Photo credit: WWE.com
WWE Champion CM Punk came out with associate Paul Heyman and claimed that he attacked Mick Foley backstage last week because he supposedly murmured something about him and shot a dirty look his way. He also said that although Foley may be "scuzzy" in his words, some of his (superb) speech got through to him last week, and that his match at Hell in a Cell with Cena was still off. Heyman then stated that as part of General Manager AJ Lee's contract she cannot put her hands on any members of the roster or staff, so after her slap to Heyman last week he implored that she be fired, and he take over the position (how awesome would that be?).
This cued Vickie Guerrero and her client Dolph Ziggler to join them, where she staked her claim for the GM spot. The GM herself AJ Lee then skipped out and revealed that the WWE Board of Directors had given her an executive coach to help with her anger issues. Speaking of anger issues, Daniel Bryan arrived to apologise for dumping AJ months ago and causing her mental breakdown. The constantly entertaining Bryan was as usual on top form. Soon his tag partner Kane also joined them and after some more bickering, AJ settled things by booking Team Hell No against Ziggler and Punk in the main event. It was a solid enough start to the show.
Rey Mysterio and Sin Cara defeated Epico and Primo in an mostly enjoyable tag bout to advance in the number one contenders tournament for the Tag Team titles. The action as expected came at a fast pace, and although not everything was smooth it was a worthy effort by all four men. Sin Cara and Mysterio's new half and half attires are also a nice touch if you haven't seen them already. During the match the Prime Time Players sat on the stage to watch the action.
Antonio Cesaro bested Brodus Clay in a brief and rather unmemorable contest. It's good to see the talented Cesaro moving up the ranks, surprised Clay lost this fast though.
The Miz beat Zack Ryder in a fair match up. It was a decent display for both mens standards, nothing outstanding mind you.
During the World Championship Debate Big Show in his opening statement confidentially claimed that he'll walk out of HIAC with Sheamus' World title, 'The Great White' retorted by also predicting his own victory. After some back and fourth bickering, with Sheamus making a few jokes about Show's odour and the fact he lost the World Championship in forty-five seconds to Bryan last year, the two finally fronted each other up. But Show decided to save the fighting for HIAC and left. It wasn't a great segment to be honest, with host Booker T making a few minor mistakes and Show's crappy podium collapsing on him, plus it didn't get me excited about their upcoming match which was the whole point.
Ryback defeated Tensai in a sub par bout, with too many sloppy moments that spoilt it. Ryback is not ready for that main event level yet, but he clearly has the potential.
Eve defeated Beth Phoenix in a passable Divas match, nothing outstanding but watchable.
Santino Marella won via disqualification versus Heath Slater in a comedy bout. The DQ came after Slater's new associates Drew McIntyre and Jinder Mahal ran in and clobbered Marella. Afterwards they took out Santino and reminded everyone of their respective nicknames. I'm hoping they don't drop the ball with this new unit, could be interesting.
Sheamus defeated Damien Sandow in a largely solid contest. It started off quite average but managed to pick up in quality and ended strongly, with Sandow (in his top performance to date) having the majority of offense. For the finish Sandow's tag partner Cody Rhodes was thrown into the ring by the World Champion as he applied a Brogue Kick to both members of the Rhodes Scholars.
As Jim Ross and Michael Cole kicked off JR's Appreciation Night, CM Punk shortly interrupted them and admitted his admiration and respect for what JR has done and asked the hall of famer to tell everyone that he is the "best in the World." But JR refused, claiming that Punk had made a fool of himself lately. The champ reminded JR that no one was around anymore to back him up and save him if he attacked the commentator.
Ross said that if Punk were to accept Cena's challenge of a HIAC match and beat him then he would be first in line to call him the best in the World. CM Punk responded by threatening to take JR out and prevent him from ever commentating in WWE again and instructed him to walk away down the ramp. As Ross walked away Ryback made his way down and caused the champ to walk away. The fans responded well to Ryback. It was another stellar promo between Punk and WWE Hall of Famer.
Alberto Del Rio beat Kofi Kingston in a decent effort by both men, with some nice aerial action of Kofi to compliment Del Rio's more grounded style, who applied his signature arm breaker for the victory. The only downside was the lack of interest in the match up, with both men being pretty bland characters at the moment.
Team Hell No bested CM Punk and Dolph Ziggler in an enjoyable main event. The action throughout was solid and with these four wrestlers it's hard not to be engaged by it. Once again Kane and Daniel Bryan struggled to get along as they would tag themselves in and argue, but it didn't matter as Ziggler abandoned his partner after Vickie Guerrero was sent to the back by guest referee AJ (who announced her position just before the bout) leaving CM Punk alone to be Chokeslammed and pinned by Kane.
Overall it was a mixed bag of a show, with the segments and main event involving CM Punk solid stuff and worth a watch, but quite a few average matches that as usual let the red brand down a bit. Not a bad show though, but a step down from last weeks broadcast.
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