RAW REPORT: 02/02/15

Big Show def. Roman Reigns via Pinfall

The Ascension def. Gold and Stardust via Pinfall

Ryback def. Luke Harper via Pinfall

Cesaro def. Jimmy Uso

Bray Wyatt def. Dolph Ziggler via Pinfall

Paige def. Alicia Fox

Sin Cara def. The Miz via Pinfall

Rusev vs. Erick Rowan - Match Never Started

Daniel Bryan def. Seth Rollins via Pinfall

After Thursday's episode of Smackdown, the entire WWE Universe was eagerly awaiting the announcement that was going to shock us to our core. This episode of Raw was heavily based around said announcement.

The Announcement

The announcement was essentially a fall back option for the WWE if they decide to pull the plug on Reigns' road to Wrestlemania. They set up a main event between Daniel Bryan and Seth Rollins, with the winner facing Roman Reigns at Fast Lane. The winner of the Fast Lane match will then face Brock Lesnar in the main event at Wrestlemania.

After the announcement Big Show defeated Roman Reigns after Seth Rollins hit him with the Money In The Bank briefcase. There was nothing noteworthy about this match as it was simply setting up for the main event.

Ambrose for Intercontinental Champion

After interrupting a rambling Curtis Axel, Dean Ambrose declared himself the number one contender for the Intercontinental Championship. Personally, I would love to see Ambrose as the Intercontinental Champion as I feel it was a huge step back to give the title back to Bad News Barrett. I believe Ambrose will pick up exactly where Ziggler left off in re-establishing the Intercontinental Championship to its former glory. As much as I would love to see Ambrose challenging for the WWE Title, I understand that right now it's not his time.

Tag Team Overhaul

The WWE are full steam ahead with re-shaping the Tag Team division. Another loss for the team of Gold and Stardust lead to another post-match altercation points to the pair splitting in the coming weeks. However, they are not the only Tag Team that will be coming to an end. In a backstage promo, The Miz fired Damien Mizdow as his stunt double, but hired him as his personal assistant. Later on in the Miz's match against Sin Cara, tensions rose between the two as the crowd urged Mizdow to continue his stunt double antics. Mizdow eventually cost Miz the match as his sideline antics distracted Miz enough to allow Sin Cara to roll him up for the win. The eventual split of Miz and Mizdow has come at the perfect time as the gimmick was getting old. This rivalry is something that I have been expecting for some time now, and I am very interested to see how long they draw it out before we see a match between the two. A Fast Lane match looks to be on the cards, and possibly even a match at Wrestlemania.

The rivalry for the Tag Team Championship is heating up now that Cesaro and Kidd have now defeated Jimmy and Jey, respectively, in singles action. Cesaro and Jimmy Uso put on a good match given the short time they had, and I absolutely loved the finish. I am huge fans of Cesaro and Tyson Kidd, and cannot wait to see the matches they put on with The Usos over the course of this rivalry. I am expecting big things from these four men over the next few months.

Cena Welcomes Back Rowan, Ryback and Ziggler

Ultimately Stephanie McMahon put an end to this celebration by putting Rowan, Ryback and Ziggler in matches. Ryback faced Luke Harper in a battle of the behemoths. This was a fun match which showcased Luke Harper's rare combination of size, speed and agility, however, the match was nothing special. I am more interested to see the development of Luke Harper over the next year as he is a talented, athletic and exciting worker who is willing to put his body on the line.

Rowan's match with Rusev never started, as he was attacked before he could even enter the ring. This was clearly an attempt by WWE Creative to fuel the rivalry between Cena and Rusev, leading up to their match at Fast Lane. However, I believe they need to look at how they fuelled Cena's rivalry with The Wyatt Family leading into last year's Wrestlemania if they really want this rivalry to get over. Otherwise they can just rely on the American patriot vs. the anti-American, which we have seen for nearly all of the last year, as well as numerous times throughout the past.

Ziggler's match against Bray Wyatt was only topped by the main event. With a number of exciting spots and a great finish, overall this was a good match. Later on Wyatt cut another backstage promo, for what feels like the 34,567th time. However, after his nearly 50 minute performance in the Royal Rumble, and recent wins over Dolph Ziggler and Daniel Bryan, WWE clearly has big things planned for Wyatt.

Bryan's Road to Wrestlemania?

Daniel Bryan and Seth Rollins tore down the house with their match on Raw. They had the crowd on the edge of their seats as they pulled off high flying manoeuvres and stunning counters throughout the match. After looking like Rollins was about to close out the match, Reigns came down to 'get even' by hitting Big Show with a Spear, and landing a Superman Punch to Rollins. Bryan would capitalise, by hitting Rollins with a Flying Knee, and earning a pinfall victory to setup a match at Fast Lane against Roman Reigns.

This was the right result. There is no need for Rollins to be involved in any more title matches as it defeats the purpose of him holding the Money in The Bank Contract. It was also smart for Reigns to interfere as a clean win for Bryan over Rollins is something that Rollins does not need if he is to look like a worthy contender for the WWE Championship. This result has also freed up Rollins for his impeding rivalry with Randy Orton.

Personally I feel the WWE missed a huge opportunity for a Reigns heel turn. He is already getting a heel reaction from the crowd and was one bold move away from completing it. If Reigns had hit Bryan with a spear, during his yes chant, he would have sent a message to the WWE universe that he is ready for the main event of Wrestlemania and no one is going to get in his way.

All in all, after the announcement the WWE have given themselves the option for Bryan to main event Wrestlemania, however, I still think Reigns will feature in the main event. If he doesn't, his stock will drop rapidly, which is definitely something the WWE don't want.

#Raw #WWE #JohnCena #DanielBryan #SethRollins #RomanReigns #RandyOrton #BrayWyatt #DeanAmbrose