We are coming off a really strong RAW from the previous week. Yes, I know that may almost taboo to say. You can even dub last weeks’ episode, the “coronation of Balor Club.” This was where Finn Balor go tan endorsement from John Cena and acknowledgement from Vince McMahon. The job of the Royal Rumble go-home show was to get us intrigued on how each superstars path could go. Not so much build beyond Sunday, (that did happen in a couple cases), but try to give every story line, whether significant or minuscule some time to fester. That’s why you see a brief Elias/Baron Corbin segment.
David vs. Goliath: Paul Heyman puts over Brock’s opponents better than anybody. He sets up Finn to be the people’s champion because everybody wants to see someone take the title off Brock. Vince comes out and furthers that notion (even though the David vs. Goliath story was a little wonky).
We expected Braun to be perturbed about losing his title shot. You started to wonder “Ok, where is the guy that is in the actual match with Brock?” The key is Finn looking strong with three figures in the ring. They either outrank him from a physical or rank stature. Finn tells Braun, “listen, you never beat Brock. I can.” He also corrected Vince’s David vs. Goliath story. That’s the first part of the rub.
Did this promo go too long? A little bit. You could have cut it down and gotten the same effect. However, Finn getting a bunch of offense against both Braun and Brock was key to making him belong. Yes, Brock hits the F5 anyway, but you have to keep him looking like the disruptive monster that he is. You can tell he’s engaged for the match on Sunday.
It’s A Pose Off: Initially, this brought back memories of Triple H vs. Scott Steiner, but this was an effective segment. Apollo Crews has been getting a considerable push the last couple of weeks. Paired with the hilarity that is Lio Rush, Crews got to show some of his personality. Crews lost the match due to some interference, but I don’t think this is the last of their feud. You may see a nod at it during the Rumble itself, but build it up after the Rumble. Both men benefit from either having or chasing the Intercontinental championship. More so, because it’s two African american superstars (three if you include Rush) in a major title program (hats off to WWE for that.)
A Moment of Bliss Announcement: Now, this particular segment was successful and you have to think about it in three ways:
- Rather than lumping all the women in an eight or ten women tag, they were able to showcase everyone briefly not in the main event.
- Alexa announces her entry in the Royal Rumble. She has enough of an established fan base where she is able to drop this on HER segment. This gives fans another reason to watch. “Oh, wow. Alexa is in it now.” Alexa is a two-brand champion.
- Lacey Evans gets a great introduction onto the roster. It didn’t take away from Alexa’s announcement. In fact, Alexa’s popularity only enhanced the heel promo from Lacey.
I’m going to segue this in the topic on how the NXT call ups have been utilized. Gone are the days where a new superstar cuts a long promo and beats up wrestler x on Superstars on Saturday mornings. The way that WWE has been introducing the new call ups have been a slow build and I have enjoyed it. Not everybody can have a match. EC3 got his promo shown and then a brief segment with Dana Brooke. If EC3 is going to be a major/mid player on either roster, then you have to wait until after Summerslam to get him involved. Don’t throw him into something just to add space.
After the funny introduction of Heavy Machinery, they got a match this week against The Ascension to which they got to show their brand for a tag division that definitely needs some refreshing. You have to remember that NXT and RAW viewership doesn’t intercede the way that you think. You want the quirkiness of Otis Dozovic and the individuality of this team to come off right and to be something that stands out.
Edge Heads Unite: Much to the chagrin of many reports out there that interpret The Revival making their departure, they had another title match against Chad Gable/Bobby Roode. The wrinkle of Curt Hawkins as special referee was a good add-in to this match. Considering they thought that The Revival thought they had him in their back pocket, he’s calling everything down the middle. Not letting them getting away with any old-school heel tactics that eventually cost them.
You add Zack Ryder going in for the save and there, you add another tag team to the division. Over the past couple weeks, RAW has been trying to utilize as many wrestlers as possible. Zack Ryder is still fairly popular and what would be better than a baby face tag team run from the former Edgeheads? With AOP hurt, but returning down the line and the inclusion of possibly Heavy Machinery, you have fresh pieces in a division that needs it.
The Unstoppable Force vs. The Unmovable Object: If you weren’t rooting for Seth Rollins to win the Rumble before last night, that promo changed your mind. Seth was able to convey the hellish past few months that he’s been through. He’s had to war against Dean. He lost Roman. He lost both the Intercontinental and Tag Team titles. He should be a broken man, but his workman resolve keeps him going. His heart. His soul.
Here comes Drew. He makes a point to say that he has that same heart and soul. However, it’s put into a man that’s a bigger and stronger version of Seth. They both put themselves over as the lead face and heel to win the Rumble from the RAW side.
The match was fine. Seth wins by a roll up which took nothing away from Drew because he got to show off his freakish strength. Drew displays that he’s a powerhouse. Seth displays that toughness that we all know him for. Everybody wins.
Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better: Before we go into the tag match, let’s talk about Ronda’s promo before hand. I feel like she tries to fit as many words as she can. That’s why the beginning of the promo didn’t come off so well. “Oh, I just want to be liked. Why doesn’t she like me?” Then, towards the end, she steadies the plane. Perhaps it’s a slow burn to a possible turn towards Mania, but I want to see the Ronda that doesn’t care about being liked. She’s the champion.
With the tag match, it did what it was supposed to. Heighten the anticipation for what will be a very good singles match between two hungry competitors. Sasha countered the armbar. Ronda hip-tossed Bayley from the backstabber/Bayley to Belly combo. They gave you a taste of what to look for in the upcoming match, but not too much. Ronda vs. Sasha will be very aggressive and push Ronda to the likes that we haven’t seen because of how talented Sasha is.
