Who's wearing the pants?

It's time for another installment from the aussie mouthpiece. It's another wednesday, and that means another RAW has come and gone, and I'm here to give my thoughts.

So let's get straight to it.

I like where it's going. I like that they aren't rushing this angle. Who sent the text message? We still don't know, but now, as CM Punk said, it looks like we have a little mystery on our hands. And it's just getting more and more complex as each episode plays out.

Last week Kevin Nash didn't seem right. It didn't feel comfortable. He didn't seem comfortable. Luckily this week, things changed. Maybe it was being in the ring with his good buddy Hunter, maybe it was just a case of nerves, being back on a big stage (let's face it, TNA isn't really big time these days) for the first time in a long time. But, as I said last week, I am a huge Kevin Nash fan, so I am really glad that he seemed more comfortable in the ring. And I hope we eventually see him wrestling.


I also really like the story that's developing with Dolph and Vickie. Dolph is a great performer, he's going to be a world champion soon. Vickie is doing really well as a manager, and she is really over as a heel. I really hope they decide to run with the idea of giving her a stable of guys (possibly girls too) to manage, and bring back this idea of managers. They add so much to someone's presence. Remember when Shawn Michaels split from Janetty? He gained Sherri's managerial services, and was suddenly a top singles guy. Anyone who was associated with Bobby Heenan was automatically a massive heel. As the brain once said, "you listen to me, you go to the top. You don't listen to me... you're never heard from again".

So let's get into the specifics.

Straight away, let me say I'm hoping that Kevin Nash get's "hired"... it seems weird that he has no entrance music. But, I like the way it's being done, as HHH said, "He doesn't work here". That gives this angle the potential to run for a long time.

Anyway, here's the part where i start talking about what I liked about the show.

Man, I tell you what, I loved the ending to last week's show. Oh no, I just said i loved something Cena did! Look out, all those Cena haters are going to jump all over me. Big deal. Keep an open mind.
John IS changing his character ever so slightly. But he's doing it because it's right for the business, not to appease the people who dislike him.
But he's angry. He's got attitude. He's got balls. And that can only be a good thing.

And he's fighting to keep the integrity of the WWE championship whole. This I can get behind.

Cena's mic work this week was excellent. "I am so sick of trying to make average seem awesome".. I'm starting to wonder if he's talking about Del Rio himself, or the barrage of sub-standard storylines we've been fed for the last few years.
And John is right. As of right now, out of all the talent in the WWE, there's only one guy on RAW that can go with him. and that is CM Punk. I'd put Randy Orton in that category, but other than that, everyone else is retired or not wrestling right now. Shawn, HHH, Edge and Undertaker.
I did always enjoy his matches with Big Show though.

Whenever CM Punk's music hits you know things are going to get good. And as usual we're not disappointed. Punk is the voice of the voiceless again, saying it's a "re-run" and John Cena wants yet another title shot.

One thing i did notice, is Del Rio fits into this opening segment really nicely. He doesn't seem intimidated by being in the ring with, let's face it, the top 2 guys in the WWE right now. This bodes well for the future.

Awesome Jack Tunney reference by Punk.

This all seems very reminiscent of something to me though, in a good way. I watched Wrestling with Shadows last night, for the first time. A big part of that talks about the change from the wholesome product, with Bret Hart as the good guy, to the "evil" Stone Cold Steve Austin becoming a fan favourite, even though he is a "typical heel" type character. That's what's happening with Punk right now. He, as he said, insulted Stephanie McMahon right to her face at Summerslam. But he got cheered for it. It's a good sign, that things are changing. And every rebel needs a "man" to rebel against.. I'm not saying they're trying to re-create McMahon/Austin, but Hunter/Punk looks like it could get to that level.


I'd figured this would all lead to a Triple threat for the WWE title at night of champions. I mean I guess we could still get there after the finish to the main event this week. And they do need to make sure that Punk is on the card for Night of Champions. Every match is supposed to be a title match right? Triple Threat seems to be the way to go. Punk shouldn't win though, it should be another screwjob finish. Punk doesn't need the belt for this angle to work.

I guess Morrison/Del Rio was a good match. If you don't count the mis-steps by morrison. Sure he's athletic and high flying, but it takes more than that to be a top guy. If he wants to be the next Shawn Michaels (never going to happen) he needs to develop more of a well rounded style. Also, since coming back, if i'm right, he's only won once in singles competition? Why are they having him lose so much?

Divas. Lets see.. Eve got her neck snapped on the ropes and held her stomach.That kinda sums up how the match went for me.

Already talked about Vickie/Dolph. All i'll say is Alex Riley is the one that feels like an after-thought right now. Sure, he won, but the big story was Dolph and Vickie. Swagger got outshined as well. Admittedly, that's quite easy to do.

Ok so the Nash/HHH/Punk segment. Definitely my favourite part of the episode. Also, I'm so glad JR is getting a more dominant role as commentator. Cole can be the main guy on Smackdown, but JR is the voice of RAW, and he always will be.

As I said, Kevin Nash seemed so much more relaxed and comfortable this week. I don't get why people are worried that the fans of today don't know who Kevin Nash is. I mean, the internet is only a click/swipe/touch away these days. And this angle isn't for the casual fans. Let's be honest, it's for the fans who were sick of the product, and I also think for fans who may have stopped watching, who they're trying to get back.

Nash was great. HHH was great. It still feels a little stilted though. The most interesting part, was HHH saying "If you want to beat up CM Punk, go ahead ..... i don't care". Really think about it. All the little things that HHH has said in the last month, the things that at first seem harmless, and of no importance.. those are the things that people need to pay the most attention to. Not just HHH, everyone involved. Really go back and watch.

CM Punk, I think, may be on the right track. But I think (i hope this doesn't happen) this is all going to end up with Vince trying to get his job back. Laurinitis is Vince's yes-man.. and after the events of this week's RAW, it's clear he's not on HHH's "side". There's something more going on. And it's awesome.

The best part was that we got another HHH/Punk confrontation. And it was just as good as the first one. Punk is pushing the right buttons to get this kind of reaction from HHH and the fans. And Nash was just sticking up for his buddy. Or... was he sticking up for someone else.. someone who sends texts from other people's phones maybe...

The extra little backstage segment with HHH and Nash was good too. Nothing much to talk about, except for Nash telling Hunter that he's changed... It's interesting. I get the feeling Nash is working for Laurinitis, maybe trying to get Hunter to attack someone physically, so Laurinitis can use it as ammo to get Vince's job back. Just a thought.


Pastel colours don't look good as wrestling tights! And once again, the new tag team champions are just two singles guys who have been put together. Why are they teaming together? Why did it start? Give us some back story if you want us to care about the tag team division..

King refereneced the Bushwackers. Awesome.

So new tag champs.. that leads to a rematch at Night of Champions. Maybe there's going to be a run in from one of these apparent new signings of tag teams. .. Do something to make the Tag Team Titles matter.

JR.. A shooting star press is not a 450 splash.

And all we hear is that they've been talking about teaming for a long time after the match.. that doesn't make it interesting.


Ok, the main event starts now. Johnny Ace tells HHH that Nash was in a car accident.. my first thought was just that he did it to get rid of HHH so he could affect the outcome of the main event.

Miz and Truth shouldn't be a team. Truth may benefit from it, but it sends Miz backwards. Miz is main event. That's all.

As soon as this match was announced at the start of the show, it seemed pretty clear to me that Cena was going over. It made sense. it wasn't for any titles, and it keeps putting over the fact that Cena and Punk are on the same level.

Cena gets into the ring in a really impressive way. Just saying.

Ok so the match is the match, we all know what these guys can do in the ring, especially when they're wrestling each other.

Onto the finish.

Nice and simple when you think about it. CM Punk gets distracted, Cena picks up the win. Punk gets screwed over.

But if you add in the fake hospital call that Laurinitis gave HHH, that's when it gets interesting.

Oh, and before i go any further, of course Del Rio was going to attack the winner. Why else would he be out there? He can scout by watching a tv screen in the back.

Ok back to Nash. What does this mean? Did Nash have anything to do with Laurinitis giving HHH false information? My gut says no. Unless the story goes that Nash is being paid lots of money by Laurinitis/whoever Laurinitis is working for. I mean really working for.

Is Del Rio in on it? as the "corporate" champion, if i can use that term?.. I don't think so.

I can't wait for next week. The Nash/HHH confrontation is going to be worth it by itself, even without CM Punk, Cena, and the rest of the good stuff.


So what happens now? Well Nash is clearly operating on someone else's agenda. But the big question is who? The obvious answer is Vince, and that Laurinitis is the go-between with Vince and Nash. But, as with everything that's happened in the last 2 months, there hasn't really been any obvious stuff done, with the exception of the champ vs champ match at summerslam. But that was obvious in a good way. I'm hoping we don't find out who's behind it all until at least around the time of Vengeance. I'm not a big fan of the night of champions PPV, it's limiting in terms of storyline advancement, especially when your main storyline isn't really involving the title right now. But I am fairly sure they'll find a way to keep things interesting.

That's it, i'm done, leave a comment or send me a tweet @TheOZMouthpiece and tell me what you think. And if you don't like it, go suck a lemon.