WWE Raw Review: Power to the People: June 20, 2011

Hello folks! Welcome to the best Power to the People Raw review on the Internet!

This marks the second time I have changed my strict title regime, and the second week in a row the WWE has put on a three-hour Raw show.

This came just 24 hours removed from Capitol Punishment, and everyone was still buzzing from the pay-per-view that surpassed my expectations.

CM Punk started things off by sitting in the middle of the ring in protest, saying he would not leave until he was named No. 1 contender by the Raw GM. He said he was the best wrestler in the world and insulted the fans, but it seemed to me like people just didn’t want to boo him.

They tried to boo him but by the end of the segment the low tone of the expected “boo” had all but disappeared.

He also wanted the match scheduled for the second annual Money in the Bank PPV set to air on July 17th. This is Punk’s hometown, and if the Raw that was held in his hometown is anything to go by, the cheers for Punk will be deafening.

The Raw Gm eventually chimed in and told Punk to leave the ring. When he refused, the Raw GM set a match between Punk and Del Rio. When he still refused to leave the ring, the Raw GM made it a triple threat match and included Rey Mysterio.

This was when Punk went into comedy mode and actually made me laugh out loud. I would have said “lol,” but I’m a professional...

He kicked the stairs in anger and limped to the back—it was like something you’d see on a cartoon. He also tried to moan at the GM’s decision but his mic had been turned off, much to Punk’s dismay.

The first vote of the night asked the WWE Universe to find an opponent for the Divas champion, Brie Bella. The results were as follows.

A. Eve — 11 percent

B. Kelly Kelly — 53 percent

C. Beth Phoenix— 36 percent

I cannot believe the Glamazon only got 36 percent in the vote. I was so unbelievably gutted.

Kelly Kelly got a really good ovation and the Divas had a long time in the ring to show what they could do. There were submission holds and everything—it’s not often we get to see the Divas perform for this amount of time.

Kelly Kelly won her first Divas Championship by reversing a reversed roll up...I just confused myself.

Evan Bourne was introduced next and the WWE Universe once again had to pick who the opponent would be. Here’s who they chose.

A. Jack Swagger — 19 percent

B. Mason Ryan — 51 percent

C. Sin Cara — 30 percent

I was extremely surprised at the result. I thought Sin Cara was a sure thing. It resulted in a good match though. Watching Evan Bourne dance around trying to avoid the total beast that is Mason Ryan was extremely entertaining to watch.

Evan Bourne got some decent kicks to the head in on the big man but eventually succumbed to the power that rivals that of Batista—so much so that there were “Batista” chants in the crowd.

This also meant that both picks had won. I am just going to go ahead and assume that this was so the people actually felt their choices had made an impact on the show.

The WWE Universe had to pick a match type for Mark Henry and Kane next. Here are the percentages.

A. Body Slam Match — 13 percent

B. Arm-Wrestling Match — 52 percent

C. Over The Top Rope Match — 35 percent

Mark Henry came out and cut a promo on the Big Show, saying that when he walks, the ground shakes, but when Henry walks, the people shake.

I’ve heard that Kane is unbeatable in arm-wrestling competition—even Brock Lesnar can’t beat him. I was interested to see the result but thought the whole thing would be kayfabe anyway.

“This is stupid” chants erupted as the two men battled until Henry just punched Kane in the face and slammed him through the announce table in the same manner he did with the Big Show the previous night at Capitol Punishment.

Henry left the arena talking smack to himself and the crowd, even threatening the doctor as he tried to tend to a once unstoppable Big Red Machine.

R-Truth came out and moaned about not winning the WWE Championship at Capitol Punishment. He exclaimed that he got “okey-doked by Lil Jimmy!”

Christian came out to share his frustrations about being screwed and I thought for a moment that a possible Christian Coalition was on the cards, as a certain Bleacher predicted in a comment ages ago.

Alas, it wasn’t to be, and after Miz came out to express his frustrations about losing to his apprentice, the three were put into a six-man tag match with their respective opponents by Teddy Long.

It should be noted that Miz got a huge pop and the segment where they repeated things at each other was classic television—awesome promo work by all three men. Some might have found it cheesy and annoying, but I thought it was great!

On a side note, is it just me, or do Teddy Long’s suits always look way too big for him?

A rematch between Kofi Kingston and Dolph Ziggler was scheduled next, with the WWE Universe once again choosing the match type. The results were as follows.

A. 2 out of 3 Falls Match — 51 percent

B. Vickie Banned from Ringside — 31 percent

C. Submission Match — 18 percent

I was happy with the choice here and the two superstars put on an excellent match, full of twists and turns.

At one point, Kofi ran at Ziggler to attack him and just fell out of the ring—it was like something off You’ve Been Framed. I don’t know what the American equivalent of that show is. The point is it was hilarious.

Back from commercial and lo and behold, Kofi was in a headlock. I said last week that every time we come back from commercial someone is in a head lock. Go and check, I’ll wait...Did you see? I did say that.

The first fall went to Ziggler in the break, with the second going to Kofi from an S.O.S.

It was an extremely exciting match but I felt a bit jipped by the ending. Dolph hit Kofi on the head with a microphone and got disqualified, keeping the U.S title around his waist. It was a shame that such a good match had to end in a disqualification.

Kofi hit the Trouble In Paradise on Dolph after the match.

Del Rio came out and said the accident with Big Show was just destiny, as will be his win tonight. He must’ve been the only person in that arena that didn’t realise Punk was obviously going to win.

The audience got to choose the match type for the No. 1 contender match.

A. No Disqualification — 23 percent

B. Falls Count Anywhere — 66 percent

C. Submission Match — 11 percent

A falls count anywhere match made for some interesting situations. The action did spill to the outside a couple of times, but ultimately, it was a 619 from Rey Mysterio to Alberto Del Rio that gave Punk the win.

I’d say this match stole the show, especially when Del Rio powerbombed Punk who simultaneously suplexed Mysterio off the top rope.

Punk shoved Mysterio into the ring post and stole his pin.  He then informed the audience that the day he competes for the title is the day his contract expires. He said he would leave with the WWE Championship.

Another choice of match type was given to the WWE Universe for Cody Rhodes and Daniel Bryan. Here are the results.

A. Paper Bag Match — 43 percent

B. No Count Out Match — 51 percent

C. Collegiate Rules Match — 6 percent

Nothing special happened here, Daniel Bryan got the win with a roll up, and then locked in the LeBell lock post-match. Ted DiBiase came down to make the save and Daniel Bryan ended up with a bag on his head.

It looks like Legacy is retuning...

A dance competition preceded the main event pitting Vickie Guerrero against one of the commentary team.

A. Michael Cole — 47 percent

B. Jerry Lawler — 39 percent

C. Booker T — 14 percent

Michael Cole won the dance off. Let’s just leave it at that. Vicky then slapped Cole because she lost. What a winner.

I’ll just give a quick rundown of the main event as it went on for way too long. Once again the WWE Universe got to choose the match type.

A. One Fall to a Finish — 15 percent

B. 20 Minute Time Limit — 6 percent

C. Elimination— 79 percent

R-Truth arrived to “Little Jimmy” chants.

The match eventually started breaking down and Miz gave Riley a Skull-crushing Finale behind the ref’s back, allowing Christian to eliminate him.

Cena then began his SuperCena routine to huge boos and eliminated Miz with an AA. R-Truth was then eliminated with an RKO but Christian got revenge by eliminating Orton with a spear. Lo and behold, Cena beat Christian after Orton RKO’d him and locked in the STF.

I couldn’t have scripted a more predictable outcome myself.

Raw certainly did not give power to the people as the title did suggest, but all the matches barring the main event delivered in one way or another.

I thought the Kofi/Ziggler match and the triple threat No. 1 contenders match both stole the show. They were exciting and felt like pay-per-view matches.

While I think a three-hour Raw was a bit much after a PPV the night before, I must admit, up until the main event I was thoroughly entertained throughout.

What did you think?  Please leave a comment below detailing your thoughts. I always reply to all comments.

Thanks for reading!

Please check out my other reviews.

WWE SmackDown Review: June 17, 2011

WWE Capitol Punishment Review: June 19, 2011 (Part 1)

WWE Capitol Punishment Review: June 19, 2011 (Part 2)