RAW Retort - Cena's out, but who is in?

I have to say that SummerSlam put a huge wrench in a number of directions the WWE has been going lately. It seems as though we were on the cusp of something really huge, and SummerSlam was the first swerve into that something really huge coming to fruition.

The WWE has been struggling without having any real competition for a number of years, and it seems as though no matter what they do, they just cannot step out of that post-Monday-Night-War rut. It’s been a downward spiral for quite a long time, and this past WrestleMania showed just how bad things had become.

I was starting to become quite worried for things when WrestleMania was such a dramatic flop. Even storylines like Team Hell No had only been bringing the excitement levels up so far. It wasn’t until Money in the Bank was such a lovely success that I really thought things could be getting better. Add in the Punk/Heyman storyline and the McMahon storyline and my hopes have been rising.

SummerSlam was a stellar success on so many levels, leading to what I think was the strongest RAW of the year, by far. I think it was stronger than even the post-WrestleMania RAW.

Opening Segment

They started things strong right out of the gate. Cena might have received a lot of heat from the fans, but he was honest about his future in the WWE, and his need for immediate surgery. Its way past time Cena takes some time off to heal himself mentally as well as physically. He’s been burning the candle from both ends, and I think this elbow injury is fortuitous for making him take the time he needs.

Cena is also very lucky that he hasn’t ended up with a systemic infection for not taking care of his elbow when it first presented itself as a problem. Pulling him from live shows, and probably filling him full of antibiotics, only goes so far when an injury is that bad. I’m glad Cena is taking the time he needs, and the way he introduced Bryan to the ring, then handed the mic over and left, seemed very symbolic.

Bryan might not have the WWE Championship belt in hand, but he is stepping into Cena’s shoes as the face of the company. I think this is the WWE taking the water wings off and pushing Bryan into the deep end. It’s time for Bryan to sink or swim, and Cena handing him the mic and leaving was quite a showing moment.

Bryan was so over with the fans, more so than ever, as I expected. What I didn’t expect was Steph to side with her father and husband over Bryan. I truly expected to see a family divided on RAW this week, but Steph threw another swerve at us. Not only was SummerSlam a night of swerves, but RAW started off with a quick swerve in Steph. I love that she threw Bryan out the way she did, because it set up for so many intriguing things to happen – in both the near and distant future.

Divas

I was shocked to see Natalya come out on top last night, and even more shocked to see the Dactyls come out on top over Layla and AJ in the ring. They kept the match short and to the point, but AJ and Naomi are continuing to look better and better. I will admit that I wished it was longer than 2:18, but I expect we will be seeing more and more of them very soon.

Cody Rhodes vs. Damien Sandow

Cody Rhodes

I was impressed with how well Cody and Sandow worked the ring at SummerSlam, and even more impressed with how they stepped up in the ring on RAW. I like that Cody won both matches, as it will piss off Sandow that much more. It’s time for them to step back and taunt each other a bit. Their matches were solid, but it’s time for them to work the storyline now.

I love that they have seemed a bit pushed aside, but they were allowed 17:39 between the two matches. To me, that shows the WWE cares about this feud, and are really giving it some serious attention.

The Shield’s Handicap matches

Even though they didn’t say The Shield was going to be McMahon’s muscle, as soon as the first Handicap match was announced, it was obvious. I thought Ziggler handled himself quite well in the ring with The Shield, even though he was seriously outnumbered. I’m really wondering where they’re going with Ziggler from here. Is this the end of him with Kaitlyn? And what about his work with Big E and AJ? This first match left me with more questions than answers.

Then there’s the way Big Show worked the ring with The Shield. Big Show looked great and had wonderful control over the three until the end. I liked how powerful Big Show looked in the ring, but The Shield hitting their big finisher on Big Show showed just how strong they are and how well they work together.

That The Shield worked 10:38 in these two matches is solid and will look good for them moving forward as McMahon’s muscle. But like their first match, I was left with questions. The biggest being, why didn’t Henry come to Big Show’s rescue?

Tag Team matches

While Slater is a stronger wrestler than most give him credit for, the tag match was all about the Usos. Rikishi’s sons are taking off and continue to prove themselves in the ring each week, even though the match was only 5:24. Because of the Usos, The Shield, The Real Americans, and Prime Time Players, the Tag Division is taking off again. I’m not thrilled about Los Matadores, as it’s a lame stereotype and a sad place to see Primo and Epico land after being repackaged.

The most impressive tag moment of the night was how The Prime Time Players have stepped from being mostly heel to being mostly face, without even trying. Darren Young came out of the closet and the fans want to get behind him. It was a lovely thing to see the fans get behind Young, that Young went out and really worked the ring hard, and that he was booked to get the pinfall.

I think things might be looking up for The Prime Time Players, and I’m proud of Young for stepping up and being so open and honest with the fans. That was the best 4:48 that we’ve seen from The Prime Time Players, possibly ever, and neither of them were injured by Swagger!

Heyman & Punk

Both Heyman and Punk work the mic so beautifully, and I think that’s why their feud is working so well. Let me step back and say that while I have no love lost for Brock, I thought he and Punk gave us a seriously sick 25:16 at SummerSlam, and it was so much better than I could have even hoped for. Because of that, I’m no longer fervently against Brock possibly facing Taker at WrestleMania.

Punk stepped up to make their feud more real, and they did great with it. It’s that same personal thing that makes Punk’s feud with Heyman so much more than it would be if they weren’t such close friends in real life. It’s the reason that HBK and Trip feuded better than so many others, and why there’s so much passion in the promos with Punk and Heyman.

I was really wondering if Punk’s personal attack on the booing fan was scripted or not. I’m still not sure if Punk was supposed to pick out at a booing fan, or if he just ran with it and Heyman picked up where Punk left off. Honestly, those two are so great that it could have been Punk’s whim and Heyman picked up on it seamlessly.

There’s so many places that Punk and Heyman can take this feud, and that Heyman isn’t afraid to take bumps will continue to make it that much better. I am worried about Axel, and have worried about him since he was announced as a Heyman Guy, but I really thought he stepped it up when they worked the ring together.

It might not have been a real match, but that 6:29 was some solid and serious work. The way they ended it, the looks between Heyman and Punk left the doors open for so much more, and I cannot wait!

The Wyatt Family

The Wyatt Family

I don’t know why R-Truth has been the one taking Bray’s abuse lately, as he’s not on the level that Kane is, but really who is at this point? Everyone else on Kane’s level is in a huge, main event level feud, so I guess someone needs to take Bray’s abuse, and R-Truth has been solid about it.

I love that Bray is finally working matches, as he works his character with every bit of his being. He is Bray Wyatt and it’s startling to watch! Honestly, he hit that ring so hard with every move that it made sense that they kept his match to 1:37. I think it will take people like Kane to last much longer in the ring with Bray at this point.

Miz & Fandango

I was confused about Barrett working the ring with Miz, as it had appeared that they had been setting up for Miz and Fandango at SummerSlam. I was so excited to see Fandango drop his unique leg drop on Miz’s cruddy Figure 4. I was impressed that Miz and Barrett went for 4:51, and looked so good doing it, until that horrible Figure 4 from Miz. But in reality, I’d rather see Miz working against Fandango, who has personality, than Barrett who just can’t seem to get past how terribly boring he is all the time!

Sin Cara vs. ADR

I have been vocal about my lack of confidence in Sin Cara, and he continues to live up to my lack of expectations. I think the WWE would have been smarter to stick with Hunico in the Sin Cara role than Mistico.

Every time Sin Cara is in a match of any importance, and a number of matches of not so much importance, like this match with ADR, he doesn’t seem to be able to work the match without injury. Three moves into his match with ADR, under thirty seconds in, a simple dive from the ring, something that should be absolutely nothing for a luchador, and Sin Cara has to have the match stopped because he broke a couple fingers, possibly more.

If it had been anyone else, I’d say its pure dumb luck and move on, but this is Sin Cara, and he’s snake bit. I hope the WWE sees the light and realizes that Sin Cara just isn’t working out. They let Mr. Kennedy (Ken Anderson) go for much less, yet they hold onto Sin Cara. I just don’t get it. Add in that Rey should be back at any moment, and the writing is on the wall!

Speaking of Rey being ready to return to the ring, the fans in Anaheim were absolutely sure that Ricardo was going to announce that he would be moving forward with Rey. They were chanting for it to be Rey before Ricardo announced it was RVD. I wasn’t expecting RVD, but it sets up for a great RVD/ADR feud.

Maybe RVD will drag ADR out of the boredom he gives us each time he steps into the ring or picks up a mic. The only thing that bums me out about all this is that it doesn’t look like we will be seeing El Local anytime soon, but at least we get to see Ricardo as a face, something he’s great at.

Closing Segment

The subtlety in this segment was jaw dropping. The way they worked Orton as he came to the ring. Trip not liking Orton, but putting his feelings aside. The handshakes with McMahon and Trip, but then the big hug from Steph, the woman Orton tortured in the past. That she would rather hug Orton than have Bryan as WWE Champion shows just how far over the heel line she has stepped.

There are a few people who didn’t understand why Bryan opened and closed the show, but to me it showed just how much faith they have in Bryan. The boss – McMahon, Steph, Triple H, any of them – doesn’t abuse just anyone the way Bryan was abused on this episode of RAW.

Not only was Bryan verbally abused, he was thrown out of the arena, verbally taunted and abused some more before being physically destroyed by a number of people. That’s some serious respect and weight that they think Bryan can carry. Not bad for the guy from NXT season 1 who was fired after his first episode of RAW. The guy thought to have no personality coming into the WWE. Now he’s stepping into Cena’s shoes, no matter what Triple H said about Orton.

The final moment of the show was most telling of all. McMahon, Trip, Orton and Steph standing with their arms raised over Bryan’s beaten body. The camera looking up at them, making them look larger than life and stronger than ever. All of that, wrapped up together, shows that the WWE have put some serious thought into this storyline, and it will be ushering in a new era for the WWE. I’m floored by the past 36 hours of the WWE, and I can’t wait to see what’s going to happen next – for the first time in a very long time.