SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
Brock Lesnar is on the Highlight Reel with Chris Jericho tonight. Plus, the final hype for the Royal Rumble, a big tag match, Royal Rumble implications, and more…
WWE Raw TV Report
January 18, 2016 – Episode #1,182
Live in Columbus, Ohio
Report by James Caldwell (@JCTorch), PWTorch assistant editor
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The Card
- Brock Lesnar on Chris Jericho’s Highlight Reel
- First spot in the Royal Rumble announced
- Tag Match: U.S. champion Alberto Del Rio & Sheamus vs. IC champion Dean Ambrose & Kalisto
- Six-man tag match: Ryback & The Dudleys vs. The Wyatts
***
Raw opened with the annual Martin Luther King, Jr. tribute video, containing clips of MLK’s “I Have a Dream” speech.
Live in the arena, pyro and fireworks kicked off the show. Michael Cole, Byron Saxton, and JBL introduced the show, hyping Brock Lesnar on Chris Jericho’s Highlight Reel.
After a pause, The Shield’s music played to bring out WWE World Hvt. champion Roman Reigns atop the arena. Reigns marched down to the ring as Cole hyped Reigns’s big odds facing 29 competitors with the WWE Title on the line in the Royal Rumble on Sunday. One of those men is Brock Lesnar, who took out Reigns last Monday on Raw.
In the ring, Reigns hyped the stacked deck on Sunday. Tonight, though, he only cares about one man. Brock Lesnar. Reigns said he wants to finish what Lesnar started last week. Right Now.
Instead, Chris Jericho’s music played. Jericho walked out on-stage dressed in jeans and a jacket without a shirt underneath the jacket. Another odd look in the return collection. Jericho entered the ring and waited for a light “Y2J” chant to pick up as Reigns stared him down.
Jericho introduced himself and Reigns replied that he’s happy he’s back in WWE, but he’s not Brock Lesnar. Reigns said he wants Lesnar in this ring right now. Jericho said he gets that, but Brock will be on the Highlight Reel with him later tonight. Jericho said he has an idea, though. He said he wants to have the Top Three Contenders to win the Rumble on the same show tonight – himself, Brock, and Reigns. Jericho is a top three contender? Reigns liked the sound of that.
Suddenly, the League of Nations’s generic music played. Sheamus, U.S. champion Alberto Del Rio, Rusev, and King Barrett assembled on the stage. Sheamus said since when did the Rumble become about Lesnar vs. Reigns? He said there are 28 other Rumble entrants, including the League of Nations. He said one of them intends on winning the Rumble and taking back the WWE Title.
Sheamus then welcomed back Jericho and his “nice dinner jacket.” “What happened, did you eat the shirt?” Sheamus asked. Jericho held out his hand and did an “eh” motion about the joke material. Jericho ran down Sheamus, then Alberto Del Rio and Rusev shouted back at Jericho, trying to save Sheamus after his promo. Rusev got fired up, vowing to win the Rumble. “We should be on your little show tonight,” Rusev said. Jericho said he didn’t get a word he said. “You’re not that smart,” Rusev replied.
[Q2] Jericho then asked Reigns who won the Rumble last year. “I did,” Reigns noted. Jericho asked Reigns who he eliminated last to win? “The guy we can’t understand – Rusev,” Reigns replied. Jericho said Rusev seems to come up just a little short, which was a penis joke. “You got jokes, you stupid little Canadian?” Jericho replied. Reigns told Rusev to shut up. He said he doesn’t have Brock until later tonight, so how about they face off tonight? Jericho entered hype mode asking Columbus if they want to see that tonight. As the League of Nations marched down to the ring, Jericho decided to make himself special referee for the match. How is that possible? So mindless. Cole sent Raw to break.
[ Reax: So tired. So played out. So repetitive. The same talking segment every week where one guy stands here and says these lame lines, then the other guy stands here and says these lame lines, and they stretch it out for 15 minutes. It’s like dress rehearsal for a local theater play. Thank goodness for Rusev saving this segment with his delivery, poise, and fresh rebuttals. Otherwise, it would have turned into another round of the Reigns-Sheamus “tater tots” disaster. ]
[Commercial Break at 8:18]
1 — WWE World Hvt. champion ROMAN REIGNS vs. RUSEV (w/Sheamus, King Barrett, and Alberto Del Rio) — non-title match — Chris Jericho as special referee
During the break, referee Mike Chioda came down to ringside and Jericho took his stripes to wear for this match. Saxton assumed that Jericho would call this match down the middle. Rusev and Reigns took turns dumping each other out of the ring. Reigns then got distracted by the League down at ringside, allowing Rusev to take control back in the ring. The League continued to distract Reigns, allowing Rusev to maintain control. Raw cut to break with Rusev dominating the champ.
[Commercial Break at 8:25]
Back from break, Rusev was still controlling Reigns. Reigns fought back with his customary clothesline, clothesline, clothesline offense. Reigns landed a customary uppercut, then went for a Samoan Drop, but Rusev elbowed off Reigns’s shoulders. Rusev followed with a standing kick to the head for a two count. That was a really slow count from Jericho.
[Q3] Rusev placed Reigns on his shoulders and tried to climb to the top turnbuckle for a super move, but Reigns blocked and dropped Rusev with a sit-out powerbomb for a two count. Barrett then got involved distracting Jericho, allowing Sheamus to yank Reigns to the floor and chuck him hard into the barricade.
Jericho came back over to see what was going on. He evaluated the situation and decided to kick out Sheamus from ringside. Barrett started yelling at Jericho, so Jericho tossed him, too. Alberto Del Rio then screamed and yelled at Jericho, who listened to his complaints and tossed him, too. JBL called Jericho drunk with power. Jericho did some wild movements after losing control of himself, then Reigns smashed Rusev with a Superman Punch. Reigns fired up and followed with the spear to Rusev for a three count.
WINNER: Reigns at 13:54. Ridiculous premise for a match, but they got the point across about Reigns being fired up and ready for the Rumble.
Still to come: More Jericho. More Reigns. It’s the Highlight Reel with Brock Lesnar later tonight.
[Commercial Break at 8:36]
Backstage: Chris Jericho was shown walking down the hallway grinning from ear to ear. Stephanie McMahon walked up to Jericho to confront him about not having the authority to do what he just did. So, she waited until 20 minutes after he took over the show to take exception? Jericho told Steph to lighten up and go back to being the 1999 Stephanie. Steph said she’s rather not go back there where Jericho’s material came from. She reprimanded Jericho for messing with her show, her advertising, and the Highlight Reel segment since now she has to re-negotiate with Paul Heyman for more money for Brock Lesnar. And she does not enjoy having to do that. Steph told Jericho not to mess with her show again.
In-ring: Brie Bella and Alicia Fox were introduced to the ring for Divas action. Natalya came out on-stage, then paused to bring out Paige as her new associate. Before the match started, Cole went to a Total Divas clip of Paige and Fox having social media issues. Mainly, Paige feeling rejected by Fox as a friend. So, Brie & Alicia were kinda faces opposite Team B.A.D. for a few weeks, and now they’re kinda heels?
[Q4]
2 — NATALYA (w/Paige) vs. BRIE BELLA (w/Alicia Fox)
Brie landed some “Yes!” kicks early on, rocking Natalya, but Natalya responded with the Sharpshooter. Brie quickly tapped out.
WINNER: Natalya via submission at 1:30. And Raw is back to the short Divas match.
Up Next: The Dudleys & Ryback vs. The Wyatts in a six-man tag match.
Backstage: The Royal Rumble tumbler was shown. Saxton said the #1 spot in the Rumble will be determined tonight.
[Commercial Break at 8:47]
Back from break, the Wyatt interruption flashed on the screen to produce Bray Wyatt and his crew, Braun Strowman, Luke Harper, and Erick Rowan. Meanwhile, the announcers discussed which of the factions in WWE is best set up to be successful in the Rumble. The Dudleys were out next. Before Ryback joined them, WWE cut to footage from Smackdown (with the voice of Mauro Ranallo) when the Wyatts used tables against The Dudleys. Ryback was out next to join the Dudleys. Raw cut to break before the match started.
[Commercial Break at 8:56]
3 — THE DUDLEYS (BUBBA RAY & DEVON) & RYBACK vs. THE WYATTS (BRAY WYATT & LUKE HARPER & ERICK ROWAN w/Braun Strowman) — six-man tag match
The match was joined in progress with Braun Strowman as the odd-man out in this six-man setting. Luke Harper ran over Bubba with a big boot, then tagged in Rowan, who missed a big splash.
[Q5 — second hour] Devon tagged in for Bubba and ran over Rowan with a shoulder tackle. But, Rowan cut off Devon and the Wyatts began wearing down Devon. As Rowan continued to work on Devon, Cole issued condolences on the death of “Iron” Mike Sharpe.
Ryback finally got a hot tag and ran over Harper, who also tagged in. After Ryback landed offense, Bubba tagged in and delivered a uranage. The action broke down with wrestlers flying in and out of the ring. Ryback and Strowman had a confrontation down at ringside, but Ryback was blindsided and taken out. Back in the ring, Harper ran over Bubba with a discus clothesline for the pin and the win.
WINNERS: Wyatts at 6:39. The audience has seen this result many times now. Is there any equity left in the Dudleys after having them lose frequently to New Day and the Wyatts since returning to WWE?
Still to come: Highlight Reel with Jericho, Lesnar, Reigns, and Heyman.
[Commercial Break at 9:07]
Back from break, Big Show was introduced to the ring for the next match. Show was in a bit of a jovial mood, so he’s babyface this week. The Social Outcasts were out next dressed in matching black shirts. Heath Slater was representing the group against Show. Slater said one of them will win the Rumble and become new WWE champion. Adam Rose drunkenly talked about his feet never hitting the ground, Curtis Axel said no one knows what Rose is talking about and he was never eliminated from the 2015 Royal Rumble, Bo Dallas had the mic yanked away from him, and Slater vowed to eliminate Show tonight.
[Q6]
4 — BIG SHOW vs. HEATH SLATER (w/Adam Rose, Bo Dallas, and Curtis Axel)
Slater ducked underneath the ropes early on, then Slater decided to crawl out of the ring. Slater celebrated escaping Show, who palmed him back into the ring. Show then KO Punched Slater for the pin and the win.
Post-match: KO Punches to Axel and Rose. Bo Dallas then slid out of the ring and celebrated leaving the ring in one piece. Bo took a victory lap, shouting that he survived. But, Show surprised him with a KO Punch. Show started to leave, but paused to take a selfie with a fan at ringside.
WINNER: Show at 0:57.
Announcers: Cole and Co. hyped the Royal Rumble this Sunday. JBL did the flashcards on paying $54.99 for the Rumble through cable providers, or pay $9.99 to watch the Rumble on the Network.
Backstage: Sheamus, Del Rio, and Barrett yelled about Chris Jericho, then Stephanie McMahon walked in. She said she can’t believe they let Jericho punk him out, angering the League of Nations. Steph continued to add fuel to the League’s frustration, hoping to have it turned on Jericho. “Why would you let Chris Jericho scare you away?” she egged them. “Scare us!” they talked over each other. Steph told Sheamus and Co. to prove they aren’t scared.
[Commercial Break at 9:19]
Back from break, Cole said it’s time to find out who has the #1 spot in the Royal Rumble. Mr. McMahon’s music played to bring out Vince and Stephanie. The Rumble tumbler was on the stage for them to draw some numbers. But first some jabs at Roman Reigns. Then, a flashback to when McMahon won the Royal Rumble during the Attitude Era.
McMahon said enough about him, let’s draw some numbers…or names? McMahon pulled out a ball, but couldn’t open it. So, he drew another ball and couldn’t open it. So, he handed over the second one to Stephanie, who opened the ball to reveal “Roman Reigns.” Apparently all of the balls had Reigns’s name in it. McMahon wanted to see if this was just a coincidence, so he asked for another spin. McMahon pulled out another ball, had trouble opening it, put it back in, pulled out another one, shook it, laughed at himself, and pulled out another ball. Steph took out the paper, which read Roman Reigns again.
“Wait a minute, what’s going on here?” McMahon sheepishly asked. He asked for a third draw. This time, McMahon opened the ball clean and the paper had “Roman Reigns” on it. McMahon, satisfied with himself, jogged to the back with Stephanie. Down at ringside, the announcers had a mindless argument about the odds stacked against Reigns.
[ Reax: One segment captured how far off the rails WWE is right now. ]
Charlotte’s music then played to produce the Divas champion and Ric Flair. Cole said Charlotte will be watching Becky Lynch in action next.
[Q7] [Commercial Break at 9:30]
Back from break, random techno music blared. Tamina was introduced with Naomi for singles action against Becky Lynch. Becky Lynch then came out wearing a wild costume that drew laughter from Charlotte down at ringside. Cole talked about Becky being emotional in her feud with Charlotte. Then, a look back to Smackdown when Becky challenged Charlotte to a Divas Title match at the Royal Rumble. Cole said Charlotte has yet to agree to a title match.
5 — BECKY LYNCH vs. TAMINA (w/Naomi)
Naomi tried to make up for Sasha Banks’s absence by cheerleading for Tamina early on. But, Becky caught her with the dis-arm-her submission for the win.
Post-match, Becky celebrated as Charlotte sold being not that impressed, leaning back in her chair with a cocky attitude. Becky then took the mic and said nothing would mean more to her than winning the Divas Title this Sunday at the Rumble. But, first, she needs an answer. Becky said everyone wants to see a title match at the Rumble. Flair just laughed and shook his head.
Charlotte then took the mic and growled that she’s not going to hand over a free title match because people are yelling at her. Charlotte said Becky needs to hit the back of the line as Flair continued to laugh about Becky’s tough talk. Becky then played the dad card, insulting Ric’s catchphases, calling him a coward, and wondering if his loser daughter fell far from the tree. Flair got up from his chair wide-eyed and in a mood. Flair told Becky that if she wants it, she got it this Sunday at the Rumble. Flair whooed and danced as Charlotte sold being mad about Ric making the decision for her. Becky celebrated in the ring as Charlotte tried to have a conversation with Ric on the way out.
WINNER: Becky via submission at 4:05. Becky continued her streak of being a highlight of WWE TV on the mic.
[Q8] [Commercial Break at 9:45]
Smackdown plug: Miz TV with Kevin Owens and Dean Ambrose, plus Roman Reigns vs. the League of Nations in a handicap match.
Ringside: Kevin Owens was at the commentary position to help JBL offset the “stupidity” of Cole and Saxton, per a tweet. Owens said that’s nice of Cole to read Twitter instead of doing his job. Cole said he read it during a commercial. Dean Ambrose was then introduced to the ring for tag action. Kalisto joined him in the ring before the League of Nations came out as the opposition.
6 — U.S. champion ALBERTO DEL RIO & SHEAMUS (w/King Barrett) vs. IC champion DEAN AMBROSE & KALISTO
Before the match started, WWE replayed events on Smackdown when Del Rio won back the U.S. Title from Kalisto, who won it from Del Rio last week on Raw. Dean and Kalisto dumped the heels to the outside and stood tall in the ring heading to break.
[Commercial Break at 9:53]
During the break, the heels were in control after knocking around Kalisto on the floor. The heels isolated Kalisto, allowing Owens time to get over his IC Title match against Ambrose on Sunday. Kalisto finally made a hot tag to Ambrose, who knocked Del Rio out of the ring to the floor. Ambrose landed a suicide dive, but Sheamus came over to attack Ambrose from behind.
[Q9 — third hour] Back in the ring, Del Rio covered Ambrose for a two count. The heels worked over Ambrose, but were unable to put him away. Del Rio hit the backstabber, but Dean kicked out again. Del Rio wanted his top-rope double stomp finisher, but Dean did a stomach-crunch and yanked Del Rio off the top rope to the mat.
Del Rio bailed to Sheamus, who took a rebound lariat from Ambrose. Hot tag to Kalisto, who ducked Sheamus and snapped off a head scissors. “Lucha libre!” Cole shouted. Kalisto nailed the Salida del Sol, but Del Rio broke up a pin. Ambrose and Del Rio battled to the outside, where Owens stood up, distracting Ambrose. Del Rio kicked Dean in the head to take him out. Back in the ring, Sheamus blocked a second Salida del Sol and nailed the Brogue Kick on Kalisto for the win.
WINNERS: Sheamus & Del Rio at 13:15. Basic tag match promoting two title matches on Sunday. Well, if you count making it seem like Kalisto has no shot at re-capturing the title.
Announcers: Cole and Co. hyped WWE Network and the Rumble on Sunday.
Earlier Tonight: Roman Reigns called out Brock Lesnar. Chris Jericho then added Reigns to the Highlight Reel with Lesnar. The Highlight Reel is still to come tonight.
[Commercial Break at 10:08]
WWE ran a video on WWE touring India last weekend. Heels Charlotte and Rusev were shown being nice to fans. On-camera, Cole thanked the fans in India for “an incredible tour.”
Last Monday: The Usos beat New Day in a non-title match with help from Chris Jericho, who broke Xavier Woods’s trombone in half.
[Q10] Earlier Today: Big E. led a mock funeral service for Xavier’s trombone. Xavier sold being broken inside, but Kofi Kingston told Xavier that they’ll get him a new trombone. Big E., playing the preacher leading the service, told Brother Xavier that Francesca lives inside his heart. Xavier then said Francesca would want him to eat a lot of Chipotle and then defecate all over Jericho’s locker room. They vowed to fight back, first by going after The Usos.
Rumble by The Numbers: Byron Saxton was given the spot of reading a voice-over for the annual Rumble stats video. No serious WWE announcer voice man.
In-ring: Jey Uso was introduced to the ring for the next match. Jey faces Big E. of New Day next.
[Commercial Break at 10:21]
Back from break, Big E. did the dramatic introduction for New Day before emerging on-stage dressed to wrestle. Meanwhile, Xavier and Kofi Kingston were dressed for church. They saluted their fallen trombone, then Cole announced New Day on SportsCenter with The Coach tomorrow night on ESPNews.
NEWS: Before the bell sounded, Cole announced New Day vs. The Usos for the Tag Titles at the Rumble on Sunday.
7 — JEY USO (w/Jimmy Uso) vs. WWE tag champion BIG E. (w/Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston)
Uso and Big E. felt each other out early on, then Uso stopped to dance and dap. Uso followed with a kick to the head, rocking Big E. to the floor. Uso tried to follow up on the outside, but he ran right into Big E., who back-body-dropped Jey hard onto the floor. Uso winced and sold back pain as New Day yelled at their foe heading to break.
[Commercial Break at 10:28]
[Q11] Back from break, Big E. was working on Jey’s back with an abdominal stretch mid-ring. A back-elbow smash kept Uso down. Big E. then went for a big running splash on the ring apron, but Uso moved and Big crashed hard into the ring apron. Big splat. Uso then dropkicked Uso through the ropes.
Back in the ring, Jey dropkicked Big E. into the corner turnbuckle, then nailed a running dropkick for a close two count. Uso knocked Big E. to the floor, then landed a big splash. New Day helped Big E. back into the ring, which caused him to walk right into a standing kick. Uso then wanted a top rope splash, but Xavier provided a distraction. Uso sold landing awkwardly on his knee, allowing Big E. to clothesline him from behind. Big Ending led to the three count.
WINNER: Big E. at 9:33. It was basically the same finish as The Dudleys-Wyatts and The League vs. Ambrose & Kalisto earlier tonight. No creativity to these pre-PPV TV finishes.
Locker Room: Titus O’Neil was shown lacing up his boots. Mark Henry and R-Truth then walked in to talk about winning the Royal Rumble. They went to celebrate keeping the dream alive when Neville walked in, creating an awkward moment. They decided to welcome him, too, and Neville joined the celebration to end the segment.
[Commercial Break at 10:38]
Backstage: The League of Nations pretended to do stuff. It was weird.
In-ring: Titus and Co. were in the ring. Opposite them was the random unit of The Ascension, Tyler Breeze, and Stardust. Cole said all of these men will be in the Rumble on Sunday.
8 — TITUS O’NEIL & MARK HENRY & R-TRUTH & NEVILLE vs. TYLER BREEZE & CODY RHODES & THE ASCENSION (KONNOR & VIKTOR) — eight-man tag match
The heels worked on Titus early on, then Titus tagged in Neville, who took a beating. Cody over-enjoyed a kick to Neville’s face, allowing Neville to slip over to Henry, who tagged in. Henry roughed up Cody as Cole talked about this potentially being Henry’s final Rumble match on Sunday.
[Q12] Truth got in the match, but lost control. Konnor wiped his sweat on Truth and growled. Bodyslam, then a twisting elbow drop for a two count. Konnor stayed in the ring, bringing the crowd down. Truth finally fought back and tagged in Neville, who battled Breeze. Neville and Breeze tore it up for a few moments, then Neville hit a standing Shooting Star Press.
Chaos broke out. Bodies everywhere. Titus then overhead-tossed Breeze clear over Henry, who was trying to catch him for the World’s Strongest Slam. The crowd reacted to the missed spot, then Henry quickly recovered and hit WSS. Henry tagged in Neville, who came off the top with Red Arrow on Breeze for the pin and the win.
WINNERS: Team Titus at 6:12.
Up Next: Highlight Reel, about a week after Jericho’s first appearance of the show.
Network after Raw: “Road Dogg” Jesse James gets emotional talking to JBL.
[Commercial Break at 10:50]
Smackdown Plug: Miz TV with Kevin Owens and Dean Ambrose. Plus, Roman Reigns faces The League of Nations.
Highlight Reel Segment
Back in the arena, Chris Jericho was dressed. Jericho hyped the biggest Highlight Reel segment of all-time with the three odds-on-favorites to win the Rumble. Jericho introduced Reigns and himself, then Paul Heyman interrupted before Jericho mentioned Brock Lesnar.
Jericho told Heyman to shut up – where is your client? Heyman smirked and said an F5 is about to touch down tonight in Columbus, Ohio. He said that his client is here tonight. And, if he recalls the last time Jericho went face-to-face with Brock Lesnar, isn’t quite something for the Chris Jericho Highlight Reel. It was more for the Brock Lesnar Highlight Reel.
Heyman entered the ring. But, Chris, my client is not focused on you. Rather, your “other guest,” the World champion Roman Reigns. Jericho welcomed in Heyman to talk about that very subject. Chris noted that Heyman did not get the job done last week trying to get Brock to bypass the Royal Rumble straight to WrestleMania. A legal discourse broke out, quieting an already quiet crowd. Heyman explained that Lesnar has not received his rightful WWE Title re-match, so he thinks Lesnar should get his title re-match at WrestleMania.
[Q13 — over-run] Heyman added that Lesnar facing anyone who wins the Rumble at WrestleMania is box office. Whether it’s Alberto Del Rio, Jericho, one of the surprises the bozos backstage pulls out, or even Reigns. He said that Brock turns any match he’s part of into Suplex City.
Jericho tried to get some life into the segment by leading the crowd in a “Suplex City” chant. Jericho got in Heyman’s face to ask him what would happen if it comes down to Jericho vs. Lesnar at the Rumble? Then, what? Brock Lesnar’s music played to bring out Lesnar on-stage. Lesnar circled around the ring waiting to make his move toward the ring.
Suddenly, Roman Reigns’s music played. Reigns hustled down the arena steps with the title belt in-hand. Reigns quickly hopped over the guardrail and slid into the ring to stand next to Jericho. Jericho and Reigns took control of the ring while Lesnar circled and stalked and measured from the outside.
Lesnar hopped onto the ring apron, then slid into the ring, where Reigns met him with a big spear. Reigns then tackled Lesnar and attacked Brock. Suddenly, the League of Nations hit the ring to attack Reigns. But, Lesnar suplexed Rusev. Lesnar then kneed Sheamus in the gut before suplexing Del Rio on his neck. Brock dropped Sheamus with the F5, but turned around to take another spear from Reigns.
Suddenly, the Wyatt theme played. Back live, the Wyatts had Reigns and Brock surrounded. Reigns took a kick and discus clothesline from Harper, who stood tall as Brock recovered in the corner. Bray Wyatt then scooped up Reigns and delivered Sister Abigail. The Wyatts noticed Brock stirring in the opposite corner. Harper big-booted Lesnar, who then took a weird-looking spinkick from Rowan. Strowman then clotheslined Brock and did some growling. Bray wanted Brock and he delivered Sister Abigail to Lesnar. “The Royal Rumble is mine!” Bray shouted. Brock and Reigns sold in the ring as Raw abruptly signed off nine minutes past the top of the hour with the Wyatts in control of the situation.
[ REAX: Where do you begin? Jericho goes from goofing off with New Day to being a serious Rumble threat? WWE decides it’s a good idea for Heyman and Jericho to have a long, drawn-out verbal exchange three hours after a previous long, drawn-out verbal exchange to kick off the show that killed the crowd? They continue to knock down their only legit draw in Brock Lesnar? Seriously, he’s the one person to get excited about on the roster and they’ve turned him into a chump the past two weeks. They, they muddy things even further the week before the Rumble by introducing the Wyatts into the equation? This was a Grade A mess. Overall, the product seems to be directionless week-to-week. ]
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Didn’t Lesnar hit the ring last week and destroy everyone to stand tall at the close of the show?
Hey Nath, the issue was before that with Heyman trying to get Lesnar out of the Rumble, then having to back down and give in to Stephanie, making Brock look like he doesn’t want to fight, making him looking like a chump. It’s the inconsistent booking up and down the show that hurts the wrestlers. [JC]