WWE was taped this week from the Echo Arena in Liverpool, England. The crowd was nearly a sell-out, and it didn't take long for the UK fans to make their voices heard. Half an hour before bell time and all you could hear was "Cena sucks" chants (and many ruder variations). There was also a vocal chorus of "CM Punk" chants. Despite all of this, Cena merchandise was selling well, with the usual contingent of women and children being the main market. At £16 for a flimsy Cena autographed card, you can see how WWE continue to find success in commercial avenues. The tapings started with the 'Superstars' show. First up was Sin Cara defeating Curtis Axel in a basic match. All the usual flips and flops from Cara, but the crowd were firmly behind Axel. The second 'Superstars' match was Heath Slater versus Big E. The crowd LOVED Slater and booed Big E. The finish was unpopular, with Big E winning with the Big Ending. Raw started with the announcers coming to their table. JBL was massively popular, Cole was hated. The crowd then got stuck into furious "Where's Our Network" chants. The show started filming when John Cena entered to huge boos. The Network chants continued but he immediately proved his veteran experience by shutting the chants down with a promo that put the heat on the Authority. Cena simply made the Network chants part of the narrative that the Authority is inefficient. Cena mentioned that Zack Ryder is out for six months. He then noted that he has Dolph Ziggler and Jack Swagger for Team Cena. He called out Ryback to see if The Big Guy would join, but the Authority also came out to tempt Ryback. Big heat in boos and more Network chants toward Stephanie and Hunter. Cena called the Authority "wan****", which is considered a far from PG word in the UK. Parents with young kids would've been puzzled with that one. Ryback didn't side with either The Authority or Cena and hit a slam on Cena before exiting. There were "Feed Me More" chants and Ryback was received very well. Seth Rollins defeated Jack Swagger with the Curb Stomp in the opening match. The implication is that he's now out of Team Cena. Decent but short work, Rollins still had chance to shine in his athletic action. Paige beat Alicia Fox in a very short match. The UK fans were very loud for the UK native and she was one of the most over stars of the night. That's probably why WWE didn't give her very long. Stephanie McMahon did a backstage segment in which she shouted at Lana for being a stupid Russian twerp if Rusev didn't join Team Authority. Following this, we had Lana and Rusev for the US Title coronation. It was the typical promo. It was ill advised for them to reference the UK military, but they did anyway. Maybe they didn't know that the UK had Remembrance Sunday yesterday, and the two minutes silence for UK military at 11am on Tuesday. Sheamus stormed the ceremony, which then transitioned into a US title rematch. This match was hated by the crowd, who took it as their token opportunity to do silly chants and generally act up. It was hard to follow the action in the ring, with a rogue beachball in the crowd getting the biggest reactions of the night. Security had a tough job and were mega heels when they finally got the ball. There was also a fan who had his signs confiscated after getting up from his seat too much and trying to hog the cameras. This was all funny but maybe unfair on the guys in the ring. The action seemed to be ok, with major spots including the Irishman diving from the top rope to the outside on the Russian. There was also an impressive suplex from Rusev on Sheamus that indicated Rusev's massive strength. The finish was a count-out. The Miz and Mizdow beat Los Matadores. Hornswoggle was in Miz gear with the heels. Crowd loved Mizdow and he was one of the most over guys of the night. Los Matadores and Miz looked smooth in the ring and it was a decent short effort. Dolph Ziggler and Mark Henry ended in a DQ after Henry chucked a chair in Ziggler's face. The crowd was loud for Ziggler, so it was a shame he didn't get longer. Big Show made the save and joined Team Cena. AJ Lee beat Brie Bella in a short match. There were big "CM Punk" chants and then the crowd lost interest completely. Team Cena added Sheamus as a new member in a backstage segment. In other segments, Ryback was tempted by The Authority. There were consistent cheers and chants for Ryback throughout the night. Tyson Kidd beat Adam Rose with the sharpshooter. This was really short and not much to it, but Kidd looked smooth as ever in his athleticism. It's good to see him getting a run on the big shows. Erick Rowan came out at one point, before exiting through the crowd. Rose turned on The Bunny after the match and was roundly booed. John Cena and Ryback ended without a result after Kane interfered. Predictably, Ryback then beat down the heels and appeared to join Team Cena. The action was decent for what it was. Cena remains a force of nature when it comes to getting crowd reactions, he had loud duelling chants throughout. Also, loud chants for Ryback. That bodes well for both men. Again, the crowd tried to become the focus of attention. Another beachball made an appearance and it again got some of the loudest reactions of the night as security chased it. It will be interesting to see if the audio guys try to edit it for Raw. There was also an incident in which security bundled out a fan for bad behaviour. The show went off the air with Team Cena being Cena, Ryback, Ziggler, Show and Sheamus. Team Authority is Rollins, Henry, Kane and Rusev. Who will the other man be? Maybe Triple H. That would give Survivor Series a good sell, because this Raw really did nothing to make fans want to see the pay per view. The dark match was Rollins taking the finishers of Cena, Show and Sheamus. The crowd were still hating on Cena, so he didn't hit his finisher. Sheamus then stayed at ringside for a long time afterwards to sign merchandise and pose for selfies. Overall, it was one of those nights in which the crowd were too concerned with being the story. Sheamus vs Rusev and Cena vs Ryback were meant to be the centrepieces of the night, but the crowd couldn't wait to do their own chants / throw beachballs / display camera hogging signs. This was entertaining at times but it also felt like the 'smarts' never gave the wrestlers a chance. WWE will take the positives that Ryback is over with 2012 levels of popularity. They'll also be pleased with the way Cena took the Network heat and nipped it in the bud. The guy was so assured on the mic and nothing fazed him on this night.
