I have been writing these Raw reviews here for a few months now. I can honestly, and easily say that none of them were as fun to write as this one!
I was in attendance as the Road to WrestleMania (or, more appropriately apparently, the Road to Roadblock) ran through the AllState Arena in suburban Chicago. The Second City is The First City in the minds of a lot of the WWE Universe, and even a lot of the guys backstage as well.
The show got off to a roaring start with the prodigal son, Shane McMahon, who received a much deserved ovation from the Chicago crowd. Shane continued pointing out the faults in recent WWE programming, including suggesting that Vince has lost touch with what the WWE Universe wants to see.
That is just refreshing to hear!
Then we heard that familiar toll of the bell and the lights went out! The Chicago crowd immediately jumped to their feet with a collective roar anticipating the experience of one of the most exciting entrances in WWE history!
…then Vince came out and ruined all of that. I can’t say that I was thrilled that The Undertaker’s entrance was just a tease, but if you’re a heel and you want to get HUGE heat instantly, THAT is how you do it!
The biggest pop in the evening came in the next segment though. After Kevin Owens defeated Neville in what was a very solid match, Owens would continue the beating and attempt to give the powerbomb on the ring apron to The Man That Gravity Forgot.
It was at this point that I realized – the rumors are true! And that is when the music hit! For the first time since injuring his shoulder back in May, Sami Zayn took his rightful place on the Raw stage. I have come to the conclusion that it is probably easier to sneeze with your eyes open than it is to hear Zayn’s entrance music and not be put in an instant good mood! It’s just a fun song! It’s the type of song that you can see more than 70,000 people cheering to at the end of a WrestleMania at some point! Hhmmm….
Even with the huge reaction that not only Zayn’s re-debut received, but the reaction when he and Owens collided, they are still talking about having a multi-person match for the Intercontinental Title at WrestleMania. I’m looking at this two ways – the bad way – Owens and Zayn could put on a memorable WrestleMania match on their own and we may be getting robbed of that. The good way – I’m planning on attending Payback on May 1 in Chicago and if they won’t have Zayn and Owens one on one at WrestleMania, I would be willing to bet that they will have it at Payback!
No question on the match of the night – The New Day and Y2AJ simply tore the house down. The back and forth matchup between four of the most popular superstars on the show (well five if you count the outside presence of Xavier Woods…and six if you count the trumpet) kept the crowd on the edge of their seats. No, that’s a lie – you can’t be on the edge of your seat when you are standing the entire time!
Somewhat surprisingly The New Day came away with the win and retained their titles. The reason why they did soon became apparent. For weeks there had been rumors that at some point soon AJ Styles would turn on Jericho, possibly leading to the introduction of The Bullet Club. And that’s what happened…kinda.
As Styles was helping Jericho up after taking the loss, Jericho hit Styles with the Codebreaker…and then again…and then again! It looks like the two will meet up at WrestleMania this year. I’m not that big a fan of a WrestleMania match that took place at the previous pay per view, but the story of the match has at least changed. This could be a great way for WWE to introduce AJ Styles to WrestleMania.
Ryback continued his heel turn with a promo that ran a little too long on Kalisto in the back, possibly setting up a US Title match between the two at WrestleMania. Ryback would then go on to demolish Curtis Axel in a quick squash match that didn’t really have much worth talking about. EXCEPT Ryback hitting Axel with a running knee and then making the “Go to Sleep” motion. Not something you want to do in Chicago good sir!
This was an obvious sarcastic nod to CM Punk, who has ripped Ryback multiple times for his reckless style in the ring. The motion generated a CM Punk chant from the hometown crowd – which, honestly, I was surprised I didn’t hear more often throughout the night!
The main event saw Dean Ambrose and Bray Wyatt again. The two put on a good match, but with everything that had gone on during the three hour show, the crowd was dead for the entire match. They came back alive when Triple H came down and got face to face with Bray. Bray would then slightly turn his head, smile and make reference to the belt over The Game’s shoulder. THIS brought the crowd to their feet.
When will WWE realize that Bray needs to be put at the top of the card? The roster doesn’t have many better than he is both in ring and on the mic. Here is what I am thinking – next Monday on Raw, Harper, Rowan and Strowman abduct Stephanie. Bray comes out and says he will release Stephanie is Triple H adds him to the WrestleMania title match with him and Roman Reigns.
It’s a long shot but would go a long way in helping the main event get over with the fans.
WHAT DID YOU THINK OF RAW? WHAT WILL WWE DO WITH BRAY WYATT? WERE YOU EXCITED TO SEE SAMI ZAYN RETURN? FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @FROM_THETOPROPE AND LET US KNOW!
