“John Cena is an entertainer and Daniel Bryan is a wrestler.”- Daniel Bryan
Bryan’s “makeover” this week on RAW proved that he isn’t- and never will be John Cena. In the middle of the biggest push of his professional career, Bryan’s stock has never been higher. Bryan’s refusal to shave his beard and the McMahon/Triple H participation in his feud with Cena could spell tremendously intriguing things moving forward.
Away from the main angle, the show was decent, regardless of a plethora of throwaway matches and filler. With one more episode before Summerslam, there’s plenty of room for the intensity to grow.
Matches:
Rob Van Dam vs. World Heavyweight Champion Alberto Del Rio w/Ricardo Rodriguez: A solid opening match that was back and forth for the first few minutes. RVD nearly won with the Rolling Thunder, but after a Split-Legged Moonsault and botched interference from Rodriguez, RVD earned the win. After the match, Del Rio destroyed Rodriguez with a variety of kicks on the inside and outside.
Mark Henry vs. Ryback: As soon as Henry got the upper-hand, Ryback walked out of the ring to earn Henry the count-out victory.
Tensai and Brodus Clay w/Naomi and Cameron vs. The Buzzards, Luke Harper and Erick Rowan w/Bray Wyatt: Rowan won with a short Frog Splash in a match that lasted less than two minutes. After the match, Wyatt destroyed Clay with the Knox-out. Kane’s appearance later set up an inferno match between himself and Bray Wyatt at Summerslam.
Kaitlyn vs. Layla: Kaitlyn was on fire in the early going, but Layla fought back with a nice DDT. Kaitlyn appeared seconds from a win after a slew of strikes and a elevated Gutbuster, but AJ Lee’s interference allowed Layla to hit the Standing Sidekick for the win.
Christian vs. Heath Slater w/ Drew MacIntyre and Jinder Mahal: Despite interference from 3MB, Christian had little trouble with Slater. After a Missile Dropkick and other signature offense, Christian hit the Spear for the win.
CM Punk vs. Intercontinental Champion Curtis Axel w/Paul Heyman: Interference from Heyman kept things interesting in an otherwise routine match. Axel nearly won with his signature Neckbreaker, but Punk was vigilant as always. After Punk took care of Axel, he went after Heyman, which got the match thrown out. With the encounter over, Brock Lesnar hit the ring, but Punk hit Axel with the GTS and was taking care of Lesnar until “The Beast” caught Punk with a massive Belly-to-Belly Suplex on the outside. Once back in the ring, Punk fought back with the steel chair, but Lesnar ultimately nailed the F-5.
Fandango w/Summer Rae vs. Kofi Kingston: Fandango had a few nice spots, but the returning Kingston won with The Trouble in Paradise.
Jimmy and Jey Uso vs. Jack Swagger and Antonio Cesaro w/Zeb Colter: The Uso’s were flying around, but Cesaro won with the Neutralizer.
Dolph Ziggler vs. Big E. Langston: Interference from the AJ Lee/Kaitlyn cat-fight allowed Langston to hit The Big Ending and earn a surprise win over Ziggler.
Six-Man Tag: Daniel Bryan, Randy Orton and WWE Champion John Cena vs. United States Champion Dean Ambrose and WWE Tag Team Champions Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns: Bryan was in the ring virtually the entire match and nearly won with the Yes Lock until the rest of the Shield interfered. Orton almost cashed in his Money in the Bank opportunity, but changed his mind when the Shield beat on Bryan and Cena and wouldn’t let him back in the ring.
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