“You’re looking at the next WWE World Heavyweight Championâ€- Batista, to WWE World Heavyweight Champion Randy Orton and WWE Principal Owner Stephanie McMahon, during the opening segment of this week’s RAW.
Highly doubtful.
If it wasn’t for Stephanie McMahon and Triple H and exploits of The Shield, this week’s episode of Monday Night Raw would have been a joke. Their promo set the scene for two of Wrestlemania’s biggest matches. The same thing could be said of continually solid promo from Bray Wyatt and Paul Heyman. On an night where the matches were crap and the rest of the show featuring silly in-show adverts for Scooby Doo and the new Arnold Schwarzenegger flick, this show was a mess. Simply put, RAW lacked impact. With just two weeks to go before Wrestlemania XXX, WWE Creative has a long way to go before the card is in the type of shape it needs to be.
This could have been a RAW that put some more touches on the card. Instead, it was filler.
The only other cool development was the announcement of Scott Hall’s induction into the WWE Hall of Fame. One of the most underrated performers of the 90s, Hall could have been an even bigger star if not for drugs, alcohol and WCW. Regardless, he’s where he belongs now.
Matches:
No DQ Fatal Four Way for Intercontinental Title Shot: Dolph Ziggler vs. Christian vs. Alberto Del Rio vs. Sheamus: A high-paced match that saw a ton of finishers at the end of the match. After Sheamus reversed the Del Rio Armbreaker, Ziggler jumped in and Zig-Zagged Sheamus. With his back turned, Ziggler walked right into the Kill Switch, leading to a Christian victory.
Sin Cara vs. Damien Sandow: Wow. Sandow made super quick work of Sandow with the Senton Bomb. What a joke.
Curtis Axel and Ryback vs. Los Matadores: Axel was on the offensive early, but the appearance of The Shield allowed the Matadores to Rollup Axel for the win. After the bell, The Shield decimated both Axel and Ryback, with the latter getting Triple Powerbombed.
Fandango w/Summer Rae vs. Cody Rhodes w/Goldust: Another quick match that saw Rhodes win with the Disaster Kick after Rae hurt herself in a dance off with Goldust outside the ring.
Titus O’Neill vs. The Big Show: O’Neill held his own for more than a few minutes until Show nailed O’Neill with the Spear and then finished him off with the KO Punch.
John Cena vs. Luke Harper: Cena was in trouble for most of the match, with Harper dominating with strikes and even a Suicide Dive. Cena turned the tables with the top rope Fameasser and the Five Knuckle Shuffle. Although Harper fought back, Cena nailed him with a massive Clothesline and was ready to finish him off. Instead, the light went out and when they came back on Cena had Erick Rowan’s mask on and was wrapped up in the ropes.
Divas Champion AJ Lee w/ Tamina Snuka vs. Naomi w/Cameron: Lee got counted out to give Naomi the win. After the bell, Vikki Guerrero announced that Lee would defend her title against the entire Divas Division at Wrestlemania.
Antonio Cesaro and Jack Swagger w/Zeb Colter vs. Seth Rollins and United States Champion Dean Ambrose w/Roman Reigns: Best match of the night by far. Cesaro laid into Ambrose with monster European Uppercuts and the Giant Swing, while Swagger used signature offense. Ambrose got in his fair share of licks (especially during an awesome stretch where he took slaps from Cesaro) in as well, but things changed once Rollins got into the match. After a pair of Suicide Dives and his Top Rope Knee Drop, Rollins was on fire. After he countered Swagger’s Patriot Lock, Rollins won with his Stomp Drop. After the match, The Shield put Cesaro through the announce table.
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