The Breakdown
WWE Monday Night Raw began with Triple H and Stephanie McMahon on their way to the ring. When they reached the ring they started talking about Hell in a Cell and respect. That caused Big Show to appear on the Titan Tron and he just ripped into both of them. While Stephanie was running around ringside trying to figure out how he hacked in, Big Show and Triple H exchanged words. Triple H called Big Show a failure and Big Show said Triple H was always in a bad mood and said he probably woke up on the wrong side of the bed, which will always happen when Stephanie is in it with him. Stephanie finally had the feed cut and they introduced Dean Ambrose only for Daniel Bryan’s music to kick on and he paraded around the ring leading the fans in a “Yes” chant.
The opening match was Dean Ambrose vs. Daniel Bryan, and as expected, the two fought a fantastic match that Bryan won with the Yes Lock.
Up next was CM Punk, who came out and cut a short, to the point, promo about fighting Paul Heyman and Ryback on Sunday.
Backstage, Triple H and Stephanie McMahon actually talked to Shawn Michaels for the first time since he re-entered the WWE to referee the WWE title match.
The next match saw Santino, Great Khali and Hornswoggle come out dressed like Elvis and danced down to the ring. Santino then beat Heath Slater with the Cobra.
The next match was another solid, longer match between Dolph Ziggler and Randy Orton. With Orton fighting for the WWE title on Sunday, it was clear who would win, but Ziggler actually had me believing me could pull this one out. Orton won with the RKO.
Up next, the Bella Twins beat AJ Lee and Tamina when Brie made AJ tap out. Brie gets a title match on Sunday.
Backstage, Paul Heyman cut a hysterical promo about the match Sunday with CM Punk before calming down and saying he controls everything. Then Big E Langston came up and challenged Curtis Axel to a match.
The Wyatt Family came out next and beat The Miz and Kofi Kingston in a tag team match. Luke Harper pinned Kofi Kingston after a monster clothesline. After the match, they bullied The Miz, continuing Bray Wyatt’s feud with him.
The Big E vs. Curtis Axel match was next, but Ryback and Axel attacked Big E. CM Punk made the save and Vickie Guerrero came out and made it a tag team match. Big E pinned Axel with the Big Ending. This sets up a pre-Hell in a Cell title match between Axel and Big E.
The Real Americans beat Tons of Funk – again. Jack Swagger made Brodus Clay tap out to the ankle lock.
The next match saw The Usos battle The Shield, and whoever wins gets the tag team title shot at Hell in a Cell. The Rhodes brothers came out for commentary. The end came when Dean Ambrose tried to interfere and then the Rhodes got involved and soon everyone was fighting. This means that the tag team title match at Hell in a Cell will be a three-way.
The end of the show saw the contract signing between Randy Orton and Daniel Bryan. Triple H and Stephanie came out first. Then the “face of the WWE” Randy Orton came out. Then Bryan. Then Shawn Michaels. Orton talked about who all be has beaten in the Hell in a Cell. Bryan talks about how Orton wouldn’t even be champion if it wasn’t for “insecure narcissistic” people like Triple H and Stephanie protecting him.
Triple H then talked about how Daniel Bryan is like Edge, Chris Jericho and RVD – men who were good but could never be “the man” or else they would all be working for Ted Turner today. Then Shawn interjected himself and asked what happened to Triple H and maybe he was just mad because Bryan proved him wrong.
That is when a semi truck drove into the arena and Big Show was driving it. He got the crowd chanting yes and then Bryan hit the big knee to Orton before leaving to lead the chants with Big Show.
The Analysis
Well, WWE Monday Night Raw was a decent go-home show for Hell in a Cell, but I had some problems. First of all, the storyline between Daniel Bryan and Triple H went well, as did Big Show’s stuff. The tag title match was set up nicely and the upcoming CM Punk match was given some time as well. However, it seemed the show lacked some of the fluid storytelling the last couple of weeks provided.
Plus, outside of the opening match, the Orton vs. Ziggler match and the tag team match at the end, the show had too much filler when it came to weaker matches. It was a decent show, but it was not as good of a go-home show as you would have wanted to see.
