TV Show Review #011 WWE Raw Recap 102615

WWE RAW in San Diego (Post Hell in a Cell) 102615 [1993->] 4/5

} In Ring 

+ the Authority came out to recap rather proudly the last Pay-Per-View or PPV and skillfully selling it, not stopping to get the audiences a chance to react while congratulating the arriving WWE Champion who successfully beating his literal 'Demon' Kane and retain his precious title, showering him with all the praises and love and making him felt at the top of the world.With him in that mood, the COO took the opportunity to drop the news of a tournament leading into a fatal 4 way match for the #1 Contender for Seth's title and he's surprisingly okay with it, but Roman Reigns came out to crash the bragging party just to belittle the champion and stated his intention to go for the title to the cheers of the adoring fans.
+ On the contrary, the winner of all the jeers nowadays, the New Day, came out to steal the spotlight with their ever improving mic skills, gloating about their PPV win which make them retain their title and paying tribute to their fallen comrade, Xavier Woods, all in their own positive but annoying way that the crowd love to hate. (+1 for the tribute unicorn horn & the 'X W' arm band)

> Running Thread: Fatal 4 Way Match for WWE World Heavyweight Championship #1 Contender Position

1. Roman Reigns vs Kofi Kingston with Big E /2/3 of the Tag Team Champion\ [1st Qualification Match]

+ The first exchange of the evening showcased Roman's power and Kofi's agility with clear cut responses by the crowd, with the former just edged the other in terms of form. Although one man down, the accompanying Big E managed to distract Reigns long enough for Kingston to take advantage and got the leg up, but tried as he might, the superior strength of the Samoan kept coming into picture that much until he turned the tide back to his side, putting out some of his fan-pleasing moves as Kofi countered some of them with his agility just enough to keep him in the game. Eventually, Roman in the end won the match by Superman Punching the infringing Big E and Spearing the helpless Kingston.
+ Hats off to the Samoan for putting out a great match just mere hours after the grueling Hell in a Cell match and put into question his form for the main event match later on.
(Roman Reigns won by pin fall [Spear], Rating = 4/5, Duration = 11m 53s, +1 to his form & babyface run & +1 for Kofi's ability)

} Backstage + Less cheesy tie-in with the sponsor which was their own game, WWE 2K16, that was being introduced by the Miz. It's a misstep not to use the well-known wrestler Xavier Woods but his gaming Youtube Channel got a shout out to tie in with the game.

2. Cesaro vs Kevin Owens /Intercontinental Champion\ [2nd Qualification Match]

+ The classic matchup between the hotheaded heel versus the ever-rising babyface; a standard match presented for the WWE Universe especially with the high level of wrestling pedigree on show here. Pin attempts were quickly exchanged at the start as the champion patronized the audiences and for some reason the commentator Michael Cole while the challenger did everything that he could that would please them whenever possible, a big part of that was him showing off his physique prowess. The Swiss Superman used the momentum gained especially with 'the Cesaro Section' behind him to put out some acrobatic and powerful moves on Owens but the latter thrived on his effects on them, countering his move to take the lead back but again the 'overly hot' came out of it with a spinning uppercut off the middle rope. As he tried to cater for the crowd favourite swinging move, the smart Kevin quickly went to the ropes to stop that from happening and kept staying there until there was an opening for him to land a Superkick on Cesaro and executed his Pump-up Powerbomb before he could come to.
(Kevin Owens won by p/f [Pump-up Powerbomb], R = 4/5, D = 7m 20s, +1 to Cesaro's already over rapport & +1 to the Champion's heel run, +1 for Cesaro's almost perfect getup if not for that darn knee caps)

> Running Thread: Paige's Complicated Relationships with PCB & Natalya

} Backstage + Paige able to gain her former teammates' trust back despite the Natalya's situation (+1 to Paige's unpredictable character)

3. Team PCB (newly reformed) vs Team Bella

+ The opening exchange saw Paige showed her raw talent before Nikki did her heel-ish way to gain the upper hand. As all of Team Bella members got the time to shine, the champion got to get away to tag in the crowd favourite Becky Lynch but only for a moment before a slew of finishing moves being put on one another. With the redhead just couldn't get the better of the former #1 contender, she paid for it dearly in the end with the Rack Attack. 

(Team Bella won by p/f [Rack Attack], R = 3.5/5, D = 5m 23s, +1 to Team Bella's teamwork & Paige's outburst of betrayal, +1 for the better matching wardrobe update for Team Bella)

} Backstage ~ Renee interviewed the newly formed alliance of Zeb Colter & Alberto del Rio off of their debut together in the last PPV. (Mex-America)

4. Neville vs Alberto del Rio /US Champion\ with Zeb Colter [3rd Qualification Match]

+ As strong and agile as Neville in that smaller package, Alberto used his bigger body structure to gain the upper hand first before the tide turned again, if only just for a little while. With a backstabber gaining the champion the edge yet again, the hard kicks and over the top rope dive by the Man that Gravity Forgot made the match a seesaw of an action in the ring. In the end, the risky high maneuver by Neville proved to be costly as he was trapped thanks to the opportunistic Mexican and got a elevated double boot stomp to the face as a reward for the mistake.

(Alberto del Rio won by p/f [double foot stomp], R = 4/5, D = 9m 30s, +1 for del Rio's form as well as Neville)

5. Ryback & the Dudley Boyz vs Rusev, King Barrett & Sheamus

+ A quick tussle broke out between the six wrestlers before the match officially started, and with D-Von Dudley on top of Sheamus when the bell eventually rang, it was not long before the King's quick distraction got the Mohawk to turn the tide. As the heel trio overwhelmed the other Dudley brother, he got a break when Rusev got distracted long enough for him to land a clothesline and tag in the always 'over' Ryback to gain the advantage back. With the team having the momentum, the cheering audiences even got a treat of triple simultaneous clothesline and a vintage Dudley Boyz's Whassup (or technically a diving headbutt to the crotch), having them got swept in the moment to yell together to "get the table!" in this non-table match. (+1 to the booming voice of Buh Buh Ray Dudley & also the referee's reaction when he knew what's to come) It was all for naught though as King Barrett got a sneaky quick roll-up off of the Money in the Bank winner's distraction with the help of the classic pull of the pants.
(the heels won by p/f [cheating] - R = 4/5 - D = 6m 13s, +1 to the babyfaces' form)

> Running Thread: the Wyatt Family versus the Brothers of Destruction

} In Ring 
+ In the middle of the ring in his now signature eerie presentation, Bray Wyatt gave an exceptional promo speech by first of all concluding nicely the war with Roman Reigns after last night's defeat but giving his own particular reasoning for the vicious attack with the Family members on the fallen legend, the Undertaker. He basically stated it was a way for him to 'revitalize himself' by 'taking the Dead Man's soul,' effectively putting himself as the next character to follow in the legend's steps but the other Brother of Destruction wouldn't take it laying down. As Kane came out to defend his brother, the light came out in the typical Wyatt way and when it was on again, there they were, the other Family members, at the ringside, effectively boxing him in an obvious trap. The Demon unsurprisingly didn't back down from a challenge, stood his ground and proceeded to take down each one of them but before he could lay a hand on the leader, they rushed the ring to outnumber him, subsequently beating him out of commission. Bray Wyatt then carried him out just like his brother last night: on the shoulders of the Family members in a crucifix position, being paraded just like a sacrificial lamb.

(+1 to storyline's tie-in with both characters, +1 to Bray Wyatt's supernatural mystique and dark persona, +1 to his excellent mic skills)

6. Big E with Kofi Kingston /2/3 of the Tag Team Champion\ vs Dolph Ziggler [4th Qualification Match]

+ As if dealing with the New Day was not enough on his plate, out came Tyler Breeze and Summer Rae to keep Dolph Ziggler on his toes. This in turns motivated him to end the match quickly by putting in a valiant effort but it wasn't enough to put down the bigger and stronger Big E as the New Day member dominated the exchange early on. The demonstration of power pushed the Showoff to the limit, forcing him to whip out some of his flashy moves and counter attacks just to keep himself in the match with the lead changing hand every passing moment. With a number of finishes resulted in a lot of close calls, in the end it was Dolph's quickness to get out of the way of Big E's Spear and the subsequent execution of his own Zig Zag that landed him the win.
(Dolph Ziggler won by p/f [Zig Zag], R = 4/5, D = 10m 22s, +1 to Ziggler's form as well as Big E, none for spectating Tyler Breeze though)

} Backstage + A nice pep talk by Dean Ambrose to Roman Reigns, from one former team member to another for the upcoming Fatal 4 Way Match, the history between the SHIELD alumni for the past year all the more sweeter. (+1 to Dean's camaraderie)

} In Ring + All around good guy Titus O'neil represented the WWE roster the best he can, albeit with a couple of stumbles, with a number of cancer survivors in the ring to conclude the collaboration nicely. (* Karma Boost *)

} Backstage + A surprise cameo appearance by the one and only Stone Cold Steve Austin with the help of the Miz to promote the company's upcoming video game.

> Running Thread: Fatal 4 Way Match for WWE World Heavyweight Championship #1 Contender Position

7. Fatal 4 Way Match - Dolph Ziggler vs Alberto del Rio vs Kevin Owens vs Roman Reigns [#1 Contender Match]

+ With the WWE Champion, Seth Rollins, at the ringside to commentate, it was another opening tussle between the apparent babyfaces and heels but the man of the moment, Roman, wanted to do it all by himself and started to attack Dolph, understandably so. Since it was every man for himself, even the heels started attacking each other when del Rio tried to win a pin himself after his partnership with Owens against Ziggler. The commentators were on point in this match, having a great chemistry with the Champion who delivered his own quips and comments to add to the entertainment value. After that, every competitor was going for the win indefinitely as they each getting the spotlight to land their own finishes and playing with audience's emotions with all the near falls. With the crowd getting louder and louder with every passing second, the Intercontinental Champion got the chance to land a couple of Rolling Cannonballs to put Alberto and Dolph out of contention. The resulting reactions of the crowd were electric, creating a tense and heightened atmosphere and they even drummed up for the eventual showdown between the two contenders who remained standing: Roman Reigns and Kevin Owens. As they appeared to be playing for the crowd and decided to fight in the ring, the latter decided to sneak in a Superkick before the former was fully ready but as Kevin tried to execute his Pump-up Powerbomb, the pumped Roman countered the move with a Superman Punch in midair and proceeded to land a Spear to legitimately made him eligible for the WWE title.
(Roman Reigns won by p/f [Spear], R = 4.5/5, D = 11m 58s, +1 to Roman's form & storyline, +1 for the wonderful commentary & interaction between them & Seth Rollins who displayed an array of emotions & reactions & +1 for the epic stare down in the end, just adding a little bit more to their already rich feud)

"Great followup to the PPV with a return of Fatal 4 Way that was followed by an entertaining tournament filled with wrestling potential, spiced by the supernatural element and a little bit of drama."

(WWE Channel, Rating - TV-PG, Founded 02211980, Episodes >>, Founders Vince & Linda McMahon, Duration - 2 hrs 15+ mnts, Genre - Wrestling, Action, Drama, Comedy, WWE Universe, Violence)