Read on for my thoughts on last night's Raw.
- Opening:
Looks like we're in for our yearly "I've beaten a lot of people at Wrestlemania. Rest In Peace." promo. I've always enjoyed the Undertaker character and want to see more characters/personalities that are larger-than-life instead of "great wrestler from another company who's now in WWE."
- Bayley/Charlotte/Sasha/Nia:
Funny to go from a graveyard to the champion of hugs.
Pretty natural babyface work here.
Charlotte interrupted before things got TOO sugary-sweet.
Charlotte's a pretty great heel.
I hope we're not in for three months of rematches from Mania. As talented as Charlotte is, I'm more than ready for some new faces to be pushed.
I'd buy Sasha turning on Bayley, but will fans boo Sasha? I know she's one of the latest people for the IWC to clamor for then turn on, but I don't know if it would work to turn her unless we're in for a big Bayley reign where she'll need Sasha as heel opposition.
Nia has waited a LONG time to get here. WWE could only do so much with her while pushing Charlotte as top heel of the division.
Nia beating all three women would definitely make a statement and change things up. I could get behind it.
Meh ending.
- Sasha/Bayley vs. Charlotte/Nia:
One big problem with WWE in 2017 is running through so much action among PPV competitors that it's not special when they collide on the big stage anymore.
I'm liking the action between Sasha and Charlotte here.
I hope Nia isn't the fourth wheel at Mania.
I like the teamwork of the faces and selling Nia as the female Braun Strowman.
Charlotte has impressive technical skills.
It's nice seeing what Nia brings to the table. She adds some needed contrast to the proceedings.
Good action here.
That was fun! Mania should be quite the show; it will just be hard to top the 9,347 ohter times they've all faced off.
- Post-match:
Nia will be unleashed at Mania. I hope she's treated as a threat they all have to work together to beat.
- Zayn/Steph:
Sami winning the battle royal would be a nice nod to all his work this year. I think Braun should take it, though.
Oh gee! Can't wait to see Stephanie vs. Sami at Mania. Oh, wait. That's not happening. SOMEONE needs to get heat on Steph. Her reign has been way too long.
Jesus, they just put Sami through everything they can, huh? I really hope they don't have KO lose AGAIN right before Mania, unless it's a countout where he's brawling with Y2J.
- Aries vs. Dar:
Has the cruiserweight division become the new "Divas" division where it's an afterthought given brief matches?
These guys are great athletes, but they're only going to get so far on Raw if they're not given promo time.
Fun use of Alicia.
Not bad at all!
- Post-match:
And a fine staredown to set up WM33.
- Rollins/HHH:
Ha. There's not a devious trick in the business Triple H doesn't know about.
The Cerebral Assassin moving the pieces in place.
HHH pulling out some philosophy here.
HHH succeeded in THIS BUSINESS by knowing what cards to play and when.
Ha. Haitch will send Rollins back to ROH if he's not careful.
Good stuff from Rollins. There's a lot at stake for him.
NICE kicking the table into Seth's knee.
I think we're in for an old-school HHH ass-kicking.
Not bad!! I hope Seth doesn't have to stay on the sidelines too long. A "walk and brawl" is one thing, but going back on the road to take bumps several times a week is at a different level.
- Over-The-Top-Rope Challenge:
The BEEG exhibition.
Bo's pretty fun as a comedy guy.
This is fun enough. I love a good ol' fight.
Hahahahah Golden Truth are like "we're not ready to end our careers JUST yet."
It's kind of a shame Braun's stuck in the Andre battle royal, but maybe he'll leave a mass of bodies in his wake.
- Club promo:
Blaaaahhhhhhhh. These guys really need a Hogan to their Hall and Nash.
- Reigns interview:
Roman no-selling the spooky. Time to plan out Taker's last year as a wrestler and give him a big sendoff at WM34.
- New Day in Philly:
Yeah, WWE doesn't want Xavier in front of an ECW Country crowd after certain footage made its way online recently.
- Cesaro/Sheamus/Club:
Looks like the Raw tag team title feud will be the big car crash ladder match this year. Fine by me.
- Neville vs. Gallagher:
Good enough start. This is just a step on the road to Mania.
I wonder if having Jack in there to show the "fun" side of the cruiserweight division is the right move to sell the big Aries/Neville feud.
Jack isn't just a comedy guy; he can wrestle quite well, too.
SICK German suplex. That move can be devastating in the right hands. Ask Sabu.
I mean, I like Gallagher's act a lot, but is this what to do with the cruiserweight champion ahead of an intense WM33 bout?
GOOD ending sequence. Neville's a lot better than he was as a face.
- Aries/New Day:
Good enough, I guess. I suppose we're in for more "I'm going to kick your ass" stuff on 205 Live.
- Reigns/Taker:
God I'm loving cocky douche Roman. WWE should push him to the moon.
Bleh. I just don't buy Taker as the invincible Deadman anymore.
God I hope Roman gets the win to seal Taker's fate. Time to pass the torch.
- Enzo/Cass/Club/Sheamus/Cesaro:
I like Cesaro and Sheamus not waiting for the match to be over to get their revenge. Angles are almost always more important than TV matches, though of course you need a lot of action in a TV show, too.
I'm ready for a big ladder massacre at Mania.
- Owens interview:
I love KO just laying into everyone. Zero chill.
Man. Total burial of Chris.
How many times has Kevin kicked Sami's ass now?
I'm looking forward to Y2J vs. Owens.
- Owens vs. Zayn:
So, guys like Primo and Epico make it into the Andre battle royal no problem, but Sami has to fight for a spot?
Fun enough beginning.
Oh I'm all for this being more of a fight than a match. KO needs to look like a killer again.
So, Owens threatens to rip Zayn apart, and Sami's out here doing a flip dive. Really kills the "blood feud" thing.
Good hardcore stuff here.
NICE counter to Owens' cannonball.
Fun work here.
Things are heating up well!
This is a lot of fun with the others involved.
Ughhhhh not a fan of that ending, but they booked themselves in a corner because Stephanie has to get heat on Sami for some reason.
- Post-match:
Jericho vs. Owens could be pretty good.
- Brock/Heyman/Goldberg:
Paul doing a great job selling the importance of the Universal Title.
I'm curious if Goldberg will get a rematch if he loses or if this will be a case like Rock vs. Cena.
If people aren't subscribing to the WWE Network by now, how much can Paul really do to convinve them? They're pretty much beyond hope.
WM33 could definitely be the last time we see Goldberg in the ring. I expect he'll get a HoF nod at some point, though. I think Taker will go in at WM34, so they could save Bill for WM35.
Fine enough to sell what will hopefully be a much bigger and better match than the two have delivered previously. There's a lot of pressure on them after such short encounters at Survivor Series and the Rumble.
More wrestling coming up.
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