Monday Night Raw Review - June 13, 2011

Stone Cold was the hottest part of the show, and having him open with Miz was brilliant. He put the Awesome One in his place, but it was well constructed to get people excited about the return of Roddy Piper later in the night.

Kane and Alberto Del Rio put on a decent match, but it's been a while since we've seen Kane so it would have been smart to build his frustration. The DQ victory made Del Rio look strong, and the crowd loved Show's return as did I. He showed intensity beating up Rodriguez, but I hope this doesn't mean he goes over Sunday.

The 6-Man Tag Team Match was nothing special, but a good way to showcase the bright young stars of SmackDown. Giving them more time would have given people more the reason to care about the Intercontinental Championship Match this Sunday.

Sheamus looked absolutely brutal in his showing against Santino Marella. He needs this heat back if he wants to be taken seriously on SmackDown. Also, the new submission maneuverer for Sheamus is very interesting, and it's great to see him adding new moves into his move set.

Another brilliant promo from Christian and Randy Orton, and it gives them a chance to showcase their hot feud for the RAW viewers who are unfamiliar. I expected a lot more from the Christian vs. Rey Mysterio match, and ending the match in an accidental disqualification did no favors.


R-Truth was a huge focal point of the show. The goal was to get heat on Truth going into Capitol Punishment, and that was certainly succeeded. Beating up a baby-face magnet Hornswoggle, and spoiling the return of John Morrison makes Truth a real contender going in his title match Sunday.

The tag team match featuring Bourne, Swagger, Kofi, and Ziggler was way too short to even have any decent action. It had more potential given who was involved, and no additional hype was given for Ziggler and Kingston for their title match Sunday.

The Piper's Pit was enjoyable, but it was all Roddy Piper. His humor and talking time took away from Alex Riley, and having Miz lose once again makes me think the Awesome One walks out victorious in their upcoming match.

There's really not much to say on the Divas segment, as the match only lasted a little more than a minute with singles match rules. It was a lame way of including the Divas, but at least give us some action to make us care about seeing them.

Match of the Night without a doubt goes to John Cena vs. CM Punk, as they always put on a quality contest. Giving Punk the win was not only shocking, but a big step in the right direction. Truth looks strong going into their WWE title match.

Overall, it was a decent show. It seemed to drag on at times, and some segments were pointless, but they managed to fit everyone in. Everyone but Zack Ryder that is, but that's another rant for another day. I'm not sure how well their last minute build to Capitol Punishment paid off, but the card looks intriguing on paper.