Hi everyone. This idea for a series of articles was pitched to me by the webmaster and I agreed to do it each week so you have something to look forward too. I will be lightly reviewing each episode of Monday Night Raw with five moments to give you an idea of what worked and what didn’t.
1. Braun Strowman Interrupts The Handicap Match – The show began with Stephanie McMahon talking to GM Mick Foley, and it soon escalated when Seth Rollins walked in, followed by Braun Strowman. They fought backstage til security showed up, and then we went to the handicap match which was scheduled to open Raw. It never got underway as Strowman showed up to attack Roman Reigns with the help of Owens and Jericho. This led to Stephanie coming out and making the match of Strowman vs. Rollins, and postponing the US title match til the main event.
Reaction: I am impressed with Strowman and how far he’s come in a short time. Some may hate his lack of experience, but I think he’s pretty good when you consider he hasn’t been wrestling years like most. The beatdown on Reigns was essential for the events which followed later in the night. It feels like Braun will continue playing spoiler, and will run into Goldberg in the Royal Rumble. The segment worked, but some may disagree with the overuse of Stephanie so early on. There’s a lot of teasing, with Strowman not being defeated, but not winning either after his countout loss to Rollins. As long as it leads somewhere, the opening did what it intended to do. It was decent to watch, so I’ll give it 3 out of 5 Steveweisers.
2. Jack Gallagher Gets An Easy Win And Mic Time – The concurring theme Raw was short matches followed by a moment. Again, WWE shows it’s as high as the moon on Gallagher as they keep using him to promote 205 Live. After a short and easy win over Drew Gulak, Gallagher challenged Daivari to “parley”.
Reaction: I’m English but even if I wasn’t I’d say Gallagher is money. WWE lacks detailed and entertaining characters, and Gallagher has done more in a couple of months than some manage in a couple of years. His challenge of parley is enough for me to tune in to 205 Live, and it’s likely be the most entertaining part of the show. Some will complain that Cruiserweight matches are too short and they don’t get any character development, but I came to the conclusion that those who complain are not watching 205 Live where they do get longer matches and more time on the microphone. I’m fine with WWE filling in the gaps with an advert for 205 Live as the show is steadily getting better. I give Gallagher 4 out of 5 Steveweisers.
3. Alicia Foooooox Shocks Noam Dar With A Kiss – For a few weeks Noam Dar has been chasing Fox despite her being Cedric Alexander’s girlfriend. She hasn’t been very helpful though, often getting in the way and costing her boyfriend matches. Cedric has been weary of Dar, as he stated his intentions of going after Fox despite her availability. When they met on Raw, Dar continued to show his interest in Fox so she showed him “what a real woman’s like” by snogging his face off on live TV. Dar was shocked and unable to process it at first, but with lipstick smeared on his face he found his smile after she’d walked away.
Reaction: I felt like it was done too soon, and it also makes you question Fox’s character. She’s meant to be Cedric’s girlfriend, yet she snogged Dar’s face off to “prove a point”? She cheated on her boyfriend despite him not doing anything to deserve it, so it makes you wonder whether they’re still together. If they are .. we have to question Cedric and why he stays with Fox despite her doing what she did. A prime example of illogical writing on Raw .. where they do things for the sake of it instead of letting a story build to a decent pay off. Dar’s reaction was great, but there’s a huge question mark over Fox and Cedric so I can only give it 1 Steveweiser.
4. The Undertaker Returns To Raw – I enjoyed that they built to his entrance with Foley saying he promised the world that Taker would appear, yet when it came to it he didn’t, which prompted Stephanie to come out and give him his job evaluation. Unlike earlier segments, Stephanie did a great job in describing the good and bad Mick’s done since he took over as GM. Mick was forced to apologize for not delivering The Undertaker, but then the lights went out and saved him the embarrassment.
The Undertaker never fails to captivate the audience, and the crowd (who were dead for much of the night) gave him a warm reception. He mentioned the fact he lost the streak in the same building, but it’s in the past and his career moves on. He informed everyone that no one controls The Undertaker, and he will come and go as he pleases .. meaning he is not contracted to Raw or Smackdown and will appear on either show when he likes. The look he gave Stephanie when he told her she could not control him was priceless. Taker announced he would enter the Royal Rumble match and go to the main event of Wrestlemania, and if anyone gets in his way they would Rest In Peace.
Reaction: Never lost it after all these years. All he has to do is stand there and the crowd embraces him. When he talks everyone shuts up and listens. The darkside is coming to an already stacked Royal Rumble match and I’m looking forward to some dream confrontations. Will he come across Lesnar again? Will he meet Goldberg for the first time? Does he have what it takes to win and go to Wrestlemania to challenge AJ Styles or John Cena for the WWE title? All valid questions, and his addition alone makes the Rumble intriguing and one to look forward too. 5 Steveweisers for building to his entrance, and the announcement even if many predicted it beforehand.
5. Roman Reigns vs. Kevin Owens & Chris Jericho (US Title) – Due to Strowman’s attack earlier it was postponed til the main event. Reigns did his best to separate the duo by locking Y2J in the shark cage, but Owens was quick to hit him from behind and save his friend. Fans knew if there was any time to take the title off him it was in this main event. It wasn’t very long mind you, but it didn’t need to be. Reigns selling his beatdown from earlier, Jericho was able to hit a codebreaker with Owens holding his leg. Owens followed up with a powerbomb to the ring apron; leaving Reigns as dead weight. Owens and Jericho struggled to pick him up and roll him in, but they managed it and Jericho got the pin-fall victory to claim the title which eluded his career.
Reaction: The episode was wrote in a way to make Reigns lose the title without hurting him too much. Some may question the intelligence of Reigns for accepting a handicap match, even more so after his early beatdown by Strowman. When he was interviewed backstage, he didn’t sell the beatdown and gave his standard promo about taking on all challengers no matter how many. The problem is many fans do not care, and stacking the deck in this way did not garner him any sympathy. In fact, the ending went down well because of the love and respect for Chris Jericho who deserved a title win after a solid 2016.
A good moment for those who appreciate Y2J and his career as it made him a Grand Slam Champion and the 7th wrestler to win all major titles (not including Universal) in WWE. The problem for many fans though .. is it almost (some will say there’s no almost about it) guarantees Reigns will take the Universal title from Owens. The main event suffered due to a lack of time which could’ve been found by cutting things like Titus O’Neil trying to get in The New Day again. The title change should’ve been done better, but I think many are happy enough for Jericho and the US title. I’ll give it 2 out of 5 Steveweisers seen as the ending was better than usual.
Conclusion.
Raw is a weak show and this is mainly due to its 3-hour format, short matches, illogical writing, over reliance on nostalgia (needing HBK and Taker for rating), and pushing Reigns despite the lack of interest. But it wasn’t all bad, there were some good moments and I’ll be honest and say it was easier to watch than previous attempts.
Raw continues to be about moments over quality matches, which is a shame as they have plenty of great wrestlers who could give us amazing back-and-forth contests. But we know this is sports-entertainment and they’re catering to low attention spans in children and casual viewers. There’s so much more I could say, but I’d be here all day and I should start bringing this to a close.
I’m only going to rate Raw based on previous episodes after the brand extension, so I’ll be generous and give it 3 out of 5 Steveweisers for The Undertaker, the Women’s Division, Jack Gallagher, and Jericho making history at the end. Are you a wrestling fan? If the answer is yes you will hate this episode as the matches were terrible. I doubt they will top it next week .. but who knows? They might surprise us. Thanks for reading, and see you next Tuesday for another edition of 5 Moments Of Raw!
