WWE Raw: Results, Highlights, Analysis, and Grades for Feb. 12

Photo Source: WWE.com via Twitter

Bray Wyatt vs. Matt Hardy vs. Apollo Crews vs. Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor

Result: Match ended when Finn Balor and Seth Rollins both pinned Bray Wyatt

Rating: 3.75 out of 5 stars

Jeez, and entire segment devoted just to ring entrances at twenty to 11 E.T.? Who laid out the pacing for this show? By the time that first commercial break ended, the match was joined in progress, and there was roughly 12-13 minutes left in the show – including the usual overrun.

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So either the show was going to run late, or this was going to be one of the shortest five way matches in history. To top it all off, there was another commercial break less than five minutes after the match came back.

And it’s a damn shame, because five talented superstars stepped into the ring.

Getting short changed is bad enough, but to get the main event spot and seem like a formality or afterthought is a real slap in the face.

I’m sure the live crowd enjoyed the match, but for those of us watching at home it was awful getting into it.

Special shout out goes to Apollo Crews, who competed in the UK this past weekend for PCW. Flying from England to California probably had him jet lagged like crazy, but he went out there and killed it. I flew to Columbus, Ohio, from Long Island this weekend, and after coming home 24 hours later I didn’t want to do squat today. Imagine flying across the Atlantic, then when you come back home you head across the USA. Apollo, you’re a better man than I.

After a bit of a slow start – not helped by the idiotic pacing of the commercial breaks – the match picked up tremendously at the end. The sequence starting with Rollins attempting the Phoenix Splash and ending with Crews breaking up a pinfall after the Blackout was nuts. In fact, it was phenomenal right up until the actual finish, which was a steaming pile if I’ve ever seen one.

After Bray Wyatt broke up a Tower of Doom spot early in the match, he was the victim of a second in the finish. After he hit the mat, both Finn Balor and Seth Rollins pinned him, got a three count, and whoops we’re out of time, see you next week!

Clearly, since there’s an extra episode of WWE Raw between tonight and Elimination Chamber, we’re getting Balor vs. Rollins next week for the final spot in the Chamber. Calling it now – Balor wins to fulfill WWE’s goof post about him being in the Chamber, but there’s shenanigans that aggravate Rollins. Seth then challenges Kurt Angle’s authority, which sets up a match between them at WrestleMania.

Next: 25 Greatest Entrance Themes in WWE History

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