This week: It's time to play the music, it's time to light the lights, it's time to meet the Muppets on the Raw Supershow this week! And if you think it's like a kind of torture, to have to watch the show, just read this recap instead. Plus, some genuinely good wrestling on the 'other' shows, The Rock gives his answer (eventually), Daniel Bryan contemplates cashing in, but really it's all about Eve's theme music.
RAW SUPERSHOW
– The show started with live to tape Rock cutting a promo. Rock said he and Cena were polarised people. He said they both represented an era and a generation. Rock gave his answer, which was “hell no”. Crowd popped, which is a little weird if you think about it. Rock said for him and Cena to be a team they'd have to slap hands, but he'd rather slap Cena's lips off. He made a fruit loop joke and re-iterated his no answer. Before changing tact all of a sudden. Rock said he'd received millions of tweets asking him to team up with Cena for one night, not for Cena, but because they hated Truth and Cena. So Rock agreed to be Cena's partner, for the people's sake. Rock called Truth and Miz cowards and dared them to try and do what they've been doing to him. He talked about kids being happy. He told Cena he wanted him to witness firsthand what Rock does best. Rock did some of his catchphrases. This promo made it's point about halfway in and just kept going.
– Mark Henry d. CM Punk by DQ in 2:30. John Laurinaitis clarified before the match that if Punk won here, he would recieve a title shot against Alberto at Survivor Series. The match was pretty even while it lasted. Punk hit the Macho elbow for a two count. At this point, Del Rio showed up and ordered Ricardo to attack Henry with his shoe, causing Punk to be disqualified.
– Punk hit a dive on Del Rio and Ricardo came to his rescue. As Del Rio fled, Punk threw Ricardo back inside the ring, allowing Henry to make Ricardo pay with a World's Strongest Slam (which the camera missed first time around, sadly).
– The muppet segments finally started with Kermit and Miss Piggy 'coming out'. They had a special section on the stage for them to be placed behind, so I guess that counts as coming out. They tried to welcome everyone to Raw, but Vickie and Jack Swagger interrupted. Vickie said Hugh Jackman was bad enough but now they had to share the show with livestock. Swagger threatened to turn Kermit into frog legs. Piggy called him Frankenstein. Kermit tried to reason with Swagger, saying they didn't want any trouble from him “or your mother”. Which Vickie took exception to. Vickie and Piggy got into a shoving match until Santino came out. He told Swagger that John “Laryngitis” had booked them in a match. Swagger grabbed Kermit's mouth and held it shut, which actually got some heat. Santino said Ziggler would be facing Zack Ryder. The muppets did Zack's catchphrase. Kelly Kelly came out in Halloween costume and at this point it was just surreal television. Santino tried to get a kiss from Kelly but she walked by not noticing him. Kelly kissed Kermit instead and Miss Piggy freaked out. Madness. Hard not to be entertained by how absurd this all was.
– Eve Torres won an 11 Diva Halloween Costume Battle Royal, last eliminating Natalya, to become #1 Contender to the Diva's Title.
Participants: Eve, Rosa Mendes, AJ, Kaitlyn, Kelly Kelly, Alicia Fox, The Bella Twins, Natalya, Tamina, Aksana
The Bellas were dressed as Mario and Luigi, which made them easy costume winners. Rosa and Aksana were gotten out of the way quickly. Tamina, AJ and Kaitlyn all went soon after. They weren't wasting time here. Kelly gave The Bellas a stinkface and both Bellas were eliminated by Kelly and Eve. That left Natalya 3 on 1 against Eve, Kelly and Alicia. Natalya proceeded to beat them all up herself. Natalya eliminated Alicia and Kelly, but Eve snuck up behind and dumped her to win. Natalya and Beth confronted Eve after, but Alicia and Kelly backed her up and the heels left. If for nothing else (and trust me that's the case), this match was great because we got to hear Eve's new theme. Three times! I approve.
– Backstage, Dr. Bunsen Honeydew was boiling up a potion. Never thought I'd be typing that here. He told Beaker to deliver the energy drink he'd brewed to Santino. Beaker left but ran into Christian. Christian took the drink away and poured it on the floor. Boo this man! Sheamus walked up and scared Christian off. Sheamus and Beaker went face to face and Sheamus apologised because he wouldn't be able to make the family reunion this year. He spiked Beaker's hair and left. Fantastic.
– Cody Rhodes and Wade Barrett d. Air Boom (Barrett pinned Bourne) in 5:31. Cody cut Kofi off, after a distraction by Wade. They worked Kofi over for a while before Evan got the tag. Bourne countered Wasteland into a DDT, but Cody broke the pin. He then distracted Bourne as he went up for Air Bourne, allowing Barrett to pluck him off the top and deliver Wasteland. After the match Christian joined Wade and Cody in a three on two attack, until Sheamus hit the ring for the save.
– Up in their skybox, Statler and Waldorf were watching. Since they were in the WWE crowd, Statler gave Waldorf the “What?” treatment.
– In his office, Laurinaitis was interrupted by Punk. Punk asked what Laurinaitis was going to make him do next to get his title shot. Laurinaitis said he had his title match, so long as Del Rio agreed to give him it. This seemed to give Punk an idea.
– Big Show d. Alberto Del Rio in 10:58. This was a long one. Big Show dominated early on. Del Rio managed to get him in a sleeper hold, but Big Show was able to break his way out. They fought on the floor and Del Rio got Show down for a while. He kept going back to holds to try and wear Show down. Fans seemed pretty into the match despite this. Finish saw Del Rio try his enziguri in the corner, but as he stepped off the rope Show punched him in mid-air and got the pin.
– With Del Rio laid out, Punk walked to the ring. He woke Del Rio up with some water and told him he was going to ask him a question. But before asking the question, he was going to put him in the Anaconda Vice. And he wouldn't let go, until Del Rio said yes to a title match at Survivor Series. Sure enough, Punk did just that and Del Rio agreed to the match. Punk said he'd see him at Survivor Series. Hey, at least he gave Del Rio a warning before hurting him.
– Gonzo and Fozzy were backstage and Gonzo was convinced he could become a WWE champion. So Swagger and Ziggler stretched out his arms and tied them around his head. Ziggler told him to warn the rest of the muppets not to get involved in their business later.
– Santino Marella d. Jack Swagger in 2:36. Animal was the “guest time keeper”. Santino tried to have some fun, but Swagger beat him down. Crowd chanted for Ryder. Santino escaped the anklelock. Beaker showed up with the energy drink for Santino. It didn't work and Santino choked on it, but he spat it in Swagger's face, allowing him to win with a rollup.
– Zack Ryder d. Dolph Ziggler in 5:41. The crowd were considerably louder chanting “We want Ryder” during the Santino match than they were during Ryder's actual match. Draw your own conclusions on what that means or what it says about the fans. Fun match. Zack actually got the 'win' once, but the referee noticed Ziggler's foot on the rope afterwards and the match continued. Vickie grabbed Zack's ankle allowing Dolph to lay him out with a boot. But Zack countered the Zig Zag and won with the Ruff Ryder, which Ziggler took a manly bump for.
– They gave us an update on HHH, saying he suffered a concussion and a cracked vertebrae, which would keep him out for another 5 weeks. They also announced Nash was re-signed by Laurinaitis, as HHH had requested. Cole then announced his challenge with JR was postponed until next week. Statler and Waldorf said nothing was worse than listening to Cole.
– Miss Piggy was admiring John Morrison's six pack backstage. Piggy wanted to go to dinner, but Morrison called in Hornswoggle instead. Hornswoggle kissed Piggy, so Piggy gave him a chop. Kermit checked if he was okay. Cody then paper bagged Kermit. Madness.
– John Cena d. The Miz in 8:59. Statler and Waldorf made a joke at Miz's expense. A good main event, in-ring. Miz worked over Cena for a good portion, before Cena made his big comeback. But Cena countered the AA with a reverse DDT. They went much more back and forth from that point. Cena absolutely folded Miz up with a big clothesline, which looked brutal. Miz gave Cena a DDT from his knees later which also looked brutal. Things were going well, until the finish. Somebody in a Scream mask jumped Cena from the crowd. Cena laid him out with a punch. They went back inside and Cena countered the Skull Crushing Finale into an STF for the clean win. The Scream guy then ran in and took an AA, being
unmasked as R-Truth. Which all seemed a bit counter-productive. Cena celebrated to end the show. Match was good but the ending came off as an idea they had and did purely because it was Halloween.
NXT
– After a great wacky Bateman-Maxine video package, JTG was in the ring. He brought Bateman and Maxine out. Bateman carried Maxine out. They called themselves “Bate-Max” and Bateman thanked him for the introduction. Maxine got mad at Bateman because she hadn't gotten her ring yet. Bateman produced a ring and said he was going to show her “what 38 weeks of an NXT rookie salary can buy”. Titus, Percy and AJ interrupted. These guys really look like stars, it must be said. They made fun of Maxine and Bateman until Maxine demanded Derrick do something about it. AJ called Maxine and her ring cheap and plastic. Titus and Percy brought out “Maxine's father”, which was a fish. Because you see, they're trying to get over “fish lips” as an insult for Maxine. Bateman tried to attack but got thrown out of the ring. Striker came out and made a six person tag for later. This kinda went downhill.
– The Usos d. Tyson Kidd and Johnny Curtis (Jimmy pinned Curtis) in 7:55. Tyson said Hawkins and Reks were suspended for another week, so he was teaming with the NXT Season 4 winner Curtis tonight instead. All Usos until a distraction allowed Tyson to dropkick Jimmy off the apron. Tyson and Curtis attacked the knee. No goofiness from Curtis here. Jey ran wild off the tag and The Usos got the win with a Jimmy superfly splash. This was a really strong effort. Worth a look.
– Kaitlyn and AJ spoke backstage. AJ pointed out Kaitlyn got lucky last week. Kaitlyn pointed out AJ hadn't wrestled for a couple of weeks and might be rusty. They realised they were doing a terrible job of psyching each other up and snapped themselves out of it with a Chickbusters fistbump.
– Kaitlyn d. Tamina in 5:06. Kaitlyn got more offence this week. Tamina took over, but Kaitlyn hit a side effect out of nowhere for the pin.
– Titus O'Neil, Percy Watson and AJ d. Derrick Bateman, JTG and Maxine (Titus pinned Bateman) in 6:34. Maxine was so mad, she had to be physically held back coming to the ring. She then took her frustrations out on poor AJ. The guys got involved and a distraction by Maxine allowed her team to gain an advantage. Titus made a big comeback and as things broke down, Bateman fell to the sky high powerbomb.
SUPERSTARS
– Justin Gabriel d. Jinder Mahal in 5:28. Jinder cut a promo on the way to the ring, in Punjab. Gabriel was sent crashing off the top to the floor with a knee and Jinder took over. But Gabriel fought back to win with the 450.
– Yoshi Tatsu d. Tyson Kidd in 9:09. After their long series on NXT this year, another good match on Superstars. Tyson tried to cheapshot Yoshi, which earned him a beating with some strikes. Tyson soon got the advantage and picked Yoshi apart. In an even finishing stretch, Tyson avoided the spin kick off the top and locked on the Sharpshooter, but Yoshi got the ropes. Yoshi then countered a half crab, almost pinning Kidd. Seconds later, he hit a roundhouse kick for the pin. Good stuff.
– Drew McIntyre d. John Morrison in 10:05. Rematch from a few weeks ago. More than a few actually. But they actually referenced the first match these guys had about 5 weeks ago, so that was cool. Morrison did a side flip off the steps and landed on his feet when Drew moved. Drew then rolled under the ring and pulled Morrison's shoulder into the apron, after grabbing his arm through the ring frame. Crowd slowly got into things and behind Morrison. Match was fairly even and both guys looked good. Drew rolled away from Starship Pain so Morrison hit a corkscrew dive over the ring post. Drew levelled Morrison with a brutal boot for a two. Both men fought on the apron and Morrison accidentally kicked the post. Which led to the finish, as Morrison tweaked his ankle, Drew kicked out the knee and hit the Future Shock DDT. Really enjoyable match, a great example of what these two are capable of given the time and opportunity. Another match which is well worth seeking out.
SMACKDOWN
– Street Fight: Randy Orton d. Cody Rhodes in 16:01. Match started with some wrestling, but soon broke down as Cody sent Orton into the steps. They brawled outside and then into the crowd. Cody threw one of his baggers at Orton and Orton backdropped the bagger on the floor. Cody's second bagger was sent into the ring and got RKOed. They brawled up the ramp and Cody tried to suplex Orton off the stage, but Orton countered the suplex onto the steel. Back in the ring, Orton hit a superplex for a near fall. Cody was thrown into the timekeeper's table but hit Orton with his mask. Cody went on to clip Orton's knee and target it. Cody put on a figure four and as Orton tried to fight out, Cody hit him with the mask again. But as he went for another shot, Orton ducked and clocked Cody with it instead. Orton made his big comeback, but Cody blocked the RKO and hit the Beautiful Disaster for two. Orton countered Crossrhodes and hit the draping DDT off the barricade. After dragging him inside, Orton finally put Cody away with an RKO. Quite the way to start the show. And another great match this year for Orton. Orton put the paper bag on Cody's head afterwards.
– Ted Dibiase d. Tyson Kidd in 2:09. Busy week for Tyson. This was fun while it lasted, which wasn't long. After a series of counters Dibiase got the win with Dreamstreet.
– Striker interviewed Mark Henry. He asked why Henry wouldn't give Big Show a title match. Henry said he'd handled his business at Vengeance. Henry trailed off and walked away, spotting Daniel Bryan. He accused Bryan of thinking about cashing in on him. Bryan insisted he was waiting until Wrestlemania. Henry said it didn't matter, he'd never beat him. He challenged Bryan to a match later on. Bryan accepted.
– Alicia Fox d. Natalya in 1:30. Natalya had Alicia in a boston crab, but Alicia escaped. She then caught Natalya with an enziguri, followed with a somersault legdrop.
– Big Show came out. Show said he didn't like talking, he'd rather fight, because talking doesn't do much for a monster's aura. He told Mark Henry that for every Smackdown he didn't get his title shot, he was going to knock him out. Christian interrupted him. Christian asked why Big Show thought he deserved one more match for the title. He said Big Show didn't get the job done at Vengeance, where-as he had been screwed over repeatedly. Christian said he only asked for one more match because he deserves it. He said he was more civilised than Big Show was, threatening to knock people out. Show balled up his fist and Christian accused him of trying to knock him out. Show insisted he was merely scratching his chin and he wasn't going to knock him out. Christian said that was good. Big Show then chokeslammed him instead.
– Sheamus came out for his match, against Christian. Still suffering from the chokeslam, Christian tried to claim he couldn't compete. Wade Barrett voluntereed himself as a suitable replacement.
– Wade Barrett d. Sheamus in 7:28. Christian was still at ringside, hurting. Sheamus controlled early on, but Wade eventually turned the tables and took over. After fighting back, Sheamus went for the Celtic Cross, but Christian jumped up on the apron and Wade snuck a rollup for the win. Christian delivered a spear post match too and Christian and Wade retreated victorious.
– Backstage, Big Show offered to take care of Bryan's briefcase for him. He said he'd be in Bryan's corner tonight.
– Sin Cara d. Epico by DQ in 2:16. Epico is Primo's (and thus Carlito's) cousin. He's also Hunico's old partner in FCW, which I guess explains why he debuted cold here. Epico actually held his own. When Sin Cara had the win in hand, Hunico then shoved him off the ropes for the disqualification. Hunico and Epico double teamed Sin Cara and the announcers wondered if they were alligned.
– Mark Henry d. Daniel Bryan by DQ in 6:26. Big Show was in Bryan's corner, as he promised. Bryan went for a couple of sleepers early and attacked Henry's legs. Henry used his power to take control and start dominating. Eventually, Bryan was able to take out Henry's knee and hit a buzzsaw kick, but Henry kicked out with authority. Bryan got a front choke on which Henry escaped. Henry got mad and went on the attack. He kept attacking in the corner, until Big Show had seen enough and slid in to hit the knockout punch.
– With Henry knocked out, Big Show tried to wake Bryan up and got the Money In The Bank briefcase. He encouraged Bryan to cash in and become the champion. Bryan slid in, but was still groggy and Henry recovered. As Henry got up, Bryan tried to hit him with the briefcase, but Henry hit a World's Strongest Slam. Henry hit Show with the briefcase and delivered the World's Strongest Slam to Big Show too. Teddy came out and booked Big Show versus Mark Henry at Survivor Series.