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WWE Raw: Results, Highlights, Analysis, and Grades for April 30

By Bryan Heaton

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Photo Source: WWE.com via Twitter

Intercontinental Championship Match

Seth Rollins (c) vs. Finn Balor

Result: Seth Rollins defeated Finn Balor via pinfall

Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars

It’s not a stretch to say that this match had Match of the Night potential. Both superstars are among the best on Raw, in terms of both talent and popularity. And the repertoire each man utilizes is high octane, rapid fire. So the odds of delivering that MOTN were pretty good.

And deliver it did. These two have had a bunch of matches with each other lately, whether tagging with each other, or as part of a multi-man match, or in singles matches. Each time they’ve competed, they’ve built on those previous encounters. Just when you think you know what’s coming, they flip the script and surprise you.

Take the superplex/Falcon Arrow combo Rollins is known for. In previous matches, Balor countered the Falcon Arrow into a rollup. One time, it won him the match; the next, Rollins was able to kick out. So tonight, Balor just straight up did the Falcon Arrow himself. Who saw that coming?

The last two to three minutes of the match were just absolute fire. There was not a single second of letting up from either superstar. Even trying to get to their feet was an adventure. And the Blackout reversals/avoidances by Balor was bordering on the absurd, but in the best way possible.

While it would have been nice to see Balor win the title, from a story perspective it makes more sense for Rollins to retain and face The Miz at Backlash. Rollins is the one who took the title from Miz at WrestleMania, so it’s only fair for Miz’s rematch to be against the Kingslayer. After the match is done, Balor can jump back into the title picture without any other challengers in the way.

Next: 25 Greatest Entrance Themes in WWE History

That concludes another episode of WWE Raw. It seemed like it dragged in the middle, but overall it was a decent episode. Three really good matches anchored the show this week, although a couple of duds kind of cancel that out. What did you think?

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