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Hello everyone, and welcome to yet another RAW Review. This week’s RAW came us to live from Hartford, Connecticut which is just a few hours away from the Headquarters of WWE. We’re only a couple of weeks away from the Payback PPV, and so, heading into this week’s RAW, a couple of matches were already announced for the PPV.
Anyway, let’s jump right into the thick of things as RAW kicked off with the billionaire princess, Stephanie McMahon coming out, making her first appearance on RAW since the 1,000th episode of Monday Night RAW. Stephanie then cut a promo about how she wouldn’t allow Triple H to compete, and during the promo said Curtis Axel was beneath him. The crowd booed Stephanie for this, which brought out the chairman himself, Vince McMahon. Vince claimed how the fans want to see people get hurt, mentioning the ‘One more time’ chant when Kofi was power-bombed through three tables by Ryback on Smackdown the past week. Vince said this was family entertainment, and not blood sport. Vince claimed that the people and Axel were beneath Triple H, and he wouldn’t let his son-in-law compete on RAW, as the crowd booed the announcement. Probably not the best way to build someone who was vouched as the future of the business, and Vince showed a slight indication of a heel turn, although that won’t happen. The Shield’s music then hit, which received a huge pop from the Hartford crowd!
The Shield defeated Randy Orton and Team Hell No
Orton came out to a good pop, and so did Team Hell No. I absolutely love the fact that The Shield and Daniel Bryan have been involved in long matches on RAW for the past few weeks, and they’ve never disappointed the fans. Another fantastic 6 man tag match, as the crowd was hot for everything Bryan did. The end came when Orton was shoved into Bryan, who was then planted face first onto the mat by Ambrose to pick up the victory. Another outstanding match which received good amount of air time.
Backstage, Bryan argued with Kane and Orton, and wanted another match to prove he wasn’t the weak link.
Triple H met his wife and his father-in-law, and they didn’t approve of him performing. Vince told Hunter not to do something he’d regret later and left. This was supposed to be a long drawn out angle, but the fact that WWE was going up against the NBA game between Heat and Pacers meant they had to do something dramatic.
The Usos defeated The Prime Time Players
A slight tweak in the characters of Usos as they donned face paint. They picked up the victory over PTP, which would mean they will be built as the contenders for the tag team titles. WWE needs some good face teams, so this might not be a bad start.
Alberto Del Rio (With Ricardo) defeated Big E Langston (With AJ Lee)
Is there a point in having yet another ADR vs Big E match? No, but the WWE likes repeating things. ADR slapped the cross arm breaker on Big E, but Langston did not give up. This led to ADR pinning Big E for the victory. Ziggler has been cleared to compete, so we might see him next week.
Sheamus defeated Cody Rhodes
Cody was in action on RAW, which is always good news. Sandow was on commentary, and Sheamus picked up the victory after a White Noise and a Brogue Kick on Cody. Post match, Sheamus wanted to shake Sandow’s hand, but Sandow refused. This led to Sheamus knocking Sandow down.
In the next segment, Triple H was then shown leaving the building. He said he would face Axel next week on RAW.
Another backstage segment where Bryan was confronted by Ryback. Ryback taunted Bryan, and Bryan challenged Ryback for a match. I’m a huge fan of Bryan having multiple matches on the same night. He’s not the best technical wrestler in the world for no reason.
Another backstage segment between Vince and Heyman. Vince told Heyman Axel won’t be facing Triple H. But he said Axel would be facing Cena in a No DQ match later on the show.
The Great Khali (With Natalya and Hornswoggle) defeated Fandango (With Summer Rae) by count out
Why can’t we see Natalya performing every week? Because WWE doesn’t want talented wrestlers performing. This was more of an angle than a match, as Fandango left the ring because Khali was dominating the match. As Fandango was walking away, Miz came out, but was decked by Barrett which knocked him out.
The Miz defeated Wade Barrett
How did Miz recover so quickly and beat Barrett? He was in a movie, remember? I don’t understand why Barrett never wins a match. Maybe that’s because he is the Intercontinental champion. Yes, WWE logic.
Jericho and Heyman met in the ring for the contract signing, for the Jericho – Punk match. It felt a bit too long, as Jericho made fun of Heyman and Punk. They both signed the contract, and Jericho stuffed the paper in Heyman’s pants.
Naomi, Cameron and Kaitlyn defeated the Bella twins and AJ Lee
A five minute bout that no one cared about. I find myself asking once again why Natalya wasn’t performing on the card.
Daniel Bryan defeated Ryback by DQ
Two matches of Bryan in one night? Yes! This was arguably Ryback’s best match of his career, along the lines of the one he had on Smackdown that impressed everyone, also against Daniel Bryan. These two have good chemistry in the ring, and Bryan can make anyone look good. Bryan was awesome as always, as he can play the fiery underdog character to perfection. The match ended when Bryan missed a huge suicide dive, hitting the announcer’s table, which was similar to his earliest match on NXT against Jericho. Ryback then put him through a table, and was about to do it again when Cena made the save.
Curtis Axel (With Paul Heyman) defeated Cena via count out in a No DQ match
Count out win during a No DQ match seems redundant, but WWE wouldn’t let Cena get pinned or defeated clean. A good back and forth match which ended when Ryback interfered and drove Cena through a table to give Axel the count out victory. The show ended with Ryback standing tall over Cena.
Overall Rating: *** (Out of 5 stars)
An odd main event once again, but Daniel Bryan along with The Shield made the episode interesting. Curtis Axel got his third straight win, although he never pinned anyone or made anyone submit. If you’re building a guy, try giving him a few clean wins, or the crowd wouldn’t believe him. It’s sad to say that the crowd never thought Axel could win over Cena, not even after 6 chair shots! Anyway, Triple H is scheduled to face Axel next week, but we have to see if WWE drops the plans like they did this Monday.
