Seth Rollins hosts
“The Daily Show with Seth Rollins,” Jon Stewart shows up to do some mic work. Regardless
of your politics, it was pretty cool to see Jon Stewart on Raw. His enthusiasm and his knowledge of the product was pretty
cool too. I remember him mentioning his son is a fan. Stewart did some great
ad-libbing too. You could tell he was having fun.
This was some great pre-Wrestlemania
publicity. As far as celebrity appearances on Raw are concerned, Stewart is right up there with Hugh Jackman and
Pee Wee Herman in my book. In other words, he did a very good job.
Amid rumors of Brock
Lesnar walking out before Raw last week, Paul Heyman puts on a promo clinic. Heyman
seemed to be genuinely frustrated with the non-functioning microphones. You
can’t blame the guy. He is on
national television, after all.
Still, WWE’s Master of the Mic managed to address the rumor
that Brock Lesnar walked out before last week’s show, as well as the
speculation about him leaving after Wrestlemania,
without directly mentioning either of them. He also managed to put Roman Reigns
over in the process. At this point, if Paul Heyman says your name in a promo,
you come out looking good whether he’s for or against you. His role in the hype
for Wrestlemania cannot be
understated.
Also, that “Brock Lesnar simply Rhonda Rouseys your ass”
line was awesome. Quote of the week, easily.
Seth Rollins def.
Roman Reigns, with an assist from Randy Orton. I like how they’re weaving
Seth Rollins and Randy Orton into Reigns’ build up for Wrestlemania. Not that they have much choice, mind you. Brock
Lesnar obviously isn’t there. But it bodes well for after Wrestlemania, when they’re looking to give Reigns somebody to work
with.
Reigns looked really good this week. And I loved that dive
over the top rope. It was reminiscent of what The Undertaker used to do. Slowly
but surely, I’m becoming a Roman Reigns fan.
Paige and Nikki Bella
get a two-segment match, seemingly in response to #GiveDivasAChance. AJ Lee
subsequently returns. To WWE’s credit, they listened to their fans on this
one. As much as I really don’t like the Bellas, Nikki and Paige got my full
attention on this one. I’ll say this much, I appreciated WWE giving some extra
emphasis to the Divas Title here, what with the in-ring intros and the added
build up. I STILL wish it didn’t look like a trinket you’d put on a Barbie
doll. But one step at a time.
I won’t say the match was fantastic. But there was some
really good stuff on display here. Paige showed some great fire during her
comeback. I also liked Nikki’s use of the Alabama slam. She’s strong, I’ll give
her that much. And of course, it’s always great to see AJ Lee. It looks like
we’ll have ourselves a tag match at Wrestlemania.
All in all, this could be a nice start. Could be. If they stick with it.
Alundra Blayze
announced for the WWE Hall of Fame. Firstly, in the video package, I love
how they lumped the Bella Twins in with the likes of The Fabulous Moolah, Wendi
Richter, Trish Stratus, and Lita. Sorry ladies, not quite yet.
I’m happy to see the real life Debra Anne Miceli get this
moment. She definitely deserves it. As far as the infamous title belt in the
trash incident on Nitro is concerned,
time definitely heals all wounds.
John Cena tries to
enter himself into the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal. Stephanie
threatens to leave him off the Wrestlemania
card. Didn’t Cena try to do this last year? Not that it would have made a difference, for all that battle
royal win did for Cesaro’s career…
But seriously, Cena getting left off Wrestlemania? Even to the marks, that must be laughable. It does
bring to mind what WWE would be like without Cena, though. That’s a much more
plausible scenario in 2015 than it was in, say, 2011 or 2012. Guys like Daniel
Bryan, Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns, Bray Wyatt, and a slew of NXT
talents are stepping up…
Incidentally, Curtis Axel was just about the last guy I
expected to see come out after that segment. This “Axelmania” thing seems to be
getting him some TV time.
Bad News Barrett to
defend against multiple opponents in a ladder match at Wrestlemania. I call bouts like these “squeeze matches.”
They’re essentially just trying to squeeze as many guys on to the card as they
can. Barrett and Dean Ambrose would have been fine on their own, but instead
we’ve got to have a bunch of other guys in there. I suppose the upside is that
Dolph Ziggler will be featured in a match, as opposed to simply being jammed
into the battle royal. The purist in me wishes they’d stick with one-on-one
title matches, in the spirit of Randy Savage vs. Ricky Steamboat, Bret Hart vs.
Roddy Piper, and yes, the Shawn Michaels vs. Razor Ramon ladder match.
Incidentally, I really enjoy R-Truth on commentary. He
doesn’t make any damn sense half the time, but he’s fun to listen to.
The Miz
unintentionally stars in a “Niagra” commercial, furthering his feud with Damien
Sandow. Penis humor. Yeah, that’s got Vince McMahon’s name all over it.
Still, that rant Miz went on afterward was pretty awesome. The notion of Miz
blackmailing Sandow with the memory of where he was before they were a team is
interesting, as is Miz referencing when Sandow was actually released from WWE
several years ago. This feud is still hot.
Triple H “fires”
Booker T for saying he “blocked” Sting from coming to WWE. Want to play a
fun drinking game? Take a shot every time Booker says “I’m just saying” in that
segment. Good lord. Still, Hunter brought the segment home really damn well.
Some of his best mic work in awhile.
Bray Wyatt sets fire
to casket during another promo on The Undertaker. Ah, the old flaming
casket routine. A classic. Bray’s promos have been very focused, and much more
polished in recent weeks. I won’t lie, I’m dying to see The Undertaker. And the
longer they make us wait, the more we’ll love it when he finally emerges.
Written by: The Fanboy Wonder, Rob Siebert
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