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Kester's WWE Raw Rundown: Ryback abandons John Cena, The Shield continue to impress, and Ricardo Rodriguez bests Big E Langston and Zeb Colter

Posted in: Kester Editorials, MUST-READ LISTING
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May 1, 2013 - 09:34 AM

By Ryan Kester

John Cena and Ryback

The story told about Cena's ankle and Ryback throughout the evening was well done. Aspects of Ryback's turn have been a bit underwhelming, but it's nice to see his turn be gradual and logical. It's an excepted turn to see WWE focus on Cena being hurt as a reason why Ryback is a threat to the tittle rather than his previously established strength. Still, Ryback did well with his character last night, and Cena played his part in the main event convincingly.

It's still difficult to get behind this feud one-hundred percent. Ryback is needing a strong win to reestablish himself, but it's far too early in Cena's WWE title run to expect them, to transfer the belt. One has to hope that WWE has a plan laid out that will allow Ryback to make it past Extreme Rules with his heat intact.

Finally, outside of this feud, it was a treat to see the Make a Wish presentation that happened towards the beginning of Raw. It made for an awesome and memorable Raw moment and I was proud to see the live fans put away their usual feelings towards John Cena and give those three kids an amazing evening.

The Shield

It's been impressive to see how much WWE is pushing The Shield these past few weeks. They were definitely on the back burner going into WrestleMania, but since then they've consistently been getting paired with established outs and being allowed to come out on top.

While it may be a small note, it's nice to see a heel group that is treated as smart when they bolt a retreat rather than cowardly. The Shield still gets heat from walking away from a fight, but the announcers, especially JBL, have talked about them regrouping rather than running. Again, it's a minor thing, but it keeps the group looking like a strong threat rather than a pest that someone will eventually vanquish.

Dolph Ziggler, Jack Swagger, and Alberto Del Rio

The show-opening match between the three corner men in this feud was fun. The match was laid out well and told a logical story, which is more than we got for the majority of the evening. It certainly wasn't a brilliant technical display, but this match is a prime example that a good story in the ring can be more important than a strong work rate with nothing backing it up.

It's going to be interesting to see where WWE goes with this men when this three-way feud finally ends. Swagger and Alberto Del Rio were better tis week then they have been in some time, but I still want to see what Ziggler can do in a feud as a heel champion against a character that can carry their weight in the feud.

Overall Show

Despite the few solid segments, there was still far too much filler on last night's show that killed its pacing. An occasional hokey segment is tolerable, but an evening filled with dance offs, tug-of-wars and product placement quickly becomes wasted time.

If you have any questions or comments or just wish to chat with a fellow wrestling fan about whatever, then feel free to email me at ryan.kester@gmail.com or follow me on Twitter.

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