Official Raw/Smackdown Aftermath, Ratings and Review Thread

[darthrapture]

TBH, my overall opinion of the show wasn't as high. Ziggler/Orton and Miz/Punk were easily the best matches of the night. Hunico's springboard swanton, into a springboard moonsault was pretty cool. I didn't care for the Main Event though, it was way to predictable and I feel a bad way to end it. How are we supposed to believe that the TWO number one contenders for Smackdown lost to the RAW number one contender and the second top face on Smackdown? I think the Main Event could have been done better, a cheap shot from Christian to Sheamus during a distraction where Cena gets WSS on the outside or even through the announce table. Would build momentum for Christian/Henry without really hurting either Sheamus or Cena who you could job to Yoshi Tatsu and would still come out looking like the best thing in the business. Christian/Henry could have used the win, and would have given us a relevant heel win on RAW, instead of all the faces coming out on top. (I don't count the Divas because they can't be taken seriously when their champion wrestles worse then Michael Cole.)

 

[PowerHouse]

I dont know IMO since CM Punk sat at the top of the ramp on RAW and shot the Shoot promo on Vince HHH the WWE in general. Since that RAW I think RAW has gotten better and better every week. I see guys doing some of their best work right now. Guys like R- Truth who to me is one of my favorites in the entire company now befor I could have cared less about him. CM Punk the same thing. I though he was terrible when he took over the Nexus with the mock sacrifice and all that. But now he is tearing the mic up with some of the coolest promos in years. Miz has finally started showing me something. I like that he doesnt come out and blab for twenty minutes and talk about how awesome he is. Just perform which he does now. Top to bottom RAW has been awesome!!!!! The product is really good right now far better than TNA whom I like. But TNA has been doing this wrestling matters thing and well the wrestling there hasn't been anything special. WWE is taking the in ring work up some notches and is doing what TNA has been talking about WRESTLING!!!!!!!!

 

[MrAdam87]

Dude you forgot to list the Orton/Ziggler match!!
..which IMO opinion was the best match of the night, and extremely entertaining.
High intensity, innovative twists on established moves/holds and the finish was top notch.
Orton and Ziggler compliment each others style perfectly and I look forward to seeing them mixing it up again, Ziggler has shown he has the in-ring skill but tonight the opportunity was put to him and he stepped up.

 

[MizFit Brocko]

Ziggler stole the show as far as i'm concerned. That was one hell of a match, and he has a massive future in the company.

Miz v Punk was another great match but you knew Nash/Truth would intervene.

Main event was way too predictable as most matches with Cena are, Sheamus looked good though.

And HHH vs Punk, however it came about will be 10x, probably more than Punk vs Nash would have been.

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

Raw was a little...weird tonight.
Opening Segment: Not a bad opening segment, Oklahoma just wasn't feeling Punk. You had his usually supporters, but for the most part, the audience didn't seem that into it. It was a decent segment, hit all it's points etc.

Orton vs Ziggler: Really strong match here. It shows that Ziggler can hang with Orton and he really didn't do too many heelish things, so they're planting the seeds. Pretty sweet finish. You can tell these guys are really comfortable in the ring with all the complex combinations they did. Not that complex combinations usually impress me, but these fit the story of the match of Ziggler out to prove himself and as a bonus, they added some really fun series(es?). One thing about Ziggler that I LOVED was that he sold the impact of his own finish on the floor. He has to jerk Orton down and take a bump. A lot of guys won't sell the impact just because they're on offense. This is stupid and kind of devalues your own move. The fact that Ziggler sold the imapct of his own move shows that the impact Orton took must have REALLY been bad and that Ziggler is tenacious enough to take pain if it means inflicting more on Orton. Anyone else notice that Orton went to the top rope tonight? He usually does middle (because it fuckin hurts and he doesn't want to take top rope bumps every night, plus it makes it special when he does go to the top), tonight he went top. It made Ziggler seem more important. Like "Orton is busting out the big stuff tonight because Ziggler is good".

I'll respond to Darkshot77's gripes about the match. 1) the rope DDT does have a long set up, it's why it's usually countered. The fun part is when Orton hits it creatively like he did tonight. The crowd likes it, it attacks the head, and Orton usually weaves it into the story of the match. Tonight it was Ziggler trying to out maneuver Orton (basically out wrestle him). Orton caught him with the DDT the second time around. 2) Orton setting up the RKO is no different than HBK with the superkick. It's really intelligent crowd psychology. He gets the crowd amped up for it with his set up. He misses, the other guy misses some stuff, and he hits it. Had he not set it up, the pop of the RKO wouldn't be as good because they weren't so worked up. It's a crude analogy but it's how I've been told. Getting the crowd to "pop" is like sex. You don't just wanna do it, you want to build it up, tease them, tease them, build, tease, build, tease, until they can't take it anymore and then you make them "pop". His set up is just good foreplay in other words.

Cena/Christian/Henry/Sheamus segment: People don't think Henry is over because he doesn't get loud chants or boos in unison. It's because with monster heels, people just kinda shout shit at them. Watch the crowd when he talks. I love how Christian does little things to look like a chickenshit. Like saying "are you....are we just gonna stand here Mark?" Also, Cena is really good. When Mark came out, he looked nervous, but not like he was going to back down. More like he conveyed the feeling you get when you're about to go down the first big hill on a roller coaster, kinda scared but also like "okay fuck it, here we go". So good job for Cena as if you didn't know he does a great job at the little things.....o wait, some of you probably don't. Also, holy shit is Sheamus getting over or what? At the house show I went to on Sunday he was probably the 2nd or 3rd most over guy.

Punk vs Miz: Great match, but questionable booking. If you ever thought Punk was as over as Cena, watch this match. Punk doesn't get much of a reaction at all. It's because the people who see him as a face are a small group of people. In this match, the people who enjoy Punk, a lot of them, also enjoy Miz. So you split up their fans. As a result, everyone else generally dislikes the others. Punk feuded with Cena (huge babyface) and is feuding with HHH (who still gets huge babyface cheers) so a lot of the "normal" fans are unsure of him. Miz is a heel, however, if you have two guys you don't really like (heat-wise) then there isn't much noise. Really REALLY smartly worked match though. Miz works the head to set up for his finish, and it has a duel purpose as Punk is guy who beats people by being smarter, not more athletic. So Miz working the head damages Punk's strength and also helps Miz for his finish. I like the ending a lot. Nash continuing to get cheap shots on Punk.

As a side note to this match, if I were the WWE, I would have booked Punk/Christian or Punk/ADR. I realize ADR isn't there, which sucks. It's that both are heels and faces to the same segments of fans. You pretty much gave the general audience no reason to care who wins, and the smarks you split up.

Sin Cara vs Swagger: Not a bad match, I fucking HAAAATE his stupid lighting. It takes away from the match. For this match you have to realize that it's more of an angle than a match, which you need on your TV shows. I don't mind the Vickie/Swagger/Dolph stuff as they're doing a pretty good job at slowly making Dolph more likeable. I think they're testing Dolph in 2 ways. 1) can he get over on his own and 2) can he elevate someone. I believe they're testing whether or not Cody Rhodes can elevate someone too on Smackdown. It's sort of a test to see if you're title-ready.

Air Boom vs Mr. Hudson/Perfect's Boy: Fuckin Otunga blows. He really doesn't have much personality and is green. When you hear me say "Mark Henry is a vet, he never does anything stupid or looks out of character", if you don't know what I mean, watch Otunga, the opposite of that. It's really not Otunga's fault, he's just too green. Guys need to be comfortable in the ring where they can handle miscues without having that "o shit" look in their eyes. When you have that look, it's basically breaking character and the audience loses interest. Not only that but Otunga pretty much always looks like he's thinking about what spot he's supposed to do next or like he's listening intently to the vet leading his dead ass. On the positive side, Bourne and Kofi have a TON of energy and McGuillicutty looked pretty good. I say have Skip Sheffield or someone else huge take out Otunga and send Otunga to FCW. Make that your new tag. Otunga has a ton of work to do. I don't mind the outside stuff with Lawler as Lawler being a legend will get them over. However, Otunga really fuckin sucks. I didn't mind the match being short. For 1, they're basically trying to show that Otunga/McGuillicutty are falling apart and are getting pissed. Plus Otunga is a freakin liability in the ring.

Kelly Kelly vs Bella #2: I didn't really like this. This match should have been an angle. You had Phoenix/Natalya watching and getting jealous or whatever, but you had the Bella's cheat to win? I book Kelly Kelly to win here. Even though a lot of people agree with Beth/Natalya, you need to make a strong argument for both sides. KK is getting better in the ring. She takes decent bumps and doesn't look scared to do stuff (unlike Otunga who shit the bed on some of Bourne's offense). Not a bad match, just don't agree with the booking.

Cena/Sheamus vs Henry/Christian: I liked this match. Funny how Cena did his 5 moves of doom, the douche in the front row held up his smark sign (or maybe he was making fun of smarks sarcastically) and Cena is getting the biggest reaction of the night and then throws in some more moves just because he can. Sheamus is really getting over. Like to the point where I can actually see Henry beating Orton for the strap and then Sheamus beating Henry if WWE wants to take a gamble and really make Sheamus an elite guy.

I like that HHH vs Punk is booked instead. I almost wonder if they changed it mid-show seeing as people booed heavily when HHH announced Nash vs Punk. Punk vs HHH makes HHH look that much more guilty, but he still has a very good alibi in that he's just defending himself and his wife against a punk calling him out.

Overall it was a mediocre/good Raw. They didn't really raise any new questions about next week but I still want to tune in to see why the board had HHH change the match (did HHH request it, did the board not like laringitus working behind HHH's back, etc).

I think what this show shows is that maybe the brand split is a good thing. Things got a little cluttered. Not only that, but you realize how valuable ADR is. He adds a different spice to the show.

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

TBH, my overall opinion of the show wasn't as high. Ziggler/Orton and Miz/Punk were easily the best matches of the night. Hunico's springboard swanton, into a springboard moonsault was pretty cool. I didn't care for the Main Event though, it was way to predictable and I feel a bad way to end it. How are we supposed to believe that the TWO number one contenders for Smackdown lost to the RAW number one contender and the second top face on Smackdown? I think the Main Event could have been done better, a cheap shot from Christian to Sheamus during a distraction where Cena gets WSS on the outside or even through the announce table. Would build momentum for Christian/Henry without really hurting either Sheamus or Cena who you could job to Yoshi Tatsu and would still come out looking like the best thing in the business. Christian/Henry could have used the win, and would have given us a relevant heel win on RAW, instead of all the faces coming out on top. (I don't count the Divas because they can't be taken seriously when their champion wrestles worse then Michael Cole.)

Think of it like this though, a tag match isn't 1+1=2. It's about cohesiveness. So just because if you were to rank how "good" these guys are (kayfabe) it'd probably go Cena, Mark/Christian, Sheamus, the fact that Sheamus and Cena had the same goal to where Christian is a weasel who doesn't want to get involved and Mark just wants to kill people, you could see how they could lose.

Not only that but in a minor way, it could set up something in the future. They're REALLY making it look like Christian will lose tomorrow with Orton winning and Christian losing. However, maybe Mark Henry, seeing first hand how much of a coward Christian is, decides to interfere in the cage match because he'd rather face Christian. Leading to a triple threat or something? Probably won't go that way but just food for thought. Most stories aren't told in one night.

I definately wouldn't have minded your ending. I think they wanted Cena to look strong after the beatdown last week. It's a shame ADR couldnt' be on the show otherwise I think things could have "fit" better. Plus you don't want Henry destroying Cena because then that sort of creates a riff between them that would go unresolved, same thing if Christian cheats to win. The babyfaces winning is sort of the best way to do it without creating any excess.

I was hoping they'd have all hell break loose. Orton comes out, ADR comes out (now I know why that didn't happen) and they all fight. However, if you cause all that chaos, then it'd take away from Punk/HHH.

Which is another point. You have the standard ending because next you have what they tried to convey as a "blockbuster" announcement. It makes the announcement mean more.

Just different ways of looking at it really. I didn't think it was an amazing ending to the show, but I understand it.

 

[Hulk Hogan's Brother]

Raw has been doing the cliffhanger endings pretty well lately ever since Punk gave his shoot promo. That was the only shocker on Raw in my opinion. The timing was also great. Most people would have believed that Raw would have gone off air with Cena celebrating as is the case so often. People may just have been reaching for their remotes to switch off the TV when they heard this announcement. Sends a good message if you ask me. It's never over till it's over!!!!

The other "shocking" announcement wasn't really a shock for me. Superstars have been hopping brands on a regular basis for some time now without the brand extension really dissolving. Like I said in another thread, it is more of an acknowledgement of something that happens rather than an announcement that something new would happen.

The match quality was good but that has been the case for some time now. Main event stars always get good match time on Raw, it is the midcarders and the divas that suffer.

It was a good Raw but not neccesarily a night of shockers.

 

[Cenation716]

Oh my, yes I did the forget to list the Ziggler-Orton match. How could I forget, that was by far the best match of the night! I honestly think though that with this new RAW Supershow every week, the Smackdown talent is going to start losing credibilty & jobbing to the RAW Superstars.

 

[Alittude]

Punk vs Miz: Great match, but questionable booking. If you ever thought Punk was as over as Cena, watch this match. Punk doesn't get much of a reaction at all. It's because the people who see him as a face are a small group of people.


I think what this show shows is that maybe the brand split is a good thing. Things got a little cluttered. Not only that, but you realize how valuable ADR is. He adds a different spice to the show.

I really don't get your bias sometimes please explain it. The one week Punk doesn't get huge reactions and you use that to pinpoint and say only a small group of people cheer him as a face. That's total rubbish. He has been getting massive cheers every single week. During this match the crowd wasn't as alive as it usually has been I agree but his last few matches and every segment on Raw gets huuuuge reactions. I honestly don't know why you would use just one time to say crowds don't cheer him. That's like saying everyone boo's Cena when he got majority of boo's back to back in Boston and Chicago. There are CM Punk signs and shirts everywhere in the crowd and that's not just the 10%s as even a lot of kids have them now.

Also how on earth does Del Rio add any spice to the show? When the WWE champion is missing from the show and it makes no difference what so ever it shows he's just not that important at the moment and people don't really care about him unless he has the title and is in the ring with Cena or Punk. Usually if the champ is missing from the show people would be complaining and going wtf unless there is a specific reason for it. There was no backlash or outrage for him being missing as people just don't care that much. Yeah he's awesome in the ring but the man hasn't made the crowd get emotionally invested in him much at all and he's promo's have been severely lacking. Before he got the title he got mild reactions and putting him in the spotlight gives him some extra heat but when he is gone from it people don't care. He doesn't have enough substance yet for people to truly care about him and WWE better be careful with him or else once he looses the title he will drop to midcarder and could take the Swagger route.

On topic I enjoyed Raw tonight and although it wasn't amazing it was a very solid show. Good matches including Ziggler and Orton who put on a clinic as well as Miz and Punk. I would like to see more with these two with an actual story behind it. They're both awesome on the mic and Miz is getting better in the ring and Punk can put on a good match with nearly anybody it seems. I enjoyed the main event and thought Henry has been better on the mic recently which is the one thing he was missing a few weeks ago. Didn't agree with the booking for the end for the simple fact that Christian has a World title match tomorrow and loosing kind of takes his steam away even though it was 2 finishers from huge babyfaces. Loosing a tag match the night before a world title match doesn't really make anyone believe that he has a shot now. Overall good show and looking forward to HHH Punk and hope they don't screw this up because it's driving the show at the moment.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

WWE Super SmackDown! - August 30, 2011

Opening Segment - The opening of the show last night was a turn off for me. It was John Cena at his worst really. He was out there cracking his lame jokes, being all cutesy with the audience and just generally being happy-go-lucky. Cena is quite good when he's in a serious mind set but he really cranked up the lamer aspects of his character in my view. The business with Ricardo Rodriguez seemed kind of unnecessary though I do understand that they needed to do something ot address the Cena vs. Del Rio match at NOC as Del Rio is currently held up due to work visa issues. Wade Barrett came and cut an ok promo and Cena, again, just turned me off here. He came across as though Barrett was zero threat to him and no one to be taken seriously. Thumbs Down

John Cena vs. Wade Barrett - I was quite disappointed here. This was advertised as being one of the "main events", yet it was a glorified 3.5 minute squash match with Cena going over Barrett as if he were nothing. Barrett is the same guy that, at this time last year and for the remainder of 2010, was taking John Cena to the limit. Barrett had no significant offense in the match aside from hitting his Bossman/Black Hole Slam on Cena but Cena bounced back and went into his "5 moves of doom" offense and got the win after hitting the Attitude Adjustment. Basically, this was "SuperCena" all over the place and it just felt like it was an unnecessarily bad use of a guy that, at one time, was John Cena's worst enemy. *

Daniel Bryan vs. Sin Cara - Pretty good 5 minute match overall but, again, just some unusual booking here. People can complain all they like but I think Hunico as Sin Cara is much crisper and seems to have much more control inside the ring than Mistico. It was a good, physical 5 minute match with the crowd really getting into Bryan's hard hitting offense with his kicks especially. However, Sin Cara comes up with the clean win after hitting his springboard combo finisher. He shook Bryan's hand afterward but then delivered a few kicks. It looks as though Sin Cara has now gone heel, which is surprising as the character has made big money in merchendise. I also don't see why they jobbed Bryan out cleanly and in so little time if they were gonna turn Cara heel. After all, in the past few weeks, Bryan has held his own and taken the likes of Christian & Alberto Del Rio to the limit, yet he loses to Sin Cara in 5 minutes. The potential heel turn is interesting but I'm wondering what WWE is doing with Bryan's push. **1/4

Kelly Kelly & Alicia Fox vs. Beth Phoenix & Natalya - A short match but decent all things considered. Beth Phoenix & Natalya looked pretty dominant here and controlled most of the match, including beating up on Kelly Kelly. Beth eventually gets the win with the Glam Slam on Alicia Fox. 1/2*

Contract Signing - I was highly entertained by this verbal exchange between Triple H & CM Punk. I thought both of them did an excellent job of laying out exactly where they stand and why they're standing there. Punk continued to come across as a rebel going against the system and fighting for change and his position is that Trips is a lot like Vince, at least in terms of kayfabe, as it's all about his ego and what he personally wants. Triple H also did a good job of "slamming" Punk by pointing out that Punk is no different from any other guy that wants "change" by saying that he only wants "change" as long as he happens to be the guy at the top of the ladder. What resonated most with me is when Triple H talked about Punk insulting his family. The "business" aspect of the feud is a nice touch but the "personal" aspect is what more people will respond to. Kevin Nash's involvement was a nice touch and I like that Punk went right after him and wasn't backing down. Nash is able to get the upper hand after landing a big kick to the face after Triple H pulls Punk away. Trips pushes Nash and then Nash pushes Trips down, which gets a huge pop from the crowd. Aside from the verbal exchange, they also did a good job of keeping the mystery going as to just what Nash's overall involvement in this is and whether or not there's still some sort of "alliance" to keep Punk down and all that. The segment did run longer than it needed but I enjoyed the crap out of it. Thumbs Up

Sheamus vs. The Great Khali - Ok while it lasted, though it wasn't as good as their match a few weeks ago was. Sheamus looked like a beast in this match, just a hard hitting brawler face that'll take it to you as rough, or even rougher, than a heel would take it to him. Jinder Mahal interfered and got Khali DQ'd after Sheamus was setting up for the Brogue Kick. They beat on Sheamus for a bit before Sheamus rallied and ultimately left them both laying. Sheamus took Khali out on the outside with the Brogue Kick and left Mahal laying with the Celtic Cross inside the ring. Sheamus continues to look like a badass face and I'm really happy with how smoothly and how little trouble he's had making the transition from heel to face. **

Randy Orton vs. Christian for the World Heavyweight Championship - Another fantastic outing from these two. The chemistry between Orton & Christian is a promoter's dream and is just something you can't just manufacture on a whim. They both made good use of the cage and just flat out delivered another action packed, physical match where they left everything laying in there on the mat. Once again, WWE shows that you can have an excellent cage and/or hardcore style match with great action and storytelling without the need for wrestlers to cut themselves. The commercial breaks did sort of pull things down a little but the last 10-12 minutes of the match were killer. Orton winds up getting the win after hitting Christian with an RKO off the top rope at the 19 minute mark. Soon after, Mark Henry's music hits and he makes his way into the cage. Orton tries to fighting him off but Henry easily absorbs his attacks and just beats him down. He tosses Orton up against the cage a couple of good times before delivering the World's Strongest Slam. He grabs the belt from the ref, holds it up before draping it across a prone Orton. Excellent match and a good, sensible and logical beat down from Henry to follow up. ***3/4

Overall Show - Last night's live SmackDown! had it's ups and downs. It was a pretty Raw heavy show and that's kind of unfortunate, though I'd be lying if I said I wasn't expecting it. Last night was the first live episode of SD! on Syfy and, depending upon the ratings, the WWE wanted to do what they could to garner as much attention as they could. The first 20 minutes of the show were pretty crappy as it was John Cena in full blown "SuperCena" mode. His promo was a turn off and it was lousy use of Wade Barrett to feed him to Cena in a 3.5 minute squash match. Sin Cara vs. Daniel Bryan was a solid 5 minute match though it also had some weird booking. I'm intrigued by the possible heel turn we saw of Sin Cara yet if they were gonna do that, why not have him cheat to win against Bryan after a long & hard fought match? This is the first time that Bryan has come off looking weak even though he's lost matches. The Divas match was standard Diva filler. The show picked up in the second hour and I really enjoyed the contract signing between Triple H & CM Punk. Both did a great job on the mic and of ultimately letting the audience know where they both stand in this feud. Nash's involvement only furthers the speculation as to ultimately what's gonna happen and if he's really part of some secret alliance with someone. Sheamus vs. Great Khali was an ok match but the overall situation did a great job of making Sheamus look like a badass, babyface brawler. The main event between Randy Orton & Christian was another phenomenal meeting between them. Some people have complained about this feud, which is expected since you can't please everyone, but I just find it hard to complain when two guys go out there and knock one out of the park everytime they come up to bat. It was a Raw heavy show and that did sort of hurt the show somewhat in my eyes. Cena was at his worst last night, in my opinion, and the contract signing lasted too long. The SD! guys that did get featured on the show, however, might be an indicator that WWE places a high value on them. The show wasn't as good as I was hoping for and was overall a below average outing for the blue brand. It would've been pretty mediocre had it not been for the CM Punk/Triple H confrontation and the main event.

Grade: C

 

[XXJJ]

-Supersmackdown was a disappointment. Great main event and the Punk/Triple H segment was good. Everything else was pretty bad.

-I'm still shocked about the Cena and Wade Barrett match. They advertised that match as one of the main events on Raw. It was squash match. Was Cena pissed he had to do Smackdown too? Great promo by Wade though before the match.

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

I really don't get your bias sometimes please explain it. The one week Punk doesn't get huge reactions and you use that to pinpoint and say only a small group of people cheer him as a face. That's total rubbish. He has been getting massive cheers every single week. During this match the crowd wasn't as alive as it usually has been I agree but his last few matches and every segment on Raw gets huuuuge reactions. I honestly don't know why you would use just one time to say crowds don't cheer him. That's like saying everyone boo's Cena when he got majority of boo's back to back in Boston and Chicago. There are CM Punk signs and shirts everywhere in the crowd and that's not just the 10%s as even a lot of kids have them now.

Also how on earth does Del Rio add any spice to the show? When the WWE champion is missing from the show and it makes no difference what so ever it shows he's just not that important at the moment and people don't really care about him unless he has the title and is in the ring with Cena or Punk. Usually if the champ is missing from the show people would be complaining and going wtf unless there is a specific reason for it. There was no backlash or outrage for him being missing as people just don't care that much. Yeah he's awesome in the ring but the man hasn't made the crowd get emotionally invested in him much at all and he's promo's have been severely lacking. Before he got the title he got mild reactions and putting him in the spotlight gives him some extra heat but when he is gone from it people don't care. He doesn't have enough substance yet for people to truly care about him and WWE better be careful with him or else once he looses the title he will drop to midcarder and could take the Swagger route.

On topic I enjoyed Raw tonight and although it wasn't amazing it was a very solid show. Good matches including Ziggler and Orton who put on a clinic as well as Miz and Punk. I would like to see more with these two with an actual story behind it. They're both awesome on the mic and Miz is getting better in the ring and Punk can put on a good match with nearly anybody it seems. I enjoyed the main event and thought Henry has been better on the mic recently which is the one thing he was missing a few weeks ago. Didn't agree with the booking for the end for the simple fact that Christian has a World title match tomorrow and loosing kind of takes his steam away even though it was 2 finishers from huge babyfaces. Loosing a tag match the night before a world title match doesn't really make anyone believe that he has a shot now. Overall good show and looking forward to HHH Punk and hope they don't screw this up because it's driving the show at the moment.

How the fuck is it bias to say "Punk is more over when he's in the ring with HHH or John Cena, when he's in the ring with Miz, he's not very over". Not really a bias, more of an OBSERVATION. You should try it sometime.

No, a lot of kids don't have Punk shirts on, maybe a handful. I was recently at a fucking show and I do a lot of crowd watching both live and on TV, there are not a lot of kids with Punk shirts on. Against Cena, the chants were typically "Lets go Cena, Cena sucks" on the mic Punk typically only got much of a reaction when he was bashing HHH. When they take out Cena and HHH, Punk isn't that over, that's been a pretty consistent theme. Go back and pay more attention. Most of his loud reactions are when he's in the ring with a catalyst like Cena or HHH. Observe if you're going to analyse.

Christian losing makes perfect sense. He's a chickenshit heel. No one is supposed to think he has a chance against Orton unless he cheats. Him losing makes it seem more likely Orton will kick his ass, but the nature of Christians character (heel) is to cheat.

 

[Mustang Sally]

I was recently at a fucking show ....

Huh? What's that, TWJC? A WWE house show or a mass orgy featuring superstars and divas?

Most of his loud reactions are when he's in the ring with a catalyst like Cena or HHH.

Totally agree. While a guy like Cena can get the crowd going whether he's facing The Rock or Primo Colon, Punk still needs a top guy to feed off.

As for the "C.M. Punk! C.M. Punk!" chants you hear, understand that things like that don't start spontaneously. Did you ever hear the term "claque?" They are people hired by WWE and interspersed in strategic places in the audience. They are there to lead the applause or chants when the company wants the audience to participate. Claques have been used in legitimate theater since Vaudeville, especially in comedy acts to coax the audience into accepting that something funny has just happened......and laughing along.

When Hulk Hogan was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, do you really think those "One more match!" chants originated spontaneously from the audience?

No way in hell. They had claques out there to lead the cheering section. It's a common practice.

Similarly, doesn't it seem fortuitous that the Punk chants start exactly at the moment he says something stirring or controversial? The crowds are too much like sheep to originate something like that by themselves, but they're sure happy to follow along once someone else starts it.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

The ratings for last night's SuperSmackDown! are in and it did draw the largest audience it's had in a while. The show drew a 2.14 Nielsen Rating with an audience of 3,283,000 viewers, probably enough to warrant WWE and Syfy to move the show to Tuesdays, if that's indeed what the overall idea of the show was for.

It wasn't the #1 show on cable, however. It was slightly outdrawn by Teen Moms on MTV, which drew 3,307,000 viewers.

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

The ratings for last night's SuperSmackDown! are in and it did draw the largest audience it's had in a while. The show drew a 2.14 Nielsen Rating with an audience of 3,283,000 viewers, probably enough to warrant WWE and Syfy to move the show to Tuesdays, if that's indeed what the overall idea of the show was for.

It wasn't the #1 show on cable, however. It was slightly outdrawn by Teen Moms on MTV, which drew 3,307,000 viewers.

I don't know if this is the wrestling fan in me, the MTV hater in me, or the statistician in me. But 3,283,000 is 99.27% of 3,307,000. Given that the Nielsen Ratings are an estimate based off samples, I'd say that's not enough to for sure put SD at number 2. I mean, if you were to go into detail with standard deviation and confidence intervals, you couldn't legitimately state that without a doubt MTV drew more.

Even if they did, a few thousand viewers away from being number 1 is pretty damn good. Not only that but I bet if you factor in internet views, SD destroys Teen Moms. Let's hope they go to Tuesdays live.

I enjoyed the show. Thought it was pretty fun overall. I doubt WWE runs TV in Tulsa or Witchita again though, shitty ass crowds.

 

[Mitch Henessey]

Raw: 8/29/11​

Opening Segment

This opening segment featured some good tension and there was a little bit of comedy here, because CM Punk’s dry heave act was hilarious. Punk continued to push Triple H’s buttons, as he took shots at his marriage to Stephanie and his friendship with Kevin Nash, and Nash questioned HHH’s manhood. It was an uncomfortable situation for the COO, because HHH probably wanted to knock CM Punk’s lights out, but HHH isn’t a full-time wrestler anymore. He’s the man with the authority and he wears a suit. He has to be the bigger man, and he must remain a professional. I enjoyed this segment, and this was a nice way to kick off the show. Also, hearing the old NWO theme on a televised wrestling show brought back some good memories for me. The NWO was a huge part of my childhood, and I’ve always loved this theme. Punk VS Nash could have some potential, because there has been a nice build between these two. Both men despise each other, and Nash caused Punk to lose his WWE Championship, so Punk does have a reason for wanting revenge.

HHH’s big announcement of the ending of the brand split did feel surprising, and this announcement can bring some major changes to WWE. The possibilities for different rivalries could be endless, and it’ll be interesting to see how this affects the championships.

Randy Orton VS Dolph Ziggler

Excellent match. There was some pretty good back and forth action throughout this entire match, and this match did have a nice flow. Ziggler was able to hold his own against the World Heavyweight Champion, and Dolph did look pretty good here. Vickie’s presence was felt in this match, as she distracted the referee, but her brief moment of interference didn’t drag this match down at all, and this was a nice way to kick off another big change in the HHH era. Match Rating- 8/10

John Cena

Cena wanted a piece of Alberto Del Rio, but the champ didn’t bite here. Mark Henry and Christian decided to interrupt, and their presence made this segment a whole lot more interesting. Christian sounded like a hypocrite, as he called Cena out on his complaining, and Cena provided some laughs, as he made fun of Mark Henry’s bad breath and Christian’s tan. This was a nice little segment, and there was some solid mic work from all three men.

CM Punk VS The Miz

This match did have a steady pace, and there was some decent back and forth action here. R-Truth’s interference ended this one, and Kevin Nash came down to confront Punk. Punk tried to fight off all three men, but the numbers game eventually caught up with him. Nash drilled Punk with another power bomb, and the rivalry between these two men continues to heat up, because Punk will want some sort of physical revenge soon enough, and he could have his chance at the pay per view. Match Rating- 7/10

Sin Cara VS Jack Swagger

There wasn’t too much focus on the match here, and this was pretty short. The Dolph/Vickie saga overshadowed what was going on in the ring, and this was just another way to further the storyline between these two.

Kofi Kingston & Evan Bourne VS David Otunga & Michael McGillicutty- WWE Tag Team Championships

This match was very short, and the new champs took care of Otunga and McGillicutty pretty quickly. There wasn’t anything special about this match, and this was very forgettable. Otunga and McGillicutty confronted Lawler after the match. They’re tired of Lawler trashing them on commentary, but I just don’t care about these two. Their reign (if you can even call it that) as Tag Team Champions wasn’t memorable at all, and when it comes to personality, these two can be very boring and bland. Otunga and McGillicutty VS Lawler might go somewhere, but I have no interest in this potential storyline.

Kelly Kelly/With Eve VS Brie Bella/With Niki Bella

Another short and forgettable match here. For the most part, this contest was pretty underwhelming, and I just couldn’t get into this. Also, there were a lot of outside distractions here. They cut to some footage of Natalya and Beth Phoenix backstage, and they’re still not happy about their positions in the Diva’s division. Eve tried to save Kelly from Brie’s baseball slide, but she caught some of the impact, and Niki won the match, as The Bellas pulled the Twin Magic trick. There was a lot of outside stuff going on here, and I just couldn’t focus on the action in the ring.

John Cena & Sheamus VS Mark Henry & Christian

Pretty decent main event here. This match started out kind of slow, but the action and the pace picked up towards the end, and Cena continues to build a good amount of momentum, as he heads into Night Of Champions. Also, I still can't believe Sheamus' popularity. I've been a fan of his from the start, and he did receive a nice reaction from the crowd on this show. Sheamus was one of the most hated heels in WWE last year, and his face turn has been unbelievable. Match Rating- 6/10

Overall Show Rating 6/10: The announcement of Triple H VS CM Punk at Night Of Champions shocked me. I thought this match might take place at Wrestlemania, and I didn’t think The Game would step back in the ring so soon. I am looking forward to this match, and more information about the mysterious text message should be revealed , because I think this match will feature some outside interference, and Nash could be the man who causes a disruption here. Also, there was some tension between John Laurinaitis and HHH tonight. HHH had to remind Laurinaitis who the boss was. HHH had to let him know who was in charge. It was an uneasy moment as HHH and Laurinaitis exchanged a stare down backstage, and I could really feel the tension between these two. As far as the show goes, I thought this was a solid episode of Raw. The opening segment was pretty good, and the Ziggler/Orton match kept the momentum going, the main event was enjoyable, and the announcement of CM Punk VS HHH at Night Of Champions provided a good shock to close out the show.

 

[Alittude]

How the fuck is it bias to say "Punk is more over when he's in the ring with HHH or John Cena, when he's in the ring with Miz, he's not very over". Not really a bias, more of an OBSERVATION. You should try it sometime.

No, a lot of kids don't have Punk shirts on, maybe a handful. I was recently at a fucking show and I do a lot of crowd watching both live and on TV, there are not a lot of kids with Punk shirts on. Against Cena, the chants were typically "Lets go Cena, Cena sucks" on the mic Punk typically only got much of a reaction when he was bashing HHH. When they take out Cena and HHH, Punk isn't that over, that's been a pretty consistent theme. Go back and pay more attention. Most of his loud reactions are when he's in the ring with a catalyst like Cena or HHH. Observe if you're going to analyse.

Christian losing makes perfect sense. He's a chickenshit heel. No one is supposed to think he has a chance against Orton unless he cheats. Him losing makes it seem more likely Orton will kick his ass, but the nature of Christians character (heel) is to cheat.

It has shown the crowd when CM Punk is on and yes I have seen lots of kids maybe you should open your eyes. What are you even basing your argument of Punk isn't over against people who aren't HHH or Cena on. He vsed Del Rio before Summerslam and got big reactions during that match and trust me that wasn't for Del Rio because people didn't care about him before he won the title. So again you're just basing it off one match and it's not a valid point. Cena and HHH are the only people he's feuded with including Nash since he's character change so how the hell can you say he isn't over without them you haven't even given him a chance to see that. You have lots of ignorance in your posts and leave certain things out just to suit your argument, that's not intelligent. You obviously think you're a lot smarter than you are because the way you argue your opinions is extremely immature.

And it's not smart to make someone loose a day before they go into a title fight no matter who it is. It makes them loose steam and makes the title match seem less relevant and the ending extremely predictable.

 

[Mitch Henessey]

Smackdown: 8/30/11​

Opening Segment

John Cena was in full hype man mode as he opened the show. He told a few jokes, he tried to pump up the crowd, and he did show lots of excitement for the live edition of Smackdown. Cena tried to call out Del Rio, but the champ didn’t show his face again, and Ricardo decided to take his place. There was some good humor between these two, and I did laugh a couple of times during this segment. The loyal assistant wanted to push Cena’s buttons, and Cena sent Del Rio a message, as he decked Ricardo. Cena showed his serious side, when he confronted his former rival, Wade Barrett. There was a little bit of tension between these two, and I always enjoy the serious side of Cena more, because he can be very convincing. Overall, I thought this opening segment was okay. The beginning didn’t excite me too much, but everything picked up, when Ricardo and Barrett made their way to the ring

John Cena VS Wade Barrett

I never believed Barrett had a chance here, because Cena will continue to build momentum as he heads into Night Of Champions, and Barrett isn’t involved in any major storylines at the moment, but this just felt like a squash match. Cena really dominated, and it just felt like they were going through the motions here. I was kind of disappointed by this, because there was a nice pre match promo between these two, and I was expecting a competitive match. Match Rating- 3/10

Daniel Bryan VS Sin Cara

This match had a good quick pace, there was some nice back and forth action here, and this match did have a good flow. Sin Cara showed some sportsmanship after the match, but he decided to kick Bryan in the face after the friendly handshake. Cara could be headed for a heel turn after this. WWE must have a lot of faith in the Sin Cara character, because the men under the mask have received a nice push so far. Cara could get over with the fans, but I think he needs something meaningful. Everything Cara has been involved in has felt so random, and he hasn’t had a real feud yet, because the stuff with Chavo really didn’t go anywhere. Match Rating- 7/10

Natalya & Beth Phoenix VS Kelly Kelly & Alicia Fox

This was pretty short, and nothing special happened in this match. Beth and Natalya looked dominant here, and they took care of the Diva’s Champion and Alicia Fox pretty quickly. I’m enjoying the team of Beth and Natalya so far. They are the two powerhouse Divas in WWE’s womens division. They’re pissed off, and they want to prove a point.

Triple H/CM Punk Contract Signing

This was one of the best contract signings I’ve ever seen. There was so much tension between HHH and CM Punk, and you could really feel the hatred these men have for each other. Punk and HHH despise each other, and they continued to throw some pretty harsh personal jabs here. HHH didn’t want to be the “bigger man” anymore. Punk pushed him to the limit, the COO couldn’t take anymore, and The Game didn’t hold anything back here. Punk was still the cocky rebel, as he propped his feet up on the table, and he continued to test HHH. Also, Nash’s arrival made everything more interesting. He really wants to shut Punk’s mouth once and for all. Nash wants to beat the hell out of him, but his best friend (and new boss) won’t allow it. Nash showed a good amount of rage as he charged towards the ring, and the push on HHH did feel shocking. Nash is obviously tired of HHH’s interference, and this tense situation between all three men could explode at any minute. This was an outstanding segment, and I really did enjoy this.

Sheamus VS The Great Khali/ With Jinder Mahal

Mahal’s interference ended this one quickly, and this was a short match, but I was actually enjoying this match before Mahal’s interference. This match was pretty physical, Sheamus did deliver a good amount of punishment, and Sheamus’ flying shoulder block from the top rope did look impressive. I actually wish this could’ve been given more time, because this match did have some potential. Sheamus continues to look strong, and his fighting comeback after the match was a nice touch here.

Randy Orton VS Christian- World Heavyweight Championship-Steel Cage

Another excellent match from Randy Orton and Christian. There was some pretty good back and forth action here, this match did feature some decent suspense, and there were some rough physical spots in this one. Christian provided a nice highlight with his Frog Splash, and Orton’s RKO from the top rope did look devastating. Orton VS Christian should be a serious contender for feud of the year, because this rivalry was spectacular and these two did deliver some great matches. Mark Henry sent a message to the champ with his post match beat down. Henry continues to look like a dominant monster, and I am excited about the upcoming championship match. Match Rating- 9/10

Overall Show Rating 7/10: The Punk/HHH contract signing was the highlight of the show for me. The mic work from both men was pretty good, and this was a perfect way to build some hype for their match at Night Of Champions. The steel cage match was a very good main event, Bryan VS Cara delivered, but the rest of the wrestling on this show was kind of weak. Still, this was an enjoyable episode of Smackdown, and the blue brand continues to produce a solid show on a weekly basis.

 

[LSN80]

Smackdown Supershow Hits and Misses(Live 8/30) Re-aired 9/3/11​

I missed the original airing and had to catch it late last night on UHD. This is a little dated, but here we go.

Smackdown Hits:​

Christian vs Randy Orton: A perfect way to conclude their feud. It's a shame this feud didnt take place in any other year, because Cena and Punk will undoubtably overtake them for Feud of The Year. That doesn't detract from the fact that these men didn't have a bad match in their feud, and this one was certainly one of the better ones. They used the cage well, and like every other match in the feud, this was a back and forth affair. It's time for the two men to move on, but this was the way to do it. The commercial breaks hurt this match ever so slightly, but the last 9 minutes of this uninterrupted was non-stop action and fantastic psyhcology. ****

Sin Cara heel turn: I wasn't a fan of the match between he and Daniel Bryan, but it was obviously a set-up for the post-match angle. Because he doesn't talk and his facial expressions are unreadable, something needed to be done to breathe life into his character. Im interested in where this develops from here, as well as an explanation from him through an interpreter perhaps. This leaves me interested in where he goes from here.

MArk Henry: Henry is more of an old-school heel then many wrestlers in the past in that he's not afraid to get his hands dirty and face the champion one on one. Christian was never made to be a true threat to Orton as he played the chickensh** heel, and Henry is just the opposite. Sure, Orton was coming off a 20 minute cage match, but Henry dispatched him with ease when he came to the ring. The champion looking vulnerable heading into a matchup with a monster heel sells. Im not sold on Henry as champion, but I am with him as the number one contender, as his push continues to be very well done.

Sheamus: Sheamus is going to make the company quite a bit of money as a babyface, as he continues to get over more and more by the week. His match with Khali was, well, a match with Khali. The hit is for the way he disposed of both Khali and Jinder Mahal after the match. Perhaps WWE doesn't know exactly what to do with Sheamus in the here and now, but they've kept him strong in the interim.

HHH aand CM Punk contract signing: They went a little too "insider" here with HHH's mention of Vince being willing to "take a beating" for the good of the business, but this was well done otherwise. HHH's motivations for wanting to be the one to fight Punk were logical, as it would make sense he would want to fight someone he bent over backwards for. Punk continues to play the 'Voice of the Voiceless' to perfection, and he and HHH have developed fantastic chemistry on the mic already, chemistry I imagine will carry over into the ring. Nash laying both men out adds intrigue to their NOC match. The storyline continues to move along nicely.

Kelly Kelly and Alicia vs Beth and Natalya: A very minor hit. There was nothing special about this match, but it had gotten to the point where the DOD were just talking and not getting into the ring, causing the angle to lose steam for me. Their fairly dominant win over the champion and Alicia re-invigorates said storyline, and hopefully this will continue as well. *

Smackdown Misses:

John Cena vs Wade Barrett: This was a fail on so many levels. Jokester Cena who doesn't take his opponents seriously made his return, and some of his jokes were gag-worthy. Last year, this was the hottest feud in WWE, and now Cena is beating Barrett dominantly in 3 minutes? I understand the goal of trying to make Cena look strong heading into NOC, but Barrett was the wrong man to use as the vehicle to do so. The Cena that opened Smackdown is whaat turns off much of the audience.*1/4


Daniel Bryan vs Sin Cara: Bryan is simply not a man who should be losing cleanly so quickly. I understand the goal was to get over the heel turn for Cara, but Trent Barretta or Ted DiBiase wasn't available? Bryan simply shouldn't be jobbing in less then five minutes, especially with the proposed storyline of him cashing in at Wrestlemania. The more he continues to lose, the harder it will be to take him seriously as a top threat, which is an uphill battle to begin with. *3/4

Super Smackdown concept: Raw did a nice job of using the "Supershow" concept. Cena was awful on the mic and buried Barrett. Punk and HHH were good in their roles,but the segment took up entirely too much time. What we got instead were short matches, key Smackdown players were left off the show, and there is no logical argument for ending the brand split. Smackdown has been on a role lately, but this show was a step down because of the integration of Raw and SD stars. This viewer hopes this is just a short-term "attempted fix" to boost ratings.

 

[#hamler]

Super Smackdown concept: Raw did a nice job of using the "Supershow" concept. Cena was awful on the mic and buried Barrett.

Pretty much agreed. Cena obviously should have won in this match but the way he slaughtered Barrett made Wade look incredibily weak.

Punk and HHH were good in their roles,but the segment took up entirely too much time.

I disagree here. Raw left us with unanswered questions that needed to be answered. One of Smackdown's main problems is the huge lack of credible star power. I don't think it hurt too much to have a Raw segment on Smackdown. After all, the show still had a Smackdown feel to it; the cage match was one hell of a match which made up for a lot of the shortcomings.

What we got instead were short matches, key Smackdown players were left off the show,

With the exception of Cody Rhodes, there weren't many left off. Mark Henry, Christian, Orton got a chance to shine while Sin Cara and Daniel Bryan had a chance to get tv time.

and there is no logical argument for ending the brand split. Smackdown has been on a role lately, but this show was a step down because of the integration of Raw and SD stars. This viewer hopes this is just a short-term "attempted fix" to boost ratings.

They need star power. That's my main grudge with Smackdown. I don't necessarily want the brand split to end but this weeks show was definitely better on my opinion. True, there could've been changes, but I truly felt Smackdown stepped it up this week.

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

It has shown the crowd when CM Punk is on and yes I have seen lots of kids maybe you should open your eyes. What are you even basing your argument of Punk isn't over against people who aren't HHH or Cena on. He vsed Del Rio before Summerslam and got big reactions during that match and trust me that wasn't for Del Rio because people didn't care about him before he won the title. So again you're just basing it off one match and it's not a valid point. Cena and HHH are the only people he's feuded with including Nash since he's character change so how the hell can you say he isn't over without them you haven't even given him a chance to see that. You have lots of ignorance in your posts and leave certain things out just to suit your argument, that's not intelligent. You obviously think you're a lot smarter than you are because the way you argue your opinions is extremely immature.

And it's not smart to make someone loose a day before they go into a title fight no matter who it is. It makes them loose steam and makes the title match seem less relevant and the ending extremely predictable.

Starting from the bottom. Historically, the guy who looks worse going into a title match ends up winning. I forget how long it went on, but for a while I was counting the number of consecutive guys the guy who lost or got beatdown won the upcoming title match. Not only that, but on Smackdown the crowd still got really into the match. So I don't think it was much of a problem except maybe to you and the Christian marks out there that are stupid enough to think that a chickenshit heel should win clean or often.

I can say he isn't as over by himself as he is with Cena and HHH because his matches weren't as over without them. How is that bias? Also, I've been to a live show. There are not more kids with CM Punk shirts than Cena shirts. You don't hear kids cheering Punk, it's always a deeper, late teen early 20s male voice. I could be wrong, I don't get to see the WWE's sales numbers. There isn't much evidence at all saying that Punk is over with kids.

If people didn't care for Del Rio they wouldn't dress up like him. WWE has researchers out in the crowd and analysts that know more than we do and have measuring capabilities greater than we do. If no one cared about ADR, he wouldn't be champion.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I don't really have the time for a long, segment by segment review of the show.

Overall, I thought last night's show was pretty solid. It had a slower, steadier pace than we've seen in the past several weeks. There wasn't as much action on the show and that's a good thing really because they needed to use this show to progress some storylines and set up some new matches for Night of Champions.

I'm still entertained by the Punk/Triple H/Nash angle, though I thought it came off as kind of weak revealing that Nash himself sent the text. Nash getting "fired" adds a little something to it and him driving off with JL continues to make me think that there's a secret alliance looking to take the reigns of power from Triple H.

Air Boom won their match against Mahal & Khali. Just a good, momentum building win and I'm glad to see how over the team is with the fans. WWE is making slow progress in their tag team picture, nothing wrong with slow as long as it's going in the right direction.

The Divas match I thought was surprisingly decent for how short it was, minus Eve's botch of what I think was going to be some sort of modified monkey flip. Beth getting the win and going on to face Kelly Kelly at NOC was the right call and Natalya jumping Kelly from behind post match was a nice touch.

They showed Alberto Del Rio talking to some guys backstage throughout the night trying to sort of "enlist" help against Cena. I thought it was good use of Del Rio in the sens that it shows the more crafty side of his heel persona.

CM Punk vs. R-Truth was a really good 10 minute match that told a good story and I really like how Punk constantly sold the knee injury throughout the match. I also enjoyed Miz & Truth's promo before the match and having them take on Air Boom at NOC should be fun. As for the match itself, I give it 2 3/4 stars.

The stipulations of Triple H vs. Punk being a no DQ match and Trips giving up his position if he loses are interesting. It makes me wonder that, if there is some sort of secret alliance, will they show up at NOC and help Punk take Triple H out?

Lawler & Ryder vs. McGuillicutty & Otunga was mostly just filler. Didn't really see a point to it other than to give Ryder some television time.

Orton vs. Slater also just seemed like pointless filler.

The main event was a fun match that the crowd was really hot for. I like that they ultimately made the heels generally look stronger here and I also dug how they used the match to further the Ziggler/Swagger situation. Based on the match, it also looks as if Christian & Sheamus might be starting a feud up. Cena winds up getting the win for his team at the 18 minute mark and got the best of Del Rio last night. I gave the match 3 stars.

As I said, last night's show was pretty solid. Storylines were moved forward, a few other questions popped up, some new matches were made for the ppv and two really good matches were on the show last night. For me, I'd probably give last night's show a B-.

 

[The Future Rises]

Opening Segment
Pretty entertaining. Although I do feel Kevin Nash's voice is really annoying and he can't cut a decent promo right now. But CM Punk and Trips' confrontations are always entertaining. Very well done segment with the punch and the firing at the finish.
GREAT

Air-Boom Vs Jinder Mahal and The Great Khali
Decent match. I really enjoyed seeing Jinder Mahal actually prove some people wrong considering what I've heard about him being a bad worker and all. Jinder did impress. The finish was very well done with Kofi knocking off Khali and Mahal getting pinned. Plus this was a great way to start building up the tag champs before their match at Night Of Champions. **

Beth Phoenix Vs Eve
Pretty good Divas match. Kelly Kelly looked good as always doing commentary and Nataya did a good job of playing her heel character when she was on commentary. Beth beat Eve with what was a sick Glamslam. Still not impressed by Eve. I hope she shows some more personality I even think she's worse than Otunga and McGuillicutty who King seems to think are stale while I honestly think they're doing pretty good. Back to the match it was good for a Divas match I guess and the Glamslam was pretty well delivered. **

Alberto Del Rio's Backstage Segments With "The Rulers Of Raw"
I think this was a great way to make Del Rio's character look like a real villain. The way he just went on to all the heels and reminded them of everything they hated about Cena was good. I think it was also good because it gave young talent some TV time.
GOOD

Miz And R-Truth Promo/CM Punk Vs R-Truth
I thought the promo was very good with Miz and Truth giving us some serious comedy in a last minute build to Truth's match against CM Punk. On to the match it was a pretty good back and forth solid match with a great performance by both men. Punk really has chemistry with The Miz and R-Truth and puts on good matches with both men. The match ends with a great finish when Miz tried to interfere only to be kicked by Punk and banned from ringside by the referee. After it Truth tries to take advantage only to be caught in the GTS. Great promo followed by a good wrestling match. ***
GREAT PROMO

Jerry Lawler And Zack Ryder Vs McTungaCutty
I don't know what the hell were they thinking with this match. At least showcase Zack Ryder instead of an old past his prime version of Jerry Lawler. The match starts with Otunga and McGuillicutty dominating Zack Ryder. Ryder gets a got tag and in comes Lawler who destroys David Otunga only for him to tag Ryder again to hit the Rough Ryder for the three count. Not a big fan of this match at all. If they're gonna job out McTungaCutty then why waste a great theme song on them? *

Randy Orton Vs Heath Slater
Not a big fan of Orton but why in the blue hell did it have to be Heath Slater?! He's horrible. He doesn't look like he has a bright future with his crappy gimmick, crappy mic skills and mediocre wrestling skills. They could have put someone like Cody Rhodes, Drew McIntyre, or Tyson Kidd instead. Filler match wasn't entertained at all. *

Main Event : Four On Four Elimination Tag Team Match
Great match here. I think Christian slapping Sheamus and Sheamus getting pissed off and chasing him off was a great touch for Sheamus' "take no shit" character and a great start off for a feud between the two. The Ziggler/Swagger vs Cena thing at the end was a great way to showcase two great young talents and further their storyline. This was a great main event and the aftermath with Del Rio trying to attack only to be AA'd was a good touch too to end the show. ***

Overall
Decent show saved by two great matches. The build up for Night Of Champions is shaping up to be pretty good. I hope we see Sheamus Vs Christian and Ziggler Vs Riley Vs Swagger/Ziggler Vs Swagger winner takes all U.S. title and the managerial services of Vickie Gurerrero. The show was pretty good but definitely could have been better without Orton Vs Slater and Lawler/Ryder Vs Otunga/McGuillicutty. When JR said he wonders what's next for the team of Lawler/Ryder all I could think of is god help me I hope they don't become a full time tag team. This was a decent Raw. But again it could have been better. I'd give it a B- just like Jack-Hammer.

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

Opening segment: It really didn't seem like the crowd gave much of a shit. I think it's because they haven't really gone anywhere in a few weeks. It's Nash "I'm a mean guy" HHH "I'm trying to keep order" and Punk "I'm different, I'm against the mainstream". Nash revealing himself wasn't the best option, but who knows, I'm guessing it turns into something else. Decent segment but the crowd wasn't all that into it and neither was I. It furthered the angle a little more and I hope it picks back up.

Air-Boom vs The Indian ADR and the Indian Rodriguez with giantism
Good match. It showcased Air-Boom, beating a much larger team. Not because individually they're better, but because they're more cohesive as a team. Plus it furthered the tension between Mahal and Khali. Good TV match and good character development.

Divas match wasn't bad. I liked the commentary. My girlfriend said "how is KK a face? She's a bitch and Natalya has a point". Which I agree with. Although the majority of wrestling fans are rednecks to so them pretty anorexic assless titless girl is right, bigger, athletic woman is wrong. The smarks need to open their mouth during these matches with some "kill the barbies" chants or something to spice this up. Again, more of an angle than a match, which is what most of your TV should be.

ADR backstage stuff. I really like this. It shows that he's willing to do anything to take out Cena, it puts Cena over as someone ADR feels threatened by (as if the most over guy on the roster needed it) and shows you what ADR is willing to do in desperate times.

Miz/Truth promo and match vs Punk. What a fuckin awesome promo. These guys are great together and are very over, they got a louder reaction than the opening segment. Punk is not over as a babyface in matches. The smarks will show up with the occasional "CM Punk" chant but everyone else seems indifferent. He needs to be a heel. I understand why he's not a heel now though, because when he turns (hopefully he turns) he'll be that much more over as a heel. Which I think he will be by the end of his feud with HHH. Solid match. GREAT selling by Punk. If anyone ever doesn't get it when I say "selling isn't passive" watch this match. Punk sells the knee when he's getting beat down, sells the knee when he's on offense, sells the knee after he hits the GTS. You sell the whole match and you actively sell. Good job all around here.

Lawler/Ryder vs Otungacutty: I get this. You want to further Lawler vs Otungacutty (which is a way to get Otungacutty over against a sympathy magnate like Lawler) so you needed Lawler to have a partner. You give him someone who just needs TV time, so they give it to Ryder. They showcased Ryder with a promo video and then also by having Lawler tag to him for the win. Solid little character match.

To the guy above me, they aren't "jobbing otungacutty out". They're doing this for character development. Eventually Otungacutty will "learn" and get better in kayfabeland. It's all part of the plan. Unless they don't get over at all, then they should be jobbed out and sent packing. Cool theme song (if you say so) or not.

Orton vs Slater: Slater is MUCH better than people give him credit for. He's just a slimey little fuck that you wish you could beat the hell out of. He's like a redheaded, more annoying version of Christian. Slater is a very good heel and I think that once he gets more experience and more confident on the mic, he'll be a really solid heel. This was a showcase match for Orton to bounce back after Henry brutalized him on SD. Slater bumped around like crazy for Orton and Slater is the type of guy people love to see get the shit beat out of him, so it made sense. You rarely see squashes anymore but once in a while they're okay. I understood this match and hope more people give Slater a chance to prove he can be a really good slimey chickenshit heel.

Main event was good. Cena's promo was good, I like that they booked the match as spontaneous although as soon as the babyfaces came out, you knew what was going to happen. I like big tag matches with a bunch of babyfaces vs a bunch of heels. This match was booked perfectly. They did so much with it. ADR still didn't fight Cena. You had Swagger and Ziggler one-upping each other with Ziggler trying to be the bigger man and be okay with it most of the time. You had Sheamus looking strong and then maybe a seed planted for Christian vs Sheamus which will be lots of fun. Then you had Cena win without really doing "TEH SUPER CENAZ" stuff so many people think they hate. Ziggles and Swagger miscommunicate which leads to Cena winning. Also, anyone else hear the pop for Cena when he was the last guy on his team? Good shit.

I liked the booking this show for Cena vs ADR especially because Cena has been questioning ADR the whole time. ADR "not showing up" (for visa) on raw and sd last week looked like he was running from cena, now he has guys doing the bidding for him and Cena still gets the best of him. My guess is they keep elevating the lengths to which ADR goes to gain the advantage, probably still book Cena strong until NOC and then finally have ADR's plan come through and he hangs onto the belt.

Solid show, maybe in the "good" realm. Nothing awesome, nothing awesome. It was a lot of character and angle development which is what your TV show is for.

 

[XXJJ]

So the Live Smackdown Supershow replay on Friday night got a 1.2 rating. Thats not too bad considering its a replay and its Labor Day Weekend.

I'm thinking their were two different audiences. I cant imagine many people watched SD on Tuesday live and then watched it again on Friday night. Real good week for the WWE on scyfy.