Tuesday, July 26, 2011

A New Era.

This past episode of Monday Night Raw was, in my opinion, a home run show.

It's always refreshing to see the show opened with a match instead of the usual promo. The action between Rey Mysterio and The Miz was received well from the crowd and it was great to see that the crowd was responding well to the match. I always take note of the crowd reaction during a show and anything was better than the crowd that they had after the MITB pay-per-view. The entire tournament seemed kind of odd, and I feel as though they should have left the title 'vacant' a little longer. It would have added a little more suspense and played up the storyline with CM Punk that much more. Letting Punk leave with the belt was pure genius. I'm glad it didn't turn into an Alundra Blayze incident, where she dropped her title in a garbage can.

The tournament seemed useless with Rey winning and losing so quickly.  One of the huge surprises of the night is that CM Punk made a return and had a wordless showdown with Cena in the ring, with each man raising their respective title and garnering a fan reaction. What should have happened is that Rey should have hung on to the belt for a week or two and then Cena should have won it from him, leaving the showdown between Punk and Cena for before Summerslam. A champ vs. champ match perhaps? This eager fan is hoping so.

Last week saw Triple H take over the day to day activities of the company by being appointed the new COO of the company. I have a feeling that things will be a little more edgy than the previous product without losing the PG rating on the programming. His in ring exchanges with both R-Truth and Michael Cole were hilarious and had me laughing the entire time. The thing that most pleased me with this entire segment was that good ol' Jim Ross was brought back. I don't know the terms of the deal, all I know is that I am one happy camper. Mr. Ross adds a informative view to the action in the ring and, partnered with Lawler, will make announcing more interesting. All of the announcers seem to be lost, not really knowing what the hell they're doing and it causes guys like Lawler to be lost in the shuffle.

The first night of the 'Triple H' era was extremely successful. I am excited and a bit curious to see just where this new perspective will take us as wrestling fans.

Monday, July 18, 2011

Money In The Bank.

It's been quite a while since my last post and we have a lot to talk about...

The hot topic in the wrestling world has been the storyline between CM Punk and John Cena. These two athletes pulled off one of the hottest angles in the last decade, it had everything a wrestling fan could want. The right amount of hype, perfect promos, and one hell of a match at Money In The Bank. The anticipation for this event has been off the charts and I personally think this will be declared the pay-per-view of 2011. Yes, even beating the showcase of the immortals.

From beginning to end, the main event had it all. CM Punk came out with a huge pop as expected (it was in his hometown of Chicago) and Cena came out to the loudest chorus of boos I have ever heard in my life. Constant non-stop action, amazing near-falls, and I think it was the best match of either man's career. It's moments like this that make me so very proud to be a WWE fan. My Dad and I sat on the edge of our seats for the entire match and were torn between who to root for. We talked about possible outcomes before and during the pay-per-view and both came to the conclusion that there would be something similar to the infamous Montreal Screwjob. We figured that there would be no way in hell that Vince would allow CM Punk to leave with the lifeblood of the WWE. Well, ladies and gentlemen, that very thing happened last night and it sent shock waves throughout the entire wrestling world.

Honestly, I think this was the correct way to go with the title match. As much as I love John Cena, the WWE needed a shake up at every level. CM Pun k deserved this win, he is one of the most talented men to ever step through those ropes as far as I am concerned. I was surprised that the ball was not dropped as there have been some questionable creative decisions made within the last few months concerning story lines and talent. It's programs like this that just go to prove that nobody does it better than World Wrestling Entertainment.

Another highlight of the event was Daniel Bryan winning the Smackdown Money In The Bank match.I've always enjoyed watching him wrestle and think that he is finally getting what he deserves. I called him as a winner from the very beginning and am so glad that it didn't go to someone like Cody Rhodes. Daniel Bryan is already so accomplished but now he is the most important man on Smackdown. He can strike at any time and win the title, it will only be a matter of time before he is main eventing.

As for the actual MITB matches, I found the Smackdown match far superior to the Raw match. It's nice to see the Smackdown guys get centre stage as I believe that they are often left on the back burner. There was one shocking moment in the Raw match, Alberto Del Rio unmasking Rey Mysterio. I actually gasped. It added a nice element of surprise to the match and gave the crowd something else to talk about. Christian versus Orton was a nail biter of a match and just added more fuel to their red hot rivalry, Christian came out as champ after provoking Randy to the point that he disqualified himself. The spitting in the face came across as a little too much but I think in the end that it worked.

The only 'boring' part of the show was the Diva match. It was a pretty decent match overall but I just do not enjoy watching them wrestle while real talents like Natalya and Beth Phoenix are left sitting in the back. Give them something else to do other than twiddle their thumbs...

It will be interesting to see what the fallout will be from MITB and how the WWE deals with CM Punk leaving the organization as champ....bring on Monday Night Raw!