Live from Anaheim, California this is the Raw Deal for episode #1056. Follow me on Twitter @johnreport.
Before we begin, be sure to read my WWE SummerSlam 2013 Review. I thought it was the best WWE PPV this year and well worth your time if you missed it. Check it out now.
There were some images from SummerSlam that focused on the CM Punk/Brock Lesnar match won by Lesnar. It also featured the Daniel Bryan/John Cena match that ended with Randy Orton as WWE Champion after cashing in the Money in the Bank briefcase on Bryan thanks to the heel turn of Triple H.
The former WWE Champion John Cena started off the show with a promo. No brace on his left elbow. Cena thanked Daniel Bryan for bringing out the best in him. Cena revealed that the ball on his elbow is the result of a torn triceps. He said he wasn’t using the injury as an excuse – he was defeated by a better man in a clean fight. Cena had a black eye too – he thanked Bryan for that. He said as he was getting his arm looked at some “yokel” told him what happened with Orton winning the WWE Champ. Cena said he can’t put off his surgery any longer and tonight he leaves WWE. Crowd chanted “yes” at that. He said it was 4-6 months. Cena said before he leaves he wanted to introduce us to a man that deserved to be called champion. It’s Daniel Bryan.
Analysis: No Cena for 4-6 months? That’s huge. Of course it’s Cena so he could be back early in 2-3 months. He’s a freak.
Daniel Bryan entered the arena to a huge ovation and loud “yes” chants. Cena left. Loud “Daniel Bryan (clap clap clap)” show of support by the crowd. Before Bryan could speak, Stephanie McMahon’s music started up. Stephanie looked very nice in a leather skirt and business jacket. Just saying.
Stephanie said she’s sorry for Bryan because Bryan deserved the WWE Title. The crowd booed her. She said that her husband COO Triple H was just doing what was best for business. Crowd chanted “no” at that. Bryan said it seemed like the people there disagreed what was best for business. Bryan said that Triple H was a rebel as the leader of DX, but now he’s in a suit. Bryan: “When you lie down with trash, sooner or later you start to stink.” Good line as he pointed at Stephanie. Bryan told her that he was not afraid of being fired. Before he leaves he’s going to get his money’s worth. He didn’t care if it was Triple H or Randy Orton, he’s really going to give her a reason to fire him. Stephanie said nobody wanted to fire him and his anger management issues were clearly showing here. She claimed she needed to manage his expectations. She insulted the fans by saying that the fans didn’t understand the business. She insulted his appearance too, but also said that the WWE Universe loved him. Stephanie: “You might not be an A, but you are a B+.” The crowd booed. Bryan said that Stephanie reminded him of a word that started with B. Some in the crowd chanted “bitch.” They knew. Oh yeah they knew. Bryan said he can be WWE Champion and he didn’t care what Stephanie thought. He knocked the microphone out of Stephanie’s hand. She got another one from ringside. Stephanie told him to calm down. She called for security to come down and told them to escort Bryan from the building. Loud “Daniel Bryan” chants from the fans. Bryan yelled “no” and so did the crowd as he walked up the ramp. The show went to break there.
Analysis: This was so reminiscent of a Steve Austin/Vince McMahon segment that we saw many times in the 1998-1999 years. Of course that was 15 years ago so it’s not like it’s something we see all the time anymore. It’s just weird to see Stephanie in a heel role again after being a babyface in recent months. Bryan did an awesome job of standing up to her, telling her that he didn’t care what he had to do because he was going to be WWE Champion again. The whole thing was a 15 minute promo segment that set things up well for the future. No Cena for 4-6 months is a big deal, but I think with guys like Bryan and Punk as top babyfaces WWE is going to be fine.
(Commercial)
The announcers are Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler and John Bradshaw Layfield.
Damien Sandow vs. Cody Rhodes
This is a SummerSlam rematch. Neither guy got a televised entrance. Rhodes won at SummerSlam and he was in control early on as he hit a suplex outside the ring. After they went back into the ring, Sandow shoved Rhodes outside the ring. Sandow gave Rhodes an arm wringer off the top rope. Sandow remained in control in the ring as they went to break four minutes into the match.
(Commercial)
Back from break, Sandow hit a Russian Legsweep followed by the Elbow of Disdain. There was a big “SILENCE” sign in the crowd. They fought by the turnbuckle, so Rhodes got the momentum back with a moonsault off the top. There was a “Cody” chant for him. Back body drop by Rhodes followed by clotheslines and then an uppercut punch before getting a two count. Sandow countered Cross Rhodes with a neckbreaker. Rhodes came back with a Disaster Kick, which is my favorite move that he does. Sandow whipped Rhodes in the corner. Rhodes came back with a rollup into a pin for the victory after 11 minutes. Rhodes told the announcers he should be #1 contender to the World Title.
Winner: Cody Rhodes
Analysis: **1/4 Good match. It was about four minutes longer than their SummerSlam match, so that was good to see. It was too slow in the early going, but the crowd got into it after the break. Sandow has barely won since he won the Money in the Bank briefcase and now Rhodes has two clean wins over him on back to back nights. This time he didn’t win with a finish. Instead it was a rollup.
Raw GM Brad Maddox read some quotes of Dolph Ziggler saying he didn’t really trust Triple H. Maddox said because Ziggler is a show off he wanted him to show off in a 3 on 1 handicap match against The Shield.
Analysis: The idea is Triple H is a heel, so anybody that talks about him will be punished. Maddox is the puppet as GM.
Paul Heyman, with a sling on his left arm, walked backstage as he headed to the ring for a promo.
(Commercial)
Paul Heyman was in the ring to deliver a promo with the aforementioned sling on his left arm. He said that last night at SummerSlam, CM Punk was defeated by Brock Lesnar. Heyman said that Punk gave Lesnar all that Brock could handle. Heyman claimed that it was time to end this family feud because he’s been more of a father to CM Punk than the man that sired him in Chicago. Heyman said it was time for forgiveness: “CM Punk – I forgive you.” When Punk apologizes to him, he will take him back. Heyman: “CM Punk, I still love you.” Heyman said that he’ll take Punk back to the WWE Championship and to the main event of WrestleMania. He ended it by saying “we will be the best in the world.” JBL said it was a noble gesture. Heel announcers rule.
Analysis: I was surprised to not hear Punk’s music for the interference, but it was fine without him. It was simply Heyman trying to extend an olive branch back to his buddy. Will it work? Of course not. Punk got his hands on Heyman at SummerSlam, but he didn’t do enough yet. That will happen soon, I’m sure.
The Funkadactyls were stretching backstage. The Bellas showed up to talk trash to them. I can’t say I cared enough to get the details of this.
We’ll get a WWE Championship coronation for Randy Orton later.
(Commercial)
The Funkadactlys vs. Layla & AJ Lee
Layla and AJ attacked early. AJ hit a neckbreaker on Naomi. AJ hit a spinning kick to the jaw for two. AJ applied a sleeper. Naomi couldn’t make the tag, so she hit a jumping kick to the head of AJ. Layla tagged in and knocked Cameron off the apron. That allowed Naomi to roll up Layla to win the match. It went about three minutes.
Winners: The Funkadactyls
Analysis: 1/2* It was a boring match. Cameron never tagged in because they know she’s not very good. Naomi’s solid, but she didn’t get much offense in aside from the kick to the head.
Dolph Ziggler walked backstage for his 3 on 1 handicap match.
(Commercial)
Plug Time: On Tuesday at 10pmET it’s a two hour edition of TJRWrestling Radio as we are joined by former WWE referee currently from Sportsnet 360 Jimmy Korderas and Arda Ocal of the Baltimore Sun & Layfield Report to talk SummerSlam and everything else related to WWE. You can listen to it live here or use the same link to listen to it any time at your own convenience. It’s on iTunes here too.
They aired a clip of John Cena’s promo earlier. I forgot to mention when he said that doctors told him to have surgery before the match on Sunday, but he refused. As mentioned it’s a torn triceps that needs surgery and he’s out 4-6 months, which likely means we can pencil in Cena for the Royal Rumble. There was also a clip of Daniel Bryan being escorted out of the building even though he barely did anything.
Dolph Ziggler vs. The Shield (Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns & Seth Rollins)
It’s the top of hour two as this match began with Ambrose starting off for his team. Rollins tagged in for his team, which led to Ziggler hitting a back body drop. This would be an awesome feud. Two of the best athletes in WWE. Reigns hit a clothesline to knock down Ziggler and he made the tag into the match. Reigns whipped Ziggler hard into their corner as The Shield took turns attacking Ziggler. JBL said that Ziggler had to learn what he can and can’t say about his boss Triple H. The Shield made quick tags as they took turns going after Ziggler until Ziggler broke free with a jawbreaker on Ambrose. After Reigns tagged in, Ziggler hit a dropkick on him and then a neckbreaker. Fameasser by Ziggler on Reigns. He sent Rollins and Ambrose to the floor. Ziggler got a two count, but Rollins broke it up. Ziggler gave Rollins a suplex over the top to the floor. Rollins was grabbing his knee. That’s a painful looking bump. Ziggler went for a corner splash, but Reigns hit Ziggler with a Spear in mid-air. Great spot. He covered for the win after six minutes.
Winners: The Shield
Analysis: *1/2 It was predictable. Ziggler showed some heart, but there was no way he was beating those three and that’s fine. The point of this was to show that you shouldn’t cross the boss, who is obviously Triple H in this case. The finishing move by Reigns was amazing. Ziggler leaped in the air for the splash and Reigns absolutely destroyed him. Good ending to the match.
Post match, The Shield gave Ziggler a Triple Powerbomb. Rollins was still favoring his left leg. Hopefully it’s not a serious injury.
Still to come is Randy Orton’s WWE Championship coronation.
(Commercial)
Michael Cole mentioned that it was show #1056 of Raw. I got it right at the top of the column. To be fair, I only started keeping track when it was around #995 or so. Alberto Del Rio had a black eye. The story goes that he and Drew McIntyre were in bar when a couple of guys started trouble with them. They didn’t fight each other. Del Rio got hit and McIntyre tried to help him.
Alberto Del Rio vs. Sin Cara
This is non-title. Sin Cara hit a dive outside the ring and he landed on his wrist. The WWE doctor checked on him immediately. Del Rio wanted to attack, but the ref stopped him. The match stopped there with Sin Cara injured apparently. It went about one minute.
Winner: Alberto Del Rio
Analysis: They must have been able to tell Sin Cara seriously hurt his wrist because they ended that rather quickly. He’s been very injury prone during his WWE career.
After the match, Del Rio said he finally gave the Latinos somebody to cheer for. Nice “Free Sabin” sign in the crowd. There are other people in that company that should be freed up too.
Ricardo Rodriguez showed up on the ramp with a microphone. He wondered if Del Rio remembered him. He told Del Rio he wasn’t a hero to him, the people or the Latino community. Rodriguez said he was very happy he doesn’t have to represent Del Rio anymore. In fact he represents somebody new. Somebody that will stand for people: Rob Van Dam. I was thinking Rey Mysterio, but I guess not.
RVD went into the ring and knocked down Del Rio with a kick to the face. He went to the top for the Five Star Frog Splash, but Del Rio slipped out of the ring. Del Rio left while the crowd cheered loudly for RVD.
Analysis: Good segment. If you’ll recall, RVD beat Del Rio clean a couple of weeks ago so it makes sense that he is the next contender for the World Title. I’m not sure about Ricardo managing RVD or if that was just a one time thing, but we’ll see in the future.
We’ll hear from CM Punk later.
(Commercial)
Zeb Colter was in the ring with the Real Americans Antonio Cesaro & Jack Swagger, who were ready for a match. Colter did a promo about how his team represents what is good about America unlike the people in that town. He said what made them happy in Disneyland was leaving it. “We The People.”
Prime Time Players vs. Antonio Cesaro & Jack Swagger (w/Zeb Colter)
Darren Young made a lot of news for coming out as a homosexual and it looks like the team is being positioned as babyfaces. They are on the side facing the camera where the babyface team usually is. I would have had PTPers cut off Colter by doing a promo where they said something funny and that would be more babyface-like than doing nothing. Swagger got his feet up to knock down O’Neil. Swagger & Cesaro isolated O’Neil in their corner. O’Neil was able to hit a big Spinebuster on Swagger. Young did his best to fire up the crowd and they cheered. Young got the hot tag. He hit an overhead suplex on Cesaro. Northern Lights Suplex by Young on Cesaro got two as Swagger broke it up. O’Neil and Swagger were sent outside the ring. Young hit his finisher the Gut Check (knee to the ribs after dropping him from his shoulders) and that was enough to win the match after six minutes.
Winners: Prime Time Players
Analysis: ** They need more babyface teams, so it was smart to turn the PTPers face since they are a team that has a lot of personality and charisma. The crowd cheered them throughout the match. Young did a great job after the hot tag. The Gut Check finisher is something he used on NXT too and I’m glad to see him get a win on Raw with it. They are potential opponents for The Shield for the tag titles in the near future. The announcers made no mention of the press Young received for coming out late last week. I don’t think they should have. It’s not part of storylines.
Backstage, Renee Young interviewed Big Show who said he wanted to team up with Mark Henry to go after the tag titles. Maddox showed up. He kicked out Renee. Maddox set up a handicap match for later with The Shield against Big Show with the stipulation that The Shield would be allowed in the ring at the same time. Show asked Maddox if he wanted to do that to The Shield. Show didn’t lack confidence.
(Commercial)
Backstage, Zack Ryder & Justin Gabriel were with a dude from Foot Locker as they shilled some merchandise since Foot Locker is obviously a sponsor now. Fandango and Summer Rae danced in the scene as Zack and Justin left. Fandango took some sneakers because he was told he could dance with them.
Analysis: Blatant shilling segment.
There was a video package of some of the highlights from SummerSlam. Same thing we saw at the start of the show.
Three indy jobbers were in the locker room changing. Ryback told two of them to leave. He told one of them to pick up his bag, so he tossed it. He told him to pick up the bag, then he threw it. They were in the shower. Ryback told him to turn on the water. Ryback slapped the guy. He made him turn on the water, which meant that the guys clothes got wet. Ryback told him to get out of the locker room. He laughed at him. Lawler made a Be A Star reference after it was over.
Analysis: I wonder if these segments will lead to something. Perhaps he’ll do it to somebody on the roster, that person will fight back and they’ll get a feud out of it. There has to be a reason for this other than wasting a few minutes with Ryback being a bully.
The smiling babyface Big Show made his entrance for his match against The Shield. They went to break.
(Commercial)
Big Show vs. The Shield
The Shield didn’t have to tag out in this match. Show threw Reigns outside the ring. Rollins looks to be fine from earlier after that knee injury scare. Show threw Ambrose outside the ring and then he threw Rollins out again. Rollins grabbed his knee again. When Reigns came back into the ring, Show took him down with Spear. The crowd was chanting for Big Show. Ambrose jumped on Show’s back, but Show dropped back on him so his weight went on top of Ambrose. Show stood on top of Rollins before throwing him out again. Show hit a corner splash on Ambrose followed by a shoulder tackle. Rollins clipped the knee, which led to Ambrose hitting a dropkick and Rollins hit a flying knee attack off the top rope. Show hit a suplex on Rollins and Ambrose. Reigns entered the ring to take down Show with a Spear. The Shield worked together to pick Show up and Reigns dropped him for the Triple Powerbomb. All three men covered Show to win the match after six minutes.
Winners: The Shield
Analysis: ** It’s not easy to have a competitive 3 on 1 match, but they did a really good job of it with Show getting in a lot of offense before succumbing to the numbers game. The crowd was into it. There were even some believable nearfalls from both guys. I enjoyed the match. What will be interesting is if there’s some kind of alliance involving Triple H, Randy Orton and The Shield. I would definitely approve of that.
Post match, Big Show was slow to get out of the ring.
It’s the top of hour three coming up, so CM Punk is next.
(Commercial)
CM Punk entered the arena to a thunderous ovation. Punk went into the ring to talk about what Paul Heyman said earlier in the night. Then he yelled at a fan in the front row that was booing him and said he wanted a fight. The crowd cheered Punk’s passion. Punk spoke about how Heyman wanted an apology, so he told Heyman to come out there face to face because Heyman may just get what he wants.
Heyman entered the arena along with Intercontinental Champion Curtis Axel by his side. Punk says doctors told him he can’t compete, but he’s in his gear because that’s all he knows. Punk said that he’s sorry he took his eyes off of Lesnar to exact revenge on Heyman. “I’m sorry I didn’t take your arm off and take it home with me.” Punk said he’s going to choke Heyman out and take his arm home with him next time. Punk claimed that he would get his revenge on Heyman. Punk referenced the fat guy in the crowd again saying that Heyman should bring the fight to him.
Heyman told Punk he was sorry for what is about to happen to Punk. He told Axel to tape up his hands for a fight tonight. Heyman said he’s not the fat guy in the front row, he’s the guy that can bring Punk a fight. Heyman said that if Punk is still in the ring when they get back from commercial then Axel is going to finish the job that Lesnar started.
Analysis: I loved Punk’s fire in that promo. It was exactly as it should have been. I’m not sure if the booing fan was a plant or not, but Punk went off on the guy. Odd to hear Heyman reference a commercial in his promo. You don’t hear that too often. I’m sure the Executive Producer loves him for it, though.
(Commercial)
Back from break, Punk was seated in a chair inside the ring. Axel came back out with his wrists taped up. Axel wanted to give the IC Title to Heyman, but Heyman didn’t make his way down to ringside.
Punk brawled with Axel in the ring. He slammed Axel’s head into the chair and hit him in the back with a chair. This is not an official match. It’s just a fight. Punk threw Axel outside the ring, but that allowed Axel to come back. Axel threw Punk into the barricade. Heyman was smiling at ringside. Punk gave Axel a back body drop that sent him onto some chairs that the ring announcer sits on. Punk went after Heyman briefly, but then he took out Axel with a dive. Punk hit Axel in the stomach with the ring bell. Back in the ring, Axel attacked the left leg of Punk. Axel attacked Punk’s knee with a steel chair. Axel gave Punk a neckbreaker that ended with Punk landing face first. Heyman was yelling that Punk broke his heart. It’s like Michael talking to Fredo in the Godfather II. Punk fought back with the chair in his hand and he sent Axel out of the ring after a chair shot to the back. Punk whipped Axel into the steel steps twice. Then Punk gave Axel a GTS with Axel’s face bouncing off the top of the steel steps. Punk stared at Heyman as Heyman went up the ramp. Punk’s music played to end this segment that went about eight minutes.
Analysis: It was a good brawl that the crowd was interested in because they wanted to see Punk get his revenge. The reason it wasn’t a match is because Punk said he wasn’t cleared to compete by the doctors, so they just did this brawl instead. I actually thought Axel might win the brawl as a way to make him look strong going into a potential feud with Punk, but Punk ended up dominating Axel by the end of it. I thought it was an effective segment that showed how motivated Punk is. It would have been great if Brock Lesnar was around to continue the feud with Punk, but I doubt we see him again until WrestleMania due to his part time contract with limited dates. I’m not sure if Punk will go after Axel at Night of Champions because the Intercontinental Title is beneath him. He still has to get his hands on Heyman and drop him with a GTS, so I’m interested in seeing where they go with Punk.
Up next is Bray Wyatt in his first match on Raw.
(Commercial)
R-Truth entered the arena to do his “What’s Up” on his way to the ring. As soon as I saw him I wondered who he would lose to. Then Bray Wyatt appeared on the screen with the lamp and we got the answer. “We’re Here.” The Wyatt Family made their entrance in the dark like usual. Wyatt sat in his rocking chair before entering the ring.
Bray Wyatt (w/Luke Harper & Erick Rowan) vs. R-Truth
Truth got a jumping side kick early. Wyatt was able to come back with a running body attack after Harper distracted Truth. Wyatt did his upside down pose in the corner before hitting a clothesline on the other side of the ring. Wyatt ended it with his neckbreaker variation to win. He’s used the name Sister Abigail for it, but the announcers haven’t called it that. It went about one minute.
Winner: Bray Wyatt
Analysis: Three moves by Wyatt and that was it. Or I should say that’s what’s up.
Post match, Wyatt posed over Truth and they went to break.
(Commercial)
There was a video package for matadors. Those are the new gimmicks for Primo and Epico apparently. Their name will be “Los Matadores.” It could be a comedy gimmick. It looks very cheesy. Tito Santana was also booked as El Matador over 20 years ago.
The Usos vs. 3MB (Heath Slater & Jinder Mahal w/Drew McIntyre)
Jimmy was in control of Slater early on, but then McIntyre hit a cheap shot that led to 3MB dominating the action. The crowd wasn’t that interested in this one. Slater got a jumping side kick for a two count. Huge kick to the head by Jimmy led to the hot tag to Jey. I think I got the names right. Jey hit a shoulder tackle on Mahal, who tagged in for his team and then Jey hit a running butt splash in the corner for two. Slater broke it up. Jimmy kicked Slater into McIntyre. Jey hit Mahal with a side kick. Jey hit a dive on Slater & McIntyre while also tagging in his brother. Jimmy hit a top rope splash to win the match after five minutes.
Winners: The Usos
Analysis: *1/2 The last minute was awesome. I’m a huge fan of when the Usos are on offense because they really get the crowd involved. Loved the spot where Jey tagged in Jimmy while he was going over the top. The announcers were putting over the tag division during the finish. That makes me think there will likely be a multi-team tag title match at Night of Champions. Perhaps a three way with The Shield defending against Prime Time Players and Usos. If they add Big Show & Mark Henry to it then it could be a four way feud.
They went to break by letting us know that Randy Orton’s celebration was still to come.
(Commercial)
The Miz entered for a match. Apparently The Miz had fun hosting SummerSlam. What did he do? One promo on the stage and a couple backstage. He barely did anything.
The Miz vs. Wade Barrett
Miz hit his corner clothesline early on and then Barrett came back with a boot to the face. Barrett gave Miz a kick to the face that sent him to the floor. The crowd was hot at the start of the show, but you could tell they were tired by this point after three hours. Miz got a rollup for two. Barrett hit a back elbow. The crowd was chanting “Let’s Go Barrett” or at least a group of them were. Like I said it wasn’t loud for this match. Miz hit a running knee and then a clothesline. Miz kicked Barrett in the thigh and then hit a dropkick. Miz hit a sunset flip and then he applied a Figure Four Leg Lock in the center of the ring. Fandango ran down to the ring and hit a leg drop off the top rope. The match ended via DQ after about five minutes.
Winner: The Miz via DQ
Fandango danced with Summer Rae to end the segment.
Analysis: *1/2 It was pretty average. At least Miz worked on the leg a bit before going for the Figure Four. If you missed SummerSlam then you missed how Fandango kept interrupting Miz. It wasn’t that entertaining, but it happened. This was about Fandango getting revenge after Miz knocked him down at SummerSlam.
Backstage, Maddox told Stephanie that Daniel Bryan was back in the building. Stephanie said good and thanked him for the update.
Analysis: Welcome back to Daniel. We missed you for the past two and a half hours.
(Commercial)
Main Event WWE Championship Celebration
Vince McMahon and Stephanie McMahon were in the ring. Triple H entered the ring to boos. The roster was standing at the top of the ramp while The Shield were standing by at ringside. They acted as security for this segment. Vince said he was proud of his son-in-law Triple H who did the right thing. Vince: “In the end you saw the light.”
Triple H said this is where people think he’s going to explain himself, but instead he said we were short sighted. He did what he did last night to ensure the future of WWE. He did what he did for us, our children, their children and the superstars at the top of the ramp. He did it for Vince McMahon, his grandpa, his father and Vince the genius that created this Global Empire. He’s fluent in sucking up. He did it for his wife and their children so WWE would exist in the future. I just saw Teddy Long on the stage. He’s dreaming of a tag match playa. Random observation. Hunter said he likes what Bryan does in the ring and he’s a good technician and he deserved to win at SummerSlam. Hunter: “WWE Champion? Face of the WWE?” The crowd chanted “yes” to that. Hunter told us we deserved better than that. We deserve somebody that’s the complete package – we deserve A+.
Hunter brought up how Bryan had a personal problem with him. He claimed that he didn’t want to hurt Bryan personally. Hunter mentioned there is no love loss with him and Orton. He buried his personal feelings for what was right for us – the fans. Hunter continued to ramble on about what was right for business and it was getting a bit boring, so the crowd chanted “Daniel Bryan” to drown him out. Hunter brought out “the face of WWE” – a coal that is now a diamond – it’s Randy Orton.
Randy Orton walked out with the WWE Title. He entered the ring where he shook the hand of Vince and Triple H. Stephanie gave him a big hug. I actually like how she’s been an over the top heel throughout the show. Orton said “I told you so.” He said when he cashed in we would not see it coming. Didn’t we all predict it? I did. Anyway, Orton said he’s now a ten time World Champion (7 WWE Titles, 3 World Titles). Orton said he owed all of this to Triple H. They embraced. Orton said that we should all show Triple H the respect he deserved. Heel moment right there.
Hunter said he knew that Bryan was in the building, so he wanted him to come down to the ring. Triple H told The Shield guys to move out of the way and told the rest of the roster to not touch Bryan when he comes out. They led the crowd in “yes” chants as his music played. He entered at the side of the ramp in his beard shirt.
Bryan was about to enter the ring, but The Shield attacked him. Bryan was able to break free and he threw Rollins & Reigns into the steel steps. Kick to the head of Rollins. Arm drag to Ambrose on the ramp. Reigns was still at ringside and he destroyed Bryan with a Spear. Hunter told Bryan to get into the ring even though he was hurt. As soon as Bryan stumbled into the ring, Orton dropped him with a RKO.
Raw ended with Orton, Triple H and the McMahons standing over a fallen Daniel Bryan.
Analysis: I thought Hunter’s part of the promo was good for the most part, but it ran a bit long too. The crowd was into it until he kept going and going. Orton is obviously a full blown heel now. His promo was heelish. His actions were heelish. It will be interested to see if the crowd starts booing him in matches when he does his signature spots. Like I said, I liked how over the top Stephanie was.
It’s also nice to see The Shield working as henchman for the bosses and it makes me wonder if they will become a stable along with Triple H and Randy Orton. That could really work well.
As for Bryan, he went from WWE Champion for five minutes to a guy that has a battle on his hands. Can he get there? Can he get back the WWE Title? That’s the main story going forward. It will make Bryan the sympathetic babyface hero, which is the perfect role for him because he’s also an ass-kicker that the fans love because of his passion for the business. I like this as a main storyline. It’s going to carry WWE towards the end of the year even with John Cena on the shelf.
—-
Three Stars of the Show
1. CM Punk
2. Daniel Bryan
3. The Shield
I cheated. I’m just happy The Shield had a bigger role again.
The Scoreboard
6 out of 10
Last week: 7
2013 Average: 5.82
2013 High: 8 (April 8)
2013 Low: 3.5 (January 28)
Last 5 Weeks: 7, 6, 5, 6.5, 6.5
Final Thoughts
The in-ring action was pretty average for the most part. The opening promo segment was strong and CM Punk’s promo with Heyman was solid. Other than that it was a below average edition of Raw, which is why it gets a 6 out of 10 from me.
I’m okay with the show not having memorable matches because at SummerSlam we had quite a few awesome matches, so I didn’t have high expectations here.
In terms of new rivalries, obviously Orton vs. Bryan is on the horizon and it looks like Del Rio vs. RVD is coming soon too. The tag title picture is heating up a bit, so that’s nice.
I think the crowd was a bit burned out by the end. I was too. Maybe it’s because I was typing for over six hours the last two nights. I’m not sure.
I loved SummerSlam, but this was a very average edition of Raw. As we get closer to Night of Champions things should get better.
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Plug Time: On Tuesday at 10pmET it’s a two hour edition of TJRWrestling Radio as we are joined by former WWE referee currently from Sportsnet 360 Jimmy Korderas and Arda Ocal of the Baltimore Sun & Layfield Report to talk SummerSlam and everything else related to WWE. You can listen to it live here or use the same link to listen to it any time at your own convenience. It’s on iTunes here too.
Keep checking out TJRWrestling.com for all the great columns and reviews from our awesome team of writers. Also check out TJRSports.com as well because we cover everything we can in the wide world of sports too. It’s almost NFL season, so I’ll be writing a lot about that every week starting in September.
Until next time, thanks for reading.
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