SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
The following report originally published 10 years ago this week here at PWTorch.com…
KELLER’S WWE RAW REPORT
NOVEMBER 4, 2013
GREENVILLE, S.C.
AIRED LIVE ON USA NETWORK
-They opened right with a low-energy wide shot of the fans filling both decks. Michael Cole introduced Raw, but didn’t tout that it was live or what city they were in.
(WK Reax: The shame WWE has admitting they’re in smaller Southern towns is something fans in smaller Southern towns should begin to resent. It’s a pattern, and it’s really odd of WWE to exclude mentioning “non-cosmopolitan” cities. Also, they should always hype the fact that they’re live. Besides that, the continuation of low-key openings saves money and time not blasting expensive pyro and paying rights fees for their opening theme song, but at some point it does bring the energy level and excitement at the start of the show down. In this case, it helps that they opened with a babyface with great entrance music in C.M. Punk opening things.)
-C.M. Punk made his ring entrance, as WWE advertised before Raw on the Internet that Punk would open the show. Punk was decked out in Bret Hart hot-pink. They replayed what the Wyatt Family did to both Punk and Daniel Bryan last week.
(1) C.M. PUNK vs. LUKE HARPER (w/Bray Wyatt, Rowan)
Cole said they know very little about Harper. JBL said they know they’re tough. Punk met Harper with a big boot to the head at the start, but Harper soon took over. Punk made a comeback early when he backdropped Harper to the floor, and then he went for a dive through the ropes, but Harper met him with a forearm. Harper made a weird moan at 4:00 at which point Cole said they don’t hear from him much and he seems odd. JBL encouraged Cole to interview Harper. JBL said it’d make for good TV after Cole said he might not be safe. At 3:00 Punk avoided a big boot by Harper, who tumbled to the floor, and then dove onto him at ringside. Rowan walked toward Punk at ringside as they cut to a break. [c]
After the break Harper had Punk in the obligatory post-commercial rest hold – in this case, a chinlock. At 9:00 Punk caught Harper with an elbow and then a spinning DDT out of the corner to stop Harper’s dominance. Both were slow to get up. They went into a sequence of moves ending with a nearly-missed neckbreaker by Punk. Punk climbed to the top rope, but when Harper was slow to stand, Punk dove onto Rowan instead at ringside. Wyatt watched from his rocking chair a few feet away. Harper got up and grabbed Punk on the ring apron, but Punk roundhouse kicked him and then dove off the ropes toward him. Harper met him with a boot to the face. He went for a discus clothesline, but Punk ducked and then rolled him up for the win.
WINNER: Punk in 11:00.
[Q2]
-Afterward Rowan jumped Punk. Harper joined in. Wyatt stood and watched from ringside. The fans began chanting “Yes! Yes!” Wyatt climbed up onto the ring apron and encouraged Rowan and Harper to hold Punk up for him. Bryan ran out with a chair in hand and his right shoulder taped. He hit Rowan with the chair in the leg, then awkwardly swung at Harper, at which point Bray intervened. Punk took a big swing with the chair at Wyatt, who ducked and bailed out. Punk then hit Harper in the shoulder, and then Rowan in the back, clearing the ring. Punk and Bryan stood tall in the ring, staring down the Wyatt Family.
-They went to Cole, Lawler, and JBL at ringside. They quickly threw to an abbreviated clip that aired on Smackdown of Cole’s WWE.com interview with Triple H who announced that Big Show was banned for life. Then highlights aired of Show giving Hunter the KO punch. JBL said Show should be in jail, comparing it to an ex-worker going into Apple’s office and knocking out CEO Tim Cook. Cole said they’d cover Big Show’s side of the story later.
-Cole announced that fans could choose Randy Orton’s opponent for later – Big E. Langston, Dolph Ziggler, or The Miz. Lawler plugged the six-man tag match with John Cena & Cody Rhodes & Goldust vs. The Real Americans & Damien Sandow later in a Smackdown main event rematch.
-A commercial aired hyping that Cena would be on Smackdown on Friday. [c]
-WWE Fact: WWE is on track to exceed two billion view on YouTube this year.
-Cole threw to a clip of the post-match angle a few minutes earlier.
-Renee Young interviewed a winded Punk. She said he surely wasn’t expecting a fair fight tonight. Punk said he’s used to Paul Heyman and his goons. He said he isn’t the only one who has an issue with the Wyatts, though.
-Back to the announcers at ringside, Cole said they haven’t seen Heyman since Hell in a Cell, but they secured a telephone interview with him. Cole asked Heyman where he is and what his medical condition is. Heyman said he’s in Europe and seeing a number of specialists for alternative treatments for his injuries suffered at the hands of Punk. He said due to the repeated blunt forced trauma, he has been diagnosed with acute thoracic spine trauma with herniation of C5 and C7, severely bruised kidneys, a nasal fracture, and severe facial swelling. Heyman began to break down as he talked about what a travesty it was what Punk did to him, a father with two young children. He said after all they have been through together, it’s inexcusable. Heyman began to cry. Cole asked if he was crying. Heyman sobbed and hung up.
-During Ryback’s ring entrance, they showed Ryback picking on Hornswoggle, shoving food onto his head and then laughing. Santino told him to pick on someone his own size. Ryback asked Santino if he wants cake, too. Santino said he knows he doesn’t eat carps after 6 p.m. Santino pointed to Great Khali behind him. Ryback said he thrives on freaks. [c]
[Q3]
(2) RYBACK vs. THE GREAT KHALI (w/Hornswoglge)
Well, this should be good. JBL said it was right out of Jurassic Park. They locked up mid-ring. Khali overpowered Ryback and sent him to the mat. Cole noted “Luke Harper” was trending on Twitter. Khali threw a series of four elbows in the corner Kevin Nash style. He followed with a big chop to the chest. Ryback collapsed in pain. Khali grabbed Ryback by the ear and chopped his chest three more times. Ryback came back with a clothesline of Khali in the corner. Khali caught him with a big boot and a clothesline of his own. Khali almost lost his balance. Ryback surprised Khali with his Meat Hook Clothesline.
WINNERS: Ryback in 3:00.
(WK Reax: Well, that’s about what you’d expect from these two. It wasn’t pretty, but they didn’t try to do too much. No mention of whether Heyman is still aligned with Ryback at all.)
-After the match Ryback and Santino got into it at ringside. Hornswoggle took a little shot at him. Santino leaped onto his back. Ryback tossed him off and into the ringside barrier.
-They went to the announcers at ringside. Cole said he thinks Show being banned for life is a little extreme. JBL narrated Show’s “criminal trespassing” three weeks ago when he went after The Shield at ringside in the Raw match, setting up Cody pinning Roman Reigns.
-Kofi Kingston made his ring entrance, wearing a pink t-shirt. [c]
(3) ALBERTO DEL RIO vs. KOFI KINGSTON
Kofi clotheslined Del Rio over the top rope early in the match. He then flip dove over the top rope and overshot Del Rio, barely catching his arm as he landed. He rolled Del Rio into the ring and scored a two count. Del Rio took over at 1:00. Del Rio mocked Kofi’s hand slaps to signal his finisher, then scored a near fall with a back suplex into a bridge.
[Q4]
Kofi made a comeback at 4:00 and scored a near fall after splashing Del Rio’s back. Kofi sent Del Rio flying toward the corner turnbuckle with a head scissors, although Del Rio basically obviously leaped toward it himself and threw his head into it. Kofi went on a flurry including a dropkick, but Del Rio ducked and kicked Kofi in the gut. Kofi rolled up Del Rio and scored a new rfall, but Del Rio countered quickly with a Cross Armbreaker for the tapout win.
WINNER: Del Rio at 6:00 via tapout.
-An elaborate video package aired on Big Show’s lawsuit against WWE with graphics on screen showing each incident of Stephanie McMahon or Triple H saying something which Show was using as evidence for various legal accusations including discrimination and wrongful termination.
-They went to the announcers at ringside who showed off the WWE App. Lawler said it’s cutting edge and ahead of everything else out there. Cole explained you can watch rest holds during commercial breaks. Or something along those lines. [c]
-Cole showed a Tweet that John Cena sent to David Ortiz, the MVP of the World Series, followed by Ortiz wearing a WWE Championship Title belt on the World Series parade.
-Randy Orton’s ring entrance took place. He had the WWE Title with him. Nice of Ortiz to return it to Orton after borrowing it for the parade. Lawler then stood at the announce desk to reveal the vote tally. Orton interrupted and asked for “a minute with these people.” He asked if the people really think they have a choice that empowers them. He told them to look to their left and right. He asked what they see – a girlfriend or wife or maybe their mother. He said those women are all fantasizing what it would be like to wake up to him in bed. The women in the crowd squealed in agreement. Orton told the women that whoever they are with – husband, boyfriend, father – will never amount to half the man he is. He said as he looked around the arena, the men and women, “all you faces of jealousy, faces of failure, faces of envy, it’s disgusting, really.” He said he is the Face of WWE, and the only thing the people have power over tonight is who is going to be the Viper’s next victim. He threw back to Lawler.
[Q5]
Lawler revealed that Big E. won with 75 percent of the vote. Ziggler came in at a mere 12 percent, behind the Miz at 13 percent. Ouch.
(4) BIG E. LANGSTON vs. RANDY ORTON
Cole said Big E. has stepped up in recent weeks and this is a big opportunity for him to knock off the WWE Champion. Orton applied an early side headlock. Big E. shoved him off and shoulder tackled him. Orton bailed out to ringside for a brief breather. Since it wasn’t time for a commercial, Orton returned to the ring to fight quickly. A minute later Orton had to take another breather after another rally by Big E. Cole noted that Big E. is a former champion at NXT and now looks to become champion “at this level.” Big El knocked Orton off the ring apron with a running collision. When Cole used the cliche that Big E. had “Orton on the ropes,” Lawler corrected him and said he has him on the floor now. They cut to a break at 3:00. [c]
With Langston in control after the break, the announcers wondered if Orton underestimated Langston. JBL said Langston is just good. Orton settled into his obligatory mid-match chinlock at 9:00. At 11:00 Langston landed his running splash. Cole declared the match over and celebrated Big E.’s “big win” as the ref moved in for the count, spoiling it for viewers who have caught on that anytime an announcer does that, there will be a kick out.
(WK Reax: Vince McMahon thinks we haven’t caught onto that yet, though, or that it creates drama that merely excitedly calling the two count without declaring victory ahead of time wouldn’t do.)
Of course, Orton kicked out. At 12:00 Orton gave Langston a DDT off the middle rope. JBL began writing off Langston. Orton played to the crowd before setting up the RKO. Langston got up and blocked the RKO, then hit a flying shoulder tackle. Langston puled down the straps and signaled for the Big Ending. Orton escaped and landed the RKO for the win. Cole said if Orton didn’t know Langston’s name before this match, he does now. JBL said if you built a “sports entertainer” from the ground up, he’d look like Orton.
(WK Reax: I think if I were granted three wishes, I would think long and hard about making one of them the elimination of the obnoxious and annoying term “sports entertainer” in place of pro wrestler. There are so many things wrong with it, conceptually and pragmatically, my blood pressure goes up when I hear it.)
WINNER: Orton in 13:00.
(WK Reax: I’m still not sold on Big E. The announcers are talking him up, but his offense is just colliding with people and that lame running splash, and there’s nothing he does especially well. His charisma is okay, but Bobby Lashley-level so far in terms of really connecting with the fans. I’m not saying he won’t get there, but he’s not there now and I don’t see obvious signs he’ll get there.)
[Q6]
-They went to the announcers at ringside again who threw to a clip of Cole’s interview with Triple H reacting to Big Show’s lawsuit, a similar snippet that aired on Smackdown on Friday. Triple H said he was banning Big Show for life.
-Cole called it blockbuster news. An exasperated JBL said he’s surprised Triple H didn’t do it sooner. He instructed everyone to watch the following clip of Big Show KO’ing Brad Maddox and then driving into Raw two weeks ago in the big semi truck. JBL said he could have run over someone. Lawler said the lawsuit is justified and the lifetime ban is going way too far. He said Show has been in the right on this. Cole then threw to a plug for the Y2K14 video game. Fans got to vote for this week’s video game simulation of a WrestleMania title change. Fans voted 50 percent for Rock vs. John Cena, beating out Hulk Hogan vs. Ultimate Warrior at 23 percent, Shawn Michaels vs. Bret Hart at 22 percent, and Triple H vs. Chris Jericho at 5 percent.
(WK Reax: Boy, if WWE were fixing results, after what Jericho said about Triple H, they would feel good that he didn’t poll well, yet it’s Triple H, so they’d feel bad he wasn’t a big enough star to bring the votes higher than just 5 percent.)
They aired a clip of Cena winning and holding his WWE Title belt in the air. Lawler said earlier he sent out a Tweet of himself playing Hulk Hogan wrestling the Ultimate Warrior.
(WK Reax: All of this talk of Hogan is primarily to sell the video game, but they could be more selective in how often they mention him, so it does tend to indicate they either think they’ll sign him for a WM30 return or, at the very least, they don’t fear at all if he re-signs with TNA.)
-Fandango and Summer Rae made their ring entrance. JBL snuck in as they cut to a break, “Wait until you see who they’re wrestling!” [c]
-Tyson Kidd makes it onto Raw! They showed a clip of Tyson Kidd and Natalya getting married on Total Divas. The clip included Jim Neidhart walking Natalya down the aisle.
(5) TYSON KIDD & NATALYA vs. FANDANGO & SUMMER RAE
Cole noted that Kidd missed nearly a year of his career with major knee injuries. Cole said WWE’s App on Friday on Smackdown will show Kidd’s rehab. The clip led to a lot of wedding discussions including an Uncle Elmer reference. Summer Rae and Natalya tagged in at 1:00. Rae continued her schtick of doing a lot of trash-talking. They then went into a discussion of whether Natalya took Tyson’s last name and is now Natalya Kidd. They chuckled over that. Cole said Summer is a World War II buff and an expert at Words with Friends. Kidd avoided a top rope move by Fandango and turned it into a quick Sharpshooter. Natalya blocked Summer’s interference and tossed her out of the ring as Fandango tapped out.
WINNERS: Kidd & Natayla in 4:00.
[Q7]
-Renee Young interviewed Damien Sandow backstage. She said he’s only the second person to be unsuccessful after cashing in a Money in the Bank contract. A clip aired from last week’s Raw. Sandow said the thought of the referee counting 1-2-3 doesn’t keep him up at night. He said the thought of his pride being taken away from him has led to him taking a look at himself. He said he didn’t see an Intellectual Savior, he saw a man who will stop at nothing to get anything he wants. Zeb and the Real Americans barged in and said when they team up later, it will be an opportunity for the Real Americans to defeat the tag team champions for the second time, proving they are rapidly becoming the most dominant team in WWE. He did the “We the People!” recitation. Sandow then said, “Me, your uncrowned World Champion!” [c]
-Lawler plugged the official Survivor Series theme song by Flo Rida, “How I feel.”
-They went to the announcers at ringside again to discuss the banning of Big Show for life. A clip aired of Show interrupting Orton’s championship win celebration last week on Raw.
-John Cena’s ring entrance took place. He previewed his six-man tag team match. He said he first wanted to recognize the Susan G. Komen Foundation, raising funds for a cause he believes in, “the cause of life.” He said each year hundreds of thousands of people are affected by breast cancer, therefore pink merchandise will be available to the end of the year with all proceeds going to the charity. He said sometimes fans put their feelings for him aside and support the cause of life. He said they have breast cancer survivors and their families in the crowd. The camera showed various guests wearing pink t-shirts in the crowd. He said they have overcome insurmountable odds and have never stopped surviving and they are the true champions. He mentioned South Carolina, the first reference to the state of the night. He said it’s time to prove “the Champs are here!” Then the ring entrances of Cody Rhodes and Goldust took place. [c]
[Q8]
-Cole hyped Big E. vs. Curtis Axel on the Main Event on Ion TV this week.
(6) JOHN CENA & CODY RHODES & GOLDUST vs. THE REAL AMERICANS & DAMIEN SANDOW
Zeb and Del Rio joined the announcers. Zeb asked what Del Rio was doing, saying he had no business out there. Cole told Zeb to admit everything he’s said about about Mexicans. Zeb said he’ll stand behind everything he said. Del Rio said he can make him look like a fool again. They managed, though, to weave their way to agreement when criticizing Cena and telling Cole to “shut up.” Cena tagged in at 3:00 and engaged in a test of strength mid-ring with Cesaro. It looked legit, actually. Del Rio said he will work over Cena’s arm when he gets his rematch. He talked about Sandow’s blue eyes and pale skin and said he’s a dog, not a World Title contender. They cut to a break at 6:00 when the heel trio bailed out after a Cena rally. [c]
Back from the break, Cesaro gave Cena a lift-and-drop uppercut for a two count. Cena escaped a Patriot Lock attempt at 12:00 after an awkward exchange with Swagger leading into it. Del Rio challenged Zeb on his calling Cesaro a Real American. Zeb said he came to this country the right way.
[Q9]
Cena made his comeback against Sandow at 15:00 and hot-tagged Goldust. Goldust got a nice crowd pop and he went to work on Cesaro including ten punches in the corner, which the crowd counted along with. Goldust landed a top rope turning crossboyd on Cesaro. Sandow broke up the pin attempt. Cody then entered and cleared the ring of Sandow with a flying dropkick, and then Disaster Kicked Swagger right into a Cena Attitude Adjustment. Sandow gave Cena his Your Welcome, though, and Swagger rolled to the floor. As Cody and Cena fought the heels at ringside, Cesaro gave Goldust the Cesaro Swing as JBL counted in Spanish. Goldust rolled to the floor. Cena threw Cesaro into Zeb at ringside, then threw Cesaro into the ring. Goldust gave Cesaro a bulldog. Sandow broke up the pin. Cody landed a moonsault on Swandow. Cena then leaped off the top rope with a crossbody on Cesaro. Goldust then gave Cesaro the Final Cut for the win. Del Rio sneered at the babyface trio as they celebrated.
WINNER: Goldust & Cody & Cena in 19:00. (***)
(WK Reax: Another good match with these six. Goldust is such a pro, and such a feel-good story of 2013. Cody is being “made” in these weeks, now including getting a boost from teaming with Cena and looking so strong in the matches. Nobody ever explained, though, what Del Rio was doing on commentary.)
-Cole threw to a replay of Show’s legal case against Hunter and Stephanie.
-Backstage Show arrived at the arena and got hugs from the Prime Time Players. JBL said the criminal is trespassing again.
-Vickie Guerrero walked up to Triple H who was busy texting on his phone. She informed him that Show just arrived. Stephanie then walked in and told Hunter that she let Show into the building. Hunter chewed out Stephanie for that and asked what was going on. Stephanie said The Board has demanded that no risks be taken in this lawsuit because they have so much going on. Hunter said he doesn’t care what they say, he said Show is banned for life, and that’s final. Steph said it’s not about them, it’s about the WWE and their business. She said they cannot afford to take any risks. When Hunter complained, Steph said, “You’ve never had any problems taking McMahon Family Money.” She said The Board is demanding they settle, and they don’t want attorney’s involved, they want it to be between Show and them only. Hunter told Vickie to go find Show and tell him to come to his office now. The crowd chanted “Big Show! Big Show!” [c]
[Q10]
(7) DOLPH ZIGGLER vs. CURTIS AXEL
The announcers reacted at length to the Show-Authority development before the break. Then they shifted to discussing Heyman’s absence from ringside. Cole said it is the first time he’s wrestled without Heyman. Ziggler won with the Zig Zag and a nondescript but passable five minute TV match. The match was very much just a backdrop for talk about the Big Show lawsuit developments.
WINNER: Ziggler in 5:00.
-They threw to a clip of the Punk/Bryan vs. Wyatt Family angle earlier in the show.
-Renee Young interviewed Bryan backstage. She asked if it was wise to show up this week considering his injury. Bryan said he saw an opportunity for payback and he took it. He said someone else has an issue with the Wyatt Family, too. Another hint at a Punk/Bryan alliance.
-The Usos made their ring entrance. [c]
[Q11]
-Vickie informed Steph and Hunter that Big Show agreed to meet them, but only inside the ring. Steph and Hunter realized it was because he wanted witnesses.
(8) THE USOS vs. DREW MCINTYRE & HEALTH SLATER (w/Jinder Mahal)
JBL was disgusted with Show’s audacity to dictate terms of the meeting. The banter with the announcers devolved into a discussion about a cow having bull triplets in Arkansas. The odds of giving birth to three calves is one in 700,000, even less when all three live.
WINNERS: The Usos in 3:00.
-Young interviewed Los Matadores. She threw to highlights of their matches. Then El Torito ran in and tried to hump Young. Fernando said he was feeling a little horny. He made some lewd hip thrust gestures toward Young.
(WK Reax: Renee Young is one of the best things to happen to WWE TV this year. She is so pitch-perfect in how she conducts interviews, and even here she managed to play the slapstick bit just right, playfully without overselling the moment.) [c]
-A clip aired of Kane last week offering his services to Stephanie McMahon.
(9) A.J. LEE & TAMINA SNUKA & AKSANA vs. EVA MARIE & THE BELLAS
They returned to the arena with A.J. skipping around the ring. She’s the only Diva who got a ring entrance of any kind. Eva Marie tagged herself in and scored a sneaky roll-up victory on Tamina to score her first WWE victory.
WINNERS: Eva Marie & the Bellas in 2:00.
-They showed Hunter and Steph heading to the entrance tunnel.
[Q12]
-Cole plugged Luke Harper vs. Bryan on Friday Night Smackdown.
-Triple H and Steph walked onto the stage together. No making out tonight. All business. Hunter entered the ring and told Show to come out to the ring and get this over with. After a pause, Stephanie encouraged Show to answer their call. Show walked out with a swagger, wearing a nice suit. Steph said they’ve all agreed to settle, without lawyers, “so what do you want?” Show said, “I want a broom so you can hop on it and fly back to Connecticut.” Hunter said if Show wants to exchange sophomoric barbs, he can hang with the best of ’em. He asked how big does the check have to be for him to sell his dignity one more time. Show said he doesn’t have money problems because he doesn’t have any money. He said it’s about his wanting to perform in front of the people. He said as hard as Hunter makes it, he loves working for WWE because there’s many great people in the back. He said he just wants his job back. Hunter was about to tell Show to take his job and shove it. Steph intervened and talked sense into him off-mic. Steph then gave him his job back. Show hijacked Bryan’s gimmick and began a chant of “Yes! Yes!” Show said that feels good, but there’s just one more little thing.
He said to make The World’s Largest Lawsuit go away, he deserves the world’s largest bonus. He said it’s not about the money. He said he wants something he’s never had before. He said he’d like to be the Face of the WWE. Stephanie asked, “Are you kidding me? Have you looked in the mirror lately?” Suddenly The Shield’s music played. Hunter and Steph looked surprised. Show asked if this was some kind of trick. He asked if they realize what’s at stake. They cut to an awkward mid-segment break. [c]
[Q13]
Back live, The Shield were standing at ringside and Hunter was casually leaning on the top rope. Hunter told Show to go on. Show told Hunter to tread lightly. He demanded a WWE Title shot against Randy Orton at Survivor Series. Hunter got in Show’s face and said he got his job back, and he’s lucky for it, so “get the hell out of my ring before I leave you in a puddle of your own blood. Now move.” Show asked if that was his final answer. Show began to leave the ring and said early tomorrow morning his attorney will be in touch with the Board of Directors and his attorney will complete the task of “owning all of you.”
Steph had a few panicked words with Hunter, then Hunter yelled, “Wait!” He then timidly said under his breath, “You have your match at Survivor Series.” Show relished in the moment, asking Hunter to repeat it louder so he could hear him. Show walked back toward the ring and asked him to repeat it again. He walked back onto the ring apron. Hunter said it a third time. Show still couldn’t hear him. Show got in Hunter’s face and sternly asked him to say it one more time, in a clear and coherent voice. Hunter stared down Show and said it fourth time. Show smiled and said, “Now that wasn’t so hard, was it fella?” He asked Hunter to shake on it.
Hunter said since Show works for him again, he thinks it’s only fair that he wrestle again. He booked him against The Shield and Orton. Cole said Show got what he wants, but Hunter is obviously a vengeful man. JBL asked if Show was going to fight in his suit. Cole said he has no choice. JBL said this is good for business and it’s good for TV.
(10) THE SHIELD & RANDY ORTON vs. THE BIG SHOW
Show put up a brief fight but was soon overwhelmed by the odds. They tore off his shirt. Cole called it a mudding disguised as a match. At 2:00 Show made a comeback and duplexed both Rollins and Ambrose at once. Just as Show had Orton cornered, Kane’s music played. He walked out in a suit and site with a close-buzzed haircut. Show grabbed Orton by the throat, but The Shield attacked him. Orton signaled for the RKO and delivered it. Kane threw three chairs into the ring so the heels could bash Show with them. The ref called for the DQ.
WINNER: Show via DQ in 3:00
-The heels repeatedly bashed Show with chairshot after chairshot. Cole called it a horrible situation for Show as Reigns bashed him at ringside with the base of the steel steps. Lawler called it the most vindictive assault he’s ever seen. Steph and Hunter watched with looks of approval. The Shield then triple powerbombed Show through the ringside announce table. Show didn’t move afterward. Orton trash-talked Show as the crowd chanted “You suck! You suck!” Cole said Big Show might have been better off banned for life. The show ended with Orton holding his title belt in the air as his music played.
(WK Reax: WWE’s booking logic is like a snared fishing line right now, and this segment untied a bunch of kinks and knots and then replaced them with a bunch of new ones. It dragged on too long and, like much of what Triple H is involved in (in the ring and on the mic) overstayed its welcome and felt laboriously dragged out. I give them credit for trying to balance out the image of WWE as a company by having “The Board” appear to be a stabilizing force that can counter-act The Authority/McMahon Family when they go too far. That said, The Board is a faceless nameless group of “99 percenters” who seem more concerned with the threat of a lawsuit than they do Daniel Bryan being cheated out of one title victory after another or Big Show punching Dusty Rhodes on orders from their COO. I think the biggest concern WWE should have, but probably don’t care about and aren’t even aware of at this point, is how Bryan fans are going to feel with “their champion” being booted out of the title picture entirely by a sad, pathetic, financially irresponsible, out of shape loser of a giant who leveraged himself into what is Bryan’s deserved title match. I get that they can’t go back to Bryan vs. Orton yet again on PPV, but it’s not like being kicked by Shawn Michaels into losing to Orton should have knocked Bryan out of the title picture. To not address that shows how out of touch WWE Creative is with their fan base at this point. There’s still too much focus on non-wrestlers and authority figures and legal storylines that most fans don’t tune into wrestling to concern themselves with and not enough time being spent in the main event segments on wrestlers who can wrestle.)
RECOMMENDED NEXT: 20 YRS AGO – WWE Live Event Report (11-1-2003): Cena vs. A-Train, plus Rey Mysterio, Angle, Lesnar, Big Show, RIkishi, Rhyno, Torrie Wilson, Sable
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