This Week In WWE TV – April 29-May 5, 2013

This week: A high water mark week for wrestling on WWE TV, arguably, with not one, not two but at least seven matches worth seeking out in a five day span. Post Wrestlemania slump? What post Wrestlemania slump? Plus, Cena’s turned heel, wacky antics with Zeb and Ricardo and Great Khali the voice of reason.

RAW

– Triple Threat Match: Ricardo Rodriguez d. Zeb Colter and Big E Langston in 5:02. The winner’s ally got to choose the stipulation for Extreme Rules. Colter left Ricardo to fight Big E for a while, before actually helping him briefly. When Big E went after him, Zeb feigned a very sudden knee injury. Ricardo used a bucket on Big E, with little success. Alberto, Ziggler and Swagger all got involved before AJ stopped a three count as Colter tried to pin Ricardo. Ricardo then rolled up Colter for the pin. This was far more entertaining than it should have been and the crowd loved Ricardo winning.

– There was a segment with Cena for World Wish Day, where he brought out three Make A Wish kids and their moms and made them “honourary WWE superstars”. This was neat.

– Randy Orton d. Cody Rhodes in 13:10. Cody struggled early before getting into things a little more. Orton tried an RKO but Cody managed to narrowly avoid it. Cody got on top for a bit with a disaster kick. Orton hit a huge superplex and made his big comeback. Cody countered the RKO into Cross Rhodes for a near fall, but Orton turned a disaster kick into the RKO for the win. This really picked up by the end. Striker tried to interviewed him about Big Show afterwards and Orton said he’d never felt so extreme, before catching Cody with a second RKO.

– The Bellas disucssed their new reality show backstage and insulted the rest of the Divas.

– Naomi d. Brie Bella by reverse decision in 1:15. The Bellas pulled twin magic and Nikki pinned Naomi. The referee reversed the decision though. Everyone brawled after the match and The Bellas laid The Funkadactyls out.

– The Shield came out. They bragged about their attacks on various stars including The Undertaker on Smackdown. They started to discuss Cena and Ryback, when 3MB interrupted saying they had unfinished business. The Shield seemed amused by this and fought them off until Bryan and Kane ran out. The Shield escaped, so Bryan and Kane took out 3MB and Slater got chokeslammed.

– Cena was getting his ankle taped backstage and Ryback walked in. Cena said he’d be more effective on one foot than Ryback on two, but Ryback claimed he couldn’t take that chance.

– Lawler ordered a pizza. Product placement.

– Dolph Ziggler d. Kofi Kingston in 8:42. This was another good match. Ziggler ducked a Trouble in Paradise but almost won with an SOS. He did hit Trouble In Paradise moments later but AJ put Dolph’s foot on the rope. Kofi took out Big E as he tried to help Ziggler. Both almost won with a roll up before Ziggler avoided a crossbody and hit the Zig Zag. After the match Big E gave Kofi two Big Endings.

– Ziggler’s crew ran into Kaitlyn and Natalya backstage. AJ and Kaitlyn argued. Somebody showed up with a gift from Kaitlyn, who apparently has a secret admirer now.

– Ryback went to Brad and Vickie and said he wouldn’t face The Shield alone again. Vickie offered to pair him with Team Hell No instead. He said he didn’t trust them and said no. After the break, King’s pizza apparently got hijacked by fans. JBL wasn’t happy.

– Jack Swagger d. Zack Ryder by submission in 3:05. Ryder brought up Zeb’s loss earlier on the way to the ring. Swagger beat him with the Patriot Lock.

– Ryback was shown leaving the building, before Mark Henry came out and wanted to prove he was the strongest man in the world. He had a tug of war with Tensai and won. Then he had one with Brodus and won. Sheamus challenged Henry to a third go. He was about to lose but Sheamus let go of the rope, then hit Henry with a Brogue Kick.

– Brad told Kane and Bryan that Ryback had left. Kane still wanted The Shield in a handicap match. Vickie told Brad to go find Cena, who called him Braden Walker and insisted on teaming with Hell No.

– Alberto Del Rio d. Antonio Cesaro by submission in 9:49. This came at a bad point of the show. Del Rio made a spirited comeback to get the crowd into it. Cesaro almost won with a mid air uppercut, before going shoulder first into the post. A kneeling superkick got two, then Alberto got the win with the cross armbreaker. Del Rio then chose a ladder match as the stipulation for Extreme Rules.

– Fandango and Khali had a dance off. Khali claimed he had ballroom dancing experience. They actually referenced Jericho was on Dancing With The Stars, which I’m pretty sure is the first time since the Fandango feud started. Khali said he was better than Jericho. He wasn’t. Fandango claimed Jericho was clumsy as a dancer. He and Summer Rae got a decent crowd reaction considering, but Khali was still named the winner, so Fandango clipped his knee and gave him a top rope legdrop.

– The Shield d. John Cena and Team Hell No! (Reigns pinned Cena) in 12:23. Cena and Hell No fought The Shield’s first attack off before the bell. Kane grabbed the referee by the throat at one point in a rage and Cena had to calm him down. When Cena tried to come in, he aggravated his achilles injury and had to tag out. Hell No were then reluctant to tag him back in. The Shield eventually isolated Bryan. Kane made a comeback, Cena again passed up for a tag. Kane attempted to put Ambrose through the announce table but took a DDT on the floor. Kane beat the count back in and caught Ambrose with a desperation chokeslam. Cena was finally brought in and he ran wild. As he went for the AA on Rollins his leg gave out though, allowing Reigns to hit a spear for the clean pin. Ryback came out after the match and stared at Cena, revealing he hadn’t left at all.

MAIN EVENT

– Striker interviewed Cesaro, who was wearing an amazing beret and sunglasses. He detailed how he was going to beat Kofi. He said Kofi had taken his pride and his dignity, but tonight he would take it back.

– WWE United States Championship: Kofi Kingston (c) d. Antonio Cesaro in 16:28 to retain the title. No yodelling here. The match started with technical wrestling which Cesaro eventually got the better of. Kofi fought back and set up Trouble In Paradise but Cesaro rolled away. Both gained some near falls before Kofi sent Cesaro into the steps with a hurricanrana. Cesaro regained some control, focusing on Kofi’s knee. He used a superplex from the apron for a big near fall. After a running dropkick he then went for the Neutraliser. Kofi countered and Cesaro landed on his feet, but got hit with a Trouble In Paradise to the back of the head for the pin. A great match.

– After the match Striker interviewed Kofi in the ring. He said 2013 got off to a bad start, but he didn’t stop fighting and he dedicated the win to his wife and new baby. After the commercial break though, Cesaro attacked Kofi backstage and ripped one of Kofi’s dreadlocks out.

– Justin Gabriel d. Heath Slater in 9:45. Gabriel pretty much dominated before hitting a dive on Drew and Jinder, who got thrown out for trying to retaliate. Bit harsh. Slater countered a 450 attempt with a powerslam off the ropes. Gabriel recovered though and won with the 450 second time around.

NXT

– Triple Threat Elimination Tag Team Match: The Wyatt Family d. Bo Dallas and Adrian Neville and Primo and Epico in 9:37. We got Brad and Regal on commentary. The crowd booed every time Bo tagged in and cheered Neville. Bo got isolated. Neville made a comeback and pinned Primo with a 360 shooting star, but was immediately caught with a clothesline from Harper for the win.

– Paige d. Summer Rae in 6:45. Summer attacked Paige as she made her entrance. Which only made her mad. Summer got control for a while, but Paige fought back. Summer tried to leave but got flung into the apron, then finished off with the Paige Turner.

– They announced since Oliver Grey was injured, Bo was Neville’s choice to defend the Tag Team Titles with against The Wyatt Family.

– Chris Jericho d. Bray Wyatt by submission in 10:30. Jericho started hot. Rowan got thrown out after a trip from the floor, but Harper wasn’t and laid Jericho out with a big boot on the floor to turn the tide. Harper tried to get involved again when Jericho fought back and was dropkicked. Jericho hit a Codebreaker which sent Wyatt outside. When he threw Bray in, Harper ran him into the post, but Jericho kicked out. And Jericho countered the spinning flatliner, sent Bray into Harper, then applied the Walls for the submission.

SMACKDOWN

– Ryback d. Daniel Bryan in 9:42. Before the match Ryback cut a promo explaining why he walked out on Raw and calling Cena a weak animal who’d get eaten. Bryan tried to attack with leg kicks early on and took Ryback out with a dive before Ryback finally took over by pressing Bryan to the floor. Bryan put up a strong fight late on, but Ryback sent him into post ribs first. After a pair of powerbombs, Ryback hit the clothesline and Shell Shocked to finish him off. Best match singles match Ryback has had, easily.

– Renee interviewed an exicted Ricardo. Alberto had to come in and calm him down.

– Fandango d. Zack Ryder in 2:20. Fandango won with the flying legdrop.

– Kaitlyn had another gift. She bumped into Natalya and Khali and Khali gave her some advice. I’m not sure what it was but he told her to relax and she’d look like him.

– Renee interviewed Zeb. He claimed he was sick on Monday but he still went to work, because he was a real American. He called his performance inspiring. Zeb claimed Ricardo stole his victory and promised to rectify things tonight.

– Ricardo Rodriguez d. Zeb Colter by DQ in 1:45. Ziggler, with his crew, did commentary. He referred to Zeb as the bad guy from Sonic the Hedgehog. They had a brief brawl before Swagger jumped in and attacked Ricardo. After Alberto ran him off, Teddy came out and made a tag team match. Ziggler called this classic Teddy, so they’re in on the joke.

– Alberto Del Rio and Ricardo Rodriguez d. Jack Swagger and Zeb Colter in 1:16. Big E and Ziggler attacked when Alberto put Swagger in the cross armbreaker. So Teddy made it a triple threat tag team match instead.

– Triple Threat Tag Team Match: Alberto Del Rio and Ricardo Rodriguez d. Jack Swagger and Zeb Colter and Dolph Ziggler and Big E Langston (Alberto submitted Ziggler) in 5:49. Alberto had Colter isolated but Ziggler broke it up. With everyone else taken out Ziggler tried to roll Alberto up, but he escaped and won with the cross armbreaker.

– The Shield attacked somebody backstage. They addressed Kane and said they’d take him out later, before revealing it was Bryan that got attacked.

– Randy Orton d. Damien Sandow in 5:06. Sandow put up a decent fight, before Orton got the win with an RKO. After the match, Big Show came out. He said Orton was great one on one, but he wasn’t much of a team player and complained about Wrestlemania. Sandow attacked from behind and hit Terminus as Big Show laughed it up at Orton’s expense. He said there’d be nothing funny about what he’d do at Extreme Rules.

– Kane came out of the trainer’s room and promised to Striker he’d make The Shield pay for what they did to both Bryan and Undertaker. He knew he was outnumbered, but if he went down he’d take as many of them as he could down with him.

– Sheamus and Mark Henry had an arm wrestling contest. Henry won, so Sheamus challenged him to do it left handed. When they did, Sheamus gave Henry a cheap shot and a Brogue Kick. What a big meanie.

– Dean Ambrose d. Kane in 7:04. Reigns had Bryan’s Tag Team Title belt with him. Kane attacked Rollins and Reigns before the match. Reigns took a huge spill over the announce table. One on one Kane started strong but Ambrose took out the leg. Kane hit a chokeslam but didn’t go for pin, instead trying a tombstone. Rollins distracted and Kane tried to fight The Shield off, but got caught by Ambrose coming back in and Ambrose won with a side headlock driver.

– The Shield attacked after the match and Kane tried to fend them off, but was eventually overwhelmed. They hit the triple powerbomb, then stole Kane’s Tag Team Title belt as well.