A British Point of View: Predictable Results but Surprising Events
by Martyn Nolan
SummerSlam had predictable results with Orton taking the gold, Punk stopping Cena and Del Rio getting to the top of the mountain. On the other hand factors like Kevin Nash and Edge were nice surprises. WWE also managed to find a way of getting Miz, Morrison, Truth, Kingston and Mysertio on the card through a six man tag. I would have much preferred to have Morrison and Truth go at it but with it being the second biggest show of the year I can understand why they threw all their remaining stars into one match.
Kelly Kelly also has to get a shout out because she stepped it up this Sunday and is finally starting to show improvement between the ropes. Beth will likely take the title in the next few weeks but an interesting rivalry can be produced here if Kelly can keep the in ring work rate.
The one part of the show which grinded my gears was when Daniel Bryan and Wade Barrett was putting on an absolute clinic in the ring the crowd started chanting “boring” then it was followed by “CM Punk.” Now nothing against Punk and I totally understand the enthusiasm for the main event but the show of disrespect to possibly the best match on the card was unforgivable!
Overall we got treated to a good show for something which has been thrown together within the last few weeks and hopefully now with a good 5 week gap until Night of Champions we might get a real build up to something special.
Onto RAW, here are a few notes I wanted to mention…
R Truth finally has been given some new music! I much prefer the start to this intro where he states that the truth has set HIM free but I’m not quite sure on the song, and why does he still sing “what’s up!?” We can never hold a conversation about Uncle Ronnie (See, it’s catching on now!) which makes sense so I guess I’ll sit back and wait for his fear of spiders to completely consume his theories about a conspiracy.
John Morrison was finally given his push and got a clean and impressive victory over R Truth. This looked like it was designed as a fresh start for JoMo and hopefully now he can take the ball and run with it. A special notice has to go to the split screen promo again which was used during Morrison’s entrance, it gave him chance to use some of those newly trained acting skills!
Kelly Kelly was involved in a tag team match and a small mention must go to the impressive submission which was applied by one of the Bella Twins where Kelly was being kicked in the head with her own foot! I know this is a gimmick much like Melina’s leg splits but I thought Kelly sold the move quite well! Keep up the good work!
Eve also seems to have gone back to her old theme song which seemed to last the entirety of one week, shame. (Yes I know you really care!)
When CM Punk confronted Kevin Nash he has done something that I have wanted him to do for years! He wore pants! I have never quite understood why someone who isn’t scheduled for a match would come out wearing their full wrestling attire. I know it’s only a small thing but it was nice to see Punk wearing street gear for a change, instead of looking like a regular guy who just forgot to put his pants on this morning!
His altercation with Kevin Nash was another classic battle of words. Punk has got the art of being able to satisfy the smart fans but also stay within a PG restriction. Something hard to master and hopefully something he continues to provide us with.
I liked the tease between Jack Swagger and Vickie Guerrero. Swagger needs TV time and needs a vocal point to try and define his character in a different light. Vickie is an ideal manager for Swagger and hope it pushes him nearer the top!
During the match with the tag team champions I noticed that the commentary table was giving them quite a hard time. Something that won’t damage the reputation more than what it already is but it is good to see that the current situation is recognised and WWE is making attempts to address this, hopefully over the next few months they can start to improve the division.
And finally, John Cena. Now before you all call me and accuse me of being the worst writer for WrestleZone, I have to admit that I liked seeing John Cena get frustrated. I liked to see things get under his skin and he comes out of his PG shell now and again. The one thing I didn’t like is the fact that I don’t know why he is mad at Del Rio. He called him a scumbag for what he did and said he wasn’t a worthy champion. Now correct me if I’m wrong but Cena should have far more reason to go after Triple H and CM Punk than the man who cashed in a briefcase and won his first world title. I don’t remember Cena coming out and having a go at the previous MITB winners? I know he stated that he could be mad at those individuals but it still didn’t sit right with me why he would focus on Del Rio at this stage. He then also went on to say ‘AND I QUOTE’ ”You’re going to have to eventually defend that title one day!” Now correct me if I’m wrong but didn’t Alberto Del Rio just DEFEND his WWE Championship against Rey Mysterio and defeated him cleanly to RETAIN the title seconds before these comments were made!? That victory for Del Rio solidified his position as the champion and made him look a decent threat to all on comers, but what John Cena said sounded like a complete attempt to bury him on TV. I’m still a firm believer that when you head into a rivalry you never try to bury your opponent. You want to at least show a respect for him or make him look capable of beating you, otherwise, what’s the point in the match?
Apart from that I thought that RAW did a fantastic job of keeping momentum and provided us with more questions for the following week which is an art in itself.
I can imagine the lovely comments this will generate at the bottom of this article (If the last one is anything to go by) but if you wish to make your opinions known to me personally you can always reach me on my email at [email protected] or through Twitter at @BeansOnToastUK.
Martyn.
