RAW REVIEW 06/16/14

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Everything will be recorded and then revealed on a weekly basis until we get to #1.

RAW REVIEW:

WWE has been doing a great job in the last couple weeks of topping itself with every RAW that passes. This week was no exception. A very different style RAW, but in no way shape or form was it inferior.

WWE filled the final spots in the WWE Title match at the MITB PPV, cemented new rivalries, and officially broke up the most entertaining group they have ever produced.

OPENING SEGMENT:

The Authority did a great job of further cementing their place as the top heels while maintaining their rivalries with Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns, and John Cena. They banned all 3 from being in the MITB ladder match, however granted John Cena the opportunity to face Kane in a Stretcher Match to get into the match. 

ROLLINS/AMBROSE:

Rollins and Ziggler tore the house down in a great opening match. Dean Ambrose, complete in his new gimmicks ran in to attack his former teammate. Ambrose showed his character taking a turn toward the more psychotic side that was more seen in NXT before it was toned down during his run with The Shield.

Triple H immediately made a match between Ambrose and Bad News Barrett. 

In what was another fantastic match, Rollins returned the favor and interfered in the match. They fought into the crowd before Rollins retreated in classic heel fashion. Ambrose would return to the ring and lay out BNB with "Dirty Deeds" and once again show how psychotic he is. No one is better with facial expressions than Ambrose.

This established that we are atleast going to see Ambrose vs Rollins at MITB and it should be an amazing way to kick off the PPV.

WYATT/SHEAMUS:

Wyatt did another fantastic promo about the importance of not only him winning the WWE Title but for his family members to walk out of MITB with gold as well. Wyatt has such a command over the audience and over his character it is always amazing to watch.

His match with Sheamus was exactly what it needed to be. In true story telling fashion, The Usos came out to even the odds against the 3 Wyatts. Great brawl ended the match and a cringe worthy moment when Sheamus threw a ladder into Harper/Rowan which saw the metal crash right into Rowan's face. OUCH!!!

PAUL HEYMAN:

For the sake of everyone's credibility associated with Paul Heyman, including Brock Lesnar, I feel like Cesaro MUST win the WWE Title at MITB. The whole "its not a prediction, its a spoiler" phrase has built great credibility since WMXXX when Brock conquered The Streak. There is a way to get around it but I am hoping they don't, unless a certain Samoan gets the nod.

GUEST HOST:

Kevin Hart is probably the funniest guy doing comedy today. His interactions with Adam Rose and the Exotic Express were absolutely fantastic.

Using him on commentary was genius. The quick wit talking about the milk pouring, Fandango's pants, never coming up behind a black man singing, etc. was amazing. It was a simple way of getting a true win-win out of the Hart/WWE relationship and it certainly seemed like Kevin Hart had some fun both on and off screen (via his Instagram).

ROMAN REIGNS:

I was surprised when The Shield was officially broken up. When it was clear, I said Reigns needed to not change anything. He needed to keep the music, the gear, the crowd entrance. I was very happy to see that all that happened and thats a great call by WWE.

His segments with Vickie, convincing her to turn on The Authority, drugging The Authorities coffee, it showed a different side of him and it showed he has a lot more range than the IWC has given him credit for.

His eventual con into the Battle Royal was great. He dominated the Battle Royal and has some great eliminations. The highlight was the end. The slow stand off between Reigns and Rusev. I haven't been too enthused with Rusev, or so I thought, cause when they had that stand off I was losing my mind. 

It will be interesting to see what happens with Reigns in the WWE Title match at MITB. The more I think about it, the more I feel Kane will cost him the match, setting up for a match at BATTLEGROUND, leading Reigns into HHH at SUMMERSLAM.

THE MAIN EVENT:

This is a match that I really thought would happen at MITB rather than on RAW but it does make me feel that John Cena will be the WWE Champion when MITB goes off the air.

In yet another fantastic match, Cena and Kane got very physical and had some good moments. The interference from Rollins and Orton full established both their loyalty to The Authority and having ONLY Dean Ambrose come down to make the save, fully seperated the members of The Shield from each other.

As expected John Cena won and added legit star power to the MITB PPV's main event.

OVERALL:

RAW was certainly a good one. The matches from top to bottom were PPV worthy which is important considering it is time to motivate people to renew that 6 month WWE Network subscription and to further encourage International fans to buy it when it becomes available in (RUMOR) the next month or so leading into SUMMERSLAM.

The Go-Home RAW should be a great one and polish off the build up to what is looking like a 5-6 match card.

OH YEAH!!! Heath Slater turned babyface. Oh and don't even get me started on Stardust. Is nothing sacred anymore?

CHEAP PLUG

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RAW REVIEW: 06/09/14

SEND YOUR LISTS

“Top 50 Superstars of All Time” voted on by YOU the readers. 

Done similar to the “Top 10’s” you see on NFL Network, send in your list of the Top 25 or Top 50 Superstars of all time by July 1st to:

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/BeyondThe3Count

or

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BeyondThe3Count

or

Hotmail: BeyondThe3Count

Everything will be recorded and then revealed on a weekly basis until we get to #1.

RAW REVIEW:

How intense has RAW been the last two weeks. Say what you want, these last 2 weeks have been the most eventful in some time in terms of story-telling, character development, and drama.

Seth Rollins turns on The Shield. Leaving the possibilities endless on where they can go and what they can do this summer. Daniel Bryan's storybook journey hits a huge roadblock. All of these aspects has made RAW (atleast the opening segment and final hour) MUST SEE for WWE fans.

DANIEL BRYAN DRAMA:

The show opened up in a huge way. The Authority officially stripped Daniel Bryan of the WWE Title, making the MITB Ladder Match for the vacated Championship. This was well executed, lots of heat, and really the best move that could have been made.

It is expected that Bray Wyatt, John Cena, and Kane will be the final additions to the match and certainly John Cena is the logical choice to win the belt and then eventually drop it back to Bryan at Summerslam, in a rematch of last years event, where it all started. I will not be surprised if however, the title finds its way into the hands of Cesaro come the MITB PPV.

MITB QUALIFIERS 

Bad News Barrett and Sheamus squared off in the nights opening match and had an amazing showing. In a match pitting Champion vs Champion its easy to see it going either way. It wasn't surprising however that Sheamus won finding his way into the WWE Title match at MITB. 

WWE is hurting for babyfaces at the moment and that match needs all the good guys it can get.

RUSEV/LANA

Rusev is not someone I am too fond of. He is however a nice fresh heel that can down the line work with John Cena right before the Road To Wrestlemania begins again next January. With similar guys already higher up on the card, Rusev will likely never reach true main event status, but nothing wrong with that. A good squash match every now and then is perfect to bring the crowd back down.

SETH ROLLINS vs THE SHIELD

The Shield came out and destroyed 3MB. The commentary line of the night comes from JBL. Michael Cole points out "Its 3MB vs just two members of The Shield, its not fair". JBL  then hits us with "Yea, 3MB is going to need a lot more members". 

Dean Ambrose cut the promo of his life. He has mastered his character and knows exactly how to pace himself and to not go too over the top, which I know is kind of an oxymoron. 

Funny moment is when he spikes the microphone as if they were done and Reigns laughs it off as they realize that they aren't done.

Reigns went on to follow his teammate with the best promo of his career. It was good night to be holding a microphone if you were in black combat gear.

Seth Rollins would come out later in the night and do did a great job selling the point that he was the brains behind the whole operation from the start. Got great heat. I wish he would have come out to Evolution's music, but him not doing it makes me believe that he may not actually be in Evolution. Only time will tell.

The Shield does a run-in, only to be interupted by The Wyatt Family. This was followed by a bit of a clusterf*** that eventually got under control when John Cena hit the ring.

THE MAIN EVENT

At the top of the show, HHH mocked the fact that he felt he conquered The Shield. That it would be their last night as they faced The Wyatts.

The Shield found their partner in John Cena and another amazing main event was set to take place.

Nothing beats the way WWE does 6 Man Tags. Whoever the agent is, deserves a raise.

The Shield/John Cena got the win. I am nervous to think that with all the pushing done by the commentators that we have seen the last of The Shield. I certainly hope not. I still think John Cena should become a member. Dress him in ALL BLACK and let him join that crowd entrance, that would be INSANE!!! 

If The Shield stays as a unit, I expect John Cena to at least be their "Unofficial" 3rd man to help further both of their storylines with The Authority. 

I am begging them to do an entrance together just ONCE!! JUST ONCE!!!!

OVERALL:

All the top stories in WWE made a great leap forward, which is odd considering the 2nd RAW after a PPV is usually the slow week. The road up to MITB is setting up to be fantastic. A new champion is guaranteed and only more pieces to the puzzle will be revealed next week.

Did I mention that John Cena should join The Shield....at the very least in one of the entrances, just one time? Oh I did? Okay.

CHEAP PLUG

A story of love, loss, hate, sex, drugs, alcohol, and brotherhood is coming to YouTube this Winter.

Join Randy, Valerie, Chris, and more in the brand new Internet sitcom, GTA. Follow these characters are there struggles to juggle life, love, and loyalty, EXCLUSIVELY ON YOUTUBE.

To keep up with all GTA updates, behind the scenes looks, and all Season 1 episodes you need to keep up on:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/The_GTA_Show

Facebook: The GTA Show (look for the logo)

YouTube (subscribe to channel): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeLt4m4a8AI