Bryan out to prove he's not the weak link. Photo credit: WWE.com
Stephanie McMahon started the show off by announcing that she was cancelling her husband Triple H's booked match against Curtis Axel that night due to concerns over his health issues after he suffered a storyline concussion a couple of weeks back. She also asked that the fans not be so "selfish" and understand her point of view.
Vince McMahon then joined his daughter and concurred her feelings, berating the fans for wanting to see 'The Game' pushed too far and suffer even more. Could either of these two have possibly drugged Triple H before his match with Axel in an attempt to stop him from competing further? it's a possibility, but I'd rather it was someone with an in-ring future in the company and something more to gain from the storyline.
The Shield (Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns) defeated Team Hell No (Daniel Bryan & Kane) and Randy Orton in a solid six-man tag bout. As usual Shield were involved in a highly enjoyable match up, with consistently stellar wrestling from every man involved. Daniel Bryan was the top performer though, as has been the case with every tag match he's been involved in over the last few weeks.
Backstage an intense and upset Bryan argued with Orton and Kane, screaming that they both believed that he was the weak link and that he was going to find an opponent and earn their respect.
Triple H stormed into his Father-in-law's office and told Vince and Stephanie that he would be proceeding with his match that night, no matter what. After a face off with Vince, who urged 'The Game' to think things through, he was then left with his wife.
Jimmy and Jay Uso bested The Prime Time Players (Darren Young & Titus O'Neil) in a rather pedestrian tag contest. There was nothing memorable to take away from this to be honest, while none of the action was bad it was all just pretty unremarkable.
Alberto Del Rio pinned Big E Langston in a fair encounter. It was enjoyable at parts, but I won't be in a rush to watch it again. Hopefully now after a fifth straight televised match these two will get a break from each other for a bit.
Sheamus beat Cody Rhodes in a decent outing. Both men gave worthy efforts here, providing a fun watch as they went back and fourth. Afterwards Sheamus extended his hand to Damien Sandow (who'd provided guest commentary) but the 'Intellectual Saviour' refused to shake it, so the Irishman responded by slapping him in the head.
An irate Triple H decided to leave the arena, due to his urge to want to take on his Father-in-law. But he informed Stephanie that he'll be on Raw next week and he'll be in the ring facing Axel.
Daniel Bryan came across Ryback backstage, and challenged him to a match after Ryback mocked his size and bragged about taking out Kofi Kingston on last week's SmackDown.
The Great Khali beat Fandango via count out after the ballroom dancer decided he'd had enough and left. But as he made his way down the ramp The Miz blocked his path, only to then receive a Bull Hammer to the face by a lurking Wade Barrett. I was quite relieved when Fandango left actually, the match had been very mediocre.
The Miz defeated Wade Barrett in a passable, if unremarkable affair. As usual both men were capable enough in the ring, but I failed to find the interest. Miz caught Barrett in a figure four leglock after Fandango distracted the Intercontinental Champion by making his way out again.
Jerry Lawler introduced both Chris Jericho and Paul Heyman for the Payback contract signing for CM Punk versus Jericho. After signing for his client, Heyman asked y2J if he was really ready to face the 'Best in the World' in his hometown of Chicago next Sunday, reminding him of his huge hometown advantage and list of accomplishments. So Jericho responded by mockingly suggesting other places to hold the match, then just signed anyway, claiming that it didn't matter where their bout took place Punk would still be a "jackass."
Jericho then rolled up the contract and asked Heyman to stand up, placing it in his pants before leaving. Like last week it was another entertaining segment between these two, with strong mic skills as expected.
Kaitlyn, Naomi and Cameron bested AJ Lee, Nikki and Brie Bella in a largely average tag bout. To be fair it was passable for the current standard of the Divas division of today.
Daniel Bryan won via disqualification versus Ryback in an exciting contest once it got going. Once again Bryan managed to help the limited Ryback to one of his most enjoyable one on one matches so far. The start was fairly drab really, but when Bryan picked up the pace the intensity grew and it was very engaging as he put everything into trying to take down the beast.
The DQ came when Ryback decided enough was enough and put Bryan through a table to send a message to John Cena, who then came running out to prevent Ryback from putting him through a second one.
Curtis Axel won via count out versus John Cena in a No Disqualification match after Ryback came back out and charged the champ through a table on the outside. The match itself was a bit of a mixed bag, there were some nice periods involving Axel's offense (especially a nice running one-armed swinging neckbreaker onto a chair) but unfortunately we had to also suffer the usual standard of selling from Cena e.g. being cracked on the head with a tablet a few times but then immediately hoisting Axel up for an AA. To be honest it wasn't great, but it wasn't terrible either, and at least Axel gained the win.
Overall it was a fair Raw, with the six-man tag bout, Sheamus versus Rhodes, Bryan versus Ryback and the Heyman and Jericho contract signing segment being my highlights. Outside of those moments it was pretty unremarkable, with match ups ranging from average to passable. At least the Triple H concussion storyline advanced a little too, although now I'm worried it'll turn out to be Stephanie and Vince who drugged him, which I don't really see the point or advantage of.
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