Tuesday, October 9, 2012

10/8/12 RAW


Ratings:
Ryback vs. Primo & Epico: 1/4*

Rey Mysterio & Sin Cara vs. Titus O'Neil & Darren Young: *1/2

Wade Barrett vs. Sheamus: *1/2

Antonio Cesaro vs. Tyson Kidd: *3/4

Daniel Bryan & Kane vs. Alberto Del Rio & Dolph Ziggler: **3/4

Cody Rhodes & Damien Sandow vs. Santino Marella & Zack Ryder: *1/4

Eve Torres vs. Kaitlyn (Divas Title): 1/4*

CM Punk vs. Vince McMahon: N/A
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Reviews/Thoughts:Back to three-man announce team with Cole, JR, and JBL. Cena starts the show in Sacramento with his right arm in one of those more stylish braces. Vintage Cena commentary on all the other storylines. Makes one more plea for Cena/Punk at HIAC.

Ryback time! The Big Hungry? Another handicap match against Primo and Epico. Apparently, Carlos Colon owes JBL money. Best part of the match was the "That's what she said" sign when the crowd chanted "Feed me more!" Ryback shellshocks both guys and gets the win.

Little Jimmy's going through puberty, so Truth, Brodus, and Funkadactyls dance instead of having a match.

Vince McMahon with the State of the WWE Address. Punk interrupts with new yellow GTS shirt and a shaved head. Vince isn't a CM Punk guy or a Paul Heyman fan. Punk used be the spoke on the wheel but now is the wheel. Punk says Vince has slapped him in the face for years...Punk slaps Vince! YES! Punk and Vince later tonight. JBL's ecstatic.

Masked Marvels (Cara/Mysterio) predictably get to the finals with a win over the Primetime Players. Short match here. All but assured that Rhodes Scholars will be their opponents. In related news, Kofi and Truth amicably part ways as a tag team. Maybe this gives Evan Bourne a window to return once his foot heals.

Heyman telling Punk this match with Vince is a must-lose situation. Punk says he'll find a way to win anyway.

Big Show comes out during the first few seconds of Sheamus/Barrett. Extremely hard-hitting match. Tensai comes out to get revenge on Sheamus after what happened on Smackdown. Match thrown out. Sheamus gets a Brogue Kick again on Tensai. Show blocks another Brogue Kick and tosses Sheamus over the top.

Cena's making media appearances, such as Live with Kelly and Michael, to promote the WWE's partnership with Susan G. Komen and Breast Cancer Awareness.

Cesaro and Kidd in a decent match. Hey, I like chili cheese fries! Kidd gets a bunch of nice offense in, but Cesaro with that Euro uppercut and Neutralizer for another victory.

Team Hell No faces Del Rio and Ziggler in tag action. DB's "YES" stuff has gotten incredibly over. Love it. More of Kane and DB having to tag themselves in to get in offense. ADR and Ziggler working well as a team. The one time DB actually wants to make a tag, Ziggler cuts him off. Very good finish. Kane gets the honor of pinning an opponent this time, and DB doesn't like it.

JR can't talk Vince out of doing this match. But a lot of vintage JR stuff and Vince impersonating Rock.

Larry King on RAW again with his wife. Miz basically introduces himself. Hey, it's Miz's birthday! Miz wants everyone to sing happy birthday to him. Larry King says Kofi Kingston is his new guest. Nice crack from Miz about the number of wives Larry's had. New wife with the water to Miz's face. Kofi throws Miz off the stage. Segment didn't seem like it got nearly the response it should have. I guess Kofi is Miz's next opponent.

As expected, Rhodes Scholars defeat Santino and Ryder to get to the finals of the tag title tournament. Rhodes with the Disaster Kick on Santino here. Finals next week on RAW in Nashville. Slater, Jinder, and McIntyre pick the bones and beat up Santino some more.

Layla on commentary as Kaitlyn finally her title shot against Eve. Kaitlyn wears the tape on the boot to show off the storyline ankle injury. Nice target. Kaitlyn with some power moves (Torture Rack included), but "wisely" decides to use her injured leg for a backbreaker. Eve with the heelhook on the injured ankle for a submission win, then keeps the hold on until Layla intervenes. Eve suddenly shows concern for Kaitlyn. Layla shoves Eve. Since Beth Phoenix is reportedly leaving the company, I'll honestly go back to not caring about this division until Sara Del Rey shows up. I'm just happy she's with WWE, and Cesaro is happy, too.

DB, Kane, and Larry King. Owls, goats, trolls, fruit rollups, Skeletor! Skit of the night!

Punk and McMahon time! Punk attacks McMahon from behind before the bell. Naturally taking on more of a street fight feel. JBL wins for calling Cole a middle-aged man in horrible shape (while Vince is a senior citizen with an amazing physique). Announce table becomes a war zone. Vince leaps over the announce table (sorta) onto Punk! Hope he didn't blow his quads. Looks like a black left eye or something on Vince. Vince with kendo stick! Vince punches Heyman and takes the WWE Title. Punk grabs his own stick. Punk begs off to get the crowd riled up, then low blow to Vince. Punk wants a GTS but Ryback! Punk wants to get away, but Cena tosses him back in. Big lariat! Shellshock time...but Punk gets out and escapes through the crowd. It's basically here that Punk reportedly hit the wrong person in the crowd (an innocent fan instead of a plant). As for the "match," it really never took place. Just a fight all over the ringside area.

Vince tells Punk that the champ will either face Ryback or Cena at Hell in a Cell. I'm still skeptical that Cena will get the all-clear in time to compete. At the same time, I'm concerned that if Punk faces Ryback inside HIAC, you'd have two guys who basically have to keep winning square off. Ryback needs all the wins he can get, while Punk should seriously hold onto the title until at least the Royal Rumble. No wiggle room for countouts or DQs inside the cell. I'd rather have Punk and Ryback square off on RAW, where Punk can weasel his way into a DQ or a countout situation.

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