Cena opened things up with an in ring commercial for the Network and the pay per view airing on it this Sunday. This is something that has been getting a lot of complaints since Monday, but let’s think about this for a minute. The Network hasn’t shown the best numbers so far and WWE is scrambling to find as many subscribers as it can. Therefore, it’s putting on a very strong effort and trying to make every show as important as it can.

Why is this something to complain about? We’re getting effort put into meaningless shows that make them far more interesting than they would be otherwise. Flash back a year ago to Battleground. Do You remember how worthless it was? It ran away with Worst Show of the Year and that’s what you would rather have than some thirty seconds of advertising for the Network? And what about all the sweet content we’re getting this week? Saturday Night’s Main Event, the Punk documentary and the Best of Nitro? If I have to sit through those things in exchance for some commercials, I think I’ll survive.

Anyway Cena and Reigns had a meeting before their six man tag against the Authority later, but their partner Dean Ambrose got laid out in the back. Rollins gave him a curb stomp onto a wooden pallet in a cool visual.

Miz beat Sheamus in a big upset. This is the kind of thing Sheamus needs to have: losses to big names. Now it means more when he comes back with a Brogue Kick and knocks Miz’s head back to Cleveland.

Let’s stop for a second and look at this match. It was one of FIVE matches between guys in the Intercontinental Title battle royal. For once, the midcard title got a solid build with about half the people in the match getting some focus. It’s so nice for a change and made the match on Sunday feel much more important than it did coming in.

Ziggler beat Fandango and got to dance with Summer and Layla. I have zero issue with good looking women in tight dresses dancing.

Adam Rose and Damien Sandow did a commercial for Sonic. You have to make up that $20 million deficit somehow. Again, if a minute long commercial bothers you that much, you’re beyond my help.

The Usos got jumped by the Wyatt Family. Another basic way to build a match on Sunday.

One of the longest segments of the night was a showdown between Zeb Colter and Lana. This was a lot of the same stuff they’ve been saying, but it was really well done and made me want to see the match. Swagger is going to tap, but the build has been fun. After this, I’m thinking Rusev goes after the US Title. It’s all that makes sense at this point.

Alberto Del Rio beat Rob Van Dam in a short match. Van Dam needs to win a match or two in the near future.

Cameron and Alicia Fox beat Nikki Bella in a match set up by Stephanie McMahon. They’re clearly setting up Brie’s return, but I’m not sure if it’s against Stephanie or Nikki. As long as the Bellas don’t have their SERIOUS talks, I don’t really care.

The big moment of the night was Cole introducing a special character in WWE 2K15. It was Sting, who appeared in a video where they threw it to a video where there was an orchestra playing Sting’s old music (from Starrcade 1997) with their backs to the cameras. They turned around to reveal they were all in Sting masks. Sting showed up and looked at the camera but didn’t say anything. He was NOT in the arena but the place erupted when they saw the masks. It appears that you’ll be getting both Surfer Sting and Crow Sting. Sting likely will debut one day, but it’s bizarre to see his face on Raw.

Cesaro has fired Paul Heyman, and lost to Big E. This is either moving towards Cesaro admitting he needs Heyman, or him winning the battle royal on Sunday to prove he doesn’t need Heyman and likely turning face. Word on the street is that WWE doesn’t want to push Cesaro and Reigns as big faces at the same time. I really hope this isn’t true, because if it is, I’ve lost a lot of faith in basic human intelligence and wrestling in particular.

Jericho and Wyatt had their weekly chat and Bray sent the Family out to attack him. Thankfully Jericho ran away before it got too bad. The interesting thing in this feud is that Bray can win every match and Jericho isn’t going to be diminished all that much. The question is where does Bray go after that.

AJ and Eva Marie had a watchable match where Marie wound up tapping. The girl is just there for how she looks in tight outfits but she’s not the worst in the world. Paige and AJ’s odd friendship continues, at least until Battleground.

Bo Dallas remained undefeated against Great Khali. He’s at the point where he needs to win something important soon, and the battle royal might be that something.

Paul Heyman offered a Plan C to the Authority. If it wasn’t obvious that Lesnar was coming back soon, I don’t think they could make it any more clear. There’s nothing wrong with that either and it’s going to be awesome.

Ric Flair returned and seemed to be at least a little bit buzzed. He hit on Renee Young (at least his vision still works) and picked John Cena for the fourway at Battleground. The interesting part was Cena handing Flair the World Heavyweight Championship on his way to the ring. This seems like it may be the last we see of that belt. It was obvious they were going to the new WWE Championship only at one point and handing it to Ric Flair in Virginia is as easy a way as any to get rid of the thing. I’m sure it’ll appear again someday.

The handicap main event was exactly what you would expect it to be. There really isn’t much to say about these things as they’re almost always the same.

Reigns stood tall to end the show. Seth Rollins seemed to injure his knee at the end of the show but it was fake. I bought it though so he did a good job.

Overall this was a solid go home show as I believe every match on Sunday’s show got some build. That’s exactly what you want out of a show like this and I want to see Battleground now more than I did. Nothing on the show was all that great, but I can accept a show that is mostly good for three hours.

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We’re at the go home show for Battleground, and things are getting interesting around here. The big story continues to be the rise of Roman Reigns, even though it seems highly unlikely that he gets the belt on Sunday. Other than that the Authority is back tonight and likely not happy as is their custom. Let’s get to it.

Here’s Cena to get things going. The Champ is here and if you haven’t done so yet, go sign up for the WWE Network because the preview ends tonight at midnight. You should order now because next week, the Champ may not be here. Cena talks about the fatal fourway on Sunday and says he doesn’t have to get pinned to lose the title. This brings out Reigns to a very solid reception.

Cena thanks Reigns for what happened last week and thinks that they should join forces to take out the Authority tonight and then find out who the best man is on Sunday. Ambrose pops up on screen and says they need to be on the same page. Dean has a plan tonight and it’s called Operation Screw The Authority. Kane, Rollins and Orton beat him down but Dean of course keeps fighting. They destroy Dean but he asks if that’s all they’ve got. This only earns him a worse beating and we got to a break.

Sheamus vs. The Miz

Non-title. Sheamus says he won’t hit Miz in the face, but he’ll kick it off his shoulders. Before the match, Miz talks about winning the Intercontinental Title on Sunday and gives us a present: his face on the screen throughout the match. Sheamus runs him over to start before dropping Miz with an elbow to the jaw. They head outside with Miz whipping Sheamus into the barricade before a top rope ax handle gets two back inside. Sheamus nails the rolling fireman’s carry and we take a break.

Back with Miz putting Miz in a chinlock as we cut away to a graphic showing twenty two participants in the battle royal on Sunday. Sheamus fights up and hits his running ax handles but misses the knee lift. Instead he hits fifteen forearms to the chest followed by a powerslam for two. Sheamus goes up top but gets taken down by the leg, allowing Miz to hit a short DDT for two. The Skull Crushing Finale is countered but Miz avoids the Brogue Kick, allowing him to grab a rollup for the completely clean pin in a shocking upset at 10:50.

Rating: C-. Well the ending surprised me and I still maintain that Miz isn’t as bad as people think he is. I would prefer the champions to not get beaten clean in the middle of the ringA but at least it’s to another former World Champion and not to some no name. Sheamus losing isn’t going to kill him though.

Orton and Kane bicker about who wins the title on Sunday but HHH comes in and tells them to drop it because they’re partners tonight. They leave and Stephanie comes in and seems turned on by HHH’s authority.

Dolph Ziggler vs. Fandango

Ziggler leapfrogs Fandango to start as Cole recaps the love triangle between Layla, Summer Rae and Fandango. The dancer whips Ziggler into the corner and takes over with an early chinlock. Back up and Ziggler hammers away but misses an elbow drop to put both guys down. It’s Fandango up first but here are the girls on the table for a distraction. Fandango of course can’t focus on a match while someone is twenty feet from him, allowing Dolph to dropkick him down. A Fameasser gets Dolph the pin at 2:58.

The girls dance with Ziggler post match.

Sonic seems to be a sponsor and we have a waitress delivering food in the back. Damien Sandow comes up in a Sonic uniform on skates (as is the case for Sonic employees). He’s about to have something to eat when Adam Rose and the Rosebuds come up and get in an argument over a hot dog. Sandow of course rolls off and crashes into something. Rose eats the foot and one of the Rosebuds steals something. Harmless commercial.

The Usos come out for a match but the Wyatts jump them from behind and leave the champions laying.

It’s time for a detente between Zeb Colter and Lana. Cole is hosting and talks about how this is designed to ease some of the tension. Lana tries to talk but gets cut off by a USA chant. She finally gets something out but it’s all in Russian. Lana compares Colter to the USA, saying they both see violence as the answer. America wants to save the world but they can’t even save themselves.

The crowd hating her gets on Lana’s nerves and she tells everyone to shut up. We get a history lesson about how the Americans won freedom and then fought each other like savages. Russia however, has always loved peace. Colter talks about being in a jungle in Vietnam and vowing to defend this country against all enemies, foreign and domestic. He calls Rusev Bullwinkle and talks about how arrogant Lana is being.

Lana praises Putin but Colter calls him ugly. We get a shot of Obama with Colter talking about how he’s elected every four to eight years, drawing a rather solid reaction for the President. Colter wants to talk to Rusev instead of Lana, asking Rusev if the challenge has been accepted for Battleground. Rusev says it’s war.

The Russians leave and Colter does a WE THE PEOPLE, making Lana very angry. She slaps Zeb but the guys go at it instead. Swagger easily takes Rusev down but Lana pulls him off. Rusev sends him into a podium and nails a corner splash but the jumping superkick is countered into the Patriot Lock. Rusev finally gets to the floor and the fans are WAY into this. Swagger hasn’t looked this good in years.

We look at Ambrose getting beaten down. Dean has been taken to a hospital and his return is unlikely.

Reigns is getting ready when Cena comes in. Cena tells him to get up, so Reigns says they take out all three of their opponents (Kane, Orton and Rollins) tonight.

Flo Rida performs next week.

Alberto Del Rio vs. Rob Van Dam

Del Rio starts fast by sending RVD to the floor and tying him up in the ring skirt. Back in and Del Rio goes after the spine before putting on a chinlock with his knee planted between Rob’s shoulders. Van Dam fights up and hits some clotheslines followed by a quick hurricanrana. A superkick drops Del Rio and Rolling Thunder gets two. Del Rio gets kicked down but gets his knees up to block the Five Star. The armbreaker goes on and Rob immediately taps at 4:33.

Rating: C-. Not bad here and I can’t begin to tell you how glad I am that Del Rio is in the midcard. The guy is talented in the ring but he needs a lot more than what he has to be in the World Title hunt. The match didn’t have time to do much, but Van Dam needs to win something, even a small match, to keep up his credibility.

Ad for the CM Punk documentary airing tomorrow night on the Network.

Nikki Bella comes out for her match but Stephanie interrupts her. She talks about Brie not being here for the tag match so Nikki has to go it alone again. Stephanie says Nikki should blame Brie for being selfish.

Cameron/Alicia Fox vs. Nikki Bella

Alicia gets things going for her team but is quickly rolled up for two. Cameron gets the tag and is a little more serious tonight. She slams Nikki down and Cameron vs. Naomi is announced for the pre-show on Sunday. Nikki knocks Alicia off the apron and hits an Alabama SLam on Cameron with Fox making the save. Alicia hammers on Nikki but gets elbowed in the jaw. Cameron offers a distraction and Nikki gets slammed off the middle rope. Fox hits something like a Fameasser for the pin at 3:34.

Rating: D+. We get the idea and now it’s just waiting until Brie returns for the showdown that almost no one is going to care about. However, I have a bad feeling we might have to see the Bellas fight at some point. Or even worse, talk to each other. Thank goodness the Funkadactyls are going to fight on the pre-show instead of the full version.

Cole tells us about a special character in WWE 2K15. They threw it to a video where there was an orchestra playing Sting’s old music (from Starrcade 1997) with their backs to the cameras. They turned around to reveal they were all in Sting masks. Sting showed up and looked at the camera but didn’t say anything. He was NOT in the arena but the place erupted when they saw the masks. It appears that you’ll be getting both Surfer Sting and Crow Sting.

HHH tells Randy Orton to calm down.

Goldust and Stardust talk about the Yellow Brick Road and going to the place where all that glitters isn’t gold.

Cesaro vs. Big E.

Kofi is with Big E. but there’s no Heyman with Cesaro here and the announcers say he’s been fired. Big E. runs him over to start and they head outside, only to have Big E. get sent into the barricade. Back in and Cesaro escapes a gorilla press and nails a hard clothesline for two. A butterfly suplex drops Big E. but he fights out of a chinlock and hits some belly to belly suplexes of his own. The Warrior Splash connects and he takes down the straps but Cesaro goes outside. He throws a chair at Kofi and brings another into the ring, only to have Kofi take it away. The Big Ending gets the pin at 4:23.

Rating: D+. This felt more like an angle than a match with Cesaro being lost without Heyman there to show him what to do. These guys are all in the battle royal again, as that match continues to be the focus of the show. It’s not likely to last but it’s a nice change of pace for once.

We look back at the Wyatts beating up Jericho two weeks ago.

Here’s Jericho to talk about having been in the WWE for a long time. He lists off a lot of people and things he’s seen with a long series of comedy and serious characters. He’s done a lot of things including getting in a fight with Bob Barker (“I’ll still fight you anytime, anywhere”) and beating Austin and Rock in the same night. Yeah he’s seen it all, but then there’s Bray Wyatt.

Bray is unlike anything he’s ever seen before because Bray is crazy. Jericho can get crazy too though, and if that’s what Bray wants to do, he can do it at Battleground. The fans want to get crazy but here’s Bray on screen to respond. Bray talks about frail little minds getting struck by the hands of life and making them different. He wants to know where Chris was when we needed him. Chris was going to save us but we remember it all. Bray has done a lot of bad things and gone to war with powerful men but on his journies he’s noticed a constant: no matter how tough they are or what they’ve been through: they all scream.

We go back to the arena but Bray is still on the screen laughing. He blows out the lantersn and the lights in the arena go out. Something happens and the Family is in the ring around Jericho. Chris is cornered but goes after Harper, only to get double teamed. He ducks under a big boot and wisely runs to fight another day. Bray pops up behind him and lays Jericho out with Sister Abigail on the ramp.

We look at the opening segment again.

AJ Lee vs. Eva Marie

Paige is on commentary and this is non-title. AJ nails a spinwheel kick as Paige declares them frenemies. They head outside with Eva kicking her into the apron to take over. Back in and Eva cranks on the arms. That goes nowhere as AJ comes back with the Black Widow for the win at 2:28.

Post match AJ sits on the announcers’ desk in front of Paige and they compliment hair. And that’s that.

Kane comes in to yell at the Authority about not liking Randy Orton. HHH says it doesn’t matter who gets the title as long as it’s part of the Authority.

Bo Dallas is in the ring and talks about beating El Torito, the biggest little man in the WWE. He may be small, but he has a huge heart. Bo hopes his opponent tonight has as big a heart.

Great Khali vs. Bo Dallas

JBL: “Bo’s streak is like Lou Gehrig’s or Cal Ripken Jr.’s!” Cole: “But all of those ended.” JBL: “…..ok.” Khali chops away in the corner but no sells all of Dallas’. Bo gets sent out to the floor but actually hits a Bodog off the apron for the countout win at 1:48.

Post match Bo gives Khali a pep talk and gets chopped down with ease. Bo: “OW!”

Preview for the Best of Nitro, airing after Raw goes off the air.

The Authority tells Rollins they have a Plan B. Seth leaves and Heyman comes in, saying he’s been picking his spots and making his moves. He hopes their Plan B works, but if they need a can’t miss plan, he’s the man to talk to. The Authority isn’t sure what to think of what he says.

Here’s Ric Flair for a big guest spot. His suit looks great if nothing else. Flair immediately hits on Renee who looks to be having a great time and says Virginia is for lovers (state motto). After he getting done wooing, Renee asks him for his pick in the fourway at Battleground. Flair says there’s only one man that can strike like a viper and one man that can walk through hellfire and brimstone, but John Cena is walking out with the title. This brings out Reigns to shake Ric’s hand. Flair leaves and that’s it for him.

John Cena/Roman Reigns. vs. Randy Orton/Kane/Seth Rollins

Cena hands Flair the World Heavyweight Championship as they meet on the stage. During the entrances, Rollins vs. Ambrose is set for Sunday. Rollins and Cena get things going but it’s quickly off to Orton before much happens. A back elbow puts Randy down and it’s off to Kane. Cena is ready to go but Reigns tags himself in. The monsters go at it with Reigns getting the better of it but he stops to nail Rollins. The Authority takes over and we go to our last break.

Back with Reigns fighting out of a chinlock and nailing a running clothesline. Cena gets the hot tag and cleans house but a Kane distraction lets Rollins get in a shot to take over. Orton comes back in with the backbreaker before it’s back to Kane. Cena’s attempt at an AA literally falls flat with Kane crashing down onto his head. Rollins puts on a sleeper but Cena powers out of it and makes the tag to Roman. Reigns cleans house and sends Rollins to the floor where he comes up clutching his knee. Kane and Orton double team Reigns and it’s a DQ at 14:28.

Rating: C-. Just your basic main event match here but that knee issue with Rollins is a scary scene. Hopefully it’s either a story or he’s not too badly hurt. It would be a huge blow if he was seriously injured. The match was nothing great but it worked well enough to get the job done.

Orton and Kane beat up Cena but Kane accidentally knocks Randy to the floor. Reigns gets back up but spears Cena by mistake. Kane kicks Roman in the face and Randy lays Kane out with an RKO, only to get speared down to end the show. The camera never looked at Rollins after he went down.

Overall Rating: C+. This show had three stories to it. In a distant third was the Jericho vs. Bray match, which should be good as Bray can get a win on pay per view and look much more like a monster. The other major stories were a combination of the fourway/Rollins vs. Ambrose and the Intercontinental Title. The battle royal had four or five matches dedicated to it tonight and was made to look like a really big deal. It was a nice change of pace and I really hope the title gets more attention going forward. Overall I’m more excited for Battleground than I was coming into tonight and that’s a good thing.

Results
The Miz b. Sheamus – Rollup
Dolph Ziggler b. Fandango – Fameasser
Alberto Del Rio b. Rob Van Dam – Cross armbreaker
Big E. b. Cesaro – Big Ending
Paige b. Eva Marie – Black Widow
Bo Dallas b. Great Khali via countout
John Cena/Roman Reigns b. Seth Rollins/Kane/Randy Orton via DQ when Kane and Orton double teamed Cena

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 blue show is in Canada tonight as we’re getting closer to Battleground. The announced main event for tonight is Roman Reigns vs. Rusev which is going to be a war. It’s a war destined to end due to interference but it’s still going to be good while it lasts. Other than that there’s Randy Orton vs. Chris Jericho which should be good stuff. Let’s get to it.

Opening video.

We look at Rollins and Cena from Monday in a long video package.

Here are Lana and Rusev to open things up. Lana rips on the leaders of America and Canada, saying they’re just like Roman Reigns: all style and no substance. Reigns cuts her off and stares down the evil foreigners. This is his ring and Rusev actually thinks he can crush Reigns. Reigns says try it and threatens to put his fist across Rusev’s face.

Lana says be careful what you wish for but Reigns wants a referee out here right now. The look on Rusev’s face is hilarious as he looks surprised with his mouth wide open. A referee comes out and is ready for the match but Lana says not on Reigns’ terms. Roman didn’t sound good on the mic here. He’s still finding his style.

JBL and Cole schill the Network.

AJ Lee vs. Cameron

Non-title and Paige vs. AJ for the belt is set for Battleground. The bell rings but Cameron wants to put on lip gloss. Cameron takes her down and tries to put makeup on AJ, which JBL thinks is a foreign object. A double chicken wing has AJ in trouble and Cameron shouts a lot. Back up and AJ sends her into the corner for a running clothesline followed by a shot to the face for two. Cameron tries to leave because AJ messed up her face, only to have Naomi run down and throw her back in. The Shining Wizard gets AJ the pin at 3:12.

Rating: D+. I get that Cameron is supposed to be annoying, but man alive I can’t stand watching her. She isn’t the kind of character where I want to see what’s coming to her. She’s the kind of character that makes me think of how much I can’t stand modern celebrity culture and makes me want to go read a good book.

Orton says Chris Jericho has won everything there is to won and that makes him a legend. That leaves Orton with one thing to do: introduce Jericho to the Legend Killer.

Fandango vs. Adam Rose

Layla comes out with Fandango but Summer Rae is one of the Rosebuds. Rose jumps over Fandango to start and gives him a little spank. Summer Rae and Layla go at it about thirty seconds into the match and Fandango gets nailed trying to break it up. Rose wins by countout at 1:02.

Rose hits the Party Foul on Fandango post match.

We look at Bray and Jericho’s discussion from Raw.

Jericho says his match with Bray has a chance to be a classic because they’re from opposite sides of the spectrum. Bray says save us Y2J but Wyatt is too far gone to save. Jericho is going to follow Wyatt’s advice and let actions do the talking tonight against Randy Orton. Maybe it’s time to crush the head of the serpent. As for Wyatt, Jericho is coming. He blows very gently in a nice touch.

Later tonight it’s Layla vs. Summer Rae with Fandango as guest referee in a Money in the Bank rematch.

Usos vs. Heath Slater/Titus O’Neil

Non-title. Jimmy pounds on Titus to start but it’s quickly off to Slater who gets kicked in the face for two. Heath takes him down into a chinlock but gets caught in a bad looking Samoan drop for two more. Everything breaks down and Slater jumps into a superkick, setting up the Superfly Splash for the pin at 1:59. Nothing match but I like them throwing random low level guys together as jobbers. It’s better than having Ryback/Axel job here.

Post match the Usos say they love the rivalry with the Wyatts. Jey imitates a stereotypical commentator while Jimmy acts out a lot of the moves he describes. Odd but kind of entertaining actually.

Chris Jericho vs. Randy Orton

Before the match Bray pops up on screen and sings his song before telling Chris to save himself. Cole actually gives us some backstory here, talking about Orton arrived in WWE in 2002 and called Jericho to pick him up at the airport because Jericho was the only person he knew in WWE. Now Orton only cares about himself and isn’t like his old self. Jericho quickly sends Randy to the apron and dropkicks him out to the floor as we take a break.

Back with Jericho hitting a running knee to the back for two as Cole brings up Orton punting Jericho out of WWE back in 2010. I’m digging this storytelling from Cole. Chris misses a charge and falls out to the floor where Orton sends him into the steps. It’s good for two back inside and the fans loudly chant for Y2J. We hit the chinlock for a bit before Orton slams Jericho’s head down onto the mat.

Back to the chinlock as the fans chant for the Canadian again. He fights up with a belly to back suplex and a dropkick but Orton kicks away from the Walls. A powerslam gets two for Orton but Jericho comes back with a running clothesline in the corner. Orton crotches him on the top, only to have Jericho come back with a top rope cross body for a close two.

The backbreaker puts Chris down again and Randy loads up the Elevated DDT but Jericho counters into the Walls. Orton makes the rope and now the Elevated DDT connects. Jericho blocks the RKO and hits the Lionsault but the Wyatts seem to be coming. The lights come up and they’re nowhere in sight, allowing to hit the RKO for the pin at 11:50 shown of 14:20.

Rating: B-. Solid match here as you would expect from two top level guys when they’re given the time. They didn’t go outside their comfort zone here but even the basics from these guys is still good stuff. Unlike Ambrose, Jericho losing isn’t going to affect his status due to how established he is. It’s why he’s been brought in and that’s the right idea.

Layla vs. Summer Rae

Fandango is refereeing again and gets kissed by both girls to start. The bell rings and Fandango stops both girls from charging at the other. Apparently he wants to dance but the girls aren’t impressed. Instead they both beat him up and knock him to the floor before dancing together as Fandango is stunned. This wasn’t a match.

More Network talk.

Goldust vs. Curtis Axel

Feeling out process to start with Goldust breathing at Curtis. Stardust gets on the barricade and seems to be conducting the crowd as Axel takes over on Goldust. A dropkick sends Goldust outside and Stardust is now laying on the announcers’ table. He puts on JBL’s hat as the match heads back inside where Goldust kicks Axel in the head. A powerslam gets two for Goldust and the Final Cut gets the pin at 2:28.

Ryback goes after Goldust but Stardust blows gold dust into his eyes and sends Ryback to the floor.

Bo Dallas vs. El Torito/Diego

Bo promises to be handi-capable against Diego and his Bo-vine friend. The big guys start but Diego stops him to shout OLE. Dallas hammers away in the corner but gets sent into the buckle, setting up the Bodog for the pin at 1:17.

Torito gets pulled into the ring post match but Bo helps him to his feet, only to give him a Bodog.

Rusev vs. Roman Reigns

They lock up to start until Rusev kicks at the legs to take over. Reigns cleans house with right hands and knocks Rusev to the floor as we take a break. Back with Rusev controlling with a nerve hold before he drops Reigns with a spinwheel kick. We hit the nerve hold again before Reigns’ comeback is squashed by a kick to the chest. The fans think Russia sucks and help Roman fight out of the third nerve hold. A running clothesline drops the Russian and a Samoan drop does it again. The apron kick has Lana freaking out and there’s the Superman Punch, drawing in Orton for the DQ at 6:55 shown of 9:25.

Rating: C. This was decent while it lasted but there was no way either guy was getting a clean win here. Also, a nine and a half minute match on Smackdown doens’t have nearly the same atmosphere that these two had in the battle royal. Build these two up a bit more and make it mean something and the match will be much better.

Rusev lays Roman out but Lana orders Rusev out of the ring instead of CRUSH. Orton heads inside and hits an RKO to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. Reigns finally having to deal with some adversity is a nice thing to see, but the rest of the show wasn’t much. Orton vs. Jericho was good but doesn’t mean much, and the rest of the show was just there. Unfortunately Smackdown is slipping back into its old pattern of meaning nothing at all and that makes it hard to sit through.

Results
AJ Lee b. Cameron – Shining Wizard
Adam Rose b. Fandango via countout
Usos b. Heath Slater/Titus O’Neil – Superfly Splash to Slater
Randy Orton b. Chris Jericho – RKO
Goldust b. Curtis Axel – Final Cut
Bo Dallas b. Diego/El Torito – Bodog to Diego
Roman Reigns b. Rusev via DQ when Randy Orton interfered

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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With less than two weeks before Battleground, things are actually looking up. The fourway shows some promise and Reigns’ reactions are getting stronger and stronger. He doesn’t have a chance of winning the title but it’s nice to see him getting into these spots and looking like a player rather than a flash in the pain. The main event tonight is Seth Rollins vs. John Cena and Bret Hart is scheduled to make an appearance. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of the Authority vs. Cena and the near cash-in from last week.

Here’s Roman Reigns to open the show as we’re told that the Authority is on vacation. He’s wondering why HHH put him in the fourway. Maybe HHH thinks Reigns can neutralize Cena, because he can. Maybe HHH thinks Kane can neutralize Reigns, even though he can’t. Maybe HHH thinks with all those things going on, Orton will win the title, even though he won’t. The fans chant Cena sucks and Reigns says Cena absolutely does suck when Roman Reigns is in the house.

Reigns says he’s the next WWE Champion but here’s Kane to interrupt. Before Kane can say anything, Reigns calls Kane the authority’s lapdog and the fight is on. Reigns knocks him off the apron and clotheslines Kane into the crowd where the brawl continues. They head over to the tech area before making it back into the ring. Kane gets the better of it for a bit until referees come out. Kane chokeslams a referee and some agents, including Finlay, I.R.S., Dean Malenko and Jamie Noble, come out for the save. Reigns shoves Noble and spears Finlay before nailing the Superman Punch to Kane. JBL thinks this is awesome.

Usos vs. Wyatt Family

Non-title. The Wyatts have new music. Luke hammers away on Jey to start but a superkick puts him on the floor. A double clothesline puts Rowan outside as well but there’s no big dive. Back in and Luke nails Jey with an uppercut to take over again and it’s off to Rowan for a neck crank. Harper comes in again and rips at Jey’s face before getting two off a splash.

We take a break and come back with Rowan getting two off something we didn’t see. It’s off to the double fist head crush for a bit before Rowan misses a splash in the corner. Jey avoids an elbow from Harper and makes the tag to Jimmy so house can be cleaned. Harper misses a clothesline and takes Whisper in the Wind but Rowan makes the save. Jey runs back inside and hits the big dive to take Erick down but Harper nails a superkick to Jimmy for two.

Harper’s dive is stopped by a right hand and Jey superkicks him for an even closer near fall. Jey goes up but gets crotched when Rowan is sent into the post. A sitout powerbomb gets two for Harper but Jimmy makes the save. The double superkick puts Luke on the floor, only to have Rowan break up a double dive. Back inside and Harper nails a discus lariat on Jey for the pin at 11:50.

Rating: B-. Another fast paced and entertaining match from these two which also saves a bit of the Usos’ face in a nice touch. You have to think the Wyatts get the titles at Battleground now and they’re certainly ready for them. With more time, these guys could have an excellent match.

Jimmy pleased his case that he was legal but the referee doesn’t seem to care.

The announcers hype up a free week of the WWE Network, focusing on how positive the reviews have been.

Orton tells Kane that he was about to come out and help but it just wasn’t bad enough yet. Kane implies he’s taking the title at Battleground. Rollins comes in and suggests that he’ll cash in on the winner at Battleground. He leaves and Orton says he’s starting to hate that kid. Kane: “Not as much as I’m starting to hate you.”

Nikki Bella vs. Alicia Fox

Both girls have an arm tied behind their back, as per the Authority’s decision. Nikki gets tied but Alicia can’t decide which arm should be tied. Instead she jumps Nikki as you would expect her to. Nikki is knocked to the floor but is able to get in a few kicks to slow Fox down. Fox goes outside and finds some Red Bulls to pour over Nikki and leaves. The bell never rang so no match. The match was introduced with the stipulation being per the Authority. Cole: “You have to wonder if the Authority is behind this.”

Back from a break with Rusev waiving the flag and Lana telling Canada to follow Putin.

Rusev vs. Rob Van Dam

That’s quite the upgrade in opponent. Rob fires off kicks to start but Rusev says bring it on. A slingshot DDT freaks Lana out but Rusev throws Rob off the top to break up the Five Star. He runs Van Dam over and sends him flying with a fallaway slam. We hit the chinlock as Zeb Colter pops up in an inset interview and officially challenges Rusev for Battleground.

Rusev begs Van Dam to hit him in the ribs before putting on a front facelock. A small package gets two for Rob and he gets a boot up in the corner. Rusev is staggered and there’s a top rope kick to the face. Rolling Thunder has to be aborted and Rusev nails the jumping superkick. The Accolade gets the clean submission at 4:38.

Rating: C-. Not a great match but it’s a very good upgrade for Rusev. It’s more proof that Swagger has no chance at Battleground, but the USA chant and Swagger coming in carrying the American flag will be a great visual. Rusev is getting better and that jumping superkick just looks awesome.

We look at the opening segment.

Dean Ambrose vs. Randy Orton

Ambrose still has a taped up shoulder. The fans are entirely behind Ambrose as he sends Orton to the floor to start. Back in and Ambrose cranks on the arm but Orton comes back and sends him into the buckle. Dean hammers away in the corner and we get an old school eye rake across the ropes. Dean’s running dropkick sets up a cross arm choke with Dean tying Orton’s arms around his own throat. Orton rolls away and pounds on Dean in the corner but Ambrose gets all ticked off. He hammers Orton to the floor and we take a break.

Back with Orton finally working on the bad arm before nailing a dropkick. We hit the armbar again but Dean fights up and nails a DDT to put both guys down. Dean hammers away and grabs a Figure Four (JBL: “Maybe this is out of respect for Bret Hart!”) but Orton makes the ropes. Some bad miscommunication leads to a blown spot as Dean goes up and jumps down but Orton has his back to him so Dean just lands there. In theory Orton was supposed to dropkick him out of the air as he dropkicks him down a second later and poses.

The rebound clothesline looks to set up Dirty Deeds but Orton gets free. They head outside with Orton being sent into the barricade. Dean throws five chairs into the ring but Orton sends him into the post. The Elevated DDT on the floor knocks Ambrose silly and the count begins. Dean dives back in at nine as all the chairs have been cleared out. Another Elevated DDT is countered and Ambrose grabs a rollup for two. The RKO is countered into a backslide for the same and Orton kicks Dean in theface to set up another rebound clothesline but Randy catches him with the RKO for the pin at 17:45.

Rating: B+. This was a really solid TV match and Ambrose looked like an equal out there. That’s been the story since the Shield’s split: they look like they belong in the main event and have given the main event scene such a breath of fresh air. Really good stuff here and I dug the whole thing.

Cena says the 40lb medallion he wears around his neck makes him the biggest target in the WWE. There’s a briefcase hanging over his head and he doesn’t have to lose at Battleground to lose. That’s business though and here’s Reigns for a staredown. Cena says those were strong words out there earlier and Reigns says they’re true.

Alberto Del Rio vs. Dolph Ziggler

These two fight a lot. The winner of this gets a shot at Sheamus for the US Title tomorrow on Main Event. Fandango is on commentary and announces his entry into the Battleground battle royal. Cole asks Fandango which girl he likes better but Fandango says he likes himself best. Ziggler gets a quick neckbreaker and elbow drop before clotheslining Del Rio to the floor. Dolph’s baseball slide misses and he gets caught in the ring skirt for an enziguri. Del Rio comes up holding his wrist but seems to be ok.

Back in and Dolph misses a dropkick but comes back with a cross body and right hands. He goes to the corner and hammers away but gets shoved down onto the buckle. A reverse suplexplex plants Ziggler for two. He avoids the low superkick and hits his running DDT for two of his own.

Dolph spins out of a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker and nails a dropkick as Fandango declares himself the Fonz of the WWE. Cole: “Sit on it Fandango.” That line won’t make sense if you’ve never seen Happy Days. Del Rio misses the corner enziguri and gets caught by the Fameasser for two as Fandango gets on the announcers’ table to dance. The distraction allows the low superkick to hit for the pin on Ziggler at 4:40.

Rating: C. These two have fought a lot. Like, a whole lot. The match didn’t have time to go anywhere and was there to further Ziggler vs. Fandango. It’s not really much for Ziggler but a feud is better than random matches. It’s nice to see Del Rio being boring in the midcard instead of the main event anymore.

Fandango dances more post match.

Stardust talks to Goldust’s wig until Goldust comes up and says they need to be bizarre. We get a good line from Goldust: “Where we’re going we don’t need Rhodes.” It’s a more up to date reference than Happy Days at least.

Post break Fandango is in the back when Layla comes up and wants to know why he was out there. Was it because he was jealous of Ziggler kissing Summer last week? Layla doesn’t think she could handle Fandango still having feelings for Summer. Fandango assures her he doesn’t but sees Summer, looking great in a blue dress, staring at them and giving him a come get it look.

Jerry Lawler is in the ring and talks about how lucky he was to have such a great medical staff here in Montreal that saved him about two years ago. He brings out Bret Hart to a very respectful ovation. Bret says merci (French for thank you) and that if he could have one more match, it would be right here in Montreal. He talks about getting goosebumps like he used to get when he was WWE World Champion and when he had dreams…..and here’s Damien Sandow as Bret Hart.

Sandow goes right for the Screwjob references and says his (as Bret) biggest regret is from being a third world country like Canada. His other major regreat is never standing in the same ring as the greatest performer of all time, Damien Sandow. Damien says talking was never Bret’s strong suit andBret finally nails him with a right hand. Bret: “No. Punching was.” Nothing wrong with this.

Sheamus vs. Damien Sandow

Non-title. Sheamus hugs Bret before he leaves. This is joined in progress after a break with Sandow pulling Sheamus out to the floor. A chinlock doesn’t last long for Damien so he buries a knee into Sheamus’ ribs. We get the Five Moves of Doom from Sandow but Sheamus grabs the beard to escape the Sharpshooter. There are the fifteen forearms to the chest and the Brogue Kick gets the pin at 2:35.

Renee Young talks to Miz in the back but he cuts her off to read a fan letter. The letter praises Miz and says how sad the writer was that the rat faced tattooed rock star jumped Miz last week. Imagine what would have happened if something had happened to his face. Little Johnny Russo, the writer of the letter, has nothing to worry about. When it comes to Miz’s fist, Jericho is ready for his closeup.

We see a list of the shows airing on the Network. They’re really busting out the big guns here. Saturday has a Saturday Night’s Main Event marathon and Sunday has Wrestlemania XXX. Bret Hart will be on the Highlight Reel tomorrow night on Main Event, in addition to Sheamus defending the US Title against Del Rio.

Chris Jericho vs. The Miz

Miz stomps away to start but gets chopped, only to run away from a right hand. Jericho clotheslines him to the floor and nails the dropkick, sending Miz back to the floor. Back in and the bulldog looks to set up the Lionsault but Miz sends him outside. We hit the chinlock on Jericho but he fights up with some shoulder blocks and a top rope ax handle.

The Walls are countered and Miz kicks Jericho in the face for two. Miz’s running corner clothesline misses and he freaks out at almost hitting the buckle. An enziguri gets two for Jericho but Miz comes back with the short DDT. Miz puts on a pretty bad figure four but Jericho makes it to the ropes. A right hand to Miz’s face sets up the Walls and Miz taps at 5:55.

Rating: C-. This was fine and the Miz not wanting to get hit in the face was a nice touch. As usual though, Miz’s in ring performance brings down what looks to be a good character. He just isn’t all that great in the ring and never has been. The figure four hurts him and I see no reason why he switched. The Skull Crushing Finale got him to the main event of Wrestlemania so why change?

Post match we’ve got Bray on stage and Jericho surrounded by cell phone lights. Bray is waiting on Jericho to save the world, even though he can’t save himself. Last week Bray proved that actions speak louder than words. Bray will hold Jericho’s words against him and he will never, EVVVVVVVVVVVVVER forget. The people here used to be Jericholics but now they follow a new tune. Jericho asks if Bray would please shut up and says actions do speak louder than words. He comes up the ramp but the lights go out again and the Family is around Bray. Jericho wisely stops in his tracks and we go to a break.

Funkadactyls vs. Paige/AJ Lee

AJ’s music comes on but Paige wants to do her entrance instead of Justin Roberts. Naomi and Paige get things going but Cameron isn’t interested in tagging out. Instead she just stands on the apron looking bored as Paige takes Naomi into the corner and tags in AJ. A headscissors and spinwheel kick get two on Naomi. Paige is a very enthusiastic partner on the apron. Naomi reaches for a tag but Cameron is putting on lip gloss. Paige comes in and a double clothesline puts both girls down. Cameron tags herself in and walks into the Paige Turner for the pin at 2:26.

The Funkadactyls shove each other post match and get in a cat fight with Naomi beating the fire out of Cameron.

Cesaro and Heyman are in the ring and the fans now know Heyman’s lines. Cesaro takes the mic and says you can’t talk to these people in English because they’re French Canadians. They’re strange people because the French can’t stand them and the Canadians can’t either. Cesaro insults them in French but some music cuts him off.

Kofi Kingston vs. Cesaro

Kofi is taped up but looks rather happy despite being beaten up last week. A dropkick sends Cesaro to the floor and Kofi nails a baseball slide. He sends Cesaro into the announcers’ table but his springboard is broken up. They head back to the floor with Cesaro hitting the gutwrench suplex onto the apron. Back in and Kofi’s spinning cross body is caught in mid air but he counters into a sunset flip. Cesaro powers out of that and hits a gorilla press gutbuster for two. Kofi comes back with a rollup out of nowhere for the pin at 1:53.

Cesaro beats up Kofi post match but Big E. makes the save.

Seth Rollins comes in to see Cena for a civilized conversation. Tonight is about proving who is the best. Cena is called the best WWE Champion ever and Rollins says who better to cash in on but the best. John says he knows what the Authority sees in him. All those days Rollins was with the Shield, Rollins was waiting for the chance to change. The briefcase guarantees that change is coming, but the only guarantee Seth has is that he’s facing a champion tonight.

Reigns vs. Rusev on Smackdown.

El Torito vs. Bo Dallas

This is the result of a challege from Torito. Bo is willing to fight from his knees so Torito slaps him in the face with his tail. He rolls to the floor to avoid Bo before slapping him in the face. Bo shoves Fernando into the steps and nails a charging Torito with a forearm. The Bodog (off the middle rope) gets the pin on the bull at 1:29.

Bo runs Torito over during his victory lap.

One last Network plug for the road, including a sneak preview of the Monday Night War special debuting right after Raw.

John Cena vs. Seth Rollins

Non-title. The fans are excited for this one. Seth grabs a headlock to start before kicking him in the ribs and nailing a running swinging neckbreaker for two. We take a break and come back with Cena powering out of an armbar into an electric chair for two. A nice DDT gets two for Rollins but Cena lifts him off the mat into a sitout powerbomb for two.

Cena goes up but enziguried down for two. The shoulder blocks have Rollins in trouble and the ProtoBomb lays him out. The Shuffle sets up the AA, but Rollins flips out. Instead it’s the STF but here’s Kane. The distraction lets Orton sneak in through the crowd for the beatdown. We’ll say it’s a DQ at 10:00.

Rating: C. Fine match but you knew there was going to be a screwy finish. You don’t want to have either guy take a clean loss here and there’s nothing wrong with ending things this way. They’re not going to do anything major before Summerslam so this was fine all things considered. Rollins continues to look good.

Reigns comes in for the save and lays out the villains but Rollins blasts both Reigns and Cena with the briefcase. He tries to cash in but Ambrose comes through the crowd and they fight up the ramp. Orton gets back in as Cena is getting to his feet, only to walk into an AA. Kane loads up a chokeslam but gets speared down by Reigns. The two superheroes stare each other down and raise each others’ hands to end the show.

Overall Rating: A-. This was one of the best Raws in a very long time. The matches were either good or short and the angle advancement worked very well. It was nice to have the Authority gone for a week to let the show run itself and the results were very nice. WWE is clearly trying right now and this show flew by as a result. I had a blast with this episode and the whole thing worked really well.

Results
Wyatt Family b. Usos – Discus lariat to Jey
Rusev b. Rob Van Dam – Accolade
Alberto Del Rio b. Dolph Ziggler – Low superkick
Sheamus b. Damien Sandow – Brogue Kick
Chris Jericho b. The Miz – Walls of Jericho
Paige/AJ Lee b. Funkadactyls – Paige Turner to Cameron
Kofi Kingston b. Cesaro – Rollup
Bo Dallas b. El Torito – Bodog
John Cena b. Seth Rollins via DQ when Kane and Randy Orton interfered

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It’s a holiday show this week which means tonight could be anywhere on a wide scale. We’re coming off Money in the Bank and the main story seems to be Dean Ambrose promising to ruin Seth Rollins trying to cash in his Money in the Bank contract. This sets up an even better story between the two which could go on for months and get better every week. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

We open with a recap of the Authority vs. Cena starting on Raw. Why Cena is shocked at being on the cover of a video game that he must have posed for isn’t made clear. The video also shows the main event and its aftermath with the failed cash-in attempt and Reigns staring HHH down to close the show.

Here’s Rollins to get things going. He talks about Cena getting lucky on Monday, but luck can’t last forever. Eventually everyone’s survival rate drops to zero, so at some point he’s going to be the new WWE Champion. This brings out Ambrose to call Seth delusional. There’s no way he’s getting his hands on those titles because Ambrose is going to be there to stop every plan that Rollins and his sugar daddy cook up.

We look at Ambrose breaking up the cash in on Raw (again) and Ambrose says that the briefcase will be Rollins’ curse for the next year. Rollins knows Ambrose can’t keep it up for a year and he can’t stop Rollins from winning the title. Dean says he’ll start right now and the fight is on but Orton comes in for the save. Reigns runs in to clean house and the heels flee. HHH pops up and makes Ambrose vs. Orton. If Reigns interferes, he’s out of the title match at Battleground.

Cole and JBL plug Saturday Night’s Main Event coming to the Network.

US Title: Sheamus vs. Alberto Del Rio

Sheamus is defending. They trade kicks to the ribs to start until Del Rio snapmares Sheamus down and kicks him in the back. Sheamus comes right back with the rolling fireman’s carry and some right hands. The announcers chuckle over Sheamus stealing Del Rio’s car a few years ago. There’s nothing funny about a feud that boring. Del Rio sends him to the floor but gets whipped into the barricade, only to be sent hard into the steps. A Backstabber on the apron puts Sheamus on the floor and sends us to a break.

Back with Sheamus hitting a running cross body to put both guys down on the floor. They get back inside for an Irish Curse as the announcers talk about Howard Finkel being born in this town. Del Rio counters the powerslam into a DDT. He goes up top but Sheamus is up there with him, setting up the ten forearms on the top rope in a nice twist on the move. They don’t have the same impact but Sheamus was probably afraid of falling and breaking his leg.

The Brogue Kick misses and Del Rio hooks the armbreaker but Sheamus is next to the ropes. The Cloverleaf gets the same result and there’s the armbreaker again. Sheamus powers up to his feet and slams Del Rio into the corner. Del Rio’s low superkick gets two but he misses a moonsault, allowing Sheamus to Brogue Kick him for the pin at 8:20 shown of 11:50.

Rating: C. I don’t mind the Brogue Kick nearly as much as a way to end a back and forth match than when Sheamus has been destroyed and the hits it out of nowhere. The match was fine and Sheamus continues to be good for the title. He’s defended it once a month since winning it and that’s a lot better than most recent champions have done.

Stardust talks about children and asks what’s in a name. Goldust comes in and says he doesn’t know but it must be pretty important. Whatever it is, itt’s written in the stars (a million miles away?). Stardust leaves but comes back in to breathe deeply.

Roman Reigns says HHH is protecting his baby boy, but Reigns knows Ambrose doesn’t need his help tonight. He’s winning the title at Battleground.

We see the same video from Raw of the Money in the Bank pre-show with Bryan’s speech and Bo Dallas’ cameo.

Bo Dallas vs. Diego

Before the match, Bo says that we all know Daniel is still a special little fellow. He’s entering the battle royal at Battleground and winning the title for little Daniel. Bo does OLE before the match and gets dropkicked in the face. He stomps Diego down in the corner and drops a knee. The Bodog gets the pin at 1:43.

Post match Bo tells Torito to Bolieve and gets gored. Torito dances at him so Bo slams him.

We look back at Miz and Jericho returning on Raw, including Jericho laying Miz out before getting beaten up by the Wyatts. Miz as the Hollywood star works well enough as a character.

Here’s Jericho with something to say. It’s been a year since he’s been on Smackdown and it’s a great feeling to be back in front of all these Jericholics. Coming back last Monday felt good too, but then along came a spider. A big, dark, venomous spider with his family. The Wyatts are one of the things that have changed since he’s been gone.

He thanks the Wyatts for remind him that the WWE isn’t just all about surprises and music and light up jackets. The WWE is about survival and he can be dangerous just like the Wyatts. He doesn’t look like anyone else, he doesn’t act like anyone else and he doesn’t think like anyone else. The Wyatts can sit in a chair and sing a song but if you want to get crazy, he can go right there with them.

The Wyatts pop up on screen and Bray says the world doesn’t have a voice of its own. It can’t tell you what it wants and needs, but it’s begging for something to point it in the right direction. A savior perhaps. Bray introduces himself to Chris but says he has a thousand faces and a million names. He is the color red in a world of black and white. Save us Chris? Save yourself.

Jericho tells Bray to come out here but gets cut off by a movie trailer. It’s Miz’s new entrance video and only lasts a few seconds before going into his usual entrance. Nice touch. Miz comes out in sunglasses and asks Jericho how it feels to be interrupted. The fans were deprived of something special on Monday when Jericho broke the Golden Rule. He tried to hurt Miz’s face, the moneymaker. If that ever happened it would cost…..something we’ll find out later as Jericho lays him out with another Codebreaker. Jericho puts the sunglasses on because that’s the kind of guy he is.

Big E. vs. Cesaro

Both of these guys are in the battle royal for the Intercontinental Title. Big E., in the preacher voice, says he’s standing up for his friend Kofi Kingston tonight. Before the match we see a clip of Cesaro destroying Kofi on Raw. Cesaro jumps Big E. before the bell and takes him out to the floor for a brawl. Big E. sends him into the barricade but gets nailed with a chair. Cesaro throws him over the announcers’ table but Big E. comes back with a belly to bell. The straps come down but Heyman gets Cesaro out of there. The bell never rang.

Eva Marie vs. AJ Lee

Non-title and Paige is sitting with JBL and Cole but isn’t on commentary. Eva kicks her in the ribs to start and rams AJ into the buckle. AJ counters a side slam into the Black Widow for the submission at 1:20. Eva was basically standing still for most of the match while AJ ran into her.

Paige applauds AJ on her win.

Damien Sandow is Bruce Springsteen this week and the fans are into it. Lana and Rusev cut him off before he can get anywhere or cause a copyright lawsuit. Sandow is quickly dispatched and the fans chant USA. Lana’s response: shut up. Lana goes into a rant about how stupid the Fourth of July is because it’s about stupid songs and making people fatter.

Colter and Rusev cut them off and rips on them for being illegal immigrants. Russians didn’t invent cars or put people on the moon, but they did invent vodka. Lana tells him to shut up. Colter’s response: why don’t YOU shut up? Colter wants the fight right now but stops for WE THE PEOPLE. Rusev backs down and leaves. Swagger is going to get broken in half by the Accolade but it’s a cool ride to get there.

Jericho vs. Miz on Monday.

Randy Orton vs. Dean Ambrose

Rollins is on commentary and Reigns isn’t allowed to be at ringside. Dean, with a heavily bandaged shoulder, hammers away in the corner to start so Orton bails to the floor. Back in and Dean stays on him with headbutts but Orton nails a nice dropkick for two. Ambrose gets sent into the middle buckle and Randy cranks on the bad shoulder. Orton kicks him into the ropes and is the first person smart enough to follow him over when Ambrose starts bouncing off the ropes. Another kick sends Dean outside and we take a break.

Back with Orton sidestepping a missile dropkick for two. He stays on the bad shoulder and sends it into the post. They head outside where the shoulder gets posted again and a belly to back suplex drops Ambrose onto the barricade. Back in and it’s time to crank on the arm even more. Cole brings up the free replays on the Network while asking Rollins if he needs to study Ambrose.

Dean reverses a whip and sends Orton shoulder first into the post. He drives his own shoulder into the mat to try and pop it back into place. Dean hammers away and drops him with a running forearm. A middle rope elbow to the jaw puts Orton down again and a clothesline puts him on the floor.

The suicide dive connects and both guys are down outside. Ambrose throws Randy back inside and of course goes after Rollins. He sends him into the barricade before running in to roll Randy up for two. Dirty Deeds is countered and Orton nails the powerslam but Dean backdrops out of the Elevated DDT. Another suicide dive is countered by a Rollins briefcase shot to the bad shoulder though and that’s a DQ at 9:27 shown of 12:57.

Rating: C+. The match was ok but nothing all that great. They made it pretty clear that Rollins was going to interfere and it makes sense given the story. The shoulder stuff was exactly what should have been done and the match was entertaining enough for the main event of a TV show that no one is going to watch.

Orton lays Ambrose out with an RKO and rips the bandages off the shoulder. Rollins goes up top but Reigns runs down to shove him off and nail Orton with a Superman Punch.

Overall Rating: C. This was a placeholder show with far more talking than wrestling. Like I said though, why would you waste anything important on a show airing on the Fourth of July? What we got wasn’t bad but it’s nothing you need to see. It did however show how many good things are coming for WWE as a lot of these stories sound good in theory. That’s a good sign.

Results
Sheamus b. Alberto Del Rio – Brogue Kick
Bo Dallas b. Diego – Bodog
AJ Lee b. Eva Marie – Black Widow
Dean Ambrose b. Randy Orton via DQ when Seth Rollins interfered

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The opening segment saw the Authority bringing out Cena to announce him as the new A+ player. They sucked up to him like he was the new Face of the WWE but Cena thought something was up. He showed up a picture that actually wasn’t of someone’s face superimposed on someone’s body. Instead it was of the Authority looking devastated after Cena won the title.

This set up what appeared to be another rehash of Austin vs. McMahon, as HHH said Cena could do this the easy way or the hard way. Cena said he’d do it the hard way, so HHH put him in a fourway at Battleground where he defense against Reigns, Kane and Orton. Why Reigns is in the match isn’t clear as HHH freaked out on Vickie over the battle royal issue. As Cena was leaving, HHH said there would be a Plan B. Rollins came out, but word on the street says this is foreshadowing Brock Lesnar.

Other items of this segment saw Cena saying Bryan could have a World Title shot whenever he’s back, Cena being revealed as being on the cover of the WWE 2K15 video game, and Stephanie dancing to Cena’s music. As someone who is a fan of how Stephanie looks, I highly approve of this new dancing gimmick of hers.

Seth Rollins beat Rob Van Dam in a decent match. Again, Van Dam puts over anyone they put him in the ring with and the match worked well enough. The good part though was Rollins bragging about winning the briefcase but Ambrose came on screen and said that he’ll be there every single time Rollins tries to cash in. The briefcase looks like it’s made of gold but it’s full of TNT because it’s going to blow up in his face. This is an awesome idea and the whole thing gets better and better every week.

Rusev and Lana came out to do their thing but Zeb Colter and Jack Swagger came out to answer their challenge. Colter ripped into Lana for taking advantage of the USA’s freedom of speech and Swagger took Rusev down. This is the face turn that Swagger has needed for several years now and the people actually cheered for him. This is one of those ideas that is filed under “WHAT TOOK YOU SO LONG.”

The Wyatts beat the Usos and Sheamus. Nothing special here but the Family likely gets another shot at the Usos. I have no issue with this at all.

Bo Dallas came out and took a knee for a moment of silence for Bad News Barrett and Daniel Bryan. This actually went on for sixty seconds and was so ridiculous that it made me laugh.

The Funkadactyls beat Nikki Bella in a match set up by Stephanie. This seems to be setting up Brie vs. Stephanie at some point which should be a good payoff.

Barrett is injured and has to vacate the Intercontinental Title. The belt will be held up until a battle royal at Battleground.

Cesaro lost to Kofi Kingston in a match that ended in a break. They’re pushing the App a bit harder but I’m not sure how much interest this match is going to draw them. It was a nice surprise though. Cesaro destroyed Kofi post match.

Santino has a party which turns into an ad for a beer company. Emma was mentioned as not being there because she was in a Connecticut hoosegow.

Damien Sandow was dressed as Vince McMahon and did an awesome impression of the boss. This caused Stephanie to pop up on screen and send out Great Khali to knock Damien out cold.

The Miz returned as a Hollywood A-List guy who was bragging about being in Marine 4. After a lot of bragging with people not caring about what he said, Chris Jericho returned, talked some trash, and laid Miz out with a Codebreaker. He talked about how great that felt but was cut off by the Wyatts. The Family beat him down and Bray stood tall as he has his next feud. Jericho is a good choice to face Bray as the fans are going to have someone cool to cheer for against Bray. Also, Wyatt can get a big win on pay per view after all those losses. At the end of the day though, no one is going to outcool Jericho so Bray should come off as more of a heel. The promos should be awesome too.

Summer Rae cost Fandango a match by kissing Dolph Ziggler. Ziggler kissed her back and Fandango freaked out, allowing Dolph to grab a rollup for the pin. Hopefully this gives both guys someone to feud with.

Goldust and Stardust beat Ryback and Axel for I think the third time in a row.

Paige came out and bragged about retaining the title until AJ Lee came out. AJ wanted a title match but Paige wasn’t sure. Eventually AJ talked her into it and won the title in a minute. This came off as a double turn, which is pretty much exactly the last thing they should have done. Paige was fine doing what she was doing, but we have to cater to AJ, even though there was a built in story for their major rematch.

Cena/Reigns beat Orton/Kane via DQ when Kane hit Cena with the steps. This was your usual main event tag. Rollins tried to cash in but Ambrose chased him off. Reigns speared Kane down and stared down HHH to end the show. That’s quite the mountain for Reigns to conquer when he gets the chance.

Overall Raw was a very solid episode this week as they’re actually trying instead of just putting it into neutral for the next three weeks. This show reminded me of last year’s post Payback show where they turned on the jets and had an awesome show with some good plot twists and changes going forward. This was a solid show with enough good stuff to carry things forward to Battleground before the Summerslam build blows things up as usual. Really solid show this week that I underrated.

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The pre-show saw Daniel Bryan return for an interview to talk about his status. The update wasn’t too promising: his arms aren’t getting their strength back and there’s talk about a second operation. If that’s the case, word on the street has him out another six months to a year. That’s a horrible situation but I’d much rather have him out that long and able to walk when he’s forty than get another year of matches. Bo Dallas came out and told Bryan to Bo-lieve which led nowhere.

The opening PPV match was an awesome back and forth fight with the Usos retaining the titles against the Wyatts. Both teams looked awesome out there and it’s the kind of match where the Wyatts don’t lose face by not winning the belts. The near falls in this were very hot and the fans got way into things as a result. A hot tag match is usually the best option for an opener and this was no exception. Luke Harper continues to be as awesome as you can be while still being a Bruiser Brody inspired lackey to a Louisiana cult leader. Really solid stuff here and I’d be fine with a rematch.

Ambrose continued his awesome streak of promos by wondering if he should use a ladder to get the briefcase or crush Rollins’ face. Dean is just feeling it right now and is one step off, making him all the more interesting to watch. The showdown is going to be white hot when it happens.

Naomi and Paige tried to do something different in the Divas Title match with some nice athletic stuff, but at the end of the day this was more about Cameron and Naomi’s impending split. You know, because we’re supposed to care about Cameron because she’s a STAR. The match was fine but nothing I’m going to remember two days later. Actually that’s true as I had to read the description to remember what happened.

Damien Sandow was Paul Revere and got beaten up by Adam Rose. I guess they were seven minutes short or something.

Before the briefcase match, we got some old school style interviews from the participants talking about how they were going to win. I loved these as they take like fifteen seconds apiece and give you a quick look at each person. Why haven’t these been a regular thing in twenty years?

Seth Rollins won the Money in the Bank briefcase in a good and entertaining match. Well entertaining most of the time at least as some of the high spots had me terrified. Thankfully no one seemed to be too badly banged up as a result. The main story was of course Rollins vs. Ambrose as their showdown continues to look awesome. After leaving with a shoulder injury, Ambrose came back and almost won the case, but Kane ran interference to give Rollins the win.

It’s such a simple idea but more importantly than that, IT MAKES SENSE. Kane works for the organization Rollins is a part of, so why wouldn’t he come down to help? It also sets up a potential match for Dean against Kane, though hopefully it’s on a Smackdown or something so that it doesn’t take up a ton of time. The rest of the match was nothing special and no one really stood out, save for Swagger for some power stuff at times.

Goldust/Stardust beat Ryback/Curtis Axel in the same match they’ve had multiple times now. Another TV match.

Rusev beat Big E. Again. It was slightly better than their last effort but it didn’t make things any more interesting.

Layla beat Summer Rae with Fandango as guest referee. Fandango is a lucky man and that’s about it.

Cena won the title again in another ladder match. The ending was exactly what it should have been, but I would have liked the challengers to do a little big more on the way to the obvious ending. Cena had to win given how things are looking heading into Summerslam so I’m fine with that. Would it have hurt them to let Wyatt and Cesaro not look like such afterthoughts though?

Post match Cena was called the greatest WWE Champion of all time. This made me roll my eyes, though I get why they say it. For those of you that aren’t up on your history, the statement isn’t laughable but it’s certainly not correct.

Overall Money in the Bank’s big matches worked but it felt more like a formality than a show you needed to see. The ladder matches were both good and entertaining enough for the $10 (something I skipped: the announcers were HAMMERING in the idea of getting the Network. It seems clear that the PPV providers are about to be gone in full very fast. Not a surprise at all when you think about it though) but the other matches save for the tag match were horrible or totally meaningless. That’s not a great selling point for a big show.

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Things have changed after last night’s Money in the Bank show but it was pretty much what people expected. John Cena won the World Title while Seth Rollins became Mr. Money in the Bank. I can’t help but think Cena’s reign is just until we get to Summerslam where Brock can destroy him and take the title. Battleground is in three weeks so let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of the ladder matches last night.

Here’s the Authority to get things going. Stephanie says she was born in Hartford before going into a discussion of Daniel Bryan’s announcement last night. However, the Authority is about the future going forward, much like Seth Rollins who became Mr. Money in the Bank. HHH talks about John Cena winning the ladder match and proving that he’s an A+ player.

Cena comes out to the usual reaction with the titles wrapped around his neck like an untied scarf. Stephanie gets cut off so John can say the Authority won’t give Bryan a title shot but Cena would love to. That starts up a huge YES chant but Stephanie has a different question. She asks how many people here are gamers. The reason she asks is because Cena is going to be on the cover of the WWE 2K15 video game. The banner unfolds and Stephanie dances to Cena’s music in a cute bit.

Cena says that’s very nice but hang on a minute. The Authority are being way too nice to him because he saw them right after he won those titles. He shows us a shot of them looking crushed after the match ended but Stephanie says it was because of Randy Orton’s injuries. Cena says that’s because they have Orton in their pocket, just like Seth Rollins.

HHH tries to talk like a Dr. of Thuganomics (seriously) before saying all this can go away really fast if Cena doesn’t do it with respect. Cena would rather do it the hard way if it means doing it by himself. HHH says he’d have it no other way, which is why Cena is defending the title in a fourway at Battleground.

After Stephanie explains the rules, HHH announces Kane, Orton and Roman Reigns. Just for fun, tonight let’s have Cena/Reigns vs. Kane/Orton. Cena says he’ll earn the titles again at Battleground and brings up Stephanie being thrown in the pool of whatever that was last week. Cena goes to leave but HHH says that if Cena survives the fourway, there’s always a plan B. Rollins comes out next to Cena, briefcase in hand.

Seth Rollins vs. Rob Van Dam

Van Dam quickly sends Seth outside before a big kick to the head staggers Rollins again. Rob fires off some shoulders to the back before putting on an old school abdominal stretch. He switches it up to a freaky looking double leg lock but Rollins makes the ropes and heads outside as we go to a break. Back with Van Dam hammering away but getting tripped into a half crab.

Rob injured his leg last night so there’s actually additional some psychology to this. Ropes are quickly grabbed and Van Dam comes back with clotheslines and a kick to the face, setting up Rolling Thunder for two. The split legged moonsault to Rollins’ back gets two but he grabs a legdrag to take over again. Rollins loads up the buckle bomb but Rob counters into a hurricanrana into the corner. The Five Star is ready but Rollins rolls to the floor, only to get taken down by a big dive from the top. As they come back in, Rollins twists the knee again to set up the curb stomp for the pin at 11:45.

Rating: B-. This worked really well and was one of Van Dam’s best matches in a very long time. He was actually doing stuff other than just the regular moveset so the match worked much better than usual. Rollins getting a win over a former World Champion is always a good thing and the match was a solid effort.

Post match Rollins says the briefcase proves him right over Ambrose because this is his golden ticket. Ambrose pops up on screen and says from one scumbag to another that this isn’t over. Plan A failed miserable last night when Rollins’ daddy had to send Uncle Kane out to save him. It might be more fun this way because Ambrose is going to be right there every time Rollins tries to cash in. That briefcase doesn’t have a contract inside because it’s full of TNT. Every time Rollins tries to case in, it’s going to blow up in his face.

Here are Rusev and Lana with something to say. Lana wants the USA chants to stop and talks about how there is only one superpower. She asks who will be the next American to try to stop him and Rusev speaks some Russian. The answer is the one that should have been here months ago: Jack Swagger.

Colter goes on a great rant about how Boris and Natasha can say this in America because they’re taking advantage of the Freedom of Speech. Lana said that nothing can stop the Rusev Crush but Colter thinks a Real American could do it. WE THE PEOPLE gets the loudest reaction of Swagger’s career and the boys are ready to go but Lana stops him. A LET’S GO SWAGGER chant starts and Rusev tries to get in a cheap shot. Swagger comes back with some armdrags of all things and the Russians bail.

Sheamus/Usos vs. Wyatt Family

Jey and Rowan get things going and a clothesline sends Jey to the floor and use to a very quick break. Back with Rowan cranking on Jimmy’s neck before Bray hits his running splash in the corner. Jimmy finally comes back with a Whisper in the Wind to Harper, allowing for the hot tag to Sheamus. Rowan gets sent to the apron for the ten forearms to the chest until Harper makes a save. Sheamus dives off the top to take the Family down before powerslamming Erick in the ring.

Wyatt offers a distraction though and Rowan sends Sheamus to the floor. Harper kicks Sheamus’ head off and the Wyatts take over. Rowan gets two off a splash and puts on the double fist head squeeze. It’s back to Bray who runs into a boot but knocks Sheamus out to the floor. A JBL chant starts up because the fans are bored I guess. Back in and Harper superkicks Sheamus down for two as the announcers ignore the crowd for a change.

Sheamus finally grabs the Irish Curse on Harper and makes the tag off to Jey as house is cleaned. A big dive takes Harper out and a pair of kicks to the face get two. Sheamus Brogue Kicks Rowan down and Jey hits a dive to take him out. Bray plants Sheamus with a release Rock Bottom and avoids a superkick from Jimmy, allowing Harper to hit the discus lariat for the pin at 13:07.

Rating: C+. Good but not great match here as the Wyatts will get another shot at the titles in theory. Harper continues to blow my mind every time he’s out there, but Bray makes me sad. The guy’s incredible push in the spring has been totally wasted and he hasn’t won anything of note in months. He isn’t being depushed but he just needs to do SOMETHING.

Stephanie interrupts Nikki Bella in the back and puts the Bellas in a tag match against the Funkadactyls. Since Brie is gone though, it just has to be a handicap match.

Here’s Bo Dallas who asks for sixty seconds of silence for Bad News Barrett and Daniel Bryan who can’t compete at the moment. He actually kneels for about sixty seconds before showing us a clip of him interacting with Bryan on last night’s pre-show. We go into the next match with Bo still on the stage.

Nikki Bella vs. Funkadactyls

Cameron gets things going as the announcers try to get bomb.com over as a catchphrase. Nikki fights off Cameron to start because even Nikki is better than she is. Naomi comes in with a huge high cross body and the reverse DDT for the pin at 1:35.

The Funkadactyls are about to fight post match.

We look at Barrett’s shoulder being injured, which will put him out for several months. The Intercontinental Title is now vacant and will be decided in a battle royal at Battleground. This brings out Paul Heyman for his usual talking points and to introduce Cesaro as the first entrant in the battle royal.

Cesaro vs. Kofi Kingston

Cesaro now has a black robe. Kofi is in the battle royal as well and comes out with a bad limp. Cesaro slams Kingston down with ease but gets sent to the floor for a BIG flip dive. Back in and a springboard gets caught in a Cesaro backbreaker. We hit the chinlock on Kofi before Cesaro hammers away, only to get rolled up for two as we take a break. Back….and the match ended during the break? Apparently that’s the case so we’ll say it ended at about 7:30.

Rating: D+. I don’t remember this happening in about the last ten years or so but it opens up a few more possibilities. I guess they’re pushing the App and to be fair this was a meaningless match so I don’t mind that I didn’t see how the fall took place. Kofi winning is a surprise, even though I have no idea how he won.

Cesaro DESTROYS Kofi with a hard throw into the crowd, Swiss Death, a throw over the table that wipes Cole out, and about 15 postings in a row. A replay shows that Kofi won with a rollup out of an electric chair.

Santino is having a party but no one showed up. Adam Rose and his Party shows up with a case of Twisted Tea, which I guess is a sponsor.

Damien Sandow comes out as Vince McMahon and does one heck of an impression. He hits all of the catchphrases and has the voice down perfectly. Sandow is in the Intercontinental Title battle royal but Stephanie interrupts and freaks out on Damien. He gets to face a giant also in the battle royal right now.

Great Khali vs. Damien Sandow

Chop, pin, four seconds.

It’s time for the return of a former WWE Champion and it’s….the Miz. He brags about being in Marine 4 and says he’s back to prove everyone wrong. People have called him a fluke but he’s here to show them that he isn’t a fluke. Miz isn’t leaving until he main events Wrestlemania again and people are begging him not to go. He’s finally cut off by the returning Chris Jericho in the real surprise. Miz rants about being the Marine and a huge star but gets taken down by a Codebreaker. Jericho says that felt great but we’ve got Wyatts. A triple team beatdown sets up Sister Abigail to leave Jericho laying.

Fandango vs. Dolph Ziggler

Ziggler tries to start fast but gets sent into the corner and dropped face first onto the mat for two. Fandango gets a kiss from Layla but Dolph hammers away with right hands. Summer, looking great in a pink dress, comes to the ring and kisses Ziggler who does the same right back. Fandango isn’t sure what to do so it’s the Zig Zag for the pin at 2:36.

Ryback/Curtis Axel vs. Stardust/Goldust

Goldust hammers on Axel to start but Ryback gets in a cheap shot from the apron to take over. We hit the chinlock on Goldust for a bit before he counters the Meat Hook with a spinebuster. The hot tag brings in Stardust who cleans with clotheslines all around plus a springboard dropkick. A downward spiral is enough for the pin on Axel at 3:00.

Rating: D+. Nothing to see here again as Goldust and Stardust are already getting dull. I do like Cody getting a new finisher but it would have been nice if it was something a bit less generic. Ryback and Axel have lost every bit of their momentum from winning all of those matches against Goldust and whoever he had as a partner.

Here’s Paige with something to say. People have been telling her that she needs to go back down to NXT because she isn’t ready to be a champion but she has proven everyone wrong. This brings out the returning AJ Lee who says she wants to prove that she can get the title back. She congratulates Paige on being champion but Paige won’t shake her hand due to it being exactly what Paige did in her debut. The Title is on the line right now.

Divas Title: AJ Lee vs. Paige

Paige takes her into the corner to start and poses a bit. She shouts that this is her house now but gets small packaged out of nowhere to give AJ the title back at 1:00.

John Cena/Roman Reigns vs. Kane/Randy Orton

Cena and Orton get things going and the fans are already on John. Feeling out process to start with Cena getting the better of it. Reigns comes in and Orton bails to the corner for the power showdown. Kane is sent to the floor and we take our last break. Back with Reigns in trouble and Orton cranking on a chinlock. Kane gets in a few shots but Reigns nails a clothesline to start a comeback.

It only lasts a few seconds though as Orton sends him to the floor for a clothesline from Kane. Back in and Kane puts on a chinlock but Reigns powers up. They slug it out and a Samoan drop is enough to put Kane down, allowing Reigns to make the hot tag. House is cleaned and Kane takes the ProtoBomb but Orton nails Cena with an RKO. Reigns Superman Punches Kane down though, leaving Orton and Reigns to fight up the ramp. Kane sends Cena to the floor and nails him with the steps for the DQ at 11:57.

Rating: C-. This was pretty dull stuff and was only there to build towards the fourway. Kane isn’t going to win the title and everyone knows it but at least he’s getting a nice push instead of looking like everyone else. It was just a standard main event tag match and not a very good one at that.

Post match Kane tombstones Cena and knocks him out, drawing out Rollins for a cash in. HHH says ring the bell but Ambrose hits the ring to attack Rollins before the bell. Ambrose chases Rollins into the crowd and HHH is livid. Kane gets a chair to go after Cena but Reigns comes back and spears him down. Roman and HHH stare each other down and the fans are into it to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. The wrestling wasn’t the best in the world here but a lot of stuff was happening on this show. We had three returns, a new champion, a title vacated, and the start of a nice new feud for someone that needs it. This show took care of a lot of things they’ve needed to get around to and it worked really well as a boost. Battleground feels like a throwaway show but they seem to actually be putting some effort into it on the way. That’s a rare thing but it’s very welcome. Not a great show but it got some stuff done.

Results
Seth Rollins b. Rob Van Dam – Curb stomp
Wyatt Family b. Usos/Sheamus – Discus lariat to Jimmy Uso
Funkadactyls b. Nikki Bella – Reverse DDT
Kofi Kingston b. Cesaro – Rollup
Great Khali b. Damien Sandow – Chop
Dolph Ziggler b. Fandango – Zig Zag
Stardust/Goldust b. Ryback/Curtis Axel – Downward spiral to Axel
John Cena/Roman Reigns b. Kane/Randy Orton via DQ when Kane used the steps

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Tonight is one of those nights that is going to change everything all at once. The World Title is vacant and will be hanging above the ring like the briefcase normally would. In addition to that we have a regular briefcase ladder match, meaning we’ll see the future of the company for the net few months decided tonight. Let’s get to it.

As per the pre-show, Bad News Barrett is officially out of the ladder match with a shoulder injury.

Instead of a match on the pre-show, we’ve got an interview with Daniel Bryan. He’s already out of the neck brace and does a full YES chant around the ring. The fans come unglued for him and Bryan is clearly overwhelmed by their reaction. Bryan: “Shh.” Fans: “NO! NO! NO!” Bryan: “Well ok. YES! YES! YES!”

Cole gets right to the point: when can we expect him back in the ring? Bryan doesn’t know because his arm strength isn’t back and there’s talk of another surgery. He promises that he’ll be back and better than ever though. It wouldn’t be a Daniel Bryan story if he didn’t have a setback, and he’s coming back to win his title.

It’s time for some Twitter questions. Bryan thinks Reigns will win tonight and felt disrespected when he was stripped of the title. He finds it interesting that he was stripped of the titles because no one could beat him. This brings out Bo Dallas of all people for this line: “I know you can’t compete tonight. That’s got to be a pain in the neck!” Bryan can still climb the ladder of life and make his way back to the top. All he has to do is Bo-lieve! Bryan steals the line from the NXT fans and tells Bo to leave.

The opening video is about the climb and how it is more important tonight than ever before as it will decide the future.

Tag Team Titles: Usos vs. Wyatt Family

The Usos are defending and have been feuding with the Wyatts for over two months now without actually defending the titles against them. The children’s choir sings a few lines of He’s Got the Whole World before the music changes to some slow rock music. It’s far better than the banjo music they had on Raw. Jey and Harper get things going and Luke gets kicked in the ribs to start. The Usos speed things up with some tagging but Harper dropkicks Jimmy down.

Jimmy gets caught in the wrong corner for some double teaming but he finally dropkicks Rowan through the ropes, setting up a big dive off the barricade to take him down again. Back in and a high cross body gets two on Erick and it’s off to Jey vs. Harper. Luke quickly sends Jey through the ropes before catapulting him throat first into the bottom rope for two. Rowan puts on a claw hold for another two before it’s off to a neck crank.

Jey avoids a legdrop but Harper breaks up the tag. A legdrop gets two on Jey but Rowan misses a splash and goes shoulder first into the post. Jey finally makes the hot tag to send Jimmy in to face Harper. Things speed way up and both Wyatts take Samoan drops. The Umaga attack nails Rowan and a Whisper in the Wind gets two on Luke. Two straight superkicks get a near fall on Harper but Jey dives into Rowan’s arms. Jimmy dives onto both of them but walks into a shot from Harper as he comes back in.

Jey saves his brother from a double something and Jimmy rolls up Harper for a VERY close two. Harper powerbombs Jimmy for an even closer two before diving through the ropes at Jey. Jimmy’s dive is caught by Rowan so Harper dives through the ropes again to take Jimmy down. Back in and something like a double chokeslam (if you lift under the arms instead of by the throat) gets two on Jey as Jimmy has to make a save. Harper is kicked to the floor so Rowan goes up top, only to get crotched out of desperation. The Usos superplex Rowan down and both add splashes for the pin to retain at 13:17.

Rating: B+. This was AWESOME and a great opener. Luke Harper continues to blow my mind every time he goes insane out there and those double dives should not be coming from someone his size. The Usos are a great team and work so well together with a lot of that coming from being brothers. You can’t create chemistry like that.

We recap the Shield split, leading into Rollins vs. Ambrose.

Ambrose says he wants to grab Rollins by his new tie and rip him apart before climbing the ladder and grabbing the briefcase. The question is should he climb the ladder and grab the briefcase or use the ladder to bash Rollins’ face in? Case or face? Case or face? Eh why not both?

Divas Title: Naomi vs. Paige

Paige is defending and Naomi gets the shot due to beating Paige on Main Event. There seems to be a respect between them but Cameron and Naomi have been having issues lately. Naomi takes Paige down to start and slams her down from the apron to the floor. A big running dive over the top rope crushes Paige again but Cameron doesn’t look happy. Back in and they trade some quick rollups for two each before Naomi puts on a modified surfboard.

Naomi goes up but slips off the top, only to pull Paige out to the floor with her. They get back in at eight and Paige grabs a stump puller of all things. Cameron is finally smiling. Paige lets the hold go and Naomi snaps off a quick hurricanrana. The Rear View connects for a near fall but Paige blocks the split legged moonsault with knees to the ribs. Naomi tries the reverse DDT but Paige spins out and hits a fisherman’s DDT for the pin at 7:03.

Rating: C+. They tried something different here and it worked for the most part. They’ve been letting the wrestlers wrestle a bit more lately and it’s getting better every time. Naomi vs. Cameron isn’t going to do much for anyone but it’s what you have to expect from reality show stars?

Cameron cheers at her partner losing.

The expert panel (host Renee Young, Booker T., Alex Riley and Christian) talks about what we’ve seen so far and make predictions for the ladder matches.

Money in the Bank by the numbers video.

Here’s Damien Sandow as Paul Revere to warm us that the half wits are coming. That would be the Rosebuds for those of you that aren’t smart enough to understand him. Rose comes out and says his usual stuff before backdropping Sandow to the floor.

Adam Rose vs. Damien Sandow

Rose hammers away with his comedy stuff to start but Sandow trips him up and rams Adam’s face into the mat. The fans sing Rose’s song as Sandow hooks a chinlock. Sandow hits the Wind-Up elbow (Sandow: “The elbow is coming! The elbow is coming!”) and it’s back to the chinlock. You’re Welcome (full nelson slam) gets two but Sandow misses a middle rope moonsault, setting up the Party Foul for the pin at 4:18.

Rating: D. Just a Raw match here but Sandow got more offense than he’s gotten in months. Rose needs a feud against someone not named Jack Swagger but he might have already reached his peak. He’s still good for a lower card act for the song though so he’s worth keeping around until he gets something to do.

Jon Stewart from the Daily Show is here.

We get some old school interviews from each guy in the MITB contract match.

Seth Rollins says he’ll shock the world again. Plan A is he wins the contract. Plan B is he wins the contract.

Rob Van Dam says he’s the winner.

Kofi Kingston says he’ll fly high and everyone else will have trouble in paradise.

Dolph Ziggler says lightning strikes twice tonight.

Zeb Colter says tonight another great patriot will have his moment in Boston.

Rob Van Dam vs. Seth Rollins vs. Kofi Kingston vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Jack Swagger vs. Dean Ambrose

Everyone but Kofi and Van Dam head to the floor to start but Kofi is quickly outside as well. Swagger goes for a climb but Kofi is back in to dropkick him down. The Boom Drop on a ladder crushes Swagger and Kofi goes up. Ambrose shoves the ladder over but Kofi lands on the top rope and springboards down onto the rest of the people in the match. Rollins and Ambrose fight over who gets to climb with Ambrose slamming Seth down. A ladder is laid in the corner and Dean suplexes Rollins onto the steel.

Kofi and Dolph climb the ladder but have to deal with Swagger. They climb again after sending Jack to the floor but fight down to the mat where Rollins nails them with another ladder. Van Dam kicks Rollins in the face and puts a ladder over the bottom rope. Rolling Thunder crushes Rollins onto the ladder and Ambrose is kicked to the floor. Ziggler and Ambrose are dispatched as well with Swagger taking the Five Star. Lawler points out how meaningless that is as Rob finally realizes he needs to climb.

Kofi comes back for a save but takes too long trying to superplex Van Dam, allowing Swagger to hit Kingston in the back with a ladder. Jack sets up a ladder in the corner in front of Van Dam but gets headbutted down to the mat. Rollins breaks up a Five Star attempt but has to fight out of a superplex attempt. Swagger climbs up and powerbombs Van Dam down but Dean climbs the ladder and superplexes Rollins down. Both guys are down but Ambrose grabs a ladder, only to have Ziggler dropkick it into his face.

Swagger throws Kofi around and hits the Vader Bomb onto the ladder onto Kofi. Van Dam makes a save but Ambrose and Rollins pull them both down. Seth and Dean climb up and slug it out on top of the ladder with Rollins being knocked down. Swagger makes a save and pulls Ambrose down, only to have Dean counter into a DDT off the ladder. Ambrose comes up holding his shoulder and the doctor says he dislocated it. He quickly walks off under his own power but isn’t happy about it at all.

Rollins goes up but Rob makes the save. They fight on the ladder and Kofi bridges a ladder between the ropes and into the standing ladder. Van Dam falls and seems to have hurt his leg. Kofi backdrops Rollins onto the bridge and almost gets the case but Ziggler makes a last second save. Ziggler hammers away on Swagger as Van Dam is back up, only to take a Fameasser.

The Zig Zag to Kofi sends both guys onto the ladder but Dolph is still able to climb. Swagger puts him in the ankle lock but Ziggler still climbs in a cool visual. Jack gets kicked away but Rollins his Ziggler in the injured ankle. Rollins climbs but Ambrose comes back and destroys him with the chair. Dean goes up but Kane’s pyro goes off and he makes the save. A chokeslam plants Ambrose and the safest looking tombstone I’ve seen in years knocks him out. With Kane playing defense, Rollins gets the case at 21:23.

Rating: B. Good but not great match here. One thing that stands out to me more than anything else though is how much easier this match went with fewer people. There were a lot of times where people were able to stand around, meaning there wasn’t so much insanity that you couldn’t keep up with it. Some of the earlier spots were scary at times but they settled down and got a great reaction for Ambrose, which is a really good sign.

The Authority comes out to celebrate with Rollins.

Orton says he doesn’t need the same help Rollins needed. He has nothing to say about Roman Reigns.

Goldust/Stardust vs. Ryback/Curtis Axel

Axel now wears a singlet but gets quickly taken down by both Dusts. An armdrag sends him over for a tag off to Ryback who gets double teamed very quickly. Goldust comes in for an atomic drop and kick to the side of the head but Axel gets in a shot from the apron. Goldust gets hammered by Ryback and the middle rope splash/elbow combination gets two for Axel.

We hit the chinlock as JBL sounds like his voice is starting to go. Ryback comes in with a slam but misses a splash in the corner, allowing for the hot tag to Stardust. House is cleaned and Stardust DDTs Ryback for two. Shell Shock is countered into Cross Rhodes for two with Axel making a diving save. Stardust sends the partners into each other and rolls up Ryback for the pin at 7:40.

Rating: D+. Another Raw match here and there was no way the Dusts were going to lose this early into their run. The team could go one of two ways in the coming months but the clear thing is how into the role Cody is. The visual of his face is awesome and the character is already working.

Goldust and Stardust dispatch an attacking Axel after the match.

We recap the love triangle between Summer Rae, Layla and Fandango. Summer had been Fandango’s dance but Fandango dumped her and picked up Layla. She saw him kissing Summer recently and now they’re fighting over him.

Fandango is in the back when the girls come up and present their attributes to him for lack of a better term.

Rusev vs. Big E.

Big E. hammers away to start and actually has some early success. Rusev in knocked to the apron but gets up a knee to stop the spear through the ropes. The gutwrench suplex drops Big E. and we hit a chinlock from Rusev. A splash misses though and Big E. gets two off a belly to belly. Rusev charges into the Rock Bottom out of the corner for two and Big E. avoids the jumping superkick. Another suplex sends Rusev to the apron and now the big spear connects. Back in and the straps come down but Rusev kicks him in the side of the ear. The jumping superkick and Accolade keep Rusev undefeated at 7:19.

Rating: C-. Better than last month’s match between these two but it was still nothing special. Rusev needs to move up a step as he’s defeated Big E. twice in a row now. It’s good to see him get tested a bit though and that’s what this match was designed to do. Those kicks still look good too.

The expert panel talks a bit more and we see clips from Bryan’s pre-show speech.

Summer Rae vs. Layla

Fandango is guest referee. It’s a brawl to start with Summer stomping her down into the corner. Layla kicks her into Fandango and puts on a leg lock, drawing a CM Punk chant from the bored crowd. Summer fights out with a bunch of basic offense, only to get her neck snapped across the top rope, setting up a high kick for the pin at 2:59.

We recap the main event, which is taking place because of Bryan’s injury.

WWE Title: John Cena vs. Randy Orton vs. Sheamus vs. Roman Reigns vs. Kane vs. Alberto Del Rio vs. Bray Wyatt vs. Cesaro

The title is vacant coming in. It’s a huge brawl to start with everyone going for a ladder or each other early on. Bray escape an AA attempt and dives at a ladder to crush Sheamus before hooking up with Cesaro to clean house. Reigns and Orton fight while Sheamus and Kane do the same on opposite sides of the ring. Reigns and Sheamus pick up ladders to crush Kane and pin him underneath the smaller ladder. Del Rio stops Reigns from going up as Cesaro and Sheamus climb. All four start climbing two ladders but Kane breaks it up and cleans house.

Cena comes back in and charges into a chokeslam before Kane cleans out most of the ring. He sets up a ladder in the middle of the ring and tells Orton to go up just like he did with Rollins earlier. Reigns shoves Kane into the ladder for the save but gets jumped by Bray. Cena comes back in with a ProtoBomb to Wyatt, only to walk into Swiss Death. Cesaro and Sheamus slug it out on top of the ladder as Bray spider walks up and shoves the ladder over. The Europeans are left hanging in the air and eventually fall to reset things.

Orton is all ticked off after getting hit with the ladder so he pulls out more ladders. He bridges one between the announce table and apron so he can put Sheamus over the bridge for an Elevated DDT. Back in and Orton throws a ladder to the floor before setting up the big one in the middle. Everyone gets back in and we go into scramble mode with no one getting higher than the second or third rung.

The people all get steadily knocked to the floor until only Kane is left standing. He takes down the big ladder and goes over to fight with Sheamus instead of climbing. Sheamus comes back with the forearms to the chest and White Noise, followed by a Brogue Kick to Cena. Sheamus sets up the big ladder again but Kane makes a save. The Irishman goes up but Cesaro bridges a ladder into the tall one to climb faster for another save. Cena and Del Rio fight to the floor as Reigns lifts up the big ladder with Sheamus and Cesaro on top. The bridged ladder keeps them from falling and Cena pushes it back to level.

Everyone is back in again and Cena is slammed onto the bridged ladder by Wyatt. Kane pulls people off the ladder but gets speared by Roman. Orton sends Reigns into the big ladder and knocks it over though, leaving no standing ladder in the ring. Reigns comes back with Superman Punches all around and the apron boot to Del Rio. HHH is all ticked off and we’re down to Cena vs. Reigns. They slug it out and Cena tries the AA, only to get speared out of his shoes.

Reigns goes up but Orton makes a last second save. With blood on the top of his head from earlier, Orton goes up but Bray takes him down with Sister Abigail. Del Rio stops Bray (and kills the crowd) but Sheamus shoves the ladder over and kicks Del Rio’s head off. An RKO pulls Sheamus off the ladder but Reigns stops Randy’s attempt. Orton is busted open BAD so Reigns rips at the cut and headbutts him a few times. Kane is back in for yet another save though by chokeslamming Reigns off the ladder. Cena grabs Kane for an AA though and Orton gets one as well, allowing Cena to get the titles at 26:30.

Rating: B. They toned down the big spots in this which kept my stomach in better shape this time. These matches are fun but man alive can they be scary at times. Cena winning is going to annoy some people but he’s the most logical choice as Lesnar is waiting in the wings for whoever gets the belt here. Brock vs. Cena will be awesome and is the money match that people will pay to see.

Overall Rating: B. This was a solid show for the most part with the Tag Title match and the ladder matches both delivering, but the rest was pretty meaningless stuff. Still though, those are the only matches that mattered for the most part and they were good enough to make the show solid. Money in the Bank tends to be hard to screw up and this was no exception.

Results
Usos b. Wyatt Family – Superfly splash to Rowan
Paige b. Naomi – Fisherman’s DDT
Adam Rose b. Damien Sandow – Party Foul
Seth Rollins b. Kofi Kingston, Dean Ambrose, Jack Swagger, Dolph Ziggler and Rob Van Dam – Rollins pulled down the briefcase
Goldust/Stardust b. Ryback/Curtis Axel – Rollup to Ryback
Rusev b. Big E. – Accolade
Layla b. Summer Rae – Kick to the head
John Cena b. Randy Orton, Alberto Del Rio, Sheamus, Roman Reigns, Cesaro, Bray Wyatt and Kane – Cena pulled down the titles

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