SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
Roman Reigns, Jason Jordan, and Samoa Joe Tangle…
Recap: The show began with Kurt Angle ready to announce Roman Reigns’ next opponent in defending the Intercontinental Title. He was interrupted by Jason Jordan, who demanded a title shot. Kurt hesitated due to the status of Jordan’s knee, and Roman came out to demand Samoa Joe as his next opponent. Samoa Joe then appeared on the ramp to accept Roman’s challenge. Jordan then challenged Joe, and suplexed Reigns. Angle granted Jordan the title match with Reigns. After a solid back and forth match, Roman won. After the match, Joe attacked Reigns, only to be rescued by Jordan. An ungrateful Reigns then landed a Superman Punch on Jordan.
After the match, Jordan demanded a rematch from Kurt. A frustrated Kurt seemed to have had enough with Jordan’s demands. Joe then attacked Jordan from behind.
In the main event tag match between Rollins-Ambrose and the Bar, Joe interfered to cost the Shield the tag titles.
Evaluation: Even from the “condensed” summary above, it’s easy to see these three were tangling all night.
Because this is a Roman Reigns angle, it has to be viewed through the prism of whether it got him over as a face with the fans since that is WWE Priority #1. On that front, there were some problems. During the opening promo, Reigns was quick to criticize Jordan for being handed opportunities, which then immediately opened Reigns up to criticism from Jordan regarding being WWE management’s poster boy. Since being overpushed by management is a big part of why Roman Reigns has trouble getting over with the fans, vocalizing that complaint on TV now just as fans’ resistance is waning due to the Shield reunion seemed like a bad choice.
The Superman Punch to Jason Jordan after Jordan saved him from Samoa Joe’s sneak attack didn’t help either. While Jordan did suplex Reigns from behind during the show’s opening promo, attacking him after the rescue still seemed like a heelish move from Reigns.
On the other hand, WWE was sure to include a promo backstage before the tag team title match in which Reigns appeared with Seth and Dean. It went over well. In terms of getting over as a face, the more Reigns can appear on screen right now with the full Shield, the better.
Jason Jordan and Roman Reigns did wrestle a solid match. Jordan continues to look good in the ring regardless of what he does on the mic,
Forecast: As I mentioned in last week’s column, I thought last week’s Raw was a big step forward in terms of getting Roman over as a face. This week was a step back in comparison. If WWE is as committed to Reigns as a face as it appears, then we need more promos like last week’s.
I like Jordan in the ring. He could have a great future if he can find a voice on the mic.
Rearranging the Women’s Division Continues…
Recap: Paige defeated Sasha Banks, and after the match Absolution delivered a beating to Sasha. Like last week, Alexa Bliss (who was again on commentary) quietly left during the beat down.
Later, Asuka defeated Alicia Fox. After the match, Absolution again surrounded Asuka in the ring, but again let Asuka leave unscathed. After Asuka left, Paige told Alicia that while she was her best friend and she loved her, Mandy Rose and Sonia Deville felt differently. Paige then watched while Mandy and Sonia delivered a beating to Alicia.
Evaluation: Absolution continues running through the women on the roster, being booked as a major disruptive force.
After Asuka debuted with overly competitive matches with Emma, it’s been good to see her be built up by soundly defeating Dana Brooke and Alicia Fox over the past few weeks.
I also really like that Asuka has been the only wrestler that Absolution has declined to attack for two weeks in a row. It furthers the portrayal of Asuka as something special within the Women’s Division. Either because they see her as a potential recruit or view her as their toughest opponent, Absolution is showing a higher level of respect to her than anyone else.
Forecast: It appears that WWE is now committed to making Asuka a special attraction as she was in NXT, which is a good thing. Perhaps her first match against a top tier opponent will be against Paige. That would be a solid matchup.
As I mentioned last week in my SmackDown column, Absolution has been booked too similarly to Riott Squad. Hopefully that will change going forward. We’ll find out tomorrow night.
Broken Matt Debuts…
Recap: Matt hardy cut his first promo entirely in the Broken Matt character. It was a pre-taped segment that alternated back and forth between dueling Broken Matt and Bray Wyatt promos.
Evaluation: The promo style of Matt Hardy was a hard contrast to Bray Wyatt. Matt played it kitschy, while Bray played it straight. I found that the contrast with Matt’s goofiness made it hard to take Bray’s typical apocalyptic style promo seriously.
Forecast: It appears Broken Matt’s first feud will be with Bray Wyatt. If Bray enters the Broken Universe, it will either reinvigorate his gimmick with kitsch, or will be the final dagger in what has for a while been a flat gimmick.
Random Thoughts…
Tony Niese wore a shirt tonight where literally only the rectus abdominis was cut out. Luckily Enzo Amore was also on screen, so Niese avoided being the worst dressed guy in the group….
During the same segment, a smitten Nia Jax asked Enzo how he was “doin'”. Since the Women’s Revolution began, WWE has mostly avoided bad romance storylines involving female wrestlers, so hopefully they won’t begin now. There’s nothing wrong with a romance storyline per se, so long as it doesn’t end up knocking a wrestler out of her in-ring talent role down to the role of mere valet….
During the Raw broadcast, WWE aired scenes from Total Divas which showed the wrestlers out of character. It’s bad enough that WWE regularly breaks kayfabe during Raw by airing Total Divas advertisements during commercial breaks, but airing the scenes during the broadcast itself while the announcers comment on them is much worse. Most egregiously, Lana was shown speaking with an American accent….
Finn Balor’s slide down the card continues, as he was booked in a competitive match with Bo Dallas (whose last singles match I can’t even remember) with seemingly no backstory….
During the main event, Booker T dropped some gems. After stating last week to an exasperated Corey Graves that singles matches between Shield and Bar members were essentially meaningless, this week he indicated that those matches had a strong bearing on the tag team title match. He also stated that Dean Ambrose being married now was a disadvantage, because being married “slows you down”. Corey Graves rightfully pointed out that Booker T himself was married when he won his first title in WWE….
In a rare point of agreement among announcers, everyone loved Michael Cole’s coining of the term “Mizdom” for the knowledge that has been imparted upon the Miztourage by the Miz…
NOW CHECK OUT LAST WEEK’S COLUMN: TOP 3 DEVELOPMENTS – RAW: Reigns, Absolution, Balor – Recap, Evaluation, Forecast plus Random Thoughts
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.