Kane starts off the show looking pretty happy and wearing the belt around his waist. So few guys do that. Kane’s got the stick and runs down the men who he beat in the battle royal at Wrestlemania. Kane lets us know the ECW match at Wrestlemania was 0:08. The crowd breaks out in a little ECW chant for the new champ. Kane says “You haven’t seen anything yet.” in regards to brutality in ECW.
Cue CM Punk!
Punk walks down with the briefcase one hand, mic in the other. Please Punk, save your shot for a championship that matters.
“I see you had a good day Sunday too.” -Kane
Punk lets us know that he’s jealous of Kane despite winning Money in the Bank. They tease Punk cashing in the contract, but here comes Chavo. Chavo says no one, and he means no one, is getting an ECW title match before he does. He calls the match at Mania a fluke. Punk says that Chavo made history at Wrestlemania by holding the record for having the shortest match in Wrestlemania history. Chavo announces that tonight it’s Kane and Punk vs. Chavo and Shelton Benjamin! It’s nice to see that Shelton can still walk after taking the Jeff Hardy bump at Mania. Poor Punk, this will be the third physical match in a row for him. Punk and Shelton talk some smack before Punk’s music hits and we’re off to commercial.
It was a good idea for them to put Punk out there with Kane. It adds some charisma to the segment. Kane’s great and all, but Punk’s got the crowd firmly behind him.
What most people might forget is that Kane is a nine time tag team champion with six different partners. Putting him in a random tag team shouldn’t really faze him, he’s pretty much a tag team specialist.
Does anyone else think that the Red Hot Chili Peppers song picked for Wrestlemania is just about the worst idea that the WWE could have had?
Mike Knox over Stevie Richards by corkscrew faceplant
Remember Stevie Richards? Yeah, he’s the guy that they tried to make you care about before they realized Wrestlemania was right around the corner. In the heel corner, the guy the WWE can’t decide if they want to push or not, Mike Knox.
Collar and elbow to start, Stevie goes behind, grabs a headlock in the front, but Knox powers him into the corner with some shoulders. Stevie goes for a kick, Knox grabs the boot and Stevie hits an enziguiri. Knox goes outside and Stevie attempts a splash from the apron, but Knox hits him with a back elbow.
Back in the ring, Knox hits a hanging suplex for a twol. TWO! Stevie hits a massive slap to the gut, but Knox turns it around with a shin to the face and a bear hug. Stevie fights out, but Know whips him to the ropes and catches him with another bear hug, Tazz reminds us that a bear hug is an old school move. Thanks Tazz.
STevie fights out again and finally gets out by biting the forehead. Knox responds with a belly to back suplex. Knox misses a super leg drop, Stevie hits a reverse atomic drop. Stevie chops Knox down with some kicks to the thighs and back, attempts a whip to the ropes, but gets tossed himself. Knox is met with a back elbow, but Stevie is grabbed and dropped across Knox’ knee. Knox picks up Stevie, hits him with his corkscrew faceplant and that’s all she wrote.
Colin Delaney is with Tazz! Colin had no match, but next year he hopes to have a match and not have to buy a ticket. The interview is broken up by Armando, who has news for Colin. It’s his first official contract! Colin’s pretty happy in the ring, but… April fools. Wow. That was shitty. Instead, he’s gotta beat.. The Big Show. Uh oh.
The Big Show over Colin Delaney by Cobra Clutch
Did you ever read Mick Foley’s first book? Remember when Dominic Denucci said “He takes-ah good bump”? Well, Colin Delaney must “take-ah good bump” too. Colin tries to walk away, but Show doesn’t let him. There are no “Show’s gonna kill you” chants tonight. Dammit. I liked those. Show puts his hand on Colin’s shoulder as he tries to get away and he locks in the cobra clutch for a quick victory. Too bad about that. I was really expecting a “Show’s gonna kill you” chant. That should piss off the ROHbots quite a bit.
You know what was better than the RAW tribute to Flair?
NOTHING.
But the video package of the goodbye that he was given was pretty damn close.
CM Punk and Kane over Shelton Benjamin and Chavo Guerrero by GTS
Punk and Shelton start off the match. Shelton gets the advantage, but Punk comes back quick with some strikes and a snap suplex. Punk gets a hammer lock and tags in Kane. Kane hits an uppercut, pulls helton down and drops a seated drop kick on Shelton. Shelton tags in Chavo, who goes after Kane in the corner. Kane comes out and tosses Chavo back to the corner, but is met with a boot to the face. Chavo tags out and Shelton can’t whip Kane. Kane tosses Shelton out o the ring and tosses Chavo out, but Chavo misses the apron and lands sternum first on the apron. Ow.
We’re back from commercial and the faces have control. Shelton’s taking the punishment. Shelton tags in Chavo, who is fresh and goes to work on Punk. Punk’s whipped to the corner and eats a running elbow. Chavo goes for it again and is picked up by Punk who goes for the GTS, but Shelton comes in and boots Punk in the face. Shelton’s in and continues the control of Punk.
Chavo comes back in and lays it in on Punk with a grapevine and reverse chin lock followed by a bow and arrow. Punk fights out, but it’s not enough to gain control. Chavo brings Punk to the heel corner and Shelton oes some dirty work behind the ref’s back. Shelton’s in and gets outsmarted by Punk a few times for near falls, but Punk doesn’t have enough to make it stick. Tag back to Chavo. Punk hits the rising knee and bulldog. Kane gets the FIREY tag and Kane starts to work on Shelton, who was also tagged in. Kane seems overly animated in the ring tonight, nice to light a FIRE under him. Shleton gets grabbed for a chokeslam, but fights out. One big boot later, Kane goes up top, but is crotched by Chavo. Punk tags himself in, who hits a high round kick and the GTS on Shelton and that’s the match.
Two good shows in a row for the WWE. they put a bit more story into this show than usual. I’m okay with that as long as they follow it up next week. It’s nice to see more than one contender for the ECW title too, but we’ll see how long that lasts with Punk being Mr. Money in the Bank.
