It's RAW Roulette week as the WWE heads to Las Vegas for their annual gimmick show! Plus Shawn Michaels makes an appearance, which should be fun.
Smackdown was a wrestling heavy show last Friday, and usually the annual trip to Vegas means we get a bunch of big gimmick matches, some stupid crap with the women in a bikini contest or some other demeaning and stupid thing, and a comedy segment or two that are rarely funny. So I'm hopeful this will be a mostly fun show.
For those of you that don't know, this show involves a wheel that is spun to decide what kinds of matches will be made. It has everything from a handicap match to a ladder match to a cage match to a lumberjack match to a pillow fight to a dance contest and beyond. The wheel is rigged to make sure the right guys end up in the right kinds of matches, but it's still usually a fun gimmick night. So without further ado, let's get the show started.
And HBK is out to start the show, meaning we kick off with one of the best theme songs of all time. HBK teases coming back, but then admits he probably won't. He then complains about people coming on here to plug stuff, followed by plugging a new show he's doing about bow hunting on the Outdoor Channel. And now Punk is out here to raise this to another level. This could have been an epic feud had they ever decided to go with these two fighting one another. Punk points out that HBK went out a loser and that he's going to leave with the belt. HBK tells Punk that the fans cheer him and boo Punk because HBK is better, and Punk agrees that HBK used to be better than Punk and used to be the best in the business, but that is no longer the case and Punk is the new standard bearer. Punk then tries to goad HBK into a match, and he doesn't fall for it, though he does hit Sweet Chin Music on the utterly useless David Otunga. Their chemistry was awesome
"We do have some things in common, neither of us do drugs"
"Anymore"
Great stuff, and the GM chimes in in time to announce Punk will be competing in a ......................spinning the wheel..............................................mystery match vs Kane. Kind of a dull result, IMO. HBK then kicks Perfect Jr's head off and wishes Punk some luck in his match as the lights go red and Kane comes out. Punk and Kane have fought each other more than a couple of times, both are former Money in the Bank winners (that would be the upcoming PPV, so they need to mention this during the show many times), though Kane is much older and nearing the end of his career while Punk appears to be in his prime (even if he is possibly leaving in a few weeks). It's a pretty standard match, nothing terrible or great when Punk walks away and takes his count out rather than risking his health when he's already the #1 Contender, and logical moves like that are a big part of why Punk is one of the best guys in the business right now. Simple and effective.
Next up we get the match that should have happened last week, Sin Cara vs Evan Bourne. Due to a "mistake" in the voting the wrong guy won the vote, when clearly it would have been this choice of two exciting high fliers. And now the wheel is spinning to show what kind of match we get ..................................... spinning ..................................and it's No Count Out, which means they can spend as much time diving off the set as they want as long as they finish in the ring. Exciting match, lots of interesting reversals, lots of quick action, lots of high flying, inventive pin attempts, and the crowd was really into it the whole time. It was just a big spotfest for the most part, but since WWE gives those kinds of matches to their fans so rarely that it's always really well received by the audience. Sin Cara gets the win with his spinning arm breaker that used to be a submission hold in Mexico, but is no longer used as one due to the other big Mexican import Alberto Del Rio already having an arm bar submission hold for a finisher. Fun match, and WWE could easily bring back the Cruiserweight title if they wanted to with guys like these two and Justin Gabriel and Kofi and whatnot.
Next up is Kofi vs Dolph for the 87265th time. Vickie spins the wheel and it will be a .......................... spinning ................................ and Kofi gets to pick the match and goes with banning Vickie from ringside. I'm a big fan of both guys, but they both need to move on to new feuds and stop fighting each other all the time.
Between matches we get the field for the RAW MitB match It's Evan, Rey, Kofi, Truth, Del Rio, Swagger, Miz, and ...................... Alex Reilly? Really? One of these things is not like the other ones. That's a ton of exciting high fliers and guys that should thrive in this match. I think it's going to be a very very exciting match up. Even though Reilly doesn't belong, he seems like he might be decent in that kind of match and maybe he'll do something interesting. An odd choice.
Now back to Kofi vs Dolph. Dolph immediately tries to walk away for another count out finish, but Kofi runs him down and throws him back in the ring. Kofi wins a good match with Trouble in Paradise out of nowhere, but I honestly didn't care much. Both guys should be in world title feuds, but neither one can break through to move up to the next level for some reason. It's certainly not fan reaction, as they both get cheered or booed appropriately and fans are always into their matches no matter the opponent.
Next up we get Big Show vs Del Rio in a ..................................... spinning ................................... steel cage match! Del Rio hitting on Maryse and asking her to spin the wheel, followed by him seeing what the wheel landed on and immediately turning on her was great. Should be an OK match, but I don't think these two have styles that mesh well. On the other hand, Big Show has had some very memorable cage match moments, including his WWE debut when he popped up through the ring and threw Steve Austin at the cage hard enough to break it and see Austin land on the ground victorious. Pretty decent match, nothing great, when Mark Henry comes out. With Del Rio in the MitB match, it looks like Henry and Show will be feuding while this feud is over. Big Show on the turnbuckles for a huge huge superplex was pretty awesome, I haven't seen him go for one of those in a while. Big Mark Henry tears the door off the cage and climbs into the ring with the door to use it as a weapon. While Big Show is dealing with that, Del Rio crawls out of the ring still showing the ill effects of the superplex. Henry proceeds to use the door as a battering ram and smash Show into the cage hard enough to break the wall down much like Show did to Austin in his debut. Great stuff that made Henry look like a beast and actually required some good selling of the injuries by Show. Henry yelling at the refs afterward was also pretty great. "What you gonna do, fine me?" "Yeah, I suck but why am I over here and you over there?" (in response to a "you suck" chant). Great segment.
Now we get Kelly Kelly vs one of the Bellas in a .................. spinning ................ submission match! Not a pillow fight or some other demeaning crap. Holy shit, that's awesome. Oh wait, it doesn't matter because it's two chicks that can't wrestle. I'm not watching this crap. And it doesn't matter because it took me longer to type this than the match took. Kelly sits in an arm bar for a minute or so and then gets up and locks in a Boston Crab that wins the match after like 3 seconds in the hold. Dumb. Whatever, I'm glad this is done. Let's move on.
Quick reminder that Luke won Tough Enough and is training in FCW right now for his eventual debut. Lots of stuff showing him training, highlights from the show, and seeing him working on his stuff now while legends and trainers like Dusty Rhodes and Ricky Steamboat talk him up. They should continue doing stuff like this every once in a while until he debuts.
Rey and Reilly will be teaming up vs Swagger and Miz in a ................. spinning ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, Tornado Tag Match! That would be a match with no tagging and all four guys in the ring at once.....................Holy shit it's a DDP sighting! He's there to promote the WCW Nitro DVD that's out, and talking with Booker about the good old days. Triple Cage reference! Sting beating the shit out of DDP! Drew interrupts saying they are taking his time, and boom another Sweet Chin Music as HBK comes over. HBK says he's never seen a minute of anything on the DVD. "I was working that night". Booker says he's sending him a copy. Great segment with legit surprises. Awesome and fun. Hopefully this tag match will be fun as well, with 3 really entertaining guys and Reilly.
Swagger and Miz are just amazing performers, Rey is an all time great, and Reilly is competent but unspectacular. This has been a solid match, with the usual amount of chaos and messiness you get from having so many guys in the ring all at once. Reilly hit a huge hip toss off the top rope just before the commercial break. Swagger and Miz actually bust out some tag team moves despite not working together on a regular basis. The end comes when Swagger gets hit with the 619 and then Reilly's version of the Edgeucution DDT and then a big splash off the top rope by Rey. Fun match, and these guys made for two pretty solid tag teams, which is no surprise considering the talent level of three of the four guys.
Next up will be the main event of Truth vs Cena in a ................... spinning ...................... tables match. Truth is happy with this outcome. And he's talking to himself about the Little Jimmies, which freaks out Booker, who then leaves because he's creeped out by how crazy Truth is. Truth hasn't been this entertaining since his TNA days as Ron "The Truth" Killings, when he proved he was a main event level talent. And honestly, this might be even better, as the super paranoid gimmick has raised him to another level. It's hard to say definitively, but this might be the best run of his career. I'd love to see him actually hold the belt and not just lose title matches, but even without the belt he's been absolutely fantastic over the last few months since turing on Morrison. The crowd is conflicted, as Truth has been so entertaining some fans are cheering him, Cena is always a guy that gets a very loud mixed reaction, but both guys always go hard in the ring and with the promise of a table spot the crowd is absolutely on fire right now. Both guys have been in many many gimmick matches over the years, and they both know how to fire up the crowd and get them excited for the big finish. Two tables in the ring, one int he corner and one standing up normally fairly near to it. Cena looking to put Truth through the table with the AA, but Punk comes out and knocks the table out of the way so that Truth isn't eliminated. Cena goes after Punk, picks him up for an AA through the table in the corner, and Truth recovers enough to tackle Cena through the table for the win. Great stuff. And now Punk has a mic, which is always a great thing. The calm tone of voice, while sitting cross legged is just so condescending and awesome and perfect. No one nails the little things better than Punk. And now Punk is cutting one of the best promos of his WWE career.
" I don't dislike you Cena ........... in fact I like you more than most of those guys in the back ............. You are better than me at one thing, and that's kissing Vince McMahon's ass ................. I'm the best wrestler .................. I'm a Paul Heyman guy ............... you know who else is a Paul Heyman guy? Brock Lesnar ............... I've proven I'm the best on the mic, in the ring, and on commentary ..................... The fact Dwayne is in the main event at Wrestlemania next year and I'm not makes me sick .................... Those of you cheering me are the worst of all ............. Maybe I'll go defend the title in New Japan Pro Wrestling or maybe I'll go back to Ring of Honor, hi Colt Cabana! ................. Vince is a millionaire who should be a billionaire .................. I like to think it will get better after he dies, but it's just going to be taken over by his idiot daughter and his doofus son-in-law......"
And the mic is cutoff and the show cuts to black without the usual sign off stuff, as if Vince pulled the plug. And a quick check of WWE.com says that Vince made the call to pull the plug and that Punk is suspended indefinitely for his actions, effectively ending his time as a WWE employee.
Wow. Just ............. wow. Amazing ending to the show. Punk is an absolute god and that was on par with the infamous Joey Styles promo. Such a great way to end the show. I'm speechless. No one in the company right now could have pulled that off other than Punk. Can't wait to see where they go from here and if this is in fact Punk's last WWE appearance or not. Just a great great great moment.
Overall it was already a very good show, but that ending is going to go down in history as one of the best promos in the stellar career of the amazingly talented CM Punk.
Written or Contributed by: rdrsfn82
http://173.199.169.70/index.php/features/entertainment-features/14441-rdrs-wwe-raw-recap.html/
by LOLtron » Tue Jun 28, 2011 2:55 am 
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