WWE RAW HITS & MISSES 12/11: Samoa Joe’s opening promo, Joe vs. Ambrose, Reigns vs. Cesaro, Wyatt-Hardy, Kane-Strowman, Cruiserweights

RAW HITS

Opening Segment: This is a minor Hit. I appreciate the fact that WWE gave Samoa Joe a long time to talk. It was too long with the awkward pauses to wait for Roman Reigns to come out with how they cut to the back multiple times. That wasn’t great. But overall, Joe delivered well on the mic. He really sold the idea that he was there on his own, that he didn’t need The Bar to back him up as opposed to Reigns needing The Shield. That was a great set up to have The Bar actually help him. The beating that followed with Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose trying to save Reigns was well done and sold the three singles matches between these six for later in the show.

Rollins vs. Sheamus: Those three matches all delivered well. This was my favorite of the group. Rollins and Sheamus had a very good match against each other. They built it around Sheamus working over Rollins’ knee which he sold well throughout the match. It was hard hitting and physical while also telling a story. It built very well to the ending with Rollins overcoming the knee injury to get the win. I did feel that this was a chance for Sheamus to get a win. It wouldn’t have hurt Rollins given the beating he took earlier in the show and it would have made one of the Tag Team Champions look strong. The heels could have won 2 of the 3 matches on this show without hurting The Shield. But, it was still a good match.

Cruiserweight Fatal Four Way: Due to the suspension of Rich Swann, WWE needed to do a third cruiserweight fatal four way. It did suffer from the law of diminishing returns. But, it was still fun to watch. All four put in a good effort. The right man won in Cedric Alexander. What really put this over the top as a Hit was Drew Gulac’s guest commentary. I enjoyed what he brought to the table. He was great in pivoting from Micheal Cole’s questions about the possibility of facing Enzo Amore down the line. He added to the enjoyment of the match.

Reigns vs. Cesaro: Without Rollins vs. Sheamus earlier in the show, and without such a predictable ending, I would have probably called this a great match. It was a good match. It was certainly a Hit. But, it did suffer from following the same formula with Cesaro working over Reigns’ shoulder the way Sheamus worked over Rollins’ knee, before Reigns was able to hit a few big moves right at the end to pull of the victory, the way Rollins had done already. And nobody was buying Cesaro as the new Intercontinental Champion. But this was a very strong effort from Reigns and Cesaro.

Joe vs. Ambrose: As I said above, I liked the three matches that were hyped during the opening segment. This one was more of an angle with Jason Jordan’s involvement, but it worked well in that angle. It was a nice way to follow up on Jordan’s scene with Kurt Angle before this. The wrestling action we did see between Joe and Ambrose was good. I liked how each of them flew out of the ring onto their opponent and Jordan at some point during the match. Joe going over was obviously the right move. Booker T was a babyface announcer talking about how Jordan had no right to be out there interfering in the match, but he’s a heel for most of the show, while Corey Graves was ridiculous in defending Jordan interfering. So the announcing continues to be a mess.

RAW MISSES

Wyatt – Hardy: I continue to not be a fan of this type of presentation with the back and forth edited video. It takes me out of the moment. I did get a kick out of some of Matt Hardy’s lines and his over the top performance. But perhaps Bray Wyatt is too far out there himself to be a good foil for Woken Matt Hardy. Hardy is a goof playing off another goof. It might work better with more of a straight man opponent to play off of. I’m not sure.

Main Event Hype: It felt odd to me and a bit arbitrary that Kane vs. Braun Strowman was a #1 contender match to determine Brock Lesnar’s opponent for the Universal Championship at The Royal Rumble. I’m not really into this feud and the hype didn’t help. The two backstage promos that they cut were basic and not very good. Strowman’s in particular was poor. I got restless during the very long video recap of their feud that aired right before their match. It failed to get me excited for the match I was about to see. It was more a “get on with it” feeling.

Women vs. Absolution: This came too quickly. From a reality stand point, it does make sense that the women’s locker room would band together to attack Absolution who has been picking them off one at a time over the past few weeks. But from a storytelling stand point, it came too soon. Absolution hasn’t been around long enough to end up being chased off the way that they were.

Kane vs. Strowman: The main event failed to deliver, quite literally as the match ended with a double count out so we didn’t get the promised #1 contender. The brawl that happened afterwards was solid, but we’ve seen these two brawl like this multiple times, so it didn’t have the same impact. And I am concerned that this will lead to a triple threat with Kane vs. Strowman vs. Lesnar at the Rumble which I don’t want to see.

NOW CHECK OUT LAST WEEK’S COLUMN: WWE RAW HITS & MISSES 12/4: Reigns vs. Jordan, Wyatt-Hardy, Paige vs. Banks, Rollins & Reigns vs. The Bar, Use of Balor

Jon Mezzera is PWTorch.com’s WWE Hits & Misses Specialist, providing his point of view for Raw and Smackdown each week. Email him at jmezz_torch@yahoo.com. Follow him on Twitter @JonMezzera.