Monday 22 April 2013

Believe in The Shield

The question going in to tonight's RAW is not whether the London crowd will hum Fandango's theme tune. We all know they'll not just do it but do it well. No, the question for tonight's show is what will happen with the announced Undertaker and Team Hell No v The Shield match.

I don't just mean who will win and who will lose, I mean whether or not the match will actually take place to begin with. This bout feels like it should be on a pay-per-view. That's mainly because of the Undertaker. With his career likely to wrap up within a few years and WWE's general lack of stars any outing 'The Dead Man' has at this point warrants a pay-per-view slot. He's not wrestled at an event not named WrestleMania since Bragging Rights 2010 (discounting house shows of course). Even appearances on RAW have been a rarity for him so it feels peculiar for him to be having a television match after so long.

It's possible the six man tag won't actually take place. Antics could occur before the bell to instigate a brawl in place of the official match. That would keep the programme going without short-changing viewers. This feels as though it's going to be a programme that takes in a PPV so my assumption is something will happen to keep the disagreement alive.

The other obvious option would be for 'The Hounds of Justice' to get a clean win. That would keep them looking strong, something WWE have done very well since introducing the trio to the roster. If they were to get a fall on Bryan or Kane that would give them the perfect argument for a tag title match. Not that much of an argument is needed for a title shot in WWE but you see my point.

That said I wouldn't have a problem with any of the three getting a pin over the Undertaker. He's not a Jericho-like guy who can start putting people over left, right and centre but he can afford to do it occasionally. The Shield would benefit greatly from being able to say they handed 'The Phenom' his first loss in two and a half years. It would make believing in them easier too.


These three should be teaming on pay-per-views

It's likely that Team Hell No will face The Shield at Extreme Rules. Undie could be a part of that rematch or he could simply be playing his part tonight before leaving the regulars to it. Should he leave then Ambrose, Rollins and Reigns could challenge THN to a handicap match. If he sticks around the rematch could have a stipulation added to it. Either approach would fit the Extreme Rules moniker.

Handicap matches aren't extreme? Well, no. But neither was last year's two-out-of-three falls match.

I think the Shield have been booked well enough that they could sustain a loss. It just makes more sense for them to continue winning for the time being. The first loss the gang suffers should be on a pay-per-view, preferably to big name stars. There are few names bigger than 'Taker, which is why I'm expecting tonight's six man tag to either not take place or result in a Shield win to set up a rematch at Extreme Rules. There's money in this match. Why give it away for free?


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