WWE RAW Coverage: Tug of War and a Dance Off

April 30, 2013 Patrick Hickey Jr. Professional Wrestling, TV 0

Between the decent matches but lagging storyline, this week’s RAW was mediocre.

Tug of war? A Dance Off?

Really?

Aside from the adorable Make-a-Wish segment and the Dolph Ziggler/Kofi Kingston match, this week’s episode did little in terms of entertaining.

Matches:

Ricardo Rodriguez w/Alberto Del Rio vs. Big E. Langston w/Dolph Ziggler and AJ Lee vs. Zeb Colter w/Jack Swagger: Langston was in control, but things got crazy when Swagger, Ziggler and Del Rio got involved. After Lee stopped the referee from counting a possible Colter pinfall, Rodriguez got the win via rollup. As a result of the win, Del Rio gets to pick the stipulation for the World Heavyweight title match at Extreme Rules.

Randy Orton vs. Cody Rhodes: It was a generic, run-of-the-mill encounter until the end. Rhodes nearly won with a disaster kick and looked dominant at times. But after he flubbed a top rope maneuver, Orton hit the Superplex and then his usual slew of offense. Rhodes then countered the RKO into the Cross Rhodes, but couldn’t get the win. After another Disaster Kick attempt, Orton countered into the RKO for the win.

Naomi w/Cameron vs. Brie Bella w/Nikki Bella: Twin magic was in full effect as Nikki Bella got the rollup win, but Cameron got the referee to reverse the decision. After the match, the Bellas got even.

United States Champion Kofi Kingston vs. World Heavyweight Champion Dolph Ziggler w/Big E. Langston and AJ Lee: This was a high-impact match between two of the company’s best workers. After a Boom Drop, Kingston was set to end it, but Ziggler hit his trademark DDT for a near-fall. Kingston then hit the SOS and followed it up with a Trouble in Paradise, but Lee put Ziggler’s leg on the ropes. Langston pulled Ziggler out of the ring, but Kingston took them both out. After he brought Ziggler back in, Kingston hit the Cross-body, but couldn’t get the win. After a botched leg drop, Ziggler got the win with the Zig-Zag. After the match, Langston nailed Kingston with his finisher twice.

Zack Ryder vs. Jack Swagger w/Zeb Colter: Aside from a Face Jam and a Dropkick, this match was all Swagger. After two Swagger-Bombs, Ryder made a quick comeback but it all ended quickly. Following a Gutwrench Powerbomb, Swagger won with the Ankle Lock.

Alberto Del Rio w/Ricardo Rodriguez vs. Antonio Cesaro: These guys have excellent chemistry and need to continue this rivalry in one way or another. Things started out a bit chaotic and right away, it was obvious Del Rio would have his hands full with Cesaro. The former U.S. champ had a few nice spots in the match, away from selling for Del Rio for 10 minutes. A massive European Uppercut couldn’t get Cesaro the win, but Del Rio couldn’t with a Super Kick either. The former World Heavyweight Champion soon earned the win with his patented Arm-Breaker.

Kane and Daniel Bryan and John Cena vs. Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins: Goddamn, Dean Ambrose can sell. Did he take a beating or what this week? Add in some stiff and technical wrestling from Kane and Daniel Bryan and this was a solid match. After a Kane Chokeslam on Ambrose, Cena got the hot tag and went to work on The Shield, but Reigns ultimately got the win with the Spear.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 14262 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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