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It was the final RAW before Elimination Chamber and as expected we were shown a fully-entertaining clash between all the participants from the two big matches of the pay-per-view. All 6 elimination participants faced each other, and three new matches were added in the Elimination Chamber match card in an episode of Raw that ended with an explosion.
Here are the talking points from the latest episode of Raw:
Is Christian heading for a heel turn?
The show started with all 6 Elimination Chamber opponents confronting each other in the ring and Kane announcing one-on-one matches between these men, the first one was between Christian and Daniel Bryan. The former started the night as a face but gave hints of a heel turn from the start as he attacked Bryan from behind, even before the bell rung, and threw him into the steel steps.
Like a top heel, he targeted Bryan’s hurt arm and even mocked the Yes! chants, and shouted that he should be the champion. We know that Christian is not going to win the Elimination Chamber match, so a heel turn is actually a good idea by the WWE to keep Christian’s character interesting enough after the Elimination Chamber PPV.
Will Ambrose’s thirst to prove himself prove costly for The Shield?
Roman Reigns faced Mark Henry in a one-on-one match, where he won the match with his outstanding display of strength through his signature moves: Superman Punch and The Spear. He looked strong in his win and virtually filled the fans with the belief that The Shield could actually win against the Wyatt Family.
But the unimpressed Ambrose, who didn’t like Reigns considering himself ‘one-up’ over him, attacked Henry on his own after the match much to the surprise of his teammates, and reopened the debate about The Shield’s unity in light of his egotistic attitude which can lead his team to a loss at the Elimination Chamber. For how long can Rollins act as the pacifier?!
Another great performance by Cesaro
Cesaro faced the actual face of the company, John Cena, on Raw as he looked to add to his momentum which was boosted with a win over the unified champion, Randy Orton, on SmackDown. Cesaro controlled the match for most of the time as he delivered his suplexes, uppercuts and even the nearly-never ending Big Swing to the 14-time world champion Cena.
This match was filled with several counters and the ending was also a result of a counter as Cena ended a series of counters, which started with the Neutralizer, with an AA to Cesaro for the pin. Despite the loss, Cesaro’s performance won him “This is Awesome” chants from the audience and that makes him a tough man to beat inside the Elimination Chamber on Sunday.
Will The Usos win where it matters the most?
It was announced that The Usos will be facing The New Age Outlaws for the tag team titles at Elimination Chamber, so a match was contested between Jey Uso and Billy Gunn on Raw to determine which team heads into the ppv with the much needed momentum. The Usos made it two out of two as Jey pinned Gunn, three nights after pinning Road Dogg in a 8-man tag team match.
Two wins over the currents champions are going to work in The Usos’ favor, however it will be interesting to see how The Outlaws respond to these defeats on SmackDown. The Usos will eventually win the tag titles but will their WWE moment come this Sunday or has WWE saved it for WrestleMania XXX? We’ll have to wait until Sunday to get the answer.
The show’s ending
The main event match of the night was contested between the champion, Orton, and one of his five challengers, Sheamus. The Celtic Warrior controlled the match initially but his momentum started to break after Orton sent him into the steel steps and the announce table. After it looked like that Orton is about to finish the match with the RKO, Sheamus countered with three consecutive backbreakers and looked set to deliver the Brogue Kick, but (surprisingly) got attacked by The Shield.
Cena and Bryan came in to even the odds, they were followed by Cesaro (who saved and then attacked the fan favorites) and Christian. The lights went off and when they came back we had the Wyatt Family and The Shield face-to-face in the ring once again for the night, but this time they did got into a brawl with each other. And as Jerry Lawler said, all hell broke loose there with the crowd going nuts as they got what they wanted after a very long time. This was the best Raw ending in months, and just at the right time: before the Elimination Chamber ppv.
