Last night was one of the most interesting shows in WWE history. The crowd revolted against the product the WWE gave them. I was part of that crowd last night, and I hope the WWE got the message. But unfortunately, I feel like the WWE will not care at all. So will Batista get a negative reaction? And if so, will he do a mock YES chant while flipping off the fans like he did after the show last night? Follow along to find out.
Triple H: Internet Troll
Triple H and Stephanie McMahon came to the ring. Steph said the Rumble was the most successful PPV in Rumble history as the crowd booed. HHH asked the crowd if they didn’t get what they wanted in a mocking voice. HHH ran down everything that happened and the crowd booed all of it. Stephanie McMahon said that Randy Orton will defend the WWE Championship inside the Elimination Chamber. Daniel Bryan came out and the crowd exploded. Bryan mockingly asked the crowd to stop chanting because they didn’t want to make the Authority mad. Bryan said win or lose, when people are talking about the best of the Royal Rumble they are talking about his match. And when they talk about the biggest disappointments, they are talking about him not being in the Rumble match. Bryan said there is a Yes movement going on and everytime he asked to be in the Rumble, they said no. Steph said that they had to watch out for his health and well being. Steph asked if he thinks the crowd is here to just see him and they chanted YES. Bryan told HHH and Steph to listen to the audience and they chanted his name. Bryan said he wanted in the Elimination Chamber match and he told HHH that neither of them should leave the ring until he gets what he wants.
Bryan and HHH stared each other down and HHH said they aren’t in the ring alone. The Shield came out. The barrier broke when Rollins tried to do his flip. The Shield attacked Bryan despite Bryan having a chair. Sheamus tried to make the save but the numbers caught up to them until John Cena evened things out and The Shield eventually bailed.
It’s A Border War
Rey Mysterio and Sin Cara vs The Real Americans. Cesaro and Rey started. Rey took him out with a drop kick to the knee and Sin Cara came in and hit a hurricarrana on Cesaro, then a double one on Swagger and Cesaro. Swagger ate a springboard elbow from Sin Cara. Swagger went over the top to the outside and Sin Cara hit a dive. Zeb yelled at Swagger on the outside then slapped him across the face. Swagger became more aggressive in the ring and took control into commercial.
Back from break Sin Cara caught Cesaro with a kick to the head and went for a tag but Swagger came in. Sin Cara took out Swagger. Cesaro came back in but he was sent over the top. Cesaro pulled Rey off the top to prevent a tag then hit a powerslam in the ring for two. Swagger came in and missed the Swagger Bomb and Cesaro missed a splash in the corner. Rey finally got the hot tag and went to work on Cesaro. He hit a seated Senton and bulldog for two. Rey hit a 619 but Sin Cara missed the Swanton. He went for a springboard splash off the ropes but Cesaro caught him with an uppercut then hit the Neutralizer for the win.
Wade Barrett said he had some bad news. He said tonight, Miz will take on Dolph Ziggler in the Battle of Cleveland. He said that unfortunately, Cleveland is inhabited by losers.
Fandango vs R-Truth. Truth got the early upperhand on Fandango and he bailed to the outside. Emma was shown doing her dance in the crowd. Summer Rae stopped in front of Truth and Fandango took out Truth with a clothesline. In the ring, Fandango went to work with a suplex and headlock. Truth moved out of the way of a clothesline but Fandango came right back with a spinning heel kick for two. Fandango went for the top rope leg drop but Truth moved and hit the Lie Detector for the win.
Brock Lesnar Becomes The Face By Default
Brad Maddox introduced Randy Orton. Orton said the Champ is here. Orton said he doesn’t give a damn how he got his victory because he won. Orton said he then had to find out he was going to be in the Elimination Chamber match defending his Title. He asked Maddox whose idea that was and Batista interrupted. He pointed to a #BOOTISTA sign on the way out. Batista congratulated Orton as the crowd broke out a Daniel Bryan chant. He said he’s accomplished two of his three goals by winning the Royal Rumble and headlining Wrestlemania. He said he doesn’t care if it’s him, John Cena, The Shield or Daniel Bryan. He’s leaving Wrestlemania WWE Champion.
Brock Lesnar then came out with Paul Heyman. Heyman said they should make history here tonight and have Brock Lesnar take on Randy Orton for the WWE Title. Or they should have Lesnar take on Batista. Heyman said that Maddox should go back and tell The Authority the options and have an answer by tonight, or else.
The Battle For Cleveland, Because No One Else Wants It
Miz vs Dolph Ziggler. Ziggler starter with a shoulder tackle but Miz came right back with a running knee. Miz went for an axe handle off the top but Ziggler caught him with a crescent kick. Ziggler applied a Sleeper. Miz escaped by backing into the corner. Miz went for the Skull Crushing Finale, but Ziggler escaped. Miz hit his backbreaker, neckbreaker combo then applied the figure four. Ziggler escaped and after a couple counters from each, Ziggler hit the ZigZag for the win.
Ryback No Longer Rules
The Usos vs Rybaxel. Ryback slammed Jey Uso into the corners four times. Curtis Axel came in and hit a dropkick. Jey missed a clothesline and took out Jey with a punch from behind to the head. Ryback came in and hit a suplex for two. Rybaxel took turns taking out Jey until Jimmy got the hot tag. Jimmy hit a Samoan Drop but Ryback made a blind tag. He went for Shell Shocked but Jey made a blind tag and hit a crescent kick, as did Jimmy. Jimmy made the tag again and hit the top rope splash for the win.
Does Anyone Suck The Life Out Of An Arena Like Alberto del Rio?
Alberto del Rio vs Kofi Kingston. Del Rio went after Kofi earlier with some kicks to the head. Kofi fought back with kicks to the body then a dropkick. Kofi landed ten corner punches, but Del Rio caught him after with a kick to the face followed by a clothesline for two. Del Rio missed his dive and went through the ropes, which allowed Kofi to hit his own dive through the ropes. Del Rio caught Kofi coming back into the ring with an enziguri kick to the head. Del Rio then tossed Kofi into the barricade. Del Rio took control in the ring as the crowd started JBL and Jerry Lawler chants. Both men fell to the outside into a commercial.
Back from break Del Rio had a headlock applied. Kofi escaped with a jawbreaker. After a two count, Del Rio hit a German suplex for two. Kofi caught Del Rio with an elbow to the face followed by a DDT. Kofi caught Del Rio with a clothesline followed by the Boom Drop. Kofi went for Trouble in Paradise but Del Rio ducked and went to the apron, but Kofi hit the SOS but Del Rio grabbed the ropes. Del Rio hit a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker then looked at the Wrestlemania sign. Del Rio went for an armbreaker, Kofi escaped and missed Trouble in Paradise again, and Del Rio hit a backstabber for two. Del Rio went to the top. Kofi met him up there, but Del Rio knocked him down and while hanging in the ropes Del Rio stomped Kofi into the mat. Del Rio then hit a kick to the head for the win.
Oh It’s A Shoot!
Tag Title Rematch. After the New Age Outlaws did their entrance, they said that despite what people think, they didn’t win last night because of past relationships. They were just better than the Rhodes Brothers. After a brief brawl the match started with Goldust taking out Billy Gunn with an armdrag and bailing to the outside. Road Dogg came in but he ate a shoulder tackle from Goldust. After an elbow from Goldust Cody came in and went to an armbar. Cody went to the top but Road Dogg bailed to the outside. Cody landed some more punches then went back to an armbar. Road Dogg escaped and tried doing his shake, rattle and roll punches but Cody hit a dropkick and tagged in Goldust. Road Dogg backed Goldust into the corner and tagged in Billy Gunn who landed some offense. Goldust tried fighting back with an inverted atomic drop but Gunn caught him with a boot to the head into commercial.
Goldust caught Gunn with a scoop slam back from break. Road Dogg came in but Goldust took him out. Cody got the hot tag and went to work on Billy. He hit a high knee then a springboard missile dropkick on both Outlaws. Cody missed the Disaster Kick and Gunn hit a clothesline.
Suddenly, Brock Lesnar came out and hit the F5 on Cody and Goldust as the Outlaws bailed. Heyman said The Authority chose neither of their options, now they have to deal with the consequences. Lesnar hit both Cody and Goldust with chair shots.
The Funkadactyls and Bella Twins beat AJ, Tamina, Aksana and Alicia Fox. The match was very sloppy. The face Divas ended up hitting a triple suplex on the heels, then Naomi hit the Rear View on AJ to pick up the win.
Jake “The Snake” Roberts was announced as the next Hall of Fame inductee.
Man, This Daniel Bryan Guy Sure Is Over Huh?
Main event time. Cena and Ambrose started. Cena took him down with a shoulder tackle and he tagged in Rollins. Rollins went to a headlock but Cena escaped and landed a hard punch to Rollins, who tagged in Reigns. Reigns took Cena down with a shoulder tackle. Cena went for an AA but Reigns escaped. Cena tagged in Sheamus. Both men grappled for a bit before Sheamus got the upperhand with some punches. Reigns gained the upperhand again and tagged in Rollins. Sheamus took him down with a clothesline and then a kick to the chest and his rope punches. Rollins escaped a backdrop attempt and took out Sheamus knee with a kick. Ambrose came in and backed Sheamus into the ropes but Sheamus recovered with an axe handle and tagged in Bryan.
Bryan landed multiple kicks in the corner followed by a dropkick and hurricarana off the top. Ambrose escaped and tagged in Rollins, but Bryan took him down and applied the surfboard submission. Sheamus tagged in and Rollins ate a kick. Cena came in and they hit a double suplex. Rollins caught a charging Cena with an elbow followed by a clothesline for two.
The Shield still had control over Cena back from break. Rollins caught Cena with a kick to the face then a swanton neckbreaker off the second rope for two. Roman Reigns came in and hit his flying dropkick off the floor. Reigns then connected on the superman punch. Reigns went for a Spear but Cena moved and he went flying through the ropes. Reigns was able to recover in time to take out Cena and tag in Ambrose. He landed some offense on Cena then tagged in Rollins. Ambrose came back in and they hit a double suplex on Cena. Ambrose applied a sleeper hold but Cena escaped by backing into the corner. Ambrose took Cena out with a clothesline but only for two. Ambrose taunted Cena for a bit and Cena hit an AA.
Bryan got the hot tag and went after Rollins. Bryan took out Ambrose with a dive to the outside then a missile dropkick off the top on Rollins. He landed multiple kicks to the chest but Reigns broke up the count. Reigns then hit a Spear on Sheamus and Cena. Bryan took out Reigns with a running knee. Rollins and Bryan exchanged punches but Rollins powerbombed Bryan into the corner for two. Rollins hit a dive in the corner but missed the curb stomp. Bryan hit a German suplex but Bryan missed a dropkick in the corner. Bryan countered and applied the YES Lock. Ambrose broke it up but ate a Brogue Kick. Bryan and Rollins crossbodied each other. Cena got the tag and applied the STF on Reigns but Reigns powered out of it.
Suddenly, the lights went out and the Wyatts came to the ring. They attacked the faces as the ref called for the bell. Eventually, the Wyatts retreated. Cena, Sheamus and Bryan win via DQ and get into the Chamber. The Shield were furious at ringside after the match as the show closed.
WHAT I LIKED
Daniel Bryan: Nothing may have changed as far as Wrestlemania goes, but it was nice to see Bryan get the spotlight tonight after being the star of the night last night, even if he was barely on the show. Bryan had a decent exchange with HHH to open the show. Like I said, the WWE can’t go forever without acknowledging the Bryan chants. Sooner or later, they will be forced to put him on top.
Main Event/Roman Reigns: The show may have been focused around Daniel Bryan, but Reigns once again looked like a star tonight. He powered out of the STF and just looked like a bad ass the entire match. He has everything you want in a future star and hopefully at this point next year, he’s in the main event of Wrestlemania. I wasn’t too thrilled with the main event ending, but if it leads to a brief Wyatt/Shield program I am down with that.
Real Americans/Sin Cara and Rey Mysterio: A solid tag match between these teams. I’ve said numerous times that if the WWE wants to get some mileage out of Rey, then they need to pair him in some sort of tag team and Sin Cara is the perfect partner. I also liked the more aggressive Real Americans tonight.
Brock Lesnar: See, this is exactly how you book someone to be a badass and get over.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
Orton/Batista Segment: Batista just seemed off during his promo. Maybe the crowd bothered him, but he just looked a little lost out there. The crowd definitely doesn’t want to see these two fight, as evidence by Brock Lesnar getting the most cheers during that segment. A Wrestlemania program between these two could be weeks of bad TV for the WWE.
Kofi Kingston/Alberto del Rio: I thought the match was okay, but the problem was that it isn’t leaning anywhere. If Kofi got on a hot streak and received a push then maybe, but it hasn’t happened. It is tough for a crowd to get into a match like this when it is a meaningless match between two guys with no direction.
No CM Punk/Kane Follow Up: This wasn’t even talked about on the show to my knowledge. And that is just poor storytelling. Even if you are going to wait til Smackdown for it, at least mention that. Nothing was made of this.
Announcing: For some reason tonight this really stood out to me again. Call the damn match and don’t get yourselves over during it.
The show was a baby step in the right direction for the WWE. A very small one, but it was an improvement over last night. I’m not of the belief that plans have changed for Wrestlemania, but Bryan at least got some attention tonight and that’s a good thing. The main event was great and the wrestling was okay, but there was also a good amount of filler thrown in as well. It will definitely be an interesting Road to Wrestlemania in th coming weeks. I’m going to give the show a 4. I may be a bit bitter about last night still, but I think there was a bit too much filler for my liking.
Until Next Time,
Justin C
Follow Me On Twitter @JCWonka
