WWE Week in Review, Nov. 16: Mayhem in Manchester, Authority Takes a Vacation

For the first time since April, WWE traveled across the pond this past week to England, where it filmed its weekly programming. Despite the electric environment that the hot crowds provided, the product still suffered from predictability and lack of excitement.

However, there were some highlights during the dull week, one of which being the on-going war between the pairing of CM Punk and Daniel Bryan and The Wyatt Family. With the stage now set for Survivor Series, which tandem will get the last laugh prior to the pay-per-view?

John Cena and Alberto Del Rio continued their stagnant rivalry overseas, colliding on both Raw and SmackDown this week. Although Del Rio was the last man standing on both occasions, do fans truly believe he has a chance of walking out of Survivor Series with the world title around his waist?

The Authority was thankfully absent from this week's television tapings, but that didn't stop havoc from being unleashed on Raw, with Big Show sending WWE champion Randy Orton crashing through the commentating table. Will Show have to pay the price next week when Triple H and Stephanie McMahon return to the flagship show?

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: CM Punk and Daniel Bryan vs. The Shield: Raw, Nov. 11

Whenever CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose are all in the ring together, you should expect the Internet to explode. The World Wide Web was on the verge of breaking this past Monday night when Bryan and Punk paired up for the first time ever to take on The Shield in a 3-on-2 Handicap match.

The former world champions certainly had their work cut out for them, as The Shield was no easy obstacle to overcome. It is also worth noting that this was Punk's first time facing off against the black-clad trio since turning face earlier this year, so the in-ring work was excellent, as expected.

Although the dream match was cut short by interference from The Wyatt Family, the subsequent brawl that went down between the opposing factions was one to watch for sure. I would go as far to say that it was one of the most monumental moments in recent Raw history.

It made for an awesome ending to what was a rather forgettable Raw.

Superstar of the Week: Natalya

(Courtesy of WWE.com)

Could Natalya be closing in on her second Divas Championship?

It has been three long years since Natalya last held the Divas Championship, but she received her first shot at the title one-on-one against AJ Lee on the latest episode of WWE Main Event in front of a capacity crowd. The two had one of the better Divas matches in recent memory and showcased their tremendous talents and great chemistry for nearly 10 minutes.

Although Natalya fell short of capturing the gold, she was still able to win the match via disqualification. Two nights later on SmackDown, Natalya sought vengeance against AJ by knocking off her heavy Tamina Snuka in quick fashion.

Whether Natalya will receive another shot at the strap remains to be seen, but let the record show that she is definitely deserving of one.

Show of the Week: WWE Main Event, Nov. 13

For the second consecutive week, WWE Main Event has earned the title of Show of the Week. Only during a time where the product is difficult to watch and consistently enjoy would something like this happen.

That isn't meant as a slight toward Main Event, but a few short weeks ago, the Wednesday night program rarely ever featured anything worth watching. That changed with last week's show and continued with the latest episode.

The Divas Championship was defended for the first time ever on Main Event this past week, as AJ Lee put the gold up for grabs against Natalya in the opening match. Their great match wasn't the only entertaining aspect of the show, as the bout pitting former tag team partners Tyson Kidd and Justin Gabriel against one another was also fun to watch.

SmackDown mostly consisted of filler, and the only memorable moment from Raw was its ending, so it shouldn't come as much of a surprise that Main Event was better quality that the other two programs combined.

This Week's Highlights

Randy Orton vs. Cody Rhodes and Goldust: Pitting two babyfaces against a heel in a handicap match situation has never made sense to me, but it was hard to complain about a match that featured good chemistry among all of the competitors. The Rhodes brothers picked up a victory while also allowing Orton to be protected, so it was a win-win for both parties. Big Show's post-match attack on Orton was also well done and built toward the WWE Championship match at Survivor Series nicely.

The Authority takes a vacation: This lack of The Authority on WWE programming this week was a refreshing change of pace. Triple H and Stephanie McMahon have been overexposed for months now, so it was smart of WWE to leave them off television for this week. Granted, they were still constantly mentioned by the commentators, and the power struggle between Kane, Vickie Guerrero and Brad Maddox was confusing, but it was better than having the power couple make unnecessary appearances.

Curtis Axel vs. Dolph Ziggler: Intercontinental Championship matches don't mean as much as they used to, but the live crowd took a liking to this particular one on this week's Raw. Both competitors put forth a strong effort and had a very well-wrestled match. It was a nice, clean title defense for Axel, who managed to garner some heat once the contest concluded. It is also worth noting that an Intercontinental title match has occurred in England every year since 2008, so it was cool of WWE to keep that streak alive.

AJ Lee vs. Natalya: AJ and Natalya are easily two of the best in-ring workers in the Divas division today, so I was happy to see their match get as much time as it did on Main Event. It wouldn't have gone that long had it been on either of the main shows, that is for sure. Here's hoping this isn't the last we see of these two in the ring together.

The Usos vs. The Wyatt Family: Any time a match kicks off SmackDown as opposed to a talking segment is most definitely a plus in my book. These two teams worked a fun matchup at the start of SmackDown, and the right team went over considering who Luke Harper and Erik Rowan will be facing at the pending pay-per-view.

This Week's Low Points

John Cena and Alberto Del Rio: I appreciate the effort WWE has put in to garnering heat for Del Rio, but I fear it is too little too, late by this point. Cena overcoming the odds by defeating The Real Americans in a Handicap match on Raw was questionable, and the arm wrestling challenge between Cena and Del Rio on SmackDown was downright deplorable. Survivor Series can't come any quicker, as this feud needs to end as soon as possible.

Ryback: This really shouldn't come as much of a shocker to anyone, as the Ryback character has been dead for a long time now. However, this week was one of his worst in recent memory. Not only did he lose to R-Truth of all people on Raw, but he was also embarrassed at the hands of The Wyatt Family on SmackDown. Can he go back to saying "Feed Me More" and forget this failed heel run ever happened?

Fandango vs. Tyson Kidd: I don't mind these two feuding based off of something that happened on Total Divas, but the fact their match on Raw went only three minutes was disappointing. They are capable of so much more. I realize Fandango is crazy over in England, but was it really necessary for him to beat the recently returned Kidd in a matter of minutes?

The Great Khali vs. Hunico and Camacho: After a strong showing against The Usos on last week's episode of Main Event, Hunico and Camacho went back to being enhancement talent on SmackDown this week. They have potential to be a fun addition to the tag team division, but losing to Khali in a Handicap match certainly won't do anything to boost their credibility. Besides, what was the point of this match intended to be anyway?

The Union Jacks: Fandango did something similar on Raw, but I was confused by why the heels were dressed in the country's colors this week. Aren't they aiming to get booed and not embraced by the fans? I was fine with them on Raw, slightly annoyed by them on Main Event but simply sick of them by the time they wrestled on SmackDown. Expect 3MB to make some sort of appearance on the country-themed episode of Raw next week, but I am sure you were already anticipating it.

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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.