Raw After Mania - April 7th [Mania Spoilers Inside]

kronsington

Sounded like a very good if not amazing Raw.

Could be smart in a sense to push Cesaro as a dominant heel/tweener while Lesnar is on hiatus. He has everything bar solid mic skills so aligning him with Heyman makes sense.

I love Wade Barrett and BNB gimmick. And the fans seem to enjoy it too. Can see him moving up the ladder as a face in the near future. Kind of the opposite to Cesaro in that his mic skills are outstanding but in-ring work is only so-so.

So we didn't get Taker's retirement or an appearance from him. If he does retire, I'd be surprised if they went with the Flair/Michaels style retirement. They'd probably do something involving the mystical and supernatural aspects of the gimmick.

How long before Ambrose and/or Rollins turn on Reigns? The feud with Evolution has the promise for something special. This could run for a few months.

I reckon they should carry on the Cena/ Wyatt feud, there's a lot left in the tank with that one. Wyatt is such an enigmatic character and Say whatever you want about Cena but I've always thought es great when it comes to developing storylines and feuds.

Alfred Borden

It was a very good show but definitely not up to the high standards of previous raws after Mania imo. Seems we really are moving into a new era with the emphasis on youth. Nice to see Paige, Cesaro, the Shield, Wyatts and Bryan all do well last night. Evolution vs Shield will be epic.

beakerjoe

Firstly I havent posted since WM, where I was watching in the Woolshed. Heres my thoughts on WM XXX and post mania Raw

Wrestlemania was a great watch for me personally and agreat atmosphere in the Bar. Thanks to Leggo and Colette for the kick ass seats and the greats service.

Liked the Hogan/Rock/Austin segemnt to kick off the show even if it did go on to long. Nice visual and great to see Austin having fun at Hogans expense.

Bryan and Hunter to kick off the matches was the right choice and went as planned. Was a good match and served its purpose. Steph looked great too. Bryan took some tough Bumps also.

The Shields match was pure filler and wasnt much, seemed like a waste of their talents. Felt like the Tag match on the pre show had more purpose. Right finish with the Shield going over the new stooges.

As much as I hated seeing Cena win, I do like the Cena Wyatt finish in terms of keeping things unpredictable. Wyatt should have went over though and may loose alot of momentum if he doesnt destroy Cena in a rematch, which needs to happen to save his characters face.

Had Rusev to win the Battel Royal as I felt either Sheamus or Show (the pre match favs) didnt need teh rub. Great move to give the win to Cesaro and it was a great visual to see him slam Show over the top rope. Great use of the match which seemed like a mess at the start.

Taker v Brock, and the moment that shook wrestling. Wow thats what Wrestlemania is about, shocks like this. Moments like this. While it will and has been heavily debated whether its the right move or not to let Lesnar break the streak, I think that we wont really know until after Summerslam to see how Lesnar has moved onwards and upwards from it. Personally I think its the right move so far. Lesnar looked like the unstoppable Monster again and its got everyone from casual fans to hardcore fans to non fans talking about it. Mission accompished if ya ask me. Taker cant go anymore and its the perfect time to bow out. Was a horrible match until they went with finishing moves TBH.

The Divas match was a mess but it helped cussion the athmosphere after the Taker match. It was a match to set the stage for the next night on Raw.



The main event was eventful and the finish was right and gives me the thinking that WWE are going in the right direction. Bryan needed taht moment and Im so happy he got it. He deserved it and after all the **** hes been through it felt magical seeing him end the show on a high. Great story telling and I never felt confident that Bryan would win and It felt so good watching it live when he finally did.

NOW ON TO RAW.

Good/not great show but I enjoyed it

Great to see Bo and Rose get hyped up vignettes. These two will be perfect additions to the mid card which needs freshing up

Rusev looked impressive and cant wait to see him in a 20 min plus match with someone that can go. Zack sold great for him too.

The crowd itself werent as rowdy as last year mainly because the company is going in a better direction and they seemed happy throughout. Great 6 man tag amtch and the crowd were into it.

Barrett looked good on his re-debut. Great reaction for him too.

Paiges debut was a let down in teh way she was booked, she came off as a rookie and should have appeared more bad ass. AJ was great as usual. Was a nice little mark out moment for the internet darling that is Paige though.

Cesaro being the Heyman guy was great booking and was unexpected by myself. He has the tools and now the push is coming. Great stuff WWE. My heart kind of broke for Zeb as Cesaro switched sides.

Didnt care for RVDs return. Blah been there saw that. Poor Sandow, what did he do to get buried so much in the last 6 months.

Heyman was on form last night and still great to see him on the mic.

Great end to the show and its a great teaser of whats to come in the many months.

No Idea whats gonna happen at Extreme Rules but Im looking forward to it

Soft Falling Rain

Yeah Paige's introduction was poorly done. She came across as an innocent rookie when she should have been in AJs face. I thought she was playing possom and was going to blindside Tamina once the bell rang, thus revealing the true Paige and putting the absolute shits up AJ. Maybe they were afraid of pulling the trigger like that and thought it might not come across in the right way, I don't know.

Tugboats

Omackeral wrote: »

Show opened with HHH interrupting Daniel Bryan's promo, brilliant heel work with the crowd solidly behind the new champion with chants such as 'You deserve it'. Hunter informed Bryan that there'd be a title match tonight and he was gonna crush the dream again. Trips got the old school a**hole chant. Crowed were savage.

Paul Heyman and Brock Lesnar came down to massive heat. Heyman cut one of his best speeches ever riling up the fans. He dare them to do the What?! thing and basically owned them. He buried Cole and Lawler by calling them things instead of announcers and says that Brock Lesnar puts tears in children's eyes. He bugged the Beast up as the most legitimate threat in the WWE, UFC and NCAA history. It was a great promo. A bit of shooting going on too.

Wyatt family vs Cena, Sheamus and Big E. Crowd were way into Bray and Co. They start singing 'John Cena Sucks' to his theme tune. Wyatt was having a blast. The crowd were chanting Bray is gonna kill you and singing He's Got the Whole World in his Hands. Wyatts went over for a very popular win.

Cesaro was endorsed by Hogan and accompanied by Zeb. When he went to speak, Zeb cut him off. Cesaro said he's not a Zeb Colter guy... He's a Paul Heyman guy! Paul E came out and out him over some more. Swagger attacked The King of Swing but was soundly defeated in a good match.

AJ Lee lost her Divas title to a debuting Paige. Crowd popped hard.

Final match was a more of an angle that saw former Evolution mates HHH Batista and Randy Orton along with Kane square off a with a solidly face Shield and Daniel Bryan. Was intense. Everyone looked great.

Also- RVD retuned, Rusev had his first match and Bad News Barrett was ridiculously popular in beating Rey Mysterious.

he got a few half hearted boos.

Qs

Raf32 wrote: »

It was a very good show but definitely not up to the high standards of previous raws after Mania imo. Seems we really are moving into a new era with the emphasis on youth. Nice to see Paige, Cesaro, the Shield, Wyatts and Bryan all do well last night. Evolution vs Shield will be epic.

The NCAA final 4 was up against Raw last night. Hopefully they're holding back some of their more buzz worthy angles and reveals until next week.

krudler

Tugboats wrote: »

he got a few half hearted boos.

Ha I noticed that, it was like people were booing him cos of the streak stuff but couldn't muster it properly given how awesome he was

Angron

krudler wrote: »

Ha I noticed that, it was like people were booing him cos of the streak stuff but couldn't muster it properly given how awesome he was

I don't think that's what it was. It was just a generally kinda flat reception.

ricero

no heel champions in the wwe now

rovert

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beakerjoe

rovert wrote: »

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When I saw this i assumed it was just another run of the mill WWE be a star video or something along those lines, mmarked out a little when I realised it was my new fav heel Bo Dallas's vignette for the main roster. Chuffed.

Great to see Adam Rose getting promoted soon too. His song is infectious.

JP Liz V1

I think Reigns will retire HHH

x43r0

Wow, I just saw someone point out on Reddit that apart from the tag belts, every title is being held by NXT alumni

That's a pretty big statement of faith in your development system

Soft Falling Rain

What's the story with Rose? Is he still south african? Came across as a brit spinal tap type.

D.Q

Bo Dallas looks very like bray when he smiles.

Agent Coulson

The Bo video package has a Mr Prefect feel about it.

D.Q

D.Q wrote: »

Bo Dallas looks very like bray when he smiles.

The place like.

BMMachine

D.Q wrote: »

The place like.

no, he means his brother who plays Bray Wyatt in WWE

rovert

D.Q wrote: »

Bo Dallas looks very like bray when he smiles.

Loved the dymanic between them on NXT acting like they don't know each other:

I think it's fair to say WWE overused Hogan on the road to wrestlemania. He should have just appeared on the raw the night of the network launch and mania + night after. Pops have been getting smaller.

That chap with his face painted like sting in the front row was gas. He just sat still for 95% of the show.

Hate to see RVD back. Can't stand him as I've said already.

I think your man Rusev has a good luck. Hope he's good in the ring.

Delighted to see Cesaro with Heyman. Hope he keeps his current music.

I like Paige from nxt but thought the debut wasn't the best. "I just came out to congratulate you and I have my wrestling gear on even though I don't have a match"

Also they shouldn't have done the bit with the shield backstage before the title match. Would have been a bigger pop I think.

John cena sucks to the tune of his music - brilliant!

Furious-Red

A friend and I were actually talkin about NXT and Bo during Wrestlemania , but we both agreed he would never be called up to the main roster.

Did we jinx it ha

gnfnrhead

x43r0 wrote: »

Wow, I just saw someone point out on Reddit that apart from the tag belts, every title is being held by NXT alumni

That's a pretty big statement of faith in your development system

That is being incredibly generous to NXT.

Bryan and Ambrose were massive outside WWE and neither needed development. Paige was also pretty well established before hand too. Big E is the only one I'd consider an actual NXT alumni. The rest were dumped there until needed on the main roster.

J. Marston

I loved the Bolieve promos.

I'm Possible!

beakerjoe

Furious-Red wrote: »

A friend and I were actually talkin about NXT and Bo during Wrestlemania , but we both agreed he would never be called up to the main roster.

Did we jinx it ha

He has alot of potential to be a Mr Perfect type heel for the new era.

Palo Alto

Remember, the single of alumni is alumnus. Big E is an alumnus! WWE never get this right either, might write to Sandow....

krudler

J. Marston wrote: »

I loved the Bolieve promos.

I'm Possible!

This is the first thing I thought of during that promo

A Primal Nut

Good show but I can see Rusev dancing with Tensai and Khali within 2-3 months.

A Primal Nut

x43r0 wrote: »

Wow, I just saw someone point out on Reddit that apart from the tag belts, every title is being held by NXT alumni

That's a pretty big statement of faith in your development system

The Usos were also in NXT, according to Wikipedia anyway...so that would mean all the belts are being held by NXT alumni.

Though all most of the belts mean these days is that the champion is about to go on a big losing streak.

beakerjoe

A Primal Nut wrote: »

The Usos were also in NXT, according to Wikipedia anyway...so that would mean all the belts are being held by NXT alumni.

Though all most of the belts mean these days is that the champion is about to go on a big losing streak.

The were in NXT the show IIRC and not the development system. Could be wrong though

Soft Falling Rain

The warrior's segment was a bit random, I was excited last night when they announced it because it didn't make much sense (he had said all he had to at hof), so I thought it was primed for an interruption.