The Big News: Triple H booked a triple threat world title match for Hell in a Cell which will see John Cena defending his belt against Alberto Del Rio and CM Punk. Following on from the Night of Champions controversy Hunter also promised that somebody would be fired by the end of the night and that somebody turned out to the tandem of R-Truth and Miz who were both thrown out of the building to close the show.

CM Punk came out to start the show. His arm was bandaged up and he was a carrying a limp. I can only hope that John Cena was taking notes backstage on how a superstar should convincingly sell the impact of being involved in a high profile hardcore battle.

Punk told the fans that it wasn’t just his body that was hurting but also his pride as he had to agree with Truth and Miz that a company conspiracy was very much in the works. He was about to go into detail when he was interrupted by Triple H who was back wearing suit and tie.

Hunter said he wanted to give Punk credit as he’s every bit as beat up as him but whilst they both went to war the fact remains that he is still the Chief Operating Officer. He then booked the first ever triple threat hell in a cell match with the challengers Del Rio and CM Punk getting their warranted rematch shots against the new champion John Cena in two weeks time.

The COO then turned his attention to the controversial Night of Champions clash and said that if Punk can’t now get into his thick skull that he had nothing to do with said conspiracy then he doesn’t mind going to war again. Following this Hunter started tearing off his suit and tie but Punk calmed him down and told the boss that he doesn’t believe that Hunter is behind the controversy anymore but he does now think that someone higher up is playing the two of them against one another.

I was already fed up with this segment by the time John Laurinaitis arrived to make it even more painfully long winded. Laurenitis tried to convince Hunter that Punk was the real problem and that he was just upset because he couldn’t beat the COO in their match.Punk responded by saying that John Laurinaitis is responsible for the conspiracy. Laurinaitis responded by saying that Hunter has not been handling things well because of Punk and that Punk needs to respect his position as Executive President of Talent Relations.

Triple H then put John Laurinaitis in his place by telling him that as COO he was basically his boss. He then summed up the entirety of this increasingly haphazard angle when he told everyone “I’m not sure where this is going.”

Laurinaitis then took it upon himself to fire Punk but Hunter quickly reversed this decision. He then finished the segment by saying that he was going to get to the bottom of the controversy and that at the end of the night somebody would be fired. Great yet another phoney firing angle. Just what the company needs.

This was like kids bickering in the school playground though at least a world title match was booked for the upcoming PPV.

 

Recap of Mark Henry winning the World Heavyweight Championship.

 

8-Man Tag Team Match: Sheamus, Air Boom and Kofi Kingston defeated Christian, Wade Barrett, David Otunga and Michael McGillicutty

Faces ran wild on McGillicutty with various high flying spots and double teaming before McGillicutty managed to get the upper hand on Evan Bourne with a sidewalk slam. Bourne then suffered a beat down from the heels but managed to land a knee on Christian only for Otunga to get to him before he could make the hot tag.

Sheamus tagged in moments later however and proceeded to destroy everyone in his wake before chaos erupted and both teams engaged in warfare in and around the ring. Inside the ring Kofi landed a crossbody as Sheamus telegraphed a sphere attempt from Christian and sent Captain Charisma flying before finishing Otunga off with the Razor’s Edge for the pinfall.

Decent enough match but kind of pointless as it set up nothing for the tag team champions with the PPV just two weeks away and didn’t do much to further the Christian/Sheamus feud either other than making Christian look like even more of a cowardly weasel.

**

 

Triple H was backstage talking with a worried referee who had been attacked the night before and was concerned for both himself and the welfare of the other referees. Triple H tried to calm him down by insisting that he would have words with the culprits Miz and Truth as soon as they arrived.

Triple H was then interrupted by a raging Del Rio who wasn’t happy about having his rematch inside a Hell in a Cell in a clash also involving CM Punk. Triple H said that he could have his rematch later on in the night if he wished but Del Rio quickly backtracked saying that he needed time to mentally and physically prepare. He then told Hunter that he prayed for the day when Vince McMahon would return to run things and Hunter told him that he should save his prayers for the Hell in a Cell.

 

Match: Alberto Del Rio defeated John Morrison via submission

Del Rio grounded Morrison with relentless fists and stomps before attempting to lock Morrison in the cross armbar. Morrison countered with an enziguri but moments later tapped out to Del Rio’s signature submission. That folks is what you call a burial.

½ *

Post-match Del Rio kicked Morrison in the back for good measure.

 

Really fun segment next as guest movie star Hugh Jackman came out to address the fans. He had a big smile on his face as he slapped hands with the crowd members and charged across the ropes before telling the fans of Cleveland how pleased he was to be there. Jackman proceeded to plug his upcoming film Real Steel only to be interrupted by Vickie Guerrero with Dolph Ziggler in tow.

Vickie flirted with Hugh in hilarious fashion before being prompted by Dolph to get on with introducing him. Vickie then put over Dolph before Ziggler rebuffed Hugh’s handshake offering and got mad at him for taking up the segment of the show that should have been dedicated to him celebrating his United States Title victory at Night of Champions. After all Ziggler said he doesn’t come and interrupt Jackman when he’s on the set of a movie and busy complaining about a latte that’s too cold or too hot or too creamy.

Dolph proceeded to make fun of the fans, Hugh Jackman and his movie before Jackman responded by saying that like in his movie he was going to go backstage and find the biggest underdog to take Dolph down. This announcement was met with a loud Zack Ryder chant and quick as a flash Jackman sprinted to the crowd to pick up a sign which read “Ryder > Wolverine” which promoted one flabbergasted fan to audibly shout “How did he know?” That made me laugh. Jackman then took the sign and ran up the ramp to go and seek out his underdog.

I loved this angle. Jackman was an awesome face throwing himself into his role with real panache and Dolph was a brilliant heel reeling off several funny but spiteful insults whilst feeling slighted by the guest star’s presence. Meanwhile Vickie was tremendous in being caught between backing up her client’s words and lustfully gazing in Hugh’s direction. What was really cool however was how they managed to turn a usually painful movie plug into an actual storyline for the show itself. Top entertainment here.

 

Backstage Miz and Truth arrived in the parking lot. They were met by Zack Ryder who told them that Triple H wanted to see them both immediately. Truth and Miz both apologised to Laurinaitis for putting him in an awkward position before heading off in the direction of Hunter’s office.

 

Sin Cara was scheduled to face Cody Rhodes but before the match took place the other Sin Cara arrived to engage in another staredown before both men did battle with a brief and clumsy orchestration of moves. In the end Face Cara sent Heel Cara over the top rope whilst Rhodes THE INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPION just faded in the background whilst all this was taking place.

 

Triple H was backstage making himself a coffee when he was interrupted by Miz and Truth who both had the hillarious look of two schoolboys being sent to the headteacher’s office. Miz and Truth both offered their sincere condolosences before being fined by Hunter for $250,000 each. That was a ridiculously high number to pull out of the air. Hunter then booked both men in a main event tag match against CM Punk and John Cena.

 

The second great segment of the night took place next as Mark Henry was interviewed by Jim Ross. Ross announced that he had just been informed by Teddy Long that Randy Orton had decided to invoke his rematch clause against Mark Henry at Hell in a Cell. Ross then called out the NEW World Heavyweight Champion to the ring.

Henry said that he’s never been inside a Hell in a Cell but that he gave Orton some hell at Night of Champions and that he’ll be quite happy to do it again in two weeks time. He said that no man was going to take what he’s got in his hands and that he will never forgive the people because they never supported or believed in him. Henry then turned his attention to JR as he was one of those people who had no faith in him and even wanted to get him off the roster at one point. Henry forced JR to apologise but when JR obliged Henry changed tact and told him that he hates ass kissers before grabbing hold of Ross’ tie and squeezing hard to take him down to one knee. As JR very convincingly sold his pain Jerry Lawler arrived to make the save but this turned out to be his undoing as Henry gave him a worlds strongest slam inside the ring and outside through the announce table.

It is so refreshing to see a dominant heel in the company again. Having Henry beat up two very popular announcers does no harm to building his heat either.

Lawler was carried away by the medical team as Josh Matthews came out to call the rest of the show with Michael Cole.

 

Divas Tag Match: Kelly Kelly and Eve defeated Beth Phoenix and Natalya via pinfall

Beth grounded Kelly to start but Kelly blocked a dive to the corner and took out her opponent with a hurricanrana before making the tag to Eve. Eve gained some temporary momentum on Beth with some kicks before Beth took her down and tagged in Natalya. Natalya choked Eve for a while before Eve capitalised with a roll up pin. The Divas of Doom have been booked as mightily incompetent heels thus far.

½ *

 

Hugh Jackman was backstage with Zack Ryder. He retold the story about Ryder winning the Internet Championship before calling him deluded and pathetic i.e. the perfect candidate for his underdog.

They aired a scene from Real Steel.

 

Match: Zack Ryder defeated Dolph Ziggler via pinfall

Ryder came out with Jackman who was rocking a broski headband. Giant props to this man for not just phoning in his performance for an easy pay day.

Match was booked to perfection. Vickie was banned from ringside for slapping Ryder only for Jackman to deliver a solid punch to Dolph behind the ref’s back leading to Zack capitalising with his Rough Ryder finisher for the pinfall.

 

Backstage Vickie Guerrero officially added Jack Swagger to her clientele much to the chagrin of Dolph who was standing just metres away when the deal was struck.

 

Backstage Cena met up with CM Punk. Cena said their matches together have made history and that Punk has earnt his respect for earning the fans respect. Cena then put over the Hell in a Cell match where both could make history once again conveniently ignoring the threat of Alberto Del Rio. A simple bit of praise or acknowledgement from John Cena would be so much more effective than Del Rio dominating midcarders.

Cena and Punk then both teased that the other could be fired at the end of the night.

 

Tag Match: CM Punk and John Cena defeated Awesome Truth via pinfall

Long tv match which mostly revolved around Miz beating on Cena, a far from entertaining affair as the two men have practically zero in ring chemistry. Cena eventually got the hot tag to Punk however who livened the crowd up with an exhilarating comeback hitting a lariat and suplex on Truth before toppling Miz with a bulldog and a springboard clothesline. Punk then attempted the GTS but Miz elbowed his way out of danger only to nearly collide with Truth on the apron in the process. Punk then drop-kicked Miz into Truth before connecting with the GTS on Miz second time of asking.

**

 

Post-match Cena held up Punk’s arm only for Hunter’s music to blast through the arena. The COO congratulated Punk before firing Truth and Miz. Outraged Truth and Miz attacked Hunter backstage in front of dozens of superstars who managed to restrain both individuals and throw them out of the arena with Miz hillariously shouting “I hate you” whilst being held in the air and thrown out of the door by various wrestlers. It was a darn entertaining conclusion albeit the kind of entertainment one might associate with a bad film making you laugh at its increasing ridiculousness as opposed to a major wrestling angle which is supposed to leave you hooked for further storyline developments.

 

VERDICT:

Mixed bag of a show saved by a superb Mark Henry angle and a brilliant involvement of guest star Hugh Jackman. The other positive was that two World Title matches were booked and the threat of the cell was effectively conveyed throughout the broadcast.

On the negative side of things we have the continued nonsense of the conspiracy angle which has added yet another firing twist to the storyline only a couple of months after John Cena was supposed to be fired for losing at Money in the Bank. These stipulations no longer serve any dramatic purpose because no one believes for a second anymore that a high profile star is going to be away for any period longer than a couple of weeks and thus it just makes the company look amateurish when they find another excuse to reneg on the firing.

The biggest disappointment on this show however was the booking of the midcarders. At Night of Champions these men gave it their all to try and make the titles mean something again in spite of the crappy builds going into their matches and yet on this edition of Raw with just two weeks to build towards the next PPV we have John Morrison squashed by Alberto Del Rio, Cody Rhodes cast aside to further the Sin Cara storyline and the tag champs Air Boom involved in an eight man tag that was there simply as filler. I don’t mind Ziggler losing to Ryder so much because both men got some high profile attention from being involved in an angle with a very famous film star but otherwise the illogical neglect of some very fine middle of the road talent is stopping the company from making any real progress in regards to building new stars.

SUPERSTAR OF THE NIGHT: Hugh Jackman – a total pro in his role who helped to give a great rub to the talent he worked with.

Moment of the Night: Mark Henry drilling Lawler through an announce table further cementing Henry as a bad ass bully whose not willing to suffer any more fools gladly.

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