Raw Reax - 2/24/14

Read on for my thoughts on last night's Raw.

Well, that wasn't nearly as bad as Hulk's TNA segments. I think he was used in a clever way to plug WWE's big business ventures. I've just seen so many Hogan nostalgia appearances they have no effect on me anymore.

I didn't expect Del Rio to get the win, even in a surprise fashion. I wonder where he fits into the Mania mix? He certainly works really hard.

I don't know how exactly they can save Batista vs. Orton from a reaction standpoint, but I didn't feel like Batista made progress as a babyface there. It feels like the match is WWE saying "you guys might not like where we're going with this, but these two are going to feud no matter what." On paper, Orton vs. Batista is a good feud. But the crowd definitely is behind Bryan more than Batista.

I really liked Cesaro vs. Big E. I think both men have good futures ahead of them (until they have to compete with older part-timers for a spot, of course). Gotta keep that glass ceiling intact.

I liked the post-match. Big E vs. Swagger vs. Cesaro for the IC Title at Mania would be interesting.

I really liked the Wyatts/Cena segment other than it seeming like Cena might be legitimately hurt. This is the direction the feud needs to go. Please keep Cena away from jokes about Duck Dynasty and Husky Harris mentions. It doesn't do a thing for either of them for Cena to treat Wyatt as an afterthought.

I liked Sheamus vs. Christian well enough. They generally match up pretty well. They're two more guys I'm not really sure how to fit in the WrestleMania puzzle.

I enjoyed the segment to set up Roman vs. Bray. That should be a good one.

Emma vs. Summer Rae was pretty nice. I hope there's more where that came from. I think we're just scratching the surface with both of them.

It was a nice heel move for NAO to do their introduction during the actual match. I definitely think it helped the Usos to win a squash. Presumably NAO are disappearing sooner rather than later, so them not being booked strong is fine.

I liked Bray vs. Roman a good deal. It looks like we might get a Round 2 of the six-man after all. WWE's listening to the response they got.

I'm ready to see BBBRRROOOCCCCCKKKK. LLLEEEEESSSSSNNAAAAARRRRR.

That was a pretty good segment with Heyman and Brock. I could literally never see The Undertaker again and be OK with that. I've seen this same song and dance since 1998. Eat. Sleep. Break The Streak. (Obviously from a business perspective it'd be silly for a part-timer who might not be around for long to end the Streak, so I'm not supporting it. I've just personally had my fill of Taker. I respect him and have a lot of good memories of him, but he's mostly getting by on his image and legacy at this point.)

More wresting coming up.