Super 20 - 2012, week 5

Super 20 - the top 20 wrestlers this week in wrestling.

Week 5 of 2012

Week 5 of 2012 and the week of the Royal Rumble! With Sheamus winning and going on to WrestleMania, will he claim the #1 spot in the even more important Super 20 rankings?

20 -16		James Storm Storm is great but I think that TNA are pacing him to a big one on one finale with Roode which will likely take place at Lockdown. Starred in a great Tables match with Roode, Hardy and Bully on Impact.
19 -6		Eric Young EY's routine seems to be ongoing every week, but I still keep balling with laughter at everything he does. His chemistry with all the knockouts is great and it would be hilarious and Russo-esque if he ever got a shot at the Knockouts title, or even the Knockouts tag team titles with ODB.
18 -7		Mark Henry The WSM is doing great to get by on the Super 20 on his promo strength alone, as he simply can't wrestle matches at the moment because of his injury. Cutting down Big Show and Bryan on Smackdown was great, especially saying Bryan has a "Napoleon complex". He still put on a half-decent match at the Rumble too, against Big Show and Bryan, but unfortunately Bryan retained the gold.
17 new		Hunico He kayfabe broke DiBiase's wrist on Smackdown which was great and his entrance on the lowrider bike with Camacho is still awesome every time. Would liked to have seen more from him in the Rumble, but there was a lot of comedy and nostalgia spots to cover.
16 -2		Chris Jericho After an intriguing Highlight Reel on Raw in where he promised the "end of the world" at the Royal Rumble, anything less than a Nexus-like shock angle would fail to meet expectations. The fact nothing happened sucked, but Jericho redeems himself for putting on a great finale to the Rumble with Sheamus.
15 new		Mick Foley The Cobra vs. Mr. Socko was the match that has been waiting to happen for the past year since Santino debuted his green sock puppet and we finally got to see it in action at the Royal Rumble. Foley looks out of shape but he still has the charisma to pull off fun spots in matches like this.
14 new		Aksana The debut of Aksana on the Super 20 has been coming for a long time, with all her Teddy Long cut-scenes full of innuendos that barely pass for PG. What did it this week was her entrance music for her first match on Smackdown, using the cheesy saxophone jazz and blue lighting that comes on when she is with her "Teddy bear."
13 -11		Michael Cole When Cole was berating Booker T and Jerry Lawler for entering the Royal Rumble, I had the feeling he would be entering also and my wishes were met as he entered and got comically eliminated by the returning Kharma. Also love the fact he still continues to run down Daniel Bryan despite his recent heel turn - he still sucks. Vintage Cole.
12 new		Santino Marella Sometimes Santino's comedy irritates me, but he was particularly hilarious this week - first walking into Natalya's fart on Smackdown and secondly his previously mentioned Cobra vs. Mr. Sock lock-up with Foley at the Rumble.
11 +9		Titus O'Neil Heel Titus stays on the Super 20 for a 2nd straight week, an amazing achievement for any NXT wrestler and especially when it was the week of the Royal Rumble AND he moved up 9 places. Anyone who isn't watching NXT should be to see this great star in action. A draft to Raw or Smackdown after WrestleMania is in order. A great match with ex-tag partner Percy Watson was a highlight of the week.
10 new		The Miz Lasting over 40 minutes in the Rumble, The Miz looked like a real star until he was unceremoniously eliminated by the Big Show near the end. I want to see The Miz in a high profile angle going into WrestleMania and lasting that long in the Rumble shows WWE still have faith in him.
9 +3		Sting A weekly fixture in this list, Sting is gold on Impact right now and he feels like a legitimate general manager with the way he goes about things, in his own crazy way. A brewing feud with Bully Ray has high potential of something great leading into the big Lockdown PPV in a couple of months.
8 -7		John Laurinaitis Big Johnny getting on his knees and telling Zack "woo woo woo, you know it" like he was a make-a-wish kid in his wheelchair was classic, as was his selling of the GTS on Raw, looking straight down to the floor. I wanted him to see him screw Punk out of the title at the Rumble and get his revenge, but I'm sure that is to come later.
7 new		Ricardo Rodriguez Double R was fantastic in the Rumble, and in one that was littered with comedy spots he stood out the most. The arena popped when they heard Del Rio's music, but Ricardo coming out in a banged out old car and donning Alberto's scarf was hysterical, as was his square off with Santino. It was cool to see him get a join elimination with Mick Foley.
6 -1		John Cena Despite his cringe-worthy constipation face on Raw this week, Cena was great in his role and had a stellar match with Kane at the Rumble. Shame that it went to a double count-out, but it makes sense if they want to prolong the feud to the next PPV.
5 new		Kofi Kingston So you think Kofi Kingston is first up in the fave five this week because of his awesome handstand walk at the Royal Rumble? Well, that would be the main reason - but a solid match on Superstars with Michael McGillicutty also showed me the Kofi Kingston we have been missing since his unfortunate pairing with the inept Evan Bourne in Air Boom. After 'Mania, a solid singles run near the top of the card should be in order for Kofi, after putting up with years of crap.
4 -1		Bully Ray Impact is starting to feel like the Bully Ray show, and on any other week the hardcore legend would have probably been number 1 in the list again, but he had to contend with the Royal Rumble - no mean feat. His brawl with Hardy to open Impact, as was the tag team tables main event at the end and the prospect of a Sting-Bully feud has me excited.
3 +12		Cody Rhodes Despite going out with a whimper, Rhodes was one of the biggest stars coming out of this year's Rumble - lasting over 40 minutes and eliminating many of the legends and nostalgia acts. He will be the next top heel in wrestling, possibly after WrestleMania.
2 new		Kane Unfortunately, Kane did not get to keep up his long streak of consecutive Rumble appearances, dating back over a decade - but he did break Ryder's back (kayfabe) and hopefully force him off TV for a while. The look on his face as he tombstoned Ryder at the Rumble PPV was priceless
1 +7		Sheamus The undisputed number 1 for this week, I was shouting at the TV in the final five minutes where Sheamus and Jericho went one on one at the end of the Rumble. As much as I love Jericho, Sheamus was the perfect winner here and this victory should be the one that propels him to real main event superstar levels. Though he has held the title twice before and had good feuds, main eventing a WrestleMania headline match should kickstar his career as a real big draw, which he can be for the WWE.

Super 20 - 2012, Week 4

Super 20 - the top 20 wrestlers this week in wrestling.

Week 4 of 2012

A revolutionary week this week, as 11 newcomers make it into the chart, some returning faces, a couple of brand new stars and the very first ever NXT entries.  Read on to find out...

20 new		Titus O'Neil After a decent match with Darren Young, Titus O'Neil cut a hilarious and random heel swerve promo for seemingly no reason.  The first ever NXT entry onto the prestigious Super 20.
19 new		Mickie James A great match with Madison Rayne this week on Impact, TNA knockouts keep showing the WWE barbie dolls how it's done.  Mickie James is probably the best female in-ring worker around, an underrated talent.
18 new		Jack Swagger That two minutes of Swagger beating the crap out of Zack Ryder and then pinning him to steal the U.S. title was one of the most satisfying things on Raw as of late.  About time that farsical run came to an end.  The U.S. title suits Swagger perfectly.
17 new		Vickie Guerrero If you didn't see Vickie Guerrero daning on this week's episode of Smackdown make sure you find it on Youtube. She's had some funny moments in her career, but this was amongst the best of them. She also played her part well on Raw in the opening promo, laughing in Mick Foley's face as Laurinaitis told him he couldn't be in the Rumble.
16 -13		Gunner A big win over AJ Styles for Gunner this week on Impact, but unfortunately no DDT to the concrete.
15 +2		Cody Rhodes After posting my Top 5 Hornswoggle moments article this week, I got a kick out of Cody Rhodes going after the little troll and beating on him until Justin Gabriel made the save. They had a decent five minute match, Cody showing how talented he is in the ring as always.
14 -10		Chris Jericho Jericho falls down 10 places, but his performance on Raw was still gold, walking out in the middle of the tag team match after hyping up the crowd. Still no idea where this is all leading to, it's keeping us all glued to find out week after week - great writing
13 new		Eric Young EY was hilarious as usual and his "match" with Angelina Love. He keeps finding news ways to make his grapple spot funny, even though we've all seen it 100 times already. His chemistry with ODB is amazing, they should become a legit tag team.
12 +3		Sting The boss of Impact was great in his role as GM, as he has been every week the last couple of months. A feud with Bully Ray could make for some great matches and promos.
11 +3		Mark Henry The WSM running down Teddy Long and his Vegas wheel on Smackdown was priceless. His match with Bryan wasn't so good, but that was down to bad booking more than anything. Desperate to see Henry take the gold against Bryan and Big Show at the Rumble - he deserves to main event WrestleMania.
10 new		R-Truth As I go through the list it feels like there were lots of great comedy segments in wrestling this week.  Truth's photoshop slideshow at Disneyland was brilliant, and the "I'm not even sure if that's PG" line was hysterical. I though R-Truth as a babyface might be terrible but it's actually turning out better than him as a heel.
9 new		Garrett Bischoff The training video of Garrett Bischoff on Impact this week was hilarious and epic, channelling the spirit of Rocky Balboa and Tony Montana with a cheesy 80's movie style montage. Just who is Bischoff's trainer?
8 new		Sheamus Sheamus and Wade Barrett put on a spectacle of a match on Smackdown this week and one of the best TV matches in a while, with their tables match. Less leprchaun and Irish comedy and more intensity like this from Sheamus and he will find a regular spot in the illustrious Super 20.
7 new		Wade Barrett Barrett just about gets the nod over Sheamus, but he had the benefit of enjoying the previously mentioned promo with R-Truth to get him there. The win over the Irish fella helps too. He seems like one of the odds on favourites to win the Royal Rumble in a few weeks.
6 new		Dolph Ziggler Mr. Ziggles has truly arrived. His promo destroying Mick Foley was incredible and for the first time ever Ziggler felt like a bonafide main eventer, with the mic skills to match his stellar in-ring work.
5 +13		John Cena Cena showed a side of him we haven't seen for a long time this week on Raw, physically decimating Jack Swagger in revenge for his assault and title win over Zack Ryder earlier in the night. He looked great as the pissed off tough guy and even showed heelish tendencies in his assault, Swagger coming off as kind of sympathetic. The Rise Above Hate angle continues, but where will it lead to?
4 -2		James Storm It's stupid that James Storm had to fight another #1 contendership match this week - this time against Jeff Hardy - but nevertheless Storm looked like a legit main event star on the mic and in the ring. He has it all to be the lead face of TNA and take them to next level, I believe - as I wrote in this article.
3 -2		Bully Ray If Storm is the top face in TNA right now, then Bully Ray is the top heel. A fantastic backstage segment with Sting showed off a great chemistry with the Insane Icon and the post-main event beatdown on Storm and Hardy with his trademark chain was a mark-out moment. After a feud with Sting, Bully deserves a PPV world title match sometime in the next few months.
2 new		Michael Cole Any Cole Miners out there who didn't watch this weeks episode of NXT: Redemption - go and watch it. Cole was good on Smackdown and heeled it up to his usual high standards, but on NXT he gave a blistering performance. He destroyed everyone and everything associated with the show, all in typical Cole fashion and turned what would have been a terrible, unwatchable wedding angle between Johnny Curtis and Maxine into a work of art with the gift of his voice. Vintage.
1 +11		John Laurinaitis John Laurinaitis becomes the first ever star to win the historic Super 20 for a second time, after a blistering performance on Raw. If the Ziggler-Punk title match at the Rumble had no heat going into it, that all changed after Laurinaitis completely sold the match with his brilliant promo work. Credit has to be given to Punk for his promo against Laurinaitis also, and he narrowly misses out on the top 20 this week - but Laurinaitis was on another level with his end promo, finally snapping after weeks of back-and-forth with CM Punk. His mannerisms when he finally snapped were amazing and I had flashes of early Vince Mcmahon, fixing the tie and wiping down his suit. Decking Foley with the microphone was a touch of class to finish the show. If CM Punk can keep his game up, this feud could be the next Austin-McMahon - and hopefully they will have some matches down the line.

Angle Of The Year Award 2011 - WDAFEISE

This Washington David Awards For Excellence In Sports Entertainment award, Angle Of The Year, goes to the best angle or feud within the last year.

5. Cody Rhodes' Broken Nose
Who would have thought a legitimate injury suffered by Cody Rhodes would have propelled him to the unforeseen heights he finds himself in today.  As the year of 2010 came to a close, Cody was one of the bright sparks on Smackdown, with his funny "Dashing" gimmick - but it wasn't until he came back with a protective mask that we saw the best of what he had to offer.  A long feud with Rey Mysterio also helped, with Cody beating Rey at WrestleMania in one of the best matches of the night, followed by a brilliant falls count anywhere match at Extreme Rules.  But it was Cody's promos that had us all enthralled, and his way with words payed off for him as he has become a regular in the opening promo slot on Smackdown.  His transformation and evolution over the year added much depth to his character, that when the mask finally came off, he didn't have Kane syndrome and suddenly become stale, or bald - but infact he became even better.  Little mannerisms like his face twitching and his nasal, "Whaaat"-repellent promo style remained and surely enough his character transformation will continue in to 2012 and result in a main event run sometime after WrestleMania.

4. Kurt Angle vs. Jeff Jarrett/Karen JarrettOne thing many wrestling fans complain about is short-sighted, hot shot angles that run their course in a matter of 1 or 2 months, but the Angle-Jarrett feud of 2011 was one that dated back to 2010 when Jarrett began his Double J, Double M-A gimmick, mocking Angle before his comeback by utilising his ankle lock submission.  In fact, it  went even futher back than that, with Karen Jarrett (nee Angle) being one of the cental plot devices in this grudge feud, and we all know the story there.  Aside from the introduction of Chyna at one point, this angle was perfect throughout and we were spoiled with great match after great match between the two veterans.  When you put together two guys who are unarguably two of the best wrestlers of all time, along with the fact that they are both fantastic on the mic (including Karen Jarrett, who was probably even better than both) - magic happens, and so it did.  The Lockdown cage match was the highlight of the feud, in one of the matches of the year, but it continued on long after that right into the Summer in their final payoff fight on Impact in the parking lot brawl, which Angle as the face rightfully won.  People can criticise Russo and Bischoff all they like, but both guys know how to write a long, drawn out feud.

3. Michael Cole vs. Jerry LawlerAt the start of 2011, the must-see star of Raw was not infact the self-proclaimed "must-see" WWE champion, The Miz.  It was the "voice of the WWE", Michael Cole.  With seemingly a new crowd-riling catchphrase born every week, Cole was one of the stars of Raw - talking over every boring mid-card and divas match, keeping the viewers engaged throughout the show with his heel antics.  But when he started cutting promos in the ring on Jerry Lawler, after costing him the WWE title, Cole propelled himself into the main event of the WWE - a place nobody a year ago would have expected him to be.  For he was just the lowly, goodie two shoes commentator who had no personality of his own, except to schill the next PPV with a soulless, drab voice.  Cole had become the best heel in wrestling since JBL, universally hated by marks and smarks alike, a fear rarely achieved.  With only  0.5-1% of viewers enjoying the new "vintage" Cole, we became known as the "Cole Miners".  He stood for everything we believed in wrestling and everything on our minds, he dared to say it,  every week.  Daniel Bryan - boring midget with no charisma.. Jim Ross - fat, arrogant buffoon who can't put two words together anymore.. Jerry Lawler - 10 years past his sell by date.  And nobody could touch him, because he was in the sacred space known as the Cole Mine.  He won at WrestleMania after getting a beat down and even when Cole naturally lost his feud, it was fun to watch him get his just deserts and see JR spray BBQ sauce all over him - because he sold it better than anyone.  Quite simply, Cole was, for half of 2011, the best heel in wrestling for the last 5 years.

2. John Cena vs. CM Punk
Another boring, stale Raw was coming to a close in the breezy Summer of 2011, in a main event match I can barely remember - just that John Cena was in it - and then out came CM Punk, donned in a Stone Cold t-shirt of all things, and proceeded to cut one of the best promos of the year, one that set the internet ablaze... Punk had, in his own words, "broken the 4th wall".  Still a heel at the time, Punk became the anti-establishment "voice of the people" and dared to rail against the WWE, Vince Mcmahon, The Rock and of course John Cena.  The year could have easily been a boring one, with the main event of WrestleMania 28 already set as Cena vs. The Rock, but WWE dared to do something out of the ordinary for two months or so it paid off.  We got two of the matches of the year in Cena-Punk I and Cena-Punk II and the chemistry between both men was what made the feud.  But Punk wasn't the only piece - John Cena played his part just as well.  Make no mistake about it, Cena helped elevate Punk to the level he is at today by being the "New York Yankees" guy.  And even though the current CM Punk on Raw is a shadow of his former self, for those 2 months with Cena, he was the most exciting thing in wrestling for a long time.  The world was tuning in just to see what CM Punk had to say each week.  Though we all knew he wasn't truly "shooting" to a full extent, our disbelief was suspended just for a short time and we were able to watch as we did as children, believing there was some legitimacy in everything that was happening - and that is when wrestling is at its best...



1. John Cena vs. The Rock (Winner)
...which is why John Cena vs. The Rock is the best angle of the year.  Is there a legitimate beef between Cena and Rock?  Maybe, maybe not - but making the comeback of the year, Rock's admittedly brilliant comeback promo quickly made a target of John Cena set the tone for the rest of the year.  For an angle that is barely in its infancy stages, it shows just how grand a feud it is for it to be the winner of this prestigious award.  Even CM Punk vs. John Cena itself was in part inspired by this feud, as Rock's (real) name (Dwayne) was all over their semi-shoot promos every week.  Cena, Punk, Orton and others have all come out saying that Rock is nothing more than a glorified celebrity guest host, which may be true - but it doesn't stop the fact that Cena and Rock is the feud of 2011, going into 2012.  Every angle involving Cena on Raw throughout the year has been touched in some way by this feud - including his current "Rise Above Hate" angle ongoing with Kane.  As much as the main event (and whole show) of WrestleMania 27 sucked, it was made up for the fact that we were promised the dream match of Cena-Rock the year after, in The Rock's hometown of Miami.  A match nobody can truly predict in any way.  Who will win?  Will Cena be heel going into the match, and if not will he turn heel?  Will Cena get booed out of the building?  As disappointing as Survivor Series main event of Cena/Rock vs. The Awesome Truth was, WrestleMania should be different - perhaps, in the immortal words of Tony Schiavone, the greatest match in the history of our sport.

Honorable mentions: Orton-Christian, Mark Henry's Hall of Pain, Hogan-Sting, Bound For Glory Series, R-Truth goes insane

Ten reasons why Daniel Bryan sucks and five pointers on how he can become good

Ever since Daniel Bryan came to the WWE, all I have heard from people is how great he is, how he is the best worker in the business today.  While Bryan is indeed a fine worker in the ring, there are a number of reasons he is nowhere near up to par with all the former Money in the Bank briefcase holders.  Ten reasons to be precise..

1. He looks like a pretentious art student, not a wrestler.  As Michael Cole wisely said, he looks like he should be a barista in a coffee shop.  Probably a vegan one.

2. He is almost on par with Rey Mysterio for size but tries to get over using moves like kicks instead of speed and high flying.  His kicks don't look tough, they look weak and ineffective.

3. He says he is a submission master, but I've only ever seen him perform 3, maybe 4 submission moves in a WWE ring.  How many credible opponents has he made tap?  Not many.  The Lebell lock looks like a weak version of the Crippler Crossface.  Even Hunico (as the fake Sin Cara) did a better version of the Lebell Lock on Bryan that made the "submission master" look lame by comparison.

4. When Daniel Bryan gets "intense" in his matches I don't recall the likes of Chris Benoit or Goldberg, instead I think of when Jamie Noble used to get angry in his matches.  He looks like a midget comedy figure, not a bad-ass.

5. He has one of the corniest theme tunes ever, based on a flamboyant Wagner piece and the production of the track sounds as bad as a TNA theme.  His debut theme in WWE was great, but he buried it in one of his trademark dull promos by calling it a "generic rock song" and ever since then he has had an array of crap themes that don't make him look like a bad-ass at all.  They make him look like a joke.

6. Stupid people slate Cena for having only "5 moves of doom", but Bryan is even worse.  A running flip off the turnbuckle, followed by ducking a clothesline then hitting his own clothesline.  The same kicks to the chest while his opponent kneels in every match.  The Lebell lock and the Cattle Mutilation which he can never lock in properly because he's too small (so he ends up just stamping on his opponent's thighs instead) - that's only 4 moves of doom, even worse than Cena.  Unless you count the flip off the turnbuckle, then you've got your 5.

7. When Michael Cole stands face to face with Bryan, Cole looks like the tougher son of a bitch.  Cole cuts a much better promo.  Cole is overall better star than Daniel Bryan...  Cole is an announcer, not a wrestler!

8. His promos are boring and the only time he has ever had a decent promo is when Michael Cole has carried him through one.

9. When he first came to the WWE he had an arrogance that he was better than his NXT "pro" The Miz.  He wasn't, and still isn't.  The Miz had been wrestling in arenas for 5 years, Bryan had been wrestling in high school gyms for 10.  While Bryan has improved a lot since he first started out, he still hasn't put on as many standout matches as Miz has had in the same amount of time.  While it's true Miz has been afforded more oppurtunities than Bryan, Bryan has still yet to prove why he had the moniker of "best in the world" during his time in ROH.  Perhaps he was the best guy ROH had at the time, but that's not saying much.

10. As Wade Barrett said on Twitter, "Daniel Bryan is a briefcase wanker"

I don't want to be negative against mah bhhoooy Deeee-Bryaaaan, otherwise I'll start to remind myself of the losers who run guys like Mason Ryan into the ground without giving him a chance.  I hate people who are overly critical of others, and I respect the hell out of all wrestlers for what they do, including Daniel Bryan.  What I will do is give some pointers to him for when he inevitably reads this article, on how to change up his character and make himself more appealing as a WWE wrestler.

1. Get a new theme, one like your original, one that has NOTHING to do with the Ride of the Valkyries.  If you're that obsessed with the song, let me point out to you that the composer, Richard Wagner - while brilliant - was an anti-semite.  Unless you're going to change to a Neo-Nazi gimmick then drop the fuckin' thing because it isn't getting over and never will.

2. Speaking of your entrance, stop doing the side skip thing you do when you come out.  I get you're a babyface, but you don't have the charisma other small guys like Jericho have.  That's not something to be ashamed of - use it to your advantage.  Look at someone like Chris Benoit who also had no charisma, but still got over.  Make yourself deadly serious in your approach and start that by changing your ring entrance.

3. You have to admit to yourself you're a small guy and take advantage of that fact, not try and hide it.  Mysterio got over because he used his size to his advantage and you should do the same - use sneaky, fast paced moves more and less hard-hitting moves.  While the kick to the chest looks cool, using it every match makes it gimmicky and takes you out of the realism of the match - something a wrestler of your type shouldn't be doing.  Use way more submission moves.  You're supposed to be the submission master, but you barely use as many as you should.  You have to give the illusion your opponents are worried you can lock them into a submission at any time, so use easy ones that you can reverse moves into doing - like the ankle lock, armbar and other such holds.

4. Shave the damn beard off, it looks ridiculous and plays into the coffee shop barista-vegan stereotype.  While it's cool to promote veganism (I'm a meat-eater but I admire vegans for their strength of character and beliefs), it's not bad-ass, which is the illusion you  need to convey.

5. In your promos, less can be more.  Come across as more cold and distant rather than your every day self.  It will give you an edge.  The over-the-top intensity in your matches is stupid and looks fake.  Study the likes of Randy Orton on how to come across as intense without going crazy all over the place.  Make it look as though the intensity is festering inside you, don't just randomly start screaming and jumping all over the ring looking like a spoilt brat child.

See, there's potential in you yet kid.  One day you can make it, because I see the drive in ya.  But you've gotta take a step back, humble yourself and .  Just because 20% of the audience are chanting Daniel Bryan doesn't mean you're over - that just means the internet like you because the dirt sheets have told them to.  The other 80% could care less.  But don't let that get you down, you're on your way to the top and definitely better than you were this time a year ago.  I believe in you..

Now hit my fuckin' music *drops mic*

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly - 25th July WWE Raw

The first Raw of the "Triple H" era

The Good

• John Cena vs. Rey Mysterio
  All the people who say John Cena can't wrestle, John Cena only has 5 moves etc. were once again proved wrong tonight, as they were at Money In The Bank.  Obviously haters will continue to hate, and in a way it is good because it's one of the driving forces in the Punk/Cena angle - but this match was amazing for a TV match and was a much more exciting affair than the 1st title match of the evening.  Mysterio locking in the STF will probably be the most memorable moment, but overall the match was well worked as you would expect from these two top stars.

• CM Punk Appears
  This was an awesome moment and unexpected.  I think if anyone was expecting a swerve at the end, it would have been Del Rio cashing in his Money In The Bank briefcase and I doubt many saw this coming, even with Punk interrupting the Triple H press conference earlier in the week.  I didn't like the theme tune change, but having read that it was his original music in ROH it seemed like a cool idea.  'Cult of Personality' definitely fits the character of CM Punk.  I think Punk has arrived at the point where he can truly consider himself on the top level of stars now, along with John Cena and Randy Orton - the only other 2 current members of the WWE roster I consider to be at that top level.  And when are they going to put that white shirt on WWEshop.com?  I need it!

• Triple H
  I'm still undecided on whether it is a good move to have Triple H as the new on-air authority figure, but I'm tilted more towards it being a good thing right now.  The fact he is going to be on Smackdown as well this week is good too, as I'm sick of seeing Smackdown get the B-show treatment.  If you treat it like a B-Show, fans will think of it as a B-Show and stop watching.  The comedy bits with R-Truth were particularly funny and Michael Cole was awesome as usual with his delivery.

• Michael Cole
  While I'm a big fan of Michael Cole, I feel his time on commentary has run its course and it's time to move on.  Hopefully they transition him into a full time comedy-wrestler act, because he could actually have some engaging lower-card feuds and put guys like Zack Ryder over with his promo skills.  The main event was much better without Cole commentating on it and felt much more like a sport than an entertainment show, which is the difference between J.R. and Cole.  I also thought Cole coming out to King of Kings was hysterical.

• Dolph Ziggler
  I loved the Ziggler theme tune already, but this new remix with the guitar solo included is truly "perfection" for his character.  I loved Ziggler's ad-libbing, but I didn't really get the "follow that" bit.  Is that referring to Twitter?  I love seeing the sleeper come back as his finisher too, the Zigzag thing seemed ineffective to me.

The Bad

• The Miz vs. Rey Mysterio
  This match didn't really deliver and was definitely overshadowed by the later main event.  The fact it was on first

• Kofi Kingston vs. Alberto Del Rio
  I understand why this needed to happen, since Del Rio lost to a mid-card guy last week and needed to regain his heat, but it isn't a match that should have been hyped throughout the show as if it was something special.

• John Morrison's Return
  I can't stand the guy, he's so dull and pointless and has had enough chances to prove himself and never done so.  The only good thing that could come out of this feud is if R-Truth gets more mic time (and Morrison hopefully gets none).

The Ugly

• Rey Mysterio's Champagne Celebration
  This champagne celebration after Mysterio winning the WWE title was so lame and corny - it made Rey look like a clown who only hangs around with NXT jobbers.  I didn't even know half the guys' names in the background since I haven't watched that show since the classic 3rd season.

• That guy from the beer adverts tattooing one of the Bella Twins
  I got a laugh out of it, but still.. it brought back dark memories of the celebrity guest GM days of yesteryear.

Overall Rating and Summary
Until the CM Punk reveal at the end of the show this felt like a disappointing Raw, but in retrospect it was pretty good.  I had negative feelings for most of the show because I didn't see the Punk reveal coming after the title match and felt like things had returned back to normal with them putting out a thoughtless, campy Raw - but more things made sense in the end and storylines developed further.  Setting up Cena-Punk II at Summerslam is awesome and I like the idea of them both holding a different title belt.  Raw is doing a great job at getting you to come back next week and see what happens at the moment and is rewarding hardcore fans who invest time in the product.
Mark: 7/10