RAW results 4/2/13 (contains spoiler)

We recap Cena's "difficult" decision, his, as well as Sheamus and Ryback's beatdown at the hands of the Shield, and the "shocker" of Paul Heyman lying through his teeth about The Shield and Brad Maddox and the REAL shocker of Brock Lesnar storming the ring and F-5'ing Mr. McMahon.

The Road to Wrestlemania runs through Atlanta TONIGHT!

No pyro as the former WWE Champion CM Punk makes his way to the ring in a huff. He pulls in Justin Roberts and forces him to announce Punk as the true "People's Champion." He asks us if he overreacted, and while the crowd says "Yes", Punk disagrees, as no one can imagine what it wa slike to lose what he had. He didn't overreact, he reacted as well as anyone would who had been screwed over like he did. Punk bring up the video that supposedly implicates him and Paul Heyman, while it was obviously clear that Punk himself that wasn't in the video, and asks a couple of fans and Michael Cole, who grudgingly admit he wasn't there.

Punk says he finds this hard to be the gospel truth considering Vince put it on his titantron on his show. Vince can doctor anything, hire anyone to play anyone, because he has the money and he is vindictive enough to do it. He says it is karma that Vince got F-5'd by Brock Lesnar and had his hip broken. He dares anyone to tell him that Vince didn't deserve it, and soon "karma" will reach the Rock in two short weeks. The REAL Champion is right here, in his "442nd day" as the true champion.

Booker T comes out. He screws up his lines a bit, but informs us that Vickie has put him and the fans in charge of Punk's fate. He brings up three of Punk's latest Wrestlemania opponents for Punk to face tonight: Rey Mysterio (WM 26), Randy Orton (WM 27), and Chris Jericho (WM 28). Jericho's name gets some big pops and chants. Booker ends it with a classic "Can you dig that, SUCKAAAAA!"

We get a little advert about how to use the WWE App to vote for CM Punk's opponent tonight.

~Commercial Break~

No Title Match: Ryback vs. US Champion Antonio Cesaro

This rivalry stems from WWE Main Event, where Cesaro has been counted out against Ryback on two straight occasions, the second time on purpose when Ryback simply got the best of Cesaro.

Ryback fights out of a waistlock and hip tosses Cesaro, followed by a leg drop for two. Ryback brings him to the corner and beats him down. he sets for the Meathook, but Cesaro ducks out. Ryback chases him back in, but Cesaro lays the boots to him. European uppercut countered by Ryback, then a Thesz press into a few head slams. He picks up Cesaro, who surprises him with an uppercut as we go to break...

~Commercial Break~

Ryback with a couple of knockdowns to Cesaro, who tries to ditch yet again, but Ryback catches him leaving. Cesaro tossed back into the ring, but hangs up Ryback on the ropes, and trips him onto the apron head first. He drives Ryback into the ring post, then into the steel steps hard. Ryback down and out, and the ref counts. He JUST makes it back in before the 10 count. Cesaro with another uppercut, but Ryback with a big back body drop, then a spinebuster. He hits a Meathook, but Cesaro yet again makes for the crowd, and Ryback throws him back in. Cesaro with a boot that staggers Ryback, but the next one Ryback counters with big powerbomb, another Meathook connects, then FINISH! IT! Shell-Shock! Three count!

Winner: Ryback
Time: 9:48

We recap Cena's decision to face the WWE Champion and the Shield ambushing him, then taking down Sheamus and Ryback individually as well. We get an deep introspective of The Shield...NEXT!

~Commercial Break~

Chilli from TLC in the house tonight!

Rey Mysterio pleads his case to face Punk tonight, brings up their history, and knows Punk's weaknesses. He's been where Punk has been as WWE Champion, and promises to bring it to him tonight.

We flashback to Survivor Series, where the Shield first made their impact, then took their fight of "justice" to Sheamus, Ryback, Randy Orton, Rey Mysterio, John Cena, and others. "BELIEVE IN THE SHIELD!"

Cena watches this from Vickie's office, and Vickie brings up the rumor that he plans to confront The Shield in the ring on his own and asks if he has a death wish. Cena says he's won the Royal Rumble and will once again be WWE Champion, but right now, The Shield needs to be stopped.

We recap Trish Stratus's 2013 Hall of Fame induction, and it really couldn't have gone to any other diva of her era. We also hear about the "EPIC announcement" that has been a long time coming, in Michael Cole's words, about the latest Hall of Fame induction.

~Commercial Break~

Back with Cole and King. We hear from Jericho, who says you don't call yourself "Best in the World", you ARE it, and insists that we vote to see Jericho vs. Punk.

"The Real American" Jack Swagger vs. Santino Marella

Cole brings up some good continuity with Swagger's US Title loss to Santino last year beginning his downward spiral. Santino goes into his usual antics, but Swagger stops that with a knee to the gut, then takes Santino to the corner for some shots. Santino dodges a charge, and goes for some jabs. Santino goes for a hip toss, Swagger stops it, misses the clothesline, Santino with body shots, but Swagger knocks him down and goes up top for a Swagger Bomb. He psyches up and locks in the Ankle Lock he now calls the "Patriot Act" for the quick tap out by Santino.

Winner: Jack Swagger
Time: 2:30

Swagger gets in Booker's face after the match and asks "Are you impressed now?" before sauntering off.

The voting is up now for CM Punk's opponent tonight, and the results will be posted...NEXT!

~Commercial Break~

Turns out everyone voting at once caused some backlash on the system, so the results will be shown following the next match.

Non-Title Match: World Champion Alberto Del Rio vs. Cody Rhodes

We recap Del Rio's up and down week, with his victory over Show at the Royal Rumble, Show's revenge on him and Ricardo on Raw, then Show beating down

Cody with boots to Del Rio. Del Rio gets an elbow out of the corner, then a monkey flip. Cody slaps him, and Del Rio is ticked, laying into Cody with kicks, then a nasty shot to the arm for a two count. Cody counters Del Rio, then puts the boots to Del Rio into the corner. Alberto fights back with some clotheslines, then a sharp thrust kick for a near fall. Cross Armbreaker countered, Disaster Kick by Rhodes, which gets a near fall. Cross Rhodes countered, Cross Arm Breaker is in and Cody taps!

Winner: Alberto Del Rio
Time: 2:30ish

Del Rio on the mic. He realizes that he used to look down on the fans, and says that being bullied by the Big Show has opened his eyes. He thanks us for allowing him to win the World Title not just for himself, but for everyone who's worked hard to put food on their plate and has had endured bullying at the hands of monsters like the Big Show. He promises that what happened last Friday is nothing compared to what he will do this week.

Show on the Titantron, trying to calm Alberto down, who says Show has no cajones, and Show laughs it off. He's in a hotel off-site. Alberto calls him a coward, but Show says he's here because he could easily annihilate Del Rio if he were there. Heck, he could've done it last Friday, but he decided to let it go. He tells Del Rio all he wants is a rematch for the World Title at Elimination Chamber. He tells Del Rio to fax some papers through his "flunkies" and Show will sign them, and Alberto will get Show in a match. IF Del Rio tries to find Show in the hotel, the beating he gave Ricardo is nothing compared to what Show will do to Del Rio tonight.

Lawler announces the results of the WWEActive vote tonight for CM Punk's opponent...and Jericho wins by a landslide. Jericho vs. CM Punk tonight!

~Commercial Break~

We recap Rey and Sin Car's non-title victory over Team Hell No last Friday night. Then we see Bryan and Kane arguing over how Kane "cost" Bryan the match and how he hasn't been doing his "part" as his partner. Kane says it's a "shocker" how Daniel can't seem to take care of himself now. Bryan promises to prove that he doesn't need Kane's help, and orders him to stay back for the next match. Kane only looks on with disdain.

Rey Mysterio vs. Daniel Bryan

The two lightweight wrestlers exchange grapples, holds, and kicks to start the match. Rey with a kick to the head, then goes for a head scissors, but Daniel stops it and counters with a SWEET modified gut buster. He props up Rey in the corner for the Tree of Woe and hits some shoulder thrusts, but Rey dodges the third one and Bryan rams into the ring post and out of the ring as we go to break...

~Commercial Break~

Bryan with a wristlock, then stomps Rey's elbow. He jams Rey's bad arm into his shoulder, then delivers some kicks to the arm. Rey rolls through a toss to the outside, but Bryan counters him with a baseball slide. Rey fires back with a forearm. Back in the ring, Rey up on Bryan's shoulders, rolls through, and kicks Bryan in the face for two. Rey whips Bryan into the ropes for a 619, but Bryan catches him and locks in the No! Lock, but Rey counters into a roll-up for a near fall. Rey trips up Bryan, hits the 619, up top to Drop The Dime...but he misses! Bryan locks in the No! Lock. Rey taps!

Winner: Daniel Bryan
Time: 8:20

Bryan celebrates, but MARK HENRY'S music hits! Oh, somebody's wig gonna get split, and maybe a beard too, as Henry easily dispatches of Bryan, storms the ring, and tears into Mysterio with a spinebuster and drags him to the corner. Sin Cara out, but Henry catches him on the cross body and drill him with the World's Strongest Slam. He goes back to drop down on Rey, who somehow fights back, but Henry just drops him with the WSS as well. Henry up top, World's Strongest Vader Bomb! He tosses out Sin Cara as he screams "THAT'S WHAT I DO!" I think we've got a front runner for the Elimination Chamber...

Punk vs. Jericho, coming up later.

~Commercial Break~

Bryan catches up with Kane in the back, and demands why he wasn't out there. Kane said he followed Bryan's orders. Bryan asks since when does Kane listen to him, and demands an apology. Kane says Bryan's words hurt and their friendship is stronger than that. Bryans asks if that's true. "HELL NO!" He laughs as Bryan sulks.

We recap Heyman being caught by Mr. McMahon in his lie about not being associated with either Brad Maddox or the Shield, about to be fired, but "The Beast" Brock Lesnar makes his presence know, hits the ring, and Vince warns him to not do anything he'd regret, only for Brock to F-5 Vince, "shattering" his hip to the point he needed hip replacement surgery. More updates as they come in.

Show in his hotel suite, impatient with Booker over when the contracts for his match with Del Rio will be delivered. A knock on the door...and it's room service with an awfully small meal for the big man. The room service man asks for a tip. Show's tip: "Get a better job." Ouch.

Sheamus out for his match against The Big Red Machine, Kane, NEXT!

~Commercial Break~

Sheamus vs. WWE Tag Team Champion Kane

Kane and Sheamus tie-eup, but it turns into a slugfest with Sheamus coming out on top. Kane reverses a whip and nails a clothesline. he takes Sheamus to the corner for some uppercuts. Whip reversed by Sheamus with a knee lift, but Kane comes back with a sidewalk slam for two. Kane to the outside, but Sheamus kicks him off. Kane rolls back in, Sheamus kicks him, whip, but Kane counters with a boot. Sheamus fires right back with the Irish Curse, but Kane come back up. Sheamus drives him to the corner, but Kane uppercuts him, goes up top, misses the clothesline esults (2/4) - Mark Henry Returns!

WWERAWSheamusRandy OrtonCM PunkBrock LesnarThe MizPaul HeymanCody RhodesKaneDaniel BryanSin CaraRey MysterioTriple HBruno SammartinoVince McMahonKaitlynTamina SnukaZack RyderDolph ZigglerAJ LeeThe ShieldMichael ColeJerry LawlerBig E Langston
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Sheamus goes for the Brogue Kick, BLOCKED by Kane, GOOZLE! Sheamus floats out, goes for White Noise, Kane fights out, goes for a Tombstone, but Sheamus counters that! Nice sequence there. Kane takes Sheamus down, goes for th Chokeslam, but Bryan out, which distracts and angers Kane as he goozles Bryan and shoves him off the apron, only to get Brogue Kicked for the three count!

Winner: Sheamus
Time: 3:46

Bryan says "I'm sorry" with a big, goofy "Nah, I'm not sorry" grin on his face as Sheamus celebrates.

Cena calls out the Shield, and MizTV with Paul Heyman is up NEXT!

~Commercial Break~

Miz out in the ring, going over Heyman bringing back Lesnar. Heyman stops him and introduces himself, not allowing Miz to soil his reputation. Miz jokes that it was soiled before he said anything. Heyman accuses him of slander, then goes on to apologize to Mr. McMahon, which Miz doesn't buy for a second. He's seen the video of the Shield and Brad Maddox, he saw Vince about to fire Heyman. Paul tries to say that he tried to get Brock to back down, but Miz doesn't believe him, and credits him for.

Vickie out now, and says Heyman is telling the truth. SHE is the one who secretly negotiated with Lesnar over the last few months, hoped that the deal would convince Mr. McMahon to make her position as GM permanent, and had finally sealed a contract around the time of Raw Roulette. She and Heyman never expected Lesnar to do what he did, and she "sobs" into Heyman's jacket. He wants to dedicate a moment to Vince, but Vickie tops it by wanting to pray. Miz asks "Really?" He reminds us how Vince ruined Heyman and ECW, how Vince has dangled the notion of Permanent Raw GM in Vickie's face and pull it away. Vickie reminds Miz that she's his boss. Miz asks for how long, as Vince will recuperate, do away with Vickie, and finish the job with Heyman.

Before he can go on, Brock Lesnar's music hits, and Miz is frozen in the ring as Lesnar marches to the ring. "The Beast" in the ring now, and Miz does the VERY foolish thing of shoving Lesnar, who takes his head off with a clothesline. He tosses Miz outside and starts dumping furniture on him. Miz somehow back in and takes the fight to Brock, who stops him with high knees, then a F-5 to lay out Miz for good. Heyman begs Lesnar off before he can do more, and they leave, Miz and MizTV in ruins.

~Commercial Break~

Non-Title Match: IC Champion Wade Barrett vs. Randy Orton

We get a little promo from Bo Dallas, who promises that's he's a underdog "with some bite." We see his upset win last Monday on Raw Roulette, then we see last Friday, where Wade ambushed and beat down the NXT Rookie.

Wade drills Randy into the corner, but Orton comes back with a Thesz Press and a back body drop. Wade to the outside, but Randy follows and back suplexes him onto the barricade. Orton rolls Barrett back in for a two count. Randy with the pseudo-Garvin Stomp. Barrett counters a charge off the ropes with a clothesline, a knee lift, then tosses Randy to the outside, where he beats down on Orton some more, before rolling him back in a for a two count. Wade with a rear headlock, Orton fights out, blocks the thrust kick from Barrett, then fires up with some clotheslines and a powerslam. Snakebite DDT, Orton goes for the RKO, but Wade ducks to the outside. Randy follows, throws him back in, but Barrett surprises him with the Winds of Change for a near fall. Barrett preps the Bullhammer, Randy dodges, RKO attempt countered by Barrett pushing Orton to the corner. Barrett misses the boot to the corner. RKO! OUT OF NOWHERE! Three count!

Winner: Randy Orton
Time:: 5:05

Jericho vs. Punk is up NEXT!

~Commercial Break~

WWEActive Match: CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho

Lock-up in the ring, chops from both men, Jericho wins that battle, and backs Punk into the corner for some more chops, then a stalling vertical suplex for a two count. Punk with a series of kicks, then a jumping calf kick for a two count. Punk with a key lock to Jericho. Jericho fights out with elbows and chops. Punk reverses a whip, but gets a boot to the face. Punk counters a whip, goes for a tornado DDT, but Jericho floats out, and back drops Punk to the ring floor, then follows up with a baseball dropkick which sneds punk into the announce table as we go to commercial...

~Commercial Break~

Punk with a back suplex to Jericho, then knee drops to his head before covering Jericho for two. Punk with a neck vice to Jericho. Chris fights out with right hands and a chop, Punk reverse the whip, Jericho tosses him to the apron, but Punk misses the springboard clothesline. Jericho with a pair of shoulder block. Punk tosses him to the apron, Jericho with a kick, then the bulldog. Jericho spots the counter on the Lionsault, tries to turn it into the Walls of Jericho, but Punk kicks him off. Punk goes for the high knee in the corner, misses it, Jericho picks him up, Superplex. Near fall for Jericho. Punk looks for the GTS, Jericho rolls him for the Walls, but Punk counters into a cradle for two, then Jericho with a cradle for two. Punk with the high knee and a clothesline, but misses the elbow drop from the top rope. Lionsault! 1...2...Thr-NO! Punk with a BLISTERING roundhouse kick. 1...2...Thr-NO! Anaconda Vice is in! Jericho...makes the ropes! Jericho gets to the turnbuckle, but Punk stops him with another withering kick. Punk picks up Jericho for the GTS, but Jericho catches the leg, Walls of Jericho is in! And Punk...makes the ropes as well! Punk tries for a GTS, but is too damaged from the Walls. Jericho tries the Walls again, but Punk leg whips him into a corner turnbuckle. He then drives Jericho into a ring post, shoulder first. Jericho up...GTS connects! Three count! Awesome match!

Winner: CM Punk
Time: 15:00

The next inductee of 2013...a man who more than deserves this overdue achievment...the longest-running WWE Champion in its storied history, the man who built Madison Square Garden and is truly the best in WWE's entire history...BRUNO SAMMARTINO! The crowd is standing in ovation at the news!

~Commercial Break~

Matt Striker backstage with CM Punk to ask where his head is. Punk explains he is not angry that the Rock is off shooting films, he is angry because while Rock walks around with a belt, Punk is the true champion. Every second, minute, and hour of the day, he proves why he is the Best in the World, and in two weeks, he'll do it again.

Josh Matthews with John Cena backstage. Josh asks Cena why despite their attacks in recent weeks, Cena would call them out alone. Cena says pretty much what he said before: He won the Rumble, he's facing the WWE Champion, and the Shield is something that has to be taken care of right here and now.

~Commercial Break~

Show on the phone with Booker, wondering where the guy is with the papers. Knock on the door, and the man has arrived with the papers. He seems to be trying to tell Show something, probably that he left the door unlocked. Yep, there's Alberto, who assaults Show, but the big man with kicks to Del Rio's gut and tosses him around the hotel hallway. He goes to grab a table leg, but Alberto with a fire extinguisher, sprays Show, and cracks him in the head, knocking him out. He laughs, says he'll get Show some pepto for the "bad hotel food" and leaves with a wink.

Brad Maddox in the ring now. He talks about how Heyman manipulated and took advantage of a kid who tried to make it big in the business, how he did what he thought was right for himself. When Heyman had him disposed of at the hands of the Shield, he had no trouble admitting to his involvement in keeping the championship on CM Punk and it turns out HE was the one who gave Mr. McMahon the footage incriminating Punk and Heyman. Now, HE will be the hero of this story, and it will be HIM, not Cena, who teaches The Shield about the true meaning of justice. He calls them out.

The Shield's music hits, and Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins come down the arena steps. Ambrose on the mic, saying Maddox is no hero, but a rat foraging for scraps, and while the Shield took a payoff like he did, "justice ain't free." Rollins questions if Maddox even knows the concept of justice, as a whiny, 15-minutes-of-fame wannabe. Roman Reigns jumps the barricade now, saying the last time was all business, but they are going to take their time savoring this one. They surround Maddox, he stares them down, goes after Ambrose, and is promptly beat down and triple powerbombed in a heartbeat.

Cena's music hits, and here he comes through the audience, Shield-style. Then Ryback's music hits, and here he comes, as well as Sheamus! They surround the ring, much in the way of the Shield, who retreat, only to run into a barricade of superstars led by Randy Orton and Kofi Kingston. They're forced back into the ring, and Cena, Sheamus, and Ryback lay into the three mercenaries with hard rights and boots. This goes for about a minute until the Shield retreats into the crowd, with Cena and company standing tall as we fade to black.

End show.

No appearance from the WWE Champ. Good job CM Punk is good enough to be able to build momentum for there match on his own. Great Promo creating great heat, shame Booker T turned up.

Rubbish Raw only decent thing was Jericho/Punk

I thought the reversal of the Shield style with Cena, Ryback and Sheamus using their tactics and the rest of the faces blocking their exit was well done. Nice to actually see the Shield use a mic live as well!

One thing that is beginning to grate on me though recently with RAW is that the last match happens two ad breaks before the end of the show. Please remember Vince that the main event is meant to be a wrestling match.

I thought it was an excellent Raw and not sure what there was to complain about to be honest Bull. If you thought that was a rubbish Raw, then perhaps you should stop wrestling as I'm not sure there have been many Raws which have had as much direction, wrestling and good promos as last nights.

I thought CM Punk stole the show this week, his promo at the beginning was masterful, if any young wrestler wants to see pretty much the perfect heel work he just has to look at that. It was pretty much spot on. He then had a really, really good match with Chris Jericho which shows that the two obviously have a lot of chemistry in the ring and it's a shame WWE didn't book their feud better last year as we could have seen a much better story develop.

Kane and Bryan's ongoing break up is bubbling along nicely and will presumably implode in the Chamber, good to see they're not rushing it and allowing it to play much more naturally. Kane and Bryan both had decent matches as well.

Nice to see submission finishers be used more, the first three matches all ended in submission and it meant later in the night when Jericho and Punk locked in their submissions hold I did think it could end like that contrary to the usual where you're sure it will end fairly quickly.

Lesnar and Heyman were both excellent, Lesnar doesn't need to say a word and he's still probably the most menacing guy in the business. Heyman was perfect again, the horrible, slimy smirk as Miz ripped into him was hilarious. The only downside of that segment was the use of Vickie Guerrero who is just awful these days. She's using the exact same stuff she was using 4 years ago.

Then The Shield's story started to pick up and get a little more direction to it, I do fear for their long term health facing the three biggest faces in WWE but for the moment WWE have booked it very well.

A very good Raw for me, 8.5/10

I liked how on an individual level the members of the Shield are currently going toe for toe with the three biggest faces, they're not being made to look weak at all, wwe heel certainly. I'd just like them to have their own matches at times now.

Mark Henry's return was quality, The Hall of Pain 2013 is in service. I think he should win the WHC chamber match and challenge Del Rio at WM

Really enjoyable Raw,

Thought all the matches were worth the effort, particuarly Punk v Jericho which was one of the best TV matches I've seen in ages though I though Bryan vs Rey was a good match, nice to see Henry back, I wonder if he could be built up for a Ryback 'Mania match if they seem hell bent on feeding Lesnar to HHH?

Speaking of Lesnar, I enjoyed seeing him back, the chair he threw on Miz looked like a real stinger, only problem I had was that the Miz was being so thoroughly obnoxious I actually hoped for and marked out for Lesnar when he came down to shut him up, and I like Miz.

Final segment was a good one, though once again, was I supposed to feel sorry for Maddox, enjoyable though and interesting to see 4 guys who weren't on TV this time last year featured at the climax of the show, the Cena surprise at the end was enjoyable, reminded me of the Evolution storyline back before Survivors 05 when the whole roster came out to team up against them, did find it funny that Sheild seemed to be relishing the idea of Cena coming down via the ramp but the minute he appeared in the crowd the immediatly started bricking it.

All in all enjoyable Raw, purpose, direction, good promos, good wrestling, about all you can ask for without anything really special happening.

What I liked on the show

Punk vs Jericho - solid 15 minute match. Jericho showed why he's still useful to have around, as he's always guarenteed to have a good match. Punk's heel work is different class. It's the little things he excels out, like screaming 'ask him' when having Jericho in a submission hold, and mocking the crowd chants of 'This is awesome' was superb.

Mark Henry's return - Henry looked like a beast, decimating three smaller guys. Like Top of the chops said, I think he'd be the perfect candidate to face Del Rio at WM.

Lesnar - Really enjoy him smashing Miz to pieces. Throwing the chairs at him was a nice touch as well.

Closing segment - I pretty saw the faces at the top of the stage were all previous Shield victims, which was a good bit of continuity. I like how the brawl was brief

What I didn't like

De ja vu - Orton seems to go against Barrett every week. I didn't see the point of the match, as it didn't progress either of their stories, apart from Bo Dallas' insert interview during the introductions. The same goes for Ryback and Cesaro. I thought that was a decent match, but they gone against each other so much recently with the same result.

Cody Rhodes burial - I appreciate they want to make ADR look strong, but Cody's gone from being argubly the MVP of the Royal Rumble to losing to Cena and Del Rio in about five minutes combined. Seems a waste of talent to me.

Recaps - I thought their seemed to be lots of filller from last week, and plugs for WWE apps, particularly during the first half of the show

Miz - The man's supposed to be a face, but is really unlikeable. Even alongside Vickie and Heyman, he was the most unlikeable person in that segment.

TheBrahmaBull wrote:Rubbish Raw only decent thing was Jericho/Punk

im going to have to agree with TheBrahamaBull here bar that match what else was memorable or exciting about the show? nothing stood out like oh he's done that this week wonder what happens next week it just seemed like most the show was just filled with things for the sake of killing time

We saw the development of pretty much every feud going in the WWE.

CM Punk vs. The Rock (The WWE title was also made to mean something)
Big Show vs. Alberto Del Rio
Daniel Bryan vs. Kane
Smackdown Elimination Chamber
The Shield vs Cena/Ryback/Sheamus
Wade Barrett vs. Bo Dallas (to a certain extent)
Brock Lesnar vs people who are mean to Paul Heyman

On top of that we saw a lot of decent matches, no rubbish comedy segments, no diva segments, no rubbish like Tensai dancing or Great Khali signing. I can't remember the last time Raw had so many good wrestling matches, I don't think there was a poor match all night. Mark Henry's return was handled very well and he was made to look very good.

Every week can't be filled with surprises and shocks, in fact, it's WWE belief over the past few years that surprises and shocks are the only way to create a good story that has led to the product becoming awful as plans are not fulfilled for the benefit of a cheap shock. WWE put on a very good Raw where it actually told some good stories and had good wrestling on it.

There's also plenty of things to wonder about:
Will The Rock retort CM Punk?
What will Brock Lesnar do next?
Is Paul Heyman really behind The Shield?
Will somebody come to take Vince's place?
Will Daniel Bryan and Kane break up?
Who else will be in Smackdown's elimination chamber?
Will The Shield continue to attack after nearly being bested?
Will Raw have an elimination chamber?
Will Del Rio get full revenge on the Big Show?
Will Bo Dallas and Wade Barrett continue their feud?

I really don't know what people want.

I agree Crimey, I've spent at least the past 4 years bemoaning the lack of logical storytelling, then in the face of the rumble I'm beginning to wonder if thats what people wanted.

Hire Russo!

There was a brief moment when the sun and moon aligned, venus was rising and the MITB PPV when Punk, DB and Christian won that had the IWC in unison not moaning for a day.
It quickly passed.

Hero wrote:There was a brief moment when the sun and moon aligned, venus was rising and the MITB PPV when Punk, DB and Christian won that had the IWC in unison not moaning for a day.
It quickly passed.

I remember people being annoyed Christian only won by DQ

The day the IWC will be happy is the day Rikishi didn't do it for DA ROCK

part of the problem is when people talk about the IWC as though it is a group that speaks with one voice!

there must be tens of thousands of wrestling fans like us, if not hundreds of thousands, who follow the backstage stuff and critique the shows. each of those people are going to have their own personal tastes. of course they aren't all going to speak in unison, so there will always be happy people and unhappy people.

There are certain opinions which are popular amongst that community, but I would imagine none are universal. And neither should they be.

I'll probably fast forward through a lot of this. I get that a lot of the storylines have been moved on but I'm not that into the feuds

The shield are the only thing keeping me interested lately but now with Cena getting involved I have a feeling that interest will fade away fast. I could live with sheamus, ryback and orton taking them on but cenas involvement is just unnessacary. The shield have been very well built up but we all know that one of them will be tapping out to the worst applied submission move ever at elimination chamber after Cena hits his usual nonsense five moves

Did you not get the memo from IWC command that it's now block voting Crips?
Basically Daniel Bryan v CM Punk has to be booked for each PPV main event for the next decade in a show with Ambrose, Steen, Samoa Joe, Ziggler, Aries, The Briscoes, Seth Rollins, Chris Hero, El Generico and Tyson Kidd all being involved in meaningful feuds but in which heels aren't cowardly, people aren't pinned without reason or matches given away for free, move sets aren't restricted, tag divisions are made interesting, Vince buggers off and Austin returns next Mania.

What on earth was wrong with Raw? Crimey has taken all the words out of my mouth!

Seeing some comments, it makes me wonder why on earth people actually waste there time watching WWE, if all there going to do is moan when there is no need to!

The Chris Jericho CM Punk match was very good. CM Punk did a class job throughout the night, with his promos and the build up towards his match with the rock at Elimination Chamber.

It was good to see the shield get valued mic time, i liked the entrances of Cena, Ryback and Sheamus. Hopefully there will be a 6 man elimination chamber tag match. Not sure how it would work though.

Mark Henry returning Another name who could be in the Smackdown elimination chamber. I recon they will do a Del Rio vs Big Show match for the title in a no holds bard match and then a Smackdown Elimination chamber match with the winner facing Del Rio at Wrestle Mania.

Finally so many questions to be asked about Paul Heyman and Brock Lesnar. Did enjoy Lesnar's attack on the miz i must say.

But i thought it was a good raw. The only problem is, there is one more raw before Elimination Chamber and there has only been one match announced.

It isn't really surprising that you enjoyed Raw though is it Nick.. It wasn't an awful show.. The ending was terrible though, I was left asking ' is that it?' Also the amount of breaks is really starting to p!ss me off.

I enjoyed it, lots of progression in feuds. I don't mind filler matches as long as they're good, and they all were.

One thing that's really gripping my sh|t is cody losing short matches so easily. Rhodes Scholars have parted ways and this isn't how cody should be built before a potential match with Goldust.

NickisBHAFC wrote:What on earth was wrong with Raw? Crimey has taken all the words out of my mouth!

Seeing some comments, it makes me wonder why on earth people actually waste there time watching WWE, if all there going to do is moan when there is no need to!

The Chris Jericho CM Punk match was very good. CM Punk did a class job throughout the night, with his promos and the build up towards his match with the rock at Elimination Chamber.

It was good to see the shield get valued mic time, i liked the entrances of Cena, Ryback and Sheamus. Hopefully there will be a 6 man elimination chamber tag match. Not sure how it would work though.

Mark Henry returning Another name who could be in the Smackdown elimination chamber. I recon they will do a Del Rio vs Big Show match for the title in a no holds bard match and then a Smackdown Elimination chamber match with the winner facing Del Rio at Wrestle Mania.

Finally so many questions to be asked about Paul Heyman and Brock Lesnar. Did enjoy Lesnar's attack on the miz i must say.

But i thought it was a good raw. The only problem is, there is one more raw before Elimination Chamber and there has only been one match announced.

You say you enjoy even if its crap #lowstandards

When was it actually confirmed that Rhodes Scholars have disbanded?

On last Friday's Smackdown

Mark Henry is such a beast. Just the way he shouts whilst hes destroying people "THIS IS WHAT I DO!" is full of charisma.

Not sure I'm happy with whats happening to the tag division. Kane n Bryan need to stay together, especially with no more Rhodes Scholars. I assumed they would be part of a larger scale tag match at Wrestlemania, now I dont have a clue. PTP's vs Sin n Rey? Thats one real tag team and another one set up so that the two members can feud.

For what its worth, I'm very rarely happy when Christian wins

Off topic, did anybody else clock the new Fandango vignette?
Looks like they're sticking with it, although with a couple of minor changes by the look of it.

Anyone else think Brad Maddox was speaking like Bane from Dark Knight Rises at points?

hodge wrote:Anyone else think Brad Maddox was speaking like Bane from Dark Knight Rises at points?

I got that too funily enough but I never mentioned it because I couldn't put my finger on why

Dr Gregory House MD wrote:

hodge wrote:Anyone else think Brad Maddox was speaking like Bane from Dark Knight Rises at points?

I got that too funily enough but I never mentioned it because I couldn't put my finger on why

Because Maddox is supposed to be different and a bit odd

Dr Gregory House MD wrote:

hodge wrote:Anyone else think Brad Maddox was speaking like Bane from Dark Knight Rises at points?

I got that too funily enough but I never mentioned it because I couldn't put my finger on why

He sounded like him and used Bane's mannerisms when he started saying about injustice. I instantly thought of Bane when he was speaking.

I have criticised WWE a lot and stuck with it, but when WWE but a really decent show like that and it's slammed, I can't understand what people are watching for?

Crimey wrote:I have criticised WWE a lot and stuck with it, but when WWE but a really decent show like that and it's slammed, I can't understand what people are watching for?

i just felt as though the majority of the matches were thrown together for no apparent reason other than filling tv time.........dont get me wrong i like matches if they have a point to them i.e the people's champion vs chris jericho on raw this week matching up two people who are the best in the world to find out which of the two really is better.............than orton vs cesaro where you knew from the start orton would win and the match really served no purpose

TV matches are always that though, not all matches can have a big storyline behind them, that's for matches at pay per views.

WWE was a complete joke/disaster from Over The Limit up to Summer Slam/Night Of Champions. Since then it has got slowly got better. There is nothing wrong with it ATM, as i said before if people thought last night's Raw was rubbish, then to save your self time just stop watching it all together.

NickisBHAFC wrote:WWE was a complete joke/disaster from Over The Limit up to Summer Slam/Night Of Champions. Since then it has got slowly got better. There is nothing wrong with it ATM, as i said before if people thought last night's Raw was rubbish, then to save your self time just stop watching it all together.

virtually have anyway tbh. see if there were any decent matches or big moments other than that i dont pay attention to it

sjh5678 wrote:

NickisBHAFC wrote:WWE was a complete joke/disaster from Over The Limit up to Summer Slam/Night Of Champions. Since then it has got slowly got better. There is nothing wrong with it ATM, as i said before if people thought last night's Raw was rubbish, then to save your self time just stop watching it all together.

virtually have anyway tbh. see if there were any decent matches or big moments other than that i dont pay attention to it

Have you actually watched this week's show then, or were you basing your opinion and reading these results?

sjh5678 wrote:

Crimey wrote:I have criticised WWE a lot and stuck with it, but when WWE but a really decent show like that and it's slammed, I can't understand what people are watching for?

i just felt as though the majority of the matches were thrown together for no apparent reason other than filling tv time.........dont get me wrong i like matches if they have a point to them i.e the people's champion vs chris jericho on raw this week matching up two people who are the best in the world to find out which of the two really is better.............than orton vs cesaro where you knew from the start orton would win and the match really served no purpose

Must of missed that last night....

Just up to the Miz TV bit. I don't think he was that annoying, I actually enjoy his current character and the cheer he got for taking it to lesnar is exactly what wwe were probably hoping for given his face role as the fans haven't really responded to it so far

The mark Henry return was incredible. This guy could have a huge year

Crimey wrote:

sjh5678 wrote:

NickisBHAFC wrote:WWE was a complete joke/disaster from Over The Limit up to Summer Slam/Night Of Champions. Since then it has got slowly got better. There is nothing wrong with it ATM, as i said before if people thought last night's Raw was rubbish, then to save your self time just stop watching it all together.

virtually have anyway tbh. see if there were any decent matches or big moments other than that i dont pay attention to it

Have you actually watched this week's show then, or were you basing your opinion and reading these results?

flick through it

I thought it was a very decent put together RAW, I wasn't impressed with a few things, minor details though, the end segment was strange, don't know about anyone else but I don't want to see Ryback be 'one of the boys'...he's a badass loner who just wants to kick ass, or at least that's how we were led to believe he was like, all that planning to make the entrance that he made, and with the guy who cost him his WrestleMania World Title match, it all just felt a bit too far fetched.

Also, I didn't really get where they wanted to go with The Shield, when Sheamus, Cena and Ryback stole their entrance and the rest of the face locker-room blocked their retreat route it looked like they they were being set up to be Written out, that would have been stupid of course but it just didn't feel or look right, maybe it's just me but I'm not a fan of heels being outnumbered, particularly by that margin unless its a means to an ending, without the ending I just don't think it does anyone any real favours.

Punk/Jericho match was excellent, Jericho is a crowd pleaser, he's at his best when he's playing to the crowd and using their energy to compliment the tempo of his matches, when he's heel he sucks the life out of the crowd to much, then when he does do something and the crowd aren't ready for it its all a bit meh, I think I'm rambling but deep down I know what I mean haha....Punk is an absolute genuis on the stick, I prefer this kind of Punk, around October-December time when he was saddled with Ryback he played the coward, I don't think that suits him, the clues in the name, he's a Punk, he's a talented Punk who thinks he's better than everyone else, I like when he sets out to prove he is, his promos come across much better too, I also like the fact he's slightly delusional about losing the Title, he's still the champ, it's 442 days now ect...he's on the brink of losing it, I like that, it gives his caracter a new edge, desperate men will do desperate things

No matter what Cena does, I just can't bring myself to like him, he's all too matter of fact for me, I also don't like the way he tries to portray himself as an underdog, John Cena even in a Kayfabe sense never has to overcome insurmountable odds, no-one truly believes he can't win, they had an opportunity to do that last year after Rock beat him, they could have had Brock beat him too and have him lose 3 straight PPV's to Punk, that would have got Punk over huge, it wouldn't have hurt Cena either and it could have helped the crowd buy into the fact Cena has lost it, then he could have had his 'phoneix rising from the ashes' moment to win the Rumble then the Title at Mania against the man who started his losing Streak - The Rock...then it would have been a worthy story, Cena though, he's always loitering about, sorry, I can only appreciate him in hindsight if he hasn't ruined a match

Had no idea Rhodes-Scholars broke up, I can only assume they've got big plans for Sandow since Rhodes is doing more jobs than the Brooklyn Brawler, Rhodes should be WHC by now, the position he was in back in 2011 was amazing, he got a big Mania win over Rey too, he was in a good place, why they held him back I don't know, I see him more as a Tag Team Specialist anyway, I feel he is a much better doubles guy than Singles, there's no shame in that though, I say when DiBiase is fit again they re-form Priclele$$...who knows that might even prove to be the catlyst for Randy Orton's heel turn...Orton winning the WHC at WrestleMania from ADR after the reformation of Legacy, that could be pretty special

Daniel Bryan/Rey match was fantastic, I usually skip Rey matches but I love Bryan, the guy is just pure gold, everything he does is fantastic, either the moves he does, the way he works, the crowd interaction, the banter with Kane, it's all just too good, I'd love him to get another run with the big belt later this year but I'm looking forward to seeing what they do with him and Kane next, I already predicted Bryan would eliminate Kane from the Rumble, I now expect Kane to eliminate Bryan from the Chamber leading to WrestleMania and Bryan can get the definitive win and end the feud

Mark Henry looked awesome, best he's looked in years, heard a month or so ago he dropped 70 lbs or so, he looked good for it, also, he hits his power moves with a bit of speed so he'll look even more menacing now, the SmackDown Chamber could be good.

Now onto the Chamber PPV, what's the point of it, when the first introduced this gimmick for the road to WrestleMania it was worthwhile, you'd have a Championship match where the title that the Rumble winner choose would be on the line, then the next Chamber would be for the #1 contendership, sometimes both titles were on the line, anyway, this year no title will be on the line in either Chamber, the SmackDown Chamber will at least have meaning to it, the RAW Chamber will just be six guys fighting in what's known as the most dangerous match for no reason what so ever, it could be quite good if they put the Shield in their with Cena, Ryback and Sheamus and had a War Games style match but doubt they'd do that...man I'm full of ideas tonight ehh

Anyway, that's how RAW was for me, it could have been better, there was parts I didn't like but I've left the show with all these ideas running around my head, that for me makes a show a good show, so I'm happy with it.


Oh before I finish, Brad Maddox, I've got absolutely no idea what Eric Bischoff's secret love Child is doing, from what we've saw and been told we should be feeling sorry for Maddox, he was taken advantage off from a slimy creepy little man and antimidated and beaten up by the baddest group of men in the company, he goes to the ring, alone, he calls them out and stands his ground, he gets beaten up, he knew he was gonna be beaten up but he still stood his ground....so why the hell did he come across as such a dislikable little runt then? Why was I desperate to see the Shield put him through a table? I just don't get him at all, he's a heel all day long, I just can't get a younger version of Bischoff out my head whenever I see him.

Oh and the Miz...I can't stand him, I said back in 2008/09 I think he could be the next Cena if and when he turns face, its heading that way folks

Brock Lesnar is an absolute beast of a man, I love how legitimate he looks, I don't care if he's not here often, its what he does when he shows up that interests me and I like what I see.

Also, just off topic but when will Vince McMahon realise that he's the biggest jackass in Wrestling, for some reason over the past few years he has talen it upon himself to stand in the firing line of the companies best heels, crowds don't hate heels for having a go at McMahon, they're more likely to cheer for them instead, Orton started getting face reactions the night he punted Mcmahon, Punk was onto a winner until McMahon came out and got involved, everyone was more interested in seeing Vince get killed they started cheering Punk, Vince didn't learn, he had to push the boat again, if it was anyone other than Rock that beat Punk the Rumble would have been booed out the building and Punk would be getting cheered, now its Brock's turn, McMahon has to get in the way, we all know why, its a means to get HHH back in the picture, but Vince???? Really, I don't see why, most fans want to see Vince get his ass kicked, they don't like him either for the character he portrays or they have a genuine dislike for him and the way he did business or the money he has thrown at woman in the past to hide some disturbing stories, either way, pitting a guy u want to get over as the top heel against Vince isn't the way to do it, Vince's ego won't let him accept that though.

Right done....phew

We talked about the show quite a lot last night and I quite enjoyed it (the podcast discussion and the show).

What was rubbish was the booking of the matches in general.

I really enjoyed RAW:

Punk and Jericho was excellent - my two favourites, doesn't get better for me. Punk was class at the beginning, thought it was hysterical when he went to high five that little girl with the 'its my birthday' sign then ripped the sign up, lol. Brilliant.

Brock Lesnar is just awesome, I love that man. Very impressed by how he could move those sofa's around so easily - he would be useful around the house, lol

I realised when RAW was near to the end that you really don't miss John Cena at all, he adds nothing to the broadcast. He is probably going to ruin The Shield completely now........no doubt he will be able to take all three out on his own...

I was surprised that Ziggler wan't on the show

Shemus seems to be going the same way as Cena for me, always his promo's are really cringe worthy as a face

cloudsm wrote:I was surprised that Ziggler wan't on the show

Shemus seems to be going the same way as Cena for me, always his promo's are really cringe worthy as a face

I really like Sheamus, think he has massive potential, he just needs to cut the comedy

I think Sheamus is the closest thing to Triple H in the WWE, in the same way as Triple H, he's much better being a badass than he is a comedy face. He's got a great look, he's good in the ring and is actually very charismatic. They've just gone the wrong way in pushing him as a face, comedy is very hard to get right in WWE and Sheamus doesn't need to use it.

I like Sheamus too. He's proved himself since the early push and title win in 09. Whether he plays the heel or face he's over as a legit tough guy and is taken seriously as threat. After his loss to HHH at Mania i feared for him but on a whole he's been booked fairly well and like Dr G says he has alot of potential to go even further.

I actually rate him a lot more as a face than as a heel, his aggressive 'lets have a fight fella' style is very good for him, but funny main eventers are a rare breed and WWE shouldn't force it as much

I like Sheamus too but I agree, I can't stand the comedy, they've went to far in showing him to be the jolly jester just because he's Irish, he can be a goody and a badass

As for Ziggler, I didn't even notice he wasn't on the show, that tells its own story

i agree that Sheamus could be really good but it won't happen for me as a face, he needs to be a massive heal for it to work

cloudsm wrote:i agree that Sheamus could be really good but it won't happen for me as a face, he needs to be a massive heal for it to work

Whats wrong with him as a face?, bar the comedy, I see the Irish Brawler fire working for him, as a heel I think he just fades into the background against more cerebral heels like Punk.