WWE RAW 16th September, 2013: Superstars of the Show

Tonight’s RAW came live from Cleveland, Ohio which is Miz’s hometown, and how opportune was it to gain some heel heat? It was a night which had a substantial amount of parents and children. Whether it was the Usos dancing like their daddy or Dusty Rhodes searching for answers for the unfortunate fate of his sons, or Miz’s parents being forced to see their son get hammered by the Viper – this show was riding high on sentimental values.

Come to think of it was high on various family references. Bray Wyatt gave his trademark promo with an intrinsic reference to his late sister Abigail, Paul Heyman suddenly getting all fatherly on Ryback who grinned like a man child when Heyman planted a kiss on his cheek, and Stephanie McMahon said she was the ‘daughter of a genius’ to the ‘son of a plumber’ Dusty Rhodes.

Also, all members of the Shield have identical lockets. I wonder what that stands for. Anyway, here are the stars that stood out today.

Honourable Mentions

Dolph Ziggler and Dean Ambrose

Their match on RAW was much, much better than last night’s, and when Dolph Ziggler won, he got one of the biggest reactions of the night. It’s a bit unsettling when the commentators said that this victory will bring him closer to the US title. Dolph Ziggler deserves to be one of the main eventers. But a feud with Dean Ambrose is promising and I wish they go back and forth on the mic as well, instead of just wrestling.

Seth Rollins

He’s the only member of the Shield who did not have a match on RAW. Somehow, WWE is not giving him as much emphasis as the other two members. But I think he is the most exciting wrestler to watch out for in all of Shield’s matches. Even on RAW, Daniel Bryan’s kick to Rollins, which sent him flying head first towards the announcer’s table, looked vicious and he got back from it and sold another kick by Daniel Bryan pretty well towards the night’s twilight.

The Locker Room

Just the fact that they made Daniel Bryan finally look like the unlikely hero and leader was a great sight.

3. The Usos

The three teams that faced off for the number one contenders match for the tag titles includes Funk and Sweet T and the Real Americans. And of course the Real Americans lost. But the Usos were just too mind blowing and they surely added a lot to the pace of the match. The Double Trouble looked impeccable. They are truly one of the most exciting two man tag teams in the WWE right now.

2. Roman Reigns

Roman Reigns

WWE was so high on family this RAW and so is this list. Roman Reigns is another example of the sheer power of the WWE Samoan family. And he is labeled as the powerhouse of the Shield. It was awesome to see him cut short Daniel Bryan’s suicide dive and ram him into the barricade. And I can say for sure that the amount of Reigns’ screams has surpassed the amount of words he’s spoken since arriving on WWE television.

1. Daniel Bryan

Daniel Bryan

Yes! Yes, there seems to be no ‘best of’ list related to the WWE where Daniel Bryan does not feature. If WWE keeps doing what they’re doing with him and constantly make this man hold the title for the shortest of periods, then he might as well surpass John Cena’s WWE Championship reign in a few months. The fast count played into the storyline, undoubtedly and most probably, like 99.99%, Armstrong was in cahoots with the Authority and that’s why he returned to be the referee after getting hit by Orton. Which referee in history has done that? Another Daniel Bryan pursuit begins. Another’s hoping that it’s third time the charm.