Sunday, April 11th, 2021
Raymond James Stadium
Tampa, Florida
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
Ashland Craft is here to sing "America The Beautiful" tonight. No rain delay tonight. Tonight Hulk Hogan and Titus O'Neil are dressed up like pirates. It's as dumb as you would expect. On the plus side, the crowd is booing Hogan.
Randy Orton vs. The Fiend
You couldn't come up with a much worse opener for my personal taste than this match. Orton's entrance here is certainly something. After about five minutes of slowly walking, he does his pose and gets some fireworks and then they show the hype video. Wyatt gets a magical entrance where he changes costumes and then drones spell out "Let Me In". Out comes Alexa Bliss and she walks up to a giant box that is next to the ring that the announcers pretend they didn't see until Alexa got there. The Jack in the Box opens and out comes the Fiend. Wyatt jumps off the box and hits a clothesline and the match has started. They are wrestling under the Arby's lamp again. Orton suplexes Wyatt on the announce table, but he no sells it and puts on the Mandible Claw. On the way back in the ring, Orton hits his draping DDT and of course Wyatt no sells that too. Orton throws Wyatt into the "box-like structure". It's a box, Michael Cole. Orton then hits the DDT again. Wyatt is slower to no sell it this time, but still does and hits a crossbody. Orton hits another DDT and this time Wyatt is mildly stunned. Orton goes for the RKO, but Wyatt puts on the Mandible Claw again. He goes for Sister Abigail, but then flames come from out of the ring posts and Alexa is sitting on the box with black stuff pouring on her face. This distracts Wyatt and Orton hits the RKO for the victory. The lights go out and both are gone when they come back on. The crowd boos. My thoughts exactly. Absolutely terrible.
Match Rating: 0 Stars
Bayley and Eric Bischoff are with Hulk and Titus. This was basically a plug for Bischoff's podcast.
WWE Women's Tag Team Championship Match
Natalya & Tamina vs. Shayna Baszler & Nia Jax
Baszler and Natalya start things off and please don't ever make a tag. So of course, Baszler tags in Nia and Cole calls her the most dominant woman in WWE history. Now we get Tamina and the crowd even chants for Tamina. What alternate timeline are we living in? She tags in Natalya and they hit a double back body drop and then a double suplex on Shayna onto Nia. Natalya hits a slingshot that sets up a superkick by Tamina, which will likely be the best spot in the match. Natalya looks as if she got absolutely drilled in the jaw by Baszler. The champs cut the ring in half and work the leg of Natalya. Tamina gets a hot tag and eventually hits a Samoan drop on Baszler for a 2 count. Tamina goes up top, but Baszler hits a kick to the head and tags in Nia. Natalya helps Tamina out of danger and then they stand there and wait for Nia to finally jump off and hit them both with the double crossbody. Nia is selling a knee injury and then talking trash to Tamina. Tamina fires back with a body slam for a nearfall. Tamina goes for the Superfly splash, but Nia is able to move out of the way and both women are down. I really did not expect this to be this long. Natalya tags in and goes for a Sharpshooter on Nia. She rolls her over after a struggle, but Baszler comes in with the Kirifuda Clutch and gets the victory. I'm just not really sure what the point of this was. This would have worked better with the Riott Squad.
Match Rating: *1/4
Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens
They start brawling to start and Owens then drops on the top rope and goes up top, but Zayn rolls out of the ring. They start fighting on the edge of the ring and Zayn hits a brainbuster on the HARDEST PART OF THE RING. In all seriousness though, I'm not sure how that doesn't hurt. Zayn hits the Michinoku Driver for a 2 count. Owens fights back and hits a frog splash for a nearfall. I guess I should note that Logan Paul is here. Owens hits a nasty looking neckbreaker. He goes for a powerbomb, but Zayn hits an exploder suplex into the turnbuckle. Zayn hits the Blue Thunder Bomb and then another exploder into the corner. Zayn props up Owens on the top rope, but Owens counters with a fisherman suplex off the second rope. Owens hits a couple of clotheslines in the corner, but Zayn then follows him and hits a Helluva Kick. He goes for another one, but Owens hits a superkick. Owens hits the Stunner and that is all. Logan Paul comes in and checks on Zayn as Owens is celebrating. Paul offers out his hand to Owens and Zayn takes exception to it. Paul pushes Zayn to the ground and gets booed. Paul raises Owens' hand. Owens hits a Stunner and it's safe to say Bad Bunny was the better celebrity. These two aren't capable of having a bad match and this night was no different. Not their best work, but a solid entry into their storied history.
Match Rating: ***1/2
Riddle has an interaction with Great Khali and we get lots of "bros". Khali no sells Riddle and in walks RVD, who then hypes his rolling papers.
United States Championship Match
Sheamus vs. Riddle
This match has potential to be sneaky good. Sheamus gets in some hard-hitting offense to start and hits the Irish Curse backbreaker. Sheamus hits a shot to the kidney and then eight clubs to the chest. Sheamus goes up top, but Riddle runs the ropes and hits a belly-to-belly variation of the Spanish Fly. Riddle struggles to get Sheamus up for a vertical suplex, but gets it the second time. Riddle goes for Bro Derek. Sheamus counters out and then Riddle drops and hits some kicks. Riddle flips his way back into the ring and gets hit by a huge knee for a nearfall. Sheamus hits an Alabama Slam and goes out to the apron. Riddle hits a German suplex on the apron and then hits a springboard moonsault. Sheamus regains control and carries Riddle on his back up the ropes. Riddle gets out of it, but then Sheamus reverses it and slips down. He luckily lands on his feet and hits White Noise. He hits a top rope knee drop for another nearfall. Riddle avoids a Brogue Kick and goes for a springboard moonsault, but Sheamus Brogue Kicks him in the face to become the new United States Championship. There was a lot to like here, but there were a few spots that they were a little off on. Riddle has a busted open mouth and after seeing the replay I can see why.
Match Rating: ***1/4
Nigerian Drum Fight For The Intercontinental Championship
Big E vs. Apollo Crews
Wale is here for Big E's entrance. In case you didn't know, this is the first ever Nigerian Drum Fight. They both roll out and grab kendo sticks to start. They take turns trading blows and Big E gets the better of Apollo. Big E then throws Apollo into the drums and picks up a cymbal. Apollo kicks it out of his hands and hits him with the kendo stick. Big E blasts back with his spear through the ropes and they got some air on that one. Big E takes apart the ring steps, but Apollo hits a Death Valley Driver on the apron. Apollo grabs the top portion of the ring steps and lays Big E on the bottom. Apollo tries to throw them on Big E, but he is able to roll out of the way. Apollo hits a bicycle kick, but then Big E hits a Rock Bottom onto the steps. Big E sets up a table in the ring, but Apollo assaults Big E with the kendo stick. He sets Big E up on the table, but he gets out of the way of the frog splash and he goes through the table. Big E hits the Big Ending and Dabba Kato comes out and destroys Big E. He puts Apollo onto Big E and we have a new Intercontinental Champion. I'm hoping this is the start of bigger things for Big E and it's nice to see a guy like Apollo finally finding something that is working for him. The match was solid, but not quite as good as I thought they were capable of.
Match Rating: **3/4
It's commercial time and then we run through the 2021 Hall of Fame class.
Raw Women's Championship Match
Rhea Ripley vs. Asuka
Ash Costello performs Ripley's theme live. I just assumed that was a generic WWE song. Ripley killed it with Charlotte last year and I expect this match to be no different. Asuka is outworking Ripley here in the early stages of the match. Just as I type that, Ripley avoids Asuka and hits her with a kick. Ripley slows things down and hits a couple of short arm clotheslines. Ripley goes for a kick, but Asuka catches it and puts her in an ankle lock. Ripley powers out and hits a German suplex. Ripley is going for a back suplex off the second rope, but Asuka hits some elbows to knock her away and nails a missile dropkick. Asuka hits a kick to the head and a Hip Attack for a 2 count. Asuka is climbing the ropes, but Ripley hits a dropkick to knock her off and to the outside. They battle on the apron and Ripley ends up with Asuka on her shoulders on the floor and slams her face-first into the ring. Back on the apron, Asuka hits a leaping DDT to the floor. I'm not sure that I've ever seen that before. Back in the ring, Ripley is able to hit a superplex. Asuka puts in an arm bar and then tries to shift it to the Asuka Lock. Ripley counters out and hits Rip Tide to become the new Raw Women's Champion. Much like how I felt about Lashley/McIntyre last night, this one was a big disappointment for me. I thought this one had show stealing potential and instead we got a pretty average match.
Match Rating: **1/2
Titus and Hogan are out to thank everyone and Bayley interrupts again. She yells for her pyro. Out come the Bellas. Bayley says that John Cena isn't here tonight and the Bellas throw her down the ramp. This really was the best they could come up for her, huh?
Triple Threat Match For The Universal Championship
Daniel Bryan vs. Edge vs. Roman Reigns
Reigns starts out on fire and throws Bryan out of the ring, who eats a superkick from Jey Uso. Edge is dumped out and he too gets a superkick his way. Reigns preps the announce table for Edge, but Bryan is incoming with the suicide dive. Uso hits him with another superkick. Edge then throws Uso into the steel steps to take him out for the time being. Edge then starts throwing Reigns back and forth into the ring and barricade. Edge then hits an Edgecution on Uso onto the steps. Officials take Uso away from the ring and now we have Bryan and Edge going at it in the ring. Edge counters a Bryan hurricanrana into a pin attempt. Edge turns his attention to Reigns and Bryan slides under both to pull Reigns off the apron and hits a missile dropkick on Edge. Bryan ducks a clothesline and then goes for a suicide dive again on Reigns. This time he catches him and dstroys him, but Edge hits the baseball slide on Reigns and throws him back into the ring. Reigns hits a big clothesline on Edge. He goes for the Superman punch, but Edge avoids it and hits an Edgecution on him. Edge goes for the Spear, but Reigns hits him with a Superman punch. Reigns goes for a Spear, but Edge hits a sunset flip for a 2 count. They run off the ropes, both go for Spears and end up ramming shoulders into each other. Bryan hits a top rope headbutt on Edge and then one on Reigns. Bryan hits a series of Yes Kicks on both. He hits a running knee on Edge and a kick to the head on Reigns, but he kicks out. They are cramming a lot of action in here and it is building towards something special. Bryan gets the Yes Lock on Reigns in the middle of the ring, but Edge saves the match. Bryan now put the Yes Lock on Edge and naturally Reigns breaks it up. Of all the performers, I was most interested to see what kind of reaction Reigns would get. He is very much still being treated as a heel. Reigns hits a powerbomb on Bryan from the steps through the announce table. Then Edge comes out of nowhere and hits the Spear on Reigns. Edge grabs a couple of chairs and brings one into the ring. Reigns is able to get it away from him, but Edge drops him on the top rope and puts in the crossface. Reigns breaks the hold, but Edge grabs a piece of the chair and puts it in his mouth. Reigns is about to tap, but Bryan grabs his arm. He puts on the Yes Lock at the same time and then he and Edge start headbutting one another. They start brawling and Bryan gets the better of the exchange. Bryan starts stomping on Edge and goes for the running knee. Edge hits him with the Spear and then hits Reigns with a Spear too. Edge goes for the pin, but Bryan pulls the ref out of the ring to break the count. Edge grabs some more chairs and uses one on Bryan before throwing him in the ring. Edge hits a flurry of shots to the back of both opponents and then sets both of their heads on chairs. Edge grabs the third chair and hits the one man con-chair-to on Bryan. He goes for it on Reigns, but out comes Uso to make the save. Edge hits a Spear on him and starts hitting him with the chair. Reigns hits Edge with the Spear and now places a chair under the head of Edge. He hits the one man conchairto on Edge, drags Edge on top of Bryan and pins both of them to retain the title. I had a feeling they might go this route, but with all of the heel victories went back to my prediction of Edge. Reigns is the ultimate heel champion now, but I'm not quite sure where they go from here. This match saved this show from being a disappointment, as the action was fantastic and all while telling multiple stories. Bianca had the better moment, but this was the slightly better match.
Match Rating: ****1/4
Last night was the stronger show, but this one had the best match. Just too much on this one fell flat for this to be a strong recommendation, but the main event definitely makes it still worth your time. Owens/Zayn and Riddle/Sheamus were both entertaining, but the rest was either disappointing or downright awful. Seriously, please stop it with the Fiend.
Overall Rating: 68%
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