Monday Night Raw Review - October 29, 2012

Mick Foley returns to confront WWE Champion CM Punk.

Strong opening segment featuring WWE Champion CM Punk and Mick Foley. Punk's promo was basically what you'd expect from him, and he sold the injuries he sustained from Hell in a Cell well. Foley received a nice pop and his mic work was also pretty good. Not as strong as it was a month ago, but it didn't need to be. It set up the ending segment nicely and offered a sense of suspense for something to look forward to throughout the show. 

Typical squash match with Ryback dominating JTG. The commentator explained how Ryback's frustrations over being screwed at Hell in a Cell made him more vicious here, but it wasn't anything different than usual. It was a nice rebound win after losing to Punk, and his promo was pretty standard as well. His mic skills are fantastic, but at least it's a start.

Good match between Randy Orton and Wade Barrett. While the action was solid, I didn't enjoy the finish. Sure, it makes sense for Orton to avenge his loss to Barrett from last Friday night, but what does it do for Orton? He already won at Hell in a Cell, and Barrett could use all the momentum he could get at the moment. As good as this match was, it hardly benefited anyone involved.

Decent tag team match with WWE Tag Team Champions Team Hell No defeating Prime Time Players. Of course, Daniel Bryan and Kane displayed tension as always, but what did this match accomplish outside of that? This match could've better used for a later date or at least a cheap victory for the Prime Time Players, who could very well be inserted back into the title picture.

Strange segment featuring Managing Supervisor Vickie Guerrero and John Cena. Vickie's proof was extremely weak and hardly did anything to further the story-line. Maybe the PG rating is disallowing them from showing any incriminating footage, but Vickie's evidence was nothing to build off of. I had hope in this story-line last week, but this segment slowly killed my interest. Dolph Ziggler could've been better utilized here, as it seems they're setting up a potential Cena-Ziggler match for Survivor Series.

Fine match between United States Champion Antonio Cesaro and Intercontinental Champion Kofi Kingston. Given the fact it was a Champion vs. Champion match, it should've felt more meaningful than it did, but the action was still fine for what it was. I'm glad it ended in a disqualification, as it effectively furthers the feud between The Miz and Kingston. Also, it triggers a rivalry between Cesaro and R-Truth, who looks to be entering the United States title picture.

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WWE Champion CM Punk assembles his Survivor Series team.

Throwaway tag team match with Heath Slater and Jinder Mahal defeating Zack Ryder and Santino Marella. The match wasn't bad by any means, but the gimmick is simply ridiculous. Given their recent change in entrance music and ring attire, management seems determined on pushing these guys for some reason. I have no problem with it, but it feels like a complete waste of time.

Quick match between AJ and Beth Phoenix. AJ sold Phoenix's offense well, but it's hard to take Phoenix seriously when she hardly ever wins matches. The restart made sense since Vickie Guerrero is out to get AJ and it also gives Phoenix one last win on her way out. I'm excited to see AJ as an in-ring competitor again, as her reign as Raw General Manager had run its course in my opinion. Vickie firing Phoenix seemed illogical since she ended up beating AJ, but at least it explains her legitimate departure from WWE.

Solid segment featuring Sheamus and new World Heavyweight Champion Big Show. Sheamus stating that he didn't care about winning only to claim he wanted a return match for the World title made no sense, but the intensity was certainly there towards the end. This wasn't the greatest promo, but it was much better than what we're accustomed to seeing from these two.

Great tag team match with Rhodes Scholars defeating Rey Mysterio and Sin Cara. It was mostly what we saw during last week's opening match, but not as electric since nothing was on line. However, this bout told a good story and all four competitors put in a good effort. With nothing much to compete with on this show, this was by far the match of the night.

Basic match with Alberto Del Rio defeating Justin Gabriel. As the formula goes, Del Rio defeats an under-carder on Raw only to lose to a bigger name on pay-per-view. The match was fine and all, but why care if the ending result is almost always the same?

Boring segment to close the show featuring Team Punk and Team Foley. The delivery was fine, but not exciting whatsoever. Once Team Punk was introduced, Team Foley was pretty predictable given that everyone involved is engaged in a feud with one another. However, I did appreciate the effort in making the annual Survivor Series elimination tag team match mean something again, as the star power involved with making the bout worth watching. The crowd wasn't receptive towards this, and I don't blame them since the brawl could be seen a mile away.

Overall, an uneventful edition that offered very little aftermath following the controversy that concluded the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view. The action throughout the show was nothing bad, but most of the matches we've seen a handful of times before. With only three weeks until the Survivor Series event, it was nice to see some of the matches for the card starting to shape up, but this was probably the most boring episode of Raw in recent weeks.

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