I have to say, really enjoyed watching Zeb Colter pull a sweve on all of us, as Alberto Del Rio returned to WWE following a bitter dispute which resulted in his departure about a year ago. This just shows, in the wrestling industry, nothing is set in stone, nothing is forever, and forgiveness does come around. Glad to see Del Rio back in action, and as United States Champion.
Read some online commentary, many feel John Cena sleptwalk through the match, as well as blatantly “doing the job” by dropping to Del Rio. We all knew whoever it was would win the title, there was no secret to Cena taking time off, but he could have put on a better show. He had matches on RAW against guys like Ziggler and Cesaro which lasted longer.
In any case, we kick off RAW with Seth Rollins at the center of praise from both Triple H and Stephanie McMahon, who announce a series of matches to determine a number one contender to the WWE Championship. Four matches, with winners gaining entry into a Fatal Four Way to win the spot. Interesting way of doing it. More fodder or a legit feud on the way?
In the first match, Roman Reigns and Kofi Kingston put on a great show, but inevitably Reigns hit the spear, winning the match, and being the first man to gain entry into the Fatal Four Way. They put on a good match, but the issue here is there was no way Kofi was going to win. Make it believable.
The next match, Kevin Owens against Cesaro, now there is a match where you do not know who will win. This could have been a good match. No, sorry. This should have been a great match, but they did not get the time they deserved. While rushed, a fantastic back and forth between them. Kevin Owens got the win with some underhanded tactics. The real issue is while I love Kevin Owens, Cesaro has been getting shafted for far too long. Even if he would not have won the Fatal Four Way, he should have been in the main event regardless.
Backstage, Paige plays the arrogant jerk, reluctantly acknowledging not being a team player. Becky Lynch is skeptical, and Charlotte threatens bodily harm should they discover Paige attacked Natalya. In the ring, the reformed Team PCB take on Team Bella. Not a fan of the drama, this stuff does not happen on NXT. Anyway, Team Bella gets the win after Nikki hits Rack Attack on Becky Lynch, who the crowd popped huge for. Post match, the predictable happened, Paige turns on her teammates, and again, the crowd pops huge.
Lots of promos for WWE 2K16.
Backstage, we are force-fed a gimmick between Zeb Colter and Alberto del Rio, calling themselves the Meximericans. Ooooookay. You know, could have scripted Colter as an American turncoat or something of that sort. In any case, Del Rio and Neville put on a fantastic matchup. Neville, despite coming up loser, put on a great showing. This one could have gone either way. There were moments of suspense where I thought Neville would upset the U.S. Champ, but Del Rio just came back, a loss would make no sense, and Neville in the main event would not make sense either. Still feel weird about the MexAmerica thing.
Up next, we have a massive six-man brawl between Ryback and The Dudley Boys against Sheamus, Barrett, and Rusev. Now, I know I may be in the minority, but Sheamus and Barrett make a great team. I am on the fence about Rusev. I will say, I have noticed a lot of threes in WWE right now. WWE has a series of three main event matches at PPVs for feuds, and stables and even teams are in threes now. Maybe they should just get crazy and do some sort of Six-Man Championship Tournament or Cup. Seriously. This brawl gets weird. Ryback and Dudleys clearly dominate. Followed by a Triple Meathook and the Waaaaazup drop, the Dudleys and Ryback signal for the tables. Now, uh, that would get them DQ’d, now wouldn’t it? Except as Ryback and D-Von go to the outside, Wade Barrett rolls up Bubba Ray for the stolen victory. Anyone notice a theme? Dudleys go for tables, and one of them gets snuck up on and pinned.
Recap of the entire Wyatt Family beating the hell out of the Undertaker following his loss to Brock Lesnar. In the ring, Bray Wyatt recounts the 25 years Undertaker has been around. Apparently Bray is feasting on the Undertaker’s soul. He claims the Undertaker is gone and dead. As the cult leader cackles, red pyro hits, and KANE charges the ring, but the lights go out, and Wyatt’s family appears, assaulting and demolishing The Big Red Monster. Following the beating, the family carries Kane out in similar fashion to the Undertaker.
What this does, is set up the Undertaker’s 25th anniversary match at Survivor Series. I expect this to be Team Wyatt Family vs. Team Undertaker. Undertaker, Kane,…and?
Next up, Dolph Ziggler defeats Big E. to advance into the final spot of the Fatal Four Way match. Really good match. The addition of Tyler Breeze and Summer Rae at ringside, along with some big moves by Big E. gave thoughts that Ziggles might not make it, but we got a few superkicks, a missed dive, followed by a Zig Zag, which gave the Show Off the win.
Anyone else look see Tyler Breeze and Dolph Ziggler on-screen at the same time and think either a black hole will open up or the formation of the New Hollywood Blonds?
We get right into our main event of the night. Alberto del Rio, Dolph Ziggler, Kevin Owens, and Roman Reigns put on a PPV-quality match. Really, I have to give praise to these four, putting on a great match where the action did not slow down for a moment. No rest holds, no sleepers, no drama. Superkicks, powerbombs, and one big freakin’ German Suplex. In the end, Roman Reigns countered a KO Pop-Up with the Superman Punch, followed by the spear. Ziggler sold everything, Alberto del Rio, looked like a million bucks. Seth Rollins at ringside made for some entertaining commentary.
Show closes with Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns staring each other down.
Overall, a good show. A few lackluster moments, but overall a solid post-PPV show.
