WWE has not had the most success producing stellar post-PPV Monday Night RAWs recently. Just look at this year’s RAW after Wrestlemania as a perfect example.
However, tonight, Monday Night RAW in Toronto really did a good job of establishing a the new direction for WWE, post-Summerslam. And a new direction was desperately needed. After recycling the Seth Rollins/Brock Lesnar feud, and giving little emotional juice to any feud outside of Kofi Kingston vs. Randy Orton (which they really wet the bed on) — Summerslam felt like “just another show” not the “Summer Classic” we’ve come to know it as for the past 30+ years.
With Monday Night RAW in Toronto, we’re given new direction for the Women’s Title, the Universal Title, multiple performers were made to look strong in both victory and defeat, and the entire vibe of the show was entertaining.
Was it without fault? No there were some clunkers, and head scratchers — things that have been embedded in RAW for the past 5-10 years.
But as a whole, Monday Night RAW in Toronto should give any main roster WWE hope of what’s to come for the company.
Let’s break it down:
The Boss is Back: Well, who was expecting this one? If you’ve read or listened to anything I’ve written about since Becky Lynch vs. Natalya was announced, I swore this was the Trojan Horse for Ronda Rousey’s return. However, it turns out this was a kinda sorta way to bring Sasha Banks back from self-imposed exile. The return was executed marvelously — from Becky’s “come and get me promo” earlier in the night, to Natalya’s seemingly intentional “bring the crowd down promo” to Corey Graves warning everyone what was going to happen to the wig throw to the Becky beat down. Sasha came back, made a statement, and man how can you not be excited to hear her first promo back? How can you not be excited to see her and Becky go at it? This is a print money feud.
The O.C. is the Main Event: A big concern about The O.C. was how long would WWE actually run with it? Historically we’ve seen “The Club” and the “BC OG” and “Balor Club” start hot then fizzle as fast as it began. Now, however, we’re getting a serious run for Styles, Anderson, and Gallows — and it finds them in a main event. As a fan of factions, The O.G. is a breathe of fresh air for RAW. We’re seeing a faction, not an authority figure, or a shows up when he feels like it, monster runs the main even picture of the show. Rollins now having Ricochet and Braun Strowman allied with him gives complexity to the program, and hopefully we see a lot happening with this feud — hell, maybe a Ricochet/Strowman tag title run?
The Street Profits: The Greek Chorus of Monday Night RAW continue to entertain, as well as educate (hydration IS important, kids). The use of this team as the chorus of RAW and now as the the pivoting points for matches is a nice new wrinkle for the show. Their involvement in the Sami Zayn/Samoa Joe feud was great. It doesn’t hurt that Sami’s worked shoot promos are always on point, and Samoa Joe is just a legit bad ass.
Big Time Squash: So, this was one of the negatives of RAW. Sami cuts a blistering promo about WWE creative, then talks smack about Samoa Joe. Joe roughs him up. However, Sami comes out doing the same goofy “I hate the fans” routine as he enters. Shouldn’t he be afraid of Joe, much like he was like THREE MINUTES BEFORE. That’s the problem with WWE – consistency doesn’t matter. Then having Joe squash Sami did little for Sami at all. Then having Joe crap on the fans to remind them he’s a heel, despite his monster face pop, was a bit silly.
Small Time Squash: For the love of God, give the Viking Raiders something to do.
Well, at Least the Belts Are Defended: The Women’s Tag Titles were on TV for the second straight week. So there’s that. The Kabuki Warriors and Alex Bliss/Nikki Cross had a solid match. However, where do the belts go from here? Who’s going to challenge them when the #1 team to challenge them lost, for free, on RAW?
Rey vs. Andrade: These two have incredible chemistry. Go out of your way to watch this match, despite it’s very shocking finish. Not a fan of them recycling the Kurt Angle “doesn’t have it anymore” angle with Rey, but as long as this gives me a hair vs. mask match at some point, I don’t care.
Dolph Ziggler, The Black Knight: He literally said “It’s only a flesh wound.” This new “you’re a coward come back and fight me” thing for Ziggler is a nice evolution of his “the office is burying me” persona. Dolph is ludicrously talented in the ring, and his charisma is matched by few in WWE. This new direction gives him something to do.
So Robert Roode is Glorious Again: Out for the hometown pop, it’s Robert Roode. Gone is the Rick Rude pornstache, and back is to playing to the crowd and throwing his hands in the air to the chorus of his theme song. His match with No Way Jose was pure filler, and it’s sad we won’t see him again for another few months.
Booking Two Guys to Look Strong: Drew McIntyre and Cedric Alexander had a hell of a match. Cedric didn’t win, but in his loss not only did the fans get behind him, but he looked great in a loss. He came off as not a scrappy under dog, but as someone who could use their immense talent to overcome the odds. His lumbar check on McIntyre on the outside was sick, and his selling of how the move hurt himself was even better. Cedric’s in King of the Ring now, and let’s see if WWE keeps the momentum behind him.
WWE Monday Night RAW in Toronto will be available on Hulu.
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