Raw Revisited is back. And what a time to return. For both good and bad reasons in this case. I have to open this weeks return with some very upsetting news. The Ultimate Warrior (real name: James Brian Hellwig) has tragically passed away. Apparently he collapsed coming out of an Arizona hotel on Tuesday morning. This is tragic in and of itself but when you take into account all that has happened over the past couple of days with him headlining the 2014 hall of fame class, appearing on Raw for the first time in 18 years, and signing a 3 year ambassador deal with WWE, it becomes even more tragic.
I wasn’t part of the generation that grew up on Warrior but I was always aware of him, always a big fan and regardless of what people have said about him, his ability to pump up a crowd when he was between the ropes or on the microphone was unparalleled. I think we can all agree that this is a tragic day for the wrestling industry and one that will be felt for a long time going forward.
Rest in peace Warrior, you were a true legend and will never be forgotten.
A very somber note to start off the first Raw Revisited in a few weeks, so as best I can, lets move on to the post-Mania Raw, which was awesome, but will always be twinged with sadness now. Before you start down this road though, I suggest you have a read of my Wrestlemania Revisited article here, just cause.
Daniel Bryan: WWE Jesus?
Raw opened this week with our new WWE World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan, and it was glorious. I mentioned when I revisited Wrestlemania that this was why a lot of us stick with the product through good or bad. Moments like this, however long they last are enough to keep even the most cynical of folks invested in the product. And if you thought this was good, wait until later! Daniel Bryan is now the main guy on the show, has taken down 3 out of the 4 guys that made up Evolution back in the day and has the crowd chanting his name everywhere he goes. Daniel Bryan is WWE’s Jesus (both in looks and everything else!)
I Kind Of Love Triple H Right Now!
Stay with me here. No, I have not gone insane. Triple H and Stephanie have been super duper awesome heels for weeks now and I have been hella impressed with them. Even more so now that Triple H’s ego didn’t interfere at Wrestlemania. Say what you want about H and his giant shovelling ego, but he lay down for Daniel Bryan and let him go over 2 of his old running buddies in the main event of the biggest show WWE has ever put out in the history of the business. That says a lot about where his mind is.
And based on the rest of the show, which was very NXT heavy (more on that in a bit) he seems to be building towards the future here. Cena was in one 10 minute match, did not get the pin and didn’t open his mouth again all night. The rest of the show was newer guys getting a chance to shine, and the crowd loving every minute of it. If every Raw were like this, we may not complain as much. So thanks Triple H, you have gone up a notch in my estimation.
But if you bury The Shield now, I swear to god!
Can We Get 6 Man Tag Titles Already?
The 6 man match between the Wyatts and Big E, Sheamus and Cena wasn’t anything to write home about other than the fact that the crowd were almost literally eating out of the palm of Bray Wyatt’s hand. THey booed everyone on the opposing team, and were seen swaying along the entire team. They also figured out that you should clap during Bray’s entrance music so kudos to them, lets make that a thing.
Can we also just get the 6 man tag titles going already? I mean we have at least 3 six man matches a week now, and there are 3 man groups in The Wyatt’s, The Shield and 3MB and I’m sure we could create more with a bit of thought. It would add a new dimension to the dwindling tag division (a 3rd dimension even).
Paul Heyman Is GOD!
Paul Heyman is the best thing that WWE has at the moment. If there was a human equivalent of lightning in a bottle, Heyman is it. The man can talk about anything with a passion that some men / women only dream they can have. He has the crowd eating out of his hand while also booing him mercilessly because he is standing in the ring with the man who broke the streak! The promo was 9 minutes long, and I suggest if you haven’t watched it, you should. And if you don’t think it was the best promo seen on WWE television in years, then we can’t be friends. Sorry 🙁
I’m still not sure how to feel about Lesnar breaking the streak. I feel the same as a lot of people in that I wanted it to be a young guy who needed the rub to be the one to break it, but I also have to respect that this was what Undertaker wanted it to be. Noone forced him to lay down for Lesnar, Taker wanted Lesnar to end the streak. I sincerely hope this wasn’t his last match, and I also hope his last match is against someone other than Sting because lets face it, neither are exactly spring chickens anymore, this isn’t 2002 and the match would not be as good as we think.
There’s still an opportunity there for a young guy to say; “I may not have broken the streak, but I was Undertakers last opponent ever”.
So…Tag Titles Are Meaningless Again Then?
Giving Batista and Randy Orton a shot at the tag titles and having them subsequently both state they don’t give a damn about the tag titles is probably the worst thing to happen on Raw this week, which isn’t so bad in the grand scheme of things, but the tag division is already struggling as it is, being relegated to pre-show matches, and losing teams left right and center. Long live Rybaxel I guess…
R-V-D is B-A-C-K
Meh….
Bad News Barrett Is My Jam!
Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think this was Bad News Barrett’s first match since like September. Also, I love BNB. He is such a great villain and a bloody good wrestler too, so its a shame we had to wait so long to see that. Hopefully this is leading somewhere other than him jobbing to Miz every other week again.
VNIMANIE!
After lots and lots of talking, Rusev finally made his in-ring debut (if you don’t count his impressive performance in the Rumble back in January, which I do) on Raw. It was a fun squash of Zack Ryder (who deserves nothing more really…) and really showcased his power and agility. I have a feeling he will be more than your average big man with these skills and having Lana (who has the best legs since Stacy Keibler) by his side can only serve to help propel him further.
Also, best comment on the internet I have seen about this has to be: “Cut Zack’s life into pieces, this is his Last ReZort. Camel Clutches, no breathing.”. For those of you who don’t get this, enlighten yourself:
Sad Face Emoticon
This is hard guys. This just happened, and literally hours later, he passed away. Life isn’t fair sometimes, and while Warrior is gone, so many awful people are left alive to do awful things to more good people. There’s a reason I’m an athiest, and this, this is one of the reasons!
To put a positive spin on all of this. Warrior got to come out in front of a crowd of 15 thousand people who cheered him to a huge degree and give a rousing speech encouraging all the young superstars to go after what they want, and not be afraid of it. It was inspirational, it was passionate, and in light of what happened yesterday morning, it is now heartbreaking.
I can;t really say any more without crying guys, I’m sorry.
PAIGE TURNED!
So…that happened. The moment that was fantasy booked for over a year now. Seriously, people all over the internet said that the best way for Paige to debut would be for AJ to beat all the diva’s, complain about no competition and then have Paige come out. They also wanted it to happen on the post Mania Raw. Congratulations people, you just wrote a story for WWE and they used it verbatim.
This was a great moment, but it wasn’t flawless in it’s execution. A couple of things:
- Paige was far too timid and bervous which is inconsistent with her NXT character (This could be nerves and shock at the reception she got)
- She botched the finisher somewhat
- I am wholly convinced that she will just drop this title to one of those vapid Total Diva’s at some point
However, if this leads to a couple of months of AJ and Paige feuding over the belt first, then I am all for it. Let’s make womens wrestling important again shall we?
The King Of Swing
I am very excited about this. A lot of people are already saying “Look at Ryback and Curtis Axel”. I disagree though. Ryback was not a good wrestler. Curtis Axel didn’t even have the personality of a peanut. They were destined to fail. Cesaro is super over right now, and having Heyman in his corner will elevate him to the level he deserves. And also, in the past year, Cesaro has been managed by Dirty Dutch Mantell and Paul E Dangerously, cmon, now that’s something to stick on the old Resumé!
What I would love to see ideally is a sort of parallel trajectory to Brock Lesnar when he debuted. Think about it. Both men are freaks of nature, super athletic, super strong and capable of insane feats of strength. If Heyman can guide Cesaro to a world title victory this year (which I believe he will) then this will be a match made in heaven. People are already talking about a potential feud with Brock Lesnar, which may seem pre-mature, but I for one would love to see it!
Also, I love Cesaro’s jacket. King of Swing indeed.
The Hounds Of (True) Justice
Holy crap, now that’s how you end a Raw! This was amazing guys. It really was. It had all the new guys demolishing the old guard and sending them running. You had The Shield going full blown face by saving Daniel Bryan from The Authority setting up a potential 8 man tag for Extreme Rules, or a 6 man tag if a new challenger steps up for the WWE title (Cesaro maybe? Too soon?).
It all just worked. If this is going to be how Raw is going to be moving forward, I don’t think we’ll have any more empty threats of people not watching and then watching anyway anymore!
Be sure to check out a tribute piece on the Ultimate Warrior, with contributions from most of our writing staff tomorrow as well.
Also, be sure to check out MFX Podcast this week for lots of laughs, characters, and with Warrior’s passing, probably some feels!
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