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However, I felt like I was watching history repeat itself during the Shawn Michaels-Daniel Bryan segment. Instead of Kevin Nash with a terrible promo dragging CM Punk down from the promised land that was the main event picture, this time it was a ridiculous explanation from Michaels taking Bryan down and leaving him in the mid-card with the Wyatt Family. I didn't hate that, since the idea here is to use Bryan and Punk as the means to raise the Wyatt's profile, but I can't help but feel that if and when Bryan returns to the main event picture, WWE will have missed yet another opportunity to reward their fans and make someone mean something truly worthwhile on the top of the card.
The resentment we've received via email today was amazing in how vile the resentment of Bryan not getting the WWE title and being removed from his program with Randy Orton truly is. Whether this is what WWE wants out of the audience, I can't tell you, but with certain segments, they certainly have irked the fans who would most likely to pay to support Bryan.
But, life goes on, especially in WWE storylines and that leads us to Raw, where we look at what worked, what didn't and what we learned:
What Worked:
*John Cena's return promo. John Cena was back, with the cheesiness turned down and some of his old "Thug Life" mannerisms and demeanor seeping into his verbiage. It was a strong promo and well received. Say what you will about Cena, but when he is put into the position and wants to, he's a hell of a promo.
*Everything involving The Shield. Dean Ambrose vs. Big. E. Langston to give Langston some credibility? Check. Six Man tag vs. Langston and The Usos? Check. Brawl with Usos and the Tag champions? Check. Good promo? Check. Issues between the Shield? Uh, possible check? Last night, The Shield once again showed why they are such strong MVPs for WWE. Whatever the match or scenario, they shine and help others look good in the process. Believe in the Shield.
*Here come the Wyatts. Say what you will about how they have been used so far, but The Wyatts being programmed with Daniel Bryan and CM Punk should look to some great promos and matches. It also puts the Wyatts into a situation that they can use to improve their standing in the eyes of the fans, something that WWE has pretty much failed at since their original introductory videos.
*CM Punk vs. Ryback. As the end of that feud and a something of a burial of Ryback, it worked. There was some nice brawling and the table elbow into the Anaconda Vise tap-out was inspired. Punk also had one of the better promos he's given in weeks. I don't know where they go with Ryback from here, but man, he's had quite the losing streak in recent months - the anti-Goldberg is what he's developed into.
*Summer Rae vs. Natalya. Rae finally gets to show some of the charisma and athletic ability we've seen out of her in NXT and Natalya is always solid in the ring. Even with the silliness of the secondary players going on, these ladies should be really happy with their performances.
*Tamina & AJ vs. The Bellas. Exactly what it needed to be.
*The Big Show's promo to close the show When was the last time he was that passionate or inspired in a promo...and when was the last time you heard the crowd actually chanting for Show? Whatever you think of the storyline, it's worked as a way to make Show a likable, sympathetic hero to the WWE fans.
*Real Americans vs. Goldust & Cody Rhodes. Oh man, was this awesome. Yet another great tag match from a division that continues to deliver. It was so nice to see Jack Swagger and Antonio Cesaro cut loose with a great match, since the night before they were Torito fodder.
What Didn't:
*Far too many holes in the stories that are filled with lackluster reasonings and messages. If you don't believe me, I submit:
*Randy Orton is the face of the WWE, blah blah blah and gets KO'd so Big Show can challenge the COO to a fight? It was bad enough when the Michaels-HHH stuff last week overshadowed the competitors in the Hell in A Cell main event, but now it's officially stupid - why is the WWE champion the last in line before anyone has to get to Triple H. That is so backwards and it, if anything, should be the other way around.
*Shawn Michaels' explanation. I wrote yesterday that WWE needed a great explanation as to why Michaels attacked Daniel Bryan at Hell in A Cell and they didn't give us anything that was remotely plausible or believable. In doing so, they made Bryan, once again, look like a sap that at the end of the day, couldn't get the job done - the problem is that a great portion of the audience doesn't buy the WWE storylines and sees it as the company kicking someone down when they should be propping him up. Daniel Bryan snapping and locking Michaels in the Yes Lock was a cool moment, but it was a moment that should have happened the day after Summerslam....and it should have happened to HHH. The idea that yet another referee screwed Bryan, and this time it was his trainer, is just too much to accept, especially when the excuse is "Triple H is my best friend and you wouldn't understand." Nope, we don't.
*John Cena vs. Damien Sandow. Don't get me wrong, the match was awesome and the best showing of Sandow to date in WWE, so I hate to say it didn't work, but how the hell does Sandow attack Cena and injure him, then lose a fight to a man with one arm and later on, one leg? For all of his hard work, WWE may as well have flushed Sandow down the toilet. He deserved far better and I hope there's a plan to rehab and build him, as he remains one of the most overlooked talents in the company. His run as Mr. Money in the Bank did nothing for him.
As I noted, all these things just make fans who want to watch stories that make a modicum of sense want to rip their hair out or resent WWE for not seeing the logic that they see. Politics and decision-making will always temper what is truly "best for business" but sometimes, it can be enough to really turn fans off when they seem multiple examples of this.
*3MB gets beaten up by El Torito. They may as well have said, "Be very very quiet, we're hunting Toritos" as they walked to the ring with that net. This was beyond cartoony silly. The highspots are cool and all, but where is this going and why are they wrestling yet again?
What We Learned:
*Out with the old, in with the new. Bryan vs. Orton? Wyatts vs. Miz? Real Americans vs. Los Matadores? Punk vs. Ryback? Sandow as Mr. Money in the Bank? Throw it all out and hit the reset button, folks! Vince McMahon tore it all down and went back to the drawing board last night, shuffling the deck. Whether it will work or not depends on how the new storylines are drawn out in the weeks ahead, but one thing was for sure, someone at the top of WWE decided things needed to be mixed up - and now they are.
*Big Show has rich friends who can bail him out. Vince McMahon?
*Daniel Bryan isn't getting the WWE title anytime soon. That's the bottom line, folks.
*Kane is the new corporate monster. Despite being beaten and kidnapped by The Wyatt Family, Kane's first order of true business is to remove his mask and pledge allegiance to the McMahon regime. An interesting turn of events and a nice way to have Kane work with some of the younger babyfaces and bring them along...and place him opposite his little buddy, Daniel Bryan.
*Miz once headlined Wrestlemania...and boy, that was the biggest fluke in the history of WWE. Can you believe this is the same guy who became only the second heel to walk out of a Mania with the WWE title? Me neither. He's actually almost UNDER Zack Ryder at this point. WOW. Did WWE forget this guy has a ABC Family movie coming out?
Mike Johnson can be reached at MikeJohnsonPWInsider@gmail.com.
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