Csonka’s WWE Raw Review 4.08.19

Csonka’s WWE Raw Review 4.08.19

OFFICIAL RESULTS
– Raw Tag Team Title Match: Champions Ryder & Hawkins defeated The Revival @ 10:05 via pin [**¾]
– Alexa Bliss defeated Bayley @ 2:50 via pin [NR]
– Ricochet & Aleister Black defeated Bobby Roode & Chad Gable @ 11:10 via pin [***]
– IC Title Match: IC Champion Finn Balor defeated Sami Zayn @ 11:45 via pin [***]
– Winner Takes All Match: WWE Champion Kofi Kingston vs. Universal Champion Seth Rollins went to a no contest @ 4:15 [NR]
– Seth Rollins & Kofi Kingston defeated Sheamus & Cesaro @ 9:20 via pin [**½]

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– Cole’s voice is still shot from last night.

Seth Rollins Talks: New Universal Champion Seth Rollins kicks off the show. The crowd chants you deserve it but Rollins says WE deserve it as he’s waited a long time to win the title. He just had to climb Everest and slay the beast. He feels terrible today, like a human Mack truck ran him over. But he took all Brock had to offer, got back up and while he may have used questionable tactics, he didn’t o anything Brock wouldn’t do. They chant “full time champ” at him. As far as he’s concerned, Brock &Paul can stay in Vegas. He will be a fighting champion they can all be proud of. WWE Champion Kofi Kingston & the New Day arrive. Kofi gets a huge reaction as Rollins tells Kofi it’s not Tuesday. The superstar shakeup is next week, but they are here for a celebration because of Rollins & Kofi’s wins. This crowd loves this. Kofi then says that he watched the winner takes all match last night and proposes a winner take all match with Rollins… tonight. Kofi says no New Day, no Shield, just them one on one. Rollins accepts. The crowd was great for all of this and it came of like a big deal. It will be interesting to see if they actually go through with this without any build.

Champions Ryder & Hawkins vs. The Revival: Ryder and Dash begin. They lock up and Dash grounds things. Dash hits a shoulder tackle, but Ryder hits a clothesline. Hawkins tags in and double teams follow. Dash cuts Hawkins off, Dawson tags in and maintains control. he follows with chops, and then grounds things. Hawkins picks up the pace and hits the dropkick. He takes out Dash, but the Revival cut him off. The Hart Attack follows for 2. Post break and Hawkins fights back, as Dash & Ryder tag in. Ryder hits the missile dropkick and broski boots. Hawkins hits the top rope elbow drop for 2. Hawkins tweaks his knee but rolls up Dash for 2. Ryder back in and Hawkins gets pulled to the floor as Dash cuts off Ryder. Brainbuster to Hawkins on the floor. Double teams to Ryder follow, Ryder fights back tags in Hawkins and shatter machine on Ryder follows and Hawkins gets the roll up for the win. Champions Ryder & Hawkins defeated The Revival @ 10:05 via pin [**¾] The match was pretty good with the surprise of the champions actually retaining,

Baron Corbin Celebrates: Corbin arrives to talk about retiring Angle at Mania. He gets asshole chants as he mocks the fans. Angle chose him and he proved that Angle doesn’t deserve to be in the same ring as him. Shut the fuck up chants now. Corbin runs down NYC, and says he’s used to being doubted, and he’s now better than an Olympian. He feels he deserves a gold medal of his own. Angle arrives and says that Corbin was the better man, and his career is over while Corbin’s is getting started. He wishes him luck, bad luck, and hits an Angle slam and ankle lock. LARS FINALLY DEBUTS; makes his way to the ring and hits freak accident on Angle. The top rope head butt follows. Lars stands tall. Corbin was solid here as the gloating heel and giving Angle some revenge before debuting Lars and helping put him over

Alexa Bliss vs. Bayley: Bliss mocks Bayley for losing her title on Mania, so Bayley kicks her ass. Bliss cuts her off on the floor, and back in, Bliss grounds things as the crowd sings for Bayley. Bliss slaps her and then lays the boots to her. Bayley fights back, and cradles Bliss with the ropes, no count. Bayley sunset flips her to the buckles, but Bliss hits the DDT and picks up the win. Alexa Bliss defeated Bayley @ 2:50 via pin [NR] It’s good to see Bliss back, hopefully she can stay healthy. Just keep her away from Nia & Tamina.

When The Man Comes Around: Raw & Smackdown women’s champion Becky Lynch arrives. Becky says 9-years ago she worked in a bar not far from the venue, but she finally did it. She’s Becky two belts now and the crowd loves her. For months, Ronnie & Ric’s daughter talked down to her, but last night she walked in with nothing and left with it all. Leaving home at 15 to fight around the world, she knows how to survive and overcome. So whenever you’re done sulking Ronnie, I’ll be here to slap the head off your shoulder. She jokes that the McMahon’s will likely give Charlotte the tag titles to make her feel better. LACEY BOMB. She nails Becky with the women’s right, so Becky tackles her and beats her down. They brawl and Becky arm bars her. The crowd loved Becky here and were into everything she said. I’m not crazy about Becky vs. Lacey, but the angle came off well.

– Seth gets interviewed, and says he accepted Kofi’s challenge because that’s what he does and lives for. This is his show, he knows what Kofi is capable of, and he better bring his A-game tonight.

Ricochet & Aleister Black vs. Bobby Roode & Chad Gable: Gable and Black begin. They lock up, working into counters and Black looks for submissions but Gable escapes. He hits a right and follows with a takedown. Roode tags in and lays the boots to Black. Ricochet tags in and double teams to Roode follow and Black & Ricochet fly to the floor. Back in and Ricochet covers Roode for 2. Ricochet dumps gable, but Rood low bridges him. Post break, Roode and Gable work over and isolate Ricochet. They work double teams, but Ricochet starts to fire up and hits the dropkick. Wholesale changes to Roode & Black, with Black running wild. Black hits the moonsault press for 2. Roode cuts him off with a sunset flip for 2. Black fires back with kicks, the crowd is doing the wave. Ricochet hits the twister for 2. It breaks down, Roode and Ricochet fight up top and Gable knocks Ricochet into the spinebuster for 2. Skull and bones follows and Gable covers for 2. Ricochet counters chaos theory and hits the cutter for the win. Ricochet & Aleister Black defeated Bobby Roode & Chad Gable @ 11:10 via pin [***] This was a good match that the crowd, for whatever reason, wasn’t interested in.

– Elias complains about Can ruining his grad performance with “that rap music.” He will perform his rock opera tonight and if anyone no matter who interrupts him, there will be hell to pay.

– A creepy mini-dinosaur pops out of box and laughs. I’m assuming it’s a Bray Wyatt teaser.

pic.twitter.com/RcAy9cWyAL

— TDE Wrestling (@tde_wrestling) April 9, 2019

Lashley vs. Dean Ambrose: Commentary says this is Dean’s final WWE match. Lashley says he’ll take care of Renee when Ambrose is gone. They brawl on the floor with Ambrose tossing chairs at Lashley and then posting him. Ambrose then hits a DDT onto the stage, clears off the announce table and the Lio distraction allows Lashley to spear Ambrose. Lashley then slams Ambrose through the announce table. Renee checks on Dean.

– Sami Zayn walks.

– Mojo talks to his mirror, now wearing some face paint and the mirror is fractured. Can he feud with the creepy mini-dinosaur?

– Sami Zayn makes his way to the ring to a great ovation, they are happy to have him back. Since he missed Mania, he’s back the night after. He wants a match and issues an open challenge.

Sami Zayn vs. IC Champion Finn Balor: They lock up and work to the ropes and break clean. They work into some back and forth, with Balor frustrating Sami. They trade arm drags and Balor dumps Sami. They both tease dives, and back in, Balor hits the dropkick. He grounds things, working the arm. Sami escapes with strikes and chops, taking control back. Balor fires back with another dropkick, standing double stomp, and chops. Sami cuts him off and they trade strikes as Balor hits the PELE. Post break and Balor is still in control until Sami hits the blue thunder bomb for 2. Balor cuts him off with sling blade, John Wooooooooo and misses the double stop and Sami hiys the XPLODER to the buckles. Balor avoids the helluva and hits the double stomp for the win. IC Champion Finn Balor defeated Sami Zayn @ 11:45 via pin [***] This was a good match and I’m glad they didn’t one day Balor here. Sami did a really good job of turning the crowd on him post match,

– Post match, Sami says that the loss made him realize he was missed. He then says he didn’t miss any of this or the fans. WWE is a toxic environment due to the fans. He’s happy with his life while the fans live a meaningless life. They just want to be critics, so that they can feel important. No one has the balls to look inside themselves. You aren’t the voice of reason, while he does what is right. He’s not here to save WWE or Takeover. He will come out here and hold the fans accountable, see you in hell.

– Dana Brooke congratulates Becky Lynch, but says there is a line of challengers forming. If she gets a chance, she’ll seize the moment.

– Elias arrives and runs down Cena. He says he’ll show us how simple it is to rap and does. The DONG hits and the Undertaker arrives. Why not run away during his 15-minute entrance? Anyway, Taker looks in better shape than the last time we saw him. Taker hits the big boot, chokeslam, and tombstone. Thanks for coming Elias.

WWE Champion Kofi Kingston vs. Universal Champion Seth Rollins: They lock up and Rollins grounds things. They work into some back and forth, tease finishers, and work into a stalemate. Post break and Kofi follows with chops, but Rollins cuts off the high cross with a dropkick. The enziguri follows for 2. Rollins teases blackout, but Kofi counters and cradles him for 2. The DDT follows and again, gets 2. Kofi up top and Rollins cuts him off, but Kofi shoves him down and to the floor. The Bar rushes the ring and beats down Kofi. TAG TEAM MATCH PLAYA! WWE Champion Kofi Kingston vs. Universal Champion Seth Rollins went to a no contest @ 4:15

Seth Rollins & Kofi Kingston vs. Sheamus & Cesaro: The crowd chants bullshit, CM Punk, & AEW in the arena, but we all knew something was going to stop us from getting a match and winner. It’s still no right to promote and under deliver, but we saw it coming. They all brawl. Post break and the Bar double team Rollins and cover for 2. Thy work quick tags, isolating Rollins. Rollins fights back, posts Sheamus, and tags in Kofi. He runs wild, and SOS gets 2. Kofi dumps the Bar and flies, gets caught but Rollins saves him. Back in and Kofi hits the high cross for 2. Sheamus hits the knee strike on Kofi for 2. The double team white noise gets 2 as Rollins makes the save. He takes out Sheamus, and Kofi cradles Cesaro for 2. Rollins tags in, trouble in paradise and blackout finish it. Seth Rollins & Kofi Kingston defeated Sheamus & Cesaro @ 9:20 via pin [**½] This1 was a fine match which the crowd didn’t care about since it wasn’t what they wanted to see at all.

– End scene.

– Thanks for reading.

The 411 on Wrestling Podcast returns to the 411 Podcasting Network for episode 9. On the show, 411’s Larry Csonka is joined by long time friend and podcasting partner Jeremy Lambert Jr III to break down NXT Takeover: New York & WrestleMania 35. The show is approximately 153 minutes long.

* Intro
* NXT Takeover: New York Review: 6:00
* The Business & Branding of WrestleMania & Possible Future Changes: 50:55
* WrestleMania 35 Review: 61:06

You can subscribe and listen to the 411 on Wrestling Podcast via the
above player on Transistor, or on the following platforms:

* iTunes
* Spotify
* Stitcher
* Google Play

6.8

The final score: review Average

The 411

The Raw after Mania was a pretty good and fun show, with the usual debuts, returns, and hot crowd. Things change next week with the Superstar Shakeup.