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INSTANT REACTION - Raw 3/31: Watch it or Skip it?, TUCKER breaks down the final Raw before WrestleMania

Mar 31, 2014 - 11:56:34 PM
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Instant Reaction - WWE Raw 3/31
By Benjamin Tucker, PWTorch TV specialist


Overall Score - 5.5

Thank goodness for Daniel Bryan and Bray Wyatt, because they are the two pillars keeping WrestleMania afloat. The Show of Shows went limping into this Sunday with nice hype for precisely three matches on their eight-match show. And two of those even involve the same players.

The Mania under-card highlights the lack of momentum in the WWE mid-card. Almost half of the advertised matches for Sunday are there to "get everyone on the show," and serve very little storyline significance. (A.J. Lee losing a lot doesn't count as a legitimate storyline.) It's a good thing that the Cena-Wyatt and Bryan-Triple H rivalries are being executed well enough to make up for the rest of the card.

WrestleMania XXX may be about "letting the good times roll," but it already seems to be a tad hung over. Raw tonight sold Network subscriptions via hype for two matches, and failed miserably in promoting everything else.

- The Undertaker-Lesnar segment was forgotten by the end of the show and did too little too late. For me to believe Brock Lesnar can defeat Taker, I would have needed to see him destroy the Dead Man, not hit him with one move from behind. Undertaker's promo beforehand featured slurred words and a few chuckle-inducing, but not memorable lines. To me, Taker vs. Lesnar has little momentum behind it, an amazing feat considering how hot a bout between them would have been two or three years ago. Brock is damaged goods, but he's being treated like Teflon.

Verdict: Skip it.

- Here comes the filler! Er, hype for the battle royal on Sunday! Big E. vs Del Rio tonight was one of their best outings together, but there was no juice behind it due to their lack of momentum and the sheer number of times they've wrestled each other. Still, it was one of the better wrestled matches on the show.

Verdict: Watch if you don't mind stale characters.

- Bray Wyatt is on the biggest roll of his career, and his promo was one of his best yet. His confidence and cadence is rivaled by few. His three-minute backstage promo sold Network subscriptions for WM30, I guarantee you. If you want a lesson in promo work and acting, look no further.

Verdict: Watch it.

- Natalya vs. Summer Rae was forgettable. I remember Natalya using a terrible discus clothesline and that's about it. It did nothing to hype the Divas Invitational or anything Mania related.

Verdict: Skip it.

- The Authority promo on Daniel Bryan was one of the highlights of Raw. The glowing praise of Triple H made him look like a certifiable jerk who deserves to take a beating. His video package was very well done, and it served as a nice segue to Orton and Batista's exchange, which... eh. Batista still pandering to the crowd seemed odd, and Orton was kissing up to the man who's threatening to take his title on Sunday. Still, Triple H and Stephanie did a whole lot of good here.

Verdict: Watch it.

- The eight-man tag match was arguably the most entertaining contest of the night, but the finish of the comedic Los Matadores taking the win felt off. The quality of the tag division has plummeted in the last two months, and it was showcased here. At the same time, the match itself was very entertaining. It just didn't excite me in the least for WrestleMania.

Verdict: Watch it.

- The Brotherhood are now relegated to throwaway squash matches on Raw. Sigh. Moving on.

Verdict: Skip it.

- Despite the number of hits you see on here, the show felt pretty lifeless due to its lack of direction until John Cena made his assault on the Wyatts. This, combined with his great promo afterwards, created a big-fight feel for their match and capped off the hype for it perfectly.

Verdict: Watch it.

- A.J. lost again. This did nothing.

Verdict: Skip it.

- Kane vs. Roman Reigns was another filler match meant to replace real hype. Once again, it did nothing.

Verdict: Skip it.

- Piper's Pit highlighted the number of upper-tier stars that have been marginalized big time in the last four months. Rey Mysterio, Mark Henry, Alberto Del Rio, Sheamus, etc. are all positioned like mid-tier players because they have no story or character development. These are former World champions that are being treated like Titus O'Neil. Hype for the battle royal was middling. Piper's Pit did not get the job done.

Verdict: Skip it.

- Orton vs. Batista did very little for me, but Bryan's surprise attack on everyone was excellent. The crowd popped huge and it ended the night on a nice note prior to WrestleMania. One of the few high spots of the second-half of this program.

Verdict: Watch it.

WrestleMania feels thrown together this year. Two matches feel special and the rest... not so much. If The Rock were around and if C.M. Punk did not take his ball and go home, maybe more than two matches would feel special. As it stands, Raw was incredibly uneven with its hype as WWE lazily staggers into WrestleMania XXX.

Questions? Comments? Reactions? Find me on Twitter @BTuckerTorch, where I talk about wrestling and... stuff!


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