The (newly-named) Shield take out one of their latest victims. Photo credit: WWE.com
Ryback defeated Titus O'Neil in an average match up, although that was more than I was expecting. Surprisingly to me O'Neil was made to look fairly competitive here, which should minimise the damage done to him a bit.
Afterwards Ryback refused to leave the ring until CM Punk or his three attackers last week and at Survivor Series come out. But of course they didn't, instead Vickie Guerrero sent out a security team to subdue him, which failed. After pleading with him Ryback told Vickie to "Shut up!" (which went down well) and demanded a TLC match with Punk at the same-titled PPV next month. She agreed to his terms. I'm glad we're having Ryback talking more, it's finally advancing his character a bit.
Alberto Del Rio beat The Great Khali in a mediocre bout. Del Rio gave a fair effort here, considering the limitations of his opponent. Once again in a Khali match there was a Hornswaggle related distraction at ringside, which this time led to Del Rio locking on an armbreaker for the submission victory.
We were shown a pre-taped interview conducted by Michael Cole with Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins, where it was revealed that they were not working with CM Punk and that they'd attacked Ryback because they felt it was wrong that it was the most popular wrestlers getting title opportunities, wrestlers like Cena and Ryback who'd already had a shot at Punk's strap and lost previously.
Ambrose also went on to claim that they weren't like NWO or Nexus, that they stood for principals and honour where it no longer exists, and announced themselves as 'The Shield'. It was an intriguing segment, that actually felt a bit different from most we've received from factions in the past, with Ambrose's work being the highlight. If booked right this trio could really be something special I reckon, and something refreshingly different in todays pro wrestling.
Tamina bested Alicia Fox in a rather forgettable and pedestrian contest. Looks like Tamina is the latest female performer to get a push in the divas division, wonder how long it will actually last though.
As John Cena began describing his kiss with AJ last week, Vickie Guerrero interrupted him and claimed that his relationship will eventually implode with AJ, just like it has with every other man she's been with in WWE. Of course AJ Lee herself had enough of this and thanked Vickie for getting her fired as Raw GM, because now she was free to date whomever she pleased without scrutiny. Dolph Ziggler also showed up and theorised that when AJ kissed Cena last week, she was thinking of him instead "the entire time." To settle things Vickie then booked a match between Cena and 'The Show Off' for that night. As usual with this storyline it was a pretty weak segment, thankfully Ziggler's charisma and mic skills helped salvage it a bit.
Kofi Kingston defeated Tensai in a fair match up. While it wasn't anything that inspiring both men put in good displays, with Tensai actually having one of his finest singles match since returning to the company.
After loosing out to Kane in an online poll to determine who will face CM Punk later on, the always entertaining Daniel Bryan was informed that he would still be in action but against Rey Mysterio instead.
Rey Mysterio defeated Daniel Bryan in an exciting contest, and match of the night. Now this is a bout I've wanted to see for a long while, and it didn't disappoint. Both men were technically solid in the ring and kept the action fast and smooth throughout. I presume this was also another step in setting up a tag team title match between Team Hell No and the combo of Mysterio and Sin Cara for TLC.
John Cena beat Dolph Ziggler in a decent bout. Not either man's finest but it was still a fun outing to watch. For the finish Cena had to leave the ring due to his knee injury playing up, this cued AJ to run down and stop Ziggler from undoing a turnbuckle pad, which led to Cena applying an Attitude Adjustment for the one-two-three. Afterwards AJ and Cena once again shared a snog.
I really feel that a Ziggler win here, no matter how cheap, would've made far more sense and not just because I prefer him. Considering his recent successful run they could've kept that going, and a heel-like victory would've given them an excuse to have a rematch (perhaps a table match) at TLC. A loss here really wouldn't have damaged Cena much would it? I'm hoping that they still have another match at TLC and that Ziggler is somehow victorious.
Sheamus defeated Antonio Cesaro via count out after applying a Brogue Kick and sending the Swiss out of the ring. The match itself had a solid enough second half, but fairly drab first. Once it going and the quality and excitement picked up the two had some nice exchanges in the close fought battle. The fact that Sheamus didn't pin Cesaro was also a very good sign for the US Champion, he must have some important names in the back predicting big things for him.
Afterwards Big Show came out with a steel chair in hand, but as he went to then walk off 'The Great White' called him back and warned him that he will truly see the barbaric side of him come TLC in their chairs match. The World Champion retorted by breaking apart the chair in hand. This wasn't one of their strongest promos with each other.
Damien Sandow bested Zack Ryder in a passable outing. The action was fairly average for the most part (which was expected really) but it wasn't a bad display by either man. Ryder was also sporting new trunks and knee pads with his own take on the Ghostbusters logo, as a huge fan as a kid I can appreciate the design.
CM Punk defeated Kane in a worthy enough effort by both wrestlers. The match wasn't anything special, but there was also no aspect of it that I can call bad to be honest. It was just quite uninspiring for the most part until the end for me. For the finish The Shield made their way down to the ring, distracting Kane and allowing Punk to apply a GTS for the win. The trio then took out Kane, along with Daniel Bryan who came to his aid. Finally Ryback also appeared and almost had the upper hand until the WWE Champion began brawling on him, allowing The Shield to powerbomb the number one contender in the ring. Not a bad end to the show, if maybe too familiar to the last couple of weeks with Survivor Series and Raw.
Overall it was a decent enough Raw, with a good second half managing to salvage it from a woeful start. Mysterio versus Bryan and The Shield interview were the highlights for myself, with most other match ups (bar the divas contest, Del Rio Khali match and Ryback versus O'Neil bout) were also all passable outings. The low point was once again the tedious AJ Lee/Cena/Vickie/Ziggler storyline, Dolph did what he could but even he couldn't save the drab segment.
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