RAW
Raw comes to you on a tape delay from Liverpool, England.
Cena starts off with a promo. He talks about the WM28 record ticket sales. They were at $6.3M on day one, which is nuts. Good call plugging Cena/Rock as early as possible. He says Rock isn’t here, but they’ll team up at Survivor Series–”never before, never again.” Miz and R-Truth come out and say last week’s embarrassment will be the last time. Cena introduces his partner for tonight’s match, and it’s Zack Ryder, who got a decent pop.
Of note, one fan had a sign that read, “Anonymous Raw GM Storyline?” Yeah, I love how they drop storylines randomly. Also, there was a “Turn Cena Face” sign. Also good.
They plug Ryder’s online petition for a match against Dolph Ziggler at Survivor Series for the US Championship.
John Morrison d. Dolph Ziggler (B-)
Yes. Morrison won. I’m shocked too. Morrison hit a kick, but Vickie distracted the ref. Morrison went over to Vickie, so Ziggler landed a rollup for the nearfall. Morrison countered it into a pinfall at 12 minutes to end it. Another non-title loss for a champion. Still, the match was great. Hopefully this starts a push for Morrison and a plea to re-sign with WWE.
Plug for WWE ’12.
5 on 5 elimination tag match for Survivor Series is official: Randy Orton, Sheamus, Mason Ryan, Kofi Kingston & Sin Cara vs. Wade Barrett, Cody Rhodes, Christian, Jack Swagger & Hunico.
Mason Ryan d. JTG (F)
Ryan, from the UK, got minimal reaction. He won in 2 minutes in a squash.
WrestleMania 28 tickets on-sale.
Backstage, the Bellas are talking to Zack Ryder, who plugs being Cena’s partner tonight. who bragged about being Cena’s partner. They note that he got jumped a few weeks ago. He asks them to vote in the petition and to call him.
No Jim Ross this week for the Michael Cole Challenge again. It will be next week in Boston. Cole says “Raw gets Rocked, Raw gets Coled” next week. Wow.
Alberto Del Rio d. Kofi Kingston (D-)
ADR won in 2 minutes with a Cross Armbreaker. No good, but at least they booked it properly heading into SS. Post-match, ADR applied the Cross Armbreaker again. CM Punk’s music hits.
ADR complained about how Punk got his title shot. Punk says ADR took a lot of shortcuts to win the WWE Championship by cashing in MITB, then re-won it with a lead pipe. After ADR chirps the fans, Punk says when people watched ADR’s promos on DVR, they could hit fast forward without missing anything. Ha! Punk said he’d beat him for the title. ADR says he’s the best in the world, then asks to cancel the match. The crowd starts a drumroll as Punk yells no. ADR attacks, but Punk defends himself, eventually forcing him to bail. Ricardo Rodriguez ends up taking a GTS to end the segment. Overall, a nice exchange.
Video package on The Muppets as the guest stars of Raw last week.
Jack Swagger d. Santino (D-)
Pre-match, Swagger says he lost to a Muppet last week against Santino. Swagger won with the Ankle Lock in 3 minutes.
Lawler introduces Kelly Kelly as they unveil the new Maxim cover. Amidst a poor promo, Beth and Natalya show up and start calling her a Barbie Doll. Eve & Alicia run out and make the save. Eve & Alicia pulled off the cover.
Another WWE ’12 plug. Out November 22. I’m probably steering clear this year.
John Laurinaitis introduces Kevin Nash. He talks about HHH, HBK and the Kliq. He says he should’ve been signed at Royal Rumble after he got the biggest pop of the night, but instead got a Legends Contract. He says he’s still the best and could be a World Champion any night of the week. Overall, a solid promo.
Brodus Clay plug.
Backstage, Laurinaitis talked to Otunga. Punk walks in and says they don’t want a WWE Champion to look like he worked at a gas station. Punk attacks him, then ADR runs in to beat on Punk. Ace yells, “Don’t make me take off my jacket!” Amazing. Punk takes a spill over the table of food.
The Miz & R-Truth d. John Cena & Zack Ryder (C+)
Ryder got worked on, then made the hot tag to Cena. They did a double 5-Knuckle Shuffle. Miz hit Cena with a boot to the face, then went for the cover. Truth holds Cena’s legs down for the pinfall. Seriously? The heels bail as Cena is laughing in the ring. Why isn’t he mad? Such bad booking. According to reports, the ending had to be re-shot twice–the first time, Truth didn’t grab Cena’s leg when he was supposed to, so what aired was take #2.
Three Stars of the Show
* Zack Ryder
** John Morrison
*** Dolph Ziggler
Final Grade: C
Some solid wrestling and some great promos. It was just a filler show before next week’s 3-hour Raw in Boston with The Rock coming in. Should be amazing. Can’t wait!