WWE Raw Review 13/02/12 - Kane Destroys Zack Ryder
A tight four way battle between Cena, Kane, Ryder and Eve for hammiest performance of the night.
The Big News: Shawn Michaels tried in vain to convince Triple H to accept The Undertaker's WrestleMania challenge with Hunter conceding that he didn't want to put an end to an era. Meanwhile Kane inflicted yet more pain on Zack Ryder, Daniel Bryan took out both Orton and Show following their singles match and Jericho, Punk and Truth all gained warm up victories in matches against their upcoming chamber opponents. In a Nutshell: A tight four way battle between Cena, Kane, Ryder and Eve for hammiest performance of the night. Live from San Diego, California Kane opened the show with a short backstage promo talking about how tonight Cena was going to embrace the hate and someone was going to take a ride in an ambulance. The six scheduled Raw Elimination Chamber competitors started inside the ring for a debate. They were each stood behind their own private booth and were asked questions by Jerry Lawler. Before Punk could respond to Lawler's question about overcoming the odds, John Laurinaitis interfered to thank the Board of Directors for their support before leaving. That was an amusing dig at Punk who then cut an obnoxious Cena-esque promo in which he made fun of Laurinaitis before declaring that he would win this Sunday because he was the best wrestler in the world. Punk was completely nonchalant in his delivery and set the precedent for what was a half-hearted angle devoid of passion or urgency. Dolph Ziggler spoke next and rallied against Punk by saying that he was a better wrestler than him (true) and then made fun of Truth who he claimed probably didn't even know what state they were in. Truth then reeled off some horrendous comedy as he acted as if he was running for presidency and talked about how if he won he would trade Dolph and Vickie to Smackdown for Hornswoggle and some spiders. His lines only got worse from there... Next up was Miz who repeated for the hundredth time about how he was the main event at last year's wrestlemania before informing an uninterested Punk that he was 0-2 in the chamber and then slamming Jericho for the insults directed at him about being a wannabe. Miz also labelled Kofi Kingston an afterthought and Kingston agreed saying that he had never been given a fair shot in the company (very true) but that in the course of one night it could all change if he becomes the wwe champion. Finally Chris Jericho said that he had been in more chambers than anyone and eliminated more people than anyone. He then asked Punk to look at him as he informed him that he was coming to take his title. Punk just no-sold his insult and mocked Jericho about finishing seventh on Dancing with the Stars. This was a big let-down from their brilliant one-two last week. Jericho then aggressively pushed Kofi Kingston out of the way as he forced his way over to Punk and got in his face. Punk merely held up his title and when he turned around an aggravated Kingston clocked him with a kick just before their scheduled match. What a waste of a great concept. During this debate not a single competitor talked about the implications of winning in the chamber and going on to headline wrestlemania nor put over the legitimately dangerous nature of the chamber structure. Instead it was just treated as a comedy segment with the athletes putting themselves over as they would for any random match-up. It was particularly frustrating to see CM Punk, the most popular superstar of the six men, treat his surroundings as a joke and act as if everyone was beneath him and then there was R-Truth who is such a laughing stock at this point that he might as well be replaced in the chamber match by Santino Marella. Not a single person in the audience thinks he has a chance of winning this Sunday which makes his presence in the match utterly pointless. 1.) Chris Jericho defeated Kofi Kingston via pinfall Jericho grounded Kofi in the early going trapping him in a headlock and winding his opponent up with his usual taunts. Kofi recovered to run wild with a pair of sweet dropkicks but Jericho caught him in mid-air following a crossbody and reversed the counter into the walls of Jericho submission. What a manoeuvre! Kingston managed to crawl to the ropes which caused Jericho to argue with the referee and when he turned around he was knocked to the mat with a trouble in paradise for the two count with Jericho finding the wherewithal to place his foot on the ropes. Both men then recovered to their feet and engaged in something of a power struggle before Jericho sneakily managed to place a thumb in Kingston's eye before catching him with the codebreaker for the win. Not the cleanest match but very good fun nonetheless with an effective heel finale. ** ½ Shawn Michaels arrived and embraced Triple H backstage. In another backstage segment, Cena was talking to a wheelchair bound Ryder who had flowers for Eve. Cena said that everytime Kane turns up he ends up hurting Ryder and so insisted on bringing Eve to him instead of Ryder tracking her down. David Otunga and John Laurinatis talked about how great it was to still be on Raw but Otunga warned him that his position still hadn't been made permanent. He then said that he had a plan to make Laurinatis the full time general manager of both Raw and Smackdown. They replayed footage from Smackdown with Big Show costing Randy Orton a DQ loss by attaking Bryan during their singles match. An incident which then led to a post-match bust up between Orton and Show with the giant temporarily settling matters by chokeslamming Orton to the mat. 2.) Randy Orton defeated Big Show via DQ Daniel Bryan was sat at ringside and throughout he wore this great, smug smile, overjoyed at the shit he had stirred between the two men inside the ring. The match itself was the usual satisfying Orton vs giant formula with lots of frenzied outbursts from the viper being countered by his opponents quick impact power. In a great spot Show was dropkicked on the apron after being distracted by Bryan and fell prone to Orton's draping DDT, only this time from the top rope. That would have been a creative finale which would have kept Show protected but unfortunately they then botched an RKO attempt to the derision of the fans and so had to redo over. At this point Bryan then took the opportunity to emerge inside the ring and clock Orton with the belt before waiting for Show to rise and pelting him with the gold too. ** Shawn Michaels came out to address the wrestlemania situation regarding Triple H and The Undertaker. He said that he was as disappointed as anyone to see his best friend reject the offer last week but assumed that The Game was just playing mind games with the Deadman and wanted Hunter to come out and confirm that he was really going to accept the challenge. Trips came out. He said that it was great to see Shawn but that if he had come to change his mind then he was going to be let down because he stood by his decision to not face Taker at Mania. He then reiterated his message from last week stating that to beat Taker he would have to end him and he didn't want to be the man to do have to do that. Shawn found this viewpoint incredulous remarking that Triple H had defined his career by ending others careers and showing no remorse nor compassion. He then wondered if Hunter really had become a corporate sell-out and that whilst he might be a simple man one thing that he was sure of is that when a man backs down from a challenge he's really nothing more than a coward. Hunter objected to this telling Shawn that he was not a coward but rather thinking about the future of a company that will one day belong to him. He said that the responsibility of the company weighs like a ton on his shoulders, something that Shawn out on his isolated ranch wouldn't be able to comprehend. He then said that from the perspective of his current position, he couldn't just look at Taker as an opponent but rather a brand and that destroying that brand would be horrible for business and that he didn't want to be the man to put an end an era being kept alive solely by The Undertaker's streak. He then had a dig at Michaels by claiming that he wasn't going to break the streak just so that Michaels could perform something vicariously through him that he wasn't able to do on his own accord. Nice speech. Shawn replied, admitting that it probably worked on a lot of people but not on him. He then asked Hunter to look him in the eye and tell him that he really meant no. After an intense stare-down Trips did just that leaving his ashamed friend to depart from the ring. Trips was then leaving when the lights went dark, the dong sounded and we got a new video of Taker in his office asking Hunter to give him what he wants... immortality. Aside from Shawn losing his voice, this was another knockout segment in the build to the Taker/Triple H wrestlemania sequel. What's really interesting is that the promos are still maintaining intrigue as to whether or not Hunter really is trying to do the honourable thing (and he is making some sound points to back up this claim) or if he is just being very manipulative in hiding his fear at once again losing to the Deadman. It was easy to see logic in both Hunter and Shawn's arguments which is what made the segment so compelling and the perfect example of how to develop an interesting wrestling storyline without peaking too soon before the inevitable match-up. A very powerful manner they could develop this feud would be for Hunter and HBK to have another similar exchange but on this occasion HBK coaxes Hunter into admitting that the reason he doesn't want to face Taker again is not because he is afraid of winning but because he is terrified of the idea that he will be remembered for losing to Taker just like Shawn. HBK could then convince Hunter that he has no regrets and that if Hunter doesn't take up the opportunity to break the streak again then it'll haunt him as the biggest regret of his career. What do other people think of this idea and how would you address Hunter changing his mind about the challenge in the upcoming weeks? 3.) R-Truth beat Dolph Ziggler via pinfall Ziggler basically dominated the entire match, performing the headstand headlock, world's best dropkick followed by a HBK style kip-up before doing his usual sit up routine at which point Truth took advantage of his opponent's neglect to surprise him with a successful roll up pin. * 1/2 This was a neat finish in theory but only suitable for a cocky heel who is actually a bona fide main eventer like Kurt Angle and his Gold Medal Challenge where people were desperate to see him outmanoeuvred. At the moment however Dolph Ziggler is fast becoming the best worker in the company but has recently suffered a horrible burial at the hands of CM Punk and thus should not be losing to a man who the company clearly never see advancing beyond a comic midcard position. 4.) Tamina Snuka defeated Brie Bella via pinfall Beth was at ringside wearing an awesome Ding, Glamslam, Ding shirt which I guess is the Divas equivalent of Austin's famous Arrive, Raise Hell, leave merchandise. Match itself was very basic and sloppy. Brie got the heat for a short while and the Tamina dropped her with a samoan drop before climbing up top to win with the splash. * Tamina will challenge Beth for the Divas Title this weekend at the Elimination Chamber PPV. We got a fantastic video package of The Rock living it up in Hollywood. I think it's impossible not to like this man. Backstage Kane locked Eve in the back of an ambulance. Cena arrived to make the save but Kane fought him off and started to drive away. Eve then unlocked the door and fell out into Cena's arms and treated him to a passionate kiss. The camera then panned around to show a distraught Ryder watching on in his wheelchair with some flowers. The crowd found the melodrama hysterical and ooohhed and ahhhed amusingly as Ryder wheeled himself off into the distance. Eve followed and tried to comfort him by saying that she wanted to be friends. Poor Zack. Not only does he gets saddled in a horrid relationship angle but he doesn't even get to make out with the hot chick to make up for it. 5.) CM Punk defeated The Miz via submission Miz grounded Punk and then went for his neckbreaker/backbreaker combo only for Punk to chop him down with an incredible high kick to the face. Punk then hit a powerslam and his top rope elbow and got Miz in position for the GTS. Miz fought out however and tried to set up Punk for the skull crushing finale but Punk escaped and made Miz tap to the Anaconda Vice. ** Backstage Chris Jericho watched Punk on the monitor with a confident, scheming smile. The final segment of the night involving Cena, Kane and Ryder lived up to the awful drama that had come before it. First Cena apologised to Ryder by saying that it had been Kane's plan to turn his friends and the fans against him. Sure blame Kane for sticking your tongue down a beautiful woman's throat. Cena then talked about how the plan wouldn't work because he always rose above hate and whilst people might think that made him weak he would continue to adapt, overcome and defeat Kane and The Rock. Zack Ryder then came out on crutches and took forever to hobble down to the ring. I think this was supposed to elicit empathy but with Ryder's over the top selling it played more like a scene from one of the Austin Powers films. The problem is that Ryder is still the goofball character that he made popular and so trying to put him in a serious storyline without convincing character development is destined to fail. Ryder got in Cena's face and slapped him at which point Cena responded by tearing off his shirt ready for action. Ryder then tried to hit Cena but Cena blocked the blow and threw Ryder to the ground. A devastated Ryder then went back up the ramp on crutches. As he was walking away, Kane's face came up on the monitor as he told Cena that he had broken the heart of his only friend and that he would leave Sunday in an ambulance. Kane then emerged on the stage and grabbed Ryder in his wheelchair and threw him off the stage. A horrified Cena then rushed over and made the x sign as officials all gathered around Ryder's fallen carcass. Verdict: This Raw broadcast showcased the best and worst of wwe's booking. On the one hand, pretty much everyone knows that Undertaker's wrestlemania streak is never going to be broken and yet they are still patiently building a match with Triple H that is filled with detail, emotion and atmosphere knowing that on the night they will have crafted a captivating story that will be able to suspend people's disbelief concerning the outcome of the contest. On the other hand, pretty much everyone knows that only Jericho or Punk will be walking out of the elimination chamber with the gold and yet rather than treat the other superstars as legitimate threats so that the match feels more open they instead go out of their way to make them look like they are simply there to make up the numbers. It's frustrating how they are able to do it so right one way and yet get it so wrong another. Talking of wrong. The Cena/Kane/Ryder/Eve storyline hit a new low this week in regards to unintentional comedy and horrible logic. In the end we were supposed to believe that Kane's plan was to lock Eve in an ambulance, for her to then escape whilst the vehicle was in motion, for Eve to then fall into the arms of John Cena and passionately kiss him in the heat of the moment and Ryder to happen to arrive on the scene just as they were in the middle of smooching. Add $100 million to the budget and you've got a Michael Bay production right there. This edition of Raw definitely broke the recent great show streak as it was a bad advert for the Chamber PPV but with another dimension being added to the Hunter/Taker storyline, Jericho back in singles action between the ropes and Dolph Ziggler and Daniel Bryan continuing to delight at every turn it still definitely had its moments and effectively raised excitement for what is shaping up to be a tremendous wrestlemania card.