Read on for my thoughts on last night's Raw.
Yeah, that... that was kind of stupid. WWE has the opportunity to feature Curtis Axel as THE guy to watch, an up-and-coming superstar who will one day be a big part of the company. Instead they focus on HHH vs. Vince. Didn't we get that... in 1999!? Unless this is going somewhere that elevates someone like Axel, I don't see much of a point of having two executives feud. Will this sell PPVs or live events? I'm willing to see where they're going, but at this point, it's a little head-scratching.
Seriously, are we getting HHH vs. Vince at Payback? Otherwise, this feels crazy. Even if we ARE, what does it say about WWE's faith in their performers when those two get a PPV spot while Sandow and Sheamus are on the pre-show!? Talk about your injustices.
Both guys deserve props here: Kane, despite being the oldest full-time member of the roster at 46, still delivers at a high level. I'm very impressed with the level of work he continues to bring to the table. Dean Ambrose continues to stand out. He's not "pretending to be a wrestler", showing off a bunch of moves he was taught. Whereas a lot of performers are "painters", showing off their impressive techniques and knowledge of colors, Dean Ambrose is a true artist.
Fine continuation of the Shield feud with the post-match.
Those matches make sense for Sunday. I'm glad that they didn't rush to Bryan vs. Orton. Fine segment. I know I use that word a lot. It's basically my equivalent of "not really remarkable in either a positive or negative fashion".
So much for Fandango.
Miz vs. Rhodes was ok. Rhodes deserves better. I like Miz, but Rhodes seems kind of thrown under a bus lately. I'm NOT saying that he's being "buried" or that Management doesn't like him. I just wonder why they're using him as a sacrificial lamb. Of course, a win over Rhodes means more than a win over Otunga or whoever else I think should be used to get others over. But he's got the potential to be someone of some importance if they use him right.
Not crazy about Axel being put in the IC Title picture. Why is he not facing HHH? WWE makes my head hurt so much. They could have just done Miz vs. Barrett or thrown in someone else (maybe do a battle royal or something to make a third member). They could have even have had Rhodes beat Miz and earn a spot. Vins pls.
But... Henry just said that he was too hurt to return on Twitter. I'm so confused! What's a work? What's a shoot? What... WHAT AM I FIGHTING FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORRRRRRRRR!!!!?????
I don't really care about the McMahons feuding anymore, having seen it so many times. Vince said that he has to run Raw. If he runs Raw, what does the COO do? What do Vickie and Maddox do? The power structure here is confusing.
Am I wrong to expect Jericho vs. Punk to go more than one PPV? I kind of wish they'd hold off on Ziggler vs. Del Rio until MITB since Ziggler's been out of the picture and they haven't really feuded much. I like that they're not "giving away" Ziggler's return match with no build. Anyway, that was a great job putting Punk over by Jericho. I wish it was more personal than "who's the better wrestler", but that story makes sense.
Jericho beating Big E made sense. I wish it would have led to a tag match or something (with Del Rio and Ziggler) instead of our lasting impression being Big E losing.
I'd love to see a segment between Heyman and Colter. I don't really know WHY, but they're both so great that it would almost have to be entertaining.
Always good to see Cesaro and Sin Cara in action. I wish they were facing off on Sunday. The undercard needs love, too.
The Wyatt Family is spooky as hell and awesome.
Ahh, there we go: Vince has to convince Vickie to do stuff because she's in charge of the show. I'm not really crazy about how often they treat Vickie as "fat". I think women are treated to enough negative perceptions of body image these days. If it was a heel calling a face "fat" and presented as something bad people do, that's one thing. But it's a running joke that the heel is "fat" and we're supposed to demonize her for it. It'd be different if she was 400 lbs. or something, but she's not. I can't find an accurate height/weight measure to calculate BMI, but I'd be surprised if he was obese and actually ate 3 Hardee's burgers regularly (if ever).
Cool ending to Orton vs. Reigns. I liked the match itself.
@#&$*%#!! WOW. Rollins and Bryan KILLED IT. Yeah, they probably could have done a little "more with less" and in some ways it did feel like an excuse to show off with fancy moves, but as long as this kind of thing doesn't become a regular occurrence, it was pretty good.
A little surprised that Rollins ate a round kick and an RKO, since usually The Shield stands tall, but it's probably a prelude for The Shield retaining on Sunday.
YYYYYYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS. AJ the mastermind. Pure evil. Who wouldn't root for Kaitlyn to retain the title after that? AJ vs. Kaitlyn is easily in my top female rivalries of all-time. I don't know if it's at Trish vs. Mickie levels yet, but this is pretty good stuff.
Always good to hear a Sandow promo. It's really a shame that he and Sheamus are on the pre-show. They really couldn't have thrown 3MB and The Usos or someone on there?
R-Truth's a talented dude. I like Sandow, but I think he's going to get thwomped on Sunday. At least he got a win tonight.
Good Sheamus promo. It's weird that this match is being built so well when it's just on the pre-show. Maybe it's a tactic to get people to buy the PPV?
I'm withholding judgment on the McMahons stuff until they show where it's going for Sunday, which should be a priority.
But... what... all that and we're not going to get HHH vs. Axel? (Are we?) This show is crazy. As much TV time as HHH got this month, it's crazy that he's not on the PPV. This feels like some kind of last-minute change of plans.
Ryback and Cena was nice and intense, which is what you need to sell a PPV. I look forward to the match on Sunday, though I don't have much faith in them to have a good ending that keeps Ryback strong.
More wrestling coming up.
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