TOP 3 DEVELOPMENTS – RAW 3/19: Roman Reigns defies his suspension and U.S. Marshalls, Braun gets his WrestleMania match, Alexa vs. Jax set

Roman Reigns Defies his Suspension…

Recap: The show began with Kurt Angle in the ring. He announced that Roman Reigns’ suspension was still in effect. He also announced that Brock Lesnar was not yet at the arena, but was still expected to make an appearance.

Before Kurt could address the tag team title situation Roman Reigns entered the ring, much to Kurt’s surprise. Reigns told Kurt he didn’t care about his suspension, and indicated that without Lesnar there tonight, someone needed to represent the main event at WrestleMania.

Kurt pled with Reigns to be patient, as he would eventually get his hands on Lesnar at WrestleMania. Reigns again said he didn’t care, and that he wasn’t leaving the ring until he faced Brock Lesnar, tonight.

Kurt then went backstage, and US Marshals came to the ring to remove Reigns. They Mirandized him, then handcuffed him and attempted to remove him. Reigns became irked by the Marshals touching him, and attacked them. Brock Lesnar then ran to the ring and assaulted a defenseless, handcuffed Reigns. After the EMTs loaded Reigns onto a stretcher, Lesnar returned to the ring to attack Reigns again.

Evaluation: Personally, this angle portraying Brock as a lazy part-timer and Roman Reigns as the hardworking full-timer representing the fans did successfully win me over. As a longtime skeptic of Roman Reigns, I am now rooting for him at WrestleMania.

That said, many commentators felt that WWE took the angle too far last week by having Reigns refer to Lesnar as “Vince’s boy,” since most fans in fact know that Reigns is Vince McMahon’s chosen heir apparent to the top on-air role at WWE. It did not ruin the angle for me personally, but I understand why that was a risk.

I felt tonight would be a good gauge of how this angle was playing out for the fans. On one hand, Angle’s announcement that Reigns was still suspended got a large pop. There was also a smattering of “you deserve it” chants after Reigns was assaulted by Lesnar. On the other hand, there were audible boos for Lesnar after his assault, as well as cheers for Reigns during his pre-assault promo. It’s very hard to gauge these reactions, especially since WWE is known to manipulate crowd noise on television.

Hopefully the beating of a defenseless Reigns evoked some sympathy as was intended. We’ll find out over the next two weeks.

I do believe Reigns’s attack of the Marshals was counterproductive, since they were simply law enforcement officials doing their jobs rather than corporate lackeys out to get Reigns. I understand that they were going for a Steve Austin thing, but Roman Reigns isn’t Steve Austin.

I’m nitpicking, but the US Marshals are a federal agency responsible for tacking fugitives accused or convicted of federal crimes, as well as enforcing orders of federal courts. Roman Reigns’s trespassing would not have fallen under their jurisdiction, and would’ve been handled by local or state police.

Forecast: Nothing as happened to affect the obvious prediction that Reigns will win the title at WrestleMania. The only real question is what crowd reaction he gets. Universal approval is probably beyond possible at this point, no matter how well this angle plays out over the coming weeks. The real question is whether he can get a solid mixed reaction as opposed to being drowned out by boos. I believe he can get at least that mixed reaction, but I’m not confident in my prediction.

Nia vs. Alexa is Set…

Recap: Alexa Bliss entered the ring with Mickie James and began an insincere apology before quickly pivoting to her true feelings of no remorse. She gleefully admitted she used Nia Jax, and stated she felt as if a “300 pound weight” had been lifted from her shoulders.

Asuka then entered the ring for their scheduled match. Alexa looked good for a large part of the match, especially when hitting a Sunset Bomb. Eventually, however, Asuka got Bliss into the ankle lock. Bliss escaped via rope break, but had some trouble supporting her own weight on the affected ankle. She refused to re-enter the ring and was counted out.

After the count-out, Nia Jax stormed ringside. She blew right through Mickie James and went after Bliss. Mickie recovered long enough to distract Nia from Alexa, allowing Alexa to flee. She was chased backstage by Nia.

Alexa stormed into Kurt Angle’s office demanding Nia be arrested. Kurt was unsympathetic, stating that his daughters heard Alexa’s comments last week, and that the Women’s Champion should be a role model, not a bully. He then set Nia vs. Alexa for WrestleMania.

Evaluation: This storyline is well done. Alexa Bliss as the mean girl bully is a great heel character and likely one that is relatable to female fans.

The match between Alexa and Asuka struck the right note. If Asuka had totally physically dominated Alexa, it would’ve cheapened the title, so it was wise to avoid that outcome. At the same time, to play up Asuka’s streak it was important that Asuka ultimately win. While a count-out is not a satisfying finish, with Asuka headed to SmackDown this match really only needed to set up the Nia-Alexa feud.

Forecast: While not official until tonight, this match was expected. Considering the bullying aspect to the storyline, Nia essentially has to win, as the bully coming out on top in the storyline’s payoff would not create the best optics.

Braun Gets His WrestleMania Match…

Recap: As Braun Strowman approached the ring, the announcers clarified that the results of last week’s battle royal did mean that Braun had a tag team title match at WrestleMania, with the caveat that he was required to find a partner. Braun told the crowd that he didn’t need a partner.

Sheamus and Cesaro then approached the ring, explaining that winning that tag titles would be more difficult than tossing people over the top rope in a battle royal. Cesaro explained that being tag team champions required being perfectly in sync with a partner. Cesaro added that he and Sheamus even slept together, to the crowd’s shock (and also Sheamus’ clarification that he meant only that they room together).

Braun stated that Kurt Angle had granted him a match with either Sheamus or Cesaro tonight, and left it up to the Bar which one he would be facing. Neither seemed excited to take the challenge, but eventually Sheamus smoothly nudged Cesaro into the ring, making him Braun’s opponent.

Cesaro looked strong in the match, although he ultimately lost after being caught and powerslammed coming out of a springboard.

Evaluation: There were two really good things about this. First, it was clarified that Braun is required to have a partner to compete at WrestleMania. This was critical, as allowing Braun to compete solo for the tag titles would’ve essentially buried the entire division as a joke.

Second, Braun won but did not squash Cesaro. Coach further emphasized that while Cesaro beating Braun in a singles match would’ve been a huge upset, the Bar winning the tag match at WrestleMania would not be an upset at all. Braun was clearly shown as the better singles competitor in the match while still portraying Cesaro as a strong overall wrestler, again implying that the result may have been different if the match had been a tag match more in the Bar’s wheelhouse. This all makes a lot of sense, as it emphasizes that tag wrestling is a special skill set at which the Bar have more experience.

Forecast: I doubt that WWE wants Braun in the tag division long term, so I would predict that the Bar retains. Braun’s partner will likely take the pin, as that outcome makes the Bar look strong while still protecting Braun.

Random Thoughts…

WrestleMania commercials continued to feature AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura. Hopefully this indicates that AJ’s reported injury isn’t too serious….

Ronda Rousey was again promised tonight, but there was only an extended video package rather than a live appearance….

The Ultimate Deletion went essentially as I expected. WWE rushed the angle and did no build at all to cause the audience to become invested in the concept or any of the characters. Fans who didn’t watch TNA were most likely lost. Most fans never saw the angle on TNA, so this is an obvious problem…

NOW CHECK OUT LAST WEEK’S COLUMN: TOP 3 DEVELOPMENTS – RAW 3/12: Cena challenges Undertaker, Reigns gets suspended, Bliss gets caught by Nia Jax