WWE Monday Night RAW - 11th February 2013
This week's edition of RAW was LIVE from Nashville, and there was a lot going on. With just a week until Elimination Chamber, things were to reach boiling point, and it set the scene ready for the Chamber. The Rock, the WWE Champion was also LIVE on RAW!
Paul Heyman announced via Tout prior to the show that he had the 'Announcement of a Lifetime' and would kick off Monday Night RAW. Paul Heyman shocked us all when he announced that he would be leaving the WWE, and this was his last ever night on RAW. Paul Heyman explained why he came to this decision, and said it was for the benefit of CM Punk. During Heyman's leaving speech, CM Punk entered the ring, and managed to talk Paul Heyman out of resigning. He was successful in his job, and Heyman did not resign.
The first contest of the night was between two huge behemoths, The Great Khali and Mark Henry. The match only lasted for a minute or two, but was dominated by Mark Henry, finishing with yet another thunderous World's Strongest Slam to Khali, inducting another victim into the Hall of Pain. But Henry wasn't done. As Hornswoggle and Natalya aided Khali, Mark Henry got back into the ring and slammed Hornswoggle. Mark Henry has made his presence known just a week into his return.
Chris Jericho had the opportunity to have himself entered into the Elimination Chamber match that will take place this Sunday, but he had to defeat Daniel Bryan to do so. There was some pulsating action between both competitors, a match that went through the ropes, out the ropes, back and forth, and was just awesome. The contest came to an end when Chris Jericho hit his Signature move, the Codebreaker, putting Daniel Bryan out for the pinfall. Chris Jericho had secured a spot in the Elimination Chamber match.
John Cena, Sheamus and Ryback prepared for their pivotal six-man tag team match at Elimination Chamber this Sunday, by defeating 3MB. They dominated each of the men in 3MB, and finished it in great fashion with well timed bodyslams/signature moves. They looked more than ready to take on The Shield this Sunday.
Associated by Zeb Coulter ringside, Jack Swagger secured a spot in the Elimination Chamber match after an outstanding performance against 'Long Island Ice Z' Zack Ryder. Swagger made a bold statement with his victory, and looks to go one step further by winning the Chamber match this Sunday.
The Miz and Cody Rhodes squared off for the first time ever on RAW, in a match where we saw some great action, and of course the involvement of Antonio Cesaro, the United States Champion who was ringside. The Miz was taking control outside the ring, before Antonio Cesaro interfered and attacked The Awesome One. This rivalry just stepped up even more.Brodus Clay and his new associate Tensai, overcame the team of Primo and Epico with a dominating performance. The sheer size of Clay and Tensai easily outmatched Primo and Epico, and a win was secured, before things got funky, with yes, another dance...
The Shield made their way to the middle of the ring to send a message to John Cena, Ryback and Sheamus. They made serious warnings to their opponents, they talked about 'Rectifying 10 years' which Cena had ruined, they looked ready to take on their opponents at the Elimination Chamber. After sending a bold message, they called out Sheamus, Cena and Ryback. They awaited the arrival, until the lights went out, and Ryback, Cena and Sheamus attacked The Shield with the same tactic The Shield used. They attacked them up to the stairs in the arena, chaos ensued in Nashville, as Cena and his partners stood tall. All was set for the Elimination Chamber. Justice? This is just a taste to what is coming our way this Sunday.
Damien Sandow made his way to the ring next, bashing on the Grammy Awards, and Nashville. This got a negative ovation from the crowd. Damien Sandow wasn't to be laughing at the end of the night however, as he faced Alberto Del Rio, and within a minute was found in the Cross-Arm Breaker and tapped out, the World Heavyweight Champion Del Rio looks ready for the Chamber, and he will need to be. Del Rio was confident that he would be going to WrestleMania.
The Intercontinental Champion,Wade Barrett was ready for action next, but as he walked backstage, he was attacked by NXT Rookie Bo Dallas. Wade Barrett and Bo Dallas have had an ongoing recent feud, and Dallas wanted to avenge an attack from Barrett a few weeks ago. Barrett however was still able to get to the ring, and take on long time rival, Kofi Kingston, a man of who he took the Intercontinental Championship from on New Year's Eve. Wade Barrett and Kofi's match was entertaining, and came to an end when Kofi was caught in the apron and hit with a bullhammer elbow. 
The
final spot in the Elimination Chamber was up for grabs, as Kane squared
off with Dolph Ziggler. The Chamber match was shaping up to be a great
one, and an addition of either of these superstars would enhance it even
further. Dolph Ziggler escaped the ring at one point to take a break
from the flurry of Kane's offense, with the backing of Big E Langston
and AJ Lee ringside. The match stretched out for long, as Ziggler tried
numerous times to put the Big Red Machine away, but for a long period of
time, the determined efforts were not enough to get them to the
Chamber, that is until AJ tried to distract Kane off the top rope. AJ
fell of, but was caught by Big E. A concerned Ziggler turned straight
into a chokeslam, and Kane was rolling to the Elimination Chamber match.
And FINALLY... The Rock has come back to Nashville! Concluding the show was WWE Champion, The Rock, who came back to a city of which was special to him, the place where he had his first ever wrestling match, at a flea market for 40 bucks. But now, years later, he stands back in Nashville, as the WWE Champion! The Rock had funny stories to tell the WWE Universe, but it all came in relevance to one thing, that his dream had been achieved, and that he was the WWE Champion. Then he was interrupted by former WWE Champion, CM Punk, who will face The Rock this Sunday at the Elimination Chamber. CM Punk said he would get 
that title back, and as he made his way to the ring, a brawl was to ensue. CM Punk and The Rock fought in the ring, and The Rock gained control. He was preparing for the People's Elbow, when Paul Heyman tripped up the WWE Champion, and CM Punk capitalized to give The Rock a GTS, all reminiscent of RAW 1000. The stage was set, CM Punk would be going in with the momentum, but he was focused to capture the WWE Championship he lost just a month ago.RAW this week had some good matches, a few good segments, but the rest of the three hours was quite lack-luster. Despite this, the excitement for Elimination Chamber is still very high.
WWE Main Event - 13th February 2013
The feature of this week's edition of Main Event was Chris Jericho's "Highlight Reel" talk show, for the first time ever on Main Event. Initially, The Miz was supposed to be the interviewee, but after being injured at the hands of Antonio Cesaro on RAW, he was not able to turn up. As a replacement, Chris Jericho interviewed World Heavyweight Champion Alberto Del Rio. The two speculated about the possibilities of them facing off at WrestleMania, and even talked about Mexican wrestling heritage with a bit of Spanish. They were interrupted by Dolph Ziggler, the 
holder of a Money in the Bank briefcase which entitles him to have a shot at the World Heavyweight Championship any time, any place, any where. Ziggler confronted Del Rio and Jericho, and stated that HE was the next Champion. Del Rio had enough, and wanted to shut up Ziggler, so challenged him to a match.Alberto Del Rio and Dolph Ziggler had an excellent match, some very good action taking place, and there is a possibility that we could see this again, but with title implications. With some interference from AJ and Big E Langston, Ziggler came very close to a victory. In the concluding moments of the match, Ricardo Rodriguez was chased up the ramp by Big
E Langston, before it culminated in the ring, as Ziggler tapped out to Del Rio's devastating submission, the Cross-Arm Breaker. An excellent match on Main Event that increases excitement for the Elimination Chamber this Sunday.
We were then expecting to see CM Punk on Main Event to discuss about the Elimination Chamber match with The Rock and his actions on RAW, instead we got Paul Heyman in the locker room, who stated Punk's intent to win the title this Sunday.
And that was Main Event, featuring only one match, it was still quite entertaining, but would have been better if CM Punk was on the show also. Some good entertainment with the match of Del Rio vs. Ziggler.
Friday Night SmackDown! - 15th February 2013
The #1 Contender for the World Heavyweight Championship, The Big Show opened up SmackDown. After being embarrassed one week ago by Alberto Del Rio, Big Show was not in a good mood. As Big Show unleashed some of his fury, and said what he would do to Del Rio on Sunday, he was interrupted by Chris Jericho, a man of who he has had a lot of history with. The possibility of them facing each other at WrestleMania cropped up, but things got heated quickly. General Manager Booker T came and announced a huge match, that Chris Jericho would face The Big Show later that night on SmackDown, a great match in store.
The first match of the night was a rematch from last week's main event on SmackDown, as The World's Strongest Man Mark Henry faced off with The Viper, Randy Orton. The intensity between the two was even higher this time round, with the Elimination Chamber just round the corner. Randy Orton gained some early control over Henry, but after, he lost control and was near-dominated with some glimpses of resistance. The match came to an end when Randy Orton was behind the barricade, and got a steel chair out to hit Mark Henry, and lost via Disqualification. Randy Orton continued his attack with the chair, but then Henry blocked the shot, and finished Orton with a thunderous World's Strongest Slam, and Mark Henry made a bold statement to all his Elimination Chamber opponents this Sunday.
WWE Champion, The Rock was on SmackDown next, and with just two days before he defended his WWE Champion against CM Punk, and the events that ensued on SmackDown, The Rock had a lot to say to the Straight-Edge Savior and the WWE Universe. CM Punk appeared on the large screen in the arena and interrupted The Rock, and CM Punk looked pretty confident for Sunday. CM Punk said he 'wanted' The Rock to lose control in the match, and therefore 'beat himself' by getting disqualified and losing the Championship to CM Punk. The Rock ended on a bold statement, leaving CM Punk and Heyman somewhat nervous for Sunday, a great promo to set up for the PPV.
The 3MB were in tag action vs. the newly formed unique tag team of Brodus Clay and Tensai. Brodus and Tensai made quick work of the 3MB, before The Shield ambushed the pair and launched a brutal attack that ended in a colossal powerbomb to Brodus Clay. The Shield looked ready for the Elimination Chamber.
After an inconclusive ending to their match on RAW, Cody Rhodes and The Miz squared off again. The Miz had his left shoulder heavily taped due to an assault by Cesaro on Monday, but he managed to defeat Cody Rhodes with the Figure-Four Leg Lock. The Miz definitely showed that he was prepared to face Cesaro on Sunday.
After decimating him on RAW, Jack Swagger was once again in action with Zack Ryder. Zack Ryder tried to pull of some offense but was no match for Jack Swagger, who continued to manhandle Ryder. Swagger particularly targeted the ankle, before setting up a Jackknife Powerbomb, and putting Ryder away by making him tap out to the Patriot Act. Jack Swagger looks determined to win the Elimination Chamber match this Sunday.
It was then time for the main event of SmackDown, Chris Jericho vs. The Big Show - a match of title proportions. Big Show began with a dominant display over Y2J, but as the match progressed, there were many openings for Jericho, with cunning moves and athleticism to outwit The Big Show. But as Jericho got back into the match, Big Show was able to take control yet again. Jericho continued to solider on, including kicking out of a Spear from The Big Show. The Big Show was very impressive over Jericho, and dominated for the majority. Chris Jericho even attempted the Walls of Jericho submission, but to no avail! It came to an end when Jericho ran at the Big Show, and ran straight into a HUGE knockout blow by The Big Show, a one punch KO that put his opponent on Sunday, Alberto Del Rio, on alert. As Alberto looked on from the ramp in concern, things were intense for the Elimination Chamber, as SmackDown drew to a close.
Opinion
"Elimination Chamber was very well hyped up this week in WWE, quite a few enjoyable matches on the show. But the best match of the week would be Chris Jericho vs. Daniel Bryan, an excellent match, and good job that the WWE Universe will see more of it at the Elimination Chamber match on Sunday. RAW had some great segments and matches, but some were very boring, and lack-luster. Overall, it was a good show. Main Event sounded much better on paper, than it did actually on the show. It had potential to be a great show, but with just the one match wasn't as good. SmackDown was a good ending to the week, but featured too many rematches from RAW for one's liking. Good setup for Elimination Chamber overall, and I am really looking forward to the event."
ConclusionIt's safe to say that the Road to WrestleMania is in full swing. With Elimination Chamber this Sunday, and a stacked card lined up, a lot of interesting things have unfolded this past week. But now the question lies... Who will go through the Elimination Chamber and go to WrestleMania?
Thanks for reading WrestleWeek edition 2! Image credit to World Wrestling Entertainment, no copyright infringement intended. Follow my Tweets @iNisarKhan and keep checking this site.
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