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Night of Champions


Matt D

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Why are we not talking about that main event? I think we need to talk about that main event. I thought it was a super smart match and was blessed by having JBL there on commentary. Punk had Cena scouted to the nth but Cena isn't human, he's (as JBL put it) the prototypical sports entertainer. That means herculean strength and comebacks. Punk wasn't just walking into Cena's shit like every other wrestler in the world but at the same time, Cena was able to power out of every big movement Punk was able to get going. To me the key moments were the power out of the Crossface and then, when Cena finally realized that they were at a stalemate, cutting out the bullshit for the first time in a year of very self-aware John Cena bullshit and hitting the fistdrop without any pageantry.

 

I didn't mind the multiple finishers given the scope of the match and the story of the match, though it's not my favorite thing in the world. It's not like they were no sold and the inability of either guy to put away the other in the end led to the finish. I thought the announcers did a great job believably explaining the moonsault too. As always, too many Punk head huddle called spots (What, it bugs me. I've been watching a shit ton of AWA where they don't need to do that to work long, intricate matches, so yeah, it bugs me), but in general, I thought it was a great match and while it didn't quite have the energy of MITB last year, I thought it more than made up for it in smarts. I had no problem with the finish. I'll take a double pin in the midst of a flash desperation move way outside of a guy's usual wheelhouse but that made sense in the context over the match over almost every other sort of bs dusty finish.

 

It's really been a strong year for both Cena and Punk.

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My comp went dead during Del Rio v. Sheamus which is too bad because it was good up until that point. Still this felt like a one match show. The WWE is just incredibly stale to me right now with programs/match ups run into the ground. I really was bored by most of it.

 

But Punk/Cena saved the show. It was a great match. Yeah the finisher run was lengthy and maybe a bit much. Yeah Cena blowing off the early stuff with the leg kind of annoyed me. But these guys have outstanding chemistry and over all this really came across like a top five WWE match of the year. Punk's mannerisms are great and the match had a real "going for broke" feel to it with both guys busting out fresh spots and counters. I really loved the moonsault, Cena tope and Punk counters of the five knuckle shuffle, but I think my favorite spot int he match was Punk channeling Martel/Rheingans with the perfectly timed drop toehold into the fast submission. I also liked the finish a whole lot as it really fit the theme of Punk's turn into the douchey heel, as he escaped on Cena's turf but didn't really beat him.

 

The more I watch Punk the more he seems like what would have happened if Jake Roberts had come up in the 90's and actually gotten a main event push. He's just really good on the big stage at getting over angles and working the little touches into matches. I know it won't happen but a part of me wants to see Punk as Flair, working ten minute near fall heavy matches against Tyson Kidd where he just escapes. I'd also kill to see him find a chickenshit way to beat Ryback after getting his ass kicked for seven or eight minutes.

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I'm not one of those "the tag teams aren't prestigious!" people, so I'm completely fine with the awesomely quirky Bryan/Kane comedy team. I love the gimmick and all of its absurdity. Happy they won the belts off of the terrible team of Kofi and Truth.

 

Sheamus/Del Rio was really good.

 

Punk vs Cena was fucking great. It wasn't their best match together, but they've had a lot of really great matches. I love how their Chi Town match and their Boston match have completely opposite dynamics and both worked at a very high level. CM Punk is an amazing heel. I almost forgot how good he can be after that long, tired babyface run. Holy shit, he was great in this match. He and Heyman are a great heel tandem. Heyman was great too at ringside with the facial expressions that only added to the selling of the key moments of "how the fuck do I beat this guy". That section reeked of Austin vs Rock WM17. When they went up top for the finish I thought for sure Punk would hit the Pepsi Plunge (especially after he hit the Crooked Moonsault and The Rock Bottom), but then reality set in. I thought the finish was unique and a break from the conditioned WWE style finishes that worked well in the context of the matches story and also got over Punks character going forward. I wonder how good Punk vs Rock will be? I can't imagine it being this good.

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I missed the pre show battle royal as at the bar drinking. Coming in on the train there was a lot of Cena shirts with a few Punk shirts here and there. But that was it as far as shirts. Some dude was dressed completely in Boss Man outfit. Complete with shades and buzz cut. I was impressed and probably one of my favorite moments of the show.

 

I was pretty shitfaced overall going in. Had a lot of fun watching the show live. Rhodes and Miz seemed to be moving really slow placed. Lots of comments about how Cara was not botching any moves. Crowd was behind Rhodes.

 

Bryan got a big response from the crowd. Everyone was big behind the Yes chants. He really is over with the live audience. Loads of Yes chants. I really enjoyed myself during this match.

 

I tuned out for the Divas match and the Orton match to get a beer fefill.

 

Punk/Cena was a lot of fun live to watch. Felt like most of the crowd was on Punk's side but Cena definately had his fans also. I had no idea why Heyman was out there but it was cool to see him on Punk's side. Really good match to watch Didn't have the big crowd atmosphere I was expecting but I enjoyed it.

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I really enjoyed Orton/Ziggler and the Main event. Ziggler/Orton seem to have good chemistry and I would like to see them feud when Ziggler wins the title hopefully soon. Main event was also great. The finish was nuts.

 

JBL added a lot to this show. It wouldn't have been as good without him really. Especially during the Orton and Cesaro matches.

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I know it won't happen but a part of me wants to see Punk as Flair, working ten minute near fall heavy matches against Tyson Kidd where he just escapes. I'd also kill to see him find a chickenshit way to beat Ryback after getting his ass kicked for seven or eight minutes.

Oh God, please no. If I were to list all the problems with the current product, "the championships are too protected" and "the heels aren't neutered enough" are the last things I'd come up with. If you're the world champion, you should be able to squash Tyson Kidd like a bug.

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I know it won't happen but a part of me wants to see Punk as Flair, working ten minute near fall heavy matches against Tyson Kidd where he just escapes. I'd also kill to see him find a chickenshit way to beat Ryback after getting his ass kicked for seven or eight minutes.

Oh God, please no. If I were to list all the problems with the current product, "the championships are too protected" and "the heels aren't neutered enough" are the last things I'd come up with. If you're the world champion, you should be able to squash Tyson Kidd like a bug.

 

Yeah, at best it should be Kidd getting some offense and a miracle two count, ala a Sam Houston vs. Flair, and then just have Punk destroy him.
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