Read on for my thoughts on last night's Raw.
I like the new look and feel of Raw. The commentary team has improved significantly. Smackdown's got something of a boost, but going from King to JBL isn't much better.
I like the idea of Mick having authority instead of Stephanie. At least that's somewhat fresh for WWE.
Stephanie going hard on Roman. I wish Rollins was getting that heat in her place.
So, did Mick make the fatal four way matches or did Stephanie? And who made the call for Rollins to get a bye?
It's worth noting Big Show and Mark Henry, two former World Champions, aren't in the title hunt. It's cool to see fresher names get a shot at that level. I didn't expect either man to headline Summerslam, but I'm surprised they're shut out of the running for the title picture.
The Universal Championship is a really silly name, but I can live with it. Especially if they change the U.S. Title to the Galaxy Championship or something.
Wow. They got right to Sasha getting her title shot.
- Rusev vs. Owens vs. Cesaro vs. Balor:
Nice continuity of Balor facing off with Owens.
Good start to the action. Everyone's working hard.
I like Owens wanting to one-up Rusev. He's a lot of fun.
Owens and Rusev would be an awesome tag team.
This is all good action, BUT I would have liked more of an introduction on who Finn Balor is beyond "good wrestler who used to wrestle in Japan." The people who want to just see good wrestlers are already fans of his. Why should the rest of the audience care about who he is?
Balor's definitely really impressive.
I really hope the people who just want to see a bunch of wrestling are giving Raw a good audience tonight. They're devoting a lot of time to former indie/international talents showing off their in-ring abilities.
Lots of big, hard-hitting moves here.
REALLY impressive suplex from the Accolade.
Everyone's going hard here.
Nice debut from Balor. Of course, Taz invented winning your WWF TV debut. He beat Mikey Whipwreck on Raw in 1997. So, this is gimmick infringement by Balor.
- Nia vs. Baker:
I also wish we had a character vignette on Nia. For those in the audience who've never seen her before, this is two people they're not familiar with in action.
Nia's definitely impressive at destroying people. Sasha (and Bayley?) better watch out.
I'm glad Golden Truth are still together.
Sasha's one of the most naturally likeable wrestlers to join WWE since AJ Lee. She's not trying to be some scripted character someone made for her.
- Reigns vs. Sheamus vs. Y2J vs. Zayn:
It's weird they put all the older names/more stereotypical WWE-style wrestlers in one match.
Zayn's athleticism is unreal.
Reigns hits hard and uses his power well.
This is really solid so far.
Look, Reigns did a flippy move. If that doesn't endear him to the smarques, I don't know what will.
Roman going on a tear. He's way better than he gets credit for.
NICE Superman Punch counter into the Brogue Kick.
I'm glad Zayn's turnbuckle arm drag spot is being countered more. It always looks unncessary and a little contrived, like Ambrose's wacky clothesline.
Reigns on another tear.
I was kind of hoping the Codebreaker would beat Reigns. I'm almost never a fan of finisher kickouts beyond important heated feuds.
That was pretty good overall. I'm curious to see what happens with Reigns next.
It's still weird New Day lost given this big push they're getting now, but we'll see if something bigger is mind.
Funny remarks about 337 days ago.
I was kind of hoping there'd be a roster member join New Day in a comedic way. I can't think of many who could make it work, though. Heath "undrafted" Slater would make sense.
Is Sonny Boy some kind of rib on someone? I don't really get it.
I would think The Club would like parties.
That was mostly a good segment.
Interesting position for Axel to be in. I hope this isn't one of those tests they randomly put talents through (like Natalya's passing gas character).
- Axel vs. Neville:
It didn't take long for Neville to get right into the flips.
That was fine for an NXT-style quick match.
I hope this isn't the end of Young's push. I almost want a Darren and Eric Young tag team. Crazy Eric Young and Bob Backlund would be amazing.
Silly Golden Truth/Backlund segment, but I got a kick out of it.
There's our Finn video package. I'm glad we did get one.
Nice Charlotte promo. I hope Bayley isn't gone from WWE TV for too long.
- Charlotte vs. Sasha:
Nice chain wrestling early.
These two match up well. They continue to improve as performers.
Nice Eddie homage by Sasha. She's awesome.
Both women doing great stuff here. They're really doing everything they can to make a big first impression in the New Era.
One hell of a Figure Four/Figure Eight Lock spot.
Absolutely awesome showing. Both women brought their all.
Awesome promo from Sasha. Great moment for her.
It's crazy how many great wrestlers will never work Raw, but this guy gets a promo and a match.
- Braun vs. Ellsworth:
I love a mastadon squash match.
All hail the Black Sheep. I wish Ryback was still wrestling so they could have a STRONK-off.
I'm glad Golden Truth didn't go in the women's restroom looking for Pokemon.
I liked the set up to the tag match. Both sides got to introduce their acts.
- Enzo/Cass vs. S. Stars:
I'm liking the Stars so far in this one.
I love Crazy Troof most of the time. They missed a chance for him to say he was drafted to Nitro or something.
Roman vs. Finn is a pretty big deal. Like when Taz faced Kurt Angle. That was a good promo they had. They should enter Taz's promo contest.
- Reigns vs. Balor:
I like Roman using his power against the flashier guy.
This is really solid so far, with both men going hard.
I don't think it's any shock Balor's ready for this level. Great work from both men in their first match together.
Roman's really working hard. Balor's killing it.
WHOA. WHOAAAAAAAA. I really didn't see Balor going onto headline Summerslam. I'm sure he an kill it at that level, but that's a really big rocket to strap to him.
One hell of a job putting Finn over. We saw something of a changing of the guard there.
More wrestling coming up.
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