The John Report: The WWE Raw Deal for 11/28/11
The John Report: The WWE Raw Deal for 11/28/11 (Punk/Del Rio)
By John Canton
Follow me on Twitter at @johnreport
Live from Columbia, South Carolina this is the Raw Deal…
The start of Raw had Roddy Piper in the ring for Piper’s Pit. I think it’s cool that they can bring legends back every once in a while to have them interact with the stars. It’s a good way to use the likes of Piper, Bret Hart, Steve Austin, Shawn Michaels and others. Sure we’d love them to have regular roles, but at the same time the current roster needs that airtime.
Piper cuts a promo about his relationship with the fans over the years. He said the reason for his success over the years despite never being WWE Champion was….ENERGY! He yelled it. He said when they cheered him he did good things and when they booed him he did bad things. That’s pro wrestling in a nutshell. Our work is done. Oh wait there’s more. He said there was somebody who wasn’t sure if the energy of the crowd was good or bad: John Cena.
He welcomed John Cena to the show. He got mostly cheers. I know that Cena haters are conditioned to say he got more boos than cheers every week, but in this case it sounded like cheers more than anything. There was some booing. It’s not like it is in most arenas though. Piper did a crowd test. He mentioned the names of Steve Austin (huge pop), Bret Hart (very good pop), The Rock (loudest pop) and then John Cena, which was mostly a pop with some boos that were sustained. Cena laughed about it. When Cena said that he understood what Piper was trying to do, a “Boots to Asses” chant started up, which was funny. Cena said that there were people that get what he’s about and others that don’t and he’s fine with that because that’s their right. Piper basically told him to speak his mind and be angry that the fans boo him. Cena would not do it. He remained stone faced about it as Piper told him he could be the biggest loser at the biggest WrestleMania ever if he doesn’t do anything. Cena mentioned being booed at WrestleMania 22, Money in the Bank this year, TLC match with Edge in Toronto and ECW One Night Stand. I think the ECW ONS crowd in 2006 when he lost to RVD (who they did not mention) was the harshest, but it’s nice of him to bring up the others too. He said compared to all those, MSG was pretty tame. Cena mentioned doing three Make-A-Wishes earlier in the day, the two kids in the front row in the Cena gear (they got a closeup) and members of the armed forces at ringside (also got a closeup). Cena said that this is why he will never get rattled and why he can beat The Rock on April 1 at WrestleMania. I liked his explanation. It makes sense from his perspective.
The finish of the promo was Piper putting over Cena, saying he’s carrying the torch that was passed down to him, that he’s a future Hall of Famer (Piper put his ring in his hand) and that Cena is there every day while Rock isn’t. Cena said he was in a good place. Piper said “oh really?” and then slapped him hard across the face. That was cool. Major intensity. Piper is one of the most intense promo guys ever. He can flip the switch as well as anybody. Piper wanted him to feel the energy. Cena took off his hat, put the ring back in Piper’s hand, said “No” and he left.
It was a good opening segment. Piper was really good as always while Cena was much better here than he is when he goes into his poop jokes routine. For him to take a serious tone to this was the right call. Remember a few weeks ago when Foley did “This is your life” with Cena? That was similar to this in the sense that they trotted out a WWE legend to try to make Cena more likable. Foley endorsed Cena. So did Piper. They told us how great Cena was. In two weeks will it be Austin or Hart doing it? No idea, but that seems to be the direction. They want to try to have these legends come out there, prop Cena up and say he’s one of the best ever, which he is in terms of the push he has received. I don’t think this is being done to build him up for a heel turn although if it is then it’s a clever way of doing it. I’m also shocked that we didn’t see Cena again for the rest of the show.
They showed jobber John Morrison talking to Alex Riley backstage before his match with The Miz, which was after the first commercial.
The Miz d. John Morrison via KO (*)
No fancy entrance for Morrison on his last night. The Miz attacked him with a pipe on the entrance ramp. He beat on him for about a minute as referees tried to break it up. Morrison ended up crawling back into the ring where Miz was waiting. Morrison fought back, Miz used a kendo stick to keep him down, but then Miz ended up crawling up the ramp to get away. So he’s a tough guy that escapes to avoid a fight? Oh, it was all a ploy. Morrison went after him, Miz countered and rammed him face first into the STEEL WWE logo at the top of the stage. Everything in wrestling is “steel” apparently. Then he picked him up, hit the Skull Crushing Finale on the ramp and the referee ended the match, ruling that Morrison was knocked out.
After the match, Morrison was stretchered out while being put in a neck brace. Miz went back in the ring, said last week he took out R-Truth, this week it was John Morrison. Next week? We’ll see. Then they did a lot of close-ups on his face while he did his best angry face. His hair doesn’t make him look angry. It makes him look like he’s auditioning for a boy band. I understand wanting to make him into a tough guy, but he has to change the look a bit. I think the close-ups were a bit much. Director must have been going nuts: “Zoom! Zoom in more! More! Zoom!” Maybe it was a subtle ad for Gillette? I’m not sure. Enough zooming, though.
With regards to Morrison, his contract is up on Wednesday. He is leaving WWE. I think it was a mutual decision. He didn’t want to sign a new deal. They didn’t want to offer him a great deal to stay. I’m not sure if he’ll end up in TNA. If he does, he wouldn’t be able to use the last name Morrison since WWE owns that. He could always work in ROH and indies like Shelton Benjamin or try Japan like MVP. If he wants to go back to WWE down the road it might be best to avoid signing with TNA. If he wants to continue being on TV then TNA is a good choice obviously. People have left and come back to receive a push, such as Christian. I’m not sure what Morrison is going to do. He’s 32 years old, has a lot of skills in the ring and has several years left as a good worker. I wish they used him better. Too late now.
Alicia Fox & Kelly Kelly d. The Bella Twins (1/4*)
I guess Alicia is the new Eve. By the way I’m pretty sure Kelly & Eve vs. Bellas is a contender for Worst Feud in the 2011 WWE Johnny Awards, coming soon. At the beginning of match, Beth & Natalya ran around the ring in their workout clothes and then ran up the ramp. They looked great, so that was a quality “run-in” I guess you could say. Then Alicia hit her Flipping Legdrop on one of the Bellas for the win to no reaction because that finisher has no build to it all. Remember last year’s TLC with Beth & Natalya beating Laycool in a Tables Match? It was great. I wonder if they will do a tag again this year or if Alicia’s the next contender. It’s not like I wonder about it a lot, though.
The hyped the main event of Punk vs. Del Rio by showing them in the WWE ’12 video game. I played it a bit on the weekend with my nephews. It’s an easy game to pick up and play for a novice gamer like me. Very fun. It’s received good reviews. I’ve read that they got a record number of pre-orders as well. Be interesting to see what the first week of sales were like.
I’ll be going to WrestleMania 28. My tickets arrived last week. People ask me how I got tickets all the time. I went through my friend Nick, who is a ticket broker. His email address is [email protected] and he tells me that his company has a lot of tickets, so send him an email if you need them. Perhaps you can sit in my section if you want, which is section 138. I’m so excited to be in Miami for that. It’s not just the event itself, but everything surrounding it is really cool too.
They aired a video package about Sheamus. In other words, he’s probably not on the show this week. He was not. I guess we needed a reminder that he’s on the roster. Thanks fella.
Backstage, John Laurinaitis was on the phone telling Brodus Clay that his debut was next week for sure. Otunga questioned why he waited, so JL said it only makes Brodus more angry and he’ll take it out on his opponents. I guess that’s a good explanation although it’s become comical that they don’t have time in the show for him. Alberto Del Rio walked into the office to say he’d get back the WWE Title later. CM Punk walked in. He made fun of them, using Google hits to insult them. That’s a pretty weak way to insult people, but I’m sure Google appreciates it. When he got to Otunga he said when he searched his name all he got were results for Jennifer Hudson, which drew laughs from the crowd. That was funny. Punk called Laurinaitis & Del Rio vanilla, saying he’d prevent JL’s guy from getting the title. He left, so Otunga said maybe Punk meant he was going to get himself DQ’d to keep the title. Laurinaitis then added the stip to the match that if Punk gets DQ’d he loses the title. Okay then. It felt like a long segment to get to the point. Small looking “office” too.
They showed Orton vs. Ziggler walking backstage in preparation for their match at the top of hour two.
Dolph Ziggler vs. Randy Orton (***1/4)
It’s pretty automatic that if you give either of these guys 10+ minutes they are going to have a three star match at least. They proved it again here. Wade Barrett was at the commentary table, which meant some kind of interference was happening. It’s a very good sign that Ziggler was put in the top of hour two match last week with Punk and this week with Orton. Matching him up with main eventers means he’s getting that push very soon. Nobody deserves it more. They had a really even match in the early part, going to a commercial with both guys down in the middle of the ring. No floor to commercial spot? What a swerve! Back from break, Orton hit all of his signature spots including the spinning powerslam and the DDT off the ropes. He set up for the RKO as the crowd went wild. He’s been doing the move for nearly a decade now, yet it is still ridiculously over. Fine by me. Great when he does it. Great when DDP did it too. Ziggler rolled to the floor, Barrett jumped onto the apron, Orton turned around, hit a dropkick on Barrett and then Ziggler slid back in to hit the Zig Zag for the win after 12 minutes of great action. I would love to see these two in a long, drawn out feud with an even longer match.
Post match, Ziggler celebrated on the floor by doing a headstand! Haha that was hilarious. It plays up his “I’m a show off” gimmick that they are pushing now. It’s almost like Mr. Perfect without calling himself that. As for Orton he lost at Survivor Series, he didn’t win on Smackdown last week (he was not pinned in the four way match) and he lost again here. Clean losses too, which I like. It’s not like Barrett hit him here. He was distracted by him, but it was relatively clean as a finish. I’m guessing that this means he’ll be winning the match with Barrett at TLC, assuming there is one. Orton is having his best year ever. Last year he won the Johnny Award for best wrestler. Can he do it again? Hmmm. He’s a top contender that’s for sure.
They plugged the live Smackdown on Syfy tonight from 8-10pmET. It replays in its regular time slot on Friday too. It’s a good sign that they are doing a live show. It means that Syfy is probably considering it as a permanent thing. I hope so. Live shows are better than taped and the Friday timeslot sucks. I won’t be able to write about it live as I have a prior commitment. Mick Foley is hosting the holiday special. I will get to meet Mr. Foley on Saturday at his comedy show. I’m excited about that.
Here’s the second January 2, 2012 mystery video that was linked to during the show although not heavily promoted by them. It’s a subtle thing, which is cool.
“The second day of 2012 is coming and it will be the end of the world as you know it.” I’m guessing it’s for Undertaker. I hope it is for Jericho. As my Facebook friend Demetris Sarris points out, J for January, 2 = B and L is the 12th letter in the alphabet, so perhaps JBL? I doubt it. I guess it can be a theory though. I’ll go with Undertaker. Or maybe it’s Sting? Haha, no. Not this year. Some, like my Twitter follower @FriscoKTank, think that it could be for Skip Sheffield’s character “Ryback” that is rumored to be back soon. We just don’t know! And you know what? That’s fine by me. I like surprises as much as the next guy just as long as it doesn’t involve me being a guest on the Maury Povich show.
In the ring, Daniel Bryan was there with Michael Cole. Cole was there to confront Bryan on his attempted cash-in of the Money in the Bank briefcase on Smackdown. He pinned Henry, but Henry wasn’t cleared to compete, so he was given the title back while Bryan was given back the briefcase. Cole was grilling him about it. Bryan said that the reason he changed his mind about the WrestleMania cash-in is because a couple of weeks ago Henry almost ended his career (a beatdown to start Smackdown). He realized he may not get another shot, so he wanted it last week. Bryan said that while Henry may try to end his career in the Steel Cage match, what’s important to him is becoming the World Heavyweight Champion. The crowd wasn’t loud for DBry at the start, but by the end they were making a lot of noise and strongly behind him.
Mark Henry interrupted. He was at the top of the ramp with his left foot still in a protective boot. He said Teddy Long should be ashamed for booking him in a match when he’s hurt, but he’s going to beat Daniel Bryan on Smackdown. Bryan went out of the ring, went up the ramp, kicked Henry in the leg and he left to a good reaction.
I liked the segment. It’s about time they build up DBry. He’s a main event caliber wrestler. The promo showed that he’s very capable of getting his message across when he’s given the opportunity and when his character is an underdog. I really hope they keep him face despite rumors that he could turn heel. There are even rumors that Henry may turn face, which would be a big mistake. Keep it as is. This is a great big man vs. little man kind of story. I don’t expect Bryan to walk out of Smackdown with the World Title tonight. I expect it to be an entertaining match, though. It’s not like you can say that about too many Mark Henry matches.
Zack Ryder d. Jack Swagger (*1/4)
A very basic three minute match. Ryder used to lose these. Now he’s winning matches while Swagger continues to be the one of the best performers that loses more than he wins. Always been a Swagger fan. Swagger went for the Swagger Bomb, Ryder got his knees up and finished him up with the Rough Ryder, which is growing on me as a finisher. Crowd was very supportive of Zack. Hope Vince is listening. If they don’t book Ryder over Ziggler for the US Title at TLC I’d be very surprised.
They aired a video package that said “Kane Resurrected” on it. They showed his mask at various points too. Obviously this would mean he’s coming back with the mask on. My guess is Henry beats Show at TLC in a Chairs match, then Kane’s music hits, he returns as a babyface with the mask on and goes after Henry since he’s the one that took him out. I like him better as a heel, but he’s got that legendary babyface credibility that they can use to put him against younger heels.
They re-aired the ending of the Piper/Cena segment. I’m still surprised that we didn’t see Cena more than once.
Mick Foley was introduced. He was on the stage in a Santa outfit talking about the live Holiday Smackdown on Tuesday (tonight) with him as the host. He ripped Michael Cole in it, so that was nice. I have no idea if Foley will have a regular role on TV. I’d assume it will be the occasional appearance although I’d love for him to be back on a weekly basis.
Backstage, Josh Mathews interviewed CM Punk on his way to the ring. He said Laurinaitis can “kiss his ass” after he retains his WWE Title. I’ve heard/read they are loosening the reins on some language things, so “ass” has been heard on WWE TV of late. Usually it comes from The Rock, but others are saying it again too. Better than saying “butt” in terms of effectiveness. They even say “wrestling” once in a while too. Crazy! Vince is losing it! Ha.
Before the main event, Ricardo Rodriguez brought out Del Rio like he always does. A few times during the show they mentioned the last WWE Title match on Raw was in August. I like that because then it makes it feel more special to see the title defended on TV like this. It’s important to play up history like that. Sometimes they ignore history to the point that it pisses us off. Thanks for acknowledging history!
CM Punk d. Alberto Del Rio (***)
They got about 15 minutes, which is nice to see in the main event slot. I’m not saying we need it this long every week. I just wish it was more often than it is. Punk hit Del Rio with a dive on the floor. They went to break two minutes in, which is cool with me. Better to go to the break early in the match than later. The basic story was Del Rio working over Punk’s arm, Punk fighting out of it and making it even much of the way. I really enjoyed the finish. It was creative and a nice tip of the cap to a legend. Punk went for the GTS, Del Rio fought out with a nice single arm DDT and then took the pad off the top turnbuckle. Rodriguez slid a chair to Del Rio, who then gave it to Punk to set up what would be a finish that saw Punk get DQ’d to lose the title. Instead, Punk threw the chair back to Del Rio and went down as if he was hit by it. The ref saw it in the old Eddie Guerrero spot. It made me smile thinking of Eddie. He didn’t end up DQing Del Rio, though. Rodriguez was arguing with the ref again, so Punk was able to get ADR in the GTS position and instead of dropping him on his knee, he dropped his head onto the exposed steel turnbuckle. Steel! The ref turned back around, Punk covered and won via pinfall after 16 minutes of action.
After the match, Rodriguez argued with the ref about it. Punk gave Rodriguez the GTS like he always does. The show ended with Punk celebrating with the title. I was thinking something would happen here with Del Rio attacking him or perhaps Miz attacking to end the segment. Nope. It ended with Punk’s celebration. Nothing wrong with that. A happy babyface ending the show is good once in a while.
Where does it go from here? Punk beat Del Rio clean. End of feud, I imagine. I thought they’d have another match at TLC with a gimmick involved, but it appears to be over. My guess is that next week The Miz will win some kind of number one contender match to be the challenger to CM Punk’s WWE Title. It would be a fresh feud. Either that or they do some kind of Fatal Fourway TLC with Cena & Del Rio also involved. Del Rio could say that Punk used the exposed steel to win, so he deserves another shot due to the cheating. If Cena’s not in the WWE Title match, what will Cena be doing at the TLC PPV? I’m not sure.
Three Stars of the Show
1. Dolph Ziggler – In for the best match plus the headstand!
2. Randy Orton – Another awesome job in terms of the match plus he put over Ziggler. Love it.
3. John Morrison – This is a career achievement. He’s out of WWE for now. I generally liked him, but the creative team never truly got behind him.
7.5 out of 10
Last week: 7
2011 High Score: 9.1 (March 28)
2011 Low Score: 3.5 (October 10)
2011 Average: 5.74
Last 5 Weeks: 7, 5, 6, 5.5, 4.5
How would you rate 11/28 Raw on the 1-10 scale?
For the second week in a row, Raw was very good. The main event was a strong match while Orton/Ziggler was also a fantastic TV match. The booking all over the show was strong too. I really don’t have any major complaints. They made Miz look strong although that closeup on his face was too long and I like that Ryder was booked in a strong way too. They built up the Barrett/Orton rivalry too. I’m also glad that Daniel Bryan got some microphone time for a change. That’s what they need to do with him. Really, there was nothing on Raw that was too bad.
I’m sure people will complain about the Brodus Clay thing. At least they had an explanation for it. It’s not like the world is clamoring for Clay to arrive. He’s a good performer, but he’s not going to make the company that much better by being around. It also appears like the Nash/Triple H story will be pushed back so they have a match at the Rumble instead of TLC. Makes more sense.
The biggest issue coming from the show is that we don’t have any matches announced for December’s TLC PPV. It is on December 18, so there are two editions of Raw before that. I guess they could do some kind of announcements on Smackdown this week although none of the Raw guys will be there because they’re in Japan for a couple of shows there. I guess next week’s Raw will be the one where they really push some matches for TLC.
Are things getting better in WWE? Survivor Series was very good, two straight weeks of Raw that were above average and Smackdown is usually excellent as well. Perhaps WWE has good things in store for us going into the new year and the WrestleMania season. I sure hope so.
To wrap up the Raw Deal I’ll be doing the Twitter Ten feature that I debuted in Saturday’s Canton’s Corner column. On Monday afternoon I asked for your wrestling questions on Twitter. You can follow me on Twitter @johnreport where I mostly talk wrestling, but mix in some sports, entertainment and general life things too. I’ll post their Twitter handles by their questions, which will be in italics, so follow them too if you want. My answers may exceed the 140 character limit, but I will try to be concise as best I can.
@JBHuskers How far will they push Zack Ryder in 2012?
I think the US Title will be his early in the year. Not sure if he’d get pushed much more than that in 2012. He’s only 26. Lots of time.
@JustAndy59 Is the impending feud with booker t a good thing for cody rhodes?
Sure. It’s not like Cody is going to lose the feud, so fine by me. Good to work with a vet like Booker.
@patriotscpfc If you could pick 5 matches for next year’s Wrestlemania, what would they be? Regardless of which brand they are on.
Okay I’d go with Rock/Cena, Bryan/Orton WHC, Punk/Ziggler WWE Title, Undertaker/Jerico & that’s all I got. You get four.
@Team_Cole Lets say 5 years down the road and Cena/Orton are either gone or on their way out. Who would be the right guy to step up and be the next guy? Or what up n comer should be built to be that guy?
Too hard to give a name. Could be somebody we don’t even know at this point. Five years is a long time in wrestling. Five years ago maybe I would have said Punk, but I wouldn’t believe that Vince would push him either.
@vivid13 Austin Aries vs Alex Shelley. Pros & cons of each, and how good would the matches be if built decently?
Big fan of both. Think WWE is stupid for passing on Aries. The con for both is their height. But both are gifted workers and talkers, so they could have great matches regularly. Have no doubt about that.
@QueenzBaller07 is there a chance for @MickieJames to come back to @WWE ????
Sure. I think so. Just because she’s in TNA doesn’t mean she is stuck there for life. I’d love to see her return.
@thesamhale Which mid card sensation(Ziggler, Rhodes, Barrett, etc) will not live up to his hype next level?
Of those three I would say Barrett just because other two are better workers. But I think all will succeed. I’m an optimist!
@simonodocopp Who do you believe to be the most under utilised guys from both shows?
On Raw I say Swagger. Loses too much. On Smackdown definitely one of my favorites Tyson Kidd. One of the best workers in WWE.
@mitch176 Your thoughts on Mark Henry possibly being turned face?
Bad move if it happens. He’s thriving as a heel. Not as effective as a face.
@TheJerichoX What do the younger stars need to do break from their slumps? Drew McIntyre and others?
Try to be more active on Twitter, Facebook, Youtube to get noticed. Don’t wait for WWE to pick you out of the pack. Go after it. Also when they are backstage they should be pitching ideas to creative team members, agents, producers, etc. and see if something good comes out of it.
That is this week’s edition of the Twitter Ten. Like it? Let me know.
By the way the three most common questions I get are as follows: 1) Who will Undertaker face at WrestleMania? My common answer is: “Somebody he will beat.” 2) When will John Cena turn heel? 3) Is Chris Jericho coming back? I really don’t know the answer to any of those. Your guesses are good as mine.
There’s a live Smackdown tomorrow. I won’t be able to see it live or write about it live. Our regular Smackdown writer at thejohnreport.net will have his recap up on Wednesday at some point. I may do a “ten thoughts on Smackdown” post on Wednesday or Thursday although not sure about that. The Steve Austin column will be pushed back to next week because I want to watch the DVD first. It won’t be as long as my career columns on Edge or HBK, but I think you will like it if you are an Austin fan.
Thanks for reading.
John Canton – [email protected]
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