2-25-13 Raw results and thoughts

   Coverage and thoughts on the February 25, 2013 episode of Raw

The show starts with Vince McMahon coming to the ring on crutches. He says everyone knows he likes to do things in a big way and what better way to start Raw then with a “fight.” He says he can do this with 1 crutch, 1 leg or no legs. Then he brings out Paul Heyman. Heyman says tonight we will see a 1 legged man in an ass kicking contest. Heyman was waited his whole life for this. Vince has made Heyman look like the biggest wuss but he all man. If Vince thinks Heyman will take it easy on him, Vince is out of his mind. Heyman has watched Vince run a lot of promoters out of business, including him. He’s seen him fight the U.S. Government. Heyman says before they fight, he wants to say right to Vince’s face that…then he tackles Vince down and then hits him in the back with a crutch. Heyman goes for another shot but Vince gets the crutch and hits Heyman. Then out comes Brock Lesnar. He gets in the ring and makes like he’s gonna go after Vince. Then Triple H’s music plays and he comes out. Lesnar slides out of the ring and he & Triple H go at it. Lesnar gets the upper hand and then Triple H throws Lesnar head first into the ring post and Lesnar bleeds. Then he goes for a crutch but Brock gets the upper hand and gives Triple H an F5 on the announce table. Then he throws HHH in the ring and then gets a chair out from underneath the ring. Brock gets in the ring but HHH gives him a spine buster. Then he hits Lesnar with the chair. This was a good way to start the show and I knew this would be the start of the build to the HHH-Lesnar match for WrestleMania. Heyman was good on the mic as usual and the HHH-Lesnar brawl was good too. Lesnar really bled after being slammed into the turnbuckle.

Ryback vs. Dolph Ziggler. Ryback gets the pin. This was mostly Ryback pounding on Dolph. Who’d Dolph piss off to be in Jobber Ville? AJ distracted the referee. Then Langston got on the apron but Ryback clotheslined him off. Then Dolph went for a sleeper but Ryback threw him off and then hits shell shock for the win.

CM Punk comes to the ring. He says tonight on live TV the world will witness history. This will be a night that fans will tell their grandchildren about. Tonight is the end as well as the beginning. People believe tonight is about the epic Cena-Punk match. Tonight is epic but tonight is not about a match, Cena or The Rock. He can point at the Mania sign because the winner of the match later goes to headline WrestleMania, but tonight isn’t about WrestleMania and certainly not about the people. It’s also not about the WWE Title. Tonight is about the future, tonight is about him. Tonight is about the most important guy of this era. It’s about him taking his place at the showcase of immortals in the main event. He held the Title more than anyone has in decades. He’s beaten Cena. He’s beaten Rock twice in 4 weeks. He is the best in the world and has earned the right to go to the main event of WrestleMania. He is immortal. He is the greatest of all time. He is a legend and an icon. He is God. This was a really good promo from Punk as usual.

Time to find out who the next WWE 2013 Hall of Fame inductee is. Donald Trump (Why him)?

Great Khali vs. Mark Henry. Henry gets the pin. This was a fast squash.

The Miz comes to the ring for Miz TV. His guests are Alberto Del Rio, Ricardo Rodriguez, Jack Swagger & Zeb Coulter. God help me! Back from break and everyone is in the ring and the Miz TV set is too. Normally Miz would start this show off with a lot of hype but tonight they’re cutting right to it. Tonight Miz’s guests are Zeb, Swagger, Ricardo & Del Rio. Miz will start with Jack & Zeb. Miz mentions their youtube vids and he will give them the chance to talk directly to Alberto. Zeb says he was hoping to talk to Glen Beck but he will gladly speak to Del Rio. Zeb says there’re undocumented workers in this country (Illegals). They want to reform the system by putting them on the path of citizen ship. Americans have a hard time finding work as it is. The immigrants drain the Americans. Del Rio protests. Zeb talks more. Miz then says he wants to hear what Del Rio has to say. Zeb keeps talking. Del Rio says to let him talk. Zeb says it takes 10 years to become a Mexican citizen. A foreigner can’t own property in Mexico. Zeb says this isn’t personal. It’s what Del Rio represents. That’s success, the American dream. He encourages illegals to sneak into the states. There’s only 1 Del Rio success story and the other illegals forget to leave this country. People who are in this country illegally are called criminals. Del Rio tells Zeb to shut up. America is the greatest country because it belongs to everybody. Del Rio is no different then the fans, Swagger or Zeb. Del Rio says everyone wants provide their families with a better life. If you work hard in America anything is possible and Del Rio is living proof of that. Zeb & Swagger think they can disrespect everybody and hide behind the constitution. 2 weeks ago Del Rio never knew anything about Zeb. He’d heard about people like him but never met one before. Del Rio doesn’t like bullies and says that Zeb & Jack should do something to make him & Ricardo leave America right now. Swagger says, “We will see you at WrestleMania. We the people.” I’m really not into this angle. Del Rio & Zeb both cut good promos but I don’t get why they’re making World Title match about a face Mexican vs. an American heel. This should be about the title. I have no idea why they’re going with this anti foreigner angle.

They show what happened during the break. Miz was on the stage. Then Zeb came back out and said that he doesn’t like Miz’s biased journalism. Then Swagger came back out and clotheslined Miz.

Randy Orton vs. U.S. Champion Antonio Cesaro. Orton gets the pin. Cesaro jumped off the top rope & Orton gave him a mid air RKO for the pin. This was decent but why have Cesaro lose cleanly to Orton again?  

Kane & Daniel Bryan are backstage. Daniel says Randy’s impressive. Then he tells Kane that they should get along. Kane says they need to focus on the Primetime Players tonight. Daniel says he can beat both guys by himself blind folded. Kane says that he can beat them both with 1 arm tied behind his back. Then Vickie & Maddox come in. Maddox says that team “brickie” wants to see Kane & Daniel face the Primetime Players. Maddox says that Kane will have 1 arm tied behind his back & Vickie says that Daniel will blind folded. Daniel complains that he won’t be able to see. This was stupid. The Kane-Daniel Bryan bit is old and the Vickie-Maddox “team” is awful.

Time for Sheamus’ Oscar snubs next. What are they thinking here? This is going to be painful and meaningless.

Miz will face Jack Swagger later tonight.

Sheamus comes to the ring. He says everyone knows him as a friendly arse kicking WWE super star, but he’s also a movie guy. He missed the Academy Awards last night because he was on his way to Dallas. He says that he saw it when he got to his hotel and he didn’t like what he saw. They overlooked 1 of the greatest actors of the 21^st century Wade Barrett. Time to show the Dead Man Down trailer that Barrett has a cameo in. Then Sheamus has a scene that Barrett’s in frozen on the Tron. He says Wade is so inspiring, so out of focus. He waited for Barrett to say something but he stood there saying nothing. Then Wade Barrett comes out. He says Sheamus is envious of him. Sheamus can make his jokes and the idiot fans will laugh it up, but Sheamus is jealous of the fact that he is about to become a movie star. He will be walking down a real red carpet when he’s at the Dead Man Down premier, while Sheamus will be returning his suit and hanging out in some pub. Sheamus says that’s exactly what he will be doing. Then he tells Barrett to make sure the photographers get his good side, but after taking a look at Barrett’s nose, Sheamus doesn’t think he has a good side. This was terrible and meaningless! I’m fine with a Sheamus-Wade Barrett program but why is it happening because Sheamus mocks Barrett’s cameo in some movie!?

Damien Sandow is on commentary for Cody’s match.

R-Truth vs. Cody Rhodes. Truth gets the pin. Then Sandow gets in the ring and goes after Truth but Truth gets the upper hand and Sandow bails. This match was solid.

Time for a look at a Jack Swagger-Zeb Coulter youtube video. They both cut the same kind of promo. Zeb says the immigrants are stealing American’s jobs. Zeb & Jack know that is wrong and it’s time to correct that wrong. Swagger again says, “We the people.” Why are they cramming this crap down our throats?

WWE Tag Team Champions Kane (with 1 arm tied behind his back) & Daniel Bryan (who is blind folded) vs. The Primetime Players. Kane & Daniel win when Kane pins Darren Young. This was a comedy match.

The Shield comes out through the crowd like they always do. Ambrose says it will get a lot worse. There will be no peace in WWE till there is justice and honor. They’re the most effective unit in WWE and that makes a lot of guys uncomfortable. WWE can send out an army of guys but that won’t stop them. Reigns says the same. Then he says that if you don’t believe in The Shield they will grind everyone’s bones to dust. Rollins mentions that they beat Kane, Daniel & Ryback at TLC. Then at Elimination Chamber they solved the John Cena problem. The beat the super hero team. Then Jericho stuck his neck out last week, but he stuck it out to far and they dropped him. Just like they’ve dropped everyone. Rollins asks if there’s anyone who wants to stand up. Sheamus comes out and tells them to fight him. He tells them to come to the stage. Ambrose & Reigns head up the ramp and Orton sneaks in the ring and gives Rollins an RKO. Orton stands in the crowd and Sheamus stands on the stage while The somewhat fallen Shield is in the ring. This was a solid segment. The Shield guys cut good promos. Ambrose was really good. Sheamus was good here too and I liked that Orton came out through the crowd and gave Rollins an RKO. It looks like Orton will be the next guy to team with Ryback & Sheamus and face The Shield at WrestleMania.

The Miz vs. Jack Swagger. Swagger wins by submission. This was a decent match.

Time for a TOUT from Triple H. He tells Brock he’s back. Will Brock just stand there and bleed or will he do something about it?

Now time for a few TOUTS from some fans.

Josh Matthews is backstage with John Cena. Cena says tonight 2 guys enter, 1 will leave with a chance at immortality. Cena mentions Punk saying that Cena can’t win the big 1. Cena took this match to show that Punk is wrong. Punk talks about being champion for 434 days. Cena says that he was champion for 380 days and has been to the mountain top 10 times. Tonight the better man goes to WrestleMania. Tonight either step up or step aside. He asked for this match to show John Cena is back. He doesn’t care what The Rock is cooking. Tonight he is serving humble pie. If you still believe in hustle, loyalty and respect Cena’s and the believer’s time is now. This was a decent promo. Cena’s been better lately.

They show the TOUT of The Undertaker returning at a house show in Waco, TX. That was a great surprise.

John Cena vs. CM Punk to see who will face The Rock for the WWE Title at WrestleMania. Cena gets the pin. This was a great back and forth match. There were a lot near falls and counters here. At the end Cena hit a rana & followed up with the AA for the win. This was awesome. Cena poses on the stage to end the show. Great match and a really awesome way to end the show!

I thought this was a good show overall. The Vince-Heyman stuff was good. Heyman’s promo was good as usual. The Triple H-Brock Lesnar brawl was also good and Lesnar bled like crazy. The Cena-Punk match was really great! Easily the best part of the show! Punk’s promo earlier in the show was good too. I also thought Cena’s promo was solid. I wasn’t into the Miz TV segment. Del Rio & Coulter cut good promos but this storyline doesn’t do it for me. The Sheamus-Wade Barrett segment was meaningless. The Shield cut good promos too and I liked that they had Sheamus come out and challenge them and also Orton coming out through the crowd and giving Rollins an RKO was good too. It looks like Orton will team with Ryback & Sheamus to face The Shield at WrestleMania. Kane & Daniel Bryan vs. The Primetime Players was total comedy. Khali-Henry was a squash. Ryback-Dolph was mostly Ryback pounding Dolph. Too bad they’re booking Dolph this way. I liked that they showed the video of The Undertaker’s return at the house show this weekend. Miz-Swagger was also decent and Truth-Cody was solid too. I’m guessing we’ll be seeing Kofi & Truth vs. Rhodes Scholars. Orton-Cesaro was decent too but I’m not sure why they keep having Cesaro lose cleanly to Orton. I liked the mid air RKO at the finish however. So on the whole I thought this was a good show and the main event really made it better!