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Hmm, what could we be talking about this week. Did anything significant happen in the WWE? Well I suppose so, finally the views that have been aired on this column and blog in general were said on actual live televised WWE programming, which I think is a good thing. Punk has always been the top dog in the heel world, more so than even Jericho, mainly because he really isn’t a company man but his skills keep him high up enough in the company that his voice can be heard. Now the WWE have finally harnessed this reality into their programming and as such made it much more real, which is a feat in itself for a program that is all but completely scripted. If only the WWE would do more of this we here at Wrestling Truth might have more good things to say about the programming we love. Hell one day maybe we won’t be so hesitant in our telling of other people that we are fans of wrestling, or heaven forbid even write for a wrestling website. I long for the day where I don’t have to immediately self-justify as soon as I talk about this column to people outside of the wrestling community and I think Punk’s promo brought that dream just a little bit closer to reality. Then again maybe that’s going too far and this was just a blip on the radar, but we can live in hope, for now let’s just get on with the report…

Weekly Top Ten:

1st Place: C.M. Punk (10/10)

The obvious top heel in the company of the past week has to be C.M. Punk. Not only was his promo groundbreaking and just what the company needed to break the ridiculous amount of kayfabe that they try to keep up in a world where everyone and their mum knows that wrestling is fake, but it also seems to have allowed other wrestlers to get in pot shots as well. People like Christian and Mark Henry seemed to hinge on a Punk-like breaking of kayfabe this week, completely reigned in of course, but there was just a whiff of dissention in the air, which is most likely all constructed, still it feels real and in the end that’s all that matters. I also like how the WWE has handled the promo, promoting it a bit but not really showing too much, if they over-egged it the obvious workness of it would come out, and denying knowledge of it completely would make it too real, like the whole Benoit incident. So it’s good they are towing the line inbetween and basically letting everyone know that it was a controlled shoot.

2nd Place: Mark Henry (9/10)

The wild man Mark Henry comes in behind C.M. Punk, once again seeming nearly untouchable bar his count out loss to Randy Orton. As the Viper couldn’t get the pinfall victory over Henry though you have to say that at least he’s not jobbing out to the World Champion. Henry’s destruction, first of the cage on Raw, then of the sound guy on Smackdown were great and his heel persona is even better than it was in his days as ECW champion.

3rd Place: Christian (8/10)

The Former Captain Charisma did well this week, acting like the CLB that he has branded as and lawyering up for his contract signing with the champ. He also managed to hand the Mexican sensation, what I believe to be, his first defeat, and with a spear of all things. After the end of Smackdown though it’s hard to say what will be happening at MitB, perhaps it will be a triple threat match after all. I still can’t decide if Christian winning the title would be a good thing, only because it would extend this now tired rivalry further. Basically Christian should have won at Capitol Punishment, where Orton’s foot was under the ropes, then this should be the rematch and Sheamus should be screwing over Orton by making it a triple threat match and Christian should retain, thus ending the rivalry. The only reason it’s not like that is because for some reason the WWE thinks that PG should mean that the higher ups should always be going ‘nah nah’ to the heels of the company and giving the faces all the advantages, when clearly it should be the opposite of this. How can you vilify heels for the little kiddies if they are getting stomped on all the time. Christian is a terrible heel only because he is the underdog in this situation and that makes no sense as it makes me at least want to root for him no matter what.

4th Place: Cody Rhodes (7/10)

The owner of the Beautiful Disaster managed to gain a surprise victory over Ezekiel Jackson on Smackdown. It doesn’t really make sense to push Jackson so much and then have Rhodes beat him near straight, just to presumably get Rhodes into the IC title hunt, as there are much better ways to start such a feud than to have the newly crowned Intercontinental champion jobbing out to the paper bag man. Then again at least Rhodes will get a title shot now, something that he certainly deserves overall.

5th Place: R-Truth (6/10)

The first of two men to profit this week from another heel’s actions, being able to end their feud with a major face with a win due to interference in their speciality match. R-Truth was able to table Super Cena on Raw thanks to Punk’s actions and that has to make him a happy R-Truth. Now with Punk suspended Truth might also get another shot at Cena and the title, however since the suspension will most likely be lifted before MitB the match seems like a bit of a formality to me.

6th Place: Alberto Del Rio (5/10)

The second man to escape from his rivalry with one of the company’s top buriers is Alberto Del Rio. Beating the Big Show in a steel cage match on Raw is a big deal. Looking back the company must still be really high on Del Rio, despite the fact that he isn’t completely in the title picture, because while going against the Big Show I don’t think he’s actually lost, which is a rarity.

7th Place: Sheamus (4/10)

The Celtic Warrior may not have been on TV that much this week but he certainly made his presence felt at the end of Smackdown, kicking both Christian and Orton’s head off before they were able to officially sign the contract for the main event at MitB. Well I say the main event but judging by previous PPVs the World Title match will actually take place in the middle, or even at the beginning of the card.

8th Place: Ted DiBiase (3/10)

The Priceless Prince actually managed to get onto the chart this week despite losing to Daniel Bryan, mainly because he helped his partner/mentor Rhodes to victory. It’s been a strange week for the chart where a lot of heels have been able to get on with limited points, mainly because there were a lot of lesser heel loses this week despite the major heel victories over the major faces, it’s a strange balance.

9th Place: The Miz (2/10)

Another guy who gets onto the chart despite actually losing his match on Raw is the former most must-see WWE champion in history. The Miz continues to fall away from the main event, being paired with Jack Swagger now, who is on his own downwards spiral. At least the Miz can take comfort in the fact that it was Swagger who was fed to the sharks that are Mysterio and Riley in their tornado match.

10th Place: Wade Barrett (1/10)

In last place is a man who is on his own downwards spiral, but at least he has a smaller distance to fall. Only losing the IC title, Barrett still could climb higher to claim the World title at some point soon. Though losing to Kane this week doesn’t bode well for any title hopes that Barrett might have. I think his last resort is the Money in the Bank match, which would be a great opportunity for him and would be fair as if anyone is deserving of a title reign early in their career it is Wade Barrett.

2011-2012 Season Top Ten: Overall Top Ten:

1st Place: R-Truth (94/130) – 1st Place: C.M. Punk (627/1130)

2nd Place: The Miz (70/130) – 2nd Place: The Miz (614/1130)

3rd Place: Cody Rhodes (58/130) – 3rd Place: Chris Jericho (564/1130)

4th Place: Alberto Del Rio (56/130) – 4th Place: Jack Swagger (338/1130)

5th Place: C.M. Punk (49/130) – 5th Place: Dolph Ziggler (305/1130)

6th Place: Michael Cole (43/130) – 6th Place: Cody Rhodes (296/1130)

7th Place: Wade Barrett (36/130) – 7th Place: Sheamus (280/1130)

8th Place: Sheamus (35/130) – 8th Place: Alberto Del Rio (251/1130)

9th Place: Christian (31/130) – 9th Place: Wade Barrett (239/1130)

10th Place: Jack Swagger (30/130) – 10th Place: Randy Orton (224/1130)

Weekly Filler:

The Face-Off: Relic Attack

It’s funny how on a show where Punk cut the greatest promo in the last ten years, completely exposing the WWE and all its problems, they also put on a promo that completely sums up those problems and treats them like they are a great laugh. I’m talking of course about the cheap plug by DDP and Booker T that was interrupted by Drew McIntyre with some valid points, who was then soundly silenced by a boot from HBK. To which everyone then laughed and said what a happy time it was silencing the dumb rookie who has no business breathing the same air as these men who are well past the prime of their life. Hopefully that was the last hurrah for these relics and pretty soon they actually won’t take up all that much airtime. Take a lesson from TNA and how when Hogan came in he spoilt things by giving faces from the past too much air time when people don’t care. I think it’s a better idea to have the new guys on TV and the older, more recognised faces on live events as it would draw in bigger crowds. Sure the older guys would get paid less, but they don’t need the money, or else they don’t deserve it!

Face the Facts: Tornado Rules

I just like this style of match. I haven’t seen it done for years, in fact I can only really remember it from the WWE video games rather than on air matches. But they are a great idea, there are so many different spots you can do with four men when they are actually supposed to be working together, rather than in a fatal-4-way match where eventually the guys double teaming will have to turn on each other as that is what the audience expects. The Tornado match is definitely something the WWE should use a little bit more. The problem is that the WWE seems to go through phases of using some gimmicks rather than having the variation of different things all the time, which would be a lot more interesting. So there probably will be a fair few Tornado matches in the near future, but hopefully the gimmick will not be done to death and we will just see a little more variation in the WWE’s match type while booking.

On the Rise: Mark Henry

I’ve already praised the World’s Strongest Man somewhat, but I think there is space to do it more here as this week Mark Henry took his character to a new level, making himself out to be a loose cannon who could do whatever he wanted, to whoever he wanted, whenever he wanted, and I bought it. He tore down the side of a cage on Raw, then threw an effects guy into the black void and stopped the next match from having entrance music on Smackdown. I’ve never been a big Mark Henry fan but now I’m starting to come around as with his acts the past couple of weeks its become clear that the sound of his music means destruction, and that’s always a good thing to be expecting.

Flat-Footed: Maryse and Hornswaggle

I pick on this only because it is pointless and in a week where lots of poignant things happened it just won’t do. Who wants to see a troll come on to a French stunner, only to have her turn him down week after week. It is the lowest form of entertainment and serves no real purpose on the actual show, NXT for those of you who don’t know. Now I love Maryse and her diva nature, but this whole thing is just boring, so stop it.

That’s all for this week, I’ve just read the good news that Punk is only suspended from televised programming so the storyline will definitely continue, which makes the whole triple threat match on this weeks Raw even more confusing, but never mind. Anyway until C.M. Punk gets made the chairman of the company after converting everyone to Straight Edge, this is James Wright signing off.

Source: wrestlingtruth.com