After a controversial pay per view on Sunday, WWE fans wanted some answers on RAW.
They got them. Well, kinda.
Although it was an interesting series of events, they weren’t as provocative or entertaining as you might have expected.
The absence of John Cena for the first 124 minutes of the show was totally felt.
After he attacked CM Punk and cost him the WWE Title at Summerslam, Kevin Nash explained that Triple H texted him during the match and told him to take out the winner of the main event between Punk and John Cena. Although Nash was monotone during his promo, Punk came out just in time and saved the segment. After that, things took off a bit. The chemistry these two had during this segment was solid, as they both worked incredibly well together on the mic. However, the fact that Nash’s knees haven’t been sturdy over the past few years is suspect; you have to wonder how well these two could perform together in an actual match.
Afterward, Nash met up with WWE Executive John Laurinaitis, who wanted to discuss “something†with him. Hopefully, this angle starts to get interesting and fast. Because right now, Punk has momentum on his side and needs to work with people that can put him over and further develop his character so he can make the company money. Nothing against everything has done for the business [he’s also hurt business at times as well], but he hasn’t made any wrestling promotion real money in a long time. What he can do for Punk at this point in his career seems limited.
Aside form that, none of the others angles were far from stellar. There’s no heat in the US title and Tag Team divisions either. All in all, the WWE continues to put all their chips in one basket.
Matches:
R-Truth vs. John Morrison in a falls count anywhere match: A match that fans have seen a plethora of times, but was original enough to entertain. Nice to see these guys go the extra yard and break a sweat during the match as well. The crowd enjoyed Truth’s antics and Morrison did an excellent job selling. Highlights from Truth included a reverse Michinoku Driver on the outside and a myriad of high impact clotheslines and running knees. Morrison had his moments as well, including a running knee after he vertical suplexed Truth on a leather chair. That move also earned him the win.
WWE Divas Champion Kelly Kelly and Eve Torrez vs. Bella Twins: A fast-paced match that saw Torrez earn the win with her top-rope moonsault. After the match, the Divas of Doom, Natty Niedhart and Beth Phoenix stood on the entrance ramp. Could this be the beginning of a divas tag team feud?
Alex Riley vs. Jack Swagger: A good match between two young superstars, until the botched finisher, an ugly gutwrench powerbomb from Swagger. After he tried to lift Riley twice, Swagger finally hit the move and landed Riley more on his side than flush on his back. Dolph Ziggler and Vicki Guerrero were also ringside for commentary and their antics were at least enjoyable, but it doesn’t solve the problem that the US Title division is a bore. Hopefully, Riley, who continues to be adored by the fans, gets both a push and an opportunity at the belt. After the match, Swagger approached Guerrero and asked for her managerial services.
Kofi Kingston and Evan Bourne WWE Tag Team champions Michael McGillicutty and David Otunga: a non-title match that doesn’t do much for either team. All it does is prove that the tag team division is a disaster. However, with Bourne and Kingston’s win, at least the champs have legitimate contenders.
WWE Champion Alberto Del Rio vs. Rey Mysterio: A flaccid and routine match early on that spiced up towards the end, yet still failed to captivate. Mysterio’s heart was what made this match watchable. Del Rio used a nice assortment of moves in this contest, including a top rope enziguri and several nice knee strikes, but needs a few more high impact moves in his arsenal. The fact that the match ended with Del Rio countering the top rope splash into a backcracker, rather than the cross-arm breaker, only proves this. If this is the angle the WWE plans to push until Punk and Cena [which appears soon, since Cena beat up Del Rio after the match] get back in the title mix again, there are some long RAWs ahead.
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