Lesnar decimates 3MB. Photo credit: WWE.com
Randy Orton and Sheamus bested Big Show in a Handicap match that ranged from fair to decent. All three men gave worthy enough efforts and provided a better contest than I was expecting. Granted it wasn't anything outstanding but it was still worth a watch.
After they were taken out by The Shield on last week's SmackDown, 3MB (Heath Slater, Drew McIntyre and Jinder Mahal) demanded that the trio come out and apologise for what they did. But instead Brock Lesnar joined them and dominantly beat down the 'Three Man Band', including a couple of nice F5's for Slater onto the barricade.
Paul Heyman then rushed out and convinced his client to calm down and leave them. Once they entered the ring Heyman revealed that Lesnar wanted a rematch against Triple H after he knocked him out at WrestleMania, but not just any rematch, a rematch inside of a Steel Cage at Extreme Rules. I'd certainly be all for that. As usual Heyman was on terrific form on the mic and actually made Extreme Rules sound, well, extreme. Lesnar also gave a convincing beat down here, so overall a strong segment.
Kofi Kingston pinned Antonio Cesaro (c) to obtain the United States Championship in a largely enjoyable contest. While the commentators may have exaggerated the quality of the back and fourth action, both men did provide stellar displays. I just hope Cesaro dropping the strap could mean he moves onto a feud with a wrestler higher up the ladder, but I'm not holding my breath.
World Champion Dolph Ziggler came out and explained that people like himself showed off because they're superior to everyone else and it's just what they do. Alberto Del Rio then hobbled down and claimed that he wanted his rematch right there and then, so Vickie Guerrero made the match official. Zeb Colter, accompanying Jack Swagger, then told both men that neither deserved the strap. Swagger decided to also take action and attacked Del Rio's injured leg, leaving him to be taken away.
Team Hell No (Daniel Bryan and Kane) defeated the Prime Time Players (Darren Young and Titus O'Neil) in a rather pedestrian tag bout. These two teams have faced each other so often it's all starting to blur together a bit, and you can't help but loose interest. At least the tag champs will be facing Shield next week with The Undertaker, now that'll be worth watching.
In a VT Ryback explained that he'd attacked Cena last week because he'd felt that he'd turned his back on him and no longer aided him in attacks from The Shield after he'd helped Cena out last year. He also added that he was the biggest threat to his WWE Title, and had enough of failing where Cena was succeeding.
R-Truth beat Wade Barrett in an average affair. It's results like this that have me fail to get behind people like Barrett (and Cesaro earlier) they start to get some momentum going and then fall to a mid-carder. I can't imagine Wade ever getting a significant push in the company.
Team Rhodes Scholars (Cody Rhodes and Damien Sandow) bested Santino Marella and The Great Khali in a forgettable and mediocre tag match.
Jerry Lawler presented a VT of all different examples of 'Fandogoing' (singing and dancing to Fandango's theme) which still puts a smile on my face, just before Fandango himself came out and asked the fans if they wanted to "go Fandogoing" but only if they pronounced his name correctly, which they did not, so he told them all to go "Fandango themselves."
Jack Swagger pinned Dolph Ziggler in a largely decent outing. While the action was pretty unremarkable for the majority, it still had its moments and was better than most else on the show. Although I still have a gripe with the result, I don't see the need to involve Swagger back into the title picture and Ziggler needs all the encouragement he can get.
Backstage Mark Henry once again attacked Sheamus for an unknown reason.
CM Punk (who received a healthy reception) said that he's always looking for the next challenge and trying to excel himself, and after The Rock that challenge was 'Taker at WrestleMania. An uncharacteristically solemn and reserved Punk then hugged Heyman and walked away. Don't expect to see hm on TV for a while.
Backstage an angry Booker T warned Teddy Long about making decisions without his say so (Long earlier on booked the Swagger versus Ziggler match up) and decided that Ziggler will defend his World Title in a Triple Threat in the near future against Swagger and Del Rio.
Nikki Bella bested Kaitlyn in a mediocre affair. I can't call the wrestling bad but there was nothing really worth checking out here, you can skip this one. Brie grabbed the winning pinfall after swapping with her sister.
Ryback confronted Cena in the ring, who reminded him that he waited to attack him when his back was turned last week and not face to face. The champ also called his series of "excuses" shown earlier boring, which was rich coming from Cena. He then went on to challenge Ryback to make a move and earn a title shot, but he instead walked away. The Shield (Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns) decided to make their move and came down to the ring and took out Cena as Ryback looked on.
Overall it was a pretty average Raw this week, with the majority of it feeling uneventful. My highlights were CM Punk's appearance, Ziggler versus Swagger (even with the daft result) the encouragement of Fandango, Cesaro versus Kofi and Lesnar's attack. Outside of those the show was quite pedestrian, but hopefully next week with the always enthusiastic London crowd and rare Undertaker appearance it should be a step up.
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