Before you read any further, make sure you’ve checked out The Best And Worst Of WWE Hell In A Cell 2012 so you’ll know what’s going on. There is no way to follow the program unless you read that column. Just kidding, nothing happened.
Tonight on Raw:
The WWE Universe has gone through “Hell,” and WWE is not the same as before. CM Punk is still WWE Champion, but he is a hunted man following his controversial retention over the monstrous Ryback inside Hell in a Cell. Sheamus’ World Heavyweight Championship reign is no more, brought to an unceremonious halt by two KO Punches from Big Show. Kane & Daniel Bryan are still Tag Team Champions, but tension between Team Hell No is at an all-time high. With Survivor Series less than three weeks away, what ramifications await on Raw? WWE.com has five ideas.
1. Zack Ryder will dress as Stitch from Lilo & Stitch, then say he’s, “dressed like the biggest Stitch in the WWE, you Eve Torres, except with two letters taken out and replaced by one, because I’m calling you a bitch but I don’t want us to lose our toy deal. BUT I STILL HATE WOMEN! WOO WOO WOO, YOU KNOW IT!”
2. Santino Marella will follow up his timely Lady Gaga costume and song act by dressing as Will I Am and claiming he’s one of the “Blackened Eyes Peas!” Yuks will ensue.
3. Payoffs to all the feuds you paid 50 dollars to see paid off last night.
4. More of Dolph Ziggler watching television threateningly!
5. Eve debuting her new finish, an imploding 630 splash. It … looks like you’re imagining.
As always, my 10 favorite comments from tonight’s WWE Raw open discussion thread will be featured in tomorrow’s Best And Worst Of Raw report. To nominate a comment for top 10 status, please reply to it with a +1.
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When Randy Orton came out and Cole said he was the “wildcard”, I totally pictured him throwing on a cowboy hat, yelling “Wildcard, bitches” and jumping out of a moving van.
Wow, some of youse really need a hug. I’m really curious as to what many of you thought the main event of Survivor Series was going to be. Heyman isn’t going to pick 3MB, Dean Ambrose or David Otunga. It also sets up the ending to have Bork Laser showing up and F5′ing Ryback.
Survivor Series’ double main event is almost an internet fan boy’s WWE wet dream. Regardless of Ryback feasting on Rhodes Scholar and the Miz, we should get a really entertaining 30-40 minute match. And it’ll probably be after an entertaining Ziggler/Cena match, which hopefully will lead to Ziggler getting that last push to challenge for the title.
Other bests: We saw the return of OUR AJ, Barett ate a sweet RKO, Sheamus actually talked like an adult and showed glimpses of the Celtic Warrior gimmick (ie: He was just happy to be in a bad ass fight, as opposed to smiling and waving and making fat jokes like a clown), Cesaro cut a good promo and Ricardo fought with a fan dressed up like Hogan. Hilarious.
WWE could have made better use of their time (but that’s been a problem since day 1), but, I wouldn’t say this was a bad Raw by any means.
Worsts: OUR AJ is saddled with an angle with the HORRIBLE Vickie G, which will probably end with AJ getting “fired” before Cena wins her a contract in a match with Ziggler (pray that Ziggler doesn’t put his briefcase on the line).
Also, they set themselves up for disappointment when they made such a big deal out of revealing the teams. Plus the teams are bad.
But I agree that Cesaro’s promo was pretty awesome.
Whoa whoa whoa, Vickie G isn’t horrible. She’s a good heel and not nearly as annoying when she’s GM because she can’t do the excuse me line. If anything, what’ll probably happen is Vickie will put AJ in tough situations which Aj will overcome. Remember, they can’t always go to the abuse of fire storyline when every wrestler getting abused complains to get the GM fired. If Aj does get paired with Cena, she’s going to get a lot of TV time, which could be good.
Ziggler has the great selling abilities, so him and Cena should make some good matches together,
The best part about this entire storyline is that it keeps Cena out of the title picture.
So I’m no fun and on the west coast, I’m just not feeling the hate. I’m happy to see AJ in the ring and hope that people can stop bringing up how horrible she was as a GM ike she actually ran the show and wasn’t a paid performer in that role. I also privately mourn the loss of the Glamazon, Beth Phoenix, a women’s wrestler par excellence. Rhodes Scholar in the ring was (The) Genius as well, Team Punk seems pretty awesome and John Cena backstage politics are choked down as the price we pay to watch Damien Sandow cartwheel in the ring.
All my best to the Stroudmouths weathering the storms. All my +1s.
I didn’t get to watch Raw because I was at work, and I don’t own a DVR, but I just want to point out that I decided to watch some of the Best of Clash of the Champions on Netflix, and I’m watching the Luger/Windham vs. Anderson/Blanchard match from Clash I. Holy hell is that crowd hot. If every crowd was like that today–or even most of them–this thing we love would be so much more fun.
Completely random and off-topic, but for some reason, Damien Sandow reminds me of Richard Harrow from Boardwalk Empire. Before half his face got blown off by Jerry in The Great War.
Just finished Raw Is DVR, legitimately shocked that Foley’s team isn’t five John Cenas
Five John Cenas would literally beat the crap out of the mythical Four Horsemen of The Apocalypse.
The John Cena version of this might be hilarious for a minute or two: [youtu.be]
Jesus…Punk’s Survivor’s Series team is horrible. I mean, okay, Rhodes Scholars are awesome but, really, the fucking Miz and Alberto Del Rio?! Brutal.
bro…. don’t be dissin ADR
This is just my opinion, obviously, but Alberto Del Rio is in the same boat as Wade Barrett to me. They should be completely awesome but WWE creative just doesn’t know how (or is for whatever reason unwilling to) unlock their goddamn beast-modes.
This might be the worst build to a PPV ever. Not only do they only have three weeks, but next week won’t even be live. And the go-home Raw seems to be average at best these days.
Anyone know is Drew is back to wrestling soon for maybe a midcard match of PTP and 3MB vs Cara Rey Ryder Santino and someone else?
We need to send correspondents out to matches to start “SAME OLD SHIT” chants.
After that episode I can only say that everyone involved in that episode should (according to Vickie’s logic) take themselves out for a business dinner.
Good night, everybody.
You know it’s a dull night when we only have 2100+ comments. Eventful nights hover about 700 more than that, yeah?
Probably not too dull for those fighting a hurricane right now. But yes, it was dull programming.
That’s what I meant, of course.
Of course. I was just being facetious.
I’d rather sit through a hurricane than another Raw episode that boring.
On a lighter note, the MNF game is so bad Turico and Gruden are rambling about Kiss.
“U.S. Senate candidate Linda McMahon’s World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) has received $36.7 million in Connecticut film tax credits in 20 separate deals since 2006, reports CTPost.com. As in many states, what historically began as tax credits for motion pictures are now available for TV and online media as well, and it is in these two latter categories that the WWE received its subsidies. Also as is typical of other states, the Connecticut program has no job creation requirements, but is calculated simply as a percentage of “qualified expenditures,” with the rate being 30% in Connecticut. In fact, in WWE’s case, the company had laid off about 60 workers in 2009, yet continued to receive the credits”
Good times.
Shhh. We’re too busy worried about how much the WWE sucks in front of the camera to really care about how much they suck behind it.
worst post-ppv raw i can recall
I would perfectly fine with these team if they saved a Punk/Foley confrontation to the end of the show, had the match built there.
Then just announced the teams on the internet.
I would have even prefered they made the picks in short backstage vignettes throughout the show, then had the confrontation to end the show. Either way would have been better than that.
That’s fine too. This built it up as if there was a surprise.
I feel like a lot of people in the Thread missed their naps today.
Hurricanes bring out the worst in people.
The sad thing is CM Punk is champion when the ratings are going down. Is it all the writer’s fault or does Punk deserve some of the blame?
Writers. They’re terrible. The fans aren’t reacting to the faces and they make all the heels besides Punk incompetents who can’t win even with cheating.
It’s also Monday Night Football, and until today the MLB playoffs. Along with the Debate last night.
*last Raw.
TWO NIGHTS WITHOUT A PROPER ZIGGLER SHOWING AND MY INTEREST IS WANING CONSIDERABLY.
Typical for people to moan, WWE are transitioning trying to create new star(s). Maybe not with the prefect formula but they’re at least trying.
Who are they trying to create in that Survivor Series matchup? Its noone new. Don’t say Kofi. People don’t care about Kofi.
and who in this formation is new? We have 5 former wwe champions, some talented guys thrown into tag teams, and kofi kingston.
Its not the lack of steak its the lack of sizzle. Horrible way to announce the teams.
None of this matters much if a guy not even in the match (Cena) is considered more important than everyone else. Why is he allowed to talk endlessly?
It would have been nice if they included at least one pair of guys who weren’t already in a separate feud.
Or guys that had a reason to be loyal to heyman or Foley, it just wasn’t the right way to build the match.
The board of directors should fire Heyman and Foley after that.
CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, Cody Rhodes & Damien Sandow all in the possible main-event of Survivor Series, and CM Punk getting a 365+ day title reign.
I can understand why the internet is angry.
But three of those five will be fed to Ryback like jobbers. So yeah.
…Sorry, 3 of those 4.
#JSoM
oi47(dot)tinypic(dot)com/rvy0eh(dot)jpg
fantastic
+ 1
Bravo!
+1
+1 for movie magic
WWE really dug this hole for themselves. They should have seen this coming a mile away, but well…I hope they enjoy 1996-era ratings. I don’t think I’ve felt more depressed after a RAW in a long time.
What do we think, is this “Worst and Worst of Raw”-level bad?
Nah, that one screwed the pooch. This one just went through the motions painfully.
yeah it wasn’t so much bad for the most part, it was just really really boring
So if lesnar does make it on team punk, will he be countered by the rock?
That was really lackluster.
well i dont know what else to say but…..fuck the last 3 hours
+1,
+ this shouldn’t just be a Top 10 comment, Brandon should also use it as the entirety of his Best / Worst.
No, that was one awful and nothing happened. This one had a couple of good matches, and matches were booked for the upcoming PPV in a predictable, but convincing way.
Well the execution was piss poor and completely predictable but I guess I can’t really argue with the match.
Is it just me, or does Ryback bear a striking resemblance to Monterey Jack of Rescue Rangers fame? Sans unruly moustache, of course.
[bootyblogging.files.wordpress.com]
Oh, well. Back to gawking at the Post-Tropical Cyclone on CNN.
does anybody still watch Burn Notice?….
has anybody ever watched burn notice?
touche lol
After the show, Teddy Long is coming out and having the two teams wrestle, right?
Like, without a doubt?
I’d be on board it he’d wear his Skip Sheffield hat with some RVD graffiti on it…
YIP YIP YIP WHAT IT DO
i still gotta think Bork is gonna be involved in some way
MAKE ME SNORE MAKE ME SNORE MAKE ME SNORE
So they took the time to set up the Spanish Announce Table and no one bothered to put anyone through it? RUDE.
Dark match
Orton keeping a wary eye on foley. He doesn’t trust men in pants.
Bleh, it dodges Punk having to defend the title in a reasonable way, so I’ll go with it.
The crowd does not give a flying fuck and neither do I.
Considering tonight’s show, Hurricane Sandy was only the second biggest disaster of the evening.
YEAH I MADE THE JOKE SHUT UP!
+85 mph gusts of suck
Well i for one am glad we got all that Brad Maddox situation resolved so we can move to SS.
this has to be killing Orton
well that was…….completely predictable
Cena/Ziggler now at Survivor Series, I guess.
Pretty cool.
Somehow WWE made a thing featuring Daniel Bryan, CM Punk , Paul Heyman, Damien Sandow and Cody Rhodes into a fart noise. Impressive!
*quiet golf clap
So this is what 1996 looked like.
I think I’d like this segment a lot more if Ryback just started attacking everyone, his own teammates included, to stand tall at the end of the show. That MIGHT redeem this awful RAW, but probably not.
Not even gonna mention Brock? He doesn’t have to be there to announce him as part of the team. Fucks sake.
So no ziggler and cena, shit ziggles is gonna job.