9-16-13 Raw results and thoughts

Coverage and thoughts on the September 16, 2013 episode of Raw The show starts with Daniel Bryan coming to the ring. He poses with the title & then HHH comes out. He says that Daniel’s win last night was tainted because the referee Scott made a fast count. Then HHH has Armstrong come out. HHH wants to show some footage that shows how Scot Armstrong normally counts. They show him counting at 1 point during last night’s title match. Then HHH has the “final call” shown. HHH wants to see it again so they show it a second time. HHH now wants to see both counts side by side. Then HHH says Armstrong made a fast count. Scott says he made a mistake. HHH says Armstrong is a senior referee in WWE. That kind of mistake just doesn’t happen. Armstrong again says he made a mistake. HHH has never seen him make this kind of mistake before & thinks Armstrong isn’t telling him everything. Then Armstrong says something to Daniel & HHH says it sounded like Armstrong said, “They got us.” HHH sends Armstrong to the back. Then he chews out Daniel Bryan for conspiring with a referee. Then of course HHH strips Daniel of the title but doesn’t return it to Orton. HHH will investigate this but as of right now there is no WWE Champion. HHH needs Daniel to do the right thing & hand the WWE Title over to him. HHH says that Daniels has embarrassed & disgraced himself & the WWE Title. He thought Shawn would’ve taught him better. HHH tells Daniel to hand over the title or he will take it. Cue Orton’s music & out he comes. HHH tells both guys to calm down. HHH has got this. There will be no fight right now. HHH tells Daniel to be reasonable. The title is held up & there is no champion. HHH will get to the bottom of this but Daniel needs to hand the belt over or HHH will take it. Daniel holds the belt for a bit & then says no. Then Orton gives Daniel an RKO. HHH takes the belt & heads to the back & in the ring Orton stands over the fallen Daniel. This was a decent opening segment. I thought that either HHH was gonna hand the title back to Orton or he was going to have the title held up. If he had handed the title back to Orton it would’ve been like back in 2000 when Jericho beat HHH for the title after a fast count & then the title was given back to HHH. Backstage we see HHH & Stephanie. Orton comes in asking HHH who he thinks he is. Stephanie asks Orton what happened to the sadistic Orton who cuffed HHH to the rope & gave her a DDT? Till Orton finds that version of himself maybe WWE needs a new face. This wasn’t bad either. Dolph Ziggler vs. U.S. Champion Dean Ambrose in an NOC rematch but this one is nontitle. Dolph gets the pin. This was a solid back & forth match but I’m not sure why the same match the night right after it was on PPV. So it looks like Dolph will face Ambrose for the U.S. Title again. Dolph celebrates with the fans & for some reason Justin Roberts announces that Ambrose is still U.S. Champion. That was weird. Backstage we see Big Show in the GM office. Brad tells him HHH & Stephanie (Or Ms. McMahon as Brad called her) will be there in a moment. Break time. Back from break. HHH & Stephanie are in the office. Brad wants to make sure that he has Hunter’s orders right. HHH wants Daniel Bryan to face Roman Reigns tonight. Then Brad says that he likes Hunter’s decision to hold up the title. Then Brad tells Stephanie that Dusty is in the building. Then Stephanie reminds Big Show that he was suspended on Smackdown. So tonight Big Show will watch the show in the office & if Stephanie needs him she will let him know. This was weak. I’m tired of Big Show being in this position. I’m really hoping they don’t have him be the reluctant heel. Fandango & Summer Rae come out. He will be in a match next. Break time. Back from break & out comes R-Truth. They reshow the cheesy dance off bit from Smackdown. R-Truth vs. Fandango. Fandango gets the pin. This was ok. Backstage Dusty Rhodes is with some of the roster. Break time. Back from break & Dusty Rhodes comes to the ring. He says he isn’t here as the American Dream. He’s here as Virgil Runnels. He has something that he wants the McMahon family to hear. He talks about being down the hard road, wondering where the next dollar will come from. But you reach down because of the love of your sons & find a way to do it. This is about Cody’s job. In 1 night we saw a suffering young guy lose his job. Then Dusty mentions that apparently firing Cody after losing is what’s “best for business.” Goldust stepped up & took a mighty swing. Having 2 sons that you love with all your heart is what’s best for business. We exist to be the best. Before Cody was 22 he was Intercontinental Champion twice. Dusty didn’t call for this meeting or to beg for Cody’s job. He wants Cody to have a chance to earn his job back. Then he tells Stephanie to come to the ring & tell him what business proposal she has in mind. Out comes Stephanie. Stephanie says from 1 parent to another “Virgil’s” promo was remarkable. Stephanie is sorry if Cody getting fired put a damper on Cody’s wedding so Stephanie has a gift for Cody & his bride. Dusty tells Stephanie to get on with the proposition. Stephanie says Dusty is the son of a plumber & she’s the daughter of the genius. The “Genius” behind this sports entertainment phenomenon. Stephanie then says that she will either give Cody back his job or she can give it to Goldust. The choice is Dusty’s. Dusty won’t make that choice. Stephanie says that she can either give this job back to Cody, the glorious baby boy who does everything right or to Dustin, the son Dusty has neglected all these years. She says Dusty blames himself for Dustin’s problems & he can be a hero to his sons. Dusty asks Stephanie if she looks at her daughters & prefers 1 to the others. Stephanie says this Dusty is making this all about himself. What about his sons? She hopes they can forgive him. Dusty says Stephanie can go straight to hell. Stephanie is sorry he feels that way. Then out comes The Shield. Stephanie says she’s got someone to “even things out.” She asks Big Show to come out. She says that since Dusty couldn’t decide which son would get their job back does Dusty want to get beaten down by The Shield or knocked out by the Big Show. Then she tells Big Show to knock out Dusty. Big Show doesn’t want to. Then Stephanie tells The Shield to get Dusty. They bring chairs in the ring. Big show cries & hugs Dusty. Then Big Show says that he has no choice. Then he knocks out Dusty. Then Stephanie & The Shield leave & Big Show stays in the ring with Dusty. Also a medic comes in & checks on Dusty. Dusty was great here. His promo was just awesome & Stephanie was good here too. I knew that Big Show would reluctantly knockout Dusty after doing more of his crying when he came out. Dusty & Stephanie both said a lot & it was impossible to write word for word what they said. My apologies if I missed some of this. Backstage we see Dusty on a stretcher & being wheeled into an ambulance. Big Show is there & he gets in the back of the ambulance. AJ Lee & Natalya are on commentary. Natalya’s headset wasn’t working so Lawler gave her his. Naomi, Cameron & Brie Bella vs. Aksana, Alicia Fox & Layla. Naomi, Cameron & Brie win when Brie gets the pin. This wasn’t much. Then Natalya gets in AJ’s face & AJ holds up the Divas Title. Damien Sandow is in the ring. They show Sandow winning the MITB match back in July. Then Justin Roberts introduces Ricardo & he introduces RVD. Rob Van Dam vs. Damien Sandow. RVD gets the pin. This was a decent match but once again Sandow loses cleanly. Also after RVD got the pin they played Sandow’s music by mistake. Then Sandow says that he is still the MITB contract holder & the guaranteed next world champion. You’re welcome. Backstage HHH tells Scott Armstrong that he’s in a jam. This whole fast count bit has gotten out of control. HHH had to hold up the title & there’s a problem. Referees have to have integrity. Armstrong’s been there for 20 years but HHH says he has to let him go. HHH will take care of him. This was the same HHH promo we’ve been getting. The Miz vs. Randy Orton. Miz goes over to his parents who are in the front row. Then Orton attacks Miz. The match never started. Break time. Back from break & Orton is in the ring while referees are with Miz by the entrance. Then Miz gets in the ring. The Miz vs. Randy Orton. The match goes to a double count out. Then Orton throws Miz over the announce table. Orton continues to beat down Miz. He sends Miz over the barrier. Miz fights back & Orton goes over the barrier. Then Miz clotheslines Orton back over the barrier. Orton gets the upper hand & beats down Miz some more. Then he gives Miz the IE DDT off the barrier to the floor. Then Miz drags Orton back in the ring. Then he gets a chair & looks at Miz’s parents. Then Orton gets in the ring & places Miz’s head inside the chair. Then Orton drops a knee on Miz’s head. This was a solid bit. Orton was good being the pissed off crazy guy but WWE had Miz get the crap beat out of him in his home town. I don’t know why WWE always does that. Ryback, Curtis Axel & Paul Heyman (Who is in a wheel chair) come out on the stage. Heyman says he himself is the best in the world. The fans can boo that all they want. It must be hard for the fans to compare their meaningless lives to Heyman’s. Heyman says the fans can’t say they pinned Punk but Heyman can say it over & over. Every time he does that it will be the truth. The best part of this is that the record books will forever give testimony to the fact that the first time in history Heyman & Punk came face to face in the ring Heyman won. Even more significantly the loser was the fans’ hero, CM Punk. Heyman would love to take credit for having a master plan but there wasn’t one. Punk had him & delivered a beating to him that was so bad Heyman is in the wheel chair. Punk gave him the most vicious beating in WWE history. It’s a miracle Heyman’s not rotting away in a nursing home. He is here tonight because 1 man stood up when all other Heyman guy sat down. Everyone thought Heyman would finally get the beating he deserves. Heyman will continue to torment Punk & the fans because of Ryback. Heyman wants the fans to know from the bottom of his heart that he owes his life to Ryback. Ryback says he can’t stand bullies & Punk bullied Heyman last night. Did Heyman deserve that? The fans cheer of course. Then Ryback says that Heyman is a human being. Ryback doesn’t like anything about Punk. Punk’s a bully & he’s here to stop him. Ryback tells Heyman not to worry because as long as he’s around Punk will never get his hands on Heyman. This was good. Heyman was great on the mic like always & Ryback’s promo good too. I like that they have Heyman managing Ryback & it looks like Ryback will be the next Heyman guy Punk will have to get through. Los Matadores are coming soon. Tons of Funk vs. The Usos vs. The Real Americans in a 3 way tag team elimination match to determine the number 1 contenders for the tag titles. The Usos win. * Cesaro pins Sweet T * Jay pins Swagger. This was a solid match. WINNERS – THE USOS Michael Cole mentions that Miz doesn’t have a broken neck but he does have a damaged thorax. Then Lawler says that Dusty is ok but is being kept in the hospital overnight for observation. Time for a Wyatt family video. Bray says that patience is a virtue but to him it is a lost art. Then he says how people want more of everything. They don’t realize there’s another world full of animals. In Bray’s world when an animal is sick they put him down. He tells Abigail not to worry. They’ll put them all down. This was a typical Weird, creepy Wyatt video. Backstage we see Daniel Bryan. R-Truth & others cheer him on & Brie hugs him. Before the main event match starts Randy Orton comes out. He will be at ringside along with Rollins & Ambrose. Daniel Bryan vs. WWE Tag Team Champion Roman Reigns. Daniel wins by DQ when Orton comes in. Then Daniel gets Orton in the yes lock but The Shield attacks Daniel. Then Orton stomps on Daniel for a bit. Then Orton gets a chair & gets in the ring. Orton sets Daniel’s head in the chair. Before he can do anything Kofi Kingston, The Usos, The Primetime Players, R-Truth, Dolph Ziggler & RVD (I think Zack Ryder & Justin Gabriel too) come out & we get a brawl. Reigns spears Kofi. Then Dolph gives Ambrose a Famasser & then RVD gives Ambrose a super kick. Then the Usos give Reigns a double super kick. Then Daniel gives Rollins a flying knee. Daniel & the other guys chant yes & the Primetime Players hoist him up on their shoulders. They along with the fans do the yes chant to end the show. This was good. I liked the match & I also liked that they finally had the talent come & help out Daniel Bryan. I thought this was a solid show overall. The opening segment was decent & I was ok with HHH vacating the title. The Daniel-Reigns match was good & I liked that they finally had the other wrestlers come & help Daniel Bryan out. I also liked Dusty’s promo & Stephanie was decent here too. I wasn’t a fan of Big Show doing the same old bit. Having him crying & reluctantly doing what HHH & Stephanie tell him to is old. HHH “letting Scott Armstrong go” was a typical HHH bit. R-Truth vs. Fandango was ok, RVD-Sandow was decent but Sandow lost cleanly once again. The 3 way tag match solid & I liked that it was an elimination match. The 6 divas tag wasn’t much & felt like background to Natalya & AJ being on commentary. It does look like they’re building to Natalya vs. AJ though & that should be good. Paul Heyman cut a great promo like usual & Ryback’s promo was good & short. I like that they have Ryback with Heyman but what will happen to Curtis Axel? He wasn’t even on the stage during the whole promo. The Wyatt family video was the typical creepy & weird stuff we get from that group. The Miz-Randy Orton match was more about Orton being pissed that he lost the title than a match. I did like the Miz-Orton post match brawl & Orton was good at being the sadistic heel but I don’t get why they had to have Miz get laid out in his home town. That’s a bit WWE always does for some reason & it’s stupid. Dolph-Ambrose was solid too but I wasn’t sure why they had this the night after it was on a PPV. Overall though I thought this was a decent to solid show.