WWE Night Of Champions 2013 Review – WWE Give Us The Worst Pay-Per-View Of The Year As Daniel Bryan Wins The WWE Title Off A Fast Count!

Wrestling fans, I am “Big Hungry” Tom Robinson here again. We’re coming off Night Of Champions with a lot of controversy coming off the main event and a lot of things to address because I really wasn’t impressed by last night’s event. Nothing really stood out for me, other than the main event. There was only one title change and all the matches seemed really flat to me, as did the fans for all but two of the matches. Let’s get to it…

An Impromptu Intercontinental Title match sees Curtis Axel FINALLY defeat Kofi Kingston

We start off the show with COO Triple H addressing the WWE universe and stating that the WWE Championship match between Daniel Bryan and Randy Orton would have ZERO interference, making it a fair one on one encounter. This was interrupted by Paul Heyman and Intercontinental Champion Curtis Axel, with Heyman making a last-minute plea to Triple H to cancel his and Axel’s handicap elimination match against CM Punk later on. Triple H started to mess with Heyman and Axel by questioning Heyman’s trust in Axel’s ability and refused to cancel the match. Curtis Axel then got the mic and suggests that Triple H is still holding a grudge over his defeat to Axel on May 20th 2013. Yes, Axel actually stated when his first victory over HHH took place. Axel’s talking got him into trouble as HHH would then put Axel in an IC Championship defence to start the show against the first person he sees when he goes to the back (which just so happens to be Kofi Kingston, the guy Axel has lost to a couple of times in the last few weeks. How convenient). Two things were really off about this segment I believe….

1. Triple H still having a grudge with Heyman and Axel sort of makes the new corporation seem sort of face if you will. It takes away the heat that the corparation has when he messes with fellow heel Paul Heyman.
2. I hated that the fans were chanting “BORING” during Axel’s promo. For god’s sake, give the guy a chance to talk. Yeah, Axel’s not the greatest talker but at least give him the chance at least without unleashing a “BORING” chant.

The match itself was really good in comparisons to their matches on RAW and SmackDown! over the last couple of weeks. Some really good near-falls during the match, including Axel kicking out of the S.O.S. Axel got the victory and gives himself confidence ahead of going up against CM Punk in the handicap match, which was actually upgraded to a No-DQ Elimination Handicap Match. Good way to start off the show.

 

Awkward Botch Ruins An Already Awkward Divas Title Match

Before AJ Lee’s Divas Title defence against Naomi, Natalya and Brie Bella in a fatal four way, Alicia Fox and Aksana both ended their alliance with AJ, with Layla possibly doing the same. This was like the shortest stable in WWE history! It lasted like 2 weeks and it could have actually been a decent stable if they didn’t lose their first match together last week on RAW. Anyway, it appears AJ will have no back-up against the 3 divas from “Total Divas” that she slandered on RAW 3 weeks ago.

To be honest, it was a decent effort by all 4 women. They tried to make the match as interesting as possible and you’ve got to commend them for that. All 4 women had their fair share of time to show their stuff. But to be honest, this never seemed to get the fans interested one bit. It felt so awkward and out of place. The only time the fans popped during this match was then Natalya locked in the double sharpshooter. Also, it didn’t help when the referee made a HUGE error near the end of the match…

Right, Natalya scoop-slammed Brie Bella onto Naomi who was taken out before. Anyway, Brie Bella’s laying on top of Naomi for about 20 seconds, Naomi’s shoulders were down, and the referee did NOTHING. He was supposed to make the count and all he and Natalya were doing was just staring at both women. Sure, it’s nice to stare at two women on top of one another but he should have made the god-damn count. Even the commentators were even yelling at him to make the count. It was one of the most awkward botches of the year in my opinion. Anyway, the one thing to take as a positive from this match was that AJ Lee retained the championship.

 

A disqualification sees RVD’s World Title Hopes Shattered By Alberto Del Rio

To be honest, this match was nowhere near as good as Del Rio’s recent title defences against Dolph Ziggler and Christian in recent pay-per-view, but it was at least a decent effort. The only thing that was off-putting about this match was the fact that it ended in a disqualification. When RVD got to the ropes after being locked-in the Cross-Armbrearker, Del Rio refused to break the hold and was disqualified. This hurts Del Rio’s credibility a bit as this is the second time in 3 PPV World Title defences that Del Rio’s retained the title on a disqualification. Del Rio should have made RVD tap out. Maybe their setting up a rematch at Battleground for all I know. At least I hope so because I think will a bit more time this match could be a lot more improved at Battleground.

 

The Miz and Fandango Are Given A Match On A PPV… why?

The Miz vs Fandango has been like the least appealing rivalry of the year and for some absurd reason they were given a PPV match. Really? I mean it’s bad enough that Fandango showed up to ANOTHER PPV but he has to go up against The Miz of all people? Two guys who I can’t stand right now and their match was such a bland match. I hope this is the end of their feud because the fact that I had to sit through that match just really wound me up. -.-

 

Ryback Helps Heyman Against CM Punk And Becomes The New “Paul Heyman Guy”

This match went exactly as I thought it would. Axel fights Punk. Punk beats Axel. Beats Up Heyman A Little Bit. Taken Out By A New “Paul Heyman Guy”. While I didn’t like the predictability of it all, I like the way it was executed. It was a really brutal exchange between Axel and Punk, with kendo sticks and chairs being used in the fray, as well as a table being set up. However, CM Punk would make Axel tap out, leaving Paul Heyman to Punk. After chasing him around a little bit, Punk finally got his hands on Heyman and beat the crap out of him with the kendo stick. He event handcuffed him and then unleashed a fury of kendo stick shots on Heyman. Just as Punk had finished the beatdown, Ryback made his way to the ring and speared Punk through the table. This proved to be enough to put Punk down for the count to three as Heyman picked up the victory over Punk.

I do feel that CM Punk should have took a lot more damage from Ryback before getting pinned. I think it should have been more than a spear through the table to put Punk away considering how resilient he was against Brock Lesnar during their feud. It seems a little bit unbelievable that Punk can take a beating from Lesnar and still keep fighting, but one spear through the table from Ryback and he’s done. However, this was a good way to introduce Ryback as the new “Paul Heyman Guy” though. Ryback does need Paul Heyman as his manager. Ryback’s bullying gimmick had to stop and with Heyman on board he could actually go places. But the question is, with Ryback supposedly on board, where does that leave Curtis Axel?

 

The Shield Retain All Their Gold At Night Of Champions With Dolph Ziggler and The Prime Time Players Getting A Taste Of “Justice”

Yep. The Shield still have all the gold they won back at Extreme Rules in May. Dean Ambrose defeated Dolph Ziggler to retain the US Championship and Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns defeated The Prime Time Players to retain the tag titles.

Let’s talk about the US Championship. It’s clear that Ziggler is still not sitting well with WWE right now just because the manner of his loss. No screwjob. No Shield-interference. He flat-out LOST to Dean Ambrose. It’s sad to see Ziggler being punished by WWE. I mean it’s not like the match was a great match anyway. It sort of felt like a TV match. It’s was OK, but it didn’t deserve to be on the card if it was going to be just… OK. If Ziggler was going to lose like we all knew he would, he should have at least had a great match with Ambrose which we know he’s capable of. But of course, when you’re in the WWE Dog House, the chances of you getting to look good goes right down the drain.

And the Tag Team Championship match. A very decent match and the fans were all over the Prime Time Players. Both guys looked strong against The Shield and I actually thought they’d beat The Shield near the end. But I think this might be just a prelude to their title win in weeks to come. I think after this match, the PTP look in a strong position to win the gold despite not winning in Detroit, Michigan.

So, up until this point, every champion has retained their championship. Only one champion remains to defend their title… WWE Champion Randy Orton…

 

Randy Orton Vs Daniel Bryan For The WWE Championship

It was not the greatest of main events. In my opinion, Daniel and Orton have had plenty of better matches than this one was. It was really slow paced and it ended abruptly (I’ll get on the ending in a bit). It was one of Orton’s better matches and it’s good to see Orton’s been developing his wrestling as of late. He’s had a couple of stellar matches in the last few months. But, of course the thing that annoyed me about the match was the result. Daniel Bryan won of the flying kick he used to win the title from Cena at Summerslam… oh and a FAST 3 COUNT BY SCOTT ARMSTRONG!

Really? The night ended with a fast count? I read somewhere after the match that the commentators were not meant to mention the fast count, but they should have said at least something about it, especially JBL. The Heel Commentator JBL would have PLENTY to say about a fast count. I mean yeah – if Daniel won of the fast count and Triple H came out and reversed the decision that night, it’d make sense. But we’ve got to wait until RAW to find out the fate of the WWE Championship? I

All I’ll say is this… if Daniel’s title win stands, then it was a daft way for it to go down, and his regaining of the title came WAY too soon. I mean what does that say of the heel regime when they don’t have the WWE Championship anymore? I hope Triple H reverses the decision of the match on RAW. Because a face winning the title of a FAST COUNT makes zero sense. And Orton would have gotten royally screwed if the result of the match stands. Let’s just hope for the best, because I am not happy with how that “title change” took place.

Overall it was a really under-whelming PPV. I think it was the worst PPV of the year so far. While the WWE, IC and Tag Team title matches were all decent matches as was Punk vs Axel and Heyman , the Divas match was EXTREMELY AWKWARD, the US Title match was such a disappointment and the World Title match ending made Del Rio look weaker as a champion. The crowd weren’t into half of the matches, and that’s worrying and really decreases how good a show is when the crowd isn’t into it? With Battleground only 3 weeks away and Hell In A Cell only 3 weeks after that, PPVs are coming in thick and fast and WWE are going to have a hard time building up each one. I just hope that RAW can recover a badly-delivered PPV.

That was the Night Of Champions review. I’m Tom Robinson!

RANDOM YOUTUBE VIDEO OF THE POST! Vegeta from the Dragonball Z series being the expert counter that he is! Hey, I told you it was random! XD Follow the @ArmbarExpress On TWITTER!

WWE Night Of Champions 2013 Predictions – Will Daniel Bryan Dethrone The Corporate Champion?

Wrestling fans, I’m “Dragon Dragon” himself Tom Robinson. I’m so good, I’m double the Dragon! XD

Night Of Champions PREDICTIONS! Which champions will retain their titles, and which contenders are going to walk out Detroit, Michigan a champion?

 

Pre-Show: The Prime Time Players vs The Real Americans vs The Usos vs 3MB vs Tons Of Funk in a tag team turmoil. Winners Face The Shield For The Titles On The PPV.

Background: On RAW, It was announced that with the tag team division heating up with the rise of the Prime Time Players and The Usos that a tag team turmoil will take place on the Night Of Champions Pre-Show to determine number one contenders to The Shield on the actually Pay-Per-View itself.

What Should Happen?: Either The Usos or The Prime Time Players Win. But if I had to pick out of them two, I’d say The Usos because their pre-show match with The Shield at Money In The Bank was an incredible tag team match and I really want to see The Usos finally get a run at the titles.

What Will Happen?: I’m going to say that the WWE are going to keep backing the Prime Time Players with this new push and have them challenge The Shield later on in the card.

 

“The Shield” Roman Reigns (c) and Seth Rollins (c) vs Whoever Wins The Tag Team Turmoil For The WWE Tag Team Championship

I’m going to just split this off for each possible outcome of the turmoil and judge each team’s chances of winning the titles if they get the shot and if they should win the titles. So…

3MB: To put this nicely…. there is no way in HELL of 3MB getting close to the tag team titles. So if by some divine intervention that they win the turmoil, 3MB will have literally a 1% chance of winning the tag team titles. Sorry guys. A 3MB Tag Team Title reign would be money though. XD

Tons Of Funk: Errrr… no. Tons Of Funk have jobbed to The Shield so much in the year that if they do get the title shots, I think they’ll just job to them again. Also, I really don’t think Tons Of Funk is in a remotely good position to be considered worthy to be champions. Way too far down the tag team food chain.

The All-Americans: Just for that huge spin on Santino Marrella on RAW this Monday, Antonio Cesaro deserves to win both the WWE Championship and The World Title never mind the Tag belts. I doubt that the All-Americans would win the titles if they won the turmoil, unless of course WWE are going to somehow turn them face and have them be a really pro-USA team or something. I’ll give them a 205 chance of winning the titles if they make it to the title shots. Do they deserve it? Hell yeah does Antonio Cesaro deserve it!….. oh and Jack Swagger deserves it too, I guess.

The Prime Time Players: With their new push due to Darren Young’s coming out, I wouldn’t be surprised if the PTP finally got the belts they should have had more than a year ago. Should they be champions if they do beat The Shield? It’s a good opportunity for WWE to capitalize on the Publicity. But if I do think there’s a team that should be given the belts, it should be…

The Usos: These guys NEED to get them belts. And their rematch with The Shield needs to happen. They’ve got a good thing going and it’d be a damn shame if the PTP’s push gets in the way of The Usos rise to the titles. I can see WWE giving the belts to The Usos if they do win the Turmoil like. But, that’s all down to if the WWE choose The Usos over the PTPs to win the tag team turmoil

 

Dean Ambrose (c) vs Dolph Ziggler for the United States Championship

Background: Dolph Ziggler was one of the first to speak out against Triple H’s actions at Summerslam via Twitter. As punishment, the RAW after Summerslam he was booked in a 3 on 1 handicap match with The Shield. This match eventually led to Ziggler receiving more beatdowns by The Shield, specifically the United States Champion Dean Ambrose. This eventually led to Ziggler being booked in an United States Title match with Ambrose for Night Of Champions on the SmackDown! before the event.

What Should Happen?: Dolph Ziggler shouldn’t really be competing for the US title anymore. It seems such a huge step down considering he was the World Champion in June. But I guess that’s what happens when you get in the proverbial WWE “Dog House”. Honestly, I’d rather not have Ziggler beat Ambrose to be honest, because once he gets a mid-card title again it’ll be hard for him to get back in the main title picture. Dean Ambrose wins.

What Will Happen?: Dean Ambrose wins, because Dolph Ziggler is in SERIOUS shit with WWE. Poor guy. 😦

 

CM Punk vs Curtis Axel and Paul Heyman in an Elimination Handicap Match

Background: After being double-crossed by Paul Heyman at Money In The Bank, CM Punk has been craving the chance to get his hands on Heyman. At Summerslam, he had to go through one of his clients Brock Lesnar in a No Disqualification match. Despite not being able to defeat Lesnar, he was able to lock in the Anaconda Vice on Heyman during the match. However, this was nowhere near good enough for Punk. While Heyman wanted to “take Punk back”, Punk wanted to get his hands on Heyman further. So Heyman set his other client, the Intercontinental Champion Curtis Axel. After a brutal brawl between Axel and Punk on the RAW after Summerslam, Punk vs Axel was made for the next week’s RAW. Due to a vote by the WWE Universe, if Punk was able to defeat Axel, Punk would be able to get Heyman in the ring post-match. Punk got the victory and seemed like he was finally going to get a little bit more than an Anaconda Vice on Heyman. However, Axel made sure that didn’t happen and with Heyman delivered a brutal beatdown with a kendo stick to Punk. An irate CM Punk confronted RAW General Manager Brad Maddox and demanded a shot at Heyman. Maddox granted Punk’s wish and made an Elimination Handicap match between CM Punk and the team of Heyman and Axel at Night Of Champions. With it being an elimination match, if Punk beat Axel first, he would have every right in the world to fight Heyman. With Curtis Axel suffering back-to-back defeats to Kofi Kingston in the weeks before NoC and Heyman being told that if he tried to get out of the match he’d be fired, the chances of Punk getting his hands on Heyman seems a very likely possibility.

What Should Happen?: I don’t care how much internet fans bum off CM Punk, Curtis Axel needs to beat Punk. WWE have done a really bad job at promoting this themselves. While Punk and Heyman have delivered wonders on the mic in the build up, the fact that Axel is being made out to be such a weak opponent for Punk is just ridiculous. Axel being the IC Champion should have been booked to look strong against Punk, like he did when they brawled on the RAW after Summerslam. If WWE are giving up Axel this early then it’s a damn shame. While it seems inevitable that WWE are going to introduce a new “Paul Heyman Guy”, what’s wrong with the old one? Give him a decent win for once. Axel beats Punk.

What Will Happen?: This is probably one of the most predictable matches of the god damn year. Punk’s going to be Axel. Heyman’s going to try to escape from Punk. Punk’s going to get some digs in. And then this new “Paul Heyman Guy” will help Heyman out. I’m guessing this guy will probably appear to attack Punk causing a disqualification, but either way Punk will end up the one being laid out at the end of it.

 

AJ Lee (c) vs Natalya vs Brie Bella vs Naomi in a fatal four way match for the Divas Championship

Background: 8 days after Summerslam, AJ Lee appeared after a divas match between Natalya and Brie Bella, two divas that have starred in the new “Total Divas” reality show. AJ delivered a scratching promo bad-mouthing the divas, accusing them off being interchangeable, useless women that weren’t good enough to be wrestlers so they were given a reality TV Show. AJ said that the majority of the divas on the show had to “suck up” to the right people to get to the WWE and that Natalya was only in WWE because of her association with the Hart family and her father being WWE legend, Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart. These comments infuriated the divas on the show so much that they attacked AJ when she appeared to watch the number one contendership divas title match between Natalya, Brie Bella and Naomi 2 weeks ago on RAW. With a number one contender not being crowned, Stephanie McMahon gave Brie, Natalya and Naomi a shot at the title in a fatal four way with AJ at Night Of Champions.

What Should Happen?: AJ Wins. If another result happens, I give up on the divas division. I could sort of accept Natalya as champion, but she’s still an incredibly bland diva despite having tremendous wrestling abilities. But AJ has the overness and the mic skills to be champion, and no-one is really worthy enough to be champion yet. Especially not Naomi or Brie Bella.

What Will Happen?: AJ Wins… somehow. AJ will likely be taken out the picture earlier on, but will come in later to steal the victory. While I think WWE will be tempted to put the belt on one of the “Total Divas” due to the series coming to an end, I still think with how heavily AJ’s been booked that she’ll be champion for a LONG time.

 

Alberto Del Rio (c) vs Rob Van Dam for the World Heavyweight Championship

Background: After Ricardo Rodriguez inadvertently cost World Champion Alberto Del Rio a non-title match with Rob Van Dam a month ago, Ricardo suffered a beatdown and a firing from his employer Del Rio. After a couple of weeks out, Ricardo returned and announced that he would be the new personal ring announcer of Rob Van Dam. A week later, RVD was given a non-title match with Del Rio. If RVD won, he would get a shot at the World Championship at Night Of Champions. And luckily for RVD… he did!

What Should Happen?: I stressed this on my article on Del Rio for WhatCulture, Del Rio needs to keep beating his competition in a clean and fair way to keep up the prestige of the title up and Del Rio’s legitimacy as champion up. While having Ricardo turn on RVD and join Del Rio again would be the sensible thing to do to get Ricardo of RVD’s case, a Del Rio clean, submission victory would be huge for him. So just like how Del Rio submitted Christian at Summerslam, Del Rio should do it again to RVD. Oh and one other thing… please keep RVD and Ricardo apart. Seriously, that partnership won’t be missed.

What Will Happen?: I’m guessing WWE will just ignore me and have Ricardo screw over RVD and help Del Rio retain the title. Yawn. But whatever the case, Rob Van Dam will probably not win the World Title.

 

Randy Orton (c) vs Daniel Bryan for the WWE Championship

Background: At Summerslam, Daniel Bryan defeated John Cena after a hard-long battle with COO Triple H as the special referee to win the WWE Championship for the first time in his career. But coming out to ruin the party was the WWE Championship Money In The Bank holder Randy Orton. Just as it seemed like he wasn’t going to bother cashing in the briefcase, Triple H stunned us all as he hit Daniel with the Pedigree – giving Randy the opening he needed. Taking advantage of opportunity, Orton cashed in and pinned Daniel to become the new WWE Champion. Triple H justified his actions the next night on RAW, stating that Randy Orton being Champion was “best for business” and that Daniel Bryan should not be the one to be the “face of the company”. An irate Daniel tried to ruin Randy’s coronation as WWE Champion, but was foiled by Triple H’s newly hired guns The Shield. Despite being considered nothing more than a B+ by the new corporation, Daniel was given his rematch clause at the title for Night Of Champions. However, the corporation has not made Daniel’s road to that event easy. The Shield has been constantly set on Bryan by Triple H, with just about every superstar in WWE being to scared of being fired to speak out against it or help Bryan out.  Despite the odds, Bryan stood tall at the end of this Monday’s RAW having beaten Dean Ambrose and laying out Randy Orton. But will he stand tall as champion at the end of Night Of Champions?

What Should Happen?: Orton wins. How bad would the corporation look if their champion would have lost the title within a month of winning it? Sorry Daniel, but he should wait a little longer before getting the gold. Orton needs to establish himself as THE guy in the WWE right now.

What Will Happen?: Orton retains. I don’t see someone turning heel to help Orton win. I just think Triple H is going to screw Daniel over somehow. I think it’ll be like when Mankind was screwed out of the title at Rock Bottom 1998. Daniel will make Orton pass out to a guillotine lock or something and then Triple H will come out and say “Since Orton didn’t get pinned or submit, Orton remains champion”. I know this corporation is not going to be exactly like the one in late 1998 and early 1999, but I do think some similar stuff will happen. Daniel’s getting screwed at Night Of Champions.

That was the Night Of Champions predictions. I am Tom Robinson. Follow me on Twitter. Follow @TomRobinson5199 and the official Armbar Express Twitter account @ArmbarExpress for blog updates and other wrestling news. Also, please read and share this new article I’ve had published for a website called WhatCulture! at this link. It’s an article by me which stresses why the Cruiserweight Division needs to be brought back to the WWE. If you click on my name at the top of that article, you’ll hopefully be able to see the other article’s I’ve uploaded on that site including one on why WWE are getting it right with Alberto Del Rio as World Champion at this link.

Random YouTube Video Of The Day! I’ve actually had a really hard week this week so I really needed to listen to a very inspiring speech  and I found one from the Rocky Balboa film which really did give me the drive to put all the shit that’s happened in the past and move forward. If you ever feel like you just wanna give up and need that drive to keep you going on watch this video. Anyway, I’ll see you later on in the week for the Night Of Champions review and possibly a RAW review. Keep connected with the @TomRobinson5199 and @ArmbarExpress Twitter accounts to keep up with all the projects I’ve got going on for the blog and for WhatCulture! Expect a lot of Social Media activity in the build up to my return to uni.

09/09/2013 RAW Review – Edge Returns And Speaks Out Against The Regime

‘Sup guys? I am the “One Man Gang” Tom Robinson with the RAW Review. A great RAW it was on Monday being held in Toronto, Canada, which is always a lively place especially for WWE. We had a lot to look forward too. Edge’s return, Goldust vs Randy Orton. Let’s get down to it!

The Returning Edge Speaks Out Against The New Regime… and his friends suffer the consequences

Great opening to the show. Edge made his return to his hometown Tornoto, Canada. Got a THUNDEROUS pop from these Canadian fans. The fans are always great when you come to Canada. It really is “Bizarro World” there. Edge justified the reaction and did some incredible work on the mic. I think when he comes back, he does help with the stories he’s put with. Here he’s helping the Daniel Bryan vs Randy Orton feud. Before when he’s made these sporadic appearances, he’s help the rise of Team Hell-No, the Cena/Lesnar feud and even with Christian’s feud with Randy Orton. He’s definetly had the upper-hand in the verbal exchange with Triple H in the opening segment, and he decimated Randy Orton on the mic. He came up with a line to Orton which was something like “While my spine is in a really bad way, I least I have one”, which I thought was a great line. Anyway, after being torn apart by Edge on the mic, Triple H stated while he couldn’t really have The Shield attack Edge or put him in a match since he doesn’t work in WWE, he could go after his friends. And with that, Christian was on the receiving end of a Shield beatdown. Great opening, but again… Randy Orton seemed overshadowed by Edge, Triple H and Daniel Bryan. He only said like three sentences through-out the entire thing, and I’m sorry if I keep saying this every week but he needs more mic time.

Oh on a side note, I love how Tony Chimel has become Edge’s new personal ring announcer. Just whenever Edge returns, Chimel is brought in to unleash his patterned voice-break!  XD

Edge and Triple H have an intense backstage segment. Edge gets kicked out.

Edge and Triple H had a REALLY intense backstage segment after Christian got taken out. You can tell that the real venom Triple H had within him as heel came back because of the way he growled at Edge. Triple H could make brushing your teeth sound intense. That’s a quality that I’ve always admired him for. Yeah, at times I’m not his biggest fan, but I love him when he’s heel. You can sort of forget about how you feel about him personally when you see him as a heel just unleashing anger. Anyway, Edge got kicked out and obviously the Canadian fans booed. Both Edge and Hunter were awesome here.

Curtis Axel’s Disqualification Sees Paul Heyman’s Confidence “Slip” Away

Curtis Axel has a rematch with Kofi Kingston (who defeated Axel on SmackDown! in a poor booking decision in my opinion). It proved to be a short match as Curtis Axel gets disqualified early on for being too aggressive and ignoring the ref’s 5 count. This was followed up by Kingston hitting the Trouble In Paradise on Axel post-match, further unsettling Axel’s manager Paul Heyman. Since the handicap match between CM Punk and the team of Heyman and Axel at Night Of Champions is an elimination match, Axel getting disqualified could mean that Heyman would have to step in the ring with Punk. With his confidence in Axel dropping, Heyman dropped to the floor after apparently slipping on some water. Heyman tried to use this as an excuse to get out of the handicap match, until General Manager Brad Maddox had WWE’s Dr Samson check Heyman. After Heyman was cleared, Punk came out with kendo stick in hand and brutally beat Heyman’s personal doctor (which Heyman brought because he didn’t trust Canada’s doctors) with it. I’ve got two complaints…

1.  I get that Curtis Axel getting beat over and over and Heyman’s confidence dropping is supposed to make Axel look weak as hell in comparison to CM Punk. But, WWE have got to take into account that Curtis Axel still holds the very prestigious Intercontinental Championship. If Axel loses to a regular mid-carder like Kofi over and over, the title loses prestige. And considering the pay-per-view their handicap match is taking place is called “Night Of Champions”, he still needs to look strong against Punk and I don’t think WWE have got it right by making him look bad.
2. The fact that Brad Maddox and WWE doctors had to come out to clear the heel Paul Heyman to compete kind of takes away from the supposed evil empire of Triple H if there hindering the heels. Sure, Paul Heyman and Triple H have history blah blah blah, but it makes Brad Maddox almost seem like a face when he’s helping CM Punk. It takes away some of the evilness from the Triple H empire.

And I know a third complaint from you guys would be that CM Punk has had little to no interaction with the Triple H regime yet which completely throws continuity out of the window. But then again, WWE booked themselves into that corner when they decided that the Paul Heyman/CM Punk feud would continue after Summerslam. Having Punk drift of from the feud to confront Triple H in the build to Night Of Champions is not good for his own match. I personally think CM Punk will get involved in the “Corporation 2.0” storyline or whatever you want to call it. I just think it’ll be either after Night Of Champions, unless him and Heyman have some more unfinished business after NoC. I don’t think they’ve forgot about Punk as far as the main storyline is concerned.

Booker T tells Big Show to stay professional

OK, I have no idea what Booker T’s role in WWE is supposed to be anymore now he’s been sacked as SmackDown! General Manager. Two weeks in a row on RAW, Booker T has acted as Yoda to superstars and told them to “stay professional”. Is he just supposed to keep doing this each week or has WWE actually got something for him in mind? Booker T needs something other than this. Put him back on commentary or something. These backstage segments are becoming a little tedious.

Dolph Ziggler’s run in the dog-house continues as he loses to Bray Wyatt

This is a grave period for Dolph Ziggler fans as he is in the proverbial “dog house” of WWE. This week, he went down to Bray Wyatt as he beat him with the Sister Abigail to win. It’s a shame that drops to this level only a couple of months after he lost the World Title. Now it seems like it’s going to be a LONG way back to the top for Ziggler. He tried talking himself out of it by defending the Corporation 2.0 storyline in this article. But I doubt he’ll be anywhere near the title picture in the near future, which is a shame.

AJ Lee decimates Jerry Lawler On Commentary

Yeah, my 2nd top highlight of the show was AJ Lee’s commentary during the 6 women’s tag team match between the team of Natalya, Brie Bella and Naomi from Total Divas and the team of Layla, Aksana and Alicia Fox who are a part of AJ’s new crew. The Total Divas won a very short and un-interesting women’s match. But the best part was the commentary. AJ was at ringside and she just ripped Jerry Lawler to shreds. Really feisty on commentary, She ripped Jerry by saying “I’m a little too old for you Jerry. I’m 26. I heard you like them young” which was a really good line. I put the link to the match and her commentary below. You really should watch/listen to this. Great way to hype up the Divas title match at Night Of Champions.

Alberto Del Rio makes quick work of R-Truth, Fandango distracts The Miz

Del Rio picked up a submission win over R-Truth in preparation to his World Title match against Rob Van Dam. Slapped on the cross-armbreaker, R-Truth tapped, game over. Fandango also distracted The Miz during his match with Damien Sandow, costing Miz the match after Sandow rolled him. This thing with Fandango constantly interrupting matches is really getting annoying, as is this feud. I swear, this feud between Miz and Fandango is so bland and dull as are the both of them. -.-

Santino Marrella Returns To RAW To Upset Antonio Cesaro

A very entertaining match here between Antonio Cesaro and the returning Santino. I loved that Santino was starting to look like a good grappler in the match. Of course he’s a good wrestler, I’ve known that for years. It’s just WWE never seem to let him showcase that talent, and he might be getting that chance to. Also… Antonio Cesaro did one of the greatest feats of strength I’ve ever seen him do, which was in fact my top highlight of the show. He did his giant swing on Santino… and swung him for about 30 seconds non-stop! It really was incredible. Here it is…

Unbelievable strength. And despite all of Cesaro’s swinging… he still lost. XD

Ryback lays out RVD after getting this disqualified

A short but sweet match saw Ryback get DQ’d and follow it up with a Shell-Shocked To Rob Van Dam. The booking for the end of the match seemed a little off. Why did they have Ryback destroy RVD and make him look weak before his World Title match with Del Rio? Especially considering that RVD bested Ryback in a battle royal a month or so ago. They must have something big for Ryback to have him attack the number one contender for the World Title a week before his match.

Randy Orton Dashes Goldust’s chance to get Cody Rhodes rehired

It was a really good match between these two. Mostly because of the build around it. While it wasn’t a technical classic of a match, there was a lot of emotion behind it. Goldust showed that he was still as slick as he’s always been in the ring. The fans were into it and I loved it when Goldust hit Randy with his brother Cody Rhodes’ finisher “Cross Rhodes”. However, Randy ultimately prevailed. It was a really good match with a lot of feel towards. That was added on in the backstage segment afterwards when Stephanie rubbed salt in wounds and called him a loser. She berated Goldust with such vindication. She really has that venom in her voice as well similar to her husband Triple H. Having her do a segment is always great to see.

Daniel Bryan Finally Gets The Upper Hand On Randy Orton

After weeks of the Corporation 2.0 getting the best of Daniel Bryan, Daniel finally got his own back firstly with a win over Dean Ambrose. It was a good match and he beat him clean and beat of the Shield as well. Post-match, The Shield attack Daniel with Big Show being forced to watch on. Then the WWE Champion Randy Orton came down to the ring claiming to have Triple H’s permission to tell Big Show what to do. He instructs Big Show to knock Bryan out just as he did last week, but Big Show refused. Randy said he’d pick him up for Show, but Bryan served up a flying knee to Orton. Bryan then posed with the WWE Title. It’s good that WWE finally give Daniel something to cheer about. It doesn’t make it seem that the Corporation 2.0 is over-whelming Daniel and that he’s actually got a chance. It was a good way to end RAW.

Overall, good RAW in Canada. Great match between Goldust and Randy Orton and some great promos being cut by all sorts of people. AJ Lee, Stephanie McMahon, Edge, Triple H and even Goldust all delivered goods on the mic in build up to the pay-per-view this Sunday. I’ve just got a question… why isn’t the US Champion Dean Ambrose on the card considering he himself is a champion and all titles are supposed to be defended at Night Of Champions?

That was this week’s RAW Review. I’m Tom Robinson. Don’t forget to follow me on Facebook and Twitter. Follow us at @ArmbarExpress on Twitter and go to https://www.facebook.com/ArmbarExpress to like the Facebook Page. My Twitter account is @TomRobinson5199 so gives us a follow there as well. Also, its great to see that my Alberto Del Rio article on WhatCulture is getting a lot of views. It’s got 1000+ views since it was published on September 1st which is awesome. I’ve got something else planned on that site so stay tuned. And also, today’s the 12 year “anniversary” of the September 11 attacks. Thoughts and prayers to those affected by them horrific attacks 12 years ago.

Random YouTube video of the POST! A video I’m made of Cesaro swinging Santino… with the sound being replaced by a very appropriate song. Let’s just say this song will spin you right round! XD Someone had to do it!

02/09/2013 RAW REVIEW – Very emotional RAW sees Cody Rhodes Fired

Guys, I am “A-List” Tom Robinson here with a RAW REVIEW!

 

Opening Segment – Daniel Bryan confronts Triple H, Randy Orton and The Shield

A great opening segment. A good way to start off RAW. I thought it was good how Triple H compared Daniel Bryan to Doink The Clown, saying that there’s a reason Doink The Clown was never WWE Champion. Despite how fans loved him world-wide, he’d never be championship material. Triple H did a good job at “putting Bryan down” if you will. He joked about how that he could bring back the European or Cruiserweight title belts and Daniel Bryan could go for them belts. To be honest, this back-and-forth between Triple H and Daniel Bryan is pretty much the same old stuff that’s been said the last couple of weeks. Orton had a little bit to say, but I feel he was a little overshadowed by Hunter and Bryan. Anyway, Hunter books Daniel Bryan vs Big Show for the main event. Nothing real major about this segment, but it was a good way to hype up the main event

 

The Miz vs Fandango

….meh. To be honest, I didn’t really give a crap about this match. It was hard to get into for me considering my distaste towards both men. Fandango… because he’s Fandango. And The Miz because… well, he’s stale. He’s stale as hell as a face. Anyway, The Miz picked up the win, Fandango broke his nose and this feud is really been lame. This match was… OK, but it’s not a really great match to kick things off.

 

Backstage Segment – Booker T warns Daniel Bryan

There was a segment backstage with Booker T warning Daniel Bryan about getting involved with Triple H and even suggested giving up his title shot. What was good about this segment was that despite Booker T basically telling Bryan to just settle for B+, he bigged him up by saying someone like him shouldn’t be wrestling at indie shows and stuff. He’s too good not to be in the WWE and that does build him up a bit.

 

Ryback vs Dolph Ziggler

Pre-match ass-kicking dished out to Ziggler by Dean Ambrose before his match against the billed “mystery opponent”. With this, I think it does seem like Dolph Ziggler is getting a shot at the US Title, which is a shame. Ziggler’s had plenty of years spent fighting for mid-card titles and fighting for these titles just a few months after holding the big one is a big step down. However, on the flip side Ziggler fighting for the title does give it added prestige. I think Dean Ambrose’s opponents including Kane and Rob Van Dam have helped build it up nicely. Ziggler could do it much good. After Ambrose beat up Ziggler, Ryback was revealed as his opponent and Ziggler was basically being fed to the wolves. While this is a big win for Ryback, I hope they actually do something different with him other than this stupid-ass “Bully” gimmick. Couldn’t they have given someone else the role of being the “bully” to promote their BE A STAR campaign than Ryback? He deserves more I think.

 

Stephanie McMahon Reaches Out To Big Show

Stephanie McMahon tried to convince the Big Show to compete against Bryan, after Big Show refused to. OK, really? Why did Big Show bother turning up if he was just going to say, “Nah. I’m Not Fighting”. JBL made the same point. Wrestlers shouldn’t really refuse to wrestle if they bothered to turn up. Anyway, Stephanie did a really good job at “motivating” Big Show. She got real personal, and her speech to Show really gave you an insight to the difficulties the Giant had to deal with. She brought up his health, his family and the fact that “giants don’t live long”. I was shocked when she brought that up, but I was glad she did. I mean, she really exploited Show’s weakness and their friendship when she was a child. Stephanie was certainty the best person to have this segment with Show. Her delivery on the mic is just outstanding. It’s also good to see her again. She missed out last week and I hope she’s around a lot more often. There’s always a level of interest and emotion into her segments. Hell, watch her segment with AJ Lee in June. Watch her charade with Paul Heyman on RAW 1000. She can talk SO well.

Also, WWE showed that they were not forgetting past storylines too… sort of. Ever since, Big Show did jack-shit on RAW last week to help Daniel Bryan a lot of people brought up Big Show’s “Iron-Clad” contract which he gained from John Laurinaitis in 2012. According to Stephanie, Big Show would be in “Breach of his contract” if he was unable to perform any task he is required to do. And if he was in breach of his contract, WWE had the power to fire him. I’m sorry but, isn’t the “iron-clad” contract supposed to prevent WWE from firing him at all, even if he does “breach his contract”. I mean yeah, JBL tried to cover it up by saying that it wasn’t a legit contract because Laurinaitis gave him it. But it’s still daft to have Big Show be put in this “can’t-do-shit-or-he’s-fired” role. I mean, this is way to familiar to his “firing” in 2012.

 

Prime Time Players vs 3MB (Heath Slater and Jinder Mahal)

The Prime Time Players continued their streak since Darren Young came out. This week’s victims were 3MB. Actually, Slater and Mahal actually looked like legit competition to Young and Titus O’Neill. But the players ran out victorious and set for a shot at the tag titles I believe. With Henry injured and his team with Big Show in tatters, someone’s gotta fight the Shield.

 

Cody Rhodes vs Randy Orton

Really good match between Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton. The stipulation for the match was simple… if Cody lost, he was fired. So big pressure on Rhodes. But they both delivered. But the thing I hate about this match was that the fans weren’t paying attention to the match at all until the end due to some fans dressed as Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage I think, which was driving attention away from the match. I hate fans like this. You’ve got a legitimately good match going on between Orton and Rhodes. Not quite as good as their one on RAW a couple of months ago, but still good. And these idiots are not paying attention to it. In the end Orton won, and Cody Rhodes got “fired”. Apparently, this “firing” was to give Rhodes time off to spend with his wife-to-be for the next couple of weeks. But he’ll have a lot of momentum coming back because the fans were really behind Cody near the end. I sense a HUGE push in his future.

 

CM Punk Segment

Punk basically cut the same promo he’s been cutting for a couple of months now. Vowing to get his hands on Paul Heyman etc. I think Punk’s promo should have came in like the first hour of the show. It seemed a little misplaced.

 

Natalya vs Naomi vs Brie Bella

Very short number one contendership triple threat match which ended in a disqualification when AJ attacked all 3 women, and in turn got attacked herself. OK…. WHEN DOES A TRIPLE THREAT MATCH END IN A DISQUALIFICAITON! Triple Threats are NoDQ. It shouldn’t have been thrown as soon AJ entered the ring. Anyway, Stephanie McMahon decided that AJ would defend the divas title against Natalya, Naomi and Brie Bella at Night Of Championship in a fatal four way. I think a 4 way certainty beats a singles match. I think a singles match between AJ and anyone of these divas in a standard one on one would have been really bland. This adds a little excitement. I’ve heard rumours that AJ might drop the belt at Night Of Champions. I don’t think it should be the case. If WWE are going to have her drop I think it should be at a big PPV like Survivor Series. I know that the series finale of the “Total Divas” show is at Night Of Champions or something, but AJ’s title loss should be at a big event. Also, I think Kaitlyn should be added to this match and should make it a Championship Scramble or something. A 10-15 minute one or something.

 

Cody Rhodes Backstage Interview

A very good and emotional promo by Rhodes backstage after his loss. He claimed that the WWE hated the Rhodes family as they made his dad Dusty wear polka-dots and dance, and had his brother Dustin become Goldust and “never be the same again”. It was really heart-felt and it makes you think why Cody hardly ever has the mic in WWE. When he comes back, I hope WWE have something big for him because he deserves it.

 

Big Show vs Daniel Bryan

It was an OK match from Big Show. After a while spent beating Bryan up, he was about to unload the WMD punch. However, he was reluctant to do it. Triple H came out to tell him to go back it but after The Shield attacked Bryan, Big Show was still about to walk. In the end it was Stephanie who came out and told him to do it for his family. An emotional and reluctant Big Show waddled in the ring and did what he had to do to keep his job and KO’d Bryan. I think Big Show, HHH and Stephanie really did their best with the acting for this last scene of the night but I think the thing that puts down the emotion of this is the fact that Big Show was in a situation like this before just last year.

It was a good show. I think it was more of an emotional show if you will. Big Show and his emotional segments certainty kept you captivated. Cody Rhodes delivered an epic backstage promo just before he left. This RAW wasn’t really about the wrestling, it was about the dramas of the current storyline. And that’s alright, but I think things will pick up next week in the show before Night Of Champions, especially with Edge back for one night only.

I’m Tom Robinson. Don’t forget to follow me on Facebook and Twitter. Follow us at @ArmbarExpress on Twitter and go to https://www.facebook.com/ArmbarExpress to like the Facebook Page. My Twitter account is @TomRobinson5199 so gives us a follow there as well. Also an announcement…

I’ve started writing stuff for the website called WhatCulture. It’s a UK-site which focuses on different pieces of entertainment like Comics, Video Games, TV and well… WWE. The content I’ll produce on this site will be exclusive to that site. I’ve already done an article on Alberto Del Rio here. Please like the article on Facebook, share, retweet on Twitter and all that jazz, because it really helps me and the website out. I’ll be doing totally different things on that site than what I do here and it will be exclusive to that site. If you follow me on @TomRobinson5199 on Twitter, I’ll keeping posting links to articles on that site, so you’re never out of the loop.

And as for the random YouTube Video Of The Post. Chris Jericho has something to say. XD…