WWE RAW Recap 5/12/14: What is Going On with Daniel Bryan?

DATE: 5/12/2014

LOCATION: Greenville

RESULTS:

Rob Van Dem def. Jack Swagger
Paige def. Alicia Fox
John Cena & The Usos def. The Wyatt Family
Nikki Bella def. Natalya
Sheamus def. Curtis Axel
Sheamus def. Ryback
Dolph Ziggler def. Fandango
Cody Rhodes def. Damien Sandow
Roman Reigns def. Batista via Disqualification

HIGHLIGHTS:

Damien Sandow made a RAW Pre-Show pipe bomb.

Prior to RAW going on air, Damien Sandow interrupted the pre-show to deliver a scripted “pipe bomb” wherein he bemoaned his lack of TV time, saying that the only way he could make an appearance on RAW is if he donned that ill-fitting Magneto costume. Sandow would come out later in the night before his match with Cody Rhodes and speak of his pipe bomb, before telling those who missed it to go watch RAW’s pre-show. These WWE Network plugs really are getting less and less subtle, aren’t they?

Unfortunately, though these segments looked like they were going to initiate another Sandow push, Cody Rhodes’ clean win over him certainly dismissed that theory.

Michael Cole taught us how to be cool.

Michael Cole’s been a lot easier to tolerate as of late. His commentary during the Daniel Bryan/Triple H feud heading into WrestleMania 30 was great stuff that made me (almost) forget his disastrous heel turn, but man, is he insufferable during these Adam Rose segments.

Last week I said that NXT alumni Rose’s debut in the WWE had been completely mishandled, which was in large part due to Cole’s championing of Rose’s gimmick. If WWE is trying to make Rose seem like the cool, carefree party animal type, then why on Earth would they get Michael Cole to join in with his gimmick? Despite his persona being an odd one that was always sure to polarize people, Rose garnered a great following in NXT that could have easily been replicated in the WWE. His short appearance on RAW last week was again a big missed opportunity, and after his inevitable and pointless feud with Jack Swagger comes to an end, it seems that Rose is destined to become Fandango 2.0.

Rose’s appearance on RAW came after the bell had rang for Rob Van Dam and Jack Swagger’s match. Rose came out with his dancing “Rosebuds”, circling the ring and distracting Swagger before RVD hit the Real American with a kick to the face, and then a Five-Star Frog Splash, for the win. As Rose made his way out of the arena, with his energetic entrance music almost making up for the complete apathy of the crowd, Michael Cole decided he should instruct JBL on the art of being cool in the vain of Adam Rose and, yet again, dealt irreparable damage to Rose’s gimmick.

As I previously mentioned, they need to go full Spinal Tap/WCW Chris Jericho with Adam Rose now. It’s the only way to ensure that he doesn’t wind up back on the NXT roster for the foreseeable future a la Brodus Clay.

The John Cena/Wyatt Family feud has now completely veered into pointlessness.

I hate to say I told you so, but dammit, I told you so.

Prior to Extreme Rules I noted how, as John Cena would certainly not be turning heel due to his commitments with the Make-A-Wish Foundation, the Cena/Bray Wyatt feud would go nowhere if it was to continue long after WrestleMania 30. Lo and behold, Cena and the Wyatt Family are now stuck in feud purgatory, where the crowd is becoming less and less interested in seeing them square up again by the week and there’s nowhere else for this angle to go.

This feud should’ve been pronounced dead immediately after the pair’s dire cage match at Extreme Rules which, aside from its notable ending featuring a demon child (which has more or less been ignored since then), was completely forgettable and stood to hurt the Wyatt Family by making all three of them look much weaker come its conclusion.

However, because Cena lost the match at Extreme Rules due to the appearance of the aforementioned demon child, the pair will inevitably be forced to square up once again at Payback. This meant that this week’s RAW saw Cena teaming up with The Usos to take on the Wyatt Family, in a rematch of the main event from last week’s SmackDown. Wake me up when Payback’s over and this torrid feud has (hopefully) come to an end.