WWE RAW Coverage: Yes! Bryan is Back

This was a night for matches- not drama. Well, aside from the fact that the Daniel Bryan experiment is over.

Daniel Wyatt is dead.

Although the minimal storyline development and the announcement of Ultimate Warrior’s inclusion in the 2014 class of the WWE Hall of Fame was cool, this night was largely in-ring competition.

Considering many of the matches were tune-ups for Royal Rumble, the pace was a bit on the slow side until the wacky climax that ended a disastrous  stretch of writing and gave Bryan back his “face.”

Regardless, the majority of the matches featured plenty of offense, making it a wrasslin’ fans night and not for one looking for “sports entertainment.”

Matches:

Bray Wyatt and Daniel Bryan w/Luke Harper and Erick Rowan vs. Jimmy and Jey Uso: For what it was, this was a solid match, until Harper and Rowan got involved and got their team DQed. After the match, Bryan and Wyatt were unable to destroy the Usos and Bryan was forced to take another Sister Abagail from Wyatt. Weird stuff.

Damien Sandow vs. John Cena: This was an excellent match, full of high-impact offense and counters. While Cena was never really in trouble, Sandow made him work. After Sandow countered the STF into his own version of the move, Cena countered Sandow into the Attitude Adjustment and win. Regardless, you have to be impressed with Sandow’s performance.

The Big Show vs. Jack Swagger w/Antonio Cesaro and Zeb Colter: Show won quickly with an ugly version of the Chokeslam. After the match, Show also knocked out Colter.

Six-Man Tag: Billy Gunn, Road Dogg and CM Punk vs. Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins and United States Champion Dean Ambrose: A fun six-man tag that saw the New Age Outlaws relive their old days with some classic signature maneuvers. The real highlight of the match though was the battle between Reigns and Punk.Trading offense, Punk was his usual solid self, but Reigns continues to satisfy with a huge amount of athleticism. Things got weird later in the match after the Outlaws walked out of the match and left Punk all by himself. That changed the match into a numbers game as Reigns finished off Punk with the Spear. After the match, the trio hit Punk with the Triple Powerbomb.

Naomi and Cameron vs. Divas Champion AJ Lee and Tamina Snuka: Lee and Snuka won decisively after Lee took out Cameron with a Shining Wizard. After the match the heels tried to beat on Cameron some more, but Naomi saved her teammate.

WWE World Heavyweight Champion Randy Orton vs. Kofi Kingston: Orton was in control for a good majority of the match, but Kingston hung tough. Countless times Orton tried to put Kingston away, but he couldn’t-or he didn’t want to. After 15 minutes or so of action, Kingston got hot, but missed a Boom Drop. Orton then went for his signature DDT, but Kingston countered into the SOS for the win. After the match, Orton attacked John Cena’s father in the crowd.

WWE Tag Team Champions Cody Rhodes and Goldust vs. Ryback and Curtis Axel: Rhodes continues to make his case as one of the most exciting youngsters int eh company. Although Goldust continues to fight father time, Rhodes got the win with the Cross Rhodes on Axel to retain the titles.

Rey Mysterio vs. Alberto Del Rio: Mysterio got the crowd into it, but Del Rio won with the Arm Lock.

Steel Cage: Bray Wyatt and Daniel Bryan w/Luke Harper and Erick Rowan vs. Jimmy and Jey Uso: This was a much different match than the first. A gritty, strike-heavy slug fest, all four competitors battled in order to try and escape. Surprisingly and rather again, awkwardly, the Usos were able to capitalize on miscommunication between Bryan and Wyatt and win. But unlike the last loss, Bryan wasn’t about to let Wyatt destroy him. Shedding his Wyatt gear, Bryan decimated his former master and reclaimed his fans.