ThunderStruck: WWE Raw Analysis 05/13/13

Fandango attacks Chris Jericho after Summer Rae fakes an injury during their dance off. Jericho had Edyta Sliwinska as his partner, but they never got the chance to dance.

^What a waste of a dance contest. I obviously hate the dancing part of Fandango’s character, but the aggressiveness is awesome! I honestly believe Fandango and Jericho will have no problem topping their somewhat average WrestleMania encounter with a brutal fight at Extreme Rules. Good opening segment to help put over Fandango.

Ryback squashes Zack Ryder.

^Ryder sucks, and Ryback rules. Smart of WWE to take advantage of Ryder’s popularity. Enough said. Ryback is on fire, but I still don’t think he will win the WWE Title just yet. It’s Cena’s run and ending this soon wouldn’t make any sense.

The Prime Time Players defeat Tons of Funk.

^Are the PTP finally going to get a decent push? Probably not, but it was nice to see them a get win here. My gripe is that the match was just far too short.

Teddy Long announces that Dolph Ziggler will not defend the World Title at Extreme Rules due to his concussion. He announces that Alberto Del Rio will go one on one with Jack Swagger in an “I Quit” Match and the winner will be the number one contender for Ziggler’s title. Also, the fans can vote tonight on whether Del Rio or Swagger will face Big E. Langston.

^I’m obviously in favor of Ziggler not being stripped of the title, but why not embrace a new concept and let Langston compete on behalf of Ziggler? Either way, the card is definitely a tad bit weaker without Ziggler competing in St. Louis.

Kofi Kingston goes one on one with Damien Sandow. Kofi wins the short match using trouble in paradise.

^This one was also too short to be enjoyable and five-seven more minutes would have made it awesome. I would’ve enjoyed seeing Sandow get a win after a distraction by the Shield, but instead Sandow just loses when he’s so much better than that.

Mark Henry comes out and bullies Josh Mathews. He then calls out Sheamus. Sheamus comes down to the ring and gets another strap from under the ring. Sheamus and Henry whip each other and Sheamus gets the upper hand.

^I love this new and improved Mark Henry. Can he PLEASE be the next challenger for the WWE Title? I can’t to see what he and Sheamus do to one another.

Randy Orton defeats Antonio Cesaro with an RKO.

^And it’s a Main Event rematch with the same result. Nice of WWE to keep it fresh. Too bad Cesaro didn’t destroy Orton after the match. Why not do something interesting with these guys and let a rivalry develop?

The Miz defeats Heath Slater in a short match. It’s announced that Miz will face Cody Rhodes at Extreme Rules on the pre-show.

^So the Miz is back, and we get the leader of the 3MB jobbing to him. Perhaps he’ll chase the IC Title again now, or maybe form a tag team with someone new? I’m not sure what intrigue there is in Cody Rhodes facing Miz on the pre show, but maybe that means we’ll be lucky enough to see an IC Title match on the main card of the pay per view.

John Cena, Kane, and Daniel Bryan defeat the Shield by DQ in an elimination match when the Shield attack Cena when he and Ambrose are the last two left in the match. Ryback attacks Cena after the Shield lays him out. Ryback hits Cena’s ankle with a steel chair.

^Why wasn’t this the main event of the show? Cena is booked to look strong, and that’s good because he’s WWE Champion, but why did Kane and Dbry get eliminated and look so weak? And why aren’t they booked in an official match for the pay per view? Awesome booking, WWE.

John Mathews interviews Ryback. Ryback says he isn’t playing by the rules anymore.

^And Ryback still shouldn’t talk, but I’m glad he kept it short. I’m genuinely excited to see what he and Cena put together for a last man standing match at Extreme Rules.

Jack Swagger wins the vote over Del Rio and goes one on one with Big E. Langston. Swagger wins the match by countout. Del Rio comes to the ring after the match to attack but Swagger gets the upper hand. Ricardo comes in and distracts Swagger. Del Rio puts the cross armbreaker on Swagger and then Big E. attacks Swagger too. Del Rio takes Big E. out and then clotheslines Swagger out of the ring.

^Crazy mess here, but lots of action. I’m heavily disappointed that Ziggler won’t be competing at Extreme Rules, but I’m confident that Del Rio and Swagger can deliver a better match this Sunday than what we saw at WrestleMania. Big E. looked good here, and I’m hopeful for his future in WWE and that he won’t just become another John Cena challenger/loser like so many before him.

Kaitlyn, Nikki, and Brie are all on commentary during AJ’s match with Natalya. Kaitlyn gets another gift from her secret admirer. AJ defeats Natalya with a brutal looking submission.

^The divas are relevant and they’re actually at ringside! When did this happen? Fun segment all around for something produced for the ladies. I’m a bit surprised that AJ isn’t booked to challenge Kaitlyn this Sunday for the gold.

Chris Jericho is interviewed by Josh Mathews. Mathews asks Jericho if he felt foolish with how Fandango got one over on him. Jericho said the joking and dance offs are over. Jericho tells us about his history and that his name is Chris Jericho. He says he will teach Fandango how to dance Chris Jericho style at Extreme Rules.

^This was the intense Y2J that we don’t get to see often enough! I expect Jericho to make his next match with Fandango something that we won’t forget anytime soon. Fantastic promo work. Best of the night right here.

Triple H cuts a promo from inside the steel cage. Hunter reiterates all the things he’s said over the past few weeks, and out come Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman. Heyman runs his mouth and eventually says that Lesnar won’t fight for free, and so we will have to wait until Sunday to see Lesnar brawl with Triple H. Hunter antagonizes Lesnar until he comes towards the ring. Lesnar and Hunter brawl and Brock gets the upper hand with a german suplex. Hunter then fires back and throws Lesnar into the cage door. The collision knocks Paul Heyman to the floor as well as Lesnar. They have a staredown but then Lesnar grabs Heyman and walks away. Hunter’s music hits to close the show.

^I’m not insanely excited for another match between these two, but honestly I don’t think it’s going to be bad in any way. As long as there’s lots of blood and these two beat each other to a pulp, I won’t complain. Not a bad way to end the night, but I still would’ve preferred for the WWE Title situation to be featured at the end of the night.

Not a ton of wrestling tonight, but there was plenty of feud enhancers and promos to make up for it. Dean Ambrose vs Kofi Kingston for the US Title was announced for Extreme Rules, and that match has potential to be amazing. Overall, I really enjoyed the intensity of the rivalries that have been hyped going into this next pay per view. How does one complain about enjoying a show? I’ll be back with Jee-S for the rundown on Saturday morning. Until next time, you’ve been ThunderStruck!

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