LIVE Raw thoughts - October 28, 2013

11:06 - Personally, I could do without Orton vs. Big Show, but it could be worse, I suppose.  Hoping this doesn't mean that Daniel Bryan is completely out of the main event title picture.

10:59 - Good to see we're back to emasculating the entire roster.

10:54 - Oh, of course, there's Vince McMahon too.

10:47 - So, presumably, Randy will move onto a new challenger here.  And that person should crash the celebration here.  The obvious person -- and this saddens and disappoints me -- is Big Show.  I would just LOVE for them to throw somebody new in the mix, though.  It doesn't even have to be somebody catastrophic, like Ziggler.  Even throw in somebody like Mysterio here.  Something unexpected.

10:41 - Wait, Natalya can't even come out to her own theme music?  By the way, kinda crazy that they've built up the divisions enough that we have numerous Divas and tag team matches in a given night.

10:26 - Wow, really shocked to see the Real Americans win it.  Disappointed, actually.  They have enough tag teams right now that they didn't need to sacrifice the champions here.  Why not let the Real Americans get a series of convincing wins?  Goldust and Cody have been on such a roll that this was a waste of a loss.

10:25 - Some really odd and awkward camera angles for Goldust's hot tag segment.

10:15 - Wondering if it would have been smarter to hold off the Kane "heel" turn for after Survivor Series.  A Punk/Bryan/Kane triad against the Wyatts would have been a sensible match.  Plus, it would be a fun little throw back to their 3 way feud over AJ (and the WWE Championship) last year.  Who stands in, with Kane out of the picture?  I can't imagine the Miz does, considering his treatment earlier in the match.  Who else has been victimized by the Wyatts?  Kofi?  He hasn't been treated much better.

10:08 - Intrigued by this Wyatt story.  And the fact that it now brings CM Punk and Daniel Bryan into the same universe.

10:01 - I'm guessing Punk wins this and Ryback is written off of TV for a little bit.  By the way, gotta love these Internet rumors that Ryback is in the doghouse.  Just AFTER the rumors that they're planning to bring in Goldberg JUST to fight Ryback.  Or that Ryback is a possible Undertaker opponent.

9:51 - Still hate the sideburns.  Bring back the beard.

9:42 - Hmmmm, odd segment.  Not quite sure what to make of it.  Is this a ruse?  Was Kane removing the mask symbolic of his submission, or is he actually keeping it off?  Personally, I prefer the mask.  I guess we'll see.

9:37 - I am proud to say that I have said from the beginning that Miz should not be a face.  The guy just doesn't work in that role.  Turn him heel, pronto.

9:28 - AJ has so many great little touches to her character that 90% of the roster misses out on.

9:26 - Love that AJ is still Divas Champion.  Mildly shocked that she's being portrayed as the heel in a feud with the Bellas.  I mean, really?

9:14 - Are these teams REALLY fighting again?  Haven't these two teams fought every single week since Los Matadores debuted?

9:11 - I'm confused, why could Renee Young see the Wyatts but Daniel Bryan couldn't?  And why wouldn't she, ya' know, give him a heads up?

9:05 - The fact that the fans were willing to cheer for Daniel Bryan over Shawn Michaels speaks volumes.  Give this man the title!

9:03 - WWE is certainly not making it easy for Daniel Bryan.  Putting him up against traditionally popular and established personalities without having them act like explicit heels.

8:44 - Sometimes this Teddy Long cliche tag match thing annoys me.  Why not just do a six man tag from the get-go?  Does handling it this way add to or advance the stories in any way?

8:40 - Not sure I would end Ambrose's US title reign while the Intercontinental Championship is waiting in the wings.

8:32 - Personally, I'm glad Cena won.  Yes, WWE needs to create new stars -- and they should -- but the World Heavyweight Championship can get some real rehabilitation with Cena as champion for a couple of months.  And then when Sandow does win that title -- if he does -- it'll mean more than if he does right now.  Sandow gave a great performance and IF they continue to treat him well and push him strong after this loss, he'll be fine.  But like anything else, it's how you're treated after a loss that'll really determine how well you do.

8:17 - Odd choice to go to a commercial break here.  REALLY halts the momentum of the segment.  People want to see if Sandow will make short work of Cena.  To know he'll last four minutes (or will get a four minute break) hurts the drama.

8:14 - Still think Sandow fails here.

8:08 - Why is John Cena talking like this?

8:03 - Remember when a Hell in a Cell match was the climax of a violent feud and not the prelude to a Street Fight or some other stupid match?

7:45 - My LIVE Raw thoughts are back!  The show begins in about 15 minutes....do you think it will be strong enough to win over those who were turned off by the booking of last night's PPV?  Essentially, they're back with the established "old guard" of Orton and Cena on top, with Daniel Bryan failing to bring home the championship.

Somebody on Twitter (I believe) brought up the good point that if the money is in the chase, people who have been waiting to see Daniel Bryan as the WWE Champion will now have spent upwards of $160 (PPV is now $40, correct?  And that's SummerSlam, Night of Champions, Payback, and Hell in a Cell).  Assuming he gets one "last" shot (for storyline purposes) at Survivor Series, that's now $200.  If you said to the average fan -- no matter how avid he might be -- "Would you pay $200 to see Daniel Bryan as the WWE Champion," they'd probably say "no."  To say "the money is in the chase" is overly simplistic.  More accurately, the money is in the PAYOFF of the chase.  Without that payoff, your paying audience just feel duped and annoyed.

Honestly, I think Daniel Bryan has been handled a bit better than most people have claimed.  He's come out on top more often than not the past few weeks.  And he's always put over strong in matches and in commentary.  But the end HAS to be with Bryan as WWE Champion.  Otherwise this thing is a bust.