Read on for my thoughts on last night's Raw.
That opening segment was #&$* amazing. I don't think they even needed Brock destroying Henry for it to work, but that just took things to an even higher level. Bravo for that one. Heyman linking all of this back to Punk was just phenomenal.
I liked the Tag Team Title match pretty well. I'm a little surprised they did the title switch here, but maybe they've got a plan in mind for WrestleMania. Alternately, the NAO could be heading back behind-the-scenes for the foreseeable future and The Usos will be facing another team in five weeks. Or maybe there's no Tag Team Title match at all and WWE has no clue what they're doing. Who knows? I'd personally like to see the feud build to a blowoff match at Mania to cap off NAO's run, but maybe there's a reason they're going in a different direction. Usos vs. Rowan and Harper, perhaps?
Big E vs. Cesaro felt rushed. It's got to be tough to put together so much TV without something ending up in that position.
I'm not sure how I feel about Big E vs. Cesaro vs. Swagger for the IC Title at WrestleMania, since presumably the fans have to choose between E and Cesaro as the face to pull for. I'm sure it'd be a great match and all, but it feels a little haphazard.
I really liked Wyatts vs. Shield, Round 2. Obviously it was going to be hard to live up to their very memorable encounter at the PPV, but I think they had a nice showing. I think it's time to make that Shield split official and have them face for the U.S. Title at Mania.
I liked Batista's promo. This guy's much better than the babyface they tried to pass off when he first came back. I didn't dislike that Batista, but he's much more in his element here.
I wonder if they did the title switch to drum up interest for the live edition of Main Event? That's actually pretty clever, but I'm generally a fan of saving title switches for bigger moments like PPVs. I'm willing to let it play out.
The mixed tag was a fun little distraction after some more serious stuff. I think we're just seeing the beginning of what Emma and Summer Rae can deliver.
Good WWE Network plug with Stephanie, though it felt kind of odd coming from a heel.
Good match between Sheamus and Christian. I hope Sheamus has a good role at Mania. He's a hard worker and could be a valuable asset.
Nice post-match. Can they build to a big gimmick match at Mania? I'm willing to let them try.
I enjoyed the Divas match. I've definitely seen worse! Good work from them.
I wasn't a huge fan of the Bryan/HHH segment, as HHH basically made Bryan out to be some punk nobody instead of someone who's beaten a number of top names in high-profile matches. It'd be different if HHH eventually sold Bryan as a threat and got his ass handed to him, but it often feels like there's a rule where HHH has to remain the coolest, most badass guy on the roster even when losing. It prevents WWE from progressing with other acts to have everyone play second fiddle to someone who's primarily a non-wrestler at this point.
Ehhhh... not crazy about the celebrity segment. Del Rio and Ziggler did a fantastic job as always with working hard, but it feels like the match won't matter to either man's career.
Very glad Paul Bearer's going into the Hall of Fame. I think WWE can get over Taker vs. Brock without involving Bearer, but I can also see why they'd ride his death for all its worth again.
Big E vs. Swagger was fine to continue that angle.
I wonder how much more they can get out of Cesaro and Swagger before pulling the trigger on a face turn. A triple threat for the IC Title works for me IF they build all three characters well.
I liked the Wyatt/Cena segment pretty well. This could be going a LOT worse, with Cena cracking jokes and treating Wyatt like HHH treats Bryan.
I'm about ready for Rusev to go ahead and smash someone instead of just talking, but they can only have him make his non-Rumble debut once and they want it to be special.
Batista vs. Bryan had its good moments. Hopefully they're saving up for more between them.
Not too crazy about the ending putting the spotlight on HHH yet again. There are going to need to be more chinks in the armor for the match at Mania to mean something. They've still got time, though.
More wrestling tomorrow.
I'm a bit confused with WWE's positioning of Christian at the moment. They put him in a high-stakes WWE World Heavyweight Title match and have him turn heel - which shows WWE's stock in him - yet it seems they're a bit unsure of where to go from there. Despite refreshing his person a bit, he's on a bit of a losing streak (three in a row to Sheamus). I'm not sure if this confusion is centered around it being 'Mania season and with him not being in a major 'Mania storyline yet that WWE hasn't figured out what to do with him. It's just a bit odd to me. He is 40, so I don't see much logic in refreshing his character all to have him take a fall like Jericho did back in 2010.
ReplyDeleteThe New Age Outlaws are in a similar predicament. They turn heel for the first time in a while, all to lose the titles before WrestleMania and only hold them for a little over a month. My perception is that if a singles competitor or tag team competitors turn heel and undergo a character change, that it really doesn't make sense for them to retire or bow out shortly after. What are your thoughts on that?
I'm under the impression Christian's time in WWE could be coming to a close once his contract comes up (I don't really have a timeframe for that at the moment). There've been times when he's been medically cleared to compete, but they kept him off TV because they didn't have anything for him to do. I wouldn't be too surprised to see him go to either TNA or the new Jeff Jarrett venture. If anything, I'd be more surprised if he stayed on when his contract expires.
ReplyDeleteI seem to remember Jericho being more than OK with losing so much, since he knew he could continue to be successful in a major way (or "get his heat back" in wrestling terms). Jericho comes back to WWE because he wants to. I'm fairly certain he doesn't need the income and makes his own terms to a degree (like RVD, Rock and Lesnar).
I think using NAO was just supposed to be a special thing that grew into a longer run to tie into the Authority angle and pass the torch to the Usos. They MIGHT have lost the titles primarily to set up the rematch to air on the WWE Network, which is clever in its own way to drive traffic there. Main Event might be losing its TV home sooner rather than later and WWE wants to make it something people go out of their way to see on the Network.
I ultimately see the situations as a matter of what the best role is for a particular character (or characters) at a particular time. I imagine if WWE wanted to pass the torch to a heel tag team instead of The Usos, they might have kept NAO as faces. NAO have behind-the-scenes jobs with WWE, so this wasn't likely to be a long run for them. I'm OK with them being used this way if it elevates the Usos once the feud is over. If it's just a random heel turn and they disappear with no real conclusion to the angle, I'd be more upset.
That said, I do think bookers in general should be careful to not change characters' alignments too often or for too frivolous of a reason.