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Looking at the major angles on the show:
Money in the Bank
With three-quarters of the participants in the Smackdown brand Money in the Bank match at the next pay per view announced, we got to experience the next step in the build for this match on July 18th. With the announcement being mentioned on WWE.com earlier in the week, it allowed for this to be built up on Superstars as well and it was discussed by Striker and Grisham during the match between Curt Hawkins and Christian.
On Smackdown, we got the Peep Show with Matt Hardy and Christian talking about the Money in the Bank match as well as providing the recent history of ladder matches and how much Hardy and Christian have a role in that history. They also got to talk about how they have never been World Champion so there is more emphasis for them because they have held almost every other title.
In addition to Christian and Matt Hardy, the other four men who were announced for the match were Big Show, Kane, Cody Rhodes, and Kofi Kingston. While Big Show was more interested in dealing with what Jack Swagger did to him last week, Kane was too busy dealing with the attack on his brother, and Kofi Kingston did not get a chance to talk; Cody Rhodes decided to interview himself about his impending victory in the Money in the Bank Match and his eventual Dashing Title Reign.
With two spots open, it sets up some interesting scenarios for those spots. Will we simply get an announcement or will there be qualifying matches for those two spots? Are the six spots in the match secure or will someone take those spots?
Who Turned Undertaker into a Vegetable
When Kane told the WWE Universe that the Undertaker was found in a vegetative state over the Memorial Day weekend, my first thought was that since Kane was blaming everyone else for the attack on the Undertaker that he was the one who did it. Kane’s top four suspects happened to be the four men in the Fatal Four Way match for the World Title. Kane then determined that it was CM Punk who was responsible for the attack despite Punk’s multiple claims that he did not do it.
This week, we saw Kane face Luke Gallows and when it looked like an injured CM Punk was going to be attacked by Kane, Serena ran to ringside and tried to reveal why CM Punk could not have been responsible for the attack on the Undertaker. I will discuss that in more detail below.
Now that Kane can scratch off the list the man he was sure was responsible for the attack on the Undertaker, who will Kane go after next? Will he blame the people in the Money in the Bank match with him for the attack or does he turn his attention to the other three men?
Is the Straight Edge Society Falling Apart?
When CM Punk was trying to get Rey Mysterio to join the Straight Edge Society, there were the first signs of a crack in the foundation of the group which preached avoiding the vices that have poisoned society. Punk’s devoted followers were loyal to the man who turned their lives around and were willing to do anything to placate their savior and spread the Straight Edge message.
Last week CM Punk stated his innocence in the attack on the Undertaker but Kane would not believe him and as a result, Punk suffered an ‘injury’ that caused great emotional strain for Serena. This week, she begged for CM Punk to end this and let Kane know why he could not have been responsible for the attack. Punk did not want to divulge this information but Serena vowed that she would tell if Punk was in danger.
After Luke Gallows and the unknown masked member of the Straight Edge Society could not stop Kane, it looked like Kane would exact more revenge on CM Punk. However, Serena would not allow that to happen and she sprinted to the ring to tell Kane that Punk did not injure the Undertaker. Over Punk’s objections, Serena revealed video from the night that the Undertaker was injured and instead of preaching the values of the straight edge lifestyle, Serena was having a relapse into the world that put her in a fog before being saved by Punk. Eventually, we saw CM Punk and the rest of his Straight Edge minions pull Serena out of her tailspin.
Has Serena’s temporary relapse and revelation caused a rift in the Straight Edge Society that cannot be repaired? Will this cause the same problems for Luke and our mystery member? What does this mean for CM Punk’s leadership qualities? How will Punk deal with Serena and her insubordination?
Here are my thoughts on the show:
With the way that they hyped Rey Mysterio’s appearance on the show, I was a bit surprised that he did not get to address the crowd at the start of the show. While he was involved in the opening angle, it was secondary.
I really liked Jack Swagger’s promo, but there were parts of it that seemed like they were simply taken from last week’s promo and added with new material. Swagger has a right to be angry about losing the title, but I wish he would talk more about being a great athlete than trying to find a loophole to get his title back. It makes him come off as another Drew McIntyre type character who has to complain when he fails. During this promo, it felt like I was listening to a JBL promo based on the speech pattern and the way that Swagger handled the material. He sounded confident and was trying to convey that he is willing to do whatever it takes to win and that he showed that he could take down a giant with the ankle lock so why should he be afraid of someone like Rey Mysterio. Swagger did a good job of providing a verbal description of the pain that Big Show felt while in the ankle lock.
I thought Big Show went for too much comedy at the start of his promo with Swagger. I thought when he got to asking Swagger to try it again, it got better. I liked that Show was limping because even though it has been a week, it was a severe attack by Swagger and it shows how devastating the ankle lock was. While Show wanted to face Swagger again, Swagger had nothing else to prove against Show so it made sense that he did not want to face him again. Show had something to prove so he should have gone to the ring to confront Swagger.
The addition of Cody Rhodes into the segment elevated Cody to the next level and put him in an angle with the number one contender for the World Title as well as the World Champion. Cody looked effective working with Jack Swagger to try to take care of Big Show. With Cody and Show both in the Money in the Bank match, it could lead to a short feud between the two.
I was a bit surprised that during the brawl at the end of the opening segment when Cody was sent into the ropes with a head scissors that he went to the floor instead of falling into the ropes to tease a 619.
I like that they announced some of the participants of the Money in the Bank match in advance so they could push the match on Superstars this week. With two spots open, it allows for Teddy Long and Vickie Guerrero to potentially add one person each to the match. There are a number of people on Smackdown who could fit into the match.
I thought the Kingston/Ziggler match was a bit disappointing but it was secondary to the storyline that if Ziggler won the match, he would get an Intercontinental Title match in the future. There was more tension between Ziggler and Vickie than between Ziggler and Kingston during this match. I hope this isn’t the end of their feud because they have worked well in the ring
It made sense that Vickie would be frustrated with Ziggler’s loss because if she is advocating someone who cannot win, it makes her look bad.
I was a bit surprised that Serena would be so vocal when dealing with Punk and trying to make sure that everyone knew why he was innocent. I did like that Serena showed concern for Punk because of the surgery and that she wonders what Kane might do next.
The Peep Show was a mixed bag. There was some good with the way that they pushed the Money in the Bank match at the pay per view and how much they want to win so they can secure their legacy based on the titles they have won in the past. It also gets the crowd to know how familiar both men are with the ladder match. I liked when Christian usurped Matt’s catchphrase to tell him that he would not win the match at the pay per view.
Unfortunately, most of the Peep Show came off as two high school kids who were trying to one up the other, but in the end, neither man could walk out with their head held high. When Matt was talking about all of the problems that he had, I was hoping that Christian would have told Matt that his issues with Edge and Lita were years ago and that he needed to let go. The part with both men saying that they would win at the same time came off as something you would see on an episode of Saved by the Bell, not a wrestling show. At least neither of them yelled out ‘jinx’.
With the way that the WWE ignores the title history in other companies of most wrestlers, I always find it funny how they talk about how Christian never held a World Title even though he is a two time NWA Champion.
The Alberto Del Rio video packages are okay, but with the addition of NXT as a way to let the audience get to know the new talent, these video packages lose their effect. It does not stand out the same way that the Razor Ramon vignettes did when he was about to debut in the WWF.
The Kane/Gallows match served more as a springboard into the storyline than anything else since it was such a short match.
I wonder why CM Punk didn’t have an SES logo on his sling because I could see people buying them.
If Serena does not come to the ring with the rest of the Straight Edge Society, she should be required to run to the ring.
I thought the set up to the video was better than the video itself. There was a lot of tension between Serena and Punk over whether or not it should be broadcast. Punk was willing to let Kane injure him further than to let people see that he might not be an effective leader since Serena lapsed.
I think the best part of the video was the unintentional need to cover up the fact that the video was made recently despite being dated May 31st since CM Punk had a full head of hair at that time but is follicularly deficient now. Punk had talked about how important his hair was, but he was wearing a hat during the confrontation in the bar. Punk did look a little like Ivan Koloff with a hat on the video.
When Chavo came out and told Vickie that he wanted the same deal as Ziggler, I really hope he only meant the opportunity for a title match because if he was seeking any of the other benefits that Dolph might or might not be receiving, that would just be creepy.
If Chavo had won his match with MVP, would he really deserve a title match since Chavo hasn’t won too many matches in the last year.
I did not like the Chavo/MVP match. It looked sloppy and was something that you would expect from the NXT rookies, not from someone who has been wrestling as long as Chavo.
One thing that happens too much in matches is when a wrestler tries a high impact move but the opponent moves and the wrestler is able to avoid the impact of a missed move or when a wrestler tries a move and the opponent moves out of the way and is nowhere near where the impact takes place but they still do the move. During Chavo’s match with MVP, he went up top for a frog splash but he dove out and did a roll on the mat instead of hitting the mat flat after going out. The same thing happens when Chris Jericho tries for the Lionsault but he lands on his feet because he ‘knows’ that his opponent will not be there, or when Evan Bourne tries for the shooting star press too early in the match and he lands on his feet. It makes things seem too choreographed.
The Kelly Kelly/Michelle match was okay, but another match that was more a storyline advancement. Now that Kelly has beaten both of the co-champions, will she get a title match? Will she have to beat both women to win the title or will one pinfall be enough? If Michelle and Layla lose the titles, does that mean the end of the synchronized dance on the ramp?
Before the match started, Tiffany was sent shoulder first into the ringside barrier and was then shown rubbing her shoulder during the early part of the match, but when she hit Layla with a clothesline, she used her right arm (the one that was sent into the ringside barrier) without any apparent pain.
I did not like Rey Mysterio’s promo. If he was going to address the crowd for the first time since winning the title, I expected him to speak a bit longer. It also sounded like the same type of promo he cut before he won the title.
I thought the main event was good and was the best match of the show, almost by default. I thought all four men worked well together in the match. I thought Cody improved his position a lot with his performance in the match. I did not like the spot when Swagger caught Rey on the springboard moonsault and then tried to throw Rey off to allow Rey to hit the DDT. Swagger should have known better. Of course we always see people fall into the ropes against Rey differently than they would against any other opponent. I thought the spot with Swagger putting Rey in the ankle lock was well done and I really liked the way that Swagger held on and kept Rey in the hold as he backed away from Big Show. I was hoping Swagger would have pulled Rey to the back while still in the ankle lock, but it looked good when he released the hold as he went out the other side of the ring.
What to watch on DVR: Jack Swagger’s promo; the main event
What to Watch with Three or Four Arrows: ‘Dashing’ Cody Rhodes’ bathroom self interview
