Wrestling’s 4Rs: The Right, The Wrong and The Ridiculous of WWE Monday Night Raw

How the 4Rs of wRestling Work!Here is a quick explanation of the 4R’s. The column will run TWO times a week. We will group our feelings on the shows in various categories: The Right, the wRong and the Ridiculous. The Right is stuff that worked very well: a great promo, a great match and so on. PuRgatoRy is a section between the right and wrong. It shows equal traits from both sides that cannot be ignored and need discussed. It is not a bad place per say, as things can get remedied or go the wrong way the very next week. The wRong is what it sounds like: bad matches, bad or boring promos and so on. The Ridiculous is stuff that had no right on TV: Stupid angles and so on. And there is always a possibility of a 5th R, which is as bad as they come. This column is supposed to be analytical, and at the right time very critical of the shows, it was the whole reason it was created. This is not a “mark” column, nor a “smark” column, our goal is to analyze the show from many different fronts, reward the good and call out the bad. We will not apologize for our opinions, they are as they are, whether positive or negative.

CMLL 81st Anniversary Show

~ Blue Panther/Cachorro/Dragon Lee II beat La Dinastia Casas (Felino/Puma King/Tiger) [**½]
~ Ladies Torneo Cibernetico por el Copa 81st Anniversario: Zeuxis defeated Marcela to win. – Order of Elimination: Tiffany/Estrellita/Dalys la Caribena/Princesa Sugei/Goya Kong/Amapola/Marcela [**]
~ Mascara Dorada/Valiente/Volador Jr. beat Euforia/Mr. Niebla/Thunder by DQ when Thunder press slammed Volador over the top rope to the floor [***]
~ Caballera contra Caballera: El Barbaro Cavernario defeated Rey Cometa [****¼]
~ CMLL Tag Titles: Negro Casas & Shocker beat La Mascara & Rush to retain the tag team titles [***]
~ Mascara contra Mascara: Atlantis defeated Ultimo Guerrero 2 falls to 1 [****½]

The Tirade
I do not get a chance to watch Lucha as much as I would like these days. I fully intended on catching TripleMania, but their VOD was shit and not working, so I took a pass. The CMLL 81st anniversary event had the highly anticipated Atlantis vs. Ultimo Guerrero Mascara contra Mascara match on it, and I had to see it. This was big business, because in Mexico they treat this shit like it actually means something. How much was this event anticipated? They spent the entire year building to it, and delivered their first ever million-dollar gate. While people were upset when they did not deliver on the match last year, at the end of the day, it ended up being best for business.

The show had a tremendous big time feel to it, it was a huge venue and felt important. This is their WrestleMania as far as presentation and the importance of the show. Another thing that stood out to me was the mix of established stars (Casas, Shocker, Atlantis, Panther, Guerrero) and the stars of the future (Puma King, Tiger, Cachorro, Cavernario, Rey Cometa) for the promotion. This is something that fans have been pressing for, and something that CMLL desperately needs to do.

The first two matches were nothing to write home about, they were perfectly acceptable Lucha and an ok way to kick off the show. I had personally hoped for a stronger open to the show. The crowd enjoyed the matches, and they had fun and cool moves, but were also sloppy.

In the third match on the show, Mascara Dorada/Valiente/Volador Jr. defeated Euforia/Mr. Niebla/Thunder by DQ. This was a lot of fun, but had a disappointing finish as Thunder tossed Volador Jr over the top onto the pile on the floor for the DQ. This was, in many ways, a limp dick finish. I get that the goal was to get Thunder over as a monster, and I have no issue with that. This is your biggest show of the year, have the dude run through some fools like some gas station sushi after you deliver some great action. I generally hate DQ/non-finishes on major events and or PPV, and I felt the same here.

From just a “pure wrestling” aspect, the Caballera contra Caballera match between El Barbaro Cavernario and Rey Cometa was the best match on the show. They hit the first two falls really quickly, under five-minutes, and then went bat shit for fall three. I’ve heard people compare this to a video game or a highlight reel, but it was just awesome. If you’re a fan of high flying and fast paced, you will love this. The opening parts of the card were fine, but this was like they turned up the volume to 11 and just went balls to the wall. Unlike WWE, the hair vs. hair stipulation was not only taken seriously, but was also properly delivered upon. Rey Cometa came off as a big time star here, which was the whole goal of this.

In the semi-main event, Negro Casas & Shocker beat La Mascara & Rush to retain the tag team titles. They did a good job of cooling the crowd down a bit, but not losing them while delivering a quality tag team match. This didn’t have the spectacular moves of the prior match and lost something in the third fall with missed spots. Shocker reportedly suffered a concussion I just found out, so that likely explains it. The match still was good overall, and Rush comes off as a big star.

The Mascara contra Mascara featuring Atlantis vs. Ultimo Guerrero was a tremendous piece of business, and really came off as everything that was right in the world of wrestling. This came off as big time, with the venue, the crowd, and the big entrances filled with dancers. These men, who had been feuding and setting this up for years, battled for 20 plus minutes and delivered a very good match. But on top of the match was the fact that they had the crowd, they had them in the palm of their hands and the performers never lost that, they constantly controlled the crowd. The final fall was just everything I could want as a wrestling fan, culmination with Atlantis making Ultimo Guerrero submit so that there could be no controversy. I loved the work, I loved how they sold the emotion and important of the mask, and the post match was powerful. There were women crying, fans throwing money to the performers, and Guerrero removing his mask and handing it to Atlantis. Atlantis cut a promo about all of the masks he has taken, but noted that Guerrero’s was the most important. This was a very good match but an overall amazing moment.

Overall: While I am not a regular viewer, I found the CMLL 81st Anniversary show to be a tremendous event. We had a great mix of old and new talent, with the Lucha staples of the Caballera contra Caballera and Mascara contra Mascara delivering on every level. The main matches delivered and felt important, everything else was either fine or good and the show felt fun and easy to watch. Thumbs up for sure.

What you have to see: Atlantis vs. Ultimo Guerrero, El Barbaro Cavernario vs. Rey Cometa

Score: 8.0

As a reminder, I will be going by the 411 scale…

0 – 0.9: Torture
1 – 1.9: Extremely Horrendous
2 – 2.9: Very Bad
3 – 3.9: Bad
4 – 4.9: Poor
5 – 5.9: Not So Good
6 – 6.9: Average
7 – 7.9: Good
8 – 8.9:Very Good
9 – 9.9: Amazing
10: Virtually Perfect

As a reminder, this is not a basic “how good was the show” number like a TV show, as I have always felt that a PPV is very different from a regular show. I have always judged PPV on how they built to a match, the match quality, crowd reactions to matches and angles, the overall booking, how the PPV leads into the future, PPV price and so on and so forth. I have added this in here for an explanation since so many have asked, and I have previously discussed it on podcasts. I understand that this may seem different, but that is how I grade. Obviously your criteria may be different.

By: Jack Stevenson
Raw 9.22.14:
QUICK MATCH RESULTS:
* Dolph Ziggler d. The Miz to become the NEEEEEEEEEEWWW INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPION!
* Jack Swagger d. Bo Dallas
* Natalya d. Summer Rae
* Dean Ambrose d. Kane
* The Usos & Sheamus d. Cesaro & The Dusts
* Rusev d. Mark Henry
* Adam Rose & The Bunny d. Slator Gator
* AJ Lee d. Nikki Bella
* John Cena d. Randy Orton

THE RIGHT:
Dean Ambrose related fun : The Lunatic Fringe had the privilege of opening Raw this week which was refreshing after weeks of it being Cena or Lesnar or the entire Authority en masse. He cut a typically loopy and wildly entertaining promo about his return and his intention to beat the heck out of Seth Rollins, but John Cena had something to say about that, because after Rollins cost him the WWE Championship at Night of Champions, Cena also wanted to get his hands on Mr. Money in the Bank. The Authority then came down to ringside and the fan favourites immediately went for Rollins, chasing him to the parking lot where he commandeered a car and fled into the night. It was a pretty exciting and chaotic start to the show with lots and lots packed into it, it almost feels as if Ambrose isn’t interested in adapting to different situations and instead prefers to make the different situations adapt to him, which is why a standard opening promo turns into a crazy chase across the whole arena and ends with Dean trying to cling onto the back of a moving car. It wouldn’t be the last we’d hear of Mr. Ambrose either…

Dolph Ziggler vs. The Miz: While the logic behind switching the Intercontinental Title twice in two nights can definitely be questioned, it did at least give a reason for this barn-burner of an opening match to happen. It’s not anything that’ll be remembered in a year’s time, but there’s nothing wrong with just a simple, light, well constructed match with some good near falls and a rewarding finish. Ziggler’s strength lies in his manic energy and Miz’s in his appreciation of sports entertainment so the slower early stages were never going to be that important, but they got through it just fine and put a couple of nice spots in for good measure, particularly Miz’s neckbreaker across the ring apron. The final stretch was excellent, with a dramatic figure four hold and finisher kick-outs that didn’t reach Angle levels of excess and then a smooth, exciting exchange of roll-ups for the finish. Good, solid, pro wrestling, and it’s nice, if strange, to see the title back on Dolph’s waste so soon. Oh, and Damian Mizdow was typically great at ringside. This continued the show’s early momentum very very well.

More Dean Ambrose related fun: The main event of Raw was a decent encounter between John Cena and Randy Orton that suffered from the fact that literally no one in the world wants to see those two wrestle again, I’d imagine that even excitable children that have only been viewers for a matter of weeks or months get a strange, inexplicable compulsion to chant “RANDY SAVAGE!” and “END THIS MATCH!” whenever these two compete. It’s not Cena or Orton’s fault especially, but this rivalry has gone beyond played out. Still, we can put all that aside because the match was at least entirely competent, and the post match shenanigans were lots of goofy fun. All match, Kane and Seth Rollins (who had returned to the arena for the Ambrose-Kane match) had been at ringside observing proceedings, and Rollins had promised a pleasant surprise for Orton in exchange for his help with John Cena. That surprise seemed to be a black box of cinder blocks, but when the Authority attempted to use it on Cena, they found out it was in fact Dean Ambrose! This was despite the fact Ambrose was supposed to be locked in a broom cupboard guarded by four security guards after he attacked Rollins again backstage. I found his illogical escape quite endearing though, I think the idea is that Ambrose is such a deranged rebel that he won’t even submit to the laws of reason or physics. He helped Cena run through the Authority and the two stood shoulder to uneasy shoulder to end the show. This was predictable in the good way, they’d been building all evening to Ambrose getting some more revenge by repeatedly showing him trapped in the broom room, and when he did appear there was a nice sense of expectation being fulfilled. The symmetry of the show starting and ending with Cena and Ambrose fighting together was pretty cool as well. This worked very well on the whole.

puRgatoRy:
Natalya vs. Summer Rae: This was fine for a Divas match, short and not even remotely embarrassing. Summer Rae apparently has a character again, and that character is “mean lady with blonde hair,” which is pretty groundbreaking stuff I’m sure you’ll agree.

Sheamus & The Usos vs. The Cosmic Twins & Cesaro: This was nowhere near as good as last week’s effort and I really can’t remember much that happened in it, but I’m almost certain it was a thoroughly OK effort. It didn’t have the same energy as it did last week but it was a rematch that didn’t really have any reason to exist so I don’t think that’s all that shocking. The fact this even took place suggests at least one of the feuds within it will be continuing till Hell in a Cell and that’s fine, they’re both pretty good.

Adam Rose & The Bunny vs. Slater Gator: OK, in all honestly this was no more or less dumb than all the other bunny related stuff we’ve endured over the past few weeks, and I’ve stoically being filing all that in the ‘Wrong,’ but, hey, I quite liked the surreal image of a giant bunny nailing Slater with a picture perfect missile dropkick. That’s all it takes to make it into purgatory, really. It’s a wonder that I even put things in the wrong every week.

The wRong:
Jack Swagger vs. Bo Dallas: More or less identical in spirit to last week’s match, and I don’t know why I thought the feud with Swagger might be a good little step for Dallas to take. After a reasonably promising start the rivalry has gone nowhere fast and has left both men in limbo. Dallas’ character has already reached its natural conclusion (he crows about how his opponents need to bo-lieve, doesn’t do so himself in tapping out to a submission hold) and that’s kind of alarming.

Dean Ambrose vs. Kane: Part 2 of 4 in Dean Ambrose’s night, and definitely the least interesting. Kane seems almost totally incapable of having a match that can’t be described as ‘uninspiring’ these days and he dragged Ambrose down with him for a sludgy match of dull punching and kicking. It’s also disappointing that Dean couldn’t beat the (Big Red) Machine clean, winning via DQ after Seth Rollins ran in having apparently returned to the arena. I think Ambrose is absolutely ready to be an A++++++ player, but he needs to, y’know, win a match from time to time, it’s utterly bizarre how WWE treat him like such a big deal until the bell actually rings, at which point he probably gets overtaken by Adam Rose in terms of wins and losses.

Mark Henry vs. Rusev: We’re reaching the stage where serious consideration needs to be given to the idea of ending Rusev’s undefeated streak. He’s emphatically taken out two reasonably prestigious opponents in Jack Swagger and Mark Henry but he’s not looked capable enough to be fed a genuinely big name and, even if he had, there’s no obvious one available. This match was dull and quiet, the fans didn’t seem to want to see it and neither competitor really looked like they wanted to wrestle in it. Rusev in the end made Henry pass out to the Accolade. No Lana promo this week though! Bonus!

More Bellas Shit: So Nikki Bella apparently now wants Brie to give up the Bella name, which is such a bizarre and arbitrary desire for her to have, and has turned this feud into a baffling cross between a vapid reality TV show and the split up of Harlem Heat in 2000 where Booker had to surrender his ‘T.’ Next week- Nikki pledges to forgive Brie if she removes her appendix and presentss it to Nikki on a smart red cushion. Also, AJ Lee went one on one with Nikki and it was not good. It started out OK with AJ in control but deteriorated when she wasn’t and by the finishing stretch the match was beyond repair. At least the Divas Champ retained, but neither of these segments approached good.

THE RIDICULOUS:
NOTHING

THE RAW MATCH OF THE YEAR LIST:
No change.

1. 2.17.14- John Cena vs. Cesaro
2. 3.03.14- The Shield vs. The Wyatt Family
3. 5.5.14- The Shield vs. The Wyatt Family
4. 2.03.14- Daniel Bryan vs. Randy Orton
5. 2.10.14- Sheamus & Christian vs. The Real Americans
6. 1.27.14- John Cena, Sheamus & Daniel Bryan vs. The Shield
7. 6.2.14- The Usos vs. The Wyatt Family
8. 8.18.14- Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins
9. 4.21.14- Sheamus vs. Bad News Barrett
10. 5.5.14- Daniel Bryan vs. Alberto Del Rio

The 411:
The show long saga of Dean Ambrose was really good fun and gave this Raw a lot of positives, there was a real sense of purpose about the show considering it wasn’t even fully written when it went on air, and Ambrose feels closer to the main event than he ever has before. There was too much filler in between those segments for it to be a properly good Raw but it was still much better than last week’s and gives me hope that the build to Hell in a Cell might be more bearable than first feared. The thumbs are going in the right direction.

Show Rating: 6.5

As a reminder, I will be going by the 411 scale…

0 – 0.9: Torture
1 – 1.9: Extremely Horrendous
2 – 2.9: Very Bad
3 – 3.9: Bad
4 – 4.9: Poor
5 – 5.9: Not So Good
6 – 6.9: Average
7 – 7.9: Good
8 – 8.9:Very Good
9 – 9.9: Amazing
10: Virtually Perfect

The 925th edition is over…

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