WWE Power Rankings, RAW 4/28/2014

Coming at you from St. Louis, and it is time for the “go home” show prior to Extreme Rules.  Last week was and odd show.  Fred and I both felt that way, which you can hear on the BEARcast - WrestleCast at www.worldofbear.com or subscribe on iTunes.  For what seemed like three weeks in a row, RAW had a somber tone with both The Ultimate Warrior and Daniel Bryan’s father passing away.  The shows have been good.  The performers have all done well.  There has just been a grey cloud hanging over the WWE since WM30 when The Undertaker lost.  But as we said in the podcast, we watch wrestling for the fun and enjoyment so let’s break out of this funk.  

Extreme Rules is setting up to be a great PPV.  I challenge that it’s a better all-around card than WM30’s was!  I seem to be in the minority, or on an island, because on a recent poll I put up at www.ringsidenews.com everyone else says WM30 had a better lineup.  I support the first amendment and free speech.  Everyone has the rite to their opinion.  Just know that everyone is wrong and I’m correct when I say Extreme Rules has a better lineup going into the PPV.  It’s fairly simple and self explanatory.  

I’m excited for Extreme Rules.  I’m bored of talking about deaths in the WWE family.  I’m tired of hearing about D. Sterling, the worst owner in all of sports (finally, people outside of Los Angeles are seeing him for who he truly is).  I just want to have fun!  I want to see Wolverine fight Ziggler, or anyone, in the ring.  I want to see Bray Wyatt and Cena continue their verbal sparing.  I want to see who’s going to fight Big E (even though I’d bet everything that Barrett is winning the IC tourney).  Do I need to say anything more than Evolution vs The Shield?  Even the Divas matches have been good.  That’s right, the Divas matches.  

So with that, let’s get to the rankings as of this week’s RAW on 4/28/2014…

1. Bray and The Wyatt Family (1) – Do I even need to make a case for The Wyatts being number 1?  Who’s going to step up and say that the WWE doesn’t have this gimmick down?  Sometimes you can feel and see when the creative team, the wrestler and the fans are all on the same page and it’s magical.  In this case, a little scary and a bit creepy but in a fun way.  We always joke that Cena’s split crowd is between older males vs women and children.  Bray just took away the kids.  For the love of all that’s holy, not the innocent children!  This was a great setup for the PPV on Sunday.
   
2. John Cena (7) – I can’t remember the last time Cena opened a RAW but I can tell you it wasn’t as good as this week’s open.  Is Cena upset at all the B and C-level wrestlers that have been getting WWE movie parts?  Because on RAW he basically put together his audition tape.  I don't know if he’ll get a part in the next Steve McQueen movie but god help him, he’s trying.  I don’t know if there’s a spot in 12 Years A Slave: part 2 The Revenge (Oh wait, that was done already in Django Unchained.  Side Note, friend of the Blog and BEARcast, Ethan, made a good point the other day; “Flip those two movies and release 12 Years before Django and both win more awards.”  Talk amongst yourselves.) but who am I to knock a guy who spits out lines from The Dark Knight.  Cena did a great job of putting over some of the other Superstars (as he always does).  Again, my only concern is after what should be the resolution to this feud at Extreme Rules, Cena is having too much fun and will force this feud to continue.  While Cena might want to go another round with Bray, I think it will become tiresome to the fans and hurt Bray’s brand if he rides with Cena too long.  Lastly, didn’t it seem like Cena was channelling The Rock in that second shoot backstage? 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
3. Roman Reigns w/ The Shield (6) – Another day and another great shoot by The Shield.  There were rumors that Flair was going to make a return and The Shield all but called him out in their backstage shoot.  If I wasn’t already tipped off, I would have been greatly surprised that The Shield got the endorsement from Flair.  From the sound of the crowd, I don’t think it went over quite as well as the WWE would have wished for.  Due to Flair’s, let’s just call it slooow, delivery the show ran extra long which caused the match between Reigns and RKO to feel rushed.  I would have loved to see a full match between these two.  Fear not, I get the feeling we’ll be seeing RKO vs Reigns many times over in the next few years.  
   
4. Randy Orton w/ Evolution (5) – Assuming RKO got the in-ring slot because he’s from St. Louis, it’s always a bit weird to see the fan reaction to a heel when he’s back in his hometown.  The twist of Flair giving The Shield his endorsement didn’t seem to play well.  Maybe it was a crowd thing or maybe it was the fact that Flair came, slurred and left.  The flow to the ending was just off.  Too bad but luckily I don’t think anyone is going to care.  Evolution vs Shield is neck-and-neck with Cena vs Bray as the most anticipated matches at Extreme Rules.  Even with RKO vs Reigns being truncated, we still got some great wresting and hopefully a preview for Sunday.  Speaking of good wrestling, it must be said that HHH knows how to give a spine-buster, unlike a certain Ryback who looked like he was tossing around a giant tuna instead of wrestling a man.  Someone had to say it.  Let’s be honest, other than Batista, every member of this 6-man tag match can go.  That’s being too harsh on Batista because he’s capable of doing well in the right setting, which this will be, so I’m expecting a great match on Sunday.
   
5. Cesaro w/ advocate Heyman (10) – “Have you ever danced with the devil in the pale moonlight?”  Heyman just about stole the show (again).  He’s so good on the mic it’s unfair to all the other performers, except maybe Stephanie McMahon.  I was close to giving Heyman his own slot but then Cesaro complimented Heyman’s shoot with yet another great in-ring performance.  Cesaro's counter of Swagger which led into the double side-suplex was an amazing exhibition of strength.  Why can’t this be the official end to the Cesaro / Swagger feud?  Not that it’s awful but both wrestlers are on different trajectories and they can’t get going while still being tied to each other.  Then in the end, I don’t get the Cesaro / Swagger / RVD thread?  Who is fighting who?  Is RVD’s feud with Heyman going to manifest in to a RVD / Cesaro feud, which I’m all for.  Then Swagger keeps injecting himself back into Cesaro’s life.  Swagger and Zeb are like the first stripper you get a lap dance from on a night out to a gentleman’s club.  They keep hanging around until you eventually leave.  Tip to all you kids out there, NEVER get a lap dance from the first stripper that comes up to you.  There’s a reason that they’re not busy with someone else, it’s because there are better looking girls.  Just be patient.  Or if you’re lucky enough to have a lot of money, use the first stripper to bring over other girls.  You can only do this if you’re going to drop some real money, so stick to the tip of don’t fall for the first stripper to offer you a lap dance.  Patience is the key to life.    
   
6. Dolph Ziggler (18) – There is no excuse for this man to not have a top slot in the WWE.  I usually don’t subscribe to such buffoonery but this was great.  So great that all you can say is, “Super Rad!”
   
7. Damien Sandow (18) – How do you not love this guy?  As a comic book nerd, I love to see that Sandow went with a classic Magneto look.  The WWE has hit a stride with their use of Hollywood talent.  One segment.  Not too much.  For the second time in a row, their Hollywood guest could easily be on the WWE roster.  This time it was Wolverine and last time it was Big Dick Richie, both of whom have the build of some of their top tier wrestlers.  Just enjoy the pics.  
   
8. The Usos (12) – If the Usos lose to Ryb-Axel, I’ll have to start believing in god again because clearly we’re in hell.  Luckily the Usos retained the titles but I fear it might not be for long.  It was clear from the start, the Usos wanted to put on a show and let the audience see the difference between good wrestling and the garbage that Ryb-Axel produces.  The Usos were synchronized in almost every move they pulled in the first few minutes of the match.  It got a little sloppy when it was time for Ryb-Axel to take the lead in the match but when one-of-the-Usos (I swear, one day I’ll learn the difference) frog-splashed Axel’s Perfect-Plex, I had to jump up for joy.  Hell of a match, from the Usos.
9. #BadNewsBarrett (8) – B- on the shoot.  I supposed it doesn’t hurt that Barrett looks like a huge cock rising from the middle of the arena when he’s supposed to be a huge cock being raised above on his platform ejaculating hot fire at everyone.  Amazingly, he’s pulling this off.  Spraying the crowd with venom like a giant sized water weasel.  It only works because he’s backing it up in the ring.  By hook or by crook he was going to win the match with RVD and go on to face Big E at Extreme Rules.  With so many quality matches coming out from the IC tourney, it was a bit of a letdown  that this match ended in such a cheap manner.  Regardless, I’m ready for the Big E vs Barrett match, “Let’s get it on!”
   
10. Rob Van Dam (11) – Proof that stoners aren’t just stupid druggies, even Mr. 420 knows not to side with Zeb.  Then again, maybe this is what this RVD vs Heyman kerfuffle is all about?  As weird as it would sound, maybe the WWE is trying to bring back the manager position and have a Zeb stable vs Heyman stable?  None of this sounds appealing to me but RVD looks to be getting back into shape and he needs something to do.  This has the classic look, wait until we have time to tell the story and then judge us.  So, I will.
11. Stephanie McMahon (3) – Last week, Stephanie got MVP honors for the solo performance she put on.  She allowed Bryan to not have to say anything, pushed the storyline for Bryan vs Kane at Extreme Rules and was able to walk the line between pretending-to-give-a-shit and still being the Queen Bee Heel.  It would have been near impossible to pull off the same level of performance from last week but she tried her hardest.  This week didn’t work for me quite the same.  I think Stephanie sold it too well.  Maybe it was because Bryan actually did some talking this week and, shhhhhh - he’s not that good on the mic.  I know, blasphemy.  I tell the truth.  Speaking of which, my only problem with Stephanie is her wardrobe.  I know I’m going all Joan Rivers E! Fashion Review but she’s the head of a company that’s a billion dollars.  She can’t wear such horrible outfits.  The most annoying part is that half the time she looks great and the other half it’s like she pulling clothes out of local Goodwill bins.  There’s no excuse that she doesn’t have a major designer working solely for her each week.  You can’t tell me that any designer or clothing manufacturer wouldn’t want to have their clothes seen on TV each week.  The dress this week was horrible.  The flesh tone cutouts made it look like we’re getting some under-boob and cleavage but it wasn’t.  You can’t fool me.  I don’t know why this bothers me so much but it does.  All the men wear great suits.  Evolution is rocking the high end suit look so why can’t the owner be at the same level? 
12. Kane (4) – In comedy there’s The Rule of 3’s.  I’ve also heard of, Third times a charm.   I don’t know if there’s a Rule of Three when it comes to The Devil’s Favorite Demon (I thought it was son?) and his mask but if it works for charms and comedy, I guess it will work for Kane too.  There’s no earthly reason for this because we’ve already seen Kane back in full masked getup.  I could have gone without the theatrics of Kane coming out of the ring and trying to drag B-Bella down (where exactly where they going to go?) but what I picked up was there was a lot of classic Kane going on.  By that I mean, some classic Undertaker mimicking.  If this is Kane’s last run, I applaud going out old with the best version.  If Kane’s sticking around…well, I guess I just like this old school version better than their use of the recent Korporate Kane.  
    
13. Daniel Bryan & wife B-Bella (2) – The jovial, underdog, trying to chase the championship Bryan is better than the defending the honor of his wife and stemming the tide of The Authority Bryan.  While I’m no fan of the current storyline between Kane and Bryan, I do anticipate them having a good match at Extreme Rules.  The other disappointing part of their segment was that B-Bella has proven to be the better wrestler of the Bella Twins.  Her match with Paige was cut short due to all the Kane nonsense.  Oh well.  More importantly, I guess it’s OK to for a woman to call another woman a bitch on a PG show?  I’ll never understand the Standards and Practices guidelines.
    
    
    
    
14. Cody Rhodes w/ Goldust (13) – It seems Cody has some issues with Goldust.  I gotta say, I’m disappointed with the execution of this storyline.  For years, I’ve said that I will watch Cody vs Goldust with only a days notice.  No setup needed.  Brother vs Brother and I’m there.  But with how they’re handling this Rhodes brothers breakup, I’d much rather the WWE just have a one day prior notification to the fans.  There isn’t a real explanation to what’s going on with Goldust and why Cody is so upset?  If they were going to go with the “you screwed me over” bit, I’d understand.  If they tried the “Where were you when I needed you?” I’d understand.  Maybe I’m stupid or not paying enough attention but I don’t see the rift?  AND WHY NOW????  You had a chance to do this at WM30, which would have been awesome.  Again, why now?  Especially with the sudden lack of depth in the tag division.  Maybe this is a little misdirection or just planting the seeds for a time further down the road.  We all thought The Shield was breaking up and look at where they’re at now?
    
15. Alberto Del Rio (N/A) – ADR came out on fire.  Yet another quality wrestling talent that is going unused.  Here’s my issue, and maybe I’ll have to delve into this more another day, but it seems like the WWE has focused all its energy on just the top 3 to 5 feuds / story lines.  The bottom of the card and roster seems to be thrown together that night with no long term plans.  We know there’s new talent coming up through NXT, Bo Dallas and Adam Rose in particular, who will get screen time.  What’s going to become of Kofi, Ziggler, ADR, Sandow, RVD, Swagger, Miz, both Rhodes (assuming they break up) and even Cesaro if they’re not mixed in with championship feuds or with Cena / Bray (who can be on their own island and not affect their popularity)?  What’s happening with these really talented wrestlers?  The IC tourney was great for creating something for these mid-carders to be involved in.  From that, we’ve only seen one, possibly two, feuds stem from it.  All’s I’m saying is there is a huge pool of talent that isn’t being address.  Oh, but we get to see 3MB / Hornswoggle / Los Matadores / El Torito get major TV time?!  This is where I’d like the WWE to allow one, two or a handful of writers and wrestlers to join up and say, “create something.”  Give them 15 to 30 minutes per show and see what they can come up with.  If time is so precious on RAW, lend more time on Smackdown.  Wrestlers like ADR are being wasted.
16. Alexander Rusev w/ Lana (16) – Lana, Lana, Lana.  My girlfriend happen to be watching the same time Lana came out and her comment was, “Those shoes she wears look so uncomfortable.”  I replied, “Yes dear, that’s exactly what I was thinking.  You stole the words right out of my mouth, my love.”  Anything to shut her up and let me gaze at my Russian dominatrix.  If she turned to the camera and said, “Bear, crush!” half this block I live on would be dead within minutes.  This is making it really hard for me to condemn Putin’s actions in the Ukraine.  I’m so confused.  I hate it when my big head and little, excuse me, my not-as-big head disagree.  I’m just a mortal man.  Social injustice or sexual desires?  Decisions, decisions… You know it’s going to kill me when I see some YouTube video of Lana in her regular American accent and it turns out she's just some girl from Minnesota.
    
17. Sheamus (9) – It’s been no secret that I haven't been the biggest Sheamus fan since his return but last week he put on a great match in a loss to Barrett in the IC tourney.  This week, Sheamus didn’t do a whole lot but it was effective and moved forward, in what I’m guessing is now, the plot along for a feud between Sheamus and Titus.  I’m much more into this feud than the Sheamus / Christian feud.  The world works in mysterious ways, and during a week were all we’ve talked about is race relations, we get a battle which could be titled, “Darkness vs The Irish Rose.”
18. Titus O’Neil (N/A) – Always seems to be just a little too confident.  We all have our faults.  Titus really took it to Sheamus at the start of the match, only to be felled by a massive boot to the face.  It would have been nice to see a true ending to the Primetime Players.  I feel sorry for Darren Young because he was last seen on the back of a milk carton.  I understand what the WWE is doing.  Needing to replace Christian, Titus works well because he’s on the same rung of the WWE ladder but on almost the exact opposite side of the face / heel spectrum as Sheamus.  It really does make a lot of sense and it’s new, which I’m all for.  Good booking by the WWE.
19. Ryback and Curtis Axel (HM) – Ryb-Axel.  They had a song and now they have a logo.  Fred “The Oracle” is right, they really are going to win the tag belts, aren’t they?  One announcer referred to Ryback’s nickname as…wait for it…”The Big Guy”?  Dear God, tell me who I must smite for you to send Ryb-Axel from whence they came and they shall be smoten.  I’m 99% positive the writers are not fans of, or even aware of, 90’s Japanese Manga but more likely products of afternoon cartoons and even then I think I’m giving them too much credit.  “Big Guy” is what you call anyone that’s above average (and sometimes people below average, it’s one of the dumbest terms).  As I watch the match, Ryback has become a cartoon.  He’s even adopted the gimmick of unleashing himself for the constraints of his onesie to accomplish his finisher.  They suck!  Congratulations to our next WWE tag champions… 
    
20. Los Matadores w/ El Torito vs 3MB w/ Hornswoggle (20) – You know what’s worse than El Torito vs Hornswoggle?  Los Matadores vs 3MB without the weeLC participants.  It’s a bad sign when Heath Slater and 3MB win the match.  God willing this is the slippery slope to the end of Los Matadores but as long as the WWE is willing to put on midget wrestling, and by all accounts they took Hornswoggle out of the pot-o-gold getup (which is weird since he’s going to be promoting the new Leprechaun movie shortly, no pun intended) and he and El Torito are on the precipise of a major feud.  You know how I was complaining about mid-carders not being the focus of the WWE creative staff?  Well, I guess they’re too busy with this bullshit (maybe a LITTLE pun intended).  Either way, it is garbage.  
    

Honorable Mentions

Ric Flair – WHHOOOOOOOOO.  Only two things on earth make that sound.  An excited drunk or Ric Flair.  Sometimes, they’re one and the same.  WHHOOOOOOOOOOOO!!

Hugh Jackman – He’s got the cheap pops down.  Jean Valjean seems to have fun when appearing on RAW.  Another job well done by the WWE and the Hollywood star(s) that come on.  The last two Hollywood-ites, Wolverine and Big Dick Richie, both looked like they had fun and could easily be on the WWE roster if they wanted to change careers.  

Paige – This would have been the third week in a row that we got a good Divas match.  I guess that’s another rule of three; There shall not be three consecutive weeks of good Divas matches.  Tamina Snuka vs Paige at Extreme Rules is either going to be very good or a very bad.  I almost feel that I’ve been hyping the Divas too much lately and we’re in store for a dud.  I hope I’m wrong.

Big E – For sure, I thought he’d have more to do than his weekly backstage creeping.  There’s kinda a lot of pressure on Big E to perform well at Extreme Rules, no?  While all his challengers have put on good matches the past three weeks, Big E has done nothing.  It would be anti-climatic if he simply dropped the IC strap and / or didn’t have a good match at the PPV.

Kofi Kingston – The brother looks good in a suit.  He speaks so well.  I hate to keep bringing it up but GIVE ME MY CORPORATE NATION!  

Xavier Woods w/ R-Truth – These two could actually be a good tag team if the WWE put them together as such, like they did with Ryb-Axel.  Who’d have thought R-Truth would be the reasonable one?  That’s like Metta World Peace being the players rep for the Knicks.

Swagger w/ Zeb – There’s only one question; Are they going to get another wrestler to join the Real Americans?  They need to.  Otherwise it’s going to look like Cliven Bundy and son.

Side Note(s)

I had a whole dissertation written about racism and the difference between insensitive gimmicks and actually systemic racism in the light of what’s happen recently with the Clippers and D. Sterling but all of you are probably just as board with this crap as I am.  The WWE can be insensitive but I’ve never felt that they don’t want every dollar they can get and ever seat to be filled, whether the audience is black, white, brown, red, yellow or orange.  The WWE travels around the globe to entertain.  Currently, there’s a lack of asian wrestlers in the WWE but maybe that could be explained by the popularity of wrestling in Japan, which would cause many of their wrestlers to stay in the various promotions on that side of the Pacific Ocean?  Regardless, I’m done talking about race for the day.  In the immortal words of Rodney King, “Can’t we all just get along?”

Until next time…

Email = worldofbearbc@gmail.com

Tweet at @wkbear