March 31, 2015
Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman opened Raw Monday night at the SAP Center in San Jose by demanding a rematch take place between Lesnar, the former WWE World Heavyweight Champion, and the newly crowned champion, Seth Rollins. Stephanie McMahon obliged the request, and it looked like we were going to have a rematch at the top of the second hour. Yeah, there’s no way that ever happens, so I was assuming we were going to get some kind of angle that prevented the two from coming together for an actual championship match.
And boy did we.
Rollins said he was feeling jet lagged and that his foot hurt from delivering a bunch of curb stomps to Lesnar and Roman Reigns at WrestleMania. That would result in Lesnar having to wait for his rematch, something that made Lesnar go absolutely insane. As Rollins got away, Lesnar turned his sights to anyone near him. He got rid of J & J Security and flipped the announcer’s table onto the announcers themselves.
As Michael Cole tried to escape, Lesnar greeted him with an F5. Lesnar then turned his attention to a cameraman and gave him an F5 before Stephanie appeared and said he was suspended indefinitely due to his actions. Lesnar then gave the cameraman another F5 before leaving. We’ll be seeing Lesnar down the road, but it looks like he’s been written off TV for a while.
And let me just say how marvelous I think Paul Heyman is. I’m sure I’m not the first one and I’m sure I won’t be the last one. The way he tried to reason with his client as he was going insane was pure brilliance. His reactions to what Lesnar was doing made you really believe he felt for the well-being of the WWE announcers and cameraman as Lesnar destroyed them, despite his slimy and arrogant character.
Heyman made you really think for a second, “Is Lesnar really going crazy, or is this just pure storyline?” Of course, the answer will always be pure storyline, but that’s the beauty of Lesnar. Sometimes you think what you’re seeing play out on TV maybe wasn’t supposed to happen exactly like that. I’ll certainly miss Lesnar until he returns, which figures to be sometime this summer.
Byron Saxton replaced Michael Cole and became the lead announcer for the rest of the program. Jerry Lawler would join him later. In storyline, Michael Cole was rushed to the hospital with what the company called a possible “cervical fracture” by the hands of Lesnar.
#TheWave.at @SAPCenter #RawAfterMania pic.twitter.com/ULsItGVRHS
— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) March 31, 2015
Didn’t think I meant it when I said the Raw after WrestleMania is one of the biggest of the year? Notwithstanding the absolute insanity of Lesnar on Monday night, but during the main event, the crowd began doing the wave as the WWE cameras actually followed it around for a little while. I don’t remember anything like that ever happening at a WWE event, but it doesn’t surprise me something like that happened on this night.
SURPRISE!! #STF @JohnCena @TheDeanAmbrose #RAW pic.twitter.com/s3hlSbg1QM
— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) March 31, 2015
New WWE United States Champion, John Cena, issued an open challenge to anyone on the roster for a United States Championship match. Who else to take him up on his offer other than the Lunatic Fringe, Dean Ambrose? Cena and Ambrose had a great match with Cena getting the win, but something tells me we haven’t seen the last of Ambrose in the title picture, whether it be the United States championship or the Intercontinental Championship.
Sheamus returned with a new look (one that I’m not a huge fan of) and looked like he was saving his friends Daniel Bryan and Dolph Ziggler from an attacking Bad News Barrett. However, he turned on Bryan and Ziggler and simply stated, “I’m back,” on the mic before leaving. The crowd inundated him with “You look stupid!” chants in one of the more humorous segments of the show. I have to say I agree with them. Sheamus returns to the ring in a tag match with Bad News Barrett against Bryan and Ziggler on SmackDown Thursday night.
The #RedArrow seals @WWENeville's first victory on @WWE #RAW over @RealCurtisAxel! #TheManGravityForgot http://t.co/iZaiVwwKDA
— WWE (@WWE) March 31, 2015
Former NXT Champion, Adrian Neville, made his main roster debut Monday night. He was pretty impressive and his corkscrew splash, known as The Red Arrow, got a lot of people talking.
Sting also gave an interview after Raw went off the air to talk about what his future holds. He basically said he was willing to do whatever WWE throws his way, and it absolutely sounded like he isn’t ready to hang up the boots. Bo Dallas made an appearance and mentioned how Sting lost his entire legacy that he built over the decades in one night at WrestleMania. Sting ended the night with a Scorpion Death Drop to Dallas.
Intercontinental Championship
Daniel Bryan (c) d. Dolph Ziggler by pinfall via a running knee to the face.
8-Man Tag Team Match
Kofi Kingston and Big E [The New Day] & Kalisto and Sin Cara [Lucha Dragons] d. Cesaro/Tyson Kidd/Konnor and Viktor [The Ascension] by pinfall via Kalisto hitting the Salida Del Sol on Viktor.
Damien Mizdow d. Stardust by pinfall via the Skull Crushing Finale. The Miz attacked Mizdow after the match.
Neville d. Curtis Axel by pinfall via The Red Arrow. This was Neville’s main roster debut.
United States Championship
John Cena (c) d. Dean Ambrose by pinfall via The Attitude Adjustment.
A.J. Lee/Paige/Naomi d. The Bella Twins/Natalya by pinfall via Naomi’s Rear View on Nikki Bella. Nikki accidentally hit Brie, allowing Naomi to get the win.
Rusev d. Goldust by submission via The Accolade.
Randy Orton/Ryback/Roman Reigns d. Seth Rollins (c)/Big Show/Kane by pinfall via a Reigns spear on Kane.
