4-8-13 Raw results and thoughts

Coverage and thoughts on the April 8, 2013 episode of Raw  

The show starts with the now 11 time WWE Champion John Cena coming to the ring to a huge amount of boos. He says it should be every WWE superstar’s dream to not only be in the WrestleMania main event but to also win the main event at WrestleMania. When you win that you get to enjoy everything that goes with it. The adulation, the respect, the cheers (which he isn’t getting). He says the cheers 2 more times and the fans boo. Cena says he & the fans have known each other for 10 years. The fans continue to heckle Cena. He says the fans seem a little bit angry. Maybe more than angry. He’s upset too. He realizes the fans are upset because WrestleMania is over but this isn’t like the day after Christmas. This is the Raw after Mania. It doesn’t matter how you feel about Cena. The fans chant boring. Amazingly enough every Raw after Mania is more than bring. Last year Brock returned and whooped his ass. There’s a volatile crowed and he’s gonna come up with some championship dance. He throws out some ideas and the fans rag on him some more. Now we’re ready for Raw. There’s a blond Hall of Famer that told him to be the man you got to beat the man. Last night to titans clashed and Rock might’ve gotten hurt but Cena won the title. “The champ is here.” This is what Cena wanted for a Mania main event celebration because this is his post Mania celebration. He’s gonna celebrate the way he knows how. He’s fighting & defending his title tonight. He doesn’t care if the number 1 contender is Dolph, Orton or Punk. Cue Mark Henry’s music & he comes to the ring. Henry says, “What’s up champ?” Then Henry tells Cena that the problem with coming out and asking for trouble is that trouble might find him. Henry says he sees Cena won his match. Henry tells Cena not to pay attention to the fans. Henry destroyed Ryback last night. With all of this talk Cena & Henry need to have some action. Cena tells Mr. World’s strongest man who he is. Then he says he’s afraid. Afraid to tell Henry he has the breath of 1,000 asses. If Henry wants a fight he’s got 1. Then out comes Booker T. He appreciates Cena wanting to be a fighting champion but he can’t & won’t have Cena making WWE Title matches. It ain’t going down like that. The deal is The Rock is entitled to a rematch. Cena says, “Once in a life time best out of 3?” Booker says that Rock is the number 1 contender for the title. The Rock got injured last night & isn’t here tonight. He will give Mark Henry a shot but he will have to beat Cena in non title match. Henry says Cena’s got the fans laughing but he’s not. All those jokes will get him tonight is an induction into the hall of pain. He tells Cena to bring his A game. This was a crazy segment. The fans were all over everyone in the ring. They booed Cena like crazy & made this segment better than it would’ve been. Cena’s promo was his typical cheesy idiocy. I popped when Mark Henry’s music played & I liked his promo. Having Booker T come out didn’t make sense since he is the Smackdown GM & his promo was kind of weak & I don’t get why they used the Smackdown format of starting the show with a promo and then having Booker who isn’t even the GM here come out & make a match with the guys who are in the ring. I also think that Cena vs. Henry tonight feels rushed.

WWE Tag Team Champion Daniel Bryan vs. Big E Langston. Big E gets the pin. This was a short match. Not much to it. Langston’s finisher is idiotic too. It looks like this feud is continuing.

Josh Mathews is in the crowed with Kurt Warner. They promote some new show this guy is starring in called “The Moment.” Who cares?

Intercontinental Champion The Miz vs. Wade Barrett for the Title. Barrett gets the pin to regain the Title. This was a good match but I was surprised they put the title back on Barrett. What was the point of Miz having the belt for a day? The fans were cheering Barrett.

Backstage we see Vickie & Brad. Sheamus comes in and says Big Show knocked him out after the Mania match. He wants a match tonight with Big Show. Brad says if they if they give him this match, he will owe them one. Sheamus could care less what Brad wants. All Sheamus wants is a match with that giant piece of crap. Vickie grants him the match. This was ok and thankfully short.    

Backstage we see Booker T. Orton congratulates him on being a WWE Hall of Famer. Orton needs a favor. He needs Big Show tonight in that ring. He talked Sheamus into believing he can trust Show but he was wrong. He wants to right that wrong. Booker says that Vickie already gave Sheamus a match with Show & there’s nothing Booker can do about it. Orton says Booker’s a Hall of Famer & a real GM and can override Vickie. Booker says he’s right & Orton’s got his match. This was weak. How can Orton not know that Vickie gave Sheamus a match with Big Show already? Also how does Booker T being a Hall of Famer make him able to override Vickie?

Out come Jack Swagger & Zeb Coulter. Zeb says this country’s in bad shape & after last night it got worse. He asks the fans for their support. He volunteered for the Vietnam war because he loves his country and will stand in the ring with Swagger for the same reason. This country is on the verge of anarchy and Zeb wants everyone to give Del Rio a USA chant when he comes out. I was really hoping to God that this would end after last night. Break time.

Back to the show. Jack & Zeb are in the ring. Then out comes Ricardo Rodriguez to introduce Alberto Del Rio. Del Rio comes out.

World Champion Alberto Del Rio vs. Jack Swagger & Zeb Coulter. Del Rio wins when he makes Swagger tap. Zeb never even got in the match. This was solid but I’m not sure why they had this match in the first place. Afterwards Del Rio sells the ankle injury that he got from Swagger during the match. He sits in the corner and medics check on him.

Then Dolph Ziggler’s music plays and he, Big E & AJ come out. Dolph is cashing in MITB finally!

World Champion Alberto Del Rio vs. Dolph Ziggler for the Title. Dolph gets the pin to win the Title. Dolph is the new World Champion. This was a decent match. Del Rio had Dolph in the cross arm breaker but Dolph went after Del Rio’s injured ankle. Then he hit the Zig Zag for the pin. Then Dolph celebrates with Big E & AJ. I’m glad they finally had him cash in the MITB.

The Undertaker’s gong goes off, his lighting and music come on and he comes out. (In the 21 years I’ve been watching wrestling I haven’t seen an entrance more awesome than Taker’s). The fans chant Undertaker. He says last night at Mania he dedicated his match to the memory of Paul Bearer. A man who…Then The Shield’s music hits and they come out through the crowed. They stand outside the ring surrounding Taker. Then Kane’s pyro goes off and he & Daniel Bryan hit the ring. Of course The Shield retreats & they hop over the guard rail. This was good. Kane, Taker & Daniel vs. The Shield would be interesting & it looks like that’s what they began the build to.

Backstage we see Dolph, Big E & AJ celebrate. Josh comes in and asks him how it feels to be world champion. Dolph says he needed the right time and the right place. It might be the night after WrestleMania but this is his Mania moment. He is going to take his world title shine it up and show it off.

R-Truth, Zack Ryder & Santino Marella vs. 3MB. Truth, Ryder & Santino win when Santino pins Slater. This was a short comedy match.

Time for a video package on how huge WrestleMania has gotten.

 Backstage we see Orton & Sheamus arguing about which 1 of them will face Big Show. Sheamus says Orton made a mistake by trusting Big Show. Orton is man enough to admit that he was wrong. Sheamus says that he’s got this. This was lame. I don’t get the whole “Big Show can’t be trusted” bit since he attacked Orton & Sheamus AFTER the match!

They show the youtube post show interview with Renee Young asking Big Show why he turned on Orton & Sheamus. Show says they turned on him. All he wanted was a chance to show that he can get it done for the team and the fans, but Orton had to take his thunder. No one is taking his thunder again. There’s only 1 thing in the world that’s important to Big Show and that’s Big Show. This whole thing with Big Show. This was a decent promo.

Sheamus comes to the ring. He says everyone knows what happened last night with him, Orton & Sheamus. He asks the fans if they want to see him kick Show’s “arse” tonight. Sheamus says lets bring out Vickie. Then Out comes Orton. Orton says while Sheamus is begging for support, Big Show is his tonight. Then Orton asks the fans if they want to see him kick Big Show’s ass tonight. Then Michael Cole announced that the fans can tweet their vote. This was all to plug Twitter? Lame!

Back to the show. Orton & Sheamus are still in the ring. For some reason Orton’s music is playing. Then we see that the fans voted for Orton. Then out come Vickie & Booker. Booker says both guys have legit reason to want to face Big Show. Booker says that he & Vickie have come up with a fair way to handle this. Vickie says that tonight it will be Sheamus vs. Orton and the winner faces Big Show. Booker T tells a referee to get in the ring and that match is now. This was stupid! What was the point of having the fans Tweet their votes and not have that mean anything? Also Orton vs. Sheamus to see who gets to face Big Show? Come on that is idiotic!

Randy Orton vs. Sheamus. The match goes to a no finish when Big Show’s music plays and he comes out. He throws Sheamus face first into the ring post. Then Big Show gets in the ring and the fans chant thank you Big Show. Then Big Show gives Orton the KO punch. Then he throws Orton into the barricade. The fans chant Big Show and then Big Show spears Orton. Then Show throws Orton over the announce table. Then he throws 2 of the 3 announcer chairs. Then he stomps on Orton. Then the fans chant one more chair as Big Show walks up the ramp. Then a referee checks on Orton. The crowed really made this entertaining! They were really chanting a lot of stuff very loudly.   

The fans were really awesome here! They were chanting Ole ole during this. That was great & it would’ve been awesome if El Generico came out. It also sounded like they were chanting RVD. Then they chanted JBL. Then they chanted Michael Cole. Then they chanted ECW. Then Jerry Lawler mentioned that the fans were doing the wave and the camera showed it. Then they chanted Randy Savage. Then I think they chanted HBK. Man this crowed is great. The fans are making this show really enjoyable.

Time for Fandango. His chick comes out and then he does. They dance on the stage and then head to the ring. Then Kofi Kingston’s music hits & he comes to the ring.

Kofi Kingston vs. Fandango. Fandango wins by DQ when Chris Jericho comes in. He beats the crap out of Fandango and chucks him out of the ring. Then Jericho throws him into the barricade and then into the time keeper’s area. Then Jericho chops Fandango and throws him into the steel steps. Then he throws him back in the ring and pounds on Fandango more. Then he chops him in the corner, Irish whipped him into the opposite corner and then got Fandango in the Walls. Then referees come out to pull Jericho off Fandango. Then Jericho gives him a code breaker. This was more about Jericho getting his hands on Fandango than it was a Kofi-Fandango match. That said Jericho attacking Fandango was really good and once again the fans were really vocal here too! Then Justin Roberts announces Fandango as the winner by DQ. Then the chick gives Fandango the mic and as he lies on the mat he says, “It’s Faandanngooo.” Then the fans sing Fandango’s theme music. This crowed is really great!

They show a WWE.com exclusive of HHH getting his arm looked out. The Dr. says his arm’s ok.

Josh Mathews interviews Paul Heyman. Josh says last night was disappointing night for Heyman guys. Heyman says it’s nice to know that ignorance is still bliss in New Jersey. Heyman looks at this from an intelligent perspective. Last night Lesnar got knocked out cold 90 seconds into the match but it still took HHH 23 minutes to beat Brock. Why doesn’t Josh ask Shawn or Hunter about Lesnar? Heyman says HHH is getting x-rays because of Brock. Heyman says Brock is looking for a fight but he doesn’t fight for free. Then Heyman tells Josh to ask him about CM Punk & Undertaker. Punk will say how he feels next week on Raw. This was the usual good promo for Heyman.

Brodus Clay, Sweet T, Naomi & Cameron vs. Rhodes Scholars & The Bella Twins in a “This was supposed to be at WrestleMania” match. Tons of Funk win when Brodus pins Sandow. This was a comedy match.

WWE Champion John Cena vs. Mark Henry. Cena wins by count out. Henry takes apart the announce table and was going to give Cena the World’s strongest slam onto it but Cena got out of it. Then Cena throws Henry into the steel steps and that leads to the count out. Afterwards Henry comes in and gives Cena the World’s strongest slam. Then Henry holds up the title. Then Ryback’s music hits and he comes out. He & Henry go at it. Ryback gives him a spine buster & Henry rolls out of the ring. Ryback and the fans chant feed me more. Then Ryback turns to Cena and helps him up. The fans wanted to see Ryback let Cena have it and booed when he helped Cena up. Then Ryback and the fans chant feed me more. Then Ryback clotheslines Cena to a huge pop. Then Ryback gives Cena the marching muscle buster. Then Ryback picks up the title as he & the fans continue to chant feed me more to end the show. The match was short but I thought it was decent. I liked Henry giving Cena the World’s strongest slam afterwards and holding the belt. Then Ryback coming out to go at it with Henry was good. I also liked Ryback clotheslining and giving the marching muscle buster to Cena and then holding the title.

I thought the crowed made this show a lot more enjoyable! They were really into a lot. They were chanting all kinds of stuff during the Orton-Sheamus match and they popped when Ryback clotheslined Cena. As for the actual show, the opening segment felt like the start of a Smackdown having Cena & Henry in the ring and then having Booker T come out and have them face each other in the main event. The Cena-Henry match was short and I wasn’t a big fan of Henry losing by count out, but I liked the post match action. Henry slamming Cena and holding up the title was good and then having Ryback lay out Cena & also holding up the title was good too. Big Show’s promo from the WrestleMania post show was good too. He didn’t really turn on Orton or Sheamus and was a team player during that match. I’m not sure what the point of having the fans decide if Orton or Sheamus face Big Show was since Vickie & Booker came out and made the Orton-Sheamus match. There was no finish there & I have a feeling we’ll see Orton, Sheamus & Show in a 3 way. Daniel-Langston was kind of on the short side. I liked the Taker segment. Having The Shield surround him and then having Kane & Daniel come out to even the odds was well done. It looks like we’ll be getting a 6 man with these guys. That should be interesting. The Miz vs. Wade Barrett was solid too but I don’t know why they took the IC Title off Barrett last night and then have him win it back tonight. The 6 man tag and the 8 person tag were both short comedy matches. I also liked the fans singing Fandango’s music. The Kofi-Fandango match wasn’t much but Jericho laying out Fandango was also really well done. It looks like that feud is continuing. Heyman cut a great promo as usual too. He is 1 of the greatest promo guys in the business. It should be interesting to hear what Punk has to say next week also. Del Rio vs. Jack & Zeb was ok. Zeb never got in the ring. I also liked that Dolph finally cashed in the MITB case. Let’s hope he has a decent World Title reign and not a forgettable one. Overall I thought this week’s show was solid and the fans made it more enjoyable!