wrestling / TV Reports
Csonka’s WWE Raw Review 7.13.15
MONDAY NIGHT RAW 7.13.15
OFFICIAL RESULTS
~ Randy Orton and Ryback defeated Sheamus and Big Show @ 15:22 via pin [**½]
~ The Prime Time Players and Mark Henry defeated New Day @ 7:55 via pin [**]
~ R-Truth defeated King Barrett @ 3:10 via pin [**]
~ For a Shot at The US Title: Rusev defeated Cesaro and Kevin Owens @ 24:02 via pin [****]
~ US Title Match: Rusev defeated Champion John Cena @ 4:57 via DQ [**]
~ Stardust defeated Neville @ 4:09 via pin [*¾]
* We get highlights from last week’s show.
Brock Stands There & Looks Scary While Paul Talks: So Brock stood there and looked scary as Paul worked his magic to hype Sunday’s PPV. Paul was great, Brock was Brock and then Rollins along with Kane arrived. Rollins was very good as well; they lost the crowd a bit when Kane spoke, because he was announcing the clichéd contract signing. I mean, what could go wrong there? Heyman got it back as he mocked Kane a bit, using the Taker connection, and the main event angle was set. Some good performances mixed in with some selling of the PPV. It’s a shame that the performances are wasted in a segment that I have to fight against tuning out because it’s the same old shit, every week.
Randy Orton and Ryback vs. Sheamus and Big Show: Miz is out on commentary. They worked for under a minute before going to a commercial, but the highlight was The Ryback doing a slingshot plancha to the floor. Go Flyback! After the break we got a lot of Orton vs. Sheamus, and then they went to another break. Post break they continued the heat on Orton, it was fine but slow and uninspired. Ryback got the hot tag, ran wild for a bit and did a good job of bringing the crowd into the match. Miz got a mic and distracted Ryback, Show ended up hitting the KO shot on Ryback as Show chased Miz to the back. Orton hit the RKO on Sheamus, and Flyback hit the top rope splash to pick up the win. This was an overall solid match, but I was actually expecting a non-finish when I saw Miz out there. Instead they have opted to do the MITB winner taking the loss. It was actually done well here, but hopefully that doesn’t become a normal thing.
* Rollins was not sold on Kane’s plan for tonight’s contract signing. They seem to not really be getting along, which is shocking considering their strong relationship so far.
Dean Ambrose vs. Bray Wyatt: Ambrose and Wyatt faced off on the July 2nd edition of Smackdown, with Wyatt winning in about 7-minutes. Wyatt made his entrance, but when the lights camera back on Reigns was there and laid an ass beating on him. Wyatt eventually hit Reigns with the nightlight to escape. I am glad that they didn’t do the match they announced; they gave Reigns a chance to finally get some revenge on Wyatt, but not too much where it gives away the match on Sunday. I always ask stuff like, “If Dean is such a good friend, then why didn’t he help Reigns get revenge on the man who tried to throw a rape filled tea party with Reigns’ daughter,” but then people say I take this too seriously. I mean, they are super close, I’m sure he’s “uncle Dean” and the house of Roman, you’d think he’d want to kick some Wyatt ass; also, the smoke monster from Lost angle in HIAC. Anyway, this was a solid angle to add to the build to Sunday’s match, but I expected a bigger reaction from the crowd when Reigns finally got his hands on Wyatt.
The State of the Divas Division: Nikki, Brie and Alicia Bella were in the ring, as Nikki bragged about her success as champion. She spoke about how no WWE diva could stop them, and Stephanie McMahon then returned and came to the ring. Stephanie of course had to, well I would say cut off Nikki’s balls; but we’ll use that as a metaphor. Anyway, she totally talked down to them like she does everyone as she praised women making their mark in women’s athletics. Stephanie brought out Paige, and championed the whole change deal. Great, so the woman that’s a heel is now out playing babyface so that she can be the one to introduce the new women. And please don’t try to link it to her issues with Brie from last year’s Summerslam because it’s just lazy. Anyway, Becky Lynch (YAY BECKY) and Charlotte were announced. Tamina and Naomi made their way out, and said that they wanted their time as well. And then Sasha FUCKING Banks was announced. Stephanie then just kept talking, sucking any and all heat from this debut of three new stars. It all broke down into a big brawl, with Charlotte, Becky and The Boss locking in submissions on Team Bella. Charlotte, Becky and Paige then had a stand off with Naomi, Tamina and Sasha, while Stephanie looked on and they made her the focal point. I am very happy to see the NXT ladies involved, because there is so much potential there. But I absolutely hated the fact that Stephanie was the one championing it. It completely took away from Paige’s journey and the debut of the new talent. It should have been done better and felt like a bigger deal. Instead, it felt overbooked with Tamina and Naomi involved, which also took the focus away from the NXT ladies. Finally, it felt like an angle to make Stephanie look good, which is not the message they should have been sending, but they did.
* But this made me laugh…
Hmmmm…. Interesting. #RAW pic.twitter.com/SbQYov27et
— PWP Nation (@PWPNation) July 14, 2015
New Day vs. The Prime Time Players and Mark Henry: new Day cut a fun little promo pre-match, and then Mark Henry joined the PTP for the match. This continues the fact that Henry has no character direction. Henry and the PTP cleared the ring, and we then went to commercial. Post break, the New Day were in control and working the heat on Titus. Henry got the hot tag, it broke down, and Henry scored the win, pinning Woods. It was acceptable.
* We get highlights from last week’s show.
King Barrett vs. R-Truth: These guys faced off last week, and Barrett won clean. But apparently this feud, much like my apathy for this show, must continue. They had a short match, which felt the same as every other match they’ve had recently. Truth wins, as the two continue to trade wins in a feud that no one cares about. I hated this; the return of KOTR has been a complete waste. Can’t wait for this to continue on the PPV pre-show.
John Cena’s US Title Open Challenge Rusev vs. Cesaro vs. Kevin Owens: No promo from Cena, which is a pleasant surprise. Rusev appeared to say he never would have lost the title if it weren’t for that blonde headed witch of a woman Lana. Owens then appeared, and said he would win tonight and give Cena a rematch at Battleground. After some arguing, Cesaro came out the three possible challengers brawled until Cesaro cleared the ring. Post break, we got a triple threat with the winner getting to face Cena for the title tonight. I liked the match, because it changed up the challenge and gave us a fresh match. Cena did well on commentary, putting over his possible opponents and their skills. These guys easily had the best match on the show, working well together and mixing in some fun three-way spots and making the crowd care. They also largely avoided the two in and one out trap that these matches fall into all too often. Owens would eventually bail on the match, noting that he had his chance Sunday and then we went to the break. When back, Cesaro and Rusev were still battling for a chance to fight Cena. Byron Saxton continues to be shit on commentary. I’m not such a fan of Owens walking away, he did make mention that he gets his shot on Sunday and in theory I get that he wouldn’t want to face Cena after already wrestling tonight. But he also walked away last week, after being a man that was established as a killer in NXT; it’s a trend I don’t particularly like. Cesaro and Rusev continued on in a quality match, working very well together. Cesaro vs. anyone these days is money, and it was nice to see Rusev back to action and not fucking around with Ziggler and Lana. This was a really good match, and it may not last but I love these long Cesaro matches on Raw. Give him the IC Title and give him the Bryan slot on Smackdown so that I have a reason to care about that show.
US Title Match: Champion John Cena vs. Rusev: It feels odd to have the face be the fresh competitor here, I imagine that they do that as a built in excise for Rusev if he were to lose, but I expect Owens to return. Yeah, the match felt odd as Cena controlled and Rusev continually pulled himself to his feet and challenged Cena to fight. Rusev made his comeback, and scored with the accolade. He stopped Cena from escaping and looked close to the win, but Owens then ran out for the DQ finish. He dropped Rusev with the pop up powerbomb, and then reminded Cena that he will be the one to beat him. Rusev didn’t lose, and they advanced the story. This was fine, but felt lazy after a great match to get here.
* Rollins and Kane talked, Rollins bitched about the plan later.
* The Tough Enough contestants are on the stage, and Lita then appeared. Lita is cool, but no one cares about these Tough Enough geeks.
* Stardust cuts a wacky promo backstage. He then weaved in “the view never changes,” paying respect to Dusty’s promo with Dustin in 1994.
* Yup, Barrett vs. Truth “for the crown” on the PPV pre-show.
Stardust vs. That Guy That Does The Red Arrow: They had a match that appeared to be fine, but no one cared about it. Part of it was that it was in the Raw death spot, and part of it was that I think they expected people to care about Stardust’s return, but he was just thrown out there with no fanfare. Add into the equation the fact that Neville has no character, no direction and is simply the guy that does the red arrow and I don’t see how anyone could really care about the match. The crowd was basically silent during Neville’s comeback, remember when he went toe to toe with Cena and people had hope? Stardust won with a roll up and grabbing the tights. I have a feeling that they want to tell the story of Cody rising from Stardust, but I have no faith in WWE’s long-term storytelling or dealing with characters with layers.
Main Event Contract Signing: Rollins and Kane came to the ring, and Rollins showed footage of the beat down the Authority gave Lesnar a few weeks back. Rollins claimed to not be afraid and that he would be the one to burn suplex city to the ground. Enter Heyman and Brock. Heyman cut a promo about Lesnar wanting revenge and that he will destroy Rollins at Battleground. Before Rollins’ plan could come into action, Lesnar flipped the table and retrieved an ax handle that was hidden. He then laid it on the table, sat and dared Rollins to take it and attack. Rollins took it, but Lesnar slammed the table into him and attacked Kane. This led to a brawl and Rollins posting Lesnar. Kane would nail Lesnar with the steps, but Lesnar would fight back and F5 Kane on the floor. Rollins ran for his life, so Lesnar used the steps to “crush” Kane’s ankle. Lesnar stood tall with the title. When he left, Rollins threw a tantrum in the ring, and promised to defeat Lesnar and keep the title. He then ran down Kane, calling him a disappointment and said Kane was nothing without him. The segment was overall good, as it sets up Lesnar as an unstoppable force, and also looks to set up Rollins to have to go it alone on Sunday. And then it went too long and looked to be a ser up for Kane vs. Rollins… yup.
* End scene.
* Thanks for reading.
“Byyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyye Felicia!”
Overall this was an average show that with a few changes, could have been much better.