For some reason, RAW goes country tonight. There is something called a Florida Georgia Line performing tonight. Who the hell came up with a band name like that? And more importantly, will the WWE care more about promoting this stupid RAW or their PPV on Sunday? Follow along to find out!
Oh Come On, You Knew They Were Starting RAW
RAW started with Mr. and Mrs. Burial, otherwise known as Triple H and Stephanie McMahon. He said last week was a prime example of just how vital they are. Without them, chaos rules. HHH said they couldn’t be more disappointed with RAW last week. He said Brad Maddox and Vickie will be dealt with tonight. Randy Orton came out. Orton said he blames the both of them because they didn’t put someone firmly in charge and that allowed him to get chokeslammed through a table last week. Orton said he’s the face of the WWE and needs to be protected better than he is now. Triple H said he needs to realize who he is talking to.
Vickie and Brad Maddox came out. Maddox said he takes responsibility for his actions, and last week was all Vickie’s fault. HHH said that they both have to pay tonight. Steph said that with the handicap matches made last week, they’ve become de-sensitized to the toll they take on WWE Superstars and Divas. Steph said Vickie would take on AJ, and Brad Maddox would have a match right now against a Randy Orton, and to make it fair it would be No DQ.
How Can They Give This Away On Free TV???
Maddox went to the outside and hid behind the announce table. He tried running away but Orton grabbed him. Maddox then hit Orton with a microphone and shoved him into the ringpost. In the ring, Maddox hit a DDT but only got a two count. Orton then threw Maddox outside and into the announce table. Orton threw Maddox into the steps then hit his DDT off the barricade. Back in the ring, Orton hit Maddox multiple times with the mic. The ref called for the bell with Maddox lying unconscious.
When Did The Intercontinental Title Become Prestigious Again?
Big E took down Axel early with a couple of shoulder tackles, followed by a backbreaker and backdrop. Axel went to the corner for a breather. Big E blocked a kick with a clothesline. Big E hit another backdrop. Axel rolled to the apron and he dropped Big E’s neck on the ropes. Axel landed a handful of punches into commercial.
Big E fought out of a headlock back from break, but Axel caught him with a dropkick for two. Big E fought out of another headlock with a backdrop, followed by some clotheslines and a belly-to-belly. He hit his splash but only got two. Big E reversed a neckbreaker into a clothesline, then hit the Big Ending for the win.
Backstage, Orton told The Shield that The Authority said they must have his back. Roman Reigns told Orton that he better have their back too.
There was Divas Musical Chairs. After two eliminations, they all started fighting. Was Eugene put in charge tonight?
Match of The Year!
Big Show vs Ryback. Show threw Ryback into the corner and landed some punches and a headbutt. Show hit a couple of chops then another headbutt. Show connected on a shoulder tackle and Ryback went to the outside. Ryback landed a knee to the gut but Show immediately threw Ryback into the corner. Show threw Ryback off the ropes but Ryback landed a spear to the knee. Ryback hit a leg drop for two then went to a headlock. Show tried getting out but Ryback hit a DDT and went back to the headlock. Show got out of this one with a side suplex. Show hit a clothesline but Ryback bounced right back with a spinebuster. Ryback went for the Meathook but Show countered with a chokeslam attempt. Ryback came back with a clothesline. Ryback lifted Big Show up and hit Shell Shocked but Big Show kicked out. Ryback went for another one but Big Show pushed him away and hit the KO Punch for the win.
Randy Orton came into the ring but he ate a quick Spear from Big Show.
Back from break, Orton complained about The Shield not saving him.
Did Miz Ever Stop Being A Heel?
Miz and Kofi vs The Real Americans. Kofi and Miz started quick on Cesaro. Cesaro caught Miz in the air and hit a backbreaker. Swagger tagged in and clotheslined Miz on the outside. In the ring, Swagger hit a Swagger Bomb and Cesaro came in then hit his stomp. Swagger came back in but Miz reversed a backdrop and hit an elbow, then tagged in Kofi. He hit his normal offense followed by the Boom Drop. Swagger caught Kofi in the air and hit a front slam for two. Kofi reversed a backdrop into a DDT. He went for a tag, but Miz jumped off the apron. Swagger then applied the Patriot Lock and Kofi tapped.
Vickie faked being passed out. Back from break Vickie was getting stretched out. Stephanie said she could go to the hospital after her match. Vickie was stretched out to the ring. She asked for some water. She tried running away but AJ stopped her. AJ applied the Black Widow and Vickie tapped out.
None of Those Instruments Have Strings
Triple H told Dolph Ziggler and Daniel Bryan they were going to have a Broadway Brawl. Back from break there were some musical instruments in the ring. Sandow dominated early but Ziggler hit a dropkick. Sandow tossed Ziggler off the top and onto a keyboard. Back from commercial Sandow hit Ziggler with a chair then placed it in the corner. Both men exchanged punches. Sandow hit Ziggler with a fiddle. Ziggler fought back with a DDT. Ziggler hit Sandow in the back with another fiddle then hit the Fameasser for two. Sandow blocked the ZigZag and threw Ziggler into the chair placed in the corner. Sandow then threw Ziggler into a cello and hit him with a guitar in the gut for two. Ziggler side-stepped a Sandow charge and hit Sandow over the head with two drums and then a guitar to pick up the win.
Orton asked Steph and Triple H if they still had faith in him as the face of the WWE. They said they would have to think about it.
It’s RAW Country And Cena Doesn’t Wear Jorts. Fail
Cena showed what happened last week at the hands of Alberto del Rio. He said the energy of the WWE Universe is what made him come back, but now that his arm is in a sling he thinks maybe he came back too soon. He said a Champion is made of toughness and not tricks like Alberto del Rio. In six days Del Rio doesn’t know what he is dealing with. Cena ended with his usual “Champ Is Here” line. Alberto del Rio came out. He said Cena almost made him cry. Cena said Sunday he would make him tap. Del Rio said Cena won’t hold up the Title Sunday, just like he can’t now. Del Rio said Sunday Cena will be embarrassed in front of his family. Del Rio said a good Champ takes advantage of every opportunity. Cena agreed and attacked Del Rio, who bailed immediately.
R-Truth and a debuting Xavier Woods beat Drew McIntyre and Jinder Mahal.
Triple H told Orton that he has to beat Big Show without any help at Survivor Series.
Florida Georgia Line performed. I switched to football.
This Would Make A Great War Games PPV Match. But Noooooo
Jimmy Uso dominated Dean Ambrose early and tagged in his brother Jey, who ate an elbow. Roman Reigns came in. Reigns was backed into the corner and Goldust and Cody hit a double kick to the gut. Reigns backed Goldust into his corner and tagged in Rollins. Rollins ate a backbreaker and inverted atomic drop. Jey came back in and hit a kick to the gut. But Rollins caught Jey with an elbow. Luke Harper blind tagged in and Rollins was upset as both teams argued going into commercial.
Back from break Goldust was landing some corner punches on Rollins. Cody came in and hit a kick to the gut. Rollins reversed Cody and tossed him into the corner then tagged in Ambrose. The Shield took their turns working over Cody. Cody started fighting back against Rollins and hit a face first suplex. Luke Harper tagged himself in again and Rollins and him argued. Cody caught Harper with a Disaster Kick and Bryan was tagged in. He hit a handful of kicks then a kick to the back of the neck of Harper. Rollins ate a backdrop and Reigns went to the outside, but Harper caught Bryan and hit a sit down powerbomb for two. Bray came in. Bray applied a headlock and asked The Shield if he can trust them. Reigns was tagged in as everyone took their turns working over Bryan. Bryan caught Ambrose with a running knee. He went to make the tag but all of the heels came in and knocked the faces off the apron.
Bryan reversed a Roman Reigns DDT back from break, and he made the hot tag to CM Punk. Reigns tagged in Ambrose and Punk hit both of them with a double neckbreaker. Punk caught Ambrose with two high knees and a clothesline. He hit the Elbow Drop and went for the GTS, but Bray stopped him. Bray ate a kick to the head and Punk applied the Anaconda Vice. Rowan and Harper came in but the Usos took them out with kicks and then dives to the outside. Ambrose hit his DDT on Punk but Goldust broke up the count. Reigns caught Goldust with a Spear, Cody hit Cross Rhodes on Reigns, Rollins hit his powerbomb into the corner on Cody. Bryan took out Rollins then him and Punk hit a Hart Attack like finisher on Ambrose. Bryan hit a dive to the outside on Rollins, then Punk hit the GTS on Ambrose for the win.
After the match Cesaro and Swagger attacked as well as The Wyatts. Rey Mysterio’s music hit and he made the save. He hurricarrana’d Cesaro to the outside then hit a double 619 on Harper and Swagger. The faces celebrated in the ring to close the show.
WHAT I LIKED
Main Event: What wasn’t there to like about that match? It seriously blows my mind that the WWE doesn’t look at that and ask themselves why they didn’t put that on Survivor Series in a traditional elimination match. Imagine those 12 guys going at it with about 45 minutes of time. All of the guys involved are good to great in the ring. Easily the best part of RAW.
Big E Winning The IC Title: I joked above asking when the IC Title became prestigious again. But they did a good job making Big E’s Title win seem pretty big. And the crowd responded very well, considering the two clean losses he took the previous two weeks. There’s a future for Big E and hopefully the IC Title is just the first step. He needs a little bit more work in the ring but I think he is a future star in the making.
Broadway Brawl: It’s a minor hit. It was somewhat entertaining but it feels like the WWE just has no idea what to do with Ziggler and Sandow. At least we got a break from the norm brawl out of them.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
Final PPV Build: It really felt like the WWE packed in their final hype show for Survivor Series. That might have been the least amount of attention a WWE Title match has gotten in quite some time. The World Title match just doesn’t have any steam behind it either. Does anyone even remotely believe Del Rio is winning Sunday. I can’t think of two flatter WWE and World Titles matches on a PPV in quite some time.
Big Show/Ryback: I didn’t have a problem with the match as much as I did with Big Show kicking out of Shell Shocked. I get Ryback losing some steam, but there’s no reason for Big Show to kick out of that move. Especially when Ryback just lifted a 500 pound man on his shoulders. Maybe it is just my dislike of Big Show in the main event, but I didn’t like that.
Divas Musical Chairs: Unless musical chairs on RAW involves Ric Flair, then I’m not watching it.
Rey Mysterio Return: I don’t have a problem with Rey returning. It was just not-hyped, a week before a PPV. And now he will be thrown into a Survivor Series match. It just doesn’t seem like the WWE put a lot of thought into it.
I think the negatives slightly out-weighed the positives on this one. While the main event was solid and Big E winning the WWE Title was nice, you just can’t over look the fact that the build for the two main Title matches at Survivor Series are possibly the worst the WWE has ever done. I’m going to give the show a 4.
Until Next Time,
Justin C
Follow Me On Twitter @JCWonka
