The Return of Ace's View: MNR 5/20/13
Yep, I'm on summer break, so I'm back to writing. Let's get this shit goin!
WWE App pre-show: Interviews with Teddy Long & Chuckie Robinson about the end of Cena/Ryback
^ Continue to play up the ending guys. While it was a great spot to end the show, a clean finish would've been a better ending. Great way to add to the drama though.
WWE App: Josh Mathews interviews Paul Heyman about who the next Heyman Guy is.
^ Paul reveals who the next Heyman guy is tonight after rattling off a bunch of superstar names. You have me intrigued, please continue WWE.
^ Well that escalated quickly. Not a bad heel promo, which is surprising from him. I'm starting to become a Ryback guy, especially after last night. I wish they'd stop talking about it being the most extreme thing though. Mick Foley would beg to differ, along with most of the ECW Originals.
WWE App: Josh Mathews gets throttled by Ryback. "I got a question for you, how good is your health insurance." The cameraguy covers the lens to end the segment.
^ Corny line, nice drama. Not even mentioning it on air as they cut to a Sonic promo in the crowd.
Fandango & Wade Barrett v. Chris Jericho & The Miz
Lots of jokes during Fandango's opening. Barrett comes out to new music and a new video. Barrett v. Sin Cara announced for Main Event on Wednesday. During the match they promo the WWE App, which is showing a comedic spot involving Road Dogg, Josh Mathews & Kaitlyn (worst placement ever, huge distraction.) Fandango screws off during the match and dances outside the ring during the match as Barrett gets wailed on by Jericho & Miz, who finishes the match with the Figure Four. After the match, Jericho & Miz go to double team Fandango, who escapes through the crowd, leaving Summer Rae all alone with Y2J who seduces and then snubs her.
^ Still barely any wrestling from Fandango, no surprise there. What a waste of a potentially good tag team match. Miz & Jericho work really well together. Barely a match, great feud enhancer though. 5.5/10
Vickie Guerrero comes out and announces Swagger v. Khali/Truth/Orton (decided via the WWE app) Apparently there was supposed to be a spot with Zeb on the App during the break, but that didn't happen (thank god.)
Backstage, D-Bry is pissed that Hell No aren't the Tag Team Champions anymore. They argue for a bit as Kane bleeds under his mask and Kofi gets in between them.
Sheamus v. a commercial break Titus O'Neil
Great physical match between the two Irishmen. Great spot when Sheamus attacks Darren only to get blindsided by Titus. Titus drops an F-Bomb during the match while he smacktalks. The WWE app continues to be invasive on my experience as they show an interview with Vickie. PTP's tag team antics have certainly paid a toll on Sheamus, but he finishes the match off strong with White Noise followed by a Brogue Kick.
^ Predictable ending. Would've been a great boost for the PTP, especially Titus' singles stock. Great match. 7/10
WWE App: Josh Mathews interviews R-Truth to explain why he should be the one to be voted for. Honestly, I hope he wins, but we know Orton's gonna get it anyway.
Paul Heyman is out next to announce his new Heyman Guy. I'm hoping it's Ohno or Cesaro. Actually, it's Joe Hennig Michael McGillicutty Curtis Axel! This was an amazing swerve on WWE's part. Amazing booking. Glad to see him back on TV. Love Heyman's talk about the history of his name. Triple H comes out and interrupts Heyman though. Axel gets in HHH's face, and he in turn bitch smacks him and puts himself in a match with him tonight. This is the mark out moment of the night. 9/10
WWE App: Zeb Coulter runs his mouth off about the conspiracy and Jack Swagger. The only conspiracy is that Swags got busted for weed again and this gimmick has already past it's prime.
Alberto Del Rio v. Big E Langston
Impressive victory for Big E coming off the Big Finish. AJ distracted the ref and Big E raked Del Rio's eyes in order to gain the advantage. Some sloppy but amazing feats of strength in Big E's countering of Del Rio's Cross Arm Breaker. 6/10
WWE App: Josh Mathews interviews Khali & Natalya (who's speaking for him.) Ugh. Waste of Natalya's talent.
Layla v. AJ Lee
Great match between these two. During the match The Bellas berate the two in the ring on the app. I'm guessing the app is now the token "promo device via picture in picture." AJ wins the match via submission with the "Black Widow." Love the fact that this match was 4-5 minutes long and ended in submission instead of a rollup. 7.5/10
Cody Rhodes v. Zack Ryder
Wow, this started during the commercial break rather unceremoniously. Neither one of these guys get much love from the WWE. Backstage, Ryback watches on a screen. What seems like a match relegated to Superstars, Main Event or Saturday Morning Slam ends in about 3 minutes with Rhodes getting the victory. Again, not really surprising. 6.5/10
After the match, Ryback comes out, Rhodes books it and Ryder gets throttled. Again, not much of a surprise. "This is a message to John Cena." Ryback drags Ryder to the ambulance and loads him in there. Is Ryder's release imminent after this slaughter?
Kofi Kingston & Team Hell No v. The Shield
(In a pseudo-rematch from last night.) Shield deliver an awesome promo, with even Roman Reigns showing some improvement. During the break Josh Mathews interviews The Usos who congratulate Reigns & Rollins and then say that their time with the gold will be very brief.
Easily the match of the night. This match showcased the strengths of every member of each team. Not a single person stood out, and not a single person looked sloppy. Shield's in ring psychology is absolutely beautifully. Things fall to chaos as almost all tag team matches do, but this looked like a ballet. Reigns hits the spear on Kane for the pin. 10/10 hands down.
Jack Swagger v. Randy Orton (winner of the vote by 72%)
A landslide because of a predictable choice from the sheeple marks. I still would've rather seen the Sun Tan Superman, R-Truth. During the break, something stupid with Khali, Natalya and Josh Mathews talking about the Kaitlyn Secret Admirer situation. Zeb Coulter cuts a short promo about a conspiracy against Swagger (wasn't that Truth's gimmick before Little Jimmy?)
This was an insanely physical match. Both men put on a clinic just one day removed from Extreme Rules, but in the end, Randy Orton hits the RKO "from outta nowhere" to win the match. 8.5/10
Triple H v. Curtis Axel
With less than 6 minutes left I can tell it's not going to be a match. Ambrose v. Kofi in the US Championship Rematch is announced for SmackDown. I can't wait for that. Previously, doctors advised Trips to not take part in the match. Pretty good technical and physical match against an "injured" Triple H until he starts getting discombobulated and the refs and doctors tend to him. The match ends in a no contest. The app shows the doctors continuing to look over Triple H in front of the commentary desk as they cut back and forth to the crowd's reactions. 7/10
What a way to end tonight! Shield remains dominant. Curtis Axel debuts as Paul Heyman's newest client. We had three great matches and another 4 decent ones, plus some great feud fuel and strong promos. I'd say this was a pretty above average Raw. I'll be doing more writeups this summer, so keep an eye out here at TSR for more of Ace's View.