What a great episode of Raw. WWE, in my opinion, got into a bit of a creative rut the last month or so, possibly because they had to stretch out feuds over two pay-per-views rather than just one, but since the debacle that was the main event of Battleground, things have been clicking on all cylinders.
For two weeks in a row, Goldust and Cody Rhodes have shared the main event spotlight with the Shield, this week, defeating them with a big assist from the Big Show's right hand, and winning the tag team titles.
It was a really cool moment after a fantastic match between these four (really five, since Dean Ambrose was out there and involved) individuals.
The time had come to get the belts off the Shield, and I wouldn't be shocked if Dolph Ziggler defeats Dean Ambrose on Main Event this week, since they plugged that U.S. title match (not that anyone will see it on the "C" show) on Raw. The Shield is over enough that the belts were just kind of holding them back, in my opinion.
Cody Rhodes absolutely seems like a main event star now, which is remarkable, considering the angle that really got him over was allegedly made up on the fly because they had to write him off television for a few weeks. I don't think anyone suspected it would turn into what it has and Goldust is really making the most of the opportunity as well.
WWE could really get some mileage out of these two as tag team champions. Since the tag titles were put on Kane and Daniel Bryan last year, they've really been elevated, and hopefully Cody can use it as a stepping stone into the main event by this time next year, much the way Bryan has. Like Kane and Bryan, Goldust and Cody are two guys trending in opposite directions, with one in the twilight of his career and the other about to enter his prime. It's a good thing. They can both help each other tremendously as well as the rest of the roster.
Meanwhile, WWE has done a great job of getting casual and meta fans alike to really respond to the Big Show. Tearing him down the past few months, while painful to watch at times as it drug out, really paid off the past few weeks during his "revenge" tour, KO-ing everyone who wronged him except Stephanie McMahon (believe me, if this were the Attitude Era, they'd do it too, but there is no way WWE is going to take the real heat it would get from advertisers by having a 7-foot, 400-pound giant punch a woman, no matter how big of a witch she might be).
Stephanie and Triple H were also excellent during this show, and I'm glad Triple H finally cut the promo that made abundantly clear he was the "bad guy" now. Starting at Night of Champions, he was booked as a guy who looked like, at times, he was doing the right thing and trying to be fair. It fit with his character, which has always been a condescending louse, but might've given some casual fans who largely remember Triple H as a good guy some pause when wondering whether to boo him or cheer him.
That's now abundantly clear and it'll make for stronger television, in my opinion. Hopefully, the damage hasn't already been done to Daniel Bryan and Randy Orton, who were the victims of the waffling Triple H.
Using Bryan's real-life fiance, Brie Bella, as an Achilles' heel in what is turning into more of a bloodfeud with Orton probably hasn't been as effective as it could've been. The idea is to amp up the heel heat on Orton, but I still think there are a lot of fans who associate the Bellas as heels. They never had that moment where they became noble characters, it's just AJ called them and the rest of the Total Divas cast out, which just made her an uber heel. As someone who is aware of Total Divas but sticks to just Raw and Smackdown, there wasn't any character development done on the main shows to get me to understand that maybe Brie isn't so bad after all (Heck, it could've just been some recaps from Total Divas). Instead, she's a babyface by association with Bryan.
However, as long as Brie doesn't play a huge role in the matches between Bryan and Orton, I'm fine with it as a vehicle to move the story along and get Orton heat.
Before this angle took place, Bryan and Alberto Del Rio had a really good match with a count-out finish. It was pretty much exactly what it should've been. WWE tries to book a lot of matches without a clean finish in order to keep heat on both guys, and it doesn't always work. In this case, it did, because there was a logical reason for Bryan abandoning the match and it wasn't painfully obvious Del Rio was about to lose like they often do in finishes like this.
Shawn Michaels didn't have a whole lot to add last night that wasn't said last week, but I think WWE just wants to remind people that Michaels will be on the pay-per-view, of his relationships with each of the parties involved, and have him promise a victor, considering the no contest of the last PPV. I really think there is money in an HBK heel turn, although I'm not sure how you pay it off unless he's willing to get into the ring one more time. I do hope we get some interaction between Michaels and Hunter on next week's go-home episode.
Booking Miz vs. Orton in the Viper's hometown was a nice tip of the cap to continuity, even though Miz didn't get his revenge. And realistically, he probably shouldn't. Because Orton is a really established character, he's the benefit of stronger heel booking than most. Booking strong heels makes for much better television and is something WWE hasn't done nearly enough in recent years.
Obviously, Miz will be the next victim of Bray Wyatt and that's about right for the Miz's spot on the card right now. Even though the smart marks hate him, he's generally well-received by live crowds and has credibility from being a former WWE Champion. Now that credibility is being used to help get other talent over.
Lost in the shuffle was a fun beat-the-clock challenge between Ryback and CM Punk also starring R-Truth and Curtis Axel. Good psychology from Truth running during the match to waste time, but the match itself was pretty bad. Ryback doesn't wrestle the way a man his size should. Somewhere along the line, he started using chinlocks and actual holds. The dude is a brick wall, he should just be hitting guys with straight power moves. If he needs to get his wind, instead of grabbing a hold, he should start gloating to incite heel heat. I think that would make his matches a lot stronger.
Punk vs. Axel was fine, action-wise, but I really liked the subtle storytelling that was being done where Heyman just wanted Axel to hold off Punk long enough, but Axel wanted to prove he could beat Punk. That's actually a babyface characteristic and, I think, once this arc with Heyman and Punk is over, you're going to see Heyman and Ryback turn on Axel and put the blame on him. Axel will go face, albeit a lukewarm one, unless he basically steals his father's entire moveset (people still pop for the PerfectPlex).
Punk was somewhat predictable in choosing his stipulation -- a handicap match pitting himself against Ryback and Heyman inside Hell in a Cell. However, we kind of saw that at Night of Champions. I would've rather him said, after I beat Ryback again, we're going to have another match -- Punk vs. Heyman 1-on-1 inside Hell in a Cell. Either way, it's clear that this is the blow-off to the Punk vs. Heyman program.
There was definitely some filler on this show too. Fandango vs. Santino is something I don't need to see again, and there were two tag team matches that basically served to build-up Los Matadores and the Real Americans, who are obviously on a collision course. I always assumed Los Matadores would go over, because they are the newer team, but I think a long-term feud that ultimately sees the Real Americans win (I'm an admitted Jack Swagger mark, but it's clear Antonio Cesaro is the breakout star here) and puts them into a feud with the Rhodes Brothers over the tag team titles is a more interesting bigger picture. I can hear Zeb Colter now cutting promos about their daddy being a failed American Dream, can't you?
John Cena's return at Hell in a Cell was hyped with some videos sprinkled throughout the show. I'm a big fan of Cena, so I'm happy to see him back. I'm really intrigued that they have him going after the World Championship, however, which possibly means he'll be a featured act on Smackdown and secondary to Bryan and/or Orton on Raw. Hopefully, Bryan doesn't get the same treatment CM Punk did during his record-setting WWE title reign when he took a backseat to the "Being John Cena Championship," as many dubbed it, and continues to main event shows. I think it's at least time for WWE to start experimenting with Cena being a bit lower on the card.
