WWE Raw - November 19, 2012
Ryback - Raw opens with Ryback coming to the ring to deliver a promo. He comes out to a pretty strong pop and his brief promo was pretty decent. He showed good intensity on the mic but, personally, I thought it would've been better without all the various "feeding" references that he put in. However, I thought Ryback showed good presence on the mic and the crowd was firmly behind him with the "Feed Me More" chants. Ryback addressed both Punk & the NXT wrestlers, saying that he'd tear everything up if they didnt' come down. Vickie Guerrero comes down and sorta puts Ryback in his place by saying that while she enjoyed watching him destroy people, she wasn't going to have him step out of line and threatened him with a fine and/or suspension if he did before booking him in a match with Tensai. Nothing particularly amazing here but not bad for his first real promo.
Thumbs Up
1. Ryback vs. Tensai - I kinda groaned a little bit once Tensai's music hit but this match was surprisingly decent. I fully expected Ryback to tear through Tensai with no problem at all but it wasn't a squash. Tensai himself got in a pretty good amount of offense in the match. This match was also, in it's way, kind of important as far as gauging Ryback's popularity. CM Punk was nowhere in sight, yet the live crowd was very much behind Ryback and digging whatever he was doing. While it was obvious that Ryback wasn't going to lose to Tensai, it was refreshing to see that he had to struggle some to get the win. It show that Ryback is progressing. Ryback has no problem getting Tensai up for Shellshocked, as opposed to the first time they wrestled, because Ryback picked him up more along the lines of a Samoan Drop rather than hooking his leg like he's going for a Fisherman's suplex. Ryback gets the win about the 4 minute mark and poses with the crowd.
**
2. Kofi Kingston vs. Wade Barrett - This was a very nice outing between Kingston & Barrett. While an IC title program isn't what I had in mind for Wade Barrett, he & Kofi can do some good things together and deliver a great feud for the title. Barrett's going to be in the main event picture before long. It's not gonna be for a bit as Show & Sheamus are keeping their feud going, so at least they're giving Barrett something meaningful. Good chemistry between Barrett & Kofi and I like the story they told with Barrett working on Kingston's eye. Barrett working over Kofi's eye had a real old school feel to it because, frankly, I can't really remember the last time I saw someone do it. Usually, the heels will focus on an arm or a leg, sometimes the rips or the back, but it's been ages since I saw a heel go for the eyes. Kofi did a good job of selling his "injured" eye throughout the match. Both guys looked good and Kofi looked resilient against the bigger, stronger Barrett. The end comes shortly after Kofi hits the SOS on Barrett for a good near fall. Barrett gets himself between Kofi & the ref just after this and rubs Kofi's "injured" eye over the ring rope. He then comes up with the Bullhammer elbow for the win at the 13 minute mark. A good win for Barrett and a good start to the feud.
***
CM Punk & Paul Heyman - There was a brief backstage thing with Punk & Heyman, with Matt Striker interrupting. Nothing overly special here but they kept the momentum going by further hyping the WWE Championship celebration. The commentators had been doing it throughout the show, so this moved things along. It was being made to seem like a big deal and an interesting hook to get people to tune in, especially with the possibility of Ryback being involved.
NA
3. Kaitlyn vs. Aksana - While this match was kinda clunky, there was actually a pretty decent response from the audience. Usually, the audience is almost entirely dead for Diva matches but, comparatively speaking, this one got some good responses. That being said, the match wasn't all that great. I didn't expect it to be really because Aksana is the weakest Diva on the roster, whether in the ring or on the mic. The crowd was behind Kaitlyn and did pop whens he got the win. While the match wasn't much, at least the crowd seemed to be somewhat invested so that's a potentially positive sign going forward for Kaitlyn.
3/4*
3. Brodus Clay vs. Antonio Cesaro - An ok match but nothing particularly interesting. Cesaro looked good against Clay, though that's no longer saying much as Clay is pretty much a jobber now. Is it just me or has Clay lost a good deal of weight? To look at the guy, to me, he looks a good 20 pounds lighter. R-Truth was out there on commentary, so it looks like Cesaro vs. Truth is going to continue. While I can't say that it excites me, at least they're giving Cesaro a feud with a star that's decently over. Truth still sucked on commentary, but not nearly as bad as last time. Cesaro gets the win over Clay after hitting the Neutralizer about the 3 minute mark.
*1/4
Make-A-Wish - This is a perfect example of why John Cena is so over with people. There was a video regarding Cena granting his 300th wish for the foundation. There were a lot of genuinely touching comments made in the video and whether you like Cena's character or not, you've got to respect his devotion to the foundation. It's something that Cena believes in very much and I gotta give it up to him for it.
Thumbs Up
AJ & Vickie Segment - I'm a little mixed on this segment. The Vickie allegations are getting really tired, in my opinion. But these segments seem to be over with the live audience every week. Vickie brought out to "witnesses" regarding AJ & Cena. One was a waitress in the "restaurant" where AJ & Cena had their "business dinner" and the other was a valet for the "restaurant". The valet says that Cena & AJ were basically knocking boots in Cena's care and that one of the customer's told him about. Before Vickie was about to show "nude stills" on the big screen, AJ's music hit. I like AJ on the mic as she's really good at conveying emotions. She tells Vickie to "shut the hell up" which got a big pop from the crowd. Cena's music hit soon after and he comes down to get in Vickie's face before saying he'd give her something to talk about. He then kissed AJ and the crowd popped huge. He then turned back to Vickie for a bit before AJ spun him around and kissed him again. Dang, AJ's a ****.

First Bryan, then Kane, then Punk and now Cena. Girl's had a busy year. Dolph Ziggler hits the ring and busts up the make out session by attacking Cena. Cena gets the best of him and runs him out of the ring. As Cena gets off the apron, he definitely takes a wrong step and looks like he either twisted his ankle or did something to his knee as he hobbled up the ramp after Ziggler. Throughout the night, there was talk that Cena might have a partially torn Meniscus. Since they actually would show Cena back in the locker room in a little while getting his knee wrapped, it looks like the injury may have been a work. I don't see WWE showing that it it was legit. From my vantage point, it looked like Cena might've just tweaked his ankle a little. The segment was mixed for me, as I said, so here's hoping that the allegations are done.
Thumbs In The Middle
4. Randy Orton vs. Alberto Del Rio in a 2 out of 3 falls match - This match was pretty solid, not really great in my opinion, but I liked the overall story. The first two falls of the match happened quickly but, again, the story behind it was solid. Del Rio sacrificed the first fall, giving it to Orton via DQ, by relentlessly slamming his left arm against the ring post to soften it up. The ref was counting but Del Rio wouldn't stop so the ref disqualified him. Del Rio won the second fall soon after by putting Orton in the Cross Armbreaker. Orton fights it at first but is unable to hold out and quickly taps. I like that Cole mentioned that Orton quickly tapped so that he wouldn't be in the hold for long. The third fall was more action packed that the first two and completed the story being told. Del Rio puts Orton in the Cross Armbreaker again for a believable near fall before Orton is able to roll Del Rio up onto his shoulders to counter the move for another nice near fall. The end comes with Del Rio going for the step up enziguiri in the corner. Orton ducks out of the way and comes around to deliver the RKO to win the third fall at the 13 minute mark.
**1/2
5. The Great Khali vs. Epico & Primo - This was horrible, just flat out horrible. This match and segment had Vince McMahon's fingerprints all over it. Epico & Primo are two good tag team wrestlers and deserve better than to be fed to Khali. During the match, Hornswoggle comes out with some flowers that he's bringing to Rosa. Rosa leans down to smell them and gets squirted in the face with water. Khali gets the win and starts to dance a little in the ring with Hornswoggle. As I said, this segment seemed to be something that Vince McMahon personally wanted to see. To me, it showed once again that Khali & Hornswoggle are the two worst members of the roster. These two should be future endeavored as soon as possible. Shitty segment all in all.
NA
6. The Miz vs. David Otunga - I can't say that this match did much of anything for me. I do understand why it happened though as WWE is turning Miz face and is giving the audience time to adjust to him as a face. He's still cocky but it looks like WWE is doing things organically with Miz. The match with Otunga was generally more competitive than I expected, it went to about the 7 minute mark. However, it showed just how limited Otunga is because a lot of his offense revolved around keeping Miz in a reverse chinlock. Miz eventually rallies and hits the SCF for the win. Miz got a decent babyface reaction, including a decent little "Miz is awesome" chant. The match wasn't much but for Miz as a face, it was step in the right direction.
*1/2
Sheamus & Big Show - This promo segment started out kinda slow but it heated up very nicely in the middle and the end. Sheamus was getting the "What?" treatment from some of the fans and, to be truthful, the beginning was kinda boring. Big Show came out to the ramp limping after Sheamus called him out. As Big Show talks, Sheamus interrupts him and sets Show off. They both start screaming threats and Show helped save the segment. When Big Show displays intensity, it's very believable given his size. He & Sheamus were getting pretty heated when Damien Sandow's music hit to end the segment.
Thumbs In The Middle
7. Sheamus vs. Damien Sandow - While this match wasn't quite as good as the first match they had a while back, Sheamus & Sandow still delivered a strong physical match. The first bit of the match was about Sheamus seeming confident & strong while sorta pushing Sandow around a bit. Sandow rallies and turns it into a fight and he held up really well against Sheamus. Sandow looked every bit as aggressive as Sheamus during the match and held his own. Eventually, Sheamus rallies and starts hitting some of his signatures. He delivers White Noise and follows it up with the Brogue Kick. Sandow really sold the Brogue Kick well. Sheamus gets the pin at the 15 minute mark. The outcome was never really in doubt here, but the match was entertaining. I would've liked to have seen Big Show cause a distraction and for Sandow to pick up an upset win, but it would've gone against Show selling the injuries caused by all the chairshots he took during his match against Sheamus the night before.
***
AJ & Dolph Ziggler - After the match, AJ makes her way into the men's locker room. A bunch of wrestlers are in towels as Vickie walks up to Ziggler sitting in the corner. She gets in Ziggler's face for a bit before Ziggler goes off on her. Ziggler throws some pretty nasty insults AJ's way all without having to use a single swear word. Ziggler sold his emotions well as the tone of his voice & facial expression showed nothing but disdain for AJ. He calls AJ weak and ultimately just trash before sitting back down. AJ looked as though she was going to cry during Ziggler's rant and she eventually goes off on him and starts beating the snot out of him. Cena eventually comes up and pulls AJ away and Ziggler attacks him. They go back & forth for a few seconds before Ziggler kicks Cena's wrapped knee. So yeah, it's a work. As Cena limps away Ziggler runs up and tackles Cena through the bathroom stalls and starts to relentlessly pound him as the refs and some wrestlers, including Titus O'Neil pull Ziggler off Cena. On the surface, this could be a prelude to setting up a Cena vs. Ziggler match at TLC where Ziggler ultimately loses. However, in all honesty, I think most of us didn't expect Ziggler to beat Orton cleanly to win the match at Survivor Series, so maybe WWE will surprise us. All in all, a good segment that looks to be developing into a pretty heated feud between Ziggler & Cena.
Thumbs Up
8. Team Hell No vs. Rey Mysterio & Sin Cara - An enjoyable tag team match featuring two very different teams. Both teams looked good here with neither team staying in control for too long and for all four men to get in a good amount of offense. The Prime Time Players were on commentary and, personally, I really enjoyed it. While I do think the joking got a little too out of hand, all four of them seemed to be genuinely having a good time. O'Neil is a really good talker, which is surprising, and Young did well I thought. He was more focused on the match while O'Neil was into it with Cole & Lawler sometimes joking while always putting over his team. The end comes with Mysterio hitting Kane with 619 and he goes to Drop the Dime. By this time, Bryan & Sin Cara have taken each other out on the outside. As Rey drops for the splash, Kane reaches up and grabs him by the throat, stopping the momentum. Kane gets up from the mat and is getting ready to deliver the chokeslam when the PTPs hit the ring attacking them. The ref calls for the bell at the 11 minute mark. The heels keep the advantage for a bit but the faces rally and make a comeback by working together. Kane delivers a chokeslam to Titus after Rey hits a double 619, sending them scattering. Afterward, Kane & Bryan are doing the "I'm the tag team champions" bit while looking down at Mysterio & Sin Cara at ringside. A solid match and more solid attention put on the tag team division.
**1/2
CM Punk's WWE Championship Celebration - I'm certain there'll be a lot of bitching and moaning, as usual, regarding this segment because they didn't debut a new WWE Championship belt. I was disappointed in that myself but, all in all, I enjoyed the segment. Heyman was in the ring first putting over CM Punk and his accomplishments. I flat out loved Heyman's dig at all the people complaining about mocking Jerry Lawler last week because, in my opinion, he was 100% dead on. People tweet & tout and post online about how much they want the Attitude Era back but piss all over the place when WWE gives a little taste of it. He mentions ECW in the same sort of way. Great work from Heyman. He introduces Punk and Punk comes out. They show a video package of Punk, showing some of the highlights of his run. Punk then puts over his title run by saying that he intends to be the longest reigning WWE Champion in history. While that certainly won't happen, Punk does a great job here while putting himself over while running down, and even mocking, some of the greats of the past like Hulk Hogan, Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin. Ryback's music suddenly hits and the crowd pops for it. Punk backs up against the ropes, looking ready to either bail out or take it to Ryback as he stalks towards the ring. As Ryback gets to rindside, Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns come out of nowhere and attack him. They spend a couple of minutes wildly brawling with Ryback. Ryback manages to climb into the ring and continues to fight against the NXT guys with Punk out of the way. Rollins & Ambrose back Ryback up to the ropes and Reigns grabs his feet to pull him outside. They then gang up on him and beat him down relentlessly. Reigns goes over and prepares the announce table as Amrose & Rollins pick Ryback up. They help put Ryack up onto Reigns in position and help him powerbomb Ryback through the announce table. They stand over him for a few moments before getting into the ring and just look out at the audience. Punk displays confusion in the beginning, trying to convey that he has nothing to do with this. He grins though as he slowly makes his way over to the prone Ryback. He squats down next to him for a few moments, still smirking before standing up. He stands over Ryback holding up the title as the show goes off the air. While the celebration wasn't some mega epic or anything, it featured strong mic work from Punk and Heyman and put the NXT guys in the closing segment of the show. I like that the NXT wrestlers haven't revealed their motives or what they're about yet. Keep the suspense up and keep the buzz going for a bit.
Thumbs Up
Final Thoughts - Aside from a few things. Raw was a strong show. Cesaro vs. Clay, Khali vs. Epico & Primo and Miz vs. Otunga were the low points of the show, especially Khali vs. Epico & Primo. Miz vs. Otunga was ok for what it was in the sense that WWE is taking their time and letting fans get used to a babyface Miz, but it's just too hard to care about Otunga. I'd like to see the guy gone personally. Aside from that, the rest of the show delivered several good matches and promo segments. It looks like the Cena/AJ scandal is over and is becoming a heated feud with Ziggler & Cena. Let's hope they treat Ziggler right moving towards TLC. Big Show & Sheamus had an overall good promo segment that, in my opinion, Big Show ultimately saved. Ryback vs. Tensai was a decent match that was important in the sense that the fans are still behind Ryback and were into him here. Ryback also showed promise on the mic as well. Kofi vs. Barrett, Orton vs. Del Rio, Sheamus vs. Sandow and Team Hell No vs. Mysterio & Sin Cara were all really solid to very good matches. The closing segment of the show as disappointing to me only in the fact that we didn't get a new WWE Championship belt. Other than that, I thought it was really well done. Heyman & Punk delivered on the mic and put over Punk's run as champ and the NXT wrestlers got to be part of the closing segment of the show. Some will complain that they didn't say anything tonight and that we don't know ultimately what's going on but I really like it. I don't mind a little mystery to keep me guessing. There was also kinda sorta the feeling that maybe, just maybe, the three NXT guys are in league with Heyman & Punk. It wasn't anything overt, mostly just the way CM Punk smiled at Ryback after he'd been taken out and while he was standing over him. Punk kept his distance from the NXT guys, as did Heyman, but it further reinforced the question of whether they're aligned with each other. Also, I was just pleased that they didn't feed these guys to Ryback. It's still early on, but the fact that Vince used Tensai as cannon fodder rather than any of the NXT guys is a good sign.
Grade: B