RAW Deal: Rebooting a dying (Survivor) Series

SAN ANTONIO—News flash: for the second straight PPV, WWE World Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar will not be defending his title.

That’s after Hell in a Cell is said and done, too. That’s after John Cena beat Randy Orton decisively Sunday night for a new shot at the championship. It’s been made clear at RAW that it isn’t happening at next month’s Survivor Series—one of the Big Four PPVs, and a good time to have another huge title match.

That, my friends, is a good thing.

Why, you ask? Not having Lesnar around to enforce a mandatory monthly title match means that we’re officially seeing a huge traditional Survivor Series elimination match at the show’s main event, a much-needed shot in the arm for an old wrestling custom that has completely fallen to the wayside. That old elimination match, with all its intensity and drama best lent to the most meaningful of rivalries, started decaying and dying in the mid-2000s. 

For so long, we’d gotten obviously patched-together Survivor Series matches that made little sense and existed for the sake of. It hit its zenith in 2003 and never saw it again. When you get down to it, it was the first themed PPV that deteriorated because it was fixed in place.

This year, we’re getting the big match back in the main event, the place where it belongs. It’ll be Team Authority vs. Team Cena, a match-up that is as deserving as any to be held as a Survivor Series bout. If tonight’s awesome main event between Cena and Seth Rollins is any indication, we’re sure to see an outstanding one on Nov. 23.

And it’s not just at the top of the card, as well; it seems like the product’s been invigorated by both the laserlike focus on Survivor Series and the exciting developments stemming from Hell in a Cell. Dean Ambrose is moving away from his heated rivalry with Rollins and transitioning into another potentially captivating feud with Bray Wyatt. Meanwhile, Rollins is sure to tear the house down with Orton, whose recent booking has imbibed him with a lot of newfound sympathy. Intercontinental Champion Dolph Ziggler is getting some well-deserved shine at the main event by associating himself with Cena, and a whole lot more, I promise you that.

I know there have been days over the past month when I’ve been down on the WWE product. I can honestly attest, however, that Hell in a Cell and this Monday’s RAW was the reboot they needed. It’s how wrestling is, anyway—after rough patches, there will always be moments of greatness or, at the very least, moments of lucidity. 

Recently, I was asked why I still continue to watch the WWE despite complaining about it; it’s honestly because I know times like these will still come. It hasn’t all been bad. It really hasn’t. It’s still a good time to be a wrestling fan.

High spots:

• Randy Orton’s been turning in the best character work of his career over the past few months. Other than getting over through the mainstream popularity of the RKO Vines, him being booked to assert himself again after roughly a year of being Triple H’s lackey is clearly working for him. Natural face turns are rare and a thing of beauty. 

• I’d just like to put it out there: I’m REALLY glad we’re no longer getting 6-man tags with the Usos and the Dusts. (Of course, I’m sure I jinxed it there.)
• Slightly ambivalent on yet another Mark Henry heel turn, but he’s proven that he’s at his best as a villain.
• Roman Reigns is back with a really quick via satellite interview, and I’m glad to say that it was miles better than his first post-injury interview.
• I’m really excited for the Miz and Damien Mizdow making a splash in the tag division. Anything to prolong their teaming together.
• RYBACK IS BACK! I never thought I’d say this given his forgettable previous run, but I’ve really missed the Big Guy.
• The way Ambrose approaches his feud with Wyatt is exactly what we wanted to get from Jericho. It’s off to a slightly slow start, but the premise is already intriguing—Wyatt is saying that he and Ambrose are alike, but two of them cannot exist at the same time, so Wyatt has to destroy Ambrose. That’s compelling stuff right there. 
• The Bellas, especially Nikki, are slowly working their way up to being the top Divas in the division. Everyone else better step their game up.
• Speaking of the Bellas, it’s good that they’re not shoving this whole personal assistant angle down our throats.
• Two back-to-back great matches to close the show with Kane/Dolph Ziggler and Cena/Rollins, and we’ve obviously got our first four Survivor Series participants.

• THE SHOW ENDS WITH A CIVIL WAR! CHAOS AND ANARCHY REIGNS!

Low blows:

• Big Show keeps blind-tagging Mark Henry throughout the match, and HENRY IS THE HEEL?
• Paige and Alicia Fox have broken up their team after only a few weeks of tagging together. Who, then, is the sympathetic face now? It’s not AJ, who’s proven she doesn’t play nice with other girls. It’s also not Paige, who’s been the heel here all along. Is it Alicia Fox, then? Not a strong face character, either.
• The Usos employ the use of Twin Magic to defeat Miz and Mizdow. Other than being totally distinct by the fact that the Usos wear face paint on different sides of their faces, JBL was right: the Usos cheated on national television. What sort of faces do that? At least Los Guerreros had the courtesy to be honest with everyone.
• Cesaro is booked as nothing more than an afterthought and an empty plot device to get Dean Ambrose over. The guy deserves something a little better than this.

Are you a wrestling fan who takes a lot of flak from your non-fan friends? Do you find yourself having to keep explaining why you watch, and facepalming when you get judged for watching? Would you like to keep up with Philippine wrestling? Do you listen to podcasts? Would you want to listen to a local podcast about pro wrestling? If the answers to most of those questions are yes, then you should check out the latest episode of the Smark Gilas-Pilipinas Podcast—featuring Mellow 94.7 DJ Stan Sy and wrestling writer Romeo Moran! They discuss and break down non-fans’ reaction to wrestling, and also interview Philippine Wrestling Revolution’s Main Maxx! Give it a listen here, or download it on the iTunes Store or your favorite podcast app on iOS and Android! – Rappler.com