My WWE SmackDown, 15th August 2013 Recap

Bray Wyatt, accompanied by his 'brothers' Luke Harper and Erick Rowan, gave another intriguing promo where he spoke about the apparent life of a young Kane who was bullied at school for being different. He then turned his attention to their Ring of Fire match at SummerSlam, stating that he looked forward to it. 

Kane himself then snuck up on the trio after tricking them with his trademark entrance fire and began to tangle with Wyatt after chucking his associates out of the ring. But the numbers soon caught up to 'The Big Red Machine' who was eventually taken out by the Wyatt family, with Bray finally hitting him with the Sister Abigail (love the mysterious name of that finisher). It was a decent segment to kick things off, with Wyatt still as entertaining as ever. 

Christian pinned Damien Sandow in a fair outing. Unfortunately they weren't given enough time to really leave their mark, but it was enjoyable enough. Afterwards Christian thwarted an attack from an upset Sandow with a spear, and then did the same to Alberto Del Rio as he reversed an arm breaker attempt into a Killswitch. 

AJ Lee and Layla bested Kaitlyn and Natalya in a passable tag bout. To be fair it was certainly above average for most Diva contests you receive nowadays, with good efforts especially from Natalya and Kaitlyn. For the finish Layla kicked Kaitlyn's leg before leaving the ring, allowing AJ to apply a Shining Wizard for the victory.

Rob Van Dam, Big Show and Mark Henry defeated The Shield (Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns) in a solid six-man tag encounter. It was one of the better six-man matches The Shield have had since around WrestleMania time, with every wrestler putting in a good display.  

The Miz beat Jack Swagger in a pretty unremarkable affair. Both men did fine, the match was just lacking in any real excitement or interest. Miz rolled up a distracted Swagger for the winning pinfall after the referee had told Zeb Colter and Antonio Cesaro to leave ringside.

Curtis Axel pinned Zack Ryder in a fine contest. There was nothing outstanding to be found here but it was a fun watch still, worth a look. Afterwards Axel's manager Paul Heyman grabbed a mic and admitted that CM Punk outsmarted himself and Brock Lesnar on this past Monday's Raw, but he'd have his revenge in the form of Lesnar beating him this Sunday.

Daniel Bryan defeated Wade Barrett in a No Disqualification Match. And what a lively main event this was. As Bryan had Barrett on the ropes (not literally) Vince McMahon strolled on down and distracted Bryan, allowing Barrett to get back into the match.

McMahon also decided to drag the referee out of the ring when Bryan latched on the Yes Lock on his foe, and then called down Brad Maddox to officiate the bout instead. But Maddox's time was fairly short lived as he was accidentally struck by Barrett later on. Towards the end Triple H marched down and counted Bryan's winning pin after striking with a diving headbutt before McMahon was about to enter the ring with a ref's top himself. It was a stellar end to the show I felt, with a memorable finale and an exciting match up. Good way to enter SummerSlam.

Overall it was a fun show for the most part, with a couple of strong match ups and the rest being decent enough, but nothing bad to speak of. My highlights were Wyatt's promo, the six-man tag bout and the main event. Now onto SummerSlam! Which has a pretty strong card, should be good.

My WWE Raw, 29th July 2013 Recap

Bryan proving his popularity with the fans. Photo credit: WWE.com

Vince McMahon, accompanied by Raw GM Brad Maddox, kicked off the show by admitting that Maddox might've been onto something last week when he referred to Bryan as a "troll." Daniel Bryan himself then came out and accused Maddox of simply following orders from McMahon and repeating his own words. The COO retorted by claiming that Cena only chose to face Bryan at SummerSlam because he saw him as an easy challenger to the WWE Title, and that he'd manipulated him and all the fans.

McMahon went on to state that there was no way he could dethrone Cena and that it would be an embarrassment to the company if he did, but he'd also had enough of the champ who he felt walked around like he owned the place. Bryan responded by using McMahon's own words and telling him that it didn't matter what he thought but instead what the fans thought, who he received a resounding "Yes!" chant from when he asked if they wanted to see a new WWE Champion. It was an entertaining segment to open Raw.

The Shield (Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns) defeated The Usos and Mark Henry in an enjoyable enough six-man tag contest. Like the majority of Shield matches it was worth a watch (although far from their best) with fair displays from all involved. Afterwards Henry continued to assault his new foes and threw the trio out of the ring.

We witnessed footage from earlier in the day where Ryback began picking on an unknown member of staff as they were grabbing some food, claiming that they looked like they were about to say something and slapping some food into their face. Ryback eventually put them through a table, hyping up his Tables Match with Cena later on. 

Rob Van Dam won via count out versus Fandango in a fun outing. RVD was on good form once again, and Fandango hit a few nicely executed moves himself too. The count out occurred after Fandango had enough and decided the match wasn't worth it and walked off with Summer Rae. 

Kaitlyn pinned AJ Lee in a pretty average bout that went on a bit longer than necessary. Most of the match was fine, if unremarkable, but unfortunately the final third of it began to drag, with the fans pretty indifferent to the whole thing. Kaitlyn gained the one-two-three after applying an uncharacteristically clumsy spear. Dolph Ziggler then joined them, congratulating AJ on her loss and challenging Big E Langston to a match right there and then.

Dolph Ziggler won via disqualification versus Big E Langston in a rather forgettable affair. Both men looked all right, nothing special to be fair. Unfortunately the match up just never engaged me. The DQ happened when AJ ran into the ring and began viciously clawing at her ex Ziggler. 

Christian bested Alberto Del Rio in a stellar contest for the most part. There were a few slight hiccups that let it down a bit but not enough to really spoil it for me. These two talents as usual delivered worthy displays in-between the ropes, with Christian finally catching the World Champion out with a quick roll up for the winning pinfall. 

Cody Rhodes beat Wade Barrett in a largely lacklustre outing. Neither wrestler gave a bad performance, but the match up never gave us much excitement until the final few minutes when Cody struck with a moonsault and nicely reversed a pumphandle slam attempt into a Cross Rhodes for the victory. 

Damien Sandow then stormed out and berated Rhodes for chucking his Money in the Bank briefcase into the Gulf of Mexico on last week's SmackDown, and went on to call his former tag partner's family a bunch of clowns, saying that "carnie folk are beneath my constitution."

Daniel Bryan defeated Kane in a decent back and fourth effort. It's worth a watch, just don't expect anything too incredible here. Bryan managed to reverse a Chokeslam to catch Kane in the winning small package. A furious Kane Chokeslammed Bryan after, and was shortly joined by Bray Wyatt and his 'family' Luke Harper and Erick Rowan who once again took him out.

Brie Bella pinned Natalya in a mediocre and unmemorable bout. Natalya did quite well considering what she had to work with. During the match Nikki Bella came out and distracted Natalya by making duck noises (backstage earlier they'd referred to her as an "ugly duckling") which of course cost her the match as Brie managed to grab the win with a roll up.

Curtis Axel versus R-Truth ended in a no contest after CM Punk came racing down and began attacking the IC Champion. Punk then turned his attention to his real target Paul Heyman, who managed to make a getaway after his client held off Punk long enough. The match itself was short, but was enjoyable enough while it lasted.

John Cena beat Ryback in a Tables Match. It was an entertaining main event. As standard when these two meet it was fun, just don't expect anything technically amazing. Cena managed to AA Ryback through a table propped up in the corner for the win. Bryan then came down and was about to hand over the WWE Title belt but instead teased him with it until an angry Cena snatched it back. There was a nice intense moment between the two, and I'm still just as excited about their title match next month. 

Overall it was a pretty average Raw, with most matches failing to be anything more than fair. The opening segment, RVD versus Fandango, Christian versus Del Rio, Bryan versus Kane and the main event were my highlights. Unfortunately there were also no more matches announced for SummerSlam, I can only presume that McMahon and Triple will have some kind of match (or representatives) with their positions on the line or something like that. 

My WWE Raw, 10th June 2013 Recap

I wonder how many other wrestlers on the roster could do that? Photo credit: WWE.com

Curtis Axel won via disqualification versus Triple H after Vince McMahon strolled down and called for the bell to be rung. But 'The Game' wasn't having that as he then restarted the bout, much to the disappointment of Axel and Paul Heyman. But once again Triple H's Father-in-law came back out and this time had Axel announced as the winner via forfeit.

So Trips stormed out of the ring and had Justin Roberts announce that the two would compete in a sixty-minute Iron Man match, but Vince wouldn't be having it and took the bell and told Axel to leave the ring. Backstage Stephanie McMahon begged her husband not to get physical with her much elder Father, so Triple H agreed if she went to talk to him.

Kane won via DQ versus Dean Ambrose in a fair encounter. I have no major issues with the match, both men gave worthy displays as they went back and fourth but it felt like there was that bit of excitement missing from it to really gain my interest.

The DQ occurred after Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns ran in and attacked Kane. Daniel Bryan and Randy Orton then evened the odds and helped chase off The Shield. After Bryan and Orton argued backstage over their altercation on last week's SmackDown (Orton RKO'd Bryan after he'd accidentally dropkicked him) with Kane trying to calm them down, Vickie Guerrero informed them that at Payback Orton and Bryan will compete for the tag titles while Kane will challenge for the US Title. After Orton and Bryan went off in a huff, an appreciative Kane gave Vickie a hug. It was a decent segment, and I'm personally enjoying this slow burning feud between Orton and Bryan.

The Miz defeated Cody Rhodes in a passable contest. Both men worked well together and provided nice sequences here. Admittedly it wasn't a particularly memorable match up but it was better than I was expecting.

As the Intercontinental Champion Wade Barrett (who'd provided guest commentary) was about to capitalise on Miz's leg injury afterwards, Paul Heyman came out and announced that this Sunday his client Curtis Axel will join them in making it a Triple Threat for the IC strap,  replacing Fandango after he suffered a concussion at last week's SmackDown taping. I think it's safe to say we'll be seeing Axel with the title this time next week. 

Chris Jericho claimed that out of all the great pro wrestlers he's faced in WWE, his opponent at Payback CM Punk was the one that brought out the best in him. While I'm a fan of both their previous pay-per-view outings, I would've said that Jericho has definitely had superior matches against the likes of Rey Mysterio, The Rock, Shawn Michaels (my personal favourite feud Y2J's ever had) and more.  

World Champion Dolph Ziggler then made his Raw return after suffering a concussion last month, and spoke about how close he was to having his strap taken away from him. In response Jericho challenged him to a match to shake off the ring rust, so Ziggler accepted, but with Big E Langston in his place.

Chris Jericho pinned Big E Langston in a largely average affair. Unfortunately more than a few sloppy moments hindered the match for me, although it picked up a bit towards the end. Alberto Del Rio decided to get some payback (no pun intended) by pushing his future opponent Ziggler into the ringside form behind (which seemed a bit cowardly and heel-like I thought). This caused Big E to become distracted and finally Codebreakered by Jericho for the one-two-three.

Antonio Cesaro bested Sin Cara in an enjoyable bout. Sin Cara and Cesaro managed to compliment each others styles and made it work well, and when Sin Cara comes across an opponent like that then we usually get something worth checking out, but unfortunately that's a rare occasion. 

Randy Orton versus Roman Reigns ended in a no contest after both Bryan and Rollins interfered. The match itself had been a fair one, there was nothing remarkable about it but Orton gave a solid enough performance. How many DQ's and no contests are WWE throwing out at the moment?

Daniel Bryan pinned Seth Rollins in a tremendous back and fourth encounter. I've already gone on and on about Bryan's great form as of late so I won't again, but he and Rollins really worked hard here and provided a thoroughly engaging match, with stellar wrestling and an electric crowd behind Bryan. For the finish Orton managed to swipe Reigns from ringside as he was about to attack Bryan, allowing the victor to catch Rollins in a small package for the win. Afterwards Bryan and Orton seemed to put their differences aside, for now...

Big E Langston came out and revealed to Kaitlyn that he was her secret admirer, but as he then went to kiss her it was all revealed to be a ruse as he dropped the Divas Champion and AJ Lee skipped out and stated that she was behind it all.

AJ claimed that she wanted Kaitlyn to feel low and worthless like she did when she'd "abandoned" her after failed relationships with Punk, Bryan and Cena, and that she was finally going to take away her title belt at Payback. After having enough (I'm surprised it took her so long) Kaitlyn lashed out on her former best friend. It was some nice mic work from AJ here, and at least we're getting a Divas feud with some substance behind it.  

Damien Sandow beat R-Truth in a pedestrian contest. I was struggling with the urge not to fast forward here to be honest, it was just pretty drab for me, with uninspiring action. Afterwards Sheamus came out and after congratulating Sandow, warned him that in the Payback Kickoff match they'll have he felt it perfect to kick off his head. See what he did there?

In an office backstage Stephanie managed to get Vince and Triple H together to figure things out. After some heated exchanges they then began to see each other's point of view, with Vince liking the idea of Axel versus his son-in-law and Triple H agreeing with Vince that he was probably bigger than a match with Heyman's client and didn't need to prove anything in the ring. So after a bit more arguing Stephanie returned and convinced everyone to have a group hug. I'm not sure even they know where they're heading with this storyline right now.

Rather than enter the ring for the booked 'Face to Face' with lumberjacks surrounding them, Ryback decided to stand on the stage away from John Cena, claiming it was for the champ's own safety. Ryback then went on to say that Cena never helped him against Shield attacks because he saw him as a threat to his position in the company.

Cena of course denied this and decided that enough was enough and attempted to chase his rival but was pushed back into the ring each time by the lumberjacks. This allowed Ryback to race into the ring and the two began brawling until the other wrestlers managed to seperate them. It was a decent and exciting end to the show, with nice work from Ryback on the mic I thought.

Overall it was an enjoyable show for the most part, with only a few quite forgettable or sloppy match ups letting it down a bit. My highlights were the opening and ending segments, Cesaro versus Sin Cara and the tremendous Rollins versus Bryan contest. And most importantly it had a strong finish heading into a PPV, something we haven't always seen from WWE this year on Raw.  

My WWE Raw, 3rd June 2013 Recap

Bryan out to prove he's not the weak link. Photo credit: WWE.com

Stephanie McMahon started the show off by announcing that she was cancelling her husband Triple H's booked match against Curtis Axel that night due to concerns over his health issues after he suffered a storyline concussion a couple of weeks back. She also asked that the fans not be so "selfish" and understand her point of view. 

Vince McMahon then joined his daughter and concurred her feelings, berating the fans for wanting to see 'The Game' pushed too far and suffer even more. Could either of these two have possibly drugged Triple H before his match with Axel in an attempt to stop him from competing further? it's a possibility, but I'd rather it was someone with an in-ring future in the company and something more to gain from the storyline. 

The Shield (Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns) defeated Team Hell No (Daniel Bryan & Kane) and Randy Orton in a solid six-man tag bout. As usual Shield were involved in a highly enjoyable match up, with consistently stellar wrestling from every man involved. Daniel Bryan was the top performer though, as has been the case with every tag match he's been involved in over the last few weeks.

Backstage an intense and upset Bryan argued with Orton and Kane, screaming that they both believed that he was the weak link and that he was going to find an opponent and earn their respect. 

Triple H stormed into his Father-in-law's office and told Vince and Stephanie that he would be proceeding with his match that night, no matter what. After a face off with Vince, who urged 'The Game' to think things through, he was then left with his wife.

Jimmy and Jay Uso bested The Prime Time Players (Darren Young & Titus O'Neil) in a rather pedestrian tag contest. There was nothing memorable to take away from this to be honest, while none of the action was bad it was all just pretty unremarkable.

Alberto Del Rio pinned Big E Langston in a fair encounter. It was enjoyable at parts, but I won't be in a rush to watch it again. Hopefully now after a fifth straight televised match these two will get a break from each other for a bit.

Sheamus beat Cody Rhodes in a decent outing. Both men gave worthy efforts here, providing a fun watch as they went back and fourth.  Afterwards Sheamus extended his hand to Damien Sandow (who'd provided guest commentary) but the 'Intellectual Saviour' refused to shake it, so the Irishman responded by slapping him in the head.

An irate Triple H decided to leave the arena, due to his urge to want to take on his Father-in-law. But he informed Stephanie that he'll be on Raw next week and he'll be in the ring facing Axel.

Daniel Bryan came across Ryback backstage, and challenged him to a match after Ryback mocked his size and bragged about taking out Kofi Kingston on last week's SmackDown. 

The Great Khali beat Fandango via count out after the ballroom dancer decided he'd had enough and left. But as he made his way down the ramp The Miz blocked his path, only to then receive a Bull Hammer to the face by a lurking Wade Barrett. I was quite relieved when Fandango left actually, the match had been very mediocre.

The Miz defeated Wade Barrett in a passable, if unremarkable affair. As usual both men were capable enough in the ring, but I failed to find the interest. Miz caught Barrett in a figure four leglock after Fandango distracted the Intercontinental Champion by making his way out again.

Jerry Lawler introduced both Chris Jericho and Paul Heyman for the Payback contract signing for CM Punk versus Jericho. After signing for his client, Heyman asked y2J if he was really ready to face the 'Best in the World' in his hometown of Chicago next Sunday, reminding him of his huge hometown advantage and list of accomplishments. So Jericho responded by mockingly suggesting other places to hold the match, then just signed anyway, claiming that it didn't matter where their bout took place Punk would still be a "jackass." 

Jericho then rolled up the contract and asked Heyman to stand up, placing it in his pants before leaving. Like last week it was another entertaining segment between these two, with strong mic skills as expected. 

Kaitlyn, Naomi and Cameron bested AJ Lee, Nikki and Brie Bella in a largely average tag bout. To be fair it was passable for the current standard of the Divas division of today.

Daniel Bryan won via disqualification versus Ryback in an exciting contest once it got going. Once again Bryan managed to help the limited Ryback to one of his most enjoyable one on one matches so far. The start was fairly drab really, but when Bryan picked up the pace the intensity grew and it was very engaging as he put everything into trying to take down the beast.

The DQ came when Ryback decided enough was enough and put Bryan through a table to send a message to John Cena, who then came running out to prevent Ryback from putting him through a second one.

Curtis Axel won via count out versus John Cena in a No Disqualification match after Ryback came back out and charged the champ through a table on the outside. The match itself was a bit of a mixed bag, there were some nice periods involving Axel's offense (especially a nice running one-armed swinging neckbreaker onto a chair) but unfortunately we had to also suffer the usual standard of selling from Cena e.g. being cracked on the head with a tablet a few times but then immediately hoisting Axel up for an AA. To be honest it wasn't great, but it wasn't terrible either, and at least Axel gained the win.

Overall it was a fair Raw, with the six-man tag bout, Sheamus versus Rhodes, Bryan versus Ryback and the Heyman and Jericho contract signing segment being my highlights. Outside of those moments it was pretty unremarkable, with match ups ranging from average to passable. At least the Triple H concussion storyline advanced a little too, although now I'm worried it'll turn out to be Stephanie and Vince who drugged him, which I don't really see the point or advantage of. 

My WWE Raw, 28th January 2013 Recap

The beast looks over his work. Photo credit: WWE.com

Vickie Guerrero kicked off the themed Raw Roulette night in Las Vegas by spinning the wheel and revealing that Randy Orton versus Antonio Cesaro later on would be a Special Guest Referee match.

A furious CM Punk rushed out, pushing over officials and telling the cameraman to get out of his way. He claimed that he got "screwed" the previous night at the Royal Rumble against The Rock, calling him a cheat for needing outside help and berating Vince McMahon for trying to screw him over.

McMahon himself then joined Punk and revealed that he had video footage supposedly proving the former-champ's involvement  with The Shield, warning Heyman that he'll be seeing him later on for a "performance review."

Randy Orton defeated Antonio Cesaro with The Miz as the special guest referee in what was a solid encounter. Both men gave stellar displays and rarely (if ever, actually) put a foot wrong. My only slight gripe with the bout (and I feel picky typing it considering the efforts they put in) was that I reckon a heel referee should've been picked (Brad Maddox would've made sense considering his involvement with Orton in the past) to aid Cesaro in a win here, he would've benefitted more from one. 

For the finish Miz and Cesaro predictably began having an argument after the US Champion out his hands on the ref, which gave Orton a chance to then sneak up from behind and apply an RKO for the one-two-three. For good measure Miz then attacked cesaro with a Skull Crushing Finale.

After another spin of the wheel, Ryback had to face the Prime Time Players (Darren Young and Titus O'Neil) in a 'Make Me Laugh Challenge'. After a lame joke from the PTP, Ryback had enough and chased off Young before Shell-Shocking O'Neil. The crowd seemed to enjoy it, and Matt Stryker too who awarded Ryback the win. So as a sign of gratitude Ryback then also Shell-Shocked Stryker, which went down very well with the commentators. 

Wade Barrett received the 'Player's Choice' from the roulette wheel, which meant he could choose any opponent he wanted, so he chose NXT wrestler Bo Dallas who eliminated him in the Royal Rumble match.

Bo Dallas pinned Wade Barrett in an average bout. Barrett dominated for the most part, until Dallas managed to turn a Bull Hammer Elbow attempt into the winning pinfall through a slam. Dallas wouldn't have been the talent from NXT I would've personally picked to move up, but it's a positive sign that they're taking chances on these up and coming talents. 

John Cena beat Cody Rhodes in a worthless squash match. This did absolutely nothing for Rhodes except bury him, and all we got from Cena was his usual old routine. They could've at least used a more lower down talent such as Slater to take the fall here. Rhodes got Cena after picking him via the roulette wheel.

Afterwards Cena debated whether or not to choose the WWE or World Heavyweight Championship to challenge for at WrestleMania after winning the Rumble match. He then pretty much buried the World Championship by foolishly claiming that he would have better odds at winning that than the WWE Title, which just damages the image of that strap that Del Rio holds. Finally he stated that on April 7th at 'Mania he will challenge either CM Punk or The rock for the WWE Championship.

Cena was then taken out by The Shield (Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns). Ryback and Sheamus attempted to help out but both fell victims to the trio who managed to keep them all down. Smart move here I thought, keeps the three looking strong. Although I'm dreading a potential match with Cena which could only damage their image.

In a bizarre segment, Brodus Clay and Tensai competed in a Dance Off. Unfortunately for Tensai he wasn't informed that the challenge had changed from a Lingerie Pillow Fight, so he was still wearing some unsuitable ladies garments under his robe. After being convinced from Lawler and Clay, he decided to give the dance contest a go anyway and got into it, with the fans also enjoying it. Ron Simmons was then shown watching this all backstage, with his extremely appropriate "Damn." I have to be honest, I did have to chuckle a bit at this, and who knows? Maybe Tensai has a future as a face and in a possible team with Clay? That could help rejuvenate both of their careers.  

In what was meant to be a Body Slam Challenge between Big Show and Alberto Del Rio turned into a beat down from Show as he taped up Del Rio's hand to the rope and slowly took out his ring announcer and friend Ricardo Rodriguez in front of him. Eventually the giant then took out the World Champion with a KO punch.

Kaitlyn versus Tamina in a Lumberjill match ended in a no contest after all the lumberjills ran in and began brawling. It was pretty much a waste of time from start to finish. It failed to enhance any Divas or provide any remore entertainment. Pure filler just for the sake of using the Divas Champion.

The new WWE Champion The Rock came out and thanked the fans for their support, and claimed that the "crap days" of Punk's title reign were finally over. Soon CM Punk joined 'The Great One' and stated that Rock was handed the title like everything else in his life and demanded that he hand it back to him, the rightful title holder before he tarnishes it anymore.

Punk then said he'd grant Rock their championship rematch and began to list off dates of various live shows he has over the next week, clearly taking a personal jab at the 'People's Champion' for his part-time appearance schedule compared to how many hours Punk puts in. There have been various rumours of CM Punk's bitterness towards dropping the strap to Johnson considering how hard he's worked in comparison to him over the last year (and plus) for WWE. But in the end the former champ decided on Elimination Chamber in a few weeks time for their rematch, walking away before The Rock had even finished up. Real emotions in a feud always make it that bit more interesting.

Sheamus bested Damien Sandow in a Tables match. It was a fair outing, with worthy if unspectacular efforts from both men. It's certainly watchable anyway and worth checking out, but just don't expect too much. Sheamus drove Sandow into a table with a nice White Noise for the win.

As The Great Khali got underway in a karaoke contest with Zack Ryder, trying his best at Shawn Michaels' theme song (it was bad, on every level) 3MB (Heath Slater, Drew McIntyre and Jinder Mahal) interrupted and claimed to be the real rockstars of the WWE. Khali and Ryder responded by taking out the trio.

Chris Jericho came out to a healthy response and thanked his fans for their great reaction when he made his surprise entrance in the Royal Rumble the previous night. Dolph Ziggler, as usual accompanied by AJ Lee and Big E Langston, then joined Y2J and asked him what he was doing on the show, reminding him that he was the one that got him fired in a match last year on Raw. Vickie Guerrero answered that on the big screen by informing 'Ziggy' that she'd signed him back, then spun the roulette wheel to reveal that they'd have to compete in a Strange Bedfellows match, where they'd have to team together.

Team Hell No (Daniel Bryan and Kane) beat Dolph Ziggler and Chris Jericho in a disappointing tag bout. Considering the talent I was expecting a far more exciting contest. Unfortunately they didn't have enough time allocated, which seems absurd considering the time they'd wasted on other segments during the show, and with both teams arguing with each other we didn't get enough decent action. Kane chokeslammed Ziggler for the winning pin after Jericho had slapped Kane on the back and snuck away. 

Trish Stratus was then announced as the next inductee into the WWE Hall of Fame. As my personal favourite ever female performer I was obviously a big fan of this announcement. Along with Foley I'm very much looking forward to the HOF Ceremony this year at Madison Square Garden.

Vince McMahon called out Paul Heyman, informing him that CM Punk had been escorted from the building so he was on his own. The Chairman asked Heyman once again if he had been involved with The Shield or Brad Maddox, and Heyman simply answered "No." But he did admit that he had lied plenty during his life as a promotor.

McMahon then presented some backstage footage secretly filmed a few weeks ago of Heyman talking to Brad Maddox about paying him and The Shield to help out Punk in various title defenses. With him eventually having Shield attack Maddox after all his pestering. Heyman tried to convince Vince that it was an impersonator in the video, but he wasn't having any of it and was about to fire Heyman when Brock Lesnar made his return.

Lesnar slowly made his way to the ring where he warned a hysterical Heyman back and went face to face with McMahon, finally F5'ing the Chairman. I wasn't expecting Brock back just yet but I'll take it, his segments and matches since coming back last year have been superb. I'm guessing this will be the start of his much rumoured rematch with Triple H.

It was a real mixed bag of a show this week, with a fair few memorable moments which is always a good sign. Unfortunately most match ups were unremarkable and a waste of time, especially Cena versus Rhodes and the Divas contest, plus the karaoke and dance off challenges should've been cut in favour of something half decent. Jericho and Ziggler's tag match with Team Hell No was also disappointing.

On the plus side the CM Punk and Rock promos were stellar, we finally had the Maddox and Shield involvement with Punk and Heyman brought out in the open, Stratus announced as a HOF inductee was a nice announcement, Tensai showed promise as a face and of course we had the momentous return of Brock Lesnar. The road to WrestleMania is really underway now. 

My WWE Raw, 3rd December 2012 Recap

Ryback finally gets some payback on Punk. Photo credit: WWE.com

The ever popular Team Hell No came to the ring and challenged The Shield, who were looking on safely from a box in the arena, to come down to the ring for some retribution after their attack on them from last week. Of course Ambrose, Reigns and Rollins remained where they were.

Team Hell No (Daniel Bryan & Kane) defeated the Prime Time Players (Darren Young & Titus O'Neil) in a fair match up. The action was solid and enjoyable enough, but nothing outstanding. Throughout the bout the three members of The Shield slowly made their way through the crowd and once the bell had rung then ran in and took out both Bryan and Kane. It was a nice touch having the impending attack slowly build up to create a little tension, but one big flaw for me was the lack of security, why weren't there any there to at least attempt to apprehend the trio? Otherwise it was an exciting start to the show.

In an awful cut we then went straight from that assault on the Tag Team Champions to Sheamus and John Cena joking about backstage (I use the term 'joking' lightly as it's rare anything Cena says is actually humorous to anyone over the age of five). Why couldn't they have left this segment for a little later? It watered down the effects of the previous attack. 

AJ Lee bested Tamina in a passable Divas bout, for todays standards anyway. As expected the powerful Tamina dominated AJ for the most part, with AJ gaining the win with a quick roll up as her opponent was about to go for the Superfly Splash. It wasn't anything that memorable but it at least gave us something a little different from the female performers.  

Paul Heyman, accompanying WWE Champion CM Punk, explained that while he felt that the newly released WWE Encyclopedia didn't have enough information on his client, it did however reveal that after tonight he will have overtaken John Cena's 380-day title reign to become the longest reigning WWE Champion of the modern era. A huge statistic. CM Punk then as standard complained about the poor treatment he's receiving by having to defend his strap against Ryback once again at TLC.

He also went to claim that he was the sole reason people tuned into every "dismal three hour Monday night Raws" which is actually not far from the truth at all, without him Raw would be far, far poorer right now. He then went on to call himself the "hottest thing in WWE" right now, which again was a very honest statement from the champ.

The Miz decided to then join both men and called Punk a liar for denying his involvement with Brad Maddox and The Shield, and challenged him to come on 'Miz TV' and take a lie detector test. After some convincing Punk agreed to do the test, stating that afterwards everyone will have to admit how good he is. It was as usual with Punk and Heyman a brilliant segment, and Miz was also on very good form on the mic. 

John Cena and Sheamus beat Dolph Ziggler and Big Show in a mixed bag of a tag team contest. The efforts of Ziggler and Sheamus can't be faulted, and even Show when he was taking on the Irishman in the best part of the match, unfortunately Cena's time in the ring let it down and was just pretty drab with his usual stale routine. Cena for the second week in a row pinned Dolph for the victory.

Why did they even bother having Ziggler win the MITB contract? They don't seem to have any real motivation to actually push the guy. Even after tackling Cena through the bathroom cubicle two weeks ago, we had Cena return the very next week ready for action. They could have at least kept him off TV for a little while to sell it some more and have Dolph brag about taking him out and get a few wins under his belt leading to Cena's return. It would've done far more for him I reckon.

Damien Sandow just like on last weeks SmackDown challenged a member of the audience to answer three questions, and if all are answered correctly then they would become his apprentice. And once again the third question stumped the fan and they failed the challenge. It was another amusing segment with the charismatic Sandow, and quickly becoming a highlight for me. Santino Marella then joined the 'Intellectual saviour of the masses' and mocked him before receiving a punch in the face for doing so.

Damien Sandow defeated Santino Marella in a rather pedestrian match up. Santino performed his signature comedy routine while Sandow gave a fair display. More of a filler match.

Brad Maddox convinced Vickie Guerrero backstage to give him another chance at earning a WWE contract by competing in a match against an unknown opponent. Maddox showed some character here with his smug attitude.

Alberto Del Rio bested Sin Cara in an enjoyable outing. Both men gave good displays here, with exciting lucha action executed nicely (for the most part). When Sin Cara is put in the ring with someone he's compatible with then he can provide entertaining wrestling.

Vince McMahon convinced Vickie Guerrero to book Cena versus Ziggler at TLC in a Ladder match, with Dolph's MITB contract on the line. He also convinced her to put Paul Heyman in a match with Ryback next week if CM Punk fails his lie detector test later on. It was a poor segment, and just felt awkward.

Randy Orton beat Brad Maddox in a brief squash match. So much for Maddox's latest attempt to earn a contract. Afterwards The Shield revealed their latest victim as Orton as they took him out and applied their signature three-man powerbomb.

Antonio Cesaro (c) defeated Kofi Kingston, R-Truth and Wade Barrett to retain the United States Championship in a Fatal Four Way match. After an awkward a fairly sloppy start the bout started to pick up in quality and all four men delivered a fun title contest. The excitement peaked at the end where everyone came close to winning the strap, but Cesaro managed to apply the Neutralizer to Kofi for the one-two-three. 

As CM Punk was being set up for his lie detector test on 'Miz TV' him and Miz amusingly started bickering, which included Punk telling Miz to go "back to wrestling school, jerk." As Punk answered a few basic questions, including one where Miz brought up the fact that he main evented WrestleMania XXVII which got the champ a bit upset, he was finally asked if he was involved with The Shield and Brad Maddox. CM Punk stalled, and then The Shield ran in and took out Miz and all the equipment and set.

Daniel Bryan and Kane then decided to get some payback and with the aid of Ryback managed to scare off  Ambrose, Reigns and Rollins. A cocky Punk then kicked Miz out of the ring and turned to face his TLC foe Ryback, who then struck the World Champion with a ladder and chair, then put him through a table. For the first time in a little while Ryback ended on top.

Overall Raw ranged from mediocre to quite entertaining, with CM Punk and Heyman's promo with Miz, the Fatal Four Way, Del Rio vs Sin Cara bout and Damian Sandow's segment being the highlights. Unfortunately the McMahon and Vickie Guerrero part was really quite bad, and most match ups were fairly unmemorable and average. Fortunately we didn't have to endure any more of the tedious AJ/Cena scandal nonsense, so that's one plus I guess. 

My WWE Raw, 22nd October 2012 Recap

Photo credit: WWE.com

Team Rhodes Scholars defeated Rey Mysterio and Sin Cara to earn a tag team title shot at Hell in a Cell. The match was enjoyable for the most part, with a few sloppy moments here and there but not enough to spoil it. The finish was very nicely executed too, with Mysterio almost grabbing the winning pin after a top rope body splash onto Rhodes. Throughout the crowd seemed split with their loyalty for both teams. 

Afterwards Daniel Bryan and Kane congratulated Sandow and Rhodes, but also warned them that they had no chance in beating them this Sunday. As far as their usual promos go, this was sub par for the charismatic duo.

Kofi Kingston beat Michael McGillicutty in a fair bout. It's a nice change seeing McGillicutty on Raw, I really think he has more to offer if given the chance. The action throughout was hard to fault to be honest, unfortunately you could only see one outcome so the excitement was drained a bit.

John Cena came out and once again promoted the number one contender to the WWE Championship Ryback in a attempt to help win him over with the fans. As he went on to claim that at HIAC the face of the WWE will change, CM Punk joined Cena. The champ claimed that Cena's speech was predictable, and named him the personal cheerleader for Ryback. Cena responded by announcing that he was now medically cleared and challenged Punk to a fight, so he came to the ring, but as any typical heel does he soon turned around and left. Cena's dancing around the ring and fake shadow boxing looked embarrassing. It wasn't the best segment considering the roll CM Punk's been on recently.

Justin Gabriel bested Antonio Cesaro in a worthy enough effort from both men. The action was passable as it played before an indifferent crowd, where some of the minority chanted "Boring" and "We want Ryder" which I felt was unfair treatment for these two and the bout. The ending was the only big downfall as they had to sloppily recover the ending sequence from the top rope. Michael Cole rightfully rammed down out ears how important a win this was for Gabriel, which it was.

Vince McMahon accompanied Raw GM AJ Lee out to the ring, where she announced that due to allegations of her fraternising with a certain talent she was forced to resign as General Manager. The fans in New York weren't happy with the decision. She went on to give an emotional speech on how she grew up with hard beginnings, and managed to become the boss of Raw, and thanked the fans for accepting her.

Paul Heyman then joined her and Vince, and suggested to the Chairman of the Board that he be the new General Manager. The fans liked the offer, and so did I, but unfortunately McMahon turned him down and named Vickie Guerrero the new  managing supervisor of Raw, not the permanent GM. Heyman attempted to persuade Vickie to reverse the decision McMahon made last week when he chose CM Punk's opponent for HIAC, but she wasn't having any of it and waved him off. She then went on to book Sheamus versus CM Punk in the main event. Heyman threw a hissy fit and left. 

Guerrero then turned her attention to AJ, and explained why she is superior to her. She also then claimed that AJ had an affair with an unnamed talent according to the allegation from the Board of Directors. In response AJ attacked Vickie in an awful looking brawl that went on for too long. It wasn't a bad segment, Heyman was the clear highlight on the mic, which is hardly a surprise.

Ryback defeated The Miz in an average contest. It was just pretty unmemorable and sub par as Ryback dominated Miz for the most part, who certainly didn't look like a former WrestleMania main eventer here. 

Backstage Kaitlyn confronted Eve regarding a mysterious email she had on her iPad that's linked to her attack from behind at Night of Champions. Eve retorted with a slap to Kaitlyn's face and the two began brawling until Layla forced Kaitlyn away, only to be pushed by Eve so she began also attack the Divas Champion. I'm just hoping they get this storyline over soon, it's dragging now.

Dolph Ziggler defeated Daniel Bryan in the brilliant match of the night. Both men put in terrific displays as they battled back and fourth, with exciting and crisp action. I was expecting an enjoyable bout here, but it was better than I'd predicted. During the contest Kane came down to support his tag partner by getting some "Yes!" chants going, but this annoyed Bryan who as then caught out with a Zig Zag by Ziggler from the second rope for the winning pinfall. On his way out Bryan also received the biggest ovation of the show.

Afterwards the Tag Team Champions argued, until Matt Stryker joined them and announced on behalf of Vickie Guerrero that both men will compete in a therapeutic game show against Team Rhodes Scholars. Unfortunately Rhodes and Sandow refused to compete in something so beneath them, and left. Amusingly Daniel Bryan happily celebrated a win via forfeit. A smug Stryker then left the ring, and once within a safe distance claimed that he hopes Team Hell No loose on Sunday. But Big Show didn't care, and tossed Stryker across the stage with ease on the way to his match with Kane. Bryan and Kane were once again on good form here during the segment. 

Big Show beat Kane in a rather pedestrian bout. It was just fairly drab and unmemorable really. During the match Sandow and Rhodes came out, distracting Kane and costing him the match as Big Show WMD'd him, they then took out Bryan and stood tall in the ring. While the match was quit slow paced and run of the mill as far the wrestling went, it at least elevated Show and the Team Hell No and Rhodes Scholars feud, so it was a success as far as that goes I guess.    

As Cena said goodbye to AJ Lee, she admitted to him that he was the man she was accused of having an affair with. She also accused Guerrero of being the one to fabricate the story. 

Alberto Del Rio bested Zack Ryder in a standard outing. Del Rio made fairly quick work of Ryder as he forced him to tap to the arm breaker. It wasn't anything special, and like the previous match you could skip it and not miss much. 

As Cena stormed into Vickie Guerreo's office to confront her she reminded him that he publicly asked AJ out on Raw and claimed that they'd been on a date, therefore costing her the role of GM.

CM Punk defeated Sheamus in a solid main event Lumberjack match. The intense contest kept me engaged from start to finish, with a nice pace and worthy displays from both men. In the superior bout to their one on Main Event a few weeks ago (which was a decent watch) 'The Great White' was thrown into the heels at ringside on a few occasions, and as any good face he fought back to take on the WWE Champion. But in the end it wasn't to be for the Irishman as he was Chokeslammed at ringside by Big Show and pinned by Punk.

As the WWE Champion celebrated Ryback made his way out and attacked him each time he was thrown back into his clutches by the lumberjacks. This included a very impressive and effective looking powerbomb, and a throw onto all the heel lumberjacks. 

Overall it was a mixed bag of a show. The main event, Team Hell No game show segment and especially Ziggler versus Bryan were the highlights. I'm hoping Ziggler and Guerreros separation is permanent, Dolph will go further without her in my opinion. CM Punk and Ryback's feud progressed well enough, although it still seems a little daft to me having Cena promoting the number one contender rather than the man himself. But I guess Ryback needs the extra support. Other than that there wasn't an awful lot that was memorable to take away from Raw. 

My WWE Raw, 8th October 2012 Recap

Photo credit: WWE.com

The still-injured John Cena kicked off the show by cracking a few jokes about certain members of the roster after sitting back and watching Raw properly last week, including Antonio Cesaro and his unusually large nipples (which is strangely true). He then switched to a more serious tone and ordered CM Punk to be "a man" and accept his challenge at Hell in a Cell. It was a decent enough promo to start the show. 

Ryback defeated Epico and Primo in an average Handicap match. The action just felt a little mediocre and messy at places. Although one plus is the crowd were firmly behind Ryback, especially as he lifted both his opponents and applied his Shell Shocked finisher for the one-two-three.

Before their match up R-Truth warned Brodus Clay that 'Little Jimmy' was going through puberty right now and just wanted to dance with Clay's cheerleaders Naomi and Cameron rather than see him wrestle. Fortunately the dancing was cut short as Vince McMahon appeared on the big screen and asked them to leave as he was about to make his address regarding the state of the WWE.

McMahon soon made his way out and stated that there was enough time in WWE for all kinds of performers, but especially top champions taking on all comers, which cued the WWE Champion himself CM Punk to come out and once again talk about the disrespect that he receives from the Chairman and the fans every week. Punk went on to truthfully tell Vince that he is the best thing the company has right now and that he should be a "CM Punk guy."

The champ also threatened to leave the WWE if he doesn't get the treatment he deserves like he did last year, and see what kind of state that would leave the company. In truth it woud make Raw a far, far less interesting show to watch. Vince retorted by stating that Punk was now where near the talent of some of the all-time greats like Michaels, Andre, Bret, Austin, etc. CM Punk then took a jibe at Vince by claiming that Austin only ever made it to the top by taking on an "inept" and "clueless millionaire." 

After claiming that Vince has been slapping him in the face for years, Punk then actually slapped the Chairman in the face. A flustered McMahon in retaliation challenged Punk to a match that night, which the WWE Champion accepted. It was a terrific segment which I thoroughly enjoyed, I'll be shocked if you see a better promo than both men gave for the rest of this week. Vince and Punk together just equals quality moments. 

Rey Mysterio and Sin Cara bested Darren Young and Titus O'Neil in a passable to sub par tag bout that advanced them to the tag team tournament final. Most of the action was okay, but there were too many average moments and slip ups that marred it.

Sheamus won via disqualification versus Wade Barrett in an enjoyable contest. In Barrett's best performance since returning both men went back and fourth in an intense and highly competitive bout. I was hoping they would save Barrett versus Sheamus for a World title match on PPV but with the finish (Tensai ran in and attacked 'The Great White' after he struck him on last weeks SmackDown) I could still see it happening. 

After Sheamus managed to fight his way back and eliminate Barrett and Tensai from the ring, he attempted to Brogue Kick Big Show who'd been at ringside, but failed as a smug giant caught his leg and threw him out of the ring. The World Champion looked rattled.

Antonio Cesaro beat Tyson Kidd in a solid display from both men. With two talents like this a good match wasn't unexpected, but it was actually better than I predicted. Nice stuff. And I think Cesaro has definitely benefitted from dumping the untalented Aksana, she was unnecessary.

Team Hell No defeated Dolph Ziggler and Alberto Del Rio in an entertaining tag bout. As usual Bryan and Kane were tagging themselves in and arguing from time to time, but it still works for them. All four men put in worthy efforts to provide a pleasing match up.

On a special Raw edition of 'Larry King Live', Larry King and his wife brought out The Miz as their first guest, but soon had enough of the bragging Intercontinental Champion and replaced him with Kofi Kingston. Miz soon interrupted the interview and  called both men amateurs compared to him, and demanded that King leave his stage. King's wife had enough and tipped her drink at Miz, then Kofi decided to take out the champ and sent him reeling. It wasn't a bad segment actually, maybe felt a little out of place but Miz was on good form.

The Rhodes Scholars bested Santino Marella and Zack Ryder in a fair tag team contest. It wasn't anything that special or even that memorable, but it wasn't a bad performance from all involved. Afterwards Drew McIntyre, Heath Slater and Jinder Mahal attacked Santino. I hope this group get some more air time soon, I'd like to see a more prominent spot for the trio. 

Eve (c) beat Kaitlyn to retain the WWE Divas Championship. It was a largely pedestrian Divas bout, with Eve logically targeting Kaitlyn's previously injured leg and eventually forcing her to tap for the victory. After the bell rang Eve still held onto the submission hold until Layla (who'd provided guest commentary) ran into help her friend. Eve feigned guilt for what she'd done. I'm not sure why they're still having Eve pretend to be a face, they should've revealed that it was her that attacked Kaitlyn at Night of Champions by now.

In an entertaining backstage segment, Daniel Bryan compared Larry King being told he looks like an owl to him being called 'Goat Face' with King and his wife, calling himself an extremely attractive man. Kane then turned up and as the two bickered King and his missus managed to sneak off. When Kane was told it was Larry King, he was surprised and admitted he thought he was "Skeletor." This is possibly the most entertaining Kane ever.

CM Punk versus Vince McMahon ended in a no contest. Before the match had even begun Punk attacked McMahon from behind and controlled the start of the fight. But Vince soon came back with the help of a kendo stick and held Punk's title hostage in the ring. The champ also found a kendo stick and evened the score as he struck the chairman and low blowed him, but as he set him up for a GTS Ryback ran in and chased him off.

Cena also then appeared and with one arm (which looked quite daft) threw Punk back into the ring to be clotheslined by Ryback. But once again the champ found a way out and raced into the crowd, clutching his title belt close to his chest. McMahon then gave CM Punk the choice of either Cena or Ryback to face at Hell in a Cell, which will be decided next week. It was an electric main event and the fans were really into it, but the big story to come from the night was yet to happen...

As Vince was making his announcement, Punk got into an altercation with a fan in the crowd and clearly struck him on camera. According to early reports (don't take my word for it) there were a couple of fans pushing Punk in the back and then his head, causing him to swing his arm around at them. The fan that was struck has since come out and claimed he did not touch CM Punk and posted pictures of minor bruising and his broken glasses online. He's apparently pressing charges. Not too sure how Punk will be dealt with by WWE if it goes through.

Overall it was a mostly enjoyable Raw, with a few very solid matches, a brilliant McMahon CM Punk segment and an entertaining main event. Certainly a step up from last weeks show and hopefully a sign that the low ratings last week have urged them to mix things up a bit. 

My WWE 1000th Raw, 23rd June 2012 Recap

Vince McMahon kicked of the monumental 1000th episode of Raw by thanking the fans and then introducing D-Generation X. As Triple H and Shawn Michaels performed their signature DX entrance, complete with new memorabilia which Triple H amusingly joked about wearing to sell more of, 'The Game' then asked "Didn't there used to be more of us?" Which cued the entrance of past DX members Road Dogg, Billy Gunn and X-Pac. It was a nice moment seeing them all reunite in the ring and you could see all the genuine fun they were having together. 

But Damien Sandow then surprisingly interrupted them, so HBK decided to hear him out on how they could improve since they were all a bit "scuzzy". After some DX huddling, they then super kicked and Pedigreed the 'Intellectual Saviour'. While this didn't look great for Sandow, his inclusion in this segment would've really boosted his profile. It was an enjoyable start to the show, and the right one to get the crowd energised. Plus seeing them all together again (bar Chyna) was a feel good moment. 

Sheamus, Rey Mysterio and Sin Cara defeated Chris Jericho, Dolph Ziggler and Alberto Del Rio in a fair tag team match. A match with this talent involved deserved more time for me, it probably would've been better suited to a regular Raw or SmackDown, but it made a nice change of pace from any nostalgia acts that were sure to come. Jericho was pinned by Sheamus after his own partner Ziggler punched him on the apron, further building on their feud which could be a very entertaining one. 

Brodus Clay came out and introduced one of Mick Foley's old alternate personas Dude Love before quickly beating Jack Swagger in a squash match (he was a World Champion once, right?). After the bout Dude Love and Clay danced together in the ring, it was a lamer segment of the night.

As AJ and Daniel Bryan prepared to be wed, with the old and very funny (to the point where AJ couldn't help herself but laugh) wrestling manager Slick performing the ceremony, AJ halted the proceedings and revealed that she had received another proposal from someone else earlier that day. Vince McMahon then joined them and revealed that the proposal was for her to take the position of GM of Raw, which she accepted before leaving Bryan at the altar. AJ as GM is either a genius move on WWE's part or one that just won't work out, I can't see there being a middle ground.

A furious Daniel Bryan the proceeded to tear down the wedding set, until WWE Champion CM Punk came out and rubbed in the fact that he'd just been dumped. Bryan retorted by calling himself the "greatest superstar of all-time" just before The Rock's music hit and 'The Great One' came out to a superb reception.

The Rock told Bryan that it isn't up to him to determine the greatest of all-time, but the fans. He also informed CM Punk that whoever is WWE Champion at the Royal Rumble next year he will be facing for the title. Punk said that he hoped a match between them was even sooner so he could beat Rocky. Bryan then chimed back in and told The Rock that he will somehow become WWE Champ so he could face him and become the face of the company. 'The People's Champ' decided to the give bryan his wedding gift in the form of a Rock Bottom before leaving. It was an enjoyable segment, although I was maybe expecting more from the first CM Punk and Rock face to face encounter. I'm hoping they'll face each other at the Royal Rumble, the lead up would be brilliant.

Bret Hart came out to the ring and introduced Christian and The Miz for their Intercontinental title match.

The Miz defeated Christian (c) to win the Intercontinental Championship in an average to decent title bout. It wasn't a bad match, just a bit disappointing for a Christian involved one. 

A more serious Triple H came out and asked Brock Lesnar to answer his challenge of a match at SummerSlam. Instead Lesnar's representative Paul Heyman joined 'The Game' once again and informed him that Lesnar's answer was no. Triple H began to then call Lesnar a coward and a fake. Heyman ridiculed him for name calling and questioned his parenting skills which touched a nerve with 'The Game' and his wife Stephanie McMahon who joined them both. She claimed that Heyman's kids will grow up being ashamed of him, calling him a business failure and "a professional parasite" and slapped him. 

That was enough for Heyman, who accepted the SummerSlam match on Lesnar's behalf. Brock Lesnar himself then came out and began brawling with Triple H until 'The Game' threw him out of the ring. It was a solid segment, it's always great seeing Heyman on the mic and seeing Stephanie back was a bonus too.

Heath Slater set an open challenge to any legend in attendance to a No Disqualification match, so out stepped the high flyer Lita to accept, who revealed that she'd hired the APA for protection. As Slater tried to backpedal he was forced back to the ring by all the former legends he'd encountered over the last few weeks and had a Twist of Fate and Moonsault applied by Lita for the win. 

Before Kane's match Jinder Mahal (joined by Drew McIntyre, Hunico, Camacho, Curt Hawkings and Tyler Reks) complained that they had been underutilised and surrounded the ring. Then those famous bells sounded and The Undertaker made his return to join forces with his brother to take out the group of wrestlers. The Brothers of Destruction eventually finished them off by applying a Choke Slam and Tombstone Piledriver to Hunico and Curt Hawkings. Taker's return was obviously met with a very enthusiastic response form the fans.

John Cena beat CM Punk (c) via disqualification, with CM Punk therefore retaining the WWE Championship. The bout had been fairly average really, with both men trading moves for a while until the referee was inadvertently knocked out. This cued Big Show to come out and punch Cena with a knockout blow. A conflicted Punk helped the referee back into the ring and attempt a cover on Cena, with him kicking out. Show once again interfered by attacking Cena, this time causing the DQ finish. Punk watched on as Show continued the assault on Cena, simply leaving the ring as The Rock raced out to Cena's aid. As Rock set up Big Show for a People's Elbow the WWE Champion ran back in and struck 'The Great One', then applied a GTS. Punk looked on blankly as he then picked up his title and left.

Although the ending wasn't as striking as The Nexus attack a couple of years ago or CM Punk's promo from last June as promised from various sources, it was certainly a very interesting one. My prediction is that Punk has finally had enough of playing second best on PPV's and shows to Cena, The Rock and the like. He feels he deserves better treatment as WWE Champion and with his talents, which is actually true. Hopefully we'll get a more mixed Punk like we had leading up to last years Money in the Bank event and not a flat out face Punk. Nevertheless we should all look forward to an intriguing promo from CM Punk next week I reckon.