Ryback launches a ladder at The Shield in the spot of the night. Photo credit: WWE.com
Dolph Ziggler kicked off the show on top of a ladder where he rightfully berated Cena for being given title shot after title shot by McMahon even though he lost when he cashed in his MITB contract. He also bragged that it didn't matter since he'll retain his contract at TLC anyway. Sheamus then joined 'The Show Off' and made a lame joke about his height, then claimed that himself and Cena will win their respective bouts on Sunday which will lead to a World Title clash between them.
World Champion Big Show then called both men "Delusional" for thinking that they could beat him. Sheamus then decided to take his frustration for Show out on Ziggler instead, since he signed a no contact clause contract with him, and pushed Dolph off of the ladder, which seemed like a needless risk to me. It was an okay start to the show, nothing that special. My only issue with Ziggler having to defend his MITB contract against Cena is that surely in that position he would attempt to cash it in beforehand so he didn't have to defend it, right?
For the second week in a row Vince McMahon convinced Vickie Guerrero to book a few matches for the show, which included Ziggler versus Sheamus and herself versus AJ Lee, which went down very well. The segment was better than last weeks between the two, but still not great.
R-Truth beat Wade Barrett in an average match up. Unfortunately the two weren't allocated enough time to really get going, which seemed odd considering the bookers should be really be trying to hype the US and Intercontinental Championship bouts at TLC all they can. Truth grabbed the one-two-three with a quick roll up. Kingston then applied a top rope cross body to Barrett afterwards for good measure.
Team Rhodes Scholars (Cody Rhodes and Damien Sandow) bested Jimmy & Jey Uso, the Prime Time Players (Titus O'Neil & Darren Young) and Epic & Primo in a four-way elimination tag match. On the whole it was a fun watch, with worthy efforts especially from both Usos and Team Rhodes Scholars. It's good to see that WWE are still getting behind their tag division, I hope it continues. Amusingly the fans began chanting "Cody's moustache" during the bout, Cody's new facial hair does look pretty daft, and hasn't Movember passed?
Eve defeated Alicia Fox in a passable Divas contest. Alicia looked decent here, and by that I mean she provided something a bit different from most other female performers in the company with her athleticism. Afterwards Eve quite funnily posed in the ring with the beaten Fox as a ringside photographer snapped a few shots.
WWE Champion CM Punk came out on crutches due to his recent leg surgery and confirmed that it was all very real and in no way a hoax to get out of defending his title. Paul Heyman also grabbed the mic and compared Punk to The Rock, who he accused of just using a stunt double and staying in his trailer on a movie set rather than getting stuck into the real action like Punk. So the trash talking has begun, this feud should be something very special. CM Punk then announced that he will be present at the TLC pay-per-view to watch The Shield take out Ryback. As usual it was great work from both men.
Sheamus won via disqualification versus Dolph Ziggler in an exciting bout. Both men, who have been on terrific form this year, provided a solid back and fourth match up. Oddly for the first half it was as if Sheamus was the heel and Ziggler the face as Dolph had to fight back 'The Great White' as he aimed for his injured leg, but the roles reversed back later on. The DQ came after Ziggler struck Sheamus with a steel chair, but the Irishman then countered 'The Show Off' as he Brogue Kicked the chair out of Ziggler's hands and scared him off.
Alberto Del Rio bested Zack Ryder in a decent enough outing. Neither man was outstanding here, but they gave an enjoyable bout for the most part. The crowd of Ryder's home state of New York also helped provide a good atmosphere by firmly getting behind the Internet Champion.
Vickie Guerrero beat AJ Lee in a worthless match up. As both women waited for a referee, Brad Maddox came on out in a referee attire and aided Vickie in the win by refusing to count AJ's pinfall attempt.
Why on earth would Maddox help out the woman that put him against Randy Orton last week and not the one that gave him a job on Raw in the first place? It makes absolutely no sense, it's like something Vince Russo would've put together. And the match itself was just plain bad, is this WWE's idea of helping to improve their poor ratings as of late? Afterwards AJ went on a rampage as she tore through some of the set around the ring and backstage until John Cena calmed her down.
Antonio Cesaro defeated Kofi Kingston in a solid and eventful contest. The fist half was decent enough, but it was the second half where it really picked up as both men began putting together some great sequences and got the previously indifferent crowd into the match. Cesaro will be a future big name in the company.
The Miz presented an entertaining 'Miz TV' with guests Damien Sandow and Cody Rhodes, where he (along with the fans) mocked Cody's 'tache, claiming that it'd maybe rubbed off of Sandow's beard. He also tried to drive a wedge between the two, but failed as they had enough and left. All three men were on good form, especially Cody who's cheesy expressions and enthusiastic delivery of his lines were tremendous.
Big Show versus John Cena ended as a no contest after The Shield ran and began attacking Cena. The main event had ranged from pretty drab to fair once it got going and began picking up some pace. To be fair it was better than I'd expected, so I'll take that.
Team Hell No and Sheamus (who was accidentally given the Ryback graphics for his entrance, oops) also raced in afterwards to get some retribution on Ambrose, Rollins and Reigns and Ziggler, but this didn't last too long as Show decided to also make his way back to help take out Cena. Ryback then predictably came out threw a ladder at The Shield trio from the outside of the ring, which looked very effective actually. Everyone was brawling in and around the ring as the show went off the air.
Overall it was an enjoyable Raw for the most part, with the exception of the awful Vickie vs AJ match and Barrett vs Truth bout, which should've had more time. Other than that most of the show was a fun watch, with my main highlights being the 'Miz TV' segment, Cesaro vs Kingston, Punk and Heyman promo and the great Ziggler vs Sheamus contest.
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