WWE Raw: Results, Highlights, Analysis, and Grades for April 2

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Finn Balor vs. Seth Rollins

Result: Seth Rollins defeated Finn Balor via pinfall

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Props to The Miz for showing up for commentary less than a week after his kid was born. But bigger props to Maryse for letting him out of the house. I won’t get into the whole “paternity leave” thing besides saying you should have the opportunity to stay home and be a dad, but at least he was able to be there for the birth. And you could tell it was not The Miz talking about his daughter – it was Mike Mizanin, and it was (too) sweet to see.

But against the backdrop of Miz basically pulling out his wallet with an accordion file of baby pics, Rollins and Balor tore the house down again. Well, when they weren’t forced into rest-holds so they could squeeze in a Nakamura ad mid-match. There was a hot open, and a pretty fast paced ending, but the middle was a little slow. Couple that with commentary being all about Mikey and his baby, and the match was a bit underwhelming for what it could have been.

I think part of the problem with wrestling today is that too many guys wrestle “for TV.” Don’t get me wrong, the product today is a billion times better than my formative years as a fan, at least in terms of match quality. But I feel like everything is paced for broadcast, and not for what actually makes sense. Rollins and Balor spent parts of this match practically killing themselves because it looks good on television – but they’re six days away from the biggest night of the year. Save yourselves!

I appreciated the tease/callback to the finish from their last match – the superplex/Falcon Arrow combo that Finn blocked into a rollup. Even better was the tease to their first match back at SummerSlam 2016 – the powerbomb into the barricade that ripped apart Finn’s shoulder. Mix that all together with everything except the middle of the match, and you have an all-time classic.

I’m pretty hyped for the Intercontinental Title match at WrestleMania, and this only added to the excitement. Hopefully Miz uses his Hollywood money to get an au pair so he can sleep between now and Mania so everyone is at their peak for Sunday.