RAW this week was the final pit stop to Extreme Rules 2013 and the last chance for WWE to add fuel to existing feuds and also add any last minute matches. With Dolph Ziggler out of the PPV, we no longer have a World Title match. WWE luckily had a week to make up to this and could pull out Ziggler just in time. Speaking of the matches on RAW this week, there weren’t any match you could boast of in particular. Most of the matches that aired initially on the show turned out to be mediocre and lacked pace. However, as always WWE managed to give us one match worthy of mention. The Shield, as always, were a part of this match.

The show was my main event of the night and was between John Cena, Team Hell No vs The Shield. Though the finish of this match wasn’t as good as the match itself, the overall performance of these wrestlers made it acceptable. One reason why this match received a lot of positives is because it was an Elimination match which, after a very long time, has come back to RAW.

Team Hell No entered the ring first, followed by John Cena who got a rare positive response. The Shield then made their usual entry from within the crowd and the match started with Kane and Ambrose taking on each other. Kane took control within the first few minutes and then Bryan was tagged in. The match seemed completely in the hands of the face team until Kane got furious and used a table against the Shield. This lead to the first elimination. Kane Eliminated by DQ. 

Now it was 3 on 2. It was after this elimination that we got to see SuperCena again. Cena was on the receiving end of the Shield’s attack and despite repeated blows, Cena still managed to kick out at two. Rollins connected an over the rope kick straight to the face, still Cena managed to kick out. Cena made a desperate tag to Daniel Bryan and a combined effort of the Shield helped them eliminate Bryan. Daniel Bryan Eliminated by pinfall

Now it is a handicap match for the Shield as they are against John Cena. If you thought The Shield had the advantage of numbers, then think again as the Shield got a taste of SuperCena. Despite the Shield ambush, Cena managed to connect the AA on Rollins and was eliminated. Seth Rollins eliminated by pinfall

Roman Reigns, infuriated by this, speared Cena despite the ref trying to block him from this. Roman Reigns eliminated by DQ. This, according to me, was one of the most ridiculous moments of the match.

It was now between John Cena and Dean Ambrose. Ambrose pins Cena for a close count and Cena manages to lock in the STF. Rollins and Ambrose enter the ring and ambush Cena to get DQed and let Cena win. Dean Ambrose eliminated and John Cena wins by DQ.

The ending was extremely disappointing as the Shield’s undefeated streak as a team came to an end. The Shield, despite their championship matches at Extreme Rules, managed to lose on RAW which disappointed several hardcore fans. Ryback‘s attack after the match was a good build up to their match at Extreme Rules.

The match was very well paced and Shield’s team work needs to be given a huge credit here. The Shield, week after week, are able to provide the same level of intensity inside the ring and the most memorable moment of the match was watching Daniel Bryan and Seth Rollins fight against each other as these two at the moment seem to be the future star of WWE.

With just two more episodes left for Extreme Rules, WWE must now start building up some momentum to what at this moment looks a very dull PPV. The World Heavyweight Champion looks somewhat credible now after a victory last week but still suffers credibility since his loss to a contender. Triple H will face Brock once again, which I guess interests no one, and the only interesting thing to look out for is the Shield, which is now targeting the WWE Tag Team Titles. Anyway, let’s have a look at the preview of tonight’s RAW and what are the things that are expected.

1. Will John Cena be present on RAW tonight?

This, I guess, is a question that is on everyone’s mind one way or the other. Cena’s match with Ryback is already in need for a lot of push and with Cena absent, it will be difficult for Ryback to carry this feud alone. It is also important that WWE give this feud enough push as it is the WWE title that is going to be at stake. Speaking of his absence, there is one thing that several people have felt regarding Cena’s injury. After listening to people’s comments in the live event in England, a lot of WWE fans at the moment feel that his injury is fake and WWE is trying to build the feud with the injury as a storyline. We will get to hear more about this on RAW tonight.

2. Will the Shield challenge Team Hell No for the titles?

The Shield have been a huge pain in the back for Team Hell No and their strategy of attacking as a pack has been a difficult one to crack. After defeating Taker and Cena on RAW in the past two weeks and then picking up a victory on the previous edition of SmackDown, the Shield now have momentum and credibility that the previous factions lacked. Now the question that remains is whether the Shield will target the titles or if it is just the wrestlers they are against. Though the latter looks a ridiculous reason for a feud, we will get a much clear perspective on RAW tonight.

3. Will Lesnar and Jericho be present on RAW tonight?

There is a lot of rumors on sites that Brock Lesnar and Chris Jericho will be live on RAW tonight. Though Jericho’s presence looks unlikely, Paul Heyman’s recent tweet teased Lesnar’s presence tonight. Lesnar needs to build some heat into this fight though it carries no meaning. After losing to Triple H at WrestleMania, Lesnar’s credibility looks very dull at the moment. His response and actions today will determine if he is indeed going to be a challenge to the Game at Extreme Rules. As far as Jericho is concerned, his presence will surely give the WWE writers some solace as they have been struggling to write a decent script for Fandango.

4. What is the fate of the other two championships tonight?

The Intercontinental title and the United States title have been following a rough patch lately. Cesaro’s title loss to Kingston was a shocker and we didn’t see any signs of a rematch after that. The Intercontinental title, however, is suffering an even worse state. Wade Barrett didn’t even make an appearance and this disappointed me a great deal as Barrett is one of the future stars of WWE and the company is in no mood to give him the stature that he deserves. We will have to wait to see whether these two titles reserve some sort of a spotlight.

5. Why Ziggler needs to make a point on RAW tonight

Ever since Ziggler cashed in his briefcase, he has been booked as a really weak champion. There is no belief among fans that he will retain the title, though that is what needs to happen. For the past two weeks, WWE has somehow managed this feud from taking a fall and has made some credible progress. What next for Ziggler and how he makes a statement as a strong champion is one thing that needs to be seen tonight.

RAW’s trend of being boring and predictable continued this week as it managed to beat last week’s record. RAW this week was absolutely horrendous if not for two great matches. Here, in this article, I am going to get you into the best match of the evening that managed to make us feel somewhat better despite the clamor among fans about the extent of boredom in the show. Though most matches in the show maintained a good quality, it was the in between segments that made me want to turn to something better.

As I previously said, this article will deal with the best match of the evening and there were two contenders here. One was Randy Orton vs Cody Rhodes and the other was Alberto Del Rio vs Antonio Cesaro. The winner clearly was the former as Rhodes and Orton stole the show.

Speaking of the match, it was well written and there were a lot of close calls, and it looked like Rhodes would do the inevitable at certain moments. The match started off with Orton on the offensive and it looked like this match was heading for a quick finish. Despite Rhodes’ attempt to evade Orton using his speed, the Viper manged to connect an elbow and then begin his sadistic offense. Orton’s dropkicks were perfectly timed and his clothesline on Rhodes outside the ring nearly took out Rhodes’ head.

After battling out for sometime, it looked as though the match was nearing its end. But Rhodes had other plans as he somehow suddenly started predicting his former Legacy teammate’s moves with a lot of accuracy. Rhodes manged to fend off two RKOs and a rope hung DDT that Orton so well connects. It looked like Rhodes wasn’t going to give it to Orton easy.

The crowd was clearly behind Orton as the RKO chants were out but neither of the wrestlers were ready to give the opponent a victory. Rhodes landed a well crafted disaster kick on Orton. After a Goldust uppercut, Rhodes was ready to go for the kill. He climbed to the top and was ready to finish a vulnerable Orton but he managed to reverse the move with a superplex.

The biggest moment of the night came when Rhodes reversed a RKO with a Cross Rhodes and this was the moment when I thought we were finally going to see an unexpected victory. Rhodes was very close to his long elusive victory but Orton somehow managed to kick out at two, much to the delight of the crowd. The most intriguing part of the match was the way Rhodes reacted to this. He turned into a complete lunatic as he slapped himself in the face out of frustration. He then went for the Disaster Kick which Orton countered into a RKO to pick up the victory.

Rhodes clearly showed to us the extent of his talent and how well he can carry on a match. Orton was at his usual best and both these wrestlers put on a bout that clearly was the match of the night.

SmackDown was taped this Tuesday in Detroit, MI and as always, it is expected that we will get to see some interesting prospects tonight. Several storylines and questions that remained unanswered in RAW will be dealt with tonight and we will get to see several new issues rising up for RAW next week. Anyway, here is a preview of this week’s SmackDown.

Will the race for the World Heavyweight Title see something different? 

RAW this week saw Zeb Colter, Ricardo Rodriguez and Big E Langston face off against each other in a triple threat match, with the winner getting to choose the stipulation for the Extreme Rules match for the World Heavyweight title. While this match was strange, it is intriguing if we will get to see something equally strange on SmackDown. A triple threat tag match maybe, between the three teams? Don’t be surprised if I’m right, because, that there, was a spoiler. Anyway, this match has the potential to do quite well and if by any chance Ziggler gets to win, it will give him a huge momentum.

Big Show vs Randy Orton

We didn’t see Big Show out on RAW this week and does that mean the same here too? Maybe not. Randy Orton and the Big Show have been in a feud and it will be meaningless to see either of them absent on SmackDown this week. Though the brand split doesn’t have much meaning nowadays, maybe WWE wants to reserve Big Show to SmackDown to give this show some solidarity.

Mark Henry vs Sheamus

While the World’s Largest Athlete was absent on RAW this week, the World’s Strongest Man was live and was apparently flexing his muscles as he challenged Brodus Clay and Tensai for a tug rope contest. Sheamus later challenged Henry, only to cheat him and put him flat on his back with a Brogue Kick. Will Mark Henry take his revenge on Sheamus or will Sheamus make him lie flat in the ring again?

Team Hell No vs The Shield

It always occurred to me that the Shield were one way or the other going for the tag team titles. For the past two weeks the Shield have interfered and messed with Team Hell No making it much more obvious that the tag team titles are now under extreme jeopardy. Maybe WWE has finally found the time to split Team Hell No and what better way to do it other than the Shield. Will Team Hell No respond to the way Shield massacred Taker? or will we see another ambush by the Shield?

Will John Cena be present this week on SmackDown?

SmackDown is not a place where we get to see huge stars. While it was shocking to see Cena present on RAW this week, the same cannot be expected this week on SD. For long, SD has been playing second fiddle to RAW and it is high time this trend changed. Though, for the moment, there doesn’t seem to be any solace as John Cena wouldn’t risk his injury by appearing on SmackDown of all shows.

Former El Generico and present NXT star Sami Zayn responded to Seth Rollins‘ tweet earlier today.

@wwerollins I believe in the Shield.

— Sami Zayn (@iLikeSamiZayn) May 2, 2013

This could in a way be a giveaway that Sami is going to be the Shield’s next big recruit. Though this is just a rumour and there isn’t any sort of official source proving this, the idea of this happening seems to be just too much for fans to ignore. El Generico has been a revelation in the ROH and both he and Rollins are from the same alumni. With that said, this tweet could just be a friendly response from Zyan.

But the other side of the tweet makes it much more interesting as it indicates that Zayn could be the fastest recruit from the NXT and he could very well be the additional strength that the Shield requires. Though one cannot expect him to be a part of the Shield right away, WWE needs to carefully handle such an inclusion and plan up a storyline that justifies that Sami believes in the Shield more than anyone else does.

Though the idea of a fourth member isn’t very friendly to the Shield, the fact that Sami is going to be a part of WWE soon makes it an unavoidable situation.

The Shield is the hottest property in WWE currently

RAW was live from Colombus, Ohio this week and like the past two weeks, the poor show continued. The disappointing moments outweighed the very few good moments that it had. With Extreme Rules getting close and a lot of work still left as far as building feuds is concerned, WWE now has a huge hurdle in the form of Cena’s injury. Here are the top 5 talking points of RAW this week.

1. How bad is John Cena‘s injury?

There was huge news that WWE’s top star John Cena was injured after a live event in Europe last week and ever since, the news has spread like wildfire. There was huge speculation when Cena later announced that he will participate in RAW this week, which made several people doubt the legitimacy of Cena’s injury. While several people felt that this injury was just to develop his storyline with Ryback, on a personal note, I think the injury is legitimate. The question that remains now is how bad Cena’s injury is. Will he be sidelined for a few weeks or will Cena continue to wrestle despite the problem? I guess we will have to wait and see what WWE does with this.

2. Where is Fandango-ing?

Are you Fandango-ing? I guess not, but WWE still expects us to. Anyway, after watching RAW this week, I was just wondering where Fandango is really going with his character. Yes, he is in a feud with Chris Jericho but instead of promoting that, WWE apparently puts him in a dance off with The Great Khali. Great, isn’t it? Sorry to say that segment was outright pathetic. Though we could have laughed a bit at Khali’s moves, there wasn’t anything the segment proved. It looks the writers in WWE aren’t sure what they have to do with him now that Jericho is hitting the roads with his rock band, Fozzy. Hopefully, WWE has something constructive for Fandango next week.

3. Is WWE unaware of the smaller championship titles?

Looks like the only two Championship titles that WWE is aware of now is the WWE and the World Heavyweight title. The Intercontinental and United States Championships have become meagre possessions in the hands of wrestlers. Not only are fans concerned about it, even the WWE isn’t making any effort to improve its status. Kofi Kingston lost to Dolph Ziggler and Antonio Cesaro lost to Alberto Del Rio, making it difficult for us to understand just how far are we going to see these championships go disregarded. Wade Barrett wasn’t in RAW this week and it seems WWE has reserved the Intercontinental Champion as a regular in WWE Main Event. Enough needs to be done to make sure that these titles get the respect that they deserve.

4. Is the Shield eyeing the Tag Team Titles?

The hottest thing in WWE at the moment is the Shield. Every move WWE is making with them is turning out to be fruitful, and the same can be said with their recent feud with Team Hell No. The Shield faced Team Hell No and John Cena in the main event this week and they managed to pin Cena clean, giving them a huge momentum. The question that needs to be asked now is whether the Shield is looking for the Tag Team titles and will we get to see a tag match between Team Hell No and the Shield for the Tag Team titles at Extreme Rules. Looking at the proceedings, this seems the most likely outcome of this feud.

5. Who will hold the advantage in the Ladder Match Stipulation?

The first match on RAW this week was a tag team match between Ricardo Rodriguez, Zeb Colter and Big E Langston. Ricardo picked up the victory and got the opportunity to choose the stipulation for the World Title match between Del Rio, Swagger and Ziggler at Extreme Rules. Later we saw that the stipulation announced was a ladder match. Now the question that arises is whether a character like Del Rio would have really chosen such a stipulation. Everyone knows the only person of the three who would be profited most by such a stipulation is Dolph Ziggler, and the fact that Del Rio announced it made it a bit strange. Anyway, let’s hope we get to see a great match at Extreme Rules between the three.

RAW this week had created a lot of buzz because John Cena was taking part in it. Now you would ask me what’s so new about that? News is that John Cena suffered an Achilles’ heel injury and was not supposed to participate on RAW this week. But it was announced later on that Cena will team with Ryback to face the Shield. Anyway, after two disastrous weeks of RAW, this week’s episode didn’t have much to live up to. But as always, there was this glimmer of hope that something might make this week’s RAW a good one. Did it turn out to impress, or was it just another RAW that disappointed? Let’s try and review each segment of RAW and come up with a decision.

Ricardo Rodriguez vs Big E Langston vs Zeb Colter

RAW had a weird start this week as Zeb Colter, Jack Swagger and Ricardo Rodriguez faced off in a triple threat match and the winner got to decide the stipulation for the Triple Threat match at Extreme Rules. Though the match had no significance whatsoever, it allowed an easy means to set up the stipulation for the World Heavyweight Title match at Extreme Rules. The match was stupid as they couldn’t really allow Zeb to get physical and Ricardo was no match for Big E. Somehow, after the match got somewhat crazy in the end, Ricardo manage to pin Big E Langston to pick up the victory.

John Cena Introduces Make-A-Wish kids to the ring

Image credit: facebook

One segment which I really loved despite Cena’s presence. No matter how much you hate this guy, you just can’t deny the fact that this segment touched your heart. It was a really feel good segment where the kids looked absolutely ecstatic to be in the ring. Cena brought the kids who named themselves the Eliminator, Nick the Stitch and Lightning Logan. Glad WWE didn’t have Ryback interfere and spoil the moment these kids had.

Randy Orton vs Cody Rhodes

While the result looked inevitable right from the start, the match must be given special credit as both these wrestlers showed a lot of chemistry inside the ring. The match was given ample time and both Rhodes and Orton did justice to it. Rhodes has now sort of become a nothing in WWE and this obviously meant that Orton was going to end up victorious. Cody tried the disaster kick which Orton masterfully converted to the RKO to pick up the victory.

Naomi vs Brie Bella

Just another diva match where the Bella twins tried their swap trick once again to pick up the victory. Naomi then complained to the referee who, after watching the replay, reversed his decision to give Naomi the victory. Nothing much to be said here.

3MB and the Shield

The Shield came out and gave their usual speech about how destructive they have been over the year. It was a nice promo but didn’t have anything new to offer. The funniest part of the segment came when 3 MB interrupted the Shield and were starting to surround them. It was quite shocking to see 3 MB get into such a position and solace arrived as Team Hell No came in and attacked 3 MB as the Shield retreated.

Dolph Ziggler vs Kofi Kingston

If you were expecting Kofi Kingston to start his Intercontinental Championship reign on a high, think again; Kofi Kingston fought Dolph Ziggler in a match that was set up for no reason at all. Though the match was entertaining in parts, there wasn’t much involvement in it. Ziggler picked up the victory after landing the Zig Zag.

Jack Swagger vs Zack Ryder

Time for some squash, and as usual we have one of our best jobbers Zack Ryder. It was indeed surprising that Ryder was given an entrance and mic time; but after the match started, we realized it was just to waste time. Swagger dominated Ryder and then made him tap out after locking in the Patriot Lock. So much for having more than 1 million fans on Twitter. Poor Ryder!

Tug of War Challenge

Apparently, WWE thought the weightlifting contest in SmackDown wasn’t enough, so they put Mark Henry in a Tug of War challenge this week. Mark Henry easily beat Tensai and Brodus Clay and out came Sheamus to challenge the World’s Strongest Man. Sheamus got the upper hand as he let go of the rope and made Henry fall down. Henry was then silenced by a Brogue Kick. Throw away segment that didn’t have any sort of excitement whatsoever.

Alberto Del Rio vs Antonio Cesaro

I feel really sorry for Cesaro as his career now is looking quite dull. From a United States Champion, Cesaro has now become a jobber. A decent match that was given enough time. The result, however, was predictable as WWE wanted to give Del Rio the required momentum via this match.

Dance off between The Great Khali and Fandango

So you think the Tug of War challenge was meaningless? Think again, because here we have one of the most ridiculous segments I have seen. Apparently, WWE isn’t quite sure of what they have to do with Fandango now that Chris Jericho isn’t around. Let’s hope Fandango has something constructive to do from next week onwards.

The Shield vs John Cena & Team Hell No

Time for the main event. All the talks about Ryback and Cena teaming up turned out to be a farce as Ryback left the arena earlier in the show. Cena teamed up with Team Hell No despite his injury, and put up a more than decent match with the Shield. The most surprising part of the match was that Cena was pinned clean by the Shield – a rarity in today’s PG era. Cena performing despite his injury was quite commendable and hopefully he gets some time off TV to recover.

Overall, the show wasn’t as good as one would want it to be. RAW over the weeks has been quite disappointing and, as far as ratings are concerned, I would rate this show 5/10 courtesy of good matches involving Ziggler, Rhodes and the Shield.

RAW this week had a bizarre start as Ricardo Rodriguez, Zeb Colter and Big E Langston faced each other and the winner would have the leverage to choose the stipulation. In what was a well written match, Big E dominated most of the match and WWE did well to keep Zeb out of the wrestling picture. Ricardo won the match and chose the new stipulation for the World Heavyweight Title match between Del Rio, Swagger and Ziggler at Extreme Rules.

Later, after defeating Zack Ryder, Del Rio chose the stipulation for the match as a Ladder match. This is no doubt one of the best stipulations for this match as all three wrestlers are excellent workers inside the ring. We all know how good Ziggler and Swagger are in ladder matches as we have seen them in Money in the Bank matches. Now it remains to be seen if Del Rio will be able to provide the same amount of momentum and class as the other two.

Also. the stipulation provides a slight advantage of Ziggler as he has been the one with most ladder matches among the two. I expect Ziggler to pick up the victory here as his World Heavyweight title reign still has a lot more provide to fans.

There were huge speculations that The Rock had used steroids for his next movie Pain & Gain. There were a lot of people complaining that The Rock had taken steroids to add more than 15 pounds of muscle to increase his weight over 250 pounds. But in his recent interview with USA Today, The Rock revealed his Diet Plan which showed no signs of steroids. He along with co-star Mark Wahlberg denied usage of steroids.

Here’s a look at his diet plan.

Meal one: ten-ounce beef fillet, two cups of oatmeal, two-egg omelet.

Meal two: eight ounces of cod, twelve ounces of sweet potatoes, one cup of steamed vegetables (onions, peppers, mushrooms).

Meal three: eight ounces of chicken, two cups of white rice, one cup of vegetables.

Meal four: eight more ounces of cod, two cups of rice, one cup of vegetables.

Meal five: eight ounces of steak, twelve ounces of baked potato fries, a salad.

Meal six: ten ounces of cod, two more cups of rice, another salad.

Meal seven: thirty grams of casein protein powder, ten-egg-white omelet, one cup of vegetables, one tablespoon of Omega-3 fish oil.

Dwayne said ”There’s a right way and a wrong way to bulk up for a film. The wrong way is to eat as much garbage as you can for weeks on end, which actors have the tendency of doing. It’s unhealthy and puts an incredible amount of stress on your body, joints, tendons and digestive system. The right way is to bulk up with good complex carbs and protein/fat sources.”

This clearly puts out any doubts that people have now over how Dwayne Johnson managed to increase weight this drastically.

In other news,  WWE posted recently its latest countdown video showing the greatest top rope moves and Macho Man Randy Savage’s top rope elbow featured in it. Look to see if your favorite top rope move managed to make it.

Jim Ross recently took to his blog JRSBBQ.com and here he had a few important comments about Undertaker, Shield and John Cena‘s presence at NXT. Here’s what JR had to say.

On Undertaker wrestling at RAW:  ”It’s always great to see Undertaker on free TV and he never fails to give me my monies worth but, admittedly, I am extremely biased. I made a statement on Twitter earlier in the week @JRsBBQ that many disagreed with that I thought that Taker had overtaken Andre the Giant as the Greatest ‘Big Man’ in the history of the biz. Frankly, factoring in tenure, leadership, productivity, tickets sold, etc, a viable argument can be made that the Undertaker isn’t the greatest star ever in the genre.”

The Shield: ”Even though the Shield had some indy experience before joining NXT, the training that the trio received in Florida has served them well. Further proof to me that NXT is the true future of WWE as it relates to the TV product which is what drives the entire company. Nothing’s more important than talent and television within WWE.

“The Shield had a pivotal week in the world of WWE TV and it continues this Friday night on Smackdown. Already some fans are clamoring for the trio to break up and go their separate ways. I content that it’s too early for that and that there are many productive miles left in this new, hot faction that has a chance to become one of the more significant groups ever assembled in WWE.”

John Cena at NXT: ”Anxious to get back down to Orlando for more NXT tapings as @JohnCena will join the party on Thursday May 2 @FullSail University in Winter Haven, Fla. I’m curious to see who has improved their game since we were last there notwithstanding how many have gotten stronger and more athletic.”

Ryback‘s heel turn: “Ryback had a productive week in his transition to becoming a ‘villain’ and challenging the polarizing, WWE Champion John Cena. I think that these two will have sound chemistry when they meet at the Extreme Rules PPV and wouldn’t be surprised to see Ryback win the WWE Title. Seems as if it is enviable that the Vegas wrecking ball will be ‘the man’ at some point in the future as he is one of the more focused and hellbent on success performers that I have encountered in many years.”

You can catch the complete entry here.

Fans started singing Happy Birthday Cena which was later followed on by the entire roster. Tensai, Brodus Clay, Daniel Bryan and many more others came out. You can watch the entire video here.

Looking at RAW this week, there isn’t a lot that you can find worthy of discussion. RAW seemed stale and lacked pace just like last week and the UK crowd, despite their best efforts, could not make the episode look interesting. Nonetheless, there were a few moments on RAW that stood out from the rest. Let us now look at the 5 talking points of RAW this week:

1. Triple H accepts Brock Lesnar’s challenge

Triple H made a surprise entry into the arena this week as a lot of people weren’t expecting it. Anyway, the surprises ended there as Triple H accepted Lesnar’s challenge even though they had a match that lasted forever at Wrestlemania. Considering that these two are going to face off again in a steel cage match makes it hard to believe that Extreme Rules is going to be a PPV worth watching.

2. The Shield make a statement on RAW

CM Punk and the Shield at this very moment are the only two things to look out for on RAW. But now with Punk gone for 6 weeks, the heel section at the top looks rather empty. Star power on RAW is low without Punk and I guess this was the reason why Taker was going to make his first appearance at RAW in a match after more than 3 years. This was the only match that seemed worth mentioning on RAW as both the teams did extremely well. But it was the result that seemed more intriguing as the Shield beat the team of Taker and Hell No cleanly. A huge boost for the Shield’s status here.

3. Antonio Cesaro WWE‘s newest jobber

Remember Cesaro the former United States Champion? Well, that Cesaro is history now as he has taken up the role of becoming a yodelling jobber. Cesaro after shockingly losing the title to Kofi Kingston last week, now has jobbed to R-Truth. So much for being one of the best technical wrestler in the roster today.

4. Chris Jericho vs Fandango: Meaningless excitement?

When I first looked at this segment on RAW this week, I kind of liked the way it was heading but after giving the developments some thought, I wasn’t really sure where these two are heading at the moment. Fandango beat Jericho clean at WrestleMania and I felt that he was heading for bigger glory after this. But their feud continues and apparently WWE wants Jericho to put over Fandango to a greater extent which I feel is the only justified reason for this match.

5. Ryback Heel Turn: A Hairpin bend for WWE?

No matter how hard WWE is trying now, they are finding it difficult to make people generate heat to Ryback. Fans adore his anti-Cena movement and this was clearly seen on RAW this week as the crowd cheered for Ryback and Cena received a lot of heat. Apparently WWE is having a difficult time making clear to fans who the heel is and who the babyface is.

RAW was live from London, UK last night and after a disdainful show last week, WWE had plenty to make up to. RAW this week was one to watch mainly because it was witnessing a historic event of The Undertaker wrestling after more than 3 years on RAW against the Shied. Frankly, this was the only match that managed to make us feel better as the other matches simply were a carry over from last week. Anyway, let us now look into the each and every segment as I review them.

Triple H, Paul Heyman Segment

Brock Lesnar challenged Triple H to a match once again last week on RAW to a cage match at Extreme Rules. Like most WWE fans, the crowd at London last night was completely uninterested with the developments in this segment. Paul Heyman spoke about Triple H and surprisingly he was in the arena last night. The crowd however gave him a lukewarm response. As if nobody ever guessed this, Triple H accepted Lesnar’s challenge to confirm their match at Extreme Rules and then pedigreed Paul Heyman.

Antonio Cesaro vs R-Truth

Of all the poor moments in RAW this week, this will probably be the worst. Frankly, there isn’t much you can say when you look at the result. R-Truth pinned Cesaro to pick up the victory. One of the best technical wrestlers in the roster today, Cesaro is now arguably in the worst phase of his life as a wrestler. To add to our woes, Cesaro came out of the ring yodelling which made him look even more ridiculous. The match, as expected, didn’t live up to being a good one especially since R-Truth was in it.

Brodus Clay vs Damien Sandow

Nothing much to say about this match. WWE seems to have gotten into a trend where they make good wrestlers look like a bunch of clowns. The same happened with Sandow who despite picking up the victory, looked like a dud. Sandow pinned Clay after rolling him up using his tights for the victory. Sad that Rhodes Scholars is now booked like this.

Chris Jericho vs Dolph Ziggler

This match had all the potential of being the best match of the night and for some time, it seemed the match was headed that way. Vickie Gurrero and Brad Maddox backstage interrupted Ziggler and AJ to give them a surprise that he was going to face Jericho next. The stipulation was that Jericho would be added to the Extreme Rules card for the World Heavyweight Championship. But after what looked a decent match, Jericho was distracted by Fandago’s music and Ziggler connected the Zig Zag for the victory. The disappointing thing about this match was the way it ended. Despite a healthy display by the two, the crowd seemed impervious and this was confirmed by the wave around the arena.

Cody Rhodes vs Tensai

As if the previous squash wasn’t enough, the Rhodes Scholars were out again and this time Rhodes was going to face Tensai. It looks like the fans in London had sinned previously and WWE found just the right way to punish them. The match, though a bit pacy, looked completely useless as Tensai pinned Rhodes to pick up the victory. It was a senseless match that the match card would have done without.

Big E Langston vs Zack Ryder

Big E is being made to look strong and the best way for WWE to do this is by putting him in squash matches. Big E faced Ryder and completely decimated him to pick up the victory. So much for all the Zack Ryder heel turn and him being the fourth member of the Shield.

The Shield vs The Undertaker and Team Hell No

The pre-match segment between Kane and Bryan was hilarious with Bryan planning to make a statement. Both were attacked by the Shied leaving Undertaker alone in the ring. Later, the Shield surrounded Taker and Team Hell No came to the rescue. Now if that wasn’t enough, let’s talk about the match. If RAW this week wasn’t a complete failure, you have to thank this match. Excellent match that the Shield have now gotten accustomed to. Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins are no doubt the best future of WWE at the moment. Undertaker showed no problems whatsoever as he looked fitter than ever, Bryan gave us more than what we had bargained for and Kane chipped in well. On the whole, this match didn’t deserve to be on a RAW like this as the creative team did enough justice to make the Shield look strong.

Fandango vs William Regal

William Regal is one of the most underused wrestlers in WWE history and the company didn’t get close to changing that. Fandango is the latest sensation in the company and Regal unfortunately turned out to be just the right jobber for him. The best part of the match came when Jericho attacked Fandango and danced with his dancer Summer Rae from NXT.

Diva’s Battle Royal

In other news, AJ Lee won the Divas Batte Royal. Enough said.

Mick Foley, Ryback segment

Foley this year got inducted into the Hall of Fame and after this, he is being used as a means of support to make the feud between Cena and Ryback legitimate. Ryback’s heel turn has failed miserably and WWE is trying hard to make him look more like one. The crowd however was in no mood to accept that. Ryback got a lot of cheers and Cena was given a dose of London heat. Anyway, Foley and Ryback gave us a horrendous time inside the ring. Ryback and Foley were immensely boring as Cena came out. Before Cena could say much, the Shied was out to teach Ryback a lesson. Cena supposedly bailed out but ca,e back with Foley’s chair to beat the Shield up. If you thought Cena did that to save Ryback, you’re wrong. He wanted to beat Ryback himself and he did that after he laid the AA on Ryback.

Every segment on RAW this week had its own sad story to tell. The show never took off from where it left last week and sadly for all WWE fans, RAW this week was an equally poor disaster as last week. Hopes of a repeat of post-Wrestlemaia RAW has now become an even more distinct dream. I would give this week’s RAW a 5/10 solely due to the Shield vs Taker match.

Of the twenty movies that the WWE studios released till now, John Cena has played the lead actor in four of them. The Marine, directed by John Bonito is a so-called action packed ride. The movie revolves around the plot that John Cena’s wife gets kidnapped by the villain played by Robert Patrick and his gang and how Cena risks his life to save her. This movie is a long and arduous journey for any movie fan, especially action movie buffs. Quite surprisingly, this movie made heaps at the box office and was very recently dethroned as the highest grosser by WWE studios. Two other films that John Cena was cast in were Legendary and The Reunion. Both these films fell short of crashing and burning at the box office. It was after the movie Legendary that John Cena’s acting credibility was highly criticised. John Cena’s only movie to justify his acting credibility is 12 rounds. Though with the same kind of story as The Marine (or for that matter a bunch of the movies made by the WWE studios; The Marine 2, The Marine 3, The Chaperone and also the sequel to the 12 rounds which is due soon), the 12 rounds has a very engaging screenplay and a some worthy action sequences. John Cena did rather well for his abilities in the role of a husband (also a cop) fighting to save his wife from getting killed.

That’s What I am, starring the Viper Randy Orton (supporting role) is the only film that the WWE studios made that was devoid of all the ridiculous acts. This drama is centred on a middle school teacher played by Ed Harris and his fight against intolerance and hatred in the America of the 1960s. Unfortunately, this film failed at the box office but received a lot of critical acclaim. Several other attempts by the WWE studios in the name of comedy include Knucklehead, starring The Big Show, Bending the Rules, starring The Edge which failed miserably at the box office.

One movie that is worth mentioning and even praiseworthy is The Condemned, starring Stone Cold. A movie jam-packed with stunning action sequences, The Condemned is about a bunch of vicious criminals being kidnapped and stranded on an island by a mad billionaire who instructs them to fight and kill until only one is left out to be viewed by internet’s audience. This movie was a huge success at the box office. WWE studios’ biggest blockbuster came this very month. The Call, starring Halle Berry and WWE superstar David Otunga is a serial killer thriller. The entire cast did justice to their roles and the movie carried on exceedingly well with no drags and hiccups.

As you can see, the WWE studios despite the occasional hits is struggling to make a mark consistently at the box office as are the shows of RAW and Smackdown. People in charge need to seriously introspect as to where they are heading before ruining the franchise even further. If the present trend continues, I will not be surprised if Vince plans to put aside WWE Studios for a while.

With over a month left Extreme Rules 2013, there is still a lot of time for WWE to develop storylines and bring out interesting matches for this PPV. But looking at the way things are currently being booked, the PPV is heading towards a disappointment to say the least.

Last year’s Extreme Rules had a lot of promising matches with a few of them surprising us a great deal. Daniel Bryan vs Sheamus was a match that none of us expected to do well, but it amazed several fans as they put on a great match. Another match worth mentioning last year was the one between CM Punk and Chris Jericho. When the two best wrestlers are at play, there isn’t anything better you can expect. Though the main event last year turned out to be a real dud of a match, it did live up to its expectation to an extent. WWE would surely like to repeat that success this year too; but at the moment, the predicted card looks far too weak to promise anything good.

Let us now look at the possible card for Extreme Rules 2013. The only match that has been confirmed at the moment is the triple threat match between Alberto Del Rio, Dolph Ziggler and Jack Swagger for the World Heavyweight Championship. Other top matches that are predicted to make entries are John Cena vs Ryback for the WWE Title and the Shield vs Team Hell No for the Tag-Team titles, and also Triple H vs Brock Lesnar in a steel cage match.

Now when you look at this card, you get a feeling that it isn’t too bad. I have this feeling too, but it is the way these matches are being booked that makes it a concern.

The positives of the PPV start with the World Heavyweight title. The problem, however, is that, at the moment, Dolph Ziggler does not have any momentum whatsoever as the Champion. His recent loss to Swagger has made it difficult for fans now to believe that he will be able to defend the title at Extreme Rules. Let us just hope that Ziggler will be able to pick up some victories in the weeks to come to help him gain some momentum for the Triple Threat match.

The Shield vs Team Hell No looks like another great match in the prospect. The Shield, in all their matches till date, have been quite impressive, and will do well against performers like Daniel Bryan and Kane. We have to wait and see which two wrestlers of the Shield will contest for the tag titles. Despite initial predictions about Undertaker at Extreme Rules, I do not expect to see Taker there as he is set to face the Shield at RAW next week, thus putting to an end all discussions about him being present at the PPV. This match, though, will be the one that WWE should count on hugely for the PPV to become a success.

Now coming to the not-so-promising part of the PPV. The first thing that comes to my mind is Triple H vs Brock Lesnar. Most of us expected their feud to end at Wrestlemania as Triple H settled the score; but apparently, Triple H is not happy with this even score. WWE has pitched these two wrestlers again and the only way this match will be justified is if Brock Lesnar picks up the win and continues as a monster heel with huge momentum on his side.

Next, the WWE title is back in the hands of Cena and this means it is bound to stay there for sometime now. I, for one, do not expect the title to change hands at Extreme Rules as Cena has gotten hold of the title after more than a year. The question that remains now is whether Ryback will turn heel or not. Ryback turning heel will make the storyline less compelling as he will just turn out to be another monster heel that John Cena will defeat like he has been doing over the years. Irrespective of Ryback’s heel turn, the match itself will be hard to watch as both these wrestlers are known for their inability to put a good match unless pitched against a good worker inside the ring.

As of now, the PPV does not hold a lot of value. With the mid-card and undercard matches still to be decided, WWE has a lot of work to do to make sure it doesn’t end up as a disappointment. With Wrestlemania turning out to be a failure, WWE is under huge pressure to make sure that Extreme Rules doesn’t follow a similar trend. Let us just hope that it is too early to call this PPV a disappointment as WWE has several options left to make this a promising event.

]]> http://www.sportskeeda.com/2013/04/20/wwe-extreme-rules-2013-too-early-to-predict-disappointment/feed/ 2 21090637 http://www.sportskeeda.com/2013/04/18/5-talking-points-of-raw-this-week-3/ http://www.sportskeeda.com/2013/04/18/5-talking-points-of-raw-this-week-3/#comments Thu, 18 Apr 2013 17:39:51 +0000 Siddharth Srinivasan http://www.sportskeeda.com/?p=1565336 After a wonderful showing on April 8, RAW this week had garnered a lot of expectations from fans all around, with hopes that this week too would be a cracker of a show. Though it is something none of us considered a practical possibility, deep within, there was a slight wish for RAW to turn out equally good as last week.

That however didn’t happen thanks to the dead crowd at Greenville, S.C. Here are the top 5 talking points of RAW this week.

1. Undertaker to perform on RAW next week

Huge news this, as we are getting to see Taker in a match that is not happening at WrestleMania. This is great news for all Taker fans, as he will go against the Shield in a 6-man tag team match. Despite the fact that the Phenom is not his previous self, he looks fit enough to compete in a match. Let’s hope that this is just one of the many other matches that he will perform in in the weeks to come. But for now, let us just bask in the fact that the Dead Man is going to be on RAW next week.

2. Brock Lesnar challenges Triple H again

Most of us thought that the Lesnar-Triple H feud was done with WrestleMania. Triple H got his babyface win and we were expecting a different opponent for Lesnar. But it seems that the WWE wants to bring out the best of these two, as both are tied at one match each. Lesnar won at SummerSlam and Triple H at Mania. It remains to be seen if Lesnar will come out victorious at Extreme Rules to re-establish himself as a monster heel. So for all those who are against a third consecutive match between these two, wait it out as the feud is coming to an end this Extreme Rules.

3. Fandango’s disastrous segment

RAW last week saw the crowd find Fandango’s music as a source to overcome boredom, and unfortunately the WWE has misinterpreted that to be a Fandango Revolution. Looks like we are going to find ourselves stuffed with tons of Fandangoing in the weeks to come. Fandango’s segment on RAW clearly lacked connection with the crowd. The dead crowd in Greenville seemed impervious to the fact that Fandango was out in the ring.

4. Kofi Kingston is the new United States Champion

Antonio Cesaro was absent for more than three weeks, and this week, when we finally saw him return, he lost his United States title to Kofi Kingston. Well, the fact that we need to be happy about is that there is some sort of a change as far as the US title is concerned. The title change came as a shock to many of us and though I don’t appreciate it I am not going to complain about it, as it is a much-needed change in the mid-card division.

5. Ryback‘s attempts to turn heel

No matter how hard WWE is trying, fans are not giving into the fact that Ryback is a heel. There always seems to be constant support for heels against Cena, and one shouldn’t blame the fans for this. Cena’s stale character gets another year, and all hopes that people had of a Cena heel turn has been wiped away. Ryback’s actions this week on RAW proved that he is on the path to turning heel, and is going to face Cena for the WWE title at Extreme Rules.

This week’s RAW from Greenville S.C had a lot to make up to after a cracker of a show last week. Both the promotion and the crowd had a lot of expectation up their shoulders. With several new storylines seeded, RAW this week had to provide answers to all that. Did RAW live up to its expectations? Read on as I review each segment and match on RAW this week.

Randy Orton and Sheamus vs Big Show

After Big Show decimated Orton and Sheamus last week both these wrestlers wanted to extract some revenge. Gone are those days when Big Show was a feared monster as Orton and Sheamus could somehow easily pick up the victory as Orton pinned him after the RKO. It seemed as though WWE had completely different writers last week who understood what the crowd expected. An utterly meaningless match that proved nothing to all three wrestlers.

Brock Lesnar segment

So WWE has Brock Lesnar into another contract for this year and what’s the best opponent they can find for him? Triple H. 3MB suddenly have a death wish as they call upon the Shield and want to piece of them. All they manage to get is Lesnar who destroys them. Lesnar and Heyman then challenge Triple H AGAIN at Extreme Rules in a classic cage match. I mean seriously? Why these two again? No one in the entire world would have asked for that. Anyway looks like we’re getting another match between these two.

Kofi Kingston vs Antonio Cesaro

Kofi Kingston beat Antonio Cesaro to become the new United States Champion. Guess it is time Cesaro stayed satisfied with regular appearances in WWE Main Event as he is apparently too much for RAW at the moment. Just when WWE fans cry out loud for Cesaro WWE gives us all a rude awakening telling they are in control of the show. However, this angle does carry a lot of potential to bring about a great feud between the two. Let’s hope WWE doesn’t mess this up like Kofi’s title run before.

Dolph Ziggler vs Alberto Del Rio

So Del Rio invokes his automatic rematch clause and gets a match despite a broken leg. But just as the match is about to start Swagger attacks Del Rio as he is left writhing in pain. So much for a match that needed to prove Ziggler’s credibility as a champion. I for one was completely disappointed with this match as it never really started. After several months of jobbing it is time WWE gave Ziggler to show to the crowd that he is worthy of the World Heavyweight Championship. For now it looks like we will have a triple threat match at Extreme Rules for the WHC.

Team Hell No vs Prime Time Players

For those of you who aren’t aware the Tag-Team Champions at the moment aren’t very much worried about defending their titles because they’re busy fighting it out for the Undertaker. Apparently Team Hell No and Undertaker are going to face the Shield in a six man tag match and so this week Team Hell No are in for some regular exercise. They face the PTP in a well fought match and not so surprisingly pick up the victory. I would love for the PTP to gain a better role in the tag-team division at the moment. As far as the championship is concerned I would just love it if Team Hell No loses it to some tag team at the moment.

Ryback explains attack on Cena

It was time for Ryback to explain why he attacked Cena and rather than stepping on the ring Ryback decides to stay backstage and do the explanation. Ryback’s poor on the mic and everyone knows that and this is the main reason why he was made to sit back there. Anyway the reasons Ryback put forth seemed to make some sense, especially when he wanted Cena to defend his title a little more. But still a walk down the aisle and a straight forward live promo would have been a much convincing segment to say the least.

R-Truth vs Wade Barrett

Typical filler as R-Truth defeated Wade Barrett apparently making him a contender for the Intercontinental Title. The match didn’t last too long as R-Truth out of nowhere landed a trademark Shelton Benjamin move to pick up the victory.

Santino Marella and Great Khali vs Rhodes Scholars

Ok if the previous match was a filler then I do not have words to describe this. I still remember how Rhodes Scholars were split up and then made to fight together for the one last time, surprising they still haven’t gone their separate ways. Anyway nothing much to speak of the match as Sandow rolls up Santino as he was distracted by Rhodes attacking Hornswaggle.

Fandango segment

The New Jersey crowd hummed the Fandango tune so what does WWE do? take full advantage of it and shove it down our throats expecting us to hum it every single week. Well it looks as though that is the plan now as Fandango came out and tried to do something most of us haven’t witnessed in a long while. The already dead Greenville crowd seemed impervious to the fact that Fandango was trying to connect with them and he failed miserably. Never understood the purpose of this segment as Fandango looked completely lost.

Jack Swagger vs Dolph Ziggler

Finally a match worth mentioning in a RAW that lacked everything that you expect from a show. A decently contested match that however disappointed with the result. Swagger picked up the victory as he rolled up Ziggler for the win. Del Rio then attacks Swagger from behind as everyone, me included look amazed at what is happening. In a feud for the WHC the two most important wrestlers are the contenders and the champion is made to look like a jobber having no value whatsoever to hold the title.

CM Punk segment

After losing to Taker at Mania, CM Punk made his first appearance on RAW. While most of us expected a huge promo that would leave us speechless Punk gave us just what we least expected. Frankly this was one of the worst Punk segments I have seen in a long time. Despite his initial start Punk failed to deliver just what he was trying to tell. You have to blame the writers here as Punk had nothing much to give us. He left as he was trying to explain his helplessness in proving that he is the best in the world after facing The Rock, The Undertaker and also holding on to the title for 434 days. The most disappointing part of the show for me as I had my hopes hung hugely on this particular segment.

Kaitlyn vs Nikki Bella

I love the Bellas won’t disagree with that, but that doesn’t mean I enjoyed the match. A decently timed match that saw Brie Bella switch places with Nikki to help her sister pick up the victory.

John Cena responds to Ryback

Ryback earlier in the show mentioned how he save Cena’s back several times and this time WWE wanted to show us just that. Cena wanted to confront Ryback and speak to him like a MAN. He wanted to sort out his problem with Ryback and called him out. After a boring Cena speech on the mic Ryback walked out without saying much. WWE spoiled the Shield’s interference with a brief glimpse of them backstage and they come out to attack Cena. Ryback watches on as the Shield destroy Cena. So finally what do we conclude from this? Ryback’s turned heel. You’re welcome.

A dastardly show that had nothing good to offer to us. Even the Punk segment seemed below par leaving most of us disappointed to say the least. I would rate this show a meagre 4/10.

But that doesn’t mean we need to forget the other talents available. Wade Barrett and the long-forgotten Antonio Cesaro both have their respective titles to defend and we can expect a ripper of a match with these two ready to go extreme rules. Anyway, here’s the match card that I predict for Extreme Rules 2013.

1. Divas Match: Kaitlyn vs AJ Lee. 

We haven’t seen anything brood as far as the divas division is concerned, and I’m hoping we will get to see some sort of a match at Extreme Rules. Though we cannot expect anything along the lines of a stipulation, the best we can look out for is a one-on-one match.

If many of you aren’t aware, Kaitlyn is the current Divas Champion and needs to defend the title at least this time. The Divas title remained inactive during Wrestlemania 29 and Royal Rumble, and hence, Extreme Rules needs a match reminding us of its existence.

As far as the opponent is concerned there are two options that WWE can go for. They can go for Layla, who at the moment looks like a worthy contender considering her long stay in the company. Another option that I personally prefer is AJ Lee. It has been quite long since we have seen AJ in a worthy wrestling match; and with the team of AJ, Dolph and Big E looking for gold, this match could prove to be just right.

2. Sheamus vs Randy Orton vs Big Show 

Just two weeks back, these two faced The Shield at Wrestlemania 29 and here they are, fighting against each other. Big Show turned against both his team mates at Wrestlemania after their loss to The Shield and this led to both Orton and Sheamus itching for revenge. This week’s RAW saw Big Show put both these wrestlers flat on their back, and this will lead to a lot of complications among these three wrestlers in the weeks to come.

3. Wade Barrett vs The Miz (Tables Match)

RAW this week saw the Miz lose his Intercontinental Championship just one day after winning it at Wrestlemania.  Wade Barrett looks quite impressive as the Champion and hence it made no sense to see him lose the title and regain it back on RAW. However, let us now expect Miz to fight back for the title and thereby setting up a match at Extreme Rules. A nice stipulation like a tables match can make the bout interesting.

4. Antonio Cesaro vs Christian (Ladder Match)

For all those who don’t remember, Antonio Cesaro is the current United States Champion. I’ll be glad if many of you remember his existence. Cesaro, one of the most prolific talents in WWE right now, has been sidelined and wasn’t seen on RAW this week. Let’s hope we get to see a change in trends and expect Cesaro to make a big time entrance next week.

Speaking of worthy opponents, there is one superstar whose return has been delayed for quite sometime now. One of the best when it comes to ladder matches, Christian has been for long waiting to make his return and this is no doubt one of the best moments. Christian could make his return to WWE and challenge Cesaro for a ladder match for the title. As far as Cesaro is concerned, we can see how well he can adapt to a ladder match.

5. Dolph Ziggler vs Alberto Del Rio vs Jack Swagger 

Dolph Ziggler finally cashed in his MITB case and is the new World Heavyweight Champion. Now it remains to be seen how well he can defend his title; and to remind you, he has two huge contenders in line. Swagger wouldn’t back off that easily from the title scene, and Del Rio with his re-match clause will set up a match with Ziggler.

Speaking of stipulation, a submission match will be interesting as Ziggler doesn’t have a trademark submission maneuver of his own. Maybe WWE can give him a different submission lock of his own to make him defend his title successfully at Extreme Rules.

6. Chris Jericho vs Fandango (No Holds Barred)

Fandango, after getting brutally assaulted by Jericho, is somewhat over with the crowd at the moment. Looks like Jericho is doing his part to put him over as a face, which he always does well. Fandango will now be looking to settle scores after RAW this week and a No Holds Barred match at Extreme Rules will help him do just that.

7. Team Hell No and The Undertaker vs The Shield (Falls Count Anywhere)

Time for some justice to be served in hell. For the first time, I am not wanting the Shield to win a match and that is because they have chosen to go against the Phenom. This week, The Shield interrupted Undertaker’s speech and was saved thanks to some timely interruption by Team Hell No. The question, however, is whether Undertaker will be able to perform at Extreme Rules or whether we will see him provide a replacement? I, for one, expect Undertaker to join Team Hell No and teach the Shield a well-deserved lesson.

8. John Cena vs Ryback (Steel Cage Match)

After Ryback landed on Cena a meat-hook clothesline, it became certain that Ryback will face Cena for the title, maybe as a heel. But Henry too was looking for a title shot and we will have a No.1 contender match between these two to decide the winner. Ryback will win it to face Cena at Extreme Rules, and as far as the stipulation is concerned, I would like to see a Steel Cage match where Cena can finally chicken out of the ring and retain his title.

This week’s RAW was a cracker of a show despite the absence of top wrestlers like Triple H, Brock Lesnar and The Rock. Though their absence wasn’t felt much, there was this one wrestler that the whole of the crowd wanted to see, and it was none other than CM Punk.

Everyone was expecting Punk to come out and speak about Undertaker‘s win at WrestleMania, but unfortunately it didn’t happen. There are two different reasons circulating around as to why Punk could not make it to RAW this week.

One of the reasons state Punk’s injury. It was quite visible during his match with Undertaker at WrestleMania that Punk could not properly connect an elbow from the top rope onto the Spanish announce table. Punk missed Undertaker by a few inches and this caused his knees to land hard on the table which failed to break. According to PWInsider via wrestlinginc.com:

“CM Punk was backstage at Monday’s Raw but was having a lot of trouble walking. Word at Raw was that Punk would be getting his knees examined this week as he really hurt it on the table elbow drop at WrestleMania 29.”

It was surprising to see Punk still carry on with the match after such a horrific fall and with such an injury. The sportsmanship of Punk needs to be appreciated here. Getting back to the news, Punk previously had mentioned taking time off WWE for a while in order to recuperate from his injuries and get some rest from a long schedule that he has been into the previous year. But looking at this injury, it looks like Punk will indeed take a long break from wrestling now.

Another news that recently came in regarding Punk’s absence on RAW is that Punk was kept backstage to make sure that he did not receive a huge pop from the vocal crowd at New Jersey this week. Apparently, the WWE didn’t want Punk to be given a babyface cheer on an episode where he was supposed to sell Undertaker’s victory at WrestleMania.

It was posted on PWInsider via wrestlinginc.com:

“As noted before, CM Punk was kept off Monday’s Raw to sell The Undertaker’s win at WrestleMania 29. Another reason WWE officials kept him off Raw is because they didn’t want him to receive a massive pop from the post-WrestleMania crowd that was at Monday’s show. At one point, there were plans for Punk to come out and cut a promo but they nixed it.”

If this news is indeed true, then we have to feel nothing but ashamed of what the WWE has done. It is extremely sad to see Punk being kept away from fans who would genuinely want to cheer him for the efforts he put in to make his match against Taker the best match at Mania. If not for this match, WrestleMania would have failed miserably, and the WWE should have shown some courtesy to Punk and the fans at the IZOD center.

However, Punk had great support from the crowd this week, as even the mentioning of his name got huge cheers, and the crowd would have blown off the roof had CM Punk made his entry. On the whole, I just feel that this is politics from WWE, as they are denying the fans the right to support their favourite wrestler.