10-21-13 Raw results and thoughts

Coverage and thoughts on the October 21, 2013 episode of Raw

The show starts with Triple H & Stephanie coming to the ring (I’m tired of these 2)! Stephanie says this Sunday marks WWE’s most grueling PPV. We’ll see Cena return to face Del Rio for the World Title. AJ will defend the Divas Title against Brie Bella & Punk will face Ryback & Heyman in a handicap cell match. We’ll also see Daniel vs. Orton for the vacant WWE Title, & the guest referee will be Shawn Michaels. They guarantee there will be a new WWE Champion. HHH says the fans all chose Shawn because they trust him & HHH trusts him too. He trusts Shawn because he respects him more than any other man in WWE. Then Big Show shows up on the Tron. He says HHH & Stephanie don’t know the meaning of the word respect. HHH pushes his weight around because he can. HHH says he treats Show with distain because Show’s a loser & is broke, etc. There’s no free ride anymore. Show asks why HHH is hostile. Is it because Show is suing him for the millions owed to him on his contract, or maybe slander? Did HHH wake up on the wrong side of the bed? Any side of the bed is the wrong side if Stephanie’s in there. She tells Show to shut up & Show screams for her to shut up. Then they cut him off the Tron. HHH says Big Show goes out with a whimper. HHH then says let’s bring out tonight’s first competitor Dean Ambrose. But out comes Daniel Bryan. Break time. This was the same HHH-Stephanie promo we’ve been getting from them for the past 2 months & I’m sick of it! I thought Big Show was good was with his promo, but this whole story about him being broke makes no sense. Now he’s suing HHH & Stephanie & I find a lot of this to be too much.

Back from break & Dean Ambrose comes out through the crowed for the first match of the night.

Daniel Bryan vs. U.S. Champion Dean Ambrose. Daniel wins by submission. This was a good back & forth match.

CM Punk comes out on the stage. He says this Sunday Ryback & more importantly Heyman will be locked inside the cell structure with him. The structure’s not just about settling issues, it defines legacy. Punk’s legacy will be determined by what he does to Heyman. Heyman thinks Ryback can save him from the beating he deserves, but he can’t. Punk’s plan is not to pin either guy or make Heyman submit. Punk’s plan is to put Ryback to sleep. Then Punk will watch & enjoy Heyman wiggle around like a worn that’s on a hook, then corner him & smash him into every steel wall of the structure because that’s what Heyman deserves. Heyman thinks he knows about Extreme but he will really find out what extreme is on Sunday. 3 guys will be locked in the cell but 1 guy will walk out. That guy will be the best in the world. This was the usual entertaining promo we get from Punk.

Backstage HHH tells Vickie not to screw up. Then Stephanie shows up, they go into the office & Shawn Michaels is there. Stephanie is on the phone telling security to get there because she’s not taking chances with Big Show. Shawn asks if HHH doesn’t think Daniel can be champion. HHH says Daniel could be champion but not the face of WWE. Shawn says the same stuff was said about him & also about HHH. Stephanie asks how Big Show got on the Tron. Shawn says that they used to that to her dad & she thought that was funny. Then she tells Shawn things have changed around here. Shawn knows but thankfully 1 of them doesn’t have to grow up. He’s gonna have some fun. This was weak. Shawn wasn’t really that good here & HHH & Stephanie continue to annoy me.

Santino Marella vs. Heath Slater. Santino gets the pin. This was a comedy match.

Then Santino gets the mic. He says he & the cobra know there’s only 1 king in Memphis. Jerry Lawler. King stands up & everyone chants Jerry. King & Santino stand on the announce table, Santino raises his hand & they play some air guitar.

Dolph Ziggler vs. Randy Orton. Orton gets the pin. This was a solid match. Dolph got a good amount of offense in but I knew Orton would win.

Time for a recap of John Cena’s recovery from his injury.  He’s only been out for 2 months. I don’t think the fans are gonna forget who he is in that short amount of time.

The Bella Twins vs. Tamina Snuka & Divas Champion AJ Lee. The Bellas win when Brie pins AJ. This was pretty decent.

They announce that The Usos will face Roman Reigns & Seth Rollins tonight with the winners facing Goldust & Cody Sunday. WHAT!? The Usos are already the number 1 contenders! Why is there another number 1 contender match? Why not just have both teams face Cody & Goldust Sunday?

Backstage Rene Young is expecting Paul Heyman, but things are getting a little crazy. Then they reshow Big E Langston’s face turn from Smackdown, helping Punk out against Ryback & Axel. Back to Rene & Heyman & company show up. Heyman says Sunday there will be a live execution. Heyman says that a non-participant will be in the cell with a guy who doesn’t think about Divas. He will be in there with Punk, a guy who hopes to end Heyman’s career. Heyman then says that he’s gonna be red hot & out of control like lava. Heyman screams & says a lot & it’s hard to hear what he says. Then Heyman says that he is in control. The same way that he’s controlled Punk. The same way that he controls Ryback. On Sunday he won’t be locked in a cell with Punk, Punk will be locked in a cell with him. Then Big E comes by & asks Heyman who the amateur is now. Ryback asks where Big E’s manners are. Axel tells Big E to show some respect. Then he calls Big E a rookie & wants to face him. Heyman says Axel doesn’t fight for free. The match will happen later in the ring. This was the usual good promo that we get from Heyman. He said a lot here & said it really fast, so it was really hard to keep up with what he was saying.

They show a Daniel Bryan video package with comments from Shawn Michaels. This was well done. I liked that they showed clips of Bryan Danielson on the Indy circuit.

Kofi Kingston & The Miz vs. Luke Harper & Erik Rowan. Harper & Rowan win when Harper pins Kofi. This was decent.

Then Harper continues to pound on Kofi, Miz comes in & he fights off Harper & Rowan, but then they take him down too. Then Bray gets in the ring as Harper & Rowan tie Miz’s arms between the ropes. Then Bray says that he’s won wars & not had to lift a finger. Miz may think Bray doesn’t know him but Bray does. Bray asks if Miz believes in the creator & life after death. Bray does but he is not here to show Miz that hell is real; he’s just there to show him the gates. Follow the buzzards. This was a decent promo.

Before the Big E-Curtis Axel match can start, Big E attacks Axel & then Ryback goes after Big E. Big E takes the fight outside the ring. The heels get the upper hand, then Big E. Then Ryback holds Big E for Axel but Big E kicks Axel. Then Heyman hits Big E in the back with a cane. Big E focuses on Heyman & Ryback hits him from behind. Then Punk comes out with a cane & goes after the heels. Then out comes Vickie. She makes this a tag match.

Big E Langston & CM Punk vs. Ryback Intercontinental Champion Curtis Axel. Big E & Punk win when Big E pins Punk. This was a solid match.

Then Punk goes after Heyman. Heyman goes over the barrier & Punk follows. Heyman manages to escape & Punk poses with the fans. This was good.

Backstage we see R-Truth doing an ad for WWE merchandise. This was ok for what it was.

We get a Spanish promo from El Torito in the Goldman box. Zeb Coulter is also on commentary.

Tons of Funk vs. The Real Americans. The Real Americans win when Swagger makes Brodus tap. This was ok. Cesaro gave Brodus the big swing before Swagger made Brodus tap to the ankle lock. Cesaro is really impressive & deserves a better push.

Then Zeb gets the mic. He says boo me once shame on me, boo me twice shame on America. He wants us to meet his newest little friend. He takes out a bull whip. And that’s no bull. We the people. This gimmick is really stale.

Curtis Axel will defend the IC Title against Big E Langston on the PPV kick off.

Time for a video package on highlights of John Cena’s WWE career.

They reshow Alberto Del Rio’s promo from Smackdown, which was followed up with Del Rio locking Josh Mathews in the arm breaker.

Goldust & Cody Rhodes come out for commentary.

The Usos vs. Roman Reigns & Seth Rollins to see who will face Cody & Goldust for the tag titles on Sunday. The match goes to a no finish. Ambrose gets in Cody’s & Goldust’s faces. They go at it. Then The other Shield guys & The Usos join the fray & the referee calls for the bell. Then the brawl continues inside the ring. The Rhodes Brothers & The Usos clean house on The Shield. RESULT – NO CONTEST. This was a solid match but the no finish made it entirely pointless. I’m guessing they’re gonna have all 3 teams face each other Sunday. If they do why’d they have this match at all?

What do ya know? There will be a triple threat match for the tag titles Sunday.

Time for the Daniel-Orton contract signing (I have no idea why they even bother with contract signings). HHH & Stephanie are in the ring. Then out comes Randy Orton. Then Daniel Bryan comes to the ring. HHH then brings out Shawn Michaels. Shawn doesn’t need an introduction but HHH gives him 1 anyway. Stephanie welcomes everybody to the official contract signing. The fans chant HBK. Stephanie says Orton has the floor since he is the face of WWE. Orton gives Daniel credit. Orton’s beaten him down & Daniel keeps getting right back up. This Sunday Daniel won’t be getting up after the beating that Orton gives him. Orton has survived against Taker at hell in a cell. He’s also beaten Sheamus & Cena in the cell. Daniel has no idea what he’s getting into. Orton will make sure Daniel’s first cell match will also be his last. Then Orton signs the contract. Daniel says Orton has pushed him to the limit every time they’ve faced each other. But we all know that if it weren’t for The Shield & HHH Daniel would be WWE Champion. We also know Daniel is capable of smashing the face of WWE. Daniel has 2 words. Thank you. He thanks Orton for pushing him to show that he’s more than a B +. He thanks Orton for showing what a patsy he is & he says that HHH & Stephanie are narcissists. HHH has seen guys like Jericho; Edge & RVD come & go. They were all popular but they were never the guy. If any of those guys had been the face of WWE we’d all be working for Ted Turner. Daniel thinks he’s playing in the big leagues, but he has no idea. When Daniel steps into the cell we’ll all find out he’s A B + player. Daniel tells HHH to take off the suit & get his ring gear. HHH says if he gets back in the ring it would be to fight a star like Taker, Rock or Lesnar, not Daniel. HHH fights A + players. HHH & other stars wouldn’t waste their time fighting someone like Daniel. Shawn should’ve never wasted his time training Daniel. Shawn says that he didn’t waste his time training Daniel. Shawn asks HHH what has happened to him. What happened to HHH the rebel? Shawn doesn’t care that HHH is COO or that he trained Daniel. He cares about the fans voting for him to guarantee a new WWE Champion & that’s what he will do. Orton says Shawn has an agenda against him. HHH says at the end of the day Shawn will do what’s right. Shawn says he will do what’s right for the business he & the fans love. What does HHH have against Daniel? Is it because after everything HHH has put Daniel through Daniel has proved HHH wrong? Orton says Daniel can’t beat him. Daniel knows it’s true. On Sunday he will take this A + player straight to hell. Orton chants yes & Daniel gets in his face. Then on the Tron we see some truck pulling into the building. Well it’s the Big Show. He comes into the arena. He distracts Orton & Daniel gives Orton an RKO. Daniel backs up the ramp doing the yes chant. Daniel stands on top of the truck, he & the fans chant yes as Orton, HHH & Stephanie remain in the ring to end the show. This was the typical contract signing that we get. A lot of yapping. I hated HHH’s promo! Why did he have to mention Ted Turner? NEWS FLASH MCMAHON FAMILY – THAT WAR HAS BEEN OVER FOR ALMOST 13 YEARS! I’m way past tired of HHH burying Daniel Bryan & on Sunday they better have Daniel Bryan win the title! Daniel was good with his promo & Orton was too. Big Show coming out in the truck was ok but felt like an old Stonecold entrance.

I thought this was a decent show overall but didn’t make me wanna see the cell PPV. The opening promo with HHH & Stephanie & then Big Show showing up on the Tron was the typical opening promo we get on WWE shows. The contract signing was a mixed bag. HHH’s promo was terrible, Orton & Daniel both cut good promos & I was ok with Shawn’s promo too. The Usos vs. Reigns & Rollins was solid but the no finish followed by the announcement that both teams will face The Rhodes Brothers for the tag titles Sunday made this match entirely pointless. Punk & Big E vs. Axel & Ryback was solid & the brawl that lead to it was good too. Heyman’s backstage promo was the usual Heyman promo greatness & I liked Punk chasing Heyman into the crowed. This match Sunday has got to be the pay-off to the Punk-Heyman angle. The Bellas vs. AJ & Tamina was decent, Tons of Funk vs. The Real Americans was ok, Santino-Slater was total comedy, the Shawn-HHH-Stephanie backstage segment was weak, Kofi & Miz vs. Harper & Rowan was decent, Bray’s promo was the usual creepy kinda promo Bray gives & Daniel-Ambrose was a good back & forth match. So for the most part I thought this was a decent show but for a go home show before a PPV it could’ve been better.