WWE: RAW Review for 19th August

After a great PPV on Sunday, RAW rolled out of the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. Everyone’s eyes were firmly fixed on how Daniel Bryan would respond, and the show kicked off with the former WWE Champion John Cena coming down to the ring. Cena acknowledged the fans, and said Bryan was the better man on Sunday, and he earned Cena’s respect.

Cena then confirmed the rumours about his injury (that elbow was bloated!) and said he would be taking time off, which drew huge cheers from the crowd. John Cena said he heard about Triple H costing Bryan the match when he was in the back, and was disgusted. Cena said that before he went away for 4 – 6 months, he had one last thing to do, and introduced Daniel Bryan to a thunderous ovation from the Anaheim crowd.

Daniel Bryan made his way to the ring, and before he could say anything, the “Billion dollar princess” Stephanie McMahon made her way out. Steph then said she was sad about how things unfolded, but said they had a business decision to make.

Stephanie then told Bryan that he wasn’t championship material. Daniel Bryan then called her trash, to which Stephanie said Bryan was not an A, but a B+. She claimed they wouldn’t fire him because the crowd loves him. Bryan knocked the microphone out of her hand, and she calmly asked for another one. Stephanie told the security (independent wrestlers, for those who didn’t know) to escort Bryan out of the building.

The crowd was firmly behind Bryan, and this sets up a long feud with the corporate machine, an uphill task for Daniel Bryan. I love this feud, as this is the best way to go. This reminds me of Austin’s fight against the corporation, and we all know how that turned out. A good segment to kick things off on RAW.

Cody Rhodes defeated Damien Sandow

After Sandow lost to Cody at SummerSlam, they faced each other again on RAW. The story of this feud is how Cody is trying to prove to everyone that he should be facing the World Heavyweight champion, and that’s true. Cody is one of the most underrated superstars on the current roster.

Anyway, the bout went for just over 11 minutes, as Cody made a comeback in the second half of the match. Cody rolled up Sandow out of nowhere to pick up the victory. Post-match, he told the announcers that he should be the number one contender. As I previously said, I absolutely love this feud, as it gives both the superstars the “rub” they need to be in the main event scene.

Does this hurt Sandow’s credibility? Not really; this is a feud between two superstars who know each other so well, and Cody just finds a way to one – up Sandow every time. It makes perfect sense.

Rating: ** ½

Backstage, Brad Maddox confronted Dolph Ziggler about some words he said about Triple H, and put him in a 3 on 1 handicap match against The Shield. Cue the “I’m so bad I will abuse my power” angle for Triple H. He went from being a smiley – faced protagonist to a power abusive antagonist in one night? Let’s not question “the higher powers”.

Paul Heyman came out next with his arm in a sling. He put over the Lesnar – Punk match at SummerSlam, and said that this animosity between Punk and himself needed to end. He told Punk to apologize to him, and said he had been a father to Punk for many years. “CM Punk, I forgive you” was what Heyman said. Heyman then said that he still loved CM Punk. He ended the segment by claiming that if they got back together, Punk could be the WWE champion once again.

Heyman also told Punk that he could make him main event WrestleMania, and said together, they can be the best in the world. A masterful promo by the true master of the microphone. Paul Heyman keeps surprising people with his nonchalant yet powerful delivery, and he came out with yet another outstanding promo. Will CM Punk apologize to Heyman? We’ll have to find out.

The Funkadactyles defeated AJ Lee and Layla

A three minute match that saw Naomi taking advantage of Layla and roll her up for the victory. Yes, that’s basically all what happened. Does this mean anything in the long run? I don’t think so.

Rating: ¼ *

The Shield defeated Dolph Ziggler

The Shield

Ziggler was put into this match by the now power hungry Triple H, because of Ziggler going against what Triple H did last Sunday. It was basically a lion – hearted superstar trying to take down three others, but succumbing to the numbers game in the end. This was to put over Triple H as a heel.

Ziggler was impressive, but that was all there was to it. The ending was amazing though, as Reigns speared Ziggler in mid-air as Ziggler went for a splash. During the bout, Rollins hit the floor hard, and was walking gingerly. Hopefully he didn’t hurt himself. Post-match, the trio delivered a triple powerbomb to Ziggler with Rollins still favouring his leg.

Rating: ¾ *

Alberto Del Rio defeated Sin Cara via referee stoppage

Looks like Cara might have injured himself (again). He went for the suicide dive on ADR, but quickly motioned to the ref, who immediately held up the “cross” sign for medical attention. Post-match, ADR cut a promo, saying he was the true leader for the Mexicans and the Spanish people around the world. This brought Ricardo out, who said he had found a new “friend”, and it was Rob Van Dam! The Anaheim crowd roared as RVD made his way to the ring, but ADR escaped before RVD could connect with the frogsplash.

Rating: Dud

Prime Time Players defeated The Real Americans (With Zeb Colter)

I guess a lot of people saw this coming. Not because PTP deserved the victory, but because WWE would look to “push” Darren Young because of all the attention he’s been getting. That’s just my opinion, anyway; it was a 6 minute bout that saw PTP controlling the bout, and Young finished it off with a huge knee to the gut of Cesaro to pick up the victory.

Rating: **

Backstage, Renee was interviewing Big Show when Maddox showed up. He told Show that Triple H heard about him not approving of the SummerSlam screwjob, and put him in a handicap match against The Shield. Should we mention that Shield powerbombed Vince McMahon not too long ago? Still too soon? Okay.

Another backstage segment to promote Foot Locker. I’ll just skip that.

Local independent wrestlers were shown changing backstage, and Ryback appeared, shooing two of them away. He then bullied the third guy and took him into the shower along with his changing bag, and made him stand under the shower with it. I guess Be A Star people don’t watch RAW too often.

The Shield defeated The Big Show

This was the same as the case with Ziggler, but since Show was much bigger, all three guys were allowed in the ring at the same time. Show held his own, but the numbers game caught up and Reigns speared Show, and they delivered the triple powerbomb to pick up the victory. Rollins looked fine after the initial injury scare, so that was good.

Rating: **

Time for CM Punk’s response. He came down and said he wasn’t cleared to wrestle. Some guy (maybe a plant) heckled Punk, so he bashed him verbally. That was fun to watch! He then asked Heyman to come out so that he could apologize to his face. Heyman came out along with Axel, and Punk said he was sorry he didn’t hurt Heyman, and didn’t tear his arm out. He said he was sorry that he didn’t spit on Heyman, and take his hand home with him. Heyman then asked Axel to tape his fists, because Punk would be in for a fight against Curtis Axel.

Axel then came out with Heyman as Punk waited in the ring. Axel and Punk went at it, brawling all around the ring side area. Punk threw Axel over the barricade and launched himself onto him. Punk then hit Axel with the time keeper’s bell, and brought Axel inside the ring.

Punk went for the GTS, but Axel slithered out and went after Punk’s knee and ankle. Axel tried to break Punk’s ankle while Heyman told Punk that he broke his heart. Punk countered and laid some hard chair shots on Axel and threw him into the ring steps. Punk finished Axel off with a GTS on the steel steps as Heyman bolted to the back.

That was a great 10 minute slugfest, and the crowd loved it. Punk will now likely get into a program with Axel till Lesnar returns. That was a good segment to further the Punk – Heyman storyline.

Bray Wyatt (With Luke and Erick) defeated R – Truth

Bray Wyatt

In his first match on RAW, Wyatt finished R – Truth off in just under two minutes with the swinging spike DDT. He posed over the fallen Truth to end the segment. It will be interesting to see what WWE has in store for Bray Wyatt now, and it is a shame Truth has become a jobber. He can be a great heel if booked right.

Rating: ¼ *

There was a video package for Los Matadors (formerly Primo and Epico). Will Rosa be a part of the team? That’s my only question.

The Usos defeated Heath Slater and Jinder Mahal (With Drew McIntyre)

This was a way to put the Usos over, since they weren’t a part of SummerSlam, and who better to get the squash match against other than 3MB? The match was mediocre, but the finishing sequence was great, with Jey hitting an over the top rope dive on Slater and Drew while tagging Jimmy, who hit a huge splash to pick up the victory.

Rating: * ½

The Miz defeated Wade Barrett via DQ

Miz took on Wade Barrett, and after an evenly contested bout, he locked in the figure four in the middle of the ring, which led to Fandango coming down and causing the disqualification. He hit a huge leg drop from the top rope, and posed over The Miz to end the segment. Miz and Fandango had a falling out at SummerSlam, and I guess this is the beginning of their feud. I should probably fake enthusiasm at this point.

Rating: ¾ *

WWE Championship Celebration

Triple H made his way to the ring with Steph and Vince already present. All the superstars assembled on the stage, while The Shield surrounded the ring. Vince then said Triple H saw “the light” in the end and hugged him, as the crowd chanted “You sold out” at Triple H. Triple H then said he did what he did for the future of the business, and for the fans.

He rambled on about how the fans were short sighted, and how he did it for all the people (this reminded me about his promos of doom back from ’02 – ’04). Triple H said Bryan was a phenomenal wrestler, but couldn’t be the WWE champion, and that he could never be the face of the WWE. He then brought out the new WWE champion, a coal that is now a diamond, Randy Orton. Orton said “I told you so”, and claimed the fans hadn’t seen it coming. Orton said the fans should all show appreciation to what Triple H did.

Triple H then invited Bryan out to the ring. Bryan’s music hit and he came down to “Yes” chants. Triple H assured Bryan that The Shield wouldn’t touch him. Just as Bryan was about to enter the ring, The Shield attacked him and Bryan fought back before Reigns speared him. Hunter told Bryan to get into the ring even though he was hurt, and as Bryan slowly made his way between the ropes, Orton hit the RKO. The show ended with the suits and Orton standing on top of Bryan with their arms raised.

Over – all rating: ** ¾ (Out of 5 stars)

That was a very average show. Bryan was missing through most of the episode, and the only good things were the opening segment, the CM Punk segment and the ending, which doesn’t speak too highly about the rest of the show. WWE dropped the ball, with no good matches on the episode. They could’ve done a better job, but the long term plan for Daniel Bryan is amazing. He can be the new age Stone Cold Steve Austin, and not many get that opportunity. What will happen next week? We can only wait and find out.