It’s another version of Old School RAW tonight. I was in attendance for the last Old School RAW, and I just hope the Legends actually do something this time, because it was a big letdown last time. Plus we find out what happens next with Daniel Bryan and the Wyatt Family, and who will Brock Lesnar attack tonight?
And just a FYI, I’m in the middle of a blizzard warning in Buffalo, so if for some reason this post stops getting updated, I’ve lost power.
And The Point Of This Segment Is???
RAW started with Ric Flair coming to the ring. Flair said Old School has had some fun in Baltimore. Flair said he was there to style and profile all night long. He strutted around the ring until Randy Orton came out. They hugged and Orton said he has a ton of respect for him. Flair was his mentor. Orton said tonight is also about him. Orton said it is his time and his ring, and he kindly asked Flair to step aside and give him the ring because he had something to get off his chest. Orton complained about his rematch against John Cena and said everyone shouldn’t get what they like. Orton said he’s already beaten John Cena and wants The Authority to reverse their decision, because he’s already proven he is the man.
Flair cut him off and said that when he was World Champion, he worked seven days a week. And all Orton is doing is crying about this rematch. Flair told him to just go out there and beat him again. Orton called Flair overrated and asked him to leave again, and said he wouldn’t be responsible for what happens if he didn’t. Flair said years ago HHH and him got behind Orton because he had everything needed to become a top star. But Orton’s also had an immature punk attitude that he has never grown out of. Flair wondered if Orton was really a man. Orton said he would go old school on his ass right now.
John Cena came out. He said every time Orton opens his mouth he sinks to a new level of scumbag. Cena said instead of taking it out on him he takes it out on Flair. Cena said Orton isn’t even close to Flair’s resume. Cena said if Orton is thinking about going old school, he is too. Orton instead left the ring.
Bryan Would Have Looked So Much Better In A Hat And Hawaiian Shirt
The Wyatt Family came out to take on The Usos and Rey Mysterio. Daniel Bryan came out with the Wyatt Family. Luke Harper and one of the Usos started. They exchanged some offense before Bryan tagged in, along with Rey Mysterio. Rey tried talking to him but Bryan landed some hard elbows followed by a running knee. Rey countered and tossed Bryan to the outside into commercial.
Back from break Erik Rowan had a headlock applied on Jey Uso, which was followed up with a fallaway slam. Bryan tagged in and landed a bunch of kicks to the chest. He landed a dropkick to the back of Jey. Rowan came back in and hit a headbutt. Jey caught Rowan with a kick to the gut followed by a crescent kick. Rey got the hot tag. He hit two hurricarranas, then a 619. Jimmy Uso came in but he missed the splash. Bryan tagged himself in, but Harper then tagged himself in and told Bryan to get out. Harper knocked Rey off the apron, but Jimmy was able to pin Harper with a small package to pick up the win. After the match the Wyatts and Bryan just looked on.
Brad Maddox said the referee for the Damien Sandow/Great Khali rematch would be voted on the WWE App. Bob Backlund, Arn Anderson and Sgt. Slaughter are the choices. Kane then asked Maddox if he had anything to say to his face. Kane said he couldn’t lay his hands on him, because he would be fired as COO. But if that happened, he could go back to being the big red monster. Kane told Maddox to watch what he says behind his back to Triple H.
Ryback On Commentary? Ugh
Big E Langston vs Curtis Axel. Ryback was on commentary. Before the match, Ryback said his voice was a little horse because he was hanging out with Lillian Garcia. Apparently, the WWE still thinks they are a bunch of high school jocks. Langston caught Axel mid air and hit a couple of backbreakers. Axel moved out of the way of a Big E charge and Big E went into the post. Axel landed some kicks and went to a headlock. Big E escaped, but Axel caught him with dropkick. They went to the outside and Big E dropped Axel’s head on the table. Big E took control in the ring, and ended up hitting the Big Ending for the win.
Ambrose and Piper On The Mic? Yeah You Got My Attention
Rowdy Piper came out for Piper’s Pit. He said he was Old School before Old School was cool. Before he could say anything else, The Shield came out. Ambrose asked who gave this old man a live microphone. He said if he was going to say anything, he should be thanking God because if The Shield were around during his time he wouldn’t have made it to 112 years old. Piper said that this wasn’t Ambrose Alley, and there was only one guy that could match him on the microphone, and that’s CM Punk. Ambrose said he would think Piper would know to tread lightly. Rollins held Ambrose back and told him The Shield was too smart for his tactics. Rollins said Piper was jealous because Ambrose was a better US Champion than Piper ever was. Piper said he knew Rollins and Ambrose couldn’t beat Punk one-on-one. Piper then asked Reigns if he beat Punk tonight, would that make Reigns better than Rollins and Ambrose.
Reigns then said he was going to beat Punk tonight, and if Piper would ever touch him again, he would kick his ass. Ambrose said they should make this a night to remember for Piper. CM Punk and the New Age Outlaws came out to make the save.
Sin Cara vs Alberto del Rio. Sin Cara went for a couple of quick pin attempts, but Del Rio caught him with a kick to the gut. Del Rio stomped Sin Cara in the chest and got a two count. Sin Cara caught Del Rio with an elbow, then connected on his springboard elbow for two. Sin Cara missed on the Swanton Bomb and Del Rio caught him with a kick to the head to pick up the win. After the match, Del Rio said he was going to eliminate Batista at the Royal Rumble, and everyone would be talking about him after.
Backstage, Daniel Bryan asked Harper and Rowan to let him contribute. He asked Rowan or Harper to let him team with them. Bray showed up, and said that next week Bryan would be teaming with him.
So The Tag Champs Can Win Non Title Matches
The Rhodes Brothers vs The Real Americans. Goldust and Swagger started. Goldust hit a shoulder tackle followed by an inverted atomic drop. Cesaro came in and ate the same fate. Cody came in. Cesaro caught him with a knee, but Cody came back with a clothesline. Goldust came back in and hit an elbow. Cesaro backed Goldust into his corner and Swagger tagged in. He landed some knees to the mid-section and Cesaro came back in. He applied a headloock. Both Real Americans took turns working over Goldust. Goldust escaped with a hurricarrana and tagged in Cody. Cody hit a missile dropkick on Cesaro. He caught Swagger with the Disaster Kick on the apron, but Cesaro caught him with an uppercut into commercial.
Back from break, Swagger hit the Swagger Bomb on Cody followed by the Cesaro Stomp. Cody escaped a double team with a kick to Swagger and tossing Cesaro to the outside. Cesaro recovered and knocked Goldust off the apron. Cody clotheslined Cesaro and went for the tag but Goldust wasn’t there. Swagger tagged in and applied the Patriot Lock after Cody missed the Disaster Kick. Goldust made the save with a punch to the face. Goldust finally got the hot tag. He hit an uppercut and spinebuster on Swagger. He then hit a reverse crossbody on both men, followed by a powerslam on Swagger. Cesaro broke up the pin. Cesaro was tossed to the outside, allowing Goldust to hit the Final Cut for the win.
Backstage, DDP and Booker T were doing DDP Yoga backstage. Ron Simmons interrupted with a DAMN.
Damien Sandow vs Great Khali. Sgt. Slaughter was voted as the ref. Khali hit a couple chest slaps. Sandow then caught a slow moving Khali with an elbow and some kicks. Khali caught him with a boot to the face followed by some clohteslines, followed by the chop to the head. Sarge made the three count, but Sandow’s foot was on the ropes at one. Sandow argued after the match, but Sgt. Slaughter put him in the Cobra Clutch.
Big Show. In A Big Match. Again. Sigh…
Brock Lesnar came out with Paul Heyman. Heyman said Brock has a problem with this Old School montra. He said it isn’t about bringing out these legends and giving them their last hoorah. He said old school is when one man reigns supreme and everyone comes out and challenges that men for the right to become the man. Heyman used Bruno, Hogan and Steve Austin as examples. Heyman said whether it is Cena or Orton as the top man after the Royal Rumble, they will have a target on their back and will be in the path of Brock Lesnar. Heyman said there is no one in the WWE or MMA who can reign supreme like Brock Lesnar. He said Mark Henry tried to take out Lesnar last week and with no warning, Lesnar took him out. And there is no one out there that can take out Lesnar.
Mark Henry came out and tried taking out Lesnar. Lesnar eventually got the better of him and applied the Kimura Lock, and eventually “broke” Henry’s arm. As Lesnar walked to the back, Big Show’s music played. Lesnar back-peddled into the ring as Show stared him down. Show came into the ring and Lesnar bailed. Heyman distracted Big Show and Lesnar tried attacking him, but Show threw him across the ring and Heyman stopped Lesnar from going back in.
Aksana and Alicia Fox defeated the Bellas Twins after Brie missed a dropkick off the top rope, allowing Aksana to make the pin.
Too Cool defeated 3MB. Scotty 2 Hotty hit the Worm on Drew McIntyre but McIntyre recovered and caught him with a boot. After the heels worked over Scotty, Rikishi got the hot tag and took out Jinder Mahal. Brian Christopher hit the Hip Hop Drop and Rikishi hit the sit down splash for the win.
All the legends came out on stage. But Bad News Barrett came out on his scissor lift podium. Bad News said this attempt to get one last run with their careers is pathetic. And he, just like the WWE Universe, will forget their names the second they walk out the door.
Will This Stay One On One For Long?
Mean Gene Okerlund came out. He said he had some interesting stories about Baltimore, but we would have to call his hotline to find them out. It’s only $5.99 a minute, and kids don’t need their parents permission before calling! The New Age Outlaws came out and they did the introduction for CM Punk.
Punk vs Reigns. Reigns threw Punk down. Punk went for a headlock but Reigns threw him away. Back from break, Reigns tossed Punk to the outside. Back in the ring Reigns worked over the ribs of Punk then hit a backdrop for two. Reigns worked over Punk with some more punches than an elbow. Reigns missed a second elbow and Punk caught him with a boot to the face then a reverse crossbody for two. Punk went for his running high knee but Reigns caught him and applied a bearhug. Punk escaped, but Reigns caught him with a Samoan Drop for two. Punk moved out of the way of the Superman Punch and Punk caught im with a kick to the head. Punk landed some kicks to the legs of Reigns then a swinging neckbreaker. Punk hit the running high knee for two. Punk hit a second one then went for the Macho Man Elbow but Reigns caught him with a punch. Punk blocked a superplex then hit the Macho Man Elbow.
Ambrose jumped on the apron but Road Dogg pulled him off. Ambrose shoved him into the apron, Billy Gunn shoved Ambrose down, and Rollins took out Billy Gunn. Punk hit a dive to the outside on Rollins. Reigns caught Punk with the Superman Punch but only got a two count. Punk leap frogged a Spear attempt and went for a School Boy but only got two. Punk caught Reigns with a kick to the head but only got two. Punk went for a GTS, but Reigns escaped. Punk hit a running high knee and went for a bulldog, but Reigns shoved Punk away and he went right into Ambrose. Reigns then hit Punk with a Spear to pick up the win.
The Shield celebrated after the match, when suddenly, JAKE THE SNAKE ROBERTS MUSIC hit. He came out and Punk and the Outlaws attacked the Shield. Ambrose ate a GTS, and Roberts came in the ring and put the snake on Ambrose to finish the show.
WHAT I LIKED
Jake “The Snake” Roberts: Jake could have come out in the ring and did nothing and I still would have marked out like a kid again. Great surprise ending.
Rhodes Brothers vs Real Americans: Best match of the night. The tag team division has become one of the most enjoyable parts of the show. They threw a subtle hint of tension coming with Cody going for the tag and Goldust not being there. It was nice to see The Rhodes Brothers pick up the win in a non-title match, which they had been losing a lot of lately.
Piper’s Pit Segment: Good exchange between Piper and Ambrose and another solid way to tease some tension between The Shield. The WWE is doing a good job of playing this out so far. They aren’t rushing things and they aren’t near the point of stretching it out for too long yet.
Reigns/Punk: The last few minutes of this match allowed it to end up on this spot. The match was very slow moving to start but picked up at the end. Reigns gets the win, and you know Ambrose will play up the fact that he helped Reigns win, leading to more tension with The Shield.
Bad News Barrett: I’m probably in the minority but I’m starting to like this character. Hopefully Barrett gets to wrestle soon. The character went from being a joke early to getting a little bit of an edge.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
Opening Segment: There just seemed to be no point to that opening segment. And it goes to show you that it almost seems like the WWE isn’t really trying with this Cena/Orton re-match. They can’t add anything new to the match. There are no new layers to add to the story. They literally did nothing with that opening promo but get Ric Flair on the show.
Daniel Bryan/Wyatt Family Follow Up: We expected some kind of follow up with this angle and it just seemed like an afterthought on this show. They made it such a big point to tune in to see what happens or get some explanation, but instead we got nothing whatsoever. It was disappointing.
Brock Lesnar/Big Show: Apparently with Cena/Orton, Batista possibly winning the Rumble, and now Lesnar/Show, we are stuck in a time warp. I get Show and Lesnar had a decent feud once, but that was almost ten years ago. I’d much rather see someone like Big E go out and put up a big fight against Lesnar, only to fall just short in defeat. I’d even rather see Mark Henry try to get his revenge. Just not Big Show.
Lillian Garcia Joke: I’m sorry WWE, but that’s totally uncalled for. If HHH and Vince think that shit is funny, then they need to grow up.
This Old School RAW was definitely an improvement over the last one, but it didn’t have too much substance. Two of the main angles didn’t have a lot of follow up or anything new added to the story. The wrestling took a bit of a step back as well this week with only one match that really stood out. It was definitely a mixed bag show. I’m going to go right in the middle and give it a 5. I think at this point the WWE is hoping the Rumble match alone sells this PPV.
Until Next Time,
Justin C
Follow Me On Twitter @JCWonka
