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I am most excited for the RAW show after a pay-per-view event as it’s usually good and as an invested fan of the sport, the storyline development is also of great interest to me.
Following the Battleground PPV, the most interesting thing to look forward to during the show was to see where the WWE would go with the Big Show angle after he destroyed the main event at the pay-per-view the night before.
Logical loopholes aside, the question was answered emphatically by the end of the show with a decisive knockout blow that left the COO of the company laying and looking at the lights!
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The proceedings did drag a bit midway with notable absences such as that of the Divas champion A J Lee being felt. But a surprise announcement, that nobody saw coming, was made by Vickie Guerrero who announced the return of John Cena at the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view to face the World Heavyweight champion Alberto Del Rio.
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It was moments such as this and the angle with the big show that kept the proceedings interesting when the going did get a bit slow at times. But, like usual, some stars shone brighter than others on Raw last night and they are :
Stephanie McMahon
When her transformation happened a few weeks back, from the cute babyfaced wife of Triple H to the power-hungry WWE executive of present, I was excited for Stephanie McMahon.
Like Vince, she is an exceptional performer, and while likeable as a face, is just pure evil as a heel authority figure. While she easily dwarfs the reaction that the next most popular diva on the roster (AJ) gets on a nightly basis, it’s to her credit that everytime she is through with her act, the boos rain in.
This week on RAW, she took it upon herself to address the situation with the Big Show at the start of the show and it set the stage for an intense segment. Verbally berating the giant like she’s been doing of late, Stephanie laid into him and after slapping him across the face a few times, fired him.
It was an enthralling segment and Stephanie carried that form into her backstage segments with Brad Maddox. She has been so convincing in her role as the arrogant, power-abusing WWE executive that it’s ok to not miss Vince Mcmahon being there as the powerful authority figure that everyone loves to hate.
After languishing in the middle of the card for a while, Orton is back where he belongs – at the top of the brand and with that jump, he seems to be hitting the peak of his powers now.
As the merciless, remorseless and sadistic Viper, the Apex Predator is at his heel best in the WWE, and last night, he showed off his terrific in-ring skills in a competent match with Kofi Kingston. Both being amazing athletes, there were a few spots that highlighted their quickness and reminded us of their chemistry back when they worked together in 2009. Randy won the match with an RKO after he viciously delivered a DDT on Kofi outside the ring.
The feud between Bryan & Orton seems to remain on for the moment as they brawled a couple of times during the night and have been announced as the main-event at Hell-In-A-Cell. The matches they have been producing have been exceptional, and it’s something to look forward to again.
The Big Show
After weeks of being emasculated in public by the power couple of the WWE, The World’s largest athlete finally stood up for himself and did what he has known all along to be the right thing – Be a Man.
Show was terrific in his opening segment with Stephanie, no-selling every slap of hers and letting his defiance shine through. He got fired for his efforts which instead of pulling him down, seemed to have freed him of all his shackles, and a beast unleashed!
At the end of the show when he returned, he had the crowd eating out of the palm of his hands as he set his eyes on Triple H, who promptly hid behind the Shield.
It wasn’t for long as the giant fended them off and KO’ed the Game, punctuating the misery he has been put in over the past month and more. It would be exciting to see where the character of The Big Show is headed after this.
