SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
This week’s episode of WWE Raw has wrapped. Let’s take a stroll down memory lane and relive some of the madness.
-WWE started the show this way in a very interesting way and one that added stakes to the main event. Setting the hook early in the show with a Judgment Day and Bloodline partnership gave the main event more juice and intrigue. If that’s all this was, thumbs way up. If this is an avenue to a Judgement Day vs. Bloodline feud at some point? That’s a big thumbs down. Those two heel groups should be kept far away from one another until one or the other is turned babyface.
-A good match between Solo Sikoa and Rey Mysterio. Mysterio continues his renaissance at this point in his career and always collects a strong crowd response. I was surprised at how much they kept Dominik and Rey apart tonight. Not a bad move due to the fact that attention simply needed to be elsewhere.
-Can we get a real story for Bianca Belair? She is the champion, right? I know, I know, I know. She’s slated to face Iyo Sky. Frankly, it’s just not good enough. Belair and Sky can have a classic together, but the story there is between Sky and Damage CNTRL rather than Sky and the championship that Belair holds.
-More of those Bronson Reed promos. Lots more. This was great this week and gave the Reed character strong definition after last week’s hit of an angle between himself and Bobby Lashley.
-Ehh. Ehh? Eh……… Eh???????. How great was that and how great is Paul Heyman? Tremendous.
-We saw an unhinged Cody Rhodes this week and it worked really well. Rhodes appeared fired up opposite Brock Lesnar and the audience seemed to fully get behind him. Rhodes probably shouldn’t have decimated a crew of security guards and while he briefly mentioned being responsible for those damages, is it the best look having your top good guy just destroying innocent security guards? It probably doesn’t matter because the positive was seeing Rhodes match Lesnar’s aggression. The match at Backlash should be excellent and this was a strong angle to get there.
-The Miz put on his big kid wrestling boots this week and had the match of the night against Seth Rollins. This didn’t have much meaning outside of a good match, but I supposed a three hour Raw very much needs them.
-A serious Matt Riddle? Hell yeah. It’s been a long time coming and will be a fresh reset for the character. Not only that, but he’ll be a stronger draw for WWE this way as well.
-Good to see Bobby Lashley firmly back as a babyface. A fine match with Austin Theory, but the story coming out was chapter two of Reed vs. Lashley. The audience was hot for their brawl again and while this time Reed got the upper hand, it was smart to establish him and build the mountain for Lashley to climb as a babyface. Reed could benefit greatly by winning this feud.
-Trish Stratus has always worked better as a babyface in WWE. When you think back, her best moments were as a bad guy, so I had high hopes for her promo this week after turning on Becky Lynch. I wouldn’t say she hit a home run, but it was a solid base hit. Stratus checked the boxes and got to a reasonable explanation for why she did what she did. There are holes in her explanation, though, and I wish she would have cleaned those up. That said, she solidified herself as a heel with this promo and more than anything, that was the point.
-A good little main event. It will be interesting to see how the LWO factors into things, but my thought is a heel turn on Rey Mysterio is coming with Santos Escobar vs. Rey Mysterio being a WWE match they get to sooner than later.
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