WWE: RAW review for 8th July

With only a week to go for the Money in the Bank PPV, RAW kicked off with the managing supervisor Vickie Guerrero and Brad Maddox in the ring as the Baltimore crowd booed them. Vickie was very nice to Triple H and included him with Razor Ramon and Shawn Michaels, whose careers were defined by ladder matches.

That’s not completely true, although Triple H won the IC title during a ladder match with The Rock. Anyway, Jerry Lawler interrupted her and said tonight, the fans will get a say if she gets to stay or go, by voting on the WWE App. There’s your first plug – in of the dreaded app!

Vickie then announced a confrontation between the WWE champion and the number 1 contender, along with Christian vs Kane, Randy Orton vs CM Punk, and Sheamus vs Daniel Bryan. Not a great opening segment, but Vickie trying to get support from the fans took care of the point. Her job evaluation would be later on, in the show.

Daniel Bryan vs Sheamus

Bryan came out first to a huge pop! Sheamus followed him, while the red brief case was hung on top. They got about 15 minutes, which can only mean a solid TV match between the best wrestler in the company and one of the more solid workers. Sheamus tried to counter Bryan’s kick with a Cloverleaf hold, but Bryan rolled him up for a three-count. Post match, Bryan and Sheamus shook hands, and Bryan led the crowd into a ‘Yes’ chant. Bryan won the TV match, does that mean he won’t win the MITB briefcase? That’s what it implies.

Winner: Daniel Bryan

Rating: *** ½

WWE kept plugging with the debut of the Wyatt Family, and a guy was shown trying to find Bray Wyatt.

Backstage, Ziggler asked Langston to leave, and asked AJ why she wasn’t with him at ringside last week. AJ said her priority was for her to be the divas champion and Dolph to be the world champion. They kissed to end the segment. A separation in the works, maybe?

Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins vs Tons of Funk

The tag team champs took on Tons of Funk in a basic tag match which The Shield won in 7 minutes, after a spear by Reigns. I hope the WWE doesn’t make The Shield lose to The Usos, not yet at least. The Shield’s momentum has been completely halted, and they need some steam under their belts.

Winner(s): The Shield

Rating: * ¼

The WWE.com reporter finally found the Wyatt Family, and Luke led him into the house.

Time for the confrontation between the WWE champion and the challenger for Sunday’s match. John Cena came down to the ring and called Mark Henry out, and Henry obliged. They cut a promo about how Henry sold his friends and family out for the WWE title, and Henry said he saw fear in Cena’s eyes. Henry pretended to attack Cena, but turned away.

As Cena tried to pick his title up, Henry attacked Cena and ended the segment with a World’s Strongest Slam. That usually means Henry will lose at the PPV, which doesn’t come as a shocker to anyone. Pretty basic segment, although the WWE could have done a much better than taking the same monotonous route of monster attacking Cena by blind-siding him.

Curtis Axel (With Paul Heyman) vs Chris Jericho

The match between Axel and Jericho was yet another solid TV match that Jericho won (surprise!) handing Axel his first pin-fall loss. Not that it means much, but I wonder if this was the way to go. The match went on for 12 minutes, but it would mean that Axel would defeat Miz come Sunday, and I’m not against that.

Winner: Chris Jericho

Rating: ***

Backstage, there was an altercation between six of the seven Smackdown! Money in the Bank ladder match competitors. Fandango showed up and tried to say his name, only to get knocked out. That was funny, here’s a video of it in case you missed it.

The WWE.com reporter, now inside the Wyatt Family’s house saw Rowan saying “obey” repeatedly. Bray Wyatt appeared and asked the reporter to follow him.

Alberto Del Rio vs Sin Cara

A good TV match that saw Del Rio and Cara getting their offences in, but Ziggler came down and the match was ruled a No-Contest when Ziggler attacked. That was weird, and Sin Cara took Del Rio out to end the segment. This would mean that ADR would retain his title this Sunday, which isn’t what I hoped for, but that makes sense.

Time for the “Job evaluation” segment. Vickie and Brad were in the ring, and out came the McMahons and Triple H. Vickie tried to play nice with the three, and Vince wanted Vickie to stay. Hunter spoke next, and said Vickie might just be the most boring person on TV. I guess they conveniently forgot Adamle, Big Johnny, the current WWE champion… anyway, Triple H wanted Vickie to be fired.

Stephanie spoke next and said they would let the WWE Universe decide, and 75% of the fans voted for Vickie to be gone. Vickie threw a tantrum, while Triple H and Stephanie went to the back. Vince then suggested there should be a new General Manager, and he named Brad Maddox as the permanent GM of RAW. The three then left to the back.

Backstage, Vince consoled Vickie while Maddox came up to them. Vickie attacked Maddox and Vince left. The whole segment was stretched out and was painful at times, but at least it ended with someone getting fired.

Kane vs Christian

A seven-minute match with back and forth action, and they couldn’t make either one of them look weak. Kane won the encounter when Christian tried to go for a spear. Post match, the Wyatt Family made their debut, as Luke and Erick took Kane out, and decimated the Big Red Machine. They ran through him and crushed his larynx with the steel steps. Bray Wyatt then knelled in front of Kane with a sadistic laughter. That was a good debut, but could’ve been better. Loud ‘Husky Harris’ chants from the fans, but that didn’t hurt the segment.

Winner: Kane

Rating: * ½

Here’s a small, well made video package about the Wyatt Family on this week’s show.

Backstage, Ryback hugged Vickie while she was on her way out. Does this mean she will be his manager come Sunday? I think so.

Kaitlyn and Layla vs AJ (With Big E) and Alicia Fox

A typical divas match that lasted about two minutes, and the finish didn’t make sense either. It ended in a No Contest because Kaitlyn attacked AJ illegally and speared her on the outside? Also, the Bellas were on commentary, and were awful. That doesn’t come as a surprise.

Winner(s): No Contest

Rating: Dud

Randy Orton vs CM Punk

Like Bryan’s match, is it necessary to say it was yet another solid TV match when you have one of the better wrestlers and one of the more solid performers in Punk and Orton? They went on for 14 minutes, and the end came when Punk countered an RKO and hit the GTS for the pin and the win.

Winner: CM Punk

Rating: *** ¼

Post match, Daniel Bryan ran to the ring and fired some kicks on Punk and threw him onto the ring post. He, then picked up a ladder and decked Orton out of the ring with it, and then climbed the ladder to retrieve the briefcase. He then led the crowd in a ‘Yes!’ chant as RAW faded off. That made for an eventful ending, but also a possibility that Bryan might not win the MITB ladder match.

Show Rating: *** ¼

That was a good RAW, but not the best WWE could’ve done for a go – home show. This Sunday, RVD will be returning to the WWE, which has been the hottest news over the past month. Am I going to miss the MITB PPV? No, and there still is Smackdown! before we hit the PPV, so we’ll have to wait and see what happens then. Until next week, keep calm and ‘Rob Van Dam’!