Superstars of the show - RAW 14/10/13

This week’s RAW was ‘different’. By different, I don’t mean that it was better than most RAWs or that it was worse by any means. But, different is when something rare happens and last night, the rare occurrence was in the form of a title change wherein new tag team champs were crowned at the end of the night. Even though it’s a secondary title these days, a title changing hands is a big deal for the WWE universe, especially for the live audience in the arena and the crowd involvement was off the charts for the match in question. Team Rhodes, who have been embroiled in a blood feud with the Mcmahon over the past couple of months won the titles from the Shield and the place came alive like only a title change can make it happen.

The performances last night were consistently good, though there was a bit of an air of lethargy in the air and the crowd did try to take over, as seems to be the trend these days, with their random unrelated chants. The in-ring action ranged from average(Santino – Fandango) to good (ADR- Bryan) to awesome (Tag bout) and the promos were good, though nothing spectacular again. Having said that, below are the top 3 stars who shone the brightest with their acts on this week’s edition of Monday Night Raw :

Antonio Cesaro

Cesaro is really over these days and no matter where he goes and which arena he performs in, the fans have come to associate ‘excitement’ with him and that is just awesome! Having been a huge fan of his for the longest time, I am really glad that the WWE realizes his potential and have been taking into note his increased popularity and pushing him to the front of the stable known as ‘The Real Americans’. With Zeb Colter handling the mic and stablemate Jack Swagger holding up his end, the experiment with Cesaro (a non-american) forming an alliance with the two immigrant-haters has delivered in a major way, despite initial skepticism.

On this week of RAW, the excitement was palpable every time Cesaro was in the ring with the crowd chanting for the swing and with their opponents being the Tons of Funk, it was only a matter of time before one of the behemoths got dizzy. This week it was Tensai’s turn for the ride and the fans loved it!

The Mcmahons

When the corporate authority story-line began around Summerslam, it was a sense of Deja-vu for most longtime fans who had been around the attitude era with the Vince – Austin angle. So, the knives were out and the expectations ran high and it was to be seen whether the company could deliver another home run.

While it is yet to be determined if the current act will touch the heights of its precedent, I have found the power couple (Stephanie & Triple H) to be excellent in their role as the hated couple in charge. While Trips was born to play the smarmy & conniving bad guy, it’s Stephanie who has been running with the ball that Daddy Vince had passed along from when he ran roughshod 15 years ago. Their performances on a weekly basis is reason enough to tune into the proceedings if you ask me!

The Rhodes

Goldust aka Dustin Rhodes has always been a talented wrestler and even with his bizarre gimmick, has always managed to connect with the crowd. His current run with his younger brother Cody, equally talented if I may add, might just be the best phase in his wrestling career as he has been firing on all cylinders be it in the ring or as the defiant superstar flying in the face of the authority figures in the Mcmahons.

This week on RAW, it was the turn of Ol’ Dusty’s boys to take a major step in their WWE careers as they won the tag titles off the Shield, who have been the henchmen of the Mcmahons. In a match that got the crowd chanting ‘This is awesome’, the no disqualifications rule added to the entertainment factor as the action was mostly kept inside the ring and all the men delivered in a big way. The rematch for the titles would hopefully happen at the Hell-in-a-Cell pay-per-view as the Rhodes boys definitely have terrific chemistry with the Shield.

Now, the burning question is if the titles will help the duo or thwart their resurgence as major superstars. Hoping that it is the former.