Spoilers follow for the August 18th episode of Raw.
http://i55.servimg.com/u/f55/16/09/70/40/raw_lo10.png
Raws after PPVs -- especially SummerSlam and WrestleMania -- are often just as entertaining as the PPVs themselves. It's on Raw that returns and debuts happen, more often than not. Big surprises, and the direction the program will go for the next little while will be revealed on TV. It's rare that a show like this one isn't worth seeing.
Raw begins with Daniel Bryan's music playing, and it's ... Stephanie McMahon who comes out. The announcers tried to tell us the crowd was duped. Seemed pretty predictable to me. She, donning a shirt that says "Steph! Steph! Steph!" and doing the "Yes!" chant. She gets a mic and begins to talk about SummerSlam. It was pretty good. We're told that The Authority will be granting a new WWE Championship belt tonight. She then recaps most of SummerSlam, before eventually getting to her defeat of Brie Bella -- thanks to Nikki Bella's heel turn. Stephanie then introduces Nikki, so that she can tell us why she turned on her sister last night.
Nikki's mic wasn't working right off the bat, and she also had a wardrobe malfunction (her shoe) on the way to the ring, neither of which rattled her. Nikki claims that Brie betrayed her. Brie hogged all the spotlight. Nikki just owns this promo. She should've been cutting promos this whole time. Brie then comes out to confront Brie. She says she'll forgive Nikki, but then gets slapped and told Nikki will never forgive her. Brie didn't speak much into the microphone, which led to a hilarious moment when Nikki tried to slowly move it closer, but Brie wasn't taking the hint.
Luke Harper and Erick Rowan vs. Big Show and Mark Henry
Apparently Big Show and Mark Henry are being pushed as a large tag team. Get it? Because they're really large people? Ha ha. I'm funny. I feel like this would have been a better idea like a decade ago, when they both were still good in the ring. But, maybe being in a tag team can help hide their flaws. Perhaps.
The match is about as good as you can expect from men whose mean weight is probably something like 330 lbs. It's slow, it's physical, and it's really, really slow. There are a couple of impressive moments -- such as when Rowan scoop slams Big Show -- and most of the match builds to a Mark Henry hot tag. The World's Largest Tag Team (name pending) win after double-teaming Rowan, who was trying to team up with Harper against Henry before Big Show stopped them.
Match Rating: **
After the commercial break, Ric Flair is seen congratulating Dolph Ziggler backstage. The Miz interrupts them. He says he's going to win back the Intercontinental Championship tonight.
We then recap the lumberjack match from SummerSlam between Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose. Seth Rollins is then interviewed backstage by Renee Young. He congratulates himself for his victory, and claims he's the future of the whole company. He's then doused with ice water from Dean Ambrose, who claims it's for charity. And then they brawl. Cut to commercial.
Come back from commercial. Kane and Triple H are talking in an office. Triple H announced a rematch between Rollins and Ambrose tonight. The WWE universe will get to pick the type of match.
Natalya vs. Paige
Paige is the new Divas champion, in case you missed SummerSlam. Why is she facing Natalya? Because we're going to get a good match out of it, right?
Paige gets a mic before the match and tells us she respects and loves AJ, despite everything. She's dedicating this match to AJ.
Paige and Natalya have a brief match before AJ comes out, showing no ill effects from last night. she skips around the ring, distracting Paige, and allowing Natalya to roll up Paige for the win.
Match Rating: *1/2
AJ grabs a mic after the match. She sarcastically mocks what Paige said earlier. She says she needs to shake Paige's hand, but Paige runs away. It's Mickie James vs. Trish Stratus all over again, except both Divas are playing the "Mickie James" role. I like it.
Triple H and Stephanie McMahon are out after the break. They're going to introduce a new WWE World Heavyweight Championship to the world, complete with the new WWE logo. And they're giving it to Brock Lesnar. The championship belt is nice. It looks good. It's really similar to the last one, but that's fine. Lesnar and Heyman come out right after it is revealed. They take pictures with The Authority and the new belt. Paul Heyman then cuts a Paul Heyman-style promo. He reveals that John Cena isn't here tonight. He's too hurt. As he should be. Heyman's promo is surprisingly pro-Cena. And then it's pro-Lesnar. Heyman is so good on the mic. He could talk and talk and talk and it'd be great TV.
WWE Intercontinental Championship Match: Dolph Ziggler vs. The Miz</center<
These two men have really great chemistry together. I'd like to see them have a lengthy feud. Lengthier than it currently has been, anyway. They put on solid matches together, plain and simple. This time out, The Miz works on Ziggler's knee, which was apparently hurt last night. That works well with Miz's figure-four leg lock.
They have a less-than-stellar match here, though. It starts out well, but eventually gets silly. The finish comes from Ziggler being counted out as he sold his leg injury. Miz then beat Ziggler down after being reminded that he couldn't win the title via a countout.
Match Rating: **1/2
Backstage, Renee Young interviews Jack Swagger after the match. She asks Swagger how he feels. He is disheartened. But he also knows that "We the People" means more than one match.
He's in action next. Zeb Colter is not with him, as Colter was kicked by Rusev last night.
Jack Swagger vs. Cesaro
Swagger plays a sympathetic face, while Cesaro plays a quick and aggressive competitor who targets Swagger's injured ribs over and over again. Cesaro is the aggressor for most of the match. Swagger looked to be gaining momentum near the end, but Cesaro pokes him in the eyes and hits The Neutralizer for the win.
Match Rating: **1/2
Bo Dallas comes out after the bout to give inspiring words to Swagger. Kind of. Dallas talks about everything that Swagger has lost: his manager, these matches, self-respect, dignity -- and he can get it all back if he just bolieves.
Next up: Chris Jericho is interviewed backstage. He praises the fans and stuff.
RybAxel (Ryback and Curtis Axel) and Randy Orton vs. Sheamus, Rob Van Dam, and Roman Reigns
Ryback hasn't been this over in a couple of years. The crowd was so hot for Ryback that it was unbelievable. He got to do a lot in this match, which just reminds us that, really, he's kind of fun to watch. Well, as long as he's not jobbing in the tag team division.
The match is a pretty fun one. It gets pretty ridiculous near the end, but, then, lots of 6-man tag matches do that. There's some good action here, Ryback was fun to watch, and Roman Reigns' strengths were used well. RVD wins with a Five-Star Frog Splash to Curtis Axel.
Match Rating: **1/2
Backstage, Randy Orton is shown walking down the hallway and is joined by Ric Flair. Flair wants to talk to him about Roman Reigns, but he tells Flair to leave him alone.
Bray Wyatt next gets the chance to cut a promo. He claims he's the new face of salvation. Okay.
The Usos (Jimmy and Jey Uso) vs. Goldust and Stardust
As most of the Stardust/Goldust matches have been, most of the bout involves the opposing team beating up Goldust and Stardust being built for the hot tag. Except this time, The Usos continue to dominate even after Stardust is tagged in. We then build to a Goldust hot tag, but that never happens. Stardust gets a quick pin and surprises The Usos to pick up the win.
Match Rating: **
Rusev and Lana are out next to talk about how awesome they are for winning at SummerSlam. And then Mark Henry comes out. I guess he's pulling double duty tonight. He cuts a promo about how mad he is seeing the Russian flag raised, and how Lana and Rusev go about promoting their country. They brawl for a bit. Henry hits Rusev with The World's Strongest Slam and then a splash. Okay?
After the break, we find out that the WWE Universe picked a Falls Count Anywhere match for the Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins match. Because of course they did.
<color=red>Falls Count Anywhere Match: Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins
These two take their match into the crowd almost immediately. Then onto the stage. Weapons get involved. This is a brawl, not a wrestling match. The battle features signature moves between the two and lots of weapons. Despite the stipulation, most of it takes place in the ring. It is exciting. It is really exciting. It is better than the match last night.
Kane shows up at ringside part way through. He tries to interfere. He does. He stops Ambrose from getting the pinfalls by dragging him out of the ring. But Ambrose then takes him out. And takes out Rollins. Ambrose is just on fire. He might be the most exciting WWE Superstar at the moment.
Kane eventually recovers and stops Ambrose again from doing something. A chokeslam and a curb stomp on the announcer table fails to break it. Kane then reveals cinderblocks under another table, onto which Ambrose is curb stomped. The bell is rung after this, as Ambrose is not moving. Seth Rollins wins.
Match Rating: ****
After the match, Ambrose is taken out on a stretcher. Raw ends with Rollins standing on the announcer table. Not much really developed on Raw tonight, but it was a fun show nonetheless.
The Good: Opening segment. Ambrose vs. Rollins.
The Bad: Divas match not getting much time.
Match of the Night: Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins.
<color=D6D9DA>_________________________________________________________________________________
If you wish to be notified whenever I post something new, please join this <url=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/groups/view/2-50-Reviews>user group.
For an archive of all my previous WWE reviews, please go <url=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.846764-Marters-WWE-Reviews-Archive>here.
Talk to me on the Twitter, <url=https://twitter.com/martertweet>@martertweet.
http://i55.servimg.com/u/f55/16/09/70/40/raw_lo10.png
Raws after PPVs -- especially SummerSlam and WrestleMania -- are often just as entertaining as the PPVs themselves. It's on Raw that returns and debuts happen, more often than not. Big surprises, and the direction the program will go for the next little while will be revealed on TV. It's rare that a show like this one isn't worth seeing.
Raw begins with Daniel Bryan's music playing, and it's ... Stephanie McMahon who comes out. The announcers tried to tell us the crowd was duped. Seemed pretty predictable to me. She, donning a shirt that says "Steph! Steph! Steph!" and doing the "Yes!" chant. She gets a mic and begins to talk about SummerSlam. It was pretty good. We're told that The Authority will be granting a new WWE Championship belt tonight. She then recaps most of SummerSlam, before eventually getting to her defeat of Brie Bella -- thanks to Nikki Bella's heel turn. Stephanie then introduces Nikki, so that she can tell us why she turned on her sister last night.
Nikki's mic wasn't working right off the bat, and she also had a wardrobe malfunction (her shoe) on the way to the ring, neither of which rattled her. Nikki claims that Brie betrayed her. Brie hogged all the spotlight. Nikki just owns this promo. She should've been cutting promos this whole time. Brie then comes out to confront Brie. She says she'll forgive Nikki, but then gets slapped and told Nikki will never forgive her. Brie didn't speak much into the microphone, which led to a hilarious moment when Nikki tried to slowly move it closer, but Brie wasn't taking the hint.
Luke Harper and Erick Rowan vs. Big Show and Mark Henry
Apparently Big Show and Mark Henry are being pushed as a large tag team. Get it? Because they're really large people? Ha ha. I'm funny. I feel like this would have been a better idea like a decade ago, when they both were still good in the ring. But, maybe being in a tag team can help hide their flaws. Perhaps.
The match is about as good as you can expect from men whose mean weight is probably something like 330 lbs. It's slow, it's physical, and it's really, really slow. There are a couple of impressive moments -- such as when Rowan scoop slams Big Show -- and most of the match builds to a Mark Henry hot tag. The World's Largest Tag Team (name pending) win after double-teaming Rowan, who was trying to team up with Harper against Henry before Big Show stopped them.
Match Rating: **
After the commercial break, Ric Flair is seen congratulating Dolph Ziggler backstage. The Miz interrupts them. He says he's going to win back the Intercontinental Championship tonight.
We then recap the lumberjack match from SummerSlam between Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose. Seth Rollins is then interviewed backstage by Renee Young. He congratulates himself for his victory, and claims he's the future of the whole company. He's then doused with ice water from Dean Ambrose, who claims it's for charity. And then they brawl. Cut to commercial.
Come back from commercial. Kane and Triple H are talking in an office. Triple H announced a rematch between Rollins and Ambrose tonight. The WWE universe will get to pick the type of match.
Natalya vs. Paige
Paige is the new Divas champion, in case you missed SummerSlam. Why is she facing Natalya? Because we're going to get a good match out of it, right?
Paige gets a mic before the match and tells us she respects and loves AJ, despite everything. She's dedicating this match to AJ.
Paige and Natalya have a brief match before AJ comes out, showing no ill effects from last night. she skips around the ring, distracting Paige, and allowing Natalya to roll up Paige for the win.
Match Rating: *1/2
AJ grabs a mic after the match. She sarcastically mocks what Paige said earlier. She says she needs to shake Paige's hand, but Paige runs away. It's Mickie James vs. Trish Stratus all over again, except both Divas are playing the "Mickie James" role. I like it.
Triple H and Stephanie McMahon are out after the break. They're going to introduce a new WWE World Heavyweight Championship to the world, complete with the new WWE logo. And they're giving it to Brock Lesnar. The championship belt is nice. It looks good. It's really similar to the last one, but that's fine. Lesnar and Heyman come out right after it is revealed. They take pictures with The Authority and the new belt. Paul Heyman then cuts a Paul Heyman-style promo. He reveals that John Cena isn't here tonight. He's too hurt. As he should be. Heyman's promo is surprisingly pro-Cena. And then it's pro-Lesnar. Heyman is so good on the mic. He could talk and talk and talk and it'd be great TV.
WWE Intercontinental Championship Match: Dolph Ziggler vs. The Miz</center<
These two men have really great chemistry together. I'd like to see them have a lengthy feud. Lengthier than it currently has been, anyway. They put on solid matches together, plain and simple. This time out, The Miz works on Ziggler's knee, which was apparently hurt last night. That works well with Miz's figure-four leg lock.
They have a less-than-stellar match here, though. It starts out well, but eventually gets silly. The finish comes from Ziggler being counted out as he sold his leg injury. Miz then beat Ziggler down after being reminded that he couldn't win the title via a countout.
Match Rating: **1/2
Backstage, Renee Young interviews Jack Swagger after the match. She asks Swagger how he feels. He is disheartened. But he also knows that "We the People" means more than one match.
He's in action next. Zeb Colter is not with him, as Colter was kicked by Rusev last night.
Jack Swagger vs. Cesaro
Swagger plays a sympathetic face, while Cesaro plays a quick and aggressive competitor who targets Swagger's injured ribs over and over again. Cesaro is the aggressor for most of the match. Swagger looked to be gaining momentum near the end, but Cesaro pokes him in the eyes and hits The Neutralizer for the win.
Match Rating: **1/2
Bo Dallas comes out after the bout to give inspiring words to Swagger. Kind of. Dallas talks about everything that Swagger has lost: his manager, these matches, self-respect, dignity -- and he can get it all back if he just bolieves.
Next up: Chris Jericho is interviewed backstage. He praises the fans and stuff.
RybAxel (Ryback and Curtis Axel) and Randy Orton vs. Sheamus, Rob Van Dam, and Roman Reigns
Ryback hasn't been this over in a couple of years. The crowd was so hot for Ryback that it was unbelievable. He got to do a lot in this match, which just reminds us that, really, he's kind of fun to watch. Well, as long as he's not jobbing in the tag team division.
The match is a pretty fun one. It gets pretty ridiculous near the end, but, then, lots of 6-man tag matches do that. There's some good action here, Ryback was fun to watch, and Roman Reigns' strengths were used well. RVD wins with a Five-Star Frog Splash to Curtis Axel.
Match Rating: **1/2
Backstage, Randy Orton is shown walking down the hallway and is joined by Ric Flair. Flair wants to talk to him about Roman Reigns, but he tells Flair to leave him alone.
Bray Wyatt next gets the chance to cut a promo. He claims he's the new face of salvation. Okay.
The Usos (Jimmy and Jey Uso) vs. Goldust and Stardust
As most of the Stardust/Goldust matches have been, most of the bout involves the opposing team beating up Goldust and Stardust being built for the hot tag. Except this time, The Usos continue to dominate even after Stardust is tagged in. We then build to a Goldust hot tag, but that never happens. Stardust gets a quick pin and surprises The Usos to pick up the win.
Match Rating: **
Rusev and Lana are out next to talk about how awesome they are for winning at SummerSlam. And then Mark Henry comes out. I guess he's pulling double duty tonight. He cuts a promo about how mad he is seeing the Russian flag raised, and how Lana and Rusev go about promoting their country. They brawl for a bit. Henry hits Rusev with The World's Strongest Slam and then a splash. Okay?
After the break, we find out that the WWE Universe picked a Falls Count Anywhere match for the Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins match. Because of course they did.
<color=red>Falls Count Anywhere Match: Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins
These two take their match into the crowd almost immediately. Then onto the stage. Weapons get involved. This is a brawl, not a wrestling match. The battle features signature moves between the two and lots of weapons. Despite the stipulation, most of it takes place in the ring. It is exciting. It is really exciting. It is better than the match last night.
Kane shows up at ringside part way through. He tries to interfere. He does. He stops Ambrose from getting the pinfalls by dragging him out of the ring. But Ambrose then takes him out. And takes out Rollins. Ambrose is just on fire. He might be the most exciting WWE Superstar at the moment.
Kane eventually recovers and stops Ambrose again from doing something. A chokeslam and a curb stomp on the announcer table fails to break it. Kane then reveals cinderblocks under another table, onto which Ambrose is curb stomped. The bell is rung after this, as Ambrose is not moving. Seth Rollins wins.
Match Rating: ****
After the match, Ambrose is taken out on a stretcher. Raw ends with Rollins standing on the announcer table. Not much really developed on Raw tonight, but it was a fun show nonetheless.
The Good: Opening segment. Ambrose vs. Rollins.
The Bad: Divas match not getting much time.
Match of the Night: Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins.
<color=D6D9DA>_________________________________________________________________________________
If you wish to be notified whenever I post something new, please join this <url=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/groups/view/2-50-Reviews>user group.
For an archive of all my previous WWE reviews, please go <url=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.846764-Marters-WWE-Reviews-Archive>here.
Talk to me on the Twitter, <url=https://twitter.com/martertweet>@martertweet.
