By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
WWE Raw Hits
John Cena and Austin Theory: A Hit for the entertainment factor of Cena tearing down the Theory character. I’m a fan of Theory’s work and I really liked the way he went from being a bumbling doofus who followed around Vince McMahon to essentially becoming a man once McMahon left. By the way, the last thing a person accused of being a sex pest should do is grow a creepy mustache. What’s next, trolling for chicks in Boca Raton while driving a windowless van? Anyway, there’s still something missing from Theory’s act and it hasn’t helped that the company has been booking him to win in pest heel fashion. It seems like the idea is to tear down Theory now with the goal of rebuilding him via the Cena match. Only time will tell whether they can pull it off, but I am optimistic that Theory will be in a better place coming out of this program than is coming out of this segment.
Sami Zayn vs. Jimmy Uso: I was caught off guard when Jey Uso superkicked Zayn. Most of that has to do with the fact that Raw is typically the home for Bloodline filler while the major storyline developments are saved for Smackdown. The post match angle with Cody Rhodes coming out to help Zayn left me wondering if he will serve as the bridge that leads to the Zayn and Kevin Owens reunion. It was odd to see the Usos and Solo Sikoa back down when Cody arrived, but it could easily be addressed if it’s made clear on Smackdown that Roman Reigns didn’t give them the green light to get physical with Cody. More than anything, I give the creative forces credit for knowing when to pull the trigger on Jey showing where he stands. It felt like Zayn’s popularity had taken a bit of a hit going into the match, but this angle and the expected reunion with Owens should heat things up again.
Seth Rollins and Logan Paul: A good angle with Paul cast properly as the obnoxious heel. I got a big kick out of The Miz flashing a big smile and offering Paul a handshake only for Paul to blow him off when he first entered the ring. While those characters may eventually realign, there’s enough bad history that they shouldn’t automatically be back on the same page just because they are both heels now. The overall segment did an effective job of putting heat on Paul and I am genuinely looking forward to his match with Rollins at WrestleMania.
Kevin Owens vs. Solo Sikoa: It was odd to see Sikoa on the verge of losing a match before Jimmy Uso broke up the pin for the DQ finish. Aside from a couple of strangely competitive matches with Elias, the creative forces have really protected Sikoa. But it’s one of those things that no one will remember a week from now, and it’s not like there’s any shame in nearly losing to the Owens character. The match was entertaining and I continue to appreciate that they are slowly building to the KO and Sami reunion.
Raw Women’s Champion Bianca Belair vs. Carmella in a non-title match: The Carmella and Chelsea Green alliance already paid off in that Green’s interference made this a more interesting match than it would have been without her at ringside. I’m getting a kick out of Carmella and Green together and I could see them eventually getting a run with the WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles.
WWE Raw Misses
Piper Niven vs. Nikki Cross: Niven appeared to suffer a nose injury when Cross rolled over on her face while performing a crossbody block. The finish was off and I don’t think fans had any idea which wrestler they were supposed to cheer for.
Damage CTRL, Becky Lynch, Lita, and Trish Stratus: A rough verbal segment that set up a WrestleMania match that doesn’t feel as big as it did when people started speculating about it being a possibility a few weeks ago. Lynch’s character has really cooled off. She still gets good reactions, but it feels like it’s mostly based on past glory. I blame some of that on Lynch working with a cold Bayley character and the rest on the creative team’s failure to establish enough meaningful heels in the women’s division for their babyface stars to work with. Lynch is great and they really need to come up with something big for her coming out of WrestleMania to stop the slide in momentum.
Johnny Gargano vs. Finn Balor: What would have been a dream NXT Takeover match not all that long ago felt like a throwaway match that played to a quiet crowd. These are two top notch wrestlers who have been beaten down creatively. I’m sure Balor and Edge will have a very good match at WrestleMania, but I go back and forth on whether Balor or Damian Priest is the low man on the Judgment Day totem pole. Gargano’s main roster run has been dreadful and everything I liked about his babyface character in NXT is missing.
Chad Gable vs. Baron Corbin: More of an in the middle. As much as it was nice to see Gable get a rare victory, this was more about Corbin slipping back into Bum Ass mode than it was about Gable. For that matter, it was also more about the Maximum Male Models courting Omos than it was about Gable.
Omos vs. Dolph Ziggler: A formulaic win for Omos as the company halfheartedly builds him up to feed him to Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania. I can’t really blame anyone, as there’s only so much they can do with Omos. This feels like a situation where the spectacle of Lesnar vs. Omos either works for you on paper or it doesn’t and there’s not much they can do to heat things up.
I thought this was a super hot show with a good crowd but also illustrates that 3 hours is far too much Look at this hits and misses above. The important segments mostly were hits and the filler mostly misses
I’m not certain how you fix this WWE isn’t going to give up an hour of programming (although 2 hours of SDL feel like they fly by)
Could you use 8-9 as a recap / “main event” kinda show -cut back on the video packages on “real RAW” from 9-11 and maybe feature some “newer” talent in more traditional squash matches?
Could you turn 8-9 into a woman’s based show (mostly so I can skip it lol) or a cruiserweight style show (these failed before but maybe with a new faster pace style)?
I dunno. But the extra 60 min really weighs on my enjoyment of raw
The problem is that you’re not going to convince a network to sign off on giving up an hour of Raw and replacing it with an unproven content. I’d love to see them get rid of an hour, but the odds seem slim. Heck, I’m just happy they didn’t add a “bonus hour” of Smackdown on FS1 since they can’t air it on Fox. I think the best we can hope for is that the writers do a better job with the mid-card talent and the overall women’s division. They have some female stars who are slipping because they just haven’t built up enough new rivals for them to work with.
“These are two top notch wrestlers who have been beaten down creatively.”
Nope. They’re tiny indie darlings with no personality and that doesn’t work for anyone outside of the IWC smark crowd. The vast majority of wrestling fans will never be interested in either guy. Wrestling always has and always will be about big personalities and big dudes who look like they’re trying to win a fight. The only thing either Finn or Johnny have going for them is Finn’s demon entrance.
Gargano and Ciampa sold how many tickets during their feud? Balor headed up Bullet Club and sold how many t-shirts? You don’t have to like them, but you can’t erase the success that they’ve had over the years.