RAW Three Point Review
Emanating from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, The Authority introduced the latest edition of Monday Night RAW as a night of firsts. For the first time in SummerSlam's history the show will be four hours long, for the first time Dean Ambrose, would face the Big Show, for the first time NXT Women's champion, Sasha Banks, faced off against Paige, for the first time The Viper, Randy Orton, squared off against Kevin Owens and for what must be the 291st time, John Cena delivered an emphatic fuck you to smarks worldwide. Without the crutch of Brock Lesnar and The Undertaker to carry the show , RAW stuttered and started whilst confirming many fan's fears; John Cena is back in the main event just when we thought he had gone away.
Here is my three point review:
1. In WWE's contrived 'Universe' that never acknowledges the real world, John Cena is the man. A squeaky clean, social justice warrior driven by his motivation to restore order and implement justice in a universe governed by a seemingly never ending list of bad guys to defeat. Over the past five months, since defeating Rusev at WrestleMania for the US Title, fans have warmed to John Cena as he suspended his pursuit of bad guys to focus on putting excellent matches with members of the mid-card in his US Title Open Challenge. For weeks now, Mr Make a Wish has consistently featured in the match of the night even putting on a couple of match of the year contenders with Kevin Owens and Cesaro.
Despite John Cena's vastly improved match quality over the past few months, the matches have retained the same template of multiple finishers followed by close falls followed by John Cena picking up the victory. Regardless of this minor criticism, The US Open Challenge has been the best part of RAW for weeks whilst elevating a previously dead title to new levels.
So we arrive at last night's RAW and many fan's worst fears were confirmed when John Cena interrupted an Authority promo, inserting himself back into the main event picture cashing in his annual John Cena in the Bank to the dismay of Seth Rollins and the IWC alike, challenging Rollins for the title in the night's main event. That's right, just when you thought WWE was departing from LOLCENAWINS to an exciting new future with healthy competition, high stakes and unpredictability WWE return to a familiar face, albeit slightly mangled by Rollins. Last night, WWE used its annual reset to default by opting for Cena as Rollins' next challenger as opposed to a fresher face, once again highlighting WWE's inability to establish new faces. HHH did not allow Cena to challenge for the title on RAW as requested, he instead set the night's main event as Seth Rollins vs John Cena for the US Title.
These two men, arguably in the form of their career, stole the show with a match lasting just over 15 minutes. Rollins and Cena, as demonstrated in their previous encounters, have great chemistry together and will always produce high quality matches. This match was no different, Rollins' athleticism compliments Cena's strength perfectly and the two combined always make for a good match. Throughout the match, the commentary team made it clear that if Cena wins he is next in line for a shot at Seth Rollins' WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Not even a broken nose inflated to twice its usual size could stop Hustle, Loyalty, Respect as he made the WWE WHC tap clean in the centre of the ring to a very shoddily applied STF proving that even if you're the WWE WHC you're still not as good as Cena with a mid-card belt.
John Cena resurfacing in the main event is not what is best for business. I refuse to believe that Seth Rollins title reign will succumb to "Big Match John" over coming the odds and delivering the bad guy his comeuppance once again. Surely Rollins' title reign hasn't been just more odds to overcome. What keeps my faith unwavering in the face of so much evidence pointing to the contrary, you may ask. Well, a John Cena victory over Seth Rollins brings into question what exactly WWE is trying to achieve with NXT. I do not believe that Cena can continually keep beating top NXT talent the WWE is billing as the future of the industry. Is the future of WWE reaching the top only to be dethroned by Cena? Surely not.
Unquestionably, Cena is one of the most popular wrestlers on the roster at the moment but I would argue the main reason for that popularity is the fact he hasn't been in the main event since the Royal Rumble PPV in January. This new found respect of John Cena stems directly from the fact that he has been a mid-card champion, putting on great matches with members of the mid-card that have been overlooked for years and not going over main event heels all the time, telling the same story again and again. If Rollins/Cena does go ahead at SummerSlam, I expect the WWE World Heavyweight Champion, Seth Rollins, to arrive in a big way, stealing the show in a winning effort against John Cena, finally proving himself a worthy champion. Lets just hope the match showcases Seth Rollins' ability not "John Cena had it won if it wasn't for [insert bullshit reason why John Cena didn't win]".
2. If there is one word to summarise the tag division in WWE it is disarray. Last week, Los Matadores should have been crowned number one contenders to Prime Time Players' World Tag Team Championships according to WWE's championship rules that stipulate if you earn a pinfall or submission victory over the champion(s) you earn the right to a shot at the title the champion you defeat holds. These are the very rules that will secure John Cena his match against Seth Rollins at SummerSlam on next week's RAW.
These rules do not, however, apply to the tag team division. This week, Lucha Dragons were resurrected by creative for a match against Los Matadores, the rightful number one contenders. A fun match ended with Lucha Dragons picking up the victory off a roll up by Kalisto after New Day caused the distraction. It appears New Day's feud with Prime Time Players is set to continue whilst Lucha Dragons and Los Matadores get shoehorned into the one tag team feud creative are able to write at any one time.
What is most frustrating, as a big fan of tag team wrestling, is that the division seemingly had a direction whilst New Day held the gold whilst improving the match quality in a division that has sorely lacked it, putting on some fun matches with Cesaro and Kidd. Sure, injuries to Tyson Kidd and Eric Rowan have likely forced a rethinking of plans but the division is currently aimless, propped up by champions that have as much momentum as a King Barrett's promised push after winning KOTR.
Over the next couple of weeks, expect Los Matadores, Lucha Dragons and New Day to find themselves in contention for the Tag Titles culminating in a four corner tag match at SummerSlam which will probably be featured on preshow.
3. Luke Harper renewed his vows to Bray Wyatt last night after months in the wilderness of the lower mid-card. Harper re-committed to Wyatt in a ceremony that was both moving and touching. Wyatt began by offering an analogy; when he was younger he had a pet, which he loved dearly before releasing it into the wild. One day, the pet returned, although something was different. The pet returned with a scar over his eye. The pet had learnt a valuable lesson: the world has teeth and it bites. This lesson fixed his pet. This lesson also fixed Luke Harper who took the opportunity to explain why he has realigned with Bray, stating that Wyatt showed him the truth before pledging allegiance to Wyatt for a second time.
It is great to see Harper back with Wyatt. The reasons for the Wyatt family break up made as little sense as having Big Show defeat Dean Ambrose via count out (Something that also happened on RAW). Despite the numerous holes in the logic of a break up only to get back together, WWE and Wyatt have come up with a fantastic analogy that actually makes sense and explains the reasons for Harper leaving in the first place! Harper went away to find his own way in the world, but returned to his master with his tail tucked firmly between his legs looking for guidance once again.
All that is missing is one final piece of The Wyatt Family jigsaw. Many names have been banded around in contention to be the final member of the Wyatt family; Jack Swagger, Bo Dallas, The Ascension and a reincarnated Adam Rose have been suggested to fill the role left by Eric Rowan. WWE needs a strong Wyatt Family faction to bring an element of psychology to the table in a roster crammed full of technical wrestling ability. Fans are just waiting to get behind The Wyatt Family and having Luke Harper recommit his vows is the first step in the rebuilding process.
General Comments
This week's RAW was a bad one for former Shield members; Dean Ambrose, inexplicably, lost to the Big Show via count out after he flew into a KO punch ringside, Seth Rollins tapped out to John Cena and Roman Reigns did not make an appearance on the show. Considering that The Shield, together, constitute WWE's most heavily pushed group in history, the current working environment in WWE appears toxic to young talent, suggesting that no matter how over you get, no matter how many good matches you put on, no matter how entertaining you prove, you are always a second in the list of priorities.
For the second week in a row, WWE looked to the past instead of the future.
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