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Csonka’s WWE Raw Review 4.27.15

April 27, 2015 | Posted by Larry Csonka
6
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Csonka’s WWE Raw Review 4.27.15  

Introduction
As a reminder, this will not be another traditional recap, but instead it will be a mash up of the Rs, Instant Analysis and my usual Twitter ramblings I would do during the shows; completely uncensored and as the ideas flow unfiltered to the old keyboard. Remember, this is a review; and I am here to review the show. As always, I encourage discussion and even disagreement, just do so in a respectful manner. I will be doing the review for Raw and most PPVs and iPPVs going forward.

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MONDAY NIGHT RAW 4.27.15

OFFICIAL RESULTS
~ KOTR Qualifier: Bad News Barrett defeated Dolph Ziggler @ 8:20 via pin [**]
~ Big E defeated Tyson Kidd @ 1:20 via pin [NR]
~ Ryback defeated Bo Dallas @ 2:06 via pin [NR]
~ KOTR Qualifier: R-Truth defeated Stardust @ 3:43 via pin [**]
~ Adam Rose defeated Fandango @ 1:47 via pin [NR]
~ Naomi defeated Brie Bella @ 3:38 via pin []
~ KOTR Qualifier: Sheamus defeated Dean Ambrose @ 12:41 via DQ [**¾]
~ KOTR Qualifier: Neville defeated Luke Harper @ 10:10 via pin [***]
~ Roman Reigns and Randy Orton defeated Seth Rollins and Kane @ 18:45 via pin [**¾]


Seth Rollins Talks: We get a recap of the Extreme Rules PPV main event, where Rollins escaped with his title after shenanigans involving Kane. Rollins came out to boast about his big victory at the PPV, noting that he had Orton right where he had him and even debuted his SKO. He thanks Kane for being a good little soldier and doing what’s best for business. Kane decided that had things to say. He explained that his actions as gate guardian and an illegal RKO are the only reason that Rollins is still champion. Rollins called Kane the Crypt Keeper, Kane called Rollins Justin Bieber; this felt so long and I have no desire to see these guys feud. Orton then appeared and stated that since Kane said Rollins cheated that he deserved a rematch. And then Reigns made his way out; he wants a title shot too. Rollins tried to say they didn’t deserve title shots, but Kane felt that they made compelling arguments. Kane then said that Rollins’ opponent for Payback would be decided by the end of the night. Also…

Once again, not a bad opening segment, it was just the same opening segment we see on Raw and Smackdown every week. Someone comes out to talk, there is some sort of confrontation, they set up some sort of match and we move on. It’s usually never a bad opening; it’s just the same old shit every week and I’d just like to see something different to make it feel as if they weren’t booking with fill in the blank wrestling story books.

KOTR Qualifier: Dolph Ziggler vs. Bad News Barrett: They worked for about a minute and then went to a commercial. They were having a good little match here, working well together and getting the crowd involved. And then Sheamus came out and cut a promo during the match. After his promo, Ziggler turned around and ate a bull hammer for the loss. Barrett moves on. It was going well until that bullshit ending, some will say they did it to protect Ziggler, but it felt lazy. Doing a version of the distraction finish by having Sheamus cut a room while Ziggler stands there like a fucking idiot does no one any favors. If Ziggler was so legit pissed about having his face rubbed on Sheamus’ ass last night he would have charged him and brawled; at least the countout finish would have made sense and been a bit less offensive. If you’re going to do a tournament like this, please put some thought into it.

* New Day walks and claps.

Tyson Kidd w/Natalya and Cesaro vs. Big E w/Kofi and Woods: Big E won when Woods held Kidd’s feet from the floor. The New Day they ran away. I have no issue with the booking of this, they have turned heel and are desperate to win after so much failure. My question is, why book a match to last this long? If it’s a squash match, fine, but how do you expect these guys to put together a match that actually engages the crowd in 80-seconds? Again, this wasn’t bad and the result and way the result was done worked, but you have over three hours, let these guys work a bit please.

Ryback vs. Bo Dallas: This plays off of last night’s angle where Dallas came out to kill time, and then Ryback killed him. Bo Dallas, being a gentleman and scholar, gave Ryback the chance to walk away. Dallas got in some shots, but the BIG GUY was too much for him and finished him off with the shell shock. As Ryback celebrated, the lights dropped and Bray Wyatt appeared behind him, hit the Sister Abigail and then did his wacky Bray Wyatt shit to officially kick off the new feud. This was perfectly fine.

John Cena’s US Title Challenge?: Again, I appreciate the idea behind the open challenge deal they are running. It gets the title on TV, and in theory we’re building that tile back up. Cena cut a promo about the rematch with Rusev, and then laid out his challenge. Heath Slater answered the challenge, but then Rusev laid him out. Lana came out and played to the crowd, and that pissed Rusev off so he banished her to the back. Rusev then ran down the US and Cena as quitters and the Russian flag dropped. So no match; my guess for Payback is when Cena and Rusev face I think they either A) have Lana throw in the towel to cost Rusev the match and to set the split of B) they pull the Foley/Flair finish where Rusev looks to harm Lana and Cena quits to save her and it was A TRAP.

* Kane and Rollins argued backstage about the fans getting to pick his challenger for Payback. Kane says the fans can vote for Orton, Reigns or Orton and Reigns at the same time. Rollins was not pleased.

KOTR Qualifier: Stardust vs. R-Truth: They had a short, but fun little match. They traded a lot of pinning situations, trying to sell the fact that they wanted the win. The finish saw Truth counter the beautiful disaster into the lie detector. That was a good finish to a fine little match. Truth advances.

Fandango vs. Adam Rose: Fandango was in control and then hit a dive onto Rose and a few Rosebuds. Rosa was a Rosebud, and then distracted Fandango with some dancing, allowing Rose to hit the party foul for the win. She then made out with Rose after the match. This feud must continue. I appreciate the fact that they are giving these guys something to do, but this was time you could have given to Truth vs. Stardust; a match that mattered since it was a KOTR qualifying match.

* Cole discusses the health of Daniel Bryan. Renee Young is with Brie Bella for an update. She says WWE is his life, and he hates not being here. They are thankful for the WWE fans for their support. Naomi then attacked her and said no one cares about Brie or her husband. This was another step in the unexplained Bellas face turn.

Naomi vs. Brie Bella: Nikki was at ringside with Brie. Credit to Brie for attacking right away to follow up on Naomi’s attack prior to the match. They tried to work a really aggressive pace, but it felt off. I appreciate the effort, and it wasn’t bad, but it never fully clicked. Naomi won with a rollup and pulling the hair. I am a big fan of heel Naomi so far.

KOTR Qualifier: Dean Ambrose vs. Sheamus: They worked three-minutes and then went to the commercial break. I like the style that they worked, it feels very different than anything else on the show. They worked some dirty grappling early and not that smooth Biff Busick vs. Timothy Thatcher shit, they looked as if they were really fighting for position and don’t mind hitting each other hard. It felt gritty and real, and that is just as effective. Sheamus had control post commercial, but Ambrose rallied and then sidestepped Sheamus, who posted himself and went to the floor. They had some good back and forth late, and Sheamus had a near finish with the Cloverleaf, but Ambrose made the ropes. They did some nice stuff down the stretch and took the battle to the floor, but then Ziggler ran out and attacked Sheamus for the DQ. UGH. It’s not that the Ziggler attack didn’t make sense, it did; it’s that it took away from a good match and then we got the second shitty finish in three tournament matches, making the KOTR feel pretty unspectacular thus far.

Damien Sandow Talks: Sandow cut a promo, shitting on his old gimmick and noting that he was told that he was not entertaining enough. He ran through the a bunch of the people he impersonated, and aid he wouldn’t lie. He lost the respect of his peers by doing the Miz gimmick but earned the respect of the fans. Curtis Axel came out, he was delusional in a fun way and then Sandow mimicked him. He did the repeat game that my kids do, and was then told to leave the ring. They brawled, Sandow mimicked Hogan and hit the boot and then dropped his elbow with a fancy name. So Sandow promised to be a new him and then all he did was mock the other guy, basically doing a 5-year olds version of his old gimmick. Gotcha. The crowd laughed and had fun, but I can’t see any longevity here and really hoped for more from him post Miz feud. He needs to be more than that, otherwise he will never be anything more than he is in the grand scheme of things. I still hope that they have plans set for him, but this wasn’t the best of starts.

* Kidd & Cesaro face New Day on Smackdown for the tag team titles.

* Bray Wyatt cut a promo from an undisclosed location backstage, commenting on his new feud with Ryback.

KOTR Qualifier: Neville vs. Luke Harper: They worked for 90-seconds, with Neville running wild early and then Harper taking control, and then went to the commercial break. They didn’t try to reinvent the wheel here, it was the power of Harper vs. the speed and flight of Neville. I loved the choice of Harper as Neville’s opponent, Harper is damn good but his experience in places like CHIKARA make him a perfect base for a guy like Neville. Neville hit the sunset bomb out of the corner and then the red arrow to score the clean win. Neville had momentum, beating Barrett in Smackdown in the tag match and then again in singles action on Sunday. This continues that, as I feel he was the right man to move forward and they delivered a quality (and no bullshit) match.

Kane and Seth Rollins vs. Randy Orton and Roman Reigns: This was set up in the show’s opening promo. They worked an enjoyable and overall quality TV main event, and then we had the miscommunication between Rollins and Kane, playing off their issues. Reigns took out Mercury, who flew into Kane and then Rollins took out Reigns to the floor, and then Rollins send Orton to the floor. Rollins went for a dive, but (sorta) hit Kane by accident (it was ugly), leading to him taking out J&J and then Rollins. This led to Rollins eating the Superman punch and RKO for the loss. Rollins losing here makes sense in terms of the booking, but would have meant more if he didn’t lose on Smackdown to Reigns in a nothing tag match. Make the champion’s losses mean more please. Kane then announced the results of the poll, and the fans chose the triple threat match for Payback. Reigns then hit a spear on Rollins to stand tall in the ring. They overcame a sluggish start and delivered a fun finish and established the Payback main event, unfortunately it still feels like it’s more about Kane and Rollins’ relationship crumbling than the challengers earning title matches and their quest for that title. The title feels almost secondary, which is never a good thing.

* End scene.

* Thanks for reading.

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“Byyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyye Felicia!”

6.0
The final score: review Average
The 411
This was a fine, but unspectacular episode of Raw. They set a tag title match for Thursday, set the main event for Payback and kicked off the King of the Ring tournament, which concludes tomorrow night on the Network. The booking of the KOTR left a lot to be desired with two of the finishes, but I have some hope for tomorrow night. I liked the Cena vs. Rusev segment, Rusev looked like a dick in stopping Cena’s challenge, and I hope that they can deliver in their (what appears to be) final match. If they could cut some of the filler (Rose vs. Fandango/Kidd vs. Big E) and reallocate that time to the KOTR matches or reset the show so that all of the long matches don’t need the commercial break, it would flow better and to the overall enjoyment. And again, they could also do without the show opening promo; starting this week with a KOTR qualifier would have bee the perfect chance to do that. I worry about the new Sandow and the poor booking of the divas division, but outside of the booking of the two KOTR matches with the bad finishes, I didn’t really hate anything.
legend

article topics :

RAW, Tremendous Tirades, WWE, Larry Csonka