Coming at you from Greenville, and early side note, why are there so many shows in Greenville? It feels like they’re in South Carolina at least four RAWs a year. No knock against one of the O.G. states but watching a few Gamecock games is about all the SC I need.
I’m getting distracted, everyone knows when you hold a prestigious awards show like The Slammys, you roll out the red carpet down the gunt of the East Coast, world famous South Carolina.
I’ll make it short and sweet, like Gamecock BBQ, most of RAW was taken up by The Slammys and we only got a few matches. Having said that, all the matches were pretty good. It was a solid “go home show” for this Sunday’s “Tables, Ladders and Chairs” PPV. Wow, TLC is here already. It feels like it was just two weeks ago when we had the last PPV… OH, RIGHT. IT WAS!
It is one thing for me to accept the WWE making it standard procedure to start each show with a “Previously on RAW” recap (which is against good traditional wrestling storytelling, but I’m accepting it). It’s another thing to announce the main event being John Cena vs Big Show. That’s just testing my testicular fortitude and challenging me to watch through to the end. But I’m a pro, so I can proudly say that I watched the whole thing in one sitting. You can’t say I don’t work hard for you people.
Before I forget, Seth Green was the special guest host. Why? I don’t know. But it happened and now we have our first nominee for the Slammy Award for Best Guest Host 2015. To bad they couldn’t work his hot wife, Clare Grant, into the proceedings. I guess that’d be too much to ask. Or maybe she draws the line at making nerd-gasm Star Wars fan fiction. What? ‘Rasslin too good for you!? If Vince was still around, she’d be shaking her little money maker out there. Oh, the good ol’ days. Never mind, we’ve got a lot to get to.
Check out the BEARcast - WrestleCast for a full recap of RAW, The Slammys and a preview of TLC. www.worldofbear.com and please subscribe on iTunes. At the bottom is a complete list of Slammy winners.
So with that, let’s get to the rankings as of this week’s RAW on 12/08/2014...
- Miz and Damien Miz-dow (4) – Clearly the stars of the night. Miz and Miz-dow were all over RAW, which is fine by me. They’re great! My hope is that the WWE doesn’t blow their wad too soon on their inevitable breakup. This could, and should, be strung out until the curtain-jerk match of WM.
- Seth Rollins w/ Minions (9) – Ziggler vs Rollins, that will never be bad. You’re going to hear me say this a lot, great quick match. Once again, Rollins gets the cheap win. He’s the focal point of the show and as we discuss on the BEARcast - WrestleCast (www.worldofbear.com) Rollins should have been the Wrestler of the Year. Here’s an early prediction, “He doesn’t deserve it, but I DO!” is going to be new Rollins catch phrase.
- Dolph Ziggler (7) – Match of the Year acceptor (even though I don’t agree with Survivor Series being match of the year). Two things, 1) Ziggler’s speech was on the of the few that felt the most genuine. If it wasn’t for the fans and his hard work, he would have never made the comeback he’s had. 2) I don’t recall another wrestler being slammed face first through a table like the bump Ziggler took. Well done, glad he didn’t get a concussion and set his push back. Dude needs to relax on the RAW before TLC. You’ll get your chance to knock yourself out on Sunday.
- AJ Lee vs Summer Rae (12&N/A) – In a night of great but quick matches, you could argue that both Divas matches were the top 2 of the night? I’m not saying they were, but you could argue it. When did you ever think that would happen? The Divas division is set to have a great 2015. AJ also gave a great speech / shoot when accepting her Slammy. If nothing is ever by accident in the WWE, go back and listen to whom she left out. You don’t even need to do that, just guess. Starts with a Bel and ends with a La. Most surprising, as of now it doesn’t seem any of the CM Punk / WWE brouhaha hasn’t affected AJ, yet.
- Erick Rowan vs Luke Harper (14&10) – Recently announced MENSA member, Rowan fought his former Wyatt Family brother. Again, another good match. God forbid they save this feud for down the line and get Bray to step his toes in. That would be too good. Let’s just have them fight at a random RAW with no buildup, then when the WWE actually puts the effort into this feud, we’ll pretend they never fought before.
- Bray Wyatt (1) – Very, very, VERY upset about Abigail’s chair being broken by Ambrose. I’m sure there are thousands of chairs just like it at Restoration Hardware but this one obviously meant a lot to Bray. Although, I’m surprised you can’t buy one on WWEshop.com. Am I the only one who noticed that Bray almost got speared in the dome with an errant chair. Someone could get hurt in that ring if one is not careful.
- Dean Ambrose (2) – The ghost of wrestling past emerges from the ambulance to show Bray what he’s in for this Sunday at TLC.
- Stardust w/ Goldust (6) – I love the Dust Bros but I fully expect them to put over The New Day. The sheer talent between the two teams should make for an awesome match.
- The New Day (3) – The fact that JBL is excited about TND makes be believe they’ll be heels. I very much enjoyed their performance art of doing a human Slammy.
- Charlotte (Flair) (N/A) – For all you dudes who ever had latent homosexual thoughts but were too afraid to act on them, now you can jerk off to a female version of Ric Flair.
- Natalya (via Hart) w/ Tyson Kidd (11) – These two put on a great match before on NXT. Another great quick match with Nattie winning. I love this gimmick of Tyson Kidd stealing her shine. Am I going to start cheering for these two?
- The Usos (5) – Naomi and Jimmy Uso gave one of the best shoot promo blurring the lines of real life and wrestling, so I guess Total Divas is a success. Someone please shoot me now before the next season airs. If you guys are truly my friends, you’ll do me this favor. But it goes to show, the Usos can do more than just fly around the ring. I like this semi heel turn. Or at the very least, a sign of personality.
- Paul Heyman (HM) – It’s so much better when he’s there live. It’s been far too long since we’ve seen Heyman or Lesnar at a show and we need to keep the WHC on our minds, even minimally. It should be mandatory that Heyman is live at least every other week in absence of Brock Lesnar.
- Rusev w/ Lana (16) – Swagger vs Rusev at TLC for US title. I’m glad the WWE is busting out the new ideas… As WWE fashion expert, and as much as it pains me, I must point out that Lana looked like she went one-on-one with some of South Carolina’s finest moonshine the night before and needs to get back to a metropolis so that she can get her roots dyed. She wasn't looking her best and if not for that, what of fuck am I watching Rusev for?
- Jack Swagger (17) – REALLY? We’re running this back again? Crazier, do I now like Jack Swagger? Is he my American Savior? Am I going to get a “We The People” shirt? (Let’s just all pretend he didn’t get his ass handed to him a few months ago in the exact same few and exact same gimmick.)
- John Cena (8) – It’s bad when the face of your company and the night’s main event is listed at 16, we can all agree on that. But I don’t blame Cena. He’s a good soldier. The first 90 seconds were better than I expected but admittedly the bar was very low for this match. After the opening salvo, the match ground into the sludge match I thought it would become. As to expect with the main event of a “go home show” there were all sorts of run-ins and interference.
- Big Show (14) – Won via Rollins and crew interfering, aaaaaannnddd I’m done with this match… See you at TLC&Stairs.
- Roman Reigns (N/A) – Good to see him back. His recent absence is proof that a little time off once a year can be good for a wrestler. He’ll be a huge face when he comes back. BTW, are we sure Reigns and Jason Momoa aren’t the same person? Someone was shooting Aquaman scenes. Are we sure it wasn’t Reigns and THAT’s why he’s been out, not this bullshit sport hernia? I’m just throwing it out there. I’ve never seen them in the same room.
- Kane (N/A) – Now for the dregs of the show. Teaming Ryback and Kane up with really over performers it cheating. Kane got the Miz and Miz-dow bump. Literally riding their coattails. I’m throwing this out there for anyone to answer, “Has Kane ever won a singles match at a PPV?” Brain = hurts.
- Ryback (N/A) – The “The Big Guy” and his new catch phrase that’s sweeping the WWE Universe of “It’s feeding time” teams up with the Usos. He’s the worst. I have an irrational distain for him but fortunately the WWE doesn’t program to my whims because I seem to the only person who can’t stand him. Keep riding this absurd push.
Honorable Mentions
NXT Takeover – Sami Zane vs Adrian Neville, watch it. You’ll thank me later.
SAN-TIN-OOOOOOOOOO – There’s no reason he’s not a regular on RAW.
Ricky “the Dragon” Steamboat – What is he, 70? He could probably out wrestle half the guys in the back right now.
RVD – In full offseason mode, let’s not get carried away with the late night munchies Mr. 420. I love RVD so I can’t ride him too much. Enjoy life, I say.
Match of the Year – This should have been Batista / RKO / HHH vs The Shield. For what it was, who it involved, what it said about the past / future of the WWE and how the Shield dominated, this was the best match. It lived up to the anticipation where Survivor Series match was a surprisingly good match with a Sting showing up at the end.
Saint Mick w/ Noelle – Back again, looking hot and sexy… you too Noelle :) That’s a bit of Foley humor for you.
Side Note(s)
The whole Cena / Bray thing just went away after being so very hot and a ton of resources put into it.
Fandango 2.0 seems to forever be attached to Y2J.
Until next time…
WK
@WKbear
Slammy Award results:
Insult of the Year: The Rock insults Lana and Rusev on Raw
Fan Participation of the Year: “You Sold Out” chants to Seth Rollins
Double-Cross of the Year: Seth Rollins betrays The Shield
Animal of the Year: The Bunny
Best Actor: The Rock
Tag Team of the Year: The Usos
NXT Superstar of the Year: Sami Zayn
Anti-Gravity Moment of the Year: Seth Rollins Balcony Dive at Payback
Faction of the Year: The Shield
Best Twitter Handle: Dolph Ziggler (@HeelZiggler)
Breakout Superstar of the Year: Dean Ambrose
Raw Guest Star of the Year: Hugh Jackman
Best Couple of the Year: Daniel Bryan and Brie Bella
Rivalry of the Year: Daniel Bryan vs The Authority
Hashtag of the Year: #RKOOuttaNowhere
This is Awesome Moment of the Year: Sting’s Debut at Survivor Series
OMG Shocking Moment of the Year: Brock Lesnar Ends The Streak
Diva of the Year: AJ Lee
LOL Moment of the Year: Damien Mizdow
Match of the Year: Team Cena vs Team Authority
Extreme Moment of the Year: Chris Jericho’s Cross Body Off the Steel Cage
Surprise Return of the Year: The Ultimate Warrior returns to WWE at WrestleMania 30, Raw and the WWE Hall of Fame
Superstar of the Year: Roman Reigns
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