RAW Review and Reactions
After making a comeback last week in Manchester, England, the brothers of destruction opened this weeks Monday night RAW sending a message or two to the Wyatt family who would eventually make their own appearance sending their own message. Keeping he's distances from the Undertaker and Kane and making sure he's mountains were surrounding him, Wyatt claimed it was no longer takers time and that he would be remembered as the man/superstar who destroyed two of the WWE's most prestigious names in company history. As the lights came on, the druids were wearing the signature Wyatt family sheep mask and went to attack Kane and Taker but they proved to be no match for the brothers of destruction who took each and every one of them out until the ring was clear and they were once again left the last two men standing. Of course I liked this weeks opening. Any RAW that kick starts with the Undertaker is going to put a little smile on my face and bring back those childhood feels but personally I felt it was a little rushed. It was a solid opening but it really could have been a lot stronger and a lot more intense. I was left wanting to see more and it for me just felt like it ended a little quickly. I'm not completely sure about Wyatt's sheep getting attacked or even making an appearance in the first place. At first it looked pretty cool but I don't know what it did for any of the superstars momentum and it does feel like they could have done something a little stronger for the final push before Survivor Series. In my personal opinion it didn't add any hype to the match up for this Sunday and I was expecting something a little more exciting. When it comes down to the match itself, I am really interested in seeing how it plays out. However, as a Wyatt fan I'm a little worried. I fully understand that this pay per view and this night on Sunday is a big deal for the Undertaker and a huge moment in he's career and despite loving the Brothers of Destruction from day one, I think we can all agree that another big loss for Bray Wyatt isn't going to go down well even if he doesn't actually compete at the weekend. This isn't about replacing the Undertaker or even creating a new face of fear. It's about passing the torch and highlighting a change in the WWE. Reminding everyone how strong and dangerous the future of World Wrestling Entertainment is. Bray Wyatt and he's clan are a huge part of that future. How it is determined will all be made clear after this up and coming weekend.
Last night's show really did focus around the WWE World Heavyweight Championship tournament and the first match of the night saw two former NXT Champions take centre stage as Kevin Owens and Adrian Neville did battle once again to see who would advance to the semi finals and go on to compete on Sunday. Of course as an NXT fan and an all round big fan of both these superstars I was really looking forward to this match and was expecting a lot. We have seen these two put on some amazing matches against one another in the past and not to mention they have great chemistry in the ring. I did tweet out saying that I would love this to have been a lengthy match but in all honesty I could watch these two superstars go at it all night long ( I fully understand how that can be used as a sexual innuendo) and I knew that regardless of how much time they were being given this was going to be a strong opening match, and it really was just that. Both superstars brought something different to the table but they bounced off one another amazingly well just like we have seen in the past. Neville of course had that amazing speed advantage witch kept Owens on he's toes and the match at a fast pace. However, the pure power and intensity from Owens meant that the IC champion found himself in control of a lot of this match. There was a moment mid way through that saw Neville dodge getting counted out and follow up, showing the WWE universe some of he's finest high flying moves. Eventually after kicking out of a Red Arrow and avoiding three other attempts Owens was able to hit the pop up powerbomb to pick up the victory and advance. This may not have been the longest match or as long as I would have liked but these guys gave us all a really strong opening match up and set the bar high for the rest of the night. Despite loosing last night, Neville looked amazingly well from start to finish. Yes, it is becoming frustrating watching Neville compete in all these amazing matches yet continue to come up short. To be fair, the booking made perfect sense last night with the current stories being told on the roster and I'm confident Neville's moment at the top will come along eventually.
Up next was a painful match to watch for any Tyler Breeze fan as the prince of Pretty took on the jobber of all jobbers, R-Truth. This didn't go down well with me what so ever. I had to avoid going on one big massive rant last night and I'm proud of myself for sticking to just two little moaning tweets. To be completely fair it wasn't the worse match in the world and Breeze did look really strong and really well but it just did nothing for him at all. I know I have said it already but for anyone who hasn't seen Breeze's NXT work then they pretty much are seeing Fandango 2.0 in their eyes. For anyone who has seen seen he's NXT work then you will know that he is one of the NXT's most talented and promising superstars we have ever seen and that the booking he had last night was just a joke. If the WWE want to keep Breeze looking good and if they want him to come across like a legitimate threat on the roster (witch by the way he truly is) then they are going to have to have him compete in matches that are much more meaningful and much stronger. The character is something that fans will either love or hate and simply won't understand and so how they book him and how long they allow him to wrestle for is so so important.
We then saw Dean Ambrose and Dolph Ziggler compete to go on to get one step closer to becoming the new WWE World Heavyweight Champion. Once again I was expecting a lot from this match as a fan of both of these superstars. Both are extremely over the WWE Universe, both are amazingly talented superstars, and both are championship material. The opening of this match saw Ambrose and Ziggler stick to the mat, keeping things basic but entertaining. This was the second match of the night that brought that this is wrestling feel. This wasn't two big characters throwing themselves around a ring hitting solid spots here and there. This was a really strong, pure, solid, wrestling match up. It didn't feel as though one was carrying the other or that there was one superstar who was the main attraction. Despite not taking each other on on many occasions the two talents seemed to know each other really well as they both spent a great deal of time avoiding each others signature moves. As the match progressed you could see how much had been taken out of both Ziggler and Ambrose, but despite growing with tiredness they continued to battle on in an amazing match up. Throughout, we saw true back and fourth action with the pair finding it difficult to but the other away, however the closing moments saw Ambrose take advantage of the perfect timing and hit dirty deeds to pick up the victory and advance, making he's way to Survivor Series and becoming one step closer to be crowned the new WWE World Heavyweight Champion. This match for me, lived up to the expectations. It was a showcase of two of the WWE's top performers. There was a great flow to this match and a clear, clean transition into different styles. The pace fastened with time and the intensity grew after every single move was hit. They both looked as though this match meant the world to them, the both looked desperate, and they both looked as though they wanted to become champion more than anything. After the match we were given a little insight as to just how entertaining Ambrose would be as champion after he cut a promo that reminded me personally of a couple of past rebellious champions.
Six man tag team action next and despite being the biggest New Day fan in the world, being so tired and seeing the Usos and Ryback team up together honestly made me loose a great deal of interest. If you have been reading my blog for a while or have been following me on twitter for long enough then you will know I'm far from an Uso fan. Anyway. the New Day once again had my main attention. Their little promo before the match as usual had me literally laughing out loud and hanging on their every word. Mocking Jey Usos' injury was for me one of the most entertaining moments of this part of the night. Just like we have been seeing for the past several months now, the New Day worked amazingly well and were able to keep who ever they shared the ring with in their corner to keep numbers on their side, allowing frequent tags. The ending to this match wasn't the best in the world but I'll admit I actually kind of liked it. Maybe it was because I was super tired at this point. After reacting to Big E's taunt, Ryback accidentally ran into the referee causing a Disqualification. I wasn't expecting the match to end that way but I ended up liking it anyway. After the match Ryback and the Usos attacked the tag team champions. A touch predicable but I'm not complaining.
Surprisingly, my favourite match of the night was actually Cesaro VS Roman Reigns. I say surprisingly because honestly, I was convinced nothing was going to top the first match of the night, but this was seriously a really really really strong match. Before the actual match began, we saw a little backstage segment between Cesaro and Triple H witch I thought was a nice little touch and added to the feel of the whole thing. We then saw Roman Reigns cut a small promo in the ring, where he updated everyone on recent storyline's and made it perfectly clear that he will become the next WWE World Heavyweight Champion regardless of how difficult and bumpy the road may be. The start of the actual match saw Cesaro outwrestle Reigns. He kept the action on the mat and controlled Reigns throughout the earlier stages. At one point we saw Cesaro send Reigns, shoulder first into the ring post witch became a key point for this match. From that moment onwards Reigns sold the little injury and made it work in he's favour. We saw him fight through the pain, struggling fight off the Swiss superman. The turning point of this match was of course when Cesaro hit he's elbow on the ring post. It was after that moment that we saw a shift in power in this match as Reigns was able to take the advantage and work he's way back up to a victory. The closing moments were extremely intense and I was literally left on the edge of my seat yelling at my TV. A superman punch surprised Cesaro but in the end it was a spear that took him out. After the match the two shook hands showing their respect for one another. Like I said, I really did enjoy this match. Reigns and Cesaro put on an amazing match up and left me very very impressed. Almost speechless even. This was defiantly one to add to the growing list of strong singles matches from Reigns. He continues to prove critics wrong and prove that he is worthy of becoming champion in the near future. He was able hold he's own really well in this match against one of the most gifted in ring talents the WWE has right now. It was a real challenge for Reigns and Cesaro was able to bring out a lot of good in Reigns while putting on an amazing performance of he's own.
The last match of the night saw Alberto Del Rio take on Kalisto for the chance to advance to the semi finals at Survivor Series, as the two fought to get one step closer to becoming the new WWE World Heavyweight Champion. Can I start off by saying that I have really enjoyed seeing Kalisto get he's moment in the spotlight to showcase he's talents. We al know he's an amazing talent with so much potential and so much to show. I of course enjoy watching him as part of the Lucha Dragons but I think it's great that we have been able to see more of him on he's own and as a result I think it's safe to say we have all been pretty impressed. Once again before the match up we saw Triple H try and get Del Rio to come to the dark side almost, claiming that joining the Authority will boost Del Rios career. The match itself was decent. I wasn't left speechless by anything but I enjoyed what we were given. The pace of the match was as predicted and despite a couple of awkward and weaker moments in the match they picked things up well and moved on fine. This was a basic, clean, still entertaining, back and fourth match witch allowed both superstars their own time to shine. In the end a diving foot stomp from Del Rio ended the match allowing the US champ to advance and move on to Survivor Series.
Closing this weeks show or in fact main eventing, was surprisingly the divas championship match contract signing between Charlotte and Paige. In all honesty, I haven't been fully on board with this storyline. Mainly because I'm still bored of Paige being shoved down our throats and I don't feel as though Charlotte is getting the attention she deserves as champion. They have a lot of character building to do with her and I do still feel as though they need to start focusing more on her as a
champion, rather than Paige. Saying that, the build up to this match and even the contract signing last night was strong. Last night's show really did add some interest and it personally did the trick in making me much more excited for the match. That hype it was missing for me was given. The WWE spent all night hyping the contract signing and doing an overall good job getting everyone excited for this match coming up on Sunday. The actual segment between the two divas was actually fairly decent. I think that Charlotte still really does need to work on her mic work. Now that the divas are getting more mic attention she is going to have to make some improvements. In my opinion it was Paige who was the star of this segment. I liked her attitude, her delivery of every word she said, her facial expressions. She really did push the buttons of the champ and Charlotte responded well. Her delivery wasn't great but she had intensity in her eyes and there were moments that felt very real and very personal and I loved that. The brawl the broke out could have been stronger and done better but it was decent and it was great seeing the divas close the show for a change. It was good seeing them get the spotlight they deserve, now hopefully their match can be as good as the contract signing an it lives's up to the hype the WWE have created.
Overall I enjoyed last night's show a lot. I felt that we were given something a little different and both the beginning, middle and ending were all strong. There were a couple of matches I wasn't a fan of but overall it was good night in my books. Remember you can let me know what you thought of last night's show by leaving a comment bellow or by tweeting me at @TezangiVictoria.
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