Monday Night Raw – March 2, 2015: Screw This Show And Screw Wrestlemania

Monday Night Raw
Date: March 2, 2015
Location: Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey
Commentators: Booker T., John Bradshaw Layfield, Michael Cole

We’re one step closer to Wrestlemania this week and the big event coming out of last week is Randy Orton not attacking Seth Rollins as everyone expected him to at the end of the show. That would seem to be a layup for a match at Wrestlemania but you never can tell around this company. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Here are Rollins and the Stooges to get things going. Before he can say anything though, we get a clip of him appearing on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart last Thursday. Stewart is on his way here so Rollins suggests that he beg for forgiveness now and turn around. This isn’t like Lawler vs. Kauffman because unlike the Daily Show, every single person in this arena paid to see him tonight.

Cue Roman Reigns, who tells Rollins to keep talking because he wanted to hear what it sounded like to hear the fans tell Seth that he sucks. Rollins says he’s worth more than Michael Jordan because he can out work and out talk anyone, including Wiz Khalifa. He can even out eat Mark Henry. Khalifa is scheduled to perform next week and Henry is rumored to be here tonight so that sounds like an internet newsletter come to life.

Rollins doesn’t think Reigns can beat Brock Lesnar, but he can beat both Lesnar and Reigns. Roman asks if Rollins is man enough to make the main event of Wrestlemania a triple threat match as the fans chant for Punk. Rollins thinks it’s smarter to cash in on the winner of the match, or maybe do it the next night. Or maybe just cash in when no one is expecting it. Or maybe Reigns should just punch him in the mouth right now, which is what he does. The Stooges are laid out and Reigns stands on the Money in the Bank briefcase, but somehow that still doesn’t make me care about him.

Post break, Rollins yells at the Stooges for letting him get hit in the mouth. Randy Orton pops up and says the same thing. He thinks Rollins should demand a match with Reigns tonight to prove he can out talk Jon Stewart and out wrestle Roman Reigns as well. Rollins says he can out wrestle anyone on the roster, which doesn’t sit well with Orton. Dang they were getting close to not having a main event set up. I’m glad these coincidences just happened to take place at complete random.

Dean Ambrose vs. Bad News Barrett

Non-title with R-Truth on commentary. Ambrose stomps away in the corner to start as Cole brings up the multi-man ladder match for the Intercontinental Title at Wrestlemania. Truth is officially announced for the match as Ambrose stomps away at the ribs and puts on a cross leg face rip. A bulldog sets up the standing elbow drop but Barrett crotches him to take over. The champ boots him out to the floor and holds up his title as we take a break.

Back with Ambrose fighting out of a chinlock but Barrett goes outside to yell at Truth for being a thief. Ambrose hits a suicide dive to take Barrett down though and hits the running standing elbow off the apron. This allows Truth to comically sneak over and steal the title belt because this is now a children’s comedy. Winds of Change plants Ambrose as Luke Harper comes up and takes the belt from Truth. The distraction lets Ambrose hit Dirty Deeds for the pin on Barrett at 9:23.

Rating: D. I have nothing left. Just nothing.

We recap Miz stealing Mizdow’s spot in a commercial last week on Smackdown.

Most of the midcard is in the back when Miz asks for silence. He calls Mizdow borderline worthless before giving us the world premiere of the new commercial. Mizdow tries to tell Miz something but Miz cuts him off and mentions a bunch of actors. As expected, it’s for an erectile dysfunction pill and has Mizdow involved with the good looking women. Back live and Mizdow can’t control his laughter. Neither can the rest of the people in the room.

Miz yells at everyone and says his little general has plenty of bullets. This is all Mizdow’s fault of course and Miz slaps him, again setting Mizdow off to a big reaction but once again he backs down. Mizdow almost has to eliminate him from the battle royal, but does it really matter is Mizdow doesn’t win the thing?

Here’s Bray Wyatt to ask if Undertaker is still the heart of fear. He wants Undertaker to come out and see him because Bray has built his own casket. Everything comes at a price though and Bray pulls out a gasoline can. He’s always had a fascination with fire because it has no prejudice and no feelings, just like him. No one can hide from him because everything burns, including Undertaker at Wrestlemania. He pours the gas on the casket and lights it on fire before shouting to find him. Like most Bray stuff, it makes just enough sense to get the idea across without being able to understand it.

Natalya/Tyson Kidd/Cesaro vs. Usos/Naomi

Genders have to match here. Jey and Kidd get things going but the champs take over with a quick double team. A Samoan drop puts Cesaro down but he bails to the floor, setting up a tag to the women. Naomi pops Natalya in the face and starts a quick pinfall reversal sequence, only to have Naomi kick Natalya in the ribs.

Naomi doesn’t buy a leg injury from Natalya and sunset flips her for two, only to have it quickly go back to Jimmy and Kidd. A Whisper in the Wind drops Kidd but he dives away from a double superkick and tags Natalya. The distraction lets Natalya get a rollup pin at 2:54. Didn’t we see this EXACT same story last month but with the titles switched? Now I’m supposed to want to see it at Wrestlemania?

Kidd and Natalya almost get in a fight but they hug it out.

Here’s John Cena with something to say after Rusev turned down his request for a rematch last week. He says this is one of those rare occasions where his detractors are having a good time because not only did Rusev beat him in their first match but his rematch was turned down. Cena is going to get his rematch and is going to bring the title back home to America. Rusev is a marked man and he’s going to lose that title at Wrestlemania. If he won’t defend it though, maybe he could just enter the Andre battle royal.

Oh screw it Stephanie comes out with that smug look on her face. She asks when do people just announce what match they’re in. Cena: “That’s what everyone does in the battle royal.” Stephanie doesn’t get the term Murderer’s Row (famous baseball lineup, means a great talent pool) and brings up a picture of her sitting on Andre’s knee after the first Wrestlemania.

She says Cena can’t disparage Andre’s legacy (what is she even talking about?) but Cena cuts her off and says this is about Wrestlemania. He says she won’t leave him off Wrestlemania so she goes into full on evil Stephanie mode and says WWE is bigger than any star it’s ever had. The question is what will Cena do without WWE, not the other way around.

Cue Curtis Axel of all people who says he’s already deserving a spot in the main event so he should win the battle royal too. A LOUD Axelmania chant starts up and Stephanie thinks he may be the next John Cena. Stephanie makes a match right now, but stops to say Cena can only get his match with Rusev by changing his mind. Axel: “WHATCHA GONNA DO WHEN AXELMANIA RUNS WILD ON YOU???” He rips the shirt off and Cena looks stunned. Cena gives him one chance to leave before pain comes to him.

John Cena vs. Curtis Axel

The bell rings after the break and Axel does Hogan poses. Cena stares a hole in the back of Axel’s head, hits some clotheslines, the AA and the STF for the submission at 2:02.

Post match Rusev comes out and again says no. Cole calls this humiliating because he doesn’t know the meaning of basic English words. Cole: “We could be coming up on the first Wrestlemania with no John Cena.” Me: “Oh screw off.”

Arn Anderson and Michael Hayes talk about Sting’s career and how great he really was. This lasts all of ten seconds.

Here’s HHH to talk about coming to this company twenty years ago. Now he’s the COO and a thirteen time World Champion. Eight days ago he offered Sting a chance to be immortal, but now he has the chance to make it as if Sting never existed. But why didn’t Sting come here before? HHH invites Booker T. into the ring because Booker recently said HHH politiced Sting from ever coming to the company. Why does he think that? That makes Booker sound like one of those internet fans that think they know the ins and outs of the business when they don’t know a thing.

Booker says no one has ever been able to control Sting and now HHH gets to deal with him at Wrestlemania. HHH thanks him for the opinion and then fires him. Booker goes to leave but HHH says he’s changed his mind. That was just an example of the control he has because he’s been handed the chance to end the last vestige of WCW and that’s what he’ll do. I can’t believe they’re STILL talking about WCW. That company has been out of business longer than it was in business and WWE is still bragging about defeating them.

Divas Title: Paige vs. Nikki Bella

Nikki is defending again in a rematch from Fast Lane. We even get Big Match Intros. Paige knocks her around to start but Nikki bails to the floor to avoid the PTO. A minute in and we hit the break. Back with Nikki cranking on the arms and Cole saying the action before the break was, and I quote (see what I did there?), fast and furious. Paige fights up but walks into a weak spinebuster for two.

We get the third mention of Total Divas in about the third minute of, ahem, action. A double clothesline puts both girls down and of course that one clothesline gets us to even after Paige has been in trouble for a few minutes. Paige hits three more clotheslines and a running dropkick for two. The PTO is loaded up again but Paige has to nail Brie. Nikki misses her forearm and eats a superkick, setting up the PTO. Cue Brie for the DQ at 6:46.

Rating: D. GIVE THEM A CHANCE! YOU MIGHT GET A FIVE MINUTE MATCH NEXT TIME! Yeah this was another obvious ending to set up the obvious return to set up the obvious “dream” tag match at Wrestlemania so the Bellas can show how good they really are and AJ can take a loss and be humiliated for calling out Stephanie on her nonsense. But hey, why bother entertaining when you can get one up on AJ in front of the dozens of people who are going to pay for this disaster of a Wrestlemania?

AJ runs in for the save and attacks the Bellas as we have new Super Best Friends.

Post break, AJ and Paige kind of agree to be friends to fight the Bellas.

It’s time for the Daily Show with Seth Rollins, complete with a copy of the Daily Show’s intro. Rollins takes some shots at Stewart’s Oscar hosting last year (it was seven years ago) and at his movie Rosewater for not doing so well as the Stooges applaud in the background. Cue the real Stewart to rips on the Curb Stomp being a New Jersey greeting instead of something to fear. He remembers the wrestlers that earned their spots like Sammartino and Monsoon.

Rollins never went up against the establishment like Austin or fought through injuries like Undertaker. Seth wants to be the poster boy, but just like posters, they get taken down when people are tired of them. If the Authority really cared about him, why isn’t he in the main event at Wrestlemania? He’s better on the mic and claims to be better in the ring, but it’s Lesnar vs. Reigns.

Stewart says the briefcase doesn’t belong to Rollins because he was at Money in the Bank and saw what really happened. That’s enough for Rollins as he grabs Stewart by the collar, drawing out Orton for the save, but Stewart kicks Rollins low and escapes on his own. This was one of the best celebrity performances ever in WWE and most of that is due to Stewart clearly being a huge fan. You can’t fake that kind of passion. Well you could, but if you’ve ever seen the Faculty, you know Stewart isn’t that good of an actor.

Post break Stewart leaves quickly to avoid retaliation.

Daniel Bryan vs. Luke Harper

Cole says Bryan isn’t going to Wrestlemania either. Harper starts fast but gets sent face first into the middle buckle. A running dropkick has him in trouble but Luke slams Bryan to the floor as we take an early break. Back with Harper kicking him in the face and hitting a half nelson suplex for two. A rollup gets the same for Bryan before Harper throws him down again. That’s fine with Bryan as he counters into the YES Lock for the win at 6:23.

Rating: D+. The Divas got more time than this match, which may or may not be about Bryan going into the title match at Wrestlemania. Just like the rest of this show, it’s like they have no real idea where the matches are going and we’re less than a month away from the show. Announce the things and let us know what we’re getting.

Barrett comes out to take the belt back, but it’s stolen by Ambrose, Harper, Truth then Harper again with the big man leaving with the belt. Ziggler cuts him off with a superkick though and puts the title on his shoulder. Dolph climbs the ladder with the belt and Bryan does a YES chant on the table.

Alundra Blayze Hall of Fame video. Two notes here. One, this is shocking if you know your history. Two, in the list of great champions over the years, we saw Moolah, Martel, Trish, the Bellas and Lita. Who on earth actually thinks that’s true? I mean, someone say that to me so I can laugh very hard in their face. They actually mention the belt in the trash moment in the video.

Orton yells at Rollins for going after Stewart but promises to have his back if Rollins needs him. Big Show and Kane come up and say they have his back, so Noble says Orton won’t be needed. Randy walks away, saying suit yourself.

Here’s Heyman who says he’s going to shoot from the hip. Yes Brock will be at Wrestlemania. Believe that. He’ll be anywhere he pleases before the title match. He’ll be anywhere he pleases after the title match. He’ll be anywhere he wants as the WWE Champion. Fans like to believe their fantasies, starting with Daniel Bryan having a chance at beating his client.

Reality is that Lesnar would squash him under his boot, so now it’s time for Roman Reigns. Heyman has to switch microphones before he rants about the fans buying into this idea of Reigns. WWE has already bought the confetti and the pyro but it’s a big waste of time.

Last week he said Sammartino, Hogan, Austin, Rock HHH and Cena couldn’t beat Lesnar. Fan: “ANDRE!” Heyman to the fan: “I DIDN’T MENTION HIM BECAUSE HE’S DEAD STUPID!” Of course there’s no Stephanie to defend Andre now because that segment earlier made no sense. Heyman says none of those people disputed a single thing he said last week because it’s all true. At Wrestlemania, Lesnar is going to conquer Reigns and maybe he’ll just Ronda Rousey Roman. BELIEVE THAT.

Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins

Reigns knocks him around with ease to start and sends Rollins hard into the corner. Seth’s comeback is easily stopped with a knee to the ribs but he catches Reigns with a dropkick. We hit the right hands to the face and Reigns is sent hard into the buckle, but here’s Orton for a distraction as we go to our last break.

Back with Rollins holding a chinlock for a bit until Roman makes his comeback with some clotheslines and a tilt-a-whirl slam for two. Mercury breaks up the Superman Punch, allowing Rollins to score with an enziguri for two. Roman fights up again but Noble’s distraction lets Rollins kick him in the face.

A powerbomb from Reigns puts both guys down. They head outside with Big Show getting in a cheap shot but Reigns dives off the apron to take him down. Kane nails him in the ribs with a chair, giving Rollins a near fall back inside. We get yet another comeback from Reigns as he nails a Superman Punch, only to have Orton grab the foot, allowing Rollins to roll up Reigns for the pin at 15:38.

Rating: D+. The #1 contender for the World Title and the man that is supposed to save us from the horrors of Brock Lesnar just got pinned less than a month before the biggest show of the year. I don’t care what he does after the match. That ending is stupid and there was no reason to not just have the big DQ or something like that. My goodness do they want me to watch Wrestlemania or not?

Reigns snaps post match and destroys everyone not named Orton. He hits a huge dive over the top and spears Rollins out of the air as JBL shouts about him being ready. No man. Screw that noise. I’m not buying Reigns as anything when he’s losing less than a month before the big night, screwy finish or not. You don’t do that no matter what, especially when Lesnar isn’t here to set up the stupid match.

Overall Rating: F+. Where do I even start? First of all, how do you only have six matches on a three hour plus show with two of them not even breaking three minutes? That’s just unacceptable. Second, they really do seem to be making this stuff up as they go. We’re supposed to believe Cena and Bryan aren’t going to be at the pay per view? That’s your big selling point? “Hey people, come see this show without the biggest stars appearing!” Well they might not. I mean, they DARED to challenge Stephanie.

That’s the next major point: the Authority was all over the place tonight and not a single bit of it made sense. All of a sudden Stephanie is the patron saint of French giants and HHH is spouting off at the mouth about having to control Sting, whatever the heck that is supposed to mean. I can’t get over how bad that Stephanie segment was. How is that supposed to make me want to see Wrestlemania? Cena potentially in the battle royal because he can’t convince Rusev to defend the belt, which he’ll eventually do by going after the Russian flag, which won’t bring up a single mention of Big Show doing the same thing months ago?

The main event continues to be a one sided affair because Lesnar isn’t on TV. Heyman can only say YOU CAN’T BEAT HIM in so many different ways before it stops being entertaining. It’s one of those cases where you can only perform so well with what you’re given and that point has long since passed. Brock and Reigns need to do something face to face again, because the last time was the night after the Royal Rumble.

The Divas’ push comes off as a huge joke as the big chance seems to be a tag match at Wrestlemania and a pairing that we’ve seen before. I don’t really know why this is supposed to be a big match, other than AJ is the one not on Total Divas, which is the real title in this division these days. Give them a chance I guess, but if this is the chance, give them a bus ticket out of the company, because it’s not getting better anytime soon.

I have almost no desire to see Wrestlemania this year and I haven’t had that feeling in a very, very long time. There’s almost nothing on the card that I want to see and somehow it seems to get worse every week. It’s like they have no focus for the card this year other than “Reigns wins and we go from there.” To what? Reigns vs. Big Show? That’s a real possibility and I don’t think I can handle it. Then again, I don’t think I can handle three more episodes like this either.

Results

Dean Ambrose b. Bad News Barrett – Dirty Deeds

Usos/Naomi b. Natalya/Cesaro/Tyson Kidd – Rollup to Natalya

John Cena b. Curtis Axel – STF

Paige b. Nikki Bella via DQ when Brie Bella interfered

Daniel Bryan b. Luke Harper – YES Lock

Seth Rollins b. Roman Reigns – Rollup

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book on the History of Saturday Night’s Main Event at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00SATPVKW

And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for under $4 at:


http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

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66 Responses

  1. Derek Hamel says:

    Oh, I don’t disagree. In no way am I saying that the current WWE output is the worst, poorest run wrestling of all time; not even close. There are too many good minds in key positions, too much experience, too solid of a roster for WWE’s banal, depressing stuff to hold a candle to train wrecks like WCW in their final few years, or the joke that was Global championship wrestling in the early 1990’s, or the repulsive X-treme wrestling promotion that attempted to replace ECW in 2002 or so…among others.
    WWE’s ultimate failure to deliver compelling programming is fascinating, and discouraging, for numerous reasons.

  2. Derek Hamel says:

    KB, before I even begin to read this report, I should let you know that you had me at your headline. Halfway though this typically execrable episode of Raw, I’d completely forgotten about my vow to be more pleasant at all times and found myself fantasizing of uglier and grimmer ways of ridding the planet of Vince McMahon, once and for all.
    Luke Harper could be awesome. Ambrose was ready to step into Austin’s “Rebel” footsteps. Fans were rabid over Bad News Barrett, Cesaro, Ziggler, and of course Daniel Bryan. Now the collective lot of them are stinkin’ jabronis. Why? Because only 4 or 5 guys are allowed to look strong out of this crowded, overstuffed roster.
    I’ve never claimed to understand the ins and outs of the business like the folks behind the scenes, but if one of those experts could give me one decent reason why having the previously popular Barrett lose every week for months in non title matches is good for anything, I’d be shocked to the core.
    Vince just keeps flexing those 70 year old, dope enhanced muscles to remind us that guys like Zigs and Bryan are too little to win. This funhouse booking has gradually resulted in crowd reactions barely half as loud or passionate as they were a few short months ago.
    What really has my head spinning still, tho, is the Daniel Bryan de-push. Not even looking at it from the POV of a Bryan fan or non-fan, this decision is irritating and astounding simply from a bottom line standpoint.
    I’ve been watching the King of Sports, Human Chess at it’s Finest, since the 1970’s, and I’m hard-pressed to recall one instance this blatant of a massively popular attraction being squashed by a promoter, happily flushing away millions of dollars to simply make some sort of weird, backdated point. Of course I don’t think Bryan should be in every main event, or be pushed ahead of others with potentially comparable futures. But the immense outpouring of fan devotion towards the guy began in earnest in early 2013, and managed and booked properly, even figuring in the neck injury, figured to start waning in 2-3 years. Those 3 years could have and should have written itself, a case of simply riding the big green wave until it crashed.
    Despite my decades long disdain for McMahon, one quality of his I’ve never been able to besmirch is his business sense, his ability to know a gift horse when he saw it. But this Bryan debacle is such a poor management decision, it makes me realize more and more that the guy who wiped out the competition, and made worldwide stars out of Hogan and Austin, etc, is in reality a loudmouthed facade with the ultimate Midas touch, and the McMahon who blew staggering amounts of cash because he thought the whole world was as obsessed with bodybuilders as he was, the Vince who, immediately after waking up to find out he was a billionaire, decided to shed that title by competing against the NFL…THAT is the real Mr. McMahon, the overblown blockheaded megalomaniac who stays in his all controlling spot not out of necessity, but out of some twisted, personal spite towards his fans, his management, his athletes, the government, the media, and anybody else on Earth who may have, at one time, dared to question the Emperor.

    • Thomas Hall says:

      WCW in 1999 was worse. Like FAR worse. If this was 1999 WCW, it would be Big Show vs. Kane headlining Wrestlemania. The fact that they’re focusing on someone young puts them ahead of WCW and keeps them from being as horrible as they could be.

  3. Bossman says:

    Jesus, Reigns’ promo was terrible. The way they’re scripting Reigns’ promos just doesn’t fit his character (I’m using that term loosely as I sure as heck don’t know what his character is supposed to be) at all. They would have been better off keeping his promo short and simple with him telling Rollins he’s gonna punch him in the mouth and nothing else. Even then, his monotone delivery would have ruined it.

    Steph’s promo pissed me off as well. It wasn’t entertaining, she just rambled on and on, and it really didn’t make a whole lot of sense. Also, why doesn’t anyone get to retort against her insults? Cena just standing there like a kid getting scorned while she basically tells him that he can be replaced and that his star is fading. It’s the same as when Steph demanded AJ Lee gives her the Divas title and AJ just gives it to her without a retort. That ‘s my main problem with the Authority, rarely does anyone get one-up on them and when they do, it’s pointless as they always get the last laugh.

    The Rollins/Stewart stuff was entertaining but my god, just let Orton and Rollins go at it already. Setting up another set up to Orton turning on the Authority and going after Rollins is ridiculous as we’re getting closer to WrestleMania.

    Daniel Bryan is gonna be in the Intercontinental title mix. The same guy who defeated Evolution in one night last year to main event WrestleMania and win the WWE world title is going to be in a random mid-card title match. Great.

    Triple H’s segment with Booker T was hilariously awful. They are really milking this WWE vs WCW stuff for this feud aren’t they? Also, asking Booker T of all people why Sting didn’t come to WWE? What’s next, questioning Billy Kidman? When a feud is solely based on why Sting didn’t join WWE right away when WCW folded, then maybe it’s a good indication that the feud doesn’t have any legs to stand on on it’s own The match between Sting and Triple H is gonna bomb hard as I can’t remember the last great Sting match and you know Trips will try (and fail) to do his best to mirror Flair with his heel work against Sting in their match at Mania.

    Terrible show overall and I expect next week to be even worse.

  4. Thomas Hall says:

    This one was a hard one to sit through. The Stephanie interview made me snap as it clearly was there for no reason other than Stephanie’s ego and to let her rip Cena’s manhood off, just like 99% of her appearances are anymore.

    • CrazyHorse says:

      Yeah, I’m a wrestler… You probably don’t remember but we had a convo in another comment feed…showed you some links on YouTube to a couple of my matches lol

  5. CrazyHorse says:

    And related to my post above…I’m not in any way shitting on internet marks in general…there are people like Gracie…who get hard ons by shitting on WWE…then there is all of you, who ACTUALLY DO show respect to the people who do this for a living. Just wanted to clarify.

    • Jacob Jones says:

      Well we’re honored to have as professional wrestler like you on this site. (Seeing as you have been in the business for 6 years.)

      • CrazyHorse says:

        Thanks. Again, that post was directed at Gracie…I do enjoy KB’s work and its interesting to see reviews like this done from a point of view of people like him and other internet fans…I don’t like people like Gracie, who, I’m sure, don’t even watch the program every week…but thanks again. Happy to be here.

    • james gracie says:

      LOL you’re a wrestler? Sure you are. Nice to meet you, I’m the Easter Bunny

      • Jacob Jones says:

        ….Gracie, right now you’re being a big idiot talking trash to a real wrestler. If I were you, i’d shut up and learn some respect.

  6. The Great Country of Nigeria says:

    Jay pls, you’re actually making me a little chuffed with how loony you are. You better be a troll account or my faith in humanity is going down a fair bit.

  7. james gracie says:

    Again you clearly know nothing about wrestling. So when I hold my next seminar to teach people about pro wrestling, attendance is now mandatory for you.

  8. M.R. says:

    Do the fans realize chanting ‘CM Punk’ while AJ’s out there certainly isn’t helping her career?

  9. Acuzzam says:

    Yeah this one was hard to sit throght. But I try to be optimistic and there were stuff I liked. I personally liked Bray Wyatt short promo. Why? Well, I like the theatrically of it. What fascinates me on Wrestling is the theatrically and this thin line between real and fiction. So Wyatt really entertains me and I want to see him against The Undertaker. Also, I kind of disagree with you KB on the Divas match. I say “kind of” because I agree that it was short and predictable but still, AJ Lee coming back was the thing that woke me up during this show, maybe its because the rest of the show was so lackluster but still, I like to give AJ credit. Paul Heyman was, as always, great on the mic. But yeah, other than that its kind of hard to recomend this show.
    But what pisses me off the most are three things: The IC Title match is stupid. Just make Dean vs Barret. Dean gave this great interview in the pre-show of Fastlane where he talked about how the IC Title had lost its prestige in the last years, and he wanted to become champion to take the prestige back to the title. THATS A GREAT STORY! Its a simple but great story and Ambrose has the charisma to pull it off, and it would be dealing with the fact that the title lost its meaning recently. Miz and Mizdown also pisses me off because they should be feuding already and they should have a match at Wrestlemania! And Cena vs Rusev is so simple, just announce the match and have them build up the tension from there. The build up for the match at Fastlane was pretty good in my opinion. Other than that I think that Lesnar, Rusev and Wyatt should win their matches at Wrestlemania.

    PS: Sorry for my shitty english.

    • Acuzzam says:

      Theatrically = theatricality

      Sorry, my mistake.

    • Thomas Hall says:

      Yeah the IC Title stuff makes me angrier than almost anything else. Make the title mean something or don’t have this big match.

      English not your first language?

      • Sroxy says:

        How much I’d love for a segment on Raw having like Dean Ambrose come to the ring and deliver a pissed off promo about exactly why he has been wanting this title and what it means to him. Similar to what he delivered on the app/pre-show whatever. Then have maybe Barrett interrupt and go heel on him. Then Ziggler comes out and finally Bryan being all fired up about if he can’t headline Wrestlemania he still wants to fight for a championship. In other words, all those people talking about the title and what they will do to win it just like you have people like Cena and others having a 20-minute segment when they are hyping up a main event WWE Title match.

        Anything like that in place of this childish bullshit of stealing the belt and playing with like a toy. That is Hardcore title level garbage. I mean, R-Truth? Seriously? As much head-scratching as it is, Ambrose atleast talks about wanting the title so he steals it. They portray Truth as this goofball who makes a funny face and steals the title. And that is supposed to make the title seem important? No Vince, it makes the title seem like a replica toy belt kids play with at home.

        And oh, so R-Truth and Daniel Bryan are going to be in the same match at Wrestlemania. Alright, I should never have cared.

      • Sroxy says:

        I’ll rephrase that last sentence:

        R-Truth (the perennial jobber, hasn’t meant anything in 4 years, a non-frequently used comedy act) is wrestling in the same match as Daniel Bryan (last year’s Mania main-eventer and championship winner, won 2 matches and gave the performance of a lifetime, and oh, the most over guy on the roster) at Wrestlemania 31.

        I know this is a stretch, but imagine Austin coming back after his neck injury and wrestling in the hardcore title triple threat at Mania 17. Or HHH coming back in 2002 and being in the 4-way tag title match at WM 18.

      • Acuzzam says:

        And no, english is not my first language. My first language is portuguese, I’m from Brazil. I always try to write as clearly as possible but sometimes its hard. I know it can be annoying reading a poorly written text so I hope my english is good enough to talk to you guys without any problems.

  10. Jacob Jones says:

    Excuse me sir, but have you ever considered that maybe…..just maybe, Daniel Bryan doesn’t want to save you right now? Maybe not until; oh, I dunno; the winter time?

    And if i’m correct, you said; and I quote that “Daniel Bryan tried, but he can no longer save you?”

    If anything, you should be typing #SaveUsSethRollins
    He’s almost as if not as talented as Daniel Bryan and CM Punk.

    • james gracie says:

      Oh yeah you’re right. I’m sure Bryan doesn’t want a push or be in the main event. How stupid of me to want the most over babyface in the company to have a top program.

      And wait for the winter time? You mean a year from now? Cause last I checked it’s still winter right now.

  11. Marky-Marc says:

    I bet most people on here don’t get this reference, but I do. Well done.

    i didn’t catch the show last night yet. From the review, it sounds like this entire Wrestlemania is being done on the fly. Aside from the top 3 matches, everything is being written week to week and it makes for very uninteresting stories. And those 3 matches only having one representative is ridiculous. it doesn’t build up drama or anticipation. Make Sting and the Undertaker and Lesnar show up for these Raws. There’s only 4 of them, just do it.

  12. Cockadoodledoo says:

    lol remember how ambrose was gonna bring prestige back to the title? its more of a joke now than ever

  13. Hubcap Dave says:

    KB, I think you’ve gone off the deep end. I used to agree with a lot of your reviews, but lately you’ve been highly disappointed, whereas I’ve been sports entertained.

    • Thomas Hall says:

      These last few months haven’t had much I’ve liked. There have been FAR worse stretches though and I’m sure it’ll change back eventually. For me it’s the bad stuff outweighing the good and the lack of a logical reason for a lot of the stuff they’re doing.

    • james gracie says:

      Everyone hated this show but you and probably that Jay guy, but yeah KB is the one who’s gone off the deep end LOL

      • Hubcap Dave says:

        …says the man who critiques shows he doesn’t watch. And I know plenty of people elsewhere who really dug this show.

        • Jacob Jones says:

          I thought the show was good imo, also in all honesty; I don’t think kbblunker has gone off the deep end. Chances are he had a bad one on the day of the review. (by bad one I mean, bay day.)

  14. chad says:

    shitty RAW for sure but…is it just me or was Cena acting rather heelish tonight?

    • Thomas Hall says:

      Not really. He was just beating up a cocky face.

      • chad says:

        i dunno man, the way he was saying “if you don’t leave you’re not going to walk out of here” seems pretty dark for Cena. Also the dynamic was all off, Axel isn’t really a heel to be taken seriously, cocky sure but he’s like the small kid on the playground that makes stuff up to big himself up, Cena beating on him was very heelish IMO, thats like Hulk taking it too far with Virgil

  15. Jay (The Real One) says:

    Amazing episode tonight. One of the best of 2015 so far, I think all the angles are coming along really well, and the promos tonight were the best I’ve seen in years. The Cena storyline is captivating! Can he make it to Wrestlemania against Rusev? And the Roman Reigns build is like no other THIS MAN IS READY FOR EVERYTHING.

    The main event as well? Best main event hands down I’ve seen this year. WWE is hitting home runs everywhere tonight.

    10/10 RAW! I am pumped for Wrestlemania!

    • Dave says:

      Well we all knew this was coming!

    • Jay H (the real one) says:

      Wow nice to know I haven’t even commented on last night until now. Personally I thought this week was miles better than last week. Last week outside a couple things was a little boring at times. At least this week they kept it moving and kept building toward WM. Ive seen more positive reviews else where than I have here. Which not to say doesn’t surprise me.

      • Jacob Jones says:

        I must say you are a very positive man. I too thought the show was good. Probably the best of 2015.

  16. Sroxy says:

    The One thing on which I absolutely agree with on KB.. is that this year, I really don’t feel the desire to watch Wrestlemania. And that is the first time that has happened to me ever since I’ve been a wrestling fan the past 15 years. Every year, around this time, beginning March, I would be doing my own fantasy booking, re-watching previous matches to get pumped up.. hell, listening to old Wrestlemania theme songs to get the feel. That’s how much of a mark I became during Mania season

    This year it is…. Oh yeah Mania is this month. Yeah ok, I’l give it a watch when it happens. And that’s JUST because its Wrestlemania. Had this PPV been of some other name like MITB or NOC or Battleground whatever, with the same card and the same build, I’d have been just fine skipping it or watching parts of it and wouldn’t give a damn about it later on. And that NEVER happens for me come Mania.

    I’m losing the passion for watching wrestling. This is what you have done to me this year WWE. (And btw, I STILL believe doing Bryan vs. Lesnar would have saved it for me.)

  17. Gunther_224 says:

    Eh, I’ll still take this over Miz main eventing.

    • Jacob Jones says:

      Miz main eventing, what a odd idea. I mean sure, this was the peak of his career; but was he even ready yet?…..No he wasn’t.

  18. BIll says:

    Ive been a wrestling fan for 30 years and I feel the same exact way. I have NO desire to see WM this year.

    Also, three of the top WrestleMania matches, including the MAIN EVENT, are being built with only ONE participant of each match.

    That is MIND BLOWING.

  19. Gunther_224 says:

    This show would’ve been a lot better…on weeeeeeed.

  20. M.R. says:

    Also, had no idea Stewart was such a big WWE fan

  21. Gunther_224 says:

    The segment I was dreading most (Jon Stewart) was actually the segment of the night by far.

  22. Aeon Mathix says:

    My wife said #saveusfinnbalor is trending on twitter after this show. Sweet!

  23. Killjoy says:

    But KB, you clearly don’t understand the intricacies and difficulty of writing this 3 hour show.

    Sports entertainment fans do not have the attention span to watch 10 minute matches. Nor do they have the patience to wait for a storyline to conclude. They aren’t concerned with who wins and who loses. Who looks strong and who looks weak. They aren’t concerned about championships and champions. They are here for quality entertainment. And that exactly what this intricate 35+ person creative team of professionally trained writers does.

    • Thomas Hall says:

      People keep bringing up “wins and losses don’t matter because the dive was cool!”

      Yeah it was cool, but I was too busy shaking my head that he lost to see it properly. It’s like a state of the art fireworks display after your team loses a game. It looks cool, but your heart isn’t in it right now.

  24. Bernkastel says:

    Yeah… not a good show this week at all. Kudos for suffering through it enough to give a review.

  25. M.R. says:

    Yeah this was bad.

    • Thomas Hall says:

      This is going to make for a very interesting Reviewing the Review as there was some solid stuff sprinkled in there. The problem was I was so thrown off and annoyed by the time it came around that I didn’t care. That Stephanie promo absolutely killed this show for me and I never recovered.

  26. larisano says:

    Damn!

    I can’t believe I actually had hopes that 2015 would see some better programming with all the injured guys returning, and some part-time stars in the mix. Alas, it’s been utter shit, and less than a month to go, and I honestly feel they could have ended Fast Lane, skipped RAW on the Monday,and have Mania on March 2nd, 2015, and we wouldn’t have lost much at all.

    SIGH

  27. SamualDude says:

    That dive by Reigns was cool but seriously why on earth would he of been hiding that side of him when I don’t know, He could of used it to get over?

    • Thomas Hall says:

      You got me man. This show lost me an hour in.

    • larisano says:

      I’ve been wondering alot of things about Reigns for a long while now with regards to his overall booking in every aspect. I still don’t understand what the WWE’s direction with him is, other than the rumoured, “he is the Chosen One” schtick…

      • Thomas Hall says:

        Here’s an excerpt from a column I wrote on Reigns after the Rumble. It’s describing his character in a single sentence.

        6. A strong man with a good look who doesn’t say much.

        Uh……Batista? Or Warlord? No wait it’s Brock Lesnar. I mean Mark Henry. But it could be Great Khali. Perhaps Kane? I’ve got it: Bobby Lashley.

        The problem is it could be all of those guys, but it could also be Roman Reigns. That’s Reigns’ biggest problem: there really isn’t anything that sets him apart from a lot of other people. Yeah he has a famous family and played football, but so did a lot of former wrestlers. He doesn’t have a big resume yet and other than a win against Randy Orton at Summerslam in the second biggest match on the card, he really hadn’t won a major match on his own until the Royal Rumble.

        That’s still his problem and a single win over Bryan doesn’t build him up enough.

  28. Steve says:

    Thank god for Paul Heyman. If It weren’t for him, this years build would be excruciating.

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