CM Punk comes out with Paul Heyman to brag about his victory over Ryback at HIAC. Mick Foley interrupts him and Punk continues to adamantly deny having anything to do with the crooked ref, Brad Maddox. Foley and Punk exchange words and they end up settling on a classic elimination match at the Survivor Series ppv. Punk says whoever Foley picks for his team…but then gets interrupted by Ryback coming out. Punk leaves the ring.
^I like the solid opening. I also liked the idea that Mick Foley was going to have a rivalry with Punk. If anyone can come from outside the box and have an awesome brawl with CM Punk, it’s Mick Foley. I’m also very pleased with the traditional Survivor Series elimination match. I honestly feel the entire card should be setup as elimination matches only, but we know WWE won’t allow such a thing.
Ryback squashes JTG in under three minutes.
^Typical Ryback. He loses the WWE Title match and goes right back to squashing everyone in sight. I understand it, but doesn’t WWE realize that they’re going to be stuck in the exact same scenario again the next time he faces Punk? People aren’t going to buy into him, and they’re going to get tired of the same old thing.
Randy Orton defeats Wade Barrett with the RKO right around the seven minute mark.
^I’ve been wanting these two to have another rivalry over a World Title, and matches like this one are the reason why. These guys have such good chemistry together and know how to pace a match almost flawlessly. If this thing had gone another five minutes or so, it would probably be getting rave reviews.
Vickie Guerrero tells AJ she might or might not hire her back as a divas wrestler. AJ apologizes for her attitude and says she wants to compete. Vickie asks AJ what she considers to be her biggest weakness. AJ says she becomes too emotionally attached to her job. Vickie asks her if she is telling her she’s crazy; she tells AJ she wants one good reason why she should get a contract when she comes back to her office.
^Diva drama. I can’t stand Vickie Guerrero’s voice, and I don’t mean that in a way where I despise her great character; I am genuinely annoyed by her voice.
Team Hell No defeats the Prime Time Players. Dbry forces Young to submit to the no-lock after he tags himself into the match. The match went about four and a half minutes.
^This match was over before it started, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. I just wonder how long Dbry and Kane will keep up this arguing act before the team actually splits up.
Vickie Guerrero shows videos of Cena and AJ talking and hugging, having dinner, and getting onto an elevator together. Cena denies the claims and says none of it is proof. Dolph Ziggler comes out and gets in Cena’s face. Cena tells Ziggler off and then knocks him down and leaves.
^Soap opera storylines continue and come across as some terrible script writing. The only thing I like about all this is the fact that we get to see Cena face Ziggler one on one very soon.
The Miz does commentary while Kofi Kingston takes on Antonio Cesaro. Miz interferes in the match and causes a DQ. R-Truth comes down for the save when Cesaro and Miz gang up on Kofi.
^Good match, but more importantly it looks like R-Truth will be chasing the US Title. It’s definitely believable that Truth could end up defeating Cesaro or at least having an interesting series of matches with him. What surprises me about this scenario is that it looks like Miz and Kofi might continue their rivalry past the four matches that we’ve now seen.
Vickie tells AJ to admit that she cares for John Cena and she will put her on the roster. AJ says she is not going to do that because nothing happened between them. AJ goes to leave but Vickie tells her she’s hired unless she ever lays a finger on her again. Vickie books AJ in a match tonight with Beth Phoenix. AJ thanks her.
^AJ and Beth Phoenix? Good divas wrestling? It’s about damn time.
A backstage promo is shown of the Three Man Band hyping themselves up in an interview.
^I don’t fully understand the concept behind this group, but I’m thinking it might be a bit of a mock New World Order with the whole “band” concept mixed in with a little 1995 Jeff Jarrett when he couldn’t actually sing or perform. These guys just seem ridiculous to me with this particular gimmick.
Heath Slater and Jinder Mahal defeat Zack Ryder and Santino. Slater pins Santino after a distraction in just under four minutes.
^Short match, but at least tag team wrestling is alive and kicking. I wonder if the 3MB would win the tag titles and defend it under the freebird rule.
Jerry The King Lawler will be back on Raw in two weeks.
AJ goes one on one with Beth Phoenix. AJ defeats Beth Phoenix with an inside cradle. Vickie comes out and restarts the match as Beth jumps AJ from behind. Beth hits the glam slam on AJ to get the win.
^So instead of one good divas match, we get two crappy ones in just under five minutes? Thanks, WWE. Just when I thought you’d restored my faith in the booking of the divas, you do this. Does anyone else wonder why we can’t take female wrestling seriously in WWE?
Sheamus comes out and talks about losing at HIAC. Big Show comes out and they exchange words. Sheamus says he will win the war. He then delivers white noise to Show after calling Show’s speech magnificent.
^After what I saw at HIAC, I’m completely open to these guys having a rematch. Keeping their feud going seems like it will be pretty easy, and having them hit their finishers on one another at random spots over the next couple weeks until the Survivor Series would be an easy way to keep the intensity of the rivalry.
Beth thanks Vickie for giving her the second match with AJ. Vickie tells her she wouldn’t have needed to make the match if Beth had done her job in the first place. Vickie fires Beth Phoenix.
^I most often like when WWE uses a storyline to take a person off the show when they’re already in the process of leaving, and this scenario worked perfectly. Beth was a great wrestler, but she deserves so much more than a company that craps all over its own division. I hope to see her in the future.
Team Rhodes Scholars defeat Rey Mysterio and Sin Cara. Sandow gets the pin on Sin Cara after he executes his modified neckbreaker finisher. The match went eleven and a half minutes.
^Match of the night, without question. If you want Rhodes and Sandow to be chasing World Titles instead of this, I’m with you, but these guys make for a terrific tag team. This was just a fun match to watch from start to finish, and I usually don’t praise Sin Cara this match. His matches teaming with Mysterio have made him a lot more tolerable.
Mick Foley and Paul Heyman exchange words backstage. Foley tells Heyman that Team Foley is set and that people lined up to volunteer for the team. Heyman tells Foley that Punk will remind him at Survivor Series that he is the best in the world.
^At this point in the show, I was really excited to see what each team was going to be. Foley and Heyman have a long history and their on screen chemistry is definitely present whenever they interact.
A segment is done where John Cena presents a check from WWE for the Susan G. Komen foundation in the amount of one million dollars.
^Props to WWE for being such a classy organization. I mean obviously Vince did this for more than just charity; the man loves publicity like no other. Regardless of the good publicity, I’m certain WWE had very good intentions with this whole initiative.
Alberto Del Rio forces Justin Gabriel to tap out to the cross armbreaker in roughly five and a half minutes.
^These two worked pretty well together in the ring. I understand the purpose of keeping Del Rio as a top heel and having win matches like this, but how cool would it be if it had gone another three minutes and Gabriel had pulled off a surprise rollup out of nowhere? I just think sometimes WWE needs to be a little more spontaneous and not so spot on obvious with their booking tactics for every show.
Paul Heyman introduces Team Punk for the Survivor Series. First he brings out the Miz. Next he brings out Team Rhodes Scholars and then Alberto Del Rio. Foley then brings out Kofi Kingston first, followed by Team Hell No. He then announces Randy Orton as the fifth man on his team. Next, Foley tells them he won’t be competing at the Survivor Series(he will be in their corner), and that the fifth man on Team Foley is Ryback. A brawl breaks out in the ring to end the show.
^First of all, I’m not impressed with Foley not wrestling. Regardless of the man’s health and age and whatever else you want to throw into your argument, WWE basically teased us with Foley being in a match at Survivor Series. I would much rather see Foley in that match and put on a good show, and then maybe we could see Ryback face someone else one on one to help keep his hype. What good does any of this do WWE for the long term booking for Ryback? Anyway, I do like the elimination match being on the card.
Eight matches on the show, and three of them were standout to me. The promos were mostly good, but the Vickie Guerrero crap just needs to end. Whoever had the brilliant idea of writing her into the script really needs to be slapped. Overall, I was entertained by Raw. I’m not sure what exactly made me feel that way, but as I was watching the show I didn’t find myself bored or feel time passing too slowly. I’ll be back with the Rundown on Saturday. Until next time, you’ve been ThunderStruck!
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