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-------------------- Here we are... The LAST RAW of 2011. It's been a very inconsistent year for the RAW brand. Some Monday Night RAW shows are great, but many cause you to scratch your head... Then, of course, you find out about 6 script rewrites afterward. I find that 2011 revolved around CM Punk... From his early days as the "New Nexus" cult leader, feud with Randy Orton, contractual status through Money in the Bank Pay Per View, feuding with Triple H, and now WWE Champion once again with many rumors about WWE management being lukewarm over his reign (low ratings being blamed on Punk and discussions of moving Punk to the Smackdown brand in 2012, according to the Wrestling Observer). Tonight, Punk was in a storyline with John Laurinaitis where if Punk defeated Jack Swagger, Dolph Ziggler, and Mark Henry in a "Gauntlet" match, Punk would be able to wrestle Laurinaitis in a one on one match. If Punk lost to any member fo the Gauntlet match, the victor would earn a title shot on the 1st RAW of 2012. In the course of catching Vickie Guerrero's interference during the 2nd match against Dolph Ziggler, John Laurinaitis, on the mic, distracted CM Punk enough to lose the match against Ziggler. That's right, with Dolph Ziggler winning tonight, we need to get the the WWE TITLE CHANGE ALERT ready for next week's RAW. Don't doubt that it happens, not only for reported WWE management dissatisfaction of Punk's reign, but to simply set up CM Punk vs. Dolph Ziggler at Royal Rumble. What I find funny about Punk vs. Laurinaitis right now is the lost opportunity after the Money in the Bank Pay Per View. After Punk won the championship, he should have appeared at Indy promotions for weeks before Vince McMahon and John Laurinaitis offered Punk (in the storylines) a lucrative contract to return to the WWE. Then, once Punk re-signed with the WWE, Vince and Laurinaitis try to control CM Punk as their WWE Champion. YES, IT'S AUSTIN vs. VINCE from 1998 REDONE, but it works! Having Punk deal with John Laurinaitis then would have been magical... But no, we just HAD to push Alberto Del Rio down our throats and embarrass Triple H's legacy with the Chief Operating Officer gimmick. And yes, I'm beating a dead horse on this, but I'm 100% correct on the lost opportunity known as "Summer of Punk". Speaking of LOST money... I heard a pile of it burning the second Kane opened his mouth. Did the WWE forget why a masked Kane was so badass? HE DIDN'T SPEAK! He let his actions speak for him, such as the previous 2 weeks when he kicked John Cena's ass. Getting him to speak, while also giving him a ridiculous backstory ("Katie Vick" anyone?) absolutely ruined the character during the 2000's. Kane opened his mouth and the promo was absolutely BRUTAL until the end when he simply said "Cena Sucks". I know that I could be giving the Chicago crowd too much credit, but I heard utter silence during much of the promo but then hearing "Let's Go Cena/CM Punk chants during Kane's promo was embarrassing for the WWE. They should NOT have put Kane in a ridiculous position where he was to cut a lame attempt at a psychological promo against Cena. It failed on so many levels, aside from it's ending of pushing the "Cena Sucks" chants which appear to be selling officially licensed WWE t-shirts. But I'm rooting for the Kane character and he looked BAD tonight. Less words, more action... OTHER STUFF FROM RAW... Cody Rhodes still has some seasoning to go, so I'm thus not going to be upset about Booker T's clean victory. It's all about the journey and Cody Rhodes must overcome adversity and tough veteran wrestlers to convince fans he's worthy of the next rung on the ladder. He's not there yet... Just blew my mind to see Zack Ryder/Eva Torres vs. Tyson Kidd/Natalya. Provided Kidd's role, or lack thereof, this almost felt like a "jobber" match (though, not to offend Kidd/Natalya, but Kidd just isn't on RAW much...). I would be interested to see this quarter hour rating... Vince Russo booking tonight with the Big Show getting one arm tied behind his back and being forced to wrestle. LAST WORD: Meh to tonight's RAW. Kane appears to have been ruined tonight and there's a good possibility that the WWE hotshots the WWE Title next week to Dolph Ziggler. Not liking what I see heading into 2012... C for this week's show. So just chill... Till the next episode! CONTACT MR. TITO - Email: [email protected] - Twitter: @titowrestling - Join LoPForums.com: Feedback Thread BLOG is TITO Archive on LoPForums.com © Mr. Tito 1998 - 2011
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