Csonka’s WWE Raw Review 11.16.15

MONDAY NIGHT RAW 11.16.15

OFFICIAL RESULTS
– World Title Tournament Quarterfinals: Kevin Owens defeated Neville @ 10:50 via pin [***¼]
– Tyler Breeze defeated R-Truth @ 4:10 via pin [*]
– World Title Tournament Quarterfinals: Dean Ambrose defeated Dolph Ziggler @ 16:45 via pin [***]
– New Day defeated The Usos and The Ryback @ 5:30 via pin [**]
– World Title Tournament Quarterfinals: Roman Reigns defeated Cesaro @ 20:23 via pin [***½]
– The Dudleyz defeated The Ascension @ 3:05 via pin [*¾]
– World Title Tournament Quarterfinals: Alberto Del Rio defeated Kalisto @ 10:00 via pin [*½]

---

– They did a moment of silence in remembrance of Friday’s terrorist attacks in Paris, for the victims, their families & loved ones to kick off the show.

– We then got a brief recap of the tournament, and the lineup of tournament matches for tonight.

WE GOTS DRUIDS, A DEAD MAN AND A DEMON: I can’t be the only one who thinks that doing the fake funeral processional with druids after the Paris tribute was a bit ill timed. Anyway, Taker claimed that they were an army of darkness, and that they were coming for vengeance, because vengeance waits for no one. Or consider this, Kane and Taker got their vengeance LAST WEEK by kicking the shit out of the entire Wyatt Family by themselves, with no help and really easily. Wyatt appeared and said Taker’s time was done after 25-years, and that his family was the new army of darkness and that the creatures of the night were his. The lights went out, and then when they came back on, the Druids were wearing sheep masks and attacked Kane and Taker. They failed and there would be cutthroat gestures and chokeslams. They found the smallest dudes possible t play Druids, they looked like children. Overall this was ok, they did the supernatural stuff that the live crowd digs on, but the feud has no juice and makes no sense since Taker and Kane already kicked their asses last week.

World Title Tournament Quarterfinals: Kevin Owens vs. Neville: Neville ran wild early, getting a good shine. He teased a read arrow early, but Owens rolled to the floor, so Neville hit the Moonsault instead. We then went to the commercial break. Post break Owens took control, and was working over Neville. Owens was in full dick mode, and I mean that in the best way possible, and they even did a countout tease after Owens was relentlessly working over Neville. These guys work well together, so it was no surprise that they had a good match. Good comeback by Neville, avoiding a charge and hitting a German and the corkscrew 450 for a near fall. Neville went or the red arrow, Owens crotched him and looked for the pop up powerbomb, but c survived and got a near fall off of the reverse RANA. Owens would avoid the red arrow, and then hit the pop up powerbomb for the victory. Really nice stuff overall, they worked smartly, sold well and built to the big spots; Neville loses nothing in the loss and Owens looks great coming out of the match. I think that the finish could have been laid out a bit better, but that’s a small complaint. Or maybe I would have liked it better if the angles weren’t shit due to Kevin Dunn’s production and stupid rapid-fire camera angle switches.

– We see footage of Paige’s WWE debut, where she beat AJ for the title.

– Triple Hand Kevin Owens has a silent film style meeting. We saw it, but we didn’t get to her what was said.

– Look everyone… it’s Tyler!

Tyler Breeze w/Summer Rae vs. R-Truth: In all actuality this is where Breeze should have competed instead of losing his first match in a title tournament he never earned his way in. Truth controlled way too much, Summer gave Tyler some lip balm and that gave him the power to turn the tide. Breeze got a short heat, and then Truth came back and ran wild and got a near fall off of the axe kick. Breeze finally hit the beauty shot for the win. This was not good; the match was boring, Truth controlled more than half (so the new guy can’t even go 50-50 with him) and then Breeze wins when he hits his finisher basically out of desperation. Breeze’s debut went well, but he’s basically been booked like a geek ever since. This was put together poorly, and did nothing to help Breeze, who already feels like he’s been slotted as a low card heel.

World Title Tournament Quarterfinals: Dean Ambrose vs. Dolph Ziggler: Part of the WWE/Evolve relationship must be free iPPV for the boys, because these two decided to go GRAPPLEFUCK. I didn’t mind at all, as it was refreshing to see some chain wrestling and grappling instead of the usual stuff we see on TV each week. Ambrose put in some work on the knee of Ziggler, which has been an issue for him the last few weeks, and that was appreciated. They then went to a more traditional WWE base, worked up top and did the double down to go to a commercial break. Post break they did a nice job of keeping the pace high, and not letting things drag. It wasn’t anything wild, but between the moving parts, counters and such it worked out very well. They picked things up late, the X-factor off the top, the superkick, near falls and the like. They did the striking battle near the end, and then Ambrose countered the zigzag and hit dirty deeds to pick up the win. This was another good match, and I really appreciated them trying to mix things up style wise, as it fit the face vs. face match very well. I also appreciated Ziggler’s selling of the leg, but came away disappointed that they haven’t carried over Ambrose’s shoulder injury. It’s a small thing, just something I noticed.

Ambrose gave a post match interview, and promised to turn the place upside down if he won the title. No more rules, no suits, no ties and less talking. He also wants more pyro, and breakfast for dinner as well!

– Owens and Ambrose meet in the semifinals on Sunday.

– We now see Stephanie McMahon creating all life in just 4 days, and also introducing the divas revolution.

– New Day came out and was not impressed with all of this talk of the Undertaker’s 25-years in wrestling. They then that they should be recognized for their one-year anniversary as a team.

My, my how things change. After some burial of the Usos forgetting hurt, they proclaimed that they rocked and the Usos arrived.

The New Day vs. The Usos and The Ryback: Jey kinda hit a dive early, mostly eating barricade, and then New Day cut him off and beat him down in the corner. Fun stuff with New Day in control; Kofi hitting a dropkick and yelling, “YOU’RE WELCOME” made me chuckle. Woods played the trombone while Big E danced and then beat down an Uso. Ryback got the phantom tag, which angered him and he eventually snapped and it broke down and we got a DQ when Ryback shoved the ref. The Usos and The Ryback cleaned house post match. New Day and the Usos did not need a loss here, so in that aspect I am fine with this. I could see them using this as a set up for a Survivor Series match on Sunday. This felt like complete filler; they did some stuff, Ryback got angry, we got a DQ and they cleared the ring. Ryback seems to have no momentum these days; lost the feud to Owens, no real feuds, lost to Kalisto and then blew his lid here. I think they’re about to try another heel run wit him.

– Commentary makes fun of people that pay full price for WWE PPV events.

– Cesaro prepares backstage, and then Triple H arrives. Triple H tells him he is close to the title, he has everything it takes and has a ton of talent, but he thinks Cesaro needs something a little extra because this may be his time to grab the brass ring. Triple H also said that he will be in his own personal Cesaro section tonight and then reminded him that he may have to do anything to win, and that it may be Cesaro’s time.

– Reigns came out to the ring for his match and then talked about the whole situation with the tournament. He is also calling his fans “The Roman Empire”. He reiterated that he doesn’t need help to get to the top, and will have to go through all of these guys, and possibly even Dean Ambrose, to win the title Sunday. The promo was basically useless as he simply recapped what happened on Raw and Smackdown last week. It also wasn’t delivered all that well.

– This is REALLY odd placement for this match, as I (and others) figured that it would main event tonight.

World Title Tournament Quarterfinals: Roman Reigns vs. Cesaro: They did some really nice things early, including some back and forth stuff where they tried to one up each other. I liked Cesaro trying to make Reigns wrestle his style in the opening stretch, and they Reigns trying to use his power game, which didn’t work as well because Cesaro is a freak when it comes to being strong. Cesaro makes so many things look easy, and it makes him so much fun to watch. Reigns would miss a charge, and then Cesaro would dropkick him, posting him again before hitting a running uppercut as we went to break. Cesar worked the arm post break; Reigns fought back but was having issues with the right arm. Cesaro landed some uppercuts and Reigns tried to answer with clotheslines in the corner, but the arm kept slowing him down. Cesaro then countered the drive by kick and pulled Reigns in the ring for the swing and then into the sharp shooter and then transitioned into the cross face. Reigns powered out, and then sent Cesaro to the floor where Cesaro hit his arm off the apron. He then started selling the right arm, which was taped up and commentary made mentioned was hurt last week earlier in the match. Reigns controlled from there, and then hit a single armed powerbomb (with his bad arm) for a near fall, which annoyed me. Both guys actually dropped the selling, as Cesaro connected with the toss up uppercut for a near fall. Reigns countered the neutralizer, but Cesaro got the Superman punch and spear to pick up the win. They worked a really hot closing stretch, and ended on a high note. This was another overall good match, which I feel would have been better if they had stayed with the selling of the arms through out. Still, another quality tournament match here, with little to complain about.

– Post match they shake hands and share a manly hug.

– They mention the passing of Nick Bockwinkle.

The Dudleyz vs. The Ascension: This is a rematch from weeks back on Smackdown. The Ascension worked over Bubba for a bit, Devon got the hot tag and ran wild. The 3D spelled the end for the Ascension. It was fine, but complete filler. The Dudleyz are just another tag team at this point.

– Renee tried to interview Del Rio, but Colter got involved and ranted about Mex-America. Triple H appeared and said that if you have the right allies, you can become the man. More planting seeds, and Triple H hasn’t talked with Ambrose yet.

– We get highlights of Kalisto defeating The Ryback on Raw.

World Title Tournament Quarterfinals: Alberto Del Rio vs. Kalisto: Nice back and forth segment to begin with Kalisto eventually using his speed to get the advantage before going to the commercial break. Del Rio had control post break, they tried to do a counter spot into the back stabber, but it didn’t work. Del Rio then tried to rip off Kalisto’s mask (well he did and then they had to get it back on), and got him into the tree of WHOA. Del Rio charged and posted himself, allowing Kalisto to make his comeback. Del Rio countered the Salida del Sol, placed Kalisto in the tree of WHOA and then went for the double stomp. Kalisto escaped again and tried a top rope RANA, but Salida del Sol countered and placed Kalisto in the tree of WHOA again. The double stomp finished it. That felt really flat, was sloppy and repetitive; Del Rio continues to under whelm in his return. Easily the worst of the tournament matches tonight by a wide margin.

– The semifinals are Owens vs. Ambrose and Reigns vs. Del Rio.

– Miz TV returns on Smackdown with Owens, Ambrose, Reigns and Del Rio as the guests.

– Charlotte will be the guest on ESPN tomorrow night.

Divas Contract Signing: Michael Cole is our host. Cole tried to discuss their history as friends, which Paige shot down and then signed the contract. Charlotte played the, “what happened to you” card, and said that they were friends, and that she wanted to be like Paige. Charlotte then got emotional discussing their similar backgrounds, and then discussed her late brother Reid. She said Paige was there for her when he died, and she broke up. Charlotte is only here because of him, to fulfill his dream. That felt awkward and forced. She thought Paige and her were family, but Paige basically said that it was all bullshit and she has been using Charlotte since day one. Charlotte then brought up DX and the Horsemen, and said PCB could have changed wrestling, but Paige said she deserved the title more than anyone. Charlotte said she won’t be champion forever, but she won’t lose it on Sunday and won’t lose it to Paige. They ranted back and forth, with Paige noting that no one will be here for Charlotte on Sunday, including Charlotte’s daddy. This just kept going on and on and on, and then Paige claimed that Reid didn’t have much fight in him (HEY IN CASE YOU FORGOT YOUR BROTHER OD’D, HEROINE ABUSE WILL SELL THIS MATCH) and they brawled. They attempted to do the big pull apart and brawl on the floor, with Charlotte tossing Paige over the commentary table, and then it kept going and going and no one really cared. This was horrible. I have no idea why they tried to shoehorn in the Reid stuff, but it came off poorly. Not even low rent, which we can likely agree that it was, but also for the fact that it had never been part of the story. You can say that Paige was using words to hurt Charlotte, but Charlotte was the one that brought it up in the first place and again for no reason. And I don’t care if Ric and Charlotte were cool with it, this came off as a tasteless and unnecessary storytelling tool that lacked any real logic. And yes I am completely aware that shit like this has been used in wrestling for years (looking at you Von Erichs) but that doesn’t mean that it is good in any way. I appreciate that they tried to make the women’s match important by giving them the main event TV spot, but instead of them setting up a match that represented the revolution and who was the best, they went back to overly emotional, bitchy and crazy women. Divas. I guess keeping things simple, rebuilding the division and making the title important is too much to ask. They continue to do no work on establishing any character for Charlotte. She is a former athlete turned wrestler that always discusses her family, there is no reason to root for her. This was absolutely dreadful, and completed a decline in hour three quality, which was unfortunate. Now when they get the ratings and hour three is bad again, they will blame the women instead of the writing. This was really bad, one of the worst PPV go home segments in a long, long time.

– End scene.

– Thanks for reading.

“I’m out…”

5.0

The final score: review Not So Good

The 411

On the wrestling side of things, three of the four tournament matches were quality bouts that I enjoyed, and overall I felt that they did a good job of selling the importance of these matches. That was a major part of the show, and the only real thing saving this show from an abysmal rating overall. Unfortunately that was not enough to carry the show. Tyler Breeze already feels like just another guy, they have done a poor job with him thus far, and I a, not sure they even realize it. The filler tag matches COULD be leading to a Survivor Series rules match, but commentary never even teased that, and considering that this was the go home show, that’s not good. The Brothers of Destruction vs. Wyatt deal is what it is, but I feel they screwed the pooch already when they had the Brothers wipe all four Wyatts out last week. I really hope that Del Rio’s downside is on the lower side and not the rumored million plus, because he is bland as hell right now and not exactly delivering anything special in the ring. The main event angle was simply horrible, and didn’t do anything to help the women, it only damaged them. I have no clue what they were thinking, but they obviously thought that this was the hook that the women needed. They were wrong. Watch Owens vs. Neville, Ziggler vs. Ambrose and Reigns vs. Cesaro and get out; you’ll be better for it. Again, those quality matches, the fact that they focused on the title stuff and the fact that the filler was largely ok is the only reason the show didn’t completely tank in the overall rating.