What up wrestling fans, I'm the WrestlingNerd bringing you another written review. Today we take a look at WWE Raw 8/26/13. What happens this week? Let's find out and begin.
Before we begin…
Okay, so the first thing I need to address is my upload schedule from this point forward since I'm back to a consistent work schedule. I apologize for no Impact or Smackdown reviews last week. I tried to watch Impact, but was so bored with it that I just couldn't continue watching. It wasn't the worst I've seen from TNA, but there's only so much you can do when you're bored by something. I watch wrestling to be entertained and have a little fun, but for some reason, that episode felt like more of a chore than fun, which is why there was Impact review. As for Smackdown, I was simply out of town and unable to do it in time before leaving. I've mentioned many times in the past that other things are going to come before this page. I have stuff like family, friends, social life and work that are higher on the priority list than this little hobby of mine. Yes, I referred to this as a hobby since I take time out of my schedule to do this. I don't write reviews for money since I don't get paid for ANY of this. I write reviews because I have loads of fun and I enjoy making people laugh. It was something I wanted to re-address just in case people were wondering what's going on around here. To the people that were patient with me in the first place, I thank you for your courtesy and hope we can still have a good laugh with future articles. Now we shall continue.
Corporation's new rules
We open up the show with Triple H. He's disgusted with Daniel Bryan for being disrespectful towards his wife, so he made an example out of him by having the Shield and Randy Orton attack him last week. It's funny how he gets upset with DB for making fun of Stephanie, but it's a-okay when Trips calls his wife a whore. It sounds like a happy marriage, don't you think? Where do you spend your anniversaries, a shooting range? Trips brags about the ratings and it's all because of Randy Orton. If you haven't picked up on it yet, Trips has pretty much gone into full-time, dick-mode from here on out. I know it was apparent after SummerSlam, but this and his actions to end Raw last week officially sealed it. Trips gives Randy a gift…
This prompts Mr. Beard to interrupt the jerk-fest. After some insults and a terrible musical number by Trips (Seriously, he should not be allowed to sing to any child), the COO of the company puts Daniel in a gauntlet match against the Shield later this evening. By the end of the night, that car dies. It just has to based on wrestling logic. We'll miss you, car #309749. You were the most forgettable and I salute you.
You broke my heart, Punk. You broke my heart!!!
The Cody Rhodes/Fandango match gets interrupted due to the showcase that is Mizdango. It was bizarre, but what was more bizarre was seeing Rosa Mendes as his partner. She's been gone so long that I literally said, 'What, she still works here?'. Apparently she does after tonight, but for how long? It's now that time of the night where Brad Maddox does the only thing he was hired for, impersonating Teddy Long. Holla holla holla!!! A forgetful tag team match leads to Miz and Cody as the victors over Damien Sandow and Fandango. CM Punk has a match with Curtis Axel, but there was a stipulation brought to you by the greatest device summoned from the Gods of the almighty, the WWE App…
Is there anything the WWE App can't do? Anyway, the fans picked the stipulation where if Punk defeats Axel, he gets to fight Heyman. Punk defeated Axel with the GTS, so that means it's time for Heyman to think of another plan. Oh yeah, Curtis is still there and has finally recovered from the knee to the face… Probably should've done something about that, Punk, but that's what wrestling logic will do to you. Axel protects Pauly and handcuffs Punk's hands. Due to Punk being handcuffed, Heyman unloads on Punk with a kendo stick. I love how Heyman is shouting how Punk broke his heart while whipping him with a stick. This kinda reminds me of a relationship with the crazy ex who starts to act like a mental patient. You know, trying to show how much they love somebody, but just come off as disturbingly creepy. I think that's where Heyman's at, but I attribute that to good acting. Like I've been saying for a few weeks, Punk and Heyman continue to work off each other and really have made the rivalry pop out. I love it! It was announced that Punk vs Heyman will happen at Night of Champions and if Paul doesn't go through with the fight, he's fired… for about two weeks until they think of another way to bring him back.
AJ Lee taps into her inner, CM Punk
Because you requested it, you get to see the Natalya/Brie Bella match from SummerSlam yet again…Woo? After the match, AJ pretty much insults the entire cast of Total Divas and actually gets a positive reaction. I really liked AJ's promo, but I have to agree with what most are saying that the Bellas really came off as annoying during this bit. We get it, you're upset with her words, but you don't have to scream like a banshee every five-seconds. I think toning it down a bit would've made your message clear, but that's not what's important right now. In many ways, AJ spoke a lot of truth with her promo. She did work her butt off to get to where she's at and it's insulting how the Divas Champ gets less attention than somebody who's being paid to smile and look pretty. And to be fair, AJ has been one of the more meaningful Diva Champions in quite a while. This was a very good diva segment that sets up the stars of Total Divas trying to prove AJ wrong or AJ plowing through the reality show because she spoke the truth and is really better than all of them. I'm not expecting anything gigantic from the diva division after tonight, but they definitely got my interest after this segment and I look forward in seeing where this goes.
WHC: a glorified mid-card title?
Okay, I cannot take Ricardo seriously in that RVD shirt. I know the man looked like the little guy on 'Fantasy Island' while wearing that monkey suit, but seeing him in that shirt was odd to say the least. Then again, this whole pairing is just odd to begin with, so maybe that's the point. Thanks to Ricardo's distraction, RVD defeats Alberto Del Rio in a non-title match. You know the role of the WHC has gone downhill when they start giving away the matches for free. It kinda feels like a mid-card championship to be honest. Does anyone else feel like this? I know the WWE Championship is the bigger prize at the end of the day, but the WHC has fallen since the days of Cena, Undertaker, and Trips holding onto the title. In the continuing adventures of Biff 'Ryback' Tannen, he bullies Josh Matthews by shoving his fist down his face. If Ryback gets 20 more bully points, he will be able to join Cobra Kai. Oh boy!!!
Another edition of Michael Cole's pun-o-meter
So, Paul feels like a man by beating up his 'best friend'? More like a douchebag, if you ask me. Ohhhhh, I'm a douchebag and I'm okay! I beat you with a stick and eat all day!!! The next match of the night was Randy Orton vs Christian. This was a good match, but that fall Christian took looked pretty scary. What did you think? Randy utilizes a thumb to the eye to steal a match from Christian. After the match, Daniel shows up on the titantron and gives Randy's car a new paint job. Bob Barker would be pissed if he saw this. A Yes-calade? Awwwwwwwwwwww! Cole, that was terrible! Awww, I think my heart skipped a beat with that last pun! Awwwwwww! You think the corporation would be smart enough to put security around the car, but I guess nobody thought about that when goat-face was running loose. Due to his actions, Triple H wants the entire WWE roster to watch their hero fall and if anybody interferes, they will be fired. Wait, didn't something like this happen last week? I guess Triple H loved it so much that he wants to do it again. Encore, baby!!!
Tag Team feud minus the tag team
Do you ever wonder if Zeb Colter just got back from a hunting trip with Dick Cheney? Maybe it's the vest that makes me think that, but who knows. Titus O'Neil defeats Jack Swagger thanks to Darren Young causing enough of a distraction for Titus to take advantage. Not sure how the Prime Time Players' face turn is gonna turn out, but I don't have a problem with it… kind of. While I'm fine with Darren Young being honest with himself, it just seems odd that the PTP have all of the sudden started to get victories after this. I know this is a PR move and I honestly don't mind PTP getting a mini-push or doing it from a PR perspective, but it's still… It's like…Yeah, it's hard to describe.
Triple H's wet dream
Big Show and Dolph Ziggler choose to not comment on the situation, while the Miz claimed what happened to them is….is? IS? IIIIIIIISSSSSSSSSSS!!! The first opponent in the gauntlet match is Seth Rollins. In a solid match, Bryan defeats Rollins, but gets no time to rest as Dean Ambrose attacks. Only seconds into the match, Roman 'ROAR' Reigns attacks, thus the match results in a DQ. After the Shield had their fun with DB, Trips informs them to hit the triple powerbomb. Doesn't Big Show have an ironclad contr--Oh, I just to forget about that storyline. Randy arrives to finish off Daniel with the RKO. Remember what I said earlier about Triple H really loving the ending to last week? Well, this ending had to cement that comment. The storyline continues to show the stars dissatisfied with the eeeeevvvvvvil corporation's mindset, but realize they can't say or do anything since the same thing could happen to them. If WWE does this right, this could be the main event come Survivor Series. Team Corporation vs Team Yes? Has a nice ring to it, don't you think?
Overall Impression:
Once again, this was another good episode. I've really enjoyed what WWE has done the last couple of months since I think they've put together consistent entertainment during this time and it's great. I would say only a few matches stood out this evening, but it's the segments and storylines that's making the shows fun and interesting right now. I would definitely say this show is worth a watch and I look forward to seeing how the corporation is gonna get taken down. I know that's months away, but that's how intrigued I am. I just hope things are just as interesting then as they are now when it comes time to end the storyline. That does it for the review and I hope you enjoyed it. Tell me what you thought of my review or tonight's review. I will see you guys and girls in the next one.
Triple H's gift car to Randy being ruined, that's just a special wing of Wrestling Logic all to itself I believe. It's so funny when we know it's coming, and we must suspend all disbelief as to how it was done. But Bryan's ability to get a can of paint and take an hour or two to cover the car in "YESs", pales in comparison to the time DX spraypainted the WWE's corporate headquarters, circa 2006. I mean, how long did that take, and what kind of scaffolding equipment did Hunter and Shawn have to rent out to make that possible?
ReplyDeleteAnyway, great review, and I also agree that the WHC is an afterthought, and for the most part has been since heel Triple H held it and was challenged and eventually beaten by HBK, Goldberg, and Batista.
Glad you brought up the Bellas yelling during AJ's excellent promo...they came across like catty drunk girls outside a bar at 3 AM and they've got to be getting a talking-to behind the scenes for it.
Eh, you didn't miss much on Impact last Thursday.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I enjoy your blog. I like seeing someone's point of view that's similar to mine, but different enough to see other things. But I agree, life is very important and takes importance over hobbies.
ReplyDeleteI really don't see it as Wrestling Logic, i see it more like Wrestling Law, things that will always happen. Kinda like how when a heel becomes a world champion, he'll start wearing suits everywhere unless he has a match coming up.
Poor, poor WHC, every since each brand got it's own title and Smackdown is the lower show, it's gone downhill. Weirdly enough, the shows might get a bit better if they brought back two tittles back...or at least a cruiserweight/light heavyweight belt. Something to show how much more the WHC matters.
It's what WWE does, anyone that gets some buzz going around them gets a push. They did it a bit with Fandango, they did it before with Ryder when he got the US title (then was thrown under the plot bus that Cena was riding in and never challenged for a rematch against it.), and it's what they're doing with the PTP. I personally don't mind it because as heels...they weren't really much. They never really did anything that heelish, plus they joke around too much, especially on the Backstage Fallout and other stuff on WWE's youtube. As for them getting a push...it's to be expected. The thing getting to you might be because Antonio is a really good athlete and former US champ while Swagger...well...he's Swagger...not much more than that, being one of the saddest WHC champs.
I enjoyed how they teased it by having Show and Ziggler right in the middle. Though the match itself was pretty entertaining. I think the thing that gets me is the fact that it's almost trying to be a weird take on the attitude era's Corporation fights. Where instead of the beer drinking, cussing, everyday man that was Austin, they have Daniel Bryan who is...not what we are today (because I'm not a vegan, I would be sad if I couldn't have a steak) but that more modern and accepting thought. We want everyone to have a chance, Daniel Bryan has a chance, we like the underdog, Bryan is the underdog, we have a love for beards spreading, Bryan has a beard. Though I imagine that if this story line continues to Survivor Series, (which I imagine it's gonna go Night of Champions, Orton wins through help of Triple H. Battleground (now that's a new one) it'd be Triple H vs Bryan and Triple H wins with Ortons help, then Hell in a Cell Triple H vs Bryan, and either Bryan winning and making Survivor Series be between him and Vince, or Triple H winning and the feud continuing), we could see Show and Ziggler on his team.
I have to say, this is the best the WWE has been in years. Sure there's been some low episodes of Raw...and Smackdown is Smackdown...it stays the same sadly. And I mean best as in actually doing things and having some really good storylines and characters. If this keeps up, TNA is gonna be in a bad place.