Official Raw/Smackdown Aftermath, Ratings and Review Thread

[Jack-Hammer]

WWE Raw
Memphis, Tennessee
Fed Ex Forum
October 22, 2013​

Thumbs Up​

Opening Segment - I really enjoyed the opener for Raw. Initially, it began with Triple H & Stephanie hyping the announced matches for Hell in a Cell. Triple H put over Shawn Michaels as the special guest referee for Bryan vs. Orton and mentioned how much respect he has for him when Big Show appears on the screen. Show laid into Trips & Steph, who people are referring to as The Authority, by appearing on the Titantron. He "pirated" the cable feed "somehow" and appeared "live via satellite" and insulted both Trips & Stephanie. Show & Trips initially went back & forth a bit while Stephanie was talking to the production crew at ringside to figure out how Show tapped into Raw's feed. She eventually manages to cut him off but not before he has his say. Daniel Bryan comes out soon after as something of a sign of disrespect to The Authority due to Triple H announcing that Dean Ambrose would be coming out. A simple & effective opener and while I'd personally rather see Bryan in this situation all by himself, Show's done a really good job in my eyes and at least it's not been some kind of faction war thing going on.

Daniel Bryan vs. Dean Ambrose - A strong & competitive match that did a nice job of highlighting both guys, especially Bryan's style before his big ppv match, with Bryan's long history with The Shield as a backstory. I was a little surprised to see a clean ending because I honestly expected Rollins & Reigns to interfere, or at least for Orton to make his presence felt. Bryan & Ambrose both got in a lot of offense and another live crowd continues to pop whenever Bryan especially gets going. The end comes about the 16.5 minute mark with Ambrose attempting a roll up, only for Bryan to roll through & counter with the Yes Lock, causing Ambrose to tap. It was a strong win for Bryan as, I believe, the only other singles match Ambrose has lost was against The Undertaker. ***1/4

CM Punk & Paul Heyman - At different times during the night, both Punk & Heyman would cut promos. Not long after the Bryan/Ambrose match, Punk walked out on the stage and gave a straight forward, cut to the chase promo hyping his match and reiterating that his primary goal is Paul Heyman. It was a bit repetitive but, it kept the crowd interested and Punk's already said all there really is to say. Heyman's promo was pretty damn riveting. I dug the intensity, even though it was all something of a mockery of CM Punk by comparing their mind sets with Punk being this volcano ready to erupt and Heyman being cold & calculating. He sounded like he was hyping a monster truck rally while blown away on crystal meth.

Backstage Segment - There was a brief backstage segment in which Shawn Michaels walks into Triple H & Stephanie's office and pals around for a bit. They continue to hype his involvement in HIAC and HBK pals around with Triple H for a bit, playfully teasing him about "growing up" and the suit and all that. Ultimately, however, the first hints of tension begin to develop when he asks Hunter why he thinks Bryan shouldn't be WWE Champion. Trips replies that Bryan can become champion, just that he shouldn't be the "face" of the company saying, "We're not a wheatgrass company." He goes into a few further things, highlighting negative qualities if you will, before HBK reminds him that people once said the same thing about the two of them. They kept the interaction light with HBK still sort of acting all easy going, but they built a slight amount of tension and that's what's needed initially.

Randy Orton vs. Dolph Ziggler - A pretty good match from Orton & Ziggler, though certainly not the best I've seen from them. It was hindered in my eyes due to the knowledge that Orton was going to score the clean win, given that Bryan did earlier, and that Ziggler was gonna eat another loss. It's crystal clear that WWE's given up on the idea of Ziggler being a top guy for the time being. Still, it was a good physical outing that made Orton look pretty physical & vicious. Close to the end, Orton is getting ready to strike with an RKO when Ziggler pops up and delivers a great dropkick for a nice near fall. As Orton recovers, Ziggler goes for either the Zig Zag or the sleeper but Orton holds onto the ropes and Ziggler slips off Orton's back. As he runs at him again, Orton meets him and successfully hits the RKO for the win about the 8 minute mark. **3/4

The Bella Twins vs. AJ Lee & Tamina - Over the past few weeks, WWE has featured probably the most consistently competent matches fielded in the Divas Division in quite some time. Even more surprising is that one or both of the Bella Twins have been involved in the match. This is the first time Nikki has been in the ring due to a leg fracture earlier this year and she's improved a good deal as well. There was some pretty decent action all in all, again FAR more than we're used to seeing from women in WWE. I've been having to eat some crow as it pertains to Brie as she's genuinely been working hard the past several weeks and she's a lot more confident in the ring. They gave her a much more enthusiastic response than she got a few weeks ago after she was beaten down by Tamina & AJ. The end comes about 6 minutes in, which felt longer to me but in a good way, when Brie goes for a running knee to AJ as she's leaning into the ropes. Tamina pushes AJ out of the way and eats the knee herself, meanwhile, AJ rolls Brie up but she rolls through it and pops up to catch AJ with the facebuster for the win. **1/2

Luke Harper & Eric Rowan vs. The Miz & Kofi Kingston - I enjoyed this match mostly because it continues to make Harper & Rowan look like a badass monster heel tag team. The action kind of dragged in the first half of the match as they spent most of the time just kickin' the crap out of Miz. Miz eventually does make the tag and the crowd lights up for Kofi's offense. Kofi is someone who really does work extremely well against big guys like Harper & Rowan. Even though he & Miz are about the same size, Kofi's speed & agility almost make me think he's smaller. Kofi holds his own with Harper & Rowan for a while before he's able to ultimately catch Rowan with Trouble in Paradise on apron, taking him out of the equation. He turns around to go back after Harper but winds up hitting a killer looking discus clothesline, given Harper & Rowan the win about the 5.5 minute mark. **1/4

John Cena & Daniel Bryan Videos - Cena's video highlighted some of the biggest moments of his career, including some of his earliest days in WWE. It was extremely well put together, though there was too much kissing Cena's ass with some of the various messages like "He makes us believe" and all that shit. Just a little too corny. Bryan's video package highlighted Bryan during the very earliest days of his career where he was wrestling for HBK and being taught to wrestle. It was cool seeing Bryan as a 19 or 20 year old kid just starting out with HBK putting him over.

CM Punk & Big E. Langston vs. Ryback & Curtis Axel - This match was initially supposed to be a singles match between Langston & Axel but both he & Ryback attack Langston before the match begins. Langston puts up a strong fight and holds his own for quite a while, making a couple of strong comebacks before the numbers catch up to him. Punk eventually runs out to make the save, nailing Ryback & Axel with a kendo stick and chasing them off. Vickie then decides to make the match a tag bout. The match itself was pretty good, nothing overly special, but it did help continue Langston's momentum. He looked impressive against Axel & Ryback and the crowd got behind him once Punk made the hot tag to him. It's eventually down to Axel & Langston and Langston eventually scores the win by hitting the Big Ending. It'd be announced later in the night that Langston gets an IC title shot on the HIAC kickoff show. **1/4

The Usos vs. Seth Rollins & Roman Reigns - This was a great, physical tag team #1 contender's match. The winners would face Cody Rhodes & Goldust at HIAC for the tag titles, with the champs being out on guest commentary during the match. There was a lot of back & forth action during the match, especially during the second half. I was expecting The Shield to pick up the win The Usos would gain control towards the end only for the control to revert back. On the outside, Dean Ambrose, still selling the effects of the Yes Lock from Bryan earlier in the night, was talking smack with the Rhodes boys and it eventually got physical. It eventually degenerated into a big brawl with the babyfaces all going against The Shield, resulting in a no contest about the 15 minute mark. This ultimately set up a triple threat match at HIAC for the tag titles. ***1/4

WWE Championship Contract Signing - I wasn't sure really what to expect here but it ultimately turned out to be a good final segment to hype the WWE Championship match. Orton gets on the stick first and runs Bryan down for a bit before signing. It's then Bryan's turn and he runs down Orton before turning to The Authority and signs as well. Triple H responds by saying that HBK wasted his time training Bryan, with Bryan responding that Hunter should trade in his suit for some wrestling gear so he can find out for himself. Trips replies that he only gets in the ring with stars and Bryan isn't a star, it fit nicely with everything that Triple H has said about Bryan over the course of the storyline. HBK chimes in eventually and says that it wasn't a waste of time for him to train Bryan and asks Triple H what his problem with Bryan was. He asked if it was because he's small, or because he has a big ol' bushy beard, or because he marches to the beat of his own drum. The tension between Triple H & HBK grows during this segment but, again, it's nothing over the top. The fans pop when HBK asks if the real reason Trips doesn't like Bryan is that in spite of all he's put him through or said about him that he's proven Triple H wrong. Big Show interrupts and drives a big rig from backstage and into the arena and climbs out the door, shouting at The Authority. He motions that Orton should turn around, which Orton does eventually, only to eat the running knee from Bryan. Bryan stands over a prone Orton while staring down Triple H for a bit before initiating a Yes chat. The show goes off the air with Bryan & Big Show at the big rig leading the Yes chant.

Thumbs Down​

Santino Marella vs. Heath Slater - I have no idea what happened here and I don't give a shit. I saw Santino, Hornswoggle & Great Khali come out dressed as Elvis and I flipped the channel. I've no doubt that I didn't miss a damn thing though.

The Real Americans vs. Tons of Funk - I just wasn't feeling this match. There wasn't really much of anything wrong with it technically, but I've already seen it go down and it's just gotten old. I think what really killed it was the commentary with all the ridiculous comments from Zeb Coulter & Michael Cole when it came to talking about Los Matadores. The Real Americans get the win after Swagger forces Brodus Clay to tap to the Patriot Lock. *1/4

Final Thoughts​

I thought that last night's show was one of the strongest go home episodes of Raw WWE has had in a few months. There was a lot of strong wrestling action and the promo segments all did their jobs well of highlighting the top matches. There were only a few negatives on the show, in my opinion anyway. The tension was built nicely between Triple H & HBK and I still find myself wondering IF HBK will do what's "best for business" and screw over his former student. WWE is counting on Michaels' controversial history being the special guest referee in big matches to generate doubt & unease as to whether or not he'll call it fairly, help Bryan win or outright screw Bryan over.

 

[Mighty NorCal]

My shitty reviews being next to Jackhammer's only furthermore highlight their superiority.New feature on NorCal nightcap, the ability to fast forward. Thank god. So excuse me if I miss things.

Big Show Vs Trips and Steph again. Gve a shit. Actually was decent promo. Funny moment when Bryan came out instead of Ambrose. Speaking of, I am sure am fuckin glad they were talking about Brie Bella during that mexican surfboard spot.

Cm Punk cuts a promo saying he is gonna whip Paul Heyman. New material, and such. Fast forward.

Santino in a HILAARRIIOOUUSSS outfit. Sweet. Fast forward.

Randy Orton is about to be involved in something pointless. Fast Forward.

Guys, Cena has surgery in the end of August. The end of August. 2013. not 2012. The whole "No Holds Barred"-esque recovery video thing, not really necessary. An angle built around Del Rio being a douche, and the World Heavyweight title is too obvious, I suppose.

The Bellas, being pushed as faces. The worst of times. Oh, AJ. You try so hard.

The Heyman promo fucking rocked. Between the screaming and Ryback stoically staring off into space, it was right out of the late 80s. Fantastic delivery and confidence out of Big E Langston as well. A small segment that got a lot done.

recap. fast forward.

THEY CUT THE WYATTS ENTRANCE, SWEET JESUS. Oh, and against Kofi and Miz? fast forward. Wyatt promo...shit is getting weird, bro. Good though, it was a bit more like his character down in Florida. Do they intend for him to remain a heel by feuding him with THE MIZ? Got news for ya....

Decent little reaction for Langston. Before they have an actual match, Big E should get to eat some jobbers (who bump well) and show more personality and promos. Or, cut promos at all. Decent start though. Bret Hart themed trunks for Punk, and a hot tag to Langston? Good shit.

When the WWE Network gets going in 2017, they really need to give R-Truth a 30 minute QVC/HSN style show.

Tons of Funk existing. Fast Forward. WAIT!! Zeb Coulter super-sayin face!!....Oh, Coulter on commentary. Ok, no fast forward.

Ah, I see. Throw Langston and Axel on the pre show. 6 days of build, and the pre show. Way to launch a new star, guys.

They did a fine job of making a video package that would usually be a waste of time end up being pretty damn good. Glad to have ya back, Cena.

FUCKING PINK, MOTHERFUCKER CAN YOU SEE?!?! UHHHEEWW-SOOOOOOO

Good job of mentioning Ortons past HIAC opponents. Will pay dividens if they do the right thing this weekend. Decent segment, all 'round.

Decent RAW. Mostly a waste of time, but not downright offensive like RAW has been in the past weeks.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

I only watched the last two hours but I enjoyed my Raw/DVR experience. Paul Heyman channeling 80's Warrior or Hogan was fun. He's so good at his job I can tolerate having Axl on the screen. Otherwise most everything else isn't worth mentioning except one accidental moment that I experienced. I had hit the record button on my DVR right before Orton v Ziggler kicked off. I then went on to watch some shitty Monday Night Football while I waited for my wife to come in so we could watch our recorded episode of How I Met Your Mother. Right before my wife got to the room I hit the wrong button and accidentally turned on Raw, live in progress. I though I saw a dwarf/little person in pink shoes being carried over someone's shoulder. My first thought was that that El Torito guy or Hornswoggle found someone to beat up. Then the camera panned back to the ring and I saw the Bellas. At that point I fully processed that the person I must have seen was actually AJ. I can't describe the feeling of enlightenment I felt at that moment of realization that it was AJ being carried out by Tamina, it was like a cross between solving an existential quandary and jumping out of an airplane.

Greatest Raw ever. Thank you Divas.

 

[The Eighties]

Daniel Bryan vs. Dean Ambrose - A strong & competitive match that did a nice job of highlighting both guys, especially Bryan's style before his big ppv match, with Bryan's long history with The Shield as a backstory. I was a little surprised to see a clean ending because I honestly expected Rollins & Reigns to interfere, or at least for Orton to make his presence felt. Bryan & Ambrose both got in a lot of offense and another live crowd continues to pop whenever Bryan especially gets going. The end comes about the 16.5 minute mark with Ambrose attempting a roll up, only for Bryan to roll through & counter with the Yes Lock, causing Ambrose to tap. It was a strong win for Bryan as, I believe, the only other singles match Ambrose has lost was against The Undertaker. ***1/4

Ambrose also lost to Ziggler the night after NOC. That's one thing I wish WWE would do less of, using the mid card Champs as jobbers in non title matches, Ambrose needs to defends the US title more regularly and have an actual feud over it as right now he's basically the corner man for the tag title feud.

 

[The Eighties]

Pretty good Smackdown, the 8 man tag main event was a lot of fun, but I hope all this momentum Bryan is building up is not a bad sign for the HIAC outcome.

The Triple H and Bryan promo that opened the show was good and another strong seed planted for a potential match between the two.

I liked the stuff with Miz and Bray as well, Miz is an ideal stepping stone for the Wyatt's and Bray's mission.

I thought Bertie and Heyman both cut good final promos for their matches this Sunday as well, Heyman is returning to full mad scientist mode.

 

[ASKane]

I have no criticism of anything on the show. I'll do a quick run through

Cena Promo - Good promo with good crowd interaction, Sandow played his part well and a good attack

Cena vs Sandow - The adverts were my first clue that Sandow would not win, that must be the longest true cash in style match the others are a few seconds not about 20 minutes. It was a great match and got the crowd on its feet

Ambrose vs Langston/Shield vs Uso's and Langston - WWE set this up well with a Shield promo which showed a bit of tension and then they work as a great unit and take out the Uso's and Langston in a great match.

Michaels Promo - WWE finally realised Bryan isn't good at talking and let Michaels do it all and he was just brilliant and despite the Yes Lock looking sloppy it was a good segment and a good end

Wyatt Attack - In the first attack on there break out night they beat down Bryan and sent him to the hospital. I was happy to see they got there push and Bryan got sent down to the midcard like he deserves. Good segment and start of a great story.

Los Matadores vs 3MB - Considering what had been before a bit of comedy was necessary and what could be more comedic that a Southern Rocker trying to catch a midget in a bulls costume with a net. It played it role well and meant we didn't have to see Santino

AJ and Tamina vs Bellas - For a divas tag match it was as good as you would except and adds to a story

Kane vs Miz - Good squash match and promo by Kane. Sets up a good story

CM Punk vs Ryback - The second surprisingly short match in a row but I am happy about this, Punk wins and then the Wyatts attack him. Wyatt's vs Punk and Bryan is setting up a huge push for the Wyatt's and Wyatt saying he is doing what the devil tells him builds a good story

Real Americans vs Cody and Goldust - A good match with a surprise finish and my only criticism is that the WWE lets the Real Americans beat them and not the Shield. Real Americans finally get opponents on there level builds a good story/feud

Summer Rae vs Natalya - A good divas match would have been good with no Khali or Fandango in the finish but this is a lesson to Eva Marie, when you debut on TV do that not what you did.

Championship Celebration - It was just a matter of time till Show came out and it was long but it was after a good promo by both Orton and HHH. The brawl I wanted last week with Show, Shield, Rhodes and Uso's involved. Glad to see the Shield get to look dominant if only for a second. Big Show vs Orton looks like a go at SS now. Great Segment which builds feuds and sets up matches for SS. Great Show and I have next to no criticisms of any segments. Well Done WWE

 

[The Eighties]

I thought the best two things on Raw tonight belonged to Steph! Seriously, she looked incredible.

Other than that I liked the Bryan/HBK promo, Shawn going heelish with his promo as Bryan stood there like a ticking time-bomb before putting him in the YES!-Lock is about as close to putting him over as HBK can do at this juncture.

The Shield's promo was good but I sensed a little friction from Reigns when Ambrose pointed out he was the only one left with a title, personally I think it's too soon to split them. The 6 man tag that followed between them and Big E/Uso's was pretty good and the double spear finish looked great.

Even though it was a bit heavy on the SuperCena pandering I thought the match with Sandow was pretty damn good and unlike most I don't care that Sandow lost.

Punk beating Ryback so decisively and quickly felt like the end of the Ryback experiment to me.

The Wyatt's attacking Bryan and Punk? Eh, I like Bray's promos but this doesn't initially interest me, I'd rather Punk had got involved with The Shield and I feel it's a downgrade for Bryan.

The Rhodes vs The Real Americans was solid and I guess set up a title match down the road between the two,

I like Summer Rae.

Bertie cut another dull as dishwater promo, I just hope his rematch with Cena is on SD or next weeks Raw, but I have a horrible feeling that it will headline Survivor Series.

The Steph/Kane segment was weird, the way she played it made it seem like she was unaware of what Kane was doing, but he seemed reluctant, I hope she hasn't bought his mortgage as well.

The coronation was pretty much the night after Summerslam redux. Honestly I like Big Show, I don't even object to him vs Triple H, but it looks like he's gonna get a WWE title match and Orton was brushed aside as an afterthought yet again. I just have no interest in Big Show in a WWE title feud with Orton, I can't think of many supposed top matches I'd like to see less.

 

[Redrum]

Well the one thing i took is they are moving Bryan out of the title picture. I see him,punk,miz and idk who else vs the wyatt family and kane in a 4 vs 4 match at the next PPV. I am thinking the Wyatts are now working for Paul Heyman but not sure why he would go after DB but w/e. All in all it was a good show but i was sad they wasted the sandow cash in like that but what can you do.

All in all 6.5/10

 

[The Fabulous Rougeau's]

What a show! When was the last time we saw so much change during one episode of Raw? I'm no Cena fan, but I can't even hate on him beating Sandow in the open. It was something fresh and new so good for the WWE.

In one episode of Raw we got:

Sandow attacking Cena's arm, cashing in, only to lose.

First tease of Shield breaking apart with the look Reigns gave Ambrose.

Otunga coming off great being allowed to play his legal character but as a face making Show's case look real strong.

Return of heel Shawn going at Bryan only to get put in the Yes Lock.

Beginning of Wyatt's big push with them taking out Bryan and Punk.

Kane's return and annoucing he is for hire as he takes his mask off. The visual of Stephanie holding the mask came off great.

Big Show ruining Orton's celebration most likely setting up something between Orton and Show while we have no clue how it would play out with Show being fired.

What a great job the WWE did in gearing up towards Survivor Series. Here's hoping they can keep it up and give us a great card for the Survivor Series.

 

[LSN80]

Raw Hits and Misses:​

Raw Hits:​

John Cena promo: A strong promo to start the show. Cena's promise to bring focus and honor back to the World Heavyweight Championship is a good one, as there have been complaints ad naseum(and rightfully so)that the World Championship has lost its luster. Well, Cena is the right person to restore it to its former glory, or at least close to on par with the WWE Title. And if WWE decides to go with a title unification, Cena is the right guy to be representing the World Title. He had more of an edge here that enhanced the promo greatly, and his calling out of JBL was fantastic. Fun yet intense opening promo that lead to the surprise of the night.

John Cena vs. Damien Sandow: Sandows pre-match attack was viciously wonderful, for starters. Despite the complaining over Sandow The complaining has begun, but this was 100% the right move. With Sandow winning maybe 1 or 2 televised matches since winning Money In The Bank, he's positioned leaps and bounds behind John Cena, and shouldn't beat him, even injured. This also brings the MITB concept full circle, as Cena was the first to be cashed in on(Edge in 2006), and the first to not win the title when cashing in. Sandow looked awesome in defeat, and broke out an arsenal of moves previously unseen before. The two earned the "This is Awesome" chants, as Cena(along with Daniel Bryan) continues to be the guy to go to for getting good matches out just about anyone. This should elevate Sandow, no question, and the process of restoring credibility to the World Title began here. An excellent match with right finish. Its been some time since a match had me on the edge of my seat, unsure of who might win, but this match did exactly that. Good stuff all around. ***1/2.

Shawn Michaels and Daniel Bryan: Michaels didn't heel it up in an over-the-top fashion or align himself with the Authority, making his promo all-the-more effective. He simply explained how his relationship with HHH will always supercede anything else, a plausible explanation for his superkick. Still, Bryan showed intense and appropriate fire in refusing the apology, as it cost Bryan the WWE Title. The attack on Michaels was expected, but a cool visual nonetheless of . This is the Bryan that was needed here. No Yes! chants, simply a pissed off wrestler whose been screwed over and again, this time by his mentor.

The Wyatt's attack Bryan and CM Punk: Two separate events, but I'm going to group them together here. Both were surprising events, as the Wyatt's had been feuding with Kane and then Miz, then suddenly turned their attention to two of WWE's biggest faces. With both coming out of major feuds, this is an interesting development. Bray's "The Devil Made Me Do It" line is an interesting one. Is he being cryptic as always, or was there someone else behind it? I can't wait to find out.

The Bella Twins vs. AJ and Tamina: This should end the feud between the Bellas and AJ, and was done so the right way. I appreciate the nuance of Brie and Nikki alike ditching their typical entrance to sell the concern for Daniel Bryan, and Brie especially showed more fire than usual, taking her anger out on the heel pairing. Not a good match, per se, but it felt like more of an angle, and was well-executed.

Kane returns: The Authority gains a true enforcer in Kane, and I like the way they went about it. Kane's calling out of Stephanie was confusing, as he's been nowhere near the storyline, but he makes for an intriguing part. His giving of his mask and "hair" was nice symbolism of his surrendering himself to Steph to do her bidding, and the gloating look on Stephanie's face was glorious. My only fear? Another Kane and Big Show match.

CM Punk promo: This is Punk at his best. He showed great fire in gleefully recounting his destruction of Paul Heyman, then shifted nicely to how he would go about finishing off Ryback. He was confident, as he should have been, and it was fun to see Punk cut a promo where he was happy once again.

The Rhodes vs. The Real Americans: A good tag team match with good action from both teams. I had read that the Americans were set for a re-boot, but the last thing I expected was for them to come out and beat the tag champs 100% clean. It helps wash away the poor taste of the loss to Los Matadores the night before, and a Rhodes/Real Americans feud, without the xenophobia, could be a good one strictly from a wrestling standpoint. Goldust tapping out was surprising, but it puts the Americans over in a big way. It adds yet another team with legitimacy to the tag title picture, which is now suddenly deep. **1/2.

Alberto Del Rio promo: Del Rio lost the title, and he was angry about it. Like Bryan, he was serious and to the point. This was pure anger from Del Rio and absolute hatred towards John Cena, which was the appropriate tone for the champion who just lost his title.

Summer Rae vs. Natalya: Summer adds depth to the division and shows she can wrestle, which is a positive sign for the Divas division. She thoroughly dominated Natalya, and only lost because of the comedy hijinks outside the ring. Just as the tag division is building depth, the Divas division is as well.

Randy Orton's Championship Celebration: HHH, Stephanie, and Orton were all at their smuggest best, and Orton's line of "This makes me better than all of you" established his cocky persona yet again. I was surprised we weren't even teased with something involving Cena in some way, but it's best they keep the two of them apart. Big Show's interruption was a predictable one, but he showed fantastic fire in laying out Randy Orton then challenging HHH. I can't say I'm excited for a Big Show/Randy Orton feud, so hopefully they go with the rumored Show/HHH match. But if they do, who's next to face Orton? Another good question to be answered.

Overall Show: This was a very good show with developments galore, and seemed to breathe new life into the product. Cena started the show the right way with an excellent promo, then he and Sandow had a phenomenal match. A lot of people don't like it, and that's ok, but Cena winning was the 100% right move. He brings a value and credibility to the World Title that hasn't been there in some time, and Sandow ending his reign so quickly would end that before he got started. Other developments that worked were the excellent Bryan/HBK exchange, and the Wyatt attack afterwards both on Bryan and CM Punk. Kane's return and alignment with the Authority was a surprising one, but it's an interesting one. The match with Miz was unnecessary, but this worked overall. The tag team division is as alive and resurgent in as much as I can remember, especially with the Real Americans win over The Rhodes. The championship celebration for Orton had its flaws, and we've seen 4-5 of them over the years, seemingly all reserved for Randy Orton. But this was a breath of fresh air coming out of 3 lackluster PPV's, and Survivor Series looks promising already. B+.

Raw Misses:​

The Shield vs. The Usos and Big E. Langston: The match came about as a result of Shield interference in the Langston/Ambrose title match, which was over before it even got started. Brad Maddox made his only appearance of the night to announce this match, which was far too short. Langston has so much potential as a babyface, so having him not take the pin was the right move. Speaking of moves, the spear by Roman Reigns on both Usos was a thing of beauty, but this felt rushed and didn't follow the usual Shield pattern of strong six man tags. It didn't have enough time to, simply put. *1/2.

Los Matadores vs. 3MB: A comedy match, but a bad one. Los Matadores already feel stale as a team, and beating up on 3MB over and again isn't doing them any favors.

The Miz vs. Kane: It's the logic here that bugs me badly. Miz wasn't medically cleared to wrestle the night before, and was subsequently beat up by the Wyatt's and chokeslammed by Kane. And....that lead to him being medically cleared. The Kane return and alignment with Stephanie could have been done without this match, or at least, a different opponent who made sense.

CM Punk vs. Ryback: What little action we got here was solid, but goodness sakes, a street fight that lasted under five minutes? It put a definitive end to the feud with Ryback, it seems, and Punk's promo before the match was solid. But a 5 minute street fight with Punk dominating and submitting Ryback was nothing more than a shorter version of what they did inside Hell In A Cell. Apparently Punk is moving on, as evidenced by the Wyatt's attack. Ryback needs to do the same, and be rebuilt in a major way. This is the same guy who had Punk scared silly just a year prior, chasing him around and dominating him inside the Cell. Now, he's tapping to the same man in less than 5 minutes. *1/2.

 

[OwenHart]

John Cena Vs Sandow WAS awesome... untill Cena won! I mean is Sandow cant beat a one handed Cena then who can he beat? Ok they made Sandow look agresive but in the end he lost and i cant see where they are now going with him. Its obvious (look at Cenas Twitter comments) that WWE is trying to make the WHC Title look more important (a title they destroyed) and this is the only good part of this story.

 

[The Eighties]

I thought the opening two segments of Raw were really good, although I'd have preferred a promo showdown between Punk and Bray the match between him and Harper was good and it was fitting that Punk won with a slick roll-up reminiscent of the man whose colours he was wearing. Bryan running in for the post match save got the crowd on their feet and they went crazy as Bryan and Punk cleared out the Wyatt's. Both Punk & Bryan cut simple but effective promos afterwards

Big E winning the vote to face Orton by a landslide either says a lot for how well his 2 week push has worked, or it says a lot about how fans currently view Dolph and Miz. The match between Big E and Orton was pretty good and served as a successful test run for Big E against main event opposition.

It was good to see Tyson Kidd back, he looked really sharp in his mixed tag team outing with Nattie vs The Fandango's. Tyson ended up as a #1 trend on twitter but according to Cole that was due to Total Divas, not his performance. The same show must also be the reason that AJ's "Monstrous bodyguard" was jobbed out to the talentless Eva Marie who struggled to even execute a roll-up properly.

Cena & GoldCody vs Sandow & The Real Americans was easily the match of the night, just fantastic action from bell to bell with everyone getting a chance to shine. On a side note I'd love to see a singles match between Cena and Cesaro. Not faring quite so well was Del Rio on commentary, who sounded like a broken record to the point even JBL was ribbing him.

The rest of the stuff on the show was just kind of floating by for me and the continuous Big Show lawsuit videos were extremely boring, Renae popping up on my screen quite regularly was a welcome sight though. I have zero interest in the current main event angle, the idea of Orton vs Show as the WWE title match for Survivor Series makes my wallet feel safe. The best thing about the overlong final segment was Corporate Kane, he looked far creepier in a suit & tie with a thin layer of hair than he ever has in his demon red gear and mask.

 

[The Fabulous Rougeau's]

My highlights of last night's Raw are:

Big E Langston:

Looked good against Orton. He showed last night that he can get in the ring with a top guy and put on a good 10-15 minute match. He is a power guy who executes his moves with great force and looked much more in control than say a Ryback.

Tyson Kidd:

Before he stepped foot in the ring he did a good job on his look while he was injured. He really hit the gym hard as he looked absolutely shredded. Grew out his hair a bit which along with the better physic and tan give him his best look ever in the WWE. In the ring he was flat out awesome. He was still the same great in ring performer and didn't seem to have any mental blocks associated with the injury. Kidd could hopefully be a fresh face in the IC or US title picture and get a nice push here with his return coinciding with the return of Total Divas.

Cena/Cody/Goldust v Sandow/Real Americans:

It starts off with a good backstage promo by Sandow. He is starting to round out his character by becoming less dependent on the intellectual stuff and seems to be developing a more viscous character. The match itself was the match of the night. It was fast paced with lots of good spots. I had to chuckle when after Cena busted out moves like the half nelson neck-breaker, hurricanrana, side powerbomb, and top rop body tackle, that Goldust got the biggest pop for his spinning suplex finisher "The Final Cut".

 

[LSN80]

Raw Hits and Misses for 11/4/13:​

Raw Hits:​

CM Punk vs. Luke Harper: This is the first time I've seen Harper in single's action, and he looked pretty darn good against Punk. It would have been nice to see Punk cut a promo calling out the Wyatt's like he did Ryback last week, but starting Raw with a match doesn't happen very often, so it was a welcome start. Punk had to adapt his style to fit both the brawling style and size of Harper, and he did well at mixing things up. I like protecting Harper somewhat, as Punk didn't beat him cleanly. The aftermath with the attack on Punk and Bryan's save were predictable, but predictably good. **1/2.

CM Punk/Daniel Bryan promos:Short and sweet here, and I'm grouping them together here because they're related. Punk and Bryan as individuals both have issues with the Wyatt's, and both hinted at teaming with the other. That pairing against the Wyatt's should be pretty freakin' awesome.

Randy Orton vs. Big E. Langston: Langston's longest match to date, I believe, and easily his best. I was surprised with the ease at which he ran away with the poll, which shows he's getting over as a babyface. That being said, I'm not crazy about him losing clean this early in his run, but he did so after dominating Orton for much of the match. He lost to the WWE Champion as well, so it's not as if he lost to a random mid-carder. I really like Langston's style in the ring as he hung with and paced well with Orton, a more methodical wrestler. The ending sequence was nice as well, with Orton countering the Big Ending into the RKO. Fine TV match. ***

Damien Sandow:Losing the match against Cena and the briefcase as well was the best possible thing that could have happened to Sandow. He's become relevant again and looks like a true threat, not just a jobber to the stars. The tweaks to his character make him seem dangerous and unhinged, and I like it quite a bit.

Goldust/CodyRhodes/John Cena vs. DamienSandow/Real Americans:An excellent rematch from Smackdown with Cena continuing to be on a roll since returning. The action in the match was good to excellent, and the sequence with Cena fighting towards the hot tag was great tag team wrestling. I like the fact that Sandow was protected once again by not being pinned, and The Real Americans are elevated here simply by hanging so strongly with Cena and co. A really good match with Goldust's Final Cut making for a fun ending, continuing his renaissance with his best wrestling in years. Not as good as the Smackdown match, but pretty darn close. ***1/2.

Main Event Segment: I go back and forth on this one, but it's a minor hit. It brought to an end the terrible Big Show lawsuit storyline, and finalized one of, if not the, main event match for Survivor Series. Big Show has been on fire on the mic, and tonight was no different. Kane in a suit is an interesting development, as he's perhaps more menacing in this role than he is in any other. The match that followed and the beatdown on Big Show felt like they were cramming too much in, weeks of storyline development here in one. Still, this worked because of Big Show's mic work, and the intriguing character change in Kane.

Overall Show: A minor hit. There was some really good wrestling on the show, with Punk/Harper, Langston/Orton and the six man tag all being very good. There was some nice storyline development as well, and I can honestly say I'm looking forward to Big Show vs. Randy Orton. The Wyatt's vs. Bryan/Punk moved nicely, at a pace that the Big Show storyline should be moving. Cena continues to be on fire in the ring since his return, breaking out new moves in his arsenal. This was a show that was certainly flawed in many ways, but it had enough storyline development and good wrestling to make this a slight thumbs us. C+.

Raw Misses:​

Big Show lawsuit:If there's anything I love, it's the idea of feuds being settled in a legal venue on a wrestling show. I understand they were trying to build up Big Show's lawsuit as a big deal, but it just falls flat to me. The majority of the audience doesn't care about the legalize, and presenting it twice made this even worse.

Paul Heyman phone call:What in the world was this? I presumed that Punk's feud with Heyman was over, but the way Heyman talked, it seems like there's life left in it. Heyman is a master on the mic, but the bit about his injuries, seeing specialists throughout Europe, then finally, sobbing, made for a groan inducing segment.

Ryback vs. The Great Khali: Both men have been reduced to one-dimensional wrestlers with no character development, making it hard for one to care about this match. Ryback winning was the right move, I suppose, but he won with a closeline? Not a good match, and no relevance either. *.

Kofi Kingston vs. Alberto Del Rio: Apparently, Del Rio is unable to have an actual feudwith anyone outside Rey Mysterio, not even John Cena. Instead, he gets to beat Kofi Kingston for the 328th time in his career. The match here was fine, but can we find a different opponent for Del Rio in non-title competition? Kofi continues to be wasted in a jobbing role when he could be so much more. **

Tyson Kidd/Natalya vs. Fandango/Summer Rae: It was nice to be Tyson Kidd back(as Tyson, not part of Los Locales), but this was an absolute plug for Total Divas, and nothing more. Again, there was nothing wrong with the match, per se, but it meant nothing with regard to storyline purposes. Just a random match. *1/2.

Curtis Axel vs. Dolph Ziggler: It was nice to see Ziggler back in the ring, but this felt like a thrown together match of no significance at all. Axel is dull with Heyman, but without him he's downright sleep-enducing. There were some nice counters and fun sequences in the match, but Axel spent far too much time using rest-holds in such a short match. He heads into his title defense against Big E. Langston on Main Event with zero momentum. *3/4.

3MB vs. The Usos:FIne as a total squash, but one against 3MB does nothing to enhance the Usos. They seem on the outside looking in to the tag-team title picture. The Usos continue to look good in the ring, but there was little here of importance. 3/4*

Bella Twins/Eva Marie vs. AJ/Tamina/Aksana: So much for the backstage heat on Eva Marie, eh? The problem I have with this is Tamina being AJ's heavy, yet she's pinned by Eva Marie for her first win in WWE? Why not use Aksana instead, a Diva who is truly irrelevant? I know I'm supposed to cheer for Eva because she's on Total Divas, but having seen the show, I simply can't. She's horrible people. 1/4*.

 

[AttitudeEra]

I don't usually get to hyped for taped Raws over seas because the shows, especially the main events are less then stellar. However tonites main event between Dbry and Punk vs The Shield was awesome. The match was great, the Wyatt confrontation with The Shield was great and the Uso's and Cody and Goldy coming to the aid was well done. The best part of thewhole thing was no Cena, No Orton, No Big Show and No HHH. It was different and through crowd ate it up. Hopefully the ratings for the segment are great and management, AKA Vince takes note of it. Great end!!!

 

[DDevine]

I don't usually get to hyped for taped Raws over seas because the shows, especially the main events are less then stellar. However tonites main event between Dbry and Punk vs The Shield was awesome. The match was great, the Wyatt confrontation with The Shield was great and the Uso's and Cody and Goldy coming to the aid was well done. The best part of thewhole thing was no Cena, No Orton, No Big Show and No HHH. It was different and through crowd ate it up. Hopefully the ratings for the segment are great and management, AKA Vince takes note of it. Great end!!!

I have to agree with you. I very much so enjoyed the main event. It kept me entertained. I knew the Wyatts would show up, but then when The Shield gets in their face. OMG, I could feel the crowds excitement through my tv! It added uncertainty to it. Were the two teams about to beat the crap out of each other, setting up a swerve match? And then they joined forces, I was like "OH NOES!" (No, not Chris Hero's family). I also liked how they practically started off the show with Orton going through the table. It added a little extra depth to the storyline, and added the possibility for even more beyond that. And when Heyman got attacked by Punk, I instantly noticed that Punk kept hitting the brace. I had the "I see what you did there" look on my face, but I thought it was viciously entertaining at the same time.

 

[The Eighties]

The first hour of Raw just passed me by, but I enjoyed the IC title match at the top of the hour. Sure, both guys are just floating right now and I'd have liked a title change, but I thought Ziggler vs Axel was an entertaining bout.

Cena vs The Real Americans had some great action in it and was a step up on the opening handicap match, mainly because these type of matches work best with a face as the one outnumbered. I'll never be convinced that jobbing a tag team out in this situation is a good idea but at least the finishing sequence was executed slickly.

Del Rio's post-match attack on the arm is standard stuff for Bertie, I keep waiting for them to give this lifeless rematch a submission stip. Big E making the save was random as hell but got a strong reaction and served to get Big E into a match with Bertie.

On a side note I have to say again, I'd love to see a singles match between Cena and Cesaro, I know it wont be on PPV and Cesaro will lose, but a 3 segment Raw match would be great.

Big E vs Del Rio was another good outing for the big man and followed up well from his showing last week against Orton. I do question if jobbing a powerhouse face out clean is the way to go but we shall see.

I was surprised to see Paul Heyman pop up, I wonder if it was just for the one show to give the English crowd a treat and see him get his ass whooped again. It looks like he has cut ties with Ryback but hopefully that doesn't mean a face turn as Reigns and Big E are gonna have the powerhouse face positions on lock and he's slightly more bearable as a heel.

Punk and Bryan vs The Shield was a very entertaining main event with the crowd really into it. This was Punk's first interaction with The Shield but hopefully not his last. Although Reigns was again made to look strong he did end up taking the GTS and Ambrose was in the Anaconda Vice when The Wyatt's hit the ring.

The brief showdown between The Shield and The Wyatt's blew the roof off and I think any doubt over whether the 2 trios will eventually face-off should be put to rest as it seems the crowd want it.

When they refocused and teamed up to attack Bryan and Punk the mood switched but I was glad to see The Rhodes and The Usos hit the ring for the save, hopefully this will lead to a 6 on 6 mega Survivor Series match.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

WWE Raw
Manchester, England
Phones 4u Arena
November 11, 2013​

Thumbs Up​

Randy Orton vs. Cody Rhodes & Goldust - An entertaining handicap tag team match that went better than I was expecting. The match was helped due to Orton's recent history with both Rhodes brothers. The crowd heckled Orton a little in the early goings, but they soon got into things. Orton ultimately got in a lot of offense, which I thought was the right way to go, though I would have liked to have seen more double team action from the Rhodes brothers. Orton & Goldust work much of the match before Goldie is able to make the hot tag to Cody, who went to work on Orton. After gaining a near fall with the top rope moonsault, Goldie is tagged back in and the brothers double clothesline Orton over the top rope. He allows himself to be counted out, giving the brothers the win at a little before the 11 minute mark. As Orton was backing up the ramp, Big Show's music hits and he comes down the ramp to a big pop from the fans. Orton has nowhere to go as Cody & Goldie are still in the ring, so he tries to attack Show but is quickly beaten down around the ringside area. Show ultimately clears the announce table and pulls the ring steps to the side of the table and steps to the top with Orton in tow before delivering a big chokeslam to Orton, sending him through the table while the hot crowd cheered Show on. Ultimately, WWE did a good job of protecting Orton & the Rhodes brothers in this match. Orton losing via count out costs him nothing and Show getting a little payback from last week was fitting. **1/2

Curtis Axel vs. Dolph Ziggler for the WWE Intercontinental Championship - A good effort from both Axel & Ziggler here with the live crowd very much behind Ziggler. The way the commentators played up this match has me wondering if there might soon be a split between Heyman & Axel. They kept bringing that Axel, maybe, had something to prove after all. Axel took most of Ziggler's heaviest offense and kept coming back and vice versa before Axel. The end comes soon after Ziggler gets a strong near fall after pulling Axel off the top with a face plant. Ziggler goes for the Zig Zag but Axel shrugs him off, then catches him running towards him. He presses him up and allows him to splat against the ring before quickly hitting the neckbreaker/face plant finisher he uses. Axel makes the cover and scores the clean win at the 10 minute mark. A good win for Axel and I hope this was the beginning of a turn around for him as he's been swallowed up in recent months in the Punk vs. Heyman feud. ***

Nikki Bella vs. Tamina - I've given the Bella Twins a lot of crap in the past, as has most everybody else, but I have to admit that they've both made some excellent strides inside the ring. Nikki is still somewhat sloppy and she just isn't as athletic as Brie, but she's worlds apart from what she used to be. Tamina has very little in the way of charisma, but she's imposing in the ring. AJ wasn't up to much on the outside for most of the match, mostly just looking "crazy" and all. The end comes about the 5 minute mark after AJ delivers a shot to Nikki while the ref's back is turned. Brie jumps AJ and they tussle for a bit before AJ slams her into the ring apron. Meanwhile, Tamina delivers a big boot to Nikki before hitting her with the Superfly off the top for the win. They start to work over Nikki for a bit before Brie recovers from the outside and sends them both packing. A decently solid match all in all and FAR better than what we were getting 6 months ago. **1/4

Randy Orton & The Shield - There wasn't much to this, but I enjoyed this brief interaction between the two. Orton was backstage in the trainer's room getting his shoulder iced. The Shield wander in and Orton starts to read them the riot act, asking where they were while he was getting his ass handed to him. Ambrose answers first by telling him in a calm tone of voice that it's none of his business where they. Rollins followed up by telling him that they don't work for Maddox, Vickie or Kane with Reigns ending it by replying "And we damn sure don't work for you." They then walk out of the room with Orton sitting there looking a little stunned. What stood out is that this angle gave me the sense that Orton's position as "face" of the WWE isn't as cushy as he believes since The Shield simply didn't bow down to him. The comments of them not working for him, Maddox, Vickie or Kane suggests that whatever loyalty they have towards him is only through the Authority.

John Cena vs. The Real Americans - I'm a little mixed on this match, mostly due to the ending. Aside from that, it was a really well worked match, especially when Cena & Cesaro were in there one on one. The crowd especially popped for Cesaro whenever he was in there. Alberto Del Rio was on commentary being his usual, pretty mediocre self while talking. There was a lot of action and the match was well paced with Cena both giving and taking a lot of offense. Again, Cena's interaction with Cesaro was really well done and only further displays that Cesaro is one of the most reliable in-ring guys on the WWE roster. The end comes a bit past the 13 minute mark after Cena manages to clothesline Cesaro over the top, after he'd tagged in Jack Swagger. Cena manages to put Swagger in the STF, with Swagger tapping out. Afterward, Del Rio hits the ring with a steel chair and gives Cena several shots to the back before wrapping it around the surgically repaired arm. He stomps it a few times before putting Cena in the Cross Armbreaker for a while before he's eventually pulled off by Big E. Langston. I don't understand why they had The Real Americans lose like this. They've been built up well over the past couple of weeks, including scoring a clean win over the current tag team champs, but they lose to Cena. Earlier in the night, Orton took a count out loss to them, but WWE simply had to put Cena over here. We get that Cena is the face of WWE, but they go too far in protecting him sometimes. Sometimes, that protection results in damage to other stars that they've been building. Why not have Del Rio do a run in after Cesaro is knocked over the top rope, as it was still anybody's ballgame then? He was out there, after all, after all. Still, the match was entertaining and the post match beatdown worked. ***1/4

Alberto Del Rio vs. Big E. Langston - While not as good as his match against Orton, Langston still looked good here in his match against Del Rio. This match was made after Langston saved Cena. The match went about 5 minutes and both men got in a good amount of offense. I think this match should have gone to the 10 minute mark, which is about what Orton vs. Langston was, but it only went half that. After all, if they want to make the WWE & World Heavyweight Champions look "equal", then it doesn't really come off that way when the #1 contender to the WHC beats a guy in half the time it took the reigning WWE Champion. Langston hit a lot of his key offense and the crowd was pretty behind him. Del Rio is ultimately able to put Langston in the Cross Armbreaker, though he fights it at first, and he's ultimately forced to submit. **1/4

Paul Heyman Beating - Paul Heyman shows up in the ring, with Curtis Axel standing beside him, sitting in a wheelchair, wearing a neckbrace, his arm in a sling, his left leg in a cast and wearing some sort of brace for his back. Heyman ridiculed CM Punk, the audience and even Ryback, blaming him as much for his condition as anyone. Heyman goes on for a bit before Punk's music hits and the crowd pops. Axel tries to defend Heyman but ultimately winds up eating a GTS. Punk pulls out a kendo stick from under the ring and proceeds to beat Heyman unmercifully with it. I remember reading that this same thing took place at a house show, I'm thinking it was in Dublin, Ireland over the weekend or late last week, and the live crowd ate it up. Heyman ultimately rolled out of the ring and was being checked on at ringside as Daniel Bryan made his ring entrance.

Daniel Bryan & CM Punk vs. The Shield - A very entertaining handicap tag team main event with the hot crowd being highly excited by Punk & Bryan. The Shield were great in their roles, as one would expect. Both sides got in a lot of offense and Bryan wound up working much of the match with the crowd lighting up, as usual, when he launched into his flurry of offense and cranked up the intensity. Bryan eventually makes the hot tag to CM Punk and they have things going their way, especially after Bryan delivers a suicide dive to the outside onto Seth Rollins. Simultaneously, Roman Reigns, who'd already been taken down on the outside, nails Bryan with a clothesline and all three lie out on the floor recovering. Inside the ring, Punk slaps Ambrose in the Anaconda Vice with Ambrose teasing a tap before the Wyatt Family's interruption. The lights come on with Punk & Bryan waiting in the ring across from Harper & Rowan, looking ready. Inside the ring, however, they get into a shouting match with Rollins & Ambrose for a bit, that results in some pushing & shoving. On the outside, Reigns & Wyatt are having words and, eventually, Wyatt clocks Reigns while the others go at it inside the ring. The crowd goes nuts over this as all six of them eventually get to fighting in the center of the ring before they're eventually able to be parted. Wyatt plays the role of the voice of reason, eventually, and reminds The Shield that they have a common enemy, pointing to Bryan & Punk on the outside. They all make their way outside, while Punk & Bryan head inside the ring, standing back to back and make their last stand before they're overwhelmed by the numbers. Quickly, however, the Rhodes brothers & the Usos hit the ring and the babyfaces eventually manage to roust the heels, leaving the show going off the air with Bryan leading the crowd in a Yes chant. ***1/2

Thumbs In The Middle​

Kofi Kingston vs. Damien Sandow - The match was okay, nothing really to write home about. What stood out was how much more aggressive Sandow was here than he's normally been. He controlled most of the match, but the live crowd just wasn't all that into it. After all, Sandow may have looked great in defeat against John Cena a few weeks back, but he's still lost a ton of momentum. He ultimately scores the win with his Full Nelson Slam that he calls "You're Welcome" for the win. *1/2

Tyson Kidd vs. Fandango - For me, what didn't really make this match a hit was that it was too short. It wasn't a miss either due to the fact that both of them looked good and worked well for the brief time they had. If they'd have given this match a good 7 to 10 minutes, it would've been a solid television match. It was also Kidd's first televised singles match since returning, so him losing in less than 3 minutes doesn't exactly scream "I matter" only a week after returning. *1/2

Thumbs Down​

Kane, Vickie Guerrero & Brad Maddox - These three simply did not click. Their role of being the bickering "authority figures" with Vickie ultimately being a voice of reason simply didn't work. Given that Kane is the "Director of Operations", why give him the title if he's not going to be in charge while the Authority is away on vacation? I thought he was going to be something along the lines of a devious, heartless dictator. However, ultimately speaking, he came across as a low level flunky that neither Maddox or Vickie were intimidated by. Counting Stephanie & Triple H, this makes a total of 5 on air authority figures and I simply see no reason for it.

Survivor Series Build - The overall build for Survivor Series hasn't exactly blown me away. This is supposed to be one of WWE's classic "Big Four" shows, but it doesn't feel that way. Right now, the entire event generally revolves around Orton vs. Big Show & Cena vs. Del Rio and, frankly, I don't see these two as being money feuds. The WWE FINALLY got around to delivering some sort of promise for what might be a traditional Survivor Series match with the final few minutes of last night's Raw with The Wyatt Family & The Shield on one side while Bryan & Punk, The Usos & Cody Rhodes & Goldust on the other. However, there are currently only two OFFICIALLY announced matches for Survivor Series and next week's Raw is the go home show.

Final Thoughts​

I thought last night's show was an entertaining, wrestling heavy episode of Raw. I lost my satellite signal for Lost Matadores & Santino vs. 3MB and R-Truth vs. Ryback, but I didn't miss much, based on reading the reports from last night. Punk & Bryan vs. The Shield, Cena vs. The Real Americans and Axel vs. Ziggler were the best matches of the night, though I have to give the edge to the main event. Most of the rest of the action that I saw was pretty solid overall as well. Heyman returning only to get another beating from Punk was a nice surprise and the brief display of tension between Orton & The Shield was well done. The live crowd especially loved the site of The Wyatt Family & The Shield going at it and there can't be any doubt that Bryan & Punk are easily the two most universally over babyfaces on the WWE roster. The downside of last night's show was the lack of the overall build for Survivor Series and the lackluster interaction between Kane, Vickie & Maddox. One positive about them is that at least they weren't all over the show, popping up in every other segment. I also was left a bit frustrated with WWE's near constant obsessive need to overly protect John Cena. It's as if Vince is somehow afraid Cena's credibility will magically disappear if he doesn't walk out looking damn near invincible 95% of the time. With next week's Raw being from Nashville, Tennessee and with a "Raw Goes Country" theme, I can only hope that there's not a ton of silly antics revolving around country music stereotypes going on because they REALLY have to flat out pack next week's show with as much Survivor Series buzz as possible.

Grade: B-

 

[ASKane]

The Raw main event segment was the best for weeks and possible the entire Authority storyline era. However we did not see any of the current major players in HHH, Steph, Orton, Kane or Big Show instead we saw a lot of new talent with only 2 of 12 men involved in the segment ever holding a World or WWE title. The young guys got to take over and created an epic finish which set up a Wyatt vs Shield feud and a potential 6 vs 6 SS match.

I think this segment was so good because of the fresh look which is a change from the Authority storyline which includes multiple guys who have been with WWE for over 10 years. The Shield and Wyatts have been kept apart, The Shield and Punk have never been rivals and The Wyatts in the main event is still new and all this created a great ending which I think will lead to next weeks being a let down when it will probably involve HHH, Show and Orton.

 

[The Fabulous Rougeau's]

Last night was an above average show that was made better by the crowds involvement. England loves Fandango and I was glad to see him wearing the British flag on his trunks as he owes a lot to those fans. The highlight of the night is seeing The Wyatt's interact with The Shield. That is something every fan has wanted to see since The Wyatt's arrived and last night we got a taste.

 

[supernatural1981]

I was at the taping last night. The dark match before the show had William Regal come out as guest ring announcer to introduce Wade Barrett vs Damien Sandow. I was surprised that Barrett didn't return to the main show last night but at least he was there.

3MB got a decent pop when they came out as the union jacks and i even heard a few boo's when they lost which was funny.

The Shield and Wyatt's confrontation blew the roof off and to have that happen for the first time on raw happen in the UK was decent. I cant wait to see what happens with these two teams.

Overall it was a ok show but i have been to better house shows over the years than last nights raw which is a shame.

 

[Sid Schmid]

Goes to show that good crowd can elevate a just above average show. Most of the time I watch Raw the crowd are a bit of a let down.

My highlight from last nights show was definitely the moment when the Shield and the Wyatts brawled for a short while, the place exploded and it felt fresh.

 

[Spidey Revivey]

"Hey guys, let's have the Raw GM and the new Director of Operations bicker about who the champion should face. Then bring out the Smackdown GM to make both of them look weak as fuck."

"Genius."

That's how the start felt to me in one of the most unbearable openers to a Raw I have ever seen. It made no logical sense whatsoever to have your Smackdown GM calling any kind of shots on an overseas Raw. And Kane was suppose to be in charge with Trips and Steph gone, right? Why else appoint him in any authority role? Who is in charge here I mean seriously?

So yeah, besides one of the worst openers I've seen in a long time, the matches themselves were pretty solid. I thought they were overdoing it a little bit with having 3 Handicap Matches on the card, but it worked out pretty well, especially Cena vs. The Real Americans.

Best of the night:

The Handicap Matches - Even though they plagued the card, all were executed fairly well.

Show chokeslamming Orton into a table - This is what probably saved many of us from just changing the channel after a horrendous start of the show. And I enjoy thinking about the commentators just swiveling around in their chairs while trying to look professional for another couple of hours.

The Shield & The Wyatts - The reason why many here thought tonight's show was good. It wasn't that great, to be honest, but this was a stellar moment. The Shield showed signs of turning face throughout the night and The Wyatts arrived right when it was needed the most. The fans ate it up.

Worst of the night:

Big Show's Lawsuit Angle - I can't wait til Show jobs and we don't have to hear about this ever again. It is one of the most illogical storylines of the modern era. Seriously he has the power to sue The Authority for WWE and all he wants is a Championship Match with Orton? Please. Nobody in real life is that stupid.

The Authority Figures - Even without Triple H & a McMahon there, it was heavy with people in charge from the get-go. Vickie had no business even being there, and Maddox no-selling Kane's intimidating presence really makes me wonder if writers are going the right route for someone they used to make a monster.

Big E Langston: Great moment coming to Cena's aid. Great match the other week with Orton. But the second they put him up against Del Rio I knew where this was going. I know Langston can put on a good match with anyone on the roster. I'm almost sure by now the rest of the WWE Universe is aware. So with that being said, why must he lose cleanly? If he is getting that monster push, where is that redeeming factor? It's like watching a really buff Shannon Moore fight circa 2003.

 

[The Eighties]

I'm gonna keep this short as not a lot on Raw tonight really got my interest and I'm not inclined to moan about the stuff that bored me.

I did like what they did with Orton, him standing up to Triple H and Steph after a few weeks as an afterthought puppet was good to see, now they just need to have him beat Big Show clean this Sunday and move on, although they probably wont and this tough love stuff will turn out to just be a "shocking" swerve.

Big E vs Axel was a fairly ordinary match but the way it was presented made it feel important. Axel is dead in the water without Heyman so the title switch made sense, now hopefully they book a strong IC title reign for Big E with some actual feuds as opposed to random challengers every now and then.

The Miz going heel must be a relief for him as well as most fans as the face turn never took and he's been drifting further into obscurity as far as his in ring career goes, with each passing week. I'm interested to see what he does next.

Dolph vs Sandow in one of the most awkward looking street fight matches ever was an odd one, two guys who pretty much spend their time jobbing with the odd win here and there, going heads up in a match type that they aren't known for. To their credit they made the most of it and got the crowd into it, Dolph pulling out the win surprised me as I thought Sandow was the more likely to win.

AJ vs Vickie was not a good match by any stretch of the imagination but the 12 divas that were out there earlier in the night could learn from both how important it is to have character and mannerisms that get the crowds interest, as despite no actual action to speak of AJ and Vickie had the crowd eating out of the palm of their hands. I also wonder how much longer WWE will keep AJ heel given everywhere they go she gets cheered.

The main event was great, so many dynamics going on within the match and it was given plenty of time so that everyone could shine. Goldust again looked fantastic, the fans seem to be loving the Punk and Bryan alliance, Rollins continues to stamp himself on these matches in a way that suggests he's doing everything to avoid being "The other guy" and Bray Wyatt continues to be a sinister presence without doing an awful lot. The finishing sequence, as is now customary in The Shield's matches, was white hot.

The return of Rey Mysterio during the post match attack on Punk and Bryan was fun and I am personally happy to see him back for hopefully one more good run.

 

[The Fabulous Rougeau's]

Average show which is not what you want for the show leading up to a major ppv. I'm still trying to figure out why WWE put on the 12 man match on Raw and not at Survivor Series. This makes two shows in a row that the fans were electric for those guys. The attempt of humor over AJ's fainting was an epic fail. Not that it was wrong or in poor taste but rather it just failed in the attempt to generate humor. I'm guessing one person backstage thought it would be funny and thus it saw the light of air. Other than that most everything else was average or worse. I would like to see Mysterio enter a feud with Ambrose following Survivor Series as I can see them putting on some good matches and Mysterio can be a great stepping stone for Ambrose to push himself outside of The Shield.