Minutes to Bell Time

                    March 23rd Episode of Raw

                    March 23rd Episode of Raw

                    March 23rd Episode of Raw

                    Note: I did not attended the March 23rd episode of Raw live, but I do average at least one wrestling show per week. Follow the Minutes to Bell Time Instagram to see photos from my experiences. Read about the live experiences here.

                    Sign up for the Free Body Slam Brigade Mailing List Here

                    We won’t bombard you, but we’ll touch base about once a week! This way you never miss any of the Minutes to Bell Time projects and news!

                    March 23rd Episode of Raw Results

                    Key Takeaways (In Process):

                    • WWE Moved the Hard Cam to a similar position as AEW.
                    • Good Promos across the board (Rollins, Styles, Heyman, Garza/Andrade/Vega, Charlotte, and Randy Orton). Most of them were conducted from the ramp instead of the ring. That seems to make more sense given the absence of a live audience.
                    • WWE advertised Drew McIntyre, but he did not appear outside the cold open (which was previously shown)
                    • Street Profits were surprisingly not good on commentary.
                    • The Garza and Andrade vs. Ricochet and Cedric Alexander was very good.
                    • Bold Claim: Andrade’s spinning back elbow is superior to Jericho’s Judas Effect (sorry Chris).

                    Cold Open Statement from Paul Heyman

                    For 18 years, Brock Lesnar has demonstrated that he is the single most dominate competitor in WWE history. After running through the long list of victims, Heyman says Drew McIntyre has no chance. Drew McIntyre joins the video package, and he talks about how he knocked Brock Lesnar down on the March 2nd episode of Raw. This was a great pre-taped promo that they originally played on the March 9th episode of Raw.

                    Paul Heyman and Brock Lesnar in Center of Ring

                    Let’s all be honest with each other. We live in uncertain times. We all need a little certainty, and Paul gives us that certainty with Brock Lesnar. Drew McIntyre can do anything he wants, but he can’t beat Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania. God’s prayer line is only going to give him a busy signal right now. Lesnar will answer the prayer by making it quick and painless. Actually because of the Rumble, it will be quick but not painless. When WrestleMania is over, Drew McIntyre will just be another guy that tried.

                    Byron Saxton and Tom Phillips Hype the WrestleMania Match

                    They also let us know that Randy Orton is in attendance to respond to Edge’s WrestleMania challenge.

                    Recap of the Undertaker Beating Up The O.C.

                    AJ Styles is in attendance.

                    Replay of the Royal Rumble 2015 Match Between Brock Lesnar, John Cena, and Seth Rollins

                    Spoiler Alert: Brock Lesnar won that match.

                    Tom Phillips Reminds us that Rob Gronkowski will Host WrestleMania

                    Recapped the altercation with King Corbin from Smackdown

                    Recap of the AJ Styles and Undertaker Segments from the Last Two Weeks

                    The recap continued after Raw came back from commercial.

                    AJ Styles Promo From the Ramp

                    Taker says Undertaker wears stretchy maternity pants. He continues by talking about the Undertaker’s twitter account and making fun of his save the tiger video. AJ wonders if the Undertaker has lost himself, and he blames Michelle McCool for that. Styles wants to the Undertaker from yester-year, but he is nowhere to be found. After announcing that the WrestleMania match will be a boneyard match, Styles says that he’ll bury the Undertaker in the same plot where Michelle McCool buried his career.

                    Match Announcement for WrestleMania

                    Street Profits vs. Angel Garza and Andrade

                    Charly’s Backstage Interview with Andrade, Angel, Zelina

                    Charly asks how Andrade and Garza are preparing for their match with the Street Profits. Vega says they’ll show why their the best team during their match this evening. After WrestleMania, the Street Profits will not be dancing around with the Tag Team Titles. Andrade says that the Street Profits want the smoke, but he wants the Tag Team Titles. Garza says Andrade and him are both men that know what they want as Garza stares intensely at Charly. She is smitten.

                    Recap of Edge’s Promo From Last Week

                    Angel Garza and Andrade defeat Ricochet and Cedric Alexander

                    Garza and Andrade attacked Ricochet before Cedric Alexander’s music even came on. Andrade and Ricochet begin the match. Angel Garza tried to tag into the match, but the referee wouldn’t let him in because he didn’t have the tag rope. That’s interesting as we hardly ever see that enforced. Garza then took the tag rope off, brought it to a different corner, and tried to tag in again. The referee again wouldn’t allow this. Andrade managed to take advantage of all the distractions, and he pushed Ricochet to the floor. On the floor, Angel Garza threw Ricochet into the LED board. As the Street Profits came out to the commentary booth, Raw took a commercial break.

                    Back from the break, Andrade held Ricochet down in the center of the ring. Angel Garza finally got a legal tag into the match. In true Garza fashion, he pulled his pants off, cinched in a side headlock, pushed Ricochet against the ropes, and hit him with some chops. Andrade tagged back into the match.

                    Ricochet finally got the tag to Cedric Alexander who ran wild all over Angel Garza hitting a basement dropkick to the back of Garza’s head and a springboard flatliner. Alexander and Ricochet hit a number of tandem moves before Andrade came to the rescue. When Garza attempted to come off the second rope, Ricochet countered with a dropkick sending Raw to a commercial break.

                    Finish: Angel Garza and Andrade defeat Ricochet and Cedric Alexander

                    Cedric and Andrade continued the match when Raw came back from commercial with Cedric hitting him with his handspring enziguri. Andrade managed to send Alexander into the corner and connected with the double knees for a near fall. Garza and Andrade used a double powerbomb to bring Ricochet into the ring. Ricochet sent Andrade to the floor, but Andrade blocked a moonsault. All of this action distracted Garza, and Cedric nearly rolled him up for a pin. Garza pulled Cedric into position and hit a springboard moonsault off the second rope. Next thing you know everyone is on the outside and Ricochet got his Sasuke special.

                    Back in the ring, Cedric Alexander caught Andrade with a Michinoku driver for a very near fall. Andrade countered into his spinning back elbow for the pinfall victory.

                    Post Match

                    The Street Profits made their way to the ring to congratulate Garza and Andrade. The two teams fought until the Garza and Andrade ducked out of the ring.

                    Recap of Kofi Kingston Winning the WWE Championship at WrestleMania

                    Recap of Austin 3:16 Day

                    Bryon Saxton got stunned, and Becky Lynch drank beer with Steve Austin.

                    Street Profits defeat Shane Thorne and Brandon Vink

                    Thorne begins the match with Dawkins, but Dawkins quickly tags out to Montez Ford. Ford took advantage of the quiet room to light up Thorne’s chest with a few open hand chops. Brendon Vink tagged into the match and took out Ford. The NXT tandem isolated Ford and Shane Thorne hit a somersault senton on Ford in the corner.

                    Dawkins got tagged into he match and went wild on Vink hitting the pop-up power bomb followed by Ford’s frogsplash for the pinfall victory.

                    You Tube Video of Riddick Moss Running

                    A referee pulled up beside Moss. R-Truth got out of the trunk of the car and rolled up Moss to win the 24/7 championship.

                    Match Announcement for WrestleMania

                    When running down the card, Tom Phillips announced Bobby Lashley vs. Aleister Black

                    Charly Caruso with Shayna Baszler

                    Charly’s Question: If you defeat Becky Lynch, how do you plan to conduct yourself as Champion. You normally speak with your actions, but since you’re here. . .could you put it into words?

                    Shayna called Charly out for being nervous. Baszler asked Charly if she was afraid that “I’ll bite you.”

                    Shayna says she wants the title because she likes to destroy. When she takes the title from Becky, it will destroy her. All of a sudden, Becky Lynch hit Baszler with a steel chair. The Performance Center was dark for the interview, so we didn’t see it coming. Becky just walked out smiling.

                    Aleister Black defeats Leon Ruff

                    Aleister Black just sat down in the middle of the ring and stared at Ruff. When Ruff went for a kick, Black ducked, got up, and hit Black Mass for the pinfall victory.

                    Kevin Owens In-Ring Asking For Seth Rollins to Come Out

                    Seth came out and asked if Kevin really thinks that wrestling him at the Performance Center gives him an advantage. Rollins asked if Owens understands how he got the opportunity to train in this building. He went on to explain that the PC was built on his shoulders. When he joined WWE, he reported to a broken down warehouse. Rollins says he had to succeed so people like Kevin Owens could train in a building like this.

                    None of this exists without Seth Rollins: NXT and the Performance Center. There is no Gargano, Ciampa, Undisputed Era, and there is no women’s evolution without Seth Rollins. Most importantly there is no Kevin Owens without Seth Rollins.

                    Seth then asked why Owens picked WrestleMania? Rollins won the Intercontinental Championship, the Universal Championship, cashed in his money in the bank, etc. He continues to say that Kevin Owen’s track record is nothing but failure at WrestleMania. Seth says Owens can’t beat him on his worse day much less at WrestleMania.

                    They show Charlotte Flair vs. Asuka from WrestleMania 34

                    Spoiler: Charlotte wins and ends Asuka’s undefeated streak. I didn’t like it then, and I’m not going to like it now.

                    Backstage Interview with Charlotte Flair

                    She recaps her all of her WrestleMania moments. If Rhea needs a history lesson, she is more than welcome to watch some of Charlotte’s legacy matches. She might learn something. Woo.

                    Randy Orton Promo on the Ramp

                    Randy says over the last couple of months, he has done and said some stuff that has been misunderstood. He did and said those things out of love, but that’s not how they were perceived. Randy says he’s here to respond to the challenge, but first he wants to let Edge know that he lied to Beth Phoenix.

                    Randy says Edge was correct that he didn’t have to pay his dues, but that didn’t guarantee his success. Orton disagrees that Mick Foley passed a torch to them. Foley passed a torch to Edge, but Foley dumped Randy in a pile of thumb tacks. Randy had to spit in Foley’s face and take the torch.

                    Orton goes on to say that he does have grit regardless of what Edge says. Nobody has his longevity or as much grit as him. He maintains that everything he did, he did for love. Since Edge challenged him to a last man standing match, Orton accepts and will write the last chapter in Edge’s story.

                     

                    March 23rd Episode of Raw Preview

                    Tonight’s episode of Monday Night Raw takes place at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, FL. The show begins at 8:00 PM Eastern on the USA Network. Raw was originally scheduled to occur elsewhere, but WWE moved the show in response to COVID-19.

                    Announced for Tonight’s Episode:

                    Randy Orton

                    During last week’s episode of Monday Night Raw, Edge challenged Randy Orton to a match at WrestleMania. WWE announced that Randy would be live this week presumably to answer the challenge.

                    Brock Lesnar and Drew McIntyre

                    Both superstars have been announced separately for the March 23rd episode of Monday Night Raw. Ahead of their WreslteMania match in April, Drew McIntyre put Brock Lesnar down with three consecutive Claymore kicks on Raw a few weeks ago. Will Brock Lesnar have a chance to retaliate before WrestleMania, or will Drew McIntyre win the night again?

                    Other Things Not Announced

                    Rey Mysterio, Angel Garza, Humberto Carillo, and Andrade

                    These four have been battling during the first hour of Monday Night Raw all year. Last week, Rey Mysterio pinned Andrade in a non-title match. That should set up a title match for Rey at some point (maybe tonight, maybe at WrestleMania).

                    Becky Lynch and Shayna Baszler

                    Becky has delivered a couple of good promos on the way to their match at WrestleMania. It makes sense that the story continues tonight on Raw.

                    Charlotte Flair and Rhea Ripley

                    Same as the Becky and Shayna statement. WWE will likely continue the build for Charlotte and Rhea tonight on Raw.

                    Share this: