It’s the last RAW before Wrestlemania XXX tonight. We’re getting what was originally suppose to be the main event for free on TV, and that is Batista vs Randy Orton. Expect a promo heavy show tonight with the WWE trying to keep everyone injury free heading into Wrestlemania. What will the WWE give us on the final stop on the Road to Wrestlemania? Follow along to find out.
What Should Have Been Happening Since Day 1
The Undertaker started the show. Taker said he will go farther than anyone else at Wrestlemania and that is why The Streak will stay alive. Undertaker said Brock shouldn’t be worried about breaking The Streak, but what will happen when he “takes him out to the deep water and his feet aren’t hitting the bottom.” Taker said he will drown just like his other victims. Taker said some think The Streak will be broken. But others believe in 3 things that can’t be broken: Death, Taxes and The Streak.
Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman came out. Heyman said this isn’t a match that Brock Lesnar has to win, it is a match that Undertaker can’t lose. Heyman said all it will take is one F5 and The Streak will be over, giving everyone the biggest Wrestlemania moment since Hulk Hogan beat Andre the Giant. Heyman said that isn’t a prediction, it’s a spoiler. Lesnar and Heyman started walking down the ramp, but stopped before getting in the ring. Lesnar and Heyman then circled the ring. Heyman tried coming into the ring with a chair but Taker stopped him. Lesnar then came in and attacked. They exchanged punches until Lesnar caught Taker with a clothesline. He then hit the F5 on Taker.
I Wish Mid Card Champs Were Treated Better
Big E vs Alberto del Rio. Big E took Del Rio down with a shoulder tackle. Big E press slammed Del Rio for two. Big E charged at Del Rio in the corner but Del Rio moved and went into the post. Del Rio slammed Big E’s arm into the post then stomped on it on the steps into commercial. Back from break Big E fought out of an armbar with a suplex. Del Rio caught a charging Big E with an elbow, then applied an armbar in the ropes. Del Rio went to the top but Big E caught him in the air and hit a backbreaker. Big E started a comeback with some clotheslines and a belly-to-belly. But Del Rio got his knees up to block the splash. Big E ducked a kick then tossed Del Rio in the air and he landed on the mat. Del Rio recovered with a backstabber for two. Big E countered out of the cross armbreaker and hit the splash for two. He went for the Big Ending, but Del Rio countered into the cross armbreaker. Big E got out of it by lifting up Del Rio and dropping him on the ground. Big E got a two as Del Rio grabbed the ropes. Both men went to the top but Del Rio knocked Big E down and hit a stomp from the top onto the chest of Big E. Del Rio connected on his kick to the head to pick up the win.
WINNER: Alberto del Rio
The Wyatts appeared on screen. Bray talked about the world needing change. He said you have to force people to watch. According to Bray, “she” said that he would be the one to change the world. He said eventually Cena will be left with nothing and the whole world will be forced to watch. He finished by singing “He’s got the whole world in his hands.”
Summer Rae vs Natalya. Natalya landed some early punches but Summer Rae grabbed her and threw her into the corner and landed some kicks. Summer missed a leg drop. Natalya hit a suplex. Summer slapped her, Natalya slapped back and hit the Hart Punch. Natalya went for the sharpshooter but Summer escaped. She caught Natalya with a kick to pick up the win.
WINNER: Summer Rae
How Long Does HHH Stare At Himself In The Mirror?
Triple H and Stephanie McMahon came out. She said they are going to give everyone the chance to say goodbye to the YES Movement before it ends at Wrestlemania. HHH said today’s generation has no respect. He said they all want to be a part of something. He said that everyone will forget about it and move on. HHH brought up Fandango dancing from last year. HHH called him a talented worked but the fans threw him to the side. Steph said that Bryan will not be here tonight, and it is best for business. HHH called the YES Movement a fad. And no matter how many times they chant YES, nothing will change Bryan from being a B+ player. It’s like people who say HHH has so much power because he married well. HHH said that while that is true, his dominance in the ring is what has given him all the power. HHH said that he’s handled every flavor of the week that has stepped in the ring. They showed a video package of HHH going through Jeff Hardy, Mick Foley, Goldberg, Chris Jericho, Kurt Angle and Booker T. HHH once again said that he was going to end the YES Movement and leave Wrestlemania WWE Champion.
Batista came out. He said he loves this whole end the YES Movement thing. But he noticed he wasn’t in the video, because HHH has never beat him. HHH said isn’t that the same thing he said last week. He asked Batista if he got his shirt at the dollar store. Batista said that he forgot that HHH is the brains of the operation and Steph is the braun. Batista said HHH should be worried about his match with Daniel Bryan a little more.
Randy Orton came out and said that he would love to have the honor to defend his titles against HHH and knows that a triple threat match is best for business. HHH said no amount of ass kissing will change things. HHH said his title reign is nothing like the ones of the old Viper he used to know. He then made Orton vs Batista No DQ later tonight.
Matches Like These Are Why I Despise The Announce Team As A Writer
The Usos and Los Matadores vs The Real Americans and Rybaxel. Ryback ate come Flair chops and then an armdrag take down. He then received a double kick from The Usos. Ryback tagged in Axel but he ate a clothesline. Axel then ate a couple of splashes from both Matadores followed by a dropkick. The faces all got some shots in on Axel. Axel eventually escaped and tagged in Cesaro. Cesaro caught an Uso with a knee followed by an uppercut. Swagger hit a clothesline in the corner, but the Uso in the ring hit a DDT. He took out all three heel on the apron to the outside. Everyone ended up in the ring and one Uso went to the outside into the barricade into commercial. (I apologize for the vagueness, but the commentary is not identifying any of the faces.)
Back from break the heels still had control. Swagger through Cesaro into the corner and hit a splash on an Uso, which Swagger followed up with a clothesline. Ryback applied a headlock but Uso escaped with a bulldog off the ropes. The announcers finally identified Jimmy getting the hot tag. He knocked all the heels off the apron and hit the butt splash in the corner on Axel. Swagger tagged himself in and hit a big boot. All hell broke loose. Jimmy caught Swagger with a kick to the head and tagged in a Los Matadores. While the ref was distracted, Los Matadores switched places and the fresh one rolled up Swagger to pick up the win.
WINNERS: Los Matadores and The Usos
A Match Of Wasted Talent
It’s the Rhodes Brothers vs Damien Sandow and Cody Rhodes. Cody hit a hip toss on Fandango, but Fandango came right back with a kick. Fandango tossed Cody into the corner and tagged in Sandow. Sandow worked over Cody with some hard kicks. Fandango hit a suplex. Cody fought out of a Sandow submission and tagged in Goldust. Goldust hit a spinebuster on Sandow then a double crossbody on both heels. Goldust hit a scoop slam. Fandango broke up the pin, but Cody knocked him out of the ring and hit a dive to the outside. Goldust hit the Final Cut for the win.
WINNERS: Cody Rhodes and Goldust
The Shield cut a backstage promo. They said the Shield is not to be messed with and that at Wrestlemania, they will teach Kane and the Outlaws a lesson about attitude.
Hey Who Let That Fan In The Ring!
Bray Wyatt vs R-Truth. Truth got some early offense in before Bray caught him with his running splash. Bray hit a stomp on Truth and then applied a chinlock. Bray landed some knees to the head followed by a spinning chest breaker. Bray hit a splash in the corner followed by Sister Abigail for the win.
WINNER: Bray Wyatt
After the match Harper took out Xaiver Woods with a clothesline. As the Wyatts stood tall after the match, someone appeared behind them in a sheep mask. They stared each other down before the person took off the sheep mask and it was John Cena. Cena clotheslined Harper and hit the AA on Rowan. He went for the AA on Wyatt but Bray escaped.
Naomi defeated AJ. All the Divas were surrounding the ring. They threw AJ back in the ring numerous times, including at the end when Tamina tried to stop them.
John Cena said he will be an ass kicker at Wrestlemania and that his career isn’t coming to an end this Sunday.
Roman Reigns: Master Of The Death Metal YELLLLLLL
Roman Reigns won the fan vote to take on Kane. Reigns landed some punches early on but Kane caught him with a boot. Kane landed some right hands followed by an elbow. Kane hit a splash in the corner followed by a sidewalk slam for two. Kane went for a chokeslam but Reigns used his strength to break it. Reigns hit a clothesline followed by a splash in the corner. He caught Kane with his apron dropkick. The Outlaws came down the ramp but Ambrose and Rollins took them out. Reigns hit the Superman Punch. Rollins and Ambrose came in and took out Kane, but the Outlaws pulled Kane from the ring before he took the triple powerbomb.
We’ll See You This Sunday At The Royal Rumble! Oh wait…
Roddy Piper came out. He talked about being in the first main event at Wrestlemania and how Andre the Giant also played a huge part in the first Wrestlemania. He talked about the Andre the Giant Battle Royal and was talking about the favorite when Miz came out. Miz said he’s the favorite because unlike Andre, he won the main event of Wrestlemania. Miz said he was the favorite. Sheamus, Titus O’Neil and Dolph Ziggler all said the same. Piper said he knew where this was going. He poked Miz in the eye and the four started fighting. All the participants eventually came out. Big Show cleared the ring.
The Wrestlemania Main Event That Never Was
HHH and Steph came to the ring for commentary. Orton threw Batista into the ring post. On the outside Batista caught Orton with a clothesline. Batista threw Orton into the barricade, but Orton caught him with a kick coming back into the ring. They went back to the outside where Orton threw Batista into the barricade then clotheslined him over it. Batista recovered and caught Orton with a chair shot, but missed a second shot and hit the ringpost. Orton slammed Batista’s head onto the announce table then hit a backdrop on the barricade. Orton hit Batista with a chair. Batista quickly recovered and clotheslined Orton to the outside. He slammed Orton’s head on the announce table and backed him into the apron. Batista went for a chair but Orton caught him with a kendo stick. Orton reversed Batista and tossed him into the steps. Back in the ring Batista hit a spinebuster. Orton escaped a Batista Bomb attempt and hit a backbreaker. Orton hit his middle rope DDT.
Suddenly, Daniel Bryan came through the crowd and started beating down Triple H at the announce table. Orton eventually pulled him off and threw Bryan into the steps. Batista hit a Spear on Orton in the ring, but Batista ran into a running knee from Bryan. Bryan then hit a dive to the outside on HHH and they brawled again. Bryan landed some kendo stick shots as HHH eventually escaped. The crowd chanted YES along with Bryan as the show closed.
WHAT I LIKED
Cena/Bray Wyatt Build: I’ve said all along that this has been the best build going into Mania. And they continued to do that tonight. Cena getting the upper hand like he did was good and creative. And both men’s separate promos were well done. This has been the best Cena has been in quite some time.
The Show End: Great way to build up momentum heading into Wrestlemania. They did it the right way with the brawl between HHH and Bryan to close the show. Orton and Batista were kind of put to the side, but the two main attractions heading into Mania are Bryan and HHH. I thought they were going to end with HHH holding both belts to close the show, but this worked out well.
Triple H Promo: There are going to be some people that are going to find this as typical “HHH Burial of Other Talents.” That’s fine. Those people take stuff way too seriously. This was HHH building heat up for himself. Other heels have done that in the past. Don’t over-react to this.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
Undertaker/Brock Lesnar: This is what should have been done since Day One. Make Lesnar look unstoppable. It is a little too late for me. Like I’ve been saying, I think the match will be good. But the build up to it has not been great. Hopefully I’m still proven right about the match Sunday.
Andre the Giant Build: Typical Lazy Booking 101. Like I said, I would much rather see a couple solid mid-card feuds instead of a lazily put together battle royal.
I thought the end of the show brought this up to slightly above average. Everything else was the typical hold steady on the final RAW before Wrestlemania. Don’t have a problem with it. Better to be safe than sorry. I’m gonna give the show a 6.
Until Next Time,
Justin C
Follow Me On Twitter @JCWonka
