WrestlingNerd Presents: WWE Raw Review 9/17/12

What up wrestling fans, I'm the WrestlingNerd bringing you another written review. Today, we take a look at WWE Raw 9/17/12. After Night of Champions, what happens next? Let's find out and start the review. 

We open up the show with Paul Heyman. Pauly brings up the referee that made the double pinfall that resulted in this "controversy". Paul is the voice of the voice of the voiceless…..

John Cena comes out and actually agrees with the ref's decision, but claims he should've restarted the match since that would be like ending the Super Bowl in a tie. The tie will get broken up….It's called Hell in a Cell. Oh, where did that wrestling logic come from? Alberto Del Rio interrupts since he doesn't like it when Cena complains, so he decides to complain in his own right. Allow me to interrupt your bitching and moaning to bring you MY bitching and moaning. Heels are funny like that. AJ comes out and makes Punk and Del Rio vs Cena and Sheamus for tonight. I liked the Paul/Cena interaction, but it did go downhill when Del Rio got in the conservation. 

Match #1: Primo and Epico vs Rey Mysterio and Sin Cara

I think I just figured it out. The whole point to the Cody Rhodes/Sin Cara rivalry was to bring together the mask tag team. Well, that's what I would like to believe. Not only would we get JBL to do commentary tonight, Jim Ross would get to join along. That's a very nice touch. I would love to see JBL and JR call a show on their own, but this was still good. The team of the White Ranger and the Riddler works wonders. The finish comes when Rey hits a double 619, followed up by Sin's Senton. After the match, the Prime Time Players arrive to take out the Hidden Identities. So, we get a tag team rivalry that DOESN'T involve the tag championships? Hell yeah. This is how you build up the tag division. I like this idea. It's nice knowing that the tag division could be making a comeback with this type of stuff. 

Winner via pinfall: Rey Mysterio and Sin Cara

Match #2: Eve vs Beth Phoenix

Layla is on commentary for this match. Wait, Layla was the previous Divas Champion? I barely remember any of that…..*cough*. Eve wins with a Kelly Kelly finisher. 

Winner via laziness: Eve

Match #3: Brodus Clay vs Heath Slater

Antonio Cesaro is at ringside for this match. Oh boy….An Antonio/Brodus feud…..I'm excited. All this is making me wonder is the whereabouts of Damien Sandow. I want him back. Ehem, I said I want Damien Sandow back!!! I hope somebody heard that. Do I really have to explain what happened in this match? Just slap in one of the Brodus matches since February and there you go. 

Winner via squash: Brodus Clay

Miz seems happy that he has his own talk show. It's a talk show on a wrestling show. It isn't something to gloat about. Miz calls out Booker T and claims that he's an attention whore with some of his decision-making. Really? I find it hard to believe that the guy who was the five time….five time….FIVE TIME FIVE TIME FIVE TIME WCW CHAMPION!!! I honestly don't know what Miz is talking about. Booker presents Miz a gift of pissed off testosterone. Ryback arrives and eats the entire ring. Oh, he also tossed a couple of couches at Miz. F*** you, rental store!!! All right, a Miz/Ryback program. It's about time they did something with both guys. Now THIS I can get into. 

Match #4: Dolph Ziggler vs Santino

Oh, Dolph just won this match with some help from Vickie Guerrero. Oh, that means Internet Tough Guy #345 is gonna talk about how this makes Dolph look weak. Yeah, that guy's angry. The match can be looked at as a waste of time since the match offers nothing. Highlight of the match is seeing Dolph stuff the Cobra down Santino's throat. Choke on it!!! Choke on it!!!

Winner via pinfall: Dolph Ziggler

Match #5: Wade Barrett vs Justin Gabriel

In a short, but effective match, the finish comes when Wade does a….Falcon Punch? Yeah, let's go with that. Falcon Punch for the victory. Wade is open for business….he's selling tea on the side. What, I thought everyone knew this?

Winner via pinfall: Wade Barrett

A comedy segment with Jarod from Subway. Presented by Subway: Little Jimmy suggest a Spider Cobweb sandwich, Damien is impressed with balls, Zack Ryder is porking it, and Ryback is hungry. Jarod should've given him everything. Ryback can put any restaurant out of business. How do you think he got that eye? DA DU DAAAAAAAAAA!!!

Match #6: Team Friendship vs Kofi Kingston and R-Truth; WWE Tag Team Titles

I AM THE TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS!!! I freakin' love these guys. This is my favorite pairing ever, and I'm totally being serious right now. Kane and Daniel Bryan almost lose the belts, but the…..friends work together and take out Truth with a Chokeslam/No Lock combination. After the match, both guys continue to argue. They hug it out, but just like before, it doesn't kill the argument. It resolves nothing, but it's still funny. I thought this match was better than the one at the PPV, but that's just me. 

Winner via submission and still WWE Tag Champs: Team Friendship

Match #7: Randy Orton vs Tensai

Remember, Smackdown doesn't exist anymore. That show you see on Fridays is a figment of your imagination. It never happened, YOU HEAR ME!!! In a decent match, Randy wins with the RKO. What does it accomplish? Not a whole lot. The commentators brought up that Randy is tired from last night, so they will probably use this for Frid-somewhere else. Yeah, that's what I mean to say. 

Winner via pinfall: Randy Orton

Match #8: Damien Sandow vs Zack Ryder

Just as we're getting a back-to-school lesson, Ryder interrupts. The match was fair to watch. The finish comes when Damien hits the Straight Jacket Neckbreaker for the victory. Looks like somebody was listening to me earlier. 

Winner via pinfall: Damien Sandow

Match #9: John Cena and Sheamus vs CM Punk and Alberto Del Rio

I love how Cena is so concerned about getting a rematch. Has he been asleep for the last 9 years? It's wrestling logic, but the earlier scene can go a long way. Punk demands a round of applause. After all, Pauly's doing it. Let's give him a hand….

I couldn't resist. Anyway, this match isn't too bad. The finish comes when Cena hits the AA on Punk. Punk had his foot on the bottom rope, but the ref didn't see it. Even before this match started, there was something about this referee that I didn't like. I know it isn't fair to judge, but something about his face just makes me want to punch him. Punk and Pauly complain about the ref decision, but the ref doesn't do anything about it. This adds to Punk's case of not getting the respect he deserves. I'm not the biggest fan of the finish, but I'm fine with it. This will give Punk and Pauly more ammo to fire at the audience next week. I'm a little surprised Punk didn't attack the ref. I felt this was a missed opportunity. Wait, did WWE just make fun of the NFL? Eh, who cares. 

Winner via pinfall: John Cena and Sheamus

Overall Impression:

For the most part, Raw was pretty good in my book. At the same time, I can see some of the reasons this show not being well liked. For one, most of the matches were either repeats or forgettable. Hardly any of the matches really stood out, but there's other things to look for in the show. There was some things I did enjoy. For one, a lot of new programs/storylines started. While the show isn't what I would call great, I like some of these new angles. Brodus/Antonio doesn't really spark my interest, but the PTP/Hidden Identities and Ryback/Miz are programs that I could get invested in. There was more build-up between Punk and Cena. Actually, it was more padding than anything else, but Punk and Pauly's alliance is still a mystery, so I like that. Smarks will probably hate this show because of the match quality and repetitiveness, but I've always said good entertainment from wrestling is more than just matches. The show made me laugh, get me intrigued with a couple of angles, and I thought it was entertaining. If you didn't like the show, it's perfectly understandable, but I personally enjoyed it. That's gonna do it with the review and I hope you enjoyed it. As always, tell me what you thought of my review or tonight's show. I will see you guys and girls on the next WrestlingNerd show. See you next time.