Whats this? A RAW Review, Oh Yeah! Yes, I'm back after roughly a week off through illness, but I'm feeling a lot better than I did a few days ago and I've managed to catch up with the latest instalment of RAW. But was it worth it?
Stephanie McMahon, Triple H, Rollins, Heyman, Cena segment
I do think WWE were showing this episode on a 5-10 second tape delay because of the "CM Punk" chants, however Stephanie still addressed them in the best and most succinct way possible... He Quit.
The promos from all 4 were perfectly serviceable, and Rollins stole this segment in my opinion- and considering the other people involved was no mean feat. Rollins claiming that The Authority didn't have anything to do with Rollins' attempted cash-in is interesting as it opens up a number of options. I spoke in my RAW Review directly after Summerslam that they should book Lesnar as a mercenary who eventually goes rogue, however they could easily do this angle with Rollins, as he is a more natural babyface in my opinion due to his offensive style.
The one thing that annoyed me, and from reading the comments on summaries of this episode is; Cena or rather Vince is insistent on attaching Cena to the hottest guy in the company. It happened with Ryder, Bryan, Ryback and numerous other occasions and is primarily used to further Cenas career at the expense of said person. However I'm not blind to the fact Cena (as far as I'm aware) doesn't have the infamous creative control in his contract, so don't blame him for this, rather blame Vince and/or Kevin Dunn who's ridiculous short-term thinking could kill the company.
Cesaro v Dolph Ziggler v The Miz- IC Title Match
It makes me laugh that Noble and Mercury are getting featured prominently(ish) on RAW now as I was popping for them on Twitter before it was cool.
This match was worthy of any PPV. All three men (yes even Miz) are at the top of their games in terms of in-ring work in my opinion, and showed in this show-stealing match that they should be doing so much more than what they are doing. The Finish was interesting in the fact they had Dolph steal the win against two heels, and it could be nothing- but they could turn Dolph heel and try to scrape together the babyface momentum Cesaro was building up in the build to Wrestlemania and this could lead to a very good feud.
I missed last weeks RAW completely because of my illness, however I did see the results- and it contradicts what I said about there being no long-term plan for Dolph to win the title and keep it, and after Night of Champions I thought I had been vindicated- however they had Miz drop the title which now makes me think theres something big in the work for Dolph and the belt.
Bray Wyatt Promo
As I said I didn't watch last weeks RAW, but the results I read didn't feature the Wyatts at all (?), but they were back this week with an amazing promo. I like the idea of a Luke Harper push as a singles star, as long as Bray stays with him- I'm not overly fond of Rowan, although he does have his place given his relative size. Harper is a great worker, and can hold his own on the microphone- however as we all know Bray is on a different level, and if booked right could hold Bray over in a manager role until another good feud opens up for him, as a "treading water" feud will derail Bray's momentum a lot more than him simply reverting to a manager role for a while like he was in NXT whilst he had his shoulder problems.
Rosa Mendes v Layla
I didn't (and still haven't) watched Total Divas from Sunday, however its pretty clear they're determined to build Rosa in some way, and *shudders* she'll be in line for a Divas Title match once the current Divas feud resolves in my opinion
I like they're using Tyson Kidd's NXT gimmick, although I'd of had him do something more than be completely oblivious to what was going on- if only we were as lucky. Layla definitely seems like she's finishing up with the company, and I think we could see a mini- Laycool run with Summer before she rides off into the sunset, and this has shown because her matches are getting noticeably more clunky- although the opposition in the match hardly helped.
Dean Ambrose segment
If there was any further proof needed that Ambrose is a bonafide Main Eventer this segment was it. Ambrose managed to carry an extremely long segment primarily on his own, and made it thoroughly entertaining. The one-liners he delivered were genuinely funny, which guarantees he thought of them as opposed to the army of writers they have.
Rollins getting "slimed" was a bit too Nickelodeon for my liking, especially because Ambrose is a bit more edgy- but I'm willing to forgive it because of the events that preceded it.
Mark Henry v Bo Dallas
I get WWE isn't known for its continuity, however Swagger dominating Bo should by any kind of logic mean "The Worlds Strongest Man" would also dominate Bo, No? Instead we had Bo win- which is fine by me because I'm very entertained by Bo as a character, although you have to wonder what they were smoking before they made this booking decision
It seems once you finish a Rusev feud you move onto Bo Dallas, which in my opinion is leading to something that will either infuriate, or delight people in the "WWE Universe". I see this angle leading into the New Year where someone tells Bo to deal with Rusev if he's so confident, and Bo Dallas (yes, Bo Dallas) will end Rusev's undefeated streak. BOLIEVE.
Brie Bella v Cameron and Eva Marie
You're doing this on purpose right? There's no way that Cameron and Eva should be in the ring at all, let alone in a ring on the same team- in a handicap match against a "competent" worker like Brie Bella. It seems Brie is using Bryan to get a pop, which is annoying me because after all the interviews she's done about wanting to get over on her own two feet, she's reverted to the safety bubble of the "Yes" chant. The match was what you expected given the workers involved, at least the pinfall was with Camerons back to the mat.
This is my first blog since the report came out of Vince reportedly not wanting Total Divas winning the Divas Title, which is interesting in my opinion because of how much they've pushed it- however I don't believe it personally.
Slator Gator v Los Matadores w/ Adam Rose and The Bunny
Its like Noahs Ark.
Big Show, Rusev, Lana segment
Its Wrestling. Shawn Michaels done all manner of inexplicable things to the Canadian flag, but Big Show ripping the Russian flag from its frame (?) you would think had caused World War 3. I don't understand why WWE felt the need to apologise for this incident as, its Wrestling. Rusev's doing a Pro-Russia gimmick so why not do stuff with the Russian Flag?!
A.J. v Alicia Fox w/ Paige
I'm just going to say it was a coincidence that A.J. was beaten to a pulp in Chicago.
Sheamus v Damien Mizdow
I love Mizdow, I'm sure even he would admit when he was doing his schizophrenic gimmick it was woeful TV despite his best efforts, however he's won me over (again) since becoming Miz's stunt double, and I would like to point out I thought the pairing would work as soon as we saw it.
"The Walking Advert" Hulk Hogan segment
C'mon. I'm not going to get into the politics of Susan G. Komen and the percentage of donations which go to research, as those are well publicised if you want to find out. However you give us Hulk Hogan in another segment where the only purpose is to shill merch.
Dean Ambrose and John Cena v Randy Orton and Kane
It would appear now Reigns is out of the picture Rollins has rediscovered his ability to stand tall at the end of a show, coincidence right? I'd of ended the match with Orton pinning Cena via Rollins interference, as from what I've read we're going to get Ambrose v Cena in the coming weeks to determine who gets Rollins in the Cell, and although it'd be a much better match I can't see WWE passing on an opportunity to have Cena in the Main Event (if Lesnars reported schedule is believed)
Overall it was a pretty average RAW, however Ambrose salvaged it from being a right off, Thanks again for reading- and for your patience whilst I was getting better, I'll be back and as grumpy as ever next Monday Night and look out for a blog which I was planning to do over the Weekend with my Wrestlemania 31 Card 6 Months in advance. Thanks again for reading, feedback is appreciated.
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