Monday Night Raw – October 27, 2014: Cena vs. the Dark Side

Monday Night Raw
Date: October 27, 2014
Location: AT&T Center, San Antonio, Texas
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield, Jerry Lawler

We’re past the Cell and the main story is Bray Wyatt interfering in the main event and costing Ambrose what seemed to be a sure win. This would seem to set up Ambrose vs. Wyatt, which isn’t exactly Undertaker vs. Kane but at least it’s something new. We’re on the way to Survivor Series now and have four solid weeks to get there. Let’s get to it.

We open with a package of stills from Rollins vs. Ambrose, including what looked like a ghost popping up in the middle of the ring when Wyatt appeared. Cena vs. Orton gets a package of its own.

The Authority (bosses and Kane) are in the ring to open the show. Stephanie is her smug self and brags about having two Cell matches last night. HHH says Orton fought hard in a great match but plays up Rollins as the much bigger deal. This brings out a limping Rollins (flanked by the Stooges) to brag about winning the feud and being done with Ambrose once and for all. He sets down the briefcase and says he’ll be seeing Cena later tonight.

The music plays and Rollins poses but here’s a ticked off Orton to interrupt. Randy rips into Rollins and the Authority for bringing up Cena beating him twice in ten minutes. He blames Rollins and the Curb Stomp for the loss last week. Now he’s back in anger management and it’s time to deal with Rollins so the fight is on. HHH and Kane break it up with the boss saying we’re not doing this tonight. He wants Orton to take the night off and go get on his bus. They can deal with this later but tonight isn’t the right time. HHH mentions the Cell one more time and that earns Rollins an RKO. Orton leaves and Seth staggers out.

Tag Team Titles: Big Show/Mark Henry vs. Stardust/Goldust

Earlier today Show was upset that Henry came down to the ring last night but Henry says he was just there to celebrate. Show isn’t sure but Henry suggests they win the Tag Team Titles. Show shoves Goldust around to start ebfore it’s off to Henry for a Vader clothesline to keep control. Stardust comes in and tries some shots of his own, only to be dragged into the corner for a tag off to Big Show.

We get the SHH chops before it’s back to Henry for a Sexual Chocolate chant. Henry actually gets into it this time and does a hip swivel in the corner. Show makes a blind tag and Henry isn’t cool with it as we take a break. Back with Show fighting out of a Goldust headlock and putting on a kind of Haas of Pain until Stardust makes the save. Off to Henry again with Stardust hammering him right back down.

Stardust cranks on a front facelock before hitting a springboard missile dropkick, only to send Henry into the corner for another tag to Show. Big Show cleans house and spears Stardust down before the KO Punch knocks him silly. Henry comes in and World’s Strongest Slams Show before putting Stardust on top to retain at 11:10.

Rating: D+. This was another obvious ending but Henry was floundering after losing to Rusev. I’m not looking forward to the battle of the fat guys but they’ve surprised me with the Rusev matches. It’s the logical turn after things have happened but the blowoff match needs to not bomb.

Henry gives him two more Slams and a splash after the match.

Post break Henry says that’s what he does.

Video on Roman Reigns.

Reigns is live via satellite and says he’d love to be in San Antonio tonight. The Cell match last night was carnage and he knew Dean would bring the fight. Rollins is a coward though and Reigns is coming for him.

AJ Lee vs. Alicia Fox

Non-title. Paige is on commentary because the feud just won’t die. Fox nails AJ to start and dropkicks her out to the floor. Back in and the northern lights suplex gets two and an elbow to the jaw puts AJ down. We hit the chinlock for a bit before AJ counters a slam with a spinning DDT. Fox comes right back with a backbreaker for two, prompting Paige to scream at Fox. AJ uses the distraction for the rollup pin at 3:37.

Rating: D+. This could have been worse but anything that gets us away from Paige vs. AJ is a good thing. I could go with Paige trying to find her new best friend, as long as we don’t get back to AJ vs. Paige in like a month. Let there be a division instead of just two girls fighting each other over and over.

Paige apologizes post match but destroys Fox with a kick to the chest and a catapult into the barricade.

Here’s Cena as the new #1 contender. He talks about the Spurs raising a championship banner tomorrow night before moving on to what happened last night. It may not have been the final chapter of his rivalry with Orton, but it was one of the biggest. The win brings Cena up to face Brock Lesnar, who is going to come back to WWE as a loser. From now on, everything Cena does is a statement to Lesnar, starting with beating Orton last night and moving on to Rollins tonight.

Tonight the new poster boy gets a wakeup call but here’s Stephanie to interrupt. She mentions the traditional Survivor Series match in a few weeks but for tonight, she has a business proposition. Cena has to play up to the crowd all the time and he has to be getting tired of it. John cuts her off and says he’s listening to the people but Stephanie says the people don’t matter.

They keep booing Cena, of course causing a Cena chant. That doesn’t count because all they want to see is violence and Cena on the mat and he never stops fighting. Why not come join the Authority where he can have the support he needs? Lesnar has beaten him twice and the people have cheered for Cena’s pain, but the Authority could offer some insurance. She ups the offer a bit: if Cena wins tonight, he can captain the Authority’s team at Survivor Series.

Cena says the only thing he deserves is a chance to come to the ring every night and work hard. The fans show up because they’re all a part of this no matter who they cheer for. Stephanie plays up the legacy card but Cena goes with the standard “I don’t sell out” promo, but here’s HHH to cut off his exit. HHH talks about being here for twenty years and how Cena is getting more and more banged up.

One day Cena is going to be the old man hobbling out here for one more hurrah and that isn’t going to work for him. Cena can try to fight the future but the Authority is going to make an example of him at the Survivor Series. At the end of the day, the Authority wins and there’s nothing Cena can do to stop it, so go try to find some men to join his team.

Usos vs. Miz/Damien Mizdow

Mizdow is already mimicking Miz even on the apron. Jimmy blocks some hiptoss attempts and gets two off a Bubba Bomb. Miz comes back with a clothesline and points to Mizdow but chokes Jimmy instead of tagging. A clothesline puts Miz on the floor and Mizdow runs outside to lay next to him. The double Uso dive takes the heels down and we go to a break. Back with Miz driving Jey into the apron for two.

We hit the chinlock on Jey before it’s back to Mizdown for a snap suplex. He hooks a chinlock of his own before the short DDT gets two. Mizdow tries the running clothesline in the corner but Jey grabs the arm and nails him in the jaw. Jimmy gets the hot tag and cross bodies Miz for two. Everything breaks down and the Usos bust out some twin magic so Jey can roll up Miz for the pin at 10:48.

Rating: C-. See, this is how you bring back an old idea. Yeah the Usos have done this before, but they haven’t used it in a very long time so it feels fresh again. This would be different than just doing the same thing week after week and wondering why it gets a weaker and weaker reaction every week.

Cena and Ziggler shake hands in the back so maybe John has his first recruit.

Here’s Hulk Hogan to reenforce his stance on the anti-cancer side of things. The cancer survivors get in the ring with him and that’s about it.

Bo Dallas comes out for an open challenge.

Bo Dallas vs. Ryback

Ryback appears to be a face again and the fans are WAY behind him. A release gorilla press and spinebuster set up the Meat Hook and Shell Shock for the pin at 1:11. I can totally dig Ryback as the machine again.

We recap the opening segment.

Cesaro vs. Dean Ambrose

Before the match, Ambrose gets on the announcers’ table and says he loved what he went through last night. He beat Seth within an inch of his life but found Bray Wyatt waiting on him. The law of the jungle are you don’t mess with someone with sharper claws than you have and you don’t screw with Dean Ambrose. Dean charges into the ring and hammers on Cesaro with the mic. They go up the ramp with Dean destroying Cesaro so no bell and no match.

Ambrose gets in the ring and calls out Bray Wyatt for the beating he deserves. Bray pops up on screen and says that he can’t help but see the deranged affliction on Dean’s face. They’re both victims of a system that makes people cringe at the sight of people like them. But what happens now? They’re not brothers or friends but they’re both a bit odd and that’s a warning to Ambrose.

Nikki Bella vs. Naomi

Naomi quickly takes her down to start but gets caught in an Alabama Slam out of the corner. They head outside for a few seconds so Nikki can ram her into the apron before throwing on a chinlock back inside. Naomi makes her comeback and sends Nikki to the floor but Brie reluctantly cheats to give her sister the advantage, setting up the Rack Attack for the pin at 4:20.

Rating: D. So this whole thing is going to wind up being about either a Bellas reunion or another match at Survivor Series? They can only go so far with Brie being a servant for four weeks, but I’m sure it’s going to be DEVASTATING and a test of her inner character or whatever sounds good for a plot on Total Divas.

Dolph Ziggler vs. Kane

Non-title. Ziggler hammers away to start and gets run over by a clothesline for his efforts. Kane drapes him ribs first over the top rope and we’re already in the chinlock. Ziggler fights up and dropkicks Kane out to the floor as we take a break. Back with Ziggler planting Kane with a DDT but getting nailed by a hard right hand for two.

We’re back to the chinlock for a bit before Ziggler fights up and starts his comeback. The big elbow drop gets two but Dolph charges into the side slam for two. Back up and Kane fights out of the DDT, only to eat a superkick. The Zig Zag is countered and a big boot gets two for Kane. He loads up the chokeslam but gets countered into a sunset flip for the pin at 13:25.

Rating: C. Not bad here as it’s a good power guy vs. a good speed guy. Kane is a shell of his former self but he can still do his basic power stuff well enough when you give him a pinball like Ziggler to bounce all over the place. Nice match though and I like seeing a champion get a win. This is the kind of thing Kane should be doing.

Rollins comes out for the beatdown until Cena makes the save.

John Cena vs. Seth Rollins

Seth went to the back for no apparent reason. Before the match, we have to simulate Lesnar vs. Cena in WWE2K15. After that goes nowhere, we’re ready to go with Rollins still sporting heavily taped ribs. Cena quickly takes him down to start and messes with the bad ribs. The sequence works so well that they do it again before Cena nails a single shot to the ribs to put Rollins on the floor.

This time Cena goes after him and sends him into the barricade before hammering away even more. Seth drives him ribs first into the apron to take over. They head back inside where Mercury gets in a cheap shot before Cena is thrown right back outside. After the Stooges get in their cheap shots, Seth takes Cena back inside and actually stays in for awhile this time. Rollins gets two off a Blockbuster and we take a break.

Back with the fight on the floor and Cena getting all fired up, only to be thrown into the steps. Seth takes him inside again for a chinlock but Cena fights back with his usual. That doesn’t last long either though as Cena is sidestepped to the floor. Rollins’ dive mostly hits but he collisdes with the announcers’ table to bang up the ribs again. Cena breaks up a superplex attempt and gets two off a high cross body, only to get DDT’ed down for the same.

We head outside for about the ninth time so far for some more shots to Cena’s head. Back in and Rollins gets two off the top rope knee to the head before it’s back to the chinlock. Cena rolls out but can’t put on the STF. Instead it’s a dropkick to John’s face but Rollins can’t follow up. Mercury gets in another shot on the floor and Cena has to dive back in to beat the count.

Cena fights back again and throws Rollins onto the Stooges, only to get nailed in the face again for another two count. There’s a tornado DDT for two on Rollins but he flips out of the AA. An enziguri misses Cena but Seth comes back with the standing Sliced Bread #2 for another near fall. Cena’s superplex is countered and Seth charges across the ring for a buckle bomb and an even closer two. The Curb Stomp is countered into the STF but Kane comes in for the DQ at 22:15.

Rating: B. Really solid effort here from both guys but you might as well have advertised it as a DQ in the first place. Rollins continues to be protected and that’s a good thing for his future. The match wasn’t a classic but it did everything it needed to and had the only ending they could go with.

Ziggler comes out for the save and the entire locker room joins him to clean house. Cena AA’s Slater and Dallas before staring down the Authority to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. Not the best show in the world but they’ve got some interesting stuff coming. Cena recruiting help in the next few weeks should give us some intriguing developments, even though Orton as the last guy is fairly clear. The wrestling tonight wasn’t bad but more importantly they made some necessary changes to freshen things up a bit. It’s not a good show but it gives me hope and the fresh start they’ve needed for a long time now.

Results

Stardust/Goldust b. Big Show/Mark Henry – Stardust pinned Big Show after a World’s Strongest Slam from Henry

AJ Lee b. Alicia Fox – Rollup

Usos b. Miz/Damien Mizdown – Small package to Miz

Ryback b. Bo Dallas – Shell Shock

Nikki Bella b. Naomi – Rack Attack

Dolph Ziggler b. Kane – Sunset flip

John Cena b. Seth Rollins via DQ when Kane interfered

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