My Thoughts: WWE Raw 5.19.14 (Bray Wyatt, John Cena, The Shield, Evolution)

Reviews, Shows, Top Story, TV Shows

WWE Raw 11-13 Header

#1 ~ That was a fantastic way to open RAW. I don’t think I’ve ever seen the WWE “Signature” interrupted before and it just shows how much faith the WWE does have in The Wyatt Family act & particularly Bray Wyatt. Granted the great opening and promo was almost washed away by the “Super-Cena” moment but there’s just no way of getting around things like this with the “John Cena” character.

#2 ~ I’m guessing Cesaro didn’t get an entrance because he probably got a massive pop from this crowd and he’s SUPPOSED to be a “bad guy”. They had to know that Sheamus would be booed. He’s a damn Irishman, wearing the United States Championship and facing Cesaro. Still, a relatively stiff match between two guys who know how to take a punch. I liked the sudden, “stolen” finish with Cesaro winning pretty cleanly over the US Champion. They might be able to put on a pretty good show at Payback.

#3 ~ Once again the WWE attempts to heighten the prestige of the Intercontinental Championship by having a Beat The Clock Challenge for the number one contendership. Add that to the Battle Royal a month ago & WWE’s on the right track to make the IC title something to strive for again.

#4 ~ Hey, at least we didn’t have to sit through Fandango versus R-Truth…

#5 ~ Stephanie McMahon still is one of the greatest heat-seekers in the WWE. First she comes out to Daniel Bryan’s music, a tired & true tactic. But it was the Bad News Barrett montage that really turned up the heat. Even without Bryan on TV, I still look forward to Stephanie’s segments.

#6 ~ Nothing at all special about Batista and Rollins – except for Ambrose on commentary. He was just golden. The only thing we can hope for is that the Evolution/Shield match at Payback is at least as good as their match at Extreme Rules. Adding in that it’s an elimination match and I have high hopes. This is a perfect opportunity to showcase anyone from The Shield and while Roman Reigns may be the obvious choice, Dean Ambrose seems to be the one guy who hasn’t had an opportunity to showcase what he can do in the ring. What better way to spotlight the “lunatic fringe” by having him overcome unbeatable odds?

#7 ~ I had to double-check my calendar because the way this show ended felt like a “go-home” show if there ever was one. Bray Wyatt hovering over John Cena singing while Luke Harper counted to 10 was the perfect image to sell a pay-per-view. But yet we still have another week to go through and thus another chapter to write before we get to Payback. With the way tonight ended, I can only believe that Cena will be standing tall leading into their Last Man Standing match. Whatever they do, I really don’t think they’ll be able to top tonight’s Wyatt/Cena story.

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