Intercontinental Championship Contenders
It started as Cesaro vs. Sami Zayn and ended up being Cesaro and The Miz vs. Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens, thanks to Stephanie McMahon trumping Shane’s idea of Cesaro/Zayn vs. The Miz and Kevin Owens. Given about 30 minutes of television time was necessary for these guys because there are so many angles involved in this match. First off, Cesaro and Sami Zayn put on a heck of a quick bout that transitioned into another really good tag team match. I loved the dynamic of Owens and Sami having to team up, knowing how much beef they have with one another. I did like the ending because I do think that Cesaro and The Miz are the two guys who needed the victory. The champion needed to showcase some upper hand, as he is the weakest link right now.
Kevin Owens has the last laugh, which is excellent in terms of how his heel gimmick has been over the past month. Kevin Owens’ gimmick is so simple and yet it is so effective. You can tell WWE is emphasizing the level of importance when they have Shane and Stephanie McMahon continuously involved in the development of the story. They are making the matches and making the overall premise of the Fatal Four Way so much better. This should be the match you look forward to the most on Sunday. It can really go multiple ways with multiple endings. Who do YOU got?
Crickets for The Shining Stars
For the third or fourth time in their illustrious careers, Primo and Epico are repackaged to the WWE Universe, this time being from Puerto Rico and smelling a fake flower before the match. They squash some local jobbers in about 20 seconds.
Does anyone care to see these guys? With all of the cuts in WWE over the past few years, you have to wonder how they are continually saved. There is so much depth in NXT and WWE in this division where I look at these guys and have absolutely no idea why they are getting precious television time on Raw. Nothing against them personally, but they are meaningless to about 95 percent of the WWE Universe. Hell, maybe close to 99 percent. There was NO REACTION at all from the crowd.
