11-19-12 Raw results and thoughts

Coverage and thoughts on the November 19, 2012 episode of Raw

 

The show starts with Ryback coming to the ring. He says that last night he was about to feast on the WWE Title but Punk found 3 guys take food from a starving man’s mouth. His hunger can’t be suppressed. Ryback is a predator and Punk the attackers are his prey. He tells them to come out and face him right now or he will tare the place apart till he finds them all. Then he leads the crowed in the feed me more chant. Out comes Vickie Guerrero. She tells Ryback he had 2 chances to win the title and he blew it. She wants to see him destroy people but if he causes chaos tonight he will be subject to a fine or suspension. Then Vickie says again that she enjoys watching him destroy people. Let’s see how big his appetite really is. Out comes Tensai. This was lame but thankfully short. We’ve seen Ryback-Tensai TWICE and they weren’t good.

Ryback vs. Tensai. Ryback gets the pin. This was a pointless squash.

Sheamus is backstage screaming at a referee.

They show a wwe.com exclusive interview with Wade Barrett. He says it doesn’t matter that he was eliminated in the 10 man last night because Dolph won. Then he says that he pinned Kofi in the match and should be Intercontinental Champion. The fact that Kofi Kingston is Intercontinental Champion is an embarrassment to WWE.

Intercontinental Champion Kofi Kingston vs. Wade Barrett. Barrett gets the pin. This was a good match.

Time for a Brad Maddox video package.

Paul Heyman is backstage with a CM Punk poster. He knocks on Punk’s door. Punk comes out. He says he thought it was Ryback. Punk likes the pic. Heyman says that there are no words that can describe what he thinks about Punk being the best in the World. Then he tonight he will throw Punk a celebration for the ages. Then Matt Striker comes in and asks for Punk’s thoughts on the finish of last night’s match and if it he has anything to do with Ambrose, Rollins & Reigns. Punk says he’s tired of people asking him these questions. Striker asks Punk about Ryback. Punk then screams, “What about Ryback?” Heyman says tonight Punk’s celebration will be so memorable they’ll show it on the 2000^th Raw. Heyman says that everyone is invited. Even Ryback. Punk asks to talk to Heyman in the dressing room. This was decent. Punk & Heyman were good here as usual.

Kaitlyn vs. Aksana. Kaitlyn gets the pin. This was weak.

R-Truth is on commentary.

Brodus Clay vs. U.S. Champion Antonio Cesaro. Cesaro gets the pin. This was ok but I knew Cesaro would win. Brodus is on Jobber Island.

They show a video package of John Cena granting his 300^th Make A Wish. The guy really does do a lot and I give him all the credit in the world!

Vickie Guerrero is backstage with some guy and some girl. We’ll find out what more evidence Vickie has on the AJ scandal. I can’t take anymore of this!

Out comes Vickie Guerrero with her 2 guests. Vickie wants to set the record straight. She wouldn’t lay a hand on a WWE super star. AJ is trying to humiliate her. Some people respect authority, like Tamina. AJ has been making a fool of herself for weeks. AJ & Cena had the audacity of accusing Vickie of having an affair. Tonight Vickie has witnesses. First is a hotel waitress named Whitney Smith. Smith says AJ & Cena wanted a private table in the corner. Through the whole meal they were touchy feely and more crap. The guy’s name is Doug Brady. He’s a parking attendant. He saw Cena & AJ in a parked vehicle for close to an hour. They were parked close to a family and the dad came to him to tell him what he saw. Then out comes AJ. AJ doesn’t know who they are or much Vickie paid them. She’s tired of Vickie’s crap. If Vickie wants to fire her than go ahead. If she doesn’t she should shut the hell up. Vickie says AJ can’t admit the truth. Vickie says while AJ was lip locking with Cena, Mr. Brady took pics. Vickie says she will show a pic. No pic. Cue Cena’s music and he comes out. He says this all a load of crap (This storyline sure is that) and she’s trying to give people something to talk about. Then he says he will give them something to talk about. Then he says AJ he hopes she doesn’t mind. Then Cena kisses AJ. Then AJ kisses him really hard. Then they lock lips. As that’s happening Dolph comes out and hits Cena in the back. Then they go at it, Cena sets Dolph up for an AA but Dolph escapes. Cena runs after Dolph up the ramp. This was TERRIBLY PAINFULL!! HOWMUCH MORE OF THIS CRAP ARE WE GOING TO BE SUBJECTED TOO!? I HAVE HAD IT WITH THIS ANGLE!

Randy Orton vs. Alberto Del Rio in a 2 out of 3 falls match. Orton wins 2 falls to 1. This was a good match but they had Del Rio lose to Orton again! * Orton wins the first fall by DQ. * Del Rio wins the second fall by submission. * Orton gets the pin in the third fall. In the third fall Ricardo tripped Orton and the referee sent Ricardo to the back. I would think this is the end of their feud since Orton won here in addition to all the other matches he beat Del Rio in.

John Cena’s is told that he might have a torn meniscus as his knee is being taped up. AJ asks if he’s ok and says that she is sorry. Apparently he injured his ankle as he left the ring when he chased Dolph up the ramp.

Before the next match Hornswoggle comes out with flowers.

Great Khali vs. Primo & Epico. Khali gets the quick pin. This was a meaningless squash. Hornswoggle went up to Rosa with the flowers and squired water out of them onto Rosa. Afterwards Khali & Hornswoggle celebrate in the ring. What was this for?

Backstage Heyman that Punk will be so happy but then he sees something on the list. Heyman screams that he wants balloons. Heyman was good but this was kind of weak.

The Miz vs. David Otunga. Miz gets the pin. This was all Miz.

Sheamus comes to the ring. He says before he knocks out Sandow he wants to get something off his chest. When the rivalry with him & Big Show first began it was about 2 warriors. Then Show made it personal when he attacked Regal. Then last night Show pulled the referee in front of him when Sheamus went for the Brogue kick. Through all this Show has shown what type of person he really is. Now matter how hard they fight Show always runs away. Sheamus says that after HIAC he had a smile on his face. He’s not smiling now. Sheamus tells Big Show to come to the ring so they can settle this. Out comes Big Show. Sheamus shows him the chair. Show says they have nothing to settle. Show mentions that at HIAC he was going to KO Sheamus. Show says that Sheamus beat him within an inch of his life last night. Sheamus says that the marks on the chair are symbols of the beating he gave Big Show. Then Big Show says Sheamus isn’t the World Champion. Show is and Sheamus doesn’t deserve the title. Sheamus is barbaric just like his Irish ancestors. Sheamus tells Show to get in the ring so he can show how barbaric he can be. Then out comes Damien Sandow. I don’t know why they had that segment before the match. Also didn’t Sheamus already show how barbaric he is when he beat the crap out of Big Show last night with the chair?

Sheamus vs. Damien Sandow. Sheamus gets the pin. This was a good match but I knew Sheamus was winning. Sandow got a good amount of offense in before getting pinned.

Vickie & Tamina are in the GM office. AJ comes in. Vickie introduces them. AJ plans on getting to know Tamina better in the near future. AJ brings up the crappy segment from before. Vickie asks if AJ is going to deny that she & Cena were playing tonsil hockey. AJ says that Cena’s hurt. What will Vickie do about it? Nothing. If she won’t then AJ will. This was lame.

AJ is backstage and Layla is telling her that it’s not worth it. They come to a door. Layla tells AJ not to go in there. AJ tells Layla to leave her alone. Layla walks off. AJ walks into the guy’s locker room. She goes to Dolph and asks who he thinks he is. Dolph says that AJ came from nothing and she will always be nothing. He says that she gloms on anyone who will show her attention. He says AJ is pathetic. Every time she loses a piece of her pride. Now she is a shell of a woman. He says she’s weak and pitiful. He says she’s just trash. Then AJ pounds on Dolph. Cena comes in and he & Dolph brawl. Dolph attacks Cena’s injured knee. A referee comes in and says to get the doc. This was terrible too. How can Vince think this is good story telling. It’s not! This is total crap! No one cares about this!

Josh Mathews says that Cena was rushed to the trainer’s room during the break. He says that after Dolph attacked the knee Cena is in much more pain. No duh Josh!

The Primetime Players are on commentary.

Rey Mysterio & Sin Cara vs. WWE Tag Team Champions Kane & Daniel Bryan. The match goes to a no finish when The Primetime Players come in and beat down Kane. Sin Cara kicks Titus. Then Daniel sets up the Players for a double 619 by Mysterio. That’s followed Kane choke slamming Titus and Sin Cara hitting a springboard senton on Darren. The match was good but the finish (or no finish) was predictable since The Primetime Players were out there. They looked really weak too after getting beat down by both teams. Other than that I liked the match.

Punk & Heyman backstage. Heyman thanks Punk for all the sacrifices Punk has made to be champion for 365 days. Heyman wants this to be a major celebration that no one will forget. Punk’s celebration is next.

Michael Cole mentions that Cena might have a partially torn meniscus.  

Paul Heyman is in the ring. He tells the fans not to boo him. He’s her to honor a man that has successfully defended the WWE Title for 365 days and the fans have the nerve to boo him. He asks if the fans are upset that Punk retained the title or maybe because they mocked Lawler. Heyman says the fans wanted the attitude era but when he & Punk give him a taste of attitude they don’t like it. They have the nerve to chant ECW but they don’t like when things get extreme. WWE has never been able to handle the greatness of Punk raising the bar so high. This celebration stands head and shoulders above the rest for all time. This is a celebration of 365 glorious days of the reigning, defending champion and the best in the world. Heyman is honored and privileged to bring out CM Punk. Punk comes out. Punk & Heyman hug. Punk says that Shawn Michaels, Triple H and Bret Hart couldn’t do it. That means Punk is the best there is, was and ever will be. The Undertaker couldn’t do it. The Rock couldn’t either. Punk says he has been champion for 1 calendar year. Then the show a Punk video package on Punks year long WWE Title reign. Punk says tonight is a night of celebration. It’s about his place in history. He belongs at the top and is looking to the future. He has his goal set on July 15, 2018 when he surpasses Bruno Sammartino and becomes the longest reigning champion. Heyman says that he was a Bruno fan and that Bruno belongs in the WWE Hall of Fame and Punk is a first ballot Hall of Famer. Heyman says that neither Bruno nor Hogan could beat Punk. Another Heyman guy, Steve Austin could never on his best day beat Punk. AT the Royal Rumble it will be proven that not even The Rock can beat CM Punk. Punk thanks Heyman for setting this all up. He says that last night at Survivor Series was one of his best moments because everyone thought he would lose but he survived Survivor Series. Then out comes Ryback and then out come Rollins, Ambrose & Reigns. They go after Ryback but Ryback gets past them. Ryback gets in the ring and the 3 guys come in and beat down Ryback. Then they take apart the announce table and they powerbomb Ryback through it. Punk goes over to Ryback. He crouches over him, then he puts his foot on Ryback’s chest. He holds the belt over his head and shout, “Best in the world.” This ends the show. This was really good. Both Punk & Heyman were tremendous on the mic here. Having Rollins, Ambrose & Reigns being aligned with Punk & Heyman could really get them over.  

I thought this week’s show had its ups and downs overall. The opening bit with Ryback & Vickie was lame and the Ryback-Tensai match was a pointless quash. The CM Punk celebration was really good. I’m liking this new stable with Ambrose, Rollins & Reigns. If they’re booked right they could really get over being with Punk & Heyman. The rest of the show was hit and miss. I’m WAY beyond tired of the AJ-Cena-Vickie-Dolph angle. This whole storyline is idiotic. The in ring segment with Vickie, the “witnesses”, AJ, Dolph & Cena was really painful! AJ going into the guy’s locker room was lame too. The Cena-Dolph brawl was solid but this story made it far less interesting than it could have been. Clay-Cesaro was ok but I knew Cesaro was winning. Kaitlyn-Aksana was weak. Mysterio & Cara vs. Kane & Daniel was good but I knew the Primetime Players would get involved. Sheamus-Sandow was good. The Sheamus-Big Show promo was decent too but I’m not sure why it was before the match. Miz-Otunga wasn’t much. Miz dominated the whole match. Khali vs. Primo & Epico was a meaningless squash and the bit with Hornswoggle squirting the water out of the flowers on Rosa was lame too. Orton-Del Rio was good too and I’m guessing that’s the end of that feud since Orton won this match too. Kofi-Barrett was good too. So on the whole I thought this week’s show was a mixed bag with a really good ending.

11-16-12 Smackdown results and thoughts

  Coverage and thoughts on the November 16, 2012 episode of Smackdown

The show starts with Sheamus in the parking garage waiting for Big Show to arrive.

The Miz comes to the ring for Miz TV. Since Miz is now a baby face the fans chant Miz is awesome (that might have been pumped in). Miz says it’s good to be home. He welcomes everyone to the most must see WWE talk show in history, Miz TV. In 2 days the 26^th annual Survivor Series will take place and Miz will now be on Team Foley because of the fans. He mentions that the fans picked him the Raw active vote on Raw. He asks if there was any doubt. There’s a Survivor Series poster in the ring and Miz mentions that he’s on it. He’s on the poster because he is a survivor. Not only is he a survivor, he has accomplished more than any other Survivor Series participant. He will not blindly fall in line under any team captain whether it’s Dolph or his guest the hardcore legend Mick Foley. Foley comes to the ring. Foley appreciates Miz having him on his show but he did have some reservations when he first put Miz on the ballot on Raw active. Then he plugs his new book and does the cheap pop town bit. The fans cheer. Miz tells Foley not to go for a cheap pop in Miz’s home town. Foley says, “You’re from right here in Cleveland, Ohio?” Foley says that even though he called his new book “A Most Mizerable Christmas” with a drawing that resembles Miz, if the book had been written by Dickens it might have been called, “A Tale of Two Mizzes.” Foley says that’s what Miz is to him. He says that Miz is a tale of 2 very different people and as they get closer to Survivor Series Foley wonders which Miz will show up to be on Team Foley. Will it be the WrestleMania main eventing, John Cena defeating, awesome inducing, self surviving WWE super star that Foley know Miz can be? Or will it be the vacation taking, chair sitting, make up wearing, week beard growing Miz who shows up on Smackdown & Raw from time to time? Foley asks which Tale of which Miz will it turn out to be. Miz says, “You need to ask that question, really?” Then Miz says really a few times. Then Miz tells Foley that he is the least of Foley’s problems. Miz doesn’t need Foley to give him a rah rah speech. What Foley needs to do is look at the rest of his team. Foley has tag team champions that don’t like each other. He has an Apex Predator that doesn’t play well with others. And he has a cheap shot artist that stole Miz’s Intercontinental Title. Foley’s glad they’re getting this out in the open because he would like the chance to have a team meeting right here on Miz’s show. Foley then brings out Kofi Kingston. Then out come Kane & Daniel Bryan. Finally Randy Orton comes out. Foley says that he wants to open up the lines of communication. Whoever feels the need to speak first they can begin talking. All the team mates look at each other. Kane & Daniel both say that they’ll start. Then they argue over who will speak first. Then Daniel says that he thinks that Kane is trying to apologize for his constant insinuation that Daniel is the weak link of their tag team. Kane then thanks Miz for being such a great tag team partner Monday night. Kane says that his back feels so strong from not having to carry somebody. He looks at Daniel. Daniel asks if Kane thinks that’s funny. Then Daniel says that without him Kane would be roaming basements and scaring kids. Kane then says that he roams basements and scares kids regardless. Then they each say they’re the tag team champions. Then Kofi jumps in and says they’re all supposed to be a team. Then Miz gives Kofi a really. He asks if Kofi will play peacekeeper. Miz mentions that last week he went to shake Kofi’s hand and Kofi kicked him in the face. Kofi tells Miz that if he doesn’t take 2 steps back he will do it again. Then Foley tells them to show some team unity. He says this isn’t going too well. Then Foley says that it’s hard to believe that the voice of reason on his team might be Orton. Orton asks Foley if he wants him to be the voice of reason. Orton tells Foley that he has spit in his face numerous times. Then Orton mentions that Foley threw him into a pile of thumbtacks long ago. But even though all that happened between them Orton likes Foley more than anyone who is standing in the ring right now. Orton then says that there isn’t a single member of this team that he actually does like or trust. Then Orton knocks over the PPV poster. Then out come Dolph Ziggler, Alberto Del Rio, Ricardo Rodriguez, Wade Barrett & Damian Sandow. (Cody Rhodes wan not there because he got legit injured in a match that was taped for Main Event. Him & Sandow against Kane & Daniel). Dolph tells his guys to take a good look in the ring. Team Foley is the definition of dysfunction. Dolph says that pretty sad even for Mick. Dolph says that Team Ziggler doesn’t have any egos. All they are are prime elite super stars that are all united behind 1 charismatic leader. Del Rio & Ricardo are talking and Dolph tells Del Rio this is 1 meeting. Then Dolph says that furthermore the last time…then he turns back to Del Rio and asks him what the problem is. Del Rio says that he doesn’t think that Dolph has what it takes to be the team leader. Dolph says, “That’s something you couldn’t have brought up backstage?” Then Del Rio says that there is only 1 person in this place who deserves to be the leader of this team and it isn’t Dolph. Dolph asks Del Rio if that wasn’t that he could have brought up before they came out. Del Rio tells Dolph not to talk to him like that because he is a former WWE Champion. Dolph says that he is a future champion and would rather be a future anything than former anything (I don’t think he wants to be future endeavored). Foley then sarcastically says that Dolph is showing them how to be united. Dolph tells Foley to shut up and to stay out of this. Foley tells Dolph that he is involved in this. He says that way back when he used to run this place he made some pretty good matches. Then Foley mentions that he asked Booker T if he can have he chance to make some pretty good matches right here in Cleveland, Ohio. Foley then says that Booker told him that he can with Team Ziggler’s blessing. Mick asks Dolph if it’s ok if he makes some matches tonight. Dolph tells him go ahead. Foley then says that it seems to him that Del Rio & Dolph need to learn how to get along before Survivor Series. Foley then says that what better way than to form a tag team here tonight and face 2 members of Team Foley who also need to learn how to get along. Foley says that Del Rio & Dolph will face Miz & Randy Orton. Dolph says that’s great. Dolph is glad that Miz quit Team Ziggler because he couldn’t cut it on that team anyway. Then Dolph says that they got someone who is way better than Miz. Wade Barrett. Barrett thanks Dolph and says that Dolph is making him blush. Then Barrett says that the way he sees it, Team Ziggler has replaced a quitter with a winner. Foley wants to see how Barrett does when he faces Kane. Then Daniel screams no. Then Sandow screams silence. Then he says that it is obvious that Team Foley is in complete disarray. They have a goat faced 1 word wonder running around with an anger problem. Sandow then says that Kane’s brutality is the very reason that Cody Rhodes is not there tonight. Then you have a braided neon mute who know claims he has the ability to fly. Kofi then says that Sandow calls himself a scholar so he expects him to say something smarter. Kofi says if Sandow wants to question his flying abilities then Kofi would be willing to show Sandow first hand. Then Foley tells Kofi that he just made his job real simple because the first match tonight will be Kofi vs. Sandow. That match starts now. This was good but it was also really long! I liked that they had the Team Foley members show friction with each other and not just do the “Hey they’re all baby faces now. Let’s forget about everything” bit. That said I thought everyone who spoke was good but this segment could have easily been way shorter. They didn’t need to take 15 minutes to set up the first match on the show.

Intercontinental Champion Kofi Kingston vs. Damien Sandow. Sandow gets the pin. This was a good match. During this they showed the back drop from Main Event that injured Cody.

They show Sheamus in the parking garage.

Layla, Kaitlyn & Natalya vs. Divas Champion Eve Torres, Aksana & Alicia Fox. Layla, Kaitlyn & Natalya win when Kaitlyn pins Alicia. This was your typical divas match.

They announce Justin Gabriel & Tyson Kidd vs. Heath Slater & Jinder Mahal for the Survivor Series youtube pre show. What happened to the 8 man tag Gabriel & Kidd were supposed to be in?

Backstage Booker T comes up to Sheamus. Booker says he needs to talk to him. He knows that Sheamus is upset but he put Booker a really awkward position. Booker says that he heard that Big Show might not show up tonight just because Sheamus is standing there waiting for him. Sheamus says that he will move. Then Sheamus tells Booker that if he see Big Show to tell him that if he has any guts, Show will see Sheamus out in the ring. Then Booker says that in 48 hours Sheamus can tear Big Show limb from limb. He asks Sheamus to keep his cool tonight. Sheamus can’t promise anything. Booker’s serious “dawg.” Booker tells Sheamus that if things get out of hand there will be repercussions. Sheamus says Booker’s got that right “fella” and walks off. This was weak.

Randy Orton & The Miz vs. Alberto Del Rio & Dolph Ziggler. Orton & Miz win when Miz pins Del Rio. This was a solid match. Afterwards Miz gets in Orton’s face about getting the pin. Then Miz poses on the turnbuckle for a bit. Then Orton gives him an RKO.

Sheamus comes in the ring. He says that Big Show crossed the line. Sheamus says that he was happy about his match with Big Show at hell in a cell (Why would he be? He lost the belt) because they pushed each other to the limit. They beat lumps out of each other and they had the fight of a life. Then Big Show had to attack him & William Regal from behind in a cowardly act. Big Show showed that he is a bully and nothing but a bleeding big coward. Sheamus is tired of all this talking & the running around. He says that even though they have match at Survivor Series, he doesn’t feel like waiting till then. As far as Sheamus is concerned the time for talking is over. It’s time to fight. Out comes Big Show. Big Show says that Sheamus doesn’t get it. Just like last week, Sheamus is out there running his mouth and calling Big Show out. Big Show then says that just like last week, nothing will happen. Nothing except maybe getting Regal knocked out again. Show then says that he is scared of Sheamus. He’s not scared of what Sheamus might do to him. He is scared of what he might do to Sheamus. Show tells Sheamus that rather than standing in the ring being all angry Sheamus should do the right thing and thank Big Show. Sheamus says that’s the best idea Big Show’s ever had. Sheamus will personally head up the ramp and thank him right now. Sheamus then leaves the ring but then Booker T comes out. He tells Sheamus to hold it right there. Sheamus heads up the ramp to go after Big Show but Booker T holds him back. Booker tells Sheamus that this is not Monday night where everything got totally out of control (Nope this is Friday night where everything gets out of control). Booker says this is Smackdown. This is his show. Booker tells Sheamus that in 2 days Sheamus gets Big Show. But for right now he has to ask Sheamus to leave the arena. Sheamus tells Booker that he respects him but he can’t do that. Sheamus goes after Show but Booker holds him back again. Then Big Show walks to the back as Sheamus screams at him. Then Booker says that Sheamus doesn’t want to this. Booker says that as Smackdown GM he is telling Sheamus to leave the building. Sheamus stands by ringside still and Booker keeps telling Sheamus that he doesn’t want to do this. Sheamus & Booker finally walk out. This was a mixed bag. I thought Sheamus cut a good promo and Big Show was ok here too. Having Booker T come and kick Sheamus out of the building was idiotic however. I also thought Booker saying that this isn’t Monday where everything gets out of control was funny since that’s what happens on both Raw & Smackdown every week.

Backstage Big Show tells Booker T that is the way to get it done. Show & Booker have known each other for 15 years (might actually be 16). Then Booker tells Big Show that he will be in the main event tonight. Then he tells Big Show that he will find out who he is facing when he gets to the ring. Big Show asks Booker if it will be Sheamus. Booker tells him it won’t be Sheamus but there is no one bigger than “The Show.”

Kane vs. Wade Barrett. Kane wins by DQ when Team Ziggler comes in. Then Mick Foley comes out and brings out his troupes. Orton has his own entrance and the brawl takes place. Orton gives an RKO to Sandow & to Dolph. Then Orton shakes Foley’s hand. Then Miz shows up on the stage. He & the other Team Foley guys have a stare down. This was decent. I was ok with the brawl but again Sandow & Dolph got buried.

R-Truth comes out for commentary for the next match.

Sin Cara vs. U.S. Champion Antonio Cesaro. Cesaro gets the pin. This was solid. Afterwards R-Truth gets on the announce table and has a mic. With all due respect to “Little Jimmy” he wants to quote another Jimmy. Hacksaw “Jimmy” Duggan. He says USA. The fans chant USA and he says what. Then he chants USA. R-Truth’s gimmick is really tiring.

Great Khali vs. World Champion Big Show. Big Show gets the pin. This was weak. Afterwards Sheamus’ music plays and Big Show looks up the ramp. Then he looks around the rest of the arena. Then Big Show’s music plays. Then Big Show slides out of the ring and heads up the ramp. Big Show is in the parking garage and as he’s walking Matt Striker comes up to him. Show looks at Striker and then Striker runs off. Then Big Show opens a bus door and out comes Sheamus. He & Big Show brawl in the garage. Big Show throws Sheamus onto a windshield. Then referees come by to check on Sheamus. Then Sheamus jumps off the car roof and goes back after Big Show. Sheamus throws him face first into a car hood and then continues to pound on him. Then Booker T, referees & security come in and pull Sheamus off. Sheamus kicks and screams at Show that he will see him Sunday. Big Show lies on the garage floor, selling the beating to end the show. I thought this was good. They did a solid job building to their match this Sunday.

I thought this was a mixed bag show overall. The opening segment was good but way too long. The guys who had the mic cut decent promos but the teammates not getting along was predictable. They also didn’t need 15 minutes to set up Kofi-Sandow. That match was good however. The Backstage bit with Booker T & Sheamus was weak. Khali-Big Show wasn’t much but I thought the Sheamus-Big Show brawl at the end was good. The Sheamus-Big Show segment earlier in the show was a mixed bag. Sheamus & Big Show were both good but having Booker come out and kick Sheamus out of the building was weak. The 6 diva tag was ok. The Kane-Barrett/brawl was good but I was into Orton giving both Sandow & Dolph an RKO. Cara-Cesaro was a solid match. Orton & Miz vs. Del Rio & Dolph was solid but of course they had the team mates from both teams having tension and that was a bit too predictable. Overall I thought this week’s show was a mixed bag.

11-15-12 Impact results and thoughts

Coverage and thoughts on the November 15, 2012 taped episode of Impact

  

The show starts with James Storm coming to the ring. He says the last year has been a long hard road but he’s done it. He wants to thank and give cheers to the fans in the Impact Zone and to the fans watching at home. He thanks his family and also thanks the doubters. He says they were the fuel that kept him going. Now he is the number 1 contender for the World Title. Then Bobby Roode comes out with 2 beer bottles. He says he isn’t here to fight or spoil Storm’s party but to join it. Roode toasts Storm for being the number 1 contender. Roode says pinned AJ Styles and not him. Roode cheers Storm and the fans. The fans will have to watch him fail at becoming champion. Then Roode cheers Storm’s family because they’ll have to pick up the pieces after he takes his ball and goes home again. Roode drinks the beer. Storm asks if Roode’s done. Then he pounds on him. Roode bails. Storm tells Roode to get his ass back in there and he will gladly kick it. Roode says not unless Storm puts the number 1 contender spot on the line. Storm says he worked to hard to earn that spot. Roode says how about Storm’s daughter gives Roode a call when she’s 18 and he will show her a real man. Then Storm accepts. So we have Storm vs. Roode for the number 1 contender spot. Why do they have number 1 contenders defend that spot? It makes no sense. Also I thought the Storm-Roode feud was over after Bound for Glory. Both Storm & Roode were really good here but logically it doesn’t make sense for Storm to put up the number 1 contender spot. I don’t know why they have guys do that.

Hulk Hogan says he feels bad for AJ Styles. Hulk says AJ is a main event player but he has been trending water and is in the same spot that he has been in for years. That’s because AJ is his own worst enemy. This was typical Hogan nonsense.

Aces & 8s are in the clubhouse. The vice president chews out DOC for losing his mask. DOC mentions that he beat down Sting last week and beat down Joseph Park at Turning Point. Then DOC gives the VP his vest. Then Devon tells the VP they have business to take care of. Then Devon throws a dart on TNA roster wall. It lands on someone and says that person deserves it. This bit is old.

X Division Champion Rob Van Dam vs. Kid Kash for the Title. RVD gets the pin. This was a good match.

Eric Young & ODB are backstage. Young rambles for a bit. Then he says right now they’re awesome. Young will take care of Jessie. ODB will take care of Tara and become the “knocked up” champ. Young says to think about their celebration after they win tonight. Then they kiss. ODB then notices the red light is, says hey to it and they continue kissing. This was typical Eric Young-ODB comedy.

Backstage Wes Briscoe & Garrett Bischoff are with Kurt Angle. Angle says that he has a tag match tonight with Aces & 8s and he needs a partner. Wes & Garrett of course both want to team with him tonight. Garrett says he teamed with Devon. Wes says Angle trained him and he wants to team with Angle. Angle picks Garrett. Then he tells Wes he has plans for him. This was weak. Wes was all whiney here with the “oh let me be your partner Kurt” bit.  

Eric Young vs. Jessie. Jessie gets the pin. ODB & Tara brawled on the floor. Young checked on ODB. Then Tara hit Young from behind and then threw Young back into the ring. Then Jessie got the pin. This was alright.

They show clips of the Joseph Park-DOC match from Turning Point. DOC says that he showed everyone that he is the director of chaos.

Joseph Park is in Hulk’s office. He wants 1 more match with Aces & 8s guys. Hulk says this isn’t Park’s calling and he isn’t trained to be a wrestler. Hulk says that Ray & Joseph conned him and he won’t let that happen again. Park then asks if Hulk is telling him to go to wrestling school. Joseph gets all psyched and walks out. Hulk says he won’t be back. This was terrible.

TV Champion Samoa Joe vs. Magnus for the Title. The match doesn’t happen because Aces & 8s come out and attack Magnus. Then they hold him down and DOC hits him in the knees with the hammer. Then Devon goes to hit Magnus with a bat but out comes Bully Ray and he runs Devon and Aces & 8s off. Al Snow, Pat Kenney & D’Lo Brown also come out to check on Magnus. This was decent.

Back to the show and Magnus is being placed on a stretcher.

They show clips of the Jeff Hardy-Austin Aries ladder match from Turning Point. Jeff says Aries wanted to be world champion and beat Jeff at his own game. Jeff says Aries gave it all he had and came close.

The camera guy asks Austin Aries how he’s feeling after Turning Point. Aries says that he & Jeff went through hell. The cameraman asks what’s next for him. Aries shows his scars that are on his back and asks the guy how he thinks he feels. Then he goes into Jeff’s trailer and says they had a really good match. Aries says that he has respect for Jeff for winning, but it was in Jeff’s kind of match all because Aries brought it out of him. But this isn’t over because Aries has something Jeff wants. Aries walks out. Then we get prerecorded thoughts from Jeff. He says it is over and that Aries left not as World Champion. Aries was good here but I’m not into the whole prerecorded thoughts from Jeff.

Kurt Angle & Garrett Bischoff come to the ring. Angle says he doesn’t need a dart to decide who he wants to fight. If Aces & 8s want to do to him what they did to Sting then they should come out and face him. Angle says no one threatens him. He & Garrett are there and they’re waiting.

Kurt Angle & Garrett Bischoff vs. Devon & an Aces & 8s guy. Angle & Garrett win when Angle pins the masked guy. This was solid. DOC came in to hit Angle with the hammer but Wes Briscoe came in with a pipe and ran DOC off. Then Angle rolled up the masked guy for the win.

Jessie & Tara are backstage. Tara says they need to find Brooke Hogan. They go into her office & Brooke & Bully Ray are thereon the couch. Ray gets up and walks out. Then Tara says that Brooke never discussed the knockouts battle royal with her. Brooke says Tara to deal with it. Then she tells Tara to knock before coming in. Tara advises Brooke to lock the door. This was idiotic. What is this angle with Bully Ray & The Brookester?

Dixie Carter says she knows what AJ Styles went through because she has been through it with him. Then she says that she’s never seen him the way he is now. She mentions that he can’t challenge for the World Title for almost a year. Then she says that has known AJ for a long time and she has never seen him this down. She & Hulk don’t know what to do. Whatever. This was weak.

Gail Kim, ODB, Brooke Tessmacher, Madison Rayne & Mickie James in a battle royal to determine the number 1 contender for the Knockouts Title. Mickie James wins. * Madison & Gail eliminate Tessmacher * ODB eliminates Madison * Gail eliminates ODB * Mickie eliminates Gail. This was solid.

Backstage the camera man asks James Storm if he knows what he’s gotten himself into. Storm says he knows and he is tired of Bobby Roode always barging into Storm’s business. He has worked the last year to get to where he is at. Storm says tonight he gets to shut Roode up. Then AJ Styles walks by and he gets in Storm’s face have a quick stare down. This was decent. Storm’s promo was good & it looks like they’ll be having a Storm-AJ feud.

Back to the Aces & 8s clubhouse. The VP tells DOC not to let the door hit him in the ass on the way out. DOC gets up and walks to the door. Then he looks at his Aces & 8s vest and the crew celebrate with him. This was weird.

They reshow clips of the Storm-Styles-Roode match from Turning Point.

AJ Styles comes to the ring. He mentions the Turning Point match and the stip. Then he says that he lost. This is the kind of year AJ has had. He was accused of banging Dixie Carter and having a baby with a crack head. He says that the worst of it is that the fans doubted him. He was points away from winning the BFG series and if he got the title match he would be champion. AJ says the year isn’t over yet. The holidays are coming and people are thankful for a lot of things, but he’s not thankful for anything. Then out come Daniels & Kazarian. Kazarian says AJ is a hound dog crying all the time. Daniels says every word out of AJ’s mouth was 100% accurate. This was been the worst year of AJ’s career. Daniels says that AJ needs to look in the mirror to find the problem. Daniels says that AJ is a broken little man. Daniels tells him to sing his sad song to the vagrants if he wants. Daniels then reminds AJ that he is nothing but a complete failure. AJ says the record books show AJ beating Daniels more often than Daniels beaten AJ. AJ then challenges Daniels to find out who the better man is. Kazarian says Daniels has nothing to gain by facing AJ. AJ is stale. AJ doesn’t know who he is anymore. Kazarian & Daniels are riding high and are the real world tag team champions of the world. Daniels says this is the perfect time to have AJ-Daniels one last time to find out who the real failure is. AJ then says, “Let’s do it.” I thought all 3 guys were good on the mic here. AJ-Daniels is always good to watch.

Austin Aries says that he loved studying psychology in college. He talks about how if you watch people and their reactions you can tell what they’re thinking and you know what buttons to push. He says that next week on open fight night he will push some buttons. He will call out someone who will help him get to the truth. This was good.  

Kurt Angle comes by Bruce Pritchard, Al Snow & D’Lo Brown and recommends Wes Briscoe for the gut check. Bruce says they need to discuss it. D’Lo says Wes is a blue chipper. Angle says that Taz likes the idea too. This was a bit off.

James Storm vs. Bobby Roode for the number 1 contender spot for the World Title. Roode gets the pin to become the new number 1 contender. Roode threw Storm into the exposed turnbuckle and then rolled Storm up and hooked the tights for the pin. Roode poses on the ramp shouting that he did it while Storm is disbelief. This ends the show. The match was good but I don’t get why they had Storm win the number 1 contender for the World Title at Turning Point and then have him lose that to Roode tonight. They could have had Roode win at Turning Point if they were going to have him challenge for the Title.

I thought this was a solid show overall. The Storm-Roode segment at the start of the show was good and their match was good too. I just don’t get why they didn’t have Roode win at Turning Point if they were going to have him be the number 1 contender. Kurt Angle recommending Wes Briscoe for the gut check was a bit off. I’m guessing Wes will be the next gut check contestant. I liked Aries promos too. The first one when he talked with Jeff was good but I wasn’t into the prerecorded thoughts from Jeff. That bit is idiotic. Aries second promo about psychology and pressing buttons next week was good. The AJ-Daniels-Kazarian segment was solid too. All 3 guys cut good promos and AJ-Daniels matches are always enjoyable. The Aces & 8s clubhouse segments were weak. That whole clubhouse is stale. Them hinting that DOC had been kicked out of Aces & 8s and then saying that he is “officially” in Aces & 8s was lame. Devon & Aces & 8s attacking Magnus was decent and I liked Ray coming out and running Devon off. The Tara-Brooke Hogan bit was terrible. So was the Hulk Hogan-Joseph Park segment. Dixie’s promo was awful too. Eric Young-Jessie was ok. RVD-Kid Kash was good. Wes Briscoe & Garrett Bischoff both pleading to be Kurt Angle’s partner was weak too. The Knockouts battle royal was solid too. SO on the whole I thought this was a solid show.

11-12-12 Raw results and thoughts

Coverage and thoughts on the November 12, 2012 episode of Raw

 They start the show with a video package honoring the veterans. Very nice video.

They show a video package mentioning that Jerry Lawler will return tonight.

Then they recap the rest of last Monday and they mention that Cena will face Punk tonight. Why are they having this match 6 days before they face each other on PPV?

The actual show starts with Randy Orton coming to the ring for a match.

They show clips of the Orton-Del Rio falls count anywhere match from Smackdown.

Randy Orton vs. Dolph Ziggler. Orton gets the pin. Del Rio got on the apron and distracted Orton but Orton was still able to get the win. So Dolph loses cleanly AGAIN! Afterwards Del Rio & Ricardo come back out. Ricardo goes after Orton. Then Del Rio & Dolph double team Orton. Then out comes Kofi Kingston and he cleans house on the heels.

Then Teddy Long comes out. He says Vickie is obsessed with the AJ scandal. Since this is a super show he will do something super. On behalf of Booker T This match will restart right now as a tag match. What’s so super about having all 4 guys in the ring in a tag match? That was the usual predictable bit we always get. Plus we’re all supposed to forget about the Kofi-Orton feud from almost 3 years ago!

Randy Orton & Intercontinental Champion Kofi Kingston vs. Alberto Del Rio & Dolph Ziggler. Del Rio & Dolph win when Del Rio pins Kofi. This was a decent but kind of short match. Afterwards Orton helps up Kofi.

Michael Cole mentions that Jerry Lawler will return tonight.

Vickie Guerrero is on her way to the ring. We’ll find out more about the AJ scandal next. This angle is really stupid!

Vickie Guerrero & Dolph are in the ring. Dolph says a scandal is an event that’s legally and morally wrong. He’s not out here to hide behind Vickie. He’s out here for the truth. The truth cannot be denied. They show the Cena/AJ videos again. Dolph mentioned Cena went to dinner in his wrestling gear. That was funny. Dolph commented on the rest of videos too. Vickie says last week AJ said that if she was ever in the ring with Vickie that she would give Vickie the beating of her life. Vickie says she is the managing supervisor and won’t be threatened. She could’ve suspended AJ but she chose not to because she’s not vengeful. Then she says she has more evidence against AJ. She tells AJ to come to the ring. Out comes AJ. AJ asks why Vickie’s doing this. Vickie says AJ did something wrong. She tells AJ to admit she had an affair with Cena. AJ won’t lie. They go back and forth. Vickie tells AJ to be careful what she says. Then she said something about this week’s evidence. Vickie tells AJ to be careful of what she is going to say. Vickie says she’s AJ’s boss and then keeps telling AJ to admit that she had a fling with Cena. AJ finally “admits” it. She admits the truth. Cena & AJ (long pause) are just friends. Nothing has happened between the 2 of them. AJ says this about the fact that at Raw 1000 Vince made AJ the Raw GM and not Vickie. It’s about the fact that AJ has physically embarrassed her in the ring twice. And Vickie can’t stand the fact that AJ can do that again. AJ says Vickie is throwing her considerable weight around. Vickie says AJ has caused a mess for herself. Vickie says she has voicemails that will silence the non believers. They play a message that AJ left on Cena’s phone saying what happened “last night” was a mistake. AJ says she didn’t leave that message. Then they play another. AJ says that she & Cena have to stop doing this but when she sees Cena she loses control. Third voicemail. Cena drives AJ crazy. They should be together. AJ says that Vickie hacked into Cena’s phone. AJ calls Vickie a desperate lying little…Then Dolph says the cat’s out of the bag. We all know something happened and now AJ “can’t see Cena”. Dolph then asks AJ what is worse. The fact that Cena & AJ can’t talk anymore or the nights she spent in Cena’s hotel room. Then John Cena comes to the ring. AJ says she’ll take care of this and slaps Dolph to the mat. Then Cena punches him. Dolph rolls out of the ring and then Cena tosses him the MITB case. This was f***ing terrible!! There was so much crap said here that’s not even worth recapping! How much more of this bull s**t storyline do we have to put up with? Also Dolph got laid out by Super Cena! Great so Mr. MITB gets to look like a loser twice in less than an hour!!

They show the film of Big Show attacking Sheamus in the pub.

Cena & AJ are backstage. Cena asks AJ if she’s ok. AJ says she’s fine. Cena says Dolph & Vickie are making AJ’s life miserable over something that never happened and never will happen. AJ asks, “Never will happen?” Then Cena says, “Ok, never happened.” This was stupid. No one cares about this idiotic storyline!!

William Regal vs. World Champion Big Show. Show gets the pin. This was decent but short. Regal got some good offense in here before getting choke slammed. Afterwards Show was going to punch out Regal but Sheamus storms to the ring and pounds on Show. Show rolls out of the ring. Sheamus checks on Regal while Big Show walks up the ramp. This was alright. Easily better than the crap before this!

Eve Torres is on commentary for the next match

Layla vs. Kaitlyn. Kaitlyn gets the pin. This was really short. Afterwards Kaitlyn & Eve have a stare down.

Michael Cole mentions that Jerry Lawler will be making his return next.

Then they show what happened that night. They actually had film of medics tending to Lawler backstage? This was a real heart attack and I find it in bad taste that they filmed that!

Jim Ross mentions that The King will return next.

Michael Cole & Jim Ross are in the ring. He mentions that 9 weeks ago Jerry Lawler collapsed at ringside and it’s a miracle that he made. Then Jim Ross welcomes back his friend Jerry The King Lawler. Lawler’s music plays and he comes out. JR & King hug. Then King hugs Cole. JR gives King the mic. The fans cheer and chant Jerry. King thanks the fans. He thought he wouldn’t get back in a WWE ring again. Then he mentions how It’s a Wonderful Life is shown every holiday. He says what that movie was about. He then says that in the past few weeks he lived that movie. He had no idea that he had so many friends and fans that sent him they’re well wishes and prayers. King thanks the fans and says it’s great to be back. Then out come CM Punk & Paul Heyman. Lawler leaves the ring. Punk gets in the ring and has the mic. Punk says he’s glad Jerry left the ring because if he hadn’t Punk would’ve beaten him to death again. Punk says what he does is in bad taste. The things he does are disrespectful. Then he mentions that Lawler came back to life and is a real life zombie. Punk says that what Lawler does is in bad taste because having a 60 something year old man getting in the ring with the WWE Champion is in bad taste. Punk says one of the side affects to that is having a heart attack. Punk says that fans blame him but the blame is on Lawler’s shoulders. Punk says the fans point at him and say that what he does is in bad taste. Punk says shame on Lawler for steeling his spotlight. Punk mentions he’s been champion for 358 days. Punks has just tied with Diesel as the 9^th longest reigning champion. Punk says that in a week he will be standing in the ring still WWE champion on day 365. He will beat Cena & Ryback just like he has before. Punk’s glad Lawler’s back and is glad he will get to see Punk do what he does best. Punk tells King not to croak. King says he won’t and the only thing on life support is Punk’s title reign. Punk says maybe Lawler wants to get in the ring. Then Heyman acts like he’s having a heart attack. Punk sarcastically screams for medics. Punk says he just saved Heyman’s life. Then Heyman gets up. Punk says Heyman almost gave him a heart attack. Then out comes Mick Foley. Foley says Punk doesn’t cease to amaze him how much he demands respect but refuse to show any to Lawler who commands it. Punk says he & Foley are no longer team captains. Punk says that Foley should worry more about the gaping hole on his team. Foley isn’t picking the 5^th guy. The fans will. Punk says Foley shouldn’t care what the fans think because they can’t think. Punk stopped caring what everyone thought of him a long time ago. Punk says that Foley should call his team, Team Worthless. Foley screams at Punk saying that we lost Jerry Lawler but through miracles, hope and Prayers Lawler is here with us today. Foley says this isn’t about Punk. Foley says he wasn’t thrilled when Vince changed the match. Then he realized that Punk doesn’t care about anything but his title. Now Punk is in a position where Ryback or Cena can beat Punk for the title. Punk says no one’s beaten him and no one will. He tells Foley that he doesn’t matter and none of this involves him. Foley says it does. He says that he has a parting gift for Punk. He says that tonight he will be the special enforcer for the Cena-Punk match. This was uncomfortable. I thought them having Punk do a promo about Lawler’s real life heart attack was in bad taste. Punk was good at being the heel and Foley’s promo was good too but the fact that it was based on a real incident didn’t sit well with me. I was really hoping they would just have Lawler speak for a bit and that would be all. They didn’t have to put this into a storyline!

Punk & Heyman are backstage. Punk says he wonders if Heyman is trying to screw him. Punk says that Foley being involved in any of his matches is idiotic. Heyman says they might be out of options. Punk tells him to fix it. Then Heyman asks what about Brad Maddox. Punk tells Heyman to fix that too.

Jerry Lawler is back on commentary, replacing Jim Ross.

Rey Mysterio, Sin Cara, Justin Gabriel & Tyson Kidd vs. Primo, Epico & The Primetime Players. Rey, Cara, Gabriel & Tyson win when Gabriel pins Darren. This was a solid match but I don’t know why they had this on Raw when they could’ve had this at Survivor Series. Ricardo came out and gave Rosa Mendes a note during the match.

They show a video package of the National Guard.

Then they show some of the Ohio National Guard solders in the front row.

They show Brad Maddox backstage and Paul Heyman comes by. He asks the cameraman to shut the camera off. Then Heyman & Maddox walk off.

They show a video promo for Johnny Curtis’ new character Fandango.

Miz is on his phone saying he will find a way to impact Survivor Series. Then Dolph comes by and tells Miz it’s only a matter of time before Miz begs Dolph to be on Team Ziggler. Dolph mentions how he led himself & Del Rio to victory earlier tonight. Miz says he missed that but he saw Dolph losing to Orton and then getting slapped by a girl. Dolph says that he never thought Miz was worthy of Team Ziggler. Then Miz mentions that he main evented WrestleMania. Then Mick Foley comes by and Dolph says what a dumb idea having the fans decide who the 5^th guy on his team is. Foley says that tonight 2 guys from Team Foley vs. 2 guys from Team Ziggler. Dolph picks Rhodes Scholars. Foley says they will face Kane and the winner of the fan Twitter voting. Dolph walks off. Then Miz tells Foley that they haven’t seen eye to eye but if Foley let Miz be on Team Foley at Survivor Series would be awesome. Foley tells Miz that he is on the ballot. This was weak. They’re actually turning Miz face?

They show the options that fans can vote for to be on Team Foley. Santino Marella, Zack Ryder & The Miz.

They announce that Antonio Cesaro will defend the U.S. Title against R-Truth at Survivor Series.

Antonio Cesaro comes out and says that Truth talks to “Little Jimmy” because he was once a proud champion who became a joke, just like this country. At Survivor Series he will show everyone that they shouldn’t mess with a true super power. I’m tired of this gimmick too. The whole anti America bit is WAY beyond stale!

R-Truth vs. Tensai. Truth gets the pin. This wasn’t much. Afterwards Cesaro gets the mic and says there’s no way this Sunday at Survivor Series…then Truth gets the mic and does a knock knock joke. “Europe.” You’re up in my face” That was really corny. Then Truth says he will knock Cesaro’s teeth down his esophagus and become a 2 time U.S. Champion. That’s the truth. That was weird. Is R-Truth vs. Antonio Cesaro going to increase the PPV buy rate? Nope. Also poor Tensai. They’ve really messed up with him.

Brad Maddox comes out for his match with Ryback. Then an ambulance pulls in to the arena. Then after Ryback comes out EMTs come out with a stretcher for Maddox.

Time for the promo box. Maddox says that everyone thinks these will be his last words. Maddox says that win or lose this is the greatest night of his life. He has no regrets because he is a WWE super star. Then he says that after tonight no one will forget the name Brad Maddox.

Ryback vs. Brad Maddox. Ryback gets the pin. This was a meaningless squash. Ryback beat the crap out of Maddox the whole match! Afterward the medics get Maddox on the stretcher. Then Ryback tips the stretcher over. Then he throws Maddox into the ringside barrier. Then Ryback gives him a running clothesline. Then Ryback picks up Maddox and carries him to the ambulance and he slams Maddox back first into the doors. Ryback then opens the doors and throws Maddox in. Then Ryback does the feed me more chant. This was pointless.

Back to the show and they show that during the break the ambulance left the arena.

Sheamus vs. David Otunga. Sheamus gets the pin. This was a squash. Afterwards Sheamus says he hope’s Big Show’s watching because the same will happen to him at Survivor Series. He will brogue kick Show and win back his World Title.

Then they show Big Show pounding on William Regal on the Tron. Show tells Sheamus this is what will happen to Sheamus at Survivor Series. Sheamus runs to the back.

Josh Mathews is backstage outside the Trainer’s room. He says that Regal regained consciousness but might have a concussion.

Kane is backstage and Daniel Bryan says they need to talk. Kane ignores him but then asks Daniel what he wants. Daniel wanted to wish him luck tonight with his new partner. Kane says he doesn’t have a new partner; they have a new team mate. Daniel says that if Foley had let him pick a partner he would’ve picked Kane. Daniel then says they could go to Foley and say that they’re not teaming with anyone but each other. As he says that Kane walks off and then Daniel screams no. This was ok.

Time to find out who will team with Kane to face Rhodes Scholars. No surprise it’s The Miz.

Before the match starts Daniel Bryan comes out. He takes a fan’s sign and looks at it for a bit. Then he offers his hand to Miz and they shake hands.

WWE Tag Team Champion Kane & The Miz vs. Cody Rhodes & Damien Sandow. Kane & Miz win when Kane pins Cody. This was a solid match. Daniel went after Miz but Miz sent him into Cody against the ring post. Then Miz threw Cody back in the ring and Kane choke slammed Cody for the win. Afterwards Daniel comes in and celebrates. Kane tells Daniel that he & Miz won. Daniel flips and raises Kane’s hand a few times.

Special Enforcer Mick Foley comes out for the Cena-Punk match.

John Cena vs. WWE Champion CM Punk. Cena gets the pin. This was a solid match but they had the WWE Champion lose cleanly! During the match Cena had Punk in the STF. Then Heyman got in the ring but Foley yanked him out. Later on Punk was going to walk to the back but then Ryback came out. Cena went after Punk, got him back in the ring and gave Punk the AA for the win. Afterwards Cena & Ryback stare each other down. Then they both pick up the belt. Then they turn their attention to Punk and then they pick up the belt again. Then Punk gets on the apron saying the belt is his. Cena & Ryback both hold the belt as Punk looks on to end the show. So they once again made Punk a background player to Ryback & Cena! This is what’s wrong with WWE! They book their heels to look like losers!

This week’s show really dragged! Orton-Dolph wasn’t much. They had Dolph lose cleanly. Orton & Kofi vs. Dolph & Del Rio was solid. Cena-Punk was solid but they had Punk lose cleanly to Cena. Then they had him in the background when Ryback & Cena faced off. The Cena-AJ-Dolph-Vickie segment was painful! I was uncomfortable with the Lawler-Punk-Foley segment. Kane & Miz vs. Cody & Sandow was solid but having Miz as a baby face is odd. Sheamus-Otunga was a squash. Show attacking Regal backstage was decent. R-Truth-Tensai wasn’t much. The bit with Truth & Cesaro was weak too. I also wasn’t into the Dolph-Miz-Foley bit backstage. Ryback-Maddox was a squash. Maddox took a pounding. Layla-Kaitlyn was too short to be much of anything. Kaitlyn will now face Eve at Survivor Series. That won’t get any extra buys. They really didn’t do that great a job building to the PPV. Overall I thought this week’s show was lousy.

11-8-12 Impact results and thoughts

Coverage and thoughts on the November 8, 2012 episode of Impact

The show starts with Aces & 8s in their clubhouse. The Vice President chews out Luke Gallows for losing his mask. Gallows has 1 week to show them why he should be in Aces & 8s. Devon says that Hogan booked Sting & Kurt Angle vs. 2 Aces & 8 guys. Devon says that he & Gallows should face Sting & Angle tonight. Gallows says he will make this right. This was lame.

James Storm comes out for commentary.

AJ Styles vs. Bobby Roode. Roode gets the pin. This was a really good match. Bobby Roode got a chair. James Storm took his head set off to stop Roode. The referee held him back. There also looked to be tension with Styles & Storm.    

Austin Aries runs into Hulk Hogan backstage. Hulk tells Aries to quit walking around like he is the champion because he isn’t. Aries says that he wants the ladder Match called off. He’s a wrestler, not an acrobat. Hulk says that Aries also isn’t the GM. Hulk tells Aries to handover the title and if Aries doesn’t want to face Jeff, Hulk can find some one who does. Hulk walks off & Aries says that Hulk is drinking the Jeff Hardy Kool-Aid. This was a decent bit. Aries was good here as usual.

Kurt Angle & Wes Briscoe are backstage. Angle tells him timing is everything. Sting comes in and tells Wes to have eyes in the back of his head. Tonight is show time.

Joseph Park is in the ring. He says it’s been a trying week. After the act that was perpetrated by Aces & 8s. He realized 2 things. The human body isn’t meant to go through tables. 2 it felt great to rip Gallows’ mask off even it wasn’t intentional. Then he says that as a man he wants his match with Aces & 8s. Hulk Hogan is the guy who can make it happen. Joseph begs Hulk to give him the match. He’s stood by Hulk since he came to TNA. Now he’s asking Hulk to stand by him. Cue Hulk’s music and out comes the Hulkster. Hulk says that he is proud of him for helping give TNA momentum in the war with Aces & 8s. Hulk tells him that it’s better to be lucky than good. Joseph was lucky but isn’t a wrestler and shouldn’t be in the ring. Hulk says that he can’t have TNA liable for what would happen to Park if he got hurt in the ring. Then Bully Ray comes to the ring. Ray says he didn’t want to come out but he did because he knows Hulk is about to tell Joseph no. Ray knows that because Hulk has been saying no to him for 2 months. Ray is sticking up for Park. Ray says that Park fought him and also has a lot to prove against Aces & 8s. Ray then mentions Park being kidnapped. Ray believes in Park. Hulk says he’s running TNA. Ray says he believes in Joseph and the fans do too. The fans cheer. Ray says these are Hulk’s fans. His Hulkamaniacs. Ray asks Hulk why say no when it feels so damn good to just say yes? Joseph says he’s ready for this. Hulk says just this 1 time. This was solid. Ray & Joseph were both good here.

Tara & Jessie are backstage. Jessie brags about finishing off ODB. ODB comes in and says that he got her with a school girl. Eric Young & ODB are the only TNA power couple. Eric isn’t there but she wants to face both Tara & Jessie in a handicap match. This was idiotic. This Jessie guy is awful.

AJ Styles is screaming at the cameraman about James Storm scouting his match. James Storm comes in and says that he & AJ have both been in TNA for the same amount of time but AJ is the face of TNA. Then he asks AJ how it will look when the face of TNA gets kicked in. I was ok with this bit.

Knockout Tag Team Champion ODB vs. Tara & Jessie. ODB wins when she pins Tara. This was a comedy match. Afterwards Jessie goes to hit ODB from behind but ODB turns around. Then Tara hits ODB from behind with the flask. Then Tara gives her the Widow’s Peak. Then Tara pours the liquid courage on ODB and then she & Jessie make out. Can they please end this Tara-Jessie crap?

ODB is on the phone yelling at EY. She flips out about her liquid courage being poured on her. She tells Eric to be there Sunday.

They show Bruce, Al & Taz. They talk about the fate of Christian York. Taz mentions he didn’t watch the match because he has no power. Taz says it’s a no-brainer. Al says that he was attached someone and that other guy took the spot light. Bruce asks if York can be a singles guy. Al brings up Beer Money. Taz doesn’t care if he was a tag guy. Taz says York is a wrestler. Taz says they’ll make the right decision. Taz says that he always does. Then Taz & Bruce comment on Al’s jacket. This was a typical pre Gut Check segment.

Kurt Angle & Sting vs. DOC (Luke Gallows) & Devon. Sting & Angle win by DQ when Devon hit them both with a bat. Angle & Sting take the fight outside the ring before the bell. Angle & Devon go at it while Sting & DOC brawl. Sting throws DOC in the ring and the bell rings. Towards the end, Sting had DOC in the Scorpion Death Lock and then Devon came in with the bat and hit both Angle & Sting. That led to the DQ. After the match Angle was sent shoulder first into the turnbuckle. Then Ray comes out and clotheslines Devon. Then Ray gets a table from under the ring. Ray sets it up but Devon bails. Ray goes after him. Then DOC picks up Sting but Sting punches him. Then Sting was going for a power bomb but more Aces & 8s guys come in. 1 of them hits Sting with a hammer. Then DOC choke slams Sting threw the table. Then DOC hits Sting a few times with the hammer. Finally Samoa Joe, Chavo & Hernandez come out and run Aces & 8s off. EMTs then come in to check on Sting. They help Sting to the back. This was good. Sting did a good job selling the attack.

JB & the Gut Check judges are in the ring. Time to find out if Christian York will get a TNA contract. Christian York comes out. JB says all that stands in York’s way is the decisions from the judges. JB asks York if he felt that he gave it his best effort last week. York says he knows that he did and the fans know it too. Taz goes first. Taz says York looked great and says that York has that “it” factor. Taz votes yes. Next is Bruce. Bruce says York has been a wrestler for 16 years but he hasn’t made it to the big league. He asks York what kept him from making it. Bruce says maybe York hasn’t had a chance. Bruce votes yes. Christian York gets the contract. York says this is what he worked 16 years for. He tells the fans that dreams can come true. I’m glad that he got the contract. This was really good.

Austin Aries is backstage on his phone and he walks by Ray & Brooke Hogan. They’re having words about something but they stop when Aries walks by. Aries tells whoever’s he’s on the phone with to find a loophole. I’m not sure what the Ray-Brooke Hogan bit was about.

Hulk is on the phone asking how badly Sting is hurt because TNA’s in major trouble without him. Then Joey Ryan comes in. Ryan wants Hulk to congratulate him. Hulk says that isn’t happening. He’s not congratulating him on something that hasn’t happened. Hulk then tells Morgan that he won’t be at ringside for Joey Ryan’s match at Turning Point. Morgan says that Hulk still doesn’t know who he’s messing with. Morgan & Ryan walk off and Hulk says to himself that maybe he does know. Thankfully it was short so I was ok with this bit.

TV Champion Samoa Joe and Tag Team Champions Hernandez & Chavo Guerrero, Jr. vs. Magnus, Christopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian. Magnus, Daniels & Kazarian win when Magnus pins Joe. This was a good match.

Bobby Roode is backstage. He talks about how AJ & Storm were at each other’s throats after the match. Everything’s going his way. He’s 1 step closer to regaining his world title. Good promo from Roode.

A ladder is set up in the ring and out comes Austin Aries. The fans chant we want Hardy. Aries says he does too. Aries says that Jeff is calling himself the best wrestler on Earth. Aries says that’s all well and good but he’s the greatest who ever lived. He says that having to face Jeff in a ladder means that Jeff knows that he can’t beat Aries. Jeff’s career has been defined by the ladder. Jeff is the greatest risk taker in the business. Jeff has climbed to the highest of highs and has taken some of the greatest falls. AT Turning Point this will be the great fall that Jeff doesn’t recover from physically, mentally or emotionally. The fans chant what. Aries says he’s speaking English. Aries will beat Jeff at his own game. He will have both the real title and Jeff’s after Turning Point. Then Aries says that Jeff has Hulk doing his bidding for him. Aries isn’t handing over the title. If Jeff wants it he can come down like a man and take it. Out comes Jeff Hardy. Hardy hits the ring and Aries goes right after him. Aries goes fro a brain buster but Jeff escapes. Then he goes for the Twist of Fate but Aries escapes. Then Jeff takes both belts and has them raised above the ring. Then Jeff climbs the ladder. Then Aries kicks the ladder out from under Jeff. Then he places the ladder over Jeff, climbs the ladder and takes down both belts. Aries stands on the ladder over Jeff to end the show. This was really good. Aries was great on the mic as usual. They did a good job building to their title match at Turning Point.

 I thought this was a good show overall. The opening segment with Aces & 8s in the clubhouse was lame but the Sting & Angle vs. DOC & Devon match/Sting attack was really good. I liked the Jeff Hardy-Austin Aries segment too. They did a really good job building to their title match at Turning Point. Joe, Hernandez & Chavo vs. Magnus, Daniels & Kazarian was really good too. I also enjoyed the AJ Styles-Bobby Roode match. I liked the Gut Check segment too. I’m glad Christian York got the contract. The Ray-Hulk-Joseph Park segment was solid too. I was also ok with Joey Ryan & Matt Morgan in Hulk’s office because it was short. ODB vs. Tara & Jessie wasn’t much. Roode’s promo backstage was good too. I liked that he said, “I love it when a plan comes together.” I guess he was watching the A-Team. I’m not sure what they’re doing with Bully Ray & Brooke Hogan but I liked Aries here too. I also liked the AJ Styles-James Storm bit backstage. So on the whole I thought this was a good show this week. I thought they did a good job for the go home show before Turning Point.

11-6-12 Smackdown results and thoughts

Coverage and thoughts on the November 6, 2012 episode of Tuesday Night Live but not really Live Smackdown

The show starts with Michael Cole in the ring and brings out Sheamus. Cole says that last night after Sheamus & Regal went to a pub. Reports have surfaced that there was an incident at the pub. They show the film on the Tron. Big Show comes in and attacks Sheamus (This was shown on the WWE website). Cole says that footage had to be difficult for him to watch. Sheamus tells Cole it isn’t a good idea for him to be in the ring. Sheamus says part of him respects Show for coming into his turf but doesn’t respect Show attacking Regal. The problem is Sheamus is still standing and he’s giving Show a chance to finish what he started right now. It will be about the title at Survivor Series but right it will be about Sheamus kicking Big Show’s giant “arse.” Show comes on the Tron and says that he held back so that Sheamus could be at Survivor Series. Show then says that at Survivor Series he will take out Sheamus permanently. He tells Sheamus that if he thinks fighting him is a good idea then he should ask Regal. Sheamus says Show is scared to come to the ring. Show says he isn’t and he has no reason to come out. Sheamus tries to egg him on but out comes Wade Barrett. Barrett questions Sheamus’ sanity for looking for a fight with Big Show when Sheamus has a match with him for Main Event. Once he’s finished with Sheamus, he will be in no shape to face Big Show at Survivor Series. If he does survive Sheamus will have received a gift from the Barrett Barrage. Sheamus tells Barrett that if he wants to fight then he come in the ring and fight him now. Barrett hints heading to the ring but then walks to the back. I thought this segment was solid.

Wade Barrett is backstage and Booker T comes by. He says he never thought Barrett would back down from a fight. Barrett says he never does. Booker tells him that he spoke to Regal and tonight’s main event will be Sheamus & Regal vs. Barrett & Big Show.

They mention that Jerry Lawler will be back on Raw this coming Monday.

Intercontinental Champion Kofi Kingston vs. The Miz for the Title. Kofi gets the pin. This was a good match. Afterwards Miz offers Kofi his hand and Kofi dropkicks him out of the ring.

Rey Mysterio & Sin Cara vs. The Primetime Players. The Players win when Titus pins Mysterio. This was a solid match. Afterwards Matt Striker looks for comments from the Players. Titus blows his whistle into the mic. Then he says that he will handle this interview. Titus asks Darren what this win means to him. Darren says millions of dollars. Titus asks when they win the tag title what will they be getting. Darren again says millions of dollars. Then Titus asks Striker that when he thinks of The Primetime Players what’s the first thing that comes to Striker’s mind. Titus makes Striker reluctantly says millions of dollars. Titus tells Striker to say it again. Striker says it a bit louder. They do the millions dance with Striker but Striker messes it up. Then Titus rags on Striker. Then The Players do the millions of dollars dance. This was lame.

They reshow the Cena-Vickie segment where Vickie had the film of AJ. UGH!

Booker T & Teddy Long are in the GM Office. Long says that there’s a lot of controversy going on with AJ & Vickie. Then Long says that he’s looking forward to the next tag match. Booker asks Long if Vickie can come up with a match like this. Long says she might. Booker asks Long if he’s saying that Booker’s not original. Long says on second thought maybe Vickie couldn’t come up with that. Booker complains about Long sucking up to him but he was only joking. This was weak. Also NOTHING in WWE is original!!

Sheamus & William Regal vs. Wade Barrett & World Champion Big Show. Show & Barrett win when Show pins Regal. This was solid too.

Alberto Del Rio & Ricardo Rodriguez are backstage. Matt Striker comes in and asks if they’re brawl last week is a sign of things to come. Del Rio says Orton got the upper hand because he attacked him from behind. Del Rio says tonight when they’re face to face he will beat Orton all over the arena. There is only 1 Apex Predator in WWE. He will show the world that Orton is nothing but a crying little girl. Then Rosa Mendes comes by and wishes Del Rio luck. This was weak. The Orton-Del Rio feud has gotten old. I’m also not into Matt Striker being the interviewer who gets man handled all the time.

Time to recap Brad Maddox’s promo.

Matt Striker interviews Randy Orton. He asks Orton about Del Rio’s comments. Orton says this will be a brutal & sadistic fight. He’s not worried about Del Rio’s comments. Del Rio can back up what he says. Tonight they won’t just fight. They’ll have to get a little sick. They will have to show that they can cross a line most people won’t be able too. Orton says this is one of his favorite kinds of matches because he gets to show everyone just how sick and twisted he can get. This was ok but we’ve heard Orton say how sadistic he is before. Him repeating that can get stale.  

Randy Orton vs. Alberto Del Rio in a Falls Count Anywhere match. Orton gets the pin. This was a mixed bag brawl. Parts of it felt forced while other parts were solid. I also don’t get why they had Del Rio lose to Orton again! During the match Orton kicked Ricardo in the gut. Then he threw him into the phone booth that was on the stage and pounded on him for a bit. Later in the match Del Rio took the mic and told Orton to quit trying to be the Apex predator. Then he tells Orton to get ready to tap out. Del Rio locked him in the cross arm breaker but Orton hit Del Rio in the head with the mic. Then Orton hit Del Rio with the RKO on the steel steps and got the pin. Orton poses on the turnbuckle to end the show.

This week’s show felt like it was just there. They didn’t really do much. Every time they have Smackdown on a Tuesday, the show is usually not much. The opening segment with Sheamus & Big Show on the Tron and then Wade Barrett coming out was solid. Orton-Del Rio felt forced at times but was solid at parts too. Kofi-Miz was a good match. Rey & Cara vs. The Primetime Players was solid but I wasn’t into the post match “interview” with Matt Striker. I’m not sure why they’re having Striker be the interviewer that gets beaten on. Del Rio’s promo was weak. It looks like they’re going to do something with him & Rosa. Orton’s promo was ok but him talking about how brutal he can get is old. Sheamus & Regal vs. Barrett & Big Show was solid too. The Booker T-Teddy Long bit was idiotic. Overall I thought this was a weak show.

11-5-12 Raw results and thoughts

Coverage and thoughts on the November 5, 2012 episode of Raw

The show starts with an earlier in the day segment with Miz & Paul Heyman. Miz asks what kind of leader runs away. Heyman says that Punk did not run. He took a strategic retreat. That is the art of war. Heyman tells Miz that team Punk has to be on the same page. Miz says that he isn’t on the same page as Punk & Heyman and says they’re full of crap. Miz then says that he doesn’t need Punk and as far as the Survivor Series team is concerned, Miz quits. This was a good segment.

They show a TOUT from Antonio Cesaro saying R-Truth stuck his nose in Cesaro’s business.

R-Truth says that in every language Cesaro is gonna get got.

Rey Mysterio, Sin Cara & R-Truth vs. The Primetime Players & U.S. Champion Antonio Cesaro. Mysterio, Cara & Truth win when Truth pins Cesaro. This was a good match.

They mention that Jerry Lawler will be back next week.

They recap the Cena-Vickie segment from last week.

Vickie Guerrero comes to the ring. She says that she is very proud of herself. She is thrilled that AJ Lee resigned as Raw GM. She says we need to be honest and that is something that John Cena has a problem with. Then Vickie mentions that Cena asked AJ out on a date. They show that clip from last month. Next, Cena & AJ “embrace romantically.” They show that clip from 2 weeks ago. (That happened AFTER AJ resigned!) Next Cena luring AJ into an elevator. Time for 1 of Vickie’s favorites, where Cena admitted that he walked AJ to her room. Tonight she is going…Then Cena comes out. Vickie says he won’t stop her from showing…Cena cuts her off and says that Vickie running a clean show is like him learning a new wrestling maneuver. Then Cena mentions that when Vickie was GM of Smackdown she married Edge and got him the World Title. Now she’s with Dolph. Then he rags on Vickie in typical Cena idiocy. Vickie says that someone sent her this hotel security footage. They show a surveillance camera of AJ walking the hotel hall in her bath robe and walking into a room. Cena says that’s not evidence that AJ went from one room to another. Vickie says she has more. They show Cena poking out his head and he has a towel around his waist. Vickie says that when he put the do not disturb sign on the door that must have been one heck of a business meeting. Cena says that Vickie is manipulating the truth. Vickie then tells AJ to come to the ring and explain to everyone why she likes to walk through hotel hallways half naked. AJ shows up on the Tron. She tells Vickie that she doesn’t want her to go out there. Because if she does she will give Vickie the beating of her life. Then Vickie will can her and she won’t be able to do what she loves. Then Dolph comes by and says we all know AJ loves to do. Then Cena runs up the ramp as Vickie does the mad scientist laugh. This was terrible. Who really cares about this angle? It’s so stupid. The only part that made sense was Cena mentioning that Vickie was “married” to Edge and is now with Dolph.

Paul Heyman is backstage saying Miz is conniving and cowardly, which is why Team Punk needs someone like this guy. The camera shows Wade Barrett. Barrett says that this is the same tired routine from last week. Barrett mentions that he refused Heyman last week and is refusing him now. He doesn’t trust Heyman. Barrett reconsiders but Heyman owes him and he wants it in writing. I’m not sure what that last part was about but this was a decent bit.

WWE Tag Team Champion Daniel Bryan vs. Cody Rhodes. Cody gets the pin. This was a decent but short match. Kane & Damien Sandow were both at ringside. Afterwards Cody gets the mic and says that was an impressive victory by 1 half of the future tag champions. Then Cody says that Sandow can beat Kane just as easily as Cody beat Daniel. Then Kane pulls Sandow by the hair into the ring.

WWE Tag Team Champion Kane vs. Damien Sandow. Kane gets the pin. This was a decent match but I wasn’t into Sandow getting pinned cleanly. During the match Daniel & Cody brawled on the outside. Then Cody slid in the ring and back out by the entrance ramp. Then the referee kicked both Daniel & Cody out of ringside.

Michael Cole is in the ring and brings out Brad Maddox. Cole says that Maddox met with executives in Stamford to discuss this. They reshow the clip from the PPV. Coles asks Maddox if he is working with Punk & Heyman. Maddox says that it was all him. It was his plan. All his life he has wanted to be a WWE super star. For years he tried to get his foot in the door and everybody shut the door in his face. He has paid $2,000.00 for a try out. Then he was finally given a chance with a developmental contract. Even there he wasn’t good enough. Is it because he isn’t 6 feet, a giant, can’t do spots, etc. Even when WWE officials told him that he would never make it to the main roster of WWE his dream didn’t die it got stronger. He wants to be somebody. He made a vow to himself that he would do whatever it takes to get into WWE. Then he mentions that when Raw went to 3 hours and AJ made him a referee that was all he needed to make an impact. Punk had nothing to do with it. Maddox’s actions were driven by his desire to be somebody. Now he’s famous. People know his name in England and everywhere. His dream is to be a WWE super Star. He wants a contract and a match with Ryback. No one will forget who he is now. Then Vince comes out and tells Maddox it’s one thing to be famous and another to have a death wish. Vince says he thinks Maddox is working with Punk & Heyman. Then Vince says that he will give Maddox a million dollar contract if he beats Ryback. Then Vince brings out Vickie. She agrees to give Maddox a match. Then Vince asks Vickie why she would reward Punk by being in a Survivor Series match rather than having him defend the WWE Title. Vince has Vickie admit that she wanted Dolph to challenge Punk. Vince says he was hoping she would say someone who got screwed last Sunday. Ryback. Vince then says that the title match should be a triple threat match. If Vickie says Dolph, he will can her on the spot. Vickie doesn’t think whoever she has in mind is involved in a scandal. Vince asks if it’s the guy who fought Punk to a draw. Vickie says Cena. Vince doesn’t hear her and she says it louder. Then Vince says that Vickie doesn’t always make the right decisions but she did here. This was idiotic. Does anyone even care about this? A referee is looking for a wrestler’s contract. I’m not into this. This whole bit with a “crooked” referee is old. Then the whole bit with Vince & Vickie was really idiotic!! Also why announce who the10 guys for the Survivor Series match will be last week and then change it up this week?

Then Sheamus comes out and shakes Vince’s hand. Then he heads to the ring for his next match with The Miz.

Big Show comes out to do commentary for the next match.

Sheamus vs. The Miz. Sheamus gets the pin. This was a good match. Afterwards Big Show stands and shows Sheamus the World Title.

Dolph is standing outside Vince’s office. Then Vickie comes out and tells Dolph that he will be the new captain for the Survivor Series match. Punk comes in and says that Dolph is captain because Vince is trying to screw him. Vince is doing this because Punk beat him up a couple weeks ago and now he’s getting pay back. Then Vickie says that Dolph & Punk will face Ryback & Cena. Punk asks Dolph what is wrong with Vickie. This was a solid segment. Punk was good here as usual.

Sheamus is backstage with William Regal. Sheamus says that he owes Regal a lot. Then Sheamus tells Regal to hold off on congratulating him till he beats Big Show and regains the World Title. Regal says they’ll have a pint later. This was a decent bit. Nice to see Regal on Raw.

Layla & Kaitlyn vs. Aksana & Divas Champion Eve Torres. Layla & Kaitlyn win when Kaitlyn pins Eve. This was decent.

Alberto Del Rio & Ricardo Rodriguez are backstage complaining about Dolph being the new captain. Ricardo says that as far as he’s concerned Del Rio is the captain. Then they bump into Rosa Mendes. This was ok.

Intercontinental Champion Kofi Kingston vs. Alberto Del Rio. Kofi gets the pin. Randy Orton’s music played. That distracted Del Rio and Kofi got the pin. This was a good match despite Del Rio being distracted by Orton’s music. Afterwards Orton comes in and gives Del Rio an RKO.

Zack Ryder & Santino Marella vs. Primo & Epico. Ryder & Santino win when Santino pins Epico. This was a decent match.

Brodus Clay vs. Wade Barrett. Barrett gets the pin. This was decent too. Barrett was way over.

Michael Cole again mentions that Jerry Lawler will be back next week. Glad he’s gonna be back!

Jay Uso vs. Heath Slater. Slater gets the pin. This was solid.

CM Punk & Paul Heyman come to the ring. Punk mentions that he beat Ryback and ever since then people have been throwing accusations his way because they think Brad Maddox is working with him & Heyman. Now at Survivor Series Team Punk gets demoted to Team Ziggler. Punk says that he is being screwed at Survivor Series. He says he knows that fans want to see 1 of them end his 351 title reign. Punk has proven that he is better than anyone that wants to step in the ring with him. Punk has set the bar at an unattainable level. After Survivor Series he will continue to show that he is the best in the world!  This was the usual good promo from Punk.

Ryback & John Cena vs. Dolph Ziggler & WWE Champion CM Punk. Ryback & Cena win when Ryback pins Punk. This was a solid match. Afterwards Ryback does his feed me more bit. Then Cena gets back in the ring and the 2 stare each other down. Then Ryback leads the fans in another feed me more chant. This ends the show. Why were they focusing on only Cena & Ryback? They completely ignored Punk here.

I thought this week’s show was ok overall. I liked the opening bit where Miz quit team Punk. The main event tag match was solid but I wasn’t a fan of WWE again forgetting about Punk afterwards. I did like Punk’s pre match promo though. The 6 man tag and Kofi-Del Rio were good. The Cena-Vickie-AJ-Dolph segment was idiotic. So was the Brad Maddox promo. The “crooked” referee bit is way beyond old. Also the Vince-Vickie part of that segment was lousy too. Having Vince force Vickie into making the triple threat for Survivor Series was dumb. Jay Uso-Heath Slater was also a solid match. Ryder & Santino vs. Primo & Epico, Brodus-Barrett, & the divas tag matches were decent too. I’m glad that Jerry Lawler will be back next week. I also liked seeing William Regal on the show. The Alberto-Ricardo bit backstage was ok. I liked Ricardo saying that Del Rio is the real captain. I’m not sure where they’re going with Rosa though. The Punk-Dolph-Vickie bit was solid too. Punk was good as usual. Daniel-Cody was also decent but short. Kane-Sandow was decent too but having Sandow lose cleanly was the wrong finish. Sheamus-Miz was good too. I also liked the backstage segment with Wade Barrett & Paul Heyman. They were both good here. I liked Barrett saying that he doesn’t trust Heyman. I wasn’t sure what Heyman owing Barrett meant though. On the whole I was ok with this week’s Raw.