11-18-13 Raw results and thoughts

Coverage and thoughts on the November 18, 2013 episode of Raw

The show starts with HHH & Stephanie coming to the ring (I knew they’d start the show this way! UGH! This is going to be the typical painful promo we get from these 2). HHH says it’s good to be back (It isn’t good to have ya back). Despite everybody’s accusations about their alleged abuse of power, last week was a prime of example of how vital they are to the show. Without them chaos rules & that’s what happened last week. HHH & Stephanie are disappointed. Brad, Kane & Vickie will be dealt with. Then Stephanie says they’re rested, back & ready & this Sunday is Survivor Series. Then out comes Randy Orton. He says HHH & Stephanie wanna blame everyone but themselves but Orton blames them both. They’re the ones he holds responsible for all the chaos. He’s the face of WWE. Not Show, Cena, Daniel, or Punk. Orton feels they should be protecting their asset more than they are. Stephanie says Orton’s probably right. Orton flips & says he probably won’t beat Show. HHH asks who Orton thinks he is. Orton says he’s the WWE Champion & the face of the company. HHH says that Orton’s the face of “their company”. Things get tense for a bit. Then out come Brad & Vickie. Brad says that everything that happened last week was Vickie’s fault. HHH says it doesn’t matter whose fault it is they all have to pay tonight. Stephanie says that with the handicap matches Brad & Vickie booked that they have become dicenseitsed to the damage those matches can cause. So tonight Brad & Vickie swill both be in singles action. Vickie will face AJ. Then HHH tells Brad that he will have his match right now with Orton. To make it fair, HHH makes it a no DQ match. Then Kane comes out to prevent Brad from leaving. King of Kings plays as HHH & Stephanie walk up the ramp & stare down the others. This was just as terrible as I expected it to be!! This is the go home show before Survivor Series & they predictably start aw with this crap that no one cares about!!!  There was too much yapping & I couldn’t recap everything, but let’s face it, it’s not worth it!

WWE Champion Randy Orton vs. Brad Maddox in a no DQ match. Brad slides out of the ring & tries to escape but Orton gets him. But Brad hits Orton with a mic & then sends him into the ring post. Then back in the ring Brad gives Orton a DDT & gets a 2 count. Then Orton chucks Brad out of the ring & throws him over the announce table & then pounds away on Brad outside the ring. Then he gives Brad the IE DDT from the ring barrier. Then Orton picks up the mic, throws Brad back in the ring hits Brad in the head with the mic a few times. Brad is out cold & the referee calls for the bell. WINNER BY REFEREE STOPPAGE – RANDY ORTON. This was pointless. Having Orton pound the crap out of a non-wrestler was a waste in my mind.

They show that during the break Brad was carted out on a stretcher.

Then backstage they show Brad being wheeled away & Vickie watches.

Big E Langston vs. Intercontinental Champion Curtis Axel for the Title. Big E gets the pin to win the title. This was a good match. Nice to see Big E win the IC Title.

Backstage we see Orton & The Shield. Orton complains about Big E being the new IC champion. He hopes there won’t be a new WWE Champion. Orton talked to HHH & Stephanie & The Shield will need to watch Orton’s back. Then Reigns says that if that is what “the authority” wants they’ll watch his back but he has to watch their backs too.

Jerry Lawler is in the ring along with a lot of the Divas. They’re gonna have a Divas musical chairs! ARE THEY KIDDING!? Lawler says we got the Total Divas & the non-Total Divas. Then he plugs Total Divas & then says that the music will be by some country band called Florida Georgia line. Who cares? Natalya is eliminated first, then Alicia Fox. Then a brawl starts. This was terrible! Why have this idiotic crap on the go home Raw before Survivor Series!?  JBL said this is 1 of the dumbest things he’s ever seen. I can’t argue with that! This was 1 of those “This is so bad that even the commentators have to admit how bad it is” segments.

Big Show vs. Ryback. Big Show gets the pin. This was a decent big man match.

Then Orton comes in but Big Show spears him & the champ rolls out of the ring. Big Show stares down Orton as Orton hold his ribs, selling the spear.

Backstage Zack Ryder is with Florida Georgia Line. Then 3MB come in dressed in cowboy gear. This week they’re the rhinestone cowboys. Drew says that he hopes FGL can follow them tonight. This was lame.

Backstage Orton gets an icepack for his ribs. He flips & asks where The Shield & the authority were. He thought they were on the same page. Orton then kicks out the trainer & continues to flip.

The Real Americans are in the ring. Zeb tells everyone to say We the People. Thankfully there was no promo from Zeb.

Kofi Kingston & The Miz vs. The Real Americans. The Real Americans win when Swagger makes Kofi tap. This was solid. Kofi was going for the tag but Miz jumped off the apron. Then Swagger locked Kofi in the ankle lock for the win. WINNERS – THE REAL AMERICANS.

I kinda like that they turned Miz heel since he wasn’t really believable as a baby face. Plus they’ve had Kofi vs. Miz on house shows & Miz was the heel in those.

Backstage Vickie goes by the trainer room door & fakes being injured. She shouts for help & the trainer comes out & checks on her. Break time.

Back from break & Vickie is on a stretcher. Stephanie says she should be taken to the hospital after they take to the ring.

Vickie is wheeled to the ring & she of course is screaming like crazy. Then after AJ comes out, they roll Vickie in the ring & Vickie “passes out” again. The referee says that Vickie needs water. She has some water & wets her face. Then the bell rings.

Divas Champion AJ Lee vs. Vickie Guerrero. Vickie looks to escape but Tamina blocks her. Vickie “passes out” again. Then Vickie winds up walking up the ramp but AJ throws her back in the ring. Then after a bit more goofiness AJ locks Vickie in the black widow for the submission win. WINNER BY SUBMISSION – AJ LEE. Then Vickie “passes out” again on the floor. This was beyond terrible!

They announce that there will be a 14 Diva elimination tag match at Survivor Series. It will be the Total Divas vs. The Non-Total Divas.

Backstage HHH tells Sandow & Dolph that they’ll get to resolve their issues. Tonight they will be in a Broadway brawl. He knows they’ll make it entertaining. Whatever. This was lame too but thankfully it was short.

The ring is all set up with guitars, drums & a base for the Broadway brawl. This is really stupid!

Dolph Ziggler vs. Damien Sandow in a Broadway brawl. Dolph gets the pin. I have no idea what I just watched. This brawl was meaningless & the country music theme was hokey.

Backstage we see HHH & Stephanie. Then Orton storms in & asks where The Shield was. Orton wants to know if he has HHH & Stephanie’s confidence as the face of WWE. Stephanie tells him they need to think about that. This was more idiocy!

John Cena welcomes the country duo to Raw. He apologizes about 3MB. Then Cena says that he, the roster & the fans are excited to see them rock. No we aren’t. I have no idea who these guys are & I’m not interested in seeing a musical performance!

If you’re not a regular WWE watcher & watched this show, you’d have NO IDEA that there’s a PPV Sunday! I watch this every week & I barely remember!

John Cena comes to the ring. He has his left arm in a sling. He thanks the Nashville fans for that “wonderful reception.” He’s had some bad luck lately. Then they reshow Del Rio attacking Cena’s arm from last week. Then he says as world champion he didn’t wanna give up so he showed up on Smackdown. Then they reshow the “arm wrestling” match & Del Rio putting Cena through a table. Cena’s had to watch that everyday & he’s not in the best of moods, so he thanks the fans for their excitement. It’s fans like this that made him wanna come back ASAP when he tore his triceps, but maybe he came back too soon. Maybe he was trying to be a super hero. Maybe he shouldn’t be world champion. Then he looks at the fans & says that he should be world champion. A Champion is made of toughness. He’s not saying Del Rio has no heart but in 6 days he won’t know who he’s stepping in the ring with. Cena then mentions that he will get to defend the title in front of his family. When Survivor Series is done he will hold the belt proudly & say THE CHAMP IS HERE! Then out comes Del Rio. He says Cena’s so good he almost made him cry. Cena says Sunday he will make Del Rio tap. Del Rio tells Cena to show everyone that he can hold up the title right now & hold it with the arm that’s in a sling. Cena says in 6 days he will be ready. Del Rio says Cena will be ready to be humiliated in front of his parents & family. A real champion takes advantage of every opportunity. Then Del Rio gets in the ring. Then he says that in this moment he sees a great opportunity in front of him. Cena says that a champion does take advantage of an opportunity. Then he takes his arm out of the sling & gets Del Rio up on his shoulders but Del Rio slides out of the ring & heads up the ramp. Then Cena stands on the turnbuckle & holds up the title. This was better than most of this show. Thankfully Cena’s promo wasn’t the usual kid like promo we get from him & Del Rio was good here too.

The Rhinestone Cowboys come to the ring. Then out come R-Truth & Xavier Woods (That was kinda surprising). Truth introduces everyone to his new partner.

R-Truth & Xavier Woods vs. Drew McIntyre & Jinder Mahal. Truth & Woods win when Woods pins Drew. This was ok but for a go home show before Survivor Series, it was pointless. I would have had Xavier Woods debut next week, the night after the PPV.

Backstage Stephanie says that she & HHH have confidence in Orton as the face of WWE. Then HHH tells Orton that The Shield will not be involved in the match. If Orton has the confidence then he can beat Big Show on his own. If he does then he proves (again) that he is the “face of WWE.” Orton will show them confidence. This was more of the same HHH-Stephanie-Orton dreck.

The Rhodes Brothers will defend the tag titles against The Real Americans on Smackdown this week.

Then they show a video of fans in New Orleans getting tickets for WrestleMania 30.

Florida Georgia Line are on the stage & they sing some song! Whatever! This is pointless! Why is this on the final Raw before a PPV?

Daniel Bryan, CM Punk, WWE Tag Team Champions Goldust & Cody Rhodes and The Usos vs. The Wyatt Family & The Shield. Punk, Daniel, Goldust, Cody & The Usos win when Punk pins Ambrose. This was a really entertaining match.

Then out come The Real Americans & they along with The Wyatts & The Shield beat down Punk & Daniel. Then Rey Mysterio makes his return & ranas Cesaro & Rowan out of the ring. Then he gives a double 619 to Harper & Swagger. Then Punk gives Harper a GTS & Daniel hits harper with a knee. The 7 baby faces & the fans all do the yes chant to end the show. This was easily the best part of the show!

This week’s show was terrible overall! The only 2 good parts were Big vs. Axel & the 12 man tag. The rest of this show was totally pointless & having this be “Raw Country” on the final Raw before the Survivor Series really emphasized that this or any PPV have little to no meaning! I’m way past tired of HHH & Stephanie running the show. The opening promo with those 2 was painful! Orton-Maddox was pointless & it was mostly Orton pounding the crap out of Brad. Vickie pretending to lose consciousness was idiotic & her “match” with AJ was pointless too! Speaking of pointless that really describes the Divas musical chairs segment! What w waste that was! The Dolph-Sandow match was good as far as a brawl goes but at the same time it made no sense for them to have a brawl & having instruments used as weapons was idiotic. It was nice to see Big E win the IC Title & I liked Mysterio return at the end. It was cool to see Xavier Woods make his debut on the main roster but since this was the final Raw before a PPV I would’ve waited till next week to have him debut. The Truth & Woods vs. Drew & Jinder match was ok but for a go home show it was pointless. Big Show-Ryback was a decent big man match but I knew Big Show was winning since he is challenging Orton for the WWE Title. The Cena-Del Rio segment was ok & I was glad Cena cut a regular promo. Kofi & Miz vs. The Real Americans was ok too & I liked that they turned Miz heel since that’s what his character is. Overall I thought this was a really painful show & for a go home show before a PPV it was a total waste! The Raw Country theme was idiotic & they didn’t even try to get fans to wanna see Survivor Series!