WWE Raw results, recap, reactions (April 13, 2015): EXTREME DECISION

WWE returned to the USA network for Monday Night Raw last night (April 13, 2015) from London, England with all the latest build to the upcoming Extreme Rules pay-per-view (PPV) scheduled for later this month in Chicago. That included some absolute nonsense but at least matches got some stipulations, right?

Click here to get full results with the live blog. Let's get to reacting to all the night's events.

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Huh?

I found myself uttering that word a lot during this show, mostly when anything related to The Authority, Randy Orton, and Seth Rollins was playing out on screen.

WWE spent damn near an entire show building to whether or not Kane was going to turn on The Authority to go babyface because reasons. Something about corporate or he's a demon monster from hell but not really and what's best for business and my god none of it means a damn thing.

It's Kane as the focal point of a Raw in 2015. That's damn near insulting at this point, especially considering the roster. Kane gets eight segments on the same show Dean Ambrose works a match with Adam Rose. You tell me how that makes any sense in the world.

What's worse, Kane then utterly embarrasses the WWE world heavyweight champion, then pins himself and walks off because this wasn't stupid enough already. Even better, this came after Daniel Bryan put it fresh in everyone's minds that WCW once did something similar to this and it made everyone hate their stinking guts.

Sure, Seth Rollins is a chickenshit heel champion and it's not like he's going to lose any real momentum off this as a character but the sheer stupidity of the decision making is enough to drive a sane mad to madness.

What's more, Orton worked a match against Cesaro first (easy win) and then against Cesaro and his Brass Ring Club tag team partner Tyson Kidd (another easy win). Yes, Orton picked up two easy wins just like that and he was up against the tag team champions.

Just throw the titles in the trash. It would probably make them more interesting.

Ultimately, this was all just to lead to Rollins and Orton making an EXTREME DECISION in the main event of an actual television show with a roster this deep. Remember when we used to just get Shield six-man tags in this spot? Can we just go back to that?

The decision that needed to be made? Adding stipulations to the title match at Extreme Rules. So Rollins bans the RKO before Orton makes a stipulation, leading one to wonder why Orton wouldn't just use his stipulation to reinstate it. Instead he chose a STEEL CAGE match because he wants to be sure The Authority cannot interfere.

I guess he doesn't actually watch WWE programming.

On top of how dumb it all is, it's stale. That's a theme with this show and, really, this company.

All the rest

Same old, same old: There's something so painful about John Cena working the tired schtick he's been working for so many years now. He says the same thing to every crowd he's in front of. You could argue he did a spectacular job getting the crowd to turn in his favor, but my god is it stale to have him acknowledge boos and smile about it. That said, the fact that Cena is going out week after week and having incredible US title matches with a variety of opponents is everything we could ever ask for in a pro wrestling show.

Divas battle royal: I'm not sure how it's possible to screw up a battle royal but they sure pulled it off. It's actually sad to watch the attempt, really, because it showcases just how little attention is ever paid to the women's division. The match wasn't any good but they executed Naomi's heel turn well to give some meaning to Paige's victory and ensuing speech. Her later heel promo backstage was also fantastic.

New face of whatever: Bray Wyatt is a great promo but after losing to Undertaker and consistently being made to look lesser in the big programs he's taken part in, it's become increasingly difficult to care at all about what he has to say.

Lucha Dragons vs. The Ascension: Oh how quickly things can change in WWE. It wasn't long ago that we were watching two big lugs welcoming us to some weird wasteland and now crowds are chanting "LUCHA LUCHA LUCHA" and pumping their arms to it. It's the right call too, because Kalisto and Sin Cara actually have upside. Matches like this provide all the demonstration you need to see that.

Be edgy: WWE believes calling someone someone else's "bitch" is an edgy thing for a babyface to do. The problem is it still comes off tame and doesn't really work with the image they're attempting to present. Either way, Roman Reigns still has a ways to go with his mic work and going back to a program with Big Show isn't going to do him any favors in his quest to become something more than the guy so many are rejecting as a top star. The beat down Show put on Reigns on the car was great work but I doubt I'm the only one who will struggle to get into it no matter what they do.

Dean Ambrose vs. Adam Rose: You know your character has been booked into the ground when you find yourself in singles matches with Adam Rose on Raw. Every time I step back and look at the career trajectory of Ambrose and Seth Rollins, I'm baffled that someone with Ambrose's talent and unique skillset could be so much worse off. Also, the recovery clothesline can work in the right situations but it shouldn't be used as a fixture in every match.

Stardust vs. Fandango: This happened. There was some yelling. A kick. A pinfall. A Rosa Mendes. Then suddenly Fandango gets his old music back and everyone has a good time. This show baffles me sometimes.

Roll up: Damien Mizdow vs. The Miz happened once again and Mizdow went over with a roll up after what, one minute? Two? Does it even matter after the way they've utterly and completely destroyed what had been one of the best things about Raw for months? Not to mention, Summer Rae was thrown in as the sexy lamp. This sucks.

Luke Harper vs. Ryback: I dig Harper's new character being "guy who loves tables and must use them to attack people" but this match was pointless. Remember, just last week Ryback was in the main event fighting for a title shot. Now he's a set up guy for an Ambrose-Harper program in a battle of "guys who wear the exact same scuzzy ring gear". There just isn't much here.

Neville vs. Dolph Ziggler: A perfect showcase for why exactly it's so exciting when an NXT talent is called up to the main roster to work with high level talent who will make them look good. Neville hit a running 450 off the barricade in this match. Unreal. Neville is losing clean matches that aren't hurting the massive potential he has. Meanwhile, a Sheamus vs. Ziggler program with the former working heel and Dolph working as the babyface from underneath sounds like money to me.

Overall, this wasn't very good. This wasn't very good at all.

Grade: D-

That's it from me, Cagesiders. Now it's your turn to sound off in the comments section below with all your thoughts on last night's show. How did you like it, if you liked it at all?