Coming at you from Memphis, I can’t possibly take one step without addressing the complete bullshit that was the ending to Night of Champions. Overall, the PPV was good. There were some nice match ups, finishes and the WWE even saved themselves with the Ambrose / Rollins bit in light of Roman Reigns’ real life injury. By no means was everything perfect leading up to the Brock / Cena match (which you can hear on this week’s BEARcast - WrestleCast on iTunes and www.worldofbear.com) but NoC had a solid lineup and was rounding out to be a quality PPV, for a lower-level event.
RAW was similarly disappointing. There were some great performances in the middle of the show only to have it end with a fairly lackluster main event.
So with that, let’s get to the rankings as of this week’s RAW on 9/22/2014...
- Dean Ambrose – “I’m not dead!” opens the show. How scared was the WWE when Ambrose fell out of that speeding car? Ambrose played the old, dick in a box trick…
- Seth Rollins – Last week on the BEARcast (www.worldofbear.com) Fred and I declared Rollins the next big thing. Seeing him take on Cena and Ambrose, then stealing a car, doesn’t change that for a second. People might be upset that he’s not active enough or upset about the PPV match (which I was) but we have to be patient because he’s not going anywhere and we don’t want to get burnt out nor do we want him burnt out. Sit back, relax and enjoy this man who’ll be on Monday nights for the next 10 years.
- Miz w/ Damien Miz-dow – Miz-dow with a second-rate-plastic IC championship belt!? FUCKING BRILLIANT!!!!!!!! Miz-dow mimicking Miz’s moves during the match, FUCKING BRILLIANT!!!!!!
- Dolph Ziggler – In one of the few times I don’t mind a rematch the night after a PPV. This makes sense since it’s technically in the former champ’s right to get a rematch so it’s not like the usual BS they shovel out the night after a PPV. Ziggler took an awesome bump with the neck breaker through the ropes. Ziggler wins back the IC title in a great RAW match.
- The Dust Brothers – A great match at NoC resulted in the Dust Bros win the Tag Championship. Goldust wearing his new Bear-approved (Spike Lee disapproved) makeup scheme. Great match.
- Cesaro – I had split out each 3-man tag group so I could fill out the 20 slots on the countdown. Cesaro and Sheamus put on a great match at NoC and continued to impress on Monday. Cesaro gets the bump because I like him more and it’s my list. He needs gold otherwise the WWE is burning the push they gave him to start the year.
- The Usos – With the loss, The Usos started to show their hard side, which is the tweak their characters needed. Their in-ring skills are fantastic and 9 out of 10 times their matches are great. They just need to add some flavor to their personas to keep them interesting and to keep their feud with the Dust Brothers top notch.
- Sheamus – Neither Sheamus or Cesaro have really captured a strong character presence outside the ropes but they sure do beat the crap out of each other inside the ring. Oddly, Sheamus doesn’t need the strap at the moment but Cesaro does. I’m surprised Sheamus has kept it. If they continue to feud, expect Cesaro to take it away (fingers crossed).
- AJ Lee – Paige is the hottest superstar on the rise. Her announcing was superb and only makes me want to see more AJ vs Paige. Despite the inclusion of the Bellas at NoC and RAW, AJ and Paige have continued to shine.
- Randy Orton – Taking on Cena, yet again, and it was as uneventful as you’d imagine but here’s what I want to see in the coming months, RKO vs Rollins and / or RKO vs Lesnar. I know it would take some creativity to get these heels to square off, which the WWE has not shown, but figure it out. That’s your job. Mine is to watch.
- Cena – Cena’s pairing with Ambrose will help both tremendously. Ambrose gives Cena a much needed edge and Cena gives Ambrose a top tier bump. Remind me when Cena won a “Ass kicking in the bank contract?” Just as I start to root for the guy, he always does or says something to turn me off. I will give Cena some real life props. As special guest Dustin talks about on this week’s BearCast - WrestleCast (www.worldofbear.com), Cena is a stone cold businessman. Don’t get me wrong, Cena is doing the right thing. It’s just weird to see the “Face of WWE” act like a dick in real life, in every episode. Again, he’s never been wrong, he just doesn’t come off as the most carefree enjoyable affable person to be around, and it surprises me that with all the production that goes into this “reality” show, they don’t try to make Cena look more friendly. Personally, I’d rather see the Cena character on Total Divas play out on Monday nights.
- Korprate Kane – Rollins mercifully interrupts the Kane / Ambrose match. Keep cashing those checks, big man.
- Rusev w/ Lana – I love it when villains wear white. I would have been much happier with a Lana vs Henry mic battle. Lana really pushes the gimmick. I’m curious to who Rusev’s next opponent will be? He needs to put on a strong in-ring performance in his next feud otherwise, he’s becoming the side-piece to Lana.
- Mark Henry – Yet another American Hero letting down the USA. The WWE clearly wants Rusev to be put over but they’re not willing to let anyone rep’ing the USA lose cleanly. For the second time, Swagger and now Henry, Rusev’s opponents have simply passed out rather than give up.
- Bo Dallas vs Jack Swagger w/ Zeb – Why? What has Dallas done to deserve this? There are no winners in this matchup. If they want to save this mess, have Bo win and taunt Swagger to keep working hard for himself and for all of America! He just needs to Bo-lieve. Then Bo needs to run to the next feud ASAP.
- HHH and Stephanie – Not much for the Authority to do this week. Steph looked great so I’ll give her an A-minus as WWE fashion expert (RIP Joan Rivers). Putting Ambrose in a “locked” room seemed like good logic because every time they do eject a character from the arena, that character always returns. The problem was that Ambrose seemed to pull a Danny Ocean and escaped through the air ducts? You can’t let that happen unless you’re and an inept NFL commissioner getting paid 44 million to lie to protect the NFL shield.
- N-Bella vs B-Bella – Allow me to fast forward, I’ll be back…
- Slater and Gator – I had to fill in the bottom of the rankings with something, right?
- Adam Rose w/ Bunny – Stupid. Although, if I can see the gimmick working on the 8 year old wrestling fans. If that’s the case, keep this shit on Saturday morning or move it to SmackDown. RAW is the “Ready for Primetime Players” show.
- Divas Match: Summer w/ Layla vs Natalya w/ Rosa Mendes – Obligatory Total Divas plug-match. Let me count the number of shits I give about this matchup… that would be two. Yes, I believe I give two shits about this match.
Honorable Mentions
WWE2K15 – 2 things, 1) SCSA taking more of an active role in the WWE is the type of reality that I want to see rather than Total Divas via his podcast and participation in events like this, and 2) Sting is coming… Stop teasing us and get him in the rafters!
Roman Reigns – out for a while. Too bad because he was getting the pre WM push and he’s still too raw on the mic and in-ring to be a WM main event-er. Regardless, get well soon Mr. Reigns. We need you and want you in the top tier which is greatly depleted at the moment.
BRAY WYATT!!!!!???????? – I think I saw an Amber Alert regarding the disappearance of Bray Wyatt. I just talked about how thin the top of the WWE roster is, so why is Bray MIA?
Side Note(s)
Michael Cole’s suit – Dustin “The Docta” sent a special text pointing out Cole’s pimp suit. Be sure to listen to the BEARcast for a special appearance by Dustin this week. Cole is trying to be the next Craig Sager.
Eric Lynch – aka Eric The Actor, aka Eric The Midget got a special nod. RIP. He was one of the first to encourage this countdown with a retweet and favorite. Thanks little guy. You now join Hank “The Angry Dwarf” in the pantheon of great little people who left this earth too soon.
Connor’s Cure – Jesus, every time the cameras went to the announcers it was another depressing message after another. I thought RAW was supposed to be fun. If I want to be depressed, I’d stare at the status of my Fantasy Football team. (FYI, Fred and I will be facing off soon. If anyone has an idea of what we should bet, please send us email or tweet and we’ll do it.)
Until next week…
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