WWE RAW Review
April 14, 2015
By: Adam Martin of Wrestleview.com
I’ve stated on more than one occassion that the RAW product has been really flat for over six months now. Recapping Smackdown last week made this even more apparent for me as a weekly viewer. Despite a general “meh” feeling towards this show, things felt well paced and fun for once. It may not last long given the recent track record, but I’ll take it and the crowd was a big reason for the success of last night’s show.
London has a good time
Too often we focus on the negative aspects of wrestling today and more specifically the WWE product. We are wrestling fans – it’s pretty normal at this point to get upset rather quickly. However, the fans that showed up for RAW in London wanted to have a good time and it really showed. They weren’t obnoxious like the post-WrestleMania crowds have grown into in the past few years. They were genuinely having fun. Whether this was booing John Cena, showing support for home grown stars like Bad News Barrett or Paige or quickly dancing along with Fandango, it made for a fun and very entertaining atmosphere. Thank you, London. It’s nice to know some people can still have fun watching wrestling in 2015.
New stipulations for Rollins vs. Orton
I enjoyed the booking to tell this story on Monday night. In one corner you had the odds stacked against Randy Orton – only for him to overcome those odds and defeat the current WWE Tag Team Champions. By the way, he’s challenging Seth Rollins for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in two weeks. It’s okay for the challenger to look red hot and pin current champions. It really is, guys. In the other corner you had Seth Rollins looking for an easy way out and teasing some tension within The Authority with Kane. Both scenarios were booked very well. The closing segment left a little bit to be desired, but by that point they had delivered and it wasn’t enough to spoil the entertainment.
Roman Reigns starting to show some personality
It’s taking a while, but Roman Reigns might be developing into a fun character on the mic when he just calms down a little bit. The interview scenario with Booker T was setup nicely and it shows that Reigns is perfectly capable of executing a good promo when he wants to. Now, the addition of the Big Show isn’t exactly thrilling. I get it. They have to do something. Still, it’s not really a feud or match I want to see and the fans are vocal as well.
John Cena’s open challenge continues on
I’ve really enjoyed the open challenge series being presented on WWE television with John Cena. It’s something new for both Cena and a championship that has been floundering for the last few years. Making Cena’s quest interesting is what makes his title run interesting, not the title he holds. The addition of a Russian Chain match against Rusev at Extreme Rules already sounds fun on paper and I can’t wait to see the outcome in two weeks.
Quick Thoughts
Naomi’s heel turn is interesting. Paige was the right call on Monday night.
I’m not really sure why The Ascension is still part of the main roster.
Dean Ambrose still shows a lot of fire, even if he isn’t doing anything super interesting.
If the tapings in London are any indication, Fandango is back and in a big way.
The Miz is really starting to loose steam as a character on WWE TV.
Ryback was picking up steam. What’s happened to that already?
The presentation of Neville has been fantastic and he had another fun match with Ziggler.
Overall Impression
Good show from WWE. The London crowd certainly helped, but this was the first RAW episode in a while that seemed to be paced good and served a purpose. Extreme Rules is shaping up to be a pretty fun card post-WrestleMania.
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