SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
This week’s episode of WWE Monday Night Raw has wrapped. Let’s take a stroll down memory lane and relive some of the madness.
-Brock Lesnar kicked off this week’s Raw with a bang and jolted the audience full of energy. The babyface Lesnar run has reminded folks that he can talk when he wants to. He’s shining example of being authentic on a promo and given the audience’s reaction to him, it resonates. In the end, Lesnar sold his WrestleMania main event match with Roman Reigns and that was the mission.
-So, five days prior to WrestleMania, The Mysterios get their comeuppance on Miz and Logan Paul? It certainly felt that way and a peculiar avenue to drive down. Dominik Mysterio earning a mask being a central narrative to this story was also a peculiar addition. It makes sense, but was out of left field. Peculiar indeed, WWE.
-UGHHHHHH, I could rant on this Seth Rollins WrestleMania storyline for a long, long time. I won’t, but I could. WWE needs to retire this story. They needed to before the angle this week with Vince McMahon, but especially now. McMahon gave away the code, if you want a WrestleMania match, just ask him. Just an awful wrap to that part of this story because its counterintuitive to the story itself. Nobody will care when they are watching Cody Rhodes vs. Seth Rollins at WrestleMania, but they should, damn it. I told you I wouldn’t ra …. Whoops.
-Nothing wrong with Omos vs. the returning Bobby Lashley. Look, it’s a different kind of match that will help freshen up a show that the audience will need freshened up after days of wrestling. If booked properly, this match can officially and definitively put Lashley on the babyface track.
-Congrats to Akira Tozawa, Tamina, Reggie, and Dana Brooke. Wishing you all lifetimes of happiness together … blah, blah, blah. What is this stuff? I mean, really.
-The Roman Reigns go-home promo this week was years in the making. It checked every box that a supremely effective go-home promo needs. Reigns balanced articulation of the mission with intensity in brilliant fashion and oozed charisma as the show’s obvious number one star.
-A messy women’s tag match this week. Not a great sign for the WrestleMania match featuring the same exact women that were in this. Yikes.
-Kevin Owens is a pro. This week on Raw, Owens continued to build momentum for Steve Austin. Owens clearly understands his role in the business at hand. None of it is really about him. This about Austin and the goal for Owens is generating a sizzling anticipation for the return. He’s passed that test.
-Ok, so Ricochet, the new WWE Intercontinental Champion, does a job to Austin Theory in two minutes? Nah, I’m sure that won’t cause any polarizing opinions on social media. This was the job of all jobs for poor Ricochet.
-Bianca Belair delivered the exact promo she needed to in order to answer Becky Lynch’s from last week. A huge hit in that regard. The haircutting? A little unbecoming of Belair and not something her character would do. There was a way to showcase a fired up and intense Belair without this very heel style move.
-Does anyone care about Drew McIntyre right now? You do? Well, you shouldn’t.
-You could see the finish of the main event coming a mile away. Street Profits beating up RK-Bro felt strange because of their babyface alignments, but I suppose it made sense given the stakes on the line at WrestleMania. At the same time, this is the reason not to throw a bunch together in a match without a good reason. Both The Street Profits and RK-Bro’s babyface reactions will be diluted this weekend at WrestleMania.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.