[spacer height=”20px”]Raw Pre-Show 4/7/14
– Our panel this week consists of Josh Matthews, Alex Riley, Booker T, and former NFL star Shawn Merriman. Lots of WrestleMania recapping with actual video footage from the event instead of photo stills. I guess they figure if you have the Network for this pre-show, then you had it for WrestleMania last night. Discussion on the Bryan matches, Undertaker’s streak ending, Cena
– Superstars matches included Ryback defeating Dolph Ziggler, and Kofi Kingston vs. Titus O’Neil. Crowd was SUPER HOT for Ziggler, too bad they continue to bury him.
– They hype some of the post Mania Raw happenings from the last several years. I reiterate, the live crowd is SUPER HOT. You’d think JBL was Daniel Bryan based on the cheers.
– We learn that Raw will kick off with Daniel Bryan. Brock Lesnar will also be on the show.
WWE Monday Night Raw 4/7/14
– Raw kicks off with a lengthy video that covers the entire HHH vs. Daniel Bryan feud, culminating with his WrestleMania win.
– Daniel Bryan makes it to ringside with his newly won WWE Titles. Crowd won’t let him talk, just insanely loud noise going on. Chants everywhere from his name to “You Deserve It”… Daniel asks the fans if they ever get tired, the fans respond “NO, NO, NO”. Bryan tries to make his way through the interview as the fans continue to chant for him.
Cue the Authority. HHH and Stephanie stand on the apron to “Asshole” chants. HHH says he won’t get in the ring, so Bryan gets in his face and chants YES with the titles in hand. I hope the fans can hang with this enthusiasm all night. HHH calls this nothing more than a moment, and it won’t last. HHH is going to make sure Bryan doesn’t make it through tonight as champion. HHH is fuming. HHH SAYS HE WILL BEAT BRYAN FOR THE TITLE TONIGHT, BECAUSE IT’S HIS SHOW, AND THERE’s NOT A DAMN THING BRYAN CAN DO ABOUT IT!
-Commercial Break-
– HHH & Stephanie are backstage talking trash on Bryan. Batista is pissed that HHH is getting a rematch. Batista said he came back and earned a one on one title shot back at Rumble. Orton steps in, and he too wants the rematch seeing as though he wasn’t even defeated for the belt. HHH says they’ll get their title shots, but not tonight. Instead, Stephanie books Batista & Orton vs. The Usos for the Tag Titles tonight…. HHH mentions how great things are when the Evolution members stick together… It looks like they form some sort of a silent pact, for now…
– Back to the ring… New Orleans……….WE’RE HERE!!!!!! It’s the Wyatt Family headed to the ring with the fans popping and clapping along. We’ve got 6-Man Tag action next…
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1. John Cena, Sheamus & Big E vs. The Wyatt Family. In clever fashion, the fans begin to sing “John Cena Suuucks” to his theme music. Faces kick things off quick, but Bray takes over on Cena and the fans go nuts. “Let’s Go Wyatts” chant. Crowd is entirely behind the Wyatts, booing all the faces, especially Cena, during their offense. Lots of chants for the Wyatts, impossible to ignore. Sheamus mounts Rowan for 10 punches and the crowd just chants BOO with each punch. Every offensive move by the Wyatts garners loud cheers… Big E earns some cheers for some feats of strength.
Harper ends up in the face corner and Cena tags back in to a million boos. Cena tries an AA but Harper counters with a back suplex position into a face plant. Fans going insane as Bray tags in, but we have to go to break!!! NOW???? Are you frickin kidding me?????
Back from break, crowd still cheering up a storm got the Wyatts. A “Lets go Harper” chant as he works on Cena… Everything Harper does gets a giant pop, DDT for 2 on Cena…. JBL wants to take this crowd with WWE everywhere, Lawler doesn’t think Cena would like that… Fans begin singing “He’s got the whole world in his hands”… Just a great crowd… Bray stomps a mud hole in Cena like he’s garbage and the fans eat it up.
The fans sing “John Cena Suuuucks” to Cena’s theme music tune again, man that’s clever… Hot tag to Sheamus, crowd boos everything he does, all of his usual big spots. Sheamus looks like he’s having fun, smiling at the fans. Flying double shoulder block on Rowan and Harper… SHeamus mocks Wyatts poses, gets distracted, and eats a giant clothesline from Rowan… Wyatt and Big E both tag in. Belly to belly and Warrior Splash by Big E on Wyatt. Langston goes for the BIG ENDING, but takes a Superkick from Harper. Rowan lays out Cena, Harpper suicide dive on SHeamus.
Bray goes upside down and does the crab walk towards Big E. Fans chant “Bray is gonna kill you”. Bray lays out E with Sister Abigail and the Wyatt Family take out team Cena like they’re bitches in 14:00. Super hot stuff….
-Commercial Break-
– Bo Dallas “Boliever” Promo. Wyatt’s brother is on his way back!
Fandangoing has returned for tonight….
2. Santino & Emma vs. Fandango & Summer Rae. Lots of Fandangoing by the fans as the match gets started with the men in the ring. Santino dances back and tries for the Cobra very early. Tag to Summer and the Divas take over… Emma with the Tarantula… goofy dancing by Emma and the splash in the corner. Emma puts on the Emma Lock, Fandango comes to make the save but is chased off by Santino and Summer is forced to tap in 2:00.
Up next, it’s Brock Lesnar!!!
-Commercial Break-
– It’s the Beast with Paul Heyman. Brock is greeted to mainly boos upon his entrance… Lesnar’s still sporting the “Break the Streak” shirt. Heyman gets in the mic and it’s the greatest privilege of his career to serve Brock Lesnar… Lots of “Bullshit” chants from the fans, which I agree with. Terrible match to end the streak with… Heyman doesn’t know why fans are so pissed, he’s been telling us for weeks Lesnar was going to break the streak…
Paul talks about Undertaker being taken to the hospital, with Vince McMahon riding along. Undertaker suffered a severe concussion and nearly a broken neck and cracked skull. The Streak is DEAD. Heyman shoots on the announcers, and Hogan screwing up “Superdome”. There’s a winner and a loser, and last night, the Undertaker was the LOSER!!!
Heyman says the fans in the arena are like the wrestlers in the locker room. All wanna be’s. Heyman rips on the fans some more. Paul talks about Lesnar going from wrestling to MMA and being “the one”. Being UFC Champion, being NCAA champion, etc… Everyone else is a wanna be, only Brock has done all that…. Brock is the “1” because he’s the “1” in 21 and “1”. Paul continues to have fun screwing with the fans…
There are Hall of Famers, Legends, and Superstars… But there’s only one that stands above he rest… Brrrrock Lesnar!!!
-Commercial Break-
– Adam Rose “The Exotic Express” Promo. He’s Coming Soon!
3. WWE Tag Team Champions The Usos vs. Batista & Randy Orton. Yes, the titles are on the line.. Hopefully, the Usos don’t end up dropping the tag titles after finally getting the belts established again… All we need is the belt to be slapped on two guys that will just kill all the other teams… And right away, the heels gain control and the fans have no interest in that. We begin getting the random chants, including a “CM Punk” and “JBL”, “Justin Roberts” the ring announcer. Batista tosses one Uso into the steps while Orton hits the suspended DDT off the barricade to the floor… Both teams are count out in a matter of a couple of minutes. Batista drops one of the Usos with a Batista Bomb onto the steel steps… Orton & Batista raise their hands in mock victory… Okay, maybe a title change wouldn’t have been all that bad… Certainly better than this… They basically belittle the tag team titles by destroying the champs, making them look like crap, and not giving a crap about being in a title match…
-Commercial Break-
– Welcome back, Rob Van Dam…. RVD makes his WWE return…
4. Rob Van Dam vs. Damien Sandow. Poor old Sandow… RVD tries to pose on the ropes and gets tripped for a fall… Russian legsweep by Sandow and the elbow of disdain… Van Dam battles back with some kicks that take Damien to the floor, and he hangs Sandow over the barricade for the corkscrew legdrop off the apron… Spinning back kick cracks Sandow in the head and Rolling Thunder follows. Five Star Frog Splash and poor old Damien does another job in maybe 2:00.
If they’re going to bring him back, let’s hope they do something with him this time to get their money’s worth…
-Commercial Break-
5. Rey Mysterio vs. Bad News Barrett. Well holy shit… Bad News Barrett is finally going to wrestle… Barrett has a new goofy cape, and he’s super over with this crowd… “Bad News Barrett” Chants, so Barrett has some Bad News… But Mysterio attacks before Barrett can finish. Rey takes Barrett to the floor and hits a sliding splash to the outside. Rey is getting the boos, “Bad News Barrett” chants as Wade takes control. Barrett is eating it up and playing to the crowd… Spinning sidewalk slam by Barrett for 2… Mysterio fights off a superplex and hits a flying seated senton. Barrett catches Rey in mid air and that is turned into a spinning DDT by Mysterio, and the 619… Crowd booing the shit out of Mysterio as Rey stops and stares at the crowd…. This gives Wade time to crotch him on the ropes and land the Bull Hammer Elbow for the win in 4 minutes…
This was a fun match… The fans were great, but it was fun seeing Wade play the baby face for them… Mysterio stopping to stare at the fans in bewilderment was a good set up for the finish… Lots of guys headed in, debuting, returning, and receiving renewed pushes, this could get interesting…
– Up Next, the debut of Alexander Rusev. Let’s see who he squashes… My guess is Zack Ryder….
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6. Alexander Rusev (w/Lana) vs. .. What a shock… It’s Zack Ryder… Rusev comes out with his name shown in Bulgarian… or something… Ryder doesn’t look impressed… Rusev mauls Ryder and hits a dangerous looking JUMPING SUPERKICK… The ref checks on Ryder, and Rusev scoops him up for some unique backbreakers and a fall away slam… “USA” chants for some fun, while Rusev hits a swinging slam and slaps on the “Accolade” Camel Clutch hold for the submission in maybe a minute… Some unique and impressive stuff from Rusev. Poor Zacky Boy…
– Hall of Fame Recap. Up Next, the Warrior IS HERE!!!!
-Commercial Break-
– For the first time in nearly EIGHTEEN years, the Ultimate Warrior makes his return to Monday Night Raw… He’s out in a suit, no running, though he looks like he might be having some issues with a leg or something by the way he’s walking to the ring… Warrior puts on one of his long jackets and shakes the ropes… “Speak to me Warrioooorrrrs” with a snarl… Big “Warrior” chants… Warrior finds a mask of his makeup in his jacket pocket and puts it on… He becomes the “Ultimate” Warrior… He cuts an Ultimate Warrior promo, never missing a beat… He calls the fans the legend makers… Warrior thanks all of his Warriors and says they will continue making legends out of current and future stars…
Short but nice to see… It sure beats a Divas segment….errrrrr
I stand corrected… AJ Lee is on her way out to the ring…
– Some weird video promoting the FANS of the WWE… There is no WWE without the fans…. Which is true, but I don’t know how much they really believe that… WWE Thanks Us…. How nice…
-Commercial Break-
– AJ Lee Interview with Tamina still with her… AJ is 295 days as champion now… Lots of conceited heel talk by AJ… She says she is the BEST DIVA IN THE WORLD… Crowd pops huge with a “CM Punk” chant…. AJ says she is the savior of the division, she IS the division… Out comes PAIGE, the NXT Women’s Champion… Paige is over with the fans… Paige says she’s here to do something nobody else would, she congratulates AJ. Lee doesn’t need her congrats and doesn’t like being interrupted… Paige apologizes, but AJ starts mocking her… AJ actually challenges Paige to a match tonight, she says she will beat her like the other Divas…
Paige says she’s not ready, even though she’s in ring gear… AJ Slaps her down and asks her if she’s ready now… AJ makes the challenge and puts the title on the line… We’ve got a title match!!!!
7. Divas Champion AJ Lee (w/Tamina) vs. Paige. Crowd chants This is Awesome, as AJ attacks Paige… AJ with her “Black Widow” submission finisher, but she can’t lock it on all the way, and Paige counters it by turning it into the Paige Turner for the 1..2…3 and Paige is the NEW Divas Champion in under a minute….
Fun surprise, watching Paige in NXT she can certainly hold her end, better than almost any other Diva… Good for her… Good for this new wave of talent…
-Commercial Break-
– Another Bo Dallas “Boliever” Promo
– It’s time for Hulk Hogan to present the Andre the Giant Memorial Statue to the winner of the Battle Royal, Cesaro… Hogan enters the ring where the statue stands… Hogan calls it the Superdome to a huge pop… Hogan puts over the Battle Royal and the fans chant “Cesaro”… Hogan talks how Cesaro slamming Big Show reminded Hulk of Andre… Hogan claims there were 31 guys in the Battle Royal…. Okay….
Out come Cesaro as the fans hum his theme song… Zeb Colter follows Cesaro to the ring, but several steps behind.. Cesaro celebrates with the trophy, Hogan pats him on the back and leaves the ring so an angle can get going…
Colter cuts Cesaro off before he can talk… Colter takes credit for Cesaro… But Cesaro says he’s not a Zeb Colter guy… He’s a PAUL HEYMAN GUY!!!!!!! Heyman walks out to align himself with Cesaro… Oh boy…
Heyman is now the manager of Cesaro, they shake hands as Colter stands by stunned…
Jacvk Swagger attacks Cesaro from behind and knocks him from the ring… Swagger just obliterates the Andre Trophy… Ripping the Andre statue from the top of it and slamming the stand to the outside floor, smashing it into pieces… Reminiscent of the WrestleMania IV Battle Royal… Cesaro gets back in the ring but Swagger takes off…
I liked the angle, not a giant fan of destroying something in the likeness of someone who has passed away… I think they could have done this entire thing without making Andre the focal point of the Battle Royal/Trophy…. Not that they had any clue they would be doing this when they created the Battle Royal match…
Cesaro with Heyman could be great, definitely elevates him to a much higher league of superstars… He’s just so over, I don’t know how it will play out with Heyman…
-Commercial Break-
8. Cesaro (w/Heyman) vs. Jack Swagger (w/Zeb Colter). We come back from break and the match has already started… Cesaro with some raw strength and a gut wrench. Swagger counters Cesaro on the top rope with a belly to belly superplex for 2… Swagger does some “we the people” for Cesaro, “We the People” chants follow. Swagger works the back of Cesaro. Boring. Cesaro fights back with some European Uppercuts, but Swagger hits a wrestling slam. Cesaro counters a Swagger Bomb with a boot to the face… Cesaro SUPERPLEXES SWAGGER INTO THE RING FROM THE APRON!!!!!! Cesaro follows Swagger into the corner five times with European Uppercuts, and calls for the Cesaro Swing, but Swagger rolls out of the ring and walks off for a count out. Crowd chants “Pussy” at Swagger as he takes an intentional count out. Cesaro wins on the count out. About 5:00 shown on TV….
Fans hum Cesaro’s theme, which will likely change since he’s not a Real American anymore… Or maybe he’s so over he will get to keep the music and the Real Americans will have to change…
– We get the Shield vs. the Wyatt Family on Main Event tomorrow… Great match, crappy place to stick it…
– Shortened version of the Hall of Fame airs next on USA….
-Commercial Break-
– Stephanie is backstage talking to Kane and the Shield… She says she doesn’t care what happened at WresleMania, they all need to make sure HHH wins the title tonight… Rollins takes a jab at running the New Age Outlaws out of the company… Kane gets so riled up he starts yelling and giving up information, like that HHH ordered the Shield to be attacked on Smackdown a few weeks back… Stephanie shuts Kane up and tells them all to focus tonight, HHH is the boss, and what the boss wants, he gets… Tonight HHH want the WWE Title from Daniel Bryan…
This match isn’t even going to get going until after the 11pm hour…
-Commercial Break-
As we prepare for the WWE Title match, Bryan is out first, but he’s attacked by Randy Orton and Batista… Orton lays Bryan out with an RKO, and Batista hits the Batista Bomb…. Kane’s Pyro goes off, and he makes his way out… Kane only joins in with a CHOKESLAM…. That’s three finishers in a row…
And NOW HHH comes out…. This type of crap really isn’t helping his character IMO…
HHH stands over Bryan and smirks… He calls for the referee and to get the match started…. The Authority force the referee to ring the bell or be fired… The bell rings, and we’re off… Crowd is already booing….
9. WWE World Champion Daniel Bryan vs. HHH. HHH mocks the YES! chant, getting ready to finish off Bryan, when the Shield’s theme hits… Rather than pinning Bryan, HHH inherits that pro wrestling disease where you just stop and stare as wrestlers enter the ring… The Shield are on one side of the ring, Orton Batista and Kane on the other end on the apron… Fans chant “Hounds of Justice”… HHH doesn’t know what to make of things… Bryan rolls to the side as the Shield, Tister, Orton, and Kane enter the ring… HHH tells Shield to stand down…
HHH makes Kane back down, but ROMAN REIGNS SPEARS HHH!!!!!!!!
The Shield begin to take out all of the heels… Rollins & Ambrose with suicide dives on Orton and Tister…. Reigns with a Superman Punch on Kane…. The Shield surround HHH as the fans go nuts… HHH turns to get away from the Shield, and DANIEL BRYAN NAILS HHH WITH THE RUNNING KNEE!!!! Kane and the others pull HHH out of the ring and the match basically ends without any decision after about 4:00….
Bryan leads the fans in YES chants with the Shield standing united…. HHH and company aren’t happy.. End Raw…
[spacer height=”20px”]WWE Raw “Backstage Pass” Post Show
– Daniel Bryan is celebrating with the fans while HHH stands on the top of the ramp still bitching…
– Renee Young is standing in the ring with the Shield… She asks why the Shield did what they did tonight… Ambrose says ask HHH why… The Shield say that HHH will believe in the Shield now…
– Renee Young interviews Daniel Bryan in the ring… Bryan says the keys to his success is hard work, dedication, opportunity… Bryan brings up everything changing at the Royal Rumble, thanking the fans for this opportunity… He should also be thanking CM Punk… Last night, Bryan says he lived his dream and thanks the fans from the bottom of his heart for allowing him to do so…
– As the panel discuss the Bryan/HHH situation, Bryan continues to celebrate with the arena fans… What will happen next week now that the Shield have turned on the Authority???
– Brock Lesnar/Undertaker discussion…
– Some talk about Cesaro, and the new stars coming into the company…
– Show ends with Booker liking him some Lana… Shucky Ducky, Quack Quack
