RAW Review- 13th October

Welcome to another RAW review, and after a mixed bag last week how would this edition shape up?

Before I start I'd like to say was a appalled at WWE firing Justin Roberts as he was one of my favourite announcers, and definitely the best they have of the current crop- and it shows WWE has little in the way of respect for their employees given how long Roberts was employed.

Dean Ambrose & John Cena Promos
Both of these promos were decent, Ambrose has his character down to a T in the lunacy department- and his delivery is great, the same can be said for Cena and these two have a certain chemistry together that will probably put them in good stead when Cena equals Flair's record and they're looking for challengers. The Authority did their usual schtick and it seems they have to be in an opening promo segment every week.

Dean Ambrose & John Cena v Gold and Stardust v The Usos
This was a pretty good tag match. The outcome was always obvious- and with one of the matches that followed the Tag Champions losing was a bit stupid, especially as The Usos have very little momentum now- and their crowd reactions aren't very good in comparison to what they were a few months ago. I liked the fresh pairings we had in this match as Cena and Cody hadn't fought in (from what someone told me last night) 4 Years, and Ambrose aside from a few 6-Man matches wouldn't of squared off with either of these teams. The match was worked at a good pace, but as I said before I don't see the logic in having the Tag Champions losing to a "dysfunctional" tag team.

The making of the contract on a pole match was a bit contrived, but at the end of the day the match is one of a plethora to have Cena look strong with Ambrose still winning. (Before you shout at me for spoilers, I called it as soon as they said it so...)

AJ Lee and Layla v Alicia Fox and Paige
Layla turned face and heel in the space of 5 minutes. I'm surprised they're letting A.J. use a shining wizard as her finisher given the obvious connotations, however as an impact finisher its good- and it doesn't require the setup that the Black Widow does so in turn makes A.J. look more dangerous. The beatdown after the match was good, and I genuinely thought it'd be used as a way to write Layla off TV as I've previously said I think Layla is close to done with the company, however given it only lasted 10-20 seconds I doubt this'll be the catalyst for it.

I think the current storyline with A.J. trying to find a new partner would be perfect to bring Bayley up to the main roster given her "affectionate" personality, and it would be a good way to introduce her, and her character to a wider audience before they inevitably mess her up beyond repair by giving her a Pink Cobra.

Randy Orton Backstage Segment
I'm not sure I understand the logic in Orton wanting sloppy seconds, but its a way to get Orton on the card which is I'm assuming the main reason they did it this way.

Bray Wyatt, Erick Rowan vignette
Whoever directed these needs an instant promotion, The Wyatt character is starting to look dangerous again- which is a credit to Bray's promo ability. Presuming this is a way to have Rowan and Harper step out on their own and look like monsters you have to wonder how long they'll keep their momentum up before one or both end up going the way of Luke Gallows.

Dolph Ziggler v Randy Orton
For once the RKO was literally out of nowhere! The match was good, which isn't a surprise given the in-ring abilities of both of the men involved. Rollins coming out, for the sake of coming out was an interesting event- but I didn't really see the logic in it as Orton won. Having the Intercontinental and Tag Champions and later the US Champion losing on the same show, two weeks away from a PPV is frankly stupid though.

Seth Rollins v Jack Swagger
It genuinely surprises me that Swagger is still over to the extent he is given how many times he's lost as of late. Once again this was a pretty fresh pairing and it once again provided a pretty good match, my thoughts of Orton being on the outside are the same as in the previous match- but teasing tension between Rollins and Ambrose is presumably a way for Orton to have his rumoured face turn in the near future.

Big Show v Rusev
The protecting of Big Show is really hurting Rusev in my opinion. I know thats hardly a revolutionary opinion, however its true. At least they made Rusev look strong before Henry intervened. They're presumably building to Big Show turning on Henry or vice versa which wouldn't really make sense unless they switch up the storyline pretty quick.

The 2 on 1 assault after the match didn't make sense to me, as surely facing seemingly insurmountable odds makes Rusev the babyface. Plus he's already beaten both men, which makes the two men going after him petty on the part of the babyface.

Sheamus v Miz
Mizdow.

Cameron, Nikki Bella and Summer Rae v Natalya, Naomi and Brie Bella w/ Rose and Wiki Leaks
Dear God No.

Bray Wyatt vignette
This was the best vignette we've gotten so far, the imagery used was great- and if you weren't behind the Wyatt character before, you surely must be now?

John Cena v Dean Ambrose- Contract on a Pole
It was what we expected with regard to having Cena look like winning and then being cost the match in some contrived way. However Cena didn't look ridiculously strong so I don't really mind it, at least they didn't sacrifice a great match in Rollins v Ambrose in a Cell, and I'll happy sit through Cena v Orton 900 in order to watch it.

Overall this was a very good edition of RAW, there were no abhorrent segments even the Wiki Leaks segment didn't go long enough to really annoy me. This was by far the best edition of RAW in god knows how long, and it seems WWE too the TNA route as of late in that they limited the bullshit booking to a minimum.

Thanks again for reading, I hope you're still enjoying reading these blogs and I appreciate any and all feedback. I'll be back with my Fulham blogs this week after the International Break- and my Impact review will be up on Thursday as per usual. Thanks again for reading.