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Notes In Observance – WWE Raw 8/15/16: Finding Demon King
Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.
By Nicholas Jason Lopez
“Notes In Observance” features random thoughts and analysis on recent television shows. Quick results can be found at the bottom of the post.
(Aired 8/15/16)
Finding Demon King
– The opening video made it apparent Raw’s biggest storylines were that of the quarrel between WWE United States Champion Rusev and Roman Reigns as we saw last week when Reigns ruined a “Celebration Of Love” and Lana ended up covered in cake. Also seen was Seth Rollins’ new quest to find out who his SummerSlam opponent Finn Balor really was. Alrighty then.
Notes In Observance – WWE Raw 8/8/16: Botched Vows
Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.
By Nicholas Jason Lopez
“Notes In Observance” features random thoughts and analysis on recent television shows. Quick results can be found at then bottom of the post.
(Aired 8/8/16)
Botched Vows
– As SummerSlam inched closer, Raw’s big stories were the Finn Balor-Seth Rollins feud over the WWE Universal Championship, the Roman Reigns-WWE United States Champion Rusev and the interbranded clash between Randy Orton and Brock Lesnar, as each man trespassed each other’s show to deliver their finishing move. The opening video highlighted last week’s happenings in regards to these feuds.
Notes In Observance – WWE Raw 8/1/16: Like A (Certified) Boss
Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.
By Nicholas Jason Lopez
“Notes In Observance” features random thoughts and analysis on recent television shows. Quick results can be found at the bottom of the post.
(Aired 8/1/16)
Like A (Certified) Boss
– Things started with a blockbuster debut for the new Raw brand, highlighted with Finn Balor as he outlasted Roman Reigns after he won a previous Fatal Four-Way to earn the spot at SummerSlam to fight Seth Rollins to crown the first-ever WWE Universal Champion and with WWE Women’s Champion Sasha Banks as she beat Charlotte to end her 300-plus day reign. Mark this a new era, as we looked forward to seeing how Raw would follow their first episode, as it was the better show last week.
Notes In Observance – WWE Raw 7/25/16: Banking On The Future
Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.
By Nicholas Jason LopezÂ
“Notes In Observance” features random thoughts and analysis on recent television shows. Quick results can be found at the bottom of the post.
(Aired 7/25/16)
Banking On The Future
– With the WWE Brand Split officially in play now, we were curious to see what changes would come about to the flagship brand and it was apparent early on that they were serious about this thing. Right from the opening video that highlighted WWE World Heavyweight Champion Dean Ambrose’s successful defense at WWE Battleground, we saw big visual changes – a new theme, show montage, Corey Graves replacing JBL on the announce team, which had its table relocated again near the stage a la NXT and the old draft days in 2002-2003. We were okay with this.
Notes In Observance – WWE Raw 7/18/16: Holy Foley And The Yes Man
Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.
By Nicholas Jason Lopez
“Notes In Observance” features random thoughts and analysis on recent television shows. Quick results can be found at the bottom of the post.
(Aired 7/18/16)
Holy Foley And The Yes Man
– With Battleground six days away and the WWE Brand Extension Draft even closer (the next day), there was a feel for change in the air. What better way to bring that out than to start the show with a long-winded talking segment that involves the McMahon clan? Original stuff, guys. The one saving grace here was that it served a purpose for us to find out who Raw Commissioner Stephanie McMahon and SmackDown Commissioner Shane McMahon each selected for their respective General Managers. Are you keeping up with the authority figures? Hope you like it, because there’s a lot of that here. There were also some half-assedly explained Draft “rules” – Raw got the first pick and for every two SmackDown picks, Raw would get three. Why? We don’t know. Better news was that six picks would come off the NXT roster. Oh, make them good. After some pointless sibling bickering, Steph announced that Raw would feature a new cruiserweight division exclusive to them. She then introduced her GM, which was Mick Foley to a nice pop. Foley’s promo here leaned more towards the humbled and appreciative as he used his experience when he partook in the Monday Night Wars to compare it to nowadays. That’s a bit of a stretch, but okay. More or less, the segment was stolen when Shane announced his pick, none other than Daniel Bryan. Yes, that one. The place went bonkers as you’d imagine. Bryan’s promo revolved around the “underdogs” and there were some moments where he stuck it to Steph, as she had her own responses that underdogs always end up at the bottom despite their rise. So, some more pointless bickering to end it but we got our big news.
Notes In Observance – WWE Raw 7/4/16: Independence Dud
Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.
By Nicholas Jason Lopez
“Notes In Observance” features random thoughts and analysis on recent television shows. Quick results can be found at the bottom of the post.
(Aired 7/4/16)
Independence Dud
– WWE and holidays never mix if you seek quality television. It was the Fourth Of July and America celebrated it’s 240th birthday with greasy grilled goodness and such. WWE threw on a three-hour Raw with the agenda of half-assedly pushing Battleground with holiday filler. It worked in some ways and was missable in many others. Case in point – the opening segment was your general locker room food party. The Golden Truth performed on stage before The Vaudevillains forced them off and then Aiden English had food thrown at him. WWE Intercontinental Champion The Miz/Maryse warned everybody not to let it end in a food fight and sure enough, that’s what happened. Kevin Owens also got pied by someone in the face off-camera, Heath Slater went through a table, Darren Young sat with other heels and we knew we were in for one of “those” nights.
WWE Money In The Bank 2016 Reaction
Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.
By Nicholas Jason Lopez
When the words “Money In The Bank” are uttered within earshot of a wrestling fan, few things will come to mind.
Edge’s opportunistic cash-ins, the chaos itself of the MITB ladder match, past winners and probably the easiest tie to the phrase – 2011 – when CM Punk shocked the world and “left” the company with the WWE Championship after a money match with John Cena.
MITB has become a tradition itself and what does one do with tradition? They carry it on with new generations.
What happens when “The New Era” (wink, wink) collides with this concept?
Thanks to a tightly packed uppercard with three WrestleMania-worthy matches and a crazy ending, it was easily high on the list for Pay-Per-View of the Year.
Calling it the “Greatest MITB in history” before the show even streamed live was a bold statement, but one that could be hard to argue.
Notes In Observance – WWE SmackDown 6/9/16: Momentum In The Bank
Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.
By Nicholas Jason Lopez
“Notes In Observance” features random thoughts and analysis on recent television shows. Quick results can be found at then bottom of the post.
(Aired 6/9/16)
Momentum In The Bank
– The opening in-ring segment with The Club and Enzo Amore/Big Cass solidly hyped for the fatal four-way Tag Title match at Money In The Bank, which would involve Luke Gallows/Karl Anderson, Enzo/Cass, The Vaudevillains and WWE World Tag Team Champions The New Day. We also had AJ Styles talk up his big match with John Cena and sold it as “bigger than WrestleMania” to an extent. He also threw in some good heel logic when he mentioned that it was time for a change and the “New Era” didn’t truly start until he took out Cena, which was his plan all along. Enzo/Cass delivered their lines nicely for the most part, even if they spun their wheels a bit on the material. Did like how Gallows/Anderson sold their global credibility, while Enzo/Cass had “Mr. Clean Dream Team” as a retort. Gallows may have even threw a rhyme down there. Overall, a decent interaction that set up the match to follow.
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