Raw was soap opera-ish and talk heavy. While I wouldn’t say it was the worst show, the direction was more impromptu than they’ve been in their recent run. And their emphasis on the newer stars like the Shield and the Wyatt’s has definitely taken a different turn with Triple H on the show so often.
The Big Show is broke.
The show long storyline involved Triple H, Randy Orton, Daniel Bryan, and Big Show. On Smackdown, Daniel Bryan was beaten to a pulp by The Shield and Orton. Tonight, Triple H told Bryan that he shouldn’t be mad at them. But instead, he should be upset at the Big Show because last week when Bryan was getting beat up, Show didn’t save him even though he has an iron clad contract. He set up a match between Show and Bryan.
Later in the show, Stephanie called out the Big Show who didn’t want to do the match. She mentioned that Show was her mentor when she was 12 years old. That was ridiculous. Show is just 4 years older then her and he didn’t even come to WWF until 1999. She’s mixing him up with Andre The Giant which is more ridiculous. She said that he was broke and he needs to follow in line because while he has an iron clad contract, it’s not so iron clad. Think about your family Big Show. Show was bawling at this point.
I generally don’t have a problem with this, but there’s no back story at all. Was there even a hint that he was broke? Show tried his best, but Stephanie was terrible. She’s the worst performer on this show and it’s not close. She needs to get pregnant again so she goes off TV for a long time.
In the main event segment, Bryan came out and wanted to fight Show. Show didn’t want to fight him, but Bryan wanted to do the match. Show didn’t take the match seriously, didn’t want to fight, and yet, was still getting the better of him. Bryan looked like a goof. The Shield came in for the run-in and beat him up. Triple H mandated that Show knock Bryan out. Show was sobbing again. He tried leaving, Stephanie came out, and he went back into the ring because he has to support his family. Finally, he knocked Bryan out while crying.
So, Triple H and Randy Orton have the Shield and now want the Big Show as part of their security. Why doesn’t he just bring out the Wyatt’s and use their lantern on Bryan too?
At this point, the angle is becoming annoying. If Bryan is put out to pasture again, he may jump the shark. He needs some momentum like no one’s business.
Cody Rhodes is fired!
Okay, no one believes that he’s gone and they shouldn’t.
Rhodes saw Triple H and Orton in a backstage segment and wondered why they didn’t want to defend against Bryan. He mentioned that he knows that Orton isn’t scared of him. Triple H brought up that Rhodes was getting married and wasn’t invited. As a present, Rhodes would get to face Orton and if he lost, he’d lose his job.
The match was good. Rhodes is a good babyface when he has fire instead of the smarmy jackass babyface role they had him in earlier. And it worked. The crowd was into it. From the bell, you knew the finish, but they still got decent pops with some of the near falls.
After he lost, Rhodes cut a promo bringing up the idea that the McMahons have always hated the Rhodes family, bringing up his dad’s WWF gimmick and how Dustin was “The Natural” until they put gold paint on him and changed him. It was the best thing Cody’s done in a long time.
And the rest…
- The Miz beat Fandango in a terrible match. Miz also broke Fandango’s his nose.
- Dolph Ziggler must be in trouble. Dean Ambrose came out and beat him up while he was in the ring preparing for a match against an unknown opponent. Then Ryback came out and destroyed him more and beat him.
- Edge was announced as returning next week as Raw is in Toronto.
- The Primetime Players beat 3MB which looks to set them up for an upcoming title shot just based on how much they’ve been winning.
- Triple H taunted Paul Heyman who was trying to get out of the stipulation for the CM Punk vs. Curtis Axel match at the PPV.
- The Wyatt’s did a promo about Kane, which is very weird since they’ve already killed him. Can’t they move on?
- Punk cut a great promo about how he promised to break Heyman’s face.
- Natalya, Brie, and Naomi had a three-way but AJ interfered and they beat her up and left her laying. It will be a four-way at the PPV.
- RVD beat Damien Sandow who is the absolute worst briefcase winner ever.
I hope the main event angle changes a bit starting next week.