My Thoughts On WWE Raw 4.22.14 – The Return of Daniel Bryan & Evolution

Columns, Reviews, Shows, Top Story, TV Shows

WWE Raw 11-13 Header

 

<- It only took 8 months but it looks like they are finally moving forward with Daniel Bryan & Brie “Bryan”(?) Bella as the modern “Macho Man” Randy Savage and Miss Elizabeth. I only can only think the WWE waited until Brie & Bryan were legally married before moving ahead with them as an on-screen couple. I love the idea as long as it doesn’t play out how recent WWE relationships have played out. Give them a good run together since I think they each could add a bit to each other’s characters.

<- My God that was a pop for Barrett. I’m pretty sure the “Bad New Barrett” character is falling into that “it’s so bad its good” category for most of the WWE audience. I mean, when the hell was the last time there was any reaction for his entrance music, let alone him?! And then he goes on to pin Sheamus clean to move to the finals of the IC title tournament! I have no idea who started backing Barrett but they are giving him a fairly reasonable push since the mid-card is so loaded now that there’s only one WWE World Heavyweight Championship.

<- Holy crap, Randy Orton is wearing pants. I half-expected him to come out in a dress shirt and his trunks. That said, their promo was ok but I expected more from these three guys. The video package was a great way to showcase what Evolution was to the younger generation and how good the group really was but the segment wasn’t at all memorable until The Shield showed up. At first I figured Ambrose was going to be the one doing the heavy lifting but Seth Rollins took over for the group & broke out as The Shield’s strong babyface talker. He might have gone a little too long but you were able to finally see his promo potential. Of course you’re going to have Reigns close out the promo as the enforcer but Rollins really did shine in this segment.

<- So NOW that WrestleMania 30 has passed we’ll be seeing a Cody Rhodes versus Goldust feud. AND a RybAxel push at the Tag Team Championships. Damn, just when Goldust got a coat to match his brother’s too.

<- It breaks my heart that Emma had to debut with Santino. Sure she was a bit goofy in NXT but I don’t remember her ever bringing out a “female cobra” sock. She’s so much better in the ring than anyone has gotten to see and once she’s taken seriously, Paige on top, Layla back and when AJ gets back, we could get some pretty decent Divas matches. Oh and Layla is a much better choice for Fandango. He needed someone to enhance his character and Layla’s been around long enough to know how to valet & get heat. Plus she’s also a better dancer than Summer Rae’s same routine night after night.

<- What the f’ was up with Cesaro’s new music?! I hoped they killed it early, not because of Paul Heyman’s promo, but because they realized how damn awful it is. And I’m sorry, Heyman can gloat about WrestleMania as much as he wants to get heat for Cesaro but it’s not going to work! Cesaro had nothing to do with that and the crowds love him! This is just an odd pairing and now we get Jack Swagger causing Cesaro to lose a spot in the finals of the IC title tournament (a tournament I think we all expected him to win). Now the two guys in the finals (Barrett and RVD) have both been IC champions numerous times and really haven’t done anything new since they were the IC champion. It looks more and more like Big E will be retaining the title at Extreme Rules.

<- Another good showing for Paige and I like how much offense we got to see from Aksana. I don’t know if this was just meant to put the babyface in peril but I thought it helped showcase what Aksana can do as well as tell a story of the young rookie champion fighting to prove herself.

<- Super-Cena gets the “W” in a 3 on 1 handicap match. A LONG handicap match. The dichotomy between Cena and Wyatt is certainly intriguing and they proved they could put on a good match at WrestleMania but I hope Wyatt gets the win in the cage match at Extreme Rules and moves onto a feud with someone like Daniel Bryan. Their issues are obviously not settled and with Evolution tied up with The Shield, this is a perfect time to try out new match-ups for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.

 

<- I debated a lot about putting this note at the bottom of this review (which is why it’s going up on a Wednesday) but I feel like I put my heart and soul into this website & I should share this. You might have noticed that I haven’t been posting as often or to the quality I usually post and there’s a reason for that. For the past few months, my wife Colleen (the “Wrestling Wife”) has been suffering from migraines and deteriorating vision. After going to the optometrist, we learned she may have either a pseudo-tumor which basically means she has too much spinal fluid or she may have an actual tumor that needs to be removed. Either diagnosis is bad as each may very likely cause her to go blind and as a 30 year-old painter, sculptor and stay at home mom of a 3-year-old and a 6-month-old, this has hit her and the whole family quite badly. Of course if she knew I was posting this she’d probably just kill me now so everything would be moot! It’s a good thing she doesn’t read what I write, I guess. We’re not asking for anything from you but your support through this uncertain point in our lives. I’ll continue to post & do the radio show when I can as it’s a nice distraction. I am going to post below a few designs I did today on Redbubble that you can customize any way you’d like if you enjoy alternative wrestling shirts and I’ll also post my PayPal address for anyone out there who’s famously wealthy and would like to donate to our hospital bills. Again though, all we truly need is your prayers and support & as much as the IWC gets bashed, I know we stick together.

Thanks all,

-Matt Harrak

 

PayPal: matthewharrak@gmail.com

Clicking on each image will direct you to our Redbubble account:

Bad New Barrett - #BnB Shirt  T-Shirts The Shield - Hounds Hunt At Night  T-Shirts Dean Ambrose - Hound Of Justice T-Shirt Hogan Comes Home  T-Shirts The Shield - Vintage Fist Poster T-Shirt CM Punk - Classic Fists Shirt

Follow Matthew on Twitter @HTCHarrak Visit his site at HTCwrestling.com Email him at MHPulse@4sternstaging.com Become a fan on Facebook