Tag Archive: Monday Night Raw

  1. RAW 7/8/13 – The Wyatt Family arrive!

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    Unlike most Mondays, I wasn’t home for the first 30 minutes of RAW.  The only thing I know about tonight’s episode is that The Wyatt Family were trending on Twitter before the show even started.  That said, I feel like crap, haven’t been home in over 24 hours, and I’m hoping I don’t fall asleep in the tattoo chair tomorrow while getting inked.  Fuck it, let’s go!

    Stuff, stuff, stuff and stuff, history and stuff and stuff, people, people, someone’s name, history and sports.  Big disaster, someone’s name, stuff and stuff and stuff and stuff, history, someone’s name, something I don’t know.  Famous guy, movie star, don’t know who these people are, stuff and stuff and history, yelling really loud at me.  Yes.  That’s how many fucks I give right now.  Also, I play by my own rules.  Screw you, SmackDown review!

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  2. RYTMANS RAW RECAP – REAL TIME! (I HOPE)

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    From WWE.com – Triple H has thrown a WrestleMania challenge at the feet of Brock Lesnar, but will The Anomaly accept a rematch with The King of Kings at MetLife Stadium? Also, what awaits CM Punk now that his own bout with The Undertaker is set?

    TONIGHT! I! ROBERT! RYTMAN! WILL! – Okay I’m sorry.  Tonight I will attempt to bring you a real-time(ish) report on tonight’s Monday Night RAW.   I got Triple H and Lesnar, I got Punk on Taker, and I got an upset stomach.

    Here we go!

    We’re opening with a tribute video to Paul Bearer, featuring a montage of his moments with Taker and a cavalcade of co-stars.

    And here comes the Undertaker.

    Side Note; I will be following WWE on Twitter to keep up with anything I miss, and most likely will be quoting directly from their Twitter feed.

    Taker is in the ring with a small silver urn on a stand.  He does the pose as William Moody’s memorial pic comes up on the tron AND C.M. PUNK JUST INTERUPTED IT!

    Punk is out smiling in a gray hoodie, with a mike.

    @WWEUniverse – We salute #PaulBearer 1954-2013 …. and the bell tolls … #Undertaker #RAW

    Punk is out here to pay his respects to the Undertaker, and apollogize to Taker… for his loss at Wrestlemania.  The one silver lining in all this is, to Paul Bearer, the Taker will always be perfect, but next week won’t be any heart-felt tributes to Paul Bearer.  Next week will be a tribute to Punk breaking the streak.

    Next up, Big Show v.s. Rollins.

    During the break, Kane – upset with Punk’s disrespectful interuption, attempted to choke-slam him off the stage.  Punk escapes and Kane rampages backstage, taking out anyone in his way.

    Big Show is in the ring, and we’re recaping Show taking a Shield-Bomb from last week.

    Seth Rollins makes his way to the ring through the crowd, with the Shield in tow.

    The Shield@TheShieldWWE Sierra Hotel India Echo Lima Delta … @TheShieldWWE is LIVE on #RAW!! #BelieveInTheShield … Big Show soon will! #HoundsOfJustice

    BIG SHOW VS SETH ROLLINS (W/THE SHIELD)

    At first, Show tosses his enimes around like toys, but he’s overwhelmed by the numbers.  The Shield attacks getting Show the DQ.  Show fights back but the Shield leaves the Big Show lying in the ring after the triple-power bomb.

    WINNER BY DQ: BIG SHOW

    Backstage, C.M. Punk complains to Vicki (and Brad, her assistant,) demanding she “put a leash” on Kane’s little brother.  Vicki responds by booking him in a No DQ match with Kane.

    “May God have mercy on your soul.” – Vicki Gurero.

    Daniel Bryan is out next for his match with Dolph Ziggler.  We get a recap of last Friday when AJ Lee tried to give Bryan grief about losing the World Championship in 18 seconds.

    “With Dolph Ziggler, you should be used to things lasting 18 seconds.” – Daniel Bryan

    Back from break, we get a “Remembering Paul Bearer Segment,” featuring his first appearence on WWE tv, on the “Brother Love Show,” with the Undertaker. 02/16/1991

    WWE TAG TEAM CHAMPION DANIEL BRYAN VS DOLPH ZIGGLER (W/AJ LEE & BIG E.)

    As the match gets underway, Cole and Lawler at ringside, mention Bryan’s “Beard Battle” on Twitter w/@joshreddick16.  Bryan is in control as Lawler compares AJ to the Wicked Witch of The West from “The Wizard of Oz,” refrencing her taking a bucket of water to the face on Smackdown last Friday.  Bryan has Ziggler on the floor but Big E. steps in front of a dive attempt by Bryan as we go to break…

    @WWE – Send us your tribute to the late Paul Bearer via @TOUT with the tag #PaulBearer, and we’ll use the best on-air tonight during #RAW!

    We come back with Ziggler in control but not for long.  Bryan is dominating Ziggler with his speed, agility, and kicks.  Bryan tries a belly-to-back off the top rope, but Ziggler twists in mid-air and gets a two-count, landing on top of Bryan.  Ziggler hits a hot-shot and the “fame-asser,” for two.  Bryan gets in the no-lock but AJ distracts the Ref while Big E. pulls Ziggler into the ropes.  Bryan has to break.  After an exchange of missed shots and counter-holds, Ziggler gets the three-count with the Zig-Zag.

    WINNER: DOLPH ZIGGLER

    Rytman Remark: Nice to see AJ/Big E. finally figured out how the whole “distract the ref thing” works.

    @BigELangston – Never trust a man with two first names…or miss an opportunity to leave him laying. @WWEDanielBryan #RAW

    Ziggler gets a kiss from AJ and Big E. gets to batter Bryan with a Big E. beat-down.

    @JustinRoberts – I was always a fan of Paul Bearer & everything He did @ ringside-later on,outside the ring.Thank U Friend #PaulBearer

    We get a recap of the Triple H/Brock Lesnar feud going over everything leading up to Triple H’s challenge last week.  Lesnar will be here tonight to answer the challenge.

    @ezekielwwe – Am I allowed to admit that I was scared yet intrigued by #PaulBearer #RIPPaulBearer

    WWE Slam Of The Week – Honky Tonk Man’s guitar shot on Heath Slater last week.

    Brodus Clay and “Sweet T” (Tensai) are out with the Funkadactyls.  Ring announcer Justin Roberts introduces Fandango, but he no-shows.  Tensai grabs the mike and demands Fandango get out here.

    A sexy ballroom dancer comes out, followed by AND I AM NOT DOING THE STUPID PRONOUNCIATION BIT Fandango.  He calls Tensai an “abomination” and an embarrassment to everyone, even here in the Midwest, where we no nothing about the arts.  He demands his name be spoken by the “sensual lips,” of Funkadactyl Naomi, saying she’s the only one with any rhythm, and she’s “better than this.” Tensai steps in and Fandango says thanks to him, we don’t get to see his debut.

    Rytman Remark: So, we care about Naomi now?

    Side Note: Was Naomi the one girl on the all-Diva edition of NXT that seemed to know what she was doing?

    We get a trailer for the new G.I. Joe movie staring the Rock and go to break, with THE NEW AGE OUTLAWS going up against Team Rhodes Scholars after the break.

    Remembering Paul Bearer – Wrestlemania XX – 2004, Paul Bearer leads Undertaker to the ring.

    In the ring, we have Damien Sandow and Cody Rhodes doing a parody of the NAO’s entrance in Sandow’s own signature style,

    “The folowing interpritation, is brought to you by taste and good form…” – Damien Sandow

    “Derh-nuh-nuh-nuh…” – Cody Rhodes

    “Oh, you were not aware of this?” – Damien Sandow

    “Derh-nuh-nuh-nuh…” – Cody Rhodes

    “Your posterior better contact someone at once!” – Damien Sandow

    “Ladies and Getlemen, young people of all genders and ages, taste and decency proudly present to you, the re-united future tag team champions and best friends, the essence of mustachioed magnificence, the intellectual savior of the masses, TEAM RHODES SCHOLLARS!” – Cody Rhodes

    “And if your not… down with that, we’ve got two words for you…” – Damien Sandow

    “YOU’RE WELCOME!” – Team Rhodes Scholars

    The NAO come out, plaining to show them how it’s done…

    “Lord have mercy, this one’s for you Percy.” – Road Dogg Jessie James

    “Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, children of all ages, De-Generation – X, proudly presents to you, the five time WWE…TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS OF THE WORLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLD!  THE ROAD DOGG JESSIE JAMES!  THE BADASS BILLY GUN! THE NEW AGE OUTLAWS!” – Road Dogg Jessie James

    “And if you’re not down with that, well we just got two words for ya!” – Badass Billy Gun

    “SUCK IT!” – The New Age Outlaws and WWE universe.

    TEAM RHODES SCHOLARS VS THE NEW AGE OUTLAWS

    And just as I typed that – HERE COMES THE PAIN!

    Brock Lesnar is out and F-5’s both NAO’s.

    NO CONTEST

    Heyman has the mike.

    “Brock Lesnar doesn’t play games, he hurts people.” – Paul Heyman

    Heyman runs down the list of people important to Triple H that Lesnar has hurt, including Shawn Michales, Vince McMahon, and now the NAO.  Lesnar will face Triple H at Mania – IF he agrees to let Brock/Heyman name the stipulations AFTER he blindly signs the contract.

    “And if you’re not down with that, I got two words for ya, BRRRRRROCK LESNAR!”

    We’re reminded of Punk vs Kane later tonight as we go to break.

    KOFI KINGSTON VS MARK HENRY

    Almost a complete job by Kingston.  Henry boots Kofi out of the ring with a kick.  Kofi Komes back by side-steping Henry into the post and hits the Superman punch off the steel steps.  Kofi gets HUGE AIR with a body-press attempt, but get caught in the World’s Strongest Slam for the three.

    WINNER: MARK HENRY

    Backstage – Cody is flirting with Divas Champ Kaitlyn, when Sandow interupts, followed by THE BELLA TWINS! Apparently they’re back and Sandow has a double date set-up with them for himself and Cody.  Kaitlyn bails while a Bella grabs Cody’s ATTENTION (you pervs.) Vicki walks in and tells them the date has to wait.  Since their scheduled match was scratched, they’re getting a new one, against Sheamus and Randy Orton.

    “You’re welcome.” – Vicki Gurerro

    Ryback hits the ring as we go to break.

    Rytman Remark: Do I have to blow somebody to get Page on the main roster?  And the Bellas?  Nice to have boyfriends in good graces with HR.

    RYBACK VS HEATH SLATER

    Henry comes to ringside to glare as –

    WINNER: RYBACK

    Rytman Remark: Seriously?  Do you need anymore than that?

    Drew McIntyre jumps Ryback and takes the Shell-shock as Henry storms the ring.  McIntyre becomes the prop in a one-up contest as Henry/Ryback take turns bouncing him around.  Henry leaves with no more than some words being exchanged.

    Later tonight, Rhodes Scholars vs Orton/Sheamus, Punk vs Kane, and Alberto Del Rio vs Antonio Cesaro next!

    We come back to a preview of “THE CALL,” a new WWE films release staring Halle Berry and WWE superstar David Otunga.

    Cesaro is in the ring, and Ricardo is out to intro ADR.

    WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION ALBERTO DEL RIO W/RICARDO VS. WWE U.S. CHAMPION ANTONIO CESARO

    As Del Rio walks to the ring, we get a PIP promo from the World’s Champ.

    “I was born in Mexico, but I was made in America.” – Alberto Del Rio

    Cesaro is on the defensive until he yanks Del Rio off the ropes by the ankles.  Cesaro beats ADR down but misses a charge into the corner, and Del Rio hits a flurry of offense including a tilt-a-whirl back-breaker and a Back-Stabber with Cesaro hung on the middle rope.  Cesaro takes over, meeting ADR in mid air with the European Upper-cut, but Alberto gets the submission by countering a German suplex into the cross-arm-breaker.

    WINNER: ALBERTO DEL RIO

    Backstage, Kane is being interviewed about how tough things have been for him.  Kane says nothing.  He holds up the urn from Taker’s tribute, and walks off.

    “SAY SOMETHING!” – A**Hole in the crowd.

    Rytman Remarks: I know Kane is not Paul Bearer’s son.  I know that’s an angle.  I STILL SAY THE JERK IN THE CROWD WAS BEING A DICK!

    We’ll get a preview of ROCK/CENA at Wrestlemania next.

    Remembering Paul Bearer – 1997, Bearer introduces Kane to the WWE.

    Video Package tracing the Rock vs Cena timeline going back to last year’s Wrestlemania, highlighting Cena’s and Rock’s wins at the Royal Rumble.

    Orton makes his entrance as we go to break.

    We come back with a recap of Lesnar attacking the NAO, setting up the tag match w/Orton and Sheamus for team Rhodes Scholars.

    RANDY ORTON/SHEAMUS VS TEAM RHODES SCHOLARS

    The Rhodes Scholars are in the ring and Sheamus makes his entrance.  Sheamus starts out strong until Sandow pulls the top rope down, letting Sheamus spill out.  Sandow and Rohdes double team Sheamus until Orton tags in and takes over.  Sandow saves Rhodes from a mid-rope DDT.  Orton clocks Sandow, Rhodes sends Randy into the post, and Cody takes over.  Orton turns the tide with a superplex and Sheamus makes the hot tag.  Rhodes takes an RKO, Sandow takes the Brouge Kick, and the “Celtic Vipers,” (as named by a fan on Twitter,) get the three-count.

    WINNERS: ORTON/SHEAMUS

    When we come back, Miz and Wade Barrett on “The Highlight Reel” with Chris Jericho.

    During the break, Sheamus and Orton get beaten down by the Shield.  Orton takes a flying knee and Sheamus takes the spear.

    We get some fans on “Tout,” sharing memories of Paul Bearer.

    Jericho is out for the Highlight Reel, in the sparkly jacket.

    “Is this jacket working? They’re very tempremental.” – Jericho

    Apparently, there was something wrong with the “Jeri-tron.”

    “Did you see my magic trick?  I made my Jeri-tron dissapear.” Jericho

    Miz is the first guest out.  Miz says it’s great to be a guest for a change.  Jericho mentions his lack of furniture.  Jericho plays up Miz’s success with “Marine 3,” showing a clip, when Intercontinental Champion Wade Barrett comes out, with a clip of “Dead Man Down,” his feature film with Colin Firth.  Barrett says THAT is a feature film.  Miz does an imperssion of Barrett.  Barrett insults Miz’s acting range.  Miz mentions Barrett not winning match in weeks.  We get into the “really” bit until Jericho chimes in with his own take.

    “Ruh-hehehehehehehehe-ly.” – Jericho 

    “How bad is this?” – Michael Cole

    Barrett threatens to drop Jericho, Jericho takes off the sparkly jacket and reminds Barrett that he help him make it through NXT and has held the Intercontinental championship a record nine-times, and threatens to make it ten.  Brad Maddox comes out on behalf of the Super Hero Management team of “Briki,” (him/Vicki,) and orders Barrett to defend his title next week against the winner of a match between Jericho and Miz.  Brad then asks that someone come out to clear the ring, that didn’t have anything in it.

    “This could be the worst segment in RAW history.” Michael Cole.

    Rytman Remarks: BURYING THE BIT DOESN’T HELP YOU JACKASS!  Seriously, Cole bitches over Maddox’s lines so much you almost miss the announcement.  Side Note: Is Maddox being a space cadet supposed to be a rib on someone specificly?  Cause it’s a looooooooooooooooooooooonnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnng list of candidates.

    JERICHO VS MIZ

    We come back from break to the match.  It’s kind of a rushed back and forth, that ends with Jericho side stepping Miz into Barrett, who joined the announce table.  Barrett goes after both men, and gets his butt-kicked.  This ends with Barrett taking the Skull-Crushing-Finale and the Code Breaker.

    NO CONTEST

    From there, we go to Ricardo and ADR doing a parody of Jeb Coulter and Jack Swagger’s YouTube videos.  Backstage, Swagger is pissed.

    Remembering Paul Bearer- 1995 – We get a bit with Paul Bearer and Mr. Fuji being grilled by one of the detectives from “NYPD Blue,” while wearing a dress.  Taker’s music hits, the lights go out, and Fuji’s in the dress when they come back on.

    Jack Swagger is out with Jeb Coulter.  Coulter has the mike and is not in a good mood.  Sin Cara is in the ring.  Coulter turns his attention to Sin Cara.  He accuses the WWE universe of being “programmed” to like Sin Cara and calls Cara a “Mexican jumping bean” and a “thief,” saying there’s little Sin Cara’s sneaking into our country 365 days a year.  He blames us for letting it happen and says he and Swagger will speak for us if we’re too afraid too.

    JACK SWAGGER VS SIN CARA 

    Quick match that Sin Cara actually dominates w/his fast-paced high-flying style, until he dives into a boot by Swagger.  Swagger works the leg and ankle of the luchador legend and gets the win with the “Patriot Act” submission.

    WINNER: JACK SWAGGER

    We go to a promo for “The Call.” Halle Berry is doing press when David Otunga interrupts her with a phone call, warning her that a co-worker of his got her number after threatening him.  Her next call is from KANE!  He goes derpy fan-boy on her until she hangs up on him.  From the interview, Halle sets off Kane’s pyro with her frustration.

    “Does that mean we aren’t going on that picnic?” – Kane

    We come back from break to a rewind of Kane going after Punk for interrupting Taker’s tribute.

    Punk is out, followed by Kane, as we’re told Ryback will face Mark Henry on Smackdown this Friday.

    C.M. PUNK VS KANE

    Kane carries the Urn that was part of the act for so long.  Punk scores a charging drop-kick to the outside, and goes after Kane with stomps and kicks and-

    Well hello Blond in front row, black t-shirt.

    MATCH! RIGHT! It’s a brawl on the outside.  They hit each other with whatever they can grab.  Kane throws Punk back in the ring.  Punk fights off a super-plex attempt and hits and elbow off the top rope.  Kane comes back and hurls Punk over the ropes.

    We go to break.

    We come back to the chaos.  Punk slips out of Kane’s grasp and scores a hit.  Kane reverses a whip and sends Punk into a chair wedged into the corner.  Kane unloads on Punk with  high-impact moves, and proceeds to tear the place apart, peppering the ring with chairs.  Punk reverses a choke-slam attempt into a DDT on a chair and takes over.  The match goes back/forth until the Taker’s bell tolls.  A distracted Punk takes a choke-slam and Kane gets the three-count!

    WINNER: KANE

    After the match, Punk nails Kane from behind with the urn.  Taker comes to the ring and runs Punk off.

    Up on the stage, Punk has the urn and mocks the Takers classic pose.

    Punk has the urn, Taker has a vendetta, and RAW comes to an end.

     

  3. WWE RAW 20th Anniversary 1/14/13

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    Welcome everyone to Monday Night RAW!  It’s the 20th Anniversary of this show, which is an impressive feat for any show, let alone one that airs every single week of the year.  I expect a solid show.  No wait, no I don’t.  There’s going to be another “Rock concert” tonight.  The last one sucked ankle biting rat dog balls.

    I watch 30 minutes of the show, leave for work, then watch the entire show at work whilst reviewing whatever WWE puts on my TV.  And I make shit up as I go along too, because that’s what the RAW writers do.  Let me entertainment you!

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  4. RYTMAN’S REVIEW: WWE MONDAY NIGHT RAW 11/26/2012

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    MATCH RESULTS

    RYBACK DEF. TITUS O’NEIL – Total domination by Ryback, until Darien Young interfered by grabbing Ryback’s ankle.  O’Neil hit one inverted Power Bomb for a brief one-count. Still, the match ended the same way all Ryback matches end; power-bomb, shell-shock, three-count.

    After the match, Ryback refused to leave the ring until he got his hands on WWE Heavyweight Champion C.M. Punk, Paul Heyman, or the three men who jumped him two days in a row.  A line of security guards come-out, but Ryback tossed the biggest one first, and the rest scattered.

    RAW Supervisor Vicki Guerro came out to order him out of the ring, Ryback told her to shut up (which won him a ton of new fans,) and demanded revenge.  Vicki gave him a match against Punk at TLC.  Ryback demanded that it be made a TLC match (Tables, Ladders, and Chairs.) Vicki agreed, and Ryback left the ring.

    ALBERTO DEL RIO DEF. THE GREAT KAHLI – This match was set up with a pre-recorded backstage segment, where Rosa Mendes demanded an apology from Hornswoggle, for squirting water in her face, with trick flowers last week.  Hornswoggle called her conceited, and Alberto Del Rio stepped in, offering to beat him up.  Kahli stepped in to scare him off.  Kahli actually dominates most of the match, but a distraction by Roberto Rodriguez (Del Rio’s personal ring announcer,) sets up Kahli for an attack from behind.  Del Rio hits the arm-bar for a win by submission.

    TAMINA DEF. ALICIA FOX – Basically, Tamina slaps Alicia around and ends this with a splash of the top, for a three-count.

    INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPION KOFI KINGSTON DEF. TENSAI – Wade Barrett, Kofi’s next challenger, Wade Barrett joins the commentary team at ringside.  Tensai’s size advantage gives him an edge for a good amount of time, but Kofi hits a big kick and a flying body press for the three-count.

    After the match, Barrett walked into the ring, gave Kofi the title belt, and then walked off without incident.

    REY MYSTERIO DEF. WWE TAG-TEAM CHAMPION DANIEL BRYAN – One of the best matches on TV this year.  Both men relied on their agility and quick last-second escapes and counters to keep the tide turning back and forth.  Bryan focused on beat-downs and wearing down the arm, Mysterio countered with bursts of fast-paced offense.  Match ends with a 619/Dropping a Dime combo by Mysterio for a pin on Bryan.

    JOHN CENA DEF. DOLPH ZIGGLER – This match was set up after a segment with Vicki Guerro offering Cena and AJ matching bathrobes (see below.) People, who criticize Cena for his “five moves of doom,” need to acknowledge Ziggler does the same thing (if not everybody in WWE,).  That said, this was a good, solid match.  One point of contention is Cena NO-SELLING the “bad knee,” until a specific spot at the end.  Going for the “five knuckle shuffle,” Cena stumbles out of the ring, the ref and another WWE official check to see if he can continue, while Ziggler exposes a turnbuckle.  AJ runs out to stop him and Vicki runs out to pull AJ off the ring.  The ladies have a stare-down while Ziggler goes after Cena with his MiTB briefcase.  Cena ducks Ziggler’s swing and hooks the “AA,” for a three-count.  Cena celebrates with AJ, FORGETTING ALL ABOUT THE BAD KNEE.

    SHEAMUS DEF. U.S. CHAMPION ANTONIO CESARO – This was a straight up brawl between two big workhorses.  Highlight of the match is Cesaro catching Sheamus and hoisting him up, and dropping him hard.  Picture a combo of Lex Luger’s “torture rack” and Ryback’s “Shell-Shock.” Match ends with Sheamus escaping the “neutralizer” with a back-drop and a Brogue-kick to Cesaro.  Cesaro goes out to the floor and gets counted out.

    World Heavyweight Champion Big Show comes out with a chair.  Sheamus grabs the mike and tells Big Show he will be happy to retire him at TLC, and just how barbaric he can be.  Show responds by destroying the chair with his bare hands.

    DAMIEN SANDOW DEF. ZACK RYDER – Not much more than filler.  Ryder had a decent showing here, but the match ends with Sandow using his neck-breaker variant to get the three-count.

    Side Note: Ring announcer Justin Roberts waited for Zack Ryder to get in the ring before announcing him, Michael Cole slipped back into “heel” mode to give him grief about it.

    WWE HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION C.M. PUNK DEF. KANE – Our Main Event for the evening.  And yes, this did take the show over three hours, again.  There is a weird spot in the match when Punk slides to the outside, and starts favoring his right knee.  Kane was as close to Punk as THESEWORDSARETOEACHOTHER but did NOTHING to him.  Kane let Punk slide back in and pull him neck first into the top rope.  Now here’s the weird thing, the announcers (Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler,) never acknowledged ANY of this, even though Punk was right in front of the camera, limping and acting like he was hurt for real the whole time.  It’s weird because this is, to my understanding, standard procedure when someone gets legit hurt during a match, gloss over it, don’t call it, and keep the show going.  So, I have to wonder if Punk really was hurt.  The match ended when the three NXT talents, Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, and Reigns (now called “The Shield”) came out to distract Kane.  Punk hit the GTS and got the three.

    After the match, the Shield teased going for Punk, but pilled on Kane.  Daniel Bryan tried to make the save, but got beat down.  Ryback charged down and took over on the Shield.  Punk took a cheap shot at Ryback, but Ryback caught him.  Ryback went for a power-bomb, but Reigns took him down with a spear.  Monday Night RAW ends with C.M. Punk holding his belt in the air; and his foot on Ryback’s chest; for the second time in a week.

     

    ANGLES AND SEGMENTS

    1.) RYBACK/VICKI – Our first interview segment would have to be Vicki Guerro trying to talk Ryback out of the ring after his match (setting up his match w/Punk at TLC.) Not a shining moment for either one of them.  Huge gaps between the dialogue and you could tell they didn’t talk over each other when they were supposed to.  Seriously, don’t give Ryback more lines than he needs.

    2.) Backstage: Hornswoggle, Rosa, Del Rio, and KHALI – Basic segment just to set up their match, seemed pretty damn elaborate for a match that wasn’t anything special.

    3.) GM’S OFFICE: VICKI, HEYMAN, PUNK – Punk came in to complain about having to face Ryback, Heyman suggested Vicki was trying to compensate for her bias against Cena and AJ, and Vicki flat out accused Punk of calling in the “Shield” to cover his ass.  Vicki sets up a match between Punk and the winner of a RAW-active Twitter Poll, #WWEKane or #WWEBryan (see above.) Interesting to see Punk get the shaft from a “fellow” heel; it gives Vicki an extra character dimension, and it makes you wonder what it is EVERYBODY hates about Punk.

    4.) THE SHEILD SPEAKS – We see a pre-recorded interview with Michael Cole and the three NXT talents who’ve taken it on themselves to attack Ryback twice, (Ambrose, Rollin, and Reigns.) They deny any affiliation with C.M. Punk, and claim they were acting against injustice.  They accused WWE of being an elaborate popularity contest, and stated that C.M. Punk had every right to celebrate his One Year anniversary as champion, arguing they would’ve done the same thing if Ryback or Cena had been champion and Punk tried to disrupt them.  They declared themselves The Shield and cut the interview short.  Interesting aspect; as the Shield’s mission statement seems to have themes in common with the IWC’s constant complaints about WWE.

    5.)  VICKI, CENA, AJ, AND ZIGGLER – Basically, Cena comes out to address the “kiss” from last week.  Vicki comes out to trash AJ and present Cena with a “gift,” of matching bathrobes and to warn Cena about the inevitable implosion.  She points out AJ’s relationship drama with Punk/Bryan and Kane.  AJ comes out to tell off Vicki and blatantly shoves her attraction to Cena in everyone’s face.  Ziggler comes out to remind everyone that he took out Cena last week in the locker room, and Cena jumped him from behind on Smackdown.  Cena tries to go after him, but Vicki orders him to stop and makes a match between Ziggler and Cena later that night.  The match ends with Cena getting the win. CAN WE END THIS NOW!? I am PRAYING that this is the end of the AJ “scandal,” and I will spend the rest of my life wondering WTF this was supposed to accomplish.

    On paper, this was a good RAW, with a lot more actual wrestling and a lot of solid match-ups, however the angle segments really weighted down the show.

  5. RAW is ThinkSoJoE!

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    Uh-Oh! It’s not the Big O, Broskis, it is in fact I, the ringleader of this little group of smarks we call BoredWrestlingFan.com, ThinkSoJoE!  Justin Ruff is not feeling well this evening and we wish him a speedy recovery as I dive head first into Monday Night RAW!  The best part about this is, I don’t know ANYTHING about tonight’s show other than Shawn Michaels is on it, so I can review this and give my thoughts as I initially watch.  And here you thought I only did the podcasts!

    Time for the dog show!  Oh wait, they don’t preempt RAW for that anymore.  You can watch it on CNBC, if you’re so inclined.  Except this aired 3 hours ago, so you can’t.

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  6. Raw Is Making Me Yearn For Dragon Gate 12-5-11

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    Sources are now saying WWE is working on their network and is planning on launching it the day of Wrestlemania. So if you think Twitter, has been pushed down our throats, get ready. You have seen nothing yet.

    Last night, I got to finish my first Dragon Gate USA match and had my life irrevocably changed. Something tells me things are going to seem worse because I have watched a match that will now be in my top 20 of all time. I also had the chance to see a really fun MPX show this weekend, so I’m still reeling off that. Maybe tonight I will watch wrestling as a diversion, which is exactly what it should be. If it’s painful, I may find myself going on Twitter and mocking it with my “tweeps.” Sometimes that makes it more entertaining than the show itself. I guess it’s because I do love wrestling so much that I want WWE to succeed and be good.

    Sorry for my rant. Here is Monday Night Raw.

    We start off with John Cena. The crowd is pretty mixed for him. Cena cut a pretty decent promo. And then we had Alberto Del Rio interrupt him. And then Cena went into 10-year-old-kid at the playground mode. Alberto Del Rio have footage of why he deserved a title shot. Then Vickie Guerrero interrupted the promo. Dolph Ziggler is in the main event mix? Cena tried to have a certain edge in his promo. It just sounded like a 10-year-old trying to cuss. Then the Miz came out. I hate to say this, but Miz’ swagger showed that the other three were not on his level. I liked the edgier direction they took this promo. Then Johnny Ace took the mic and could barely remember his lines. Then Ace set up Miz-Randy Orton.

    Randy Orton vs. Miz was a pretty decent match. It had a good intensity. Wade Barrett came out and distracted Orton when Miz slithered back into the ring to get the win by countout. Made Miz look good without Orton losing. I’m liking Orton’s work, which is a compliment since I don’t really like him. I’m also liking the Orton-Barrett feud.

    Zack Ryder is talking to Johnny Ace about how great the WWE Network looks. I guess a human being wasn’t available.  Then John Cena shows up shilling some merchandise. Johnny Ace makes a match. Zack Ryder vs. John Cena. Ryder gets a US title shot if he wins. Cena gets into the title match if he wins. Interesting.

    David Otunga tells Kevin Nash he will face HHH in a ladder match with a sledgehammer. I think Viscera would have a better ladder match than Kevin Nash. And now Kevin Nash gets to destroy some upstart’s career.

    We got Del Rio vs. Daniel Bryan. It wasn’t much of a match. Bryan was still coming off his rib injury so he was out to do the glorified job. I don’t think he lost too much.

    We got Eve & Kelly Kelly vs. Beth Phoenix & Nattie. It is nice to know we haven’t seen that match before (<-sarcasm font). My wife heckled their work. That’s bad.

    Then we got John Cena vs. Zack Ryder. I’m intrigued to see where this will go. John Cena beat him without killing him too badly. So the WWE is going to work on building John Cena by having him beat the most popular wrestler in the company.

    John Cena had a lot of fire for his backstage promo with Johnny Ace. He gave up his title shot for Zack Ryder to get another chance. That is a good step in rebuilding John Cena.

    Zack Ryder got Mark Henry. Ouch. Ryder sold like Shawn Michaels. Then John Cena comes out and does an Attitude Adjustment and has Ryder cover Henry. Strange. Ryder beat Henry but was not put over.

    Nash walked down to the ring in record time. He killed Santino.

    For the main event, I got Dolph Ziggler-Sheamus. Ryder interfered and Sheamus ended up getting the win. In some ways I think Dolph Ziggler is this generation’s Mr. Perfect. And that is NOT a name I use lightly.

    Then there was a contract signing. CM Punk came out and cut some major promos. Miz has so much fire. The fans are rejecting Alberto Del Rio. Then there was some major battling that went on.

    All in all… Pretty decent Raw. I like the edgy inside stuff. They seemed to be focused.

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  7. Smackdown Holiday Special (live): 11/29/11

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    Hot off the heels of Monday Night RAW, comes a special live broadcast of Smackdown! Shortly after this broadcast, the WWE will be heading for an overseas tour and we’re told that most of the RAW wrestlers will not be on the program. But, tonight is hosted by Mick Foley, so who cares?

    BWF Radio Episode 2 will be up tomorrow in order to discuss this episode.

    Let’s get to it, shall we?

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