I’m going to try my very best to enjoy RAW tonight. I know I have been down on the product lately, but C.M. Punk’s year long Title reign is something to celebrate. I’m hoping we get a mock “This Is Your Life” from Punk.
Will Someone Just Get Ryback to Catering Already?
Ryback came out. He said he was about to feast on the WWE Championship until C.M. Punk’s three men took food from his mouth. He said they are now all his prey. He told all of them to come out and face him right now, and if they don’t, he is going to tear this place apart until he finds them. Vickie Guerrero came out. She said if Ryback caused chaos tonight he would be fined or suspended. But she does enjoy the way he destroys people, and she wanted to see how big his appetite really is. Tensai came out for a match. After some brawling Tensai hit a chokeslam and his diving back drop but Ryback kicked out immediately. Ryback hit a bodyslam then a spinebuster and they went to the outside. Ryback threw him into the barricade then back in the ring. He hit the Meathook Clothesline then Shell Shocked for the win.
Segment Analysis: So was that segment suppose to get us to support Ryback again? Because that didn’t really do anything for me. We’ve seen Tensai/Ryback before. And Ryback just showed why he can’t be a main eventer with his promo. If you have to use food analogies the whole time, it ain’t gonna work. Survey Says: 1.5/5
A Feud Over The IC Title? Shocking.
Wade Barrett vs Kofi Kingston. Barrett got the upperhand with some shots to the ribs and a headbutt. Barrett charged at Kofi but Kofi caught him with a take down. He mounted him with some punches in the corner. Kofi charged this time but Barrett caught him with an elbow. Barrett gained control with some elbows and a neckbreaker and a clothesline over the ropes. Back from break Barrett had a headlock applied. Kofi fought out but Barrett came back with a knee to the gut, then he put Kofi in the ropes and kicked him out of the ring. Barrett slammed Kofi’s head on the steps and continued to work over Barrett’s face back in the ring. Kofi started a comeback against Barrett. He hit the Boom Drop. Kofi charged at him but Barrett hit a tilt-a-whirl slam for two. Kofi caught Barrett in the corner with a kick to the face and then a crossbody from the top for two. Kofi then hit the SOS for two. Barrett grabbed Kofi and dragged his face on the ropes, then hit the Bull Hammer Elbow for the win.
Match Analysis: Good match between these two with Barrett constantly working over Kofi’s eye after jabbing it earlier. Different part of the body to work over. Barrett needs something to do before he gets elevated up the card, so this works for now. Solid match between these guys. Its a fresh feud and I’m positive these two will put on good matches. Survey Says: 3/5
The Brad Maddox stuf from last week was replayed.
Paul Heyman walked around backstage with a C.M. Punk picture. He then met up with Punk. Matt Striker asked if he had any association with the NXT guys from last night and about Ryback’s comments. Heyman said tonight is a celebration and everyone is invited, including Ryback. Punk looked puzzled and asked to talk to Heyman.
Kaitlyn beat Aksana with a gut buster.
Antonio Cesaro defeated Brodus Clay after an upper cut from the top rope and then a Neutralizer as R-Truth watched on doing commentary. Give this man a proper feud already.
OW MY ANKLE!
Vickie Guerrero came out with some couple. Vickie said A.J. has made a fool of herself with all of her lies. Vickie said she had eyewitnesses. Ms. Smith was a waitress at the restaurant where A.J. and Cena had dinner. She said they wanted a private table and were very touchy the whole dinner. Doug Brady was a parking attendant and saw the two remain in a parked vehicle for an hour and the father of a family came to complain to him. A.J. came out and said she was sick of Vickie’s crap. She said if Vickie wanted to fire her than just fire her, if not, she should just shut the hell up. Vickie said she had a pic of the two from the car, and warned of nudity. Cena came out. He said if he wanted to make news, then he would. Cena made out with A.J. Cena went to talk but A.J. grabbed him and they made out again. Dolph came out and attacked Cena. They brawled and Cena chased Ziggler to the back. Cena clearly sprained or twisted his ankle in the process.
Segment Analysis: See what happens when you put Cena in a crappy angle? He rolls his ankle. So does that prove these two had a thing? Or does it just mean more of this crap? Unfortunately, probably the latter. At least we will probably get a good Cena/Ziggler match out of this. Survey Says: 1.5/5
I Wonder Who’s Winning Here…
Orton vs Del Rio 2 out of 3 falls. The two exchanged control early. Del Rio started to work over Orton’s arm and dropped it on the ropes then slammed it against the ringpost. Del Rio refused to stop and the ref DQ’d Del Rio, giving Orton the first fall. Del Rio continued to work over Orton’s arm back from break. Orton started fighting back with his usual Orton offense. Orton went for the RKO but Del Rio applied the cross armbreaker, causing Orton to tap. Del Rio gets the second fall. Del Rio caught Orton’s arm with an enziguri kick. Orton caught Del Rio with a backbreaker. Ricardo took down Orton by his leg and the ref ejected him. As Orton watched on Del Rio hit a backstabber. Orton caught Del Rio attempting an RKO and hit the middle rope DDT instead. Orton went for the RKO but Del Rio applied the cross armbreaker. Orton made it a pin attempt and Del Rio kicked out. Del Rio went for a kick but missed, and Orton finally connected on the RKO for the win.
Match Analysis: How is this even still considered a feud? This is more like the Bills vs the Patriots. Randy Orton always wins. The match was okay. But it was good to see another long TV match on this show. Hopefully this is the end of this. Orton needs to move on, and the WWE desperately needs to get some heat back on De Rio. Survey Says: 3/5
Great Khali beat Epico and Primo. Hornswoggle came out with flowers for Rosa. Water came out of the flowers and into Rosa’s face. This allowed Khali to pick up the win.
Paul Heyman yelled at a stage hand for not having balloons for Punk’s celebration.
Miz defeated David Otunga. Miz was getting some cheers, but they are just doing his face turn all wrong. The WWE is just expecting people to cheer for him rather than giving them a reason to cheer for him. This will be a challenge.
Lose Your Tag Partner, Get Jobbed Out
Sheamus before his match said that Big Show has now made it personal. He said Show has shown his true colors by pulling a referee in front of him to take the Brogue Kick. Sheamus called Big Show out. Show came out and said that they have nothing to settle. Show told Sheamus that he doesn’t deserve the World Title. They argued over each other until Sandow came out. Sheamus got the upper hand early and shoulder tackled Sandow out of the ring. Sheamus hit some punches in the corner then an axe handle take down. Sheamus kept on the offensive and tossed Sandow over the ropes. Back from commercial, Sandow gained control. He hit some knees and then some elbows in the ropes. Sandow kept applying headlocks. Sheamus would fight out but Sandow would go right back to them. Sandow went for the Elbow of Disdain but Sheamus popped up and hit an Irish Curse Backbreaker. Sheamus hit his rope punches then a suplex and a battering ram from the top. Sheamus hit White Noise than the Brogue Kick for the win.
Match Analysis: Average match. So does Sandow become a guy that just doesn’t have anything to do now that Rhodes is hurt. I hope not. Sheamus pretty much dominated the whole match and Sandow never looked like he was competing with Sheamus. Crowd didn’t seem to behind him either at the end. Not as good as their match a month ago. Survey Says: 2.5/5
A.J. asked Vickie what she was going to do about Cena being hurt. She said nothing as Tamina prevented A.J. from getting close to Vickie. Back from break, A.J. confronted Ziggler in the locker room. Ziggler said girls like A.J. are a dime a dozen, and that A.J. is nothing but a clinger and trash. A.J. started punching Ziggler until Cena stopped her. Ziggler and Cena brawled and Ziggler speared Cena through the wall of a stall.
More Wrestling?
Team Hell No vs Team Mexicools V2. Sin Cara missed a flip from the top and Kane took him out with a shoulder tackle. Bryan tagged himself in. He missed a knee off the ropes. Rey was tagged in and they hit a double kick on Bryan. Kane tagged himself in. Rey went to work kicking Kane’s legs. Kane went to the outside. Rey hit a seated senton on Kane, Bryan hit a dive on Rey, and Sin Cara dove over the ropes onto Bryan into commercial. Back from break Bryan and Kane worked over Sin Cara. Bryan charged at Cara in the corner but Sin Cara caught him with a kick and tagged in Rey as Bryan tagged in Kane. Kane hit some corner clotheslines but Rey hit a reverse DDT. Sin Cara took out Bryan with a senton on the outside. Kane caught Rey with an uppercut. Kane went for a Tombstone but Rey reversed it and pushed Kane into the ropes. Rey went to the top but Kane caught him and went for a chokeslam, but the Prime Time Players interfered. Eventually the faces took them out and Rey hit a 619 and Kane a chokeslam.
Match Analysis: A non-finish was kind of expected given that there was no build for this match. Could easily see a ladder match at TLC. Action was alright. Still love to see the tag team division being pushed like this. Survey Says: 2.5/5
WHERE ARE THE BALLOONS???
Paul Heyman was in the ring. He said that the fans had no right to boo him because he represents a man that has successfully defended the WWE Title for 365 days. Heyman said maybe it was because they made fun of Jerry Lawler last week. Heyman said that they give everyone a little piece of the Attitude Era, which people beg for, and they complain. Heyman introduced C.M. Punk as Paul Heyman “cried.” Punk ran through all the top guys who never held the WWE Title for one year. A video then played recapping Punk’s reign. Punk said he looks forward to 2018, on the 255th episode of Main Event on Ion, when he passes Bruno Sammartino on top of the list of longest reigning Champions. Heyman said Sammartino or Hulk Hogan could never beat C.M. Punk. Neither could Rock or Austin. Punk said no one thought he could win last night, and it was his best win of the reign.
Ryback interrupted Punk. Rollins, Ambrose and Reigns jumped Ryback and prevented him from getting into the ring. They dropped Ryback through the announce table again. Punk left the ring and stood tall over Ryback saying “Best in the World” as the show closed.
Segment Analysis: Hmm. I don’t know what to think of that segment. I was expecting a little bit more out of the celebration. Heyman delivered a strong opening promo and the video package was well done. Punk listing off all of the past WWE stars just has you thinking about all the dream matches doesn’t it? We still don’t know what the deal is with Rollins, Ambrose and Reigns. And we might not for a few weeks. Remember the WWE likes to drag things out. I’m assuming we get a Tables Match at TLC between Ryback and Punk, although it is quite evident that the crowd is starting to care less and less about Ryback. Survey Says: 3.5/5
OVERALL
I thought this was an average show of RAW. There were two very solid matches with Barrett/Kofi and Orotn/Del Rio. I didn’t like Sandow getting pretty much jobbed out to Sheamus again. The whole A.J./Vickie/Cena/Dolph stuff is still ridiculous but the last segment of the night was actually well done. Dolph ran down A.J. pretty well. I don’t know where they are going with the Cena injury stuff. More time off for Cena? Perhaps. But that means this angle gets dragged out longer. Miz’s face turn continues to get handled poorly. Fans don’t have a reason to care. While the end segment was good, I still think it lacked more of a big deal to it. And I don’t think fans want to see Ryback in the main event again. I’m giving RAW a 5.
Until Next Time,
Justin C
Follow Me On Twitter @JCWonka
