WWE Raw
Richmond, Virginia
The Richmond Coliseum
December 30, 2013
Thumbs Up
Opening Segment - CM Punk's opening segment with The Shield played out nicely, moving the eventual break up of the group closer. Is it something of a hackneyed tactic? Sure it is, but it works well in pro wrestling storylines because everyone has an ego. As JBL & Lawler pointed out, just as any number of veterans doing interviews have said, that part of being a success us conveying to the fans that you're the best. Even the closest knit groups, especially those as successful as The Shield, allow their own personal sense of pride to get in the way of logic sometimes. Hell, people around the world do it everyday in real life, so why should pro wrestling be any different?
CM Punk vs. Seth Rollins - A strong opening match that went off very well, except for a few minor sloppy moments in the first several minutes. Rollins & Punk were able to find their rhythm quickly enough, however, and put on a great match. To me, it wasn't as good as Cena vs. Rollins this past Friday on SmackDown! as that match had the surprise factor going for it. I don't think people really expected Rollins to have as strong of a showing against Cena as he did, so a similarly strong showing against Punk was expected. Both wrestlers got in a lot of offense and Rollins, again, had a strong singles showing. The story played out nicely with The Shield really sort of getting in each other's way here, namely Ambrose's own sense of frustration getting the better of him at times, and it was played up as though it may have cost Rollins the victory, albeit with some very minor interference. The match comes to a close with Rollins attempting a sunset flip over the top, only for Punk to catch him on his shoulders and deliver the GTS for the win about the 18 minute mark.
***1/2
Announcement & Video Presentation - I had an idea that Stephanie was going to announce Orton vs. Cena at the Rumble and I like the hype that was put into it. The notion of having this match only being won via pinfall or submission sets up a means of interference, despite what Stephanie said, so Orton can retain. The video package highlighting some of Orton's brightest moments was extremely well done. WWE's production team doesn't get enough credit for how good these video packages are. I do wish that the various authority figures would save the hollow felicitations and interests in wishing the fans happy holidays and all that though.
Old School Raw Hype - It's all but confirmed that Ric Flair will be at Old School Raw next week. Old School Raw can be a lot of fun and with next week's show also being the first Raw of 2014, it should be a hot show.
Big E. Langston vs. Fandango for the WWE Intercontinental Championship - This was a much better match than I was expecting and this is probably the best Fandango has looked in a good 6 months. Frankly, I expected Fandango to basically dive into his gimmick, clown it up a bit, and ultimately wind up eating defeat after what amounted to a drawn out, 5 minute squash match. Fortunately, that didn't happen as Fandango got in a lot of offense and his focus was on wrestling the match and trying win the IC title rather than hamming it up in character. Big E. has come a long way since the early days of being Ziggler's heavy and he continues to look good in his matches. They're portraying Langston as a powerhouse, but not as this invincible black Superman who steamrolls over everyone. Fandango hits his finisher, the leg drop from the top, and Langston rolls out of the ring to prevent the count. I thought that was a very nice touch rather than just have Langston power out of the move. Langston isn't a big enough star, in my eyes, so that he can just eat the finisher of an opponent that's giving him a hard match and just power out. Langston eventually rallies for a comeback and hits the Big Ending to retain the title a little before the 13.5 minute mark.
***
Brock Lesnar & Mark Henry - Triple H's big announcement came about the top of the 10 pm hour and he introduced the return of Brock Lesnar. I liked that they kept the tension between Trips & Lesnar there and that they didn't have them be all buddy buddy considering that Lesnar "broke" Triple H's arm twice. Heyman did much of the talking for Lesnar and ultimately declared Lesnar as the #1 contender for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. He also declared that being the champ is the reason that Lesnar was WWE rather than settling old scores. Lesnar got on the mic and he stumbled a little, promos were never his strong suit, but he ultimately did fine. He essentially dared anyone in the locker room who felt he shouldn't be #1 contender to step up and say otherwise. Eventually, Mark Henry's music hits and Henry comes out. They have a bit of a stare down makes his way to the ring. Henry is about to enter the ropes when Lesnar kicks him, sending him to the floor. Lesnar gets in a few shots before Henry gets in a few of his own before tossing Lesnar over the railing. Henry climbs over the railing but Lesnar wraps his arms around Henry's waist and charges him backwards through the security railing. Henry sells the effects while Lesnar screams like a caveman, he does look like some Cro-Magnon lookin' S.O.B., before he hoists Henry up onto his shoulders and delivers an F5 on the floor. An impactful return that also probably gives Lesnar an opponent for the Royal Rumble.
Daniel Bryan vs. Luke Harper - Another strong match between these two. Luke Harper continues to impress me as a big guy. His scary hillbilly appearance coupled with his strange facial features help tell a good story. It was a good formula match with Bryan as the scrappy, fearless smaller guy against the big powerhouse. Both guys got in a lot of offense and Bryan took a lot of big bumps for Harper, especially the powerbomb off the turnbuckle. Harper powering out of the Yes Lock was a nice touch. Even though Harper has lost to Bryan & Punk in singles matches, he continuously looks strong and scored several believable near falls on Bryan. At the end, Harper attempts a belly to back throw with Bryan landing on his feet before hitting the big running knee for the win a little after the 15 minute mark.
***1/2
Daniel Bryan vs. Erick Rowan - While this match wasn't as good, due partially to being much shorter and Rowan not being as good as Harper, it played its part nicely in the story being told. Bryan had been through a tough fight with Harper, naturally he's winded and "hurt", so they had Rowan look dominant. Bryan wound up scoring the win via a small package around the 7 minute mark.
**1/2
Daniel Bryan's Conversion - Bryan never got to get his hands on Wyatt as Harper & Rowan jumped him, beating him down for a bit before Wyatt gets in the ring. He screams at Bryan while doing his manic bit, turning his back on Bryan and seemingly giving him a free shot. As Bryan moves to attack, Harper & Rowan attack again and proceed beat Bryan down more, culminated eventually with a big double chokeslam. Wyatt gets on the mic denouncing Bryan for a bit before Bryan responds "You're right". Wyatt has him say it again a few times on the mic before Bryan addresses him. Bryan says that no matter how hard he fights, no matter how much the people cheer or him, "the machine" won't allow him to win. He asks to join the Family, crawl to Wyatt, kneeling and holding his arm out. Wyatt delivers Sister Abigail's Kiss and instructs Harper & Rowan to bring Bryan out with them. Bryan eventually starts to walk on his own, stumbling and selling the effects of his matches and beating. The people are chanting "No!" an Bryan turns towards the crowd and starts to hulk up a bit before lowering his head and shaking his head, walking behind Wyatt. Great storytelling here and I'm curious to see where this goes. I can't say I'm totally sold on it yet because I'll have to see the follow up.
Thumbs In The Middle
Dolph Ziggler vs. Curtis Axel - Pretty solid 5 minute match that had some good offense from both guys. Nothing really to write home about with Ziggler scoring the win with the Zig Zag.
**1/4
Damien Sandow vs. The Great Khali - I enjoyed this match only because Sandow won it. It wasn't a pretty match, but Sandow controlled most of it and kept Khali on his back for much of it. I liked that Sandow used logic in his offense, namely doing what he could to keep the bigger & stronger man off his feet. The end comes about the 5 minute mark with Sandow rolling Khali up. It was sloppy, as Khali's shoulder was clearly up, but it wasn't as horrible of a match as I was expecting.
**
Diva Tag Team Match - Like with Sandow vs. Khali, this wasn't great. However, it was more than I was expecting. The Diva Division still has too many women on television who can't wrestle, hence they shouldn't be on television. Fortunately, Anna Marie & Rosa were very minimal in the match. The rest of the Divas were pretty decent. The biggest surprise was seeing Aksana score the clean pin for her team by pinning Nikki Bella.
**1/4
Thumbs Down
R-Truth vs. Brodus Clay - Just nothing here worth mentioning as it's basically the story of a chubby guy hating guys who dance better than he does.
*
Final Thoughts
It's been a while since I've done a review and I didn't have high hopes for this show after the promo hype of Big Show in a diaper dancing. I thought this would be a throwaway holiday episode of Raw, but it most certainly wasn't. Raw finished 2013 on a high note with a newsworthy show that had a lot of interesting developments, strong wrestling content and storyline progression. Punk vs. Rollins, Langston vs. Fandango and Bryan vs. Harper were the best matches on the card while even most of the filler matches were okay, more or less. Brock Lesnar's return was impactful but the story of the night is Bryan joining The Wyatt Family. The follow up is going to make or break this and I hope that Bryan's character doesn't become some mindless drone.
Grade: A-
