WWE RAW Coverage: Zayn Debuts, Ambrose Stars

Dean Ambrose’s win over Seth Rollins this week on RAW and Sami Zayn’s debut made up for some of the wacky moments on this week’s RAW involving plastic spiders and lackluster promo from The New Day and Roman Reigns.

Simply put, while Rollins will most likely leave Payback with the WWE World Heavyweight title, this week’s RAW, for a short moment, made you think he may have his hands full. For that moment of thought, this week’s RAW proved to be a success.

Add in the beginning of a Lana face turn and this could end up as one of the most important RAWs of 2015.

Matches:

WWE Tag Team Champions Xavier Woods, Kofi Kingston and Big E. Langston vs. Randy Orton and Roman Reigns: The New Day used quick tags, distractions and strikes, as well as slow down submissions to keep the advantage for much longer than anyone expected. After a pair of Belly-to-Belly Suplexes from Langston and a Neckbreaker from Woods, as well as more strikes from Kingston, Reigns was in bad shape. Although Orton changed the tone hitting a few signature maneuvers, Reigns hit the Spear accidentally on Orton, allowing the New Day to get the win.

Tyson Kidd and Antonio Cesaro w/Natalya Neidhart vs. The Ascension: Viktor and Konnor: The Ascension were in control for a bit before Cesaro went on a tear and Kidd used a Somersault Plancha to eliminate Konnor. With Viktor isolated, Cesaro and Kidd hit the Swing/Dropkick combination for the win.

WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose: Tons of solid back and forth in a match that should have been the Main Event. After a Suicide Diver and a beautiful Belly to Back Buster, Ambrose nearly got the win but was unable to hit the Dirty Deeds, although he almost got the win with his Elbow Drop Splash variation. Rollins fought back with a Superkick, but he too couldn’t put his opponent away. It wasn’t until Rollins hit a Powerbomb against the guard rail that Rollins began to really cook, but Ambrose fought back some more. Ironically, it was J & J security that cost Rollins the match, as Ambrose hit a Clothesline and took care of the cronies before winning with a Rollup to earn his spot in the Main Event at Payback.

Rusev w/Lana vs. Fandango: Rusev may have got the win with the Accolade, but Fandango got under his skin and forced him to send Lana to the back in what will obviously be the beginning of her run as a face.

Stardust vs. R-Truth: Just when it appeared R-Truth had the match in hand with a Reverse Michinoku Driver, he opened Stardust’s bad, which had “spiders” in it, allowing Stardust to win with a Rollup.

WWE United States Champion John Cena vs. Sami Zayn: After a lengthy promo from Cena and a surprise appearance from Bret Hart, Zayn made his way to the ring. The wait was well worth it. A fun match with plenty of offense and counters, Cena and Zayn traded the STF and Koji Clutch, as well as strikes and signatures, including Zayn’s Three-Way DDT on the outside. Zayn then got hit with the Attitude Adjustment out of nowhere, but Zayn kicked out to get the crowd going again. After a Blue Thunder Bomb, Zayn went for the Helluva Kick, but Cena hit the Springboard Stunner and a second AA for the win.

Divas Champion Nikki Bella w/Brie Bella vs. Naomi w/Tamina Snuka: This match never took place as Snuka and Naomi took out the twins and announced that the Bellas reign in the Divas Division was over.

Wade Barrett and Sheamus vs. Neville and Dolph Ziggler: In an offensively driven match, Sheamus caused a distraction that allowed Barrett to get the win with the Bullhamer on Neville.

Roman Reigns vs. Randy Orton: Kane, along with Rollins, Mercury and Noble made their way ringside before the start of the match. After Reigns and Orton fought amongst themselves, The Authority worked on both of them to get the match thrown out, before Ambrose hit the ring to even things up and end the show after a slew of finishers, including the Dirty Deeds on Orton.