On this episode of Raw, we start solidifying some Wrestlemania feuds to get a better look at the card for New Orleans on the Raw side. Let’s get into it:
Kurt Stands Up and Ronda Gets Rowdy: Finally….Kurt Angle has had enough. After being the punching bag for Triple H and Stephanie, he finally got fed up and stood up for himself. It’s about time. Who knew about these second contracts, but Angle put his bosses in a tag match. Who wouldn’t want to do that?
The timing was off with the Ronda’s announcement where it took the sting off her challenging Stephanie’s to where they had to cut the drum roll off. That’s ok. This is only her third week and she has to get her timing down. Stephanie plays the sneaky authority figure. Pretending to operate in Rousey’s best interest, attacking her from behind, but realizing that this is Ronda Rousey. Rousey does the “death stare” as good as anybody else. Will there be some physicality in the month lead-in before Wrestlemania? With Rousey being on every Raw leading up to it, do you have her fight lesser talent or leave the allure for New Orleans?
Sell Us A Fight: Paul Heyman can sell salt to a slug. With his gift of gab, he was able to prolong Brock Lesnar’s absence for another week. When you think about it, he made a good point about The Undertaker. Despite him wrestling once a year, his aura is still there. You can make the same case for the beast. This gave Roman Reigns some headway to make the counter argument that the champion should be there every week. You know what? He’s right too! I think everybody would agree that it would be beneficial to RAW as a brand to see the main championship on TV more than two months at a time.
The thing is, I’m not sure how long the story line will continue if you think you can outsmart the fans. You can do it for two weeks, but will they hate Brock more so they forget their own hate for Roman Reigns? Next week will be the litmus test.
John Cena and The Golden One: Here’s the thing, and while I’m sure we are glad to see Goldust in some capacity, I’m not sure the logic here. It just felt like it was there to give John Cena something to do. Or to plug Smackdown and Fastlane this weekend. The inevitable payoff seems to be with a match against The Undertaker. This was just a buffer to get us to Smackdown and Cena’s “last chance” at cashing his ticket at Wrestlemania.
It’s Complicated: Bayley and Sasha continued to dive into their complicated friendship this week. Bayley continued her reluctance towards Sasha even when she came to help. This was after a pretty good match that she had with Mandy Rose. I’m not sure what role Absolution will play in the feud down the road or who will turn on who first. You can really see that Bayley is trying to fight out of the “helpless” role.
Sasha is always coming to help. Sasha got the best of her both in the Royal Rumble and the Elimination Chamber. Let’s not forget, Bayley had a long run as the NXT championship and a memorable iron-woman match with Banks as well. Will Banks go back to being a heel or Bayley fight out of being in her shadow?
The Mizzies > The Oscars: The Miz continues to show week after week why he is one of the best characters in WWE right now. This was hilarious and there were some shots thrown in there as well. He mentioned Jason Jordan being the bastard son of Kurt Angle. He also drew his attention to Seth Rollins and Finn Balor. To him, Rollins has these great performances, but can’t put them all together in a victory. Finn Balor, since winning the Universal Championship is all glitz with a cool entrance. Hey, that’s probably what Seth Rollins is thinking as well. There’s an interconnection to this triple threat match that makes it work.
The Hardy Compound: Thank you! This Bray Wyatt/”Woken” Matt Hardy feud really needed a shot in the arm. We get that with the inclusion of the Hardy Compound. Yes, Vanguard One is back in all his glory. Yes, the dilapidated boat! Will we see Brother Nero? Senor Benjamin? Boy, did this match umph to it. The theatrics and possible off sight prospect of a Wrestlemania match might get fans interested again.
Let’s Go, Nia: Nia Jax is finally being booked in the right way. Asuka is the unbeatable one and it took her almost fix minutes of an arm bar to lose this time.
What’s with the backstabbing in the Raw women’s division? The talk between Alexa Bliss and Nia helped both superstars. This was as underhanded as it gets. Playing a “concerned” friend, Bliss talked up Jax’s insecurities that lead her to tears. It’s amazing heel work. The friend that underhandedly tears you down. After a tough loss, you begin to feel for her. You want Nia to overcome the odds. After all, she should be the dominant woman in the division.This for sure will result in Bliss’ comeuppance and hopefully lead to a much deserved lead run for Jax.
Symphony of Destruction: Another bass and this time, a piano. Braun Strowman and Elias got into another fight. However, it seems like both men are just passing the time. How many times are we going to see Strowman decimate Elias before it gets too cartoonish? After Wrestlemania, it seems like the best place for Strowman maybe a move to Smackdown. There, he can get a title run.
