Last night’s episode of Raw took place at the Allstate Arena in Chicago, Illinois and featured a total of eight matches. For the second straight week the feud between Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose took center stage as the WWWE World Heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar failed to appear on the show.
John Cena and Dean Ambrose vs. Randy Orton & Kane was the main event and no, CM Punk was not in the building. However, the Chicago faithful chanted his name virtually all night, but the Authority didn’t seem to mind as they addressed the situation.
After a month of extremely lackluster and disappointing episodes of Raw, could WWE finally turn things around? With that being said, here are my overall highs, lows and random thoughts on the 9/29/2014 edition of Monday Night Raw:
BEST MATCH: The opening Intercontinental Championship Triple Threat match between Dolph Ziggler (c), Cesaro and the Miz was the Best Match of the night. WWE can always rely on Ziggler and Cesaro to put forth outstanding matches, but the Miz did an excellent job here too. There were plenty of innovative maneuvers and it looked like the hostile Chicago crowd was on their feet from start to finish. The chemistry between these three superstars is outstanding and I hope to see a Dolph Ziggler vs. Cesaro feud in the near future.
WORST MATCH: Slater Gator vs. Los Matadores was the Worst Match of the night. After securing a much needed victory, Heath Salter and Titus O’Neil deserved a celebratory drink or perhaps a small “hey, we finally got a win” type meeting in the ring, however, Adam Rose and the Bunny viciously attacked both members of Slater Gator. The segment ended with the Bunny hitting a top-rope splash onto Heath Slater, who continued to be misused and embarrassed each and every week by freaking person in a rabbit costume.
BEST PROMO: The Authority kicked off Raw and during that opening segment, Stephanie McMahon gave the Best Promo of the night. Stephanie acknowledged the “CM Punk” chanting fans and asked them why they all cheer for a quitter? Of course, Stephanie answered her own question and said that the fans in Chicago can relate because they are all quitters as well. After addressing the elephant in the room, the Billion Dollar Princess brilliantly transitioned back into WWE “reality”, talked about Dean Ambrose and continued to promote the rest of the show. It’s worth noting that neither Triple H nor Stephanie actually mentioned CM Punk’s name. Of course, that part of the promo isn’t available on video, but here is the rest of the great segment featuring Seth Rollins and Paul Heyman.
MOST SHOCKING MOMENT: Even though it was fairly predictable, Seth Rollins getting slimed by Dean Ambrose was the Most Shocking Moment of the night. I wouldn’t say that Raw was uneventful, but there were no real surprises throughout the show. It was clear to see that Ambrose did something to Rollins’ briefcase, but I will admit, I didn’t think he was going to get slimed.