It took less than five minutes for this week’s RAW to get to a match.
That’s called something- heaven.
RAW in London started off strong with an excellent WWE title defense from CM Punk and ended with Lord Tensai’s big victory over John Cena.
In between all that, Brock Lesnar’s shoot was awesome. Talk about a way to combat the reality that is the UFC. Having Lesnar say that his matchup with Cena at Extreme Rules will be the “real deal†is a smart marketing tactic that also makes for intriguing television.
Cena’s detractors want to see him get his ass kicked. Who better to do it than a former champion who can really do it if he wanted to?
Gotta love that Cena continues to be a boyscout too. The little kids continue to love him for that and the “Attitude Era†fans continue to scoff every time he opens his mouth.
Great marketing.
Matches:
No DQ: WWE Champion CM Punk vs. Mark Henry: Punk used his legs early on and even mixed in some luchador maneuvers like a suicide dive and a running flying bulldog to keep “The World’s Strongest Man†on his toes. But with no DQ, Henry was able to bring the fight to Punk on the outside. Well, more like counter at the right times. Every instance when it appeared Punk was about to dominate, Henry countered, viciously. Even with a steel chair in hand, Punk had problems with Henry. But after a top-rope elbow drop with the steel chair, Punk got the win over the former World champion. The WWE may not want to admit it, but these two work well together.
United States Champion Santino Marella vs. David Otunga: The former Nexus member continues to prove he’s more than a body- but he’s still a work in progress. This was just a poor match in general as both Marella and Otunga were anything but crisp. Marella hit a weak-looking Cobra for the win.
Kane vs. Zack Ryder: Long Island Iced-Z jobs out after a big boot on the ring ropes and a chokeslam. After, Kane cut another promo on Randy Orton. Snore.
Daniel Bryan vs. Kofi Kingston: A good technical match, but it was more filler than anything else. These two are excellent workers, but are missing that intangible to keep them over. Bryan never got a chance to truly showcase his in-ring abilities as champion and even without the belt, he isn’t. His “Yes†thing is charming, but how long can that last? Full of finishers and counters, the end of the match was exciting, but it all came to an end after Bryan latched on the Yes-lock on the middle of the ring for the win.
Brodus Clay vs. Dolph Ziggler w/ Vikki Guerrero and Jack Swagger: This match lasted less than a minute as Swagger tried to save Ziggler after Clay asserted himself with a T-Bone Suplex. Much like Crimson in TNA, Clay has talent, but is being pushed too hard, too fast.
The Great Khali and Intercontinental Champion The Big Show vs. WWE Tag Team Champions Epico and Primo w/ Rosa Mendes[Non-Title]: Aside from the buxom curvature of Mendes, their was little reason to watch this match. Opposites usually don’t attract and there was zero chemistry in the ring. A chokeslam and Punjabi plunge a few minutes ended the disaster.
Extreme Rules: John Cena vs. Lord Tensai w/ Sakamoto: Tensai looked solid here. His best match since he came back to the WWE and a good match overall. Sakamoto delivered a few rock hard kicks on the outside and allowed Tensai to hit his delayed double-underhook suplex. Tensai hit all his moves on Cena, including his Senton splash and after David Otunga’s interference, the Green Mist and the Choke Bomb. This was a great finish as it puts Tensai over and makes Cena look weak going against his most physical opponent at Extreme Rules.
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