WrestlingNerd Presents: WWE Raw Review 9/24/12 (WWE's Monday Night Football)

What up wrestling fans, I'm the WrestlingNerd bringing you another written review. Today, we take a look at WWE Raw 9/24/12. What happens this week? Let's find out and start the review. 

We open up the show with CM Punk and Paul Heyman. Punk pretty much stages a sit-in to get the referee from last week to admit his mistake and resign. Ah, the sit-in. One of the biggest cliches in pro wrestling that NEVER solves anything. You gotta love that!!! The referee comes out to apologize, but won't resign. He doesn't have to resign from his job, but can he resign from his bad acting? Dude, it's a microphone. You talk into it. It isn't going to electrocute you. Punk and Pauly present him a sleep-mask with a WWE and NFL logo on it. You know your officiating is getting bad when wrestling referees are more competent at their jobs than you. Once Punk starts to insult AJ for hiring rookie referees, AJ comes out to defend her decision. Did she really ask who Heyman was? He's Paul Heyman, bitch!!! That's when Punk informs us that if AJ doesn't wise up, he will reveal more telling details of their "relationship". AJ seems very concerned about this option. Don't worry AJ, it's a PG show. They won't talk about sex on this show, but there will be innuendos. Pauly steps in and makes AJ an offer for her hand in marriage to become the ultimate power couple. You can really tell WWE is still on their quest to get people to boo Punk. I think it's working to some degree, but Punk just works better when playing this character. Then again, I can see more people hating Punk after tonight, especially after Pauly showed his rape-face towards AJ. That's just wrong. Anyway, AJ slaps Pauly in the face. In a quick backstage scene, she actually bitches out the ref who blew the call last week. She issues a warning out to the refs to do their jobs right, or else. A pretty good opening segment. It stressed the major event from last week, while the WWE continues to take shots at the NFL. Then again, I think the NFL is doing that on their own. 

Match #1: Dolph Ziggler vs Kofi Kingston

Vickie Guerrero and R-Truth have a pointless scene that got them sent to the back. I remember when Truth used water as a weapon and it was funny. In a pretty good match, the finish comes when Dolph hits the Zig Zag for the victory. Very good opening match. It doesn't really do anything in terms of a storyline, but I can let it go…for now. 

Winner via pinfall: Dolph Ziggler

Dr. Shelby has another idea to get Daniel Bryan and Kane to get along. In a random diner, Kane is the waiter and Bryan is the customer. Kane is going by the name "Gerald" in this role-play. Apparently, Gerald cooked a guy earlier in the day, while Kane has no idea what he's talking about since he's Gerald. I love the way Kane delivered that line. These guys are getting funnier and funnier every week. They really are becoming the best part of the show. Later on in the night, we get a tribute to "When Harry Met Sally" with the diner scene. Mae Young wants what they're having….that's just inappropriate. We also have a scene where Bryan has to eat meat, while Kane has to eat a salad. Kane belches, while Bryan throws up on Dr. Shelby. Who says WWE can't do comedy? 

Match #2: Prime Time Players vs Zack Ryder and Santino

Another match that really serves no purpose to the storylines. At least it shows the PTP aren't completely going away, which is a good thing. In a short match, the PTP defeat the……Comedy Jobbers. One thing I didn't mention is because of AJ laying down the law on the referees, we have the commentators talking about how they are making sure they are getting calls right. I can continue with the NFL jokes, but I think I will start pissing people off by continuing this. 

Winner via pinfall: Prime Time Players

Mick Foley comes out and talks about how Punk has changed in the last few months. The two put together one hell of a promo. Seriously, this was some great stuff. Foley talked about how Punk needs to accept a HIAC match against Cena since he wants Punk to prove that he's a legend and NOT a statistic. Yeah, even the legends are giving Cena title matches. Sorry, I couldn't resist. Punk on the other hand doesn't want to do the match since he beat Cena and doesn't need to reduce himself to being a stuntman. This was probably my favorite scene of the night. It was compelling, eye-opening, and insightful. Highly recommend watching this segment. A lot of truth to what both guys talked about. 

Match #3: Ryback vs Miz

Miz puts up a fight, but Ryback was too much to overcome. Ryback wins with the Shell Shock. I can see some people being upset with this move. We would see Ryback later in the night. It could be an indicator in what's next for Ryback, but it's too early to make that claim. Somebody had too much to drink for this match. Seriously, what the hell do you gain by running out to the ring? Good job in wasting all the money you spent to get inside the building. 

Winner via pinfall: Ryback

Match #4: Wade Barrett vs Tyson Kidd

Another match to show Wade means business. Oh yeah, Wade's a tough guy in taking out people who aren't being used. I know, they are slowly building him up. Wade's new finisher is called the Souvenir. Yeah, I don't like the name. I'm just gonna call it the London Punch. 

Winner via pinfall: Wade Barrett

Match #5: Sheamus, Rey Mysterio, and Sin Cara vs Alberto Del Rio, David Otunga, and Ricardo Rodriguez

There was an interview with Jerry "The King" Lawler. It was kept professional and it's great to see his recovery going well. Hopefully, we will see him back really soon. I like Jim Ross, but there's no way Mysterio is the blue blur. The real blue blur is Sonic the Hedgehog, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. In a so-so match, the finish comes when Sin Cara hit a Senton Bomb on Ricardo for the victory. What does this accomplish? F*** if I know. You know, I was fine with a couple of these non-storyline matches, but this is getting ridiculous. 

Winner via pinfall: Sheamus and Team Power Rangers

It turns out the new name of Bryan and Kane will be Team Hell No. I mentioned to somebody in the comment section that I don't like the name. I don't know why, but I just don't like it. I think I liked Team Friendship because it was the total opposite of what Bryan and Kane represent. As soon as name is announced, Damien Sandow and Cody Rhodes attack Bryan and Kane. Team Rhodes Scholars announce that they will be taking those tag titles. Hmm, I kinda like the name. I thought it was pretty clever. On a totally different subject, I heard somebody complained about hating the idea of naming tag teams under Team "whatever". If you don't like this concept, than you've clearly never played Sonic Heroes. As for me, I could care less. That will show you what I'm made of. I don't mind this being a rivalry. I think it can be interesting. 

Match #6: Layla and Alicia Fox vs Eve and Beth Phoenix

Wow, this is a close game. I'm surprised how well the Seahawks are playing. I think they got-oh, I missed the match……..After the match, Kaitlyn claims she found a camera that determined her attacker was a woman with blonde hair. This is how much WWE doesn't care about the diva division. They don't even bother creating a crappy scene to show the attack. As bad as it looks, I'm laughing my ass off right now. Eve starts to blame Beth for attacking Kaitlyn, while Beth claims there's more to the story. It would obviously suggest that Eve hired Beth to do the job. Why Beth would accept the job is beyond me, but it's in the realms of wrestling logic. Eve is trying to hide her tracks by taking out Beth with her finisher. Before anyone says more about this, I'm aware of an online report suggesting that Beth is almost done with the company. Well, I don't buy dirt sheet reporting since a lot of that stuff can be false. With that said, I won't go any further on this subject until we gain more facts. 

Winner via pinfall: Who cares

Match #7: Tensai vs Brodus Clay

No Sakamoto this week? I'm guessing Tensai killed him off once and for all. Somewhere out there, Paul Bearer is screaming "amateur". The match didn't last long. Big Show returned and hit the KO punch on Tensai and Brodus. What does this accomplish? Well, it might be something involving Show/Brodus, but I think it was done to introduce Show back to the masses. Yes, Show is a destructive force….unless around Cena, Punk, Randy Orton, Sheamus, and any other major face. Speaking of Brodus, what's his deal right now? It looked like he was gonna be in a feud with Antonio Cesaro, but then gets beaten up by the Job Squad, and now this. Somebody in the creative staff just can't make a decision on what to do with Brodus. Brodus: The man of 1001 storylines…..and not one of them making any sense. 

No Contest

Kinda getting off topic here, but do you ever wonder if Cena wears his clothes everywhere? I'm convinced he sleeps in that until it's time to throw the shirt in the audience. Cena comes out and talks about the injury/surgery he had last week. You know you're overworking a guy when he comes off surgery and will probably be green-lighted to fight at the next PPV. Seriously, give him a break or else he'll burn out. Cena guarantees he will be at HIAC to fight. He was informed by Dr. Vince McMahon that he will be ready to compete by HIAC. What, you didn't know this? Look, PG insults by Cena….

Yeah, it was pretty bad listening to that. Punk interrupts and claims Cena is the perfect politician, always lying to the public. The two continue to argue until Punk warns Cena that he will destroy him if he doesn't leave the ring. Cena brought a pipe bomb of his own and smacks Punk with a pipe. Punk walks to the back and kicks Foley out of frustration. I can't attack Mr. Breakfast Cereal, but I can hurt Foley. Punk was about to attack Foley again, but Ryback was there to warn off Punk. And…..this is how the show ends. I thought it was odd that Ryback was put in this position. It's great to see Ryback get more exposure, but I don't think he's ready for something like this. I'm guessing this is the backup plan if Cena is not medically cleared to compete? Well…..I don't know. I just don't like the idea since Ryback should stick to mid-card feuds for the time being. If you rush the development of somebody, it could seriously screw them over for the rest of their career. Don't believe me? Look at Jack Swagger and you know what I'm talking about. Ryback looked like he just got done eating one of the kids Punk taunted. Just to clarify, I'm not saying I wouldn't want to see Punk/Ryback. In fact, that sounds like an awesome idea, but it's too soon for this to happen. Ryback is what you get when you give a Munchlax steroids. 

Overall Impression:

I enjoyed tonight's show. It wasn't perfect by any stretch. In fact, it could be considered an overload since there was a lot going on tonight. Then again, it shows WWE taking advantage of the time they have, but there still was a few moments that didn't involve storyline development. This mostly happened to some of the matches. Still, what made tonight's show were the Punk segments (Especially Punk/Foley), Bryan and Kane, and the Dolph/Kofi match. I think there was a good amount of stuff to watch. Some new things are developing and certain things are getting interesting. The show did have some dull spots, but no show is perfect these days. I would like to think that most people will get an enjoyment out of tonight's show. That's gonna do it for 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.