Today as we honor those who have served in the armed forces and all they have done, WWE continues the build toward the last Big Four PPV of the year with this episode of RAW coming from the UK. The ending to last week’s episode introduced a few new questions. What will Big Show do now that he has his job back? How will he build his title match with Orton? How will The Authority continue to torment him? Of course everyone is wondering what Kane more Kane will do with his new look. Also, will the traditional Survivor Series match(es) get any clarity? Are The Shield really showing signs of breaking up? Does anyone remember that Curtis Axel is the IC Champ?
Best
Kane: Well that was certainly unexpected, wasn’t it? The Big Red Monster has become The Big…Corporate Suit? Or just Corporate Kane? If it’s the latter shouldn’t it be Korporate Kane? Either way, this is an intriguing new direction for Kane as he’s always been billed as some form of a monster. Having a cold and calculating corporate persona might even be more scarier. Obviously, it’s still very early, but the new Kane shows alot of promise.
Heyman: Yes! He’s back! Showing up in the ring in a wheelchair and showing the effects of the punishment he took from Punk, we are once again treated to the gloriousness that is a Paul Heyman promo. Even shown in such a vulnerable position as he was, he stills projects power and control. While he did get another kendo stick beating courtesy of Punk, he was able to heel on Manchester, Punk and Ryback of all people. Hopefully he continues to stay on TV so he can cut more promos.
JBL Great Quote of The Night: ‘They’re Fandangoing in the crowd! They’re Fandangoing in the cheap seats! C’mon guys let’s Fandango!’
Worst
The Authorities: So with The Authority ‘on vacation’ who’s in charge of RAW? GM Brad Maddox seems to think he is, and books Orton in match against Cody during the show opening promo. Then Kane comes down and as ‘Director of Operations’ makes Randall’s opponent Goldust. Vickie of all people comes out and says it’s a Orton vs RhoBros handicap match. Then the tag champs come out like it’s a done deal while Kane, Maddox and Orton argue. How is that supposed to work? Shouldn’t have no authority on a show she’s not the GM of? We didn’t even get an OK from either other authority figure. Plus it’s not the best way to establish Kane in his new role and it seems like messy booking.
Relevance: So Ziggler got an IC title shot against Curtis Axel and what would have been a great opportunity to get Dolph back to relevance was wasted when Axel picked up the victory. Not only would Ziggler have been a better IC Champ, but then Axel could have gone back to being the jobber that he was before and we would have no longer had to take him seriously.
Questionable
No Show: During the beginning of the show, the commentators were playing up the fact that Big Show was unable to be here due to the injuries suffered from last week’s beatdown. They brought this up several times during the show opening match. Of course this means Show comes out to attack Orton after the match and Cole acts really shocked. How gullible does WWE think we are? They might as well have spoiled the fact that Show was coming out anyways. The only good thing that came out of this was seeing Show Chokeslam Orton through the announce table.
The Shield: It had to happen sooner or later, but the breakup of The Shield has now started to be teased. Now that Ambrose is the only one with a title, jealousy is going to play a part. Sure the group hasn’t been in the strong position it was during the first few months after their debut, however their current enforcer role is just an evolution of their fight against injustice. They’re able to band together and put the group above the individual so far, but all good things must come to an end it seems. It’s not necessarily the fact that they might split up that’s questionable, but what might happen to each guy afterwards. Will they continue to be booked in a relevant way?
