Monday Night RAW 29 December 2014

Here we are my friends, the last RAW of the year and my review on the last day of the year. Sorry for lack of review last week, but I did have other things on my head and they were indeed more important. Anyways, last RAW of 2014 came and went and... it fucking sucked! 

In this episode we had a very good match between the Usos and Miz with Sandow, a return of Wade Barrett and a debut of the tag team - Ascension. That is the positive part of what I had the opportunity to watch. The problems are in the same places as they usually are and due to new year coming, I don't really feel like going into every single match in detail, like I usually do. Instead you'll have to suffer through my ranting about the stupid stupids and idiotic idiots, but hey, what's new?

What is new? Well, nothing in WWE apparently. Stating from the very good match for the tag team titles. It was a very entertaining one, especially at the end. There was action, fast paced tag ins, lots of stuff happening, exactly what wrestling fans need and like, and in the end the belts changed hands, great, the people who payed for tickets got back their money worth. The problem starts with what is was going on later with the ex-champions. Miz and Sandow get another match, but it's not a rematch, which they are due, mind you, but against the newly debuting Ascension. What was wrong with that? Well, the stupid part of this was that they got mauled by the newcomers, crushed and utterly squashed. I understand that any newly arriving talents needs a good showing at the start of their main roster run. But here's the problem, like them or not (and I don't), Miz and Sandow were the champions, sure, the tag team belts don't mean much nowadays, but still. And now they are just treated like garbage. Really? They go from champions to dog food? That is the right kind of booking? And I will remind you again that Miz and Sandow have a rematch coming sometime in the future. How can they be seen as a credible threat when they just got steamrolled? They mean nothing now. Another thing is why put the belts on the Usos again? They had the titles for a big chunk of 2014, why not let Miz and Sandow get the win and them feud for the titles with the debuting team? That would give them a bit more credibility and wouldn't make them look so weak. Stupid.

 

Another thing that really annoyed me was the inconsistent booking of the Big Show. And no, I am not talking about his constant turns face-heel, no. I am talking about making him look like a total bitch one weak and absolute juggernaut the next week. Consistency people! Ever heard about that word? It helps people get involved into what they are watching, cause they can cheer or boo the character. Big Show doesn't have a character, he is simply not liked by the crowd. You'd say that it is his job, wouldn't you? Sure, he is a heel, he is a bad guy, he shouldn't be liked, he should be booed, of course. But in his case the "hate" comes from the negative feelings towards the person behind the name "Big Show". And why should they care? The WWE certainly does not. They completely forgot about giving Show a character outside of being an asshole, so he is treated like one. Unless that is the character, in which case I would not be amused.

 

And then we come to mister "Money in the Bank", who supposedly had such a wonderful year. And I am not going to say it was not a year in which Seth Rollins had a lot to do and say. The problem and stupidity here is the way his character was written. After splitting form the Shield and joining the Authority, he was booked as a typical vagina heel. He couldn't do anything by himself and pretty much, he still can't. Yeah, maybe he had a good year, but it was in a sense that there was a lot of him, not because he achieved so much. And suddenly at the end we are going to believe that he would really paralyze a man? How stupid do they think the fans are? Even the ones that do believe in wrestling are not going to buy it. And Big Show would just take part in that willingly? That is a criminal offense, and he is supposed to be playing that guy who cares about family? Seriously, that is just dumb.

 

And speaking of dumb, the Authority returns, because Cena gives in when Rollins threatens that he will paralyze Edge. I knew they will return some day. They gave Cena that option for a reason, the power to bring them back. It was obvious it will happen. But the moronic part is that there have been how long since they left? Six weeks? And they are bringing them back? Are you that desperate for a storyline you will destroy something big that happened less then 2 months ago? It was supposed to be a match that will change WWE forever and what? Forever lasts 6 weeks? Why turn the match at Survivor Series meaningless? Why make Dolph's match of the year reward pointless? Why cross out the whole build up for this story? Is Triple H and Steph so afraid to be off camera?

 

Honestly, this episode was supposed to be special, Edge and Christian was supposed to be fun and they were just awkward. The Diva's champion wasn't even there, as in at all. And we had the return of Authority. Stupid, dumb. Fucking Bullshit!

 

Monday Night RAW 15 December 2014

I probably should write this in order, but somehow I am never able to do it. And right now I even don't want to do it. So as you all probably know, on the last episode of RAW we saw the return of the champion that is never there. Everyone was saying how it is great that the champion is never there, cause when he does appear it makes that episode that much special. Well fuck you "everyone", it does not. I heard after watching that there was some rumors saying Brock would be there, but I did not know anything about it and when it did happen I DID NOT think "Holy Shit! It's Brock, oh yeah, it was worth watching!". No, instead my mind drifted into a bit more trivial places. I started thinking "Oh, wow... They finally managed to get his ass from the couch" and "oooh, so that is how that title looks like now". And yes, I am admitting I completely forgot how the title looked like. 

So yes, I do have a problem with a part time champion, especially when the part timer in question doesn't care about wrestling. That is why people treat the Rock with SO MUCH more respect. He will show up on RAW even when he is just in the area, when he was the champion, he at least took some effort so the people could see the champion. And no, Paul Heyman is not enough to cover for the absence of Lesnar. Oh yeah, I went there, Heyman maybe used to be to the shit in his golden days, but due to moronic booking and overbooking WWE is doing all his value is completely lost. And if you're not down with that, it's not the best for business.

This episode was hosted by Chris Jericho and instead of actually using a very capable active performer, they wasted him in the starting segment by doing an almost thirty minute long segment dominated by Heyman, Rollins and Cena, then we had a little backstage piece with Fandango...away, there was a short "Highlight Reel" with Rusev, showing once again we... should... hate... him...? And then when Brock showed up and demolished Chris. Great use, bravo. Was it really beyond your little brains to have Jericho really go at it with Fandango? They have history together, the angle with the Slammy could help Fandango, but nope. It's better for business to throw Jericho for Lesnar to eat up. 

As you can probably see I am not exactly happy with what I saw.

 

Luke Harper and Big Show vs. Dolph Ziggler and Eric Rowan

What is there to say? Eric Rowan is getting pinned by Big Show, again. Just because Show is getting an angle with Roman Reigns. What is even more annoying is that when it cam to Roman's segment, Big Show came down got hit in the face and walked away. It's just a throaway angle to get Reigns back on track and it shows.

Winners: Luke Harper and Big Show

 

The Bella Twins vs. Alicia Fox and Natalya

A waste of talent in Natalya, still no explanation for a buddy-buddy reunion with the Bellas and Alicia, just to attach someone at all. No new contender for the Diva title, no interest in it. I'd call it a wasted 5 minutes, but I haven't check the time, so I can't really say how much time I wasted watching this.

Winners: Alicia Fox and Natalya

 

The New Day vs. Dust Brothers

It's hard to say who is in the worse shape when it comes to the standing with the company. The Dust Brothers are certainly during a de-push, but the New Day is getting very little positive reactions. I even heard chants "New Day sucks!" and they are supposed to be faces in this, right? When it comes to the match, it was nowhere near the capabilities of all involved, but as a match was harmless.

Winners: The New Day

 

Kane vs. Adam Rose

Kane appeared backstage, said Rose has a match with him and that's it. Kane wins the match and kick Bunny's ass. There's nothing else to say here.

Winner: Kane

 

Paul Heyman vs. Chris Jericho

I already ranted on this in the beginning. This is the point where Brock Lesnar showed up. And as I said, it wasn't surprising, it wasn't "must see", he just was there. But I already said it. What I do want to mention here is the pointless voting they made people go on. Ok, I get it, the WWE app is free and the vote doesn't cost anything. Sure, I get it, but if you are using the voting a a cheap ploy to keep your app relevant, then you better deliver, or don't promise people something they won't see either way. 

Winner: Match didn't happen

 

The Miz vs. Jimmy Uso

So they do sort of continue the story with Naomi, but I don't feel it. There is not enough Naomi in this, a few scenes backstage do not create interest. She should be out and next to the ring AND have backstage segments. That would create some tension and not how they are doing it. "I invite you to my talk show, but don't tell your husband", says the Miz on a TELEVISED program and right after that even commentators comment on it. I don't know how this plays out, but if they are going to play it like Jimmy didn't know about it, then I lost all hope.

Winner: Jimmy Uso

 

Seth Rollins vs. John Cena

So in the end Lesnar shows up, beat up Cena and Paul Heyman makes a pact with Rollins. Ok... So getting it straight... Lesnar "kills" Cena, who he has to face anyways, but leaves the guy who already attacked him once and still can attack him whenever he wants to, alone. Then Lesnar's manager makes a deal with the same guy... Oh yeah, that is one full proof plan, certainly geniuses worked on that. But let me ask you one thing, did you actually say it out loud? No, no reason, just asking.

Winner: Seth Rollins

 

 

Overall: 3 out 10 - For a fallout show, that was meant to keep the interest going from people that seen TLC this failed, on many levels. It didn't deliver on the guest host, and this time it was someone who could. It didn't deliver on the storylines, and on a show like this it should. We had as per usual some wasted potential and stupid decisions. And again, no, not having your champion on TV for months doesn't make it special, it makes it dumb.

 

WWE TLC...and Chairs 2014 - Review

So TLC was on Sunday and this time I haven't seen the RAW yet, nor did I read any spoilers, so if anything transpires there, well, I won't be able to know, but maybe that is for the better. I did read comments made by people about this event though. And in general seem that there is less of a split between people liking it and not, much less then there is usually, at least. What do I think? Well, this was a train wreck, but I did expect that, still, I would lie if I would say it wasn't an enjoyable train wreck at a few moments. 

Some matches played their part as expected, some didn't make a lick of sense, but it already happened and there is no way to turn back time and redo them. With that said, he is a few things I do have to say about TLC and C.

The New Day vs. The Dust Brothers

This match pretty much confirm what I was suspecting about brothers Dust. They lost their push and now are being treated as enhancement talent. Which they do fine, since we are talking about quite talented people. I just don't want to see Cody Rhodes go down too far. Maybe it is time to leave the Stardust persona behind? Maybe it is time for a singles run? I don't know. The New Day wins, the match wasn't even for bragging rights, since there was no story behind it. 

Winners: The New Day

Luke Harper vs. Dolph Ziggler - Ladder Match for the Intercontinental Championship

This was the match of the night for me and for a lot of people, the only problem is the finish. With the recent push for Dolph Ziggler me and a whole lot of other people thought that it will be time for the Show Off to, you know, show-off. But nope, Dolph it is not your time this time. Really, putting a midcard title on a guy with so much star power just baffles me. The only reason I can think about, is that with Lesnar showing up when he feels like, WWE needs to keep midcard titles on guy that do have some drawing power. If it's not that, then this was just a stupid, stupid decision. 

Winner: Dolph Ziggler

The Miz and Damien Sandow vs. The Usos - For the WWE Tag Team Championships

After what we saw in recent weeks this was a very good opportunity to really play Naomi into this match and all we got was just her watching it from backstage. That was one side of this angle that was actually a bit interesting, you know, good looking girl some sleeze offering her career in movies... Yeah, my mind went straight into the gutter, but think about it, when was the last time WWE pulled a story like that? I mean seriously, it could be played very well without crossing the PG rating. They did not do it, obviously, which kind of sucks, since that pretty much sucked out any interest I had in this. The two tag teams will meet somewhere along the line, most likely on RAW, cause you know... TLC recap matches. 

Winners: The Usos via DQ

Big Show vs. Eric Rowan - Stairs Match

This is an example of a match that didn't need to happen and made the situation worse by actually happening. Eric Rowan was on a high going from Survivor Series, his personality and character was only beginning to settle in and WWE decided to fuck it up by putting Big Show over. Why? Just because you want to make something with Roman Reigns later? Rowan could've been legitimately something new, something we never seen in WWE before, but no. I am seriously pissed off about this. They are wasting the potential of this character. Match itself was slow, but what to expect with Show in the ring? The concept was stupid, just a bunch of stairs... Uuuu... 

Winner: Big Show

Seth Rollins vs. John Cena - Tables Match

Another completely pointless outcome. I have been saying this for a while now, Seth Rollins is booked terribly, horribly. Coming out of this match we learned that Rollins cannot beat Cena with the help of his two security guys and Big Show. Rollins cannot beat a guy in a 4 on one situation. Oh yeah, that is the face of the future. That is the greatest threat to Brock Lesnar championship, a fucking pussy. A lousy vagina. Seth Rollins is a vagina. Cena did not need this win, even if they wanted to make the match with Brock happen, it could've been played into later. For example... Cena loses, but wants Brock, so he makes a deal that he will discard the power to bring back Authority if he can get the number 1 contendership back. Seth comes out and says Cena doesn't deserve it, but Cena says to him something like "Why you care, you have that briefcase, when I am done with Brock, no matter who wins, he'll be an easy target". Done, Rollins needed that win, badly, that is the second big event in a row Seth lost. Stupid. Roman's return didn't help it.

Winner: John Cena

Nikki Bella vs. AJ Lee - For the Divas Championship

So Nikki wins, AJ lost her rematch, soooo... Does that mean we are moving forward or it's going to be AJ again? What is really annoying about this is how easy it was for WWE to just throw away the story between Bella Twins. No you don't get a reconciliation without some serious reason behind it after what you two twats put us, the viewers, through.  

Winner: Nikki Bella

Ryback vs. Kane - Chairs Match

Ryback wins, anyone expected anything else? Honestly I am getting tired on commenting how great it is for Kane to push younger talent. No it's not, come on Glen, have some dignity, soon you will be jobbing to Adam Rose's Bunny. 

Winner: Ryback

Rusev vs. Jack Swagger - For the United States Championship

Another win for the evil Russian, who is evil... Because we say so mostly, I mean he's pretty mean... I mean the girl he walks to the ring is mean, look how mean she is, she is almost insulting United States of America. We are a PG show, so she can't really do or say anything really insulting... UUuuuu!!! Evil Russian!!! A match without much of a build up and predictable result. I KNOW with 100% certainty I could write better.

Winner: Rusev

Bray Wyatt vs. Dean Ambrose - Tables, Ladders and Chairs Match

This was just a train wreck and the ending was rather dumb with that monitor, but like I said before. I would be lying if I said I didn't get any enjoyment from it. I decided to not really get into details about this match, cause there isn't much to say about it without doing a play by play. One thing I will say is that Bray needed this win, cause if he would lose again, it would be pretty much it for him. With the rumors of a possible match between Undertaker and Bray going to happen at Wrestlemania... Well, let's just say it is time to do "something" constructive with this character.

Winner: Bray Wyatt

Overall: 6 out of 10 - If you expected wrestling, this was the wrong event to choose, if you don't mind a little mess and "weapons", it's going to be right up your alley, but just barely. The concept was TLC and C and we got... A table match, A chair match, A ladder match and A chairs match. It felt a bit lackluster and a wasted potential. There was also some pointless wins here, which really annoy me personally. So yeah, take it with a grain of salt.

 

 

TLC - Tables, Ladders, Chairs... And Stairs - Predictions

Time of writing 21:18 13th of December 2014

 

Well, I was supposed to post this yesterday, but just didn't have enough time for that, you know... Life. But hey, there is still time to think about it and give you a piece of my mind. As you probably noticed I am not exactly thrilled with the build up and storylines going into the event. Honestly I wouldn't mind if they skipped this completely and used the time to build for the next one. Still, have to work with what was given to me. (the matches are according to the order in the wikipedia article for this event)

 

1. New Day vs. Dust Brothers

There wasn't exactly a whole lot of build for this one, but since in WWE in recent times tag team tell their stories in the ring, it's not a surprise this one is done so as well. WWE's patience with the Dust Brothers is ending, you can see it clearly that they are itching to press the "SPLIT TAG TEAM" button on them. They are constantly losing for no real reason and that doesn't really mean anything good for a tag team. Plus we do have a new tag team as their opponents and a match where there isn't anything at stake.

Winners: New Day

 

2. Dean Ambrose vs. Bray Wyatt - TLC Match

This match will be a train wreck, I hope no one expects a nice, clean fight, cause neither of the opponents are capable of such, and with the extra items, it will be a train wreck. Of course, that doesn't have to mean anything bad necessarily. A good hardcore match every now and then is nothing to shake a stick at and from what I see that IS something both of them could deliver. I am choosing Bray going over solely because if he does lose, this story is done and Wyatt has nothing to do. At this point of time Ambrose is the bigger star and has bigger fish to fry. And let's be honest here, Wyatt needs this win and he needs it to be a strong one.  

Winner: Bray Wyatt

 

3. Ryback vs. Kane - Chairs Match

Kane has been used for a long time as the enhancer for the up and coming talent, Ryback is not someone like that, but not counting the Survivor Series, this is the biggest singles match for Ryback since his return and he definitely needs this one to not fall again in the ranks. To problem here is there isn't exactly anyone to go after, after that match. Still, it wouldn't make a whole lot of sense to not give Ryback the win. Especially with what CM Punk recently said about Ryback injuring him. After those comments WWE probably will want to show that they still believe in him and what Brooks said was not true. 

Winner: Ryback

 

4. John Cena vs. Seth Rollins - Tables Match, if Cena loses, he loses the no.1 contender for the WWEWHC title spot

Seth Rollins lost a lot in recent weeks with losing the match at Survivor Series, he needs to regain some credibility lost on that. The logical move here will to remove Cena from the title picture so he can focus on other things, since we all know, Brock and John don't really have anything left to show. Plus we have that stipulation that Cena can bring Tripl H and Steph into power. It just all falls into place too neatly, I feel like I am catching the hook on his one, but I do think Cena will lose. Maybe not clean, but I do believe he will put Rollins over.

Winner: Seth Rollins

 

5. The Miz and Damien Sandow vs. The Usos - For the Tag Team Championships

While I am sure this is not going to be the last confrontation of those two tag teams, I do not doubt the champions will retain. They basically just got it, the "Mizdow" character is getting nice reactions, it would be a shame to take the belts from them. Plus if it does happen, there is little doubt in my mind we will see the two going one on one against each other. The Usos had their year, I think it's not going to matter if they will get the titles again, while it will for the Miz duo.

Winners: The Miz and Damien Sandow

 

6. Eric Rowan vs. Big Show

Kind of the same reasoning behind this one as with Ryback. Here you do have a guy, who jus started his singles career and needs every win he can get to start building up his credibility. This match has to wind with Big Show going down, but I am capable of seeing a possibility of a different result. I don't think I am wrong on this one though. 

Winner: Eric Rowan

 

7. Luke Harper vs. Dolph Ziggler - For the Intercontinental Championship

With Ziggler getting a lot more attention in last weeks, I think WWE is thinking of pushing Dolph at least a level higher. If that is true, there is no point for Dolph to keep the midcard title. Of course WWE did try that once in the past and they abandoned the idea back then. Whatever the result will be, I do think Ziggler will see a high point in his career. 

Winner: Luke Harper

 

8. Rusev vs. Jack Swagger - For the United States Championship

While Rusev has to eventually lose to someone, I really don't think it is the time for it now and I don't think it should be Swagger to do it, unless it happens in the was I planned in my head. The only thing Rusev has right now is that belt and the fact he was never pinned or submitted and if he loses that WWE will have to switch him onto some other task or the month. 

Winner: Rusev

 

9. Nikki Bella vs. AJ Lee - For the Divas Championship

I find myself not caring abut anything a Bella twin touches and this is no exception. Depending on the rumors, AJ might leave WWE soon and if that happens logic dictates that she shouldn't have too much to come back for. 

Winner: Nikki Bella

Monday Night RAW 8 December 2014 - The Slammies

While I understand the need of having and award outside of the championships in WWE, I kind of fail to see the point of most of categories they did put in them. But hey, since no one is going to give you an award, why not make it up and give it to yourself. If that wasn't the point, then I don't know what would it be. Personally I feel like there only should be four categories: Match of the year, Rivalry of the year, Superstar of the year and Diva of the year. That's it, there is no need for the "most funny moment" (that wasn't funny) or the "twitter handle". I mean really... But hey, we have a whole train wreck to go through, let's dig in!

• Fan Participation award goes for the "You sold out" chant. - Really? That is something people chant at literally every single heel that sides with someone in power. Out of all other options the one that was actually something unique was "We the People" and "He's got the whole world in his hands", those actually played a part in someone character and gimmick. 
• Double-Cross of the Year goes for "Seth Rollins turning on Shield". - It is strange that they deliberately skipped the first half of the year, with every option for this category coming from the second half, but hey, maybe I'm reading too deep into it. Out of the possible choices, yes this one was the biggest turn of the year, can't argue with it.
• Animal of the year goes to the "Bunny". - I seriously fail to see a reason behind an award for this and I don't really have anything to say about it. In the grand scheme of things, maybe that makes sense.
• Best Actor goes to "The Rock". - Ok, this was a no contest here. There isn't too many people coming out of WWE that made it big in movies and the Rock is undoubtedly the greatest example of someone that has, with Batista right behind him. Putting the Miz and Sandow here was pointless, really, really pointless.
• "HEELZiggler" wins the Twitter handle of the year award. - Again, why does this category even exist? I get it, WWE gets moist every time Twitter is mentioned, but do we have to?
• Rivalry of the year goes to "Daniel Brian vs. Authority". - No argument from me here, it was annoying at times and felt forced at other times, but in WWE this year I do think this was the best feud we had.
• Hugh Jackman gets the award for being the best RAW guest host. - I guess that's fine, it's not like the other options were any better, it's just I find the whole concept of "guest host" stupid.
• Best couple of the year went to Daniel Brian and Brie Bella. - Ok, are we talking about on screen or off screen? Cause off screen there is no way to know that, we don't really have any "inside look" into the houses of any of those people. On screen on the other hand no doubt should go to Triple H and Stephanie. Daniel and Brie didn't really do anything together. They had some interaction before Wrestlemania, but that was it. Brie adapted some of the theatrics from her husband, that's it. Triple H and Stephanie were a far better couple.
• Faction of the year award went to Shield. - There was no real competition, maybe Wyatts, maybe the Authority. But when it comes to sheer power and dominance and actual fan interest, Shield was the best. 
• Sami Zayn gets the NXT Superstar of the year. - I don't really watch NXT all that much, so I will go with this choice.
• Anti-Gravity moment of the year went to "Seth Rollins dives off the balcony at Payback". - I actually remember that spot quite well and he didn't actually jump, it was more like control falling then actual jumping. That didn't really have a whole lot in common with anything "anti-gravity". If anything Kofi Kingston's jump at Royal Rumble had more to do with the category.

That part was done on WWE.com and contained, let's not kid ourselves, mostly stupid categories that show they really run out of ideas. Seriously, "Twitter handle of the year"? Yes, I still can't get over it... Let's see will they treat the on-screen, internet portion of the program with a little more dignity. 

• Insult of the year goes to the king of insults and catchphrases, the Rock. - While they are cheesy and corny, every wrestling fan loves to her them and love to hear the Rock speak. It's a dumb category and I never liked it, but even I can see some value here.
• WWE Tag Team of the year goes to the Usos. - And that is funny, cause - more or less - in the possible choices they listed the entire tag team division in the main roster. That is funny and sad at the same time. The Usos deserved it, but it would be nice if they had some actual competition.
• Breakout Star of the year went to Dean Ambrose. - While I can see why it happened, is this really the best choice? Ambrose was a star with Shield before this year begun. He didn't really broke-out, he did have to "brake-off" from the Shield-shadow. Seth Rollins wouldn't be the better choice either, cause he didn't brake-out either. Rollins was adopted by the Authority and made a star. The real breakout star of this year is... Rusev. Say what you will, but he actually is a heel that barely ever does anything heelish. Lana is the talker and he just fights, the only bad thing he did was getting Zeb Coulter written off TV. Have you ever noticed it? If not for the "Uuuuuu we hate all russians and russians hate us", he would be a babyface and it would be very simple to turn him face and keep it logical.
• The "hastag of the year" award for "#RKOOutofnowhere". - Another dumb Twitter related thing... I have nothing to say. It's dumb, stupid and let's move on.

So that was it. I really don't see a reason why the award for tag teams couldn't be kept to the actual episode, but maybe I expect too much. And speaking of the actual episode...

• "This is Awesome" moment of the year went to "Debut of Sting". - I won't object here. Not because I don't have anything to say, but because out of the other options, there really wasn't anything better. Don't get me wrong, it was awesome to see Sting, but it's not like there wasn't anything better this year.
• Surprise return of the year went to the Ultimate Warrior coming back at Hall of Fame ceremony. - I will not bash the Warrior, but this category is named "surprise return", you know, as in something no one expected. And out of the options given, the actual surprise was when the Rock returned and confronted Rusev. and that was really unexpected, because the Rock just happened to be around in the city on unrelated business and decided to drop by.
• Brock Lesnar defeating the Undertaker at Wrestlemania got the reward for the OMG Shocking moment of the year. - No argument from me at that. Something happened that just never happened and almost no one believed it would.
• WWE Diva of the year for AJ Lee. - There wasn't exactly a whole lot of other options. At this point it was either one of the Bellas or AJ. It's sad that just few year ago we had a lot more to choose from, there was some actual competition in the women division. Out of the options give I guess AJ was the best choice, but only because there was nothing better.
• LOL Moment of the year goes to Damien Sandow as the Miz. - If all your attempts at humor are just "so" great, then what you expect? It was probably the only real option that was somewhat amusing on the list.
• Match of the year went to the match at Survivor Series between team Cena and team Authority. - The only part of this patch that actually deserve this award is the last part, where only Dolph Ziggler stayed on the babyface side. Looking at it as a whole? No, it was not.
• Extreme moment of the year went to Chris Jericho for hitting a crossbody from the top of the cage. - I admit that spot was nice, but it wasn't anything really special. Anyone who watches wrestling outside of WWE will see hundreds of spots like this everywhere. Good on Jericho to do it, it really helped to raise the meaning of the match with Bray Wyatt, but other then that it wasn't special, or even that extreme. 
• Superstar of the Year went to Roman Reigns. - People don't like this choice, but they fail to remember the first half of the year where Roman really was the next best thing. Now I know he lacks in many areas, I pointed that myself many times in the past, but that is the future face of the company. You might not like it, but you have to deal with it. 

And that is it for the Slammy Awards. Is there really a point to them? I don't know, maybe there is, maybe there used to be. For me they can stay, but please, you don't need so many categories... Really, you don't. Four big one is enough and build a show around that. We will appreciate it, we will like it, I know I will.

Overall: 4 out of 10. - Since WWE didn't focus on the matches giving us a more or less "rehash" version of Survivor Series, I will not focus on them either. There was no real development in the storylines or characters, the whole "Anonymous GM" was dropped completely and everything still looks like nothing changed and Authority is still around. I just failed to be entertained this weeks.

Monday Night RAW 1 December 2014

Yay another episode of RAW and this time everyone was full of anticipation. Everyone wanted to know if WWE will address in any way, shape or form what CM Punk said on Cabana's podcast. Well, everyone is a bit of an overstatement, but a lot of people were genuinely expecting them doing something, hinting at something he said. They did not. I didn't really expect anything on TV, but I did expect at least a statement. What Punk said was a lot of bad things and even if it was just "his side of the story, from his point of view" it was still a LOT of harmful stuff to the public image of WWE. If there won't be any counteraction on their part, it is pretty much as good as saying "yeah, he told the truth". And no, Vince on Stone Cold's podcast after RAW doesn't count as an official statement - although it is an interesting watch and worth the time. So yeah, no trace of Punk on RAW and I think that is for the better, we did - of course - get the usual idiots chanting "CM Punk" at AJ, but hey, can't win'em all. 

 

Tag Team Turmoil: Cesaro & Tyson Kidd vs. The Dust Brothers vs. A New Day vs. Adam Rose and Bunny vs. The Usos

There are two types of story telling in wrestling, you can do it by literally telling the story or by the in-ring action. And recently all we get from the tag team division is the second type. Maybe that is for the better, since the action we get in those matches is usually very nice and almost always those are the most entertaining matches on the card. This one was not one of those matches though. We got a standard few minute matches in succession until we get the winners and the new contenders to the titles, Usos. What is weird here is that the New Day, which is the newest stable in WWE, got eliminated fast and didn't even really show anything. Now, I am not saying they should get the opportunity to get the titles right away, but logic would dictate to promote the new faction, which did not happen.

Winners and no 1 contenders for Tag Team Championships: The Usos

 

Eric Rowan vs. Big Show

I know they are trying to make Big Show seem like a threat, but he is not. No one is taking Big Show seriously after his 5 million character changes a month. Well, that is not true, but it is a fact that he probably is - or Mark Henry - the guy that went through the biggest amount of turns in his career. I remember the time where he literally was a face one week, turned heel the next and got back to being face a week or two later. Don't get me wrong, when a change is needed it is needed, but in his case it is not. Getting to Rowan, I am still interested in what WWE is going to with him, but they already missed an opportunity to give his persona some, very obvious, development.

Winner: Eric Rowan by DQ

 

Fandango vs. Jack Swagger

Rosa Mendes still can't dance. The match didn't happen. Moving on.

Winner: Fandango by Forfeit

 

Damien Sandow vs. Fernando

The match did happen, but it was just a throw away, since the only real development was between The Miz and one of the Usos, can't remember which one, because the Miz was getting too friendly with Naomi, his wife. Sandow, wins, but who cares, right? 

Winner: Damien Sandow

 

R-Truth vs. Bray Wyatt

You know, I often find myself forgetting about certain people that they are still employed by the WWE and Truth is one of those people. And that is sad, cause he - while not the youngest guy on the roster - can still be fun to watch. It is a shame that the only reason he got on RAW was to get fed to Bray. And speaking of Wyatt, while I can see the appeal of the match with Ambrose, I still don't really see any reason for this whole storyline happening and I am kind of like that. I like to know why things happen. And no, because "reasons" is not a very good answer. After the match we get a confrontation with Ambrose and Wyatt's chair gets destroyed, as Bray looks horrified and Cole talks something about it being sacred... I didn't know there was any significance to that. Did they ever reference the chair that way? 

Winner: Bray Wyatt

 

The Bella Twins vs. AJ Lee & Naomi

Probably the most pointless use of the fan voting system ever in the existence of that option in WWE. Well the only Diva we saw in the program so far was Naomi and who wins the vote... Naomi. Really... The match is mercifully short and the face (?) team wins. On a side note, is the whole story between Bellas resolved? Cause while you can still see the egocentric behavior in Nikki, Brie seems to barely care about it. Good to know we wasted on this storyline weeks of TV time. 

Winners: AJ Lee & Naomi

 

John Cena, Ryback and Dolph Ziggler vs. Seth Rollins, Kane and Luke Harper

The main event is more or less the main event from Survivor Series, only... worse. The only people missing were Rusev, who got into it with Swagger earlier in the night and Mark Henry. Other then that we had the starting teams, then an interference from the Big Show and a save from Eric Rowan. The match wasn't as good, since there was nothing at stake, the storyline wasn't as good, since there was no storyline and overall people involved didn't care as much and it showed. This was also the part were I said WWE missed a very simple and obvious chance to develop Rowan's persona. After making the save, right before hitting the Big Show with steps, he should put the steps down, take a mic, say "I am not a bully", put on the sheep mask and then leave. 

Winners: John Cena, Ryback and Dolph Ziggler

 

Overall: 3 out of 10 - This episode was barely worth watching. If you care for any real storylines watch the Wyatt and Ambrose part. In terms of matches, there was nothing really worth it this week. We did get a segment with the laptop GM and an announcement about TLC and Cena's match, but in general there really wasn't anything you "must see". After RAW the interview with Vince was very good, and that would be what I would advice you to really see.