Csonka’s WWE Raw Review 9.21.15

MONDAY NIGHT RAW 9.21.15

OFFICIAL RESULTS
– Neville and The Lucha Dragons defeated Stardust and The Ascension @ 10:21 via pin [**]
– The Ryback defeated Bo Dallas @ 3:40 via pin [*]
– Non-Title Match: Champion Charlotte defeated Brie Bella @ 6:30 via submission [**]
– Sheamus defeated Mark Henry @ 2:30 via pin [NR]
– Rusev and New Day defeated Dolph Ziggler and the Dudley Boyz @ 14:20 via pin [**½]
– Naomi defeated Natlaya @ 3:30 via pin [**]
– Big Show defeated Cesaro @ 6:20 via pin [*½]
– US Title Match: Champion John Cena defeated Seth Rollins @ 15:33 via pin [***½]

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The Wyatts Kick Off Raw: Bray gave a promo about warning Reigns through words, and then through actions but that Reigns never listened. He warned him that they would all fall down, and they all have. This brought out Reigns, who challenged Wyatt to send the boys back to the swamp and they could fight it out and end it here. They brawled for a bit, Harper and Strowman returned to the ring once Reigns got full control so that brought out Ambrose. The five men brawled, and the Wyatts got control and beat down Reigns and Ambrose. Randy Orton then made his return to make the save, Ambrose and Reigns fought back and they were finally able to clear the ring. Look at that, you can do a short promo and then do something different instead of having the same people talk for 20-minutes to open the show every week. This worked well, it was fallout from the PPV and from the Wyatts taking out Orton a few weeks back. This was a better start to the show than usual, but it would have been nice if they had discussed Jericho’s post match antics.

* We see highlights of Rollins’ rough night at the PPV, and then he is standing outside of the principal’s office. Rollins then went into the office and was looking to get revenge on Kane, who was standing there in the office. Kane played stupid, claiming that he just got back and is all healed up and back to action. Kane, in a moment of compassion, said that Rollins’ rematch for the US Title was tonight. He then shouted out, “Go get ‘em Seth, you’re the man!” Goofy Kane is funny, I don’t want to see him wrestle but it was fun as long as it doesn’t spill into some Joseph Park shit.

Stardust and The Ascension vs. Neville and The Lucha Dragons: And here is the old “PPV pre-show match rematch on Raw” match. The heels worked over Cara early (after he slipped on a springboard attempt), Neville got a hot tag and teased a red arrow, but the Cosmic Wasteland took back over as we worked through a break. After a heat segment that felt pretty long, Kalisto got he hot tag and ran wild. It then broke down, Kalisto picked up the win for his team, since they lost last night and we can’t allow people to get momentum. The PPV pre-match was a lot better than this, this one felt a bit mailed in and lacked the energy of last night’s match. Also I’d love to see Stardust and The Ascension get some momentum, constantly trading wins won’t do that.

* Seth met with Trips and Steph about the Kane situation. They told him to worry about Cena and that they would worry about Kane. Hunter and Stephanie seemed surprised that Kane was here.

Ryback vs. Bo Dallas: Kevin Owens is out on commentary. Bo Dallas cut a promo about Owens winning the title, and that Ryback lost because he thought he was better than Owens when he never will be. The Ryback was not in the mood for any bullshit, so he started to beat down Dallas. And then, for no reason, Dallas got the heat on Ryback for a bit and the match lost a lot of energy. Ryback won, but he really just should have ran through Dallas. He lost the title, had Dallas talk down to him and then had to look at Owens mocking him from ringside. Have the dude look badass and pissed about losing the title. Owens attacked post match, but Ryback ran him off. Owens was great on commentary, doing his best to make Cole and Byron look stupid.

Charlotte’s Divas Title Victory Celebration: Did you know that Charlotte is Ric Flair’s daughter? Well if you didn’t WWE made sure that you did here. Ric Flair came out and rambled on as Ric Flair does these days, and then turns it to Charlotte, noting that her title win was the best moment of his career. He then announced Charlotte, Paige and Charlotte’s red headed friend (since he seemingly never knows Becky’s name). Charlotte and Ric tried to hold back tears as Charlotte put over her dad and noted that she wanted to be like him. She then praised Paige and Becky, noting that they are best friends. She put over Paige for being the first NXT women’s champion and that she followed in her footsteps, she wanted to be like Paige. Paige cut her off and said that this was all so nice, but then said that she made all of this possible. She mocked Charlotte for only being here because of her father, and said that there is no revolution and that Charlotte is a placeholder. She said that Becky would never be champion because she is not relevant, said Team Bad was all flash and Summer and Lana just want to climb on a man and asked if Natalya even worked here anymore. She even said we know the “real reason” the Bellas are where they are. She then dropped the mic and left as Becky held Charlotte back. The Bellas then came out and called Paige classless, and said that Charlotte was now in her world because everyone is jealous of her. Brie will face Charlotte tonight, and then promises to win her title back. They were obviously building to the Paige turn over the last few weeks, and thankfully it wasn’t the basic turn during the title match. I felt the promo was pretty good, and had enough reality in what she was saying to make people buy into it. They just need to follow up on it, shoot-ish promos are all well and good, but without follow up, they mean nothing.

Non-Title Match: Champion Charlotte vs. Brie: JIP after the commercial, and they went back and forth until Brie sent her to the steps on the floor, and she tweaked her knee again, which played off of last night’s match. Brie worked the leg for a while, but Charlotte made the comeback and won with the figure eight. It was fine, but the heat felt as if it lasted a bit too long.

Sheamus vs. Mark Henry: Sheamus tried to attack, but the power of Henry was too much for him most of the time. Sheamus then hit (and by hit I mean missed) a brogue kick, and then hit another for the win. Sheamus won, which he should have. He then cut a promo and sad as far as he is concerned, he is the WWE Champion; it’s only a matter of time. This was fine.

* Kane, with his “Best WWE Director of Operations” coffee cup was in the office as Triple H and Steph arrived. They wondered how he was, and said he had been gone until he returned last night. Kane doesn’t seem to know what they are talking about, and promised that he was not playing mind games with them. Stephanie then asked for the mask back, and Kane was amazed that it was gone and said that Stephanie must have lost it. Goofy Kane is great, I still have no desire to see him wrestle, but he’s great.

* Paige paces backstage and Natalya arrived. Paige expects a lecture, but Natalya says she had valid points. Natalya says she understands being left out, and she gets it. But she feels that Paige was unprofessional and ruined Charlotte’s moment. Paige called her mother hen and asked where she has been. Natalya has a match against Naomi tonight, but feels that Paige is standing in her own way.

* New Day came to the ring, and Woods is limping and selling the table spot from last night. Woods had a piece of a table in an evidence bag, which was removed from his butt by WWE medical personnel. Big E wants to build a wall around Dudleyville to keep them away from their tables.

New Day (Big E and Kofi) w/Woods and Rusev w/Summer vs. Dolph Ziggler and the Dudley Boyz: Ziggler and the Dudleyz controlled the first few minutes, and cleared New Day from the ring. They stood off with Rusev and them we went to commercial. After the break, Ziggler controlled until Woods distracted him and then Rusev got tagged in and laid the boots to him. Woods then tried to play Rusev’s theme song on the trombone, which greatly amused Rusev, who continued to beat on Ziggler. Rusev and New Day beat on Ziggler for what felt like forever, with Rusev yelling that Lana was him. The heat died on the in ring here, no real heat and the only real reactions for the most part were for the New Day Shenanigans. Bubba finally got the hot tag, ran wild and then tagged in Devon to work over Rusev. They then did the WAZZUP head butt with Ziggler, it broke down and bodies spilled to the floor. Woods tried to distract with the trombone, ate a superkick, but then Rusev hit the leaping superkick for the win. It felt really long in the middle, but was a fine TV match, highlighted by New Day’s shenanigans. They are great men. I liked the idea of mixing the two feuds here, so that we don’t run through another Ziggler vs. Rusev or New Day vs. Dudleyz match. I really do not like Ziggler taking the loss, he just won last night and feels as if he lost any momentum he gained because that’s what they always do. They could have had Devon eat a pin after some shenanigans, it wouldn’t have hurt him and also wouldn’t have stifled Ziggler’s momentum. Too much 50-50 booking for my tastes.

Naomi w/Sasha and Tamina vs. Natalya: Paige watched on from backstage. Nice to see Natalya back on TV, even if she’s not a focus, having her around should be something WWE makes happen more often because she can work with anyone. They had a good solid back and forth match, they tend to work well together, but then we got both Tamina and Banks involved for the distraction, and Naomi won with the rear view. They worked with purpose, likely because they were so rushed, and the needing was predictable. Give them a bit more time and it is a better/cleaner match. Also, can we do something with the Sasha Banks kid?

* Triple H and Steph talked backstage and Seth arrived to argue more about Kane.

Big Show vs. Cesaro: And here is our Smackdown rematch of the week. Show controlled most of the match, clubbing away on Cesaro in as slow a way as possible. Cesaro then got to do a freak strength spot and suplex Show in from the apron. So of course Show then KO’d him for the win. I know that they have to make Show look like he means something in order to sell the Lesnar match, but beating Cesaro is not the right thing to do. Cesaro got over with some great matches, and they again fucked it up. Show should be doing 3 on 1 jobber specials with locals, and kicking the shit out of Fandango, Slater, Henry, Ryder and all of the other geeks on his way to the match. Instead, we’re crushing Cesaro to build him up. I know that some people say we should give up on any hope for Cesaro, and they may be right, but excuse me for hoping that a talented guy will actually get his chance. After a brief time of fun matches, Cesaro is again just another guy. During the time I typed this, Show rambled on about beating Lesnar. I am glad he’s working his standup material.

* Ziggler and Ryback vs. Owens and Rusev is announced for this week’s Smackdown.

* Highlights of Reigns, Ambrose and Orton brawling with the Wyatts to kick off the show. Harper and Strowman cut creepy promos, Wyatt promised that they all fall down, and that soon Orton would.

US Title Match: Champion John Cena vs. Seth Rollins: This is Seth’s rematch after losing the title last night. Kane, who returned in his mask and destroyed Seth at the end of the show, made the rematch because he’s back as Citizen Kane, seemingly playing a Joseph Park-esque character. Seth was selling the beatings from last night, so he attacked Cena pre-match to try and even the odds. Seth controlled early and we went to a commercial. After the break, Seth controlled until Cena made his come back and then they went back and forth for a while, and Seth got the STF on Cena. Cena would power out, but would eat the knee off the top for a near fall. They then did a ton of finisher reversals and then Rollins got the buckle bomb and Michinoku driver for a near fall. Rollins hit a frog splash, but Cena then powered up into the AA and got the win in a very anticlimactic, Cena like way. They had a good back and forth match, and I appreciated then selling the work from last night, but it lacked the energy of last night’s match. The match was easily the best thing on the show. Seth continues to be Cena’s bitch.

* Kane cut a promo on the big screen, noting that people are coming for the title, people Rollins wouldn’t even expect. Masked Kane then appeared from under the ring and attacked Rollins. He then pulled Rollins under the ring. Yup…

* End scene.

* Thanks for reading.

“Byyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyye Felicia!”

5.0

The final score: review Not So Good

The 411

I wouldn’t call this a bad show, but it felt rather lifeless at times. Kane’s backstage stuff was funny, but that in no way makes me want to see him wrestle, which is what we’re getting with him and Rollins. I liked the Paige promo, but they have to be dedicated and follow up with it to actually make it worth something. They also continue to have people trade wins, ensuring that no one ever really gets momentum. Then you have Cesaro being Big Show’s bitch when there are a ton of guys he could beat to prepare him for destruction by Lesnar. Finally, Rollins once again loses clean to Cena which with back to back wins, how is Cena NOT the top title contender at this time? Actually, the more I type about the show, the less I like it. At least New Day rocks. It wasn’t really bad, but it wasn’t very good either. They’ll never go back to two hours as long as the USA Network pays that money to them, but I really wish that they could because while it wouldn’t solve all the issues, I feel many weeks that the show would be much better at two hours, with out all of the filler, need for repeat matches and 50-50 booking. But that’s just me.