TV Show Review 012 WWE Raw Recap & Review 110215

WWE RAW in Denver, Colorado (with Survivor Series Elimination Match) 110215 [1993->] 4/5

} In Ring 

+ Roman Reigns recalled last week's win, respecting the current WWE Champion but then listing everything wrong he had done so far and announcing his long-awaited and deserved shot for the title. Speak of the devil, Seth Rollins came out to also acknowledge his challenger but then recalling his own title win at the expense of the Samoan, belittling him more and more. When he was confronted to get in the ring and looked like he was taking the bait, the Authority interrupted just in time in their own words, "to not waste potentially the biggest match yet on a mere tv show". Instead they exchanged it with a traditional 5-on-5 Survivor Series Elimination Match for the main event, with the two former SHIELDs as the captains. (+1 for the return & early taste of the Survivor Series)

1. Dolph Ziggler vs Kevin Owens /the Intercontinental Champion\

+ The champion took advantage of Dolph's recent injury by focusing his attacks on it as the Showoff did his best to keep the exchange leveled. When Tyler Breeze came out yet again to be at the VIP seating with Summer Rae, he the blonde in the ring got distracted as Kevin capitalized and gained the upper hand. With all of these going against Ziggler, he always managed to get out of every situation but when it was at a standstill, Tyler got out of his seat to get closer to the ring and record the ongoing match with Summer. This in turns proved to be another effective distraction as Dolph tried and failed to get his hands on him but successfully ran into Owen's Pump-up Powerbomb.

(Kevin Owens won by pin fall [PuP], Rating = 3.5/5, Duration = 7m 27s, +1 to Tyler's millennial heel & his attention-seeking selfie of the downed Ziggler)

} Backstage + Seth approached the Intercontinental Champion to invite him into his team, offering rather undeservedly a Title vs Title Main Event match at Wrestlemania in exchange for his service.

} Backstage + Renee interviewed Becky Lynch who was able to finally showed a little more of her personality, playing well with Renee and even the passing Brie Bella. (+1 to Becky's bright persona)

2. Cesaro vs the Miz 

+ Another stalker dynamic here with Stardust just watching Cesaro in the stand with his 'bodyguards' of the Ascensio but the favourite babyface calmly showed off his athleticism as he dealt with the Miz in the early exchange. Although the latter got an edge by taking advantage of the ring, it wasn't long before the former's superior wrestling skills enabled him to turn the tide. He then straight away executed the crowd-favourite Cesaro Swing for about 22 full rotations (I counted!) and followed it with a sharpshooter that the Miz quickly submitted to.

(Cesaro won by p/f [Sharpshooter], R = 4/5, D = 4m 50s, +1 to Cesaro's form & rapport with the audiences, +1 to the Miz selling the Swings well & some nice reactions by the Stardust Section)

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

} In Ring 

+ The Wyatt Family was in the ring with the leader announcing the 'passing' of the Brothers of Destruction because their 'souls' are now living through him, making him the most powerful supernatural being in the WWE Universe. Then, he proceeded to demonstrate his claims by 'summoning' the signature lighting and fire that have been synonymous with the two aforementioned legends. It was appeared to be the end of them as Bray Wyatt brandishing the infamous Dead Man's signature pose which was followed by a video package of the Brothers' careers throughout the years from the start and ended abruptly rather timely with a vortex into the void.

(+1 to Bray Wyatt's eerie persona, flamed forever more by the 'desecration' of the legends)

3. Lucha Dragons vs King Barrett & Sheamus

+ A rather mismatched but nonetheless classic matchup of the agile versus the strength which represented perfectly when Sheamus was pushing around Kalisto and got surprised by his retaliation of hard kicks and acrobatic skills. To ensure not getting overwhelmed early, King Barrett did his usual heel way to neutralize the high-flying competitor. Although cornered, the diminutive Mexican was able to acrobatically got to his corner and tagged in the fresh Sin Cara who quickly knocked down the two bigger wrestlers with his Lucha prowess which was to the crowd's delight. Then again his momentum got halted by the sneaky heels and subsequently taking a turn to be bullied by them but not for long as he countered a Suplex into a DDT, tagging in the refreshed Kalisto to turn the tide with another dose of Lucha goodness and ended it with a counter of Barrett's Bullhammer into his own Salida del Sol.

(Lucha Dragons won by p/f [SdS], R = 4/5, D = 10m 14s, +1 to Lucha's form and crowd rapport)

} Backstage + An impromptu reunion of a former alliance between Zep Colter and Jack Swagger, with the All-American confronted the veteran on his surprising and questionable team-up with Alberto del Rio. (+1 for the inclusion of full of potential Jack Swagger)

4. R-Truth vs Alberto del Rio /the US Champion\

+ The champion wanted to lead the exchange as the challenger had another idea by quickly landing his finishes but to no avail. A running insugiri got Alberto his momentum back and followed it by trapping R-Truth at the turnbuckle, unleashing three simultaneous shin kicks to the chest to keep him at bay and finally executing his finishing move, a double stomps to the chest off the top turnbuckle.
(Alberto del Rio won by p/f [Double Elevated Stomps] - R = 3.5/5 - D = 3m 22s, +1 to the Mexican's form)

} Backstage + The New Day approached the WWE Champion to be on his team, winning him over in the end after smartfully playing to his ego. (+1 to the power of positivity!)

} Backstage + Jojo interviewed Sasha Banks who was also getting ready for the number one contender match, whose persona shone as always in front of the camera. (+1 to the Boss' personality)

5. Fatal 4 Way - Becky Lynch vs Sasha Banks vs Brie Bella vs Paige

+ The match started with Becky Lynch dominating the exchange early on while her object of ire, Paige, smartly stayed away from the altercations in the middle of the ring. A dropkick by Brie Bella allowed her to temporarily gained the advantage which followed by a couple of running knees to the face ("Brie Mode!") before Paige came in to land a head kick to level things again. With her finally in the ring, the Irish took the opportunity to lay it down a deserved beating on her, continued to roll out of the ring and exchanging a throw to the barricade with a throw to the steel steps. In the ring, Sasha Banks took advantage of Brie to land her own signature double knees to the stomach at the turnbuckle, showcasing the ever exchanging dynamic in this everyone-for-herself match. With every wrestler interrupting each other, it worked in the favour of the Bella sister who still held the upper hand after the break, kicking away the others in the way of her husband's to the delight of the crowd basing on their chants. There were just too many bodies in the ring for any of them to get a clean pin and this culminated in a big maneuver involving all of them: the Boss was at the receiving end of a Double Superplex with said move's instigators Paige and Brie got their own dose of a Double Powerbomb at the hands of Becky. As the freshest competitor after that penultimate move, the redhead immediately rushed the other two wrestlers in the ring and right away applied her submission move but it was not to be if Sasha could do anything about it. It was then her turn to apply her finishes on the downed Irish but this Fatal Four Way match could be cruel and only paid off for those who play it right. In this instance, it was Paige who interrupted Banks' submission and subsequently threw her to the steel post, rendered her down and out while she delivered her Ram-Paige on her former PCB team member.

(Paige won by p/f [Ram-Paige], R = 4/5, D = 10m 14s, +1 to every wrestler's form, especially Becky & Paige)

} Backstage + Renee interviewed the Divas Champion, Charlotte. (+1 for her confidence & +1 to the story)

6. 5 on 5 Elimination Match - the New Day, Kevin Owens & Seth Rollins vs Roman Reigns, the Usos, Ryback & Dean Ambrose

+ The New Day gave a good opening speech as they always would, especially with the return of Xavier Woods. With all of Seth Rollins' team members stood confidently in the ring, the sense of concern and anxiousness were in the air for them as well as the crowd since it was still unknown who their opponents would be. After Roman Reigns came out, their worries and the audience's hope were answered with the returning appearance of the Usos together as a team after a long six month hiatus who came out to help their Samoan cousins. The duo shocked and awed the arena while the addition of Ryback and of course Dean Ambrose completed the team, making them a viable threat to win the whole shebang. To start the match, Xavier did his best to pump himself up with the help of his teammates but he hopelessly ran into Jimmy Uso's Superkick and subsequently got eliminated with the returning Jay Uso's Body Splash. This caused the Champion's team to regroup after quickly having a man down and it seemed to be working when we came back from the break to see Jimmy in the receiving end of the New Day's 'Unicorn Stampede' that was followed with Kevin's Back Splash. An opportunity arose when the fresher Uso got tagged in to lay it on Kofi Kingston, showcasing his eagerness to finally come back and perform in the ring while displaying his family pedigree to the adoring watchers. Big E came out to save his compatriot but got thrown out instead, triggering the Usos to turn back the clock and execute their signature dive off the ring onto the grounded 'unicorns.' The Legal Uso brought in the legal Kofi to eliminate his own New Day member with a Frog Splash. (+1 to the Uso's form)

+ The remaining Big E blindsided Jimmy in the desperate attempt to halt the flow of the match but he managed to tag the other Uso in and it was to his detriment as Owens' distraction allowed the one half of the Tag Team Champion to make him lose his footing off the top rope and effectively ending his run with a Big Ending. Now the remaining Uso ran in to seek redemption for his brother but in his haste he didn't notice the tag made by the Intercontinental Champion, then unconsciously ran into his clever setup for a Pump-Up Powerbomb who waited smartly to come in just after he started his run. With the score now all even, the man of the hour stepped in to avenge his cousin's elimination by making a short work of Kevin Owens while Seth's interruption got Dean moving to move him out of the way, jumping through the ropes to achieve it while immediately got himself a Body Check from Big E who also got himself a Ryback's Body Check. Meanwhile in the ring Roman focused his attention on Kevin but Seth interrupted again just enough for a Superkick to sneak in to level the playing field again.

+ The Champions team was controlling the flow of the match with a systematic and effective isolation of the remaining Samoan but the support of the crowd was just enough for him to throw off the Heavyweight Champion off the ring and tagged in the still fresh Ryback to turn the tide yet again. When he met his match in Big E, he got a leg up with a Meat Hook but Owens' interruption prompted Ambrose to turn him away successfully, that was until Rollins threw him into the steel steps. A Belly to Belly Suplex wasn't enough for Big E to eliminate the Big Guy but a returning Shellshock was the end of the New Day member. The ultimate opportunist took advantage right after to land a Pedigree on the tired Ryback, making the score even again at two per team.

+ Rollins acted smartly to focus his attacks more on the damaged Ambrose but when the latter wasn't able to tag in Reigns, a surge of energy pulled the Lunatic Fringe out of the funk if only for awhile before the heel duo snuffed it out yet again. With them holding firmly to the advantage, the egoist leader got Kevin to hold up the lethargic Dean while he spouted more nonsense to him but when it obviously backfired, the agitated Seth tried to land again a flying knee on him. Ambrose ducked out of the way fast enough for the knee to land on Owens instead and then he took the chance by throwing Rollins out of the ring and landed a Dirty Deeds on the already woozy Intercontinental Champion, effectively eliminated him and making it a two-on-one situation. A well deserved rest was given to the Lunatic Fringe while the well rested Samoan was pumped to finally get his hands on the sellout, while the initial target was too intimidated with the situation and decided to run for it. It was obviously wouldn't be successful with Dean covering the exit while Roman throwing Seth everywhere outside of the ring. When the Champion was cornered by them, he couldn't accept it and made a desperate attempt by fleeing to the timekeeper's area but emerged with a steel chair which he used to end the match abruptly. Seth then proceeded to use it repeatedly on his opponents but when he decided to continue the bashing of Roman in the ring, the Samoan broke out a Superman Punch that sent him rolling out of the ring, effectively sending him away with the belt.

(Roman Reigns' Team won by DQ [Steel Chair], R = 4.5/5, D = 22m 42s, +1 to everyone's form, +1 for the returning Usos, +1 to the Championship storyline & +1 for an amazing & entertaining match)

"What a tease for the upcoming Pay Per View with a welcome tease of an amazing Five on Five Elimination Match which became the highlight of the evening full of fillers and also an indefinite end of the Brothers of Destruction."

(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)