This week's RAW starts of with a nice surprise, for a change... It's Authority, again, but this time Vince McMahon comes out with them. From what I read online, so take it with a grain of salt, it might be related to a storyline that was not started from around Wrestlemania. Back then Vince was meant to come back and a power struggle was meant to happen between the two fractions for who will rule over WWE. Now, I am not one of the people that believes in what he reads online, but the announcement made by Vince - that if Team Authority loses at Survivor Series, they will no longer be in charge - could very well be the start of that.
The question now is, does that mean Mr McMahon will be appearing in a greater role in the coming weeks? If the rumors are true, I would expect that to be happening. After all, what's a power struggle if there is no one to fight against. Many people are wondering as well, does that mean, WWE finally sees "The Authority" project has run it's course. Personally I think it did. It wasn't all that great in the first place and in recent months it was pretty much the same, week after week. Don't get me wrong, I am all for eating pancakes, but how many weeks can you eat pancakes in a row, before you decide you don't want to touch another pancake in your life? Know what I'm saying? So yeah, the current situation has a potential to bring a very needed freshness to a very stale idea. But, as I always, we shall see what the future will bring, as this might as well be just a work in progress, to build up interest in the PPV aaand... Nothing will change, Authority will win and we go back to stuffing pancakes down out throats every weeks until we puke everything out.
Dean Ambrose vs. Cesaro
Cesaro seems to become a complete jobber. I know that technically, he is jobbing to someone way higher on the food chain then him, but Ambrose is - like it or not - not yet a main event star. Oh, I don't mean he doesn't have abilities, I know very well what he is capable of doing, but in WWE he is not in the first row of a marching band, barely in the second row. So the loses Cesaro is gaining from those encounters seem to hurt him more then helping Dean. If you don't follow, let me explain better... Remember how Jericho puts over pretty much everyone WWE asks him to put over? That is because Jericho used to have something called "Rubbing off power". You fought Jericho and won, some of the credibility "rubbed" off him onto you. I say used to, cause while I love Chris and I know he can still go, in terms of WWE status, his credibility is very low, because of all the loses he gained over the years. And with lowered credibility, the "rubbing off" power fades as well. Now getting back to Cesaro, he didn't have a whole lot of credibility since he sided with Heyman, when WWE dropped the ball on an organic face turn that was happening with him. Everything was lost and now Cesaro is on a downhill slope. His credibility is slowly getting ruined and a win against him now has almost no "rub off". It's sad to see that happen to a great talent like him.
Winner: Dean Ambrose
Jimmy Uso vs. The Miz
So I am guessing this will be a reoccurring thing we have here. First it's a tag team, then a singles match, are we going to get a tag match next? Or a singles match, but with the other half of the teams. The match itself was ok at best. But with Usos coming out from a series of very entertaining matches against the Dust brothers, the quality and my expectations a far, far lower with Miz being involved. Another great showing... for Damien Sandow, at least in the eyes of the crowd. Let's be honest here, the actual, serious part of Sandow's career is done. You do not get back from a comedy role like this, not without a whole lot of work WWE is almost 100% guaranteed not to put in, just to give Damien some actual credibility back. He took over the role Santino Marella had, and while he does it well, it's a shame, he is getting wasted on stuff like that.
Winner: The Miz
Sheamus vs. Tyson Kidd
I really cannot get into what they are trying to do with Kidd these days. Is there an actual idea behind his character or is just "a guy" that comes down to the ring with his wife? Cause that's what is looks like. Don't get me wrong, I know Tyson is a workhorse, and all... But this is the big leagues, this just doesn't generate interest. His bad on the microphone, when I listened to him on the commentary during one of Natalya's matches, every word he said sounded so forced. Nothing about him feels natural and I don't know at this point is it his fault or the material he was given. A win by count-out is a lousy win, always was, always will be, but I guess he won.
Winner: Tyson Kidd
Dolph Ziggler vs. Seth Rollins - For the Intercontinental Championship
One of the two matches that actually mattered in this episode of RAW. The continuation of the Survivor Series team storyline. The Authority comes out to meat Ziggler in the ring and they try to pull him away from Cena. He tells them basically to fuck off and we get a match against Rollins. Since there is no actual contender for the title and Dolph is not involved in any story other then the team one, there is no chance Rollins is taking the belt. Rollins is not going to get demoted to being the IC champion. And yes, it does pain me to say "demoted to IC champion". As a match it was ok, at least while it lasted. At the finish we get Orton RKO'ing Rollins.
Winner: Technically Rollins via DQ, but I don't remember was it actually announced or the match just stopped
Ryback vs. Titus O'Neil
I really don't have a whole lot to say here. Ryback has his old babyface gimmick back and it suits him far better then the failed heel attempt. It's a squash match with little value, I see quite a few of those in his future.
Winner: Ryback
Mark Henry vs. Big Show
Another try at Mark Henry being heel. Ekhm... Let me tell you how this will go. Henry will be dominating and everyone will be happy, but since he doesn't have a whole lot of personality or the wrestling ability, he will start to become more and more boring. Then we will either see him getting hurt, again, or turn face for no apparent reason. Big Show is Big Show, he does what he can do with what he has, but you can see it very well he doesn't have a whole lot left in the tank. The days of giants are passing and it will be a sad day when the last one of them goes away.
Winner: Big Show via DQ
Nikki Bella vs. Emma
Nikki wins. Do you really expect me to say more? It was a mediocre, short match that ended with Brie being forced to slap AJ Lee that sat in the commentary. I try to get invested, I honestly try. I even don't skip the Diva matches when I watch. I try, the universe be my witness I try. I just can't find it in me to actually care about ANYTHING a Bella is involved in.
Winner: Nikki Bella
Rusev vs. Ryder
Poor, poor Zack. Once so full of potential and it all goes down the drain of wrestling past. You were once on the top of the world and now... It's just sad to see that happen. Ryder isn't a great performer, but he has his strengths and one problem... WWE never gave him an actual chance. People say that Cena killed Ryder and that is just a bunch of bullshit. What killed Ryder was that stupid storyline with Eve Torres and Kane. That is what stopped his momentum, that is what halted his push. Relationship storylines almost never work and when you are chosen by the brass at the scapegoat, then you might as well pack your bags and go. Honestly that is what I hope Ryder will do. While WWE probably pays nicely, how much Ryder could actually be earning if he is almost never on TV, never on PPV. Run Zack, run while you still have a couple years left in your body. The match was a squash.
Winner: Rusev
Fernando vs. Stardust
Are we really going to give Los Matadores a title shot? I know WWE is short on tag teams, but Los Matadores? Stardus loses this one in a very insulting fashion. I am starting to get afraid WWE is giving up on Dust Brothers... First they get steam rolled by Show and Henry, now this. I have bad feelings about this.
Winner: Fernando
Seth Rollins vs. Randy Orton
And here we get to the part of the show I like to call... "Guess when and how Randy will get injured!". If you read any wrestling news sites, you probably already know that Orton is going to film a movie, so he needs some time off. And what happens when someone needs time off? Usually they do an injury angle, it's simple to execute, doesn't take a whole lot of thinking and gives a perfectly good reason for why someone is not appearing on TV. Here the injury came after the match, which I am thankful for, first main event in a long time that actually ended with a clean finish and after a nice match as well. After the match Orton is livid and fakes some hands shakes, just to RKO Rollins and then get attacked by everyone after punching Triple H. Well, it is official, Orton might not be a full on babyface, but he is definitely not a part of Authority anymore. That makes you wonder, does it mean he will join team Cena in the end? Maybe, probably, but let's not run that far in the future. For now Randy is gone, can you guess who will brag about it next week?
Winner: Seth Rollins
Sheamus vs. Rusev - For the United States Championship
This one actually makes sense, for once. United States championship is the perfect title for Rusev, at least for now. It actually fits the whole bad Russian gimmick. But of course, I wouldn't be myself if I would not see a problem here. Creative REALLY needs to give Rusev something other then being the "big, bad, evil Russian". When he loses, and eventually he will lose, he needs to get a place to land. He needs a hook to grab on the way down to stay relevant and you don't achieve that in a week or even a month, not for that kind of character. For now let us applause an actually good decision made by WWE. And Sheamus, well, he didn't really do anything with that title and at least now he has a reason to fight. He will lose the rematch without a doubt, but maybe that will let him get back to the main event. If Team Authority gets Rusev into their team, Sheamus will probably join Cena.
Winner: Rusev
Overall: 6 out of 10 - Storyline-wise the only really meaningful parts are, again, at the beginning and at the end. If you care about matches, I guess the main event wasn't bad, just don't expect fireworks and you might get some entertainment out it.
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