WWE RAW Coverage: Bring This Mess Back to Formula

“Vikki Guerrero running a clean show is like me learning a new wrestling move. It’s not going to happen”- John Cena.

The creative mess that was this week’s RAW started 120 seconds in.

The Miz’s departure from Team Punk left the door open for a “big” time addition.

This could have been sexy as hell.

Could it be Big Show or even better, Brock Lesnar?

You’d hope so for the WWE’s sake.

Well, it was Wade Barrett.

Not a first choice, but at least it mixed things up some more. Little did anyone know how mixed up things would be by the end up the show.

Originally, Survivor Series’ traditional match was simply Hell in the Cell rematches.

Now, it simply makes no sense.

Later in the show, the main event for Survivor Series was changed entirely. The new match, a triple threat contest between Cena, Ryback and CM Punk, will satisfy much more, but it’s still not a slam dunk. But don’t worry, for those who were looking forward to the old-school match, Team Foley (now short a member) will take on Team Ziggler.

Talk about a band-aid on a gapping wound.

In other developments, Vikki Guerrero continues to dig into both John Cena and AJ Lee, but it wasn’t much. Like TNA’s angle with AJ Styles this year, this is a mess.

Who cares if Lee and Cena are together?

Referee and former FCW tag team champion (cough, cough) Brad Maddox also appeared on the show and explained his actions at Hell in a Cell. A disgruntled referee, Maddox said he always wanted to be a superstar, but he ran out of options after going through the WWE’s developmental territories. An everyman, Maddox represents the average person who makes his own path. This could be fun.

With the promise of a million dollar contract if he beats Ryback next week (someone ask Daniel Puder how that turned out for him.) Maddox will have his hands full.

Matches:

Sin Cara, R-Truth and Rey Mysterio vs. United States Champion Antonio Cesaro, Darren Young and Titus O’Neill: Some fast tags and high-impact moves, but overall, this was a snoozer until the end. Cesaro and Mysterio made this match enjoyable, as they traded moves at all the right times. Truth also went through his signature offense, including a sweet Osaka Street Cutter. Cesaro was pinned after he was the victim of Cara’s swinging arm breaker, Mysterio’s 619 and Truth’s Little Jimmy.

WWE Tag Team Champion Daniel Bryan w/Kane vs. Cody Rhodes w/ Damien Sandow: A Disaster Kick on the outside and the Cross Rhodes after help from Sandow earned Cody Rhodes the surprise win.

WWE Tag Team Champion Kane vs. Damien Sandow: Bryan and Rhodes were ejected, which left the two competitors to battle on their own. Sandow was clearly out of his league here as Kane went through all of his signature offense and won via the Chokeslam.

Sheamus vs. The Miz: A boring, straight-forward encounter. Miz ironically had the upper-hand most of the match. Sheamus came back strong however and beat Miz with the Brogue Kick.

Divas Champion Eve Torrez and Aksana vs. Kaitlyn and Layla: A mess. Boring, slow and uninspired, this match was given way too much time. Kaitlyn won with a reverse DDT.

Intercontinental Champion Kofi Kingston vs. Alberto Del Rio w/ Ricardo Rodriguez: Another vanilla match. These guys worked harder than everyone else, but there’s little storyline between these two. This match just wasn’t sexy. Kingston won with a rollup after the distraction from Randy Orton.

Santino Marella and Zack Ryder vs. Primo and Epico w/Rosa Mendez: This was routine, aside from Mendez’s sultry outfit. Marella won with the Cobra after Ryder nailed Epico with the Rough Ryder.

Wade Barrett vs. Brodus Clay: With his hometown fans behind him, Barrett was on his game after he hit massive swinging side slam on the near 400-pound Funkasaurus. Clay made a big comeback but Barrett spun the big man around with his Souvenir Elbow and earned the win.

Heath Slater w/Jinder Mahal vs. Jey Uso w/Jimmy Uso: Slater won with a nice version of the snap DDT in an otherwise boring match.

John Cena and Ryback vs. WWE Heavyweight Champion CM Punk and Dolph Ziggler: Cena, in his first match in seven weeks, didn’t miss a beat. Punk and Ziggler both had their way with Cena, showing flashes of technical proficiency  Ryback wasn’t in the match until the very end, where he destroyed both Ziggler and Punk with clotheslines and irish whips. In less than a minute, he hit Ziggler and Punk with his signature Meat Hook Clothesline and pinned Punk with the Shellshock.