Wow! What a WrestleMania! And I mean that in a great way! Two moments were real “WrestleMania Moments” and helped solidify it as “The Granddaddy Of Them All!” I won’t say anything more, as I don’t want to spoil for those who haven’t seen it and may be looking forward to this report, sans pre-spoilers. Let’s hope Raw follows on the heels of one of the better WrestleManias in a long while! Onto the show.
Monday Night Raw TV Report for April 7th, 2014 – “The New Generation, Part 2”
Introduction Segment: Video Promo
The same Daniel Bryan career highlight package airs, with still images of him winning the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania to cap it off.
Segment #2: Arena Promo
The show opens with the fans chanting “yes, yes, yes” and Justin Roberts welcoming the NEW WWE World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan! The most-popular star on the roster today parades out with his new titles, to loud adoration from the crowd. He has the microphone and takes in the “Daniel Bryan” calls. He puts over the fans’ enjoyment of his big win, and their “yes” motion movement. The people then call out “you deserve it” numerous times. Bryan cites the fans’ defiance against authority (and I mean that in both storyline and backstage means) for helping him get to where he is today and changing the times.
Before he can continue, Bryan’s long-time rivals, C.O.O. Triple H and Stephanie, interrupt this gleeful moment. The fans chant “a$$hole” at him. He tells Daniel that he will not enter the ring, in fear of doing something to Bryan that he would later regret. Bryan takes advantage and eggs him on by standing in front of him and chanting yes with the two championships. “The Game” then informs Bryan his reign won’t last, as he personally challenges Daniel for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, tonight! Triple H declares that he will put an end to all of this. “This is my show and there’s not a damn thing you can do about it.”
Bryan holds up the championships with “yes” chants again.
Later tonight, there will be more on “The Streak” coming to a close after Brock Lesnar defeated The Undertaker in a true WrestleMania shocker!
Commercials.
Segment #3: Office Promo
Stephanie is pumping up Triple H to shutdown the “yes movement” tonight. Batista walks in and is displeased with his loss of a one-on-one match for the title. Randy Orton now interjects and wants his entitled rematch. Triple H says they will get it, but not tonight. Stephanie now books Batista and Orton to team up and face The Usos later tonight for the Tag-Team Championships. (Man, The Usos better win!)
The lights go out and The Wyatt Family announce they are here! Bray leads Erik Rowan and Luke Harper down to the ring. Up next, they will face John Cena, Sheamus, and Intercontinental Champion Big E!
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Match #1: Six-Man Tag-Team – The Wyatt Family (Bray Wyatt, Luke Harper, and Erik Rowan) VS. Sheamus, Intercontinental Champion Big E. and John Cena (Non-Title)
This starts off as a quick brawl between all three, then the faces start to capitalize. John Cena plants Bray with a bulldog, then Sheamus springboards over the ropes with the Battering Ram shoulder block. The Family regain control as Rowan slugs it out with Sheamus. He delivers a few punches in the corner, but Rowan shoves him off. (Too a big pop, The Wyatt Family are clearly the favourites.) Big E. now in and gives Rowan a couple backbreakers. Rowan switches with Harper, who gets a shoulder block, then a spin-out backdrop from Cena. He picks up Luke for the A.A., but Harper wiggles out and slams Cena down. 1 – 2 – Cena gets the shoulder up!
Commercials.
Cena breaks out of a submission and tries another A.A. but Harper gets out of that one too. Rowan tags in and slams Cena down, then trades with Bray. He stomps away viciously in the corner, but is clotheslined by Cena for a break. Bray chokeslams Cena down, then Luke comes in and uppercuts him. He switches with Rowan, as does Cena and Sheamus. The big Irishman is all over both Rowan and Harper, ascending the top rope and diving off with a double-shoulder block. Bray gets the attention of Sheamus, which allows Rowan to put him down with a harsh clothesline.
Both Bray and Big E. are in, and the I.C. Champ dominates. He goes for the Big Ending, but Bray slides out and Luke nails a superkick! Rowan takes out Cena with a big boot, and Harper suicide dives on Sheamus to the outside! Bray does his Spider Walk (to which the fans chant “Bray’s going to kill you,” mocking TNA Superstar Samoa Joe’s chant). He follows up with Sister Abigail on Big E. and the victory!
Winners via Pinfall: The Wyatt Family (Bray Wyatt, Luke Harper, and Erik Rowan)
Commercials.
Segment #4: Video Promo
Footage of NXT star Bo Dallas airs, promoting him and everyone to “Bo-Lieve.”
Match #2: Mixed Tag-Team – Fandango and Summer Rae VS. Santino Marella and Emma
(Hopefully this is short and should end this feud!) Marella and Fandango begin, taunting each other with dances. Marella hip-tosses Fandango and goes for The Cobra right away, but Fandango out-wits him and tags in Summer. Emma has to come in and locks in “The Dilemma” (tarantula on the ropes), then her “Emmalock” submission (Indian Deathlock with bridge and modified Camel Clutch) for the tap-out!
Up next, “The Streak” is done!
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Segment #5: Arena Promo
Brock Lesnar and Brock Lesnar enter the arena. Heyman takes the mike first, and is proud to be the advocate for “The Beast Incarnate” and “the conqueror of The Undertaker’s ‘streak.'” Heyman touts Lesnar’s major success, to which the fans respond with “bulls**t.” Heyman says “we hate to tell you ‘we told you so,’ but ‘WE TOLD YOU SO!'” “Brock Lesnar is hear to shock the WWE Universe and put tears in the eyes of children.” Heyman tells us that The Undertaker fell backstage after the match, with paramedics attending to him. Heyman reveals that ‘Taker is being looked after for a concussion, and is lucky that is all because Lesnar would’ve gone further. Paul E. took umbrage with J.B.L. and “those two other — who call themselves announcers” for giving The Undertaker a standing ovation, despite him losing. Heyman yells that Undertaker is a “LOSER!” Heyman then calls the rest of the wrestlers and the fans “wannabees.”
He goes over Lesnar’s career success in all his paths, then rags on the biggest wrestling names like “Stone Cold” Steve Austin or The Rock for not doing the same. He calls Brock “the one,” as in “the one in twenty-one-and-one.” Heyman mocks the fans, repeating the phrase extremely (pun intended!) slowly. Heyman restates that Brock Lesnar is “the one,” then they walk off.
Up next, the Tag-Team Titles are on the line!
Commercials.
Segment #6: Video Promo
Another highlight, this time for up-and-coming Adam Rose from NXT, airs. “Coming soon.” (This guy’s a great wrestler and has an awesome entrance/exit! He is carried and leaves the ring “mosh-pit” party style by a bunch of dancers dressed eccentrically and chanting “hey” and “whoa” along the way.)
Match #3: Tag-Team for the Tag-Team Championship – “The Animal” Batista and “The Viper” Randy Orton (Challengers) VS. The Usos (Jimmy and Jey) (Champions)
Batista and an Uso start out (I can’t tell them apart, because Jey covered up his original chest tattoo), with Batista dominating. Orton now in and out, as are The Usos. The former Evolution teammates are completely controlling and destroying the brothers. They take them to the outside and both teams end up getting counted out.
Winners: None due to Double Count-Out
Post-match, Batista gives an Uso a Batistabomb on the steel steps, then he and Orton pose in the ring.
Later tonight, Hulk Hogan will present Antonio Cesaro with the Andre The Giant Memorial Trophy.
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Justin Roberts welcomes back Rob Van Dam, and he proceeds out for the next bout!
Match #4: Single – Rob Van Dam VS. Damien Sandow
Sandow controls this early with knees and a Russian legsweep, plus an elbow drop. Van Dam comes back with a couple of kicks, sending Damien to the floor. Loud “ECW” calls, as R.V.D. sets him up on the barricade and nails the spinning legdrop from the apron. Fans chant “you still got it!” In the ring, he hits Damien with another spin-kick and the Rolling Thunder somersault splash, then follows up with the 5-Star Frog splash for the 1 – 2 – 3!
Winner via Pinfall: Rob Van Dam
Commercials.
Match #5: Single – Rey Mysterio VS. Bad News Barrett
(Finally, back in the ring is Wade Barrett; and to a decent pop from the fans!) He quickly gets the microphone instead, but can’t deliver the “bad news” since Rey cut him off (to huge boos!). Rey dives onto Barrett on the outside, but is kicked in the gut and mount-punched, to cheers! He spins Mysterio around with a slam and gets a near-fall, then tries to bring Rey off the top. Mysterio counters with a headbutt and seated-senton splash, following with a headscissor-DDT! He hits the 619 and signals for the top-rope splash. Wade crotches him off the turnbuckle, then takes this one following the Bullhammer Punch!
Winner via Pinfall: Bad News Barrett
Up next, Alexander Rusev will make his debut.
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Segment #6: Video Promo
Another Adam Rose package airs.
Match #6: Single – “The Super Athlete” Alexander Rusev (with “The Ravishing Russian” Lana) VS. Zack Ryder
(This one’s over before it begins!) Rusev tears apart Ryder, finishing him off with the Camel Clutch, which is called “The Accolade.”
Winner via Submission: “The Super Athlete” Alexander Rusev (with “The Ravishing Russian” Lana)
Up next, after the Hall-Of-Fame highlights, newest Hall Of Famer The Ultimate Warrior makes his Raw return for the first time in 18 years!
Commercials.
Segment #7: Arena Promo
The Ultimate Warrior is out to a decent crowd reaction. “Speak to me, ‘Warriors'” he calls out as the fans call back “Warrior.” At first, he cannot figure out what to say; then he puts on a Warrior mask, and the words spill out. Warrior puts over everyone who works hard to be a big star in this business, and calls the fans “the legends of The Warrior.” He informs the fans they are the ones who make the boys in the back “warriors.” He restates that he is The Ultimate Warrior and the fans are the …
Up next, Divas Champion A.J. Lee will be out to gloat about her survival of the Vickie Guerrero Divas Invitational at WrestleMania.
Segment #8: Video Promo
A package of all that technically goes into a WWE Show airs, but reiterates that is us, the fans, that make it go round-and-round.
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Segment #9: Arena Promo
Divas Champion A.J. Lee and Tamina Snuka proceed out. “295. For two-hundred and ninety-five days I have been your Divas Champion. The longest-reigning Divas Champion of all-time.” A.J. remembers that she stood at the top of the ramp a number of months ago and “tore them a new one.” She says they have since then had 294 days to prove her wrong, which they didn’t. “I have gone from being a poor girl in New Jersey to being the best Diva in the world. I am the ‘saviour’ of your Divas Division.”
Just now, another NXT debut, as Paige, the NXT Women’s Champion, walks out! (I called that one last week!) “I just came to do what no one else would, and that’s to congratulate you A.J.” she declares. A.J. puts her down, not wanting the homage and calling her “the sweetest little crumpet.” A.J. challenges Paige, then slaps her hard. “Are you ready, now?” A.J. steps up and puts her championship up for grabs. “Read or not, this is my house. I’ll tell you when you’re ready.”
A referee enters the ring and it’s on!
Match #7: Single for the Divas Championship – A.J. Lee (Champion) (with Tamina Snuka) VS. NXT Women’s Champion Paige (Challenger)
A.J. is all over Paige and clamps on the Black Widow Octopus submission early, but Paige gets out of it and plants her with her Paigeturner finisher. She covers, 1 – 2 – 3!
Winner via Pinfall and NEW Divas Champion: Paige
Post-match, Paige stands at the top of the ramp with her newly-won title, while A.J. seethes in the ring.
Up next, the presentation of the Andre The Giant Memorial Trophy.
Commercials.
Segment #10: Arena Promo
Hulk Hogan walks out and actually pronounces the correct arena name for WrestleMania! (That was my cheap-shot – hehe!) He puts over the Battle Royal, as the fans chant “Cesaro, Cesaro, Cesaro.” He puts over the late-great Andre The Giant and now brings out Cesaro.
Cesaro walks to the ring with Zeb Colter, who takes the microphone first. Colter tries to put himself over first, saying that he was responsible for getting Cesaro more noticed and calling him a “Zeb Colter guy.” Cesaro rips the mike from Zeb, and instead calls himself a “Paul Heyman guy!”
Paul E. walks out and reveals that he is also the advocate for “The King Of Swing” Cesaro. Colter can’t believe it, as Heyman walks over to the announcers and wants to tell them out to talk about Cesaro. Out of the back, Jack Swagger suddenly assaults Cesaro and breaks the Trophy!
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Match #8: Single – “The King Of Swing” Cesaro (with Paul Heyman) VS. Jack Swagger (with Zeb Colter)
This match already in progress. Swagger in control for a bit, receiving major heel-heat for his actions. He tosses Cesaro across the ring. Cesaro fights back with a couple of uppercuts, but is turned over with a suplex. 1 – 2 – Cesaro kicks out. Swagger attempts a Swaggerbomb out of the corner, but Cesaro gets his feet up! He suplexes Swagger over the turnbuckle and nearly takes this one!
Cesaro makes his comeback, running Swagger turnbuckle-to-turnbuckle with uppercuts. He signals for the Big Swing, but Jack rolls out of the ring and chooses a count-out instead.
Winner via Count-Out: “The King Of Swing” Cesaro (with Paul Heyman)
It is announced that The Shield will face The Wyatt Family on Main Event this week.
Commercials.
Clips of news stories about The Undertaker’s WrestleMania loss are shown.
Segment #11: Office Promo
Stephanie is with Kane and The Shield. She is ordering them to make sure Triple H walks out of Raw as the WWE World Heavyweight Champion. The Shield seem to be on board, but provoke the Director Of Operations by inquiring where is friends, The New Age Outlaws, are. Kane gets into a yelling match before Stephanie settles it down between the two sides.
This week on Smackdown, Cesaro will face The Big Show, and up next is the WWE World Heavyweight Championship!
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Match #9: Single for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship – Daniel Bryan (Champion) VS. C.O.O. “The Game” Triple H (Challenger)
Bryan enters first, but Batista and Randy Orton saunter out instead of Triple H. They beat up Bryan good, giving him both their finishers. Kane’s pyro blows and he marches to the squared circle. He orders Batista and Orton to leave, then looks over a fallen Bryan. He clutches him by the throat and Chokeslams Daniel down. Now, Triple H enters as usual with Stephanie.
HHH gloats and makes Mike Chioda ring the bell. Just as he approaches Bryan, The Shield’s music blares. “The Hounds Of Justice,” decked out in new masks, come through the crowd and surround the ring. Orton, Kane, and Batista hop the other side of the apron. A great stare down ensues, as Triple H begs both parties not to engage. The Shield enter the ring first, then Orton, Kane, and Batista.
HHH continues to play mediator, but turns around into a spear from Roman Reigns! The big brawl happens, with The Shield taking out everyone but Bryan! Ambrose, Rollins, and Reigns circle Triple H, but let him turn around into a running knee by Daniel! Kane pulls Trips out of the ring, as The Shield and WWE World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan stand tall.
Winner: None due to No Match Actually Happening
The Shield and Bryan taunt The Authority to close the show.
End Of Raw.
Reporter’s Rumblings – By Moe Tapp
This Raw definitely lived up to the post-WrestleMania show it has become in the last few years. It kicked off right with the new champion, featured a couple of debuts, promo’ed some new stars, had some great in-ring promos, and finished off hot. Onto the analysis:
Excellence: WWE World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan – loved his promo and the love the fans in the arena gave him. Nice touch with the “you deserve it” chants. So glad this man is the new champion, and hopefully he is given a long reign (at least until Summerslam) with the championship. 6-Man between The Wyatts and Langston/Sheamus/Cena. Very physical, and I’m happy it looks like Cena’s feud with The Family will continue.
Paul Heyman’s promo – I think he was genuinely jubilant and cut one of his best oratories in a long while. (Aside from the Chicago Raw on March 3.) The man really put over the importance of what Lesnar had done to The Undertaker. Only he would’ve been able to get this point across with the way he can talk. Also, great twist of Cesaro revealing that he has aligned himself with Heyman. This partnership will help elevate Cesaro to the main-event. Liked the count-out finish to his match w/ Swagger, as they can keep this rivalry going on for a while. Imagine the promo-work between Heyman and Colter!
Ultimate Warrior’s speech was nice and sincere. Great to see him put over the younger guys and give them that “pump-up” chat to ignite their careers.
Loved the abundance of video packages to establish NXT Stars Bo Dallas and Adam Rose. Both these guys are great talent and will bring a lot to the main roster. Let’s hope they get a decent push.
Absolutely adored the debut of Paige, mainly because I’ve wanted to happen and said this should be the next step for A.J. and her Divas Championship. I was surprised that she actually won the title tonight; I think they could’ve got a little mileage with her chasing for a bit; but at least it’s a new feud, so I’m totally cool with it!
Once again, glad Trips did the right thing and kept Daniel the champ. I admit, I was scared that they were going to pull another twist/”shocker” and give “The Game” the championship again, just to prove “anything can happen.” They already did that last night with Undertaker’s loss, so it wouldn’t have been necessary tonight. Plus, it’s time for the newest generation to take control and sit at the top for a long while.
As always, the fans make the show. These people are always hyped up and you can really feel the energy. Having Raw in the same city as WrestleMania has worked out to give the show a vibrancy and maybe attract more viewers.
Bogus: The Usos beatdown – they are the Tag-Team Champions and shouldn’t have been decimated like this. It was absolutely pointless and went no where for Batista/Orton to team up for the Tag Titles. If Trips wanted Evolution to ride again, why would Batista/Orton throw away a legitimate shot at the titles?
Didn’t like them having three tag-team combination matches in a row. Need to mix it up with a single. Fandango/Summer & Emma/Santino – did not care for. Please end this pointlessness! I thought R.V.D. and Bad News Barrett should’ve returned in the ring stronger with a storyline. They looked awesome in the ring, but I’m afraid they’ll just go back to mid-card status quickly and no direction or angle. Same with Rusev; should’ve taken charge with him earlier and announced when he’d be competing, or had him in the Battle Royale at WrestleMania.
All in all, a great Raw and I am looking forward to next week for the continuation of many hot storylines! Until next week, as always, Be Excellent Wrestling-Online Readers and Wrestling Fans!
