What the hell was creative thinking this week?
With Wrestlemania just three weeks away, the debacle this program ultimately became was the opposite of what the company needed. Simply put, this week’s RAW starting strangely and ended flat.
John Cena opened the show and was interrupted by a sluggish promo from The Prime Time Players (Titus O’Neil was dressed as an old man, his “Uncle,†Rufus “Pancake†Patterson), which ended with Darren Young challenging Cena. Why was a mid-level and still green tag team able to just walk down to the ring and talk smack? How does this advance any angle? How does it help Young? How does it entertain?
It doesn’t. It doesn’t do anything at all.
This opening segment was essentially a microcosm of the entire show. A sluggish, exaggerated waste of time. This was only exacerbated later in the show by a slew of job outs and another 10 minutes of nonsense from Fandango. Aside from the news of Booker T’s selection to the WWE Hall of Fame, appearances from Triple H, Brock Lesnar and The Undertaker and a drop of the s-bomb from CM Punk, this week’s RAW failed to deliver.
Matches:
Darren Young w/Titus O’Neil vs. John Cena: A waste of time. Cena latched on the STF early but Young squirmed away. A few minutes and a commercial break later, Cena won with The Attitude Adjustment.
Ryback vs. David Otunga: Ryback simply destroyed Otunga with his signature offense and The Shellshock.
Fandango vs. The Great Khali w/Natalya Neidhart: Epic fail. Right before the match, a promo ran which said Fandango would make his début next week. As the flamboyant rookie comes out for a match, announcer Michael Cole says this may be the week he finally wrestles. Guess what? It didn’t happen. After Natalya refused to say his name right, Fandango walked out, again.
R-Truth vs. Damien Sandow: This could have been a decent match between two solid workers. Sandow was in control early on, thanks to some signature offense, but Truth fought back with strikes and a Swinging Head Scissors. Truth nearly got the win with the Lie Detector, but Sandow walked out on the match to give Truth the win via count-out.
Epico and Primo w/ Rosa Mendez vs. WWE Tag Team Champions Kane and Daniel Bryan: After Epico and Primo beat on Bryan, Kane cleaned house. Kane won with a Chokeslam on Epico, but almost got sidetracked when AJ skipped down the ramp.
World Heavyweight Champion Alberto Del Rio vs. Cody Rhodes: Del Rio was in charge, but Rhodes made the most of every opportunity. After Del Rio ran into the ring post shoulder first, Rhodes got the upper hand. The third generation star looked poised to win after a Disaster Kick on the outside. But Del Rio later reversed a Superplex and sent Rhodes crashing on his face to even things out again. A Tilt-a-Whirl Backbreaker and Super Kick later put the champion ahead again. Rhodes countered with a Moonsault, but again, Del Rio fought back, this time with a Backstabber. A few counters later and Del Rio won with the Cross-Arm Breaker. After the bell, Jack Swagger pounded on the champion and his valet.
Randy Orton and Sheamus vs. Heath Slater, Jinder Mahal and Drew MacIntyre: Orton and Sheamus made quick work of 3MB thanks to two Brogue Kicks and a RKO. After the match, The Shield appeared ready to take out Orton and Sheamus. In a likely twist after Ryback was taken out of the six-man match to fight Mark Henry at Wrestlemania, The Big Show joined forces with Sheamus and Orton.
Dolph Ziggler w/ AJ Lee and Big E. Langston vs. Kofi Kingston: Ziggler was smooth as butter early on, hitting precision Drop Kicks and Shoulde Blocks at will. He then slowed down the pace with strikes and submission holds. Kingston went on a run with some strikes and a Russian Leg Sweep, but Ziggler wasn’t done yet. Add in interference from Lee and Langston and Kingston was finished. The Zig-Zag was the icing on the cake. After the match, Kane and Bryan challenged Langston and Ziggler to a Tag Team title match at Wrestlemania.
Chris Jericho vs. The Miz vs. Intercontinental Champion Wade Barrett: Best match of the night. It was all offense and counters. It almost had the feel of an X-Division match. After Miz latched on the Figure-Four on Barrett, Jericho hit them both with the Lionsault. A few seconds later Jericho had the Walls of Jericho on Barrett, but Miz broke it up. With a slew of other near-falls and counters from all three competitors, this match was frenetic and fun. After Miz caught Jericho with the Skull-Crushing Finale, Barrett snuck in and rolled up Miz to keep his title.
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