It's that time again, another week has come and gone, another episode of RAW, and that means it's time for another installment of Home Schooling. This week is going to be a little different. The first half of this post will be about Raw, and the second will be my regular "pre pay-per-view" blog, The Calm Before the Storm, which will be my rundown and predictions for the Wrestlemania card. I'll try to keep everything nice and concise so this doesn't turn into a short novel.
So let's get down to business.
I thought this week's RAW was a decent episode, but I was a bit disappointed with it, seeing as though it was the "go home" show for Wrestlemania. To me, this show is meant to be the one that "talks people into the building". I know that with Wrestlemania it's obviously different, because you have people who will be buying it no matter what, and also that most people will have already made up their minds about buying it or not, but still, it lacked that extra something for me.
Maybe it was that Chris Jericho wasn't "live" in the arena. Maybe because we just got a video package for one of the top 3 matches for Wrestlemania. Maybe it was because the last 25 minutes of the show were set aside for Rock and Cena. Probably not that last one. I really enjoyed that whole segment. Especially once Cena came out. But I'll get to that later.
The other thing that bothered me, is that we seem to have lost a lot of that "Pay per view" feel. Take the opening match. Sheamus and Orton vs Daniel Bryan and Kane. I would have thought the way to have this match work, would be to tease Orton and Kane (and Bryan and Sheamus) being in the ring together, not have the two sets of opponents spend a good majority of the match wrestling each other. To me it's now kind of like (especially with Orton and Kane) I've seen a lot of the match I'm going to see at Wrestlemania already, and I didn't have to pay for it. So why do I care about this match now?
One quick thing about Team Johnny/Team Teddy.. Laurinitis can't even deliver a one line promo correctly. That says just about everything that needs to be said about this match.
Part of me thinks that there's a little too much emphasis on the Rock and Cena. Yes, it's a huge match. Yes, it's "once in a lifetime". But the WWE Title should be just as important I think. So why wasn't Chris Jericho wrestling a singles match this week? All we've seen is Jericho talk for the last few weeks. Why is that? Do we not need to see that Jericho is a great wrestler? Something doesn't quite feel right in that sense, and I can't really figure out why they wouldn't have him wrestling, or at least interfering in a match or something.
Unless Jericho is slightly injured. Hopefully that's not the case.
Jericho's promos have been entertaining, and edgy. They have made the feud personal. Now I don't really see that the whole "bastard" thing is a big deal, or why that's a bigger deal than saying things about CM Punk's family. But that's neither here nor there.
Punk taking his anger out on Christian was the right move. It shows us that Punk IS angry about this, and also that Jericho has gotten to him, which in turn adds a little bit of doubt into whether Punk will retain the title. And also, apparently Christian isn't 100%, so it was a good way to write him out of the Tag match.
Incidentally, I really like the way Punk delivers those kicks to the head.
Did anyone else notice that this week's Jericho promo looked exactly the same as last weeks? As in, it was recorded the same time as last weeks? Lazy bit of TV right there.
Now, about this "End of an Era" video package. I understand that Triple H and Undertaker have basically said everything they could possibly say, but I think we, the viewers, and more importantly the people who paid to be at the show deserved to see these guys. Originally I was thinking the way it should have been done, would have been to show the video package last week, and then have the in ring segment from last week, on this week's show. But I've come up with a second theory.
What if this week, Triple H came down to the ring, and called out Shawn? They have some kind of heated words about Shawn's ego, about what Undertaker said, and maybe it gets a little phyiscal, maybe they push each other, get in each other's face? And then, the lights go out. When they come back on, Undertaker is at the top of the stage, looking at the ring, and all he does is smile. I don't know, it just felt like only having a video package detracted from how big this match is.
Cody Rhodes delivered probably the second best moment of the episode for me this week. His promo was great. And the best part, it actually got me interested in the Intercontinental title match. Well done to Cody. Hopefully this continues after Wrestlemania, and we see him getting a shot at the World title/WWE Title soon.
Ok onto The Rock, and John Cena. Rock spends way too much time standing there with a cheesy grin on his face. So let's just get that out of the way right now. Rock talks about all the young starlets throwing themselves at him. That's only a little bit creepy Rocky. But let's move on.
Yes. Rock delivered a great promo. It was the same stuff though. My biggest problem with all this though, is yes, The Rock will be on RAW next week. But after that, he's gone again right? So really, regardless of the result, John Cena will be proven right (at least temporarily if Rock is going to be part of WM 29).
So let's talk about Cena for a minute here. His promo was the best part of the night. He talked about how the fans boo him. He talked about it not bothering him. That was expected. But after a few minutes it got real good, real quick. It got into that weird area of "is this a shoot?" for a little bit there as well. But once again, as has happened in the last few weeks, John Cena basically owned The Rock on the microphone.
He talked about how he's been the only guy who's gotten booed and never turned heel. And then antagonised the booing crowd, saying that he always wins. That part to me was the most interesting, because if you think about it from a non-kayfabe perspective, he's saying "The office knows that I'm the man, and that's why I always win". Very interesting. Of course, kayfabe wise, it was just saying "you can hate me all you want, but i'll still find a way". I think that may have been my favourite part of Cena's promo.
He talked about how The Rock was there when it was "cool" to be a WWE Superstar, but Cena has been the face of the company when it's been going through harder times. This is why Cena has been better than The Rock in these promos. Rock has insulted everything Cena wears, cares about, says, his family, and basically been a schoolyard bully.
Cena, has been saying things that are fact, yet things that show the Rock in a poor light, like the notes on the wrist, like Rock being there when it was "cool". Not insulting what makes the Rock, The Rock.
Ok scratch what I said about my favourite part. Cena calling the Rock a visitor, and then Rock's response. That is my favourite part of the night, and this entire feud. Because Rock delivered his response with passion. Not trying to get things trending, not trying to say new cool catchphrases, just speaking from the heart. Also, Cena's response to Rock's response was just as good. All in all a brilliant final segment, and thinking about it, definitely worth giving them the 20 minutes at the end of RAW.
One last thing about Rock/Cena, I think they should have made a slightly bigger deal about Rock wanting to be the greatest of all time by being the first guy to beat Hogan, Austin and Cena, instead of the ladyparts/transvestite wonder woman/barney's turd crap that we had to put up with. I would have been much more interested, and, now that I think about it, probably have been wanting The Rock to win if it had gone that way. Oh what could have been....
Ok so that's all for this week, I'll be on twitter during Wrestlemania so I'll be joining in with the crazy tweet barrage that happens. Until next week's blog, follow me on twitter if you're not already @TheOZMouthpiece and leave me a comment on here if you like, or dislike, or have something interesting to say.
Business.. is concluded.
Showing posts with label Miz. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Miz. Show all posts
March 28, 2012
September 23, 2011
To gimmick, or not to gimmick?
And here we go again, with a belated edition of my weekly Raw blog.
I am the Aussie Mouthpiece, and if this is your first time reading this page, you're in for a treat! No recapping here, no move for move retelling of this week's episode of RAW, just what I considered the best parts, and my take on what it all means and what happens next.
So onto the show.
I think it was a pretty obvious point to everyone that Nash would be returning at Night of Champions, and would be doing Laurinitis' bidding. (to check out my NOC review, go to this link http://aussiemouthpiece.blogspot.com/2011/09/champions-or-chumps.html)
And also I, like a few other people who's opinions i've read/heard, thought Nash would not be on RAW this week. And it was the right decision not to have him there. Here's an idea.. have him show up at Hell in a Cell. Maybe distract Punk, costing him the title. (it's a HIAC match, he's not going to be able to interfere.. is he?)
That sets up Punk/Nash at the appropriately titled Vengeance.. right?
It's too bad Michael Cole's voice came back. Just saying...
It's been said a lot before, but the best wrestlers, the wrestlers that have the most success, they're just themselves turned up to 10. That's what has happened with Punk since july.
He's not playing a character that says things people find shocking. He's not pretending to be pissed off with the way things are.
This week's opening segment, with Punk talking about how he's beat up, but his pride hurts the most, was more of the same. It's believable, I mean, clearly whoever saw that main event.. those 2 guys were hitting some brutal stuff on each other.
But it was good to see he's not relying on dropping "pipebombs" every week just to stay over.
It was good that Triple H showed a bit of respect towards Punk as well. I like the slight change in direction.. the "somebody is playing both of us" angle.
It's just too bad that we have to listen to John Laurinitis' poor mic skills, annoying voice, and stilted delivery of lines he clearly can't fully remember.
It kinda seems obvious to me where this is going.. and that it's all heading to survivor series, with some kind of "control of the wwe" match maybe, like we had in 2001. Vince's team vs HHH's team maybe. And apparently because Del Rio mentioned Vince's name, Vince lost his mind this week.
He doesn't want anyone to know he's going to be coming back.. but, Laurinitis was Vince's lackey on TV.. now he's opposing HHH.. it's not the biggest leap to think that Laurinitis is working for Vince.
I'm not going to talk about each match specifically, BUT... way to bury Morrison RAW writers.. 45 seconds? We already know that Del Rio's submission move is really effective. So unless the show was running amazingly behind schedule.. why were the entrances for the del rio/morrison match longer than the match itself? Ridiculous.
Hugh Jackman! Awesome! Aussie Aussie Aussie.
Vickie Guerrero is the best heel in the WWE right now. She has the most heat in the WWE right now. Awesome.
I think this was my favourite part of the show this week. I've been saying it for a month.. but Ziggler is the next big thing. The way he and Jackman interacted was really natural, really funny. It helps having a really good actor to play off of. But it was great.
"Are you staring me down?" "Are you hypnotised? A little confused?" Brilliant.
Hugh Jackman gets a sign from the crowd that says Ryder is greater than Wolverine.. that was awesome.
Oh one other thing about Dolph, I really hope he starts (or continues) to use "No offense" as a catchphrase.
Here's an idea: If you're going to have Sin Cara come out to attack Sin Cara, and you want people to cheer for one Sin Cara and boo one Sin Cara... give the audience the ability to differentiate between the two! Black tights! Dark Blue tights! anything!
Mark Henry. He's suddenly become really good at delivering a promo. I don't know how the change happened, maybe he watched some tapes of great talkers and picked something up, but it's really great to see. The guy deserves this run. I especially liked him making JR apologise and then telling him "i hate ass-kissers".
I read that the table was supposed to be gimmicked, but it wasn't. And because of that King is really injured. That's not good. But, in a weird kind of way it helps put Henry over even more. Hopefully it's not a serious injury and King will be back soon.
Or it's just a story to help get Henry over even more. We are in the "reality" era...
Ok so I had one thought about Henry and where this is heading. He said "ain't no man gonna take this from me".
Well.. what about Undertaker? Survivor series... 20 years since he won his first world title... could be interesting. Who knows.. i'm kind of leaning towards Undertaker not coming back until it's time for the Mania build.
I'm saying only this about the divas. If the "Divas of Doom" are supposed to be really strong and shaking up the divas division, why are they being beaten all the time? Unless it's some weird idea about trying to turn them face or something. But I can't see how that would work. Kelly is starting to piss me off though.
Great to see Ryder on Raw again, even greater that he got a win over the US champion. And wow... that punch from Hugh Jackman looked really stiff. Dolph is the man.
I thought the ending to this week's show was great. It felt really real, which is always a good thing. I mean aside from the firings, which is a work. Clearly.
So where's it all going? Well here's how i see it. It all leads to survivor series right? That's the big payoff. It's gotta be a traditional elimination match. We already know that Cena and Rock are supposed to be teaming up (at least at the moment that's the plan). So then on one team you could have Cena, Rock, HHH and Punk. Facing Nash, Miz, Truth and ??? (vince.. shane o mac, johnny ace, X-Pac even) Probably not vince, he might be in the corner or make a run in though.
But it's set up for Miz and Truth to be re-hired by Laurinitis, like Nash was, undermining HHH's authority, leading to arguments etc.. It's a big storyline... the biggest they've tried for a while. Probably since the "who killed Vince" one that got cut off in the middle.
Anyway, I've written enough for now. Let me know what you think by leaving a comment, or if you're not already, follow me on twitter @TheOZMouthpiece
I'm trying to set up a google+ account too, but i'm still learning how the hell it works. Once that's done though i'll add it to my page somehow.
That's it, and that's all.
I am the Aussie Mouthpiece, and if this is your first time reading this page, you're in for a treat! No recapping here, no move for move retelling of this week's episode of RAW, just what I considered the best parts, and my take on what it all means and what happens next.
So onto the show.
I think it was a pretty obvious point to everyone that Nash would be returning at Night of Champions, and would be doing Laurinitis' bidding. (to check out my NOC review, go to this link http://aussiemouthpiece.blogspot.com/2011/09/champions-or-chumps.html)
And also I, like a few other people who's opinions i've read/heard, thought Nash would not be on RAW this week. And it was the right decision not to have him there. Here's an idea.. have him show up at Hell in a Cell. Maybe distract Punk, costing him the title. (it's a HIAC match, he's not going to be able to interfere.. is he?)
That sets up Punk/Nash at the appropriately titled Vengeance.. right?
It's too bad Michael Cole's voice came back. Just saying...
It's been said a lot before, but the best wrestlers, the wrestlers that have the most success, they're just themselves turned up to 10. That's what has happened with Punk since july.
He's not playing a character that says things people find shocking. He's not pretending to be pissed off with the way things are.
This week's opening segment, with Punk talking about how he's beat up, but his pride hurts the most, was more of the same. It's believable, I mean, clearly whoever saw that main event.. those 2 guys were hitting some brutal stuff on each other.
But it was good to see he's not relying on dropping "pipebombs" every week just to stay over.
It was good that Triple H showed a bit of respect towards Punk as well. I like the slight change in direction.. the "somebody is playing both of us" angle.
It's just too bad that we have to listen to John Laurinitis' poor mic skills, annoying voice, and stilted delivery of lines he clearly can't fully remember.
It kinda seems obvious to me where this is going.. and that it's all heading to survivor series, with some kind of "control of the wwe" match maybe, like we had in 2001. Vince's team vs HHH's team maybe. And apparently because Del Rio mentioned Vince's name, Vince lost his mind this week.
He doesn't want anyone to know he's going to be coming back.. but, Laurinitis was Vince's lackey on TV.. now he's opposing HHH.. it's not the biggest leap to think that Laurinitis is working for Vince.
I'm not going to talk about each match specifically, BUT... way to bury Morrison RAW writers.. 45 seconds? We already know that Del Rio's submission move is really effective. So unless the show was running amazingly behind schedule.. why were the entrances for the del rio/morrison match longer than the match itself? Ridiculous.
Hugh Jackman! Awesome! Aussie Aussie Aussie.
Vickie Guerrero is the best heel in the WWE right now. She has the most heat in the WWE right now. Awesome.
I think this was my favourite part of the show this week. I've been saying it for a month.. but Ziggler is the next big thing. The way he and Jackman interacted was really natural, really funny. It helps having a really good actor to play off of. But it was great.
"Are you staring me down?" "Are you hypnotised? A little confused?" Brilliant.
Hugh Jackman gets a sign from the crowd that says Ryder is greater than Wolverine.. that was awesome.
Oh one other thing about Dolph, I really hope he starts (or continues) to use "No offense" as a catchphrase.
Here's an idea: If you're going to have Sin Cara come out to attack Sin Cara, and you want people to cheer for one Sin Cara and boo one Sin Cara... give the audience the ability to differentiate between the two! Black tights! Dark Blue tights! anything!
Mark Henry. He's suddenly become really good at delivering a promo. I don't know how the change happened, maybe he watched some tapes of great talkers and picked something up, but it's really great to see. The guy deserves this run. I especially liked him making JR apologise and then telling him "i hate ass-kissers".
I read that the table was supposed to be gimmicked, but it wasn't. And because of that King is really injured. That's not good. But, in a weird kind of way it helps put Henry over even more. Hopefully it's not a serious injury and King will be back soon.
Or it's just a story to help get Henry over even more. We are in the "reality" era...
Ok so I had one thought about Henry and where this is heading. He said "ain't no man gonna take this from me".
Well.. what about Undertaker? Survivor series... 20 years since he won his first world title... could be interesting. Who knows.. i'm kind of leaning towards Undertaker not coming back until it's time for the Mania build.
I'm saying only this about the divas. If the "Divas of Doom" are supposed to be really strong and shaking up the divas division, why are they being beaten all the time? Unless it's some weird idea about trying to turn them face or something. But I can't see how that would work. Kelly is starting to piss me off though.
Great to see Ryder on Raw again, even greater that he got a win over the US champion. And wow... that punch from Hugh Jackman looked really stiff. Dolph is the man.
I thought the ending to this week's show was great. It felt really real, which is always a good thing. I mean aside from the firings, which is a work. Clearly.
So where's it all going? Well here's how i see it. It all leads to survivor series right? That's the big payoff. It's gotta be a traditional elimination match. We already know that Cena and Rock are supposed to be teaming up (at least at the moment that's the plan). So then on one team you could have Cena, Rock, HHH and Punk. Facing Nash, Miz, Truth and ??? (vince.. shane o mac, johnny ace, X-Pac even) Probably not vince, he might be in the corner or make a run in though.
But it's set up for Miz and Truth to be re-hired by Laurinitis, like Nash was, undermining HHH's authority, leading to arguments etc.. It's a big storyline... the biggest they've tried for a while. Probably since the "who killed Vince" one that got cut off in the middle.
Anyway, I've written enough for now. Let me know what you think by leaving a comment, or if you're not already, follow me on twitter @TheOZMouthpiece
I'm trying to set up a google+ account too, but i'm still learning how the hell it works. Once that's done though i'll add it to my page somehow.
That's it, and that's all.
September 20, 2011
Champions or Chumps?
It's that time again... another pay per view has come and gone, and I'm going to give my thoughts. This will be more of a recap than my blogs about RAW, so if for some reason you don't want spoilers, look away, or wait until you've watched Night of Champions to read this.
So my first overall thoughts, some 3 hours and a bit after the PPV has finished? I thought it was a good show, was surprised by how good some of the matches were, shocked at some of the finishes.. but overall, a little confused. Hopefully watching the replays (of which we get 3 in australia) will help.
I'll get to the rundown of the matches in a minute, but first of all, some initial opinions
No Jim Ross? Are you serious? Especially bad considering the "lead" announcer lost his voice and didn't do anything during the main event.
Just because Kofi and Bourne both wore green, it doesn't make them a "team". To me it still feels like two singles wrestlers put together. I'm not a fan of their name, and i've never been a fan of just using both guy's music as their entrance. At least do what they did for Miz/Show, or Jeri-Show, or RatedRKO and make one song out of their two entrance themes.
And Miz and Truth look even less like a "team". For all the reports that the tag team division is supposed to be being built back up, we're not seeing it yet. What about pushing the Uso's? The one "TEAM" you have WWE...
After the way the Women's (not using the word diva) match went down, I think it would have made more sense to put it earlier in the card. Just in case the crowd kinda died because their hometown girl didn't win. And also, who the hell believes that Kelly kelly could hold Beth Phoenix down in that kind of pin combination for a 3 count, especially when she didn't even get her legs over Beth's arms??
Cena winning is the right idea. Del Rio wasn't doing well as champ. I wasn't taking him seriously. He can be a world champ, but it wasn't the right timing I don't think.
Mark Henry cut a great promo after he (finally) won the title. He surprised me with how good that was. I hope he can keep it up, because he deserves a run with the belt.
Why was there an in ring promo segment?.. This isn't RAW or Smackdown.. i didn't pay to see guys talking to each other. Why not instead of that, have Christian and Sheamus in a match? Sure, it's "night of champions", but what was the main event?
And I'll get to that main event later, because I have a feeling it's going to be a long post.
Ok, so now that's out of the way. Let's get on to the matches.
So the show opened with the Tag Team titles.. well what are you going to do? They are, at this point, the belts with the least amount of importance. Which is a shame, because tag team wrestling can be a great part of a wrestling show. Look at the motor city machine guns and beer money. when they're not injured. But, having said that, the first match on a card is fairly important. It sets the tone.
As I said before, Miz and Truth don't look like a team. Miz could have worn black tights so he matched Truth's pants...
The match was solid, but nothing special to me. I still think that Miz needs to be in the main event picture, maybe move to smackdown, and have a Miz/Orton feud after Orton and Henry are done.
No real highlights to speak of, at leats nothing that I remember, aside from Miz's Cutter/DDT move which is .. pun intended.. awesome.
Oh actually, I remember watching Raven's video blog, and he talked about the fake tag spot that people do sometimes, they did that spot, but it was reversed, where the good guys faked the tag, and the bad guys got caught. That was interesting.
The finish makes sense, the whole conspiracy angle that's been going on, but just because it makes sense, doesn't make it good.
Why not have the finish be that Miz or Truth went for a cover but the ref was knocked down or distracted, and then bourne or kofi got the quick roll up, instead of a DQ. It would serve the same purpose, and they could still knock the ref down afterwards. The DQ wasn't satisfying at all, and didn't help make AirBoom look strong at all.
5.5/10
It is quite funny that Miz and Truth beat down a ref and try to bully him.. and then there's an Anti-bullying ad shown.
Cody and Ted Dibiase was also a solid match. I'd even say it was quite good. The problem is that the crowd were pretty much dead for the whole thing.
I haven't watched a lot of Smackdown, so I'm not exactly up to speed on this storyline, but I would assume these guys would work well together because of their past.
Ted still moves too much like Randy Orton to me though. I know that they had that big run as Legacy, but Cody doesn't move like Orton anymore.
A decent match, not many highlights.. Funny moment when Booker T called a Spinebuster a Sidewalk Slam... Booker used to use a spinebuster when he wrestled right?
6/10
Christian and Sheamus talk.. only thing worth mentioning is Uncle Fergus/Fargas's green testicle.
US TITLE MATCH
I was completely surprised by this match. I'm a big fan of Ziggler, but the other 3 guys, i'm not so much into. Especially Swagger. He's annoying, he's not that good in the ring, and he's got no personality. Morrison was a little impressive, but he's still not as good as he thinks he is. And Riley.. just looks like a carbon copy of the Miz with less hair on the sides of his head.
But it was a good match. Some good spots, using 3 of the guys doing combination moves, and variation of a tower of doom, (with a near botch however), and as usual the interaction between Vickie and Ziggler is great tv.
Really good finish too, Ziggler picking up Swagger's scraps after knocking Swagger out of the way.
7/10.
And i'll say it again. Dolph is going to be the world champion before the end of 2012.
Mark Henry's pre match promo was fairly solid. He's really improved this year. Like i said earlier I haven't watched a lot of Smackdown, but I've been noticing Mark Henry. And today/tonight's match was no exception. He's doing a great job.
This match was really good too. Orton is great, and works well with Mark. They told a really good story with Orton having to really pull out all the stops as it were, to even do a little bit of damage to the much bigger Henry.
The spot where Henry was stretching Orton around the ring post looked absolutely brutal, and really highlighted the whole "Mark Henry could break you in half if he wanted" thing. And then standing on Orton without putting his weight on the ropes was just as brutal.
Henry dominated, as he should for most of the match. That's the thing with the big man/smaller man match.. the story is already written essentially.
Great finish, if a little surprising.. I was not expecting Henry to win. Glad he did though. And that promo he delivered after he won...really great.
7.5/10
Beth vs Kelly. Ok so we all already know that most of the divas are not what you'd call "good" workers.. But, having said that, Kelly at least y'know.. could take a lot of moves from Beth.
On the other hand, that match had the worst finish of the night. And Kelly clearly didn't know how to react when the crowd booed her.
The match was decent, the Superplex looked awesome. Beth was great. And deserved to win. I don't understand why they decided not to have her win in her hometown.. it doesn't make Kelly look like a strong champion when she gets a quick roll up and messes up the pinning move, it doesn't really help Beth and Natalya's crusade look legitimate when Beth can't beat Kelly on 2 occasions..
4.5/10 (low score for the stupid finish)
Here's an original idea though.. what about at Hell in a Cell in 2 weeks (don't get me started on how stupid that idea is... 14 days between pay per views? I'm not buying it)... lets have Beth vs Kelly inside the cell! You want to put the divas back on the map, do something that's never been done before. Cage matches have been done yes, but as far as i can remember, not in the WWE.
But that won't happen.. will it...?
John Cena vs Alberto Del Rio
Great match. I know right? I said a Cena match was a great match. Cena has been on a different level lately. Sure, he's still "the man" and still marketed to kids, but he's added some new moves to his arsenal, and especially tonight, there was no 5 moves of doom. Not all in the same order anyway.
I said this on twitter, but i'll say it again. Alberto needs a non-submission finisher. Having a submission finisher is fine, but when it's an armbar, it makes it harder to tell different stories. He has to target the arm at least part of the match, so it's limiting.
The match was good, honestly I was suprised when Cena won, but I think it was the right move.
7.5/10
One other thing.. if Cena is marketed to kids, and an all around good guy.. how is it ok that he stole a car, and admitted it?
Onto the main event. CM Punk vs Triple H.. well before jumping too far ahead, lets see.. it was fairly obvious that Nash would be involved somehow. Laurinitis texting earlier in the ppv, and even before that, the Limo ride that Laurinitis took with Nash. That was a no brainer I think.
I'm not going to talk about everything that happened in the match.. this thing is already really long. I do want to mention a couple of things though, and then i'll get to the finish.
Lets start with Triple H. He looked damn good. It just goes to show, the best guys can (until they get to ric flair's age) can always god, even with a bit of a layoff. And really, I'm pretty sure just because he's not working in the ring as a wrestler full time anymore, that wouldn't mean he has stopped training, or getting in a ring and working out somewhat. So really, it's no surprise that he didn't miss a step. Was the same with Undertaker at 'Mania this year.
And then there is the Macho Man Elbow through the announce table. Moment of the night, spot of the night, move of the night. Brilliant. Looked really brutal too. Looked like it hurt both guys a lot. And it was good to hear Lawler slip in "That was Savage... " too.
Speaking of commentary.. it was such a refreshing change to have no Michael Cole. It was like this annoying buzzing little insect that i'd finally killed. Seriously, that match was so much better just because his voice wasn't constantly nattering on.
The way Punk took the "chair in the turnbuckle" spot was really cool. The way he got stuck in the turnbuckle.. great stuff.
Ok the finish. I'll try to remember it all.
So.. Miz and Truth come out.. and beat up both guys.. for some reason.. Ok i know that they attacked HHH because he's the COO and they think there's a conspiracy, but why Punk? Other than they both had matches with him recently..
Anyway, they knock both guys down, then drag Punk onto Triple H and demand the ref counts the pin.
Then when the Ref hesitated and Triple H kicked out, Miz and Truth attacked him.
Johnny Ace comes out to check on said ref, and while that happens, Punk and HHH start beating up Miz and Truth, knocking them both out of the ring, and then HHH hits a pedigree on Punk.
At the same time, a second ref runs down, and HHH goes for the cover, but Laurinitis stops the 2nd ref and gets him to check the 1st ref.
Triple H gets to his feet, goes to the ropes and asks what the hell is going on?... Punk hits the GTS, goes for the pin near the ropes, and Laurinitis sees this and gets the ref into the ring to count the pin. He then turned away to "text" someone.
And then, in the most confusing moment of the night, R-Truth pulls CM Punk off of Triple H. 5 minutes after dragging him onto Triple H when they were both out of it.
What? Who booked that crap?
Anyway. after that, HHH hit a pedigree, Punk kicked out at 2, and then Nash came out from the crowd.
Nash took out Punk and HHH, went for a Jacknife on HHH, but Punk attacked him. Punk then got hit with a Jacknife.
Nash went to the announcers table,and took the monitors out, and then as he turned around, HHH nailed him with a sledgehammer.
He then got back in the ring, and hit the Pedigree again and won the match.
I swear that is the finish. I may have even missed a couple of details.
The truth dragging punk of the pin spot was ridiculous. And what happened to Laurinitis? did he just leave after he "texted" Nash?
So what does all that mean? Well.. Punk was only pinned after taking 2 pedigrees and a Jacknife.. so Punk looks tough as all hell. Triple H eked out a win, and got a measure of revenge for all the crap Punk has talked about Stephanie.
Match gets 8.5/10
I saw a bunch of tweets about how "everything's back to normal" and "way to ruin it WWE".. really? You think it would be better for them to go with HHH not being in charge? Who would replace him? Johnny Ace, or.. Vince McMahon. Talk about going back to the way things were.. And they talk about how Cena winning makes it terrible product again.
NO. it doesn't. Del Rio wasn't a good champion. The only reason that match had the spot it did was because of John Cena, and because it was the RAW title. Berto will be champion again, but the timing wasn't right.
So overall, I think the pay per view was decent. I think it's a slight step down from Summerslam. And in a pay per view when every title is defended, you would think they would try to keep the quality going. You know.. to make their champions look good..
So overall.. Night of Champions was a 7/10 for me.
If you made it all the way through this, you get a 10/10 from me. It was long. let's be honest.
But thanks for reading, don't forget to follow me on twitter at @TheOZMouthpiece and leave me a comment on here too.
That's it, and That's all.
So my first overall thoughts, some 3 hours and a bit after the PPV has finished? I thought it was a good show, was surprised by how good some of the matches were, shocked at some of the finishes.. but overall, a little confused. Hopefully watching the replays (of which we get 3 in australia) will help.
I'll get to the rundown of the matches in a minute, but first of all, some initial opinions
No Jim Ross? Are you serious? Especially bad considering the "lead" announcer lost his voice and didn't do anything during the main event.
Just because Kofi and Bourne both wore green, it doesn't make them a "team". To me it still feels like two singles wrestlers put together. I'm not a fan of their name, and i've never been a fan of just using both guy's music as their entrance. At least do what they did for Miz/Show, or Jeri-Show, or RatedRKO and make one song out of their two entrance themes.
And Miz and Truth look even less like a "team". For all the reports that the tag team division is supposed to be being built back up, we're not seeing it yet. What about pushing the Uso's? The one "TEAM" you have WWE...
After the way the Women's (not using the word diva) match went down, I think it would have made more sense to put it earlier in the card. Just in case the crowd kinda died because their hometown girl didn't win. And also, who the hell believes that Kelly kelly could hold Beth Phoenix down in that kind of pin combination for a 3 count, especially when she didn't even get her legs over Beth's arms??
Cena winning is the right idea. Del Rio wasn't doing well as champ. I wasn't taking him seriously. He can be a world champ, but it wasn't the right timing I don't think.
Mark Henry cut a great promo after he (finally) won the title. He surprised me with how good that was. I hope he can keep it up, because he deserves a run with the belt.
Why was there an in ring promo segment?.. This isn't RAW or Smackdown.. i didn't pay to see guys talking to each other. Why not instead of that, have Christian and Sheamus in a match? Sure, it's "night of champions", but what was the main event?
And I'll get to that main event later, because I have a feeling it's going to be a long post.
Ok, so now that's out of the way. Let's get on to the matches.
So the show opened with the Tag Team titles.. well what are you going to do? They are, at this point, the belts with the least amount of importance. Which is a shame, because tag team wrestling can be a great part of a wrestling show. Look at the motor city machine guns and beer money. when they're not injured. But, having said that, the first match on a card is fairly important. It sets the tone.
As I said before, Miz and Truth don't look like a team. Miz could have worn black tights so he matched Truth's pants...
The match was solid, but nothing special to me. I still think that Miz needs to be in the main event picture, maybe move to smackdown, and have a Miz/Orton feud after Orton and Henry are done.
No real highlights to speak of, at leats nothing that I remember, aside from Miz's Cutter/DDT move which is .. pun intended.. awesome.
Oh actually, I remember watching Raven's video blog, and he talked about the fake tag spot that people do sometimes, they did that spot, but it was reversed, where the good guys faked the tag, and the bad guys got caught. That was interesting.
The finish makes sense, the whole conspiracy angle that's been going on, but just because it makes sense, doesn't make it good.
Why not have the finish be that Miz or Truth went for a cover but the ref was knocked down or distracted, and then bourne or kofi got the quick roll up, instead of a DQ. It would serve the same purpose, and they could still knock the ref down afterwards. The DQ wasn't satisfying at all, and didn't help make AirBoom look strong at all.
5.5/10
It is quite funny that Miz and Truth beat down a ref and try to bully him.. and then there's an Anti-bullying ad shown.
Cody and Ted Dibiase was also a solid match. I'd even say it was quite good. The problem is that the crowd were pretty much dead for the whole thing.
I haven't watched a lot of Smackdown, so I'm not exactly up to speed on this storyline, but I would assume these guys would work well together because of their past.
Ted still moves too much like Randy Orton to me though. I know that they had that big run as Legacy, but Cody doesn't move like Orton anymore.
A decent match, not many highlights.. Funny moment when Booker T called a Spinebuster a Sidewalk Slam... Booker used to use a spinebuster when he wrestled right?
6/10
Christian and Sheamus talk.. only thing worth mentioning is Uncle Fergus/Fargas's green testicle.
US TITLE MATCH
I was completely surprised by this match. I'm a big fan of Ziggler, but the other 3 guys, i'm not so much into. Especially Swagger. He's annoying, he's not that good in the ring, and he's got no personality. Morrison was a little impressive, but he's still not as good as he thinks he is. And Riley.. just looks like a carbon copy of the Miz with less hair on the sides of his head.
But it was a good match. Some good spots, using 3 of the guys doing combination moves, and variation of a tower of doom, (with a near botch however), and as usual the interaction between Vickie and Ziggler is great tv.
Really good finish too, Ziggler picking up Swagger's scraps after knocking Swagger out of the way.
7/10.
And i'll say it again. Dolph is going to be the world champion before the end of 2012.
Mark Henry's pre match promo was fairly solid. He's really improved this year. Like i said earlier I haven't watched a lot of Smackdown, but I've been noticing Mark Henry. And today/tonight's match was no exception. He's doing a great job.
This match was really good too. Orton is great, and works well with Mark. They told a really good story with Orton having to really pull out all the stops as it were, to even do a little bit of damage to the much bigger Henry.
The spot where Henry was stretching Orton around the ring post looked absolutely brutal, and really highlighted the whole "Mark Henry could break you in half if he wanted" thing. And then standing on Orton without putting his weight on the ropes was just as brutal.
Henry dominated, as he should for most of the match. That's the thing with the big man/smaller man match.. the story is already written essentially.
Great finish, if a little surprising.. I was not expecting Henry to win. Glad he did though. And that promo he delivered after he won...really great.
7.5/10
Beth vs Kelly. Ok so we all already know that most of the divas are not what you'd call "good" workers.. But, having said that, Kelly at least y'know.. could take a lot of moves from Beth.
On the other hand, that match had the worst finish of the night. And Kelly clearly didn't know how to react when the crowd booed her.
The match was decent, the Superplex looked awesome. Beth was great. And deserved to win. I don't understand why they decided not to have her win in her hometown.. it doesn't make Kelly look like a strong champion when she gets a quick roll up and messes up the pinning move, it doesn't really help Beth and Natalya's crusade look legitimate when Beth can't beat Kelly on 2 occasions..
4.5/10 (low score for the stupid finish)
Here's an original idea though.. what about at Hell in a Cell in 2 weeks (don't get me started on how stupid that idea is... 14 days between pay per views? I'm not buying it)... lets have Beth vs Kelly inside the cell! You want to put the divas back on the map, do something that's never been done before. Cage matches have been done yes, but as far as i can remember, not in the WWE.
But that won't happen.. will it...?
John Cena vs Alberto Del Rio
Great match. I know right? I said a Cena match was a great match. Cena has been on a different level lately. Sure, he's still "the man" and still marketed to kids, but he's added some new moves to his arsenal, and especially tonight, there was no 5 moves of doom. Not all in the same order anyway.
I said this on twitter, but i'll say it again. Alberto needs a non-submission finisher. Having a submission finisher is fine, but when it's an armbar, it makes it harder to tell different stories. He has to target the arm at least part of the match, so it's limiting.
The match was good, honestly I was suprised when Cena won, but I think it was the right move.
7.5/10
One other thing.. if Cena is marketed to kids, and an all around good guy.. how is it ok that he stole a car, and admitted it?
Onto the main event. CM Punk vs Triple H.. well before jumping too far ahead, lets see.. it was fairly obvious that Nash would be involved somehow. Laurinitis texting earlier in the ppv, and even before that, the Limo ride that Laurinitis took with Nash. That was a no brainer I think.
I'm not going to talk about everything that happened in the match.. this thing is already really long. I do want to mention a couple of things though, and then i'll get to the finish.
Lets start with Triple H. He looked damn good. It just goes to show, the best guys can (until they get to ric flair's age) can always god, even with a bit of a layoff. And really, I'm pretty sure just because he's not working in the ring as a wrestler full time anymore, that wouldn't mean he has stopped training, or getting in a ring and working out somewhat. So really, it's no surprise that he didn't miss a step. Was the same with Undertaker at 'Mania this year.
And then there is the Macho Man Elbow through the announce table. Moment of the night, spot of the night, move of the night. Brilliant. Looked really brutal too. Looked like it hurt both guys a lot. And it was good to hear Lawler slip in "That was Savage... " too.
Speaking of commentary.. it was such a refreshing change to have no Michael Cole. It was like this annoying buzzing little insect that i'd finally killed. Seriously, that match was so much better just because his voice wasn't constantly nattering on.
The way Punk took the "chair in the turnbuckle" spot was really cool. The way he got stuck in the turnbuckle.. great stuff.
Ok the finish. I'll try to remember it all.
So.. Miz and Truth come out.. and beat up both guys.. for some reason.. Ok i know that they attacked HHH because he's the COO and they think there's a conspiracy, but why Punk? Other than they both had matches with him recently..
Anyway, they knock both guys down, then drag Punk onto Triple H and demand the ref counts the pin.
Then when the Ref hesitated and Triple H kicked out, Miz and Truth attacked him.
Johnny Ace comes out to check on said ref, and while that happens, Punk and HHH start beating up Miz and Truth, knocking them both out of the ring, and then HHH hits a pedigree on Punk.
At the same time, a second ref runs down, and HHH goes for the cover, but Laurinitis stops the 2nd ref and gets him to check the 1st ref.
Triple H gets to his feet, goes to the ropes and asks what the hell is going on?... Punk hits the GTS, goes for the pin near the ropes, and Laurinitis sees this and gets the ref into the ring to count the pin. He then turned away to "text" someone.
And then, in the most confusing moment of the night, R-Truth pulls CM Punk off of Triple H. 5 minutes after dragging him onto Triple H when they were both out of it.
What? Who booked that crap?
Anyway. after that, HHH hit a pedigree, Punk kicked out at 2, and then Nash came out from the crowd.
Nash took out Punk and HHH, went for a Jacknife on HHH, but Punk attacked him. Punk then got hit with a Jacknife.
Nash went to the announcers table,and took the monitors out, and then as he turned around, HHH nailed him with a sledgehammer.
He then got back in the ring, and hit the Pedigree again and won the match.
I swear that is the finish. I may have even missed a couple of details.
The truth dragging punk of the pin spot was ridiculous. And what happened to Laurinitis? did he just leave after he "texted" Nash?
So what does all that mean? Well.. Punk was only pinned after taking 2 pedigrees and a Jacknife.. so Punk looks tough as all hell. Triple H eked out a win, and got a measure of revenge for all the crap Punk has talked about Stephanie.
Match gets 8.5/10
I saw a bunch of tweets about how "everything's back to normal" and "way to ruin it WWE".. really? You think it would be better for them to go with HHH not being in charge? Who would replace him? Johnny Ace, or.. Vince McMahon. Talk about going back to the way things were.. And they talk about how Cena winning makes it terrible product again.
NO. it doesn't. Del Rio wasn't a good champion. The only reason that match had the spot it did was because of John Cena, and because it was the RAW title. Berto will be champion again, but the timing wasn't right.
So overall, I think the pay per view was decent. I think it's a slight step down from Summerslam. And in a pay per view when every title is defended, you would think they would try to keep the quality going. You know.. to make their champions look good..
So overall.. Night of Champions was a 7/10 for me.
If you made it all the way through this, you get a 10/10 from me. It was long. let's be honest.
But thanks for reading, don't forget to follow me on twitter at @TheOZMouthpiece and leave me a comment on here too.
That's it, and That's all.
August 24, 2011
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.
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.
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