Raw discussion 24/06/2013.

[Arch Stanton]

 

Here's this week's 5 point preview from WWE.com...

 

1. Heyman Havoc

With Curtis Axel winning the Intercontinental Championship and CM Punk making a victorious return at WWE Payback, things seemed to be going Paul Heyman’s way. Brock Lesnar’s return on Raw should have cemented the mad scientist as the man to beat in WWE, but The Anomaly’s unprovoked attack on Punk has instead thrown the status of his stable into question. Though Lesnar’s motives are a matter of guesswork at this point, it’s no stretch to point out that Punk has been trying to distance himself from Heyman in the week since his return. What does the future hold for this painfully strained friendship?

 

2. Only the strong survive

Daniel Bryan’s quest to prove his worth hit a rough patch last Monday - WWE COO Triple H ordered his match against Randy Orton be stopped following a bone-jarring mishap Bryan suffered in the heat of battle. Bryan made his feelings known and got a rematch on SmackDown, but voiced further frustration after that bout ended in an indecisive count-out victory for the submission expert. As WWE.com reported, The Apex Predator will have to deal with his one-time tag partner for a third time, tonight on Raw. Can Orton prove that Bryan really is a "weak link," or will Bryan finally get his vindication?

 

3. World's Wrongest Slam

Mark Henry’s powerfully moving retirement speech this past Monday was, as it turned out, nothing more than a plus-sized ploy. Feigning a swan song, Henry led John Cena out into the open and ruthlessly plastered The Champ with a World’s Strongest Slam to formally stake his claim to Cena’s WWE Championship. With the match made for the titanic twosome at WWE Money in the Bank, what destruction does the No. 1 contender have planned for the champion as their long-awaited battle approaches?

 

4. Show stolen

It's been a rough couple of weeks for Dolph Ziggler, who lost his World Heavyweight Championship in heartbreaking fashion at Payback (to recap: Alberto Del Rio kicked him early and often in the recently-concussed head to win the title) and has been spoiling for a fight ever since. An unfavorable medical report did nothing to stop The Showoff from jumping Del Rio on Raw, but a similar attempt on SmackDown ended in calamity. Forget about will Ziggler make an appearance on Raw to address his loss; the more pertinent question is can he?

 

5. Cracking The Shield

Vickie Guerrero promised severe consequences for The Shield if Seth Rollins & Roman Reigns interfered in Dean Ambrose’s U.S. Title defense against Kane on Raw. The WWE Tag Team Champions swarmed The Devil’s Favorite Demon anyway, helping Ambrose to lay Kane out with the Triple Powerbomb and seeming not at all concerned about any possible repercussions for their actions. A sideways endorsement from The Chairman himself probably did nothing to shake their confidence that they’d walk away clean from the incident. However, with Triple H expecting a penalty for the troika of titleholders (and the McMahons seemingly angling to accomplish their own agendas), Vickie may be compelled to make these “Hounds of Justice” pay for putting her in the doghouse.

 

Last week's episode was pretty cracking, so let's see if they can capitalise on that momentum tonight. Probably not, but there's plenty to be enthusiastic about.

 

It seems that Daniel Bryan finally getting his big win over Randy Orton is the worst kept secret in the business. It was supposed to happen last week, but as things turned out the stinger he received has actually done him a favour. They kept the story ticking over nicely on SmackDown and so with added heat and anticipation, tonight should be his night, unless they have written another twist into the tale?

 

There are also rumours circling that the Wyatt Family are ready to debut. They can only show those vignettes for so long before people start to get bored and the excitement wears thin. They have been running those things twice a show for the past month. Tonight feels like the right time. But who would they target and what will they do?

 

Wonder if Lawler will be allowed to pay his respects to Jackie Fargo on air. You'd like to think so, but you just don't know where non-WWE names are concerned.

 

I don't know what to expect from Cena and Henry. The match is already confirmed for the PPV in three weeks and the angle they used to set it up was so damn good that it just isn't going to be topped, but they still have to promote it for another three Raws. I think it's going to be tough to keep the heat up, but hopefully there will be some good verbal exchanges. I'd love to see angry Cena and Henry in a bit of a shouting match. Hopefully John leaves the jokes at home.

[TheShowOff]

I hope they come out the gate and say Heyman instructed Brock to attack Punk, but going by the WWE.com preview, they are making it sound like a 'turmoil in the camp' storyline for now.

[GPW Kristian Zane]

Too soon to have the turn the next week, they should save it for a few weeks down the line otherwise they'll have run out of material before Summerslam.

[Scott Malbranque]

It was a decent enough Raw considering it had to follow last weeks belter.

Bryan really is something special these days, isn't he? Even though his personality is that of an almost bitter heel at times, he is arguably the most popular wrestler on the roster once he steps in between the ropes. He's just a joy to watch.

The dichotomy of Punk's mic skills are astounding at times. Last night, he went from being absolutely incredible to cringe worthy in about three sentences, and back to incredible again. I'm a fan of the man, I always have been, but sometimes his character really grates on me.

Really enjoyed AJ last night also...and Kaitlyn has no arse.

Oh, and it was also nice to see Ziggler hasn't been turned full goody yet.

[Ric Flair's Divorce Lawyer]

I thought this weeks Raw was good. The story lines are progressing nicely. You can sort of see which direction they are heading in with Punk/Heyman/Lesnar and with Daniel Bryan.

[King Pitcos]

The crowd let it down. It was always going to be a comedown episode after last week, but it could've seemed better if the crowd were more up for it. CM Punk had another crap match, total clusterfuck (did both him and Darren Young get injured in it?), and his thing with Heyman was a bit wayward beforehand as well. Rambling, repeating himself. Was alright at points though.

 

Henry and Cena did as good a job as possible following last week. Bryan vs Orton never came across as well as it should've, for me. That ending should've seemed bigger. Putting Jericho in the Ziggler-Del Rio feud for the last few shows then switching him to a randomly-generated feud with Ryback makes little sense to me. I can see why they want to give Ryback a win over someone on pay-per-view and Jericho's leaving, but they could've made the match more creatively.

[IANdrewDiceClay]

Yeah, the crowd was shite. The finish of the main event could have been a special moment in front of a wild crowd. They didn't seem to fussed about anything. Some really good stuff on Raw, though. You dont throw the sink at the fans every week. I think it was the perfect pace following the adrenaline rush that was last week. You need a come down after something like the last show.

 

The Wyatt vignette didnt do it for me, I'm gutted to say. They seem to get more over produced and less subtle every week. Or maybe my standards are to high, because the first one the did was one of the best vignettes I'd ever seen. Up there with Razor Ramon tipping that bloke in the fountain. Either way, I hope they debut soon. I'm super interested in what they do with them. In theory, Bray Wyatt should have been the one who took the Undertaker out. Not the Shield. That character could make magic with the Undertaker.

[Snitsky's back acne]

The Wyatt vignette didnt do it for me, I'm gutted to say. They seem to get more over produced and less subtle every week. Or maybe my standards are to high, because the first one the did was one of the best vignettes I'd ever seen. Up there with Razor Ramon tipping that bloke in the fountain. Either way, I hope they debut soon. I'm super interested in what they do with them. In theory, Bray Wyatt should have been the one who took the Undertaker out. Not the Shield. That character could make magic with the Undertaker.

 

I did like the 'they say we're coming....but we're already here' line.

 

Seeing Audrey Marie hanging from that branch the other week really makes me wish they hadn't released her as I reckon she'd have been a good fit as a flowery-dressed, bare-footed female disciple of The Wyatt Family - especially if they're giving it a Manson Family vibe.

[Mr Butternut Squash]

The Punk/Heyman segment went on for fucking ever and killed the crowd dead. Can't say Punk's done anything for me since he's come back but I won't dismiss this thing with Heyman yet, slow build and all that. Brock has too much of the stench of HHH on him at this point.

 

It's great that Bryan got his big win on Orton. I couldn't help looking at him and thinking it's time for him to finally grow up, though.

[Sexy Dad]

A decent Raw this week, but the crowd did let it down a little. However, Orton vs Bryan did deliver and had it have happened in front of a better crowd then it may have been more special but it doesn't take away from the visual of Bryan making the 9x World Champion tap out. Orton is back at his best and to see him in there with Bryan who is on incredible form - a really good match.

 

I think Henry and Cena staying away from each other this week was a good idea. The feud is built on Henry's deception of everybody and his hunger for the title rather than an issue with Cena so I'm glad they aren't exhausting their interaction like what happened with Cena and Ryback.

 

I didn't care for the Punk stuff. He did the right thing steering away from the OVW tale as nobody wants to hear his history to such great detail in a promo. It reminded me of the stuff with Triple H in 2011. It was delivered fairly well between Punk, Heyman and then Axel but I'm just not that fussed watching Heyman and Punk fall out.

[King Pitcos]

I didn't care for the Punk stuff. He did the right thing steering away from the OVW tale as nobody wants to hear his history to such great detail in a promo. It reminded me of the stuff with Triple H in 2011.

That was weird, how he talked for three quarters of an hour about OVW and ECW and then realised everyone was bored and chanting for Lesnar, so he just stopped. I don't think he'd have taken notice in 2011.

[FLips]

Thought the main event was PPV quality (for lack of a better term). Shame the crowd weren't that into it. I'm excited for Bray Wyatt's debut, but I'm not under the impression he'll be putting on 5 star matches. He's still just Husky Harris with a character. I've seen some of his NXT stuff and for me he's all style and very little substance at the minute.

[The King Of Swing]

I actually enjoyed the Punk/Heyman segment but that was almost entirely down to Heyman who I believe is still one of the best in the business when given a mic. Punk was ok and his I'm sorry I doubted you line was a decent twist in the tale. I do agree that the segment went on a little long though but overall I am interested enough to see when things are going.

 

Cena and Henry did all that could be expected of them in selling their match at MITB and looked great doing so. I fucking hate Cena's entrance though.

 

I'm actually warming to the McMahon/Triple H stuff now and I think it works better just having them all dick Vickie around in backstage segments instead of dominating the show.

 

Brad Maddox is great as the obnoxious little shit constantly going behind Vickie's back and getting bitched out by everyone, he also makes Vickie less irritating and I honestly find their double act pretty entertaining. The moment Brad attempted to get in between Ryback and Jericho only to brick it and back down was great and Triple H's mocking him got a laugh out of me as well.

 

Skipped the video game segment.

 

Love the Wyatt promos but I fear that they are fast approaching that "hurry the fuck up and debut" point now and that WWE are milking it all a little too much.

 

Not digging the AJ/Kaitlen feud at all to be honest.

 

Cracking main event that I agree was let down by a rather lack luster crowd. Over all a pretty good Raw I thought.

[Guest]

I normally disagree re punk looking awful, but his primark hoodie and his poor kid at school hair length last night looked terrible

[d-d-d-dAz]

Darren Young rushing to tap out before the hold was even properly on was hilarious, Punks angry face was funnier.

 

I do love CM Punk, mostly in theory these days, but boy did he need to take longer off. He's struggling through matches, he's lost his pop, he looks out of shape, his hairs poo and I've a suspicion his knee and back are still as fucked as they ever were.

 

It's such a shame that Bryan's solo push started in front of the only crowd in North America that couldn't have really given a toss about Daniel Bryan.

 

Mark Henry is still the man.

 

'This is all y'all....daaaaaaaancing!'

 

'I know I look good...this ain't no Men's Warehouse.'

 

Oh, and Ryback"s still a bit of a guilty pleasure. He did as well as h could with Khali, far better then most do.