This week: Punk and Cena one more time is crashed by an unexpected guest, as Kevin Nash actually uses a conspicuous injury claim as a reason to appear at a show. Plus, a Truly Awesome new combination, pretty good new tag team championship holders, freaky feats of strength and some pretty darn good wrestling matches.
RAW
– Raw started with Ricardo introducing Alberto Del Rio. They announced Mysterio will be out for months, explaining it as a result of Alberto injuring his arm last week. Del Rio was about to launch into his routine, when John Cena’s music hit. Didn’t even get to say his name! Cena said everybody knew who Del Rio was and introduced himself to Alberto as the guy who was going to take the WWE Title from him. Cena promised to hurt Del Rio and said even though he was a nice guy, Del Rio had caught him on a bad day. Cena said there was only one guy in WWE who could go toe to toe with him and since Del Rio was not CM Punk, Cena was going to “whip his ass” when they met for the title.
– That brought out the aforementioned CM Punk. Punk asked if this was deja vu, because John Cena wants another title match. Punk said he’d beat Cena twice in high pressure situations and Alberto cashed in his briefcase. Punk wanted the title shot instead. Del Rio demanded that this was his time, because he was champion. Punk warned him not to interrupt him. He said he had no problem with Del Rio cashing in, but he had a problem with HHH and Nash trying to screw him. He said Cena had problems with HHH, just like him. Punk told Cena if he’d won at Summerslam, he’d have been in the firing line because somebody wanted “Berto” to be champion. Del Rio said it was destiny. Punk wanted to cash in on his rematch. So did Cena. As they argued, Del Rio told them both he was going to ignore them and it was time to celebrate. But, not in Canada. Eventually HHH interrupted. He told Del Rio he wasn’t there to protect him and he’d have a match next. He then told Punk and Cena rematch clauses weren’t like Money In The Bank contracts and they’d have to fight each other to decide who got the shot at Night Of Champions.
– Alberto Del Rio d. John Morrison by submission in 8:55. Del Rio focused on Morrison’s neck. Morrison missed an asai moonsault and was flung back into the barrier by Alberto. Eventually Morrison regrouped and got a couple of really close two counts near the end. But Del Rio avoided Starship Pain, posted Morrison and put the armbar on for the submission. Good match, but they looked a little hesitant at times, so they could probably do better once they got used to working each other. Del Rio put the armbreaker on again after the match.
– Eve Torres d. Nikki Bella in 2:34. Beth and Natalya did an inset promo, saying they weren’t jealous of Kelly and Eve, but they weren’t going to tell us what they actually wanted. Eve won with a roll of the dice style neckbreaker. Kelly then gave Brie a rocker dropper, just ’cause. Beth and Natalya came out onto the stage and applauded them again.
– Kevin Nash showed up backstage.
– Alex Riley d. Jack Swagger in 2:03. Vickie came out and introduced her potential new client, Jack Swagger. No intro for Riley. I hate to read too much into things, but oh dear. Swagger outwrestled Riley early. Dolph Ziggler stormed out and argued with Vickie, accidentally knocking her over in the process. Swagger got into it with Dolph and the distraction allowed Riley to win with a school boy. And that’s why you don’t read too much into things, people.
– HHH came out again and said there was controversy over Kevin Nash’s involvement at Summerslam. He said he’d spoken with Nash during the week, but wanted everything to be transparent to the fans so called Nash out. Crowd chanted “Diesel”. HHH explained that Nash got a text that wasn’t from him and Nash understood that what happened wasn’t supposed to happen. There was no conspiracy. Nash said he believed HHH and he was going to apologise to Punk tonight. But, after what Punk said last week, Nash thought “not so much”. HHH tried to reason with him, saying he knew Punk crossed a line, but Nash didn’t work there and he can’t call guys out. Nash said he would have killed Punk if not for the security. HHH again tried to reason with him. HHH said he could beat Punk up anywhere else and he wouldn’t care, but not here. He asked Nash to leave.
– Before Nash could leave, Punk interrupted. Punk asked him not to leave and wanted to know who sent the text. Punk asked if it was “Big Lazy” with his Just For Men. Punk suggested that it was Stephanie and said he didn’t believe Nash or HHH. He said he made a habit of stepping over lines, just like Nash. Crowd chanted for Punk. Punk threatened to kick Nash’s ass, but HHH stepped in the way. Punk shoved him and said HHH had it in for him since day one and asked what his problem was. He asked who was really pulling the strings. HHH warned him not to cross the line with him. Punk made fun of HHH, saying that he kept his balls in Stephanie’s purse, which was when Nash attacked. HHH shoved Nash and they left, arguing. Punk looked on, smirking.
– HHH and Nash argued some more backstage. HHH asked him to leave and Nash told HHH that he’d changed.
– WWE Tag Team Championships: Kofi Kingston and Evan Bourne d. David Otunga and Michael McGillicutty (c) (Bourne pinned Otunga) in 5:06 to win the titles. Lawler said The Bushwhackers showed more personality than five seconds than Otunga and McGillicutty had in their whole career. If that line leads to Otunga and McGillicutty versus The Bushwhackers, I will forgive Lawler. Kofi hit a huge crossbody out of the corner. The champions managed to lure Kofi into an ambush outside and took some control. Lawler buried them some more. McGillicutty yelled at Lawler. Evan came in off the tag and after a kick from Kofi, Evan hit the shooting star on Otunga. Crowd reacted big. JR asked where the tag division would go from here. They made a big deal of the title switch, but we’ll see.
– Kofi and Evan even got an interview afterwards with Josh. They got a champagne bath to celebrate. Zack, Bateman, someone who may have been Maxine, Titus and Eve were there. And, well, that was about it. Not quite the celebration party Rey Mysterio got, but oh well. Maybe everyone else was busy.
– John Laurinaitis caught up with HHH backstage and told him that Nash had been in a car accident. Laurinaitis said he’d take care of the show, as HHH rushed off.
– Santino came out for a match, but was jumped by R-Truth and Miz. Truth gave him the jumping flatliner, Miz the Skull Crushing Finale. Truth got into a “What” battle with the crowd. He talked about the conspiracy and said HHH, Nash, Stephanie, Punk and Cena were all in on it. He said now HHH was in charge, he wasn’t main eventing pay per views anymore. Miz agreed with Truth. He reminded everyone he beat Cena in the main event of Wrestlemania, but HHH took over and now he has to pick fights with Jared from Subway. Crowd got on their cases. Miz claimed Santino hadn’t won a match in 5 years on Raw and they were sick of not getting opportunities, so they were going to start taking them. Truth threatened to squash some spiders. They hit their catchphrases. They told the crowd they sucked, to Truth’s theme. Truth rapped on the crowd. This was fun.
– John Cena d. CM Punk in 11:01. Both Del Rio and John Laurinaitis sat at ringside. Cena threw his shirt out and it got thrown back a couple times. This was a really good TV version of their PPV matches. Crowd chanted “Let’s Go Oilers” for no reason. That’s some kind of sports thing, I think. Punk countered the You Can’t See Me part of the 5 Knuckle Shuffle with an inside cradle. Lots of counters and reversals of their key moves. Cena used the crossface on Punk, here in Edmonton. Punk hit Go 2 Sleep, but Cena kicked out. Punk went for the Macho Man elbow, but missed. Punk escaped the AA with the Danielson elbows and almost won with a running knee. Cena came back with the AA, but Punk kicked out. Cena rolled through a crossbody and went for another AA, but Punk countered with a sunset flip, for 2. Punk hit the roundhouse kick and went for GTS again. But, Kevin Nash appeared on the stage. Crowd died. That was sad. Nash’s distraction allowed Cena to hit the AA for the pin.
– Nash left, as Del Rio jumped Cena from behind. Alberto left Cena laying until Laurinaitis pulled Del Rio off and helped calm him down. Del Rio broke free twice to jumped Cena again, before being restrained.
NXT
– Matt Striker was in the ring for the introductions, but Darren Young interrupted him again. Young said he was sick and tired of Striker. He reminded Striker he’d beaten him two weeks in a row and told him to get out of the ring. Striker admitted he couldn’t beat Darren Young to try and placate him, but Young demanded that he call him the future of the WWE and called Striker washed up. Striker admitted he was the past and Darren was the future. Striker told him to concentrate on winning NXT and offered a handshake. Young shook, but then booted Striker and laid him out with a clothesline. Which prompted Regal to jump into the ring and run Young off.
– In the locker room, Tyson found his clothes and bags strewn over the floor. He assumed it was a prank, but as he was clearing up he found Japanese writing painted on one of his jackets, which seemed to unnerve him.
– Trent Barreta d. Tyson Kidd in 12:48. They were in Calgary, so Tyson got a big babyface reaction. Also, they were in Calgary, so Tyson lost. Plenty of pro-Tyson chants. It was cagey and evenly matched early on. Very technically sound kind of match. Trent got the heat on Tyson. Tyson countered a baseball slide and gave Trent a hanging swinging neckbreaker off the apron. Later, Trent hit a springboard whisper in the wind to the floor. Which didn’t look like it had a pleasant landing. They built to bigger moves as the match went on after the more grounded start. Trent turned a Sharpshooter attempt into a roll up for a near fall. Tyson got the Lance Storm half crab in but Trent made the ropes. At that point, the Japanese writing showed up on the screen, which distracted Tyson. Trent took advantage with the Dudebuster DDT and got the pin, which didn’t go down too well. Really good match, though.
– Derrick Bateman and Maxine were backstage. They said they were the hottest couple in WWE. And after Bateman won NXT, they’d have more power than HHH and Stephanie, be more provocative than Edge and Lita and be bigger than Dusty and Sapphire. Maxine promised to get rid of AJ. Bateman told her not to worry about Hornswoggle.
– AJ d. Maxine in 6:23. Hornswoggle and Bateman were in their respective squeezes corners. AJ started out hot, until Bateman’s distraction allowed Maxine to get back in the match. Crowd got behind AJ. Maxine dominated. Forever. AJ eventually fought back. Bateman went after Hornswoggle and shoved him down. The distraction lead to Maxine rolling AJ up for the win. This was alright. Titus ran Bateman and Maxine off after the match.
SUPERSTARS
– Sheamus d. Heath Slater in 5:55. Some full on ginger on ginger violence here, after the brief taste last week. Heath cut a promo before the match, complaining about Sheamus eliminating him from the battle royal last week. Sheamus did not seem at all concerned. Sheamus beat the tar out of Heath until Heath managed to crotch him up top. Slater got a brief upper hand, before the beating recommenced. Sheamus won with the High Cross in a fun little showcase.
– Brodus Clay d. Pete Gibson in 1:07. Same deal with Brodus, 100% of the offence and a crossbody to end it.
– Justin Gabriel d. JTG in 6:13. Good match. Gabriel went for the 450 early and JTG crotched him. Gabriel came back, but missed a top rope springboard moonsault. It took the third time of asking for Gabriel to hit his big move, preventing JTG from cutting him off this time and sending him off the ropes with a sunset powerbomb, before connecting with the 450.
– Daniel Bryan d. Drew McIntyre by submission in 9:30. Technical early, until Drew took a cheap shot in the corner. Bryan was happy to turn it into a strike game with some kicks. Drew used the Johnny Gargano lawn dart into the turnbuckles to turn the match in his favour. Drew worked Bryan over for a while and Bryan eventually fought back. He then ran into a brutal clothesline for two. Bryan hit the dive. Drew almost slipped trying to run up the ropes, managing to just about do enough to pull Bryan off with some kind of suplex. Finish saw Bryan counter a short arm clothesline all the way into the guillotine for the submission. Another good match this week.
SMACKDOWN
– Since they were in Calgary, the show started with Bret Hart coming out. Bret said Teddy Long wasn’t there tonight, so HHH had made him guest GM for the night. His first announcement was a live “Super Smackdown” next week. He booked Mark Henry versus Randy Orton as the main event for that show, when Christian interrupted. Christian said it wasn’t his fault he lost at Summerslam, it was Edge’s. Christian wanted his rematch and he wanted it next week. Bret told Christian that Edge gave him some great advice, stop being a crybaby. Yes, Bret told someone not to be a crybaby. He told him he was becoming an embarrassment to everyone. Including to Canada. He told him to be a man. Christian said what was embarrassing was Bret and Edge not being able to understand when their career is really over. Christian said he was the only Canadian who was still relevant. He produced a legal document, saying no-one could get a title shot before him. Bret had to give in and change the match to Orton and Christian next week for the title. But, he made it a Steel Cage Match.
– Mark Henry came out and Christian quickly decided to leave. Henry said he earned his title shot last week and warned someone would get hurt if he didn’t get it. Henry wanted the winner of the cage match. He threatened Bret, but Sheamus interrupted. Sheamus told a story about his Uncle Mick castrating a black bull. He then hit the ring and sent Henry packing.
– Christian d. Daniel Bryan in 8:10. They’re still teasing that Bryan cashing in at Wrestlemania might be a ruse. No idea if that means anything. Probably not. As you’d expect, these two had a really good match. Bryan hit the dive early on. Cole was thankfully a lot easier on Bryan this week. Sadly, it was partly because he was screaming at Josh about something else. Small mercies. Both guys got plenty of offence. Bryan almost got the win with a buzzsaw kick. He then went for a super frankensteiner, but Christian hung on to the ropes. Bryan countered the Killswitch into the Labell Lock but Christian got a foot on the rope. And Christian came back to hit the Killswitch second time around.
– Wade Barrett was scheduled for a squash match. But, instead of wrestling, he decided to cut a promo putting himself over. He said it was beneath him as a man to be expected to face his unknown opponent. So, he just walked off. And that was that.
– Sin Cara d. Heath Slater in 1:42. They announced Alberto versus Sin Cara next week. Heath jumped Sin Cara before the bell. The Sin Cara lights were super distracting this week, for some reason. As if the lights weren’t bad enough before, they were moving this week. Hopefully that was just a technical issue. There were some good moves here, as Cara pretty much dominated. Cara won with a rolling senton, into the lionsault. Essentially a squash.
– Randy Orton d. Ted Dibiase in 8:41. Cody told Orton before the match that he performed miracles. He said he was resurrecting both the Intercontinental Title and Dibiase’s career. Cody stuck around at ringside. Dibiase was able to hang in with Orton pretty well, until Orton started making his big comeback. Cody tried to interfere but Orton knocked him off the apron. But as Orton went for an RKO on Cody outside, Ted cut him off with a baseball slide and regained control. Orton came back again, but Dibiase was able to cut off the comeback himself. Orton escaped Dreamstreet and after the draping DDT, he went for the RKO. And, after series of counters, Orton finally hit it for the win. This was pretty good.
– After the match, Cody helped Ted to his feet, only to deliver Crossrhodes. Cody then bagged Ted.
– Kelly Kelly d. Tamina in 2:47. Natalya had an inset promo, calling her a barbie doll and saying she doesn’t play with dolls. Tamina tried to use her strength but Kelly was able to dish out the stinkface and get the win with a rocker dropper.
– Striker was with Khali and Jinder. Striker astutely pointed out Jinder didn’t win the battle royal. Jinder claimed Khali had disobeyed his orders. He said Khali’s only mission was to serve him and tonight he would dominate Ezekial.
– Ezekial Jackson d. Great Khali by submission in 2:53. Quite the big man battle here. Some heavy duty clubbering. Khali overpowered Zeke for a while, but Zeke fought back. Khali got the vice grip on. Only for Zeke to break the hands apart and get the ropes. Jinder jumped Zeke from behind with the referee distracted. But Khali ended up hitting the chop on Mahal by mistake. Jackson then got Khali up in the Torture Rack. Which was pretty insane, because he made it look easy. If it were me, I’d have done this on the live show where it would have gotten more attention. Because this is the kind of thing that should help Zeke get over and, well, we’ll see I guess.
– Orton did a promo with Grisham. He said every time he thought he’d got rid of Christian, he was like a recurring nightmare. Orton said all Christian had left was his pride. And after he took that, Mark Henry would be next. He warned Henry and everyone in general not to under-estimate him.
– Sheamus d. Mark Henry by count out in 7:34. Rematch from Summerslam. Sheamus attacked Henry’s knee to try and cut him down to size. Which didn’t work for long. Henry took over for a while. Until Sheamus turned a press slam from Henry into a DDT, which looked really good. Sheamus took the fight to Henry and things suddenly got physical. The match spilled outside and Sheamus got thrown into the barricade. Henry picked the announce table apart. But Sheamus escaped the slam and knocked Henry over the table with a Brogue Kick to beat the count.
– Henry tipped the table over in a rage and then went after Sheamus, the fight continuing. Sheamus got caught coming off the apron and rammed against the ring. Sheamus sent Henry over the ring steps. Sheamus tried to hit Henry with the steps but Henry moved and delivered a clothesline. Henry then gave Sheamus the World’s Strongest Slam onto the steps.