I’m currently on vacation so I didn’t get to do a full review. Over half of it is here and I saw most of the show save for the opening half hour. The full review will be posted soon. Sorry for the inconvenience.
Monday Night Raw
Date: July 28, 2014
Location: Toyota Center, Houston, Texas
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield, Jerry Lawler

We’re a week closer to Summerslam and the major match is already set. The interesting thing coming out of last week is Stephanie being arrested for her battery against Brie Bella last week. Other than that the stage is being set for Summerslam, including Reigns vs. Orton which should be announced soon.

Here’s the skipping Paige with something to say. She says her emotions get the better of her sometimes but she still thinks of AJ as her best friend. However, AJ took her title and crossed a line. Paige will never act that way again. Cue AJ who says she doesn’t like people who lie to her.

If Paige wants to be like her, then do it and stop making this stuff up. Paige cuts her off and talks about AJ being crazy, and that’s not ok with the champ. She tells Paige to say that again but Paige says this kind of stuff happens to everyone, even people off their rockers. AJ smacks Paige and the brawl is on with Paige running off and screaming that AJ needs to calm down.

Here are HHH and Stephanie to apologize about what happened last week. We see the full incident with Brie Bella and Stephanie says she’s truly sorry. All the charges have been dropped and they’re going to move on from this unfortunate incident. Stephanie would like Brie to come down here and clear the air. Instead here’s Jericho, who sings the COPS theme song (which might be a reference to the joke about COPS reruns replacing Impact).

HHH growls at him but Jericho cuts him off and brings up HHH not coming to Stephanie’s aide until Raw had been over for fifteen minutes. Jericho says it’s because HHH is finally realizing that Stephanie is a filthy, dirty, bottom feeding trashbag ho. HHH yells but Jericho asks for Bray Wyatt tonight. That match is being saved until Summerslam, but as for tonight…..and HHH is cut off by Seth Rollins nailing Jericho in the head with the MITB briefcase. I still think they missed a HUGE story by never having Stephanie and Jericho fall for each other.

We recap the Heyman/Cena/Cesaro stuff.

Ad for Summerslam 1998 airing this Sunday night on the WWE Network. I don’t know why they’re doing this when you can watch it right this second on demand on the Network.

Usos/Dolph Ziggler vs. Miz/Ryback/Curtis Axel

Miz is in his sunglasses. Woods, Kofi and Big E. are all watching in the back. Dolph gets knocked down by Ryback for two early on. Everything breaks down for a bit and the Usos chase all three guys to the floor as we take a break. Back with Miz coming in to kick Jimmy in the ribs as Woods and company have come to ringside. Axel gets two off a running knee to the head and it’s back to Miz to work on the ribs.

The Reality Check is countered into a suplex but Jimmy still can’t make the tag. He finally kicks Miz away and the tag brings in Ziggler to dropkick Ryback. The Fameasser gets two and Miz makes a very last second save. Everything breaks down and Jey dives onto Axel. Jimmy charges into a neck snap across the top rope to take him to the floor. Miz distracts Ziggler but Dolph counters a Ryback powerbomb into the Zig Zag for the pin at 10:12.

Rating: C. Just an easy way to combine a few matches here and there’s nothing wrong with that. I’m glad Miz didn’t get pinned again, but I’m not sure why the new Nation is at ringside. Miz continues to play his role well and I’m digging the new character. Then again I’ve always been a Miz fan.

R-Truth vs. Bo Dallas

Bo says that Truth has lost a lot but will win again if he Bolieves. Dallas does his usual stuff and hits a clothesline before running a victory lap. Back in and Truth rolls him up for the pin at 32 seconds for Bo’s first loss.

Post match Bo says he can’t Bolieve that and nails Truth. The beating stays on

Here are Lana and Rusev to do their thing, this time with a focus on the American flag. Lana is about to insult George W. Bush (from Texas) but here’s Colter to interrupt. He talks about the American flag meaning something everywhere in the world. Colter brings up the Stars and Stripes and the symbolism behind them before Rusev and Swagger have their usual fight with Rusev being run off. The fans give a LOUD USA chant.

Damien Sandow vs. Adam Rose

Sandow is an astronaut this week. He gets cut off by Rose and pinned in 36 seconds with the Party Foul. Nothing to see here.

Kane vs. Roman Reigns

Reigns is on the way to the ring but Orton jumps him in the crowd. Reigns takes over and heads into the ring for a Superman Punch to Orton, but walks into a chokeslam. Kane leaves and Orton hammers away with free shots on Reigns. He nails an Elevated DDT on the floor and rams Reigns’ head into the steps over and over. An RKO onto the announcers’ table (didn’t break) has Reigns down and a second RKO through the table knocks him senseless. The bell never rang so no match.

Back from a break and Reigns is still trying to get up.

Fandango vs. Diego

Diego has Layla and Summer as sexy bullfighters this week. Fandango hammers away and goes up for the legdrop but Torito gets up on the apron for a distraction. The dancer goes after him but the bull dives onto the girls’ shoulders. Diego hits a springboard spinning sunset flip for the pin at 1:30.

Stephanie tries to find Brie in the Divas locker room but gets Nikki instead. Brie is going to be here later and Stephanie hopes things will be reasonable. Nikki laughs at the idea.

The Dusts are at a chalkboard and trying to figure out what the Cosmic Key is. Goldust says calm down and points Stardust off into the distance. He writes THEY HAVE “IT” in for the answer to the question. No idea what that means.

Alicia Fox/Cameron vs. Natalya/Naomi

Natalya and Fox get things going with the blonde nailing a seated dropkick for an early two. Naomi dives at Cameron for a brawl but Fox nails an ax kick for two. Fox hammers on her for a bit before it’s back to Cameron, who is caught in a freaky looking body scissors for the submission at 2:33. This was nothing.

Chris Jericho vs. Seth Rollins

They quickly fight to the floor with Jericho getting in trouble, only to block a suicide dive with a right hand. Back in and an enziguri gets two on Rollins but he comes back with right hands to take over.

Here’s Stephanie for the big showdown with Brie to end the show. She looks at the clip from last week and apologizes to Brie again. Brie comes from the crowd to the ring and says she wants some revenge. Stephanie offers to give Nikki a raise but Brie wants her job back. The boss isn’t sure but Brie offers to drop all of the charges. Stephanie agrees but Brie wants something else: a match at Summerslam.

That’s fine with Stephanie who offers her a Divas Title shot or a Total Divas Spectacular. Brie says the obvious: she wants a match with Stephanie. The boss freaks out and says she isn’t a wrestler anymore (too easy) before finally saying she won’t lower herself to do this. Brie says she’ll see Stephanie in court. Stephanie finally breaks down and agrees before slapping Brie off the apron. The brawl is on but HHH and agents break it up. Fans: “THIS IS AWFUL!” I’m fine with the match taking place, but there is NO reason this should have closed the show.

I’ll save the final rating for when I see the whole thing. It wasn’t a great show from what I saw though.

Results
Dolph Ziggler/Usos b. Ryback/Curtis Axel/The Miz – Zig Zag to Ryback
R-Truth b. Bo Dallas – Rollup
Adam Rose b. Damien Sandow – Party Foul
Diego b. Fandango – Spinning sunset flip
Natalya/Naomi b. Alicia Fox/Cameron – Leg scissors to Cameron

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Battleground is over and we can head to Summerslam like a lot of people want to. Even though the big surprise for Monday’s Raw was the worst kept secret in about forever, it’s still a cool feeling when you know something huge is coming and you just have to wait for the big reveal. Let’s get to it.

HHH opened the show and talked about the Authority not getting the title back last night. He then went on a hilarious rant against internet fans, saying he was so mad that he might have to Tweet until his fingers bled or, Heaven help him, SEND OUT AN INSTAGRAM! I cracked up at that line because of the voice and the way he delivered it.

Anyway the point of this was that HHH isn’t sure who is going to face Cena at Summerslam but everyone in the back is going to have the chance to prove their worth to him. This brings out Orton, who HHH says is the frontrunner for a title shot. Kane comes out and says he’s the best option. Roman Reigns appears and says no one wants to see Kane vs. Cena and NO ONE wants to see Cena vs. Orton again. Kane gets laid out with a Superman Punch and HHH makes Reigns vs. Kane/Orton right now.

The handicap match was fine with Reigns pinning Kane after a spear. It’s a bit of a stretch but the team got in an argument at the end and Reigns capitalized. They kept it moving as well so it never got beyond the suspension of disbelief. Reigns pinning a former World Champion is a good thing for him.

Now we get to the other big story of the night. Stephanie McMahon gave Nikki Bella a four on one handicap match but noticed Brie Bella in the front row. She wanted Brie ejected but Brie had a ticket. They yelled at each other a lot and Stephanie slapped her, which somehow got Brie dragged off. Nikki was of course destroyed in the four on one handicap. Stephanie said that Nikki was going to quit soon, which seems to be her big plan.

Later in the night, Stephanie was arrested for battery and taken away in handcuffs. HHH promised he would get Stephanie out of jail in five minutes (and for some reason asked the cops if they were driving a hybrid), but instead stayed at the arena to make his announcement on the main event. We haven’t yet heard any backlash against HHH for not being there for his wife but you can imagine the sort of thing you’re going to hear.

The Bella vs. Stephanie segments were entertaining for the most part as Brie is actually a decent actress. Stephanie is perfect in her role and the story is acceptable enough. The problem is without Bryan, a lot of the interest goes down. I’d assume he’d be in Brie’s corner when we get the match at Summerslam though. One last note: I’m not sure if it’s the hair color or the more natural look, but Brie comes off as much more beautiful than Nikki. She did on Total Divas and she did again on Raw.

Bo Dallas beat Damien Sandow. It seemed like Bo had turned face here but that doesn’t seem to be the case.

Jericho was going to do the Highlight Reel but the Wyatts laid him out in the back. Apparently this was filmed at Battleground because Jericho wasn’t at the arena. That’s a basic idea and a trick that worked fine. Bray did his usual schtick about war and Abigail. He really needs to be a monster again.

Dolph beat The Miz because Miz is the Intercontinental Champion and therefore he must be defeated any time he wrestles. It’s life in the WWE.

Seth Rollins was told he shouldn’t face Cena at Summerslam. Cesaro came in and confirmed that he was no longer a Payl Heyman guy and asked to be put in the title match. HHH said Cesaro can get in if he beats Dean Ambrose tonight. Cesaro as a mercenary is an interesting idea.

AJ Lee and Paige beat Emma and Natalya. Post match Paige turned heel and beat up AJ before skipping away. Paige with a big smile and skipping away is rather appealing to look atl.

Zack Ryder beat Fandango with help from the girls. Let this one sink in for a bit. I’m not sure what the endgame is here but Layla and Summer dancing is never a bad thing.

Flo Rida knocked Heath Slater down, just like he did at Wrestlemania a few years back. He then performed a medley of songs and no one cared. I have no idea why WWE thinks this is a good use of TV time.

Kofi Kingston/Big E. lost to Ryback/Curtis Axel in a nothing match. The interesting thing here though was Xavier Woods coming out and saying that these two deserve better. It sounded a lot like the start of a new Nation type stable, but heel turns were only implied. Granted something like this almost naturally turns you heel as face stables rarely last long term. Kofi and Big E. getting something to do is a good thing though and Woods has the credentials to pull off the intellectual leader.

Rusev beat Great Khali in a better match than you would have expected. Same stuff here though.

The Dusts, Cosmic Key.

Cesaro and Ambrose had a nice brawl that ended with Ambrose hitting Cesaro with a chair. Dean caring more about violence and hurting Cesaro fits him fine as all that matters is Rollins right now.

The big ending to the show was of course HHH coming out to reveal the opponent and Reigns taking out Orton. HHH was left alone until Paul Heyman came out with Lesnar. HHH agreed that Lesnar gets the shot and Heyman talked for a good while about how awesome Brock was and how he’ll conquer John Cena at Summerslam. Good promo, even though we knew he was coming about a month ago.

Raw was good for the most part but again could have used an hour being cut out. Lesnar being spoiled hurt it a bit as the Orton and Kane stuff was just a big waste of time. To be fair though, WWE had put out a lot of stuff from Heyman so they acknowledged the spoilers and took away some of the shock intentionally.

You can see the top of Summerslam’s card already and a lot of it looks solid enough. We’ll have Brock destroying Cena, Reigns vs. Orton, Rollins vs. Ambrose and probably Brie vs. Stephanie. That’s not a bad card for a huge show and things should be entertaining enough. Raw was good enough this week but it was little more than setting the stage for the upcoming shows.

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Monday Night Raw
Date: July 21, 2014
Location: American Airlines Arena, Miami, Florida
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield, Jerry Lawler

We’re past Battleground and officially heading towards Summerslam. The show is in less than four weeks and the main event, while pretty obvious, has the potential to be awesome. Tonight we’re likely finding out what HHH’s Plan C is and who will be challenging Cena at Summerslam. Other than that Flo Rida is performing tonight for reasons that aren’t exactly clear. Let’s get to it.

Here’s HHH to open things up. He talks about how no one wants to look him in the eye because they think he’ll blow a gasket over the Authority losing last night. HHH goes off, saying he hasn’t been this mad in a long time but he has options. He says he’s going to Tweet about how upset he is. He’s so mad he might even send an Instagram or a VINE. If he doesn’t get what he wants, hes’ going to riot. And if THAT doesn’t work, he and his friend Mark are going to stop watching. Or another option is to fire everyone backstage.

HHH calms down and says he could lay back because he has options. He even guarantees that Cena won’t leave Summerslam as WWE Champion. The only question is who gets to take it from him. This brings out Randy Orton who wants a one on one match with Cena. HHH says Orton is the frontrunner, but the entire roster is going to get a chance to impress him. Randy blames Kane and here’s the monster himself. Kane says he can beat Cena if he doesn’t have to babysit Randy Orton.

Cue Roman Reigns who says no one wants to see Cena vs. Kane, and for sure no one wants to see Cena vs. Orton AGAIN. It sounds to him like everyone wants to see Roman Reigns vs. John Cena. Reigns gets in and lays out Kane with a Superman Punch but Orton bails to the floor. HHH makes Kane/Orton vs. Roman Reigns right now.

Roman Reigns vs. Randy Orton/Kane

Randy starts for his team and gets popped in the jaw with a right hand. Kane comes in and walks into a Samoan drop so it’s back to Randy. Reigns finally gets slowed down with a knee to the ribs and the heels start making fast tags. Roman quickly fights out of a nerve hold and raises a boot to stop a charging Kane. The monster gets sent to the floor and we take a break.

Back with Reigns fighting out of a chinlock but getting stomped down to the mat. Kane comes in again with an elbow to the jaw for two and it’s back to Orton for another chinlock. Reigns fights up again with another Samoan drop before knocking Kane into the ropes for the running boot. Kane clotheslines Reigns down but Orton won’t tag in. Orton gets grabbed by the throat but Reigns uses the distraction to hit the Superman Punch and the spear for the pin on Kane at 12:18.

Rating: C-. This wasn’t the worst match in the world but a handicap match where the ending is pretty obvious doesn’t help much. Reigns getting the win is a good thing for his career, though I’m thinking he needs to swap his finishers or just use the Superman Punch. The spear is good for a middle of the match move but it doesn’t work as well as a finisher.

Orton teases getting in the ring but backs down from Reigns.

Stephanie gives Alicia Fox/Eva Marie/Cameron/Rosa Mendes a pep talk before their four on one handicap match against Nikki Bella.

Alicia Fox/Cameron/Rosa Mendes/Eva Marie vs. Nikki Bella

Brie is in the front row so here’s Stephanie to say everything that is happening to Nikki because Brie is a quitter. Brie calls Stephanie a very mean name and holds up her ticket. They yell at each other some more and Stephanie slaps Brie again before Brie gets dragged out. The bell rings and Nikki is of course destroyed. Alicia calls off the dogs before pinning Nikki in 32 seconds.

Stephanie says Nikki is going to quit soon.

Damien Sandow vs. Bo Dallas

This week Sandow is in a Miami Heat jersey with the word Miami crossed off and Cleveland written below it. Damien starts fast but Bo fights back wit a backdrop and clothesline to send Sandow outside. Back in and Bo hammers away with right hands. Bo is wrestling more like a face this week. Sandow knees him in the ribs and nails a suplex before putting on a chinlock. The Wind-Up Elbow misses and a Bodog keeps Bo undefeated at 2:30.

Back from a break with the Highlight Reel but Bray and the Family have laid out Jericho in the locker room. Bray shows us a clip of the attack and him telling Jericho that sooner or later, they all fall down. In the arena, Bray says Jericho isn’t here but Bray Wyatt is. The fans may think that Chris Jericho is a better man than he is, but a loss in a battle means nothing to him.

The war is all that counts and he was the man that created war. It hasn’t been long since the Wyatts brought heroes to their knees. You cannot measure him like a normal man because society does not make him and he lives a hundred years a day. Abigail told him to never chase vengeance or he would have to dig two graves: one for his enemy and one for himself.

Jericho is in the back and bleeding from the ear.

The Miz vs. Dolph Ziggler

Non-title. Miz runs to the floor to start and Ziggler finally chases after him, only to fail at sending Miz into the steps. Back in and Miz stomps away but Ziggler takes him down and drops nine straight elbows. Miz trips Dolph up and puts on a chinlock before Miz catapults him over the top. Ziggler skins the cat and pulls Miz to the apron with him, only to be sent into the post as we take a break.

Back with Ziggler grabbing his arms but still not being able to nail a right hand to the face. Miz stomps on him even more and we hit the chinlock. Ziggler fights up and sends him into the buckle, followed by clotheslines and a neckbreaker. The Fameasser is countered into a rollup for two and a Side Effect gets the same for Miz.

Ziggler kicks him in the jaw and grabs a running DDT for two more. Miz’s short DDT gets two and it’s time to go after the leg. The Figure Four goes on but Ziggler finally dives for the ropes. Back up and a Fameasser gets another near fall on Miz but Ziggler can’t hit the Fameasser. Miz loads up the Skull Crushing Finale, only to get rolled through into the Zig Zag for the pin at 13:35.

Rating: C+. Now didn’t we all see this coming? I mean, I know the joke is that the Intercontinental Title is a death sentence, and now it’s looking more and more truthful every time the champion fights. Ziggler will lose the title match and then people will see Miz about the same as they do now. In other words, everyone loses.

HHH is telling Seth Rollins that there’s no reason for him to face John Cena at Summerslam because he’s got a title shot whenever he wants it. Rollins says there’s no way this can happen because Dean Ambrose keeps interfering. Cesaro comes in and says he’s no longer a Heyman Guy. Instead he’d rather be HHH’s guy. Rollins says HHH already has a guy, but Cesaro says he’d be a great choice to face Cena at Summerslam. HHH says it would be very impressive if Cesaro could beat Dean Ambrose tonight.

Emma/Natalya vs. AJ Lee/Paige

Emma trips AJ down to start and they trade rollups for two each. Paige comes in and walks into the Emma Lock before it’s off to Natalya for two off a rollup. Natalya puts on the Sharpshooter but Paige crawls over for the tag to AJ. A Shining Wizard and the Black Widow make Natalya tap at 2:25.

Post match Paige turns full heel and destroys AJ, including throwing her over the announcers’ table. Paige skips away.

Fandango vs. Zack Ryder

Ryder comes out with Summer Rae and Layla this time. Ryder hammers away to start but Fandango nails him with a dropkick. Fandango takes him down but gets caught in a faceplant. Ryder’s middle rope dropkick misses but Fandango doesn’t follow up. Ryder comes back with a Rough Ryder for the pin at 1:47. Layla shoved Fandango’s foot off the rope to give Ryder the win.

We recap Brie and Stephanie from earlier.

Flo Rida thinks he might get the title shot against John Cena. Heath Slater comes up and wants revenge from Flo Rida attacking him at Wrestlemania XXVIII. Slater shoves him and is shoved down to the ground.

Flo Rida performs. Stephanie was in the ring to introduce him and is arrested after the performance for attacking Brie earlier. Brie pops up and yells at her before being dragged off again. Stephanie is taken to the back and HHH tries to calm her down as Stephanie is put in the police car. HHH: “Is this a hybrid?” He promises to have her out of jail in five minutes.

Back from a break and HHH is about to leave but a guy (maybe Joey Mercury) says HHH has to decide on Cena’s opponent. HHH says family is more important but realizes that it’s going to take awhile to process Stephanie. He keeps the car on standby.

Ryback/Curtis Axel vs. Kofi Kingston/Big E.

Ryback and Big E. get things going with Ryback hammering away against the ropes. Big E. runs him over but walks into a spinebuster and gets double teamed in the corner. A side slam gets two for Ryback and he throws Big E. down with a belly to belly. The Meat Hook is countered by a clothesline from Big E. and he makes the hot tag to Kofi. Kingston speeds things up and gets two off the SOS as everything breaks down. Ryback rolls through a high cross body and pins Kofi at 3:25.

Rating: C-. This was mostly Big E. vs. Ryback foa few minutes before the ending came out of nowhere. Big E.’s collapse continues and it’s really kind of sad to see. Kingston only got to jump a few times and it wasn’t much to see. At least they’re building up another team to fight the Usos.

Big E. and Kofi are upset post match but Xavier Woods, now in glasses and a white suit, comes in and says they’re not getting anywhere by shaking hands and kissing babies. Instead of asking, now they’re going to be taking. Kofi and Big E. seem to agree. That was a very heelish promo from Woods.

We look back at the Wyatts attacking Jericho earlier.

Rusev vs. Great Khali

Rusev is still selling the ankle lock from last night. The big chop stuns Rusev and a big boot stops his charge. More chops in the corner have Rusev breathing deep but he nails Khali in the throat. The big chop puts Rusev down but he pops up and kicks Khali in the shoulder. A running superkick to the face sets up the Accolade for the submission at 2:27.

Clip of Sheamus on Royal Pains this week.

Stardust and Goldust talk about the Cosmic Key some more. It’s calling them.

We recap Brie and Stephanie again. Renee Young reports that Stephanie is going to be arraigned tonight and may be charged with resisting arrest.

Dean Ambrose vs. Cesaro

Ambrose hammers away to start and takes Cesaro to the floor to keep up the beating. Back in and Cesaro kicks him in the face before sending Ambrose shoulder first into the post. HHH is on the phone in the back while Orton and Rollins watch on. Cesaro cranks on the arm and the match slows down a lot. Back up and Cesaro nails him with a right hand, only to be sent to the floor. Ambrose tries a dive but lands on an uppercut as we take a break.

Back with Cesaro still on the arm before getting two off a German suplex. Cesaro’s superplex is countered and Ambrose nails a missile dropkick followed by a cross body. Ambrose suplex is countered but he sends Cesaro into the corner to escape a cross face chicken wing.

Cesaro heads outside but gets wiped out with a suicide dive. Back in and the rebound clothesline gets two on Cesaro but he comes back with a clothesline of his own. Dean gets a boot up in the corner but goes up and gets crotched into the Tree of Woe. Cesaro charges into the post twice in a row and Ambrose throws him in a third time. With the insanity setting in, Dean grabs a chair and blasts Cesaro in the arm for the DQ at 12:32.

Rating: C. The match was fun and the ending was the right call. Cesaro seems ready for a push and the split from Heyman is the right way to go about it, but a loss would hurt him right out of the gate. Ambrose going crazy and wanting to hurt Cesaro rather than pin him fits the character well. Everyone comes out in a good place here.

Renee asks HHH if he should be with his wife right now and gets glared at.

HHH is in the ring and brings out Orton as the challenger, but Reigns intercepts Orton on the way to the ring and brawls with him into the crowd. This brings out Paul Heyman who says HHH needs to consider Plan C. Cue Lesnar and HHH isn’t sure what to do. Brock stares him down and HHH shakes his hand. The boss leaves and Heyman gets to do his greasy promo about how Lesnar conquered the Streak. Now it’s time for Lesnar to conquer John Cena and take the WWE Championship at Summerslam.

Heyman says it doesn’t matter if you chant LET’S GO CENA or CENA SUCKS because Brock Lesnar is going to destroy Cena one way or another. We get a clip from Wrestlemania where the Streak was conquered and Paul talks about how that same beating is awaiting John Cena. Lesnar is going to punch, hurt, injure and F5 John Cena before taking the WWE Championship from him. He pledges loyalty to Brock Lesnar and promises Brock will take the title from Cena at Summerslam.

Overall Rating: C. This show tried to start up some new stuff, but at the same time it had a lot of moments that felt really slow. It’s the first stop on the road to Summerslam so there’s a lot to go in the coming weeks, but this was only a decent start. To be fair though, the ending was as obvious as it could possibly have been so it’s hard to complain much about it not being awesome.

Results
Roman Reigns b. Kane/Randy Orton – Spear to Reigns
Alicia Fox/Cameron/Rosa Mendes/Eva Marie b. Nikki Bella – Fox pinned Nikki after all four attacked her
Bo Dallas b. Damien Sandow – Bodog
Dolph Ziggler b. The Miz – Zig Zag
AJ Lee/Paige b. Natalya/Emma – Black Widow to Natalya
Zack Ryder b. Fandango – Rough Ryder
Curtis Axel/Ryback b. Big E./Kofi Kingston – Ryback rolled through a high cross body
Rusev b. Great Khali – Accolade
Cesaro b. Dean Ambrose via DQ when Ambrose used a chair

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

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WWE’s hot streak continued last night as their big shows are awesome, even though their TV hasn’t been the best lately. I’m sure I can find something to talk about.

The pre-show match was another interesting comedy match. As I mentioned in the review, it helps a lot that Hornswoggle and Torito are capable of having a watchable match. There’s likely going to be a third match with an angry Hornswoggle on his own (or on his own soon after) wanting revenge and after their first two efforts have gone so well, I’m totally fine with that, much to my own shock.

The opening match was Sheamus defending the US Title against Cesaro. This was exactly what an opening match was supposed to be: a good way of getting the fans into a show. There are multiple ways to do that and having two guys beat the tar out of each other for about twelve minutes is one way to do that. It worked really well with both guys one upping each other until the very end. Cesaro looked great and didn’t lose much in the loss, as it’s Sheamus rather than like Kofi or someone beneath him.

Cody/Goldust lost to Ryback/Axel in a bonus match which was little more than a Raw match. The only point to this was to split up the Brothers and there’s nothing wrong with that.

Rusev went over Big E. in what was just a step above a squash. At least Big E. got to hit the big spear spot to salvage this. Nothing bad but it was exactly what was expected.

The Money in the Bank promo has talking money. It’s better than that same song again though.

Bo Dallas vs. Kofi Kingston never happened as Kane interfered. Yeah it’ll be called a no contest, but when someone interferes and attacks one and only one of the people in the match, that’s a DQ. It won’t be remembered as such, but that’s what it was.

Barrett beat Rob Van Dam in another match that had a pretty obvious ending. That being said, it was still a nice back and forth match with both guys getting in a lot of their big spots. This is exactly what Van Dam should be used for: giving people a good match and then jobbing clean as a sheet. It was a step above a good Raw match and was fine for a PPV title defense. Barrett’s push continues, though it makes the loss to Sheamus all the more pointless.

Next up was Bryan/Stephanie/Brie over Bryan’s World Title. This was a well done segment as Bryan was ready to give the belts up and did the long look at them, but Brie stood up to Stephanie and said she was tired of being controlled. Brie wound up quitting and slapping Stephanie in the face before leaving. Given that the Bellas are easy to tell apart now, there’s not as much of a need for both of them to be on the roster anymore. Nikki will be fine with her shouts of COME ON to crickets. All the good people looked solid here and Stephanie got embarrassed so points all around. Bryan is still champion in theory but I don’t know how long that’s going to last.

This brings us to the first of the two main event matches. Cena beat Bray Wyatt in a last man standing match and I’m still not sure how I feel about it. The match was a great brawl but the controversial point is the ending. At the end of the day, it felt more like Cena used his mind instead of brutality to beat Bray, even though the AA through the box was a big move. The problem is it goes against the point of the match. It’s nowhere near as anti-last man standing as the Batista duct tape nonsense but it didn’t work for me.

On top of that there’s the whole Usos/Wyatt Family interference, as the match basically stopped for the sake of a mini tag team match between the four of them. It was entertaining, but I lost track of where Cena and Wyatt were during the match. Either way, the brawling was good, the ending wasn’t great, and Wyatt continues to have awesome matches in the main event spots.

Paige beat Alicia Fox in a boring match. Fox’s push will likely continue but Paige shouldn’t lose the belt for awhile, especially not to Fox.

That brings us to the main event with Shield sweeping Evolution in an elimination match. This worked but could have cut out five minutes or so to make it much better. The big problem I had with this was the second section, as about ten to fifteen minutes were a waste of time. As mentioned last night, why in the world are they tagging when ANYTHING GOES? The worst part of this was when Orton is trying to stop a tag and gives HHH A FREAKING PEP TALK instead of breaking it up himself. The whole thing just didn’t make sense.

Now to be fair it got much better as the match went on and they got to the violence, but this really didn’t work for the first part. That kind of stuff drives me crazy, especially when you have smart wrestlers in there. It wasn’t like they didn’t know what they were doing and we had to hear about HHH being all Cerebral and smart, but then he doesn’t know that he can do whatever he wants?

The great stuff later on was solid though as Shield came off looking great. They flat out defeated Evolution last night and that’s all they were supposed to do. It was a really solid match with Reigns getting two of the pins, Ambrose getting the fall over Orton and Rollins getting the big spot of the match. Again, Shield looked like equals rather than people Evolution was reaching down to help. It wasn’t as good as it was supposed to be, but it worked well enough.

Overall Payback was awesome with the two main events more than delivering and the worst match being the totally watchable Divas Title match. What else can you ask for from a major PPV? WWE is in a weird place right now as they can nail the big shows but the TV is hit and miss to say the least. There’s a lot of hope for the future though and that’s more important than some lame Raws.

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…..is still not entirely clear.

Brie wound up quitting (and slapping Stephanie HARD) so Stephanie couldn’t control her. In theory Bryan is still champion, but there’s no word on when he’ll be able to compete again. There was a rumor that Brie wanted to start a family so this might be a way to write her off TV.

Monday Night Raw
Date: May 5, 2014
Location: Times Union Center, Albany, New York
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield, Jerry Lawler

Extreme Rules has come and gone and most of the stories have advanced. First and foremost, Bryan kept the title away from Kane in a brawl reminiscent of the Attitude Era but it looks like a rematch is imminent. Other than that Shield defeated Evolution in a war and Bray Wyatt escaped the cage to beat Cena. The main stories tonight are a twenty man battle royal for the US Title and Adam Rose debuting. Let’s get to it.

US Title: Battle Royal

Dean Ambrose, Goldust, Cody Rhodes, Mark Henry, Titus O’Neal, R-Truth, Kofi Kingston, R-Truth, Heath Slater, Sheamus, Curtis Axel, Ryback, Dolph Ziggler, Big Show, Sin Cara, Santino Marella, Fandango, Zack Ryder, Jack Swagger, Damien Sandow

Ambrose is defending and all of his challengers come to the ring at the same time. It’s the traditional big mess to start with Show throwing out Woods and Henry dumping Ryder. Truth is thrown out by someone we didn’t see as everyone else is just having random brawls. Ziggler finally loses his shirt but makes the mistake of hammering on Big Show. Santino slides back into the ring and fails to help Sin Cara eliminates Titus. Big Show dumps Titus with ease and does the same to Sin Cara with the masked man landing on all of the other eliminated guys. Why they were still at ringside isn’t explained.

Fandango gets Dolph over the top but not out to the floor as the brawling continues. Sheamus does the ten forearms to Sandow for an elimination and we take a break. Back with Big Show and Mark Henry being ganged up on in opposite corners. Heath Slater appears to be the only elimination during the break. Henry and Show shrug everyone off and have a showdown ending with a chokeslam to Henry. A Brogue Kick staggers Big Show though and everyone comebines to dump him out. They do the same to Henry and both giants are gone.

Kofi is sent to the apron but jumps back in, only to be kicked out by Ambrose. Dean gets Fandango as well but has to deal with Swagger. Ryback and Axel dump Cody and Goldust to get us down to seven: Ambrose, Santino, Sheamus, Ryback, Axel, Swagger and Ziggler. Scratch Dolph actually as Santino Cobras him out but is quickly dumped by Ryback and Axel, leaving us with five. Sheamus starts cleaning house but runs into a spinebuster from Ryback. The Goldberg chants start up and Ryback has blood on his teeth.

Axel and Ryback take control but can’t toss Dean out. The fans chant for Punk for no apparent reason as Dean backdrops Axel to the floor and wins a slugout with Ryback on the apron to get us down to three. Swagger tries for a cheap shot but Dean slides back in. Ambrose gets behind him and dumps Jack but turns around for the Brogue Kick. The elimination is academic and Sheamus is champion at 15:49.

Rating: C. This was probably the best way to get the title off Ambrose save for the cliched triple threat or fourway match. He’s got the record for longest reign by a WWE US Champion so it’s not like he didn’t get to do anything with the belt. Also this is something for Sheamus to do once he’s back so it’s good for everyone all around. It also didn’t come off as any sort of a heel turn which it wasn’t supposed to be.

Rollins tries to calm Ambrose down by saying it wasn’t fair but here’s HHH to interrupt. He talks about how lucky Shield got last night before announcing a six man tag with Shield vs. the Wyatts later tonight.

After a break Sheamus says he’s been spinning his wheels since he came back. They say every stopped clock is right twice a day and tonight was the perfect time for the Celtic Warrior to step back into glory. Renee asks him if he has a message for Dean Ambrose. Sheamus says no hard feelings.

We get stills from Bryan vs. Kane last night.

Daniel is with Brie in the back when Stephanie comes in. All Daniel did last night was anger Kane and make him capable of unspeakable acts of violence. Therefore, Bryan has to stay in this locker room until his match later tonight. She shuts the door and Kane’s mask is on the back.

Rob Van Dam vs. Cesaro

Feeling out process to start with Van Dam taking over with a quick armdrag. A headlock slows RVD down and a back elbow to the jaw gets two. Rob comes back with a quick kick to the face and Rolling Thunder sends Cesaro to the floor. Back in and Cesaro gets in a few more shots but another kick sends him outside for a big old flip dive.

A moonsault off the apron sets up a slingshot legdrop for two back inside. The fans think this is boring thirty seconds after all the high spots from Van Dam because wrestling crowds have the attention span of drunken gnats. Now it’s a CM Punk chant as Cesaro hammers away and sends Van Dam to the floor with a clothesline. We come back from a break with Van Dam fighting out of a chinlock and the fans chanting for him for a change.

A sunset flip gets two for Van Dam but he gets caught by a jumping double stomp of all things. Van Dam gets another two off a small package and rollup but he dives off the top into an uppercut for a pair of near falls. Cesaro nails him with an awesome looking running uppercut in the corner followed by some rolling gutwrench suplexes for two. Back up and Van Dam can’t hook a monkey flip out of the corner but runs into an elbow to the jaw. He goes up top but gets caught in a one legged tree of woe. Cesaro goes to the floor to hammer away at Van Dam’s head but does it too long for a DQ at 12:00.

Rating: C+. The match was fun and I actually like the ending. Van Dam was getting dominated so it doesn’t make Cesaro look bad and shows a more aggressive side to his character. Those rolling gutwrench suplexes are just awesome and his match against a big name is going to rock.

Cesaro hammers away even more until Heyman pulls him off. Van Dam looks totally out of it.

Bray Wyatt says that Abigail told him that he was born to lead and would change the world one day. This world we live in has an evil about it and everyone refers to him as a piece of trash or a nobody. Those people have made it a glorious day because last night, Bray Wyatt became somebody. Last night Cena’s fear was personified by a singing child and we get a clip showing just that. Bray talks about how a child has personified Cena’s fear. John thinks that Bray is spreading nothing but lies and just wants to watch the world burn.

The second part is right because he wants a new world to be reborn in his image. Wyatt is doing this for the homeless man sitting on the side of the street, for the teenage girl who woke up crying because she was called too ugly to be the prom queen and for every fan sitting in this arena. From this day forward, John Cena stands alone and alone he shall fall. The children shall stand will Bray Wyatt and they’ll never be alone again. He’ll be remembered for what he truly is: a god.

Ryback vs. Cody Rhodes

We see a clip from the battle royal that shows Cody accidentally eliminating Goldust. Cody starts fast and sends Ryback to the outside before hammering away in the corner. Ryback takes over with a hot shot before choking on the ropes to keep Cody in trouble. A delayed vertical suplex gets two on Cody and a hard whip into the corner puts him down again.

We hit the chinlock for a bit until Ryback misses a splash. Cody takes out the knee and hits a running knee to the chest for two. The Disaster Kick looks AWESOME, followed by a good looking springboard missile dropkick. Goldust goes after Axel but the distraction lets Ryback pull Cody off the top into Shell Shock for the pin at 6:00.

Rating: D. This was a really dull match as the always annoying “let’s have two guys lose every match they’re in and then wonder why no one cares about them at all after it’s over” trope continues. This match just kept going and I was really bored after about two minutes, especially when the ending was obvious.

The lights go out in Brie and Bryan’s locker room. A small fire lights up with Kane’s mask over it. The newlyweds leave and run into Stephanie, who offers to have Brie’s car brought up. I’m sure this won’t end badly at all.

It’s time for a Cinco De Mayo celebration with Los Matadores and Torito. They have your usual Mexican decorations and Torito throws out candy to the fans until 3MB interrupts. They want a truth but demand that only English is spoken. Drew threatens violence if the truce isn’t accepted and a brawl breaks out. Slater gets left alone and shouts OLE, only to be thrown to the floor. Torito puts Horny in an airplane spin as JBL shouts out boxing references.

Bolieve!

Kofi Kingston vs. Alexander Rusev

Before the match, Lana praises Vladimir Putin and Edward Snowden, saying America’s secrets are safe with them. Rusev runs Kofi over to start and tosses him down with an overhead belly to belly suplex. Kingston comes back with a dropkick and spinning crossbody for two but misses a kick to the chest, allowing Rusev to load up the fall away slam. Kingston lands on his feet though and tries the springboard cross body, only to be caught in mid air. Now the fall away connects and the Accolade makes Kofi submit at 2:50.

The Network is now available on XBOX One.

Brie gets into the car as Bryan looks around. He gets in to leave and of course there’s a camera in the backseat. Stephanie knocks on the window to scare both of them and says Bryan’s match is right now. If he doesn’t wrestle tonight, he’s stripped of the title. Thankfully Daniel has a brain and has Brie come with him to the ring.

Daniel Bryan vs. Alberto Del Rio

Non-title. Daniel fires off kicks in the corner to start before opting for some right hands to the face. He charges into the tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for two though and Del Rio takes over. Another USA chant starts up as Bryan fires the kicks in the corner. He backflips over Del Rio and actually slips on the landing. Thankfully JBL is paying attention and says it’s because he’s worried Kane might attack him. The YES Kicks have Del Rio in trouble but he grabs a Backstabber for two. Daniel heads outside and gets sent into the barricade as we take a break.

Back with Bryan fighting out of a chinlock but walking into a German suplex for two. Alberto starts goinga fter the arm and mocks the YES post, only to dive into a forearm for two. They head outside with Bryan being dropped face first onto the barricade. Back in and Del Rio lowers the knee pad for the superkick (not sure what sense that makes) but Bryan ducks and lands a hard kick of his own.

A drop toehold sends Alberto into the middle buckle and they trade kicks with Del Rio taking over. Bryan gets dropped with a big old kick but headbutts out of a superplex. The Swan Dive gets two and the running dropkicks knock Del Rio to the floor. FLYING GOAT sends Del Rio halfway into the stands but he comes back with an enziguri for two. The armbreaker is esily countered though and Bryan uses something like La Mistica to set up the YES Lock for the win at 15:32.

Rating: B-. This is the kind of stuff they should use to main event shows like Payback or another low level show. Instead of using the same matches over and over again, just let Bryan tear it up with some upper midcarder for about 25 minutes a month. Good match here with Del Rio going kick for kick with the champion.

Post match Kane’s pyro goes off so they run to the back. Brie and Daniel get in the car but it won’t start. Daniel checks the engine and plugs a wire back in. He shuts the hood and of course Kane is in the back of the car. Bryan fights Kane and tries to leave again but Kane gets on the back of the car. Daniel floors it to drop Kane on the concrete (off camera of course) but stops and looks back. Kane sits up so Bryan gets back in and drives off.

Intercontinental Title: Big E. vs. Bad News Barrett

Barrett is defending, having beaten Big E. for the title last night. Before the match, Bad News says the fans are going to need some cosmetic surgery for their new champion. Big E. runs him over to start and the fight is quickly on the floor. Barrett is rammed into the apron and a spear puts him into the steps before they just beat the count back inside. The champion goes right back to the floor but avoids a charge to send Big E. shoulder first into the post.

Back with Barrett still in control and getting two off Winds of Change. A hard knee to the face puts Big E. down again and here comes the Bull Hammer. You know it’s not working that quickly though so Big E. runs him over to put him in the ropes. The spear through the ropes puts both guys on the floor and it’s Big E. up first. The Big Ending is countered though and Bad News rakes the eyes. Bull Hammer retains the title at 10:48.

Rating: D+. Not much to see here as it was just the required win in the rematch to establish that Barrett is the better man and get rid of Big E. for awhile. It wasn’t a very good match though as Big E. started doing stuff he didn’t do while champion and it makes it easier to beat him, as is tradition in wrestling.

Cena will respond to Bray Wyatt on Main Event.

We look at the battle royal earlier.

Here’s a special Mother’s Day message from Mr. T. which is comprised of remixed clips of his Hall of Fame speech and Brodus Clay’s dancing bridge club from Wrestlemania XXVIII.

Swagger and Colter come out with a sign saying Zeb’s Deportation List. Colter says today isn’t Cinco De Mayo because it’s May 5. He doesn’t like all the foreigners coming into WWE and has a list of all the people he wants gone. It’s only a partial list: Cesaro, Heyman, Emma, Santino, Paige and Sheamus. Colter does the Emma dance and says it’s poisoning the youth of America. They’re interrupted by the Adam Rose party, complete with BUNNY. The entire party is here to carry Rose to the ring just like in NXT. The fans are singing the tune of his song too so it’s working.

Rose has a sucker in his mouth and holds it out to Colter. Zeb holds up a hand but Adam grabs him by the moustache. “Don’t be a lemon. BE A ROSEBUD!” Swagger runs at him but gets kicked in the face and backdropped to the floor. The party gets back in the ring and Zeb looks terrified before running off.

Wyatt Family vs. Shield

It’s a big fight to start and the bell rings with everyone on the floor. Ambrose and Rowan get things going with Dean taking over in the corner. Off to Rollins who gets thrown out of the corner, allowing for the tag off to Harper. Dean makes a blind tag to help Rollins with a double suplex and two on Luke. Roman comes in and hammers away before it’s quickly back to Rollins for a top rope shot to the arm.

Harper takes Seth into the corner to take over again and it’s off to Bray for some hard right hands to the head. Rowan can’t slam Rollins down and gets caught with an enziguri, allowing for the tag off to Dean. Ambrose hammers away and nails a cross body, allowing him to get even more hard shots. Dean cleans house and takes Rowan down with a shoulder before slapping on a Figure Four. He lets it go so we can have a standoff and take a break.

Back with Harper holding Ambrose in a chinlock. Dean fights up with a jawbreaker but it’s off to Rowan to whip Dean from corner to corner. Rowan is sent to the floor and the now legal Harper gets the same treatment. Seth hits a running dive to take them both out but stops to go after Bray, allowing Harper to shove him to the floor in a scary crash. Harper follows it up with a suicide dive, sending Rollins over the table.

Back in and things settle down again before it’s off to Bray for a running splash in the corner. Harper slams Rollins down for two more as everything breaks down. Rowan and Wyatt throw Dean onto the announce table before leaving him alone. Rollins knocks Harper off the top rope and hits the top rope knee to put both guys down. A double tag brings in Reigns to hammer on Wyatt and hit a series of the running clotheslines.

The Family breaks up the Superman Punch and it’s double dive time to send Harper and Rowan onto the table. Now the Punch connects and it’s Triple Bomb time but here’s Evolution. That’s fine with Shield as they kick the Wyatts onto Evolution and hit more double dives, only to have Bray run Roman over and hit Sister Abigail for the pin at 18:04.

Rating: B-. It’s a good match but it has to compare to the match these guys had at Elimination Chamber. The ending gives us a reason for Shield to keep fighting Evolution, hopefully in some singles matches instead of another six man. It’s a good main event but more about the stories than the match.

Evolution goes after Shield post match and this time their comeback is stopped. A string of finishers ends the show, including a Triple Bomb to Reigns.

Overall Rating: C. The more I think about it, the more seeing Bryan vs. Kane again makes me want to pound a rusty spike into my eye. If it’s going to mean another month of really bad segments like this one then I’m very glad I have the Network to give me something entertaining to watch instead of this nonsense. We get it: Kane is a monster who is going to lose in the blowoff match because that’s what he’s done for like 15 years now. The rest of the show was solid but that segment gets stupider and stupider every time I think about it.

Results
Sheamus won a battle royal last eliminating Dean Ambrose
Rob Van Dam b. Cesaro via DQ when Cesaro wouldn’t stop attacking Van Dam in the ropes
Ryback b. Cody Rhodes – Shell Shock
Alexander Rusev b. Kofi Kingston – Accolade
Daniel Bryan b. Kane – Yes Lock
Bad News Barrett – Big E. – Bull Hammer
Wyatt Family b. Shield – Sister Abigail to Reigns

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Raw this week was again about pushing the major stories as we get closer to Extreme Rules. However there was another story aside from the two main events that blew the doors off this week. There wasn’t much wrestling but there was an old drunk guy that embarrassed himself yet again, meaning he’ll be invited back for years. Let’s get to it.

We kick things off with a bang as John Cena comes into the cage opening the ring. Cena isn’t sure what to think as the fans have seemingly turned their backs on him last week when they put him in a three on one handicap match against the Wyatt Family. It was a match he couldn’t win and the fans gave him no chance. Cena wanted to know why the fans supported someone who didn’t have his passion and warns them that if Bray wins on Sunday, his message will soon take over the world. Then the crazy started.

The lights went out and a group of children could be heard singing He’s Got The Whole World In His Hands. The lights came back on and it was indeed a choir of children all in black. Bray came out with the lantern as the children surrounded the ring and kept singing. The lights came on again and they were all wearing the masks and saying Bray had the whole Cenation in his hands. One of the kids sat on Bray’s lap as he evily laughed and the camera zoomed in on the kid’s mask. Cena was completely distraught throughout the whole thing.

Where do I even begin with this? It was a genuinely disturbing sign and potentially opens the door for a lot of ideas. What does Cena do when Bray has power over the group of fans he loves the most turns on him? What does Cena do when everyone is booing him? What do you do with a man has the power to control children? I have no idea, but I’m really curious to see where this goes. One thing is clear though: under no circumstances can Cena win at Extreme Rules. I can defend a lot of Cena’s booking but there’s no real way to say that’s the right move.

The Usos defeated Ryback/Curtis Axel in a Tag Team Title match. The story here was that one of the Usos (by the way, no it doesn’t matter which it was. They’re the same guy for all intents and purposes) hurt his ankle and couldn’t move as well in the second half of the match. That’s fine for a story, but when you tag him in and he’s just fine and can do all the things he normally does, the story doesn’t mean anything. He was throwing superkicks and dives like his ankle was fine, so why even bother doing the angle at all? That’s the kind of stupid thinking that drives me insane.

Adam Rose debuts next week. That should be awesome even if it’s just a squash.

Heyman told Cesaro not to listen to people saying he’s a liar, because he’ll get Cesaro to the top. This is still in the seed planting stages but the harvest will be awesome.

Sheamus beat Titus O’Neal in a 35 second match. This is another good example of how awful Sheamus’ booking has been lately. Titus attacked him and had Sheamus in trouble, but Sheamus just popped up and won with a single move. Would it really kill them to have Sheamus lost a single match or to actually show some weakness? I honestly don’t get this booking at all and I haven’t for months.

The Hugh Jackman/Damien Sandow/Dolph Ziggler stuff just kind of happened. Jackman is cool when he’s out there and I like that they actually tied it into his previous appearance. Sandow as Magneto actually made me chuckle and that’s the idea of the segment. Someone in the WrestleZone live discussion pointed out that Sandow was destined for comedy and the more I think about it, the more I completely agree. Sandow explaining science and math to people has potential though.

Cesaro beat Swagger in a meaningless match. I did like him winning with a German suplex instead of the Neutralizer though. It’s always nice to see people mix stuff up. Heyman pulling Zeb’s mustache for a distraction was long overdue though.

Alberto Del Rio squashed Cody Rhodes to further the Rhodes Brothers split. Nothing to see here as usual but it was fine.

Rusev and Woods had an angle disguised as a match. The squash should work fine at Extreme Rules, just like it did for Brock against the Hardy Boys at Judgment Day back in 2002, and yes I know that was a handicap match but his partner was Heyman so we’ll call it a handicap match.

3MB actually won a match against Los Matadores. The main thing here was the announcement of the Wee-LC match on Sunday’s pre show. I still don’t like the Horny vs. Torito feud but them playing it so over the top actually makes it much easier to sit through rather than them just playing it as a boring match that no one cares about.

Stephanie’s apology to Bryan was about what you would expect it to be. I’m surprised at how natural Brie Bella being out there with Daniel feels. The fact that they’re married in real life helps a lot though as I’m not waiting on them to break up at the drop of a hat for a storyline. Stephanie playing it serious is interesting but I think we all know it’s another ruse.

This led directly into Brie facing Paige for the Divas Title in another angle disguised as a match. Kane interfered about two and a half minutes in and tried to kidnap Brie but Bryan made the save. I liked that he sent Brie to the back like someone logically would do, but she came back and almost got pulled under the ring anyway. Bryan getting laid out again works fine and the match on Sunday should be pretty solid. The post break stuff with Brie screaming at Stephanie actually worked. The Bellas are still annoying but Brie seems far more like a human than her sister.

Cena gave a serious promo (odd line about Bray riding a mule aside) about Bray that made it sound like he’s going to war. This is the Cena I can get behind, but again he has to lose on Sunday.

Barrett beat RVD in a very obvious ending to a better than expected match. The post match stuff sets up RVD vs. Cesaro vs. Swagger on Sunday, which almost has to go to Cesaro.

The big segment to almost end the show was Ric Flair returning to Raw to talk about how great Evolution was. The surprise was that he wound up endorsing Shield before walking out. However, the interesting part here was that Flair was clearly drunk, as is almost always the case. How in the world this is considered ok in WWE’s eyes is beyond me, as anyone else that showed up like this would be fired almost immediately.

The main event was Orton vs. Reigns which didn’t last long and ended with everyone running in for a DQ. Evolution looked do destroy Shield to end the show but Shield fought back and stood tall to end things in a nice surprise.

This was another Raw that would have been a classic if it was only two hours long. The middle hour just crippled it though and even a good third hour wasn’t enough to make the save. It also didn’t help that nothing was going to top that Wyatt segment, which is often the case around WWE anymore. I’m ready for Extreme Rules though and that’s the most important thing a go home show can do.
 

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I didn’t pick up on this during the live broadcast but it’s very obvious after a bit more thought.Last night Vickie Guerrero kept “fainting” in her match and asked for water to help her through it.  This was meant as a rib on AJ Lee for collapsing due to dehydration during the European tour.

Once I realized that’s what was happening, I was genuinely disgusted.  AJ Lee has done more good for the Divas Division since probably Laycool and they mock her because she was working too hard.  That’s how much WWE thinks of its employees.  We have to sit through the painfully boring Total Divas matches and have Brie Bella forced down our throats because she’s a “reality” TV “star” as WWE desperately tries to get fans to stop cheering AJ, and now she’s ribbed after having what could have been a serious medical issue?  Less than 15 months ago Jerry Lawler was this close to dying on national TV, but AJ is just a Diva so what difference does she make right?

Pitiful.

Monday Night Raw
Date: October 14, 2013
Location: Scottrade Center, St. Louis, Missouri
Commentators: Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler, John Bradshaw Layfield

The main story coming out of last week is Big Show knocking out HHH to end the show but not seeming all that upset at the prospect of losing his job or his house. Other than that we’re still without a WWE Champion because having no one hold it for two and a half months is fine. Shawn Michaels is scheduled for the show tonight so let’s get to it.

We open with Shawn Michaels with something to say. He thanks for everyone that voted for him last week to be the guest referee. It’s nice that not everyone forgot about old H-B-Shizzle (again his words, not mine). He’s made it well known that he has a history with both guys in the title match since he trained Daniel Bryan and has always liked him but never liked Randy Orton.

Shawn talks about being in the first HIAC match in this very building and that it made him glad he’s retired. What happened at Battleground and Night of Champions was a crock and it will not happen again. Shawn guarantees us a new WWE Champion which draws out hometown boy Orton.

Randy promises to make this sweet because he has a match up next. Orton was born and raised right here in St. Louis so he knows the people here better than Shawn. They’re not that bright but Orton can see right through Shawn. As great as Shawn was, Orton is just that much better and it eats Shawn up inside. Shawn: “Oh snap were you talking? I wasn’t even listening.”

Orton needs to leave Shawn alone and worry about Bryan, but Orton promises to hurt Daniel inside the Cell. Randy threatens Shawn if he tries to screw Orton over but Shawn threatens him with some Sweet Chin Music. Both guys try their finishers and Orton bails to the floor, only to be jumped by Miz, his opponent tonight. The match is after the break.

Randy Orton vs. The Miz

Back from a break with Miz firing off knees to the ribs but getting sent into the corner for a clothesline. Miz comes back with a clothesline of his own to send Randy to the floor but his baseball slide misses, allowing Orton to hit yet another clothesline. Miz is sent into the steps and back inside we get the Orton stomp for two. Off to a chinlock for a few seconds before Miz is sent over the top and out to the floor.

Randy can’t get the Elevated DDT though as Miz shoves him into the post before heading back inside. Some shots to the head have Randy in trouble and there’s the corner clothesline into the top rope ax handle. Orton rolls out of the Finale but tries the Figure Four….and here are the Wyatts. The distraction lets Orton snap off an RKO for the pin at 5:20.

Rating: D+. Lesson #1 in how to win a match: NEVER look to the stage. If there has been a more over used finish in the span of a few months it eludes me completely. That finish has to be done at least once a year. Other than that and clothesline abundance aside, this wasn’t too horrible with Miz having a bit of a fire to him.

Bray says that Miz is everything that he hates about this world. All of the glitz and glamor and red carpet and all that good stuff. Bray talks about us being stuck in the spider web of this moment and promises to take Miz down.

Fandango vs. Santino Marella

Naturally we start with a quick dance off before Fandango takes him down into a chinlock. A suplex sets up more dancing but Santino avoids something off the top. A jawbreaker of some sort puts Fandango down and Santino comes back with the usual. He loads up the Cobra but has to stop before almost hitting Summer Rae, allowing Fandango to roll him up for the pin at 2:30.

Paul Heyman asks Brad Maddox for more in the Ryback vs. Punk match. He says that Punk has made Maddox look ridiculous in this build up and thinks Punk should be punished. Heyman suggests Punk vs. Ryback/Axel in a handicap match but Maddox doesn’t think that’s very fair. Brad goes with a Beat the Clock challenge instead. Tonight it’s Ryback vs. Truth and Punk vs. Axel with the winner (either Heyman or Punk) getting to pick the stipulation for the PPV.

NXT wrestler Xavier Woods has started a petition to bring back Big Show. JBL spends the next fifteen seconds talking over Cole and ranting about how stupid a name Xavier Woods is and how Big Show should be fired.

Video on John Cena making a comeback.

Los Matadores vs. 3MB

It’s Slater/McIntyre here, in case you didn’t get the idea the first three times. Diego runs over McIntyre to start and hits a nice flying headscissors to send him out to the floor. Slater of course chases after the bull before taking over on Fernando back inside. The Band pounds away for a bit before allowing the hot tag off to Diego. The double Angle Slam is enough to take out Slater at 4:03.

Rating: D. I am so over these guys already and they’ve only been here two weeks. Have they even fought anyone other than 3MB in that span? Oh wait they beat Los Locales, meaning only four of their five matches have been with 3MB. I can’t picture these guys lasting much longer.

Post match Mahal takes the double finisher and Torito adds a springboard seated senton for good measure.

We recap Big Show’s antics last week.

Here are HHH and Stephanie for their big interview of the week. Stephanie talks about making a mistake but gets cut off by a YOU GOT KNOCKED OUT chant. She talks about bailing Big Show out one time too many and then he got fired. This was the last time too because Show is out of a job and they’re selling his house and pushing criminal charges.

As for HHH, he’s nowhere near as bad as the reports say. HHH is the Game ad you don’t get those names without earning them. HHH says he’s been the boss for two years now and did all that for the fans. He’s been trying to ensure that the WWE is here for years to come and knows what kind of punishment that brings. He talks about being pushed beyond his breaking point last week when he got knocked out and a Goat Face stood over him while the people chanted YES. That brings us to now and HHH is willing to be the bad guy. He’ll be that guy, but he’s going to do things that we’ve never seen before.

The fans chant YES even more and here’s Daniel Bryan to answer the call. Before he can say anything though, Alberto Del Rio jumps him from behind and knocks Bryan down the ramp. The low superkick keeps Bryan down and the McMahons make the obvious match of Del Rio vs. Bryan for later tonight.

Ryback vs. R-Truth

Beat the Clock match here so Truth immed heads to the floor. The chase is quickly on until Truth gets in some shots back inside. Truth gets a few near falls but Ryback finally slows him down and gets two off a clothesline. Ryback gets two off a backbreaker but continues o take his sweet time. We’re at four and a half minutes now and neither guy seems interested in finishing this up in a hurry. Truth pounds him down again and gets two off a missile dropkick. Not that it matters though as Ryback fights up and Shell Shocks Punk for the pin at 5:44.

Rating: D. This was an angle instead of a match which is fine, but it doesn’t make the match anything interesting. Odds are Punk wins the other match and sets the time so that he can get Heyman alone inside the Cell to finally finish this off, but that might be too simple for the writers on this show.

Stephanie runs into the Bellas in the back and gives Brie a wedding present: a match with someone to be named with AJ in the opponent’s corner.

Video on WWE 2K14.

Tons of Funk vs. Real Americans

Cesaro starts with Brodus and a slam puts Antonio down. Off to Tensai to run over Cesaro even more and drop an elbow on him for no cover. A nice monkey flip out of the corner puts Cesaro down but Swagger comes in with a chop block. We hit the chinlock for a bit on Tensai as the match slows way down all of a sudden. Tensai is taken to the corner for the Vader Bomb/double stomp combo for two before we’re right back into the chinlock.

The Americans takes turns on Tensai’s arm until Cesaro hits a great looking gutwrench suplex for two. That man is just scary strong. Tensai finally gets free for the tag off to Brodus but the fans don’t seem all that impressed. Brodus busts out a t-bone suplex of all things for two on Cesaro but Swagger makes the save. Cesaro is back in though and it’s the Neutalizer for the pin on Brodus at 5:30.

Rating: D+. The night of bad matches continue but the Cesaro stuff looked good for the most part. I have no idea why Swagger has to drag this team down so much and he’s trippling Cesaro by mere association at this point. Not much to this one but I’ve seen far worse before.

Post match Cesaro swings Tensai.

Breast cancer still sucks.

Tamina Snuka vs. Brie Bella

Nikki isn’t allowed at ringside but Tamina as AJ with her. Brie is all aggressive tonight and knocks AJ around before taking it out to the floor. Tamina gets in a shot to the ribs and takes it back inside for some shots to the ribs, only to be countered into something like AJ Styles’ Calf Killer.. Ropes are quickly grabbed and Tamina kicks her in the ribs to put Brie down again. We hit the chinlock for a bit before Brie is casually slammed down to the at. Back up and Brie gets up a boot in the corner and an off missile dropkick puts Tamina down. Brie picks up a bit but walks into a big boot out of nowhere for the pin at 4:36.

Rating: C-. For a Divas match this actually wasn’t half bad. Brie is still not a likeable person but she’s getting better in the ring and the little pink outfits don’t hurt anything either. I’m not sure I get the point in having her lose clean like this but maybe it means Brie leaves the title scene.

The beating continues post match with Tamina hitting a Superfly Splash and AJ hooking the Widow’s Peak.

Bryan goes to yell at Stephanie but she tell him to go look after his fiance.

Curtis Axel vs. CM Punk

Punk has to win in under 5:44. Punk quickly starts going for falls by elbowing Axel in the face and going for the cover. Axel comes back with shots to the head but gets caught by a cross body for two. We have under 3:30 to go and Axel puts on a front facelock. Punk comes back with his usual including the knee in the corner but the GTS is countered into a bad looking McGillicutter. Axel starts speeding things up as well, not seeming to realize that he doesn’t need to beat the clock. Punk gets a quick rollup for two with thirty seconds left before the high kick and the GTS connect for the pin at 5:33, meaning Punk gets to pick.

Rating: C+. This worked due to how fast it was but did we really need to have Punk beat the Intercontinental Champion clean in less than six minutes? The story had to go this way but there were other ways they could go to this point. Either way, it sets up the blowoff for the Punk vs. Heyman feud which probably needs to be wrapped up.

Post match Punk makes it Ryback/Heyman vs. Punk inside the Cell.

Daniel Bryan vs. Alberto Del Rio

Non-title of course. Daniel is aggressive to start but gets caught in a quick suplex and chinlock less than two minutes into the match. Bryan suplexes out of it and fires off the kicks, only to get caught in a Backstabber for two. Del Rio avoids a running dropkick in the corner and stomps away as we take a break. Back with Bryan missing the headbutt but almost getting the YES Lock, only to have Del Rio make the ropes. Del Rio comes back with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for two as he’s bleeding from the lip a bit.

Bryan explodes out of the corner with a clothesline but Del Rio hits a Codebreaker on the arm for two. A middle rope dropkick gets two for Del Rio and he avoids a charge, sending Bryan shoulder first into the post. The corner enziguri misses though and both guys are down. Bryan fires off the kicks to the chest and the running dropkick in the corner followed by the top rope hurricanrana for two.

Del Rio is kicked to the floor and hit by the FLYING GOAT. Back inside and the missile dropkick has Del Rio in trouble but here’s Orton on the big screen. He apologizes for what happened to Brie earlier but says he’ll go check on her. Orton goes into the trainer’s room and Brie can be heard screaming after the door shuts. Bryan gets rolled up for two but kicks Del Rio in the head and runs to the back for the countout at 16:29.

Rating: C+. The match was ok but this show is so far beyond saving at this point that it doesn’t matter. At least they didn’t do the same distraction leads to a pin sequence and they didn’t job the champion again. This Orton vs. Bryan feud is just not working though and I think everyone knows it.

Bryan runs into the trainer’s room and gets jumped as you would expect.

HHH and Stephanie make the main event No DQ.

Another video on Cena.

Tag Titles: Shield vs. Goldust/Cody Rhodes

No DQ here. The challengers take over to start and work over Rollins with Cody getting two off a dropkick. Reigns interferes with an elbow to Cody’s jaw and the champions take over. Roman stomps Cody down to the floor for two before bringing Rollins back in for some right hands to the head. We hit the armbar for a few moments before Cody comes back with an attempted Alabama Slam out of the corner. Rollins slides down the back but Cody dives into a tag off to Goldust.

Goldie can’t hit Shattered Dreams but settles for a bulldog out of the corner for two on Rollins. Seth ducks something like a cross body to send Goldust to the floor and us to a break. Back with Rollins cranking on the arm even more as Cody plays cheerleader on the apron. A backslide gets two for Goldust but Seth clotheslines him back down. Back to Reigns for a chinlock but Goldust fights up and comes out of the corner with a back elbow. Rollins breaks up the hot tag but dives into a powerslam to put both guys down.

Ambrose’s interference doesn’t stop Cody and the younger brother cleans house. Reigns is sent into the post but Cody only gets two. The moonsault press gets the same and a Disaster Kick knocks Dean out to the floor. A springboard missile dropkick puts Rollins down again but Reigns makes the save. Ambrose comes in to break up Cross Rhodes and the numbers catch up with the challengers.

They load up the TripleBomb but Goldust comes in with a chair for the save. He can’t keep Reigns down though and Roman gets the chair. A big chair shot misses and Goldust scores with a cross body, crushing the chair against Reigns’ chest. Cody tries a Disaster Kick off the steps but gets caught in a running powerbomb against the barricade. Goldust hits atomic drops on the tag champions and a Cactus Clothesline puts Goldust and Reigns on the floor but here’s Ambrose to jump the painted one.

The fans correctly say that this is awesome right before Reigns DESTROYS Goldust with a spear through the barricade. That looked AWESOME. Dean throws Cody and Reigns back into the ring but here’s Big Show through the crowd. Shield grabs chairs but Show cleans house anyway until only Reigns is left standing. Cody kicks Roman into the KO punch and Cody gets the pin and the titles at 19:15.

Rating: A-. Well that helped. This felt like Mankind beating the Rock for the title back in January of 1999 which is about as high of a compliment as I can give a match. This is the kind of moment that this story has been dying for since it started and just like the match at Battleground, it was built up through emotion and it worked like a charm. Great match.

Overall Rating: D+. This was one of the most boring episodes of Raw I can remember in a very long time. There are multiple problems to this whole cycle but first and foremost is that we already got the build up to these matches when we were getting ready for Battleground. The only changes to the title picture are that the match is inside the Cell and Brie Bella, which don’t make up for how uninteresting it is.

On top of that, the three hour issue is rearing its ugly head again. Look at some of the matches tonight like Santino vs. Fandango and the first two tag matches. They’re clearly just there to fill in time on the show and serve absolutely no other purpose. That’s not interesting TV, especially when the matches aren’t even that good. This was the fourth time we’ve seen 3MB vs. Los Matadores in two weeks. That’s how lazy the writing team has gotten, so why should I care about the matches either? Horribly dull show tonight, though the main event did help things a lot.

Results

Randy Orton b. The Miz – RKO

Fandango b. Santino Marella – Rollup

Los Matadores b. 3MB – Double Angle Slam to Slater

Ryback b. R-Truth – Shell Shock

Real Americans b. Tons of Funk – Neutralizer to Tensai

Tamina Snuka b. Brie Bella – Big Boot

CM Punk b. Curtis Axel – GTS

Alberto Del Rio b. Daniel Bryan via countout

Cody Rhodes/Goldust b. Shield – Cody pinned Reigns after a KO Punch from Big Show

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Florida Championship Wrestling TV
Date: October 5, 2008
Location: Florida Championship Wrestling Arena, Tampa, Florida
Commentators: Todd Grisham, Dusty Rhodes

This is something I found that seemed like a good idea to take a look at. This is the debut of Florida Championship Wrestling’s TV show which airs in the Tampa area. Considering that this is over a year before the rise of NXT, expect some very interesting names to pop up here. For example, the heavyweight champion is Sheamus, who won the title from Jake Hager about a month before. Hager had to drop it because he debuted on ECW as Jack Swagger. The tag champions are Heath Miller and Joe Hennig, more commonly known as Heath Slater and Michael McGillicutty. I have no idea what to expect here so let’s get to it.

We open with a video about Championship Wrestling From Florida which was a huge territory back in the day.

The graphic introduction is kind of cool.

John Cena will be here tonight.

Jake Hager defends against Heath Miller. This must be on tape delay because Hager had lost the title in September. Hmm whatever. Those kinds of things happen a lot and you get used to them after awhile.

And here’s Ric Flair. Why do I have a feeling a lot of this is going to be people saying how awesome FCW is? Dusty gets to claim lineage from the former CWF (the aforementioned company). Wait I listed that wrong. He can, but the rest of the company can too I guess. Flair talks about all the people that are running this place and how great they are. This was fine and not long enough to get ridiculous.

Shawn Spearsvs. TJ Wilson

We go to a break after Spears’ entrance. This is on the night of No Mercy with Hardy vs. HHH where Hardy didn’t win either. Spears was in ECW for like a week back in 08 and never went anywhere. TJ Wilson is more commonly known as one half of the Hart Dynasty: Tyson Kidd. Wilson has tassels on his boots like Warrior did. It’s weird hearing Dusty talk about Stu Hart.

Kidd does a lot of arm work to start and looks good doing it. Wilson can move out there and is rather acrobatic, far more than you would see on WWE today. Spears works on the head and takes over. The crowd is very energetic here which is nice. Kidd hits a nice running dropkick and a Northern Lights Suplex for two. He tries another running….something, but gets caught in a reverse neckbreaker for the pin. This of course begs the question: what is a forward neckbreaker?

Rating: B-. Basic but good here with both guys not trying to do too much and it resulted in a good match. Often times in wrestling you have to remember that less can be more and this was definitely an example of that. They just went out there and had a wrestling match and didn’t try to do stuff that they weren’t capable of. The result was definitely successful, although it’s weird seeing Spears beating a current champion.

Afa and Rocky Johnson are here.

Sin Bowdee/Alicia Fox/Jay Bradleyvs. Colt Cabana/Brianna Bell/Ricky Ortiz

Bradley was on Smackdown like twice as Ryan Braddock and Bowdee is more famous as Kizarny. Based on who all is in there, this needs to end fast. Kizarny hadn’t debuted in WWE yet so this was even weirder back then. I’m not sure how but just go with it. Cabana is rather popular here and I’m surprised he got to keep his more famous name. Grisham says Cabana is like Dusty. Is that a compliment?

This is more or less a regular tag match with Divas on the side. Dusty explaining bare basics to Grisham is rather amusing. If you don’t get that Brianna Bell is Brie Bella, I can’t help you. Speaking of her she gets an X Factor for the pin on Fox.

Rating: D+. The tagging between the guys was good but of course the girls were nothing special. Fox could be pretty hot if not for her hair. None of these guys other than Cabana are particularly good so keeping it really short was likely the best idea. This was ok but it really wasn’t anything all that good.

Nic Nemeth vs. Greg Jackson

Nemeth is Dolph Ziggler and he’s a natural. My cousin is named Greg Jackson but I have no idea who this guy is. I’d bet on a squash here. Jackson has a good armdrag if nothing else. AHA! Jackson is more commonly known as Trent Barretta. I knew I had seen him before. Good to see that the second biggest team on Smackdown has one guy that’s unrecognizable.

Sweet dropkick to take out Jackson on a springboard clothesline. Nemeth has half black hair here which is a weird look for him. Jackson makes a short comeback but a jumping Downward Spiral ends Jackson and completes this glorified squash.

Rating: D+. Again not much here but they were kind of flying through this since it was only a squash. The match never really went anywhere but for a glorified squash what can you really ask for? At least the right guy won as Ziggler is by far and away the better talent of the two.

Some Tampa Bay Bucs are here. And so is the Champ. Ok so he’s not the champ at the moment but Cena is indeed here. Cena talks about how the opportunity is for the city of Tampa and how these guys are here to entertain the people. Putting WWE over as family entertainment is a good idea which is something they should do more often.

And here comes Shawn Spears to do something. I would have gone with another heel to give someone else more exposure but this works too. Spears asks what would happen if tonight an FCW Superstar tried to make a name for themselves? Cena says he’ll knock the maple syrup out of Spears (Canadian). Spears backs off and then charges into a big backdrop and the FU. Cena’s theme music is kind of ironic here.

Florida Heavyweight Championship: Heath Miller vs. Jake Hager

Miller thinks he’s handsome and gives off a kind of Rick Rude/Johnny Nitro feel. He’s more famous as Heath Slater though. Hager is Jack Swagger and is a cross between Angle and Goldberg. He’s undefeated here and the streak is part of his character. Mixed reaction for Hager who is in regular trunks here. Miller is a rock star without the instruments. I’m not sure if that’s better than one man rock band or not.

Miller also has shoulder length hair which is a weird look for him. Big high knee sends Miller to the floor. Hager is a tweener I think but it’s not really clear. Miller with a nice springboard clothesline to take over as we’re running very low on time. Hager avoids a Zig Zag and hooks the gutwrench for the pin and the end of the show.

Rating: C+. Nothing great here but the idea was to have Hager look like a champion as an introduction to the audience which he certainly did. This was a decent little TV match that gave us something to look forward to on the show. I’m not sure why Hager was fighting him but I guess I can let that slide on a debut for a local TV show. Not bad.

Overall Rating: B. For a debut show, this was very good. You got four matches to give you a nice taste of what you could expect out of FCW. Hager looks like a big star which is exactly what he was supposed to do. This flowed very well and the Cena/Flair appearances helped legitimize things a lot. The production values were very good as you could see there was some effort put into this and it felt like a professional show. They’re better than OVW’s for sure. This was a well done debut show and I’d watch the next episode if I could, which I might do someday.

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