Read on for my thoughts on last night's Raw.
I mostly liked the opening segment once it got going. It was a bit formulaic, and Cena and Sheamus cut pretty much the same promo every time, but it did get some energy to it with Cesaro, Bryan and Kane.
I liked Bryan vs. Christian well enough. I don't know if Christian's turning heel or if this was just a temporary thing, but I liked it. I think he works better in that capacity. Christian's got real veteran instincts, so it's a shame he might be leaving when his current deal's up. I can't blame him, though, in the current creative climate of the company. Hopefully TNA or Jeff Jarrett pick him up if he does skip town.
Clever match-making from Kane. It makes sense to keep putting the screws to Bryan on the road to him facing HHH at Mania. How they thought Bryan vs. Sheamus made more sense is beyond me.
Bryan vs. Kane was fine to get heat on Kane and make Bryan an underdog. Hopefully he still goes into Dragon Mode and kicks some ass. They can't strike him down TOO much. On a side note, seeing Kane wrestle in his business attire cracks me up.
Fine post-match to continue Kane vs. Bryan. Bryan should get big wins over both Kane and HHH after all he's been put through.
I liked the Shield promo. I'm curious as to how the rumored triple threat between them will go.
Fandango vs. Santino was a little odd, but I can't say I'm all that surprised. WWE was likely bringing the crowd down some from the more serious segments preceding this.
Great simple, effective Henry promo. I think this is the best kind of role for Henry right now. There's no reason he can't be moved up the card again down the line.
Big win for Reigns! That's a step in the right direction, booking-wise. I don't think a win would have done as much for Henry.
WWE's doing a great job setting up the Wyatts vs. The Shield. This is one of their best-built angles in quite a while, as they're keeping anticipation high without doing a lot of physical action between the two sides.
That was a really odd segment with Cody, Goldust and Barrett. WWE's more light-hearted segments can really be hit or miss.
Swagger vs. Kofi was pretty good for building Swagger for his title match. That's the ultimate goal of such segments.
Nice interplay between Big E and Swagger. They didn't need a big fight to set up Sunday's match.
Great match as far as building up Big E as a threat. I like 3MB and think Drew in particular has a future, but I'm also a fan of them building up Big E.
I wonder how many WWE fans know and/or care where Bulgaria is. I just want to see Rusev smash some fools. Rusev vs. Big E will probably end up a thing, which is not a problem at all if they mesh together well.
Now that was a good Cena promo. He's better in small doses.
Cena vs. Cesaro was REALLY good. Cesaro showed he can hang with main eventers and Cena showed once again how underrated he is as a worker. Anyone who thinks Cena was "carried" to a good match is delusional. He knows what he's doing out there. He's just not always challenged to put on a high-level match in the vein in what was seen here.
Not crazy about the Authority segment. I agree that Batista being chummy with HHH and Stephanie is counter-intuitive with him as a babyface. That said, the focus needs to be on HHH vs. Bryan as far as that angle goes.
Impressive promo from Titus. I don't necessarily think teaming with Darren "held him back", as both men became more polished performers as part of PTP. That said, he's got potential if they use him right. They risk him losing momentum if he doesn't go over on Sunday. It seems like he's the one they want to push of the group, so I think it would make things 50/50 if Darren won. Titus turns 37 in April, but there's no reason to not see what they've got with him. He shouldn't be put in a box where age determines his destiny. Even if he calls it quits at 40 (which is pure speculation), that's three full years to give him a chance.
I didn't dislike the Wyatts match. It was definitely an interesting contrast of performers. I'm ready for the Wyatts vs. The Shield. That could be quite the match.
Kind of 50/50 booking with Jey getting a surprise win. There's always the "one team looks strong on Monday and the other wins at the PPV" thing. Either way I see the Usos as champs after Mania unless the Outlaws are going to be around longer than initially thought.
Cool post-match. I'd like to see the Usos get a big rub from NAO to become champions. It's not like the Outlaws are going to stop being considered an all-time top tag team with one notable PPV loss.
I liked Sheamus' promo. I don't miss his comedy shtick at all.
Kind of a flat ending to Orton vs. Sheamus, but the action itself was pretty good. The Shield attack felt a little tacked on.
I mostly enjoyed the ending to the show, even if it was a little cliched. Sunday could be a pretty good show.
More wrestling coming up.
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