WrestlingNerd Presents: WWE Raw 8/19/13 Review (Eeeeeevil Corporation)

What up wrestling fans, I'm the WrestlingNerd bringing you another written review. Today we take a look at WWE Raw 8/19/13. After the amazing night that was SummerSlam, what happens tonight? Let's find out and start the review. 

The 'B' stands for beard

We open up the show with John Cena. Mr. Fruity Pebble informs us that he will be going away for a while to deal with an injury, but will be back when he's ready. Ah, the day the IWC jizzed in their pants over the thought they won't hear see Cena for the next 4-6 months. Joking aside, I wish Cena the best in his recovery. I may not be the biggest fan of Cena, but I respect his work at the end of the day. Cena is also not happy in how Daniel Bryan was treated by the corporation, but he respects him and refers to him as a champion… and the guy who kneed him in the face. Anybody else think of Cena handing the mic over to Bryan as a symbolic jester of handing over the torch? You get to hold onto this torch for a while, but I want it back when I return! Stephanie McMahon interrupts and claims she feels 'bad' for Bryan, but it was all done in the name of business. Yeah, the EEEEEEVIL, big, bad, corporation is looking like a bunch of a-holes, don't you think? In fact, Stephanie even played her 'Bitch Card' to the extreme. Let's be honest, she's better at playing a bitch than a nice person. It was actually refreshing to see Steph play her old character. Just look at that smile on here face. Now, THAT'S the Steph we love to 'hate'. As you would imagine, things get very heated between Steph and Bryan. I love the line where Stephanie refers to Bryan as a solid B+. Oh, them's fighting words! Nobody calls me a B+ and gets away with it! How dare you call me a B+! Hmmm, I wonder if the 'B" stands for Beard+? Maybe she wasn't insulting him at all? Before you have time to ponder that thought, Steph sends the security to escort Bryan out of the building…

Very good opening segment in case you were curious to know my thoughts. 

Don't piss off the boss

The first match of the night was a SummerSlam rematch between Cody Rhodes and Damien Sandow. What's that? You have no interest in this match? You don't want to see something you saw yesterday? Well, too bad! This is what you get! Just like the night before, Rhodes and Sandow deliver a decent match, but I can understand why you wouldn't have an interest in this whole thing. For me, I've enjoyed just about everything this rivalry has done so far. While the tenure of Rhodes Scholars was pathetic…

Seeing the two finally break away from each other gave them a pulse. Rhodes picks up the victory yet again while Sandow wonders why his beard doesn't have DB powers. Once again, I believe this feud will lead into a match where the case is on the line. After the obligatory Total Divas showcase for the evening, we jump into a handicap match. Dolph Ziggler made some comments about Triple H on Twitter and let's just say that the big, bad, corporation, isn't happy about their employes speaking up! I kinda like the idea of the Bryan vs WWE storyline getting other people involved. Not only could it help people like Randy and Bryan, but could also do something for people like Dolph since the storyline is big enough for more involvement. Ziggles did his best to fight off the Shield, but it was too much to overcome. Roman Reigns ends the match with a Spear. Reigns lets out a roar, so it's time for a Triple Powerbomb. Not a bad match for what it was worth. 

I still love you, CM Punk…

Paul Heyman talks about forgiving CM Punk and admits he still wants to team up with him, but it's now Punk's decision. I forgive you, CM Punk, because I love you!!! I Love you, man! I never want to lose again! I'm a wreck without you! Since I want to get all this in one paragraph let's jump ahead to the part where CM Punk talks. Damn, that guy in the front row is probably having the best moment of his life. You get on TV AND chewed out by Punk? That sounds like a lot of fun if you ask me. Punk admits he's angry, but he starts to think that Paul Heyman is right… For about 20 seconds since he claims he will get his revenge on Heyman. A bit anti-climatic, but it works. Love the fire in CM Punk's promo. It's really making this scene come alive. Instead of Heyman, Curtis Axel decides to take the fight to Punk. This was NOT a match. It was a plain fight between two individuals. Once Punk took out Axel, the segment ends with Pauly walking away. Punk and Heyman are putting together some of the greatest promos in a long time. It's fun seeing the two work off each other and try to top the other. Nice job. 

Robertoooooooooooooo Van Dammmmmmmmmm… ooooooooooo

After an abrupt end to the Alberto Del Rio/Sin Cara match, Ricardo Rodriguez announces he's managing RVD…

RVD and Ricardo? Well, that's a very odd pairing. What, did the creative staff draw names out of hat? Then again, maybe I missing something here? Maybe RVD has always been a fan of Ricardo's work? Maybe he'll change his name to Roberto Van Dam? I'll give the team a chance, but it doesn't change the fact that this one came out of nowhere. With this move, it seems RVD will be the next one to challenge Del Rio for the WHC. I guess Dolph will have to wait another day for his rematch. If Sin Cara is injured yet again, I hope the recovery goes well for him. That's all I'm gonna say about it since I'm not gonna jump to speculations about Sin Cara based on online rumors that can either be true or false. With Sin Cara away, could be a time to repackage him. We can rebuild him, we have the technology…

Some love for the tag division

Zeb Colter's speech: They took err jerbs!!! They trek ye er!! Derk a der!!! Da Drrrrrrrrrr!!! Almost Real Americans went up against the Prime Time Players. There was no transition for the PTP's sudden face turn, but that's because of Darren Young coming out about his sexuality a week ago. I think it's great that Darren came out and can be proud of himself. I have no issues with this whatsoever. We see a video hyping up Los Matadores. I gotta admit, the name alone already grabs my attention. It seems a new tag team is on the way in the WWE, or is it an old tag team with a new gimmick? Hmmmm… Okay, there's no point in prolonging it. Primo and Epico are Los Matadores. Yeah, I couldn't resist. A bit odd to see two Puerto Ricans play Mexicans/Spaniards, but this is also professional wrestling. You have a Swiss guy playing an American, a Canadian playing an Italian and God knows how many others have been repackaged into a different race. Why stop now? To my surprise, the 3MB/Usos match was given a lot of time to flesh out. In fact, the Real Americans/PTP match also got this treatment. It seems WWE wants to continue the expansion of the tag division, and there's nothing wrong with that. I always like seeing the tag team division getting some love since it was my favorite division when I was a kid. 

What did I say about pissing off the boss? 

Zack Ryder gets a paycheck by shamelessly plugging other products. BUY FOOT LOCKER TODAY!!! The corporation commands you!!! In other news, Biff Tannen continues to bully people smaller than him. This time, Ryback forces a guy to ruin his clothes by getting them wet since we apparently live in a world without washer and dryers. Wa waaa waaaaaaaa!!! Yeah, I would be scared too if a guy forced me in the shower and said, 'take it out', so I don't blame him for doing this. So, is Ryback gonna start demanding lunch money? Its gotta happen next week, right? The Shield pull double duty when they have another handicap match, but this time against Big Show. Apparently, Show also said some negative things about Triple H, thus he gets put in this situation. Noticing a pattern, here? The match ends with a Triple Powerbomb. 

The minor stuff

What's up? LED lights is what's up. Bray Wyatt hits Sister Abigail on R-Truth in a squash match, but not before a dance routine between Bray and Truth. I guess Truth really wanted a dance this evening. Kinda disappointed that there was no promo from the Wyatt family this week, but maybe Smackdown can do something about that. What I find funny is Michael Cole mentioning the Barrett Barrage. A peashooter from 'Plants vs Zombies' has more of a barrage going than Wade. That's how far he's fallen. Fandango interrupts the Miz/Wade match since Miz can't be the permanent host of WWE Raw. Well, at least he and Fandango have something to do, right? 

Coronation by the corporation 

The final segment of the night was the coronation for Randy Orton. Triple H explains that he likes Daniel Bryan, but this was a business move and he did this for your children's children. Unless Randy is competing at 80-years old, I don't think that plan's gonna work. Then again, it's wrestling logic, so let's play along. The Shield has become the bodyguards for the McMahons, Trips, and Randy. It's kinda funny seeing the group that stood for injustice now gets along with the corporation. I do like the fact they addressed the Trips/Orton rivalry in the past. I know it's pro wrestling and plotholes are gonna be eventual, but it's nice to at least remember past storylines/rivalries once in a while. I also like the line of the coal turning into a diamond. That had to be a nod to the Evolution days. Anyway, Randy Orton comes out and nobody applauds… Except for Teddy Long. It's like being at a rally and you see that one guy applaud and nobody else joining in. It's just funny in my eyes. I kinda want to know the story behind this…

Teddy: I never had problems with Randy Orton, playa!!! He's a nice guy! Love that guy! Now where's my tag team match? 

Anyway, Orton comes out and is embracing his ego… Triple H has taught him well. Trips invites Bryan to come out and get all his anger out in the open. Bryan heads to the ring, but the Shield attack him. We attack in the name of injustice and money… Actually, it's just money! After a Spear by Reigns, Bryan crawls towards the ring while Trips is treating Bryan like a dog. Did anybody else notice that? Come on, boy! You can do it! You can make that step! Good boy, here's a treat! Unfortunately, the treat is an RKO. The show ends with the corporation standing tall. Like I mentioned with the SummerSlam review, Bryan is only getting started with his rise to the top. Sure enough, he's gonna take the war to the corporation and he just might pick up some allies on the way. I just like what WWE has going on right now and I'm looking forward to seeing how this plays out. Oh, and like I mentioned earlier with Stephanie, the entire McMahon family work better as heels. They just feel more natural in the role. 

Overall Impression:

I wasn't expecting this to match SummerSlam, but I was expecting the WWE to continue with the stories. Did they do that? They definitely did since there was a couple moments on Raw that really stood out. The CM Punk segment showed the hero not waiting to back down from a fight and is still on the prowl for Heyman, while things continue to grow with Bryan vs corporation. The segments with Bryan were very engaging and had me listening to every word that was uttered. Needless to say, it was enjoyable from my perspective. Hell, even the undercard stuff was pretty good. While you can say the match quality was a drop, I thought the action was good enough. I'm not saying this was he Raw of the year since I've seen better episodes, but this episode was still a lot of fun and I think people that enjoyed SS will definitely get a kick out of this. Things are really getting interesting in WWE Land and I'm looking forward to the upcoming weeks. That does it for the review and I hope you enjoyed it. Tell me what you thought of my review or tonight's show. If you hated my review, you can leave an angry comment, but take into account that I won't give a s***. I will see you guys and girls in the next one.