9-9-13 Raw results and thoughts

Coverage and thoughts on the September 9, 2013 episode of Raw The show starts with Edge coming to the ring to a hometown pop! The ring is set up for the Cutting Edge segment. He says every time he comes out there the fans remind him why this is home. It’s been too long since he’s said this, “Welcome to the cutting Edge.” He’s here because he was requested by HHH to come out because it would be good for business. HHH thought it would if Edge had a reunion, not with Christian, but his partner in Rated RKO, Randy Orton. Edge has known Orton a long time & Orton has nothing interesting to say. He doesn’t have a problem with Orton cashing in MITB because Edge himself wrote the blueprint on it. Edge’s problem is that Orton is Triple H’s lackey & has The Shield do his dirty work. SO Orton will not be the guest on the cutting edge. His guest is good for business & tells the fans to say yes if they agree with him. His guest is Daniel Bryan. Out comes Daniel. Then they reshow Big Show knocking out Daniel from the end of last week’s Raw. The fans chant Daniel Bryan very loudly. Edge says Daniel’s been through a lot. Daniel says it helps when you have so many people chanting your name. Then the fans start the yes chant. Daniel says last week HHH said if he didn’t give up his title shot he would get hurt & he has been. Orton attacked him with the title, but there’s satisfaction in the struggle. No matter how many attacks he gets from Orton or the Shield & no matter how much HHH tries to hold him down Daniel will beat Orton & become WWE Champion. YES! Edge says he & the fans love Daniel because he looks at an obstacle as an inspiration. Wrestling is something they’ve both wanted to do since they were kids. Edge isn’t if Daniel can beat Orton but he deserves a shot at him. Edge asks Daniel if he think he can beat Orton. Daniel says yes. He asks Daniel if thinks he can shove t Orton’s face & become champion. Yes. Then out come Orton. He tells Edge what a shame it is that when Edge decides to come back Canada is the only place that cares. It’s also a shame that Edge’s body failed him at such a young age. Edge says it’s a shame Orton’s supposed to be the face of WWE but acts like a different body part. Edge mentions Randy’s dad having his arm in a cast for years. Edge says he has a problem with his spine but at least he has 1. Orton has become Triple H’s puppet. Edge then says that HHH sucks at picking out new talent. Then out comes HHH. He tells Edge to say whatever he has to say to his face. Edge says he’s not a WWE employee. He says HHH didn’t think Edge or Chris Jericho could make it. HHH was talking about Cena saying he couldn’t make it either. Edge knows HHH’s nose is huge but he has to look past it. HHHH says it’s great to see Edge because it’s what’s best for business. HHH secured a large sum to have Edge come on & plug Haven. Then HHH says when that show’s on. Then HHH says Edge questions his ability to judge talent. He admits Jericho proved him wrong. HHH was certainly wrong about Cena & time will tell if he’s right or not about Daniel. There was 1 guy he was right about when he said this guy would flop & that’s Edge. The rated R superstar experiment didn’t work & Edge never drew a dime. HHH says when he says this he wants these guys to prove him wrong & he’s giving Daniel another chance to do that tonight when Daniel faces Dean Ambrose. Ambrose will have The Shield in his corner so HHH will have Big Show in Daniel’s (Naturally). It would be so much easier if everybody got along with HHH. He’s not a dictator. Edge didn’t have to marry into success, he earned his HOF ring. HHH says it’s easy to cross a line with a neck that’s a stack of dimes & no one can touch him. If HHH can’t hurt Edge then maybe he can hurt the ones he loves. Then The Shield drags out a “beaten down” Christian. Edge goes over to him & referees do too. This was a mixed bag opening segment. Edge was awesome with his promo while HHH was his usual obnoxious self. I hated that he used the “neck is a stack of dimes” line & I wasn’t surprised that he said Big Show would be in Daniel’s corner tonight since Big Show “can’t do anything.” I was ok with the storyline reason to write Christian off TV since he does have a legit concussion & will be out for awhile. I liked Edge’s line about HHH needing to be able to see past his nose. I also liked Edge’s line about earning the Hall of Fame ring. He also did a better job of putting Daniel over than WWE has all month. Can Edge stick around? Backstage we see HHH & Stephanie. The Shield is there too. Then Edge comes in & The Shield gets in the way. Edge then says he wishes Drs. Would clear him so he can get his hands on HHH. HHH says Drs. Would never clear Edge because his neck is a stack of dimes & asks Edge who he thinks he is to walk into “his town/city” & his show. Then he tells Edge to get out of “His town & show.” If Edge won’t go by himself HHH can have him escorted out. This was typical HHH stupidity. Triple H’s promos are beyond painful! I’m guessing Edge will be back at the end of the show though. Kofi Kingston vs. Intercontinental Champion Curtis Axel. Kofi wins by DQ when Axel keeps hitting Kofi with his knee in the corner. Then Heyman comes in & tells Axel this can’t happen Sunday. If it does everything he & Brock have built is gone. Axel says it won’t happen. Then Axel goes after Kofi again but Kofi gives him Trouble in Paradise. This was a mixed bag too. The match wasn’t much but I liked Heyman flipping out when Axel got DQ’d. What did bother me though is that they had Axel be more aggressive & then they have Kofi lay him out. They mention that Goldust will face Randy Orton tonight & that if Goldust wins Cody gets his job back. Then they show a Goldust video package. Backstage they show Axel & a referee helping Heyman get t the trainer’s room. Apparently Heyman slipped on something. Heyman says that he has his own Dr. & doesn’t want the WWE Dr. there. Then they put an ice pack on his leg. In case you forgot what happened last Monday they give us a video package on the Daniel Bryan-Big Show match with HHH & Stephanie blackmailing Big Show. I can’t stomach this idiocy!! Backstage we see Big Show. Booker T comes in. Booker knows last week was 1 of Show’s worst. They’ve known each other for a long time. Booker was there when Show first started in this business. Cody got fired for speaking his mind & everyone’s calling Show a sell out. Booker says he would’ve done the same thing if was in Show’s spot. The fans will want Big Show to be the hero. When that happens Show needs to think about his family. When Show’s in Daniel’s corner tonight he might be feeling rage but it will really be pride or something along those lines. He tells Show not to let his pride screw him up pretty much. Big Show says that he doesn’t know if he has anything left. This was lame. I’m tired of this whole storyline. I also don’t get why last week they had Booker T tell Daniel to give up his title shot last week & then this week they have him tell Big Show to think about his family & not “screw up” when he’s gonna be at ringside with Daniel. Is Booker T turning heel? Time for a Wyatt family video package. Dolph Ziggler is in the ring. Then out go the lights & the Wyatt family comes out. Then the lights come back on & it looks like Bray will face Dolph. Dolph Ziggler vs. Bray Wyatt. Bray gets the pin. This was a solid match but I was a bit surprised that Dolph lost cleanly. The show another Goldust video package. Paul Heyman, Curtis Axel & some other guy come to the ring. Heyman is on crutches. Heyman says he is not an advocate for socialized medicine. He doesn’t believe in the Canadian Health plan system. Which is why when he comes to Canada he brings his own Dr. from NYC with him. Heyman says that the doc told him that he got some kinda tear, & Heyman is withdrawing himself from competition at NOC. He looked forward to teaming with Axel & finally putting Punk out of his misery, but he’s injured. There fore he will leave the fans good graces, go back to NY, get the proper care & like Edge promised, Heyman will be back when he can. Then out come Brad Maddox & Dr. Sampson. Brad says there’s a fully staffed group of Doctors & they can check on Heyman. If Heyman is really injured the only way to be removed from the match is to be evaluated by the WWE Dr. Dr. Sampson brings a chair in the ring for Heyman to sit in. Sampson checks on Heyman’s right leg. Heyman says he slipped on water, he says where it hurts & the fans chant this is awkward (It is). Sampson checks on Heyman’s leg as Heyman winces & the fans chant CM Punk. Then Sampson says there doesn’t seem to be any injury & Heyman’s ok. Heyman tells Brad he can’t stand on his 2 legs. Then out comes CM Punk with a Singapore cane. He goes after Heyman but he bails. Then Punk hits Axel with the cane as Heyman runs away through the crowd. Then Punk looks at Heyman’s Doc. Punk holds the rope open for him & then canes the crap out of him. This was a good segment. It started out kinda weird but Heyman was great on the mic like always. Punk coming out, running Heyman off & then hitting the fake doc was good. The Punk-Heyman story is the best 1 WWE has going right now! AJ Lee skips to ringside for commentary. Natalya, Naomi & Brie Bella vs. Layla, Aksana & Alicia Fox. Natalya, Naomi & Brie win when Natalya makes Fox tap. This was a typical Divas match. Then Natalya, Naomi & Brie stare down AJ. This was odd. I don’t get why they’re having Natalya, Naomi & Cameron team with The Bellas. The Bellas have been the egotistical heels who have been feuding with Natalya & the Funkidactles & now they’re together because they’re all on this Total Divas show? That makes little sense to me. I also didn’t get why Natalya, Naomi & Brie were a team when they’ll be facing each other & AJ this Sunday. Time for a third Goldust video package. In the Goldman Box RVD says that Del Rio might World Champion now but come Sunday there will be a new champion. His name isn’t ADR, his name is RVD. R-Truth vs. World Champion Alberto Del Rio. Del Rio wins by submission. This was a decent match. I was surprised that Truth got in as much offense as he did. I thought this would be a squash. They announce that Tons of Funk, The Usos, The Primetime Players, The Real Americans & 3MB (They didn’t say which 2) will face each other in a tag team turmoil in the NOC kickoff match. The winning team will challenge Roman Reigns & Seth Rollins for the tag titles on the PPV. Zeb Coulter & Antonio Cesaro are in the ring. Zeb says that Canada is a neighbor to the U.S. in name only. He can’t recall the last time Canada helped America out with anything. To American’s Canadians are the moose hunting boring cousins. But it’s not too late find a passion for more than a stupid hockey game. We the…Cue Santino Marella’s music & he makes his return. Santino Marella vs. Antonio Cesaro. Santino gets the pin. This was a decent match & Santino’s first night back in the ring so having him win made sense. During the match Cesaro gave Santino a really long giant swing. That was a cool spot. Damien Sandow is in the ring. When he cashes in his MITB case he will assume his throne in WWE. But till then he remains the uncrowned world champion. And as his subjects…Cue The Miz’s theme music & he comes out. The Miz vs. Damien Sandow. Sandow gets the pin. This was ok. During the match Fandango’s music plays & he & Summer Rae come out. Miz gets distracted by this & Sandow rolls up Miz for the pin. Then Fandango says his name. That’s right. Sandow can only get a win when his opponent is distracted! Then after he pinned Miz he disappeared. Backstage Renee Young interviews the returning Goldust. Is he mentally prepared for his match with Orton? He says it’s no secret that he’s been the screw up of the family. Cody’s gone down the right path. Dustin’s received multiple chances & has screwed up every time. HHH damaged the Rhodes family name. After tonight Orton will never forget the name…Then HHH comes in & says Dustin Rhodes. He says Dustin has to be nervous because he knows Cody & his bride to be will be watching. Goldust has a lot of pressure on his first night back in 3 years. HHH wishes Goldust luck & hopes he doesn’t let Cody down. This was a mixed bag promo. Goldust was good here but I’m really tired of HHH. Goldust vs. WWE Champion Randy Orton. Orton gets the pin. This was a good match but I knew Orton would win. There were some good near falls here from Goldust though. Then Orton gets the mic, stands over Goldust & he says it looks like Goldust’s dream of saving Cody’s career has been shattered. Just like Daniel’s dream of taking the title from him will be shattered at NOC. Thankfully this was a short promo. Los Matadores will be coming soon. Backstage we see Goldust all upset. Stephanie comes by. She says he must be so disappointed. Cody & his bride to be are. Cody no longer has a job because of Dustin. Dustin let Cody, Dusty, the whole Rhodes family & the fans down. How does it feel to be a loser just like his brother? She tells him to go join him in the unemployment line & tell his dad she said hey. Goldust was good in selling the loss & even Stephanie was decent here with her heel promo. Before the next match Alberto Del Rio comes out. He tells RVD that he’s nothing but a washed up loser & Ricardo is just a peasant. Without Del Rio Ricardo is nothing. RVD & Ricardo belong together just like he & the World Title belong together. At NOC the fans won’t be chanting RVD, they will be chanting ADR. Rob Van Dam vs. Ryback. RVD wins by DQ when Ryback rams RVD crotch first into the post outside the ring. LAME! Afterwards Ryback gives RVD shell shock. This match wasn’t much & this DQ finish was idiotic. Backstage Stephanie tells Big Show not to lay his hand on The Shield. She can’t have mass chaos happen tonight. So if Big Show goes after The Shield he will be terminated. “It’s what’s best for business.” Then Big Show flips & throws something down. I’m really tired of this whole “Big Show has to watch at ringside & not do anything” crap! This storyline is anything but “good for business.” The Shield comes out through the crowd. Then out comes Big Show who again has to just watch & not do anything. Then Daniel Bryan comes out for his match with Dean Ambrose. Daniel Bryan vs. U.S. Champion Dean Ambrose. Daniel gets the pin. This was a good match. Then Daniel launches Ambrose into the other 2 Shield guys. Then out comes Orton. Daniel gives him a suicide dive. They go at it but then The Shield attacks Daniel. Then Big Show gets up & holds the chair. He thinks about attacking the heels but he doesn’t. Then the heels roll Daniel back into the ring. Then Orton holds up Daniel & gives him an RKO AGAIN! Orton’s music plays & he stands over Daniel. Then HHH & Stephanie come out. HHH tells Show to put aside his personal feelings of what’s right & wrong. He wants Big Show to KO Daniel AGAIN! (They did this crap last week)! Big Show gets in the ring but is reluctant to KO Daniel again. Then Orton gets in Big Show’s face. Show says he’s not knocking Daniel out. Orton picks up Daniel & tells show to KO him. Big Show doesn’t. Orton gets in Show’s face again. Show tells him to leave him alone. Orton tells him not to talk to him like that. Then he tells Big Show to KO Daniel. Then Daniel gives Orton a running knee to the face. Then he holds up the title & does the yes bit. Daniel stands over Orton holding the title over his head this time. Daniel says the title is coming home to him & that ends the show. The match was good & I liked that they FINALLY had Daniel be the guy standing at the end! I thought this was better than last week’s show overall. The opening segment with Edge, Daniel & HHH was a mixed bag. Edge & Daniel were good but HHH was his usual annoying self. I didn’t like that they only had Edge be on the start of the show though. HHH kicking him out & Edge not coming back at the end of the show was weak. The Daniel-Ambrose match was good. I liked that they finally had Daniel stand over Orton with the title for a change & Big Show defying HHH & Orton was solid too. Kofi-Axel wasn’t much as far as a match goes. I get why they did the DQ finish here though. What I didn’t get is why they had Axel get all aggressive for a bit only to get laid out right afterwards. Heyman’s promo later on about how he “injured” his leg was good. The whole bit with the doc checking on it was a bit odd but Punk coming out & running off Heyman was good. The Punk-Heyman storyline is the best 1 they have right now! RVD-Ryback wasn’t much & the DQ finish here was lame. Santino-Cesaro was decent too. Miz-Sandow was meaningless & having Sandow get the win by Miz being distracted by Fandango was weak. The Goldust-Orton match was good also. I knew Orton would win but Goldust got a good amount of offense & near falls here. So for the most part I thought this week’s Raw was better than last week’s but it really didn’t make me wanna see Night of Champions. The build to the PPV (or lack thereof) before this week was lousy.