Raw Report 10-13-14

Because this is Raw, we have to open with an excessively long promo featuring multiple interruptions. Dean Ambrose comes out and talks about John Cena and Seth Rollins. Of course, Cena interrupts and they get into their usual verbal sparring. Triple and Stephanie cap off the opening of interruptions by announcing that Cena and Ambrose will be partners tonight. They would be in a non-title Triple Threat Tag Team match right now against the Usos and the Dust Brothers. Good start to the show as this was an enjoyable contest. It was a bit boring at the start, but picked up. CenAmbrose won after an AA on Stardust.

Triple H and Stephanie come back out with HHH saying that he lost a bet to Stephanie concerning Ambrose and Cena's ability to work together, so he pays her a buck. I'd give her a single too for certain activities. No? Oh well. Tonight we get Cena/Ambrose in the main event instead of waiting for Hell in a Cell. Next, Divas Champion AJ Lee teams with Layla to face new besties Paige and Alicia Fox. Typical stuff here and it continues the story of AJ being a loner who needs no friends. Layla doesn't want to tag in near the end, so AJ smiles and hits the Shining Wizard on Fox to win. Paige escaped during the match and Layla goes to do the same but AJ catches her and tosses her around.

Randy Orton wants Seth Rollins to stop stealing his spotlight so he wants to face the loser of tonight's contract on a pole match. I feel like Orton getting the loser while Seth gets the winner isn't the best way to be above Seth's spotlight. Another video package for Erick Rowan plays and I'm intrigued by where this goes. Orton faces Dolph Ziggler in non-title action next and it was fantastic. Seriously one of the better matches on Raw in a long while. Seth Rollins watches from the ramp mid-match too. There were times that I actually thought Dolph would pull this out. He takes a vicious corner bump but the highlight was the finish. Orton counters the FameAsser by hoisting Dolph up for a Powerbomb. He launches him up and catches him with a sick RKO!

I can't get over that RKO. For a guy who does a ton of awesome ones, that was top five for sure. Seth Rollins also Curb Stomps Dolph after the match. He gets his chance to show he deserves the spotlight with a match against Jack Swagger. They wrestled on Main Event recently but this was much better. It was actually just a step below the previous match and that's saying something. Seth wins a back and forth bout with a rollup and a handful of tights. I was impressed with the match but felt he should've gotten a cleaner victory to be on par with Orton. Also, Orton hits an RKO on Swagger post match. 

Dean Ambrose is interviewed by Renee "Perfection" Young. They make sexy eyes at each other so hard that I don't remember what they spoke about. Big Show then talks about how Rusev has never been beaten. Lana badmouths Christoper Columbus and America. It's cheap heat at it's finest. Rusev and Big Show proceed to have a match that was actually far better than I expected. Don't get me wrong, it was by no means a classic or the match of the night, but it was a solid big man match. Mark Henry comes out near the end and attacks Rusev, resulting in the disqualification. Show and Henry argue about it as the Russian flag comes down. Rusev tries to run in but eats a WMD. Not a bad segment.

With Cesaro seemingly starting a program against Dolph Ziggler, it truly has seemed like the mid card champions have swapped challengers. I say this because Sheamus, the United States Champion, meets The Miz, the former Intercontinental Champion. Nothing special here as Miz takes the countout while allowing the tremendous Damien Mizdow to eat a Brogue Kick. Guest star Nene or whatever stands up for the face Total Divas in the back. At least it was a short appearance. Summer Rae, Cameron and NIkki, also known as the heels of Total Divas, take on the faces in Natalya, Brie and Naomi. If you watch the show, you know that it's hard to root for Brie and Natalya. The faces win. This was the first thing on the show that I wasn't a fan of. Brie did get to pin Nikki, which I didn't expect to happen until their eventual PPV match.

Renee Young interviews John Cena just before the main event, though it's pretty clear that she enjoys this less than the interview with Dean Ambrose. The main event begins with Seth Rollins, Kane and Triple H coming down to ringside. For an "Object on a Pole" match, this wasn't bad but it wasn't the Ambrose/Cena match Id hoped for. However, I expect that if they eventually get a Pay-Per-View program, they could tear the house down. Of course, the Authority gets involved as shenanigans ensue. Dean Ambrose manages to snatch the contract and THANK THE LAWD we get Ambrose/Rollins in the Cell! The flipside is that we have to sit through Orton/Cena for the 15568423rd time, but I'll take it. Ambrose tells Cena "you can't see me" and Hell in a Cell seems brighter.

For the first time in a long time, I thoroughly enjoyed Raw. Everything served a purpose and there was really no filler. I mean, even the Total Divas tag allowed for their celebrity guest to appear and pushed the show. We got fun Ambrose/Cena stuff and two great matches in Orton/Ziggler and Seth/Swagger, plus, we finally officially get Ambrose/Rollins in the Cell. 8/10. Well done Raw.