The PG Era Rant for Raw, September 1,
2014. This is Raw #14!
...wait, I mean Raw #1110. My computer
misinterpreted that.
Your pre-show hosts are Byron, Booker,
and Alex. The big elements from Raw are:
- Chris Jericho interviews Randy Orton on the Highlight Reel.
- Growing Up Bella (insert sad piano music here).
- Paul Heyman will speak on behalf of Brock Lesnar.
- Dolph Ziggler and Sheamus face the Miz and Cesaro.
Live from Des Moines, Iowa.
Your hosts are Old, King, and Cole.
Chris Jericho is in the ring to start
for the Highlight Reel. HASHTAG! JBL is bored after five seconds
and talking over Jericho to let everyone know – so he's in fine
form. Jericho talks about the hard workers on Labo(u)r Day before
saying Orton hasn't worked a day in his life to introduce...
...wait, that's HHH? And he's with
Orton, Seth Rollins, and Kane. Lawler: “If I were Jericho, I'd
just call it a night.” Jericho says he wasn't expecting a lawfirm
with Orton. Kane tries to intimidate Jericho, but HHH steps in
instead. Jericho is the man that never grew up – in every sense of
the word – and although HHH would love to get in a trash talk war
with Jericho, he has things he has to do. Jericho: “You usually
don't conduct important business in this ring unless your wife is
getting put in jail.” HHH doesn't want witty banter as the two
insult each other's wardrobe choices. (“That scarf is such a
treasure trove.” “At least it's not a pink tie.” “It's
violet.”) Anyway, HHH says it's the most historic Highlight Reel
ever. HHH has been thinking about Cena/Lesnar – reviewing every
angle of it from the interviews to the Hall of Fame Forum to 9.99 –
and he thinks maybe the rematch is a bad idea. So he's thinking
about changing it.
Jericho is calling HHH on changing his
mind and asking who's next – and Orton says he's the only one who
can beat Lesnar. Kane, though, says if he gets his Demon mask on, he
can beat Lesnar. But wait, Rollins says he can do it (and the crowd
wants to see that – of course, Rollins is from Iowa). He's already
taken out Dean Ambrose, so why not? Jericho then says, hey, if
you're mixing it up, why not me?
But how about the current challenger?
Well, here comes Cena and he's in a bad mood. “What the hell are
you talking about?” He thinks HHH has listened too much to Ric
Flair and Shawn Michaels. That's funny, he says – those two guys
thought Cena couldn't beat HHH at WrestleMania, and HHH tapped out.
9.99 this! This isn't “back in the day”, Hunter – so it
doesn't matter what you say, the rematch clause has been authorized
and no take-backs or he'll sue to become COO and fire HHH. So Cena
is going to take Lesnar out, one way or another.
HHH: “Wow.” Seriously? Cena
suing? HHH mocks the very idea of Cena going to court as the crowd
gets behind him. This is what HHH is trying to avoid. HHH's job is
to do what is Best For Business™ every day. And now, maybe Cena as
champion isn't good – but a Cena career-ending injury is worse.
Rollins: “I say let him have it.
What's the worst that could happen?” After all, Plan B is still
there, right? Orton agrees, and only wants the winner – he's never
gotten his rematch, right? Jericho reminds us he's the host of the
show and says Orton's never succeeded in coming close to getting the
title back, and in fact lost to Roman Reigns at SummerSlam. Orton
says it and he means nothing, and he'd tell him to his face. And
proceed with caution, Chris.
Yup, of course Roman Reigns shows up.
(The Teddy Long drink is on stand-by.) Roman stares at Orton and
says, well? HHH holds Orton back. Roman thinks the Authority is mad
over the eulogy – or was it the cinderblock? That was just a
reminder that there's unfinished business. But tonight's business is
about the Championship, and Reigns feels he belongs in the
discussion.
HHH notes everyone wants Brock Lesnar.
He doesn't believe Cena's proven himself – and he doesn't think
Cena believes it either. So tonight, it's proving time. And the
inevitable six-man tag is made: Cena/Jericho/Reigns v. Authority.
(He specifically says Demon Kane, by the way.) HHH will be at
ringside watching the whole thing. HOLLA! (Takes drink) Wait, Seth
Rollins tries to sneak-attack Reigns and fails. Reigns looks at the
briefcase and chucks it at Rollins hard.
Here are clips of Damien Sandow losing
to Sheamus on behalf of Miz. Miz did a cheap shot and run – but
Dolph Ziggler thought otherwise. Sandow somehow got the worst of it.
That tag match is NEXT!
It would be really gutsy if they
changed the main event. The best they can do is leave it alone –
but beyond that, make it a multi-man match so that Brock loses
without losing. Then when he's done not wrestling, he comes back,
owns the champion, and holds it to WrestleMania. Who knows?
Moments Ago.
Dolph Ziggler and Sheamus v.
Cesaro and The Miz.
No entrances. Damien Sandow is at ringside. Dolph and Cesaro start
as Sheamus/Cesaro is official for the PPV. Cesaro fakes a clean
break and delivers an uppercut and four elbowdrops. (Miz still has
his sunglasses on; you need to know this.) Dolph with a dropkick and
he swings at Miz, who escapes to his Hollywood chair and gets
pampered. Cesaro stomps away on Dolph and works the arm as Miz comes
in. Miz with a running seated kick for two. Miz dances and stomps
before hooking a chinlock. Yes, that's a make-up artist at Miz's
chair. Dolph with a Thesz Press and he swings wildly for the face,
but Miz bails. Sheamus tags in and chases Miz, pounding away. Back
in, Sheamus catches a boot and takes over with a kneelift. Sandow is
nervous. Miz boxes back up, but gets caught and clubbed right back.
Ten of Clubs time – okay, Seventeen of Clubs – and Miz is brought
back in with a Finlay Roll for two. Miz fights back and gets a
hiptoss blocked as the crowd wants Ziggler. Cesaro tags himself in
and gets a dropkick as we go to break.
Smart
move by the people in the ring to make Sheamus the face in peril.
Even though Dolph is more natural of the two in the role, the crowd
wants him more, so let him clean house.
Ziggler/Sheamus v. Cesaro/Miz,
part two.
Miz is taking a powder as Cesaro has the chinlock on Sheamus. The
back of Miz's chair says “Moneymaker”. Cesaro punches away, but
that just makes Sheamus angry as he fires back. Cesaro gets Sheamus
to the apron and catches him with an uppercut and fallaway slam with
a bridge for two. Never seen that move before. Blind charge eats
boot, and Sheamus goes up only to be caught. He goes up and gets
sent back down, and the Battering Ram shoulder hits. Hot tag Dolph
as the crowd explodes. As does Dolph. Rude Awakening off a Stinger
Splash, and a sunset flip gets two. High rise DDT gets two, Cesaro
saves. The Euros go flying out, leaving Dolph with Miz. Famouser
misses, and Miz tags... Sandow? Screw it, Dolph says as he does the
Zig Zag to Sandow, and Miz returns for the Skull Crushing Finale to
win at 11:18. **1/4
Miz and Cesaro share mineral water to celebrate.
Lawler
asks the makeup artist to touch Cole up.
Let
Us Take You Back to last week and the Bella blowup. This sets up
Part 1 of Growing Up Bella – presented by Nikki. Something about
how Nikki's prom date was caught with Brie.
Honestly?
That was a very interesting finish. Of course Miz can't tag in
Sandow legally – but Dolph forgot about the fact that this meant
Miz was still legal. I liked it.
Eva
Marie's on a magazine cover!
Rosa, Eva Marie, and Cameron v.
Layla, Summer Rae, and Naomi.
No entrances. Layla gets a quick rollup on Rosa for one, and she
returns the favor. HASHTAG. Layla with an armdrag cradle for one,
then some kicks for two. A sloppy back kick by Layla, then a
crossbody gets two, Cameron saves. Layla attacks Cameron, so it's a
heel beatdown and everyone enters the ring as the match is stopped at
1:04. Focus is on Naomi knocking Cameron out, then a double dropkick
by Summer and Layla to clear the ring. This was just to remind you
that Total Divas Season 3 starts soon, so at least it was short.
Rosa is useless in the ring.
We
look back at Dean Ambrose's massive head trauma, then at the failed
attempt to do it to Roman Reigns. That's a build-up to tonight's
main event.
And
while I'm watching this Monday Night War ad, does anyone really
believe DX did anything to turn the tide? It was a combination of
Austin and McMahon carrying the show crossed with Hogan and Nash not
realizing or caring the New World Order had run its course. DX was
carried to the top.
Big Show and Mark Henry v. Luke
Harper and Erick Rowan.
Rowan and Henry start. Henry bowls Rowan over, adding a headbutt
and working Rowan over in the corner. Henry pounds away from the
bottom rope, and an avalanche crushes Rowan. Henry steps on Rowan,
then chokes him with his shin. Headbutt in the corner, and Henry
goes up (shoving Harper away) only to get clipped off. Harper in
with a big boot for two as we go to break.
Less
slow choking, more throwing each other around, please.
Show/Henry v. Harper/Rowan, part
two.
Rowan with a front chancery, and the two block each other with big
boots. Harper in, and he continues punching away as Rusev shows up
to watch. Harper's blind charge misses, hot tag Big Show. He
flattens Harper repeatedly, then superkicks Rowan out of the ring.
Everyone leaves the ring, and Harper chop blocks Show on the outside.
They tease a countout – from a chop block? – but Show is easily
back in at 9. Harper kicks away on Show, getting two. Rowan in, and
he stomps away. NOOGIE OF DOOM as the crowd chants USA at Rusev.
Show flips Rowan out of it, but gets booted down. Harper in, and he
does some heart slaps, only to get in a chop battle. Harper wins
with a superkick of his own, but Show's in the ropes. Harper chokes
Show down as the crowd chants “Sexual Chocolate”. Rowan punches
away and gets two out of it. Rowan slugs away and slams Show down,
getting two. A second try goes nowhere as Show turns it into a DDT
(allegedly). Hot tag Henry, who runs over Harper and gets an
Oklahoma Slam for two, Rowan saves. Show choke throws Rowan and
follows to the outside as Henry goes for the World's Strongest Slam
on Harper – only Rusev with a kick to the face for the DQ at 11:20.
Harper tries to attack Show with a chair and gets it punched away.
Rowan thinks better of following up. Bad, bad match. These four can
do much better. 1/4*
Growing
Up Bella, part two – this one about a car they got together and an
accident that got blamed on Nikki.
I
was told not to comment on the coming up bumpers, so I'm cutting them
out, but they just did an Up Next for a look back for next week!
What is this, Superstars?
Michael
Sam will be at Raw next week! Maybe. He's been invited to Raw,
anyway.
Let
Us Take You Back to John Cena's last seven days, and how angry Brock
is that he'd ask for a rematch, and what Cena did about it.
Ladies
and gentlemen, his name is Paul Heyman. Today's topic is
“over-compensatory behavior” – as in what John Cena did last
week. And he has evidence: two weeks ago, Brock Lesnar conquered the
everloving heck out of Cena, including an emasculating. John Cena,
just as with any other champion, has been stripped of who he is, and
now he's lost his reasoning. He's not listening to anyone – not
the Hall of Famers, not HHH, no one. And Cena's cash cow is going to
be milked dry at Night of Champions. Cena is held by his image in
the eyes of the fans – that's why he will buzzsaw through last week
and tonight. Whoop de doo – the entire locker room can be
multiplied by infinity and it's not even half of what Brock Lesnar
can do. (Math? What's math?)
So
do they think Michael Sam will show up? Odds are he'll be on St.
Louis's practice squad, so he might be busy on Monday. Then again,
Ben Roethlisberger showed up during football season while an active
football player, so why not?
Jack Swagger v. Curtis Axel.
WE THE PEOPLE! And hey, Zeb's back! We look back at SmackDown at
how Swagger was derailed by Bo Dallas. Tussle in the corner, and
Swagger gets knees to the gut and a hiptoss. WE THE PEOPLE! Axel
with a cheap shot to the gut as Bo Dallas arrives with chairs on
stage. Axel with a Northern lariat and a kick to the gut for two.
People are being invited on stage as Swagger fights back but runs
into a dropkick and bails. He drapes Axel on the top rope and begins
the comeback with a running knee and slam. Vaderbomb is almost
blocked, but Swagger counters to the Patriot Lock for the tapout at
2:35. Much needed. 1/2*
But
no celebration, because Bo Dallas talks about how Swagger let all the
Americans down, including the three people on stage. One of them bet
a month's salary on Swagger – I mean, two months at the end of the
day. Now he has nothing, thanks to you. Another one is so upset
that he failed his citizenship test and is being deported. (Zeb is
willing to pay for airfare.) The third one had a son who idolized
Swagger... but now wants to be like Putin. And Bo Dallas shows the
picture. But hey, they can turn it around, and so can Jack. ALL YOU
HAVE TO DO IS BO LIEVE! Zeb and Swagger are not amused.
Maybe
Dutch is booking his own angles, but it seems like between this and
Rusev, the stuff Swagger's in is more interesting than the rest of
the midcard. Actually, that's not fair – the Dolph/Miz stuff is
kind of fun too.
Adam Rose v. Titus O'Neil (no
entrance).
Titus with an armdrag, but Rose tumbles out of it. He blocks a
charge, but dives into some backbreakers. Slater imitates Titus's
bark, badly. And the Bunny's back to distract Slater. Titus keeps
choking Rose in the corner as Slater is confused by the Bunny.
Slater shoves down the Bunny, who fights back and gets the best of
Slater as Cole calls it like Howard Cosell. Titus sees this and
wonders what happened, so Rose cradles him for the pin at 1:52.
Slater eats steps post-match. It's a comedy match.
Cole:
“If you're not careful, the Bunny's gonna come after you!”
JBL:
“I've got one Clothesline from Hell left in me.”
Growing
Up Bella, part three – apparently, Nikki switched places with Brie
at high school exams.
Oh,
come on, WWE. Teachers are not stupid. I've been in school with
identical twins – they'd never get away with it. It's not even a
plausible lie! Besides, there's material they can use just from
their WWE career that would fit the narrative – why dig up fake
history we're not supposed to believe anyway?
WWE
Network is having Attitude Week! 9.99! 9.99! 9.99!
Lana
has something to say. Today is Labo(u)r Day – a day of not
working. So you educate your youth to be entitled and listless.
(Crowd demands JBL.) Meanwhile, in Russia, it's Knowledge Day –
promoting the education of youth. So stuff it, Labo(u)r Day.
Rusev v. Zack Ryder.
Ryder attacks early, but Rusev throws him in the corner. Blind
charge misses, but the Ruff Ryder is caught into a fallaway slam.
Leaping superkick and Rusev Crush finishes at 53 seconds.
And
now Mark Henry's out for a receipt. He charges and... Rusev bails.
Henry taunts Rusev and calls him scared. But hey, Henry's scared...
of what he'll do if he gets Rusev. He's the Strongest Man in the
Strongest Country. And he means this: just because Rusev in unbeaten
doesn't mean he's unbeatable. There's an international wing in the
Hall of Pain, and Rusev is the first one in it. (Vladimir who-lov?)
Backstage,
HHH is talking to Stephanie, asking why she wants to get back
involved with Brie. Stephanie says the stories Nikki tell strike a
chord in Stephanie. When employees have issues, they can talk to
Stephanie. She wants to give back, which amuses HHH. She has an
announcement to make, and that's next.
JBL
said “I want Mark Henry to do what Jack Swagger couldn't do”.
The amount of what the boys call “shade throwing” JBL is doing
actually makes me think JBL/Swagger would be a hot midcard match down
the line that would redeem Swagger without wasting anyone important.
Make it so, WWE!
We
look back at Nikki's tantrum from last week.
Stephanie
is headed to the ring. Stephanie is a powerful female who commends
Nikki for having the courage to stand up and tell her story. She
calls Nikki out. Nikki is happy to be supported by Stephanie. Crowd
finds this boring. Stephanie is proud of Nikki and sees her as a
role model for her daughters. Stephanie calls Nikki the Face Of The
Divas, and that means Nikki/Paige down the line.
But
wait, here's Brie. She has something to say directly to Nikki. “Is
this what it's all been about?” Did she sell out for a title
match? Is this what the lies are about? Really? But for what?
Nikki: “FOR ME!” Nikki keeps saying Brie makes it about herself.
Nikki sees right through Brie (insert skinny joke here), and Nikki
is just waiting for Daniel Bryan to get the hint and divorce Brie.
After all, everyone will talk about Nikki, not Brie, who will just be
a memory.
For
once, I'm cheering with the crowd for an interruption – AJ is here.
She skips into the ring and waves Stephanie (“Hi, boss lady”).
She reminds Stephanie about this #1 Contendership thing, and that she
gets a rematch – hey, remember that? AJ doesn't play well with
others, so do the right thing and keeps the sisters out so that AJ
can get her title shot. Stephanie awkwardly thanks AJ...
...and
Paige enters next. This is a milestone: the women are doing World
Entrance Federation. She says you can't have a discussion about the
championship with a champion, right? And now Nikki says she can fix
this right now. She will forgive Brie... if Brie will sacrifice for
Nikki. What does that mean? Quit. Now. You'll quit for Daniel,
why not me? And if not, why not just go home and be a mother and
STAY THERE! If it's not about Brie, she can walk away, right? Nikki
eggs Brie on...
...and
everyone sees Brie ready to say she's had enough. And she bowls
Nikki (and Paige) over to a big pop and YES chant! Meanwhile, as
Brie walks away, AJ admires the Divas' Championship and skips with
it. I sense a four-way coming and I'm not even mad. Stephanie stops
AJ dead in her tracks, really upset, and demands the title. Now. AJ
smiles and hands it over, then laughs before skipping off. Paige
wants her title back.
I'll
give the WWE credit. I thought they were dousing Brie's heat to make
Stephanie look good, but it's still there. And if Brie wins the
Divas' Title – either in the four-way or directly from Nikki –
it'll lead to a big ovation. That said, I'm not ruling out the long
con yet.
Tomorrow
night's Main Event main event is MizTV with Dolph Ziggler.
Moments
Ago.
Next
week's main event will be Chris Jericho against Bray Wyatt in a steel
cage!
Bray
talks about the match and being locked in like wild animals. So how
far will a rat go to outrun the serpent? Within the steel walls, the
world will turn its back on Jericho. Run.
We
look back at the Dusts turning heel after a failed title opportunity.
Jimmy Uso v. Goldust.
JBL admits he was wrong about an intentional countout from last
week. But first, Goldust also apologizes about last week. But the
Usos won't hear it and start a melee. Jimmy gets the worst of it,
but chops away when the bell rings only to run into a spinebuster for
one. Jimmy's thrown upside-down into the corner, then it's a lariat
for two. We go to the chinlock. Goldust adds more right hands, but
Jimmy with a clothesline to start the comeback. Kneeling island chop
and Samoan Drop follow, then the Rikishi hip check. Superkick, but
Stardust puts Goldust's foot on the ropes. Jey races in and gets
kicked down, so Jimmy dives onto Stardust. He's caught coming back
in with a kick to the head, and Final Cut ends it at 2:13. 1/2*
The Dusts decide to injure Jey further, sending Jey's knee into the
post and nailing it with a chair. Goldust: “Do you want some now?”
Jey is in massive pain as the Dusts head to the back. Even JBL says
it's too much.
We
re-replay the Ambrose/Rollins finish, and the attempt to repeat it
with Reigns.
If
Jey is really hurt, why not switch the titles last week? And if he's
not hurt, why not let Goldust do Goldust things that he's famous for?
The Goldust I remember would've faked that chairshot and left Jey
realizing how vulnerable he was.
Sneak
Peek at Season 3 of Total Divas.
Earlier
Tonight, Show/Henry v. Harper/Rowan ended in a DQ thanks to Rusev.
Henry
tells Show he went for payback, and Show's proud of that – but Show
wants to be the biggest, best tag team ever. Henry says, yeah, but I
need my hands on Rusev first. Show offers to be in his corner, but
this is something Henry has to do himself. Show respects it, and he
wants no mercy.
HHH
comes to ringside to observe the main event, with Stephanie by his
side, as we see HHH setting the wheels in motion on the Highlight
Reel. Entrances span the commercial break.
And
that's how you turn Show heel. He's not happy that Mark Henry needs
to do things on his own just as their team was taking off. To be
fair, Show's “turn by” date is coming up.
This
just in: Paige will face Brie Bella on SmackDown. And on Raw, it's a
SummerSlam rematch as Randy Orton faces Roman Reigns.
John Cena, Roman Reigns, and
Chris Jericho v. Seth Rollins, Kane, and Randy Orton.
Kane is still Corporate tonight. HASHTAG! Reigns and Orton start.
Reigns gets the opening salvo in the corner with punches and
headbutts. Orton kicks away to take over, but Reigns floors him with
an elbow. Reigns with more headbutts as the Iowans want their own in
the ring. Orton with a cross-corner whip, but Reigns drops Orton and
fires away, then hands one to Kane. He flings Rollins into the ring
and corners him, firing away, but Orton tries to interrupt only to
get clotheslined out. Rollins bails as well as Reigns has cleared
the ring by himself and we go to break.
I
can appreciate that they're giving Roman Reigns the superhero push.
I can also appreciate it's working. I'm just not up for it. It
feels like you're trying to dictate to the crowd and not vice versa.
#6ManTag main event, part two.
Reigns is slugging away on Kane, who gets a running DDT for two.
Orton in, and he kicks away and scrapes the face. Orton with an
uppercut, but Reigns stops a slugfest and lands a clothesline out of
a whip. Samoan Drop by Reigns gets two. Five corner punches, but
Rollins distracts and Orton gets his back-to-back backbreaker off the
middle rope. It gets two. Rollins tags in and sends Reigns into the
apron, then the barricade. Back in, it gets two. Rollins uses
Reigns' own arm in a chinlock as they talk out a few spots. Rollins
switches to a sleeper, but Reigns sends him into the corner only for
Rollins to get a hairpull slam. Kane in, and he stomps away and he
gets a chinlock as the crowd chants for Cena. Even Randy Savage is
on Cena's side, for the record. Larry Sweeney less so. Reigns
breaks with a back suplex, but Orton cuts off the tag. A couple of
stomps gets two. A single kick, then Orton plays the crowd. Another
kick to the back, and the Orton Stomp as Cena begs for a tag. Reigns
with a clothesline out of nowhere, and despite Orton's best effort,
it's hot tag Jericho. He takes over on Rollins, then dropkicks Kane
off the apron and gets the one-hand bulldog. Lionsault, but no
cover. Walls of Jericho on, in the center of the ring, but Orton
breaks it. Superpunch to Orton, but Kane chokeslams Reigns. Cena
with an AA to Kane, but Rollins catches Cena with the flying knee.
Jericho with a cradle on Rollins for two. Enzuigiri by Rollins gets
two. HHH barks orders for Rollins as Jericho gets a Codebreaker out
of nowhere... while we go to break.
Hey,
a fake-out on the finish! I like it.
Main event, part three.
Orton has a chinlock on Jericho, but he chops out only to run into a
powerslam for two. Rollins in as we see how Jericho went into peril
during the break, and he sends Jericho into the corner and chops
away. Tumbling forearm and Jericho's down to a mild ovation for
Rollins. He goes up top and dives... right into a dropkick. Kane
in, and he stops the hot tag with an uppercut for two. Dino Bravo
slam by Kane gets two. We go back to the chinlock. This goes on a
while as Jericho fakes getting out once, but succeeds on the second
try, chopping away. Blind charge by Kane eats boot, but Jericho
leaps straight into an uppercut for two. Orton in, and he kicks
Jericho in the gut and drops a knee for two. Orton pounds away on
Jericho's back before lifting him up and landing a straight right.
Superplex is set up, but Jericho fights out, knocking him down.
Flying crossbody by Jericho gets two, and he's rolled off to his
corner. Kane takes Reigns out of the equation and cuts off Jericho,
but he escapes and it's Cena Time. Cena gets his usual comeback on
Kane, boots down Rollins, and runs into a goozle. Jericho breaks it
up, Orton sends Jericho out, and Cena bowls Kane over before
suplexing Rollins German-style. AA to Kane (while looking straight
at HHH), and he tags in Reigns for the exclamation point. Spear ends
it at 22:50. ***1/4
Cena argues with HHH on the outside as Reigns' music plays and his
hand is raised. Just saying. Rollins jumps Cena from behind, but he
gets caught and AA'd onto the table (which doesn't break). Message
sent to HHH, Cena walks off. Shill next week and let's get out of
here!
MORK
CALLING ORSON – COME IN ORSON:
Total
one-match show this week, with a LOT of filler in the form of Growing
Up Bella. The matches themselves were short, which is too bad – if
you're doing a filler show, you might as well go to your meat and
potatoes of wrestling. One thing I do like is the midcard got some
time to build tonight: Sheamus/Cesaro, Dolph/Miz, Henry/Rusev, and
Dallas/Swagger all got time to forward their stories.
Still,
matches were way too short for a three-hour show, and the Nikki
segments were completely unnecessary given the ultimatum later in the
ring. Oh well. Time to watch Nitro.
STATS:
MATCH
TIME: 54:05 over eight matches, but five of them were under 3
minutes.
BEST
MATCH: The six-man main event
WORST
MATCH: The six-Diva non-main event
NIGHT
MVP: John Cena
FINAL
SCORE: 3. I want to give this more, but five of the matches were as
long as one of the other three, and one of those long matches was
just BAD. Add in filler, and if you missed this show, you didn't
miss much. Then again, it was Labo(u)r Day – I think WWE was
counting on that.
Matt
Perri will be here tomorrow for Main Event. Tommy Hall reviews
first-run wrestling the rest of the week. Scott Keith and Logan
Scisco will go WWF retro. Dock Muraco lets you know about Japan.
The Stranger moderates the daily threads. And I'll be back in 7 days
– if not sooner.
Nanu,
nanu.
Sam didn't make the practice squad
ReplyDeleteEven more likely to randomly show up on Raw.
ReplyDelete"Oh, come on, WWE. Teachers are not stupid. I've been in school with identical twins – they'd never get away with it. It's not even a plausible lie"
ReplyDeleteI've taught identical twins and they switched classes on my during April Fools' Day, tricking not one BUT TWO teachers.
"The matches themselves were short, which is too bad – if you're doing a filler show, you might as well go to your meat and potatoes of wrestling. "
ReplyDeleteHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA you naive fool. Like they'd do wrestling to fill time.
they told him he gets to oil up Randy Orton!
ReplyDeleteAfter Summerslam, I was genuinely interested in where they were going to go with Cena/Lesnar, but now, I couldn't care less.
ReplyDeleteThey blew a chance to actually give Cena some depth as a character. Why even bother with the Lesnar asskicking if you weren't even going to sell it for more than one week, or sell that it damaged Cena or forced him to change in some manner.
They've pretty much undone what Summerslam set up and have made this Super Cena versus soon to be vacationing Brock again. Gee, I wonder who will win that...
Never said I expected it, just that they should.
ReplyDeleteTOTALLY agree with you, it's like they have an aversion to making him anything more interesting than a cartoon character....maybe they'll shock me and change it up, but they definitely have missed some opportunities.
ReplyDeleteTag me in!
ReplyDeleteHonestly think they did it sell in a misguided attempt to sell Network subscriptions. Just to say "You won't believe what Brock Lesnar did to John Cena!" And now they're just undoing it to set things back the way they were.
ReplyDeleteThis one time, Brie Bella convinced me to watch Raw this week after I swore it couldn't get any worse following last week's show.
ReplyDeleteAnd I never told anybody.
"And while I'm watching this Monday Night War ad, does anyone really believe DX did anything to turn the tide? It was a combination of Austin and McMahon carrying the show crossed with Hogan and Nash not realizing or caring the New World Order had run its course. DX was carried to the top."
ReplyDeleteIt's the winners that write the history books.
Rams didn't want him
ReplyDeleteRumor has it that ESPN's shower segment was too much for many teams
As I always joke, years down the road Triple H and Stephanie will have rewritten the Attitude Era to the point where Shawn Michaels was the original star of the Attitude Era, but he got injured and Triple H took over and became the star with DX as his sidekicks, and he great supporting acts in Stone Cold and the Rock.
ReplyDeleteTo be fair, Michael Sam probably isn't an NFL-caliber player. The game is just SO different from college football. But he wouldn't be the first guy who excelled in college and couldn't cut it in the pros.
ReplyDeleteI wanna see an NFL game where it's hyped up in advance that a recently released WWE performer is being given 15 minutes during the actual game to give his 'side of the story'.
ReplyDeleteWait, no I don't. Not even a little bit.
That would be amazing.
ReplyDeleteI think what really destroyed him was getting completely dominated in the SEC championship game by the Auburn o-line. He was never going to be anything more than a situational pass rusher. Just as a Mizzou grad, I hope he gets another chance somewhere at some point.
ReplyDeleteI tweeted earlier 'Raw was shitty, so I put on Nitro.' I must be the first man to have ever tweeted that in the present tense.
ReplyDeleteNHL and Walking Dead did it with that Phil Brooks guy.
ReplyDeleteDo you still do the meme event or are you done with that now?
ReplyDeleteThis was the first RAW since April where I watched more than 15 minutes. This will probably be the last RAW for awhile where I watch more than 15 minutes.
ReplyDeleteMy network membership expires in 1 month. As of right now, I'm thinking of just letting it lapse.
Lead publisher for the Philadelphia Eagles site on Scout.com now. That and freelancing for Fighting Spirit Magazine, so they take up my time these days.
ReplyDeleteOh ok, congrats and thanks for clearing that up. Wrestlecrap feels like it's been slowing down recently.
ReplyDeleteFor the last 10 years.
ReplyDeleteWWE is getting what it wanted with Michael Sam: publicity
ReplyDeleteIt's already getting articles on several sports and news sites
you're free to send your best material to RD. If you know what's funny, by all means, my pseudonym friend.
ReplyDeleteSam's a tweener with one viable pass rushing move, ripping. I honestly don't believe he was drafted due to talent.
ReplyDeleteWait, what? Did he sign with WWE or something?
ReplyDeleteJustin -- I miss WrestleCrap fantasy booking. That was good stuff... I wish it continued and I'd be willing to help you resume it.
ReplyDeleteMan, with all the shit this show's getting, is it even worth checking out for morbid curiosity's sake?
ReplyDeleteby all means, RD's not a hard guy to find. It's his decision at the end of the day, and I'm all for good, witty people finding an outlet there. He gave me one, and it's opened doors for me.
ReplyDeleteHe has ripping and speed rushes, which do work from time to time, but he's undersized, and if you don't have counter moves off of a speed rush, it's tough to beat good o-linemen in the NFL (this from seeing tons of his Mizzou games in college)
ReplyDeletehttp://www.cbssports.com/nfl/eye-on-football/24691118/wwe-invites-michael-sam-to-appear-on-sept-8-monday-night-raw
ReplyDeleteAh, nice. I'm sure he won't "lower" himself to accepting, but indeed, smart little marketing ploy by WWE, which really didn't cost them any money.
ReplyDeleteDX's importance is overstated, but when one of the guys is the heir to the company, and the other is lionized as an "icon" despite being one of the lowest drawing top guys in company history, is that really much of a surprise?
ReplyDeleteHe'd have a better chance if he had special teams value, but he's a niche player when rosters favor flexibility. He's good at his niche, but it's gonna take a team with little depth to take a flier on him
ReplyDeletePat Patterson just bought a front row ticket for next week's Raw.
ReplyDeleteWill Elton John be playing Raw's music live next week?
ReplyDeleteAnd with that, the marathon is over.
ReplyDeleteI will send a detailed biography about one Mr. Tony Garea that will electrify all of the Crappers
ReplyDeleteNo. But it's still irritating.
ReplyDeleteShawn Michaels is lionized not because of his drawing power or political connections, but because he is one of the most innovative and influential wrestlers of his or any other era. But I wish they'd focus on that and not his alleged influence in the Monday Night Wars, most of which he missed.
ReplyDeletelulz it's funny cause they're ghey!!!
ReplyDeleteFor the unintentional humor, yes.
ReplyDeleteGiven who Cena's target audience is, he literally is a cartoon character. Superman was always fine by the end of every episode of those old cartoons.
ReplyDeletelooking down at the other comments, I still love how some are still demanding that John Cena sells 16 German Suplexes and two F5's for half a month. SERIOUSLY GUYS. He got roughed up and lost a match. He didn't get run over by a bus. Now he's embarrassed by his poor performance, and he's increased the intensity... And will more than likely lose again.
ReplyDeleteThere's a huge difference. Cartoons are stand-alone. This is an ongoing story. He needs to have a darkness before the dawn. This is why I will defend 2012 to the death -- he doubted himself, he was manhandled, he didn't know if he could, Edge slapped some sense into him, he fought to the death and won with his last breath. End the show there and it's perfect -- regardless of what SK and others say.
ReplyDeleteI don't hate you Chris Long. I don't even dislike. Hell, I like you more than most of the defensive lines. I hate this idea that you're the best, because you're not. I'm the best, I'm the best defensive line. There's one thing you're better that than I am: not admitting you're gay. I don't know if you're gayer than Jay Cutler, though. I mean, he's pretty gay. Opps, I'm breaking the forth wall. Hey, Rodger Goodell!
ReplyDeleteBut, but, it destroyed Brock forever. then Cena talked and it apparently ruined it even more or something.
ReplyDeleteRemember how Cena was after the Rock loss and before the Lesnar match?
ReplyDeleteTHAT'S WHAT PEOPLE ARE COMPLAINING ABOUT NOT SEEING.
If they were going to draft him for the publicity, they would've kept him on the roster.
ReplyDeleteYeah, sad to see it go as I've had it on in the background for the last 12 days. What's nice is on top of the VOD stuff next month, FXX will be playing mini marathons every night (save for I believe Wednesday and Saturday).
ReplyDelete"the two insult each other's wardrobe choices. (“That scarf is such a treasure trove.” “At least it's not a pink tie.” “It's violet.”)"
ReplyDeleteDid this really happen?
Yes. Yes it did. It was clear the crowd wanted them to exchange silly barbs, so they threw a few in.
ReplyDeleteAs Andy said, yes that is 100% accurate.
ReplyDeleteBut they saw it in 2012 and still bitched because Cena would eventually win. I mean nothing is ever good enough. The guy did three 100% clean jobs in PPV main events in the past year... STILL NOT GOOD ENOUGH.
ReplyDeleteLook at the YouTube clip I posted above and you'll see why.
ReplyDeleteCFL skillset
ReplyDeleteThe bitching was more to the follow-up. If Cena had won by the skin of his teeth and showed up the next night on Raw with a half-broken arm to be attacked by an opportunistic Laurinaitis, it tells a complete story -- Big Johnny wants to run WWE, so he uses Brock as a pawn to knock out the big competition. It was the fact that Cena was able to cut a promo (which should have NEVER aired) and had a farce of a match with Laurinaitis.
ReplyDeleteThing is, the anger's not really at Cena. They don't like his character, but they respect the person. It's just a sign of Vince losing his fastball.
OH MY FUCKING GOD
ReplyDeleteJESUS TIT SUCKING CHRIST
HOLY SHITSNACKS THAT"S AWFUL
Tell me about it. Dear god... why... WHO THOUGHT THIS WAS A GOOD IDEA?
ReplyDeleteBTW -- I didn't respond in the Raw thread to cultstatus, but I want to clarify:
ReplyDeleteI believe that condoning rape is MUCH worse than staring at ill-gotten compromising pictures. But they're both wrong. And creepy. And signs of viewing women as less than human. So to condemn one mindset and participate in the other? Don't get it.
But that's none of my business. /sips tea
Michaels is obviously awesome from a talent standpoint, but I've noticed that many (the folks at WWE included, though it's obviously understandable in their case) gloss over his lack of drawing power and general lack of stardom.
ReplyDeleteAlmost as bad as owning every pair of Jordans but only being able to text when your phone has wi-fi
ReplyDeleteMark Henry looks even worse than Kane does in the ring nowadays. He makes the Big Show look agile out there
ReplyDeleteFUCK THIS STUPID FEUD
ReplyDeleteHe's FAT!
ReplyDelete??
ReplyDeleteHe's been injured quite a bit over the last few years
ReplyDeleteIt was a good idea. It's been trending on Twitter for over 3 hours now. Sigh.
ReplyDeleteI'd assume you'd be more vigilant for final exam/a big unit test
ReplyDeleteThink he might consider that option?
ReplyDeleteCanada is a little ahead on the Gay acceptance thing too so I could see it working out for him.
Ok, Dougie.
ReplyDeleteHe might not at first but after a year or two, certainly
ReplyDeleteBecause the only story left to tell is where Cena's character goes after he fails. Cena eventually winning has been the prevailing story for almost 10 years. They've done every possible variation of it.
ReplyDeleteIt's possible they're setting this up for Cena to do every bit of the Super Cena bounce back match routine and still come up short to Lesnar. But I doubt it.
Officially got tickets to ROH in Toronto.
ReplyDeleteElgin in his first home country appearance as champion!
If Cena does win at the next PPV, I will fully admit that it's a stupid move. But the absolute worse I can imagine is some sort of double DQ to set up another rematch. No way Cena wins.
ReplyDeleteI hope you're right. But I have my doubts after the past few weeks. I've always been skeptical that they would keep the title on Brock if he's not going to be working most of the dates and skipping some of the PPVs. I really think we're setting up for the Rocky III Cena finds the Eye of the Tiger and wins a war ending (which may or may not actually end with the briefcase being cashed)
ReplyDeleteHopefully about how stupid it is.
ReplyDeleteThis thing has legs for a few more months sadly.
ReplyDeletePfft -- like Vince cares.
ReplyDeleteI never showed anyone that video........
ReplyDeleteYeah, this is all to plug Total Divas.
ReplyDeleteSo they played that on raw?
ReplyDeleteYes.....they played all of that on Raw, all of those segments.
ReplyDeleteWhat the hell is this show going to look like with Jericho definitely done after NOC and Lesnar possibly done for a little while after that PPV. It's not even like they've got some guys on the sidelines ready to jump in and freshen things up. Barrett's back in a couple months, Christian may or may not come back. Bryan's still a long ways away. It's going to be an ugly rest of the year.
ReplyDeleteLast year it was Abeyance, this year it's about Brie Mode.
ReplyDeleteI put Brie in charge of my King of the Ring deck in Supercard, but she never checked in on it, my cards lost all their stamina, and I went 2-43.
ReplyDeleteI never told anyone.
I'm not implying that you are like this, but I suggest to people to simply be happy about going into a match where there is a legit doubt about who will win... instead of worrying yourself into a braineurysm [/markhenry] over the possibility of the result not being what you want, thus robbing yourself of any enjoyment from the match.
ReplyDelete:laughing uncontrollably:
ReplyDeleteBrie is the worst sister in the history of sisters.
You seem to be doing now what I've been dreaming of doing for the last ten years. My journalism degree has kind of been wasting away; I envy you, sir.
ReplyDeleteIf they're going to do this, couldn't they have Nikki kick Brie's leg out of her leg to start it? Really, lost opportunity there.
ReplyDeleteaka the only place you'll get to see Daniel Bryan anytime soon.
ReplyDeleteSo does that mean Pat Patterson IC Title run when Legends House comes back?
ReplyDeleteI watched vengeance 2004 earlier today and his match vs Benoit was probably the best match of his career.
ReplyDeleteHHH is slowly completing the 360 turn back to his Blueblood character.
ReplyDeleteI tried to make my Super Rare Nikki go Pro using Super Rare Brie, but she couldn't even do that right.
ReplyDeleteI never told anyone.
To quote Groundhog Day, "People like blood sausage. People are morons."
ReplyDeleteHis match against Cena a year or so ago was pretty decent too
ReplyDeleteSerious talk... Bret totally should have made the tag...
ReplyDeleteComparing rape to looking at photo's lessens the horribleness of rape
ReplyDeleteI did say it was much worse. But robbing a bank is much worse than shoplifting. Doesn't make shoplifting okay.
ReplyDeletenot all twins have one with a boob job
ReplyDelete...she got her boob job in high school?
ReplyDeleteHulk totally should have answered the phone.
ReplyDeleteSurprised no one mentioned that THIS was the 1st time Jericho has done the complete !00% arrogant cover since WCW. Not just his foot on the guys chest but also him yelling, "C'MON BABY!"
ReplyDeleteMichael Sam and Brock Lesnar have something in common!
ReplyDeleteyou can compare anything with each other (it's not the same as equating two things).
ReplyDeletefor example: I could easily compare Vince McMahon to some spaghetti bolognese - and come to the result that the former is a lot more delicious.
it would be kind of funny if that became a thing (#switchtonitro or whatever).
ReplyDeleteThere's still time, brah. Do what you've wanted to do.
ReplyDeleteYep, neither will be at Raw next week.
ReplyDeletemethinks The Federation is starting to miss the CeNote$.
ReplyDeleteAs for Michael Sam, I say he teams up with Darren Young and Trip gives them a #ThreeMinuteWarning (after StePHONY gives them a gravy boat, of course)
Do they kill the Brie and Nikki angle right after NoC? They have to see how bad of a reaction it's getting.
ReplyDeleteThe Orton match at NoC was fun.
ReplyDeleteHave fun!
ReplyDelete