Written by Rob Crowther IV
After an abysmal two weeks of Monday Night Raw, the show kicks off with Seth Freakin’ Rollins. Smart Move. Rollins confronts Corbin and tells him that Monday Night Raw has “sucked” solely because of the GM elect. I love it.
RAW has given us lemons, and WWE is making lemonade by presenting Corbin as the scapegoat. Rollins immediately becomes the voice of the fans, and tells it like it is. He points out how talented the roster is, pokes fun at recent segments, the misuse of talent, and even takes a shot at Lesnar. “Where is Brock Lesnar?” “Where is your Universal Champion?” Rollins even breaks the fourth wall as he addresses the fan support, the backstage morale, and even the TV ratings being at an all time low. Corbin takes issue with Rollins and ultimately answers The Architect’s challenge for an Intercontinental TLC match tonight.
Believe it or not, WWE does pay attention and even listen to the fans. I’ve seen it and even heard it first hand from former Superstars. The fact that the E is addressing the problem head on is a great sign.
Up next is a Tag Title Match with Gable & Roode vs. The Authors of Pain. Another step in the right direction. I’m hoping for a “Roode awakening” for Gable.
However, we get the next best thing. Roode and Gable become your NEW RAW Tag Team Champions after a solid three on two match-up. Highlights include Drake Maverick getting more air than a flight attendant, and Roode opossum pinning the 205 Live GM for the win. I like it. It’s the TLC go home show and we are already making moves. Both of these guys deserve to hold some gold, so as far as I’m concerned we’re off to a great start.
Natalya makes her way to the ring and this is another good sign. I’ve been noticing Natalya has been “benched” a lot lately, yet she is one of the best women’s wrestlers period. I’m really looking forward to her tables match with Ruby Riott. The Queen of Hearts cuts a great promo mentioning her family’s legacy and even brings up the Montreal Screw Job. An emotional Natalya proclaims, “I’m dedicating this match at TLC to my father Jim the Anvil Neidhart!”
Ruby responds by telling Natalya that she disgraces her family. Riott presents Natalya with a table that has a picture of her deceased father on it! Yikes! This is absolutely deplorable, but great heat for Riot. “Everyone knows how close you and your dad were, but once I put you through this table, you and your daddy will be closer than ever.” Wow. My guess is that Natalya has signed off on all the recent story line jabs at her late father beforehand, and will hopefully end up somehow honoring the legend with a big win come Sunday. Still, they went there! Not cool!
Ziggler and the WWE are making it abundantly clear that the former IC champion is now a tweener. “I’m not a good guy. I’m not a bad guy. I’m Dolph Ziggler” he declares. This is a good spot for him right now because he’s about to lose to the rising star that is Drew McIntyre. (And he does) The Scottish Psychopath toys with Ziggler and nearly pays the price for it. However, a claymore kick “out of nowhere” scores McIntyre the win. (And a post match beat down) It’s safe to say these two are done with each other, and only great things can come of this.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention WWE’s and Sasha Banks’ involvement with the Special Olympics overseas. Fantastic job as these are the things that make these performers real life superstars.
Sasha is in Bayley’s corner as she takes on Alicia Fox. (with Jinder) Graves continues to antagonize the Bayley and Sasha team as Jinder (and Singh Brothers) interfere in the match. Apollo Crews comes to the rescue. He even throws Sasha onto the three of them in a cool spot. Bayley hits the Belly to Bayley (Bayley to Belly?) for the win!
Next up, we have our one on one interview with Dean Ambrose. I’m nervous. Ambrose is a favorite, but we’ve made him a weird germaphobe guy, and that just ain’t him. Not digging that jacket either. Charley Caruso addresses him as the Lunatic Fringe (which I was also about to write) when Ambrose tells her not to ever call him that name again. In fact Charley doesn’t even get to ask her first question. Ambrose takes over and takes some shots at Rollin’s, “big fat ego.” In fact he nearly calls Rollins, “A piece of Sh….” before stopping himself. Caruso asks how Reigns would feel about this. He responds, “Roman? Who cares?” They even go on to show video package of the tragic Roman Reigns announcement, the tag championship victory, and Ambrose’s betrayal. Interesting. Is this another chance for Dean to explain himself? Nope. Ambrose walks away without saying anything. Hopefully he loses that jacket too. Let’s just let Dean Ambrose be Dean Ambrose. For those who haven’t seen it yet, the Dean Ambrose Chronicle on the Network is worth a watch.
It’s time for the musical portion of our show, as it’s time to Walk With Elias!! Even better, he’s taking on up and comer Lio Rush. I’ve been waiting for an opportunity for Rush (who’s impressed me since his indy days) to show off his skill set on national television, so hopefully they’ll give this one some time.
And we’re in for a treat because Heath Slater is the Ref. The one fresh story line I was actually excited about going into tonight’s episode, was Referee Heath Slater. Although I absolutely love Rhyno, I’m intrigued by Heath’s new story line. I mean, He’s got Kids!! I digress. We’re treated to a sample size of Lio’s skills, but Lashley interferes and smashes a guitar over Elias’s back. Slater doesn’t call for the DQ and Rush gets the Monday Night Raw victory! It looks like Slater is going to be the ref that’s in Corbin’s pocket. This could be fun. As anticipated Corbin wants Slater refereeing the main event. Points for creativity here, because I’m in.
Now It’s time for Ronda and Nia to meet face to face moderated by Alexa Bliss. I like the new role for Alexa as almost everything she does is gold. However, these Q & A’s have been killing me. Heel Nia (w/ Tamina) cuts a promo hyping her Becky Punching Hand. Let me just say this. Becky isn’t just straight fire right now, she’s on fire. That Triple Threat Women’s TLC match HAS to close the PPV. It needed to be said. Getting back to the RAW women’s championship match however, Ronda charges the ring in response to Jax’s taunting. Ember Moon enters to even the odds, and will take on Tamina one on one.
Tamina overpowers Ember for most of the match until Ember gains some momentum using her tremendous athleticism. Ember hits the Eclipse for the win. An Ember Moon win and no Q & A. All is right in the world.
It’s time for our TLC Main event. I was pulling for some high profile Rollins matches, so expectations are high! For the first time in six years, we have a TLC match on Monday Night Raw. (Thanks Michael Cole) Solid match-up here with some tough bumps. The Slater factor makes it even more interesting. I absolutely love Rollins Springboard onto the ladder and the Deep 6 always looks good. The crowd wants tables but Rollins unloads with multiple chairshots on Corbin. Yet, Rollins is the one who is put through the table after a suicide dive into a chokeslam. Slater is inadvertently knocked out, and is naturally much weaker than usual since he’s wearing the stripes. Rollins executes a fantastic end of days reversal and goes high risk with a frog splash to the outside through a table! Rollins is putting it all on the line. (What else is new?) Rollins has the title in his hands but Slater pushes him off of the ladder. Slater helps Corbin up the ladder but Rollins recovers quickly. Corbin is put through another table with a buckle bomb! Seth hits a superkick on Slater and a curbstomb on Rollins! Rollins puts on a clinic and retains the Intercontinenal Championship!
This was by no means a perfect show, but a giant leap in the right direction. WWE made some moves this week and took some much needed risks. There was some great storytelling, and great hype for Sunday’s TLC PPV. Moreso, Seth Rollins put this show on his back as he spoke for the fans and even competed in a phenomenal TLC main event just days before the PPV. Tonight was Monday Night Rollins. Believe that.
