THE FEUDS
Bray Wyatt vs. John Cena – Step Up
It was nice to see them do something a bit differently this week. I feel like every time a good heel needs a fan-favorite icon to beat up on, they pick Jerry Lawler, but who else are they going to disrespect? Michael Cole? Good luck getting the fans to care about that. They may actually cheer it. Bray’s signing is now to the point of being annoying, but his whole segment with King was very well done, and I thought he made good ground heading into his PPV match on Sunday. Cena did good work too. I just wish they weren’t in a Last Man Standing, my least favorite gimmick match.
The Shield vs. Evolution – Step Up
This match is going to be a war. Their last match was a war, but now there are no rules, and they get to bust out the weapons, beat each other silly, and the added elimination stipulation brings an intriguing layer of future story-telling to the table. Will it come down to Reigns vs. Triple H? Will it come down to Reigns vs. all of Evolution? If I were a betting man, which I’m not, I would put a good amount on Reigns taking out all three Evolution guys, and the glory and respect from that victory being the catalyst for Dean Ambrose to turn on his heavy.
And that about wraps up my thoughts on this week’s episode of RAW, and the stories heading into WWE Payback this Sunday, live on the WWE Network. There really aren’t any other major stories happening. There’s two big money-makers on this card, plus the intrigue of what happens with Daniel Bryan and the world championship.
I’ll be back this Friday with Wrestlezone’s Top 10 Last Man Standing Matches to hype up John Cena vs. Bray Wyatt, plus again this weekend for the return of my PPV predictions with Josh Isenberg, and at some point this week you will get a new Wrestlezone podcast with me and Johnny Landin. Stay tuned.
