Triple H and Lesnar battle it out in the cage. Should be a great one on Sunday. Photo credit: WWE.com
Jerry Lawler kicked things off by bringing out Fandango and Chris Jericho for a dance off. But as Fandango got started his partner Summer Rae accidentally tripped and couldn't continue. A furious Fandango then decided to abandon his dance partner, but made a quick return to cheap shot Jericho, eventually taking him out of the ring and cracking a bit of the flooring from their contest into Y2J's head. It was then revealed that it was all a ruse as Summer jumped up and danced away with Fandango.
Ryback pinned Zack Ryder in a brief and forgettable squash match. Nothing much to see here.
Prime Time Players (Darren Young and Titus O'Neil) bested Tons of Funk (Brodus Clay and Tensai) in a short and average tag bout. It was passable, but there were no remarkable performances to be found. O'Neil grabbed the winning schoolboy pin after Young had struck Clay in the throat. I can't say a feud between these two teams will exactly set my World alight.
Teddy Long announced that due to Dolph Ziggler's injury (he suffered a concussion during last week's SmackDown taping) he would not be able to defend the World Championship at Extreme Rules, so instead there would be a number one contenders match for the title pitting Del Rio against Swagger in an I Quit match. The announcement was met with indifference and boos, fans grew tired of seeing these two face each other a long while ago.
Kofi Kingston defeated Damien Sandow in a fair encounter. I'd personally like to see the US Champion do well, but he's had pushes stopped and started so often it's hard to invest in him, nevertheless he's on good form at the moment.
After a brief interview, Mark Henry used Josh Matthews as an example of how to win a Strap match after pushing him over and dragging him around the ring, then letting him go. Henry then asked Sheamus to join him in the ring to get an taste of what's to come this Sunday, which the 'Celtic Warrior' did, but not before grabbing his own strap and managing to whip Henry out of the ring.
Randy Orton beat Antonio Cesaro in a decent outing. Both men looked solid in the ring, with crisp action as expected from these two talents. It just needed a bit more time to make more of a lasting impression.
Absurdly during the match we had Michael Cole urging us to get the WWE app so we could see a live interview with Big Show, amongst other things while the show's going on. Where's the sense in having other segments happening at the same time match ups are taking place? Just daft.
The Miz beat Heath Slater in a passable contest. Miz gave a decent effort here, and Slater looked okay, but the wrestling never reached a particularly high standard. Miz gained the submission victory after applying the Figure Four Leglock. I don't mind him using the move like a lot of fans, but I'd like to see him break down the legs of his opponent a bit more beforehand.
John Cena and Team Hell no (Daniel Bryan and Kane) won via disqualification versus The Shield (Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns) in a stellar six-man elimination tag match. The contest contained plenty of exciting action and some terrific displays, especially from Bryan, Ambrose and Rollins.
Kane was first eliminated via DQ after he assaulted Ambrose on the outside with the covering for the announce desk. An angered 'Big Red Machine' ran rampant through the trio just before he was sent to the back. Next his Team Hell No teammate Daniel Bryan was eliminated after being pinned by Ambrose. Rollins was then pinned after a poorly executed AA from Cena, and Reigns next DQ'd for shoving the referee.
As Cena then looked to make Ambrose tap with the STFU, the other two Shield members ran in to attack the WWE Champion and Triple Powerbomb him, causing the ref to ring the bell for another disqualification and end the bout. Ryback then marched out and looked to leave Cena alone, but decided otherwise and then smashed a steel chair onto his injured ankle.
Jack Swagger won via count out versus Big E Langston in a pretty pedestrian encounter. Swagger was selected over Del Rio to face Big E via a vote on the WWE app, which did surprise me a little. To be fair the match was certainly watchable, which exceeded my expectations, and Big E looked like he'd improved a bit in the ring, although he still has a fair way to go. As Big E dominated on the outside he was caught out by the wily Swagger, who managed to get back into the ring before the ten count.
Alberto Del Rio then ran out and after tussling with Big E and Swagger, managed to lock on his signature armbreaker on the 'All American'. To be honest Del Rio's actions were more heel-like here than anything.
AJ Lee bested Natalya in a drab affair up until the very end when AJ pulled out a nice submission for the win as Natalya went for a sidewalk slam.
Rightfully Divas Champion Kaitlyn asked on commentary during the bout why Nikki and Brie Bella were even out there. They have nothing to do with the current title picture and it did seem quite odd, plus it overshadows AJ and Kaitlyn's feud. Add all that to the Divas champ receiving another gift from her secret admirer during all this and it seemed overkill.
Triple H stood in a steel cage and stated that earlier in his pro wrestling career he was advised to "hate" in order to succeed and advance himself, and had learnt to hate and damage people because of it, which he claimed he would do at Extreme Rules. He then dared Lesnar to join him in the cage right there and then, Paul Heyman then came out with Brock Lesnar and urged his client not be lured by 'The Game'.
Heyman went on to state that "hate" was an appropriate word for the COO's situation, since he would hate facing all his loved ones after loosing to Lesnar this Sunday and failing them. Triple H had enough and claimed that Heyman was holding Lesnar back because he was his meal ticket and he couldn't afford for him to loose his mystic by falling to him once again, and finally asked if Lesnar was the beast, or if he was "Brock Lesnar, the bitch." This was enough excuse for Lesnar to storm down to the ring, where the two had a heated brawl until Triple H managed to send Lesnar through the cage door and into Heyman. It was a strong end to the show, with the fans well into it.
Overall it was a decent enough show, and above average for this year. The highlights were the entertaining six-man tag, Orton versus Cesaro and the heated battle between Lesnar and Triple H, now that is how you end a Raw heading into a PPV. The only poor periods for me were the divas match (with way too much going on), the Prime Time Players versus Tons of Funk and the constant mention of the WWE app. That kind of thing doesn't normally bother me, but when they're telling you to check out what's happening backstage when a match is actually taking place it's just ridiculous.
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