WWE Raw Preshow Notes…
Our panel this week is Josh Matthews, Alex Riley, Booker T and Mick Foley…
– The first half of the show touched on the entire Daniel Bryan/HHH situation…
– Renee Young attempts to get interviews from both Stephanie McMahon and Paul Heyman, both to no avail. Steph says she will address the Daniel Bryan situation to the fans on Raw.
– Hulk Hogan is here… As well as Arnold Schwarzenegger.
– Superstars matches in the background featured Emma vs. Summer Rae, and R Truth
– Some discussion about the truth getting a beat down on Smackdown…
– The announcers are on there way out and we’re ready to roll… A fairly uneventful preshow, spent most of the time just recapping last week.
WWE Monday Night Raw 3/24/14 from The Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY
– Dear Lord, they’ve decided to open with Stephanie McMahon…by herself… She lets the fans know that they’re following Daniel Bryan down a bad path and we need to follow the WWE Authority instead. Giant “CM Punk” chant, but Steph ignores it. Stephanie puts over HHH as the greatest wrestler and most powerful man in the company. Steph says HHH is going to become the new WWE Champion at WrestleMania…
Here comes Randy Orton… Boy, they don’t have a clue how to make this entertaining do they? The slow boring champion begins to speak to the annoying wench… Orton just wants Stephanie to know that when/if HHH beats Daniel Bryan at Mania, Orton can’t be held responsible for what he does to HHH when Orton retains the WWE Title. “Daniel Bryan” chant, and this time Stephanie acknowledges it. Randy has a suggestion for Stephanie, let HHH beat Bryan at Mania, and have him walk away a winner instead of lose in the Championship match. Huge “BORING” chant….
It’s Batista out now… Well that’ll pick things up… Lots of sarcasm in that last comment… Crowd booing the crap out of him… Batista is sick of the interview, and sick of the chants. Batista says everything else is pointless, because he’s the next WWE Champion… Batista doesn’t care of it’s Bryan or HHH, he’s going to beat them and Orton. Tister’s mic screws up and Stephanie has to hand him another one… Hilarious…
Batista says he respects HHH, but HHH has never beaten him… And he won’t beat him at Mania… and neither will Orton… Crowd chanting “WHAT” during the promo. Good, hot crowd thankfully… Batista talks about Orton drooling on Stephanie, and says Stephanie has been use to being drooled on… A LOT!!!
Stephanie slaps the sunglasses off Batista and leaves the ring… Batista responds with a SPEAR ON ORTON!!!!
Batista drops both titles by Orton and leaves the ring…
That segment really accomplished nothing, other than the old “I’m going to win” promo. Last week, Orton RKO’d Batista then Tister got him back later in the show… I assume maybe we’ll get the opposite this week… This crap is so paint by numbers, that if it didn’t have the HHH/Bryan angle playing into it, it would be dead on it’s feet… If someone is being paid to write this stuff, sign me up…
-Commercial Break-
1. Sheamus vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Christian vs. Alberto Del Rio (Fatal 4 Way Match to determine the #1 Contender for the IC Title). Winner fights Big E for the title tomorrow on Main Event. Big E is at ringside to watch the match… Look at all these former World Champions, now fighting for a shot at the IC Title and all of them stuck in a Battle Royal at Mania… Just sad….
Del Rio & Ziggler go at it in the ring, while Sheamus & Christian continue their issues on the floor… Sheamus lays out Christian on the floor and tries the clubbing forearms on Ziggler, but Dolph drops Sheamus back to the floor. Sheamus & Christian wind up fighting over the barricade… Ziggler nails Del Rio with a dropkick for 2 and they also end up outside the ring as we go to a commercial…
Back from break, Sheamus gets posted by Christian on the floor. Christian off the top rope with a body block on Ziggler, but Dolph rolls over for a near fall… Huge “Ziggler” chant, but the WWE officials don’t care… Christian & Ziggler going at it and Dolph takes a bump to the floor… Christian turns around right into Sheamus on the offense… Del Rio runs into an Irish Curse Backbreaker…. Sheamus takes Christian out of the ring and Sheamus lands the big forearm clubs on Alberto. Sheamus has cleared the ring….
Sheamus climbs up top, but Ziggler meets him up there with a top rope face buster for a near fall!!! Ziggler with rapid fire punches and a neckbreaker on Christian… Ziggler with an awesome DDT on Del Rio for a near fall…
Dolph goes for a Fameouser on Christian but Christian turns it into a sit-out Powerbomb for 2, which Del Rio breaks up with a KICK TO CHRISTIAN’S HEAD!!! Del Rio goes to pin Christian, but Sheamus breaks it up… Sheamus locks the CLOWVERLEAF on Del Rio!!!! Christian tries to break it up, but Sheamus catches him with a slam and calls for the BROGUE….
Del Rio stops Sheamus short and applies the Cross Armbreaker… Sheamus lifts Del Rio into the air to escape, but he’s caught with the ZIG ZAG BY ZIGGLER!!!! But Dolph stands up right into a KILLSWTICH, and Christian gets the 1..2…3 in 12:00!!!
Big E wants a handshake from Christian after the match, but Christian denies him… See you at Main Event…
Really good TV match… You can see the difference in the caliber of “IC Title Contenders” here versus the usual undercard list… Just goes to show you how much they hate Ziggler though, even Christian gets a win!
– Wyatt Family Promo. Bray asks “How can you not see John Cena?”… All the billboards and infomercials… Oh, he sees Cena alight… But has Cena seen Bray Wyatt yet? For what he is? Bray wants to know how Cena can harm something that just can’t “feel”. Bray says they’re coming to find Cena… Rowan tells John to run!
-Commercial Break-
– Sin Cara enters the Raw Arena with Scooby Doo in the Mystery Machine… Cara lands the flipping entrance over the top rope for the first time in ages… Thank God this Cara can actually land the entrance…
2. Sin Cara (w/Scooby Doo) vs. Damien Sandow. Giant “Scooby Doo” Chant… Cara is all over Sandown with spingboards and flippy gimmicks… Handspwing elbow on Sandow and he lays Damien out with a kick, before SQUASHING SANDOWN with the somersault senton in under a minute… WOW…. Just wow…. Who the hell did he piss off???
– Highlights from Smackdown. Kane and the New Age Outlaws attacking the Shield…
-Commercial Break-
3. Los Matadores vs. Ryback & Curtis Axel. We learn that Ryback & Axel have been pulled from the Battle Royal in order to compete in the WWE Tag Team Title match at WrestleMania… Gotta love last minute booking… Axel starts to work over one of Los Matadores when the Shield show up at ringside… The distraction allows a roll up on Axel and Los Matadores get the second 1 minute win of the night…
Axel gets pulled to the floor and thrown into the barricade, while Reigns lands the spear on Ryback, and the TRIPLE POWERBOMB…
I guess, don’t f*ck with the Shield…
-Commercial Break-
– Michael Cole is in the ring to interview HHH…. Somebody has to be present to interview HHH in the ring now??? Hmmm… It’s a sit down interview, like the ones they’ve been doing online… Don’t worry, I haven’t watched any of them either… Cole wants to know how HHH could do what he did last week as COO of the company… HHH says he did that as a WrestleMania competitor, not as COO…
HHH asks Cole if he knows what it’s like to be handcuffed and forced to do something. Cole assumes HHH is referring to him cuffing Bryan last week. But HHH is talking about Bryan & the WWE Universe handcuffing him and forcing him to wrestle at WrestleMania… HHH says he was forced into returning…
HHH says the once hungry crowd are now crybabies when they don’t get their way… HHH says the world has changed and he can’t take it, so it’s up to him to change the future… HHH says he’s going to start the “Reality Era”… HHH says the REALITY is, he will end the Yes Movement, and he has the power to become the WWE Champion once again…
Well… You can bow down to the king if you want to… But I’ll pass… Still a better interview segment than the opener…
Outside of the decent 4 Way match, the first 75 minutes of Raw has been pretty crappy considering there’s only one more Raw before Mania…
-Commercial Break-
4. Fandango (w/Summer Rae) vs. Cody Rhodes (w/Goldust). Good stuff back and forth by both men… Cody lands a springboard dropkick for 2… Fandango blocks a whip into the corner, and both men crack heads… Goldust and Summer Rae have a dance off on the floor… Summer seems to hurt her ankle… Cody Rhodes lands the Disaster Kick on Fandango for the win in 3:00… The short matches continue…
Summer looks fine after the match… No idea what that was about…
– A look at the new Arnold Schwarzenegger movie “Sabotage”. He’s still making these things???
-Commercial Break-
– Hulk Hogan makes his way to the ring and puts over WrestleMania… He talks about the original WrestleMania that took place in New York… “Hogan chants”. Hogan introduces Joe Mangenello & Arnold Schwarzenegger to promote “Sabotage”… I feel like they could be doing so much more than this with Hogan, especially with Mania coming up… He’s a fricking walking advertisement at this point… LOL at Hogan getting Mangenello’s last name completely wrong. He calls him “Mangioli”…
Arnold speaks… He namedrops Bruno Sammartino… He puts over Hulk Hogan… Mangenello tries to keep the fans from booing him by putting over the city…
Arnold & Hulk talk about their memories of Andre the Giant… Arnold wants to know if there’s room for 2 more athletes in the Andre Battle Royal….
The Miz interrupts… Really? Really???
Miz talks about being a movie star, and mentions his crappy movies… Miz says they’re just actors that play tough guys, but Miz is a real tough guy and he will win the Battle Royal…
Miz & Hogan go back and forth for a bit… Miz says the actors don’t belong here, and neither does Hogan… Mangenello tells Miz to MAKE them leave and shoves the Miz… Miz tries to attack Joe, but he blocks and punches the Miz, Arnold with a back fist, and Hogan disposes of the Miz from the ring…
So the Miz goes from commentary to getting this spot? The great booking continues… And we still have another 90 minutes to go!!! Hooray for me…
-Commercial Break-
5. The Big Show vs. Titus O’Neil. Titus already in the ring after the break. Show chops on Titus, but misses something in the corner. O’Neil takes Show down and stomps him… “CM Punk” chants as the match sucks… Show comes back but again misses something in the corner, and Titus takes out his leg for a 2 count… Titus tries to dump Show over the top rope but runs into a spear… Show with the KO punch and it’s over in 2:00… Great push for Titus…
This show has really been almost all Battle Royal guys…
– The Shield confront HHH & Stephanie… They want to know where HHH was when Kane attacked them on Smackdown… Since Kane works for the Authority and the Outlaws are HHH’s buddies, the Shield wants to know what’s going on… Stephanie makes a Shield vs. Real Americans match for tonight… Steph says afterwards they can sit down and talk about the issues, and the Shield agree that they will… Believe that….
– A shot of Cena in the bathroom, looking over his shoulder… He’s scared… Get it… Now if only he doesn’t cut any comedy promos heading into the PPV… Are they still called PPV’s?
-Commercial Break-
6. John Cena vs. Luke Harper (w/Bray & Rowan). Crowd clapping along to the Wyatt music… Cena is getting heeled by the fans and the Wyatts are super over… Harper cracks Cena with an elbow to the nose early on and takes over as “Cena sucks” chants ring out… “Lets go Harper” chants… Cena fights back with a Stinger Splash, but Harper mauls him over and hits a Pump Handle overhead throw for 2… Harper tosses Cena outside near Bray Wyatt and works him over on the floor… The match returns to the ring as we head to commercial…
Back from break, Cena tries to make a comeback but runs right into a big boot… Harper covers for 2… Cena isn’t getting any offense in at all.. More “Lets Go Harper” chants… Cena finally with a back suplex, tries an AA, but Harper wiggles out and hits Cena with a SUPERKICK!!!!!
Cena comes back this time with his usual offense, sets up for a 5 knuckle shuffle, but Harper catches him for a sit-out slam… Harper pulls Cena up in a powerbomb but John counters with a crappy looking huracan rana… Cena tries the STF but is kicked to the floor… Harper lands a suicide dive onto Cena on the floor and John’s head bounces off the barricade…
Harper rolls Cena back in, but JOHN LOCKS ON THE STF!!!! HARPER ESCAPES!!! Harper comes back with a DDT for 2… Harper puts Cena on the top rope, Cena falls off, lol…. Harper puts him back on the top rope and Harper tries a Double Underhook Suplex, but Cena fights back and knocks Harper off the ropes to the fans dismay… Cena off the top rope with the FLYING FAMEOUSER from the top… HARPER KICKS OUT!!!!
Cena in comeback mode now. Five Knuckle Shuffle, but Harper counters the AA with a front face slam… Harper sets up for the big clothesline, but Cena hits Harper with a big clothesline instead and busts Harper’s mouth open… Cena picks Harper up for the AA and the LIGHTS GO OUT!!!!
The lights are back on and Cena is tied in the ropes with the sheep mask on… Fricking Awesome… The match ends without a decision after 14:00… Fans chant “This is Awesome”, and I couldn’t agree more as Cena sits tied in the ropes with the sheep mask on his face as the Wyatts surround… Great stuff…
So far, this is the only angle worth anything on the show as far as WrestleMania is concerned…
-Commercial Break-
7. Naomi (w/Cameron) vs. Divas Champion AJ Lee (w/Tamina). Match starts, Naomi tosses AJ around and Lee rolls out of the ring and takes a deliberate count out only seconds into the match. Naomi wins via count out…
– Vicki Guerrero shows up… She has history with AJ and calls her a BITCH!!! Vicki Guerrero announces a Divas Championship match for WrestleMania… It’s AJ…vs. Naomi… vs. Cameron… vs. Brie Bella… vs. Nikki Bella… vs. Emma… vs. Summer Rae… vs. Natalya… vs. Eva Marie… vs. Aksana… vs. Alicia Fox… vs. Rosa Mendes… vs. Leyla… vs. TAMINA!!!! Take that CM Punk!!!
Boy if that match doesn’t have train wreck written all over it…
– Clip shown from last week’s main event with the Undertaker & Paul Heyman… These two are going to confront each other tonight for the first time since the contract signing…
– Who’s going into the WWE Hall of Fame??? One more name… and he’s next!!!
-Commercial Break-
The final inductee announced for the 2014 WWE Hall of Fame is…
The bad guy… Chico… Razor Ramon…
Scott Hall going into the HoF…
– We learn that next week it’s Batista vs. Randy Orton for next week’s Raw…
-Commercial Break-
– This week on Smackdown, Bray Wyatt vs. The Big Show…
8. The Shield (Amrbose & Rollins w/Reigns) vs. The Real Americans (w/Colter) . Shield continue to look for revenge for last week. Fans chanting “We the People”… Shield attack outside, back and forth. Shield hit a “Hart Attack” style neckbreaker… Rollins is so good… Rollins with the Three Amigos Suplex on Swagger for 2…
JBL drops some birthday knowledge… It’s Swagger’s birthday… and today in history… Legends were born including Gorgeous George… and Barry Horowitz…
The Shield work over Swagger… Cesaro runs a distraction and Swagger drops Ambrose… The Real Americans take over in their corner… Swagger Bomb, and the Cesaro Double Stomp for 2 on Ambrose… Swagger tries another Swagger bomb, but eats Ambrose’s feet… Ambrose with a back elbow from the middle rope…. Cesaro tags in, and knocks Rollins off the apron before he can tag in…
CESARO SWING ON AMBROSE…. 20 ROATIONS!!! 1..2.. Rollins breaks it up… The Real Americans continue to work over Ambrose, throwing him into the barricade as the fans chant along with them “WE THE PEOPLE!”… as Raw rolls on…
Back from a break, Cesaro with a front facelock on Amrbose, Dean counters with a backslide for 2… Ambrose fights back after some chops… Cesaro catches him with a big boot, but Ambrose bounces between the ropes and fires back with a clothesline… Good stuff right there…
Hot tags to Rollins & Swagger… Rollins all over Swagger with kick strikes, a Stinger Splkash, and a Downward Spiral face first into the middle buckle… Rollins dumps Cesaro out of one side of the ring and Swagger out the other side…. Rollins dives onto Cesaro, knocks him into the crowd…. then follows up SOMERSAULT PLANCHA onto Swagger and LANDS ON HIS FEET…. Amazing…
Flying knee to Swagger, but Cesaro breaks up the count… Here comes Ambrose to even the odds… CESARO WITH A WRESTLING THROW AMBROSE OVER THE TOP ROPE TO THE FLOOR… Swagger tosses Rollins up into the air and catches an ANKLE LOCK ON THE WAY DOWN!!! Rollins gets to the ropes… Swagger jerks Rollins off the ropes and SETH LANDS ON HIS FEET AND DELIVERS A JUMPING INZUIGIRI… HOLY POOP!!!
Rollins with the CURB STOMP and the win in 14:00….
Cesasro dumps ROllins after the match but takes a SPEAR FROM REIGNS….. AND A SECOND SPEAR ON THE FLOOR!!!!!
Now the Shield clear the announce table… TRIPLE POWERBOMB ON CESARO THROUGH THE TABLE!!!
HERE COMES CORPORATE KANE, and the CORPORATE OUTLAWS… Kane informs the Shield that they will face Kane & the Outlaws at WrestleMania… Joy.
Great segment by a bunch of guys who either have no WrestleMania match yet, or are stuck in crap…
-Commercial Break-
– It’s time for Brock and the Taker… Lesnar is wearing a shirt that reads “Eat, Sleep, Beat the Streak”… Heyman reminds us of Undertaker’s streak… Not just any streak, and undefeated streak… Heyman talks about what an accomplishment 21-0 at WrestleMania means and how no man will ever be able to say that again… Lesnar finally cuts Heyman off…
Brock isn’t here to promote, he’s here to FIGHT… Brock calls Taker out…
Here come the Druids with a Casket… After waiting a few moments, Brock walks over and begins stomping on the casket, presuming the Undertaker is inside… Brock finally opens the casket, but there’s nothing inside….
Lesnar goes outside the ring as the Druids walk away… Lesnar slams the Casket back shut and says he’s leaving…
Heyman says this is the game the Undertaker wants to play… The Undertaker doesn’t show up in the slums of Brooklyn… He talks about the EMPTY Casket…
The Casket then pops open on it’s own, with the Undertaker laying inside… Taker sits up!!!
Taker climbs in the ring and Lesnar looks scared… They get it on… Taker throwing tons of punches and clotheslines Lesnar out on top of the casket…
That’s all we get after the challenge and the talking? Damn you Brock…
Lesnar points to the WrestleMania sign and Taker slashes his throat… Raw goes off the air…
I know Daniel Bryan had to sell the beat down, but really surprised they kept him off TV completely with only two Raws left to build the match…[spacer height=”20px”]
WWE Raw “Backstage Pass” Post Show
– The panel returns with Taker still in the ring… The panel are “backstage” to hide the dark match going ons… Foley drops a Devastation Inc joke… We can hear the Wyatt Family theme playing in the arena, Booker T begins to acknowledge it but the subject quickly changes…
– Renee Young tries to interview Heyman & Brock Lesnar backstage… Neither reply to her questions… Lesnar finally speaks up that he came here to deliver his message and he feels he did so… He’s not intimidated…
– Mick Foley brings up his online posts about his negativity a month ago towards the Mania card, but he loves it now and that’s why he’s here…
– They turn the discussion from the Taker/Lesnar match and move to the Cena vs. Wyatt feud. Lots of discussion about the feud and the Mania match. Foley says he looks for a darker John Cena to show up for WrestleMania…
– WM10 Bret vs. Owen on the next WrestleMania Rewind…
– Aaaand it wouldn’t be the post show without discussion of the Authority… Clips of Stephanie, Batista & Orton from earlier. Clip of Michael Cole interviewing HHH… Panel discusses WrestleMania and if HHH or Bryan will win the WWE Title shot…
– Reminders, it’s Christian vs. Big E for the IC Title on the Main Event… Riley totally screws it up… Foley mocks him with a “YOU’RE FIRED!”…
And we’re done for the night peoples…
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