This episode of Monday Night RAW was mere fodder, used to set up this weekend’s Vengeance Pay Per View.
For 15 minutes at least, the show was special.
The CM Punk/The Miz encounter was one of the best matches on RAW this year.
Why? These two actually broke a sweat in the ring.
If all the matches were as intense as this one, the show would have been phenomenal. Instead, between Jack Swagger singing the National Anthem and the inane antics of John Laurinaitis, RAW was more mediocre than anything else.
Ironically, the Main Event was solid as well, but more needs to be done before a John Cena/Alberto Del Rio match gets the type of notoriety and buys the company needs it to.
Matches:
Randy Orton, John Morrison and Sheamus vs. World Champion Mark Henry, Christian and Cody Rhodes: Orton and Rhodes fought out of the arena, which made this a tag team match after a few minutes. Morrison and Christian looked good together, as they exchanged high impact offense. Henry slowed down the match some, as he worked over Morrison. After Sheamus took Christian to the outside, Morrison tried to pull off the upset. However, after a back body drop-turned World’s Strongest Slam, Henry got the three-count.
Eve Torrez w/ Kelly Kelly vs. Natalya Niedhart w/Beth Phoenix: Spanking? Yes, Neidhart spanked Torrez in this match. Regardless of her temper, Phoenix got the win though with the moonsault after her modified reverse DDT signature.
CM Punk vs. The Miz w/R-Truth: Triple H came to the ring to support Punk before the bell in what turned out to be a solid, technical bout. Punk spiced things up with a suicide dive and a slingshot senton and later a slingshot clothesline and a flying elbow. Overall, it was a more than solid performance by Punk. In addition to selling well, The Miz delivered his whole arsenal of moves. But after Punk rolled up the Miz after a Skull-Crushing Finale counter, Punk earned the win.
Jack Swagger w/ Dolph Ziggler and Vicki Guerrero vs. Zack Ryder: A match that Ryder won in less than two minutes with his Rough Ryder finisher. This is not the way to get Ryder over. Instead, it’s just a cheap victory. Mason Ryan came down to the ring afterward and had Ryder’s back.
Dolph Ziggler vs. Mason Ryan: The Mexican fans are in love with Ryan, who got a pop with every offensive move he hit. Luckily for him, he was on the prowl most of this match, as he hit a slew of shoulder blocks, big boots and clotheslines. For some reason, he was DQ’ed for beating on Ziggler too much. That didn’t stop him from catching Ziggler with a powerslam after the bell.
Michael Cole and WWE Champion Alberto Del Rio vs. Jim Ross and John Cena: Aside from the fun that was had during the times when Cole and Ross were in the ring together, this was a technically sound contest. Obviously, the Mexican fans rooted the heel Del Rio and he didn’t disappoint. He used a slew of his signature submission holds, suplexes and sneak tactics to get the upper hand and keep it for most of the contest. However, in what is usually the case, Cena made his routine comeback, with two shoulder blocks, a belly to back suplex and the five-knuckle shuffle. However, Del Rio was smart enough to get out of the ring and tag Cole back into the contest. It was Cole who then received the Attitude Adjustment. Cena then tagged in Ross, who applied the Ankle Lock for the submission victory.
After the bell, Cena beat up Del Rio on the outside and announced that their match at the PPV this Sunday would be a Last Man Standing match.
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