John Cena Kicks off Raw
John Cena comes out and talks about his injury status. He yells “no more” a few times and then begins to talk about Rusev’s path of destruction. John Cena says he is going to beat Rusev at WWE Fast Lane on Sunday. He says he is going to take the fight to him. He says that he is not going to smile and will be the first superstar to beat Rusev. Cena says he fights for respect and to win the United States Championship. Here comes the United States Champion and Lana.
Lana calls him a stupid American and says that they live in reality. She calls him the greatest US Champion and superior to any WWE superstar. Lana says there is no coming back for him and Rusev grabs the mic. He says that he will destroy him and everything he stands for. Rusev mocks Cena and both men begin to brawl. He clotheslines Rusev and takes him down with a big clothesline. He throws Rusev into the video board a few times. He slugs away over and over again.
The beginning of Raw kicked off great. It got me excited to see Cena and Rusev. I am not sure how they book the finish. There is no way Cena wins the United States Championship. I can see Rusev getting so close to losing where he gets disqualified. This segment brought heat and the thought of Rusev being beaten. I like that Rusev will be a made man on Sunday. I also enjoy the fact that this feud has very little to do about America. It is a piece, not the whole storyline.
Dean Ambrose vs. Luke Harper
Dean Ambrose gets a shoulder block and then he is able to get the upper hand with a side head lock takedown. Harper hits a few chops and connects with a headbutt. Ambrose hits a cross body, followed by some elbow shots. Dean hits a flying elbow and a Suicide Dive misses, with Harper hitting a big boot. We head to a commercial break.
Back from break and the heel in in control. The pace is slow and Ambrose tries to fight out of a headlock. Ambrose hits some left and rights and Harper is taken to the outside. Ambrose kicks him and hits a big Tornado DDT. Punches, kicks, elbows and a dropkick. Ambrose hits a flying elbow drop and gets a two count. Harper is able to knock him out with a superkick. After some reversals and more offense, Ambrose finally hits Dirty Deeds for the win.
I really enjoyed this match. It was refreshing to see more offense from Ambrose, aside from the 1-2 elbow drops. His offensive punches and slaps are so smooth and effective, especially after a period of down time in the match. The pace picked up and it was a great battle between two former champions. I wish creative had something for Luke Harper. That guy can simply GO.
