Although the card suffered from mainly filler matches, the storyline and an intriguing setup to what will be a jam-packed Elimination Chamber Main Event paved the way for a solid episode of RAW.
Again, while some of the matches failed to captivate, Brock Lesnar’s reign of destruction, a great Main Event and the news of Jake “The Snake†Roberts’ inclusion in the 2014 class of the WWE Hall of Fame rounded out the program.
While there’s isn’t much competition in the Intercontinental, Divas and United States title pictures, the Tag Team division and WWE World Heavyweight Champion scene are jam-packed with worthy teams and single stars. With Wrestlemania around the corner and several stars with their eyes on gold, things can and most likely will, get very spicy on the way to New Orleans.
Matches:
Sin Cara and Rey Mysterio vs. Jack Swagger and Antonio Cesaro w/Zeb Colter: This seemed like your usual good vs. bad matchup until Colter slapped Swagger in the face outside the ring in an effort to piss him off. While it worked at first, once Mysterio got the hot tag, the match changed in an instant. After his trademark flipping Bulldog and a Buzzsaw Kick, Mysterio and were in control. But once it appeared the Face team had the match in hand, Cesaro quickly turned the tables with a nasty European Uppercut and the Neutralizer.
Fandango w/Summer Rae vs. R-Truth w/Xavier Woods: A good, but quick match that saw Fandango miss the Top Rope Leg Drop, allowing Truth to hit the What’s Up for the victory.
Dolph Ziggler vs. The Miz: A decent encounter that felt more orchestrated than a passionate hometown bout. After he escaped the Figure-Four twice, Ziggler won with the Zig-Zag.
Jimmy and Jey Uso vs. Ryback and Curtis Axel: The Usos continued their climb up the Tag Team ladder with a convincing win over Ryback and Axel, thanks in part to a nice combination of vicious kicks and High-Flying action.
Alberto Del Rio vs. Kofi Kingston: With no storyline to bind these two together, this was just a decent match with some good moves. After ten minutes of back and forth action, Del Rio managed to squirm out of the SOS and hit Kingston with the Back Cracker, but Kingston stayed vigilant. Things changed quickly however after Del Rio nailed Kingston with a nasty top rope Stomp and followed it up with a Super Kick for the win.
WWE Tag Team Champions Road Dogg and Billy Gunn vs. Goldust and Cody Rhodes: This was an entertaining match until Brock Lesnar interrupted and destroyed both Goldust and Rhodes with F5s and chair shots galore.
Nikki and Brie Bella and Naomi and Cameron vs. Aksana, Divas Champion AJ Lee, Tamina Snuka and Alicia Foxx: A surprisingly athletic match that featured a plethora of strikes and even a triple duplex. Cameron ultimately pinned Lee with the Rear View.
Six-Man Qualifying Match for Elimination Chamber: John Cena, Sheamus and Daniel Bryan vs. Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins and United States Champion Dean Ambrose: A lengthy and fun back and forth six-man tag. Bryan, Cena and Sheamus had their moments of signature offense, but The Shield stayed in the fight with their usual use of quick tags and great counters. After all six competitors used finishing maneuvers and Cena put Reigns in the STF, The Wyatt Family interfered. Luckily, Cena, Bryan and Sheamus won by DQ and were granted access to the Elimination Chamber Main Event.
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