RAW 1282 Review // Cesaro & Samoa Joe & Sheamus vs. Seth Rollins & Dean Ambrose & Jason Jordan

The penultimate RAW of 2017 brought us another Shield heavy episode, even if Roman Reigns was absent and weirdly not even mentioned on the show. The main event would feature Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose being joined by Jason Jordan to face rivals Cesaro, Samoa Joe and Sheamus, after the prior had demanded a match with Joe following Joe's attack on both Rollins and Jordan after the show's opening contest (originally scheduled as Rollins vs. Joe). The Cruiserweight's also got a big spotlight as Drew Gulak and Cedric Alexander clashed in the finals of the #1 Contender's tournament that's been going on for the last few episodes, whilst Stephanie McMahon returned to interrupt a division-wide brawl between the Women's roster with a big announcement regarding Royal Rumble. 

But was it any good? Let's take a frickin' look.

Seth Rollins def. Jason Jordan // Pinfall

then...

Cesaro & Samoa Joe & Sheamus def. Seth Rollins & Dean Ambrose & Jason Jordan // Pinfall

This saga began with Seth Rollins and Jason Jordan arguing over who should be facing Samoa Joe and then played out across over half an hour of screen time. If the opening segment was awkward and riddled with terrible dialogue, I was begging for it to return by a few minutes into the Rollins vs. Jordan match that came next. Suffering from Jordan not quite being a heel, a general apathy from the live audience and an uncharacteristically lethargic performance from Rollins, the first five to ten minutes of this match bored me to tears. You know I love my some storytelling and there was a degree of that here as Jordan focused on Rollins back to control the match...but he did so by hitting the same two moves (most shoulder charges into the corner). The crowd got restless with the plod of the contest, chanting "This is boring" and appeared to boo when both wrestler got in the ring at nine on a double countout spot. The highlight of the match came when Joe finally made his presence known, bringing some much need fire to the contest, before taking a snug superkick from Seth. Rollins won with the King's Landing, before Joe retaliate the early attack, before twatting Jordan for good measure on the way out. I can only imagine that this was for making The Samoan Submission Machine sit through such a dreary match.

Following this Kurt Angle booked the main event, with Rollins, Jordan and Dean Ambrose all wanting to fight Samoa Joe and The Bar seemingly with fuck all else to do that night. This was a much improved effort from the opener, with a trope-busting finish that opens up a number of possibilities for future storylines. The body of the match was the heel trio working over Rollins and whilst again I wasn't particularly wowed by Rollins performance and selling, there were a number of well-crafted hope spots, with Ambrose did a marvellous job of keeping the crowd invested from the apron. The sheer number of times it appeared like a hot tag was imminent as the momentum swung to Rollins was what bought real life to the contest, with the Kingslayer putting on a good sequence with Sheamus in particular. I'm trying to give Jordan some credit for something, but his short spell as face in peril at the beginning was worst part of the bout, with very little energy and he didn't really do much else. 

The finish was a fascinating piece of booking, as Rollins hit a suicide dive onto Cesaro and Joe, with Ambrose caught in the crossfire. It seemed like a pretty regular spot as the match picked up the pace, but then the referee began checking on the Lunatic Fringe, replays showed Ambrose grabbing his arm after Rollins connected and Sheamus nailed a Brogue Kick outta nowhere to pin Rollins. It felt like a bold booking decision with it seeming more like an angle than a legit injury (at least one caused by the move), especially after the lengthy face in peril sequence. There was an element of disappointment at not seeing the resulting hot tag, but that was mostly replaced with intrigue at what WWE's plan was. It felt like they were planting seeds for an Ambrose heel turn, which is what I've been hoping for ever since the Shield reunion storyline began. Later on, a violent backstage segment seemed to write Ambrose off television for a while as Cesaro, Joe and Sheamus jumped Rollins and Ambrose in the trainer's room, with Joe pushing a heavy looking production box onto Dean's already injured arm. 

Cruiserweight Championship #1 Contender's Tournament Final // Cedric Alexander def. Drew Gulak // Pinfall

The best action on the show was found in the Cruiserweight division as Cedric Alexander and Drew Gulak put together a lovely match to conclude the tournament to a find Enzo Amore's next opponent. The bout had a similar story to that of the Rollins vs. Jordan, but a much better job with it, with big spots, credible selling and variety. The spot where both men tumbled to the floor stuck in a verticle position is always a hit with me and the fact it was used to build a story around a back injury for Alexander gets a double thumbs up from me. Gulak worked over the injury with numerous holds, whilst we also got to see that Alexander could potentially struggle to hit some of his offence. Within the constraints of the TV time the two did a stellar job of telling that story, whilst also putting on some lovely pro wrestling sequences along the way, making the most of contrasting styles. The sequence following a fire-up from Alexander was the highlight, with the two going back and forth, before Alexander nailed a running spanish fly for a good pop. Unfortunately the finish came across a little flat and forced, as we saw Amore leave the commentary table on his phone, inadvertently distracting Gulak and allowing Alexander to pick up the win with a Lumbar Check.

Around the match, there was a fair deal of storyline advancement, mostly involving the relationship between Gulak, Amore and Nia Jax. Amore's pre-match promo about Star Wars was a thing, but Gulak again stole the moment by comparing himself to Jar Jar Binks for a nice reaction. I'm unsure what to make of Amore's stretch on commentary as he had a severe case of verbal diarrhoea and just babbled utter nonsense all over the match. It stopped the commentary team from telling the story of the bout as effectively as they could have and had very little to do with anything at all. It was incredibly annoying, but arguably still entertaining. As a reviewer who is going to continue watching no matter what, it's hard to say whether annoying bable would've been enough for someone else, especially a casual to change the channel, but I certainly think Amore both as a performer and a character continues to walk a very thin line in that regard. We finished on a brilliant backstage segment where Gulak cock-blocked Amore with Jax, hamming it up to fuck as he apologised profusely to Enzo for losing the match. The Gulak/Amore relationship has produced some of the most entertaining television for the purple ropes and I'm genuinely looking forward to seeing how this story plays out and if WWE is able to give it a satisfying conclusion over the next few months. 

Stephanie McMahon announced the first ever Women's Royal Rumble Match 

Who would have suspected that a segment that began with an Elias Christmastime would conclude with Stephanie McMahon announcing the first ever Women's Royal Rumble match for 28th January? Well, it bloody happened, mate. McMahon returned amidst a roster-wide brawl after the match between Absolution and the team of Sasha Banks, Mickie James and Bayley ended in DQ win for the protagonists. The announcement is significant, of course, and there's argument on both sides for the Women's Royal Rumble, but having McMahon play such a pivotal role in it's announcement, whilst the division was presented as an almost faceless bunch of women, didn't sit well with me. The promo McMahon cut was fine, the usual motivational chatter about what the women have done in WWE for the last few years, but it felt unfair to make McMahon the star, whilst the everyone else was reduced to supporting cast, all happy for the opportunity. Credit to WWE for doing a couple of out of the box things though, having Sasha Banks and Mickie James interrupt the sing along produced a fun moment, with Banks and James looking more like stars than they both have for a while, whilst some of Michael Cole's quips on commentary got a chuckle from this cynical reviewer. 

Finn Balor def. The Miztourage // Disqualification

then...

Finn Balor & Hideo Itami def. The Miztourage // Pinfall 

Another moment where the booking team had seemingly switched their coffee brand this week, the debut of Hideo Itami came out of left-field and was a nice little surprise. Obviously, it would've been better if it hadn't been trailed for 205 Live for the last few weeks, but I'm not sure anyone was expecting him to turn up in a match with Finn Balor, Curtis Axel and Bo Dallas. I'm not quite how the handicap match that lead into Itami's debut was, as it went for way too long and I went to make a bowl of Tomato soup. (It was lovely, thanks for asking) The disqualification seemed like an odd move, but I popped for Itami's music and him storming the ring to help out the man who debuted on NXT by helping him out with The Ascension was lovely touch for long term fans. The tag match was also probably longer than it needed to be, but the stretch with Balor and Itami kicking ass was big fun and showcased the former GHC Heavyweight Champion wonderfully. The GTS to Axel was the cherry on top. Itami's appearance here and the fact that 205 Live house show tickets are not flying out, has me wondering if Vince is considering Balor to the brand as well...it's not a move I would be completely against, if Vinny hasn't seen the potential of Balor as a main eventer.

Brock Lesnar's Royal Rumble challengers revealed 

Basically, this segment revealed what most had worked out already. Brock Lesnar will defend the Universal Championship against Braun Strowman and Kane at Royal Rumble. They may as well have said that Kane would be taking the fall in the match whilst they were at it. The angle was a mixed bag all in all, with Kane cutting a terrible promo and relying on cheaply referencing The Undertaker, Braun Strowman looking a little weird in the face and then Lesnar struggling to F5 the Devil's Favourite Demon. I say mixed bag, but what I really meant was this segment was a bit shit. The highlight came from Kurt Angle announcing the match as soon as Lesnar got in the ring and then quickly saying his "It's true" catchphrase and bailing from the ring. Oh and Kane sat up after an F5...oooooooh.

Asuka def. Alicia Fox // Submission

Asuka went to 8-0 on RAW, in her longest match since beating Emma on the RAW after TLC. Foxy got a nice little bit of offence in, including her Northern Lights suplex that I'm a mark for, before succumbing to a cross armbreaker in shy of four minutes. The presentation of Asuka since that initial week has been much closer to the mark, lets hope WWE can continue to build the aura and mystique around the Empress of Tomorrow.

Matt Hardy presented the battlefield for "The Great War"

DELIGHTFUL! Bray Wyatt and Matt Hardy dazzled in their promos this week, benefiting from the two being placed in separate segments, rather than sliced up together like last week's. Wyatt's promo to camera was dark and mesmerising, whilst Hardy's daft "Woken" antics, including playing chess with a goldfish he believes to be Napoleon, felt so far removed from anything else WWE is doing. Holy shit, is WWE going to get this feud right? 

The Revival def. Heath Slater & Rhyno // Pinfall

After being off TV since July, The Revival are back and ran through Rhyno & Heath Slater, picking up the victory with the Shatter Machine. We later saw Kurt Angle tell Rhyno & Slater that they needed to sort their shit out or he'd fire them. 

This week's great moment in WWE history was Chris Jericho's WWE debut from RAW is WAR 324. (Originally aired 9th August 1999 from Chicago, Illinois), whilst a clip from this week's Total Divas saw The Miz make his wife Maryse eat some meat for some reason.

Finally... 

Almost every segment this week felt like WWE was trying to do something creatively different. It didn't always pay off and in fact it probably flopped more often than not, but I'd much rather see creative that is distinct and appears to have effort behind it than the same old tired segments and patterns. The Ambrose injury angle, the interplay between Amore/Jax/Gulak, Elias' interaction with Banks, James and Bayley, Itami's debut and the magical things going on with Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt were all good examples of this. Gulak vs. Alexander was the best match on the show by some way and with a little more time could've been a stand-out bout for the Cruisers, whilst unfortunately on the flip side Rollins vs. Jordan ended up being a snorefest.

I was surprised to see not a whole lot promoted for next week's Christmas Day episode, which considering WWE has made the decision to air the show live for the first time is a little baffling. I was expecting WWE to put together almost a B PPV for the event with no RAW PPV this month, but it seems the company has decided to stick with announcing John Cena and hoping that will be enough for the event not to bomb.

RAW 1276 Review // Cesaro & Sheamus vs. Seth Rollins & Dean Ambrose

On 6th November 2017, WWE aired the 1276th episode of Monday Night RAW on the USA Network, taped earlier that day at the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England. The show featured Dean Ambrose & Seth Rollins defending the Tag Team Championships against Cesaro & Sheamus, Kurt Angle booking The Miz in a match with Braun Strowman on Miz TV, Samoa Joe facing Finn Balor, as well as appearances from Kane, Sasha Banks, Bayley, Alicia Fox and Asuka...but was it any good? Lets take a look!

Tag Team Championship Match: Cesaro & Sheamus def. Seth Rollins & Dean Ambrose (C) via pinfall (15:18)

Cesaro and Sheamus demanded a Tag Team Championship match from Kurt Angle, with Angle replying that the pair needed to do something for the brand to prove themselves, at least I think that's what happened as for some reason the show cut back to the arena mid-segment  Dean Ambrose & Seth Rollins cut a promo ahead of their match, which was mostly discussing the potential colour of bruises, but ended with a cute moment from Renee Young when she attempted to join in during the Shield fist-bump.

At the heart of the show's main event was a bloody good tag team match, with the energetic Rollins and Ambrose battling against the methodical Cesaro and Sheamus. Many of the elements that were present in their superb performances at SummerSlam and No Mercy were present here. Rollins and Ambrose's wicked fun face shine, Sheamus and Cesaro effortlessly controlling the crowd and Ambrose owning it when clawing his way from underneath and then Rollins silky hot tag sequence. Perhaps, the only thing missing was some of the visceral energy that the No Mercy clash got following Cesaro's teeth colliding with the ring post! The highlights for me were a pair of near falls towards the finish, the first coming with a feeling of momentum building for the heels as they sent Ambrose into the barricade with a crucifix powerbomb and then a powerbomb and diving clothesline combination on Rollins for a late kick-out, whilst the latter one saw Cesaro make a last minute save for his partner after a Rollins frog splash followed Dirty Deeds. Whilst there was a feel of going over old ground, it was still great to see a match of this quality on RAW. 

The finish is the main talking point though as The New Day (Big E, Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods) turned up from SmackDown, their music played and they appeared in the crowd, mirroring three week's earlier when the blue brand invaded. The entire RAW roster came out lead by Kurt Angle, after Woods claimed this was #UnderSiege2, only for New Day to laugh and leave Team Red looking like fools in the arena. I mean, everyone but Samoa Joe who looked like he was ready to pull Kofi Kingston's head off his shoulders and throw it at Big E. In the melee though, we ended up with new Tag Team Champions as Sheamus stole the win for his team, with the match never being officially stopped after the New Day appeared. Whilst it meant that we didn't get more of the two teams being great, we were left with a pretty memorable moment and a surprising title change. With Cesaro & Sheamus now scheduled to face The Usos at Surivivor Series and Roman Reigns returning next week on RAW, we now have an open door to a Shield vs. New Day match at Survivor Series, which is pretty fucking exciting.

Kurt Angle appears on Miz TV (9:02) & 

Braun Strowman def. The Miz by disqualification (5:04)

A slightly pedestrian opening segment as Kurt Angle guested on Miz TV, with their seeming too be too many objectives to fit into nine minutes of talking. You had Miz trying to get a feud going with SmackDown's Baron Corbin ahead of their match at Survivor Series, Angle keeping the feud with Shane McMahon ticking, Angle addressing Kane attacking Daniel Bryan last week, and Miz having problems with Angle following Braun Strowman attacking the Miztourage last week. All this going on ended up with the segment spending a lot of time in wordy exposition, throwing to footage from previous weeks and without a whole lot of anything actually happening. Angle finally turned up towards the end when he revealed he'd promised Strowman a match with the Miz later on in order to get the Monster Amongst Men on the RAW Men's Survivor Series team. Overall, the segment had too much length and not enough going on, but it did have Curtis Axel standing around sad with a neck brace in the background.

Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel appeared to act as the angel and devil on The Miz's shoulder backstage, with Dallas offering a pep talk, whilst Axel suggested they should just run. 

Braun Strowman threw The Miz around. Boy, did Strowman throw Miz around. This was a bowl load of fun, because Strowman kept throwing the Miz around. Basically, Miz would run away and then Strowman would catch up with him, because he's big and fast and agile and then lob him somewhere else because he's big and strong and beardy. Also, Strowman punches Bo Dallas in the face, which made an amazing noise and chucked Curtis Axel into the barricade, neckbrace and all. The DQ finish with Kane appearing was a mild disappointment, because I wanted to see Strowman throw Miz into some other things for a bit. This performance surely earns Strowman an Intercontinental Championship shot in the future.


After Kane sat up following a Running Powerslam, Strowman took out The Miz and Bo Dallas, sending a message to the Big Red Machine. 

Samoa Joe vs. Finn Balor [Prince Devitt] ended in a Double Countout (11:17) 

Titus O'Neil got some mic time, saying things were about to get ugly for Samoa Joe and also saying "Titus Worldwide". Unfortunately for O'Neil, Joe would end up attacking him and Apollo Crews on the ramp, before issuing an open challenge, that would be answered by Finn Balor.

Another really good television match as Finn Balor and Samoa Joe renewed their 2015/16 NXT rivalry. Joe worked well in control, with a presence that makes you take notice when he's beating someone up and Balor looked great when fighting from underneath, getting cut off repeatedly in the early stages, picking up the pace only to take an sly elbow from the Californian to keep him back down. When Balor lifted the pace later on in the bout, Joe matched him leading to a number of stellar exchanges with Joe cutting off Balor's finishing sequence after dodging the corner dropkick and hitting a running senton being the standout moment. Smooth, physical and exciting, with more than a hint of their Takeover: London epic. Obviously, the finish was again disappointing, as Joe hiptossed Balor onto the ramp before a double countout, because we all want to see a real conclusion, but it makes sense as part of the whole picture heading into Survivor Series, with a potential full-time feud between the pair heading into 2018 looking promising.

Post-match, Joe and Balor continued to scrap until security separated them, then after Kurt Angle added the pair to the Men's Survivor Series team, Balor dove off the stage with a flying forearm smash. 

Bayley & Sasha Banks def. Alicia Fox & Nia Jax via submission (8:54) 

Sasha Banks and Bayley were interviewed about not being picked for the Women's Survivor Series team yet.

A basic tag outing, that was most notable for the crowd singing to Bayley and how the performers interact it. Banks joining in whilst on the apron was super cute and Nia Jax goading the crowd when in control showed how she's grown as a performer over the last year. The wrestling was mostly passable with Bayley working the face in peril role, with Jax and Fox working quick tags, before a Banks hot tag would signal the beginning of the end. The Banks hot tag was the highlight with a meateora, tilt-a-whirl rana and double knees in the corner to Fox lifting the energy that had been lacking for most of the match. There were opportunities to better use Bayley in the face in peril role and Jax and Fox lacked a little something as the dominant heel pairing. Fox would eventually tap out to Banks Statement.

After the match, Alicia Fox added Sasha Banks to the RAW Women's Survivor Series team.

Pete Dunne def. Enzo Amore via pinfall (3:48)

Pete Dunne was on RAW! I mean, we had to sit through Cruiserweight Champion Enzo Amore rambling on for what felt like at least a day and WWE sort of botched his entrance by having Kurt Angle come out to Dunne's music to announce that Dunne was there, but who gives a fuck about that, Pete Dunne is here! The rest didn't really matter, because I had a big smile on my face watching Dunne come out, walk to the ring and twat Amore in the face. He looked every inch of the star that he has become since I first entered the world of British wrestling in 2013. Pete Dunne, man, on Monday Night RAW. 2017 is mad for the graps. If you want more of Dunne check out his work in Attack! Pro Wrestling, Southside Wrestling Entertainment, Fight Club: Pro, Kamikaze Pro, PROGRESS Wrestling, Over the Top Wrestling, Revolution Pro Wrestling, Shropshire Wrestling Alliance, Triple X Wrestling, Lucha Forever, 4 Front Wrestling, Great Bear Promotions, Pro Wrestling Chaos, WhatCulture Pro Wrestling and get out there and find the next Pete Dunne for yourself.  

A quick squash for Dunne's debut over the Cruiserweight Champion, not a bad way to make a statement on your first night on RAW, eh? Corey Graves put over Dunne something rotten on commentary, en route to a match-winning Bitter End.

Guitar on a Pole Match: Jason Jordan def. Elias [Elias Samson] (4:17)

Elias buried Noel Gallagher and Wonderwall, before doing an acapella tune about Manchester being full of losers etc. It was a nice riff on the idea that Elias' guitar was hung up ready for the match, but content-wise was pretty much a carbon-copy of any recent Elias promo. 

A sloppy bout with a lame gimmick, Elias and Jordan were all over the place here, with each move come across as awkward and clunky. The crowd booing Jordan didn't help the situation, but having him just twat Elias in the back with a guitar to close the match was a bizarre piece of booking that deserved derision, with WWE showing a lack of an understanding of it's audience again.

Later in the show, Kurt Angle added Jason Jordan to the RAW Men's Survivor Series team.

Asuka [Kana] def. Stacy Coates [Courtney] via submission (1:10)

Asuka goes to 4-0 on RAW, with another super speedy squash, locking in the Asuka lock for the submission victory.

Post-match, Alicia Fox announced that Asuka would be part of the Women's Team at Survivor Series.

Women's Champion Alexa Bliss talked about Natalya being a cat lady and some other things in an interview with Charly Caruso

Watch - Ambrose & Rollins vs. Cesaro & Sheamus, Strowman vs. Miz, Balor vs. Joe, Pete Dunne's debut

Avoid - Jordan vs. Elias. 

Review by James Marston (@IAmNotAlanDale)

No Mercy 2017 Review - John Cena vs. Roman Reigns

On 24th September 2017, WWE's RAW brand aired No Mercy 2017 live on the WWE Network, from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. The show featured John Cena battling Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose & Seth Rollins putting the Tag Team Championship on the line against Cesaro & Sheamus and Finn Balor going up against Bray Wyatt "man to man", as well as action featuring Intercontinental Champion The Miz, Universal Champion Brock Lesnar, Sasha Banks, Cruiserweight Champion Neville and Bayley. But was it any good? Lets take a look! 


The opening package was your typically well-produced WWE open, focusing on John Cena vs. Roman Reigns, the Women's Championship five-way and Brock Lesnar vs. Braun Strowman..."on this night, there will be no restraint, there will be no holding back and there will be...No Mercy" 

The Miz (C) (with The Miztourage) def. Jason Jordan to retain the Intercontinental Championship (10:15)

After a build that I struggled to get behind, I felt like Miz and Jason Jordan delivered here, putting together a solid opening match that grabbed the crowd and warmed them up well for the rest of the evening. Was it the crispest of bouts? No, not all, there were a couple of moments of sloppiness or miscommunication like Miz throwing Jordan back in the ring and a weird looking kitchen sink from the champ. But it also featured some really well-worked sequences that showed the potential that Jordan possesses well, with Miz playing the foil well. The It kicks being reversed into a T-Bone suplex, as well as the work that went down on the outside, leading into Jordan hitting an overhead belly to belly on Dallas that sent him into both Miz and Axel. The finishing sequence was one of the strongest on the whole show with the Miztourage running interference just as Jordan got rolling and after Jordan had swatted Dallas off the top rope, there was Axel with a cheapshot, which allowed Miz to hit a Skull Crushing Finale to retain his title. It was the first legit obstacle we'd seen put in Jordan's way and he was unable to overcome it, that's how you build a babyface and his performance in this match shows that if WWE can handle him correctly and use just the right amount of the Kurt Angle stuff, then there's a star in their somewhere.

Post-match, Jason Jordan gave an awkward promo to Renee Young, saying he still doesn't respect The Miz and that he feels Miz sucks.

Before the next match could begin Bray Wyatt attacked Finn Balor, throwing him into the barricade and hitting a uranage slam onto the announce table. With Balor being lead away by referees, Wyatt would get on the microphone and goad Balor into getting back in the ring claiming "You ain't no demon, you ain't even a man, you're a coward"...

Finn Balor def. Bray Wyatt (11:32)

Oh man, this match was going so well until the finish. With Wyatt attacking Balor before the match and having lost to the Demon at SummerSlam, it felt like the logical step for the rivalry was for Wyatt to beat Balor here or perhaps at least have an out for his loss, but an enziguiri, two corner drop kicks and a coup de grat is pretty conclusive victory for the Irishman. The body of the match was head and shoulder above their mediocre SummerSlam effort as the pair told a strong story with Balor injuring his ribs before the match started and having to fight from underneath against the larger, dominant Wyatt. Balor's selling throughout the match was superb as he produced what is arguably his strongest performance since his Universal title win last August. There was not a single moment where I forgot the Balor was carrying an injury because he was constantly grabbing at it, grimacing and appearing to struggle for breath. We'd see this play into the match on numerous occasions with Wyatt focusing in on the area and Balor often struggling to climb to the top rope to hit Coup de Grat, leading to Wyatt to catch him on the top or at one point Wyatt to get up and Balor hit a version of his finish to his opponents neck. The win is great for Balor, he looked like a valiant fighter and the result gets over his heart, determination as cements him as a threat with or without the demon, but there was so much potential for Wyatt to flourish here, with his performance on the microphone and when hitting multiple drop suplexes being some of his best work also. I'm interested to see where both goes are heading as it feels like Balor will be getting a push heading towards Survivor Series in November, whilst we may see Wyatt look to rebuild a family to protect him going forward.



Charly Caruso asked Cesaro & Sheamus what adjustments they'd made since SummerSlam, with the Swiss Superman and the Celtic Warrior replying that they don't adjust to the world, the world adjusts to them. 

The parade of foreign announce teams came here.

Seth Rollins & Dean Ambrose def. Sheamus & Cesaro to retain Tag Team Championships (15:55)

These two teams are absolute gold together and somehow managed to up the quality from their great SummerSlam effort and steal the show at No Mercy. There were a tonne of different elements weaved into the contest, some of them intentional and one of them a complete mistake, but they all came together to produce one of the best tag team matches in the last decade. Lets talk about that accidental element first, that would be Cesaro knocking some teeth out after hitting the top of the ring post and pissing blood from his mouth. It was a brutal and painful looking injury, but allowed for one of the coolest visuals in WWE history as Seth Rollins hit the Avada Kedavra and sent blood splattering across the Swiss Superman's face and all over the place. On the other side of the coin was Dean Ambrose kayfabe shoulder injury after he took a Cesaro swing into the steel steps on the outside. I've always felt that Ambrose has worked best when fighting from the bottom and with a body part to sell and it was once again effective here. Little touches like banging the shoulder into the wall in an attempt to pop it back into place following a suicide dive meant that the Lunatic Fringe shone here. The match built around Ambrose's injury effectively, firstly having him as the face in peril, before he was later unable to make the tag back in, partly because of the injury and partly because of clever tag work from Cesaro & Sheamus. 

Whilst most of the elements that made their SummerSlam clash so enjoyable were on display here again, like Rollins hot tag, big bruising tag work from Cesaro & Sheamus and a crowd that was behind the babyfaces, but what made this match a step above was the final third as it was packed with near falls and convincing false finishes as the two teams pulled out all the stops and stole the show in the process. A sharpshooter and then a crossface from Cesaro on Ambrose, followed by a double crucifix powerbomb to the Lunatic Fringe from both opponents and then the best moment of the entire match came. The Bar went to go for their assisted White Noise on Ambrose, only for Rollins to leap from the apron to the top rope, attempting to rana Cesaro to the mat, but Cesaro held on, Sheamus hit White Noise and Cesaro leap off the top turnbuckle with an avalanche powerbomb to Rollins onto Ambrose. The sequence was near perfect and the reaction for Ambrose kicking out of it the resulting pinfall was big. Moments later after Ambrose feinted out of a Brogue Kick attempt, Sheamus would accidentally connect with Cesaro, allowing a Ripcord knee from the Man and a Dirty Deeds from Ambrose to get the win. The heel miscommunication was a nice call back to how the feud has been based around the idea that Ambrose and Rollins would struggle to remain a team when the pressure was on, with the roles being reversed and the babyface duo ending up on top and still on the same page, despite the battering that both received. Give me a TLC match with these teams next month and I'll be a happy chappy.

Alexa Bliss def. Sasha Banks, Bayley, Nia Jax and Emma to retain the Women's Championship (9:54)

Considering the women were given less than ten minutes of a three hour show, Alexa Bliss, Sasha Banks, Bayley, Nia Jax and Emma worked their arses off putting on an action-pack, story-driven five way that over-delivered, despite the time constraints. There was a lot of different relationships and narratives going on here, that perhaps meant that the end of the bout felt a little flat, but made for a rich beginning and middle portion. Nia's dominance, Bayley and Banks' friendship, Emma attempting to make the most of her opportunity and Bliss desperate and willing to do anything to hold onto her title all provided the match with avenues to explore and the chance to weave the ideas together. Jax being powerbomb from the apron after all four opponents combined and then later returning got the biggest reactions from the crowd as she continues to develop into a potential major star for the division if she's handled correctly. With Bliss pinning Bayley following a Snap DDT, the contest needed longer to produce a satisfying well-rounded bout that allowed it's ideas to grow and feel organic, there was still enough to make the five-way enjoyable whilst it lasted.

Highlights of Batista defeating Eddie Guerrero to retain the World Heavyweight Championship at No Mercy 2005, for some reason.

Roman Reigns def. John Cena (22:09)

This was the match I was most looking forward to and the build-up that I had most enjoyed and to a degree it delivered. This was a big match, full of big moments, big reversals, classic spots, which played out in front of a lively crowd that wanted both men to know how they felt about them. It wasn't a particularly creative effort, pulling elements of John Cena's recent successes with the likes of AJ Styles, but it was still entertaining to see Cena's classic comeback sequence cut off at various stages as Reigns dominated and controlled the crowd. Perhaps, my favourite moment of the contest was Cena catching a Superman punch and turning it into an STF, locking in the move again once Reigns got close to the ropes, with the Big Dog eventually escaping with a powerful sitout powerbomb. I think, if the move had come later in the match it would have been a much more convincing near fall and perhaps would have upped the drama just a little bit more. A big shout out for the spot on the announce table as well with Reigns reversing an AA into a spear and almost shattering his own skull in the process. 

However, the conclusion was unsatisfying. Reigns would kick out of one Attitude Adjustment, then after missing a spear he kicked out of an Avalanche AA, then Cena hit another AA and rolled over like a beefed up Mark Haskins and hit another one and then Reigns kicked out. An utterly ridiculous amount of kick out from the same move. They all got good reactions, as people believed Cena had put Reigns away, but I'm not sure if Reigns lasting a nuclear-bomb like assault is the way to showcase him to an audience that has already been reluctant to accept him as a top guy. Cena had a similar problem and has ended up respected by most, Reigns has potential for that same spot, but WWE seems to be missing the mark on his presentation. Perhaps had Reigns not gone on to win clean with a superman punch and a spear, then those kick outs would have felt less silly, but by giving Reigns too much, WWE could end up shooting themselves in the foot. This was a good to very good match between two superlative workers, but the booking and presentation often let them down and an overall feeling of lack of creativity and recycling left the contest feeling overly clinical. 

After the match, John Cena raised Roman Reigns hand as the big left the ring to Cena. Cena bowed, waived and looked around emotionally at the arena as the crowd chanted "Thank you, Cena". 

The advert for WWE 2K18 with Snoop Dogg is magnificent.

The Miz interrupted Kurt Angle in his office, asking for an exclusive interview with Roman Reigns on RAW with Angle agreeing that it was a good idea and scheduling Miz TV for tomorrow night.

Before the Cruiserweight Championship match, Enzo Amore said some words about Neville's appearance and cookie dough, whilst Neville just looked at him like he wanted to kick him in the head. 

Enzo Amore def. Neville to win the Cruiserweight Championship (10:36)

Enzo Amore won the Cruiserweight Championship. I'm not quite sure what else I can say. Neville dominated throughout, blocking an early DDG attempt, throwing his opponent in the barricade, shouting "No one cares Enzo, no one cares" whilst locking in a headlock, smacking him in the face with a superkick after Enzo skinned the cat and killed the New Jerseyan with a series of big kicks and for quite a while it was great entertainment. I mean, probably not for the reasons it should have been, but great entertainment non the less, watching a man whose fall from fan favourite has been spectacular get his arse handed to him by someone who has worked hard to become one of the most entertaining characters on RAW. Then Enzo won. He grabbed the championship belt, used it as a distraction for the ref, kicked Neville in the dick again and walked out with the purple strap held high. Amore needs to turn heel and if this move was a heel turn I'm 100% okay with it, however if WWE is pushing Enzo as someone the crowd is supposed to get behind it's an arse-backward move. There's a slim chance this could be used to enhance the division and get eyes on the underrated 205 Live, but there's also a bigger chance that it could kill the division stone dead. 

Brock Lesnar def. Braun Strowman to retain Universal Championship (8:52)

Ah. Damn. After such a strong build up, that had myself and many desperate to see Brock v Braun, this match ended up being a major disappointment. Terribly short for a show closer, the two had a match. There was some lovely work in here, like Strowman's early domination and Booker T quipping "Guys, we're about one minute in and Brock Lesnar is on plan C", with this later being followed up by Lesnar locking Strowman in the Kimura for a lengthy period, but past that and the match didn't develop. Braun sold well at points, although him not being able to make the cover after a running powerslam could have looked better, but we didn't see Lesnar go back after the clearly injured body part and the match stuttered from there. German suplexes to big guys are fun, but it's nothing we haven't seen before. Then the finish ended up leaving me feeling a little deflated as Lesnar finally managed to hit an F5 and walked out as champion. We saw a similar finish to Lesnar's match with Samoa Joe at Great Balls of Fire and whilst it was marginally effective then, it was less so here, after how hard Strowman had been pushed and even more so after we saw Roman Reigns kick out of Attitude Adjustment after Attitude Adjustment earlier in the night. Overall, the match was fun whilst it lasted, but couldn't live up to the hype, perhaps because Braun wasn't ready for such a spot and perhaps because Lesnar doesn't want to put in the effort needed to have a blowaway singles match anymore. 

No Mercy was a good PPV in which the undercard over-performed and the two main event matches fell short, whilst a handful of the booking decisions ended up being questionable. The Tag Team Championship match was easily the match of the night, with both teams putting in a tremendous effort that topped their SummerSlam classic, whilst despite it's drawbacks I'd probably put Cena vs. Reigns in at #2. The main event didn't live up to expectations and wins for Finn Balor and Enzo Amore felt like they either came at the wrong time for their feuds or opponents, despite some entertaining action. The Women's Five-Way proved that RAW's ladies deserve more time, both on TV and on PPV in order to expand on the good wrestling and compelling ideas that they are capable of producing. 

The PPV will be remember for two matches that were advertised as WrestleMania worthy not delivering on their potential, but will provide a pleasant surprise when rewatched in future years thanks to the great tag team match and a good undercard.

RAW #1269 Review - Sheamus & Cesaro vs. Dean Ambrose & Seth Rollins vs. Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson

On 18th September 2017, WWE aired the 1269th episode of Monday Night RAW, live on the USA Network from the SAP Center in San Jose, California. The show features a triple threat tag team match pitting Tag Team Champions Dean Ambrose & Seth Rollins against Sheamus & Cesaro and Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson, a six pack challenge with Jeff Hardy, Matt Hardy, Bo Dallas, Curtis Axel, Jason Jordan and Elias battling it out for a shot at The Miz's Intercontinental Championship and Michael Cole interviewing Universal Champion Brock Lesnar (with Paul Heyman) and his #1 contender Braun Strowman at the same time, as well as General Manager Kurt Angle, Roman Reigns, Bray Wyatt, Dustin Rhodes and Sasha Banks on the show. But was it any good? Let's take a look, eh? 

In-Ring

General Manager Kurt Angle, Intercontinental Champion The Miz, The Miztourage, Jason Jordan 

(5:40)

After I praised the booking of Jason Jordan since SummerSlam last week, WWE decided to make me look a fool, as they relapsed into pushing the idea that he was Kurt Angle's son hard in the opening segment. After The Miz interrupted a run of the mill promo from Angle to complain about not defending his Intercontinental strap at No Mercy on Sunday, we learned that Angle had planned a Fatal Fourway bout to crown a challenger later on between Jeff Hardy, Matt Hardy, Jordan and Elias. What a treat. This set Miz off about Jordan not being worthy of a chance, which lets be honest, makes a lot of sense since Jordan hadn't won a singles match since defeated a local competitor at the start of August. They did an awkward bit where Angle took a swing at Miz's future child, which made the General Manager look like a real doofus and just meant Miz had more opportunity to take the piss out of the whole sorry situation. Somehow when Jordan came out, Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel ended up getting added to the #1 Contenders match, before there was a bit of a brawl and the Miztourage escaped. As we've seen in his matches with Finn Balor, John Cena and Roman Reigns over the last few weeks, Jason Jordan has bucket loads of potential, but this storyline is not helping him at all. 

• Backstage - Kurt Angle, Jason Jordan - Angle gives Jordan some advice about not blowing up when people say something about Kurt, before a little pep talk ahead of the Six Pack Challenge later on.

Singles Match

Nia Jax def. Women's Champion Alexa Bliss 

(3:10)

A pretty simple bout, Bliss constantly ducked to the outside, Jax over powered her at every turn, Bliss tried to leave, Sasha Banks turned up to stop her and Bliss jumped straight into a Samoan drop to leave her with one singles victory since Extreme Rules in June. Nothing wrong with the match in particular, but again it was a case of the women getting shafted on their TV times, three minutes of action aired is a joke. Post-match, we did get the return of Bayley, who turned up to help Bliss and Banks fight off Jax in a really confused piece of booking (Emma was supposedly still in Australia after the recent tour), then Banks and Bayley teamed up to beat up the Women's Champion. I have no idea what's going on with the Women on RAW at the moment. 

• Commentary Desk - Corey Graves, Michael Cole, Booker T - The trio push the WWE Network with a run down of the cards for No Mercy and Hell in a Cell 

• Promo - Brock Lesnar vs. Braun Strowman at No Mercy - A long ass video looking at the feud, beginining by looking at the similarities between the two before launching into clips of Strowman's domination. A well crafted package as usual from WWE.

In-Ring 

Sheamus & Cesaro, Tag Team Champions Dean Ambrose & Seth Rollins, Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson

(5:43)

Whilst the women are having their time squeezed, it seems like it's a bloody good time to be in a Tag Team on RAW, because we got a five minute promo, followed up by a fifteen minute (TV) match. The talking segment was a pretty clunky way of leading into the match, which had initially been announced as Sheamus & Cesaro vs. Gallows & Anderson, but just as we saw last week, once Ambrose and Rollins inserted themselves into the situation, plans changed. I enjoyed parts of the Sheamus and Cesaro promo, when Cesaro began playing with the crowds "What?" chants, it's always cool to see a heel play into what the crowd is doing and remind them that it's a really stupid thing to do. However, most of the promo covered similar ground as last week, talking nostalgia acts and Ambrose and Rollins not being a real team. This was followed by a weak effort from the Tag Team Champions that referenced Brave Heart (1995) and Taxi Driver (1976) just to prove they weren't a nostalgia act, despite neither being alive when the latter was released. Gallows and Anderson said something about being good brothers and nerds and there was a little entertainment heading into the three way brawl...but not a classic moment for anyone.

Triple Threat Tag Team Match 

Sheamus & Cesaro def. Tag Team Champions Dean Ambrose & Seth Rollins and Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson

(15:10)

A solid three way tag, that went a little bit long, for my tastes. There was a lot to enjoy here, with the two heel teams spending most of the match working over Ambrose and Rollins, with both doing some good Lunatic and Kingslayer in peril work as Gallows, Anderson, Sheamus and Cesaro did their bruising heel act nicely. They worked in a couple of nice hope spots for both Shield boys, including Rollins making the tag, only for the ref to be distracted by Sheamus. At times it felt like Gallows & Anderson were third wheeling it, as whilst creative has worked little issues for them with both teams, the match basically boiled down to The Good Brothers helping out Sheamus and Cesaro to wear down their opponents at No Mercy. They got a decent near fall off a Magic Killer on Rollins, with Ambrose making the save and Gallows had a bruising sequence with Sheamus to kick things off, but beyond that there wasn't much too their involvement in this match, beyond the finish. Considering, the match went over 15, there was certainly room to mix things up a little. 

So the finish saw Sheamus tag himself in as Ambrose went for a Lunatic Lariat and then take advantage after the lunatic fringe had hit Dirty Deeds on Anderson to give his team some momentum heading into Sunday. The finishing section in general was a lot of fun, coming more of less straight off an Ambrose hot tag, that including an excellent criss-cross suicide dive spot from the tag team champions as things broke down further. I thought the finish was a cute way of giving Sheamus & Cesaro a little drive before the PPV and showed that the team had the potential to, at least, out smart their opponents and make the most of opportunities. It was one of the few times that the three way concept was really embraced during the match, with the gimmick of having one team on the outside really hurting it, in terms of making it feel any different from a regular two v two match. The structure was the same, the two heel teams were mostly interchangeable and there was an overall lack of creativity on display. Perhaps having a six man scramble later on the show effected it, I don't know. Chop off five minutes and you'd have had a good match here. 

• Backstage - The Miz, The Miztourage - Curtis Axel and Bo Dallas put forth their cases for winning the Six Pack challenge later on, as The Miz reminds them that Jason Jordan doesn't deserve their spotlight.

• Promo - John Cena vs. Roman Reigns at No Mercy - A very similar feel to the Lesnar v Strowman one from earlier, two similar stories etc. Some clips from their rivalry, but looks like that's all we're getting tonight...

• Backstage - Kurt Angle, Dustin Rhodes - After being beaten by Bray Wyatt last week, Goldust returns as Dustin Rhodes, asking Angle for a rematch to prove to Wyatt that he won't be a pawn in his feud with Finn Balor. 

Singles Match

Apollo Crews def. Curt Hawkins 

(2:15)

Curt Hawkins got some mic time and claimed that he would be putting an end to his losing streak tonight, bless him. That didn't happen as he fell to a Crews spin out powerbomb, that gave the Titus Brand associate a win in his first singles match on RAW in a month and a half. 

Titan Tron
Brock Lesnar, Paul Heyman, Braun Strowman
(5:55)

I thought this took a while to get going, going over some previous material and sort of trundling along towards the PPV, using the momentum they'd created over the last few weeks and months and just keeping that fire burning until the mammoth collision goes down in Los Angeles. Strowman sitting nice and close to the camera, getting his big beardy face right into the camera and oozing confidence as Paul Heyman reminded us about Lesnar being an underdog, but also being an underdog when he defeated the Undertaker at WrestleMania. All good stuff. Then Heyman cut off a question from Michael Cole, asking why all of the questions were being sent in Strowman's direction and things got interesting. Not perhaps for what Heyman said, but more for the fact that The Advocate was almost immediately interrupted by Lesnar, who himself got himself as close to camera as he could and spoke directly to Braun, in that weirdly charismatic and deeply terrifying way that only Brock Lesnar can. "I'll see you Sunday" closed the Beast, before turning away to leave. He then returned for the exclamation point "Suplex city bitches". These boys best go to war on Sunday, because if they do it's going to be magnificent. 

• Commentary Desk - Corey Graves, Michael Cole, Booker T - It's revealed that Bayley has been added to the Women's Championship match at No Mercy 

In-Ring

Roman Reigns 

(5:02)

With John Cena away this week for some reason, it was left to Roman Reigns to push their match on Sunday and you know what, I think he did a pretty good job. We got some more swearing from the Samoan, we got a reference to shit wrestler Alex Riley, we got a clip of John Cena from February 2012. What more do you want, people? Of course, this was a clip of Cena taking the piss out of The Rock for being a part timer and not being there to push their match. Turn about is fair play and Roman levelled the same accusations at Cena, before copying the closing line of his future opponents promo with "I'll see you Sunday, movie star".  I mean, the segment was clearly heavily produced and thought through, but Roman carried it well, held the crowd throughout and kept me interested in what he had to say. It was also a nice change of pace from the back and forth worked shoots they've done over the last three weeks. Most importantly, Roman made me want to see their match on Sunday, just that little bit more. 

• Backstage - Renee Young, The Hardy Boyz - The obvious question about the upcoming six man scramble bout, with Matt and Jeff concluding by saying "Let the best Hardy win", after a couple of "Broken" teases.

Singles Match

Bray Wyatt def. Dustin Rhodes 

(2:36)

Another short match, but unfortunately this one wasn't a patch on last week's effort with Goldust, there was perhaps more intensity, but certain parts looked awkward and the finish of Wyatt taking a duo of Shattered Dreams, before popping up to hit Sister Abigail made me groan, even if the Eater of Worlds kind of sold his inner thigh. A post-match promo on the screen from Finn Balor, however was rather effective, with the Irishman essentially telling the origin story of the Demon, before positing "if the Demon is a creation of the man, which one is more dangerous?". 

• Vignette - Bobby Heenan - A lovely look back at the career of Bobby "The Brain" Heenan who died earlier in the day, covering his managerial and commentary exploits in the WWE. 

Singles Match

Cruiserweight Champion Neville def. Gran Metalik 

(3:22)

Enzo Amore came out to talk for some reason, then got beaten half to death by Braun Strowman for some reason, followed up by Neville coming out and hitting a Red Arrow on his #1 Contender for at least, some reason. This was followed by Neville's match with Metalik, that for a sub-four minute encounter was brilliant stuff, that had me wondering why this was the former Mascara Dorada's first singles match on RAW and why he hadn't won a singles match on TV at all since February. Neville ripping a MASSIVE hole in Metalik's match gave the match some real fire in it's closing stages, before a missed moonsault proved to be the downfall of the luchadore, leading to Neville getting the submission victory with the Rings of Saturn. 

• In-Ring - Elias - Poor Elias only gets one bar of his tune about his opponents and San Jose being shit, before he's interrupted for the next match. 

Six Pack Challenge for a shot at the Intercontinental Championship 

Jason Jordan def. Jeff Hardy, Matt Hardy, Bo Dallas, Curtis Axel, Elias

(7:13)

A mildly entertaining six pack challenge to close of the show, even if it didn't feel anywhere close to being a "main event". There was a lot of moving parts in the match, as we got to see the Hardy Boyz scrap with each other, Jason Jordan attempt to get one up on Miztourage, lots of interference from The Miz and also Elias was there. To be fair to Elias he did a cool jump up to the top rope, but that was about it for the Drifter, until he had the worst sequence of the match with Matt Hardy. I'll always pop for a tower of doom spot and there was solid effort here (mostly because it didn't involved Elias), before Jordan provided the highlight of the bout with a series of lovely, lovely suplexes to both members of the Miztourage. There was no distinct flow or direction to the contest, meaning the finish felt a little bit disjointed when Jeff nailed one of the worst looking Swanton Bombs he's ever done on Axel, with The Miz making sure his pal didn't take the loss, before Axel recovered to hit Axehole on Jeff and left himself wide open for a belly-to-back suplex lifted and dropped into an elevated neckbreaker from Jordan for the three count. There was way too much going on and at the same not much at all going on in this match, as a bunch of guys with no clear course scrambled about in the closing match of RAW. That resulted in the one guy they wanted to push as a capable babyface getting a sort of cheap win, in a six way, by pinning a guy who wasn't originally in the match and only after the man he's supposed to be feuding with stopped someone else from winning the match. Shambolic, illogical booking. 

• In-Ring - Jason Jordan, The Miz, The Miztourage - After Jordan nails a couple of belly-to-belly suplexes on Miz, The Miztourage make the save and send Jordan into a Skull Crushing Finale, before Miz calls his #1 contender "a bastard". 

ATPW Scale Rating - 3.74/10 

Yeah, this wasn't a good three hours of wrestling television. The Brock Lesnar/Braun Strowman interview and the Roman Reigns promo (and to some extent the three way tag team main event) manage to stop the rating falling any lower. So much of the booking of the undercard lately has been illogical and with only a short segment for Strowman and Lesnar and no John Cena, it became even more obvious this week. Jason Jordan seems to be being set up to fail and the six man scramble was not on the right level to close a show with, the tag team storyline struggled to carry over twenty minutes of television despite big stars being involved, the Women's division has gone to hell in a handcart, who the fuck knows what the Cruiserweights are up to and then there's the Balor v Wyatt feud taking a weird turn up Dustin Rhodes alley and what on earth is going on with Curt Hawkins. There's so much potential that is being let down by creative focusing on the top two stories and suddenly having to scramble when some of those stars happen not to be there that week! 

Review by James Marston