WWE Raw 4-29-13: The Shield Remains Undefeated As A Trio

The show began with a Triple Threat Match set up by the Senior Advisor to the Smackdown General Manager (WWE Hall of Famer Booker T) Teddy Long. Teddy did not run this by Booker T like he’s supposed to. As for the match, it was between Ricardo Rodriguez (accompanied by Alberto Del Rio), NXT Champion Big E Langston (accompanied by World Heavyweight Champion Dolph Ziggler & AJ Lee), and Zeb Colter (accompanied by Jack Swagger). At the upcoming Extreme Rules Pay-Per-View event, Dolph Ziggler will be defending his championship against both Alberto Del Rio and Jack Swagger in a Triple Threat Match. The winner in this Triple Threat Match between Rodriguez, Langston, and Colter would allow his respective representative to choose the stipulation for the Triple Threat Match at Extreme Rules. After outside interference from all parties, it was Rodriguez who rolled up Colter for the pin and the win; therefore, Del Rio got to choose the stipulation for his match at Extreme Rules. Also, just hours after making an appearance on the talk show “Today”, Cena came to Raw with three Make-A-Wish Kids. The three Make-A-Wish Kids were granted their wishes by becoming honorary WWE Superstars for the evening. All three kids came up with their own superstar names. Those three respective names were Jacob “The Eliminator” Larson, Nicholas “Nick the Stitch” Santillo, and “Lightning” Logan Parks. These three kids also got front-row seats for this edition of Raw. Also, one-half of The Funkadactyls Naomi (accompanied by the other half of The Funkadactyls Cameron Lynn) went one-on-one with one-half of The Bella Twins Brie (accompanied by the other half of The Bella Twins Nikki). Towards the end of the match, while the referee’s and Naomi’s attention were diverted, The Bellas once again took advantage of the fact that they’re identical twins and wearing the exact same outfits by switching places with one another. Nikki sat in the fetal position as Naomi approached her and then out of nowhere, Nikki roles up Naomi to get the pin and the win for her sister…or so she thought. After the match, Cameron explained to the ref what had happened while his back was turned; therefore, the ref then reversed his decision and awarded the win to Naomi as a result of a disqualification. Then, The Bellas return to the ring and get into a brawl with The Funkadactyls. In the end, it was The Bellas who stood tall. Also, in a non-title Champion vs. Champion Match, World Heavyweight Champion Dolph Ziggler (accompanied by AJ Lee & Big E Langston) went one-on-one with United States Champion Kofi Kingston. In the end, thanks to some outside interference from both AJ and Big E, Ziggler was able to defeat Kingston. After the match, Big E hit Kofi with his signature maneuver “The Big Ending” not once, but twice. Also, WWE Divas Champion Kaitlyn got a gift from a secret admirer. While Kaitlyn should be interested, she should also watch her back at the same time because the whole thing might be a trap. Also, Zack Ryder went one-on-one with Jack Swagger (accompanied by Zeb Colter). Before the match began, Ryder showed everybody the footage of Colter getting pinned by Ricardo Rodriguez from earlier in the night. As for the match, Ryder put up a valiant effort, but in the end, it was Swagger who forced Ryder to tap out to his signature submission hold “The Patriot Act”. After the match, Zeb Colter gave Ryder a sucker punch for showing the footage of Colter getting beat earlier in the night. Also, Mark Henry issued an open challenge to any two superstars in the locker room to a tug-o-war contest. The first man to accept the challenge was one-half of Tons of Funk Tensai. Mark Henry ended up beating Tensai. The next man to accept the challenge was the other half of Tons of Funk Brodus Clay. Again, Mark Henry beat his opponent. Just when Henry thought he was done for the night, Sheamus O’Shaunessy comes out and challenges Henry as his third opponent. While both men are tugging on the rope, Sheamus actually drops the rope, causing Henry to fall back. Then, Sheamus follows it up by hitting Henry with his signature maneuver “The Brogue Kick”. Also, Alberto Del Rio (accompanied by his personal ring announcer Ricardo Rodriguez) went one-on-one with Antonio Cesaro. In the end, it was Del Rio who forced Cesaro to tap out to his signature submission hold “The Cross Arm Breaker”. After the match, Del Rio revealed that he had chosen the stipulation for his match at Extreme Rules to be a Ladder Match. Finally, in the main event, WWE Champion John Cena teamed up with WWE Tag Team Champions Team Hell No (Kane & Daniel Bryan) to take on The Shield (Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, & Roman Reigns) in a Six-Man Tag Team Match. Originally, it was supposed to be Cena and Ryback teaming up against The Shield in a 2-on-3 Handicap Match, but since Cena recently suffered an achilles tendon injury and was not 100% going into the match, Ryback refused to have him as his partner. Ryback went to Raw Managing Supervisor Vickie Guerrero and her assistant Brad Maddox to discuss the issue. Vickie told Ryback that the match would instead be a Six-Man Tag Team Match between himself and Team Hell No against The Shield, but Ryback was not satisfied and he seemingly left the arena a little later. Later on, Cena demanded that Maddox go tell Vickie to put him back in the match; therefore, this is how this Six-Man Tag Team Match came about. As for the match, in the end, Cena’s injury came back to haunt him and it allowed The Shield to get the victory, thus remaining undefeated as a trio. After the match, Ryback shockingly emerged at the entrance ramp staring a hole through Cena to end the program. What Condition will Cena be in come his WWE Championship Match when he defends against Ryback at Extreme Rules? Also, after seeing the six guys in three different singles matches on this edition of Raw, I think there should be a Six-Man Tag Team Match between the team of Alberto Del Rio, Kofi Kingston, and Zack Ryder against the team of Dolph Ziggler, Jack Swagger, and Antonio Cesaro in the immediate future. I think that match has the makings of an epic Six-Man Tag Team Match. For more on the aftermath of this edition of Raw, check out this week’s Backstage Fallout from Raw on YouTube.