The opening promo was the Authority stripping Daniel Bryan of the WWE Title. At the end of the day, this is the only thing you can really do. The guy can’t wrestle and hasn’t been able to for a month, so you have to take it away. Luckily for Bryan, he was only champion for a month so it’s hard to jump on him for the weak ratings. If nothing else maybe he’ll be seen as valuable for them going down without him. The MITB ladder match will now be for the title and Randy Orton has been added to the match because he’s Randy Orton. Seriously that’s pretty much what HHH said.

In the same promo, HHH talks about how Shield was told to evolve but only Seth Rollins actually listened to him. This led to the announcement of a six man tag later with Ambrose and Reigns teaming up with whomever they could find against the Wyatts. Why anyone expected anyone not named John Cena to be the third man is beyond me. Yeah it was predictable, but don’t act like it was some big disappointment just because you figured out who it was and they didn’t throw in a big curveball. That’s your fault for inventing some standard. If you don’t like Cena that’s one thing, but saying that him being the third man is a stupid idea shows that you really don’t know what you’re talking about.

Sheamus beat Bad News Barrett in a MITB qualifying match. Say it with me: Sheamus got beaten up and hit a Brogue Kick for the win out of nowhere. Typical hard hitting and not bad match between these two.

The Wyatts had a promo with Bray saying he was reborn. This was below their usual standard.

Lana showed off her legs while Rusev destroyed Ryder.

The Goldust Needs A Partner story continued with R-Truth. Something that I haven’t touched on in this story is Ryback and Axel picking up a lot of wins. It’s building them up as a new set of challengers and that’s something the Usos need right now. I love killing two birds with one stone. Later in the night Cody promised a new partner next week who will magnify Goldust’s greatness. I saw someone say it’s Sandow as Goldust and that’s probably the case…..unless Cody is now a Boliever. I have no idea why but that popped into my head as a possibility last week. I know it doesn’t make sense and I doubt it happens but it was there.

Summer Rae poured milk over Layla and it looked like male ejaculation. You know you were all thinking it.

Now we get to the real meat of the show: Shield attacked 3MB and got to talk about Rollins. Ambrose got right to the point by saying he was going to beat Rollins up very, very badly. This was a really simple promo but Ambrose was bleeding charisma out there and the whole thing worked really well.

Then we got to the one I really liked. Reigns spoke in a very calm and casual voice about how Seth committed the most horrible sin of them all. Roman is coming after all three of them and Rollins is his first target, followed by Orton and then HHH, presumably at Summerslam.

Reigns going through Evolution one by one is a great story and will make him look like a huge star. I loved how casual he was with this and acted like this was something he just had to deal with. Not a lot of people talk in a voice like that and it worked for him. He even capped it off with a Game of Thrones reference, because Roman Reigns is 29 years old and actually in tune with pop culture rather than referencing things that were big deals 15 years ago.

Damien Sandow dressed as a dancer to team with Fandango (accompanied by a still milky Layla for no logical reason) in a loss to the Usos. If there’s a point to this Sandow stuff, please feel free to get to it anytime.

Bo Dallas beat Xavier Woods in the usual Dallas formula.

Cesaro beat RVD to qualify for the ladder match. There’s really nothing to say here.

Cole had a sitdown interview with Rollins to explain why he did this. The explanation was that Rollins founded the Shield and didn’t like sharing the credit. That helps, but it really doesn’t answer why he joined Evolution. Shield has proven that they’re better than Evolution, so why would Rollins want to work with or under a leader that he’s defeated twice now? It would make more sense to have Rollins strike out on his own or start a new stable with lackeys of his own. Instead he’s arguably third fiddle in Evolution and lower than when this whole thing started. I still think there was no reason for this other than shock value but this helped.

Ambrose and Reigns ran in post interview but the Wyatts made the save, drawing out Cena for the obvious reveal.

Paige beat Alicia Fox again and Fox freaked out on Aksana for costing her the match. I’d like to point out again: I don’t care about stories involving crazy losers.

Jack Swagger got fired up by a slap from Zeb and beat Santino. I didn’t care the first 5 times they did this and I don’t care now. Swagger has needed a repackaging for about four years now, since he’s been the same character since roughly 2009.

The six man main event was fine and did a nice job of storytelling. Having Reigns and Ambrose finally beat the Wyatts in a six man in their first try without Rollins shows that he was the reason they couldn’t do it and adds to the story. Reigns tearing through everyone is going to be an awesome sight to see.

Last night’s Raw was a good example of having everything go so fast that I didn’t have time to complain about most of it. The matches were mostly short but the most part nothing was all that terrible. This show was about the main event scene and we got a lot of stuff added on to the big pay per view match. Also we got a preview of what’s coming for Reigns and that’s the most important thing for the future. Efficient but not a great show this week.

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The main story coming into tonight are the fallout from Seth Rollins turning on Shield last week. Tonight we should be getting revenge from Ambrose and Reigns, who didn’t appear on Smackdown last week. On top of that, the breaking news today is Daniel Bryan not being cleared for Money in the Bank, meaning the title will likely be held up. Let’s get to it.

Here’s a very happy Authority to open the show. Stephanie talks about how they like to make blockbuster announcements and gives us a video of Daniel Bryan’s doctor. Dr. Maroon says that Daniel won’t be able to participate at Money in the Bank due to the severity of his neck injury. HHH is very pleased as Stephanie officially strips Bryan of the title. Stephanie wishes Bryan well and acknowledges his very selfish wife Brie.

However we still need a WWE Champion, so at Money in the Bank we’ll have a WWE Championship ladder match. The participants will be determined by a series of qualifying matches. Stephanie says the first qualifying match took place on Smackdown (it was on Raw) so Alberto Del Rio is in. HHH says Randy Orton is in as well because he deserves it. They’ve been saying it since Wrestlemania, but now this is proof: Daniel Bryan isn’t WWE Championship material.

HHH isn’t done yet as he rants about telling Shield to adapt or perish but only Seth Rollins listened to what he said. We get a video of the turn last week, which still took place after Shield beat Evolution twice in a row. As for tonight, Ambrose and Reigns will be in a six man tag match against the Wyatt Family. They need to find a partner though, which might be tough after they spent a year running roughshod over the entire locker room. However, they need to adapt or they’ll perish.

Money in the Bank Qualifying Match: Sheamus vs. Bad News Barrett

Non-title. Barrett takes him into the corner to start but gets run over with a clothesline. Sheamus is sent out to the floor and Barrett follows it up with a shoulder block off the steps. Back in and Sheamus takes him down again before hitting the ten forearms. A middle rope knee drop misses and Barrett kicks him in the face, only for a running cross body from Sheamus to put both guys on the floor.

Back from a break with Sheamus in a chinlock before Barrett drops an elbow for two. Sheamus fights up but runs into a knee to the head, only to avoid the low superkick and get two off the Irish Curse. Winds of Change gets the same for Barrett but he walks into the tilt-a-whirl powerslam for two. Sheamus loads up the Brogue but Barrett rolls to the floor, only to have Sheamus dive off the top. It’s a bad move though, as Barrett steps to the side and Sheamus crashes into the barricade.

He beats the count back in at nine and kicks out of Wasteland at two. The Bull Hammer is countered into White Noise for a very close two but Barrett counters the slingshot shoulder with a headbutt. He kicks Sheamus in the head over and over before ramming Sheamus shoulder first into the post twice in a row. Another series of kicks to the head in the corner….set up the Brogue Kick out of nowhere for the pin for Sheamus at 13:12.

Rating: B-. As this whole thing was going on, I was saying to myself “and then Sheamus hits a Brogue Kick out of nowhere for the pin”, and that’s exactly what happened. How did I know that was going to happen? Because that’s what always happens. At least the stuff before the ending was good. Also are we just going to forget about Sheamus’ head injury from before Payback?

The Wyatts pop on screen and says people were supposed to forget about them. Bray says he’s been reborn, despite only being gone eight days and making an appearance on Smackdown in between.

Lana comes out and makes fun of Obama for being a weak man. We get a video of I’m assuming the real Obama working out with some very light weights. Lana compares him to Putin who is known to be in good shape and trains in martial arts. We get a rather disturbing picture of a shirtless Putin on a horse which I’ve seen before and is still just as disturbing.

Rusev vs. Zack Ryder

Forearms to the back of the head, the running superkick and the Accolade end Ryder at 1:03.

Ryback/Curtis Axel vs. Goldust/R-Truth

Truth gets attacked to start but he escapes for the hot (?) tag less than a minute in. Goldust cleans house and hits the snap powerslam on Axel. Ryback comes in and the spinning cross body takes out both he and Curtis as Cody is watching in the back. Truth is thrown to the floor and Goldust nails a spinebuster on Ryback. Axel sneaks in from behind though and rolls up Goldust for the pin with a handful of tights for the pin at 2:20.

Layla is getting her makeup done while insulting the people of Minneapolis, including hometown girl Summer Rae. Summer comes up behind her and pours milk over her before ramming Layla into various things.

3MB is in the ring but here come Ambrose and Reigns. The beating is on and they fight up the aisle with Reigns hitting a spear to Slater completely off screen. It looked like a camera error as they were looking at the crowd for a long stretch of time. Thankfully the replay shows a good shot of it.

Ambrose says the Shield was going to go down as one of the best groups ever. They dominated WWE and everyone in it, including Evolution. The team was healthy on the surface but there was a cancer inside them called Seth Rollins. Ambrose says he’ll get the chance to rearrange Rollins’ face by moving his nose over to his one ear (“because you’ll only have one left”) and that they’ll beat Rollins up. I like how simple that last line was.

Reigns very casually (not a bad thing) says Seth committed the most unforgettable sin. After he gets done with Rollins, Reigns is coming for Orton so he can mess up the face of the WWE. Then he’s coming for HHH. When he gets his hands on the King of Kings, they’ll have their own Game of Thrones.

Seth Rollins will break his silence tonight, despite talking on Smackdown.

Usos vs. Fandango/Damien Sandow

Damien comes out in what looks like long underwear and a streamer for what’s described as “interpretive dance.” Layla still has milk on her because WWE doesn’t have towels. Fandango cranks on Jimmy’s arm to start but Jimmy comes back with the dancing right hand. Off to Damien and the dancing begins. Sandow takes Jimmy over with a headlock before dancing around. Jimmy JUMPS up for a superkick before knocking Fandango off the apron. Jey hits the Superfly Splash for the pin on Sandow at 2:24.

Bo Dallas vs. Xavier Woods

Dallas says the way for Bryan to get back sooner than later is to BOLIEVE! Woods gets caught in a headlock to start but hiptosses Bo down to escape. A knee to the ribs drops Woods again but he sends Dallas into the buckle, only to springboard into something like a spear. The Bodog is good for the pin at 2:30.

Bo tells Woods to never quit after the match.

Back from a break with Paul Heyman in the ring and talking about the same thing he’s talked about every night since Wrestlemania. Tonight he’s here to introduce the next WWE World Heavyweight Champion, who is coming off his history making moment at Wrestlemania……CESARO! Heyman was teasing Lesnar if that wasn’t clear.

Money in the Bank Qualifying Match: Cesaro vs. Rob Van Dam

Rob quickly takes him down for two before walking into a tilt-a-whirl powerslam for two. The monkey flip and top rope kick to the face send Cesaro to the floor and a flip dive drops him again as we take a break. Back with Cesaro cranking on a chinlock and throwing RVD out to the floor. They head back inside for another chinlock before Rob nails the spinwheel kick and a clothesline to take over. Cesaro misses a charge in the corner and the split legged moonsault gets two.

Van Dam tries to speed things up a bit too much though and gets caught by Swiss Death out of the corner for an even closer near fall. A powerbomb gets two more for Cesaro but he gets kicked down and nailed with Rolling Thunder. Back up and Rob nails another spinning kick in the corner but gets crotched down for his efforts. Cesaro wraps the leg around the post before Neutralizing RVD for the pin at 10:50.

Rating: C+. Good but not great match here. WWE is really getting into a funk with how they do every kind of match and you can see it here very clearly. They just kept trading their signature stuff until the winner hit a finisher for the pin. That’s almost the same formula you see in every upper midcard match and it’s getting a bit annoying.

We recap the Authority and Shield’s promos from earlier.

Michael Cole brings out Seth Rollins, now with his own music and in a suit, for a sitdown interview. Rollins says he doesn’t understand the controversy behind what he did because he was looking out for his own business. He takes credit for creating the Shield and says the other two have no right to claim any of its success. Ambrose would be face first in a ditch without him and Reigns needs someone to focus his aggression.

Cole asks about the Shield being three individuals instead of one man. Rollins says we’ll see about that tonight. He took Shield to the top and that brings us to Payback. Rollins learned from Evolution that you have to evolve and adapt. The fans say he sold out but he says he bought in to the evolution of Seth Rollins. Rollins brags about the guts it took last week but people are fixated on how he turned on his brothers. Seth says they were just business partners and he severed those connections.

For two years, Rollins put his fist out and said believe in the Shield. What he really meant was that everyone should believe in Seth Rollins. That’s all for the explanation, so now where are Ambrose and Reigns to do what they promised? Here they come and Rollins takes off his tie but we’ve got Wyatts. The lights come back on and the Family is in the ring for the fight. Bray is nowhere in sight but Rollins comes back inside….just as Rollins and Harper are sent outside. Bray and the Family come back in for the save but Cena comes out for the real save, apparently becoming the third man for the tag match later.

Paige vs. Alicia Fox

Non-title and Alicia has Aksana in her corner. Paige quickly heads outside to go after Aksana and gets dropkicked off the apron as a result. Fox puts on a chinlock and yells a lot before hitting a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for two. Paige counters a side slam with a headscissors out of the floor as Cole describes Fox as a “mood ring maker’s dream.” Back in and Paige fires off a bunch of clotheslines followed by a bad looking running dropkick for two. Aksana yells a lot so Paige throws Fox into her, setting up the PTO on Fox for the submission at 4:56.

Rating: D+. This was sloppy at times but not horrible. Fox’s push is pretty much done as she keeps losing every match she’s in, making the character development rather worthless. She does look good in the shorts though. Paige getting another win on TV is good for her though as she can keep dominating until someone is built up to beat her.

Fox beats up Aksana post match before stealing water and popcorn from fans to pour on Aksana. She feeds some to Aksana against her will and that’s about it. JBL calling for anyone from Jesse Ventura to the Gagnes to help them made me chuckle.

Santino Marella vs. Jack Swagger

Marella escapes an early powerslam attempt and sends Jack out to the floor with a forearm. Colter slaps Swagger in the face and Jack is all fired up, to the point that he misses a charge into the post. Thankfully he blocks the Cobra and hits the gutwrench powerbomb for the pin at 1:57.

Cody Rhodes tells Goldust that he’s found the perfect partner for him. Next week, Goldust’s partner will magnify his star power. No word on who it is.

We look at Stephanie stripping Bryan of the title and announcing Money in the Bank being for the title.

Stephanie is annoyed at Cena for getting in her business two weeks in a row. Vickie Guerrero comes in with champagne for the two of them because Brad Maddox and Daniel Bryan are both gone. She sneezes on Stephanie and gets thrown out with a threat of being fired again.

Dean Ambrose/Roman Reigns/John Cena vs. Wyatt Family

It’s a brawl to start until we officially gets going with Ambrose hammering away on Rowan. Dean cleans house and even dives on Harper for good measure. Back in and Dean dropkicks Erick down before the tag brings in Reigns to pound away as well. Rowan finally gets in a shot of his own and makes the tag to Harper, who can’t quite suplex Roman. Instead Reigns suplexes him down for two before driving Harper into the corner for the tag to Ambrose.

The Wyatts take over on Dean with Bray shouting at him to come on. Dean is taken to the floor where he’s able to send Rowan into the steps for a breather. Back in and Harper easily takes him down again and cranks on a chinlock as the dueling Cena chants begin. We come back from a break with Rowan hitting a big side slam on Ambrose before it’s back to Bray for his usual theatrics.

Ambrose gets a boot up to stop a charging Wyatt and the hot tag finally brings in Cena. John hammers away but the Family takes over on him as well via a boot to the face. Back to Bray for the running backsplash for two and Bray laughs a lot. Harper hits a rack neckbreaker for two more and a Michinoku Driver gets the same. Bray pounds in a few right hands and headbutts before taking him back inside for the dancing spot.

The suplex slam gets two before Cena finally gets over for the real hot tag to Reigns. Roman cleans house with all of his signature spots as everything breaks down. Reigns does Cena’s ProtpBomb for two on Harper before Cena cross bodies Rowan down. Bray hits the Sister Abigail on Cena but walks into the Superman Punch. Rowan is thrown outside as well, setting up the suicide dive from Ambrose. A superkick (good one too) gets two for Harper but he walks into the spear for the pin at 20:46.

Rating: B-. This was a nice bit of storytelling with the Shield losing Rollins but finally being able to beat the one team that had eluded them in their reign of dominance. Reigns continues to look awesome and Ambrose has more charisma than he knows what to do with. Not a great match but it more than did what it was supposed to do.

Rollins and HHH look on from the back to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This wasn’t a great show but it did some of the things WWE has needed to do. Rollins’ promo was good and explained his mindset, but it still doesn’t make a ton of sense. He wants all of the credit for Shield’s success. That’s fine, but I don’t get why you join a team of losers to get that. Wouldn’t it make more sense to just go out on your own because you don’t need them?

The rest of the show was solid enough with some matches that went by too fast to really be bad. Money in the Bank is shaping up and hopefully there’s only one ladder match this year. I’m not wild on Cena vs. the Wyatts continuing but the upcoming PPV could change a lot of things. The show went by quickly tonight and nothing was horrible so I’m pleased.

Results
Sheamus b. Bad News Barrett – Brogue Kick
Rusev b. Zack Ryder – Accolade
Curtis Axel/Ryback b. Goldust/R-Truth – Rollup to Goldust
Usos b. Fandango/Damien Sandow – Superfly Splash to Fandango
Bo Dallas b. Xavier Woods – Bodog
Cesaro b. Rob Van Dam – Neutralizer
Paige b. Alicia Fox – PTO
Jack Swagger b. Santino Marella – Gutwrench powerbomb
Dean Ambrose/Roman Reigns/John Cena b. Wyatt Family – Spear to Harper

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The opening segment was one basic idea: Batista quit Evolution. In case you don’t remember this, WWE will show you a total of four times over the rest of the show. Other than that, HHH decided that the war with Shield isn’t over because he decided it’s not over. This is where things start to get hairy for the rest of the show. Above all else, there is zero reason for this story to continue. It’s keeping things going because the script says it does. When Shield beat Evolution in three straight falls on Sunday, why should we need to see them fight even more?

After a break, Batista confirms that when he said he quit, he indeed meant that he quit.

Sheamus, Cesaro, Barrett and Van Dam continued their intertwining stories without doing much of anything else. The important thing here was that Cesaro walked out on the match, much to Barrett’s annoyance. This looks to set up Cesaro vs. Barrett, but I’d assume Van Dam gets thrown in as well. Not much to this one but it advanced stories.

Damien Sandow continued to dress up like various characters, in this case as an Indiana Pacer. Big Show beat him up and that was that. The idea can go somewhere, but there’s no indication that it’s going to anytime soon. I know there’s something about the rant that was cut off on the pre-show, but it’s never mentioned and the whole story just feels like they threw it at him without any real reason.

Bo Dallas beat Kofi Kingston in the same match Bo has had since he debuted. Kingston is however a step up so he’s going somewhere. Nothing to see here but Dallas is nailing the character.

Stephanie and Cena had a long talk about what it means to strip someone of the title. The only announcement here is Bryan will defend the title against Kane in a stretcher match if he can, but if not then the ladder match is for the title. The highlight of this one though were some great lines from Stephanie and Cena, including Cena saying that Stephanie had some surgery and putting that idea “in a chest” to think about later and Stephanie making fun of the dueling chants by saying “oh sure you all like that idea” when Cena insulted her. When Stephanie isn’t taking herself too seriously, she can be a really entertaining person to watch.

Then Cena beat Kane via DQ in a really boring match. These two just don’t work well together.

Los Matadores and 3MB did their thing. Nothing to this one but it was really fast so there wasn’t much to complain about. I’m thinking one more match for the little guys.

The Divas match of the week also tied into Bryan vs. Stephanie as Nikki is being tortured for saying she missed her sister. Aksana and Alicia Fox beat up Nikki then Fox shouted about hashtags because in the modern world, people shout HASHTAG LOSER instead of saying YOU’RE A LOSER. Wester civilization is in its decline.

Another interesting story is Bray Wyatt not being on the show after losing at Payback. This leaves the Family alone to take up Bray’s cause in his absence, which leads to some intriguing possibilities.

Rose beat Swagger to continue their feud which doesn’t mean a ton anymore.

The Wyatt Family beat the Usos in a good back and forth fight which should set up a title match down the line. I can live with this one because the Usos are injured, but at the end of the day, is there any reason this had to happen? Now I know the Family can beat the Usos, which takes away a lot of the intrigue of traditional wrestling builds.

In the match that got on my nerves, Alberto Del Rio pretty much destroyed Dolph Ziggler in a Money in the Bank qualifying match. Del Rio might as well have been beating up Xavier Woods as he won via clean submission in less than six minutes. This came off like WWE saying “we have the power so stop cheering this guy because we’re just going to have him lose and lose and lose until you stop.” I have no idea why WWE feels the need to keep putting people down, especially when the fans like them and WWE is REALLY in need of top faces. Actually not even top faces, but just big faces. I mean, would it hurt to put him in an eight man match that he won’t win?

Cody Rhodes picked Sin Cara to be Goldust’s partner against Ryback/Curtis Axel. As you can guess this went badly, but it’s an interesting story. It pretty clearly ends with Cody realizing that it was Goldust who was the weak link and turning heel as a result, but there’s nothing wrong with that as it makes sense.

Rusev got a medal from an English speaking Russian government official. This was short and so was Lana’s skirt so it wasn’t too bad.

Then for the moment that made my eyes roll: Bray Wyatt will be back on Smackdown. AFTER FOUR DAYS OFF! Yeah I know it’s so he can be at Money in the Bank, but at least build this up for a few weeks, or have him miss Payback and do the previous match at Extreme Rules. But instead, let’s just do this for FOUR DAYS with less than 24 hours of wondering because why not.

Now we get to the big deal.

The main event was supposed to be Roman Reigns vs. Randy Orton, but HHH and the sledgehammer had plan B in mind. Seth Rollins wound up turning on the Shield and attacking Ambrose and Reigns before seemingly joining Evolution. HHH and Rollins stood tall to end the show. This brings up several questions, with one being bigger than the other.

1. WHAT THE HECK ARE THEY THINKING? Now before people explain why this is a great idea, let me say that I don’t hate it at all and there’s a ton of potential for Rollins to be a big deal. That being said, it doesn’t make any sense to do it now and the way they did.

Rollins and the Shield have defeated Evolution twice in a row now, including in three straight falls last night. Why would Rollins leave now? You either have Batista quit before Payback and have HHH say he has a new plan and do the switch at Payback, or have Rollins get beaten at Payback and get annoyed, or have Shield lose. Having him be on the winning team and then turn though? It doesn’t make sense.

2. It felt like a swerve for the sake of a swerve. This ties into the end of the previous point. Why in the world did we need this swerve? It felt like they didn’t have anywhere else to go with this story so they had one guy jump to the other team so it can get another match or move to the Shield splitting. In a word, this felt forced. Like, REALLY forced.

3. Why did Shield have to split like this? After beating everyone (save for the Wyatts), why not just say they have nothing left to accomplish and that they’re going their separate ways but will be there for each other if the need ever arises again? Because this is WWE, where there’s ALWAYS a heel turn to end a team because it was really good when Shawn Michaels did it. Yeah that’s an exaggeration, but the thing just didn’t fit for the most part.

Overall I definitely don’t hate it and it really could do a lot of good for Rollins. It just doesn’t make sense the way they did it, and I have a bad feeling that we’re going to get some version of “I’ll explain when I feel like it”, which is code for “we didn’t think this through but are going with it anyway”. They really like that one and it did a lot of bad things in the NWO, so let’s do it here with the hottest thing in the company.

Raw was ok with a big ending. They don’t seem to have a lot of ideas going into Money in the Bank, which is annoying as MITB is little more than a crutch for the writers to not have to think of anything. It doesn’t help that they’re lazy in the first place, but why make them work when they can just do the same stuff with different people?

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Payback was last night and while a lot of stuff didn’t change, a lot of awesome stuff happened last night. Cena defeated Bray Wyatt last night in a match where I believe the feud was blown off. On top of that, we saw Shield destroy Evolution in a perfect sweep. The match wasn’t as entertaining as I was hoping it to be, but the whole thing worked very well. Tonight we start the road to Money in the Bank. Let’s get to it.

The opening video recaps the six man tag last night.

Here’s Evolution to open things up. HHH says it’s always darkest just before the dawn but the funny things is everyone thinks Shield won. However, HHH never loses. It’s not over until the Shield no longer exists. Orton and Batista don’t seem as enthusiastic about this idea. HHH says Shield is over tonight but Batista takes the mic. He doesn’t want another match with Shield because it’s time for his one on one title shot that HHH promised.

HHH gets another mic and says he’s the boss. Batista doesn’t care about the plan because he wants the title shot he earned by winning the Royal Rumble. The boss says Daniel Bryan is injured and can’t compete so there can’t be a title match. “Even if I did, you’d probably choke anyway.” HHH apologizes before going on another rant about Shield. Once they’re gone, Batista gets what he wants. Until then though, no one gets anything. Batista understands and quits. For the first time since he returned, the fans cheer for Batista. HHH shouts a lot but Batista just walks out.

During the break Batista confirmed that he did, in fact, quit.

Rob Van Dam/Sheamus vs. Cesaro/Bad News Barrett

Cesaro throws Van Dam around to start but it’s quickly off to Sheamus for the top rope shoulder. A quick gutwrench suplex puts Sheamus down but he comes out of the corner with a clothesline. The ten forearms to the chest are blocked and it’s off to Barrett to take over. Sheamus takes him into the corner and makes the tag off to Van Dam who kicks Bad News down for two. Van Dam comes out of the corner but jumps into a HARD shot to the throat as we take a break.

Back with Barrett holding Van Dam in an armbar before kicking him in the face for two. Cesaro comes in again and cranks on a chinlock while Heyman complains about how Sheamus beat his man last night. Cesaro hits the delayed gutwrench suplex while glaring at Sheamus before making the tag back to Barrett. A middle rope elbow gets two for the Intercontinental Champion and we hit another chinlock.

Back to Cesaro who Rob outside and into the barricade before taking it back inside for two. We hit a third chinlock but Cesaro lets it go and knocks Sheamus off the apron. The break lets Van Dam kick Cesaro down, allowing for the hot tag to Sheamus for a BIG reaction. The Irishman cleans house with powerslams all around before loading up the Brogue Kick. He picks Cesaro but Heyman makes the save, allowing Barrett to hit Winds of Change for a very close two on Sheamus. Cesaro and Heyman bail and a quick Brogue Kick into a Five Star get the pin on Barrett at 13:14.

Rating: C. Not a bad match here though it had one chinlock too many. This potentially sets up Barrett vs. Cesaro which isn’t a match I would have seen coming but could be interesting. What’s also interesting was the reaction for Sheamus. I haven’t heard him get a pop like that in months and it worked very well. Good reaction to an ok match.

Here’s Damien Sandow, dressed as Indiana Pacer Lance Stephenson and carrying a basketball. The fans aren’t pleased but it gets even worse when he mentions that the Paces’ season is over. Therefore, he would like to state the LeBron James is the best player ever and that the Pacers are a losing team from a losing city. Also as an act of charity for fans supporting such losers, he’ll give a display of his skills. There’s a basketball hoop set up in the corner and this is already dying.

Sandow does some tricks until Big Show interrupts. Sandow: “HOW DARE YOU DISRUPT MY DISPLAY OF MAD SKILLS!” He challenges Big Show to a game and throws him the ball but Big Show throws it back and knocks Sandow out. He dunks the ball as wel, breaking the hoop. If there’s any point to this, feel free to point it out to me.

Kofi Kingston vs. Bo Dallas

This is a rematch from last night when Kane attacked before it could go anywhere. Before the match Bo says the Pacers lost because all of the Heat Bolieved. A shoulder puts Kofi down and he runs outside to shout that he’s WINNING. Kingston comes back with a dropkick to put Bo on the floor before offering a handshake.

Dallas shakes but tries a cheap shot, only to get kicked in the face. Bo puts him down and drops some running knees before putting on a cravate. The fans chant boring and JBL says it’s for Dallas. Kofi comes back with a dropkick and the spinning cross body but gets caught by a hot shot the Bodog for the pin at 4:07.

Rating: D+. As is usually the case, the match was nothing of note but Bo is all about the character rather than the in ring work. The matches aren’t terrible to be fair, but they’re supposed to be Bo running around and cheering for himself. Once he gets a follower or a story he’ll be much more interesting.

Kofi isn’t interested in the post match hug.

We recap the opening segment.

Renee Young tries to get a word with HHH but gets Stephanie instead. She’s on her way to the ring to talk about the World Title.

Here’s a ticked off Stephanie to rant about how Bryan was a coward and let his wife fight for him last night. Brie should have been fired weeks ago but Stephanie gave them chance after chance, only to get slapped in the face. That’s ok though because she’s a tough McMahon. Bryan will have to wake up every morning and see his wife’s dreams broken.

Enough about Bryan though, because this is about the World Heavyweight Championship. At Money in the Bank, Bryan will be defending against Kane in a stretcher match. If he’s unable to compete though, the Money in the Bank ladder match will be for the vacant title. This brings out John Cena to a ROAR.

Cena says he’s sore but he loves the sound of the fans chanting CENA SUCKS. Stephanie may have a hard job but some of the fans’ opinions are kind of questionable. The fans do their dueling chants and Cena says that’s what’s best for business. He’s here to talk about the WWE Championship situation as a former champion. He knows what it’s like to win, lose and have to give away a championship. John talks about no one being bigger than the title, including a spoiled egomaniac like Stephanie, drawing a big cheer. Stephanie: “Oh sure you all like that.”

Cena says Stephanie has to face facts: Daniel Bryan is really good. The WWE Universe can cheer for anyone (Unless they’re Bray Wyatt I guess) and Daniel Bryan has earned that title. Maybe he doesn’t want to give up the belt because he knows the Authority will never give him another shot. Stephanie goes on a rant about how Bryan is a B+ and how he hasn’t defended the title in thirty days so she has to do what she has to do.

Cena talks about the surgeries he and HHH have had to put them out of actions. Even Stephanie has had….surgeries. Stephanie: “They put me IN action but that’s another story.” Cena: “We’ll put that one in a chest somewhere and think about it later.” Cena talks about Stephanie abusing her power and gives her a zero job performance evaluation. She doesn’t care what people think and makes Cena vs. Kane right now.

Kane vs. John Cena

This is joined in progress after a break with Kane in control. He rams Cena spine first into the buckle and drops him with an uppercut before stomping away. Side slam gets two on John but Cena fights back with right hands and the shoulders. The ProtoBomb sets up the Shuffle but Kane punches his way out of the AA. Kane hammers away in the corner for the five count and DQ at 3:09 shown.

Rating: D. These two just do not have good chemistry together and there’s no way around it. Kane is one of the few people that Cena doesn’t have good matches with and I had a feeling that was going to be the case when the bell rang. Nothing to see here and thankfully it was only a few minutes long.

Post match Cena escapes a tombstone attempt on the steps and throws said steps at Kane’s head. Cena leaves and Kane throws various metal objects before leaving.

Opening segment recap again.

Orton has talked to HHH and says they’re on the same page. Tonight he’s facing Roman Reigns.

3MB vs. Los Matadores

It’s Slater/McIntyre here but before the match, Slater says Hornswoggle isn’t quite shaved. He comes out with an afro, complete with pick. Heath runs over Diego to start and Horny gets on the apron to play air guitar. Torito rips the wig off and Hornswoggle runs off in terror. A rollup pins Slater at 1:27.

Nikki Bella vs. Alicia Fox/Aksana

This is punishment from Stephanie for Nikki saying she missed her sister on the WWE App. Fox is quickly sent to the floor but kicks Nikki in the back to put her down. Alicia comes in and gets rolled up, only to have Fox nail the ax kick for the pin at 1:11.

Fox beats Nikki up post match and shouts a few hashtags. Aksana gets in a few shots of her own but we’ve got Wyatts.

The rocking chair is empty with Rowan in the sheep mask behind it. Harper grabs his his shoulder and says they have to take up his cause. They have to torture the same pair of brothers over and over until the brothers are put down like the craven beasts they are. Rowan says follow the buzzards.

Jack Swagger vs. Adam Rose

Rematch from Smackdown where Rose got the win. Rose slaps him to start and elbows Swagger down, only to have Jack kick him in the face. Off to a quick double chicken wing before Swagger charges into a boot in the corner. Rose comes back with right hands and a running neckbreaker. A Bronco sets up a running Party Foul (looked better than the usual version) gets the pin at 2:57.

The Usos say they’re banged up but ready to fight tonight. Jimmy shouts like a crazed pitbull.

Wyatt Family vs. Usos

Non-title and Bray is nowhere in sight. Jimmy has taped up ribs and gets thrown around like a ragdoll by Harper. It’s quickly off to Jey for some shots to the face until Harper runs him over again. Off to Rowan for the chinlock for a good while followed by Jey falling under Rowan’s weight. The Family makes a tag so Harper can hammer away instead. The beating doesn’t last long before it’s back to Rowan for a running corner splash. Jey escapes a belly to back and tags in Jimmy to speed things up. Some forearms to the back and a kick to the face get two. Everything breaks down and the monsters are sent to the floor as we take a break.

Back with the monsters in control and Harper working over Jimmy’s bad ribs on the floor. They head back inside for Rowan to slow things down even more and drop some elbows to the ribs. Jimmy gets tied to the Tree of Woe for more kicks to the ribs but he does a big situp, sending a charging Rowan in the post. The Whisper in the Wind is enough to allow the tag to Jey who meets Harper. Jey hits a spinning kick to the head and the running Umaga attack in the corner but gets caught by a big boot for two.

A Samoan drop from Jey puts Harper back down but he dives on Rowan instead of hitting the Superfly Splash. Luke hits a suicide dive but Jimmy hits a plancha of his own, only to bang up the ribs a bit more. Back in and the Superfly Splash hits Harper’s knees but the discus lariat is blocked by a superkick for two. Rowan makes a blind tag but Jimmy rolls him up for two. Erick hits Jey with something like Matt Hardy’s Side Effect for the pin at 17:03.

Rating: B. Good stuff here and I can live with the champion losing a bit more here due to the injuries coming in. Harper and Rowan seem destined to take the belts and I don’t think there’s much of an argument against them being champions. The Usos have had a nice run and are a WAY bigger deal than they were when this reign started so it’s done its job.

Money in the Bank Qualifying Match: Dolph Ziggler vs. Alberto Del Rio

The fans are WAY into Dolph here and he quickly takes Alberto down for the ten elbow drops. Alberto nails the Codebreaker to the arm and the running arm kick in the corner gets two. A belly to back suplex gets the same on Dolph before we hit the armbar. Ziggler fights back with right hands and the Fameasser for two. The top rope X Factor gets another near fall but the cross armbreaker out of nowhere sends Del Rio to Money in the Bank at 5:31.

Rating: C. The match was the usual between these two but man I was hoping to see Ziggler get in there. The guy is over and there’s nothing wrong with throwing him into a big multiman match. On the other hand we have Alberto Del Rio who keeps finding new ways to be uninteresting. I haven’t cared about him in a long time and that’s not getting any better.

Goldust/Sin Cara vs. Ryback/Curtis Axel

Cara is Cody’s handpicked partner for his brother. Goldust and Axel get things going with Curtis getting caught in a quick armbar. It’s quickly off to Ryback who takes over as the heels take turns on the golden one. Axel hits his middle rope elbow but Ryback’s middle rope splash hits knees. The hot tag brings in Sin Cara to clean house but he eventually misses a dive, allowing Axel to hit the neckbreaker into a cutter for the pin at 7:10.

Rating: D+. How in the world did this match go that long? It was nothing to see at all and it’s just part of a story with Cody and Goldust until we get to their feud. I’d assume we’ll see more partners for Goldust until Cody realizes that it’s really Goldust who is the problem. I’ve heard worse stories.

Here’s Lana to brag about Edward Snowden and how great he is for Russia. She brings out Rusev for a medal presentation for his great accomplishments. The Russian government agent of course speaks English as he gives Rusev the Golden Star. The Russian national anthem plays and no one interferes.

Bray Wyatt returns on Smackdown, after a full four days away.

We look at the opening segment for the fourth time tonight. It’s 10:59 and the main event introductions haven’t started yet so we’re looking at a quick match.

Bray Wyatt returns on Smackdown, after a full four days away.

We look at the opening segment for the fourth time tonight. It’s 10:59 and the main event introductions haven’t started yet so we’re looking at a quick match.

Roman Reigns vs. Randy Orton

Before the match, Ambrose says they’re all banged up but they feel great. They did what they said would do last night though and didn’t suffer a single casualty. Rollins says theyw on because they were facing three men who happened to be in the same corner. Reigns says the three of them are brothers. He waves his arms around and says this is Evolution, but the fist is the Shield. Reigns says get out here so the symbol of excellence can break Orton’s jaw. HHH comes out with Orton and carrying a sledgehammer, so Rollins heads out for some chairs.

HHH says what he does best is adapt. Last night was plan A, but tonight is plan B. He looks at the hammer as he says this and says there’s always a plan B. Shield is ready to fight but Rollins turns on them, blasting Reigns in the back with a chair. Ambrose is STUNNED but gets nailed as well. So much for the team.

Rollins literally breaks the chair over Ambrose’s back and hits the curb stomp to put Ambrose face first into the good chair. He hand sit to Orton for more shots to Reigns but Roman won’t stay down. That’s fine with Randy as he goes Steve Austin on him with about ten shots to the back and ribs. The Elevated DDT on the chair lets the new Evolution stand tall to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. This show felt a step off all night. It’s like they didn’t know what they wanted to do and it showed badly. The main event stuff with Evolution was fine and it’s an easy way to write off Batista before he comes back after the summer. Other than that though I’m not sure what they’re setting up, as Cena vs. the Authority has mostly been done, but it didn’t feel like that’s where they’re going. Stephanie is great in this heel role and her cockiness in the promo was great.

Results
Rob Van Dam/Sheamus b. Cesaro/Bad News Barrett – Five Star Frog Splash to Barrett
Bo Dallas b. Kofi Kingston – Bodog
John Cena b. Kane via DQ when Kane wouldn’t stop attacking in the corner
Los Matadores b. 3MB – Rollup to Slater
Aksana/Alicia Fox b. Nikkia Bella – Ax kick
Adam Rose b. Jack Swagger – Party Foul
Wyatt Family b. Usos – Sitout spinebuster to Jey
Ryback/Curtis Axel b. Goldust/Sin Cara – Neckbreaker into a cutter to Cara

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of on the History of Survivor Series at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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The reaction I’ve seen to last night’s show seems to be that it was one of, if not the worst episode of all time. This blew my mind as it may not have been the best show in the world but it couldn’t have been THAT bad. Let’s get to it.

Later in the night, Bryan came out and said he could give up the title, but it would be a slap in the face of everyone that had ever cheered for him while admitting that the Authority had been right. He said he wouldn’t do it, but Stephanie brought up a clip of Brie Bella shoving her a few weeks ago. If Bryan doesn’t give up the title on Sunday, Brie gets fired.

This is one of those moments that made perfect sense and sets up the drama that you need for the segment on Sunday and the moment will be good. I’m not sure where they’re going to go, but I can’t imagine Bryan is going to keep the title with him possibly being out all summer. At the end of the day they’ll probably put it up in Money in the Bank and that makes perfect sense for this situation.

The other good thing to come out of the opening segment was Brad Maddox being fired as Raw GM. Maddox isn’t terrible as a personality and has a future as a backstage guy or commentator, but there’s no need for anyone to be Raw GM right now. With the Authority around, anybody as Raw GM is going to look worthless. The GM’s have been worthless for eight months or so now so getting rid of Brad and eventually Vickie won’t hurt at all.

The first match was Cesaro beating Rob Van Dam thanks to Bad News Barrett interfering. This is my normal complaint: the #1 contender to the Intercontinental Title gets pinned six days before his title shot. Sheamus ran out to beat up Cesaro post match, making me see what they should have done: Sheamus/Cesaro vs. Barrett/Van Dam. At least with Van Dam he’s over to the point that a loss isn’t going to hurt him. Also Cesaro is getting that German suplex over as a secondary finisher which is a rare thing anymore.

Next up was the first of two Divas matches and I’ll look at them one at a time. First up we had Eva Marie pinning Summer Rae due to a distraction by Fandango and Layla. Eva and Summer have been feuding on Total Divas, which you need to watch to get the details. On the other hand you have Summer and Layla feuding because of something that happened on Raw. This leads to a problem with the Divas and Total Divas. The latter feud shows the problem with this.

If you watch Total Divas, you see the logic behind why Summer Rae screwed over Eva in the tag match on the show: Eva is terrible. She can’t wrestle, she’s there because of a reality show and how she looks in shorts, and she would drag down any team she’s in. It’s stupid, but at least it makes sense. That being said, we’re supposed to cheer for Eva because she’s some young tough girl that is trying to achieve something. We’re of course supposed to ignore how evil she is on the show.

On the other hand we have Summer chasing after Fandango, but if you watch Total Divas you would see them going on a date “in real life”, and them having ZERO chemistry and agreeing to just be friends. But now this is their “wrestling” life and there are feelings and a breakup there.

In other words, you need to watch Total Divas to understand one story but if you watch the show, the other story isn’t going to make sense. Hence the problem with the whole show.

Now we get to a match that was causing some issues with fans. El Torito beat Drew McIntyre, which fans called ridiculous, stupid and not believable. I don’t even know where to start on this. Time for a list!

1. Drew McIntyre hasn’t won a singles match on WWE TV since September 2012 when he won on Superstars. His last singles win on Smackdown was in March 2012 when he beat Hornswoggle. His last singles win on Raw was FOUR YEARS AGO. Drew McIntyre is a jobber. He’s been a jobber for years, he’s going to be a jobber for a long time to come, but because he loses ONE MATCH, it’s ridiculous? Yeah it’s to a comedy character, but that brings me to point #2.

2. Drew McIntyre is part of a comedy stable. 3MB is nothing but a comedy group and has been since the day they debuted. They’re in a war against a group that is only slightly more serious, and the real story is about a leprechaun vs. a half man/half bull who just had a WeeLC match with mini announcers and a mini ladder. But none of this works because a guy that hasn’t won a match on Raw in four years lost to a comedy character isn’t ok. Santino uses a freaking sock to beat a former World Champion, but Torito pins a jobber and the people are calling it completely unrealistic?

3. Where was this OUTRAGE when Torito pinned Slater on Smackdown a few weeks back?

4. Did I mention the pin on Drew wasn’t clean? Even still though, it’s time to freak out because a comedy character pinned a jobber.

Then Hornswoggle pulled off Torito’s tail, setting up a mask vs. hair match on Sunday. Is it stupid? Yes. Is it goofy? Yes. Is it for children? Yes. Is it something anyone should be mad about? Of course not, but they will anyway. I actually smiled at this a bit as they’re coming up on a match that actually makes sense in the feud. It’s cute and on a free show so why not?

That brings us to the big Wyatt promo this week. Bray did his usual stuff of calling Cena a hypocrite before moving over to Jerry Lawler. Jerry didn’t getin the ring but the Family beat up JBL and took Lawler into the ring. Bray asked Jerry if he had any issues with lying about Cena’s career and never bringing up anything that questioned Cena. Lawler didn’t mind, but the Wyatts threatened to attack him until Cena and the Usos made the save. Cena called Bray a hypocrite for attacking an innocent man who disagreed with what Bray thought.

This was the thing that WWE has needed to do for months now: have Bray do something evil. For months and months all we’ve been told is that Bray Wyatt is evil, but he hasn’t really done anything evil. Until people see him do something evil, like attacking a legend who had a heart attack live on TV two years ago and is in his early 60s, there’s no reason to boo him. Now people are seeing what’s behind the evil smile and there’s a reason to boo him. Notice the fans cheering for Cena as soon as he pointed all that stuff out about Wyatt. It can work.

Rusev beat up Ryder until Big E. made the save and waved the American flag on Memorial Day. Yeah Big E. is going to get mauled on Sunday in the yet to be advertised match, but this worked well and made Big E. look good for awhile. Speaking of looking good, I swoon over Lana more every time I see her.

Stephanie was talking to Alberto Del Rio about nothing that ever came up again.

Batista/Randy Orton beat the Rhodes Brothers in an elimination match. This didn’t mean anything and the elimination rule was thrown in at the last minute. The match made perfect sense and made Batista and Orton look good.

Bo Dallas beat Sin Cara just like he did on Smackdown. He isn’t great in the ring, but Dallas’ character is going to be amazing if they use him right.

Emma beat Alicia Fox in a nothing match. Post match, Alicia freaked out (again) and shouted that she was NOT a loser while ringing the bell and pouring soda over herself. I have no idea if this is going anywhere but Emma winning was rather questionable.

Then Damien Sandow dressed up as Davy Crockett and lost to Adam Rose. This is a hard one to defend so I won’t try, but I have no idea why anyone expected Sandow to remain a serious character. Rose and Swagger continued their feud with Rose getting the upper hand again. I’m also not sure why Rose didn’t debut against Swagger on Sunday.

We got the same Sheamus match we always get: Sheamus gets beaten up, there’s no reason for him to win, then he hits a Brogue Kick out of nowhere for the pin. Post match he was attacked by Cesaro to set up an injury angle though so maybe he loses the belt on Sunday.

The final segment of the night was the contract signing between Shield and Evolution. First and foremost, let’s look at the contract itself. This is a picture of what was on the paper last night.

It’s the go home show for Payback and the main story coming into tonight is the announcement of the future of the WWE Championship. You would think they would wait until either Payback or the night after so the focus wasn’t taken off the pay per view but it’s WWE and they would never do something stupid that would cost over a billion dollars in a day right? Let’s get to it.

We open with the traditional Memorial Day montage. That’s always cool to see.

Here’s a gloating Authority to open things up. Stephanie talks about how Bryan has to do the right thing. “Yes, you know he’ll do what he has to do.” The Authority wasn’t happy about what’s happened here and didn’t want to be right on this one. The fans want to see the champion defend the title every night but right now Daniel Bryan can’t do that.

HHH says Bryan needs to make the right choice and how there are people in every generation that adapt to become legends, but there are people like Daniel Bryan who just can’t do it. People that don’t adapt fail and those that do thrive, and that is evolution. This Sunday, the Shield will find out that you can’t stop Evolution. There’s a contract signing tonight and the Shield will have the chance to adapt and not show up on Sunday, or sign and perish.

This brings Stephanie to Brad Maddox who needs to come out here right now. Maddox finally comes out and HHH just rips into him. Last week, HHH said only official people could be out here, so Brad made the Shield “official” commentators. Brad implies that he was beaten half to death but Stephanie doesn’t want to hear it. Here’s Kane and HHH knocks Brad down. She tells Kane to teach him a lesson and after a few seconds, Kane plants Maddox with a chokeslam. A tombstone is added as a bonus and Stephanie fires him.

Cesaro vs. Rob Van Dam

Cesaro vs. Sheamus for the US Title on Sunday. It’s also now called Payback pay per view with Cole ramming that down our throats every two seconds. Barrett comes out before the match and says it’s officially summer and Van Dam’s is going to get off to a bad start. Cesaro jumps Van Dam from behind as Barrett sits in on commentary (“Look it’s me it’s me it’s BNB!”). A gutwrench suplex puts Van Dam down but he comes back with a clothesline to put Cesaro on the floor. The moonsault from the apron is caught in midair and Van Dam is dropped onto the barricade as we take a break.

Back with Cesaro covering four times in a row off something we didn’t see. Van Dam fights back with a kick to the face and Rolling Thunder for two as Heyman is getting nervous. Cesaro falls outside and gets caught with a dive but Van Dam has to kick Barrett in the jaw (looked awesome). Back in and Van Dam kicks Cesaro down, setting up the split legged moonsault for two. Barrett offers a distraction though and the German suplex is good for the pin on Van Dam at 9:34.

Rating: C+. The match worked but here’s my usual complaint about the booking: why would you have Van Dam take a fall here? Put Sheamus/Van Dam vs. Barrett/Cesaro and do a double countout or DQ or something like that. Don’t have anyone get pinned before the matches on Sunday so no one looks bad. Why is this so complicated? I will give them points for establishing the German suplex as another finisher.

Sheamus runs out for a Brogue Kick to Cesaro post match.

Eva Marie vs. Summer Rae

Eva takes over to start and blows kisses into the crowd. Summer hammers away in the corner but gets thrown down by the head. Eva is rammed face first into the mat a few times as the fans chant for Daniel Bryan. Cue Fandango and Layla to distract Summer, allowing Eva to grab a horrible rollup for the pin at 1:57. I had the entire previous sentence written other than the time as soon as Fandango’s music started.

Goldust and Cody Rhodes come into HHH’s office to find out why they’re not on the show tonight. They find Batista and Orton instead. Trash is talked and a match is made. HHH has another idea for the match but doesn’t say what it is yet.

El Torito vs. Drew McIntyre

Torito draws a line on the mat but crosses it himself. Drew tries to throw him into the air but gets caught in an armdrag. McIntyre easily slams him down and shoves Torito around the ring as this is one sided. Los Matadores break up a superplex and Drew gets slammed onto the buckle, giving Torito the fluke pin at 2:28.

Post match Horny goes after Torito’s mask but settles for his tail instead. JBL: “THE HUMANITY!” Torito runs away in shame.

After a break Torito gets an ice pack.

Here are the Wyatts (in Tennessee because they can’t say Knoxville for some reason) with a message for the Cenation. First up though, it’s time to sing. Those words have never been truer because the world really is leaning on him. He only wants what’s best for everyone, but sometimes that’s not the easiest path. In this life, we all have to make sacrifices. We do that every day, just so we can feed our children while someone else tells us who to be and how to act.

Someday everyone will realize how pointless that is and one day we have to receive the anti-vemon for that snake bite. Bray asks if he’s the poison or the cure. He’s the necessary evil that the world needs and in the end if you’re his brother or sister, you will stand right beside him. But if you’re his enemy, you will fall at his feet. John Cena is enemy to us all and at Payback, Bray will be the last man standing. However, Cena shouldn’t be the only man punished. A Cena chant starts up and Bray just laughs at it.

Bray says to get to the kings you have to go through the pawns. This brings Bray to Jerry Lawler of all people. “Come on Jerry. I don’t bite.” Jerry shakes his head so Wyatt sends the Family after him. Bray tells JBL not to play hero or he’ll be next. Bradshaw gets up anyway but Harper runs him over. Rowan shoves him into the discus lariat and Lawler is directed into the ring.

Jerry sits in a chair in the ring as Bray says Lawler is responsible for a lot of Cena’s fame. For years, Jerry has fed the fans all these lies about John Cena being a great man, but never once has Lawler questioned his morality. Bray asks if Lawler feels any remorse over this and it’s time to pay the penalty. The Family grabs Lawler and Bray leans over in the corner. Here’s Cena but Bray is holding Lawler in the corner. They get Cena down as Bray says he’s going to hurt Cena at Payback. First though, it’s Sister Abigail to Lawler, with Bray saying it’s all Cena’s fault. The Usos make the save before it can happen though.

Cena and company clear the ring and John grabs the mic. Bray shouts that he’s a god and Cena wants to know if Bray thinks about this stuff. He quotes Abraham Lincoln by saying you can test a man by giving him power. Bray has been given power and it’s made him sick. Wyatt tried to hurt a sick man because they don’t agree on something. That’s not a necessary evil but just pure evil. A Cena chant breaks out as Cena says he believes in what he does. If the Wyatt Family likes it or not, Bray Wyatt needs to be stopped. Payback is about being the last man standing and John will bring Bray to justice.

Lawler and Cole are on commentary by themselves now.

Zack Ryder vs. Rusev

Ryder brings out an American flag to make the squash all the more painful. Before the match, Lana talks about how American patriots are embarrassing and require disciplinary actions. Zack tries to hammer away but is taken down by a single shot. Lana almost immediately says crush and the Accolade ends Ryder in 36 seconds.

Big E. runs out for another save attempt but gets stomped down in the corer. This time though Big E. fights back with the running body attack and clotheslines Rusev to the floor. The Stars and Stripes are waived for the feel good moment.

Stephanie is talking to Alberto Del Rio about something we can’t hear.

Cody Rhodes/Goldust vs. Batista/Cody Rhodes

Batista drives Cody into the corner to start before doing the same to Goldust. Off to Orton who gets rollup for two before it’s back to Cody. Randy takes him into the corner with ease and hammers away before it’s back to Batista as Evolution takes over. A big elbow to the jaw puts Cody down but he escapes a powerslam and dives to the corner for a tag. Goldust tries to fight back but Randy gets in a shot from the apron, allowing Batista to nail a spinebuster for two.

Back from a break with Batista working on Goldust’s back until Goldie nails some right hands to both villains. Not that it matters much as Big Dave takes him down with a big clothesline for two. Goldust nails a cross body and makes the tag off to Cody as things speed up. A springboard missile dropkick gets two on Orton and Batista gets dropped as well, but Orton catches the Disaster Kick with an RKO to knock Rhodes silly. Another RKO is good for the pin on Cody at 10:05.

Actually we’re not done yet because this is an elimination match, meaning it’s now Batista/Orton vs. Goldust. It’s also no holds barred to make it even more fun. Goldust is surrounded on the floor but comes up swinging. That goes about as well as you would expect and Evolution starts taking their time. Goldust backdrops Orton to the apron but walks into a spear. The RKO lays Goldust out again and a Batista Bomb is good for the pin at 13:25 total.

Rating: D+. I thought they were going with the elimination rules here and it makes sense going into Sunday. Imagine that: making a team look good going into a match instead of having someone in the match get beaten six days before the big match. The Rhodes’ split seems to take a week off tonight as there were no issues at all here.

Bo Dallas vs. Sin Cara

JBL is back on commentary and says he’s never been hit that hard in his life. Bo takes over with a headlock and goes outside to celebrate. Back in and a hard whip into the corner gets two on Cara and some knees to the face lead to another celebration. An enziguri puts Dallas down and that snap Angle Slam looks to set up the Swanton. Bo is up quickly though and hits the Bodog out of the corner for the pin at 2:53.

Bo says you get satisfaction from trying and you all need to BOLIEVE!

We recap the opening segment.

Here’s Stephanie to say the future of the WWE Title has to be decided but first of all, we need Daniel out here to do the right thing. Bryan comes out with his neck in a soft brace as Stephanie says that Bryan needs to do the right thing. He can’t defend the title right now and that’s what the fans deserve, so do what needs to be done. Bryan says that winning the title means the world to him but Stephanie has a point.

The neck injury is worse than he thought and a large part of that is due to Kane. However, Bryan finds it interesting that Stephanie claimed she had no power over Kane but earlier tonight she was able to tell him what to do with ease. Bryan says he’ll be back and there’s no shame in handing the title over. However, Stephanie has been wanting to do this since he won the title and handing them over would just prove her right.

Daniel says it would throw everything he’s worked for out the window and be an insult to everyone who ever changed YES. Therefore, he says NO, he won’t hand her the title. Stephanie shows us a clip of Brie Bella shoving Stephanie a few weeks ago. That’s not ok with Stephanie, so if Bryan doesn’t surrender the title on Sunday, Brie is fired.

Alicia Fox vs. Emma

Fox is getting the title shot on Sunday. Emma sends her into the corner to start for the Emma Sandwich and Fox rolls outside. She says she doesn’t need this and goes to leave but nails Emma as she goes after Fox. Emma gets draped over the apron and caught by the ax kick for two. Fox misses a charge into the corner and gets pinned at 2:28. Well that happened.

Fox beats up Emma post match and shouts that she isn’t a loser. This week she rings the bell a lot and shouts about it again. A tech guy gets beaten up and Alicia rips his underwear up. This just kind of keeps going as Fox pulls some sodas out from under the ring. She shakes them up and a few drops get on the tech guy. Fox pours a soda on herself and kisses the tech guy she went after earlier.

Long video on the veterans.

Davy Crockett vs. Adam Rose

It’s Sandow for reasons that I really don’t care to know. This is Rose’s in ring debut in WWE. Sandow is wrestling in a coonskin cap and sends Rose into the ropes. Adam leans back and kicks his feet forward so Sandow can’t come near him. Here are Colter and Swagger, who have kidnapped the lemon from Rose’s party. The distraction doesn’t work though and Sandow gets caught in the Party Foul (Diamond Cutter driver) for the pin at 1:40.

Rose takes out Swagger post match.

Sheamus vs. Alberto Del Rio

Non-title. Sheamus takes over to start and gets an early one off a middle rope knee. There are the ten forearms to the chest and the fight heads outside. That goes nowhere at all so Del Rio catches Sheamus with a few boots as he comes back in and we take a break. Back with Del Rio jawing with the referee before Sheamus fights back with right hands. The running ax handles drop Alberto but Sheamus goes shoulder first into the post.

A hard kick to the head has Sheamus in trouble but he comes back with the Irish Curse for two. Del Rio kicks him in the head again but gets caught in White Noise. He loads up the Brogue Kick but stops to hold his head. Del Rio hits the corner enziguri and the low superkick (SICK) for two. The armbreaker is countered and the Brogue Kick is good for the pin at 9:20.

Rating: C. This is the annoying thing about Sheamus’ booking: this makes Del Rio look weak. He hit every huge move he could and in theory he should have won the match. That being said, it’s better to have Sheamus win to keep him strong before Sunday, but it’s still rather annoying to have him get the win with a single move.

Post match Heyman pops up and says that wasn’t an important win (but it was when Brock Lesnar conquered the Streak). Sheamus goes after him but Cesaro comes back and destroys Sheamus with hard shots to the head. Sheamus can’t even stand up and is finally kept down with the Neutralizer.

Here’s Shield for the contract signing. Ambrose says this isn’t going to be a normal contract signing as Reigns is throwing the chairs and table out of the ring. Evolution comes out and HHH reminisces about Shield signing their first contracts here. HHH thinks they shouldn’t sign because it’s their death warrant. Shield of course signs and throws the contract to Evolution who does the same. HHH says Shield is just going to be a statistic but Reigns shushes him. “Get in the ring and fight.”

The war is about to start but Shield easily sends them to the floor. Rollins hits his flip dive but Batista takes Ambrose down. That only gets him the Superman Punch but HHH gets in a sledgehammer shot to prevent the spear. More sledgehammer shots put Reigns on the floor and his teammates are put down as well. A TripleBomb puts Reigns through the table and Evolution stands tall to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. This show was trying but you could feel the heavy hand of McMahon messing with things. It felt like a huge infomercial instead of a wrestling show and while that’s logical for a go home show, it got really annoying in a hurry. Between Cole saying “Payback pay per view” every 18 seconds to explaining EVERY SINGLE IDEA EVER and how so and so was the #1 TRENDING TOPIC IN THE WORLD and the World Title scene being about Stephanie (I’m shocked too), this felt like they were taking things too seriously again.

WWE does this time to time and it gets annoying. Sometimes it’s ok to lighten up a bit and they’re far from that at the moment. You have the concussion stuff with Sheamus, Fox losing her mind and everything else being the most important thing in the world on Sunday (again, not a bad thing to do). All of that makes it hard to stay with a show.

There was good stuff on here though. More than anything else, Payback got some much needed matches added to the card to really flesh things out. A lot of logical matches were added and I’d assume Big E. vs. Rusev is coming too. It’s definitely not a bad show but they really need to calm down a bit and stop with the taglines.

Results
Cesaro b. Rob Van Dam – German suplex
Eva Marie b. Summer Rae – Rollup
El Torito b. Drew McIntyre – Pin after Drew fell off the ropes

Rusev b. Zack Ryder – Accolade
Batista/Randy Orton b. Goldust/Cody Rhodes – Batista Bomb to Goldust
Bo Dallas b. Sin Cara – Bodog
Emma b. Alicia Fox – Rollup

Adam Rose b. Davy Crockett – Party Fowl
Sheamus b. Alberto Del Rio – Brogue Kick

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….but nothing will actually happen until Sunday. Bryan refused to hand over the title but Stephanie said he has until Sunday to do it or Brie is fired due to Brie shoving her a few weeks ago.

Monday Night Raw
Date: October 4, 2004
Location: Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

This is another request, likely due to the location. At the moment we’re coming up on Taboo Tuesday where HHH will defend against one of three challengers. Other than that we’ve got Orton vs. Flair coming up as an offshoot of Orton vs. HHH. It’s also the night after No Mercy 2004 which was a Smackdown show and therefore shouldn’t have much effect on this show. Let’s get to it.

Here’s Evolution to open things up. It’s so strange to think that I might be saying that when I review a Raw ten years later. This time we only have HHH and Flair but I’m sure Big Dave will be coming in soon. Flair talks about talking about HHH being the best wrestler alive and only Flair can say that. As for Orton, he may have gotten rid of some big names but never a legend. Orton is barred from the building tonight and I’m sure he will NOT be showing up later.

Flair goes into a rant about how Orton has never gotten rid of any legends, making him a virgin in the area. Does Orton know how many virgins Flair has “made bleed all night long?” Flair: “THAT’S MY SPECIALTY!” This brings Flair to his match with Orton at Taboo Tuesday which can be falls count anywhere, submission or a steel cage. “It doesn’t matter Orton, because you virgin, will be mine all night long.” And WWE insists on keeping this guy around nearly ten years later?

HHH talks about how Taboo Tuesday, and this is a direct quote, “is going to be a complete disaster.” Oh you have no idea Trips. He rants about the fans having WAY too much power (these jokes write themselves) and asks the fans if they like having Evolution’s fate in their hands. HHH quotes Jack Nicholson (“an overrated Hollywood actor”) by saying it doesn’t matter what you think. He might be on to something with overrated. I mean, three Oscars out of twelve nominations yes, but he wasn’t The Chaperone. Don’t even get me started on Blade: Trinity. That’s just not fair to Jack.

After he continues to bury Taboo Tuesday by calling it a joke, here’s Intercontinental Champion Chris Jericho to interrupt HHH. Jericho talks about being live in New York City on Monday Night Jericho, but the guys in the ring aren’t happy with Taboo Tuesday. We get a fan poll of fans’ opinions of HHH and the one related to a donkey is the runaway winner. Jericho takes credit for the Taboo Tuesday concept and says he’ll laugh at HHH losing the title.

This and a bit of profanity send Flair into a rage (a trademark by this point) and he demands Jericho come down here right now. Chris goes to the back and comes back with a chair but Batista blindsides him. Benoit and Edge (two of HHH’s challengers at Taboo Tuesday along with Shawn) make the save and in theory setting up a six man tag later. I say in theory because I’ve seen the match listing and that’s not what we get but you can never tell on a show with an old man ranting about deflowering virgins and calling the upcoming pay per view a disaster/joke.

Christian and his bodyguard Tomko are in the back with Captain Charisma ranting about Shawn getting WAY too much credit for his win at Wrestlemania X (which he lost) while Christian’s win at Wrestlemania XX isn’t remembered at all. Bite your tongue dude. That was a great story and it gave us EVIL Trish.

Shawn Michaels vs. Christian

JR is WAY too excited for Shawn’s entrance. He doesn’t freak out that much for Wrestlemania. Shawn takes over with a headlock (and JR goes up another octave. Seriously what’s his deal tonight?) and cranks away for a few moments. Christian takes over with some hair pulling and fires off some CANADIAN right hands in the corner. He misses a charge though and goes a few octaves higher as well. Shawn knocks Tomko off the apron but takes too long stomping the mat (it’s almost like that’s a REALLY BIG GIVEAWAY) and Christian gets to the floor.

Tomko takes the kick instead and we head to a break. Back with Christian holding a chinlock followed by the reverse tornado DDT for two. Lawler calls that a tide turner despite Christian being in control and still being in control after the DDT. Eh to be fair Christian has natural breasts so you can’t expect Lawler to pay much attention. A backbreaker gets two more on Michaels and it’s back to the chinlock for some good old fashioned spot calling.

Another backbreaker gets another two. Shawn fights up but collides with Christian to knock both guys down. This does prove that Shawn has a much harder head as Christian was fine beforehand but is now even with Shawn. Maybe Michaels is part Samoan? They slug it out with Shawn cranking it up and hammering away in the corner.

A backdrop only gets two on Christian, likely because WHO FREAKING GETS PINNED OFF A BACKDROP? Why would Shawn even try that? There needs to be a wrestler that wrestles knowing all those unspoken rules of wrestling. It wouldn’t last long but it would be hilarious. Unprettier gets two on Shawn because he’s a main eventer and Christian is an upper midcarder and upset is a bad word in WWE. Christian goes up but gets backdropped down, setting up the big elbow and Chin Music for the pin.

Rating: C. Basic match here with nothing wrong. Shawn getting a win before a possible (oh who are we kidding. It’s HHH vs. Shawn on PPV. You don’t think that’s rigged?) title shot at Taboo Tuesday is the right move and Christian doesn’t lose anything by getting pinned by a bigger star.

Benoit vs. Batista and Jericho vs. HHH tonight. See? The match card written nearly ten years ago was accurate.

We go to a sitdown interview with a sad Lita (looking great here) who talks about her whole love rhombus with Matt Hardy and Kane (you have to give Kane two sides since he’s always turning). Now she’s lost her baby and she’ll never get to know what it looks like. Well it was hers and Kane’s so just put a red wig on him and…..and leave a night light on because that’s a rather disturbing image. Apparently Snitsky has said the baby isn’t his fault and Lita isn’t happy with that line. She rants at Todd Grisham over it, probably scaring him off to host some soccer show on ESPN. Lita wants Kane to hurt Snitsky.

Bischoff is seen making a deal with a woman. We can only see a nail polished hand. Mark Henry Jr? Anyway Coach comes in and is worried about Snitsky, so Bischoff says JR can interview Snitsky later.

Apparently later is right now and here’s Snitsky with a baby carriage. Kane immediately comes out (complete with pyro because it’s WWE) but Snitsky had a lead pipe in the carriage and Kane is busted open. Some choking ensues until referees make the save.

Batista vs. Chris Benoit

An early Crossface attempt sends Batista out to the floor but he comes back in with some right hands in the corner. Benoit takes it back to the floor and hits a quick chop block to little effect. Back in and a big old spinebuster drops Chris. Some backbreakers (popular move tonight) have Benoit in trouble but he sends a charging Big Dave into the corner. Rolling Germans have Batista in trouble and Benoit’s neck screaming in agony. Chris still can’t get the Crossface so Batista sends him outside for a beating from Flair. Not that it matters as Randy Orton (SHOCK AND AWE SHOCK AND AWE!) runs in to jump Batista and Flair.

Rating: D+. The match didn’t have time to go anywhere but Orton had to show up after the attack last week. Batista wasn’t quite polished yet but when he went on a roll next year he wouldn’t stop for a long time. It’s amazing that Benoit was the top guy in the company just six months before this and now he can’t even get a five minute match.

Eric sends security (including future Heartthrob Romeo Roselli) out to get Orton out of here but Batista and Flair come up for cheap shots.

Here’s Bischoff in the ring to announced Kane vs. Snitsky for the PPV where the fans get to pick the weapon. If they had a plastic baby as an option I’d……either watch the show on the Network or go build a time machine so I could go back and buy the show when it aired. It depends on my mood. The fans can also vote for anyone on the roster to face Jericho for the Intercontinental Title. Based on the options you would eventually have, it’s a wonder that the company survived 2004.

Anyway Bischoff brings out Eugene followed by Carmella DeCesare, the runner-up in the Diva Search. Short version: Bischoff is facing Eugene at the PPV and it might be a hair match. Carmella “likes” bald guys and sex is implied if Eugene throws the match. Eugene will for a kiss but Carmella freaks. Despite that bizarre set of morals, Carmella says she’s better than Eugene, drawing out Christy to shove her down and kiss Eugene. Can someone sign me up for mental trauma? It appears to be worth it.

Raw Tag Team Titles: La Resistance vs. Hurricane/Rosey

The French guys have the belts coming in. Rob (Conway, partner of Sylvan Grenier) puts a headlock on Hurri (Cane, partner of Rosey) to get things going but it’s quickly off to the fat man. The good guys (who wear masks to hide their identities. I guess they’re really modest about their good deeds?) take over for a bit until Grenier pulls Rosey’s mask to the side. The big man plants the Hurricane by mistake, setting up Au Revoir (neckbreaker/side slam combo) to retain the belts. Nothing match.

Edge says vote for him because he’s never gotten a title shot. Other than in 2002 against Big Show but that doesn’t count I guess. He’s also never faced HHH one on one. Well 1999 wasn’t exactly wrestling so you could stretch and say it didn’t happen (they fought on Raw in 1999 if that wasn’t clear you dingbats).

Bischoff tells the people who will be candidates for the Intercontinental Title match (about 20 people. That’s a VERY thin “roster” no?) that they’re lumberjacks for HHH vs. Jericho later.

Stacy Keibler vs. Molly Holly

Non-title, likely because neither of them are champions. Trish, looking GREAT in a low cut top and jeans with some stomach showing, sits in on commentary. She shows us a clip from last week where Christy Hemme stripped off her clothes. Trish’s assessment, and again I quote, “Sl** sl** sl** sl** sl**. Christy Hemme is a sl**.” I love the Bellas trying to sound all serious when you have the girls from this era ripping into each other with lines like that.

Even JR says Stacy has no chance here, albeit in JR-speak of course. Molly points a finger in Stacy’s face so she bites down on it. Again, these jokes are too easy at times. Keibler chokes in the corner and throws Molly down by her VERY short hair (she was shaved bald at Wrestlemania).

As this is going on, we get WWE Fantasy standings on the bottom of the screen. That’s a fascinating idea actually, but it would wind up being a huge mess. The camera stays on Trish, talking about how Christy “exudes sl**tiness.” Molly gets low bridged to the floor and Trish runs down to distract Stacy for no apparent reason, but Stacy is actually smart enough (I’m stunned too) to counter into a cradle for the pin.

HHH vs. Chris Jericho

Lumberjack match and non-title. We also hear that Jericho was born in Manhasset, New York. This was a big thing around this time and for the life of me I don’t get why. Are we supposed to love Jericho because he brags about being Canadian all the time but is really American born? Jericho attacks HHH before the bell and the belt is still on the Game. You know he wears that to bed. Shelton Benjamin and William Regal throw HHH back inside and we get some WOOING off Jericho chops.

Jericho is sent outside and starts a fight (bully) but still comes back inside with a rollup for two. The Walls don’t work so Chris catapults HHH into the buckle for another two count. Back up and HHH throws Jericho to the floor where Steven Richards and Coach double team him. Seriously, STEVEN RICHARDS AND COACH are 10% of the “roster?” Just start chanting TNA now. Egads what a frightening thought.

Back in and Jericho nails a spinwheel kick to put both guys down. Christian low bridges Jericho to the floor but Rhyno makes a save. After accidentally knocking Rhyno down, Jericho fights out a Pedigree attempt and puts on the Walls but he has to go after Flair. Chris is like screw it and goes thrillseeking by diving on a bunch of guys (including Chuck Palumbo and Maven). A top rope back elbow drops HHH but Rhyno Gores Jericho down, giving HHH the pin.

Rating: D+. The lumberjacks felt wedged in here and the match wasn’t very good on top of all that. They’re pushing Rhyno as the top challenger for the fans to vote for but if they really need to push him over Rodney Mack, Tomko, Rosey and Coach, this company is in trouble. Anyway, nothing match but it was all angle anyway. Nice to see Jericho get pinned in a match that easily could have been a no contest. HHH REALLY needed that didn’t he?

Big brawl, Orton runs in, RKOs all around (meaning two, with one going to Grenier, show’s over.

Overall Rating: D. Gene Snitsky (and sad Lita) was the highlight of this show. Let that sink in for a minute. A man that KICKS BABIES IS THE HIGHLIGHT OF YOUR SHOW. The matches sucked, the pay per view sounds like it’s going to suck and Orton has already been treated like a loser so why should I care about him? Somehow, all of those things are great by comparison to that opening promo though.

I can’t get my mind around some of the things that I heard in there. The World Champion is saying the show is a disaster and a joke while Ric Flair, a guy in one of the featured matches (it would main event the show) is ranting about making virgins bleed. I don’t care how great you are.

There comes a point where you shouldn’t be allowed to have a live mic. “Oh that’s just Flair being Flair.” Yeah he says a lot of crazy things, but back in his day he said stuff that was both funny and interesting as opposed to embarrassing himself and his employer. Somehow he still has a job ten years later and the company still goes out of its way to praise the guy, despite him being more of a trainwreck now than he was back then. Why Flair is immune to all this criticism is beyond me, but I’ve been sick of it for years now.

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Bray Wyatt opened Raw with another awesome promo, talking about how he’s going to end Cena’s fairy tale at Payback. He also went on about how a teacher told him he was evil but having the whole world in his hands is his redemption. His payback if you will. Cena ran out and hit a quick AA on Wyatt after outsmarting the Family. This was fine as Cena went at Wyatt physically instead of mocking him, which works far better.

I love Bray’s promos where he talks about his past and childhood because they’re just creepy and cryptic enough to make you wonder what in the world he’s talking about. It isn’t really clear and that’s why they work as well as they do. Bray isn’t the kind of character that should have his whole story fleshed out and it wouldn’t work at all if he did.

Cesaro beat Sheamus in a match that got on my nerves too much for two guys I like. At the end of the day, it’s the same story: have a guy beat a champion to set up a title match, because Cesaro beating up everyone on the roster isn’t a good enough setup or something like that. Think about it. Cesaro: “I’ve beaten up so many people lately that I’ve run out of people to fight.” Sheamus: “I’ll fight him.” No instead let’s have another champion lose to set it up instead.

The Beat the Clock Challenge was nothing special but I like it better than having someone beat Barrett. The matches were nothing to see because of time but RVD is an acceptable choice. The fans wanted Ziggler but Dolph losing to Barrett would have made them roll their eyes even harder so Van Dam was probably the best option out of the six.

Summer Rae returned (looking GREAT) to go after Layla for stealing Fandango. Again, giving the Divas stories is a good thing and we haven’t had women fighting over a man in awhile now.

Stephanie saying the title isn’t vacated but that Bryan will have to surrender it isn’t the worst idea in the world. You knew it wasn’t going to happen on a taped show when you thought it about of course. I don’t know how they’re going to fit a title match onto Payback with Monday being the last Raw, but Shield vs. Evolution would be a better main event anyway. Stephanie is AWESOME when she’s just being an evil jerk by the way. Her face when the fans chanted NO was great.

Rusev beating up 3MB was fine. Lana continues to be the real star of the act though.

Cena and the Usos pounding their chests was apparently from Wolf of Wall Street. I haven’t seen that yet so this was totally bizarre. The explanation doesn’t really help, but I’d prefer that over everyone pointing and pounding into my head that it’s from Wolf of Wall Street.

Speaking of Evolution vs. Shield, Rollins looked awesome against Batista. I’ve said it many times before, but power vs. speed is the best combination you can have in a match. Again, the key to this whole thing is Shield looks like equals against one of the biggest and most dominant factions ever. Having HHH interfere was a good idea as you don’t want either team jobbing before the big showdown.

Making the six man an elimination match is a good idea as well as it gives Evolution a chance to show that they’re better individually while keeping Shield looking strong. At the end of the day, any member of Shield losing to any member of Evolution isn’t a knock on them as losing to a former World Champion isn’t a step down for the most part. Making it no holds barred is even more awesome as it leaves the door open for a big showdown at the third show.

The Divas Champion lost as well because we need to push Alicia Fox all of a sudden. Why I have no idea, because AJ vs. Paige is coming soon enough. That was a really bad way to have Paige lose her first match, as Fox is a former champion but not a memorable one. It’s hard to put into words but there’s a difference between someone like AJ being a former champion and Fox being a former champion if that makes sense. It’s like saying Paul Orndorff and Hulk Hogan are both in the Hall of Fame. In that sense they’re equal, but being realistic it’s not even close.

The Adam Rose segment was awesome as the fans were way into his character. Him beating Swagger is better than running through 3MB or whatever he was going to do. I don’t get why WWE allegedly looks at him as a failure, as I’ve liked him since he debuted.

Harper vs. Cena was the usual good match between these two. WWE has done something very good with Wyatt vs. Cena: they have a match where neither guy could conceivably lose. I can’t picture either guy staying down for a count of ten, meaning (as long as it’s not a draw) that we’re in for a surprise at Payback. I could have done without the cliched knockout and count to ten ending though.

Overall Raw was a good show as they focused on other stuff to make us forget that there isn’t an active World Champion at the moment. Shield vs. Evolution is a very hot feud and Bray vs. Cena can be if they play their cards right. The PPV has a chance of being awesome if they don’t screw things up, which I’m somewhat optimistic that they won’t. Good but not great show this week.

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