien Sandow/Cody Rhodes via DQ when Rhodes used a chair

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews

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.

Smackdown
Date: September 14, 2012
Location: Scotiabank Place, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Michael Cole, Josh Matthews

We’re at the final show before Night fo Champions and here on Smackdown, there isn’t much to get excited about. Sheamus vs. Del Rio is happening again and I don’t think many people were interested in it at first, let alone a second match. Now that we’re at the third match, it’s beyond scraping the bottom of the barrel. Other than that we still need an IC Title opponent for Miz. Let’s get to it.

We open with a video on how barbaric the Brogue Kick is, followed by clips from the deposition on Monday. Some of the Jewish humor is left out here. Also, Sheamus kicked Otunga’s head off on Monday.

Otunga, Ricardo and Del Rio are in the ring with the first two wearing neck braces. Del Rio is glad the Brogue Kick has been banned and Ricardo thanks his mom and cries. Otunga says that he’s an officer of the court while Sheamus is a hooligan, but he’ll recover from the kick on Monday. Del Rio says we have someone else who is a victim of the kick and we get a clip from last year with Christian getting kicked at Night of Champions.

Christian pops up on screen with his arm in a sling. Allegedly he just had shoulder surgery which I haven’t heard of before this. Otunga talks about how Christian was a victim but Christian cuts him off. Christian doesn’t like Del Rio or Otunga and he isn’t doing this for himself or Del Rio, but for the boys in the back. He was a two time world champion last year and the Brogue Kick derailed him. The Brogue Kick should stay banned according to Christian.

This brings out Daniel Bryan who is still having issues with not getting angry at the fans. Bryan is here to thank Del Rio but the fans chant goat face at him. That sets him off and he says he looks like this because Sheamus has kicked him in the face so many times. Booker has granted him a Wrestlemania rematch tonight so that Bryan can right the wrongs of that night.

Bryan goes on another rant against the fans when the champ comes out. Somehow he ties this into finding out that his aunt was actually his uncle and says that it wasn’t the Brogue Kick that beat Bryan but rather Sheamus himself. Sheamus gets on the apron and guillotines Otunga on the top rope, pulling off the neck brace in the process.

Sin Cara vs. The Miz

Non-title here. Cara just slides into the ring now instead of any kind of dive at all. The lights are all colored again. Miz suplexes him down but Cara sends him to the floor a few seconds later. Cara tries to charge at him but runs into a forearm to take him down as we take a break. Back with Miz holding a chinlock as the fans give what sounds like a golf clap to Cara. Miz pounds away on the mat and in the corner, followed by the corner clothesline and the double ax off the top for two.

Back to the chinlock but the following corner clothesline misses. Cara starts firing off some kicks and the fans do not react at all. Miz misses a big boot and Cara headscissors Miz down. An enziguri from the apron takes Miz down but Cara takes too long and gets caught in the Finale, only to reverse into a Magistral (I know I misspelled that) cradle for the pin on Miz at 4:44 shown of 8:24.

Rating: C. They really needed a break in an eight and a half minute match? Anyway this likely sets up a multi-man match for the PPV as Rey and Cara have both beaten Miz and Cody attacked the champ on Monday as well. There’s nothing wrong with combining a few feuds like that and getting those three involved in a title match, assuming that’s the way they go with it.

Miz talks to Striker in the back with Striker wondering how Miz likes facing an unknown opponent. Cody comes up and Miz wants to know why he was jumped on Monday. Cody says he wants his Intercontinental Title back. Mysterio pops up and says he deserves a shot at the title too. Sin Cara comes up too and points at the belt. Teddy Long pops up and makes the fourway.

We recap the Anger Management stuff leading up to Bryan/Kane becoming number one contenders to the tag titles. Part of this is set to a song that sounds like it’s called Smiley Face World.

We go to Kane in the back, holding a small red ball. The Doctor is with them when Bryan comes in. Bryan yells at Kane for attacking him on Monday and they say they both want to be tag champions. The Doctor says they both have balls (they do) and various jokes are made. Kane: “Mine’s bigger than yours.” Bryan isn’t sure.

Kane vs. Kofi Kingston

Kofi fires off kicks to start and dropkicks Kane into the ropes, only to get his head taken off by an uppercut. The low dropkick gets two for Kane but his powerslam is countered into a DDT. Trouble in Paradise is caught in a chokeslam but Kofi escapes and goes to the top, only to jump into the chokeslam for the pin at 2:10.

Kane goes to chokeslam him again but Dr. Shelby comes out and Kane hugs Kofi instead.

Orton isn’t worried about facing Tensai tonight or facing Ziggler on Sunday.

Randy Orton vs. Tensai

Orton takes Tensai down quickly and drops a few knees. Tensai comes back with an uppercut and we’re in a slug out. Orton punches away in the corner but gets run over by a shoulder block. There isn’t much variety in the offense so far in this one. Orton is knocked to the floor but he gets in behind Tensai and puts him in the same position that Sheamus uses for the ten forearms. Instead though, Orton hits some uppercuts to the back and a dropkick to send Tensai to the floor.

We take a break and come back with Tensai splashing Orton in the corner. Cole seems way too excited about the size of Tensai here. Off to a nerve hold but Orton fights up pretty quickly with a headbutt. The powerslam puts Tensai down as does the Elevated DDT. Orton does his stomp but the RKO is countered into the Baldo Bomb. The backsplash misses though and the RKO gets the pin at 5:13 shown of 8:43.

Rating: D+. This didn’t do it for me for the most part. It wasn’t a terrible match but it felt like one of those old 1980s punch and kick matches. Tensai is better in the role of the midcard jobber and I can’t picture him lasting much longer. The guy just isn’t interesting at all and wins over him don’t mean much. This wasn’t much of a win for Orton before the PPV though.

Vickie comes out and says that after Sunday, Orton won’t be a world champion again. In a good bit, Orton says that Vickie standing there can only mean one thing. Orton spins around into the RKO position and Ziggler stops right before he tries to charge in from behind.

Here are Cesaro and Aksana to explain (in five languages) the outrage Cesaro feels over defending the title against the winner of a battle royal. Tyson Kidd comes out and speaks Canadian, saying that after Sunday, Cesaro will be a former US Champion, eh. Cesaro dispatches him so here’s serious Brodus but Cesaro doesn’t seem interested in fighting him. Kidd dropkicks Cesaro into a headbutt from Clay and there’s a splash for the champ. I have no idea who is winning the battle royal on Sunday but as long as it’s not Santino I’m fine.

Wade Barrett comes out and explains what it means when he says he’s open for business. Next week someone gets to sample the product and then business will be booming. Ok then.

Kaitlyn vs. Beth Phoenix

The announcers talk about how Kaitlyn could match strength with Beth. Cole says that Kaitlyn could do that with a little more experience. What does experience have to do with how strong you are? Anyway a sunset flip gets two for Kaitlyn as does a rollup. Layla is watching in the back. Beth slams Kaitlyn face first into the mat and chokes away a bit more. The Glam Slam is countered into a reverse DDT for the pin by Kaitlyn at 2:51. Yep, Beth just lost clean to Kaitlyn in under three minutes.

We get a graphic saying Get Well Jerry. This is the first mention of Lawler tonight. I’m watching the international version and I’ve heard they edited out all of the mentions of Lawler on commentary on the Raw international versions, so maybe that’s what’s going on here.

Raw ReBound airs the entire ending segment with Cena/Punk/Hart. That was pretty good stuff.

Let’s run down the PPV card.

Eve is watching in the back and talks to Booker who looks like he’s on the crack high to end all crack highs. Eve sucks up to him a bit and Teddy does the same. Booker leaves with Eve but there wasn’t any animosity with Teddy.

Sheamus vs. Daniel Bryan

Non-title again. Sheamus powers him down to start as Del Rio, Otunga and Ricardo are watching in the back. Bryan has to stop to center himself for a bit and Sheamus stands there and lets him. Bryan tries a leapfrog but gets caught in the Regal Roll (fireman’s carry slam) for two. A clothesline puts Bryan on the floor but Bryan trips Sheamus onto the apron as the champ comes to the floor.

A running dropkick keeps Sheamus down and they head back into the ring. Bryan goes after the arm and snaps it across his shoulder. A charge in the corner misses and there’s the top rope shoulder from Sheamus. I’ve always like that move. A running knee sets up a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker which Cole calls the Irish Curse for no apparent reason. Bryan blocks the Cloverleaf as the fans chant Goat Face. Sheamus ties Bryan up in the ropes for the forearms (Bryan: NOOOOOO! Sheamus: YEEEEESSSSSS!) which get two.

Bryan avoids a charge in the corner and hits the kick to the head for two. Bryan throws on his guillotine choke which doesn’t last long. The NO Lock doesn’t work and there’s the real Irish Curse. The Cloverleaf goes on and the submission master is in trouble. After a lot of shouting NO, Bryan shouts YES and gives up at 9:06. No break in the main event? That’s a rare thing anymore.

Rating: C+. Not a great match but this one wasn’t in nearly as much doubt as their PPV matches were back in the day. Come to think of it, I don’t think Bryan has ever gotten a pin or a submission on Sheamus. This worked fine for a TV main event though and Sheamus gets to show off the Cloverleaf again. It almost seems like they’re making the ending of the PPV match too obvious, but maybe that’s the point.

Overall Rating: C+. This was fine for a show before the PPV, although I wouldn’t have minded seeing Ryback or Sandow out there. I’m hoping Ryback wins the battle royal on Sunday and wins the title so that he has something to do. I know I’m in the minority but I’d love to see him get hot shotted to the world title. The guy is getting the reactions and he’s been untouchable so far so why not? It would bring some fresh blood to the show if nothing else. Anyway, not a bad show but there was really nothing to see here. When you have the PPV set for the most part already, there’s nothing wrong with that.

Results

Sin Cara b. The Miz – Magistral Cradle

Kane b. Kofi Kingston – Chokeslam

Tensai b. Randy Orton – RKO

Kaitlyn b. Beth Phoenix – Reverse DDT

Sheamus b. Daniel Bryan – Cloverleaf

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews

Before we get to this, I want to apologize in advance for the last hour of this show.  My mind wasn’t focused on the show but I don’t think anyone was.

Monday Night Raw
Date: September 10, 2012
Location: Bell Center, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Commentators: Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler

There are two major things going on tonight. First of all, we’ll have the continuation and explanation of Heyman driving Punk away last week to end the show. The other is that Bret Hart is going to be in Montreal so you know the crowd is going to go nuts. This is the go home show for the PPV on Sunday so tonight is likely going to be a lot of pushing towards that show. Let’s get to it.

Here’s Bret to open the show. The fans give him a very long ovation and Bret talks about how dark that day in Montreal was. The fans got him through that time and he thanks them deeply. That’s about it and here’s Punk with less hair. Punk complains about Bret having a big ego and wants to know what would have happened if it had been him in Montreal instead of Shawn. Bret says Punk would have been in the Sharpshooter with his feet touching his head.

Punk says the WWE wouldn’t exist because he would have beaten Bret without Vince, then jumped to WCW and there wouldn’t have been an Attitude Era and the company would have died. Bret says that he’s the best there is, was and ever will be which gets on Punk’s nerves. Punk takes a jab at Lawler and in a bizarre moment, Bret defends Jerry. We get a clip of the end of last week’s show with Punk coming back and leaving with Heyman.

Punk asks Bret if Cena is here tonight and is going to save Bret if things get too heavy. Bret mentions the word respect and Punk goes off on him. Eventually Punk says he’ll put Cena to sleep on Sunday. Bret: “Just like you’re putting these people to sleep here tonight.” Punk says nothing else of note and we’re done. I’m not sure if I liked this or not. It was better than the Lawler stuff, but at the end of the day it’s the same thing he’s been saying over and over again.

Pick Brodus, Lawler or Orton to be Punk’s opponent tonight.

Antonio Cesaro/The Miz vs. Kofi Kingston/R-Truth

Cesaro’s five language word tonight is prestige. There’s going to be a battle royal on Sunday’s pre show to determine who gets the shot at Cesaro later in the night. Truth comes in pretty quickly and the tag champs clear the ring with Kofi hitting a bit flip dive to the floor as we take a break. Back with Cesaro holding Truth in a chinlock while Aksana lays on the apron and watches.

Off to Miz who hits the top rope ax handle for two. Such a shame to see a former legendary team like this fighting isn’t it? Truth comes back with a flying kick to take Miz down and there’s the hot tag to Kofi who cleans house. A top rope cross body gets two on Cesaro and Truth takes Miz out with the spinning forearm. Kofi gets rolled up for two but even a handful of tights only gets two for Cesaro. Kingston pops up and Trouble in Paradise gets the pin on Antonio at 8:10.

Rating: C. Just your run of the mill tag match here but it worked well enough. I’m ok with the champions losing here as it’s to set up the Night of Champions PPV, which means focusing on the champions by putting them in one match makes sense. Pretty decent match here and it’s nice to see the tag champions win a match.

We recap Sheamus and Del Rio’s stuff from Friday.

We go to a court deposition about the Otunga/Sheamus/Del Rio ordeal which involves Jewish and Mexican jokes from Sheamus. Otunga lists off some former victims of the Brogue Kick (including Daniel Bryan, making Sheamus answer every question YES in a funny bit) and we get some legal banter that belongs in a parody of A Few Good Men. Then Sheamus Brogue Kicks the camera and says let’s have a party, prompting him to belt out Hava Nagila. This was out there but it was certainly different.

Alicia Fox/Natalya/Beth Phoenix vs. Eve Torres/Kaitlyn/Layla

Beth and Kaitlyn start us off and it’s quickly off to Nattie. Kaitlyn gets beaten down and it’s off to Alicia who hits a suplex for two. Off to Layla who cleans house before Eve tags herself in and hits the spinning neckbreaker for the pin on Alicia at 2:33.

AJ is looking a bit psycho when Punk comes up. He doesn’t like that Cena doesn’t have a match tonight and Punk doesn’t know who his own opponent is. He yells at AJ but she doesn’t back down. She leaves and Punk runs into Brodus who might face Punk tonight.

Orton wins the poll in a non shocking landslide.

CM Punk vs. Randy Orton

Punk is in Hart colors which is a weird kind of respect I guess. The champ starts with his traditional headlock to shout spots into Orton’s ear but gets hiptossed down and we stall a bit. Punk stomps him down in the corner and hits a suplex for two. A chinlock stays on Orton for awhile but he fights up and almost gets the RKO. Punk bails to the floor and tries to walk out but Orton makes the save. Orton throws Punk in first so CM dropkicks Randy’s legs out, sending Orton face first into the apron as we take a break.

Back with Punk dropping an elbow for two on Orton. Punk goes up top but Orton channels his dad and superplexes him down. They slug it out from their knees and Orton takes over, but the Elevated DDT is countered by a kick to the head and the springboard clothesline for two. GTS and RKO are countered so Orton hits the backbreaker for two. Now the Elevated DDT hits but as Orton loads up the RKO, here’s Ziggler for the DQ.

Rating: C+. This was your usual main event style match which wasn’t bad but it’s also nothing great. I don’t think anyone expected this to be a classic or anything and the ending was pretty predictable, but that’s ok in this case. I’m not wild on the Raw Active stuff because it takes away the reason these guys are fighting, but social media rules the world anymore.

Post match Orton gets double teamed but Lawler makes the save. The four brawl as we head to a break, leading to…..

Randy Orton/Jerry Lawler vs. Dolph Ziggler/CM Punk

Back with Ziggler pounding on Orton in the corner and hitting a neckbreaker for two. Orton comes back with the slingshot suplex and brings in Lawler for a pair of middle rope fists for two. Ziggler dropkicks Jerry down as Punk looks bored out of his mind on the apron. It’s intentional boredom though so at least he’s doing his job properly. Ziggler drops some elbows on Lawler and hooks a chinlock as Punk still hasn’t been in yet. Lawler suplexes out of the hold and it’s hot tag Orton.

He cleans house but the Elevated DDT is countered and Orton is sent to the floor. Here’s Heyman for a chat with Punk but Vickie starts shouting at them. Punk ignores them and keeps talking to Heyman. Heyman hands Punk the title as Ziggler is pounding on Orton in the ring. For no apparent reason Cole has stopped talking.

A Fameasser is countered (we’re watching Punk and Heyman so the match is being seen in the background) but the RKO doesn’t hit. A rollup gets two for Ziggler but he walks into the RKO for the pin at 7:10 shown. Punk was never in the match and walks away with Heyman without caring at all.

Rating: C. This wasn’t bad but it was more about an angle than a match which is fine in this case. Heyman was the talk of the internet this past week so him coming out here was what everyone was waiting on. This was definitely different which is what Raw has been needing for awhile now.

Punk and Heyman are walking in the back but we still can’t hear what they say. Matt Striker asks them what their relationship is and Punk says he’s a Paul Heyman guy.

We recap the hugging segment from last week in a package that aired on Smackdown.

Bryan and Kane meet in the back but they aren’t sure who sent both of them messages to meet here. Someone set the meeting up and Kane is mad to see him. It’s the doctor who wants to run a checkup. AJ asked the doctor here apparently because they have to trust each other before everything falls apart for them.

Heath Slater wants to face Ryder again after losing last week. Ryder pops up on screen and says he’s not facing Slater. Here’s the real opponent.

Heath Slater vs. Ryback

Slater gets in some offense but poses to the crowd too much. Clothesline, double powerbomb, Shell Shock for the pin at 2:07.

The Prime Time Players have whistles now and come in to see AJ. They aren’t the #1 contenders now because they have to beat Kane and Bryan tonight.

Daniel Bryan/Kane vs. Prime Time Players

Winners get Kofi/Truth on Sunday for the titles. Kane and Titus start things off with the bald guy jumping Kane. Off to Bryan who stays right with Titus to take over. Young comes in with a rollup for two and a double shoulder block from the Players puts Bryan down again. Yong puts on a cravate but Bryan escapes, only to get distracted by the fans. Titus comes in and walks into some kicks but he hits a backbreaker to slow Bryan down again.

There’s a chinlock which doesn’t last long and it’s back to Young. Something is going on at the announce table and the people are all looking at it. The word on the street is that something is very wrong with Lawler and it may be something along the lines of a legit seizure. That’s scary stuff man.

They trade uppercuts before Bryan gets caught in another chinlock. Bryan suplexes Young down but he won’t tag. Bryan misses a Swan Dive and it’s chinlock #3 in the match. Another suplex gets Bryan out of trouble but he still won’t tag. After kicking the tar out of Young, Bryan gets too close to the corner and Kane tags himself in. He cleans house and hits the top rope clothesline on Young but Titus breaks up the chokeslam. After disposing of Titus, Bryan tags himself back, only to get chokeslammed onto Young, sending the anger management buddies to Night of Champions at 8:30.

Rating: D+. The match was pretty dull but this was absolutely the right move. These two had gotten way too much momentum to not do anything on the PPV and it’s not like the Players can’t get put back in later. Not a good match, but it’s 100% the right move to make. Hopefully they win the titles and bring something fun to them again.

We recap the opening segment.

Alberto Del Rio vs. Tyson Kidd

Kidd comes out second which is surprising. Tyson almost immediately takes Del Rio down but can’t get the Sharpshooter. Del Rio hammers away but gets caught in a quick Sharpshooter. He gets the rope on the second try and almost immediately the armbreaker gets the tap out at 2:50.

Del Rio says he’ll win the title.

Cole says Lawler passed out at the announce table. They’re performing CPR and Cole is adamant that this isn’t part of the show. This is real based on everything I can find.

Sheamus vs. David Otunga

Cole isn’t saying anything still. Otunga jumps him to start and I don’t think we’re going to have commentary for awhile. Cole can be seen at the desk with his head on his hand watching the match but he isn’t saying anything. Otunga gets in an early shot but Sheamus pounds him down and the Cloverleaf gets the tap out at 1:28.

Sheamus hits the Brogue Kick post match. This brings out AJ who says….nothing because Booker interrupts her. Booker is conducting an internal investigation and if Sheamus uses the kick before it’s over, he’s stripped of the title.

This is very eerie right now as the show is basically operating like a house show because we’re not sure what’s happening with Lawler. This is legit scary.

Back from a break and Cole still isn’t saying anything. We get a clip from the tag match which I think is after Lawler collapsed. Yeah it’s the ending of the match with Kane chokeslamming Bryan.

The tag champs send out a Tout about keeping the belts on Sunday.

Kane and Bryan are with the doctor and are still arguing. The doctor says they passed a trial. Bryan didn’t appreciate the chokeslam but they won and that’s what matters. An argument breaks out out over whose name comes first in the team name. The doctor suggests Team Friendship, drawing a collective NO.

We get the rundown of the graphics for the matches on Sunday with no commentary.

Cole is back on screen and says Lawler passed out and was stretchered to the back. Lawler has been taken to a hospital in Montreal. He’s receiving oxygen but is breathing on his own. There won’t be any further commentary tonight. That might be the best idea. In advance, I want to apologize if the last part of the review is off. I’m not going to be able to focus that well and I apologize in advance. This is scary stuff and when you see it happen live, it’s hard to take in all at once.

Rey Mysterio vs. Cody Rhodes

The lack of commentary is eerie. Cody drops down twice early, getting hit once and hitting Rey once. Cody hits the release godrbuster but Cross Rhodes is broken up. They go back and forth for a bit with Rey hitting the sitout bulldog and taking out an interfering Miz before the 619 can hit. Miz’s distraction lets Cross Rhodes get the pin at about 5:00.

Rating: C. This was fine and when you consider how messed up these guys might be, that’s pretty impressive stuff. They have to get people’s minds off what they just saw and that’s not easy no matter what you do. The match was just a match for the most part and I guess they were trying to set up something for Sunday, which they had to do.

Post match Cody hits Cross Rhodes on Miz for no apparent reason. He holds up the title and I think that’s a challenge for Sunday which would be heel vs. heel.

Post break Cole tells us a bit more about what happened to Lawler earlier. Lawler was breathing on his own and now he’s more responsive than he was earlier. He’s reacting to lights being put in his eyes and is in the isolated ER, awaiting a CAT scan.

Here’s Hart for the closing segment. He brings out Cena and says that he sees a lot of himself and Shawn Michaels in Cena and Punk. Cena talks about how he’s nowhere near those two and he thanks Bret for the compliment. Punk isn’t like Shawn because Punk isn’t always himself. Hart wants to know what Cena is going to do to shut Punk up.

Cue the champ who is annoyed at the lack of respect. Cena calls Punk out and asks for a fight but Punk says Cena is the biggest phony in the company. Punk talks about how the two in the ring have been surpassed by people better than themselves, those people being Punk himself and Shawn Michaels. Punk says that comparison doesn’t work though because he’s better than Shawn. He’s better than Austin and Rock too. Punk says he’s the best at everything and his eyes are bugging out. Cena says Punk is right but that makes Punk a liar and a scumbag.

Cena talks about how Punk has spent a year watching PPVs go by and thinking that everyone is against him. Punk said everything on the mic and then became champion in Chicago, which made the fans believe change was coming. Then it became clear that Punk didn’t want ice cream bars or new talent or anything else. He wanted to be a star and that’s it. Cena mentions a line Punk said about becoming what he hated the most and that’s true. On the other hand there’s Punk who has no idea who he is.

Punk steals colors from Hall of Famers and stole the elbow from the late Randy Savage. CM has changed his identity over and over again over the years and right now it’s based around being champion. Cena stops to thank the fans for a bit and starts speaking French, drawing perhaps the loudest face pop he’s gotten in years. Punk yells at Cena for sucking up to the crowd and it’s time to get in each others’ faces. Cena says he’ll beat Punk up on Sunday so Punk pulls back to hit Bret, only to be stopped by Cena. Cena takes the shirt off and Punk goes for Bret again, only to get punched down and out to the floor to end the show.

Scratch that as Cole says Lawler is breathing on his own and his heart is beating on his own.  He’s stabilizing and Cole gives us a recap of everything tonight.  LAwler is awaiting a CAT Scan still.

Overall Rating: B-. This was a better show than last week but obviously that’s not what matters here, nor is the show on Sunday. Lawler is the important thing here and the updates coming in about him are at least somewhat positive. The last half hour of the show gets a total pass as you can’t blame the guys for their performance, nor is it important. The show built the PPV well enough, even though that’s not important right now.

Results

Kofi Kingston/R-Truth b. Antonio Cesaro/The Miz – Trouble in Paradise to Cesaro

Eve Torres/Kaitlyn/Layla b. Beth Phoenix/Natalya/Alicia Fox – Spinning neckbreaker to Fox

Randy Orton b. CM Punk via DQ when Dolph Ziggler interfered

Randy Orton/Jerry Lawler b. CM Punk/Dolph Ziggler – RKO to Ziggler

Ryback b. Heath Slater – Shell Shock

Daniel Bryan/Kane b. Prime Time Players – Bryan pinned O’Neal after a chokeslam from Kane

Alberto Del Rio b. Tyson Kidd – Cross Armbreaker

Sheamus b. David Otunga – Texas Cloverleaf

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews

Smackdown
Date: September 7, 2012
Location: I Wireless Center, Moline, Illinois
Commentators: Josh Matthews, Michael Cole

The main story tonight is the potential legal action that Del Rio and Otunga are going to be taking against Sheamus. For those of you keeping score, this would be the second time in roughly a month that legal action has been part of this feud. When they can’t even keep fresh ideas going in a single feud, it may be a sign that there’s a problem. Let’s get to it.

We open with a video from Raw of Sheamus’ Brogue Kick to Ricardo and the announcement of Otunga taking legal action for it.

Otunga, Ricardo and Del Rio leave Booker’s office.

Do You Know Your Enemy? Mine is Alberto Del Rio who is the anchor Smackdown is trying to run with.

Here’s Del Rio and company in the arena to start things off. Del Rio talks about being on the roll of his career after beating Orton and Kane in back to back weeks. I would have thought beating Punk and Cena at the same time in the Cell for the world title would be better than that but what do I know? Del Rio says he’ll win the title at Night of Champions but that’s not enough. He wants the Brogue Kick banned because kicking someone in the head is a criminal act.

Ricardo isn’t just his servant. He’s Del Rio’s friend. The Brogue Kick has hurt dozens of people, but the cross armbreaker is elegant and pure. Otunga says he’s the only Harvard educated attorney in the history of WWE. He’s been hired because what happened to Ricardo was predetermined and intentional. We get a highlight reel of the Brogue Kick and all the people it’s beaten. I wonder if they’re actually going to get rid of it. I mean, they got rid of the Punt.

Otunga talks about meeting with Booker T, which brings out the GM himself. Booker says that was supposed to be confidential but Otunga brought it out to the people. Booker asks the people if the Brogue Kick should be banned and after a lot of booing, the kick is declared to be legal.

We get a throwaway line from Josh, saying that Kane has been fined an undisclosed amount for attacking him recently.

Rey Mysterio/Sin Cara vs. The Miz/Cody Rhodes

Miz and Mysterio start things off. The champion pounds Mysterio down but Rey comes back with some kicks to the leg and a tag is made to Cara. A double kick from the masked men gets two on Miz as we take a break. These breaks a minute into the match need to stop. Back with Cara armdragging Cody across the ring and the tag being made to Mysterio. Miz pulls Cody away from the 619 and distracts Rey in the back to let Cody get control.

Rey drop toeholds Cody into the buckle and makes the tag to Cara. Sin (I guess I can call him that) speeds things way up but Coach Miz tells Cody to duck, allowing Miz to get the tag and a shot to the back of Cara to take over. The corner clothesline sets up the double ax off the top for two for Miz. Cody comes in with a delayed release gordbuster for two. The announcers are talking about Cody’s obsession with the masks which is all I’ve been wanting from this feud. They’ve touched on it a bit but hearing them flat out say it is nice.

Cody hooks a cravate but Cara gets into a bulldog position but backflips over to slam Cody’s head into the mat. Nice counter. Hot tag brings in Rey to face Miz and speed things up again. Miz counters a headscissors and rolls through a sunset flip, followed by a kick to the face of Rey for two. That was a slick sequence. Mysterio and Miz trade control on a rollup, resulting in Cody kicking Miz in the head by mistake. Cody is sent to the floor and hit by a big dive from Cara. The 619 and a top rope splash pin Miz at 7:38 shown of 11:08.

Rating: B-. The last minute or two of this was some very nice stuff with Miz looking awesome out there. He was hanging move for move with Mysterio which isn’t something you would expect him to be able to do. The ending was somewhat creative too with the rollup reversals leading to heel miscommunication. I was digging this one and I would be fine with the masked guys going after the tag titles. It would give Cara some success and Rey something to do.

Horny wants to hug it out with Bryan but settles for a handshake instead. Horny kicks Bryan in the shin and runs off. Bryan has to breathe and calm down.

Otunga threatens Booker with legal action if he doesn’t rethink his decision. Booker looks at some pictures and says he’ll think about it. Otunga isn’t pleased and asks Booker to meet him in the training room.

We get a recap of the hugging from Raw. In other words, we’re standing around reminiscing about the times we stood around. Miz giving commentary about the rules is kind of funny. In the video when the hug happens, a song that sounds like it belongs on The Wiggles comes on and bright colors come on the screen. Ok, that’s kind of awesome.

Daniel Bryan vs. Zach Ryder

Bryan fighting his inner demons on the way to the ring is awesome stuff. Ryder grabs a quick rollup for two and Bryan fires off some NO Kicks to come back. More kicks to the chest have Ryder in a lot of trouble. Ryder hits a face jam and gets up the knees in the corner. Broski Boot hits but Bryan begs off before the Rough Ryder. Bryan begs for understanding and asks for a hug, but he suckers Ryder into the NO Lock for the tap at 2:58. That was good stuff.

Bryan won’t let go of the hold and the referee reverses the decision.

There’s a match about to start but here’s Sandow instead. He sees his loss via countout last week as justice. He wasn’t prepared for that match and doesn’t like what social media had to say about it. Sandow says he was being intelligent last week, not being a coward. The people that TOUT IT OUT are cowards. No one would call him a coward to his face. Instead of tweeting, why not read a book? “When Albert Einstein discovered the theory of relativity, I assure all of you he did not TOUT about it!” I love this man. Anyway, Orton interrupts him and it’s time for Sandow to rub elbows with another big name.

Randy Orton vs. Damien Sandow

Orton looks different for some reason. The bell rings and here are Dolph and Vickie. The bell rings again for no apparent reason and Orton takes him to the mat with a headlock. They fight for control in a collar and elbow tieup but Sandow punches Orton in the face to escape. Orton shrugs it off and Damien bails to the floor. Back in and Sandow avoids the backbreaker and heads to the floor again, only to get clotheslined down by a following Orton.

Ziggler gets up on the table and distracts Randy, allowing Sandow to ram Randy into the apron and take over. Back in and Sandow works on the arm as we take a break. Sandow putting on a chinlock. A Russian legsweep sets up the spinning elbow from Sandow for two. Orton avoids a charge and starts his comeback with the usual clotheslines and powerslam. Elevated DDT puts Sandow down but as Orton loads up the RKO, Sandow heads to the floor and sprints up the ramp for the countout win for Orton at 6:53 shown of 10:23.

Rating: C. This was another good thing for Sandow as now he’s rubbing elbows with the main event guys. He doesn’t need to win at all for a good while and when he drops back down to the midcard he’ll have some experience to make him a guy higher up in that part of the card. The match here was fine and the ending was the right call.

Orton cuts Ziggler off as Dolph is leaving and they have a staredown. Orton punches him down and throws him into the ring, only for Dolph to get the advantage back. Randy powerslams him down but as he loads up the RKO, Sandow runs back in and takes the RKO. Ziggler bails and Orton stands tall.

Otunga shows Booker some x-rays of necks to prove how damaging the Brogue Kick is. If Booker doesn’t do what Otunga says, WWE is getting sued. Booker says he’ll think about it and makes Otunga vs. Sheamus. This would be a lot more compelling stuff if it didn’t build up Del Rio vs. Sheamus.

Prime Time Players vs. Primo/Epico vs. Usos

Winners get the title shot at Night of Champions. The only team to get an intro here is the Kofi/Truth who are on commentary. This is WCW rules with three people in the ring at once. Epico and Primo stomp on I think Jey in the corner while Young is down in the other corner. This is moving around too fast to keep up with. Titus gets the tag and cleans house before trying a release suplex to his partner onto Jey, but Jey gets his knees up.

Epico dropkicks Jey to the floor but walks into a northern lights suplex from Darren for two. Epico comes out of the corner with a tornado DDT to Young but walks into a double clothesline with Jey. Jimmy gets the hot tag and cleans house as everything breaks down. A Samoan Drop puts Young down and Jimmy dives on Titus and Primo. Jey hits the top rope splash on Epico but Young steals the pin and the title shot at 4:20.

Rating: C-. This was a mess all over the place but it certainly wasn’t boring. All signs would point to Titus and Young winning the titles now, as they’ve been beaten by the champions twice I believe, so the logical conclusion would be to have them win the third match and forget the first two. The match was too short to become a disaster and it was fast enough to be fun, but it was like the old WCW Cruiserweight matches: mostly flash and no substance, but that’s ok.

Raw ReBound is about Punk vs. Cena of course.

Eve TOUTS IT OUT about the safety issues going on. This would annoy me more if she wasn’t gorgeous.

Teddy talks to Kaitlyn about the potential lawsuit when Ziggler and Vickie show up. They go to see Booker but Teddy says Booker is busy. Ziggler wants to face Orton again because the win on Monday wasn’t a fluke. He wants the fight at Night of Champions and after some banter, Teddy says he’ll advise Booker to make the match. It’s so refreshing to see a heel step up and challenge someone.

Wade Barrett vs. Yoshi Tatsu

I think Barrett has new music but I’m not sure. For the first time that I can ever remember, Barrett starts in a boxing stance and throws some punches. Tatsu gets stuck between the ropes and Barrett kicks him in the face to take him down. Barrett fires off more punches and a kick to the ribs followed by a big elbow to the head for the pin at 1:48.

Barrett says he has no interest in meaningless matches like this. If he’s not instantly in the title picture, he’s going to do something to make his life easier on him. He declares Wade Barrett open for business. That sounds interesting. Barrett has a different style here and I’m not sure if I like it yet or not.

Sheamus vs. David Otunga

Sheamus pounds him down to start but the Brogue Kick misses and Sheamus gets caught in the ropes. Otunga guillotines him on the top rope to take over and it’s off to a chinlock. Sheamus escapes and hits some running ax handle smashes to take over. There are the ten forearms in the ropes from the champ and Otunga is in trouble. Sheamus hits White Noise and loads up the Brogue Kick, but Booker comes out and says the Brogue Kick is banned. Instead Sheamus hits a modified Irish Curse and the Texas Cloverleaf gets the submission at 4:59.

Rating: D+. The squash was just a backdrop so we could have the announcement of the kick being banned made to end the show. Otunga is good as a backstage character but in the ring the guy has never really accomplished anything of note and it’s clear that he belongs in a suit and not trunks. Total squash here.

Sheamus stares at Del Rio to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. This show was fine from a technical standpoint as everything made sense and a lot of stories were advanced. The problem is that the main story got a lot more time than everything else and the main story is very dull. The legal stuff and having the Kick banned is an attempt to make this feud seem interesting, but the problem with taking Sheamus’ finisher away is he had just debuted a new finisher on Monday before all of this happened. The rest of the show was mostly entertaining, but again it feels like a supplement to Raw instead of its own show.

Results

Rey Mysterio/Sin Cara b. Cody Rhodes/The Miz – Top rope splash to Miz

Zach Ryder b. Daniel Bryan via DQ when Bryan wouldn’t release the NO Lock

Randy Orton b. Damien Sandow via countout

Prime Time Players b. Epico/Primo and Usos – Young pinned Epico after a top rope splash from Jimmy Uso

Wade Barrett b. Yoshi Tatsu – Elbow to the head

Sheamus b. David Otunga – Texas Cloverleaf

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews