I missed the opening six-man, but Meltzer has me covered:
Rey Mysterio, Kofi Kingston & John Morrison d. The Miz, Alberto Del Rio & R-Truth As I said, I missed this opening match. But whoever in the predictions thread managed to call the thrown-together six-man, you win the internet for today!
Mark Henry d. Sheamus (by COR) One of the more unexpected results of the night, but that slam through the barricade spot looked BRUTAL! Pretty good stuff and I assume that this feud MUST continue!
Kelly Kelly (w/Eve Torres) d. Beth Phoenix (w/Natalya) to retain Divas Championship Kelly's best match of her career and a lot of it had to do with Beth. Both of these ladies had great chemistry. Match ends when Kelly turns the Glam Slam into a fluke victory roll for the pin.
Wade Barrett d. Daniel Bryan This was a great match between these two! Both of them showed a lot of good stuff and I expect that this feud MUST continue...also!
Before the world title match, Christian brings out his surprise. It's EDGE! Edge comes out to a huge pop and delivers a nice promo, essentially telling Christian that his world title win was boring, which Edge never was. So Edge leaves Christian high and dry. This leads into...
Randy Orton d. Christian for the World Heavyweight Championship A great match between these two, with a lot of great garbage spots and callbacks to their earlier matches. Christian looks for the Con-chair-to, but spits in Orton's face first in a callback to last month. So Orton goes apeshit on him, hitting his snap powerslam through a corner table and the hanging DDT on a trash can. Christian makes one last desperate comeback with the kendo stick, but goes for the second rope crossbody and eats an RKO on the steel steps (in a nice callback to Orton/Christian I, way back in April) for the Orton pin. That SHOULD be the definitive blowoff to this feud, once and for all...except Christian gets his rematch clause. To be continued...again...
CM Punk d. John Cena for the WWE Championship Another awesome match for these two, but it couldn't live up to last month's classic, for obvious reasons. Punk finally gets the pin off the GTS, but Cena had his foot on the ropes and Triple H missed it. No other ref comes down to dispute the decision. Cena argues it, but leaves. It looks like an anticlimax, when KEVIN NASH WIPES OUT PUNK OUT OF NOWHERE! Big boot, Jackknife powerbomb! Punk is dead in the ring, as Big Kev (overusing the Just For Men, just a tad) escapes through the crowd, with Hunter not knowing what the hell is going on. And with the champ dead in the water, you know what that means...
Alberto Del Rio d. CM Punk for the WWE Championship Del Rio's ready for Punk this time and makes sure to FIRST put him down with the enziguiri for the pin and the title.
Show ends with Del Rio triumphant and Triple H flabbergasted.
That was a hell of an ending, as it had everyone roped into thinking it was just another WWE anticlimax when the Nash appearance took EVERYONE by surprise. I'm still floored by it and just when you think the E's about to drop the ball on this angle, there's suddenly a whole lot of interest going into Raw, with Punk getting screwed, Cena having a legit claim to a rematch, Nash working for who-knows-who, Hunter still possibly pulling the strings behind all this, and Del Rio as the new champion. Very, VERY well done! If Rocky wasn't already penciled in for next year, you could EASILY sell Wrestlemania with Cena/Punk III: The Final Battle.
(On an aside, I also should note that for as much as I hate those little backstage vignettes in the middle of a PPV, R-Truth's backstage segment with Jimmy Hart is one of the most cleverly written comedy segments that I've seen in a good while. Good on them.)
- Henry has been bringing it lately and the powerslam through the rail was a cool looking spot.
- This was a terrible sequence for any PPV let alone one of the big four ... commercial, CEE Lo, commercial, commercial, womens match, backstage, commercial ... and the women's match was actually okay
- Barrett/Bryan was solid and brought the show back.
- I'm not sure what the point of bringing Edge out to bash Christian was. I know Edge probably likes to get out there, but his gripe was pretty petty and I was a little surprised that they didn't do a double swerve where Edge comes back to help. This was the match of the night. Christian ended up being murdered, I hope he enjoyed his stay at the top he's enjoyable but I don't know what else they can do with him.
- Punk/Cena was your slow build match, almost too slow in parts. The crowd seemed to be 70-30 pro Punk. Punk has to get better at hitting that GTS.
I'm not sure how I feel about Kevin Nash and HHH clogging the upcoming shows with to cool for school promos, but if Nash is with ADR and not an agent for Steph or Johnny Ace I might be okay with it.
Kevin Nash proving once again that he's the smartest man in Wrestling. Dude went from possibly being in a crap Immortal- M.e.M feud to a spot in the Royal Rumble match to being in the middle of the hottest storyline in years. Well done Kev.
1st WWE PPV that I have seen in ages and I thought it was very good (except when we lost the signal in the main event and missed the match finish - saw the after the match stuff which was very cool and unexpected
The 6 man was good but weird it was a PPV match designed to hype the TV show which seems a bit backward
Loved Edge calling Christian a little bitch and I loved the match that resulted - strong character development for Christian
Everything else was solid except Cee Lo Green who was slurring like bad Bob Dylan
Originally posted by It's FalseI also should note that for as much as I hate those little backstage vignettes in the middle of a PPV, R-Truth's backstage segment with Jimmy Hart is one of the most cleverly written comedy segments that I've seen in a good while. Good on them.
My girlfriend totally called it and realized before Truth said it that Hart was a "little Jimmy."
Nice surprise appearance by Adam Jones from Tool at the opening with the instrumental anthem. Unfortunately, they didn't ID him with the chyron and we couldn't hear the intro at the bar, so Twitter to tell me who it was. Because no one knows what the non-MJK members of Tool look like.
All the matches themselves were Perfectly Fine to Quite Good.
A friend tweeted that CeeLo looked like Ursula from the Little Mermaid in his spangly black tunic.
Outstanding hardcore-style match from Christian & Orton.
"Randy Savage" chant after Punk's elbow drop = awesome.
Re: Nash...nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.... I'm OK with ADR cashing in on Our Hero, but did they have to bring NASH into it? That was everything I dislike about the biz powerbombing everything I *do* like... (And now I completely sound like an Internet Fan Stereotype.)
Don't want to fantasy book, but does anyone else sense a storyline with HHH doing his best to play by the book and crown a real champ, but Stephanie realized they needed to make sure they controlled the champion and so she and Del Rio hired Nash and did the cash-in ending? Leading to a heel Stephanie with ADR against a face HHH (with Cena? Punk? Both?)?
Probably thinking too much into it. Either way, wish Punk went over clean if this is the ending they wanted. But I am eagerly anticipating Raw tomorrow, so I guess they did their job.
I didn't watch the show, but I like the described ending of the Punk/Cena match. Cena was screwed. Punk can and will certainly make an argument that he was screwed. Mysterio is still entitled to a rematch (and will, we have every reason to believe, get it Monday night). And Alberto del Rio is, for now, the champ. The title picture is no more clear than it was before SummerSlam, and in fact it's probably even murkier. That may be a bad thing to some, I don't know, but I'm interested to see where they go with it.
Pretty good night. I was at an establishment where there were about 75-100 people in the room.
My own thoughts...
- The only satellite issue was not caused by the outside. The restaurant put in new TV's, but did not pay the extra $10 for HD. So, during the anthem, they decided to change to the HD channel, but had the channel not purchased screen. So, it was standard definition for this one.
- I forgot my Booker T decoder ring and he is still there. And Cole annoyed me two minutes into the night. It might have been the speakers but it seemed like half the time Cole and Lawler sounded alike.
- The 6-man tag match was good. A nice way to keep Mysterio away from being in the ring for most of the match, but I did have the feeling he would get the pin.
- Henry/Sheamus was as expected. The funny part was some guy having to skeedaddle out of the way for the broken barricade spot. Should last to next month.
- Since when did they start having commercials for a Pay-Per-View???
- Cee-lo = bathroom break...and still performing when I got back.
- Divas match was OK with the surprising ending.
- Barrett/Bryan - Nice match, like to see it on Smackdown.
- Christian/Orton went well. Surprised to see Edge there, at least for a few moments. The table leg breaking was funny. I made a bit of a joke right after the match saying that Orton should do a "thumbs up" showing the bloodied thumb. A couple of minutes later, he did.
- Cena/Punk was a great match. It was pretty much split, but a little more for Punk at the establishment. I liked the pacing the first several minutes of the match, knowing that it was going to go long. The ending was weird, but Nash coming into the ring destroying Punk was surprising, especially we got a small card from someone promoting Nash for an area independent league event in a few weeks. And wouldn't you know, he's at the end of the PPV on our screens. Del Rio coming out was somewhat anti-climatic, but I got that exactly right.
Other stuff:
- Stephanie being on the PPV, surprised, but more than surprised that she did not figure into the main event.
- R-Truth is gold!!! I wish they would have turned him five years earlier. Just with Jimmy Hart there was hilarious. Would have expected Jimmy Snuka since he's been on WWE TV more recently within the past year.
So, I pretty much blew up on my predictions, except the very end with Punk winning and Del Rio cashing in the MITB. All that means is another Del Rio/Mysterio match. Wheeeeeeeee!!! It will be interesting where all this goes tomorrow night.
That Barrett/Bryan match deserved more from the crowd. Wade needs to bring back the rose pinned to his coat. He can keep the gold chain at home, though.
And Kelly/Beth had my attention. K2 worked as hard as I've seen her, and the finish rocked. Have zero problem with that.
I have to wonder if Jenny McCarthy recognized Big Kev from Wrestlemania XI?
Let me make this clear: this is NOT a 'Wah, Punk lost' or 'Wah, ADR is champ' issue.
It amazes me to no end how incredibly short-sighted Vince, Trips, and company are as concerns the industry as a whole. For years now, nearly a decade, the business has been in a huge decline. Ratings dying, fans drifting away in droves, any PPV not WM/SS/RR barely being worth putting on, and all this before even mentioning the incredibly stale, dull, boring, utterly mediocre product itself.
Finally, after years of this drudgery, something finally crops up that ignites a spark. A simple contract matter turns into something much, much bigger thanks to some real-life uncertainty, an undercurrent of revolt against Cena, and CM Punk's mastery of the mic. Pulling the trigger on Punk winning the title at Money in the Bank and then actually running away was something completely, totally different. It was AWESOME. Must-see. It did what wrestling used to do, matter. Non-fans knew what had happened. People wanted to talk about it. For all the talk of how the Attitude icons of Austin/Rock/Trips/Foley needed to be replaced, and how the search was still on for the next torch-bearer, this simple little contract issue and decision to let an incredible rogue-champion scenario occur built in an instant someone who could've been that next icon. CM Punk has the skills, has the tools, and most certainly has the chops to have taken that torch. To drag the wrestling industry back up out of the mire. To be an Austin/Rock megastar.
But, here comes that shortsightedness I mentioned. Summerslam's coming up. As is typical, there's been absolutely no build-up for the PPV at all and it's supposed to be the second-biggest event of the year. So lo and behold, an opportunity arises to hotshot a main event that'll shoot PPV buys through the roof. But to do so may jeopardize that very angle and that very megastar-in-the-making that could save the industry as a whole.
Vince and H pull the trigger anyways. There's plenty of misgiving, but hey, it's the new CM Punk. After a couple weeks of 'meh', we got a taste of what he could do with that contract signing and things looked to be ok. Those screaming from the hills, "Just let it play out!", looked to be in the driver seat. Surely things would change now; after all, Punk won at MitB and left with the title right?
We can see now that was wrong. So, so wrong. It's back to the usual way of doing things. Same old, same old. The Punk-Cena showdown was hotshotted to provide Summerslam with a buys-boosting main event, and now ADR is hotshotted to be a Mexican champion for a tour of that country. Shortsighted.
Let me repeat that; the hottest, biggest, most compelling and mainstream-interesting angle this company has had in a decade was buried and set aside so that ADR could be champion for the Mexico tour.
SHORTSIGHTED.
Did having Punk-Cena as a main event help Summerslam? Absolutely. Will ADR as a champion help ticket sales for the Mexican tour? Maybe. But none of that was worth killing off every bit of momentum from a storyline that, for a time, reinvigorated an industry and a fanbase. For some minuscule numbers, everything that has been done to rescue wrestling from the status quo of the past decade was reversed. We're back to the usual way of running things. It's about the merchandise and the ticket sales and the PPV buys; it is NOT about the wrestlers or wrestling.
Shortsighted.
And worse? Everyone in the wrestling industry seems to be defending the ending. Foley loves it. JR obviously loves it. Shane fucking insane castoff loser Helms loves it. So maybe shortsightedness is just a part of being in the business? Maybe wrestlers don't think about the big picture, or care about the industry as much as they say?
Make no mistake. A chance to be a compelling product once more was lost tonight. The money machine will keep churning, no question, but relevancy and entertainment and interest was buried deep.
And hey, speaking of burial, guess we no longer need to keep "waiting to see" how the "Christian sucks and is a loser" storyline plays out, right? Looks like we (and he) have gotten our answer.
Michigan against the SEC: 20-6-1 (7-4 in bowl games)
Originally posted by BoromirMarkLet me make this clear: this is a 'Wah, Punk lost' issue.
FTFY.
Originally posted by BoromirMarkAnd hey, speaking of burial, guess we no longer need to keep "waiting to see" how the "Christian sucks and is a loser" storyline plays out, right? Looks like we (and he) have gotten our answer.
Complete with a side of "his best friend comes out to call him a loser". Yup.
I'd suggest he quit and go to TNA, but.........you know what, it's not like they treat WWE castoffs badly, and he was champ down there, the hell with it, he should quit and go to TNA.
WOW. If not for the fact that Kevin Nash was recently named as a member of the Legends Roster for the WWE '12 video game, I might have forgotten he was even still on the roster.
I'm excited to see what happens next!
According to WWE.com, by the way, Rey Mysterio gets his WWE Title rematch tonight on RAW.
TITLE CHANGES
WWE Championship New Champion: Alberto Del Rio 2011 Title Changes: Five
This is Alberto Del Rio's first reign as WWE Champion, making him a two-time world heavyweight champion. As Dos Caras, Jr., he held the CMLL World Heavyweight Championship from July 8, 2007 to December 22, 2008, a total of 533 days. Del Rio is the first person ever to win both the CMLL World Heavyweight and WWE Championships. (Incidentally, the CMLL World Heavyweight Title is not considered the top title in that promotion).
Del Rio is the first Mexican-born wrestler to win the WWE Championship, and the fourth Hispanic to do so, after Pedro Morales, Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio.
This is Del Rio's very first championship in WWE, and it serves as the culmination of a fantastic year for him in which he won the Royal Rumble and the Money in the Bank ladder match.
This was Del Rio's third attempt to cash in his Money in the Bank contract, and by doing so successfully, he became the ninth out of nine wrestlers to do so. Rob Van Dam is still the only person to cash it in for "a legitimate match", meaning one that was booked in advance.
World Heavyweight Championship New Champion: Randy Orton 2011 Title Changes: Six
This is Randy Orton's third reign as World Heavyweight Champion; as a six-time WWE Champion, he is now a nine-time world heavyweight champion.
He ended Christian's 28-day reign as champion.
This is the second time we've had an "A-B-A-B" title switch scenario with the World Heavyweight Title (in this case, Christian to Orton to Christian to Orton). This also happened in June to August of '09 when it went Jeff Hardy to CM Punk to Hardy.
"Some people never go crazy. What truly horrible lives they must lead." --Jonas, The Hit List
Fan of the Indianapolis Colts (Super Bowl XLI Champions), Indiana Pacers and Washington Nationals
Certified RFMC Member-- Ask To See My Credentials!
Co-Winner of Time's Person of the Year Award, 2006
Ladies and gentlemen, the following public service message is brought to you by your friends from D-Generation X, who would like to remind each and every one of you that if you're not down with that, we've got two words for you... I was going to go off on a rant, but Boromir summed up my feelings better than I probably would have.
smark/net attack Advisory System Status is: Elevated (Holds; June 18, 2006) While the switch from Cena to RVD should alleviate some complaints, the inevitability of the belt's return to Cena (note where Summerslam is this year) and the poor initial showing by the new ECW are enough to keep the indicator where it is for now. The pieces are in place, though, especially on RAW, for improvements to be made to the IWC's psyche in the near future.
Originally posted by Chicken Little BoromirMark...
"Hey, watch as I accuse the WWE brass of being shortsighted, as I decry the downfall of an entire industry based on this thing that happened 10 minutes ago."
How many times have you or others made these same kinds of statements? And yet, here we are, and Vince McMahon is still in business. You can (and probably will) continue to think that this one - no, wait, this one ... or maybe this one - is the Big One that's finally going to do his business in, but I'm going to continue guessing "no."
Originally posted by Chicken Little BoromirMark...
"Hey, watch as I accuse the WWE brass of being shortsighted, as I decry the downfall of an entire industry based on this thing that happened 10 minutes ago."
How many times have you or others made these same kinds of statements? And yet, here we are, and Vince McMahon is still in business. You can (and probably will) continue to think that this one - no, wait, this one ... or maybe this one - is the Big One that's finally going to do his business in, but I'm going to continue guessing "no."
Yeah. I remember back in 2002 when Eric Bischoff was brought in as the general manager of RAW. There was a RAW recapper who'd been doing it for a couple years, who quite literally stopped recapping in protest the moment Bischoff was announced as the GM. Just took his ball and went home, in mid-recap, and didn't pick it up again.
"Some people never go crazy. What truly horrible lives they must lead." --Jonas, The Hit List
Fan of the Indianapolis Colts (Super Bowl XLI Champions), Indiana Pacers and Washington Nationals
Certified RFMC Member-- Ask To See My Credentials!
Co-Winner of Time's Person of the Year Award, 2006
I'm still screaming from the mountaintop to let it play out. Austin was born in a KOTR match, but he didn't "run with the ball" until, by current interweb standards, much later. The Rock sucked for a while, then played second (or third, depending on your opinion) banana in a faction of stereotypes that was feuding with other factions of stereotypes. These things take time. Yes, Punk has that level of talent. Possibly more. But let the storytellers tell their story. If this all winds up with nothing new in the future, you and other naysayers were right. But we won't know for quite some time. It's a lose-lose. If Punk stayed "guerrilla", people would be pissed he wasn't on tv. Now he's on tv, he came back too soon. Maybe JR, Foley, etc loved the ending because they understand that it just might be a part of something larger down the road. That's not shortsighted. I'm more interested in Raw now than when Punk came back.
Thread ahead: WCW's Tylene Buck is now a webcam whore and probably an 'in person' whore. Next thread: RAW #951 8/15/11 Previous thread: WWE Referee Mike Chioda suspended (wellness)
Um... Never knew about Hall killing someone. That was a pretty big reveal. Hall having Congestive Heart Failure means he's on borrowed time. It is what my dad died of.
Thread rated: 5.37
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