Raw Reax - 8/26/13

Read on for my thoughts on last night's Raw.
Pretty awesome opening segment. I'm digging whatever the heck we're calling HHH's group.

Well, that was weird. I guess this was the segment to bring us down adrenaline-wise from the big opener. I don't really care all that much about Mendes returning. I'm just kind of "ehh". Though if it leads to us seeing what Summer Rae can do on the main roster as a wrestler, maybe it's the right move!

They jumped right to that tag match. No breathing room. I understand why, though.

That was kind of a clustermess, with Fandango skipping town and all. Sandow continues to look like he's lower on the card than he was before winning the briefcase. I'm not sure why they'd want to do that.

I feel like they have no idea what to do with Fandango now.

This feels like some kind of rib on Primo and Epico. Or maybe just another crazy Vince idea. Is this the best they could have come up with for them?

I liked the Christian/Orton segment. I'm feeling the angle as a whole.

Nice set up for Punk vs. Axel.

Punk vs. Axel was pretty good, all things considered. Axel seems to be improving in the ring (which is the goal).

Pretty badass beatdown of Punk without overdoing it. I like that they had some verbiage in there and it wasn't just a bunch of violence.

So-so Divas' match. Obviously the reality show's a priority for them and they're going to have segments dedicated to it. I wonder when we'll see JoJo and Eva Marie in the ring (on TV).

Pretty scathing promo from AJ. I like the idea of her feuding with the Funkadactyls and then Natalya. It'd be a nice babyface moment for Natalya to take the Title. It's not like it would kill AJ's character to lose it, either.

Del Rio vs. RVD was pretty good for the amount of time it got. Kind of crazy that they didn't save it for the PPV (I imagine they'll have a rematch then).

I'm pretty much ready for us to get to the next stage of the Ryback angle, where someone stands up to him for all these attacks. I guess all the authority figures are busy with the HHH/Orton stuff?

Cool Heyman/Axel segment. I love Heyman's justification.

Pretty cool match between Orton and Christian. I liked the heel finish.

I continue to dig this Bryan angle. I wonder what they're going to do with him in the months to come.

Intriguing stuff with HHH, Orton, and Maddox.

I'm shocked that Zeb continues to make it on TV with some of those comments. I'm not complaining, though. He's certainly being a heel we can hate.

Not a bad match between Swagger and Titus at all. Titus still isn't a "good technical wrestler" or whatever the heck the "smarks" want him to be, but he plays his role well and that's all he needs to do at this point. If he ever gets pushed beyond being a tag team guy, then yes, I'd like to see more from him. But that's not what's happening right now. Anyway, I like the feud between these two talented teams.

I saw the Wyatt video before this, but it was still really awesome. I want more characters like this and less like Bo Dallas (though he's getting better in NXT).

I like the set-up for the handicap match.

They continue to set the stage for Heel Domination by HHH's regime.

Bryan vs. Rollins was pretty good. Even in defeat, Rollins looked good.

Interesting second fall, but it made sense.

The third fall also made sense, though I was hoping for something longer.

Wow. That's a serious ass-kicking by the heels. As long as Bryan perseveres in the end, I suppose it's ok. Is it wrong to hope that the end of the angle is Bryan making HHH tap at Mania?

More wrestling coming up.