It was a week of big announcements in WWE this week, so let's get right to it.
WWE COO Triple H opened Raw by announcing that, for the forseeable future, SmackDown wrestlers would appear on a Raw SuperShow each week. Is this the beginning of the end for the Brand Extension, which began in 2002 and had separate rosters for both Raw and SmackDown? It remains to be seen; although having the entire choice of the WWE talent makes for a better programme, and at least prevents the questions if "Why is (insert name) on the other show?"
Moments later, Triple H addressed the Kevin Nash-CM Punk situation. Nash (who came out to his old nWo music) revealed that John Laurinitis had signed him to a WWE contract. Punk's sarcastic response and continuing insults at Nash and HHH led to the announcement of a Punk-Nash match at Night Of Champions. By the time the show ended, however, Triple H had removed Kevin Nash from the match and inserted . . . Triple H.
The contract was signed on the Super SmackDown (again featuring stars from both brands; although for SD, this was a one-off), admist further insults and accusations of what would happen at NOC. Nash interrupted proceedings and brawled with Punk; when HHH tried to stop Nash, he was shoved down by his close friend. Needless to say, this situation won't be resolved until Night Of Champions, at least.
Alberto Del Rio was absent from TV this week, leaving John Cena to deck his ring announcer Ricardo Rodriguez. Cena teamed with Sheamus to beat Christian and Mark Henry on Raw, and Wade Barrett on SmackDown. In the meantime, World Heavyweight Champion Randy Orton was dominant, beating U.S. Champ Dolph Ziggler on Raw and then defeating Christian to retain his crown in a Steel Cage on SmackDown. Afterwards, though, he was attacked by The World's Strongest Man, his challenger at Night Of Champions.
Other events of note, starting with Raw: Kofi Kingston and Evan Bourne (now nicknamed Air Boom!) retained their newly won Tag Titles against former champs David Otunga and Michael McGillicutty, who afterwards confronted commentator Jerry Lawler over his criticism of their personality (or lack of). CM Punk's duel with The Miz ended in a DQ after attacks from R-Truth and Kevin Nash. On SmackDown, Sin Cara defeated Daniel Bryan, but then surprisingly attacked Mr Money In The Bank afterwards. And Sheamus beat The Great Khali by disqualification, and withstood a post-match assault from Khali and Jinder Mahal.
Elsewhere: This week's NXT was a clip show, showing highlights of how previous contestants have fared on Raw and SmackDown, including the 2011 SmackDown Money In The Bank Ladder match. That said, after almost 6 months, surely it's now time to finish NXT season 5 - especially since it only gives the winner a chance to choose their Pro on Season 6. Superstars had a main event between John Morrison and R-Truth, complete with highlights of their previous incidents. Truth's win suggests a rocky road ahead for Morrison; losing a grudge match on Superstars doesn't bode very well for him.
And Vintage Collection was based around a tournament to determine the next opponent to the NWA/WCW US Title in January 1993. However, by the time the Final was scheduled, due to then-champ Rick Rude's injury, the decider was now for the championship. Dustin Rhodes (now Goldust) won the tournament and title by countout after Ricky Steamboat was waylaid at ringside by Barry Windham. Strange, but entertaining.
My thoughts now on the best of the WWEek:
- Wrestler Of The Week: Randy Orton gets it for two great matches with Dolph Ziggler and Christian.
- Match Of The Week: Orton vs Ziggler; the RKO ending was unique and everything that came before it reivtalised a subdued crowd.
- Show Of The Week: Raw gets the nod this week for more eventful occurences.
As it's a new month, here's some thoughts on August in WWE.
- Wrestler Of The Month: A hard one, but due to several good matches with Christian, Ziggler and others, it's Randy Orton.
- Match Of The Month: Orton vs Christian at SummerSlam.
- Show Of The Month: SummerSlam.
- Moment Of The Month: The combined return of Kevin Nash and Alberto Del Rio's Money In The Bank cash-in at SummerSlam.
- Quote Of The Month: Virtually anything from The Rock's verbal smackdown of John Cena from the August 8 Raw.
Speaking of which, some choice quotes from TV this week:
- "The Clique is back, which is funny because "Clique" (click) is the sound everyone's remote makes whenever Kevin Nash comes on the TV screen, as well as the sound Kevin Nash's knees make whenever he walks." - CM Punk's response to Kevin Nash's new WWE contract.
- "David Otunga is riding Jennifer Hudson's coattails . . . if he wasn't married to her, the only thing he's say on a microphone is 'Do you want fries with that?'" - Jerry Lawler remains unimpressed by Otunga (and McGillicutty).
- "Zach Ryder overachieves at underachieving." - Matt Striker on Superstars (who changed his tune after Ryder beat Tyson Kidd).
Finally, some predictions on what is to come. The SuperShow concept for Raw, as stated earlier, could be the first step on the reuniting of the two rosters for one whole WWE. After almost ten years, in which time virtually everyone has appeared on both shows, several times, this wouldn't be a bad decision to make, and would make for more entertaining shows. It may not happen; but the fact that anyone can now appear on Raw means that it's possible.
The three key issues on WWE TV (Punk-Nash-HHH, Cena-Del Rio and Orton-Henry) won't be settled until Night Of Champions, at least. I'm predicting wins for HHH and Del Rio (which could reuslt in the formation of an alliance, as I stated in a previous blog), whilst the World Title match is likely to end on a DQ or countout. With Hell In A Cell occuring two weeks after NOC, certain rivalries would have to keep on running after NOC, with the Cell likely to settle the grudges. I also think saving Punk-HHH for a steel-enclosed showdown at HIAC would have been better, although The Game's first match since WrestleMania XXVII will be worth seeing at Night Of Champions.
That's all for this week. We'll see you next week; good night everybody!
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