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I was not expecting Steph to be alone in the ring facing Big Show, nor did I expect her to physically attack him, then fire him. I also didn’t expect Steph to be wearing so much makeup that she looked like an orange. I didn’t think that firing Big Show would matter in any way, and the end of the show confirmed that for me. It was a solid way to set up
Battleground replay
I missed Ziggler and Sandow facing off prior to Battleground, but from everything the announcers said, this match was so much better than their first one. Sandow was brutal in the ring, relentless. Ziggler handled himself better than ever and did a great job of shutting down the Money In The Bank case holder. While I don’t agree with the case holder jobbing to every wrestler he faces, I am all for Ziggler looking as solid as he can in the ring and getting the push he so deserves.
Happy Birthday Mr. Sammartino
It wasn’t that long ago that Bruno Sammartino wouldn’t have anything to do with the WWE, and now he’s not only in the Hall of Fame, but he’s stepping out on stage for his birthday. Triple H has mastered some huge feats in the past year, and really proving that he’s going to be great at the helm of the WWE with his wife by his side.
New Divas in the ring
I have to admit that I was dealing with a terrible rain storm and missed much of this match, but what I saw of it was downright terrible. Nattie, of course, looked solid, and when Aksana worked against Nattie, she looked strong as well, but Eva Marie looked sloppy and clueless.
I understand that this was Eva Marie’s first televised match on WWE TV, but I expected her to either take it easy, or hit moves that she had proven herself on. Instead she flopped around on the mat, looked as though she was going to fall out of her ring gear, and I worried about the state of her belly button ring with the way she couldn’t keep hold of Aksana.
I’m mortified that the WWE put Eva Marie in the ring on RAW, and think that they were smart not having JoJo tag in. Honestly, I don’t know if JoJo is better or worse in the ring, but after the mess Eva Marie made of things, keeping JoJo out kept the match from looking that much worse.
Legends with political aspirations
I missed Booker T on the mic, again due to bad weather taking out my DISH feed, but I was able to witness the absurdity that is Bob Backlund. I was never a fan of his when he was regularly with the WWF, nor when he was a local worker, but he managed to get over better than I’d have thought possible. Then there’s HBK, the obvious choice for Special Guest Ref between Bryan and Orton at Hell In A Cell.
HBK is very much his own man, but he’s also Triple H’s best friend, and trained Bryan, so he will be pulled in both directions. I find it interesting that the fans love HBK so much, but rallied on social media and pushed the voting for Backlund, just to see if they could cause problems with the WWE storyline. That Backlund was able to get 32% of the voting, pushing Booker T’s voting to only 7% shows just what pull the fans and social media can have.
I expect the fans to push more votes in various directions, just to see if the WWE will actually go with the fan vote, or if they will alter it to continue with the planned storylines. I’m sure HBK received enough votes this time around, but what about next time? Will the fans be able to change the direction of the WWE from the outside?
El Torino strikes again
Fans had been wondering that since McIntyre hadn’t been seen with 3MB, maybe he was being repackaged, but this match changed that possibility. Further, Los Matadores continued to beat down 3MB, but they can only work against that one team for so long before it gets boring. Wait, it’s already boring. Personally, I think Los Matadores are too far out there to last more than a month or two, but I worried about Fandango for the same reason, and he’s doing fairly well as the mid-card worker he is.
CM Punk is a bolly
I am over Punk feuding with Heyman, and it’s all because of Ryback and Axel. The WWE have put both Axel and Ryback with Heyman as a last hope for them to make anything of themselves in the WWE.
I’m not completely sure about Axel, but at this point I think Ryback is a lost cause. Ryback can barely carry himself in the ring, his mic skills are downright putrid (he cannot even pronounce the work bully correctly), and his attitude is one of the worst backstage right now.
Anyone who would attack the top workers after Ryback was the one who cause problems in the ring, or almost injuring them, is not the smartest move. Other wrestlers have lost their jobs over less, and only because Vince McMahon has a strange obsession with recreating the Goldberg phenomenon, is Ryback still employed with the WWE. Goldberg was something that Eric Bischoff created in WCW, and McMahon had nothing to do with.
I think McMahon feels he could have done it better, the way he feels DX was better than nWo, and Ryback is McMahon trying to prove that. That Ryback is failing at every turn is causing big issues for McMahon, but he cannot let it go. At this point I think it’s time they drop the storyline and move on.
Orton after Kofi now
I honestly do no understand why they put Orton in the ring with Kofi. It didn’t accomplish much of anything. Yes, Orton came out looking strong, but no stronger than he has in past week, and possibly a little weaker. If they want Orton to look strong, they should be putting him in the ring with stronger faces.
The problem being that other than RVD, who appears to be out for a bit, there’s few strong WWE faces who are not in big storylines right now. I think it’s time they push people like Ziggler further so they can continue to prove themselves, and help Orton along.
Super Cena bounces back again
I know this match was supposed to be about the continuing problems between ADR and Ricardo, as well as Vickie showing ADR that she’s in charge, not ADR, but in reality it was all about setting up for Cena’s return. I’m continued to be shocked by Cena’s ability to recover from injury and rehab back from health problems that could end the career many other wrestlers, and do so in less than half the predicted time is shocking, and unheard of.
John Cena has amazing genetics, as well as healing abilities and drive to get back in action as quickly as possible. The man is astounding, but I hope he’s physically ready for his return when he does come back. I’d hate to see him re-injure himself because he didn’t wait long enough before returning.
Dancing around the issues
Those issues being that Fandango has no feud, and no storyline right now, and is getting lost in the shuffle because of it. I’m especially fond of Fandango because he’s a local guy made it big, and he continues to be interesting, even through a strange character, but at this point he’s just flailing around. Hopefully something comes around the corner for him soon, and he will be able to show off more than his two step and his unique left leg drop.
Another Battleground replay
I really don’t understand why Santino is being saddled with Khali these days, but it’s happening, and we’re stuck with it for now. I also don’t understand why we had to see this dreadful match for a second time. Yes, Cesaro’s giant swing on Khali went off much better at Battleground than it did in rehearsals, but that doesn’t mean we really needed to see it again.
Honestly, the best part about this match was the glimmer of humor from Cesaro when he made like Hornswoggle was too heavy for him to lift. One of the biggest problems Cesaro has had is getting over with the fans, but if he showed more moments like that, I think the fans would fall in love with him, the way I did watching him when he was with Ring of Honor Wrestling.
The Miz TV that wasn’t
I don’t know if The Wyatt Family coming out to get in Miz’s way was the start of something big for Miz, but I hope so. Right now there’s too many really great Superstars who are flailing around without any solid feuds, or even storylines. If Miz was to get into it with The Wyatt Family, it could only help his future character development, and possibly point him in a direction that could help him work his way back to being a main event wrestler. That Miz managed to get past Bray and his family shows cunning that was unexpected, but could add a lot to what might be to come.
Maddox not acquitted
Maddox, working under Steph’s orders, sent Big Show to the ring at Battleground, yet when things didn’t go the way Steph expected, Maddox is to blame. Steph and Trip are playing the strong leaders who will never take any responsibility for their own actions. I have to wonder how long that will continue, and who else will be caught in their line of fire. First Bryan, then Big Show, now Maddox. Only time will tell how long they will last, how far they will go, and who will be taken down in their path.
Big Show and Bryan get the last laughs
It was obvious that Big Show would be returning at the end of the show, it’s the way things happen in the WWE. There’s no sense in waiting for next week, making Big Show chase the WWE to their next location without first letting his feelings at being ‘fired’ known to Trip.
The match between The Shield and Bryan, Goldust, and the new great martyr, Cody Rhodes, was really strong, very entertaining, and continued to show the Rhodes brothers in the best light. Both Dustin and Cody have really stepped up their ring work, and the fans are responding in kind.
Of course Trip had to make sure that the main event ended, and ended in a way that he wanted it, but the good guys got the last laugh with Big Show’s return. He looked stronger than ever, as a giant like him should, and he easily took out Trip, leaving Bryan with the biggest smile we’ve seen from him in a very long time. Bryan sold his joy and mirth over Trip being knocked out in such a way that left a huge smile on my face as RAW went off the air.
Many people were very upset about the way Battleground ended, but I hope the way RAW ended changed some of their views of the current direction of the WWE right now.
