6/28/11 NXT

Ratings:

Darren Young vs. Conor O'Brian: *3/4

Yoshi Tatsu vs. Tyson Kidd: **3/4

Titus O'Neil vs. JTG: *1/4

______________

Statistics:

Here are the official NXT rookie's records as of 6/28/11:

Titus O'Neil: 10-4
Darren Young: 7-10

Conor O'Brian: 6-6

Lucky Cannon: 6-6 (eliminated)

Jacob Novak: 2-5 (eliminated)

Byron Saxton: 2-8 (eliminated)

WWE Redemption Points:

Titus O'Neil: 22 (Talk the Talk; Keg Carry; Arm Wrestling, Power of the Punch, King of the Hill, Talk the Talk Part 2)

Darren Young: 7 (Obstacle Course; Battle of the Mic)

Jacob Novak: 6 (Pull Through; Know Your Pro) (eliminated)

Byron Saxton: 4 (Trivia) (eliminated)

Conor O'Brian: 3 (Tag Team Turmoil)

Lucky Cannon: 0 (eliminated)

This Week's Challenge:

No challenge this week.

______________

Reviews/Thoughts:

We're in Phoenix this week! Someone's getting eliminated on this show. I'm with William Regal and predicting Conor O'Brian goes this week.

Darren Young comes out and basically addresses the Chavo Guerrero situation (Chavo asked for his release and left WWE late last week).He's basically proclaiming himself the next NXT winner. Here comes Conor O'Brian. Didn't like Conor's brief mic work there. And we got a match between Darren and Conor! Kozlov wasn't at NXT because he's overseas. Conor's apparently put on 20 lbs of muscle, which is nice. Working out a lot will do that (I should know, having put on five lbs of muscle myself).

The match was good. Nice crowd reaction. Liked Darren Young using the Three Amigos and the Frog Splash.

Tyson Kidd takes Yoshi's action figure and breaks it. Fight! Fight! Woohoo! And their match is next! Awesome match here. Easily among the best (if not the best) NXT matches in its history. Ending was a little abrupt, but sure, it works.

JTG/Titus/Hornswoggle segment. Sure, it was fine for what it was.

Maryse comes out for commentary. The match was average, and the finish was just a facepalm moment for me. Hornswoggle gave Maryse a card, Maryse tears it up.

So who's going home? Oh, Striker brings up Redemption points as a tiebreaker. Titus is way ahead with 22 points. Darren Young has 7, and Conor has 3.

6/27/11 RAW (RAW Roulette)

Ratings:
CM Punk vs. Kane: 1/2*

Sin Cara vs. Evan Bourne (No Countout): **

Kofi Kingston vs. Dolph Ziggler (Vickie Banned From Ringside): *1/2

Alberto Del Rio vs. The Big Show (Cage): 1/4*

Kelly Kelly vs. Nikki Bella (Submission): DUD

Rey Mysterio & Alex Riley vs. The Miz & Jack Swagger (Tornado Tag): ***1/4

John Cena vs. R-Truth (Tables): *
_________________

Reviews/Thoughts:
It's RAW Roulette in Vegas! HBK comes out to start the show...man I miss watching the guy perform. CM Punk confronts HBK. Man, these two know how to work the mic. Loved the Sweet Chin Music to Otunga. Punk in the first match tonight.

Booker is spinning the wheel! Stops on a question mark, which means mystery opponent. OOPS, it's Kane! And Sweet Chin Music to McGillicutty, which means Punk is on his own. I didn't care for the match. Sorry, I don't like heels walking out to deliberately get counted out.

Woohoo! It's the match we were supposed to see last week if not for the screwed-up "technical difficulties" on the voting. Sin Cara vs. Evan Bourne! Whoops, the bell rang, and they almost forgot about the stipulation to the match! Cue Booker, and Eve's also there this time. No Countout match? Big whoop. Anyway, vintage spot monkey spots for Sin Cara.But at least this time, Bourne gets to do a lot of spot monkey stuff as well! Semi-botched ending, I think. Bourne landed on his face when he probably should have flipped over onto his back. These two have so much potential to make a four-plus-star match, it's not even funny.

Kofi vs. Dolph is next, and Kofi gets to spin the wheel. Wait, Vickie spins instead. Player's Choice...so apparently Kofi gets to pick the stipulation now? Um, sure. And it's the stipulation that should have been used last week: Vickie banned from ringside.

RAW Money in the Bank Ladder Match field is already set. Front runners have to be Del Rio and R-Truth. It should be someone who hasn't had the title already and is ready to move up to main event status. Dark horse is probably Swagger.

Average match between Kofi and Dolph. It was non-title, so Kofi was probably gonna win all the way. Makes me wonder why Kofi didn't make it a title match when it was his choice.

Alberto is not happy he has to face Big Show again. Maryse spins the wheel. Maryse flirts with ADR. Whoops. ADR and Big Show have a steel cage match.

Ricardo Rodriguez still selling the injuries from Big Show, so Justin Roberts introduces ADR. Mark Henry comes down to the ring midway through. Superplex from Big Show -- and the ring didn't break! So Henry breaks the door off its hinges and nukes Big Show so ADR wins. Cool spot at the end where Henry decks Show with part of the cage...and Show basically goes through the cage. Henry continues to look strong. Love it.

Divas match, non-title because Brie Bella will get her rematch at MITB. So let's see what the stipulation is for this one. Thought it would be some stupid stipulation, but it's a submission match! Interesting, since I've never seen Kelly or Nikki use a submission to win a match. Well that was short. I turn around and the match is over. Heels beat down Kelly, so Eve comes down for the save.

Nice segment with Booker, McIntyre, DDP, and HBK.

Did King call these guys "contestants"? Good grief, we're not on a damn game show! Tornado tag match was action-packed, great stuff.

R-Truth and Cena will have a tables match. R-Truth likes it. Usual Cena match. Punk moves the table away. Truth spears Cena through the table.

Punk promo at the end was golden. Pure gold. Heyman reference! Lesnar reference! NJPW reference! Colt Cabana reference! ROH reference! Complete with the Vince/Steph/HHH badmouthing, cutting off Punk's mic, and abruptly going off the air. To me, that ending was five stars alone.

6/24/11 Smackdown

Ratings:
Sin Cara vs. Ted DiBiase: **

Cody Rhodes vs. Daniel Bryan: **3/4

Ezekiel Jackson vs. Wade Barrett (IC Title): *1/2

Heath Slater & Justin Gabriel vs. Jimmy Uso & Jey Uso: *1/4

Jinder Mahal vs. Yoshi Tatsu: N/A

Kane vs. Christian: **1/4

Christian & Mark Henry vs. Randy Orton & Kane: **
_________________

Reviews/Thoughts:
Teddy Long kicks off the show, addressing the controversial decision from Capitol Punishment on the World Title match. Ref's decision is final. Christian must earn another title shot...he must beat Kane. Kane is pissed. Cole was annoying here...surprised?

Sin Cara and DiBiase have a match. We got the Sin Cara lights again. Spot monkey time! Unorthodox stuff from Sin Cara. His matches are getting a little better, but again, he needs to be in a longer match that tells a story.

Cody Rhodes time. He walks to the ring and talks about Hershey's chocolate making people fat and ugly. Cole is extra annoying here. Bryan brings up a pic of Dusty Rhodes. DB got a point...Cody will likely never live up to his dad's standard. DB was pretty good on the mic this week.

Anyway, back to the match. Looks like DB took a spot out of AJ Styles' book. The ol' "opponent runs the ropes w/leapfrog, opponent hurdle, and dropkick" spot (in that order). DiBiase now on the outside and interferes midway through the match. Very good match here. Cody pulled out a couple of submission restholds that I never saw from him before. DB pulled out a Pele kick! Top-rope hurricanrana! Suicide dive from DB onto DiBiase! Beautiful disaster from Cody, and DB's left foot got caught in the ropes...looked a bit painful. A second Beautiful Disaster and a Cross-Rhodes for three. Very nice.

Johnny Curtis promo again. It was horrible.

Big Show speaks. He says he's fine. Could be good for the storyline. Leads into a pretty nice Mark Henry video package. Henry takes out Big Show.

Barrett assaults Jackson before the IC title match. I like Barrett's version of the Boss Man Slam...it looks quite devastating. Zeke's offense is your standard power offense. Barrett has the better moveset. Not a bad match, but Barrett carried that one.

Orton speaks backstage regarding his thoughts on Christian. Orton is ready for Christian if Christian beats Kane tonight.

Slater and Gabriel make fun of Barrett.

Usos doing the haka...that's new. Yes Josh Mathews, that's what the Hawaii Warrior football team does. And  yup, Slater and Gabriel win!

Jinder Mahal vs. Yoshi Tatsu wasn't even a match...the ref never called for the bell. This was really just Yoshi jobbing to make Jinder and Khali look very imposing.

Main event time. Decent match going until Henry interfered, so Christian loses again (by DQ). Teddy Long comes out and agrees that Christian losing was not his fault. Tag match time! Another clever way by WWE to get Christian to get another title shot. The key is to have Christian lose in a fluky manner or "win" (but have someone else get the pin). Good stuff here.

6/23/11 Impact

Ratings:

Bully Ray vs. Scott Steiner: *1/2

ODB & Jackie vs. Velvet Sky & Miss Tessmacher (No Holds Barred): *1/4

Matt Morgan & Crimson vs. James Storm & Robert Roode: **

Zema Ion vs. Federico Palacios vs. Dakota Darsow: **1/2

Winter vs. Mickie James (Street Fight): *1/4

Sting vs. Abyss: *1/2

_________________

Reviews/Thoughts:

Starting with the parking lot brawl between Jarrett and Angle that ended last week's show. Jarrett moving to Mexico for the storyline.Adios, JJ.

Bischoff is pissed and wants Sting in the ring. Sting has gone nuts and I like it. Sting and Bischoffmaybe attempting to pull an Austin/McMahon spot.

Bound for Glory series continues at house shows too. Interesting.

Bully Ray and Steiner in a BFG series match. Crowd was alive for this one. Ref bump leads to typical heel finish. Steiner is pissed.

X-Division showcase was nice last week. This week, three guys who have never appeared on Impact before. Video packages of the three guys are shown throughout the show.

No holds barred Knockouts match was somewhat entertaining.

Madison Rayne and Tara feud shown with a backstage skit.

Beer Money talk...Storm concerned that Roode will hurt himself again.

Steiner is wielding a chain and wants Bully Ray.

Crimson/Morgan and Beer Money in a BFG series match. Not sure if Roode is totally 100 percent. Nice Fujiwara armbar from Roode on Morgan. Looks like Roode hasn't lost a step. Decent match here.

Weird EricYoung skit again.

AJ Styles gets a huge pop as he comes to the ring. Oh yes! AJ will compete in the X-Division at Destination X! I love it! Yeah! Bring back the six-sided ring for a night! AJ brought up names from the past, like Lo Ki, Kid Kash, Jerry Lynn, etc. Samoa Joe comes out! Daniels comes out. Oh please, make it AJ/Joe/Daniels one more time!

Frankly, they should have never gotten rid of the six-sided ring. It made them stand out as a product. With the four-sided ring, it's just another wrestling company.

X-Division time. FYI, Dakota Darsow is the son of Barry Darsow (Smash/Repo Man in WWE). Don't blink again...another fast-paced match. Unfortunately, Zema Ion undershot his corkscrew so the two guys had to move to take it (and protect Zema). Nice 450 to win it for Zema. Very entertaining match, but last week was better (more botches this week). Spot monkey matches are fun, but the moves have to be dead-on without a storyline.

Knockouts street fight between Mickie and Winter. Winter with a leather belt on Mickie. Angelina didn't even to interfere behind the ref's back in this one, but whatever. Angelina's backbreaker finisher is simple and effective...I like that.

Sting/Abyss time. Main event intros...really? Abyss at 358 pounds, to be exact. Welp, Sting with the fast start on Abyss. Good crowd reaction, but the match was just meh.

Next week's Impact will air with limited commercials. That's nice and all, but I just want to see more good matches. Preferably stuff like the X-Division matches so this product can stand out once again.

6/23/11 Superstars

Ratings:
Natalya, AJ, & Kaitlyn vs. Alicia Fox, Tamina, & Rosa Mendes: 1/2*

Gail Kim vs. Melina: *1/4

David Otunga & Michael McGillicutty vs. Santino Marella & Vladimir Kozlov: **
_________________

Reviews/Thoughts:
Matt Striker, I'm sure you're not the only one who has a crush on Kaitlyn. Me...I want AJ. Awkward moment in the divas match. Kaitlyn bounced off the ropes, then turned around to Tamina. Problem was, I didn't see Tamina take a swipe at Kaitlyn or anything, contrary to what Striker said. So it just made the whole spot look bad.

Not too great a divas match. AJ needs some sort of submission finisher, in my opinion. She's probably too small for a big impactful regular finishing move, and I refuse to accept a schoolgirl as a finish to a match.

Oh, fun, they replayed the six-man tag main event from RAW just to fill space I guess.

Another divas match! Melina and Gail Kim. I wish Kharma had not gotten pregnant just so we could re-live the Gail Kim/Awesome Kong feud from TNA. Maybe next year. Great job by Melina of playing possum...she even made me believe that she had legit hurt herself. Not a bad match overall here.

Main event tag match was decent. Triple clothesline spot was something I don't see often. A bit of a flat finish, though.

6/21/11 NXT

Ratings:

Vladimir Kozlov, Yoshi Tatsu, & Conor O'Brian vs. Chavo Guerrero, JTG, & Darren Young: *

Titus O'Neil vs. Zack Ryder: *1/2

______________

Statistics:

Here are the official NXT rookie's records as of 6/21/11:

Titus O'Neil: 9-4

Conor O'Brian: 6-5

Lucky Cannon: 6-6 (eliminated)

Darren Young: 6-10

Jacob Novak: 2-5 (eliminated)

Byron Saxton: 2-8 (eliminated)

WWE Redemption Points:

Titus O'Neil: 22 (Talk the Talk; Keg Carry; Arm Wrestling, Power of the Punch, King of the Hill, Talk the Talk Part 2)

Darren Young: 7 (Obstacle Course; Battle of the Mic)

Jacob Novak: 6 (Pull Through; Know Your Pro) (eliminated)

Byron Saxton: 4 (Trivia) (eliminated)

Conor O'Brian: 3 (Tag Team Turmoil)

Lucky Cannon: 0 (eliminated)

This Week's Challenge:

No challenge this week.

______________

Reviews/Thoughts:

Titus and Hornswoggle start the show. Hornswoggle wants Maryse in the ring. He gives Maryse a ring box. LOL, a Ring-Pop inside! I haven't seen that in years! Talk to the hand, Hornswoggle. Wait...what's Zack Ryder doing on the show? Oh right, Ryder was Titus' pro in season 2. I can't believe we're supposed to remember this stuff. True, Titus got farther with Hornswoggle than he did with Zack. Guess we got a match for tonight!

But first, a six-man tag so we can see the other two remaining NXT rookies in action. Long match here (for WWE standards), but I really wasn't into it much. Crowd seemed mostly dead. Then Yoshi got the hot tag and the match was done soon thereafter.

RAW recap, which basically highlights CM Punk. He brought up a real-life situation: his WWE contract is expiring after the Money in the Bank PPV and he's apparently leaving. If it's true that he is leaving, I want WWE to let him do anything in his match with Cena. Make it as close to five stars as possible. Let Punk go out as champ. That would be awesome as hell.

Yoshi making sure Tyson Kidd doesn't touch his shrine. And to get a cheap pop in Hershey, PA, Yoshi takes out a Hershey's chocolate bar.

Main event time. Decent crowd reaction for both guys. Other than that, pretty much an average match here.

Someone will be eliminated next week...who will it be?

6/20/11 RAW

(3-hour RAW)

Ratings:
Kelly Kelly vs. Brie Bella (Divas Title): *

Mason Ryan vs. Evan Bourne: 1/2*

Dolph Ziggler vs. Kofi Kingston (2 out of 3 falls; IC Title): **1/2

CM Punk vs. Rey Mysterio vs. Alberto Del Rio (Falls Count Anywhere): ***

Daniel Bryan vs. Cody Rhodes (No countout): 1/2*

John Cena, Randy Orton, & Alex Riley vs. The Miz, Christian, & R-Truth (Elimination): **3/4
_________________

Reviews/Thoughts:
It's a RAW: Power to the People episode in Baltimore!

Punk starts off the show. Basically looks like a sit-in of sorts. Yes, Punk is he best wrestler in the world. Wait, they're allowed to say "wrestler" again? Punk proclaims himself as #1 contender for the WWE Title and wants the anonymous GM to make it official. Ha, Punk pulls a Jericho and basically hurries Cole up to read the email. Punk refuses to leave the ring, so the GM says Punk faces Alberto Del Rio for the #1 contender spot. Punk still makes a scene, so it's now a triple threat...Punk vs. ADR vs. Mysterio. Punk is pissed.

Power to the people...who will Brie Bella face tonight for the Divas title: Eve, Kelly Kelly, or Beth Phoenix? Kelly Kelly wins with 53% of the vote. Divas match was OK. Good finish. Kelly Kelly cuts the typical "thank you fans!" promo after her win.

Nice video package for Evan Bourne.

Who will Evan Bourne face: Jack Swagger, Mason Ryan, or Sin Cara? Mason Ryan wins with 51% of the vote...that surprised me big time because I thought Sin Cara would have easily won this one. I laughed at the "Batista!" chants during this one. Mason Ryan should not be in this type of "impromptu" match. Seems like he and Bourne were lost near the end.

(6/21 update: WWE acknowledged that the voting was inaccurate and Sin Cara should have won this fan vote. Perhaps they will have a match next week on RAW?)

RAW Roulette next week!

Mark Henry vs. Kane. Bodyslam match, arm wrestling match, or over-the-top-rope match? Mark Henry comes out first with a heel promo, and yup, he can say the word "ass." Anyway, it's an arm wrestling match with 52% of the vote. Henry is pleased. Kane comes out ready to go. Henry stalls. They eventually go at it and Henry gets himself DQ'd. Henry beats down Kane. Henry puts Kane through the announce table with the World's Strongest Slam, just like Mark did to Big Show at Capitol Punishment.

R-Truth/Cena video package, with R-Truth's whole conspiracy dealie. Truth getting all those "What?" chants from the crowd. Christian comes out now, and he'll be joining in this whole conspiracy theory. As expected, Christian cries foul at the ending to his match against Orton at Capitol Punishment. "Little Jimmy" chants for R-Truth. Now Miz comes out.

LOL, "Really? Randy! Riley! Jimmy!" That was just frickin' awesome. Teddy Long puts a stop to all that. Six-man tag match for tonight. Miz/Christian/Truth vs. Riley/Orton/Cena, fans pick the match stipulation.

IC Title match...rematch from Capitol Punishment. 2 out of 3 falls wins with 51 percent of the vote. Ziggler got the first fall during the commercial break. Kingston ties it up, of course, because we need the third fall to be relevant. Pretty good last fall. I liked Dolph just being able to literally get two fingers on the ropes. Ziggler gets DQ'd to save his title.

Woohoo! Shawn Michaels on RAW next week for RAW Roulette!

It's triple threat time! No DQ, Falls Count Anywhere or Submission? ADR comes out first, then Christian and Mysterio. Falls Count Anywhere wins with 66% of the vote. Lots of action here, folks. Really enjoyed this one. I think I saw Punk's tooth fly out. Cool spot with Mysterio senton to Punk and suicide dive on ADR. Nice finish.

Whoa, Punk actually breaks character a bit and mentions his WWE contract is coming to an end on the night of the Money in the Bank PPV. Punk says he is leaving after that, and he's taking the WWE Title.

Cody Rhodes vs. Daniel Bryan is next. Paper Bag Match, No Countout Match, or Collegiate Rules match? No countout match wins (barely) with 51% of the vote...Paper bag match was 43%. What was the point of this no-countout match when they stayed in the ring almost the entire match? Horrible here. DiBiase comes in after the match. DB beaten down again.

Oh God. Vickie Guerrero has a dance competition with Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler, or Booker T. Vickie basically steals Sable's lines in her promo and does a pathetic dance. Striker's face is awesome. Anyway, the winner is...Michael Cole! 47% of the vote! Lawler was actually second here (39%). I guess the people wanted Cole to make an ass of himself. And damn, he sure did. Looked like Cole was passing a kidney stone or something. And he does the Worm and the Spinaroonie! Oh man, I didn't know whether to laugh or shake my head. Hey, Cole won because he got the loudest boos! Man, this was pathetic.

Oh wait, Vickie nailed Michael Cole! She should have won just for that.

Six-man tag match time: One fall to finish, 20-minute time limit, or Elimination match? Elimination match clearly wins with 79% of the vote. Another pretty good match to close the show.

6/19/11 Capitol Punishment

Ratings/Analysis:
Dolph Ziggler vs. Kofi Kingston (IC Title): Nice energy from Kofi to start, showing off that great leaping ability. Lawler with the fat jokes on Vickie. More back-and-forth action as Cole brings up Ziggler's amateur wrestling career. Ziggler did a German suplex with a bridge...reminds me of Benoit. Ziggler goes for the sleeper but Kofi counters. Kingston with a crossbody to the lower back of Ziggler...interesting. Boomdrop from Kofi. Trouble in Paradise misses...Ziggler goes for some type of overhead slam, countered into S.O.S. for two. Crowd into it more now. A few more rollups for two. Zigzag countered, Kingston jumps on Ziggler's chest. Kofi caught at the top. Kingston battles back, HUGE crossbody on Ziggler for two. Nice match going here. S.O.S. countered into sleeper! Kofi counters again. Trouble in Paradise dodged, Zigzag countered. Vickie interferes behind the ref's back. Ugly transition into sleeper. Ziggler uses the ropes to get Kofi back to the center. Kofi is out, ref calls for the bell. A little confusion there on whether the ref should have broken the submission, but perhaps that's part of the storyline? Great stuff. ***1/4

Alex Riley vs. The Miz: I really like how the storyline started. Trash-talking from Miz to start. Miz takes control early on. Slow beatdown of A-Ry now. I'm amused at how Cole is calling Miz a veteran when he's only been in the WWE full-time as a wrestler for a few years...what does that make guys like Mark Henry and Big Show? Boring offense continues...mainly rest holds from Miz. Miz with his clothesline in the corner. Top-rope offense from Miz gets two. Miz baseball slide in the corner, Riley moves and Miz's nuts hit the post (at least that's what we're supposed to believe). A-Ry offense time. Spinebuster from A-Ry gets two. A-Ry thrown to outside, but A-Ry battles back and gets another two-count. Fighting outside now. Miz thrown into barricade and announce table. Cole berates A-Ry, so A-Ry grabs Cole and throws him to the floor for some nice pops. Miz takes over. Miz grabs the briefcase. Ref takes the briefcase away, Impaler DDT from A-Ry for three! Cole is pouting on the outside. Boring at the start but at least it was entertaining at the end. *1/2

Alberto Del Rio vs. The Big Show: Show ambushes ADR as he comes to the ring. Mark Henry takes out Big Show. Damn, Henry picks up Big Show like a child and delivers the World's Strongest Slam. Henry then works on Big Show's kayfabe-injured knee. After some time, ref starts the count. Big Show struggles, but gets in the ring. Guess we have a match. Bell rings. Show is mad and gets some offense on ADR. ADR comes back and works on Show's injured knee. Chokeslam from Show, but Show collapses as well because of the knee. ADR to outside. ADR to top rope, gets caught. ADR kicks Show's knee and tries for his cross-armbreaker, but Show counters into a unique-looking back suplex. Wow, a cross-legbreaker from ADR! Show trying to hold on...and he makes it to the ropes after about 45 seconds in it. Show tries to get up and does, then falls back down. Show gets up again and falls down again. Ref finally stops it. It was OK for what it was, but it was more about Show selling the injury (to get ADR a win) and Mark Henry's interference. *

Ezekiel Jackson vs. Wade Barrett (IC Title): No Corre for Barrett because Gabriel and Slater left him a couple weeks earlier. "USA!" chants from the crowd, but why? Isn't Big Zeke from Guyana? Zeke goes for Torture Rack early but Barrett gets out of it. Side slam from Barrett gets two. More rest holds, punches, and kicks from Wade. Zeke goes for those slams, Barrett goes out and hits Wasteland...for two?! Wow. Now the dead crowd comes to life. Now the multiple slams from Zeke. Torture rack, and we have a new champ. Lawler comes in the ring to interview Zeke. Zeke cuts a short face promo. Horrible match overall. 1/2*

CM Punk vs. Rey Mysterio: Match sounds good on paper. Punk with red, white, and blue tights. Quick pinfall attempts from Punk early on. Rey goes for the 619, Punk gets away. Baseball slide from Rey. Punk battles back. More back-and-forth action. Body scissors from Punk. Abdominal stretch time. Punk wearing down Rey's body, probably so Rey won't be able to bounce all over the place. Rey tries to battle back and heads to the top, but Punk counters again and gets another two-count. Rey finally gets a kick in and sends Punk to the outside. Rey hits an Asai moonsault onto Punk. Flying headbutt to Punk gets two. Rey springboard crossbody, but roll-through by Punk for two. Huge temple kick from Rey gets two again. Rey to top rope again, Punk catches him. Super-back suplex from the top by Punk gets another long two. Punk favoring the right elbow. Punk running high knee in the corner. Punk tries again and goes shoulder-first into the post. 619 from Rey knocks Punk to the outside. Rey tries for his splash but Punk gets the knees up and covers for another two. Punk frustrated now. Punk signals for GTS. Rey counters into a hurricanrana and a pin for two! Wow that was close. Punk misses one big kick, but hits it the second time...and gets only two?! Wow. GTS try again, Rey counters, goes for 619, but Punk beautifully counters that back into a GTS for three. That finish looked awesome. ***3/4

Randy Orton vs. Christian (World Heavyweight Title): Orton was cleared to compete after passing the Impact test (for concussions). Main event intros, ref checks for any foreign objects, and here we go. Orton gains control early. Christian battles back with right hands. Orton with a Thesz press and he's back on the offensive for a bit. Orton tries to pump the crowd up as they battle on the outside. Christian sends Orton into the steps head-first and Cole brings up the concussion. More pedestrian offense from Christian gets a couple of two-counts. Rest hold now. Orton headbutts Christian...yeah that was smart. Orton nice rollup for two. Spinebuster from Christian gets two. Orton looks dazed, but counters and whips Christian into the corner. Orton collapses to the ground probably because he's woozy. Orton still on the offense with hard chest shots. Christian counters and tries for his reverse DDT, but Orton counters and battles back again. Belly-to-belly from Orton gets two. Christian comes back again with slaps and punches to the head. Orton headbutts again (why?!) and superplexes Christian back in the ring for two. RKO countered, Killswitch countered. Orton hits what looks like a version of a gutwrench suplex for two. Killswitch countered. Christian avoids the RKO and exits the ring, Orton follows. Back in the ring now. Christian goes for the sunset flip in the corner but Orton counters. Hangman DDT from Orton. Orton signals for RKO. Christian counters into reverse DDT for a two!  Christian calls for the spear. Orton leapfrogs, RKO countered again, spear from Christian! One, two, near fall! Awesome stuff. Dropkick from Orton. Pendulum kick from Christian in the corner. RKO! Three count! Christian's foot under the bottom rope that the ref did not see. Obviously Christian will use this as ammo to say it's a conspiracy and that he deserves another title shot. Christian complains to the ref, so Orton lays Christian out with the belt. ****

Evan Bourne vs. Jack Swagger: OK, I guess we need a filler match now. Good amateur wrestling from Swagger. Swagger slaps Bourne in the back of the head. Nice moves from Bourne to come back, but Swagger gets Bourne with a gutbuster. Swagger with a bunch of offense now on Bourne and the crowd is dead. Pace real slow now. Swagger goes for that running corner Vader Bomb splash but Bourne gets the legs up. Kicks from Bourne but Swagger takes over again. Bourne gets a nice DDT on Swagger for two. Bourne goes for Air Bourne, Swagger gets out of the way. Bourne landed on his feet but Swagger tries for gutwrench powerbomb. Bourne counters into a pin for three. *1/4

I skipped over the Booker T and fake Obama segment because I could. Money in the Bank PPV is July 17.

John Cena vs. R-Truth (WWE Title): Main event intros. Major crowd reaction for and against Cena. Truth gets in offense early and ducks away when Cena tries to fight back. Cena goes for AA but Truth counters and gets a two. Truth with more offense and another two. Rest hold from Truth but Cena won't stay down long for that. Lie Detector from Truth gets two...guess that won't be a finisher anymore, thankfully. Truth sandwiches Cena in the corner with a Superman punch and gets two from that. Cena tries to get back in it but eats a clothesline. More beatdown offense from Truth which is boring me to hell. Hiptoss on Cena for two, then back to body scissors. God, stick a fork in this PPV. Cena tries for STF but Truth gets out and regains control. Suplex from Truth for another two. Cena finally back with his usual comeback moves. Cena goes for AA, countered by Truth into a stunner-like move for two. Cena gets Truth in STF, but Truth gets to the ropes. Truth nails the scissors kick for two. Truth comes off the top, Cena rolls through into an AA, but Truth gets out of that and hits that jumping flatliner move. Yup, that also gets two because Cena is superhuman. Truth takes a kid's hat and takes a swig of the kid's water. Truth gives the water back, and then the kid tosses the water in Truth's face. Cena grabs Truth, tosses him in the ring, hits the AA, gets three. **
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Final Thoughts:
Red, white, and blue ropes for this PPV. Red ringposts. Gotta keep with the patriotic theme, after all.

It was a decent PPV overall. I counted three good matches, with Orton/Christian taking PPV honors. However, I've always believed the last 1-2 matches of a PPV should be the best, not the middle matches. Capitol Punishment felt like it ended with a whimper instead of a bang. In any event, this PPV had its moments. No divas matches? No problem for me. **3/4

6/17/11 Smackdown

Ratings:
Ezekiel Jackson, Daniel Bryan, & Sin Cara vs. Wade Barrett, Cody Rhodes, & Ted DiBiase: *1/2

Jinder Mahal vs. Vladimir Kozlov: *

Big Show vs. Mark Henry: N/A (no match)

Alicia Fox, Tamina, & Rosa Mendes vs. Natalya, AJ, & Kaitlyn: DUD

Jimmy Uso & Jey Uso vs. Justin Gabriel & Heath Slater: N/A (did not watch)

Christian vs. Sheamus: *1/2
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Reviews/Thoughts:
Orton promo to start. Orton wants to fight, Teddy Long says no. Christian comes out for a heel promo...then Sheamus seems to have the tweener role in all this. Ha, Christian called Sheamus "strawberry shortcake." Long makes Sheamus vs. Christian for the main event. Sheamus wins...it's a triple threat match. Christian wins, title match stays the same. Orton gets a ringside seat tonight.

Six-man tag match...a rematch from a few days ago on RAW. Sin Cara is the spot monkey again. Sin Cara was the face getting beaten up for much of the match! Good time to see how Sin Cara sells moves. Hot tag to Daniel Bryan. That was a bizarre finish....looked like DiBiase kicked out before three there.

Jinder Mahal time. I wouldn't say this was a squash, but the whole point was to make Mahal and Khali look good. Khali interferes and Mahal wins. Mahal has a generic full nelson slam finisher.

Big Show comes out. He wants Alberto Del Rio, but Teddy Long comes out and basically prevents all that. Criminal charges against Big Show are pending for this storyline...fun. Mark Henry and Show in a match now.  Welp, Show just beats the crap outta Henry. Henry gets taken out on a stretcher. So much for that.

Six-diva tag match. That was just a waste of time.

I failed to watch the tag match between the Usos and Slater/Gabriel.

Del Rio promo. He's dedicating his next match to Ricardo Rodriguez. Big Show comes out. Del Rio runs away, so Show basically destroys the ringside area.

Main event was OK. Didn't care much for the finish. Orton gets Christian to run away. And Sheamus is punted...wonder if it's gonna be another injury angle.