Daniel Bryan’s announcement that he will be a part of the 2015 Royal Rumble out-shined anything else that happened during this week’s Monday Night RAW.
Even the terribly scripted return of The Authority.
Any other week, this would have been easy for for the former WWE World Heavyweight Champion to steal the show, but with appearances from Edge, Christian, Triple H, Stephanie McMahon, the return of Wade Barrett and the debut of The Ascension, as well as new Tag Team Champions being crowned and emotional promos from Cesaro and Ryback, Bryan still stole the show.
The best worker in the business, Bryan’s announcement ensures that the WWE has an extra star on the roster with Wrestlemania right around the corner. With The Authority back in control as well, thanks to the (melodramatic) actions of Seth Rollins, 2015 already has its share of talking points.
Business just picked up, big time.
Matches:
Intercontinental Champion Dolph Ziggler vs. United States Champion Alexander Rusev w/Lana: Ziggler and Rusev traded signature maneuvers throughout, but Ziggler had the advantage for most of the match thanks to his speed. However, he was unable to get a win with the Super Kick or the Fameasser and wasn’t able to hit the Zig-Zag. After a while, Rusev was able to get an advantage in the corner using strikes and after refusing to stop, the referee was forced to DQ him. After the bell, Rusev latched on the Accolade with Ziggler in-between the ring ropes. Soon enough, Ryback hit the ring and the “Big Guy†hit the Meathook Clothesline to send Rusev outside the ring.
Divas Champion Nikki Bella w/Brie Bella vs. Natalya Neidhart w/Tyson Kidd: After Kidd again found a way to get himself involved, Bella got the win with the Rack Attack.
Jimmy and Jey Uso vs. WWE Tag Team Champions The Miz and Damien Sandow: There were plenty of antics here. but away from it all, the match was solid, with plenty of back and forth action. After Jimmy escaped the Figure-Four and locked in Miz in the Tquila Sunrise, things broke down, but Jimmy nailed Miz with the Splash but Sandow broke it up, Jey then kicked out of the Skull Crushing Finale, but with Sandow taken out with a Super Kick, Jimmy and Jey both nailed Miz with a Super Kick before Jimmy finished him off with the Spash.
Antonio Cesaro vs. Wade Barrett: A very stiff encounter that saw Barrett get the win with the Bullhammer Elbow after he was able to stay in the match after several Cesaro strikes and suplexes.
Jack Swagger vs. Luke Harper: Swagger made sure Harper didn’t have things easy, but “The Nightmare†was able to fight through Swagger’s Chop Block, Belly-to-Belly Suplex and the Patriot Lock before he nailed Swagger with a Super Kick and eventually the Discus Lariat for the win.
Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins w/Jamie Noble and Joey Mercury: This was a long match that was fueled by Reigns’ power and Rollins’ speed. Back and forth they went trading strikes, counters and signature maneuvers. Reigns even added a new note to his song book, an awesome Tilt-a-Whirl Slam and a Belly-to-Back Urinage. Hitting the Superman Punch after he countered the Curb Stomp, Reigns was ready to finish things off until The Big Show, who was sitting ringside providing commentary, interfered and dumped the announce table on top of the young star.
The Miz and Damien Sandow vs. Viktor and Konnor, The Ascension: The Miz left Sandow to the wolves as Konnor and Viktor quickly won with the Fall of Man.
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