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  • WWE RAW live results: Shane McMahon returns, Brock Lesnar/Dean Ambrose angle

    With the main event of WrestleMania official, Raw originates from Detroit tonight as the countdown to WrestleMania begins. Clearly, after the reception Roman Reigns received at Fast Lane, there’s still plenty of work to do to avoid him getting booed out of Texas next month. He and HHH will likely kick off a series of angles tonight. The recipient of the Vincent J. McMahon Legacy of Excellence Award will be announced, which could also be an angle leading up to WrestleMania. There will probably be new programs for Charlotte, Kevin Owens and the New Day for their respective championships.

    Plus, there’s the matter of which 90s starts will appear at WrestleMania? Who will they be facing? And when will the promotion for those matches begin? It’s the start of the most popular time of the year for wrestling in America tonight, and our coverage starts at 8 ET. 

    From Dave Meltzer:

    An angle was just shot before Raw to air on the show where Brock Lesnar destroyed Dean Ambrose and he was rushed to the hospital to help get the wheels in motion for their WrestleMania match and make Ambrose the babyface.

    It is expected this will be announced at the start of the show. The plans are for this to be a major show to set up WrestleMania’s top bouts.

    ###

    The Big Takeaway: 

    A wild night. Shane McMahon made his return to Raw after leaving the WWE six years ago. He will face the Undertaker at WrestleMania in a Hell in a Cell match with control of the company on the line. Brock Lesnar and Dean Ambrose is also set for WrestleMania after an angle where Lesnar jumped Ambrose and slammed him on a limo. Ryback appeared to turn heel and looks to be up for a program with Kane. Roman Reigns juiced in the main event after being jumped by HHH, ending with HHH giving him a Pedigree on the ring steps. 

    Show Recap: 

    The Vincent J. McMahon Legacy of Excellence Award was in the ring with a red carpet draped around it. 

    Michael Cole showed video of Dean Ambrose being driven in, where Brock Lesnar jumped him and drove him into the hood of a limo. Lesnar then slammed Ambrose onto the limo, and Ambrose was shown being stretchered out of the arena with a neckbrace on. Cole claimed Ambrose underwent medicat tests at a local hospital. Lesnar and Paul Heyman will make an appearance later. 

    Vincent Kennedy McMahon came out for the presentation of the Legacy of Excellence award. Vince said tonight would be a night the fans would never forget. Vince said for over 100 years, his family had been presenting sports entertainment. It started with his grandfather, then carried on to his father. He announced the winner as Stephanie McMahon. 

    Stephanie came out and started crying. She got a lot of heat as she accepted the award. She claimed she wasn’t expecting to win, but had some prepared remarks to make. She then pulled out a binder the size of a notebook ready to make her remarks. 

    Before she could talk, Shane McMahon came out to an incredibly huge pop. He was wearing old school Air Jordans straight from 1984 and looked a little emotional as he made his return to TV for the first time since 2009. The place went bonkers and Shane looked stunned to see how huge the response was. Fans chanted “Holy Shit” and “This is Awesome.” 

    Shane milked it in for a while. Vince went to hug him, but Shane stopped him. So Vince extended his hand, and Shane left him hanging. He looked like he’s lost 60 pounds, minimum, since he made those cameos at various PGA Tour events. Shane said the Legacy of Excellence Award should be bestowed on someone who deserves it, and it wasn’t Stephanie. 

    Vince asked his son to play nice and asked if he and Shane could talk in the back. Shane said his father always told him to do things out in the open face-to-face. Stephanie said this was her moment, getting booed worse than Mark Messier in Joe Louis Arena. Stephanie said her husband and her have been running a billion dollar business for seven years while Shane is away. 

    Shane told his father “She doesn’t know, does she?” Then Shane said Stephanie and her husband have been running the company into the ground based on talent injuries, stock, even TV ratings (Good lord. This was like Eric Bischoff admitting Nitro had fallen off the rails in 1999). Stephanie called Shane a quitter and told him to get out of her ring. Shane said it was her father’s ring. Shane said several years ago, Vince messed up huge. Big time. But Shane was there to save the day. 

    So Vince and Shane cut a deal. In that deal, Shane was able to take time off, build businesses. But he never lost his place in line. Shane said the reason why Stephanie was able to climb this far was because Shane allowed it to happen. Stephanie thought this was ridiculous and asked Vince to say this wasn’t true. Vince had a very guilty look on his face. Stephanie kept asking if this was true. Vince didn’t want to answer. Shane pressed for an answer, and Vince admitted there was some truth to it. 

    Shane said, at the time, the agreement he and Vince reached was “Best for business.” Stephanie started to leave, but said she would never forgive Shane for this. 

    Stephanie left. Vince wanted to know what this was about. He offered to give Shane any amount of money. Shane said it wasn’t about money. It was about getting out from under Vince’s thumb. It was all about legacy. Shane talked about Vince being the third generation, he was the fourth generation, and his three children would be the fifth generation. He started to tear up when he talked about that. 

    Shane said he wanted control over Monday Night Raw. Vince said if Shane controlled Raw, he would control the entire company, and Shane can’t just step right in and control the entire company. Vince offered a deal. He would give Shane Monday Night Raw as long as he has one match on one night. And if he wins, he gets his match. If he loses, Vince gets the key to Shane’s lockbox so Shane can’t hang anything over his head again. Crowd actually chanted “You still got it.” That Randy Orton angle was a million years ago at this moment. 

    Shane agreed to the deal. Vince said something that got bleeped out but left the crowd buzzing. Vince said Shane would wrestle at WrestleMania…against the Undertaker. Hell in a Cell. 

    The New Day defeated Lucha Dragons and Neville (15:27) 

    Good match where Kofi Kingston pinned Sin Cara with Trouble in Paradise after Kingston escaped the Dragon Bomb by pulling Sin Cara’s mask. Before the finish, Neville did a 450 splash onto Big E. off the apron. Kalisto then jumped off Neville’s back and did a 450 splash onto Xavier Woods. The New Day look to be turning face as they cut a promo on the League of Nations during an inset promo. They offered  them a box of Booto-Os cereal, which has it’s own box with the new day on the front. That was hilarious. 

    Reigns did a promo with Jojo upset over what happened with Ambrose. Crowd loudly booed Reigns and chanted for Ambrose as he did his promo. It was a badly scripted interview about how the match between him and HHH would be about heart. Reigns just doesn’t have the promo ability. 

    Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman came out. Heyman said this was the main event of the evening, even tough he wasn’t wrestling. He said Lesnar was the single biggest attraction in sports entertainment or Mixed Martial Arts. That sound you hear in Connor McGregor laughing. Heyman said Lesnar took Ambrose and Reigns to Suplex City, and had Reigns on the verge of tapping out to Lesnar, just like the Undertaker was. Then Ambrose took a three-way fight and turned it into a street fight, and took Lesnar out of the equation and out of the main event of WrestleMania. 

    Heyman said Lesnar got his revenge earlier today, and claimed that Ambrose was out of WrestleMania altogether. Heyman said there was no shield that could protect Ambrose from the wrath of Lesnar. Heyman said Lesnar deserves to be in the main event of WrestleMania, and is the main event. Not HHH, not Reigns. Heyman ran down Ambrose as some kind of hardcore kid wannabe riding on a BMX bike that everyboyd thinks is cool. Until the reality of a Mack-Semi truck comes down and…Heyman then threw down the mic to symbolize what Lesnar does to people. He actually had to get another mic because he broke the old one. 

    Heyman said Lesnar needed another Lesnar WrestleMania opponent. Whoever wants to be that person, go visit Ambrose in the hospital room while he can barely breathe. So sayeth Brock Lesnar. 

    Heyman finsihed. At that point, the TitanTron turned to the back, where an ambulance came in from the back. The ambulance came out into the arena. Of course, Ambrose was behind  the wheel wearing a neckbrace. He staggered out to a pop. Ambrose crawled to the ring, more or less. The brace fell off his neck. Lesnar stood over Ambrose and walked over his chest. 

    Ambrose told Lesnar he was indestructable and he would find that otu the hard way. He challenged Lesnar to a match at WrestleMania in a No Holds Barred Street Fight. Lesnar went after Ambrose and gave him an F-5 on the floor. Fans didn’t chant for Ambrose. They chanted “One More Time.” Heyman got down on his knees and told Ambrose face-to-face that his client accepted Ambrose’s challenge. 

    The Usos were about to face the Ascension when the Dudley Boyz came out. Bubbay Ray Dudley said the Usos shouldn’t take the beating the Dudleys handed them two weeks ago personally. They did it to remind people they were the most decorated tag team in the history of WWE. Their legacy won’t be defined by a piece of furniture, but by the accomplishments. Bubba claimed the fans would never see the tables again. Devon Dudley told the Usos maybe their father shouldn’t have been running around in oversized thongs, but should have taught his sons respect. Fans didn’t seem to know Devon was talking about Rikishi, which Cole and Byron Saxton filled in the blanks. 

    The Usos defeated the Ascension (1:58) 

    Jey Uso pinned Viktor after a double superkick and a splash. Dudleys came down to tease a fight with the Usos. Looks like that’s another match for WrestleMania. 

    Jim Harbaugh was at ringside in time for tonight’s tweets from angry SEC fans about unfair recruiting practices.  

    Chris Jericho came out for more talking. He said for years, he heard about the legacy of A.J. Styles. He saw Styles in the Royal Rumble and he didn’t like him because Styles called himself “Phenomenal” without having one match in the WWE. Then he wrestled Styles three times, with last night’s match being one of the best he’s had in years. Jericho said Styles beat him. 24 hours later, Jericho said he had some words for Styles, and wanted to say them face-to-face. 

    Styles came out and the fans instantly started dueling chants. Jericho said Styles that going into their match last night, the pressure was all on Styles. But Styles won, and Jericho admitted it. Jericho congratulated Styles because he proved to the WWE Universe that he belongs in the WWE. He has what it takes to become a WWE champion. Styles proved he was phenomenal. They shook hands. 

    Social Outcasts came out. Heath Slater made fun of them. Bo Dallas said his heart was warm seeing how much love was in the ring right now. Slater told Dallas he was being sarcastic. Dallas pretended he knew. Curtis Axel accused Jericho of playing nice to Styles, but in his heart he knew Styles made him tap out. Slater asked Styles if he was a man. Slater said where he comes from, they call people like Styles a coward. Adam Rose said no one was buying Y2AJ. Slater ordered them to get out of the ring. 

    Jericho called Slater “Ginger Jackass.” Jericho said he and Styles weren’t planning on being a team, but they could become one to face Social Outcasts immediately in a tag match. It was Y2Aj vs. Slater and Axel. 

    Chris Jericho and A.J. Styles defeated Curtis Axel and Heath Slater via submission (3:55)

    Jericho made Axel submit to the Walls of Jericho while Styles did a springboard plancha onto Dallas, Rose and Slater. Slater is now being referred to as the Red Dragon in a moniker that Sinclair Broadcasting executives should just love.  

    Stephanie and HHH were backstage. Stephanie was furious at Shane. HHH said Shane was always a failure and always will be. HHH said tonight will end the way they want it to, so he asked if she wanted to tell Roman, or should he? She volunteered. 

    Stephanie found Reigns backstage and said Reigns would be facing Sheamus tonight. She said League of Nations was a brotherhood, unlike the fake one Reigns had with Ambrose. She urged him to watch out for League of Natons causing him to miss WrestleMania because of injury. 

    R-Truth and Goldust had another skit. Goldust apologized for costing Truth his match against Axel last night. He offered a cake which said “I’m Sorry” as a makeup present. Goldsut said it was chocolate cake with golden frosting, just like a potential tag team with him. R-Truth tried to tell him off, but Goldust said he could predict Truth’s every move before he does it. Truth said he guessed Goldust would predict he was going to take the cake a smash it in his face. But he wouldn’t do that to Goldust because he was better than that, and walked off. Then he stormed back, said “Psych” and smashed it in Goldust’s face. 

    Luke Harper, Bray Wyatt and Erick Rowan defeated Ryback, The Big Show and Kane (12:29)

    Finish saw Kane about to deliver the choke slam on Luke Harper, but Ryback walked out on Kane. For some reason, this distracted Kane, which allowed Harper to tag Bray Wyatt. Then Wyatt pinned Kane with Sister Abigail. Big Show was laid out earlier by Braun Strowman. Fans did’t care for Ryback and chanted “Goldberg” at him. Then a few started chanting “Gillberg” and the Big Show started laughing. Wyatts sure ended up on the short end of the WrestleMania stick. They went from potential opponents to the Undertaker to potential opponets for Lesnar to status unknown. Who would have thought last month that the Dudleys would have had a clearer direction for WrestleMania than the Wyatts? 

    Ryabck did an interview saying he walked out on Big Show and Kane because he was done being in tag teams. It was his time to be in the spotlight. He said “That glass ceiling. That brass ring. Break it. Take it.” 

    Sasha Banks defeated Naomi via submission (6:47)

    Tamina interfered several times on Sasha Banks. That brought down Becky Lynch to jump Tamina. Banks won with the Bank Statement. 

    Postmatch, Charlotte and Ric Flair came out. She was dressed like Nikki and Brie Bella, which Cole pointed out. They’re teasing Nikki Bella showing up at WrestleMania. Charlotte said the Authority had told her Lynch would be facing Banks in the coming weeks, and the winner would face Charlotte at WrestleMania. Charlotte told Lynch to watch out, like Banks was about to jump her. Of course, Banks hadn’t made a move toward Lynch. But Lynch reacted like she had. Charlotte laughed about how they really don’t trust each other after all. 

    Stephanie wanted to know what Shane held over Vince’s head. Vince said the odds of Shane beating the Undertaker were astronomical. Vince explained he was taking a calculated risk. Stephanie seemed to understand. 

    So in the final week of Black History Month, they announced the Godfather was the latest inductee into the WWE Hall of Fame. JBL announced the APA was reuniting to induct the Godfather because they rode miles and miles with the Godfather. 

    There was a sign on the screen shown repeatedly in the final hour that said “Raw is Stale as Cole Slaw.” How that made the airwaves without being confiscated is beyond me. This show had more signs than any Raw is a while, so maybe restrictions are being curtailed. 

    Roman Reigns and Sheamus went to a no contest (10:51)

    This was one strange scene. Sheamus, the top regular performing heel in the company, came out to complete silence. Reigns, the chosen one, got mostly booed. A reminder that we are six weeks away from WrestleMania. Alberto Del Rio, Rusev and King “Catch Him While You Can” Barrett were at ringside. Rusev gave Reigns a uranage on the floor to a round of cheers. During the break, referee Chad Patton (his name was announced on TV, breaking previous company protocol), ordered the League of Nations to the back. They went two more minutes past the commercial when Reigns hit a Superman Punch on Sheamus. HHH came out ready to fight, and he and Reigns started brawling. As for where Sheamus went? Your guess is as good as mine. How’s that for top heel treatment? 

    So HHH and Reigns brawled, with Reigns delivering a Superman Punch to HHH. And HHH responded by selling it somewhat, then hit Reigns with a ring bell. HHH was ruthless, slamming Reigns head into the table again and again so much, it got a “Yes” chant going. HHH put punches to Reigns head, and he started juicing. This led to several referees coming down trying to pull HHH off. Instead, HHH pulled down the ring steps and gave Reigns a pedigree on the steps to mostly cheers. HHH actually did a crotch chop to Reigns and got cheered louder. Then he posed with the belt and the show went off the air with HHH like a rogue babyface, which is pretty much how he’s been booked when he’s a heel for the past decade. 

    Summary: 

    This was some surreal booking for WrestleMania. Shane McMahon got a great one-time reaction tonight. So how does that carry over for six more weeks? They couldn’t get Alberto Del Rio over long enough for two weeks after his return. When did the Undertaker turn heel and join the Authority? Did I miss this angle? What is it that Shane holds over Vince’s head? There have been plenty of times over the past 15 years that a McMahon-driven storyline has gaping holes in the plotlines that the audience is supposed to have cleared up before the end. Except it almost never does, and I wouldn’t bet on it here. Plus, the company just did the storyline of Stephanie and HHH potentially being out of power only 18 months ago at Survivor Series. They returned a month later. And so what if Shane wins? Does that mean Raw will be a different show? Judging from the past, it makes the likelihood of guys from Jackass sequels showing up as guests, which isn’t how you build top heels. 

    The segment alone where Shane actually acknowledged the WWE’s falling rating was straight out of 1999 WCW. And I mean, like, taken word for word from an Eric Bischoff interview during Nitro in March of that year.  

    Then there’s the main event segment. The idea on paper was: with John Cena out of the equation,  who do fans hate more than Reigns? HHH. Thus, Reigns can be cheered at the biggest show of the year. That idea isn’t working in practice. Reigns is the new John Cena. Females and kids cheer him. Everyone else boos him. That’s fine for the short-term. But in terms of getting fans emotionally invested in a character like they did Daniel Bryan, it’s not happening. HHH didn’t exactly help matters tonight, in that regard. 

  • RAW ratings down, still the top rated show on cable

    Raw on Monday night going against the Grammy Awards did not set a record seasonal low, as it did 3.46 million viewers, up from the 3.37 million record low of two weeks ago.

    It was still the second lowest number of the last 18 years that wasn’t a holiday or going against football.

    It was down six percent from last week, but that has to be considered a good sign overall, since last week didn’t nearly the competition, and featured the Daniel Bryan retirement.  The Grammys on CBS did 24,951,000 viewers on average head-to-head.

    Raw was the top rated show on cable for the night.

    The three hours were:

    8 p.m. 3.66 million viewers
    9 p.m. 3.54 million viewers
    10 p.m. 3.23 million viewers

  • RAW ratings delayed, expectations are low due to Grammy Awards

    Due to President’s Day, the Monday night ratings will be delayed until some time tomorrow.

    Ratings are expected tomorrow in the early afternoon.

    Raw is not expected to pull a good number, even though they are coming off a stronger than usual number for the Daniel Bryan retirement show the previous week.  Between a main event of Big Show vs Braun Strowman and going head-to-head with the Grammy Awards, and several shows that have hit seasonal 17 year lows, it doesn’t look good.  The only thing that could save it is if there was lingering interest from the show the week before.

    The preliminary numbers for the Grammy Awards on CBS were just under 24 million viewers, making it among the most-watched non-football shows of the past year.

  • WWE RAW live results: The build to Fastlane; Big Show vs. Strowman, notes for tonight

    A week after the most memorable single segment in recent wrestling history, Monday Night Raw will have its go-home show for Fast Lane in Anaheim, CA. Piggybacking off Daniel Bryan’s retirement, Brie Bella will appear to build up her Divas title shot against Charlotte at the PPV. Of course, the focus of the show will be to build the three-way main event between Brock Lesnar, Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns. After Ambrose got laid out twice last week by Lesnar and the paltry attempt to get his heat back, the company will likely try to get him strong again since he’s the only one involved in the main event that doesn’t have a clear direction for WrestleMania.

    Also, the Dudley Boyz will appear after turning heel last week. Coming off another very good match on SmackDown, A.J. Styles and Chris Jericho will likely continue their program.

    Our coverage starts at 8 ET.

    Some updated notes for tonight from Dave Meltzer (6:30 PM EST):

    • The WWE is starting to push a Big Show vs. Braun Strowman match, which is likely to set up a Wyatt Family vs. Show & Kane & Ryback match or something approximating that for Fastlane on Sunday.
    • Locally they are advertising Roman Reigns & Dean Ambrose vs. Kevin Owens & Rusev, but that doesn’t necessarily mean anything, because more often than not, the locally advertised match doesn’t end up happening.
    • As noted, there are no special non-wrestlers advertised for tonight’s show, with HHH the major name who isn’t usually touring, but he’s on almost every Raw.

    *****

    The Big Takeaway: Kevin Owens recaptured the Intercontental Championship when he pinned Tyler Breeze in a Fatal Fiveway match, which was ordered by Stephanie McMahon in order to punish Dean Ambrose in the opening segment. Kane returned in the main event because he was a Vince McMahon creation in 1997 who is healthy enough to wrestle, and also because God hates us all. 

    Show Recap: 

    Dean Ambrose came out and said sometimes when the biggest bully on the playground comes after you, sometime you got to get your fingernails dirty and you have to do what you have to do. He acted like he got the best of Brock Lesnar last week. That was so delusional, it was almost like a heel statement. He challenged Lesnar to come out. Stephanie McMahon showed up instead because…opening segment. Stephanie brought up valid points about Ambrose needing Roman Reigns in order to deliver a cheap shot on Lesnar. Ambrose wanted to skip the talking and get to the fighting. Stephanie said she would get to the fighting because this was Monday Night Raw. So she talked for another five minutes. Followed by another talking segment with the New Day, Owens an Ambrose. And Brie Bella opening the second hour with an interview. 

    Stephanie asked the fans if they wanted to see Ambrose get F-5’d tonight. Fans were supposed to boo. They cheered. Stephanie said Ambrose would get an F-5, but it meant a Fatal Fiveway match, with Ambrose defending his Intercontinental Championship. If Reigns interfered, then Ambrose would lose his spot in the Fast Lane main event. 

    The four challengers for Ambrose’s title were Kevin Owens, Stardust (who evidently earned the title shot by losing to Zack Ryder last week), Tyler Breeze (earning the title shot with a .230 winning percentage. Sort of like turning on the TV for the AFC Divisional Playoffs and seeing the Tennessee Titans), and Dolph Ziggler.

    Kevin Owens won the Intercontental Championshp by pinning Tyler Breeze in a Fatal Fiveway that included Dean Ambrose (C), Stardust and Dolph Ziggler (12:35) 

    Owens won the championship by pinning Breeze with a Pop-Up Power Bomb. Very good match. Finishing sequence was Ambrose going for the Dirty Deeds on Stardust, but Ziggler ran in and gave Ambrose the Zig Zag, leaving Stardust laid out. Breeze threw Ziggler out of the ring, but Owens ran in and gave Breeze the finisher. So Ambrose lost the belt without getting pinned. At one point, Owens delivered cannonballs to Ambrose, Ziggler and Stardust, who were laid out in opposite corners. Owens attempted a cannonball on Breeze, who responded with a beauty shot. First half of the match was Ambrose working against a challenger one-on-one while three others rested outside. Owens power bombed Breeze outside the ring onto Ziggler and Stardust. Ambrose followed by teasing finishers with Owens, leading to a tope onto Breeze, Ziggler and Stardust. 

    Ambrose walked around pissed backstage when Renee Young asked him how frustrated he was. Ambrose said he had nothing left to lose and he would face HHH at WrestleMania, who had everything to lose. Owens asked Young “does that give your goose bumps?” 

    Owens did an interview with Young. Ziggler walked in and sarcastically congratulated him. Ziggler said there wasn’t a spotlight in the world big enough for the both of them. Ziggler said he had beaten Owens the last two weeks, and said Owens should tell the world he deserved to face him at Fast Lane. Owens declined. Later, it was announced Owens would face Ziggler for the championship. 

    The New Day came out. They promoted an appearance by Edge and Christian by reviewing the segment they had on Raw last September. There will be an episode of the “Cutting Edge Peep Show” at Fast Lane. Kofi Kingston said you never bring a kazoo to a trombone fight. Big E. said Edge and Christian’s appearance was the worst thing since Coldplay played the halftime of, and Xavier Woods stopped him from saying the Super Bowl. There’s some sort of inside joke at work there because the NFL is very sensitive about it’s copywright of the Super Bowl. They ran down Mark Henry, who walked out on them last week during the main event tables match. Henry came out to face Big E. 

    Some fans rememberd the Chris Jericho chant of “Rootie, Tootie, Bootie,” but many more chanted “New Day rocks.” 

    Big E. defeated Mark Henry (4:41) 

    Weird finish. Big E. got Henry up for the Big Ending, but Henry looked like he was supposed to escape over top of him. Instead, Henry escaped and collapsed, and Big E. simply pinned him. It looked like Henry got hurt legit. Big E. told the referee to check on Henry and looked concerned while Kingston and Woods stayed in character. 

    Brie Bella was interviewed by Byron Saxton. Fans chanted “Daniel Bryan” since it was only the “Yes” chant that was over two years ago and not Bryan himself. Brie started to answer when Charlotte and Ric Flair came out. More fans were interested in chanting “Whoo” than listening to Charlotte, who said Bryan was in a league of his own. Brie corrected her and said he still is in a league of his own. Charlotte said she would understand if Brie wanted to forfeit her match with Charlotte at Fast Lane to be with her husband. She said Bryan lost everything, his dream, his career. Brie said she didn’t owe Charlotte any explanations, but Bryan supports her 100%. Charlotte said Brie means she supports her and Daniel 100%. She said Brie also took the match because they needed the money. Charlotte asked the crowd if she attacked Bryan personally? Crowd started chanting “Yes.” Charlotte said Brie needed to go home and be with Brie Bella and Bryan. Charlotte said she didn’t need Brie, and neither do the fans. But Nikki and Bryan did. 

    Brie accused Charlotte of trying to mess with her head. She said Charlotte knew she wasn’t an easy beat. All Charlotte has done is added fuel to her fire and she’s disgusted seeing the champion Charlotte has become. Charlotte told Brie she could only imagine what Brie’s goat-faced vegan babies were going to become. Brie slapped Charlotte over that one, laid in a few Yes kicks and sent Charlotte packing. Charlotte is a good heel promo. 

    A.J. Styles defeated The Miz via submission (11:49) 

    A.J. Styles won with the calf crusher. Good, competitive match that Styles did a solid job in carrying the Miz in. Chris Jericho was on commentary, and it was scary how much better he is on color than anyone else in the company. He goes Styles more over in this match than Jerry Lawler, Saxton, JBL put together. Not to be outdone, JBL even brought up Kenta Kobashi in relating how Styles is going from being star in Japan to a star in WWE. 

    Postmatch, Jericho got in the ring and congratulated Styles, who interrupted him and challenged him to third match at Fast Lane. Jericho said he would give his answer on SmackDown. 

    The Dudley Boyz came out and teased getting the table, but only did so to tease the fans as part of their heel turn. Bubba Ray Dudley called out the Usos, but said they wouldn’t show up after he and Devon put them through tables last week. Devon Dudley said the Dudleys weren’t some Guns n’ Roses farewell tour or a retro act from the past. They were the baddest tag team on the planet. Bubba said the tables were done forever, and if the fans wanted to see that, go to the WWE Network. Bubba said their legacy would be defined by being 9-time WWE Tag Team champions, not by a piece of furniture. All the chants of “We want tables” would now fall on deaf ears. Well, at least Les Thatcher will cheer them. Bubba said they no longer cared what the fans chanted. 

    Summer Rae defeated Paige (3:40) 

    Not many matches on Raw nowadays qualify as really bad, but this one does. Summer Rae mainly did chokes with her legs. She pinned Paige after reversing an attempt at the PTO into a small package. Crowd was asleep. 

    Paul Heyman did an in-ring promo. Heyman said he wanted to lay down a message on behalf of Lesnar face-to-face to Reigns, who came out to a mixed reaction. Surprising since the last time they win in southern California, he was as over as a top guy as he’s ever been. Heyman said he has the utmost respect for Reigns, but he feels that he can’t get past Lesnar. Heyman said Reigns’ goal is to win at Fast Lane and fight HHH for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania, so he could go to his wife and child with the championship. But Reigns has a huge challenge because not only does Lesnar stand in Reigns’ way, but so does Ambrose. So Reigns has a choice: his daughter or his best friend, a man so close to Reigns, he’s like a brother. There are those who choose friends over family, and those are the ones who wind up in divorce court. There are others who choose family over friendship, and those are the ones who sit alone in the locker room and potentially stand alone as the champion of the world at WrestleMania with fireworks going off over their heads. But that’s the sacrifice you have to make in order to have a chance at the championship Reigns’ want. Heyman said Reigns’s enemy is Lesnar on Sunday night, but so is Ambrose. 

    Reigns started to speak and got noticeable boos. Reigns thanked Heyman for saying what was on his mind. Reigns said he was willing to pay the price for what he wants. He doesn’t have a problem fighting Ambrose, who he defeated. Reigns said he’s never beaten Lesnar, but he did beat he ass. Reigns said Heyman was right, he had everything on the line. But he was going to win at Fast Lane and then beat HHH at WrestleMania. They shook hands. Heyman had a blowaway promo. 

    Then the Dudleys came out and jumped Reigns from behind. Reigns tried to make his own comeback, but Bubba Ray hit him with a big boot. Ambrose came out for the save, sending Bubba packing. Reigns hit Devon with a Superman’s punch. Michael Cole broached the subject of Heyman perhaps setting up Reigns for the Dudleys to jump him. 

    Suddenly, as Ambrose and Reigns shook hands, Ambrose tried to give him Dirty Deeds. Regins escaped. Ambrose told Reigns if he wanted to make it to WrestleMania, he needed to be quicker than that. Reigns smiled at Ambrose and they shook hands again. Crowd booed because they wanted to see the two go at it. 

    They announced the creation of the Vincent J. McMahon Legacy of Excellence Award, which Cole said “would be the most prestigous award the WWE has ever presented.” The recipient would be announced next week. 

    Social Outcasts did an inset promo comparing themselves to various NBA stars who were members of the Dream Team. Adam Rose said he was Robert Shapiro, which shows somebody on the writing staff watches FX. 

    Heath Slater defeated Zack Ryder (2:07)

    Ryder did a somersault tope onto all members of Social Outcasts. Bo Dallas distracted Ryder, leading to Heath Slater getting the pin with an Implant DDT. I kept waiting for Vince McMahon to show up and interrupt this match. 

    This week’s horrible R-Truth-Goldust segment took place was set at a restaurant, where Truth was on a date with a woman. Truth told her he would walk through hell in gasoline-dipped underwear for her. Goldust showed up as a waiter. Truth said this wasn’t Table for 3 on the WWE Network. Goldust brought champaign, which Truth said he didn’t order. Goldust said it was on the house. Truth said they weren’t In His House. Goldust said of course not, it wasn’t 1996. Of course, the champaignewound up being spilled on the woman and that was that. 

    Alberto Del Rio is facing Kalisto in the non-PPV portion of Fast Lane for the U.S. Championship. At this point, I’m firmly convinced Dorian Roldan has been in charge of Del Rio’s booking since he returned to WWE. It’s the biggest waste of money since the Cleveland Browns signed Dwayne Bowe. 

    Alberto Dio Rio, Sheamus and Rusev defeated Lucha Dragons and Neville (8:49)

    Del Rio won with the double stomp off the top rope onto Sin Cara. The League of Nations now firmly in the hunt with the New Blood and Aces and Eights for the “Least Over Top Heel Group in History.” Sheamus is supposed to be the top heel in the company, at least in regards to regular wrestlers, and no one cared about him at all. Not to mention Neville was just an afterthought in this match. As was Rusev. This was a textbook lesson of how not to use what is developed in NXT. 

    Excellent feature for Black History Month on Booker T, which showed him being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. It’s sad that someone so talented had the top push of his career during WCW in 2000, when the company was the most unwatchable product off all time. 

    Video posted earlier today showed Tamina and Naomi jumping Becky Lynch, with Naomi giving Lynch a Superkick. 

    Michelle Beadle was shown at ringside. 

    League of Nations celebrated in the back when Young interviewed Del Rio, who said Kalisto’s victory was a fluke. Del Rio said Kalisto was lucky and nothing more than a little mosquito. he said he let Kalisto beat him. That’s really putting him over. He challenged Kalisto to a best-of-three falls match at Fast Lane. 

    Becky Lynch defeated Naomi via submission (2:08) 

    Lynch won with the Disarm-her. Then came a preposterous moment. Tamina and Naomi jumped Lynch. Naturally, that was built for Sasha Banks to make the save. The only problem was, she came out and walked to the ring. And she stopped to take off her earrings. During the time it took Banks to get in the ring, Lynch had her ass handed to her, complete with Tamina delivering a Samoan Drop. It was like watching the Sandman in ECW make his full ring entrance while Tommy Dreamer needed to be saved. Finally Banks got in there and the ring was cleared. 

    The Wyatt Family came out. Bray Wyatt said freedom awaits all of you inside his embrace. Freedom from a dying world, because this world was a slave shackled in pretty colors. Wyatt said his followers would walk with him inside the fires of the apocolypse. He offers everyone paradise, and all he asks in return is for everyone to bow to him. Wyatt said the fans have to make a decision, or he will have to make a choice for them. Just like he made a choice for Kane, for Ryback and just like the choice the Big Show will have to make against the Big Show right now. 

    The Big Show defeated Braun Strowman by DQ (2:29) 

    Erick Rowan and Luke Harper ran in for the DQ. If you’re trying to make Strowman the next monster heel, I don’t think having him take a vertical suplex from the Big Show is the way to do it. He shouldn’t leave his feet until WrestleMania. But there he was, taking the suplex before the run-in. 

    Postmatch, Ryback ran down for the save and speared Harper. The numbers quickly caught up to him. Then, of course, Kane came up through the ring for the save. He and Show gave Harper a double choke slam. 

    SUMMARY: Where are the heels? People were asking that question in November when Seth Rollins went down. Now it’s mid-February, and there’s still no answer. In fact, it’s only gotten worse. They’ve tried Sheamus. No one cares. They’ve tried Del Rio, who would have been better off as a babyface coming in. Instead, they stuck him with Zeb Coulter in a pairing that went nowhere, now they’ve shifted him to a heel group that’s going nowhere. It doesn’t help the pattern of sameness this company has fallen into that they keep resorting to Kane as a savior when his act grew tiresome years ago. The best program in the company right now is Jericho-Styles, with Jericho doing a great job of playing a Bret Hart-style subtle heel. On the bright side, the two segments building up the main event for Fast Lane were very good tonight.

  • Daniel Bryan to announce his retirement on RAW tonight

    For wrestling fans, the saga of Daniel Bryan’s health in recent years with WWE has been, in a word, tragic. A month after he finally won the WWE title at Wrestlemania 30 to culminate an incredible fan-fueled and improbable run, he had to undergo neck surgery that saw him stripped of the title and on the shelf for nearly a year.

    After winning the Intercontinental title at Wrestlemania 31, he had to relinquish the belt weeks later due to concussion-related issues. Since that time, it’s been a constant drumbeat of “Will he come back? When will he come back? He’s coming back…right?” questions.

    With NXT on fire, AJ Styles now becoming a force in WWE, and Nakamura on the way, the thought of Bryan getting in that mix was oh-so-tantalizing for those of us wanting to see one of the very best in the ring ply his trade with his peers once again.

    But on Monday, the wrestling world got confirmation of the bad news we had all felt might be coming as Bryan Lloyd Danielson tweeted that on the February 8th edition of RAW, he will officially retire, leaving behind the life of an active wrestler that he’s lived for 17 years.

    Due to medical reasons, effective immediately, I am announcing my retirement. Tonight on Raw, I’ll have a chance to elaborate. #gratitude

    — Daniel Bryan (@WWEDanielBryan) February 8, 2016

    The 34-year-old Danielson accomplished nearly everything you could ever want to in the world of pro wrestling, competing in Japan, being part of the founding class of Ring of Honor, working with nearly every major independent talent out there, and eventually signing with WWE in August 2009. A memorable run on NXT with the Miz eventually led to bigger and better things, save a ridiculous firing due to him choking out ring announcer Justin Roberts with a tie in a June 2010 RAW-closing angle.

    He eventually returned and made an impact, regardless of how WWE tried to position him. He is the company’s 26th Triple Crown champion, and the company’s 15th Grand Slam champion. He did lose his World title to Sheamus in just 18 seconds at Wrestlemania 28 in a head scratcher, but he started the “Yes Movement”, had a memorable partnership and feud with Kane, had plenty of incredible matches, and found a place in the hearts of those who had never heard of him before he came to WWE while cementing himself with those that knew how special he was all along.

    Tonight on RAW, Danielson bids farewell to the dream of returning to the squared circle and we’ll all be along for the gut-wrenching explanation as to why.

    Say it ain’t so, Bryan. Say it ain’t so.

    Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez discuss more on this story on this Breaking News Wrestling Observer Live.  

  • Rumors swirling Daniel Bryan will appear on RAW

    Based largely on a photograph showing Daniel Bryan (Bryan Danielson, 34) boarding a flight from Phoenix to Seattle, the belief is that he will likely be making an appearance on Raw on Monday night.

    Raw takes place at the Key Arena in Seattle, WA, considered Bryan’s hometown even though he was actually born and raised in Aberdeen.

    Bryan has not appeared on WWE TV in months.  While he has been given a clean bill of health by several doctors, WWE’s main doctor, Joseph Maroon, has refused to clear him due to concussion-related issues.

    While it may be much ado about nothing, Bryan has cut off all of his hair and trimmed up his beard, which could be an indication he believes he won’t be returning to wrestling in WWE anytime soon.

  • Ratings drop to non-football record low for RAW

    Raw set another all-time record low for the era for a non-football season broadcast last night averaging 3.37 million viewers.

    The prior lowest audience outside of holidays and football season was 3.46 million set on June 29, 2015.

    In particular was a strong third hour drop to 3.09 million viewers.   Most of the third hours against the NFL topped last night’s final hour.  This RAW was headlined by Roman Reigns & Dean Ambrose vs. New Day.

    Going in, expectations weren’t strong with the Iowa Caucus coverage expected to hurt.  The show was down 18 percent from last week, which showed the combination of the day after the Rumble increase and the Dwayne Johnson appearance didn’t carry over a week later.

    For the three hours:

    8 p.m. 3.59 million viewers
    9 p.m. 3.46 million viewers
    10 p.m. 3.09 million viewers

  • WWE RAW live results: The road to WrestleMania gets in the Fast Lane

    The Big Takeaway: The focus was building up the main event of Fast Lane. Brock Lesnar appeared at the start of the show and stood over the babyfaces at the end. Match of the night was Kevin Owens vs. Dolph Ziggler. Team BAD is caput after Sasha Banks did an interview saying she wanted to go on her own. It led to Naomi and Tamina turning on Banks during her match with Becky Lynch. Show was easy to watch and didn’t drag. 

    Show Recap: 

    Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman were out first. Heyman talked about Bray Wyatt and his family invoked the 11th Commandment, which was Thou Shall not Provoke Brock Lesnar. Heyman said Stephanie McMahon did what’s least for business when she put Lesnar in the triple threat main event at Fast Lane against Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose. Heyman said Lesnar would F-5 Reigns and Ambrose and pin both at the same time, then go on to WrestleMania and conquer the Billion Dollar Trophy Husband. Now that’s a great term for HHH. Heyman didn’t sell two-thirds of the Shield short and talked about how Ambrose rode the short bus to school because he’s a nut job. 

    Ambrose came out and called Heyman “Porky.” Ambrose said he had never been in the lair of the beast before, but it’s cozy. Ambrose said he didn’t want to fight Lesnar, but he would to get the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. If he’s crazy, why doesn’t he want to fight him? Ambrose said he couldn’t wait to travel to Suplex City. Lesnar joked snickered through Ambrose’s promo. Ambrose cut his promo and left. These types of segments are just a big waste of Lesnar because it really meant nothing and anyone following Heyman on the mic might as well recite the alphabet. And Ambrose isn’t that bad a promo, he just didn’t have much to talk about here.  

    Kalisto defeated Rusev via countout (10:06)

    Kalisto and Rusev fought outside the ring. Rusev tried to throw Kalisto onto the announcer’s table. Kalisto landed on his feet on top of the table, then gave Rusev a huracanrana to the barricade. After the longest ten count in recorded wrestling history, Kalisto was announced as the winner. Kalisto is the latest person to get the Vince McMahon Cruiserweight push, where he’s demeaned in commentary, gets fluke wins, then runs when the heavyweight heel is feuding with goes after him postmatch, which in this case was Alberto Del Rio, who was on commentary. His rematch with Kalisto for the U.S. Championship is a go for Fast Lane. Lesson for anyone in NXT: when you hear you’re getting the Vince McMahon Cruiserweight push, run. 

    Ambrose and Reigns talked backstage while the WWE World Heavyweight Championship was framed and placed on a table. Stephanie McMahon walked up and said the championship was being held in her office. Somehow, I don’t doubt that. Stephanie tried to divide Reigns and Ambrose by comparing their partnerships to various factions that split over the years and how someone always wound up on the short end. She mentioned Marty Jannetty when Shawn Michaels turned on him, Randy Orton being dumped from Evolution (I’d say he landed on his feet) and even brought up Seth Rollins turning on Ambrose and Reigns. She said when presented with the opportunity, absolute power corrupts absolutely. Reigns and Ambrose realized what she was trying to do and said they were brothers. Stephanie said they would face the New Day later tonight to see how unified they truly are. Good promo by Stephanie and she has been a consistent heel throughout the first weeks of 2016. 

    They had a update on Nikki Bella neck surgery, showing an Instragram photo of her in the hospital. This led to Renee Young interviewing Brie Bella, who said he sister was looking forward to returning at some point this year. Charlotte and Ric Flair walked in. Charlotte told Brie to extend her sympathies to Nikki. Then Charlotte heeled on her saying she was on her way to becoming the new longest reigning Divas champion of all time, and she was the one who likely put Nikki in the hospital. 

    The Usos defeated Social Outcasts (5:11) 

    Lillian Garcia announced the Usos were a “Grammy award winning tag team.” They actually replayed that mistake and the announcers made fun of it. Then Michael Cole said Curtis Axel and Heath Slater would face the Usos. Slater never got in the ring and Adam Rose wrestled instead. That one said anything about that. Jey Uso pinned Rose after a double superkick and splash. Slater announced that Bo Dallas, now known as Bo Rida, wasn’t there this week because he was in a studio mixing his first album. 

    MizTv was with A.J. Styles. The Miz brought up Styles back story, saying Styles was the smallest of four boys and kept bringing up how people told him throughout his life that he was too small. I smell VKM cruiserweight push. Miz brought up the tired Michael Hayes line about the size of the fight in the dog. He recited Styles’ life story without bringing up TNA. Through all the years, Styles wondered what it would be like if he entered the big ship of the WWE. Styles stayed quiet throughout all this. Miz mentioned Styles survived 28:00 in the Royal Rumble and defeated Chris Jericho in his Raw debut. He asked Styles where would he go from here?

    Before Styles could answer, Miz said Styles reminded him of his former protege, Daniel Bryan. (Code word for cruiserweight push). Miz said some called him the father of the Yes Movement. Crowd chanted “no.” Miz said he wanted to mentor Styles and navigate his career. Wasn’t Miz doing that for Neville? Miz got mad at the fans and said this was the WWE,  and the “E” was just as big as the “W.” He said he main evented WrestleMania and who the hell is A.J. Styles? Miz said Styles may have been a big fish in a small pond, but this is an ocean full of sharks. He said Styles will drown if he listens to the fans. Miz called Styles a “rookie redneck” and said there was no chance in hell he could make it in the WWE. Styles belted Miz and threw him into a chair until Miz ran off. Miz really did a great job. He should be a manager at this point, but it’s another instance of the company not putting square pegs into square holes. 

    Brie Bella defeated Charlotte (C) in a nontitle match (4:35)

    Brie won using the classic Flair-Ricky Steamboat finish where she turned Charlotte’s Figure Eight attempt into a small package. Flair jumped up on the apron trying to distract Brie, who had a sleeperhold on Charlotte, who broke it with a chinbreaker. Looks like they’re setting up a Divas title match between the two at Fast Lane. 

    The company sent out its best wishes to Bret Hart in his fight against prostate cancer. Various personalities including HHH, Nattie and Reigns tweeted their best thoughts. 

    The Big Show defeated Erick Rowan (1:18) 

    The Big Show won with a chokeslam. Postmatch, Erick Rowan, Braun Strowman and Luke Harper jumped Show, who turned face again on Smackdown. It led to Show being slammed outside the ring onto ring steps. Wyatt was absent during all of this. Looks like Show will face Strowman, or some variation of the Wyatt Family at Fast Lane. The beatdown got a surprising amount of heat. 

    Titus O’Neal defeated Tyler Breeze (2:38) 

    The weekly squash match with Titus O’Neal, ending with a pin following Clash of the Titus. It’s booking straight from the 80s trying to get O’Neal over, and that’s not a criticism because it’s smart. Speaking of the 80s, Breeze was announced as having his “winter residence in Monaco,” like he was Ted DiBiase. That jobber pay must be pretty good nowadays. At least Breeze got an entrance and an inset promo. 

    Heyman and Lesnar were backstage when HHH walked up. HHH ordered Heyman to leave, and wondered if Lesnar was getting soft because Ambrose got in his face earlier and lived to tell about it. Lesnar said HHH would find out at WrestleMania. 

    Dolph Ziggler defeated Kevin Owens (11:28) 

    Best match on the show so far, and likely the match of the night. Kevin Owens hit two cannonballs, including one after he crotched Dolph Ziggler. He went for the Pop Up Power Bomb, but Zigger got over Owens and hit the ZIg Zag for the pin. Ziggler is a total Ricky Morton-style selling babyface now. Earlier in the match, Ziggler hit a Famouser on the floor. Owens tossed JBL’s cowboy hat to the floor afterwards. 

    Nice segment for Black History Month paying tribute to Mark Henry, which included various highlights from his weightlifting career as a youth. His victory over Orton to win the World Heavyweight Championship was also shown, along with his superplex on Big Show that destroyed a ring. The Rock, Kofi Kingston and Big Show all did interviews putting him over. They all but said Henry would be in the WWE Hall of Fame someday. 

    Sasha Banks came out and said she was on her own now, and nothing was going to stop her fro becoming Divas Champion. She didn’t say so, but basically implied Team BAD was dead. Naomi and Tamina came out and said they could be competitors and still be sisters. Banks asked Naomi if they were still going to have her back. They did the “Unity” handshake as Becky Lynch came out. 

    Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks went to a no contest (3:38) 

    Naomi and Tamina predictably turned on Banks. At first, Naomi and Tamina went after Lynch, but Banks stopped them saying she wanted to do it herself. Banks and Naomi traded words, then shoves, and then came the turn. It led to Banks and Lynch teaming up to send Naomi and Tamina away. Banks and Lynch didn’t have time to get anything going to even remotely resemble some of their great NXT matches. 

    Jericho was interviewed by Young about his loss to Styles. Another good promo. Two on this show. Can’t remember the last time Raw had two good promos. Jericho compared Styles to the Eagles’ song “New Kid in Town,” saying Styles has lived up to the hype. He compared Styles to a pitbull who struck again tonight against the Miz. Styles and Miz will wrestle on Smackdown on Thursday, and Jericho said he’ll be watching that with great interest. 

    R-Truth wondered into a bathroom, where Goldust was waiting on him inside a stall. Goldust, who stepped in the toilet, dropped the Tourette’s gimmick. He again asked Truth to be his tag team partner for a team called “The Golden Truth.” Truth said he didn’t want to tag with Goldust because he was too weird and had do-do on his little toe. Goldust reminded Truth about his previous tag team partner. I was hoping he was going to say Pacman Jones, but no such luck. Instead, Goldust said Little Jimmy, who was imaginary. He still had more in-ring ability than Jones. Truth stormed out. Goldust said he didn’t mean imaginary, he meant interplanatary, but admitted that was really his weirder brother. 

    The New Day came out and mentioned “Bootie-Gate,” based on comments Rock made last week. Kingston mentioned they love children and pointed out a child at ringside. They actually gave a lengthy closeup to a child wearing a “Bullet Club” t-shirt. 

    Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns defeated Kofi Kingston and Big E. (17:19) 

    Finish was Reigns giving Kingston a Superman’s punch while Ambrose pinned Big E. following Dirty Deeds. Moments earlier, Big E. gave Reigns a belly-to-belly suplex on the table, which tookforever to set up. Pretty good much with several hot tags by the babyfaces. Xavier Woods interfered several times. Heyman was on commentary. 

    Postmatch, Lesnar came out. As Reigns and Ambrose waited, Kingston and Woods jumped them. Ambrose fended off Woods, but Lesnar gave Ambrose an F-5. While this was going on, Reigns couldn’t get in the ring because Kingston gave him a DDT on the floor. 

    SUMMARY: A fine show. Good matches. Some good promos and smart booking of the main event at Fast Lane. Trying to get Reigns over with the shadow of Lesnar looming over him in the main event will be challenging. The fans clearly see Lesnar as the top face. He’s also the only larger-than-life figure the company still has remaining that isn’t from the 90s. Clearly Reigns will have to go over at Fast Lane. The question is will the WrestleMania fans’ resentment of HHH be strong enough for them to cheer Reigns? 

  • Inside the RAW Numbers: January 25, 2016

    The January 25th post-Royal Rumble edition of Monday Night RAW did a 2.93 rating and averaged 4,098,000 viewers for the 3-hour broadcast. Other than the June 15th, 2015 RAW, which did a virtually identical 4.1 million viewers, this was the highest number for RAW since the post-Mania show’s 5.35 million, and the rating was the highest since that March 30th show did a 3.67.

    However, both numbers were significantly down from last year’s post Rumble RAW. That show had a 3.27 rating and averaged 4,410,000 viewers. For the month of January, the average viewership total was 3,624,000 with a 2.56 rating. Those numbers were down 10.51% and 13.31% respectively from the January 2015 averages. This was the 14th straight month that both numbers dropped from the previous year’s total.

    What should that mean for this week?

    The February 2, 2015 edition of RAW averaged 4.28 million viewers and a 3.01 rating. Given the pattern of how recent RAWs have been performing as compared to the same week the previous year, tonight’s show should do a rating somewhere between 2.5 and 2.7 with a viewership total between 3.7 million and 3.9 million.

  • RAW off-air notes, Superstars results

    Submitted by Chris H

    WWE Superstars:

    • Stardust def. Darren Young with the Crossroads.
    • Titus O’Neil def. Tyler Breeze with the Clash of the Titus.

    RAW Notes:

    • HHH got a good reaction for his entrance but he was being booed by the end of his promo.
    • Crowd was very into AJ Styles, chanting his name many times and pulling for him over Jericho.  It will be interesting to see how long they tease the Styles Clash. That was probably match of the night.
    • The guys dressed up as Savage, Hogan, Rock, and Undertaker were sitting in the front row facing the hard camera.  The Savage guy started to stand and do the Macho Man motion during the Kane vs. Wyatt match.  He was asked to cut it out by security.  Then he did it again and security swarmed on them.  During the commercial break, they were playing some videos on the Tron with the lights out and it appeared that they were being ejected.  A few minutes later, they were being escorted to the seats you saw them in during the Rock segment.  The fans chanted for them a few more times but they didn’t draw attention to themselves again.
    • The Miz vs. Kalisto match just destroyed the crowd.  Miz’s long period on offense had people begging for the end.  They somewhat recovered for the main event but not fully.
    • They didn’t make a big deal about the Fast Lane announcement in the building after the opening promo.  Many forgot that it was even coming, as people started streaming for the exits once Reigns and Ambrose won, and especially when Rusev went through the table.
    • After the show ended, and Ambrose and Reigns left, Rusev recovered and took another monitor to the back, to add to his collection from last night.