OO Column: Online Onslaught by Rick Scaia (Pro Wrestling News, Analysis, and Commentary... WWE, WWF, WCW, ECW, The Rock, Brock Lesnar, Triple H, Rob Van Dam, Hulk Hogan, Undertaker, Trish Stratus, Lita, Stacy Keibler, Divas, RAW, SmackDown, WrestleMania

OO RAW RECAP
The Passion of the Reigns
June 1, 2015

by Rick Scaia
Exclusive to OOWrestling.com

June 1? I just typed JUNE 1 up there below the headline... the hell? Where has the time gone?

I guess that's the sort of thing you lose track of when you spend five months living away from home... either that, or my brother's brain injury is somehow contagious. He spent much of the past six months convinced it was 2012, and now, I'm pretty sure it should still be March. Maybe April. But certainly not June.

Oh well, I'll try to adjust. In the mean time, I'll try to conserve some time by cutting the rambling, and getting straight to what just happened on the just-completed edition of RAW:

Video Package for the Benefit of Those with ADD: OO does not recap recaps.

ROMAN REIGNS: DEAN AMBROSE'S "ADVOCATE"?

And we slam cut to the inside of Whateverthearenaiscalled in San Antonio, TX, where Lilian Garcia is announcing the entire Extended Authority (Triple H, Steph, Rollins, Kane, and J&J), who are already on their way to the ring.

Steph starts the talking to ensure maximum cheap heat as they reiterate the fact that Seth Rollins is still the WWE Champion, even if he doesn't have his belt. Then HHH takes over to reiterate his demand that Dean Ambrose return the WWE Title belt to its rightful owner, and he had better do it NOW.

There is no Ambrose. But instead, Roman Reigns' music hits, and he comes to the ring. He finds a mic, and reveals that Ambrose isn't here. And he may never return, unless Ambrose is granted a rematch at Money in the Bank... and furthermore, he insists that it be a Ladder Match, so that whoever is holding the WWE Title belt is also the WWE Champion at the end of the night.

Works for me!

Stephanie says the Authority will not negotiate with common criminals or their surrogates... no match.

Reigns says she better change her tone, because as far as every single fan is concerned, that common criminal is the new WWE Champion. The Authority freak out and say NO, Ambrose stole the belt, and that doesn't make him a champion. Reigns just smirks and says "Dirty Deeds in the middle of the ring, and one, two, three? Doesn't sound like stealing to me." Rollins just goes into full Denial Mode, saying NO NO NO, he's still the champion, the best champion of all time, and these fans had better show him some respect.

Instead, Reigns lays on the disrespect, saying he doesn't see Seth as a great champion. He sees him as a guy who used to be kinda cool when he was in the Shield, but now, not so much that he's running around, listening to "mommy and daddy" and employing the world's tiniest security team and pretty much having everything handed to him... Rollins loses it, and says "Screw that. I don't need them. I don't need the boss, or his wife, or this 7 foot piece of crap. I'm the champ, I did this all on my own, so go ahead and tell Ambrose he's got his rematch."

HHH tries to talk some sense into him, but Rollins is having none of it, and reiterates that he wants the rematch, and he'll do it all on his own, if he has to, and then leaves the ring.

Steph gets all up in Reigns' face, and is pissed that he's stirring the pot on behalf of Ambrose. "Who do you think you are?" But then HHH takes the mic from her, and changes the tone. "Who is he? He's Roman Reigns, the guy who headlined WrestleMania, and the guy who's gonna be in the Money in the Bank Ladder Match in 2 weeks. The guy who wants to win the briefcase, so he can cash it in anytime, any place, for a shot at the WWE Champion. The very briefcase that ruined all your hopes and dreams, when Seth Rollins crashed your match at WrestleMania. You'd love to win that briefcase, and maybe you will... or maybe you won't be in the match at all. Ambrose has his match, but you may lose yours, if you don't win your match tonight."

And then, HHH reveals that he's not gonna drag out the suspense... Reigns can stay right there, and HHH will go back and find him an opponent right now. Of course, by "right now," he means After These....

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ROMAN REIGNS vs. KING BARRETT

During Barrett's intro, Cole & The Gang clarify that not only is Reigns out of the MitB Match if he loses... but this is Barrett's chance to get IN to the match, if he wins. Winner gets the spot, loser is out.

FWIW, the crowd has been VERY pro-Reigns so far tonight, and that's definitely been the trend since Mania... maybe it's the right move to not do the rumored heel turn, afterall.

Early feeling out focuses on mat wrestling type stuff, which favors Barrett... but all of 2 minutes in, Reigns is able to shift things to more of a brawling style, which results in a big flurry of moves for him. Barrett decides to bail out, and when Reigns follows him, they do the standard cat-and-mouse role reversal spot... Barrett whips Reigns into the steel ring steps, and is firmly in control as we break for....

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Back, and Barrett's still in control... when he settles in for the chinlock, that's when Reigns finally fires up to start his comeback. He escapes, and enters into fisticuffs, for a little YAY/BOO action. Then, Reigns flattens Barrett with a clothesline, and he's on a roll.

But when Reigns sets up for a Spear, Barrett counters it into Winds of Change for a convincing near fall. But then Barrett wastes time taunting, and when he winds up the Bullhammer, Reigns is able to duck it, go behind, and turn it into a powerbomb for a near fall of his own.

Then, he steps back to set up the Superman PUnch, and Barrett decides to roll out to the apron. Reigns goes to fetch him, and Barrett pokes him in the eye and clotheslines Reigns' neck over the top rope. Barrett goes for the Bullhammer again, but Reigns ducks under it, and catches Barrett with a Spear on the rebound. One, two, and three.

Your Winner: Roman Reigns, via pinfall, in 10 minutes. Pretty solid action, but I can't say that they ever got to the point where Barrett was a convincing threat to Reigns' MitB slot... if that was the storyline goal, it didn't quite work. But if the goal was to make Reigns look strong heading into MitB, well, then Mission Accomplished.

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Backstage: Roman Reigns is WALKING~! And he comes up to HHH and Steph, who sarcastically congratulate him on his win, and tell him his spot in the MitB Match is now solidified.... [pregnant pause]... if he beats his NEXT opponent. That's right, Reigns has to fight again, and it'll be against Mark Henry. Good luck, Roman.

And then, a complete random moment, as HHH gets me to snort-laugh in surprise as he starts singing Henry's theme song as he walks away. "Somebody gonna get their wig split..."

Elsewhere Backstage: Byron Saxton is standing by with Nikki Bella. He congratulates her on her successful title defense last night, and points out that she's actually the longest reigning champion in WWE. So what's next? Nikki offers up a few bland pleasantries about how she's so proud and up for anything and blah blah blah...

And suddenly Paige walks in, and says "Anything?" Because Paige remembers winning a #1 Contender Battle Royale, before Naomi cost her that title shot, and she'd like the one-on-one-title shot that she earned. Nikki somehow twists that into Paige asking for something she doesn't deserve (uhhhh, she just said SHE WON THE BATTLE ROYALE AND NEVER GOT HER REWARD, how is that bitching and complaining to get something undeservedly?), but says, Whatever, she meant it when she said she was up for anything, so if Paige wants a title match, she's got it.

Oh, and Nikki is so Up For Anything that we can go ahead and make that TONIGHT. Paige is down with what Nikki is up for. So that's coming up, later, too...

FEED HIM MORE LOVE

We cut to the ring, where Lilian Garcia introduces the new IC Champ, Ryback. Lilian's got the thigh-high boots against tonight, so methinks I guessed right last night: that's gotta be knee-surgery related.

Ryback grabs a mic, and says that nobody wants to see an Overly Emotional Big Guy, but he's still gotta say something: he's awfully proud to be the IC Champ, but his road to get there actually started right here in San Antonio. That's where Ryback returned to action last October, after a serious injury, and they inspired him to go for his dreams, and now, he's got his first singles title. Awwwwwww.

And apparently, he's gonna defend it tonight, right after these....

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RYBACK vs. MIZ (IC Title Match) (Very Special Not Really a Match Match)

After Miz is revealed as the challenger, we get full boxing-style ring intros... and then, before the bell rings, Big Show's music hits, and he heads on down to the ring.

He goes nose-to-nose with Ryback, and cocks the fist for the KO Punch... but then, he turns and hits Miz, instead. Ryback is confused.

So Show grabs a mic to clear things up. "Ryback, nobody's gonna face you for that title until I beat you for it. You call yourself the Big Guy, but ain't no one bigger than me." So it looks like Show vs. Ryback is coming at MitB...

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THE CHAMP IS HERE

No, not that one. Kevin Owens, the NXT Champ, is here, fresh off his WWE debut match last night, where he defeated John Cena 100% cleanly, via pinfall. It was an incredible match, but sadly, the San Antonio crowd only gives him a lukewarm response... no real boos, and just a vocal minority of "FIGHT OWENS FIGHT" supporters.

But Owens has some pretty solid ammo as he starts his promo.... he talks about his big win last night, and how after it was over, he called home. He talked to his wife, who was so happy for him.... but then, he talked to his son, whose first question was "How is John Cena? Is he OK?" Because like little kids worldwide, his own son has been brainwashed by WWE and John Cena.

The bright colors, the catchphrases, the superhero treatment.... it has nothing to do with Cena being a good wrestler, he's just a marketing phenomenon. And last night, he proved it. And he'll do it again in two weeks, at MitB, and he'll win his son over by exposing the myth that is "Super Cena." And he implores all parents to sit their own kids down to watch, too, because in two weeks, he will be a REAL role model, not a superhero... he's just a man, but he's a man who says what he intends to do, and then goes out and does it. Awesome promo.

Enter Cena, who gets the "JOHN CENA SUUUUUUUUUUUCKS" treatment on his way to the ring... and he does himself no favors when his first words are "Man, Kevin Owens is a jackass. I know it was your first match, but shut up. Act like you been there, son." BOO~!

Cena says that for months, he's been doing the US Open Challenge, because he can't WAIT for the day somebody comes down that ramp and beats him to EARN the title... and up until 5 minutes ago, he was thinking about coming down and handing Owens the US Title, because it's true, he beat Cena.

But now, that's off. Owens is full of BS, and he's totally wrong about why his own son is a John Cena fan... it has nothing to do with the WWE marketing machine. If that was true, his son would be wearing an Adam Rose t-shirt, wondering if the Funkasaurus was ever coming back, and wanting to grow up to play in the XFL. But that's not the case. His son, like all the fans who stand behind Cena, do it because they believe in the same things that Cena does. Cena's not the creation of writers or people in the marketing department.... everything he says and does is for real, it's him, and he shares that with the fans.

The only problem is that he says it in an fake shouty voice that makes it real hard to believe he's being real. And if he IS being real, it's really hard for me to cheer for him, because he's a complete drama queen. And after the performance he put on last night, I want to be clear that I think Cena gets a bum rap from self-professed "smart" fans, who think they know "good wrestling" (Cena's been delivering on that since his feud with Edge 8 years ago, but smarks want to cling to this idea that Cena can't wrestle)... but delivering promos like this is basically him daring any remotely grounded adult fan to ever cheer for him, because his persona is that of a complete load. I wonder if he's doing it on purpose, in this specific example, to make sure that the Fan Divide remains for the rematch against Owens (as opposed to the fans slowly warming to Cena, and reducing the heat). Cena CAN wrestle and he ISN'T dumb, so I think this is a real possibility.

Note: except for the part where Cena called an audible because a fan in the audience was holding up a "NOT GIVING UP TO CANCER" sign, and Cena gave a shout out. OO does NOT support cancer!!! OO joins John Cena in thinking cancer is bad, but would just not deliver that sentiment in anywhere near as shouty and obnoxious a tone of voice.

Anyway, Cena closes with a spiel about how Owens is a great wrestler, but he's not a great man. Hell, he may not even be a man at all. But if he wants to take a big step towards manhood, or help his son grow up and get past his John Cena Phase, hell, why wait till Money in the Bank? Kevin Ownes prides himself on saying what he plans to do, and then doing it? How about doing it again right now?

There's a moment of tension and anticipation... but then Owens decides to toss his NXT Title out of the ring, and he walks away. He does what he says, but dammit, he does it on his own time. Not tonight.

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KOFI GOING SOLO FOR A BIT

The New Day hit the ring, and Big E and Eggsavier Woods are wearing the tag titles. They briefly gloat about their big win last night, and work some cheap Tim Duncan-related heat into the promo... but then Kofi takes the mic, and talks about how he's taking a detour into singles action, and in two weeks, he's going to become Mr. Money in the Bank. CHA-CHING~!

But Big E makes sure we don't get the wrong idea... anything Kofi wins, the New Day wins. In two weeks, the whole New Day will be Misters Money in the Bank. New. Dayrocks?

Nope: NEW. DAYSUCKS.

Then Ziggler enters, with Lana. But Lana, ever demure, decides to stay up on the stage, rather than join Dolph at ringside.

Quick start for Ziggler, but it seems like we're awfully time compressed here, as there's no real flow or story... instead, about 2 minutes in, Ziggler hits a big DDT for a near fall, and Woods and Big E get up on the apron, cause a distraction, and there's a quick back and forth that ends with Ziggler reversing a roll-up into a roll-up of his own for the win. The hell?

Your Winner: Dolph Ziggler, via pinfall, in 2 minutes. Well, that was a waste of everyone's time. Or was it?

After the Match: Big E and Woods jump in and attack Ziggler... and the Prime Time Players come out for the save. The New Day bail out, but hang out at ringside, so I think maybe there's another shoe to drop and this WASN'T an entire waste of time....

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DOLPH ZIGGLER & THE PRIME TIME PLAYERS vs. THE NEW DAY

Yep, impromptu six-man, so the preceding waste of time is much less worthless in retrospect. Well, assuming this match gets a full 10 minutes or so to develop.

As we join the match in progress, Darren Young is off to a hot start, but he's caught in the enemy corner after about a minute, and becomes our Face in Peril. Frequent tags and great teamwork have the New Day firmly in control.

Young finally gets separation when Big E goes for the big criss-cross splash, but Young gets his knees up. TItus in on the hot tag, and Woods in on the corresponding move. He has an AWESOME House o' Fire sequence, mowing down all three opponents, and with only a minor assist from Ziggler (who took out Kofi), he gets the pin on Woods after a pumphandle slam.

Your Winners: the Prime Time Players and Dolph Ziggler, via pinfall, in about 6 minutes. Well, that wasn't the full time to develop, but they still crammed an awful lot in. The New Day's heel beatdown featured some really good teamwork, and Young was very compelling as the FiP. Then Titus looked like a million bucks on the hot tag. The PTPs maybe weren't quite believable as challengers last night in the final leg of the Chamber tag match.... but methinks it'll be different if they get a straight-up rematch at MitB.

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ROMAN REIGNS vs. MARK HENRY (MitB Qualifier)

Same deal as the Barrett Match. In addition to Reigns' spot being on the line, this is also Henry's chance to get in. And after the one nigh dalliance with babyface status, Henry's back to the heelish mannerisms tonight, in keeping with his role.

They immediately hit the fast-forward button, playing off the notion that Reigns is spent after already wrestling once, but Henry is fresh. Straight to the heel beatdown sequence, and 45 seconds into the match, JBL is actually talking about how the ref might have to stop the match. Oy.

To his credit, Henry is seemingly targeting Reigns' eye, which is a pretty dickish move, and the sort of thing that we don't usually see in WWE, so it is a more sympathy inducing injury than just working a knee.

But the time compression continues, as the match spills outside, and Reigns hits a Superman Punch out of nowhere, and then rolls into the ring to beat the count.

Your Winner: Roman Reigns, via count-out, in 3 minutes. Not exactly thrilling TV. But I guess now we know there will be a third chapter to this story, and maybe THAT will be a good one.

After the Match: Henry attacks Reigns and hits the World's Strongest Slam. So yeah, when Reigns is forced into a third match, they can do the Time Compression thing, and it'll actually work. Unlike this match, where it was really forced and hokey.

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Backstage: Roman Reigns is LIMPING~! And once again, he comes up to Triple H and Steph, who once again sarcastically congratulte him. And this time, Reigns just smirks and says, "Let me guess: keep the vest on?" And HHH confirms it... there are a ton of guys who want into the MitB Match, and Reigns will have to face another one in tonight's main event. And it's gonna be Bray Wyatt. Yep, that'll do in terms of buying into the threat to Reigns. That'll do nicely.

Corporate Tie-In: WWE and Sonic are aparently partnering on a new ad campaign, and a WWE star will be the face of the promotion for "Shake Nation." So we get to see a bunch of "auditions" which mostly feature MachoMandow and AxelMania being buffoons, with Big Show demanding one of every flavor, and the New Day being surprisingly convincing. Who ever will win the spot?!?!?!

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NIKKI BELLA vs. PAIGE (Women's Title Match)

Bell rings, and maybe Nikki's bitchy twisting of words earlier was on purpose? I mean, she's giving off all kinds of heel body language, and not giving clean breaks, and stuff.... she's even doing jumping jacks and push-ups, taunting Paige after she takes Paige down with a big move. Huh.

The Nikki Offensive is non-stop for the opening few minutes, and builds up to a Slingshot Suplex for her first near fall. Shortly thereafter, Paige starts a comeback, and Nikki just dives out of the ring to slow things down.

Paige goes to get her, and tries to set up for the PTO, but Nikki counters with an Alabama Slam for a near fall. Nikki's taunting means she's slow to follow up, so Paige catches her with a front kick. She follows up with a facebuster off the second rope. But before she can make a cover, Nikki rolls out of the ring again.

And then, she rolls UNDER the ring, and Brie rolls out and takes her place. Really? Twin Magic still works, even after they are no longer even CLOSE to being identical?

Yep, the ref sees nothing amiss as Brie -- in completely different clothes and with completely different hair -- hits a cheap roll-up to surprise Paige. I'd also make some comment about the completely different body type, but I am unsure how to convey that difference without somebody getting pissy about how I am making fun of one or the other, when all I'm trying to do is point out that they are objectively VERY DIFFERENT. The anorexic tree-hugging vegan and the fatso with giant fake boobies DO NOT LOOK ALIKE.

By making fun of both of them, have I confused you enough to not get pissy at me? [Secret Truth: neither of the two things I said above is actually true, and my wang finds both Bellas very physically attractive. BUT DIFFERENT.]

Your Winner(s): the Bellas, via pinfall, in 4 minutes. I'm not exactly clear on what purpose it serves, but that definitely counts as a heel turn for the Bellas, in my book. I mean, I never really got into them as babyfaces when that happened a few months ago, but just flipping them back again so soon isn't exactly compelling character development, either.

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RANDY ORTON vs. SHEAMUS

Another one-on-one match between guys who are already announced for the MitB Match. Let's hope this one goes a bit better than Ziggler/Kofi...

Back and forth feeling out, trading headlocks and the like, and it's even Steven for the first few exchanges. When Orton finally does get the better of it, Sheamus rolls out of the ring to regroup. When he gets back in, the fight is on. No real sustained advantage, just punchy-kicky.... almost slobberknockery, even though neither guy is a particularly Big Hoss.

When the match spills outside again at the 5 minute mark, both guys tumble out, and Orton takes control, and slams Sheamus onto the commentary desk. Then, he has to duck back into the ring to break the count, so we break for...

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Back, and the tide has turned... Sheamus is in control. Over the course of a few minutes, Orton has a few hope spots, but Sheamus stays on top, before settling in for a chinlock. Bad idea. You do not chinlock the Master!

Orton fires up, and turns that into a backdrop suplex, and starts his comeback. Pendulum powerslam hits, Sheamus escapes the Hanging DDT, but Orton just goes to Plan B and hits a T-Bone suplex. Then the Hanging DDT hits.

Orton coils for the RKO, but Sheamus shoves him off into the ropes and catches him with a running knee, that sends Orton out of the ring. Sheamus decides to follow, and that does not go well. Orton regains control and flings Sheamus into the Timekeeper Cubicle.... Sheamus decides he's had enough and just grabs a steel chair and whaps Orton with it.

Your Winner: Randy Orton, via DQ, in about 8 minutes. Not bad. But not especially good, either. No real sense of immediacy, and it felt like they were just wrestling to get to the finish.

After the Match: Sheamus continued the onslaught, including not one, but two Brogue Kicks. So like I said, the match wasn't anything. But now, because of this, we have a new feud with Sheamus and Orton, which will be useful going forward, I guess.

Backstage: Byron Saxton is standing by with Rusev. In a very quiet and defeated tone of voice, he talks about how he has lost everything. He has no title, he has no woman, he has no career. He is a broken man, with a broken foot and a broken spirit... but he has reflected, and he knows what he wants. What he DESIRES. And his tone shifts to angry and motivated as he says, "And I will get it, ALL OF IT, back."

That was, what?, 45 seconds of TV, and it just might have done more for Rusev's character than the preceeding 15 months. Good stuff.

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Thursday on SmackDown: Kevin Owens' taunting of John Cena continues... on Thursday, Owens' has declared an NXT Open Challenge. He'll defend the title against anyone. And with the word that WWE was amazed by Samoa Joe's merchandise sales and has just signed him to a full Main Roster Contract, that could get VERY interesting... I need to go back and check the last NXT tapings (they do a month at a time, and I don't remember if anything happened that would absolutely, positively rule out a title change)...

NEVILLE vs. BO DALLAS

It's a different Bo Dallas. Instead of smiles, he's pissed, and even grabs a mic to declare, "I tried to help you, Neville. But now, all I want to do is hurt you." When the bell rings, he's true to his word, pummelling Neville for a good 90 seconds.... then and only then does he bust out a big shit-eating grin.

But then, the smile goes away again, and he tosses Neville outside the ring, where he continues the assault. Then, back into the ring for a front facelock, which is when Neville fires up. A 60 second flurry ends with the Red Arrow. Different Bo Dallas, same result.

Your Winner: Neville, via pinfall, in about 4 minutes. I can state, with authority, that this is a thing that happened.

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ROMAN REIGNS vs. BRAY WYATT (MitB Qualifier)

Again, the stip is the winner is in MitB, the loser is not. And the deck is stacked against Reigns, due to a match against Barrett followed by a beatdown at the hands of Henry. How ever will he survive?!?!?!?! [I have a feeling it will include a certain belt-toting lunatic who hasn't been on the show yet, tonight. And who has also had a minor revival of his feud with Wyatt in the last few weeks. Ahem.]

Reigns, recognizing he's in trouble, comes out of the chute fast, peppering Wyatt with right hands, and trying to end things fast. But one simple punch to the ribs (which felt the brunt of a WSS), and Wyatt's in charge.

About 2 minutes in, Reigns gets a hope spot, but allows himself to be distracted when Seth Rollins and Kane and J&J step out onto the stage. Yep, for all his talk of going it alone, Rollins is back with his crew. And Wyatt takes advantage of the distraction to snuff out the hope spot, too.

Wyatt chucks Reigns out of the ring, and is firmly in control as we break for....

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Back, and Wyatt's still on top, dominating Reigns with punchy-kicky. Meantime, the live fans have caught on to what I mentioned a few paragraphs ago, and are chanting "WE WANT AM BROS." Ahem, I say. Ahem.

But Bray's gonna play out the string: it's only 10:57, so he keeps the heel beatdown going for a bit. Another minute or two, and Reigns dodges a charge, and catches Wyatt with a clothesline on the rebound (but NOT a Rebound Clothesline, mind you) to start his rally.

It builds up, and he hits his Leaping Apron Dropkick Thingie, and while the fans cheer, I kinda think they've hit the point of Reigns overload, because he does NOT have the same level of unanimous cheering as he had to start the show. Could be a minor miscalculation by WWE, there...

Back, in the ring, and the crowd keeps going mild for Reigns' flurry, until he sets up for a spear... only to have Wyatt cut him off with a stiff-ass clothesline of his own. Wyatt gets cocky, and starts bitchslapping Reigns, so Reigns re-fires-up, hits a Samoan Drop, and sets up for the Superman Punch.

Wyatt ducks it and counters with a Rock Bottom for a convincing near fall. Then, he pops up into the upside down Spider Walk, and sets up for Sister Abigail.... Reigns spins out and hits the Superman Punch.

But before he can follow up, Rollins and Crew head to the ring. Reigns puts his head on a swivel, and while he's tracking the AUthority, he momentarily loses track of Wyatt. Bray's able to get in one last sneak attack, and sets up for Sister Abigail again...

But Reigns has one last trick up his sleeve, too, and shoves Wyatt off so that he collides with Kane, and then catches him on the rebound with a spear. Makes the cover. One, two, and three. No Ambrose necessary.

Your WInner: Roman Reigns, via pinfall, in 10 minutes. Completely logical and air-tight design, but it might have wound up being better on paper than in execution, simply because of the Burn-Out Factor. The live crowd was just demonstrably cold for most of this, despite the story being a pretty easy one to follow. Oh well.

After the Match: Rollins and his crew tried to attack Reigns, but that's when Ambrose's music hits. Rollins turns and guards the aisle, but in a nice flip-flop from last night, Ambrose comes in from the crowd, so Rollins is out of position. Reigns and Ambrose clean house on Kane and J&J...

And then, when Rollins steps into the ring, Ambrose just tosses the WWE Title belt at him. Rollins catches it, confused, and Ambrose just jumps him and rains down the blows. It leads up to Dirty Deeds, at which point Ambrose takes the belt back and walks out with Reigns. See, he gave Rollins the title back, just like HHH ordered.

But then, he took it back again. Clever lad.

Ambrose and Reigns leave through the crowd, and celebrate together, as Cole & The Gang work in one last plug for Paul Heyman appearing on Steve Austin's podcast, exclusively on the WWE Network, before we fade to black.

And so ends the show... and it's a show that was pretty clearly "The Passion of the Reigns," as his throughline provided the backbone for the entire three hours. So it's fair to judge the show heavily weighting that aspect.

And I stand by my assessment that in an "on paper"/writery sort of way, it's logical and air tight. But there is a difference between being a person sitting in a room mapping things out so they "make sense" and being a fan, sitting in the audience, and just reacting to things as they happen.

So I think what happened was a combination of two things: (1) a little bit of burn-out, as the fans started to miss Ambrose and just kept getting more and more Reigns. And that's not Reigns fault, he's done great work since Mania, and the strong reaction for him at the start of the show proves it (also, the opening segment was very good, and I'm all for adding a Ladder Match stip to Rollins/Ambrose II); it just got to be too much. And (2) the actual drama of Reigns losing was backloaded; the Barrett and Henry matches didn't feel like real threats, so by the time there WAS a threat, the burn-out had set in, and it just didn't quite click.

It feels to me like something WWE could/should have seen coming, and they could have tweaked it. Have Henry be Reigns first match, and do the short match with the major injury angle. Less Reigns delays the burn-out, but the insta-injury makes a match against Barrett more dramatic. Then, have Ambrose more involved in the Wyatt match to get him out there sooner (before the burn-out becomes as obvious as it was), which gets the fans fired up, and doesn't make Wyatt look so needlessly jobbery.

But that's just me... in the end, Ambrose's cameo was enough to save the show for the live crowd, afterall. And I'm sure enough for most of the viewers at home, too. So it's not like there's a whole lot to get upset about here.

Rest of the show was pretty paint by numbers, from the singles match that became a six-man, to the other match between two MitB guys that also didn't really go anywhere but had a post-match angle that served its purpose, to an IC Title Match that didn't happen but also had a post-match angle that served its purpose, to the Bellas (apparently) turning heel all of three months after they turned face.

Lone exception was the Owens/Cena segment, which I think was pretty compelling. Yeah, Cena gets all fake and shouty again, with a level of emotion that is just entirely inappropriate for the situation unless one is fond of petulant little brats, but the underlying content of the promo, about kids and marketing vs. Cena-really-believe-this ain't bad at all. I think it tips WWE's hand, and makes it pretty clear that Cena has to win the rematch... but that's OK, as it just sets up a rubber match that should be pretty epic.

Throw it all into the blender... Reigns' throughline that ultimately served its purpose, but could have been way better with just mild tweaks + Owens/Cena + everything else... I think that's a B-minus. Above average, but not by much.

Luckily, the MitB card is already shaping up to be pretty sweet, and thanks to the buzz on that, there isn't as much need for WWE's weekly TV to hit home runs... I've already got a sense of anticipation that will keep me in a pretty forgiving mood for the next 13 days.

See you next Monday, kids. And be sure to come on back on Friday for Pyro's SD recap, just in case Owens' NXT Open Challenge turns out to be something sweet!

SMACKDOWN RECAP: Bonding Exercises

RAW RECAP: The New Guy Blows It

PPV RECAP: WWE Night of Champions 2012

SMACKDOWN RECAP: 18 Seconds? NO! NO! NO!

RAW RECAP: The Show Must Go On

SMACKDOWN RECAP: The Boot Gets the Boot

RAW RECAP: Heyman Lands an Expansion Franchise

SMACKDOWN RECAP: Losing is the new Winning

RAW RECAP: Say My Name

SMACKDOWN RECAP: Deja Vu All Over Again

RAW RECAP: Dignity Before Gold?

PPV RECAP: SummerSlam 2012

SMACKDOWN RECAP: Backfired!

RAW RECAP: Bigger IS Better

SMACKDOWN RECAP: Hitting with Two Strikes

RAW RECAP: Heel, or Tweener?

SMACKDOWN RECAP: Destiny Do-Over

RAW RECAP: CM Punk is Not a Fan of Dwayne

SMACKDOWN RECAP: The Returnening

RAW RECAP: Countdown to 1000

PPV RECAP: WWE Money in the Bank 2012

SMACKDOWN RECAP: Friday Night ZackDown

RAW RECAP: Closure's a Bitch

SMACKDOWN RECAP: In-BRO-pendence Day

RAW RECAP: Crazy Gets What Crazy Wants

SMACKDOWN RECAP: Five Surprising MitB Deposits

RAW RECAP: Weeeellll, It's a Big MitB

SMACKDOWN RECAP: #striketwo

RAW RECAP: Johnny B. Gone

PPV RECAP: WWE No Way Out 2012

RAW RECAP: Crazy Go Nuts

SMACKDOWN RECAP: You're Welcome

RAW RECAP: Be a Star, My Ass

SMACKDOWN RECAP: Needs More Kane?

RAW RECAP: You Can't See Him

SMACKDOWN RECAP: Lady Power

RAW RECAP: Big Johnny Still in Charge

PPV RECAP: WWE Over the Limit 2012

SMACKDOWN RECAP: One Gullible Fella

RAW RECAP: Anvil, or Red Herring?

SMACKDOWN RECAP: Everybody Hates Berto

RAW RECAP: Look Who's Back

SMACKDOWN RECAP: Care to go Best of Five?

RAW RECAP: An Ace Up His Sleeve

PPV RECAP: WWE Extreme Rules 2012

SMACKDOWN RECAP: Sh-Sh-Sheamus and the nOObs

RAW RECAP: Edge, the Motivational Speaker?

SMACKDOWN RECAP: AJ is Angry, Jilted

RAW RECAP: Maybe Cena DOES Suck?

SMACKDOWN RECAP: No! No! No!

RAW RECAP: Brock's a Jerk

SMACKDOWN RECAP: Back with a Bang

RAW RECAP: Yes! Yes! Yes!

PPV RECAP: WWE WrestleMania 28

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Rick Scaia is a wrestling fan from Dayton, OH. He's been doing this since 1995, but enjoyed it best when the suckers from SportsLine were actually PAYING him to be a fan.