Raw Rumblings

The stare down
Courtesy: WWE

By Kevin Hunsperger
@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

It's been far too long since my last blog, and I apologize to regular readers for that.  We're still trying to resolve our Internet issues, and even as I type this, I have doubts that I'll actually be able to post it.

We're a couple of days removed from the June 17 episode of Raw, and I will tell you that I've been pretty impressed with the show over the last few weeks.  Some will likely scoff at that statement, but I have found the storytelling to be captivating and there's a feeling of unpredictability in the air, at least for now.

Several quick thoughts.  When I first read that Alberto Del Rio beat Dolph Ziggler for the World Heavyweight Championship, I was more than a little disappointed.  Dolph is one of my favorites on the roster right now and for him to lose the title so quickly after this nearly year long build bummed me out.  But the picture that was painted at Payback and again Monday on Raw has me more interested in ADR than I've ever been.  As a side note, I love that Antonio Cesaro has taken on Zeb Coulter as a manager.  I think the manager (and tag team wrestling) are the two elements I miss from the "good ol' days" of wrestling.  Hopefully this will help Cesaro and in my dream world, bring Kassius Ohno to the main roster too and the Kings of Wrestling will be reunited.

Speaking of managers, the separation of CM Punk and Paul Heyman has been brilliant in my opinion.  While I loved these two together, I can also see why it's important to split them up.  Let's face it, Punk was way over before Heyman came aboard.  The partnership helped develop Punk a bit further and make him "the bad guy",  but now it's time for the next chapter.  While I'm not a big Brock Lesnar fan, I will enjoy seeing Punk and Brock go after one another.  Plus, I'm glad they're not feeding Curtis Axel to Punk right out of the gate.

Axel and his father, Mr. Perfect are the first father-son duo to win the Intercontinental title.  Mr. Perfect was one of my all time favorite champs.  I just hope Axel is given time to hold the belt and develop as a champion.  I'd hate to see his sudden rise to the spotlight come to a screeching halt.

Christian returns
Photo courtesy: WWE

Christian is back, and that's a good thing in my view.  However, I wonder if he'll soon be in that Chris Jericho role of putting younger talent over.  I don't have a problem with that either, as I think when guys reach a certain point it's important to pass the torch to the next generation.  I also wonder the same thing about Rob Van Dam.  To be fair to TNA, if they'd announced his return, I would have been critical of that decision.  But hey, let's enjoy these guys who can clearly still "go" in the ring.

I can't wait for the Wyatt family to debut.  I'll be curious to see how the WWE Universe reacts to this motley crew and if the company will give them time to develop.  Husky Harris (Bray Wyatt) was my favorite from NXT season 2, and I was sad to see him shipped back to developmental, but perhaps he'll be bigger and better this time around.

Daniel Bryan has succeeded in making me watch a Randy Orton match without fast forwarding.  Bryan's character and performance over the last few weeks has been top notch.  I can't get enough of this guy.  He truly is one of the best the company has to offer.

Guess who's not retiring?
Courtesy: WWE

Mark Henry's "double cross" on John Cena wasn't much of a surprise to me.  I'm always skeptical when wrestlers tweet and claim they're going to do something on TV.  I figured Henry's tweets would lead to something in the ring, I just didn't know who his victim would be until he appeared during Cena's segment.  Speaking of, I know I just said it's important for older talent to put over the young guys, but I wouldn't be totally disappointed in a Mark Henry WWE Title run.  Two years ago, I would have never, EVER said such a thing.  By the way, I loved Henry's suit coat too.

Kaitlyn's nip slip was the talk of the web for a couple of days.  I'm surprised it doesn't have its own Twitter account.  But really, I can't believe these wardrobe malfunctions don't happen more often.

Finally, the McMahon family drama.  Yes, it's a rehash from the late 90's-early 2000's.  But to be honest, I'm enjoying it.  I do think there are too many chiefs and not enough Indians as they say.  Between Vince, Stephanie, Triple H, Vickie Guerrero, Brad Maddox, Teddy Long, and Booker T, who are we to believe is in charge?  Regardless, I'm curious to see where this all ends up, I'm just hoping it's not another match between Vince and Trips, but it seems like the Shield may become a part of this, which I think could be a good thing.

As Nelson used to sing, "Only Time Will Tell" what's next, but I for one am excited and a proud fan of WWE.

Playing Second Fiddle

Secondary champions
Photo courtesy: WWE

By Kevin Hunsperger
@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

With the world watching and waiting for Wrestlemania 29 to unfold, I think many fans have noticed the undercard is more than lacking at the moment.  As of this post, Wrestlemania is 24 days and right now there are only four matches.  The Rock vs. John Cena, Alberto Del Rio vs. Jack Swagger, The Undertaker vs. CM Punk, and Brock Lesnar vs. Triple H (we're still awaiting Triple H's official response, but I think we all know he's going to accept).  Rumor has it another match will be announced on SmackDown! and without giving it all away, I can tell you who ISN'T a part of it...

Intercontinental champion Wade Barrett,  United States champion Antonio Cesaro,  tag team champions Tell Hell No, and Divas champion Kaitlyn have yet to be announced for the biggest show of the year.  I'm disappointed by this, but not surprised.  Part of me wonders if they'll all even be a part of Wrestlemania this year.  Let's examine the past few years...

Epico, Primo, & Rosa
Photo courtesy: WWE

Wrestlemania 28:

The tag team titles were defended on the pre-show with Epico and Primo beating the Usos and Tyson Kidd and Justin Gabriel.

U.S. Champion Santino Marella at least made the show, but the title wasn't defended as he lead a losing team representing Teddy Long against a team representing John Laurinaitis.

The Divas title wasn't defended either, but champion Beth Phoenix was in a tag match with Eve against Kelly Kelly and Maria Menounos.

The IC, WWE, and World heavyweight (18 seconds) titles were all defended on the show.

Bryan vs. Sheamus
Photo courtesy: WWE

Wrestlemania 27:

The pre-show match was the U.S. Title match that had been announced as happening on the show, but didn't.  Heck, it really didn't end up being a pre-show match either as Sheamus and Daniel Bryan brawled with the lumberjacks, setting up a battle royal that ended up being won by the Great Khali.

No Divas title match nor did the champion Eve wrestle on the show.  Instead it was Snooki and Trish Stratus (a celebrity and a retired Diva) getting the spotlight.

IC champion Wade Barrett and tag team champions Heath Slater (he held gold!) and Justin Gabriel were in an eight man tag match with Corre member Ezekiel Jackson against Santino, Kane, Big Show, and Kofi Kingston.

Drew McIntyre in MITB
Photo by My 1-2-3 Cents

Wrestlemania 26:

The Miz was the U.S. and tag team champion.  He and the Big Show beat John Morrison and R-Truth.  No U.S. title match though.

The IC champion was Drew McIntyre.  He wrestled in the Money in the Bank match that year.  I can kinda understand that, but I'm have an old school mentality, and would like to see my champions defending their titles on the biggest show of the year.

Maryse was the Divas champ and a part of the 10 Diva tag team match that took Vickie Guerrero to new heights.

You get the picture here.  I know the roster is bigger than it was in the early days of Wrestlemania.  The WWE has also put more focus on the Undertaker's streak and adding guest celebrities to matches than some of their secondary champions.  I understand their desire to get main stream media attention and continue building on the legacy of the Undertaker, but I really wish guys like Cesaro, Barrett, and Bryan would get a chance to shine too. If the Divas title gets defended at 29, it'll be the first time that title has been on the line since Wrestlemania 23.  I know it's early in the planning stages, and in just over three weeks, we'll know who will step on the biggest stage of them all.

Hell in a Cell: Right Decision, Wrong Execution

Ryback stands tall, but Punk wins
Hell in a Cell 2012
Photo courtesy: WWE

By Chad Smart
@chadsmart & @my123cents on Twitter

As I start to type this, WWE’s Hell In A Cell pay per view has been over for about 12 hours.  I debated on writing because I found the show to be the perfect example of why monthly PPVs and themed PPVs shouldn’t exist and I didn’t want to spread more negativity around the My 1-2-3 Cents offices.  With that said, I don’t think HIAC was a bad show. It was just a show that had it not happened, no one would have missed it.

Normally I would start with the things I didn’t like about the show and end with the positives of the show. Unfortunately, I think the negatives outweigh the positives for HIAC so we’re going to start with the good stuff.

Overall the wrestling was good. The problem I had though was there was no match that had me interested in the outcome other than the WWE and World title matches.  With the exception of the Diva’s title, all of the outcomes were fairly predictable. Though I do take exception at Team Rhode Scholars winning by DQ, as I picked Team Hell No in the Rafter’s Radio pick ‘em contest since I didn’t see them losing the tag titles.

Kaitlyn shines in the Divas match
Hell in a Cell 2012
Photo courtesy: WWE

The World Title match between Sheamus and Big Show was the match of the night in my opinion and was a near perfect example of two power wrestlers beating the tar out of each other.  While the match was good, there’s one aspect that has me scratching my head. I’ll get to that in the negatives section.  I also thought the Divas title match was much better than expected.  Eve and Kaitlyn busted out some innovative moves and submission holds. If WWE ever gave the fans a reason to care about the Divas the talent is there for a solid division.  Those two matches and the lack of anything terrible are really the only positives I have for the show.

In addition to the announced matches, in what is becoming a monthly fixture, there were two unadvertised matches on the show. The U.S. Title match between Antonio Cessaro and Justin Gabriel made sense given the events on RAW. The Prime Time Players vs. the ReySins served no purpose other than to put a popular wrestler (Rey Mysterio) on the show.  

Gabriel misses the 450 Splash
Hell in a Cell 2012
Photo courtesy: WWE

Due to these additional matches, which were not short matches, they clocked in at a combined total of 20 minutes not including entrance times; the main event of the show only went 12 minutes.  I’m not saying had those matches not been on the show CM Punk and Ryback would have went longer. But I am hinting at poor time management on the show.

I have not missed Jerry Lawler since he’s been gone. In fact, when I heard his voice in one of the preview packages, I was reminded how irritating his voice is to me. JBL and Jim Ross have done a good job of filling in in the King’s absence along with a toned down Michael Cole. At HIAC though, I wanted to hit the mute button several times.  It sounded as if the three guys had gotten into an argument before the show and were determined not to work together.  Several times one of the commentators would say something and then another would repeat what was said. Then the original speaker would ridicule the repeater for saying what had just been said. If I didn’t know any better, I would also think someone had made a bet with JBL to see how many Notre Dame references and Oklahoma insults he could fit into the broadcast. Maybe it was an off night, or their minds were focused more on Hurricane Sandy. Whatever the reason, the commentary pulled the show down a notch or two.

Big Show beats Sheamus
Hell in a Cell 2012
Photo courtesy: WWE

During the Big Show/Sheamus match, the announcers made mention of Dolph Ziggler guaranteeing cashing in the Money In The Bank briefcase. They showed Dolph backstage watching the match. There were several references to Big Show’s 45-second title reign in December when Daniel Bryan cashed in the MITB case to become champion. After Show won the match, there was no Ziggler. There was no mention of Ziggler cashing in to try and become champion.  Maybe they should bring in Scooby Doo and the Mystery Gang tonight to solve the case of the Missing Zig. Seriously, what happened to Dolph cashing in during the show?

The backstage segments involving Paul Heyman and CM Punk trying to get the match with Ryback cancelled made little sense. First Heyman went to Vickie Guerrero to get the match cancelled and she said no. After a few matches, Heyman was shown going up to Vickie and thanking her for cancelling the match. She said the match was still on and Paul slinked off. Who told Paul the match was cancelled? Why did he go to Vickie a second time when she already said the match was happening?  It’s the little logic gaps or unexplained issues in WWE storytelling that brings down the entire story.

Punk with the kendo stick
Hell in a Cell 2012
Photo courtesy: WWE

Now, the main event, or “how to tell your fans you just wasted fifty dollars.”  Ryback losing was the right call. He’s not ready to be champion and ending the streak is a positive step.  Looking back at Goldberg’s streak, and how The Giant was unstoppable and quickly won the WCW title history will show you the longer one goes undefeated, the bigger and faster the fall is when they eventually lose. When a wrestler gets to the top of the mountain with little resistance it is harder to logically keep them of the perch after they get knocked off the top.  So Ryback losing will, in theory, help make him a bigger star in the long run if used properly.

Punk wins...with some help
Hell in a Cell 2012
Photo courtesy: WWE

That said, the cheating referee angle was not the way to end the unbeaten streak. Granted, it was better than Heyman using a cattle prod. Either because knowing the match wasn’t going to go long due to what time it started, or because the match was more a one sided affair with CM Punk getting in some offense but mostly being on the run for the match, the match just didn’t click with me. Yes, the visual of Ryback delivering the Shell Shock to Punk on top of the Cell will be a visual used in highlight packages for years to come, but the ten minutes preceding that moment weren’t good.

As I said, overall there’s nothing bad on the show and there are worse shows to spend your time watching. On the flip side, there’s nothing on the show that is must see. I’m guessing between the next 4 Raws and Survivor Series; we’ll see at least 90% of rematches from this show.

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