During the commercial break, the Anonymous General Manager announced that Erick Rowan would face Big Show and there would be a six man tag main event pitting Seth Rollins, Kane and Luke Harper against John Cena, Ryback and Dolph Ziggler. We move into a Tag Team Turmoil match to determine new number one contenders. The Dust Brothers open things against New Day. Surprisingly, the former Tag Team Champions get trounced quickly against Kofi and Big E. The next team is the newly formed tandem of Tyson Kidd and Cesaro! I feel like Kidd is glad he wears headphones to the ring so he could avoid Cesaro's awful theme music. They impress me and knock off New Day, which I didn't expect to happen. Kidd and Cesaro would then fall to The Usos, who would also knock off Adam Rose and the Bunny to become number one contenders. This was fun but could have been better. I also expected something new to come out of this, but it's just an Usos/Miz and Mizdow match.
For those wondering, these two things have taken up about 55 minutes of Raw. In the back, Naomi is watching and is happy because her man just earned a Tag Team Title shot. The Miz and Damien Mizdow come up to her and Miz says that her twerking is impressive. He gives her a card because he knows a producer who would like her talents. Mizdow gives her an invisible card because he's great. Mr. McMahon arrives! Erick Rowan is interviewed and apparently is some sort of genius. He makes wine, plays guitar and completed the rubik's cube. His match with Show is short and just builds towards a rematch at TLC because it ends in a DQ. Show tosses steel steps onto him and this did it's job. I will admit that I enjoy Rowan a lot more now than I ever did during his time as a Wyatt.
A recap of the Divas Title feud is shown because tonight, the somehow once again best friend Bella Twins are teaming against AJ Lee and a partner that the fans choose. The next match is supposed to be the "new and improved" but still exactly the same Fandango against Jack Swagger. Swagger never shows and we see that Zeb Colter has been attacked backstage. THAT MAN'S A WAR VETERAN MAGGLE! Fandango wins via forfeit, joining Seth Rollins as the only guys with those kind of wins this year. Returning, Rusev and Lana are out. They brag about Smackdown and imply that Rusev took out Zeb. Swagger runs out and they go at it to loud "USA" chants. Swagger gets the better of him, but I don't see the WWE ending Rusev's streak to a guy that he's already beaten so the feud is just meh.
One half of the WWE Tag Team Champions is out for a match next, and it is the more entertaining half. Damien Mizdow takes on Fernando of Los Matadores and wins with the Figure Four in a short match. The story was Jimmy Uso coming out after the bout and slapping the taste out of Miz's mouth for talking to Naomi earlier. MIZ! YOU GOT KNOCKED THE FUCK OUT! Of course, Damien commits and acts hurt next to Miz. Moving right along, Bray Wyatt takes on R-Truth in a match with a clear outcome. Bray wins and grabs a bunch of ladders and chairs. He cuts one of his trademark promos on Dean, which brings the Lunatic Fringe to the arena. They get into a big brawl and referees have to hold Dean back. Bray's rocking chair is in the ring and Dean decides to destroy it. It's not like The Undertaker's urn so Bray's power doesn't reside in it but it still upsets the man.
The Bella Twins are in the ring and AJ Lee arrives. The WWE Universe has voted and they choose Naomi to be her partner. We get some short "CM Punk" chants and later in the match, some "AJ Lee" chants break out. This was your basic divas affair and AJ Lee pulled out the victory with the Black Widow, making the champion tap. I hope that AJ gets her rematch at TLC and then moves away from the title for a bit. Also, The Bellas being cool with each other is still ABSURDLY STUPID. Mick Foley, dressed as Santa, promotes the WWE Shop along with his daughter Noelle. I feel old. I remember seeing her in the Beyond The Mat movie as a kid.
Paul Heyman is shown at WWE Headquarters and he cuts a promo about Brock Lesnar and his appearances being special. He compares it to Christmas because its unique and shouldn't be done everyday. It was solid but it is the same stuff we've seen a million times from him. Time for the main event, which got a good amount of time. After some great back and forth action, Dolph Ziggler continues his hot streak by countering a Harper powerbomb into a rollup and earning the pin for his team! After the match, a big brawl breaks out and Big Show runs out. Erick Rowan is back out with some steel steps and he goes nuts with them. Show takes the last shot with the steps to close the show as the faces stand tall for the second straight week.
In the end, this wasn't the strongest episode of Raw. The main event was good and the Tag Team Turmoil match was decent. Everything else was fast forward worthy. One thing I would like to note is how much I'm enjoying Luke Harper and Erick Rowan in their current singles roles. I liked them as a team but this has been fun. Anyway, Raw gets a 4.5/10. However, what followed Raw was phenomenal. The Stone Cold Podcast with Mr. McMahon was outstanding. One of the best things the WWE Network has ever aired. Austin hit Vince with tough questions about Macho Man, TNA, CM Punk, Shane McMahon and even the lack of push for Cesaro. I won't go into detail, just go watch it.
