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Csonka’s WWE Raw Review 5.18.15

May 18, 2015 | Posted by Larry Csonka
7.7
The 411 Rating
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Csonka’s WWE Raw Review 5.18.15  

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 5.18.15

OFFICIAL RESULTS
~ Sheamus defeated Ryback @ 10:04 via pin [**½]
~ King Barrett defeated Neville @ 7:11 via pin [**]
~ Bray Wyatt defeated Dean Ambrose @ 13:39 via pin [***]
~ WWE tag Team Title Match: Kidd & Cesaro defeated Champions New Day @ 5:50 via DQ [*]
~ Dolph Ziggler defeated Stardust @ 1:10 via pin [NR]
~ Harper and Rowan defeated Ryder and Fandango @ 2:45 via pin [NR]
~ Divas Title Match: Champion Nikki Bella defeated Naomi @ 6:20 via DQ [*]


The Authority Power Hour Of Talking: They praised Rollins and said that they would pay tribute to him tonight. They also added that Reigns, Orton and Ambrose have to go back to the end of the line. We had some build to the IC Title match at Elimination Chamber, Stephanie shit talked Bryan and Sheamus then appeared to plead his case for the title since he took out Bryan. Ryback (with taped up ribs) arrived, defended Daniel Bryan’s honor, and then challenged Sheamus to fight someone his own size. They will both be part of the Elimination Chamber IC Title match and also face off next. It was fine, nice to see the IC Title get some shine here, but it was the same as every week.

Ryback vs. Sheamus: The good news about this match, to me, is that these guys don’t mind kicking the shit out of each other, ad tend to have good matches when they can do that. The possible bad news is that I fear we will see the chamber competitors constantly face off for the next two weeks. The Big Guy was all taped up, following last night’s match with Wyatt. He reportedly suffered a rib injury, which sucks when doing normal shit let alone working a match. They worked through the commercial, Sheamus got posted late, faked an eye injury and kept holding his eye, which led to the ref trying to separate the men and Sheamus hitting the brogue kick as the ref was pulling Ryback away. This was fine overall, they had a few miscommunication issues, but nothing was majorly wrong with it. Sheamus is a superb dick right now, and only won because of that. They also did a solid job of building sympathy for Ryback.

* Authority meeting backstage, Rollins pours champagne for everyone and even thanks Kane. Kane and Rollins had some back and forth and then Ambrose appeared and proposed a title match at Elimination Chamber. Rollins he refused when Kane allowed him to make the choice. Ambrose then questioned what happened to the demon, called him a glorified butler and asked what Paul Bearer or his brother would think of this. Kane made Ambrose vs. Wyatt, so Ambrose then drank Kane’s champagne and told Kane that he shouldn’t drink on the job.

Thorin Oakenshield Gets Interviewed: Renee Young interviewed Neville. He spoke about working around the world and finally making it to WWE. Bo Dallas came out to run down Neville, Neville reminded Dallas that he beat him for the NXT Title and they brawled with Dallas targeting the taped up knee. Barrett then came to the ring, and he faces Neville next. Dallas is in on commentary.

Neville vs. King Barrett: Our traditional PPV rematch. Neville’s knee is wrapped; commentary explains that he tweaked it last night. They went through the commercial, Barrett worked the knee and Neville sold it really well and Barrett won with the bull hammer. Dallas then beat down Neville post match, focusing on the knee. Not very excited about a Neville vs. Dallas feud to be honest with you, especially considering that Neville just beat him clean in two-minutes on Smackdown. It will be interesting to see if Neville actually needs time off, or if this is just how they are transitioning Neville to a new feud. The match was just there to me, but Neville’s sell job was spectacular, and overall they did do a good job of getting heat on Barrett and Dallas.

RUSEV’S REACTION: Rusev was out alone, saying there would be no Lana and that she needs to learn his place and not to speak for him. Rusev’s claim was that he beat Cena down and he was unconscious, and then Lana was the one that quit. He wanted the match restarted, and Lana came out to explain that Rusev was misunderstood. She explained that she was protecting him, and Rusev simply ran her down for her weak emotions. She admits that he was screaming that he quit in Bulgarian, and h accused her of lying. Rusev then dismissed her, noting that she made him weal and that he didn’t need her. Rusev then rambled like a mad man to close the segment. I am not a big fan of the break up, but I felt that the segment was good and since they are going forward with the breakup, it was the next logical step after last night’s show. Rusev has a great grasp on his character.

Dean Ambrose vs. Bray Wyatt: This was another match where they worked through the commercial, to give the illusion that the matches are getting a long time. These guys have previously had a series of matches together, so they know how to work together and felt that they did a nice job here. They did a really good job of getting the crowd invested in the strikes and near falls down the stretch, making the fans care about what they were doing instead of just randomly cheering which we get a lot of in Raw matches. J&J then interfered, and Ambrose ended up being tossed into a Sister Abigail for the finish. I would have preferred an Ambrose victory, but this plays into the story well. Ambrose already established that he can beat Rollins and that he only keeps the title due to the Authority’s protection. The Authority see Ambrose as a threat, and hoped to derail him with the finish there. I can roll with this.

* Rollins celebrated with J&J on the ramp.

* Pre-match, New Day addressed the conspiracy theory that everything is being stacked against them. Woods being “unjustly banned: from the ring, and the fact that they have to defend the titles against five teams in the Elimination Chamber.

Tag Team Title Match: Champions New Day (Kofi & Big E) vs. Kidd & Cesaro w/Natalya: Xavier Woods has been banned from ringside, due to all of his shenanigans, which have been a trademark of the New Day winning their matches. These guys have worked really well together and delivered good matches on the last two PPVs, so I have high hopes here for more quality. This was another “start the match and almost immediately go to commercial” deal. They came back from commercial, did some stuff and then New Day got disqualified for kicking too much ass. This led to the Lucha Dragons, Los Matadores, The Ascension and The Prime Time Players hitting the ring for the big brawl. Instead of building these teams over the last few weeks, they did this for the build for the Elimination Chamber. To me, this was the laziest possible way to build to the Elimination Chamber match. I hope that these guys have a great match, because the booking to get them there did them no favors.

* THE BIG DOG ROMAN REIGNS WILL TALK ON SMACKDOWN!

John Cena’s US Title Open Challenge: John Cena. Big win at the PPV. US Title important. AMERICA FUCK YEAH. Thank you soldiers. Open Challenge. ENTER KEVIN FUCKING OWENS.

It appears that Mr. Owens wants to play a game of “anything you can do I can do better” in regards to his rival Sami Zayn. Good promo from Owens, claiming that he injured Zayn before the match with Cena and that he will finish off Zayn on Wednesday night. Cena then tried to give Owens form veteran advice, and Owens shot his down by saying that he has been in the business longer than Cena. They had a really good exchange here, Cena offered Opens to accept the challenge, but Owens gave NO FUCKS and said that he may be a prize fighter, but he already had a prize and that they would fight, but that it would be on his own terms. He then cheap shotted Cena, and hit the pop up powerbomb and laid out Cena. The image of Owens standing over Cena, and then stomping on the US Title was awesome. The whole segment was great, both guys did very well, they sold the importance of the titles, the sold the Zayn vs. Owens feud, they sold that Owens was a bad ass and not afraid and then he laid out Cena. This made me love life. The whole segment was designed to get Owens over and it did. As previously mentioned, Cena has a ton of equity to give, and this was the best way to go. Owns going 15 with him, having a great match and kicking out of the AA like everyone and their mom and then losing wouldn’t have had nearly the same impact. The US Title challenge and Cena have been one of the strongest parts of Raw for weeks now.

* Ryback, Sheamus, King Barrett, R-Truth and Rusev are official for the IC Title Chamber match.

Dolph Ziggler vs. Stardust: This was a nothing match to give Ziggler a rebound victory after losing last night. Ziggler did a nothing interview with Cole, and was announced for the Chamber match. Then Lana came out, and gave Dolph the old fuck me eyes and kissed him. They giggled like school children as the crowd chanted one more time, so they kissed again. Rusev then came out and kicked the shit out of Dolph, and then yelled at Lana, who then slapped him. Dolph then came alive and hit the zigzag and left with Lana. This felt really rushed, and they likely should have at least held this off until Smackdown since they just broke up like 90-minutes ago. Let the damn story breathe. Also, we didn’t need the match, just announce Ziggler for the chamber and move on. The whole thing felt so rushed and like there was very little thought put into it. I was not a fan of the segment.

* Kane walked, Adam Rose and Rosa made out in the back.

Harper and Rowan vs. Zack Ruder and Fandango: Fandango has issues with Harper and Rowan, so he looks for backup and all he could find was Zack Ryder. This was a squash match to give the reunited Harper and Rowan a win as we continue to rehab them, which I am fine with.

* Stephanie met with the Bellas backstage. Stephanie offered some fake sympathy in regards to Bryan’s injury and then said she had to go to counseling and was banned from ringside in the next match. Paging Dr. Shelby…

Divas Title Match: Champion Nikki vs. Naomi: Brie is banned from ringside, while Tamina is allowed to be there. Naomi won in the tag match last night, and had previous victories to get the title shot. Nikki tossed Naomi to the floor and hit a dive onto her and Tamina and then we went to commercial. When we came back from the commercial, Tamina was down on the floor and being checked on by the doctor. Nikki looked to have things in hand, but then Tamina interfered with a superkick for the DQ. Paige returned and made the save. Commentary actually did a good job reminding fans that she was the #1 contender before being injured. Page thankfully remembered that Nikki was a bitch before she was injured and laid out Nikki with the Ram-Paige. The match existed, but glad to see Paige back and that they kept the continuity of the story.

* Owens had a meeting with Triple H, and then Renee interviewed him. Owens gets his shot at Cena at the Elimination Chamber. BOOM.

All Hail The Architect Of A Dream: Kane, Triple H and Stephanie were all in the ring. They talked up Rollins, and he made his way to the ring and they continued their praise. Triple H turned the mic over to Kane, he had jokes and said they are where they are because of each other. He then said he’s glad Rollins is champion because he is best for business. Rollins then had Kane thank him for saving his job, and then Kane presented a video package on Rollins. Noble was great on his little promo, they teased Mercury talking and Ambrose was then out. Ambrose demanded his title shot, and then they brawled. J&J got involved as they brawled to the floor, Ambrose tossed them around and the battle continued. Ambrose then revealed cinder blocks as a call back to the attack by Rollins from back in the day and threatened Rollins with a chair shot unless he got a title shot. Stephanie then promised Ambrose the title shot if Ambrose let him go, and Ambrose agreed. J&J then attacked again and got beat down, yet again (they are so great at their job). Rollins escaped, Kane got involved and then Rollins returned for the attack. He laid out Ambrose with the pedigree to stand tall. The crowd reaction wasn’t nearly what I thought it would be for this, but it was a good segment and I am glad to see Ambrose (and not Kane as I had feared) getting the title shot.

* End scene.

* Thanks for reading.

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“Byyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyye Felicia!”

7.7
The final score: review Good
The 411
Overall this was a strong and focused show, set on getting some good heat on the heels and setting up the US and WWE Title matches as well as the chamber matches for the PPV on the 31st. There was very little filler, most of the booking was sound, we had some solid wrestling and the awesome Owens/Cena segment to highlight the show. Another good effort from WWE, who has been getting their act together as of late. It’s far from perfect at times, but this was a good post PPV show that set up well for the next major event.
legend

article topics :

RAW, Tremendous Tirades, WWE, Larry Csonka