It’s the final RAW before Night of Champions. A Brock Lesnar/John Cena showdown is expected. That’s really the only thing announced for the show tonight. So follow along with my results!
Be A Star John!
RAW started with Paul Heyman in the ring. Heyman said he is here to give us a preview of what will happen at Night of Champions. Heyman hummed Cena’s music then mocked kids cheering for him. Then said his client Brock Lesnar will come down. He said people could boo if they want but Lesnar will give them more to boo about this Sunday. John Cena then came out. Cena asked Heyman where Lesnar was. Heyman stumbled around the question. Cena said he told Heyman last week that if Lesnar wasn’t here he was going to fight him. Heyman said if it is a fight Cena wants it is a fight Cena will get. Heyman introduced Lesnar but then laughed. Heyman said Lesnar’s private plane was delayed but he will be here. Heyman said he thinks he knew Lesnar’s plane was delayed and called out Lesnar now because he knew he wasn’t here. Heyman applauded Cena for playing the hero character so well. Heyman tried to leave but Cena stopped him. Cena said if Lesnar isn’t here in 80 minutes he will kick Heyman’s ass. Cena said he didn’t trust Heyman and put him in a headlock all the way to the back.
Back from break, Cena locked Paul Heyman in his locker room and had Great Khali stand guard.
The Last Monday of Jericho
Chris Jericho vs Kane. Jericho caught Kane with an elbow and sent a charging Kane over the top. Jericho hit a springboard dropkick off the ropes knocking Kane off the apron then hit a dive off the top to the outside. Jericho came at Kane again but Kane caught him with an uppercut. Kane took control in the ring but Jericho caught him with an enziguri kick then a dropkick for two. Jericho hit some chops in the corner then a knee to the face. Jericho came off the ropes but Kane caught him and tossed him in the air, landing on the mat. Kane tossed Jericho to the outside.
Back from break Kane fought out of a headlock and hit a dropkick off the second rope. Kane came back with a right hand. Kane hit a clothesline in the corner and a sidewalk slam for two. Kane went for a clothesline off the top but Jericho caught him with a dropkick. Jericho started a comeback. He hit an axe handle off the top. He hit some corner punches before Kane lifted him up and dropped him down onto the turnbuckle. Kane exposed the turnbuckle but Jericho slid under the ropes and hit a crossbody off the top for two. Kane countered the Walls and went to catapult Jericho into the turnbuckle. Jericho stopped himself on the ropes. Kane caught him and went for a chokeslam but Jericho countered into a DDT. Kane blocked the Codebreaker and hit a big boot for two. Kane went for a Tombstone but Jericho escaped and hit a running bulldog. Jericho went for the Lionsault but Kane caught him by the throat. Jericho escaped the chokeslam and sent Kane into the exposed turnbuckle. Jericho rolled up Kane to pick up the win.
WINNER: Chris Jericho
Jack Swagger vs Bo Dallas. Swagger landed some early blows in the corner but Bo moved out of the way of a charge and then landed some blows of his own. Bo landed some elbows and kicks in the corner. Swagger fought out of a headlock but Bo came back with a neckbreaker. Bo landed some knees to the chest. Bo missed a knee off the second rope and Swagger started a comeback. Bo rolled to the outside then dropped Swagger’s neck on the ropes. Both men exchanged near fall attempts until Swagger applied the Patriot Lock. Bo tapped out.
Brie’s New Music Is Possibly Worse Than Her Old One
Nikki and Paige vs AJ and Brie. Nikki ran from Brie to start the match. Paige came in and took down Brie and landed some knees through the ropes. Paige hit a headbutt then did a mock tag with Brie’s hand to AJ in the corner. Brie escaped a headlock with a jawbreaker. Nikki pulled Brie off the apron to prevent a tag, allowing Paige to recover and hit the RamPaige DDT for the win.
WINNERS: Paige and Nikki
After the match Nikki hit her finisher on Brie. AJ then mimicked Paige skipping around the ring.
Heyman tried leaving Cena’s locker room to make a call but Khali stopped him and broke Heyman’s phone.
Wyatt Momentum Stalling
Big Show vs Bray Wyatt. Show tossed Bray hard into the corner but Bray just laughed. Show landed some hard blows but Bray fought back and hit a splash in the corner, then grabbed Big Show’s leg going for a kick and dropped it on his shoulder. Bray started to work over Show. Show ended up getting out of a headlock with a sideslam. Show hit a splash but Bray ducked a clothesline and hit his crossbody knocking Show down. Show countered Bray and hit a DDT. He went for a pin but Harper and Rowan broke it up. Show hit a double chokeslam on them as Bray watched on from his chair and laughed.
WINNER via DQ: Big Show
Mandatory RAW Six Man Tag
The Usos and Sheamus vs Cesaro, Goldust and Stardust. Goldust gained the upper hand on Sheamus early on then taunted him. Sheamus came back with a shoulder tackle and went for a Brogue Kick but Goldust ducked out of the way. Cesaro and an Uso came in and Cesaro mocked Sheamus by hitting his rope punches. Goldust came in and he ate a butt splash in the corner but Stardust caught him with a kick off the top into commercial.
Back from break the heels continued to dominate. Jimmy tried fighting back but Cesaro blocked a tag with a front face lock. Cesaro mocked Sheamus again. Jimmy hit a back body drop. But Goldust got the tag and knocked Jey off the apron. Jimmy hit a dropkick and made the hot tag to Sheamus. Sheamus went to work on all of the heels. Stardust missed a kick off the ropes but Cesaro made the blind tag. He hit the Neutralizer on Sheamus but the Usos broke up the pin. Jey Uso ended up hitting a splash on Cesaro off the top to pick up the win.
WINNERS: Sheamus and The Usos
Clearly Heyman Read Vince Russo’s Thoughts On This Feud
Back from break John Cena brought Paul Heyman to magically make a Beast appear, or he would make Heyman’s teeth disappear. Heyman asked if Hustle, Loyalty and Repsect was all a sham. Heyman said he could be the trigger to make him turn his back on the Cenation. He said to beat a Beast you have to become a Beast. Heyman said he can bring him to his dark side. Heyman said Cena won’t hit him because that would mean that he is a bully. Heyman said Cena likes being a role model too much to turn to that dark side. Heyman begged Cena to hit him and let out his inner beast. It would be the only way Cena has a chance to win this Sunday. Heyman continued to antagonize Cena until Cena grabbed the mic.
Cena said that if anyone deserved to get their face rearranged it was Heyman. Heyman begged Cena to hit him, let his rage out and become a Paul Heyman guy. Cena said no and that Heyman didn’t deserve the dirt off his hands. Heyman said that if he were his mother he would be proud of him, if her son was born with some testicles. Cena shoved Heyman sending him out of the ring. Brock Lesnar’s music hit and he came to the ring. Lesnar circled the ring. He helped Heyman up and they walked back up the ramp. Lesnar then jumped on the apron and came into the ring. Lesnar took out Cena and hit a German suplex sending him to the outside. Lesnar went to leave but Cena attacked him and sent him to the outside. Cena slammed Lesnar onto the apron then into the barricade and landed some blows on Lesnar before Cena was restrained.
Naomi beat Cameron via submission in a match that went on too long.
Dolph Ziggler and R-Truth vs Miz and Damien Mizdow. Truth came out dressed as Ziggler. Ziggler caught Mizdown with a dropkick then an elbow. Truth came in and they both hit elbows. Miz distracted Truth allowing Mizdow to attack from behind. The heels worked over Truth until Truth hit a DDT and tagged in Ziggler. Ziggler hit a neckbreaker followed by a Fameasser. Mizdow broke up the pin. He held Ziggler for Miz but Ziggler moved and Miz hit Mizdown. Ziggler then hit the ZigZag for the win.
Why Would I Now Want To See This Match At Night Of Champions?
Seth Rollins v Roman Reigns. Rollins landed some punches early. He ducked a couple of clotheslines. Reigns chased him around the ring but Rollins dropped him on the ropes. Reigns recovered with an uppercut. Reigns landed a few blows in the corner. Rollins went to the outside but Reigns slammed Rollins into the barricade. Reigns slammed Rollins into the announce table then sent him flying over the table.
Back from break, Reigns escaped a headlock with a suplex. Reigns hit a clothesline and punch in the corner. He went for his apron dropkick but Rollins moved. He knocked Reigns off the apron and hit a dive to the outside. Back in the ring Rollins missed a splash in the corner, allowing Reigns to start a comeback. Reigns ended up hitting his apron dropkick and Superman Punch. Rollins leap frogged a Spear attempt and Rollins connected on a hard looking kick to the jaw. Rollins went to the top but Reigns met him up there. Rollins carried Reigns off the second rope and hit his turnbuckle bomb on Reigns for two. Rollins hit some kicks but missed the Curb Stomp. Reigns came back with the Spear to pick up the win.
WINNER: Roman Reigns
This Segment Main Events Because AMERICA
Mark Henry came out to rally America. He said that withdrawing from the Olympics still haunts him, but this is his second chance. He said this Sunday at NOC he will finally shut Rusev and Lana up. He said he can’t let the people of America down. Henry talked about everything that Lana has said about America when Rusev and Lana interrupted. Lana told Henry to shut up with his propaganda. She said her and Rusev have prepared a visual aid to show the facts of the situation. Lana talked about Russia winning the weight lifting gold medal in 1992, and Henry intentionally withdrew in 1996. Lana said that Henry will fail at NOC just like he did at the Olympics. Henry said he wanted to make a pledge, then started singing the Pledge of Allegiance. Rusev attacked. Henry tried fighting back but eventually ate a Rusev kick. Rusev tried applying the Accolade but Henry stopped it and hit a sit down chokeslam. He then sent Rusev to the outside.
WHAT I LIKED
Cena/Lesnar/Heyman: Outside of the whole Cena being a giant bully thing, I liked Heyman’s promos trying to goad Cena into turning to his dark side and hit him. Heyman just has such a way with words on the mic that he can get you to buy into whatever he is saying. And they did their job with the brawl making Cena fans believe that he has a shot against Lesnar at Night of Champions.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
Seth Rollins vs Roman Reigns: This doesn’t go here because of the match. I didn’t think the match was bad. My problem is this: Why do you give away this match on RAW? I mean I know with the Network they can somewhat get away with this. But Roman Reigns beat Seth Rollins clean in the ring. Why should I care about their NOC match now? What purpose does it serve?
Chris Jericho vs Kane: I’m not someone who likes to think a wrestler has reached their end. But Kane just doesn’t seem like he has it anymore. I mean he’s never been a fast moving worker but he just seems really slow nowadays. Jericho has lost a step too but Kane is much more noticeable. I didn’t like the pace of this match and thought there were one too many rest holds, and it went about five minutes too long.
Bray Wyatt vs Big Show: This match was short but served no real redeeming purpose in the end. It felt like a way just to get the Wyatts on TV, but it ended up doing more harm than good in the end. The Wyatts momentum is going downhill faster than you could have ever imagined. And I don’t think I need to explain why I didn’t like Big Show looking so strong against three people.
Mark Henry/Rusev: You know, I really didn’t mind this segment going on last. It was something different. But man was it bad. And I like Rusev. But Henry’s promo seemed very half-hearted. And Lana’s promo work was off tonight as well. Nothing about that segment seemed very interesting at all.
The WWE did a bad job of selling Night of Champions to people. I know they really don’t have to with the Network now. But some people might look at Night of Champions now and not even feel like turning it on, opting to turn on football instead. The best final push came with the WWE Title match, and even that wasn’t anything great. Nothing about this show made NOC seem like must see. The wrestling was okay but nothing of consequence happened on this show. The WWE is in there down period now, and they badly need a shake-up after Night of Champions to give the product a boost. The show gets a 2 from me.
Until Next Time,
Justin C
Follow Me On Twitter @JCWonka
