WWE Monday Night RAW #1150 Review

Headlined by Seth Rollins taking on former security personal Jamie Noble and Joey Mercury due to his crumbling relationship with The Authority, as well as Kevin Owens defending the NXT Championship against Neville, could the 1150th edition of Monday Night RAW keep the momentum going heading into Money in the Bank this Sunday? Let's find out.

Two-on-One Handicap Match

J&J Security with Kane 

vs. 

Seth Rollins

The on-going tension between Seth Rollins and the Authority was the main theme throughout this week's Monday Night RAW, receiving just over half an hour of television time. Rollins' character development throughout the show was the major hook of this for me, as initially he was convinced he still needed help from Stephanie McMahon and Triple H, begging for their help getting his World Heavyweight Championship back from Dean Ambrose, before eventually erupting and choosing former best pals J&J Security as his opponents for the evening. Jamie Noble's performance in the backstage segment was both hilarious (References to the group being "Shield 2.0") and believable, Jurassic Park. Kane was buzzing to reveal his plans to cash in Money in the Bank on Rollins on Sunday, at least the Big Red Monster believes he has a chance of winning.

The match itself was a lot of fun, with a number of enjoyable spots and a straightforward story. The roles were clearly defined, in a bout that could have struggled due to both acts going into the programme as heels, with J&J Security quickly stepping into a protagonist role, with Rollins dominating Mercury early doors. Allowing the match to build naturally to an enjoyable hot tag to Jamie Noble garnered a decent pop from the live crowd, as did a decent near fall with Mercury tripping Rollins as he attempted to suplex The Redneck Messiah. The decision to have J&J Security win, especially considering Rollins hasn't won since Payback in May was a risky one, although Rollins was presented as dominant throughout and clearly had the contest won until Dean Ambrose's interference, so no harm done. (Fun fact: This was Joey Mercury's first televised victory since March 2007 where he teamed with Johnny Nitro and Melina to defeat Brian Kendrick, Paul London & Ashley on Friday Night Smackdown #395, whilst Jamie Noble picked up his first win since September 2008, when he teamed with Mickie James to defeated Paul and Katie Lea Burchill on Monday Night RAW #801)

Ambrose's antics throughout the show were documented on Instagram and shown on screen as the Lunatic Fringe went about New Orleans with his stolen World Heavyweight Championship. A fun addition to the presentation, which allowed Ambrose's involvement to be kept a minimum whilst keeping things ticking over between he and Rollins. His appearance during the main event felt bigger than it really was due to the way he had been featured earlier in the show, and him throwing popcorn over Rollins was something only the former Street Dog could get away with. The closing image of Ambrose standing a top a ladder with the World Heavyweight title, after delivering Dirty Deeds to Rollins, sold the upcoming PPV nicely, as the former Shield pair look to produce their best match to date. 

Rating: 6

Singles Match for the NXT Championship

Neville 

vs. 

Kevin Owens (C)

It's strange to be writing that John Cena opening Monday Night RAW was a nice change of pace, but John Cena opening Monday Night RAW was a nice change of pace. Whilst his promo wasn't amongst his strongest since winning the United States Championship, it was perfectly acceptable fair, shilling the upcoming PPV well (both Cena's bout with Kevin Owens and the concept of the Money in the Bank ladder match) and including some fun interaction with the live crowd. The interruption by Owens injected a little more energy into the segment, with the two having an enjoyable interchange as the characters continue to shine opposite each other. Owens refusing to accept Cena answering his NXT Championship Open Challenge showed the contrast between the two persona's nicely.

Neville answering the Open Challenge was an interesting choice, due to his placing in the Money in the Bank contract Ladder match on Sunday. Whilst his acceptance promo, choosing a contest against Owens for the NXT Championship over one with Cena for the United States Championship, was ropey to say the best. Whilst the content and reasoning for The New Sensation making his decision all made total sense, Neville's shouty delivery was not to my taste and his Geordie accent still seems to be a problem for the live audiences (I'm going off the differing reaction for Neville on the mic, compared to when in a match, if any American want to correct me, Tweet us @ATPWrestling)

The title bout was perhaps the strongest offering of the programme, with the two contrasting styles presenting a simple, yet effective in-ring story. Bar a slightly over-shot springboard Moonsault to the outside from Neville, everything in the match looked good with some lovely stuff from both men, including a Pumphandle Brainbuster to the Knee from Owens and a deadlift German suplex from Neville that came at the end of a really nice sequence of action. The finish that saw Neville's Red Arrow finish thwarted twice by Owens, before the former Mr. Wrestling hit a Pop-Up Powerbomb for the win, played to both men's strengths and shouldn't harm Neville's continued push going forward. (Fun Fact: this was Neville's first televised loss in six matches.

Rating: 6.5

Singles Match

Roman Reigns 

vs. 

Kofi Kingston with Xavier Woods & Big E

The biggest match on the undercard, this was an entertaining slice of action. Xavier Woods and Big E being at ringside to cause distractions allowed for Kingston to believably control the early points of the bout, with plenty the trio finding a number of inventive ways to keep Kingston on top. Woods, in particular, continue his good work at ringside, flapping his gums and uttering phrases like "Kofi Kingston is the greatest of all time" without a hint of irony. With the strongest false finish of the show, that saw Reigns having to deal with Woods and Big E after teasing a Superman Punch, that allowed Kingston to get roll Reigns up for a long two count, this contest was probably the strongest out of the three bout featuring Money in the Bank contract ladder matches going one on one. I'd have liked to have seen Reigns have to use the Spear to put Kingston away, but the top rope dive into a Superman Punch was still acceptable.

Rating: 5.5

Singles Match

Randy Orton 

vs. 

Sheamus

A duller than a One Show segment on soil, this match was neither competitors finest hour. Neither Orton or Sheamus looked particular bothered in creating a bout that didn't act as replacement for Zopiclone, either mindlessly brawling or going through the motions with their move sequences. Just as things seemed to be picking up after Randy Orton's regular comeback sequence, the bout ended with The Viper hitting the Irishman with a steel chair (that Sheamus had introduced). Orton battering The Celtic Warrior post-match was probably the highlight of the whole affair, and the New Orleans crowd seemed to at least get some kind of kick of proceedings, which is good for them. As Sheamus hollered "Are you not entertained?", I couldn't help but reply "Yes, I am not entertained".

Rating: 2

Tensions Flare between Money in the Bank contract Ladder match

Save for a hilarious interruption from R-Truth, who believed he was part of the Money in the Bank Ladder match, this was a god-awful segment. An utter waste of television time, with nothing that hadn't already been said and a complete lack of direction. Essentially this was your average everyone-comes-out-and-says stuff segment, but with no real confrontation, some piss-poor writing and one of Roman Reigns' worst performances on a microphone to date (telling Kane "Let me show New Orleans how you break jaws", the fuck does that mean Roman?). If the three upcoming contests between those involved in the segment hadn't already been announced before Monday Night RAW I might have had at least a modicum of interest. 

Rating: 3

Miz TV with Ryback and Big Show

Considering this segment was supposed to be to promote Big Show and Ryback's upcoming Intercontinental Championship bout at Money in the Bank, it was The Miz that stole this segment for me. His current character may be producing some of his best, and telling the crowd "When my hand is up, your mouth is shut" (towards the crowd) may be the best thing The Awesome One has ever said. Miz attempting to manipulate his guests into getting revenge on each other for him was a nice addition to segment, but didn't help to sell what the match between Big Show and Ryback has to offer. Ryback hitting Shellshocked on Big Show to close the segment surely gave away the biggest selling point of their contests on television.

Rating: 3.5

Singles Match

Dolph Ziggler vs. Kane

Not a match that I was clambering to see when it was announced, but this was perfectly acceptable fare for television. The bout was paced nicely with the bigger Kane dominating the early proceedings and Ziggler getting enough offence in to not look like a chump against an opponent in his first TV singles bout in a month. A good sequence that saw Kane blocking a superkick, before Ziggler escaped a Chokeslam to hit one anyway was the strongest part of the encounter and worked as a good near fall. The only problem with this for me was the signposting of the finish with Lana standing on the ramp, rather than at ringside. Of course, it was the distraction caused by Rusev confronting Lana, that caused Ziggler to fall to Kane following a Chokeslam. Unless Rusev is going to be involved in the Money in the Bank ladder match on Sunday, I'd have preferred this storyline be put on the back-burner until Rusev is fit and ready to compete.

Rating: 4.5

Singles Match

Nikki Bella vs. Summer Rae

Whilst the idea behind the match was a step forward for the Diva's division, with some impressive use of continuity, after Summer Rae had been noted as one of the women held back by the Bella Twins, the execution of the match was less impressive. A nothing bout, with a lack of heel/face definition from either participant, this did little for the upcoming Diva's Championship match between Nikki and Paige at Money in the Bank, as Nikki hit the Rack Attack to pick up the clean win out of nowhere. A backstage interview from Nikki with Renee Young prior to the contest felt as forced as could be.

Rating: 1.5

Stuff and Fluff

Luke Harper and Erick Rowan continued to dominate with their sixth win since reforming as a tag team, this time over Los Matadores, following The Way double team. A post-match prom fell flat. A bout between Titus O'Neil and Big E was way too short to do either man justice. The forty finalist for Tough Enough were revealed and feature amongst others indepedent wrestlers Big O, Jaina (aka Daniel Bryan's supposed mistress last year), Cassidy Stone, Michael Hayes (not that one) and Patrick Clark, as well as your regular mix of models and body builders. The commentary team shilled American comedy film TED 2 (Mark Walberg/Seth McFarlane) before the trailer aired, which was nice, I suppose. WWE's social media accounts hitting a joint half a billion (the American version) likes/follows/subscribers was pushed throughout the presentation, with focus given to the WWE Youtube and Instagram pages.

Finally...

Whilst the main bulk of the television time given to the Seth Rollins/Dean Ambrose and Kevin Owens/John Cena storylines produced some entertaining television, this Raw fell apart on it's undercard. Despite some passable outings (Reigns/Kingston, Ziggler/Kane), a directionless segment pushing the Money in the Bank contract ladder match, a dull Sheamus vs. Randy Orton bout and Nikki Bella all acted to pull the show down and give that dragging effect that many have recognised as a calling card of Monday Night RAW since it switched to three hours in length 150 episodes ago.

Not a classic, but just enough reasons given to tune into Money in the Bank on Sunday.

Overall Show Rating: 5

WWE Elimination Chamber 2015 Review

Just two weeks after Payback, WWE was back with a WWE Network exclusive show Elimination Chamber. With a card stacked full of intrigue, including a Elimination Chamber bout for the vacant Intercontinental Championship, Seth Rollins defending the World Heavyweight Championship against Dean Ambrose, United States Champion John Cena battling NXT Champion Kevin Owens and more, could Elimination Chamber live up to expectation?

Elimination Chamber match for the vacant Intercontinental Championship

Dolph Ziggler 

vs. 

King Barrett 

vs. 

Ryback 

vs. 

R-Truth 

vs. 

Sheamus

 vs. 

Mark Henry

Before this match there was the revelation (actually revealed previously on the Elimination Chamber Kick-Off) that Rusev wouldn't be in the Elimination Chamber, due to a fracture foot suffered against Ryback on Thursday Night Smackdown #823. A quick recap of The Bulgarian Brute suffering the injury was shown, before a backstage segment showed Lana wishing Dolph Ziggler luck in the upcoming bout. "It's about you tonight" signalled that Lana would most likely not be involved in the bout and it was clear that WWE's plans for the bout would be majorly changed by Rusev's absence. Clearly, a little of the matches sting was taken away due to the injury, and the mystery around who would replace him fell flat as soon as Mark Henry walked out to start the bout.

The strength in this one came from the one-on-one interactions, as it was never going to be able to compete with the tag team bout in terms of big spots. Everything between Dolph Ziggler and King Barrett was very well done, especially a nearfall sequence that end in a crucifix pin for Ziggler, as was Barrett battering R-Truth in the pod and the subsequent comeback. Ziggler may have been the matches MVP, putting on strong stretches of action with Ryback and Sheamus (as well as the aforementioned Barrett) with the action with The Celtic Warrior calling back to their feud, with plenty of the fire that made the program a highlight of WWE's television. Although, the sequence that lead to Ziggler's elimination, with Sheamus no-selling a fameasser to hit a Brogue Kick was weak.

The match did have a few set-pieces (apart from blokes getting thrown in the pods), the main one seeing Sheamus trap himself in his own pod using his necklace, whilst acting as if he was trying to escape. Unfortunately this was completely missed by the commentary team, who instead decided to explain how Sheamus had "picked the lock" with the necklace. The other set-piece seemed to be Barrett sending Ziggler into Mark Henry's pod breaking the "lexane" and allowing Henry in the match. Whether this was supposed to happen or a botch, I'm really not sure, with Henry sort of standing about a lot for a while whilst action went on around him, even breaking up a pinfall for the banter, before intially succumbing a Sheamus Brogue Kick.

The closing sequence between Sheamus and Ryback was satisfying tussle, with the pair going back and forth for five minutes. The pair worked through a slick and brutal series of action on the outside, with Sheamus escaping a Shellshocked attempt before hitting White Noise onto the steel grate, which looked great, even if a later rolling senton looking a little too dangerous, with Sheamus seemingly cracking his head on the grate. The finish saw the duo go to a familar spot, with Ryback turning a Brogue Kick into a powerbomb. The two made use of the Chamber, with The Celtic Warrior first sent into the steel before being sent into the ring. After finally hitting Shellshocked, Ryback picked up the pinfall and his first Intercontinental Championship. Whilst Michael Cole signposted Ryback's win with a pre-match speech about The Big Guy telling a young fan that sometimes "The good guys win", it still felt like a big moment for Ryback, and will hopefully give the character the direction that he's been missing. Daniel Bryan putting over Ryback post match was a nice touch, as was Bryan switching his usually "Yes" motion for The Big Guy's "Feed Me More" calling card.

Singles Match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship

Dean Ambrose 

vs. 

Seth Rollins with Kane & J&J Security

Bucking the trend for recent WWE World Heavyweight Championship matches, there was a little in the way of backstage shenanigans and build-up for this one, which is fine and dandy as far as this reviewers concerned. Of course, the match was included in the opening build-up package (which was a bit of a mess, to be honest), but apart from that we were left with one solitary backstage segment to quench the thirst before the main event. With Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose chatting away like old women over a fence, Triple H would interrupt to reveal that Reigns would be unable to accompany Ambrose to the ring and Ambrose would be disqualified if Reigns interfered in anyway. A new development that changed the terrain of the match, can't complain with that really. The pre-match prom featuring The Lunatic Fringe cutting a fresh promo in front of a brick wall was superb, reminiscent of the type of promos seen from the then Jon Moxley on the indy scene.

Despite the rushed feud between the two over the past two weeks, Ambrose and Rollins brought it in this match. Both men put on stellar performances that should cement Rollins' as a reliable main event, whilst building a case from Ambrose to be given more opportunities in the role. The two clearly know each other so well, as the wrestling was smooth and practically flawless, but it was the little touches that really stood out for me. Ambrose attempting a German Suplex off the top rope, which of course teased the spot Rollins' often used as a member of The Shield where he would flip out of the suplex and land on his feet, instead slipping between Ambrose's leg before delivering a double stomp with Ambrose caught in the ropes. The Lunatic Fringe raking the champion's back in the corner also got a big pop from me, because it suited the character so well (plus his facial expression was perfect)

With multiple near falls and some well-worked high spots, this was the WWE main event style, which can often end up a bit of mess, done well. Whilst the match lacked slightly in believable false finishes, the builds towards the near falls were exciting enough to almost make up for this. Ambrose missing a rope hung leg drop bulldog, followed by Rollins missing a springboard high knee, before hitting an Enziguiri that went directly into a pendulum lariat from Ambrose was a particular highlight of mine. Throw in some believable selling by both men, that got over each near fall and moment nicely and you've got a throughly entertaining twenty minutes of action. Oh yeah, and Ambrose diving off the top rope onto Kane and J&J Security was a great, character-based spot also.

In my preview, I'd called for Rollins to get the win for this one on his own and in a way, he kind of did. J&J Security got involved a little bit with their cheeky shenanigans, whilst Kane was quickly twatted by Ambrose when tried to interject his mouldy head into the bout. The finish itself, just about worked. With Rollins pushing the referee into the path of an Ambrose dive, the pair worked through a nice sequence (including a missed Phoenix splash from Rollins) before Ambrose was able to hit Dirty Deeds and a second referee counted the pin. Of course, the original referee woke up and disqualified Rollins for the push. The only reason this works, for me, is because of the two characters involved in the match and how well they played those characters throughout, including when the referee revealed the result. Obviously Ambrose decided he'd won and deserved the belt (after Reigns had helped him overcome the Authority) and dicked off with the World Heavyweight Championship. As enjoyable as this match was, I'm expecting an even better encounter between the two at Money in the Bank.

Singles Match

John Cena vs. Kevin Owens

If you'd read the Elimination Chamber 2015 Preview and Predictions piece then you'd know I was looking forward to this match just a little bit and boy, oh boy, did it deliver. And then some. Straight into the biggest talking point of the match, Kevin Owens pinned John Cena (Yes, John "Bloody" Cena) clean with a Pop-Up Powerbomb, seconds after Cena seemed to be launching another comeback with a huge skull-smashing lariat. I don't think it's quite settled in yet. Owens only had his debut match for WWE in December last year, and having ploughed from Sami Zayn, Finn Balor, Adrian Neville, Solomon Crowe, Alex Riley and CJ Parker on NXT, he just defeated the fifteen time World Heavyweight Champion. To put that into context, over the last five years only Brock Lesnar, Daniel Bryan, The Rock and CM Punk have gotten clean pins on Cena in his 34 PPV matches.

What made the victory even sweeter was that almost everyone was convinced that Owens would put in a good fight, but eventually fall to the Cenation Leader. The match played into this with Owens throwing a lot at Cena, but being unable to put him away. Go Home Driver, Cannonball, Pop up Powerbomb, an Attitude Adjustment, a spun-out slam version of a Package Piledriver, a top rope Fisherman's Buster all failed to put Cena away. Playing into the many cliches we've seen in John Cena matches over the past few years, Owens frustration at not putting Cena away played out very well, with the former Mr. Wrestling doing a tremendous job of showing this in the final few minutes of the bout. The moment Cena hit that huge lariat on Owens I, like many I would presume, saw Cena hitting another Attitude Adjustment and pick up the win.

The contest built and built from the moment that match started, adding layers and getting a lack lustre Corpus Christi crowd involved nicely. Owens domination early on was built mostly around strikes and attempting to ground and pound Cena, with the commentators putting him over a no nonsense brawler, but as the match developed and Owens became more frustrated with being able to finish Cena, his offence developed into big power moves, before finally attempting offence from the top rope, like a superb double jump moonsault and a Senton. On the other side of the coin, we saw multiple comeback attempts from Cena end up getting cut off by Owens, I'd have liked to see a bit more of that frustration from Cena in being unable to really get going in the match, especially after he was unable to get the win with an Attitude Adjustment or the STF. Whilst Cena's performance was strong, this mirroring could have pushed things up a level.

The big question now is "Where the hell do we go from here?". It was announced later in the show that we'd see a rematch between the duo at Money in the Bank on 14th July, and this match left plenty of room for the two to have an enjoyable rematch, that will almost certainly garner even more interest over the next two weeks on television (whilst Owens simultaneously engages in a feud with Samoa Joe on NXT). Will WWE put enough faith in Owens to have him go over Cena two times in a row? They clearly have big plans for Owens and I'd expect him to play an integral part in SummerSlam in August. Owens post-match promo proved the rocket has been strapped to his back, it's all a matter of how much fuel WWE is willing to give the NXT Champion.

Elimination Chamber match for the WWE Tag Team Championships

The Lucha Dragons 

vs. 

The Ascension 

vs. 

The New Day (C) 

vs. 

Tyson Kidd & Cesaro with Natalya 

vs. 

Los Matadores with El Torito 

vs. 

The Prime Time Players

The first ever Tag Team Elimination Chamber bout was an intriguing affair to say the least, featuring some big spots and all the thrills and spills you'd expect from the gimmick. The Lucha Dragons were the providers of the majority of the big spots, despite being eliminated just under half way through the match, with Sin Cara hitting a Senton off the top of one of the pods and Kalisto scaling to the middle of the Chamber to drop down onto the rest of the field. Kalisto was also involved in another big bump that save him get Superplex off the top of a pod by Cesaro, before Tyson Kidd hit a springboard elbow for a good near fall. The Lucha Dragons being eliminated so early was probably the biggest structural problem with the match, as they were arguably the most over babyface team in the match and could have offered the match a bit more of story to tell, with the pair starting the match.

Whilst the match was thoroughly entertaining throughout, it suffered from wrestlers breaking up pins that were on members of other teams. This could of been out of habit and an unfamiliarity with the match type, but should have been addressed before the match began or at least covered for by the commentary team. Luckily once down to just two teams, the action became much more focused, with The Prime Time Players and The New Day both putting in strong performances, with a solid "numbers game" type story, that allowed Titus O'Neil and Darren Young to shine (having already eliminated The Ascension and Tyson Kidd & Cesaro). O'Neil catching Kofi Kingston's Trouble in Paradise attempt and Big E's overhead belly to belly suplex to Young on the outside were the highlights of the closing stretch that saw all three of the New Day get the pin on O'Neil following some cleverly trickery that lead to a Trouble in Paradise from Kingston. Both The Prime Time Players and The Ascension would have to be in contention for a tag titles shot heading out of the show, maybe we'l see a number one contender's bout on Monday Night RAW.

Singles Match

Neville 

vs. 

Bo Dallas

For me, this was the only match on the show that failed to live up to my expectations going in. That isn't to say it was a bad match, because it wasn't, what was presented was absolutely fine. However, for a feud that has been so heavily focused around Neville's injured leg, even going as far as having Dallas cut a promo before the match revolving around Neville having an "injured wing", the leg didn't come into play at all. Beyond Neville hitting a handful of kicks to Dallas' leg early doors, there wasn't a hint at the previous injury either from Dallas focusing some offence on the leg, or Neville getting caught up because of it. 

Without prior knowledge of the feud, this was entirely acceptable fair, with Dallas' character getting a good opportunity to shine through. Whilst Neville's offence is often spectacular, Dallas' character work has been just as strong as of late and that again came to forefront here. Little touches like screaming and gasping for air when Neville placed him in a headlock, made what could have been a dull rest spot into a chuckle worthy moment, a big thumbs up for distracting the ref by claiming Neville was holding his tights (whilst he had Neville in a cravate) before, with the ref distracted, pulling The New Sensation's hair and sending him to the mat. Hopefully we'll get some more of Dallas across WWE's product, as he could be a valuable part of the mid-card, but Neville getting the win with the Red Arrow was almost certainly the right decision for now.

Triple Threat Match for the Diva's Championship

Paige 

vs. 

Naomi 

vs. 

Nikki Bella (C)

I felt bad for the ladies in this one, as whilst they tried to cram as much into their six minutes as they possibly could, something clearly went wrong in the first few minutes and they spent the rest of the match trying to recover. It would seem Paige was out of position to take an enziguiri from Nikki Bella after Naomi had ducked the same attack. Paige especially looked completely out of her depth and was clearly lost when she could be heard saying "Oh yeah, I remember" prior to a decent Rack Attack into Rear View spot. Apart from this the content was mostly strong, using the three competitors nicely, particularly in the aforementioned spot and when Naomi saved Nikki from the P.T.O with a well placed superkick. Nikki picking up the win with a Rack Attack on Naomi, following Naomi's messy but admirable reverse rana on Paige. A match with good ideas, but mostly sloppy execution.

Other Stuff

Two recaps were aired to promote the upcoming Money in the Bank PPV on 14th June, the first off Dolph Ziggler winning a shot at the World Heavyweight Championship at Money in the Bank 2012 before cashing it on Alberto Del Rio at Monday Night RAW #1037, then Seth Rollins grabbed the only briefcase at Money in the Bank 2014, before cashing in during Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 31 to win the title. Expect to see a few more of these in the next few weeks across WWE television. The Kick-Off Panel of Renee Young, Booker T, Corey Graves and Byron Saxton put over the results of the Kevin Owens vs. John Cena bout well, whilst also taking in turn to chat about upcoming matches, with some nice interchange between Graves and Saxton over the possible result of the Ambrose vs. Rollins contest. The commentary team revealed the first six participants for this years Money in the Bank ladder match, with Randy Orton, Dolph Ziggler, Neville, Sheamus, Roman Reigns and Kofi Kingston entering the match. Reason for these six being placed in the match were not given. The new WWE Network show Swerved also received some promo time, with the show scheduled to begin in June. Stone Cold Steve Austin podcast returns to the WWE Network on 1st June, with Paul Heyman the guest, in what will surely be another entertaining edition of the most watched show on the Network. Don't Try this at Home, you bloody moron. American punk-rock band The Offspring provided the theme song with Coming for You, which is apparently written about Booker T's famous outburst towards Hulk Hogan. An advert for Totino's aired, this was a real treat. How lucky are we!? 

Finally...

Owens vs. Cena and Rollins vs. Ambrose both offered two very different slices of sport-entertainment, that were both a lot of fun, with potential to go in a number of directions in the two weeks until Money in the Bank. The headline Elimination Chamber bout for the Intercontinental Championship might not have been the strongest outing for the gimmick, but was still an entirely watchable affair, with smatterings of good action. The mid-card was also strong with a lively tag team Elimination Chamber that delivered on it's quirky setting, whilst Dallas and Neville had a decent match. The sole undercard match showed the Diva's at least trying, even if the execution was a little missing.

A strong Network special from WWE, can they continue their good form with what is often a highlight of the year, Money in the Bank on 14th June? We shall see.

The Rating

Headline bout - 6.5/10

Upper card - 7.75/10

Mid-card - 5.75/10

Under-card - 3/10

• Overall - 6.5/10

WWE Elimination Chamber 2015 Preview and Predictions

With just two weeks of hit and miss build up, heading out of a strong Payback  PPV, how could the sixth incarnation of WWE's Elimination Chamber shape up? Let's have a look ahead.

Singles Match for the World Heavyweight Championship

Seth Rollins (C) vs. Dean Ambrose

Elimination Chamber PPV Record

Rollins - 1 win, 1 loss

Ambrose - 1 wins, 1 loss

The return of last year's ATPW 2014 Feud of the Year has perhaps not reached the heights it did last time round. Trying to jam over a months worth of booking into two weeks has left the build up feeling rather hurried. Both Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose have put in strong performances, but have been hampered by a supporting cast of what feels like thousands as the hatred that we saw between the couple over last summer doesn't seem to be as apparent as it once was. Part of me wishes that this bout had been held off until Money in the Bank on the 14th July, just to give things time to breath. It isn't like WWE went through most of 2014 without the World Heavyweight title being defended on PPV or anything!

Now, we all know that Ambrose and The Aerialist can go in the ring, and we all know that they have bucket loads of chemistry. But...as has been the case for the last couple of PPV's, this is all about the involvement of The Authority. J&J Security being dicks is all well and good, their antics can play nicely into the developing story of a match, but another run-in or more general arseholery from Kane or even a returning Big Show and Rollins' title reign begins to become a big of an over-booked joke. I'm pulling hard for an interference free win for The Architect to bolster his run as champion and build him ready for potential collision with Brock Lesnar down the road.

Prediction - Seth Rollins retains

Singles Match

John Cena vs. Kevin Owens

Elimination Chamber PPV Record

Cena - 3 wins, 3 losses

Owens - FIRST APPEARANCE

These two characters fit so well together. The "Never Give Up" John Cena opposite the no fucks given Kevin Owens. The feud between the duo has become incredibly heated over just two weeks, being both well paced and well performed, this may be the clash I'm most looking forward to on Sunday. If the double show as much chemistry in the ring, as they have showed on the microphone on Monday Night RAW #1147 then we might be in for a real treat. Expect a smash mouth brawling style of match, with plenty of sound WWE storytelling, these two may bring out the best in each other. 

Does Kevin Owens need to win his WWE PPV debut? Of course not, it's against John Cena. A headline bout against the biggest star the industry has produced over the last ten years will be enough to round of this introduction to WWE's main stream. There's a number of direction we could see this one take, and I'm hoping WWE braves it out and has a clean finish, that leaves a reason to return to the feud later down the line.

Prediction - John Cena wins

Elimination Chamber match for the vacant Intercontinental Championship

R-Truth vs. Sheamus vs. King Barrett vs. Ryback vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Rusev

Elimination Chamber PPV Record

R-Truth - 3 losses

Sheamus - 4 losses

Barrett - 2 losses

Ryback - 1 loss

Ziggler - 1 win, 1 loss

Rusev - FIRST APPEARANCE

Fuck R-Truth off and you've got a decent Elimination Chamber match, that might be won by any of the competitors. Whilst Rusev's involvement is up in the air due to a leg injury suffered on Thursday Night Smackdown #823, if the Bulgarian Brute is involved in the match we'll have the continuation of his feud with Dolph Ziggler which could get messy for the Show Off. Elsewhere I'm hoping for some heavy hitting action from the likes of Sheamus, Barrett and Ryback and hopefully some creative spots with the Chamber. Chamber matches always tend to be a lot of fun and with a match that is fairly hard to predict. I want to say Sheamus, but look at that win loss record!

Prediction - Dolph Ziggler wins the Intercontinental Championship

Tag Team Elimination Chamber match for the WWE Tag Team Championships

Los Matadores vs. The Ascension vs. The Lucha Dragons vs. Tyson Kidd & Cesaro vs. The New Day (C) vs. The Prime Time Players

Elimination Chamber PPV Records

Diego - FIRST APPEARANCE

Fernando - FIRST APPEARANCE

Konnor - FIRST APPEARANCE

Viktor - FIRST APPEARANCE

Kalisto - FIRST APPEARANCE

Cara - FIRST APPEARANCE

Kidd - FIRST APPEARANCE

Cesaro - 1 win, 1 loss

Big E - 1 win

Woods - FIRST APPEARANCE

Kingston - 4 losses

Young - 1 loss

O'Neill - 1 win

Just like R-Truth in the Intercontinental Championship bout, take out perenial there-to-make-up-the-numberers Los Matadores (replace them with Luke Harper and Erick Rowan) and you've got a great looking Elimination Chamber. The tag team element will bring a freshness to the gimmick and the possibility of having twelve bodies flying about the structure is an exciting one. I'm expecting quick and pacy action, with all six teams able to offer something different to the Chamber. I'd be surprised to see New Day drop their titles as they're riding a wave of momentum at the moment as champions, I'd imagine we'll see either Cesaro & Tyson Kidd or The Lucha Dragons as the final opponents for the dastardly trio.

Triple Threat match for the Diva's Championship

Nikki Bella (C) vs. Paige vs. Naomi

Elimination Chamber PPV Record

Nikki - FIRST APPEARANCE

Paige - FIRST APPEARANCE
Naomi - FIRST APPEARANCE 

After a piss poor tag team match at Payback WWE has done a good job of constructing a feud between these three women which is both easy to follow and makes perfect sense. Naomi injured Paige after The Diva of Tomorrow became Number One contender, Nikki Bella is the Diva's Champion, let's have three way (as the old saying goes). WWE has given these women the opening segment of the second hour of Thursday Night Smackdown for two weeks in a row, with a good talking segment on #822 and a decent contest between Paige and Naomi on #823, so it would seem WWE is taking note of the work we've seen from the women in NXT and realising that the more time that women have to develop feuds and the more time they are given in the ring, the more people will give a shit. I'm quietly looking forward to seeing if these three can pay off the confidence that WWE has shown in them over the last two weeks, I also have a feeling we'll see Nikki drop the title here.

Prediction - Paige wins her third Diva's Championship.

Singles Match

Neville vs. Bo Dallas

Elimination Chamber PPV Record

Neville - FIRST APPEARANCE

Dallas - FIRST APPEARANCE

A simple feud based around Bo Dallas costing Neville his feud ending bout with King Barrett on Monday Night RAW #1147 and the 25 year old's jealousy of The Man That Gravity Forgot's success since his move to the main roster. I wouldn't mind seeing this feud go for a little longer than two weeks, as Dallas has really stepped up to the plate with his mic work across this short feud and I'm intrigued to see what he might do if WWE put a little more faith in him. The New Sensation has proven he can perform on the bigger stage, whilst the son of Mike Rotunda hasn't produced a memorable match since his time working opposite (Adrian) Neville on NXT last February. If Dallas can step up here we could have a good slice of competition, especially if we see the artist formerly known as Pac's injured leg play into the bout.

Prediction - Neville wins.

Finally...

This has all the makings of a very very good PPV. Owens vs. Cena could be something very special indeed, even with a rushed build up Ambrose and Rollins' chemistry should pull them through, booking permitting. The pair of Elimination Chamber bout are almost guaranteed to deliver on their gimmicks alone. Even the Diva's title bout may present some worthwhile action. I'm worried about how much I'm looking forward to this, it tends to be a recipe for disaster....remain positive...remain positive....

See you Monday for the review. Enjoy the show.

WWE Monday Night RAW #1148 Review

The last WWE event at the famed Nassau Coliseum, on Memorial Day in the US no less, WWE was going to pull out all the stops for this one, weren't they? With storyline development between Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins, including a tag team match pitting Ambrose and Roman Reigns against Rollins and Kane, another open challenge from John Cena and the continued fallout of Rusev and Lana's break up, could the go-home show for Elimination Chamber deliver? Let's find out. 

Tag Team Match

Roman Reigns & Dean Ambrose 

vs. 

The Authority's Seth Rollins & Kane with J&J Security

Things kicked off this week with The Authority (minus the A.W.O.L. Big Show) announcing that Seth Rollins' World Heavyweight Championship match with Dean Ambrose at Elimination Chamber would only go ahead if Ambrose could get to sign the contract for the match. With the theme of the entire episode laid out early, Ambrose and Rollins had some fun back and forth on the microphone, including Ambrose referring to J&J Security as a hobbits and Rollins debating the finer points of being referred to as Justin Bieber by the WWE Universe. There's so much chemistry between the two rivals that it's almost a shame to have so many others involved in this feud. Things would eventually lead to Stephanie McMahon booking a tag team match with Rollins & Kane taking on Ambrose and Roman Reigns.

The match was a decent enough encounter, although the match itself was remarkably similar to a plethora of matches that we've seen on Raw and Smackdown over the last six months. Reigns and Ambrose spent a surprising amount of time in control of the match, with the commentary team pointing out that this was due to their familiarity from their days in The Shield, whilst this makes sense when you don't think about it, as soon as you consider that Kane & Rollins have teamed up seventeen times in the last ten months with Ambrose and Reigns only teaming three times, that logic gets completely lost. The closing sequence that saw Rollins and Ambrose going back and forth with a handful of reversal before Ambrose picked up the win with backslide was the highlight of an otherwise paint by number, go through the motions tag bout.

Things would get interesting during a backstage segment where J&J Security would confront Ambrose during an interview with Renee Young. After Ambrose lost his cool with Noble and Mercury, Ambrose hit the camera man, in what would turn out to be a far-cleverer segment than it originally looked. The camera man would go on to press charges, with the Authority and especially Rollins gloating as Ambrose was carted off by the police. Rollins line "Jail is too good for him. He belongs in a zoo" was perhaps the highlight of the entire show. Stephanie and Triple H were later joined by RAW guest stars Kevin Connoly (Entourage, Unhappily Ever After), Adrian Grenier (Entorauge), Kevin Dillon (Entourage, Platoon) and Jerry Ferrara (Entourage) who were there to promote the upcoming film version of HBO's Entourage. The segment was pretty unremarkable, featuring awkward interaction between the two, but the reference to Stephanie's clash with Ronda Rousey at WrestleMania 31 was a nice touch and will almost certainly keep the rumour mill turning. The use of a Youtube video to show that Rollins had pushed the camera man into Ambrose earlier in the night was a novel way to reveal how things had really went down.

The main event segment of the show centered around The Authority gloating about Ambrose being unable to sign the contract for his match with Rollins at Elimination Chamber, with Rollins masterfully skimming past his involvement in Ambrose's arrest. Reigns coming out to confront the Authority, only to get beaten down in quick fashion thanks to a chokeslam from Kane, felt a little superfluous, other than needing to keep Reigns face on television. Of course, Ambrose was able to make it back to the arena, driving the police van that took him away and wearing police uniform (I'd love to hear someone try to explain that) eventually able to sign the contract after he and Reigns hit Rollins with police batons, Reigns had speared J&J Security and Ambrose had hit Dirty Deeds on Kane. It did it's job, I suppose, but the whole segment and story was too convoluted for my tastes, and similar to last week seemed to be trying to fit weeks of storyline into one week. Holding off on the Ambrose vs. Rollins match until Money in the Bank would have offered a much more satisfying tragectory for the pair, without having to have the story dominate the show (Almost 45 minutes of air time was dedicated to this storyline)

United States Championship Match

Zack Ryder with The Cast of Entourage

vs. 

John Cena (C)

It was once again to jump on the Hustle Loyalty and Respect tram to Cenation boulevard, as John Cena opened up the challenges for the United States Championship. Beginning with a strong promo from Cena, in which the Cenation Leader talked about the "Let's Go Cena" "Cena sucks" chants, pulling them apart and separating the two fan groups, before admitting those who chant "Cena Sucks" may be chanting "Fight Owens Fight" at Elimination Chamber. Cena has showed just how clever he can be with these promos over the last two months and this may be his brightest moment as United States Champion. Whilst many will feel rebellious for chanting against Cena on Sunday, as a certain section of the fanbase loves to do, they'll in fact be doing just what John Cena (and crucially the WWE) wants them to do, which should hopefully lead to cracking atmosphere inside the American Bank Center.

After being introduced by the Entourage cast, it was hometown boy Zack Ryder who made his way out to accept the open challenge. It may have only been his second singles match on Monday Night Raw of 2015, but the Uniondale crowd couldn't have cared less as they lapped up Ryder's entrance and were strongly behind him all match long. Ryder clearly still has a connection with the audience, especially in New York and it's surprising how little he is used on WWE's two main shows. Four matches on Raw and no match on Smackdown since September is mind boggling considering how over Ryder still is with live crowd. Maybe a run on NXT might help WWE find a place for him?

Inside the ring the action was decent enough, with Ryder battling through Cena's patented offence thanks to a little distraction from fellow Long Island native Kevin Connoly, running through a series of his signature moves (including his own version of the Tommykaze/Tommyknocker/Impaler/Unprettier/Killswitch) all of which got decent to good reaction from the crowd, with the Rough Ryder especially working well as a near fall. The highlight of the match though had to be Ryder's missed 450 splash, seriously when has Zack Ryder ever done a 450 splash? It put over what the match meant to the Long Island Iced Z, and even with Cena pulling out the win with the Attitude Adjustment, made for a great moment. 

With Ryder and the Entourage lads leaving Cena to celebrate, it as time for NXT Champion Kevin Owens to make his presence felt once more. Owens delivered a Pop-up powerbomb to Cena and in scene similar to last week held the NXT title belt aloft whilst standing on the United States belt. Owens has been allowed to look very impressive over the last two weeks both on Monday Night RAW and at NXT Takeover: Unstoppable, and he's really picked up the ball he's been handed by WWE and sprinted with it. The simple build to Cena and Owens' match at Elimination Chamber has felt the most natural out of all the other feuds we've seen going on over the last two weeks, allowed to grow at it's own pace, whilst building an strong feeling of excitement for their clash on Sunday.

Singles Match

R-Truth 

vs. 

Rusev

This match finds itself so far up this review thanks to a lot to the story-line activities that followed it. Going just a minute, Rusev, now proudly waving a Bulgarian flag, destroyed Truth in a quick fashion, picking up the win via submission with the accolade. Firstly, I'm not sure why WWE have put R-Truth in the Elimination Chamber for the Intercontinental Championship when they clearly don't have any real direction for him. Secondly, if WWE really wanted R-Truth in the chamber match why have him get absolutely destroyed by Rusev? Surely, there was someone else knocking around that could have been fed to the Bulgarian Brute?

Rusev went on to repeatedly call out Lana. Seriously I lost count of the amount of times that the Super-Athlete pleaded for his former manager to join him in the ring, before she eventually came out in her Miss Hancock-esque attire. Full of the WWE style soap area the pairs interactions was a well-scripted see saw of a segment, that had me hooked from start to finish. The narrative was easy to follow with Lana initially seeming to want to reconcile with Rusev until he asked her to say she was wrong, which, of course, didn't go down to well. WWE script writers often get it in the neck for their writing, but this segment was done very nicely, getting over a lot of information in a short amount of time.

Whilst the script writers deserve praise for the segment, it could have fallen apart if it weren't for Rusev and Lana pulling out their strong performances on the microphone that I can remember. Lana particularly took her chance and ran with it, with a superb tirade on Rusev at the conclusion of the segment, delivered with real venom. After what had gone before it was easy to believe she genuinely hated her former charge. The development that Rusev is an old-fashioned kind of fellow ("You need to know your place, woman!") was an interesting touch, and whilst it might be another slice of WWE stereotyping foreign performers, Rusev handled it well and got strong reactions from the crowd with his lines.

With Lana heading for the back, new love interest Dolph Ziggler took the opportunity to come out for smooch. This was a bit of a dick-ish thing for the babyface Ziggler to do, in all honesty, even if the kiss was little more than a peck on the lips. Whilst I'm enjoying the feud between Lana and Rusev, it's notable that things do feel a little bit rushed between the two. Perhaps if Lana had been kept off TV following her dismissal by Rusev last week, allowing things to breath (with Rusev in the Elimination Chamber there was no real need for the program to start right away) everything could have been that little bit more assured, and produced something that felt like it was growing a little more natural than what we've seen over the last two weeks. Almost proving my point, that wasn't the last we'd see of Rusev and Lana this week...

Singles Match

Sheamus 

vs. 

Dolph Ziggler 

The pairs third televised singles match in just over five weeks struggled to meet the standard of their previous two bouts. Essentially a match of two halves, I found the early part of the contest rather dull. Despite a big tilt-a-whirl slam on the outside and a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker, the match didn't find it's natural groove of the big Irishman working the show-off's back, or at least Ziggler just didn't fancy selling it. All the passion and fury that the two had bought to their rivalry over the last two months had been dropped and two simply had a match, which for someone who had bought into what had been an interesting and exciting program was a little disappointing to see.

Whilst the fire had gone, the closing sequence was done well, with both Lana and Rusev turning up a ringside. A lovely reversal sequence that saw *takes breath* a jumping DDT by Ziggler, turned into White Noise by Sheamus, turned into a Roll by Ziggler, turned into a Brogue Kick attempt by Sheamus, that would eventually lead to Sheamus connected with the ringpost, before Ziggler hit a superkick for two, was smooth as hell and produced a good reaction from the live crowd for the near fall. It was Rusev's involvement that would get the win for Sheamus however, as the Bulgarian caused the distraction that allowed Sheamus to pick up the win with a Brogue Kick. Rusev's then demoltion of Ziggler, placing him in the accolade whilst screaming "Kiss him now" at Lana was a pleasant end to the segment.

Ten-on-Three Handicap Match

The Lucha Dragons, The Ascension, Los Matadores, The Prime Time Players, Cesaro & Tyson Kidd with El Torito & Natalya 

vs. 

The New Day

Booked by Kane (go figure) this match followed a promo from The New Day in which they complained about being placed in an Elimination Chamber match this Sunday. The three continued to show off solid mic work, with the Nassau Colisseum eating up everything that the trio had to say. Whilst some of it was cheap heat, it was heat non-the-less, as Xavier Woods, Kofi Kingston and Big E continued to push forward as one of the most over acts on WWE's TV product. Kane's interruption and talk about fairness did little for no-one, seeing he's supposed to be a heel, the Big Red Monster then booking them into a ten on three handicap made even less sense. It's difficult to work out what WWE was aiming for with this segment and with Kane's involvement in particular.

The match itself then made things even more confusing, as it broke down after less than a minute of The New Day working over Kalisto. The action that followed was done well, with every team attacking each other and a number of big moves being hit, before Cesaro and Tyson Kidd were the ones standing tall following their Cesaro Swing/Dropkick combination to Kofi Kingston. Whilst that action was good, I still can't get my head around booking a ten on three handicap match and then abandoning it a minute in, so everyone can fight each other. Why not just book a twelve man tag team match? The Elimination Chamber bout should be a great spectacle and a good platform for the division, but this segment did very little to help promote the match.

Singles Match

Paige 

vs. 

Tamina Snuka with Naomi

For the short amount of time they were handed, Paige and Tamina did a stellar job with this match. Plenty of strong action, with Paige hitting a cannonball off the ring apron standing out as a particular highlight of the brief clash. Things were however let down by an ending the saw Naomi hit Paige on the outside, in plain sight of the referee, allowing Tamina to hit a Samoan drop for the win. Putting aside the fact that a number contender was just pinned, whether it was the referee, Naomi or Tamina who were at fault for the huge botch of allowing the ref to see the interference this won't go anyway to help proving to WWE's upper reaches that the diva's deserve more screen time. The Bella Twins (who were on commentary) ended things with a stare down with Naomi and Tamina. 

Singles Match

Neville 

vs. 

Stardust

A short but enjoyable contest, that featured Stardust focusing Neville's leg that had been injured at Payback, beginning with a nice dragon screw leg whip in the ropes. Unlike last week's match with Bad News Barrett though, Neville quickly recovered to hit a Tornado DDT and Red Arrow to pick up the victory. The storyline progression following the bout with Bo Dallas attacking Neville with a dropkick to his injured leg was a welcome addition and it's nice to Dallas getting a chance to shine in a decent storyline with Neville. Stardust however is wallowing in no man's land although a pre-match confrontation with actor Stephen Amell (Arrow, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Half Shell) and the publicity that followed, might prove a springboard for the down on his luck wrestler.

Singles Match

Ryback 

vs. 

King Barrett

King Barrett and Ryback squared off prior to both men being involved in the Elimination Chamber for the Intercontinental Championship this Sunday. The match was beginning to look interesting as Barrett focused on Ryback's still injured ribs, sending the Big Guy into the corner of the barricade, delivering multiple kicks to the mid-section, hitting a diving elbow drop, locking on a seated surfboard stretch and hitting Wasteland, with Ryback doing a good job of selling the ribs once more. However, the below four minutes that the match was given wasn't enough to provide a satisfying finish as Ryback hit a spinebuster and a shellshock to get the win, almost out of  nowhere. 

Other Stuff 

The show opened with John Cena, Dolph Ziggler, Alicia Fox, Roman Reigns, Booker T, The Bella Twins, Titus O'Neil, Dean Ambrose and Natalya reciting parts of Ronald Reagan's 1982 Memorial Day speech, as well as ten bell salute inside the arena., First Look: Daniel Bryan: Just Say Yes! Yes! Yes! on the WWE Network was promoted with a sneak peak, whilst The Rock's new film San Andreas also received some promotion.

Finally...

Whilst there was storyline progression a plenty, after the strength of last week's Raw, this was almost certainly a step backwards. Whist the main programs of Ambrose vs. Rollins, Cena vs. Owens and Lana vs. Rusev entertained in different ways, Ambrose's feud with The Authority dominating the episode meant that mid and lower card matches were short to make good on their early promise (See: Ryback vs. Barrett, Neville vs. Stardust, even Tamina vs. Paige) and the one match that was given time in Sheamus vs. Ziggler struggled to provide the fierce action that the feud ending match deserved. 

Elimination Chamber still manages to look an exciting prospect, even with the less than stellar build to the two Elimination Chamber matches, both matches will most likely deliver, whilst Cena vs. Owens and Rollins vs. Ambrose should also be strong. However, this episode didn't do much to contribute to that excitement, and whilst entertaining in places, ultimately fell flat.

The Rating

Upper card - 6/10
Mid card - 3.5/10
Lower card - 3.7/10

Overall Rating - 4.8/10