Is the WWE righting their flagship broadcast? Raw has been circling the drain over the last few weeks. Tonight’s broadcast is second week in a row they have put on a good show, something they haven’t done in a while.
Again, the focus is on in-ring action, building storylines and cutting out the crap. Not everything worked though.
Hall of Fame Forum on Cena versus Lesnar? We open Raw with one of the poorest segments in a long time. Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair and Shawn Michaels discussing whether Cena can defeat Lesnar in his rematch.
This went about the way one would figure: Michaels and Flair saying Cena doesn’t have a chance, Hogan claiming he will rise to the occasion and win. Michaels even hinted that this was Cena’s time to retire.
Cena came out, kissed their asses, then said he was going to Night of Champions not to beat Lesnar, but to beat Lesnar’s ass (isn’t that really the same thing?).
What point did this serve? Hyping up the rematch, I guess. This was a lame promo that was a waste of time. This is what we get when Lesnar doesn’t show up.
Dave Parrish did point out that this was also about elevating Cena to the level of these three.
Fortunately, the first match of the night salvages the show right off the bat. Rusev versus Swagger round three is the best match they have had (televised) to date. Yes, it once again saw Rusev win, with the ref stopping the matching and declaring that Swagger couldn’t continue because of his ribs. Not happy with the call, but understood it.
Is this the end of the feud now?
In the back, Bo Dallas once more told Swagger he needs to BoLieve. Please do not let this lead to Swagger following Dallas. Haven’t they put Swagger through enough?
We dive right into a match for the #1 contender to Sheamus’s US Title. Sheamus was on commentary for a good match that saw Cesaro go over RVD to earn the title shot.
Great choice! We can resume the Cesaro and Sheamus feud without Heyman around.
I was loving this feud and it got cut short. I am looking forward to some hard-hitting matches between these two. Brawl anyone?
Paige beats Nattie! Paige beats Nattie. Finally, Paige beats Nattie without any distraction from AJ, during the match. After the win, AJ’s music hits and she skips during the ring. Nattie takes this time to lay out Paige with a wicked clothesline.
AJ helps Paige up, cuts a promo about how she knows how sincere Paige is about how she feels, but not as sincere as AJ is. AJ than takes Paige’s hand and kisses it, smiling. Paige does nothing, but seems puzzled.
Nice. Simple. Understated. Perfect. This is a great example of less is more. I think this feud just got ramped up.
What if Roman Reigns targets Seth Rollins is a question I have asked since Seth turned on the Shield.
Kane and Rollins held a nice eulogy (aka Promo) for Dean Ambrose. Rollins actual cut a nice promo putting over Ambrose (who is apparently off to film a movie), and himself. When finished, Reigns crashed the party, sending Rollins and Kane backtracking to the stage.
Make no mistake, this promo wasn’t about Ambrose versus Rollins, it was to set up Reigns versus Rollins. Rollins won round one in the Shield revenge feud, now round two begins.
Heel turn for the team of Goldust and Stardust?
I love the Rhodes Brothers as a team. Goldust is the best he has ever been. Cody is truly selling the Stardust character and seems really comfortable and happy.
The Usos defend against Goldust and Stardust, losing by count out. Goldust calls fouls, claiming the Usos got counted out on purpose, losing the match but keeping the titles. Gold and Star snap and wipe the floor with the Usos.
Heel turn is surprising, but not totally unexpected. They showed viciousness we haven’t seen from them as a team, but we know they have in them from their individual pasts. The WWE needs a solid heel tag team to feud with the Usos, now they have one.
Why can’t Brock talk in the ring? Instead, he looks like a lost puppy, hiding behind a fire hydrant, too afraid to come out and searching for his way home. That said, get him in studio and he can talk. Lesnar’s promo tonight? One thought – best of his career. Period.
If Lesnar could cut more promos like this – IN RING – I might give a damn. Of course, pre-taped promos work just as well to, and it is sorta old school.
Damian MisDow?!?!? Really? What did Sandow do to deserve what they are doing to him these last few months? What did we as fans do to deserve to see this? This was a poor segment, poor match and a massive bump in the road for an otherwise really good show. This is right there with being as bad and lame as the Hall of Fame Forum opening.
FAMILY RAGNAROK! Quality time with the Bella Twins! And The King!
Brianna, not Brie, speaks to her sister, she wants to be family again, forgive and forget.
Nikki spews venom and hate with an acid tongue. She also does a great job of calling out the audience and telling them to ‘forget’ their perverted twin fantasy. That may make her more of a heel then turning on Brie. (Pervert Note: I wonder how many women in the audience have the twin fantasy?)
Brie comes with love. Nikki with spite. Lawler with his heart in the right place. Nikki beats the crap of out Brie. Lawler gets slapped silly!
I finally care about the Bella’s! This is shaping up to be a nice feud between the two. Personally, I would love the feud to end with Nikki being right and Brie really being the bad twin.
Kane and Rollins were handicapped in a match with Roman Reigns following his interruption of the eulogy earlier in the night. Nice segment to put over Reigns, but it ruined Rollins. Reigns demolished both Kane and Rollins, leaving Kane lying and Rollins running away in fear.
It makes Reigns looks good, but it kills any good build to the feud. If Rollins can’t last five minutes with Reigns with Kane at his side, how can he handle him one-on-one?
The next two matches aren’t really worth much. Slate and O’Neal lose to Los Matadores. SlaterGator has potential, but what are they going to do with them? I like the duo.
Kofi versus Dallas was a waste, and the Bulldog finisher was massively botched. The best thing here was Swagger laying out Dallas.
The Main Event go home segment made this show! John Cena especially delivered. This was easily the best part of Raw, and I am NOT a Cena fan. His beat down of Bray was awesome and his destroying of the Wyatt family at the end was a great move.
This is the Cena people have been begging for. A truly energized, angry, enraged, edgy and focus Cena.
Is this a Cena who can beat Brock? If Cena goes into Night of Champions like this, then I might look forward to the match.
Final Thoughts – In the end, this was a slightly better show then last right. There were some down, lame moments, but most of the show worked. Cena’s work at the end was great – not something I say about him a lot. Come on Cena; show us more of this fire and emotion.
Rating: 7.5
Match of the Night: Cena versus Bray, into Cena, Henry Big Show versus Wyatt Family, because Cena FINALLY stepped up.
Impact of the Night: Brock Lesnar promo.
Wrestler of the Night: Jack Swagger, yes he lost, but his performance was that good.
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