General Pro Wrestling News and Discussion Thread Part Deux!

[Mr Silver]

Punk vs Cena went on far too long, Cena just hasn't got the conditioning to wrestle matches of that length, nor keep up with the superiorly conditioned CM Punk. I'm not saying the match was bad, it was enjoyable, but it didn't do much where John Cena was concerned. I actually cringed at the top-rope German suplex, the landing looked dangerous, although clearly, it was designed so that Cena would go into the bridge with both his shoulders on the mat.

The false finish was straight out of the book of WWF 2000, in which the WWE Championship "changed hands" on more than one occasion, only for the referee to reverse the decision or declare that both men's shoulders were on the mat, etc.

Not even a hometown crowd could save Cena (as I predicted). He received a mixed reaction (I'd say 45% cheers 55% boo's) from bell to bell. Not even CM Punk's masterful command of the heel archetype could sway the crowd to favour Cena. I think WWE should just accept defeat where promoting black and white characters is concerned. It all began with the nWo and Steve Austin, and it's not going to go away.

I'm surprised Eve walked out as Divas Champion, it would seem the office is still really high on her. If I were booking, I'd have Aksana (can she even wrestle?) take the Diva dukes, and reign supreme alongside Antonio Cesaro as a classic power couple. It would enhance both of them, in that McMahon/Helmsley style of 2000.

All in all, NOC was a decent effort from WWE.

Oh, by the way! When Kane decides to retire from in-ring competition, he should seriously consider sketch comedy. That guy is absolutely hilarious when he's allowed to be! Both Kane and Daniel Bryan are going to go to the moon if the performance quality remains at the same high level.

[Icemizer]

Your right Admira,l Kanes yelling out, I'm going to DisnyLand, was priceless and by far my favorite moment of the show.

[Satyrquaze]

Kane is often singled out by the boys as one of the smartest and funniest guys on the roster.

[Ghost Bones]

Kane's a real renaissance man in wrestling terms. A man who (dentist gimmick notwithstanding) was originally brought in to play a silent, masked monster has since been able to perfectly turn his hand to absolute psychopath immediately following his unmasking, a quite Shakespearian turn while World Heavyweight Champion and now doing the best comedy the company's put out in a very long time.

[Mr Silver]

I AM the Tag Team CHAMPIONS!

[Admiral_Young]

^ That was pretty entertaining. Kane has always been good at doing comedy segments. Even without speaking, just reacting.

WWE.com has reported this morning that John Cena underwent elbow surgery to remove bone chips. He will be out four to six weeks.

[Mr Silver]

Admiral_Young wrote:

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WWE.com has reported this morning that John Cena underwent elbow surgery to remove bone chips. He will be out four to six weeks.

I've just been reading that myself.

I have a feeling that Cena will still appear in a non-wrestling capacity, regardless of whether he's injured or not. Hell, Cena's rate of recovery is superhuman. His last "big" injury in 2008 - in where he suffered some kind of neck injury, only forced him out of action for 4 months.

Four to Six weeks? I'd say three, and he'll still make the Hell In A Cell main event.

[Delsaber]

Ideally, Creative should use this time to develop Punk's heel persona in a way that isn't intrinsically tied to "whatever John Cena is up to at the moment." They might not get too many more chances like this, between how rare Cena's injuries/hiatuses have been and how difficult a time they've had turning Punk completely.

...hey, it's a nice dream to have, right? Right up there with "AJ + AC/DC schoolboy costume + Gatorade."

[Mr Silver]

Delsaber wrote:

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Right up there with "AJ + AC/DC schoolboy costume + Gatorade."

AJ doesn't really do it for me, but it's good to dream!

[Admiral_Young]

Wasn't Cena reported injured last year? I seem to remember we had a big discussion in the original thread about WWE getting Cena time off and all agreeing (for once lol) that wouldn't happen. They just rely on him too much to take him off camera for too long.

[Delsaber]

Very true, unfortunately. If he didn't take any time away to deal with his divorce situation, an elbow injury isn't going to sideline him either. Gotta sell those shirts, right?

A quick aside: any and all future injuries should get the "RNN updates" treatment.

[Delsaber]

BTW, anyone here read Brandon Stroud's Best/Worst of RAW column? It's one of the highlights of my week at this point. Which I suppose gives you an idea of how most of my weeks tend to go.

[Ghost Bones]

Well assuming Cena is out, who ought to face Punk at HiaC? Contrary to its arbitrary placement, I like to think the match should require a little history between competitors. Randy Orton maybe?

[Admiral_Young]

I would be interested in a Randy Orton/Punk feud. Anyone else find the Punk "Satan" promo video they ran last night during Raw interesting? An indication of where they're taking Punk during his heel turn I suppose.

[Delsaber]

I suppose with Punk all heel'd-up, Orton would be the natural second choice for a Cell opponent with Cena out of the picture. However, I believe Orton is off to shoot a movie soon. I assume that's also the reason why he was put over Ziggler on Sunday; at least, I can't think of any other purpose for that booking.

Chances are Cena will work Hell in the Cell regardless of the elbow. As much as I don't really care to see Punk/Cena go on too much longer, there's not really enough time to throw together a decent fallback option.