WrestlingNerd Presents: WWE Raw 9/16/13 Review (Rebellion)

What up wrestling fans, I'm the WrestlingNerd bringing you another written review. Today we take a look at WWE Raw 9/16/13. After the events of Night of Champions, what happens next? Let's find out and begin. 

Here lies Daniel Bryan's hopes and dreams

We open up the show with Daniel Bryan. As you would guess, Bryan is talking about his WWE Championship victory. Wow, what a moment for the man! So, where's the part of the show where the man with the big nose crushes his dreams? Oh, there he is! Right on time! After a replay system that makes you question the NFL replay system, Scott Armstrong admits that he made a fast count and claims he and DB were working together in order to ensure Bryan's championship victory. Bryan denies these claims, but Trips has heard more than enough to strip DB of the WWE Championship. Bryan refuses, but he eventually has no choice but to fork it over…

Randy Orton arrives and the two are about to fight, but it's revealed that Orton ISN'T the WWE Champion and things will get figured out at a later time. I should note that by the end of the night, we still don't know the fate of the WWE Championship, so we currently have no world champion at the moment…

Very intriguing backstage scene where Orton was acting like a crybaby for not getting his championship back, but Stephanie puts him in his place and claims Orton deserved to lose since he's not the same, vicious, Randy Orton who made their lives a living hell. That was definitely something. Looks like Randy is gonna have to look himself in the mirror and find that sadistic snake. This is definitely an interesting turn of events, so definitely a positive start to the show. Although, it's kinda sad that this opening might've been more engaging than the entire NoC PPV. I should note that much later in the evening, Armstrong would get fired for his actions at the PPV. Armstrong didn't seem thrilled about the news, but Trips insures that Armstrong will be taken care of. So, how much did Armstrong sell his soul to the Game? I would like to know. 

Yay, filler time!

The rematch between Dolph Ziggler and Dean Ambrose might've been better than their match from last night. I liked their match from last night, but this felt like it was given more time and thus, felt more fleshed out. Dolph defeats Ambrose with the Zig Zag in this non-title match. Well, that evens the score so far in the rivalry. I look forward to the rematch. Did King just say 'Paul-rus'? Ugggggggggggh… who's keeps writing King and Cole's jokes, Chuggaaconroy? Later on in the show, the diva match didn't feature AJ or Natalya in the ring, but they were on commentary. Yeah, it's one of those matches were listening to the banter is more entertaining than the actual match. Seriously, name one thing that happened in the match from the top of your head? I bet you can't do it since nobody remembers it. I don't even know who was in the match. I think that should sum it up right there. Although, I will admit that the interaction between AJ and Natalya was fun, but it felt like Natalya came off as a spoiled child. I can't really explain it, but that's just how I felt. 

Unleash bitch-mode

After fast-forwarding through the Fandango/R-Truth match, the American Dream, Dusty Rhodes arrives with something to say. Dusty pretty much wants the opportunity for Cody Rhodes to get his job back. Stephanie says Cody does have the opportunity to get his job back, but he can also give the job to Goldust. It's up to Dusty to decide who gets their job, Cody or Dustin. Wow, what a bitch! Dusty decides he will not do such a thing and tells Steph to go to hell. After the Shield and Big Show arrive to the party, Steph orders Show to knock out Dusty. Once Show starts to shed the tears, he apologizes to Dusty and knocks him out, but not before catching him. As you would understand, Show only did the attack since he knew the Shield would've done something much, MUCH worse to the Hall of Famer, so he took the bullet once again. I know people don't like the sniveling, Big Show, but I personally don't mind it since he plays his part very well. Still, this does ask the question at what point does Show start to rebel against the corporation? By the way, has anyone noticed that anything involving the people wanting to rebel, Booker T is somewhere in the scene? Just something I wanted to point out since its become a regular thing. So the Rhodes/McMahon family dilemma continues to grow. Just like the DB/corporation deal, this is another feud that could turn into a potential Survivor Series match, but not sure about that. The merits are there, but I'm sure something along the lines of a war can get the green light. 

Yay, more filler!

RVD hits the Frog Splash on Damien Sandow and the winner is Damien Sandow…what? Sorry, the entrance music said otherwise. Somebody hit the wrong button in the back. That dude better be care. Trips has already fired two people in his ego trip and can definitely get ride of somebody else in the process. In other filler performances, the Usos defeated Tons of Saturated Fat and Almost Real Americans to become the #1 Contender to the tag titles. Where were the Prime Time Players? Well, my guess is they forgot to set their alarm clock. While it seems the WWE wants to do something with the tag division, but it isn't clear as to what exactly. They were going with the Usos for a while, but then they went with the PTP, but now they're back to the Usos. It's usually the championships that get the hot potato treatment, not the #1 Contendership. It just feels a little odd to say the least. 

Randy's anger

Randy got an opportunity to unleash that evvvvvvvil persona once more and he does it by attacking Miz before the match. In fact, he would pretty much kill the Miz right in front of the Miz's parents. I know this is pro wrestling and everything for the most part is staged, but it would've been a nice touch to see his parents jump the guardrail and get held back by security as they try to help their son. I mean, if your child was getting the crapped kicked out of him, wouldn't you go in there and do something about it or just stand there and watch? This is a minor complaint and the scene still gets its point across, but I would've appreciated the extra effort. Like I said, the scene did its job to set up the fact that Randy Orton has mega evolved in Mega Orton, king of jackasses. Hmmm, perhaps Trips told Armstrong to do the fast count in order to not only kick DB in the balls once more, but to unleash the evil side of Orton? It's not a bad theory if you think about it. 

Kiss of death

Paul Heyman comes out to gloat about the fact he defeated CM Punk in a match, while Ryback claims he attacked Punk because he doesn't like bullies. Yeah, the bully doesn't like bullies. Try to figure that one out. To add to the creepy atmosphere, Pauly kisses Ryback on the forehead and Ryback really seemed to get off on it. I haven't seen him this happy since he forced somebody to take a shower. Yeah, we're learning a lot today. As for Curtis Axel, I almost forgot he was there. Maybe he can go make Ryback and Pauly a couple of sandwiches. He's gotta do something, right? Anyway, I still like the progress of this storyline and I think the edition of Ryback will be a great plus since Axel is still young and Brock Lesnar isn't always available. 

And now, chaos!

The final match of the night was Daniel Bryan vs Roman Reigns. I wasn't sure what to expect with this one, but I was surprised. The match was pretty damn good. Check it out if you're curious. The finish comes when Randy interferes, thus resulting in a no contest. After the match, Shield and Randy take down Bryan and it seems Bryan is about to get the Miz treatment, but some talents in the WWE have grown tired of the corporation's treatment. The rebellion consisted of RVD, Dolph, PTP (they finally woke up), Usos, Zack Ryder, Justin Gabriel, Kofi Kingston, and R-Truth. The show ends with the rebels taking out the Shield and celebrating with DB. Oh boy, the evvvvvvil, big, bad, corporation is gonna be furious. Well, Trips technically didn't put any repercussions if you helped Bryan so he can't fire them, but you can bet some 'punishment' will be on the way. You had to figure at some point, people would be willing to risk their careers to do the right thing. If anything, I expect to see some type of punishment on this upcoming Smackdown. If that's the case, it could be something to check out later in the week. 

Overall Impression:

This was a major improvement over Night of Champions. If you checked my review on the PPV, you would know that I was overall disappointed with the event and just something I don't want to go back and watch. Thankfully, WWE realized the error of their ways and put together a pretty entertaining episode of Raw. Not an episode I would put in my top five of 2013, but still an episode that the majority of wrestling fans will get an enjoyment out of. Check it out and judge for yourself. That does it for the review and I hope you enjoyed it. Tell me what you thought of my review or tonight's show. I will see you guys and girls in the next one. 

WrestlingNerd Presents: WWE Night of Champions 2013 Review

What up wrestling fans, I'm the WrestlingNerd bringing you another written review. Today we take a look at WWE Night of Champions 2013. Would this evening be able to offer something to the table? Let's find out and begin. 

Is there still an Intercontinental title? 

We open up the show with Triple H's ego. Once the guy pretty much mentions everything that's happened to Daniel Bryan, Paul Heyman tries to bargain with Trips since he announced his match against CM Punk would be a No DQ match. You have to love how heels freak out over the fact the match is now No DQ. They're actually giving you the option to cheat. You can probably use a hand grenade as a weapon. Hey, it's no DQ, right? Since Curtis Axel didn't have the IC title on the line and Punk would use the championship as toilet paper, it's decided to give the title match to the first person Trips runs into. I think Kofi Kingston lucked out in that department since it was originally gonna be cameraman #9087234, but my guess is Trips gave Kofi the match since he washed his car over the weekend. Just because the corporation's evil doesn't mean they can have dirty cars. The match was given a decent amount of time and it ended when Curtis hits the most unconvincing finisher ever. I'm sorry if you like this finisher, but it looks like the person who receives this move is intentionally taking a dive. The rest of his in-ring skills are fine, but get rid of the… Un-neckbreaker. Congratulations to Axel for keeping the IC…

My guess is he kept the belt since nobody else wanted to hold onto it for the remainder of this month. I mentioned a few months ago that Axel would most likely hold onto the IC title and do nothing with it until it comes time to give it to the next guy, and that's exactly what's happened thus far. I know it's prestigious and historic, but if you aren't gonna do anything with it, you might as well retire the title. I want to see more done with the mid-card championships and I know the WWE is capable of writing storylines for these belts, but it seems like they really don't want to. I know it seems harsh saying something like that, but it might be better to get rid of one of these titles. I want to see things change with this division, but it's more of an afterthought in the current era of the WWE. 

Crazy divas

Layla and AJ were a 'team' a few weeks ago, but now it's like it never happened? My guess is Layla got amnesia last week and is still in the recovery process. In all fairness, it makes sense for AJ to fly solo in this storyline, so I don't mind the abrupt change. The Fatal 4-Way diva match wasn't too shabby. Not something I would watch again, but it was decent under the circumstances. AJ made Natalya tap out to the Black Widow. You think that the Total Divas would work together to make sure AJ lost the match, but not even their egos and attention spans would allow such a thi--hey, a housefly! It made sense for AJ to keep the championship since she's still the best thing going in the divas division and that's all I got on this scene. Okay, next match. Let's go! Let's go! Next one! GO!!!

There's some matches here and stuff

RVD defeated Alberto Del Rio and became the new WHC. Ricardo then turned on him after the match to his new client, Damien Saaaaaaaaaaaandooooooooooow. The two celebrated with a mojito… De nada!!!

No, that's not what happened. It would've been more exciting if this was the story, but all that occurred was RVD winning the match via DQ since Alberto refused to listen to the referee's orders, thus Del Rio is still the WHC. RVD did hit the Van Terminator…

The match was okay to sit through, but it was the lack of a storyline that really kept me for getting into this contest. I almost forgot the match even happened. That's how little of an impact it made in my book. In fact, the Miz/Fandango match also falls in the same category. I almost forgot this happened. Miz won the match with the Figure Four in case you were curious. Were you? Probably not…

Hey look, the PPV wants to do something…

It's now time for the handicap match between Punk, Axel, and Heyman. So, why is this called a handicap match? Based on what I saw and the rules to the match, it sounded like Punk would get a match with Heyman if he beat Axel. Isn't this more of a Gauntlet match rather than a handicap contest? I get what they're trying to do here, but what crack did you smoke to end up with these rules? It's like they took a bunch of rules, threw them against a wall and *BAM*, instant match. While the IC champ is good enough to defeat Kofi, he stood no chance against Punk, proving that this storyline has nothing to do with Axel and is more of a pawn in this entire thing. It really shouldn't be that surprising since all Axel's done for 4-5 months is shine Heyman's shoes. Punk finally gets Heyman! He's gonna get you, Paul! Run, chubby run!!! Look at him go!!! The chase scene was almost like watching a nature special, but instead of a cheetah eating a gazelle, it was a wrestler beating up a balding man. Still, it was very entertaining. After a few rounds of smacking the Heyman Pinata, the match ends when Ryback arrives and sends Punk through a table. Thanks to the attack, Heyman was able to pick the bones and Pauly defeated Punk. Waaaaaaaaa? Yeah, so Ryback attacking Punk was a bit of a surprise. In fact, it was at this moment where the PPV started to wake up for a bit. It was about time something different occurred, but better later than never. Ryback being the latest edition of 'Paul Heyman guys' is a welcome edition. Since Ryback has pretty much regressed to the role of Biff Tannen on a weekly basis, teaming up with Heyman will offer him a lot more. I actually like Ryback getting in the middle of this rivalry and I don't mind the Punk/Heyman feud continuing since I felt it would've been somewhat disappointing to see this rivalry end at NoC. Don't get me wrong, I can understand as to why the feud would end, but it just feels like Punk and Heyman can do a lot more. The match was investing enough to be intriguing and the ending continues to get me coming back to check out this rivalry, so I think this was a positive for NoC…That's one thus far…

Shield antics

I was a bit surprised to see Dean Ambrose defeat Dolph Ziggler in clean fashion. A win like this is gonna put Ambrose's stock on the rise. When it eventually comes time to break up the Shield, Ambrose will most definitely have a place on the active roster. Unfortunately, this win does come at a cost to the Ziggler fans. I know this is gonna make the 'Dolph's jobbing' comments more loud, but I'm still optimistic that Dolph still has a decent place in the future of this company and this minor setback is only for the time being. I know it's kinda odd that I personally see challenging the US title more rewarding than the WHC since the WHC has dropped so much value and the US title is being held by one of the corporation members, but that's just how I see it at the moment. I will say the US title match between Ambrose and Dolph was about what I expected, but part of me felt a bit of a letdown when it wasn't given as much time as I would've liked. It was still a good match, but I felt it could've been better if given a few more minutes. Speaking of the Shield, the tag team match between Rollins/REIGNS and the Prime Time Players was next on the schedule. I should note that the PTP won the Tag Team Turmoil match in the pre-show. The fact this was regulated to the pre-show was puzzling. It was a good match and it was a shame it was subjected to pre-show status. In fact, why wasn't Miz/Fandango given the pre-show treatment? Mr. Pre-Show must've slipped a $20 and got himself on the PPV. Anyway, the tag team match was okay and it ended with the Shield retaining the title. If you're keeping score at home, we have one match to go and there's been no championship changes thus far. To be honest, I expected that to be the case since none of the titles were being built to change hands, but surely we gotta get one, right…right…right?

Corporation not too sure of themselves? 

The final match of the night was Randy Orton vs Daniel Bryan for the WWE Championship. Just like the Punk match, this was one of the few moments where it felt like the PPV was actually trying to do something. The match between Randy and Bryan was good and I would say it was the best match of the night, but it didn't have a ton of competition so I would consider this a small reward. Bryan hits the running knee and has finally defeated Randy…

Yeah, we have a new WWE Champion… Surprised? I would have to say so… but we obviously aren't addressing the giant elephant in the room in all of this. The referee made a fast count for Bryan, thus this is gonna be the basis for Raw. In fact, it's almost a guarantee for Bryan to get stripped of his championship on Raw and possibly end up in the hands of Orton. I should note that at the time I'm writing this, I have NOT watched Raw and this is all speculation at the moment. We'll talk about Raw in the Raw review for this week, but I'm just sticking to what occurred at NoC and only NoC for this review. Just wanted to get that out there in case somebody wanted to be the 'know-it-all' smark. I actually do like the ending to this show since that fast count is gonna keep you guessing as to what's gonna happen on Raw. It's nice to stir the pot a bit, but it does make you question why the corporation didn't realize sooner if Randy's deserving of special treatment or not. I'm guessing if you have two McMahons yelling in your ears, you will start going insane and make rash decisions. Hey, it would explain a lot of things. 

Overall Impression:

I don't hate this PPV because it didn't feature title changes. In fact, I don't hate this PPV at all. Let me explain myself. None of the titles were really being built up to change hands, so I don't see that as the problem of NoC. The real problem we have on our hands is how this PPV just feels like it's there. Seriously, why did this need to be here? Outside of the fast count and the Ryback interference, what else did you really get out of this? The answer, not a whole lot. This is a PPV that I wouldn't classify it as 'bad', but mostly what I would consider disappointing. In the last few months, we've seen WWE put some really good PPVs out there and I felt they really went out there for their SummerSlam PPV and put one of the best shows in a really long time. To see THIS being the follow-up to that PPV is very unfulfilling. This PPV doesn't do anything for me and I cannot express how disappointed I am with this PPV. In fact, 'disappointing' is the best way to describe this PPV. It isn't terrible or horrible, but the routine route really doesn't make the replay value for this event stick out. In fact, I almost forgot this was a PPV since this felt nothing like a PPV, thus showing how this event really didn't need to exist at the end of the day. This PPV almost has nothing going for it. In conclusion, I'm still interested in the corporation storyline and I still like what WWE is doing at the moment. I may not like everything they're doing, but I'm satisfied with what I'm seeing on a weekly basis. I still have interest to see what will happen tomorrow night, but this event didn't do the best job to engage you and it just leaves you with an empty feeling. If I had to give this PPV a score between 1-10 and 5 considered average, the best score I can give this event is a 5 out of 10. This is a very average showing at the end of the day and while the matches are good, there's not enough going on to really make this event stick out. I apologize to all of those that got a kick out of Night of Champions. If you like it, there's nothing wrong with that. Everyone's entitled to their opinion and I'm just expressing my thoughts on the matter. Well, I think it's time to wrap this up. That does it for the review and I hope you enjoyed it. Tell me what you thought of my review or tonight's show. I will see you guys and girls in the next one. 

WrestlingNerd's Official score for WWE Night of Champions 2013: 5 out of 10

WrestlingNerd Presents: WWE Raw 9/9/13 Review (Edge must save him...later...)

What up wrestling fans, I'm the WrestlingNerd bringing you another written review. Today we take a look at WWE Raw 9/9/13. What happens this week? Let's find out and start the review. 

We open up the show with an apology from me. Sorry there was no Smackdown or Impact reviews last week. I'm in the middle of recovering from a cold and just taking it easy until I'm healthy once more. I should also note that the likelihood of SD and Impact reviews this week probably won't happen due to the fact that I'll be out of town once more due to personal reasons. Again, I apologize for the choppy schedule, but hopefully I'll figure out some type of system to get this a little more consistent. I know it bothers people and it honestly bothers me, but just be patient and things should hopefully get back to normal real soon. 

Show up... plug a show... leave

Anyway, Edge opens up the show with the Cutting Edge. He basically says Randy Orton is a little bitch due to the fact he's the corporate puppet, so he's gonna have a different guest in Daniel Bryan. After some talk from the hopeful underdog, Edge pretty much calls out all of Triple H's garbage and how he sucks at picking talent. Trips says while he admits to being wrong about talent, but thinks Edge was never that great of a talent and was overrated. I know the line was used in the show, but Trips really puts the 'dick' in 'dictator'. And it's nice to see Trips living up to his new persona by having Christian beaten up off-screen. Of course, it was reported that Christian did have a concussion, but I thought it was a clever touch to write him off in this fashion. I especially love this scene where Trips is telling Edge this is 'his' town and wants him out, but I mostly love it because of Dean Ambrose. He just has that look where he isn't paying attention to what's being spoken and is thinking to himself. Hmmm… Did I leave the oven on his morning?… Well, that's gonna be a problem when I get back. So, how does Edge get his revenge? By doing absolutely nothing! I know the man is limited in what he can do, but it would've been a nice touch to see him run out there and screw over the corporation to some degree. Eh, oh well…

Dr. Punk

Curtis Axel's anger gets the best of him and it gives Kofi Kingston a DQ victory. Well, that was nice of him. Let's celebrate by offering him a plate of d--kick to the face… Well, that plan backfired, what do you want from me!? To continue with this storyline, Paul Heyman 'trips' on water backstage and wants to have his own doctor take a look at him…

As you would guess, Heyman uses this 'injury' as a means of getting himself out of the match against CM Punk this Sunday. In order for this to work, Heyman has to allow the WWE medical team to evaluate his condition. That's right folks, we have a medical evaluation going on in the ring right now. I think some would like to call bulls*** on this, but this is also the same show that had a paternity test as well so anything can happen on here. Next week, we get to see a bully intervention for Ryback. YAY!!! After Heyman calls the doctor a quack, Punk arrives to give him a third opinion. While not as strong as last week's segment, this was still entertaining enough to keep me invested. It was campy and over-the-top, but very enjoyable from my perspective. 

Divas segment

During the Total Divas vs other divas match, AJ continues to be outspoken on the ladies and their reality TV show status. I like the new AJ. She has more fire with her words and it seems more natural for her. It was almost a good fit for her to go down this direction. I'm gonna ask an honest question… Did you even watch the diva match or were you listening more to AJ's words? I honestly don't remember a thing from the diva match. Let's see… there's a couple of women fighting… I think a Sharpshooter showed up…somebody wore blue… that's all I remember. Once again, we get mixed messages since one week the actions in the ring showed you were supposed to be concerned with AJ, but this week, Cole and Lawler were basically attacking her while on commentary and she even insulted them in the process. We're getting some mixed signals with who's playing face/heel for this rivalry, but I think it's for the best. Leave it up to the audience to determine who's in the right/wrong here. I'm personally pulling for AJ, but that's just me. 

Goldie vs Golden Boy

One of the main themes of tonight's show was Goldust trying to avenge his brother's firing by fighting to get his job back. In order for Cody Rhodes to be hired once again, Goldust would have to defeat Randy Orton in a singles match. I've always enjoyed Goldust's work throughout his career. Sure, the man's character is very odd and can seem a little bizarre, but I've always felt he went out there and gave his best and found a way to be enjoyable. Goldie gives it his best shot to defeat Randy, but it wasn't enough. Due to the defeat, Goldust has to…Umm…He…Ummmmmm…Hmmm…What exactly is the punishment if Goldust lost the match? Does he have to pay? Does he have to give up his wardrobe? Does he have to wash Trips' car? What's the punishment? Oh well, I guess the punishment of Stephanie unleashing bitch-mode on you for disappointing the Rhodes family is punishment enough. Speaking of which, right on time, Steph! Aww, poor Goldust. I haven't seen him this down since breaking up with Booker T. I really liked how this came across. Makes me wonder what the Rhodes family will do in order to get one over on the McMahons. 

WrestlingNerd's ADD moment(s) of the night

Bray Wyatt defeated Dolph Ziggler due to all the help from the Wyatt family. Hmmm, I wonder if Dolph is missing AJ and Big E at this point? Hey look, it's RVD and Alberto Del Rio building up something… or someone…I got nothing. Although, I thought it was funny to have RVD vs Ryback. Turns out the loser of the match would have to get a new artist for their attire. Antonio Cesaro went up against Santino this evening. It's been awhile since we've seen Santino and it was great to finally seem him back. The best part of the match was seeing the spinning Santino. It's the WWE Game Show: Spin the Santino… WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!! I want to play! I know it would've been dangerous, but part of me wanted to see him fly into the audience. How far can he go? Nobody knows!!! Why did I talk about any of this? I don't know!!!

DB lives?

The final match of the night was Daniel Bryan vs Dean Ambrose. Big Show was forced to watch on the outside since Show's contract states he must cry at least once a week. After all, the man's 'broke'. I also find it funny when it breaks things backstage since I imagine he has to pay for that. Instead of feeding the family, I must break or blow up stuff. Blow s*** up! Anyway, DB defeats Ambrose despite some Shield assistance. After the match, Shield attacks while Sad Show continues to be tortured. Randy Orton comes out and hits and RKO. This seems to be the end of the show, meaning that the IWC can bitch about the show ending the same yet again….BUT WAIT!!! Trips comes out and wants Show to deliver a KO punch to DB. Show continues to question him while Randy is getting in his face to follow orders. After some more bitching from the substitute golden boy, DB gets back up and hits Randy in the face with a Captain Falcon knee. It's like a rising knee to the face! Yeah, so the show ends with Bryan standing tall for once. I know it's gonna be common for the corporation to stand tall in future episodes, but you gotta mix it up once in a while. I know the likelihood of Bryan actually winning this Sunday is 0-1%, but I just hope to see an entertaining match until it comes time to perform the shenanigans. 

Overall Impression:

This episode wasn't too bad. I really liked the opening, but it does leave you with an empty feeling and it did bother me a bit. I realize Edge is very limited in what he can do, but interference by waiving his arms in the air would've been appreciated. Outside of that, I thought this was a decent episode to go into Night of Champions. I know it looks like NoC can be one of those filler PPVs since there most likely won't be a WWE title change, but something can happen in the WHC department since that guy in the robe is still lurking. Yeah, I really don't have much to say about this episode. It wasn't bad or anything since it was still pretty good episode, but it doesn't hold up against some of the other episodes as of late. Like those episodes have been so good that even a decent episode can be look at as average. Does that make any sense? Well, I think I need to wrap this up. Thanks for checking out the review and tell me what you thought of the show or the review. I will see you guys and girls in the next one. 

WrestlingNerd Presents: WWE Raw 9/2/13 Review (Emo Show)

What up wrestling fans, I'm the WrestlingNerd bringing you another written review. Today we take a look at WWE Raw 9/2/13. What happens on this Labor Day edition of Raw? Let's find out and begin. 

Intro time

We open up the show with Triple H and Randy Orton. Randy basically tells you that you have to respect him. If you don't, you can screw your family, friends, career, well-being, pet goldfish, 3rd grade teacher, and die. Yeah, that's a good representation of Randy's words. As Triple H continues to piss off the IWC with all this Cruiserweight talk, Daniel Bryan interrupts. After a little more pushing and shoving, Trips books DB vs Big Show for later this evening…

To add to his douchebaggery, Trips and his bitch run into Cody Rhodes. Cody starts to speak his mind about the corporation's ego trip, so this leads to Cody's career being on the line against Randy later this evening. Wow, so a lot going on in this episode and we're barely 20 minutes into the show. To be honest, I wasn't really expecting this due to the fact it's a holiday, but I like this approach. If the train is still going, why slow it down? 

Dolph's spot

After a quick match between Miz and Fandango, Booker T tells Bryan to get with the program since he's fighting a war he can't win. Since Bryan is the lone wolf, he turns down his offer. Hey, it's Booker T's new job, the un-motivational speaker. He does his job well. Dolph Ziggler is getting ready for a match against Ryback, but Dean Ambrose attacks Dolph before the match. You think the referee would call off the match, but he's probably forced to not question it if he still wants a weekly check. Thanks to the attack, Ryback has an easy time defeating Dolph. One of the things I wanted to bring up is Dolph's placement since it seems a lot of people feel that Dolph has regressed a bit since losing the WHC. First of all, he's being used in the main storyline of the show. To me, that's higher on the pecking order than the WHC. In fact, the WHC has dipped quite a bit during that time since it feels more like a mid-card title than a world title. I just feel Dolph has more to gain by being apart of the heroes vs corporation storyline, so I don't think it's a big deal if Dolph's completely done with the WHC. It's just something I wanted to bring up since since it seems people think you're getting mistreated if you don't have something shiny on your shoulder and/or lose a few matches. Besides, the matches he's losing are being used to build the storyline and not as a use of punishment… Well, kayfabe punishment, not real-life punishment… massive punishment?…NEXT SCENE!

CM Punk follow-up

I like how Paul Heyman complains about the match at Night of Champions and Trips basically says 'F*** you, you're doing the match'. How will Paul get out of this one? Will he be punked? Tune in next week to find out. CM Punk does go out there to cut another good promo on this storyline. Once again, I really enjoy seeing how Punk and Pauly can work off of each other and see how the other can 1-up the other. Good segment that's worth checking out if you're curious. 

Common family vs corporate family

While there's not a whole lot to discuss with the Prime Time Players/3MB match, it was a nice distraction and it's at least worth a viewing. The next match was Randy Orton vs Cody Rhodes. This is what I would consider to be the best match of the night. It was given a decent amount of time and the match meant more when the audience showed so much support for Cody. While Cody did everything he could to win, it still wasn't enough and Randy wins with the RKO. After the match, Trips fires Cody Rhodes… For probably a few weeks since I highly doubt the man is truly fired. If anything, this is to add another individual to this gigantic storyline and we'll see Cody in the near future. Not sure how he'll get brought back and how it'll connect to the main storyline, but I await his return. I've enjoyed what he's done since the funeral of Rhodes Scholars, so I'll await his return with patience. Later on in the evening, Cody explains the Rhodes/McMahon family dilemma and how the McMahons have always made the Rhodes nothing but sideshow attractions. Considering Dusty Rhodes was the originator of every dancing character in professional wrestling and Goldust is the originator of every gender, confused, character in pro wrestling, I can see how there has to be something there from a real-life perspective. It was a good shoot by Rhodes and can't wait to see him return after the honeymoon. 

A diva segment with a switch-a-roo? 

There was a #1 Contender match to determine who gets a Divas title match. As the Total Divas beat the crap out of each other to determine who's deserves the opportunity, Harley Quinn's adopted sister joins us for commentary. It seems Naomi is about to win the match, but AJ interrupts the match since she feels none of them deserve this opportunity. All of the sudden, the Total Divas take out AJ…Huh? I don't know why since this is how the body language in the ring sold it, but why does it seem the roles for this match just flipped sides? The Total Divas taking her out as a team seems more like a heel move while you're given this scene where you're supposed to feel sorry for AJ. Yeah, I wouldn't blame you if your feelings are all over the place on this one. I need to see more with this storyline to see where it's headed, but it still has my interest because of the events of last week and tonight. I should also note that at NoC, it will be a Fatal 4-Way for the Divas title. Like I said before, this makes things rather complex to say the least. 

WHC or US Championship? 

You know what? I'm convinced they put Ricardo Rodriguez with RVD because they wanted Ricardo to still roll his 'r's'. So far, that has been the only proof available for pairing these two up. I know Ricardo has some beef with Alberto Del Rio, but teaming up with RVD? Oh well, let's just move on. RVD defeats Damien Sandow, Del Rio looks on, and this sets things up for their upcoming Intercon--er, I mean World Heavyweight Championship match. Yeah, that's totally what I meant to say… Totally…

Big Show tears

Okay, so it's now time I finally talk about the Big Show conundrum. I saved this segment for last due to obvious reasons you will read about in a few moments. Before I do that, let's address a few things that made me laugh. I like how Show throws a temper tantrum backstage after Steph forces him to do her bidding. No, Big Show!!! You can't break those things! You can't afford it!!! I also love how minutes after an emotional segment, the commentators jump from tears of sadness to the WWE App. Wow, Show's really having a moment here…Hey, the WWE App! Stephanie explained to us that Show is in no position to fight the corporation since he's broke. They explain that Show made some terrible decisions that made him broke but they probably could've dived deeper into the problem. I thought it would've been funny if they explained Show had a gambling problem or spent his wealth on robotic hookers, but I guess they were trying to do something a little more realistic. The reason this was brought up is Show doesn't want to fight Bryan because he considers him a friend…Even though there's been NO indication of this on the show. It isn't like you see Show and Bryan talking with one another all the time and hang out all the time. You're just supposed to accept that they're friends and nothing more. Yeah, I'll admit that was a bit of lazy writing on their part considering Kane would've been a better option in all of this since Kane and Bryan HAD that interaction on the show, but it would feel a bit strange to see Kane having to shed tears of sadness. You can see why that idea would be scraped, but let's get back to the Show/Bryan deal. Like I said, I understand the reasoning for picking Show to be in this storyline since the man plays his part very well, but it would've been nice if they showed more interaction that they're friends other than just saying 'They're friends' and nothing more. Due to Stephanie naming off Show's secrets, Show is basically forced in a corner to do the corporation's evil deeds while being very emotional about it. To be honest, there was really no point to bring up the fact that Show's broke. It would've been fine if you showed Show and Bryan being friends and then blackmail the giant to do your evil deeds. By doing that, you would've achieved the same result as what you saw tonight. I know you can argue that Show's financial issues can add more to it, but I still find it unnecessary. So, let's break it down. You're either gonna enjoy the idea that Show's broke or you're gonna hate this idea. For me, it's too early to say if I'll like it or not since I'm pretty neutral about this new information. With that said, I really liked the interaction between Bryan and Show on tonight's episode. From the beginning of the night all the way to their match where Show was forced to hit the KO punch on Bryan, it was persuading due to the fact that Show sold his emotions rather well. In fact, Show has sold his emotions very well during this entire storyline. I know people are complaining due to the fact that the program has ended the same way for three straight weeks, but you have to give these things time and learn to be patient with some of these things. It's another thing I wanted to bring up since people tend to want the payoff way sooner than it should happen and I think you just have to give it more time before you start waiving the flag. Yeah, I may have some hangups with Show having money issues or the sudden grasp of Show/Bryan's…Ummm, Twitter friendship, but the acting/storytelling can usually be the saving grace for things like this and I think it has. 

Overall Impression:

I went into tonight's show not expecting a whole lot due to the fact it was a holiday and most people would be away from their television sets this week, but I would suggest checking this one out if you did miss the telecast. I personally think WWE has done a great job in the last few weeks in the storytelling department. Of course, there's gonna be a few head-scratching moments or things you aren't gonna like about it, but no storyline/segment is perfect and I think the positives cancel out most of the negatives. This has been one of the more intriguing storylines for quite some time and the storyline itself is too interesting for me to really spend a large amount of time harping over some of the little things… Even though some of those little things could at least use a polish here and there. Again, this is personal preference at the end of the day and I totally understand why some people aren't really enjoying the major storyline. It's only my opinion at the end of the day and if you don't enjoy this storyline or totally disagree with me, that's totally fine. Everyone is entitled to their opinion and there's nothing wrong with that at the end of the day. I liked tonight's episode and I think it's worth checking out, but take of that whatever you will. That does it for the review and I hope you enjoyed it. Tell me what you thought of tonight's episode or the review. I will see you guys and girls in the next one. 

WrestlingNerd's Mini-Reviews: WWE Smackdown 8/30/13 Review

What up wrestling fans, I'm the WrestlingNerd bringing you another edition of mini-reviews. Today we take a look at WWE Smackdown 8/30/13. Let's not waste any more time and begin. 

We open up the show with Miz Seacrest. Big Show talks about having to stand there and witness Daniel Bryan being attacked while NOT being able to help out. He said it was the toughest thing he had to do, but it seems like he's more concerned in impersonating Christian Bale's Batman. This wrestler is… READY for other people to believe in goooood! Dolph Ziggler was also choked up about speaking his mind, which prompts Triple H to arrive to the party. Yay, it's party time, but only for one person. Trips makes a couple of matches and benches Show. I love how the commentators try to explain the stipulations to the ironclad contract. So, it's a semi-ironclad contract? Or maybe it's an ironclad contract that isn't ironclad? I know it's wrestling logic and the entire stipulation doesn't make any sense, but I've just learned to move on from it and poke fun of it at my leisure. 

One of the matches Trips made was Randy Orton vs Miz since he wanted to give Miz an opportunity… an opportunity of death! Shield shows up in the middle of the match to 'observe' the action, while Show continues to watch and can't do a thing about it. In a very competitive match, Randy wins with the RKO. After the match, the Shield and Orton continue the beatdown until Daniel Bryan comes out to chase them away with a chair. Yeah, one guy with a chair scares off four guys…Only in the wrestling world. The next match of the evening was RVD vs Damien Sandow. RVD wins the match and Damien wonders if holding onto the briefcase is a curse. Ever notice how the person holding the blue MITB briefcase loses a lot of matches? It just seems to be a continuous trend in the WWE. 

Just like a week ago on Raw, Dolph tries his best to fight against Shield, but the numbers were just too much to overcome. After the match, Dolph is treated to a triple powerbomb, so you know what that means…

Poor soul…He never stood a chance. Anyway, the next segment is Paul Heyman and Curtis Axel. Curtis starts to talk, but Pauly quickly takes over since it's time for daddy to take over the big boy stuff. Again, Curtis can definitely wrestle, but can't talk for s***. Paul takes over and basically says they will massacre CM Punk. It's pretty much a follow-up to their actions on Raw this past week. It's a good promo and it could be something worth checking out, but I'll admit you aren't missing much if you skipped out on the segment. And since you haven't seen it enough, let's see the Wyatt family destroy Tons of Saturated Fat in a matter of minutes. You know, you have other options/candidates to throw out there for these matches? It doesn't always have to be Tons of Funk. Follow the repetition! 

Since Bryan acted as a bully, his punishment is to bully the bully. Wait, wasn't that the name of a level in Super Mario 64? Anyway, it's Daniel Bryan vs Ryback. In a fair match, Bryan is about to win with the Yes Lock until Orton runs interference. After the match, Orton and the three stooges continue their attack on DB. Show starts to get tired of it and stands up for Bryan, but the eeeeeeeevil Triple H arrives to put Show back in his place. One thing I haven't mentioned is Show's emotional changes during the night. I would say the guy was pretty spot on with his emotions. The man was torn and emotional during all of this and I think his acting reflected that. Show is actually a pretty decent actor on WWE programming. It was a good job. Show wants to fight back, but Trips' voice is too much to handle. The episode ends with corporation standing tall. 

Overall Impression:

One thing I liked about this episode is how they stretched out the major storyline. The focus wasn't just Bryan, but how some of the other talents feel about Trips overstepping his boundaries and how they aren't allowed to help out the lone rebel without repercussions. Like I've said for a few weeks, this storyline is big enough to get other people involved and this could lead to a war between good and evil. While that's nothing new since the idea has been done before, I'm enjoying this version of it and it probably has to do with the cast. Ideas in the wrestling world are gonna get reused a lot, but it's the people involved/characters that can add something different to it and I think people like Daniel Bryan and Shield are making this seem like something intriguing. This episode is worth missing out on, but there could be something worth checking out if you're curious enough. That does it for the mini-review and I hope you enjoyed it. Tell me what you thought about tonight's show or review. I will see you guys and girls in the next one. 

WrestlingNerd Presents: WWE Raw 8/26/13 Review (Shaking things up!)

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. 

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.