WWE Raw Review 20/12/11 - Kane Gives John Cena Beating

The Big News: The title holding trio of CM Punk, Daniel Bryan and Zack Ryder defeated Alberto Del Rio, Dolph Ziggler and The Miz in a fast paced main event tag match, Kane delivered John Cena another beating and Wade Barrett got some revenge on Orton by planting him through a table following another singles match. In a Nutshell: A night of celebration for the indie boys done good. The Champions Parade / Main Event Set up There was a drum roll to start the show as CM Punk parodied a box announcer offstage to put over his win at TLC. Punk then came out, circled the ring with the title held in the air and held the mic to the crowd as he soaked in the cheers. He then did a similar announcing routine to hail Zack Ryder as the new United States champion and Daniel Bryan as the new world heavyweight champion with both men joining Punk between the ropes. In regards to Daniel Bryan Punk asked the crowd who would have thought that two men who first met ten years ago at the Murphy Rec centre would now be standing together as world champions of the WWE. He then complimented Ryder with all three men doing the fistpump before Punk talked about how proud he was to have watched two men start from the bottom and gradually work their way to the top. With that in mind Punk passed the mic over for the two individuals to express their own victorious delight. First Ryder talked about calling his dad and asking him if he was really US Champion to which his dad of course replied "woo woo woo, you know it." Bryan then said that he didn't even think he would ever make it into the WWE let alone be representing the company as a world heavyweight champion before targeting Cole and calling him out on the abuse he has suffered from the commentator since he first arrived and saying that now Cole would just have to accept that he is the world heavyweight champion. The love fest was then interrupted by the TLC losing trio of The Miz, Alberto Del Rio and Dolph Ziggler who silently walked to the ring looking for some retribution only to be denied access from the faces. The heels then huddled together for a tactical team talk at which point Ryder dived out at Ziggler from over the ropes, was thrown into the steel steps by Miz and Del Rio who were then chased up the ramp by Punk and Bryan. Laurenitis came out to diffuse the situation and booked a six man tag match main event as a christmas present for both the competitors and the fans. All in all a great segment. This was faces having a whale of a time after reaping the rewards of their hard worn efforts and disgruntled heels determined to wipe the smiles off their faces with a match then being booked for the superstars to settle the difference where it counts inside the ring. They displayed a graphic hyping up Kane's return and John Cena speaking out about the chokeslam he received the previous week on Raw. 1.) Randy Orton defeated Wade Barrett via DQ Before the match they showed a graphic of the impeccably timed finale to their tables match the previous night at TLC. Orton's sense of awareness for the delivery of that mid-air RKO through the table was simply sensational. Barrett beat Orton into the ropes to start before Orton fired back with a pair of clotheslines and a dropkick for a two count. Barrett escaped the ring to avoid further offense at which point Orton tried to bring him back in only to be greeted with a nasty kick from Barrett who then reentered the ring as the match cut to commercial. Back from the break, Orton ran into Barrett's boot in the corner who then eliminated the viper over the top rope and smashed him kidney first onto the announce table before shoving him back into the ring for a two count. Wade then tried for a mule kick but missed contact and fell prey to a scoop slam and an attempt at a mid rope DDT which Barrett reversed into a barrier wasteland which Orton escaped and then set up Barrett on the ropes again for the DDT. Orton then called for the RKO but Wade halted his plans by planting a thumb in his opponents eye for the DQ. ** 1/2 Post-match Barrett beat Orton into to the mat and then grabbed a table from under the ring to set up Orton for a Barrier wasteland through the table. I liked Barrett's MO here taking the face off guard with his cheating and then using the opportunity to get the revenge he wanted for the table bump he suffered at the PPV. The feud then it seems is set to continue. They aired graphics from the dull Trips/Nash match from TLC with Trips getting his revenge with the sledgehammer and Nash being carried out on a stetcher by EMTS. 2.) Alicia Fox defeated Beth Phoenix Beth did the dominant losing effort job otherwise known as "the Natalya." Beth worked the arm to start, Fox fired back with some kicks which Beth countered beautifully into a sidewalk slam. They then bothched a spot with Fox missing Beth's head for a DDT after being slingshot off the ropes. Alicia then simply hit a frontflip leg drop for the pin. 1/2 * I don't think it's such a wise move to make the champion of your female division look so easy to beat especially considering the thundrous boos Fox received as she wished everyone a foxy christmas after the match. I know they've exhausted Beth's run of matches against Kelly and Eve but two easy wins for Fox against two apparently dominant heel divas just makes the pursuit of the title seem meaningless. 3.) Sheamus defeated Jinder Mahal via pinfall Sheamus outsmarted Mahal to begin but Mahal used his power to take the Irishman to the mat and put him in a headlock. Sheamus fought out and made a fun comeback with a pair of axe handles before hitting Mahal with a clothesline into the corner and pasting him with another one to take the big man off his feet. Mahal rolled out of the way before Sheamus could execute a top rope spot but he merely prolonged the inevitable as Sheamus caught up with him and finished his opponent off with a backbreaker followed up by a Celtic Cross for the win. ** An aimless feud but the action was fine. Kane/John Cena segment They replayed Kane's mysterious attack on John Cena from last week's Raw and tried to build intrigue around Cena's response to the incident. Cena came out however and immediately began shouting into the camera like a ten year old thus already nullifying the supposed severity of his beatdown. He then got inside the ring and confronted the fact that he got under certain people's skin before turning his attention to The Rock who he hoped was going to be well prepared for wrestlemania. He then said that whilst he knew why The Rock didn't like him, he didn't understand why he was also under the radar of the big red monster. He told Kane that he could forgive him if it was an accident (I'm not sure how you accidentally chokselam someone but still) but that if it wasn't an accident then they've got some business to sort out. Instead however he was interuptted by Mark Henry who cut perhaps his best bad ass promo yet on his way to the ring. Hobbling down the ramp with his injured foot, Henry told Cena that if it wasn't for Kane last week he would have been sent straight to the hall of pain and that though Cena maybe out doing a monologue of jokes, he isn't in the mood for jokes and wants to confront the nature of his injury and the manner in which he lost his title at TLC. He then told Cena to "kick rocks and get to steppin" because he is all the business Cena needs to worry about. There is no way I could convey in words how awesomely Henry delivered that line. It just reeked of attitude. At this point Kane emerged. Both Cena and Henry sold their fear very convincingly as Kane first teased attacking Henry on the outside and then turned his attention to Cena inside the middle of the ring. Cena fought off Kane and whipped him over the ropes but Kane pulled his feet from under the ropes and threw him over the announce table where Cena hillariously landed in the most comfortable manner possible on an announce chair before falling to the ground. Kane then pressed his gloved hand into Cena's face atop of the announce table before ripping off his shirt and taking it with him on his walk back up the ramp. Cena was bleeding from the mouth to add a nice touch to the drama. This was a strong segment. Kane has a whole new aura about him with the mask back on and I like the fact that he hasn't yet been forced to explain his ambigious targeting of John Cena. They should keep him silent for as long as possible as it makes his actions appear far more scary and intriguing. 4.) Epico and Primo defeated The USO'S via pinfall Rosa dancing in that outfit is the role she was born to play in this company. Jey Uso took the beatdown from the heels and indulged in a great rope assisted spot whereby Primo tagged in Epico by supplexing him onto their fallen opponent. Jey then escaped out of a drop toe hold and tagged in Jimmy who ran wild tossing Epico around the ring but saw his pinfall attempt interrupted by Primo. Jey emerged to counter this foul play but was sent flying when Primo dropped the ropes. Jimmy then superkicked Primo but got caught up by the numbers game as Epico hit hm with a backbreaker for the win. ** 5.) Cody Rhodes defeated Santino via pinfall Pretty fun match for what it was. Santino did his comedy fighting taunts to start before Rhodes handed him a beating through working over his opponents arm. Santino then dodged a Rhodes clothesline via hitting the splits before taking Rhodes to the mat with an arm drag. He then teased the cobra but Rhodes soon put an end to that nonesense by pummeling Santino with an impressive alabahma slam. * 1/2 Backstage the Bellas kissed John Laurenitis whilst trash talking one another and Teddy Long whilst Hornswoggle caught an enraged Vickie under the miseltoe. They aired an awesome video package of Zack Ryder winning the US Title and him and his dad both expressing their delight over the win. Josh Matthews interviewed Big Show backstage. Show looked in a state of shock talking about how a nine year quest to regain the world title had evaporated in a matter of seconds as a result of Bryan cashing in his briefcase. He then asserted that he had become the victim of his own advice by telling Bryan not to wait until wrestlemania to fulfill his dream. Show still wanted to give the little guy credit but Matthews questioned whether Show was really nice enough to genuinely praise Bryan before reminding him that he was the shortest reigning champion in WWE history. At this point Show just stared a hole through Matthews in a fantastically tense moment before unconvincingly revealing that he was okay as he walked off. Main Event: 6.) Six Man Tag Match: CM Punk, Daniel Bryan and Zack Ryder defeated The Miz, Alberto Del Rio and Dolph Ziggler via pinfall They started this match at a hundred miles an hour with the faces clearing the heels from the ring and each man making a separate dive to greet them on the outside. This was an awesome and heated opening stretch. Bout then took the traditional tag match route with Bryan and Ryder each suffering extended beatdowns from the heels before Ryder made the hot tag to Punk who crossbodied his way into meet Miz and then took him out with a bodyslam and an elbow drop. "I'm taking my time" he shouted joyously before planting his victim with the move, further evidence of Punk's fully adjusted in ring transition from heel to babyface. Punk only got a two count for the elbow but he quickly countered into an anaconda vice before the move was broken up by Ziggler who was then pulled under the ropes by Ryder as the match descended into chaos. In a frenetiic conclusion Bryan then took out Del Rio with a dropkick from the top rope, Punk planted Miz with the GTS, Del Rio recovered to throw Punk to the outside and shove Bryan into the ringpost and Bryan reversed the crossarmbreaker into the labell lock to make Del Rio tap for the win. Verdict: This was a very fun show with some good segments, wrestling and character motivation throughout. It was great to see three ecstatic men rejoicing in their position as champions and helping to steal the show from the frustrated heels as well as the continued intrigue surrounding Cena's much welcomed fresh feud with Kane. There were also some very effective seeds planted for a Big Show heel turn and though I think Bryan's road to world champion glory has been appalling, a slow burning programme between the two men could be satisfying to watch over the coming months. Show to his credit worked the mic like a true pro in his interview, clearly angry about Bryan's actions but trying to put on a brave face and an eventual feud between the two men could still give Bryan the cool giant slaying moment that most people wanted to see transpire with Mark Henry. It's also encouraging to witness the continued signs of a rejuvinated tag team division with Epico and Hunico wrestling their third televised match in four days and being allowed some air time on the number one show. With a couple of teams added to this varied mix there might finally be some sense of order amongst the midcard as we approach 2012. **** Hope you enjoyed this week's read and those who did should look forward to my take on the top twenty WWE superstars of the year which will be published later in the week.