WWE Raw: Power to the People Review - June 20, 2011

Kicking off the show with CM Punk was brilliant, as it not only teased his huge announcement, but set up a well-hyped #1 Contenders Match later in the night. His reasoning was spot on, and his promos certainly have a way with connecting with the WWE Universe comically and in seriousness.

The Divas Match was basic with little disappointment, as Kelly Kelly is a suitable choice to finally take the belt of the Bellas. She can't guarantee a good match with her future title opponents, but at least she won't switch with her twin sister at the last possible second to win the match.

As I write this, I now have knowledge that Mason Ryan was mistakenly chosen as Evan Bourne's opponent, as Sin Cara was the rightful victor due to technical difficulties. Anyways, the match was pointless as it was, and it was strange to have Bourne lose minutes after a hype video was aired for him.

The arm wrestling match between Mark Henry and Kane was boring, and the disqualification finish was predicable. However, having Henry slam another giant through the announcer's table was impressive, and gets his heel career back on the right track.

Promo of the Night will obviously go to the segment featuring R-Truth, Christian, and The Miz. I enjoy all three Superstars in their current position, and putting them into one bickering segment made for hilarious comedy. They have awesome comedy, and it created tension going into their main event tag team match later in the evening.


Another awesome showing by Kofi Kingston and Dolph Ziggler, and the 2-out-of-3 Count Falls stipulation made the match more interesting than usual.  I'm not a fan of the dirty finish, as it might lead to a continuation of this feud. Please, move Kingston into main event and leave Ziggler to defend against Zack Ryder.

With its highly suspense, the #1 Contenders Match for the WWE Championship earns its rightful place as Match of the Night. The Falls Count Anywhere stipulation allowed all three men to pull out their spots and keep the crowd on their feet, so kudos to all three of them. CM Punk picking up the victory was logical, but I am sad to see him go following Money In The Bank. Being in front of his hometown crowd, I hope WWE finds a way to give Punk the title before he departs.

Daniel Bryan and Cody Rhodes delivered another strong match, but something has to change in order to convert this into a real feud. I expect both men to compete in the SmackDown Money in the Bank Ladder Match in a few weeks, but inserting them both in the Intercontinental Championship picture would give them more of an edge.

Without a doubt, the dance contest was purely used to kill time on the dragging show. Dance contests are bad enough in WWE, but having the competitors be two on-air personal the WWE Universe hates? This gives me unfortunate NXT flashbacks.

The 6-Man main event went much better than I anticipated, giving us a lot of time before the first elimination. This made Riley stand out, and further these three top feuds in the process. It was predictable to see Orton and Cena standing tall once again, but Christian and Truth also got in some great spots to go out looking strong.

Overall, a good show where the first garbage hour wasn't needed by any means. The show really picked up from the heel promo halfway through the broadcast, and went smooth sailing from there with some great action. The WWE Championship picture looks awesome on paper, and hopefully the slow build towards the Money in the Bank pay-per-view starts next week.