5 Talking Points from WWE Monday RAW of 16 December, 2013

Randy Orton

After a cracking TLC on Sunday, the WWE creative had a lot of expectations to live up to at this week’s Raw. And surprisingly, the company managed to throw off a great show which had more ups than downs.

Though we are not officially into the WrestleMania season, many of the fans see the Raw after TLC as the breeding ground for all the storylines that is going to be culminated on April. The show was capped off with a main event between Daniel Bryan and Randy Orton while most of the undercard matches also gave much food for thought.

And here is a look at the top five talking points from WWE’s latest edition of Monday Night Raw.

Dolph Ziggler and his ghost gimmick

Lost in the crowd

Dolph Ziggler is turning into a toned down version of Daniel Bryan in the company. He has the fans behind him, he has the talent and he has the skills but the company is just not allowing him to get a proper role.

He is floating around the locker room as a ghost who is randomly booked with people seen roaming around here and there. He had a brief stint with Damien Sandow that went nowhere and now he is going on a similar feud with Fandango.

Both men seem to be going nowhere and they are not even near any titles to begin with. Fandango could well be on his way to challenge Big E Langston but then again Ziggler would be left there in the pit to rot with his talent.

Darkness on John Cena, Shield and Wyatt family

What Now?

Though many of the fans expected a new direction for all three names mentioned above, this week’s Raw didn’t give much up and has left the fans with many questions.

Cena came in the show as a matchmaker and made the main event between Daniel Bryan and Randy Orton possible. He is still open to a rematch with the champion, but the introduction of Bryan adds another possibility of a three way feud for the title.

Meanwhile, the Shield looked more than cohesive in their six man tag team match, which didn’t move their splitting up angle. Roman Reigns finished the match strongly and stood out as always.

The Wyatts on the other hand had nothing much to do this week than making a promo against Daniel Bryan. That feud looks certain to continue but didn’t show any sings as Bray Wyatt addressed a crowd rather than concentrating on Bryan.

Tag Team division is the heart and soul of WWE

Heart and Soul of WWE

The company believes that the Intercontinental Championship is the most prized title in the company after the unification match at TLC but the tag team title is the clear favorite among the fans.

If Cruiser weight division was one of the main attractions of WCW during Monday night wars then the Tag team division it turning out as the same for WWE in the PG Era. Teams like Rhodes brothers, The Real Americans, The Usos, The Prime time players and latest additions like Rybaxel and Big Show-Rey Mysterio teams gives consistent performance every week, a feat that many of the top stars apart from Daniel Bryan could not boast about.

The tussle between the teams to secure the title gives many reasons to be excited and the depth in the division is enough to move it forward without a big storyline as the backbone.

Finally some credible opponent for The Authority

Worthy opponent

The tease of CM Punk going against The Authority was given in the buildup of TLC and the storyline officially began at Raw when Punk cut a promo against Hunter and his pack.

A potential Triple H against CM Punk match is been prepared in the backstage supposedly and the addition of Shawn Michaels adds some more spice into the whole buildup. Michaels is being added to an already complicated angle but it opens a prospect of him returning to in ring action in the future.

Daniel Bryan and Big Show failed to live up to the character previously but Punk looks destined to be a cult hero who will give head ache for the Authority. He no longer seems to be involved with the Shield on a storyline basis and could give him more time to concentrate on the much bigger picture, which could be the best for business.

Daniel Bryan is the savior

What the fans want vs. What the company want

The company is clearly going through a rough patch now due to the falling wrestling business. The fans aren’t involved in any of the storylines, the creative clearly have no idea of what they are doing and the midcard is like a mess which would take months to clean.

And even in these circumstances it’s a shame that the WWE is not seeing the fan following that Daniel Bryan is getting. It not John Cena, not Randy Orton, not CM Punk but Bryan who is the face of the company no matter how much they deny it.

Bryan is the most popular star in the business at the moment and the booking he has been receiving in the past few months is similar to Hulk Hogan being booked with Spike Dudley. And even after putting so much into the ring Bryan still doesn’t have a good title run to boast about.

His match with Randy was one of the best matches in recent times and fans were going wild seeing Bryan in the ring. The whole world is witnessing all these except a certain Triple H, who needs to check his eyes and clear his ears as soon as possible if he needs to keep the company afloat.