Highlight of the Night: Top Moments from Raw

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11:25 pm April 13, 2015

Highlight of the Night:

Top Moments from Raw

Written by Mark Adam Haggerty

Let’s see if I can be the millionth wrestling writer to drive this bit into the dirt: Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls–CHILDREN OF ALL AGES! The B+ Players, proudly bring to you– Cheap-Heat.com ‘s TOP TEN MOMENTS FROM RAW! My name is Mark Adam Haggerty and I’m back in action with another “Highlight of the Night,” the once-weekly review of all things going down on the WWE’s flagship show. Anybody that knows me knows that I’m not a huge WWE fan, but I’ve thoroughly enjoyed their programming since ‘Mania nonetheless, so I was hopefully (or hopelessly) optimistic going into tonight’s show. Let’s start things off with the Number Five Moment from this week’s episode of WWE Monday Night Raw.

5. Choke Slam Through the… CAR?!

I’m certainly not a fan of Roman Reigns, nor am I interested in seeing what the Big Show is up to these days. But I wouldn’t be doing my job if I neglected to mention the bit of business between these two behemoths. Roman Reigns comes out to speak with Booker T about his loss at WrestleMania 31 to Brock Lesnar. Roman does the same thing he did immediately following his loss two weeks ago–he makes excuses about “how close he was” to the World Title. Roman Reigns does a really great job of turning a hostile crowd from completely adversarial to almost appreciative, and that’s when the Big Show appears–on the TitanTron. ‘Show says that while Roman Reigns was losing his match with Brock Lesnar and Seth Rollins, he was winning the “Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal.” He talks down to Roman and lets him know exactly what he thinks of him; he takes a cue from the boisterous UK crowd and says something to the effect of, “I’m not the only one that was happy when you lost.” Roman will meet Big Show at Extreme Rules to squash whatever beef they’ve generated in recent weeks. Roman had the final word on the microphone, but as he climbed the entry way toward the stage, he was attacked out of nowhere by the vicious Big Show. He slammed Roman’s skull off of the cliched British Cab, and finally Choke Slammed him through the roof.

4. “They’re Fandango’ing in London!”

It was really interesting to see Fandango on Monday Night Raw tonight , especially in action against someone such as Stardust–another television “bad guy.” My “B+ Player” cohost Gary Mastriano sent me a text during the match saying, “Some solid heel versus heel action here.” It certainly seemed strange but I wasn’t going to argue about WWE Creative diversifying the “Starting Line Up.” Stardust got the victory over Fandango, as anybody might have suspected. But WWE’s resident-dancer had something else on his mind–other than defeat–following the close of the contest. He asked for the microphone and told Rosa Mendes that he was done sharing his gift with her. He jumped up on top of the announce desk and proceeded to shake his hips, “I should be sharing it with the entire world! Maestro!” With that, the original Fandango anthem began to play, sending a wave of electricity across the crowd. The REAL Fandango is back, and for the first time since debuting with the WWE, he looks like he could become a Babyface.

3. The U.S. Title Open Challenge

One of the biggest problems fans have with the current WWE product is the fact that every episode of Monday Night Raw–and subsequent SmackDown–begins with a long and drawn out opening monologue ala Saturday Night Live. In fact, “PG” Matt Sloyan went on a long rant about opening segments on the most recent episode of “The B+ Players Podcast.” So imagine my surprise when the first match of the night kicked off about ten minutes after the hour! John Cena continues to issue his open challenge from week to week, hoping to restore honor to both the United States Championship, as well as the lackluster WWE midcard. The audience inside the O2 Arena is on fire tonight , singing “John Cena Sucks” in unison and with such a collective harmony–you’d have sworn they were practicing in the parking lot. The champ’s challenger is Intercontinental Contender Bad News Barrett, who receives an exceptionally warm welcome from his fellow Brits, just an hour and a half away from his hometown. This match is spectacular, with tons of false finishes and incredible offense on both sides. John Cena hits the Attitude Adjustment but to no avail; Bad News Barrett is on the verge of victory following his own barrage of of innovative maneuvers, but falls just short. John Cena lands his newly introduced Springboard Stunner and

another Attitude Adjustment to retain his title. Following the contest, Cena’s music faded into that of Alexander Rusev. Lana appeared on the stage, where she proceeded to address the Doctor of Thuganomics: “John Cena you despise Rusev for waiting to invoke his rematch. But by waiting–” That’s when Rusev attacked! He blindsided the United States Champion inside the squared circle with a steel chain in hand. “As I was saying–I’ve had time to negotiate.” She says the Authority has granted Rusev his request, and the rematch at Extreme Rules will be a “Russian Chain Match.” It’s unclear as to what the stipulation might in fact be; we were promised a flag match last year and it didn’t operate under the same rules of a standard “Flag Match.” The same might be said for this new chain-concept, wherein we don’t see a “Strap-Match” or “Dog Collar Match,” but a regular bout with a chain in the corner. Time will tell but I’m excited to see what might go down.

2. And the Stipulation is…

The continuing dynamic between Seth Rollins and Randy Orton is interesting to say the least, and was presumably set to culminate at Wrestlemania 31 in Santa Clara California. But fortunately for the fans–and the Viper–the WWE has opted to extend their feud further. Both men were given the chance to pick their own stipulation for their upcoming championship match at Extreme Rules. Randy Orton, who wants nothing more than to have Seth Rollins all by himself, chooses to surround the squared circle with a steel cage. Rollins has a trick of his own–stashed away, and ready to turn the tables on the “Legend Killer.” Seth has no problem defending his championship in a “Cage Match,” but adds that the RKO–Randy’s deadly finishing hold–will be outlawed during the match. This all reminds me of WCW for a number of reasons; the RKO is pushed as a move that Randy can hit from anywhere, much like DDP’s Diamond Cutter. And illegal signature moves? Sounds an awful lot like the Jackknife Power Bomb, am I wrong? I’m intrigued by what might happen at Extreme Rules and will be going live immediately afterwards with the rest of the “B+ Players Podcast” to discuss to entire show.

1. Dolph Ziggler vs. Adrian Neville

This week’s episode emanated from the United Kingdom and was therefore presented on a tape delay here in America. I don’t usually read spoilers because it’s my job to review professional wrestling programs, and I’m not going to watch them if I read the results ahead of time. But I read the lineup for tonight’s show, just to see where the hometown heroes might fit in, and whether or not to expect the cab and phone booth. Wrestling is oftentimes ruined by spoilers, and some segments from tonight’s show might have been better had I not seen them coming. But when it came to this bout between Dolph Ziggler and Adrian Neville–no spoiler could capture the magic of what these two world-class athletes put down between the ropes. I’m not usually as high on Dolph as everybody else, but I really like Neville AKA Pac, and found myself on the edge of my seat for the entire match. Both men were at the top of their game, but only one could emerge victorious. Dolph Ziggler beat Neville, in another televised loss for the former NXT champion. Following the match however, Dolph Ziggler found himself on the receiving end of a Brogue Kick, among other maneuvers from the Celtic Warrior. Sheamus is obviously proving a point to Daniel Bryan and anybody else he views as unworthy of wrestling in HIS ring as part of HIS roster.

Tonight was another strong showing for Monday Night Raw. But think about that sentence for a second–I basically said “The most profitable wrestling promotion in the world had a good show.” It doesn’t carry the same weight as putting over a promotion such as Lucha Underground, that might not be held to the same standards as WWE, but certainly exceeds them. Until next time, this has been Mark Adam Haggerty with “Highlight of the Night: The Top 5 Moments from Raw.”

You can follow me on Twitter @TapeTraderz or on Facebook by searching “The B+ Players.” And also be sure to check out each and every new episode of the “B+ Player Podcast” every Monday afternoon.