Wednesday 24 July 2013

WWE Raw Quick Hits - 22/07/13


Hits

The Hour Of Bryan
After a while it was becoming clear that the show wasn't quite going to be as good as last week's. The action was there, and some of the segments were as well, but last week's episode had that extra edge that made it an absolute joy to watch. 

And then came the hour of Daniel Bryan. And then I quickly changed my mind. Not only did we get to watch a good 30-40 minutes of Bryan wrestling, but most of that wrestling against an on-game Antonio Cesaro. The result - an awesome match. 

It was hard-hitting, back and forth (those uppercuts!), and given a lot of time to develop into a fantastic watch of the underdog Bryan looking to once against prove himself. Those of you that watched ROH back in 2007-08 will know just how well these two guys work together, and on Monday they were given the chance to shine on the big stage. That, as well as his stuff against Swagger and Ryback made this a tone of fun to watch. 

At the end of the show Bryan was greeted with standing ovation - and he thoroughly deserved it. 

Punk and Heyman Tear It Up Once Again
It was always going to be extremely hard to top last week's segment, and while they weren't able to do it in the end, this was still a really entertainment between two of the best talkers in the business. 

Lesnar may not have been there, but the hatred and grudge-like feel to this feud shone through once again, mostly thanks to the work of CM Punk, who can play the relentless underdog extremely well. 

Despite the PG surroundings of WWE today, ironically enough the past few years have played host to storyline filled with a great sense of realism. This feud between Punk and Lesnar is no exception. 

That's What He Do
A brief and minor hit, but the stuff between Mark Henry, The Usos and The Shield was really good once again this week. 

One thing I really like about The Usos siding with Mark Henry is that Mark Henry isn't exactly siding with The Usos. He's still his own man, and while he needed help on Monday and didn't seem upset to get it, he wasn't afraid to through The twins out of the way to get through to The Shield. 

He'll need the help from The Usos whether he likes it or not, but that doesn't mean he should play up to them either. Let him be the monster that has The Usos on his shoulder. 

Sheamus vs. Alberto Del Rio
I always thought that Del Rio and Sheamus worked quote well together. There feud back in 2012 wasn't anything special, and you could definitely argue that their matches weren't either, but they were always relatively solid for me. This past week they got to show their stuff once again in what was a pretty decent match. 

Really it was the selling of Sheamus' leg injury which made it for me (he can honestly be a tremendous seller when he wants to be), with the ending topping it all off for me.

It wasn't anything special, and maybe I shouldn't be praising that ending so much, but screw it, it was a cool ending that showed great storytelling and psychology. I love that stuff. 

Misses

The Rhodes/Sandow Situation
First off, I'm happy that these two are feuding together, as I feel we could get some exciting matches from them. BUT, the storyline direction is complete arseways. 

Over the past few years WWE have developed a bit of a knack for making their faces look like sore losers, bullies and out-right unlikeable people. Cody Rhodes is starting to look like that. Sure, he has every right to be upset that he didn't win Money in the Bank, but Sandow did nothing wrong, and I think the most casual of fans know that as well. 

The match was every man for himself, and Sandow pushed his best friend off a ladder to achieve that dream. No matter what way they try to put it, Sandow looks like he was just taking advantage of the situation. Cody, on the other hand, is looking like a bit of a dick. 

Total Divas OMG
Divas. Reality TV. Jerry Lawler creepily introducing himself to women. The Miz hosting. Yeah, I think that all adds up to be the worst segment in wrestling history. 

I mean, I honestly don't know what else there is to say.  It was a travesty of a segment  A complete abomination. Brie Bella's nip slip didn't even interest me that much. It was a wardrobe malfunction, so what? Unless she actually poses nude, instead of accidentally showing some nipple, then I'm not going to get excited. 

Yeah, I either made myself sound mature by not getting excited over a nip slip, or sound even more like a creepy for wanting full blown nude pictures instead. I tried for the former, but I think I'm coming across as the latter here, sadly. 

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