WWE RAW 23rd September: Superstars of the Show

RAW tonight wasn’t paradise for the babyfaces, but the night did end with one of them standing tall and that was the “B+, troll faced goat” Daniel Bryan. The first hour of the show had many things stacked together. Things got better with the second hour, and the third hour was culminated some of the most exciting moments.

Punk’s hometown welcome, Rhodes brothers crashing into the arena, some of the usual good work by Shield as a team, and of course the usual awesomeness of Daniel Bryan. The pops that AJ Lee and Bray Wyatt got when talking to Stephanie backstage and entering the arena respectively was great to hear but nothing, just nothing, compares to Punk’s reception.

Without further ado, here are the superstars of the show:

Honorable Mentions

Dolph Ziggler

He had nothing much to do but the very fact that he was there for 5 minutes, pinned Dean Ambrose and got the crowd all riled up to say, “We Want Ziggler”, and that too standing next to the flavour of the year Daniel Bryan, is something worth noting.

Rhodes Brothers

Again a really short moment, but it was just too exciting. These two men in black and some gold attacked the other three men in blackb in a moment which was so sudden but yet so effective that the moment hovered on even when the show went to a commercial and came back.

Randy Orton and RVD

Awesome match. Period.

3. Daniel Bryan

Daniel Bryan

Is this even a surprise? Daniel Bryan did his usual shtick. His mic work was nothing extraordinary, but his wrestling is extraordinary even when we’ve seen it a million times. So are the Yes chants. He eliminated Roman Reigns and then led a four on one assault on Seth Rollins and went on to pin him. I hope this never gets old!

2. The Shield

The Shield

Firstly, Dean Ambrose’s expressions are a gift. The way he addressed Stephanie as ‘lovely’ in the backstage promo was split-second hilarious. And just when I thought that Seth Rollins wasn’t getting much spotlight, WWE changed my mind by having Roman Reigns being the first man to be eliminated from the Shield and having Seth Rollins as the last man left. I really wanted Rollins to beat all the guys and then have Bryan and him doing an awesome display of wrestling and then lose gallantly to Bryan.

Wishful thinking. WWE changed my mind just momentarily, but it’s back to the point that I believed – Seth Rollins is usually the sacrificial lamb of the Shield. Rolins is still awesome and so is Shield together. Believe!

1.CM Punk

CM Punk

Nobody can get a hometown pop like CM Punk. Nobody has, since 2011. The echoing of the ‘CM Punk’ chants all over the arena even when his gargantuan decibel induced entrance theme was playing, was testament to the impact of the ‘Summer of Punk’. He’s a hometown legend, and this precise reaction made his interaction with Paul Heyman even more enjoyable. It’s rare that you see Punk talking to and appreciating the crowd. Only in Chicago!