When last we left our heroes, a big
problem interrupted the celebration. Daniel Bryan and CM Punk were
seemingly diverted, but Big Show had other ideas and appeared to be
HHH's biggest issue. Mid-week, though, Big Show was banned from WWE
for life. So who steps up? How do you get any of them back? Has
HHH finally cleared the deck of objectors and set up the WWE to be
best for his business?
The pre-show ad promises more on the
Big Show situation, plus a match between Luke Harper and CM Punk.
- The PG Era Rant for Monday Night Raw,
November 4, 2013.
- Be glad I paid attention last week,
or you'd never know we're Live from Greenville, SC.
- Your hosts are the usual.
- CM Punk v. Luke Harper. Wait, we're
opening with a MATCH? And did Vince get the memo that it's November?
We look back at the Wyatt Family destroying Punk (and Daniel Bryan)
last week as the devil made Bray do it. If AJ is the devil, Vince is
officially out of ideas. It's 8:02 and JBL is already talking about
business. It's gonna be a long three hours. Punk gets a big boot
right off the bat, but Harper corners Punk and nails him. Harper
chokes away in the corner, adding an uppercut and manhandling him.
Harper with a headbutt to the chest and one to the forehead, followed
by a knee choke. Punk kicks his way out, but loses a slugfest to
Harper. Harper chokes away on the ropes (showing no emotion) as JBL
compares him to Bruiser Brody. Punk dumps Harper to the outside and
follows with a dive try, but Harper jumps up and cuts it off. Wyatt
approves of the smarts as Harper gets one. Harper slugs down Punk
and slams him, raking the eyes with his boot and getting a big elbow.
Gator roll follows as Harper shoots a disturbing glare. Cole says
he'd like to interview Wyatt and the Family but fears for his life.
Punk fights out, but Harper with a big shot to the head.
Cross-corner whip as Harper slows down the pace. Big boot in the
corner misses and Harper flies over the top. And NOW Punk hits the
big dive, but here comes Erick Rowan to stalk Punk as we go to break.
(Wait a second... Bruiser Brody... Brodie Lee... man, why didn't I
figure that out before?) We return with Harper working a
behind-the-back headlock as we see that, during the Break, Rowan
distracted Punk long enough for Harper to get a big boot. Harper
with a Vadershot in the ropes and a boot choke. Guillotine catapult
follows, then an elbowdrop for one. Another elbowdrop gets another
one-count. Harper smashes Punk's head and rakes the nose before
going back to the Gator Roll. He switches to a choke sleeper type
move, but Punk escapes and begins hitting counter-strikes and a
tornado DDT for the double KO. Harper and Punk slug it out, with
Punk using a spinning kick and leg lariat to get the edge.
Duck-under swinging neckbreaker sort of connects (close enough, since
he used the hair to save it). Punk with the running knee and
short-arm clothesline, which sets up the Heartbreak Elbow... to
ROWAN. Harper pulls Punk back to the apron by the neck, but Punk
with a big kick for separation only to springboard into a big boot
from Harper. Discus lariat misses, and Punk with a cradle to win at
11:12. Rowan charges in to prevent a celebration by Punk. Crowd
demands Daniel Bryan as Wyatt walks up the stairs, and indeed here is
Bryan with a ponytail and a chair. Both minions are down, but Bray
cuts him off. Punk grabs the chair, and the faces clear the ring.
Crowd is going bonkers. Now THAT, my friends, is how you do a
white-hot opener. ***1/4
- We
get clips from WWE.com about Big Show's lawsuit. HHH dismisses the
lawsuit as being meaningless and announces the banning of Big Show.
And to prove HHH has a point, JBL shows the footage of Big Show
knocking HHH out. And even though Big Show is banned, we'll get his
side of the story.
-
Tonight, Randy Orton returns to his roots in a WWE App match against
either Dolph Ziggler, Big E Langston, or The Miz. Plus, Cena and the
Brothers Rhodes face Damien Sandow and We The People.
(Author's
note: My Skype friends have informed me of the Mallrats origin of
Brodie Lee's indy name. I'm leaving my statement in there because
it's more fun that way.)
-
Renee Young speaks to CM Punk backstage about the match. Punk knew
it wasn't a fair fight, but the Heyman experience made him ready for
it. If he can be outnumbered, his foes can be outgunned. But no one
expected help. Punk leaves it at that.
-
Paul Heyman calls in to Raw and is interviewed by the announce team.
He's in Europe being seen by specialists. He has severe back
injuries, and it's a TRAVESTY that Punk attacked him after the match
when he's not a wrestler. Punk owes him an apology. Like that'll
happen. Heyman appears to be crying, and the line goes dead.
-
Ryback v. Great Khali. This match was set up after Ryback bullied
Hornswoggle in catering earlier that night, so they Summoned Bigger
Fish™. Lockup goes to a stalemate before Khali wins Round 2.
Ryback ducks under and attacks, but Khali no-sells and backs Ryback
into a corner, throwing back elbows. CHOP OF DOOM follows in the
corner. Khali picks Ryback up by his ear and chops some more before
choking him in the corner and adding another CHOP. Ryback kicks away
for some distance and tries for Shell Shock, but Khali elbows out.
Ryback with a lariat in the corner, but runs into an elbow and big
boot. Clotheslines level Ryback, but Ryback with the Meathook to win
at 2:26. Nothing wrong with re-establishing Ryback after the big
loss to Punk. 1/2*
Ryback goes to leave, but thinks better of it and attacks Santino for
grins. Santino eats barricade and leaves Ryback alone with
Hornswoggle. Thankfully, Ryback decides not to do anything.
-
More footage of Big Show, this time causing the tag title change.
JBL yells about Big Show performing criminal acts in the match, but
it was no disqualification, so did he really do wrong?
-
Kofi Kingston v. Alberto Del Rio. Del Rio goes after the legs and
rams the shoulder in the gut. Kofi fires back, but Del Rio with a
superkick and stomps away. Kofi with a flying back elbow and he
sends Del Rio packing. Kingston follows with a flip senton (almost
overshooting Del Rio), and back in, it gets two. Del Rio reverses a
whip and blocks the pendulum kick, setting up a guillotine stomp.
Del Rio pounds away on Kofi on the outside, then goes to the top with
a flying axhandle. He ties Kofi into the ropes and punches away,
adding a big kick to the gut and step-up enzuigiri as both Lawler and
JBL make Mexican War references. Del Rio gets 2. Del Rio gets the
chinlock as we continue the history lesson on commentary, but Kofi
fights out and catches a ducking Del Rio. Del Rio recovers with a
German suplex hold for two. Del Rio imitates the Boom clap into a
running kick and snap suplex, getting two, and we return to the
chinlock. For those keeping score at home, Del Rio is vicious and
aggressive again. Kofi elbows out and gets a sunset flip for two.
Del Rio with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker to cut off momentum, getting
two. Side chinlock follows as the crowd claps up Kofi, which is a
good sign for this match. Kofi knees out this time, adding punches,
but Del Rio goes nuts with headbutts and creates separation. Step-up
enzuigiri is ducked, though, and Kofi splats on Del Rio for two. Del
Rio's blind charge misses, and Kofi gets a headscissors and
springboard crossbody for two. Kofi with chops for the comeback,
into a dropkick, but the flying clothesline misses and Del Rio gets a
back gut kick. Kofi with a rollup out of nowhere for two, and the
two tangle in a series of reversals until Del Rio sneaks in the Cross
Armbreaker for the tapout at 6:53. Better than I expected it to be.
**
- Big
Show pays for time to show why the lawsuit exists.
- WWE
App match is next; I think we saw Lawler vote for Dolph when we were
shilling the App. Was that necessary?
-
Question: would David Ortiz pass a Wellness test? (You had to be
there.)
-
Orton cuts a promo prior to his match, claiming that Orton's opponent
doesn't matter because the people making the choice have no power.
The women in the crowd are fantasizing about him (and a few women
seem to agree). And the men in the crowd will never be half the man
Orton is. The crowd is made up of jealousy, failure, and envy. The
only choice the fans made is who will lose to Orton. I have nothing
against this.
-
Randy Orton v. Big E Langston (75%). WHOA! I would've never
predicted that. Orton kicks Langston to start and pounds away,
working a headlock. Langston with a huge tackle that makes Orton
bail with a “who IS this guy” look on his face. They exchange
waistlocks, with Langston getting a slam and pinning predicament for
one. Orton fires back, but Langston with a powerful elbow for two.
A punch to the gut flattens Orton, and a second one sends Orton to
the outside for a timeout. Orton with a dropkick for one, and he
sets up the Draping DDT, but Langston flips Orton to the apron and
knocks him into the barricade FROM THE APRON as we go to break. We
return with Langston doing ten punches in the corner and a short-arm
clothesline. Orton AGAIN bails, but this time Langston follows him
and stalks. Orton with a desperation kick, but Langston sends Orton
into the steps. Orton throws Langston into the apron, and back in we
go as Orton is FINALLY in control. Not for long, as Langston attacks
Orton, but a spear attempt misses as Orton sidesteps. Orton with a
clothesline on the outside, and back in he gets two. Orton stomps
Langston's ankle, then works a chinlock. Langston backs Orton into
the corner and gets a running shoulder ram. Big clothesline follows,
and another, then Orton misses and Langston gets a belly-to-belly
suplex and Ultimate Splash for two. Langston gets kicked as Orton
does the backbreaker he does for two. Orton throws Langston into the
post and sets up the Draping DDT again, this time connecting. Orton
mocks the crowd, certain he's in control, but Langston shoves off the
RKO and clotheslines Orton. THE STRAPS ARE DOWN and Langston wants
the Big Ending, but Orton escapes and RKOs Langston for the win at
12:05. Big E Langston, welcome to credibility. ***
You know, it seems that Orton's had a lot of almost-loss victories
with midcarders since Summerslam. Christian, Cody, Dustin, now
Langston – he's good at this. It's what you want from a heel
champ.
- We
see Big Show beating Brad Maddox into next week with one punch, then
invading the arena with a semi and interrupting the contract signing.
To be fair to WWE, they've made it clear that the Stone Cold stuff
wouldn't fly. On the other hand, you never had this much made about
Stone Cold's behavior in the Attitude Era.
- WWE
2K14 footage of Cena/Rock II.
-
Fandango and Summer Rae v. Tyson Kidd and Natalya. Hey, Tyson Kidd's
back! And yes, this is a husband-and-wife team. The Kidds, not the
Fandangoes, despite what JBL would have you believe. Fandango works a
headlock, getting a shoulder tackle, but Kidd and Fandango do a
tumbling exercise before Kidd unloads with a dropkick. Divas in, and
the crowd approves of this, but a slap by Summer leads to a
Sharpshooter try. Fandango distracts, allowing Summer to take over.
Headlockery follows, with a facejam getting two. Summer with an
inverted Russian legsweep for two and she gets a bodyscissors with
her legs. Summer with a sunset flip for one, and a double
clothesline leads to double KO. Men in, and Kidd with a
rope-assisted kick and springboard dropkick. Kidd using the legs to
attack Fandango, cutting him off and scissoring him out of the ring.
Running apron kick follows, but Summer distracts Kidd and Fandango
yanks the apron to trip Kidd. Fandango up top, but the dropkick is
caught, Natalya takes out Summer, and the Sharpshooter by Kidd ends
it at 3:45. Welcome back, Tyson. 3/4*
-
Renee Young is backstage with Damien Sandow. Sandow is in a BAD
mood, and being shown last week's match will NOT make him any
happier. Sandow is haunted by his failed cash-in, despite his
denials. Sandow now will stop at nothing to get what he wants... and
enter Zeb Colter, who promises to help Sandow get his revenge. This
is a chance for them to win over the Rhodeses for the second time.
WE THE PEOPLE! Sandow: “Me, your uncrowned World Champion.”
-
Let's be fair: when someone says that jail isn't a deterrent to
staying away from you, you DO need to take drastic measures. I kinda
see JBL's point there.
- The
Champ Is Here! He's hyped for the six-man that is imminent, but he
wants to say thank you to Susan G. Komen. He announces that the
breast cancer merchandise will be available through December. He
honors some breast cancer survivors who got tickets to tonight's
show. Cena mentions South Carolina saying a thank you, and it's
match time. I have nothing cynical to say about this.
-
John Cena, Cody Rhodes, and Goldust v. Damien Sandow, Jack Swagger,
and Antonio Cesaro. So which of these five guys is the least likely
to be in a six-man with Cena at this point in their career? You have
a perennial midcarder, a pure gimmick who was written off the week
before, a man in the doghouse for ruining a WrestleMania main event,
an indy man who never sniffed the upper midcard before now, and
Goldust. Zeb Colter AND Alberto Del Rio are on commentary. This
could get ugly. Although Colter giving Del Rio the cold shoulder is
a nice touch. Cena attacks Sandow to start, with a one-armed
facebuster for one. Cody in, and a double back elbow gets Cody one.
Cody with the Brisco rollup for one, but Sandow pounds away and tags
in Swagger. Cody blocks Swagger and sends him into the buckle, and
Goldust with a dropkick (!) for one. Goldust with a slap to Swagger,
followed by a snapmare and kneedrop for two. Cody back, and a double
punch and snapmare, followed by a knee to the face (that clearly
misses) for one. Cesaro in, but Cody backs him into the face corner
and brings in Cena. A lockup, won by Cesaro, opens the next round.
Cena returns the win, and they tease a test of strength as Cena's
chants begin. Test of strength connects, and Cesaro gets an early
lead, but Cena's comeback is cut off as Cesaro kicks him and sends
him to the corner with European uppercuts. Cena reverses a whip and
gets a fisherman suplex for one. Cena to the chinlock, and Goldust
in for a double suplex. He gets two. Goldust works the arm and cuts
off Cesaro, getting one. Goldust legdrops the arm, and Cody in with
kicks and a front suplex for two. Cesaro cuts off Cody in the corner
with shots to the gut, and Sandow continues the assault. Cody
reverses a cross-corner whip and gets a back body drop. Cody works
the shoulder, and in comes Cena. AA try, but Sandow bails and the
heels regroup as we go to break. I was trying to drown it out, which
I do during matches so I can focus on the action, but Zeb and Del Rio
are nicely sniping at each other. It's kind of refreshing to see
people on the same side of Bill Watts' locker room disagree. We
return with a second test of strength with Cena and Cesaro, and
Cesaro catches Cena with a catapult European uppercut for two.
Twice. We The People with a double suplex, getting Swagger two.
Vaderbomb by Swagger gets two. Sandow in, and he headbutts Cena,
following with straight rights. One of them misses, and Cena gets an
elevation neckbreaker as everyone begs for a tag. Swagger gets in
and cuts Cena off. Knees to the gut of Cena by Swagger, as our word
of the day on commentary is “perro”. Swagger with a front
chancery. Next week they're in England! Nice. Cena backdrops out,
but Swagger holds on with the Patriot Lock and clotheslines down Cena
after the break, getting Cesaro two. Cesaro bullies around Cena,
adding a European uppercut. Sandow: “STAY DOWN!” More uppercuts
from Cesaro, getting two. Match has slowed down. Cena with a rana
to slow down (and surprise) Cesaro, but he holds onto Cena's foot so
Sandow can come in legally and attack the arm. This is fun. Sandow
legdrops the arm for two, and he gets what I think is a keylock.
Cena powers to his feet, then lifts Sandow for the AA, but Sandow
escapes and gets the Edge-O-Matic for two. Sandow clotheslines Cena
flat and taunts Cena, waiting for him to stand. When he does, Cena
lifts him up for what an over-the-shoulder slam. Hot tag Goldust,
who takes it to Cesaro with the kneeling uppercut and inverted atomic
drop. Big kick follows and it's ten punches in the corner. Plus one
for Swagger, just because. Goldust cuts off a blind charge and gets
a twisting bodypress for two. Sandow saves, but Cody knocks out
Sandow. Disaster Kick and AA for Swagger, but Sandow with the full
nelson slam on Cena. Cody clears out Sandow and we're back to the
legal men. Cesaro goes for the GIANT SWING OF DOOM (16 rotations),
which causes Goldust to fall out of the ring. Cesaro rolls him back
in, but Cena catches him and leverages Cesaro into Colter at
ringside. Back in, Goldust gets Stratusfaction on Cesaro, Sandow
saves. Cody with a moonsault press to Sandow, and Cena crossbodies
Cesaro as Goldust hits the Final Cut to pin Cesaro at 19:10. WHEW.
**** Why was this
not the main event? Seriously, if this were a two-hour Raw, it's one
of the best of the year. The third hour has a LOT to live up to.
- We
replay the Big Show's side of the story so we can all catch our
breath. And now Big Show is backstage?? Do stips mean anything?
-
Vickie tells HHH the bad news. HHH blames Vickie, but Stephanie
admits she let Big Show in. HHH is unhappy, but the Board of
Directors demand that Big Show be allowed in. The lawsuit scares
them, but HHH doesn't care. Stephanie tries to emphasize that this
is bigger than HHH. HHH is unhappy with this development. Stephanie
is upset that HHH likes the money but not their personal business,
which the crowd hears and reacts to. The Board demands a settlement.
HHH: “I hate him!” HHH asks Vickie to bring Big Show to HHH's
office. HHH hates that something is bigger than himself. I love
shoot comments that aren't meant to be shoot comments. (Yes, I know
part of the story is playing off of what we think HHH thinks of
himself. But the opening was too good to pass up. I'll stop
snarking now.)
-
Dolph Ziggler v. Curtis Axel. Rumors of Axel's demise are apparently
exaggerated. Oh, and good thing Dolph didn't win that WWE App vote,
isn't it? Axel works the arm to start, but Ziggler reverses only for
Axel to elbow out. Axel punches down Ziggler and goes to the
headlock, knocking Ziggler down, but Ziggler comes back with a
dropkick for two. Ziggler goes for a leap, but Axel dodges and yanks
Ziggler off the second rope, dropping elbows and scraping the face.
Axel chokes and taunts Ziggler in the ropes, then nails a dropkick
for two. Axel with a chinlock from the side camel clutch position,
which he holds for some time. Ziggler with a jawbreaker to break it
as the crowd is kinda dead. Axel's charge hits the post, and Ziggler
leaps into position and does the ten-punch countalong into a swinging
neckbreaker. Big elbowdrop gets two. Axel with a Northern Lariat
for two. Cole finally says that both sides have a case in the
lawsuit. About time. Axel tries a powerbomb, but Ziggler turns it
into a sunset flip and Rocker Dropper for two. Zig Zag is shoved
off, but not on the second try as Dolph gets the pin at 4:54. Axel
has been rendered worthless now. Time to get the belt on someone
else. 1/2*
-
Backstage, Daniel Bryan and his wrapped-up shoulder are met by Renee
Young. He knows it wasn't smart to run in with an injury, but he got
his payback. “Now it looks like there's someone else who has an
issue with the Wyatt Family.”
-
Meanwhile, Vickie returns to HHH's office without Big Show, because
Show wants the eventual meeting to be in the ring. Yeah, we all knew
this was happening.
- The
Usos v. Heath Slater and Drew McIntyre. Drew starts and gets chopped
in the corner, but gets a long second-rope dropkick for two. Slater
in, and 3MB gets a double slingshot suplex for two. McIntyre chokes
Jey (I think) on the bottom rope and hooks an armbar. Jey headbutts
out and chops McIntyre... wait, it's Jimmy, sorry. Drew with a
spinning airplane slam for two. McIntyre with stomps on Jimmy and
slaps away, bringing Slater in. Jimmy with a superkick on McIntyre,
but Slater clears both Usos out. He dives straight into a thrust
kick of his own, and Jey gets the Superfly Splash for the pin at
2:45. Nothing to see here. DUD
The wrestling here has really become background to the HHH
Situation, which is too bad because the first two hours had great
wrestling.
-
Renee Young again, this time with Los Matadores and a highlight reel.
Epico is Fernando, for those who care. El Torito appears and hits
on Young. Or something. What just happened?
-
Brie and Nikki Bella and Eva Marie v. AJ Lee, Aksana, and Tamina
Snuka. Nikki and Tamina start (Nikki has the white top). She grabs
a waistlock on Tamina, but Tamina backs her into the corner only ot
miss a blind charge. Nikki tries a crucifix, but Tamina gets the
Samoan Drop for two. Aksana in, and she stomps away. AJ in now, and
she works a headlock into a front guillotine choke. Nikki throws AJ
off, and Tamina dives in as I think I heard SOMEONE say “We're
going home”. Tamina with a jumping headbutt on Nikki, but Nikki
gets a sunset flip for two (so much for going home). Hot tag Brie,
who throws AJ off the apron. Tamina nails Aksana by mistake, and
Brie with a dropkick and missile dropkick. It gets two. Tamina with
an elbow and she smashes Eva Marie before giving Brie the big boot.
Tamina's the only one standing and she goes to the top, but Brie
rolls away. Eva Marie tags herself in and cradles Tamina for the pin
at 3:12. That's how you use Eva Marie in a match. 1/2*
-
They show HHH and Stephanie in the bowels of the ring (WALKING!), and
Stephanie is trying to say something to HHH, who doesn't appear to be
listening too intently.
-
Harper will face Daniel Bryan on SmackDown, as it's clear they see
Harper as the better wrestler of the two. I know, that's not exactly
a revelation.
-
Main event yakfest: we have 15 minutes or so left in the show for
this. HHH says Big Show is doing this to make it all about him,
which counters what was said on commentary that Show wants witnesses.
Big Show is the kind of guy who should never wear a suit to the
ring. Ever. Stephanie says it's time to settle without lawyers and
asks for Show's opening offer. Show calls Stephanie a witch in a
roundabout way, but HHH cuts off the funny and wants to know how much
money Show wants. Show talks about wanting to go back to the WWE to
perform. And no matter what HHH says, it's great to be in WWE, so he
wants his job back. HHH mocks this statement, but before HHH can
make a big mistake, Stephanie has to pull him aside. HHH brushes off
negotiations, and Stephanie steps up and rehires Big Show on the
spot. That gets a Yes chant. HHH looks defeated. Stephanie thinks
it's over, but no, there's one more thing: Show wants a bonus in his
contract. HHH is furious as Stephanie is trying to play peacemaker.
Show says it's not about the money. The bonus he wants is to be the
Face Of The WWE. Even Stephanie thinks it's ridiculous, but now HHH
tries to calm her down... and the Shield are on their way. HHH's
smirk gives everything away as we go to break. Yes, our main event
interview gets a commercial break. HHH is clearly using them as
intimidation, but Show thinks he has HHH over a barrel, so he's not
scared. Show now makes it more clear: he wants a title match with
Orton at Survivor Series. HHH declares that getting his job back
should be enough and if Show doesn't leave, he'll be left bloody. A
standoff begins as neither man budges. Show begins to leave, but as
he does, his attorney will talk to the Board and the lawsuit is still
on. Stephanie is FURIOUS at HHH, who has to be told to call Show
back in. HHH begrudgingly makes the match. Show then plays the “I
didn't hear you, say it again” bit to embarrass HHH. This goes on
for a while (and actually gets a little funny) as Show stands inches
away from HHH and asks for it to be said crystal clear. Show's “I'm
WAITING” face is great. HHH swallows his pride and says it
clearly. Show: “That wasn't that hard, now was it? Wanna shake on
it?” But since Show is an employee now, and HHH is making a match
right now against the Shield AND Randy Orton. This match begins at
11:04?
-
Main event: Big Show and his suit v. Randy Orton and the Shield.
It's all four at once in the ring, and they surround Show, who tries
to pinball them everywhere. Show goes for a chokeslam on Rollins,
but Reigns spears Show and the triple-teaming continues as Orton
barks orders. Orton stalks over Show and talks trash, then asks for
Show to be picked up. Triplebomb is set up, but Show fights out of
it and chokeslams Reigns, leaving Orton alone temporarily. Rollins
and Ambrose attack, but Show suplexes both of them and again is left
alone with Orton. And here comes Kane. Unmasked and in a suit.
Really. Orton tries an RKO but can't. Ambrose clips Show, and
Rollins with the flying knee to the head. RKO finishes, but no
cover. Orton gets a chair from Kane, as do Rollins and Ambrose.
That's enough for a DQ at 3:04, but the massive beating continues.
All angle, no rating. Now Orton and HHH ask Kane to clear the
announce table as the announcers scramble. Reigns lifts the steps up
and rams them into Show's head. Now they set up Show, and it's a
Triplebomb through the table. Orton leans over Show and taunts him.
“You shoulda stayed gone.” Orton's music plays as we wonder if
Show really got the better of HHH or not. End show.
FINAL
THOUGHTS:
The
first two hours were some of the best wrestling on free TV and made a
great Raw. I was concerned when the third hour was all about the
lawsuit that it would drag the rest of the show down, but the beating
at the end of the handicap match more than made up for it. It was an
old-school Southern beatdown, and it is more of the Dusty/Flair
prototype that worked so well with Daniel Bryan. Plus, Big Show was
basically DOA around SummerSlam, and now he's over again. As cynical
as I am about how this came about, it's at least making for good TV.
Punk
and Bryan against the Wyatts I will accept for now, because if anyone
can get Harper and especially Rowan over, they can. Flunkies tend
not to get over the way that the leader does, which is why most of
the heat is on Wyatt. But if you show the flunkies can get the job
done, it helps them. No problems here.
Lost
in the shuffle is Big E Langston getting a big lift against Orton.
Seeing as how he'll face Axel on Main Event, it's clear he'll be a
future Intercontinental Champion, which is great and just what he
needs. The secondary titles all seemed meaningless over the summer.
Dean Ambrose may be over as the Shield's de facto leader, but the US
Title is background as long as he has it and is HHH's muscle. Axel,
of course, was decimated in every way by being around CM Punk. The
sooner those two belts move, the better.
In
the end, a very good Raw for me. I can't complain too loudly about
the little botches and/or booking foibles (like Eva Marie pinning
Tamina when the Bellas couldn't), because there were three
great-for-TV matches. I look forward to England.
STATS:
MATCH
TIME: 69:26 over ten matches
BEST
MATCH: The six-man
WORST
MATCH: Usos/3MB
NIGHT
MVP: Big Show, although I was very tempted to say Big E Langston
FINAL
SCORE: 8.5. This was top-to-bottom a solid show, and the wrestling
made me happy enough to overlook the third hour... but then the main
event angle played out as a trap for Big Show, and it worked
perfectly. Plus, next week they're doing their semi-annual UK show,
and those are always intriguing.
Stay
tuned for Scott and Tommy to take you through the week with Raw Lite,
NXT, and SmackDown. In the meantime, shows like this ARE good for
business.