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TUCKER'S LIVE INSTANT REACTION: Is Raw falling below the WrestleMania build-up standard?

Feb 24, 2015 - 12:01:51 AM
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Live Instant Reaction - WWE Raw 2/23
By Ben Tucker, PWTorch TV specialist


Overall Score - 5.5

For the first time in many years, the Road to WrestleMania will be taking place on a surface road, not an interstate highway. With only four episodes of Raw between now and the biggest show of the year, you would think that most feuds for the event would be in place, steadily building for a huge pay-per-view pay-off. Randy Orton taking out the Authority one-by-one, Roman Reigns looking dominant before going face-to-face with Brock Lesnar once again, and upper mid-carders scrapping around with their future dance partner.

Of course, Raw took a step backward from all of this. Whereas last night Roman Reigns was standing tall as the biggest dog in the yard, tonight he was getting pummeled by nearly-babyface Randy Orton while hanging around with his apparent new running buddy Daniel Bryan. Where is the intensity? The confidence? The main event level gravitas held by greats like Stone Cold and Bret Hart? Roman came across in tonight's main event like an ensemble player 34 days before the biggest match of his career.

Randy Orton, fresh off of dealing an incredible string of RKOs to The Authority at Fastlane, reverted to the tweener role he was playing back in October. The injury angle that sidelined Orton for months is washed away as though it had never happened. What was a hot babyface turn has now become a false start that may sour interest once Orton finally does make the full switch. And with only a few shows before WrestleMania, Randy better get his turn on soon.

Meanwhile, the tag division is stuck in a continuation of Fastlane's Uso-Uppercats (copyright) storyline, The Ascension have been made to look like idiots, and Dolph Ziggler, Daniel Bryan, Sheamus, Kane, Big Show, etc. are left without WrestleMania dance partners with only a month left on the calendar to invest fans in the biggest show of the year. WrestleMania 31 is not being set up to be an all-time $54.99 great; if tonight is any indication, it will be seen as a $9.99 spectacle with lots of sizzle and no steak.

So Raw failed to drum up interest for WrestleMania. What did it do right? It ended up coming down to the little things. Damien Mizdow and The Miz continue to shine in their prolonged break-up angle (showing how to properly split up a duo, rather than go back to the status quo as Randy Orton essentially did on this broadcast). Ryback delivered as well, standing out in his short outing against Curtis Axel by showing a great level of charisma and successfully getting the crowd to rally behind him in what would normally be considered a forgettable segment.

Bray Wyatt, now with a clear direction, has become much more interesting. His presentation of The Undertaker storyline has been very entertaining to watch as of late, and the slow development of the feud will ensure that the event comes across as a major happening.

Unfortunately, the vast majority of the show felt like "two steps forward, one step back." Most notable was the Divas match, which featured the most insulting excuse for women's wrestling I've seen since 1999. 17 seconds of wrestling for an entire division on a three-hour broadcast is a gigantic crime. But let's be honest, what did you expect?

It sounds like I'm being too harsh on a show that I rated as being slightly above average. That's because this time of year needs to be as great as humanly possible. Nothing in wrestling gets bigger than WrestleMania, but the last month of promotion has felt like a letdown. There's only four Raws left and not a moment to lose. Don't disappoint, WWE.

Questions or comments? Message me on Twitter @BTuckertorch!


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