Tonight's RAW is in Chicago, IL. Otherwise known as CM Punk's town, where he just so happen to be making his first appearance since losing to Paul Heyman at Night of Champions. RAW will be on fire tonight!
WHAT I LIKED:
Opening Segment: "Thank you all for finally being men." Eh, decent swerve. But I'm hoping for more than that. Is it wrong that I was hoping for there to be punishment and I wanted it to be brutal? This is a bit of a letdown. And the Handicap Elimination Match... isn't that pretty much the same thing that Triple H railed against Vickie Guerrero for making on Smackdown? I don't understand. But given this match was announced at the top of the broadcast, I expect there to be some type of wrinkle added to it. It can't be as simple as it seems.
Kingston vs Del Rio: Did we really need the WWE application walkthrough? Do they not know who watches their shows? Trust me, the demographic of people watching WWE progamming skews younger and therefore more technically-savvy. Just because Vince McMahon can't download and install an app doesn't mean the fans can't. I won't let that distract me from the match though. This was a perfect match to whet the appetite of the rabid Chicago crowd. Alberto Del Rio and Kofi Kingston have good in-ring chemistry with each other and can put on great performances. Plus, the Chicago crowd will respect a wrestling machine like Del Rio, so they'll still be involved in the match even when the heel is in control. And a plus for me is that Kofi isn't too big to lose to a champion in a non-title match. If this was RVD facing Del Rio, I'd be worried. I was waiting for either Michael Cole or JBL to mention how Kofi would be in line for a potential World Championship opportunity if he can beat Del Rio, but they didn't say it. Not even they believe that Kingston would ever achieve that.
Wyatt Family vs Prime Time Players: So much for that winning streak for Darren Young and Titus O'Neil. I strongly doubt they get through this match with a victory. But before I speak about the match, I just let the Chicago audience know that I appreciate the pop for the Wyatts, but clapping along to their music isn't necessary. It's not exactly Motown. I liked that match because the better team actually won instead of WWE trying to push an agenda for popularity. It seems as if the participants in the 11-on-3 Handicap Elimination match are being softened up. And Titus O'Neil should be pretty damn soft after that hard clothesline. I think Luke Harper made JBL proud.
Orton vs RVD: If the WWE Universe were smart (and we know they're not) they'd have chosen R-Truth to face Randy Orton instead of Rob Van Dam. I'm certain that the 56% of people who voted for RVD don't want to see him end up like The Miz, but they might be okay with R-Truth suffering such a fate. I know I would be. But since RVD does have a World Title rematch already on the card for the next PPV, maybe he won't have to endure the same outcome. Plus, he has Ricardo Rodriguez (in a different RVD shirt!) for backup... whatever that's worth. But I am glad that this match was made or chosen or whatever. Orton and RVD have good chemistry and the Chicago crowd is going to be into this match, making it even better. It sucks that the match didn't have a conclusion and they opted for the post-match beatdown once again. And after RVD proudly proclaimed that he came down last week to help Daniel Bryan, where was Daniel Bryan at to help out RVD? This smells like fuel to the fire to me. Triple H & Stephanie are going to turn all the other superstars against Daniel Bryan.
Chicago Made Punk: It's the top of the 9:00 hour, otherwise known as CM Punk time. I've been waiting to hear this ovation all night long. I know nothing of the hockey, so I'm going to assume this Keith player is an star player for the Blackhawks - not that Punk needed to play up to the crowd. He did just that though, using the Blackhawks comeback win for the Stanley Cup to his advantage and the crowd ate it up. It was made even better when Paul Heyman came out because these two are so in sync, they know just how to play off of each other. Punk did predict that he'd have only two seconds to get to Heyman before the two goons (another hockey reference?) got to him. That's exactly what happened. Punk should have had a talk with The Miz about performing in his hometown. But Punk will an opportunity to get revenge on Ryback at Battleground... which happens to be in Ryback's hometown of Las Vegas.
The Rhodes'!!!: I thought it was odd that Daniel Bryan was out there by himself and The Shield bearing down on him. It's good to see that it was both Cody Rhodes and Goldust coming out to get them some of The Shield. Albeit if this is about their father, shouldn't they be going after Big Show? It was he who KO'ed Dusty Rhodes. I guess The Shield were out there too and they were ready to 'dismember' Dusty too. They picked the right crowd to pull that run-in on. I've been expecting that for a while, but not so soon.
Handicap Elimination Match: There's gotta be some type of something involved with this match. It can't stand as it as. It's unfair to The Shield and that's not the status quo of the WWE. It's usually the heels that have the unfair advantage. That advantage was dwindled down pretty quickly with RVD being eliminated, but I think everyone saw that coming the moment he was tagged in. Once again, the babyfaces are stupid. Why would anyone tag in the teammate who was beatdown earlier in the show? There's no reason anyone except for The Usos, R-Truth, Justin Gabriel, Zack Ryder, Dolph Ziggler and Daniel Bryan to even participate in the match. It's still 7 versus 3. And no sooner do I type that do we come back from commercial break and Kofi Kingston's bandaged arm is also in the ring. After Kofi is eliminated, it's Titus O'Neil - who also already had a match and lost - who takes over. Thankfully, Gabriel came in afterwards, but lasted only a few seconds. Same for Ryder. And finally the babyface team have gained some intelligence and played their ace in Daniel Bryan. That lead to the elimination of Roman Reigns. See how that works? No lesson learned because it's Darren Young in the ring when the next break ends. Maybe the babyface team is doing this on purpose. Maybe they're sacrificing the pawns. After the sacrifice of Young, Ziggler eliminated Ambrose. I LOVED the look on Seth Rollins' face when he realized that he was all along against 5 other superstars. It was a look that said, "So that's what this feels like." I LIKED the final four superstars surrounding the ring and giving Rollins a taste of his own medicine. Turns out, there was no twist to this match and it was just as it was advertised. And it was perfect that way.
WHAT I HATED:
MizTV: I don't think Chicago wants MizTV at all. They don't seem to be too interested in anything to do with The Miz, and who could blame them considering how far the mighty has fallen. Notice how Miz didn't say he was embarrassed in front of his father... because he didn't seem to give a damn. Miz shouldn't be questioning Big Show about his actions from last Monday, he should've been questioning the 10 superstars who ran down to the ring to save Daniel Bryan. They didn't do anything to help him. And we heard them this morning, they did it for Daniel Bryan. They didn't do it for The Miz. Wow. Stephanie McMahon really tore Miz down by calling him a utility player and basically saying they only use him for appearances that don't warrant major players like John Cena. There was no hesitation from Big Show to KTFO Miz. And I don't blame him. Some people need their mouths shut. But I am glad that Miz pointed out that other, lesser superstars are starting to step up and it's time for Big Show to do the same. Be careful what you wish for, Miz. You just may get knockedthefuckout!!!
Fandango vs Santino: Do I even - ? Why is this match - ? Am I even supposed to - ? Fuck it. I'm going to join the crowd in paying more attention to Summer Rae and the side of her dress that isn't there. That is a beautifully executed legdrop by Fandango. I will give him that.
10-Diva Tag: It doesn't matter how many divas they add to these tag matches, it's going in the HATED category. Out of those 10 divas in the ring, only three of them - and you can guess which three - have any wrestling talent. If it's not a match involving either of those three and only those three, I'm not going to expect much of anything out of it. And when skinny Brie Bella pins AJ Lee after only one move...
QUOTE OF THE NIGHT:
"You guys really know how to ruin a perfect bad mood." - CM Punk
I know the feeling, Punk. Whenever I watch WWE programming and it's in a city like Chicago or Toronto or New York or Philly, it perks me up to. It doesn't matter how bad the programming is, a rowdy, loud and proud crowd can make it so much better.
"... and I got 18,000 people who are gonna bail my ass outta jail when I'm done with you." - CM Punk I have nothing to add to this, but it made me laugh out loud. And I'm pretty certain that most of them actually would do it if they needed to.
MATCH OF THE NIGHT: I was skeptical of the match when it was announced and even throughout it, but in the end the Handicap Elimination Match ended up being very fun to watch and a good way to end the show.
BEST IN SHOW: Come on! It's Chicago and CM Punk. That is always a great mixture. And even Paul Heyman played his role to perfection.
REACTION: There's a change brewing in WWE right now as opposed to the previous weeks after Summerslam. Whereas the norm became Daniel Bryan ending RAW on his back with no backup, he's now got all the backup he could ever desire and ending RAW in victory. I do take a little umbrage with the announcer pronouncing the winner of the Handicap Elimination Match to be only Daniel Bryan. The Usos and Dolph Ziggler won the match too, even though they were outside of the ring when the final pinfall was counted. Who knows? Maybe that wasn't an accident on Justin Roberts' part. Maybe that will further the divide that Triple H and Stephanie McMahon are obviously trying to create between Bryan and the other superstars. I'm anxious to see how that will play out.
For anyone who thinks that CM Punk and Daniel Bryan can't anchor WWE as the top two superstars need only to look at nights like tonight and see that it doesn't matter who is in the top roles, as long as they are booked right. Hopefully when Cena does make his inevitable, over-hyped return, he won't change the status quo. I LIKE WWE a lot right now. I mean Zack Ryder was in the main event on RAW. That's awesome.
They are doing a good job building up Battleground, but the graphics for the matches seem a little basic. They have time to spruce 'em up a little though. The main event matches are set for the PPV and they've caught no one by surprise. I expect them to add stipulations to all three matches - and I'm hearing the WWE Championship match could be an Ironman match. If that happens, you know I'm all in.
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