WWE Raw results (05/19/14): Eight observations from this week's episode
The WWE went across the pond for Raw Monday, as the company is in the midst of a tour of the United Kingdom.
The latest stop was the O2 Arena in London, England Monday, and the native fans did not disappoint when it came to a hot crowd.
The question is, however, was Raw a hot show?
While it was a step above last week's show, which was in my opinion the worst in quite some time, it didn't necessarily set the world on fire either.
The hot crowd did help bump it up a few notches, but Monday was just another example of the transitional period WWE is in right now. With Daniel Bryan's injury, WWE is seemingly adjusting on the fly, which may provide for some wonky moments moving forward.
Before we delve deeper into the show, let's take look at the full match results from Monday:
- Cesaro def. Sheamus
- Beat the Clock Challenge: Big E def. Ryback (5:02)
- Rusev def. Heath Slater
- Beat the clock Challenge: Rob Van Dam def. Alberto Del Rio (0:52)
- Seth Rollins def. Batista via disqualification
- Alicia Fox def. Paige
- Beat the Clock Challenge: Dolph Ziggler-Mark Henry went to time limit draw (Van Dam wins the beat the clock challenge
- John Cena def. Luke Harper via disqualification
Now let's get into my observations from Jolly Old England:
Stephanie McMahon laid down an ultimatum for Daniel Bryan
WWE World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan underwent successful surgery on his neck last week, but the timetable for his return is still uncertain at this point.
In an effort to stretch this situation out one more week, Stephanie McMahon didn't strip Bryan of the championship Monday. Instead, she gave him until next week to surrender it to her.
McMahon went full heel mode with this promo, as she came out to Bryan's music and mocked his "Yes!" chant.
I tend to believe WWE will eventually strip of him of the title and that the only reason why the company didn't do so Monday was because of the ongoing tour of the United Kingdom. Bryan is more than likely in no condition to fly all that far in the United States let alone overseas.
The WWE will be back in the United States next Monday for Raw in Knoxville, Tenn. and then the company could have Bryan being stripped of the title be an angle on television.
John Cena, Bray Wyatt play a game of one-upmanship
The longest-running one-on-one angle going endured another chapter Monday night.
Bray Wyatt began the show in the ring amongst all of his followers in the United Kingdom and cut a promo on John Cena.
Suddenly, Cena's music hit, which prompted Wyatt to send Luke Harper and Erick Rowan to meet Cena on the ramp to take care of business.
However, Cena came in through the crowd, snuck up on Wyatt and delivered the attitude adjustment. When Harper and Rowan jumped back into the ring to help their leader, Cena quickly ducked out of the ring instead of fighting 3-on-1.
In the midst of all of that, Cena was pitted against Harper in the main event. Cena didn't go to the ring for this match alone. He came with the help of the WWE Tag Team Champions, The Usos.
The match between Harper and Cena was very good, in my opinion. Harper continues to impress in and out of the ring and even landed a hurricanrana.
Eventually, both sides got involved and things broke down. Wyatt then went on a tear, as he delivered the Sister Abigail to both of The Usos and eventually to Cena.
The Wyatts then managed to get Cena to the top of the stage so that Wyatt could deliver another Sister Abigail and he was successful.
The Cena-Wyatt feud has definitely run its course by this point, but this week wasn't a bad chapter to it. It more or less served its purpose to advance the story to next week.
More of the same from The Shield and Evolution
Guess what? The Shield and Evolution don't like each other. Not much else to see here.
I mean I did like Evolution trying to stack the deck against Seth Rollins for his match against Batista by Triple H appointing himself as the guest ring announcer and Randy Orton as the guest timekeeper.
Other than that, not much was different. Things broke down, the two factions attempted to beat the heck out of each other and that's it.
It was announced that the two teams match at Payback will be a no holds barred elimination match. I like that wrinkle to the match. The elimination aspect could provide for some interesting moments and pairings.
Rob Van Dam wins Beat the Clock Challenge, is attacked by Bad News Barrett
The WWE decided to have a Beat the Clock Challenge in order to determine the No. 1 contender for Bad News Barrett's Intercontinental Championship at Payback.
Although Big E set the pace 5:02, Rob Van Dam bested him with 52 seconds to spare. Neither Dolph Ziggler or Mark Henry could beat each other before the clock ran, which gave Van Dam the fastest time.
Before Van Dam could celebrate too much, Barrett came from behind and delivered the bull hammer elbow to the back Van Dam's head. Barrett then did what he does best. And that was deliver some bad news.
I like the fact there is some focus being put on the Intercontinental title. It's nice to see people actually vying for it instead of random people being handed random title shots on random episodes of Raw.
Now, some may say the only reason why there's focus being put on the title is because this is usually a bit of a down period for the WWE on top of the fact that the WWE World Heavyweight Champion is out of action.
Alicia Fox was at it again
Alicia Fox turned into a crazy woman last week after she lost to Divas Champion Paige. Despite defeating Paige this week clean as a sheet in the middle of the ring this week, she still went crazy after the match. You know what? I'm starting to like this.
This week, Fox jumped around banging the announce table, stole Jerry "The King" Lawler's crown, took a kid's soda, drank it and then poured it all over her, which was nice to see.
I don't know where WWE is going with this, but it's nice to see some angry people on the show sometimes. Not just people that are happy to be there and be apart of the show.
Sheamus-Cesaro have a good match
United States Champion Sheamus and Cesaro are two capable hands in the ring, and they showcased that talent Monday in London.
The match was good and even had a surprise ending: Cesaro beating Sheamus.
Now, that's really nothing new for the Unites States Champion, as whomever holds that title or the Intercontinental title routinely lose non-title matches on television. It's almost like it's a rule within WWE.
I still kind of figured that the WWE would protect Sheamus to a certain extent because he's a former main event star. Hopefully, this doesn't become a trend for Sheamus.
Zeb Colter confronts Adam Rose again
Adam Rose brought the entire posse out for his in-ring interview with Renee Young. Zeb Colter and Jack Swagger quickly interrupted him.
Colter ripped on Rose, his posse and the fans in London before challenging Rose to essentially a one-on-one fight. Before Rose had a chance to accept, Swagger jumped on him commenced to delivering a beating. However, Rose quickly recovered and dispatched of Swagger and Colter.
Rose's music, not Rose himself, was very over in London Monday night. While I'm still playing the wait-and-see approach to him, I did like seeing him get physical like he did Monday.
Summer Rae, Layla fight over Fandango
It looked like a 2014 version of Missy Hyatt versus Dark Journey on Raw Monday, as Summer Rae returned to the show to confront her old dance partner Fandango and his new dance partner Layla.
Rae marched right into the ring and planted a big, wet kiss on Fandango as he was getting ready for a match. Layla took offense and the two women came to blows. It looks like Fandango is going to have his hands full for a while.