WWE Monday Night Raw, August 27: Analysis and Aftermath

On WWE Raw's final edition in the month of August, WWE presented yet another three-hour extravaganza filled with progression of story-lines, comedic filler and build for the Night of Champions pay-per-view. Although the show wasn't all that great this week, there were still a handful of highlights to keep this viewer somewhat satisfied.

Here, I will analyze each significant segment presented on the show. I will also provide a combination of aftermath and wishful thinking about what I hope to see in the coming weeks.

Jerry Lawler calls out WWE Champion CM Punk

Strong opening segment featuring Jerry Lawler and WWE Champion CM Punk. Both guys played their roles excellently and delivered solid mic work.

It gave viewers a hook for the rest of the show as to whether Lawler would fight Punk or not, thus setting up the main event effectively. As much as I don't dig Punk's new bald look, I guess it was necessary now that he's a full-fledged heel.

Ryback def. Jack Swagger

Fine match between Ryback and Jack Swagger. This was what I wanted to see following their mini-match last month, so I was glad we finally got it.

It didn't last long, but that was expected. Despite the obvious outcome, Swagger was able to score some offense while Ryback picked up a major victory over a former World Heavyweight Champion.

Ryback needs a legitimate feud, but it was nice to see the commentators reference Swagger's recent losing ways.

Divas Champion Layla def. Natalya (non-title); Raw General Manager AJ attacks Vickie Guerrero

Nice match between Divas Champion Layla and Natalya. They're two of the best women wrestlers on the roster today, and while the match was only a mere two minutes, it at least featured some fun spots from both Natalya and Layla.

My only complaint was that they made the entire match feel meaningless with all of the focus being on Vickie Guerrero at ringside. I'm not exactly sure what the point was of AJ clobbering Vickie, but it was a pleasant surprise and showed some fire in AJ that we haven't seen since she took the reins of Raw General Manager.

John Cena def. Intercontinental Champion The Miz (non-title)

Good match with John Cena defeating Intercontinental Champion The Miz. It didn't exactly feel fresh since we've seen it nearly a thousand times, but they were given a sufficient amount of time and made the best of it.

There was some fun action, but the predictable finish took away from it a bit. It made Miz look weak and the intercontinental title even weaker, so I'm not sure as to why they had Miz face Cena rather than someone else who could've taken a loss and not been harmed by it.

Daniel Bryan and Kane attend anger management classes

Hilarious anger management segments throughout the night featuring Daniel Bryan and Kane. In recent months, Bryan has been flourishing in his role and has become an absolute riot in the process.

Kane was also great here. His story was extremely entertaining and was the highlight of the night for this viewer. I hope to see more of these segments in coming weeks, or even a potential Bryan-Kane tandem.

Santino Marella def. Heath Slater

Meaningless match with Santino Marella and Heath Slater. With focus being put on Slater's newfound "winning" streak, I thought there was a chance he would win here, but sadly, that wasn't the case.

It contained comedy that was found funny by no one, especially since there were a number of "boring" chants throughout a majority of it. Antonio Cesaro didn't even appear, so this whole thing felt like one giant waste of time.

Brodus Clay and Sin Cara def. Cody Rhodes and Damien Sandow

Decent tag team match with Brodus Clay and Sin Cara defeating Cody Rhodes and Damien Sandow. The pre-match promos from Sandow and Rhodes were brilliant, and I surely hope they're a tag team going forward.

Their gimmicks are a perfect match for one another, and contain good chemistry together. Nonetheless, the match was successful in building both feuds respectively and gives the faces the victory after suffering from losses last week.

WWE Tag Team Champion R-Truth (w/Kofi Kingston) def. Daniel Bryan by count-out

Brief match between WWE Tag Team Champion R-Truth and Daniel Bryan. The action was fine for what it was, but the match was more so about Bryan and how he could keep his anger under control.

In that aspect, it was entertaining and kept the crowd alive. Bryan is undoubtedly the most entertaining act in WWE today, so I hope they continue to utilize him correctly as time progresses.

Triple H delivers his final farewell

Standard promo from Triple H. He said everything you'd expect him to without really revealing whether he's truly retired or not.

Most of it came off a bit forced, but he did the best he could with what he was given. I couldn't buy into it mostly because it's pretty obvious he won't be retiring at all, but rather will return to face Brock Lesnar in a rematch at some point.

It didn't feel special or need to be dragged out, but it could've been worse.

World Heavyweight Champion Sheamus and Randy Orton def. Dolph Ziggler and Alberto Del Rio

Solid tag team match with World Heavyweight Champion Sheamus and Randy Orton defeating Alberto Del Rio and Dolph Ziggler. It was typical action with nothing really out of the ordinary, but it was still a nice showing from all four guys.

It helped promote the world title picture on SmackDown while also incorporating some good action. The heels losing doesn't surprise me, but it wasn't a smart move either.

Zack Ryder def. David Otunga; Kane attacks Otunga

Throwaway match between Zack Ryder and David Otunga. Neither guy is regularly featured on the show, so the crowd was pretty flat for this contest.

Regardless of that, I was glad to see Ryder pick up a victory here and not actually get buried at the hands of Kane. Kane attacking Otunga seemed strange, but I won't call it a face turn either since the Big Red Monster has been, and always will be, a tweener.

WWE Champion CM Punk def. Jerry Lawler in a Steel Cage match (non-title)

Boring main event match between WWE Champion CM Punk and Jerry Lawler. The outcome was never in doubt, so there was absolutely no excitement to it whatsoever.

I have no intentions of watching a 62-year-old man wrestle in the main event of Raw, but at least he was able to get some spots in. The Steel Cage made the match a bit more brutal, especially when Punk got cut open.

Punk forcing Lawler to submit doesn't mean much since he's only a commentator, but continuing to beat down Lawler following the bout made him look strong and get over as a heel.

On a side note, Punk's match with Cena at Night of Champions was announced by AJ Lee in an anticlimactic fashion, so hopefully they make it feel like a bigger deal next week on Raw.

Overall Show

Overall, a decent to lackluster show that certainly felt like it contained a bit more filler than normal. The three hours didn't drag for this viewer, but some parts of the show were completely wasteful.

However, a few feuds were furthered and featured nice action, so those were among the few highlights of this week's Raw. If you missed the show, the only thing I suggest going back to watch are the segments featuring Kane and Bryan, which had me laughing the entire night through.

For my full thoughts on Raw, watch my latest WrestleRant video. 

Visit my website at Next Era Wrestling, and listen to my SAVE US GSM radio show every Thursday at 10/9c for more of my thoughts and writings, along with WWE/TNA news, reviews, recaps and more.

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