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WWE Money in the Bank Review - July 15, 2012

7/18/2012

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PictureDaniel Bryan applies the Yes Lock on WWE Champion CM Punk.
Fun match with WWE Tag Team Champions Kofi Kingston and R-Truth defeating Hunico and Camacho. The styles of the two teams meshed nicely and the crowd certainly enjoyed the high spots. Sure, the victory didn't do much in terms of giving either team needed momentum, but it was a successful way in setting a tone for the actual pay-per-view.

Exciting World Heavyweight Championship Money in the Bank Ladder Match to kick off the show. Although there were some sloppy spots early on, it really heated up in the latter half of the bout with a handful of awe-inspiring spots from the likes Dolph Ziggler, Tyson Kidd, Christian, and others. Although it wasn't one of the better Money in the Bank Ladder Matches I've seen, everyone played their roles well regardless. Despite the fact he doesn't  need the briefcase as much as Cody Rhodes, Ziggler was still and excellent choice as Mr. Money in the Bank.

Good match with Sheamus successfully defending his World Heavyweight Championship against Alberto Del Rio. It was exactly what we expected it to be, so nothing really out of the ordinary. If anything, it was something you'd see apart of a SmackDown main event. I'm glad they didn't have Dolph Ziggler cash-in here, so it was a nice tease of what's hopefully to come. Most Money in the Bank winners unsuccessfully attempt to cash-in their briefcase before becoming champion later down the line.

Decent tag team match with Primo and Epico defeating the Prime Time Players. Obviously, it was used to kill time, but it was a nice buffer and put more emphasis on the tag team division. The action was fine for what it was, but the real surprise came when Primo and Epico pulled out the victory. While I don't like how heat was taken off the number one contenders, I do appreciate the effort in putting some focus on an actual tag team feud, which should hopefully be building towards a three-way WWE Tag Team title match at SummerSlam.

Strong No Disqualification match with CM Punk successfully defending his WWE Championship against Daniel Bryan with AJ as the special guest referee. It was a bit odd that the No DQ stipulation was announced at the last minute, especially since I felt like it didn't do all that much to enhance the match. However, it was a great brawl with a lot of fantastic story-telling. It felt slow and dragged at times, but I'm of course glad they received nearly thirty minutes of in-ring time. Having Punk retain here was a smart move and it AJ's choice of not making choice of either Superstar was well done. I hope they add a new chapter to this feud going forward, or move Punk into a whole new program to keep things fresh.


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Friday Night SmackDown Review - July 13, 2012

7/14/2012

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Alberto Del Rio confronts SmackDown Interim GM Zack Ryder.
Fun opening segment featuring Zack Ryder and Alberto Del Rio. The audience was hot for Ryder and it's good to see him start off the show. Del Rio's interruption was logical and set up his subsequent match with Sin Cara nicely.

Good match between Alberto Del Rio and Sin Cara. They received great time and had exceptional chemistry given their similar styles. The clean finish certainly does a lot to establish Del Rio as a threat going into his World title match at Money in the Bank, while Sin Cara didn't execute any blatantly obvious botches here. I'd enjoy a feud between these two sometime down the line for sure.

Fine match with Primo defeating Darren Young. I'm glad they're finally establishing both teams here, as they need the exposure if WWE expects its viewers to care about the division and its respective feuds. Not many cared for this match-up, but it's a step in the right direction and the action was fine for what it was worth. Why take heat off of the Prime Time Players as they near their eventual WWE Tag Team title match?

Decent tag team match with Dolph Ziggler and Cody Rhodes defeating United States Champion Santino Marella and Intercontinental Champion Christian. It was nice preview of what we'll be seeing Sunday in the World Heavyweight Championship Money in the Bank Ladder Match and was able to showcase all four participants. Smart move with Ziggler picking up the victory for his team, as he is certainly the favorite to become Mr. Money in the Bank on Sunday.

Painless match with Big Show decimating Great Khali within thirty seconds. Obviously, neither of these giants are the best workers in the company, so I'm glad they kept it short and sweet. Since Big Show received very little momentum on Monday's Raw heading into Sunday's event, I'm glad they put over as a beast on tonight's show by taking out Khali in quick fashion.


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Monday Night Raw SuperShow Review - July 9, 2012

7/10/2012

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AJ proposes to WWE Champion CM Punk.
Odd opening segment to kick off the show. As much as I enjoy this on-going saga featuring AJ, WWE Champion CM Punk and Daniel Bryan, the whole "marriage" thing felt a bit unrealistic. Of course, this is wrestling after all, but it was simply strange to say the least. Sure, everyone played their roles well here, but this segment didn't do much for this viewer.

Meaningless match with World Heavyweight Champion Sheamus defeating Jack Swagger. Sheamus has already been established as a dominant force, so there was no purpose to this match, adding to the fact we've seen it numerous times before. The fact it lasted nearly two minutes didn't help either. Alberto Del Rio's promo on the Titantron that followed was fine, so at least it hyped their World title match for this Sunday.

Throwaway tag team match with Tensai and Dolph Ziggler defeating Intercontinental Champion Christian and Tyson Kidd. My issues with this match was that none of the Superstars received entrances, it was joined in progress, and it ended within a minute. What does that say about the competitors involved in the World Heavyweight Championship Money in the Bank Ladder Match? Obviously, it makes feel like it's unimportant, although Tensai's domination did help rebuild some of the heat he's lost in recent months. Nonetheless, the destruction of Kidd has my fingers crossed that he won't be removed from the MITB match following the attack.

Typical squash match between Brodus Clay and Drew McIntyre. It's a shame to see Clay go from headlining shows in his mini-feud with Big Show back to squashing irrelevant Superstars. They've taken one step forward and two steps back with his character, so I'm hoping they find him something to do in the very near future.

Solid tag team match with John Cena and Kane defeating Big Show and Chris Jericho via disqualification. Although the action was good, the logic behind it wasn't. Why would Cena tag with the same man who decimated him for three months earlier this year? The bout received great time, but the two commercial breaks took away from it and hindered the action. Since when can you get disqualified for pulling your partner out of the ring? I'm glad Jericho mentioned his past history with Show in Jeri-Show from 2009, it wasn't made as a big of a deal as it should've been. I question the move having Cena be the last man standing at the end of the segment, since it's pretty predictable that he'll be winning on Sunday anyways.


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SuperSmackDown Live: The Great American Bash Review - July 3, 2012

7/4/2012

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Havoc erupts apart of the Great American Bash battle royal.
Effective opening segment featuring Alberto Del Rio and World Heavyweight Champion Sheamus. While I do agree Del Rio showed shades of JBL with the "show me the papers" line, it worked to great effect and helped him garner heat. What was even better was the fact that he was able to get the better of Sheamus by smashing the hood of the car on the Celtic Warrior's skull. If they continue to book Del Rio strong going into Money in the Bank, then their title match at the event will be ten times more interesting.

Throwaway mixed tag team match with Divas Champion Layla and Great Khali defeating Antonio Cesaro and Aksana. It seemed to serve no purpose, but I guess it makes sense in the fact that Teddy Long wanted revenge on Antonio. Nonetheless, the action was exactly what you'd expect, but thankfully, it wasn't Antonio taking the loss. Why feature four foreigners in one match at an event labeled the Great American Bash?

Great match between Intercontinental Champion Christian and Cody Rhodes. These two never cease to produce entertaining match-ups, and this bout was no exception. Rhodes was in desperate need of getting his heat back, so beating Christian clean and advancing to Money in the Bank was the perfect way to do so. Cool finish as well.

Fine match between Dolph Ziggler and Alex Riley. I'm glad Riley was able to score some offense against Ziggler, so it wasn't a complete squash. Inserting Ziggler into the Money in the Bank Ladder Match is a brilliant move and he is easily my odds on favorite to walk out with the briefcase.

Solid segment featuring Michael Cole, WWE Champion CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, and AJ. AJ has been absolutely perfect in her role the last few months and her kissing both Bryan and Punk adds an extra sense of intrigue into this love triangle. Punk and Bryan were also of course great on the mic here and played their roles well. However, the only issue I had with this segment was the involvement of Michael Cole, who felt random here and came off as just insanely creepy.


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Monday Night Raw SuperShow Review - July 2, 2012

7/3/2012

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AJ sends WWE Champion CM Punk spiraling through a table.
Great opening segment featuring John Cena, CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, Kane, Big Show, and Chris Jericho. Everyone's interference was logical and it helped promote both huge matches at the Money in the Bank pay-per-view. Everyone also played their part well and having Show dominate everyone to end the promo was a nice way of getting him over as a monster heel.

Throwaway eight-man tag team match with WWE Champions Kofi Kingston and R-Truth, United States Champion Santino Marella and Intercontinental Champion Christian defeating the Prime Time Players, Cody Rhodes, and David Otunga. It was a good spot for the opening match, but it wasn't given enough time. Having the Prime Time Players continuing to walk out during their matches will help garner heat while Cody's walkout on Otunga also made sense after what occurred last week on SmackDown. Brodus Clay's attack on Otunga was fine, but stacking the odds against Otunga didn't seem like a face thing to do in my opinion.

Effective segment with Alberto Del Rio attacking Sin Cara prior to their match starting. Sin Cara wasn't really all that much of a surprise, but he received a pretty good pop because of it. It's interesting to see them send out Sin Cara to get decimated by Del Rio, since Cara just recently returned and it seemed as if they were pushing him upon his comeback. Nonetheless, it helped get the heat on Del Rio that he desperately needed going into his World Heavyweight Championship match and made him come off as extremely aggressive.

Solid promo from Paul Heyman. Heyman is almost always a gem on the mic, and this segment was no exception. The tone in his voice and his facial expressions certainly sold me on what he was saying, and promoting Brock Lesnar's announcement for the 1000th edition of Raw is a brilliant move. I'm slowly getting more excited for this HHH/Lesnar SummerSlam encounter, especially with Heyman as Lesnar's mouthpiece.

Fine mixed tag team match with World Heavyweight Champion Sheamus and AJ defeating Dolph Ziggler and Vickie Guerrero. Sheamus and Ziggler did a majority of the in-ring work, which was obvious, but I'll never get tired of seeing Ziggler sell that Brogue Kick like a champ. AJ getting the pin-fall victory at the end was also a nice touch.


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