Is WWE Sobering Up to their Old Ways?
The following is a half-hazed account of the Post-SummerSlam RAW.
-Heyman and Lesnar come out. Heyman does a fair job at trying to explain what in the fuck happened in the finish of SummerSlam. Replay shows a definite tap out and the fans again are confused. Bad booking breeds bad business, could that be so this time? The reaction from Brooklyn just cements my feeling that this whole angle is making ‘Taker a heel when the positioning says otherwise. I have no idea what Vince and company are thinking here, especially since it is clear that there will be a third match. Heyman is a master though, and makes me want him to take over a full hour of RAW each week just to cut a long-winded promo on everything. Compassion by the timekeeper for the bell ringing early? Odd angle I guess. Lesnar corpses through the whole promo and it doesn't dilute a thing.
Out comes Bo Dallas to shit on Lesnar. This is funny on many levels because it’s a nice bait and switch with the fans expecting Undertaker and also we get to see Lesnar rag doll a grown man again. He made Dallas look like a child with suplex after suplex and capped it off with a F5. Lesnar is instantly top babyface after one segment, jesus christ.
-New Day come out and brag about winning the belts, complete with Frank Sinatra trombone solo and horrid singing. These guys are so fantastic even if some of their segments are rotten in blueprint. They face Lucha Dragons whom while solid in the ring, has no direction. The match is pretty good which is to be expected. Prime Time Players are on commentary and not very good at it. Titus has just gotten to where he shits on JBL every time and doesn’t even care about matches while Darren Young is a wooden statue. New Day goes over and look good doing so. THE FUCKING DUDLEY BOYZ COME OUT! They leave New Day laying and Brooklyn goes insane.
-We have the SummerSlam rematch tag with Ambrose and Reigns against The Wyatts next. Starts hot like the other match but I’m just not a fan of the rematch of a pay per view a night later, why not get what you want done in the first match? Anyways they do a crazy dive sequence which is fun at first, but I just feel like lately these four have been victims of lost-in-the-shuffle booking. All four guys vary from pretty good in Reigns’ case to exceptional in the case of the other three. This match makes me want a full time Wyatt and Harper tag team, they have great chemistry for tag wrestling while Ambrose is the star with exceptional selling. Harper steals the match mid-way with awesome super kicks to both men. It all looked in the bag until a new member of the Wyatts appeared! Donning a black sheep’s mask, he reveals himself but he’s no one I’ve ever seen and that is a good thing. He demolishes Ambrose and Reigns calling for a DQ and while he is clearly green, he’s a fresh character in a WWE “universe” that is wrought with stale acts.
-Miz TV was incredibly disappointing. Team PCB looked lost and way too nervous. The Bellas interrupt WITH MICS GOD NO! A We Want Sasha chant breaks huge and that my friends is when you know you’re over. Both the Bellas and PCB argue to no point. Nikki with the line of the night: “Wins, losses? WHO CARES?!” Wow, way to shit on yourself AND your Divas title all in one fell swoop. This should be a whole Botchamania episode. This segment is so bad that Miz is over. This leads into a match, I don’t give a fuck.
Six woman’s tag is the match and I miss a portion while trying to put my head in the oven because of the lead-in segment but it seems good when I come back after giving up. Team PCB is just solid as hell in the ring and they make you want more of their styles rather than the cookie-cutter “sports entertainment” of Team Bella. Nikki has improved greatly most recently but she’s still nothing like any of the girls in PCB and that can be said most definitely for her companions Brie and Alicia. While Alicia is decent for WWE standards, Brie is horrendous despite being married to perhaps the greatest wrestler my generation has ever known. I hate to say it but this segment and subsequent match may have been the start of the decline for this supposed “divas revolution” although the one over woman in this whole equation remains Sasha Banks even without her appearance. Bellas win with Alicia getting the fall on Paige. Perfect, let us give everyone a win and because of that give no one momentum.
-We get the announcement of an 8 man tag involving Ziggler, Ryback, Cesaro and Orton against Big Show, Rusev, Owens, and Sheamus. At least it is something but the presence of Big Show and Ryback concernsme. Sheamus is the dogshits but hey, he’s competent.
-Barrett and Stardust set up to face a tag team but Stardust turns on Barrett! This gets the fans up and I’m super happy because Stardust is tremendous. Neville comes out and we have a bit of a humdinger in potential. They trade shots and counters until Stardust hits the road. Neville stands triumphant and Barrett is out of view. Odd angle but it might lead to something new.
-On to Jon Stewart. He comes out to explain why he attacked John Cena at SummerSlam and man, he makes me want him weekly on the show. He cuts such good promos that mix humor and reality. Stewart claims he did it because he couldn't let Cena tie Flair’s record of World title wins. I love this angle because there is so much passion in that sentiment and while it is funny it is also awesome. Flair now comes out! This is awesome folks. Flair says he wanted Cena to win and the fans boo huge, he says it is because he respects Cena so much, He then tells the fans that they don’t have to like it, it is gospel because of him! Cena comes out and Brooklyn hates it.
Cena says thanks for the song (referring to Brooklyn’s cheerful ode John Cena Sucks to his music) but he needs to talk to Stewart. He seems angry and does well to project that, whatever you say about Cena you can’t say he isn't a fantastic, emotive worker. He says Stewart ruined him making the US Title something that the younger fans could strive for. The only knock for me is that Stewart continually interrupts Cena because he doesn’t understanding timing. It all ends though when Cena snatches Stewart up and drops him with an AA. Much like Undertaker, this seems far too heelish to me when it is supposed to be packaged as a good guy.
- It’s 8 man tag Immediately, Owens gets the biggest reaction of anyone’s entrance. This man is money and I just hope Vince sees it like obviously Triple H did. It’s what would be expected with mostly limited workers but the highlights are not surprisingly Owens, Ziggler, and Cesaro for the majority. The heels dominate most of the match which is fine. Owens and Cesaro are money together and their exchanges are just pristine. Ryback and Owens stiff each other pretty good it seems, great stuff. The match ends when Big Show gets crossed up and nails Sheamus with his KO Punch into a RKO. Very good match that showcases the right guys. After the match Owens and Rusev double team Big Show and this gives me strange feels. THEN the babyfaces come back and slaughter Big Show? Strange booking is this Show’s final chapter? Let us fucking hope so.
-Now onto the “Brass Statue” segment. We get Triple H and Stephanie coming out and wishing Vince a happy birthday clearly off script. It was a nice gesture and they quickly change to heel mode putting Rollins over as a wrestling “god” sounds familiar. Rollins comes out and cuts practically the exact same promo. Then it comes to the big statue reveal except....it is Sting! Brooklyn loses their minds as Sting clears the ring. Rollins takes a nice Stinger Splash and a clothesline over the top leaving his titles behind. Sting picks up the WWE World title and holds it in the air as RAW goes off the air. Awesome angle and it makes me give a shit about where they are going.
-Heyman and Lesnar come out. Heyman does a fair job at trying to explain what in the fuck happened in the finish of SummerSlam. Replay shows a definite tap out and the fans again are confused. Bad booking breeds bad business, could that be so this time? The reaction from Brooklyn just cements my feeling that this whole angle is making ‘Taker a heel when the positioning says otherwise. I have no idea what Vince and company are thinking here, especially since it is clear that there will be a third match. Heyman is a master though, and makes me want him to take over a full hour of RAW each week just to cut a long-winded promo on everything. Compassion by the timekeeper for the bell ringing early? Odd angle I guess. Lesnar corpses through the whole promo and it doesn't dilute a thing.
Out comes Bo Dallas to shit on Lesnar. This is funny on many levels because it’s a nice bait and switch with the fans expecting Undertaker and also we get to see Lesnar rag doll a grown man again. He made Dallas look like a child with suplex after suplex and capped it off with a F5. Lesnar is instantly top babyface after one segment, jesus christ.
-New Day come out and brag about winning the belts, complete with Frank Sinatra trombone solo and horrid singing. These guys are so fantastic even if some of their segments are rotten in blueprint. They face Lucha Dragons whom while solid in the ring, has no direction. The match is pretty good which is to be expected. Prime Time Players are on commentary and not very good at it. Titus has just gotten to where he shits on JBL every time and doesn’t even care about matches while Darren Young is a wooden statue. New Day goes over and look good doing so. THE FUCKING DUDLEY BOYZ COME OUT! They leave New Day laying and Brooklyn goes insane.
-We have the SummerSlam rematch tag with Ambrose and Reigns against The Wyatts next. Starts hot like the other match but I’m just not a fan of the rematch of a pay per view a night later, why not get what you want done in the first match? Anyways they do a crazy dive sequence which is fun at first, but I just feel like lately these four have been victims of lost-in-the-shuffle booking. All four guys vary from pretty good in Reigns’ case to exceptional in the case of the other three. This match makes me want a full time Wyatt and Harper tag team, they have great chemistry for tag wrestling while Ambrose is the star with exceptional selling. Harper steals the match mid-way with awesome super kicks to both men. It all looked in the bag until a new member of the Wyatts appeared! Donning a black sheep’s mask, he reveals himself but he’s no one I’ve ever seen and that is a good thing. He demolishes Ambrose and Reigns calling for a DQ and while he is clearly green, he’s a fresh character in a WWE “universe” that is wrought with stale acts.
-Miz TV was incredibly disappointing. Team PCB looked lost and way too nervous. The Bellas interrupt WITH MICS GOD NO! A We Want Sasha chant breaks huge and that my friends is when you know you’re over. Both the Bellas and PCB argue to no point. Nikki with the line of the night: “Wins, losses? WHO CARES?!” Wow, way to shit on yourself AND your Divas title all in one fell swoop. This should be a whole Botchamania episode. This segment is so bad that Miz is over. This leads into a match, I don’t give a fuck.
Six woman’s tag is the match and I miss a portion while trying to put my head in the oven because of the lead-in segment but it seems good when I come back after giving up. Team PCB is just solid as hell in the ring and they make you want more of their styles rather than the cookie-cutter “sports entertainment” of Team Bella. Nikki has improved greatly most recently but she’s still nothing like any of the girls in PCB and that can be said most definitely for her companions Brie and Alicia. While Alicia is decent for WWE standards, Brie is horrendous despite being married to perhaps the greatest wrestler my generation has ever known. I hate to say it but this segment and subsequent match may have been the start of the decline for this supposed “divas revolution” although the one over woman in this whole equation remains Sasha Banks even without her appearance. Bellas win with Alicia getting the fall on Paige. Perfect, let us give everyone a win and because of that give no one momentum.
-We get the announcement of an 8 man tag involving Ziggler, Ryback, Cesaro and Orton against Big Show, Rusev, Owens, and Sheamus. At least it is something but the presence of Big Show and Ryback concernsme. Sheamus is the dogshits but hey, he’s competent.
-Barrett and Stardust set up to face a tag team but Stardust turns on Barrett! This gets the fans up and I’m super happy because Stardust is tremendous. Neville comes out and we have a bit of a humdinger in potential. They trade shots and counters until Stardust hits the road. Neville stands triumphant and Barrett is out of view. Odd angle but it might lead to something new.
-On to Jon Stewart. He comes out to explain why he attacked John Cena at SummerSlam and man, he makes me want him weekly on the show. He cuts such good promos that mix humor and reality. Stewart claims he did it because he couldn't let Cena tie Flair’s record of World title wins. I love this angle because there is so much passion in that sentiment and while it is funny it is also awesome. Flair now comes out! This is awesome folks. Flair says he wanted Cena to win and the fans boo huge, he says it is because he respects Cena so much, He then tells the fans that they don’t have to like it, it is gospel because of him! Cena comes out and Brooklyn hates it.
Cena says thanks for the song (referring to Brooklyn’s cheerful ode John Cena Sucks to his music) but he needs to talk to Stewart. He seems angry and does well to project that, whatever you say about Cena you can’t say he isn't a fantastic, emotive worker. He says Stewart ruined him making the US Title something that the younger fans could strive for. The only knock for me is that Stewart continually interrupts Cena because he doesn’t understanding timing. It all ends though when Cena snatches Stewart up and drops him with an AA. Much like Undertaker, this seems far too heelish to me when it is supposed to be packaged as a good guy.
- It’s 8 man tag Immediately, Owens gets the biggest reaction of anyone’s entrance. This man is money and I just hope Vince sees it like obviously Triple H did. It’s what would be expected with mostly limited workers but the highlights are not surprisingly Owens, Ziggler, and Cesaro for the majority. The heels dominate most of the match which is fine. Owens and Cesaro are money together and their exchanges are just pristine. Ryback and Owens stiff each other pretty good it seems, great stuff. The match ends when Big Show gets crossed up and nails Sheamus with his KO Punch into a RKO. Very good match that showcases the right guys. After the match Owens and Rusev double team Big Show and this gives me strange feels. THEN the babyfaces come back and slaughter Big Show? Strange booking is this Show’s final chapter? Let us fucking hope so.
-Now onto the “Brass Statue” segment. We get Triple H and Stephanie coming out and wishing Vince a happy birthday clearly off script. It was a nice gesture and they quickly change to heel mode putting Rollins over as a wrestling “god” sounds familiar. Rollins comes out and cuts practically the exact same promo. Then it comes to the big statue reveal except....it is Sting! Brooklyn loses their minds as Sting clears the ring. Rollins takes a nice Stinger Splash and a clothesline over the top leaving his titles behind. Sting picks up the WWE World title and holds it in the air as RAW goes off the air. Awesome angle and it makes me give a shit about where they are going.
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