Bret Hart kicked off the show with a heroes welcome in Montreal Canada. Once he finally got a chance to talk he thanked all the Canadian fans for their support over the years and for helping him through his darker days. WWE Champion CM Punk then joined 'The Hitman' and explained that if he would be "egotistical" enough to write an autobiography then he'd call it "What if?" As in what if he'd faced Bret Hart back at the '97 Survivor Series, where he claims he would've beaten Bret without Vince McMahon's help. Therefore killing the attitude era (and WWE) and jumping ship to WCW.
After going over what happened last week when Punk attacked Cena and left with Paul Heyman, the champ claimed that when he beats Cena at Night of Champions he will solidify himself as the greatest WWE Champion ever. He also claimed that as champion he should receive an ovation like Bret's the World over and that like his future opponent on Sunday, Hart is overhyped and overrated. It was a solid enough start to the show, with nice mic work by Punk.
Kofi Kingston and R-Truth defeated Antonio Cesaro and The Miz in a fair tag team match. It wasn't anything outstanding or memorable to be honest, but passable for most of WWE's current tag division. I was really hoping that I'd eventually take to Kingston and Truth as a team but I just can't, I'd much rather see them loose the titles and go back into singles action. Or better yet have Truth turn on Kofi, he was a lot more effective as a deranged heel.
We then witnessed the recorded court deposition between Sheamus and Ricardo Rodriguez and his lawyer David Otunga. Rodriguez was attempting to take legal action and ban the Brogue Kick after the World Champion had struck him with it on last weeks Raw. After a series of questions from Otunga, Sheamus had enough and decided to show off the power of his Brogue Kick and smash the camera. It was a decent enough segment, with a few amusing parts from 'The Great White'.
Eve, Layla and Kaitlyn beat Alicia Fox, Natalya and Beth Phoenix in a largely lacklustre tag bout. I wouldn't blame you if you skipped this to be honest, you won't miss much. Eve grabbed the one-two-three after tagging herself in and stealing the win from Layla. It achieved its goals in building up Eve as an obviously fake face, but did nothing at all to hype the actual Divas title match between Layla and Kaitlyn on Sunday.
Randy Orton won via disqualification versus CM Punk in a solid enough contest. Both men put in a good display as they battled back and fourth, the fans in attendance were also certainly into it as their loud support was split. The DQ came when Dolph Ziggler ran in to attack Orton, so as both he and Punk began taking 'The Viper' out Jerry Lawler ran in to his aid which led to an impromptu tag team match.
Orton was voted in to face Punk as part of the regular Tweet polling online, and we're lucky he was considering it was between 'The Viper', Jerry Lawler and Brodus Clay. Hopefully Clay's low vote count (he came last with 12 per cent) and the lack of reaction from crowds will convince the writers to do something new with his persona, he really needs it.
Randy Orton and Jerry Lawler defeated Dolph Ziggler and CM Punk in a pedestrian tag match. There really wasn't anything that special about the actual wrestling itself, but it at least got a bit interesting when Paul Heyman walked out and began talking to Punk and they both walked away as the match finished up. Afterwards the goofy Matt Striker asked what the working relationship between the two was, so the WWE Champion simply answered "I'm a Paul Heyman guy." The possibilities of these two working together is tremendous. I can't wait.
Backstage AJ informed Daniel Bryan and Kane that she'd asked their former anger management teacher Doctor Shelby to come in to help them finally make amends. I'm still loving these segments with Kane and Bryan, they have great chemistry.
Ryback beat Heath Slater in an average bout. While Slater managed to get in a little bit of offense, he was no match for Ryback who dominated most of the short match up.
Daniel Bryan and Kane defeated the Prime Time Players to become number one contenders to the WWE Tag Team titles at Night of Champions. The match itself was passable, although for the most part it was just playing on the uneasy alliance between Kane and Bryan understandably. For the finish an aggravated Kane Choke Slammed Bryan onto Darren Young, which led to an inadvertent pinfall victory.
I'm personally quite pleased with the result. The combination of Kane and Bryan is a lot more interesting and entertaining than Titus O'Neil and Young. I can see them winning on Sunday too.
Alberto Del Rio defeated Tyson Kidd in an enjoyable enough contest. As usual both men looked solid in the ring and Kidd was even made to look fairly competitive as he locked on the popular Sharpshooter for a short while until Del Rio reached the ropes. Del Rio won via his signature arm breaker and bragged after the match that Sheamus has already lost the Brogue Kick and will loose the World title to him at NOC.
A distraught Michael Cole informed us that Jerry Lawler had collapsed and had to be stretchered out back. He went on to confirm that it was not a part of the nights entertainment and was unfortunately very real.
Sheamus beat David Otunga in a rather brief squash match. Afterwards 'The Great White' decided to apply the Brogue Kick for good measure. SmackDown GM Booker T then came out and warned the World Champion that if he uses the kick again then he'll be stripped of his title.
Backstage Doctor Shelby congratulated Kane and Daniel Bryan on their win and on working together. Of course a nice moment once again turned into an argument between the two tag partners.
Cody Rhodes defeated Rey Mysterio in a decent bout. As usual the consistent Mysterio managed to bring the best out of his opponent and both guys put in a worthy effort. Rhodes picked up the win after The Miz distracted Mysterio at ringside and he applied the Cross Rhodes. As Miz went to further attack Rey, Cody also latched on his finisher to the Intercontinental Champion to presumably set up a Triple Threat or Fatal Four Way (with Sin Cara) for the title at NOC.
Bret Hart began interviewing John Cena and compared his rivalry with Punk to his and Shawn Michaels many years ago. The unpopular Cena was honoured to even be mentioned in the same category, but honestly said that he had much work to do before he reaches their level. CM Punk also joined them, stating that he'd come out to stop the besmirching of his name. He went on to claim that he was superior to Hart, HBK, The Rock and Steve Austin.
Cena had soon had enough and called Punk a fraud after claiming last year in his classic June 27th promo that he wanted change, but all he really wanted was for himself to be the star. He carried on to also put CM Punk down in French (which went down very well) and rather out of character called him an "ignorant son of a bitch!" It was a strong promo from both men, and even got a lot of the Canadian fans on Cena's side it was so effective. It has also certainly gotten me more interested in their title bout on Sunday. A stunned WWE Champion attempted to punch Bret Hart but was halted by Cena and then punched and scared out of the ring by 'The Hitman' himself. It was a solid end to the show.
Michael Cole then informed us that Lawler was stable and that they'd have updates on the site. It has since been revealed that Lawler suffered a heart attack, although I'm too sure of his condition right now. Now I know I've bashed Lawler's commentary a fair bit, but it's obviously never been personal and I hope he recovers fully soon.
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