The John Report: The WWE Raw Deal 05/19/14

Live (actually on tape delay) from London, England this is the Raw Deal for episode #1095. Follow me on Twitter @johnreport. Note on the banner is that my banner man Steve couldn’t make a new one this week, so I just picked that one.

Next week is the five year anniversary of this Raw Deal column. I’m not sure what I’m going to be doing for it although it’s cool to have been doing it every week for that long and also a case of time flying by because it really hasn’t felt that long. Ideas are welcome. My contact info is at the bottom of this column.

Raw began with Bray Wyatt in a darkened ring with Luke Harper and Erick Rowan at his side. He led the crowd in singing “he’s got the whole world in his hands” a few times. He spoke about how in our dreams we are superheroes and we dream of revenge as well as payback. Then we get to realize the reality that we are not superheroes and we cannot fix everything. He plans on fixing that. Bray had a teacher that thought he would never amount to anything in his life. He wondered why she thought she was so much better than him. The teacher told him he was rotten and he stood for nothing. Bray did a great job of looking straight into the hard camera while saying that the teacher told him that she knew he was evil. He laughed. Bray called himself a revolutionary and “look at me right now…I’ve got the whole damn world in my hands.” That is his payback. “I am evil. I’m the necessary evil that must exist in this world to balance everything out. I AM EVIL!” Bray said Cena hides behind that plastic smile while everything around him burns and the crowd chanted “Cena Sucks” as Wyatt said he will be the Last Man Standing or he promises nobody will stand again. Bray said that Luke Harper was going to put John Cena down.

John Cena’s music started up. Harper and Rowan ran up the ramp looking for him. Cena showed up in the ring, picked Wyatt up and gave him the Attitude Adjustment. Harper and Rowan ran back into the ring, but Cena left. Crowd was chanting “John Cena suuuucks” during his theme song. Good job by them.

Analysis: That was an outstanding promo by Wyatt, which is something I feel like I write every week. It’s because it’s true. His delivery is awesome. He can speak for five minutes like that and completely captivate the audience like nobody else. It was great to hear him say “I am evil” with conviction multiple times. He’s a guy that knows what he is. That’s why he’s so interesting. Cena’s attack shouldn’t have featured the AA. I’m fine with a clothesline or something like that, but hitting a finisher that easily makes Wyatt look like a loser. I get that the idea is Wyatt’s not ready for it. That doesn’t justify it to me.

The announce team of Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler and John Bradshaw Layfield welcomed us to the show. They reviewed that Daniel Bryan had neck surgery, but gave no indication of when he might return. A video package aired from last week with Stephanie McMahon talking about Bryan. There’s an announcement coming up later.

(Commercial)

They announced the attendance at 16,991 people, which is a sellout.

Paul Heyman and Cesaro were in the ring for a promo. Heyman was upset that the fans were making noise. He called them wannabes while he and Cesaro are stars. They should worship them in the ring. As Heyman said “my client Brock Lesnar” the crowd tried to say it so he laid on the mat. He said he wasn’t the Queen of England finally dying – he was The Undertaker losing at WrestleMania. Unlike The Undertaker, he can actually sit up. He mentioned Lesnar a few times. Then he brought up Cesaro facing Sheamus up next.

Analysis: That was excellent. Heyman is finding creative ways to mention the Lesnar thing every week and it continues to piss off the fans. That line about the Queen of England was hilarious.

Sheamus vs. Cesaro w/Paul Heyman

This is not for the US Title held by Sheamus. Sheamus was very aggressive early on as Cesaro kept walking out of the ring to avoid him. The fans were chanting “JBL” as Cesaro hit an uppercut. JBL said they were a smart crowd. Sheamus hit a running knee as well as a battering ram shoulderblock for two. There was a “Jerry” chant too. Sheamus charged into it him by the ropes, Cesaro ducked and Sheamus went over the top to the floor for the vintage floor to commercial break.

(Commercial)

Cesaro was still in control after the break. Sheamus tried to mount a comeback, but that didn’t work. Cesaro did his amazing suplex from the apron, which is an incredible feat of strength. Backbreaker by Sheamus and then a rolling senton with both moves earning him two counts. Cesaro slammed Sheamus chest first into the turnbuckle. Sheamus went to the top rope, but Cesaro countered into an uppercut shot for two. They exchanged forearm shots that the crowd reacted to well. Sheamus hit a powerslam for two. Heyman jumped on the apron to yell at the ref. He threw his coat into the ring. Like a dumbass that never wrestled before, Sheamus went after him. Cesaro hit a bridging German Suplex and that was enough to win. The match went 13 minutes.

Winner by pinfall: Cesaro

Post match, Sheamus wanted a handshake. Instead, Cesaro faked it and walked right out of the ring.

Analysis: *** That is not Cesaro’s finisher, but he won a match recently with that German Suplex too. It was pretty shocking that the interference worked by Heyman because it was just so basic. Babyface wrestlers like Sheamus get booked like idiots in situations like that. A champion losing a non-title match is something they do nearly every week. They’ll likely have a match at Payback. I don’t mind that. Hopefully Sheamus ends up turning heel soon because I’m getting tired of his babyface act.

It was announced that at Payback it will be a No Holds Barred Elimination Match as Evolution takes on The Shield. A video package aired from last week as The Shield destroyed everybody in their path.

Analysis: At Extreme Rules, where matches are supposed to have stipulations, they had no stipulation. At Payback they get a stipulation. I’m fine with it. I just thought it was weird that the Extreme Rules match didn’t have a stipulation at all.

They showed a picture of the eye injury that Roman Reigns suffered during a house show match with Randy Orton. He needed nine sutures to close the gash above the eye. Batista vs. Rollins coming up later.

(Commercial)

The “Did You Know” had nothing about WWE’s stock price sinking. It bragged about over 12 million downloads of the WWE App. If they spent more time developing midcarders into main eventers instead of plugging the WWE App then maybe Vince McMahon wouldn’t lose $340 million in a day like he did on Friday.

The German announce team are ringside for Raw. They spoke in German. I think they were asking for the return of Brakkus.

There’s a Beat The Clock challenge to determine Wade Barrett’s IC Title match opponent at Payback.

Beat The Clock: Big E vs. Ryback (w/Curtis Axel)

There’s a clock counting up for this match. Ryback hit a back elbow, but Big E came back with a belly to belly suplex. Ryback regained the control as the announcers argued about Beat the Clock while I tuned them out like I usually do. Nice spinebuster by Ryback for two. The crowd isn’t that interested in this match. Clothesline by Ryback for two. Big E made his comeback with a running body attack and a Big Ending for the win at the 5:02 mark.

Winner by pinfall: Big E

Analysis: *1/2 It took a total of two moves to beat Ryback. It’s amazing how far he has fallen. Big E has fallen too, but not like Ryback. That’s why the crowd didn’t care. It was an average match. The 5:02 sets the standard for the Beat The Clock challenge.

John Cena vs. Luke Harper coming up.

(Commercial)

Plug time: Check out my WhatCulture.com feature column archive. I write there every day (ten feature columns per week plus news commentary) and it’s a lot of fun because I get to write about current things in wrestling as well as moments from the past. I just passed 10 million views in under five months, which is absolutely incredible. Thank you so much for all the support.

There was a video of Special Olympics athletes visiting the WWE Performance Center last week.

There was a full entrance from R-Truth with the Funkadactyls. I miss when he was a heel. Fandango entered with Layla as Cole went over Fandango’s Twitter breakup with Summer Rae. The crowd did a good job of “Fandangoing” which is the term for dancing during his entrance.

Fandango planted a kiss on Layla before the match started. Summer Rae marched down to the ring. She kissed Fandango. Then she had a ECW style catfight with Layla as the crowd chanted “yes” for it. The ref broke it up and so did Fandango.

Analysis: I’d rather see Summer Rae as a heel because she’s clearly better in that role and they have far too many babyface girls already. I understand why they feel the need to go with this story. I just think it’s important to use people in the roles they’re better at. Summer’s a good heel. Let her grow in that role.

There’s an announcement about the WWE World Heavyweight Championship after the break.

A video aired about Bo Dallas debuting this week on Smackdown.

(Commercial)

It was announced that there will be a third season of Total Divas in September. There are two episodes left in this season. Don’t hate me for knowing that fact.

Daniel Bryan’s music started to play, but instead of the WWE World Heavyweight Champion it was Stephanie McMahon doing the “yes” celebration. The crowd booed her.

Stephanie said that Bryan had successful neck surgery this past Thursday. She mentioned that he won the WWE Title at WM30 and married Brie Bella. She said that Bryan knows that we need an active champion. Since she knows that Bryan is convalescing at home, she’s afraid she has some…wait for it. It was a “bad news” video montage from Wade Barrett. Then she said “I’m afraid I’ve got some bad news” in a terrible British accent. She said she was contemplating stripping the WWE World Heavyweight Championship from Daniel Bryan and awarding it to the demon Kane. Or she could award it to Bad News Barrett. Fans cheered that idea. She suggested Batista, which drew boos. Then she mentioned giving it to Triple H, which the crowd hated. She said that she will not strip Bryan of the WWE Championship, but she will demand that Bryan shows up at Raw next week to personally surrender the WWE Championship “because that’s what is best for business.”

Analysis: They are leaving several doors open with that one. It could lead to Bryan not being stripped at all if he’s able to recover within a month or so. We don’t know. They could do a tournament. It’s a good cliffhanger because people can spend a week arguing about what’s going to happen while guys like me can write a bunch of articles about it. Hopefully Bryan is back soon although if it’s going to be three months until he wrestles again then they should put the title onto somebody else. On a final note regarding this segment, shouldn’t Randy Orton be mentioned since he was the previous WWE Champion that never got a title shot? I’m just saying.

Batista vs. Rollins later.

Note: I was informed there were CM Punk chants on Raw when Stephanie McMahon was out there. They were edited out. That’s the advantage of taping the show five hours earlier. They won’t be able to edit them out at Payback in Punk’s hometown of Chicago.

(Commercial)

The Union Jacks (normally named 3MB) entered the ring for a promo. They received an ovation due to the UK colors. Before they could get going, the ravishing Russian Lana did a promo on the ramp. She talked about how Vladimir Putin has made Russia a great powerhouse and then said America’s future will be this (a Russian flag was edited on a picture of the White House). The same thing would happen to England. She brought out Rusev.

Rusev w/Lana vs. Heath Slater w/ Drew McIntyre & Jinder Mahal

The three Union Jack members tried attacking Rusev, but he destroyed all of them. The ref asked Slater if he was fine. He said okay. Rusev gave him a powerslam. Lana told him to crush. He applied the Accolade for the submission win in under one minute.

Winner by submission: Rusev

Analysis: Just another squash win for Rusev. The best part of it was every time Lana was on the screen.

The Shield did a promo backstage in a darkened hallway. Dean Ambrose thought that Evolution was scared of them. There was a close-up of the injured eye of Roman Reigns. He wondered if that was all they got. Reigns said they will keep standing tall and they will never stop coming for them. He couldn’t end his career. Tonight, Rollins said he’s not going to make any mistakes. Believe that.

Analysis: It was a solid promo from the trio. I think their babyface promos are better than their heel ones. They’re not the kind of babyfaces to make jokes, but their intensity clearly works for them.

It’s Del Rio vs. Van Dam up next.

(Commercial)

Before this match, Del Rio said the future of the planet depended on him. Clearly the writers took this week off.

Beat The Clock: Alberto Del Rio vs. Rob Van Dam

The clock counted down from 5:02 as Del Rio nailed him with a standing side kick that sent RVD to the floor. I’m not sure what RVD was doing because instead of hitting Rolling Thunder, he hit an awkward looking leg drop. Must have different kind of weed in England to mess him up. Kick to the face by RVD and then he hit Rolling Thunder in the middle of the ring. Usually it’s towards the ropes. Five Star Frog Splash, but Del Rio moved out of the way and got a rollup for two. Running enziguiri kick by Del Rio for two. RVD ended up getting a rollup for the win out of nowhere after 4:15. That’s the new time to beat.

Winner by pinfall: Rob Van Dam

Analysis: * It was a below average match and a poor finish. Their chemistry seemed to be off a few different times. It just didn’t click. Maybe the fans are just tired of these guys.

Cena vs. Harper is the main event.

(Commercial)

They plugged NXT Takeover on WWE Network May 29th as Adrian Neville defends the NXT Championship against one of my favorites Tyson Kidd. I guess it’s time for me to illegally get WWE Network since it’s not in Canada.

There was a replay of the Wyatt Family/Cena segment from earlier.

The lovely Renee Young interviewed John Cena. He brought in The Usos to watch his back. Cena said that fans believe in Bray Wyatt’s message. He claimed to fear no man and they will fight. He said The Usos are the tag team champions and Cena has the heart of a champion. Then he did the thing from Wolf of Wall Street where Matthew McConaugehy’s character beat his chest and chanted. The Usos did their chant as they left together.

Analysis: I like that The Usos have become friends of Cena. They needed to add that element to keep the story going. Plus it can set up Usos vs. Harper & Rowan at Payback, which is fine with me. The Wolf of Wall Street ripoff didn’t bother me. Good flick although not as great some people hyped it up to be.

Backstage, Evolution talked some strategy about Batista’s match against Rollins. Hunter told Batista to finish off Rollins and don’t let him make it to Payback. Batista said he would do it all by himself. That match is next.

(Commercial)

It’s Cesaro vs. Mark Henry on Main Event this Tuesday on WWE Network.

Seth Rollins entered the arena alone. Hunter was the special guest ring announcer. He introduced the special guest timekeeper Randy Orton. The idea was the match was supposed to be Rollins vs. Batista with only official personnel at ringside. That’s why they did it this way. They walked to ringside as Hunter introduced Batista, who entered to the theme song of Evolution.

Rollins introduced Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns as the official guest announcers for the match. Triple H was mad about it. Orton rang the bell as Ambrose & Reigns joined the announce team. Ambrose explained that Brad Maddox made them the commentators and he’s in the trainer’s room now. It’s nice to know that Maddox still exists on a show where he’s in charge, yet is almost never on camera.

Seth Rollins vs. Batista

There was no room to sit, so Ambrose and Reigns were standing. Batista was on offense early, but Rollins hit a jumping kick to the head and they went to break one minute into the match. Ambrose said “stay with us” just as it cut out. Way to go, Dean.

(Commercial)

Back from break, Batista was in control of the action. Rollins tried to come back, but Batista hit a back elbow and Rollins sold it with a flip dive because he’s awesome like that. They replayed it twice because it was so good. Rollins fought back while he was on the middle rope and hit a leaping neckbreaker almost like that Blockbuster move to knock him down. Rollins hit another neckbreaker variation as the crowd rallied behind him. He hit two corner splashes and then a dropkick that sent Batista outside the ring. Ambrose & Reigns encouraged him on commentary. Rollins hit the dive outside the ring between the top and middle ropes. Rollins rolled Batista back in the ring. Orton tried to distract him. Batista hit a Spinebuster after avoiding a Rollins attack. The four guys outside the ring faced off. Rollins hit a boot to the face and then a flying knee attack off the top rope. Orton jumped on the apron, Hunter pushed Rollins off the top rope and they all started brawling at ringside. Orton threw Ambrose over the German announce table and hit Reigns in the back with a chair. Ambrose ran across the announce tables to take out Orton. Triple H threw Ambrose into the ring post. Crowd was chanting “this is awesome” for it. Triple H hit Rollins in the head with a forearm so that ended the match. It went about 12 minutes.

Winner by DQ: Seth Rollins

Post match, Batista hit a Spear on Rollins. Triple H was sent over the announce table. Reigns came back to hit a Spear on Batista. They were setting up for the three man Powerbomb, but Hunter took a bump and Orton pulled Batista out of the ring.

Analysis: *** That was a really entertaining match and post match battle too. The “No Holds Barred” elimination match stipulation for Payback fits them perfectly. I’m such a huge fan of Rollins. It wasn’t a dominant post match attack from The Shield, but they did get the advantage again. Next week is the last Raw before Payback, so I expect Evolution to get some revenge. There has been really good booking throughout the feud. I’ve enjoyed all of it. The Payback match will be a classic.

There was another reminder that Cena vs. Harper is coming up later.

(Commercial)

The Divas Champion Paige received a nice ovation for her entrance particularly because she’s from England.

Paige vs. Alicia Fox

This is not for the Divas Title. Alicia was really aggressive early on as she hit a big boot to the face and slammed Paige into the barricade when they went outside the ring. Backbreaker by Fox for two. Paige hit her Paige Turner and Fox kicked out of it. The announcers didn’t call it that. Fox hit a spinning backbreaker and then she drove Paige into the corner. A boot to the face led to the pinfall. That was good enough for the win after three minutes. Really? That came out of nowhere.

Winner by pinfall: Alicia Fox

Post match, Alicia did an over the top celebration where she was extremely excited. She took Jerry Lawler’s crown from ringside. She grabbed a drink from a kid and drank some of it before pouring it on herself. She’s an excitable winner and a sore loser.

Analysis: * That finish was really flat. Nobody expected it to be the finish. They really needed a heel diva with some credibility, so Fox was a fine choice. I believe that’s the first loss by Paige since she’s been on the main roster. That’s the second non-title loss for a champion on this show. They do that kind of booking way too often. It will likely set up Paige defending the Divas Title against Fox at Payback.

There was another replay of the Cena/Wyatt segment from earlier. That led to a Wyatt Family promo. Harper said that Cena was playing a very dangerous game. He actually called him a “little mouse.” Wyatt only spoke for like ten seconds as the segment ended.

(Commercial)

The final Beat the Clock match is between two guys that used to be World Champions: Mark Henry and Dolph Ziggler. How the mighty have fallen.

Beat the Clock: Mark Henry vs. Dolph Ziggler

The clock is at 4:15, so that’s the time to beat. Jerry Lawler had a terrible joke that Andre the Giant was so big that he was born on May 19th and May 20th. Please retire, Jerry. Henry sent Ziggler outside the ring. Ziggler hit the Fameasser for two. Henry kicked out, so Ziggler sold it by falling outside the ring. That was a bit much even for you, Ziggler. Back in the ring, Ziggler hit an impressive dropkick. He hit another dropkick for two. Ziggler went off the top, but Henry caught him and hit a powerslam for two. For a guy with nearly 20 years of experience, Henry was moving really slow and no sense of urgency. Ziggler was able to hit the Zig Zag, but he was unable to cover in time. The buzzer went off.

Match Result: Nobody beat the clock

Analysis: ** The crowd loves Ziggler. That match was clearly better than the RVD/Del Rio match. It would be nice if WWE listened to the fans that reacted much more favorably to Ziggler. Henry hasn’t won a meaningful match in so long.

The winner of the Beat the Clock challenge is Rob Van Dam. That means it’s RVD vs. Bad News Barrett for the Intercontinental Title at Payback.

RVD entered the arena to celebrate. Barrett showed up to nail him in the back with the Bull Hammer elbow. The crowd cheered for the Englishman and chanted along with the “I’m afraid I’ve got some bad news.” Barrett mentioned that the English set the time for the entire world, which drew cheers. He said there was no way in the world that this Englishman was going to lose to a bloody Yank. The crowd also loved that.

Analysis: That was a great attack by Barrett because it was totally cheap even though he got cheered by the English fans. I would have liked to see him in a match just because the crowd would have been hot for all of it, but that was still a good segment.

Another reminder of Cena vs. Harper. We know, WWE.

(Commercial)

There was a replay of Stephanie McMahon saying she wasn’t going to strip Daniel Bryan of the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, but she wanted Bryan to show up next week to surrender the title.

Adam Rose was introduced by Renee Young. His group of friends danced on the stage and then Rose danced his way to the ring. This crowd chanted along with the song much better than the other fans have done. That’s not a surprise because the English fans are awesome.

Rose called for the guy dressed like a cheeseburger, who had a cheeseburger on his shirt. Renee asked what it means to be a rosebud. He said to not be a lemon, be a rosebud. The fans started singing along even though his song wasn’t playing. Rose suggested that Swagger & Colter stop being lemons. Then the guy in the bunny costume started dancing.

Zeb Colter and Jack Swagger appeared on the stage. The crowd hummed along to their song. They walked to the ring. He called Rose and his buddies a bunch of 1969 Woodstock rejects. The crowd was doing the Rose song again. Swagger went face to face with Rose. Colter called them a problem in his country. He said Rose fits better with these freaks than he does in America. The crowd chanted the Rose song again. He wondered if any of them have taken any kind of medical test. Colter wanted to resolve their issues right now. Swagger nailed Rose with a punch to the head. Swagger scared the friends of Rose, so Rose took him down with a shot and then knocked him out of the ring. Rose said that sometimes you have to fight, but that it is “party time all the time.” The heels left as the fans chanted along with the Rose song.

Analysis: That reaction is what WWE has been hoping for when Rose is in the ring. It was an entertaining segment although it ran a bit long for my liking. This will likely lead to Rose’s in-ring debut most likely at Payback against Swagger.

That Cena vs. Harper match is up next.

(Commercial)

There was a “Bolieve in yourself” video for Bo Dallas making his debut on Smackdown. Also, Hulk Hogan will be on Smackdown this week.

John Cena entered for the main event. The crowd sang “John Cena suuuuuucks” as his music started to play. I loved being a part of the crowd the night after WrestleMania when we were doing that. So fun. He had The Usos with him. Luke Harper entered with the Wyatt Family of course. The crowd clapped along with the theme song.

John Cena w/The Usos vs. Luke Harper w/Bray Wyatt & Erick Rowan

Harper was in control for a minute and then they went to the last commercial break of the show.

(Commercial)

Back from break, Harper hit a big boot for two. Cena made his comeback, but Harper slammed him down face first. Harper nailed Cena with a dropkick to send him out of the ring and then he hit a dive between the top and middle rope that sent Cena into the barricade. Back in the ring, Cena hit a Tornado DDT for two. Harper nailed Cena with another standing side kick to the face for a two count. Harper continues to impress as he hit a neckbreaker for another two. Cena came back with a running clothesline. Cena applied the STF in the center of the ring. Erick Rowan jumped on the apron, so one of the Usos nailed him with a kick to knock him off. The other Uso brother nailed Wyatt and Rowan with a dive. Wyatt ended up hitting both Uso brothers with Sister Abigail in the ring. The ref didn’t DQ anybody even though three guys were in the ring. To be fair they didn’t touch the competitors. Cena hit the Attitude Adjustment, but Rowan ran in to attack Cena. There’s the DQ ending after 13 minutes.

Winner by DQ: John Cena

Analysis: **3/4 They were on their way to a potentially great match before the obvious finish. Harper’s offense sets him apart from a lot of other bigger wrestlers because he looks very credible with everything that he does. He’s an agile big guy with the right mix of power moves and an ability to hit dives outside the ring too.

Post match, Cena fell victim to the Sister Abigail by Wyatt. The crowd was singing “he’s got the whole world in his hands” as Wyatt looked pleased with it. They knocked Cena outside the ring. Rowan gave Cena a fallaway slam on the ramp. Wyatt gave Cena the Sister Abigail at the top of the stage.

Wyatt grabbed a microphone and sang “he’s got the whole world in his hands” as Harper counted 1…2…3…4…5…6…7…8…9 like they will do in the Last Man Standing match and then he said 10 as Wyatt finished his singing. That’s how Raw ended.

Analysis: It feels like we’ve seen the ending before because this feud has been going on for over two months now. Cena looking unconscious at the feet of the Wyatt Family has been a familiar sight. The crowd didn’t care much for Cena, so they didn’t mind that he was attacked. It was cool to see the crowd singing along with Wyatt. He’s still the heel in the scenario, but I like that they push the idea that he’s winning them over.

There was nothing wrong with that ending to Raw. It just feels like we’ve seen it too many times before.

Here’s a video from after Raw that was sent to me by Alex Lev and Elliott Cantor. There’s some really funny stuff in here with Adam Rose, Bad News Barrett and Triple H. Check it out.

Hopefully WWE doesn’t remove it. It’s awesome.

 

Three Stars of the Show

1. Seth Rollins

2. Cesaro

3. Bray Wyatt

 

The Scoreboard

6 out of 10

Last week: 5

2014 Average: 6.32

2014 High: 9 (April 7)

2014 Low: 4.5 (May 5)

Last 5 Weeks: 5, 4.5, 5, 5, 6.5

 

Final Thoughts

It gets a solid 6 out of 10, which is below the yearly average although it’s better than the last four weeks. Take it as a positive.

They are actually doing a good job of building up Payback. Here’s a quick look at the lineup with announced matches plus the rumored ones:

– Evolution vs. The Shield: Making it a 3 on 3 No Holds Barred Elimination Match is a great idea. My expectation is that Reigns wins. Maybe it’s 2 on 1 against him and he overcomes them. Either that or it will be a 3-0 win for The Shield to really put them over.

– John Cena vs. Bray Wyatt: It’s a Last Man Standing Match. I originally thought that Cena was going to win, but I’m leaning towards Wyatt keeping that momentum going. It feels like the feud is going to continue too.

– Bad News Barrett vs. Rob Van Dam for the IC Title: It should be Ziggler instead of RVD just based off crowd reactions. Barrett will win decisively.

– Sheamus vs. Cesaro for the US Title: Not official yet, but it’s coming after the non-title match win. A tough match to book because I don’t see either guy really losing. I would expect Sheamus to retain and hopefully he turns heel soon.

– Paige vs. Alicia Fox for the Divas Title: Another non-title win to set up a title match. I’d be very surprise if Paige lost. Fox is entertaining in her new heel persona.

– The Usos vs. Erick Rowan & Luke Harper for the Tag Team Titles: They’ve been going at it for several weeks now, so a tag title match is likely. I think a title change is very possible.

– Adam Rose vs. Jack Swagger: It will probably be the in-ring debut of Rose on the main roster. He’ll get the win.

There could be some other matches and obviously there are questions about the WWE WHC too.

The last point is that the crowd was awesome. I love the England crowd. They are one of the best crowds that WWE goes to and they were hot for the majority of the show this week too.

———

That’s all for this week. Next week is five years of the Raw Deal. Looking forward to it. Thanks for all the support over the years. It really does mean a lot.

John Canton – [email protected]

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