Follow Chris Cash on Twitter @wzchriscash
I was tweeting all throughout tonight’s WWE Capitol Punishment pay per view. Follow me @wzchriscash and let me know what you thought of the show tonight. I had a blast and plan on doing it more in the future, so keep an eye out. Also, be sure to tune in to the Voice of Wrestling tomorrow night, live from 7:00-8:00. Nick Paglino will have his "Pay-Per-Review" about WWE Capitol Punishment and we’ll also be taking your phone calls during the night.
As I Watched WWE Capitol Punishment:
– That huge White House set is phenomenal!
– Dolph Ziggler vs Kofi Kingston starting us off. Excellent opening match and Kofi Kingston was absolutely on the money. I think Dolph has it all and glad to see him when the U.S. Title, despite it not meaning much. Sometimes the man can make the title and we’ll see if that happens with Ziggler. Tons of nearfalls in the end and would have rather seen Dolph win clean, but the finish still didn’t take away from a great opener.
– Am I alone in thinking that R-Truth has become a bonefied star in a matter of one month? I am absolutely loving this new character of his. Tweet me and let me know what you think @wzchriscash or email wzchriscash@yahoo.com.
– Really looking forward to the Miz/Riley match. I just hope they don’t drag out their feud past tonight. The two of them can’t help the other. If Riley beats Miz, it looks Miz look weak and if Miz beats Riley over and over, it delays any chance for Riley to do something for his own career in a reasonable timeframe. A-Ry actually gets the win! That’s incredible. I was just saying on Twitter that there is absolutely no way John Cena would have lost in a match like that. To me, that shows what they think of Miz compared to some of their other "main-eventers". I’m happy for Riley, but there’s no way he should have won that. He doesn’t "need" it. For Miz to be taken seriously as a top star, post Championship, he has to win matches – especially matches against former "helpers". Match was okay. Got a little slow with Miz trying to toy with Riley, but it’s understandable why they did it. Riley had to show heart by kicking out 10 times in a row. Fine with the match, okay with the finish, but really wonder what they’re going to do from here. Now, I assume Miz will have to get a win back, so they’ll be working together longer and as I said earlier, I don’t think that’s a good decision.
– The Big Show/Del Rio match didn’t even have the chance to get started before Mark Henry came out to attack Show. He picked him up, held him up for what seemed like forever and then finally gave him the World’s Strongest Slam through the Spanish announce table. That was an excellent spot. Big Show finally makes it to the ring, even gets some good offense in, including a chokeslam, but selling a leg injury as a result of Henry’s attack means he can’t follow up the moves with a pin. The match was fine for what it was. Very predictable once the bell actually sounded after the Henry attack. Big Show couldn’t stand on the knee and the ref finally calls the match due to "Big Show’s inability to complete the match". Nothing great about this match at all with the exception of the press slam through the table (and that was before the match), but I do think Del Rio needed the win more than Show. I like Del Rio and while it wasn’t a clean win, I don’t think his gimmick needs clean finishes all the time. It’s not a like a title is on the line.
– Great pre-match promo by Wade Barrett. I have always liked Barrett and think he needs to move up on the WWE ladder. Typically, he would lose the IC title before doing that. I’m fine with that, but not sure how I feel about Ahmad John…I mean Ezekiel Jackson winning the strap. We’ll see how it goes. And sure enough, Zeke wins the Intercontinental Championship. I’m okay with that. Let Wade go back to the main events now and let Ahmad…damn it, I did it again!…carry the mid-card for a while.
– CM Punk’s promo was good as usual and it’s time for his match with Rey Mysterio. What did he mean by doing the most honest thing the WWE has ever seen once he defeats Rey? Let’s find out. Excellent match – my favorite so far. Very creative way to set up for the GTS that almost got screwed up. Punk saved it and got the win. Punk is incredible and I would be extremely disappointed if he ends up leaving the WWE. However, my gut is he’ll stay and continue is streak of great storylines and matches. I’m crossing my fingers anyway.
– Great match between Orton and Christian, as always. WWE really likes to make their refs look incompetent at times. I guess the whole "foot under the rope" thing allows for Christian to continue in the WHC picture. The live crowd was really invested in the match give Orton credit for competing so quickly and at the same high level we have come to expect so quickly after a concussion. However, I’m not sure why the announcers pushed it so hard. Orton was playing it up some, but it really didn’t effect the finish (or even the match) at all. Just makes Christian look weaker to me that he couldn’t beat a guy who just suffered a concussion. I think Randy Orton has been reading John Cena’s book, 101 Ways To Look Like Superman In A Wrestling Match.
– Evan Bourne beat Jack Swagger…again. Not sure why this match was on the ppv to begin with considering how much they’ve been wrestling recently on free television. The match was fun, but to me is pretty pointless at this point.
– John Cena retained his WWE Championship by beating R-Truth and no surprise there. I wasn’t high on the finish, but it will give Truth ammunition to continue his "Little Jimmy" angle. I don’t think WWE will ever commit to fully investing in R-Truth andI wish they would. It’s amazing how the right gimmick can change my overall perception of a wrestler. R-Truth wasn’t great on the microphone, in my opinion, but is a 1000x better now. The no-music entrance is fitting as well and I’m digging it. He’s funny. Everything works from start to finish. We’ll see how far Vince and Co. is willing to go with Truth, but I’m not going to hold my breath. The match wasn’t anything to write home about and the live crowd seemed out of it. The announcers were all over the place during the final half hour of the show, but I just blame Booker for that.
– Overall, I thought WWE Capitol Punishment was decent. I give it a B-. It wasn’t worth $55, but what pay per view is in the end? Someone please get Booker T out from behind the announce table. It’s simply hard to listen to and I honestly think he’s getting worse! The actual "wrestling" was great for the most part with my personal "Match of the Night" going to Punk and Rey Mysterio with Kofi/Dolph at a close second. The Fake Obama bits were kept to a minimum for most of the show until right before the main event. The "Barack-o-roonie" bit was silly and not needed, but that’s typical and it wasn’t any worse than some of the other theatrics WWE has tried in the past.
I wouldn’t tell anyone to run out and purchase the replay, by any means, but I had fun watching the pay per view. I equally had fun tweeting about it all night. It was a lot of fun and I plan on doing more of it in the future. So, follow me on Twitter and be sure to tune in tomorrow night for the Voice of Wrestling radio show, live from 7:00-8:00 EST. You can also email me your thoughts on WWE Capitol Punishment to wzchriscash@yahoo.com.
