This Week In WWE TV – March 10-16, 2014

This week: The YES Movement takes a stand to Occupy Raw (in no way affiliated with the similarly named Hijack Raw) and Daniel Bryan sticks it to the man, to get what he wants for Wrestlemania. Plus, The Shield go rogue, Hogan and Cena as The Mega Powers 2K14, the announcement of the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal, title match mania on Main Event, Ziggler on a hot streak and Sheamus’s painful drum solo.

RAW

– Hogan came out to start the show. He talked about watching his old Wrestlemania matches on the Network and said after watching the Andre match, he’d come up with an idea. Hogan announced a 30 man over the top rope, Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal and showed the trophy on the Titantron. A neat idea. Cena interrupted. He said it was good to have Hogan home and said Wrestlemania 3 was his favourite moment in WWE history. After an iffy Hogan impression, Cena announced he was entering the battle royal. The Wyatts then showed up. Bray cut a promo on both Hogan and Cena, but Cena insulted Bray and challenged Bray to a match at Wrestlemania instead of entering the battle royal. Rowan and Harper teased getting in the ring with Cena and Hogan before commercial. Then, in their scheduled match, John Cena d. Erick Rowan in 3:29. Hogan stayed to be in Cena’s corner. Rowan controlled the match until Cena escaped a slam and rolled Rowan up out of nowhere. After Bray stopped Rowan and Harper from getting in the ring with them, Hogan and Cena then posed in the ring.

– The Usos d. RybAxel (Jimmy pinned Axel) in 3:02. New Age Outlaws did commentary. Before the match, Ryback did an inset promo announcing he’d be in the Andre The Giant Battle Royal. Jey made a comeback and tagged Jimmy as he hit a dive on Ryback. Jimmy then hit the superfly splash to Axel. Backstage, Kane spoke with The Shield about losing to the Wyatts. He said they’d proven to be a valuable asset in the past and to light a fire under to them to see if they still were, he was putting Reigns and Rollins against Cody and Goldust, since the first cracks in The Shield showed after they lost the tag team titles to them. Rollins questioned if Kane was trying to deflect attention from the fact he lost to Bryan and got KOed by Big Show, before Kane sent them on their way. They not so subtely threatened Kane before leaving.

– Big E d. Jack Swagger in 3:05. During the match, they played a Big E inset promo where he announced himself for the Andre The Giant Battle Royal as well, saying only one man could win and it’d be him. Swagger told Cesaro he “had this” before the match. So when Swagger distracted the referee so Cesaro could interfere, Cesaro refused and Big E rolled Swagger up for the pin as he complained. After the match Cesaro laughed at Swagger and when they argued over who’s fault it was, Zeb got mad at them both and said it was both of their faults. He made them shake hands and Cesaro put a tight grip on Swagger’s hand.

– Undertaker came out. Before he could speak though, Heyman appeared on the stage. Heyman meekly apologised for interrupting, before putting over Undertaker’s streak. He compared it to Shawn, HHH, Hogan, Austin and Cena, all of whom never got to more than four wins in a row at best. Heyman then asked Undertaker not to step in the ring with Brock at Wrestlemania, because if he did, Brock would conquer the streak. Undertaker told Heyman to tell Brock if he showed up at Wrestlemania, he’d rest in peace.

– Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins d. Cody Rhodes and Goldust (Rollins pinned Cody) in 11:13. Shield got the advantage on Cody briefly, before Goldust made a comeback. Cody hit a dive on Reigns and Goldust hit the cannonball off the apron to Rollins at the same time, before The Shield isolated Goldust. Cody made a comeback and the match picked up at that point. Cody hit a muscle buster but Reigns broke the count. After Rollins and Cody hit heads, Reigns took out Goldust with a spear. Cody then sent Reigns outside, but Rollins avoided Cross Rhodes and countered the disaster kick into a buckle bomb, to set up the Blackout for the victory.

– The Bellas d. AJ and Tamina Snuka (Nikki pinned AJ) in 4:20. Natalya did commentary. Brie was worked over after a Tamina superkick. Nikki made a comeback and countered the Black Widow into the torture rack backbreaker for the pin. After the match Nikki posed over AJ with the belt, which lead to a stare off with Natalya. Renee then interviewed LL Cool J and Chris O’Donnell at ringside.

– Bryan came out. He said he wasn’t going to apologise for kicking HHH last week. Bryan said tonight HHH would have to listen to him and the fans, because the YES Movement were going to “occupy Raw”. Bryan said he wasn’t leaving until he got his match with HHH at Wrestlemania. And he was going to fill the ring and the arena with the YES Movement. Bryan said he’d spoken to some members of the YES Movement earlier and called them into the ring. Fans wearing Bryan shirts entered the ring and by the time they came back from break, the entire ring and ringside area was filled with people in Bryan shirts. HHH and Stephanie came out. He gave them 30 seconds to leave before they were arrested. Bryan threatened to have everybody go outside and set up a ring so HHH could have Raw in front of empty chairs. Two members of security came out but quickly gave up. Stephanie told them all Bryan was the wrong horse to back. HHH then called for the next match to happen and Sandow came out, but he turned back as well. HHH and Stephanie came back out and Stephanie screamed at them to get out. They didn’t. HHH said he actually liked Bryan and say something in him, so he tried to protect him and that’s what he didn’t agree to fight him at Wrestlemania, for his own good. He agreed to the match at Wrestlemania, but Bryan said that wasn’t all he wanted, because what people really wanted to see was him fighting for the WWE Championship. Bryan said if he won at Wrestlemania, he was added to the main event. Security held back HHH as he agreed to the stipulation.

– Memphis Street Fight: Sheamus d. Christian in 10:53. Memphis Street Fight won the fan vote with 67% over Falls Count Anywhere and 2 Out Of 3 Falls. There were guitars and a drum set at ringside as weapons. Sheamus tried to use a guitar but Christian ducked and it broke across the ring post instead. Christian hit a tornado DDT off the stage and used a kendo stick, after Sheamus had used a guitar during the break. Sheamus fought back leading to a back and forth finish. Sheamus used a kendo stick on Christian and hit White Noise for a near fall. He gave Christian an Irish Curse backbreaker off the steps before throwing charis and a drum into the ring. Christian hit a frog splash with a chair on Sheamus for a near fall. He then tried to use the drum, but Sheamus hit a Brogue Kick, through the drum, for the pin. Really good match, crowd were into it this week and the finish looked awesome.

– Backstage, Maddox told Batista and Orton that HHH and Stephanie had left. He said they needed Orton and Batista to set aside their differences and take care of Big Show and most importantly Bryan. Orton said he was willing to make it work if Batista was, but Batista walked off. Rusev came out and cut a promo from his little Bulgarian podium. A Wyatts promo aired, during which Bray accepted Cena’s Wrestlemania challenge. And Daniel Bryan and Big Show d. Randy Orton and Batista (Bryan pinned Orton) in 8:44. Batista and Orton worked together and focused on Bryan. Big Show made a comeback but was cut off. Big Show countered a Batista Bomb attempt and then Bryan ran wild. Bryan got Orton in the YES Lock but Batista broke it up. After a kick to Batista from Big Show, Orton hit Show with the RKO. He then went for one on Bryan but accidentally got speared by Batista. Bryan hit the running knee to Batista. After a middle rope DDT from Orton, Bryan then countered the RKO with a backslide. Orton kicked out but then took the running knee for the clean pin.

MAIN EVENT

– Los Matadores d. RybAxel (Diego pinned Axel) in 8:38. Axel did an inset promo announcing himself for the Andre The Giant Battle Royal, mentioning Andre once held him in his hand as a child. Ryback had problems early, before Axel cut off Fernando. Diego ran wild and Fernando hit a dive on Ryback. Axel then kicked Torito off the apron, but he landed on Ryback and Axel got rolled up for the pin.

– Before her match, AJ said she was bored of Natalya getting title shots, but yet again she’d beat her and prove she had no competition and why she was the longest reigning Divas Champion ever. WWE Divas Championship: AJ (c) d. Natalya by submission in 13:01 to retain the title. Natalya out wrestled AJ early on. AJ knocked Natalya off the top rope as she stopped to look at Tamina to take control. After a few halted attempts, Natalya eventually managed to fight back. AJ got the Black Widow but Natalya powered out of it and went for the sharpshooter. AJ turned that into a pin for a two count, then when Natalya got the sharpshooter moments later, AJ managed to crawl to the ropes, with a little assist from Tamina. As Tamina distracted Natalya, AJ then hit a shining wizard, before winning with the Black Widow. Good match.

– Santino and Emma were shown on their ‘first date’, which was at catering because their restaurant reservation fell through. Santino accidentally tucked the tablecloth into his shirt and took a bump on the table. Wacky. WWE United States Championship: Dean Ambrose (c) d. Mark Henry in 9:36 to retain the title. All Henry at the start, until Ambrose dropkicked Henry in the ropes while he was looking at Rollins and Reigns. Ambrose worked on Henry’s leg. Henry made a comeback, but after he hit a JYD headbutt, Ambrose got his foot on the rope at two and Rollins pointed it out to the referee. Henry went outside and laid out Rollins, who didn’t actually do anything wrong, interestingly. Reigns then distracted Henry as he went to the second rope, allowing Ambrose to pull Henry off the ropes, then hit the side headlock driver with Henry on his knees for the pin. So The Shield did sort of interfere, but technically Henry goaded Reigns first.

NXT

– Paige d. Sasha Banks by submission in 5:04. Tensai was going by ‘Jason Albert’ on commentary. Still no Summer, so we got Summer on a stick with Charlotte at ringside. Sasha stole Paige’s t-shirt before the match and threw it at her. Unsurprisingly, it just made Paige angry. Sasha took control for a while, but Paige came back to win with the Modified Scorpion Cross Lock. After the match, Charlotte attacked Paige until Natalya made the save.

– An interview from after last week’s show with Sami aired. He said as far as he was concerned, his issue with Graves was done, but if Graves had any other issues with him he wasn’t hard to find. Backstage, Mojo cut a hyped up promo. The Ascension d. Travis Tyler and Cal Bishop (Konnor pinned Tyler) in 3:26 in a squash, after the Fall Of Man. Ascension seemed to be getting more of a reaction here. Mason Ryan d. Wesley Blake in 3:57. Renee was on commentary for this. Mason got a brief “better than Batista” chant. Because, you see, he sort of, but not really, looks like Batista. He won with the cobra clutch slam after Blake had briefly got the upper hand.

– Devin interviewed Bayley, who was busy watching Bret Hart on the WWE Network, since she’s friends with Natalya and met him. Sasha and Charlotte insulted both her and Bret. Bayley stole Summer on a stick and the BFFs threatened to settle things with Bayley, before Natalya came in. Charlotte and Natalya traded insults and Natalya brought up Bret beating Flair for the title. They had a stare down before Charlotte and Sasha left. Alexander Rusev d. Xavier Woods by submission in 2:28. No dancing from Xavier. Before the match, Breeze came out and asked Xavier to leave, so he could get his revenge on Rusev instead. Breeze then jumped Xavier as Rusev was coming out. He insisted on carrying on with the match, but was beaten with the Accolade camel clutch.

– Devin tried to interview Neville, but Bo interrupted. He was thankful for his Bolievers, being the wind Boneath his wings during these trying times and his Bolievers with sick of Neville’s face, ears and flips. Neville slapped Bo and he left. In the main event, Bo Dallas d. Colin Cassady in 11:57. Bo struggled early before getting the advantage dropping Cassady’s throat across the top rope. Bo worked Cassady over for a while. Cassady then made a comeback, but Bo snapped the rope into Cassady’s face, setting up the double arm DDT for the win.

SUPERSTARS

– Alberto Del Rio d. Sin Cara in 4:17 with a kneeling superkick after avoiding the swanton. And Dolph Ziggler d. Fandango in 5:55. Crowd were into Ziggler. Fandango took control early after a backdrop to the floor. Summer slapped Ziggler from the outside at one point. Ziggler fought back and both got near falls, before Ziggler hit a Zig Zag out of nowhere for the win.

SMACKDOWN

– HHH came out. Lots of YES chants. HHH said he was happy everybody had their moment in the sun on Raw. He announced Bryan wasn’t there tonight. HHH told everyone the YES Movement could have continued to grow and claimed he protected Bryan for them, but Bryan wasn’t good enough to succeed, just like all the fans and at Wrestlemania he’d end the YES Movement. HHH then brought out Sandow. He accused Sandow of refusing to do his job on Raw and wanted him to apologise. Sandow did and HHH shook his hands, before wishing him luck in his match that, allegedly, Vickie had organised for him. Seth Rollins d. Damien Sandow in 2:24. Sandow put up a fight for a bit, before Rollins took over. When Sandow rolled outside he was cornered by Ambrose and Reigns allowing Rollins to hit a dive. Rollins then beat Sandow with the Blackout and after the match, The Shield beat up Sandow and gave him the triple powerbomb.

– Big E d. Fandango in 1:38. Fandango did an inset promo to announce he’d be in the Andre The Giant Battle Royal. Big E won quick with the Big Ending. Bad News Barrett and his giant podium on a forklift appeared to give some Bad News, that Lesnar was going to end The Undertaker’s streak at Wrestlemania, which would lead to crying children, which would lead to their parents not getting any sleep and falling asleep at work, which would then lead to them being fired. Cody Rhodes and Goldust d. The Real Americans (Cody pinned Swagger) in 5:01. Cody and Goldust made a hot start but Cesaro caught Cody on a dive (which was lucky because Cody would have landed on his head if he didn’t) and slammed him on the apron to take control. Cesaro gave Cody the big swing. Swagger and Cesaro had some problems, tagging themselves in repeatedly. They got on the same page long enough to knock Goldust off the apron to prevent a tag. But Cody caught Swagger with a backslide out of nowhere to get the pin. The Real Americans took out Cody and Goldust after the match, but The Usos ran them off.

– Bray Wyatt d. Kofi Kingston in 4:56. Kofi was competitive throughout but Bray won clean with the Sister Abigail. Kane spoke with The Shield backstage and congratulated them on their wins on Raw and Main Event. Ambrose said he should be focused on Big Show. Kane ordered The Shield to be at ringside to get a close up look and said he might leave them some scraps of Big Show. Rollins claimed Kane just wanted them out there to protect him and Reigns said they didn’t take orders from him, but Rollins told him not to worry because The Shield always did what’s best for business.

– Nikki Bella d. Tamina Snuka in 3:14. AJ did commentary for most of the match, before Tamina hit a superkick. Nikki kicked out though and Brie took out AJ. Tamina threw Brie into the barrier, but Nikki avoided another superkick and won with the torture rack backbreaker. Dolph Ziggler d. Alberto Del Rio in 7:21. Del Rio did an inset promo, listing some of his accomplishments and announcing he was in the Andre The Giant Battle Royal. Even match. Del Rio got a close near fall with a kneeling superkick and Ziggler got one with a fameasser. Del Rio almost won with a reverse superplex, before Ziggler countered the cross armbreaker and won with the Zig Zag. After the match Renee interviewed Ziggler in the ring and he cut an emotional promo, entering himself into the Andre The Giant Battle Royal and saying when he won, he’d finally have his Wrestlemania moment.

– Carlos Colon was announced for the Hall Of Fame. A Wyatts promo on Cena aired. And in the main event, Big Show d. Kane in 5:28. The Shield came out to be in Kane’s corner as ordered. Kane gave Big Show a chokeslam from the top rope, but Big Show kicked out. Kane then told The Shield to attack Big Show, which they teased doing, before deciding not to. Kane yelled at them, before Big Show hit a chokeslam for the pin. Kane grabbed Rollins as The Shield were leaving and went for a chokeslam, but Reigns hit a spear to save Rollins.