Wrestling’s 4Rs: The Right, The Wrong and The Ridiculous of WWE 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.

By: Jack Stevenson
Raw 11.10.14:
QUICK MATCH RESULTS:
* Seth Rollins d. Jack Swagger
* Paige d. Alicia Fox
* Rusev d. Sheamus
* The Miz & Damian Sandow d. Los Matadores
* Dolph Ziggler d. Mark Henry via DQ
* AJ d. Brie Bella
* Tyson Kidd d. Adam Rose
* John Cena d. Ryback via DQ

THE RIGHT:
Ryback makes his mind up (sort of): Raw kicked off with a prolonged talking segment, which usually spells bad news, but so refreshing and intriguing is the build to Survivor Series that I actually quite liked it. John Cena and the Authority were both keen to add Ryback to their Survivor Series’ teams, and passionately outlined reasons why he would be better off in their respective squads. ‘The Big Guy’ pondered the offers, before reminding everyone that John Cena doesn’t sign his paychecks and dropping him with a crushing spinebuster, seemingly confirming that he’d be siding with The Authority. A really really great thing about headlining with a traditional 5 on 5 match this year is that, because WWE doesn’t have anywhere near 10 established main eventers, they’re being forced to shunt midcarders with promise into main event positions and hoping they swim rather than sink. This is kind of a microcosm of the attitude that made the likes of Steve Austin, The Rock and Mick Foley into stars, and while I’m obviously not suggesting that Ziggler, Swagger and Ryback are going to get even close to their level any time soon, the process of urgently elevating talent can be pretty fun in its own right. It was really good to see Ryback be treated like an actual star for the first time in over a year, and he did well in his admittedly limited role in this segment- look menacing, don’t give too much away, and deliver a great spinebuster. Plus, team based intrigue and faction warfare is infinitely more interesting than the alternative program which would probably be John Cena battling the Authority single handedly on the way to a match with Seth Rollins, with occasional involvement from the Usos maybe. As far as promos go this didn’t set the world on fire or anything, but it was a unique and broadly entertaining start to the show.

John Cena vs. Ryback: I found this much more enjoyable than it sounds on paper, partially because it was a well constructed, relatively fresh big man match with no major lulls (I mean, it went on a little too long, but it was never actively boring) and partially because it was a satisfying conclusion to the defining theme of this week’s Raw, Ryback’s choice. Initially, Ryback was all about the Authority, but then over the course of the evening he came to the conclusion that actually they were all a bunch of fucking dickheads, and he needed to switch sides. This decision was crystallized for him when Kane needlessly intervened in his match to attack Cena and caused the DQ- he squared up to the Big Red Monster and then attacked attempted peacemaker Seth Rollins. Everything kind of disintegrated from there into a big crazy brawl with all the Survivor Series competitors (APART FROM DOLPH ZIGGLER HMMMM I WONDER WHY,) until Ryback cleared the ring of all the bad guys and marched triumphantly to the back. I kind of think the idea of building to a big multi-man match by having everyone involved in it brawl in the ring is a bit cliché now unless it’s a really, really fiery brawl, but it set the stage nicely for Ryback to complete his transformation and be the hero. It was nice to watch The Big Guy’s slow evolution from villain to hero over the course of the evening, and kind of satisfying to know where it was leading even if the Authority were oblivious. Mostly though, it was just good to see WWE executing such a satisfying story- it was short and very basic, but it didn’t need to be anything more, and Ryback now feels a properly big deal and a huge asset to Team Cena.

Epilogue: This was such a tiny segment to end the show I wouldn’t usually give it its own write-up, but I did really like it. So HHH and Stephanie are watching appalled in their office as Ryback dismantles their Survivor Series team, when DOLPH ZIGGLER’S LIFELESS CARCASS (remember how we were all wondering earlier where he’d got to) was roughly deposited in front of them by… Luke Harper. He then told them he was a “team player” in the most brilliantly unsettling voice, displaying more acting ability in one sentence than his boss displayed across two awful, awful films. This was such an exciting, dramatic twist to end the episode on. Harper is a hell of a talent and it’s great that he’s parachuting right into the main event scene, I’m really intrigued to see how he’ll develop without Bray.

puRgatoRy:
Jack Swagger vs. Seth Rollins: This was a decent enough opener, but I’d thought it would have been better. They seemed to settle early on for just going through the motions, and the crowd’s response was justifiably muted. Jack Swagger certainly suffered from being the only member of the Survivor Series main event that they didn’t even attempt to rehabilitate into a serious threat- they just shoehorned him onto Cena’s team with precious little fanfare, giving the overwhelming impression that he’s just there to make up the numbers. It was no surprise he was soon written out of the match. There were a smattering of nice moments in this, I particularly liked Rollins leaping off the barricade and propelling Swagger into the ring post while Noble and Mercury caused the distraction, there is no single moment that better illustrates Seth’s current character than that one. Mostly though this was inoffensively forgettable.

Paige vs. Alicia Fox: This was entirely competent, and it was nice to see Paige allowed to make the most of her return to her home country, earning a warm response from the crowd and winning in convincing fashion. It’s kind of a shame, though, that the most you can ask for from a Divas’ match in 2014 is “nobody in the match was needlessly embarrassed, either by the booking or their own natural inability to perform the wrestling.”

Los Matadores vs. The Miz & Damian Sandow: This was OK. I mean, you read the participants of this match and then find out it took place roughly in the middle of Raw, and you don’t expect all that much to begin with. It was an energetic little match, and Miz’s teasing of the Liverpool crowd by refusing to tag in Sandow was an entertaining bit of heel work. I hope Hornswoggle doesn’t become a permanent mascot for the A-Listers, because if so that would be fucking hideous.

Dolph Ziggler vs. Mark Henry: I feel this match would absolutely rule the whole school if it was given team to develop, and I’d be super interested in a Smackdown rematch. Ziggler bumping all over the place for Henry, who is fierce hungry for some wig splitting. Tell me that wouldn’t kick all the arse. What we actually got was a brief, vaguely promising encounter which ended rather disappointingly in a limp DQ finish, and with the Big Show coming to the aid of the Dolphzel in Distress. Having been made to look like a big deal last time out, Ziggler spent most of this week lurching around being beaten up while Triple H scoffed at him, which isn’t brilliant booking. Still, give us the Ziggler-Henry match and make it sloppy as heck in the good way and everything will be redeemed.

The wRong:
Rusev vs. Sheamus: All too often Rusev’s segments are plagued by predictability, and that was certainly the case here. Before the match started The Bulgarian Brute was given a special ceremony to commemorate his U.S. Championship victory, and you just knew how that would transpire; the indy wrestlers/Russian diplomats would have questionable accents and Sheamus or an equivalent fan favorite would interrupt it before it could finish. As for the match itself, there was no way Sheamus would end the undefeated streak of Rusev and regain his championship so abruptly, and while both wrestlers have their strengths, they’re not really flashy enough to suck people into a match where the outcome is in no doubt. The bout felt meandering and needlessly long, even though it wasn’t even all that lengthy. There were some cool moments of raw power sprinkled in all the sludgy punching and kicking, but it wasn’t enough to make this part of the show anything more than an opportunity for Liverpool to get all its snarky smarky chants out of its system. Later on, Rusev would join Team Authority, Sheamus Team Cena.

Adam Rose vs. Tyson Kidd: If I ever start to think I know loads and loads about how the wrestling works, remind me that I was convinced Rose would be receiving reactions like the ones he gets in the U.K every single week in all the cities across the world. If that had happened, I doubt he would be feuding with his own fucking bunny. You can tell a feud is bad when the announcers are more invested in it than it is humanly possible to be, and that’s the case here. On the plus side, Tyson Kidd’s recent mini revival is semi promising; a pinfall or submission victory over a stronger talent would be a huge step in the right direction for him. Also, Erick Rowan came to ringside looking for a lady but was unable to find her.

THE RIDICULOUS:
NOTHING

THE RAW MATCH OF THE YEAR LIST:
No change.

* 3.03.14- The Shield vs. The Wyatt Family
* 2.17.14- John Cena vs. Cesaro
* 5.5.14- The Shield vs. The Wyatt Family
* 2.03.14- Daniel Bryan vs. Randy Orton
* 2.10.14- Sheamus & Christian vs. The Real Americans
* 1.27.14- John Cena, Sheamus & Daniel Bryan vs. The Shield
* 6.2.14- The Usos vs. The Wyatt Family
* 27.10.14- John Cena vs. Seth Rollins
* 8.18.14- Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins
* 4.21.14- Sheamus vs. Bad News Barrett

The 411:
It wasn’t on the level of last week’s show, with waaaaay too much filler in the midcard and very little quality wrestling, but putting all their eggs in the Traditional Survivor Series match basket is paying dividends for WWE, creatively at least. It’s giving the main scene impressive drive and focus, and leading to fun mini stories, most notably Ryback’s one tonight. The last fortnight’s TV has been so so much better than it usually is at this time of year, and there’s even signs that they might be able to extend this into the traditionally quiet Christmas period- Ambrose-Wyatt has barely begun, Randy Orton is lurking on the horizon for Seth Rollins, and guys like Ryback and Luke Harper are being used in different, intriguing ways. It’s hardly a 1997 level artistic renaissance, but it’s making for pretty watchable TV at the moment.

Show Rating: 6.8

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 937th edition is over…