Tremendous Tirades 6.10.13: WWE Monday Night Raw

Triple H vs. Curtis Axel w/Paul Heyman: We had the return of Triple H to a very good reaction, as he looked for some revenge against Curtis Axel. After a few moments of action, Vince McMahon made his way to the ring and had the bell sounded. He had Triple H disqualified, allowing Axel to be announced as the winner. Vince then strutted away, looking very pleased with himself. Heyman and Axel mocked the Hs because he lost, prompting the Hs to have the match restarted. A now pissed off Vince returned to the ring, and had it announced that the winner, via forfeit, was Curtis Axel. Vince again left, and once again, Triple H yelled at Justin Roberts, and had him announce the match was restarted as a 60-minute iron man match. Vince then told Axel and Heyman to leave, because they won twice, and then hijacked the mic and the ring bell. Last week I didn’t like the promo work by Vince and Stephanie, they came across patronizing to Axel and as unsympathetic baby faces as they discussed the Triple H stuff. This week was at least somewhat interesting in how they went about things, not groundbreaking or super special, but it was interesting and made me curious to see how they move forward as the show continues. But at the same time, I do not see what it is doing for Axel. Yes, Paul can say he beat Triple H 10 times, but it doesn’t mean anything because he didn’t win shit. It’s like I have said a million times, the Shield is over because they beat people, they beat them clean and they beat people that the fans care about. Axel is the definition of fluke, and isn’t even getting the right kind of heat.

Rating (1-10): 5.5

Dean Ambrose vs. Kane: There is no bell, which caused Triple H to leave, but they started this match without the official bell. I mean, we lost the continuity in one segment, at least get a new bell or a horn or something. This would have worked better…

Oh hey, they brought a bell back to ringside, very good, very good indeed. Anyway, I have been enjoying Kane’s work since he feuded with Punk and Bryan. The man, despite the age and damage on his body, was revitalized working with those guys, and it has carried into the work with the Shield. At this time he is secure in his spot, loses no heat by losing, but has been working so hard, I commend him for that. They had a good match; they got some time, and just as Kane was starting to get the advantage and could have possibly won (because Ambrose was alone) Reigns and Rollins hit the ring to make a save, prompting Bryan and Orton to even the odds. The faces cleaned house, but there is still tension there between Orton, Bryan and Kane, and that was very evident as they stood in the ring, staring each other down. Overall a good segment, because it continues the Shield vs. Bryan, Kane and Friends feud, and also plays into the Bryan and Orton matches vs. the other members of the Shield later in the show. They further built this by showing the action from Smackdown between Bryan and Orton.

Orton and Bryan then argued backstage, and Kane tries to stop it. It breaks down into Bryan accusing them of thinking he cannot handle himself. Kane was pretty awesome here, and this led to more arguing between Orton. BRICKY arrived, and made Orton and Bryan vs. Reigns and Rollins for the tag titled at the PPV. Kane is both shocked and appalled; until Vicky gives him a US Title match. Kane gives her a big old sweaty hug.

Rating (1-10): 8.0

The Miz vs. Cody Rhodes: Fandango has suffered a concussion, and he will not compete at the PPV. Due to that, Barrett will face Miz one on one at the PPV. Barrett was on commentary as Miz had a perfectly average TV match with Rhodes. The segment essentially was there to get over that Fandango was dropped from the match and to get the Miz, the challenger, a TV victory. After the match, Paul Heyman arrived and announced that Vickie Guerrero has added Curtis Axel to the IC Title match. Heyman put over Axel as having wins over Cena, Jericho and Triple H; but with the booking it comes off as putting lipstick on a pig, it’s still a pig. This was all right, hopefully if they are going to push Axel, he wins cleanly and they actually book him well as champion, and not at all like Barrett.

Rating (1-10): 6.0

Chris Jericho Talks… DOLPH ZIGGLER RETURNS… Langston vs. Jericho: Jericho put over all of the greats he has faced in WWE (Austin, Rock, Cena, Michaels) but noted that no one takes him to the limit like his opponent at Payback, CM Punk. Jericho did a great job here (in a loose way, similar to the Michaels feud for WM 19 where they compared careers and such) where he compared himself to Punk, noted that they have the same drive, came into the business the same way, and that they both believe that they are the best in the world. As Jericho finished putting over his match, Dolph Ziggler made his Raw return. Ziggler cut a good promo, citing that Jericho was discussing the best, so he felt it was time to appear. Solid stuff from Ziggler, and when Jericho offered Ziggler a match, Ziggler agreed… for Langston to face Jericho. I liked it because they shouldn’t just throw away Ziggler’s in ring return on Raw with no hype, and also because him bitching out fits the character.

I also liked the match because Langston seems to have something. He has a good look, good presence, and needs seasoning in the ring. He is far from bad, but working with Chris Jericho will do nothing but help him. Ziggler caused a distraction late, Del Rio then caused one of his own as he went after Ziggler, and that allowed Jericho to hit the codebreaker for the win. Overall a good use of the top of the hour, Jericho hyped his match with Punk, while Ziggler returned to cut a good promo. From there, Jericho had a good match with Langston, who keeps improving, Jericho got a win and Del Rio and Ziggler got to do a spot to add a little something to the late building match (due to Ziggler’s concussion, not a booking error). Again, nothing overly special, but it was simple and made sense and did not insult the intelligence of the viewers.

Rating (1-10): 8.0

Sin Cara vs. Antonio Cesaro : We got Zeb Colter on commentary, who said that Cesaro came to the country legally, and that Cara was a dirty illegal. He also discussed the government monitoring American Citizens. The commentary did not pay attention to the match, because this was all about Colter discussing illegal, Swagger being injured and that it may be a conspiracy by WWE to get rid of him. As for the match, Casaro is the right guy to have in there with Cara, he has a ton of experience from his work in CHIKARA working with smaller guys as their base, and that showed here. This was a fine little match, and while it didn’t mean much right now, it was hurt by Commentary being all about Colter’s agenda. Bt the good news is that they were smart, if you’re going to toss out guys for a match that means nothing going into the PPV, at least send out a combo of guys that have a chance to so something entertaining, and this combo did that. It was nice to see Cara have a good match, and to also see Cesaro get a victory on the big show. On a side note, it appears more and more that they are giving up on Sin Cara, especially with the signing of Del Sol.

Rating (1-10): 6.5

Randy Orton vs. Roman Reigns: Daniel Bryan and Seth Rollins are at ringside, one because they also have a match and two because it adds to the build for Sunday’s PPV match. This was a solid TV outing here for Reigns, who is still obviously improving, but didn’t appear out of place. Due to Rollins and then Bryan getting involved, we had a no contest, which is fine as it protects the guys heading into the title match and helped to move right into the next segment. Bryan and Orton both own the crowd tonight as well, which is adding to things. It was simple and easy, and I appreciate that.

Rating (1-10): 8.0

Daniel Bryan vs. Seth Rollins: Orton and Reigns are both at ringside, continuity. Man, years after watching these guys on ROH TV and here they are on Raw. It’s fun to look back on that and see the great matches they had, but to also think that both guys, especially Bryan has improved so much as far as getting it. I love Rollins mocking Bryan, doing some of his trademark stuff, and then busting out a bucklebomb. Bryan even nailed a Chaos Theory, which about made my night. This was simply a great match, and the crowd was into it and loving it. Bryan went to the well and was able to use the POWER OF THE SMALL PACKAGE! A rare loss for the Shield, but the moment made sense. Orton even had his back and took out Reigns, and then hit an RKO on Rollins. They stood face to face and in a moment of respect. This was a great match and a great build for Sunday’s match at Payback. Also, not only did this continue the great run of performances by Bryan, but was a great singles showing for Rollins. Many of us know he is very good, but now the WWE fan base got to see it on Raw.

Rating (1-10): 9.5

Kaitlyn’s Secret Admirer Revealed: Kaitlyn came to the ring to ask her secret admirer to reveal himself, and it was Big E. Langston as I had previously speculated. Every once and a while I get one. Langston was dressed up and had flowers, because he’s a pimp. He laid out his feelings for her, dipped her back and looked for a long kiss… and then dropped her! Shenanigans! It was all a trick by AJ to prove that she can beat Kaitlyn at the metal game. AJ ran her down and noted that the only thing Kaitlyn had was the title, and she will not like how the story ends on Sunday because she was sending Kaitlyn back to the trailer park. For the first time in forever, a WWE heel diva came off as a completely unlikable bitch, and I liked the mental game aspect played there. Kaitlyn actually came off as hurt emotionally there. I think I actually care about the match now. Good work.

Rating (1-10): 7.5

Damien Sandow vs. R-Truth: Sandow cut a promo before the match about defeating Sheamus on the Youtube pre-show for WWE Payback. It was a fine TV match, obviously designed to give Sandow a TV win before the PPV. He won with a side effect (the silencer). Sheamus then came out, promising to kick off Sandow’s head to kick off the PPV Sunday. It was fine.

Rating (1-10): 6.0

Ryback and Cena go Face to Face: Team BRICKY led the lumberjacks to the ring to set up the big final segment of the show. Cena hit the ring, followed by Ryback and his ambulance appearing. Ryback stood on the ramp, while Cena tried to explain the face-to-face concept. Cena brought up giving Ryback his HIAC spot, but Ryback countered with the fact that he got too good, too popular too fast. He was a danger to Cena, but Cena never really had his back. Cena actually got serious, and stated that ay man good enough to hold the WWE Title didn’t have a guardian angel watching his back. The bottom line is that Ryback makes excuses, and doesn’t accept the responsibility when he fails. Ryback promised to take his spot, and Cena tried to charge him, but the lumberjacks stopped him. Ryback then hit the ring for the big show-ending brawl with multiple pull a parts, and that was all. Overall I felt that this was a weak ending to the show. The idea was fine, the exchange was fine, but I didn’t feel that I had to see the PPV because of it, and that was the goal of the angle. It wasn’t bad, but I don’t think it was what they were going for.

Rating (1-10): 6.0

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