Raw: April 13, 2015

U.S. Champion John Cena def. Bad News Barrett

The Champ kicks off a special London edition of Raw by putting his title on the line against England's own Bad News Barrett.

LONDON — The Champ is here, (Union) Jack. And while even the borders of nations and TSA scanning hassles can’t stop John Cena from bringing his U.S. Title Open Challenge to London, hometown hero Bad News Barrett wasn’t about to let the Star-Spangled champion walk out of Old Blighty without a beating to show for it. Answering Cena’s call despite the fact he’s got an Intercontinental Title rematch lined up against Daniel Bryan at Extreme Rules, Barrett rode a sea of rowdy soccer chants to an advantage against The Champ in the early goings.

Photos:  BNB goes for the U.S.A. |  Watch Rusev's post-match attack

Cena, who spent a surprising amount of the match on his heels, had to battle back from Barrett’s streetwise fisticuffs to stay in the fight. Barrett was no slouch, escaping the Attitude Adjustment and clobbering Cena with a Bull Hammer, though Cena snatched victory from the jaws of defeat with the springboard stunner-AA combo. Lana was quick to ravishingly rain on The Champ’s parade, distracting Cena atop the ramp while Rusev swarmed the ring with his fist wrapped in a chain to jump Cena from behind. Appropriately enough, since Lana revealed that the U.S. Title Match at Extreme Rules will be a Russian Chain Match. Perhaps Cena will share his feelings on SmackDown … assuming he’s conscious by then.

Paige won the Divas Battle Royal to become the new No. 1 contender to the Divas Championship

One Diva proves she will stop at nothing to get an opportunity at the Divas Championship.

And somebody’s not thrilled about that. You see, the finagling of the Divas division may have earned them all a fair shot (a chance, if you will) at becoming next in line for Nikki Bella’s title in a Battle Royal, but one Diva in particular wasn’t too happy when her seemingly preordained spot as the next woman up didn’t pan out. That’d be Naomi, who’s pinned the champion twice and went into the melee as the heavy favorite, only to get superkicked out of the ring by Paige in the nail-biting conclusion of the Battle Royal. She wasn’t happy. In fact, Naomi crashed Paige’s post-match interview, beating her down until a referee intervened to call her off.

Story:  Paige's injury update

The Lucha Dragons def. The Ascension

Sin Cara & Kalisto battle Konnor & Victor on Raw.

Some rivalries simply cannot be contained by NXT. Take the bad blood between The Lucha Dragons and The Ascension, which has traversed oceans and continents from Florida’s Full Sail University all the way to London, England. The latest installment of the rivalry ended much as the last few have, with the implication of a Tag Team Title opportunity looming large. Even with the increased stakes, however, the big bruisers fell victim once again to the whiplash-inducing stylings of Kalisto & Sin Cara. The Ascension couldn’t even get out of the blocks, as the Dragons beat them about the ring before putting a stamp on it with a combo of Kalisto’s Salida del Sol and a senton bomb from Sin Cara.

Roman Reigns addressed his WrestleMania 31 loss

The giant sparks a wild brawl with The Big Dog.

He hasn’t exactly kept silent about it, but Roman Reigns has certainly chosen his words carefully when discussing his “stolen” WrestleMania moment and the ignominy of going from surefire WWE World Heavyweight Champion to an onlooker at Seth Rollins’ ill-gotten ticker tape parade. That changed on Monday, when The Big Dog spoke at length about his Show of Shows main event in an in-ring interview with Booker T, though the subject changed quickly enough to his ongoing beef with Big Show.

Photos:  Big Show punishes Roman Reigns

The giant himself helped steer the topic, of course, when he appeared on the TitanTron to taunt Reigns over costing him the No. 1 contender’s spot last week, though Show was nowhere to be seen when Reigns called him out in earnest. The Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal winner did, however, make his presence known as Reigns exited the stage, attacking the 2014 Superstar of the Year on the ramp and chokeslamming him atop the roof of a car.

Randy Orton def. WWE Tag Team Champion Cesaro via Disqualification

The last time Randy Orton squared off against Cesaro, one was a champion and one was a rising force destined for greater and greater things. One year later, the roles were slightly reversed, with Cesaro holding one half of the WWE Tag Titles and Orton on the path to WWE World Heavyweight Title No. 13.

Battling for the right to determine his stipulation against Seth Rollins at Extreme Rules, Orton came out swinging against The Swiss Superman, but never got a chance to kick it into second gear, as Tyson Kidd tripped The Viper on the apron in full view of the ref. A disqualification ruling followed, but Kane was quick to reshuffle the deck, using his power as Director of Operations to arrange an on-the-spot Handicap Match between Orton and Cesaro & Kidd to ensure a fair, decisive, conclusion.

Randy Orton def. WWE Tag Team Champions Cesaro & Tyson Kidd

A one-on-one contest soon becomes a Handicap Match pitting Randy Orton against both Cesaro and Tyson Kidd.

Rebounding nicely from the shenanigans that landed him on the wrong end of a 2-on-1 beating, Randy Orton survived the WWE Tag Team Champions to earn his pick of stipulation in the WWE World Heavyweight Title Match at Extreme Rules. This despite some fantastic tandem chicanery by Cesaro & Tyson Kidd that tested the limits of both the rules and Orton’s endurance, but the champs seemed to have underestimated Orton’s abilities. Cesaro rushed the ring while Kidd was on the ropes and ate a powerslam in response, and when Kidd springboarded off the ropes to catch Orton from behind, he caught an RKO outta nowhere instead. Boom.

Dean Ambrose def. Adam Rose

The Lunatic Fringe squares off against the leader of the Rosebuds.

Hide your Rosebuds and assorted valuables: Dean Ambrose is back and hoo boy, is he mad. The Lunatic Fringe — showing his face for the first time since a pair of brutal powerbombs sent him to the injured list — came to Raw ready to deliver beating. And it was just Adam Rose’s bad luck that he happened to be the poor guy in the former U.S. Champion’s way. Rose didn’t exactly wilt for the rampaging madman, though a stiff challenge didn’t measure up to Ambrose’s momentum. The Lunatic Fringe not only took flight with a suicide dive that sent Rose tumbling into his own crew, but he also replied to a superkick with his ricocheting clothesline and Dirty Deeds for the win. 

Stardust def. Fandango

Bringing back his original entrance music, Fandango clashes with the unusual Stardust.

One star shone in London and another, perhaps, was reborn when Stardust toppled Fandango, leading to a surprising change in heart from the dancing trickster that many in the WWE Universe have wanted to see for two years. Moments after the Disaster Kick put him away, Fandango, who was being consoled by Rosa Mendes, finally embraced his destiny — and his popularity — by spurning his Latina lover and electing to share his gifts with the world. Fandango’s original entrance music hit and, at long last, he was Fandangoing the night away with the WWE Universe.

WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins def. Kane

The Director of Operations must put his pride aside when he does "what's best for business."

Call it the Chokeslam of Doom. Despite some strong words from his old hug buddy Daniel Bryan, Kane did exactly what Seth Rollins told him to do and laid down for The Architect, ensuring he’d get a pick of his own for the stipulation of the WWE World Heavyweight Title Match at Extreme Rules. It looked, for a moment, however, like it was going to go the other way, with the Director of Operations systematically removing his suit as Rollins looked on in horror, shoving J&J Security aside and walloping Rollins in the face. And even though he planted Rollins with a Chokeslam, he stopped short of a Tombstone, electing, after much debate, to lie down next to an unconscious Rollins instead and drape the champion’s lifeless arm over himself to lose the fall as commanded.

Damien Mizdow def. The Miz

With The Miz's "The Marine 4: Moving Target" star by his side, Damien Mizdow faces his former employer on Raw.

It was a long time coming, but Damien Mizdow finally found himself topping the bill just one week after suffering a humiliating loss to The Miz on Raw. Spurned on, no doubt, by his epic retaliation on SmackDown, Mizdow followed up with his long-awaited in-ring retribution against the former WWE Champion. He even had Summer Rae in his corner when he scored the fateful rollup that pinned Miz to the mat, plus a kiss on the cheek from The Awesome One’s “Marine 4” co-starlet to boot. Not bad for a stunt double.

Ryback def. Luke Harper via Disqualification

The Big Guy takes on Luke Harper, who soon finds himself the victim of a beatdown, courtesy of Dean Ambrose.

It was only a matter of time before Dean Ambrose made his move against Luke Harper. But The Lunatic Fringe will have to wait a little while longer for his payback against the former Intercontinental Champion, whose rematch with Ryback ended in a disqualification when he slammed the commentary tabletop into The Big Guy’s head. Ambrose then sprinted to the ring and jumped his rival, though Harper made his escape through the WWE Universe before the former U.S. Champion could get his proper retribution.

Dolph Ziggler def. Neville

The Showoff issues an open challenge, setting up an encounter with The Man That Gravity Forgot!

Dolph Ziggler was supposed to compete against Seth Rollins before Kane was coerced into taking his spot, but you didn’t really think Dolph Ziggler would deprive the WWE Universe of Dolph Ziggler, right? Taking a page out of his old teammate John Cena’s playbook, The Showoff issued an open challenge that ended up being answered by England’s own former NXT Champion Neville.

Photos:  Neville descends upon Dolph |  Watch The Man That Gravity Forgot in action

The two workhorses did not disappoint, clashing in a dream match the likes of which even the most fervent corners of the Internet Sports-Entertainment Community didn’t think would happen for another few months. Neville’s breathtaking 450 Splash off the barricade seemingly handed him the win on a platter, though experience ultimately won out when a reeling Ziggler evaded the Red Arrow and hit the Zig Zag for the victory. Sheamus immediately spoiled the party, pulverizing Neville with one Brogue Kick and, after a vicious scrap with The Showoff outside the ring, taking Ziggler down with another.

WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins and Randy Orton picked their Extreme Rules stipulations

Randy Orton and Seth Rollins choose the stipulations for their WWE World Heavyweight Championship Match at Extreme Rules.

Not only did Seth Rollins avoid a Tombstone Piledriver, the WWE World Heavyweight Champion can breathe a sigh of relief in two weeks’ time that the RKO is off the table at Extreme Rules. That’s because Rollins, armed with the ability to choose a stipulation in his title match against Randy Orton, chose to ban The Viper’s signature move from competition come bell time. Orton, of course, is a snake of many tricks, and decided to take Rollins’ own greatest weapon — The Authority — away by enclosing the bout in a Steel Cage. And then, because he’s only got two weeks of RKOs left, Orton decided to dish ’em out while he still could. Thanks to J&J’s interference, only Joey Mercury caught the maneuver, and as for Rollins, he decided to get out while the getting was good and run. At least, while he still could.