ThunderStruck: Raw 1001

CM Punk opens the show to talk about last week. He confronts Jerry Lawler for saying Punk turned his back on the WWE Universe. Big Show comes out and tells Punk he only has the title still because of him. Cena comes out and knocks Big Show out of the ring while Punk watches. The new GM, AJ Lee is introduced by Justin Roberts and she books Big Show vs John Cena later tonight to determine who will face Punk for the WWE Title at Summerslam.

^I loved the opening promo. Punk as heel and WWE Champion deserves to be the centerpiece of the show. Cena coming down to instantly attack Show made for some good excitement. I love AJ getting her last name back as GM of the show, and I like the way she portrays her character in this new position.

Alberto Del Rio defeats Santino Marella. Del Rio announces after the match that he won’t compete until he faces Sheamus at Summerslam for the World Title.

^This was a sound match, but I continue to hate the booking of Santino. The US Title is supposed to have some meaning, and having the champion lose to every brutual heel is no way to establish prestige. I wonder if Del Rio choosing not to compete is to heal up from a minor injury, or maybe it’s just a storyline so Del Rio can target Sheamus to be beat up by the time the match rolls around.

Vickie Guerrero interrupts Brodus Clay’s dancing and does a dance of her own. Damien Sandow comes down and attacks Clay. No match occurs.

^The whole dancing bit was really obnoxious, but Sandow taking down Brodus was great. I like the idea of seeing this rivalry progress and watching Sandow come out on top. I hope the booking of this thing goes in a direction that makes Sandow continue his rise.

AJ tells DBry that he will face Sheamus tonight, and it won’t be for the World Title.

^AJ making DBry’s life miserable? Yes! Bryan is apparently going to be booked like a joke with AJ in charge, so let it begin!

The fans vote for Daniel Bryan and Sheamus to wrestle in a street fight. Sheamus defeats Bryan using the brogue kick.

^Bryan and Sheamus have exceptional matches together with very contrasting styles, and this one was no different. I enjoyed seeing the way these two connect in the ring together, but the brogue kick with Bryan landing on the steel steps before the pin seemed a bit pointless to me. Sheamus continues to pick up big win after big win, and it seems damn near impossible that would lose the World Title in any fair matchup.

Daniel Bryan won’t leave the ring, and the tag team champions come out. Bryan gets in a confrontation with Truth and punts little jimmy outside the ring. AJ comes out and has Bryan taken away for sanity evaluation.

^I love the storyline twist here. The punt of little jimmy was hilarious, but Truth’s acting got a little bit shaky and not so believable towards the end. I also love the irony of Bryan being taken away by the guys in white after what we thought would happen last week.

Titus O’Neil defeats Kofi Kingston with help from AW and company.

^AW really messed up during the match by making the comment about Kobe Bryant and the Colorado hotel. I hope for his sake that he still has his spot on the roster tomorrow. I could personally care less about his character; I don’t really find him all that entertaining. I like the match between O’Neil and Kofi, but when is Kofi going to get more of a push beyond this tag title scene?

CM Punk and John Cena are shown backstage. Punk tells Cena not to be upset that he did to the Rock what Cena couldn’t do and to get over it.

^This version of Punk is borderline on what he was last summer during his shoot promos. The only difference here is that unlike the passionate anger coming from Punk, it’s cruel anger instead.

Randy Orton returns and defeats Heath Slater.

^Orton looked sharp in the ring, and Slater was the perfect guy for him to job to. I hope to see Orton battling in the World Title scene and preferably against Dolph Ziggler here in the near future. On a side note, Orton’s hair looked awful; the guy needs to get rid of the mess in the back.

Daniel Bryan is questioned by a doctor. He answers yes to every question and begins yelling yes repeatedly.

^This was a bit ridiculous, but the point of showing how far Bryan’s character has been pushed shined through well.

Jericho and Christian defeat the Miz and Dolph Ziggler. Jericho pins Miz after a codebreaker. Ziggler lays out Jericho after the match with the briefcase.

^This was the match of the night without question. These four guys are the best of the best in WWE and this match kept the excitement throughout without a problem. I like seeing Jericho and Miz interact, and I like the possibility of them having a program in the future together.

Daniel Bryan is shown inkblots by the doctor and flips out when the three pictures together on the table form a goatface. He also starts yelling about Charlie Sheen.

^This was a riot and had me laughing pretty hard. I was skeptical about the first segment with the doc, but this one was a whole lot funnier. Bryan seems like he’s about to have a real breakdown.

Tensai defeats Tyson Kidd in a short match. Tensai attacks Kidd after the match and the ref reverses the decision. Tensai beats on Sakamoto as a result.

^This was a really competitive match, but I hate the booking of Kidd losing. I understand he won’t win every time, and I understand that this is an ongoing rivalry, but it really bothers me that Tensai still gets booked on Raw when so many other talents are used on Smackdown and Superstars that perform better than him. Aside of the match not lasting long, it was actually pretty entertaining.

The doctor declares Daniel Bryan sane and lets him go. Kane comes into the room and tells Bryan he is his anger management therapist. Kane slams Bryan’s head into the wall.

^Kane and DBry at Summerslam with Charlie Sheen somehow involved in the match? I guess we’ll have to take what we can get. Bryan will probably be able to carry Kane to a good match, but I just don’t see Charlie Sheen getting involved as anything that boosts the quality of a ppv match. Damn Vince and his celebrity hype. Anyone else think AJ will be shown manipulating Kane into destroying Bryan every chance he gets?

CM Punk attacks Big Show and John Cena during their match. Punk calls them both losers. Punk goes to leave but AJ comes out and announces a triple threat match with Punk, Cena, and Big Show for the WWE Title at Summerslam. Punk and AJ yell at each other as Raw goes off the air.

^First of all, Cena and Big Show wrestled a BORING match. The whole contest was nothing but rest holds and slow pacing. Punk has good chemistry in the ring with both these guys, and I hope that’s enough to make their match at Summerslam a success. Overall, I’m pretty bummed about the quality of the main event. As far as storyling enhancers go, Punk and AJ have some heat and I have to wonder if they will reveal it as a work, or if Punk is really going to be at odds with the new GM.

I hated the flashback segments throughout the show, but the seven matches and well booked segments made the show pretty good overall. I wouldn’t call it an incredible MNR, but I would say that it was solid and full of good storyline build. I’ll be back with part three of my top Summerslam matches later this week before the rundown. Until next time, you’ve been ThunderStruck!

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