WWE Raw 2011

When it was announced on last week’s Raw that John Cena’s WWE title defense against The Miz at the Over the Limit pay-per-view on Sunday would be an I Quit match, my first thought was that it was going to be a tough sell to convince people that Miz has any chance of winning.

On Raw Monday night, WWE tried hard to make the impossible seem possible, although I suppose the buy rate will be the ultimate judge of whether or not the effort was successful.

The Miz cut a promo at the end of the show in which he guaranteed victory, claiming that he had come up with a way of winning the match that no one had ever thought of.

His delivery was great and Cena sold concern with his facial expression. The Miz went on to grab a pipe from under the ring, and he and Alex Riley attacked Cena.

Up to that point, WWE had done everything right to make Miz seem like a legitimate threat to beat Cena for the title on Sunday, including airing a video package earlier in the program that showed Miz destroying Cena.

But instead of the show going off the air with Miz and Riley standing over the fallen WWE champion, Cena overcame the two (plus a pipe)-on-one attack and got the better of the physical exchange. Can’t say I understand the thinking on that one.

Other thoughts on Monday’s show:

There are some who believe that WWE will recreate the famous finish for the I Quit match between The Rock and Mankind from the 1999 Royal Rumble (Rock got the win when a recording of Mankind saying “I quit” was played over the sound system) on Sunday, but if that happens, it would not fit Miz’s description of being something that had never been done before. ...

It was an interesting night for Jack Swagger. During the contract signing for Sunday’s Jerry Lawler-Michael Cole match, Cole made a remark that offended Swagger, and Swagger walked out on him and told him that he was on his own at Over the Limit. It seemed like another tease for a Swagger babyface turn, but then at the end of the show, Swagger was hand-picked by The Miz to face Cena in a No Holds Barred Match. Swagger attacked Cena from behind on the entrance ramp prior to the match and dominated the contest before ultimately tapping out to the STF. I’m not sure where WWE is going with Swagger, but it seems like a good sign for him that he not only worked a main event with Cena, but he was given a lot of offense against the champ. ...

It was a good night for CM Punk and The Nexus. Punk defeated U.S. champion Kofi Kingston in a non-title match, and Michael McGillicutty and David Otunga upset WWE tag team champions The Big Show and Kane (thanks to interference by Punk) in another non-title bout. In an odd twist, instead of Punk and the team of McGillicutty and Otunga getting championship matches for the U.S. and tag titles, respectively, it was announced that Punk and Mason Ryan will challenge Kane and The Big Show for the tag belts at Over the Limit. ...

The contract signing segment with Cole and Lawler was well done. It was great how Cole -- who made Sunday's bout with Lawler a Kiss My Foot match -- went from cocky and obnoxious to apologetic as soon as Swagger left him. ...

Rey Mysterio and Alberto Del Rio work well together so it’s no surprise that they had a good match (Mysterio won by disqualification when Ricardo Rodriguez got involved). R-Truth got significant heat for his post-match beat-down of Mysterio. ...

The Kharma-Kelly Kelly stuff is compelling. Once again, Kelly Kelly was spared when Kharma came out to attack someone (Nikki Bella was the victim this week). Kharma cornered Kelly Kelly and glared menacingly at her, but all Kharma did was flick her in the forehead. ...

The way Kelly Kelly used her legs to roll up WWE Divas champion Brie Bella for the winning pinfall in the non-title match was pretty awkward and it looked like she was going in slow motion. It wasn’t believable that Bella could be pinned that easily. ...

Riley was very good on them mic in the opening segment with Cena, but Cena’s comeback – which included references to Hello Kitty and The Jonas Brothers – was lame. ...

Zack Ryder had a cameo with Cena for the second week in a row. This time, Ryder handed Cena one of his T-shirts as Cena was making his way to the ring for the main event. It looks as if the grassroots campaign to get Ryder some TV time is paying off.