This week's Raw in my opinion was awesome. It was the second last Raw before WrestleMania and WWE sold the event pretty well. More than 18,000 fans were in attendance in Philadelphia. I did not wrote a review article last week because I'm going to be honest, I did not watch the whole show because It seemed boring. So Let's start....
CM Punk kicked off the show with Paul Heyman. Pretty strong promo by Punk, and He hyped his match with Taker. Undertaker's little brawl with CM Punk was really surprising since I honestly didn't expect Taker to get physical until like last Raw or not at all, so that was a little treat to watch. However, Paul Heyman ran faster than Usain bolt keeping the urn for CM Punk. It was a great start to Monday Night Raw.
Dolph Ziggler vs Chris Jericho was a great match. I think majority of fans (Including myself) were hoping to see this match at WrestleMania 29 because It would've been awesome. I do have to say, Jericho and Ziggler always puts on awesome matches. SummerSlam '12, the night after SS, etc. I was a bit surprised to see Chris Jericho winning since Dolph Ziggler was on a winning streak from 3-4 matches (RIP Ziggler's streak 2013-2013) but nevertheless match was great. Fandango's attack after the match was expected, because we all knew Fandango vs Chris Jericho would be happening at WrestleMania 29 which by the way was confirmed later on the show.
Mark Henry vs Usos was basically a squash match. Obviously always knew Henry was going to win, since He has a match vs Ryback at WM29 and He needs to be looked strong going Into his match. This is What I do!
Antonio Cesaro vs Alberto Del Rio (Champion vs Champion) was also a nice match. Once again Jack Swagger attacked Ricardo Rodriguez to make this feud as Jerry/Cole would say "personal". I thought this match was going to be just another match Where Cesaro jobs but I was quite surprised that He won. Yes I know He won by count-out but He still won, He defeated The World Heavyweight Champion. So that was great to see.
Fun match up between Team Hell No and Prime Time Players. It's always good to see PTP on matches but I wish they'd win more matches than jobbing all the time. Bryan and Kane picked up the victory, It seemed like both are on the same page leading up to their match for Tag Team Champions against Dolph Ziggler and Big E Langston.
Triple H promo was okay. Nothing new, Just the same thing since He returned. Pretty boring promo, Should've at least had Heyman to Interfere and say like Brock Lesnar will be there next week or anything. I don't know what was the reason Triple H low blow Barrett, It wasn't required.
Wade Barrett vs The Miz was a Solid match. I guess Triple H low blow to Barrett might be the reason as to why He lost to Miz. Looks like we're getting Miz vs Barrett for IC Champion at WrestleMania 29. I, for one have no Interest in this match, I would've much rather saw Jericho vs Barrett but Whatever. Let's hope this match is a Ladder match, I would love to see It.
The Shield vs Gabriel, Ryder, and Khali was a pointless match. However, they wanted to have Shield wrestle on Raw just 2 weeks before Mania so that made sense. But the fact that Shield beat Ryback, Cena and Sheamus and then WWE want us to believe Gabriel, Ryder and Khali can actually beat them, yeah that makes sense. Nonetheless, It was good to see Shield competing. The best part was the post match triple power bomb on Great Khali.
Rhodes Scholars vs Tensai and Clay was a fine match. This is one of those times why I wish Raw was 2 hours. Kinda surprised that Cody Rhodes and Damien Sandow won but I guess their win means we'll see Rhodes Scholars w/ Bellas vs Tensai and Brodus w/Funkadactlys.
Ryback vs 3MB - Another unpredictable match of the night. I was really surprised that 3MB lost to Ryback, Yeah I really was. Best part about that whole match was after the match where Ryback hit 2 Jobbers with a Shell Shock. Very Impressive!
AJ Lee vs Kaitlyn (Non Title) was a nice match. You know something? This was the main event of Raw, technically. Well Let's just say Last match of the night is the main event and this Divas match was the main event. I wasn't expecting this match to happen tonight but AJ's win should set up a rematch between the two at WM29 and I'm expecting AJ Lee to beat Kaitlyn and win her 1st Divas Champion in her hometown.
John Cena and The Rock's Q&A with WWE Hall Of Famers was a great segment. Just 3 weeks before, we saw a wonderful promo by Rock-Cena because both were serious and kept their comedy away. Last night was nothing different, both were awesome on the mic. It started out boring even the crowd was dead half of that segment which I don't blame them for but It picked back up later on. The legends being part of that segment was very well done by WWE. Talking about Cena's promo, question remains Will He turn heel? Every year people say that but Can this be the year? I highly doubt It but we'll all see at 'Mania. I wasn't expecting a Rock bottom to Cena since I thought It was gonna be a mega brawl where the legends try to break them apart but was wrong. I don't know why Rock got the upper hand tonight but I'm thinking Cena will get the upper hand next week.
Overall, a Great show that build the WrestleMania matches. I was pleased with the show that I wasn't with Last week's show. I enjoyed the opening segment and ending segment, Also Chris Jericho vs Dolph Ziggler and few other matches. This was the second last episode of Raw before WM29 and It was just that, a Road to WM kind of Raw. I hope next weeks Go-home show is just as good because All will be in the house - Brock Lesnar, Undertaker, The Rock, Triple H, etc.
Follow me on Twitter: @OfficialCenafan.
Image credit: WWE.com
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