WWE Week in Review, Nov. 9: Luke Harper Impresses, Big Show Rehired

We are only two weeks away from one of WWE's biggest pay-per-views of the year with Survivor Series, and yet the product continues to flounder. Thankfully, there are a few highlights among all the mind-boggling booking going on at the moment.

After being beat down by The Wyatt Family last week, CM Punk and Daniel Bryan looked to get a piece of the faction on this week's editions of Raw and SmackDown. Are these two tandems on a collision course for Survivor Series?

Big Show, mere days removed from being "banished" from the WWE, was rehired on Monday night by Triple H and granted a WWE Championship match against Randy Orton. Has Show put a target on his back now that he is once again an active member of the roster?

John Cena kept his momentum going strong this week with huge victories on both brands while also getting the better of Alberto Del Rio. With Del Rio invoking his rematch clause for the World Heavyweight Championship at the pending pay-per-view, what will he have in store for Cena in coming weeks?

Here, I will break down the week in wrestling by analyzing the Monday Night Raw, Friday Night SmackDown and WWE Main Event broadcasts, including each show's highlights, low points and other noteworthy, monumental moments. Also, an award will be given to the show and Superstar that shined the brightest over the course of the week.

Match of the Week: 6-Man Tag Team Match (Raw, Nov. 4)

In a rematch from last week's edition of SmackDown, World Heavyweight champion John Cena joined forces with WWE Tag Team champions Cody Rhodes and Goldust to battle Damien Sandow and The Real Americans in six-man tag team action on Raw. The Tag Team champs have been consistently stealing the show since their formation last month, and their strong showing Monday night was no exception.

They fought hard against Jack Swagger and Antonio Cesaro, who defeated them the previous week in a non-title matchup. The entire heel team benefited from being in the ring with Cena, bringing their intensity as well as their credibility to a high that had never before been reached.

The action was extremely entertaining from start to finish, as everyone involved was able to get in the signature spots. In the end, Cena's team reigned supreme after The Champ connected with an Attitude Adjustment on Swagger to score the three-count and the victory.

Superstar of the Week: Luke Harper

Luke Harper

I don't normally give the title of "Superstar of the Week" to someone who lost on both Raw and SmackDown, but this week is a glaring exception. Luke Harper proved his worth this past week with stellar performances on all three of WWE's televised shows.

Although he lost both bouts, he had two impressive outings against CM Punk and Daniel Bryan on Raw and SmackDown. He also scored a tag team win over The Prime Time Players on WWE Main Event.

WWE NXT isn't usually included in this weekly review, but it is worth mentioning Harper beat Kassius Ohno on that show as well. As amazing as Bray Wyatt is on the microphone, I have been getting the feeling as of late that Harper will be the breakout star of the The Wyatt Family when all is said and done.

Show of the Week: WWE Main Event, Nov. 6

No, you aren't imagining things. Yes, the WWE is in such a sad state at the moment that its supposed "C-show" is this week's Show of the Week.

In all seriousness, though, the latest edition of WWE Main Event was a joy to watch and the one WWE show this week that wasn't held down by asinine storylines or mediocre matches. This week's Raw was somewhat enjoyable, but the angle involving Big Show, Triple H and Randy Orton was so unbelievably illogical and ridiculous that it ended the night on a sour note for this viewer.

The same can be said for SmackDown, except the show didn't feature anything of note and most of the matches were rather forgettable. From the pleasantly surprising match between Nikki Bella and Alicia Fox to the returns of Hunico and Camacho, Main Event was worth watching this week for the first time in a great while.

If you aren't already tuning in to Main Event on a weekly basis, you might want to reconsider going forward.

This Week's Highlights

CM Punk and Daniel Bryan vs. The Wyatt Family: While it is a shame that Bryan is no longer involved in the WWE Championship picture, at least he will be involved in the next best thing: a rivalry against The Wyatt Family alongside Punk. Luke Harper's matches against Punk and Bryan were solid, and the feud was effectively furthered on both Raw and SmackDown this week. I look forward to the rumored tag team match between the two tandems at Survivor Series.

Randy Orton vs. Big E Langston: I am still shocked Langton earned 75 percent of the fan vote on the WWE App over Dolph Ziggler and The Miz (OK, maybe not so much for the latter). Anyway, this was a great showing for Langton against the WWE champion. Sure, he came up short, but he proved in the process that he has the potential to be one of the biggest babyfaces WWE has seen in a long time.

Tyson Kidd returns: After many months on the shelf, Kidd finally returned to in-ring action on this week's Raw. Honestly, I would rather see him chasing the Intercontinental Championship as opposed to competing in mixed tag team matches, but at least he will be featured prominently going forward given his involvement with Total Divas.

John Cena vs. Ryback: They have had far more entertaining matches in the past, but this was still a solid matchup from Cena and Ryback. Granted, Ryback's credibility has been damaged to the point of no return, but he still looked strong in defeat against Cena. I also hope to see Cena continue to make appearances on SmackDown going forward given the fact he is the current World Heavyweight champion.

The Usos vs. Hunico and Camacho: I can't remember when Hunico and Camacho were last seen on WWE television, but I am happy to see them back. They had a very good match against The Usos on WWE Main Event that highlighted the flourishing tag team division. Bonus points go to Hunico for finally getting rid of the bicycle in his entrance, which I always found to be a stupid and stereotypical addition to his act.

This Week's Low Points

Triple H rehires Big Show: As expected, Big Show's "banishment" from WWE lasted all of a week. What was even worse was the amount of exposure this storyline received on Raw. It is bad enough that Big Show is the focal point of the flagship show, but do we really need to sit through pain-inducing legal vignettes for three hours? The beatdown Big Show received at the end of Raw just goes to show that the more things change, the more they stay the same in WWE. Oh, and I also have zero desire to see Show contend for the WWE Championship at the pending pay-per-view. Does WWE honestly think that is going to move numbers?

Alberto Del Rio vs. Kofi Kingston: Don't get me wrong, it was a well-wrestled match and all, but how many times have we seen this bout in the last few months? I actually came to the realization that they have faced off every November since 2010, which is a scary thought. Not only was it obvious that Del Rio was going to go over, but Kingston scored so much offense over the No. 1 contender to the world title that Del Rio's win was essentially worthless.

Ryback vs. The Great Khali: The fact this match even happened was a low point in and of itself. Sure, Ryback picked up the win, but at what cost? He was dominated by Khali for most of the match, and it was only a few weeks ago that he was decimating CM Punk. Oh, how the mighty have fallen.

Alberto Del Rio vs. The Great Khali: The live crowd couldn't have cared less about either competitor. Both are beyond boring in the ring, and Del Rio gained very little by defeating Khali. Unfortunately, fans just don't see Del Rio as a threat to Cena's World title, and I don't think anything he does at this point will change that.

AJ Lee and Tamina Snuka vs. The Funkadactlys: Good God, this was an absolute train wreck of a match. AJ tried her best to salvage it, but to no avail. Cameron is still atrocious in the ring, and Naomi is still green as grass as well. If nothing else, it was good to see AJ bounce back from her tag losses on last week's SmackDown and on this week's Raw.

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Graham Mirmina, a.k.a. Graham "GSM" Matthews, is a journalism major at Endicott College. Visit his website at Next Era Wrestling and "like" his official Facebook page to continue the conversation on all things wrestling.