WWE Capitol Punishment Review

Hey everyone. Here is my review of WWE Capitol Punishment. I wrote the main part of the review while watching it live. Everything starting with the Overall portion of this review came Monday morning.

The show started with a great opening video package with R-Truth going off on his conspiracy rant.

Dolph Ziggler defeated Kofi Kingston to win the United States Championship: **3/4
This is the type of match you love to have as an opener. These two know each other well, so they know how to work a good match. Good counter moves from both guys. Near falls were believable as well. It was also nice to see Dolph kick out of the Trouble in Paradise. Usually that type of stuff is saved only for the main eventers. They played the story well of Dolph having Kofi scouted so well that he knew every move was coming, and Kofi had to use some new offense to try and beat Dolph.

I had this match right at 3 stars but had to take off a little for the finish. It was just weird. Sure, it put over the sleeper hold, which is fine. Nobody believed it as a threat in forever. Now people will think it can actually win a match. But why didn't the ref raise Kofi's hand 3 times to see if he is out. How did he know Kofi was out by just looking at him? Did Vickie's interference really cause that much damage? Just weird. Dolph wins the United States title. I think he needs it more than Kofi does. The title doesn't really change Kofi's act, but it elevates Dolph more. It also makes Dolph a favorite to win the RAW Money in the Bank next month.

R-Truth arrived in a limo, still holding John Cena's WWE Championship. He said he has a party to get too. He stopped Eve and asked her to come and party like they did in the old days. Eve said she doesn't know him anymore. Truth said she was right. Truth said the champ is in the house, "Fo Shizzle."

Alex Riley defeated The Miz: **
Slow match, but it was somewhat necessary in the ring. Despite getting over with the crowd, Riley is still young and not too experienced in the ring. Miz beat down Riley pretty much the entire match. Riley gained some advantage and took the action to the outside. Michael Cole started yelling at Riley, so Riley grabbed Cole and shoved him down. Miz regained the advantage and threw Riley into the ring. Miz grabbed the briefcase and went to use it. The ref stopped him, allowing Riley to hit a double arm DDT and score the upset win.

Like I said, it was a bit slow and very one sided, but it worked. It hid Riley's limitations but still allowed him to get over and continue his push. The crowd wasn't as hot for Riley as the WWE probably hoped, but the win will help him. It doesn't hurt the Miz. He will get his win back down the line. This program is far from over. It could continue until SummerSlam.

Backstage Sgt. Slaughter was talking to "President Obama." Vickie came up and sang "Happy Birthday" to him, but Obama's secret service took her away. Corny.

Alberto del Rio defeated Big Show via Referee Stoppage: **
This was more of an angle than a match, but it was played out very well. As ADR was making his way out to the ring, Big Show jumped him from behind. Suddenly Mark Henry appeared. Show attacked Henry on Smackdown Friday, so Henry was getting his revenge. He picked up Show and bodyslammed him through the announce table. He then slammed his leg on the table.

The ref asked Show if he wanted to start the match, which he did. ADR worked on Show's leg the whole match. He put Show in a version of his cross armbreaker. Show grabbed the ropes to break the hold, but was unable to get up and continue, so the referee stopped the match. ADR picks up the win, which he should have. Show did a great job selling the beatdown. Now Show can try to get his revenge on Henry, except they are on 2 different shows, so who knows how the program will work. Match gets two starts for the storytelling involved and Show's great selling.

Ezekiel Jackson defeated Wade Barrett to win the Intercontinental Title: *
Before the match, Wade Barrett started berating the USA to get some cheap heat. Slow match. Zeke can't do much in the ring. Zeke kicked out of Barrett's Wasteland than started his comeback. Four bodyslams, then a torture rack for the win. Lawler asked him how he felt afterward and he said it was the greatest moment of his wrestling career. Yawner of a match. WWE sees something in Jackson, I don't. He's greener in the ring than Riley. Barrett continues to plummet into obscurity on Smackdown. Who knows, maybe the WWE will have him surprise everyone and win MITB? Doubt it. Barrett needs something big and fast.

Backstage, Santino went to show "President Obama" the Cobra, but was stopped by the Secret Service. Dumb.

C.M. Punk was interviewed, he said he was going to take care of Rey Mysterio, then show the WWE Universe the most honest thing they've ever seen. Hmmm...

C.M. Punk defeated Rey Mysterio: ***1/2
Fun match. What you would expect from these two. The match started off a bit slow in the beginning, but it was obvious they were saving there energy for the end of the match. There was a good sequence in the middle of the match with a bunch of missed kicks and counters. Good finishing sequence. Punk had Rey in the GTS but Rey counters into a head scissors roll up for 2. Punk put Rey in the GTS again, but Rey countered into a 619 attempt. Punk ducked and finally connected with the GTS for the win.

Solid action from these two. It's surprising to see Rey lose two straight PPV matches clean. His act is over with the kids so he doesn't lose too much momentum. For Punk, his words before the match now get a little bit more intriguing. What does he have up his sleeve? If Punk is on his way out soon, it would be weird to see him get a main event push on his way out. But if it means a bigger role for Punk in his last month, I'm all for that. More Punk is always better. Surprisingly, that was Punk's first PPV win since Extreme Rules 2010.

Randy Orton defeated Christian to retain the World Heavyweight Championship: ***3/4
This was probably the weakest match out of these two counters so far, but the first two have been great. Story-telling, again, was very good. Orton sold the affects from his concussion well, while Christian played up the fact that he needed to win the Title. It was a fun match that was probably a little better than Punk/Rey.

Christian hit the Killswitch on Orton, but he kicked out. Christian then went for the spear but Orton jumped out of the way. Orton went for the RKO but Christian countered into the spear, which Orton kicked out of. Christian went to the top, but Orton hit a flying dropkick then an RKO for the win. It is important to note that Christian's foot was slightly underneath the bottom rope when Orton pinned him for 3. Christian argued his case to the ref, but he would not listen. Mike Chioda reversed two finishes in Cena/Orton matches, why not now? Orton hit Christian with the belt after the match and said "Paybacks A Bitch." Good match. Like I said, not on the level of the first two, but still good. It will be interesting to see if the feud continues.

Randomly, Keith Stone, the sponsor for Keystone Light, came out. Weird. Nobody drinks that crap.

Evan Bourne defeated Jack Swagger: *3/4
OK filler match. Bourne won with a roll-up. Nothing too special here. Just filling time in between the main event matches. Remember when Swagger was World Champ?

Out came "President Obama." He gave a corny Presidential address, then went into the ring and did a spinarooni with Booker T. Yawn. Give me my main event please.

John Cena defeated R-Truth to retain the WWE Championship: **1/4
Talk about underwhelming. I may even be over-rating this match at **1/4 stars. It was really slow moving. R-Truth dominated most of the match early, before Cena made his comeback in the end. Cena put Truth in the STF only for Truth to grab the ropes. Truth took a breather on the outside. He took a Little Jimmys hat and then a drink of water from his cup. After Truth put it down, the Little Jimmy splashed the water in Truth's face. Cena threw Truth back in the ring, and hit the Attitude Adjustment for the win.

Like I said, I was thoroughly disappointed with this match. I've been high on R-Truth since his heel turn. Was I expecting him to win? No. But I was expecting a much better performance from him, and Cena. They were both disappointing here. Neither guy is known for their great wrestling ability, but they are capable of better. I thought they'd be able to set a good pace and work of each other's strengths well. But instead, it seemed more like a TV main event than a PPV main event. They did such a good job hyping up Truth throughout the PPV with those video packages, and then the match disappointed big time.

This match also showed why adult males HATE the WWE product nowadays. So a little kid plays a finish in the PPV main event? Why not just let Cena win clean like he has every other PPV? Instead, the WWE panders to the kids again. Kids don't buy PPVs, the adults do. So if you keep giving them this type of finish every week, they will continue to not buy the PPV.

Overall
Another underwhelming PPV. I bought it because I thought there would be some good wrestling on the show, and I wanted to see what would happen with R-Truth. The wrestling delivered for the most part, but some of the booking decisions were weird, as were the finishes to the matches. And as I just stated, the R-Truth booking was terrible. I would say this PPV was slightly better than Over the Limit. It had 2 good matches instead of 1. The Cena match was just as bad as the Miz match on Over the Limit. The undercard was ok. Dolph and Kofi had one of their better matches. But I thought it was a slightly below show. The announcing just added to the terribleness of the show. Michael Cole, Booker T, and Jerry Lawler should never be put together on commentary ever again. I'd rather have Bobby Heenan announcing in his current medical condition than listen to Booker T and Jerry Lawler again. I'm giving the show a 4.

Ranking the PPVs this year, I would put it at second last right now, right above Over the Limit.
1. Elimination Chamber
2. Extreme Rules
3. Wrestlemania 27
4. Royal Rumble
5. Capitol Punishment
6. Over the Limit

Where Do We Go From Here?
Money in the Bank is next month. It was one of the better PPVs from last year, and I love the intrigue in the MITB ladder matches. There are really no clear cut favorites this year. I think Alberto del Rio is too good at this point to win the RAW MITB. On Smackdown, I also think it is wide open.

The WWE Title picture is a bit fuzzy. Does R-Truth get a rematch? There's a 3 hour RAW Tonight, and he may just get his rematch tomorrow. It would be such a waste to just let Truth's push come and go like this. Then there is C.M. Punk. Money in the Bank is in Chicago, Punk's hometown crowd. It would be a good way to send Punk out. But what did Punk mean when he said he was going to do the most honest thing the WWE Universe would ever see? What did he man by that? A reformation of a new-new Nexus? Nobody knows.

Over on Smackdown, does Christian get another rematch? He has a legitimate argument. His foot was underneath the bottom rope. The only problem is, it is an argument a face would have. Christian's the heel. He shouldn't have legitimate arguments like that. Also, do we really want to see Christian lose again to Orton? If Christian was going to get the World Title back, I thought it would happen tonight. He could then carry it to SummerSlam where Orton wins it back. Now? I doubt Christian gets it back, and now I go back to my argument I had right after Christian lost the title. But there are really no other viable contenders for the World Title. The PPV will sell itself because of the ladder matches, so they could take a risk if they want.

So lets say Money in the Bank looks like this:
WWE Championship: John Cena vs C.M. Punk
World Heavyweight Championship: Randy Orton vs Christian- Street Fight
RAW MITB Match: Dolph Ziggler vs Kofi Kingston vs Evan Bourne vs Jack Swagger vs Rey Mysterio vs R-Truth vs Drew McIntyre vs Zac Ryder
Smackdown MITB: Sheamus vs Cody Rhodes vs Sin Cara vs Daniel Bryan vs Wade Barrett vs Ezekiel Jackson vs Justin Gabriel vs Mark Henry
Alberto del Rio vs Big Show
Miz vs Alex Riley

As far as the Ladder Matches go, I would say the favorites would be Dolph and Truth on RAW, and Cody Rhodes and Wade Barrett on Smackdown. If they want to rebuild Barrett, winning the Smackdown MITB would be a good start.

If we are going to look ahead all the way to SummerSlam, lets say the card, for now, looks like this:
WWE Championship: John Cena vs Alberto del Rio
World Championship: Christian vs Randy Orton: TLC Match
Steel Cage Match: Miz vs Alex Riley
R-Truth vs John Morrison
Intercontinental Title: Ezekiel Jackson vs Cody Rhodes
United States Championship: Dolph Ziggler vs Rey Mysterio
Big Show vs Mark Henry

That's all from me today. RAW Review at the Oratory tomorrow. Might have another post sometime this week. Brainstorming ideas as I write this.

Until next time,
Justin C