Photo credit: WWE.com
A clearly struggling CM Punk made his way out and called all the fans in attendance "wrong" for incorrectly predicting his loss the previous night at Hell in a Cell. He went on to then list off all of the men he's defeated in the company, and also claimed that he had nothing to do with the referee aiding his win against Ryback after they low blowed him and made a very fast three-count.
Mick Foley then made a surprise appearance to a healthy reception from the crowd and stated that Punk had embarrassed himself at HIAC and tarnished the tradition of the match. In response the WWE Champion suggested a traditional Survivor Series match between Team Foley and his own team to settle things between them. Just after Foley accepted the challenge, an angered Ryback made his way out and scared CM Punk into the crowd. It was a decent start to the show, although nothing on Foley's previous promo with Punk but this was obviously just to set up their SS match up. The crowd in Carolina had already been louder and more responsive than the one in Atlanta the previous night.
Ryback defeated JTG in a mediocre squash match.
Randy Orton beat Wade Barrett in a solid enough bout. Although not as engaging as some of their previous efforts you can't fault the displays of both men.
Team Hell No (Daniel Bryan and Kane) bested the Prime Time Players (Darren Young and Titus O'Neil) in a enjoyable enough tag contest. Although it wasn't anything outstanding it was still fun to watch, with the chemistry between Team Hell No still going strong. For the finish Kane Chokeslammed Young, only to be tagged out by Bryan who locked on the No Lock for the victory via submission.
Vickie Guerrero brought out John Cena, the man behind the apparent affair scandal with AJ Lee that she brought to the WWE Board of Directors. Vickie presented footage from previous Raws (which proved nothing) of the two and of someone filming them entering an elevator in a hotel. Cena stated that all he did was walk her to her door and that was it, but of course Guerrero wasn't convinced.
Dolph Ziggler then came out and also claimed that the 'affair' was obvious to everyone, so in response Cena grabbed him and warned 'The Show Off' never to mention their names in the same sentence again and left. I really don't believe a feud with Cena will do Dolph any favours at all. If he wasn't allowed to defeat Orton convincingly (as he should have done on PPV) then what chance has he got against Cena? Cena has never enhanced anyone, just buried potential talent.
Kofi Kingston won via disqualification versus Antonio Cesaro after The Miz attacked him at ringside. The bout itself had been pretty pedestrian, nothing that special. Given more time I'm sure they'd put on something worth a watch. Miz went for Kofi after he'd hurled Cesaro into him at the commentator's desk. As both men attacked the IC Champion R-Truth raced out to his former tag partner's aid and chased them off.
After refusing to give up her dignity for the sake of getting her job back by admitting anything happened with Cena, Vickie agreed to hire AJ back anyway under the condition that she couldn't lay a finger on her. The acting really wasn't good during the segment.
In an amusing VT we went behind the scenes with 3MB (Slater, Mahal and McIntyre) as they discussed their band and what they represent, making no sense at all. I'm liking the new group, even Mahal had charisma here.
3MB (Heath Slater and Jinder Mahal) beat Santino Marella and Zack Ryder in a largely average tag bout. The match just felt pretty run of the mill really, no exceptional performances. At least Slater showed some character in the ring.
AJ Lee defeated Beth Phoenix in a brief match where she managed to catch Phoenix out with a quick inside cradle, which the referee oddly counted at a slow pace. Vickie Guerrero announced after that AJ's performance wasn't good enough and demanded that the match be restarted. So Beth Glam Slammed AJ for the one-two-three.
Former World Champ Sheamus came out and admitted that Big Show was the better man in their HIAC match. But he also went on to claim that the war was "far from over" and he couldn't wait for their rematch. Big Show predictably joined 'The Great White' and stated that behind Sheamus' smile he was afraid of the fact that he brought everyone he could against the giant and still couldn't win, and never will. So Sheamus retorted with a White Noise, and left with a smile.
Team Rhodes Scholars (Damien Sandow and Cody Rhodes) beat Rey Mysterio and Sin Cara in an enjoyable tag match. The pace was kept nice and fast to keep things interesting, and all four men gave decent efforts. Successful bout.
John Cena, along with a selection of the WWE roster on the stage, revealed a one-million dollar cheque for the Susan G. Komen for the cure breast cancer charity from the WWE. Both representatives for the organisation seemed overwhelmed with the amount.
Alberto Del Rio defeated Justin Gabriel in a fair outing, if rather unmemorable. I can't fault the displays of either wrestler, they both looked decent but the match was just lacking heat and real interest. Once again Gabriel was also involved in a match that played before an indifferent crowd, I'm surprised he's not getting a reaction with his style in the ring.
Paul Heyman revealed that he'd recruited Team Rhodes Scholars, The Miz and Alberto Del Rio (would've much rather seen Barrett in his place) for CM Punk's Survivor Series team. Punk revealed that it would be a celebration at SS, and a chance to cut Foley's attempt at the spotlight short. Mick of course joined the champ and questioned his manhood as of late, and his tactics in recruiting a crooked referee at HIAC. Foley then went on to announce Orton, Kingston and Team Hell No as part of his SS team.
He also turned things around on Punk as he revealed that he wasn't actually a part of the team but just managing it, and out came Ryback as the final member. This then instigated a brawl between the teams, with the horrified WWE Champion making a quick getaway.
Overall it was an average show, and pretty underwhelming. By the end I was hoping for a Ric Flair appearance, that's how much interest I was loosing. Most matches were okay but no outstanding or must-see like you should really have on every show. Other than that the CM Punk material was solid enough as usual, although I was a little disappointed with Foley's contributions compared to his superb promo on his last Raw appearance, but oh well. The first official Survivor Series match should be a good'n anyway I reckon.
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