WWE Monday Night Raw results and observations (02/16/15)

As usual, Monday Night Raw wasn't chalked full of action. That feat is nearly impossible to carry out over the course of a three-hour show.

But the programs the WWE is featuring heading into the Fastlane pay-per-view, the company did a pretty good job of building the last bit anticipation for what will occur during the show this coming Sunday.

Before we delve any deeper, let's run through the full match results from the Amway Center in Orlando, Fla.:

- Dean Ambrose def. Luke Harper

- The New Day def. Goldust & Stardust

- Roman Reigns def. Kane via count out

- Paige def. Summer Rae

- Dolph Ziggler def. Seth Rollins via disqualification

- Bad News Barrett def. Damien Mizdow

- Jimmy Uso & Naomi def. Tyson Kidd & Natalya

- Big Show def. Daniel Bryan via disqualification

Now, let's go through the highlights from the edition of Raw before Fastlane:

Daniel Bryan, Reigns try to kill each other

The WWE did a very good job of building tension between Roman Reigns and Daniel Bryan the past couple of weeks, and it all came to a boiling point during the final segment of Raw.

Reigns sat ringside during the main event of Bryan versus Big Show and purposely attempted to distract the fans from the match in an effort to play mind games, much like Bryan did to him earlier in the show.

Eventually, Reigns got Bryan disqualified after hitting Big Show with the Superman punch out of retaliation for a dust up between the two earlier in the match.

Bryan, having been declared the loser of the match, took offense to this proceeded to attack Reigns.

After the officials separated the two stars, they agreed to shake hands. That showcase of respect went out the window very quickly as they began attacking each other again, this time brawling all around the arena to close the show.

Imagine that, a hot angle to close the show. What a novel concept.

But it's hard to rag on WWE too much for this segment. The company actually deserves praise for how this all came about and Bryan and Reigns deserve credit for fighting like there was no tomorrow.

My anticipation level for this match in particular was already pretty high. After this brawl, it definitely increased.

I won't give my official prediction here. That will be saved for a separate post later in the week, but I do foresee Bryan bringing the absolute best out of Reigns during the match.

After working Big Show for the last two months, it will be nice to see Reigns against a smaller, more athletic opponent in what should the main event of Fastlane. I anticipate this to be Reigns' best match since the breakup of The Shield last summer.

Competing chants for Roman Reigns

There's only one problem with this entire program: It has split the audience and forced them to choose between Daniel Bryan and Roman Reigns.

It's especially split for Reigns, as he received "You can't wrestle!"/"Yes he can!" chants during his match with Kane.

There you have it, WWE. You've successfully created another star that will be both cheered and jeered by the WWE Universe, just like your favorite sort of like star, John Cena.

The craziest part is all of this could have been avoided if only the WWE made the right decision at the Royal Rumble by having Bryan win. The company could have also just kept Bryan on the shelf until after the Royal Rumble, so that fans aren't choosing him over Reigns.

But it's too late for that now.

Triple H shoves down Ric Flair

"The Nature Boy" Ric Flair popped up on Raw and confronted his friend Triple H in order to give him some advice as to how to deal with Sting.

In storyline, Flair would be a great resource on the subject of Sting being as though he helped put him on the map as a top star in wrestling. That makes sense.

What didn't make sense was Flair telling Triple H that since he hasn't wrestled since the summer of June 1, 2014 at Payback, he may not be prepared to face Sting.

I guess whoever wrote the script forgot that Sting is in the same predicament, if not worse. That's because Sting hasn't wrestled a match since Jan. 16, 2014, when he lost to Magnus at TNA Genesis.

Other than that gap in logic, I thought the segment turned out well. I loved Triple H's intensity and the moment he shoved down Flair was kind of shocking. I'm certain Flair relished the opportunity to take a bump again, as he is chomping at the bit to get back in the ring for a match.

John Cena destroys Rusev

The show not only ended hot but it started hot as well with John Cena destroying Rusev, making the Russian sympathizer look as vulnerable as he's ever looked.

Although I didn't mind the segment — it was a much better start to the show than a 30-minute promo from The Authority — I believe the segment may have tipped the WWE's hand as to who will come out the winner between these two at Fastlane.

Stardust turns on Goldust and his family

"The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes was on Raw as well and tried to talk some sense into his son Stardust.

Stardust didn't take heed to his father's plea and eventually turned his back on his brother Goldust after their match with The New Day.

Backstage, Stardust told his father that Cody Rhodes is dead gone as is his father. Needless to say, the Rhodes family is going through some hard times, if you know what I mean?

I may be in the minority, but I am intrigued to see where exactly does this storyline go. I think a match at WrestleMania between Goldust and Stardust is paramount, but will it result Stardust changing back into Cody Rhodes at some point? Time will tell.

Announcers drop the ball with Stardust turn

One thing I didn't like at all was the lack of emotion the announcers displayed when Stardust turned on Goldust.

It's almost as if they didn't even care about what was happening right in front of them. I mean, come one! A man just turned on his brother and his family. Show some life, will you?

Instead, they went into this stunned silence as if they were at a loss for words. Then, they turn right around and talk the entire way through the very next match, making one bad attempt at humor after another. It's become cringe inducing.

This was a moment where I yearn for Jim Ross because he would have made Stardust look like the most vile, despicable human being on the face of the earth.

And guess what? It was effective? What the announcers did Monday night was not effective at all.

Dean Ambrose forces Bad News Barrett to sign contract

I don't know if this will hold up in a court of law, but Dean Ambrose attacked Bad News Barrett, tied his hands down and forced him to sign a contract for an Intercontinental Championship match at Fastlane.

Despite yet another gap in logic, I do like the fact that the WWE is doing something with the Intercontinental Championship. It's only being carried by one of their top performers in the company.

Will this emphasis on the Intercontinental title last long? It probably won't. It is the filler pay-per-view between the Royal Rumble and WrestleMania, so the WWE is going to feature some things it doesn't usually feature.

After Fastlane, all the focus will shift to WrestleMania and it's big matches, which will feature the likes of Sting, Brock Lesnar and probably The Undertaker. There probably won't be any time to emphasize this feud anymore. I hope I'm wrong.

Primetime Players reunite

For a fleeting moment, it looked like Darren Young was going to get hammered alongside a nameless, faceless jobber by The Ascension.

That was until his old running mate Titus O'Neil came to his rescue in what looked like the reformation of The Primetime Players.

While people on Twitter cared about the return of the entertaining tag team, no one in Orlando cared at all.

And it's a shame, too. Young and O'Neil had something good going together and the WWE, in its infinite wisdom, inexplicably split them up.

Even worse, they left O'Neil heel the entire time, which rendered him useless because he's way more entertaining as a babyface. The WWE turned these guys into nobodies and will probably indict them for the lack of reaction they received Monday night.

Well, what do you expect? When you show no concern for your own talent, why should the fans?

As much as I like The Primetime Players and wish they could get a nice run together, they will probably be merely another stepping stone for The Ascension, a team that is much less entertaining than they are.

But as they say, that's the way the cookie crumbles sometimes.

Naked Paige

I shouldn't have to say much more than that, but I will anyway.

Since The Bella Twins stole her threads, Paige was forced to borrow the attire of one of Adam Rose's rosebuds (who are apparently on the show even when he's not).

The outfit she took on Summer Rae in was a purple clown outfit.

I liked that Paige sort of turned the tables on The Bellas during her post-match promo, but a story like this could have been better with a heel.

That's because it's funny to see a heel get humiliated. Remember when this happened to Chris Jericho and Christian way back in the day? It was much better then, despite the fact that they were men.

But I can't complain too much about naked Paige.

The Miz has a bell

The Miz added a new wrinkle to his control over Damien Mizdow this week in the form of an annoying bell. The Miz is working some classic heel tactics during this storyline and the bell is just the latest layer.

What gets the most heat with me is the loafers he wears without socks. That may sound dumb, but it really grinds my gears.