RAW Tag Team Championship Match
Sheamus & Cesaro (c) vs. Apollo & Titus O’Neil
What we learned: This was a late addition to the main card and this probably could have taken place on the kickoff show but Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson and The Miztourage took that spot (Gallows and Anderson won if anyone cares). What we learned here was that Sheamus and Cesaro desperately need new challengers with Seth Rollins and (insert partner here) no longer in the RAW Tag Team Championship picture.
Titus and O’Neil and Apollo (no longer Crews) had gotten a few non-title victories over The Bar in recent weeks, which earned them the right to challenge for the titles here but I don’t think there was anyone in Las Vegas or anyone watching on the WWE Network that really thought that Titus Worldwide would walk away from this match with the straps. That’s likely why the crowd really wasn’t into this one at all. It didn’t help that the match was very average and featured very little action.
With the athleticism in this match, I was hoping for a better pace in this bout but it was slow from the start. Sheamus and Cesaro used the classic tag formula by cutting the ring in half when wearing down Apollo but there were a lot of rest holds here and it just wasn’t entertaining. Titus would finally got the hot tag and nobody seemed to care. It’s a bit of a problem when the biggest reaction from the live crowd was when Sheamus almost slipped going to the top rope (which he hilariously addressed immediately).
Apollo got some aerial maneuvers in for a minute there towards the end but it didn’t last long and The Bar picked up the win after about 10 minutes. Nothing to write home about here.
What’s next: We may get another match from these teams in the next week or two but as I said, Cesaro and Sheamus need new challengers heading into WrestleMania. They did the multi-team ladder match last year, which I suppose is an option again in New Orleans, but I’d much rather see that from the teams on the blue brand. In my opinion, The Revival is the option here. After taking the embarrassment at the 25th anniversary edition of RAW, they’ve picked up some nice wins and those that watch NXT know they can put on some great matches on a big stage. The Bar vs. The Revival. Book it.