RAW Review: 29th October

Hello! 3 in 3 Days (4 if you read my Fulham ones)! It's crazy isn't it? I made my views clear in the Hell in a Cell Review, Hell in a Cell was great. As a result of said greatness I had a lot of goodwill built up toward the product, which will inevitably be eroded within a month. With that said, I may be a bit more lenient than usual in the Review today as a result of Hell in a Cell. However, it definitely helps that last night's RAW was actually pretty decent.

The Authority & Roman Reigns Promo
As far as opening Authority Promo's go this was far from the worst/most boring one of the year. I'm not sure how much of a positive that is, and it was still far from "good". The stuff with Rollins and his parents in Triple H & Stephanie was hilariously cringeworthy- but I'm pretty sure that was the point. Roman's Promo was, interesting to say the least. Roman Reigns can be a good promo, he has a personality- they just need to stop fucking scripting him and giving him bullshit dialogue.

Roman Reigns v Kofi Kingston- #1 Contender 4-Way Qualifier
This match was actually pretty good. You can tell Roman has a fucked up sense of humour, so him being opposite New Day with all of their wacky shenanigans is perfect. The New Day/Orton dynamic is better, but still. It was way too obvious Roman was winning at least the first match, and that did hinder the match somewhat. With that said, what actually went on during the match was good and it set-up Roman for the 4-Way by beating someone who's actually got some momentum. The one thing that I didn't like about this match, and Roman's performance in general last night was he wasn't selling at all from Hell in a Cell. I realise that isn't a "him" decision, but come on.

Miz plays 2K16 (Part 1)
I found this segment hilarious. Roman Reigns who will be the Face of the Company if those in power have their way has just wrestled. Miz's response is to stop watching RAW and playing a game.

Kevin Owens v Cesaro- #1 Contender 4-Way Qualifer
Would it actually surprise anyone to say this was a really good match? I think it would be more of a surprise if I'd come into this review and buried the fuck out of this match. Yes, Kevin Owens and Cesaro are in fact really good workers. I had one issue with this match, which was otherwise really good. Kevin Owens tried to run away, in a match with #1 Contender for the WWE Title permutations- why not just take the Count-Out Win? I know Cesaro's the "fighting Babyface" but come on. It was nothing on the "Stupid Babyface" scale that peaked later on in the night, but still it annoyed me.

Paige, Charlotte & Becky Lynch Backstage
I'm going to try really, really hard to not rant about this angle last night. This segment on it's own I was actually fine with, I thought all the Paige stuff would in-turn send Becky over the edge (which it still might) and Charlotte would be ending up on her own after Paige would turn in a few weeks. The Becky tease was good, because it opened up the chance of her attacking Natalya- but any goodwill/positivity I had toward the Divas/This angle went away very quickly.

Team Bella v Team PCB
Hate is a strong word. I hated this whole segment with a passion. A Babyface should NEVER be stupid. That's what Heels are for, nobody is going to cheer someone who comes off as stupid. So, the fact Charlotte made the decision to trust Paige- when even within kayfabe everyone knew Paige wasn't sincere makes Charlotte stupid. It's just mental that they actually had Charlotte look as stupid as they did. By the time Paige turned on Charlotte and put her in the PTO I was just thinking "she deserves this for being so stupid". Your Babyface Divas Champion everyone.

Zeb Colter & Alberto Del Rio Promo
This whole Promo made me laugh. I had no clue heading into tonight (and I still don't) when it comes to whether Del Rio is a Babyface or a Heel. The "Mexican America" label for them is hilarious to me because TNA already did that stable- but still, at least it's not something more XXX like the Submission Sorority.

Alberto Del Rio v Neville- #1 Contender 4-Way Qualifier
Again, this match was really good. The one thing that is always a constant with Del Rio is his ring-work. There can be a general level of disinterest in Del Rio as a character, but you'd be hard pressed to find a "bad" Alberto Del Rio match. So on that front, and with a number of exciting new pairings for Del Rio he's in for a good couple of months. The first of those "exciting new pairings" was Neville and it definitely worked out as one. This match was a lot of fun, and really good- but again, would anyone actually expect anything other than that? The finish for this match was perfect, not giving Del Rio a necessarily defined set-up for a finisher is perfect in my book. Obviously to a certain point, but Del Rio just having "brutal kick" as his finish is great for him and his character.

Sheamus, King Barrett & Rusev v Ryback & The Dudleys
This match was fine, it wasn't anything special- but it wasn't "bad" either. The lengths to which they went to establish Ryback & The Dudleys as superior before the finish annoyed me, and at the point Barrett rolled-up Bubba I'd have rather Ryback & The Dudleys just won. The thing that annoyed me about this match was just so stupid. Ryback & The Dudleys are the Babyfaces, so after establishing their superiority for easily 2 Minutes of "just need to get the pin" they decide to introduce A WEAPON which had they have been successful would have been a DQ. Sheamus then tried to get in the ring to stop said heinous illegal attack and that distracted Bubba and then Barrett won WITH A WRESTLING MOVE. Just a reminder, Ryback & The Dudleys were the Babyfaces.

Bray Wyatt Promo/Wyatt Family Attack Kane
I really liked this segment. It's annoying really, because Bray's had to do a rebuilding/reboot job with his character multiple times and he's only been on the Main Roster for about 2 and a Half years. With that said, the stuff with Undertaker being Bray's "resurrection" is great, and as long as the Family- even one of the Family (Strowman) is kept looking like a monster Bray's always going to be a dangerous character. The Promo was actually really good, and the stuff with Kane was good.

I'm not sure if the theme of the next few weeks will be The Wyatt Family dragging off whoever's going to be on Team Undertaker for Survivor Series, but with Reigns being separated from him now it's going to be interesting to see who they go after next. As I said in the Hell in a Cell Review, I want it to be the Dudleys.

Dolph Ziggler v Big E- #1 Contender 4-Way
Out of the 4 #1 Contender matches this was the weakest, but that's not exactly a criticism. I really liked this match on the whole. This was a good back and forth match, and it was actually good because this was the only match where I legitimately didn't know which way they'd be going with. Some people may be saying Cesaro and Owens, but if you thought Cesaro was winning that you're lying to yourself. With that in mind, the false finishes actually meant something. On the whole the fact Big E didn't win for his sake was probably a good thing because he'd have probably died of dehydration despite his refreshments courtesy of Tyler Breeze.

Roman Reigns & Dean Ambrose Backstage
Are we even sure Dean Ambrose exists at this point? Are we sure he's not just a figment of Reigns' imagination. The Promo was fine, but Ambrose's character is even more so "Roman Reigns' friend" which is quite annoying. With that said all of these Backstage Promos are setting up DEAN FUCKIN AMBROSE TURNING ON ROMAN FUCKING REIGNS. I'M GOING TO KEEP FUCKING PREDICTING IT.

Komen Segment
This was weird. They had Titus O'Neil leading it which was weird in and of itself. I've got no interest in all the Komen stuff, so I basically turned this into a game of "What Jobbers still have to go to TV every week". I think the weirdest one was Fandango.

Miz plays 2K16 (Part 2)
I loved this segment, and not just because Steve Austin was in it. The first Miz segment was about 30 Minutes in, this one was about 2 and a Half Hours in. The Miz decided he could skip the RAW that was the fall-out from Hell in a Cell and play a game. When within kayfabe people don't give a fuck about the show, why should we?

Roman Reigns v Kevin Owens v Dolph Ziggler v Alberto Del Rio- #1 Contender Match
This match was so ridiculously fun, I loved it. 4-Ways always tread a fine line between chaotic (in a good way) and becoming a clusterfuck. This match toed that line perfectly, and I just completely loved it. Everyone looked great in this match, everyone got in a load of cool moves and even with Reigns winning everyone got in enough to get over from the match. Obviously Reigns was most likely winning- but I'd somehow convinced myself that Reigns wasn't going to win. So, for me all the false finishes actually meant something and with the last 5 or so minutes I nearly hit the roof. It was just so great.

Reigns as #1 Contender is interesting, I can't see them putting the Title on him at Survivor Series- or basically until Mania. So that of course means shenanigans, AMBROSE IS FUCKING TURNING.

This RAW was far from perfect, but it's literally impossible for a Three Hour RAW to not have any weak points. Even with the RAW of the year from my point of view (Montreal), there was one massive misstep (Stardust, R-Truth & Plastic Spiders). On the scale of Three Hour RAW's this was pretty good all in all. We got a number of good to great matches throughout and there was a clear main thread throughout the show. As I said at the beginning, I may just be being more lenient after Hell in a Cell- but I definitely enjoyed last night.

Thanks for reading as always, there's obviously not going to be a Post tomorrow- but please don't panic. I hope you've enjoyed these Posts coming back after a really disjointed month, obviously I'm not as fully "in the zone" as I was before this month- but I'm definitely getting back up to pace now so hopefully I haven't made too many mistakes. Thanks again for reading, as I said I hope you're enjoying these Posts. I don't have anything for my Thursday slot this week- and the suggestion box is still open for those going forward. Just remember, AMBROSE IS FUCKING TURNING.