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Raw Pre-Show 8/18/14 from WWE Studios
First, want to send a shout out to Howie in Las Vegas, which just happens to be where Raw is coming from tonight. Howie sent me a really nice email this past week about how he reads my Raw Reports before he decides whether he wants to watch it on DVR or not… Pretty cool to know that somebody is reading and taking me at my word… Anyway, onto this week’s show… Should be interesting after the way things played out last night… Notice I say SHOULD…. Let’s see what happens now…
– We kick things off in the studios with the usual suspects, Byron Saxton, Booker T, and A-Ry. They waste little time plugging WWEShop and then taking us back to SummerSlam, where Brock Lesnar demolished John Cena. What an awesome match that was. 😀
They spend half the preshow putting over Lesnar, talking about Cena, and quoting former Superstars who commented on the match like Mick Foley and Steve Austin… Booker thinks we won’t see Cena for “quite some time”.
– Moving on… Did you think we wouldn’t relive Stephanie McMahon beating Brie Bella? If you did, then shame on you… Yeah, we see Nikki do the “turn”, and Steph beats Brie. Why Nikki, why? Actually, I could give a poop less… We knew the turn was coming before the match so it wasn’t a shocker, and WWE always runs angles without any real good reason, so even if they give us a good reason, does it really matter? I mean, it’s the Bellas…
– Last minute chatter, nothing of relevance. Final minute shilling for WWEShop, some more lame Bold Predicitions, and a quick discussion on Roman Reigns beating the Latex Predator… Yeah, I said Latex… Do the math… Now onto the show… And the Browns…
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WWE Raw 8/18/14 from the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas, NV
– We kick off the show, Daniel Bryan’s music hits, but it’s Stephanie McMahon, and she’s sporting a Daniel Bryan style shirt that reads “Steph!, Steph!, Steph!”… She puts over SummerSlam and all the big heel wins on the show. Steph says she can’t take credit alone, she has to thank Nikki Bella for her help. Out comes Nikki, who loses her shoe on the way to the ring and has to pick it up and carry it down the ramp. Instead of playing it off she stops to put her heel back on at the bottom of the ramp because that’s super important…
Stephanie wants Nikki’s reasoning. To save you guys a paragraph of drama, they’re working the jealousy angle, “it was always about Brie since childhood”. Nikki says she’d like to say she lost a sister, but she never had one… It was never the Bellas vs. the world, it was Brie all for herself…
This brings Brie Bella out to the ring. Brie says Nikki destroyed the family and she can forgive Nikki because she loved her and they’re sisters. Nikki respond “Forgive Me?”, then halls off and smacks Brie to the mat to a big “oooh” from the fans. Brie walks off holding her face and crying
-Commercial Break-
1. The Big Show & Mark Henry vs. Erick Rowan & Luke Harper.
Ther German announce team is here this week, much like SummerSlam, but at least there’s only TWO announcers here at Raw versus the FOUR from the PPV. All these budget cuts and they need FOUR German announcers for the PPV? Henry & Rowan gonna start it off… Rowan tries to stand his ground but Henry dominates, so Harper takes in. Harper gets more of the same, first from Henry, then from the Big Show. Rowan gets nailed on the apron, and Harper is thrown to the floor for no apparent reason. Oh wait, a commercial break. That explains it!
Back from break, Harper again back on the floor, but he drops Show’s throat against the top rope to take over. Rowan distracts Show, and Harper dropkicks Show out of the ring… Rowan & Harper work over Big Show, almost all of it on the mat… Good to see Show is in such great working shape… Blah… Superkick by Harper gets a near fall on Show… ROWAN BODYSLAMS BIG SHOW! 1…2…Show kicks out!!! Remember when they saved spots like that for the top dawg to make it more meaningful?
Rowan tries another Slam, but Show counters with a DDT… Hot tag to Mark Henry… Henry & Rowan in the ring, Harper clotheslines Big Show on the floor… Henry grabs Rowan for the World’s Strongest Slam, but Harper lands a Big Boot and Rowan lands on Top for a near fall…
Harper and Rowan set Henry up for their double chockeslam finisher thingy, but Big Show returns in time for a KNOCKOUT PUNCH ON HARPER. Knockout Punch to Rowan, and Rowan turns into the World’s Strongest Slam, and this one is over in 11:00…
That was a fairly slow and plodding match, mainly due to the Big Show selling on the mat. Not that Show’s offense was much faster. The Wyatts got a few good spots in here, but it wasn’t one of their usual great matches. This wasn’t bad, wasn’t good at all either, it was just there. Hope Harper & Rowan can get back on track.
– They run down some matches for tonight… IC Title rematch, no surprise there. Generic Six-man coming later too. Something about Dean Ambrose or Rollins or something is up next…
-Commercial Break-
– Backstage, Ric Flair is congratulating Dolph Ziggler. Wait, isn’t Flair the one who endorsed the Miz and the Figure Four? Speaking of Miz, here he is. Tonight, the title comes back to the “A lister”. Ziggler calls him an “A-Hole”. And Flair follows up with a WOOO in Miz’s face… Short, but fun.
– Renee Young interviews Seth Rollins backstage. He beat Ambrose in the Lumberjack Match last night in case you didn’t know. During the promo, Rollins gets an ice bucket dumped over his head. He turns around to find Dean Ambrose standing there. Dean comically resplies “What? It’s for charity”, then throws the bucket right in Rollins face, lmao… Dean then jumps Rollins and the brawl is on… Another short, but good segment… THIS is how you make use of your TV time…
-Commercial Break-
– Seth Rollins confronts HHH and Corporate Kane in the back. He says Dean Ambrose needs to be taken care of or he can’t be “Mr. Money in the Bank:. HHH says Seth has a rematch with Ambrose Tonight, and the fans will pick the match stipulation. HHH tells Rollins to “finish it”.
2. WWE Divas Champion Paige vs. Natalya.
Paige on the mic to start off, she respects and loves AJ and dedicates this match to AJ. The work the old Flair/Steamboat bridge spot early on, but Natalya can’t hook the backslide. Paige beats on Nattie, when AJ’s music hits… AJ skips down to ringside like everything is fine. AJ skips around to her music until Natalya rolls Paige up and gets the win in 1:00. Didn’t they do a finish like this just a week or two ago.
– AJ mocks Paige after the match, stating that she loves an respects Paige. AJ wants to shake Paige’s hand. AJ jumps in the ring, but Paige takes off.
– For the Ambrose/Rollins match, you can choose No Holds Barred, No DQ, Falls Count Anywhere. What the hell is the different between No DQ and NHB??? I hope its Falls Anywhere.
-Commercial Break-
– HHH and Stephanie in the ring to reveal the new WWE Championship. And out comes Heyman and Lesnar to accept the new belt… They walk around the ring and pose for the fans to take pictures with Brock and the new title… Lots of mutual admiration hand shaking inside the ring. And Heyman begins the promo… Heyman announces that Cena isn’t here, then runs down all the big runs in the WWE, but says Cena’s lasted the longest, but now it’s over. Heyman says he who dies with the most street cred, still DIES. Meaning Cena… More of the same good stuff you’d expect each week from Paul. With the ammo he has this week his promo is a little better than usual. Paul calls it “Basic Brockanomics”, EAT, SLEEP, SUPLEX, REPEAT. That about sums the match up… The new champ is here.
– Up next it’s Dolph defending the IC Title against the Miz in a rematch…
-Commercial Break-
3. IC Champion Dolph Ziggler vs. The Miz
. As much as I want to be excited for this title win of Ziggler’s. I’ve had a feeling since it happened that the only reason he got the belt was because the entire PPV was super heavy on heels going over, and a win here over the Miz means nothing to the WWE. This rematch has me scared that they’re switching right back, which I was expecting. Hopefully I’m wrong but we’ll see. It’s back and forth to begin, until Dolph sells a leg injury after coming down on a leapfrog, and Miz takes over on the leg. Off to break, and with Miz in control, I couldn’t be happier…
Back from break, Ziggler comes back with the DDT but he’s down from the leg injury. Miz catches a superkick and turns it into a Figure Four in the middle of the ring. Dolph finally makes it to the ropes for a break. Dolph rolls to the floor and sweeps Miz to his back on the apron. Ziggler hits a Superkick on the apron that knocks the Miz back inside, but Ziggler falls the to the floor and gets counted out in 7:30.
Wow, what a shit finish, but at least Ziggler retains.
So Miz is pissed and attacks Ziggler on the floor and rolls him back inside, but Dolph fights back and lands the ZIGZAG to end the segment…
– Renee Young is with Jack Swagger backstage. There’s no Zeb, who is selling the kick from Rusev last night. Swagger says he failed at defending his country last night. BUT, he’s not going to give up, because he’s a REAL AMERICAN, and THAT is WE THE PEOPLE!!!
-Commercial Break-
4. Jack Swagger vs. Cesaro.
Cesaro getting jobbed out lately, I don’t understand how this helps his career. Even his entrance theme has been downgraded from an air raid siren to an ambulance. They sure have a funny way of building up certain guys, while the Shield and Wyatts were protected. Jack is wearing a bandage around the ribs. Cesaro throws Swagger with the gut wrench and goes into the Abdominal Stretch. Cesaro loses the hold but hits a Double Stomp on Swagger. Jack comes back with a big boot and a Swagger Bomb for 2… Swagger ends up on the apron but gets thrown rib first into the post. Cesaro tries a big boot out onto the apron, but Swagger catches and locks in the Ankle Lock over the top rope. Swagger has to release on the 4 count. The referee forces Jack back, and Cesaro thumbs him in the eye to set up the Neutralizer for the win in 4:20. Make your jokes kiddies.
– Bo Dallas is out to confront Swagger. Telling him he let down 318 million Americans, he lost Zeb Colter, he lost his dignity. He can get it all back, all he has to do is BO-lieve.
It should be noted that JBL was EXTREMELY heel heavy on the commentary in this match just ripping Swagger to shreds throughout the entire segment of the show. Not sure if this was fed to him, if Vince wasn’t happy with his performance or what the deal was… Super suirprised to see Swagger lose here though… The Bo Dallas promo almost seems like a jab at Swagger.
– Backstage Renee Young is with Chris Jericho about his loss to Bray Wyatt. Jericho talks about Bray being dead inside. Chris says he has things Bray doesn’t have, he has a fire inside of him that drives him, a fighting spirit to keep him going, and most of all he has the fans… Jericho doesn’t even seem to try with these baby face promos, not that he has to. This really doesn’t do anything to continue the feud or even suggest Jericho cares that he lost. In fact, Jericho laughs as he walks off.
-Commercial Break-
Tomorrow night on Main Event it’s Big Show vs. Rowan…
5. Roman Reigns, Sheamus, & Rob Van Dam vs. Randy Orton, Ryback, & Curtis Axel.
Supposedly RVD’s contract is just about up again. Everybody except Orton and Reigns either get no entrance (Rybaxel), or 5 second entrances (RVD & Sheamus). Axel and Shemaus start it off. Sheamus ends up in the heel corner and Orton tags in. Some counters from both Sheamus and Orton, but Sheamus ends up hitting the rolling senton and RVD quickly follows up with Rolling Thunder, and Orton rolls outside to take a break, and ironically enough so does Raw…
Back from break, Sheamus hits the 10 forearms to Orton, then 10 forearms to Ryback. Sheamus works over Axel, but Orton pulls the ropes down and Sheamus falls outside… Orton hits Sheamus with a back suplex onto the barricade outside, but he’s off on the drop and Sheamus ends up falling backwards behind the barricade. Fans are chanting several loud chants for Ryback. Ryback tags in and the crowd goes insane, lol… Ryback works Sheamus over and the crowd is going nuts for their hometown boy… “Feed Me More”, “Ryback Rules”, amongst other chants. Ryback with as delayed suplex on Sheamus gets 2…
Orton tags back in, but Sheamus lands White Noise and they both go down. Hot tag to Reigns who’s in for the first time… Axel tagged in as well. Curtis takes the Mr. Perfect backflip bump off a leg kick. Superdropkick onto the apron on Axel. Reigns with the Superman Punch on Axel. Superman punch knocks Ryback off the apron. Reigns sets up for the spear on Axel, but Orton from behind with the backbreaker. RVD tags in against Axel, bunch of near falls by RVD. Everybody comes in, Sheamus with a Brogue Kick on Ryback, RKO on Sheamus, Reigns with a SPEAR on Orton, Axel posts Reign. Axel catches a boot from RVD but takes a spin kick anyway, and the Frog Splash finishes it after 11:15.
Really good finishing sequence there. Not a whole lot to the match outside of the Ryback chants, and the finish.
-Commercial Break-
– Back from break, Randy Orton runs into Ric Flair backstage. Flair tries to console Orton, but Randy doesn’t want it and reminds Ric that he was once called the Legend Killer. Looks like Orton is trying to find himself for the fifteenth time in the last couple years…
– Bray Wyatt backstage promo. Short but good, he’s still targeting Jericho. Follow the buzzards…
-Commercial Break-
6. Tag Team Champions Usos vs. Goldust & Stardust.
Non-title. Well if nothing else, this should be interesting. Goldust starts off with the Usos but doesn’t end up fairing too well.., Stardust tags in, but ends up in the Usos corner as well. Usos work over Stardust. Stardust gets a sunset flip out of nowhere for the win in 6:00.
Well, that entire match was weird. The Usos dominated the entire match, and then Stardust lands a sunset flip in the middle of a beating and wins. No hot tags, no comebacks, nothing. I’m fine with breaking the usual tag formula, but this match was bland at best. Nothing really that good in the entire match, which sucks considering what all of these guys are capable of. I just wish they’d get the Rhodes bros back to wrestling instead of playing up these goofy gimmicks so much. It’s fine to have a character, but don’t let it overshadow your abilities…
-Commercial Break-
– It’s RVD vs. Orton announced for Smackdown.
– It’s Rusev & Lana out to the ring to gloat about their win over America last night… This brings out Mark Henry who is playing double duty tonight. Henry acknowledges the “USA” chants and mentions representing the USA in the Olympics twice. Henry calls them Jackasses… Henry didn’t like seeing the Russian flag raised in his country, and he shuts Lana up. Henry calls Rusev “boy” and tells Lana to translate the meaning. Henry says he’s going to give Rusev a personal tour of the Hall of Pain.
A brief staredown leads to Rusev decking Henry. They trade blows, Henry blocks the savate kick and lands the World’s Strongest Slam… And a Big Splash follows it up!
Henry celebrates at ringside with JBL’s hat. Rusev sits up angry with Lana yelling. So I guess we revisit Swagger later?
-Commercial Break-
– Next week John Cena will address the WWE Universe.
– Jerry Lawler announces that the main event has been voted on and the winning gimmick is “Falls Count Anywhere”. Woohoo.
7. Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins.
It’s Falls Count Anywhere. Rollins stomps down Dean to start, but Ambrose comes back with a dropkick on Rollins to the floor and then throws him into the fans for the first fall attempt, and it gets 2… The fight their way up onto the Raw stage, Rollins counters a suplex on the stage and goes for a powerbomb, but Dean counters the powerbomb and ends up hitting the suplex on the stage and then knocks Seth down the ramp and back to the ring. Ambrose brings a chair in and slams Rollins and the chair at the same time. Rollins hits the Diving Chair on Seth from the middle rope for 2… Dean props the chair in the corner, but Rollins sends Ambrose face first into the steel for 2… And we take a commercial break.
Back from break, Seth has Ambrose in a chinlock with a kendo stick. We go back to during the break when Ambrose tried a dive to the floor but landed into a cane shot from Rollins. Back to live action, Rollins beats Dean with the Kendo stick until Ambrose catches the cane and returns with punches. Rollins hits a dropkick, Dean does the seesaw bounce on the ropes and comes back with his clothesline, but Seth ducks and hits the pele kick thingy… Rollins misses a corner charge and Dean counters with a Tornado DDT for 2…
Counters by both leads to both men hitting the damndest double clothesline ever, smacking chest and knocking a sounds out of each of them… Punches traded, Dean hooks Seth in a catapult. Rollins grabs the Kendo stick and starts whacking Dean in the face, but Ambrose no sells and hits the catapult in the corner anyway… lol… Ambrose follows up with some wicked ass cane shots for a 2 count… Dean then tosses like 7 chairs in the ring… Dean tries to Superplex Seth on to the chairs, but Rollins flips over top and lands a RUNNING POWERBOMB INTO THE CHAIRS!!! 1….2….AMBROSE KICKS OUT!
And here comes Kane to ruin a perfectly good match… Kane sits at ringside as Rollins pulls out a Table, and the crowd goes insane… Rollins with another cane shot and then sets up the table. Seth places Dean’s face on the table for a top rope Curb Stomp, but Ambrose SUPERPLEXES SETH OFF THE TOP ROPE THROUGH THE TABLE!!!!!!!
And here’s asshole Kane to get involved… Dean knocks Kane off the apron, and throws Rollins outside… SUICIDE DIVE by Dean ontop Kane and Rollins… Back inside, Ambrose hits the nasty clothesline and DIRTY DEEDS ON ROLLINS!!! 1…………2……….Kane yanks Ambrose out of the ring…
Ambrose manages to send Kane into the steps and backdrops Kane over the announce table. Dean then runs the length of the announce tables and dives into the crowd onto Rollins… Fucking awesome….
Ambrose on the announce table with Rollins, sets up for Dirty Deeds, but Kane grabs Dean and chokeslams him onto the table… And the table doesn’t break…But DEAN GETS UP!!!! CURB STOMP ON THE TABLE BY ROLLINS!
Kane pulls up the time keepers table to reveal a pile of cinderblocks. Well here goes Dean off toe Hollywood… Seth Rollins off the announce table CURB STOMP ONTO THE CINDERBLOCKS and for added effect they break into pieces…
Charles Robinson stops the match and calls for the bell, giving Rollins the win in 20:30.
Ambrose is stretchered out while Kane and Rollins celebrate… Well, they gave Dean everything they could before he takes time off… His return should be pretty damn amazing I’d think… This guy could be bigger than any of the three if he’s not held back…
That does it people.
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Raw “Backstage Pass” Post Show will not air this week. Instead there will be a SummerSlam “Post Show” in it’s place. I will not be reviewing this show, so please tune in to the WWE Network if you’re interested in seeing it. It’s scheduled to begin airing at 11:06pm est.
I had thought about covering it, but I don’t want to waste the half hour if it turns out being the usual crap. Kids start back to school bright and early in the morning, so I’ll be heading off to wind down.
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