4-29-13 Raw results and thoughts

        Coverage and thoughts on the April 29, 2013 episode of Raw  

  The show starts with Alberto Del Rio & Ricardo Rodriguez coming to the ring. Zeb Coulter & Big E Langston are already in the ring. They will be in a 3 way and the winner will pick the stipulation for the Del Rio-Swagger-Ziggler title match at Extreme Rules. I like that they’re starting the show with a match but I don’t know why it’s with these 3.

Ricardo Rodriguez vs. Zeb Coulter vs. Big E Langston. Ricardo wins when he pins Zeb. This was a comedy match. There was a lot of shenanigans here. Ricardo hit Big E with the bucket. Then Big E was going after Ricardo and then Del Rio came in & gave Big E an enziguri. Then Dolph came in drop kicked Del Rio out of the ring. Then Swagger chucked out Dolph and then Big E clotheslined Swagger over the top & also went over the top himself. Then Zeb had Ricardo pinned but before the referee could count to 3 AJ came in. Then Ricardo rolled up Zeb for the pin.

They show the video of John Cena visiting the 8 year old boy. I applaud Cena for granting all these wishes! I really admire & respect that about him!!

John Cena & 3 Make a Wish kids come out on the stage. Cena says today’s World Wish Day. This is a special Raw. We have Jacob, Nick & Logan. Their wish was to experience Raw live. Make a wish grants wishes like this everyday but can’t do it without the people’s help. Tonight they’re making a special moment even more special because these 3 are now honorary WWE super stars. Jacob says his super star name is The Eliminator. Nick’s is Nick the Stitch and Logan’s is Lightening Logan. Cena says these kids were granted 1 wish. Their wish was to come & be at Raw. They chose a great night & Cena says he has a feeling the fans can get loud. He tells the fans to show the kids what it’s like to be part of Raw & the fans give the kids a well deserved ovation. Cena thanks everyone from the bottom of his heart & hopes they enjoy the rest of the show. That was really classy! This was a great segment!

Randy Orton vs. Cody Rhodes. Orton gets the pin. This was a great back & forth match. Orton went for the RKO but Cody turned it into Cross Rhodes for a near fall. Then Cody went for Beautiful Disaster but Orton pulled out the RKO & got the pin.

Then Striker gets in the ring and says it’s been 3 weeks since Big Show turned on him. Does Orton still feel haunted by that? Orton has never been so focused & extreme. Then Cody sneaks up from behind but Orton gave him another RKO.

The Bellas are backstage. They talk about last week’s Diva battle royal for a bit and then they plug WWE’s new reality show. They mention that they’ve walked on the red carpet. That is something that the other Divas won’t get to do or whatever. This was meaningless.

Time for a look at Total Divas.

Naomi vs. Brie Bella. Naomi wins by reverse decision DQ. Nikki came in & pinned Naomi. Then Cameron told the referee what happened & the referee said that Naomi wins by DQ. Then the Bellas get in the ring & they go at it with Naomi & Cameron. They toss Naomi out of the ring & beat down Cameron. This was weak. The twin magic was predictable & having Naomi win by reverse decision DQ was lame. The post match beat down from The Bellas was ok for what it was.

The Shield comes out through the crowed. Ambrose says when they arrived in WWE they said they were going to bring justice to an unjust world & that’s what they’ve done. Rollins says that brick by brick they’ve torn down the wall of injustice. From the moment they started their crusade at Survivor Series till now no one has managed to stop them. They changed the course of history when they stopped Ryback from becoming WWE Champion. Reigns says that’s just the start. No one can stop the hounds of justice. Not the great one. Rollins says not a giant, Reigns says not a warrior and Ambrose says not even the champ. Ambrose says those guys were mortal. Last week they looked immortality in the face & served justice to Taker. For too long Taker has been justice in WWE but The Shield bows down to no one. Reigns says rest in piece. Then they show The Shield lying out Taker from Smackdown. Then Ambrose says justice doesn’t care who you are. When your number gets called justice strikes without warning or mercy. Rollins says justice hasn’t forgotten about Cena or Ryback. Then out come 3MB Slater says The Shield have some unfinished business with 3MB. Drew asks who they think they are. They were gonna show HHH how to rock & Roll but The Shield crashed their party. Then Jinder says now they will crash The Shield’s & Rock & Roll all over their faces. 3MB gets in the ring & The Shield beats them down. Then out come Kane & Daniel Bryan. They get in the ring & The Shield bails. Then Kane & Daniel beat on 3MB. Drew & Jinder get tossed out of the ring and then Kane choke slams Slater. This was a solid segment. The Shield promo was good & I was fine with 3MB coming out too. I’m glad they remembered that The Shield had unfinished business with 3MB. Kane & Daniel coming out was ok too & having The Shield bail wasn’t surprising & neither was Kane & Daniel flattening 3MB, but it was a solid bit.

Backstage we see Cena’s ankle getting taped up. Ryback comes in. Ryback says that Cena can wrap his ankle up all he wants, but he’s still hurt. Cena says that he has been more effective on 1 leg than Ryback has on 2. Ryback can’t take that chance. This was ok.

U.S. Champion Kofi Kingston vs. World Champion Dolph Ziggler. This was a really good back & forth match. It was cool to see these 2 in a match that was given a good amount of time. Then Big E gives Kofi the Big Ending. Then a second 1.

Dolph, Big E & AJ are backstage. Dolph says he stole the show. Then they bump into Natalya & Kaitlyn. Kaitlyn says AJ beat her a couple times last year because she held back because she didn’t want to hurt her best friend. Now she isn’t going to hold back. If AJ wants the Divas Title she will have to take it. Then a delivery guy comes in & AJ thinks it’s for her but it’s for Kaitlyn. Dolph, Big E & AJ walk off. Then Kaitlyn takes a spiked hat out of the box. Then she finds a letter too & reads that. This was lame.

Time for a look back at the Triple H-Paul Heyman segment from last Monday.  

Vickie & Brad are in the GM office and in comes Ryback. Ryback says Cena’s left him to face The Shield alone for the last time. Vickie says tonight it will be a 6 man tag. The Shield will face Ryback, Kane & Daniel. Ryback rules, been there, done that. He doesn’t trust those guys & says no and then walks out. Then Brad asks Vickie what Ryback meant by no. Thankfully this was short.

Jack Swagger & Zeb Coulter come to the ring. Then Ryder comes out. He says for those who missed Zeb in action earlier tonight, let’s take a look. They re show Ricardo pinning Zeb. Ryder says “Here is your winner Ricardo Rodriguez. Woo woo woo. You know it.”

Zack Ryder vs. Jack Swagger. Swagger wins by submission. Ryder got some offense in but this was mostly a squash. Then Swagger holds Ryder by the ropes & Zeb punches Ryder in the head.

They show during the commercial break Striker was looking for words from Ryback & Ryback walked out.

Mark Henry is in the ring with a giant rope. He says for those of us who don’t know who he is, he is Mark Henry the world’s strongest man. He came out here to prove that. He asked Vickie for 2 opponents & she said it would happen. Out comes Tensai.

Tensai vs. Mark Henry in a tug of war. Henry wins. 

Then out comes Brodus Clay.

Brodus Clay vs. Mark Henry in a tug of war. Henry wins.

Then out comes Sheamus. He says that was impressive & offers to be a third opponent for Mark Henry. Sheamus asks if Henry is afraid. Henry tells him to come in & Sheamus says lets get it on.

Sheamus vs. Mark Henry in a tug of war. Sheamus lets go of the rope & Henry falls down. Then Sheamus gives Henry a Brogue Kick. This was pointless.

Backstage Brad Maddox tells Kane & Daniel Ryback has left the building. Kane says they’re better off without Ryback. Kane tells Vickie they’re back to a handicap match. He wants to get his hands on The Shield for lying out The Undertaker. Daniel says they want this match no matter what. Vickie says they got it. Kane & Daniel leave and then Vickie Brad there’s 1 more that she needs him to do. This was alright.

Backstage we see Brad Maddox come into Cena’s locker room. Cena calls him Braden Walker & bad mattress. Cena then tells Brad to tell Vickie that she has a main event tonight. He won’t let Kane & Daniel face The Shield without a partner. Brad says Cena’s hurt bad. Cena says he’s hurt & Brad will be hurt bad if Brad doesn’t let him wrestle tonight. This was ok.

Ricardo Rodriguez brings out Alberto Del Rio. Antonio Cesaro is already in the ring.

Alberto Del Rio vs. Antonio Cesaro. Del Rio wins by submission. This was a solid back & forth match. I’m glad Cesaro wasn’t squashed here.

Then Del Rio says thanks to Ricardo he can pick the stipulation for the world title match at Extreme Rules. Del Rio says that it will be a ladder match. 

Out comes Fandango. Great Khali is already in the ring & so is Jerry Lawler. King says Khali & Fandango will compete in a dance off. He asks Khali if he has any ball room dancing experience. Khali says he has. King asks how Khali thought Jericho was on Dancing with the Starts. Khali says he’s better than Jericho is. Then Khali & Natalya dance. King then asks Fandango how he thinks Jericho was on Dancing with the Stars. Fandango says he clumsy. Then Fandango & Summer Ray do the Fandango dance bit. Then King says the fans it’s time for the fans to decide. Naturally they cheer for Khali & King says that Khali wins. Then Fandango gives Khali a Russian Leg Sweep. Then he gives him a top rope leg drop. Then Fandango says his name. This was stupid. The fans were singing Fandango’s theme & I think his music is catchy and all but this gimmick is lame.

Time for a look back at The Shield lying out Undertaker from Smackdown.

WWE Champion John Cena and WWE Champions Kane & Daniel Bryan vs. The Shield. The Shield wins when Reigns pins Cena. This was a really good match & I was surprised Cena got pinned. Then Ryback comes out & stands on the stage. Ryback stares at Cena as Medics check on Cena’s injured ankle to end the show.

I thought this was a solid show overall. Orton-Cody was great, the 6 man tag was really good & Kofi-Dolph was too. It was nice to see all these matches get a good amount of TV time. Ryder-Swagger was mostly a squash but Ryder got a bit of offense in. Del Rio-Cesaro was solid & I was glad that Cesaro didn’t get squashed. I also liked that Del Rio picked a ladder match for Extreme Rules. That could be good. The bits with Vickie & Brad were alright. Ryback was decent in his backstage bit with those 2 and Kane & Daniel were good in their backstage bit. The Cena-Brad backstage bit was ok. The Kaitlyn-AJ backstage bit was idiotic, the tug of war segment was pointless, Naomi-Brie wasn’t much & the Khali-Fandango bit was stupid. I liked The Shield’s promo & I was ok with 3MB coming out. Kane & Daniel Bryan coming out was ok too & I wasn’t surprised that The Shield retreated and that Kane & Daniel flattened 3MB. Cena on the stage with the Make a Wish kids was really classy! So on the whole I thought this was a solid show.