John Cena vs. C.M. Punk for the Number One Contender Spot to face Del Rio at Night of Champions Review:
Punk starts early on Cena, taking him to the mat with his submission holds. Punk gets taken down with a few shoulder blocks and a side slam from Cena. He sets up for the 5 knuckle shuffle, but Punk rolls him up and gets a two count. Punk hits a spinning heel kick on Cena, followed by a knee to the face, and a bulldog to stop him. Cena tries to power Punk, but a flying clothesline from Punk is connected onto Cena. Cena reverses Punk into the STF. Desperately getting to the rope, Punk puts his foot up. Punk hits a GTS, but Cena kicks out. Punk misses an elbow drop and both men are down. Cena goes up top for the leg drop on the head of Punk. Elbows from Punk ground Cena, and hits a high knee on Cena for a quick two count. Cena hits the Attitude Adjustment, and Punk kicks out at two. Both men are on the top turnbuckle, as Cena gets knocked off. Punk gets caught and Cena lifts him on his shoulders, but Punk reverses it and gives a rollup. Punk smacks Cena with a swift kick to the back of the head. Nash comes out to distract Punk, Cena hits the Attitude Adjustment for the win. Cena and Del Rio go at it, and Del Rio stomps away at the new number one contender. Del Rio kicks Cena in the head, and John Lauranitis breaks up Del Rio from attacking Cena even more. Del Rio continues to annihilate Cena.
Reaction:
A great match once again from Punk and Cena. Both men work so well together, and thank Punk for bringing out the best in Cena. I liked how Nash came out at the end to cause Punk, as it makes his story more interesting to see what happens next. I loved the kick outs, and the back and forth action in the ring. Del Rio makes himself known that he is the champion at the end for the continued beat down of Cena, so everyone can make sure they know who he is. You intertwine your best storylines perfectly, and gives the fans more questions into next week, which is what episodic television is supposed to do. This segment gets an A.
Overall:
I really enjoyed Raw tonight. The down spots, obviously were the divas, as well as the mid card match. They need to figure out what to do with The Miz, because he is at his best by himself. Once again, the main two storylines dominate television time, which is what should be done, especially with how hot Punk is right now. The Tag Title switch was much needed, and we got exposed, but not over exposed with Cena/Triple H/Nash/Del Rio/Punk. I cannot remember a more crucial and interesting time in the WWE with the storylines beginning to come together, but still having secrets. We still do not know; A. Who Texted Nash B. If Nash will wrestle C. Will we see Steph/Vince D. Will Cena and Del Rio take over E. and What will Punk do and say next. I am interested to see what happens with these two stories next week as well. Overall, Raw gets a B+. They missed that one great mid card match to make this a complete success.
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