Monday Night Raw Review 12/11/13

Monday Night Raw Review - 12/11/13 or 11/12/13, depending on where you're from.



We're in Manchester, England for this Raw, and the shows in England are usually quite memorable, so hopefully this will be the same.



Randy Orton comes out to tell us he's in charge, which brings out Brad Maddox to say that he's in charge, that in turn brings out Mr Kane to say that he's in charge. Ultimately it didn't matter as Vickie Guerrero appeared to make Orton face the tag champs. Kind of a pointless segment just to prove that HHH and Stephanie are actually on vacation. At least it set up a match.



Randy Orton vs The Rhodes Brothers
They've kind of pinned themselves into a corner with this one, because they don't want to make Orton lose a match, and they can't let Orton beat the tag champs as that would make the Tag Titles meaningless, and the champs weak. Plus if they go for the usual count-out or DQ finish, then they'll probably piss off the live crowd. The match was pretty good while it lasted with the Tag Champs looking good against the WWE Champion, but it did lead to that inevitable count-out loss. **



But here comes the Big Show and he wants a piece of Orton. Show beats him up around the ring, before giving him a huge chokeslam through the announce table. That got me more interested in seeing their match at Survivor Series. But where the hell was the Shield when all of this was going on?



During the commercial break, Big Show grabs a black cab and goes for a pint with the driver. Sounds like my kind of guy.



Los Matadores & Santino Marella vs The Union Jacks
I don't know about you, but I'm getting tired of this gimmick. In what world is that one of the best entrances ever? The Union Jacks are actually 3MB, and I'm already wanting them to win.(As a side note, Drew got the biggest pop at the Glasgow show, and they had him lose to the Usos playing heel. Couldn't they give the hometown boy his win, or is it a sign of the Usos turning heel? It still pisses me off). Just a short comendy filler match here. 1/2*


Doplh Ziggler will face Curtis Axel for the IC Title. I smell a title change! At least I hope I do.



Damien Sandow vs Kofi Kingston
The crowd seemed to be behind Sandow in this one. Good, he deserves a push after that MITB match performance. This was just an extended squash for Sandow, as Kofi got very little offense in. Sandow wins with the full nelson slam which he now calls the 'You're Welcome'. 1/2*



Dolph Ziggler vs Curtis Axel
IC Title is on the line, now the reason as to why I'm excited about this one is that the WWE seems to like Title changes when they're in a different country, and the IC Title is sorely needing a new champion. Don't get me wrong, I like Axel, but he's just not the right guy for the Title just now. The crowd was basically dead for Axel's moments of offense which isn't a good sign for him. Axel did look pretty good as he kicked out of a few nearfalls. I guess my prediction was wrong as Axel retains the Championship. Solid match. **1/2



We've got another two handicap matches with John Cena facing the Real Americans, and CM Punk and Daniel Bryan will be taking on the Shield.



Daughter of Jimmy Snuka vs Nikki Bella
I think it was Nikki Bella, althought it might be Brie, I wasn't paying attention. I think Nikki nearly had another nip slip. I love the fans chants of 'We want tables' and I think I may have a sarcastic 'This is awesome' chant. This match sucked. DUD



Oh crap the fans are back to 'Fandangoing'. How long until WWE sucks all the fun out of it again?



Fandango vs Tyson Kidd
Thank god that Kidd gets a singles match. It better get enought time to show his awesome athleticism. Please don't put Tyson in all that reality tv bullshit. Unfortunately it's a short match that Fandango wins. At least Tyson got to show off some moves. 3/4*



John Cena vs The Real Americans
If Cena beats either of these guys cleanly, I will be annoyed. I'm already annoyed that Del Rio is getting a rematch for the World Title at Survivor Series. If Cena doesn't win that match, I'll be the most surprised person on the planet. Cesaro's uppercut to Cena was awesome, and got more of a pop than anything Cena did. Cesaro looked great in this one. Swagger taps to the STF to give Cena the win. Boooo. We didn't even get to see a swing. Fun match though. **3/4


After the match, Del Rio attacks Cena with a chair, and Big E Langston gets the save. That'll probably set up a match.



Ryback vs R-Truth
I didn't realise how fun it was to shout 'What's Up' at a WWE Live show. I know it was stupid but it was fun. Short, unspectacular match that gave R-Truth a fluke win. Ryback has definitely lost a lot of his threat. 1/2*



Big E Langston vs Alberto Del Rio
Another match where they can't really give either superstar a loss. Big E needs to look like a great up-and-comer, and Del Rio needs to look like a World Title contender. Del Rio got no reaction for his entrance. The crowd even starts a wave! Big E taps out to end the match. Well that will have killed his momentum. Just not a good match here. 3/4*



They usually sell us WWE Live in the UK DVDs over here, but unless the main event is awesome, I can't see anyone buying this one.


Cena and Del Rio will have an arm wrestling contest on Smackdown. Are you fucking kidding?



Paul Heyman is back! He basically tells us that Ryback was shit in his role, and blames all of us for his beating at Hell in a Cell. Don't blame me Paul, I didn't even wanna see the match. Heyman will return with a vengeance, and I'm guessing that it's name will be Brock Lesnar. CM Punk comes out, takes out Axel, and Heyman knows he's screwed. Punk hits Paul a few times with the kendo stick and that ends that segment, because it's time for the main event!



CM Punk & Daniel Bryan vs The Shield
I'm guessing that this will end with the Wyatt Family interfering, but I'm just gonna enjoy the journey with what should be a good match. I just realised that this is the first time that Punk has faced the Shield in a match. Thought it was interesting. This was a great match with a hot finish until the Wyatt's turned up (called it). ***1/2


The Wyatt's and the Shield have a showdown! There's a match I wanna see. They make a truce and go after Punk and Bryan. Here comes the Usos and the Tag Champs to even things up! I smell a Survivor Series match.



The only things I remember about this Raw were the opening and closing segments (with the closing being particularly awesome) and the main event. Everything else was forgettable and never really lead to anything except for that dumb arm wrestling contest on Smackdown.


Next up on my review list is the Summerslam 2013 Blu Ray which I'll probably do later today.