Tonight’s show was live from Montreal. In a night were everything started with big smiles ended with a lot of people worried.
After 15 years of the “Montreal Screw job” Bret Hart returned and he was received by a long standing ovation. After the fans quieted down he started to talk about how he thanks the support of the fans throughout this years. Then he is interrupted by CM Punk who for the first time since his heel turn was booed. A weird sight to see CM Punk wear the Hart tribute tights while confronting Bret Hart. This was a great segment with Punk talking every point with a lot of confidence. He told Hart if 15 years ago he would’ve face him the Screw job would’ve never happened, and after his victory he would’ve left to WCW and then the WWE would’ve never existed. He then proceed to say that he was the WWE Champion for 298 days longer that he ever was, the he claimed that on Night of Champions he will cement his legacy as the “Greatest WWE Champion of All-Time”. After that the WWE Champion left with some “asshole” chants provided by the Montreal crowd. A hot start for Raw.
The Miz & Antonio Cesaro vs Kofi Kingston & R-Truth: A match with four men that will be defending their respective titles at Night of Champions, is nice to see them built something. The match was good and at the end the Tag Team Champions won, this way they look strong for this Sunday.
After the Brogue Kick was banned they went to a deposition. Now Sheamus is not only Irish he is also Jewish. This segment just buildup to what we already knew that the Brogue Kick is banned.
Layla, Kaitlyn & Eve Torres vs Beth Phoenix, Alicia Fox & Natalya:Is sad that they can turn Divas and nobody will care. Obviously Eve isn’t face and is all just part of her plan, but Alicia is supposed to be face. Also Beth Phoenix returns and nobody cares.
Once again CM Punk went on to battle with AJ. Is weird that AJ hasn’t really get a revenge on Punk. That might be a signal that the two of them together. Also the Clay interaction in the end was nice.
#Raw Active Match—CM Punk vs Randy Orton (via DQ): In another #RawActive match the fans choose by a 75% margin that Orton would face his old opponent. This was a good match as expected. Is a shame that it go interrupted by Ziggler and then Lawler joined the scene by helping Randy Orton.
CM Punk & Dolph Ziggler w/ Vickie Guerrerovs Jerry Lawler & Randy Orton: After commercial this match was going on. The match was most a handicap match against Ziggler because Punk didn’t get in the ring and didn’t help. The final minutes of the match Paul Heyman came down to talk to Punk. Seeing the two of them talk while Vickie was screaming to them was gold. The two of them not giving a fuck was priceless. At the end Ziggler got an RKO and lost the match. Punk and Heyman just walked out like nothing happened.
Striker caughts Heyman and Punk and asks them about their alliance. Punk just states he is a Paul Heyman guy.
At Backstage Dr. Shelby makes an appearance. By the looks of it a new Tag Team is their cure to their anger problems.
Heath Slater vs Ryback: They use the Twitter rivalry between Slater and Ryder to use Ryder as a way to introduce Ryback. Nothing special like always.
Daniel Bryan & Kane vs Prime Time Players: At last we saw Bryan and Kane tag. But this match was when Lawler collapsed. Good job by Cole not freaking out and acting like a professional. Also good ending with Kane chokeslamming Bryan over Darren to get the win and become #1 Contenders.
Alberto del Rio w/ Ricardo Rodriguez (via Sub) vs Tyson Kidd: Short match without any commentary due to respect to Lawler’s condition. After the match Alberto said he was winning on Sunday.
Sheamus vs David Otunga:Another uninteresting match. Like last week Sheamus won with the Texas Cloverleaf. After that he hit Otunga with the Brogue Kick. AJ came out but was interrupted by Booker T. Booker told Sheamus if he does that again he loses the title. Still don’t care about the match.
A funny backstage segment that didn’t felt funny because of what was happening to Lawler. Looks like “Team Friendship” is happening.
Cody Rhodes vs Rey Mysterio: Didn’t know this match happened until I saw my notes. This just shows how I tune out after what happened to Lawler. Only thing I remember was that Rhodes attacked The Miz when he was about to attack Rey Mysterio. Looks like Rhodes will battle for the IC title for another year.
Bret Hart makes an Interview to Cena in aperfect segment to sell the PPV. Cena and Punk who later came out brought the battle of wars that made their Summer rivalry so memorable. Also memorable was Hart comparing the both of them to the Hart/Michael rivalry. That made the fans chant “You can’t wrestle” to Cena. But that comparison is fair. Cena like hart is a good guy pro family and Punk like old Michaels is an egomaniac cocky asshole. Also hearing Punk so confident saying that he is better than Michaels, Stone Cold, The Rock, Hart and Cena makes you believe him. Is a shame that like any other heel Punk acted like a coward at then end and got a hit from Bret. It looks like he is losing this Sunday.
Good show but after what went down with Lawler it was uncomfortable to watch. Also Cole’s silence made it feel worse. At least knowing he was better helped me enjoy the last segment. Now I’m excited to see Cena vs Punk IV. But on the downside I know Punk is losing the title. The storytelling with this Respect angle just tells that was going to happen. Also the WWE hate heels. Punk being a heel champion won’t last long, well by the looks of it it didn’t last long.
Final Score: 8/10
Night of Champions Match Card: Here
