A returning Randy Orton ambushes Alberto Del Rio. Throwaway opening segment featuring World Heavyweight Sheamus and Big Show. The "power of the punch" challenge gave me horrendous NXT flashbacks, and it wasn't even all that interesting. How this is supposed to get viewers excited for their World Championship match at Hell in a Cell, I have no idea, but Tensai attacking Sheamus was a nice tie-in to the opening match. Decent match with World Heavyweight Champion Sheamus defeating Tensai. We've seen it before, but Sheamus scored more offense than usual due to his frustration. Sheamus has already been established as a monster inside the ring in the past, but at least we didn't see his usual happy-go-lucky character here. The outcome was obvious and hardly did anything to help either guy. Fine tag team match with Heath Slater and Jinder Mahal defeating Santino Marella and Zack Ryder. The action was fine for what is was, but this match's meaning was mostly to establish "The Band" as a threat. Although they may not have much credibility, they're slowly garnering more and more heat each week and stacking victories will only help expose them more on both Raw and SmackDown. Good match between WWE Tag Team Champion Kane and Dolph Ziggler. It was built to nicely with Ziggler's challenge made to Kane via Tout earlier this week, so it felt somewhat significant. It received good time and protected Ziggler by not allowing him to be pinned. I would've rather seen him get the better of Kane to make up for lost momentum, but Team Hell No attacking Matt Striker following the bout was fun stuff.
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By Graham "GSM" Matthews Excellent match with TNA World Champion Austin Aries defeating James Storm. It had a fresh feel to it since it was the first ever meeting between the two, and involved extremely entertaining action. Storm was protected after Bobby Roode interfered and allowed Aries to pick up the victory, so that made logical sense. Aries needed a victory going into Bound For Glory, so this was a fantastic way to kick off a wrestlingshow. Forgettable match with Hernandez defeating AJ Styles. It wasn't given enough time and featured throwaway action. Styles and Angle haven't been made to look like a credible team going into Bound For Glory, but at least Chavo and Hernandez do. The Triple Threat tag team title match on Sunday has the potential to be great, but this was not a nice preview of it. CM Punk attempts to deliver a GTS to Mr. McMahon. Great promo from the returning John Cena to kick off the show. He announced he had since come back to Raw following a two-week hiatus, cracked a few jokes, and then got serious by the end of the promo as he focused on CM Punk. It was a very well-rounded promo that I thoroughly enjoyed, which is saying a lot since most of Cena's comical promos don't get a chuckle out of this viewer most of the time. Highlighting the various angles happening in WWE today was a cool perspective on things as well. Brief match with Ryback squashing both Primo and Epico in a Handicap match. It made sense following Ryback's match with Primo last week on SmackDown, so I saw it as a nice follow-up. I still see Ryback defeating two competitors at once as an impressive feat, especially when they were put over as a threat by JBL on commentary. Sure, Epico and Primo don't come off as a credible team after failing to defeat Ryback, but they're not doing anything at the moment anyway, so I don't mind it. Ryback hitting his finisher on both Primo and Epico simultaneously was a cool visual and there's no denying that Big Hungry was over with the crowd like crazy. Fun segment featuring Brodus Clay and R-Truth. While it may not have lasted long and was simply a tie-in to Vince McMahon's state of the WWE address that followed, it was harmless comedy. As much as I'd like to see Clay and Truth as heels, I don't see it happening anytime soon due to how over they are with the children, so it'll be a fun pairing for the time being. Fantastic promo between WWE Champion CM Punk and Mr. McMahon. Punk's interruption halfway through McMahon's promo was predictable, but I found it to be extremely intriguing with this being the first time these two have crossed paths on Raw since last July prior to the Money in the Bank pay-per-view. I've been anxiously awaiting a "pipebomb" of a promo from Punk since he cemented his heel turn a few months back, and will we finally got it here with some very strong mic work from Punk. He's playing his heel role to perfection and his back history with McMahon only enhanced the segment. McMahon sold Punk's slap to the face well and looking legitimately angry (which he could have very well have been) really have me looking forward to the night's main event between the two. Good match with Rey Mysterio and Sin Cara defeating The Prime Time Players to advance to the finals of the WWE Tag Team Championship tournament. They've been up the feud between the two teams quite well in recent weeks, so it definitely gave this match more meaning. The outcome was never in doubt, but it still consisted of good action that saw the right team go over. As I've said numerous times in the past, I've been loving the recent resurrection of the tag team division and hope they keep the momentum going strong. Solid match between World Heavyweight Champion Sheamus and Wade Barrett. I would've liked to see it promoted more since it is such a high caliber contest after all, but it beats Barrett taking on yet another enhancement talent this week. Needless to say, these two Europeans have excellent in-ring chemistry and had an enjoyable back-and-forth brawling battle. I was worried about the finish since it could possibly make Barrett look weak, but having Tensai interfere was a pleasant surprise, which prevented Barrett from losing via pin-fall. Big Show didn't add much at ring-side, but at least he furthered his feud with Sheamus by attacking the Celtic Warrior and coming off as a threat for the first time since this rivalry began. I don't think a trio involving Tensai, Barrett, and Show will become a regular thing going forward, but it worked well here given the circumstances. WWE Champion CM Punk hits Dolph Ziggler with a GTS. Absolutely asinine opening segment featuring Big Show and World Heavyweight Champion Sheamus. Show's promo was well executed and I appreciate the effort to acknowledge history by showing the footage of his 45-second World title reign from last year, but this feud seems more about Show's past embarrassments and not making Sheamus look like a vulnerable champ. Similar to Monday's Raw, Sheamus was not funny, and displayed more heel tactics than Show himself. I'm not sure where they're going with this feud, but so far, I'm not enjoying its direction. Good match with Prime Time Players defeating Kofi Kingston and R-Truth to advance in the WWE Tag Team Championship tournament. We've seen it a few times before, but it made for some fun action. No dissension between Truth and Kingston was shown, so it's unclear as to whether they remain a tag team going forward, but Darren Young and Titus O'Neil winning here is logical and sets up a match with their rivals Rey Mysterio and Sin Cara in the semi-finals. Brief match with Ryback quickly defeating Primo. It's the same basic Ryback match we've been accustomed to for months, but just with a different opponent. Primo and Epico are quality talents, so it's a shame to see them so underutilized. I'm glad they put over Ryback's heroic actions from Raw, though, as those will help give him momentum going in next Monday night. Fine match with Layla defeating Alicia Fox. There were some clunky spots, but nothing all that disappointing, as it was exactly what you'd expect from these two. It gave Layla a win she needed as she looks to regain her Divas Championship from Eve, but her promo that followed the bout was confusing and I had a hard time understanding it. On a side note, is Alicia Fox heel or does the Creative Team not even care at this point? Typical squash match with Wade Barrett decimating a local athlete. We've seen Barrett take out lower-card Superstars in recent weeks, so it was baffling as to why they took two steps back and had him take on a non-contracted wrestler. Nonetheless, it showcased Barrett's dominance nicely, but he needs a substantial feud sooner rather than later. |
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