The Stories
Kofi Kingston defeated Alberto Del Rio in the best match of the night. This was excellent from bell to bell, with Del Rio working on the legs of Kingston. Using his intelligence, Del Rio tried to take down the champion slowly and kept him from really getting on a roll right out of the gate. Kingston is usually the guy who gets the quick advantage and then steals away a victory. The pacing of the match was flawless, quick, and showed the strengths of both men. The ending tranisition was great, as Kofi broke a submission hold with some punches, then he countered with a backbreaker attempt by whipping Alberto into the ropes and dropping him with a forearm shot. Alberto hit a side slam for a two count, then he gets frustrated and goes for a suplex but Kofi counters with a rollup for the win. The story was easily with Kofi picking up a clean and big win, but Wade Barrett tries to come attack him. Kofi stood tall tonight, hitting Trouble in Paradise on his challenger. It is about time they let Kofi carry a feud, and I feel like he really is holding his own. Grade: A
–Another week comes MizTV, which is just a guarantee these days on Smackdown and/or Raw. Team Hell No come out to talk about The Shield, and we finally see both men agree and on the same page. Bryan is excellent with his words, how he delivers them, and the infliction with them. Kane gets a few words in, and they are both talking about beating the hell out of the three youngsters. The Shield come onto the screen, and then try to get in the ring to attack them. Ryback cuts them off before anything happens and then that ends it. I thoroughly enjoyed the segment, thought everyone looked much more important, and really wanted me to see them fight. Save it for the PPV. Well done.
Randy Orton was attacked backstage by The Shield. I am not sure where they are going with this, but I do think it gives Orton time off TV, even for a few weeks, regroup, and come back better than ever. His character needs some diversity, and this is the time for him to figure things out, as well as WWE writers. Grade: B+
