Quick Hits: WWE Raw 11.11.13

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Raw 11.11.13

{Ed. Note: As you may have noticed (or not), there’s no “10 Thoughts” column this week. The reason for this is that I’m not even getting to watch Raw until today & that’s just far too long to wait to get a column up. Therefore, Chris Sanders will be taking over the Raw 10 Thoughts columns for the foreseeable future while I will contribute these quick commentary’s hopefully on a regular basis.}

– It’s a little strange that John Cena always does the voice-overs for anything involving the military considering he has no military experience at all. I wonder what the US military’s reaction would be if the AWOL’d & dishonorably discharged Randy Orton provided the voice-over instead…

– Wait, they’re in England for Veteran’s Day? Who the hell planned that out?

– One more thing before I move off of Veteran’s Day, as many of you know I work as a television editor & there are rare occasions where I get to work with some extraordinary people on some unbelievable projects. Below you’ll find a piece I did with the remarkable General Colin Powell and after that, a longer tribute that sincerely brought tears to my eyes while I helped out on it & then when I was able to view the final product. I work with some incredibly talented people who normally don’t get to show how good we/they really are because we work for a news network. It makes me proud to be an editor when I can put my name on pieces like this.

http://youtu.be/dzzhOspLeGE

http://youtu.be/tHZpK8iFdKw

– Ok, my apologies. Now back to wrestling.

– I feel like the English crowd has decided to attempt Brad Maddox phenomenon much like they played a major role in the Fandango phenomenon.

WWE Champion Randy Orton vs WWE Tag Team Champions The Rhodes Brothers

– So this match makes zero sense. Story-line-wise, why would Vickie Guerrero want to piss off The Authority by putting the WWE Champion in a handicap match. Realistically, what do either the Rhodes Brothers or Orton gain from this match? Orton loses, he lost to two men and if he wins, the tag champs lost to one guy.

– This is one of the few times I was OK with a “chickenshit heel” finish.

– I’m getting a little worried about the main event of Survivor Series. The Big Show has won the WWF/E Champion twice in his career – in 1999 when he beat HHH & The Rock and in 2002 when he beat Brock Lesnar. Both at the Survivor Series event.

– Michael Cole & King are going to be completely lost tonight without their announce table. JBL will be fine. He just doesn’t care.

Los Matadores & Santino vs The Union Jacks

– OK, you can’t help but love 3MB as the Union Jacks.

– It has to kill the Scotsman McIntyre to be wearing an English flag though.

– I call discrimination! Why wasn’t El Torito disqualified for attacking Heath Slater?! Was it because he’s a midget?! Blasphemy!

Kofi Kingston vs Damien Sandow

– The new “no-nonsense” Damien Sandow is definitely an improvement.

– Quick but decisive win for Sandow.

Intercontinental Championship Match: Curtis Axel (c) vs Dolph Ziggler

– Sounds like England didn’t get the memo about Ziggler’s de-push.

– I’ve been pretty vocal about my souring on Curtis Axel’s push but it is pretty obvious that he’s still a “good hand” in the ring. That’s pretty funny wording since apparently Triple H thinks AJ Styles & Bobby Roode are also “good hands”.

– Good back and forth action & a ton of believable near falls. It definitely helped that the crowd truly believed Ziggler was walking away the champion.

Randy Orton/The Shield Segment

– LOVED how they just established that The Shield aren’t the new “Legacy” & they came off looking great when Randy Orton actually looked worried that The Shield weren’t his personal henchmen.

Tyson Kidd vs Fandango

– Had to know that Total Divas was going to play into Kidd’s return. He’s hoping his push from the show works a little better than Nattie’s push did.

– 1 to 1 in the intense Kidd/Fandango feud! Hell In A Cell must be next!

World Heavyweight Champion John Cena vs The Real Americans

– As much as it sucks to see Kassius Ohno released, you really can’t deny the chemistry Cesaro and Swagger have developed over the last few months.

– Awesome “Mr. Bean” reference.

– Never would have thought that a Raw showcasing handicap matches would be this good but it’s working!

– Though this was the result that I feared from the first match. Although Cesaro & Swagger aren’t nearly booked to the level of Goldust and Cody Rhodes.

– It’s refreshing to see the push Big E Langston is getting. It’s not the typical hot start/quick pull back we’ve seen lately and he’s actually mixing it up with some main eventers.

R-Truth vs Ryback

– Ryback loses to R-Truth. And thus the downfall of Ryback begins.

Big E Langston vs Alberto Del Rio

– JBL joke about hoping Michael Cole “drowns” in the wave is the perfect example of making the best of an awkward situation (the crowd bored with the match).

– A better match than the crowd responded to. Curious to know if it was Del Rio or Langston not holding their attentions.

Paul Heyman Segment

– “Ryback bit off a little more than he can chew with CM Punk.” – Paul Heyman. Burn.

– I guess it’s a good thing I never made that “Paul Heyman Guy – Ryback” Wallpaper.

– I thought it was strange that Punk would AGAIN come out to beat down Heyman but since his match was next, I guess it was an easy transition.

Daniel Bryan & CM Punk vs The Shield

– The Shield really have only been around for one year? That mind-boggling.

– Nice hesitation & stare down between Punk and Dean Ambrose. I’m sure there were plenty of fans marking out at that moment.

– 6 months ago I would have said we’d be seeing an Evolution type of breakup for The Shield where Ambrose would be HHH, Rollins would play the babyface Batista & Reigns would be moved aside for a while a la Randy Orton. Now I don’t see how they CAN’T build a feud between Ambrose & a babyface turning Roman Reigns.

– That was a terrific closing segment of Raw & one of the best I’ve seen since WrestleMania. The differences between The Shield & the Wyatt Family are so vast it gives you that “anything can happen” feeling. Throw in the “Mega Powers” dream team of CM Punk and Daniel Bryan & you have 8 young men at the center of a story that feels fresh and damn fun. If only The Authority could be on “vacation” every week.

Follow Matthew on Twitter @HTCHarrak Visit his site at HTCwrestling.com Email him at MHPulse@4sternstaging.com Become a fan on Facebook