Monday Night Raw
Date: November 16, 2015
Location: Bon Secours Wellness Arena, Greenville, South Carolina
Commentators: John Bradshaw Layfield, Byron Saxton, Michael Cole

It’s all about the tournament again tonight with the four quarterfinals leading in to Sunday’s Survivor Series. We might also get some more about the Authority recruiting Reigns to the dark side. Other than that we should find out some more of the card as very few of the matches have been announced yet. Let’s get to it.

The roster stands on the stage in a moment of silence for the victims of the terrorist attacks in Paris. Nothing wrong with that.

Opening sequence.

Recap of the tournament and the quarterfinal matches.

We’ve got druids to open things up, followed by the Brothers of Destruction. Undertaker talks about how no one can take away their souls (Yeah what was up with that? Did the Wyatts take their souls or whatever and then just let them go?). Kane has a place prepared for the Wyatts to suffer in the fire. Undertaker says Bray can select the two members for the sacrifice because they will never rest in peace.

Cue the Wyatts so Bray can talk about twenty five years being long enough. He is the one to take down the brothers and the creatures of the night are his. The lights go out again but the Wyatts are still there. The druids are now in sheep masks and charge the ring, only to be easily beaten down. Undertaker waves the Wyatts down but Bray stops them. This would work so much better if I thought the Wyatts had any chance.

WWE World Title Tournament Quarterfinals: Neville vs. Kevin Owens

Non-title. Neville works on the arm to start but gets caught in a headlock. Back up and the threat of the Red Arrow sends Owens running so Neville drops him with a top rope moonsault. Back from a break with Owens running Neville over and slapping on a chinlock. Neville tries to speed things up and flips to the apron (this guy’s balance is insane), only to eat a superkick (that’s one) for a nine count. Owens gets two more off a gutbuster but misses a charge in the corner and gets caught in a snap German suplex.

The middle rope Phoenix splash (You should not be able to do that. Like, no one should.) gives Neville two but Owens shakes the ropes to break up the Red Arrow. The Pop Up Powerbomb is countered into a superkick (that’s two) and a reverse hurricanrana for a very close two. Neville has to bail out of the Red Arrow again and it’s the Pop Up Powerbomb to send Owens to Survivor Series at 10:46.

Rating: B-. This got a lot better after the commercial when they let both guys just go. That’s the NXT style and it works just fine on the big stage. Owens winning by pin will help a lot when he goes down on Sunday, either to Ambrose or Reigns. Either way I hope it’s not clean, but you know that’s coming eventually.

We look at Paige debuting the night after Wrestlemania XXX and winning the Divas Title, which is her claim to starting the Divas Revolution.

HHH and Kevin Owens shake hands in the back while talking about something we can’t hear.

Clip of Reigns beating Big Show last week.

Update on Rollins’ knee injury.

Tyler Breeze vs. R-Truth

Truth slams him down to start and does a little dance before dropping a leg for two. Another suplex puts Tyler into the corner and we stop for some lip balm. It seems to work as Tyler cranks on a half crab for a bit, only to have Truth fight up with that sitout gordbuster. The two kicks set up another gordbuster but the Beauty Shot puts Truth away at 4:10.

Rating: D+. Standard “let’s have R-Truth lose to someone because Truth is still over with his rapping” match here which is like your first merit badge on the main roster. Truth is still fine in the role and can do this for a long time to come. Breeze is going to be fine if he gets a decent feud, but I’m not sure where he goes to start.

WWE World Title Tournament Quarterfinals: Dolph Ziggler vs. Dean Ambrose

The winner gets Owens. Feeling out process to start with both guys working on the arm until it’s a standoff. Dean tries Dirty Deeds but Ziggler gets away because it’s way too early. The announcers talk about how the champ is going to be on various talk shows because that’s what we’re still supposed to believe.

Ziggler takes him down and puts on a surfboard followed by a cravate into a rollup for two. A nice dropkick staggers Dean and a backbreaker does the same to Ziggler. Dean grabs a half crab of his own for all of ten seconds before going with the top rope standing elbow drop. Ziggler’s sleeper doesn’t go anywhere so he settles for two off a sunset flip. Dirty Deeds is broken up again and they cross body each other. Both guys go up top and fall out to the floor as we take a break.

Back with Ziggler getting two off a Fameasser. He loads up a superkick (Cole: “Looking to pay homage to Shawn Michaels!” If that’s the case then Shawn is now the world’s fourth largest religion.) but has to settle for a sleeper instead, which Dean counters into the rebound lariat for two. Dean’s small package and Ziggler’s superkick (that’s three) get near falls each. Back up and Ambrose slugs away until he gets rolled up for two, only to come back with Dirty Deeds to advance at 16:47.

Rating: C. This was watchable but it felt like they were trying to have a big match which almost never works. I wasn’t wild on the idea of these two working together and the result was about what I was expecting. I’m not sure who wins between Ambrose and Owens but it has the potential to be a better match than this. It wasn’t a bad match but I really didn’t like how it went.

Post match Dean says he’s turning the place upside down if he wins. No more suits, more pyro, less talking, we’ll replace Michael Cole with a fish tank and have breakfast for dinner.

We look at Stephanie McMahon starting the Divas Revolution four months ago. So why are they still arguing about who started it? And can we please never see this again? That would be nice.

Here’s New Day to say we should be talking about the one year anniversary of the New Day. They didn’t get an invite to the Tonight Show or a chance to be on Sportscenter. Woods brings up Jey’s shoulder injury and Big E. has a little impression. Big E.: “WHEN I SAY US, YOU SAY OW!” As for Ryback, don’t let him drag you down into the much of negativity because NEW DAY ROCKS.

New Day vs. Ryback/Usos

Jey and Woods start things off while Cole tells us about Kevin Owens and Melissa Joan Hart feuding on Twitter. After some dives from the Usos, Jey gets caught in the Unicorn Stampede as Woods plays the trombone. Now it’s off to a discussion of Patrick Swayze movies as Big E. gets two off the Warrior Splash. There’s the abdominal stretch to put Jey in more trouble before it’s off to Kofi for a middle rope stomp. Jey gets over for the tag but the referee didn’t see it (now there’s an old trope I’d like to see make a comeback). Ryback comes in anyway and cleans house, eventually shoving the referee for the DQ at 5:49.

Rating: D+. The time killed this but you know we’re getting the Usos vs. New Day on Sunday. I’m still not sure what that leaves Ryback with as they’re not going to do Woods vs. Ryback. Unless there’s a rematch of this, Ryback might be left off the card. Also, no mention of Ryback losing to Kalisto. We did however about Terry Funk being in Road House.

Post match New Day is dispatched, including a double superkick from the Usos (that’s four and five).

Clip of Charlotte winning the Divas Title from Nikki Bella. They’re pushing the heck out of the contract signing later.

HHH suggests that it might be time for Cesaro to grab the brass ring. He’ll be watching to see if Cesaro takes that next big step tonight. Hey stop laughing. It could…..I mean it’s possible……who am I kidding.

Here’s Roman Reigns to ask if the Roman Empire is here tonight. He recaps HHH’s offer and says he thought it it very hard, but he’ll never sell out. The road is going to get harder but it ends with him as WWE World Champion. Believe that.

WWE World Title Tournament Quarterfinals: Roman Reigns vs. Cesaro

Cesaro takes Reigns into the corner to start but lets go with a clean break. A top wristlock doesn’t get Cesaro anywhere so Reigns puts him on the top, only to have Cesaro cartwheel off. Cesaro gutwrench suplexes him for two as JBL talks about the Buffalo Bills losing all the time back in the day. Reigns misses the running clothesline and the springboard spinning uppercut (that always looks great) drops him again. Things get even worse for Roman as he’s sent shoulder first into the post, followed by a running uppercut against the barricade as we take a break.

Back with Reigns being thrown to the floor but Cesaro gets kicked in the face. Reigns takes him inside and slugs away with the bad arm, only to have the apron kick caught and countered into the Cesaro Swing. Cesaro takes him over into the Sharpshooter and then the Crossface on the bad arm. That’s still not enough to beat Reigns as he powers up into a Samoan drop for two. A backdrop sends Cesaro over the top and he goes elbow first onto the apron.

Back in and Reigns fires off clotheslines with the bad arm until Cesaro punches the arm away. So Cesaro’s fist is much harder than his chest. Cesaro grabs the arm but gets lifted up into a sitout powerbomb for two. The Superman Punch is countered into Swiss Death for two more as these near falls are getting nuts. Cesaro loads up the apron superplex but Reigns escapes and hits a quick Superman Punch. Back in and the spear is blocked by another uppercut. The Neutralizer is countered but Cesaro grabs a backslide, only to take the Superman Punch and the spear to send Reigns to Survivor Series at 20:24.

Rating: A-. Outstanding power match with both guys just beating the heck out of each other. They had me for a second with Cesaro getting in those last few counters at the end. There was no way Cesaro was going to win here but it was awesome to see them get a lot of time and just beat the tar out of each other like this.

Clip of Paige turning on Charlotte. So is the contract signing closing the show? Really?

In Memory of Nick Bockwinkel graphic, with thirty five minutes to go in the show.

Dudley Boyz vs. Ascension

Viktor grabs a headlock on Bubba to start and gets kicked in the face for his efforts. Bubba gets taken into the corner for some right hands from Konnor, who is quickly put down with a Rock Bottom. The hot tag brings in D-Von and the 3D puts Viktor away at 3:13.

Rating: D. Was the show running short or something? I had almost forgotten that the Dudleyz were back as they haven’t done anything since the last match against New Day. Ascension on the other hand hasn’t done anything since they debuted because WWE wasted all the effort put into them, but I’m sure they’re just having fun while they fight on Friday night, which is the best night in the world of sports entertainment right Maggle?

Colter brags about how awesome MexAmerica is because it has no crime or taxes. HHH comes up and suggests Del Rio could be more than he is now.

WWE World Title Tournament Quarterfinals: Kalisto vs. Alberto Del Rio

Non-title. Kalisto says flukes don’t happen when you’re fighting for your dreams. Del Rio starts fast in the corner but misses a charge to the floor, allowing Kalisto to snap off a hurricanrana from the apron. Back with Alberto getting two off a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker and tying Kalisto in the Tree of Woe.

Alberto rips at the mask and stomps away, only to miss a charge into the post (popular mistake tonight). Kalisto hits his corkscrew cross body and the hurricanrana driver for two but the Salida Del Sol is countered with Del Rio dropping him on the top rope. Del Rio gets him in the Tree of Woe for the double stomp to go to the semi-finals at 10:26.

Rating: D+. It wasn’t a total squash but DEAR GOODNESS I can’t stand that stupid stomp. It’s the new 619, though less exciting. Yeah it looks cool, but couldn’t they find something new to set it up other than whatever TOTALLY NATURAL way they have that week. Kalisto was never going to win here so the ending is fine, but I could have used a few more hope spots for him.

Here are the semi-finals.

Roman Reigns

Alberto Del Rio

Kevin Owens

Dean Ambrose

It’s time for the contract signing, which is actually the closing segment. Cole asks where this friendship went wrong. Paige says there is no friendship and she’ll prove it on Sunday. Charlotte asks what happened to Paige because they started off cut out from the same mold. She even wanted to be like Paige when she got here. Charlotte got into the business because of her brother, who isn’t alive to see her success.

She starts to cry so Paige makes fun of her as a heel should. Paige rips on the idea of PCB because she didn’t need them anymore. Charlotte isn’t going to be champion forever but when she loses the title it won’t be to someone like Paige. A brawl is about to start when Paige rips on Ric for not being here and being way over the hill.

Paige brings up Charlotte’s brother again and the fight is on with Charlotte taking it to the floor and beating Paige down. They get back in and Paige throws a table at her before they brawl in the corner again. The crowd is mostly dead for all of this and that’s not a good sign. They’re finally pulled apart and stare at each other to end the show. Charlotte was in WAY over her head here as she just isn’t ready to do this kind of talking and it showed badly. They tried something new here and it’s really hard to call it anything but a failure.

Overall Rating: C-. The wrestling alone makes it a passable show but this was the awkward part of the tournament where you knew what you were getting and just had to clean out all the people who didn’t have a chance. On top of that we still only have five matches announced for Sunday (Divas Title, Wyatts vs. Brothers and the three tournament matches) though you can probably pencil in a few others. The show felt uneven as they were trying to have a regular show while also focusing on the tournament the entire time.

I’m still trying to get over the idea that the contract signing closed the show. It’s a very different idea and I’m guessing they went with it as a hail Mary to mess with the sagging ratings. Charlotte’s story about her brother was good but it would have been better if she had been able to go into details. A heroin overdose isn’t going to fly on today’s show though so there wasn’t much they could do. Anyway, good show at times tonight but it felt all over the place.

Results

Kevin Owens b. Neville – Pop Up Powerbomb

Tyler Breeze b. R-Truth – Beauty Shot

Dean Ambrose b. Dolph Ziggler – Dirty Deeds

New Day b. Ryback/Usos via DQ when Ryback shoved the referee

Roman Reigns b. Cesaro – Spear

Dudley Boyz b. Ascension – 3D to Viktor

Alberto Del Rio b. Kalisto – Top rope double stomp

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/product/B015IN12I2

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

Monday Night Raw
Date: November 9, 2015
Location: Manchester Arena, Manchester, England
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield, Byron Saxton

We’re across the ocean for the annual European tour and for once it’s a big night as the World Title tournament begins. Seth Rollins is out due to a torn ACL, meaning it’s time to have a tournament for the vacant title. The brackets will be revealed tonight and it should be interesting to see what they have planned. Let’s get to it.

We open with the title on a stand in the middle of the ring as Cole recaps Rollins’ injury.

Here’s HHH to address the title situation. HHH thanks Seth for always living up to the expectations the Authority had and pauses for a THANK YOU SETH chant. There’s going to be a tournament set up with the winner becoming the new champion at Survivor Series. A few weeks ago though, we crowned a new #1 contender so HHH would like Reigns to come out here right now.

While it’s true that there’s a tournament, it seems unfair to HHH that Reigns should have to walk through the tournament with no advantage. Instead, HHH offers to let Reigns advance to Survivor Series to face the winner of the tournament. The reality is that the Authority was thinking about giving Reigns the spot before they picked Rollins. HHH saw so much potential in Reigns and thinks he could have been the biggest star in the business.

Could Reigns have fought and beaten Brock on his own and then held the title as long as he wanted? It would have been interesting to see. What HHH has seen is Reigns going up against wall after wall and never quitting. All Reigns has to do now is be HHH’s man, which Reigns calls selling out.

HHH doesn’t like that term and says forget all these morals because he could be given everything that he deserves. He even gets more serious by bringing up Reigns’ family. Roman could secure his daughter’s daughter’s future by just saying yes. The fans still say NO and Reigns says the same because he wants to do it his way. HHH thanks him for reminding him why he didn’t pick Reigns in the first place, so welcome to the back of the line. Reigns’ first match is right now. This opens a few doors as Reigns could change his mind or someone else could take the spot instead. Most interesting indeed.

WWE World Title Tournament First Round: Roman Reigns vs. Big Show

Show headbutts him down to start and they go to the floor with Show throwing him over the bottom rope and back inside. See, Show is big and strong. That makes him entertaining in case you haven’t gotten it in the last nearly seventeen years. Reigns dives into a chop to the chest and gets whipped across the ring as this is one sided so far. Show’s splash gets two and he throws Reigns down again as we take another break.

Total dominance so far but at least we’re getting this thing out of the way in the first round instead of sitting through a bunch of Show wins. Back with Reigns firing off right hands but getting caught in a bearhug (that felt like they came back a few seconds early). Reigns throws him off and grabs a Samoan drop, followed by the corner clotheslines. That earns Roman a chokeslam for two but the Superman Punch and spear advance Reigns at 11:57.

Rating: C-. Remember all those other matches they’ve had before? This is the most recent one. There’s nothing interesting between these two and no one on the planet believed Reigns wasn’t advancing here. At the end of the day, Roman Reigns vs. Big Show is the most simple idea that they have anymore and it’s really not working. Find someone else for Reigns to beat up because this match is already rammed into the ground.

Here are the full brackets.

Roman Reigns

Cesaro

Sheamus

Alberto Del Rio

Stardust

Kalisto

Ryback

Titus O’Neil

Kevin Owens

Neville

King Barrett

Dolph Ziggler

Miz

Dean Ambrose

Tyler Breeze

That’s uh….pretty lame. You can almost see the finals from here, save for a quick swerve. If they do turn Ambrose heel against a face Reigns, sweet goodness they’ve lost their minds even more than I thought they had.

Quick video of Undertaker and Kane during their most dominant days. The Wyatts will be paying respect to them later.

Wayne Rooney of Manchester United is here.

WWE World Title Tournament First Round: Titus O’Neil vs. Kevin Owens

Non-title of course. Before the match, Owens says you can buy his theme music on iTunes and put some change in his pockets. “And yes, I actually have pockets on my wrestling gear. That’s how awesome I am.” Owens talks about how WWE needs change right now and what better place than in the smartest fans in the world here in England. However, Owens thinks they’re dumb for following something like the Royal Family. The change is all about Owens though, because this is his show.

Kevin fights out of the corner to start but gets kicked in the face to knock him outside. We take an early break and come back with Titus fighting out of a chinlock. Titus is told that he isn’t on Kevin’s level and pounds away in the corner, followed by the dog bark and a missed charge. The Pop Up Powerbomb ends Titus at 6:56.

Rating: D. Well at least it’s over. This was just an extended workout for Owens and the kind of match he should win with ease. I’m glad we’re getting these lame matches out of the way in the early rounds and at least they’re keeping them quick. Owens could make a real run in this thing and I hope he doesn’t lose clean whenever he’s eliminated.

Owens steals JBL’s hat. Thank goodness that won’t lead to a feud.

Paige thinks Becky Lynch is a rat and the only thing better than beating Baby Flair for the title is beating the B and then taking out the C. I kind of dig that.

Clip of Undertaker beating Sid for the title at Wrestlemania XIII and one of Kane cashing in Money in the Bank to win the title at Money in the Bank 2010.

Paige vs. Becky Lynch

So do they keep the #1 contender strong or have her lose at home instead? They brawl to start with Becky in trouble against the home country star. The fans quiet down until THIS IS MY HOUSE wakes them up all over again. Paige puts her in the Tree of Woe and pulls back on Becky’s arms in an incredibly painful looking hold. They trade abdominal stretches until Becky charges into a superkick (of course) for two. The Rampaige gets the same as Becky is too close to the ropes. Paige loads up the PTO but Becky rolls her up for the pin at 5:00.

Rating: C. They had two options here and they picked the stupid one because this is WWE and that’s all they know how to do. Becky and Paige could do something great but that’s hard to do in just five minutes. It’s very nice to see Becky get a win for a change though as she hasn’t won anything on her own on TV since August.

Post match Paige puts Becky on the table for the PTO (It’s like the same move! BUT ON A TABLE!) until Charlotte makes the save.

Video on Wrestlemania tickets going on sale.

WWE World Title Tournament First Round: Dolph Ziggler vs. The Miz

They start fast with Ziggler grabbing a leg but having to escape the Skull Crushing Finale. Miz bails from a superkick but walks into a clothesline. Dolph misses a charge into the corner and Miz starts in on the knee. Now it’s Miz’s turn to have a charge hit buckle and Dolph gets two off a backslide. Miz kicks him in the head and puts on the Figure Four though. Dolph finally makes the rope, pops up and superkicks Miz for the pin at 5:07.

Rating: D+. Logical story with the leg work aside, I really wasn’t feeling this one. The ending felt completely out of nowhere as Ziggler just popped up and hit his secondary finisher. Shouldn’t it at least have been weakened due to the knee injury? Not the worst match here but it’s clear that this generation (as in the pre-NXT generation) really doesn’t get how to put a match together.

Dolph holds up the title. I wouldn’t get used to that Ziggy.

Undertaker dominated people at Survivor Series 2005 and Kane won the Tag Team Titles with Daniel Bryan at Night of Champions 2012.

Here’s MexAmerica to say they don’t want England around because they’re just so hateful. Now England is listening to Germany and Russia and they’re despised around the world. Del Rio calls them all haters and Zeb thanks HHH for the first round title match on Smackdown. Wow that’s not something you hear on Raw anymore. And when is the last time we saw a promo with no action?

Natalya vs. Naomi

Natalya’s epic FACEBOOK challenges continue as she keeps trying to figure out who leads Team Bad. Naomi accepted the challenge on Twitter, which may or may not be on the same footing. Natalya helps the fans with the WE WANT SASHA chants. They go to the floor very quickly with Sasha sending Natalya into the post and messing up her leg. Back in and we’re already on the chinlockery until Natalya fights up with a clothesline. Natalya: “WE WANT SASHA!” The Rear View misses and Natalya sends Naomi into Tamina for a rollup at 2:05.

Sasha comes in post match and is put in the Sharpshooter until Tamina saves for a beatdown.

Undertaker beat up Edge in the Cell in 2008 while Kane destroyed a wedding in 2005.

WWE World Title Tournament First Round: Sheamus vs. Cesaro

The winner gets Roman Reigns and King Barrett is in Sheamus’ corner. During the break after Sheamus’ entrance, Barrett got in an argument with Wayne Rooney to continue a Twitter feud they had earlier in the year. They brawl into the corner to start as is their custom, while JBL goes on about European sports that most Americans don’t care about as is his custom. Sheamus comes back with a quick throw and pounds away with the forearms to the chest as we take a break.

Back with Cesaro fighting out of a chinlock but getting crotched on the top. Cesaro spins around Sheamus’ arm and runs him over, only to have both guys fall out to the floor in a big crash. Cesaro is holding his arm and both guys dive in to beat the count at nine. Sheamus drives him into the corner and loads up a Brogue Kick but Cesaro ducks under a Brogue Kick and tries the Sharpshooter, sending Sheamus bailing to the ropes.

Cesaro uppercuts with the bar arm and dropkicks Sheamus off the top to the floor. There’s another uppercut against the barricade but Sheamus and Barrett start arguing with Rooney. Wayne slaps Barrett in the face and a running uppercut sets up Cesaro’s arm trap small package for the pin at 15:35.

Rating: B-. Take two big, strong guys and let them hit each other for a long time. Sometimes you just need a power brawl and that’s what you got here. Cesaro has no chance against Reigns so we’ll call this his latest win to make you believe he might be a player a few times before he loses three or so in a row. Good stuff here though, as always between these two.

Tyler Breeze calls Renee ugly and wants to get rid of Dean Ambrose’s ugly clothes.

WWE World Title Tournament First Round: Dean Ambrose vs. Tyler Breeze

This is Breeze’s main roster debut. Tyler ducks a clothesline to start and hides in the ropes. Dean loads up a suicide dive but Summer takes Tyler’s place and screams to stop Dean. Ambrose takes him down on the other side of the ring and lays on the barricade as we take a break. Back with Dean hammering away in the corner until Breeze throws him to the floor and takes over. Cole lists off all of Breeze’s nicknames and we get a nice pinfall reversal sequence.

A rollup out of the corner with feet on the ropes gives Tyler a two count. Dean goes up for a missile dropkick but stuns himself on the landing, possibly injuring his shoulder. If it wasn’t hurt though, Tyler sends him into the post twice in a row to make sure it’s hurting. A Fujiwara armbar makes Dean scream but he makes the rope for the break. Tyler gets kicked to the floor and a kid who sounds about five says “THAT’S WHAT YOU GET FOR MESSING WITH DOLPH ZIGGLER!” Back in and Dean grabs a small package for the pin at 11:05.

Rating: C+. Good debut for Breeze here, save for the whole losing thing. Why they would put him in a match like this for his debut can only be summed by “WWE is stupid and doesn’t get it” but at least it wasn’t a squash. You have to assume Ziggler vs. Breeze for Survivor Series, which should be a Tyler win but stupider things have happened.

Here are the updated brackets.

Roman Reigns

Cesar

Alberto Del Rio

Stardust

Kalisto

Ryback

Owens

Neville

King Barrett

Ziggler

Ambrose

The next Undertaker/Kane moments are Wrestlemania XXVIII for Undertaker and the 2001 Royal Rumble for Kane.

The other three first round tournament matches will take place on Smackdown.

Here’s New Day to complain about being left out of the tournament. Big E. declares it outrageous that they’re being treated like outcasts, even while they stand here so fresh and clean. It wasn’t long ago that they laid out Dolph Ziggler (Big E. faints here), took out their childhood favorites the Dudley Boyz and put out John Cena. This match is for their captain Seth Rollins, so get your horns out. Actually never mind because European magic is gar-bage. Kofi: “And Harry Potter sucks.”

Neville/Usos vs. New Day

A chop sends Woods to the floor and we take a break 32 seconds in. Geez just don’t start the match then. Back with Jimmy caught in the Unicorn Stampede but being able to avoid the Warrior Splash. It’s off to Neville for the fast kicks and a standing moonsault to Woods, followed by the double superkicks and dives from the Usos.

Neville dropkicks Woods onto his partners and it’s time for a big corkscrew moonsault off the top to the floor. Big E. runs over an Uso and Neville goes up for the Red Arrow, only to have the trombone thrown in for a distraction. Big E. shoves Neville off the top and Xavier grabs a rollup with feet on the ropes for the pin at 8:37.

Rating: C. This was exactly what you would expect when you have these six in there. It’s good enough with the high flying and fast tags but New Day is much more entertaining when Woods is on the floor being goofy. The Usos will get their rematch and probably the titles back and I’m ok with that at this point. Fun match here but nothing great, ignoring Neville, as in a guy in the tournament, taking a pin of course.

We see the Wyatts taking out Undertaker and Kane recently.

Here’s Bray Wyatt to eulogize the Brothers of Destruction. Bray says change is a part of life and determines who you are. They have been the benchmark for over twenty years and they have reigned supreme. He asks us to bow our heads in remembrance but calls the fans fools for chanting Undertaker’s name. There was no passing of the torch because Bray took the torch and burned both of them into ashes.

Now he controls the thunder and lightning and the demons respond to his commands. The apocalypse is here. Bray kneels and an Undertaker and Kane highlight video starts playing in reverse before going normally. Bray looks upset and Undertaker’s voice says REST IN PEACE. Lightning makes fire come out of the posts and the gong sounds.

Cue Undertaker and Kane to scare Bray even more. They stare him down but the lights go out again (pay your bills you deadbeats) and the other three Wyatts are here. Undertaker punches Bray down and Harper and Rowan are punched away as well. Strowman gets in and takes off his mask but Harper and Rowan have to be chokeslammed first. A double clothesline to the Brothers just causes a double situp and Strowman is sent to the floor. Bray is all alone but Braun has to be sent over the announcers’ table. Bray gets chokeslammed to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. I don’t like tournaments. They’re a fun idea in theory but you wind up seeing the same people fight multiple times and dragging out a concept longer than it needs to go. Now this show did a good job of keeping things moving and at least seemed to set up the semi-finals and finals at Survivor Series. Some of the matches are lame and you can see where they’re going with it, but at least the final match should be fun and there are several seeds being planted for later. Good, efficient show this week but the big stuff is coming soon.

Results

Roman Reigns b. Big Show – Spear

Kevin Owens b. Titus O’Neil – Pop Up Powerbomb

Becky Lynch b. Paige – Small package

Dolph Ziggler b. The Miz – Superkick

Natalya b. Naomi – Rollup

Cesaro b. Sheamus – Arm trap small package

Dean Ambrose b. Tyler Breeze – Small package

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/product/B015IN12I2

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

Monday Night Raw
Date: November 2, 2015
Location: Pepsi Center, Denver, Colorado
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield, Byron Saxton

We’re still in the build towards Survivor Series and tonight we might find out who is likely to join Undertaker and Kane in what seems to be a Survivor Series elimination tag against the Wyatt Family. Other than that it’s time to build towards Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins for the World Title. Let’s get to it.

Here’s Roman Reigns to say he’s glad to be here as the #1 contender and the next World Champion. Rollins on the other hand is a brown nosing kiss up and his luck runs out at Survivor Series. This brings out Rollins who knows that Reigns is good. If he wasn’t good then Seth wouldn’t have recruited him into the Shield. Rollins hits the verbal recap button (can we please get him to cut that out) as he brings up Wrestlemania but Reigns wants to fight right now.

The champ starts towards the ring and it’s the Authority to make sure nothing happens without their approval. Stephanie teases doing the match tonight but says you’ll have to watch Survivor Series. So they’re heels this week. HHH thinks we should have a five on five elimination tag right here tonight (because building that up for NEXT week is such a bad idea) with Reigns and Rollins as captains.

Kevin Owens vs. Dolph Ziggler

Non-title. In an inset promo, Owens says he doesn’t care about people booing him because no one can beat him. Owens starts right in on Ziggler’s bad knee and mocks him as only the champ can do. Ziggler misses a charge in the corner and bangs up the knee again (Owens: “THIS CLOSE!”). Kevin misses the backsplash though and the running knee sends him to the floor. Tyler Breeze and Summer Rae come out as we take a break.

Back with Breeze and Summer in their roped off seats as Owens chinlocks Ziggler. Dolph finally jawbreaks his way to freedom and limps into a neckbreaker to put Owens down again. A couple of rollups get two each for Dolph but he stops selling the knee so Kevin sends him flying with a release German suplex. The Cannonball is blocked with a superkick but the camera cuts to Tyler and Summer taking pictures instead of watching the near fall. Well to be fair Summer is streaming on something and that’s what matters in WWE. Tyler’s distraction lets Owens grab the Pop Up Powerbomb for the pin at 11:02.

Rating: C-. Not great here and I could have done without hearing about Summer streaming video on whatever she was doing. Back in my day, you watched the video of the match during the match instead of trying to find some video on the internet. Owens is still on a roll though and Breeze gets to mess with Dolph even more so well done.

Post match Tyler goes to pose over Ziggler but gets punched in the face. That earns Ziggler a Beauty Shot as Summer continues to stream.

We look back at 1987 when the first Survivor Series took place on Thanksgiving night. That was a great show.

Rollins recruits Owens for his team tonight with promises of a title match at Wrestlemania.

We look at Paige going full heel last week.

Becky Lynch says the only B in PCB was Paige. Brie comes up and says she’s winning the four way for the #1 contendership instead of Charlotte’s wacky sidekick. Becky calls Brie her sister’s doormat and Renee finds this awesome.

Cesaro vs. The Miz

Byron: “I’ve got to get me a section like Cesaro.” Cole: “Byron no one likes you.” Cesaro nips up out of a wristlock to start but gets sent into the post and barricade to put Miz in control. Back in and we hit the chinlock as Stardust and the Ascension are still watching from the crowd. The Skull Crushing Finale is broken up and we hit the Cesaro Swing for a LONG time. The Sharpshooter makes Miz tap out at 4:49.

Rating: C. Not bad here and it’s nice to see Cesaro get a win, even if it’s not going anywhere anytime soon. It would be nice to see this Cesaro vs. Stardust thing go anywhere other than just watching for weeks on end but I’m sure that’s coming soon enough. I miss the days when you would have matches that didn’t have much of a meaning like this one. You can’t do that all the time but it’s nice once in a while.

Here are the Wyatts with something to say. Bray says every night is special but tonight he wants to give the people something even more important. Everyone here has recently seen Bray and his brothers taking care of Undertaker and Kane but it’s not about taking their bodies. The bodies are temporary but their souls live forever.

Unless the souls are consumed by a higher power (there would be a Vince joke here but all of the good ones are probably already covered) like Bray, who has already harvested the souls of Undertaker and Kane. Bray summons the thunder and lightning (thunder rolls and purple lightning comes out of the posts) because he now controls the powers of darkness. A bunch of fireworks go off and we see a highlight video of the Brothers of Destruction. Cool segment but go win something.

Lucha Dragons vs. King Barrett/Sheamus

We actually get a video on the Dragons before the match so they must be the next New Day challengers. Kalisto kicks at Sheamus’ leg to start but gets shoved away. It’s off to Barrett for a kick to the head before Cara monkey flips Kalisto into a 450 for two. The King finally gets going and sends Kalisto outside and into the barricade as we take a break.

Back with Sheamus hammering Kalisto in the corner but he rolls away and makes the tag off to Cara for some house cleaning. A suicide dive takes Barrett out and Sheamus misses a charge into the post. Barrett knocks Cara off the top and onto Sheamus’ knees before driving Cara back first into the barricade for two. We hit the chinlock for a bit before Barrett does his kick to the ribs in the corner.

Sheamus gets two off a suplex before it’s back to Barrett for the knees against the ropes. The King even does the Dragons pose with a EU-ROPE chant. Cara counters Sheamus’ suplex into a DDT and it’s back to Kalisto with the real hot tag. A quick rollup gets two but Barrett takes him down and loads up the Bullhammer, only to charge into the Salida Del Sol for the pin at 13:38.

Rating: C+. Who had three weeks in the “how long before Barrett gets pinned in an upset” pool? You knew it was coming, I knew it was coming, Barrett knew it was coming. I liked that they’re getting the Dragons ready, but you have the Ascension on the roster for this same match. Oh wait we can’t do that because having teams go across to a different story might get too complicated.

Jack Swagger comes in to see Zeb Colter and doesn’t like the idea of MexAmerica. Colter puts over the idea while also taking a jab at Canada. The camera pans over to Del Rio, who tells Swagger to stay away. Was he just standing there the whole time and no one acknowledged him? Well it makes sense on sitcoms and WWE is a step beneath those so this works.

Alberto Del Rio vs. R-Truth

Non-title and in case Del Rio squashing him on Smackdown wasn’t enough for you. Truth charges to start and Alberto goes to the floor. Back in and Del Rio grabs the armbreaker across the top rope. Truth comes back with some clotheslines (he wasn’t in the armbreaker that long) followed by the ax kick for two. Del Rio kicks him in the head and ties Truth in the Tree of Woe for some kicks to the chest, followed by the top rope double stomp (and yes Truth is still in the Tree of Woe for those of you who ask me if Del Rio is using Finn Balor’s move every time) for the pin at 3:23.

Rating: D. This could be subtitled “Even we don’t watch Smackdown” because it’s the same match (plus two minutes) that these two had last week. As usual it makes me wonder why I waste my time on that show when they’re not even going to mention it on Raw and just do the same match. Boring match both times too.

Clip of the Raw vs. Smackdown Survivor Series match in 2005.

Rollins lets Big E. and Kofi (still no Woods) join the team if they can find a fifth man. They hold up the unicorns and look like they have ice cream headaches until Xavier returns to complete the team. A TEAM RO-LLINS dance party starts but Seth walks off.

Sasha knows the fans want her because she’s the Boss. She also reminds JoJo that Halloween was Saturday.

Sasha Banks vs. Brie Bella vs. Becky Lynch vs. Paige

Winner gets the shot at Survivor Series. No Nikki, who is out with an injury. Brie and Sasha shove each other around to start until Becky dropkicks them down and nips up. Sasha and Becky trade some rollups for two each but Becky starts going after the knee to take over. Brie finally comes back in with a double middle rope dropkick. We get some running BRIE MODE (which now means no facial expressions instead of getting smashed) knees but Paige superkicks Brie down.

Becky and Paige get in a brawl with Lynch going into the steps. Sasha gets two off the double knees in the corner but gets sent throat first into the middle rope. Brie misses the middle rope dropkick and Paige gets a quick two as we take a break. Back with Brie doing the YES Kicks because she doesn’t know how to be a heel.

After taking their sweet time we get a Tower of Doom with Sasha taking the superplex and Becky powerbombing everyone down. The Disarm-Her has Brie in trouble but Sasha makes the save and gets two on Becky off a neckbreaker. The Bank Statement has Becky in trouble (she looked like she was tapping) but Paige breaks it up and hooks the Rampaige to pin Becky at 13:18.

Rating: B. Now that was more like it. This wasn’t about teams or ESTABLISHING CONTROL or who started a revolution because the stupid Stephanie part was erased from existence. This was four women fighting for a title and personal issues, which makes a match so much more interesting than what we’ve sat through for months.

Paige says anyone who cheered for any of the other three is a loser. Anyone who cheers for Charlotte will be a loser too because she’s going to lose at Survivor Series. Simple words here but it got the point across.

Clip from last year’s Survivor Series main event with no mention of Sting. So the show debuted, then nothing happened for 18 years, then it was last year.

Team Rollins vs. Team Reigns

Seth Rollins, Kevin Owens, New Day

Roman Reigns, Unknown, TBA, TBD, A mystery partner

Elimination rules and New Day comes out first. Woods: “You know we’re going to talk so SHHHH!” Big E. talks about surviving the Dudleyz and Kofi says the New Day’s favorite band is Survivor. Their favorite reality show? Survivor. Their favorite Destiny’s Child song? Survivor. Favorite book and movie? Lone Survivor. Woods: “Technically Last Unicorn but regardless.”

First up for the partners: the returning Usos. During their entrance, Cole sounds shocked, until he announces that they’ll be on ESPN tomorrow night. The other two are Ryback and Ambrose, neither of which are any sort of surprise. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. Woods charges into a superkick to start and Jey adds the Superfly Splash for the elimination at 37 seconds.

Back with Jey taking the rotating stomps in the corner which JBL names the Unicorn Stampede. I can’t stand JBL but that’s the best name I’ve heard in years. Owens hits the Cannonball but Jey escapes a chinlock and dives over for the tag to his brother. Big E. gets low bridged to the floor and the double dive takes New Day out. Back in and a frog splash eliminates Kofi at 7:45 to make it 5-3.

An enziguri and a superkick drops Big E. but he crotches Jey on top. The Big Ending makes it 4-3 and a Pop Up Powerbomb takes Jimmy out to tie things up at 9:02. Reigns comes in to clean house and everything breaks down until Owens superkicks Reigns and takes us to a break. Back with Rollins coming in to stomp on Reigns like a good heel should do. After a long chinlock it’s back to Owens for a backsplash and some hard right hands to the head.

Reigns slugs away at Rollins but Seth is smart enough to knock Ambrose off the apron to make the hot tag a bit more difficult. It’s a double tag to bring in Ryback and Big E. and everything breaks down again. Ambrose does his slide under the bottom rope into a clothesline on Owens but gets sent into the steps. Ryback slips out of the Big Ending and Shell Shock gets rid of Big E at 21:30. Rollins is right there to Pedigree Ryback at 21:50 and we’re down to Ambrose/Reigns vs. Ryback/Rollins.

Ambrose gets thrown in for a fight with Rollins and the top rope standing elbow gets two on the champ. Back to Owens for a fireman’s carry gutbuster and a lot of trash talk. I could go for Owens vs. Ambrose, even if it’s them playing Parcheesi. Seth’s top rope knee to the head gets two on Dean and the frustration sets in. Owens stops the comeback with a superkick but Seth knees his partner by mistake.

Dirty Deeds gets rid of Kevin at 27:30 and it’s Ambrose/Reigns vs. Rollins. Seth tries to run but keeps getting caught and the beating is on. Rollins is finally caught in the corner for the rapid fire clotheslines. He manages to escape the Doomsday Device but Ambrose keeps him out of the crowd. Rollins grabs a chair though and it’s a DQ at 30:03.

Rating: B-. First of all: the following people use superkicks.

Paige

Jimmy Uso

Jey Uso

Alberto Del Rio

Luke Harper

Seth Rollins

Dolph Ziggler

Rusev

Kevin Owens

Tyler Breeze

And I might be forgetting some. I know the company edict is that Shawn Michaels is the greatest of all time but LEARN SOMETHING NEW. Even the Young Bucks do something else every now and then.

The match itself was a good, long Survivor Series match and that…..doesn’t make a lot of sense. The ending is fine, but why in the world would you do a thirty minute main event style match here when you have a pay per view for them in twenty days? This is the annoying thinking that WWE has lately and it drives me crazier every single week. Put the eight guys into a match at the pay per view with title shots on the line or something but don’t do it this way. The action was good though and the Usos are clearly going for the titles sooner rather than later.

Rollins cleans house with the chair but Reigns gets in a Superman Punch to send him running to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This show had some major faults and it’s really not as good as last week. The main event was a fun idea but again: WHY IS IT HAPPENING THE NIGHT IT’S ANNOUNCED??? Give both guys a week or two to set up their teams and do it on the go home show or something but stop announcing the match and doing it in the same night.

The Wyatt promo was good but I’m always skeptical about believing in Bray’s latest push. Let him win something big and I’ll buy into him more but until then I’m waiting on the loss in the big match. The Divas match was good and logical, probably because Nikki wasn’t there to be treated as the star of the whole thing.

This show worked but the whole idea of having a Survivor Series match three weeks before Survivor Series makes my head hurt. It’s the same old WWE booking theory: let’s give them the same thing over and over again and then ask them to pay to see it again on a different night. The show is still WAY better than it was a few weeks ago though and that’s a good sign going forward.

Results

Kevin Owens b. Dolph Ziggler – Pop Up Powerbomb

Cesaro b. The Miz – Sharpshooter

Lucha Dragons b. Sheamus/King Barrett – Salida Del Sol to Barrett

Alberto Del Rio b. R-Truth – Top rope double stomp

Paige b. Becky Lynch, Sasha Banks and Brie Bella – Rampaige to Lynch

Team Reigns b. Team Rollins last eliminating Seth Rollins

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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Monday Night Raw
Date: October 26, 2015
Location: Valley View Casino, San Diego, California
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield, Byron Saxton

It’s the night after Hell in a Cell and a few things have been wrapped up. Above all, we need a new #1 contender for Rollins after he beat Kane to retain the title last night. We also need a new Director of Operations/boss because where would we be without three bosses? On top of that, we also need to find out what happened to Undertaker after he was abducted by the Wyatts last night, which is likely setting up an elimination tag at Survivor Series. There are a lot of people missing due to injuries/time off so this could be interesting. Let’s get to it.

The Authority gets us going and Stephanie talks about the legends that were made last night. Normally I would ask what she’s talking about but I’ve been advised to not drive my blood pressure up that high ever again. She introduces “the man who is simply known as the man”, Seth Rollins. Seth is all happy and celebrates with the Authority, who says he proved them right as he ran over everyone they put in front of him. Stephanie is very relieved because their reputations were on the line. That line made me cringe but it’s very clear that those reputations are the most important things in this company.

They’re proud of Rollins and he has to hug them both. HHH talks about the problem of Rollins cleaning out the roster. Starting tonight, people have to prove themselves all over again, so tonight the winners from last night are going to compete in qualifying matches. Those winners will compete in a fatal four way for the right to be defeated by Seth Rollins.

Seth thinks that’s best for business but here’s Roman Reigns to interrupt. Reigns says this has been making him feel sick (amen brother) because Rollins doesn’t belong in the WWE Hall of Fame. He’s winning tonight and then taking that title. Believe that. Stephanie: “LET THE GAMES BEGIN!” Let’s start with a game of SHUT UP STEPHANIE!

Roman Reigns vs. Kofi Kingston

Before the match, Big E. mocks Reigns’ hair and fashion sense (it hasn’t changed in three years!). Kofi says that New Day is putting the Dudleyz in the past, Woods in their hearts (“Let’s throw up a unicorn horn right now!”) and Reigns on the ground. “Just call me Harry Potter because I’m about to make some magic!” Kofi starts fast but Reigns is ready for him and grabs a neckbreaker to send Kingston outside. JBL’s hat gets knocked away and we take a break. Back with Reigns suplexing Kofi in as Big E. shouts various things.

One of the distractions work as Kofi gets in a shot from behind to take over. We hit a sleeper for a bit before a nice top rope ax handle keeps Reigns in trouble. For some reason Kofi goes to an armbar (you don’t often see bad psychology from him like that) and Reigns slams him down with his old NXT finisher (similar to the Protobomb). The corner clotheslines have Kofi in trouble a missed top rope dive makes things even worse as Reigns grabs a rollup into a powerbomb for two. Big E. gets on the apron but eats a Superman Punch, setting up a spear to give Reigns the pin at 12:49.

Rating: B-. This was a lot better than I was expecting as Kofi got in some good offense and got to control for a long time. Kofi is a great asset as he can be funny but also work a good match like this at any given moment. People often forget how great of a resume he really does have as he’s the modern day Tito Santana with all those titles. Good match here.

Miz has an audience to watch him play WWE2K16.

Stills of Del Rio returning and winning the US Title last night.

The other qualifying matches are:

Neville vs. Alberto Del Rio

Big E. vs. Dolph Ziggler

Kevin Owens vs. Cesaro

Kevin Owens vs. Cesaro

Non-title. In an inset promo, Owens says the greatest moment in WWE hasn’t happened yet because he hasn’t been Intercontinental Champion and WWE World Champion at the same time yet. I love it when people who aren’t going to be anywhere near the main event talk about wanting to be the World Champion. Even if it’s not realistic, it sounds good. Cesaro grabs a few rollups to start before sending him face first into the apron. A big delayed vertical suplex gets two on Kevin and it’s already back to the floor for a double clothesline. Both guys beat the count back in at nine and we take a break.

Back with Cesaro hitting the running uppercuts to send Owens outside to run, but Cesaro blasts him with another running uppercut. The cannonball off the apron puts Owens down again and a high cross body gets two. The Swing is countered into a DDT for two but Cesaro comes off the middle rope with a spinning uppercut. Sweet goodness that looked awesome. The referee tells Cesaro to get off the ropes, allowing Kevin to get in a superkick and the Pop Up Powerbomb for the pin at 10:23.

Rating: B-. Gah I was hoping for Cesaro to win here but I know I would have been annoyed if Owens got pinned clean. This is the logical ending but it’s a shame that Cesaro’s latest awesome run looks to be going nowhere. Good match here though as Raw is already on fire and a better show than it’s been in weeks.

Paige is in the back on the phone when Becky and Charlotte come in. She tells them to hang on for a second because everyone is interested in her after she was on Conan. Becky and Charlotte aren’t pleased but Paige promises she had nothing to do with attacking Natalya and it’s a new version of her. They do the pinky swear and things are cool for now.

Team PCB vs. Team Bella

So yeah, this revolution is another way to go with rematch after rematch. Byron says this is about being the BTB: the brand to beat. I’m going to ignore how stupid that sounds and watch Paige armdrag Nikki for two to start. Nikki forearms Charlotte off the apron and brings in Alicia, who walks right into a double dropkick from Charlotte and Paige.

The fans want Becky but get Brie taking over on Charlotte by kicking her in the leg instead. The YES Kicks are broken up by a neckbreaker and it’s finally off to Becky, who feels like she hasn’t been in a match in forever. Everything breaks down and Nikki hits the forearm and Rack Attack for the pin on Becky at 5:27.

Rating: C-. Raise your hand if this surprises you in any way. Becky is getting popular and the fans want to see her so it’s time to give the Bellas another win over them because that’s how this division works. Nikki and Brie are the chosen ones and they’re going to get wins no matter how many times we’ve seen them fight everyone or how much fire the division has been given by these new additions.

Post match Paige goes full heel and lays out Charlotte and Becky with Rampaiges before putting Charlotte in the PTO.

We see Lesnar vs. Undertaker inside the Cell. In WWE2K16 that is.

Now we get a stills package from the real match, including the post match attack by the Wyatts.

Zeb Colter quotes John Lennon’s Imagine and talks about there being no countries. Starting tonight, he and Del Rio are the only citizens of a new country like MexAmerica (uh……). Del Rio says he isn’t going to let an immigrant like Neville take away his chance to be WWE World Champion again.

Alberto Del Rio vs. Neville

Non-title again. Del Rio goes after the arm to start, sends Neville out to the floor, then cranks on another armbar back inside. You can’t say he makes things too complicated. A quick headscissors sends Alberto to the floor and we take a break. Back with Del Rio’s chinlock being broken but he settles for a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Del Rio puts on the chinlock again as JBL actually mentions being managed by Colter early in his WWE run (when Colter was known as Uncle Zebekiah).

Neville fights up again and sends Alberto to the floor for a big flip dive. The running enziguri knocks Neville off the top rope but Neville counters the armbreaker into a rollup for two. Neville tries to go up top too fast though, allowing Del Rio to crotch him into the Tree of Woe, setting up the top rope double stomp. That always looks sick and it puts Neville away at 12:08.

Rating: C-. Del Rio is still a little dull but his psychology is right there. I also like that they’re not going with just the armbreaker. That’s an established finisher for him and it’s a good thing that they’re letting him win by pinfall instead of just the submissions. Neville is getting pretty firmly into his jobber to the stars role but at least he won a match last night to keep him relevant.

Ryback/Dudley Boyz vs. King Barrett/Sheamus/Rusev

It’s a big brawl to start until we get down to D-Von dropping a headbutt on Sheamus for two. Rusev comes in and pounds D-Von into the mat before bringing Barrett in for some kicks to the ribs. Sheamus gets another turn with the forearms to the back and a chinlock. The Irish Curse doesn’t do much good as D-Von scores with a clothesline and makes the tag off to Ryback.

A BIG clothesline knocks Barrett off the apron and Bubba comes back in for a release Rock Bottom. All three of the good guys do FEED ME MORE and it’s a triple Meathook. Barrett takes What’s Up but a Sheamus distraction lets him roll D-Von up with a handful of tights for the pin at 6:13.

Rating: D. This was just there and I never got into it once. As JBL pointed out, this was the losers bracket and that’s really not something a lot of fans are going to want to see. I do like that they’re pushing the foreigners as something to be reckoned with and they actually haven’t lost a match yet, but they need to actually do something.

After another look at the ending of the show, Bray Wyatt is in the ring in his rocking chair. He talks about the twenty five years of the Undertaker and how scared people have been of him for all that time. Last night was war inside a Cell and the red horse of the apocalypse rode in. After promising to dance with Roman Reigns again later, Bray declares the demise of the Undertaker as his resurrection.

Right now Bray is feasting on the soul of the Undertaker but he needs more. He won’t stop until there is nothing left of the Undertaker and Bray has ascended to his throne. Undertaker’s soul is being destroyed bit by bit so Bray asks everyone here to bow their heads for a moment of silence. Is it that time of year again? Bray says rest in peace and here’s Kane to interrupt.

Kane gets on the apron but the rest of the Wyatts show up. Strowman comes in for the showdown but Kane actually cleans house until just Bray is left. Kane goes for a chokeslam but there are too many Wyatts. The real beatdown is on and Bray looks to the stage for Undertaker. No one comes out though and Kane is carried away like Undertaker was last night.

Post break the Wyatts drag Kane off into the shadows as Bray sings.

Big E. vs. Dolph Ziggler

Well this should pick things up a bit. Before the match, here are Tyler Breeze and Summer Rae, complete with camera view on the Titantron. Ziggler is so distracted that he tries a cross body on a power guy. That’s like lesson one of wrestling school. A dropkick works a bit better and Kofi tells Dolph to stop cheating. With Kofi proclaiming that the hips don’t like, Big E. comes back with an abdominal stretch until Ziggler Cactus Clotheslines both of them out to the floor.

Back in and Big E. runs Ziggler over for two and we take a break. Back with Breeze and Summer eating popcorn behind their velvet ropes as Big E. is still in control. Ziggler finally slips out of a slam and grabs a sleeper but Big E. sends him hard into the corner. Back to the abdominal stretch for a big but Dolph makes his comeback to silence.

A hard catapult sends Dolph into the post but Big E. goes to steal some of Summer’s beverage, allowing Ziggler to grab a Fameasser for two. Big E.’s Warrior Splash gets the same but Ziggler superkicks him back down. The running DDT is easily countered but Big E. misses a charge into the post, setting up the Zig Zag for the pin at 13:55.

Rating: C+. Obvious ending but this was entertaining enough. Again it helps when these guys get a chance to space out their matches instead of having to fly through everything in five minutes. Big E.’s power looked great here but it didn’t make sense for him to beat someone on Dolph’s level. Good surprise here.

The four way will be Reigns vs. Owens vs. Del Rio vs. Ziggler.

Ambrose reminds Reigns that he’s been this close time after time. Tonight it’s time for him to take it. Reigns says he’s got this.

It’s breast cancer time with a bunch of cancer survivors in the ring and a big chunk of the roster standing behind them. Titus O’Neil is actually doing the talking here as he goes over the basic idea of the campaign and leads the women in the Million Dollar Dance.

Miz is still playing the game, as Steve Austin for some reason. Miz wins and loads up the catchphrase but Austin’s voice comes out. Austin himself shows up and Miz says Austin’s catchphrases with a WWE2K16 theme. Austin might have been on screen for fifteen seconds and I wouldn’t be surprised if this wasn’t filmed last week.

Roman Reigns vs. Kevin Owens vs. Alberto Del Rio vs. Dolph Ziggler

Rollins is on commentary and there’s no Colter at ringside. It’s a brawl to start with all four heading outside, only to have Owens take over on Reigns. Del Rio jumps off the barricade to take Ziggler out and the champions double team Reigns back inside. Reigns fights back and clotheslines Alberto to the floor, followed by the apron boot to Owens. Del Rio gets one as well but Ziggler kicks Reigns’ head off as we take a break.

Back with Ziggler getting double teamed for a change but we get the obvious problem of who gets the pin. Del Rio gets the better of it and superkicks Owens to the floor, only to turn around and get laid out by Reigns. Ziggler comes back in for the staredown with Reigns, who Rollins points out has had a much longer rest than anyone else. The running DDT (you knew he was getting that in at some point tonight) gets two but Reigns gets the same off a Batista Bomb.

The Superman Punch connects but Del Rio knocks Reigns to the floor and steals the cover for two. I actually bought that for a second. Del Rio misses the corner enziguri and the Fameasser is good for two. You can hear Rollins having a blast with this on commentary. Reigns breaks up a Doomsday Device with a Superman Punch but Owens superkicks him down.

Del Rio and Ziggler both eat Cannonballs but Reigns adds an apron kick to Del Rio for good measure. It’s Reigns vs. Owens and the fans REALLY like this one. Owens hits a superkick but the Pop Up Powerbomb is broken up by a Superman Punch and the spear gives Roman the title shot at 15:01.

Rating: A-. Well that rocked (save for the champion getting pinned but I can live with it in this case). Reigns winning is the right call but it opens a lot of doors for Undertaker’s partners against the Wyatts. I’m hoping Reigns wins the title at Survivor Series because it seems to be a much better idea to have him win his first title ANYWHERE else but Wrestlemania and another big pay per view sounds like a great place. The fans were on fire for this and they did a good job of making it seem like anyone could win, even though Reigns was the pretty clear choice. Awesome match here and it makes a good show even better.

Reigns and Rollins stare each other down to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. This show avoided one of WWE’s biggest problems: it stopped trying to cram so much stuff into three hours. That’s one of the things that amazes me about WWE: they have so much time to fill yet somehow they manage to overload the show almost every week. This was a good example of letting things take their time and breathe for a minute, which made for a much more entertaining show.

Combine that to actually building to a title match that people might want to see instead of Kane’s split personalities and you have a better result. I liked this a lot better than most shows and I have stuff to look forward to for once. Maybe all these people being gone is a good thing as it lets the show breathe. In a perfect world they would be back and WWE would push some of the stuff that clogs up the show to Smackdown but that’s never going to happen for reasons that I’ll never understand. Anyway, good show tonight with a MUCH better pace.

Results

Roman Reigns b. Kofi Kingston – Spear

Kevin Owens b. Cesaro – Pop Up Powerbomb

Team Bella b. Team PCB – Rack Attack to Lynch

Alberto Del Rio b. Neville – Top rope double stomp

Rusev/King Barrett/Sheamus b. Dudley Boyz/Ryback – Rollup with a handful of tights to D-Von

Dolph Ziggler b. Big E. – Zig Zag

Roman Reigns b. Dolph Ziggler, Alberto Del Rio and Kevin Owens – Spear to Owens

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/product/B015IN12I2

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

Monday Night Raw
Date: October 19, 2015
Location: American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas
Commentators: Michael Cole, Byron Saxton, John Bradshaw Layfield

Tonight is all about the Cell as we’re getting a special panel of people who have been inside the Cell before. It’s one of the first times that the main event has actually received any focus and they have their hands full with giving the match a good build on such short notice. Let’s get to it.

We get right to the point with Steve Au…..oh wait never mind he’s been canceled again. Actually scratch that scratching as he’s on the show again. Austin does his poses on the ropes as his status for the show is changed another 394 times, leaving us with Austin actually appearing. JBL runs down his career stats, including saying that Vince has referred to Austin as the greatest draw in company history because NOTHING IN WWE CAN BE REAL. Right Rusev? Also, brilliant idea to have Austin come out first and not have him around later on when Monday Night Football kicks in to try to get some fans back.

Austin plugs the podcast with Lesnar tonight before bringing out the Undertaker to FINALLY hype up the match. JBL continues his nonsense by calling Undertaker the most iconic performer in sports entertainment history. He’s not even the most iconic person from Texas in the arena right now.

Austin leaves and Undertaker promises that this Sunday he will make the gates of Hell look like the gates of Heaven. This brings out Heyman and Lesnar almost immediately and Heyman promises that Lesnar will gain his revenge this Sunday. Then Undertaker will know what it’s like to die with a tainted legacy. It will be a legacy of dominance marred by the conqueror who took everything away from him.

Undertaker takes off the hat and robe while saying that if Lesnar takes everything from him, it means Undertaker can fight with nothing to lose. Brock comes straight to the ring but drops back off the apron. Well at least Heyman can relax. There better be more from this tonight because that’s nowhere near enough to build up this match. Undertaker’s nothing to lose line was good though.

John Cena/Dudley Boyz vs. New Day

Cena will officially have another US Open Challenge on Sunday. That piques my interest while also scaring me to death. I still have a bad feeling it might be Big Show and that’s not good for anyone. Before the match, Woods thinks the New Day are all unicorns because they’ve brought magic back to the WWE.

Big E. gets in some cheap shots at the Dallas Cowboys before reminding Cena and the Dudleyz about the beating they too a few weeks ago used the brass. Kofi says they used the brass to kick their……Woods: “KOFI! PG SHOW!” Kofi: “So what? We’re the New Day!” He finishes the line and Xavier gets in a comical gasp.

Bubba elbows Kofi in the head to start but it’s quickly off to D-Von for a double team elbow as we take an early break. Back with Cena taking the rotating stomps in the corner, followed by a running downward spiral from Woods for two. Big E. gets two off a side slam (with bonus dancing) but Cena dropkicks him in the chest and makes the tag to D-Von. Everything breaks down and Cena dives on Big E., leaving Woods to roll D-Von up for the pin at 8:32.

Rating: C. A lot of this was in the commercial so it’s a hard one to grade. I’m tired of seeing these groups fight though and hopefully the whole thing is wrapped up on Sunday. New Day continues to just own every single show they’re on though and the line from Kofi before the match was great. Not a bad match or anything but it’s the same thing we’ve seen several times now.

Post match Woods takes an AA, followed by a superbomb through a table.

We get some breaking news: the Wyatt Family has attacked Randy Orton over the weekend, meaning he’s out of the match on Sunday. No word on if this is legitimate or not but I haven’t heard anything about a Wellness violation or an injury so I’m assuming storyline.

Ambrose is sick of this and says he’s got business with Luke Harper and Braun Strowman tonight.

Nikki Bella/Alicia Fox vs. Naomi/Sasha Banks

Now pay attention here people. Watching a Bellas match, you too can find out how they empower women every second of every day. They talk about it in every interview and that makes it so right? Sasha and Alicia get things going and it’s Banks getting two off a dropkick. It’s off to Naomi for an a-may-a-a-a-a-a-zing dropkick (sweet goodness that doesn’t get better without the music) and we take a break.

Back with Fox keeping Naomi from tagging out, followed by a double suplex (was that the empowering part? I for one could certainly feel women everywhere being stronger when a Bella did a basic wrestling move so it must have been). Naomi comes back with some kicks but Nikki hits a running dropkick to the ribs before bending over to choke Naomi on the ropes. A few more kicks are enough for Naomi to tag in Sasha for some knees to the face (empowerment down by two points).

It’s quickly back to Naomi who rams Nikki into Alicia to set up a rollup for two. Nikki’s spinebuster plants Naomi and the Rack Attack is enough for the pin at 8:47. Cole had to make sure to mention that it was a team win. Not that he mentions Alicia by name or anything but this certainly wasn’t all about Nikki, like everything else in the division.

Rating: D+. Nothing to see here other than Nikki being awesome, because that’s exactly what this match was supposed to showcase. I’m not sure why this needed to be shown again, but maybe it can empower the Total Divas ratings and help build the crossover audience that these shows are supposed to share.

We recap Kane pinning Rollins last week. This has resulted in Corporate Kane being suspended. Of course the Authority could solve the obvious problem this creates by just saying KANE has been suspended but that would make too much sense. For the bosses of a global corporation, HHH and Stephanie are dumb sometimes.

Speaking of dumb things, breast cancer is dumb. I didn’t know this until Stephanie told me so, meaning she’s done has job for the night.

Here’s Shawn Michaels, who stops for a bite of pizza on the way. Shawn talks about being in the Cell before and how nothing can prepare you for it. He’s been in the Cell with the Undertaker before but there’s another match on that night as Roman Reigns is finally finishing things with Bray Wyatt. However, this brings out Seth Rollins instead. Rollins asks why Shawn is out here when he was just supposed to introduce him.

Those were his instructions, but Shawn has been ignoring instructions for over twenty years now. Well save for all those years when he wasn’t on TV but I get his point). Seth says those instructions came from HHH himself. Shawn needs to be talking about the man people have been calling Shawn Michaels Version II (John Morrison? Dolph Ziggler? Tyler Breeze? Shelton Benjamin even?). Michaels brings up that exact point: if he had a nickel for every time someone was going to be the second Shawn Michaels, he’d be a billionaire.

He never tried to be anyone else and just became the best ever on his own. Shawn mentions Kane but Rollins goes on a rant about how sick he is of Kane (since when did Rollins become the voice of the masses?) but there’s no music to play him off. Shawn says the worst part about being the second version is no one plays your music. Besides, Seth has a match right now against Ryback. Version I’s (not Matt Hardy as he’s too busy trying to figure out how that injunction actually works) song plays him out.

Ryback vs. Seth Rollins

Non-title. Ryback charges right at him to start and no sells some of the champ’s strikes. There’s part of a Flair Flip in the corner and a big chop puts Seth down. They head outside with Ryback’s ribs being driven into the barricade, followed by a Rollins suicide dive to send them into the announcers’ table. Seth is smart enough to put on a bodyvice back inside Ryback is fine enough to throw Rollins onto his shoulder and spin him around into a powerslam (that was different), followed by a spinebuster. Rollins bails from the Meat Hook, kicks Ryback in the ribs, and hits a Pedigree for the pin at 4:04.

Rating: D. BUT HE’S THE #1 CONTENDER FOR A TITLE!!! Of all the people you have to feed to Rollins, you pick someone who is getting a title shot in six days??? Why can’t they get any booking involving Rollins correct? It’s not had. Throw out….I don’t know…..Jack Swagger? As in a guy with NOTHING going on? No instead it needs to be someone you’ve been building up for months and who has a title shot on Sunday. Only in WWE.

We look at Summer Rae costing Rusev a match on Smackdown and then getting turned down by Ziggler.

Dolph Ziggler/Cesaro/Neville vs. King Barrett/Sheamus/Rusev

Rusev beats Neville into the corner to start but Neville escapes and does his flips across the ring. Some kicks keep Rusev in enough trouble for a tag off to Cesaro, who tags Neville back in after just a few seconds. It’s off to Sheamus to pound Neville down before Rusev comes for even more stomping. A big forearm sends Neville into the announcers’ table and a staredown takes us to a break.

Back with Neville still taking a beating but he avoids a charge and tags in Cesaro for the running uppercuts. A high cross body gets two on Sheamus but a collision puts both guys down. Double tags bring in Ziggler and Barrett with Dolph cleaning house. The big elbow drop gets two but Rusev makes the save. Ziggler mostly hits a Fameasser on Barrett for two followed by a superkick for the same. Rusev kicks Cesaro the floor and Neville does the same to Rusev, setting up a HUGE flip dive to take both guys. Ziggler rolls Barrett up for two but it’s a Brogue Kick from the floor to give Barrett the pin at 12:57.

Rating: C+. I like six man tags as you can fight so much stuff into one match while getting some fresh pairings. The match was just kind of there but it had a hot ending and that’s all you need most of the time. Barrett and Sheamus being rebuilt is a good thing and I’m glad it was Ziggler taking the fall as he can lose and lose without ever taking any real damage.

Here’s Flair for the third legends segment. He makes it quick by plugging Wrestlemania in Dallas next year and introduces Roman Reigns, who will team up with Ambrose to fight the Wyatts again. Roman gets to the ring but the Wyatts (including Erick Rowan but without Luke Harper, who was shown on the graphic earlier) are here in a hurry. Reigns gets two chairs this time and says one is for him and one is for Bray.

They get inside and sit in the chairs with Reigns talking about how Bray likes to kick people while they’re down. He knows the monsters are coming for him in a minute but let’s talk about this Sunday. When the monsters can’t get in the Cell, Bray won’t be able to get out. The fight is on but Roman has the chair to knock the monsters off the apron and send Bray to the floor. Ambrose runs out for backup and the Wyatts bail.

The Authority is in the back when Shawn comes in. They think Reigns and Ambrose shouldn’t be in a 2-3 handicap match against the Wyatts tonight but Seth isn’t available. Rollins doesn’t like the idea of being protected so he’ll go out there and it’s time for a Shield reunion. WITH AN HOUR OF BUILDUP BECAUSE THIS COMPANY IS STUPID!

Brie Bella vs. Charlotte

Non-title. Charlotte starts with her rolling headscissor slams but stops to yell at Nikki. Back in and the Brie Mode knee has Charlotte in trouble and we hit a long chinlock on the champ. Brie does the YES Kicks because she doesn’t know how to wrestle like a heel but thankfully Charlotte comes back and hits a quick spear and the Figure Eight for the submission at 5:34.

Rating: D. Brie is really bad at this heel thing. Her big spots are a dropkick, a move where she’s trying to get the fans to shout with her and her husbands YES Kicks which get a very positive reaction. She’s supposed to get the fans to boo her but instead we’re stuck with face spots and chinlocks. Well done Brie. You’re still empowering women of course because you wrestle and stuff.

Renee Young comes up to accuse Paige of attacking Natalya last week. Paige thinks it might have been Summer Rae, Lana, Eve Torres, Kaitlyn, Trish Stratus or even Lita. Renee presses her on this so Paige says Renee is no Erin Andrews, nor is she as cute.

Kevin Owens vs. Mark Henry

Non-title. So Owens is here but having him interfere in Ryback’s match earlier was asking too much. Owens mocks the Hook Em Horns sign and gets thrown to the floor. He’s lucky he didn’t get shot. Back in and Owens avoids a splash and gets two off a quick backsplash. Henry gets back up and shouts about being here fifteen years (it’s been more like nineteen) and headbutts Kevin in the corner. Owens stops him with a superkick though and actually nails the Pop Up Powerbomb for the pin at 3:42.

Rating: C-. That ending more than raises this up as Owens showed some shocking power with that one. Henry had some fire here but was cursed by being born in Texas, meaning he had no chance at winning here. This was better than I was expecting and that’s always nice to see.

Post match Ryback (LOSER!) chases Owens off but Henry throws Owens back in for a powerbomb (LOSER WHO DOESN’T SELL A RIB INJURY!).

Rollins assures us that this isn’t a Shield reunion.

Long video on the history of Lesnar vs. Undertaker. Well their recent history as their first Cell match is ignored.

The Kickoff match has been changed to a rematch of the six man from earlier tonight.

Roman Reigns/Dean Ambrose/Seth Rollins vs. Wyatt Family

It’s Strowman/Rowan/Bray here. We get the big staredown to start with Rollins taking his time to stand beside Reigns and Ambrose. Rollins insists that he start and he gets Rowan right in his face. That means it’s off to Reigns instead and Rowan gets beaten down in the corner. Off to Ambrose vs. Wyatt with Dean running Bray over and tagging back out to the champ. Bray kicks Seth in the ribs and we take a break. Back with Dean coming in to hammer on Strowman but the giant runs him over to regain control. Bray kicks him in the face and Erick’s side slam gets two.

Cole brings up the horrible ending to Ambrose vs. Rollins inside the Cell last year as the announcers make sure to remind us that this is NOT a Shield reunion. Dean fights out of a chinlock and escapes a Sister Abigail attempt but Strowman pulls Reigns off the apron. Rollins is ready for the tag but he grabs his knee and drops to the floor before limping up the aisle. Reigns Superman Punches Rowan but it’s Strowman with the standing choke. Roman is in trouble but Dean comes in with a kendo stick (after throwing chairs to the side) for the DQ at 14:12.

Rating: C+. Well this could have been worse. It’s a good and logical thing to have Rollins limp away, especially when you have a potential big Wrestlemania moment on your hands with a proper Shield reunion. I still don’t like even teasing it like this but WWE feels the need to waste everything they can whenever they can. Good enough match.

Reigns cleans house post match with a HUGE dive over the top and spears to Bray and Erick. The fans think this is awesome to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. That’s really as high as I can go with this due to so many stupid decisions which I think you can figure out already. This show did a lot of really good things though and had more energy (read as less Authority/Kane) than any show has had in months. Lesnar vs. Undertaker is still a horrible “big” main event but it wouldn’t be WWE if they didn’t overestimate drawing power. It’s a good show here but my goodness the things they could do without the stupid mistakes.

Results

New Day b. John Cena/Dudley Boyz – Rollup to D-Von

Nikki Bella/Alicia Fox b. Naomi/Sasha Banks – Rack Attack to Naomi

Seth Rollins b. Ryback – Pedigree

Rusev/King Barrett/Sheamus b. Neville/Cesaro/Dolph Ziggler – Barrett pinned Ziggler after a Brogue Kick

Charlotte b. Brie Bella – Figure Eight

Kevin Owens b. Mark Henry – Pop Up Powerbomb

Wyatt Family b. Dean Ambrose/Seth Rollins/Roman Reigns via DQ when Ambrose used a kendo stick

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/product/B015IN12I2

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

Aside from the important shows, my favorite reviews to look back on are the shows where people say I got the ratings totally wrong. I’ve changed my opinion on shows before via a second look so maybe that’s going to happen here. This week’s show was pretty much hated but I had a decent enough time with it. Let’s get to it.

We start immediately with the big story of the night: the Authority isn’t here (and won’t be here despite saying they’re trying to make it all night). Therefore Corporate Kane is in charge and gets to book the show on his own so he makes himself vs. Seth Rollins in a lumberjack match. Why doesn’t he make this a title match you ask? Plot convenience of course.

Throughout the night, the Authority keeps trying to get hold of Kane and ask him what the main event is but bad reception keeps cutting them off. Why doesn’t HHH send him a text or an e-mail so he can get the information when the reception is good and doesn’t have to be on his phone at that time? Plot convenience of course. Granted it wouldn’t matter in this case as the Authority found out about the match and told Kane he had to change it.

Naturally this gave us Demon Kane vs. Rollins because that’s still supposed to be different. This wasn’t the best idea, especially given that the fans aren’t thrilled to see them fight in the first place, so now they get to fight twice. Monday Night Football was a weak game and they had a chance to do something good, but we get Rollins vs. Kane I instead of the only match at the pay per view. I know I defend this company a lot, but there are times where they do stuff that boggles my mind.

Ambrose and Orton had a male bonding segment that was interrupted by New Day. As usual New Day stole the show with pure charisma and asked why Orton has been a part of so many groups. This led to a very long tag match (by Raw standards at least) that didn’t do much for me but could have been far worse. If my best option is nearly twenty minutes of pretty good wrestling, I’ll gladly take it over the drek that Raw is capable of putting on any day. Even on a new day, like the team that won the match due to some face miscommunication.

Things aren’t boding well for Orton/Ambrose heading into the pay per view. For one thing they lost here and even worse they’re actually on the pre-show. That screams angle for later in the show to me, as they’ve been in one of the biggest stories on the show and the card currently has six matches. I could easily see a fight breaking out to set up Orton vs. Ambrose on the show, because why build what could be a solid midcard pay per view match when you can throw it out there with an hour of build?

Video on Undertaker vs. Lesnar, which would air again (or at least a very similar version) later in the night. Well that’s nice of them. It’s not like either guy can be bothered showing up and making me want to see the match so I’ll take what I can get.

Nikki beat Naomi in a nothing match but the fans chanted for Sasha to fill in most of the time. The more I think about it the more I’m glad they haven’t added Sasha to the title match in the hopes that we get past Nikki’s rematch and move on to something else, because you know this company loves itself some rematches.

Dolph Ziggler answered the US Open Challenge and lost like everyone else does. It was another good match but when are they going to pick something for Cena to do at the pay per view? Word on the street is that he’s leaving for a few months after the show but at the moment there’s no one to challenge for the title and no real prospects, unless they throw Big Show in there again. Would that really be a big surprise at this point? You would think Ziggler wins it here but I guess this was the payoff to the accidental superkick. Every day that goes by scares me even more that we’ll get something stupid at the pay per view.

The Dudleyz squashed the Ascension. At least they’re on TV.

Sheamus and King Barrett beat Neville and Cesaro in a nothing match. Barrett has said he wants to be a tag wrestler and Sheamus/Barrett would be fine enough for a team. I’d like to see Cesaro/Neville actually win something but they seem to be the latest acts on the doomed bulletproof list.

Roman Reigns came out and gave a big speech about how Bray was trying to take away his livelihood. This has been described as horrible but I really liked it. What was far worse was the obnoxious Chicago crowd jeering the whole thing because they can’t shut up for five minutes. They decided a long time ago that they don’t want to see Reigns (they’ll take anyone but him I assume) and no matter what he says, they’re going to boo. This gets annoying quickly and unfortunately that’s often what decides everyone’s reactions to the speech. Roman got to the point and delivered, which is a big improvement over his usual stuff.

In something I really don’t like, Reigns beat Braun Strowman by countout. I could live with this if it was like Strowman’s debut match against Ambrose where it was a squash, but in this case Roman hung with Braun the whole way and basically knocked him out to win. That shouldn’t happen for months but this is WWE where the idea of CHILL OUT AND WAIT is sacrilegious. Not a good brawl either and that’s not a good thing, especially with Braun losing and being made to look beatable this early.

Here’s the column on the Lana/Rusev/TMZ fiasco:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2015/10/14/new-column-the-worldwide-leader-in-not-knowing-the-difference/

Then Ryback beat Rusev in about three minutes because Vince loves publicity as long as it’s controlled publicity.

Kevin Owens squashed Kalisto to end one of the best uses of the mini feuds that I’ve seen in a long time. They don’t need to do their usual tropes so let Owens beat up a midcard tag team instead. The story works fine and Owens vs. Ryback is built up even more. Simple, yet effective. I love that idea.

Brie Bella pinned Charlotte in a tag match because the way to get someone new over in the division is to give them the title and then have them lose almost every match. Paige and Natalya fought a bit to pad out the match. I do like the idea that they have more than one Divas story going at the same time, but they could have better ideas than Brie Bella pinning the Divas Champion.

Kane pinned Seth Rollins off a tombstone. This really doesn’t surprise me at this point and it shouldn’t surprise you either. Neither should Rollins retaining the title in a boring pay per view match.

So….yeah I’m not sure what I was thinking. Ziggler vs. Cena was good but not good enough to make up for a lot of the boneheaded moves going on here. This is looking like the weakest pay per view I’ve seen in a long time and WWE really doesn’t seem interested in making anything of it. Lesnar vs. Undertaker might as well not even be happening because neither guy seems interested in building it, leaving us with a main event of Kane vs. Rollins. Which we saw here. And it sucked.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/product/B015IN12I2

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

Monday Night Raw
Date: October 12, 2015
Location: Allstate Arena, Chicago, Illinois
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield, Byron Saxton

We’re getting closer to Hell in a Cell and most of the card is now set. The big story though is New Day, who was showed a completely different style last week as they left John Cena, Dolph Ziggler and the Dudleyz laying. This is a different kind of crowd to perform in front of though and they could certainly change a lot of what we’ve got coming. Let’s get to it.

Kane is on the phone with HHH and Stephanie, who aren’t going to be here until late. They tell him to keep things with Rollins under control until they arrive. Kane promises he will and then makes himself vs. Rollins in a lumberjack match.

Opening sequence.

Here’s Dean Ambrose with something to say. He’s here to welcome us to the show but now he’s looking for a fight. Instead he gets Randy Orton, who says he’s been fighting the Wyatts alongside him and they’re going to continue doing that at Hell in a Cell against Luke Harper and Braun Strowman. Ambrose says he’s been fighting the Wyatts for years so if Orton follows his lead, everything will be fine.

Naturally they get in a mini argument over who the leader is but here’s New Day to interrupt. They talk about slaying everyone last week and brag about leaving everyone laying with their bare hands. This included sending the Dudleyz to a retirement home and beating the WWE’s prized possession down, even though they could see him. Evolution or Legacy couldn’t do that and…..dang Orton has been in a lot of groups. It’s out with the old and in with the New Day so Orton and Ambrose need to pull a Derrick Rose and sit on the bench. That brings Kane to the screen to make the tag match for right now.

New Day vs. Randy Orton/Dean Ambrose

Non-title. Dean cleans house on Kofi to start and works on the arm. A shoulder sends Kofi to the floor and we take an early break. Back with Dean clotheslining Big E. for two and it’s off to Orton for a dropkick. The good guys take turns stomping on Big E., complete with the Garvin stomp.

Dean shows Orton how to stomp and they get in an argument, allowing E. to crawl over and tag as we take another break. Back with New Day in control and stomping Orton down, including the running dropkick from Orton. Big E. slaps on a bearhug until Randy elbows his way out, setting up the tag to Dean.

All of the New Day members are sent to the floor for a suicide dive but E. comes back with a belly to belly inside. Another tag brings in Orton, who ducks Trouble in Paradise and plants Kofi with the hanging DDT. The camera went wide like someone was going to run in but nothing happened. The RKO is loaded up but Kofi shoves Randy into Dean, setting up a rollup for the pin at 17:53.

Rating: C+. Long match here but more of a plot device than anything else. Above all here though: New Day didn’t lose. That’s a really nice surprise out of them as they didn’t go with the lame idea of having the Tag Team Champions used to build up someone for a one off tag match and a possible feud among themselves. They’re getting somewhere, just very slowly.

Video on Undertaker vs. Brock with the final chapter inside the Cell.

Nikki Bella vs. Naomi

We see a video of the Iron Man match from last week and the fans want Sasha, who is at ringside. Naomi’s corner wiggle (she’s just having fun!) and a kick to the chest get two on Nikki but she takes Nikki down and stands on her hair. We hit the hammerlock on Naomi as Nikki tries to have some psychology. That preposterous idea offends Naomi so much that she rapid fires kicks to the ribs and sends Nikki out to the floor for a big dive. Brie gets on the mic and starts a WE WANT SASHA chant to get in Naomi’s head. Sasha pulls Brie off the table but the distraction lets Nikki hit the forearm and Rack Attack for the pin at 4:54.

Rating: C-. Not bad here but they’re getting dangerously close to making Sasha the star of the division while almost never wrestling a singles match. At this point they almost have to add her to the title match at the pay per view and that’s where it seems they’re going. I’d put the title on her now and be done with it, but Nikki getting it back is always a chance. Maybe Charlotte can chase her and not look like a huge loser for a change but that might be giving WWE too much credit.

Paige has been named the Most Unconventional Diva in a Payday (candy bar) product placement bit.

Here’s John Cena for the US Open Challenge but first he wants to talk about this building. This is where he had his first WWE match back in 2002 but tonight Chicago is the place to be and he’s the man to beat so who wants some this week?

US Title: John Cena vs. Dolph Ziggler

Cena is defending and starts with an armdrag (that’s a new one) into an armbar. Ziggler goes to the floor and the fans go nuts with a YES chant and look at something in the crowd. Cena grabs the mic and says that we just had a marriage proposal and SHE SAID YES. Well that’s not something you see every week. Fans: “She! Said YES!” Cena even goes to applaud them again and it’s off to an armbar from Ziggler as we take a break.

Back with Ziggler hitting his elbow drops but Cena fires off the shoulders. Ziggler breaks up the Shuffle with a dropkick as we hear about John Cena facing Kurt Angle in his debut. A modified ProtoBomb sets up the Shuffle and the STF goes on. Ziggler somehow powers out and puts on a sleeper while they’re still on the mat. That goes as far as a sleeper is going to and Cena knocks Ziggler to the floor.

The middle rope AA is broken up and Ziggler catches him with a running middle rope DDT (cool move) for a very close two. Cena’s big running clothesline takes Ziggler down and he catches a charging Dolph in the AA but Ziggler counters into the Fameasser in midair for two. Now the STF goes on in the middle of the ring but Ziggler makes the rope again.

The cross body off the top sets up the roll into the AA but Ziggler rakes the eyes and superkicks Cena down for two. They slug it out and Ziggler headbutts him into the Zig Zag for a very close two. I thought that might have been it. Back up and the AA ends Ziggler at 17:40. It’s as quick as it sounds.

Rating: B+. This was the standard formula for the US Open Challenge and it still works. I’m really curious where they’re going to go with Cena as he’s due off right after the pay per view and he doesn’t really have anything to do aside from the New Day fallout (is he going to mention that tonight?) and I’m not sure how they get the title off of him before then.

HHH calls Kane from the plane and asks how things are going. Kane doesn’t mention the main event.

Dudley Boyz vs. Ascension

Ascension jumps them to start and Viktor hits a nice jumping knee to D-Von’s face. D-Von avoids an elbow and makes the tag off to Bubba, who talks trash as he beats Viktor up. The Doomsday Device (you knew they were busting that one out in Chicago) sets up the 3D to pin Viktor at 2:41.

Neville/Cesaro vs. Sheamus/King Barrett

This could be fun. Neville speeds things up on Barrett to start before it’s off to Cesaro, who gives Neville a boost for a (partially botched) standing Phoenix splash of all things. Sheamus comes in for a slugout but the battering ram is countered by another uppercut. Cesaro throws Neville down onto Sheamus and Barrett, only to have Sheamus’ kickout send Neville into the Bull Hammer to give Sheamus the pin at 3:56.

Rating: D+. Neville is officially in free fall. He’s still there and in some stories, but he’s falling through the cracks in a hurry. I don’t remember the last time he won a big match and the Stardust story just kind of ended with no real blowoff. Hopefully he bounces back and it’s certainly not too late for him, but this isn’t a good sign.

Video on Braun Strowman.

Here’s Roman Reigns for his match against Braun Strowman but he has something to say first. He recaps the entire Bray Wyatt feud while stopping to ask if the fans can’t hear him when they keep chanting WHAT. The fans aren’t interested in the recap of the ANYONE BUT YOU but Reigns says this isn’t boring. Imagine if someone tried to keep you from making a future for your family because Bray Wyatt is trying to hold Reigns back from building a life for his daughter.

That’s the biggest mistake Bray could make and he’ll get what’s coming to him at Hell in a Cell. This was MUCH better than Reigns’ normal stuff and he didn’t stumble once. Cue the Wyatts with Bray asking who Roman is trying to convince. Bray will take the blame for Roman’s lot in life but it all ends in the Cell. Roman says when that door is locked, Bray is going to wish that he’s inside there with anyone but him. Good line there.

Roman Reigns vs. Braun Strowman

Roman is quickly sent out to the floor so he tries to hit and move a bit more. Strowman easily powers him into the corner and slams Reigns down as Roman can’t do anything with him here. Off to a neck crank for a bit until Reigns fights up and starts with the clotheslines. Bray is getting worried but Reigns can’t Samoan drop Strowman.

Reigns punches away from the floor and the apron boot has Strowman staggered. The second attempt is blocked with a clothesline though and Braun comes out to play. Reigns sends him into the announcers’ table several times but Roman has to Superman Punch Harper. There’s another one to knock Strowman over the table and Braun is counted out at 7:58.

Rating: D+. Pretty ugly brawl here and I’m really not wild on having Strowman lose in any way this early. The fact that he wasn’t pinned helped but as usual WWE has no idea how to book someone beyond from pay per view to pay per view. Strowman is looking more and more like a plot device to get us to Reigns vs. Wyatt again and that’s a shame.

The Wyatts surround Roman but he gets to the floor just in time. Bray kneels in front of Roman and says follow the buzzards so Reigns pops him in the jaw.

The Authority calls again and they’re on the way to the arena. This time Kane tells him the main event but HHH can’t hear him due to bad reception. HHH: “I know Rollins but who is he facing?” Kane: “It’s me.” HHH: “I know it’s you Kane but who is he facing?” Full House had better plot devices than this.

Ryback vs. Rusev

No entrances for either guy. We recap the Summer story from last week and Cole casually mentions that TMZ reported Lana and Rusev got engaged over the weekend. So yeah, screw storylines because a gossip site told the truth about your story. You could always NOT SAY ANYTHING ABOUT IT but that would be ignoring the internet and that might mean a downgrade in your social media score or whatever.

JBL asks why Summer is here. Cole: “Maybe she’s not into social media?” The Meathook looks to set up the Shell Shock but Rusev slips out. Rusev’s charge hits the post though and now the Shell Shock is good for the pin at 3:07. So much for Rusev meaning much after Wrestlemania.

Rating: D+. What do I even say here? The entire story has been thrown out because we need to report on TMZ. It’s another example of just taking the easy way out of a storyline instead of actually writing your way out of it. I can’t stand that sort of laziness but it’s what we’re stuck with in modern wrestling.

Post match Summer shows us photos from TMZ and rips into Rusev for leading her on. She slaps him in the face and walks off as Rusev shouts a lot. My loose Russian translation thinks he said “I’ll take em both, I’m hardcore.”

Kalisto vs. Kevin Owens

Non-title. Owens shrugs off the early kicks and punches Kalisto in the side of the head. Some more kicks have little effect and Owens sends him to the floor. Owens teases a dive of his own but opts for a running slide to the floor instead. We get the Lucha Dragons pose from Owens but Kalisto comes back with a rolling kick to the head and the hurricanrana faceplant for two. A tornado DDT gets the same but Kalisto’s hurricanrana is countered into the Pop Up Powerbomb for the pin at 3:45.

Rating: C-. I still really like the booking here as Owens gets to have this meaningless mini feud with the Dragons but still gets to build towards his rematch with Ryback without the usual tropes WWE is so obsessed with. Good stuff here and again Kalisto is an incredibly fun act who could be something special going forward.

Brie Bella/Alicia Fox vs. Becky Lynch/Charlotte

Paige is on commentary and isn’t happy that Natalya is now part of Team NBC. Paige: “They’re just going through a phase.” Becky works on Brie’s arm to start before it’s off to Charlotte who helps with stereo legdrops onto Brie’s arms. The spear gets two but Natalya goes to argue with Team Bella, causing Paige to get up and shove her a few times. Back inside and Charlotte walks into a middle rope dropkick from Brie for the pin at 3:07.

Rating: D. BRIE BELLA??? Now they have Charlotte losing to BRIE BELLA??? Charlotte’s reign is reaching Zack Ryder territory now as they’re having her lose everything and then expect her to still be over while the Bellas are the dominant looking ones. Nikki is one thing but BRIE BELLA???

The Authority finally finds out who Rollins is facing because Kane couldn’t just text them the match earlier tonight. HHH says there’s no way that match can happen. Anyone can replace Kane but he can’t face Rollins. I smell a loophole coming. Fans: “CM PUNK!”

Rollins appeals to Big Show and says he sees him as family. Show laughs it off and leaves with Kane taking his place. He’s going to find a suitable replacement though.

Another Lesnar vs. Undertaker video.

Seth Rollins vs. ???

Non-title lumberjack match and the opponent is…….of course it’s Demon Kane. Did you really expect anything else? They’ve even managed to calm down the Chicago crowd and Kane keeps throwing Rollins out to the lumberjacks who are more than willing to throw him back in. Kane gets low bridged to the floor but the lumberjacks just stand back. Seth’s suicide dive is caught by the throat so Seth runs away, only to get caught by Cesaro.

Back in and a clothesline knocks Kane over the top but he lands on his feet. Kane starts beating up New Day but stops to stare at Big Show. Gah anything but that. Kane slaps him in the face so Show knocks Kane out but he’s still able to kick out at two. The springboard knee to the face gets the same as the announcers keep calling him Demon Kane.

A frog splash gets two more for the champ but Kane pulls him off the top with a superplex. Both guys are down and New Day pulls Kane to the floor, triggering a big brawl between all of the lumberjacks. Back in and the lumberjacks come in but Kane sits up to stop Big E.’s Warrior splash. Everything breaks down again and the Pedigree is countered, followed by a tombstone to pin Rollins at 8:21.

Rating: D. BUT HOW CAN ROLLINS POSSIBLY KEEP THE TITLE NOW??? I knew Kane was going to win the second his music hit because that’s how you build to a match on pay per view: by having the same match on free TV just a few weeks beforehand. Kane doing his same schtick that he was doing twelve years ago doesn’t do much for me, especially since he has no chance at winning in the title match.

Overall Rating: C+. This show had a lot more energy than usual and it helped things out quite a bit. They’ve got most of the show set for the pay per view and I’m actually intrigued by the card. Naturally there are some holes in this show such as the “let’s ignore stories because TMZ said so” and the stupid swap for the main event, but did anyone not see that coming? I had a good time with this one though and it flew by, which is always a good feeling on Raw. I’m not sure that’s a good thing though as it means you can’t wait for it to be over and it’s not as bad as it could have been. Take that for what you will.

Results

New Day b. Randy Orton/Dean Ambrose – Rollup to Orton

Nikki Bella b. Naomi – Rack Attack

John Cena b. Dolph Ziggler – Zig Zag

Dudley Boyz b. Ascension – 3D to Ascension

Sheamus/King Barrett b. Neville/Cesaro – Sheamus pinned Neville after a Bull Hammer

Roman Reigns b. Braun Strowman via countout

Kevin Owens b. Kalisto – Pop Up Powerbomb

Brie Bella/Alicia Fox b. Becky Lynch/Charlotte – Missile dropkick to Charlotte

Kane b. Seth Rollins – Tombstone

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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Monday Night Raw
Date: October 5, 2015
Location: TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield, Byron Saxton

We’re past the first big show of the month and now it’s time to start setting up Hell in a Cell. It’s going to be interesting to see how they get ready for the show as there’s nothing for Cena to do at the moment and Undertaker vs. Lesnar has just been mentioned in name only. Lesnar is in the house tonight though so let’s get to it.

The opening recap focuses on Rollins vs. both Kanes from last week.

Opening sequence.

Here are Lesnar and Heyman to open things up. Now that Big Show is out of the way, all focus is now on Undertaker. Since November 1990, Undertaker has destroyed every single man who has dared to cross him but this is different. They’re about to step inside the devil’s playground and Undertaker thinks it’s his match. Just like Wrestlemania was his match right?

After a video of the Streak being broken, Heyman shows us Undertaker tapping out and being forced to cheat to defeat Lesnar at Summerslam. Heyman gets serious to say that only one of them is going to walk out of that Cell as a winner. Only one of them is going to walk out of that Cell at all and that’s a spoiler. Heyman’s eyes have seen the glory of the coming of his beast….and here’s Big Show.

Lesnar leans against the ropes and smiles as Big Show talks about what a fight that was in Madison Square Garden. Show offers him a handshake but Brock walks past him. Show wishes him bad luck against Undertaker and hopes that Brock loses again. That gets Brock back in the ring and it’s a belly to belly and F5 to leave Show laying. Again.

Rollins is worried because Big Show was supposed to be his partner. Stephanie tells him to figure it out since he’s the man.

Randy Orton/Roman Reigns/Dean Ambrose vs. Wyatt Family

So they’re getting this one out of the way early. Roman and Harper get things going but Reigns goes after Wyatt on the floor. Strowman makes the save but the good guys knock him and his family out to the floor for a break less than 90 seconds in. Back with Ambrose laying down and telling Harper to come get him. Luke does just that and gets small packaged for two.

It’s off to Strowman but Dean knocks him off the apron and tries a dive, only to get caught in a slam onto the floor. The Wyatts start taking turns back inside and a big shoulder from Strowman takes us to another break. We come back with Bray getting two of his own off a big clothesline but missing the backsplash.

Strowman’s save attempt fails as well as he goes shoulder first into the post. The hot tag (with some real heat this time) brings in Orton to clean house but Strowman pulls him to the floor and sends him into the announcers’ table. Another tag brings in Reigns as everything breaks down. No one can put Strowman down so Roman powerbombs Harper. The spear takes too long though and Harper scores with a superkick. Orton RKO’s Harper and it’s the spear from Reigns for the pin at 15:54.

Rating: C. This was fine but I wish they wouldn’t have Bray in the ring unless they had to. Bray worked best when he was built up as a mystical creature but here he’s just a guy in a six man tag. I’m glad they didn’t have him take the fall though and there’s still a lot of potential in Strowman. Good enough match here but nothing we haven’t seen before.

Reigns says he and Wyatt are done at Hell in a Cell and he’s the one ending it.

Neville vs. Sheamus

King Barrett is on commentary. Before the match, Sheamus talks about how this is supposed to be a real Irish town but they have some lame leprechaun as a mascot. Sheamus talks down to Neville about what it means to be tough so Neville kicks him in the ribs to start fast. Barrett isn’t pleased and gets up for a distraction, allowing the Brogue Kick to end Neville at 32 seconds.

Here’s Corporate Kane with something to say. He knows Rollins is in need of a partner tonight against the Dudleyz and offers his services to the champ. Here’s Rollins to say no way because Kane is just trying to get his way into a title shot. Kane says his coffee cup says “World’s Best Director of Operations” and that’s not just a cheap slogan. It’s his job to bring out the best in Seth, but Rollins holds up the title and says it brings out the best in him.

Kane thinks Rollins doesn’t like what he sees when he looks in the mirror and Kane wants to change that. Rollins gets right in Seth’s face but here’s Stephanie to suck up to the fans by talking about how great Tom Brady is. She gets to the point (thank God) and says Kane can fight with Rollins tonight. She also makes the title match for the pay per view. However, if the demon doesn’t win, Corporate Kane is fired. No word on if this is a Cell match or not.

Post break Rollins is appealing to HHH, who tells him to turn things around on Kane. Rollins likes this idea.

Natalya vs. Paige

They trade rollups to start and Paige is sent to the floor for a THIS IS MY HOUSE (take a shot). Natalya gets superkicked to put her down and Paige slaps on a bodyscissors back inside. That and an abdominal stretch don’t go anywhere so Natalya reverses into an abdominal stretch of her own. The discus lariat gets two on Paige but she comes back with the Paige Turner (I miss that move) for two of her own. A basement dropkick from Natalya sets up the Sharpshooter but Paige is right next to the ropes for the break. The second attempt works better though as Paige taps out at 6:08.

Rating: C. Nice match here but it’s just filling time until they can get back to the cattiness about who started the Revolution while the title is left behind somewhere else. Paige is really falling fast out there and it’s kind of sad to see. At least Natalya offers a bit of fresh blood and the teams are starting to split, but they’re crawling forward instead of sprinting.

Quick recap of Ryback losing the Intercontinental Title to Kevin Owens at Night of Champions and Owens walking out of their recap on Smackdown. Yeah stuff actually happens on Smackdown. Not important stuff mind you but stuff.

Ryback says he’s the lion and Owens is his prey. It’s feeding time.

Sin Cara vs. Kevin Owens

Non-title and this was actually set up on the pre-show where Cara interrupted Owens’ interview. A chinlock slows Owens down but Kalisto’s cheering distracts him, allowing Cara to fight up. The Pop Up Powerbomb is countered into a sunset flip for two. Owens will have none of that though (Owens: “That was a good try!”) and the Pop Up Powerbomb ends Cara at 2:36. This is exactly the kind of thing I like to see: a lower card guy being used to make a bigger name look good. You save the big showdowns for later and Owens gets to be a bully. Everyone wins.

Owens loads up the apron bomb on Kalisto but Ryback runs out for the save, sending Owens bailing to the crowds.

The New Day comes up to Stephanie in the back and threatens to send them somewhere that makes Suplex City look like Disneyland if they play one note on the trombone. She saw the show on Saturday and it’s New Day vs. the Dudleyz at Hell in a Cell. Stephanie adds three more sets of balls to her collection. There was zero need for this to be on TV.

The roster is on the stage for a big breast cancer presentation. There are a bunch of breast cancer survivors in the ring and Cena talks about how important it is to help in the fight against cancer. Reigns talks about how instead of one vs. all it’s all vs. one and plugs their breast cancer awareness stuff on WWEshop.com. I know Komen is a very questionable organization but there’s nothing wrong with something like this.

Kane/Seth Rollins vs. Dudley Boyz

Kane limps to the ring and has on a shirt and tie. Well pants too but I figured that was a given. Bubba and Kane start but the ankle flares up almost immediately. Rollins tags himself in and tells Kane to stay on the apron. Bubba shouts about being the best tag team in the world before running Seth over with a shoulder. A double elbow gets two on the champ and it’s off to Kane vs. D-Von.

Some kicks to the leg send Kane back over for a tag so D-Von elbows Seth in the face for two. Kane tags himself back in though as Seth puts D-Von in trouble. The bad guys start working together and Seth drops an ax handle to D-Von’s back as we take a break. Back with Kane’s leg giving out again and the doctor looking at him on the apron.

The doctor thinks they need to take him to the back so Rollins DIVES over and handcuffs Kane to the post. I liked that. D-Von catapults Rollins into the corner though, knocking Kane off the apron and breaking the cuffs. Kane is taken away but looks back with a smile. Seth is left alone and it’s What’s Up. The Dudleyz go for a table but Seth baseball slides it into their faces for the DQ at 13:45.

Rating: C. I liked this for one reason: Seth didn’t get pinned. It shows that they know how to get around someone getting pinned while still having them lose and that’s a major step for the writing lately. There’s nothing wrong with losing by DQ in a glorified handicap match that advanced the story. Just like the Owens match earlier: it’s smart booking.

Post match Kane comes after Rollins but eats a 3D (payback from Smackdown when Kane laid them out). Seth goes to leave but looks at the table. I think you can fill in the details between Rollins looking back and the chokeslam through the table.

Earlier today, Team Bella arrived but were met by Team BAD with hometown girl Sasha ripping off Nikki’s New York Yankees hat.

Team BAD vs. Team Bella

Naturally BAD comes out to Naomi’s song instead of Sasha’s music. Sasha says she put the Boss in Boston but here are the Bellas to interrupt. Nikki gets the cheap heat with the Yankees stuff (nothing wrong with cheap) and says they’re going all the way. Naomi: “That’s something you’re used to.” Nikki says she’s winning the title back but Sasha says whoever wins is just keeping it warm for her. Cattiness ensues and it’s time for the actual match.

Naomi and Nikki start things off with Naomi doing her eternally stupid shaking in the corner spot. Off to Banks who gets to sell Brie’s kicks in the corner. Thankfully she comes back with the double knees to send Brie outside as we take a break. Back with Cole talking about how the Divas Revolution was this perfect storm that led us to Takeover this Wednesday. They do realize people can actually watch these shows right?

Nikki knocks Banks to the floor and puts Naomi in a front facelock. Fox comes in and chinlocks Naomi while trying to remember if she turned off the bedside lamp before she left this morning. Naomi finally shrugs off some more kicks in the corner and brings in Sasha as everything breaks down. The Bank Statement makes Fox tap at 11:48.

Rating: C-. As usual, Banks brings energy and charisma to the match but we have to make sure to slow everything down so Team Bella can keep up with their generic offense. The fans are dying to cheer Banks and once she drops Naomi (screw her and her stupid offense. It’s not funny, it’s not entertaining, and it’s making you look stupid) and Tamina, the sky’s the limit for her.

Charlotte and Becky are watching in the back. The champ isn’t worried about Paige.

Here’s Summer Rae to introduce Rusev. She has a tribute for him and we see a video of the two of them together and Rusev destroying various people (namely Ziggler). Summer talks about how much Rusev means to him and how he’s changed her life for the better. Back in the arena, Rusev is stunned and says he didn’t like Summer to start. Things have changed over the last few weeks though and now he cares about her very much.

Summer is thrilled because she has a question to ask him. She gets down on one knee and pulls out a ring to pop the question. Rusev takes his time and says yes…..but not yet. They need to prove how awesome they are, and that means Rusev winning some gold before Summer gets to wear gold.

It’s Open Challenge time in Cena’s hometown. Cena gets right to the point and says come get some.

US Title: John Cena vs. Dolph Ziggler

Well in theory at least as there’s no Ziggler. Instead it’s the New Day dragging an unconscious Ziggler to the stage. Woods asks if this is serious enough for Cena and Kofi asks who might take the challenge now. Kofi says this is a big moment in a big city in a big match in big challenge from a big star on a big network in a big ring. As luck would have it, New Day has a big man.

US Title: John Cena vs. Big E.

A shoulder puts Cena down and we take a break less than 40 seconds in. Back with Cena in trouble after taking a hard belly to bell and spear through the ropes during the break. E. hits the splash on the apron for two but Cena gets in a backdrop to send E. out to the floor. A hard whip puts Cena into the steps though and he’s in trouble again. The straps come down and Cena slugs away, followed by the ProtoBomb. New Day breaks up the AA though and gets ejected. The distraction lets E. try a trombone shot but Cena counters into the AA for the pin at 9:52.

Rating: D+. This was fine but there was no way E. was winning here. At least they did the right thing by having New Day come out there and get a main event spot because there’s no reason to go with Ziggler vs. Cena with no real reason in a big match. Well that and I have no desire to see that match, which is why we’ll probably get that at the pay per view. Good enough match here but E. never had a chance.

Post match New Day comes in but Ziggler hobbles out for the save. Dolph superkicks Cena by mistake though and New Day is in control again. This brings out the Dudleyz but they both eat Trouble in Paradise, setting up the Midnight Hour to D-Von to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. This was a bit better than last week but it’s still not the most interesting time in the world. It’s clear that they’re hoping the Cell matches are going to sell the show because the stories aren’t the most interesting in the world. Still though, this has the potential to be a good enough pay per view. As for tonight though, it’s so in the middle that average is the perfect rating. Some of the stuff was good but some of it felt like they were just trying to get through three hours. At least the pay per view is taking shape though and that’s the most important thing after a long build to the MSG show. The ending helped a lot too.

Results

Roman Reigns/Dean Ambrose/Randy Orton b. Wyatt Family – Spear to Harper

Neville b. Sheamus – Brogue Kick

Natalya b. Paige – Sharpshooter

Kevin Owens b. Sin Cara – Pop Up Powerbomb

Dudley Boyz b. Kane/Seth Rollins via DQ when Rollins kicked a table into the Dudleyz

Team BAD b. Team Bella – Bank Statement to Fox

John Cena b. Big E. – Attitude Adjustment

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/product/B015IN12I2

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

This is a weird spot for WWE as they’re building up to a house show before they start building up to Hell in a Cell. Unfortunately that means we’re going to be in for a lot of Big Show, though fortunately it means we’re in for a lot more of the New Day and there’s nothing wrong with that. Let’s get to it.

They got right to the point with the US Open Challenge. Cena said anyone could come get some and it’s Xavier Woods taking the challenge. Of course this led to some hilarious shenanigans from all three members of New Day which I can’t do justice by just typing them up here. Cena no sold most of this and looked more like a villain who was being all serious. That being said, I really like the idea of Cena treating the title like the most important thing in the world and not something worthy of joking about.

As you might expect, Cena gave Woods the best match of his career before New Day came in for the DQ. That brought out the Dudleyz for a six man, which New Day actually won when Cena was knocked to the floor. This was entertaining and a good way to kill some time. Just like last week, it’s a better idea to start a show with action rather than spending twenty minutes setting up the night’s action.

Here’s the big story of the first half of the night: Kane gets a performance evaluation despite being creepy. Thankfully this was mostly done off screen so we didn’t have to go through a bunch of lame and unfunny comedy. The closest thing was Kane giving Seth the head of his statue back in a good bit. Kane was eventually declared competent and Rollins whined a lot, eventually Pillmanizing Kane’s injured ankle.

Corporate Kane would be taken to an ambulance but Demon Kane came back out and destroyed Rollins. I’m not loving this idea but at least it’s something different. Also, they have to do Kane vs. Rollins at some point so why not do it on a show where they know the main event is going to carry everything else?

Big Show squashed Mark Henry to set up Saturday. Short and harmless. Well except to Henry.

One of the big segments of the night was Team PCB on MizTV. This is where I really started losing interest in the show. Paige came out and it turned into this big whining fest between the three of them plus Team Bella about who started the Divas Revolution. This felt like WWE was copying the Kardashians or some Real Housewives show with all the whining and cattiness.

Aside from trying to find a reason to care about who started this Revolution, this made every person involved in this story look like they were about 17 years old. It’s a bunch of whining and people sounding stupid as the title is forgotten again. I don’t want to see the division going in this direction, but unfortunately this is the kind of “entertainment” that dominates pop culture these days and it’s likely going to be more prominent in this division going forward.

Oh and Team PCB reformed for a match but Paige walked out, allowing Nikki to pin Charlotte for the title. Charlotte’s reign as champion is making Rollins look great by comparison.

The Wyatts squashed the Prime Time Players. This was fine.

King Barrett beat up Neville and Stardust. I’m glad he’s back but I don’t buy for a second that Barrett is going anywhere.

Bray Wyatt babbled a lot.

Randy Orton squashed Bo Dallas.

Ryback started a fight to break up Rusev vs. Kevin Owens in less than a minute. Dolph Ziggler ran out to superkick Ryback.

Let’s look at this set of segments for a bit. There was maybe ten minutes spent on these, but I’m not sure if I like that or not. The matches being short helps as there’s no reason to have something like Orton vs. Dallas go anywhere, but it’s kind of hard to care about matches that don’t get any time and everything goes flying by. It felt like they were trying to fill time and I can’t stand it when a show feels like it’s there for no reason. I can see both sides of this, but I’d really like something with more depth to it than what we got here.

Heyman came out to talk about Big Show vs. Brock so Big Show came out and scared him. No one with a brain who has seen five minutes of WWE believes Show has a chance here and it’s really annoying to have to sit through all these promos and matches building up what is going to be one sided.

The main event was a big brawl between Bray Wyatt vs. Roman Reigns. This was barely a match and that’s exactly what it should have been. They fought into the crowd and the highlight was the aftermath with Bray picking up a PERSON and throwing him at Reigns. Reigns speared Wyatt through a table to end the show in a brawl clearly designed to set up a match inside the Cell. Nothing wrong with that. Again though, Bray threw a PERSON at Reigns. That’s awesome on a whole different level.

Raw was……yeah this week. It feels like they’re spending more time setting up the house show on Saturday than the pay per view, which made for some uneven moments tonight. There are parts of it that I liked but at the same time it still feels like they’re searching for their next idea instead of knowing where they want to go and that’s never a good thing. Things should change a lot next week with the MSG show out of the way, but they should have already started some more of the build towards the pay per view.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/product/B015IN12I2

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

Monday Night Raw
Date: September 28, 2015
Location: First Niagara Center, Buffalo, New York
Commentators: Byron Saxton, John Bradshaw Layfield, Michael Cole

Tonight is a packed show, headlined by the return of the US Open Challenge for John Cena’s United States Title. It’s always fun to see who is going to be accepting the challenge and probably having the best match of the night with Cena. In addition to that we’ll have Becky Lynch and Paige on MizTV and fallout from Kane pulling Seth Rollins through the mat last week. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of Seth Rollins’ issues over the last week. His loss to Ambrose on Smackdown isn’t mentioned because that show doesn’t exist in the mainstream WWE universe. It’s almost like that loss to Ambrose really didn’t need to happen, at least not by pinfall.

Opening sequence.

Here’s John Cena for the US Title open challenge. The fans aren’t all that thrilled to see him though. Cena: “Have no fear because THE CHAMP IS HERE!” The challenge is on now. Instead of just one challenger though, all three members of New Day are here. They sing a little song about winning the US Title before Kofi says they might as well be called Team Scrooge McDuck because they’re about to be swimming in gold. The concert isn’t over yet because they sing NEW US CHAMPS to the tune of Cena’s theme song. Cena wants one of them right now and it’s time to be serious.

US Title: John Cena vs. Xavier Woods

Cena gets right in Woods’ face in the corner during the big match intros. The bell rings and Cena takes his head off with a clothesline two seconds in, sending Woods to the floor. Woods: “I WASN’T READY!” Big E. gets knocked off the apron and Kofi grabs Cena’s foot to break up an early Shuffle attempt. That earns both Kofi and Big E. an ejection and we take a break after 80 seconds and two moves.

Back with Cena hitting the Shuffle but Woods slips out of the AA and getting two off an enziguri. A middle rope DDT gets two on the champ but the flipping clothesline is countered with a sitout powerbomb to give Cena two. Woods comes right back with a reverse suplex and Lost in the Woods (Eat Defeat) for two each. Xavier misses a missile dropkick and Cena slaps on the STF, drawing Kofi and Big E. in for the DQ at 9:22.

Rating: C+. It’s not a classic or anything close to one really, but this was all it needed to be. Woods was in way over his head here but came out looking fine. There was almost no chance of a new champion here but the there didn’t need to be. This was about the segment that set up the match and a fun performance, which is all this needs to be about a lot of the time. Good stuff here.

Post match here are the Dudleyz a few seconds later for the save. It looks like a six man after the break.

John Cena/Dudley Boyz vs. New Day

That’s exactly what we have and it’s joined in progress with Kofi getting pounded down in the corner by D-Von and then Bubba. Cena requests and receives a tag and it’s time for Kofi to get some rotating stomps of his own. The Shuffle sends Kofi over for the tag to Big E. and it’s power vs. power. Big E. shoulders Cena into the corner and it’s time for some dancing, followed by the real rotating stomps.

Kofi slaps on a chinlock as Woods plays the trombone and shouts that he should be US Champion. For some reason this results in Cole bringing up that he’s undefeated at Wrestlemania and Byron saying that’s like him being Tupac. E.’s splash gets two but Cena rolls over and tags in D-Von as everything breaks down. D-Von launches E. into the ropes but knocks Cena off the apron in a big crash. What’s Up hits Kofi but Bubba is sent out for not being legal, allowing Kofi to hit Trouble in Paradise for the pin at 6:45.

Rating: C-. This started good and hit a brick wall in the middle. Cena getting knocked off the apron was a turning point and it makes sense to have New Day beat the Dudleyz when it’s 3-2. I’m not sure what happens in the tag match on Saturday in MSG and I rather like that feeling.

The Authority and an unknown woman are in the back when Kane comes in. The woman is from human resources due to a complaint against Kane for creating an unsafe working environment. Rollins comes in and hints very strongly that he made the complaint. Kane promises to take this seriously before glaring at Rollins. A sip of coffee brings him back to reality and he’s off for his evaluation. This continues to intrigue me a bit but these performance evaluations are almost never any good.

Ambrose suggests that Reigns fighting Bray one on one might not be the best idea. Dean will stay in the back unless Strowman and Harper get involved. Reigns says that Orton will have his back too and Dean gets a bit annoyed. Orton comes in and Dean says he doesn’t want any outsiders trying to come in and save the day. Roman calms things down.

Big Show vs. Mark Henry

I’ll be shocked if this breaks two minutes. Show spears him down and plants Henry with some slow slams and a kick to the face. The KO punch ends this at 2:36. I get what they’re doing with Big Show and I appreciated them using Henry instead of someone with value, but can they really think that the exact same formula for building someone up is going to work again?

It’s time for MizTV and Miz starts us off with a recap of Paige’s heel turn promo last week against the rest of the division. Miz’s guests are Becky Lynch and Charlotte, the former of whom calls Miz a chauvinist jackass. Miz: “First One Direction breaks up and now PCB?” Charlotte tells Paige to get out here for a talk or a fight but here are the Bellas instead. Nikki says this is high school drama and she knows she’s getting the title back.

Charlotte invites her in to tap out one more time but Nikki brags about breaking the record. Nikki talks about Paige saying she started the Divas Revolution (Stephanie being dropped is the right call all the way around) but Charlotte goes off about how the Divas Revolution is about the fans and the action in the ring. Alicia brings up the 3-2 advantage but Becky is ready to fight anyway.

Cue Paige to say she put the NXT women on the map by being their first champion. Nikki asks about the drama again but Paige asks who needs ambition when the Bellas have boyfriends like theirs. I believe that’s the first reference to Cena and Nikki’s relationship on Raw, or at least one of the first. A big brawl clears the ring.

Team PCB vs. Team Bella

So PCB is working together against a common enemy a week after breaking up. Brie comes in but gets double teamed by Charlotte and Becky but the Bellas drag Becky into the corner. Nikki gets in some stomps and Brie gets two off a suplex. A double clothesline puts Becky and Nikki down as the announcers plug Total Divas.

Charlotte comes in to no reaction and everything breaks down. Nikki kicks Charlotte off the Figure Eight and right into Paige, sending her walking to the back. Natalya comes out to replace Paige, who pulls her off the apron for a crash. Nikki uses the distraction to hit the Rack Attack for the pin on Charlotte at 6:26.

Rating: D. So to recap, here’s Charlotte’s reign: wins the title after hitting two moves in a long match, gets beaten up by Brie until she hits one move, then gets pinned in a six person tag. They’re really not trying to hide the fact that they want it back on Nikki and that’s not a good thing after all those months of her as champion.

WWE2K16 video.

Video on the history of Big Show vs. Brock Lesnar.

Rollins is badmouthing Kane to the human resources woman when Kane comes in. Seth changes his tune and Kane gives him a present: the head of his statue. Kane dug it up from the landfill after searching all night and Seth is shaken as you might expect him to be. Kane thinks it’s funny and the woman is equally freaked out.

Wyatt Family vs. Prime Time Players

Harper runs over Young to start and I don’t see this going well. Darren gets knocked to the floor and Braun takes the mask off. The beating continues and Darren keeps getting destroyed inside. Young finally gets in a shot and makes the tag off to Titus for some house cleaning. A powerslam and big boot drop Harper but Strownman offers a distraction so Harper can get in the superkick. Braun grabs Darren and Titus’ save attempt completely fails. The discus lariat from Harper sets up the choke from Braun to knock Titus cold at 4:18.

Rating: D+. Total and complete squash here which is all it needed to be. Strowman is one heck of a monster and this is the kind of stuff that reenforces that perception. The Players are looking less and less important every week, but then again this is the company where you’re a jobber one week and pushed strong the next so they might be in line for a title shot.

Neville vs. Stardust

Neville flips across the ring to start but is quickly caught in the Tree of Woe. Stardust charges into a boot though and Stardust slides to the floor. He springboards into a dropkick from Neville and it’s time for the Red Arrow but cue King Barrett for the DQ at 2:33.

Barrett stares at Stardust but gives him a Bullhammer. Barrett says all hail the return of the king.

Here are Kane and the woman for his evaluation. She’s already come to a conclusion after about an hour and twenty five minutes, but here’s Rollins to interrupt. He shows us a quick recap of Kane’s demonic side (or at least the last few years of it) and says he’s going to Heaven instead. The Pope told him so and Rollins believes him because of how good he’s been feeling lately. Kane shows us a video of Rollins tormenting Kane and calling for him to lose his authority.

The report says that Kane is sound of mind and can keep doing his job. Rollins deserves the evaluation because he’s cruel, paranoid, and the most unprofessional person she has ever seen in WWE. Seth comes to the ring and gets in Kane’s face. Rollins drops the belt so Kane goes to pick it up, only to have Rollins give him a Pedigree. He adds in some chair shots for good measure and even Pillmanizes the ankle.

Rollins laughs and says Kane looks very human to him right now. Kane is loaded onto a stretcher and into an ambulance….but the windows start glowing red. The door opens and Kane comes out in the demon attire. He starts limping but stomps his foot and is suddenly walking just fine. Seth tries a chair shot to no avail and a chokeslam leaves him laying. The threat of a tombstone sends Seth tumbling up the steps and Kane holds up the title. So the evaluation thing was really just a waste of time wasn’t it?

Bray asks if we saw what they did earlier. The Family makes him so proud and they would love nothing more than to come out there tonight and tear Roman to pieces. However, Bray is going to grant Roman’s request to face off one on one. They are the alpha and the omega because it starts and ends with the two of them. Only a fool believes he can look into the dragon’s eyes and believe he won’t be burned. Run.

Bo Dallas comes out for a match but first he says the Buffalo Bills just have to Bo-Lieve to win the Super Bowl.

Bo Dallas vs. Randy Orton

Orton quickly takes it to the floor and drops Dallas across the barricade right in front of some of the Bills. Back in and the RKO ends Bo at 2:00.

We look at Kevin Owens walking out on a tag match on Monday.

Rusev vs. Kevin Owens

Non-title and Ryback is on commentary. This is fallout from Owens walking out on Rusev on Thursday. Owens is knocked to the floor but he throws Rusev into Ryback for the DQ at 46 seconds.

Dolph Ziggler runs out for the save.

We recap the Dancing for Pediatric Awareness challenges between members of the roster.

Here’s Paul Heyman to talk about the MSG match with Big Show. Heyman knows Big Show better than everyone else and he sees Show as a 6^th grade math genius who gets a C+ because he’s bored. There’s no competition for Big Show right now, but there will be this Saturday. Brock Lesnar is going to destroy Big Show like never before and take him to Suplex City.

Cue Big Show to say he knows Brock is worried. Heyman didn’t finish talking about Brock’s tour because he knows it could end this Saturday night. Paul leaves and Show tells him to imagine a world without Brock. I appreciate them trying to build something but dude. It’s Lesnar vs. Big Show. Let it go.

Roman Reigns vs. Bray Wyatt

Wyatt brings Harper and Strowman with him but a single insult is enough to make Bray send them back. Roman starts fast with a throw and the apron boot as we take an early break. Back with Bray holding a chinlock, followed by a big slam to set up another chinlock. Reigns fights up and hits the corner clotheslines but the Superman Punch is countered with a standing Rock Bottom attempt.

Some elbows break Roman free but Bray takes his head off with a clothesline for two. Bray loads up a superplex but Reigns slips through the legs and powerbombs him down. Reigns no sells a kick to the face (stop watching puro dude) and Superman Punches Bray to the floor, only to have the spear hit the steps. Bray picks up the steps but Roman knocks them away and keeps fighting to the double countout at 13:04.

Rating: C. This was fine but the ending was pretty obvious. I’m glad neither guy got a win as there was no way this ended here, though I’m not sure where this feud actually does end. You have to assume that Rollins is the right third man one day, but does a six man finally blow this off? Wyatt not losing is a big plus and almost a rare sight, which is a nice surprise.

They keep fighting into the crowd with neither being able to take over. Bray knocks Roman into the barricade and charges Roman through it and back to ringside. Wyatt poses on the announcers’ table but Reigns pops back up and spears him through the table to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. This is a hard one to grade as the show had some good things as well as some bad things. I like that they’re keeping some stuff short. I remember days where they would have had Orton vs. Dallas go for seven or eight minutes but there’s really no need to do so. Keep the thing short like it should be and give the time to something else.

Unfortunately those somethings else were Kane and Big Show, who are being used as the big stories before we get to the Undertaker match inside the Cell. Now to be fair, these stories could have been FAR worse. It also helps that Big Show vs. Lesnar is this Saturday instead of in another month. The match isn’t something I want to see, but it’s on a free show and now in the main event of a pay per view so this could be a much bigger issue.

Overall, this is your Raw special to the letter: a good enough show that would have been so much better minus an hour. It was clear that they were filling in time, but at least it wasn’t horribly dull filler this time. There’s definitely a better energy lately and you can see a lot more effort in the midcard stories, which has been one of Raw’s biggest problems in the last year or two. The effort changes everything though and has made these last few shows so much easier to sit through. If they can find a way to cut down on the show’s length, they’d have a FAR better show overnight but that’s not happening anytime soon.

Results

John Cena b. Xavier Woods via DQ when Kofi Kingston and Big E. interfered

New Day b. John Cena/Dudley Boyz – Trouble in Paradise to D-Von

Big Show b. Mark Henry – KO Punch

Team Bella b. Team PCB – Rack Attack to Charlotte

Wyatt Family b. Prime Time Players – Standing choke to O’Neil

Neville b. Stardust via DQ when King Barrett interfered

Randy Orton b. Bo Dallas – RKO

Rusev b. Kevin Owens via DQ when Ryback interfered

Roman Reigns vs. Bray Wyatt went to a double countout

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