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

WWE Capitol Punishment Preview

Hey everyone. Hope you enjoyed my WWE Stock Watch Report. Now, onto the Capitol Punishment Preview.

The build for Captiol Punishment has been better than Over the Limit, but that's not saying much. They had 3 weeks to build to that PPV, and everything just seemed rushed. I thought the WWE was just trying to get to Over the Limit, then hit the reset button afterwards, which it pretty much looks like they did. Even the 2 Smackdown rematches have a new piece added to their stories. I still think this will be another low PPV buy though. Even though the build has been better than Over the Limit, it's still been not as great. Two of the better WWE PPVs, Money in the Bank and SummerSlam, are the next 2 PPVs and usually have some good intrigue attached to them.

On with the preview!

Intercontinental Championship: Wade Barrett (c) vs Ezekiel Jackson

The IC Title defended on 2 straight PPVs? Does Vince McMahon know about this? If this is the WWE's way of putting emphasis back on the secondary championships, I'm all for it. They need to be re-established. WWE may not think it, but I think it would help bring some viewers back if they made these titles mean more.

The other great thing about this match is that we get to see the awesome bodyslam work of Ezekiel Jackson. I really don't know why WWE is trying to push him. Oh yeah, Vince likes big guys. Duh. I try to justify most big man pushes, but even I can't get behind this one. Why push a guy like Jackson when you have a younger, more skilled albeit a bit smaller, and whiter, version of him in Wade Barrett. As I said in my WWE Stock Watch, it's a shame to see how far Barrett has fallen down the card. On a weak Smackdown roster, you would think he would be used better.

The new wrinkle added to this match is that Barrett doesn't have former Corre members Justin Gabriel & Heath Slater on his side. They told Barrett the other week on Smackdown that the Corre was done. Now Barrett has to deal with Jackson on his own. Jackson has looked dominant recently, getting the better of Barrett and then Corre members Gabriel & Slater on Smackdown. I think the WWE sees the same problems with Jackson as I do, or at least I hope. Barrett picks up the win here, proving that he can do things on his own. It gives him momentum heading into Money in the Bank.

WINNER: Wade Barrett

United States Championship: Kofi Kingston (c) vs Dolph Ziggler

Again, more emphasis on the secondary titles is ok with me. Unlike the IC Title match, these two should be able to put on an entertaining 10 minute match. The story here is that Ziggler has been scouting Kingston for the past few weeks now, and knows every trick Kofi has up his sleeve. I like the fact that they added that wrinkle into this program. It's almost like they are making it seem important that the wrestling inside the ring matters (Hi TNA), and that more goes into it when there are titles on the line. It also makes the US Title seem important. Dolph cares about it so much that he's putting extra time and work into scouting the current Champion so he can get the Title back. I also like the video packages they did on Dolph & Kofi over the last two weeks. Makes them seem important and a big deal now and down the line in WWE.

I think this match is a toss up. On one hand, Kofi is over as a mid-card face champion and having the belt on him means something to the fans. On the other hand, Dolph has a load of potential and having him win the United State title would elevate him up the card, which is something he could use. With Dolph's in ring work and Vickie's heat drawing, he should be higher than he is. I'm going with Dolph here to win the title.

WINNER: Dolph Ziggler

Rey Mysterio vs C.M. Punk

First the positive. These two have put on two good TV matches in the last month. Now is the rubber match, and I think they have been saving their best stuff for this. And they can put on some good ones. I saw them go at it live in Buffalo at Armageddon in 2008 and it was a very fun match. These two know each other and have great chemistry inside the squared circle.

Now the negative. It seems like these two were just thrown together on the card because they had nothing else for them to do. What's the back story? They've fought before? Come on WWE, you are capable of better. Rey Mysterio has had no set program since his move to RAW. He could be still helping out the face side of Smackdown if he was over there. On RAW, Rey almost seems like a novelty act or a special attraction.

Then of course there is the on going matter of C.M. Punk's contract status with the WWE. All signs point to him leaving the company. He's not happy that he isn't treated like a top star. He's their best worker on the mic and one of their best, if not best, in ring worker in the company. But he feels dis-respected, and he's burned out from being on the road so much. I respect his decision to take some time off.

Now the question remains; How does the WWE send Punk out? There's been talk that he may have a program with Cena for Money in the Bank, but that depends on if the WWE wants to send him out that high. I think the more likely scenario is that Punk continues his losing streak on PPV, and Rey picks up a win here.

WINNER: Rey Mysterio

Big Show vs Alberto del Rio

This match worries me. Not because I don't think it will be decent, but because I fear for the booking of it. I don't know how many times I can say it, but ADR needs help and fast if he is going to face John Cena at SummerSlam. WWE needs to realize that. Even if they build him back up in the next couple of months, the match still won't draw as much as it would have 3 months ago, when ADR was hot and appeared to be on the verge of a break out.

The story here? Big Show is pissed that Ricardo Rodriguez, ADR's personal ring announcer, tried to run him over and kill him with his car. Show returned this week, and beat the ever living hell out of Ricardo. With him out of the picture, it's ADR vs Big Show one-on-one. I'd love to see ADR pick up the clean win here with the cross armbar, but I don't think that is happening. WWE sees Big Show as a monster and they probably wouldn't have him lose clean like that to ADR, even though he should. The more likely scenario? Show gets pissed and just starts beating on ADR, not breaking at the referee's 5 count, causing himself to get DQ'd and giving Albero the win.

WINNER: Alberto del Rio via DQ

Alex Riley vs The Miz

One month ago, I would have never thought that this match would the highlight of a PPV undercard. But the WWE may have struck gold here. As I like to joke around, this is the match where the "BROMANCE EXPLODES!" A-Ri and Miz were best buds. But after Miz lost the WWE Championship, he started to take his frustrations out on Riley, putting all of the blame on him. After Miz fired Riley and slapped him in the face, Riley finally snapped. He received a big pop and a "RILEY" chant. I'm sure the WWE wasn't expecting that. I for one was worried that the WWE would ruin in the coming weeks, but to my surprise, they've done very well. He even got a rub from Steve Austin and Roddy Piper this past week on RAW.

The question now is how far is the WWE willing to go with Riley. Do I think he is a future main eventer? Right now, no. But I would have said the same thing about the Miz years ago. With the right tooling and mentoring Riley could be one down the line. Right now I see him as a solid mid-card babyface in the coming months. We also haven't seen Riley wrestle a solid singles match yet in the ring. We don't know what to expect from him in that department.

Then of course there is the Miz. A loss to Riley probably wouldn't do too much harm for him, it'd be more of a rub for Riley than shot down for Miz. Miz main evented Wrestlemania and was the former WWE Champion. I win for Riley would do wonders for him. Miz's mic work would help him get any heat lost back on him. Usually if the WWE wants to do an extended program, they would have the heel pick up the first win and have the face extract revenge. But I think if Riley won here, Miz could say it was a fluke and demand a rematch. I think the WWE is high on A-Ri right now, and he scores the upset win here with a quick schoolboy roll-up.

WINNER: Alex Riley

World Heavyweight Championship: Randy Orton (c) vs Christian

These two have already given us two good matches, and there's no reason they can't do it again. These guys are two veterans that know how to change up a match in the ring. Well, at least Christian. I like to harp on Orton because I think he wrestles almost the same match night in and night out. But these two have good chemistry in the ring and have put on 2 of the best matches in the WWE this year.

Christian's heel turn has been played out well. He finally snapped a couple weeks ago. He knows he can beat Orton, but he's also becoming frustrated with his inability to do so. Christian has attacked him with a belt shot to the head twice now, and now the WWE is playing up a concussion angle between the two. Apparently, Orton does have an actual concussion that he received on a recent international tour. There's talk that if he can't pass a concussion test, this match won't even happen. I think it will though.

I've said numerous times here how I want this program to play out, and it starts with a Christian win here. Even with the win, Orton can be protected. He can say the only reason Christian won is because he was still affected by his concussion. Christian brags about how he finally beat Orton. The rematch at Money in the Bank is a Triple Threat Match involving Sheamus. Then the blow off is at SummerSlam in a TLC Match. If I was making this show, I would have it go on last. It will be the best wrestling match on the show more than likely.

WINNER: Christian

WWE Championship: John Cena (c) vs R-Truth

R-Truth has been the best thing in the WWE the last 2 months. Is he a little over the top sometimes? Yes. But he is playing the psycho conspiracy theory freak part perfectly. I think this match should have been saved for a few months. Let Truth get even more heel heat on him, then finally earn his shot against Cena. But the WWE rushed this program for Capitol Punishment. I would have rather seen Punk wrestle Cena here, then save Truth for MITB, or even SummerSlam. Right now, a Truth/Cena SummerSlam match might draw more than a Del Rio/Cena match.

John Cena has been ok in the last month. Not as corny as usual, but still not that entertaining. The problem is almost everybody knows Cena will hold the Title for an extended period of time, but yet the ratings continue to remain stagnant. The WWE needs to realize that there child audience, which apparently istheir new target audience, will tune in every week no matter what. It's the 18-34 male demographic that they are losing. They don't like seeing Cena constantly at the top. They want change, but the WWE doesn't do it. They fell if Cena is not on top, they'll lose $$$. Guess what: He is on top, and business isn't improving. Cena on top constantly isn't the only reason, but it's a decent part of it.

So how does this one play out? I personally would love a R-Truth win here, even if just for a month. But that's probably not happening. While Truth has been great, I doubt Vince has faith in him to carry the company even for a month. But I think Truth's conspiracy theory angle will continue. There's a ref bump. Truth has the match won but there is no referee. Truth revives him but only gets a 2 count. Cena recovers, hits the Attitude Adjustment, and scores the win. Truth complains for a rematch and continues his psycho conspiracy character. This is also why this match goes on last, because Cena winning is what the WWE likes, to send the kids home happy.

WINNER: John Cena

That's all I have today, and for the rest of the week, Capitol Punishment Review will be up Monday. I'll be watching it live at a Buffalo Wild Wings.

Until next time,

Justin C