BRM Reviews the 12/2/2013 Raw
Posted: Dec 3rd, '13, 15:19
OPENING SEGMENT-
Punk cuts a good promo. The word “douchebag” got bleeped, and then Steph showed up a few seconds later. Hmmm…
Maybe I’m reading into things there. Steph cut a great promo on Punk, denying responsibility for the Shield’s attack on Punk, and trying to be a babyface about everything. Steph says that if Punk has any problems, he can talk to Kane. Kane then comes out and says that he has made a thorough investigation and found that the facts ignore Stephanie’s claim. Punk calls Kane a sellout and wants to fight him. Then the Shield shows up, but Steph calls them off, saying that Punk should be “respected and admired.” Kane then books Punk vs. The Shield in a handicap match.
WINNER BECOMES #1 CONTENDER TO THE INTERCONTINENTAL TITLE AT TLC: Damien Sandow vs. Dolph Ziggler- 4/10
Oh. So apparently those two random hardcore matches these guys have had over the past two week were all to build up to a NORMAL match to determine who gets the IC Title match at TLC. For some reason, that has never been mentioned before now. And with how great Sandow and Ziggler’s other matches were, in this, the third and final match which actually has something on the line… WWE only gives them four minutes. WHAT THE F*CK?!
These guys did about as well as they possibly could with the time they were given.
NATALYA & THE BELLA TWINS vs. AJ LEE, TAMINA, & SUMMER RAE- 0.5/10
Summer Rae and Brie botched a sunset flip. AJ is yelling at Tamina about something, which allows Nattie to pin her with a surprise small package…. Because if you are pushing Nattie for a title shot, the last thing you would want is for her to actually look strong, right?
AN ANNOUNCEMENT FROM “BAD NEWS BARRETT”- this was stupid… and WWE decided it was necessary to create an entire special desk for Wade to do this from.
ORTON & MADDOX BACKSTAGE- bad
Orton tells Maddox to tell the Authority that he demands that they acknowledge him as the greatest of all time, that he is more well-known that Cena, and that he is bigger than the WWE itself. Orton’s narcissism feels out of place here. There has always been a narcissistic component to his character, but this was just too far.
DANIEL BRYAN vs. ERICK ROWAN (w/Luke Harper)- 6.75/10
The Wyatts don’t even get an entrance. Just teleportation. So last week Dragon gets kidnapped… and this week he is just okay? Did the Wyatt’s just drag him to the parking lot because they thought they needed some exercise?
This match went a lot longer than it needed to. It really should have switched time with Ziggler vs. Sandow.
AFTERMATH- awesome promo by Bray in an attempt to recruit Dragon.
DRAGON BUMPS INTO KANE BACKSTAGE- Kane books Dragon vs. the Wyatt Family in a handicap match at TLC. What is up with all of these handicap matches.
R-TRUTH & XAVIER WOODS VS. TONS OF FUNK (w/the Funkadactyls)- 4/10
Brodus kicked out of Woods’ finisher at ONE. This was completely ignored. He was then rolled up less than a minute later. Brodus did a great of just being extremely pissed off.
SIN CARA vs. ALBERTO DEL RIO- 4.75/10
Befire the match Del Rio cut a promo that sounded like it should have come out of Zeb Coulter’s mouth.
THE RHODES BROTHERS & THE BIG SHOW vs. THE SHIELD- 7.25/10
CM PUNK PROMO- very good
MORE “BAD NEWS BARRETT” CRAP- idiotic.
CURTIS AXEL & RYBACK vs. KOFI KINGSTON & THE MIZ- 4/10
Didn’t Miz turn on Kofi two weeks ago?
Well… they lose the math… then Miz turns on Kofi again, by slapping him.
MARK HENRY vs. FANDANGO (w/Summer Rae)- 2.25/10
Short but entertaining. Mark Henry dancing for the win!
THE PRIME TIME PLAYERS vs. THE REAL AMERICANS (w/Zeb Coulter)- 3/10
As a one-time gag, it was funny. Giving Titus O’neil a puking gimmick is idiotic.
TLC MAIN EVENT CONTRACT SIGNING- They drive home the fact that there will only be one winner. Hunter runs down a list of greats who have held each of the titles, and Steph always interrupts him to put Hunter over. I thought that was funny.
Orton cut a great promo, but seemed to almost go out of his way to be belligerent towards Hunter. Cena’s promo actually seemed to be half-shoot and was almost complementary to Hunter. Cena was good, too, but not quite as good as Orton.
They then have a decent little brawl involving tables, ladder, and chairs, with Cena coming out on top.
Overall, an okay Raw. Most of the wrestling wasn’t good, but they got a lot accomplished for TLC.
Punk cuts a good promo. The word “douchebag” got bleeped, and then Steph showed up a few seconds later. Hmmm…
Maybe I’m reading into things there. Steph cut a great promo on Punk, denying responsibility for the Shield’s attack on Punk, and trying to be a babyface about everything. Steph says that if Punk has any problems, he can talk to Kane. Kane then comes out and says that he has made a thorough investigation and found that the facts ignore Stephanie’s claim. Punk calls Kane a sellout and wants to fight him. Then the Shield shows up, but Steph calls them off, saying that Punk should be “respected and admired.” Kane then books Punk vs. The Shield in a handicap match.
WINNER BECOMES #1 CONTENDER TO THE INTERCONTINENTAL TITLE AT TLC: Damien Sandow vs. Dolph Ziggler- 4/10
Oh. So apparently those two random hardcore matches these guys have had over the past two week were all to build up to a NORMAL match to determine who gets the IC Title match at TLC. For some reason, that has never been mentioned before now. And with how great Sandow and Ziggler’s other matches were, in this, the third and final match which actually has something on the line… WWE only gives them four minutes. WHAT THE F*CK?!
These guys did about as well as they possibly could with the time they were given.
NATALYA & THE BELLA TWINS vs. AJ LEE, TAMINA, & SUMMER RAE- 0.5/10
Summer Rae and Brie botched a sunset flip. AJ is yelling at Tamina about something, which allows Nattie to pin her with a surprise small package…. Because if you are pushing Nattie for a title shot, the last thing you would want is for her to actually look strong, right?
AN ANNOUNCEMENT FROM “BAD NEWS BARRETT”- this was stupid… and WWE decided it was necessary to create an entire special desk for Wade to do this from.
ORTON & MADDOX BACKSTAGE- bad
Orton tells Maddox to tell the Authority that he demands that they acknowledge him as the greatest of all time, that he is more well-known that Cena, and that he is bigger than the WWE itself. Orton’s narcissism feels out of place here. There has always been a narcissistic component to his character, but this was just too far.
DANIEL BRYAN vs. ERICK ROWAN (w/Luke Harper)- 6.75/10
The Wyatts don’t even get an entrance. Just teleportation. So last week Dragon gets kidnapped… and this week he is just okay? Did the Wyatt’s just drag him to the parking lot because they thought they needed some exercise?
This match went a lot longer than it needed to. It really should have switched time with Ziggler vs. Sandow.
AFTERMATH- awesome promo by Bray in an attempt to recruit Dragon.
DRAGON BUMPS INTO KANE BACKSTAGE- Kane books Dragon vs. the Wyatt Family in a handicap match at TLC. What is up with all of these handicap matches.
R-TRUTH & XAVIER WOODS VS. TONS OF FUNK (w/the Funkadactyls)- 4/10
Brodus kicked out of Woods’ finisher at ONE. This was completely ignored. He was then rolled up less than a minute later. Brodus did a great of just being extremely pissed off.
SIN CARA vs. ALBERTO DEL RIO- 4.75/10
Befire the match Del Rio cut a promo that sounded like it should have come out of Zeb Coulter’s mouth.
THE RHODES BROTHERS & THE BIG SHOW vs. THE SHIELD- 7.25/10
CM PUNK PROMO- very good
MORE “BAD NEWS BARRETT” CRAP- idiotic.
CURTIS AXEL & RYBACK vs. KOFI KINGSTON & THE MIZ- 4/10
Didn’t Miz turn on Kofi two weeks ago?
Well… they lose the math… then Miz turns on Kofi again, by slapping him.
MARK HENRY vs. FANDANGO (w/Summer Rae)- 2.25/10
Short but entertaining. Mark Henry dancing for the win!
THE PRIME TIME PLAYERS vs. THE REAL AMERICANS (w/Zeb Coulter)- 3/10
As a one-time gag, it was funny. Giving Titus O’neil a puking gimmick is idiotic.
TLC MAIN EVENT CONTRACT SIGNING- They drive home the fact that there will only be one winner. Hunter runs down a list of greats who have held each of the titles, and Steph always interrupts him to put Hunter over. I thought that was funny.
Orton cut a great promo, but seemed to almost go out of his way to be belligerent towards Hunter. Cena’s promo actually seemed to be half-shoot and was almost complementary to Hunter. Cena was good, too, but not quite as good as Orton.
They then have a decent little brawl involving tables, ladder, and chairs, with Cena coming out on top.
Overall, an okay Raw. Most of the wrestling wasn’t good, but they got a lot accomplished for TLC.