WWE Raw Results: Highlights, Analysis, and Grades for April 10

Kevin Owens vs. Dean Ambrose

Result: Dean Ambrose defeated Kevin Owens via pinfall

Rating: 3.0 out of 5 stars

Champion vs. Champion matches are always interesting in theory, but in practice all they can do it devalue one title. And that’s a best case scenario.

Here’s the deal: a champion is supposed to be the best of the best, right? If you have multiple championships, there should be some kind of separation between them – something that makes it unlikely for the champs to face off. If they do, there should be some kind of handicap involved – heavyweight champ vs. cruiserweight champ, for example.

What’s the difference between the US Title and the Intercontinental Title? Now, the US Title is more meaningless. A guy like Curt Hawkins could theoretically say he wants a match for the United States Championship because Owens just lost a big match. It won’t (and shouldn’t) happen, but that’s the kind of thing that happens when you do clean finishes in matches between champions.

It’s not like it was a bad match, either – it was one of the better matches of the night. But there was no good outcome from this one if it was a straight up wrestling match.

The appearance of Chris Jericho after the match was logical, but a little unexpected. I know the Fozzy tour doesn’t start right away, but usually bands do this thing called “rehearsal” before touring. So the fact he was on Raw tonight was a little surprising.

Three weeks out, and the card for Payback is already taking shape. A tag title match and US Title match are already set. And the WWE Championship will be on the line in a House of Horrors match, as a Raw superstar challenges a SmackDown superstar for the company’s top prize.

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What did you think of this week’s episode of Raw?