This Week In WWE TV – October 15-21, 2012

This week: WWE roll the dice on Ryback for Hell In A Cell, which may or may not be great timing, depending on your point of view. Plus, The 3MB, Eve’s iPad, the dangers of calling someone the c-word and Miz and Kofi main event Main Event and deliver, after the kick heard and felt (and probably laughed at) around the world).

RAW

– Big Show came out. He said people were telling him to watch out for the Brogue Kick, but last week everyone saw what happened when you try to Brogue Kick a giant. Show said he wouldn’t be punching a machine at Hell In A Cell, he’d be KOing Sheamus. He said he’d correct the mistake of his 45 second title reign tonight and called out Bryan. They cut backstage where Bryan said he wasn’t going out. But AJ showed up and made the match. Bryan asked Kane if he had his back and Kane laughed at him.

– Big Show d. Daniel Bryan in 3:27. Show dominated. Bryan managed to take out Show’s knee and went on the attack. But Show caught him coming off the top rope with a Chokeslam. This was fun while it lasted. Kane came out laughing at Bryan, but when Big Show teased a KO punch, Kane protected Bryan.

– Heyman brought out Punk with a big introduction. Punk said if people disrespected him, he would put them down, no matter who they were. Including Vince. He claimed we’d never see Vince compete ever again thanks to him. Punk showed the Hell In A Cell poster with him dressed as the devil. He said he was an angel. Punk discussed Cena and Ryback and teased unveiling who he’d be facing. But then he decided not to. Vince interrupted and reminded Punk if he didn’t make up his mind, he would and now Vince would be making the decision for him.

– Alberto Del Rio d. Brodus Clay in 2:13. Alberto focused on the arm. And won with the cross armbreaker fairly quickly.

– Backstage Punk complained to Heyman. Heyman told him they were never going to win a war with Vince. But Punk disagreed, saying he’d fight Vince again tonight.

– The Primetime Players d. Santino Marella and Zack Ryder in 1:26. After Ryder ran wild and did his token boot in the corner, Young hit the double knee gutbuster on Santino, Zack gave him the Ruff Ryder, but Titus hit sky high for the win. Slater, Drew and Jinder then hit the ring in jeans and leather jackets to jump Ryder. They dubbed themselves The 3MB.

– Two On One Handicap Match: Ryback d. David Otunga and Dolph Ziggler in 1:52. Ziggler complained about Ryback being in line for a title shot, calling him a flash in the pan. Otunga agreed with him, but said he deserved the shot, not Ziggler. So AJ put them in a match with Ryback. Crowd were into Ryback. Ziggler took one clothesline and walked out on Otunga, leaving him to be Shell Shocked.

– Vince was shown watching. Heyman walked in and passed on Punk’s challenge. Vince agreed to a match where if he lost Punk could choose his Hell In A Cell opponent. But the match would be him against Heyman. Heyman said no and Vince scared him off.

– Striker spoke to AJ about being attacked by Bryan and Kane on Smackdown. He said this situation was crazy, which is AJ’s trigger word and she put him in a match with Kane.

– Antonio Cesaro d. Justin Gabriel in 3:54. Cesaro did an inset promo, saying he didn’t need the USA, the USA needed him. Cesaro was on top most of the match, before Gabriel hit the 450. Cesaro got his foot on the rope. He then caught Gabriel with a mid air uppercut to counter a springboard and followed up with the Neutraliser.

– Kane d. Matt Striker in 2:03. Not wanting to fight, Striker tried to ask for an apology. They hugged it out, but Striker soon realised he was trapped. And he took a Chokeslam. Cole suggested you shouldn’t call AJ “the c word”. Noted. Kane ‘interviewed’ the beaten Striker.

– Another episode of MizTV happened, with Kofi as his guest. Miz made some cracks at him not doing or saying anything memorable. He called Kofi a “B player”. Kofi thanked Miz for the pep talk and challenged him to a match tonight. Miz agreed and took some more shots, saying nobody cared about Kofi, he was just a novelty. Kofi took Miz down and ran him out of the ring.

– Sheamus d. Wade Barrett by DQ in 12:23. Big Show came out during the course of the match, watching from the stage. Unlike their last match, Sheamus avoided having the steps kicked into him. Wade soon took over, but Sheamus fought back. Wade managed to duck a Brogue Kick and countered with a side slam. Sheamus ended up applying the cloverleaf but Big Show distracted Sheamus. And Show pulled the rope down on Sheamus to cause the DQ. This turned into a good match until the lousy finish. Sheamus hit the Brogue Kick on Barrett and clotheslined Show to the floor after the match.

– Cena went to Vince’s office. Cena avoided the question of whether he was 100%, saying he belonged out there and if Vince chose him he’d do what he does.

– Divas Championship: Eve Torres (c) d. Layla in 4:40 to retain the title. Eve retained, kicking Layla off the middle rope. Layla got her foot on the rope but the referee didn’t see it. Remember that angle?

– Bryan got mad at Kane for laughing at him getting beaten up by Big Show. They argued back and forth, until Bryan dared Kane to face Big Show next week.

– Vince met with Ryback. He thanked him for his help last week. Ryback said “feed me Punk”.

– Team Rhodes Scholars d. Primo and Epico in 6:53. Rey was out with flu, so the #1 contender tournament final was postponed. Before the match they showed The 3MB crashing a performance at a bar. They got kicked out. Primo and Epico attacked before the bell, which Cody and Sandow didn’t like. They worked on Primo forever. Things broke down after the tag and Sandow pinned Epico with the cross arm neckbreaker.

– Kofi Kingston d. The Miz in 5:20. Kofi started fired up. Miz gained control, but Kofi made a comeback. The finish was the story, with Kofi catching Miz rebounding off the ropes with Trouble In Paradise. And absolutely nailing him right in the face. Brutal. They showed the kick repeatedly. And then in slow motion. And it didn’t get any better on repeat viewing. Miz had to get patched up by the doctor at ringside.

– Vince came out with the contract for Hell In A Cell and brought out Punk, Cena and Ryback. Before Vince could announce his decision, Punk cut him off. He signed the contract and told Vince to choose whoever, it didn’t matter, he’d break them. Cena said he’d like nothing more than to face Punk at Hell In A Cell. He wondered if Ryback cared about the title, or just cared about kicking someone’s ass. And since Punk needed his ass whipped, Cena psyched up Ryback and left the ring. Ryback signed the contract. Punk got in Ryback’s face, so Ryback slammed his head into the table and hit Shell Shocked.

MAIN EVENT

– JBL filled in on commentary for Miz. Kofi told Josh people had been talking about the kick since Monday and that was a memorable moment Miz like was telling him about. Miz did his promo in the ring, saying anyone else would have been gone after that kick. He introduced his own video package and dared Kofi to come and try to take his title.

– WWE Intercontinental Championship: Kofi Kingston d. The Miz (c) in 15:30 to win the title. Kofi got the better of the early exchanges and hit a somersault dive. Both went for early pins before Kofi went for the Trouble In Paradise just like on Raw, but Miz escaped. Miz powerbombed Kofi out of the corner to take control. Kofi fought back briefly, but got shoved to the floor trying a crossbody. Later, Kofi managed to avoid being thrown into the steps and flew back at Miz. He went for Trouble In Paradise again but Miz ducked and tried the Skull Crushing Finale. Miz almost won with a pin holding the tights. Kofi hit the SOS but Miz got a foot on the rope. He then grabbed his belt and tried to leave but Kofi cut him off. In the end Miz went for the Skull Crushing Finale again. Kofi escaped and Miz tried to pin him with feet on the ropes but the referee caught him. And as Miz argued, Kofi rolled him back and hit Trouble In Paradise for the pin. A very good match. Striker did a post match interview with Kofi afterwards.

– Josh interviewed Miz, who said losing the title was like losing an organ. He claimed it was stolen from him and said he’d get back what was his in a rematch.

– Dolph Ziggler d. Zack Ryder in 2:51. Ryder stayed competitive and had Ziggler set up for the Ruff Ryder. But Ziggler countered and won with the Zig Zag. After the match, Vickie said everyone should be talking about Ziggler, not Kofi or Miz. Ziggler said he should be the main event and challenged anyone for next week. Ryback answered, to a big reaction.

NXT

– Alex Riley d. Jinder Mahal in 3:48. No air guitar here. Jinder tried focusing on Riley’s ribs, but Riley caught him with a roll up for a surprise win. Jinder attacked after the match and put Riley in the camel clutch.

– Trent Barreta d. Jake Carter in 6:26. Trent missed a crossbody and landed in the ropes, allowing Carter to take control. Trent fought back and despite being levelled with a clothesline, hit whisper in the wind. And eventually he won with the KENTA running knee.

– Damien Sandow d. Brandon Traven in 6:08. Sandow begged everyone’s indulgence before the match. He asked that they not boo him just for asking questions and said the fans were beyond help. Sandow shied away from a punch but dominated aside from that. He finally put Traven away with the cross arm neckbreaker. Sandow refused to give the fans a cartwheel.

– Kassius Ohno and The Ascension d. Richie Steamboat and The Usos (Ohno pinned Steamboat) in 9:46. The match started in a brawl as The Usos and Steamboat stormed the ring before the bell. Ohno tagged out rather than face Steamboat head on. Jey was cut off for a long time. Richie finally got the tag and ran wild on Ohno. As The Ascension and The Usos fought to the floor, Ohno caught an unsuspecting Richie with an elbow to the back for the pin.

SUPERSTARS

– Tensai d. Michael McGillicutty in 7:28. After he was worked over for a large chunk of the match, the crowd actually got behind McGillicutty. So I guess he did the Natalya turn. Tensai missed the senton and McGillicutty fought back, but Tensai hit the choke bomb and finally followed up with the big senton.

– Kaitlyn d. Beth Phoenix in 6:07. Like last week, this show was heavy on the Raw recaps. Kaitlyn got caught in a gorilla press but managed to escape and beat Beth with, yes, a roll up.

SMACKDOWN

– Miz had another MizTV segment. He lamented over losing to Kofi and challenged him to a rematch at Hell In A Cell. Miz then brought out Bryan and Kane as his guests. Miz accused them of being egomaniacs and not a real team. They brought up Miz being his NXT pro and Miz said Bryan was the problem, because he didn’t get along with anyone. Miz said they’d lose the titles and it’d be Bryan’s fault. Kane told Miz nobody cared what he thought. Bryan called himself the World’s Toughest Vegan. Kane and Bryan ended up arguing. Big Show interrupted, annoyed at Bryan mentioning his 45 second title reign. Ziggler then interrupted, saying he’d cash in his Money In The Bank at Hell In A Cell, whether it was on Sheamus or Big Show. Everyone ended up arguing, until Booker made a tag match for later. He also put Miz in a match.

– Randy Orton d. The Miz in 7:40. They showed Del Rio watching from a sky box. Striker interviewed him during the match and I’m pretty sure Alberto called him a “little girl”. Orton hit a big superplex and made a comeback. Miz tried to counter the RKO into the Skull Crushing Finale, but Orton escaped and won with the RKO, to Alberto’s chagrin.

– Backstage Sheamus bumped into Teddy and said he wanted another match with Wade. Teddy offered to make it a lumberjack match so there’d be a winner this time. Eve was seen lurking in the background.

– Team Rhodes Scholars d. Tyson Kidd and Justin Gabriel (Cody pinned Kidd) in 3:16. Kidd and Gabriel made a quick start before Gabriel was cut off. Kidd ran wild, but a blind tag lead to Cody hitting the disaster kick with Sandow in the Sharpshooter to get the win.

– Teddy went to pitch his idea to Booker, but found out Eve had already suggested the lumberjack match. Eve accused Teddy of stealing her idea. Eve left behind her iPad and Teddy looked at it.

– Team Hell No! d. Big Show and Dolph Ziggler (Bryan submitted Ziggler) in 10:04. Bryan was eventually cut off, after being pressed to the floor by Big Show. Bryan countered a Chokeslam, but was stopped from tagging. Finally he brought Kane in. But when Kane went for the Chokeslam Bryan tagged himself back in. Kane took out Big Show and Bryan got Ziggler in the NO Lock for the submission. But Cody and Sandow attacked Bryan and Kane on the stage as they celebrated.

– Antonio Cesaro d. Ted Dibiase in 2:46. Before the match, Cesaro and his man bag were shown at Sun Studio, where he claimed it shouldn’t be a landmark, it should be demolished and it wasn’t part of Antonio Cesaro’s America. Ted got a USA chant going immediately. It didn’t help, Cesaro winning with the Neutraliser.

– Heath Slater d. Brodus Clay in 1:58. After a distraction from Drew and Jinder, Heath got the pin with the snapmare driver.

– Striker interviewed Wade. Wade said he wasn’t convinced Sheamus was tough, but he was stupid. He said the last thing Sheamus should want before Hell In A Cell is to face him. He said after Big Show beat Sheamus, he’d want the favour repaid.

– Layla d. Natalya in 1:51. Eve did commentary. A roundhouse kick won it for Layla. Teddy then went to Kaitlyn backstage with Eve’s iPad and showed her something incriminating. Kaitlyn took some pictures of whatever it was on her phone.

– Lumberjack Match: Sheamus d. Wade Barrett in 7:24. Big Show was one of the lumberjacks. Cesaro tripped Sheamus’s foot early on as a distraction. Sheamus hit White Noise and went for the Brogue Kick, but The 3MB pulled Wade out. A second Brogue Kick was ducked and things spilled outside, which sparked a brawl with all the lumberjacks. Kane and Bryan came out to join the fight and Cody and Sandow tried to run. Cody ended up in the ring and Wade was sent into him, before Sheamus hit the Brogue Kick.

– Kane and Bryan chased Cody and Sandow through the crowd. Ziggler then gave Sheamus a Zig Zag and teased cashing in. But Big Show gave him the KO punch before he could do so. Show told Sheamus he’d end up like Dolph at Hell In A Cell.