It's RAW Roulette! You have as good of odds here as you do in Vegas!
Dream Match?
Shawn Michaels started the show. He said he's not here to be the guest host. He's not here to plug any kind of show, but he did want to mention that he has a new hunting show on the Outdoor Channel. He asked if the plug was on the TV screen in the corner. C.M. Punk came out next. He said HBK just couldn't stay away. He couldn't stay out of the spotlight. Punk talked about how he was leaving with the WWE Title at Money in the Bank. HBK asked if he cleared that with John Cena, since he is the current WWE Champion. He criticized the audience for bowing down and respecting a legend but not begging him to stay. HBK said they cheer him because they know he's better than Punk. Punk said he was better than him, but not now. HBK then said he does things his way, and gave the Sweet Chin Music to David Otunga. The RAW GM then said Punk would have a match. It landed on a "?" mark, which means he faced a mystery opponent, Kane. HBK laid out McGillicutty with some SCM. Basic match, which saw Punk walk out and lose via countout. Punk said "What are they gonna do? Fire me?" Strong Opening Segment. Punk was on here. Survey Says: 4/5
A Botch Free Sin Cara Match?
Next was the match that we were suppose to see last week: Evan Bourne vs Sin Cara. The wheel landed on "No Countout." Thank god. Very fun match. Lots of quick counters and fast-paced action. Bourne went for Air Bourne but Cara moved out of the way. Cara then hit a head scissors take down for the win. That's the type of match we need to see from Cara. He's very good in the ring and showed it here. Maybe he's finally starting to settle in to the WWE style. Survey Says: 4/5
Wait, is RAW a Re-Run This Week?
Kofi was backstage to spin the wheel. Vickie walked in and spun it instead. It landed on "Player's Choice," which means Kofi got to pick. He picked Vickie being banned from ringside. It was the same match we've been getting from these two. Nothing new, but nothing bad either. It's just becoming the same old same old, and I think it is time for both guys to move on to different opponents. Kofi got the win with the Trouble in Paradise. Survey Says: 3/5
When Did Mark Henry Become Awesome?
Up next was Alberto del Rio vs Big Show. Del Rio asked Maryse to spin the wheel for him. As Maryse flirted with ADR, the wheel landed on Steel Cage. ADR walked away mad. Ordinary cage match with Del Rio working over Show's leg. Mark Henry came out. After pacing around a few minutes, Henry ripped the cage door off. Hey, at least it only took a few seconds this time, unlike when it took him forever on Smackdown years ago. Del Rio escaped the cage. Henry took the door and rammed it into Big Show, who then went through the side of the cage. I know he's not the best wrestler, but there's something about this Mark Henry push that I'm really digging. He just seems on this time. Survey Says: 4/5
I'd Love To Make Kelly Kelly Tap Out
Next was Kelly Kelly vs Nikki Bella in a Submission's Match. Kelly won with the boston crab. Bellas attacked afterwards, Eve made the save. Short and sweet. No problems here. Survey Says: 2/5
Backstage, Rey Mysterio was with Booker T as the wheel spun. It landed on Tornado Match. It was Rey & Alex Riley vs Miz & Jack Swagger. As Rey left, Diamond Dallas Page showed up to plug the Best of Nitro DVD. Drew McIntyre appeared and said people were calling them relics, and that they should leave before they left on stretchers. HBK superkicked Drew. He said he'd never seen any of Nitro cause he was working that night. Fun segment.
More Tornado Tags Please
This was a fun match. Lots of near falls. Fast paced action throughout, never a dull moment. Everybody stood out. Swagger looked the best out of everybody, even in taking the loss. Rey finally got a win back after 2 straight PPV losses. Miz and Riley also looked good. Definite *** star match. Rey and Riley picked up the win. Survey Says: 4/5
Promo of the Decade
R-Truth beat Cena in a Tables Match. Punk distracted Cena, allowing R-Truth to spear Cena through a table. This was an after thought to what happened next.
Punk sat on the top of the ramp and just went off. It was a worked shoot, but it was a damn good one. He said he's the best wrestler, the best mic worker, the best everything in wrestling today. He's better than Cena, and the only reason Cena is where he is is because he's good at kissing Vince McMahon's ass. He said he's been held down since Paul Heyman said he saw something in him. He referenced winning the WWE Title and defending it in ROH and New Japan. He talked about how WWE might be better run with Vince dead, but it will just be run by his idiotic daughter and doofus son-in-law. Right as he was about to tell a story about Vince and the "Anti-Bullying Campaign" his mic was cut off and the show abruptly ended. He also ripped on John Laurinitis, The Rock, and Hulk Hogan. This review doesn't do it justice. Go out and watch it. It was amazing. Survey Says: 10/5 Yes, I have the power to do that.
OVERALL
This was a very good episode of RAW. Very good in ring action, topped off by the tornado tag match. There was nothing terribly bad on the show. Even the Divas segment was kept short, which is all you can ask for. Mark Henry continues to be an underrated part of the show. I'm really enjoying his push right now. Of course, C.M. Punk stole the show and got everybody talking in the end. Money in the Bank may do one of the best non-big 4 PPV buys since the Attitude Era. There's going to be a lot of hype going into it. Nobody truly knows the outcome of the match. It takes a lot for a show to get a perfect rating. Before Punk's promo I had this show around a 7, but Mr. Punk bumps it up to a 10.
Thoughts on C.M. Punk's Promo
There is nobody else in this business that could pull of that worked shoot better than C.M. Punk. He's just that good. He did the perfect job of playing up to every possible fan out there. The marks, who believe everything is real, thought that he was crossing the line and couldn't believe Punk was actually saying this. The smart fans, the Internet fans who don't know everything, thought that he was saying some stuff they knew, but was saying just a few things that might have crossed the line. Then the real smart fans, people like you and me who read the Internet religiously, knew everything he was saying was a work, but his delivery was just so spot on that you had to enjoy it.
Punk touched on just enough stuff that made you know it was a worked shoot. Mentioning Paul Heyman and Hulk Hogan's names was nothing. There big enough names that it doesn't effect anything badly. Even mentioning Ring of Honor and New Japan doesn't mean anything. ROH isn't even a blip on the WWE's radar. They're not a big enough company to worry Vince. Same with New Japan. There big in Japan, but nowhere near as big in the States. Now had Punk mentioned something about TNA, then there might be some cause for concern. There the #2 Company in North America. The same can be said for bringing up Brock Lesnar. Everyone knows what happened with Brock. Mentioning his name isn't a killer blow.
As far as ripping on Vince McMahon, HHH, Stephanie McMahon, John Cena, and John Laurinitis, that was all planned as well. You knew they were all probably getting a good laugh out of it in the back. They got the Internet in a big hub-a-lub, talking about their product again. Punk is the Internet's Golden Child. The Internet criticizes WWE constantly, but now their praising them for what Punk did. The mic cut off and subsequent quick cut off air was perfect. It would make some believe that the plug was actually pulled on the show because of Punk.
This opens up a whole new world of possibilities for C.M. Punk/John Cena at Money in the Bank. Everything I talked about in my last post seems so non-existent right now. Could Punk win the Title and stick around for a while. Maybe Punk brings in his Indie buddies to help him win the WWE Title, then he actually defends it on Indie shows across the country. That would take a lot of balls for Vince to do. You'd have to worry someone might shoot on Punk and attempt to legit beat him for the Title, but I'm sure Punk has so much respect in the wrestling world that it wouldn't happen. I've read the spoilers for next week, but I won't go into them here. I will get more into that for next week's review.
In closing, this is something that has to be done at the right place at the right time, with the right person. Everything fit perfectly here. It had to be Punk, it had to be this moment, it had to be that night. This is something that can be done once every few years. It's got EVERYBODY in the wrestling world talking. If the WWE handles this the right way, it could be the best angle they've done in years. That can't drop the ball like they did with Nexus. There are endless possibilities here, and I for one cannot wait to see how it plays out.
Until next time,
Justin C
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