Overall, it wasn't really that great of a show, despite some pretty decent matches. I'll start from the top...
-Paul Heyman came out and cut a promo, saying that Lesnar wasn't yet in the building because his private flight was delayed. Cena came out and wasn't pleased with that, so he dragged Heyman back to his locker room and set Great Kali out in front to make sure he didn't get out. If Lesnar doesn't arrive before 'halftime' (I assumed at first they meant RAW, but it was probably the Handegg half since they came back to it at the end of the 2nd hour), then Cena gets to beat up Heyman instead. Because beating up a fat 50-year-old manager is what good guys do, right?
-We get Jericho vs Korporate Kane, in a rather sloppy match. Has Jericho's axehandle off the top rope ALWAYS looked that bad, or is he just phoning it in at this point? Even though I know Y2J must have wrestled Kane at some point during their careers, their rhythm seemed rather off. Eventually Kane pulls one of the oldest heel tricks in the book--the exposed turnbuckle--and naturally, it was his downfall as Jericho dropped him face-first on said turnbuckle and rolled him up for the win.
-Jack Swagger v Bo Dallas ... yeah, I skipped this one. Bo does nothing for me and I hate Swagger. Apparently he used his shitty ankle lock on Dallas and won. So much for Dallas' first real feud!
-AJ & Good Bella faced off vs Paige & Evil Bella. It might as well have just been Paige vs Brie again, because AJ never saw a moment of action and Nikki tagged out rather than face Brie. Paige kills Brie dead with the RamPaige after Nikki prevents a tag by attacking AJ.
-Heyman tried to escape Khali by claiming he didn't have reception inside the locker room and needed to call Brock, but the big guy broke his fake iPhone, shoved him back inside and then pretended to talk on the broken toy phone. I think that may have been the biggest pop Khali's gotten in, like, ever.
-Bray Wyatt faced the Big Show in a decent match that ended in a typical Wyatt DQ, with Harper and Rowan jumping in to keep Bray from being pinned. Afterwards, Show chokeslams the Wyatts while Bray sits in his rocking chair and cackles.
-Usos and Shaemus took on Double Dust and Cesaro in one of the two best matches of the night. Cesaro spends a lot of time taunting Shaemus, even pulling off an inverted 10 Beats of the Bowery (facing into the ring instead of out at the crowd). I really have no idea how the announcers are able to tell Jimmy and Jay apart. An Uso hits a superkick and a splash on Cesaro in order to pick up the victory.
-Cena drags Heyman out to demand Lesnar's presence. It seems like this was all part of Heyman's evil plot, though, that or he's a master of reverse psychology. He again tries to tempt Cena to the Dark Side, reminding him that they do have cookies. And weed. And cookies with weed in them. Cena resists the temptation, not wanting to give Heyman what he wants, until Heyman talks smack about his momma and Cena shoves him out of the ring. As soon as that happens, Brock's music hits and here's the Beast himself, here to bounce around and set off fireworks. He and Cena eye each other and Brock almost turns around and leaves without fighting (3 times at that), but keeps changing his mind. Finally he gets in the ring and immediately delivers a big German suplex to Cena, but while he's celebrating Cena gets back up and takes the fight to Lesnar, forcing the champ to cover up. Security eventually swarms Cena to restrain him from attacking the champ, and Lesnar smirks as he strolls back out of the arena. How much exactly are they paying this guy for each appearance?
-Some Total Diva shit happened, I ignored it.
-Dolph Ziggler and R-Ziggler went up against Miz and Mizdow in a rematch from Smackdown! Friday's match was a lot better than this one, to be honest. Plus, the announcers pretending not to know the difference between Dolph and R-Truth was staggeringly bad. They weren't even wearing the same color trucks this time! The Zigglers also didn't bother trying to do the 'Twin Switch' that they did last time. Needless to say, they were caught. Because one of them is a black dude with facial piercings and the other is a blonde white guy. The announcers were all God-awful through the whole match.
-Rollins cut a pretty amusing promo on Reigns, calling him part Samoan, part gorilla, and part rhino. He IS rather fond of the 'Gore, Gore, GORRRRE!' Then says for the billionth time that he created Reigns and will destroy him. Apparently we're getting a NoC pre-rematch for our main event. Mark Henry's 'Rah Rah 'Murika' thing doesn't count because I didn't watch it.
-Reigns and Rollins was probably the match of the night, as almost nobody in the WWE knows Reigns' style and how to make it look good like Rollins does. I don't hate Roman, and with a good opponent he can put on a heck of a match, though he's still a bit green to get a main event push. Rollins even busted out Avada Kadavra, though none of the announcers called it what it was (certainly not JBL, it's not like he's supposed to be GM of NXT or anything). The match ends when Rollins goes for a Curb Stomp, Reigns straightens up at the last minute, and then spears Rollins dead.
-Non-wrestling "main event" so on to the Daily Show I went.
Not the most inspiring takehome RAW before Night of Champions. I have to wonder why they gave away one of their big matchups just under a week before we're going to see the whole thing over again. I'm sure they'll put on another great match, but it seems like they were really grasping to fill tonight's card. Ah well.
So what do you think is the over/under that Rollins ends up cashing Money in the Bank on Sunday? If Cena goes over I think it's almost assured, but I think Rollins might cash in on a beaten up Lesnar if the Destroyer retains. From what I've heard, Brock doesn't need to show up for another FOUR MONTHS, and with the depleted roster I don't think they can fill 4 PPVs without a title match.
This is how they are going to compete against MNF, pray the fans come back at halftime? Ok. Cena turning to the dark side is not going to happen and I do question Paul think that is a good idea either. Cena could easily pull the No DQ stip and he would have more than a fighting chance against Brock. I know people love Paul on the mic, but it has not made sense to me at all.
Jericho and Kane needed some coffee. Reigns and Rollins show they can be stars in this company, but mega stars like on Cena, Bryan or even Brock level is a bit of a stretch. This company is so Cena focused, the idea to make new stars that equal him is almost an impure thought. Ambrose and Bryan can't come back fast enough.
Having Rollins vs. Reigns as the last match on the go-home show for an event where they're doing Rolling vs. Reigns and having Reigns win clean in under ten minutes was a pretty great way to kill the appeal of seeing Rollins vs. Reigns AND for seeing Ambrose come back to get revenge on Rollins. Do they dare top it off by having Ambrose come back and inexplicably cost Reigns the re-match/solidify my urge to let my Network subscription run out? Probably!
I went to bed after Cena/Heyman/Lesnar. This show will be easy to watch if they train me the important stuff happens when something totally unrelated goes to halftime. Heyman did the best he could with a clunky premise. It worked, but mostly because nothing else was holding my attention.
I'm not looking forward to this PPV, and even though I enjoy having access to The Network I think I should have let it lapse until things pick up again. Other than NXT this company isn't appealing to me in any way
Without a proper anti-authority this show is very unappealing. The product needs a underdog that the fans root for to win despite having barrier after barrier thrown at him.
Cena hasn't been that since 2006. Reigns has to be jumped by three guys in a cage but in single matches he's Wolverine to Cena's Superman.
The three best foils for the corrupt Authority have either quit, are injured until whenever, or making a cop film. Raw for the next few months is gonna be a long drag.
Thank God for Nitro reruns and NXT.
(edited by CruelAngel777 on 16.9.14 0916) Cole: "Yeah, thanks to Kane. You should buy Kane a Rolex watch for what he did for you." Rollins: "Oh don't be silly, Kane doesn't wear watches."
I would like to believe that putting that Rusev segment last was an indication that they're learning how to structure a 3-hour RAW. If they structured it a bit more like some of the old Saturday Night's Main Events, where they front load the card and have some of the big stuff happen in the middle, they can probably peak a higher rating in the middle and put some less significant stuff in that third hour as interest dies off.
But, it's probably more of an indication that Rusev is being positioned to feud with Cena next.
The stupidity of Rollins-Reigns far outweighs anything else on this show (Heyman was great, as usual). Is Rollins cashing in his MITB on Lesnar? Is Ambrose nonsensically turning on Reigns on Sunday, joining forces with the man that put him out of action?
None of that really justifies putting the second biggest match on free TV with a full resolution finish. So, now Night of Champions features two big rematches that we've already seen play out with clean finishes as its top two matches when at least before it had one fresh matchup on the show.
I also don't understand WWE's single-minded booking. Why can't both Reigns AND Ambrose look good? I get that Ambrose didn't lose clean to Rollins, but he still failed to get the revenge that Reigns now already has in his first attempt.
Also, why wasn't Kane helping Rollins against Reigns the same way he helped Rollins against Ambrose? I guess Kane is too afraid of Reigns.
I honestly don't understand why WWE insists on a three-hour show because it's just a killer; nothing against WWE, as I'd feel the same way with any three hour show, but I just start up and I immediately can't get into it because I know I have to set aside three hours to watch from start to finish, even with DVR.
I realise they can't go back to two hours because of contracts or fear of a sense of "tail between their legs" but I don't see why they don't do a two hour Raw lead-in to an NXT type of show.
Originally posted by wannaberockstarI realise they can't go back to two hours because of contracts or fear of a sense of "tail between their legs" but I don't see why they don't do a two hour Raw lead-in to an NXT type of show.
A half hour RAW pre-show at the beginning and a half hour post-show at the end would feel more definitely make it feel more digestible. I thought of starting to try WWE again during the beginning of their Orton/Hemsley-Regime stuff, but the 3 hours of RAW each week was more then I wanted to take on.
When TNA was doing its ReAction post-show a few years ago I really liked it. It made it feel like there was a third hour of programming that I could watch, without feeling as if I had to watch it.
Let's try to work backwards to think why a seemingly counterproductive-to-everyone move like Reigns over Rollins clean before the PPV would happen.
They wanted to have Reigns beat Rollins on TV first because the finish at the PPV will be ...
- Rollins going over Reigns.
Not a chance.
- Rollins cashing in on Cena, setting up Reigns to have one clean pin on the new champion without wanting to beat him clean on the same night he wins the title.
I guess.
- A wild finish leading to the return of Dean Ambrose to make the save, so they felt it was important to have Reigns get a clean win first.
Not sure why you'd blow off Rollins before the comeback but fits the logic of WWE ubermensch booking.
- Rollins going over Reigns after a wild finish leading to the return of Dean Ambrose to shockingly turn on the guy who they went out of their way to say dedicated his victory to him.
Oh ... no.
Originally posted by Dr UnlikelyDo they dare top it off by having Ambrose come back and inexplicably cost Reigns the re-match
Originally posted by SKLOKAZOIDIs Ambrose nonsensically turning on Reigns on Sunday, joining forces with the man that put him out of action?
They wouldn't. Right? Threeway feud with Ambrose blaming Reigns for letting it happen? Reigns as a Vince McMahon-patented "perfect human unfairly persecuted for being too good"? It's going to be an uneasy week.
At least the booking pattern soothsaying of "Cesaro loses to Usos on TV, Cesaro and Dusts win titles at PPV" is something. But that means that Ziggler ... curses.
Originally posted by SKLOKAZOIDBut, it's probably more of an indication that Rusev is being positioned to feud with Cena next.
Rusev in Raw main event -> Rusev costs Cena the match with Lesnar after a much stronger showing would be a simpler attempt to make chicken sense out of chicken nuggets or whatever.
They just might. Logic-wise, if they had Ambrose be a tweener, who hates Rollins for the obvious but also hates Reigns for not running in to save him from having his skull crushed, that actually makes enough sense for a three-way Shield feud.
With Brock possibly not defending at HIAC, a triple threat with The Shield Explodes in Hell in a Cell could be a strong headliner match.
Of course, either Reigns would win because he's perfect or Rollins would pin Ambrose because Ambrose is the most inferior of the three.
Originally posted by SKLOKAZOIDThey just might. Logic-wise, if they had Ambrose be a tweener, who hates Rollins for the obvious but also hates Reigns for not running in to save him from having his skull crushed, that actually makes enough sense for a three-way Shield feud.
With Brock possibly not defending at HIAC, a triple threat with The Shield Explodes in Hell in a Cell could be a strong headliner match.
Y'know, I actually kinda like this idea, and it helps make some sense out of Reigns never bothering to help his buddy Ambrose out during all those beatdowns he suffered. Like the one time Reigns and Cena were staring each other down, then Kane, Orton and Rollins all jumped Ambrose in the back while the two 'heroes' didn't do squat. Or the Curb Stomp through the cinderblocks that put Ambrose on the shelf while he films a movie. Ambrose could claim that Reigns had always been afraid of Ambrose because he was too unstable, and only bothered to take revenge for him once he was out of the picture and therefore no longer a threat.
I just hope that no matter what happens, Ambrose doesn't side with the Authority. Sure, there's excuses they could use, like the old 'If you can't beat 'em ...' classic. But after spending most of the summer building Rollins and Ambrose as a HATRED THAT COULD NOT BE QUENCHED, any excuse they use to try and get Ambrose and Rollins together would be plain nonsensical.
An Ambrose turn here could be to him and Reigns what "18 Seconds" was to Daniel Bryan and Sheamus. I'm not sure how to feel about that.
(1) Schadenfreude! It would be hilarious. (Insert standard disclaimer that the Freude arises from creative's Schaden, not Reigns'.) Ambrose will almost certainly be cheered in any feud with Reigns, at least by the "Cena sucks" crowd, which is loud and cohesive and very aware of the grand plans for Reigns and often resentful of grand plans per se. To fight off that reaction, they'd basically have to make Ambrose join the Authority, stop talking, and transmogrify into Chief Morley 2K14. Even that might not be enough.
But then.
(2) Cynicism! Maybe it's by design? Maybe they think the paradigm of "Cena as simultaneous #1 face and #1 heel" is the optimal business model for the Mattel era and plan to replicate it with Reigns for the next 10 years. If they want to give Reigns the Cena crowd polarity, having Ambrose go heel on him will do it. Then they can have Reigns beat the crap out of red-hot Ambrose and superworker Rollins for six straight months to build up Reigns-Lesnar. It'll be northern booking for kids and southern booking for more discerning folks. Win-win? (nope, not buying it. I'm ready for the faces to be faces again.)
(3) It would deprive us of a potential Rollins/Ambrose blowoff at Hell in a Cell.
So, yeah. At first I was ready to call you guys repressed ninnies for not wanting to see it happen, when the consequences would be so... so... ________(adjective)? But I think I've talked myself out of it.
Turning Ambrose heel or even tweener is just silly. With Bryan out, he is their best face. If anything its time to jump off the Reigns push and get on board the Ambrose Crazy Train.
It sounds like a great show especially for the last two matches. Though I am getting tired of how Danielson and the world title are constantly pushed out of the main event spot.