RAW Comments (06/20/2011)

RAW was live from the 1st Mariner Arena in Baltimore, Maryland this week. Here are my RAW comments.

 

The “Power to the People” poll questions and results were very interesting. The first poll asked who should be Brie Bella’s opponent and Kelly Kelly won the poll and eventually the Diva’s Championship. Assuming the voting was legit (and I think it was), the fans decided the fate of the Diva’s Championship. I can imagine one of the WWE executives actually going up to Kelly Kelly and saying something like, “Hey Kelly Kelly. You MIGHT win the Diva’s Championship tonight. The only thing in the way of your first Diva’s Title is the WWE Universe. You better hope they vote for you!”

Then the fans got the opportunity to pick Evan Bourne’s opponent. The choices were Jack Swagger, Mason Ryan, or Sin Cara. I voted for Sin Cara and Mason Ryan ended up getting the most votes! WWE.com revealed that there were some “technical difficulties that occurred during the ‘Power to the People’ edition of Raw on Monday night.” According to the WWE, Sin Cara actually got 90% of the vote. That sucks because I’m sure Sin Cara vs. Evan Bourne would have been a much more enjoyable match.  

Another poll I thought was interesting was the poll to determine the match stipulation for the triple threat #1 contender match featuring Rey Mysterio, CM Punk, and Alberto Del Rio. The choices were no disqualification, falls count anywhere, or submission. I would have laughed if the “no dq” stipulation was picked because triple threat matches ARE “no dq”. Submission would have been another interesting choice because Rey Mysterio doesn’t have a submission hold and I can’t imagine either Mysterio or Del Rio tapping out to CM Punk.

I could go on and on about each poll question but I want to move on so I’ll take a look at my favorite poll question. The last poll was to determine what kind of a match the main event would be. The choices were a 20 minute time limit match, a one fall match, or an elimination match. What kind of poll is that? Unofficially, the choices were a normal match, a normal match, or an elimination match. RAW matches usually don’t last anywhere near 20 minutes and why would anyone want to see a one fall match? That poll was weird. Obviously, the elimination match choice was picked.

I was a little surprised that Zack Ryder wasn’t in any of the “Power to the People” voting polls. Maybe Vince McMahon was afraid people would think the voting was rigged no matter what happened if Ryder was one of the choices. If Ryder won, then all the kids would be saying, “How did that loser get all of the votes? Rigged!” If Ryder didn’t win, then all of the Internet Wrestling Community would be saying, “Zack Ryder didn’t win? Rigged!” Is that the reason why Vince didn’t include Ryder? Probably not. It’s actually a big conspiracy to keep Zack Ryder off TV. Ryder, R-Truth, and Christian should form a stable and call themselves the “Conspiracy Victims”.

The signs in the crowd were interesting. I saw one sign say, “These Seats Suck” even though the guy had ringside seats and another sign said, “I hate my life”. I never knew the people of Baltimore were so negative. Maybe that’s why Maryse hasn’t called that guy whose sign said, “Maryse, you said you’d call!” I did enjoy the “Call up Rollins” sign. That’s a reference to WWE developmental superstar Seth Rollins whose name was Tyler Black in Ring of Honor. I don’t know much about the guy but I doubt he could make RAW any worse.

I loved that in-ring segment featuring R-Truth, The Miz, and Christian. If you haven’t seen it yet, then you need to YouTube it or something. It was hilarious. How Dare You! Really? Randy! Riley! Jimmy!

RAW showed a video of “Little Jimmy” throwing his drink in the face of R-Truth at Capitol Punishment. The announcers said that the footage was filmed by a “fan” at the event. I’ve been to several WWE Events and the first thing they tell you is “No video cameras allowed.” They even put it on the ticket. That includes cell phones and digital cameras that can take video. So did they really show illegal footage that was recorded by a fan? I’m not sure if that YouTube user isn’t a plant because his YouTube account was just created a couple days ago and that video is the only video he has uploaded so far. Regardless if he is a plant or not, the WWE is making it seem like making videos at WWE Events and putting them on YouTube is okay to do but really it is not. I’m not sure why they would do that.

CM Punk was the star of the night. His opening promo was great. He even said “wrestler” during the promo which is a banned word. Later, he said “World Wrestling Entertainment” which is a phrase that the WWE doesn't want to be said anymore. I guess he has become that guy who just says whatever he wants and doesn’t give a shit about what happens to him. Punk’s triple threat match with Del Rio and Rey was very enjoyable. There was not a lot of nearfalls but I was on the edge of my seat during the entire match.

CM Punk vs. John Cena at Money in the Bank in Chicago will be epic. I’m still in shock that this match is actually going to happen. The Chicago fans usually always boo John Cena and Punk gets cheers even as a heel. It should be a great match but the potential crowd reaction for the match should make this a must-see match.

If you need proof that Punk will be cheered and Cena will be booed, just look at how the Chicago fans reacted on March 28 of this year during the last RAW before Wrestlemania 27.

Here is the crowd reaction to John Cena: 

Here's the crowd reaction to CM Punk:

I have no doubt the crowd response during the match will be epic. I can’t wait to see how the storyline unfolds in the next few weeks before the match. I think this will be a better feud than Punk’s Wrestlemania feud with Randy Orton.

CM Punk said on RAW that after the July 17^th Money in the Bank PPV, he will leave the WWE. CM Punk has been rumored to leave the WWE later this year but he recently made comments on Twitter that were almost the exact same thing he said in 2005 for a feud while he was in Ring of Honor. Punk did end up leaving ROH in 2005 but the storyline said he would be leaving in June 2005 and he didn’t leave until August. So maybe this is just a storyline and Punk will actually stay past the Money in the Bank PPV. We’ll see. If MitB is Punk’s last appearance in the WWE for 2011 and maybe forever then Chicago is a great place for CM Punk’s farewell night.

I loved Punk’s promo when he announced that his contract will expire on July 17^th. Here is what Punk said, “July 17^th is the day my contract with World Wrestling Entertainment comes to an end. That means…when the clock strikes midnight…the 17^th becomes the 18^th…Sunday bleeds into Monday…I’m leaving…and trust me when I tell you…I am leaving with the WWE Championship.” Punk is an artist on the mic. I like his mic skills more than his wrestling skills. I will miss him if he does indeed leave the WWE.

I found it interesting that Punk is threatening to leave the WWE with the WWE Championship. Will we see the Chicago Screwjob at Money in the Bank? 

That's all the comments I got for this RAW. This RAW was CM Punk's night. The Cena-Punk feud might end up being my favorite feud of the year. It should be a fun road to Money in the Bank.