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This week’s RAW came to us live from Calgary, Canada, home of the legendary Bret ‘The Hitman’ Hart. The show opened with the WWE champion returning after a week’s absence, as he hit the ring for a promo. He mentioned how both men didn’t get up after their Last Man Standing match at Extreme Rules. There was a loud ‘We want Bret’ chant which Cena acknowledged. He suggested a Three Stages of Hell match at WWE Payback, with the first match being a Lumberjack match, the second being a Tables match, and the third being an ambulance match. Ryback then came out and accepted the challenge, and called himself Lucifer and Satan, and then left. A very short promo by Ryback, which was the right way to go. Cena’s promo was fine, considering there weren’t many childish jokes.
After Ryback left, Paul Heyman made his way down to the ring along with his new client, Curtis Axel. Heyman issued a challenge to Cena, to fight Curtis in the main event. Cena told Curtis to stay away from Heyman, but Curtis asked if Cena accepted the challenge, to which Cena approved. There’s our main event for the night, and I for one am glad Axel is being pushed right off the bat. Good move by the WWE.
Alberto Del Rio (With Ricardo) defeated Big E Langston (With AJ Lee)
The first match of the night saw ADR taking on Big E. Big E is on the verge of a big push, as the WWE wants to turn him face. A good back and forth action which ended when AJ removed one of the turnbuckle’s padding, but it backfired as Big E went face first onto the exposed turnbuckle and ADR covered him for the win. I’m not sure where this would leave Ziggler when he comes back, as having Big E by his side made sense for Ziggler’s gimmick.
Backstage segment with Team Hell No, as Bryan and Kane argued. Bret Hart appeared to a big pop, and calmed things down between the duo.
Dean Ambrose defeated Kofi Kingston for the United States championship
I absolutely love Ambrose being the US Champion. He faced Kofi in a rematch for title, and the result was the same. Ambrose dominated the match, and ended it by driving Kofi’s head into the mat for the pin and the win. These two have good chemistry together in the ring, which has helped this feud.
The Shield (Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins) defeated Team Hell No (Daniel Bryan and Kane) for the WWE Tag team championships
Another amazing 19 minute match between The Shield and Team Hell No. Great story telling and in – ring action from some of the best talents on the roster. The story was that Bryan was too obsessed about being the ‘weak link’, and that cost their team the match. This will eventually lead to a Daniel Bryan heel turn, but the Calgary crowd loved Bryan.
Fandango (With Summer Rae) defeated Wade Barrett with The Miz as the special guest referee
It was more of an angle than a match. Miz hit Barrett with the SCF, which enabled Fandango to cover him for the win. Afterwards, Miz kicked Fandango as Summer fell on top of him, and Miz mockingly counted 3. A three way for the IC title is on the cards for WWE Payback.
Tensai, Brodus Clay and Great Khali (With Hornswoggle, Natalya and the Funkadactyles) defeated 3 MB
A basic squash match. It was Natalie’s birthday. Post match, Khali sang her a birthday song. Awful segment, when is she going to be treated with any respect? Doesn’t look likely to happen anytime soon.
Time for a promo between two of the best talkers in the industry, Paul Heyman and Chris Jericho during the Highlight Reel. Jericho opened the segment to loud cheers from the fans. Heyman came out to boos, and he talked about Axel and how he stepped up. Jericho asked about Heyman’s other client, and then challenged Punk to a match at Payback, which will be in his hometown of Chicago. Heyman ended the segment by agreeing to the match on his client’s behalf. Great promo by these two, which set up a huge match for WWE Payback.
The Bella Twins defeated Natalya and Kaitlyn
A painfully boring match that saw Bellas picking up the victory over Natalya and Kaitlyn. This is how WWE books the Divas division. The only good thing that can come out of this is Natalya going after Kaitlyn, and I hope that is on the cards.
Backstage segment with Bret and Axel. Bret mentioned his legendary match with Axel’s father, Mr. Perfect. Bret advised Axel to leave Heyman. Axel refused, and said he will beat the WWE champion tonight. Short and to the point, a well done segment.
A vignette aired for the debut of the Wyatt Family on RAW, which ended with a “We’re coming” message. That’s great news, and it’ll be interesting to see how they will be booked.
Randy Orton and Sheamus defeated Rhodes Scholars
Rhodes finally got air time on RAW, and it was another great tag team match. For the second week in a row, there were two great tag team matches on RAW, which is outstanding. The finish saw the faces going over, which to the dismay of many, doesn’t indicate an Orton heel turn. Let’s hope that happens sometime soon.
Curtis Axel (With Paul Heyman) defeated John Cena by count out
It was more of an angle than a match, but an interesting spot took place when some members of the audience started a fight, and everyone shifted their focus on that. Axel hit some great spots, like the running snapmare and the Perfectplex that his father used to do. Suddenly, an ambulance came into the arena and Cena went near the ambulance, thus losing the match via count out. Ryback attacked Cena from behind, and shoved him off the stage. Cena no – sold the attack (surprise, huh?), and that ended things flat. RAW faded out with Axel celebrating his win in the ring with Heyman.
Rating: *** ¾ (Out of 5 stars)
That was a good show, with two excellent matches. This show was far better than what we’ve been getting, and I hope it carries on from here. Jericho vs Punk is made official, at least for now for Payback, which will take place in Chicago. Well, that does it for the review. The weeks leading up look very interesting, so let’s see how it pans out.
