In the effort of full disclosure, I have to say I did not watch the Daniel Bryan/Kane anger management skits last night. However, after reading reviews of the show, I realize that I missed out. Kane should be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame just for that performance.
On to the rest of the show!
1.) Watch CM Punk’s opening promo again. What, exactly, did he say that WASN’T true about Jerry Lawler? Mick Foley said in his first book that a great heel believes in what he says, regardless of how silly or asinine the statement is. That’s CM Punk right now, and that’s also the reason people were reluctant to buy into his heel turn.
Punk has always stated the truth before – and while the fans may not have want to have heard what he had to say, it was the truth. Eventually, that will get him over as a heel – much like his original “straight edge” character.
2.) Not that I’m one of those “back in my day” types when it comes to wrestling, but can you see Harley Race engaging in a Twitter war with Ric Flair over the NWA title? Actually – that might be kind of awesome.
3.) I wonder if they are going to show when HHH was literally handed the World Title as part of his “greatest moments” montage? Or Katie Vick? Maybe the time he squashed Eugene. Those were good times.
4.) In 90 seconds, Lawler got more over and got me more interested in a title match than anything that Alberto del Rio or Randy Orton have done in the past 12 months.
5.) What’s more contrived? Santino’s cobra with a mind of its own? Or the *ahem* “spontaneous” burst of tweets supporting Triple H yesterday?
6.) God, I LOVED the “HBK was better than you” sign during the first portion of Triple H’s promo.
7.) At 8:58 p.m. CST, Hunter said “Let’s cut to the chase” and said everyone wanted to know if he was retiring.
9:01 – we’re still cutting.
9:02 – we’re at the crossroads of time and retiring.
9:03 – “Am I done?” – still no answer. This chase that he’s cutting to must be buried like one of Triple H’s opponents in 2001.
9:05 – “I want to, but I don’t know if I can. I was forced to look inside myself and ask ‘Am I done?'”. Kind of like how I feel watching this segment.
9:06 – Thanking the fans must be the RIGHT THING FOR BUSINESS when cutting to the chase.
9:08 – To the fan who shouted “(The other wrestlers) would rather be in TNA!” – you win a Jerry Lawler Ed Hardy knockoff shirt. Congratulations on generating the pop of the night.
9:10 – still no sign of that chase we were cutting to a dozen minutes ago. And absolutely no advancement on the storyline at all.
At least he didn’t close with “I love you, pop” this time.
8.) Sheamus, Randy Orton and del Rio in the same match? It’s like I descended into my own personal 7th circle of Hell. All we’re missing is Tensai.
9.) “Night of Champions! The same matches as SummerSlam – just not as good!”
10.) A chinlock? In a cage match? Even Orton thinks that is not necessary. But that beating that Punk gave Lawler was badass. Perfectly done. It is exactly what this feud needed.
I guess that Lawler has taken over Jim Ross’s old role of “kick his ass to generate instant heel heat”. Hopefully Raw isn’t in Memphis any time soon – otherwise, Lawler may be joining the CM Punk “Kiss My Ass” club.
Thanks for reading!
