Hunter comes out with Batista and Orton(Evolution). Hunter says nothing else happens until the Shield is destroyed. Batista wants his title match first and Hunter says no. Batista quits and walks out; Hunter yells for him to come back but he doesn’t.
^I’m not a huge Batista fan. I don’t believe there is much more he can do at this point in his career to contribute in a positive way(this rub for the Shield is probably the most he’s ever done). Let the man go.
Sheamus and Rob Van Dam defeat Bad News Barrett and Cesaro in tag team action. Cesaro bails on Barrett and that leads to a brogue kick and a five star frogsplash for the pinfall victory.
^Fun tag team match with four quality talents. It says a lot about the lack of faith in the lower midcard workers of WWE when four of the top performers are competing for the IC and United States Championship.
Damien Sandow comes down in a lance stephenson jersey. He rips apart the Pacers. Big Show interrupts and ends up knocking Sandow out.
^Good comedy for the crowd. Not much of a wrestling segment. Maybe a Sandow/Show match for Main Event this week?
Bo Dallas takes on Kofi Kingston. Bo cuts a promo before the match and says all the Miami Heat Bo-lieved and that’s why they defeated the Pacers. Bo wins a short match with the running Bo-dog.
^That was short and basic. Time to change it up just a bit. A big win over a talent like Kofi is definitely no small feat, but who is going to care when every match has the same BO-ring formula?
Renee Young is backstage and she is trying to get Hunter for a word. Stephanie answers the door and says Hunter is busy but she’s going to the ring to make an announcement regarding the WWE World Title.
^Intriguing but predictable.
Stephanie McMahon comes to the ring and announces that the World Title match at Money in the Bank will be Kane vs Daniel Bryan in a stretcher match. She says if Daniel Bryan cannot compete, then the MITB Ladder Match will be for the vacant title itself rather than just a title shot. John Cena comes out and argues with her. She brings out his opponent for right now, Kane.
^I’m glad WWE is being honest about Daniel Bryan. There’s no point in deciding now which way the pay per view will go; I like the speculation that will continue to grow until we get closer to the show.
Kane loses to John Cena by DQ when he won’t stop beating Cena down. Kane tries to beat up Cena after the match but Cena counters out with the ring steps and leaves as officials force him to the back.
^Kane and Cena in a ring together? BORING! Thanks for reminding us that Kane does your bidding, Stephanie. We’d almost forgotten.
Randy Orton tells Renee Young that he’ll be facing Roman Reigns tonight.
^Could be an excellent matchup. Orton could help make a guy like Reigns look like a mega star in the ring.
The Los Matadores defeat Heath Slater and Drew McIntyre.
^This feud has grown tiring. Change it up, please! McIntyre deserves another shot at those midcard titles; the dude possesses a good amount of talent in the ring and seems to have grown up quite a bit. I could see him improving his mic skills and getting over more with the crowd.
Aksana and Alicia Fox defeat Nikki Bella in a handicap match.
^So Nikki Bella pays the price for Brie screwing over the Authority. Works well for the show and puts three divas on tv at once rather than just two. At least everything about this is sensible and develops the personality more of our female talents.
Rowan and Harper have a quick promo.
^No Bray. Not surprised. He’ll bounce back by next week, I speculate.
Adam Rose defeats Jack Swagger in a short match.
^Rose has a very bright future, and that is a good thing. Swagger could do a lot with Rose if they’re given a good amount of time in the ring together.
Rowan and Harper defeat the Usos in a non-title match.
^That was one helluva tag team match. I’m genuinely surprised that we didn’t get this match at the Payback pay per view. Rowan and Harper will be on their way to tag team gold possibly at Money in the Bank since the feud will probably last until the pay per view.
Alberto Del Rio makes Dolph Ziggler tap out to become the first man to qualify for Money in the Bank.
^I was a bit surprised here, but I guess that just means we won’t be seeing a world title in the near future for Dolph Ziggler. I didn’t expect him to win anyway, nor do I expect Del Rio to win another briefcase.
Goldust and Sin Cara(the partner Cody handpicked for his brother, Goldust) are defeated by Ryback and Curtis Axel(RybAxel). Axel pins Sin Cara after the “Axehole” finisher.
^This Goldust/Cody situation is weird, but I guess it’s better than just a simple break turned into a feud. I’m curious to see who else Goldust might team with over the next few weeks.
The Hero of The Russian Federation Ceremony takes place for Rusev. This was done in honor of Rusev defeating Big E at Payback.
^So a wrestler gets a ceremony for getting a win at a pay per view? How come we don’t see more of them if that’s the case? This was silly, but I guess it was different than a typical Rusev squash. Props for originality, but thumbs down for a silly concept.
It’s time for Randy Orton to take on Roman Reigns. The Shield comes to the ring and talk about Evolution. Hunter and Orton come out and say there is always a backup plan. Rollins nails Ambrose and Reigns with a chair and beats them down. Rollins has joined Evolution as Raw goes off the air.
^Best part of the show by a mile. Rollins turning was a good surprise for the situation. Now will we see a new member or two(Sami Zayn, Adrian Neville, or even perhaps the Ascension) for the Shield? It’s hard to know for sure, but I could definitely see another six man tag happening at Money in the Bank with a new member in the group.
One good tag team match and a good closing segment don’t mean much overall for the show quality. I’m giving this one a generous four out of ten in hopes that the show setup will improve with more wrestling next week.
Thanks for reading!
