With a few weeks until the company’s next pay per view, RAW was in no rush to set up any real storyline and sadly, they didn’t.
More filler than exciting sports entertainment, this week’s RAW had only major announcement- that World Heavyweight Champion John Cena will take on WWE Champion Randy Orton in a TLC match at TLC. And even that is far from a blockbuster. With the show wars over for some time, it was inevitable that the two titles would be unified again.
Away from the Orton/Cena developments, the show had far more misses than hits. The Mike Strahan segment was proof of this. Nearly 10 minutes of showtime for two terrible hip tosses? WWE fans deserve better. The same thing goes for the segment involving Strahan and Erik Rowan, as well as the trailer for The Miz’s new ABC Family film. Why would anyone want to watch the best stable in the company interact with a wholesome former NFL All-Pro? Why would the WWE force its viewers to sit through more of The Miz’s acting?
In the end it’s sad that the WWE goes to great lengths to disgust its most loyal viewers. Although the in-ring action was good, RAW is still searching of a soul.
Matches:
WWE Tag Team Champions Cody Rhodes and Goldust and Rey Mysterio vs. WWE United States Champion Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins: A solid opener with plenty of action. After Reigns went on a Spear-tear, Cody Rhodes took care of business but walked right into Ambrose’s lovely Finisher for the three-count.
Curtis Axel and Ryback vs. Intercontinental Champion Big E. Langston: A quick match that ended after a World’s Strongest Slam from Henry on Ryback.
Traditional Survivor Series Match: WWE Divas Champion AJ Lee, Tamina Snuka, Summer Rae, Kaitlyn, Aksana, Alicia Fox, Rosa Mendez and vs. Nattie Neidhart, Naomi, Cameron, Brie and Nikki Bella, Jo-Jo and Eva Marie: Aksana and Mendez were quickly eliminated, but Tamina nearly kicked Naomi’s head off and then Samoan Dropped Cameron to eliminate the both of them. After Niedhart worked over Snuka, Jo-Jo pinned her, but Alicia Fox took care of the rookie. Eva Marie then pinned Fox and Niedhart got Kaitlyn to submit. Lee was able to rollup Neidhart to eliminate her, but Brie Bella rolled up Lee to leave Rae as the last member of her team. Nikki Bella put Rae away with a Rack Buster after some silly dancing.
Dolph Ziggler vs. Damien Sandow: Another tough hardcore battle between two of the company’s best young workers. Ziggler was the most innovative of the two, using a fire extinguisher and an oar, but Sandow was stiff. The combination of the two styles made for a solid fight. After a shot with an oar, Sandow hit the Full Nelson Slam on a trash can for the win.
Bray Wyatt, Luke Harper and Erik Rowan vs. CM Punk and Daniel Bryan: All five competitors hit their signature moves, but the Family was consistently just a counter away from evening things up. This match continued for over 10 minutes with maneuvers coming from every angle. However, after the tags stopped, the referee was forced to stop the match. With Bryan down for the count, the Family “stole†him, while The Shield had their way with Punk, ending his night with the Triple Powerbomb.
Kofi Kingston vs. The Miz: Kingston and The Miz had another solid match with plenty of near-falls. Kingston nearly won with the SOS, but Miz kicked out and ended up rolling up Kingston for the win.
Xavier Woods w/R-Truth vs. Heath Slater w/Jinder Mahal and Drew MacIntyre: Slater was the aggressor, until Woods hit the Flipping Clothesline and Eat Defeat.
WWE Champion Randy Orton and Alberto Del Rio vs. World Heavyweight Champion John Cena and The Big Show: Show did most the damage for the face team, while Orton did the majority of the selling for his team. After Cena came in, he and Del Rio went at it and eventually Big Show came back in and Del Rio surprisingly held his own. With Show reeling from Del Rio’s kicks, Orton got back in the match and worked on Show’s head. Frazzled, Show needed to make a tag, but Orton nailed a nice DDT to keep the pressure on. After Orton missed the Punt, Show hit the Spear and Cena got the hot tag and after some offense from Del Rio, Cena countered the Arm Bar into the STF and earned the submission win. After the match Del Rio and Orton beat on Cena. By the end of it all, Orton stood over Cena with both Heavyweight titles held high.
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