5 talking points – WWE RAW, 6th May

This week’s RAW saw the return of Brock Lesnar, well, at least in a segment, as well as another confrontation between the champion, John Cena, and the destructive Ryback, and the involvement of The Shield. The Shield have set their eyes on the tag team gold held by Team Hell No, and they will face the tag champs at Extreme Rules. This week’s episode did less to further any feud, and fell short on both the delivery and the entertainment aspects. As it stands, I look at the 5 talking points coming out of this week’s episode.

5. Jack Swagger’s biggest impact

This week’s episode saw ADR taking on Dolph Ziggler, but the match was interrupted by Swagger and Zeb who came down to the commentary booth. The match ended when Big E threw ADR into Swagger, which enraged the All American, who left everyone face down at the end of the segment by attacking them with a ladder. This has been the biggest statement yet made by Swagger, as he looked possessed when he drilled Dolph and ADR with the steel weapon. As an incredible athlete, one must wonder if the ladder match would favour Jack Swagger. Another interesting fact about the match is that all the three participants have won the Money in the Bank ladder matches, and hence, have participated and won in ladder matches before. Who will win at Extreme Rules? Although I’d want Dolph to retain the title, it is possible for either ADR or Swagger to reclaim the World title once again. This sets up an interesting scenario, which leaves the door open for all the men to hold the title.

4. Mark Henry’s path of destruction

We all know what Mark Henry is capable of. Not so long ago, as the World Heavyweight champion, Henry dominated the scene by putting various people in his ‘Hall of Pain’. Henry’s feud with Sheamus just got interesting, with Henry taking out Sheamus this past week, by lashing at him with his leather belt. Afterwards, he delivered the World’s Strongest Slam on the Celtic Warrior on the concrete floor. Where does this leave Sheamus? Going into Extreme Rules, this will likely set up a ‘Leather belt’ match between the two former champions. Henry looks focused on hurting Sheamus, while the Great White would seek retribution. This makes for intriguing television, as both men are hell bent on hurting each other, plain and simple.

3. Ryback gaining the upper hand

Ryback and John Cena are involved in a feud for the WWE title, yet the interest seems to be dwindling every week. Cena needs a good heel, as he himself doesn’t get a positive response from the crowd. Ever since Ryback turned heel, the greatest disadvantage for him has been his mic skills. Ryback needs a good manager like Paul Heyman to make him a legit threat for the WWE title. Anyway, last week, Ryback turned his back on Cena, and walked away without fighting him. Cena give Ryback an AA, and this week, Ryback returned the favour by laying out Cena with a steel chair to end the show, by standing tall over the fallen WWE Champion. This leaves Ryback with a psychological advantage going into the Extreme Rules PPV. What will happen next week? One has to wonder if Cena’s injury would give Ryback an early advantage, and now since their match will be a Last Man Standing match, Cena will have to dig deep to retain the WWE title at the PPV.

2. The Shield makes a statement

The Shield has been the most dominant stable in the WWE in quite a while. Not only have they taken out both the members of Team Hell No, they have also set their sights on the tag team titles. This week, they defeated the face team of Kofi and the Usos. After the match, Ambrose set his eyes on the US title, which can also make his intentions clear about going after the US title. They have taken down all the major superstars, and going into the PPV, they are the firm favourites to win the tag titles, since they are yet to be undefeated as a team!

1. Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman play mind games

Arguably the most anticipated match on the Extreme Rules card is between Brock Lesnar and Triple H. Although these two have battled on the last PPV, their names are enough for people to tune in, as Brock is arguably the biggest name in Sports Entertainment, and Triple H is one of the last remaining Attitude Era stars in the company. This week, Heyman and Lesnar invaded the WWE Headquarters in Stanford to intimidate the WWE employees, and completely destroyed the corporate office of Triple H. Triple H then came out and didn’t look too troubled, which would imply that Heyman’s tactic to throw Triple H off his game (no pun intended) backfired. How will Triple H respond? Where does this leave their match at Extreme Rules? We have to wait and find out, but as it stands, this is arguably the most interesting feud going on at the moment in the WWE.

Well, those are the 5 talking points coming out of this week’s episode of RAW. We also have a dance off between Jericho and Fandango which will be interesting. I guess this is what the creative can think of when you have two of the best wrestlers in the company. Anyway, let’s wait and see how the week ends.