WWE Raw Report
Date: 06/20/11 from Baltimore, MD.
The Big News: CM Punk will attempt to win the WWE title from John Cena and then take the title with him out of the company.
Show Analysis:
The show began with CM Punk. Punk said he doesn’t trust the people with making decisions. He would prove prophetic. Punk said he is the best wrestler in the world, actually using the W word. He claimed to have soundly defeated Rey Mysterio and John Cena and said that wins and losses still mean something. Hopefully Vince doesn’t recognize that’s internet type talk. Punk said he is the number one contender and asked the GM to give him a title match at Money in the Bank. He threatened to do a sit in until granted the shot.
The GM said that would be taken under consideration and asked Punk to leave the ring. They did the same thing from last week filming right behind the computer as the lights blink to signal an e-mail and it’s the exact same text on the screen with no change. I have no idea why they shoot from that angle. Punk refused to leave. The GM said Punk was going to be number one contender but because of Punk’s disrespect, Punk would have to wrestle Alberto Del Rio for the number one contender spot later in the show. Punk started to complain and the GM announced it would now be a triple threat number one contender match with Punk, Del Rio and Rey Mysterio. Punk finally left. Punk was great here.
Kelly Kelly beat Brie Bella to win the women’s title. The choices for Brie’s opponent were Kelly with 53 percent of the vote, Beth Phoenix with 36 percent and Eve Torres with 11 percent. That’s not good for Eve. Brie choked Kelly. Kelly hit a Thesz press and bulldog. Kelly went for a victory roll but Brie dropped down like Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart at WrestleMania X. Kelly, however, rolled through for the pin. Kelly cried after winning. Jerry Lawler came into the ring to briefly interview her after the match. That’s apparently a regular new thing or maybe they have an angle planned but don’t want to telegraph it too much.
Mason Ryan beat Evan Bourne. The choices for Bourne’s opponent were Ryan with 51 percent, Sin Cara with 30 percent and Jack Swagger with 19 percent. The live crowd booed the choice of Ryan and it sure sucks we got a bad match when either of the other two options would have been much better. The poll seemed set up for Cara to win, although I seem to recall this sort of thing happening before back when WCW Saturday Night did interactive voting (via a hotline back then) and fans didn’t want to choose face vs. face matches.
Bourne hit some dropkicks on Ryan. The crowd began chanting “Batista” pretty loudly. Ryan used a clothesline, back breakers and a press slam. Bourne hit a head kick and used a horrendous looking small package for two. Bourne came off the ropes but was caught with the side effect for the win. Booker T was strangely calling the match as if Ryan was a face. I’m not sure if he thought Ryan was based on the voting or if he just decided to randomly cheerlead for Ryan like he does for Sheamus on Smackdown.
Kane beat Mark Henry in an arm wrestling match via DQ. Yes, they couldn’t even provide a finish to an arm wrestling contest. The fans selected an arm wrestling match with 52 percent of the vote instead of an over the top match at 35 percent or body slam challenge at 13 percent. I was hating the voters at this point and the live crowd booed again. They then started chanting “this is stupid.” They stalled forever, then arm wrestled forever, then Henry just punched Kane and that was that. Afterwards, Henry laid out Kane with the arm wrestling table, smashed Kane into the post, and slammed Kane through the announce table.
R. Truth came out and criticized the crowd. He said he got okeydoked by little jimmy at Capitol Punishment. Christian came out and said he feels where Truth is coming from. Christian complained about the people costing him the title when he had just won it. He complained about the referee at Capitol Punishment counting the pin when his foot was under the ropes and demanded justice. Truth said at least Christian had the title but little jimmy cost him his shot.
That brought out Miz, who called the other two whiners. Miz said his gripes are legitimate and complained about the referee stopping him from using the belt against Alex Riley at the PPV. They all started bickering. They all started saying “really?” Then they started arguing saying “Riley,” “Randy,” and “Jimmy.” Teddy Long came out and told them all to shut up. He announced Christian, Miz and Truth vs. Cena, Riley and Orton for the main event with people picking the stipulations. They didn’t explain why Long would have that authority. This segment was great, one of the best WWE comedy segments of the year.
Kofi Kingston beat Dolph Ziggler via DQ in a 2 of 3 falls match. 2 of 3 falls got 51 percent of the vote, Vickie Guerrero banned from ringside 31 percent and submission match 18 percent. Finally we got a good decision from the fans. Ziggler won the first fall after a zig zag on the floor during a commercial break. Ziggler gained control and nearly got a pin with the famouser before Kingston abruptly hit the S.O.S. for the win.
Ziggler took back over with offense to start the third fall. The two men traded pinning opportunities. Kingston hit a crossbody to the back for two. Ziggler tried to hit Kingston with the title but missed. Kingston hit trouble in paradise on the floor and brought Ziggler back into the ring but Ziggler grabbed the bottom rope on the pin attempt. Ziggler then hit Kingston with a microphone on the outside for the DQ. That was such a terrible finish after a relatively long match.
They announced Raw Roulette next week and that Shawn Michaels will be on the show. Plus, it will be two hours rather than three. These are positives all around.
CM Punk beat Rey Mysterio and Alberto Del Rio in a triple threat falls count anywhere match to become number one contender. This was a great match, better than anything on the PPV last night and one of the better WWE TV matches of the year. Falls count anywhere got 66 percent of the vote, no disqualifications got 23 percent of the vote, and submission match got 11 percent of the vote. Ricardo Rodriguez was still not back, and the announcers said he is recuperating from injuries suffered at the hands of Big Show. Del Rio before the match cut a brief promo saying everything is setting up his destiny.
Punk power bombed Del Rio off the apron onto the floor for two. Mysterio then hit a senton off the apron onto Punk on the floor for two. And that was most of the falls count anywhere content of the match. Mysterio went for a double 619 but Del Rio got out of the way and Punk caught Mysterio. Del Rio went for the armbar on Mysterio but Punk kicked Del Rio in the back of the head. Punk covered Del Rio but Mysterio broke it up.
They did a tower of doom spot with Del Rio power bombing Punk and Punk simultaneously superplexing Mysterio. Del Rio tried to cover Mysterio and then Punk but couldn’t get either. Del Rio used a bridging German suplex on Mysterio but Punk broke up the pin. Del Rio charged at Mysterio but posted his shoulder. Mysterio hit a somersault senton on Mysterio and then ran across the ring for a tope onto Del Rio on the floor. Mysterio followed with a seated senton off the top on Punk for two.
Mysterio went for a top rope huracanrana on Punk but Punk avoided it and Del Rio caught Mysterio in the armbar. Punk broke that up with a leg drop off the ropes but only got two on Del Rio. Del Rio used a running enzuigiri on Punk, who fell to the outside. In the ring, Mysterio hit a 619 and top rope splash on Del Rio. However, Punk ran in, threw Mysterio into the post, and stole the pin. This was a tremendous match.
After the match, Punk said he will take the title from Cena at Money in the Bank. He then said that is also the day that his WWE contract ends. Punk vowed to leave the next day and said he will leave with the WWE title. Sadly, he didn’t threaten to take the WWE title to ROH.
Daniel Bryan beat Cody Rhodes in a no count out match. No count outs got 51 percent, a “paper bag match” 43 percent and collegiate rules 6 percent. Bryan hit a tope, kicks to the body and a suplex on the ramp. Back in the ring, Bryan hit a dropkick off the top. They traded rollups with Bryan getting one successfully for the win.
After the match, Bryan tried to put Rhodes in the LeBell lock but Ted DiBiase made the save. Rhodes hit the Alabama slam and roll of the dice on Bryan. They put a paper bag on Bryan’s head. Michael Cole was just burying Booker T and Jerry Lawler’s commentary during this match. It certainly seemed like Vince McMahon getting his jollies, but I think undermining the credibility of your face commentators isn’t smart.
Michael Cole won a dance competition over Vickie Guerrero. Cole got 47 percent of the vote compared to 39 percent for Lawler and 14 percent for Booker. I’m not sure what to make of that. Guerrero did a little dance that wasn’t bad and kissed Matt Striker. Michael Cole then came in the ring and was completely over the top doing goofy dances. He did a bad worm and spin-a-roonie. Guerrero received all boos from the crowd. Cole got some cheers mixed in with boos and was labeled the winner. Guerrero then slapped Cole. This wasn’t good, but it was better than I would have expected.
Randy Orton, John Cena and Alex Riley beat Miz, R. Truth and Christian in an elimination match. Elimination match received 79 percent of the vote compared to 15 percent for one fall to a finish and 6 percent for 20 minute time limit. Those other two options are so unappealing that it would seem WWE really wanted the elimination match for whatever reason. They blocked away a lot of time for this match so the elimination aspect made sense.
The heels worked over Orton to start. Orton caught Christian with a powerslam and tagged Riley. Riley came in and hit a spear and spine buster on Christian. He knocked Miz off the apron, but Miz came back in and attacked Riley. A brawl broke out with Miz hitting the skull crushing finale on Riley and Christian covering Riley for the pin.
The heels went back to work on Orton for a bit before he tagged Cena. Cena hit shoulder blocks, the Cena slam and the five knuckle on Miz. He went for the FU but Miz escaped and hit a back breaker/neck breaker combination. Miz then came off the top but Cena countered into the STF. Truth broke that up.
The heels once again got the heat on one of the faces, this time Cena. However, when Miz went for the skull crushing finale Cena escaped and hit the FU for the pin on Miz. Christian then missed a splash off the top on Cena and Cena finally got the tag to Orton. Orton hit clotheslines, a powerslam and a draping DDT on Truth. Truth missed the ax kick and Orton hit the RKO on Truth for the pin.
The last two falls came very quickly. Christian immediately came in and hit a spear on Orton for a pin, so that program appears as if it isn’t quite finished. Christian celebrated but Cena tried to get him in the FU. Christian escaped that but caught an RKO and Cena applied the STF for the submission. This was a good main event.
Final Thoughts:
This show was a big turnaround from last week’s effort. There still was some bad stuff, particularly in the first hour, but it was outweighed by plenty of good stuff. There was a top notch match, a top notch comedy segment and very good wrestling in general. But the clear highlight was CM Punk, who was tremendous on the microphone and in the ring. With Punk potentially taking some time off, it will likely have the effect of getting people thinking about just how great he is. He may be the best overall performer in the business right now. It’s not like Raw isn’t stacked with great heels in general, though, with Miz, Del Rio and Truth.
The Big News: CM Punk will attempt to win the WWE title from John Cena and then take the title with him out of the company.
Show Analysis:
The show began with CM Punk. Punk said he doesn’t trust the people with making decisions. He would prove prophetic. Punk said he is the best wrestler in the world, actually using the W word. He claimed to have soundly defeated Rey Mysterio and John Cena and said that wins and losses still mean something. Hopefully Vince doesn’t recognize that’s internet type talk. Punk said he is the number one contender and asked the GM to give him a title match at Money in the Bank. He threatened to do a sit in until granted the shot.
The GM said that would be taken under consideration and asked Punk to leave the ring. They did the same thing from last week filming right behind the computer as the lights blink to signal an e-mail and it’s the exact same text on the screen with no change. I have no idea why they shoot from that angle. Punk refused to leave. The GM said Punk was going to be number one contender but because of Punk’s disrespect, Punk would have to wrestle Alberto Del Rio for the number one contender spot later in the show. Punk started to complain and the GM announced it would now be a triple threat number one contender match with Punk, Del Rio and Rey Mysterio. Punk finally left. Punk was great here.
Kelly Kelly beat Brie Bella to win the women’s title. The choices for Brie’s opponent were Kelly with 53 percent of the vote, Beth Phoenix with 36 percent and Eve Torres with 11 percent. That’s not good for Eve. Brie choked Kelly. Kelly hit a Thesz press and bulldog. Kelly went for a victory roll but Brie dropped down like Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart at WrestleMania X. Kelly, however, rolled through for the pin. Kelly cried after winning. Jerry Lawler came into the ring to briefly interview her after the match. That’s apparently a regular new thing or maybe they have an angle planned but don’t want to telegraph it too much.
Mason Ryan beat Evan Bourne. The choices for Bourne’s opponent were Ryan with 51 percent, Sin Cara with 30 percent and Jack Swagger with 19 percent. The live crowd booed the choice of Ryan and it sure sucks we got a bad match when either of the other two options would have been much better. The poll seemed set up for Cara to win, although I seem to recall this sort of thing happening before back when WCW Saturday Night did interactive voting (via a hotline back then) and fans didn’t want to choose face vs. face matches.
Bourne hit some dropkicks on Ryan. The crowd began chanting “Batista” pretty loudly. Ryan used a clothesline, back breakers and a press slam. Bourne hit a head kick and used a horrendous looking small package for two. Bourne came off the ropes but was caught with the side effect for the win. Booker T was strangely calling the match as if Ryan was a face. I’m not sure if he thought Ryan was based on the voting or if he just decided to randomly cheerlead for Ryan like he does for Sheamus on Smackdown.
Kane beat Mark Henry in an arm wrestling match via DQ. Yes, they couldn’t even provide a finish to an arm wrestling contest. The fans selected an arm wrestling match with 52 percent of the vote instead of an over the top match at 35 percent or body slam challenge at 13 percent. I was hating the voters at this point and the live crowd booed again. They then started chanting “this is stupid.” They stalled forever, then arm wrestled forever, then Henry just punched Kane and that was that. Afterwards, Henry laid out Kane with the arm wrestling table, smashed Kane into the post, and slammed Kane through the announce table.
R. Truth came out and criticized the crowd. He said he got okeydoked by little jimmy at Capitol Punishment. Christian came out and said he feels where Truth is coming from. Christian complained about the people costing him the title when he had just won it. He complained about the referee at Capitol Punishment counting the pin when his foot was under the ropes and demanded justice. Truth said at least Christian had the title but little jimmy cost him his shot.
That brought out Miz, who called the other two whiners. Miz said his gripes are legitimate and complained about the referee stopping him from using the belt against Alex Riley at the PPV. They all started bickering. They all started saying “really?” Then they started arguing saying “Riley,” “Randy,” and “Jimmy.” Teddy Long came out and told them all to shut up. He announced Christian, Miz and Truth vs. Cena, Riley and Orton for the main event with people picking the stipulations. They didn’t explain why Long would have that authority. This segment was great, one of the best WWE comedy segments of the year.
Kofi Kingston beat Dolph Ziggler via DQ in a 2 of 3 falls match. 2 of 3 falls got 51 percent of the vote, Vickie Guerrero banned from ringside 31 percent and submission match 18 percent. Finally we got a good decision from the fans. Ziggler won the first fall after a zig zag on the floor during a commercial break. Ziggler gained control and nearly got a pin with the famouser before Kingston abruptly hit the S.O.S. for the win.
Ziggler took back over with offense to start the third fall. The two men traded pinning opportunities. Kingston hit a crossbody to the back for two. Ziggler tried to hit Kingston with the title but missed. Kingston hit trouble in paradise on the floor and brought Ziggler back into the ring but Ziggler grabbed the bottom rope on the pin attempt. Ziggler then hit Kingston with a microphone on the outside for the DQ. That was such a terrible finish after a relatively long match.
They announced Raw Roulette next week and that Shawn Michaels will be on the show. Plus, it will be two hours rather than three. These are positives all around.
CM Punk beat Rey Mysterio and Alberto Del Rio in a triple threat falls count anywhere match to become number one contender. This was a great match, better than anything on the PPV last night and one of the better WWE TV matches of the year. Falls count anywhere got 66 percent of the vote, no disqualifications got 23 percent of the vote, and submission match got 11 percent of the vote. Ricardo Rodriguez was still not back, and the announcers said he is recuperating from injuries suffered at the hands of Big Show. Del Rio before the match cut a brief promo saying everything is setting up his destiny.
Punk power bombed Del Rio off the apron onto the floor for two. Mysterio then hit a senton off the apron onto Punk on the floor for two. And that was most of the falls count anywhere content of the match. Mysterio went for a double 619 but Del Rio got out of the way and Punk caught Mysterio. Del Rio went for the armbar on Mysterio but Punk kicked Del Rio in the back of the head. Punk covered Del Rio but Mysterio broke it up.
They did a tower of doom spot with Del Rio power bombing Punk and Punk simultaneously superplexing Mysterio. Del Rio tried to cover Mysterio and then Punk but couldn’t get either. Del Rio used a bridging German suplex on Mysterio but Punk broke up the pin. Del Rio charged at Mysterio but posted his shoulder. Mysterio hit a somersault senton on Mysterio and then ran across the ring for a tope onto Del Rio on the floor. Mysterio followed with a seated senton off the top on Punk for two.
Mysterio went for a top rope huracanrana on Punk but Punk avoided it and Del Rio caught Mysterio in the armbar. Punk broke that up with a leg drop off the ropes but only got two on Del Rio. Del Rio used a running enzuigiri on Punk, who fell to the outside. In the ring, Mysterio hit a 619 and top rope splash on Del Rio. However, Punk ran in, threw Mysterio into the post, and stole the pin. This was a tremendous match.
After the match, Punk said he will take the title from Cena at Money in the Bank. He then said that is also the day that his WWE contract ends. Punk vowed to leave the next day and said he will leave with the WWE title. Sadly, he didn’t threaten to take the WWE title to ROH.
Daniel Bryan beat Cody Rhodes in a no count out match. No count outs got 51 percent, a “paper bag match” 43 percent and collegiate rules 6 percent. Bryan hit a tope, kicks to the body and a suplex on the ramp. Back in the ring, Bryan hit a dropkick off the top. They traded rollups with Bryan getting one successfully for the win.
After the match, Bryan tried to put Rhodes in the LeBell lock but Ted DiBiase made the save. Rhodes hit the Alabama slam and roll of the dice on Bryan. They put a paper bag on Bryan’s head. Michael Cole was just burying Booker T and Jerry Lawler’s commentary during this match. It certainly seemed like Vince McMahon getting his jollies, but I think undermining the credibility of your face commentators isn’t smart.
Michael Cole won a dance competition over Vickie Guerrero. Cole got 47 percent of the vote compared to 39 percent for Lawler and 14 percent for Booker. I’m not sure what to make of that. Guerrero did a little dance that wasn’t bad and kissed Matt Striker. Michael Cole then came in the ring and was completely over the top doing goofy dances. He did a bad worm and spin-a-roonie. Guerrero received all boos from the crowd. Cole got some cheers mixed in with boos and was labeled the winner. Guerrero then slapped Cole. This wasn’t good, but it was better than I would have expected.
Randy Orton, John Cena and Alex Riley beat Miz, R. Truth and Christian in an elimination match. Elimination match received 79 percent of the vote compared to 15 percent for one fall to a finish and 6 percent for 20 minute time limit. Those other two options are so unappealing that it would seem WWE really wanted the elimination match for whatever reason. They blocked away a lot of time for this match so the elimination aspect made sense.
The heels worked over Orton to start. Orton caught Christian with a powerslam and tagged Riley. Riley came in and hit a spear and spine buster on Christian. He knocked Miz off the apron, but Miz came back in and attacked Riley. A brawl broke out with Miz hitting the skull crushing finale on Riley and Christian covering Riley for the pin.
The heels went back to work on Orton for a bit before he tagged Cena. Cena hit shoulder blocks, the Cena slam and the five knuckle on Miz. He went for the FU but Miz escaped and hit a back breaker/neck breaker combination. Miz then came off the top but Cena countered into the STF. Truth broke that up.
The heels once again got the heat on one of the faces, this time Cena. However, when Miz went for the skull crushing finale Cena escaped and hit the FU for the pin on Miz. Christian then missed a splash off the top on Cena and Cena finally got the tag to Orton. Orton hit clotheslines, a powerslam and a draping DDT on Truth. Truth missed the ax kick and Orton hit the RKO on Truth for the pin.
The last two falls came very quickly. Christian immediately came in and hit a spear on Orton for a pin, so that program appears as if it isn’t quite finished. Christian celebrated but Cena tried to get him in the FU. Christian escaped that but caught an RKO and Cena applied the STF for the submission. This was a good main event.
Final Thoughts:
This show was a big turnaround from last week’s effort. There still was some bad stuff, particularly in the first hour, but it was outweighed by plenty of good stuff. There was a top notch match, a top notch comedy segment and very good wrestling in general. But the clear highlight was CM Punk, who was tremendous on the microphone and in the ring. With Punk potentially taking some time off, it will likely have the effect of getting people thinking about just how great he is. He may be the best overall performer in the business right now. It’s not like Raw isn’t stacked with great heels in general, though, with Miz, Del Rio and Truth.
posted by Todd Martin at 9:57 PM
5 Comments:
Has there been any indication, assuming Punk leaves, that he'll just be taking a Jericho-like hiatus or leaving WWE entirely?
Kelly Kelly should not do the crying face, it's not attractive on her. She should also avoid showing her gigantic teeth whenever possible.
I found the show boring
Anon: I for one believe CM Punk will pull a Jericho and take a vacation. In fact, he's using the burnout card, same as Jericho did 6 years ago. I'd not be surprised if he just sat out the rest of the year, then signed a new deal and returned at the Royal Rumble in January.
Todd: I don't see the logic in Dolph Ziggler even going over as US champ. He & Vickie are a stale act. I repeat. S-T-A-L-E. What does Vickie have on Vince to remain in this role when she's long overstayed her welcome?
The Punk-Del Rio-Mysterio 3-way was easily the best match on the show. The main event had to rush the last three falls for time, IMPO, taking away the drama. Sucks to be Alex Riley right now. He finally snaps his losing streak at Capitol Punishment, but then is the first one eliminated the next night. So much for building him up as a new star........
"What does Vickie have on Vince to remain in this role when she's long overstayed her welcome?"
The husband that died while employed by Vince?
Bob: It's been over 5 1/2 years since Eddie Guerrero passed away. Vickie, his widow, is a one-trick, one-note pony who simply doesn't belong on screen right now. The best thing Vince can do for her is reassign her to a public relations job within the Latino community, as a liason of sorts. Hers is a tired act, but Vince doesn't see it. His loss, as usual.
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