RAW Thoughts for 9/5/11

OH NO IT'S SUPER SHREDDER
The show opened with a video package recapping the C.M. Punk/Triple H/Kevin Nash saga.

RAW started with C.M. Punk. He said he was different. Punk said he's the best and that he can back up what he says in the ring. He said being different has also made him a target. Punk said he's scheduled to face R-Truth tonight, but would rather kick Kevin Nash's face in. Punk called Nash the soul-crushing status quo. He's had the same music since 1996 and same hair-dye since the early 90s. He said Nash shoving HHH doesn't mean anything and that he still thinks they are buddies. Punk wanted Nash to fight him like a man, which would be different for Nash. Punk looked at his wrist and told him to hurry up.

 Kevin Nash came out. Nash said he doesn't listen to Punk and does what he wants. Punk ran through Nash's old nicknames like Vinnie Vegas, Oz, and SUPER SHREDDER! Punk said he likes "Big Complainer" best. Nash said every time he comes to the ring, he KO's Punk. Nash said HHH did Punk a favor. Punk said Nash hasn't been relevant since 1994. Nash started to walk to the ring.

Out came Triple H. Nash said he's tired of Punk and that he needs to be gone. Triple H said normally he would do that, but this week he found out the truth. He said the Staples Center had security footage of someone coming out of his office at SummerSlam. Triple H said the footage showed that the guy that sent the text to Triple H's phone was Nash. Nash said yeah it was him. Nash said the WWE Universe isn't big enough for him and Punk. HHH said he doesn't have a problem with that, but he has a problem with Nash. HHH said Nash has done nothing but lie to him since he came back, while Punk hasn't. Nash couldn't believe it. Nash and HHH are friends. Nash asked if it was about him pushing HHH down last week. Nash began pushing HHH and asked what he was going to do about it. HHH punched Nash, then fired him. Punk pointed and laughed at Nash and said "Best of luck in your future endeavors." OK start to the show. The text reveal seemed like way too much of a letdown with HHH not showing the footage. Which means it probably wasn't true. Survey Says: 3/5

Backstage Kevin Nash was shown leaving. John Laurinaitis got into the car with him.

It's Air Boom vs Can't Move
A non-title match next. Kofi Kingston/Evan Bourne vs Jinder Mahal/Great Khali. Mahal worked over Bourne early. Great Khali did the same thing then tagged Mahal back in. Bourne kicked Mahal in the face then tagged in Kingston. Mahal grabbed Kingston and told Khali to chop him, but Kingston ducked and Khali got Mahal. Kingston tagged in Bourne who hit Air Bourne for the win. Strong way to get over the tag champs by beating two bigger guys. Match was ok. Survey Says: 2.5/5

Alberto del Rio was shown arriving backstage with Ricardo Rodriguez.

Can Beth & Natalya Just Go By One Name?
Kelly Kelly came out before the break to be at the announce table for the Eve vs Beth Phoenix #1 Contender's Match. Natalya also joined in on commentary. Beth threw Eve into the ring post. Beth worked over Eve's left arm. Eve fought back with a clothesline and a front flip for two. Beth regained control and hit an ugly looking GlamSlam for the win. Well, the right Diva won. But there were some sloppy spots in there. Survey Says: 1.5/5

Backstage Drew McIntyre talked to Christian. Christian said he still deserves one more shot at the World Title. Alberto del Rio came by. ADR said it was John Cena's fault that Christian is not World Champ. Christian said I guess this is the part where ADR asks him to do his dirty work. ADR said Christian ate an AA last week, then 24 hours later had to wrestle in a cage match.ADR told Christian to think about it then walked off.

A video aired promoting Triple H's new movie Inside Out.

As JR Would Say: "Business Is Picking Up!"
R-Truth came out for his match with C.M. Punk. Truth said just when he thinks he's heard it all, he hasn't. Truth said C.M. Punk said he's different, which he isn't. Truth said he's been telling the Truth his whole life. Truth said he will go to Night of Champions and buy a ticket to sit in the audience just like Little Jimmy. Miz came out and said he had an epiphany. Miz said he knows there's a conspiracy and that HHH is in over his head. Miz said him and Truth will face Kofi Kingston and Evan Bourne at NOC for the Tag Titles. Truth said Air Boom is as bad as a sneaky fart. Truth said he had an epiphany, and C.M. Punk is going to get got. Punk came out for the match as the show went to commercial.

Truth worked over Punk with a head lock early on. Punk drop kicked Truth taking him to the outside. Miz was checking on Truth when Punk hit a suicide dive on Truth to the outside. Truth worked over Punk again in the ring. Truth threw Miz to the outside where Miz chop-blocked Punk. Truth worked over Punk's left leg. Punk snuck in a roll-up and backslide for two before Truth went back to the left leg. Truth went to the top but Punk crotched him and hit a SuperPlex. Punk hit a knee then a dive from the ropes. Punk went for the GTS but his leg gave out. Truth hit a seated front slam for 2. Miz grabbed Punk's leg which caused the ref to throw him out. Truth tried to take advantage but Punk hit the GTS for the win.

HHH came out after. Punk said he still doesn't buy HHH punching Nash. HHH said he didn't care. HHH said he insulted his wife and that just pinning him won't be enough. HHH said their match at Night of Champions is now No DQ. Punk said he agrees if HHH agrees to Punk's stipulation: If HHH Loses he resigns as COO. HHH agreed and walked off. Decent match. Things just picked up for NOC. Survey Says: 3/5

ADR tried to convince Wade Barrett to take out Cena. Barrett said he doesn't need to listen to him.

WOO WOO WOO!
A recap aired of the David Otunga/Michael McGillicutty/Jerry Lawler program from last week. Lawler came out and said that he never said they weren't good athletes, just that he's seem more personality in a cadaver. Lawler introduced his partner Zack Ryder. A video package of his Internet show played. Otunga/McGillicutty worked over Ryder before tagging in Lawler. Lawler worked over the two before tagging in Ryder who hit the Rough Ryder for the win. Alright stuff. Survey Says: 2/5

ADR talked to Dolph. He said there's a rumor going around about Dolph after losing to Randy Orton last week that Vickie is looking to dump Dolph. Dolph said there's a rumor going around that ADR is scared of Cena. The Bellas showed up and ADR told them to give him 5 minutes. ADR said there's a reason Vickie is looking for a new business partner, she wants someone better to fight for her.

Because When I Think RAW Super Show, I Think Heath Slater
Randy Orton flew back from Paris early to face Heath Slater. Slater got a handful of moves in before Orton regained control, hit his usual stuff, then an RKO for the win. That served zero purpose in my opinion. Survey Says: 1.5/5

Backstage, John Cena was with Zack Ryder. Cena asked who wears sunglasses indoors, a jab at The Rock, then apparently started walking towards the ring.

IT'S A BIRD, IT'S A PLANE! NO, IT'S SUPER CENA!
John Cena came out to his normal reaction. He said he's been waiting for Alberto del Rio. Cena predicted Ricardo would come out and introduce ADR, and he did. ADR said he is trying to give Cena a fighting chance at NOC. ADR said he wasn't there last week because he was trying to protect Cena. But ADR said he couldn't say the same for these guys. Out came Wade Barrett, Dolph Ziggler, Christian and Jack Swagger to attack Cena. Alex Riley, Sheamus, and John Morrison made the save. Teddy Long made an 8 man tag elimination match. Where's the RAW GM?

Back from break Wade Barrett and Alex Riley were already going at it. Barrett hit a Black Hole Slam. He went for a kick in the corner and missed. Riley tagged in Morrison while Barrett tagged Ziggler. Morrison hit some flashy offense on everyone. Swagger tagged himself in and applied the ankle lock on Morrison, forcing Morrison to tap out and become eliminated. Vickie Guerrero came out as the show went to commercial. Back from break, the heels worked over Riley. Riley fought back. Swagger tagged in and hit a Vader Bomb then applied the ankle lock, eliminating Riley. Barrett worked over Sheamus with some nice kicks. Sheamus regained control. Sheamus hit a flying shoulder tackle. Sheamus went for the Brogue kick and missed. Barrett went for the pump handle slam but Sheamus countered with a Brogue Kick, eliminating Barrett. Christian tagged in. He slapped Sheamus which pissed off Sheamus. Sheamus chased him around the arena. Both men were counted out. Swagger worked over Cena before SUPER CENA fought back. He hit a double Five Knuckle Shuffle. Swagger hit the Vader Bomb, but Dolph tagged himself in and hit the AA on Dolph, eliminating him. Swagger applied the Ankle Lock, but Cena countered into the STF, which caused Jack to tap out. Del Rio tried a sneak attack but ate an AA. Survey Says: 2.5/5

OVERALL
Not a very good show. The wrestling was just ok. The whole HHH/Punk/Nash storyline seems to have taken a bit of a wacky turn. It really seems like Punk is losing at NOC. There's no way that HHH is getting off of TV this quickly. Unless there is some huge swerve coming, HHH seems like he is winning. Cena overcame the odds again, which is nothing new. No real advancement in the Del Rio/Cena story either. Miz & Truth were entertaining, as was Punk. The wrestling was ok at best. I'm giving the show a 4.

STORYLINE TRACKER
John Cena/Alberto del Rio: No real advancement here. Del Rio got the better of Cena two weeks ago, this week Cena gets the upper hand. I still think Del Rio goes over at NOC. Not having Del Rio WWE Champ going into Mexico would just be stupid. But there's no back story here and it seems like the same old John Cena/WWE Title Feud.

C.M. Punk/HHH/Kevin Nash: There's definitely some more intrigue added into this now. Nash is fired, or will Johnny Ace hire him back? The No DQ stipulation will probably make the match quality better, but the "If HHH loses he's done as COO" stip kind of points toward HHH winning. Unless there is something bigger planned, it seems like Punk may be losing a lot of steam at NOC. Unless this is some sort of master plan for Punk to take over the WWE, it seems like it's going nowhere good.

Dolph Ziggler/Jack Swagger/Vickie Guerrero: The one positive of the main event was that Jack Swagger looked rather strong. I would like to see him get over enough that he decides he doesn't need Vickie Guerrero and turns on her and Dolph. Swagger would make a good face if given the opportunity in my opinion, and there would be no better way to get him over than to turn on Ziggler. But sadly, that probably isn't happening.

Miz/R-Truth: These two were probably the best part of the show. They work well off of each other. I'm thinking they win the Tag Titles at NOC and continue to build on their Conspiracy Theory. Hopefully, it leads to these two being the ones who reveal something big down the line, because if it doesn't then there's no point to this.

That's all from me this week. I'll have my NFC Preview up by Wednesday night.

Until next time,
Justin C
Follow me on Twitter @JCWonka