WWE RAW 19th August 2013 - LIVE Discussion

[Troy]

Pity that Cena will be out for so long, hopefully he actually allows his body to completely recover rather than rushing back like usual. With the two top faces in the company out to injury for the rest of the year, Sheamus is the other one, and another top face in Orton turning last night this presents a great opportunity for someone to breakthrough and become a top face. Bryan is obviously right up there at the moment and Punk will be as well but this is the time for some other upper midcarders to try to stake their claim as a mainevent face.

Two tag team matches featuring proper teams, another tag team wrestling twice, another tag team forming and a promo for a repackaged team on one show. Seven tag teams featured so hell yes this makes it a quality RAW. Nice to see a bit more time and effort invested into the division. Not too sure about The Colons new gimmick but I will wait and see how it turns out.

Really looking forward to the next few months to see what happens with this new stable, a mix between Evolution/The Corporation. Who else will be added to their group and who will side with Bryan to defeat them?

 

[Gimmick]

Not a great Raw last night. Apart from the opening, closing and Punk segment in between there wasn't a whole lot to get excited about.

I like the way they've decided to put all the McMahon's on the one side. I was never really a fan of the conflict between Vince and Triple H so it's good to see them together abusing their power. I'm looking forward to seeing them go up against the people who've been speaking out against them. The fact that Bryan will be at the forefront of it all makes it so much better as well.

 

[Luke Flywalker]

I honestly don't care about his haters, those people act like childish assholes who pop for an injury. I seriously doubt the people who don't like Bryan or CM Punk would pop when they announce time off for an injury.

I see where you're coming from, but the crowd didn't pop for an injury. They popped because the guy is finally taking time off. The WWE Universe has been overexposed to Cena... and they will undoubtedly go nuts when he does return (most likely at the Rumble). But for now, Cena NEEDS to take time off, the fans NEED Cena to take time off, and the WWE NEEDS Cena to take time off... for all parties. Cena being health[ier]y will ultimately lead to better matches. Cena taking time off can help him twist his character just a bit. The crowd will appreciate him more because they haven't seen him in a while.

 

[PHX]

I see where you're coming from, but the crowd didn't pop for an injury. They popped because the guy is finally taking time off. The WWE Universe has been overexposed to Cena... and they will undoubtedly go nuts when he does return (most likely at the Rumble). But for now, Cena NEEDS to take time off, the fans NEED Cena to take time off, and the WWE NEEDS Cena to take time off... for all parties. Cena being health[ier]y will ultimately lead to better matches. Cena taking time off can help him twist his character just a bit. The crowd will appreciate him more because they haven't seen him in a while.

Pretty much in a nutshell. To be on top as long as he has not really altering his character at all it is totally understandable to want a break from him and you don't have to be a Cena hater to feel that way either. Situations like these is how stars end up emerging really if you think about it so you might be able to build up a few names to have more stars, heal Cena up which is much needed, give fans a break from him so he can be somewhat fresh to them when he comes back. It's a bad situation that can lead to a lot of good all around when it is all said and done.

 

[Troy]

Not a great Raw last night. Apart from the opening, closing and Punk segment in between there wasn't a whole lot to get excited about.

I like the way they've decided to put all the McMahon's on the one side. I was never really a fan of the conflict between Vince and Triple H so it's good to see them together abusing their power. I'm looking forward to seeing them go up against the people who've been speaking out against them. The fact that Bryan will be at the forefront of it all makes it so much better as well.

What about the tag teams

 

[Keith]

What about the tag teams

While it was nice to see extra tag teams the matches themselves didn't impress me that much. Gimmick summed up perfectly my feelings on this weeks raw. It was a bit of come down from a great PPV, but there was some promising build for the future.

My thoughts:

The opening segment was very effective, Bryan sold perfectly just how hurt he was after SS and really came across as that renegade type character. Steph was great too, very polished and believable, also like the way she played on things like Bryan's height and looks (adding depth to the dispute). This was a great segment just didn't need Cena's teary farewell at the beginning, he had already passed the torch to Bryan the night before and his promo just seemed to suck time up.

Sandow VS. Rhodes
Not as good as their summerslam match but still decent. The last few weeks have done a tonne of good for Rhodes, don't know if I agree with a second straight loss for Sandow but will see where they are going with this before judging.

***

Cameron & Naomi VS. Layla & AJ Lee
Think AJ did a great job in putting Naomi over here, besides that it was pretty standard Divas fare and the finish was lame.

**

Dolph Ziggler VS. Shield
A pretty good effort as far as 3 on 1 matches go. Like the new direction which Dolph's character is taking.

**1/2

No rating for ADR against Cara for obvious reasons. Riccardo's quite a good fit for RVD but I don't know if Van Dam should be competing for the World Title already.

The Real Americans VS. The Prime Time Players
Medicore.

**

The Shield VS. The Big Show
Predictable.

**

Punk having the hissy fit at the fan was silly, but the segment/brawl with Axel was very heated. Only dumb thing was how quickly Axel got up after the bell shot. Should have saved that for the end.

Bray Wyatt VS. R-Truth
Squash so no real rating. Feel maybe a segment might have been better than a match here.

USOs VS. 3MB
Thought this was pretty useless, but at least the Usos got a good reaction and hope they can get rebuilt into top contenders.

**

The Miz VS. Wade Barrett
This is the second match I have seen between these two this year (other one was on Superstars) and I hope I don't see anymore. Don't mind either that much but they just don't click in the ring.

**

Triple H was very good in his closing promo even if it did drag on a bit too long. I guess this was more of a setting the table and tease fans for things to come segment.

 

[Gimmick]

What about the tag teams

Wasn't there just one tag team match? Can't recall any other ones happening apart from PTP/Real Americans (unless you're counting the stuff with The Shield as well).

Edit: Just saw Keith's post. Must have missed the Uso/3MB match somehow.