WWE RAW Coverage: The Return of the Beast

July 22, 2014 Patrick Hickey Jr. Professional Wrestling 0

Triple H had quite a few decisions to make this week on RAW and boy, did he make a few blockbusters.

After he allowed his wife Stephanie McMahon to wallow by herself in jail after she was arrested for battery on Brie Bella, Triple H allowed Brock Lesnar to return and get right back in the WWE World Heavyweight title picture.

Add in a ginormous card and the beginning of several solid mid-card feuds, this week’s RAW was actually a better show than last night’s Battleground pay per view.

Matches:

Roman Reigns vs. Randy Orton and Kane: Sad. Kane and Orton were in complete control until Orton decided to not tag in for Kane. With the demon already softened up, the weakened, but vigilant Reigns finished off Kane with a Superman Punch and a Spear.

Nikki Bella vs. Rosa Mendez, Eva Marie, Cameron and Alicia Fox: Brie Bella was ringside as a fan and the drama between her and Stephanie McMahon was more intriguing than anything in the ring. After Brie called McMahon a “bitch” and left a handprint on her face, Fox got the win with her modified Leg Drop.

Bo Dallas vs. Damien Sandow: Dressed as Lebron James, Sandow provided comic relief, but Dallas won with the Running Bo-Dog.

Intercontinental Champion The Miz vs. Dolph Ziggler: These two always have athletic matches and this one was no different. The two traded strikes and near-falls for the majority of the match- the counters and amount of offense alone made this one of the best matches of the night. The match heated up after Ziggler escaped the Figure-Four, Ziggler nailed the Fameasser, but couldn’t get the pinfall. After he countered the Skull-Crushing Finale, Ziggler finished off Miz with the Zig-Zag.

Divas Champion AJ Lee and Paige vs. Emma and Natalya Neidhart: Neidhart hit a nice German Suplex on Paige and nearly finished her off with the Sharpshooter, but Lee made the save and got the win with the Shining Wizard and Octopus Stretch. After the match however, Paige turned on Lee and threw her over the announce table and into the steel turnbuckle on the outside.

Fandango vs. Zack Ryder w/Summer Rae and Layla: Ryder got the win with the Rough Ryder after Layla pulled Fandango’s leg off the rope during the referee’s count.

Ryback and Curtis Axel vs. Big E. Langston and Kofi Kingston: Langston and Kingston did everything right but win. After Kingston hit the SOS on Ryback and then the Splash from the top, Ryback was able to roll through and get the win. After the match, Xavier Woods (dressed like a Brother Love/Colonel Sanders rip-off), hit the ring and shot some promo to Langston and Kingston about taking advantage of opportunities and no more kissing babies, which obviously makes you think the three are about to start a faction of sorts.

Alexander Rusev vs. The Great Khali: Rusev struggled early on, but eventually got the win with his Super Kick/Accolade combination.

Antonio Cesaro vs. Dean Ambrose: These guys have chemistry. In a strike-heavy match, Cesaro had the advantage after a nifty European Uppercut on the outside. However, Ambrose was never out of the match and eventually got himself DQed after using a steel chair.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 14230 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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