WWE Raw: John Cena Embarrasses Michael Cole, CM Punk vs. Kane, A.J. and More

WWE Monday Night Raw opened with Michael Cole interviewing John Cena. Cole blamed Cena for all of Big Show’s carnage as he didn’t defend him when he was fired. Cena said he was going to get Big Show's job back after he defeated John Laurinaitis but Big Show decided to take the easy way out.

The Big Show turned his back on the fans and Cole called Cena jealous. Cole then called Cena overrated and that brought out Laurinaitis.

He told Cena that he could choose his opponent for later. The face of the WWE chose Cole, and Big Johnny just rolled away while Cole pleaded for his life.

I actually liked this segment. Michael Cole, while incredibly annoying, is very good at what he does. He has the ability to get under the skin of the crowd as well as whom he’s talking to.

Cena was solid on the mic here as well. This was much better than clown Cena before Over the Limit.

Backstage, Cole continued to plead for his life. Laurinaitis said that the people wanted to see the match so in the name of People Power, it wouldn’t be changed. He then told Cole not to call him Johnny.

Even though I knew the match would be a waste of space, I kind of wanted to see Cena just destroy Cole. With Laurinaitis actually giving the people what they wanted, I knew that something was up, though.

Sheamus vs. Dolph Ziggler

Sheamus picked up the victory with the Brogue Kick. This was a good match that saw some nice back-and-forth action. I thought their match on SmackDown was better, though.

Sheamus continues to be quite the talent inside the ring and deserving of this reign as world heavyweight champion.

Ziggler was impressive once again, but I am disappointed that Vickie Guerrero was with him. He teased breaking away from her on SmackDown and I was hoping that it would have been continued here. Jack Swagger wasn’t present so that’s a start.

Ziggler is way too talented to be stuck with Swagger, and Guerrero really isn’t doing anything for him.

Post-match, Alberto Del Rio attacked Sheamus on the ramp. It resulted in Del Rio applying his cross armbreaker on the ramp with Sheamus hanging off of it.

For once, Del Rio has the upper hand in a feud. That’s quite shocking after seeing him get destroyed in the four-way feud for the title.

I just hope that he doesn’t win the title, as I don’t ever want to see him with a world title again.

Backstage, David Otunga approached Laurinaitis. He told the general manager that Vince McMahon would be returning at next week’s three-hour Raw to give him a job evaluation.

The boss is returning next week? Well I just got excited, mainly because I’ll be at the show! Seeing Vinnie Mac nowadays usually means something big is going to happen. His appearances are scarce so when he pops up, you know something is about to go down.

Sin Cara vs. Hunico

Sin Cara picked up the victory with his head scissor/face buster finisher. This was a decent match that saw a bit of back-and-forth action between the two former rivals. I feel that if they were allowed to go longer, they could have put on a better match.

Sin Cara looked good in his second match back as he once again didn’t botch any moves. He must have been practicing during his time off to heal.

I’m not too big on Hunico as a singles star. He really brings nothing to the table, or at least WWE doesn’t give him the chance to bring anything.

I think he and Camacho could become a force to be reckoned with in the tag-team division if given the chance. If booked right, they could become hated heels in a battle against Kofi Kingston and R-Truth.

Stan Stansky and Arthur Rosenberg vs. Ryback

After the two local talents spoke in unison and in rhyme about beating Ryback, the monstrous superstar entered into the ring and squashed both of them.

I want to be a fan of Ryback, but I find it hard to be. There’s nothing special about him when he simply destroys local talent from some independent promotion down the road. I understand wanting him to look strong and dominant, but it would look better if he was at least squashing actual WWE wrestlers.

I’m waiting to see this guy in a legitimate feud.

CM Punk vs. Kane

Before the match, Daniel Bryan did a Q&A with the fans. He asked if A.J. was delusional, if Kane would destroy Punk and if he would win the title at No Way Out. The answer to all three questions was “yes.”

Bryan was great in this short promo. This feud is becoming a great one and Daniel Bryan is certainly doing his part.

Kane then picked up the victory after a chokeslam. The WWE champion and the Big Red Monster put on another good match here. They delivered a lot of good action as the two superstars fought to a definitive finish.

I’m honestly surprised at how well they work together in the ring. It’s that chemistry that’s really going to add to the match at the PPV.

Post-match, A.J. was checking on Punk when Kane set his sights on her. Bryan then attacked him but was thrown to the outside. A.J. turned her fear into a crazy smile which puzzled the Devil’s Favorite Demon to the point of leaving the ring.

This storyline just got a lot more interesting. A.J. has proven to have quite the fragile mind, and this situation has got be twisting things inside there.

She was worried about Punk, but her ex-boyfriend Bryan tried to save her. At the same time, she smiled at Kane. So who is she actually interested in?

No matter who it is, she’ll definitely be a factor in the finish of the title match.

Backstage, Josh Matthews asked for an explanation from A.J. She just grabbed his tie and asked “Don’t you like aggressive women?” She ended it with, “You just might be my type.”

A.J. is becoming the best Diva in the division and she doesn’t even wrestle too often. She’s doing it all with mic work and facial expressions. The rest of the Divas should be taking notes on everything she does!

Kofi Kingston and R-Truth vs. Tyler Reks and Curt Hawkins

The champions got the win after Kingston hit the Trouble in Paradise on Hawkins. This was a decent match that saw some nice action here and there. The closing moments of the match were definitely the highlight of it.

It seems like WWE is actually trying to revitalize their tag-team division. The problem is that Kingston and Truth really don’t have any legitimate competition.

I like that Reks and Hawkins actually got a spot on Raw this week but how long is it going to last? Ziggler and Swagger are all but over as a team, the Colons are nowhere to be found and the Usos just never win anything.

The only team I can see challenging for the titles in the near future is Titus O’Neil and Darren Young. At the same time, though, they need more time to develop as a team and as on-screen characters.

The division is slowly coming back to life but I have a feeling that it’ll come to a grinding halt sooner rather than later.

John Cena vs. Tensai

Before John Cena vs. Michael Cole could get started, John Laurinaitis announced that their match would be no disqualification if he could defeat Tensai first.

Cena then defeated him with the Attitude Adjustment. This match was just boring. Cena is a good worker and can sometimes make someone look like a star in the ring, but he couldn’t do that with Tensai. I don’t think anyone could.

Tensai is just boring in the ring. Albert may have been a star in Japan, but he’s nothing here. Japan sometimes likes the big, monstrous American wrestler, so it’s no surprise people loved him there.

While the WWE may love him, he’s just an out-of-shape, washed-up American wrestler here. I don’t think Tensai will last the year in WWE.

John Cena vs. Michael Cole

As expected, this was pure comedy from beginning to end. While Tensai lumbered his way back to the ring and attacked Cena, the face of the WWE still embarrassed the Voice of the WWE.

Cena forced Cole to apologize to Jerry Lawler and Jim Ross, and made him say he loved Ross’ barbeque sauce. Lawler just happened to have three big bottles of it with him and two of them ended up on Cole.

Add in a fire extinguisher and you’ve got a waste of a main event.

While it certainly was funny to see Cena screw with Cole, it really shouldn’t have closed the show. I was expecting to see the Big Show show up and knock out Cena again. Obviously that didn’t happen, though.

I’m not a huge fan of Cena but I do respect what he does. He deserves better than this horrid feud with the Big Show.

Overall I thought this episode of Monday Night Raw was a good one. While the two main events were just bad, the rest of the show was good and entertaining enough to save it.

The highlights for me were the Sheamus/Ziggler match, CM Punk vs. Kane as well as A.J.

This week was certainly better than last week, which is a good thing. Raw has really been tanking lately, so this episode is an overall good sign.