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KELLER’S WWE RAW REPORT
APRIL 8, 2019
BROOKLYN, N.Y. AT BARCLAYS CENTER
AIRED LIVE ON USA NETWORK
To listen to the Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Post-show podcast featuring cohost Travis Bryan of the PWTorch East Coast Cast, live callers, a mailbag, and a conversation with an on-site correspondent who attended WrestleMania and Raw with details on crowd reactions and what happened before and after Raw went on the air and during commercial breaks, CLICK HERE.
Announcers: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Renee Young
[HOUR ONE]
-The show opened with Seth Rollins making his ring entrance wearing the Universal Title belt and his “Beast Slayer” t-shirt. He smiled and pointed at the belt. Graves said Seth did what many thought would be impossible and stayed the beast. (Too bad so many people are thinking, “Yeah, but he needed a low blow to do it.”) When Seth entered the ring, they cut to a series of freeze-frame highlights of the match from WrestleMania focused first on Lesnar’s pre-match attack. They showed Seth “going low” followed by Cole saying, “Rollins has some hope!” Then the stomps and the three count and video of him celebrating as Lesnar and Paul Heyman looked on in shock.
Back live in the ring, Seth’s music continued to play and fans cheered. Fans chanted “You deserve it!” Seth said: “No, no, no, we deserve it.” He said he waited a long time to stand in the ring and hold that title above his head. He said he beat the most dominant champion in the history of WWE. Fans chanted “Thank you, Rollins,” but it took a while to get in sync. “I may have taken what some might call questionable tactics to gain an advantage,” he said. Fans then chanted “Burn it down!” He said the truth is he didn’t do anything to Brock that he wouldn’t have done to me. (Except he didn’t.) The fans chanted something, and it might have been about balls; I couldn’t tell.
Seth said he heard Lesnar and Heyman flew to Vegas for some meetings. He said as far as he’s concerned, they can stay in Vegas “because Brock Lesnar is no longer the reigning, defending, undisputed heavyweight champion. I am.” He held up the belt. Fans cheered. He said he will do them one better: “I am the reigning, defending, fighting, undisputed Universal Heavyweight Champion.” He said he will be a champion everyone can be proud of.
(Keller’s Analysis: That was a lame explanation for low-blowing Lesnar. He could have addressed Lesnar’s “cowardly attack before the bell,” so I decided he’d fight fire with fire. After WWE has conveyed to fans that Daniel Bryan and Shinsuke Nakamura are bad guys because they resort to low-blows, it’s such an odd odd counterproductive choice to have Seth do that last week on Raw and then Sunday at WrestleMania. At least they should have had Lesnar try a low blow first and Seth blocked it, if the goal was to “protect” Brock a little by having him lose after a low blow.)
The New Day interrupted. Seth seemed a mix of intrigued, pleased, and annoyed. A hoarse Cole asked, “What is New Day doing here?” They danced out, sans pancakes. Fans loudly chanted “Kofi! Kofi!” (Where is there “brand loyalty?” Oh yeah, that’s not a thing.)
Kofi said Seth looks really confused. Seth said, “Yes, it’s Monday; it’s not Tuesday.” He said this isn’t the Superstar Shake-up because that’s happening next week. Kofi said they’re on Raw because last night was cause for celebration and they couldn’t wait until Smackdown Live. Xavier Woods acknowledged Seth’s win over Lesnar for the Universal Title. Big E ended up doing a full split with his legs. Everyone was amazed and stopped what they were doing. Seth said, “There’s something unsettling about that.” Fans chanted “Big E! Big E!”
Kofi said after his match he was in the locker room watching the main event that was “winner take all” with his two sons and he thought it was a great idea for Becky Lynch. “Soooo….” he said. “What I’m saying is how about the new Universal Champion and the new WWE Champion have a winner take all match here tonight. Fans roared approval with loud “Yes!” chants. Kofi said since he and his boys The Shield aren’t a thing anymore, it’d be just them one-on-one, title for title. Seth stepped up and they had a staredown. Fans chanted, “This is awesome!” Seth said: “Challenge accepted.”
(Keller’s Analysis: The ramifications of this are big, but I think there should be a healthy dose of skepticism that Kofi or Seth will walk out with both belts tonight. If they do merge the belts, hot-shotting it on Raw seems like getting less out of the match than they ought to.)
-The announcers shifted to talking about Becky Lynch appearing on Raw later. Plus, Baron Corbin will gloat about his win over Kurt Angle. Also, a WrestleMania rematch for the Raw Tag Team Titles for The Revival against new champs Curt Hawkins & Zack Ryder.
-Hawkins & Ryder made their ring entrance. They walked onto the announce desk and held their belts up proudly. [c]
-Highlights freeze-frames of WrestleMania Moments aired including Triple H’s ring entrance video and Colin Jost and Michael Che’s ring entrance.
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— Pro Wrestling Torch (@PWTorch) April 8, 2019
(1) ZACK RYDER & CURT HAWKINS vs. THE REVIVAL – WWE Raw Tag Team Titles
Cole talked about Revival expressing disgust at the prestige they brought the tag titles being “flushed down the toilet” by Ryder & Hawkins. Renee talked about the history of Ryder and Hawkins together. Cole talked about the record number of title changes at WrestleMania. Graves said the entire complexion of WWE has changed. Revival landed a Hart Attack clothesline on Hawkins for a two count. They cut to a break. [c]
Back live Ryder was tossing Revival around the ring and then playing to the crowd. Hawkins sold a left hamstring injury, but then small packaged Dash for a near fall. Graves said he thinks Hawkins was playing possum. Dawson yanked Hawkins out of the ring and then Dash used the ropes for leverage to score a near fall on Ryder. Dawson brainbuster suplexed Hawkins at ringside. Then Dawson leaped off the top rope and kneed Ryder off of Dash’s shoulder for a near fall. Revival gave Shatter Machine to Ryder, but Hawkins was actually the legal man, so he rolled up Dawson and yanked on his trunks for the win. Graves: “I know we’re in New York, but that’s no excuse to get away with a crime two nights in a row.”
WINNERS: Ryder & Hawkins to retain the WWE Raw Tag Team Titles.
(Keller’s Analysis: If they’re going to have Ryder & Hawkins on the roster, this is a better use of them and I think there is a good story they could tell with them as the unlikely tag team champs who keep finding ways to win.)
-Cole hyped Kofi vs. Seth in a “Winner Take All” match later. Graves hyped Becky appearing. Renee plugged Corbin’s victory celebration was next. [c]
-Mike Rome stood mid-ring and introduced Corbin by listing his accolades, ending with his win over Angle in Angle’s final match. He called him “Brooklyn’s Favorite Son.” Corbin walked to the ring looking very proud of himself. Fans chanted “Asshole!” Graves said it’s a trademark post-WM crowd. Corbin thanked them and said he considers it a compliment. He said he heard everyone telling him Angle deserved someone better to be his final opponent. He said Angle chose him and he showed all of them that Angle doesn’t deserve to be in the same ring as him. Fans chanted, “Shut the f— up!” Corbin said he’d expect nothing less from a bunch of dirty New Yorkers. He said he is used to people doubting him, in spite of his list of accompaniments, but he proved them wrong last night. He said he proved he is better than an Olympic Gold Medalist, so after that dominating victory, he feels like he deserves a gold medal of his own. “Oh god,” said Renee under her breath. Angle’s music played and he walked out. Fans chanted “You suck!” to the beat of his music. Cole said those are chants of affection for Angle. Graves said you never know because some people might have changed their minds after last night.
Angle said last night Corbin was the better man, and now his career is officially over. He said Corbin’s career is just getting started, so he wished him all the luck in the world. Corbin smiled and shook his hand. Then he said he wishes him bad luck. He gave him an Olympic slam and an ankle lock. Corbin cried out in pain. Angle’s music played again as Corbin scurried out of the ring. Suddenly scary music played and out came Lars Sullivan. “Oh my God!” said Cole. “We’ve been hearing about this man for months.” Lars marched to the ring and stared at Angle. Angle walked up to him. Lars gave him a big slam. Fans booed. Lars pounded his chest. Fans chanted “asshole.” Lars then climbed to the top rope and landed a flying headbutt to Angle’s chest.
(Keller’s Analysis: It’s good to see Lars debut after the setback earlier this year. This was a memorable debut.) [c]
(2) ALEXA BLISS vs. BAYLEY
The announcers noted that Bliss issued a challenge to either Bayley or Sasha Banks for this show. Bliss mocked Bayley for losing the titles last night. Graves said Sasha is good at winning titles, but not keeping them. Bliss knocked Bayley down with a hard right at ringside, then settled into a chinlock. #RawAfterMania is the no. 1 trend in the world on Twitter. The screen also noted that Lars Sullivan was also trending. Bayley sat down on a sunset flip attempt and grabbed the ropes. Graves said that was tacky and not living up to being a role model. Bayley sunset flipped Bliss’s head into the turnbuckle for a two count. Bliss came right back with a DDT for the win.
WINNER: Bliss in 3:00.
(Keller’s Analysis: That came across more as Bayley being punished for something than Bliss being pushed. Clean, decisive, and short match. My hope is this is an indication that Bayley is going to Smackdown and going to be turned heel. I think she’ll be a good heel.) [c]
-They showed various headlines from big corporate brand media coverage of WrestleMania.
[HOUR TWO]
-Becky Lynch came out to her music holding up the Smackdown belt while wearing the Raw belt. They went to a video package on the Becky win over Charlotte Flair and Ronda Rousey. They showed a freeze-frame of Rousey’s shoulders down and did not draw attention to the fact that her shoulders were up for the first count. (It seems the ref just started counting too soon and should have waited for Becky to fully leverage Rousey’s shoulders down before starting his count.)
Back live fans chanted “You deserve it!” She thanked them. “We did it!” she said. She called herself “Becky Two Belts.” Cole said, “Sounds like a t-shirt.” Fans chanted “Becky Two Belts!” She said it has a nice ring to it. Becky said Rousey and Charlotte touted their resumes for weeks and weeks, but at WM “this woman, who walked in with nothing, left with everything.” Cheers. She said she’s not the strongest, fastest, most athletic woman in the company, but she has a good theme song. Fans sang it. She said leaving home at age 15 and looking to fight around the world taught her to be a master at surviving. She said she will always persist and overcome and find a way to win in the end. “You’re the Man!” chanted the fans. “You hear that Ronnie, you little weirdo?” she said. “So when you’re done sulking and want to come back for a little more, The Man will be waiting here for you to slap your head off your shoulders again.”
Becky said as for Charlotte, the McMahon family will probably hand her the tag team titles to help her get over losing to her again. She said she knows she’s a marked woman now, but she’s the red-head with two shiny titles ready to slap the heads off y’all. She held her belts up and fans cheered again and chanted “Becky! Becky!” As she was leaving the ring, Lacey Evans walked out to her music. Becky stood her ground at ringside and eyed her. Lacey looked Becky up and down and checked out her belts. She was going to turn, but instead punched her in the jaw. “The Women’s Right to Becky Lynch!” Cole exclaimed. Becky charged at Lacey and tackled her on the ramp. They brawled. Graves said it was a pretty brazen act by Lacey. They brawled. Graves said he was impressed she was doing all of this in heels. On the stage Becky shoved Lacey into the LED wall and then applied a disarm her. Referees pried her off. Lacey bailed out to the floor and smiled. Graves said if Lacey wanted her attention, she got it. Becky’s music played again.
(Keller’s Analysis: Good promo from Becky. Becky’s the type of character where if you’re WWE, just let her do that and face her off against an opponent fans dislike and then get out of the way. It’s significant that Becky didn’t address the referee starting his three count a second before Becky leveraged Rousey’s shoulders to the mat. Becky easily could have addressed that, but WWE chose to pretend it didn’t happen. On the replay, they didn’t show it and the announcers didn’t address it. It seems pretty clear the ref simply started counting a second early, and that wasn’t supposed to be a controversy, so WWE is just pretending it didn’t happen. Had Becky just said, “Ronda, if you’re sitting at home fuming about the ref starting his count a little before I locked your shoulders to the mat, when you’re ready for a rematch, I’ll be here and I’ll pin your shoulders to the mat for a five count next time, you little weirdo.” )
-Renee hyped Kofi vs. Seth and said “one man is going to walk away with both of those championships” Graves hyped that Dean Ambrose’s last match in WWE is coming up against Bobby Lashley.
(Keller’s Analysis: I wonder who’s gonna win!!)
-Backstage Charlie Caruso said people are shocked by this “Winner Takes All” match and asked Seth why he’d accept such a high-stakes challenge. Seth said he lives for challenges. He said he respects they challenged him man-to-man, but he feels a bit insulted that they showed up on his show. He said they have to accept the consequences for their actions. He said Kofi is capable of an A-level performance, but he better be prepared to bring his A-game if he’s going to try to take his title on his show. He said B+ won’t be enough.
-Ricochet’s ring entrance took place. Then Aleister Black’s took place.
-A commercial hyped a new era in NXT starting this Wednesday with flashes of what happened at NXT Takeover. [c]
-A segment aired on WWE’s involvement with the “Boys & Girls Club of America.” Kalisto, Kofi Kingston, Naomi, and Xavier Woods talked about their involvement with it. There was a brief glimpse of Sheamus there. Big E and Stephanie McMahon were also in the background.
(3) BOBBY ROODE & CHAD GABLE vs. RICOCHET & ALEISTER BLACK
As Roode & Gable walked to the ring to Roode’s music, a soundbite aired on an inset. They said they’re doing things their way by getting back on top using any means necessary. Roode said it’ll be absolutely glorious. Graves said things haven’t been working out for them doing things the right way, so they’ll try their way. Cole said some of these teams might not be on Raw after the Superstar Shakeup. Graves said some of them might not be teams if they are split. Some basic action for a few minutes before Ricochet made a comeback and kicked Gable. The boot to the face showed a lot of light. Ricochet went for a rebound against the ropes, but Roode yanked the top rope down so Ricochet tumbled to the floor. They cut to a break. [c]
A few minutes after they returned live, Gable shoved Ricochet off the top rope. Roode then landed a sidewalk slam for a near fall. Roode showed frustration, then tagged Gable back in. Gable landed a moonsault, but Black made the save. Roode and Black tumbled to ringside as Gable rolled up Ricochet. Ricochet rolled through and landed a single-knee Code Breaker for the win.
WINNERS: Ricochet & Black in 11:00.
-Afterward, Roode attacking Ricochet from behind, then helped Gable out of the ring. Graves said you need to rack up wins to get a career on track, but Roode & Gable came up short. Cole again talked about the Superstar Shakeup next week.
-They went to the announcers on camera talking about Elias at WrestleMania. Renee was disappointed John Cena interrupted his performance. They showed images of Cena and Elias.
-Backstage Elias was playing his guitar. He said he had his greatest performance planned for everyone, but it was ruined by Cena’s rap music. He said what Cena does is something he can do in his sleep. He said the McMahons have given him plenty of time to perform again and he will make anyone who interrupts pay a big price, no matter who it is, including anyone from NXT or even Vince McMahon himself. “There will be hell to pay,” he said.
-Dean Ambrose made his final ring entrance in WWE. [c]
-As Bobby Lashley and Lio Rush walked out, Cole noted that Renee is Dean’s wife. He said it has to be an odd situation for them. She said it’s been an emotional couple of weeks. Rush and Lashley looked unhappy to be belt-less. Lashley told Dean not to worry because when he’s gone, he’ll be sure to take care of his wife for him. Dean charged at Lashley and fought him at ringside. Renee asked what that even means. Graves stammered. Cole said it’s Lashley trying to play mind games. Dean threw a chair at Lashley’s head at ringside in the time keeper’s area. Then he threw him into the ringpost. He tossed Rush to the side when Rush tried to get involved. Dean fought Lashley up the ramp and threw him into the LED board and then DDT’d him on the stage. Dean tossed the lid off the announce table and cleared the surface. Rush charged back at him. Dean no-sold his forearm to the chest. Lashley then speared Dean. “Lashley sucks!” chanted the crowd. Lashley then slammed Dean through the announce desk, which collapsed. Lashley turned and walked away as Renee looked on with concern. Fans chanted “Thank you, Ambrose” as two referees and Renee checked on Dean.
-Cole plugged Kofi vs. Seth again.
-They showed Sami Zayn backstage.
-A commercial aired for the two-night Superstar Shake-up next week on Raw and Smackdown. [c]
-More WM highlights include Joan Jett performing and Kofi celebrating with his sons.
-Mojo Rawley looked into a broken mirror and talked about how he missed WrestleMania. “Where were you? Where have you been?” he asked.
-Cole said ten months ago Sami underwent double surgery for two torn rotator cuffs. Sami danced onto the stage and to the ring. Graves said everybody has missed him badly and said he has a big following. Graves said he was grinning from ear to ear backstage. He stood in the ring and fans chanted “Welcome back!” Cole said he’s not sure if they’ll see more of Renee after what happened to Dean earlier. Sami said if you’re gonna miss WrestleMania, you might as well come back the night after WrestleMania. “This will be hard to believe, but my schedule is wide open.” He asked for someone from the back to give him a match. After a brief wait, he told everyone not to be shy. Then Finn Balor’s music played. The ref informed the ring announcer Balor was putting the IC Title on the line. [c]
[HOUR THREE]
(4) FINN BALOR vs. SAMI ZAYN – Intercontinental Title match
Renee was back. Graves said coming back and getting an immediate IC Title match is a best case scenario for someone like Sami. Graves said Sami was looking for a test, but he didn’t know what he was going to get when he issued the challenge. Graves said it’s easy to fall out of ring shape in just a few weeks. Sami teased a dive onto Balor at ringside, but flipped back into the ring, landed on his feet, and then celebrated a bit. When Balor slowed Sami with an overhead kick, they cut to a break with both men on their backs. [c]
A few minutes later Sami hit an exploder suplex into the corner. He set up a Helluva kick, but Balor moved. Then Balor quickly leaped off the top rope with a double stomp for the win. Graves said that’s not the finish Sami was hoping for, but Balor knows he was in a fight.
WINNER: Balor in 12:00 to retain the IC Title.
-Sami soaked up the loss. He got some applause after Balor’s music stopped. He said he really thought coming out there would cure what ails him, but all it did was reinforce what he has realized over the last nine months, which is that it genuinely seems like they missed him. Applause. Fans chanted, “Sami! Sami!” He stood up and said he can honestly say from the bottom of his heart that he did not miss “any of this or any one of you.” The cheers turned to mostly boos. He smiled. “It turns out WWE is a super-toxic environment.” He said it’s not because of the McMahons or the other WWE Superstars. He said it’s because of “this audience and your ugliness.” He said he lives a very meaningful and fulfilled life. He said he is quite happy, but their lives seems so empty and devoid of any kind of meaning, so the only joy they get is from being critics rather than enjoying the show. He called someone in the crowd a moron. He said it’s the only thing that gives them a sense of a importance. He said they judge everything except themselves. He said none of them have the balls to look inside themselves because they know the ugliness and cynicism that exists inside of them. He said they’re delusional. “Do you really think you’re the voice of reason and the voices that should be heard?” he said. “Seemingly overnight you have become the evil overlords of WWE.” He said he’s always been about one thing his entire career and life – doing what is right. He said it’s not to come back and save WWE or take WWE. He said the right thing to do is to come out there every single week and hold each of them accountable because nobody else will. Then tossed the mic aside and left. Boos and cheers. He taunted some and on his way out.
-Elias strummed. [c]
-A WWE graphic said WrestleMania was more social than anything else on TV.
-A clip aired of the Becky-Lacey angle earlier.
-A nameless blond woman interviewed Dana Brooke. Dana congratulated Becky for being the “champ champ.” She said there is a line forming of women looking to challenge Becky. She said she cannot say she’s in the front of that line, but she’s certainly not in the back of the line anymore. She said she is going to seize that moment and congratulated Becky again.
(Keller’s Analysis: That was kind of awkward and perhaps unintentionally so.)
-Elias sat mid-ring and said Cena ruined his WrestleMania for the second year in a row. He said one year from now it will be a different story. (Is this WWE’s new WrestleMania Streak? Elias’s performances being interrupted.) Elias said Cena is no musician and no artist, but rather a selfish insecure fake humble piece of garbage who is riding the coat tails of his popularity. He said he, Elias, is WWE’s top star. He threw some insults back at Cena. “I’m holding up three fingers; John Cena, the middle one is for you.” He said the next man to interrupt him is a dead man. Suddenly Undertaker’s bell sounded. “Oh… my god!” said Renee.
Undertaker walked to the ring. (An unexpected surprise for the fans at the Raw After Mania and perhaps an angering moment for those who travelled across the globe to see WrestleMania and flew back home this afternoon.) Elias stood and slowly existed the ring as Taker stared a hole in him from center ring. Fans began chanting “Un-der-taker.” Elias decided to stop half way out of the ring and return. He took off his jacket and turned around. Fans chanted “Holy sh–!” Then “Taker’s gonna kill you!” Taker gave him a boot to the face. Then he gave him a chokeslam. Taker took off his jacket and then gave Elias a tombstone. He covered his chest with is arms and the fans counted to three as Taker rolled his eyes to the back of his head. Taker’s music played again. Graves said it wasn’t a ghost, it was the Phenom. [c]
-More WrestleMania highlight images aired.
How does Kofi vs. Seth on #RawAfterMania #Raw end?
— Pro Wrestling Torch (@PWTorch) April 9, 2019
(5) KOFI KINGSTON vs. SETH ROLLINS – WWE Champ vs. Universal Champ – Winner Take All
Kofi made his ring entrance. Then Seth made his ring entrance. After formal ring introductions, Cole said this was high-stakes. Graves said the stakes don’t get any higher. They cut to an early break after some even-steven exchanges. [c]
Seth got an advantage on Kofi and stomped the mat. Kofi avoided it and rolled up Seth for a two count. Kofi then DDT’d Seth. Kofi climbed to the top, but Seth met him up top. Kofi shoved Seth to the floor. The Bar then ran out and interfered. Graves said they’re on Smackdown and the Superstar Shake-up happens next week. Graves said they just robbed “the WWE Universe” of a high-stakes match-up. They double-teamed Seth. Kofi made the save and cleared the ring of the two heels. Graves wondered what The Bar was trying to accomplish. Seth asked what is wrong with them for interrupting a match like that. Scattered boos. Seth said to Kofi they’ll finish their match some other time (boos), but right now he has a bone to pick with The Bar. He challenged them to a match “right here, right now.”
(Keller’s Analysis: That was a really flat swerve. This seemed to be setting up an Undisputed Era run-in, a Drew McIntyre run-in to set up a Drew-Kofi feud post-Shake-up, or even a Roman Reigns run-in and turn – something of that caliber – so this came off really lame. I think the psychology of the Undertaker surprise appearance was to appease fans in the arena and viewers at home that they overdelivered there, so they can underdeliver here. It was risky to have Seth call off the match with Kofi, which they could have just continued, and instead shift to the tag match. It does say something about WWE’s confidence in Roman Reigns’s current acceptance level with fans that they hid him from the New York crowd tonight, not wanting to risk a moment that could set a tone they want to avoid.)
(6) THE BAR (Sheamus & Cesaro) vs. SETH ROLLINS & KOFI KINGSTON
The fans chanted “Bullsh–!” Graves said the WWE Universe was obviously upset with The Bar. [c]
Fans were chanting in a more rowdy way after the break. The pace of the match was rapid and the announcers never paused between words to drown out the chants. A fan got in trouble off camera and fans chanted “asshole.” Fans chanted “Elite” late in the match. Cesaro set up a Neutralizer, but then shifted instead into position for a Cesaro Swing. Kofi rolled him up into a small package for a two count. Seth tagged in and delivered a Stomp to Cesaro for the win.
WINNERS: Seth & Kofi in 9:00.
FINAL THOUGHTS: Not that fans shouldn’t have known better, but WWE thought the best approach to take with the Raw After Mania was a bait and switch of sorts ratings stunt with a Winner Take All match? No wonder no McMahon was anywhere near that stip or match being announced. That was a dangerous game to play. Why not just run an angle to promote The Bar vs. Kofi & Seth instead? Smaller ratings, but no loss of goodwill.
To listen to the Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Post-show podcast featuring cohost Travis Bryan of the PWTorch East Coast Cast, live callers, a mailbag, and a conversation with an on-site correspondent who attended WrestleMania and Raw with details on crowd reactions and what happened before and after Raw went on the air and during commercial breaks, CLICK HERE.
I did not like how arrogant and self centered Kofi seemed to be. Honestly I just dont like him period. This thing of one person holding 2 belts is a bad idea. Becky Lynch holding both belts seemed a bit over kill.
“This seemed to be setting up an Undisputed Era run-in, a Drew McIntyre run-in” – two of my guesses. The other was a Kofi/New Day monster heel turn – but in any event, I was fully expecting a blockbuster angle. Stupid me. Now that the WWE fully embraced the narrative of the “wild and woolly” post-Mania RAW I should have known they’d completely underwhelm. Meanwhile, I do not at all understand insisting on Zayn as a heel (which I absolutely saw coming) when he is so well-loved and could be such a kid-friendly pure babyface. I am one of Dana’s very few fans but her promo was definitely stiff…I think a small push was foreshadowed by her strong showing in the Women’s Battle Royale the night before (and a warm audience reception too). I expect Black to move to SD to be a star face there.
Sami Zayn’s gimmick is pure cringe. It is basically Vince McMahon projecting his personal opinion about non-conforming fans onto Sami and getting away with it by making Sami a heel. He must be really frustrated that he can’t control fans anymore.
Undertaker coming out is pointless. If he’s not going to have any match, then what was the purpose? The only thing it did was bury Elias, AGAIN.
My God.I expected the unification match to be “screwed up” somehow, but by some big angle, or at least by a McMahon coming out to say “i never OK’d this match”.
But THIS? Having it be interfered by the effing BAR? For a stupid, meaningless tag match?
Wow. If this is what WWE looks like with Bruce Pritchard adding his two cents, then Pritchard is highly overrated.
If Seth and Kofi really want this match, they could easily set a date. Of course they won’t, because the whole idea for this unification match was a sham to begin with. That’s okay, but then don’t pretend you’ll have it later just because you expect people to forget about it. Also, it’s time for New Day to get lost. If Kofi is the World champ, then Big E and Xavier need to stay away. New Day only underline that Kofi has been nothing but a tag team comedy act instead of a serious challenger.
Prichard was never worth a damn. He sucked in TNA & I expected no better from him back in WWE.
I think the bookers were expecting a crazy crowd to help the show along, seemed to be just a normal crowd to me. I almost wish that kid in green that Cesaro took out was mine. LOl. Kids gonna get his college education paid for by Vince and a ton of WWE swag and tickets. I was actually hoping to see one World Champ for men and women but then again if that happened Kofi would have been a one day champion. Nice to see Alexa wrestle, thanks for coming Bailey.
I’m another Dana fan. Not many can pull off the body builder with big fake gazongas look but she can and she can move in the ring. I just can’t put my finger on what happened with her face, it’s still lovely but it almost looks like plastic surgery???
I have always enjoyed the RAW after Wrestlemania – because of the fun, unpredictable nature of the show. This year, though? Not so much. I do not understand the whole Kofi/Seth thing AT ALL. Their whole premise was that Kofi has spent eleven long years patiently waiting his turn for a championship match (which was never going to come). He (and New Day) overcame ridiculous odds to finally, after 11 long years, get Kofi in a championship match. And, he won! So… the very next day, Kofi shows up at RAW (which isn’t even his show) and offers up his belt in a double-or-nothing match? Really? After what Kofi went through to finally get into one championship match? Why would he even believe Vince McMahon would allow that to happen? How is anyone – even a casual observer – supposed to believe that would actually happen?
I don’t like Sammie Zayn as a heel, and don’t have a clue why Lars came out and beat up Angle. One more thing, while I am ranting – last night, I finally went to Wikipedia to see what the deal is on Lacey Evans. Apparently, she has some serious street cred – which is good, because so far, I haven’t seen her do anything except walk around and wave.