WrestleMania is less than a week away so WWE wants your interest big time. This final Raw before the biggest show of the year took place in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Typically one of the rowdier crowds WWE visits, the loud fans were treated to a fairly solid night of last-minute buildup and general go home-ness.
A couple of above-average contests in the opening women’s tag team match, as well as the main event singles bout between Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens sort of book-ended the show, if you don’t count promo segments. They are definitely worth going back and checking out.
Other positives from this Raw include a fun contract signing by Triple H and Seth Rollins, as well as a Goldberg spear against Brock Lesnar that was notable. There were many good things about this episode but as usual, now it’s time for the not-so-good stuff.
Some of the more botchy and outrageous moments featured in this article include a not accurate statement about handicapped people by the WWE COO, a Paige sign that surprisingly made it on air and a kick from the Deadman that almost took out a crew member for real.
All of that and more lie ahead, so go on and see what was offered on this final stretch of road before WWE’s Ultimate Thrill Ride...
#5 Delayed reaction
While Charlotte has more than excelled in her character work on the women’s side of the roster, her peers haven’t quite risen up to her elite level. Case in point was the opening promo of Raw when Sasha Banks came out to join in on the ‘Mania hype.
Playing off of the inevitable Boss turn on the Raw Women’s Champ, Sasha ended her time on the mic by saying that she has not only beaten Bayley to get into this match but will also beat her this Sunday.
There’s something about the timing of this all that just doesn’t click. Did Bayley not process what her friend just said? There’s a noticeable gap between the claim of impending defeat and outrage from the current titleholder.
After this, Nia Jax joined in with these ladies and they put on an enjoyable tag match to kick off this episode.
#4 Zach Gowen won once
Triple H and Seth Rollins made their non-sanctioned match official after a contract/hold harmless agreement was signed by both parties. It led to the inevitable post-match brawl but there was one claim by Triple H during the talking portion of this segment that wasn’t entirely truthful.
Hunter made a definitive statement about one-legged men, so a certain Zach Gowen was researched to see if this claim held any water. Gowen didn’t have a tonne of success in singles competition in WWE but he does officially hold a win over the currently Broken Matt Hardy from No Mercy 2003.
Never say never, Hunter.
#3 Best or worst sign of the night?
There were a couple of noteworthy signs from this wild Philly crowd, including a visible Roman Reigns mugshot to the left of The Big Dog’s head as he made his way to the ring before his Undertaker promo. However, the one that pushed the most boundaries was this one directed toward the future Mrs El Patron, Paige.
Also read: Alberto Del Rio and Paige getting married this week, insinuate being harassed by WWE
While Enzo & Big Cass were talking about their role for this Sunday’s WrestleMania, a fan held up a sign that read, “Paige Call Me”. Someone should probably break it to the guy that he doesn’t stand a chance.
If that wasn’t enough, the guy flipped the sign over to display the very simple but effective “Paige + 2”. How did this sign ever make it into the arena?
#2 Sami won!
It might not have been the final segment of the show but technically the headlining match was between Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens. This was Zayn’s chance to earn a spot in the Andre the Giant Battle Royal.
The prime placement might’ve been a reward for the rave reviews that their untelevised Montreal match this past weekend received, and that’s all good and well if so.
The match was competitive and hard fought, and it should’ve been expected that there’d be some shenanigans to play into the greater WrestleMania buildup. Both Samoa Joe and Chris Jericho got involved, leading to a shocking win by the Underdog from the Underground.
The crowd erupted loudly after this outrageous pinfall, so it was only natural for the WWE to immediately pan to happy fans in the crowd. Somehow, instead of finding fans leaping for joy, the WWE cameras landed on two mildly apathetic young girls. To Sami’s credit, at least the girl on the right was smirking a little.
#1 The Deadman’s surprise entrance
Credit goes to Twitter user @VincentMichaels, also known as “MeepMoop™Guy”, for sharing this front row view of The Undertaker’s supernatural entrance. I personally would’ve guessed that The Deadman simply ran really, really fast into the ring down the ramp when the lights were dimmed but I guess this makes more sense.
How long was he hiding under the ring?
The outrageous moment here came when The Undertaker accidentally kicked the production member, who’s assisting him inside the ring. Luckily, he didn’t hit the guy too hard because a successful microphone transfer occurred once he was inside the ring.
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