Jonathan Dehn
WWE Monday Night Raw
06/10/2013
Richmond, Virginia
HHH vs. Curtis Axel (w/Paul Heyman)
The opening video to the show recapped nothing but HHH’s storyline. CARE ABOUT THIS MAN! Axel stalls to start. After Curtis enters, HHH beats away at him. He hits a suplex for two before Vince’s music hits. HHH goes to the side headlock for, awhile. Curtis reverses and gets tossed from the ring. Vince has the bell rung.
Somehow, Curtis wins the match via disqualification. RICHMOND SCREWJOB! CARE ABOUT THIS MAN! HHH orders the match to be restarted. Cole explains HHH’s ability to do so, poorly. Vince struts back out and struts more than usual. Meanwhile, Axel continues to look like a dope.
Vince rules that Curtis has now won via forfeit. HHH goes back to Justin Roberts now. This match is now restarted as a 60 MINUTE IRONMAN MATCH! Vince grabs the microphone and tells Curtis that he has won this match twice and tells him to leave. Vince grabs the ring bell and walks off.
Final Thoughts: That took quite a while.
-HHH is with Stephanie and says that Vince crossed the line. Steph tells HHH not to hurt Vince, as he’s not getting any younger. Think about Vince as a terrific grandfather, HHH!
Kane vs. Dean Ambrose
There’s no bell for this match. Kane starts with a big boot for two and hits the running dropkick for just one. Ambrose reveres in the corner and drags Kane’s face against the top rope. Ambrose charges but gets caught in a backbreaker. Kane hits a kneedrop into Dean’s back and whips him hard into the corner.
Kane hits another backbreaker and puts him into a bow and arrow. Dean fights back, but gets tossed to the outside. Ambrose comes off the steel steps but gets hit with a right hand. We go to break. We return with Ambrose in control.
He locks in a dragon sleeper. Ambrose hits some palm thrusts in the ropes and follows with a running dropkick. Dean gets tossed from the top after a chokeslam tease. Kane hits a tilt-a-whirl slam for two. Ambrose goes for a sunset flip but gets caught and tossed into the corner. Corner clothesline and a sideslam to Ambrose.
Dean catches Kane on the top rope but gets knocked off and still hit with the top rope clothesline. Ambrose bails on the chokeslam attempt and The Shield runs in. Orton and Bryan even the odds and The Shield retreat.
Final Thoughts: The match was solid. Kane and Ambrose worked a good, competent match together and both came out of it looking very good. Ambrose impresses by always adding little curveballs into the flow of the match that keep it from being a routine. Bryan and Orton still working together after Bryan took an RKO on Smackdown were interesting in how they put aside their differences.
-Bryan and Orton argue about Smackdown’s events. Kane tries to keep it all together, but just yells a lot. Vickie shows up as Bryan dresses down Orton for his bad haircut, beady eyes, and terrible tattoos. Vickie makes Orton/Bryan vs. Rollins & Reigns for the PPV. Kane gives Vickie a hug after she gives him a U.S. Title shot against Ambrose.
The Miz vs. Cody Rhodes
Wade Barrett is on commentary. Due to Fandango’s concussion, The Miz gets Barrett to himself at Payback. Miz starts in control, hitting his corner clothesline. Miz comes off the top, but Cody dodges and hits the chopblock. Cody follows with the face first suplex.
Cody continues working the leg with an Indian deathlock. Cody delivers a hard kick to Miz’s knee for two. Miz hits a sunset flip out of a shinbreaker and gets the figure four for the win. Wade goes in to get himself some, but Heyman interrupts. We find out that Curtis Axel has been inserted into the IC Title match, now.
Final Thoughts: During the match, they mentioned how clever it was of Cody to work the leg so that The Miz couldn’t use his hold. That was pretty lousy. On the bright side, Axel should have been working towards this title opportunity instead of this current push of cheap victories that do nothing to help him.
-Mark Henry is coming back, as this video package tells us. He was only gone for three weeks, but he’s back.
-In his office, or Vickie’s office, Stephanie and Vince argue over who made Stephanie cry and who cares more about WWE. Vince refuses to talk to HHH.
-Chris Jericho heads out to the ring. Jericho declares that no one pushes him like Punk and that he looks forward to bringing his best to Chicago for Payback. Ziggler interrupts one of Jericho’s catchphrases and officially returns. He’s happy to return and to defeat Del Rio at Payback. Jericho, however, wants Dolph tonight. Dolph dodges the challenge and sends Big E in his place.
Big E Langston vs. Chris Jericho
Langston is in control as we join in progress. Langston uses a neck nerve hold and Jericho fights back to his feet. Jericho dodges a charge and throws Langston out of the ring. Jericho hits the slide out of the ring and kicks down at Langston. Big E fights back and runs Jericho into the steel steps.
Back inside, Langston gets two. Big E hits a series of shoulder thrusts in the corner and chokes away at Jericho in the corner. Langston misses a charge and gets rolled up for two, but then comes back with a shoulderblock for two. He goes back to the neck. Jericho fires back with chops and an enzuigiri into a dropkick for two.
Langston catches Jericho on the whip and hits his chaining backbreakers for two. Jericho gets the boot up on a corner charge and gets two on a crossbody from the top. Ziggler distracts Jericho, leading to Langston running him over. Del Rio then runs out and attacks Ziggler. Langston is distracted, and gets hit with a Codebreaker. Chris grabs JBL’s hat in celebration, following his victory.
Final Thoughts: This match was just fine, although Del Rio’s interference made no sense from a character standpoint, running down the ramp and attacking Ziggler from behind.
Sin Cara vs. Antonio Cesaro
Cesaro is in control early, and Zeb is on commentary and spouting all sorts of nonsense. Cara hits a hurricanrana but gets crotched on the rope attempting an arm drag. Cesaro stomps away and hits the gut wrench and follows with a slam for two.
Cesaro hits the double stomp and locks in a chinlock. Sin Cara fights back and hits the sunset flip powerbomb for two. Cara comes off the top but gets caught and dropped into a backbreaker. Cesaro hits The Neutralizer for the win. The announce table covered up a perfectly fun match.
Final Thoughts: This was a fun match that perked up the crowd. Cara and Cesaro work well together. Meanwhile, the shenanigans at the table took a lot out of the match.
-We see the Wyatt Family in one of their vignettes.
-Vickie is plugging Hardee’s and keeping three burgers to herself while Brad starves. McMahon interrupts, with Vickie nearly choking at the surprise. Vince is canceling the Ryback and Cena segment. Brad saves the day by having the lumberjacks surround the ring for the segment. He earned himself a burger.
Randy Orton vs. Roman Reigns
Both Rollins and Bryan join their partners at ringside. This match was set up by default, as fans selected Bryan to duel with Seth Rollins, via application. They lock up to start and Reigns begins to pound away in the corner. Orton fights back and hits a stranding dropkick before beginning to stomp away at Reigns. Orton drops a knee and only gets one.
On the outside, Orton attacks, hitting a belly to back suplex on the crowd barricade. Back inside, Orton gets a two count. Reigns dodges another kneedrop and stomps away at Orton in turn. Orton hits the Thesz Press and hits ten punches in the corner. Reigns reverses a whip and sends Orton outside with a forearm as we hit the break.
Reigns is in control, of course, following the break. Orton fights back but dropped on the rope with a stungun. Reigns follows with a clothesline for two. Roman then goes back to the chinlock. Orton comes back with a belly to back suplex. The clotheslines and powerslam follow.
Rollins distracts, but Randy still hits his backbreaker. Orton hits the hanging DDT and calls for the RKO. Rollins takes out Bryan but then goes after Orton, unsuccessfully. Reigns pulls Rollins out, and Bryan runs in and hits the suicide dive. The match is ruled a no contest and we float into….
Daniel Bryan vs. Seth Rollins
Bryan flips out of the corner to start and nails Rollins with the clothesline. A few kicks and uppercut lead to a knee to the gut. Bryan alternates kicking and elbowing Rollins and follows with another series of elbow strikes for two. Bryan moves to the surfboard but Rollins gets to the ropes.
Bryan mashes Seth’s knees anyway. Rollins bails and gets hit with a baseball slide and the knee from the apron. Back inside, Bryan gets two. Rollins fight back with a Downward Spiral into the second turnbuckle for two. Rollins tries to steal the surfboard from Bryan. He succeeds, but Bryan powers out like a boss and show Rollins how to apply a surfboard…and hooks in a dragon sleeper for good measure.
Rollins almost taps but throws an elbow to escape. We return from commercial with Rollins now in control. Rollins hits a back elbow for two and goes back to the chinlock, but Bryan fights back and they trade strikes. Bryan reverses an enzuigiri into a half Boston crab. Rollins gets to the ropes and Bryan goes after him in the corner. Bryan hits his frenzied dropkicks in the corner for two.
Rollins dodges the buzzsaw kick, and then is able to hit the enzuigiri for two. Rollins begins to kick away at Bryan in a mocking way. They fight over a German suplex that Bryan flips out of. Rollins reverses a ‘rana into a turnbuckle powerbomb. Rollins gets tosses out of the ring as Bryan fights back. Rollins reverses the dive with a forearm and climbs the turnbuckles.
Bryan dodges the knee from the top and hits a German suplex out of a rollup. He is then able to hit the buzzsaw kick and gets two. Bryan goes up but gets crotched. Rollins goes up but Bryan squirms out. Rollins counters in midair on the back superplex and hits a crossbody, taking both men out.
Orton cuts down Reigns from the apron and Rollins misses a splash in the corner on the distraction. Bryan takes advantage with a schoolboy rollup for the win, setting the crowd on fire. Orton returns to the ring after Rollins attacks Bryan and delivers the RKO after Bryan kicks Seth’s head off.
Final Thoughts: This was a terrific match. When you can get a crowd in 2013 popping over surfboard, you know that you’re doing something right. Seth and Bryan do terrific work, and always do something a bit different while they’re in the ring together.
-Kaitlyn is out to meet her secret admirer. It turns out to be Big E. I don’t know how well this relationship is going to go down in Virginia. Big E sweeps her off her feet, leans in for a kiss, and then drops her to the mat. Kaitlyn and Summer Rae have something to talk about. This was just an evil plot from AJ, it turns out. She makes Kaitlyn cry through words. Oh, and they have a match coming up this Sunday, finally. It was a decent heel promo.
-We are treated to a brand new Wyatt Family vignette.
Damien Sandow vs. R-Truth
This match is brought to us by a Hardee’s burger that King stares at longingly. There’s a bit of a sick joke that will turn into a gif. Sandow quickly takes over, pummeling Truth, and tossing him outside. Sandow runs him into the apron and tosses him back inside. Sandow follows the Russian legsweep with The Elbow of Disdain for two.
Damien goes to the side headlock. Truth fights out with a leg lariat and a headscissors. Truth gets the falcon arrow for two. Sandow hits the chopblock and hits a sitout slam for the win. I’m not sure about that finisher. Sheamus comes out after the match with a microphone. He cuts a fairly bland babyface promo that draws some jeers from the crowd.
Final Thoughts: This was just a squash. Sandow looked good, but I’m not sure about his new finisher. For as much as people talk about Orton needing a heel turn, Sheamus needs one much more at this point. I fear that he’s going to get phased out, in the meantime. He brings it in the ring, but the creative team have made him one of the most annoying faces on the roster.
-Backstage, Stephanie is looking to get a meeting together between Vince and HHH. After a couple of commercial breaks, HHH and Vince meet. It turns out that Vince just didn’t want HHH to be wasted on Curtis Axel. The kid is good, though, he says. Of course he is. Vince gives him the right to the match with Curtis Axel, and now HHH doesn’t want it, seeing it Vince’s way. But now, Vince wants the match. Stephanie comes back into the room and they struggle over having a group hug. Whatever.
-John Cena comes out to join the poor lumberjacks that have already been out there for ten minutes or so. Ryback chooses to talk to Cena from the ramp. He doesn’t understand the idea of face-to-face, apparently. Cena says that this action means he doesn’t deserve to be champion. Ryback disagrees and points out his own failures in capturing the title. Ryback also says that his rise in popularity scared Cena. Cena disagrees and this crowd just doesn’t care. Ryback is out to end the legend of Cena. Eventually, the two men meet in the ring, and the heels and faces keep them pulled apart. Ryback cut a decent promo, while Cena was just screaming a lot to get some kind of reaction from the burned out crowd.
–There was plenty to like about this show, but there was plenty that would put the viewer to sleep, of course. The Shield and their ongoing feud with Bryan, Kane, and Orton is easily the best thing to watch for these days, with Bryan getting twenty minutes a week to wrestle and emerge as a top man in the company. Ambrose and Kane were good together, with Kane providing a decent ground game and Ambrose adding in those little touches to the match that suspend disbelief. AJ’s promo on Kaitlyn after revealing herself as the mastermind behind the secret admirer was probably the best microphone work she’s done. I just wish that the payoff happened a week or two ago. The opening segment was a train wreck, and we might just have our frontrunner for The Gooker Award this year. It might be cemented as the winner if this carries on for a while, which it surely will.
DVR MARKERS
0:17 – Kane vs. Dean Ambrose – Recommended
1:03 – Chris Jericho vs. Big E Langston – Slightly Recommended
1:41 – Randy Orton vs. Roman Reigns & Daniel Bryan vs. Seth Rollins – Highly Recommended
