Oh well. Let's do this anyway.Hulk Hogan Segment -- B-
Hmm, smaller pop than the other week... Shilling the WWE Network again. Maybe I should get it, but that 6 month commitment, though... Announces a 30-man battle royal at Mania, should certainly fill some time... Here comes Cena, who is no longer injured?... I can hear the smarky a--holes already, "Lookit, Hogan and Hogan Jr."... I do like the heavily positive reaction he got... Wow, Cena decides to take the battle royal. How about that... Here comes the Wyatt family... That Margaritaville joke actually made me laugh... Cancel Cena's spot in the battle royal, he wants Bray Wyatt at Mania
John Cena (with Hulk Hogan) vs Erick Rowan (with the Wyatt family) -- C
So it just jumps right into this right out of commercial... Wow, hardly ever see a bearhug anymore... Hogan trying to get the crowd behind Cena. Is he new here?... Roll-up for the win... Nothing spectacular, all things considered... Brawl after the match? Nope! Faked out. Good heel move... Had to figure Cena would do the Hulk posing...
Another Christian and Sheamus match tonight. The "fans choose" the stipulation, either falls count anywhere, 2/3 falls, or street fight. They should really save this for Mania, honestly... Also announced is Batista and Orton vs. Big Show and Daniel Bryan as the main event... The Undertaker does a "return to Raw"
The Authority segment -- B+
Grr, Steph still has it. What a grating, condescending witch... Demands an apology from Bryan for kicking Hunter in the head... Here come the Old Days, I mean, NEW AGE Outlaws. They'll be on commentary *cringe*
The Usos vs. Ryback & Curtis Axel -- C
Well, at least Ryback is committed to the battle royal... Dat Uso war dance
... "Famous-er"? Ugh. Okay. I give up... Nice combo. Corner splash followed by a superkick... A bit short... Road Dogg whining about how similar Jimmy and Jay are. Okay then?... Kane lecturing The Shield... They face the Rhodes Brothers later...
Big E vs Jack Swagger (with Zeb Coulter and Cesaro) -- C
Swagger begins with a dirty look to Cesaro... Big E is committed to the battle royal instead of a title match?... Ha! What the? Cesaro catches sh*t for NOT interfering? Oh this is rich... Swagger and Cesaro confrontation now, because Cesaro played clean... Dat handshake :)) ... More leaning towards Swagger vs. Cesaro at (I would assume) Mania...
The Undertaker segment -- B+
Oooooohhhh yesss, the best entrance in all of wrestling... "Nobody is giving Brock a chance" Block--BROCK Lesnar doesn't have a chance for reasons that are neither here nor there... Paul Heyman is waiting on the stage... Maybe I'm misreading, but it seems Heyman is playing scared of Taker... This, ladies and gentlemen, is how you promo. You ALWAYS put over your opponent on the mic! Smart man kudos to Paul... Taker is still the man...
Cody Rhodes & Goldust vs. Roman Reigns & Seth Rollins -- A-
I missed the cinematic entrance of Goldust. So awesome... Was that a reverse STO into the turnbuckle? Nice... Double sentons by Cody and Goldust, pretty cool... Pointless CM Punk chant... Well, this is pretty one-sided... Good ending!
AJ Lee & Tamina vs. The Bella twins -- B-
Divas match, a.k.a. the time that the audience takes a leak and/or grabs some food... Natalya on commentary, at least she should be better than the last guest commentators... Wow, nice superkick. That actually looked pretty stiff... I'm really kind of liking Tamina and AJ... Hmm, that was okay. Not particularly great, but certainly not bad.
Daniel Bryan segment -- A
"Do you think that was sincere?" It's Stephanie McMahon. Of course it's not sincere... Ugh, "occupy" -_- OWS soured me on that word... Oh wow, that's unique! A bunch of people actually crowding the ring and ringside area... Well, here comes the Authority... A show in front of an empty arena? Given how the crowd treats Hunter, I don't think he'd mind... "Power can go to your heads". Words from the expert on the matter
... This would be awesome if police in riot gear showed up... OOOOOHHH!!! He got it! D-bry vs HHH at Mania!... And if Bryan wins, he gets a title shot! Now THIS is the sh*t!Well, that settles it. WWE has my money for Mania.
Lawler announces the match stipulation and it is...
Sheamus vs. Christian in a street fight -- A+
They really should have saved this for Mania. It's going to be difficult to top this... So they get to use instruments. Ugh -_- ... Tornado DDT off the stage. Impressive... It always looks nice when a guy breaks a cane over his opponent. And you can see the welts already. Sadistic!
... Dat angry Sheamus look!... DAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMMNNNNN! What an awesome finish!Another boring Aleksander Rusev intro where he doesn't do jack sh*t. Get in the damned ring already for chrissakes... Wyatt family promo... Bray Wyatt accepts Cena's challenge...
Big Show & Daniel Bryan vs. Batista & Randy Orton -- A
Should be interesting to see the teamwork, if any, between Batista and Orton... JBL telling them to call the match, but he keeps bringing up how Bryan should fry for the Occupy Raw bit... Well, I got lost in that match. It was that immersive.
Overall, awesome show! Aside from the Rusev bullsh*t, I wasn't lost. Seriously, get him in the ring already.
And if you're wondering, no, I do not grade on a curve. I was never afforded that luxury, so I do not afford it to others. I'm bitter.
