Ah, another contract signing on RAW! The only question that remains is whether or not the crowd will react with Daniel Bryan chants. Follow along to find out!
Do All Director’s of Operations Have Theme Music Like Kane’s?
The show started with CM Punk. He said he’s been trying to figure out why The Shield attacked him. He said deep down he thinks he knows why. Punk said last week he critizied Triple H on RAW. And then he’s attacked by The Shield. Punk said he is in denial, and he hopes it is a coincidence. Punk said he doesn’t want any part of The Authority and wants to continue living in his own universe. Punk said Triple H can’t be that ignorant to kick a hornet’s nest and mess with one of the biggest anti-authority figures there is.
Stephanie McMahon came out. Steph said she hoped Punk had a good Thanksgiving. Steph said there advocates of free speech. She said they didn’t care about Punk calling HHH a bad name. Steph said it is much easier to point the finger at them, but they were just as upset as Punk when The Shield attacked him last week. Steph said they had more important things to worry about like the contract signing tonight. She said that if he had any other questions he could ask Kane, who came out. Kane said the investigation into Punk’s claim showed no wrong-doing by The Authority. Punk asked Kane when he became the Big Red Asskicker. Punk told Kane that he can come down to the ring and get knocked out or Go To Sleep, his choice. Kane started walking to the ring but Steph stopped him. The Shield’s music hit and they came to the ring. Punk grabbed a chair.
Steph told The Shield to stop and that Punk is to be respected. Kane agreed, and that he should be challenged. Kane said that at TLC, Punk will be in a 3-on-1 handicap match against The Shield.
First Step To Making The Intercontinental Title Relevant Again?
Dolph Ziggler vs Damien Sandow. Winner is #1 Contender for the IC Title. Dolph started with some early offense and hit a dropkick. Sandow went to the outside, but Dolph hit a baseball slide. Sandow recovered and face planted Dolph on the apron. Sandow hit a side Russian leg sweep followed by the Elbow of Disdain for two. Sandow went for a moonsault but Dolph moved. He connected on a DDT for two. Ziggler hit a splash followed by ten corner punches and a neckbreaker. He went for the Fameasser but Sandow countered it. Ziggler was able to connect on it on the second try for two. Ziggler went to the top but Sandow knocked him off the ropes. Sandow then hit the You’re Welcome to pick up the win.
Natalya and The Bella Twins defeated AJ, Tamina and Summer Rae. AJ skipped around the ring the majority of the match. She finally tagged in but was eventually rolled up by Natalya.
Justin Roberts introduced Bad News Barrett. He said the good news is that we are live on RAW. The bad news is that we are in an arena full of hillbillies and miscreants who had to name their city after the state just so they could remember its name.
Backstage, Randy Orton told Brad Maddox to tell The Authority that he should be recognized as the greatest WWE Champion ever and that he is bigger than the WWE.
Worst Abduction Ever
Daniel Bryan vs Erik Rowan. For those wondering, Bryan was abducted then left in a parking lot last week. Rowan pushed Bryan into the corner then hit a shoulder tackle. Bryan went for a clothesline but Rowan didn’t fall. Bryan landed some kicks and went for a Sleeper, but Rowan threw him off. Bryan pushed Rowan into the corner again and landed some kicks. Bryan went to apply the Yes Lock but Rowan threw him away. Rowan went for a bodyslam but Bryan countered and landed multiple kicks to the leg. Bryan went for the Yes Lock but Rowan got to the ropes. Rowan caught Bryan with a boot and threw him to the outside. Bryan went back in as Rowan went out and went for a dive, but Rowan caught him and threw him into the barricade into commercial.
Rowan had a chinlock applied back from break. Bryan tried escaping but Rowan hit a bodyslam. Rowan caught Bryan with a clothesline and he rolled to the outside. Rowan tossed Bryan into the steps. Back in the ring Bryan caught Rowan with a drop toe hold. He hit a dropkick in the corner, but Rowan caught him with an elbow on the second attempt. Rowan hit a couple of boots to the face on Bryan. Bryan tried fighting back again with kicks, but Rowan caught him and hit a fall away slam followed by a splash in the corner for two. Rowan went for an elbow but Bryan moved. Bryan knocked Harper off the apron with a dropkick then hit a dive to the outside on Rowan. Back in the ring, Bryan connected on a missile dropkick. Bryan landed his kicks to the chest. Rowan blocked the last one but Bryan landed in the corner. He went to the top but Harper caught him with a boot. Rowan went for a press slam, but Bryan countered into a roll up pin for the win.
After the match, Bray Wyatt appeared on the screen. He told Rowan and Harper to stand down. Bray said he’s done a lot of bad things since he’s been on earth. And that he was wrong about Daniel Bryan. Bray said he understands him. He said together they can tear the walls of places and can bring the machine to its knees. Bray told Bryan to open his eyes as the promo ended.
Backstage, Kane told Daniel Bryan that he would be facing all three members of The Wyatt Family at TLC.
Brodus Eat A Snickers. You Get Angry When Someone Tries To Steal Your Women
Xaiver Woods and R-Truth vs Tons of Funk. Woods went for some quick kicks on Brodus but Brodus caught him and hit a couple bodyslams. Sweet T came in and Xaiver landed some punches and kicks followed by a jawbreaker. Woods tagged in Truth. Truth landed some corner punches but Sweet T caught him off the ropes with a shoulder tackle. Brodus came in and worked over Truth for a bit before Truth caught him with a heel kick. Truth tagged in Woods and he caught Brodus with the Honor Roll for two. Woods knocked Sweet T off the apron but Brodus caught him with a shoulder tackle. He hit the the T-Bone suplex and splash in the corner, but missed the splash off the top. Woods pinned Brodus to pick up the win.
And The Downfall Of Alberto del Rio Begins
Sin Cara vs Alberto del Rio. Sin Cara connected on an armdrag off the top followed by one to the outside. He hit a springboard moonsault, but Del Rio caught him coming back in the ring with a kick to the head. Del Rio continued to dominate back in the ring. He hit a body stomp then went to a headlock. Sin Cara moved out of the way of a corner splash then hit a corner splash followed by a headbutt off the top. He hit a springboard crossbody for two. Del Rio caught Sin Cara with another kick then some headbutts. He went for the crossarmbreaker but Sin Cara shoved him off. Sin Cara went to the top. Del Rio missed his enziguri kick to the head and Sin Cara hit a Swanton for the win.
Can RAW Just Always Be 6 Man Tags?
Cody Rhodes, Goldust and Big Show vs The Shield. Big Show started with Dean Ambrose. He took him down with a headlock then hit a chest slap. Show hit another slap then tagged in Rollins. Show threw Rollins down then hit a bodyslam followed by an elbow drop. Rollins escaped and made the tag to Reigns. Big Show threw Reigns into the corner and he hit a chest slap. Reigns raked Show in the eyes and tagged in Ambrose. Ambrose hit some headbutts and went to the top but Show caught him and threw him off. Goldust came in and hit some offense then tagged in Cody. Cody hit a knee to the face followed by a face first suplex. Goldust came in, as did Rollins. Goldust landed an upper cut then went to an armbar. Cody came in and hit a backdrop. Rollins recovered and tagged in Ambrose, but he was dragged into the ring by Cody. Cody dropkicked Reigns off the apron and hit his moonsault. He went for Cross Rhodes but Amborse escaped, then slammed Cody’s arm into the ringpost into a commercial break.
The Shield still had control back from break. Cody went for the Disaster Kick but Reigns caught him with a punch to the chest. Rollins came in and worked over Cody a bit. Cody moved out of the way of a splash but Ambrose quickly tagged in. Cody caught Ambrose with a shoulder to the gut and hit a double dropkick on Ambrose and Rollins. Reigns came in but he missed an elbow and Cody tagged in Big Show. Show hit a splash in the corner but Ambrose pulled down the ropes causing Show to go to the outside. Rollins came in and caught Big Show with a knee off the top. Rollins landed a couple kicks to the head of Show. Ambrose came in and landed some kicks of his own. Reigns hit a clothesline for two. Ambrose came back in and applied a headlock, but Big Show got out with a backdrop. Reigns came back in but he ate a chokeslam.
Big Show tagged in Goldust and Reigns tagged in Rollins. Goldust hit his uppercut followed by an inverted atomic drop. Goldust hit a hurricarrana off the second rope followed by a spinebuster for two. Ambrose came in but Goldust pulled the ropes down on him. Goldust hit a powerslam. On the outside, Reigns speared Big Show but Cody took him out with a dive. Ambrose went after Goldust on the top, but he hit a superplex. Rollins moved out of the way of it, then rolled up Goldust to pick up the win.
Backstage Rene Young asked Punk his thoughts on the handicap match. He said he feels pretty, oh so pretty and did a little dance. He then said he knows he is going down. It is just a question of who from The Shield is going down with him.
Bad News Barrett came out again. He said last Thursday was Thanksgiving and we ate turkey, stuffing and pumpkin pie. But now all our arteries are clogged and we are constipated.
Miz and Kofi Kingston vs Ryback and Curtis Axel. The heels dominated the match early. Ryback and Axel hit most of their normal offense. Miz eventually caught Ryback with an elbow and tagged in Kofi. Kofi hit his crossbody. Kofi took Axel out on the outside but Ryback caught him with a clothesline. That allowed Ryback to hit Shell Shocked for the win. After the match Miz slapped Kofi in the face.
Mark Henry made quick work of Fandango.
The Real Americans vs Titus O’Neil. Swagger and Cesaro had the uper hand early. Swagger hit a nasty looking clothesline on the outside. Back in the ring Swagger and Cesaro hit the Swagger Bomb/Cesaro Stomp combo on O’Neil. Cesaro and O’Neil exchanged upper cuts until Cesaro hit a gut wrench suplex for two. Cesaro did the Cesaro Swing to the protest of Zeb and Swagger. Titus looked like he was going to puke again but Young tagged in. Young got some offense in, but was eventually caught by a Cesaro uppercut coming off the second rope, giving the Real Americans the win.
Who Doesn’t Wear Pants To A Contract Signing?
Triple H and Stephanie came out. They stressed the fact that there will be one Undisputed Unified Champion after TLC. Both men came to the ring. Triple H talked about both Titles and all the great men that have held both. Stephanie brought up HHH both times. HHH said this wasn’t a spur of the moment idea. They wanted to make sure both Champions were good enough that they could be the face of the WWE after this match. And they can go on and cement their legacies in the WWE forever. After they both signed the contract, Orton took the mic and said he was better than all the past Champions including HHH. And that is why HHH chose Orton as the face of the WWE. Orton said he will walk out with both Titles at TLC.
Orton said they have history. He punted Cena’s dad in the head a few years ago. Orton went on before Cena told him to shut up. Cena said Orton never lived up to his potential. Cena said Orton is the most gifted WWE Superstar ever (LOL) but he got lazy. Cena said Orton feels like he should be gifted everything but at TLC if he wants something from Cena he will have to earn it. Cena said Orton is pushing his buttons and Orton can either leave or make a move. But Cena said if Orton makes a move he will be reminded of what a TLC match really is. Orton flipped the table at Cena but Cena moved and the two brawled. They went to the outside where Cena hit Orton with a ladder. Orton recovered and threw Cena into the ringpost. Orton took apart the announce table, allowing Cena time to hit Orton with another ladder. Cena hit Orton a few times with a chair. Cena tossed Orton into the ring but Orton shoved a ladder into him. Orton hit Cena a few times with a chair. Orton took his time setting up a table, allowing Cena to toss him into a table set up in the corner. Cena then hit an AA on Orton through a table.
WHAT I LIKED
Six Man Tag: It is almost to the point where I don’t want to see The Shield break up for the simple fact that I love their tag matches so much. They just have such great chemistry not only as a group, but with whoever they work with in the ring as well. They have become the highlight of RAW the last few weeks.
Bad News Barrett: Hey it is just the first week, and Barrett has been entertaining on the JBL and Cole show. Hopefully the gimmick comes across well on TV and he gets a little more serious down the line. I’ve always been a fan of Barrett so I hope he gets a decent run out of this.
CM Punk: Punk’s promo to start the show was good. As much as I liked Punk being his own universe for the last few months, you knew he was going to get involved in The Authority storyline eventually. Hopefully this leads to a big role for him going into the Wrestlemania season.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
The Announcing: This hasn’t been great in a while. But it is getting to an all time low in recent weeks. People wondered why I didn’t like Sandow/Ziggler last week. Maybe if the announcers didn’t treat the match like a joke I would have liked it better. But whatever crap these guys are getting fed from Vince is terrible. Is it too much to ask from the commentary team to just call the match and add in only a small amount of wise cracks and jokes. When you barely pay any attention to the match is just gets bad.
Orton/Cena: I wanted to get like the last angle. I didn’t think it was that bad. But when you look at the two guys involved it is just hard to get behind it. Plus you are going for a unification match with just three weeks to build it. Everything about the angle just seems rushed and redundant with all the parties involved. It was a nice brawl between Orton and Cena, but in the end it is just tough to get excited for a match between these two.
Short Tag Team Matches: First let me say that I am all for the new push of the tag team division. And I like a lot of the teams that are being put together. That is a definite plus. But if it was up to me I would make the matches go longer than the 3 or 4 minutes they have been getting. Give these guys some time to show some stuff off in the ring. Maybe let them cut some promos too and give them a little more character development. With 3 hour RAWs you should be able to find time to do all of that.
I think the show was a little better than last week’s show. The bad wasn’t as bad as last weeks. But the WWE continues to just feel like they are stuck in a rut right now and are buying time until Wrestlemania season. I’m going to go ahead and give the show a 4.
Until Next Time,
Justin C
Follow Me On Twitter @JCWonka
