SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
Opening Segment – MISS: Stephanie McMahon has been playing more of a babyface authority figure lately. So I was disappointed that she was clearly going heel on Raw. You add Shane McMahon as a clear heel, and you get these bad people presenting the Superstar Shakeup. Why am I supposed to get excited about something being presented by those jerks? Plus, without a specific GM for both brands, there was no explanation as to how the decisions were made to shake up the superstars. The Miz has switched brands in each shakeup since they re-established the brant split. Having him as the first one to switch brands was a let down. The fact that Shane got the better of Miz despite Miz attacking him from behind shows that WWE is making Shane too strong. Miz could only get the better of him by using a chair. Once the show moved past that, you had Ricochet and Aleister Black come out for the first match and the announcers didn’t know if that meant that they were on Raw. They acted that way throughout the show. The Superstar Shakeup should have felt more definitive than it often did.
The Viking Experience – MISS: I don’t often tweet during Raw, but I had to tweet when I saw The War Raiders making their main roster debut as The Viking Experience. I’m not allowed to use the same language here. It is a terrible name. I’m not that high on the name War Raiders either. They are great in the ring, but their characters aren’t. I can see Vince McMahon wanting to repackage them on the main roster. But, going this route? I can’t imagine anyone thinking this was a good idea. You could tell Corey Graves was embarrassed saying something like “you may now them in other circumstances.” He couldn’t even say “other names.” They are babyfaces on NXT, but were presented as heels here. They were acknowledged as the NXT Tag Team Champs, but didn’t have the belts. The 8 man tag they were in was fine (not a Hit, nor a Miss), but it was a case of a new Champion losing in a non-title match.
Cedric Alexander to Raw – HIT: Cedric Alexander deserves a chance to shine on one of the main rosters. He has done everything there is to do on 205 Live. He has a lot of talent. I wish that show had a larger following where it didn’t feel like a feeder show for Raw and Smackdown, but considering the reality of the situation, the best of 205 Live should end up on one of the main shows at some point. Starting Alexander’s time on Raw with a video package to introduce him is a good idea. They should do this for a few weeks before he debuts.
Balor vs. Andrade – HIT: Andrade hadn’t gotten a great push on Smackdown. Hopefully he will get one on Raw. He is a great talent. His match against Finn Balor was very good. He busted out a new move with that crazy flip which stunned Balor. That was a nice touch where he caught his opponent off guard with an impressive but crazy looking move that he hadn’t done before. Of course, Balor is a new Champion who lost a non-title match which isn’t great (the IIconics vs. Bayley & Naomi didn’t make this list as it was too short, but it was another example of a new Champion losing a non-Title match). But otherwise, I thoroughly enjoyed this match and look forward to seeing more of Andrade on Raw.
The Usos To Raw – HIT: Part of this is for the fact that I correctly predicted that The Usos would switch to Raw on Wrestling Night in America with Greg Parks this week. WWE had to get The Usos or The Bar (assuming New Day would stay together with WWE Champion Kofi Kingston on Smackdown) off of Smackdown. It was a good move to help bolster a weak tag team division on Raw. Having Ricochet & Black as a team isn’t my top choice, but at least they help improve the division too. The Usos vs. Roode & Gable was good, but nothing special.
Sami Zayn – HIT: It was a blast watching Sami Zayn have a blast trolling the French Canadian fans. He kept saying things about how it was too easy to get the fans to cheer for him, then do something to get the fans to cheer for him, and then soak up the cheers which he didn’t really want. That was great. I don’t know how long this character can last with him coming out to complain about the fans, but so far it has been a fun few weeks since his return from injury.
Lynch vs. Riott – HIT: This is a minor Hit for a quality match while it lasted, but at under 5 minutes it wasn’t long enough to amount to much. I would love to see a bigger push for Ruby Riott. She is very talented, but has been jobbed out far too much the last few months. But, I still will give this a Hit for WWE actually giving a win to one of their new Champions.
Becky, Natalya, Evans – HIT: The mic work from Natalya, Becky Lynch and Lacey Evans was strong from all three. Natalya was getting a heel reaction for coming out to challenge Becky, but that is more of a sign of how popular Becky is, not the fact that Natalya isn’t popular too. Everyone is going to get booed going against Becky. This ended up being a set up for the #1 contender match between Natalya and Evans. Evans has not had a main roster match yet. She made it clear she wants to challenge Becky and they got physical last week, but she shouldn’t get a Title shot yet. So, I liked the idea that she basically sold the fact that she used her influence (with a clear sexual connotation) to get this #1 contender match. She at least would have to earn the title shot by defeating Natalya. That all worked well to set up the match.
Evans vs. Natalya – HIT: The match ended up being pretty good. I would say that Evans needs more time in NXT. I didn’t think she was quite ready for a call up yet. She is good, but is she good enough? Here, she looked good in the match and Natalya obviously helped to elevate her in this match. The Women’s Right is a nice move, but I’m glad to see it not be her finishing move. The moonsault looked pretty impressive. That’s something she didn’t do in NXT.
Bray Wyatt Videos – MISS: Maybe I should give these a Hit, since that doll video was the creepiest thing I’ve seen in a long time. That’s the point, so I guess it was a success. But, the weird puppet buzzard is stupid. The fact that is coughs from the smoke is odd. These videos aren’t making me look forward to Bray Wyatt returning which is ultimately the problem.
Rollins & Reigns & Styles vs. McIntyre & Lashley & Corbin – HIT: Like a previous Hit, part of this is for the fact that I correctly predicted that AJ Styles would move to Raw on Wrestling Night in America. Styles really had done everything there is to do on Smackdown. This was the right move to give him a whole new slate of wrestlers to face. That is the point of the Superstar Shakeup. The match itself was solid. It was fun to watch, but nothing special. It was designed as a “send the fans home happy” moment and it worked for that. The fact that Lashley took all the finishing moves was interesting. I took it as a sign that he might go to Smackdown which was also one of my predictions. The Stomp to break up the pin was cool. The rapid fire finishers at that point worked well to end the show on a happy note.
For another view from the original Hitlist author, compare Jason Powell’s views to mine by visiting prowrestling.NET’s “Hitlist” section here.
Jon Mezzera is PWTorch.com’s WWE Hits & Misses Specialist, providing his point of view for Raw and Smackdown each week. Email him at jmezz_torch@yahoo.com. Follow him on Twitter @JonMezzera
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