10-7-13 Raw results and thoughts

Coverage and thoughts on the October 7, 2013 episode of Raw

The show starts with Stephanie McMahon coming to the ring. She says last night the Daniel-Orton match was ruined. All the fans are angry (Damn right, that ending to the PPV was an outrage). She’s angry. So is Orton. Daniel’s livid too. This is all because of the acts of 1 selfish guy. She tells Big Show to come out. Out comes Big Show. He starts to talk but she tells him to shut up. She gets he’s been under pressure & that can lead to making bad decisions but last night Show knocked out Daniel, Orton & 2 referees. Show’s sorry. Stephanie says Show’s a sorry pathetic excuse of life. HHH has bailed him out more times than she can remember. Show can’t manage himself. They’ve asked him to his job but he can’t even do that. It’s time Show man up & takes responsibility for his actions. Show asks if he can go. Stephanie says he can’t. HHH & Stephanie own Big Show. He doesn’t do anything unless she & HHH approve. She tells him to get on his knees & beg the fans’ forgiveness. He can’t even do that. He’s worthless. He has no heart & no soul. Show’s not begging. He knocked out Orton because he couldn’t take it anymore. He Knocked out Daniel because she told him too. Stephanie says she & HHH wasn’t there. Then Show says that we all know Brad works for Stephanie & her SOB husband. Then she slaps him repeatedly & asks him if he’s gonna cry. Then she fires him. Big Show storms off. This was the usual Big Show-Stephanie promo that we get. I wasn’t a fan of this at all!! I hate the “HHH & Stephanie own Big Show” bit! It’s just stupid!!

Dolph Ziggler vs. Damien Sandow. Dolph gets the pin. This was a solid match.

Backstage Stephanie tells Brad she trusted him to do a good job running the PPV but what happened? The Rhodes’ family 1, the power went out, Scott Armstrong got rehired & Big Show ruined the main event. That’s on Brad. What does Brad have to say? He says, “HHH” & then Stephanie says HHH has been out there all day trying to fix the mess Brad made. He’s lucky he isn’t facing the same fate as Show. She tells Brad to out to the ring, apologize to the fans & say how he will make it up to them. This was terrible! I’m running out of stuff to say about HHH & Stephanie! I’m just way past tired of all this! If anyone should doing any apologizing it’s the McMahon family for booking this crap & giving 2 retched PPVs in a row!!

They show Bruno Sammartino coming out on the stage. This happened during the break. Michael Cole mentions Bruno just turned 78. Then the show Lawler & the fans singing happy birthday to Bruno. Great moment! Easily better than anything we’ve seen so far! This should’ve been on the show. Not during the break!

Natalya, Eva Marie & Jo Jo vs. Rosa Mendez, Aksana & Alicia Fox. Natalya, Eva & Jo win when Natalya makes Alicia tap. This was a typical Divas match. Not much to it. Natalya’s the only one with any wrestling talent.

Then out comes Brad Maddox. He apologizes for what happened last night. To ensure this Daniel-Orton issue has a definitive ending there will be a rematch inside hell in a cell. Also there will be a guest referee for that match. It will be 1 of 3 WWE Hall of Fame candidates. Brad will not be deciding who the referee will be. Naturally the fans will decide that on the app. Then Brad brings out the first candidate. Booker T. He says there isn’t much to say about why he should be referee. He’s a 6 time world champion. All the fans know he will do the right thing for the people. More importantly he will do the right thing for business. Now can you dig that SUCKA!? This was pointless! Why are they having WWE Hall of Famers Campaigning to the fans for a guest referee slot!?

Los Matadores vs. Drew McIntyre & Jinder Mahal. Los Matadores win. Naturally. This was meaningless. Then Heath Slater mocks El Torito & then Torito gets in the ring & chases him around but then Los Matadores take him down. Then Toritio gives Heath a rana off the top rope. Impressive rana.

Paul Heyman, Curtis Axel & Ryback are in the ring. Heyman says he is the best in the world. The record books will reflect that because he’s the only guy on the planet that can say he beat Punk with both hands tied behind his back. Punk can say that last night he pinned Ryback. What the record books should reflect is that Punk isn’t just a bully but also a cheater. Then they show a still shot of Punk kicking Ryback low on the Tron. Then Punk’s music plays & he comes out. Punk asks if Heyman’s calling him a cheater. All Punk did last night was win. Maybe he kicked Ryback in the balls but he did that was to see if he actually had any. Heyman says Punk will never get a chance to do that again. Punk says Heyman’s word doesn’t mean crap. Punk can & will beat Ryback again. If the 3 goons are there for a rematch challenge, Punk accepts. That’s what happens when a bully picks on someone that is smarter than they are. Ryback says if Punk had any balls he would’ve hit him there a long time ago. Punk thinks he’s a hero but he’s a bully. He tells Punk to get in the ring & bully him right now. Then out comes R-Truth. It looks Punk & Truth will face Ryback & Axel. This was a solid segment. Punk & Heyman were good on the mic like usual.

CM Punk & R-Truth vs. Ryback & Intercontinental Champion Curtis Axel. Punk & Truth win when Truth pins Axel. This match was decent. It looks like R-Truth will be getting an IC Title rematch.

Justin Roberts brings out the next Hall of Fame referee candidate. Bob Backlund. Backlund says he loves the people. He’s got a heck of a reason why they should for him. He used the word heck because he doesn’t like foul language. He should be referee because he’s been a good guy & bad guy in the business. He doesn’t care who wins or loses he will do what’s best! Good decision in the ring for the match. If the match gets out of control he will put that person in the chicken wing. He tells the fans to stand up straight when he addresses them & then heads to the back. This was funny. Backlund did a lot of screaming & it was hard to understand some of what he said.

Kofi Kingston vs. Randy Orton. Orton gets the pin. This was a solid match.

Then Daniel Bryan comes in the ring & clotheslines Orton over the top. Then he dives onto him on the outside. Then Daniel sends Orton over the announce table & pounds on Orton. Orton tries to escape but Daniel gets right back on him. Referees & guys in suits come in to break it up. Then Daniel chases Orton up the ramp to the back as the referees follow. This was good.

Backstage Vickie yells at some guy saying she runs things around here. Then Alberto comes by. Vickie says HHH has her there to make an announcement. Del Rio asks if he will be the face of WWE since he’s the only champion right now. He was hoping to have the night off but the fans need to see the champ. He hopes that Vickie picks the right opponent for him. Then he says how “sexy” & intelligent Vickie is. Then he puts his scarf on her, kisses her on the cheek & walks off. Then Vickie takes a whiff of the scarf.

Justin Roberts brings out the third HOF referee candidate. Shawn Michaels (I think he’s winning the “vote”). Michaels knows that everyone knows that he & HHH are close personal friends. The key word there is personal. What we’re talking about tonight is business. Michaels trained Daniel Bryan but he won’t let that sway him. He won’t let his friendship with HHH sway him either. As for Orton he doesn’t like him & Orton doesn’t like him either. He tells the fans to vote for HB “Shizzle” on the app. The fans chant that & Michaels says that will be trending. He wants the fans to vote for him because he guarantees that he will make sure there is a new WWE Champion. He doesn’t care what’s best for business. He wants what’s best for the fans. This was a good promo.

Alberto Del Rio comes to the ring. Then out comes Vickie. She brings out Del Rio’s opponent for tonight, Ricardo Rodriguez. UGH! Haven’t we seen this already? Then Vickie says she has 1 more announcement. Del Rio will defend the World Title at hell in a cell against John Cena.

Ricardo Rodriguez vs. World Champion Alberto Del Rio. Ricardo gets the pin. Vickie’s announcement distracted Del Rio & Ricardo rolled him up for the pin. Then Ricardo celebrates on the announce table & Del Rio trips him & he falls off. The Del Rio beats on him. Then Del Rio gets a chair, puts Ricardo’s arm in it & then stomps away. This was average at best. Vickie announcing that Del Rio will face Cena was surprising. I thought he’d be out for a few more months. The “match” wasn’t much & we’ve seen Del Rio beat on Ricardo before.

Zack Ryder vs. Fandango. Fandango gets the pin. This was ok but no surprise Fandango won.

Time to find out who the fans voted for to be referee for the Daniel-Orton match. King gets the mic & hypes up the fans. Then they show Booker, Backlund & Shawn backstage. Who have the fans voted for? No surprise, Shawn Michaels.

The Real Americans are in the ring. The just say We the People. Thank God that was all they said!

Great Khali & Santino Marella vs. The Real Americans. The Real Americans win when Cesaro pins Khali. This was just there. I have no idea why they had this match again. Cesaro gave Khali the big swing for the pin again. Then Swagger picks up Hornswoggle & throws him in the ring. Then Cesaro gives him the big swing but Santino hits Cesaro with the cobra.

Time for Miz TV. As he welcomes everyone, out go the lights. The Wyatt family is here. The lights come back on. Harper & Rowan are in the ring. Miz slides out. Then he goes after Bray. Harper & Rowan go after him but Miz escapes. Bray laughs & says Miz can’t hide.

Backstage we see Brad & Stephanie. Brad asks if he’s acquitted himself. Stephanie says Brad has a long way to go before that happens. Then HHH comes in. He says that he was busy cleaning up Brad’s mess. Then he asks if Brad screwed up tonight. Stephanie says the 6 man tag is yet to come. HHH says that he will personally make sure that what happens is best for business. Whatever. I’ve had it with these bits. Also why’d HHH show up 2 & a half hours into the show? I hate when they have the guy in charge “show up late!”

R-Truth will face Curtis Axel for the Intercontinental Title this week on Smackdown.

Before the 6 man tag starts HHH comes out (God help me)! He sits at ringside to watch the match but I know he will get involved somehow & cause me some more heartache.

Daniel Bryan, Cody Rhodes & Goldust vs. The Shield. Daniel, Cody & Goldust win by DQ when Ambrose hits Cody with a chair.

Then HHH says this show won’t end indecisively. He’s restarting the match & it’s no DQ. That was predictable.

Daniel Bryan, Cody Rhodes & Goldust vs. The Shield in a no DQ match. Orton comes out from the crowd & gives Daniel an RKO. Then Rollins covers Daniel for the pin. WINNERS – THE SHIELD. Then HHH gives The Shield the nod & then The Shield beat on Goldust. Then Big Show’s music plays & he comes out. HHH gets in the ring & hides behind The Shield. Big Show stands on the apron, gets in the ring & The Shield go after him but Show fights them off. Then The Shield gets the upper hand & HHH tells them to finish Show. Show throws them off again & then he gives HHH a KO punch. That was cool. I’m glad someone finally got to do something to HHH. Then Daniel stands over the unconscious HHH & he & the fans do the yes chant. Big Show walks up the ramp all smiles as Daniel & the fans chant yes. The yes chant continues & that ends this week’s Raw.

This was a weak show overall. I hated the Big Show-Stephanie promo at the start. I was ok with the 6 man tag & knew HHH would restart the match as no DQ. I liked that Big Show knocked out HHH. It would’ve been cooler if Daniel Bryan got to put him the yes lock but at least somebody got to get the better of HHH. I have no idea what the point of having the Hall of Famers being candidates to referee the Daniel-Orton match was for. They just could’ve said Shawn Michaels would be the referee. I thought Michaels cut a good promo though. The Punk-Heyman promo was well done & I thought the Punk & Truth vs. Ryback & Axel match was solid. The Khali & Santino vs. Real Americans match was pointless but it was cool to see Cesaro give Khali the giant swing again. The Miz-Wyatt family bit was ok. It looks like we’ll be getting a Miz-Bray program. Thankfully Miz didn’t cut 1 of his long winded promos. Ryder-Fandango was ok but it was not surprising at all that Fandango won since Ryder never does. Kofi-Orton was solid too & I liked that Daniel Bryan came out & attacked Orton afterwards. Ricardo-Del Rio wasn’t much of match & we’ve seen Del Rio man handle Ricardo before. I was surprised that Vickie announced that Cena would be back to face Del Rio. Overall I thought this was mixed bag of a show.