RAW 8/18/14 (Hulu edition)

I'm going to try something a little different. Instead of commenting on every little thing in a match, I'll give my prediction for each match, make a note of the cool stuff that happens in a match, the result, and then a little commentary after. We'll see how this works out.

1. Daniel Bryan's music...and Steffi comes out with a "STEPH! STEPH! STEPH!" t-shirt. She talks about Lesnar beating Cena and how Lesnar will premier a new WWE World Heavyweight Championship belt tonight. She takes shots at Cena, Jericho, and Ambrose, all of whom lost matches at Summer Slam. And then she takes a shot at Brie. (Oh, and she plugs the $9.99 WWE Network.) Then she brings Nikki out, and Nikki (who had a shoe malfunction...and a microphone malfunction) whines about her sister being selfish and manipulative. Brie comes out, and Nikki slaps the holy hand grenade of Antioch out of her. 
Notes: Remember when I thought that Seth Rollins was going to turn on the Authority? Yeah, not so much. But I do think that Nikki Bella is going to turn on Stephanie at some point, if for no other reason than that Nikki is dating/engaged to the Superface of the WWE. How can a Superface be in a relationship with a heel?

2. Big Show and Mark Henry v. Luke Harper and Eric Rowan. I think there's something building for Show and Henry, and I'm going to pick them to win.
Big Show and Mark Henry pick up the pinfall victory when Big Show hit the WMD on both Harper and Rowan, leaving Rowan to turn around to be hit with the World's Strongest Slam.
Notes: This was an interesting match-up, with Rowan and Harper finally facing foes that are bigger than they are. I thought Harper and Rowan would win the Tag belts, but it seems that's no longer going to happen. The Junior Wyatts vs. Show and Henry was a surprisingly interesting match, especially when you consider that this was four huge athletes. I'd watch these teams go at it again.

3. Renee Young interviews Seth Rollins, and Dean Ambrose poured ice water over Rollins. "What? It's for charity."
Notes: AWESOME!

4. Dolph Ziggler is backstage with Ric Flair. The Miz is invoking his rematch clause, and he comes in to say the belt will come back to an A-List superstar. Ziggler calls him an A-hole.
Notes: I know Flair was working with the Miz a while back, but Ziggler makes much more sense. If they're going to (finally) push Ziggler again, having Flair with him would be great.

5. Hunter and Steffi unveil the new belt and bring out Lesnar. They pose with the belt, and then Paul Heyman gives a promo. He gives a lot of props to John Cena..."but my client doesn't share my opinions." Brock didn't have to say a word. All he had to do was stand there and look imposing. And he did. "EAT! SLEEP! SUPLEX! REPEAT!"
Notes: Not a fan of the new emblem. The scratches looked good as a doubled-W. The clean doubled-W is ugly. It's probably a nicer symbol for a youngster-friendly WWE, but it's just...dull. Now that that's out of the way, that was another tremendous promo from Heyman. Can I get him to speak for me at church meetings? *wink*

6. Intercontinental Championship Title Match: The Miz v. Dolph Ziggler. I'll pick Ziggler to win, but I wouldn't be surprised to be wrong to continue this feud.
Miz wins with a countout after he did enough damage to Ziggler's leg that he couldn't get back in the ring. Ziggler retains. Miz attacks Ziggler after, but Ziggler hits the Zig Zag.
Notes: Not a great match--which is unsurprising, considering it's the Miz--but Ziggler sells damage convincingly enough to make it believable. I'm hoping that Ziggler will pick up a clean win soon so this feud will end and Ziggler will move on to bigger and better rivalries. I'd love to see him face, oh, Cesaro, for instance, though it seems as if he'll be going after Sheamus first. Or maybe Big E? Kofi? Ryback?

7. Randy Orton and AxleBack v. Sheamus, RVD, and Roman Reigns. I pick the faces to win. The crowd was chanting "Feed me more!" and "Ryback Rules!" Good physical match. RVD pins Axle for the win after they all exchange their finishing moves.
Notes: Wow. The crowd was giving the kind of attention Ryback was getting back when he was in the middle of his huge push. I think the crowd is trying to tell Vince and Hunter something. Although the matchup seemed a bit forced, the match itself was fun to watch. And the Ryback chants were awesome!

8. Ric and Randy backstage, and Randy blows him off. "Back off, or you'll find out why they call me the Legend Killer."
Notes: *eye roll* And people think he's a five-tool superstar? He's barely adequate as a talker.

9. A quick Bray Wyatt promo.  
Notes: Not a lot of meat to it. Not his best work.

10. Rusev and Lana come out. Lana begins a promo, but Mark Henry interrupts. "To see that flag raised in my country. it made me sick to my stomach. I'm gonna give you a personal, guided tour to the Hall of Pain." Rusev backs off and then throws a sucker punch. They go back and forth, and Henry hits the World's Strongest Slam and a Splash.
Notes: Odd to see JBL, the heel commentator, pulling for Mark Henry, even in a patriotic segment. I thought Show and Henry were building for something, but it seems like Henry and Rusev are going to be working something instead. Hmm.

11. Seth Rollins v. Dean Ambrose in a Falls Count Anywhere match. I just read that Ambrose is leaving to do a movie. Had I known that, I would have picked Rollins to win at Summer Slam. As it is, I'll pick Rollins to win tonight and probably knock Ambrose out.
There was never a cover, but Rollins was announces as the winner after Rollins (with Kane's help) put Ambrose's head through a pile of cinder blocks.
Notes: I hope Ambrose isn't away for too long filming this movie. He has built some great momentum with the fans, and he's really fun to watch. As for Rollins, I'm not sure what's next for him--he won't challenge Lesnar with the MitB briefcase--but they need him in the upper-midcard for now. Ziggler might be a good rivalry for him, as he hasn't held a singles title yet.



Not on Hulu
1. Natalya v. Paige. I'd like to see these two in a match that's actually allowed to develop. Since that wasn't the case, I don't mind missing it.
2. Swagger v. Cesaro. No Zeb Colter. It appears this wasn't much of a match from the description I read of it online, so I guess I don't mind missing this one either. But if Swagger lost to Cesaro (who also hasn't won much of anything lately), then maybe I was wrong about Swagger not being buried after not submitting.
3. No Usos v. Goldust and Stardust. This is a match I really would like to have seen, even though the description made it sound like a short one. They've been giving the Dusts a lot of promo time lately, and it seems like, after the Dusts beat the Usos, they're destined for a title shot. And I imagine the Dusts will win the titles. Seems odd to have two face teams squaring off like this, but since they are, I'll be interested to see how it develops.


Overall
Four matches in 90 minutes. I know they gave Heyman a lot of time, and he certainly made the most of it. Still, four matches in a 90 minute version of Raw seems really weak. The four matches were good ones, and Heyman was his usual genius self, but it seemed like the show was...lacking.

RAW 8/11/14 (Hulu edition)

1. LADIES AND GENTLEMEN...MY NAME IS PAUL...HEYMAN! As always, Paul, you get right down to the point and let us know exactly what your client, the BEAST, BROCK...LESNAR...will do at Summer Slam. And I believe he *will* do it. After all, it's what's best for business, and "bad things happen to good people when they step into the ring with Brock Lesnar." Paul Heyman is the greatest manager in the history of the WWE. (Bobby Heenan was until Paul showed up.) Great promo. Heyman promises that Lesnar will lay a smackdown the likes of a Shakespearean tragedy.

2. Oh... "Hint, hint"? Does that mean Hulk Hogan is going to get his tuchus handed to him during tonight's birthday celebration?

3. Oh, and Heyman goes with the rhyme to mock the Doctor of Thuganomics! GREAT STUFF!!!

4. Weird Al with the birthday wishes for Hulk Hogan!!! YES!!!

5. Korporate Kane is back. Apparently he gave Steffi his mask last week because he felt he let the Authority down by not beating Reigns. *sigh* I was hoping he'd oppose the Authority before this was all over. Maybe he still will.

6. Korporate Kane makes a handicap match between Roman Reigns and AxleBack. (Nope, still won't call them RybAxle.) I think Reigns wins a brutal match and then takes a beatdown.

7. Yes, I think it's about time to turn Ryback again. He's a better face than a heel. They ended his face run much too soon, and it would be cool to hear "Feed me more" again without the jeers attached.

8. Reigns kept control until Axle provided a distraction (twice) on the apron. And it's probably getting ugly during the commercial.

9. AxleBack DQed for throwing Reigns into the ringpost after they'd been warned. They try to take him out, but he makes a comeback in the ring. He throws Ryback out of the ring and hits his jump-kick on Axel. Then he throws Ryback into the ringpost and hits his Superman Punch on both. SPEAR on Ryback. SPEAR on Axle. Guess I had it backwards.

10. In the ring, Reigns tells Renee that he's not scared of Orton. Then we go backstage, where Orton takes a shot at Kane for not getting the job done last week. Kane tells Orton he has a match tonight against Sheamus to get him ready for Summer Slam.

11. Steffi brings out Daniel Bryan's supposed physical therapist, "Megan," who says that she and Daniel have been having an affair. Brie comes out and smacks the hell out of Megan and then attacks Steffi, locking in the Yes! Lock until Finley and Jamie Noble break them up. Steffi says this will be finished tonight rather than at Summer Slam.

12. Drew Brees birthday wishes! 

13. Nice back and forth between Bray Wyatt and Chris Jericho. Jericho promises to be the first one to leave Bray speechless! I'd love to see that!

14. AJ vs. Eva Marie. AJ should win easily, but will Paige cause issues? Eva doesn't have the tools to beat anyone, but she will probably win this match. But I think she'll pay for it after. 

15. Paige with the distraction, skipping around the ring. Eva rolls her up for the quick non-title victory. 

16. Paige recites a Roses Are Red poem to apologize for pushing AJ off the stage last week. What's with all the rhyming this week? 

17. Eva is still at ringside for some reason, and AJ beats the heck out of her. Now *that* is entertainment! Then she skips away with the Divas belt.

18. John Cena comes out (in a new red hat and shirt--he needs to go classic and wear the 8-bit shirt). When's did he last wrestle? Anyway, Cena promises that he will not lay down for Brock Lesnar. He says he will...not...lose, that Brock doesn't deserve the championship. He pretty much calls Brock a mercenary. He has the crowd run through all their various chants: "You can't wrestle;" "Let's go Cena;" "Cena suck!" He says he won't turn, but he will become a beast to fight the beast. He calls Brock out, but Brock doesn't come out. "This Sunday, I am the one that beats the one." I may not be a huge fan of this match, but the build-up by Heyman and Cena has been n56othing short of brilliant.

19. Brie nearly trips as she stalks down to the ring. Steffi comes out and says the match has to wait until Summer Slam because "Megan" is pressing charges against Brie for assaulting her. Steffi says she'll see Brie at Summer Slam...if Brie makes bail.

20. Main event: Sheamus v. Orton. I assume Orton wins, but there may be some funny business after.

21. The match started disappointingly slow, but we've seen pretty much everything you'd expect from these two. 

22. And Sheamus mocks Orton's fist pound before missing the Brogue. Sheamus then counters the RKO. He goes up top, but Sheamus hits the RKO when Sheamus jumps and pins him for the victory. Looked impressive, thought not as impressive when he hit the RKO on Evan Bourne who was in flight doing his 360 splash.

23. "Mean" Gene Okerlund and "The Mouth of the South" Jimmy Hart are out to introduce Hulk Hogan! All the superstars are on the stage as Hogan comes out. And yes, I did mark out hard when Hogan's music hit. Nice video tribute. Hulk shills for the WWE Network.

24. Time to mark out again! Out comes Ric Flair! (Great to have Mean Gene announcing! Love that voice!) Paul Orndorff! Love the kaiser stache! Wow, does he look old! Rowdy Roddy Piper! 

25. And here's Kevin Nash and Scott Hall for the NWO reunion! YES!!! Wow, do they look ancient! Hulk actually looks a little overwhelmed. HEY YO!!! Scott sounds pretty good...for how bad he's sounded at times lately. Hulk has the Black and White under the Red and Gold! Nash sings the birthday song to Hogan...

26. ...and Lesnar interrupts and comes to the ring. No sign of the other superstars on the stage. Lesnar looks disparagingly on the Geritol Generation as he stands on the apron. Lesnar bumps Piper. Hulk tries to look ready for action. Lesnar calls him "Grampa" and tells him the party's over.

27. Cena runs down to the ring, spoiling for a fight. Lesnar smiles and climbs out of the ring as the show fades to black.

Not a great show, but the build to Summer Slam was good, and the chance to mark out on the classic superstars was worth the price of admission.

RAW 8/4/14 (Hulu Edition)

1. The Authority (Hunter, Steffi, Orton, Kane) comes out. They just happen to mention that Summer Slam is coming, and that it will be on the WWE Network, which is available for only $9.99. Yeah, they just happen to mention it...about ten times. On the bright side, at least they got the crowd involved. Actually, it was sort of cute. All they needed was HBK to come out to shill like he and Hunter used to do in DX.

2. They also announce a "Beat the Clock" challenge where either Dean Ambrose (facing Alberto del Rio) or Seth Rollins (facing Rob Van Dam who, I believe, is injured) will be able to name the stipulation for their match at Summer Slam. (With whom will they replace RVD?)

3. Orton starts to blab about destroying Roman Reigns and how the Viper is back, when Roman's music hits and he comes into the crowd. He's got a great deal for Hunter: he'll destroy Orton tonight for free. Instead, Hunter makes Reigns v. Kane for tonight. And Hunter expects to see the demon. It will be a Last Man Standing match.

4. Kane v. Reigns in a Last Man Standing match. Expect brutality. Expect destruction. Expect Reigns to pull out the win in what will be a very slow match.

5. Barricades, steps, kendo sticks. Reigns gets busted open. Steel chair. Chokeslam through a table. And Reigns barely beats the count.

6. Kane goes for the Tombstone, but Reigns escapes and hits a DDT on a chair. Superman punch! Kane goes for the chokeslam. Reversal. SPEAR! And Kane is out for the ten-count.

7. Hype for Cena v. Lesnar at Summer Slam with a video segment. Ten minutes? I don't know, but it seemed like it took forever. Lesnar promises blood, urine, and vomit. Not a great delivery from him, but he sounds so much like a psychopath that it doesn't matter.

8. Hogan will be on next week! NWO Reunion?

9. Dean Ambrose v. AdR in a "Beat the Clock" match. Expect Ambrose to win, but it's not going to be quick.

10. AdR has had the upper hand for the first couple minutes, but Ambrose makes a short comeback before AdR throws him into the barricade. AdR is keeping him grounded.

11. Small package! And AdR kicks out and clotheslines Ambrose. AdR back in control. Ambrose into the ringpost.

12. Another ringpost for Ambrose. Ambrose makes a comeback. AdR blocks a Tornado DDT, kicks Ambrose in the head. (Commercial time.)

13. Superplex? and Ambrose kicks out. Ambrose rolls him up, and AdR kicks out. AdR puts him in the CrossArmbreaker in the ropes, breaks before the 5-count. DIRTY DEEDS OUT OF NOWHERE! Ambrose wins! Time to beat is 15:42. 

14. Review of the Brie Bella/Steffi McMahon mishegas. More to come later. *sigh*

15. Rusev v. Sin Cara began during the commercial, and Rusev ended it so fast that all we saw was the celebration. Lana then gives a promo comparing Putin and Obama. (Please don't do that. He looks bad enough on his own.) Lana sang "Happy Birthday" to Obama in Russian. (Do they have to pay for that?) And Zeb and Swagger come out. Nice promo from Zeb. Rusev moves to leave the ring, but he attacks Swagger with the Russian flag and beats him down and knocks him out of the ring. Rusev and Lana stare down Zeb, but Lana calls Rusev off before he can attack.

16. Kane comes into the Authority's office, hands Steffi his mask, and walks out, his face unseen. No words are spoken. What does this mean? Is Kane done? (Is this because Hunter expected the demon from Kane and Kane lost?)

17. Chris Jericho v. Luke Harper. If Jericho wins, Harper will be banned from ringside at Summer Slam. I expect Jericho to win, but he'll pay a price for it tonight. Rowan comes down to the ring with Harper. I'd like to see a lengthy match. I love Harper's move set.

18. Powerbomb from Harper! Jericho kicks out. Jericho kicks Rowan off the apron. Jericho goes for Walls of Jericho and locks it in! Lights go out and Bray is at ringside. Rowan tries to attack from behind, and Jericho hits Codebreaker. Then he hits Harper with Codebreaker. Bray attacks from behind. DQ win for Jericho, but he's paying for it. Bray hits Sister Abigail. FOLLOW...THE BUZZARDS!!!

19. Quick promo from Orton threatening to kick off Roman's head.

20. RVD v. Seth Rollins in a "Beat the Clock" challenge, and the time to beat is 15:42. RVD is in the ring, but the announcement is made that RVD is being replaced with Heath Slater. Unsurprising. RVD hasn't been in a match in a while, and I thought he was injured. I can't imagine Slater wins, but something weird is going to happen. (Why are they still using "Three Man Band" for Slater when the other two are no longer with the company?)

21. Rollins offers to let Slater walk out and just be counted out of the match. Slater hits him. Slater looked a bit like a ginger Drew McIntyre there for a minute. Rollins doesn't react well.

22. Dean Ambrose comes out to ringside. Slater hits a neckbreaker, but Rollins kicks out. Ambrose begins to toy with the MitB briefcase as the match continues. Ambrose rips up the contract as Rollins looks on. Slater hits a kick, Rollins kicks out. Rollins goes on the attack...while Ambrose pours a drink in the briefcase and then a bucket of popcorn. And there goes JBL's ten-gallon hat! *laugh* Ambrose holds up the briefcase and it leaks over the announcers.

23. Slater rolls up Rollins! THREE COUNT! SLATER WINS!!! HA! Rollins blames the announce crew and then opens the disgusting briefcase. THAT was quality television!

24. Promo from Bray. His brothers won't be with him at Summer Slam, but he's never alone. Creepy stuff.

25. Brie/Steffi contract signing. This won't end well for Brie. Or Nikki for that matter. Hunter calls Steffi an icon. Steffi makes fun of Brie because her husband Daniel Bryan isn't there. Brie brings up Steffi's arrest. She says she's fighting for all the superstars Steffi has abused over the years. (CM PUNK chant!) Contracts are signed. Steffi Pedigrees Nikki while Hunter traps Brie in the corner with the table. Brie slaps the ever-loving hell out of Hunter, and Steffi slams Brie's head into a table and nails her with a Pedigree. Steffi mocks the yes chant as the show ends. Honestly, I don't think Brie has the star power to close Raw, whether she's wrestling or not.

Not on Hulu:

1. No Damien Sandow v. Mark Henry. Like we need to see another Sandow squash.

2. No Cesaro v. Ziggler. If this had been a long match, I'd have been ticked, as they could put on a clinic. Apparently it was a very quick match, though, so it's probably for the best.

3. No Paige segment.

4. No AxelBack v. the Dusts. We're missing a lot of build for Goldust and Stardust here.

5. No Fandango v. Diego, which is fine by me.

6. No Bo(bo the Clown) Dallas v. R-Truth. Thank you.

Pretty good show. No great matches, but the Summer Slam build was worthwhile.

RAW 7/28/14 (Hulu edition)

1. Video recap of last Monday's events.
2. John Cena comes out to a mixed reaction. He ain't looking happy about Plan C. Excellent promo: not his usual jokes, no rhymes, just a lot of truth.
3. And out comes Heyman. Even better than Cena's promo.
4. Excellent response from Cena.
5. Cesaro comes out and hugs Heyman. Nice response from Cesaro, calling Cena a walking billboard who can't wrestle.
6. Cena v. Cesaro. They had a great match before, and I hope this one is just as good. Cena will win, of course, but Cesaro will bring out the best in him.
7. Not Cena's best Hurricanrana.
8. Cesaro Swing! They let him do it! They haven't let him do it in a while. And then an ankle lock. Cena counters and tries the STF, but Cesaro gets away. Going for the five moves of doom, but Cesaro gets out.
9. Cross-body from Cesaro, Cena catches him and rolls through. AA, but Cesaro lands on his feet! FLYING UPPERCUT! And Cena gets his shoulders up at 2.
10. Neutralizer, bit Cena counters. Head kicks from Cesaro and Cena both.
11. Super AA! Cena gets the pinfall victory in an excellent match. (I missed the superplex earlier, dammit!)
12. Paige! Hi, Paige! Please don't just make her into another lunatic. She was good on the mic.
13. AJ comes out and has a nice response. Paige calls AJ "crazy," and AJ doesn't take it very well. Nice! AJ goes on the attack! I love the interplay between the two. This should be a great matchup at Summer Slam.
14. Hunter and Steffi come out. Steffi looks freaked. Hunter vents his displeasure at the WWE Universe. "JAILBIRD! JAILBIRD! JAILBIRD!" Why don't you just go whine online, Hunter? Maybe you should take your tights and go home. I love how the crowd is chanting "Yes!" as he's talking about them laughing at Steffi's arrest last week. Steffi invites Brie to come out.
15. Jericho comes out instead. He starts singing the "Cops" theme song! The crowd picks up on it. AWESOME!!! This is great TV!
16. Seth Rollins comes out to attack Jericho from behind. Hunter makes Rollins v. Jericho for tonight.
17. Lana really need something beside that bunhead. But that was a solid promo. Swagger and Zeb Colter come out, and Colter gives her whatfor! WE...THE PEOPLE!!! Rusev and Swagger go at it at ringside. Rusev gets the upper hand, but Swagger avoids the accolade. Swagger goes for the Patriot Lock, but Rusev gets out of the ring and flees up the ramp as Swagger and Zeb wave the flag in the ring.
18. Kane v. Roman Reigns. I'd like to see Kane win, but he'll do what he's there to do: put over the younger talent. Prediction: Reigns wins a physical bout.
19. Reigns is attacked by Orton before Reigns can reach the barricade. Reigns is attacking both Orton and Kane. Reigns hits Superman on Orton, but Kane hits the Chokeslam on Reigns. Kane leaves the ring, and Orton continues to attack Reigns. Reigns thrown into the steps, hit with the Orton DDT. RKO on the announce table. Another one, this time through the announce table. Orton poses over him.
20. Jericho v. Rollins. Rollins gets the win, but it should be a fun match to watch.
21. A lot of activity in this match. The powerbomb into the turnbuckles from Rollins particularly nasty.
22. Rollins misses Curb Stomp. Jericho goes for the Walls, but Rollins reaches the ropes.
23. Rollins leaps, but Jericho hits him with the Codebreaker. The lights go out immediately, and the Junior Wyatts are in the ring when they come back on. They beat Jericho down, and then Bray hits him with Sister Abigail.
24. Steffi comes to the ring, and Steffi expresses how her life has changed since her arrest last week, how no one can look her in the eye. She's scarred for life.
25. Brie comes out (they don't hit her music until she's almost at ringside), and she tells Steffi to get to the point. Steffi asks her to drop the charges, that no one deserves this. Brie says Steffi deserves to go to hell for how she's treated the Bellas. Steffi says Nikki will get a raise. Brie says that's okay, but Brie has demands. Brie wants her job back. Steffi says one Bella in WWE is enough. Brie says, "See you in court." Brie agrees to drop all charges...if Steffi faces her at Summer Slam. Steffi says it's been 10 years since she's wrestled, that she's a career woman, a wife, mom now. Brie won't agree. Steffi finally agrees, but then she slaps Brie and says that she's going to make Brie her bitch. They brawl, and Hunter and other backstage agents (Jamie Noble, Fit Finlay, and Joey Mercury) break them up as they go off the air.

Not on Hulu:
1. Miz and AxleBack v. Ziggler and the Usos. I would have enjoyed that. The Usos have been stealing the show all the time lately.
2. R-Truth v. Bo Dallas. Zzzzzzzz...
3. Sandow v. Rose. Probably for the best. I'm tired of seeing this match, especially since Rose keeps winning.
4. No Fandango v. Diego. No skin off my teeth.
5. No Natty and Naomi v. Cameron and Alicia Fox. Again, not disappointed.

I really enjoyed the show. They spent a little too much time on Steffi/Brie throughout, which meant no Usos/Dolph v. Miz/AxleBack, but what they showed was a lot of fun to watch. They Cena/Heyman segment was excellent, as was the Cena/Cesaro match.

RAW 7/21/14 (Hulu edition)

1. Hunter comes out to bitch and moan about Cena retaining the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, and then he takes a mocking shot at the fans who complain online and threaten to stop watching if they don't get what they want. He then begins to talk about what his next move is to bring the belt back to the Authority. He says Cena won't leave Summer Slam with the title. Orton comes out to make his case to face Cena, blaming Kane for not watching his back. Kane comes out to put his name in the hat. Reigns comes out and says no one wants to see Kane or Orton face Cena again, and he asserts that everyone wants to see Reigns v. Cena. Hunter decides to make Kane and Orton v. Reigns today, and he will make the decision some time during the show.
2. Orton & Kane v. Reigns. My prediction: Orton plays the spoiled brat and refuses to work with Kane. Reigns wins.
3. The match is pretty slow, but it's vicious. Superman punches, Somoan drops, throwing people into the steps, haymakers...
4. Reigns is taking it to Kane. Orton tries to intervene, and Reigns knocks him off the apron. Kane momentarily gets the upper hand and tries to tag Orton, but Orton refuses the tag. Kane goes to chokeslam Orton, but Reigns hits the Superman punch on Kane, hits him with a Spear, and pins him for the win. Orton is walking away while Reigns celebrates in the ring. Orton fakes a return to the ring, but he backs off again. I don't like how Kane gets made to look like the whipping boy, but it was a good match.
5. Alicia Fox, Cameron, Rosa Mendes, and Eva Marie v. Nikki Bella. Brie is in the crowd as a paying customer. Steffi comes out to make fun of Brie for "quitting" WWE for the sake of her husband. Brie steals the mic and calls her a bitch. Steffi takes the mic back and slaps Brie and has security take her out. (That's going to come back to bite her in the tuchus, I'm sure.)
6. The mob beats on Nikki and Alicia pins her for the quick win. Steffi stands over her and tells her that Nikki will quit like Brie did..
7. The Wyatts come out to host Jericho's Highlight Reel. Bray was supposed to be the guest, but the Wyatts assaulted Jericho during a backstage interview. Bray delivers more spoken gold, asserting that Chris Jericho isn't there for the WWE Universe, but Bray is. "Society is my plaything." Nice!
8. I'm glad the feud isn't over between Jericho and Bray. I didn't think they'd leave it at that, but one never knows with the WWE these days.
9. Great. Flo Rida is coming. *sigh* Do we have to see that?
10. Intercontinental Champion Miz v. Dolph Zigger in a non-title match. I'd like to think Ziggler wins, setting up a match at Summer Slam.
11. Hey Miz? Any blow to your face is an improvement.
12. Nice back and forth, decent pace to the match to start with. Miz goes after Ziggler's legs to prep for the Figure Four.
13. Miz locks in the Figure Four, but Ziggler reaches the ropes. Miz tries to get it again, but Ziggler hits the Famouser! Miz kicks out at 2.
14. Miz blocks the Zig Zag. Dolph blocks the Skull Crusing Finale. Miz worries about his "moneymaker" when ZIGGLER HITS ZIG ZAG FOR THE WIN!
15. And CESARO PUTS HIS NAME IN THE HAT!!! Oh, that would be awesome. He and Cena had one of the matches of the year. Cesaro is no longer a Heyman guy; he wants to be Hunter's guy. Hunter makes Cesaro v. Ambrose to give Cesaro a chance to impress him.
16. Paige and AJ v. Natty and Emma! The four most talented Divas on the roster in one match! It will probably be only two minutes before Paige and AJ get the win, and Paige is going to turn on AJ after, but for two minutes, it should be a good match.
17. Nice back and forth between AJ and Emma. Paige and Emma get a turn. Emma locks in her rope hold, and tags Natty when she's forced to break. Natty and Paige, and Natty throws Paige and then locks in the Sharpshooter. Paige is about to reach the ropes when AJ tags herself in and hits Natty with the Shining Wizard and locks in the Black Widow for the submission win. Nice match, way too quick.
18. AJ goes skipping outside to celebrate. When she comes back in, AJ and Paige hug, only for Paige to pull her down by her hair and headbutt the heck out of AJ. She throws AJ out of the ring and into a barricade and then the steel ring post. She throws AJ over the announce table! HEEL TURN!!! W00t! And the frenemies are just enemies now! ANd Paige skips out! GREAT STUFF!!!
19. Steffi comes into announce Flo Rida. Ugh. I guess we do have to see this. But that's what the mute button is for!
20. Steffi sends Flo off with more applause. But here come the cops! HA! I KNEW IT!!! Steffi's in trouble for assaulting Brie. Will they take her out in cuffs? And where's Hunter?
21. There's the cuffs! HA! And Brie's there to rub it in. (Those cuffs are awful loose.) Steffi threatens the officers. Hunter stops the cops, but he backs off when he sees the badge. They go to drive off, and Hunter says he'll be right behind her. Now *that* was funny!
22. "Family always comes first...but I have a little time, so..." And Hunter decides to wait until he announces his decision.
23. Cesaro v. Ambrose. Ambrose will win somehow, because they have to be building for Cena/Lesnar at Summer Slam, but it should be a fun match to watch.
24. Cesaro throws Ambrose into a ring post. And, wow, a back suplex off the ring and onto the floor. He's so convincingly brutal. Is he going to DQ himself?
25. No! Ambrose DQs himself! Steel chair!
26. Hunter comes out to announce the Number One contender. Orton's music hits. He comes out, but Reigns ambushes him. Hunter stands there confused when Heyman comes out and tells him he needs Plan C. And out comes Lesnar. And they shake hands on it, and Hunter runs off to get Steffi out of jail. Heyman proceeds to deliver a fantastic promo. (I mean it. Go back and watch it.)

Not on hulu:
1. No Bo(gus) Dallas v. Damien Sandow. Good. I'm tired of seeing Sandow job to idiots.
2. No Fandango v. Zack Ryder. I hear Zack even won! Would have been nice to see that. Oh well.
3. No Axelback v. Kofi Kingston and Big E. We didn't get to see the birth of the new Nation of Domination.
4. No Rusev v. Khali. Good. That ship has sailed, and I wish it would take Khali with it.

Overall this was a good show. The diva tag match could have been longer, and I could have done without Flo Rida. Otherwise, I enjoyed the matches, and even the diva beatdown was worth it to see Steffi arrested. Yeah, it was that funny!

RAW 7/14/14 (Hulu edition)

1. Cena opens RAW and blabs about how he may not be champ after Battleground on Sunday even without being pinned. Roman Reigns comes out. Cena keeps talking until Reigns tells him to get to the point. Looks like trouble is brewing...
2. Until Dean Ambrose appears on the tron to keep them focused on destroying the Authority...
3. Until he's beaten by Kane, Orton, and Seth Rollins, the three who were supposed to face Cena, Orton, and Ambrose. Looks like it will be a handicap match when Rollins hits Curb Stomp.
4. Sheamus v. Miz. Miz has been beaten pretty bad since his return. They may give him the victory tonight. His new "moneymaker" gimmick is annoying, but he's okay in the ring. I still think he makes a better underdog babyface, though.
5. They really showed a full-screen graphic of the Battleground IC Battle Royal for nearly a minute during this match. Certainly an indicator of how exciting the match has been.
6. Sheamus misses a Brogue, and Miz rolls him up for the non-title win. Okay match. Not very exciting.
7. Backstage segment with Kane and Orton both saying they'll be WWE World Heavyweight Champion. Hunter interrupts them to remind them not to look past tonight. And then Steffi comes in and they have an Edge/Lita moment.
8. The Usos come out, but the Junior Wyatts blindside them before they can even finish their war chant. Harper and Rowan leave devastation behind them.
9. Rusev and Lana invite Zeb and Swagger out for a "detente." Someone bought a dictionary. Lana insults the US in two languages. Zeb delivers a surprisingly even-handed promo worthy of a babyface. The crowd is chanting "We the People!" Rusev declares war and accepts the Battleground match with Swagger. Lana slaps the heck out of Zeb. Rusev moves to attack and gets the upper hand on Swagger until he goes for the superkick. Swagger locks in the Patriot Lock an only lets go when Rusev is nearly out of the ring. #WeThePeople!!!
10. Goldust and Stardust give another creepy promo. Bizarre Dusts are bizarre.
11. Nikki Bella with an apparently phantom Brie in a tag match v. Alicia Fox and Cameron. Steffi comes out to talk smack. For some reason, Steffi thinks it's logical that a departed wrestler shouldn't be replaced in a tag match. Of course, this is WWE, so logic isn't an expected ingredient, but still... Of course the whackjob sisters will win.
12. Nikki has been steadily improving in the ring. Despite having an obvious result, this match has been as good as the Sheamus/Miz match earlier.
13. Alicia drags Nikki off the ropes and hits some form of facebuster for the win.
14. Great Jericho promo about how he's seen everything in the WWE but nothing like Bray. He has always been able to deliver. Brat responds with his usual quality mic work. The crowd is chanting "boring," but it's not. The lights go out, and they come back on with Harper and Rowan in the ring. Jericho slides out of the ring. Bray ambushes him from behind and then hits Sister Abigail on the stage. Highlight of the show so far.
15. AJ v. Eva Marie with Paige on commentary. AJ wins or we riot!
16. Paige was fairly solid on commentary. They've got to keep giving her opportunities on the mic. She was able to show so much more on NXT. She definitely held her own against JBL.
17. The match was longer than expected, but AJ got her into the Black Widow for the submission win. After, AJ takes JBL's headset and the ladies have a nice back and forth. JBL just looked forlorn.
18. Heyman offers Plan C to Hunter and Steffi. Is this the build to Lesnar at SummerSlam?
19. Flair!!! WOoOoOoOoOoOoO! Renee Young is in the ring with him. They both look like they're having fun. She asks for a prediction for Battleground, and he picks Cena. Reigns comes out while Flair is still in the ring. They shake hands, and Flair walks out.
20. Before he's out, Cena comes out. He hands the old World Heavyweight Championship belt to Flair and runs to the ring. (Did they just retire the belt?)
21. Main Event: Cena and Reigns v. Kane, Orton, and Rollins. Prediction: no contest. Just hoping no one gets hurt before Sunday in what is sure to be a physical match.
22. Good to see Kane still delivering in a convincing fashion. I'd love to see him win one last championship on Sunday, even if I know it won't happen.
23. It's devolved into a brawl. Did Rollins just tweak his knee? The ref threw up a weak X.
24. The ref calls for the bell when Kane won't leave the ring. Kane decks Orton when Cena ducks. Reigns misses a spear on Orton and spears Cena. Orton RKOs Kane. And then Reigns comes in to spear Orton as he celebrates.

Not on hulu:
1. No Ziggler v. Fandango. *sigh* Not that I expect it was a great match, what with Layla and Summer Rae being involved, but Ziggler is fun to watch.
2. No Sandow as a Sonic carhop. His next job, perhaps?
3. No AdR v. RVD. It was probably a decent match, but AdR has all the charisma of an empty coffee cup.
4. NO STING 2K15 ANNOUNCEMENT! FAIL! UTTER AND EPIC FAIL!
5. No Cesaro v. Big E. Would have been nice to see that. Surprising that Cesaro was without Heyman. Another sign that Brock is returning?
6. No Bo(bblehead) Dallas v. Great Khali. Did anyone stay awake for that?

Four televised matches in 90 minutes? The promos weren't *that* good. Some decent building for Battleground, but overall the show underwhelmed. And it's inexcusable not to have the Sting announcement shown. That's huge news.

RAW 7/7/14 (Hulu edition)

1. I hate when they show videos of previous weeks on the 90-minute Hulu edition of RAW. They wasted three minutes to open the show, which is certainly long enough to show a Sandow match.
2. Roman Reigns opens RAW on his own. Wow. Quite a feather in his cap. Will his promo deliver? Is he ready for this? Whatever the case, at least we'll be spared the vacationing Hunter and Steffi.
3. Not bad for his first step into the very top tier. And he sounded even better when Kane came out, calling Kane "Triple H's lapdog" and "Randy's bitch."
4. Kane walks toward ringside, and Reigns comes out to meet him. Kane throws Reigns into a ring post as the crowd chants "Randy's bitch!" Refs and backstage agents come out to separate the two. Reigns throws Jamie Noble aside, spears Fit Finlay, and then hits Kane with the Superman Punch. Good physical confrontation.
5. Harper and Rowan v. the Usos. I like the rivalry and the physicality this matchup always brings, but they need to have these teams fight other teams or this will go stale before it needs to. Predicting a Junior Wyatt win tonight to set up another PPV match for the titles at Battleground.
6. Another good match between these teams, much deserving of the "This is awesome" chants. Harper hits one of the twins with a massive clothesline for the pinfall victory, but there's some question about whether or not the right Uso got pinned. And I'll be honest: I don't know the difference at a glance either.
7. Backstage with Kane and Orton, and Orton says he has Kane's back. Rollins comes in and says he'll think twice about cashing in if either of them wins. Orton says he hates Rollins, and Kane says, "Not as much as I'm starting to hate you." Nice. That's what Kane continues to bring to the WWE.
8. Rusev v. RVD. RVD is here to have good matches and put over the kids, and that's what he'll do again tonight. Rusev will win a quality match. (People complain about Cena's "Five moves of doom," but Rusev ain't much better.)
9. Nice quick box promo against Rusev and Lana from Zeb Coulter during the match. I like this babyface turn.
10. Rusev dodges Rolling Thunder an then gets RVD to tap to the Accolade.
11. Orton v. Dean Ambrose. This will be an exciting match with more brawling than wrestling, an Orton wins tonight. He's not contractually allowed to lose too many consecutive matches.
12. JBL said Ambrose used the Figure Four to honor Bret Hart? Umm...wouldn't he have used the Sharpshooter instead?
13. Ambrose certainly is doing his best to appear to be a lunatic. It's a good look for him.
14. Orton hits the RKO for a clean victory. But it was much more a brawl than wrestling, and it was fun to watch. I honestly expected sone sort of DQ with an interruption from Kane or Rollins.
15. Cena gives a backstage promo about handling business, and Reigns interrupts to wish Cena luck in his match with Rollins. Cena says he doesn't need luck, and Reigns says he will at Battleground. Nice interaction.
16. Lawler is in the ring to introduce "the best there is, the best there was, the best there ever will be," Bret "the Hit Man" Hart. Bret looks ancient. Still awesome though.
17. And then Sandow comes out dressed as Bret Sandhart! Awesome!!! He calls Canada a third-world country. Hart hits him with a straight right and knocks him out of the ring! Good stuff!
18. Renee tries to interview the Miz, but the Miz interrupts her to read a letter "from a fan." Miz vows to give Jericho a close-up with his fist. I liked Miz better as a face. As a face he's an underdog, and his losing is understandable. He's just not good enough to succeed as a heel.
19. Y2J v. the Miz. Y2J should win, of course. I don't expect him to have to put the Miz over.
20. Two Figure Fours in one night? Miz uses it on Y2J, but Jericho reaches the ropes.
21. Jericho gets the submission wins with Walls of Jericho. Very good match.
22. Wyatt interrupts the celebration with a great promo from the stage. Jericho plans to come up and beat his ass, but the Junior Wyatts appear "from nowhere." This will have a great payoff.
23. Paige and AJ v. the Funkadactyls. Expecting a victory from AJ and Paige. Is tonight going to be the breakup of the Funkadactyls? Are Paige and AJ going to stop playing nice?
24. Cameron refuses a tag from Naomi. (Considering Naomi is the talented one, this conflict between the Funkadactyls is not a good thing for Cameron.)
25. Cameron tags in, and Paige immediately hits the Paige Turner. AJ and Paige play nice on the way out while the Stankadactyls explode in the ring. Not a great match, but it was worth it to see the end of this team.
26. Quality confrontation between Rollins and Cena in the locker room. Cena's right: it's obvious what everyone sees in Rollins. Cena may not always be the best at putting over his opponents, but he knows the future when he sees it.
27. The crowd barely gives Cena any love. Cole gives him way too much.
28. Cena v Rollins in a non-title match...for now. I don't see Rollins winning, but he might try to cash in after the match. He won't succeed with that either. But the match will be very good.
29. Rollins is a lot of fun to watch, and I think he's bringing up Cena's level of competition. I can't remember the last time I saw a powerbomb from Cena.
30. Cena has the STF locked in when Kane's pyro hits. Orton attacks from behind and then Kane attacks. They work Cena over until Reigns comes out. Kane charges and gets Superman-ed for his trouble. Orton takes Superman too, and the Rollins hits Reigns with the briefcase. He then hits Cena and tries to cash in, only to get ambushed by Ambrose! They go to the back. Orton stalks Cena, only to take an AA. Kane tries to chokeslam Cena, and he takes a spear from Reigns! Reigns raises Cena's arm, and the crowd boos. Cena raises Reigns's arm, and the crowd cheers. Reigns raises Cena's arm again, and the crowd boos as we go off the air.

Not on hulu:
1. No Alicia Fox v. Nikki Bella. Thank you, producers!
2. No Dolph Ziggler v. AdR. Would have liked to have seen Ziggler, but I can live without AdR.
3. No Goldust/Stardust promo. CURSE YOU, PRODUCERS!!!
4. No Layla/Fandango/Summer Rae segment. I'm okay with that.
5. No Sheamus v. Sandow. Apparently it was too short to do anything for either wrestler.
6. No Cesaro v. Kingston. I would have loved to have seen that match. I'll have to catch it next month when the show appears on the WWE Network.
7. No Torito v. Bo(ut of Nausea) Dallas. Again, thank you, producers.

Overall, I really liked what I saw tonight. Good mic work from Reigns, good physical encounters throughout the show, above average matches, great promos, and good builds for the Battleground PPV. Good stuff.

(By the way, there was no aired retirement announcement from Santino, but that could be something they didn't want to do in Montreal, since he's not a French Canadian. They'll be in Ottawa for Smackdown, so that might be where we get to see it.)

RAW 6/30/14 (Hulu edition)

1. Hunter and Steffi come out to open RAW. They call out Cena. Cena interrupts them and says that he'll give Daniel Bryan a shot even though the Authority won't. Steffi reveals that Cena is the covergirl of the WWE2k15 video game. Cena says they're being too nice after how upset they were when he won and Orton didn't. Hunter demands respect from Cena after making fun of Cena's thug past. He says things can be easy or hard. Cena responds that if easy means being their stooge, he'll do it the hard way. Hunter says that the hard way is defending the titles in a fatal four-way match at Battleground. He'll be facing Orton, Kane, and his teammate for tonight against those two, who is Roman Reigns. And if he survives that at Battleground, there's always a plan B...and that brings out Seth Rollins.
2. Someone eventually will throw down the Authority. But I don't see it being Cena who does it. Maybe there will be stable formed to oppose the Authority.
3. Seth Rollins (Mr. MitB) v. RVD. Rollins will win an exciting match with a good number of high spots.
4. RVD pulls out the abdominal stretch? Wow. The 80s called, and they want their move back.
5. Rollins had RVD up for a powerbomb, and Rollins managed to throw him into the turnbuckle with his legs! And then he jumped off the top rope and hit him on the floor. Mr. Monday Nights strikes again!
6. Rollins catches him in the ropes and then hits RVD with Curb Stomp for the win. And then he calls Renee Young "Toots." Nice.
7. Ambrose is on the tron. He promises that Seth won't ever be able to cash in that briefcase because Ambrose will haunt him. The briefcase is loaded with TNT and it will blow up every time he tries to cash in! Great promo!
8. Sheamus and the Usos face the Wyatts next. Does anyone remember the last time Sheamus defended his title? Anyway, this will be a very physical match, and I believe the Wyatts will win to keep this feud going.
9. Harper hit Sheamus with a brutal kick that resembled a Brogue more than a little. Wow. And then later a superkick! Sheamus is going to be seeing leprechauns!
10. Harper hits a massive clothesline (one even JBL would have to appreciate) on Jey for the win in a brutal, excellent match.
11. Steffi makes Nikki Bella v. the Funkadactyls in a handicap match. Obviously Nikki's going to lose, but I'm guessing there will be conflict.
12. Really? Bo(ring) Dallas does a moment of silence for Bad News Barrett and Daniel Bryan. *sigh* Can we have a moment of silence for him? And have someone knock him out so there's a reason for it? I love that Daniel Bryan called him a Bo...Ner.
13. Did Nikki have even more work done? She put up a good fight, but Naomi (who does a better splash than Tamina) pins her. And then the 'Dactyls fight. Time for a breakup?
14. And now returning...the Miz. *sigh* And he's back as his heel persona. *sigh*
15. But after too much talking, he's interrupted by...Y2J! He hits the Codebreaker! Is he back to feud with and put Miz over? I could see that, I guess. Wow, he looks pretty good, although his face is starting to show his age. Anyway, RAW really *is* Jericho!
16. ...Until the Wyatt family kicks his ass. I don't know how long Jericho is back, but while he's here, he'll do a good job putting someone over with a nice rub. Looks like it will be Bray. Good stuff! Jericho can come back whenever he wants, if I have anything to say about it. And I don't.
17. Fandango v. Dolph Ziggler. If they have time, this should be a really good match. I don't think they'll get much, but they'll make the most of it. Ziggler should win, but they're both jobbers now, so we'll see.
18. Summer Rae walked in and kissed Ziggler. That was unexpected. Wow. And Fandango got upset.
19. Ziggler hits the ZigZag off the distraction for the win. Summer walks away, and Layla looks upset.
20. Paige comes out to celebrate her MitB win. This is sounding like a heel promo.
21. And she's interrupted by the returning AJ! Yes!!! The time off looks like it's been good to her. Paige don't look happy.
22. AJ goads Paige into a title match, and after Paige hits a bunch of offense, AJ rolls her up for a quick victory and becomes the NEW DIVAS CHAMPION!! Oh, I hope this leads to a feud. These two have the goods to light up a show and maybe even eventually main event RAW. I love Paige, but she can't fix the Diva division alone. And neither could AJ.
23. Main event: Orton and Kane v. Cena and Reigns. I expect a good match, and I think...Reigns gets the pin? Or do we see Cena get a DQ win and Rollins come to collect?
24. Reigns and Kane are throwing bombs!
25. Does anyone (except maybe Ziggler) throw a dropkick as pretty as Orton?
26. Orton, the illegal man, hits Cena with an RKO. Reigns sends him out and hits Jane with a Superman punch. Kane hits Cena with steps for the DQ. Hunter at ringside tells Kane to finish Cena. Kane hits the Tombstone. Doctors come to check Cena.
27. Here comes Rollins to cash in!   The ref doesn't want it, but goes to make it happen. But before it's official, Ambrose comes in and drives off Rollins!
28. Kane goes to kill Cena with a chair, but Reigns spears Kane!!! We go off the air with Reigns staring down Hunter and the crowd chanting "This is awesome!" And it was!

Not on hulu:
1. No encounter between the Real Americans and Rusev. Sad. This could be huge!!! Face turn for Swagger?!?
2. No announcement of Royal Rumble for Background.
3. No Cesaro v. Kingston. I hear Kofi won during the commercial.
4. No Khali v. Sandow. Glad I missed a Sandow loss. Even gladder to miss Khali.
5. No Dusts v. AxelBack. *sigh*

I really enjoyed that show. Some great matches, lots if storyline builds for the next few months. Good to have Y2J back! Great to have AJ back!

RAW 6/23/14 (Hulu edition)

1. Steffi comes out to open the Money in the Bank go-home RAW, the 1100th episode. She calls out Vicki Guerrero, who gave Steffi the coffee Roman Reigns spiked last week. She makes Vicki beg for her job. Steff gives her an option of being fired or facing her in a match tonight to try to save her job. Vicki invokes Eddie in accepting the match. "There is one name in this industry that people respect more than McMahon, and that is Guerrero! And if there's one thing Eddie taught me, it was how to lie, cheat, and steal!" I don't always like Vicki's gimmick, but she's always been good for heels.
2. The Junior Wyatts come out to a creepy accordion version of "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands."
3. Jimmy Uso v. Luke Harper. The Harpers and the Usos have had great matches over the past few months, and this could be another good one. Prediction: Harper wins a physical match.
4. Way too quick a win for Harper off a massive clothesline.
5. Jey challenges Eric Rowan. I hope this is a longer match. I'm guessing Jey will win, though it won't aurprise me if they want the  Junior Wyatts to look strong for MitB.
6. Jey hits the splash to win another short match. Jimmy cut Harper off when they tried interfere.
7. The Wyatts throw a beatdown after the match and take the straps to pose with in the ring.
8. Bray appears on the tron with another golden promo, saying the kids will win the Tag belts an he'll win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
9. Daniel Bryan will appear this Sunday on the MitB kickoff show.
10. A vignette with Rusev and Lana exploring Washington DC. Hard to argue with anything they said about the center of US corrupternment.
11. Here comes Hunter to announce the entrants to a second MitB ladder match for a Championship contract briefcase. Rollins is already in, and Hunter adds Kofi Kingston, Jack Swagger, Dolph Ziggler, Rob Van Dam, and Bad News Barrett. Hunter says Rollins is the favorite.
12. Rollins comes out--great music!--and takes responsibility for the success of Ambrose and Reigns. He says he will be Mr. Money in the Bank.
13. RVD comes out and says no one takes him seriously. This is the most he's talked since his return. He challenges Rollins to a match immediately.
14. RVD v. Rollins in a MitB tune-up. Prediction: Rollins wins a top notch match with a lot of air beneath it. No chance that RVD wins.
15. Seth hits the Three Amigos on RVD. Great offense going on here, wonderful counters.
16. Rollins hits Curb Stomp, but Ambrose interferes and drive Rollins out, and attacks even more. Rollins runs out while Dean stands tall in the rings. Ambrose tells Rollins he's going to be at MitB no matter what and will walk out with the briefcase whether or not he's in the match.
17. Sheamus and Reigns backstage. Nice interplay.
18. Rollins demands that Ambrose be in the MitB briefcase match so he can have him where he can see him. I still think there's more to this story, that Rollins is playing Hunter.
19. Ziggler v. Bad News Barrett in an Intercontinental Title match. I'd love to see Ziggler win it, but he won't. Barrett wins a quality match.
20. By the way, Mick Foley wrote a great piece about Ziggler on Facebook. Read it here.
21. Barrett pulled out Foley's guns before dropping an elbow on Ziggler!
22. The fans are chanting "This is awesome!" And it is! This is the best match we've seen in some time.
23. Ziggler hits the Famouser! But Barrett kicks out! Ugh!
24. Barrett hits the Bullhammer off a Ziggler leap! He retains the belt in a great match. I could have watched that for a week.
25. Steffi v. Vicki with Vicki's job on the line. Vicki's been ready to leave for a while now, so this is probably her last hurrah. Steffi wins ugly.
26. Vicki comes out to Eddie's music! Great stuff! Latino Heat!
27. Steffi makes a sludge match where the first person to go in the sludge loses. Steffi brings the heel Divas out to do her...dirty work. They go to carry her in, but Vicki fights out. Rosa Mendes goes in first, then Layla, and finally Alicia Fox. While Vicki celebrates, Steffi pushes her in. Steffi fires Vicki.
28. Vicki throws her in the sludge! Thank you, Vicki. Goodbye, Mrs. Guerrero!
29. Sandow comes out in a Lincoln outfit. Poor guy. At least he's making the best of a bad gimmick.
30. "Abraham" Sandow v. Big E. Big E wins in a quick match.
31. I barely had time to type that before the match was over. Big E hit the Big Ending. All this did was make Sandow look worse.
32. Big E delivered a preacher-style promo on Rusev, who attacks Big E from behind while Lana distracts him. Rusev puts big E in the Camel Clutch--er, the Accolade.
33. Main Event is another 4-on-3 handicap match with the MitB Championship Ladder Match participants. Prediction: the faces win again. The only question: will Cena or Reigns get the pin?
34. Sheamus gets the pin(!) in a pretty good match.
35. Kane comes out immediately and starts cleaning house. I suspected this was coming. Kane will be the 8th entrant in the MitB championship ladder match.
36. And Reigns hits Kane with a spear put of nowhere to close out the show.

Not on hulu:
1. Alicia Fox v. Naomi with Paige on commentary. Would have liked to have heard Paige.
2. No Titus O'Neil v. Bo(ring) Dallas. Thank you. Didn't need to see that. Again.
3. No Swagger v. Kingston. I hear Swagger got a broken nose in this one. I hope they give him a babyface turn soon.

Overall this was a pretty good show for a go-home show. The Barrett v. Ziggler match was 5-star, and the build-up for Money in the Bank was adequate.

RAW 6/16/14 (Hulu edition)

1. RAW opens with Hunter and Steffi haranguing the entire locker room. The crowd is still chanting for Daniel Bryan while the Authority runs him down. They also run down John Cena, Dean Ambrose, and Roman Reigns for refusing to evolve, and Hunter says they won't be in the MitB qualifying battle royal match. For Cena to qualify for the MitB championship ladder match, he has to beat Kane in a Stretcher match.
2. Seth Rollins v. Dolph Ziggler (again). Easy prediction: Rollins wins. (I've heard the WWE isn't doing anything with Ziggler because of his injury history. How odd, considering 13-time World Champion Triple H blew out his knees every time he turned around too fast.) Ziggler steals the show *every night.* Expect him to do the same tonight in a high-quality loss.
3. Ambrose interferes after a lengthy match that delivered everything but a satisfying conclusion. Rollins wins by DQ. Hunter immediately appears on the tron to make Ambrose v. Bad News Barrett.
4. No Shield attire for Ambrose. Expecting another physical encounter here, and Barrett will win off a Rollins distraction. Unless Ambrose gets the DQ win on a Rollins attack.
5. Is the Shield officially dead? Different music, different wrestling gear. Seems odd to split Ambrose and Reigns when their animosity toward Rollins should be further uniting them.
6. Ambrose is selling a shoulder injury, but he's still using some unique offense. (Johnny Moxley fans should be pleased.)
7. And here's Rollins. Ambrose takes both men out with a leap through the ropes. Ambrose goes after Rollins as the ref counts. BNB gets the count-out win. Then he gets taken out from behind by Ambrose. Another unsatisfying ending.
8. Backstage segment with Reigns buttering up Vicki, trying to sneak into the Battle Royal. While Vicki is away, Reigns does something to the drinks V is bringing to Hunter and Steffi.
9. Bray Wyatt is in Cleveland. No one there would notice how strange he is. He gives a promo about power and how he really will have the whole world in his hands when he wins MitB.
10. Out comes Sheamus to offer to shove his whole boot down Bray's throat.
11. Bray v. Sheamus should be another solid physical match. Prediction: interference from the Junior Wyatts. Maybe some from the Usos as well. Has anyone but Cena gotten a victory over Bray?
12. Really enjoying how far Wyatt has come since his Husky Harris days. This is what people behind the scenes saw as potential, and it's paying out in spades.
13. And here's the chaos. Sheamus hits Bray with Rolling Thunder and then holds a ladder so the Usos can run up it to leap onto the Junior Wyatts. While I do like to have a decisive winner once in a while, this all worked.
14. Hunter spills his drink and Steffi drinks hers. Trouble is brewing. Ugh. Sorry.
15. Kevin Hart? Who's that?
16. Ugh. Adam Rose.
17. Steffi is sick. Vomit hits Vicki. *Really* didn't need to see that.
18. Reigns convinces Vicki she's about to be fired and gets her to put him in the battle royal as payback before it happens.
19. Fandango and Layla v. Adam Rose and Summer Rae. Of course Rose and Summer Rae pick up the win. Here comes the freak show. *sigh*
20. Wow. That was quick. Poor Fandango. Rose hits the Party Foul after about 45 seconds.
21. Roman is still in shield gear as he heads to the battle royal. Easy prediction: Reigns wins.
22. Battle Royal: Sandow wears a Lebron James jersey in Cleveland. Of course he's the first out. So what's their excuse for killing his career?
23. Bo Dallas is looking much too strong.
24. Kofi always has a moment in these matches. This time it looks like it will be his elimination of Swagger. Nothing as big as at the Royal Rumble, but at least he gets one or two moments a year where he's not jobbing.
25. Reigns and Rusev are the last two. Big brawl, and Reigns wins with a Superman punch to knock Rusev off the apron.
26. Main Event: Cena v. Kane in a stretcher match. Not so bold prediction: Cena wins. I imagine we'll have plenty of interference.
27. Rollins and Orton come out to attack Cena. Orton hits the RKO. Rollins goes for a chair but gets attacked by Ambrose. Kane chokeslams Ambrose. Cena hits Kane with steel steps. He gets Kane almost over the line. Kane sits up, tries to chokeslam Cena. Cena reverses into an AA onto the stretcher. Cena pushes Kane over the line to win the match and punch his MitB ticket.

Not on hulu:
1. No Slater v. Rusev. Don't mind missing that. But no Drew McIntyre with Slater. *sigh*
2. No Cameron v. Paige. If Vince doesn't give her a chance, she can't make the Diva division look good.
3. No AxelBack v. Goldust and...Stardust? Saw a picture of Cody as Stardust, and it was awesome! And after having Cody say on last week's Hulu edition that we'd see this week's partner, this is a real disappointment.

Good show, but what was cut would have made it better.

RAW 6/9/14 (Hulu edition)

1. Hunter and Steffi come out to announce that Daniel Bryan is unable to compete at Money in the Bank and so they are stripping him of the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. They mock Bryan for being injured (much like Hunter and his weak knees). They mock Brie for quitting for nothing.  They also officially announce the MitB ladder match for the vacated title, and they give Randy Orton a free pass into the match. *snore* AdR qualified last week. *snore*
2. They go on to talk about Seth Rollins turning on his Shield compatriots. BOLD PREDICTION: Rollins does a double-turn. He is now the poison in Evolution, and he betrays Hunter and Orton at some point for the sake of the Shield.
3. Sheamus v. Bad News Barrett in another MitB qualifier match. Prediction: though Barrett is more over than Sheamus right now, Barrett's push isn't far enough along for him to be in the main event picture. Sheamus wins a physical match. Just what that MitB match needs: another former champion who the fans aren't very fond of.
4. Sheamus wins a brawl with a Brogue kick out of nowhere. Good match.
5. Wyatt vignette. Luke Harper could stand on his own at this point, I think. The crowd popped when Bray started talking. He's gifted on the mic, but talking about the death of the Shield might be a bit premature.
6. Slater? One member of the Shield could take out all of 3MB, especially since Drew McIntyre has lowered himself to the level of his teammates. Two are going to demolish y'all. Shaddap.
8. PLEASE LET DREW GO SOLO AGAIN!!! We want #BrokenDreams
9. Reigns doesn't have everyone convinced, but he has me convinced.
10. Rollins looks good in a suit.
11. Summer Rae milks her backstage time with Layla for all it's worth. Not a good look for you, Layla.
12. Usos v. Fandango (with a very milky Layla) and Damien Sandow (doing interpretive dance). *sigh* Poor Sandow. Predicting a quick win for the Usos in a comic relief match.
13. The crowd loves Sandow. He deserves better. Really. I hope something comes of this, brcause his old gimmick was so much better.
14. Indeed. Quick match with little to take seriously.
15. HEYMAN!!! Let's celebrate Cesaro!!! Yes!!!
16. Cesaro v. RVD in a MitB qualifier. RVD would be exciting in the ladder match, but they need at least one person in the match who points to the future of the WWE. Prediction: Cesaro wins.
17. Cesaro continues to deliver impressive physical feats, but he also has convincing agility. And he sells everything. All the tools, all the time. And you have to be impressed with a man who keeps his hair clipped close. *wink* But seriously, the European uppercut to counter Rolling Thunder was fun to watch. I love how he counters almost every airborne move his opponents throw at him with some variation of it.
18. Cesaro hits the neutralizer for the win and a punched ticket to MitB! Good match overall. RVD always delivers.
19. Cole to interview Rollins. He insults Ambrose and Reigns and says he was the mastermind of the Shield. An he was. I still think there's another twist coming in the storyline.
20. Rollins calls out Ambrose and Reigns. The Wyatts intervene.
21. And here comes Cena to make the save. Not totally unexpected to fight the Wyatts, but definitely a twist to ally with the Shield.
22. Next week, Cody plans to team Goldust with someone who can "magnify [Goldust's] magnificence." Hmm...
23. Is Vicki on her way out too?
24. Cena teams with the Shield v the Wyatts in a six-man tag match. Prediction: SuperCena and the Shield pick up an ugly win in an ugly fight.
25. I don't see Cena as a nee mastermind for the Shield , but if I'm wrong about Rollins, who would be a good new mastermind? Adrian Neville from NXT perhaps?
26. Seems like Cena is the only one getting booed at all!
27. Another BOLD PREDICTION: Ambrose eventually leaves the Shield to join the Wyatts. He's just crazy enough to do it.
28. Excellent match. Reigns pins Harper off the spear. The crowd was really into that match. Sorry, Hunter. It seems the Shield isn't dead quite yet.

Not on hulu:
1. No Ryder v. Rusev. Disappointing not to see Ryder, but not disappointing that I miss him getting squashed.
2. No AxelBack v. Goldust and R-Truth. Goldust keeps losing; Cody is going to turn on him soon.
3. No Xavier Woods v. Bo(ring) Dallas. Ho hum.
4. No Paige v. Alicia Fox. Disappointing. Paige always puts on a good match. Not sure what I would have cut instead--maybe the comic relief match between the Usos and Fandango w. Sandow.
5. No Swagger v. Santino. WE...THE PEOPLE!!!

Another really good show. I'd like to see another ladder match at MitB to set up a future shot. Maybe Barrett could win that one to set up a Barrett/Cesaro match in the future.

RAW 6/2/14 (Hulu edition)

1. Evolution opens RAW. Hunter has a black eye. Batista has a suit on. This is supposed to be his last night for a while, so I'm guessing this is a farewell speech, and maybe a "Here's his replacement" intro. Who will it be? Reigns? Cesaro? Ambrose? Sheamus?
2. That's an unhappy Batista. He *can't* have a one-on-one championship match. And Hunter says he'd choke anyway. And Batista quits! Again! *Laugh*
3. Cesaro and Bad News Barrett v. Sheamus and RVD. Expecting a physical match...and a rol-up by Sheamus for the win?
4. Love hearing Heyman mock Sheamus for winning with a small package.
5. Cesaro leaves after ducking a Brogue. After tagging out, Sheamus hits the Brogue on BNB. RVD hits the Splash and pins Barrett for the win.
6. Steffie: How many times have you and Hunter physically abused employees? Maybe *you* should be fired too?
7. Hey, Johnny. Coming to mock Steph? Youbetcha!
8. Very good storytelling there. John was the only one who could get away with saying all that, even kayfabe. As a 14-time Champion, he knows better than most what makes a champion.
9. Steffie makes Cena v. Kane for right now. Never figured Kane for a lapdog, but it will be a good match.
10. Kane gets DQed for not breaking a 5-count. That's okay. Just keep beating him up! Go Kane! Cena escapes a tombstone, throws the steps at Kane. Boo!!! But you can't keep Kane down for long!
11. Luke Harper with an excellent promo. Good work, lots of progress.
12. Usos v. Harper and Rowan. This has been a good rivalry, and I look for that to continue again tonight.
13. Good back and forth match with believable near falls. I didn't expect that much flying from the Junior Wyatts though.
14. Rowan gets the pin at the end of a long match. Good stuff all around. This is what the tag division needs.
15. AdR v. Dolph Ziggler for a spot at Money in the Bank. I will be really angry if Dolph jobs to AdR, but that's exactly what I expect.
16. *sigh* AdR is played out. Is there an upcoming WWE visit to Mexico? I can't understand this booking otherwise. Ziggler deserves better, and he's earned better. I don't know of many on that roster that work harder.
17. A ceremony to honor Rusev? Hero of the Russian Federation? For pinning Big E? Maybe if he'd pinned Rocky Balboa...
18. Yeah, Ambrose still disturbs me.
19. Here comes Orton with Hunter (and Hunter's hammer). Rollins goes for chairs. That's ominous. Is he...?
20. Yep, there it is. Seth Rollins (alone) turns on the Shield and joins Evolution. I think that's the only scenario I didn't consider. Wow. That...was unexpected. And here I was hoping Hunter would get his mouth shut for a while. Oh well.

Great episode...especially the twist at the end.

Not on hulu:
1. No Sandow/Big Show segment. *sigh* Poor Sandow.
2. No Kofi v. Bo, which is good. No desire to see Bo win.
3. No Nikki v. Alicia and Aksana. Steffi taking Brie and John out on Nikki? Of course.
4. No Swagger v. Adam Rose. Swagger still paying for his previous sins?
5. No Axelback v. SinDust. Poor Goldy. Poor Cody.

RAW 5/26/14 (hulu edition)

1. Here come Steffi and Hunter to kick off the show. Ignoring how many times Hubter has been out because of injury--two significant knee surgeries--Steffi and Hunter belittle Daniel Bryan for being out with a neck surgery. Then they fire Brad Maddox after Kane chokeslams and tombstones him.
2. RVD comes out to a decent pop. Cesaro is waiting for him. This should be a good match, but it's going to get ugly.
3. Especially since Bad News Barrett came out with another kick-ass promo.
4. Wow. RVD nearly licked BNB's head off! That looked sick!
5. Cesaro gets the pin off the German suplex after Barrett distracted RVD.
6. And then Sheamus came out to hit Cesaro with the Brogue kick. Yikes. This stuff is looking deadly!
7. Here come the Wyatts. The crowd is quiet, but they've all got their phones out like lighters.
8. Bray called out Lawler. JBL uncharacteristically tried to defend Jerry, and they demolished him. Wow. Bray rationalizes the "necessary evil" he is about to do.
9. Cena and the Usos come to Jerry's rescue. Great storytelling here.
10. Orton & Batista v. Goldust and Cody Rhodes in what turns into an elimination match after Orton RKOs Cody twice and pins him. Then it becomes a No Holds Barred match. RKO and a Batista-bomb puts Goldust out. Good of Goldust to be willing to sell Evolution's brutality before Payback, but what a waste of veteran talent.
11. Can we skip a Bo pro for the sake of an extra minute of a good match? Please?
12. And can we skip Bo's RAW debut match to get a good one? Please? Can he fight anyone but Sin Cara? Still amused that he's using Trish Stratus's finisher.
13. And now we have to listen to him talk again? *sigh*
14. Here comes Steffi to harangue Daniel Bryan. Good to see him up an about, though obviously he's in no condition to take bumps. Steffi wants him to surrender the belt so she doesn't make him a martyr. He refuses for the sake of the WWE Universe, so Steffi blackmails him with Brie's job. Nice.
15. Sheamus v. AdR. The best part of this match as they go to commercial has been the astonishing commentary from JBL and Cole. *snort*
16. Sheamus gets groggy, but he still picks up the pinfall victory. What is that going to set up?
17. Cesaro sneaks in with vicious attacks on Sheamus. Doesn't make sense. Are they so bent on getting Cesaro heel heat that they'll make him appear to try to end someone's career?
18. Contract signing. Shield delivers a promo as they overturn tables and clear the ring before Evolution comes out. Evolution comes out and smacks the Shield around after Hunter brings out the sledge. Here we come, Payback.

Not on hulu:
1. No Eva Marie v. Summer Rae. Summer Rae isn't bad in the ring, but Eva Marie? Ugh.
2. No Drew McIntyre v. El Torito. Thanks be to God.
3. No Zack Ryder v. Rusev. I miss the Ryder Revolution.
4. No Alicia Fox v. Emma. Isn't Alicia the #1 contender for a match at Payback? Might have been nice to see that.
5. No Sandow v. Adam Rose. Which is good in that Adam Rose is a joke--bring back LEO KRUGER!!!--but bad in that Sandow can't catch a break.

Best show this month so far with just Smackdown to come. Good setup for Payback.

RAW 5/19/14 (Hulu edition):

1. Creepy Bray Wyatt is creepy even in England. And that's an amazing promo with the whole crowd in his hands.
2. Cena with a cheap shot AA on Bray from behind.
3. Ryback is an interesting character. That box promo... He's so odd.
4. Big E defeats Ryback in a pretty solid beat-the-clock challenge--except for when Big E fell when he slipped out of...powerbomb? Whatever. Time to beat is 5:02.
5. Fandango v. R-Truth doesn't happen because Summer Rae takes out Layla. Umm...yeah.
6. Steffie with some "bad news!" *Laugh* Yeah, you strip Daniel Bryan of the title belts, and stick will go down a lot more than 50%.
7. RVD beats the clock by 47 seconds (!) and AdR in a o match. Blah. Time to beat is now 4:15.
8. Nice shiner, Roman. I think it's gonna take more than that to put Roman out of commission. (It's nice that he's getting better on the microphone.)
9. Once again Cena announces that he needs the help of others on the roster. Poor guy. I know people are tired of his schtick, but it's going to take a lot more than boos to get rid of him when he's still selling the most merchandise of anyone on the roster.
10. Triple H as guest ring announcer? Orton as guest timekeeper?
11. One good turn deserves another. Dean and Roman as guest commentators? Oh, please let Dean talk crazy!
12. It's funny listening to someone out-JBL Layfield, but Dean Ambrose can do it.
13. It's always a slow match when Batista is in control, but Rollins has been injecting just enough excitement to make the match bearable.
14. Is it just me, or does Batista look a more than a bit like Eugene with the start of that beard?
15. It's a melee. Oh, I'm overwhelmed with shock. Rollins get the DQ win and the Shield comes out on top. With Batista due to take time off, is this feud going to continue after Payback?
16. Ziggler v. Mark Henry in a beat-the-clock match? Almost have to be a squash match to beat this clock. And if anyone is going to get squashed, you can be sure it will be Dolph getting squashed.
17. How on earth did Dolph hit the Famouser on Mark Henry? That's insane!
18. ZIG ZAG! But it's too late! RVD wins the beat-the-clock challenge. That means Barrett will win at Payback. Hope it's a good match.
19. Barrett with BAD NEWS for RVD: a blindsided Bullhammer! Love the hometown crowd getting behind the heel!
20. Don't sully that sweet blossom Renee Young with that Russel Brand wannabe. Ugh! BRING BACK LEO KRUGER!!!
21. WE...THE PEOPLE!!! Love how the crowd is singing Swagger's music too. Zeb Coulter, PLEASE SAVE US FROM ADAM ROSE!!!!!!
22. Ugh. That's five minutes of my life I'll never get back.
23. From Adam Rose to a Bo Dallas promo vid. Strike two.
24. Time for Cena v. Harper. This will be a nice quiet match, no interference, no shenanigans. Right? of course right.
25. I love watching Cena get faceplanted by Harper. It's so...primal. And what's with Harper doing real wrestling moves like a hurricanrana? And a dropkick? Geez!
26. It would be nice Cena were to really sell someone's moves. Really. Not even Hogan could survive everything.
27. Both Usos meet Sister Abigail!
28. If they would just let one of these Cena v. Wyatt family matches reach a natural conclusion... *Sigh* Maybe at Payback? Please?
29. And who knew Luke Harper could count that high?!?

Average show. Nothing to get too excited about as the push toward Payback continues.


 Not on hulu:
1. No Cesaro v. Sheamus, but they wasted time on Adam Rose?
2. No Heath Slater v. Rusev is no skin off my nose.
3. No Alicia Fox v. Paige, which I would like to have seen over Summer Rae's return.

RAW 5/12/14 (hulu edition)

1. The Shield delivered a powerful promo. Roman is the one who has needed the most work on the mic, and he's getting better.
2. AMBUSH!!! The Shield ambushes Evolution as they enter the arena! I really like this feud. Hunter is wasted being only behind the scenes, and he's a better heel when he's competing.
3. WE...THE PEOPLE! Deportation list! YES! PLEASE get rid of Adam Rose!!!
4. Can't we even get the match started before Rose comes out to waste our time? What is being cut from the hulu edition so this can take place on my television? AAAAAAAAAAUGH!!!
5. And RVD takes advantage of the Rose distraction to kick, splash, and pin Swagger. Now I just have to hope Rose leaves ringside quick.
6. Daniel Bryan needs neck surgery. I wonder if they're going to strip him of the title. Probably depends on how long he'll be out. Hard to sell a PPV without the main title being contested.
7. Cena and the Usos v. the Wyatts. This sounds familiar, like we just saw this. Hmm...
8. I wonder if Luke Harper and Eric Rowan do any Civil War reenactment.
9. Very good match. Cena gets the pin on Rowan after the Usos clean house.
10. Evolution is come a-whining. But at least Batista is regrowing hair.
11. Hunter might have let something slip there. Reigns is the one not going to adapt? Does that mean Rollins and Ambrose are?
12. AMBUSH!!! Where did they come from? Under the ring?
13. Batista v. Reigns tonight? Good stuff!
14. "the cast of Total Divas..." Where's the remote? Time to fast-forward.
15. Nikki v. Natalya. *sigh* And how will Nikki get the victory this time?
16. Umm...not impressed. Look like Nikki dropped Natalya on her head.
17. Sheamus v... Curtis Axel after he...loses...the coin toss? Axel taps to the cloverleaf after a fairly quick match. Ryback attacks after the bell...
18. ...which leads to Sheamus v. Ryback in an impromptu match. Maybe it's time they get Ryback a chance at the IC belt. Considering he was in the main event scene 7 months ago and is nowhere now, a title match might have people believing he's still worth watching. Whether he is or not.
19. Well, maybe not. But that was a better match than the one with Axel.
20. What are they doing with Sheamus? I thought they were pulling for a heel turn, but taking out two heels in one night won't do it.
21. Steffi comes out to call out Daniel Bryan. What do you know? It's KANE!!! And he's dragging out the champ! HA!!! Good way to keep the storyline hot for his convalescence. (Here's hoping your surgery goes well, man. Come back healthy.)
22.If Bree really wants to get over, she needs to cold-cock Stephanie. She's just not convincing.
23. Hacksaw Jim Duggan? What's he doing here? (And who is he jobbing to?)
24. And the answer to that question is...Rusev. That makes sense, considering the likely resumption of Cold War hostilities.
25. Big E to the rescue? Wow. Rusev just dropped him. I remember when Big E was a badass. Like...last week. Literally.
26. Wyatt challenges Cena to a last man standing match at Payback. Hmm. How will Cena not lose cleanly this time?
27. MAIN EVENT: Batista v. Reigns. I know Batista is coming out as part of Evolution, but "I Walk Alone" is so much more badass than Motorhead's "Evolution" theme.
28. They didn't leave a lot of time for this match. Is it going to be that crappy of a match? Or is it going to disintegrate into a brawl that fast?
29. Melee it is. And here come the heels from the locker room.
30. Hunter brings in the chair, but Reigns with the SPEAR!!! Rollins and Ambrose clear the ring. You'd think Ryback'd know by now not to mess with the Shield. And the Shield stand tall.
31. Maybe Batista better shave that head again after all.

Not on hulu:
1. No Paige v. Alicia Fox. Yeah, cutting the Diva's champ for sake of the Total Divas storyline is always a good idea. Not.
2. No Ziggler v. Fandango. Would have been nice to see Fandango lose.
3. No Damien Sandow v. Cody Rhodes. Another good pairing that would have been nice to see.

Fairly god show, but I could have done without some of what they kept for the sake of the good matches they cut. Oh well.

RAW 5/5/14 (Hulu edition)

1. 20-man Battle Royal to apparently strip Dean Ambrose of his United States Championship.

2. I was sort of hoping Rollins and Reigns would catch Ambrose in mid-air when someone would try to eliminate him. Oh well.

3. Sheamus is the new United States Champion! I wonder if this means he’s been relegated back in the mid-card.

4. Hunter, they need to change your title to CNO: Chief Narcissistic Officer. How long is the Authority angle going to last?

5. “No hard feelings, fella”? Is this the start of the next Sheamus heel run? I know that he just took advantage of the opportunity, but that reaction makes me wonder.

6. So is Kane attacking Daniel Bryan right away? Nope, just Stephanie. As if that isn’t bad enough.

7. Did Brock Lesnar do something, Paul? *wink*

8. Nice shiner, RVD. For all the times he’s been in extreme matches, he seems to come through them very well. He’s always had a great stretching regimen, and I imagine that has only increased as he’s gotten older.

9. Is Swagger going to interfere in the Cesaro v. RVD match?

10. Unexpected brutality from Cesaro. I guess they really want him to be a heel. RVD with the DQ win.

11. I like creeped-out John Cena. And I like Bray Wyatt for making it happen.

12. “Breach of contract?” Are Daniel Bryan and the Shield going to team up to put an end to this Authority angle already?

13. (I don’t blame the WWE for this, but I despise watching Hulu on the Roku box.)

14. Does Kane interfere now? Or does Kane attack later…at the car, perhaps?

15. Solid match between Bryan and AdR. AdR is fine as long as he doesn’t talk.

16. I thought Bryan was going to make AdR tap to an armbreaker.

17. There’s Kane. No, wait…

18. Back at the car…which won’t start. And there he is in the back seat. (The WWE is so predictable. And they’ve done this car shtick before.)

19. Okay, enough Brie screams already.

20. Someone impound the Exotic Express before it can reach Albany!!!

21. Rematch between Big E and IC Champion Bad News Barrett. Hope this is as good as the match at Extreme Rules.

22. Barrett is over with this Albany crowd. Feel bad for Big E. They had him off TV for so long that he lost momentum.

23. Good match. Not as good as Extreme Rules, but good. Barrett retains after a rake to the eyes and a bullhammer. Not a surprise.

24. WE…THE PEOPLE!!! Go for it, Zeb!

25. NO! PLEASE no Adam Rose! What’s being cut so this clown can appear? PLEASE GIVE US LEO KRUGER BACK!!!

26. Main Event: The Shield v. the Wyatts. Expecting an appearance from Evolution. No mystery there.

27. Bit of a brawl to start things off. That will probably mark much of the match.

28. Seth Rollins is the next generation of Jeff Hardy. Without the failed drug tests. Scary agility.

29. WE WANT TABLES!!! WE WANT TABLES!!!

30. Great back and forth! THIS IS AWESOME!!!

31. And there’s Evolution to ruin a great match. Bray pins Reigns after Hunter eats a Superman punch.

32. And there’s the jackals…

Not on hulu:

1. No Ryback v. Cody Rhodes. They’re building toward Cody v. Goldust. Be nice if we’d see it. Cut Afam Rose next time!

2. No Rusev v. Kingston. I can do without it since Kofi is likely getting squashed.

3. NO MR. T SEGMENT! I pity the fool who cut that from Hulu!