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This week’s episode of Monday Night RAW came to us from Richmond Coliseum, in Richmond, Virginia, and the show was hyped around the return of Triple H to in – ring competition, as well as the revelation of Kaitlyn’s secret admirer. The show opened with Triple H coming out, followed by Paul Heyman and his client, Curtis Axel.
Curtis Axel (With Paul Heyman) defeated Triple H via DQ
Triple H took control over Axel while Vince McMahon’s music hit, and Vince strutted down, told the timekeeper to ring the bell and told Roberts to announce Axel as the winner by DQ. Triple H ordered the match to be restarted.
Curtis Axel (With Paul Heyman) defeated Triple H via forfeit
Triple H took control over Axel again as Vince made his way back and told Roberts to announce Axel as the winner via forfeit. Triple H ordered the match to be restarted again as an Ironman match, but Vince ordered Heyman and Axel to leave. Well, I guess you can actually bury a talent without beating him clean. Just make him look like a clown. And they said they were going to push Axel! One of the most bizarre opening segments of RAW in history, and not in a good way.
Backstage, Hunter told Stephanie that Vince embarrassed him. Stephanie told Triple H not to get mad, and she would talk to him.
Kane defeated Dean Ambrose via DQ
After consecutive weeks of having the best match on the card, Ambrose took on Kane, and it was an okay match. More of an angle to make Kane vs Dean Ambrose at WWE Payback PPV. The other members of The Shield interfered to cause the DQ, while Bryan and Orton ran in for the save.
Backstage, Vickie announced that Orton and Daniel Bryan will team up to take on The Shield for the tag team gold at WWE Payback. It’s odd to see nothing happening between Orton and Bryan after the conclusion of Smackdown!
The Miz defeated Cody Rhodes
Wade Barrett was on commentary. Miz really needs to work on his in – ring skills. He slaps on the figure four out of nowhere to pick up the win. I feel bad for Cody, he deserves to be in the main event scene.
For those who didn’t know, Fandango suffered a concussion last week on Smackdown!, and he won’t be cleared in time to compete at Payback. Paul Heyman came out and announced Axel would replace Fandango at the PPV. Hey, at least Axel is on the card!
Chris Jericho came out and hyped his match with CM Punk. This is what makes Jericho one of the best in the business. Instead of burying his opponent, he put Punk over, saying he was the best he had ever faced, among the likes of Triple H, HBK, Rock, Cena, Orton and so on. Ziggler interrupted Jericho, saying how he won the big one when everyone else doubted him. Great segment by two of the best talkers in the industry.
Chris Jericho defeated Big E Langston
A good TV match that went on for nearly 8 minutes. Ziggler tried to interfere, but Jericho turned it around by giving a codebreaker to Big E to pick up the victory.
Antonio Cesaro defeated Sin Cara
Zeb Colter was on commentary, as Cesaro and Sin Cara were both back on RAW after a while. As I previously predicted, Colter might manage Cesaro next, which is the right way to go. The match ended quickly with Cesaro picking up the victory.
Another vignette about the arrival of the Wyatt Family aired. It might happen next week, and I’m excited about it.
Roman Reigns (With Seth Rollins) faced Randy Orton (With Daniel Bryan) to No Contest
Daniel Bryan joined Orton at ringside. A solid match which ended when Rollins and Daniel Bryan interfered. This set things up for the next match between Bryan and Rollins.
Daniel Bryan (With Randy Orton) defeated Seth Rollins (Roman Reigns)
I’m going to be honest, I’ve been a huge fan of both these performers since their ROH days. Seth (Then Tyler Black) took on Bryan (Then Bryan Danielson) many times in Ring of Honor, and this match was just as great as their previous bouts. Easily one of the best TV matches this year, and they went on for 15 minutes. That’s one of the aspects I love about the 3 hour show, if not the only aspect. Amazing TV match between two outstanding performers. Post match, Bryan led the crowd in ‘Yes!’ chants.
Kaitlyn came out to the ring to find out who the secret admirer was. Big E then came out and said it was him, but it was a hoax. Big E dropped Kaitlyn and went away, as AJ came down to the ring and made fun of Kaitlyn. Be A Star, AJ! Kaitlyn then attacked AJ as AJ Lee escaped, making her way back to the top of the entrance smiling. This sets up a good story to their match this Sunday, and they needed that.
Damien Sandow defeated R – Truth
A basic short match to put Sandow over. Post match, Sheamus came out and said he would beat Sandow at the Payback PPV. For those who didn’t know, that is going to be the pre – show match.
Backstage, the McMahons gathered in the office, as Stephanie told her husband and father to work things out. Vince told Hunter he is much bigger than Axel. Wonder when they’re going to stop saying that. The segment ended with an awkward hug. A waste of time, really.
John Cena came out to face Ryback with Lumberjacks surrounding the ring. Ryback stood at the top of the ramp and cut a promo about how he can see right through Cena. Ryback blamed Cena for his failures, and Cena retaliated saying Ryback makes excuses. Cena wanted Ryback to step inside the ring. Ryback charged down and both men tried to go at each other as the lumberjacks held both of them back. RAW went off the air with the both of them backed to the corner by the lumberjacks.
Rating: ***
That was an oddly booked show. Instead of two fantastic matches, we got to see one amazing match between Rollins and Bryan. The show lacked sense, and as it has become a norm, the go – home RAW failed to live up to the expectations. Bryan was once again the star of the show. Give the man the WWE title already! That ends things for now, and we’ll see how things unfold next week, after the Payback PPV.
