WWE Capitol Punishment Results: Results, Notes and Analysis for Every Match

The first-ever WWE Capitol Punishment pay-per-view is officially underway, and it's sure to be an eventful show.

To help you guys who aren't watching the pay-per-view live, I'll be all here all night updating you on each match as the action happens.

Just refresh the slideshow, so you can get all the latest results after each match concludes.

So, here they are. The results of Capitol Punishment, complete with my own notes and analysis for each match on tonight's show.

United States Championship: Kofi Kingston vs. Dolph Ziggler

Capitol Punishment starts off with Kofi Kingston vs. Dolph Ziggler for the United States Championship, which may be a rehashed feud but is a good choice because it should get the crowd fired up.

The match starts off with a lot of mat-based wrestling, but the action picks up rather quickly. Kofi goes for Trouble in Paradise about two minutes in. Of course, Ziggler's too smart for that.

The crowd is behind Kofi with brief "Kofi!" chants that don't last too long, as Ziggler takes control of the bout and brings Kofi to the mat. 

Kofi regains control but misses a crossbody in the corner, and Ziggler hits a suplex before Kofi kicks out at two. I'm really waiting for them to pick up the pace again because we're about five minutes in, and I don't expect this match to get that much time.

Here we go. Kofi with his unique chops before attempting SOS, which Ziggler reverses. Kofi then hits a crossbody on Ziggler's back. That was pretty weird.

Boom drop from Kofi! He then sets up for Trouble in Paradise but misses. Then, he hits the SOS! Ziggler kicks out, though.

Ziggler goes for the Zig Zag, and Kofi counters, but Dolph kicks out. Lots of reversals so far in this match.

Kofi's climbing the ropes, but Ziggler knocks him down and joins him on the top rope. Ziggler attempts a superplex, but Kofi counters and then hits a crossbody off the top. Dolph kicks out!

We're at the 10-minute mark, and Dolph now has the sleeper hold on Kofi, who gets to the ropes to break the hold.

Both guys miss their finishers, and Vickie Guerrero interferes with the ref's back turned. Ziggler then puts the sleeper hold on Kofi!

Kingston passes out in the sleeper hold, and Ziggler is the new United States Champion. The finish was weird because it appeared as if Ziggler was disqualified, when, in fact, he wasn't.

Winner: Dolph Ziggler, new United States Champion

Rating: **1/2

Final Thoughts: Nothing overly special from these guys, who have had a ton of matches together in the past.

It was the same formula we've seen before, with plenty of reversals and finisher attempts but nothing extraordinary that stood out.

My guess, though, is that they're taking the title off of Kofi Kingston because he might be a favorite to win the Raw Money in the Bank match. As for Ziggler, he was in a World title match at the Royal Rumble and how he's the US Champion?

Not sure why he's not getting a main event push, but hey, at least he's got championship gold now. 

The Miz vs. Alex Riley

Well, it appears that The Miz has gone from the main event to the second match on the card. I think that's more because he's trying to help get Alex Riley over than anything else, though. Miz will be back on top sooner rather than later.

The match starts off before the bell even rings, and it's a brawl from the get-go. That's probably a good idea because Riley's likely nervous in the biggest match of his career, and brawling is a bit easier than putting on a technical classic.

Once the back and forth brawling ends, The Miz takes controls and lays the beatdown on Riley. There are "Let's go Riley!" and "Let's go Miz!" chants from the crowd.

But Riley looks like a jobber so far, which is exactly what I didn't want to see.

Finally, Riley gets some offense in with some a few shoulder blocks in the corner, but Miz moves out the way on one and is back in control. The match goes to the outside, and Miz is really taking it to Riley. Booker T, on commentary, suggests that the ref might have to stop the match.

If it's gonna be this boring, I agree.

Six minutes in, and The Miz is still dominating the match. He then goes for a dropkick on Riley in the corner, but Riley moves.

The tide is turning, maybe?

Riley with a tackle on The Miz, and he's now the one taking it to the former WWE Champion. Spinebuster on The Miz!

Now, The Miz throws Riley out the ring, but Riley hits a kick on Miz in between the ropes and brings The Miz back to the outside. Riley tosses The Miz into the announce table, and Michael Cole is freaking out at ringside.

Riley grabs Cole's tie and tosses him over the announce table. Now, that was awesome.

That does, however, allow Miz to regain control, and he brings the briefcase into the ring. The ref stops him, though, and as he turns around, Riley hits a DDT on The Miz!

He covers him and gets the three count. This just in, Alex Riley has beaten The Miz. 

Winner: Alex Riley

Rating: *3/4

Final Thoughts: The first part of the match was essentially a squash, with The Miz destroying Riley. The interference did allow Riley to get the win, but Miz looked much stronger in this match.

Obviously, the finish was done to set up a future match between these two. My guess is that they'll both be participants in Raw's Money in the Bank match, before facing each other again at SummerSlam.

If you go back and re-watch the match, you'll see that Riley didn't look all that great here. He'll get better with more high-profile matches, though.

The Big Show vs. Alberto Del Rio

As Alberto Del Rio makes his way to the ring before the match, The Big Show runs from backstage and attack hims from behind.

Big Show is going ballistic on Del Rio outside the ring when Mark Henry appears from out of nowhere and starts taking it to the Big Show. He hits the World's Strongest Slam on Show through the announce table!

Wow, that was impressive.

As The Big Show is laid out on the announce table, Henry slams Show's injured leg into the announce table while Del Rio looks on from inside the ring. The Big Show is selling the injury on the outside while the ref checks on him.

We're getting a bunch of replays now, but when we get back, The Big Show is trying to make his way to his feet. The ref starts a 10-count, with Show already touching the ropes. He gets in after three, and it appears as if this match might finally start after all.

And yes, it does.

Del Rio's working over Big Show's injured leg, with several kicks to the knee and thigh. But he goes for a pin, and Big Show nearly throws him through the ropes.

Uh oh! Big Show hits a chokeslam on ADR, but Del Rio rolls out the ring as The Big Show grimaces in pain.

The ref is now counting out Del Rio, but he makes his way back to the ring, attempts to jump on Show from the top rope and gets caught by the throat.

ADR wiggles his way out and attempts his cross armbreaker move, but in an incredible display of strength, The Big Show reverses it.

Now, we've got another cross armbreaker, but this time on Big Show's leg! So, I guess it's a cross legbreaker, huh?

Big Show is trying not to tap out, as he lays in the center of the ring. He does get to the ropes eventually though but is still on the ground in a lot of pain.

As he makes his way to his feet, ADR stalks him in the far corner. Big Show fails at his first attempt of getting off the mat.

He does make his way to his feet, but again, he falls back to the canvas. The ref calls for the bell, and this one is apparently over.

Winner: The Big Show

Rating: *1/2 

Final Thoughts: This was more like an injury angle that you'd see on Raw than an actual match. 

This is the problem with the WWE these days. They want to make future stars like Del Rio look good, but then they're deathly afraid of having their baby face veterans lose clean.

The Big Show could have afforded a loss here, but instead, they played up this ridiculous injury angle that was a waste of a spot on the pay-per-view card.

Don't worry about watching this bout if you missed it.

Intercontinental Championship: Wade Barrett vs. Ezekiel Jackson

Prior to the match, Wade Barrett comes out to the arena and cuts a promo on America's dirty politicians and America in general. Essentially, he insults the United States and relates it to beating Ezekiel Jackson in the upcoming match.

Barrett's good on the mic, but I'm not sure we needed to see this on pay-per-view. I'm not sure we need to see this match either. I expect it to be pretty bad, but remember, Jackson's huge. And Vince McMahon loves the big guys.

Jackson is out to the ring now, and the crowd's behind him with some "USA!" chants. 

About 10 seconds in, we get a shoulder block from Big Zeke. He must have a patent on that move because he sure uses it a lot.

Jackson goes for the Torture Rack, and Barrett rolls to the outside. Both men are back in the ring now, and Zeke's in control until Barrett hits a big boot on him in the corner. Only a one count, though.

Jackson's back up, but Barrett hits a sideslam and gets a two-count. He's now got Jackson in the sleeper hold as the "USA!" chants pick back.

So does a "We want Ryder!" chant. So do I guys, so do I.

Back to the match, Barrett rolls up Jackson, but Jackson kicks out. Yet another pin attempt for Barrett, and yet another two-count.

Barrett goes for another boot on Jackson in the corner, but Jackson moves and hits a few clotheslines on Barrett. Zeke goes for a bodyslam. Shocker there, huh?

Just kidding.

Out of nowhere, Barrett hits the Wasteland on Jackson. Seriously, where did that come from?

By the way, Jackson actually kicked out of Barrett's finisher. The announcers couldn't believe it. I could, though.

Jackson regains control and hits three body slams on Jackson. He loves those bodyslams. Want avidence? He hit a fourth one.

Afterward, he puts Barrett in the Torture Rack, and Barrett taps out after about three seconds!

Winner: Ezekiel Jackson, new Intercontinental Champion

Rating: *1/2 

Final Thoughts: The feud between Jackson and Barrett hasn't been good, and neither was this match. 

I expected Jackson to get the win here so that Barrett can move up the card on Smackdown, which means I wasn't really surprised by the result here.

The thing is, though, Jackson leaves a lot to be desired in the ring, and I'm not too excited about the prospects of any future IC title feuds he might have.

Oh well. Congrats to the big guy for winning the strap.

CM Punk vs. Rey Mysterio

CM Punk vs. Rey Mysterio is up next, and I'm thinking that, if given time, this could be the match of the night. Here's to hoping these two get 15 minutes to go balls to the wall.

By the way, Stone Cold Steve Austin apparently banned the new Nexus from ringside for this bout, so I wouldn't expect a dirty finish here. Then again, I could certainly be wrong.

HUGE "CM Punk" chants before the match, which speaks to how good this man is at what he does. Then, as the match begins, we get dueling "CM Punk" and "CM Sucks" chants.

The bout's starting off slow, with lots of grappling and not much else until Mysterio gets a few kicks in, and then Punk hits a body slam. 

Punk with a rollup for the first pin attempt of the match, but Mysterio reverses and Punk also kicks out at two. Mysterio then sets up Punk for the 619, but Punk moves out the ring.

Mysterio goes for the senton on Punk, but Punk catches him mid-air and throws him into the ring barrier! Awesome spot there.

Punk takes Mysterio back into the ring, and he's got him in a modified surfboard submission before Mysterio reverses and goes for the pin. Only a two-count there.

Punk back in control now, and he's got a body scissors on Mysterio down on the canvas. I'm expecting the pace of the match to quicken really soon.

Punk hits a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker on Mysterio and goes back to the body scissors. We're still at a slow pace right now, until Mysterio gets up and hits a hurricanrana on Punk.

Punk falls into position for the 619, but he fights out and hits Rey with a clothesline. Punk now goes with the abdominal stretch on Rey. It must be submission night.

Mysterio hits some punches to the knee and wiggles out of the submission, then Punk goes for Rey in the corner and eats nothing but turnbuckle. Rey seems to be turning the tide, until Punk knocks Rey off the turnbuckle and regains control.

Rey jumps backward off the top rope and lands on Punk's shoulders, then flips Punk out the ring and hits a moonsault on Punk on the outside.

Back inside the ring, Rey hits a diving headbutt on a standing Punk. That looked like a botch, but I'm actually not sure it was.

Rey then goes off the ropes and hits a crossbody, which Punk reverses for a two-count. The action's really picked up now, and both men are on the top turnbuckle. Punk hits a back suplex on Rey from the top rope!

He gets a two-count, and Punk then misses a shoulder block in the corner and hits the ring post. Mysterio goes for the 619 in the corner and connects!

Unforunately for Rey, though, he knocked Punk to the outside. Rey brings him back in and goes for the headbutt off the top rope, but Punk gets his knees up, goes for the pin and gets two.

Punk's calling for the GTS. He holds Rey for far too long, and Mysterio reverses into a roll-up. But Punk kicks out at two!

Huge kick from Punk on Rey, but Mysterio manages to kick out at two yet again.

Punk picks Rey up and goes for another GTS. Rey reverses again into an armdrag and attempts 619 again, but Punk reverses, grabs Rey and hits the GTS!

Finally, Punk gets it done. 

Winner: CM Punk

Rating: ***1/2 

Final Thoughts: Whenever these two guys get in the ring together, you can expect big things.

And they definitely delivered here, but it wasn't the best match I've ever seen between the two. Punk and Mysterio obviously have great chemistry, though, so I can't say anything bad about the performance these two put on tonight.

Obviously, a Punk win is a good sign, as the WWE appears committed to giving him wins in order to convince him to stay with the company.

That's the smart move here, and Punk can now lay claim to beating both Mysterio and John Cena in recent weeks. 

Perhaps his next stop will be a WWE Championship feud with Cena?

World Heavyweight Championship: Randy Orton vs. Christian

With Randy Orton vs. Christian coming up now, it looks like John Cena vs. R-Truth will be the last match of the night. That's not surprising, but it is disappointing.

We get the boxing style introductions for the match, and Christian still seems to be loved by the crowd. Of course, so does Orton.

The match gets underway, and Orton's taking it to Christian in the early going. Orton with plenty of punches, kicks and even a Thesz press thrown in there before Christian goes for a dropkick off the top rope and Orton moves out the way.

Christian then throws Orton out the ring and hits a dropkick between the middle ropes. He then goes for a splash over the top rope, but Orton moves and rolls Christian back into the ring.

He goes for the pin on Christian but only gets two. Orton hits the standard 10 punches in the corner that the crowd counts out, and then he sends Christian over the top rope and to the outside.

But, on the outside, Christian sends Orton headfirst into the steel steps and rolls Orton into the ring for a pin attempt. Orton kicks out at two.

Christian hits a reverse neckbreaker on Orton, and he's dominating the match at the moment. Wow, what a move from Orton!

As Christian went for Orton in the corner, Orton jumped up, rolled down Christian's back and then rolled him up for the pin attempt.

It's hard to explain, but it looked really good, especially for someone like Orton who gets a lot of heat for his ring work.

After the move, though, Christian gains the advantage before Orton sends Christian into the turnbuckle. Then, Orton hits a HUGE back body drop on a charging Christian!

Orton pummels Christian with punches to the chest as he begins to start playing up the effects of his concussion. Orton hits his standard two clotheslines followed by the power slam, and the crowd's starting to get into it.

Orton with a belly-to-belly suplex, but Christian kicks out at two and roles to the apron before Christian hits him with two thunderous slaps to the face.

Christian goes for a suplex on Orton, but Orton reverses and sends Christian to the turnbuckle. Both men are now on the top rope, and Orton hits a superplex!

He goes for two, but Christian kicks out!

Both men are exchanging punches in the middle of the ring, and each wrestler attempts his finisher but both wiggle out. Then, Orton hits a move I've never seen him use before, so sorry, I can't explain it.

Orton goes for another RKO, but he telegraphed it. Now, though, Orton hits the second rope DDT on Christian, and he starts pounding the mat. RKO attempt, but Christian counters and hits a reverse DDT!

Two count! Both men are down on the mat, looking quite exhausted I might add.

Christian goes to the corner, and he's mocking Edge by lining up for the spear. Orton jumps and avoids it, goes for the RKO and Christian wiggles out, then Christian hits the spear!

Somehow, Orton kicks out at two! The last three minutes of this match have been action packed.

Christian goes to the top rope, Christian dives at Orton and misses, and Orton hits the RKO for the three count! 

But, pay attention, because Christian's foot was definitely under the rope. I smell a re-start to the match or a future rematch coming because Christian will undoubtedly point that out at some point.

And what do you know? Christian's already telling the ref that his foot was underneath the rope when Orton pinned him.

He's right, he was. 

Christian's freaking out in the middle of the ring, but Orton NAILS him with the World Heavyweight Championship and says "Payback's a b**ch."

That wasn't very PG, Randy.

Winner: Randy Orton

Rating: ****

Final Thoughts: As evidenced by the three singles matches they've had, Randy Orton and Christian have incredible chemistry together.

They put on another great match tonight, but it's one that I'd rate slightly lower than their last two. Not that that's a bad thing. It's just that those two matches had a little more sizzle for me.

I would, however, recommend going out of your way to watch this bout, because Orton busted out a new move and Christian was his usual great self.

I think the shady ending to the match was obviously done to set up another match between the two down the road, which I expect to take place at SummerSlam rather than Money in the Bank.

"Special Attraction:" Jack Swagger vs. Evan Bourne

After the Orton/Christian match, Justin Roberts announces a "Special Attraction" match between Jack Swagger and Evan Bourne.

Why wasn't this spot given to Daniel Bryan and Cody Rhodes? I have no idea, but that's the WWE for you.

Anyway, the match gets underway, and Swagger's in control from the get-go until Bourne hits a hurricanrana and turns the tide.

Bourne's all over the place right now (in a good way), and the pace of the match is pretty quick, which isn't surprising given that it probably won't have a ton of time.

Swagger's all over Bourne on the canvas, and he even does a push-up on top of him. Then, Swagger hits a monstrous back bodydrop on Bourne, and this match has been pretty one-sided throughout. 

Bourne's getting tossed around the ring like a rag doll, and Swagger gets a two-count after hitting the Vader bomb in the corner. 

Swagger is still taking it to Bourne, until Bourne hits a hurricanrana followed by a barrage of kicks. Swagger regains control, but Bourne bounces back when he reverses another Vader bomb attempt.

Swagger goes for Bourne in the corner, Bourne jumps over him, then Swagger destroys Bourne with a big boot but only gets two.

Bourne's up on his feet, he jumps off the top rope, Swagger catches him, and then he hits a huge DDT on Swagger for a two count.

Swagger's down, and the crowd is chanting for "Air Bourne." Bourne goes up to the top rope and misses with the Shooting Star Press but lands on his feet.

Then, Bourne reverses a Swagger rollup with a rollup of his own and gets the win. 

Winner: Evan Bourne

Rating: **

Final Thoughts: I have to admit that I'm surprised this bout was even on the pay-per-view.

I don't really have a problem with it whatsoever, but I do wish that we would have sin Cody Rhodes vs. Daniel Bryan or Bryan and Sin Cara vs. Rhodes and Ted DiBiase.

The crowd was pretty dead for Swagger vs. Bourne, which is to be expected after that stellar Orton/Christian match.

Still, Bourne and Swagger looked very good even though they didn't get a ton of time in the ring. That's why guys like them should be given more opportunities to wrestle on pay-per-view. 

WWE Championship: John Cena vs. R-Truth

The WWE Championship match between John Cena and R-Truth goes on last, which leads me to believe that Cena's definitely winning because the WWE doesn't usually end its shows by disappointing the live crowd.

But, I guess we should just wait and see what happens. Both men are in the ring, and now's our chance.

Dueling chants of "Let's Go Cena!" and "Cena Sucks!" start off the match, as both Cena and Truth look at the crowd in disbelief. Then, we even get a "Little Jimmy" chant. I approve.

The match finally gets started, and Truth's working on Cena in the corner as the dueling chants continue. Cena takes it to Truth and hits the running bulldog before Truth rolls out the ring to regain his composure.

"Little Jimmy" chants are still going on. How great is that?

Cena goes for the Attitude Adjustment, but Truth wiggles out and is now working on Cena in the corner again. Damn, these chants won't go away.

Truth throws Cena into the ropes, hits a kick on Cena and goes for the pin, but he kicks out at two. 

In a quite hilarious moment, Truth then mocked Cena's "Five Knucke Shuffle" by hitting a goofy move of his own. He and Cena grapple in the middle before Cena tosses Truth into the ropes and then hits the Lie Detector.

Two count for Truth before he hits a splash on Cena in the corner and then gets another two count.

Truth mocks Cena once again, this time by using Cena's signature "You Can't See Me" gesture and subsequently slapping him in the face.

Truth's still in control after hitting a big clotheslines on Cena in the ring, which I'll also take as a sign that we're about to see Super Cena in the not too distant future.

Truth whips Cena into the corner and hits a big hip toss before taking Cena to the ground with a body scissors submission.

Cena reverses the submission and goes for the STF, but Truth maneuvers out of it and takes Cena back to the ground. There was a point where you could hear Cena whisper his next spot to Truth.

Truth hit a suplex on Cena before Cena hulked up and hit the shoulder blocks of doom, followed by the Five Knuckle Shuffle.

Cena goes for the AA, but Truth reverses it and gets a two count. But Cena manages to get Truth in the STF for a few seconds before Truth got to the ropes.

Truth runs the ropes and then hits a HUGE scissor kick on Cena. Shout out to Booker T right there.

He's on the top rope now, and he hits a crossbody on Cena. But Cena catches Truth, rolls through and nearly pins him before Truth hits his finisher on Cena! Only a two count though.

Cena rolls to the outside to get away from Truth, and Truth follows, only to take a Cena hat and drink from a little kid sitting in the crowd. The kid throws the drink on Truth, and Cena takes advantage to throw Truth in the ring, hit the AA and pin him for the win.

Winner: John Cena

Rating: *1/2

Final Thoughts: If you want to know why so many fans in the IWC can't stand John Cena, then just go back and watch this match.

I mean, R-Truth destroyed Cena for just about the entire match, until the last few minutes when "Super Cena" showed up to ruin the day.

I just don't get it.

Why does the WWE feel the need to book Cena like that? Just book the guy in a competitive match and have him win. It's not that hard.