Some decent matches though.

Orton/Jericho was good, as was Cesaro & Seamus.

Miz

Never saw Mark Henry losing either.

Was quite intrigued in what was going to happen with the main event until the ridiculous non-cash in. I'd rather have had a Cena superman finish than a dq and no cash-in. Pathetic.

I hope someone gives Rollins a severe hiding in the coming weeks, preferably Brock.

5.5/10 overall for me

Looked like a last minute decision, maybe with Reigns injured they changed it.I want to see Seth vs Ambrose for the briefcase!

Whilst it was obviously going to happen the way the promo was panning out, the reaction Ambrose got was possibly the biggest of the night. Then carried out in a way that reminded me of the days of Austin

I absolutely love Dean Ambrose. Great to finally have the crazy b'stard back

I don't know what's wrong with WWE over the past 4 to 5 years. We either get a good TV product with horrible PPVs or a terrible TV product with surprisingly impressive PPVs. Another very enjoyable show with some really good matches.

I don't know why they're going down this path, or if I'm just jumping to conclusions, but ever since Summer Slam WWE appear to be booking Lesnar in a fashion which could veer him towards a face turn very soon. If anyone but Cena was in a program with him right now I'd say the table was being laid at HIAC for a double switch. We'll see in the coming weeks but if that's the intention (turning Lesnar) god knows what they're thinking.

You know what? You could be onto something there. All thru last night's main event I kept looking at Heyman and there was something in his expressions that made me wonder if that double turn was going to happen there and then. The segments with him & Cena have brought a bit of life to a fairly dull feud since Summerslam.

The Rollins involvement just seemed so unnecessary. With Ambrose back, there is still a line to be drawn under that rivalry so putting him in the title picture straight away didn't feel right. I'd rather see him cash it in on Reigns or Cena at some point. If he was cashing in last night it should have been on a broken but victorious Cena. Lesnar, despite the multiple AAs just wasn't in a position to go over to Rollins imo.

Hopefully tonight's Raw gets things back on track.

Rollins to cash in and Ambrose to cost him his shot if the only way this situation should pan out imho.

Seths not ready for a title match yet, but we all know how much WWE like their relentless push for a personal favourite (see Orton).

Me neither, could've done the same finish with Heyman interfering instead. I must confess I got a sinister laugh when the commentators kept speculating "would he have tapped out", then the change in their voices when he realised they'd ballsed up

Also think Mark Henry's selling of his match was incredible. Don't know if you caught the tear in his left eye while he tapped out? Lost for words as to how good that was, things like that put the pathetic "wrestling is fake" argument to shame

comment by Just Had To Mention That - I Megaloathe You All (U6522)
posted 20 hours, 27 minutes ago
Also think Mark Henry's selling of his match was incredible. Don't know if you caught the tear in his left eye while he tapped out? Lost for words as to how good that was, things like that put the pathetic "wrestling is fake" argument to shame
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I did notice that. Actually rewound it to check it wasn't sweat. He's taken some punishment from Rusev recently. Seeing him prone in the ring on Monday night was a sad sight. Thought the crowd were a little harsh on him too

Terrible PPV

Only decent match was US title.

The commentators were telling us the Jericho/Orton match was a classic 5 minutes in. I thought it was sloppy with a predictable ending.

The best match on the card was Rollins v Reigns but it never happened because of injury to Roman. Instead, we got a cheap brawl with Ambrose.

And to run salt in the wounds, we got a DQ in the title match followed by a cash in which was never cashed in.

If I had paid for that, I would have been livid

And that was a diabolical Raw

Y2J/Orton was a little sloppy. Spent far too much time outside + in the corners, they always seemed to gravitate back to one of those two places. But they got the crowd into it very well, Orton in particular. How can anyone not like this guy, seriously?

How can anyone not like this guy, seriously?
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The problem with Orton is that he's one layered and one dimensional.

His mic work sucks and I actually think he's average in the ring

All points I agree with to an extent, but you can't tell me watching him toy with the crowd in that match wasn't fun? Love the way he's so deliberate, milks the moment dry

Comment deleted by Site Moderator

I do see differences between him and HHH. Something about Orton's demeanour throughout his career has an authenticity about it, you really get the sense he personally gets off on being booed (good old school heel), and whenever he's been face as a consequence he's almost looked frustrated - don't believe in either of his major face runs he ever acknowledged the crowd. HHH has always been more professional about it, all the psychology especially in the ring having pre-determined meaning, etc...

Mark Henry has grown on me massively down the years. When he first came back I wasn't buying him as a main eventer at all but that may have been due to what he represented - having him immediately stroll into the main event in 06 got me to realise how much the business was regressing at the time. But I will say his heel personas somewhat stole the PG era, I'd have backed Mark Henry to have wiped out The Nexus on his own at that time - he was that believable as a monster.

If in the future WWE decide to play the old JBL-Yokozuna trick, and he's still wrestling, I would have no problem (and I don't believe I'd be alone in this) with Mark Henry being a longstanding transitional heel World Champion and being the guy who gave the companies next top baby face the rub. Would be a fitting role for a good company man if he was up for it.

Though I would stress, the perfect individual for that position if it became necessary would without question be Triple H. You know for a fact he'd love to have that one last run particularly in this role, but you equally know for a fact he'd put that next great baby face over 100% the correct way.

Very true, like u say Orton does have a genuine aura of being a massive sociopath and the role does seem somewhat therapeutic.

What has happened with Ryback? He is another character who has been used oh so wrongly, the jerk heel angle is all his, the grandiose exhibtion of superiority complex worked well last year. Surely the good old glass ceiling hasnt bested him?

Almost everyone I know who "gets" Orton has some type of difficulty controlling their emotions in particular frustration. He's one of those very relatable characters easy to live vicariously through rather than just appreciate. What Daniel Bryan is for hopeful dreamers, Orton is for hopeless depressives. The way I see it anyway

Don't even know where Ryback is now? Is he still teaming with Axel?

Possibly! Interesting point tho, I get both Orton and Bryan. But relate more to cm punk.

Interesting stuff

I'd relate more to Punk if it wasn't for the straight edge thing. Whenever he used to shoot, despite all the charisma that purred out of him something in the back of my head just kept thinking "he needs to hang out with RVD a bit"

Ironic thing is I remember in his DVD he talked about drugs just not looking like fun. But all throughout his time with WWE, unless all the stars were in perfect alignment for him, he never looked like he was having fun ever. Which to me is yet another instance of Punk demonstrating hypocrisy and ignorance. It made for a terrific character, but one I found hard to empathise with.

Would it be fair to compare him to Torres? seriously?

lol, what an extraordinary comparison to draw.

In the sense he could never catch a break - yes. In the sense he was a succession of false dawns - definitely. Was placed in an organisation that was never designed to get the best out of him - for sure.

But amid the similarities the sad truth is when Punk shot he usually hit the target, couldn't say the same for Torres. He also had a nack of turning carp into gold which Torres never managed playing for Chelsea.

Great thought though. What do you think on that?

Was placed in an organisation that was never designed to get the best out of him
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Who is to blame for that, Punk belongs to the character archetype of the anti hero. Historically we know that this type of character can become a somewhat of a paradigm shift e.g 3:16

So his demise or seeming demise has a strange air of miscommunication as opposed to misunderstanding on Punks part.

However as far as the E is concerned, does anyone else think their is a strange link between Ambrose` rise and Punks fall.

I mean i may be wrong here but it wouldnt surprise me if the E saw an opportunity to make a like for like change, but with a more mouldable and pliable member of staff.

Just my take, but the comparisons between Punk and Austin I always found to be wildly exaggerated - more about hope than honest observation. Austin was a much more complete character. The redneck persona complemented him so much better than Punk's straight edge persona in the anti-hero regard, he carried himself with a air of security Punk NEVER had - you rarely found Punk in control of himself or his environment (and of course the one glaring exception back in 2011 was ultimately booked to make the character look anything but in control of the situation). And on the mic Austin was clinical and concise, like all great anti-heroes, Punk used to tangle himself in so many knots and consequently had an unfortunate habit of coming across like a whining punk 2!T3H.

It's kind of nit-picky I'll grant you, but I don't think personally Punk had the complete package to alter the direction of the entire company. He presented a very capable alternative to Cena, but between them you couldn't really have enough to revitalise the product without more in the undercard to support them.

My surprise you here, or not. I see positively NO correlation between the CM Punk and Dean Ambrose characters. They in fact couldn't be more different imo. Rollins is a much closer comparison to Punk, and quite possibly yes. The manner in which they booked The Shield and are continuing to book all three members clearly shows they've got more faith in each of them than they ever had in CM Punk