ThunderStruck: WWE Raw Analysis 11/04/13

Raw opens with a wrestling match for a change. It’s CM Punk taking on Luke Harper of the Wyatt Family. Bray and Rowan are in his corner. Punk jumps to the outside and hits a flying crossbody on Rowan during the match. Punk ducks a discus elbow and rolls up Harper for the win. They beat down Punk after the match until Daniel Bryan comes out for the save with a steel chair.

^Solid opening match for a david vs goliath story, and an even better ending with the rivalry heating up. I wonder who will end up joining Punk and Dbry to face the Wyatts in this new feud.

You can vote for whether Randy Orton will face Big E, Dolph Ziggler or the Miz. Cool possibilities.

The Smackdown main event from this past friday will take place again tonight. Super creative.

CM Punk is interviewed by Renee Young. He isn’t happy with the Wyatt Family. Short and sweet.

An over the phone interview is held with Paul Heyman. He’s apparently in Europe getting help with his injuries suffered at the hands of CM Punk. Heyman cries and hangs up. Good acting skills.

Ryback is out next to go one on one with Khali. Apparently the WWE app set up this match when Ryback bullied Hornswoggle and Santino. Ryback wins a short match against Khali with a big clothesline. He destroys Santino after the match.

^This was a joke, and Khali should never be on my screen again. I liked Ryback’s work at Hell in a Cell against Punk, and I liked his match with Kofi on main event this week. Perhaps they could help him get better over time and just stop trying to push the guy so quickly.

Alberto Del Rio defeats Kofi Kingston with the cross armbreaker in a six and a half minute mat clinic.

^Excellent wrestling from both of these guys. Give them five to ten more minutes and they could tell an even more awesome story. I doubt these two could ever have a bad match with one another. Kofi gets to lose to the top heels, but he can still make them look good in the process.

A video is shown highlighting the evidence of Big Show’s “lawsuit” against WWE. Some storylines are just so insulting to our intelligence.

Randy Orton cuts a promo before his match. Jerry Lawler reveals the winner of the vote as Big E. Langston. Orton defeats Big E. when he counters the big ending into an RKO in a nine minute match.

^That was pretty darn impressive for Big E to work with the WWE Champion. Great way to help Big E. move up the roster. Orton going over was obviously the right move, but Big E. definitely looked like a legitimate threat as he should for his size and ability. I loved seeing this match.

Tyson Kidd and Natalya defeat Fandango and Summer Rae. Kidd forces Dango to tap out to the sharpshooter.

^With no real direction for Fandango, it doesn’t surprise me that he’d be booked to lose on Raw after defeating Khali on Main Event. I enjoy mixed gender tag matches, but usually they’re more fun with some backstory to go along with it.

The Real Americans w/Zeb Colter join a Damien Sandow interview conducted by Renee Young as they all talk about victory tonight. Replace Swagger with someone that has a personality, and I love this trio!

John Cena cuts a promo. He and the Runnels brothers take on Sandow and the Real Americans. Goldust pins Cesaro fo the win.

^I liked the match on Smackdown just slightly better, but this was still fun to watch. It’s nice to see the World Title and Tag Titles having importance with some young talent working with the vets of the roster. Great stuff!

More evidence is shown of the Big Show lawsuit.

Big Show is shown in a suit backstage.

Vickie Guerrero informs Hunter that Show is here. Stephanie comes in and tells Hunter that she brought him in by orders of the Board. She says they have to work it out without lawyers to avoid the lawsuit. One could guess that Show will get a WWE Title match.

Dolph Ziggler takes on Curtis Axel in a non title match. Ziggler wins an excellent match with the zig zag.

^So the idiots at the announce table talk and talk about Big Show and the WWE lawsuit during 98% of the match, and the entire time I was hoping they would talk about the performance in front of us. These two wrestled a fast paced match loaded with back and forth maneuvers. Great match for not going much more than five minutes.

Renee Young interviews Daniel Bryan. She asks if it was wise for Dbry to show up while he’s injured, and Dbry says he saw an opportunity for payback and he took it.

The Usos are out next. They defeat Heath Slater and Drew McIntyre.

^I’m okay with the Usos staying hot; it feels like they’ve really mixed it up in the tag division as of late and I like seeing the Usos chasing the titles. Nothing special for a match, but nice of them to include these teams on Raw.

The Los Matadores are interviewed by Renee Young. El Torito is horny. Weird.

The Bellas and Eva Marie defeat AJ, Tamina and Aksana. Eva steals the pin on Tamina when she tags herself in.

^Nothing special, but definitely interesting that we get ANOTHER six person tag match. Is this the new way of trying to cram a ton of talent into matches? I guess it works, but it’s starting to grow old.

Big Show negotiates with Stephanie and Hunter in the ring. He gets his job back and a WWE Title match at Survivor Series. Hunter books him in a handicap match against the Shield and Randy Orton right now.

Big Show wins by DQ when Kane gives the Shield and Orton steel chairs. Show gets beaten down by everyone as the show goes off the air.

Solid ending for the WWE Title scene. I don’t love Big Show competing for the gold, but at least it’s a rivalry that we haven’t seen before involving a World Title. Good promo work by everyone, and nice to see the Shield and Kane included as henchman for the authority. It really seems to be a modern corporation angle, and it’s really coming across as pretty enjoyable.

Despite me not being happy with the direction of top performers(Punk, Dbry and Ziggler to name a few), the show really was balanced out with some excellent wrestling, good storytelling, and fun storyline enhancement. I’d call it an excellent edition of Monday Night Raw just for the wrestling alone, but the rivalry enhancement and booking of the show makes it a step above and I’d give it 9/10 stars. Thanks for reading!

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