WWE RAW Coverage: Family Matters and Shoddy Product Placement

Talk about a dysfunctional family. The McMahon’s and Triple H proved this week that pride is easily their fatal flaw, but with less than a week before Payback, you have to wonder, why now?

Aside from another great showing from Daniel Bryan and a nice segment between Chris Jericho and Dolph Ziggler, this week’s episode of RAW was lukewarm.

Like a piece of burger caught on the roof of Vikki Guerrero’s mouth, RAW needed something cool to wash away the chunks of half-chewed beef.

Not even another pair of teases of the Wyatt Family, the conclusion of Kaitlyn’s “Secret Admirer” angle or an attempt at an epic stare-down between WWE Champion John Cena and Ryback could save this mediocre show.

Matches:

Curtis Axel w/Paul Heyman vs. Triple H: “The Game” was in control for the first few minutes until WWE Chairman Vince McMahon hit the ring and called for the match to end and forced the ring announcer to announce Axel the winner via DQ. Triple H then had the match restarted, but McMahon hit the ring again and like last time, had the match thrown out. This time Axel won via forfeit. Triple H restarted the match a second time, this time as 60-minute Iron Man Match. Again, McMahon ended the match and took the ring bell and microphone so Triple H couldn’t pull more of his nonsense.

Kane vs. United States Champion Dean Ambrose: WIth a bevy of Backbreakers and strikes, Kane earned the early advantage. Ambrose is a difficult cat to pin down though and impressed with his resiliency alone.After a top rope clothesline, Kane looked ready to end the match with the Chokeslam, but The Shield interrupted to get the match thrown out. Daniel Bryan and Randy Orton soon joined the party to even the odds.

The Miz vs. Cody Rhodes: An evenly contested match until Miz slapped on a quick Figure Four for the submission victory. After the match, a ringside Wade Barrett looked to clean up on a weakened Miz. But before Barrett could take care of business, Paul Heyman announced that Curtis Axel would get a shot at the Intercontinental title at Payback, making Barrett’s title defense now a triple threat encounter.

Big E. Langston w/Dolph Ziggler and AJ Lee vs. Chris Jericho: Langston was more than impressive after a triple Backbreaker and some heavy strikes. Just when it appeared Langston had the match in hand, Alberto Del Rio and Ricardo Rodriguez hit the ring and distracted Ziggler, Lee and Langston, allowing Jericho to nail Big E. with the Codebreaker for the win.

Sin Cara vs. Antonio Cesaro: This was a fast match, but a good one. Cara was swinging around like a mad man, but Cesaro caught the high-flyer with the Neutralizer for the win.

Randy Orton vs.WWE Tag Team Champion Roman Reigns: Like Ambrose before him, Reigns sold like crazy. Although he did have a few glimpses of offense, this was pretty much Orton’s dance. But once Seth Rollins got involved, so did Daniel Bryan, forcing the referee to call it a no-contest.

Daniel Bryan vs. WWE Tag Team Champion Seth Rollins: Bryan was up to his usual stellar work and Rollins, like his teammates, sold like there was no tomorrow. From the counters to the high-powered offense from nearly every inch of the ring, this was an epic. Things got hairy after Orton stopped Reigns from interfering, allowing Bryan to win the fantastic match with a simple rollup.

Damien Sandow vs. R-Truth: A quick and dirty match with two quality workers. Sandow eventually won with the Silencer. After the win, Sheamus talked smack on the entry ramp.