The John Report: The WWE Raw Deal 10/06/14

Before I begin, just a note to say that next week's Raw Deal will be posted on Wednesday instead of Tuesday. I'm on vacation starting Thursday and heading out of town on Saturday. I come back on Tuesday night, so I won't be able to get the Raw Deal done until Wednesday.

Live from Brooklyn, New York this is the Raw Deal for episode #1115. Follow me on Twitter @johnreport.

There was a video package featuring the highlights from Raw last week with Dean Ambrose surprising Seth Rollins by having some green slime go into the face of Rollins when Rollins opened the briefcase.

Seth Rollins stormed to the ring to complain about how that wasn't funny. Then he called for other footage to come up and it was the end of Raw with Rollins giving the Curb Stomp to Dean Ambrose and John Cena. He was saying you shouldn't embarrass him when all of a sudden Jamie Noble & Joey Mercury (J&J Security) came down to the ring to tell him to leave the ring. Rollins said he loved it because he was standing in the ring with all eyes on him.

John Cena ran down to the ring. He punched Rollins a couple of times, but Rollins escaped and ran into the crowd. Dean Ambrose walked right up to Rollins and he punched Rollins too. That meant that Rollins was stuck and he went back to ringside where Cena was there to get him. Ambrose jumped on top of both of them. J&J tackled the two faces enough to slow them down, so Rollins ran up the ramp. Cena and Ambrose were in the ring.

Triple H and Stephanie McMahon came out to do a promo on the ramp. Hunter said The Authority stands for opportunity. Stephanie wondered if the WWE Universe wanted to see Cena & Ambrose get their hands on Ambrose. The crowd cheered after Hunter also asked them. Hunter said they would give it to them in that ring. It's Cena and Ambrose against Rollins, Orton & Kane.

Analysis: That was a solid start to the show because it continues the storyline that they want to get their hands on Rollins, which is a solid angle based off recent history. Also, using the opening promo to set up the main event isn't new at all. It happens nearly every week. That's a problem with Raw. It's too repetitive.

Replays of the Big Show/Rusev storyline were shown.

Dolph Ziggler and The Usos vs. Goldust, Stardust & Cesaro are up after the break.

Analysis: Ziggler was tweeting all weekend that United Airlines lost his luggage including the IC Title. It looked like he was wearing a replica.

(Commercial)

Before the match, The Usos did a pre-tape promo mocking Stardust & Goldust saying they believed in family.

Dolph Ziggler & The Usos vs. Goldust, Stardust & Cesaro

There was a lot of action for the first couple of minutes, but then the heels dominated the action by knocking all three faces outside the ring. That means it's time for the floor to commercial break.

(Commercial)

Back from break, the heels isolated Jey in their corner as the announcers noted that Ziggler hasn't tagged in. I wonder if he'll get the hot tag. The crowd chanted "we want Ziggler" because they're smart enough to know what's coming. Jey created some space against Goldust and made the hot tag to Ziggler while Cesaro also tagged in. Ziggler countered a move and applied a sleeper. Cesaro broke free. Ziggler hit a Fameasser for two as Goldust made the save. The Usos hit dives over to the top to take out Goldust & Stardust. Cesaro uppercut, but Jimmy made the save for Ziggler. Stardust made a blind tag Ziggler hit an elbow on him. Ziggler and both Usos hit a triple superkick on Stardust. Jimmy went up and hit a Superfly Splash leading to the pinfall win over Stardust.

Winners: Dolph Ziggler & The Usos

Analysis: *** That triple superkick spot was really good. All three guys do superkicks regularly, so it was a good idea to set up a finish. These are all good wrestlers that know what they're doing out there in settings like this, so it's no surprise that they could put on an entertaining match. The babyfaces winning isn't a surprise since The Usos are not the tag champs and now they can say they got a pinfall over one of the tag champs.

There were clips shown from John Cena being interviewed on NBC's Today Show with Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Gotb. Both ladies are on Raw next.

(Commercial)

Adam Rose and the Rosebuds were introduced along with Kathie Lee and Hoda, both of whom entered wearing robes.

The ring was set up with a table, bottles of champagne, chairs and glasses. Rose told them it was party time all the time. Kathie Lee sucked up to the crowd saying her mother was born in Brooklyn. Hoda said nobody parties like they do on Monday Night Raw. They did a toast to Monday Night Raw. Kathie Lee asked Hoda to dance, so Rose's music started to play and Hoda danced. Then Kathie Lee danced, so Hoda smashed a prop wine bottle on her butt. As they left the ring, Rose encouraged them to fall off the apron into the arms of the Party Posse. Both of them did it. That was the end of the segment. Cole said "what a Raw moment" when it was over. He forgot to say "terrible" before "Raw" there.

Analysis: This was a bad television segment. Awful really. It was a time filing segment that didn't accomplish anything.

There was a Wyatt Family promo with Bray talking about Luke Harper, who was the focus of the video. It was the same video as last week when Wyatt said he gave Harper reason and he fixed him.

(Commercial)

Bo Dallas was in the ring ready for a match. There were highlights from last week when Dallas beat Henry and then Henry attacked him backstage after the match.

Mark Henry vs. Bo Dallas

Henry dominated the early going. Dallas slid out of the ring to avoid a beating. Henry met him outside the ring and tossed him into the announce table, then drove him back first into the steel post. Henry tossed Dallas into the barricade. He wanted to slam Dallas through the table, but Dallas went back into the ring. Henry couldn't make it back in before the count of ten, so Dallas won via countout after two minutes.

Winner by countout: Bo Dallas

Post match, Henry was furious after the loss. Dallas left the ring to avoid an attack.

Analysis: * It was a short match that was done to further the story that Henry is on a major losing streak after he lost to Rusev multiple times and also Dallas a few times now. It's probably going to lead to a heel turn for Henry, which is good for his career since he's much better as a heel.

It was announced that Big Show was assigned to sensitivity training. The 3 on 2 Handicap Match is the main event.

(Commercial)

The announce team of Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield and Jerry Lawler mentioned the 15th anniversary of Smackdown special that airs this week. It means they will actually put on a memorable show this week hopefully.

There were replays of the Rollins segment with Cena and Ambrose from earlier in the show.

Promo time with Dean Ambrose and John Cena

Dean Ambrose entered the ring for a promo. Their hashtag for this was #AmbroseNow because they must have ran out of ideas to just throw a "now" out there. Ambrose talked about how he didn't like that John Cena has been "up in his space" lately and he didn't like. A replay aired from Smackdown with Cena abandoning Ambrose in their main event tag match. So Ambrose is a crazy guy that can't be trusted, but he works with the production team to put together video packages? What a company man. Ambrose wanted Cena to come out there right now to settle their issue. "Please John, indulge me with your presence."

John Cena entered the arena as Cole called him controversial and some in the crowd sang "John Cena sucks" during his song. It was so fun singing that in the crowd on Raw after WrestleMania 30. When is he ever controversial? He hasn't been controversial in such a long time. Cena said he did what he did because Ambrose is a lunatic. Ambrose said he would have done the same thing. Ambrose said that he and Cena don't care what other people think about them. Ambrose told Cena he had no problem dropping him right now and taking on The Authority by himself. Cena reminded Ambrose that the last time he did that The Authority put his head through cinderblocks and he was out for five weeks.

Cena gave Ambrose credit for having guts as well as saying and doing what he wants. Cena told him not to give him a reason not to like him. Fans were doing a mixed crowd reaction as Ambrose paused to gauge the reaction. Ambrose said he's going to get out of there and check out Coney Island. He wished Cena good luck. Then he left. Cena was surprised.

Analysis: The unpredictable behavior from Ambrose continues. It's good as a way to keep people watching for later because it will make people watching the rest of the show to see what might happen with Ambrose. Since Ambrose is the babyface on the rise with a lot of momentum, people will be drawn in to wonder what might happen with him. Remind me again why Cena is controversial? Oh right, he's not. The guy has "never give up" as a catchphrase and does more charity work than any wrestler ever. He's not controversial at all. Maybe in 2003 he was. Not anymore. I have no problem with Cena, but stop calling him controversial!

They plugged things for later in the show.

(Commercial)

Replays aired of Ambrose walking out on Cena.

Moments ago during the break, they showed Ambrose jumped onto the Q Train in Brooklyn that apparently would take Ambrose to Coney Island. Nobody on the train seemed to bother him.

Backstage, Cena was walking and Triple H stopped him. Hunter said they gave him a chance to main event Raw and what does Ambrose do? He goes out for a hot dog. Hunter said he felt bad that it's 3 on 1 now. Cena said he doesn't care what kind of match he's in. Cena doesn't care what he has to do in order to get to Rollins. Hunter told Cena that Rollins will start that match with Cena. Hunter pointed at the shirt Cena was wearing: "Remember keep calm and never give up."

Analysis: Way to put over the merch. Also somebody let Triple H know that Raw still has nearly two hours left in it and if Ambrose wants to get a hot dog, there's plenty of time.

Brie Bella was in the ring against Summer Rae with one arm tied behind Brie's back. That was set up by Nikki Bella, who watched from the top of the ramp.

Brie Bella vs. Summer Rae (w/Layla)

As mentioned, Brie had her left arm tied behind her back. Nikki looked on confused as Summer tried to wear down Brie with a chinlock and a hard kick. The fans were chanting for New York Yankee legend "Derek Jeter" because they were bored. Brie slammed Summer's head into Layla. With Summer sitting up against the ropes, Brie ran the ropes and hit a running knee to the face for the pinfall win after two minutes.

Winner by pinfall: Brie Bella

Analysis: 1/2* The run of Superwoman Brie Bella continues. Summer is so bad that she can't even take advantage of a woman that has her arm tied behind her back. Welcome to the world of wrestling. Home of the stupid.

Post match, Brie led the crowd in yes chants. Congrats to Brie for marrying a guy that was very popular with the crowd. Nikki left in disgust as Brie continued to win matches against the odds.

Analysis: The "yes" chant is very popular. Keep in mind that a minute earlier these people were chanting for a retired baseball player because they were so bored by the match.

Backstage, Kane was looking at a fruit basket. The Miz showed up with his stunt double Damien Mizdow and he said he gave the basket to Kane to say that he's sorry for comments he made to The Authority last week. Kane said he saw through it and he booked Miz in a match against Sheamus. They walked off together. Then Mizdow walked in to take the fruit basket away.

Analysis: Like usual, the best part of that was Mizdow. He's a scene stealer.

(Commercial)

Jack Swagger made his entrance with Zeb Colter while two of my favorites, Tyson Kidd and Natalya, were in the ring.

Jack Swagger (w/Zeb Colter) vs. Tyson Kidd (w/Natalya)

They put over the marital problems of Tyson and Natalya. on the "reality" show Total Divas. Tyson bailed to the floor and put Natalya in front of him to avoid an attack. He took advantage by kicking Swagger in the face while Natalya wasn't happy about it. Some fans were chanting "Nattie's husband" at Tyson, so it's good to see some of them watch NXT. More people should! Kidd hit a neckbreaker followed by a chinlock. Swagger made a comeback with a clothesline and a Swagger Bomb. Kidd came back with a kick to the head. When Kidd was on the top, Swagger pulled him down and applied the Patriot Lock. Kidd was reaching over to Natalya to try to get her to grab his hand to break the hold, but she didn't want to. Kidd tapped out, so Swagger won via submission after about three minutes.

Winner by submission: Jack Swagger

Post match, Kidd removed his shoe to sell the pain from the Patriot Lock while looking angry towards his wife.

Analysis: *1/2 Since Kidd is one of my favorites, it's great to see him featured on Raw doing the gimmick that he has done on NXT that has worked so well for him. He's a great talent with a lot of potential. It's a shame that he lost because he could use momentum, but they are trying to put over the story that he has marital problems. Hopefully it leads to Natalya helping him win matches by cheating. It would be fun to see them as a heel couple.

Edge and Christian were in the WWE Studios talking about the "Edge and Christian Smackdown 15 Anniversary Show that totally reeks of awesomeness." They're my favorite tag team ever and the best of friends. I watched the show already. They did the Wyatt Family theme song on kazoos among other things. It was great. Check it out on WWE Network.

We'll hear from Roman Reigns next.

(Commercial)

Roman Reigns appeared via satellite as Cole stood up at the announce table to interview him. Reigns said he's doing better, the doctors are happy with his condition and he said he'd rather be there in Brooklyn, but it's only a matter of time until he's back in the ring. He said with a positive attitude, it's going to happen sooner rather than later.

Analysis: The "interview" lasted about 30 seconds and Cole asked one question. That felt so rushed. Reigns didn't give a timetable because they probably want to keep his return a surprise at the end of November or whenever it may be. Basically he said nothing other than the generic things you might expect.

There was a replay of Seth Rollins costing John Cena the WWE Title against Brock Lesnar at Night of Champions. I miss Lesnar and Paul Heyman too.

Another reminder of the main event.

(Commercial)

The next match is El Torito against Hornswoggle as the Mini Gator.

El Torito (w/Los Matadores) vs. Mini Gator (w/Heath Slater & Titus O'Neil)

This was so bad. The crowd was chanting "this is stupid" during it while Lawler said he didn't know what they were saying. Do I really need to summarize? No. I'm not going to. The fans also chanted "Derek Jeter" because they were once again bored by it. It was done after two minutes thanks to a Torito moonsault.

Winner by pinfall: El Torito

Analysis: DUD Listen to the crowd chanting "this is stupid" because that's what it was. Please WWE, listen to your fans. Enough of this crap.

A clip aired of Big Show apologizing on Smackdown. There was a clip of Big Show backstage just standing around since he had to have sensitivity training.

(Commercial)

This week on Main Event it's Dolph Ziggler defending the IC Title against Bo Dallas. That's a good match and a great sign that WWE is having title matches on a TV (or internet) show. More title matches need to happen especially for the secondary titles.

Rusev and Lana Meet The Rock

Rusev walked out with the ravishing Russian Lana, who was looking especially ravishing. Then again, she always does. Lana said it was Vladimir Putin's birthday and then she actually said "the Bulgarian Brute" Rusev. She's not supposed to say Bulgarian. That's what he actually is, but not in the storyline. She said the fans have committed a hate crime because we support Big Show. Fans chanted "USA" at her. Rusev spoke in a foreign language, which led to the fans yelling "what" at him. Then he spoke in English saying America is nothing, Big Show is afraid of him and he wanted Big Show to come down to the ring so he can crush him. He said Big Show is a coward...just like all of you are cowards. All of a sudden, some familiar music hit.

"If you smell what The Rock is cooking..." and there he is...The Rock. What a massive ovation for The Rock! Wow! The people went wild for him as he stood on the ramp and saluted them. The announcers were marking out for it while the fans were chanting "Rocky" for him. That ovation got even louder as he got into the ring, took off his Mike Tyson jacket (that happened to say "Brooklyn NY" on the back) and the people absolutely loved it. This was taking place right around halftime of the NFL game. Fans were chanting "holy shit" as The Rock was ready to speak. That ovation lasted a solid four minutes. He laughed about it while JBL jokingly said that was a different chant than the Gator and the Bull got. Oh how true that was.

The fans were chanting "this is awesome" at him. The Rock told Rusev/Lana to know their role and shut their mouth or at least the fans helped him. Rock told him how he was up at 4:30am, got a workout, just like Rusev except he doesn't pull his shorts up to his nipples while Rusev makes everybody look at his "Moscow moose knuckle." The Rock mentioned he flew to the Big Apple, then the jet landed in Queens, then he took a cab to Manhattan, then he visited Lana's favorite place "the meat packing district" and he said he swam to Staten Island. He spoke about how he got on the 4 Train to head right to the Bronx, so he could get out and show respect to the captain and say: "Derek Jeter." Now that's how you suck up to a crowd mentioning the boroughs as well as dropping the name of the most famous New York Yankee that just retired. The Rock said he made his way to Brooklyn and got into the people's ring to say that: "Finally The Rock has come back to Brooklyn."

Lana wondered who he thought he was interrupting the great Rusev. She told him he needs to shut up. Rock told her she needs to stop dressing like a Soviet street walker. Rusev called him an American piece of garbage and he told him to leave or he will crush The Rock.

The Rock told Rusev that his breath is smelling like "Chewbacca's hairy bean bag." He told Lana she was beautiful and said she was stunning or as they say in America...smoking. Rock added that it's too bad that she walks around like somebody shoved a Smirnoff bottle up her Putin. The crowd let out an "ohhhh" for that joke. It was a good one. When he asked Rusev (aka Chewie) if he thinks he's going to crush The Rock, Rusev said something and Rock fired back with "it doesn't matter what you think" to a huge ovation.

The Rock said that nobody backstage has been able to tell him this, but The Rock will tell him. "We don't boo you because you support Russia, no no no. We boo you because you're both a couple of world class international a-holes." There was a brief "asshole" chant that reminded me of the Attitude Era. Lana said that right now Rusev is hungry and he took off his medal. The Rock said that just like the great Jay Z once said, "allow me to re-introduce myself" and he did a fired up promo talking about himself. Rock fired the first punch. He hit ten punches, then a spit punch and Rusev went flying over the top rope to the floor. The crowd chanted "Rocky" for it.

When it was over, The Rock said this didn't need any translation: "If you smell what The Rock is cooking." That ended the segment as The Rock's music started up and the crowd cheered loudly for Rock again. Rusev and Lana retreated up the ramp.

Analysis: That really was an electrifying segment because the show was very boring up until that point, especially the part of the show before this. The segment came off great because The Rock looked like a superstar confronting the Russians, who he said he didn’t hate because they are Russian, but because they were a-holes basically. That's a good way of saying it instead of hating somebody because of where they are from. It's important to state things that way so that it's not misconstrued.

There were all sorts of classic Rock-isms in there too. The fans absolutely loved all of it. They chanted when they were supposed to and they yelled out his name to show him that they appreciated him being there. It was a wonderful surprise that we won't soon forget. Lana and Rusev deserve credit too because this was the biggest moment of their careers. They showed they belonged. She's very composed on the microphone while Rusev did a great bump to sell a punch over the top rope like that.

The backstage story on The Rock's return is that he was in New York City for meetings at Time-Warner headquarters to discuss one of his projects. The Rock is a busy man that always has a lot of things going on. Apparently he was not listed in the early scripts for Raw, so they changed things up and were able to get him on the show. Basically, WWE was in the right place at the right time and that's how they got him on the show.

While The Rock's return was incredible, there are people that were tweeting me and messaging me elsewhere complaining that it hurts Rusev. I think he'll be fine. He can still destroy the rest of the roster. Maybe The Rock comes back to face him at WrestleMania 31. It seems unlikely because this was a spur of the moment thing, but you never know. It's a great thing for Rusev and Lana to be in the ring with The Rock. He's one of the biggest movie stars in the world. It makes them look like stars.

It really was an amazing segment. This show badly needed it. Good luck following that.

There was a replay of Ambrose leaving earlier and then The Rock posed some more at the top of the ramp.

(Commercial)

It's diva tag team time with Paige and her new "best friend" Alicia Fox because she's the only other heel on the main roster that knows what she's doing in the ring.

AJ Lee & Emma vs. Paige & Alicia Fox

Emma was over the top with her stupid dancing and looking awkward. AJ didn't look thrilled about teaming with her. Fans chanted "CM Punk" as AJ did her usual smirk face in acknowledgement of it. AJ threw Alicia into Paige, who was on the apron. Paige ran away from AJ. Emma begged for a tag, so she faced off with Alicia. Emma got a rollup for two. Emma hit a splash in the corner. With Emma dancing some more, AJ just walked out. Paige talked in and hit a superkick on Emma. Rampaige DDT by Paige wins it for her team while AJ looked on at the top of the ramp. The pinfall ended things after three minutes.

Winners by pinfall: Paige & Alicia Fox

Analysis: * Emma worked well in NXT because her quirkiness won the fans over. On the main roster, the announcers just laugh at her and call her stupid. Meanwhile, AJ is booked like a terrible babyface that comes off as selfish. The woman that skips around the ring randomly is mad about somebody dancing like a dummy.

There was a video package showing Bray Wyatt talking about Erick Rowan. Like with the Luke Harper video last week, Wyatt said that he fixed him. It was an awesome video as usual. The ending was unique because it showed a pregnant woman's belly and it said "It's Coming" on it. That probably doesn't mean a baby will be involved, but more like the birth of a new side of Rowan. The way they film it and present it is so different from everything else in WWE. It's what made people take notice of The Wyatt Family in the first place.

(Commercial)

The announcers wished Bruno Sammartino a happy 79th birthday.

The Miz (w/Damien Mizdow) vs. Sheamus

This is a non-title match. As soon as this match was booked, two finishes come to mind: 1) Sheamus wins clean or 2) Miz wins after a distraction from Mizdow. The best thing about Miz matches is watching Mizdow selling stuff on the floor. The crowd was chanting "Damien Mizdow" for him. When Sheamus went for a Brogue Kick, Miz bailed to the floor for the vintage floor to commercial break.

(Commercial)

Back from break, Miz was in control as he hit a corner clothesline. The fans were chanting "Sandow" and then "We Want Sandow" as he continued to mirror the moves of The Miz. The fans cheered when Mizdow hit a cheap shot on Sheamus. They were chanting "Sandow's better" as Miz had Sheamus in a chinlock. Sheamus made the comeback with his usual offense including a running knee into the corner and a powerslam. Mizdow pulled Miz out of the ring to save him from a Brogue Kick. Sheamus shoved Mizdow into the barricade. That allowed Miz to come back. Back in the ring, Miz was against the ropes and Sheamus went for a Brogue Kick. Miz moved, so Sheamus hit Mizdow and he went crashing to the mat. Miz capitalized by getting a rollup for the pinfall win after 11 minutes.

Winner by pinfall: The Miz

Post match, an angry Sheamus chased Miz and Mizdow up the ramp.

Analysis: ** The match was average with a predictable finish. A champion losing a non-title match? We get about one of those per week. When it's time for Sandow to turn face it's going to be great. That's why this angle is working. Maybe they didn't expect it right away, but the fans are buying into what Sandow is doing. Since the announcers are putting it over a lot, it's obvious they are going in that direction. What bothers me is that Miz moved from an IC Title feud to a US Title feud. He shouldn't go from one midcard title to the other.

There was a replay of Hulk Hogan on Raw last week talking about the Susan G. Komen campaign that WWE is doing to assist in breast cancer awareness and research.

(Commercial)

Jerry Lawler encouraged the fans to acknowledge some women at ringside that fought and conquered breast cancer. They were in row one and two wearing pink "Courage Conquer Cure" shirts.

News journalist Joan Lunden appeared on the stage. She's currently fighting breast cancer. She said it's a challenging journey that is not something that anyone should be ashamed of. She said the names of the breast cancer survivors that were at ringside. The fans cheered. Joan added that it's a tough fight and they are the true warrior club. She asked us to help Susan G. Komen so they can help the people that are fighting so the horrifying disease is a thing of the past. She said thank you. John Cena showed up on the stage to give her a big hug.

Analysis: Good segment. I know people will think it's a waste of time, but raising awareness for breast cancer is a useful cause. My sister is a breast cancer survivor also from 2010-11. It's pretty scary. She's doing much better.

(Commercial)

There was another commercial for Edge & Christian on WWE Network after Raw. They insulted Michael Cole, so it's hard not to love them.

John Cena made his entrance for the main event with the fans chanting "John Cena sucks" during his song. Good on you, Brooklyn. I don't even mind Cena. I just think it's funny to chant that. The heels entered next with Randy Orton out first, then Kane and then Seth Rollins. Rollins had the Money in the Bank briefcase in his hands even though there's no WWE Champion around to cash it in against.

John Cena vs. Seth Rollins, Kane and Randy Orton

Rollins started the match and then tagged in Kane right away. Orton tagged in and gave Cena a powerslam. Rollins tagged in with Cena down, so he hit a forearm shot in the corner. Rollins hit a flipping neckbreaker off the middle ropes also known as Blockbuster. The heels kept cheating while Cena tried to fight back and eventually hit a clothesline followed by two shoulder tackles and the spinning suplex. Five Knuckle Shuffle by Cena. Rollins shoved Cena and Kane nailed him with a boot to the face after Kane went into the ring. The match went five minutes.

Winner by DQ: John Cena

Analysis: * I guess we can say that Cena won a 1 on 3 handicap match. What a guy. That was pretty quick for the DQ. It is similar to a guy breaking up a pin. He was saving his partner, yet the ref called for the DQ after one kick. That's weak.

Post match, Kane hit a Chokeslam on Cena. Orton was setting up for a RKO, but Dean Ambrose's music hit. For a guy that doesn't like Cena, he cared enough to make a save for him. Then again, he could just say he did it to get Rollins.

Ambrose walked down to the ring with a hot dog cart. The announcers wondered how he got the cart to the arena. Because it's WWE. Nothing has to make sense. That's my answer. Kane and Orton approached so Ambrose sprayed them with ketchup and mustard he had in his pockets. He shoved the hot dog cart into them.

Ambrose went into the ring after Rollins. Kane (with ketchup) and Orton (with mustard) tried to save Rollins, but that didn't really work. The faces cleared the ring. Ambrose hit a dive outside the ring onto Rollins. He threw food at Rollins, then brought out some tongs and put them on Rollins' groin. The crowd let out a big "ohhh" to that. Kane made a save for Rollins by throwing Ambrose into the ring. Cena hit Kane with the Attitude Adjustment. All the heels left, including Rollins who went backstage.

Triple H and Stephanie McMahon showed up for a promo on the ramp. Hunter announced that at Hell in a Cell, John Cena will go one on one with Dean Ambrose. The winner of that match will get to face Seth Rollins inside Hell in a Cell. Stephanie said that either Cena or Ambrose will go straight to hell.

Following the PPV announcement, Cena turned his back like a dumbass. Ambrose turned him around, kicked him in the gut and hit a double arm DDT. Cena sold it like he was knocked out, which is longer than Cena has sold anything in a very long time. Raw ended with Ambrose standing tall over Cena.

Analysis: It was an entertaining post match segment thanks to Ambrose proving once again that he's an unpredictable babyface that always finds ways to entertain. This time he used a hot dog cart as a weapon to slow down The Authority.

It's nice that WWE remembered that there's an actual PPV that they're supposed to promote. The Cena/Ambrose match leading to Cena or Ambrose taking on Rollins was rumored about three weeks ago by Dave Meltzer and now it's happening. There was also a rumor that Randy Orton will face the loser of Cena/Ambrose in a Hell in a Cell match although that's not official yet. It makes sense since Orton will need to do something too.

WWE is in a tough spot without the WWE Champ around. It's hard to know what the right thing to do is, but Seth Rollins main eventing against Cena or Ambrose should lead to a great match. Hopefully it's Ambrose vs. Rollins because that feud is worthy of a main event although whenever Cena is involved there's always a good chance that he's going to get the win.

Three Stars of the Show

1. The Rock

2. Dean Ambrose

3. Damien Mizdow - He entertains me.

The Scoreboard

5.5 out of 10

Last week: 5

2014 Average: 5.96

2014 High: 9 (April 7 & June 30)

2014 Low: 3 (September 1)

Last 5 Weeks: 5, 4, 5, 7, 3

Final Thoughts

The 5.5 out of 10 rating is because the show was a little better this week thanks to the presence of The Rock and Ambrose's hijinks, but the rest of the show is still flawed.

There was only one match that was above average and that was the six man tag. The others were either rushed, too stupid or had weak finishes.

It seems like nearly every week we get a DQ in the main event. It was the third week in a row with DQ in the main event slot. The matches in the main event barely matter anymore. What a shame.

The Brooklyn crowd was really loud. Hopefully WWE listened to the "this is stupid" chant because the fans were absolutely right to chant that.

It's not a talent issue in WWE. It's a creative issue. This show should be so much better. Instead it's below average nearly every week.

I miss Daniel Bryan. A lot.

-----

That's all for this week.

Once again as I mentioned at the top of this review column, next week's Raw Deal will be posted on Wednesday instead of Tuesday. I'm off work for a week and I come back on Tuesday night, so I won't be able to get the Raw Deal done until Wednesday.

I was on the Sharpshooter podcast with my twin buddies from San Diego, Thomas & Aaron Briggs. You can download or play the interview right here. We talked about a lot of great wrestling topics for over an hour and I got a new headset too, so the audio is as good as ever.

Check out my feature column archive that's exclusive to WhatCulture. Some recent posts include 10 urban legends about CM Punk (remember him?), a look at some of the funniest moments from the Attitude Era and some of the most iconic babyface turns in WWE history. I do ten posts per week over there, so there's plenty of content to check out.

Have a great week.

John Canton - mrjohncanton@gmail.com

Twitter @johnreport

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