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Hits & Misses
HITS & MISSES - 4/14 WWE Raw: RVD vs. Del Rio, Heyman, Cena Discovers Photoshop, Barrett vs. Ziggler, Evolution Reforms

Apr 16, 2014 - 2:48:12 PM
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By Jon Mezzera, PWTorch Specialist

RAW HITS

The Ultimate Warrior Tribute: WWE did a nice tribute to The Ultimate Warrior throughout this week's Raw. The opening salute and video was well done. They picked out some nice moments from his career to show throughout the rest of the show (though did I miss a clip of his best match ever against Randy Savage at WrestleMania 7?). Whatever you feel about The Warrior's career, or skill as a wrestler, or his outspoken stances on various issues like homosexuality, he was a man with a wife and children, and he was is fondly remembered by many fans as a big part of WWF in the late 80s and early 90s. He deserved this type of honor remembering his tragic death so soon after his return to WWE as part of the Hall of Fame and WrestleMania week festivities.

Paige vs. Fox: I was happy but not surprised to see Paige make her WWE debut on the first Raw after WrestleMania. I wasn't surprised that she won the Divas Title from AJ Lee either. Instead of telling a story of a new Diva rising through the ranks to earn a Title shot and eventually winning that Championship, they are telling the story of a new Diva jumping right to the top and now having to prove that she belongs in that spot. So, I hope that this is the first in a string of good matches for Paige, proving that she belongs. She certainly has the talent to have a string of good matches, and Alicia Fox upheld her part of the bargain here.

Paul Heyman: I didn't review last week's Raw, but I will say here how much I enjoyed Paul Heyman's promo about Brock Lesnar ending the Streak. This was a good way to follow up on that. I loved how Heyman said that people think he is going to drive the fact that Lesnar conquered the Streak into the ground, and then proceeded to do just that. He needs to keep that in the minds of the fans since Lesnar isn't going to be around for long stretches of time. He also did a nice job of transitioning from Lesnar to Cesaro. I don't like this pairing. I don't understand why they are not going babyface with Cesaro after WrestleMania. I guess I'll see where they go from here with him, but I would think that giving the fans permission to cheer him would make more sense.

Sheamus vs. Swagger: This was a good match as part of the Intercontinental Championship #1 Contender tournament. I would have liked to see more of it. It went about 7 minutes, but it could have been longer. The Rob Van Dam vs. Alberto Del Rio match should have gotten this spot, and Sheamus vs. Swagger should have been the longer two segment match instead. Sheamus and Jack Swagger worked well together. They told the story of Swagger injuring Sheamus' ankle, with Sheamus being able to fight through the injury to hit a Brogue Kick for the win.

Barrett vs. Ziggler: This was another good tournament match. This one went 12 minutes and was fun to watch from start to finish. Bad News Barrett and Dolph Ziggler worked very well together here. I would love to see a series of strong matches between these two. That feud could potentially elevate both of these guys in the end.

RAW MISSES

Del Rio vs. RVD: I was happy to see Rob Van Dam back last week, but his three month run last year wasn't exactly great. So, while I was happy to see him, I wasn't that excited. He had a feud with Alberto Del Rio last year, so this was nothing new. This match was a bit sloppy. RVD seemed to miss on a kick entirely, and Del Rio sort of sold it, almost like he didn't know if he should totally sell it, or not sell it at all, and he ended up somewhere in the middle. Also is it just me, or is RVD not nearly getting the hight on the 5 Star Frog Splash that he used to get? It makes sense. He is older and you shouldn't expect him to be able to do everything he could do five years ago. But it is starting to feel more like a 3.5 Star Frog Splash at this point.

Cena's Use of Photoshop: This segment started out strong with the mic work from Bray Wyatt. He continues to play his part very well. The segment also had a strong ending when John Cena got serious and ultimately challenged Wyatt to a Steel Cage Match at Extreme Rules (though even then he had a lame joke about Cinnabon). Cena has shown that he can be good on the mic when he is serious and intense. So, why does he feel the need to do all the silly humor? His photoshopped pictures of supposed female members of the Wyatt Family was horrible. Look, Bray Wyatt's mother had a beard! Hilarious! This middle section of the segment, first with Cena suggesting that the Wyatts should all go out, get drunk and get laid and then showing these silly pics brought down what was otherwise a good segment to hype a big PPV match.

Emma Loses Easily: Why are the Divas so often booked to just be physically weak? Layla pulled Emma down from the middle turnbuckle into a flat back bump and that was all that she did to her and that was enough to get the pin. Emma (and all the WWE Divas) should be tougher than that. She should not be pinned after taking one basic rudimentary move.

Return of the Masked Kane: I'm assuming that the masked Kane will be returning next week, and it seems just way too soon to have him have another gimmick change after he became Corporate Kane last fall. I guess they want Kane to be Daniel Bryan's first Title defense at Extreme Rules and if that's the case, then they want to have him more of a monster, and less of a suit. But, that doesn't really get me excited. Also, how did they have that video package all ready to go so quickly? I will say that I did enjoy seeing Zack Ryder getting thrown off the stage while in a wheel chair. That brought back some good memories.

Return of Evolution: I don't want to see a lot of Triple H at this point in the ring. But, an Evolution reunion points to more of it. Plus, I wasn't waiting on the edge of my seat waiting for Evolution to reform. I did like the music, so it was nice to hear that again. The ending of Raw fell flat. The 11 on 3 handicap match with the random mid-card heels vs. The Shield wasn't a great main event. The fans reaction to it wasn't strong. I'm ok with Triple H using those guys as a way to beat down The Shield to then come out and pick up the scraps. That's what a heel authority figure should do. But, why does it have to be Evolution returning? This should be a short term program. It doesn't have to have the Evolution banner over it. If Triple H is going to wrestle at Extreme Rules, doesn't a match against Bryan for the WWE World Title make more sense? Then you could have Batista, Orton and Kane vs. The Shield. And then you can move them on to something new going forward without such a strong Triple H presence.

Jon Mezzera is PWTorch.com's WWE Hits & Misses Specialist, providing his point of view for Raw and Smackdown each week. Email him at jmezz-torch@sbcglobal.net.

For another view from the original Hitlist author, compare Jason Powell's views to mine by visiting prowrestling.NET's "Hitlist" section here.


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