WWE RAW 01/04/2013 Review: Final pit-stop to Wrestlemania

This week’s RAW was the last one before Wrestlemania and WWE had the responsibility of giving all the top matches the necessary build-up that was required. Quite clearly, Wrestlemania this year will be among the least built up Wrestlemanias; and compared to the previous years, every storyline has received very less time and momentum.

Let us now look at all that transpired at RAW this week and see how far it managed to keep our hopes of seeing a good Wrestlemania alive.

John Cena‘s Wrestlemania promise

The show opened with John Cena and, not surprisingly, Cena was clearly booed by the Washington crowd. Though commentators called it a mixed response, I would consider it negative. It’s high time WWE realizes that its top babyface doesn’t need to be the babyface anymore. Anyway, getting back to the segment, Cena came out with his much rehearsed lines where he vowed to defeat The Rock at Wrestlemania.

Though Cena has been telling this to us for the past two weeks now, this promo had a bit more passion in it. The words didn’t ring into my ear much but I feel Cena brought out a lot of emotions in this segment. It was hard to see Cena get booed this much, the boring and Cena sucks chants must have affected Cena to some extent. I, for one, expect a lot of heat from New York after Cena wins the title. A decent promo from Cena that could have had him say something different.

Big Show, Sheamus and Randy Orton vs 3 MB

How does WWE make a three-man team look strong? The answer to that is the Three Man Band baby. So, we got to see team WWE face the 3 MB in a match that was supposed to help them make a statement. The match was a complete disgrace as we’ve been seeing the same for the past two weeks.

As expected, The Shield come out and cut a promo telling how weak the three are as a team. They try to get into the minds of Sheamus and Orton to try and convince them of a possible foe in the form of Show. I would love to see Big Show turn against Sheamus and Orton at Wrestlemania and turn him into a monster heel that WWE once portrayed him to be.

A segment that failed to deliver. Would have expected much more than crap talk from The Shield; let’s just hope WWE doesn’t bury them at Mania.

Zeb Colter and Jack Swagger promo

It’s sad to see the way WWE is building up its two important titles. Speaking of the World Heavyweight Championship, WWE is constantly trying hard to deprive this title of its value. The present holder, Alberto Del Rio, has struggled ever since he turned into a face. Del Rio somehow hasn’t connected too well with the writers, and it is time either of them made changes to their approach. Colter and Swagger started well with this angle, but somehow their promos don’t seem to make sense anymore. On the whole, the match is turning into a complete dud.

Dolph Ziggler vs Daniel Bryan

Every week, RAW has given us a match that somehow keeps us expectant of it becoming better and this was the match for the week. One half of the tag-team champions – Daniel Bryan – squared off against the show-off Ziggler in a match that showed a lot of wrestling skill. Using AJ as a distraction, Ziggler was able to pick up the victory after which Big E took care of the rest by crushing Bryan and Kane.

Shawn Michaels Promo

Shawn Michaels returns to be on Triple H’s side and he makes his way to the ring to give Hunter some advice on his retirement match against Lesnar. He calls Lesnar a money-loving monster who doesn’t need respect and expects Triple H to kick his ass. Paul Heyman then makes his way to the ring along with Lesnar. Heyman undoubtedly surpasses the best speakers of WWE. A good segment where both Michaels and Heyman delivered well.

Wade Barrett vs Zack Ryder

A decent match where the crowd seemed impervious to the happenings in the ring. At least one thing turned out right here, and that was Barrett picking up a victory. Barrett needed this victory as he had lost quite a few matches before on RAW.

Mark Henry vs Santino Marella

What is the punishment for cracking a stupid April Fool’s joke on Vickie and Brad Maddox? The answer is Mark Henry. Santino faced just that on RAW this week, after he made a fool out of Vickie when he told her that Vince McMahon was furious and planning to fire a particular someone. Getting into the match, Henry took close to 45 seconds (if my calculations are right) to finish the match with the World’s Strongest Slam.

Ryback then makes his entry into the ring, and with the No Contact clause still on, Ryback cannot touch Henry. But Ryback, being the wiser of the two, uses Santino as a weapon and knocks Henry out of the ring. A good build-up to a match that I’m looking forward to.

Zeb Colter vs Albertio Del Rio

The Dirty Dutch was going to make his ring debut for WWE against Del Rio. A crippled Ricardo still wanted to be on Del Rio’s side and this proved to be his Achilles heel again. WWE used the Ricardo angle again as Swagger stalked him outside and distracted Del Rio. The Champion picked up the win but was later brutalized by Zeb and Swagger using Ricardo’s crutches. A worthless match, but it at least scored better than their promo earlier in the show.

The Rock’s promo

The Rock made his way to the ring and spoke about connection between the People and the People’s champ, and frankly, that was what he lacked in this week’s promo. The crowd failed to sync with The Rock to a huge extent and, unlike his usual self, The Rock couldn’t set it right. The Rock spoke about becoming the president and I’m sure a lot of people disliked that aspect of the promo.

Chris Jericho vs Antonio Cesaro

Antonio Cesaro is the best example to show that WWE is misuing talent. The fact that Cesaro is not a part of Wrestlemania justifies that even more. Cesaro is raw talent and it is a shame how WWE have sidelined him and the United States Championship. Now, the match was a complete beauty, as you would expect from a Jericho match. But this match wasn’t only about Jericho as Cesaro showed he can amaze us as well. Jericho picked up the victory and was then attacked by Fandango – who I’ve started liking of late. Great match and an interesting end as Fandango beats Jericho down two weeks in a row.

Divas Match: The Funkadactyls vs The Bella Twins

So while most of us would have gone on for a refreshment at this point, I, for some reason, wanted to stick around this match (of course to watch the Bella Twins) and you wouldn’t believe me when I say the stay was worth it. Shockingly, these divas managed to put on a solid professional match that was quite interesting. The Bella Twins picked up the victory, which pleased me even more.

Undertaker promo

WWE ended the last three RAWs with three different feuds which was refreshing. This week, it was the Undertaker’s turn to end the show and he started off with a promo telling how personal his feud with Punk has become. Just as he continues speaking, out come the druids which surprises even the Phenom. To everyone’s horror, out comes Paul Bearer! Forgive me, I meant Paul Heyman dressed as Paul Bearer. Undertaker is furious as he runs down the ramp and Punk disguised as a druid attacks him and hits him with the urn. He then does a shocking move as he pours down Bearer’s ashes on himself and Undertaker to end the show.

Punk’s action seemed hugely depressing, and kudos to Punk who played out the scenes very well. After a long time now, I feel the streak is in jeopardy.