-From Nashville, TN
-Hosts are Cole & JBL
-Cold opening with Triple H kicking off the show. The crew oddly (at least in the case of Cole) act like Evolution VS The Shield was a fair fight on Monday, with Evolution destroying The Shield. HHH says part of his job is finding the top talent in the world and giving them the opportunity to succeed. He says that the guys he's most proud of are The Shield. He gave them a little bit of power, and they decided to cross a line that shouldn't be crossed, so they paid for it. A video shows exactly what happened at the end of Raw last week.
After that, HHH says The Shield were humbled at Evolution's feet, and that as he told Cole during their Wednesday chat, all The Shield have to do is crawl back to him, and this can all be forgotten, but all he's gotten is a message fron Reigns saying "Kings don't win wars, soldiers do". HHH says that's cute and could make for a nice movie tag line, but in reality "soldiers are the currency with which empires are built, bought, and sold" and that The Shield have outlived their usefullness. He then announces The Shield VS Evolution at Extreme Rules, and that Evolution will show The Shield what true power is. Good, focused promo from HHH.
-TONIGHT: Batista VS Sheamus
-Big E says he hasn't had this much competition since he entered Tampa Florida's "Pop, Lock, & Drop It" tournament. He says whoever wins the tournament has the opportunity to get dropped by the Big Ending.
-Match 1: Alberto Del Rio VS Intercontinental Champion Big E
-ADR gets the first shot in, but E runs him over and gets a one count. ADR shoves E into the corner, and hits a running enziguiri for two. ADR gets a chinlock as a "Let's Go Big E" chant breaks out. E fights out, but walks into a pair of boots to the face. ADR hits a running kick to the chest for two, then pounds away in the corner. ADR misses a charge and meets the post. Big E connects with a couple big clotheslines, followed by a belly-to-belly suplex. Big E goes for a big splash, but ADR gets his knees up, and E rolls to the floor as we go to break.
Back from break, both guys are down and hurting on the outside, and it's shown that it was due to a spear through the ropes by Big E. E rams his shoulder into the post, and ADR hits a DDT for two. ADR goes for a cross-body off the top, but gets caught and hit with a backbreaker. E throws ADR into the air, hits the big splash, and goes for the Big Ending, but ADR slides out and hits a backstabber for two. ADR goes for the cross-armbreaker, but E fights it off, and grabs the ropes. ADR releases right after the 5 count, and gets DQ'd. Well that was weak.
**3/4 The match was getting good before the bad finish. How many times over the years have we seen guys release a hold right after five? This is the first time I remember someone getting DQ'd even after releasing the hold.
-ADR goes for a post-match beatdown, but gets caught with the Big Ending. This is a perfect example of crappy 50/50 booking. If you want to put Big E over, put him over. This didn't do anything for either guy, aside from giving Big E his first good singles match in a while.
-Booker T, Sgt. Slaughter, & Ted DiBiase will talk about The Ultimate Warrior on a LEGENDS OF WRESTLEMANIA panel right after this show ends.
-Yes, THE STREAK is still over. Paul Heyman is next.
-BOLIEVE
-As promised, Heyman is here. Heyman reminds everyone who his clients are, then repeats "MY CLIENT, BROCK LESNAR, CONQUERED THE STREAK" over and over to give the crowd something to boo. He then thanks the crowd for letting him vent before going back to insulting them. Well that was pointless.
-The "rivalry" between Hornswoggle & El Torito is recapped, including a video showing what happened on Main Event. They face off in the first "little person" match in WWE since, what, 1998?
-Tamina says she'll win the Divas title at Extreme Rules by any means necessary.
-Match 2: Divas Champion Paige VS Aksana
-Paige's demeanor actually comes off quite heelish during her entrance. Aksansa does a short pre-match promo saying Paige's luck runs out tonight before bum rushing her. Aksana hits a suplex and goes for a waistlock, but Paige backs her into a corner and elbows her in the head. Paige lands several kicks to the chest, but gets knocked to the floor. Back in, Aksana gets a pretty nice spinebuster and works Paige over, getting two. Aksana locks on a chinlock, then crawls around the ring before kicking Paige in the face.
They both go for a cross-body at the same time, and collide in mid-air. Aksana slaps Paige, who fires back with a couple short-arm clotheslines, followed by the Scorpion Crosslock for the submission.
**1/2 Surprisingly good since I haven't seen anything out of Aksana, but again Paige does not need to be going 50/50 with jobbers.
-Rene Young interviews Sheamus, then shows him a video of the beatdown Batista gave him three weeks ago. Sheamus tells a story of taking care of a neighborhood bully, then says there's nothing Batista can do to slow him down before asking what will happen when he kicks Batista in the face.
-The little person match is next.
-Daniel Bryan will be on Raw...but Kane is waiting.
-Match 3: El Torito (w/Los Matadores) VS Hornswoggle (w/Drew McIntyre & Jinder Mahal)
-They feel each other out as Cole & JBL sarcastically act like this is a huge fight. Torito gets a headscissors and a dropkick. Hornswoggle confers with 3MB and rams Torito into the buckles. He goes for a big bonzai drop, but Mahal & McIntyre advise against it, so he settles for one off the lowest turnbuckle. That gets two, and Torito counters into a rollup for two. Hornswoggle hits a big clothesline, and 3MB point to JBL, who loves it. Hornswoggle works Torito over, but stops to taunt Los Matadores, and gets schoolboyed for two.
Hornswoggle sends Torito into the corner, but misses an avalanche. Torito hits a gore to the ass, followed by a Bronco Buster before finishing with a moonsault.
*1/2 JBL & Cole were actually the best part of this match with their commentary.
-Alexander Rusev is next.
-Bad News Barrett has some bad news: the crowd applauding the last match shows how dumb they are. They didn't seem to care, actually.
-Match 4: R-Truth (w/Xavier Woods) VS Alexander Rusev (w/Lana)
-Truth actually gets a heel kick and a missile dropkick to take Rusev down for the first time and get two. Rusev fires back with a thrust kick, then holds Truth in the ropes to hit some knees to the ribs before adding a fallaway slam. Lana gives orders for Rusev to CRUSH. Truth tries fighting back, but Rusev hits his spinning slam before locking on the Camel Clutch for the submission.
*** I actually really liked this match for Rusev. It's a good progression for him as he slowly starts facing guys that will fight back more and more to test him. They're giving him a chance, even if I still think it will fall flat once he gets further up the ladder.
-Xavier Woods tries to go after Rusev, and fails miserably.
-The Warrior tribute from Raw airs again.
-Santino gets a slap on the ass from Emma.
-Match 5: Fandango (w/Layla) VS Santino Marella (w/Emma)
-Cole says this is a mixed tag match before Lillian announces it is a singles match. Jeez, you guys couldn't fix that in post? Cute bit as Santino trips over Emma as they roll into the ring. They slug it out, then Fandango counters the splits from Santino with a kick to the face. Fandango takes Santino down, but misses a slingshot legdrop. Santino comes back with a hiptoss and diving headbutt. He goes for the Cobra, but Layla steals it. Emma takes Layla out, and Santino gets a sunset flip for the pin.
* I'm sure we'll get another two minute match in this endless series on Raw.
-Emma gives Santino his Cobra back, and he chases Fandango out. Emma wants a high five, and Santino hits her hand with the Cobra...which fucks up her arm. That's cute.
-Kane is going to try to destroy Daniel Bryan. He'll probably get a heel beatdown or two, then fall short at Extreme Rules.
-Daniel Bryan is still going to be on Raw.
-Adam Rose is still partying.
-Match 6: Sheamus VS Batista
-Sheamus attacks at the bell, and Batista bails. Sheamus follows, which allows Batista to gain the advantage. Back in, Sheamus scores with a big clothesline, then drops a knee to the back of the head before adding some mounted punches. Batista fires back with a corner clothesline, but lowers his head, allowing Sheamus to hit a kick to the chest followed by a clothesline for two. Sheamus goes for an armlock, but Batista makes it to the ropes. Sheamus goes for the Irish Hand Grenade, but Batista drops his neck onto the ropes. Sheamus hits a knee to the back which sends Batista to the floor as we go to break.
Back from break Sheamus sends Batista into the buckles, and they go outside. Batista kicks the steps into Sheamus' knees, then whips him into the barricade. Batista works Sheamus over on the apron, but gets caught with punches to the gut as he tries to follow up. Batista quickly regains control with a drop toe hold onto the turnbuckle, then rams Sheamus shoulder-first into the post, which also sends Sheamus to the floor. Batista follows up with a Decapitator for two.
Batista goes for the Batista Bomb, but Sheamus counters and throws him to the floor. Sheamus blocks a throw into the post not once, but twice, and manages to send Batista into the post on the second try. Sheamus hits a couple Irish Hammers, but walks into a boot to the face. Another Batista Bomb attempt is blocked, and Sheamus follows up with a high knee, then a flying...something in the corner followed by the Irish Hand Grenade and a slingshot shoulderblock for two.
Batista blocks White Noise, but walks into the Irish Curse for two. Sheamus goes for a Cloverleaf, but Batista makes it to the ropes. Sheamus shrugs off an elbow to the face and hits a powerslam before calling for the Brogue Kick. Batista bails and Sheamus rolls him back in. Batista avoids the Brogue Kick and hits a spear for two. Yet another attempt at the Batista Bomb is countered with a backdrop. Sheamus goes up, but gets caught and crotched on the ropes, and Batista finally hits the Batista Bomb for the win.
***1/2 Really good heavyweight slugfest. Batista gave Sheamus a lot and was just a little bit better on this night, keeping both himself and Sheamus strong. Surprised to see a clean finish, and I was also expecting another Batista beatdown to put Sheamus out of the IC tournament.
-FINAL THOUGHTS: This was a hell of a lot better than last week's show. While I don't like some of the booking decisions (the finish to Big E/ADR, Paige going 50/50 with everyone), the ring work was pretty good especially for a free TV, and Cole/JBL elevated what could have been a groan enducing Hornswoggle/Torito match.
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