The Highlight of the Night
Top Moments from Raw
Written by Mark Adam Haggerty
Blinded by the light—revved up like a Deuce, it’s the “Highlight of the Night.” That’s a tune by the a London-based rhythm and blues band Manfred Mann, titled “Blinded by the Light.” It always comes to mind when I say the name of my weekly article, so it’s inevitably stuck in my head once a week. My name is Mark Adam Haggerty and I’m back here at Cheap-Heat.com to deliver another Top Five Moments from Raw. This week’s show went down in Montreal Quebec and featured some very exciting action and intriguing plot twists. I’ll save any further description or analysis for the countdown, so let’s kick things off with number five.
5. Tamina Returns to the WWE
It’s been rumored for weeks that Tamina would be returning to television, but we had no idea in what form she would arrive. Tonight, the Bella’s were set to meet Naomi when the former enforcer for AJ Lee appeared out of nowhere and helped Naomi decimate the unsuspecting set of twins. Naomi proceeded to berate the Bella’s on the mic by saying their reign of sibling dominance over the Divas division is over. She said that her and Tamina represent what family is all about, and walked off to Naomi’s new—and in my opinion, improved—theme music. Michael Cole went on to explain that Tamina and Naomi are cousins through marriage.
4. “New Day Rocks”
I really enjoyed the opening contest tonight between The New Day and the number one contenders to Seth Rollins’ WWE world heavyweight championship. Randy Orton and Roman Reigns coexisted peacefully for the bout, but failed to outsmart the reigning and “Freebird Ruling” tag team champions. The show started just like any other episode, with a set of main event monologues, but Roman and Randy were ultimately interrupted by Xavier Woods, Kofi Kingston, and Big E. I especially enjoyed the way in which the members of the New Day spoke with ease and fluidity, as if they weren’t just reading from a script. Big E was especially comical when he told Randy Orton: “Seth Rollins doesn’t just have your number, he’s got you on speed dial!” Xavier alerted Roman and Randy that Kane booked the three of them against the duel-heir apparent to the WWE title, and that match is up first. Everyone looked pretty good in this match, and The New Day scored the victory when Kofi Kingston got the pinfall. But Xavier Woods was without question the MVP of this match. Xavier understands the subtle nuances of heel behavior, as do his partners, but Xavier is already beginning to exhibit clear signs of turning. When the crowd chants “New Day Sucks,” Big E and Kofi ignore them and continue clapping. But Xavier becomes irate at the mere mention that he and his crew might be less than capable. Woods did a number on Roman during this match, and beckoned the crowd to respond when he asked, “THIS is Roman Reigns?!” An all-around fantastic tagteam contest between five highly talented performers.
3. “All Hail King Barrett!”
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I suppose congratulations are in order for the new King of the Ring, Bad News Barrett, who won the honor this past Tuesday night in the first KOTR tournament since 2010. Tonight the King is teaming with the last King of the Ring—the “Celtic Warrior” Sheamus—to go up against Dolph Ziggler and Neville. The WWE has a habit of combining storylines and rivalries to create nonsensical tag team bouts, but tonight’s ensemble of multi man matches have been rather intriguing and downright entertaining. This was poised to be my match of the night until a number of unannounced contests got in the way and distracted me from the overall awesome chemistry between this foursome of foes. Adrian Neville has been having the most successful first month out of anyone I can remember, save for someone like Santino Marella, who ended up being a joke in the end anyway. Neville was in the finals of the King of the Ring against Barrett, and has already wrestled the WWE champion and performed on pay per view. I asked the “B+ Players Podcast” audience if Neville was going to be a Bo Dallas or a Bray Wyatt, and I think it’s safe to say he’s already carved out a niche all his own. Kings Barrett and Sheamus were both impeccable in this match, as the irate Irishmen manhandled Dolph Zigler and bodyslammed him over the barricade into the timekeeper’s table. Barrett followed suit and hit Neville with the “Bull Hammer” for the win. Both Sheamus and Barrett stood on the ropes in opposing corners, playing to the crowd as the tried and true heels that they are.
2. Dean Ambrose is Going to Payback
Seth Rollins wrestled Dean Ambrose on SmackDown last week, but since the majority of the WWE Universe probably didn’t see it, they opted to do it again tonight on Raw. Tonight’s match wasn’t as good as the aforementioned battle on Smackdown, but there were much larger stakes at hand other than securing a victory on the Syfy. Kane said that if Dean Ambrose could defeat Seth Rollins, he would be entered into the main event at Payback, thus making it a Fatal Four-Way. Both men were highly impressive during this match, especially Dean Ambrose who’s been evolving into more than just a “Ketchup and Mustard Wrestler” since his ladder match at WrestleMania 31. The WWE world heavyweight champion Seth Rollins is always a pleasure to see, especially in his recent rekindled rivalry with Dean Ambrose. This was one of more than a hundred WWE matches that’s been hindered by commercial breaks planned for less than opportune occasions. This match did win itself a very audible “Holy Shit” chant from the boisterous French-Canadiens however. The final moments featured the champion in rare frustrated form, unable to beat Ambrose, and forced to resort to his most heinous of tactics. But Dean Ambrose persevered, and when the dust settled it was the “Lunatic Fringe” who walked away with his hands held high. WWE Payback will take place on May 17th and will now feature a Fatal Four-Way. And Dean Ambrose will be one of the four.
1. John Cena vs. Sami ZaynВ
I’ve really been enjoying John Cena’s US Open challenge since he won the title from Rusev at WrestleMania 31 in Santa Clara California. He’s had some phenomenal matches with an array of Superstars that might not otherwise be wrestling John Cena, or even competing for the US belt. Canada has no reason to care about the United States championship, and are booing John Cena more than any other city in recent memory. Even more than the Extreme Rules crowd in Chicago. The crowd chants “John Cena Sucks, “and “Go Back Home,” ordering him to return to America. But John Cena is still able to get the fans on their feet. When he puts the challenge on the table, we are pleasantly surprised to hear the theme song of the WWE Hall of Famer Bret “Hitman” Hart. Bret comes out and says that he’s there to introduce a great wrestler, but before that wrestler might show up, we get Heath Slater. Heath slowly saunters on down to ringside and says that he’s tired of being attacked out of nowhere. Bret immediately clocks him across the jaw, and continues to introduce a “hometown boy from NXT,” the one and only Sami Zayn. This was an enormous mark-out moment for me, for my friends, and my Twitter followers. Which just goes to show what kind of an impact the NXT Superstars can have on the main roster. Sami Zayn is absolutely incredible in the ring and watching him one one one with “the champ,” is almost like watching Cena versus Kurt Angle over a decade ago. It seemed like John Cena didn’t know how to wrestle someone like Sami Zayn, and who’s to say that wasn’t a result of the “shoulder injury” that Sami suffered during the course of the match. The bit where the doctor came in to check on Sami’s shoulder was confusing, but added an element of realism to have a bout. Sami proved that he would continue the fight regardless of what obstacles may lay and his path, and even reversed Cena’s “You Can’t See Me” signature special. Sami caught Cena in a submission hold that Cena sought to reverse into an Attitude Adjustment, but Zayn turned that into a German Suplex. Cena once again tried for the AA, but Zayn landed on his feet, and proceeded to hit Cena with his patented turn post DDT. Cena hit Zayn with an Attitude Adjustment but Zayn kicked out. He kicked out of the finishing move WWE’s number one guy in his debut match. Zayn hit Cena with the Blue Thunder Bomb for a two and three quarters count until the Montreal crowd erupted with a raucous cry of “This is awesome.” John Cena finally defeated Sami Zayn to retain his United States Championship with a springboard stunner into an AA. After the match, Cena held Zayn’s hand high and cheered for him along with the live audience. Best moment of Raw in months.
This was a solid episode of Monday Night Raw wherein all major plot points were addressed and formerly absent Superstars were made relevant again for the first time in months. Even our ring announcer has been afforded a last name, as Eden Stile could be a sign of more meaningful programming to come each and every Monday Night.В Until next time, this has been Mark Adam Haggerty, reminding you to keep it here at Cheap-Heat for all the latest and greatest in professional wrestling.
