There are so many videos out there already that I’m not going to bother to put one here because there’s bound to be something new by the time it’s up.  The general consensus seems to be that Punk was touched in the crowd and possibly hit in the back so he turned around and nailed someone who may or may not have been the person that touched him.

While it’s too early to know anything for sure about it, any thoughts/news on this?  Feel free to post any videos you have of it that are good.

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

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

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

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

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

Ryback vs. Primo/Epico

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

Brodus Clay vs. R-Truth

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Wade Barrett vs. Sheamus

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

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

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

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

JR goes to talk some sense into McMahon.

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

Antonio Cesaro vs. Tyson Kidd

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

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

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

HELL NO vs. Dolph Ziggler/Alberto Del Rio

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Divas Title: Eve Torres vs. Kaitlyn

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Results

Ryback b. Epico/Primo – Shell Shock

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

Sheamus b. Wade Barrett via DQ when Tensai interfered

Antonio Cesaro b. Tyson Kidd – Neutralizer

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

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

Eve Torres b. Kaitlyn – Heel Hook

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews

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

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

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

Monday Night Raw
Date: December 21, 1998
Location: Spokane Arena, Spokane, Washington
Attendance: 9,487
Commentators: Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler

We’re about a month from the Rumble and there are only two shows left to go in 1998. The main story for tonight is likely going to be the debut of Test last week to end the show and what it means for the Corporation, who has all the titles of note right now. Other than that we’ll likely see the return of Austin after a one week absence which is never a bad thing. Let’s get to it.

Vince leaves and tells Shane he’s in charge tonight. Patterson and Brisco will be held responsible in case Shane screws up.

Cole calls the show an action adventure series and 15 seconds in, Lawler says in case you just joined us, Shane is in charge tonight. To be fair, today you would be expected to have a recap fifteen seconds in.

Here’s the Corporation to open things up. Shane is in charge tonight tonight because Vince is off training for the Rumble. Before Shane can get anywhere, here’s DX who says Shane may have the keys to the kingdom tonight, but DX has the keys to the boiler room. Here’s Mankind but before anything else can be said, Shane wants to talk about the Outlaws. Tonight it’s Billy vs. Shamrock (non-title) and Road Dogg vs. Boss Man (non-title as well). Also it’s Rock/Test vs. HHH/X-Pac and Shane vs. Mankind. Mankind and DX crack up. Total time to make four matches: seven and a half minutes. Takes notes modern WWE.

D’Lo tells Henry to not have sex before his match but Henry says it’s cool.

Al Snow vs. Gangrel

Snow pounds away on Gangrel and the fans want Head. A kick to Gangrel’s face puts him down and he charges into Snow’s boot to put him down again. Gangrel comes back with a neckbreaker and a floatover suplex for two. Snow puts Gangrel on the top rope but gets shoved off and a cross body gets two for Gangrel. A reverse DDT by Snow is countered but he hits the Snow Plow for the pin.

Rating: D+. This was a strange choice for an opener. It wasn’t a good match or anything and it was really basic. I’m not sure why this match was here unless there’s something post match. Snow was starting to get a reaction and the fans noticed it, which is why he got pushed a lot harder in 99. See? It’s not that complicated. Also take note, because it might be months before you see a 100% clean win on this show.

Post match the lights go out and Snow gets a blood bath. During the break Snow freaked out and said not again, not again. Normal night for Snow.

Intercontinental Title: Billy Gunn vs. Ken Shamrock

So why would Shane make this a title match? He’s in complete control and the Outlaws already beat Shamrock and Boss Man at the PPV, so why risk this? Shamrock immediately takes him down by the leg but Billy kicks Ken away. It’s a feeling out process to start but Billy takes him down with a drop toehold. The crowd is HOT tonight. The champ gets put in an armbar for a bit followed by Billy stomping away in the corner.

Shamrock takes Billy’s head off with a clothesline and it’s off to the leg as you would expect from a submissions guy like Ken. The leg goes around the post and remember that the leg was hurt in the tag match last week. After a chair is taken away from Shamrock, he goes back to strikes of all sorts to the knee. The standing rana gets two for Shamrock and a small package gets the same for Gunn. Another cradle gets two for Billy before Shamrock goes to the knee again. Ken tries a rolling leglock or something close to it, only to have Billy fall on him and hook the legs for the pin and the title.

Rating: C. This wasn’t bad at all here. Billy was a guy that had potential all the time but he never kept it going and people got tired of seeing the same stuff over and over again. Shamrock was great as a killing machine with a ton of submissions to use. You know the screwjob is coming though and here it is.

Immediately after the match here’s Shawn to say it wasn’t a title match, which makes sense in a screw you fans way. Billy moons Shawn and gets decked by Shamrock. Billy pops up and chases them away with his leg feeling fine.

Here’s Hawk with some bombs to drop apparently. Hawk admits that he has an addiction problem but now he’s clean. The surprise is that Droz was his supplier and Droz was just trying to steal Hawk’s job. Now that Hawk’s clean, Droz isn’t needed anymore. Droz comes out and jumps Hawk, who has a cast on his arm. Animal comes out for the save. This angle never clicked at all.

Henry goes into PMS’ locker room as D’Lo guards the door.

Steve Blackman vs. Blue Blazer

Blazer comes out and Owen comes out behind him. Why is this STILL going? The Blazer jumps Blackman and hits an enziguri to take over quickly. Blackman keeps going for the mask as Owen calls conspiracy last week, saying that the tape (on a live show) was doctored. Blackman makes a comeback and Owen comes in for the DQ.

Post match Goldust comes out to break up the double team. The mask is pulled off and it’s Jeff Jarrett. Ok, now no one needs to wear the mask again.

PMS (Terri and Jackie) are going to take a shower while Henry watches. Brown is getting frustrated outside.

Road Dogg vs. Big Boss Man

Road Dogg implies Boss Man and Test anally stimulate each other with nightsticks which makes Boss Man make this a title match by his own words.

Hardcore Title: Road Dogg vs. Big Boss Man

Boss Man takes over to start and whips Road Dogg into the corner and out to the floor. He takes too much time though and Roadie gets something made of metal and cracks the champ in the head to take over. A shot with the steps hit the post instead of Road Dogg but Boss Man gets in a shot with the same piece of metal from earlier to knock Road Dogg into the crowd.

Road Dogg gets thrown into the technical area and then choked by a pole of some kind. These early hardcore matches were wild messes which is the appropriate kind of match to have actually. Back to the ring and Boss Man whips Roadie with a thick belt. Boss Man pulls out some powder and gets it knocked back into his own eyes. Road Dogg whips him with the belt and it’s back into the crowd.

Boss Man finds a fan (as in one you use to cool off a room) somewhere and gets in a shot to slow Road Dogg down. Now he’s got a noose and chokes out Road Dogg for two in the middle of the crowd. A low blow from Road Dogg stops Boss Man and he puts a trashcan over the champ before diving off a wall onto him. The noose is still around Roadie’s neck though and he gets whipped into some walls with it. Here’s Mankind from the concourse with a net to tie up Boss Man. Mankind breaks something over Boss Man’s head and Road Dogg pins him for the title.

Rating: B-. That’s likely too high but I liked this a lot for some reason. It was a huge mess and that’s the idea of a hardcore match. They had to take something from the Corporation eventually just to stop the bleeding on the other side a bit. Road Dogg was very popular so giving him a title makes as much sense as anyone else. This was a fun match too.

PMS takes Henry’s clothes off before putting a studded collar on him. They give Henry a massage with a bunch of oils followed by covering his stomach with whipped cream.

We go to a commercial and come back with Jeff Jarrett ranting about women that tick him off. This would be the character that finally got people to hate him.

Back to the sex scene and we have Henry being strapped down to the table he’s on.

Bob Holly/Scorpio vs. Acolytes

The Acolytes destroy both JOB Squad guys to start and it’s Holly vs. Bradshaw to start. Scorpio comes in and things go badly for 2 Cold (Scorpio). Off to Farrooq who helps Bradshaw with a double spinebuster but Holly distracts the Acolytes long enough for Scorpio to get up and kick Farrooq down. Everything breaks down and the Acolytes beat them up so badly that the referee just calls it a DQ win for the JOB Squad.

Shane McMahon vs. Mankind

The Stooges are here with Shane and they look scared to death because of Vince saying whatever happens to Shane is their fault. Shane pops Mankind with some lefts and rights but a single shot from Mankind puts Shane down. There’s the double arm DDT but instead of covering, Mankind goes to the floor to get a chair and the mic. Shawn is holding the Corporation back on the stage. Mankind pulls the chair back but Shane falls down before Mankind can hit him. Foley hands Shane the chair and says lay him out and make Vince proud. Shane hits him with it but it has no effect. Patterson and Brisco come in and it’s thrown out.

Mankind beats up the Stooges and grabs Patterson’s crotch. Shane gets kneed in the face and here’s Socko. The Corporation and DX come out and it’s a Bronco Buster from X-Pac to Shane.

Patterson and Brisco are worried about their bonus.

Brown tries to get Henry to come out for their match but the door is locked and Henry isn’t coming out.

Mark Henry/D’Lo Brown vs. Headbangers

I wonder how many years that head swivel added to Brown’s career. We cut to the back and Henry is still tied down while Jackie whips him. He’s also ball gagged and there are testicle clamps involved. Professional wrestling ladies and gentlemen! It’s basically a handicap match and Brown gets caught by a top rope clothesline. Brown hits a Liger Bomb out of the corner on Mosh for two. Off to Thrasher who takes the Sky High for two as Lawler is getting reports of gerbils in the back. Mosh misses a middle rope elbow but the numbers keep the Bangers in control. A double flapjack pins D’Lo in short work.

Henry stumbles to the stage in underwear and with shackles around his wrists. Brown is MAD.

Vince gets back and goes to find Shane. It doesn’t seem that Vince has been watching the show.

X-Pac/HHH vs. Test/The Rock

Before the match Shawn throws out DX. Vince comes out and says let them stay. Ok then. Rock and X-Pac start things off and Pac hits a kick to the chest and an armdrag to take over. Off to HHH vs. Test with the bigger guy (Test) looking as awkward as ever (which is pretty awkward). Rock’s distraction lets Test get in a big boot to somewhere around the face for two.

Rock comes in to beat HHH down some more and test gets two off a side slam. HHH gets in a facebuster and makes the tag so things can speed up a bit. Some kicks in the corner put Test down and there’s the Bronco Buster. Test dumps Pac to the floor and things break down a bit. Pac gets crotched against the post by Rock and DX is in trouble. Back in with Rock vs. Pac and a slam sets up the Corporate Elbow for two.

HHH comes in sans tag to clothesline Rock down, only to result in X-Pac getting double teamed. Off to Test who misses a clothesline and gets his head kicked off by X-Pac. There’s the hot tag to HHH who cleans house and hits a high knee to Rock and a facebuster to Test. Everything breaks down and HHH hits the Pedigree on Test but Rock makes the save. There go the lights and here comes Kane, who is suddenly not institutionalized. He chokeslams HHH and the rest of DX. Apparently Kane is the holiday bonus for the Corporation. The match is thrown out.

Rating: C. The match was fine and given that it’s the Attitude Era, expecting a pin or submission ending in a main event is asking way too much. Test didn’t look like anything more than a taller and slower Boss Man here, so adding in Kane sort of makes him look worthless. Nothing great to see here but HHH and Pac always had some chemistry together.

Kane grabs Chyna by the throat to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. This show started well but the ending brings it down for me. The Hardcore Title changing was finally something going bad for the Corporation but they come back with an even bigger win in the form of Kane. Now given that it’s Kane his heel turn likely won’t make it past the end of the year, but for now it defeats a lot of the purpose of the stuff earlier tonight. Not a bad show at all, but the ending pulls it down.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews

Barry Windham vs. Randy Savage

Ted DiBiase vs. Tito Santana

To the best of my knowledge, neither match ever happened.  Tito vs. Ted might have on some house show but I’m 99% positive that Windham vs. Savage never did, at least not when it would have been great (read as before 1989ish when Windham just stopped trying).  Imagine either of these matches getting 20 minutes and see if you don’t smile a little.

Smackdown
Date: October 5, 2012
Location: BOK Center, Tulsa, Oklahoma
Commentators: Michael Cole, Josh Matthews

We’re closing in on the Cell and we have our main event now. Sheamus will defend against Big Show and they had a debate on Raw to set the match up. The debate wound up being almost as a big of a waste of time as the entire Del Rio feud, but at least the match should be more interesting. Other than that there isn’t much going on so we’re almost going into this blind. Let’s get to it.

Do You Know Your Enemy? Mine is Bud Selig. Why does he feel the need to keep changing everything that was was working fine?

Here’s Big Show to open the show. Show talks about Sheamus having a plan for their match, but a punch in the mouth can change any plans. We get a highlight reel of Show knocking people out. Here’s Sheamus who says he knows the fight at the PPV is going to be the fight of his life. He offers a handshake and says may the best man win, but Show walks away.

As Show is leaving, Sheamus talks about the plans that Show mentioned. He says Bryan had a plan at TLC and we see a clip of Big Show losing the title in 45 seconds. We also see Bryan’s plan from Wrestlemania and the 18 second title change. Show gets back in the ring and extends his hand again but this time Sheamus walks away. This was already more entertaining and interesting than the last two months of Sheamus vs. Del Rio and it was just ok.

Tag Team Tournament: Kofi Kingston/R-Truth vs. Prime Time Players

The winners get Mysterio and Sin Cara. Kofi and Young get things going and Kofi hits a dropkick for two. Off to Truth as the former champions take over. Truth hits his spinning legdrop for two but Young powers him into the corner and it’s off to O’Neal. Titus has a great look and the power but he’s not quite there yet in the ring. Off to Young for their suplex drop onto Truth for two.

Young hooks a bearhug of all things which gets him nowhere. Wouldn’t that be a better move for someone like O’Neal? Anyway Truth gets in a shot to take Young down and there’s the hot tag to Kofi. Things immediately speed up and after running around a lot, Kofi hits the Boom Drop for no cover on Young. Titus distracts Kofi before Trouble in Paradise can hit. Two kicks miss but O’Neal trips Kingston up and Young’s gutbuster gets the pin on Kofi at 4:23.

Rating: D+. This didn’t have time to get anywhere but at least the Players finally beat these guys after losing for months on end. Kofi and Truth have probably outlived their shelf life as a team but the Players facing the masked guys is a good idea for a feud. This wasn’t awful but the time killed it.

Here are the final four matchups:

Rhodes Scholars

Zack Ryder/Santino Marella

Prime Time Players

Sin Cara/Rey Mysterio

Primo vs. Ryback

Cole says Ryback said he’s looking for his next meal with Punk. Primo gets launched into the corner and a big boot puts him down. Ryback slams Primo into the mat a few times but Primo gets in some jobber offense. Primo is then launched across the ring, clotheslined down and sent to the floor. Ryback beats up both cousins on the floor, clotheslines Primo down in the ring and Shell Shocks (Josh actually called it that for the first time I can ever remember) him for the pin at 2:52.

Punk and Heyman are in the back and looking for Dolph Ziggler.

Layla vs. Alicia Fox

Layla’s music just does not fit at all. They do basic stuff to start and Alicia shakes her hips a lot. She works on Layla’s leg and puts some holds on it but Layla kicks Alicia from the corner, hits her bouncy cross body, and finishes Alicia with a high kick to the head at 3:26.

Rating: D. Not only was the match uninteresting, there was no selling at all from Layla. Alicia worked on Layla’s leg for almost two minutes before Layla hit three moves that all involved her leg. Then again, I don’t think anyone has ever accused Layla of being what you would call a ring general.

Layla says that it’s going to be all the sweeter to take the title from Eve because of how Eve got the title in the first place.

Ziggler and Vickie are in the back and run into Heyman and Punk. Punk yells at Dolph for walking out on the tag match on Monday, which Ziggler points out that Punk did a few weeks ago. All four of them get in an argument until Booker shows up and makes Punk vs. Ziggler in the main event.

Wade Barrett vs. ???

It’s a jobber whose name isn’t worth mentioning. In an inset interview, Barrett says that he likes toying with the people he fights. A pumphandle slam puts the jobber down and Barrett shoves him off the top to the floor. The Souvenir gets the pin at 1:47.

Sheamus vs. The Miz

Cole hypes up this as being a rare champion vs. champion match. That’s true actually. There hasn’t been one in two whole days. Miz pounds Sheamus down into the corner to start but the champ (the world champ I mean) throws Miz into the corner and pounds away. The ten forearms in the ropes are blocked and Sheamus is sent to the floor. It’s nice to see people start countering that as it means Sheamus is going to have to start mixing it up a bit more.

Miz sends him into the post which gets two back inside. Sheamus fights up but walks into the Reality Check (backbreaker into a neckbreaker) for two. Miz hooks a chinlock and the announcers talk about fantasy football. Sheamus starts his comeback with some high powered shots but walks into the short DDT for two. Miz’s corner clothesline is caught in an Irish Curse and there are the ten forearms. White Noise hits and the place gets very fired up when Sheamus loads up the Brogue Kick….and here’s Big Show. Sheamus is ready to go but Show KO’s Miz to give Sheamus a DQ loss at 6:25.

Rating: C-. We’ve reached the point where watching two champions go at it means nothing anymore. We saw this two nights ago so why should it mean anything today? At least Sheamus vs. Show is something new which you can’t say has happened in months now. The match should be a physical one as well which is a perk. The match here wasn’t bad.

Here’s Otunga in wrestling gear. He wants to address something that happened after Smackdown went off the air last week and we get a clip of Del Rio attacking Orton after the end of last week’s show. Otunga thanks Del Rio for having the guts to stand up to Orton, and that brings out the Viper. Scratch that as it brings out Del Rio and Ricardo.

Alberto talks like Orton which is kind of funny actually. That lasts all of two seconds and he says Orton isn’t here because he’s afraid of dying like a snake. This brings out Booker who puts Otunga and Del Rio in a tag match against these guys.

Alberto Del Rio/David Otunga vs. HELL NO

Non-title again. After a break Bryan and Otunga start things off. Bryan gets thrown down and Otunga poses a bit. Daniel comes back and sends Otunga into the corner and poses as well. The NO Lock is avoided and Otunga drapes Bryan over the ropes to take over. A neckbreaker gets two for Otunga and it’s off to Del Rio for a suplex for two. Ricardo chants SI and Bryan drop toeholds Del Rio into the middle buckle.

Off to Kane who gets in an argument with Bryan almost immediately. Del Rio gets in a shot on Kane to take over and it’s off to Del Rio who spinebusts the big man for two. That gets him nowhere though as Kane hits the chokeslam. Daniel tags himself in and hits a top rope headbutt for the pin on Otunga at 4:04.

Rating: D+. Was there a point here other than getting the champions on TV? I don’t know if it’s the crowd but the act seems to have died down a little bit. Granted they’re being treated like a much more normal tag team now which takes away the stuff that got them so popular in the first place so that’s probably it. I’m hoping they go back to what worked for them as it’ll still get laughs. The match was nothing special.

Eve and Teddy are arguing in the back with Teddy saying he never told Eve to suspend Beth. Eve accuses Teddy of losing his memory in his old age. Teddy says he can see straight through Eve and thinks she had something to do with Kaitlyn’s attack. Teddy says that he sees through Eve unlike Booker. Booker pops up and yells at him while sending Eve away. Booker tells Teddy to stop bickering or he might be fired.

Big Show vs. Tensai

Show doesn’t get an entrance but Tensai does. Tensai pounds away to start and beats Show into the corner with punches and headbutts. Show comes back with a chop but charges into a boot in the corner. Big Show shrugs that off and throws him to the floor where he runs Tensai over. Back in and Show misses an elbow and gets hit by the backsplash for two. Show spears Tensai down and loads up the punch but here’s Sheamus to Brogue Kick Tensai to give Show a DQ loss at 2:20.

Raw ReBound.

CM Punk vs. Dolph Ziggler

It’s the rare heel vs. heel main event and Punk comes out first. No Vickie entrance for Dolph either. The crowd is DEAD for Ziggler. They argue a lot over respect before the match starts and Punk grabs a headlock to start. Ziggler fights out and it’s a stalemate as we head to a break. Back with Punk in control on the mat. Ziggler comes back with a headlock as they’re still in first gear here.

Punk goes up but Ziggler is on the apron to meet him. They fight on the top before they both crash to the floor. These guys are mirroring each other so far. Back in and they slug it out a bit before both get two off rollups. Ziggler hits a jumping DDT for two and after ducking a high kick, Dolph hits a Fameasser for the same. This time the high kick hits for a near fall for the champion. Punk slams him down and loads up the Macho Elbow, only to get stopped by Ziggler. Dolph slams him down but misses a Stinger Splash in the corner. GTS hits out of nowhere for the clean pin at 7:10 shown of 10:40.

Rating: B-. They were going for a big match feel here but it didn’t quite get there. The match was entertaining and Ziggler looked like he was hanging with Punk most of the way, but before the break and for part of it after the break they didn’t really hit a higher level. It’s good to see Punk get another clean win, but I could have done without seeing the MITB guy lose AGAIN.

Punk gets on the announce table and says he’s heard it from everyone that he has to enter the Cell to face Cena. It’s still not going to happen though.

Overall Rating: B-. I liked tonight’s show but there were some problems with it. A lot of the matches felt like they were there to fill in time and had no real purpose other than that. I’m digging the basic stuff they’re doing with Sheamus and Big Show as they’re showing that Sheamus can do whatever Show can do and that Sheamus is trying to get inside Show’s head. That basic story is more than we got in the Alberto feud. I know I mentioned it like three times now, but that feud was so boring and even something simple like this is a breath of fresh air. This was a nice upgrade for Smackdown but it’s no masterpiece.

Results

Prime Time Players b. Kofi Kingston/R-Truth – Gutbuster to Kingston

Ryback b. Primo – Shell Shock

Layla b. Alicia Fox – High Kick

Wade Barrett b. ??? – Souvenir

The Miz b. Sheamus via DQ when Big Show interfered

HELL NO b. Alberto Del Rio/David Otunga

Tensai b. Big Show via DQ when Sheamus interfered

CM Punk b. Dolph Ziggler – GTS

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews

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

NXT
Date: October 3, 2012
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Byron Saxton, William Regal

Back for another show as this show has been in a bit of a rut lately. Last week’s main event of Steamboat vs. Ohno is probably the main story on the show right now but other than that there isn’t much going on. We should be setting up another opponent for Rollins soon enough which is something we need in the near future. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of last week’s main event and the post match attack.

Earlier today Ohno was getting into the building when Richie Steamboat jumped him.

Welcome Home. Where do these people go that they have to be welcomed home every week? In case this makes no sense to you, the theme song is Welcome Home by Coheed and Cambria.

Drew McIntyre vs. Richie Steamboat

Feeling out process to start with Drew shoulder blocking Richie down. Steamboat comes back with forearms and right hands as he seems to be abandoning his usual style here. Drew catches Steamboat with a kick to the ribs as Steamboat tries to jump over him in the corner. That gets two and McIntyre takes over before hooking something like a seated abdominal stretch.

Drew knocks him to the apron where Steamboat gets two off a sunset flip. Back inside McIntyre hits a release Wasteland with Steamboat landing on his face. Drew loads it up again but Richie tries to counter it into a hurricanrana, only to botch it by falling off McIntyre’s head. Steamboat starts firing off elbows but here’s Ohno for a distraction. Richie turns around and walks into a shot to the head and the Futureshock DDT for the pin at 4:25.

Rating: C. This was more about the angle but building up McIntyre with a win is a good idea. The guy has potential but he’s fallen so far in the last few years that he’s having to start all over again. As for Steamboat, this is a good story for him as he’s getting to show some emotion and I’m not complaining about what I see. Being boring was the biggest knock on him so seeing some good emotion out of him is a good sign.

Big E. Langston vs. Aiden English

The place starts chanting 5 as Langston comes in. English pounds away and gets beaten down for trying to fight. A running clothesline takes Aiden down and there go Langston’s straps. The falling slam kills English and gets the five count at 1:14.

Langston hits the finisher again post match for another five count to a big reaction. The fans seem to love this guy. Langston’s face looks a bit like Monty Brown’s when you can’t see his hair. He hits another falling slam on Aiden for fun.

Steamboat is looking for Ohno in the back but only finds Michael McGillicutty who hasn’t seen Ohno.

CM Punk is here next week.

Here’s McGillicutty with something to say. Apparently he gets a title match next week. McGillicutty says it’s going to be Rollins’ first and last title defense. He calls Rollins out to the ring and gets what he asks for. Well partially as Rollins stops on the stage. Rollins talks about how much McGillicutty talks, including calling Rollins a paper champion. Rollins thinks that shows a lack of respect and holds up the title, which means the respect is real. He’s earned everything he has and didn’t have a path laid out for him since birth. Rollins wants to fight now but McGillicutty says on his own terms.

Gabriel and Kidd are ready for Ascension later tonight. This was earlier today and as they’re talking, Ascension’s entrance starts and they pop up on the screen but don’t say anything.

Percy Watson vs. Kassius Ohno

Steamboat jumps Ohno on the stage during Ohno’s entrance. Ohno says he’s good to go and goes off on Percy quickly. Watson speeds things up and leg lariats Ohno down. Ohno comes back with something like a neckbreaker (Ohno was standing behind Watson and facing him so it was hard to tell what he was doing) but Watson dropkicks him down. The spinning Heisman splash gets two but Ohno blocks the Persecution. A knee in the corner stops Watson and the spinning elbow gets the pin for Ohno at 3:20.

Rating: D+. Nothing to see here as usual with Watson matches. The guy isn’t bad at all but man alive there’s nothing to care about with him. Ohno’s matches are still nothing interesting but this was better than his usual stuff. I think it’s the elbow finisher that holds him back more than anything, especially given what we know he’s capable of.

Ascension vs. Justin Gabriel/Tyson Kidd

Kidd and Cameron start us off but Gabriel tags himself in and the smaller guys double team Cameron with a double hip toss and a pair of kicks. A release German throw (not really a suplex) takes Gabriel down and we take a break. Back with O’Brien hammering on Gabriel until Justin rolls around O’Brien and tags out.

Tyson kicks him in the head and hits a springboard missile dropkick for two. O’Brien is sent to the floor where he blocks a baseball slide and slams Kidd onto the floor to take over. Back inside and Ascension takes turns stomping away. That style of rapid fire stomping and pounding is reminiscent of Demolition and there’s nothing bad about that. Cameron puts on a body scissors with a chinlock and O’Brien follows up with a body scissors of his own.

Kidd starts fighting back but Conor tags out immediately to make sure Tyson can’t escape. You can almost hear JR beaming as he talks about the tag team continuity of Ascension. Kidd avoids a charge from O’Brien and side steps Cameron, which lets Kidd make the hot tag to Gabriel. Justin takes Cameron down and immediately tries the 450 but crashes and burns. With Tyson down on the floor, Ascension hits the running Total Elimination (called the Fall of Man) for the pin on Gabriel at 8:20 shown of 11:50.

Rating: B-. This was a solid tag match although the ending felt abrupt. I really like Ascension’s stuff as they have the look and aggressive style that makes them feel like they could dominate anyone. When you combine that with an awesome finisher and a great entrance, what more could you want? Kidd and Gabriel were their usual good selves.

Overall Rating: B. I liked this show better than most recent episodes. We got a lot of stuff from this one with a good main event, a continuation of the main angle for the show and some stuff set up for next week. This is what NXT is good at doing: offering an old fashioned hour long wrestling show and they did that again here. Good show and I enjoyed it.

Results

Drew McIntyre b. Richie Steamboat – Futureshock DDT

Big E. Langston b. Aiden English – Falling Slam

Kassius Ohno b. Percy Watson – Spinning Elbow

Ascension b. Tyson Kidd/Justin Gabriel – Fall of Man to Gabriel

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews

I didn’t watch it but I’ll be reviewing it tonight or tomorrow.

For those of you who watched it, any thoughts?

Monday Night Raw
Date: October 1, 2012
Location: Chesepeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma|
Commentators: Michael Cole, Jim Ross

We’re in Oklahoma tonight which means a few things. First of all, it’s JR Appreciation Night but that might only be for the post show stuff. Also I believe we’re in the arena where Punk first cashed in the MITB case and won his first world title, which will likely be mentioned. We’re also likely to see what Ryback staring Punk down last week will mean, and on the Blue side, we’re getting…..wait for it….a debate between Big Show and Sheamus. Yet they wonder why no one watches Smackdown. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of all of Punk’s antics last week, including the great promo with Foley and turning around to see Ryback at the end of the show.

Here are Punk and Heyman to open the show. During the entrance the Appreciation Night is mentioned. Punk complains about the attack last week and says in Chicago that’s called weakness. Punk was looking for a doctor at the end of the show when he low blowed Foley. He didn’t like the lack of respect that Foley was showing him and thinks Foley never would have talked like that to Cena or Rock or Austin. Punk doesn’t like the lack of respect this crowd is showing him either. Tonight, Punk is here to announce that it’s still not going to be Punk vs. Cena inside the Cell.

Punk whispers something to Heyman and Paul takes the mic. Heyman would like to move on to something else and that would be the proposal to AJ. This seems to bring out AJ but they cut her music after about half a second. Must be a production miscue. Heyman points out that while AJ didn’t say no, she did violate an ordinance from the board of directors, that if AJ strikes someone, she’s in trouble. Heyman calls for her removal from power and wants her job.

This brings out Vickie and Dolph with Vickie demanding that AJ be fired also and we get a clip of AJ beating her up a few months back. Heyman wants to know when this became about Vickie. Vickie cuts him off and says she represents the future World Heavyweight Champion. Heyman makes the obvious point that he’s with the CURRENT WWE Champion. Ziggler suggests Heyman and Vickie being co-GMs.

This brings out AJ to a surprisingly big reaction. AJ says she’s officially on probation which means we can drag this story out for a few more weeks. Apparently even Heyman doesn’t count as an exception so she has an executive coach to help with her development as a GM. And it’s Daniel Bryan. Bryan snaps on the crowd and yells NO a lot, saying he’s just here to apologize.

Bryan thinks AJ has gone insane because of being dumped by the man with the amazing beard. Now he’s the tag team champions, and you know who this brings out. Kane points out that AJ is a phenomenal kisser. Everything else that Bryan said was true, but he (Kane) is the tag team champions. Ziggler and Punk get in an argument of their own over who is better until AJ freaks out and reaches octaves even Vickie is jealous of. She makes the tag match you would expect her to make with the four guys in the ring. Total time for the opening segment: 21 minutes.

Tag Team Tournament First Round: Epico/Primo vs. Sin Cara/Rey Mysterio

Cara and Epico start with Cara hitting a Tajiri Elbow for two. Off to Primo who doesn’t do any better. Cara and Rey have inverted matching attire now. Rey comes in and the cousins are sent to the floor, but the masked guys stop before diving Epico and Primo move. Here are the Prime Time Players to sit on the stage as we take a break.

Back with Rey tagging out to Cara who comes in with a big springboard cross body. Cara kind of botches a springboard armdrag but it’s not too bad. Epico dropkicks him out of the air for two as the cousins take over. A quick sunset flip gets two on Primo for Cara and it’s back to Epico. Cara spins Epico around and slams him into the mat to get some separation and there’s the tag to Rey.

A big kick to the head takes Primo down and a seated senton does the same. A spinning reverse DDT gets two and here’s Cara with a springboard missile dropkick. There’s a kick to Primo’s head and it’s a double 619. Both masked guys go up top and Cara dives on Epico as the top rope splash from Rey pins Primo at 9:27.

Rating: C+. When all else fails, throw four high fliers out there and have them jump a lot. It worked for years in WCW and it worked here too. The Players didn’t do much here, but what did do something here was the commercial. It’s annoying when you have one like a minute into a match and the post break stuff has to act like a full match for all intents and purposes.

Brodus Clay vs. Antonio Cesaro

Non-title here and no entrance for Brodus. There was no entrance for either tag team earlier so maybe they’re trying to hurry things up. It’s an easy way to add a lot of time to the show actually. Brodus takes him into the corner to start and suplexes him down. A headbutt to the chest does the same but the t-bone suplex is blocked. Clay misses a splash and a springboard uppercut (you read that right) gets two and the Neutralizer pins Clay in 1:06. I guess it’s time for Brodus to be a jobber.

AJ comes up to Kaitlyn and introduces her to the coach, Christopher J. Stevenson, a guy in a suit. Kaitlyn will be ready to go again next week, even though she’s in her ring gear tonight. AJ wants to talk about their relationship and is all serious before going into an insane laugh. She isn’t really sorry at all and skips away. The coach says nothing at all.

Zack Ryder vs. The Miz

Miz takes him down with a shoulder block and a pair of boots to the head for two. Ryder makes a comeback and hits the Broski boot for two as we hear about Larry King as the social media ambassador. The Rough Ryder is countered into a buckle bomb and the Skull Crushing Finale gets the pin at 2:39.

Here are Booker, Show and Sheamus for the debate. Show gets to make an opening statement but Show says this is stupid. He’s going to knock Sheamus out and Sheamus can’t even kick that high, so the Brogue Kick means nothing. Sheamus asks Show not to rip his leg off because he needs it to kick Show’s teeth in. All of the questions come from fans and the first question is what do you find the most challenging about your opponent. Sheamus is looking forward to the fight and the biggest issue is the match lasting more than 45 seconds. Sheamus has something between his eyes that looks like a bruise.

Show defends his hygiene in response to something Sheamus said and the second question is who has the most devastating finisher (Booker, reading the questions off the screen, gets Show’s finisher’s name wrong). Sheamus mentions the 45 second loss again and Show gets mad again. FINALLY he breaks his podium and we go to the last question.

Sheamus wants it to be from his cousin’s Tout. It’s from Rey Mysterio Sullivan, which is clearly Sheamus holding a mask to his face. Show complains about this not being serious again so Sheamus asks how it feels to lose the title in 45 seconds. Show takes off his jacket and Sheamus takes off his shirt. Show is dripping sweat and he walks away. This was REALLY worthless and it doesn’t make me want to see them fight at all. It does however make me want to know what is on Sheamus’ nose.

Ryback vs. Tensai

For those of you that were fascinated by the two minute match these two had on Smackdown I guess. Tensai runs him over to start but Ryback pops up and smiles. They slug it out and Ryback powerslams him down with ease. A belly to belly is broken up by Tensai so Ryback clotheslines him down with ease. Ryback can’t Shell Shock him on the first two attempts so he clotheslines him again for the pin at 1:49.

The Rhodes Scholars love their name and make fun of the debate. Sandow wasn’t pleased with the lack of formal wear from Sheamus. They think Sheamus is a neanderthal. And that’s it.

More cancer stuff.

Eve Torres vs. Beth Phoenix

Before the match Eve talks about how awesome the Divas are. Beth tentatively shakes her hand and blocks the surprise attack from Eve. This is non-title by the way. Beth misses a charge and hits the post so Eve goes to the floor to pound on the bad arm. Beth gets rammed onto the floor and into the barricade which draws a nine count. Back inside Eve is upset so Beth runs her over. Eve hides in the ropes and comes out with her neckbreaker for the pin at 2:35.

AJ runs into Barrett in the back and my goodness Barrett is tall. Barrett says AJ needs the coach because Barrett doesn’t even have a match tonight. He says AJ has done a horrible job with her emotional outbursts and letting her personal relationships get in the way of her job. Barrett leaves and AJ thinks the coach is intimidated.

We hear about JBL climbing mountains to raise money for poor kids. Nothing wrong with charity work.

Santino Marella vs. Heath Slater

Apparently the One Man Band now has two people with him in the forms of Mahal and McIntyre. After a quick dance off they trade shoulder blocks and Slater elbows him in the face to take over. Slater’s group is called Encore apparently. He slams Santino down and jumps into the boot and Santino uses his usual stuff. The Cobra hits and Mahal/McIntyre run in for the DQ at 2:51.

Encore destroys Santino post match. All three of them say their nicknames and that’s about it. Slater’s theme song starting with “I’m just one man” is really stupid now.

Damien Sandow vs. Sheamus

Sandow hides to start so Sheamus grabs him by the beard and pounds away. Damien hides on the floor as we take a break. Back with Sandow hitting the floor again, drawing huge boos. Sheamus chases him into the crowd and catches Cody trying to interfere. The distraction lets Sandow clothesline Sheamus down and he takes over back in the ring. After some basic shots to the upper body, Sandow puts on a chinlock. Sandow fires off knees to the chest and hits a Russian legsweep and the windup elbow for two.

Damien pounds away some more and gets two off an elbow to the face. Back to the chinlock as Sandow’s offense is pretty much exhausted at this point. With Sheamus in 619 position, Sandow hits a charging hip shot to the back for two. Off to a headscissors which doesn’t last long. Sheamus gets a boot up in the corner but Sandow knocks him off the top with a good right hand. A boot to the head gets one for the non-champion and it’s off to a front facelock again.

Sheamus gets knocked to the floor as Sandow is still dominating which is pretty surprising. Back in and Damien gets another two and then another two and then chinlock #3 assuming you don’t count the variations of the move he’s already used. Sheamus comes back with a suplex to escape the hold and hits a knee lift and Regal Roll.

Sandow escapes a powerslam and hits a flipping neckbreaker for two. Sheamus gets the feet up in the corner and a top rope battering ram gets two. Sandow escapes White Noise but gets caught in the ten forearms. Sheamus catches Cody coming and sends him into the ring as well. A single Brogue Kick takes out both guys and pins Sandow at 15:45.

Rating: C+. Sandow looked better than usual here but man alive does he need to expand his offense a bit. Five chinlock variations in a fifteen minute match is hard to get past. It’s very good to see Sandow get a rub like this though, as he looked credible against a guy who is way out of his league. Not a great match or anything but a good stepping stone for Damien.

It’s time for Jim Ross Appreciation Night and Cole sucks up to JR now because the scripts calls for it. Before JR can say anything, here are Punk and Heyman. Punk tells Cole to go sit down and asks the fans to make some noise. He says the fans don’t know the first thing about respect and says JR is going to make the fans believe it, by saying Punk is the best in the world.

JR calls Punk a jackass instead and Punk is mad. He wants to know what JR is going to do if Punk gets physical. Will Ross scream for Austin to help, because Austin isn’t here. Today is the 316^th day Punk has been champion which means that number now belongs to Punk. JR belongs to Punk right now too and JR is going to say it, no matter what. Ross says no because he’s called some of the best matches of all time with the best in the world in them and those people have earned the right. Punk needs to walk into the Cell and beat Cena, and then JR will say he’s the best in the world.

Punk takes his jacket off and steals JR’s hat which he stomps on. Them are fighting words in Oklahoma. JR looks like he’s about to cry and Punk talks about all the time he’s beaten Cena and makes fun of the Thunder for losing in the NBA Finals. Punk gives JR a chance to run or he’s going to get knocked out. JR goes to leave but Punk stops him, saying there’s no more commentary for JR for the rest of the night. Punk makes him take the walk of shame and berates him as he leaves.

Cue Ryback and JR immediately turns back towards the ring. Ryback stares Punk down with JR behind him. Punk doesn’t back down at first and the fans are chanting FEED ME MORE. Now Punk backs down, which is something he said he never does in his promo a few moments before.

Alberto Del Rio vs. Kofi Kingston

Post Smackdown Del Rio attacked the already down Orton to put Orton off TV to film the movie I’d assume. Ricardo is going to do commentary here. This should be good. Del Rio immediately takes Kofi down to start but Kofi speeds things up as you would expect. Kofi knocks Del Rio to the floor as we take a break.

Back with Alberto holding an abdominal stretch with Ricardo complaining that it’s 3-1 with Little Jimmy and R-Truth out there. Kofi escapes and hits an elbow and clothesline. A nice dropkick puts Del Rio down followed by the Boom Drop. Trouble in Paradise misses but the springboard cross body does as well. Armbreaker and we’re done at 6:10. Most of that was during the break so no rating, but this was nothing of note.

The coach talks to AJ in the back about putting aside her personal issues. AJ wants something special to happen tonight, like making the coach the guest referee for the main event. This is only made interesting by hearing JR talking about doing a reveal in something we weren’t supposed to hear. That’s production gaffe #3 tonight. For those of you counting, I only mentioned one of them. An incorrect graphic was put up earlier as well as AJ’s music playing too early.

Hell No vs. CM Punk/Dolph Ziggler

This is non-title and AJ’s coach is referee for some reason. Scratch that as after the break before the match, AJ comes out as referee. Well I’m assuming she looks better in the outfit if nothing else. Kane and Ziggler start things off with Kane shoving him around a lot. Ziggler tries to get on Kane’s back but gets clotheslined to the floor. Bryan tags himself in as we take ANOTHER break.

Back with Ziggler holding Kane in the sleeper which means nothing anymore. A dropkick puts Kane down for two but the monster comes back with the low dropkick for two. A jumping DDT takes Kane down again and there’s the tag to Punk for the corner clothesline. Say it with me: the bulldog is countered. A side slam gets two on Punk as we still haven’t seen Bryan yet.

Kane hits the clothesline but as usual, Bryan tags in while Kane sets for the chokeslam. Punk kicks Bryan out of the air but Bryan moonsaults out of the corner. A clothesline from Daniel sets up the kicks and he takes Ziggler down as well, only to walk into the high kick for two. Dolph comes in and dropkicks Bryan to the floor. Bryan gets thrown into the barricade which gets two back inside and we hit the chinlock.

Back to Punk who goes up and gets crotched by Bryan. A butterfly superplex sets up the NO Lock on Punk but Punk (with Heyman’s help) makes the rope. AJ ejects both Heyman and Vickie, which makes Ziggler leave as well. Punk walks into the chokeslam and kane gets the pin at 12:35.

Rating: C. Not a terrible match here but it felt more like an angle than the match itself. Bryan and Kane have more or less been turned face now which is the best thing for both of them. They also weren’t featured as much tonight which is another good thing for them, as the company was bordering on overkill with them. Not a great match but it did its job….whatever that was.

Overall Rating: D+. This one felt flat to me. The biggest problem of all was that in the first two hours or so, everything felt really short, making it hard to get into anything. I’m wondering what the point was in squashing Clay, but more importantly we have Ryback getting face to face with Punk in the ring and the place going NUTS. That’s a really good sign for Ryback and hopefully it means something for the future. Not a good show tonight as it felt really flat, but it wasn’t the worst I’ve ever seen.

Results

Sin Cara/Rey Mysterio b. Epico/Primo – Top Rope Splash to Primo

Antonio Cesaro b. Brodus Clay – Neutralizer

The Miz b. Zack Ryder – Skull Crushing Finale

Ryback b. Tensai – Clothesline

Eve Torres b. Beth Phoenix – Spinning Neckbreaker

Santino Marella b. Heath Slater via DQ when Drew McIntyre and Jinder Mahal interfered

Sheamus b. Damien Sandow – Brogue Kick

Alberto Del Rio b. Kofi Kingston – Cross Armbreaker

Hell No b. Dolph Ziggler/CM Punk – Chokeslam to Punk

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