Tonight’s Raw was held in Albany, New York and was the final episode before this Sunday’s Extreme Rules pay-per-view. The Viper was on the prowl all night, Rusev struck one more time, and The Miz and Mizdow battled over the rights to “The Miz brand.” Here are the pros and cons from tonight’s go-home edition of Raw.
Pros
Randy Orton kicked off the show with a solid promo. He talked about how he was going to drag Seth Rollins around by his “stupid blonde streak” and how he doesn’t “need the RKO” on Sunday. Rollins countered by saying, “I play this game of human chess better than anybody.” In the end, Orton said he would get the RKO out of his system by hitting Rollins, along with anyone else who got in his way, with the move. Overall, it was a good way to start the show and set up a final confrontation between the two at the end of the night.
Luke Harper vs. Dean Ambrose was the first match of the night, and it wasn’t a terrible way to kick off the in-ring action. It was nice to see the WWE remove the muzzle from Harper and let him say a few words, as this guy actually does have some skill on the mic. The action was strictly brawling in nature, with the action spilling into the crowd (something that doesn’t happen enough, in my opinion). It ended in a double count-out, and set up a street fight between the two on Sunday that shouldn’t disappoint.
Bray Wyatt cut a nice promo tonight. Much like previous weeks, he referred to himself as the “New Face of Fear” while vaguely threatening some unknown superstar. We all know there are going to be some shenanigans during the main event on Sunday, so it wouldn’t surprise me at all to see Wyatt ruin another main event (much like he did at Hell in a Cell between Ambrose/Rollins) and cost Orton the match on Sunday, thus setting up a program between the two.
The Lucha Dragons and New Day worked really well together tonight. The match was basically a spot fest, but that was largely due to the Dragons putting on a great show. Some memorable spots included an amazing counter of a tornado DDT into a northern lights suplex by Kalisto, and also a double moonsault to take out the New Day at ringside. In the end, Xavier Woods cost the Lucha Dragons the match and earned the New Day their rightful spot on the kickoff show this Sunday. It is worth noting that the New Day were one of Orton’s numerous victims tonight.
Sheamus was supposed to square off with Zach Ryder tonight, but that never really happened after the Celtic Warrior brutalized and berated the Long Island Iced-Z. Sheamus plays the douchey heel so well, and even has the look after his recent makeover. Ziggler eventually interrupted the beating by coming to the ring to hit a Zig-Zag on his Extreme Rules opponent.
The backstage vignettes usually blow, but they were surprisingly good tonight. From Orton RKOing Heath Slater through a table to Rusev attacking Cena to Miz holding up his flop of a DVD, there was some good stuff tonight.
Even though Seth Rollins vs. Dolph Ziggler was obviously a vehicle to set up a confrontation between Rollins and Orton to end the show, they still put on a good show and it was nice to see a non-tag team main event for once. They held back a bit, but there were some good spots, including a big DDT from Ziggler, as well as a counter of the powerbomb into a sunset flip. Sheamus distracted Ziggler and cost him the match, but Rollins wouldn’t get to celebrate for long, as the show ended with The Viper striking and hitting a huge RKO. Also, it sadly looks like the reports were true and the Curb Stomp is gone for good. R.I.P. :(
Finally, John Cena cut an intense promo before issuing yet another open challenge. Kane was irked from earlier in the night and decided he would answer the call. These guys have worked together on numerous occasions before, so it’s not surprising that they had decent chemistry. There weren’t many wrestling moves utilized, but the brawling action was entertaining, with Cena eventually picking up the win after countering the tombstone piledriver into an AA.
