Home Schooling No.16

Hello again readers, I'm (finally) back. I do have to apologise for not keeping up with the regular blogging, I've had a fair bit of stuff happening and it's been hard to find the time to write anything of substance. But I am back now, and I will endeavour to write at least one post a week, with a semi-regular article now and then on sltdwrestling and pwjournal as well.

So... what exactly do I plan to talk about, I hear you ask? Well, this week I'm going to focus on a few key points that I've been wanting to talk about. Over the Limit was just about a week ago, and I'm still thinking about it. I made a last minute decision to order the Pay Per View, and I have to say, overall I wasn't disappointed. Well, up until the Fatal 4-way match I wasn't overly impressed, but that match, along with CM Punk/Daniel Bryan and also the Cena/Laurinitis match really made it worthwhile, in my opinion at least.

So Over the Limit will be one topic of conversation, namely the two main event matches. This week's episode of Monday Night Raw will be another, and finally I will probably get into some of the news items that I've read in the last week or so, like the announcement of Raw going to 3 hours, the recent news of Jericho's suspension, and a couple of interesting TNA news bits as well.

So let's get down to business.

Over the Limit. A decent event with a terrible name. What's wrong with Judgement Day, Unforgiven, Backlash, or No Mercy? But I'm not here to talk about the name.

I want to talk about two of the matches. Namely, CM Punk vs Daniel Bryan, and John Cena vs John Laurinitis. The Fatal 4-way was a really good match as well, and just quickly, I thought Jericho's performance in said match was right up there with the best performance of the night. And he hasn't been "buried". Zack Ryder has been buried. Look at the difference.

Ok enough about that.

Let's start with Punk and Bryan.

A classic. A possible match of the year candidate. But more than that, this match proved that the WWE is moving into a new era. Or at least, if they keep this feud going it will. This is what people have been asking for, and in some cases demanding for years. Wanting WRESTLING. When is the last time we saw a surfboard submission hold, or a curb stomp kind of move?

The crowd was into this match so much because it's what we've wanted to see. It feels like somebody in the WWE has finally listened to the people. Punk and Bryan told an amazing story with what they did, with all the counters and moves that weren't just a part of their normal everyday repetoire, showing that they can adapt and bring something new to the table. Having had such similar careers, having had so many matches in the past, we're getting to see a polished version of a Punk/Danielson match.

Punk and Bryan are so similar, which I think is another reason that they work so well together. They both know submission wrestling, both of them use martial arts kicks, but guys are of that size that can perform power moves and look convincing, yet still small enough to do a bit of high-flying wrestling as well. To me that's the perfect type of wrestler, the combination of powerhouse and high-flyer, because it provides more opportunities for different matches, as opposed to someone like Batista, or Cena, who are more limited because of their size. Shawn Michaels is another guy who fits into that same build as Punk and Bryan, and we all know how good Shawn is.

What else can I say? It was just an amazing match. I thought the finish was great, a little bit less of a gap between the pinfall and Punk tapping would have made it just that little bit better, but I still can't really fault it. It leaves the story open for more matches, and hopefully the WWE lets this feud continue, at least until Money in the Bank, or possible Summerslam. The fact that they let Punk and Bryan go out there and put on this match for 30 minutes or so gives me a lot of hope.


Ok now let's talk about Cena and Laurinitis.

I saw a lot of people complaining on Twitter about this match, saying that it was a disgrace, it shouldn't have been the main event, and a lot of other negative things. But, I have quite a different point of view.

This match was just about as entertaining as Punk and Bryan. Sure, it was never going to be a wrestling classic, but for what it was, which really was what everyone has wanted to see ever since Laurinitis has been on TV, it was great.

If you can, watch it again, and listen to the commentary. Even Michael Cole was taking shots at Johnny Ace. It was hilarious. Speaking of commentary, the little spot they did where Cena and Ace had the headphones on and were doing impressions of Cole and Booker T... absolutely great.

Now this is where I'm probably going to rub people the wrong way. John Laurinitis earned my respect with this match. Let's talk in terms of the real side of wrestling. John Laurinitis let himself be humiliated for nearly 15 minutes at the start of this match. He had water poured down his pants, a fire extinguisher emptied onto him, and a trash can dumped on to him, and a bunch of other stuff. Plus that outfit.. if that's not embarrassing I don't know what is. Also, he showed that he can actually move somewhat decently in the ring, and deliver a damn good chair shot.

Now it was obvious to everyone with a brain cell that Big Show was going to come back, and help Johnny win. It was done well, but it was predictable. Sometimes predictable is good, but surprises to me are always better.

Anyway, I think this match deserves a second look, and more than that, needs to be viewed from the point of view that even though Johnny Ace isn't the greatest on the mic, and he's not that entertaining when he's talking, when he's being beaten up, he's not half bad.

And if you can't, just remember that at one time, Vince McMahon pissed his pants on Raw. Making an ass out of yourself when you're the boss helps get you over, and helps get over the guy beating you up.


Ok let's talk quickly about RAW.

I liked Big Show's promo, but it still feels just like more of the same from heel Big Show. I hope that the writers, or even Show himself can take it in a slightly different direction, just to keep it feeling a little fresh.

I also liked the little revenge segment with CM Punk and Bryan during Bryan's match with Kane. Any time that CM Punk is on commentary you know it's going to be entertaining. "I hate to see anybody get chokeslammed twice in a row".. He's so good on the microphone. I really wish that the WWE would give Punk more time on the mic, let him get back to what he was doing in July and August last year.

It does indeed appear that this feud is going to keep going. It might be a bit early to call this, but I feel like, if booked right, Punk/Bryan has the potential to get to the same level as Rock/Austin, or maybe Cena/Edge. But it has to be done right, and that possibility isn't the highest with the way the WWE has been going lately.

Speaking of Punk, that backstage segment with AJ was brilliant. Yet again Punk shows he's multi-faceted and talented in so many different ways. Subtle little movements and little words. Also I think AJ deserves a lot of credit for her extremely well played crazy chick, especially when Punk said "stop cyring" and she looked up at him all doe eyed and slightly smiling.. that was creepy.

I thought the very end of RAW was good as well, Big Show's punch to me came out of nowhere. It was well done, and helps re-establish Big Show as a legitimate threat to Cena, as opposed to the week before where he was a blubbering mess on his knees in the ring.

Ok and a few loose ends.

When are we going to get Kharma back? From what I've read, she's ready to come back, but the writers have nothing for her.. nothing for her??? She's the most dominant female wrestler of the last.. well possibly forever. Bring her back exactly the same way she was brought in last year. It worked then, it will work now. Job done WWE writers.. hire me instead!

Jericho has been suspended for messing with the Brazilian flag... We certainly are in a different era to 15 years ago when Shawn Michaels stuck the canadian flag up his nose aren't we? I understand it though, clearly there were some legal ramifications, and the WWE had to take some kind of action. Whether it's all a storyline or not, I like this reality era that we're getting at the moment, because we do get these instances of "is this real?" Which hasn't been around for a long time.

Ok that's about it for now, once again I apologise for how long it's taken me to write this. But fear not, I will be back to my regularly scheduled programming from now on.

Don't forget you can follow me on twitter if you're not already, at @TheOZMouthpiece and also check out my writing on sltdwrestling.blogspot.com
There's only two or three pieces up on there, but I think they're quite good, so if you haven't seen them, go there and click on the writers tab, find me, and take a look.

Also take a look at these two fine sites, which I have done writing for in the past.

http://pwjournal.wordpress.com

www.wrestlingheads.com

Until next time, I'm the Aussie Mouthpiece, and my business is concluded.

Money. In the Bank, and in Punk.

Wow!
I figure that's the best way to start a post about the best PPV of the year. For me i always have to sit for a while and just think about what i've just seen in order to figure out how good/bad i thought it was. I'm not one for instantly claiming "best match ever" or anything like that. So it's about 40 mins since Money in the Bank ended, and i've been sitting here reading tweets, and thinking about what i just spent 3 hours watching. I'll do a match by match rundown in a minute, but for now, after thinking about it for a while, it's pretty clear to me that this was the best pay per view of the year, including Destination X (great old school x division tna style), the Rumble, and even Wrestlemania. All the big spots were great, huge risks, little bit of creativity shown finally, and of course the main event. Personal highlights (without spoiling anything, that comes later) were Cena nailing Laurinitis (who saw that coming, seriously?) Airbourne from the ladder, Rey being Unmasked, and Randy Orton's crazy facial expressions.

Ok onto the match by match. Oh before i begin, i found it hilarious that this violent pay per view was sponsored by Skittles. Also, anyone else notice that Cena's shirts over the last couple of years have been all the colours of the skittle rainbow?

SPOILER ALERT!

Smackdown Money in the Bank match.

Ok, so the first thing i noticed is Sin Cara on pay per view. I haven't been watching smackdown, but from what i've been reading, he's been botching quite a bit.
Also, anyone else think Wade Barrett looks like Johnny Cash?

Ok the match was fairly good, don't remember a lot of the spots to be honest, probably because, as i said i haven't been watching Smackdown a lot recently. But I think Sin Cara did an awesome job, couple of high cross bodies, and that bump he took, with Sheamus Powerbombing him through the ladder was awesome. Cole on commentary was ridiculous, saying "did you see that steel ladder bend in half" when we could clearly see the WOODEN ladder splintered. Jeez..
Was impressed as usual with Kane, awesome Road Warriors tribute from him, and also the chokeslam on Sheamus onto the ladder was pretty awesome looking.

I was really (happily) surprised to see Daniel Bryan win. First thing that went through my mind was a flashback to the Royal Rumble from 2010, CM Punk vs Daniel Bryan for the first 2 minutes. I think Matt Striker said "The internet loves this matchup".. so i started thinking ... Punk vs Bryan cashing in MITB.. of course, i was wrong as we all know now.. But huge congratulations to Bryan, hope he isn't the first to cash it in and lose. And enough of Cole calling him a nerd, what .. michael cole is the epitome of "Jock"? Please.

7/10



Diva's Title match.. Kelly Kelly vs ... umm.. A Bella

Yeah... the one move that sums up this match for me was Kelly Kelly being shot into the ropes, and stopping to turn around when she hit them.

She won by the way. ... umm... don't really know how to score it. coz i didn't really watch much.


Big Show vs. Mark Henry
To be honest, i'm not really a big fan of super heavyweight vs super heavyweight matches, i think there's less story to be told. Having said that, Mark Henry is a beast! And the way that Show put him over was really cool, really made Henry look Badass.. it's one thing to throw a little guy over a table, but to slam Show twice in one match, and leave him laying flat.. it looks like WWE is really trying to push Henry hard, which is great. I hope i can get to the point of believing he's as bad as they want to make him.
I also want to applaud Big Show for the work post match, I think most of us these days are pretty sort of desensitised to injuries in the WWE, the first thought always being "it's a work".. Show had me second guessing that though. As they were heading to the back, I'm sure i heard the doctor say "was he supposed to do that?" .. little touches like that make it more interesting. Solid match. give it... 6.5/10

Was surprised to see John Laurinitis talking on camera with Mr. McMahon (that sure wasn't "Vince"), I always thought he was a behind the scenes guy. It made sense though with Punk using his name in that first promo.

Raw Money In The Bank Match.
Different start to this match with everyone holding a ladder.. was interesting, don't know if it really worked. Del Rio took the brunt of the shots, especially when he was on the floor and people were just throwing ladders (and at one point, Rey) onto him.
The obligatory high ladder spot was anything but standard. It's one thing to jump off a ladder, or to do a swanton, but a shooting star press off of a ladder? that was Holy SH*T moment for me. Well done to Evan Bourne, looked amazing. What i found interesting was Michael Cole (again) suggesting everyone start recording the pay per view.. i thought that was illegal? I know i can't record it using my cable box (which is a dvr).
R-Truth botched the see-saw ladder spot, which i'm surprised to see used at all after Joey mercury had his face ripped off by one. Still one of the sickest spots ever.

Double Hurricanrana (or Hurricane-rana.. thankyou Booker T) off of the ladders was great, looked awesome, and really well synchronized.

The finish was awesome! Everyone predicted Del Rio to go over, it made sense really. But the unmasking of Rey Mysterio was definitely unpredictable, a great spot, it would be awesome to see some kind of program with Rey having to stay unmasked, or fighting for his mask or soemthing like that, but i'm pretty sure it was just a one time thing. All the ladders crashing into Rey looked really crazy too.
Del Rio is kind of in no-man's land after the end of the PPV, but who knows what Raw will bring tomorrow?
7.5/10


Orton vs Christian
Once again, having not watched Smackdown a lot I didn't know a ton of the backstory going on here, I knew Christian had turned heel again though. The stipulation for this match seemed to make it almost a certainty to me that Orton would retain.
Was a really solid match i thought, good story of Christian trying to goad Randy into snapping, liked the back and forth. Loved the finish, I can totally buy Randy (or anyone) snapping if someone had spit right into their mouth.. gross. Really loved the post match, Orton's facial expressions were brilliant, and the RKO's on the table were sick.
Christian wins by DQ (via awesome kick in the nuts) and becomes the new World Heavyweight Champion
7.5/10

Oh before i get onto the main event, am I the only one who thinks that Randy Orton looks just a bit like the Giant Gonzales from 1993 with that beard? All he needs is the airbrushed muscle suit with the fake fur i reckon!

Ok onto the main event.. where do I begin? I could start by saying the crowd was the loudest i've heard since.. since i can remember really.. i don't know if i've heard a louder reaction for anyone. And wow did Cena get booed.. last time it was that hostile was the One Night Stand in 2006. I wish he'd get angry at them, like "how can you boo me? he's the one leaving! F**K You!". but no, we just get stone-faced Cena. It's not boring. it was boring in 2007. Now it's just annoying. Having said that, Cena is great. And he gets a reaction wherever he goes. That's not something everyone can do.
It was awesome to see Colt Cabana at ringside. For a while there i was convinced he'd be involved in the finish somehow.

The match was great. Better than great really. Great story, loved the little parts where Punk acknowledged the crowd.. for example..
Crowd: You can't wrestle (clap clap, clap clap clap) You can't wrestle (clap clap, clap clap clap)
Punk: *points at himself* Me? or *points at Cena* Him?
Crowd: Him!
Punk: *nods*

Also, I should point out for those "cena only has 5 moves" folks, I saw something new from Cena tonight. Maybe he listened to Chavo's tweets? He gave us an Elbow Drop, an Abdominal Stretch, that Sidebuster/sidewalk slam from his shoulders, and it wasn't the standard super-cena comeback either. Well done Cena. Seriously, I see all these people posting negative things about him, but he works like crazy, he's proven himself, and if you don't believe me, find the match he had with HBK the night after Wrestlemania 23. And I believed his knee was truly hurting, did anyone else see Punk land ribs first right on his knee? looked painful.

My favourite part of this match, was Mr.Mcmahon coming out to the ramp with John Laurinitis, and going for the screwjob finish. Sending Laurinitis down to ringside to get the timekeeper to ring the bell.. and as he's running down there, Cena slides out of the ring and knocks him on his ass! I started thinking.. "i wonder how many fired wrestlers wish they could have done that?"... It looked a little stiff too! But awesome Cena character moment, saying "the best man is going to win this match"..

Great finish, Punk finally nailing the GTS and getting the 3 count. The ref's reaction was great, like he thought vince was going to kill him.. But the best part was McMahon, doing everything he can to make us feel like it's real, instead of going for a microphone, he went for a headset and spoke to the back, but it was a commentators headset so everyone watching could hear what he was saying.. "Get Alberto out here, cash it in!"
Del Rio comes running down to the ring, slides in, and gets his head kicked off by Punk! brilliant.

Punk jumps into his crowd, and leaves with the Title. Punk wins!

9/10 Definitely contender for match of the year (that i've seen)

So overall what did I think of the PPV? Well, I can sum it up in one word.. unpredictable. The WWE lately has been anything but unpredictable lately.. but that's all changed now. No-one is going to miss RAW tomorrow.. australians have to wait until wednesday.. except for less than legal means of watching of course. But it's must-see TV again. Will Punk make an unannounced appearance? Will we see a different belt? (please yes!).. Will Cena be fired? What happens to Dwayne then?

To sum up, great action, great spots in the Ladder matches, Amazing main event, and the best part, WWE did not screw it up! Lets hope this is an end to the PG only era. Sure, keep it kinda aimed towards kids, but give those who fondly remember the attitude era something to watch, as in KEEP THE PUNK ANGLE GOING (unless he's done.. )

Ok that's about it, next post i'm going to write will be about something other than CM punk, maybe TNA, maybe some of my favourite matches.. either way, follow me on twitter @TheACMouthpiece

What's it like to be me? You will never, ever know!

The calm before the storm

Welcome! Once again i am the armchair mouthpiece, shooting opinions and truthfacts your way from the comfort and relative safety of the couch. I was going to wait until after Money in the Bank to write my second post, but, as i'm sure a lot of people are, I can't stop thinking about what may happen tomorrow. I've read a lot of different people's ideas on what could happen, and i agree with what a lot of them are saying, that the most likely scenario is that Punk will win, but someone will cash in their money in the bank that night. I did read one column (possibly Mark Madden?) where they were talking about "what if _______ cashes in the briefcase, and loses the match?? We've never seen that before I think was the argument. Interesting, but that kind of leaves more questions unanswered I think.

I would LOVE to see Punk win full stop. But think of the possibilities for the end of this match. I'll list a few that have popped into my head in the last week.

1. Vince screws CM Punk to keep the belt in the WWE
2. Vince screws Cena, revealing it was all a scheme and he and CM Punk have "joined forces" so to speak, causing Cena to be "fired".. but eventually return with an attitude.
3. Colt Cabana does a run in. We're led to believe it's not planned at all. He and Punk screw Cena and Punk wins.
4. Cena turns heel.
5. (and this is remote, because let's face it, Rock isn't the most WWE guy there is) Rock makes a run in. Screws Cena building more heat for mania.
6. Rock runs in, screws Punk, using the "I respect the belt" angle. Cena gets pissed saying he doesn't need Rock's help, Cena turns heel.
7. Someone else (Mick Foley, Stone Cold) make a run in.


Now those last 2 i just thought of as i'm writing this, so they might not be any good. But what i'm trying to get at is that I hope that the ending to this pay per view is worthy of the storyline, worthy of the buildup. As far as wether Punk is really leaving, who knows? Part of me thinks it's just another "take time off" storyline, part of me thinks he's really done, which would be a huge mistake on WWE's part. Part of me thinks it's all an angle. Let's face it though, I think it's fairly safe to say this is the best thing WWE has done in a long time. I'm trying to remember the last time i was this excited about a Pay per view that wasn't one of the big 4.. I may have to go all the way back to the Armageddon with Undertaker vs Randy Orton in the hell in a cell match. Certainly the last time i was this excited about any WWE programming was the Undertaker/Shawn Michaels II, just based on the hype from the first match at WM 25.

To sum up, i sincerely hope that we don't get a boring, predictable super-cena comeback finish, with Punk's last moments in WWE being embarassing and having him leave in a bad way. Remember the way Vickie Guerrero left the first time? They called her all kinds of names and it was disgraceful. Remember the way Lita left? With her underwear being sold to the crowd? I'm not saying Vince McMahon will come out with some CM Punk drawers trying to hock them for $20, but I just hope they give us something amazing. This is the first time in about 3 years i've bought a WWE pay per view that wasn't Mania or the Rumble. Please don't make me regret my purchase WWE...

With all that being said, I'm going to wrap this up now, so until i write again. *I still have no idea on a finishing catchphrase*