5-27-13 Raw results and thoughts

Coverage and thoughts on the May 27, 2013 Memorial Day episode of Raw

They start the show with a video package dedicated to the solders. Very classy.

Then actual show starts with John Cena coming to the ring & is all smiles (UGH)! No neck brace either from what happened at Extreme Rules! He says there’s a lot of unrest in the building. Maybe some anger too. He gets why. Over a week ago there was a last man standing match for the WWE Title that evolved destruction but the match is more remembered for the controversial finish. Both guys feel they should be champion. There’s Cena who has the title & there’s Ryback who feels he deserves the title. After Extreme Rules Ryback came out on Raw last week & challenged Cena to an ambulance match. Then the fans chant we want Bret & Cena acknowledges that they wanna pay homage to their hero. That time will come but there is a controversy to solve. Ryback thinks things through to fast. Cena says payback should be delivered, definitive & should be hell. At Payback the title will on the line in a 3 stages of hell match. There’ve only been 3 of those in WW history. Cena says that a 3 stages match is a 2 out of 3 falls match where each rule has a stipulation. The first fall will be a lumber jack match. Then he says that he is familiar with the chant we want tables & he gets the fans to chant that, so the 2^nd fall will be a tables match. The third fall will obviously be the ambulance match. He knows fans are thinking what happens when he wins the first 2 falls, what about the ambulance? After Cena beats him in the first 2 falls he will throw Ryback in the ambulance & Ryback will be driven to the hospital. Out comes Ryback. He agrees that payback should be hell, which is what he tried to do Cena at Extreme Rules. He tried taking him to hell. Say hello to Ryback. Ryback leaves & out comes Paul Heyman. He wants Cena to say hello to a man who last week during his Raw debut beat HHH so convincingly we won’t be seeing HHH around here anymore. Out comes Curtis Axel. Heyman says he & Curtis were just watching Cena. It’s 1 thing to challenge Ryback, but it’s another to challenge him to a 3 stages of hell match. Cena’s a fighting champion, so Heyman knows Cena won’t back down from a match with Curtis. Cena says he saw Curtis last week. He tells Curtis to say away from Heyman. Curtis says they never asked for Cena’s opinion. They asked if he was looking for a fight. Cena says that Curtis got lucky last week but is already acting like he’s the big dog in the yard. Cena accepts his challenge. Tonight we will see Cena vs. Curtis. This was a typical long winded 20 minute segment that the shows always start with. Cena coming out all smiles & with no neck brace like nothing happened to him at Extreme Rules was idiotic & so was his promo (but his promos usually are). Ryback’s promo was terrible too! It got a little better when Heyman came out just because it was Heyman. He of course was good on the mic like always. Curtis was ok here too but I’m not sure if this new gimmick is gonna get over given the way WWE books talent. The fans chanting that they wanted Bret was cool too.

 Alberto Del Rio vs. Big E Langston. Del Rio gets the pin. This was a decent match. AJ exposed a turnbuckle but Big E wound up going face first into it. Afterwards Langston glares at AJ & she says she was trying to help him.

Backstage we see Kane & Daniel Bryan. Daniel’s pacing and mumbling. Kane says the only 1 who associates Daniel with being the weak link is Daniel. If they’re gonna regain the tag titles Daniel will have to pull himself together. Daniel says that Kane thinks he is the weak link. They do the yes-no bit and then the camera pans to Brat Hart. He says they’re 1 of the best teams he’s ever scene. Tension like this destroys a team. They’re better than this. Then Daniel thanks Bret and then asks Bret if he was thought of as the weak link. Bret says size doesn’t matter because of their toughness. Kane then asks Daniel how come he listens to Bret but not him. Daniel says because that was Bret Hart, the best there is, the best there was & the best there ever will be & he’s just Kane. This was a decent backstage bit. Kane & Daniel are good together & it was cool to see Bret here too.

Kofi Kingston vs. U.S. Champion Dean Ambrose for the Title. Ambrose gets the pin. This was a solid back & forth match.

Then Rollins & Reigns pose with Ambrose. Then Kane’s pyro goes off & he & Daniel Bryan come out. They go right after The Shield & The Shield retreats to the floor. The tag title match is next. I like that they’re going right into the tag match. I thought this was good.

Kane & Daniel Bryan vs. WWE Tag Team Champions Roman Reigns & Seth Rollins for the Titles. Reigns & Rollins win when Rollins pins Kane. This was a really good back & forth match. Daniel was on a rampage here. That wound up distracting Kane & then Rollins kneed Kane in the head for the win.

Time for a HHH update. Michael Cole says there wasn’t any further damage in his match last week. He’s been told to rest at home.

Out comes The Miz. The fans can vote on the app for Miz to be the ring announcer, commentator or referee for the Wade Barrett-Fandango match. Miz gets his own entrance for that? Really? As he would say. Break time.

Back from break & King gets the mic. Time to find out what Miz will be doing for this match. The fans voted for him to be the guest referee (No surprise there).

Intercontinental Champion Wade Barrett vs. Fandango. Fandango gets the pin. Barrett beat Fandango while Fandango was in the ropes. Miz got in there & checked on Fandango. Then Barrett threw down Miz and then Miz gave Barrett the Skull Crushing Finale. Then Fandango covered Barrett & Miz counted 3. Then Miz dips with Summer Rae. Then he kicks Fandango & Summer Rae fell on top of Fandango & Miz made a 3 count. This was cheesy & the match wasn’t much.

Backstage we hear a very familiar voice asking wants to do this. The camera shows it’s Shawn Michaels. Cena doesn’t back down from challenges. HBK says Cena & HHH both never listen to him because he is the voice of reason. I heard the fans chanting you screwed Bret here. Thankfully this was short. This was ok.

Tons of Funk and Naomi & Cameron are in the ring along with Khali & Natalya doing & doing the Tons of Funk bit. Khali & Tons of Funk will face 3MB next.

They show some segment backstage. Hornswoggle has a cake. 3MB wants a piece. Khali, Kaitlyn & Natalya were there too. The Slater throws the cake in Hornswoggle’s face. This was pointless.

Tons of Funk & Great Khali vs. 3MB. Tons of Funk & Khali win when Brodus pins Slater. This was a comedy match. Then Brodus says tonight is a special night. Tonight is Natalya’s birthday. To lead everyone in singing happy birthday is of course Khali. Khali sings happy birthday & it was your typical Khali not funny comedy moment. Hey remember when Jinder was Khali’s brother in law? WWE sure doesn’t.

They show a video package of John Cena with him talking about how he has visited members of the Armed Forces. He thanks them for their bravery.

Chris Jericho comes to the ring for the Highlight Reel. Jericho says hello Calgary & welcomes everyone to Raw is Jericho. Tonight his guest is 1 of the most controversial & annoying performers in WWE history. Paul Heyman. Heyman comes to the ring. Jericho says Heyman has been called many things throughout his career from a genius to a walrus. He says Paul has always had a knack for aligning himself with tremendous talent. Heyman says that he discovers & develops great talent. Like Jericho. Heyman developed Jericho & gave him his very first big break. Jericho says that’s true & that Heyman still owes him money. Heyman says that Curtis Axel took care of Triple H last week & will take care of John Cena tonight. Jericho’s been a fan of Axel’s but he wants to talk about Heyman’s other client. Heyman thinks it’s Lesnar & he mentions all of Brock’s accomplishments. Jericho says the Heyman guy that he wants to talk about is CM Punk. Punk hasn’t been around for 6 weeks, but last time he was on Raw he said this. They replay Punk’s promo from Raw last month. Jericho says what he noticed in that clip is that Heyman had the same suit & look on his face. Jericho says that Punk surprised Heyman. Paul says this is his favorite suit & wore it because he is honored to be on the highlight reel. He tells Jericho to show him respect. Then Paul says Punk was the longest champion in 25 years. He didn’t have to say he was the best there is, was or ever will be. He is the best in the world. Jericho throws out a few blahs & asks where Punk is. Heyman says Punk & Heyman will have an announcement soon regarding the return of the best in the world. Jericho says Punk can’t be at home for 6 weeks & be called the best in the world. Heyman has a client who would disagree. Then Jericho looks at the camera & says hey to Punk. Jericho says if Punk thinks he can sit at home after losing the title and then to taker and still call himself the best in the world after going home he’s crazy. Jericho was about to say he is the best but Heyman says he gets emotional about that & tells Jericho night to say it. Jericho hints at saying it but Heyman says it’s not Jericho’s to say. Jericho says Punk can’t be the best in the world unless he faces Jericho at Payback. Heyman says Jericho doesn’t dictate terms to him & Punk. Jericho says that he is the best in the world at what he does. Heyman says that was called pulling his Punk card. Jericho wants a match with Punk in Chicago, Punk’s home town at Payback. On behalf of Punk Heyman accepts. Jericho says he will see him in Chicago. Then Jericho tells Heyman to tell Punk that after Payback Punk will never ever be the same again. This was really good. Both guys were great on the mic here & it looks like Punk will be back sooner than we thought he would be.

Divas Champion Kaitlyn & Natalya vs. The Bellas. The Bellas win when Brie pins Natalya. Kaitlyn was going to spear Brie but Brie got out of the way & Kaitlyn wound up spearing Natalya. Then Brie got the pin. Afterwards The Bellas sang happy birthday & called Natalya a loser. This was a typical Divas match & I wasn’t surprised that they had Natalya do the job in Calgary on her birthday.

Backstage Bret Hart comes into Curtis Axel’s Dressing room. Bret tells him that he looks like his dad. Bret talks about the classic matches he & Curt Hennig had (Their matches were great). Curtis asks Bret if he saw what he did to Triple H last week. Bret says Curtis should get rid of Heyman. Just because Bret knew Curtis’ dad doesn’t mean he knows him. Before he took out HHH no one gave him the time of day except for Heyman. Heyman believed in him. Curtis tells Bret to enjoy his appreciation night. Curtis is going to beat the WWE Champion. This was good. I liked that they these 2 in a segment. Bret was good here & I liked Curtis saying that Heyman believed in him.  

They show a vignette on some hillbilly type characters who will be debuting at some point. This felt like 1 of those vignettes from 94-95. Note: I found out that these 3 guys are Bray Wyatt (The former Husky Harris) Luke Harper (The former Brodie Lee) & Erick Rowan.

Randy Orton & Sheamus vs. Rhodes Scholars. Orton & Sheamus win when Sheamus pins Sandow. This was a solid back & forth match but I knew Orton & Sheamus would win.

Randy Orton will face Dean Ambrose on Smackdown this week.

WWE Champion John Cena vs. Curtis Axel. An ambulance comes into the arena & Cena goes over to it & he gets counted out. Cena opens the doors looking for Ryback but then Ryback attacks Cena from behind. Then Ryback throws Cena on the stage. He waits for Cena to get up so he can put him through the Tron wall, but Cena gets out of the way. Then Cena sets Ryback up for the AA but Ryback throws him off the stage. Heyman & Axel celebrate in the ring to end the show. This match was solid & I had knew Ryback would distract Cena somehow & that Cena would get counted out. Curtis pulled the Perfect Plex too, which I popped for!

I thought this was a solid to good show this week. The Cena-Ryback promo at the start was lousy but it got better when Heyman & Curtis came out. The Cena-Curtis match was solid & I wasn’t surprised that Ryback caused Cena to get distracted & that Curtis would get the count out win from it. I like that they’ve actually had Curtis Axel technically win his first 2 matches since he started this new gimmick. I also liked that Curtis used the Perfect Plex! I’m really hoping they push him. I liked the backstage bit with Curtis & Bret too. I liked Bret bringing up his matches with Mr. Perfect & Curtis saying that Heyman was the only guy who believed in him was good too. I also liked the Kane-Daniel-Bret backstage segment. Kane & Daniel are good together & Bret was good here too giving Daniel a pep talk. Kofi-Ambrose was solid also & I liked that they went to the tag title match right after. That match was really good. Orton & Sheamus vs. Sandow & Cody was solid too but it was no surprise Orton & Sheamus won. The 6 man tag was your basic not funny comedy match & Khali singing happy birthday to Natalya was cheesy. The divas tag match wasn’t much & I wasn’t surprised that Natalya got pinned. The Bellas singing “happy birthday’ was lame but it looks like we might be getting Kaitlyn vs. Natalya. I enjoyed the highlight reel segment. Jericho & Heyman were great here & it looks like Punk will be back sooner than expected. The Cena-Michaels backstage bit was ok too & I could hear the fans chanting you screwed Bret to Michaels. The Vignette for Husky Harris & company felt like 1 of those old WWF vignettes from the mid 90s. We’ll see how this gimmick does on the main roster. Wade Barrett-Fandango wasn’t much. Having Miz be the referee & then laying out both guys followed by him making Summer Rae fall on Fandango was corny. Del Rio-Langston was decent too & it looks like they might be starting a face turn for Langston. Overall I thought this was a solid to good show.