Reigns tears through Cena for the winning pinfall. Photo credit: WWE.com
Ricardo Rodriguez bested Zeb Colter and Big E Langston in a surprisingly enjoyable Triple Threat bout. Granted the action itself wasn't anything remarkable, but fortunately the amusing moments from Ricardo and distractions from Alberto Del Rio, Jack Swagger and Dolph Ziggler helped keep the interest up. As a result of the win Ricardo was allowed to pick the stipulation for the World Heavyweight Title match at Extreme Rules.
As a part of World Wish Day, Make a Wish regular John Cena granted three wishes and made three young boys WWE Superstars for the day.
Randy Orton pinned Cody Rhodes in a decent effort by both men. Fortunately (and surprisingly) Rhodes was made to look quite competitive against Orton here, which made a nice change for the moustached one. Towards the end Cody applied the Cross Rhodes for an effective near fall, but Orton managed to get in a nice RKO as Rhodes came in for a Disaster Kick.
Naomi won via disqualification versus Nikki Bella in a forgettable outing. As usual Nikki switched with her sister Brie who gained the winning pinfall towards the end. But this time Cameron informed the referee who then called for the DQ. Apparently no one's ever thought of doing that in the many, many times the Bellas have switched.
The Shield (Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns) came to the ring and spoke about all the wrestlers they'd taken out since Survivor Series last November. But as they were talking about their unfinished business with The Undertaker, 3MB (Heath Slater, Drew McIntyre and Jinder Mahal) interrupted them, wanting some retribution.
This didn't last long however as Shield soon beat down the band. Team Hell No (Daniel Bryan and Kane) then chased off the trio and decided to let out their frustration on 3MB by taking them out.
Dolph Ziggler defeated Kofi Kingston in a stellar contest. Both men gave a high standard of display here, providing exciting action with Kofi especially giving one of finest performances in a long while. Afterwards Big E Langston then applied a Big Ending on the US Champion for the exclamation point.
Jack Swagger beat Zack Ryder in a pedestrian match dominated by the 'All American American'. You could skip this one and not miss much to be honest, there was nothing exceptional to be found during it.
Mark Henry bested Tensai and Brodus Clay each in a tug of war contest. Sheamus then joined Henry and goaded him into a tug of war contest also, which he lost after letting go of the rope and Brogue Kicking the 'World's Strongest Man'.
Alberto Del Rio defeated Antonio Cesaro in a solid back and fourth affair. As usual Cesaro proved that he could hang with (and is this case surpass) the main eventers of the company, I still have faith that he'll get there given time. Afterwards Del Rio then announced that the Triple Threat World Title match at Extreme Rules will be a Ladder match. Well I'm happy with that, I always look forward to those.
The Great Khali and Natalya won a drab dance contest against Fandango and Summer Rae. The fans booed both parties as host Jerry Lawler determined the winners, but to be fair I wouldn't call anyone a winner here. An upset Fandango then took down Khali and applied his signature flying leg drop.
The Shield (Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns) toppled Team Hell No (Kane and Daniel Bryan) and John Cena in a largely exciting six-man tag main event. Each man delivered a worthy showing, bar Cena but he has an exaggerated leg injury so it's understandable. In a surprise ending Reigns speared a struggling Cena for the one-two-three, an extremely rare sight on Raw seeing Cena being pinned. Good result here that only enhances Shield.
Afterwards Ryback then turned up after appearing to leave the arena earlier in the show (he'd refused to take Cena's place with Hell No in the main event) and looked on at the WWE Champion. I'm not expecting much from their title clash but hopefully I'm proven wrong and they plan out a bout that works to their strengths.
Overall it was a fair Raw this week, with Orton versus Rhodes, Kofi versus Ziggler, Cesaro versus Del Rio and the enjoyable main event being the highlights. Unfortunately there weren't any promos or segments that were particularly memorable at all, but the aforementioned matches were decent watches and made up for it. The lack of Lesnar, Heyman or Triple H was also a little bit of a letdown for me.
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