Post by The Ultimate Nullifier on Jan 13, 2014 23:28:33 GMT -6
WWE Monday Night Raw January 13, 2014 Providence, RI
Commentary: Michael Cole w/ Jerry Lawler & JBL
Ring Announcer: Lillian Garcia
Bray Wyatt & Daniel Bryan vs The Usos
The Usos defeated the Wyatts via DQ when Luke Harper and Rowan rushed in to stop the Usos from gaining victory. Daniel Bryan played a very willing partner, with no real signs of dissension tonight. After the match, Daniel Bryan submitted himself to Bray, and Bray delivered Sister Abigail. Bray kept telling Bryan that it was for the greater good, and that he initiates everyone this way. The Family, all four together, walked to the back after all this.
John Cena is in action tonight, and Batista returns next week.
Damien Sandow vs John Cena
Cena at 8:30 is so weird. They played up the Sandow MITB title loss to Cena last October, saying it's a new year for Sandow and he's a new man. They certainly made Sandow look super credible. Sandow kicked out of a tornado DDT from Cena (!), grabbed the ropes on an STF, and almost tapped Cena to a crossface. It was the crossface, however, that Cena countered by lifting Sandow up into an AA for the victory. Pretty good match, with the trading of nearfalls at the end the highlight. Cena hitting the Tornado DDT was something.
They showed some Twitter comments about the WWE Network, then cut to a full video package highlighting the new endeavor. Looking forward to seeing the 1999 ECW PPVs, honestly, as I never have and haven't sought them out until now.
Backstage, Kane and Brad Maddox had a discussion. Brad mocked Kane about the chaos at the start of the show with the Wyatts. Kane blamed Brad for not enforcing rules. Brad made the Usos vs Bryan & Wyatt in a rematch... tonight. In a steel cage, no less. Kane said he had a better idea. Have the steel cage match, with the door locked shut, and Kane would have the only key.
Big Show vs Jack Swagger
Show won with a chokeslam. After the match, he ran off Antonio Cesaro and delivered a knockout punch to Zeb Colter. Cesaro sold like he was shocked someone would do such a thing. Show is a hero, apparently. They continued to push of Big Show vs Lesnar, saying Show never liked Lesnar and likes him even less now that Brock is back.
CM Punk & The New Age Outlaws vs The Shield is next, we're told.
Punk & The Outlaws vs The Shield
Billy Gunn is the best all time. He wrestled with his tanktop on, and started the match with Rollins. Gunn was in briefly before tagging into James, who did his short jabs and rattle knee drop to chants of "You still got it." James tagged out to Punk, and Ambrose backed off quickly. After psyching himself up, Ambrose attacked to no avail and tagged out to Roman Reigns. After several minutes of further wrestling, in which it was clear Roman was the big player, we had a surprising ending. Punk, getting beaten by all three members of the Shield, was trying to tag out to either of the Outlaws. However, the Outlaws backed off the apron, and walked out on Punk. Punk, shocked and realizing his certain doom, turned back to see all three members of The Shield circling. Punk did his best to fight the three off, but he succumbed to a spear from Roman for the 1-2-3. The Shield wins, and we're left to wonder why the Outlaws left him behind in the middle of the match. Maybe the Authority got to them?
After the match, the Shield were leaving the ring when Roman Reigns had an idea. He wanted to do the triple powerbomb, so Rollins and Ambrose went back in and the trio delivered the punishment to Punk.
Backstage, somewhere, Bray Wyatt was lecturing Daniel Bryan. Bray said the last thing the Usos want is to be locked in a cage with the Wyatts. Society is a cage, Bray said, and they've been locked in a cage their whole lives. Tonight, inside the steel cage, the Wyatts find their absolution.
Cameron & EMMA Debuts!!!!!
Nothing in this match is going to matter, because before it began, we saw EMMA in the crowd holding up a sign that read "#EMMAtaining". JBL pointed her out while she did her adorable dance. Shawn Bennett, a ref in NXT, also made his first appearance, I believe, on WWE TV in this match as the referee.
AJ pinned Cameron with the Shining Wizard. Naomi cleared the ring of AJ and Tamina afterwards. With 211 days as champion, AJ Lee is only 5 days away from being the longest reigning Divas Champion, according to Michael Cole.
Backstage, Randy Orton was steaming in the hallways on his quest to find the Authority.
After break, backstage, Randy Orton was complaining to Kane about having Cena, Lesnar, and Batista after him. He said the Authority should be protecting him. Kane made Orton vs Kofi Kingston for later. Orton liked this idea.
The WWE Network is coming.
WWE Hall of Fame 2014: The Ultimate Warrior is the first inductee. He's the guy that lost to Hogan at Halloween Havoc 1998, the same show that cut off the ending of DDP vs Goldberg.
Backstage, Renee Young got an interview with Paul Heyman. Paul repeated Brock's new motto, while despising Show's actions from earlier in knocking out Zeb Colter. Paul called Big Show stupid, and said it was an awful idea to pick a fight with Brock. Show vs Brock is official for the Rumble.
Randy Orton vs Kofi Kingston
Kofi Kingston pinned Randy Orton after an SOS. Kofi countered Orton's draping DDT to hit the move. Orton was shocked, as was the crowd, who gave Kofi no chance to win. Cole called this the biggest upset in recent memory. The bigger upset is that Kofi didn't do something STUPID! to piss Orton off. Kofi Kingston is officially joining the Royal Rumble match, as is Miz, Big E Langston, Xavier Woods, Goldust and Cody Rhodes.
Orton got huge heat from the crowd in going crazy about his loss. He tore up the announce table, and yelled at the fans, while looking around as if he wanted to do something. Well, he did. Orton grabbed a fan in the crowd and attacked him before getting pulled away by security. The "fan" was John Cena's dad, which Cole acknowledged. John Cena ran out and sent Orton away, then Cena checked on his father. Orton looked so proud of himself. Cena's dad played it like he was dead.
After a break, Cena's dad was carried out in a stretcher.
The Rhodes Brothers beat The Ryback & Curtis Axel when Cody pinned Axel after CrossRhodes. Best part of the match was when Lawler said that if you order the WWE Network, you can watch Lawler beat Curt Hennig for the AWA Title. JBL quipped that it wasn't exactly fair, since Lawler booked the territory.
Batista returns next week.
Rey Mysterio vs Alberto Del Rio
Lillian Garcia introduced Del Rio in Spanish. Del Rio beat Rey with the cross armbreaker. Crowd has been very quiet for the last three segments, only surprising me now with the fan favorite Rey involved. They claimed Del Rio wanted this match to prove a point to Batista, because Rey is Batista's little buddy. Del Rio again warned Batista that he will win the Royal Rumble, and make people shut up about Batista's return.
We got another highlight video of the WWE Network announcement.
Backstage, Punk asked Kane where HHH was. Kane said he wasn't here tonight. Punk suspects Hunter had something to do with the Outlaws leaving him for dead tonight. Kane announced that CM Punk would be entered into the Royal Rumble match. Punk said he has a problem with Kane.
The Usos, one shouting gibberish and one speaking English, said they'd beat the Wyatts tonight. In many more words than that.
We got a replay of Kofi's win over Orton tonight. Michael Cole said John Cena's dad's heart is okay, but he has a broken eye socket.
The Experiment is Over
Since the show began with the Usos in the ring, we got the Usos dance before this match as part of their entrance. The Wyatts were already in the ring, since they did a full entrance in the first match. Kane came out with a chain to lock the cage door. The match began at 10:51 PM.
The Usos went to escape early, but Rowan and Harper were outside the ring waiting, hindering the Usos' path to escape. Match had an incredible lack of heat, cheers, or any response from the crowd, really. The entire past 90 minutes has been that way, though. Seeing Cena twice already may have played a part in that?
The crowd came alive, kind of, only when Bryan was on attack. There was a cool spot when Bray went for Sister Abigail, gave the kiss, but then the other Uso superkicked him. At 11, the crowd started coming alive. After the superkick, the Usos tried to escape again. Again, the Wyatt's were ready, but Bryan and Bray cut them off before the Usos got to the top. After a brief brawl, the Usos dropped both Bray and Bryan and climbed over the cage top. Both Usos jumped, with one landing on Rowan in a cross body. The Usos win!
To little reaction. Wyatt's now 0-3 on Raw since Bryan joined. Bray was smiling and laughing after his loss. The Usos got out of the way and we were left with Bray and Bryan in the ring as the crowd came alive to chant "YES!" Bray whispered in Bryan's ear, as he did earlier, and Bryan again went to submit for Sister Abigail. Bray, smiling, went to land the move. Bryan, however, escape. He shrugged Wyatt off and the crowd went nuts. Bray told Bryan not to defy him. The crowd was hotter than they'd been all night now. Bryan backed up into a corner, as Bray wondered if Bryan wanted to hurt him. Bray submitted himself now to Bryan.
At first, Bryan didn't make a move. Bray called him a coward and attacked. Bryan moved, and went off on Bray with kicks all over the place. HUGE REACTION. Crowd going crazy with YES! chants. WWE got the message. Bryan delivered several kicks to the body, ending with a head kick. At this point, the Wyatts were trying to get in the ring. Bryan undressed from his gray clothes to reveal his red gear. Bryan went off with more kicks as the Wyatt Family failed to get in the ring. Bryan did the YES! chants before hitting the Baisuke knee on Wyatt to complete his short run as an evil doer.
After the onslaught, Bryan climbed atop the cage and lead the crowd in YES! chants. Best thing on the show by far. Daniel Bryan's long national nightmare is over. The image of the entire arena, after being so silent all night, chanting along with Bryan atop the cage was so great.
Commentary: Michael Cole w/ Jerry Lawler & JBL
Ring Announcer: Lillian Garcia
Bray Wyatt & Daniel Bryan vs The Usos
The Usos defeated the Wyatts via DQ when Luke Harper and Rowan rushed in to stop the Usos from gaining victory. Daniel Bryan played a very willing partner, with no real signs of dissension tonight. After the match, Daniel Bryan submitted himself to Bray, and Bray delivered Sister Abigail. Bray kept telling Bryan that it was for the greater good, and that he initiates everyone this way. The Family, all four together, walked to the back after all this.
John Cena is in action tonight, and Batista returns next week.
Damien Sandow vs John Cena
Cena at 8:30 is so weird. They played up the Sandow MITB title loss to Cena last October, saying it's a new year for Sandow and he's a new man. They certainly made Sandow look super credible. Sandow kicked out of a tornado DDT from Cena (!), grabbed the ropes on an STF, and almost tapped Cena to a crossface. It was the crossface, however, that Cena countered by lifting Sandow up into an AA for the victory. Pretty good match, with the trading of nearfalls at the end the highlight. Cena hitting the Tornado DDT was something.
They showed some Twitter comments about the WWE Network, then cut to a full video package highlighting the new endeavor. Looking forward to seeing the 1999 ECW PPVs, honestly, as I never have and haven't sought them out until now.
Backstage, Kane and Brad Maddox had a discussion. Brad mocked Kane about the chaos at the start of the show with the Wyatts. Kane blamed Brad for not enforcing rules. Brad made the Usos vs Bryan & Wyatt in a rematch... tonight. In a steel cage, no less. Kane said he had a better idea. Have the steel cage match, with the door locked shut, and Kane would have the only key.
Big Show vs Jack Swagger
Show won with a chokeslam. After the match, he ran off Antonio Cesaro and delivered a knockout punch to Zeb Colter. Cesaro sold like he was shocked someone would do such a thing. Show is a hero, apparently. They continued to push of Big Show vs Lesnar, saying Show never liked Lesnar and likes him even less now that Brock is back.
CM Punk & The New Age Outlaws vs The Shield is next, we're told.
Punk & The Outlaws vs The Shield
Billy Gunn is the best all time. He wrestled with his tanktop on, and started the match with Rollins. Gunn was in briefly before tagging into James, who did his short jabs and rattle knee drop to chants of "You still got it." James tagged out to Punk, and Ambrose backed off quickly. After psyching himself up, Ambrose attacked to no avail and tagged out to Roman Reigns. After several minutes of further wrestling, in which it was clear Roman was the big player, we had a surprising ending. Punk, getting beaten by all three members of the Shield, was trying to tag out to either of the Outlaws. However, the Outlaws backed off the apron, and walked out on Punk. Punk, shocked and realizing his certain doom, turned back to see all three members of The Shield circling. Punk did his best to fight the three off, but he succumbed to a spear from Roman for the 1-2-3. The Shield wins, and we're left to wonder why the Outlaws left him behind in the middle of the match. Maybe the Authority got to them?
After the match, the Shield were leaving the ring when Roman Reigns had an idea. He wanted to do the triple powerbomb, so Rollins and Ambrose went back in and the trio delivered the punishment to Punk.
Backstage, somewhere, Bray Wyatt was lecturing Daniel Bryan. Bray said the last thing the Usos want is to be locked in a cage with the Wyatts. Society is a cage, Bray said, and they've been locked in a cage their whole lives. Tonight, inside the steel cage, the Wyatts find their absolution.
Cameron & EMMA Debuts!!!!!
Nothing in this match is going to matter, because before it began, we saw EMMA in the crowd holding up a sign that read "#EMMAtaining". JBL pointed her out while she did her adorable dance. Shawn Bennett, a ref in NXT, also made his first appearance, I believe, on WWE TV in this match as the referee.
AJ pinned Cameron with the Shining Wizard. Naomi cleared the ring of AJ and Tamina afterwards. With 211 days as champion, AJ Lee is only 5 days away from being the longest reigning Divas Champion, according to Michael Cole.
Backstage, Randy Orton was steaming in the hallways on his quest to find the Authority.
After break, backstage, Randy Orton was complaining to Kane about having Cena, Lesnar, and Batista after him. He said the Authority should be protecting him. Kane made Orton vs Kofi Kingston for later. Orton liked this idea.
The WWE Network is coming.
WWE Hall of Fame 2014: The Ultimate Warrior is the first inductee. He's the guy that lost to Hogan at Halloween Havoc 1998, the same show that cut off the ending of DDP vs Goldberg.
Backstage, Renee Young got an interview with Paul Heyman. Paul repeated Brock's new motto, while despising Show's actions from earlier in knocking out Zeb Colter. Paul called Big Show stupid, and said it was an awful idea to pick a fight with Brock. Show vs Brock is official for the Rumble.
Randy Orton vs Kofi Kingston
Kofi Kingston pinned Randy Orton after an SOS. Kofi countered Orton's draping DDT to hit the move. Orton was shocked, as was the crowd, who gave Kofi no chance to win. Cole called this the biggest upset in recent memory. The bigger upset is that Kofi didn't do something STUPID! to piss Orton off. Kofi Kingston is officially joining the Royal Rumble match, as is Miz, Big E Langston, Xavier Woods, Goldust and Cody Rhodes.
Orton got huge heat from the crowd in going crazy about his loss. He tore up the announce table, and yelled at the fans, while looking around as if he wanted to do something. Well, he did. Orton grabbed a fan in the crowd and attacked him before getting pulled away by security. The "fan" was John Cena's dad, which Cole acknowledged. John Cena ran out and sent Orton away, then Cena checked on his father. Orton looked so proud of himself. Cena's dad played it like he was dead.
After a break, Cena's dad was carried out in a stretcher.
The Rhodes Brothers beat The Ryback & Curtis Axel when Cody pinned Axel after CrossRhodes. Best part of the match was when Lawler said that if you order the WWE Network, you can watch Lawler beat Curt Hennig for the AWA Title. JBL quipped that it wasn't exactly fair, since Lawler booked the territory.
Batista returns next week.
Rey Mysterio vs Alberto Del Rio
Lillian Garcia introduced Del Rio in Spanish. Del Rio beat Rey with the cross armbreaker. Crowd has been very quiet for the last three segments, only surprising me now with the fan favorite Rey involved. They claimed Del Rio wanted this match to prove a point to Batista, because Rey is Batista's little buddy. Del Rio again warned Batista that he will win the Royal Rumble, and make people shut up about Batista's return.
We got another highlight video of the WWE Network announcement.
Backstage, Punk asked Kane where HHH was. Kane said he wasn't here tonight. Punk suspects Hunter had something to do with the Outlaws leaving him for dead tonight. Kane announced that CM Punk would be entered into the Royal Rumble match. Punk said he has a problem with Kane.
The Usos, one shouting gibberish and one speaking English, said they'd beat the Wyatts tonight. In many more words than that.
We got a replay of Kofi's win over Orton tonight. Michael Cole said John Cena's dad's heart is okay, but he has a broken eye socket.
The Experiment is Over
Since the show began with the Usos in the ring, we got the Usos dance before this match as part of their entrance. The Wyatts were already in the ring, since they did a full entrance in the first match. Kane came out with a chain to lock the cage door. The match began at 10:51 PM.
The Usos went to escape early, but Rowan and Harper were outside the ring waiting, hindering the Usos' path to escape. Match had an incredible lack of heat, cheers, or any response from the crowd, really. The entire past 90 minutes has been that way, though. Seeing Cena twice already may have played a part in that?
The crowd came alive, kind of, only when Bryan was on attack. There was a cool spot when Bray went for Sister Abigail, gave the kiss, but then the other Uso superkicked him. At 11, the crowd started coming alive. After the superkick, the Usos tried to escape again. Again, the Wyatt's were ready, but Bryan and Bray cut them off before the Usos got to the top. After a brief brawl, the Usos dropped both Bray and Bryan and climbed over the cage top. Both Usos jumped, with one landing on Rowan in a cross body. The Usos win!
To little reaction. Wyatt's now 0-3 on Raw since Bryan joined. Bray was smiling and laughing after his loss. The Usos got out of the way and we were left with Bray and Bryan in the ring as the crowd came alive to chant "YES!" Bray whispered in Bryan's ear, as he did earlier, and Bryan again went to submit for Sister Abigail. Bray, smiling, went to land the move. Bryan, however, escape. He shrugged Wyatt off and the crowd went nuts. Bray told Bryan not to defy him. The crowd was hotter than they'd been all night now. Bryan backed up into a corner, as Bray wondered if Bryan wanted to hurt him. Bray submitted himself now to Bryan.
At first, Bryan didn't make a move. Bray called him a coward and attacked. Bryan moved, and went off on Bray with kicks all over the place. HUGE REACTION. Crowd going crazy with YES! chants. WWE got the message. Bryan delivered several kicks to the body, ending with a head kick. At this point, the Wyatts were trying to get in the ring. Bryan undressed from his gray clothes to reveal his red gear. Bryan went off with more kicks as the Wyatt Family failed to get in the ring. Bryan did the YES! chants before hitting the Baisuke knee on Wyatt to complete his short run as an evil doer.
After the onslaught, Bryan climbed atop the cage and lead the crowd in YES! chants. Best thing on the show by far. Daniel Bryan's long national nightmare is over. The image of the entire arena, after being so silent all night, chanting along with Bryan atop the cage was so great.