C.M. Punk is injured. Which means he will probably cut a good promo from either a wheelchair or on crutches. Enjoy.
Promos On A Ladder Rarely End Well
Dolph Ziggler gave a promo from on top of the ladder. He said it won't be a merry Christmas this Sunday for John Cena. He said he will be the coal in Cena's stocking and shut Cena up. And then he is going to cash in his Money in the Bank contract and win the World Title. Sheamus came out and said he won't be cashing in his MITB contract against Big Show. It'll be against him. And he thinks Ziggler is going to lose to Cena. So somewhere down the line it will be Sheamus vs Cena. Big Show came out and said "BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH." Show dared Ziggler to try and cash in tonight. Show said he couldn't decide if he was going to KO Sheamus or knock his pasty white skin off him. Sheamus made a bad joke about Big Show's XMas spirit, then said just because he can't have contact with Big Show, doesn't mean he can't have contact with someone else. Sheamus pushed over the ladder and Ziggler crotched himself.
Segment Analysis: I liked Ziggler's part of the promo enough. And Big Show was funny when he first came out. But Sheamus was just beyond awful yet again on the mic. And did you hear the lukewarm reaction to a possible Cena/Sheamus bout. Yeah, no one wants to see that. Okay opening. Survey Says: 2.5/5
Vince came out and suggested Vickie make a match between Sheamus and Dolph Ziggler. And he made A.J. vs Vickie. These segments are stupid every week. Why is Vickie in charge?
Wade Barrett vs R-Truth. Barrett tossed Truth to the outside and rammed him into the apron. Back in the ring Barrett caught Truth with a kick to the gut. Truth came back with a quick roll up of Barrett to pick up the win. Truth got in Cesaro's face and then Kofi hit a crossbody on Barrett after the match. And that right there is why we should never have much faith in the WWE booking a solid mid-card. Vince and Vickie's promo got as much time as that match.
A.J. ran around backstage telling everyone she had a match with Vickie. She ran into the men's locker room and told Cena.
Which Uso Is Who?
Fatal 4 Way #1 Contender's Tag Match. Primo and Epico dominated the match early. One of the Usos caught Primo with a chop, then the other one hit a Splash and pinned Primo, eliminating Primo and Epico. Back from break one of The Usos eliminated the PTPs. The Usos worked over Sandow. They hit an elbow backbreaker off the top rope. Sandow then got the upperhand on whatever Uso is in the ring. I'm sorry, but the Usos are barely on TV and the announcers have yet to point out which one is which. Sandow hit the Elbow of Disdain for two. Cody went for a bulldog but the Uso tossed him away. The Uso in the ring hit a Samoan Drop then a running stink face. Uso 1 knocked Cody off the apron, but Cody got his knees up when he came off the top. Cody hit CrossRhodes for the win.
Match Analysis: Average match at best. The announcers pointed out that it was for a match against Rey Mysterio and Sin Cara after. What? A #1 Contenders Match for a match to become a #1 Contender? And I'm sorry, I didn't know which Uso was which. And the announcers never mentioned who was who. Fail on their part. Survey Says: 2/5
Eve defeated Alicia Fox. It was not the five star classic that Melina/Alicia Fox was.
C.M. Punk Don't Need No Stunt Double
C.M. Punk came on the stage sporting crutches. Punk came out and said his injury is legit and not an excuse to get out of fighting Ryback. He said this is what happens when you are WWE Champion for 388 says. He showed how he was injured last week during Ryback's attack on him. Heyman took the mic and said the audience was ticking him off. He asked how they could chant "Feed Me More" after being their reigning and defending WWE Champion. He said this is what happens when he fights every night and how he doesn't have a stunt double like The Rock does. He said unlike Rock, Punk shows up every night. Punk took the mic and said he wanted to address the people who said he should be stripped of the WWE Title. Punk ran through the list of people who failed to take his WWE Title and siad The Rock gets one shot, and just like the others, he will fail. He guarantees it.
Segment Analysis: Strong promo from both Punk and Heyman. You have to know that Ryback will get another shot before the Rumble. I like the attack of the Rock to start and build up to their match at the Rumble. Get the shots going early to get people's attention. Good job by both men: Survey Says: 3.5/5
One Of These Days, Dolph Is Going To Kill Himself Selling For Us
Sheamus vs Dolph Ziggler. Sheamus worked over Ziggler's leg early. Sheamus locked Ziggler's leg in the ropes. Ziggler caught Sheamus with some kicks and a kick. Sheamus tossed Ziggler outside the ring and hit a double axe handle. Back from break, Ziggler had control after a kick to the head and a leg drop to the outside during commercial. Ziggler had a headlock applied. After another offensive attack Ziggler applied another headlock. Sheamus broke it up by forcing Ziggler into the turnbuckle. Sheamus fought back. He clotheslined Ziggler in the corner. Sheamus charged but Ziggler moved and went right into the ringpost. Sheamus caught Ziggler and tossed him over his shoulders. Sheamus hit his rope punches. He suplexed Ziggler, but Sheamus knocked him down the apron. They exchanged punches on the apron. He pushed Ziggler off, but Ziggler came right back and hit a faceplant off the top rope for two. Ziggler got out of the Clover Leaf and White Noise attempt. But Sheamus eventually caught him with the Irish Curse Backbreaker. Sheamus went for the Brogue Kick but Ziggler bailed out of the ring. Ziggler hit Sheamus with a chair, causing a DQ. He went to use the chair in the ring but Sheamus hit a Brogue Kick with the chair going into the face of Ziggler.
Match Analysis: Average match for these two. They could have done better. The non-clean finish was somewhat expected. I don't think the WWE wanted to tip their hand with who is winning which match this Sunday. Ziggler still sells like a Champ. Survey Says: 2.5/5
Vince walked in on Great Khali and Hornswoggle "stretching" Vickie.
Alberto del Rio defeated Zac Ryder. Didn't we see this match a couple weeks ago? This was just a match of two guys who were booked very poorly by the WWE.
Haven't We Seen This Before?
Vickie vs A.J. time. Vickie demanded a ref, and out walked Brad Maddox. Vicke shoved down A.J. from behind and slammed her head into the mat. A.J. regrouped and took own Vickie. She slapped Vickie across the face and went for the pin, but Brad Maddox refused to make the pin. A.J. walked towards Maddox but Vickie rolled up A.J. and Maddox made the pin giving Vickie the win. A.J. flipped out post match, tipping over a ladder and slapping Justin Roberts.
Segment Analysis: The moral of that segment: We still know A.J. is crazy. And it accomplished nothing. Survey Says: 1.5/5
John Cena tried to comfort A.J. backstage.
At Least The Crowd Didn't Chant USA
Kofi Kingston vs Antonio Cesaro. Cesaro dominated early on. Kofi caught Cesaro with an elbow and then hit some punches in the corner. Cesaro dropped Kofi on the ropes and hit a kick to the gut for two. Kofi countered a bodyslam attempt and hit some axe handles and clotheslines. Cesaro missed a spear on Kofi but he came back with a boot to a charging Kofi to the face. Cesaro had a bearhug locked in back from commercial. Kofi came back with a roll up but Cesaro hit a backdrop. Kofi caught a charging Cesaro with an elbow then hit a splash to the back of Cesaro for two. Cesaro blocked an SOS attempt with an uppercut to the back of the head for two. Kofi caught Cesaro with the SOS, but Cearo grabbed the rope with his hand before the ref got to three. Kofi missed a splash, but still caught Cesaro with a kick. Cesaro caught Kofi mid air and hit a backbreaker, then the Neutralizer for the win.
Match Analysis: Impressive victory for Cesaro. How he caught Kofi mid air and hit that backbreaker was quite impressive. I don't think Cesaro should lose a match anytime soon. The guy is pretty impressive. Good match from both men. But again, barely any hype for it. Poor job by the WWE. Survey Says: 3/5
How To Kill A Character 101
Miz introduced his guests the Rhodes Scholars. Cody said that they are the shining light in an array of trash in the WWE. Miz asked if Damien's beard rubbed off on Cody. Sandow asked how someone who used to star on a reality show could have so easily lost touch with it. Miz said Cody and Sandow will hit the ground as hard as Manny Pacquiano did in the 6th. Sandow said he found Miz's questions repugnant. Miz asked how it felt that Sandow never visited Cody when he was hurt, or how Sandow talks bad about Cody behind his back. Cody called this line of questioning horrendous and left. Miz said their new name is Pink and the Stink.
Segment Analysis: How could you make Miz worst? Yep. That's how. Survey Says: 1/5
A.J. wanted to come out with Cena for his match, but he convinced her to stay in the back.
BY GAWD IT'S CHAOS!
Big Show vs John Cena. Show took down Cena with some headbutts early on. Cena applied a sleeper. He got Show down to his knees and went for an AA, but he couldn't lift Show up. Back from break Show hit a spear on Cena that only got a two. Big Show threw Cena into the barricade outside the ring. Cena tried fighting back but Show came back with a clothesline. Big Show hit a Vader Bomb for two. Show went for another one but Cena moved. Cena hit a shoulder tackle and a side slam then the Five Knuckle Shuffle. Big Show popped right back up and hit a chokeslam for two. Cena ducked a KO Punch and hit the AA.
Suddenly The Shield came out and took out Cena. Kane and Daniel Bryan came to the ring. Ziggler jumped Cena. Show came in, but Sheamus came out and took out Ziggler. Cena speared Big Show through a table. The Shield went back to work. Ryback finally came out and tossed a ladder into the Shield. The show ended with everyone brawling in the ring.
Segment Analysis: Another slow and plodding Cena/Show match. That's typical for those two guys. The ending of the match is typical lazy booking by the WWE. Just throw everyone out there and have them brawl for a bit while the show ends. Some people may like that, but I don't. This RAW was not a good sell for TLC. Survey Says: 2/5
OVERALL
That was not a good episode of RAW. After a couple of good weeks of slightly above average shows, the WWE finally went back to their bland and lazy booking. The best part about the show, C.M. Punk, isn't even going to be on TLC this Sunday. The best match on the show was Kofi Kingston vs Antonio Cesaro, and their respective matches have barely been hyped on the show. The A.J./Vickie stuff continues to be a giant mess. Brad Maddox is now supporting the girl who made him fight Randy Orton for a job last week? Okay. Sure. The Sheamus/Dolph Ziggler match did not deliver like I would have hoped for. Miz might possibly be the worst face the WWE has seen in recent years. Everything just seemed like a big mess heading into TLC this Sunday. I'm giving the show a 3.
I will be reviewing TLC this Sunday, and will have a preview up this week.
Until Next Time,
Justin C
Follow Me On Twitter @JCWonka
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