The John Report: The WWE Raw Deal 04/18/16

Live (on tape delay) from London, England this is the Raw Deal for episode #1195. Follow me on Twitter @johnreport.

I had 90% of this done at around 11am. Then my internet went out. It's five hours later. They said they'd fix it and they did not. Now they say first thing tomorrow. Not a good day. I'll explain in the main event. Everything else is pretty much full.

The Raw intro video played. Following that, Michael Cole welcomed us to the show. Hey look there's the telephone booth and car on the ramp like usual when WWE does UK shows.

Dean Ambrose entered first to a really nice ovation from the crowd. A recap of last week's segment with Ambrose getting the talk show spot over Jericho.

The Ambrose Asylum

Ambrose was on the set of his "talk show" with a white bulletin board that says "Ambrose Asylum" on it as well as a potted plant. He spoke about how there was a river monster by the Thames River and then he said he didn't think Braun Strowman could swim. The crowd laughed while Ambrose admitted he didn't think that joke would work. He said he didn't know how Jimmy Fallon or James Corden does this all the time. He pointed out Corden's parents sitting at ringside. For those that don't know, Corden hosts the Late Late Show on CBS weeknights at 12:35am. He's a British guy that's very funny. Corden's parents waved to the crowd. Ambrose welcomed us to his first guest...Shane McMahon.

"Here Comes The Money" as Shane received a huge ovation from the crowd. Nice "Shane-O-Mac" chant as he got in the ring with Dean. Ambrose told him to have a seat, but there were no chairs in the ring. Fans chanted "you still got it" at Shane. Ambrose showed a clip of Shane's incredible dive at WrestleMania 32 that saw him go through the announce table with an elbow drop. Fans chanted "Shane-O" to the tune of "ole ole ole" because they are a good crowd.

Ambrose wondered what is on Shane's agenda. Shane said it's all about you guys as he said that we deserve better. Shane spoke about how superstars that never would have gotten a chance like AJ Styles, Sami Zayn, Sasha Banks and that's why they have arrived. (So we're pretending they weren't there before Shane was around? Okay then.)

The great Kevin Owens showed up for the interruption. Owens said this is the same old crap that he's seen for years, which is a McMahon mad with power with a personal agenda against this generation's number one superstar...Owens.

Owens got into the ring. KO complained about being kicked out of the building last week. He said that Zayn does not belong anywhere near the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Owens said that Zayn has been riding his coattails for over a decade.

Sami Zayn was up next with the interruption. Fans chanted along with his theme song as Zayn walked down to the ring. Zayn mentioned that he got signed by WWE before Owens and he knows that drives Owens crazy. Zayn told Owens that he never would have ended up in WWE without him as he mentioned how Owens made a career of stabbing his friends in the back.

Chris Jericho interrupted in his ring gear. He got into the ring. Jericho told Zayn there are bigger issues than his emotions. Jericho said Owens was right that Shane was drunk in power. Jericho told Shane he was the best in the world and he's the best host of a talk show with the Highlight Reel. Shane said it's about new opportunities, which is why they have the Ambrose Asylum. Everybody was arguing in the ring.

Ambrose: "Be careful around the plant!"

McMahon said he's going to make some matches for Payback: Ambrose vs. Jericho and Owens vs. Zayn. Shane left, so Dean gave him the plant to hold. Ambrose brawled with Owens. Zayn dumped Jericho out of the ring and then he dumped Owens out of the ring leaving Zayn and Ambrose standing tall in the ring.

Analysis: It was a bit of a twist on the show opening promo with Ambrose starting off with his talk show instead of just having the authority figure out there saying what matches are going to happen. They had Shane work with Ambrose pretty well. I still think WWE has dropped the ball by not doing a better job of explaining how Shane was in control. Three weeks ago Vince was on saying he was there on a temporary basis yet here we are in the third week with no further explanation. It doesn't bother me as much as some people because the shows have been better with Shane in charge. Basically they just changed the format with having a face authority figure instead of heels. Still no word on why there's no Triple H or Stephanie although I can't say that I miss them. Anyway, the whole thing was pretty effective in terms of setting up obvious matches for Payback as well as matches for later in the show.

(Commercial)

We have a match that was made during the break by Shane via Facebook. Remember the WWE App? Shane also made Ambrose vs. Owens for later.

Chris Jericho vs. Sami Zayn

This is a rematch from Smackdown's main event that ended in a disqualification. They went to the floor early on with Zayn hitting a springboard moonsault on Jericho outside the ring. Zayn went up top while he was holding Jericho's arm in wrist lock as Jericho tripped him up to crotch him on the top. Jericho nailed a dropkick that sent Zayn to the floor leading to the vintage floor to commercial break.

(Commercial)

Jericho with a suplex followed by the "c'mon baby" cocky pin gets two. Zayn came back with clotheslines followed by a top rope cross body block. Jericho came back and went for a Lionsault, but Zayn got his knees up. Zayn hit the Blue Thunder Bomb for two. He doesn't win matches with that move, but it usually generates a great nearfall reaction just as it did there. Zayn went up top for an attack, Jericho countered with a dropkick and then applied the Walls of Jericho. Zayn was able to get to the bottom rope. Zayn with a back body drop over the top to the floor. Jericho avoided a Zayn dive to the floor, so Zayn nailed his DDT attack where he jumped under the middle rope. Love that move. Jericho held the ropes to avoid a further Zayn attack. The ref was pulling Zayn back, so Jericho poked him in the eye and then hit a Codebreaker for the win after 13 minutes.

Winner by pinfall: Chris Jericho

Analysis: *** A good match as expected from these two. It was a little better than their Smackdown match although both matches got around the same time. I'm a little surprised that Zayn didn't get the win because I think he could have used the momentum going into that match with Owens at Payback. Of course they could say Jericho needs the momentum too, so it's easy to see why they went with this finish. They did that eye poke leading to a finish ending during a Miz/Ryder Smackdown match a couple of weeks ago. It's a good way for a heel to win a match by cheating without doing something that is too dirty. I'm all for cheap heel wins. They don't happen enough.

Later on Raw: Ambrose vs. Owens. Also two tag team tournament matches: The Vaudevillains vs. The Usos and Enzo/Cass vs. The Dudley Boyz.

(Commercial)

Backstage, AJ Styles was interviewed by Mauro Ranallo. No Renee Young because she noted on social media she had visa issues, so she didn't make the trip to Europe. Before Styles could say much, he was interrupted by Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows. Ranallo left as Styles hugged his buddies. Gallows thanked him for helping them get there. Anderson said he's worked his entire life to get to WWE and he can't thank him enough. Anderson joked that when he grows up he wants to be like Styles. Gallows wondered if they could hang out to reminisce about the good times they had. Styles left with them. Cole just said they were buddies from New Japan.

Analysis: Even though WWE can't say the Bullet Club name because they don't own the rights to it, that trio had a great run in New Japan over the last two years. It would be nice if WWE told their story a bit, but if you go on WWE.com they have covered a bit.

Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady made their entrance doing their usual match opening promo. It looks like Big Cass spent some time in the main roster tanning bed sponsored by spray tanner because the dude looks more tanned than I've ever seen him. Enzo did a bit of a riddle. He called the Dudley Boyz "duds" not studs. Enzo said they are like A Cups because they are real whether you like us or not. Fans chanted "Ohh...Enzo Amore" to a tune. Cass ended it with the "S-A-W-F-T" bit with the crowd joining in.

The Dudleys entered for the match.

Tag Team Tournament Semifinals: Enzo Amore & Colin Cassady vs. The Dudley Boyz

They went to break less than one minute into it with the Dudleys working over Enzo.

(Commercial)

Back from break, Bubba was still working on Enzo until Enzo came back with a punch to the face. Enzo ran full speed into Bubba's shoulder as they showed off the power of Bubba. D-Von worked over Enzo with a neckbreaker. Bubba talked trash as he hit a splash for two. Plenty of quick tags by the Dudleys as they continued to work over Enzo. Bubba took too long to hit a move of the middle turnbuckle as Enzo moved out of the way of the splash. Cass with the hot tag against D-Von. Cass with clotheslines, a body slam and an elbow drop. Corner splash by Cass. D-Von avoided a splash. Double neckbreaker by the Dudleys. Bubba accidentally hit D-Von after Cas avoided an attack. Boot to the face by Cass on Bubba. Enzo off the top with the Rocket Launcher leading to the pinfall win after 9 minutes.

Winners by pinfall: Enzo & Cass

Analysis: ** It was a basic tag match that followed the same formula as most  Enzo/Cass matches with Enzo getting beat up for the majority of it, Cass gets the hot tag and they go to the finish soon after. The Dudleys did a good job of working as the heels that talked trash and were overconfident as well. I expected Enzo & Cass to win. That's a credible win for them.

Up next is Roman Reigns.

(Commercial)

The WWE World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns made his entrance. Mixed reaction like usual for him. He defends the gold against AJ Styles at Payback on May in Chicago.

Reigns started with his new catchphrase: "I'm not a good guy, I'm not a bad guy...I'm just THE guy." When he mentioned Styles, the crowd started chanting for Styles. Reigns said that at Payback he's bringing the big fight and he'll hit anybody in the mouth that thinks they can come after him. Reigns said this is the era of the Roman Empire and "we're here to stay."

Analysis: Interesting that he said "we're here to stay" rather than I am here. Keep that in mind. I think there's definitely a possibility for him to have a stable watching his back soon.

AJ Styles made his entrance to confront Reigns. They were face to face in the ring. Plenty of "AJ Styles" chants. Styles said that Reigns was one heck of a champion that has it all because he's got power, he's explosive and he's aggressive. Styles said to beat him he has to have the match of his life, but having the match of his life is what he does. He said having the match of his life is why WWE came calling and having the match of his life will make him champion. The crowd chanted "yes" for that.

Reigns said that he had the match of his life at WrestleMania as the crowd booed with some "boring" chants. Reigns asked the crowd if they liked AJ. The crowd cheered. Reigns said what they won't like is when Reigns beats him at Payback and the will respect Reigns. Reigns said he'd rather be respected with this (the WWE Title) than be liked without it. Styles said he'd rather be respected and liked with it because it would make him a phenomenal World Champion. Styles left.

With Styles out of the ring, Anderson attacked Reigns in the back with a double axehandle. Gallows picked up Reigns on his shoulder, Anderson ran the ropes and kicked Reigns leading to Gallows slamming him down. Styles looked surprised by it as Gallows and Anderson left the ring. The crowd cheered most of this.

Analysis: A pretty good promo from both guys. Lots of interesting comments from Reigns saying he cares about being respected as champion much more than being liked without the gold. Styles' comments were pretty basic, but they worked and they popped the crowd. The attack by Gallows and Anderson is something that will get people talking as they wonder if Styles was in on it or if they just did it on their own.

(Commercial)

There was a replay of Gallows and Anderson attacking Reigns.

Reigns was backstage. Rich Brennan tried to interview him, but Styles showed up. Styles said he had no idea that was going to happen. Styles said he swears to God and that he's telling him the truth. Reigns didn't buy it. He mentioned that last week Gallows/Anderson attacked his cousins (The Usos) and then this week they attacked him. Styles said he had no idea they would do that. Styles: "I don't need my friends to beat you for your title." Reigns: "Bring all your friends, it won't matter. One versus all." Styles left.

Analysis: A good segment to do right after what happened in the ring. Having Styles deny he had anything to do with it puts him over as a legit good guy. I think they could be leading to something where this Roman Empire includes Gallows and Anderson as his backup. Why would they attack him? To get people off the scent. I think it would work really well if they were with Roman.

The announce team is joined by Dolph Ziggler for this match.

Baron Corbin vs. Fandango

The Andre the Giant battle royal trophy is at ringside since Corbin won it at WrestleMania. Fandango went for an attack off the ropes, but Corbin nailed him with a forearm. Corbin sent Fandango into the post at ringside. Corbin  tossed Fandango over the announce table and into Ziggler. Corbin kicked Ziggler in the ribs. Corbin hit the End of Days for the win in just under two minutes.

Winner by pinfall: Baron Corbin

Analysis: 1/4* It was just a squash match to put over Corbin. Fandango has no momentum.

Post match, Ziggler went in the ring after Corbin. That didn't last long as Corbin nailed a boot to the face. Corbin hit the End of Days on Ziggler on the floor.

Analysis: It looks like this will lead to a Payback match with Corbin going over Ziggler. Poor Ziggler being used as the veteran that has to put over the newer stars.

There's an eight woman tag match later.

The Miz and wife Maryse were walking backstage. There was a spilled drink on the floor so she made a guy take off his coat to cover it up so they can walk by.

Some commercial aired about quitting smoking with Titus O'Neil and Natalya.

(Commercial)

The Miz and Maryse were in the ring.

Miz TV

Another talk show segment? Apparently. Maryse did the introduction for her husband, the Intercontinental Champion The Miz. Maryse looks tremendous, which isn't new. Just stating facts. The Miz talked about the Royal Family while showing Prince George. Miz talked about their baby, which is the IC Title. They kissed. Cesaro's music interrupted it.

Cesaro did his James Bond like entrance in a suit as he posed with the Cesaro Section at ringside. Cesaro called Miz a royal pain in the ass. Miz said that Cesaro may be the number one contender to the IC Title and the crowd chanted "boring" during the speech. Miz did a monologue from the movie Taken. Fans chanted "what" during this acting performance. Miz said he rushed it a bit and wanted to do it again. Cesaro interrupted him: "When my hand goes up, your mouth goes shut." Crowd loved that.

Cesaro said that at Payback, he's going to be the new IC Champion. He said in honor of his recent birthday, here's a Roddy Piper line: "I have come here to chew bubble gum and kick ass (spit out his gum) and I'm all out of bubble gum." Miz told Cesaro they can't fight because they know Cesaro already has a match with this man: Rusev. He had Sheamus and Alberto Del Rio with him.

Cesaro mentioned that before he came out there, he talked to Shane McMahon and he changed things up. Instead, it's going to be the League of Nations and The Miz against Cesaro and...he took off his suit to reveal a New Day shirt.

The Tag Team Champions The New Day made their entrance. Huge ovation for them as well as a loud "New Day Rocks" chant.

Analysis: Fun segment. I'm glad that Cesaro is getting the chance to speak more because he has shown he can do a good job. Miz is really annoying as a heel in a good way. Having Maryse with him really does help his act a lot because he's this cocky guy with a title plus a hot wife, so that makes him very easy to hate. He's booked really well now.

(Commercial)

Sheamus, Rusev, Alberto Del Rio & The Miz (w/Maryse) vs. Big E, Xavier Woods, Kofi Kingston & Cesaro

Miz nailed some knees in the corner against Woods. Big E got the tag and connected with the big splash for two. Kingston nailed a double foot attack to the shoulders of Del Rio. Cesaro joined in on the unicorn stampede spot in the corner as Woods played the trombone. Del Rio with a backbreaker on Woods and then he brought in Sheamus. Rusev got his turn in the ring as he worked over Woods with some hard kicks. Sheamus dumped Woods outside the ring. Rusev with a kick to the ribs, Sheamus with ten forearm shots and Del Rio with an enziguiri kick sent Woods to the floor.

(Commercial)

Back from break, Woods was still isolated from his team as Del Rio worked on the arm. Woods hit a back body drop on Miz to create some space. Sheamus and Del Rio took out the guys on the apron to prevent a tag. Rusev attacked Woods while JBL said League of Nations are so good. I guess we should forget all their losses? Woods nailed a DDT on Rusev.

Cesaro gets the tag against Sheamus. Uppercut train time on Sheamus and Miz in opposite corners followed by a dropkick on Sheamus. Cesaro even hit uppercuts on Rusev and Del Rio outside the ring. Cesaro with a cross body block on Sheamus gets two. Miz nailed a kick to slow down Cesaro. Sheamus hit a one armed slam into a Powerbomb for two as Woods broke it up. Then there was a big sequence where everybody hit signature moves. After Sheamus hit a powerslam on Big E, he went to finish off Cesaro. Instead, Cesaro nailed a Neutralizer on Sheamus for the pinfall win after 14 minutes.

Winners by pinfall: Big E, Xavier Woods, Kofi Kingston & Cesaro

Analysis: **1/2 A clean win for the faces in a standard tag match. Once again it was another match that followed the formula WWE always does in tags with Woods being isolated for most of it and then Cesaro cleaning house. It also saw the usual thing where everybody hits signature moves towards the end. Good win for Cesaro. A little surprised that Sheamus took the pin, but nothing wrong with it. As for League of Nations, they don't have a clear direction right now since Bray Wyatt is injured, so that puts an end to their rivalry with the Wyatt Family.

Charlotte and Ric Flair were interviewed by Mauro Ranallo backstage. They showed the end of Charlotte's Women's Title match against Natalya where Ric Flair grabbed the ref leading to the DQ finish. Charlotte said Natalya is a failure just like every other woman in the division. Natalya showed up to say that she made Charlotte tap out. She added that Shane McMahon has granted her a rematch at WWE Payback. Natalya mentioned her uncle Bret Hart will be in her corner at Payback. That seemed to upset Charlotte and Ric.

Analysis: I'm happy that Bret's health is good enough to have him appear at Payback. He had surgery for cancer a few months ago. I know sometimes people say that they should have Natalya's dad Jim Neidhart for these things instead of her uncle Bret. I don't agree. Bret's the bigger name. Neidhart is doing better in terms of his health, but he's probably not television ready. It's reminiscent of the outstanding Natalya/Charlotte match from NXT two years ago when Ric and Bret were in the corners.

(Commercial)

There's a Total Divas spinoff called Total Bellas, so they showed the press that received. JBL yelled "People Power" since John Laurinaitis recently married the Bella Twins' mom. Poor Daniel Bryan.

When Natalya made her entrance, it was mentioned that she's in the ESPN Sportscenter spot on Tuesday night this week. All eight women received televised entrances.

Natalya, Becky Lynch, Paige & Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte, Summer Rae, Naomi & Tamina

They're following up an eight man tag with an eight woman tag? Perhaps they should have spread these matches out a bit to break up the repetitiveness of these matches. The heels tried to work on Banks early, but that didn't work. Paige received a nice ovation in her home country as she hit a running knee attack on Naomi. Paige hit a fallaway slam that sent Naomi out of the ring. Paige hit a dive off the apron to take out Tamina and then Lynch took out Charlotte. Commercial time with women on the floor.

(Commercial)

Lynch was caught in the heel corner as Tamina yanked her to the floor and hit a superkick to knock her down. The heels did some quick tags to work on Lynch. Summer leads the women's division in terms of yelling the most in the ring. Naomi missed an attack against the ropes as Lynch sent her to the floor. Hot tag to Natalya against Summer. Clotheslines by Natalya, then a Russian legsweep, a slingshot into slam and then a running dropkick. Summer hit a spinning heel kick. Charlotte tagged in, but Natalya took her down with a clothesline. The face girls cleared the ring of the heels. Natalya kicked out of a Figure Eight, then Natalya applied a Sharpshooter and Charlotte tapped out quickly after 11 minutes of action.

Winners by submission: Natalya, Becky Lynch, Paige & Sasha Banks

Analysis: ** A pretty basic tag match used to put over Natalya as the top contender for the Women's Title. Charlotte was barely in the ring for a minute, yet she tapped out easily. That didn't make her look strong although I guess she's a champion that could say it wasn't a situation with the title on the line.

A recap aired of the Reigns/Styles stuff from earlier.

Styles was shown talking to Gallows and Anderson backstage. We couldn't hear what they were saying.

The Usos were backstage with Shane McMahon there to wish them luck in their match up next.

(Commercial)

There was a video featuring Primo & Epico talking about Puerto Rico again. I really hope their gimmick is more than that. Perhaps they'll bring Carlito back.

Tag Team Tournament Semifinals: The Vaudevillains vs. The Usos

This is The Vaudevillains first match on Raw. Jey has his left shoulder taped up. Gotch hit a knee to the face of Jimmy. English nailed a hard punch on Jimmy. Jimmy nailed a kick to break free and here comes Jey with the hot tag after about two minutes. Samoan Drop by Jey on English followed by a running butt splash in the corner. Jimmy with a clothesline sent Gotch over the top to the floor. English jumped off the turnbuckle and ate a superkick. Outside the ring, Gotch sent Jimmy into the barricade. Jey took out Gotch with a suicide dive. English kicked Jey in the shoulder, sent him into the ring post and teamed up with Gotch to hit the Whirling Dervish for the win after about four minutes.

Winners by pinfall: The Vaudevillains

Analysis: *1/2 A solid match that saw the new team get the win over the veteran team just like earlier on Raw. It felt a little rushed. The crowd wasn't into the match at all. I think WWE needs to do a better job of introducing The Vaudevillains to the main roster. The entrance is cool, but they need to do more than that to get the characters over.

That means the finals of the Tag Team Title tournament is Enzo & Cass against The Vaudevillains. That match is at Payback. I'm going with The Vaudevillains for the win since they're heels that would make more sense as New Day opponents.

A video package aired about Apollo Crews. I hope he gets more of a gimmick than a guy that just smiles all the time.

(Commercial)

The Social Outcasts were in the ring. No Adam Rose since he's suspended for 60 days. No mention of him.

A clip aired from earlier with the Social Outcasts trying to recruit Crews. He said that he'll join them if one of them can beat him and if he wins then they have to leave him alone forever.

Apollo Crews vs. Heath Slater (Curtis Axel & Bo Dallas)

Crews with dropkick early on. Crews nailed a delayed suplex. Slater tossed Crews into the ring post. Chinlock time by Slater to ground Crews. It took about a minute. This crowd is pretty dead. Crews with punches, then a back elbow and Crews hit a standing moonsault on the apron to take out Axel & Dallas on the floor. Crews with a cross body block on Slater, but Slater rolled through for a two count. Crews with a jumping kick to the head followed by a spinning sitout Powerbomb for the win after five minutes.

Winner by pinfall: Apollo Crews

Analysis: * I'm surprised that it went nearly five minutes. They probably should have ended it earlier. It was another match where the crowd wasn't that interested in it. The third hour often times drags like this.

Kevin Owens made his entrance as Crews was leaving the ringside area. They did this same thing with Jericho and Ambrose on Smackdown a few weeks ago. Perhaps an Owens/Crews feud in the future.

(Commercial)

This week on Smackdown it's Miz TV with AJ Styles as the guest.

Kevin Owens vs. Dean Ambrose

There was a bit of a chopfest early on. Owens hit a back elbow to get control and he hit a DDT for a two count. Owens took him to Headlock City after that. Ambrose nailed Owens with a forearm that sent KO to the floor. Ambrose nailed a Suicide Dive to take him out. Owens sent Ambrose over the announce table into the leather chairs. Then Ambrose fought back and did it to Owens. They went to break.

(Commercial)

Ambrose with a bulldog. Owens with a cannonball attack for a two count. The crowd didn't seem that interested in the match. Once again that's what happens when you have a three hour show. Ambrose with a comeback after the Owens headlock and then KO sent Ambrose over the top to the floor. Owens gave Ambrose a Frog Splash off the apron onto Ambrose on the floor. Ambrose got back in before the count of ten and was greeted with a big boot from Owens. Ambrose set up for an attack off the top rope, Owens went to the floor and Ambrose nailed his flying elbow attack to take him out. Ambrose with a huge clothesline led to Owens flying in the air leading to a two count. Ambrose with a superplex gets two. Ambrose with a hurricanrana to counter the powerbomb and Owens nailed a superkick for two. Owens nailed a spinning suplex off of the turnbuckle for a two count. Ambrose got his knees up to counter an Owens splash. Then Ambrose moved out of the way of a cannonball attack. Ambrose rolled him through and hit the Dirty Deeds for the pinfall win. The match went about 15 minutes.

Winner by pinfall: Dean Ambrose

Analysis: ***1/4 A really good match as expected from them. If you give these guys more than ten minutes they're always going to hit the three star level for a match. It just wasn't anything more than that. Part of the reason is they've had so many matches that it feels a bit repetitive at times. In terms of the result, Ambrose got the win just like Jericho earlier, which gives both of them some positive momentum going into their Payback match. Meanwhile, both Owens and Zayn are hurt a bit from the loss. The problem is that they do so much 50/50 booking that guys can trade wins every week and it's not like anybody in the midcard feels like they are higher up than somebody else.

Post match, Chris Jericho (with a scarf as part of his outfit) went into the ring. He nailed Ambrose with a Codebreaker. Jericho stood over top of him as Raw ended that way.

Analysis: That's just a simple way to add more heat to their new feud. A smart and predictable method of adding some interest to the story.

Three Stars of the Show

1. Dean Ambrose

2. Kevin Owens

3. Chris Jericho

The Scoreboard

6.5 out of 10

Last week: 9

2016 Average: 5.83

Last 5 Weeks: 9, 6, 7, 6, 6

2016 High: 9 (April 11)

2016 Low: 4 (Feb. 29/Mar. 21)

Final Thoughts

It gets a 6.5 out of 10 from me.

It was a slightly above average episode of Raw, but not at the level of what we got last week.

I liked the Ambrose/Owens and Jericho/Zayn matches a lot. That's no surprise given their talents.

Two eight person tag matches was a bit much. The second one killed the crowd too. Have to space those matches out better. It was a tag heavy show with two other tags as well.

In terms of angles, the big thing was Anderson/Gallows attacking Reigns in the ring with Styles saying he had nothing to do with it. It's up to the viewer to decide what they believe. I like angles like that because it gets people guessing and makes them want to tune in to see what might happen next week.

There was no mention of Bray Wyatt, who is hurt with a calf injury during a live event last week. It's as if main eventing Raw last week with Roman Reigns never happened. Still no word on how long he may be out. My guess, from having a calf strain in the past, is that he'll be out up to a month, but could be two weeks.

The English crowd was good for the most part, but they were definitely tired by the end of the night. Can't say I blame them. It happens.

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Thanks for reading. Go Toronto Raptors. Go Toronto Blue Jays.

John Canton – mrjohncanton@gmail.com

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