2/25/13 RAW (Cena vs. Punk)

Gotta love the crowd in Dallas, TX! King and Cole on commentary.

Vince McMahon starts the show and he's still on crutches. He calls Paul Heyman out. Heyman comes out in workout gear and gets the cheap heat with a Cowboys/Romo joke. Heyman abruptly tackles Vince and targets the hip. Vince takes the crutch away and gets two crutch shots on Heyman.

And here comes Brock Lesnar. He stares Vince down. And then HHH arrives sporting a new shirt. Was there really any doubt that these two would show up? HHH and Lesnar brawl around ringside. Lesnar shoved into the ringpost and he's really cut badly. Lesnar battles back and F-5s HHH on the announce table. Now that was awesome. Been a long time since I've seen a guy in WWE have a wound that bad on TV. Might as well be Lesnar who takes it. you can see Lesnar's blood on the silver ringpost. HHH tossed into the ring, and Lesnar takes a chair with him. HHH with a spinebuster to Lesnar and a loud chair shot. Lesnar retreats but still smiles. Lesnar and HHH set in stone for WM 29. Yeah, I'd pay to see them beat each other up for 20+ minutes.

Ryback vs. Dolph Ziggler: Looks like Ryback's back on his own, and that's the way it should be. Ryback dominant early on, as expected. Langston runs over Ryback on the outside so Ziggler can get on offense. Ryback runs into the ringpost and Ziggler with a spike DDT for two. Ryback in the sleeper but breaks that with a stunner-like jawjacker. AJ and Langston try to interfere, to no avail. Ziggler gets Shellshocked and Ryback wins. At least Ziggler bumps like a champ. This felt more like a glorified squash. Ziggler got in his moves, but Ryback was just booked overwhelmingly strong. *3/4

CM Punk promo. He says tonight is not about Cena, Rock, the people, or even WM 29. Tonight isn't even about the WWE Title. Tonight is about CM Punk. "CM Punk is God." Yes, he is, and that sentence even trended on Twitter. Take that, JBL!

Add Donald Trump to the celebrity wing of the WWE Hall of Fame. Hey, I think he's at least more deserving than Drew Carey. I mean, Trump literally let it rain real money on RAW. Still won't forget Trump shaving Vince's head at WM 23. RIP Umaga.

Mark Henry vs. Great Khali: DAMMIT, not again! Overhand chop to Henry but that doesn't do too much damage. World's Strongest Slam ends things rather quickly. N/A

The Marine 3 (starring Miz) is going straight to DVD. Sounds normal to me when WWE stars (at least other than Rock) are involved.

Fitting that this leads to Miz TV. Guests are Jack Swagger, Zeb Colter, Alberto Del Rio, and Ricardo Rodriguez. Miz gives Colter the chance to say what's on his mind, and Zeb goes into a rant on illegal immigrants (a.k.a. undocumented workers). Colter with the quick jab to Glenn Beck rejecting WWE's offer to appear on the show. WWE is educational! 10 years to become a citizen of Mexico, and foreigners can't own property there. Colter says ADR represents the American dream. Colter calls those illegal immigrants "criminals." ADR says America is for everyone and that anything is possible if you work hard enough. ADR challenges Swagger to bring it on. Swagger says he'll see ADR at WM. Yup. Another solid advancement of storyline. So it looks like Swagger's push wasn't affected too much, although I'm not too sure WWE will put the title on him now. Before the DUI and weed arrest, Swagger was penciled to win the title at WM.

During the break, Swagger attacks Miz from behind, so I assume there will be a match later on between these two.

Randy Orton vs. Antonio Cesaro: Cesaro in control early, then the usual comeback moves from Orton. Cesaro to the second rope for what I believe would be a flying Euro uppercut, and Orton hits the RKO out of nowhere for three. *1/2

Daniel Bryan and Kane arguing again. Match against the Primetime Players. DB says he can beat PTPs blindfolded. Kane says he can do it with one arm behind his back. Enter Team Brickie to actually make that happen. Brad Maddox already assuming the role of power-hungry, ego-driven assistant.

We see the WM 21 military courtroom promo between John Cena and JBL. Cena won the title from JBL that year and that pretty much started Cena's dominant ride at the top of the company.

Sheamus in a tux?! Well, that's a new one on me. No, I didn't bother to watch the Oscars. He says the greatest actor of the 21st century is...Wade Barrett! I guess we know where this is going. We again see the movie trailer for Dead Man Down (where Barrett has a supporting role) and Sheamus with more quips that really fall flat. Barrett comes to the ring and he basks in his movie-star glory. Ooh, attending a worldwide premiere! That'll be cool. Barrett misses a clothesline and avoids the Brogue Kick. Gotta look good for the cameras, no broken nose needed. Didn't like this segment at all, frankly.

R-Truth vs. Cody Rhodes: Damien Sandow on commentary. Can we keep him there permanently? Cody tries to ground Truth during the match. Cody bounces off the ropes and Truth hits Little Jimmy for three. Short match, nothing real special. Sandow unsuccessful on the post-match assault.

More Swagger/Colter YouTube videos. Swagger had to work at age 14 to support his family because his dad got laid off. That sucks, but it happens in life.

Team Hell No vs. Primetime Players: I've read that Darren Young has a knee injury, but he looked OK to me. DB gets to wear the black hood and Kane's left arm is tied behind his back. DB still tells Kane to get out. We get the "blindfolded guy goes after the ref" spot. Kane tags himself in and does the dirty work. Chokeslam to D-Young and it's over. Another comedy match. Can we have fewer of these? 1/2*

Shield promo. They dare WWE to make another All-Star team to defeat. Sheamus appears on the stage and dares Shield to get him. Ambrose and Reigns do so. Randy Orton comes through the crowd, slithers in the ring, and an RKO to Rollins. Hit and run! Guess there's your next team.

Jack Swagger vs. Miz: As expected, here's that singles match. Miz no longer has the tape on the left shoulder. Miz runs on adrenaline but Swagger catches Miz with a belly-to-belly suplex on the outside. ADR and Ricardo watching in the back locker room. Hmm, no more expensive cars and luxury boxes, eh? Swagger keeps Miz from mounting the comeback. Miz hits his signature moves in spurts, then gets his left leg caught in the ropes as planned. Opening for Swagger to target the leg and slap on the Patriot Lock. Miz taps. Safe to say for now that WWE is still going with Swagger and ADR for WM 29. *3/4

Lawler and Cole doing some promoting for Sonic. Hey Lawler, too much fried food is bad for you. I don't want you to have another heart attack.

Cena backstage promo. Cena wanted his match with Punk to prove Punk wrong. The better man goes to WM 29. No excuses, no second place. Step up, or step aside. Solid, serious promo.

WWE shares via Tout that Undertaker made a surprise return at the live event in Waco this past weekend. Taker now has a noticeable belly. Too banged up to exercise, I suppose. Food must be awesome in Texas.

John Cena vs. CM Punk: A hyped match (one week) for WWE standards. Winner faces Rock at WM 29. Justin Roberts with the main event intros. Chain wrestling to start, which generally signals a long match. Back and forth from the start. Punk keeps countering each of Cena's "five moves of doom." Roll-through on Cena's slam into the Anaconda Vice. Great counter from the STF to the Vice -- then back to the STF so Punk rolls Cena on his shoulders for another two-count. Any wrestling fan has gotta appreciate that. Even MORE counters on Cena's moves of doom. A simple kick on the "You Can't See Me" taunt. GTS countered into a sunset flip but Punk drops down and hooks Cena up for two. AA countered. GTS countered. Cena with a POWER BOMB?! That gets two. Cena to the top and he gets caught. Cena headbutts?! Cena top-rope legdrop for two! If that match ended right there, it still would get at least three and a half stars. Roundhouse kick from Punk. Punk running knee. Cena ducks short clothesline and hits AA for two! Wow. Rarely see this type of match on free TV. Punk to the outside. Cena shoved into the same post that made Lesnar all bloody earlier. Cena with the miracle dive back into the ring to beat the countout. The crowd's been on their feet for the last several minutes. Punk with the GTS, and ONLY TWO! Punk picks Cena back up. GTS blocked! Cena grabs the knee and STF! Punk milks the hold for all its worth and with one final push gets to the ropes. Punk kicks Cena's knee. PILEDRIVER TO CENA WTF ONLY TWO. Talk about going to the unofficial "banned" move list. Punk misses the top-rope elbow. CENA WITH A HURRICANRANA! Who the hell is this guy?! AA for three. Incredible. Best free TV match I've seen in a LONG time, probably ever. I'd probably have to go back to the 4/23/07 RAW main event (Cena and HBK) for another such memorable match. Kudos for the clean finish. ****3/4

Yes, I went that high on a free TV match, and I honestly can't . Amazing chemistry that Punk and Cena have in a rivalry that's spanned about two years. The numerous Punk counters on each of Cena's signature moves were excellent and made this match that much better. Extremely smart to have each counter have its own separate spot. Counters ranged from simple to more complex, but all were effective. Still got goosebumps on all those false finishes. A lot of tweets from current and former WWE talent giving high praise. Love it.

I marked HUGE for the Punk piledriver and the Cena hurricanrana. The piledriver is again on the "banned" list in WWE for safety reasons; note that even Jerry Lawler stopped using it in the matches before his heart attack. (NOTE: Vince was reportedly furious after Punk did the piledriver, but took no disciplinary action because it involved Punk and Cena) No interference at all. Just two guys at the top of their respective games, doing whatever it takes to win.

No Jericho this week because he's with Fozzy. No Rock because he's probably promoting his movies. No Taker because WWE probably doesn't want to show a pot-bellied Deadman. Show still amazing thanks to Cena and Punk epic main event. Greatness vs. Redemption at WM 29.

Next week's RAW is an "Old School RAW." Should be fun.

Oh, and Tensai debuts new ring gear when teaming with Brodus Clay in his Superstars tag match against Primo and Epico.

2/18/13 RAW (Rock Celebration)

John Cena starts this week's RAW in Lafayette, LA. More WM sign pointing and he mentions the big title matches. CM Punk interrupts as usual and in a pissed-off mood. Punk admits Rock beat him at Elimination Chamber but still wants in the WWE Title match. Punk thinks Cena's taking the easy way out by facing Rock because Cena's never beaten Punk. It all leads to Punk and Cena facing off next week, winner faces Rock at WM 29. Could easily see this being another controversial finish. If anyone's winning, it's Cena.

Smart move to have that match next week. I'm thinking they'll really give that one a lot of time. Plus, the Dallas crowd is awesome. Very lively.

Chris Jericho now takes Cena's place on this all-star tandem to face the Shield. Nice nWo reference, Chris.

Mark Henry vs. Sin Cara: No Rey Mysterio again. Another squash win for Mark Henry in about 90 seconds. Wouldn't want to be facing the big man right now. N/A

Great Khali walks to the ring on his two horrible knees. Henry feigns like he's gonna fight, but then rolls out of the ring at the last minute. Still can't understand why Khali even wrestles anymore.

Antonio Cesaro vs. Miz (No DQ): Rematch here after the DQ finish at the PPV last night. Non-title match. Cesaro continues to target Miz's taped-up left shoulder. Doesn't take long for chairs and kendo sticks to appear in the match. Cesaro with unique ways of using those weapons to inflict more punishment to the shoulder. Miz moves and Cesaro's knee hits the chair. Drop toe hold on the chair. Figure-four by Miz and Cesaro taps quickly. Match didn't take very long. *1/4

Zeb Colter and Jack Swagger with another "We the people" promo. Yay, they have a YouTube account!

More Kane and Daniel Bryan arguing like sibling children. DB faces Swagger tonight. Kane doesn't like snakes. HI RANDY ORTON! So this means Kane faces Orton tonight, I suppose. Oh, and DB and Kane tell each other to stay away from the ring during their respective singles matches. Will that happen? Of course not.

Vickie Guerrero on the phone. Paul Heyman comes in. Vickie has a surprise for Heyman to share in the ring later. Heyman doesn't like surprises and Vickie loves it.

Alberto Del Rio vs. Dolph Ziggler: ADR with the big enzuigiri early to Ziggler. Langston gets a cheap shot in to help Ziggler regain control. Swagger and Colter are watching in the back. Nice reverse superplex from ADR. ADR with the clothesline, shoulderblock, and backbreaker. Loud superkick to Ziggler for two. Ziggler counters the cross armbreaker with a neckbreaker for two. Kidney punches and backstabber to Ziggler. Langston on the apron and ADR with a dropkick to his knees. Ziggler gets trapped in the cross armbreaker and has to tap. Crowd was dead for ADR's entrance but at least perked up for the match. **1/4

Langston gets in the ring and nukes ADR. Ziggler looks on. CASH IN THE BRIEFCASE! Ricardo grabs the briefcase and runs for his life. He drops the briefcase as Langston gives chase. Dude, Big E is fast for a big man. AJ Lee retrieves the briefcase but ADR nukes Ziggler to stop everything. Good tease for the MITB stuff. Was funny just to watch Ricardo run.

Wade Barrett is now a movie star! He filmed scenes for "Dead Man Down," in theaters March 8. Some movie trailers are shown. Sheamus on the Titantron and he correctly points out Barrett isn't really the star of the film anyway. Oh, they're out of time for the segment! Gotta keep moving and plug those action figures!

Brodus Clay, Tensai, & Naomi vs. Primo, Epico, & Rosa Mendes: Six-person mixed tag. Brodus and Tensai are going on a safari and I guess they're hunting Puerto Ricans. Naomi was the obvious choice to represent Funkadactyls. Don't see a diva perform a springboard clothesline every day! YES! Blind tag to Brodus. Primo gets nuked with the double splash and it's over in 90 seconds. More Naomi, I say! Brodus and Tensai dance Gangnam Style in the ring. N/A

Another Zeb Colter and Jack Swagger promo in the ring. We, the People! I love the "Don't Tread on Me" slogan. Swagger says Colter will give a State of the Union-like speech. ADR and Ricardo watch in the back. I'm loving this heel pro-American style. First Amendment, baby! Colter says Swagger's gonna win the World Title and reclaim America. Of course, since ADR is Mexican. Makes perfect sense. Colter is gold on the mic. Daniel Bryan comes out and we got a match.

Jack Swagger vs. Daniel Bryan: Match joined in progress. Gotta love DB's ability to work with everyone on the roster. Swagger shows the power game against the smaller DB. DB's ribs are taped up, so again bullseye for Swagger to attack.DB with the comeback. Suicide dive from DB even with the bad ribs. Logic! DB with the NO lock on but Swagger's tall and can get to the ropes. DB misses the dropkick in the corner and favors the ankle. You know what that means. Swagger with vile shots on the ankle. He locks the Patriot lock in and it's over. No Kane in this match. **

Vickie Guerrero and Paul Heyman in the ring next. Vickie's hired a new assistant. Gee, I wonder who it could be. Brad Maddox! And exactly NO ONE in the arena cares! Heyman doesn't care, either. HI VINCE! Vince doesn't have a heart, and if he does, it's cold and black. Much like my coffee this morning. Oh right, Heyman said he would do anything if he got the stipulation he was granted. Well, time to pay the piper. Vince could fire Heyman right now but won't do that. Instead, Vince and Heyman will fight next week. And the crowd doesn't care. Fail.

Shield vs. Chris Jericho, Sheamus, & Ryback: Well, here we go again with the six-man tags. Lawler called Ambrose "Seth Rollins." Time to get glasses, King. Rollins pulls Roman Reigns out of the way of the Brogue Kick, so Ambrose eats it instead. Sheamus with the hot tag to Ryback and the crowd finally can go crazy. Ryback gets Rollins up for Shellshocked but again, Reigns spears Ryback to thwart that. Love how Shield is being booked, even getting good offense on Ryback. Jericho gets the tag and the fans sorta respond. Reigns takes Ryback out on the outside. Sheamus and Reigns duel. Rollins is still free and delivers a dropkick to Jericho. Ambrose covers Jericho for three. Great booking. **3/4

Kofi Kingston vs. Damien Sandow: Kofi's already in the ring, but Sandow at least gets to do his monologue. Hey, Sandow's family was full of personal advisers to former U.S. presidents. Lovely. No match here, just Sandow beating up Kofi. R-TRUTH IS BACK! He had been out with that deep gash on his knee. Truth unloads on Sandow. So is Kofi back to tag action? Maybe Rhodes Scholars will just reunite full-time. It's best for all parties involved right now. You're welcome. N/A

Josh Mathews interviews DJ Cotrona and Adrianne Palicki. Both star with Rock in the upcoming film "G.I. Joe: Retaliation." The movie will come out on March 29, a little over a week before WM 29.

Randy Orton vs. Kane: Fairly competitive match, but again, the crowd mostly dead. Last few minutes of the match were good. Kane sets up for the chokeslam. DB comes down, as expected, to distract Kane. DB didn't say anything. RKO to Kane and it's over. *3/4

Rock's Championship Celebration starts with the Louisiana-Lafayette marching band. Hey, the crowd came alive again -- sorta. They all line up down the aisle and Rock enters to a nice ovation. Only the drummers are playing as Rock's music blares over the sound system.

In the ring, there's a pedestal with a velvet red cloth covering something. Rock with his usual promo, now counting down the days to WM 29. Note that the WWE Title he holds is the SPINNER WWE Title belt that Cena used to wear; that same title in the past few years has NOT had the spinning logo. But that spinner belt at least gets to go to the Hall of Fame. One that doesn't have a physical place -- yet.

Rock basically unveils the NEW WWE Title belt under the cloth. A large WWE logo, front and center, with "CHAMPION" underneath. The platelets on the side are Brahma Bulls. To me, it doesn't look bad at all. Rock says this belt is worthy of the great champions the WWE has had in the past. Again, a nice Bruno Sammartino reference.

Who's Rock facing at WM 29? Before Rock can say who he's facing, Cena comes out. Punk nails Cena from behind with that spinner WWE Title. Punk points at the sign. Staredown between Rock and Punk. Punk then walks away.

Good setup for next week. Punk and Cena should be given some good time, I'm hoping.

2/11/13 RAW

In Nashville for this week's RAW. Cole and Lawler on commentary.

Paul Heyman begins RAW in the ring. He had sent a Tout earlier in the day to make an "announcement of a lifetime." He says in the ring that it'll be the last time you'll ever see Paul Heyman. Crowd cheers like mad for that, but many of us know he's a huge liar. He brings up ECW again, which really was awesome. Heyman recalls how he aligned with Lesnar for Brock's debut. Heyman says Punk should still be WWE champ today. Heyman predicts something bad will happen tonight. Heyman should seriously become a preacher the way he speaks. Heyman says all these bad things are pretty much why he's resigning (not re-signing, folks). Crowd again cheers.

CM Punk comes out and basically tells Heyman not to leave. Punk admires Heyman and says the people look up to Heyman. Hey, I'm a Paul Heyman guy! Heyman says he's just in the way and wants Punk to let him go. Heyman just wants to be remembered as Punk's friend. Punk refuses. Punk vows to beat Rock at Elimination Chamber this Sunday. They hug it out in the ring. Great opening segment.

Mark Henry vs. Great Khali: And from that great opening segment, we get THIS debacle. Basically a squash win for Mark Henry in less than two minutes. Mark Henry faces Randy Orton on Smackdown. N/A

Jericho wants in the Elimination Chamber match. Booker T says Y2J must face Daniel Bryan tonight. YES!

Heyman goes to Vickie Guerrero and wants a stipulation added to the WWE Title match. Vickie refuses. Vince McMahon on the phone, so Vickie puts it on loudspeaker. Vince with the "SHUT UP!" to Heyman. Heyman says if Rock is counted out or DQ'd, Punk should win the title. Vince wants it in writing. Heyman agrees. Vince OKs the stipulation and hangs up.

Chris Jericho vs. Daniel Bryan: YES! Still remember their match from the first show of NXT Season 1. Wrestling clinic here. Y2J goes for the early pins. Cole brings up the first EC match but doesn't mention Eric Bischoff's name. Match had a ton of counters, very competitive. Crowd really amped up for it. DB finally hits his headbutt for two. Walls of Jericho applied! DB counters. NO lock can't get locked in. DB counters Walls again countered. Kick to Jericho's head for two. DB goes for the KO kick again but Y2J ducks. Rollup for two. Codebreaker out of nowhere and Jericho's going to the chamber match. Jericho's on fire again with more excellent matches! ***1/4

Rey Mysterio has been ruled out of the EC match due to injury. So we're back to needing to fill two more spots. Jericho, DB, Henry, and Randy Orton are in as of now.

John Cena, Sheamus, & Ryback vs. 3MB: OK, did anyone really think 3MB had a shot here? Obviously a warmup match for Cena and company. Ryback nukes Slater, Sheamus nukes McIntyre, then Cena nukes Jinder. Nice triple finisher at the end. 3MB at least could practice their gyrations on air guitar. Match over in three minutes of pain. N/A

Post-match promos. Ryback can't wait to feast on the Shield on Sunday. Sheamus wants Shield tonight. Cena says justice meets the law when the six guys square off. Nice one. When Cena isn't cutting the stupid funny promos, he actually does a heck of a job.

Alex Riley and Yoshi Tatsu make fun of Big Show behind Show's back earlier in the day. Show KOs both of them. Oops.

Show to the ring. Nice suit. Matt Striker in the ring to interview Show. Show KOs Striker. Sound about right. Show can't get the words out of his mouth, acting too pissed to talk. Show just throws the mic down and leaves. Point made.

Bruno Sammartino HOF video shown again. Even Bruno admitted in an interview that he was stunned to know people were cheering after that HOF video aired. Bruno's legacy spans multiple generations. Finally, the WWE Hall of Fame adds a true legend.

Jack Swagger vs. Zack Ryder: Another win for Swagger. He says real Americans take what they want. And Swagger's got a new manager. It's the guy formerly known as Dutch Mantel! Mantel is now known as Zeb Coulter. I don't care for the name at all, but you probably coulda guessed that. Ryder gets some offense in early, but Swagger is too much. Patriot Act (ankle lock) ends it in less than three minutes. 1/2*

Swagger says Zeb Coulter is a friend of his. Looked online, it says Zeb resides in Tennessee. Zeb is also legitimately a Vietnam War veteran. It's basically the "real Patriots, real Americans" gimmick (usually a babyface thing) with the heel twist. They want to protect and defend America, kicking unwanted people out in the process. Zeb has solid mic skills. A great pairing.

Booker announces Swagger has been unstoppable and puts him in the Elimination Chamber. Duh, we all saw that coming a million miles away -- at least when he finally returned to TV.

Ziggler wants back in the qualifying for the EC match. He's pissed that Jericho's now in the chamber match because Ziggler "ended" Jericho's last stint in WWE. Booker says Ziggler faces Kane tonight, winner gets in the chamber.

Footage again of Lesnar's destruction on Vince and Miz.

On WWE Main Event this week, the Highlight Reel returns! Chris Jericho's guest will be Miz.

Cody Rhodes vs. Miz: Antonio Cesaro on commentary. He praises Miz's talent, but doesn't like him as a person. Typical match here. Action spills to the outside. Cesaro looks like he's gonna attack Miz, so Miz kicks Cesaro down. Cesaro shoves Miz into the post and the ref calls for the bell. *

Brodus Clay & Tensai vs. Primo & Epico: Well, if this is what it takes for a person to keep a nice-paying job, I'd consider doing what Tensai's needed to do the last several weeks. Tensai is pretty much all business when walking to the ring. A little fun in the ring doesn't hurt. Primo and Epico are basically getting booked like crap these days anyway. Time to dance after the match. Tensai dancing Gangnam Style? Ugh. N/A

Oh, yay for seeing Naomi and Cameron do something wrestling-related!

Shield to the ring, again entering through the crowd. Shield wants some action. There's been a John Cena problem in WWE for the past decade, and the Shield claims to be the solution. Strong promo from Shield. They again keep calling out Cena, Sheamus, and Ryback. LIGHTS OUT! There they are, and it's time to brawl. All six guys fight back through the crowd. Shield retreats again. Solid segment. Should mean Shield wins on Sunday. Shield would really be hurting with a PPV loss.

Alberto Del Rio vs. Damien Sandow: Sandow blasts the fans for listening to music that's not Beethoven or Mozart. Those damn ignoramuses! Ricardo's back for the Del Rio grand intro. ADR wins in a minute with the cross armbreaker. SQUASH! N/A

ADR post-match promo. He says Show can take his tour bus anywhere he wants after the Elimination Chamber PPV. ADR's going to WM 29. Vintage sign pointing!

Bo Dallas jumps Wade Barrett in the back, much like Wade did on Smackdown a couple weeks ago.

Wade Barrett vs. Kofi Kingston: Not bad here. Another match that goes back and forth. Barrett misses the Bullhammer the first time, but suckers Kofi into the ring dressing and nails him with a Bullhammer shot there. Wade gets the win at the three-minute mark. *3/4

Kane vs. Dolph Ziggler: I'm sorry, I wanted to watch AJ Lee during this one. Loved her outfit. Kane basically dominates most of the match. Big E Langston again helps Ziggler get the upper hand. Great stuff in the second half, several near falls and counters. Kane to the top, AJ gets on the apron. Ziggler bounces into the ropes, knocking AJ off the apron. Langston catches her. Ziggler wants to make sure AJ's OK, and Kane delivers a chokeslam for three. Kane's finally in the chamber match. **1/2

Rock to the ring to close the show. Thunderous cheers here. Yes, we want to know WHY. It's story time with the Rock. Rock moved to Nashville when he was 15. No action from the girls in high school because they thought Rock was an undercover cop. Oops, not all good to be 6'4" and 220 lbs in high school then. Rock got a busted-up 1979 Thunderbird from a crackhead in a bar when he was 15. Woohoo! Rock thought the car was stolen so he ditched it at 2 a.m. I never had such a lively life at 15. Rock got his life together at 25 and says he will still be champ after the PPV.

Punk interrupts. Rock with the Twilight love scene reference. Homeless vampire boy hugging a hairy werewolf! Time to settle it in the ring now. Punk walks to the ring. Fight's on! Rock with the spinebuster, but Heyman trips Rock up on the People's Elbow. Punk with the GTS to Rock and stands tall with the title.

Rock should be retaining the title this Sunday. Undertaker's status for WM 29 is still unclear. If Taker can't go, it might end up being a triple threat at WM 29 for the WWE Title (Rock/Cena/Punk). Taker was spotted in Nashville, but didn't appear on the show.

Show had a couple of nice matches, but mostly squashes to advance storylines. Elimination Chamber PPV is this Sunday.

2/4/13 RAW (Bruno Sammartino HOF)

CM Punk starts the show. He pulls Justin Roberts into the ring to be announced as the "People's Champion." Punk's also been doing this at house shows this past weekend. He defends Heyman's explanation at the end of last week's RAW and says Vince is conniving enough to hire a Heyman double. Punk says Vince deserved his F-5 from Lesnar and got hip surgery earlier Monday (when it really was last Friday). Booker T comes out even though he's supposed to be the Smackdown GM. Booker flubs his line about the managing supervisor crap. Vickie apparently allowed him out there. Punk's gonna face a past WM opponent: Rey Mysterio, Randy Orton, or Chris Jericho. WWE Universe will decide Punk's opponent.

WWE hypes an "epic announcement" for the Hall of Fame class. And after reading about it before RAW, it truly is an epic one if you've followed wrestling for the last 3-4 decades.

Ryback vs. Antonio Cesaro: Oh, we got this match AGAIN. Wonder if Cesaro will run away again. Cesaro gets Swiss cheese imported from Switzerland. Meanwhile, Ryback just gets "GOLDBERG" chants. Ryback builds momentum and Cesaro indeed tries to walk away. Ryback won't have any of that this week. Cesaro gets some offense in, but Ryback hits the meathook and Shellshocked for three. *1/2

We see highlights of the Shield's impact in WWE so far.

All three potential Punk opponents tonight cut promos for the WWE app.

Jack Swagger vs. Santino Marella: Booker's on commentary. A short victory for Jack this week, just over a minute for the ankle lock submission win. He's basically come back with a renewed intensity and should be getting a big push again. N/A

Alberto Del Rio vs. Cody Rhodes: No Ricardo this time because he's selling the Big Show KO punch from Smackdown. Cody's back in singles action, and I really wish Rhodes Scholars could have gotten a tag title reign. Fearing Cody may get lost in the midcard shuffle once again. Loving the lucha style ADR's bringing as a face. Cody counters the ADR cross armbreaker and hits a Disaster Kick for two. Well, there went his chance. ADR finally locks that cross armbreaker in on the second try and Cody taps immediately. Match went about three minutes. *1/4

ADR with a promo saying how his heel antics were all wrong and Big Show is gonna pay. Big Show now shown on the titantron, presumably in a "secure location." Probably a nice hotel room. Show says he did ADR a favor by walking away (or driving away) on Smackdown. Show's gonna get another rematch for the title at the Elimination Chamber PPV. So both big titles this year at the PPV will be singles matches. As of right now, both title matches also appear to be regular matches. The World Title match could still get a stipulation added, though.

In what shouldn't be a surprise, Jericho wins the RAWactive poll to face Punk. Y2J gets 57% of the vote. Orton got 30% and Mysterio 13%.

Daniel Bryan wants to be in the RAW elimination chamber match and tells Kane to stay in the back, no matter what. That probably won't turn out well.

Daniel Bryan vs. Rey Mysterio: This match just sounds awesome on paper. Imagine if they got 20+ minutes. DB with an AWESOME move on Rey: looks like a tombstone but then DB tosses Rey up and into a gutbuster. Helps that Rey's a small man, doesn't it? Lawler with the joke about Rock and DB being in Super Bowl commercials -- DB being the goat that ate Doritos. Extremely competitive match. Rey with the comeback, hitting his usual moves. 619 to DB, but splash missed. DB gets the NO lock for the submission win. **

MARK HENRY! He's been out with an injury for months. Guess he's gonna be in the chamber match. He takes out DB and Mysterio. Sin Cara comes out and gets nuked with the World's Strongest Slam. Another slam for Mysterio. Vader Bomb to Mysterio. Glad to see Mark back as a heel, because I think he's more dominant that way.

Of course, DB is pissed Kane didn't come to the rescue. Kane reminds him DB said to stay backstage. Kane with the softy words which he of course doesn't mean. HELL NO! YES!

Big Show gets his dinner. Guy's gotta eat, you know. Show tells the room service guy to get another job. Pretty safe to say there will be another segment with ADR attacking.

Booker places Daniel Bryan into the Elimination Chamber match. Another match coming up with possible EC rewards.

Sheamus vs. Kane: Four-minute match with a bunch of counters on signature moves. Otherwise, it was nothing special to me. Main story here is that DB all but costs Kane the match. Sheamus is a lock for the EC match at the PPV. *

Miz TV segment with Paul Heyman. Heyman interrupts Miz's opening spiel and doesn't want Miz to tarnish Heyman's good reputation. Lovely. Heyman, to his credit, was telling Lesnar not to do anything to Vince last week. Miz still says Heyman's a liar. Vintage tension because no one's getting their questions answered. Vickie Guerrero interrupts and says she was the reason Lesnar's back. Vintage secret negotiations! Vickie and Heyman both had no idea Lesnar would take Vince out. Vickie with the fake sobbing. Miz thinks the act is all pathetic and can't wait to see Heyman and Vickie fired. HERE COMES THE PAIN! Miz not backing down. Miz shoves Lesnar. OOPS. Miz gets nuked. Furniture goes flying. Lesnar with an F-5 to Miz and it looked like Miz's head hit part of the couch. Heyman tells Lesnar that Miz is sorry. Frankly, I didn't like the segment until Lesnar came out. That part was...awesome.

Randy Orton vs. Wade Barrett: Yet another match between these two guys, but the highlight packages are about the feud between Barrett and Bo Dallas. Signature moves hit. Barrett rolls out of the ring after the hangman's DDT to stop that momentum. Barrett hits his Bossman slam for two. Wasteland countered into an RKO and Orton gets the win. Assuming we'll see more of Bo Dallas on Smackdown. *3/4

CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho: Justin Roberts didn't announce Punk as the People's Champion, oops. Easily the best match of the night. Appropriate these two got a good 15 minutes. Crowd gets the split chants going. Another very competitive match. Jericho bulldog, Punk gets the knees up on the Lionsault, but Jericho ready and tries the Walls of Jericho. Punk blocks that and misses the running knee in the corner. Jericho with mounted punches in the corner and then a hurricanrana to Punk. Kickass stuff there. Several near falls and counters. Anaconda Vice locked in but Jericho to the ropes. Fans chanting "This is awesome!" GTS countered into Walls of Jericho. Punk sells well and gets to the ropes. Punk hits the GTS for three. ***1/2

Epic WWE HOF announcement revealed: BRUNO SAMMARTINO is getting inducted! Something many wrestling fans thought would NEVER happen because of Bruno's absolute hatred for Vince McMahon. Bruno in particular didn't like the raunchy Attitude Era. All the credit should go to HHH for making this induction possible, and it's fitting Bruno gets his moment at Madison Square Garden, a place he helped legit sell out about 200 times. If you didn't believe the phrase "never say never in WWE" before this announcement, perhaps now you may believe it. Fans cheered big time after Bruno's video aired.

It's no coincidence that this segment came right after Punk's match. Remember Punk's promo several weeks ago referencing the "pre-modern" era title reigns, especially Sammartino's?

Mick Foley, Bob Backlund, Trish Stratus, and now Bruno Sammartino. This may very well be one of the best HOF classes WWE has put together since they started announcing and taping the ceremonies for TV. I'm honestly not one for "celebrity" inductions unless it's from a very long time ago. But dammit, if Drew Carey can get in, book me for WM and I'll eventually get in as well.

Rock's WWE Title win is making headlines everywhere. Exactly what WWE wanted.

Big Show's still in the hotel room eating food. The guy finally comes to deliver the WWE contract for the title match. Show signs the contract. As expected, ADR's waiting outside the room. Show gets the upper hand quickly, but ADR unleashes the fire extinguisher and KOs Show with it. Hotel guests pop out from the elevator. Show's just had some bad Mexican food. No biggie.

Brad Maddox in the ring. He says he's an innocent victim and is glad Vince exposed the truth. Maddox admits he gave Vince the footage and decides he's calling out the Shield instead. Shield members come from the crowd as usual. Ambrose calls Maddox a rat. Shield circles the ring and nukes Maddox quickly.

Cena, Ryback, and Sheamus come down through the crowd, much like the Shield does. Shield tries to retreat but the WWE locker room prevents the escape. Shield brawls with Cena, Sheamus, and Ryback. Shield ends up retreating back through the crowd.

A very good show. Again, no divas segment. Punk/Jericho was great stuff, but I'll probably remember this more for the HOF announcement.

1/28/13 RAW (RAW Roulette; Lesnar Returns)

RAW Roulette tonight! Three-man announce team again: JBL, Cole, Lawler.

Vickie Guerrero shows three wheels: Wheel of Superstars, Wheel of Stipulations, and the Vickie Vegas Challenge wheel. First match is Antonio Cesaro vs. Randy Orton. Vickie spins the stipulation wheel and it lands on Special Guest Referee.

But first, Punk has to vent. He still says he's the champ and that he got screwed. Punk calls everyone a cheap swindler, just like Vince and Rock. Punk says he got screwed worse than Bret in Montreal and says it was the Phoenix Screwjob on Sunday night. Punk wants to crash everyone's party. Vince McMahon comes out and Punk's all over him. Vince says he has footage from an anonymous person that undoubtedly says Paul Heyman orchestrated a plot involving Punk and the Shield. Vince is gonna hold a "Personal Performance Review" for Heyman later tonight. Could result in Heyman's termination.

Randy Orton vs. Antonio Cesaro: Miz is the special guest ref. Sounds about right. If Miz actually injured himself at the Rumble, then it makes even more sense to me to continue that storyline. Hard shots from Orton as the action spills to the outside. Cesaro naturally still has a beef with Miz about the count. Miz calls it down the middle until Cesaro starts shoving Miz out of the way. Vintage argument. Cesaro turns around right into an RKO. Orton wins. **

The Vickie Vegas Challenge Wheel is spun. "Make Me Laugh" is what it lands on. RYBACK! Oh crap.

Steffi Graf and Andre Agassi are in attendance! YES!

Ryback faces the Primetime Players in a "Make Me Laugh" challenge. Striker explains the simple rules: jokes are told, most laughs wins. PTPs with a joke about Striker and women. Ryback asks what has four eyes, 20 fingers, and isabout to be unconscious. Yup, he nukes Titus. Since D-Young got away, Ryback nukes Matt Striker. "YES YES YES" from JBL. Win. Poor Striker.

Bob Backlund's WWE HOF video shown again.

Vickie spins the stipulation wheel for Wade Barrett, and it lands on "Player's Choice." Barrett gets to choose his own opponent. Barrett's in the ring and loves it. He wants Bo Dallas because Bo eliminated Barrett in the Rumble match. Impressive showing last night for Bo, lasting over 20 minutes.

Bo Dallas vs. Wade Barrett: Bo surprises Barrett early on. Barrett regains control and gets up for the Bullhammer. Bo catches Barrett in a modified powerslam and gets three. Barrett with the shocked face. Only two minutes in an "upset" win for Bo. WWE loves this NXT guy and is likely pushing him big time now. N/A

Cody spins the Superstar wheel and it lands on John Cena. A Tape of the Tape between Cena and Fred Flintstone because Cena now is on some of those Fruity Pebbles boxes. Facepalm.

John Cena vs. Cody Rhodes: Cody eliminated four guys in the Rumble last night. Cena also eliminated four guys in the RR, including Cody. Cody rwants to leave, but Cena hits his moves of doom. AA ends it. Took about two minutes. Squash match here. N/A

Why the short match? Cena gets mic time. He pretty much just focuses on just the WWE Title when picking who he wants to face. Either it's Punk (who Cena failed to beat the last six times over two years) or Rock (who Cena lost to at WM 28). Cena still challenges whomever the WWE Champion is at WM 29. Duh.

Shield come down from the stands. JBL can't believe Cena's standing his ground. Shield pummel Cena. Sheamus and Ryback come down and are also nuked. Triple powerbomb to Cena.

Wheel stops on "Lingerie Pillow Fight." TENSAI AND BRODUS CLAY! NO NO NO! Tensai storms off. Brodus gets to spin the Vickie Challenge wheel. Stops on "Dance-Off." There we go.

So here we go with Brodus and Tensai. Remember, Tensai didn't see the Brodus spin so he's in a bathrobe. DAMMIT. Lawler didn't get to say that it was now a Dance-Off. Tensai disrobes and he's in lingerie. OH CRAP, MY EYES! And that, my friends, probably shows how much Tensai has fallen in the company. But hey, if he gets screen time, it's not all bad, right? Lawler gets Tensai to dance because what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. Ron Simmons "DAMN" cameo. Yup. That was easily the most bizarre segment this year. Might just hold up for the rest of 2013.

Alberto Del Rio faces Big Show in a Bodyslam Challenge. Beatdown segment! Show with the KO punch to ADR before the challenge begins. Show duct tapes ADR to the ropes. Show nukes Ricardo all over the ringside area. Show stomps on ADR a few times as well. More duct tape applied to ADR to make sure he can't go anywhere. KO punch to Ricardo right in front of ADR. Hard kicks to ADR and then another KO punch. Longer than needed, but effective nonetheless.

Kaitlyn vs. Tamina Snuka (Las Vegas Showgirls Lumberjills Match): Was originally slated for the PPV but didn't take place probably due to time constraints. I woulda saved it for RAW anyway. Kaitlyn takes Aksana's headdress and throws it at Tamina. Oh, that's thrilling indeed. Showgirls decide to all storm the ring for whatever reason because the crowd's been dead all this time. Match ends in a bizarre no-contest. Yes, thank you to whomever cued AJ Lee's old music. N/A

Rock to the ring. Only one word can describe tonight and the overall journey: FINALLY! Rock says this latest title win is the proudest moment of his WWE career. He thanks all the people. More poking fun at Punk and Heyman. Twinkie Tits! Rock says People's Era begins tonight. Rock says everyone's getting pie! Punk comes out. Punk demands Rock give back his title. Rock dares Punk to come take it. Punk teases the crowd and then reminds people he does things on his own terms to fit his schedule. Let's book that rematch for the Elimination Chamber PPV now. Three weeks away already?! To the person who was supposed to censor the words during the segment, you mostly failed, but hey, more swear words for everyone!

Diddy's "Coming Home" is the tune again as WM 29 is promoted. I love that song. Seriously. Keep it.

Sheamus vs. Damien Sandow (Tables): Per the spin of the wheel, a tables match. Doesn't take long for the tables to come out. Sandow works a bunch on Sheamus' injured left arm. Sheamus grabs Sandow's beard. Primitive and effective. "Thank You Sandow" chants?! Woohoo! Sheamus puts Sandow through a table with White Noise and gets the win. *3/4

WWE Karaoke with Zack Ryder and Khali. NO! They're gonna sing a Superstar's theme song. Fans in the arena pick the winner. Khali absolutely butchers HBK's theme song. YOU'RE NOT EVEN READING THE WORDS ON THE TITANTRON! FAIL! Holy cow. If that's not the worst "comedy" segment ever, I dunno what is. But I like watching Natalya dance. YEAH, WHERE'S COLE'S GONG?! 3MB interrupts, and I can't believe it got worse. Khali takes out Drew and Slater with that big hand to the head. Rough Ryder to Jinder. This was brutal. Very bad. Easily negative stars if I gave ratings for skits.

Chris Jericho promo. "Y2J" chants. Simple thanks to the fans, and Jericho loves that he fooled everyone. Ziggler and company crash the party. Langston's singlet looks smaller than normal. Langston spoke again and didn't mess up! Jericho believes the "E" is Langston's bra size. Dammit, I am now blind again.

Vickie says she signed Jericho. YAY! Perhaps we can at least put Vickie in more of a tweener on-camera role now. Stipulation wheel spin. Strange Bedfellows! So Ziggler and Jericho team up against...Team Hell No. YES!

Team Hell No vs. Dolph Ziggler & Chris Jericho: Strange match indeed, but still predictable. Vintage DB and Kane arguing. Ziggler tags in. Jericho hits Kane from behind and Kane thinks it was Ziggler. Kane chokeslams Ziggler and gets three. Jericho laughs. N/A

Latest WWE Hall of Fame inductee: TRISH STRATUS! YES YES YES! I hope they actually give her some airtime for the induction speech when the ceremony airs. Not just the "here are the other inductees and about five seconds of the speech they made" crap. God, I miss the Attitude Era divas matches.

Booker T will make an announcement for the World Heavyweight Title on Smackdown. Probably Elimination Chamber stuff.

It's time for Paul Heyman's Performance Review. Vince says Punk has been escorted out of the arena already. Heyman said he has nothing to do with the Shield or Brad Maddox. Vince asks Heyman if he's lied. Heyman says he's lied every day, but not this time. Closeup of Heyman's face, and many people are screaming everywhere. Not an honest face, eh?

We get to the anonymous footage, shot a couple weeks ago in Northern California. Heyman had told the camera guy to shut the camera off, but nope it wasn't off. Heyman explicitly says he paid Maddox and Shield to help take Ryback out and otherwise to help Punk keep his title. Shield then beats Maddox up. OOPS! "YOU GOT BUSTED!" chants.

Crowd basically readying Heyman's termination. Heyman says the man in the video wasn't him. HA. So it was Maddox and the Shield, but not Heyman. Got it. Vince ready to fire Heyman.

BROCK LESNAR! Markout time! Crowd goes NUTS. Vince tells Lesnar not to do something Lesnar would regret later on. Heyman pleading with Lesnar to leave. F-5 to the chairman! Heyman horrified because now he feels his job really is over. Of course it isn't. End show.

WWE signed Lesnar to a new 2-year deal. Pretty much the same terms as this current deal that would have expired after WM 29. Very limited schedule, lots of money for Lesnar. Ratings and money for WWE. Win-win. Loved the ending because I didn't think it would be this soon. I'm not sure how many dates Lesnar still has on the current contract, but WWE saved a lot of them to hype WM 29. Logical move could be to have Lesnar face Ryback. Could also be HHH, but if WWE is really going through with a monster Ryback push, might as well have Ryback face a true asskicker.

1/21/13 RAW

The go-home RAW to the Royal Rumble takes place in San Jose.

Vickie Guerrero comes down with Paul Heyman. All of a sudden, she remembers she is the managing supervisor for RAW and has authority again. How is a managing supervisor different from a GM? (other than apparently not having as much authority and screen time.) WWE Title picture addressed. Rock accused of defaming Vickie and Heyman; crowd erupts at hearing Rock's name. For the record, I enjoyed the Rock Concert. Vickie threatens to have Rock arrested if he shows up at the arena. Titantron shows Rock not being able to enter the arena. Looks like Rock and the officers are already in the arena, but I've never been to this building, so I don't know. Vintage Rock promo poking fun at Vickie. OH SNAP MANTI TE'O REFERENCE! Well, Manti's really made the big time now; he's also been parodied on SNL and gotten poked fun at during a Dallas Stars game. Rock says Punk has an imaginary nutsack. Vickie's not intimidated that Rock's still gonna find a way in. "If ya smell what the Vick is cookin." Something even Michael Vick could use as a catchphrase.

Beat the Clock challenge tonight. Winner posting the fastest time gets to pick when he enters the Rumble. Why not just say the guy gets to be #30? Or whatever number has produced the most winners (I think it was #27 or something). I swear there would be a catch here or something. Cole says #30 has produced two winners (Cena and Undertaker).

Antonio Cesaro vs. Randy Orton: Why does Cesaro own 12 Swiss watches? I guess because he can. Cesaro knocks Orton off the top to gain control. Competitive match here with multiple near falls, so you'll see a faster time from another match. Still enjoyed it, though. Cesaro checks the clock and runs right into an RKO. Orton posts the time to beat at 11:36. **1/2

Mick Foley's HOF video package shown again. Then a Shield video detailing their path of destruction.

Big Show vs. Zack Ryder: Poor Zack Ryder. It's bad enough that Big Show nuked him, but Brad Maddox gets to commandeer the announcing duties again, further confirming the entire match was a mere afterthought. I'm still not sold entirely on the Maddox storyline, but I'd assume the main point is to keep giving him screen time so fans know who he is. KO punch to Ryder and it's over in a minute. N/A

Show says his World Heavyweight Title match with Del Rio at the Royal Rumble will again be a Last Man Standing match.

Paul Heyman appears to have a change of heart and perhaps a partnership with Brad Maddox has been reached. If that holds up, Maddox could be in line for a push.

Ryback vs. Heath Slater: Trio of air guitar playing won't stop Ryback. Another squash. Shellshocked to Slater and it's over after about 90 seconds. Ryback says he's in the Royal Rumble and plans to win it all. N/A

Rock's still trying to get in the building. Yeah, the officers are probably indy wrestlers. Crowd chants the Rock's name. Vickie shows up. The almighty Vickie can now suspend officers if she wanted to? Vickie says she will lift Rock's banishment if he apologizes personally to Vickie. That wasn't happening.

RAW Roulette next week in Vegas!

CM Punk promo. For 428 days, Punk's proven that he is the man. He's worked half his life to get to this point and be the champ. Punk calls the people the most insignificant thing imaginable. Punk says he's a real champion, while Rock is just the People's Champion because he can't be a real champ. Punk says in six days, it won't matter what the Rock's cookin'. Another outstanding promo.

Dolph Ziggler vs. Miz: This is the second of three Beat the Clock matches; time to beat is Orton's 11:36. Clock counts down. Ziggler back to wearing the pink tights again. Good mat wrestling at the start to get in some quick pin attempts. Ziggler with amazing dropkicks, and thankfully he's known for more than that (right Maven?). Ziggler's gotten a great following over the past few months, and I wouldn't be surprised to see him turn face in the future. Miz tries the figure four but Ziggler chucks him to the outside. Langston gets a cheap shot in. Miz gets a few near falls in after the commercial break. Aggressive Miz with punches and a top-rope double axe handle for two. Cole notes Miz spent over 40 minutes in the Rumble last year. SCF countered. Rollups by both guys and we see a partial Ziggler moonshot (thanks Miz). Jumping spike DDT from Ziggler gets a long two. Figure four locked in, so AJ distracts the ref and Langston pulls Ziggler to the ropes to break the hold. Miz occupied with fending off a Langston cheap shot but that allows Ziggler to hit the Zigzag for three with 40 seconds to spare. Time to beat is now 10:56. Great match. ***

Dr. Shelby in the ring and he's got the academia robe on. We're gonna have a graduation ceremony for anger management! "Pomp and Circumstance" plays and I'm surprised "Randy Savage" chants didn't take place. Team Hell No to the ring in graduation gowns. Daniel Bryan has his hair slicked back. Dr. Shelby remarks about the goat face and DB's beard being a hotel for rats. Dr. Shelby gives DB and Kane grad caps and diplomas. Dr. Shelby turns the tassels from the left side to the right, symbolizing the graduation. Dr. Shelby final exercise: who do you think should be valedictorian and give the graduation speech? DB and Kane say the other should be the valedictorian. "Dr. Shelby" chants?!?! Now I've heard everything. They're gonna hug again! Cole and Lawler hug! The WWE doctor and Justin Roberts hug. Now random people in the stands are hugging. 1-2-3-HUG! What a bizarre segment.

We see highlights of Kaitlyn's Divas Title win from last week and Eve "quitting" the company.

Kaitlyn vs. Alicia Fox: Alicia's still on the roster, waving that fox jacket around. Predicted at the start that this match would last about two minutes. Tamina watches the match from a TV in the back, so it appears she will be next in line for a title shot. Tamina was getting pushed as a face before suffering an injury last year. Crowd dead for this match. Alicia misses a kick in the corner, Kaitlyn comes off the ropes with a weird spear for three. Probably only got half the impact out of it because the angle was a bit off. Match was about two minutes. 1/4*

Heyman's got a message for the Rock, a "Paul-bomb." Punk gets to watch from the skybox. Heyman says Vince is desperate for someone else to be champion, and Rock is the flavor of the month. Rock interrupts and displays a ticket. Cole says now officers can't stop Rock from coming in. Um, last time I checked, a ticket got you a seat to the event, not the privilege to come down the entrance ramp and get in the ring. That's WWE logic! Rock calls Heyman "Twinkie Tits" and gets him out of the ring. Rock  tells Punk to appreciate his last night on RAW as WWE champ. MLK reference from Rock. Rock has a dream to get to the Promised Land one more time. Great promo as usual from Rock

The lights go out. Shield in the ring attacking Rock. Numbers game too much this time. Triple powerbomb to Rock. Punk short statement that you eventually have to wake up from dreams and Rock will realize he just wasn't great enough be champ. Rock spitting up blood.

Sheamus vs. Wade Barrett: This is the last of the three Beat the Clock matches. Time to beat is Ziggler's 10:56. Pretty standard match here. Sheamus starts the comeback with about four minutes to go. Two big back kicks by Barrett, the second one landing square on Sheamus' jaw for two. Elbow from Barrett gets two again. Wasteland countered, White Noise hits. Sheamus stares at the clock, about 75 seconds left. Sheamus signals for the Brogue Kick. AJ, Ziggler, and Langston race to the ring to distract Sheamus. Bossman Slam from Barrett only gets two. Yeah Ziggler, you gotta also watch out for Barrett getting a win. Barrett sets up for Bullhammer, but Sheamus with a Brogue Kick. Unfortunately, not enough time, and Ziggler is the Beat the Clock winner. I love it. Ziggler keeps piling up the accolades, but now let's see them turn into something. **1/4

Yeah, Rock has nearly 4 million Twitter followers as of January 21. Moving on!

Ziggler basically rubs it in Vickie's face that he gets to pick his spot in the Rumble. #27 or #30 sound good to him, but he doesn't need luck. Good, because Vickie says she gets to pick which numbers Ziggler must choose from: #1 or #2. Personally, I love this. Ziggler won't be breaking Mysterio's record, but I fully expect him to be there until the end. If WWE shows any continuity for a change, it would be Cena and Ziggler at the end, with Cena getting the Rumble win. Ziggler has MITB anyway. If I were in charge of booking, Ziggler would have started his title run a long time ago anyway.

Vince makes a cameo! He tells Punk and Heyman the stipulations for the WWE Title match. If Shield interferes in the WWE Title match, Punk will be stripped of the title. (Vince botched his line, so it sounded confusing at first) Now watch Brad Maddox interfere somehow. Still gotta remember the "deal" Heyman and Maddox apparently struck earlier in the show.

Alberto Del Rio vs. Tensai: Not much has changed on Del Rio's ring entrance, except no expensive car and the fans enjoy it. Oh, and Lawler's now loving this stuff. Tensai's still in the virtual doghouse. ADR now gets the crowd to do "SI SI SI" before the running enzuigiri in the corner. ADR practically misses the second-rope moonsault because he positioned Tensai too close to the corner, but still gets three.Match not even two minutes. ADR leads the crowd to count to 10 in Spanish. Fun, especially because everyone initially counts to ten at different speeds. N/A

Second inductee to WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2013 is Bob Backlund. Long overdue. Shoulda been in years ago. The amazing thing is he still looks good today. Gotta love staying fit.

Cena to the ring. Gotta love Sundays. Cena's also still at noob status playing Black Ops 2. YES, it's because of that kid at ringside! Cena's username is purportedly "skidmarks187." Oops, what if that's a real username?! Cena charms the ladies with the whole Ladies' Night Out stuff, doing a Downward Dog in yoga class (look that up if you don't get the joke), and stuff about Taylor Swift and Nicki Minaj. Cena points out a guy wearing a "I'm a Paul Heyman Guy" T-shirt. Jagerbombs, blow-up dolls, mysterious tattoos, and Brett Favre-ing yourself on the Internet (no TD passes). Finally, Cena addresses the Royal Rumble. Yeah yeah, Cena says he's gonna win this all-out war.

Cue the list of people coming out one at a time to say they will each win the Rumble. Sheamus,  Primetime Players (OK, two people here), Randy Orton, Miz, Team Hell No (OK, two people again), Antonio Cesaro, 3MB (fine, three people now). Let's also play "How many microphones does WWE actually have?"

And then the entire locker room spills out so we have the ol' big brawl to end the show. Because we're supposed to love big brawls at the end of shows. After all, JTG's still employed and Khali took about 20 years to get to the ring! Some superstars get tossed out of the ring as the show ends. Wondering if a woman will enter the Rumble this year. No Beth Phoenix, no Chyna, and no Kharma. Kaitlyn might be defending her title at the PPV anyway.

See, the trick is to just have Khali be #30 and he probably will win the Rumble by default. I'd say he'd have the longest rumble time, but since your time doesn't start until you actually enter the ring, he'd have the shortest (unbeatable) time by a rumble winner. ***Disclaimer: Khali is not winning the Royal Rumble***
__________________

Some Royal Rumble notes to end this post:

I'm not sure Rey Mysterio and Sin Cara will be at the PPV. They could very well be "surprise entrants" in the Rumble itself, but latest reports would probably label them as "questionable."

I'm still believing Rock wins the WWE Title at the Royal Rumble. Since Shield can't interfere in the match now, I'd look to Brad Maddox to try and interfere. Best spot for that would be a ref bump and Maddox comes down as a "replacement ref" to try and screw Rock. Rock would end up nuking him anyway. The match is reportedly getting a good 30 minutes, so I'm expecting nothing less than four stars.

Interesting that it's another Last Man Standing match between Show and Del Rio. I'm hoping ADR retains, and if so, another "creative" tactic will probably be used to keep Show down.

It's probably time for Team Rhodes Scholars to take the tag titles off Team Hell No. Cody and Damien need the belts more.

Probably no U.S. Title or IC Title matches because Antonio Cesaro and Wade Barrett are participating in the Royal Rumble match. And a heel would probably just complain about having to pull double duty anyway. But just think of Mick Foley's triple Rumble appearance, though! That was a win.

(UPDATE: And a few hours after I posted this, WWE promotes a U.S. Title match for the pre-show  between Cesaro and Miz. Not expecting Miz to get the belt.)

There may be a divas title match penciled in at the last minute. Could be Kaitlyn against a random person. Won't be Tamina just yet, I think. Have Tamina attack Kaitlyn from behind on RAW the night after the PPV to start that feud.

Honestly, put Ziggler at #1 to start the Rumble. It's not like it matters from a timing standpoint. It's just cooler to say you went from #1 and lasted until the end. Since Cole said last week that superstars will enter every 90 seconds, Mysterio's 62:12 is safe for another year. Besides, Ziggler could just say he was born to be #1, so it's natural that he pick #1. Again, I'm expecting Ziggler and Cena at the end. Cena can enter whenever he wants, but hell, let's put him at the not-so-random #27 spot because, as Ziggler mentioned, four guys have won after entering at #27.

Will there be divas in this year's Royal Rumble? Signs point to no. Chyna (twice), Beth Phoenix, and Kharma have participated before. But truthfully, I'd mark the hell out if Sara Del Rey showed up in any fashion. Doesn't have to be the Rumble match.

Kane has a great shot to break Shawn Michaels' record for most career Rumble eliminations on Sunday. He has 37 to date and needs four eliminations to break HBK's mark of 40. It's Kane's 16th Rumble, easily a record (HBK's second with 12). While it includes Kane's other personas as the Fake Diesel and Isaac Yankem, it's still very uncommon to have such durability in the WWE world.

FUN FACT: Undertaker and Rikishi have each appeared in 10 Royal Rumbles, tied for third-most Royal Rumbles entered (before the 2013 event takes place). Rikishi also entered as Headshrinker Fatu and the Sultan. (Source: Wikipedia)

1/14/13 RAW (20th Anniversary RAW)

The opening montage is all the different RAW openings from the past 20 years. Nice nostalgia moment.

Three-man announce team tonight: Cole, Lawler, JBL. Twitter hashtag was #RAW20, and many past and current WWE talent tweeted their favorite RAW moments throughout the show.

Vince McMahon in the ring to start the show. Nice pop from the crowd. Yes, we've seen entertainment throughout the years. Over 4 billion viewers in the U.S. have enjoyed RAW in 20 years. Gotta stroke the ego. Vince says the following are up tonight: Ziggler and Cena in a cage, plus Rock concert. Big Show comes out. Show wants to address the World Title situation and Vince basically doesn't want to hear it. We see the finish to the LMS match on Smackdown. Show reminds us of his ironclad contract and wants Vince to strip Del Rio of the title. ADR's music plays. Ricardo comes out and does his vintage ADR intro. Del Rio comes out in his wrestling gear. Attire has the Mexican colors, so I guess he's gone full babyface now. ADR calls Show the World's Largest Crybaby. ADR offers to give Show a rematch for the title tonight. "SI SI SI!" chants. Show refuses. ADR tells Show to grow a set. Show says he wants his rematch at the Royal Rumble. Predictable, right? ADR with more Spanish, calling Show a "fat jackass." ADR and Ricardo have a present for Big Show -- inside a bucket with the Mexican colors. Ricardo tosses Mexican-colored confetti on Show. Show's pissed. ADR and Ricardo work together to get Show retreating.

First RAW flashback: Bob Barker is the guest host. Many crappy guest hosts during this time, but most agree Barker was one of the best. Classic moment with Jericho.

Wade Barrett vs. Randy Orton: Aggressive from the start. Orton back suplexes Barrett on the barricade, uncommon move there. Barrett took control during the commercial break, countering an Orton hangman's DDT. RKO countered, and Barrett tosses Orton into the ringpost. Barrett rolls up the elbow pad. If you see red, it's Bullhammer time. Finisher hits, and Barrett wins. Good clean win for the IC champ. Not often that Orton loses clean. I've read that this will lead to Orton's personal time off and eventual heel turn when he comes back. **

Fun RAW fact: When RAW's first episode aired on 1/11/93, Kofi Kingston was 11 years old, Cody Rhodes was 7, and AJ Lee was 5. And I was 9. Yay. In other words, I couldn't care less.

Booker tells Eve that if she even thinks about getting counted out or DQ'd in her Divas Title match against Kaitlyn tonight, Eve will be stripped of the title and it will belong to Kaitlyn. For those that don't know, Eve really is leaving the company. It's a shame, because Eve was one of the very few bright spots of the damn division. Then again, a lot of people probably hated it when Beth Phoenix left a few months ago. Divas division has been clinically dead for a long time. It's just supposedly alive because there's a title floating around and there are women who get pitiful segments just to satisfy the generally accepted rule of "at least one divas segment per show."

Team Hell No has their Anger Management followup evaluation. Plan is to lie. Group hug with Dr. Shelby! Asking DB what the best part is about Kane? Tall, can set things on fire, and a good dancer. Asking Kane what the best traits are in DB: agile in the ring, great beard...and sometimes he wears women's clothing. LOL. Surprise, Team Rhodes Scholars! Shelby says exposure therapy, but Sandow says it's system desensitization (Pavlov stuff). Rhodes Scholars antagonizes Dr. Shelby instead by mentioning "Dr. Phil." Vintage angry Dr. Shelby! Team Hell No attacks Team Rhodes Scholars. Team Hell No and Dr. Shelby with a lot of "YES" to end it. YES! That was freakin' awesome. Pure awesome.

Kane vs. Damien Sandow: Singles action tonight. Basic match here, Kane wins with the chokeslam in about two minutes. N/A

Mick Foley introduced as the first inductee for the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2013. Foley comes out to a big pop. Shield comes down through the crowd and circles the ring. Ryback comes down, then Orton and Sheamus. Shellshocked to Ambrose. Shield retreats. Ryback wants the Shield. Thank you. Now Ryback has a reason to stay out of the WWE Title picture for a while.

Most outrageous gimmicks video package. Goldust and Gillberg FTW. Oh, and Regal's a real man's man. You're welcome.

Kaitlyn vs. Eve Torres (Divas Title): Again, Eve loses the title if she gets counted out or DQ'd. Kaitlyn's got the Texas shirt on in her hometown of Houston. Basically similar feel to when Miss Tessmacher won her first TNA Knockouts Title last year. JBL wins again for calling Teddy Long a "George Jefferson peanut head." Eve gets the head scissors-style choke on Kaitlyn, but Kaitlyn to the ropes. Shoulder tackles from Kaitlyn and reverse DDT for two. Crowd thought it was done because Kaitlyn has used that for a finisher in the past. Eve hits her swinging neckbreaker but only two! Eve rips Kaitlyn's Texas shirt. No wardrobe malfunction. Kaitlyn hits her gutbuster finisher but Eve rolls out of the ring. Kaitlyn goes out after her, a questionable move since Eve can lose the title on a countout. Eve tosses Kaitlyn into the barricade. Kaitlyn manages to get back in the ring and Eve doesn't realize it. Kaitlyn hits the spear on Eve and we have a new champ! I like the spear finisher for Kaitlyn because she's got a more muscular build than most divas. **1/4

Didn't think it was as good as Beth Phoenix's last WWE match, but another good divas match, especially for WWE standards. Kudos to Kaitlyn; she's come a very long way since NXT.

Josh Mathews interviews Brodus Clay about the CM Punk pipebomb last week. Brodus gonna get his hands on Punk tonight.

RAW flashback: 2007 contract signing with Trump and Vince. Trump shoves Vince on his ass. Yay.

CM Punk vs. Brodus Clay: This is Punk's 421st consecutive day as WWE champ. Brodus aggressive early. Straightforward match. Punk hits the Randy Savage elbow and slaps on the Anaconda Vice. Brodus taps. Brodus still didn't impress me, even against a worker like Punk. *1/2

Punk promo afterward. He lists all the facts he's accomplished. He says the people are entitled to their opinion on if Rock's entertaining. Punk vows to defeat Rock at the Rumble to cement his legacy as the best in the world. Another great promo, as always.

More wacky moments from RAW's 20 years involving cars, trucks, ambulances, zambonis, etc. Oh, and swimming in beer. Ah yes, the days of the Cryme Tyme Cenation. Shad got interviewed on that several weeks ago; the CTC reportedly got phased out because of Cena. I guess Cena's had to step on a bunch of people to get to where he is today.

Rock and Foley backstage segment. Rock 'n Sock Connection has come back to Houston! Vickie interrupts and tells Foley and Rock to shut up. Rock has no words for Vickie?! Oh, watch the Rock concert later? Sounds good.

Sheamus vs. 3MB: Handicap match where you have to eliminate people by tossing them over the top with both feet hitting the floor. JBL still with the jabs on 3MB. After a few minutes that people could just skip, Sheamus eliminates Jinder and McIntyre in a 10-second span. Sheamus goes for the Brogue Kick and ends up over the top rope to the apron. Jinder and McIntyre pull Sheamus to the floor and 3MB wins. Sheamus is pissed and nukes all three guys after the match. So 3MB basically loses even though they won. Sounds about right. *1/4

For the Royal Rumble match, Cole noted that participants will enter every 90 seconds again. 30 participants. So Mysterio's record time (over 62 minutes) is basically safe for another year.

Cena backstage promo. Nice Braden Walker reference.

Miz TV is next. Guest will be a Hall of Famer. Miz gives a hint: "WOOOOOO!" plus the struts. Yay, it's Flair! Only two-time WWE Hall of Famer (as an individual and as part of the Four Horsemen). Miz asks what Flair's favorite RAW moment was. For Flair, it was the sendoff he got on RAW after HBK sent him into retirement. We got a wooo-off! Video package on a bunch of signature catchphrases throughout the years. Hey, Spirit Squad in there! Miz gets Flair to do his "limosuine-ridin', jet-flyin', kiss-stealin'" catchphrase, and Cesaro interrupts. Cesaro wears American tights and holds the U.S. flag. Cesaro probably just came from the gym, because he looks even more ripped than usual. Crowd chants "USA." Insults Miz and Flair. Flair chops and Miz with the SCF to Cesaro. Flair tells Miz to put the figure-four on Cesaro! So now perhaps Miz acquired a new move? Win.

RAW flashback from January 1998. Vince introduces Mike Tyson, Austin interrupts, and we got a fight.

Cody Rhodes vs. Daniel Bryan: Lawler calls Cody's mustache an "anorexic caterpillar." Ouch. DB catches Rhodes in the NO lock and Cody taps. Or is it the YES lock again? Match took about 75 seconds. Um, OK. N/A

Cole said during the Rhodes/Bryan match that there was huge breaking news concerning Eve. Eve's last promo on the WWE Active app. Yeah, Eve quits. Old news to many people. In all seriousness, though, I wish her well. She was a lot better as a heel act. Eve's engaged to Rener Gracie, so she'll be getting married and then leading the Gracie "Women Empowered" self-defense program. Pretty exciting stuff for Eve.

AJ Lee and Big E Langston next. Oh crap. We get to revisit past WWE weddings! AJ flubs some words but introduces the first two moments. First up, Edge and Lita in 2005 (Kane tombstones a priest). Next, Steph and HHH renew wedding vows in 2002 (HHH Pedigrees Vince and leaves Steph at the altar). Langston speaks and didn't screw up this time. Video of the AJ/Daniel Bryan wedding from RAW #1000 (AJ leaves DB at the altar to become RAW GM). AJ crying because she says Cena cost her the GM job. Ziggler comes in and says he's gonna beat down Cena tonight.

Jim Ross comes down to call Cena/Ziggler cage match. Four-man announce crew for this one.

Dolph Ziggler vs. John Cena (Cage): Win by pinfall, submission, or escape cage. Ziggler tries to escape and Cena catches him, so they fight when on the top rope. Cena falls off and Ziggler gets crotched. Double ouch. Never really was a fan of people trying to escape the cage, prefer people to use the cage a lot for a pinfall or submission. Ziggler with another awesome dropkick when both are on the top rope. Langston "holds Cena up" and prevents Cena from winning during the commercial break. Typical Cena comeback moves. Cena goes for AA, Ziggler tries to escape up the cage. We get the partial moon shot. Thanks, WWE. AA countered again, and Ziggler superkick gets two. Ziggler becomes a human tug-of-war rope between Langston and Cena. Ouch again. Cena pulls Ziggler in for the STF, but Ziggler with a sweet counter into the sleeper. Cena climbs to the top with Ziggler on his back, then falls off to break the sleeper. Cena tries to escape through the door and Langston smashes the door in Cena's face. Ziggler covers for two. Cena tries to go over the top and kicks the cage door back in Ziggler's face. Langston wields a chair to get Cena back up the cage and in the ring. Ziggler with a Zigzag for two. OK, this is ridiculous. Cena on the top again. Ziggler hits a super DDT on Cena -- and TWO AGAIN. WTF. Ziggler's hitting everything and Cena just kicks out. Nothing new there, fellas, but still makes me shake my head. AJ goes ballistic and scales the cage. Langston gets in the cage to go after Cena. Ziggler tosses the MITB briefcase but decks Langston. AA to Ziggler and Cena gets three. ***1/2

I'm basically rating that match as such because of Ziggler's performance. I was really hoping Ziggler could be booked to win as clean as possible in a Cena match -- basically meaning it'll still be a screwy finish because Cena almost never loses clean (just stating a fact). A clean win over Cena will probably only happen when the guy is ready to retire. Rock doesn't count because he was already destined for the Hall of Fame before last year's WM match.

Frankly, it's another crushing loss for Ziggler. He remains in a main-event storyline but the proverbial glass ceiling is back in effect. Even in a storyline where no titles are actually at stake, Dolph is seemingly not allowed to get a clean win. Ziggler had to put his MITB briefcase on the line against Cena at TLC last month? Still don't see the additional short-term benefit Ziggler got from that. People realize putting the briefcase on Cena would be stupid because the guy doesn't need it. I'm sorry kids, but your superhero Cena has to lose clean one day. Why can't it be Ziggler that gets the nod? I for one have no clue what else he needs to do.

Last year was a perfect example of how Cena doesn't need to win the big matches to stay relevant. He lost to Rock, lost to Punk multiple times, got injured late in the year, and got stuck in the whole "People Power" crap with Laurinaitis -- yet Cena merchandise still flew off the shelves. Cena's main event spot is forever safe, without need for MITB briefcases or constant title shots. Ziggler's earned his stripes and then some. Give the Show-Off his due.

For the record, I'm really not a Cena hater. Cena deserves his spot because he's had great feuds with other great superstars (i.e., CM Punk). He still cuts good promos that can at times be excellent. I've simply become a fan of Ziggler's work. I still don't care for the atrocious name he got stuck with, but whatever works, I guess.

Sure, it's still January, but this was a big non-PPV match for the storyline. I'd have preferred AJ and Langston get ejected for whatever reason (make one up, who cares) and it leads to a Ziggler cage win. I don't care if it takes 17 Zigzags and 15 superkicks. Give Ziggler the damn win.

Show ends with the Rock concert. He pokes fun at how he looked on his first RAW appearance. Escaped mental patient getting ready to audition for the Backstreet Boys? Sounds about right. OK, now to the concert. Rock's first number is to Paul Heyman. ZZ Top in the house! Next song for Vickie Guerrero! Rock wants Vickie to come on out, so she does. And Rock wins the internet for that song. Look it up online somewhere because it had me rolling.

Finally, Rock calls Punk out. Rock says he promises to beat Punk in 13 days for the WWE Title. Oh, and Heyman's got Twinkie Tits. Punk sprints to the ring and the fight's on. Four refs try to separate the two guys as the show ends.

One final thing: Stone Cold and Shawn Michaels both had prior commitments in Vegas and couldn't be at RAW. Some people apparently didn't like that the two HOFers weren't there because this historic RAW happened to be in Texas. Cue facepalm.

It was a much more "normal" show than the 1000th RAW episode last year. Legends didn't pop up left and right, and any "appearances" were really limited to the video packages.

1/7/13 RAW (The Rock Returns)

It's the first RAW of 2013, live from Tampa, FL! We first see a video package highlighting Rock's return, Punk's heel turn on RAW episode #1000, and the tonight's scheduled TLC WWE Title match between Punk and Ryback.

Cena starts things off. We see the "craptastic" end to 2012 with the poo on Ziggler and AJ Lee. There's something electric in the air. We're reminded Cena's gonna be in the Rumble. Ziggler interrupts, flanked by AJ and Big E Langston. Aw, now AJ has a pet name for Ziggler. AJ calls Cena a pathetic, small man. And Cena starts a wave. Unreal. More Cena jokes. OH CRAP, LANGSTON TALKING AGAIN. If he wants to be taken seriously, Langston should just stay silent because he can't cut a promo if his life depended on it. Anyway, Cena wants to face Ziggler now.

John Cena vs. Dolph Ziggler: Ziggler seems to bring out some of the best in Cena. I mean, we see more wrestling moves from Cena in these matches than a good 90% of the others. Langston and AJ get involved more than once, so the ref finally ejects the two. Nice simple counter to Cena's five moves of doom. Rocker Dropper gets two. Five Knuckle Shuffle hits. AA countered. Zigzag...only two! No Ziggler superkick. STF countered, jumping DDT from Ziggler for two. Cena rolls through a Ziggler crossbody, AA countered again, Ziggler superkick for two. Awesome spot. Ziggler sleeper. Big ref bump. STF on Ziggler -- and Cena lost his shoe in the process. Lovely. Langston runs back down, hits his finisher on Cena, and preps Ziggler to cover Cena. Second ref runs down. TWO! Cena hits the AA and gets three. Outstanding match to start 2013. ***3/4

Eve Torres vs. Kaitlyn (Divas Title): And for what seems like the billionth time recently, Kaitlyn gets another shot at Eve's title. Four-month feud, Cole says. Wished that Lawler didn't remind us about the Mae Young segment on New Year's Eve. Kaitlyn with the untied shoelace spot and Eve takes advantage. Kaitlyn is deemed the "hybrid diva," yet we're never told what she's exactly a hybrid of. Eve again runs away and the match AGAIN ends in a countout win for Kaitlyn. It's bad enough they did this ending before, but to do it again really pisses me off. I get that it's a heelish way to win, but make it a Falls Count Anywhere match or something now and end this thing. 3/4*

Santino and Ricky Steamboat talk in the back. Barrett comes in; to him, Steamboat's a has-been and Santino is a never-was. Steamboat will be in Santino's corner tonight. Gonna see if the "old man" Dragon still has some power behind that smoke.

Orton reminds everyone that he has also won a Royal Rumble before and plans to do it again this year. 3MB interrupts, so Orton picks Heath Slater to face later tonight. Didn't sound like anyone got the "playing the harp" comment. Luckily, I did.

Team Hell No vs. Team Rhodes Scholars: Daniel Bryan always gets a huge response in Florida. DB worked over again in this one for quite some time. Kane tries to get involved but Cody hits Cross Rhodes on DB for three. Not bad, just not the best. Point was to make Rhodes Scholars look good for a future tag title shot. *1/2

Randy Orton vs. Heath Slater: Fairly straightforward match here. The rest of 3MB gets some shots in behind the ref's back. Orton with a nice superplex and then the usual comeback moves. RKO to Slater and it's over. Mahal and McIntyre attack Orton after the match, but two RKOs end that. *1/2

Wade Barrett vs. Santino Marella: Ricky Steamboat's at ringside. Santino does a vintage Steamboat armdrag to start, but misses the second. Santino with a superkick(?!) of his own to get two. No Cobra tonight. Bullhammer ends things quickly. Steamboat tends to Santino. Barrett looks like he's gonna attack Steamboat but backs off when Steamboat removes the jacket. 1/2*

Sheamus makes fun of 3MB. So I assume he's gonna face someone other than Heath Slater later on.

Antonio Cesaro vs. Great Khali: Miz on commentary. Why is Khali still wrestling in 2013? Cesaro allegedly walked two miles through snow and rain to get to school. Sounds like something my grandpa woulda said. Yeah, the commentary was better than the match. Nice springboard Euro uppercut from Cesaro. Neutralizer on Khali still impresses the heck outta me. Bonus points for both Cesaro moves, but otherwise the match was unwatchable. 1/2*

Brad Maddox still seeking work. Heyman blows off Maddox again. Yup.

Sheamus vs. Jinder Mahal: Main thing here is more of the one-upsmanship between Sheamus and Orton that will escalate into a full-on feud real soon (and Orton will get his wish to turn heel again). Sheamus with more comedy, placing Jinder's hands on Sheamus' ass. Clubbing blows to Jinder and McIntyre. Numbers game gives 3MB control for a little while, but Sheamus takes care of everyone. White Noise and Brogue Kick to Jinder get three. *3/4

CM Punk vs. Ryback (TLC; WWE Title): I still think this match shouldn't have taken place. Punk does the "walk under the ladder" superstition thing on his entrance. Fans still love to chant "GOLD-BERG" at Ryback. Chair in play early on. Ladder's next. Ryback with a suplex to Punk on the ladder. Steel ring steps to Punk. Heyman with his hands over his mouth for a bunch of the match. Punk keeps trying to fight back, but Ryback's booked strong as usual. Announce table's turn! More regular wooden tables are set up on the outside. Punk puts the chair on Ryback's left leg but misses and "tweaks" the left knee. Meathook clothesline hits. No Shellshocked as Punk gets to the outside. Punk moves and Ryback crashes through one of the wooden tables. Punk sets the ladder up and climbs, but Ryback knocks Punk off. Ryback literally inches from the title. Punk knocks Ryback off, but Ryback drops Punk on the ladder. Ladder is really bent now, probably can't climb it. Punk knee in the corner. Punk does it again and goes for the bulldog. Ryback picks Punk up and tosses him through another wooden table. Ryback grabs another ladder and climbs. Punk's still down. Lights go out?! Yeah, the Shield has arrived. Ryback tries to get rid of them, but numbers game too much. Triple powerbomb on the table and the ring steps. Punk slowly up the ladder and grabs the title. Heyman applauds and cries like his own son won his first championship. **3/4

Anyway, back to the show. Punk says he's going back out to deliver a pipebomb promo before Rock does.

More Team Hell No disagreement. Vickie says next week is the duo's 4-month anger management checkup with Dr. Shelby. Dr. Shelby is a monster. No, he's a nerd. MONSTER! NERD! *facepalm*

Match between Del Rio and Show advertised for Smackdown.

Big Show vs. Kofi Kingston: Match probably got cut due to time constraints. Show with a KO punch "out of nowhere" for three. They don't work by the hour, that's for sure. A pointless few seconds of TV because we already know how lethal that KO punch is. N/A

Punk comes back out for an outstanding promo to educate the world on what a pipebomb is: truth and honesty. Heeven throws in the ice cream bars and, in true heel fashion, indirectly plays the "people are obese" card to deprive them of those treats. Punk says he created the anti-hero (ignoring what the whole Austin deal from the Attitude Era was probably supposed to be) and mentions the glass ceiling. Big kudos for Punk saying Tyson Kidd is a workhorse and should be on RAW instead of "Little Jimmy." He mentions the pre-modern era days of Bruno Sammartino holding the title for a couple of decades. Punk says those guys never wrestled on free TV each week, or put their bodies through physically demanding matches like TLC. To Punk, one year for him equals 30 years for the pre-modern era. Definitely. Punk says he's successful in spite of the fans. Mentioning Flair, HBK, and Edge. Punk says these retired guys are weak, dishonest, or liars. But Punk believes he's the best in the world. Punk says there are winners and losers -- people meant for the spotlight and people paying to see the people in the spotlight. Golden. TV guy hops on the apron to tell Punk they have to cut to commercial and to wrap it up, and Punk handles it like a pro in true heel fashion.

Rock's music hits and the fans go NUTS. Rock says Punk is delusional and in 20 days, time's up. More vintage Rock TV-14 jokes. Great, now Punk's a "cookie puss." Rock's back for three reasons: (1) to entertain the people, (2) to stop Punk, and (3) to win the WWE Title. Rock calls Punk "Popeye on crack." Toot toot! "It doesn't matter if you matter!"

Punk doesn't care if Rock's here 1 day a year or 366. He'll still kick Rock's ass. Rock's jabs and insults are all kiddie games to Punk, but Punk says he's in the big leagues swinging for the fences. At the Royal Rumble, Rock finds out that his arms are too short to box with God. More Punk winning. Rock's literally sweating under the lights. Rock wants Punk to get more tattoos on his ass. Left buttcheek: M&M, Snickers, Milky Way, Mounds, but no Almond Joy. Right buttcheek: Rock's size 15 shoe. Rock Bottom to Punk to end the show so the fans can go home happy.
__________________


Aaron sidebar for ramblings: It was a decent show. Regarding the TLC match, the crowd enjoyed it and it delivered nicely on the TLC aspect, so I can't say it was a bad match. It didn't have the real big spots like Rollins took at the TLC PPV, but let's face it: the weapon spots all stung. I hope I don't need to say this again, but this was horrible for Ryback's alleged "push." Shield interference was one of the few ways this match could have ended without Ryback losing clean, especially with Heyman wanting Maddox out of the picture. I don't think a lot of people believed Ryback would even win this time, not with Punk and Rock built up all these months. Besides, Ryback thrown in the title picture at this point would hurt the PPV advertising. So luckily, my friends attending the Royal Rumble PPV later this month will be happy that Punk and Rock will go down.

Frankly, Ryback is a one-trick pony. He's the jacked-up dude with a hoarse voice. Ryback reminds people of a guy with a huge win streak in WCW and wearing singlets that are made by the same guy who does RVD's gear (seriously). Ryback says one catchphrase (or a variation of it) and uses probably four or five power moves. Winning all those squash matches against two or three jobbers worked because it allowed fans to buy into this act.

Given the circumstances around the time of the Hell in a Cell PPV (Cena injured), I don't think Vince didn't made a mistake in throwing Ryback into the WWE Title picture then. Vince thought it would be great to capitalize on Ryback's popularity. I had no problem with the finish to that match because it kept Ryback strong on a booking standpoint. The problem lies with the repeated title rematches. Punk wasn't losing to Ryback -- not yet, anyway. It could have been better for the Shield to debut at Hell in a Cell, perhaps coming out from underneath the ring. Not sure if they were necessarily ready at the time, though. Either way, Ryback could have engaged in a feud with Maddox and/or the Shield. Those guys would be the distraction for Ryback while Punk moved on to greener pastures. Heck, have Punk face Team Hell No for all I care. I especially don't mind Punk and Daniel Bryan facing off again.


Rock and Punk delivered on their promos. And that, my friends, is another reason why Punk is a main eventer. The Rock Bottom ending didn't matter (no pun intended) because Punk clearly won the "promo-off." As Punk truthfully said, Rock stuck with his catchphrases and jokes that he's used for all these years. It was fresh and funny back then, and the fans love it now only because Rock isn't always around. While people like Chris Jericho have done something similar to Punk, Punk delivers his promos so convincingly and intensely, you seem to have no choice but to buy in. The "arms are too short to box with God" comment summed up the extraordinary mic skills Punk possesses and proved to be the ideal pipebomb parting shot. Right now in WWE, Punk is proving that he is the best in the world.

I still believe Rock is the man to end Punk's title reign only because there appears to be no other Superstar lined up to dethrone the champ. Cena's had a zillion chances and failed. Why would another opportunity make me think otherwise?

Would the Shield interfere during Rock vs. Punk? Right now, it's all but guaranteed. I see a ref bump, then Shield coming down to beat Rock up. After a few seconds, Ryback comes down for revenge on the Shield -- not necessarily to help Rock. Ryback or Rock will likely also deck Heyman during this chaos. Rock delivers a Rock Bottom (perhaps the third or fourth by that point) to get the three-count.

Cena can also win the Rumble match to set up a near-3-month promo feud to hype a rematch at WM 29 because that year-long "Once in a Lifetime" feud made a lot of money for WWE. Punk could face Undertaker, should the Deadman compete at WM. Since Lesnar is also reportedly participating at WM, people say Ryback should face him and win in another "pass the torch" moment for a new "Next Big Thing." Seeds have already been planted for a Sheamus/Orton storyline, and we should also see Sin Cara and Rey Mysterio feud. Ziggler may consider cashing in MITB at WM, should he not win the Rumble. I don't care if it's a singles match against Big Show, a triple threat including Del Rio, or whatever. Ziggler deserves to be World Heavyweight Champion.

A lot still up in the air, and WWE can always bait-and-switch things. But make most, if not all, of the above scenarios happen.

Big E Langston needs to stay silent. The guy can't cut a promo if his life depended on it. Once I heard his first words on the mic at an NXT taping, I facepalmed. To me, Langston made Eli Cottonwood look like a polished mic veteran. And besides, Eli gave us a reason to talk about mustaches. On the plus side, I love Langston's finisher, and he has the power to hit it on just about anyone.

Finally, I want to mention one thing about Zack Ryder. The guy's done real well to get TV time, but with all these "snubs" and other stuff that WWE has seemingly done to him (editing Ryder's YouTube show being another), it looks like seeds could be planted for a heel turn. The latest? Ryder getting snubbed on WWE's top 5 list of most followed Superstars on Twitter. At the time, Ryder had about 100,000 more followers than Miz, yet WWE ranked Miz 5th and Ryder wasn't on the list. Ryder voiced his displeasure on Twitter, which he has been doing a lot of. I think the heel turn would work if WWE really wants to push the guy; otherwise, Ryder will forever be in the midcard. Kane and Eve all but buried Zack's face character in 2012. Depressing to see.

12/31/12 RAW (New Year's Eve)

(NOTE: A new year brings a new format to my posts. Ratings will just be incorporated into my recap of the show.)

Miz starts the last RAW of 2012 in Washington D.C. with Miz TV. Guest is John Cena. Conversation is about AJ and Ziggler. Rhodes Scholars interrupts. Cena with the RGIII reference, so the chants start. Cena makes fun of Cody's mustache. So we have a tag match between Cena/Miz and Rhodes Scholars.

John Cena & Miz vs. Rhodes Scholars: Fairly standard tag match. Miz worked over. Cena gets the hot tag. Miz with SCF to Rhodes. Cena with AA to Sandow for three. *3/4

This is Champion's Choice Night; champions put their titles on the line but they get to pick their opponents.

New Year's party in the back. Otunga says 2013 will be his year. At least he has a solid on-camera role compared to others. Vickie puts Ziggler gets a match against Sheamus later in the show. CM Punk still on crutches. Of course, he says he'd face Ryback if his knee was good to go. Proposal that Ryback face all three Shield members. Sounds good to Vickie.

Antonio Cesaro vs. Sgt. Slaughter (U.S. Title): Cesaro picks Sgt. Slaughter as his opponent with the whole patriotism thing. Funny because Slaughter was one of those Iraqi sympathizers in the early 90s. Nice pop for Slaughter. Slaughter with the Cobra Clutch but Cesaro to the ropes. A few seconds later, Cesaro hits the Neutralizer for three. Did anyone think Sarge was winning? N/A

Ziggler and AJ Lee are planning a New Year's toast later.

Team Hell No wanted to face the Shield tonight, but that's a no-go now. We hear screeching worse than a cat. 3MB is rehearsing. I guess Team Hell No found their opponents.

Big Show picks Ricardo to face tonight. Nice knowing ya, Ricardo. IT'S MAE YOUNG! With all the divas around, Eve picks Mae as her opponent. Yup.

Team Hell No vs. 3MB (Tag Team Titles): McIntyre and Slater represent 3MB in this title match. Nice to see Slater and Daniel Bryan get solid on-screen roles after starting in NXT. Kane gets the tag and he works on McIntyre. Didn't Drew play a fake Kane once? Kane with a chokeslam and DB with the flying headbutt to pin McIntyre. *3/4

Punk comes out for a promo. Now on his 407th day as WWE champion. Punk also brings his personal doctor to the ring. We see a normal knee and Punk's knee. Major swelling, meniscus issues. They play the whole Punk bravado deal with the doc saying he's not medically clearing Punk.

Enter Vince McMahon! He basically says Punk's doc has no say and WWE officials and docs will determine next week whether Punk faces Ryback in the TLC WWE title match. Vince will continue to investigate if Punk had ties with Brad Maddox and/or Shield. Heyman calls Punk a hero (getting a few cheers) and calls Vince a flesh-peddling promoter. Vince says if Punk can't go next week, Ryback will instead face...Paul Heyman. Happy New Year!

Dolph Ziggler vs. Sheamus: AJ and Big E Langston accompany Ziggler. Good technical wrestling here. Nice fallaway slam by Sheamus from the second rope to get two. Battering Ram gets two again. Sheamus can't get the cloverleaf on. Brogue Kick coming, but Langston gets involved. Ziggler tossed outside, and Langston catches Ziggler. Langston and Sheamus about to butt heads. Shield comes through the crowd and the ref rings the bell. Shield takes care of Sheamus. **1/2

Kofi Kingston and Wade Barrett for the IC Title tonight.

Brad Maddox goes to Heyman and Punk for a job. No chance.

Mae Young has stomach cramps. Get her on the table. Doc says Mae's pregnant. "Not again." Really LOL'd at that one. At least she didn't give birth to a hand.

Eve says since Mae can't make it out, the ref should declare Eve the winner by forfeit. Kaitlyn to the ring and they get physical. Ref never called for the bell to start the match. And the divas again get the shaft on wrestling time.

Ricardo says he's gonna win the title for Alberto. ADR admits he's treated RR like dirt all this time and shouldn't be doing that. Alberto gives Ricardo the scarf and the keys to the car. Ricardo's going to his title match in style.

Big Show vs. Ricardo Rodriguez (World Heavyweight Title): Ricardo comes out in a Mercedes -- and he's competing in a tux. ADR in Ricardo's corner. RR with some fight in him but Show catches him with a huge slap. Show lines up for the KO but ADR interferes and the ref calls for the bell. Multiple kicks to Show and a superkick to Show's face. Meh. *

Kofi Kingston vs. Wade Barrett (IC Title): Good pace to the match. A few counters on signature moves led to near falls. Barrett finally hits Wasteland for the first time in a while, but that only gets two. Kofi misses a top-rope move and Barrett hits the Bullhammer for three. Barrett begins 2013 as a champion. **1/4

They're doing the Mae Young giving birth segment AGAIN. NO! NO! The doc's really in there. Team Hell No with the NO YES thing. Khali must be thinking why the hell he gets to hold Mae Young's legs. Mae gives birth. Not a hand this time. HORNSWOGGLE is the New Year's baby?! Don't ask. If WWE wants us to lose brain cells, they did a great job of that.

Ryback vs. Shield: This is a 3-on-1 handicap match and it's just a brawl from the start. Ref never rang the bell. Shield pummeling Ryback, then Sheamus comes out to get revenge from earlier tonight. Orton then comes out to help as well. FYI, Shield laid Orton out a couple weeks ago to write him off TV for a little while after Orton dislocated his shoulder at the Tribute to the Troops taping. No match.

Ziggler and AJare out for the New Year's toast. Ziggler sarcastically thanks the fans for picking Cena as the Superstar of the Year and lists all of Cena's big losses. Ziggler and AJ make out in the ring. Cena comes out, so Langston blocks him from getting to the ring. Cena says Ziggler's right, it was a great year for AJ and Ziggler -- mainly AJ and her ascension to a prominent spot on the main roster. Nice photoshopped pic of AJ, Ziggler, and Langston in wedding wardrobe. And I agree, that was one creepy baby photo.

Big LOL at the family photo of many babies, especially the puppy, the Bushwhackers, and Mr. Fuji. The Fink was also a great choice. Can't forget Team Hell No. Sucks there was no Cena in there.

Cena with a nice promo on Ziggler. Seven years, basic rundown on Ziggler's career. Cena is the first to state he's entering the 2013 Royal Rumble and vows to become WWE champion again. Cena with a toast to Ziggler and AJ -- and crap literally falls from the arena on the lovely couple. End show.
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Have to admit, while Cena tended to lose in more controversial situations in 2012 (and I would prefer he lose clean), at least he wasn't booked to win on too many big matches. I'm glad Cena didn't prevail from cashing in MITB, but I'm pissed he even had the briefcase in the first place. This is another year that proves Cena's main event spot will always be secure. He'll continue to get a championship match every year he's healthy until the day he retires. Cena's merchandise sells too well for WWE to ever let him go, let alone stay off TV. Ziggler's promo basically echoed a lot of Cena haters' sentiments.

I'm not alone in believing Ziggler will have a big 2013. Cena will also become a champion again if all falls in place. I still think Cena's in line to win the Rumble and face Rock at WM 29 for the title to avenge his WM 28 loss. Punk possibly drops the title to Rock at the Rumble and might move on to face Undertaker if the Deadman is gonna wrestle again. A lot can change, but all this has been rumored for months now.

As for Ziggler, he might not beat Show for the title, but I can see someone else like Sheamus finally beating Show after a huge war, then Ziggler successfully cashes MITB in to start his reign.

We'll see what 2013 brings. Happy New Year to all!