My WWE Survivor Series 2012 Predictions

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Divas Championship Match - Eve Torres (c) versus Kaitlyn:

Hopefully this will end their feud, and Eve can move on to more interesting (although not better in the ring) competition in AJ Lee. Should be a pretty average contest, as with most Diva ones right now. Trust me, I don't enjoy ripping on the division but it really does need a serious shake up.

Winner: Eve

United States Championship Match - Antonio Cesaro (c) versus R-Truth:

My prediction for opener of the event. Should be a decent enough encounter, not expecting anything that spectacular. Cesaro to retain cleanly.

Winner: Antonio Cesaro

Survivor Series Match - Team Foley (The Miz, Daniel Bryan, Kane, Kofi Kingston and Randy Orton) versus Team Ziggler (Dolph Ziggler, Alberto Del Rio, Wade Barrett, Damien Sandow and Cody Rhodes):

I'm quite optimistic about this bout, the talent is there and they have no excuses not to provide a solid traditional Survivor Series team match. With Team Hell No and Ziggler especially (who are all on good form at the moment) I'm looking forward to it. Ziggler needs the win here far more than anyone else (I feel like I've been saying that a lot over the last few months) so I'm hoping he gets the win for his team after an implosion of some kind from Team Foley.

Winner: Team Ziggler

World Heavyweight Championship Match - The Big Show (c) versus Sheamus:

With their surprisingly decent World Title match from HIAC I'm expecting an enjoyable rematch here. I also feel that their match has had the best build up out of the entire card tonight, so hopefully it lives up to it. I'm expecting Big Show to retain, but after dubious circumstances of some kind (maybe involving the ref?) to set up a stipulation rematch of some kind for TLC next month.

Winner: Big Show

WWE Championship Triple Threat Match - CM Punk (c) versus John Cena versus Ryback: 

In all honesty I'm really split on the quality of this match and how it'll turn out. While I think it will be fairly exciting, with the first ever physical confrontation between Cena and Ryback and Punk on brilliant form, I can't see it being a tremendous main event. Hopefully I'm wrong and it turns out well. Oh, and CM Punk to retain and hold onto the title for a whole year, he deserves it as the most entertaining thing about the company today.

Winner: CM Punk 

My WWE Raw, 27th August 2012 Recap:

Jerry Lawler started things off by going over what happened on the previous weeks show when after apologising to CM Punk he was then kicked in the back of the head by the WWE Champion. So this week 'King' wanted an apology. CM Punk joined Lawler, but instead apologised for the commentator's years of poor work behind the desk (which is true) and the fact that his mediocre career is Hall of Fame worthy. Punk warned Lawler that if he wanted a fight after provoking him then it would be very unwise and he would leave embarrassed, so Punk left giving him the choice if he wanted to take him on or not.  

Ryback defeated Jack Swagger in an average match up. In Ryback's biggest one on one match to date against the official jobber of Raw Swagger he didn't look particularly convincing in the ring to me.

Layla beat Natalya in another uninspired bout. I wouldn't blame you if you went ahead and skipped this contest. It wasn't terrible by any means but it also wasn't terrific, as usual for the Divas division lately. To make matters worse we had Vickie Guerrero on ringside asking the two wrestlers to hurry it up so she could make an announcement, yawning and complaining as the match was happening. The Divas need as much help as they can get right now, much more then Vickie needs heat. This was an extremely stupid and damaging move on the bookers part, just like when Michael Cole would berate the Divas during their matches last year. 

Guerrero revealed her pointless announcement, which was that she thought her client Ziggler was treated unfairly by AJ when he had to put his Money in the Bank contract on the line last week. So the General Manager AJ came out and grabbed the mic, but then just mauled Vickie, scaring her off. The whole segment was pointless. 

We were then shown footage from the previous week of Daniel Bryan, who under the GM's orders was attending anger management classes. As Bryan sat there claiming that he was healthy and calm, a child walked in wearing a goat mask and of coure set him off. It was one of the most genuinely funny scenes I've seen in WWE for absolutely ages, Bryan really is the best thing about the company right now for me.   

Jerry Lawler defended his career and what Punk had said about him earlier, stating that only the worthy are inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. He probably wasn't including Koko B. Ware and Drew Carey in that sentence. Lawler then announced that he accepted the WWE Champion's challenge of a fight. 

John Cena defeated The Miz in a pretty mediocre contest. Miz looked decent enough, and put on a fair display against Cena who just did his trademark play dead then miraculously comeback to win routine. Cena could even obviously be seen giving verbal instructions to his opponent, which looked very amateur.

We were taken back to Daniel Bryan's anger management class, where he went on a rant about his boss and ex-fiancee AJ. Kane also joined the group therapy. Amusingly everyone shuffled back a bit in their seats when he sat down. 

Santino Marella beat Heath Slater in a forgettable comedy match. The action was quite drab for the most part, which elicited chants of "Boring" form the fans. Cesaro's partner Aksana then came out in an attempt to distract Santino, but this time it didn't work as Marella's sock puppet struck Slater for the win. Just as things were looking up for the 'One Man Band' after his win last week.

Brodus Clay and Sin Cara defeated Cody Rhodes and Damien Sandow in a passable tag team contest. All four men looked solid enough, nothing outstanding. I was quite disappointed with the result though, I think Rhodes and Sandow could've made an entertaining team together. And also because I've just grown really  tired of Clay.

Back in the anger management class Kane began to list off all the evil doings of his past from childhood. After the session had wrapped up a fellow member called Harold went to offer Kane a hug, which he refused. Again it was another great segment, and genuinely humorous    

R-Truth won via count out versus Daniel Bryan in a standard match up that was only really there to further Bryan's anger issues storyline. The action was limited and the count out came when Truth began chanting "Yes!" on the outside, causing Bryan to have a meltdown and begin a screaming contest with a fan.

Triple H came out to a great reception and revealed that he never wanted to become one of those pro wrestlers who go on past their sell by date, who just wrestle for the pay cheque and become too beat up and broken down. 'The Game' also gave an honest and heartfelt thank you to the fans for letting him do what he does best in the ring for all these years. It was a touching promo and felt genuine throughout, although I don't believe the 'Cerebral Assassin' has retired just yet.     

Dolph Ziggler copied Chris Jericho's entrance and bragged about causing the termination of Y2J's contract, claiming that was the last time he'll ever be seen in WWE. 

Sheamus and Randy Orton defeated Dolph Ziggler and Alberto Del Rio in a satisfactory tag bout. The action and efforts from all four men was solid enough, although the excitement didn't really kick in until Sheamus was tagged in and picked up the pace. I really think Orton has to switch heel soon, maybe they were planning to but didn't want to so close to Punk's turn.   

Zack Ryder beat David Otunga in an passable, if average contest. Afterwards Kane (who'd been on commentary, although he said nothing) went to choke slam Ryder, but instead went for Otunga to take out. Am I the only one confused by what they're doing with Kane? 

Josh Matthews announced that through an online vote on Twitter the fans had chosen for Lawler and CM Punk to face each other in a Steel Cage match next. GM AJ also revealed that at Night of Champions CM Punk will face John Cena for the WWE Championship. Wow, what a shocking announcement! They didn't really have to have her announce it, it was a given and could've just been put up on WWE.com. 

CM Punk defeated Jerry Lawler in the Steel Cage match. It was a fairly decent main event, with Lawler doing a good job for a man of his condition and ring rust (take note that's a rare Jerry Lawler compliment from me). It also did it's job in enhancing Punk's interest and heat with the fans.

After the WWE Champion forced 'King' to tap to the Anaconda Vice he locked the cage door with a chain and padlock and proceeded to demand that his fallen foe call him the "Best in the world." Lawler refused, so he received a further beating from Punk. John Cena then raced out to 'King's' aid and demanded the Cage be lifted. So no one else was bothered enough to elevate the structure and help Lawler until Cena asked them to? How does that make any sense? CM Punk then called himself the best in the world as he left the ring, holding his title proudly as Cena looked on.    

Overall it was a mixed show, with nothing particularly brilliant in-ring wise but a few enjoyable segments here and there, especially the anger management and Triple H's promo.

My WWE SmackDown, 24th August 2012 Recap

Randy Orton kicked off the show by claiming that he deserves the next shot at the World Heavyweight Championship after beating Del Rio on the previous Raw. The World title holder himself Sheamus soon joined 'The Viper' and welcomed the challenge of Orton for his championship. General Manager Booker T also came out and loved the idea.

Unfortunately for them Alberto Del Rio disagreed, as he entered the ring and once again claimed that he was cheated out of the World Championship at SummerSlam. After going on a rant that grew tiresome and went on for far too long, Del Rio was informed by Booker that he was going to receive a title opportunity until he came out and ran off his mouth. Now he would face Orton in a number one contenders match that night.

Ryback defeated Jinder Mahal in a fair match up. It wasn't anything particularly outstanding or memorable but not bad. By the way Ryback decisively won I'd say their feud is now over.

Layla beat Alicia Fox in an average bout. Once again it was a passable match but nothing to shout about. Kaitlyn (the number one contender to Layla's Divas Championship and guest commentator) congratulated the victor, strangely Eve also came out and did the same.

Heath Slater defeated Sin Cara in a largely average contest. For the most part the interest just wan't really there for me. The surprise win came after Cody Rhodes, who'd provided guest commentary, turned Sin Cara's mask around at ringside which allowed Slater to apply his lame finisher. It was actually kind of amusing.   

Sheamus won via disqualification versus Dolph Ziggler in a solid enough match up. Both men as usual put in decent displays and provided enjoyable action. The DQ came after Ziggler had enough and struck his opponent with his Money in the Bank briefcase. After the bell rang 'The Show Off' once again teased cashing in his MITB contract, but decided to leave it for now. I quite like these little taunts of Ziggler's of cashing in, although I hope it's not for a while yet just to make it that bit more exciting.    

The former United States Champion Santino Marella apologised for letting the fans down by loosing the title at SummerSlam to Cesaro, and then in a strange moment made amends with his cobra sock puppet. Antonio Cesaro soon joined Santino and rubbed in the fact that he was now champ, in five different languages no less. Marella quickly had enough and began fighting with Antonio on the ramp, but was once again distracted by Aksana which led to the US Champ gaining the upper hand and taking out the Italian. I think giving the strap to Cesaro was definitely the right way to go, he has a lot of potential with his abilities and look.  

R-Truth and Kofi Kingston defeated Epico and Primo in an enjoyable enough tag contest. While all four men looked good, it's hard to be as engaged when you've seen teams go against each so many times before. I also have to give some credit to Darren Young and Titus O'Neil who were on commentary and brought plenty of charisma and humour with Cole. AW who? Also in an interview with the Tag Team Champions afterwards other teams began to stake their claim for a title shot, which soon became an all out brawl between them all.

Alberto Del Rio beat Randy Orton in a mostly solid main event to become number one contender to the World Heavyweight title. In a superior effort to their match on Monday night Del Rio surprisingly managed to make Orton tap to his signature arm breaker. What a rare sight that is, not only Orton loosing cleanly but tapping. Del Rio must be a big priority to people in the back. Afterwards Ziggler raced out to once again tease cashing in his MITB contract, but Orton had different plans as he RKO'd 'The Show Off' to presumedly set up a bout between the two at Night of Champions. 

Overall SmackDown was an okay show. There wasn't anything that was really that exciting or had you at the edge of your seat. As usual the blue brand provided decent enough matches but predictable storylines.

My WWE Raw, 16th July 2012 Recap

WWE Champion CM Punk started off the show by reminding the fans in Las Vegas that it was in that very city last year on June 27th on Raw that he gave that momentous promo where he simply spoke his mind that changed his career. He also reminded us that it has now been eighth months since he became WWE Champion, which is really quite incredible considering how long title reigns tend to last in pro wrestling nowadays. It certainly makes a refreshing change to have a World title holder with a significantly long and meaningful reign. 

Big Show then interrupted Punk and warned him that if he'd won the Money in the Bank contract the following night he would've cashed it in already and won the title. But Punk told Show that he'll always come close but loose out like he always does. Show retorted by cautioning the WWE Champion that Cena could very well cash in his MITB contract after their match later on, which pretty much confirmed that Cena would not be cashing in that night. It was quite an average segment to start the show.

Kofi Kingston and R-Truth (c) defeated Titus O'Neil and Darren Young to retain the WWE Tag Team Championship. The bout ranged from fair to quite drab, with a result that wasn't exactly shocking considering O'Neil and Young weren't even allowed to beat Primo and Epico at Money in the Bank.

Alberto Del Rio beat Zack Ryder in a short squash match. As Del Rio continued the attack on Ryder after the bell had rung Rey Mysterio made his return and applied the 619 to his rival. It's good to see the consistent performer Mysterio back.

Heath Slater once again challenged, and lost to, a famous face from Raw's past. This week it was Rikishi. Afterwards Rikishi danced similar to his Too Cool days with his two sons Jimmy and Jay Uso. The crowd seemed to appreciate the nostalgia act.

AJ and Daniel Bryan defeated Eve and The Miz in a decent enough mixed tag contest. AJ's time with Eve was fortunately kept rather brief in the ring, I'm enjoying her character but she still has some work to do in between the ropes. Daniel Bryan told AJ after that he loved her and then proposed. She answered "Yes".

Before Ryback versus Jack Swagger could even begin Swagger started the attack on his opponent, until Ryback made a comeback and powerbombed Swagger three times in a row. Ryback received more positive reaction here from the fans than I've ever heard, with them even chanting along to his "Feed me more!". Good sign for him. 

MITB winner Dolph Ziggler came out and stated that he will be the next and greatest World Heavyweight Champion of all-time. Chris Jericho then joined him, so Ziggler asked Jericho when the last time was that he actually won anything and called him a loser. Ziggler went on to call Y2J "all hype," claiming that he'd been coasting along for so long now that he had everybody fooled. It was brilliant mic work from the MITB winner. Jericho retaliated by applying a Codebreaker to 'The Show Off'. It was a great segment, with great work from Ziggler and Jericho receiving a better reaction then he has since his return last year. I'm definitely all for a rivalry between these two.

Brodus Clay beat JTG in a pretty nothing contest. Where can they go with Clay now? I'm just growing tired of the persona to be honest, I'd love to see a heel turn out of him in the near future.

CM Punk won via disqualification versus Big Show in a decent main event. The first third of the bout was a bit slow and did drag a little as Show had most of the offense. But when Punk started to make a comeback the match gained a bit of life back and the fans started to get into it. After refusing to halt an attack on the WWE Champion in the corner and pushing the referee aside, Big Show was DQ'd. John Cena's music then hit and Show backed off as it looked as though Cena might cash in his MITB contract, but it was just too obvious to happen.

Show tried to convince Cena to cash in now while Punk was down, but Cena instead announced that he would cash in the MITB next week on the 1000th Raw. Should be a decent title match, and a great show.

My WWE SmackDown, May 11th 2012 Recap

Chris Jericho and Alberto Del Rio versus Sheamus and Randy Orton ended in a no contest after all four men started to brawl in and outside the ring during the bout. Up until that point it had been a so so tag team match, pretty flat for the majority of it to be honest. During the break after Eve announced on Twitter that Orton will face Del Rio and Jericho will face Sheamus on the same show later on.

AJ defeated former friend Kaitlyn in a short and scrappy bout. After a series of scratching and clawing AJ struck Kaitlyn with a shining wizard for the one-two-three. Afterwards her former boyfriend Daniel Bryan informed her how impressed he was at her aggression, stating he had no idea she could be so "ruthless."

He carried on as if he was considering taking her back, but turned the tables and admitted his interest was actually with Kaitlyn. An angry and upset AJ shook in the ring in front of him as he mocked and laughed at her. It was a great moment as she teased an attack on the hurtful Bryan, but instead she walked away. For me it was a tremendous segment, as most with these two. I'm loving the fact that they're slowly building up to AJ's inevitable moment of vengeance on her ex, which should provoke a huge pop when it comes.

Daniel Bryan defeated Big Show via submission after John Laurinaitis had the bell rung, without any sign of Show tapping out. The actual match, although brief, had been pretty good. I would've liked to have seen more to be honest, and I don't say that much for anything involving Big Show.

Laurinaitis forced Show to apologise to him afterwards, also calling him a "freak" like Eve had on Raw. The GM also informed Show that he will have to apologise to him once again on next Monday's Raw, and mean it. Well it's certainly gaining Johnny more heat, so these interactions with Show are working.

Ryback defeated Heath Slater in an average squash match. I think Ryback needs to add a little more to his move set, I'm sure he's capable of some more impressive power offense.

Antonio Cesaro defeated Alex Riley in another nice showing from Cesaro. I give it a year before he's challenging for a World title, if WWE push him like he deserves anyway. Unfortunately the only downside to Cesaro is that we have to endure the untalented Aksana still. I can't believe she's even on a paycheck there. 

Randy Orton won via disqualification versus Alberto Del Rio after Ricardo Rodriguez attempted a cross body on 'The Viper, only to receive an RKO. The bout had been a solid one, as usual with Orton. Afterwards Del Rio applied his trademark armbar on Orton.

R-Truth defeated Jack Swagger in an enjoyable contest. It was a good outing for both wrestlers, and better then the average match they usually have. It's also great to see some much needed attention being given back to the tag team division with Ziggler and Swagger challenging the new champions Kingston and Truth on PPV at Over The Limit. It looks like the company are promoting a few new teams too, with Marella and Ryder, O'Neil and Young and also Hawkings and Rex.

Titus O'Neil and Darren Young defeated Zach Ryder and Santino Marella in a big win for O'Neil and Young, considering they were on NXT not too long ago. Overall it was a decent enough tag team match up, I'm not a huge fan of O'Neil and Young but at least they act and look like a real unit. Afterwards the victors mocked the crowd and called themselves the next WWE Tag Team Champions.

Brodus Clay defeated Hunico in a routine squash match. Before the bout Hunico and accomplice Camacho attacked 'The Funkasaurus', but of course it wasn't enough to keep him down and he made a Cena-like recovery to destroy Hunico. 

Chris Jericho won via DQ versus Sheamus after Del Rio raced in and threw him into the steel steps, he then turned his attention to the World champion and applied the armbar. The actual bout had been a good main event, with both men going back and fourth. Orton then predictably entered the ring and attacked Del Rio. Jericho, Orton and Sheamus then finally each received their own retribution on Del Rio as they all applied their respective finishers on him.  

My WWE SmackDown, May 4th 2012 Recap

Sheamus came out and stated how he loved "to fight," wherever and whenever. A frustrated Daniel Bryan then shortly joined the World Champion before their match. 

Sheamus won via disqualification versus Daniel Bryan after Alberto Del Rio and his ring announcer Ricardo Rodriguez ran in to attack 'The Great White'. The actual match was very brief but had Bryan logically targeting the same arm he had hurt at Extreme Rules. Del Rio also attacked the arm by applying his signature armbar, Bryan also entered the ring and applied the Yes Lock. Both he and Del Rio then argued after he'd cost 'The American Dragon' the match.  

R-Truth and Kofi Kingston defeated Hunico and Camacho in a fair tag team contest. Truth and Kingston will grow on me I reckon, plus any pairing that helps get attention back to the tag team division is fine with me. Former champions Primo and Epico watched from the stage along with the charismatic Abraham Washington and Rosa Mendes.   

Brodus Clay won via count out versus Jack Swagger, who'd had enough of the tough to beat 'Funkasaurus' and decided to leave. It was a nothing match really, short and forgettable. 

Before his match Damien Sandow claimed that he did not want to face his opponent Derrick Bateman, as he was "simple minded" and it wouldn't teach the fans anything. As he was leaving Batman then reminded us that he'd won a spot on SmackDown by winning NXT (I'd almost forgotten to be honest) and demanded an opponent for the night, and sure enough he got his wish in the form of Ryback.  

Ryback defeated Derrick Bateman in a predictable squash match. Not really much else to add, you've probably seen his routine by now.

Big Show and Randy Orton defeated Cody Rhodes and Kane in a tag team match that was a bit of a mixed bag, decent when Orton was in the ring but quite flat when Show was. I'm hoping that both sets of these feuds are over now, they've gone on as long as they should and haven't really done much for any of them.

Layla defeated Natalya in an enjoyable divas match up, a rarity nowadays. Both women put on a good display.

Backstage AJ once again slapped good friend Kaitlyn after being told to get over her ex Daniel Bryan. I'm not quite sure where they're headed with this crazy turn AJ is taking.

Sheamus defeated Daniel Bryan in an entertaining main event. For the majority of the match Bryan was logically attacking Sheamus' injured shoulder that he obviously hadn't fully recovered from. Before the bout the World Heavyweight Champion like a true heroic face refused to turn down the fight. 'The Great White' again like any hero managed a comeback and managed to Brogue Kick (albeit a slightly botched one) Bryan for the one-two-three. During the contest Del Rio (who'd been on commentary, doing a mediocre job on it too) tried to interfere but was quickly scared off by Sheamus.     

My WWE Raw, February 13th 2012 Recap

Raw began with a debate with all six participants in the forthcoming WWE Championship Elimination Chamber Match. Which included CM Punk, Dolph Ziggler, The Miz, R-Truth, Chris Jericho and Kofi Kingston. But before it could begin John Laurinaitiscame out and thanked the WWE Board of Directors for letting him keep his job.

CM Punk simply stated that he would win the Chamber match because he is, you guessed it! The "best wrestler in the world." Dolph Ziggler bragged about how talented he is and claimed that R-Truth wasn't even aware of what State they were in. R-Truth, in his confused mental state believed they were running for Office and even called the host of the debate Jerry Lawler "Your Honour."

The Miz bragged about retaining the WWE Championship in the main event of WrestleMania last year not once, but twice. He also carried on to put down all five of the other men, especially Jericho who he went on a nice little rant about. A Miz versus Jericho feud in the future could be, as Miz would say, Awwwweeeesoooome. I'm sorry I had to. Kofi Kingston claimed that it would be an advantage being considered an"afterthought" as Miz had described him, since he'll be overlooked. He added that in one night everything could change he could very well walk out the champ.

Chris Jericho claimed to have more success then all five of the other men combined, and reminded us that the last time he was in an EC Match he walked out with the World Heavyweight championship. He also told Punk that "the master has returned" and he might as well hand over the title to him now. He then pushed Kofi out of his way and made his way over to CM Punk where he began shouting abuse at him, only to turn and receive a Trouble In Paradise kick to the face from Kofi, right before their match up.

Chris Jericho defeated Kofi Kingston in an enjoyable bout, with solid ring work and the action very rarely letting up. These two have always seemed to work well together in the ring. If I were booking right now I'd start planning for Kingston to win the Money In The Bank Match at Mania, he's more then proven his talent in the ring in my opinion. Plus he can deliver on the mic when he has to, he may not be the best but he can only improve.    

Big Show versus Randy Orton ended in a disqualification after Daniel Bryan ran in and struck both with his World Heavyweight Championship belt. Up until that point the match had been okay, nothing special. The highlight being a Hangman DDT to Big Show from Orton as Show was leaning over the top rope.   

Hall of Famer, the icon, 'Mr. WrestleMania', HBK himself Shawn Michaels made his way to the ring and confessed to being shocked last week when good friend Triple H turned down The Undertaker's offer of a rematch at WrestleMania. But he then claimed to have figured out why 'The Game' turned it down, to bait The Undertaker, to draw him into the match. So Michaels brought out Triple H to admit it to everyone else right there. But Triple H once again announced that he had no intention of facing Taker again on the big stage after what he put him through last year. A confused HBK then asked Triple H if the suit he wore had changed him, if he had now "married that chick and became one of them?" 

Triple H claimed that Shawn wouldn't understand what it's like being in his shoes. Michaels confessed that was true but added that when a man challenges you to a fight and you back down, that makes you "a coward." Triple H then explained to him that one day all of the company will be his, and due to that he know longer looks at Undertaker like an opponent but as "a brand," and ending that brand would be bad for business. 'The Game' also added that he wasn't going to face Taker just so Michaels could live through him and accomplish what he never could. Shawn then asked him to look him in the eyes and tell him that he doesn't want to end The Undertaker's streak, and Triple H did. To end the segment another VT played featuring Taker going over their WrestleMania 27 match up, but this time he began cutting off his hair at the end. So this is how they're going to get around Undertaker's shaven head.

It was an awesome segment from start to finish. With a tremendous interaction between Triple H and Shawn Michaels that even exceeded what I had anticipated. I'm still hoping that Michaels is brought in to possibly referee to bout.

R-Truth defeated Dolph Ziggler in a match that never had the chance to get going unfortunately. Truth managed to score a roll up pin as Ziggler was applying some sit ups using his body. 

Tamina defeated Brie Bella in an average and forgettable Divas bout. Although I'll give Tamina credit she has certainly looked more competent in the ring lately. She'll face Beth Phoenix for the WWE Divas Championship this sunday at Elimination Chamber, I can only see Beth winning that one.

Backstage Kane attempted to kidnap Eve in the back of an ambulance, but fortunately for her John Cena managed to come to the rescue. Afterwards they shared a brief kiss, which of course Zach Ryder (who's infatuated with Eve, boy this is like writing a soap opera) saw all of. As Zach stormed off Eve tried to apologise and said that she still wants to be friends with him, which hilariously drew a massive boo from the crowd. 'Poor Zach' was even trending on Twitter afterwards. Could this possibly mean a turn for Ryder? I certainly don't think that'd be the right move at the moment. 

CM Punk defeated The Miz in an acceptable match up, albeit a bit bland to start off with. Punk managed to force Miz to tap out to the Anaconda Vice. 

John Cena attempted to publicly appologise to Zach Ryder for his kiss with Eve. He also admitted that this must have been Kane's plan all along, to turn his friends and the WWE fans against him (that happened a while back John). But Cena explained that he was proud of who he was, and that no amount of hate will change that.

Zach Ryder then slowly made his way out on his crutches and knocked the microphone out of Cena's hand, then slapped him in the face and left. Kane appeared on the tron and congratulated Cena on finally embracing the hate after taking away his friend's"true love." As Cena went to grab a mic Kane appeared and pushed Ryder off of the stage. Cena raced to his aid and the show ended as him and Eve watched Ryder being stretchered off.       

My WWE Raw, January 23rd 2012 Recap

CM Punk started off the show by talking about his upcoming opponent at the Royal Rumble Dolph Ziggler, and the special guest referee for the WWE Championship match John Laurinaitis, who he called a "failure." A failure as a former pro wrestler, at life and at his current job. Punk also presented the footage from last weeks Raw where Laurinaitis admitted to Mick Foley that he will screw over Punk for the title as referee. CM Punk then invited Laurinaitis out to say that to his face in the ring. But instead of the interim Raw GM making an appearance, John Cena joined Punk. The WWE Champ explained that it wasn't this John he was after, to which Cena retorted with "Sorry, I was sick of hearing you ramble." Was that Cena with some attitude? Nice change. Cena also demanded that Laurinaits come out, plus give Zach Ryder his United States Championship rematch and also resign as General Manager.
John Laurinaitis claimed that he stood by what he had said the week before and that he wasn't going to be intimated by either of them. He also announced a Falls Count Anywhere match for later on between Zach Ryder and Kane, and warned that if Cena gets involved at all then Ryder will never get a Unites States Championship rematch again. Laurinaitis then also booked a tag team match for right then and there with Cena and Punk versus Dolph Ziggler and Jack Swagger.
Dolph Ziggler warned CM Punk before their match that it doesn't matter that Laurinaitis will be in his corner, because he's going to beat him anyway. Jack Swagger also threatened that Cena was "dead meat" after his attack on the United States Champion last week. It felt like an average way to start the show after last weeks strong finish. I don't think there was any need for Ziggler and Swagger to talk too, that could have been cut for how irrelevant it was.    
Dolph Ziggler and Jack Swagger defeated CM Punk and John Cena in an average tag team bout that at least picked up in quality once the bumbling Cena tagged in Punk. Ziggler managed to score a roll up pin on CM Punk after John Laurinaitis distracted the WWE Champion on the apron.
Afterwards CM Punk then once again challenged the Executive Vice President of Talent Relations and Interim General Manager of Raw to a match. Laurinaitis, then to the surprise and delight of the crowd in attendance accepted the match. 
Chris Jericho then appeared for the return of his Highlight Reel (without uttering a word of course) but quickly left to go grab a T-Shirt gun. After teasing shooting off a T-shirt into the crowd he instead then grabbed a camera from a nearby cameraman and began mucking about with it. After dropping that he then urged the audience to hush and played a VT of some of his greatest moments. Then, in a shocking moment that provoked a big reaction, he finally spoke since his return. Saying that "This Sunday at the Royal Rumble, it's going to be the end of the World as you know it." I certainly applaude the direction Jericho and the backstage team have gone in for this current storyline of his. Makes a nice change of pace that we're having something play out slowly rather then be rushed out like most story lines have been in WWE over the last year. 
Kane versus Zach Ryder in a Falls Count Anywhere match ended in a no contest.The bout itself that Kane largely dominated wasn't bad but also wasn't anything spectacular, it served its purpose of advancing the John Cena and Kane rivalry so it did its job. Ryder and Kane during the match ended up going through the crowd and eventually onto the stage where Kane Chokeslammed Ryder through the floor. Afterwards Cena joined Eve who had been ringside for most of the bout as Ryder was stretchered away into an ambulance. Just before they drove him away Eve told Cena that it was all his fault. 
Sheamus defeated Jinder Mahal in a fairly brief but entertaining match up. Sheamus has even added a standing rolling fireman's carry slam to his move repertoire, nice addition there. Wade Barrett had been on commentary during the bout, mainly to plug the Royal Rumble and the return of Randy Orton to SmackDown this Friday. After the match Sheamus warned Barrett, who had threatened to enter the ring but instead backed off, that he should get used to the sight of a victorious 'Great White' as he was going to win the Royal Rumble match on Sunday. Chris Jericho is still my current favourite to win it.
Backstage, in a bit of an amusing segment R-Truth (pretending to be a market researcher) began to antagonise The Miz  by calling him the number one "whiner" and such. An angered John Laurinaitis then interrupted them, saying that he couldn't even think with all the noise they were making. So he added a stipulation to their match stating that whoever lost would be the number one entrant in the Royal Rumble match.  
Brodus Clay defeated Heath Slater in another one of his squatch matches. I'm hoping after the Royal Rumble that Clay's put into a real feud with someone in the lead up to WrestleMania.
R-Truth defeated The Miz in a solid encounter between the two. I wasn't expecting a classic but these two certainly delivered in my opinion. Although after the way their feud has been building up it felt a little anticlimactic that it should end on a one on one televised match. Miz should be an interesting number one entrant into the Rumble match though.
Before CM Punk versus John Laurinaitis could commence, David Otunga was asked to read out a fax that had been sent to the Interim Raw GM. It stated that due to his recent actions, his status was under review and that next week on Raw it would be determined whether or not he stays on as General Manager. And the review will be conducted by COO, Triple H. Well that should prove interesting then, eh?
Laurinaitis called this a "wake up call" and formally apologised to CM Punk and all the fans. He also admitted to making a mistake last week and announced Mick Foley's entrance into the Royal Rumble match. CM Punk stated that he hopes that if Triple H has inherited anything from Vince McMahon, it's his trademark "You're fired!" 
Laurinaitis also announced that David Otunga would be stepping in for him as a substitute in their match up. CM Punk made quick work of Otunga and forced him to submit to the Anaconda Vice. Afterwards he gave Otunga a couple of kicks and applied the Go To Sleep to Mr. Laurinaitis. Ziggler then snuck in and not wasting any time Zig Zagged the WWE Champion for the final image of the show.
Overall Raw was more an advancement show for current rivalries and story lines. No matches were particularly outstanding, although they weren't bad. This is the edge SmackDown currently has over Raw right now, they're pulling off these solid story lines (such as the Bryan, Big Show and Henry triangle) and providing us with entertaining matches each week. I just hope they start to give a little more attention to the actual action in the ring after the Rumble on Sunday.

My WWE Raw, January 16th 2012 Recap

Mick Foley opened things up by saying that he would love to wrestle one more time in a WWE ring for his two youngest children Huey and Mickey, who were too young to see him wrestle the last time for the company. This news predictably went down very well with the crowd in attendance. He then added that he was officially a contestant in the 2012 Royal Rumble match.  
Vickie Guerrero and Dolph Ziggler then made their way out, where Dolph questioned Foley's spot in the Royal Rumble match. Claiming that he was taking away a precious place from a wrestler that's been working hard all year to earn it. But Foley responded by saying that he wasn't just in the Rumble for the sake of it, he was in it to "win it." Ziggler then bragged about his recent victories over Cena and WWE Champion CM Punk and said that he "couldn't think of a bigger let down" then if he were to win the WWE Title at the Royal Rumble and then Mick were to win the Rumble match and he'd have to face an "out of shape, has been, was never that good to begin with glorified stuntman, walking punchline" at WrestleMania (what a mouthful). Ziggler also demanded that Foley "just go away!" Dolph looked and sounded superb in this segment I thought, he's certainly come a long, long way with his mic skills over the last year.
WWE Champion CM Punk then joined them, with a big welcome for Mick. Punk listed off a few similarities between him and Foley, including the fact that they've both earned everything that they have achieved unlike Ziggler. He also added that he thought it would be "damn cool" if he were to go on to WrestleMania to defend his title against Mick Foley. John Laurinaitis then announced that he was refusing Foley's entrance into the Royal Rumble match and the segment ended with a cackling Vickie in Mick's face.
Primo and Epico (c) defended the WWE Tag Team Titles against Air Boom in a fast paced and entertaining match up. My only real gripe is that they should've given this bout some more time, these two teams deserve it. Unfortunately WWE have again dropped the ball with the tag division and haven't been building up anyone else to face Primo and Epico for the titles in the future. I wrote a couple of months back that they should be building up other teams outside of the title scene to give them more credibility when they fight for the championships.   
Jack Swagger defeated Zach Ryder (c) to win the United States Championship. It was a match dominated by Swagger, who understandably took advantage of the injured Zach Ryder in a forgettable title bout. But it was understandably more about selling Kane's attack on Ryder then having a decent title match. 
Kelly Kelly and Alicia Fox defeated the Bella Twins in a worthless match where 'special' guest Perez Hilton assisted Kelly by dragging out one of the Bellas (I can't be asked to remember which one) after one of their signature swaps with each other.  
Wade Barrett interrupted R-Truth before he'd even begun talking. He once again claimed how he was going to be the victor of the Royal Rumble match in two weeks. I have to say that he's definitely one of my favourites to win it. He also called R-Truth a"lunatic" who'd be better off in a "straight jacket." R-Truth asked Barrett why he was so mad, and added that he missed his smile. Truth then presented a slideshow from his trip to Disneyland. In a funny moment we saw Pinocchio's nose grow after saying that Wade's going to win the Royal Rumble, to which R-Truth responded "I don't even know if that's PG!" The Miz then attacked Truth from behind as he snuck in form the crowd, but it didn't last long as Sheamus came to his aid. Teddy Long (we have to endure him on Raw now too?) then booked an Over The Top Challenge between all four men. This is probably the most entertaining R-Truth has been since his return as face, I'd like to see him make it work.
R-Truth won the Over The Top Challenge. It was more entertaining then I was expecting and a nice little touch as far as hyping the Royal Rumble goes. Wade Barrett was first eliminated, then Miz and Sheamus together as Truth tossed them both over.
John Laurinaitis granted an irate John Cena a match against Jack Swagger as payback for Ryder, but before the bell had even had a chance to ring Cena ruthlessly took out Swagger. Dragging him out of the ring and onto the announce desk and Irish Whipping him into the steel steps. As he was about to slam the steps onto a helpless Swagger's head Kane appeared on the tron. He told Cena that he was impressed, and that by the time their match at the Royal Rumble comes around he would've "embraced the hate."  
Brodus Clay defeated JTG in another dominate and oddly entertaining performance from Clay. He's certainly become one of the most charismatic performers in the company today, and I'm all for it. It just works doesn't it?
Daniel Bryan came out and said that although most people see Big Show as a loveable giant, he's actually a "freak" that bowled over his girlfriend, AJ. He also accused Big Show of intentionally running over her to get to him and the World Heavyweight Title. He then warned Show that "you shouldn't ever show your face on SmackDown again. And if you do, I'm going to make you pay." In regards to his title match against Mark Henry on this Fridays SmackDown, he said that he was going to dedicate that victory to AJ.
It was a nicely executed speech by Bryan, he's really fitted brilliantly into the new heel role so far. Although I'd still not say that he's a fully blown out heel just yet. I always felt that Bryan had the character there even as a face (just look at his awesome segments with Cole back on NXT) but I guess the heel turn is what he needed to go up that next level in WWE.
CM Punk, Daniel Bryan and Chris Jericho Mick Foley defeated David Otunga, Mark Henry and Dolph Ziggler in a mostly entertaining Six-Man Tag Team Match. The best part for me being the action between Punk and Ziggler. As Chris Jericho was tagged into the match to a huge ovation, he began his trademark celebration with the crowd and then left the ring. I'm still a big fan of this intriguing storyline involving Jericho and his refusal to talk or even wrestle in the ring. It certainly has people guessing anyway. As Bryan was tagged in and began to tangle with his opponent on Friday, Mark Henry, their fight ended up travelling backstage. Mick Foley then arrived and joined Punk on his team, claiming that Laurinaitis had given him permission to do so. Foley looked rather sloppy between the ropes to be honest, as much of a fan as I am I have to admit it. Mick ended up grabbing the win after applying the Mandible Claw to David Otunga.         
After the bout Laurinaitis charged out and reversed the decision after announcing that Foley had never cleared his participation in the match with him beforehand. CM Punk grabbed the mic out of his hand and told him to "Shut your mouth, you're gonna listen to me!" Which provoked a huge roar form the fans. Punk claimed that Laurinaitis acts the way he does because in the ring he never amounted to anything, he never had the ability and he was boring. All true. He also added that he can't stand the fact that in the past year CM Punk has achieved more in his career then he ever will in his entire life. Regarding the title match at the Royal Rumble where John Laurinaitis will be the special guest referee Punk stated that it doesn't matter what he does because "I'll still be better then you." And he ended by simply saying "You're pathetic." It was another superb and heated promo from the WWE Champion.
Laurinaitis picked up the mic and claimed that he wasn't pathetic, and that he wouldn't be intimidated by Punk. Mick Foley then told John to just admit what he is, and called him a "kiss ass," which is a perfect term to describe him behind the scenes. "Who the hell do you think you are Foley?" Asked Laurinaitis. He also admitted that he will screw CM Punk out of the Championship and that he was sick of everyone pushing him around and bullying him. Laurinaitis actually showed some real emotion and personality here as he vented at everyone. He then ended the show by striking Foley in the head with the microphone. 

My WWE Raw, January 9th 2012 Recap

Kane started things off by accusing all of the fans of living lives that they really "hate"and despise. With families and jobs that they really cannot stand. He also then claimed that when the fans look at John Cena they see "hope" and "success," when really they should be viewing what they'll never achieve, and what's out of their grasp. Kane always reminded us of how close he was to dragging Ryder down with him on last weeks Raw and warned that "I always get what I want, and what I want are consequences! Consequences for refusing to embrace hate."    
Before the 'Big Red Monster' finished his sentence John Cena's music hit and he raced out to brawl with Kane. The fight ended up going backstage, and then moved on to the parking lot. After a big uppercut slap from Kane which sent Cena into a pile of boxes, he soon recovered only to discover that Kane had disappeared.     
Santino Marella and Sheamus defeated Wade Barrett and Jinder Mahal in an average tag match that picked up a bit once Sheamus entered the fray. Just when I think Mahal is making some progress he goes and gets pinned by Santino's Cobra finisher, that's never a good sign for a wrestler. 
Edge was then announced as a more then deserving inductee into the WWE 2012 Hall Of Fame. I can't help but still feel so disappointed that one of the most all-rounded talented wrestlers I've ever seen was forced to retire earlier then expected. But of course it was clearly for the best and the most intelligent move on Adam Copeland's part. Once again, thank you Edge.
Daniel Bryan defeated Kofi Kingston in a brief but entertaining bout that really deserved some more time I feel. Bryan won after making Kingston tap to his signature LeBell Lock.
After the match Big Show made his way out to confront Bryan. Before Big Show could finish a sentence the World Champion cut him off and admitted that he already knew what Show was thinking, that "I hated how that World Title match ended." He also added that he was a fighting champion and claimed that "I will give you a World Title match whenever you want." Big Show informed Bryan that Teddy Long agreed with him and that on this weeks SmackDown he would be defending the championship against him in a No Disqualification, No Count Out Match.  
Then, after weeks and weeks of anticipation, Brodus Clay finally made his Raw debut as the 'Funkasaurus' Brodus Clay. Yes, you read that right. He arrived with two dancers and a 70s disco theme to his entrance. I don't believe anyone was expecting this.
Brodus Clay briefly defeated Curt Hawkings. The bout was brief but not bad, this wasn't just because of Clay and Hawking's efforts but also due to the random remarks 'The Funkasaurus' made during the match. Such as "My bad!" after he knocked over Hawkings. Certainly an interesting direction for Clay that's for sure, and I can't deny that he was entertaining.
CM Punk defeated Jack Swagger a pretty solid encounter between the two. Just before the bell had rung John Laurinaitis, to prove that he'll be impartial as the special guest referee in the WWE Championship match between Punk and Dolph Ziggler at the Royal Rumble, announced that if Punk won then Vickie Guerrero and Jack Swagger would be banned from ringside for that match. 
Backstage The Miz threatened that he would add Ricardo Rodriguez to the injured list if he didn't go out to the ring and say something offensive about R-Truth to draw him out, so Rodriguez left to make his way out.
Then the next inductees into the WWE 2012 Hall Of Fame was announced, The Four Horsemen. Does this mean we'll be seeing Ric Flair at the induction then? 
A very nervous Ricardo Rodriguez then began (mildly, but quite amusingly) insulting R-Truth, which successfully drew him out. Truth said that Ricardo had him all wrong, and that he was now a "goood R-Truth." The deranged Truth then asked if Rodriguez would "sing me and Little Jimmy a song?" So Ricardo agreed and began to sing, and even remix at one point, a song for Truth. Much to the crowds delight, it was pretty entertaining actually. I can definitely see a successful face turn in the future for him. After R-Truth asked him to sing again, Rodriguez accidentally knocked the mic out of his hand causing Truth to apply a  What's Up? to Rodriguez. Afterwards The Miz arrived and began assaulting Truth, until he turned it around and chased Miz off into the crowd.    
Chris Jericho then made his way out and began to celebrate in the same fashion as he had done last week on his return. As his music stopped and he held a mic on his hand, he then began to look emotional and overwhelmed by the reaction. This carried on until he once again left the arena without uttering a single word. I'm not sure about everyone else but I'm really enjoying these new segments involving Jericho. It's certainly a bit different and intriguing, and it's got everyone guessing as to what he's really up to.
As Eve Torres awaited Beth Phoenix's arrival for a one on one match, Kane's music hit so Zach Ryder raced out to save her. They both left the building but discovered that a tyre on Ryder's car had been let down so he began replacing it.
John cena versus Dolph Ziggler ended in a no contest after Cena left the match to help Ryder. The bout up until that point had been fairly decent, Ziggler had actually been given the majority of the offence to help build him up for the title match at Royal Rumbe. As the match proceeded, footage on the tron showed Kane attacking Ryder from behind by the car. He then Chokeslammed him onto the ground a few feet below. Cena abandoned the match and raced out to help the United States Champion, but was ambushed by 'The Big Red Monster' and once again choked out.    
Overall Raw felt like a pretty average show to me considering the in ring action, but it was more of a broadcast to help build up certain storylines and feuds.   

My WWE Raw, January 2nd 2012 Recap

John Cena kicked off Raw to a chorus of boos and chants of "You suck!" to wish everybody a "Happy new year." He went on to list a few of his New Year resolutions, one of which was to to beat The Rock at WrestleMania and prove he has no "lady parts." Cena also further confirmed his feelings towards the fans by admitting that they have every right to say what they want after paying their hard earned money to attend the show. "I will continue to enjoy any emotional response that I get" he also remarked, which seemed really genuine and I can believe it. Kane soon interrupted him and claimed that on that night he would learn to "embrace the true power of hate."    
Daniel Bryan defeated Cody Rhodes in a solid encounter when he applied a small package for the one-two-three. Finally WWE have been building Bryan up properly as of late and giving him these consecutive wins since winning the World Title. Although I can see a heel turn approaching for Bryan in the very near future, possibly against Big Show in their match on Friday possibly.
Wade Barrett came out to brag about taking Orton out on last weeks SmackDown after he threw him down a flight of stairs during their Falls Count Anywhere match. He also went on to talk about how his "Barrett barrage" will continue to Royal Rumble, and then on to WrestleMania to become a World Champion. I have to say, right now Barrett is my pick to win the Royal Rumble at the end of the month. Santino Marella then joined Barrett before their match and bragged about how he lasted longer in last years Rumble bout and intends to do the same this year. He also urged the fans to join his own version of the 'Barrett Barrage' with the "Santino Marella choo choo trains, all aboard!" As usual, Santino was quite amusing and brought in a good reaction from the crowd.  
Wade Barrett defeated Santino Marella in a brief bout that was more of a comedy match at moments. But it did the job in continuing to make Barrett look dominant, so it was a success.
Backstage we witnessed R-Truth stalking a paranoid Miz before his match with Sheamus, which ended as a no contest after The Miz ran off into the crowd. But unknown to him his old partner R-Truth was also in the audience waiting for him. The deranged Truth consulted with Little Jimmy about Miz and announced that Jimmy said that "you need to get got" to him. As Truth gave chase Sheamus halted Miz with a Brogue Kick and Truth once again smacked him in the head with a water bottle. R-Truth went back into the crowd and announced that this was another "weekly Miz beat down," I quite like the idea that he's going to torment Miz every week for revenge. It suits his unstable persona.
Dolph Ziggler defeated CM Punk (c) via count out in their WWE Championship bout. The match was a solid effort by both wrestlers and was filled with some nicely executed near falls towards the last third of the match up. For the finish CM Punk accidentally removed a turnbuckle pad as he held on to avoid the Zig Zag from Dolph. This cued John Laurinaitis to race out and inform the referee, thereby distracting him from seeing Punk make Ziggler tap to the Anaconda Vice. As the challenger decided to make the most of the distraction and attempt pounce on Punk, the champ reversed it and threw Dolph into Laurinaitis on the ropes. As Punk was then irish whipped into his direction, John Laurinaitis purposely held down the ropes causing Punk to land hard on the outside and give Ziggler the count out victory.
I can see this storyline leading to Laurinaitis eventually causing Ziggler to win the WWE Championship from CM Punk at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view. Although I don't envisage Ziggler's reign lasting all the way to WrestleMania.    
The Bella Twins defeated Kelly Kelly and Eve Torres in a usual forgettable Divas tag team match up. At least the superior Eve had more time in the ring then Kelly Kelly.
Backstage CM Punk expressed his anger at Laurinaitis for causing his loss against Ziggler and almost costing him the title. Laurinaitis informed Punk that due to Ziggler's win he will get another title shot at the Royal Rumble, and that he would be the special guest referee. Punk viciously warned the Interim General Manager of Raw that if he screws him out of the WWE Championship then he'll get done for animal cruelty because "I'm going to beat you like a bitch!" Which provoked a tremendous reaction from the crowd in Memphis, and many fans such as myself I'm sure. At least Laurinaitis has been showing a little more character lately, I'll give him that. 
Then, we finally had the answer to who was behind all the 'End of the World' vignettes that have been playing for weeks now. Now my guess was the Undertaker, it seemed like the most logical choice and the promos seemed to suit his style. But I was wrong. It was in fact the man who has been constantly refusing any association with WWE via Twitter for the last few weeks, Chris Jericho.Which understandably provoked a huge reaction. He continued to race around near the crowd, high-fiving people and then entered the ring with a mic, but dropped it and continued to scream and celebrate with the fans. Without saying a word to anyone he then made his way back up the ramp, and with a smile on his face just left. In my opinion I thought this was a brilliant idea. Rather then having him talk straight away, Jericho keeps us guessing as to why he didn't say anything. Is he a face as he first appeared or was it all a ruse to fool us fans? The rumours of a CM Punk versus Jericho match at Mania seems like a very likely possibility right now.      
Then we had the main event, the six-man elimination tag team match pitting John Cena, Big Show and Zach Ryder against Mark Henry, Jack Swagger and Kane.Unfortunately for Swagger and Henry, Kane didn't turn up. Big Show was first eliminated via disqualification after striking and taking out Henry with a steel chair. Cena then pinned glorified jobber Swagger after an Attitude Adjustment for the win. The match was pretty entertaining at parts, didn't really live up to the main event billing though.
Kane's music then hit so Cena decided to go down the ramp to greet 'The Big Red Monster'. But Kane had different ideas as he rose up from the middle of the ring and attacked Ryder. As Cena realised what had happened Kane struck him and once again choked him out. Kane continued his havoc as he went back into the ring and attempted to drag Ryder down with him through the hole he'd risen from, but Super Cena managed to just save Ryder and drag him out of Kane's grasp. For the final image of the show we witnessed fire rise up from the same hole. Keeping the red lighting and footage of fire on the tron was a nice touch for the segment. It was an effective ending to the show I thought, much better then the promo between Kane and Cena from the ending of last weeks Raw anyway.     
Overall Raw was decent. Jericho's return is very much welcome in my eyes, as we know Taker will be back in time for Mania anyway. I was originally disappointed that his return hadn't been left until the final part of the broadcast, but to be honest I feel they made the right choice by switching it with Kane's own opening to Hell.

My Raw, November 21st Recap

CM Punk kicked things off with a typically entertaining speech from the new WWE champion. He talked about how he wanted to once again make the title interesting and fun and how unlike most champions lately (including himself) he was going to keep hold of it for a long time. Just taking the title off of Del Rio has already made the title more interesting in my eyes. He also announced how he would like the current interim General Manager John Laurinaitis to become the "former Raw General Manager" due to how fake he comes across and how out of touch he is with the fans and what they want. The tediously dull Laurinaitis made an appearance and announced that he would face Dolph Ziggler that night and how rather then face Del Rio in a rematch for the title like Punk requested, that was going to be moved to next weeks Raw instead which Punk called "stupid." Which was due to the fact that it was unoriginal and that the fans clearly wanted to see Ryder face off against Ziggler for the US championship.  
Alberto Del Rio defeated Zach Ryder in a weird decision by WWE. Why have one of the most clearly popular wrestlers in the company beaten like this the night after he received a huge ovation at Survivor Series? They should be carrying on the momentum and pushing him further, but when have they done that with younger talent in recent years? The actual match was decent enough, Ryder was given a fair amount of offence but Del Rio was the predictable victor after making Ryder tap to his armbar.
Sheamus defeated Jack Swagger in a quite forgettable match that just felt like a repeat of all their previous bouts of recent weeks. Swagger deserves better then to be in this position in my opinion, at least when he was in a tag team with Ziggler he was relevant again.
Kevin Nash spoke more on the mic about his sledgehammer assault on Triple H and how 'The Game' had let him down. He also claimed that out of the original Kliq "the real survivor of that group, stands before you now!" Can't say I'm overly excited about seeing Nash back in the ring but the storyline has been executed well I feel and I can't help but want to know what happens next. I can also see Shawn Michaels appearing soon to confront Nash.
Cody Rhodes defeated Santino Marrella in a brief match up after he applied the Cross Rhodes and gained the one-two-three. Afterwards he confronted Booker T who had been guest announcing on the show due to Jerry Lawler's voice all but being gone (which made a nice change.) and threw a cup of water in his face. Looks like the rumours of a Booker T Cody Rhodes rivalry is definitely in the works. I'm looking forward to it myself, the in-form Rhodes deserves high calibre feuds at the moment and Booker returning to the ring should definitely prove popular.  
CM Punk defeated Dolph Ziggler in a entertaining enough bout after hitting him with the GTS. The match went back and fourth and once again Ziggler was allowed to look competitive against some main event level competition and looked like he belonged there too. The future is looking good for him I reckon.
Big Show claimed that at Survivor Series he proved that he was "better then the world's strongest man" and that when he returns from the leg injury that Show inflicted, he would be waiting for another World Heavyweight title shot. I was really hoping that they were going to end this feud after last night's pay per view, but it looks like we're going to have to endure it for another month at least.
Wade Barrett defeated Kofi Kingston in an decent enough effort, but nothing outstanding. During the bout Randy Orton came out and sat at ringside to witness the continuation of the 'Barrett Barrage' as Wade's calling it. After the win Barrett grabbed a mic and rubbed in the win as Orton was about to walk away, Orton threatened an attack but merely made Barrett flinch.
The goofy John Cena spoke about the match with The Rock the night before and basically buttered up his future WrestleMania opponent and the same man who had been constantly mocking him for months now and barely given him any credit at all. Same Cena character.
Awesome Truth came out to make it interesting and honestly told everyone that they weren't going to let Cena get away without admitting how The Rock had shown him up at Survivor Series and how the fans were totally against him, even chanting "don't tag Cena" to Rock at some points. R-Truth also mentioned how The Rock is going to destroy him at WrestleMania. Cena then nonsensically buried the two of them by saying how no one cared about them and how they weren't even considered a threat, even though the two of them get more cheers then Cena has in years. So once again we have Cena completely bury an act not only inside the ring but on the mic too. The management should carefully plan out every word he says in the future when discussing the up and coming talent who have potential in the company. He also stirred things up by saying how Miz really thinks R-Truth is stupid and how R-Truth believes The Miz to be "pompous" and "attention seeking." The two began to confront each other in the ring while Cena snuck away until Miz convinced Truth that Cena was trying to mess with them and how they could take him out together. But as they were leaving down the ramp Miz suddenly applied the Skull-Crushing Finale to Truth.
For me like many story lines this year WWE have just completely rushed the split of Miz and R-Truth. The tandem still had life in them and were one of the most entertaining things on Raw for the past few months. Plus it was another credible tag team for the company who sorely need them. I have faith that Truth could probably pull off turning face and the rivalry should be entertaining enough but there was just no need to start it this rapidly.