Instant Reaction - WWE Raw 12/29
By Ben Tucker, PWTorch TV specialist

Overall Score - 8.0

Daniel Bryan announces his return, Edge and Christian, Roman Reigns's first main event-level match since his return from injury against former stablemate Seth Rollins, a Tag Title change, the debut of The Ascension, and the return of Bad News Barrett were all one-shot moments that were crammed into one episode of Raw to address one of the worst TV ratings since 1997. In the short-term, it worked. What was more important about the structure of Monday's broadcast was the attention put towards developing the characters of individual wrestlers. Presumably due to the split roster (a live event was taking place at the same time as Raw), multiple mid-carders such as Luke Harper and Ryback were given a chance to verbally develop their characters in front of the crowd. Some instances were more successful than others, but the important thing to note is that for once WWE attempted to breathe life into multiple talents and give their gimmicks something tangible that the fans can latch onto.

Ryback came into Raw the same meathead who lumbered onto the scene after an injury in 2012. One five-minute promo allowed Ryback to flesh himself out as a flawed, yet sympathetic individual whose goals can be supported. Monday's Raw gave us a reason to care about Ryback. Raw gave us a reason to care about Luke Harper. Raw gave us a reason to care about Cesaro. Wrestling is driven by characters, and after a drought of heavy character development for years on the main roster's mid-card, seeing even the smallest glimpse of it brings great joy to my heart. Despite the returns and surprises of Raw, these little things can prove to be most important.

That said, all of the major parts of Raw managed to be successful as well. I thought it added up to the best Raw of the last six months. With the exception of one lull in the second hour, Raw kept my attention the entire time with hooks for Daniel Bryan, The Ascension, and the Cutting Edge Peep Show, leading to a final hour that was particularly strong. Daniel Bryan's promo provided a fantastic symphony of emotions and a nice surprise at the end. Bryan's addition to the Road to WrestleMania can completely alter the card for Mania 31. Judging by the fan reactions to both him and Roman Reigns, Bryan is clearly favored over the "future face of the WWE." Seeing how these reactions alter the Show of Shows several months from now will be truly interesting to see...

Speaking of Roman Reigns, it appears that WWE thinks that injury angles are the key to him getting over. It's incredible that mid-carder Ryback received a full segment to discuss his background when Roman Reigns has received no development since debuting on the main roster in 2012. Reigns's rise to the top continues to show signs of unease, and his feud with the Big Show has not appeared to gain substantial traction. The beat down as a whole was effective, but Reigns does not come out of the broadcast looking strong.

What was strong, though, was Raw's closing moments. Seth Rollins had a shining night as a heel, threatening to cripple a legend just to get his buddies back in power... moments before attempting to cripple the man anyway. Contrived as the ending of the show may have been as a whole, Seth Rollins's performance was off the charts, and Edge and Christian were effectively used in their sympathy-garnering roles.

Also entertaining were the Ziggler-Rusev and Tag Team Championship matches. The Miz deserves some sort of MVP role for his excellent work in the tag division this year, essentially wrestling handicap matches as Damien Mizdow hardly interferes. Tonight was no different, with Miz and the Usos delivering excellent nearfalls that on multiple occasions duped me into thinking that the match was over.

Less successful in the tag division was the main roster debut of The Ascension. In the end, the problem isn't that they're wearing face paint or wear silly Illuminati tights. The problem is that their offense looks weak. When the Legion of Doom was wrestling a tag team, they looked to be working as stiff as boards. Their lariats connected. Viktor's STO resembled more of a slight tumble onto a feathery bed. Whether or not a move does hurt is one thing, but for a team to be considered dominant, they need to act dominant. The Ascension's debut was not terrible, but there are alarming signs that the act may have a hard time getting over.

I thought the good of Raw far outweighed the bad, delivering a consistently entertaining Raw that provided a solid end to an absolutely awful year for mainstream American wrestling. It's the little things about Raw tonight that make me hope for positive change in the future. But, with a full roster next week and fewer tricks up their sleeve, will the newly-Authoritized WWE return to business as usual?

Any questions or comments? Message me on Twitter @BTuckertorch!

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