The show opened with John Cena recapping Wrestlemania and Raw, hyping the changes and new arrivals but calling himself the measuring stick. Bray Wyatt rebutted from the Titantron, saying that he'd come oh so close to revealing the monster inside Cena, but that he wasn't done yet, as he would need to go to new extremes to fulfill his goal. Extreme, you say?
Cesaro faced the Big Show in the first match. Paul Heyman introduced Cesaro, who came out to no music. The two shook hands to open the match. After Big Show went for a second-rope elbow and missed, Cesaro grabbed him for the giant swing, only for Jack Swagger to attack from behind for the disqualification. Big Show saved Cesaro from the Patriot Lock, but Cesaro repaid him for that by attacking Show from behind, taking him down with several uppercuts before hitting the Neutralizer.
Rybaxel beat Los Matadores, when Axel hit his finisher. RVD beat Damien Sandow with the Five Star Frog Splash.
Hulk Hogan introduced Daniel Bryan, the two having a mutual lovefest that culminated in a Hogan-style posedown between the two.
Bad News Barrett defeated Kofi Kingston with the Bullhammer. Fandango w/Layla defeated Santino Marella w/Emma, when Layla stole the Cobra from Santino, setting up a Fandango schoolboy. Fandango was revealed to have dumped Summer Rae via Twitter before the match, apparently finding Layla as a replacement.
The main event had the Usos and Daniel Bryan take on Kane, Randy Orton and Batista. The match went to no contest after all six men wound up brawling on the outside. Back in the ring, an RKO and a Batista Bomb took out the Usos, while Kane prepped the announce table for a chokeslam on Bryan, only for the Shield to leap out from the crowd to attack Kane. The Shield got into the ring to get some of Orton and Batista, who immediately fled rather than fighting. Kane tried to get back in to attack the Shield from behind with a chair, but was cut off by Bryan, who laid him out with the Solid Knee Plus. The show ended with Bryan and the Shield staring down Orton and Batista.
Smackdown crowd dubbing was back in full force, with Bad News Barrett getting overdubbed boos on his entrance even though once the match began, the Barrett chants could still be heard.
There were also stills shown in honour of the Ultimate Warrior, though the show was taped before his passing was learned. Monday's Raw will be a tribute show dedicated to the Ultimate Warrior.
And since I was too quick on posting, can a moderator fix the number in the title to 764? Thanks!
Oh golly, how I enjoyed Heyman on commentary during the Cesaro/Show match. He even kept the mic headset on when he advised Cesaro (very credibly) to take away Show's breath to win the match. Much was made of Cesaro getting Show in the Neutralizer even though he had done this twice (at least) to Khali.
I can't say enough how much Heyman excelled this week. At ringside Sunday, working the crowd in the ring Monday, and at the commentator table Tuesday/Friday, this was stellar work.
"To be the man, you gotta beat demands." -- The Lovely Mrs. Tracker
I loved the Cesaro/Big Show match. From the beginning with the handshake (ROH represent!) to Heyman on commentary, to the crowd reaction. It all worked and was a great way to start the show. I guess Cesaro's going to be a tweener, right?
An interview on the WWE app was mentioned: it had something to do with Big Show talking about Cesaro joining Heyman, but for the life of me, I can't find it.
JBL's a lifelong Hulkamaniac? Who'd have thunk it?
I really, really enjoy the chemistry between Emma and Santino.
I also rather enjoyed the handshake at the beginning of Cesaro/Big Show, with all the heated feuds we've had lately it's good to see two guys show respect for each other before trying to dismantle one another. Heyman wasn't so great as a full-time announcer, but as a guest he's stellar. "Not INcredibly, very credibly!" Odd that JBL conveniently forgot about Heyman calling *him* subhuman along with King and Cole ... Kinda sucks about the screwjob ending, but clearly they're setting up an Extreme Rules rematch. That's probably why we didn't see Cesaro swing the Big Show, want to up those buyrates for ER.
Speaking of screwjob endings, the main event definitely had one, after giving us about 15 minutes of one of the Usos in peril. I don't have any problem with the Shield coming to save the day, other than it makes the Usos and Bryan look a bit weak. I mean, you have the World and the Tag Team titles on one team, and Evolution+Kane still dominated them to the point that they needed the Shield to make the save. On the other hand, face Shield is freaking awesome. I've often grouched that the Shield is a bit overly protected; I doubt the three of them have half a dozen losses between them. On the other hand, it makes them a massive threat to whoever they decide to go after, and it looks like the Authority might have bit off more than it could chew with the Hounds of Justice.
Ambrose needs to defend that belt though. Batista or Orton can help boost his face status by chasing the title. Of the three, Ambrose has shown me the least in the ring as a wrestler. His expressions and verbal interactions during matches are great. As a storyteller, he's very very good. As a grappler, I'm not seeing much.
"To be the man, you gotta beat demands." -- The Lovely Mrs. Tracker
Originally posted by OliverI loved the Cesaro/Big Show match. From the beginning with the handshake (ROH represent!) to Heyman on commentary, to the crowd reaction. It all worked and was a great way to start the show. I guess Cesaro's going to be a tweener, right?
Neutral.
"Laugh and the world laughs with you. Frown and the world laughs at you." -Me.
Originally posted by OliverI loved the Cesaro/Big Show match. From the beginning with the handshake (ROH represent!) to Heyman on commentary, to the crowd reaction. It all worked and was a great way to start the show. I guess Cesaro's going to be a tweener, right?
Thread rated: 6.81
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