RAW Retort – Daniel Bryan loses the title, but gains support

Coming off Night of Champions, I was quite worried about how RAW would be handled. Night of Champions was just horrible coming off a Money In The Bank that was wonderfully strong, and SummerSlam that blew the rest of the PPVs of 2013 out of the water. I had hoped that the WWE had turned that corner, but no, Night of Champions was an absolute travesty.

Bryan is stripped in the ring!

Daniel Bryan

I think almost everyone who watched Night of Champions knew that Triple H would find some way to screw over Bryan, and we knew it would be Scott Armstrong’s fast count for Bryan to win the WWE title. It only took Trip 5:41 from when he opened his mouth in the ring to when he screwed Bryan of the strap. I thought that was pretty good coming from Trip, the creator of the 20 minute boring promos. Trip foreshadowed that Orton wasn’t his favourite Champion backstage at Night of Champions, so it was obvious that Trip wasn’t going to hand the strap to Orton, but I’d have preferred that Orton had hit Trip with that RKO!

Stephanie spews venom!

I have always been a huge Stephanie McMahon fan, but it’s been a long time since we’ve seen her as this much of an evil heel, and even longer since we’ve seen her get that gravelly and vicious in someone’s face the way she did with Orton backstage. I loved it, and can’t wait to see who else she goes McMahon on! She is her father’s daughter!

Ziggy fights back!

I was a bit shocked that Ziggler managed to get a win over Ambrose, especially after all the negativity he’s put out in the media about the WWE, his spot in the company, and Orton. But it seems as though things might be swinging back for Ziggler, at least a little. Ziggler looked great in this match, sold his moves and his bumps, and really showed off in this match.

Dancing leg drops!

Working with Miz and R-Truth is a huge step back for Fandango, but at least he’s working and getting over in front of the fans. I won’t say this match was strong by any stretch of imagination, but not every match can be, or each show would be of PPV level.

Dusty steals all emotion!

This was probably the best segment we’ve seen on WWE TV this year. Yes, I said it. All of the young wrestlers who just cannot get over should sit down and watch this segment and learn. Dusty Rhodes has a lisp and a speech impediment, yet he is more over than most WWE Superstars.

He has more charisma, personality, and communicated better than most of them – Swagger, I’m looking at you! Further, Stephanie came out and really pushed the envelope and the storyline by trying to make Dusty choose between his sons – something that has caused a lot of emotional turmoil between Dustin and Cody through most of their lives. Further, the blubbering Big Show took his hand, being forced by Stephanie to bring tears to the eyes of many men in the WWE ‘Universe’. What wonderful moments between Dusty and Big Show. I can’t wait to see what’s going to happen with the Rhodes family next!

Divas dish out ire!

I will say that this match was better than much of what we’ve seen from them recently, but still not up to par with what the Divas are capable of. Naomi looked great, and Natalya on announce looked great, but otherwise, I wasn’t overly impressed. Hopefully the Divas can step things up in the ring to what they’ve been showing on Total Divas.

RVD flattens another!

I am a huge fan of Sandow, but his ring work has become very stale and boring. He looked better in the ring with RVD, but only because it’s RVD. RVD has made a better return from TNA than any other wrestler, even going so far as knocking out one of ADR’s teeth at Night of Champions. How can we not cheer him on after something like that?

But RVD makes us all smile and impresses the heck out of us every time he steps into the ring. He and WWE were very smart to come back together. Yet another older wrestler who the young ‘uns should be watching closely and learning as much as possible from.

Miz’s parents watch in horror!

Randy Orton

Stephanie and Trip wanted Orton to be the nasty, evil, unstoppable Orton? Well, it looks as though the hometown boy got the worst of it. I will say that Orton really took it to Miz, but at certain times he seemed to be working too stiff, as Miz came out of that with quite the welt on his back, and then at the end, Orton really botched the final move. You might say that Orton was protecting Miz, but I’ve seen that move hit and look so much better than that – so I call it a botch. So in trying to get over, Orton worked both too stiff and botched the ending. To me that’s a rough night, but I still think he has it in him to really be the top heel, under Trip and Stephanie, in the WWE right now.

Heyman kissed Ryback!

There’s not much I can say about Heyman kissing Ryback for rescuing him. In reality, it’s Heyman who is trying to rescue Ryback. If Heyman can’t rescue Ryback, then he has no chance to be a top competitor in the WWE, or even an upper mid-card wrestler. I’ll be shocked if this works for Ryback, because I really think he’s beyond help.

Usos prove themselves to be top tag team – below the Champs!

The fans in the arena didn’t seem overly impressed with this match, but I sure was. Unlike a lot of people watching at home, I don’t have a problem with with the fans entertaining themselves by chanting for random announcers and wrestlers who are not in the matches, but why is that so different from the wildness of the Attitude Era? The people who are complaining about these chants are just cranky because they’re not in the arena having that fun along with them.

But I thought the Funkasaurus and Cesaro looked solid in this match. Sweet T looked better thank I remember seeing him in months, or longer. He really put it out there and sold it well, but it was the Usos who shone the most in that match. The Usos continue to step things up each time we see them. They continue on this track and they’re going to be right up there with the rest of their family, the Anoa’i wrestlers.

Bryan gets Brie love!

I loved that the face wrestlers cheered Bryan on as he headed for the ring, but it was the quick hug from Brie that really made this little segment believable. I have never been a big fan of the Bellas, but if Bryan loved Brie that much, she must really be a good girl. The same can be said for Nikki. If John Cena loves her that much, she must be a good girl. Bryan and Cena are great guys, so they must see something very special in the Bellas.

Locker room clears for Bryan!

I honestly was not expecting Reigns to work that strongly in the ring. He didn’t need Bryan to carry him, because he was solid in his own right. This match was great to watch, and not just because of Bryan. I cringed when Rollins was slammed back into the announce table. I worry that he might have a concussion. That being said, he worked hard through the post-match as if he wasn’t hurting – mostly.

When Orton came out, I knew the end of the match was going to be a mess, but clearing the locker room wasn’t something I expected. I thought it would be at least another month or two before that happened, but I was thrilled when I saw it happen. The wrestlers who came out to the ring were obviously specifically picked, and their lives are going to be getting a lot harder on RAW and Smackdown, but that’s only going to make it all that much more interesting. I cannot wait to see where they go from here, and so thrilled that they’re working such a huge storyline again after so many years.