WHAT I LIKED:
Susan G. Komen: I have no problem with WWE making it known that they are sponsoring the Susan G. Komen foundation. I think it's a very good cause for an organization that has a very good reputation. Last year, it was annoying because John Cena was the one pushing it - pink shirt and all - which just made it flashy and false. That's what Cena is. Flashy and false. The logo on the stage and the pink ring rope is enough to show support. No need for anyone to go changing their attire or anything.
Punk vs Langston: No idea how this match came to be. One moment I'm listening to Punk give a decent opening promo, then Brad Maddox came out - which is the universal signal for 'it's time to change the channel'. I watch Craig Gentry throw out Desmond Jennings at second base and switch back to RAW in time to see Big E Langston walking down to the ring. I assume Punk told Maddox that he wanted a fight and Langston was the fight he got instead of Ryback. I know WWE writing well enough to fill in the blanks. I thought WWE was trying to turn Langston into a babyface. Kinda hard to do that if he's hitting the current top babyface in the company with a microphone. I don't know if I want a babyface Big E, but I want to see him involved in matches like this more often. I was psyched to have him in a rivalry with Dolph Ziggler because I wanted to see if he had any talent in his HUGE body, but none of their matches were booked to be of any length. He had some pretty decent matches with Alberto Del Rio that showed some promise. I LIKE the match because it was actually decent from both guys and it had some parallel to his upcoming match with Ryback. Not that the announcers didn't point that out ad nauseum.
Los Matadores: I will admit that I've been anticipating the debut of Los Matadores. I know it's just Primo& Epico, but I LIKED them a lot. I thought that they could be a force in the tag team division if they had a push. Well, here's their push. Let's see what they can do with it. I was trying to watch their entrance, but it was at the same time as Nelson Cruz's first at bat in 50 games. I flipped back and forth and got the gist of it. That little bull is hilarious, but I fear that it'll just devolve into the comedy troupe with Santino, Khali and Hornswoggle. Wait? Is that Hornswoggle? I don't remember him being so athletic (or fit), so probably not. Primo & Epico - because I don't yet know their new names - are still very good tag team competitors and put on a decent match despite being against the battering rods known as 3MB. I hope WWE does good with them, but they are already stalled in the tag division as long as The Shield are the Tag Team Champions.
Family Summit: The Authority. Thank you for finally giving me a name to work with. I've been through everything from The Administration to The Regime. Personally, I think The Regime is a better name, but whatever. I've been waiting for a while to see all three members of the Rhodes Family in the ring at once. I was hoping it'd happen in a match between Cody Rhodes and Goldust, but this is far better. I already knew this would be the one segment that I'd watch regardless of what was happening with the Rangers. I've been waiting for this since it was announced online. I had no idea that I was as much of a Rhodes fan as I am. All of 'em. I LOVE the match setup during this summit - against The Shield's Roman Reigns & Seth Rollins for both Cody & Goldust to get their jobs back and for Dusty to keep his current one. Of course, this segment wasn't going to end without a run-in from The Shield.
Truth vs Axel: Truth was pretty winded while rapping in the ring. That was funny. I was ready to put this match in the HATED category, but then R-Truth actually put on a fairly good match. I would LOVE to see WWE use R-Truth more and show off the in-ring skills THAT HE ACTUALLY HAS. Even without the non-interference from CM Punk, Truth had this match won. I hope this does follow up with an Intercontinental Championship match for him. It'd be good for them to kick-start a talented, and under-rated superstar to shore up their mid-card.
Ryder vs Del Rio: Just like with Big E Langston earlier, I would LOVE to see Zack Ryder in matches like this more often. I really LIKE his transformation from being a comedy character to trying to be a more serious wrestler. He's gained muscle mass as well and looks like a guy that WWE would salivate over pushing. We already know he has some charisma and make his own push. Honestly, there's not much reason WWE isn't pushing him except to intentionally spite the people who call for it all the time. Alberto Del Rio dominated this match for the most part, but Ryder was able to get some offense in. It was a short match, but probably the longest that Ryder has had in a while. Add that to the fact that he was involved in the 11-on-3 elimination match last week and Ryder has been on quite the roll lately. I want to see this push continue.
Proposal: After the kiss these two shared a few weeks back and the positive way it was received amongst bloggers and reviewers, I'm not surprised that WWE is teasing this. I LIKE it because I know it's a swerve. Scratch that, I LOVE this. I have a huge smile on my face as Paul Heyman gets on bended knee and the crowd eats it up. I have to credit the Mississippi crowd for only chanting 'Get A Room'. That's not exactly an area of the country known for tolerance towards alternative lifestyles. "Will you become a Paul Heyman guy?" That was the swerve I was expecting. The swerve I wasn't expecting was for CM Punk to jump over the barricade and hurt himself like he did. Considering the history of injury Punk has had with his knee, I was worried that it was real but part of me knew that it wasn't. I will admit that I let out a huge sigh of relief when Punk sprung into action. It could've been just as real as it was fake. Punk did an excellent job of playing that off. Excellent.
Six-Man Tag: Seeing this match makes me remember that The Usos won a match to become the #1 Contenders for the Tag Team Championships. And yet at Battleground, The Shield will be facing Cody Rhodes & Goldust and not them. Before I say that I totally called this - and I did - I will say that I understand why that match takes precedent. It's the better storyline. But I did call the fact that The Usos' tag team title match wouldn't necessarily happen immediately. WWE is just back-pocketing that match so that they can have someone face The Shield when they forget to book a match and they need an impromptu one at a PPV. I always LOVE watching how the Shield's six-man tag team matches are scripted to finish. It's always exciting. And it was the right move to have The Shield win this match. It underscores how much trouble Cody & Goldust are in for on Sunday at Battleground. The Shield are a well-oiled machine. It takes 11 superstars to beat them... and after they've eliminated 7 of them in the process.
Bryan/Orton: Okay, Orton wins for best pink shirt. That was pretty awesome. I want that shirt now. Come on, Jerry. Everyone knows this will not be a verbal confrontation. It's the last RAW before the PPV. The eventual loser of the PPV match has to come out on top right now. It's in the WWE bylaws. I've never heard the word 'abeyance' used so many times. Is WWE also on their literacy campaign too? It's a SAT word and people should use extended vocabulary more often. See, I knew this wouldn't be a verbal confrontation. I don't LIKE that skinny Brie Bella has been brought into this rivalry, but I expected no less. She's a horrible actress. The Miz's fake mother showed more concern.
WHAT I HATED:
Fandango vs Kingston: So much for nobody changing their attire. I guess in absence of the top guy going all pink, everyone is going to go all pink. You know, for subtlety. At least with Fandango, it fits his personality. The flashy pink color fits in his normal flamboyant fashion, but the pink shirt on Kofi Kingston was completely out of place. It totally clashes with lime green. I should probably stop with the fashion advice. The pink is also very distracting. I completely missed this match, what with the changing of channels and turning in Joan Rivers for a second. I'm done. And just in time to see Bray Wyatt make his way out to the ring. I wonder how he and the Family would rock the pink threads? Okay, I'll stop.
Brie Bella vs Alicia Fox: Congratulations to Brie Bella & Daniel Bryan on their engagement. I don't believe in marriage, but if it makes them happy, then good for them. I have said it before that on Total Divas, the only thing that is legitimate is their relationship. I can tell they really care for each other. Now, enough of that. I guess now the Bella Twins are babyfaces? Really? And because of that, they have to lose the bitchiness that made them who they are. There's no way Brie should have fell for that fake handshake by Alicia Fox. I know her and Nikki that that and worse as heels. I know the uniqueness of having a real-life couple win their respective championships is tempting, but I beg for WWE not to take the bait. It's a trap. If Brie defeats AJ Lee on Sunday, I officially give up on the divas division.
Real Americans vs Santino/Khali: I saw this match was happening and figured that if there was any opportunity to change the channel and watch a portion of the baseball game, this was it. I doubt I missed anything important. And this was an important part of the game. It's the bottom of the 8th and the Rangers are down by two. Time to rally.
QUOTE OF THE NIGHT: "I'm not gonna take it anymore!!!" - Big Show After having to knockout Daniel Bryan and watch him get attacked by The Shield & Randy Orton on multiple occasions and knocking out your former Tag Team partner and a WWE Hall of Famer... I'm glad that an interview is all it takes to finally get Big Show to be a man and stand up to The Authority.
BEST IN SHOW: This was a show full of CM Punk. This award goes to him by unanimous decision. He had what was probably the best match of the night against Big E Langston to kick the show off. He duped everyone - even the most snarkiest of smarks, like myself - into thinking he was legitimately injured. Then he did what the Rangers couldn't tonight and swung away on Ryback, Curtis Axel and Paul Heyman.
REACTION: I apologize again if I was a little off-topic tonight. Not everyone is a Texas Rangers fan. But I don't think I missed too much during the broadcast. Looking back, I think the only thing I flubbed up was the match between Antonio Cesaro and Santino Marella that I thought was a tag team match. Not that it mattered. And the good news is that since the Rangers lost, I won't be distracted by their post-season games anymore. Time to focus on the Dallas Cowboys, but after yesterday... that's not important.
The new Battleground PPV is turning into a must-see event for me. With the addition of the tag match between The Shield and The Rhodes', I am interested in seeing half the matches on the card which is more than usual. Of course, I'm interested in the match between Randy Orton and Daniel Bryan. And the match between Ryback and CM Punk may be the first match of Ryback's I've ever been anticipating. I don't understand why they felt the need to make a kickoff match between Dolph Ziggler and Damien Sandow, expect to get them some PPV minutes. Have they ever even said one word to each other? Seems weird, but I'm sure they'll have some type of encounter on Smackdown. Only because it's hardcore am a little psyched for the World Heavyweight Championship. And don't get me started on AJ Lee vs Brie Bella. Albeit if that match was hardcore - and I mean really hardcore - I would be very enthused about it. But as you can probably imagine, I'm pretty bummed out right now.
Sorry about your Rangers, ouch!
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