Superstars of the week - WWE RAW 30/9/13

This week’s RAW was quite mild an affair if you ask me. While a lot was not wrong per se with the happenings, most of the spark that has been accompanying the show of late has been courtesy the crowd reaction which has been extremely boisterous. But last night, the crowd did seem quite tuned off and a lot of noise was not to be heard. Not quite the crowd the debuting tag-team would have been hoping for. But they were quite good and so were a few others. In fact, the biggest letdown for the night’s action was the predictable build-ups to a lot of the programs going into the pay-per-view this Sunday, WWE Battleground.

The players involved in the WWE title picture came head to head for a verbal sparring session, Big show looked like he had just turned the corner with his character (he did not and instead had his manhood questioned yet again!) and the program with the Mcmahons and the Rhodes has developed into compelling TV. So, let’s see who shone the brightest among the stars on display last night.

The Shield

The Shield

The most dominant faction in the WWE today, it’s never a complaint to watch the Shield take centre-stage often and last night was no different. The air of unpredictability that they have about them makes them just the perfect catalyst in the Mcmahon authority regime going on. The 3 are on their way to becoming major players and they have showed it at every opportunity they have got. Last night, they got involved in with the Rhodes family yet again and gained major heat after attacking Ol’ Dusty ‘The American dream’ Rhodes. Later on, they were involved in a fun 6-man match against Ziggler and the Usos. The crowd was the hottest for this match and the action was fast-paced. After being evenly matched right till the very end, the finishing sequence saw pretty much everyone hit their finishes but The Shield snuck out with a exciting win.

I love how the Shield has managed to make everyone they come in touch with, look good in the ring and yet manage to retain the air of dominance around them. Also love how Reigns’ spear is positioned as one of the most destructive finishing moves there is.

Paul Heyman

Paul Heyman

The Mad Scientist of professional wrestling was in his element tonight and that meant that there was a lot of ….talking on his part, which can only mean good things. He was interviewed backstage after Punk had opened the show, making outright threats at Heyman again. In response, Heyman dared Punk to make a move on him while he was going to make his presence felt throughout the night. Later on, in a backstage segment, Heyman came up with a gem to intrigue the watching populace when he said he planned to propose to Ryback, who had saved his life a couple of weeks back.

In the ring, it was a display of pure showmanship when Heyman trolled the entire crowd, both in attendance and watching at home, as he set up with a right but delivered with a resounding left. What started off as a scene from some romantic movie, ended up being a proposal for Ryback to join the ranks of being a ‘Paul Heyman Guy’. It was funny, entertaining and sold the Punk-Heyman feud even further. Heyman was visibly excited when talking about Ryback’s effect on him and when he went down on his knee to ‘propose’ to Ryback, it was just the perfect time for Punk to spoil their plans and make a name for himself. And he did! Just spectacular…

Los Matadores

Los Matadores

After weeks of build-up, the team of Diego & Fernandes (formerly Epico & Primo) debuted last night on RAW and it was very good. At first, it was hard to gauge whether this team was going to be heels or babyfaces, but then they appeared took off their hats as part of their routine, waved their capes and amidst smoke, came out a mini-bull! Called ‘El Torito’ by JBL, the character which is part Mantaur and part Giant Gonzales like in it’s getup was very cool to watch as he did some amazing spots and capped it off by landing on the shoulders of Diego & Fernandes. The crowd was fairly hot for the debuting act and the match was good too, with 3MB doing what they seem to do so consistently – making people look good and then losing.

The entrance music of the team is quite energetic and with the performers being as talented as we know them to be, I am hoping for good things to come out of this team