From The Vault:Vader vs. Necro Butcher

Night of Champions Review

A pre show battle royal determined  that Zack Ryder would wrestle for the United States championship and it was a solid match. I want to discuss the preshows that have been featured on Youtube the past few months as well as the US champion, Antonio Cesaro. When Cesaro defeated Santino on a recent pre show match, I think it accomplished a few different things, most importantly, it gave the fans a reason to go to Youtube prior to the PPVs because it gives the perception that anything can happen with a title changing hands. Secondly, it established Cesaro as someone to watch, after he was beginning to get lost in the shuffle on Smackdown. Cesaro, who wrestled on the independent scene as Claudio Castagnoli, has all the tools to be a major star in the WWE, if given the opportunity. He's a very good technical competitor and he has some very impressive strength, which is why it doesn't really make sense that the WWE has him using a face plant finisher when it doesn't really showcase his skills. Regardless, it's good to see Cesaro getting a push and hopefully he will be more prominently featured on WWE TV as his reign as US champion continues on Smackdown. As for the Youtube pre shows, I think it's great because it adds something extra to the actual PPV and makes it seem more like a major show. That's one of the major problems with the amount of PPVs, especially a few years ago when in some cases the WWE would throw together a rather pointless card if they had two PPVs in the span of just two weeks. Obviously, the key to selling a $45 show is to make it seem like a major event and something as simple as a 30 minute pre show can help sell the show. During the Attitude era when the WWF was competing for both ratings and PPV buy rates, the Free for Fall show would hype the story lines and it would also feature a match. The WWE is trying to get people to pay $45 to watch an event so anything that helps sell the show could improve the buy rates.

The four way match provided some great action and emphasizes the wrestling aspect of the IC title. The Rey Mysterio/Sin Cara team of recent weeks seems to be a way for Rey to lend credibility to Cara and in the process add more fans for him, which is a great idea, but I don't think it will be effective for a variety of reasons. While Mysterio is one of the most solid in ring talents on the roster and can make anyone look good in the ring, Cara seems to need someone to camouflage some of the botches that he's become known for during his run in the WWE. Rey also knows how to incorporate the lucha style into a WWE match, where as Cara seems to continue to struggle with adapting to the WWE style, which isn't exactly his fault considering he went directly to the main roster after he signed with the WWE. Despite, Rey and Cara being luchadors that wear masks, that doesn't automatically transfer Mysterio fans to also cheer for Cara. Ironically, it might be that Rey and Cara are too different for the fans to buy into Cara as the next Mysterio. That being said, it's unfair to even make the comparison because Rey is near legend status and Cara has only being in the WWE for a year and a half. The other opponent for the title, Cody Rhodes continues to have good matches and I wouldn't be surprised if he's eventually the World Heavyweight champion. During his run as IC champion, Cody made the title important again and while another run as IC champion wouldn't hinder his push, he could also transition to the main event picture as a legitimate challenger for the World Heavyweight title. Speaking of the main event scene, it should be interesting to see who is the next competitor to wrestle for the title after the Sheamus/Alberto Del Rio feud concludes and Cody could be a good decision for the next challenger. I think The Miz will retain the title and his character has evolved well thus far since he returned to the WWE after filming a movie. The time away from WWE TV gave The Miz a chance to evolve his character and he's had a good run as IC champion since his return.

The Daniel Bryan/Kane storyline would probably be terrible if anyone else tried such an angle, but they have made it work and it's been some entertaining TV the past few weeks, which shows how great both of them are on the mic and in the ring. Speaking of Kane, I've said it before and I'll say it again, he's an extremely under rated talent that doesn't get the credit that he deserves considering how entertaining he's been on a consistent basis during his career. Many people doubted that Bryan would be successful but the versatility he's shown from a character perspective proves that he can be entertaining in any scenario. Bryan and Kane won the tag titles at the PPV, which isn't a surprise considering that the WWE rushes most angles, especially the tag division when there's actually a storyline.

The Randy Otron/Dolph Ziggler match was decent, but it doesn't make sense that Ziggler did the job when Orton is scheduled to take time off to film a movie and Ziggler is the money in the bank winner so it would make sense for Ziggler to get the win to further the push. Some have speculated that Orton will turn heel when he returns to the WWE, which will help his character since it's been stale for the past few months, but evolving his in ring style might be considered since he's been boring the past few years.

The Divas title match had a very obvious storyline, but the actual in ring action was decent. Since Raw expanded to three hours, the Divas division has been practically non existent, which might be the reason that Beth Phoenix will exit the WWE when her contract expires in October. Speaking of Beth Phoenix, she might not be regarded on the same level as a Trish or Lita, but she is still one of the best woman wrestlers to be featured on WWE TV in the past five years. Eve as the new champion could actually do a lot to showcase the Divas division again, which is certainly possible with an extra hour of Raw because she's done well as a heel. She gets heat from the crowd, which could be used for some decent story lines if the Divas division is actually given some TV time on Raw.

The World Heavyweight title match was probably the best in the Alberto Del Rio/Sheamus series so far, but that doesn't say much, considering their previous bouts were rather lack luster. Despite being in main event matches, Del Rio just seems to lack in the ring compared to his initial push and his continuous main event spot might be a case of lack of challengers for Sheamus, rather than the momentum of Del Rio as a main event star, which seems to have stalled after a series of injuries and a direct elevation to the main event after his return to WWE TV. That being said, hopefully the WWE has a new direction for Smackdown and we see some fresh matches for the World Heavyweight title.

The WWE title match had some great back and fourth action and told a great story in the ring. Usually, I would say that a non finish at a PPV is a rip off because the fans pay to see a winner, but the swerve finish worked for the match. It should be extremely interesting to see who is the next challenger for the WWE title and how the storyline continues to evolve on Raw.

Dynamite Kid vs. Alan Dennison

From The Vault Eddie Guerrero vs. Genghis Khan 12/30/89

Paul Heyman Returns

During a really good falls count anywhere match on Raw, CM Punk, reappeared after walking out of his hometown earlier in the night and assisted Alberto Del Rio to get the win. As his opponent for Night Of Champions, John Cena was on the concrete, Punk returned to the same car that he used to exit the building earlier in the show. As the car was leaving, former ECW owner and Smackdown writer, Paul Heyman was revealed as the driver of the car. There appears to be an alliance between the champion and Heyman, which can only translate into some very interesting WWE TV over the next few weeks.

When CM Punk created main stream buzz for the WWE nearly a year and a half ago, he became an antihero that wasn't the traditional baby face and his promos had people tuning in each week because of their content. The WWE decided to down play much of the buzz Punk created when Triple H pinned him less than a month later. Punk has since won the WWE title and has had one of the most memorable title runs in recent history, partially because he's actually being given a decent run instead of dropping the title in a few months. However, from a character prospective, it became stale, as the once rebellious CM Punk was trying to stop AJ from jumping through a table. That's why Punk hitting The Rock with the GTS at Raw 1000 was almost necessary for the evolution of his character. Although, it hasn't been quite a heel turn because the crowd still cheers Punk, probably because they agree that the WWE title should be in the main event, which hasn't been the case for most of Punk's title run. That being said, the WWE has tried to get heat for Punk and while most complained that the cage match with Jerry Lawler was terrible, it was an attempt to get Punk heat. Usually attacking a Hall of Fame wrestler can work, but despite that and refusing to wrestle in his hometown, Punk is still cheered, which actually creates a more intriguing storyline. The bottom line is Punk is one of the reasons to tune into Raw, which has been lackluster since expanding to three hours a month and a half ago.

So what does Heyman add to this equation? As he showed during the Brock Lesnar storyline, Heyman still does better promos than most of the roster, despite not appearing on WWE TV for years. Heyman adds a completely new dimension to the storyline and can provide a reason to tune into Raw on a weekly basis. More directly, the Heyman reveal actually gives people a reason to watch a complete episode of Raw because it was a complete surprise and not the generic finishes that you usually see on Raw. One of the reasons the Attitude era was so successful was because you never knew what could happen and while wrestling has evolved, the element of surprise can still be used to create interesting TV. Heyman adds a sizzle to the product and the Punk/Heyman storyline could provide some memorable moments. It will be extremely interesting to see the direction of the storyline and if it improves the ratings.