WWE Raw Supershow 10/17/2011 Review - Mexican Standoff

WWE RAW SUPERSHOW - 17th OCTOBER 2011

The show starts off with the new Interim GM of RAW, John Laurinaitis, makes his way out to the ring to kick of RAW from Mexico, for the first time ever. We are shown a quick replay of what happened last week with Vince McMahon returning and taking the GM position away from Triple H and making Laurinaitis the Interim General Manager of RAW.

Ace starts off RAW saying that Rey Mysterio will make his return here tonight, but then cuts it short saying he's in San Diego seeing his doctor about rehab and won't be here tonight. Ace says the Mexican people have no sense of humor with his joke about Rey's return on RAW. Ace goes on about how the WWE is looking for a GM of RAW, and until then he will have control of RAW and treat it with honor.

Ace goes on about how he received disturbing tweets on his Twitter account and that he listened to the fans for what happened last week, and brings out Jim Ross. Ross comes out a nice response from the crowd. Ross heads over to the commentary booth when Ace asks him to get in the ring instead. Ace gives Ross a surprising hug, and talks about the beef between himself and Michael Cole. He says this has to end and will end tonight, and announces Alberto Del Rio & Michael Cole vs. John Cena & Jim Ross for the Main Event.

Mark Henry, Cody Rhodes & Christian vs. Randy Orton, Sheamus & John Morrison

A typical 6 man tag team match, with mostly Sheamus targeting Christian and Orton targeting Cody Rhodes. Morrison happened to be thrown into the mix as Mark Henry is feuding with Big Show on SmackDown. The ending saw Orton chased Cody out of the arena, while Sheamus and Christian went at it in the crowd. Ending saw Mark Henry squash Morrison with the World's Strongest Slam for the win.

Match Rating: 2/5

We are shown a promo for the once ally of Alberto Del Rio, Brodus Clay. While Clay has shown some skill in the ring on NXT, I'm yet to get or go near any Clay bandwagons.

Laurinaitis is shown backstage in his office talking to supposedly his wife on the phone, asking if he looked good earlier. The Bella Twins come up on each arm of Laurinaitis, and introduce themselves to him with a kiss on the cheek. He gets back on the phone when Ricardo Rodriguez tries to talk to him saying Alberto wants to talk to him. Alberto doesn't wait and comes up to Laurinaitis. Del Rio says what's up with him teaming up with Michael Cole against Ross and Cena in the main event. Del Rio calls Laurinaitis loco. Laurinaitis says the winner of the match gets to pick the stipulation for Cena vs. Del Rio at Vengeance this Sunday.

Eve vs. Natalya

Eve comes to the ring with Kelly Kelly, as Natalya comes out with Beth. In my opinion, it was a true upset, and not in a good way, for Eve to go over Natalya. With someone like Natalya who has pure class and wrestling ability to loose to someone, who is just eye candy like Eve, is a disgrace, even if the storyline is for them pushing Beth.

Match Rating: 1.5/5

CM Punk vs. The Miz

The Savior of RAW, CM Punk makes his way out to the arena to a pretty big ovation from the Mexican crowd, for his match against The Miz.

Truth and Miz come out to a heel reaction, while Miz says the Mexican crowd is completly stupid (as Miz does know Spanish I've heard) I am personally digging their entrance theme, a remix of Truth's 'Whats Up?' to 'You Suck'. I'm all in for the Awesome Truth bandwagon.

Miz says that he and Truth will never let Punk near the WWE Championship ever again, and did something he couldn't do, and that was remove Triple H running RAW. Triple H's music cuts Miz and Truth off as The King of Kings makes his way out to the ring. HHH gets in the ring, side by side Punk, as Truth and Miz get worried that Punk has Trips out here.

The match was a good bout in my view, compared to the rest of the matches on RAW tonight. Punk and Miz have shown in the past that when they wrestle, they can put on a good bout, on any given day. Half way during the match, Laurinaitis comes out and gives papers to HHH explaining something was wrong with his Visa and that he's not permited in Mexico. HHH eventually leaves, before giving a right hand to Truth, laying him out.

The ending saw Punk being able to roll up Miz for the quick win, but the celebration was short lived when Miz attacked Punk again after the match.

Match Rating: 3.5/5

We are shown some Mexican music played outside the arena as Cole introduces us the Spanish Announcers. After, Michael Cole shows King how strong he is by bending objects, getting ready for the Main Event.

Zack Ryder vs. Jack Swagger

Vickie comes out in a traditional Salsa dress as Swagger and Ziggler are by her side. Ziggler and Swagger rant on about Mexico being grateful for them in the ring, while Swagger sings the American National Anthem for heat from the crowd.

Pretty much not even a match, with surprisingly, a squash from Ryder to Swagger for the quick, out of the blue, win.

Swagger and Ziggler corner Ryder on the outside as Mason Ryan makes his way out to the ring for Ryder. Personally, I think Ryan is WAY too big for any ring performances, I'm even going out on a limb to say Batista could put on a better match than Mason.

Mason gets on the microphone and tells Ziggler him and Mason have a match next so he shouldn't be going anywhere.

Mason Ryan vs. Dolph Ziggler

A much longer match than Ryder/Swagger, with a typical powerhouse performance from Mason, ending saw Swagger attempting to get involved, but was short lived by Mason, as he picks up the victory.

Match Rating: 2/5

Backstage, Jim Ross and John Cena talk about the Main Event. Ross asks Cena if he can get his hands on Cole, and Cena says he will let him do it.

Josh Matthews joins King on commentary as we are run down of the card for this Sunday's PPV, Vengeance.

John Cena & Jim Ross vs. Alberto Del Rio & Michael Cole

VENGEANCE STIPULATION MATCH

Most of the in ring work was obviously done by Cena and Del Rio, with a good, but short lived, in ring performances by both men. Del Rio in the end tagged in Cole and left the ring area as Cena threw Cole inside the ring, and Ross applied the Ankle Lock to pick up the ring for himself and Cena.

Match Rating: 3/5

After the match, Cena and Del Rio brawled with Cena getting the upper hand, laying Del Rio out a FU and laying him out with steel steps. Cena then announces the match at Vengeance for the WWE Championship will be a Last Man Standing Match.

Pro's:

- CM Punk vs. Miz Match

- Punk/HHH/Awesome Truth storyline

- Laurinaitis Heel Character

- First RAW in Mexico

Con's:

- Jim Ross in a WWE ring again

- Not enough hype for Del Rio in Mexico

- Poor Divas Squash

- Squash of Morrison yet again.

WWE Raw Review, 19/09/2011 - Hugh Jackman Guest Hosts

Just want to give an apology to both our readers (xP) for having Raw up so late. There was some major miscommunication amongst the TLP staff so for that, I apologize. Anyway, Time for the Raw review.

_________________________________________________________

This weeks Raw kicks off the best way I know how, With CM Punk. CM Punk mentions that this Arena in Cleveland Ohio has not been kind to him. He had to forfeit his first World Championship here (Unforgiven 08) and he received a hard right by Bob Holly that he now has a dead spot. He then mentions his match the night before at Night Of Champions and agrees with "Awesome Truth" that there is a conspiracy within WWE. Triple H's theme then hits and Trips comes out in his suit. Just thought it was notable that he is selling jackshit, Even though Punk is walking around with a limp. Typical Triple H trying to look superior.

But back on track. HHH mentions that Cena won last night and Del Rio deserves his rematch but Punk also deserves the rematch he never received. Therefore there will be a first ever Triple Threat Hell In A Cell match at Hell In A Cell. I personally thought this was great, Firstly you throw Punk into the mix because Cena vs Del Rio is boring as all hell but also a Hell In A Cell match. Personally marked for this. Doubt Punk will win though. Punk then quickly goes back to his Conspiracy and mentions that somebody is pitting himself and Triple H against one another. He then mentions they are higher up the ladder. Thinking Vince McMahon here ... or Jack Tunney.

Johnny Lauranitis then comes out with his clean crisp voice as he tells Triple H that CM Punk is in the middle of it (Yeah because Punk wants himself to lose to Triple H and get beaten on by numerous guys ...). Punk then interrupts and asks what Lauranitis' job is. John responds with the whole "I am the Vice President of Talent Relations". Punk then mocks him and claims that Lauranitis is behind all the attacks because he thinks he deserves to be the C.O.O

Triple H then tells both men that he will get to the bottom of this and promises that somebody will be fired by the end of tonight.

Eight Man Tag Match
Sheamus, Justin Gabriel and Air-Boom vs Christian, Wade Barrett, David Otunga and Michael McGillicutty

I am not going to get into much detail about this match. It was just a brief few moves by each guy with Sheamus picking up the victory after a Brogue Kick and Celtic Cross on Otunga for the three count.

Match Rating: 1.5/5
Honestly was one of the only negative aspects of this Raw, Just seemed completely thrown together to be honest. Too many guys now with a Super show so they throw them in when they can.

The camera cuts backstage as a referee tells Triple H that The Miz & Truth are on their way to the arena and the referee staff are concerned for their safety. Triple H then says that he will take care of it as Del Rio walks in and complains about his HIAC match being Triple Threat. HHH then states that he can have his match against Cena tonight instead but Del Rio declines saying he has to prepare for Cena.

Singles Match
Alberto Del Rio vs John Morrison

Didn't really see the point of this as it was like a jobber contest with Del Rio picking up the win with ease with his Cross-Armbreaker. I really gotta feel for Morrison though. Getting buried for no apparent reason (To my knowledge). 

Match Rating: 1/5

Jackman comes out and plugs his new film "Real Steel" which looks OK. He is quickly interupted by Vickie and Dolph. Vickie flirts with Jackman and Jackman doesn't seem to mind (I assume his kids are watching at this stage.) Dolph then starts ripping into Hugh about taking his TV time when he should be celebrating.

The underdog starts to play a theme in the promo as Dolph challenges Hugh Jackman to find anyone backstage to wrestle Dolph tonight. Jackman runs outside the ring and grabs a Zack Ryder >> Wolverine sign as we cut to a break.

We come back to see a match between Sin Cara vs Cody Rhodes. This match is rudely interrupted (Mini rage as we don't see rhodes again) as the other Sin Cara comes down to the ring. Just a sidebar, You know the little kids are probably going crazy for this shit. Cara vs Cara ... Even though we have no idea which is which from a distance. MisticoCara and HunicoCara start exchanging Hurricanrana's and moonsaults and eventually MisticoCara gets the upperhand as HunicoCara flee's.


We then cut backstage to see Awesome Truth in HHH's office. The Miz apologizes for his actions at Night Of Champions. Miz goes on to say that they now know Trips is not part of the conspiracy and they love being WWE Superstars. Triple H says fine, He won't fire them. But he will fine them $250 000 for putting their hands on an official (No one would believe $250 000, Not even a seven year old. Maybe 50k but 250k ... C,mon). Trips says he accepts the money Monday morning or they are fired. He then states that seeming they love being WWE Superstars, They will have no problem facing Punk and Cena tonight.

We now cross over to the ring to see Jim Ross in there. He announces at Hell In A Cell Mark Henry will defend his World Heavyweight Championship against Randy Orton. J.R. then introduces Henry as he makes his way to the ring. JR congratulates Henry on his victory but Henry starts talking about his doubters, Including Ross. He claims that no man will ever take his championship and tells JR to apologize on behalf of all these fans who doubted him. JR apologizes but Henry grabs JR by the throat and starts choking him. Ross constantly yells out "He's hurting me" ( I LOLed). King then gets into the ring trying to break up the choke. Eventually Henry starts choking King. King then takes a swing at Henry but Henry punches him down to the mat before delivering a World's Strongest Slam. Henry then kicks King out of the ring and pulls the announce table apart before delivering a World's Strongest Slam on King through the announce table.

Tag Team Match
Kelly Kelly & Eve vs Beth Phoenix & Natayla

One again I had a mini rage with this match. Simply for the fact that Kelly won AGAIN. Although it wasn't THAT bad for a diva's match. There was a decent hurricanranna from Kelly at one point so apart from the loss it was an okay minute and a half or so.

Match Rating: 1.5/5

Backstage we see Jackman talking to Zack Ryder. Jackman is like "Well let me get this right. You made your own internet Championship, The diva's want nothing to do with you and you're never on raw". Ryder responded with WWWYKI which got a pop. Jackman states that Ryder is the guy he was looking for as they head to the ring. Pretty funny segment to be honest.

Singles Match
Dolph Ziggler w/ Vickie Guerrero vs Zack Ryder w/ Hugh Jackman

The match kicks off with Ryder in control getting a blow on Ryder and roll up for the two count. Ryder then throws Ziggler into the corner and hits a facewash but only for the nearfall. Ziggler fights back with an arsenal of kicks before hitting a neckbreaker. Ziggler gets distracted with Hugh at ringside which Ryder takes advantage of with a roll up but Ziggler kicks out. Ziggler then applies an armbar but Ryder eventually escapes. Both men then clothesline each other as Ryder tries using the ropes to get to his feet but Vickie Guerrero slaps him across the face. The referee see's this and sends her to the back as Hugh Jackman delivers a devastating right hook to Ziggler. Ryder then hits the Rough Ryder for the three.

Match Rating: 4/5
This match was probably average from a non biased point of view but having Ziggler and Ryder in the same match is amazing. Its like a dream match for me at the moment seeming Ziggler is #1 in my fav 5 and Ryder is #2 xP

We go backstage to see CM Punk talking to John Cena. Cena says how they are very much alike. They are both controversial and have history making matches. Cena says they will go well tonight but he is worried what will happen afterwards at Hell In A Cell. He then says that Punk might not even be at Hell In A Cell if he is fired. Punk gives his smirk before saying that he might not get fired, Instead Cena might and he would be the first ever WWE Champion to get fired.

Tag Team Match
 The Miz and R-Truth vs John Cena and CM Punk
This was a very good main event match which saw great wrestling by all four men. This match really showed why Truth and Miz should be top guys at the moment. Due to miscommunication in the end, The Miz bumps Truth off the apron and Punk hits the GTS for the win.

Match Rating: 4/5

After the match, Triple H comes out and fires The Miz and R-Truth. Miz/Truth get aggravated and run backstage and start beating into Triple H but are eventually escorted out of the building by random superstars.

Overall Rating: 4/5
Not all the matches were great, But the segments this week were top quality.

WWE Raw Review, 09/06/2011

I am anxiously sitting here with 15 minutes to spare awaiting what should be a great episode of Raw. I am thinking of what is going to happen tonight. Will we see R-Truth and The Miz attack Air-Boom to set up a feud? Will Ziggler and Swagger be announced for Night Of Champions? Will Del Rio show up? and of course, What new avenue will the Punk/ Triple H/ Nash storyline go down?

When has WWE left so many open questions. Personally I think it is great, But now to the show.

_______________________________________________________________________________

The show kicks off with an incredible Punk vs Triple H package summarizing what has occured since Summerslam. This was a great package, Just saying.

The show kicks of with CM Punk. He talks about how he has no filter and still believes that Nash and Triple H are working together. Kevin Nash then comes out but quickly gets owned by Punk who is simply mocking his age and previous gimmicks. This leads to Triple H coming out and informing the WWE Universe that Kevin Nash sent the text to himself (Sort of anti-climatic to be honest). Nash then pleads for Triple H to get rid of CM Punk but Triple H suggests he gets rid of Nash. This starts an argument which leads to Triple H striking down Nash and firing him.

This was a good segment and it seemed Nash has touched up on his mic skills. Doubt that is the last of Kevin Nash ...

The show comes back from advertisements as we see Kevin Nash and John Laurinatis  get into a Limousine together.

Tag Team Match

Air-Boom (Evan Bourne & Kofi Kingston) vs Khali and Jinder Mahal

This match was decent, Nothing exceptional. Khali was only in the match for about 30 seconds which is always a plus. When Kofi & Evan were in control of the match it was good but when Jinder Mahal was on the offense the match just dragged on.

In the end, Evan Bourne picked up the victory with the Shooting Star Press.

Match Rating: 2.5/5

Number 1# Contendership Match:

Eve Torres vs Beth Phoenix

What is there to say? Beth won and Natayla and Kelly argued on commentary for the whole match. The match was just a squash.

Match Rating: 1/5

After the match, Natayla attacked Kelly Kelly before celebrating with Beth Phoenix

The show comes back from advertisements to show McIntyre and Christian talking backstage. Del Rio comes into the picture and tries to convince Christian that John Cena screwed him over by giving him the AA Last week 24 hours before his steel cage match.

We come back to see a GREAT segment with The Miz and R-Truth. R-Truth attempting to say Epiphany was priceless. This promo is definitely worth checking out. Towards the end of it, The Miz states that himself and R-Truth will be facing Air-Boom for their Tag Team Championships at Night Of Champions.

Singles Match

R-Truth vs CM Punk

This was a decent match but both men just seemed burned out. Both men got decent offense and in the end Miz got sent backstage but the referee as Punk hit the GTS for the 1-2-3

Match Rating: 3/5

After the match Triple H makes a B-Line to the ring and informs Punk that he has changed his match to a No DQ match up. Punk states he will accept that stipulation if Triple H accepts his. If Punk defeats him, Triple H must step down from his position as C.O.O

After this we see Curt Hawkins and Tyler Reks backstage talking to Wade Barrett. Alberto Del Rio comes onto the screen and tries to scout Barrett to his side like he did with Christian.

Tag Team Match

Jerry "The King" Lawler & Zack Ryder vs David Otunga & Michael McGillicutty

Before the match we see a great little promo for the Z! True Long Island Story and a good 2+ minutes of focus on Ryder. The match itself was OK, I'm probably biased cause of Ryder but it was awesome to see Ryder hit the Rough Ryder and get the pinfall.

Match Rating: 3/5

After this we go backstage to see Del Rio once again trying to turn people against John Cena. This time he tries with Dolph Ziggler. Nothing comes from it.

Singles Match

Randy Orton vs Heath Slater

This match got to see Heath Slater get some control which surprised the hell out of me. The match was decent and in the end saw Randy Orton hit his DDT and then the RKO for the victory

Match Rating: 3.5/5

After this we go backstage to see Ryder jumping up and down because John Cena is on his show. John Cena then takes Ryder's glasses, Looks into the camera and says "What Idiot wears sunglasses indoors?" Personally I chuckled. Nice dig at Rock.

The show comes back on air to see John Cena come out to a good ovation. John Cena talks about the predictability of Del Rio. Del Rio comes out and states how he has tried to give John Cena a fighting chance. Del Rio then sends out Swagger, Barrett, Christian and Ziggler who start a beat down on Cena. But then Alex Riley, John Morrison and Sheamus come out and clean house.

Teddy Long then comes out and announces an 8 Man Tag Team Elimination match (Teddy Long announces a tag team Main event. That's something new *Sigh*).

8-Man Elimination Tag Team Match

John Cena, John Morrison, Sheamus and Alex Riley vs Jack Swagger, Wade Barrett, Dolph Ziggler and Christian.

The match starts off well with Wade Barrett and Alex Riley. Morrison eventually gets the tag as does Ziggler. Both men face off as Morrison quickly takes out Ziggler and the rest of the opposing team. After a few near falls Ziggler applies his patented Sleephold and looks to have Morrison done but Swagger tags himself in. Swagger applies the ankle lock and Morrison taps out, Much to Ziggler's dissaproval. Vickie Guerrero then walks out to the ring as the show cuts to advertisments.

We come back as Ziggler is in control of Alex Riley in his corner. Swagger once again tags himself in and puts Alex Riley in the ankle Lock and he taps out. Sheamus then eliminated Wade Barrett shortly after. This leads to Christian and Sheamus. At one point Christian slaps Sheamus which leads to Sheamus chasing him through the crowd. Both men get eliminated via countout.

It is down to Cena vs Swagger & Ziggler. Ziggler and Swagger argue once again at Ziggler tags himself in which leads to Cena hitting the Attitude Adjustment and eliminating Dolph Ziggler before making Swagger tap out to the STF.

Match Rating: 4/5

Post match Del Rio tries to attack John Cena but Cena hits him with the Attitude Adjustment.

Pro's:

Miz & Truth

Punk Segment with Nash getting fired

Zack Ryder!!!

Lack of Cena

Con's:

Diva's match

Cena being the sole survivor as always.

Little coverage and advancement on the WWE Championship match.

Overall this was a good raw and better then last week in my opinion.

Overall rating: 3.5/5

WWE Raw Review, 08/29/11

Raw is live from Tulsa, OK., this week as the build towards the upcoming Night of Champions pay per view continues! Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler and 'Good Ol' JR' Jim Ross welcome us to Raw as the COO himself, Triple H, makes his way to the ring.

OPENING SEGMENT-TRIPLE H, KEVIN NASH, CMPUNK

An interesting start to Raw, both informative and entertaining. Triple H immediately dropped the bombshell that Smackdown superstars, for the foreseeable future, will be able to appear on Raw. Triple H did not, however, mention whether Raw superstars are able to appear on Smackdown, however they will be appearing on this weeks 'SuperSmackdown'. Good move in my opinion as the WWE roster isn't as strong as it once was, but this also means that superstars lower in the card will presumably have less TV time on Raw.

Hunter goes on to address the ongoing situation involving Nash and Punk, and calls out Nash for lying to him last week. He gets CMPunk instead. CM appears pretty jovial as he makes his way down the ramp. CMPunk chants start as Punk applauds Triple H for his 'performance', implying that Nash and Trips are in cahoots. Not long before Nash interrupts, complete with entrance graphics, titantron and the original nWo theme music. Nash admits to lying to Trips last week, and questions what kind of man Hunter is for allowing CMPunk to get away with badmouthing his wife. Nash's mic work has only improved in recent weeks, he's much more natural when running off dot-points rather than reading a script. Nash reveals that he has officially been signed to a WWE contract by Johnny Ace.

Punk is his usual self throughout the segment, referring to Nash as a 'champion ass-kisser' and stating that while Trips doesnt wear the pants in his marriage, he does wear Steph's panties--by far the line of the night. Overall an entertaining segment as usual, which ultimately leads to Nash vs Punk being made official for Night of Champions

SINGLES MATCH-RANDY ORTON VS. DOLPH ZIGGLER w/ VICKIE GUERRERO

Smackdown vs Raw action to kick off MNR; World Heavyweight Champion Randy Orton vs. United States Champion Dolph Ziggler, with Vickie in tow. Above average TV match to kick off Raw. These two have great chemistry and it definitely showed. Vickie appeared frustrated with Dolph throughout the match as the commentators discussed Vickie's longing to expand her managerial portfolio to include the likes of Jack Swagger, who was shown watching the match backstage.

Nice back and forth action throughout the match, but it was the finish which was by far the coolest moment in this one. Orton countered the sleeperhold, launched Dolph into the air, Dolph bounced off the canvas and Orton caught him in mid-air with an awesome RKO for the 1-2-3.

WINNER: RANDY ORTON
RATING: 4/5

No surprises there. Would have liked to have seen Ziggler get the big win but Orton is the WHC, going into a steel cage title defense tomorrow night on Smackdown, so it wouldn't have made much sense for Orton to lose to the US Champion the night before.

IN-RING SEGMENT-JOHN CENA, MARK HENRY, CHRISTIAN, SHEAMUS

John Cena makes his way to the ring as children everywhere squeal in delight. Cena discusses Del Rio, and claims that he has mastered the art of douchebagery. A little attitude from Cena every now and then is welcomed. Cena tells Del Rio that if he wants some, he can come get some. Del Rio, however, is in Mexico dealing with Visa issues so he gets Mark Henry instead.

Mark Henry puts himself over as a monster, talking about all the superstars he's taken out over the last few months. Henry tells Cena he'll be joining his 'Hall of Pain'. You see, its a play on words, as 'pain' rhymes with 'fame'. Cute. Henry is quickly interrupted by the, err, other number 1 contender for the WHC; Christian. Christian says he hates a guy who comes out and whines and bitches and complains every week. 'Bitch' AND 'douchebag' in the same segment?! Cena prepares to throwdown with Henry and Christian before Sheamus makes the save, setting up for tonight's tag team main event of John Cena and Sheamus vs. Mark Henry and Christian.

SINGLES MATCH-CMPUNK VS. THE MIZ

Miz cuts a nice little promo on the way to the ring, putting over himself as 'the most must-see WWE Champion of all time'. Punk looks bored in the ring as Miz delivers his catchphrase. Punk's been doing a helluva lot of talking on Raw in recent weeks, so it was refreshing to see him in action, against someone other than John Cena.

Despite being the biggest Punk mark as of late, even I thought this match tended to drag on at times, and the crowd didn't seem too into it. Miz dominated the majority of the match before Punk began to mount some offense. Punk hits the macho man elbow from the top and sets up for the GTS before R-Truth rushes to the ring and the match is thrown out.

WINNER: NO CONTEST
RATING: 3/5

Following the match, Punk attempted a GTS on Truth but was distracted by the appearance of Kevin Nash. That distraction was all that was necessary for Miz and Truth to attack Punk, setting him up for another Jacknife Powerbomb from Big Sexy. They hype the tag team main event as Raw goes to commercial.

Back from commercial and we're informed that the world premiere of the trailer of Triple H's new movie (surprisingly NOT The Chaperone 2) will debut tonight.

SINGLES MATCH- SIN CARA VS. JACK SWAGGER

I used to be able to tell whether it was Mistico or Hunico under the Sin Cara mask, but to be honest I have lost that ability as of late. I can only assume it was Hunico as he used the springboard moonsault as his finish. Not a big fan of the Sin Cara lighting either.

About a minute into this one Vickie Guerrero makes her way down the ramp, to Swagger's delight. Dolph comes out not too long after, jumping on the apron and distracting Swagger. The distraction allows Cara to hit a nice springboard tornado DDT, followed by his finish for the win.

WINNER: SIN CARA
RATING: 2.5/5

Looks to me as though they're setting up Dolph vs Swagger at Night of Champions for the United States Title, and possibly also the managerial services of Vickie Guerrero. This one ends abruptly with Dolph and Vickie storming from the ringside area.

WWE TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH- KOFI & BOURNE (AIRBOOM) VS. McGILLICUTTY & OTUNGA

This one is off to a great start as Kofi's pyro doesn't go off...awkward moment. Lawler does his usual tactic of burying Otunga and McGillicutty, questioning their charisma and star power.
This match literally lasts like 2 minutes, with Kofi scoring the pinfall victory over McGillicutty following the Trouble in Paradise.

WINNERS: AIRBOOM
RATING: 2.5/5

McGillicutty and Otunga get in Lawler's face following the match, knocking his headset off and staring him down. Can only assume this will lead to McGillicutty and Otunga reinventing themselves, which is needed in my opinion, because frankly King's correct in thinking they are bland.

DIVA'S MATCH- KELLY KELLY w/ EVE VS. BRIE BELLA w/ NIKKI BELLA

Typical diva's match with lots of screaming and shennanigans. Beth and Natalya are shown backstage as Natalya (rather awkwardly) discusses with Beth her grievance with the diva's. Another quick match here as the Bella's perform 'twin magic' to get the better of Kelly.

WINNER: BRIE BELLA
RATING: 2/5

Interesting to note that this was Kelly Kelly's first loss since the Over the Limit pay per view event. The commentators hype the main event, which is up next, as they cut to commercial break.

Following the commercial a nice video package for Alex Riley plays. I thought the package did a nice job of putting over A-Ry, who has been on a roll as of late. His absence was pretty obvious from tonight's show, which may or may not be due to the influx of Smackdown stars. We also get to see the trailer for Triple H's new movie 'Inside Out'. Another five star acting performance by The Game. Has to be a contender for Best Picture in anyone's books. I will be surprised if this one doesn't do well. Anyway, we now return to the wrestling portion of tonight's program as Mark Henry makes his way to the ring for the main event.

TAG TEAM MATCH- MARK HENRY & CHRISTIAN VS. SHEAMUS & JOHN CENA

This was a solid, roughly 10 minute main event TV match. Christian and Henry had control of Sheamus in the early going before SuperCena would eventually come to the rescue, scoring the pinfall victory over Christian following the Attitude Adjustment. Mark Henry looked like a legitimate threat, a dominating force, and the fact that it was Christian who did the job may be a sign that he will not be winning the WHC from Randal on Smackdown. Overall, a decent main event tag match.

WINNERS: SHEAMUS & JOHN CENA
RATING: 3.5/5

Cena and Sheamus celebrate their victory to send the crowd home happy, but not before Triple H and CMPunk show up on the titantron. Triple H informs Punk that his match with Nash has been cancelled, and that instead he will go one-on-one with The Game himself. Not sure why this match is being rushed out, as I expected it to maybe take place at Survivor Series rather than Night of Champions. A Triple H/ Punk match is hard to predict though, as there are multiple factors at play here, so if nothing else it should ensure that WWE's streak of compelling television offerrings continues.

Stars of the Show:
-Mark Henry
-CMPunk
-Kevin Nash

Positives:
-Nash/Punk/Triple H segment evolves
-Smackdown stars highlighted heading into the special live Smackdown
- More 'attitude' in promos

Negatives:
-multiple 'throwaway' matches
-lack of build towards NOC, outside of the Punk/Triple H/Nash fued

OVERALL RATING: 3.5/5

WWE Raw 08/22/2011 Review - Punk vs. Cena; Night of Champions

WWE Raw Review

RAW kicks off in style with the WWE Undisputed Champion, Alberto Del Rio, making his way to the ring. Alberto is receiving classic heat from the Canadian fans as Cole still goes on about how good Del Rio is. Before Del Rio can begin saying his name, John Cena cut's him off by making his own way to the ring to a mixed reaction from the crowd.

Cena says everyone knows him, and he is the man of destiny, but Cena wants to reintroduce himself to Alberto. Cena says there is one guy that can go toe to toe with him, and Alberto is not CM Punk so he is going to whip his ass. Cue in CM Punk. Punk makes his way to the ring to a big reaction as the crowd chat his name. Punk gets on the microphone and reminds Cena that he beat him 2 times in high pressure matches, and that he's next in line for a rematch clause. Alberto tells both men he's officially withdrawing both matches as Triple H comes out to straight things out.

Triple H reminds Del Rio he isn't out here to save his ass, and that he has a match next. Hunter announces the main event being CM Punk vs. John Cena to determine the challenger for the title at Night of Chamoions.

Alberto Del Rio vs. John Morrison

A vastly good opener to show with a lot of near falls and the usual high risk moves done by Morrison. Del Rio picks up the win with a arm-breaker after he moves away during the Starship Pain and throws Morrison into the ring post.

WINNER: ALBERTO DEL RIO

Match Rating: 2 and a half out of 5

After the match, Del Rio applies the armbreaker again on the outside to Morrison while Ricardo declares Del Rio the WWE Champion. Typical Heel Champion.

Nikki Bella vs. Eve Torres

One of my favorite diva's, Nikki Bella, comes out for her match with Eve Torres. A usual divas match with a very quick win with Eve hitting the neckbreaker to Nikki.

WINNER: EVE TORRES

Match Rating: 1 and a half out of 5

Kelly Kelly enters the ring and lays out Brie Bella after the match which yet again, both Beth Phoenix and Natalya come out to congratulate Eve and Kelly Kelly.

(Personal Opinion: The Divas division seems to have it's ups and downs as of late. Not too sure why the company has heel divas always loosing so quickly, but lets hope they dont bury anymore.)

Kevin Nash is seen walking around in the backstage area, ready for his in ring confrontation with Triple H.

Jack Swagger vs. Alex Reily

Back from the break and Vickie Guerrero makes her way out to the stage to introduce her potential new client, Jack Swagger. Swagger comes out and walks to the ring with Vickie on his arm. The announcers note that Alex Riley, who is waiting in the ring, has requested this rematch.

Before the match could even get much further, Dolph Ziggler comes out and starts to argue with Vickie about managing Swagger. This distracts Swagger for Reily to pick up the quick win.

WINNER: ALEX REILY

Match Rating: 1 out of 5.

Personal Opinion: Should have been longer.

Kevin Nash & Triple H Ring Segment

I'm going to take a transcript from WWE.com as follows:

For Triple H, it was high time to clear the air. During his first pay-per-view as WWE COO, The Game’s good friend, Kevin Nash, had attacked newly-crowned WWE Champion CM Punk, allowing Alberto Del Rio to coast to a WWE Title reign after cashing in his Money in the Bank contract.

In the wake of the scandal, Nash explained that he’d received a text from Triple H’s phone instructing him to “stick” the winner of the WWE Title Match. WWE’s COO confirmed that the text did, in fact, come from his phone, but he insisted he was not the sender before vowing to uncover the identity of the real culprit.

Before The Game could finish his pronouncement, though, CM Punk emerged to challenge his version of the truth. When hostilities between Triple H and Punk became heated, Nash intervened with a cheap shot across Punk’s jaw. The blow crumpled The Second City Savior and ticked off The Cerebral Assassin, who left the ring in a huff – followed by Big Daddy Cool.

My Personal Opinion on the segment: To me, this was quite a good back and forth segment between Nash and HHH. Nash proclaims someone texted him while HHH makes it clear it wasn't him who sent for Nash to take out Punk at SummerSlam. While I still think it will end up being HHH the one who wanted Punk out, I am now thinking it's more along the lines of either Johnny Ace or Stephanie McMahon, in honor of her father that doesn't want the company being represented by Punk as WWE Champion.

I can surely see a match between Punk and Nash sometime soon, that's if, Nash can hold up to the style and ways of CM Punk.

WWE Tag Team Championship

David Otunga & Michael McGillicutty vs. Evan Borune & Kofi Kingston

As of late I was really enjoying the work of the former Nexus members Otunga and Henning, but it seems it's time for the company to usually pin together two guys (Kofi & Evan) to go after titles when the creative has nothing for them aka like Big Show & Undertaker/Kane & Big Show title reigns.

The match itself was quite good, lots of high risk moves performed by both Kofi and Evan, with the powerhouse of both Otunga and McGillicutty. Match ending saw Bourne hit the Air Bourne to Otunga for the win.

Winners and NEW Tag Team Champions, Kofi Kingston & Evan Bourne.

Match Rating: 2 and a half out of 5.

Personal Opinion: I do wish now both Kingston and Bourne do something with the titles, but sadly I dont see them facing many 'it' factor teams, as there is pretty much none on RAW. The Uso's could make a comeback, Santino could partner with someone else possibly, but hopefully it turns out good.

Santino/Miz/Truth Segment

Santino comes out to the ring to only be attacked by The Miz and R-Truth. It seems the creative is going the way of teaming Miz and Truth up (Tag Titles?) Both Miz and Truth deliver heel promos in regards to the current product, Cena, Punk, Nash and HHH as well. Truth has really shown he can work as a heel after this segment while Miz, IMO, always delivers and should be highly regarded on the show.

No 1 Contender Match for the WWE Championship

CM Punk vs. John Cena

The main event of the night finally graces us with a rematch from SummerSlam, pinning both former WWE Champions against each other for a title shot at Night of Champions against Alberto Del Rio. This match probably didn't live up to their matches at MITB or SummerSlam, but it did deliver as both men showed they can work there backs off with each other in the ring. Not too many finisher counters like at SummerSlam, but the near falls were there.

Ending saw Punk pick up Cena for the GTS, but suddenly gets interrupted by Nash, who Ace told HHH earlier in the night that he was involved in a car accident, which we realize was a lie. Nash walks down to the ring and distracts Punk, who turns around to receive the AA from Cena for the win.

Winner: John Cena

Match Rating: 3 out of 5

Personal Opinion: The match could not match up to the previous encounters, but was a good TV match for the fans. I'd put MITB-SS-RAW in order of the matches between both Punk and Cena since June. I would have liked to see Punk possibly kick out of the AA, like he has in the past to add that more excitement during the ending, both sadly Punk was finished off with the AA without no kick out.

As soon as the match is over, Del Rio rushes the ring and attacks Cena. The WWE Champion beats Cena down and hits a big kick to the head in the corner. Del Rio mounts Cena with right hands when John Laurinaitis comes in the ring and pulls him off. Laurinaitis and a referee back Del Rio up in the corner. Del Rio rushes out and attacks Cena again. They push him back into the corner again as Cena lays on the mat. Del Rio attacks Cena again, hits him with the WWE Title and stomps away. Del Rio takes Cena to the floor and throws him into the fan barrier. Laurinaitis and the referee once again push Del Rio back as RAW goes off the air.

Overall Opinion on RAW: 3 out of 5 Stars.

Positives

- More of the Nash/Punk/HHH Story line progresses

- Cena vs. Punk

- Truth/Miz Heel Segments

Negatives

- Main event should have been longer

- Natyala/Phoenix/Kelly story line needs to improve

Sorry for the delay of the review, work has been a pain as of late.

- Darkside

WWE Raw 08/15/2011 Review - Fallout of Summerslam

WWE Raw Review

We are only 10 minutes away from a much anticipated episode of Raw and I cannot wait. To me this episode of Raw should be memorable. What are we going to witness? There are so many possible avenues WWE could go down after what we saw at Summerslam.

In case you missed it, CM Punk defeated John Cena to be crowned the new Undisputed WWE Champion. As Triple H counted the pinfall though John Cena's left foot was on the rope. As if this wasn't enough, As CM Punk was celebrating Kevin Nash jumped the barrier and Jackknife powerbombed CM Punk before leaving. Then Alberto Del Rio came in and cashed in his Money In The Bank briefcase to be crowned the new Undisputed WWE Champion. So yeah, What the hell is going to occur on Raw? beats me.

To me the possible avenues they could go down would be that Triple H was behind Nash attacking Punk, Nash had his own agenda, Del Rio was behind it (Which I strongly doubt as it would make no sense) or Stephanie McMahon was behind it. Hell maybe even X-Pac may show up ... xP. Anyway now to the raw review.

____________________________________

The show starts off with a nice little package of what happened at the end of Summerslam which I recapped earlier in this blog post.

Triple H kicks off the show with a great ovation. He mentions that he made the wrong call in the match earlier in the night and also brings up that he had nothing to do with Nash attacking Punk. He then states that he has invited Nash to Raw to speak about his actions and Nash will be there if he can speak the complete truth. Alberto Del Rio then comes out to the ring without one of his cars which I found quite interesting. Alberto for some reason starts his promo very face like but quickly starts talking about how he will beat Rey Mysterio later tonight. This draws huge heat from the fans. Alberto convinced me he was going face for a tiny bit there so all in all, A nice promo by Alberto Del Rio.

During the promo I noticed that Alberto Del Rio had no nameplate on his Championship. Not to spoil anything but perhaps Rey may walk out of San Diego with the Championship. I hope not though, The Championship is becoming a bar of soap which is disappointing.

Before the ad break, We saw the COO Triple H walk into Cena's locker room for his face to face apology. But the door closed in front of the camera.

After the ad break R-Truth comes out with a new entrance theme. Its his old "Whats Up" one but states "the Truth has set me free". Justin Roberts then announces that the match is a Falls Count Anywhere match.

Falls Count Anywhere Match: John Morrison vs R-Truth

The match starts off great with some great spots by Morrison. Especially the flash kick of the guard rail. After several near falls by Morrison, R-Truth took control with his front Vertical suplex on the outside. After the ad break the match went briefly into the crowd. After awhile Morrison regained control with a Vertical suplex on a computer chair and then a stiff knee to Truth for the 3 count on the outside.

Rating: 4/5. 

For Raw this match was great. Several great spots and a very solid finish. Really got Morrison over as he has had a dry streak for awhile.

Before the ad break the show Punk arriving to the arena.

The show comes back on air as Miz makes his way down to the ring for a promo. It was a rubbish promo where Miz had some words for Jared from Subway who strangely enough was holding a sub. Miz cut a promo for the new sub before eating it. Really WWE? ... Really? Great use of one of the best guys on your roster *Sigh*.

After this load of crap we see Nash get out of a Black limousine before we cut to advertisements. While the ads are playing, Just wanna state how terrible American advertisements. They are all fast Food related and boring as hell. During this break I have seen an add for Taco Bell, Subway, K-Mart and now Elephants (Which strangely enough is about customer service).

Diva's Tag Team Match: Kelly Kelly & Eve vs The Bella Twins

Not a bad match for a Diva's contest. Kelly sold her leg throughout the match pretty well. There isn't much to talk about but in the end Eve got the victory with a moonsault. Eve and Kelly celebrated their victory as Beth Phoenix and Natayla came out and just stared them down from the entrance ramp.

 

Rating: 2/5. 

It was good for a Diva's match but still no Molly Holly Vs Trish Stratus sort of quality.

Kevin Nash comes out with no music (Stealing R-Truths theme :@) and gets a solid ovation. Nash mentions how much of a great friend Triple H is. He then claims that Triple H told Nash to take out the winner of the match. Punk comes out to a great ovation and a great promo with Nash. Sure Nash seemed like he had been drinking at times but it was typical punk quality. Punk goes to confront Nash but is stopped by security. Punk then states that all Security is protecting Nash which means nobody is protecting Triple H so he is going to go and confront HHH. This to me was a great promo, Even though Punk was getting Nash over. I honestly have no idea where Raw is headed. So confusing right now which is great to see.

 We see Nash talking to John Lauranitis. You can see that John is also against Punk as he talks about what happened last night. John and Nash then head to his office to talk.

Singles Match: Alex Riley vs Jack Swagger

Dolph Ziggler and Vickie Guerrero are on commentary and seem to be bitching with each other. Quite amusing to be honest. The match wasn't anything special at all and the ending was Vickie getting involved with Black Ref and JR's hat. You have to see it to understand it but it is definitely worse then it sounds. This lead to a distraction by Riley and Swagger hitting the gut-wrench power bomb on his third attempt. The commentary had a stronger focus then the actual match. It was a really pointless spot on the show to be honest.

Rating: 3/5. 

 We see a segment between Vickie and Jack Swagger. Jack Swagger mentions that great managers such as Bobby Heenan and "Classie" Freddie Blassie have Managed more then just when wrestlers. He then suggests that Vickie should manage him. This will probably lead to a Ziggler/ Swagger feud which would be pretty great. Vickie didn't agree to be Swagger's manager yet though.

After this we see Punk walk out of Triple H's locker room to see Stephanie. Just states that she is sorry how Punk lost his Championship but says that people always get what they deserve in typical evil Stephanie McMahon fashion. WWE are pointing the finger towards Steph from what I can tell with the whole Nash thing but it just seems to simple to me. No appearance from Cena so far as well which is really interesting.

Tag Team Match: Kofi Kingston & Evan Bourne vs David Otunga & Michael McGuillicutty

This was a good match. Kofi and Bourne are great as a tag team if they stick together. The match had the ending of Airbourne on Otunga for the victory. over all though it was a nice paced match.

Rating: 3.5/5

While there is an ad break on at the moment, I just wanna say that 90% of tonight has been face Cole on commentary which has been great. JR, King and Cole have all got along which is nice for a change. Also during the Tag Team match, Cole mentioned that Michaels tweeted the following:

"He got a text!! Dang, everything is technology now. I'm gonna text me a beat down too somebody at RAW!!". 

 This I found VERY interesting. KLIQ reunion?

Undisputed WWE Championship Match: Alberto Del Rio vs Rey Mysterio

There is still no nameplate on the Championship as Del Rio comes out in a Ferrari F430. Rey follows coming out to a huge reception from his hometown.

The match starts of great with Rey in control doing some great high flying sort of Rey stuff. The match comes back from air with Del Rio in control trying to unmask Rey, Throughout the match control kept changing. At one point Rey hit a beautiful moonsault on Del Rio on the outside.In the end Del Rio countered Rey's splash with his knee's and then covered Rey for the 3

Rating: 4/5.

A very good match and I was really convinced Rey was going to win after the 619.

After Del Rio won he attacked Rey and Cena came to Rey's aid. Cena spoke about how Del Rio is a target and he has disgraced the WWE Championship. So it looks like it'll be Cena vs Del Rio at NOC!

Positives:

- WWE showed the could run a great show without Cena every 5 minutes.

- Cole face Commentery

- Solid matches

- Advancement in the whole Nash/HHH/ Johnny Ace/ CM Punk/ Steph McMahon fiasco.

Negatives:

- The show could have definitely ended better. With more focus on the bigger Raw storyline at the moment.

-  Kevin Nash. He was good but really needs to brush up on his promo skills.

All in all, Another great Raw. WWE has stepped up over the last few months and has kept me hooked which is great.

So this weeks Raw rating:

4/5 Stars