R Truth vs. CM Punk Review:
Truth talks about Punk calling himself different. He says unlike Punk, he speaks the truth his whole life. He talks about being a good R Truth, keep his mouth shut, and get a ticket to Night of Champions. Out comes The Miz, who talks about the conspiracy surrounding them. He says at Night of Champions, they will face Air Boom. CM Punk comes out, and another commercial break. Punk kicks at the legs of Truth , and gets a quick cover. A neckbreaker followed by a kick to the back gives Punk the advantage. Punk stomps away at Truth, and locks in a head lock submission hold. Truth counters with a kick to Punk and uses his power to lock in a sleeper hold move on the mat. Punk sends Truth to the outside, and hits a dive between the ropes. Truth gets into the ring, and stomps away at CM Punk. Punk battles out a a hold, but Truth throws Punk to the outside. Miz chop blocks Punk. Truth continues his focus on the leg of Punk, and is in complete control. He slams his leg into the side of the ring. Punk reverses the offense with a few 2 count pinning combinations. Truth locks in a half crab. Both men exchange kicks and punches in the ring, as Truth scoop slams Punk to the mat. Truth goes up top, but Punk kicks him down, and hits a superplex off the top rope. Punk hits his vintage knee and hits a bulldog onto Truth. A flying lariet connects on Truth. Punk goes for GTS, and he reverses it and hits a front suplex. He gets a two count. Truth misses a scissors kick, but Miz tries to trip Punk. He kicks Miz to the outside, and Miz is kicked out from ringside. Truth gets set up and Punk hits a Go To Sleep for the win. Post match, Punk says he does not believe Triple H. Triple H changes the match at Night of Champions, and makes it a No DQ match, and says he will hurt Punk, and could fire him afterwards. Punk has a stipulation as well, if he wins, Triple H needs to resign as COO of WWE. Done.
Reaction:
I liked how this match flowed, because Truth controlled and Punk overcame, which we have not seen often from Punk. He has been in control in matches recently, and it was nice to see Punk have to overcome anything. This match was very good, as it built up very well. We saw Miz help out Truth during the match as well, and we got to see the raw talent of Punk and Truth. They really had great timing in the ring, worked off of each other's abilities, and used Punk's controlled dominance in the ring to carry the final few minutes. Great GTS to end it. Having the stipulation added from Triple H was perfect, because it is not just another match, it is something that gets everyone wondering from here on out what will happen. Well done in two ways, wrestling and story building. This segment gets a solid A.
We see Barrett, Hawkins, Reks, and then Del Rio. ADR wants Barrett to hurt Cena.
On bigger news, we get the first preview of the WWE Network. I am extremely excited, as I feel like this is much needed to bring everything together, such as Superstars, Raw, Smackdown, and other outside the ring programming. Done right, this will cultivate WWE even more as one place, one
David Otunga and Michael McGillicuddy vs. Jerry Lawler and Zack Ryder Review:
We get a great video recap of who Zack Ryder is. and what he has done on Youtube. Lawler talks about his charisma and energy. Ryder and McGillicuddy start off, as Mc tags in Otunga. Both men work on Ryder hitting elbows to his face. Otunga gets a two count, and applies a head lock. Ryder hits a flap jack on Otunga, and Lawler gets tagged in. He fires away punches to Otunga. Ryder sends Mc to the outside, and Lawler connects with a fist to the face of Otunga. Ryder wants the tag, and Lawler lets Ryder hit the Rough Ryder and pins Otunga.
Reaction:
Very nice to see Ryder on Raw. Call me a mark, but he is entertaining. Storyline wise, there may not be much legs behind this for Otunga and McGillicuddy getting squashed. Lawler gets his "revenge" and we get to see a semi decent tag team match, given it was only five minutes or so. I was entertained throughout and kept my interest because it was different. This segment gets a B-.
