RAW Review- 24th November

Hey! After Survivor Series I had a lot of goodwill toward this edition of RAW- and with a promised "fresh start" you had to wonder how this new Authority free WWE would shape up.

The Authority Promo
Yup, The first Authority free edition of RAW in over a year... Started with The Authority. It was an alright promo from both- but the threats they posed just seemed empty, which detracted immensely from the promo. HHH digging at Sting was unintentionally hilarious to me- as when Sting was arguably in his prime HHH was "Terra Ryzing".

Daniel Bryan Iron-Man Promo
Don't get me wrong I like Bryan- I mean pretty much everybody who isn't a contraryan for the the sake of being a contraryan does. However his mic work has never been stellar- which even he admits, so why they have him a roughly 15 minute promo segment where he had to carry it is beyond me. The ultimatums he posed were pretty empty, and with everything The Authority did to him I think he should have been much harsher with the ultimatums he posed.

Ryback v Mark Henry
The cowardly heel Ryback blindside Mark Henry, only for the brave babyface Mark Henry to start the match anyway like a man and take the loss- Wait What? This was alright for what it was, but I was surprised we didn't see a Shellshocked as that would have firmly gotten Ryback back on Track after his quick elimination the previous night- I think Ryback might be carrying a little injury, not enough for him to take time off- but enough that he can't risk shellshocking someone of the size of Mark Henry.

Vince, Stephanie, HHH Backstage Promo
Once again this was alright for what it was, but I don't even think they know how Vince is going to slot into this storyline at this stage.

Dean Ambrose v Luke Harper
This was a quality match, Harper keeps going from strength to strength in his new found singles career, and I only hope this continues and he doesn't go the way so many athletic big men have gone in the WWE. I expected a bit more of a story to this match with regard to Bray- and maybe Dolph however what we got instead was another DQ Finish, I'm honestly not sure if Harper or Ambrose was DQ'd. As such we got Bray burying Ambrose in retaliation to the previous night. I wouldn't have gone down the vengeance path for Bray after Survivor Series, I'd have had him cut a promo saying Survivor Series proved Ambrose is another him- but then again what do I know?

Santino & Rey Mysterio Promo
#FreeRey. WWE are force-feeding him!

The Dusts v The Miz's
I'd have had Miz pick up the Pinfall, aside from that this match was perfectly fine- and I'm happy they're using the Kid Replica Belts for Mizdow as opposed to him simply carrying one of the two as it adds another dimension to the Miz-Mizdow dynamic. I think The Dusts are best served either going babyface or one of them turning on the other at this point- the heat they had from their initial heel turn has dissipated quite quickly and now they don't have the belts there should be a slow burning feud until Mania with these two.

Concessions Kane (Part 1)
This wasn't even funny to me, it was just quite sad. Also who would let their 5 Year Old approach Kane on their own?!

Rusev & Lana- Pledge of Allegiance w/ Sgt. Slaughter
This was the definition of a damp squib. Not only did we not get Rusev doing the pledge of allegiance the repercussion for not doing it vanished off the face of the earth faster than a Walking Dead enthusiast. I don't see why we've gotten Swagger going after Rusev again, ya know considering Rusev's killed Swagger on numerous occasions.

Concessions Kane (Part 2)
This was even worse than the first one, surely Kane should face some kind of punishment for abusing customers?

Fandango v Justin Gabriel
This was pretty much a carbon copy of the match on the Pre-Show, I think this was just to make sure Gabriel is still showing up to TV Tapings.

Big Show Promo
It seems the only member of Team Cena who took issue with Big Show's betrayal to the point of a physical confrontation was someone who had already been eliminated when he did said betrayal- logic. The promo was alright, but considering the number of times Shows turned its hard to really get into it.

Seth Rollins, J&J, Dolph Backstage Promo
This was hilarious in my book, the subtle nudges and smiles on the part of J&J when Dolph said he had faith in them was great- and showed they know how to play their characters, and I hope they don't get written off in the near future.

Brie Bella v A.J. Lee
This match has confirmed A.J. is going in my opinion, not only did she lose to Nikki but now she's gone and lost to Brie as well... The promo after was great, and I'm expecting a loser leaves stipulation to be added in the next two weeks.

Adam Rose and The Bunny v Tyson Kidd and Natalya
JUST SKIN THE BUNNY ALREADY.

Concessions Kane (Part 3)
This was a carbon copy of the vignettes Ryback was doing for his bully character, and yet somehow he's the babyface. It was funny in a weird way, and it looks as though Rybacks going to feud with Kane- which is a step back in my opinion.

Dolph, Cena Backstage Promo
I like the dynamic with these two, if its gotten to the point where others are getting a push ahead of these two I wouldn't be against giving these two a run at the Tag Belts- it would enhance the Tag Titles and give both of them something to do. We'd also get a built in good feud when Dolph would inevitably turn on Cena.

Dolph Ziggler and John Cena v Seth Rollins, Jamie Noble and Joey Mercury
This was perhaps the most anticlimactic Main Event ever. Nothing of note happened. Mercury and Noble got pinned- as expected, and then nothing. No run-in, no Heel Turns, Nothing. The Anonymous GM coming back presumably means they think everyones forgotten they revealed it as Hornswoggle. So theres that.

This RAW really annoyed me, After Survivor Series I was ready to get caught in the wave going into TLC & Mania Season, but what we got from RAW was the equivalent of a dripping tap.

Thanks as always for reading, Feedback is as always appreciated. My Awards Blog is coming soon So I'd appreciate your help for my Match of the Year category getting this list from 15-10, either by commenting on this blog or tweeting it to me; https://twitter.com/wheelerdeeler/status/537064923990622208