WWE Capitol Punishment (June 2011)

Original Airdate: June 19, 2011

From Washington, DC; Your Hosts are Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler, and Booker T

Opening WWE United States Title Match: Kofi Kingston v Dolph Ziggler: Well, if there was ever an appropriate event to have the US title main event. So, of course, it goes on first. Though, in modern WWE, that’s kind of a main event slot. Feeling out process to start, and a big criss cross allows Kofi a jumping backelbow for two. Dropkick finds the mark, and a monkeyflip leads to Trouble in Paradise, but Dolph dodges. That allows Ziggler a rocker dropper for two, but Kofi fires back with a backslide for two, so Ziggler plants a dropkick for two. Clothesline gets the challenger two, so Dolph works a reverse chinlock. Kofi fights into a schoolboy for two, so Ziggler tries a backbreaker, but Kofi is ready with a cradle for two. Kofi with a corner whip, but a corner splash misses, and Ziggler hooks a bridging German suplex for two. Ziggler slows it down with an armbar, but Kofi fights to a vertical base. Dolph looks to shift to a sleeper, but Kofi uses a jawbreaker to block, then dodges a corner splash from the challenger. That allows Kingston to go on the comeback trail, and a 2nd rope axehandle gets him two. Boom Drop finds the mark, but Dolph ducks Trouble again. That triggers a reversal sequence that ends in Kofi delivering an SOS for two, and a rollup gets two - reversed by Ziggler for two. Zig Zag, but Kofi blocks, and uses a kneesmash for two. Flying bodypress gets another two, so Dolph goes to a sleeper, but Kingston drops into the corner to escape. That allows him another Trouble attempt, but Ziggler dodges again. Zig Zag, but Kofi blocks again, so Vickie Guerrero rakes his eyes. That finally allows Ziggler to get a sleeper locked on, and we have a new champion at 11:03. This wasn’t a classic or anything, but it was a nice focused opener that didn’t overstay its welcome. Not a bad thing to be. ***

Miz v Alex Riley: Miz gets in his face, so Alex throws a right hand, and we’re off! Slugfest is dominated by Riley, but he hits a boot while charging Miz in the corner, and Miz puts the boots to him. Miz with a kneelift and a DDT for two, and he works Riley over in dull fashion. Like, truly boring punch/kick/nothing else. Miz gets a sleeper/bodyscissors on to try and put it away, and you could hear a pin drop in the place. Riley fights to a vertical base, so Miz drops him with an inverted DDT for two, and dives with a flying axehandle for two. Alex gets fired up and crotches Miz on the post, and some mounted punches follows, as Riley makes a comeback. Spinebuster gets him two, so Miz dumps Riley to the outside to try and buy time, but Alex jumps back in with a boot for two. Riley takes him to the outside to kick around, so Michael Cole protests, but that ends in Riley beating him up as well. That does allow Miz to recover, however, and he grabs his Money in the Bank briefcase. The pesky referee interferes, however, and Riley DDTs him at 10:15. A real piece of shit of a match. DUD

Big Show v Alberto Del Rio: Show attacks from behind during the entrances, and he unloads on Del Rio on the outside, until Mark Henry comes out to make the save. Henry slams Show through a table, but Show beats the count in, and the match officially starts. Show’s leg is battered after the attack, but he still manages to toss Del Rio around. Del Rio wisely targets the leg to cut that off, and a dropkick to the part gets him two. Show comes back with a chokeslam, but Del Rio wisely rolls out of the ring before a cover is made, knowing the hobbled Show won’t be able to chase. Del Rio snaps his throat across the top rope on the way back in, and keeps hammering the leg… before going for a cross-armbreaker. Yeah, that makes sense. Show easily blocks, so Del Rio goes back to the leg, and gets a grapevine on, but Show makes the ropes. Show is still in it, but he can barely stand now, so the referee stops the match at 4:56 (9:59 total). This psychology was good, and Show did a fantastic job of selling throughout, but it was kind of a one-note match. ½*

WWE Intercontinental Title Match: Wade Barrett v Ezekiel Jackson: Wade works a standing side-headlock to start, but Jackson quickly powers out, and uses a shoulderblock for two. Wade comes at him with fists, but Jackson absorbs them, so Barrett bails. Back in, Jackson hammers him into the corner, and a cross corner whip follows. Clothesline sets up an elbowdrop for two, so Wade kicks at the knee to buy time, and plants a big boot to the brain for one. Barrett with a rotating chokeslam for two, and he works a chinlock. Jackson fights to a vertical base, triggering a reversal sequence, won by the champion with a sunset cradle for two. Wade adds a pumphandle-slam for two, and he unloads on his challenger in the corner. Jackson dodges a charge to allow him a comeback, but Wade manages to cut him off with a Wasteland for two. Barrett stays on him with mounted blows, but Jackson blocks another big boot, and goes back on the comeback trail. Series of bodyslams set up a torture rack, and Barrett submits the title away at 6:39. This was decent, but nothing of note. * ¼ 

Rey Mysterio v CM Punk: The New Nexus are banned from ringside for this. Punk dominates early on, but Rey uses his speed to hook a sunset cradle for two, and a dropkick nearly sets up the 619, but Punk is able to bail. Rey dives after him from the apron, but Punk catches him, and Rey takes a bump across the barricade. Inside, that gets Punk a two count, and some stomps get him another two. Punk with a seated senton splash for two, and he works a bodyscissors from there. Rey escapes, so Punk uses a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for two, and he goes back to the hold. Rey fights free again, so Punk blasts him with a clothesline for two, and he goes to an abdominal stretch. I appreciate the psychology here, but this is pretty boring thus far. Mysterio manages to knock him to the outside to buy time, and Rey dives with a springboard moonsault press on the floor to capitalize. Rey with a flying clothesline for two on the way back in, but Punk rolls through a bodypress for two. Sunset flip triggers a reversal sequence won by Mysterio with a roundhouse kick for two, but a trip to the top ends badly when Punk side superplexes him for two. Punk adds a running kneesmash in the corner, but another corner charge misses, and Rey knocks him to the outside with a 619. Rey muscles him back in for a flying splash, but Punk gets his knees up, and hooks the leg for two. Punk goes for the GTS, but Rey is ready with a rana into a cradle for two. Punk responds with a roundhouse kick of his own for two, but Rey counters another GTS into the 619 - only for Punk to counter that into the GTS at 15:03. This got pretty good in the last third, but it was really sleepy before that. And you can’t even write it off as good psychology that led somewhere, because Punk spent a long time working the abdomen, and it didn’t factor into the finish at all. ** ¼ 

World Heavyweight Title Match: Randy Orton v Christian: Orton pounds him down for mounted punches right away, and a clothesline allows Randy to stomp him some. Orton with a Thesz-press into more mounted punches, and a bodypress gets the champion two. Randy grabs a side-headlock, but Christian forces a criss cross, only to run into a shoulderblock to give Orton two. Orton goes back to the headlock, but Christian slugs free, only to miss a 2nd rope dropkick. Christian desperately dumps Orton to the outside to buy time, and that’s finally enough to allow him a successful follow up in the form of a baseball slide. Plancha, but Randy dodges that one, and shoulderblocks the challenger on the floor. That gets Randy a two count on the way back inside, and a ten-punch count rattles Christian enough for Orton to clothesline him over the top. Randy tries an elevated DDT on the floor, but Christian manages to send him into the steps to block, and he hooks the leg for two on the way back in. Christian with a neckbreaker for two, but a corner charge misses, and Randy schoolboys for two. Christian fights back with a spinebuster for two, and he hammers the champion with some mounted punches of his own. Corner whip, but Orton reverses, and sends Christian flying with a backdrop. Orton pounds the hell out of him from there, but Christian still blocks a bodyslam, so Orton goes to a pair of clothesline instead, then a snap powerslam. Belly-to-belly suplex gets the champion two, so Christian bails to the apron, and manages to clobber Randy when the champ goes after him. Christian tries suplexing him out of the ring, but Orton blocks, and they fight to the top rope, where Randy is able to superplex him inside for two. Both guys stagger up for a slugfest, and Orton tries the RKO, but Christian blocks. Orton manages a backbreaker rack into a neckbreaker for two, but Christian blocks another RKO attempt. Christian tries evading him, but gets clobbered on the apron, and Orton uses a rope-hung DDT. RKO, but Christian counters with an inverted DDT for two. Spear, but Orton leapfrogs. RKO, but Christian blocks again, and lands the spear for two! Orton staggers up with a dropkick, but he’s dazed, and Christian manages a modified pele kick. He looks for a follow up, but Randy is ready with an RKO at 14:02. This was a good match, with Orton looking motivated, and busting out a bunch of stuff you don’t usually see from him. Afterwards, Christian complains of his foot being under the bottom rope during the pin (which it absolutely was), but no restart happens. ***

Jack Swagger v Evan Bourne: Big Jack tosses Evan around to start, and he takes him down in a front-facelock. Bourne fights to a vertical base, so Swagger slams him back down, and holds a hammerlock while paintbrushing him. Bourne fights out again, and a criss cross ends in Evan countering a hiptoss over the top with a headscissors. Dropkick follows, but Jack catches him with a pair of stomachbreakers, and an inverted slam gets Swagger a two count. Swagger with a series of elbowsmashes to the abdomen for two, and he stretches Bourne with a reverse chinlock. Swagger sends him to the heavens with a backdrop for two, and a corner whip sets up a springboard pump-splash for two. Jack works a toehold from there, but quickly abandons it, and just hammers him instead. Bourne fights back with another headscissors, but Jack cuts him off with a bodyslam, only to get blocked when trying another pump-splash. That allows Bourne a comeback, and a kick to the head gets him two, before Swagger cuts him off with a big boot for two. Bourne manages a flying tornado DDT for two, and a series of kicks set up a flying shooting star press, but Jack dodges. That triggers a reversal sequence, ending in Evan countering an anklelock into a victory cradle at 7:16. This didn’t really work. ¾*

Main Event: WWE Title Match: John Cena v R-Truth: Cena dominates him early on, with Truth getting increasingly frustrated. Truth manages to counter an Attitude Adjustment into a sitout gourdbuster for two, and a leg lariat gets him another two. Truth with a legdrop for two, and he tries a bow-and-arrow, but Cena powers out. Truth responds with a jumping forearm for two, and a corner forearm gets another two. Clothesline gets two, and a hiptoss is worth two. Truth is just cycling through the most basic moves in his (or anyone’s) arsenal here. Truth works a bodyscissors next, but Cena nearly counters to an STF before Truth grabs the ropes. Truth throws another clothesline for two, and a vertical suplex is worth two. This is like a match between an eleven year old and a doll, or something. Another legdrop, but Cena dodges, and makes a comeback. Truth manages to block the AA, however, and a jawbreaker gets the challenger two. Corner splash, but Cena dodges, and traps him in the STF, but Truth has the ropes. Truth manages an axekick for two, but Cena rolls through a flying bodypress, and muscles Truth into the AA - only for Truth to counter with a reverse STO for two. Cena rolls out of the ring, so Truth stops to tease the young fans at ringside instead of, you know, doing something, and John recovers with an AA at 14:43. It’s one thing putting an undercarder like Truth in the main event. It’s quite another booking him like he knows three moves. What a wasted opportunity to elevate a guy. ¼*

BUExperience: Despite having a pretty low caliber main event (did anyone really think R-Truth had a shot of winning the title here?), this was a pretty enjoyable show for the most part. Far, far from a must see, but not terrible either.

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