Read on for my thoughts on last night's Raw.
That was a pretty good opening segment. The Shield is definitely going places. I hope there's another awesome match between these two factions.
Well, that Swagger/Rose segment was something. I don't know how much gas there is in the Rose character, but I'm liking it so far.
I'm OK with Swagger jobbing to Van Dam only because it furthered the Rose angle. I don't have high hopes for Swagger getting his heat back. I'd love for him to beat RVD next week or on Smackdown to send a message to Rose, but they generally book RVD to look stronger than that.
Cool Paige video.
I love Bo Dallas. I don't know why, but his promos have cracked me up. I guess because I'm in on the joke of his character. I hope they do the "heel who thinks he's a beloved babyface" thing when he finally comes to the main roster.
Whoa! Didn't expect Alicia to get fired up there. I'm glad the Divas have a real feud now beyond Total Divas.
Good Divas' match. There was some nice fire from Alicia there. I hope Paige has a long and successful tenure.
Good post-match as well. The Divas finally got a showcase that didn't have anything to do with a reality show.
Bryan having to take time off really sucks. I hope it's not too much of a setback, given how he's in the push of his life and all. I think Bryan will be really successful in the long run, but this is definitely a rough chapter if he has to miss a lot of time.
I liked the setup going to the commercial.
Good six-man tag. I'm OK with Cena vs. the Wyatts not being the focus tonight.
I liked the post-match, as short as it was.
I liked the next segment from The Shield and Evolution. They've got something hot going on.
Ehhhh, I wasn't a big fan of that Divas' match. Pretty much anything regarding "Total Divas" is a miss for me. I understand why WWE has the show and such, but it's not for me.
Wow, that... wow. I couldn't care any less for this Divas angle. Next.
Rybaxel is growing on me. Kudos to them for getting something out of the two of them being somewhat randomly thrown together.
Good showing from Sheamus after becoming U.S. Champion. It doesn't look like he was "supposed to be turned heel last week".
Pretty good second match for Sheamus, too. If he is going to be pushed to bigger things, it makes sense for him to win two straight singles matches. Ryback and Axel haven't exactly been pushed strong before this, so I don't think this really hurt them.
Damn, son. They really took it to Bryan there. But that makes sense to write him off. He's come back from a lot of punishment before after all.
I liked the continuation of Bryan being taken off TV. I hope he doesn't lose momentum with this time off.
I'm not sure how much I'd care about Summer Rae vs. Layla, but I'm glad WWE's playing it up as something that matters.
Good enough match from an angle perspective. I'm sure these two could really tear it up if given the opportunity.
That was a pretty funny post-match, as cheesy as it was. I'm fine with them building the Fandango/Layla relationship.
That was a fine segment for getting heat on Rusev. It fell a little flat at the end, but I can get behind Rusev vs. Big E. I don't expect it to be a technical masterpiece, but I think it makes sense to match up the two big guys.
Meh... I liked Sandow vs. Cody OK, but I think it could have been a good deal better. They should have given these two the time they used for the bad Natalya angle.
Fine post-match. I guess we're still going to get Cody vs. Goldust eventually?
I'm still feeling the Bo Dallas vignettes, but I have my doubts on how well he'll do as a wrestler. I hope he surprises me in that regard.
Cena vs. Bray in a last man standing match works for me. Should be a pretty good encounter. This was a good promo to set it up.
The match here was just to set up a big fight. I'm fine with that.
That was a pretty good ending to the show. They had The Shield look strong without hurting Evolution. Payback could be pretty good.
More wrestling coming up.
Man, that truly is unfortunate news with Bryan's injury. He's trying so hard to make a name for himself that he definitely may have overdone it a bit and may have gotten caught up in the pandemonium. That being said, 1) How much of the blame do you think lies on WWE and how many beatings they've written up dished out to Bryan versus Bryan's determination to do whatever it takes to move up the ladder? What is your gut feeling regarding if Bryan will relinquish the title?
ReplyDeleteWith the Alicia Fox situation, I've honestly never really been a fan. I'll give her credit in that WWE really has never given much thought to the Divas division, but I've never really been a big fan of Fox. For her to have so many years locked in already and still be lacking in a number of areas (even with a gimmick change), I'm not impressed. It's good to see WWE shake things up with her character, but it just seems like she's "playing a character" moreso than being natural and believable out there. What are your thoughts on it?
I have a third option: I think fans' expectations for big bumps and dangerous moves has raised the bar really high and that's played in. I certainly don't want to see everyone do ten minutes of headlocks or whatever, but Bryan, The Shield, etc. are playing with fire to some degree with all the big moves. That's what the audience is reacting to in a lot of cases, though, and they get a lot of praise for it, so they probably don't see much reason to cut back.
ReplyDeleteThat said, Bryan has been booked in a lot of longer, more intense matches (including two top matches at WrestleMania). It makes sense given the storyline of Bryan overcoming a lot of odds, but that's a lot of physicality to go through.
It seems like they can kind of go either way with stripping Bryan of the title given how long he'll be out (maybe 2-3 months). I'd be a little surprised if they didn't strip him of the title. I don't see why from a storyline standpoint The Authority wouldn't. Kane as monster heel champion works for me.
I've heard Fox called underrated for a good while now. A lot of her work has been kind of under the radar (NXT, Superstars, etc.). I'm almost always of the "wait and see" mindset. I almost feel like they're trying to recreate R-Truth's heel turn from a few years back with her losing her mind. I'm definitely glad they're doing something new with her and hope it works out.
In the end, I think their goal is going to be to continue to build Paige. Having her face a veteran like Alicia makes sense as she continues to learn the ropes of the main roster. It's risky pushing someone so young as a big deal so fast and this could be tied into WWE's plan with her.
You know, I honestly haven't heard many, if any at all, mention Alicia Fox being underrated. Looking at all of the years she's logged in, she's definitely had plenty of time to prove herself and stand out, and she really has not done that very well. Even in her time as Divas Champion - which was very "under the radar" - she really didn't stand out with promos and continued/continues to botch moves more than she really should.
ReplyDeleteOne thing she has going for her is that the divas division is weighted a bit differently in that 1) "Average" wrestlers can get by better, 2) Appearance/attractiveness does play a bigger role versus the male superstars, and 3) The company really doesn't seem to pay as much attention to the divas division, which is kind of an "elephant in the room" subject. All of those factors play in Fox's favor, but it doesn't necessarily mean she's an exemplary entertainer compared to even a Natalya or AJ.
I do agree that even if Fox is receiving even a minor push that it won't accumulate in much and that she's probably used as a wrestler that helps continue to elevate Paige. I still don't know Paige well enough to evaluate her well, but what is it about Paige that WWE sees her stand out versus a veteran like Natalya who has proven a lot?
Would you consider Kane to be the top contender/likely next WWE World Heavyweight Champion if/when Bryan has to relinquish the title on Monday or do you see another star emerging? I know you mentioned the uncertainty surrounding many of the other superstars and their contracts/lack of push. That being said, do you see Kane, who is in his mid-forties, to be the most logical option?
I'm not a huge Alicia Fox fan, but I've seen her have some good performances in NXT (current season) and on Superstars. They give her more leeway there. She's definitely been missing something, but I think she's improving. There were times when I thought she was quite bad.
ReplyDeleteI know WWE.com has pegged her as underrated in the past, and a Google search shows some articles agreeing. Naturally everyone has their favorites and rates people differently. I don't think Alicia needs to be at Natalya or AJ's level to contribute something to this feud.
I think WWE's just scratching the surface with Paige. I think it was too early for her to become Divas' Champ right out of the gate, but she's put in years of work in NXT and has a lot going for her: a unique look, years of experience, youth and a natural connection with a lot of the crowd that not all Divas reach. I've seen people asking why she hasn't been brought up for a good while now. JR even addressed it at length at one point.
As for pushing Paige instead of Natalya, I think WWE's into pushing a lot of fresh faces right now (given the results of the past few PPVs and there being a number of NXT debuts recently). They needed something big with AJ taking time off, and thought it was the right time to make a splash with Paige.
I think they see Natalya as a veteran to help younger talents get further in their own careers. She's in NXT fairly frequently working with the performers there. They might see her as something of old news given all the other names they have. I'm a big fan of Natalya, think she's really talented and think they can and should do more with her, but I think it made sense to roll the dice after Mania. I actually wanted Tamina to turn on AJ to take the title and save Paige for down the line, but I have seen quite a bit of "where's Paige?" in the past year or so.
Paige and Emma had a pretty well-received match at NXT Arrival if you can track it down. I'm sure Paige has had other impressive matches down there, too, but I can't think of a lot off the top of my head.
Kane makes the most sense to me. I could see them giving Roman Reigns a shot, but it might be a little early to pull the trigger there and he's already in a feud. WWE probably isn't as concerned about his age. He just more or less had time off from in-ring action when he was unmasked, and he's not taking the kind of bumps people like The Shield and Bryan take. Kane vs. Show is what they're doing in Europe, and as much as I don't really want to see that feud, I can see them going that direction and I think it makes sense for Payback. Then Kane vs. Cena or Kane vs. Reigns?