WWE RAW Report – April 22nd

This week’s RAW came to us from the famous O2 Arena in London. I, like many fans was pumped about this show. Why? Because not only was it out of North America, but it was also the home of some of the loudest fans in the world. Remember the RAW 3 weeks ago from New Jersey? Almost the entire attendance was from Europe. You don’t get louder, more entertaining fans than them. Anyway, so heading into this RAW, there were reports that The Undertaker would be in action on RAW after 3 long years, and Triple H was also scheduled for the show.

The show opened with Paul Heyman coming down, and cutting a promo like only he can. He talked about the challenge issued by Lesnar last week, and that Triple H wasn’t on RAW. When Hunter’s music hit, Paul sold it like a million bucks. This is why Heyman is one of the greatest managers/TV personalities of all time. Everyone can learn how to sell things solely by facial expressions if they watch Heyman closely. Anyway, the crowd popped for Hunter as he came down. He told Heyman he lied when he said he wouldn’t be there. Paul tried to weasel his way out, but Triple H said he accepts the challenge issued by Lesnar and ended the segment with a Pedigree on Paul Heyman. A great way to kick things off as Heyman showed his verbal class, while Triple H drove the point home with a Pedigree on Heyman.

R-Truth defeated Antonio Cesaro

R – Truth made his way out rapping, and Antonio came out saying “This is how it’s done”, and he yodeled. Did Antonio get on Vince’s nerve somehow? Not only did the best performer in the past year not get a spot on the WrestleMania card, but he lost the US Title to a guy who is destined to be stuck in the mid card. And no surprises to know that he lost this match to R-Truth as well. I don’t see a point as to why Truth went over Cesaro. At least the crowd had fun singing ‘Ole ole ole’.

Outside the arena, The Shield made their way in a helicopter. That’s a fun way to introduce the bunch. Reports came in that even Fandango was in the helicopter as they were being flown down from a live event.

Damien Sandow (With Cody Rhodes) defeated Brodus Clay (With Sweet T and the Funkadactyles)

A short match during which the crowd chanted ‘Albert’ and ‘JBL’. This is why UK fans are the greatest. Anyway, a basic match that got about 5 minutes, and the end saw Cody distracting Brodus, which enabled Sandow to take advantage with a handful of tights for the pin and the win. A fun match that continued the feud between Tons of Funk and Rhodes Scholars, and a match between Sweet T and Cody Rhodes is still to follow in a while.

Backstage segment with Dolph, AJ and Big E. Vickie interrupted AJ and Dolph, and said Dolph will be facing Jericho tonight, and if Jericho wins, the triple threat match at Extreme Rules for the World Heavyweight title will now become a fatal four way. I wanted Jericho to be in the match, as it would then have potential to be one of the best matches of the year.

The Shield cut a promo backstage. The WWE have done their homework, as Ambrose spoke for most of it. Ambrose is an excellent talker, and a great talent, and has far superior mic skills than the other two. He said tonight, they’d serve their justice to the Undertaker. Roman finished it with ‘Believe in the Shield’. Short and to the point. Job well done.

Dolph Ziggler (With AJ and Big E) defeated Chris Jericho

A match between two phenomenal athletes, and the match got about 18 minutes. A great TV match that saw back and forth action between two former bitter rivals. WWE did a great job in replaying their feud, which included the match which saw Jericho kayfabe getting fired. The end came when Jericho went for the Walls of Jericho on Dolph, but Fandango’s music played. Ziggler took advantage of it and caught Jericho off guard for the win. The crowd loved the match, which was no surprise. They were still singing along during Fandango’s theme, which was nice to see.

Sweet T (With Brodus and Funkadactyles) defeated Cody Rhodes (With Damien Sandow)

Who planned another member of Tons of Funk versus another member of Rhodes Scholars? I don’t want to know, but this served no purpose after their first match. The end came when Tensai delivered a running Senton splash, which JBL called a ‘Flying sofa’, which was pretty funny. Rhodes Scholars need a better feud, and hopefully, they will get into the title contention soon.

Backstage segment with Team Hell No. Bryan wanted to know where Taker was, and Kane told him he doesn’t exactly carry a cell phone. Bryan apparently had diagrams which would help them win their match. Kane made Bryan promise to him that he won’t ask Taker for a hug. Funny segment which set the tone for the big 6 – man tag team match. But wait, they get attacked by The Shield, who lay them out with a chair! Will they be able to participate in the match? We’ll have to wait and see.

Big E defeated Zack Ryder

A filler to put Big E over. The match went for about 3 minutes, as Big E finished Ryder off with the Big Ending. Earlier, Zack posted a YouTube video hinting a heel turn. Guess that isn’t happening.

The Shield defeated Undertaker and Team Hell No

Taker came first, and was followed by The Shield. Kane and D-Bry came down to even the odds, and here we go. Taker was impressive for a 48-year old. Great tag team match with great sequences and hot tags. Crowd was hot throughout the match. Taker was relatively less used, and that makes perfect sense. The end came when Bryan missed the Swan dive, and Ambrose took advantage for the pin and the win. An excellent tag match, after which The Shield scrambled while Kane argued with Bryan as Taker looked on.

Fandango defeated William Regal

Huge pop for Fandango along with Summer Rae, and she’s absolutely gorgeous, in a Miss Elizabeth-esque elegant way. Regal followed, who got even a bigger pop! UK fans love Regal, who has been a great ambassador of the sport. The match itself got only about 3 minutes. Fandango easily won after his huge leg drop. As Fandango made his way up the ramp, Jericho attacked and threw him off the stage, and posed with Summer, which drew a loud pop from the fans.

AJ wins the Divas Battle Royal

The crowd was dead for this. Kaitlyn was at the announcer’s booth, as she looked on to find who the new #1 contender for her Divas title would be. The match went only for 3 minutes, as AJ eliminated Layla last to win the Battle Royal. Why do a battle royal if you want the same person to be the #1 contender? WWE logic I suppose.

Main Event: Promo between Foley and Ryback

Foley came out to a huge pop, followed by Ryback. Ryback is very limited in his mic work, and needs a manager. Foley was amazing on the mic as always, and Ryback was very sloppy. Someone said Ryback moves his mouth a lot while talking, and it’s true. Don’t know why I cared to notice though. Anyway, Ryback called Foley a washed up guy who comes back only to plug in his DVDs. Foley wanted to get on with it in the ring, but Cena ran down to stop the brawl. Foley got out of the ring when The Shield’s music played. Cena stood on the apron, leaving Ryback in the ring. As The Shield came in, Cena backed up on to the ramp as Ryback was overpowered. Cena came back with a steel chair and chased off the members of The Shield, and had a face to face confrontation with Ryback. As Ryback looked at the chair, Cena dropped him with an AA to end the show. That was pretty uneventful. Mick was the best part in the segment, and Ryback needs a manager. Why didn’t Ryback fight out of the AA? That was quick and felt very rushed.

Analysis: The crowd wasn’t as great as the NJ one, but still a far better show than what we generally get. Great work by Foley, and we got two excellent TV matches between Jericho – Ziggler and Taker, Team Hell No – The Shield. That makes it a good show.

Rating: ***1/2 (Out of 5)