BRM Reviews the 7/29/2013 Raw (awesome!)

[Big Red Machine]

OPENING SEGMENT- Hmmm… Vince’s dislike of Cena seems WAY too strong. To want him to disappear and never show up again? That’s a bit strong, don't you think? Otherwise, a good segment.

THE USOS & MARK HENRY vs. THE SHIELD- 7/10
Props to Lawler for calling Henry out for “being a sore loser” and jumping The Shield after the match.

RYBACK BULLIES PEOPLE IN CATERING- good. He looked legitimately like a mean person, and the table bump the nobody took looked great.

BRAD MADDOX & KANE BACKSTAGE- great!

ROB VAN DAM vs. FANDANGO (w/Summer Rae)- 4/10
It was going very well until the pointless count-out finish. At this point I think that Fandango’s real gimmick is that he is a chump who walks out of matches, and the dancing is just something he does for fun.

AJ & BIG E BACKSTAGE- AJ is crazy. We get it. Stop wasting our time telling us things we already know.

KAITLYN vs. AJ LEE (w/Big E. Langston)- 5/10
I guess we’re getting ANOTHER match between these two at Summer Slam. I really would like them to actually try something new in the Women’s Division. After the match Ziggler comes out, makes fun of AJ, and says that he wants a match with Big E. right now.

DOLPH ZIGGLER vs. BIG E. LANGSTON (w/AJ Lee)- 5.5/10
Was going well until AJ gets Big E. DQed. Big E. is unhappy with AJ over this. That was good. Ziggler then attacking Big E. from behind was not good.

DRAGON & CENA BACKSTAGE- great!

CHRISTIAN vs. ALBERTO DEL RIO- 7.5/10
GREAT finish! I’m really curious to see where this goes. Does Del Rio jump Christian and re-injure his shoulder before choosing him as the contender on SD? Does he just pick him anyway? Does he dodge him and eventually have to face him at a later PPV?

CODY RHODES vs. WADE BARRETT- 4/10
Okay… that kick to the “mid-section” with Barrett hung up on the ropes… they need to coordinate with the officials, because Wade sold it like a low blow but the ref seemed to indicate that it was clean kick to the “mid-section.” As a result, it just looks stupid.

SANDOW PROMO- good

KANE vs. DANIEL BRYAN- 6.75/10
On commentary during this match, Jerry Lawler made a joke about the time SOMEONE SET HIS BEST FRIEND ON FIRE!
I didn’t like Kane attacking Dragon after the match, but I guess it serves as a reason for Dragon not coming out to help his buddy when the Wyatt Family attack him. Speaking of which…
THE WYATT FAMILY GOES AFTER KANE- GREAT! Kane sneaking away from the other two and going right after Bray was great.

BRIE BELLA vs. NATALYA- 4.25/10
You knew that Nikki’s lack of presence at ringside meant she was up to something.

R-TRUTH vs. CURTIS AXEL (w/Paul Heyman)- no rating. Good segment (aside from the fact that there was no DQ when Punk attacked Axel right in front of the ref).

MCMAHONS BACKSTAGE- Vince & Hunter were great. Steph was eh. I can’t wait for Dragon’s corporate makeover. I will be very disappointed if it isn’t hilarious.

TABLES MATCH: John Cena vs. Ryback- 7.25/10
They did a great job of making this feel a lot different than any other tables match I’ve seen.

POST-MATCH DRAGON & CENA SEGMENT- eh

Overall, a great Raw, especially in the ring!

[Bob-O]

Props to Lawler for calling Henry out for “being a sore loser”

I'm treading very lightly with this Henry face turn, as he's EASILY in my Top 10 Favorite Heels of All Time and I HAAAAAATED every single one of his face runs. I loved that Lawler mentioned it as it keeps that heel edge about him, hopefully they stick with this character development and don't revert him back to generic babyface...

RYBACK BULLIES PEOPLE IN CATERING- good. He looked legitimately like a mean person, and the table bump the nobody took looked great.

This was a little too over the top for my taste. "Catering Spots" should be reserved for the undercard.

[Big Red Machine]

Props to Lawler for calling Henry out for “being a sore loser”

I'm treading very lightly with this Henry face turn, as he's EASILY in my Top 10 Favorite Heels of All Time and I HAAAAAATED every single one of his face runs. I loved that Lawler mentioned it as it keeps that heel edge about him, hopefully they stick with this character development and don't revert him back to generic babyface...

I wish they would do something similar with Ziggler, because he really does still act like a douche more often than not.