Take note. A guy who hadn’t been on WWE Television since he was unceremoniously fired from the company in 2006 is the most over guy in all of professional wrestling right now.
2. Triple H (NR)
A guy working a very limited schedule is the second most over guy in pro wrestling right now.
3. CM Punk (NR)
The WWE Champion rebounds into the top 10 with a tag team victory on Monday.
4. Chris Jericho (3)
Chris Jericho impresses in tag team AND singles action last Friday, and continues against Orton on Monday.
5. Kevin Steen (NR)
Ring of Honor is finally represented in the power poll by way of a new World Champion, Wrestling’s Worst Nightmare Kevin Steen!
6. Bobby Rhoode (NR)
TNA’s current World Champion makes the top 10 this week as well!
7. Christopher Daniels & Kaz (NR)
The new TNA Tag Team Champions make the power poll!
8. WGTT – Shelton Bemjamin & Charlie Haas (NR)
As do the new ROH Tag Team Champions!
9. John Cena (NR)
John Cena may well have saved the show on Monday, and he makes the Power Poll for it.
10. Ryback (8)
Taking Damien Sandow’s discarded opponent doesn’t net Ryback any Power Poll cred, but it’s enough to keep him from falling off the list.
Fallen Out Of The Top 10:
Lord Tensai, Daniel Bryan, Sheamus, Alberto Del Rio, Brodus Clay, Randy Orton, Kofi Kingston & R-Truth
That’s right folks, we’re back! Justin Ruff joins ThinkSoJoE and G as they discuss the week in this wacky world of sports entertainment. The trio discuss what they feel could have been the best RAW in quite a while, the continuing rise and decline of the TNA product, whether or not SmackDown continued the momentum of RAW. A five minute highlight package of BWF’s interview with Johnny Gargano that will be available tomorrow at noon is played, then the hosts talk about the news and rumors that have popped up throughout the week.
And a reminder, kids, to not try this pro wrestling stuff at home.
Well, I’d like to write some introduction but for some reason I got home late and it just didn’t quite happen. So I will get right in to Raw.
CM Punk opened it up talking about his dad being an alcoholic and how his dad had worked really hard to overcome and recover. Chris Jericho appeared on the screen and apologized for bringing up Punk’s father. Now his sister on the other hand… Punk fed off him and they had a really strong build-up.
Big Show and Kane had a match or something. It was a back drop for Cody Rhodes to build up his and Big Show’s match. As the ambush happened, Cody handcuffed Big Show and went after him. Really strong build-up.
They continued the build-up of Teddy Long-Johnny Ace by David Otunga facing Santino Marella. They started with a posedown. I gotta admit I popped for the Santino posedown.
Rock talked a long time.
Daniel Bryan squashed Zack Ryder.
John Cena took quite the beating at the hands of Mark Henry. But he won and The Rock did his move on Henry.
Miz cuts a great promo. He puts out an open challenge and gets Sheamus. I really like how they are pointing out the way they’re not putting over Miz’ lack of Wrestlemania match.
I still think that Randy Orton and Kane seem last-minute, but I like that they’re giving it meaning.
We go from anti-bullying to Vickie Guerrero getting booed out of the building for having an annoying voice.
We get Swagger and Ziggler vs. Truth & Kofi. It was pretty good build-up. Though I believe all 4 of those should have singles runs, I’m happy they have spots and places. Though I hate Swagger’s character, the guy is a natural athlete and would kill in a world like Ring of Honor or Japan.
Then we had the 3-way confrontation. Shawn Michaels was the first. Then out came the Undertaker. Then out came HHH. They had a nice exchange, but it just wasn’t quite there.
Tonight’s Raw was pretty decent. You had a lot of really good buildup and it made me want to see Wrestlemania a bit more.
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I remember Wrestlemania XX. That was the night that Chris Benoit won the title in the main event and then was greeted by Eddie Guerrero who had defended the other title that night. Very few times in my wrestling watching experience have I ever teared up not involving a death. That moment was one. Those of us in the IWC felt like we all had a moment. OUR two darlings were champs.
Last night was another one of those nights. Our two indy darlings-CM Punk and Daniel Bryan-finished the night as champions of both brands. Now I’m not in some disillusioned world where I think WWE is going to magically turn into Ring of Honor. I’d just be happy to have some exciting, risky booking that means something. Punk and Bryan are people that we can care about. With the right booking, we can see them remain good champions.
We opened it up with a drum roll and Punk introducing himself. Punk got a really good reaction. Then they introduced Zack Ryder who got such a good reaction. And then they introduced Daniel Bryan who got another huge reaction. Punk, Bryan and Ryder all began in the ring to start the show. Daniel Bryan had a lot of fire. They were interrupted by Miz, Ziggler & Del Rio. This segment would have been perfect had it not been for Michael Cole’s sheepish bleating he calls announcing. And the Johnny Ace came out to kill the segment. Actually, considering he has no voice, it was a pretty good segment.
I saw Richard Lewis do comedy live once. It was every bit as awesome as I thought it could be.
We were treated to Randy Orton vs. Wade Barrett, which I’m glad I didn’t pay $44.95 for. Randy Orton is a 9-time World’s Champion. It amazes me how little titles mean in the WWE. Wade Barrett put Orton through a table. Had no idea of what happened. I thought the work was very solid.
Then Alicia Fox was wearing one of Mario’s fur hats or something. Then she pinned Beth Phoenix in record time. Then she wanted me to have a Foxy holiday. I really want to have a Foxy holiday. I will now ask my wife.
Excuse me. I need to get up and get some ice for my jaw. Out comes Sheamus wearing the next t-shirt I will buy once Johnny Ace is off tv. And now we have Jinder Mahal? Sheamus killed him. That is as it should be.
John Cena came out to the ring and talked to his confidant The Cameraman. He is again Shiny Happy Cena. That’s normal for anybody who Kane attacks. (<-sarcasm font) Mark Henry interrupted him and had some nice focus. Then Kane came out in El Zorro’s mask. He destroys Cena. Him not being Super Cena is good for long-run Cena. Cena had some good facials. Well-done.
We got Primo & Epico vs. the Usos. Do we have a tag team division? It was a well-crafted tag match. I could really get behind this feud.
Then Cody Rhodes cuts a pretty decent promo and was interrupted by Santino. He then beat Santino. Santino does a lot of things right. He is very good at selling and getting himself over in his role.
They showed a recap of Tribute for the Troops which they used as an excuse to pimp out their PPV. That was when I stopped watching last week.
The Bellas are again backstage with Johnny Ace. The Vicki tried to schedule a rematch and ended up getting kissed by Hornswoggle. Cute. Then we had an interview with Zack Ryder’s… dad? Big Show gave a very honest, in-depth interview.
This was such an awesome moment. Daniel Bryan and CM Punk both came out of the crowd. For the first time since Summerslam, I actually feel like the WWE is giving me what I want. This is quite possibly the best match on Raw this year.
A good Raw, except for one glaring minus-Michael Cole. If WWE actually spent their time listening to their fans on Twitter, rather than shoving it down our throats, they would know how much he hurts their product. I’m definitely not deceiving myself that this will be permanent, but this has been a great Christmas present.
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No, you’re not here on the wrong day. No, this is not a special edition. We have officially moved BWF Radio to Sundays! This week, the BWF Radio Crew talk about Impact and SmackDown, the attention span of the average wrestling viewer, whether WCW was the cause of titles being “hot-potatoed,” and if Ring of Honor could eventually become a top national promotion on the level of WWE and TNA. Also, this week you can weigh in on our final question, “Which Pay Per View is the better value for your money this month” on our facebook page. Ready to listen? Right Click and Save the link below!
Howdy folks and welcome to your weekly Ring Of Honor coverage. I apologize for no review last week but one of my cats puked on my DVR and I had to get a new box, so I wasn’t able to watch so without further ado lets get this show on the road:
Well it’s me again back with another edition of this very article for you reading enjoyment or something. I hope you enjoyed some of what I did last week since I may be doing more of it in the future. But it’s not about the past, it’s about the present, so lets get this show on the road: (more…)
Normally AlyKat would be doing her VERY excellent coverage of Monday Night Raw. But due to circumstances beyond her control, you have an opportunity to hear a much different perspective of the night from me. Just think of this as “A Ruff Look at Raw.”
Tonight I will try the live blogging again. I can’t remember the last time I anticipated a Raw this much. There aren’t any gimmicks behind this one; there is just a Raw I want to see really badly tonight. Let’s be honest. Last week was phoned in. This is going to be the true test. Do we get Punk unleashed? Might we even get Cena or Vince unleashed? (Hey, you can’t blame a guy for dreaming.) Are we on the brink of a glory period of wrestling? Rather than a “Golden Age of Wrestling,” we have an “Adamantium Age of Wrestling?”(Better than Gold or Platinum)
We have some questions to answer. Will we see Zack Ryder again? Will Alberto del Rio tell us it’s his destiny to be champion or something? How is Riley doing after Miz’ beatdown? What of the Nexus? And what about this potentially explosively legendary epic moment between Mr. McMahon, John Cena & CM Punk?
The WWE has announced Punk leads off the night with a live mic. This is either going to be “The Promo” or the infamous Matt Hardy promo where he killed his career in 5 minutes. The skinny young Bill Cowher walked to the ring with a megaphone. (Ring of Honor chant #1) Punk cut a great promo about how he has made the WWE relevant. And then John Cena comes out to a surprising pop. The two have a confrontation. This is still all about the match, not Tony Schiavone shooting on Mike Tenay.
John Cena vs. David Otunga & Michael McGillicuddy
God, are you mad at me? Maybe this is a reminder that the WWE has not gone a total 180 and is still a work-in-progress. I’d love to go on the details of this match. But it’s just the last 5 John Cena handicap squash matches. Again. I hate handicap matches. Unless it’s The Giant vs. Pez Whatley & The Gambler. No single person should ever pin the tag team champions cleanly. Can’t we give him Hacksaw Jim Duggan or something? As much as I hate to say this, it was not a bad match. I just hated the premise. It could have been worse. I could have been watching a Keith Stone commercial.
One of the biggest signs that something big was happening during Raw-Twitter crashed. (And something called a Home Run Derby) Dolph and Vickie are talking about the US Title. Drew McIntyre and Vickie both mock “The Boss.” And the Boss showed up. He books them in a handicap match against Big Show. So Vince is a face? And then Scott Stanford asks Vince what the rest of the world thinks or something. Vince tells “the rest of the world” they can go to Hell. So Vince is a heel now? He turns faster than the Acolytes/APA.
We come back from commercial and Melina is back in the ring. We didn’t get to watch her entrance?
Kelly Kelly vs Melina
The Bellas did commentary. I think that is the worst plague to be unleashed on Earth since Glenn Close on the 4th season of The Shield. Kelly finished Melina quicker than Goldberg finished Rick Fuller. And then the Bellas mocked Kelly for being too skinny. So Kharma was too fat? And now Kelly is too skinny? Make up your mind, Bellas. I don’t like the Bellas being in the anti-bullying ad. Are they characters or not? Too many blurry lines.
When we come back from break, Miz climbs on top of the latter and cuts a great promo. And of course he gets interrupted by Jack Swagger. And then Evan Bourne interferes. And then Kofi comes out and we see pyro (I squee). Then we get R-Truth. He is an Acrophobe (me too) and an Arachnophobe. And then Alex Riley runs out. And then we get Alberto del Rio. Then the Anonymous Raw GM makes a match.
We got to see Big Show and Bruce Campbell together in the same segment. Pure awesomeness. Too bad it was for Burn Notice.
The 6-man was hard to keep track of. It got to help further the PPV. This is what they call a go-home show. And they definitely went home. Alex Riley got the pin, so it looks like they are committed to strapping a rocket to Alex Riley. I sure hope he’s ready for it. And Alberto del Rio got to stand in the middle of the ring like he was going to win. That means he will not win.
Big Show vs. Drew McIntyre & Dolph Ziggler
My iPod froze during this match so I spent my focus on resetting it. This is exactly what a handicap match should be. Neither wrestler lost anything. Mark Henry came out and took Big Show through a table. It was a pretty good visual. I love this deadly Mark Henry.
Vince and Punk did their showdown. While Vince sat at the table, Punk paced around the ring with a microphone. Vince called CM Punk by his first name. No wonder Phil goes by “CM Punk.” Punk went over the provisions of his contract. 1. He gets to push Vince. 2. He wants to be WWE Ice Cream Bars. 3. He wants to be in Chaperone II. 4. He wants the Wrestlemania Main Event. 5. He wants Vince to apologize for suspending him. After much prodding (that included Colt Cabana & Luke Gallows), we had this:
“I apologize, you son of a bitch.”
-Vincent Kennedy McMahon
Then Cena came out to the ring. Before his music hit, we had “Colt Cabana” chants. (WTF? Was that real?) Cena regressed into 5th grader Johnny. But there were some moments where Cena would turn into sober, serious John. Punk called Cena the New York Yankees. (Oh, no he didn’t.)
I’m trying to think of what I liked and didn’t like about this Raw. I really liked the WWE’s focus. They needed to push a pay-per-view, and that is exactly what they did. The matches were sub-par. The promos were really good. I am feeling sold on the pay-per-view and I don’t know how this is supposed to end. I’m very intrigued.
