The Rock Has Successful Surgery Today, Big Main Event Set for RAW

- WWE will announce during Wednesday’s episode of WWE Main Event that next Monday’s RAW from the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio will feature Ryback and WWE Champion John Cena vs. Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose in the main event.

- The Rock had surgery today. He tweeted:

“Surgery a success! Dr repaired 3 hernial tears (fun pain). Superman is on the mend.. #WeFallWeRise”

WWE Reportedly Forces El Generico Fan to Change Seats at RAW

- At Monday’s RAW from Greenville, South Carolina, a fan reportedly held up a “RAW Is Generico” sign and was moved by security, taken from his paid seat to the opposite side of the arena and a seat filler took his seat at ringside. The fan asked security why he was being moved and was told the people running the show didn’t want him sitting there because of his sign.

The fan reportedly asked if they could just take the sign and let him sit at ringside but was told by a security guard that he was about to be kicked out because the people running the show, presumably WWE officials, didn’t want him there. Another guard told the fan that wasn’t correct, they just didn’t want him in front of the camera. Apparently another man who was sitting with the fan also had his seats changed after he was seen holding up a sign related to Ring of Honor.

Backstage News on CM Punk’s Status, Problems with Creative and More

- Part of the reason why Brock Lesnar has returned and The Undertaker is working next week is because CM Punk won’t be returning anytime soon and WWE needs star power on TV.
Before this past Monday, the plan was for CM Punk to come out on RAW and whine about losing at WrestleMania 29, then walk out of the company in the storylines. This was held off from the post-WrestleMania RAW because officials felt that Punk would get a big reaction from the post-WrestleMania RAW crowd. Another reason it was held off is because Punk wasn’t happy with the verbiage they wanted him to use and didn’t want to come off as a whiner.
A few weeks back, Punk had a big blow up with WWE creative and wanted to give his notice to quit the company. He went and worked it out with top WWE officials. At that time, it was decided that Punk wouldn’t be working live events anymore, just TV and WrestleMania 29.
Between the backstage problems and severely tearing knee ligaments at WrestleMania, Punk was written off TV this past Monday at RAW. Punk will be fine once he rests up and lets his knees heal. Right now there is no set plan for Punk to return but word is that he won’t be back until SummerSlam time.

WWE RAW Ratings: Down Nearly Half A Million Viewers From Last Week

- Monday’s live 3-hour episode of WWE RAW drew a 3.08 rating with 4,149,000 viewers.

Here’s the hourly viewership data:

Hour 1: 4,185,000
Hour 2: 4,236,000
Hour 3: 4,026,000

This week’s RAW was way down from last week’s post-WrestleMania 29 show, which did a 3.45 and nearly half a million more viewers.

What Was Cut from Hulu Plus Raw This Week

The following matches and segments were cut from this week’s Hulu Plus episode of Raw.

* Entrance of Kofi Kingston for his match with Antonio Cesaro for the United States Championship
* The video recap of Dolph Ziggler cashing in his Money in the Bank briefcase
* Prime Time Players vs. Team Hell No
* R-Truth vs. Wade Barrett
* Great Khali and Santino Marella w/Natalya and Hornswoggle aka The Oddities 2K13 vs. The Rhodes Scholars
* Entrance of Jack Swagger, along with Zeb Colter, for his match with Dolph Ziggler
* Kaitlyn vs. Nikki Bella w/Brie Bella

WWE Kicking Off Tour This Week – Punk Not Advertised, NAO Added, More

- The WWE RAW crew is traveling to Holland to begin the WrestleMania Revenge tour on Wednesday night at a show in Rotterdam. They will return to the United States on Sunday, April 28th. The SmackDown brand will fly out to Glasgow, Scotland after tonight’s SmackDown tapings. They will also return to the States at the end of April.

It should be noted that CM Punk is not advertised for the tour. Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns also aren’t advertised for the tour but likely will be appearing. WWE has added Billy Gunn and “Road Dogg” Jesse James to the SmackDown tour in matches against Cody Rhodes and Damien Sandow. It’s also worth noting that Fandango has been added to the SmackDown events.

Cena Comments on Boston Tragedy, Ryback Comments on RAW, Del Rio

- Boston native John Cena tweeted the following about the Boston Marathon tragedy after last night’s RAW:

“An evening of @WWE entertainment, overshadowed by an afternoon of horrible tragedy #PrayForBoston”

- Alberto Del Rio tweeted the following after last night’s RAW:

“My quest to regain the #WHC began last night on RAW, Ziggler enjoy that title cause you won’t have it for long. #theriodeal”

- Ryback made another heel turn tweet after last night’s RAW:

“Every story needs a hero and a villain. Looks like I picked the right one. Doomsday has risen and is very hungry.#RybackRules”

The Undertaker Returning to the Ring on Next Week’s RAW from England

- WWE announced that The Undertaker will return to the ring on next Monday’s RAW from London, England.

Taker will team with Kane and Daniel Bryan to take on Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns.

What Happened After Monday’s Raw Went Off The Air

After Monday’s Raw went off the air, John Cena & Team Hell No took on The Shield in the dark match main event. The match ended when Seth Rollins hit Cena with a chair, prompting The Shield to get disqualified.

Following the match, the faces hit their finishers on the Shield to send the crowd home happy.

WWE RAW Report – 4/15/2013

- Tonight’s WWE RAW opens up with a look back at last week when John Cena faced Mark Henry and was later attacked by Ryback. Tonight, Ryback will reveal the reason he attacked Cena. We see stills from WrestleMania 29 and tonight, CM Punk will return to address his loss to The Undertaker.

- We’re live from the Bi Lo Center in Greenville, South Carolina as Randy Orton makes his way out. Michael Cole welcomes us to a sold out RAW.

Randy Orton and Sheamus vs. Big Show

Orton makes his way out and next is Sheamus. They head to the ring together. Their opponent Big Show is out next.

Sheamus starts out for his team and they go back and forth. Show stops shots from Sheamus with a big slam to the mat. Show cuts Sheamus off again with an elbow. Sheamus fights in off the apron and hits a bunch of forearm shots to the chest. Sheamus ducks a knockout punch and drops Show over the top rope. Sheamus with a battering ram for a 2 count. Show catches a Brogue Kick and sends Sheamus flying over the top rope. Sheamus comes back in but Show headbutts him. Show with several big chops to the chest. Show with a big elbow drop for a 2 count as Orton breaks the pin. Sheamus tries to make another comeback but Show stops him and keeps control.

Show goes to the corner for a big splash but Sheamus puts him on his shoulders and drops Show back to the mat. Orton comes in and unloads but Show backs him into the corner. Orton fights out and hits a clothesline. Orton with a big dropkick to send Show to the mat. Orton hits a top rope draping DDT on Big Show. Orton calls for a RKO but Show blocks it. Show goes for a chokeslam but Sheamus nails a Brogue Kick. Orton hits a RKO for the win.

Winners: Randy Orton and Sheamus

- We get a look at Friday’s SmackDown where The Shield beatdown 3MB in front of Triple H. Josh Mathews is backstage with 3MB. They call out The Shield and head to the ring. We go to commercial.

- Back from the break and 3MB is in the ring talking about what happened on SmackDown. Drew McIntyre demands they come out and apologize. The crowd chants “you suck” at 3MB. Brock Lesnar’s music hits and out he comes without Paul Heyman. Lesnar sends Heath Slater flying out of the ring and goes at it with Jinder Mahal and Drew McIntyre. Jinder catches a big throw and Drew gets laid out with F5. Slater teases getting back in the ring but goes back to the floor. Before he can run away, Lesnar is right on top of him with a huge clothesline. Lesnar hits Slater with a F5 on top of the barrier. Lesnar lifts Slater and hits another nasty looking F5 on top of the barrier. Heyman is out now pleading with Lesnar to stop. The crowd chants “one more time” and Lesnar smiles at them. Lesnar backs off and enters the ring with Heyman.

Heyman says he warned us last week that Lesnar was ready for a fight with Triple H. Heyman says Triple H did what nobody else in the world could do – he knocked out Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania. Heyman says this makes Triple H a warrior, a fighter, a man of admiration. Heyman says he would shake Triple H’s hand and tell him he respects him for what happened at WrestleMania, if he were tonight. The fans start chanting for Triple H. Heyman says Lesnar doesn’t feel the same way. Heyman says they are now 1-1 and there can only be one dominant alpha-male in WWE. Heyman mentions the Extreme Rules pay-per-view and challenges Triple H to a steel cage match. Heyman accepts the challenge for Triple H and we go to replays.

- Still to come, Ryback will explain why he attacked John Cena. Kofi Kingston and Antonio Cesaro are headed to the ring as we go to commercial.

WWE United States Title Match: Kofi Kingston vs. Antonio Cesaro

Back from the break and out comes Kofi Kingston. WWE United States Champion Antonio Cesaro is out next and yodels the whole way to the ring. Kofi goes for a quick roll up but Cesaro kicks out. Cesaro with a shoulder and a 2 count. More back and forth. Cesaro with a big clothesline in the corner. Cesaro keeps control and keeps Kofi on the mat. Kofi comes back with chops and a dropkick. Kofi with a big right hand and the Boom Drop. Cesaro ducks Trouble in Paradise and hits a big upppercut in mid-air. Cesaro with a 2 count.

Back from the break and Cesaro is still in control of Kofi. Cesaro with a big clothesline. Cesaro taunts Kofi and kicks him around. Kofi catches him with a SOS attempt but Cesaro fights off and hits another big uppercut for a 2 count. More back and forth. Kofi nails SOS but Cesaro breaks the pin. Kofi nails Trouble in Paradise but it knocks Cesaro out of the ring. Kofi brings Cesaro back in and covers him for 2. Kofi goes to the top but Cesaro catches a crossbody and turns it into a backbreaker for 2. Cesaro misses in the corner and gets kicked. Kofi springboards in but Cesaro catches him. Kofi slides out and rolls Cesaro up for 2. Cesaro misses a stomp and Kofi rolls him up again for 2. Cesaro with a roll up for 2. Kofi nails Trouble in Paradise for the win and the title.

Winner and New WWE United States Champion: Kofi Kingston

- Back from a commercial and we see footage from last week of Dolph Ziggler cashing in to become the new World Heavyweight Champion. WWE shows the whole match from when Ziggler came out to when he won. Ziggler, AJ Lee and Big E Langston are headed to the ring as we go back to another commercial.

- Back from a commercial and out comes World Heavyweight Champion Dolph Ziggler with AJ Lee and Big E Langston. Ziggler get boo’d when talking about cashing in last week. He says it was the single greatest moment in RAW history. Ziggler says there has never been a world champion as charismatic and athletic as he is. He’s just too good. Ziggler doesn’t care if the fans boo him. He says he shows off because he’s better than everyone else and backs it up every night.

Ziggler goes on but is interrupted by Alberto Del Rio and Ricardo Rodriguez. Both of them are selling leg injuries as they head to the ring. Del Rio says he wants his rematch tonight on RAW. Ziggler laughs it off but out comes Vickie Guerrero. Vickie starts the match right now and brings a referee out.

World Heavyweight Title Match: Alberto Del Rio vs. Dolph Ziggler

Del Rio is limping around but the match is starting. Jack Swagger’s music hits and out he comes before anything can happen. Zeb Colter says Ziggler wouldn’t be champion without Swagger. Zeb says Ziggler doesn’t deserve to be champion and Del Rio doesn’t deserve another shot. Swagger enters the ring but Del Rio attacks and sends him to the floor. Big E gets in between Del Rio and Ziggler. Swagger pulls Del Rio down and slams his leg into the ring post repeatedly. Swagger beats up Del Rio on the floor now. Swagger applies the Patriot Lock on the floor. Officials finally break Swagger off Del Rio.

- We see Kane and Daniel Bryan walking backstage. Back to commercial.

- Back from the break and we see what just happened to Alberto Del Rio. We see doctors backstage tending to Del Rio.

Darren Young and Titus O’Neil vs. Kane and Daniel Bryan

We go to the ring and Darren Young waits with Titus O’Neil. Out next come the WWE Tag Team Champions Kane and Daniel Bryan for a non-title match.

It’s announced Undertaker and Team Hell No will face The Shield on next week’s RAW from England. Back and forth to start the match. They go on and Kane sends Titus to the floor. Bryan leaps off the apron and takes out Titus on the floor. Kane and Young go at it. Kane nails a chokeslam and tags in Bryan. Bryan comes off the top with a headbutt for the win.

Winners: Team Hell No

- Back from a break and we see a video of Ryback taped earlier. Ryback says there’s only one way to go – him up and John Cena down. Ryback says Cena must be wondering why. Ryback said he had no choice after everything he’s been through. Ryback says he found himself staring up from the bottom of the ladder again and that wasn’t going to happen. Ryback talks about Cena bring a friend to him last year and even giving him his title shot when injured. Ryback says he isn’t a sidekick. If Cena is Super Man, say hello to kryptonite. Ryback asks Cena where he was when he was attacked by The Shield and robbed of the WWE Title. Ryback says Cena got lucky at the Royal Rumble when he eliminated him to get the WrestleMania spot. Ryback says he is the biggest threat to Cena’s title reign, ever. Back to commercial.

- Back from the break and we see footage of Brock Lesnar destroying 3MB before Paul Heyman issued a challenge to Triple H for a steel cage match at Extreme Rules.

R-Truth vs. Wade Barrett

R-Truth waits in the ring as WWE Intercontinental Champion Wade Barrett makes his way out for a non-title match.

Back and forth to start the match. Barrett takes control after a cheap shot in the corner. Barrett drops an elbow for a 2 count. Barrett with offense in the corner and another 2 count. Truth counters Winds of Change with a roll up. Truth makes a comeback now. Truth runs into a big boot but ducks a clothesline. Truth with another comeback now. Barrett ducks the scissors kick and takes out Truth’s leg. Truth counters a slam and drops Barrett face first for the non-title win out of nowhere.

Winner: R-Truth

- Vickie Guerrero and Brad Maddox are backstage talking about Del Rio not being able to compete. Teddy Long walks in and proposes Swagger vs. Ziggler for tonight. Teddy says he spoke to Swagger and gave him some extra incentive. Teddy says Booker T doesn’t know about this.

- Still to come, Fandango will be on RAW. Back to commercial.

The Great Khali and Santino Marella vs. Cody Rhodes and Damien Sandow

Back from the break and out comes The Great Khali with Natalya and Hornswoggle. Santino Marella is out next. Out next comes the team of Cody Rhodes and Damien Sandow, who cut a promo on the way to the ring.

Khali and Sandow start things out. Khali strikes first and hits a big chop in the corner. Cody tags in. Santino also comes in and does some comedy. Cody goes to work on him and beats him down. Cody tags in Sandow for some double teaming. Cody comes back in to keep the attack on Santino up. Santino eventually hits Cobra on Sandow. Hornswoggle hits a mini Cobra on Cody while on the floor. Cody grabs Hornswoggle but Khali makes the save. Sandow rolls up Santino from behind for the win.

Winners: Cody Rhodes and Damien Sandow

- Back from the break and Jerry Lawler is in the ring. He talks about Fandango’s successful WrestleMania debut and how the world has been Fandangoing this past week. Lawler shows us a video with highlights from this past week. Lawler introduces Fandango and out he comes dancing with one of his dancers. He gets a quiet reaction compared to last week.

Fandango interrupts Lawler and takes the mic. Fandango asks Lawler how his hips are doing and if he can move them. Lawler goes back to commentary. Fandango asks the crowd who wants to go Fandangoing with him and gets a decent reaction. Fandango tries to get the crowd hype. Fandango wants the fans to pronounce his name correctly before they all start Fandangoing. Parts of the crowd try to get his theme going but it’s nowhere close to last week. Fandango says it’s obvious the fans can’t pronounce his name correctly. He says they can all go Fandango themselves. His music hits and that’s it.

- Matt Striker is backstage with John Cena. Cena say she’s not hard to find. He’s going to go in the ring later tonight so Ryback can find him. Cena wants to meet Ryback face to face.

Jack Swagger vs. Dolph Ziggler

We go to the ring and out comes Jack Swagger with Zeb Colter. We go to commercial.

Back from the break and out comes Dolph Ziggler, AJ Lee and Big E Langston for a non-title match. Back and forth to start the match. They have words and Ziggler slaps Swagger. Ziggler retreats to the floor and Swagger chases him back in the ring. Ziggler beats Swagger down as he comes back in the ring. Swagger fights back and hits Ziggler with knees int he corner. Swagger with more knees in the corner.

Ziggler makes a comeback but Swagger goes for the Patriot Act. Ziggler makes it to the ropes and breaks the hold. More back and forth. Swagger sits Ziggler on top of the ropes and clotheslines him out of the ring. We go to commercial.

Back from the break and Swagger is still in control. Ziggler with a roll up for 2. Swagger with a belly to belly suplex for another pin attempt. More back and forth. Ziggler nails a big DDT for 2. More back and forth before Swagger gets the surprise non-title win.

Winner: Jack Swagger

- After the match, Swagger and Colter are standing on the stage when Del Rio attacks Swagger from behind. He throws him into the set and superkicks him off the stage. Del Rio uses the stage to apply a cross armbreaker. Officials come out and break the hold as Zeb yells at Ricardo. Del Rio taunts Ziggler, who is still in the ring.

- Still to come, John Cena will confront Ryback. Back to commercial. We see CM Punk walking to the ring as we go to commercial.

- Matt Striker is backstage with Sheamus but before the interview can begin, Mark Henry appears and spears Sheamus through part of the set.

- We go to the ring and out comes CM Punk with Paul Heyman.

Punk says he couldn’t enjoy his historic title reign because he was always looking around the corner to what’s next. Punk says he wanted the next challenge and found that challenge in The Rock. Punk says he still wanted more and wanted to know what the next hurdle in his career was. Punk says he’s never satisfied, he always wants bigger and more. Punk says he next looked at The Streak. He says he pushed The Undertaker to the limit. Fans chant for The Undertaker. Dueling chants for Punk start up next as Punk just stands there. Punk hugs Heyman and hands him the mic. Punk walks out and Heyman looks shocked.

- Back from a commercial and Booker T is backstage talking with Teddy Long about the World Title situation. Booker makes Ziggler vs. Swagger vs. Del Rio but doesn’t say when it will happen.

Nikki Bella vs. Kaitlyn

We go to the ring and WWE Divas Champion Kaitlyn waits as The Bella Twins come down. Nikki is wrestling while Brie cheers her on from ringside. Lots of back and forth in the match. Nikki takes control and puts a knee in Kaitlyn’s back. Nikki with pin attempts and more offense.

Kaitlyn tries to fight back but Nikki keeps control. Nikki slams her head into the mat. Kaitlyn fights up with Nikki on her back and rams her into the corner. Kaitlyn with clotheslines now. Kaitlyn hits a shoulder tackle and a clothesline in the corner. Nikki kicks her knee out and covers for another 2 count. Kaitlyn comes back with a big knee to the gut. The Bellas do the twin switch and Brie gets the pin on Kaitlyn.

Winner: Nikki Bella

- Ryback is headed to the ring as we go back to commercial.

- Back from the break and out comes WWE Champion John Cena. He cuts a promo and calls out Ryback to the ring.

Ryback hits the ring and they have words. Cena says Ryback proved what kind of man he was last week. Cena says Ryback sat and waited for his back to be turned. Cena says Ryback’s highlight reel of excuses earlier tonight was boring. Cena understands what Ryback did last week but doesn’t like how he did it. Cena goes on and takes off his hat and shirt for a fight. Cena tells Ryback to make a move and earn a championship. They come face to face. Ryback leaves the ring and starts walking up the ramp as the crowd boos. The Shield’s music hits and they appear in the crowd.

Ryback watches The Shield from the ramp as Cena watches from the ring. The crowd chants for Cena as The Shield surrounds the ring. They attack Cena as Ryback looks on from the ramp. Cena tries to fight them off but gets beatdown. They turn their attention to Ryback but he walks to the top of the stage. Ryback looks back at the ring as The Shield hit the triple powerbomb on Cena. RAW goes off the air after Ryback walks to the back.

Raw DVR News, NXT Listings, Jim Johnston Performs Fandango’s Theme

- WWE composer Jim Johnston performs Fandango’s theme song on a piano.

- WWE is now listing NXT live events in their upcoming events section of the WWE website.

- A couple readers have sent word that tonight’s Raw episode is not listed as a new episode on their cable listings. If you are planning on DVR’n the show, you might want to double check that it is set up to record.

News for Tonight’s RAW – CM Punk Returns, Another Hot Crowd?, More

- Tonight’s WWE RAW will take place from the Bi Lo Center in Greenville, South Carolina. Confirmed for tonight’s show is CM Punk returning to address his loss to The Undertaker at WrestleMania 29. WrestleMania season is over as there will be no appearances by Triple H, Brock Lesnar, The Rock, The Undertaker or Chris Jericho this week.

WWE is hyping the following points for tonight’s show:

* What will Fandango have in store for his return to Raw?

* Will Ryback have more in-depth words for John Cena besides his cryptic tweets?

* What will CM Punk have to say?

* Can Dolph Ziggler hold onto his gold with Alberto Del Rio & Jack Swagger waiting?

* After a hot post-WrestleMania crowd, ill the WWE fans who pack the Bi Lo Center take the world similarly by storm?

Saturday Shoot(4/13/13)

I recently read a report on Wrestlezone.com about WWE superstar, Big Show, being sued by a former WWE producer. In short, Big Show was in no mood to do an interview after his match at this year’s Royal Rumble Pay-Per-View. He then, supposedly, verbally berated the producer and struck him in the face as well as grabbed him by the throat. While I do not know if these claims are accurate, what I do know is that this incident is not good for either Big Show, or World Wrestling Entertainment. Here’s hoping that this lawsuit will get dealt with and we will never hear about it again. I am a fan of Paul Wight a.k.a Big Show and have been for as long as I have watched wrestling. I hope that this does not harm him professionally or personally as he can only have a few years left in the business, and I would love to watch him finish his career with no further incidents as well as in WWE.

Raw

24 hours after WrestleMania 29 ended, the new WWE Champion, John Cena, comes out to start the show. He says that he is going to start his era as champion with a title defense tonight and issued an open challenge to the locker room. I personally loved Mark Henry answering the challenge. It is also worth noting that Henry’s interactions with other superstars are always entertaining and underrated. It appears as though the new nameplate for the WWE Championship is going to come in the form of each superstar’s personal insignias. I personally believe that a nameplate could and should have somehow made its way onto the new belt, but overall, the belt looks very sharp and I definitely do not miss the clunky old one. All in all, this was a good way to start off the Monday Night Raw after WrestleMania, especially with a raucous crowd that was more present throughout the night, than the 80,000 at WrestleMania on Sunday.

The Big E. Langston vs. Daniel Bryan matchup was not very long, but was still a good little match to give Langston an impressive Raw debut. I guess Big E.’s finisher is called the Big Ending? Were the people behind this naming the same ones behind the names of Michael McGillicutty and Fandango?

The next matchup saw Wade Barrett regaining the Intercontinental Championship from The Miz just 24 hours after dropping the strap on the Pre-Show of WrestleMania. This match was pretty decent and could have been pretty good if not for a botched spot on Miz’s neckbreaker combination. I could not believe that none of the commentators called Wade Barrett emulating his inner Cactus Jack when he did the classic running elbow drop from the apron to the outside as well as the “Bang Bang!” he did before that.

The 2 on 1 Handicap Match achieved the purpose that Creative set upon it, which was to setup the Dolph Ziggler cash-in. I must say that I was shocked and extremely disappointed that Ziggler did not cash-in not only because it would have been at WrestleMania, which nobody had ever done, and not only in front of 80,000, but it was a chance to cash-in the briefcase in front of the world. It would also have been good to get the crowd fired up early in the night at WrestleMania as it seemed like everything was set-up for a Dolph Ziggler cash-in, but they did not pull the trigger. At the very least, Creative and WWE realized that they made a mistake and finally pulled the trigger 24 hours later. The incredible crowd made this Dolph Ziggler’s career moment and I hope that Creative does not screw up Ziggler’s run and potential chance at being a top guy for years to come.

Even though I called it as soon as they showed The Shield’s tweet about making an impact, I loved the confrontation between The Shield and The Undertaker. It made sense logically to have Team Hell No make the save, especially with Kane being The Undertaker’s brother, and it got me hype for a possible future 6-Man Tag involving these six superstars.

After a brief appearance from the 2013 version of the J.O.B. Squad, which included 3MB, R-Truth, Santino Marella, and Zack Ryder, we were treated to Randy Orton squaring off against Sheamus. The crowd was nuts during this contest as they did various chants, including the Olay chant. I loved the crowd’s presence, but it did take away from a competitive contest as it was hard to concentrate on what was going on in the ring. After this match got interrupted by Big Show, the “World’s Largest Athlete” knocked out Sheamus and destroyed Randy Orton as well as two innocent announcer chairs, much to the delight of the crowd.

The crowd humming Fandango’s theme song during his matchup with Kofi Kingston was downright hilarious. I also thought that Chris Jericho attacking Fandango in the middle of his match, and taking him to the woodshed, happens to be a good way to continue their feud after WrestleMania.

It appears that the WWE Universe did not miss much as far as the 8-Person Mixed Tag Match being bumped from WrestleMania. The 8-Person Tag Match was nothing to write home about and probably did not belong on the WrestleMania card anyway.

The Main Event was the John Cena vs. Mark Henry non-title match, as made by Booker T because he wanted Henry to prove himself, and ended with Cena winning by count-out. Ryback then came out and slammed Henry after he started to attack Cena, before Shell-Shocking Cena and ended the first show of the season with himself holding Cena’s belt above the laid out champ. It appears as though Creative is going to go ahead with a Ryback and Cena feud, although I hope that this does not mean that Ryback is officially a heel. I liked the shocking ending, but in the long run, I am not a fan of throwing Ryback, who has already lost momentum over the past few months, to a guy that is no CM Punk or Chris Jericho when it comes to putting guys over.

I will say that I am looking forward to hearing what CM Punk has to say next week concerning his WrestleMania loss. However, I cannot ignore the incredible crowd that was on Monday Night Raw. The crowd continued the trend of the crowd on the Raw after WrestleMania being better than the WrestleMania crowd the night before. A good example of this being fact would be last year when Brock Lesnar returned to World Wrestling Entertainment. However, there is little doubt that this Raw belonged to the IZOD Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey and the crowd packed into it.

Main Event

The one hour show starts with The Shield’s first in-ring action appearance on Main Event. I liked the usual hectic finish that we are getting accustomed to seeing with The Shield. I loved how they triple power bombed not only Tensai, but Clay as well because that was a good statement to make after their previous statement they made on Monday Night.

Big E.’s interview was interesting as he continued to do that “announcer” voice, which garners a laugh or two. I will not go as far to say that Big E. can speak on the mic, but he definitely has a presence on the microphone that some superstars just do not and never will have.

After his interview, we are treated to Big E.’s Main Event debut along with the debut of his entrance music. I do not know if I am a fan of the rap music, but it is better than Barrett’s generic music. The match was against Zack Ryder, and was a quick squash match. It looks like Creative could be slowly building/booking Big E. like they have done with Ryback as it appears they are protecting against his weaknesses in the early going. I loved his powerful belly to belly suplex by the way.

I will say that the Zeb Colter and Yoshi Tatsu Japanese segment was not only entertaining, but was the best part of this show. The matchup between Yoshi and Jack ended with Tatsu tapping out to the Patriot Lock.

This was the best Main Event show in a while as it featured several matches/segments and did not just show Raw segments to get through the hour long run time like usual.

Smackdown

The new World Heavyweight Champion, Dolph Ziggler, started the show off in the ring in order to gloat about his cash-in. He then got interrupted by Jack Swagger/Zeb Colter, Alberto Del Rio, and Chris Jericho. These interruptions were necessary in order to setup possible opponents for Dolph Ziggler’s World Title as well as helped setup the night’s main event with Chris Jericho. P.S. How funny would it be if Dolph’s fans were called Dolphins from here on out?

While I was not a fan of Team Hell No facing and defeating the Prime Time Players, again…, I did like The Shield’s Titantron promo, which further got me hype about their next 6-Man Tag Team Match.

I am curious to see if Creative is setting up a possible Booker T and Teddy Long power struggle over control of Smackdown as that seems how their little tiffs backstage are being booked.

I had a lot of hope for the 6-Diva Tag Team Match involving the Bella Twins and Tamina vs. The Funkadactyls and Kaitlyn. However, this matchup was too quick and uneventful for my liking.

Triple H, just like The Undertaker, ends up getting interrupted during his post-WrestleMania promo, first by 3MB and then The Shield. I thought it was funny that The Shield took out 3MB so that they could surround the ring themselves. Team Hell No once again came out to make the save. So we could either get a future 6-Man Tag involving The Undertaker, Triple H, both, or neither?

The 2 on 1 handicap match was slow and never really flowed as well as ended due to a Big Show self-count out.

The Antonio Cesaro vs. Kofi Kingston match was a pretty decent contest that I personally loved, especially the out of nowhere uppercut by Cesaro. Kofi getting the win could potentially setup a good feud over the U.S. title, which I would not mind seeing.

The Main Event featured Dolph Ziggler facing off against Chris Jericho with Fandango at ringside. By the way, I loved Dolph coming out wearing the World Title backwards because it fits perfectly with his character. I would have liked to hear Fandango on commentary because I was curious to hear what his character had to say regarding the fans humming his theme song. Nonetheless, this was a pretty good contest and I thought the finish was perfectly executed with the referee getting distracted by Fandango and interference by Langston, leading to Dolph getting the win via rollup. The post-match attack by Fandango was repetitive, but necessary. I just wish I could keep a straight face watching Fandango’s mannerisms.

WrestleMania 29

I felt that this year’s WrestleMania was entertaining, but it continued the trend of recent WrestleManias not feeling like WrestleManias. Once again, WWE put The Undertaker’s “Streak Match” in the middle of the show, which drained the crowd’s energy for Triple H and Lesnar as well as Dwayne vs. Cena. The only match that lived up to the hype was The Undertaker vs. CM Punk match, although I did like the Lesnar vs. Triple H No Holds Barred Match as well. It was a night of good wrestling, but there were not a lot of memorable moments that make WrestleMania the hyped up phenomenon it is today. I was disappointed, but at the very least, the matches that I wanted to see, lived up to the hype.

Clean Finish(Final Thoughts)

Earlier this week, I read a report from Wrestlezone.com that showed Fandango’s theme song is charting in the UK’s singles charts after this past Monday Night Raw. I have never heard of anything like this happening. All I can say is that people should never underestimate the power of professional wrestling fans.

Match of WrestleMania 29

The Undertaker vs. CM Punk “Streak Match”

No Video Due to Pay-Per-View Copyright

Match of the Week

Dolph Ziggler vs. Chris Jericho(Smackdown)

Photos and Videos Courtesy of WWE.com and Youtube

HBK Talks About Early Matches, When He Wanted to Be a Wrestler, More

awn Michaels recently sat down with Steve Austin on the Steve Austin Show. Here are some highlights from the interview.

Austin and Michaels’ early matches together: “One of the things a lot of people don’t know is that when you first came in, you and I were main eventing a lot. They wouldn’t put us in any of the major towns because we hadn’t done anything on TV, but in every other place, one of things you did for me, and this isn’t blowing smoke, if you remember me commenting on it the first time you said it, which was, “hey man, can I just sort of call it out there and just sort of do whatever?” And if you remember, I was like dude, yes. [laughter] I was probably wearing more hats than I should have at that time trying to be a good guy and the champion and all that stuff and having to general a lot of my own stuff at the time. To be able to go out there and just not do anything except depend on the guy, the old way I guess, for me, especially at that time, it was a huge favor to be able to have a dude call the match.

“I was thinking about it today, if you don’t mind me saying, they were very Flair-Steamboatish, our matches then. Again, as much as I would have liked to bring that to TV, obviously we never got that opportunity. It was a huge, huge thing for me at that time to just have a guy that I could go out there and completely relax with, and not all of it sort of be on my shoulders to call and to try and get through.”

When he first knew he wanted to be a pro wrestler: “In San Antonio. It was right before cable was coming out. I was 12 years old. I was up late for whatever reason on a Saturday, back when wrestling was 12:30 at night on Saturday nights and Southwest Championship Wrestling came on. Just that montage at the beginning just sort of drew me in. That time it was Wahoo McDaniel and Tully Blanchard, they had the big feud going on there. And then when cable came about, that’s when we got TBS then WWF out of Madison Square Garden and then WORTD. It just sort of consumed my life.”

Where Shawn Michaels picked up his ability as one of the best in ring performers ever: “The two guys I would probably give the majority of the credit for that would be Ricky Morton and Terry Taylor. I continued to try and work on it. I tell you what, Marty, Marty was a big part of it when I got to Kansas City. But Ricky Morton and Terry Taylor were the two guys that I watched a lot, spent a lot of time with in Mid South when I very first started. That’s where I really watched and learned about how to really draw sympathy from the crowd and to make it believable, especially when even at that time, it was still more the traditional way of wrestling. But even then it was starting to turn a little bit. They had the big rough, tough baby faces there too. And Doctor Death and Hacksaw Jim Duggan and Jake the Snake. So it was starting to turn into the more tough guy baby faces, but guys like Taylor and Ricky Morton could still that old school sympathy.”

If he thinks the art of selling to the crowd has been lost today: “I don’t know if it’s lost. I think that it’s done less for different reasons. I don’t know how much of it is being concerned with the development or lack thereof of character. A lot of guys, they worry about being vulnerable. If you get to pick a part, Kevin Nash use to always joke with me about it. Like, hey, who doesn’t want to be the guy that flies the helicopter, smoking a cigar with a machine gun in his hand, beating everybody up and getting the chick at the end? Everybody does, but you can’t always be that guy. Everybody’s sort of got to have a role and sometimes you have to be the guy that does get beat up. That’s one of the things that, again even drama with folks in the ego area, which there were plenty of, I was always really comfortable with making Shawn Michaels pretty well rounded. He was going to go ahead and experience every emotion. It didn’t matter if it was funny, sad, laughing, crying, hurt, scared, whatever. You run some risks with that, but that was a choice I went ahead and made. I think, to get to the point of your question, I think guys are less desiring of wanting to play that role.”

News on Post-WM XXX RAW, Update on Swagger’s Legal Troubles, More

- WWE donated $100,000 to Brian Stann’s “Hire Heroes USA” charity.

- WWE developmental trainer Bill DeMott tweeted praise for NXT wrestler Aiden English:

“Congratulations to @WWEDramaKing for putting @WWENXT on #notice!”

- As noted, Jack Swagger will return to court in Gulfport, MS on June 25th for a DUI charge. A Gulfport prosecutor is seeking the maximum punishment – 2 days in jail, a $437 fine for marijuana possession, a $1,300 fine for the DUI and a $188 fine for speeding.

- It’s now acknowledged within WWE that the post-WrestleMania RAW is now one of the biggest events of the year now. For WrestleMania XXX in New Orleans, there is talk that they might hold both WrestleMania and RAW in the SuperDome to try and build up that RAW as a can’t-miss supershow.

RAW Breakdown: Undertaker Facing The Shield, Ryback’s Attack, More

- As noted, the post-WrestleMania 29 WWE RAW on April 8th did a 3.43 cable rating with 4.61 million viewers. In comparison, last year’s post-WrestleMania RAW did a 3.43 cable rating with 5.02 million viewers. The difference this year was 1.35 viewers per home, very low by WWE standards, compared to 1.48 viewers per home last year.

In the segment breakdown, the show started big with John Cena and Mark Henry at a 3.74 quarter rating. Big E Langston vs. Daniel Bryan lost 461,000 viewers. Wade Barrett vs. The Miz lost another 222,000 viewers. Backstage segments with Randy Orton and Sheamus gained 92,000 viewers. Alberto Del Rio vs. Jack Swagger and Zeb Colter in the 9pm timeslot gained 151,000 viewers for a 3.42 quarter rating.

Dolph Ziggler winning the World Heavyweight Title and The Undertaker, The Shield, Kane and Daniel Bryan segment gained 460,000 viewers for a 3.76 quarter rating – the show high point. Zack Ryder, Santino Marella and R-Truth vs. 3MB plus a WrestleMania week recap video lost 329,000 viewers. Backstage stuff with Orton, Sheamus and Big Show plus Sheamus and Orton coming to the ring lost 110,000 viewers. Orton vs. Sheamus with the crowd going crazy gained 329,000 viewers in the 10pm timeslot for a 3.58 quarter rating.

Show beating down Orton and Sheamus lost 70,000 viewers. Fandango vs. Kofi Kingston with Chris Jericho attacking lost 207,000 viewers. Tensai, Brodus Clay, Cameron and Naomi vs. The Bella Twins, Cody Rhodes and Damien Sandow lost 665,000 viewers – one of the worst performing segments in a while. Mark Henry vs. John Cena in the main event, plus the Ryback attack, gained 887,000 viewers for a 3.54 overrun rating – strong numbers to end RAW.

Orton Comments on RAW Crowd, WM 29 Opponents Teaming Up, More

- WWE will return to the XL Center in Hartford, CT on June 3rd for RAW. Tickets go on sale April 19th.

- Ryback and Mark Henry vs. John Cena and Sheamus is booked for RAW live events in May.

- Speaking of Ryback, here’s his latest tweet after attacking John Cena on Monday’s RAW:

“We all want more we need more. My actions will feed my needs. At our core we all crave more. Lost souls will fall to my power. #RybackRules”

- Randy Orton tweeted the following about the crowd on last Monday’s RAW:

“Just watched back some of Raw from last Monday night. That crowd was insane! Never experienced anything like it before. Glad I was there.”

CM Punk to Address WM29 Loss, Change to Monday’s Raw Listing

The arena’s website for this Monday’s Raw event in Greenville, SC has updated their match listings. The listing is now advertising a tag team main event match pitting John Cena and Alberto Del Rio against Ryback and Dolph Ziggler. This match may be a dark match for the local crowd.

CM Punk addressing fans for the first time since his loss to The Undertaker at WrestleMania 29 is also listed for the show.

The Rock Comments on Injury, Raw’s Atmosphere Story

- The Rock has been thanking fans for their support on Twitter. The Rock also tweeted this pic regarding the muscles being completely torn off his pelvis, and noted in the caption that he will be undergoing rehab immediately instead of having surgery:
“My “Hmm.. I think I just tore tendons off my pelvis” face. Love you guys for all your support!!”

- The Sun published an article about the rowdy crowd on Raw this past Monday night, and how British fans helped create the “incredible atmosphere.” The article noted that Fandango’s theme was rising on the U.K. charts, which is at #14 now.

Backstage News on The Undertaker, Injury Updates on CM Punk and HHH

- Triple H was unable to lift his arm on Monday after banging it up at WrestleMania 29.

- CM Punk was backstage at Monday’s RAW but was having a lot of trouble walking. Word at RAW was that Punk would be getting his knees examined this week as he really hurt it on the table elbow drop at WrestleMania 29.

- The Undertaker was said to be doing fine after WrestleMania 29, considering his physical condition. Despite the tease with The Shield on RAW, word is that he isn’t expected to wrestle anytime soon.