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By Sean Ross Sapp (@SeanRossSapp)
– Before the show, I’ll say that I’m interested to see the direction in which things are heading. Despite what I considered a good match, Kane and Daniel Bryan won’t be able to carry momentum in a continued feud, Lesnar won’t be back for a while, and Batista is allegedly on the way out. Last night, Dolph Ziggler, Big Show, Christian, Alberto Del Rio, Rhodes Brothers, Usos, Rybaxel, Mark Henry, Sheamus, and Kofi Kingston weren’t used on the PPV, so I wonder where the heavy mid-card goes from here. Several of those guys are dealing with injuries (notably Christian and Mysterio), but they’re still on the roster. Personally, I’d imagine Mark Henry, Big Show, and Mysterio become special attractions.
Well, I guess I got my answer about what the entire mid-card is doing– challenging for the U.S. title tonight
— Sean Ross Sapp (@SeanRossSapp) May 5, 2014
– 20-Man battle royal for the WWE United States title (Dean Ambrose, Big Show, Dolph Ziggler, Curtis Axel, Xavier Woods, Ryback, Kofi Kingston, Jack Swagger, Goldust, Zack Ryder, Titus O’Neil, Cody Rhodes, Sin Cara, R-Truth, Damien Sandow, Mark Henry, Fandango, Santino Marella, Heath Slater, Sheamus)
– Well as you can see, I received a short-term answer at the beginning of Raw, as 85 percent of the mid-card was placed in a battle royal for Dean Ambrose‘s United States title. I never have high expectations for battle royal matches outside of WrestleMania, although I’m a fan of them. The unwritten rule is that you never bump in a battle royal until the ring is nearly empty, and uhh….these guys pretty well adhered to such a rule.
I was bummed for the lack of a big Kofi Kingston spot, as well as Santino eliminating Dolph Ziggler with the Cobra, put when the match picked up the pace, it accomplished a few things. It took the entire field to eliminate Big Show (as it should have), and furthered the dissent between the Rhodes Brothers.
The crowd just got HOT for this battle royal
— Sean Ross Sapp (@SeanRossSapp) May 6, 2014
Woah! Sheamus eliminates Dean Ambrose! New United States champion!
— Sean Ross Sapp (@SeanRossSapp) May 6, 2014
This could be the beginning of Sheamus’ heel turn, as he totally blind sided Dean Ambrose. This went from mundane to good in a hurry, and hopefully (HOPEFULLY, YOU GUYS), this leads to more guys having things to do. Ambrose didn’t need that title. Meanwhile, there are a dozen guys in the middle of the card who need something, anything to do.
Triple H came out and noted that The Shield‘s luck was running out.
– Rob Van Dam vs. Cesaro (w/ Paul Heyman)
RVD‘s eye was looking nasty tonight after cutting it on the trash can at Extreme Rules. Each time Cesaro and RVD work together, it looks better, which is fantastic. RVD had his motor going full-on early on, and looked really good in this match, bumping his ass off and flying everywhere.
Shortly before the commercial break, the local goons started a “CM Punk” chant, which mercifully had transformed into an “RVD” chant by the time the commercial was over. Let it go, people. Punk doesn’t want to come back.
It’s cool how Cesaro has taken a simple European uppercut, and turned it into one of the most universally loved moves in the WWE. Having such a unique set of moves to rely on means so much to his character and how over he is.
It looks like this feud will continue, as Cesaro was DQ’d for continuing to attack after a five count.
I’m cool with RVD/Cesaro continuing, as long as they don’t have 3-4 matches against each other between now and WWE Payback
— Sean Ross Sapp (@SeanRossSapp) May 6, 2014
– Bray Wyatt cut an awesome promo. Change the record. He’s great. I needed hosed down after that promo.
See if Cobra Commander had planned shit like Bray Wyatt does, Cobra woulda beat GI Joe in like 8 episodes. No aimin’ mirror face sonofa…
— Big Boss Repo (@bearforcewon) May 6, 2014
– Ryback (w/ Curtis Axel) vs. Cody Rhodes (w/ Goldust)
Oh snap! All of these guys on the show twice, this is promising.
Quite frankly, Ryback kicked Cody Rhodes‘ ass up and down the ring for about 8 minutes, before Rhodes finally made a comeback. It’s a shame to see how lame the crowd reactions have gotten for Rhodes since that fantastic storyline last year. I have high hopes that the seemingly impending feud with Goldust can rekindle things for him, as he has the tools to be a star.
Speaking of their impending feud, Goldust accidentally knocked Rhodes off the top rope, into a Shellshock by Ryback. The big man wins.
– There was a Matadores/Torito, 3MB/Hornswoggle Cinco de Mayo celebration. I’ll let the tweets speak for the segment.
NO THEY DIDN’T! CINCO DE MINIS
— Sean Ross Sapp (@SeanRossSapp) May 6, 2014
Oh, man. Matadores are a nightmare on the mic. — Sean Ross Sapp (@SeanRossSapp) May 6, 2014
No less than 12 racist elements to this segment. — CL Party (@celfiesta) May 6, 2014
WeeLC 2 or GTFO
— Crippl Travis Bickle (@IQWrestler) May 6, 2014
Wow, this segment on #RAW is dying.
— Steven Wisecarver (@SWisecarver) May 6, 2014
only in pro wrestling can you have Puerto ricans celebrating cinco de Mayo dressed as Mexican matadors. — BRUHTISTA (@smashatomz) May 6, 2014
Alexander Rusev (w/ Lana) vs. Kofi Kingston
– Oh yeah. Alexander Rusev was on the show.
Alexander Rusev is up neZzZzZzZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
— Sean Ross Sapp (@SeanRossSapp) May 6, 2014
Lana is hot. Rusev won. He’s not good.
I think they’ll try to push Bo Dallas like Rocky Maivia, expecting him to get booed. No, he’s gonna get cheered. You can’t win
— Sean Ross Sapp (@SeanRossSapp) May 6, 2014
– Daniel Bryan and Brie Bella were trying to escape the wrath of Kane, but before they could, Stephanie McMahon booked Daniel Bryan in a match. Hey, cool!
– Daniel Bryan (w/ Brie Bella) vs. Alberto Del Rio
Will Del Rio get a Cinco de Mayo win? Probably not. The crowd reactions aren’t as loud as they used to be for Bryan, but they’re still good– even during a long TV match.
The two worked wonderfully together, but the match was a victim of the fans not thinking Del Rio stood a chance in winning the match, which is unfortunate. The two have similar offense, but still play off of each other’s styles incredibly well. They had a great, 15 minute match before Daniel Bryan won with the Yes Lock. Good use of both guys, and a really enjoyable match. I just wish the crowd would remain as crazy about Bryan as they were a month ago.
After the match, there was a really goofy segment with Kane chasing Brie and Daniel Bryan, with Kane getting hit by a car, and Brie screaming repeatedly and annoyingly. It’s almost like Brie Bella was Tea Leoni in Jurassic Park III. You’re rooting for her to get eaten by a dinosaur.
– Bad News Barrett (c) vs. Big E- Intercontinental Championship Rematch
No in ring intros for this match, which made me kind of sad. Title matches should be treated as special on TV, because they are. If they’re treated like every other match, they’ll be looked at that way.
YOLO Langston did some more crazy stuff– running into stairs, poles, and such. Once they made their way back inside, Raw cut to a commercial, so I have no idea how the pace of the match went, unfortunately.
Big E has looked so bright when cutting promos and facing other big wrestlers, but he needs some unique offense to differentiate himself, and really set his character apart from the other big guys on the roster. His crazy ass dive/tackle is a good start.
The Albany crowd didn’t like this match, but they suck, so who cares? It was a good match. These two work really well with other big guys, which you didn’t see much of at all in the WWE 5-10 years ago. Barrett won with the Bull Hammer.
My god. WWE has re-mixed the Mr. T Hall of Fame induction speech into a Mother’s Day song. This is going viral
— Sean Ross Sapp (@SeanRossSapp) May 6, 2014
If WWE doesn’t capitalize on this hilarious shovel vine by having Stephanie throw a shovel at Bryan’s head, I’m done with wrestling
— Sean Ross Sapp (@SeanRossSapp) May 6, 2014
– Jack Swagger and Zeb Coulter were out next, and Zeb has a hilarious “deportation list” that he carries on a sign. He was complaining about illegal immigrants when Adam Rose (w/ party crew) came out. This guy’s entrance is something to behold. The crowd chanted his theme music after it ended, too. Rose disposed of Swagger and partied in the ring.
YES! RT @SeanRossSapp: I see a hilarious Adam Rose and Fandango tag team in the future.
— Corey Santiago (@CoreySantiago) May 6, 2014
The Shield vs. The Wyatt Family- IV
This match seems like the WWE’s failsafe when they need something to fall back on, and I’m not complaining.
I’m not really sure what there is to say about a match that has been done (awesome-ly) three times before, but this woke the boring Albany crowd up, as they were chanting “This is awesome” from the jump.
All three members of the Shield do different things in the ring than anyone else in the WWE does, and it makes them an attraction. The Wyatts (except Luke Harper) aren’t as good in the ring, but bring their own unique characters into the fray and make the match a must-watch each time these two hook up. Also, Roman Reigns throws one of the best worked punches I’ve ever seen.
<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet” lang=”en”><p><a href=”https://twitter.com/SeanRossSapp”>@SeanRossSapp</a> i bet they all watch crisley knows best too. losers.</p>— Mike (@Mike_Austin__) <a href=”https://twitter.com/Mike_Austin__/statuses/463513927565852674″>May 6, 2014</a></blockquote>
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Evolution (with Batista, in case you were wondering) hit the ring, before Rollins and Ambrose went all YOLO and took everyone out. That left Wyatt and Reigns in the ring, with Wyatt hitting Sister Abigail for the win. Evolution attacked the Shield after the bell. More awesome from these sets of teams.
– A lot of people were complaining about Raw, mainly the Bryan/Kane segment, which sucked badly, but I don’t think the one terrible segment outweighed the rest of the show, which was good. There was a title change, another title match, some seldom-seen talent, a debut, and a damn fine main event. I was very happy with this show. John Cena, however, was nowhere to be seen. Interesting.
That’s all for tonight, folks. Thanks for reading. If you missed them, check out my other wrestling-related pieces below
Ultimate Writer’s Extreme Rules Thoughts & Tweets!
Ultimate Writer’s Fantasy Booker: The Doghouse Faction (Ziggler & Miz)
The post Ultimate Writer’s WWE Raw Thoughts and Tweets- 5/5/14 appeared first on Cage Passion.