'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
RAW this week was live from Air Canada Center, Toronto for the first time in three years. Fans in Toronto proved just why they are one of the best crowds in WWE as they came up with hilarious chants and reactions.
With local stars such as Edge and Santino returning to the ring, fans were ready to give them a healthy reception.
The go-home edition of RAW saw a lot of excellent segments and frankly, was one of the best RAW episodes of the year. It improved drastically over the nearly dismal show last week and managed to keep us excited for Sunday.
Here, we will now look at the top 5 talking points of the show and how they have impacted Night of Champions PPV on Sunday.
1. Daniel Bryan finally reigns supreme
After laying flat on his back for almost three weeks, Daniel Bryan finally managed to remain on top this week with a little indirect help from Big Show.
After his match against Dean Ambrose, Bryan managed to fend off the Shield for good. He stood there screaming ‘YES’ with Big Show accompanying him from ringside.
Big Show’s expressions during the chants were epic as he managed to look like a 9-year-old celebrating a Cena victory.
Anyway, Orton then made his way to the ring and Bryan greeted him with a suicide dive through the ropes. The numbers game finally caught up with Bryan who was then neutralized by the combined forces of Orton and the Shield.
Big Show then came out with a chair to protect Bryan, but was reminded by Orton about Stephanie’s warning backstage. Big Show looked frustrated but at least he didn’t cry.
Triple H and Stephanie then made their way out and asked Show to knock out Bryan who was already lying face down. Show got into the ring and seemed very reluctant about this.
He was delaying the inevitable, saying he couldn’t do it as Orton was egging him. This gave Bryan time to recover who then hit a huge knee on Orton. The only letdown however was that we didn’t get to see Triple H and Stephanie’s face as this turnaround occurred.
2. Edge owns Triple H on the mic, Goldust gives an impressive performance
The Rated-R Superstar returned to his hometown to an overwhelming response. Edge looked visibly excited as he started the proceedings on RAW.
He invited Daniel Bryan to his show on Cutting Edge, despite orders from Triple H to invite Randy Orton. Edge called Orton’s promo as paint dry and continued interviewing Bryan.
Naturally, this brought out Orton and Hunter, who didn’t look impressed. To add salt to the wound, Edge came up with phenomenal comebacks that would have driven any COO crazy with the most memorable one being the not so PG ‘d***-tator’ comment. Anyway, it was fun seeing Edge completely own Triple H who then asked Edge to leave the arena backstage.
Another returning legend, Goldust had a match against Randy Orton to help his brother Cody find his job back in WWE. While most of us expected this match to end in a few moments, Goldy managed to fight like he hadn’t left the ring at all.
He fought like someone half his age and delivered a match of the night performance. Sadly, he had to end up in the losing side and get humiliated by Stephanie later backstage.
3. Paul Heyman’s failed medical trick
The failed medical trick of Paul Heyman
After watching Curtis Axel lose to Kofi Kingston again, Paul Heyman realized his client wasn’t very dependable against someone like Punk. So Paul Heyman thought it would be wise to accidentally slip on some water backstage and go on to announce to everyone that he will not be fit to compete on Sunday.
As outrageous as that sounded, it looked for a moment that Heyman was going to get away with that. But thanks to Maddox, who came out with a legit doctor, Heyman was cleared to wrestle.
This brought out Punk who entered with a kendo stick reminding people of Sandman. Heyman’s injuries vanished instantly as he scuttled across and managed to escape. The poor fake doctor that Heyman brought received the brunt of Punk’s anger.
Heyman played the cowardly heel really well and like always, managed to make the segment look absolutely entertaining. Punk looked really intimidating with the kendo stick, and all this clearly indicates the introduction of a new ‘Paul Heyman guy’ at NOC.
4. Antonio Cesaro swings Santino to a great return
Santino Marella was another Canadian who made his return this week. He faced Antonio Cesaro in a really fun TV match. Cesaro showed us just why he is the strongest wrestler present today after he spun Marella for quite a long time.
To add to this, Marella had a comical landing. Though the match was short, it managed to provide more than enough entertainment to fans.
5. Dolph Ziggler should have shut his mouth
Though I don’t agree with what Dolph is going through now, the WWE management looks pretty stern at making Dolph a glorified jobber. This week saw Ziggler stoop to a new low as he was given a jobber entrance, which means no entrance at all. It’s sad to see him lose matches like this and he has a lot of blame to take for this.
His comments on being frustrated about Orton getting the title push has seemingly landed him in a lot of trouble. Though these are just rumours, let us hope WWE lets Ziggler get back to winning terms this Sunday.
