Raw Review and Reactions

Hello everyone and welcome back to Talk Wrestling World, I hope you are all well and good. Last night the WWE put on a very strong entertaining Monday night RAW as the road to Wrestlemania really kick started. With a shocking opening segment that left the internet and the arena going insane, potentially the return of the century, and a closing that allowed me to personally gain a lot more interest in the Wrestlemania main event. In today's post I will be taking you back through all of last night action, telling you what I thought of every single, match, promo, and segment. As always I will link bellow any recent blog post including my WWE Fastlane review and reactions post witch was uploaded twenty four hour ago, and of course last weeks RAW Review. Finally, you of course can let me know what you thought of last nights show by leaving a comment bellow or by tweeting me at @TezangiVictoria.

It was announced last week during Monday night RAW that this week we would see the introduction of the Vincent J. McMahon Legacy Of Excellence award. The WWE had made it clear that until this very moment, no WWE superstar had been more worthy of picking up this extremely prestigious award. Over the past week the company did not reveal all that much about the award. They presented little information made sure to hype it well. As a result I personally was really interested in the whole thing. I mentioned in my prediction post that I did not know what to expect from this segment, I had no idea who was going to receiving the award and I didn't know what winning it would mean for the superstar, the WWE, and Wrestlemania. Keeping all that in mind I was very excited, probably way more excited than I should have been. As promised twenty four hours prior during the Fastlane pay per view, the emotional presentation of the Vincent J. McMahon Legacy Of Excellence award kick started this weeks Monday night RAW. With the red carpet rolled out in the ring and the award spotlighted in the centre it was only a matter of time before Vince McMahon made he's way to the ring to present the award. The man himself first claimed that the night would be a night that fans would "never ever forget" and soon cut straight to it. Talking about the McMahon history, Vince highlighted the fact that he's family had been in the sports entertainment business for over one hundred years. He teased that the recipient cherished the attributes he's father did; a strong headed business man with a warm heart, that person would turn out to be the Granddaughter of the man behind the award and the daughter of Vince McMahon himself, Stephanie McMahon. Oh the wave of disappoint that took over was unreal. Of all the names rumoured and mentioned by fans, Stephanie;s was not one that I saw pop up often. I didn't see it coming, it did disappoint me but it tied in with the theme of the night really really well. That theme of course, being family. Just as Stephanie was about to start her "acceptance speech" we all got one of the biggest shocks of the past decade. The return of Shane McMahon. That's right, the return of Shane fucking McMahon. I'm going to give you a second to remember that moment, take it in, and mark out again..... Okay and we are back to the present. It may only be February but I'm noting this as one of if not the biggest shock and one of most awesome moments of the year. For years now I have been sitting and waiting for Shane McMahon to make a return to the WWE and sort shit out and the reaction last night proved that I sure as hell wasn't the only one. The arena literally went insane with one of the biggest pops I have ever heard. I could feel the energy from the other side of the TV screen it felt amazing! Cutting one of the best promos/segments I have seen in years, Shane made it perfectly clear that he was here to clean up the mess Stephanie and Triple H have made over the past couple of years. Shocking the WWE Universe Shane also noted that what he wanted was to run Monday night RAW but he was not going to have what he wanted handed on a plate. He was going to have earn it. And so Vince made a huge Wrestlemania announcement. If Shane McMahon could beat the Undertaker inside hell in a cell at the grandest stage of them all then he would get what he wanted. What an announcement? It doesn't get much bigger and better than that. We have heard so many rumours about Takers Mania opponent but not a single person had predicted this. You just couldn't write it. The entire opening segment left the WWE universe with strong wrestling boners. Easily the best opening to Monday night RAW of the year and one of the best openings we have seen in a very very long time. This was all about legacy and family a theme that ran through the whole night and there really was no better way to start the show and to push Wrestlemania season.

With everyone on a super high after that huge opening segment the first match up of the night had a lot to follow up to but the arena and everyone at home was still on a massive high and the energy was still massive. Adrian Neville found himself teamed up with the Lucha Dragons to take on the WWE Tag team champions, the New Day in six man tag team action. I don't know if it was the massive high that I was on after that opening segment but I was really feeling this match. We had six very different, very interesting, and very very entertaining superstars in the ring competing against one another. All superstars received a strong reaction from the crowd with the New Day appearing most over as expected. Starting the match up was Xavier Woods and the United States Champion Kalisto who took early control of the match with a bunch of arm drags and leg drops sending woods outside of the ring leading into a commercial break. When the action returned Kalisto was still firmly in control of Woods and the match with the baby face team making frequent tags and working very well together as we have seen them do so in the past. The turning point of this match was the moment Big E made the tag. Using he's power and Strength advantage he was able to slow down the pace of the match and back Neville into the corner of the new day. Isolating the former NXT champion from he's tag team partners the New Day worked on wearing Neville down, grounding him and working towards picking up a much needed victory. Neville really did take a beating throughout this match but he's resilience was so strong and once he was able to make the tag to Sin Cara we once again saw a change in pace of this match up. Neville for me personally, really was the stand out of this match. He was on fire last night and really did impress and stand out. Despite the strong performance from the Lucha Dragons and Neville was a trouble in paradise from Kofi to Sin Cara that allowed the New Day to pick up a much needed victory. I did think this was interesting booking. I still think Sin Cara needs to be booked in more singles matches and picking up more victories as United States Champion but this was a great match and I really did enjoy it. High impact, fast paced, high flying, fantastic wrestling. I really did enjoy this opening match up.

A couple of hours before RAW went on air the WWE uploaded an exclusive video that saw Brock Lesnar attack Dean Ambrose as he arrived to the arena. The attack was so brutal and barbaric that Ambrose was left forced to go to a local medical centre. The rumours as to who will be facing Lesnar at Mania have been going crazy over the past couple of weeks with Wyatt being the obvious favourite. However, with the build up to Fastlane and the pay per view itself going in the direction it went it there was a slight change in plan and now we are seeing Dean Ambrose VS Brock Lesnar pushed as the Mania match up for the beast. Personally, I think this is gold. Throughout the build up to Fastlane Dean Ambrose proved that he was worthy of facing top names like Lesnar and with him carrying the story of being so desperate to beat Lesnar and prove he can slay the beast, a Wrestlemania match up between the two makes perfect sense. This is the type of feud that Ambrose both needs and deserves. It allows him to be completely ruthless, barbaric, aggressive, extreme and crazy. A feud with the beast gives Ambrose the opportunity he deserves, it stops him from fading into the background and being put in something completely random. It gives him the chance to compete in a fantastic, career defying storyline and match up. During the second hour of last nights RAW, both Paul Heyman and Brock Lesnar made their way to the ring where Heyman would address what occurred the night before where Roman Reigns was seconds away from tapping out when Dean

Ambrose uses a steal chair to take out the beast and take away the former world champions opportunity to main event Wrestlemania. Heyman went on to explain that Brock got he revenge earlier that night when he attacked Ambrose before the show. But Lesnar and Heyman were forgetting something. This is Dean Ambrose. He's been through CZW. He's fearless, unstoppable and a complete lunatic and as predicted he made he's way back to the arena in time, literally dragging himself out of the Ambulance to demand a Wrestlemania, no holds bards, street fight match. Honestly, all these Mania announcements last night left me so drained! This is a huge huge match for Dean Ambrose but he has put himself in a great position. Lesnar has thrown so much at Ambrose already but he just keeps on getting back up. It's going to be so easy for fans to back Ambrose and the direction and end result of this storyline is going to be truly epic.

The Usos were back in action next with their first appearance since being attacked by the Dudley Boyz as they were set to take on the Ascension. Now, you guys know I am as far away from an Usos fan as you can possibly get but I have to be honest, this feud between the Dudleys and the Usos really is doing it for me. Yes it is a little repetitive and similar to what we saw between the Usos and the New Age Outlaws a couple of years ago when it comes to the story and reason behind the feud but I do really like this storyline and I think it has some great potential. The trash talk from the Dudleys before the match started last night was the push in this storyline that it needed and I hate to admit just how much I am liking this. The match itself was predicable. I'm still a massive fan of the Ascension despite the fact the WWE have ruined them and have no idea what on earth they have when it comes to these two. I still have hope that thing will turn around for them within the next year but it does't seem very likely unfortunately. The former NXT Tag team champions may have gotten the early upper hand but the Usos were able to turn things around very quickly as they got in and stayed in control, picking up a very quick victory as predicted.

After competing in an incredible match up against AJ Styles at Fastlane, Chris Jericho was out last night to talk about that very match and express he's feelings towards the phenomenal one himself. The future hall of famer declared that this was one of he's greatest matches of he's career and went on to share he's first impressions of Styles, telling the WWE universe off the back he didn't like Styles nor did he respect him. He then called Styles out to the ring and the AJ Styles/ Y2J chants kick started again just like they did twenty four hours ago at the Fastlane pay per view. Jericho told Styles that he now respected him and congratulated him, going on to claim that Styles had proven he deserved to be in the WWE, that he was certain to make it big in the WWE, and that he truly was phenomenal. The special moment between two great superstars was soon interrupted by the Social Outcast who mocked both Styles and Jericho, pushing the buttons of two of Fastlane's two highlight performers. The former opponents then teamed up to take on the Social Outcast in a tag team match. The last time Jericho and Styles teamed up they did have some success but found themselves struggling to get along and work together. But with a new found respect between the two, were things going to be different a second time round? The start of this match proved that this time round they were able to work much much better together with a completely different feel to them teaming up together last night than what we saw a couple of weeks back on Smackdown. What was great about this match was the amount of offence Slater and Axel got. Social Outcasts as a faction may not have much potential but the alliance has given them much more TV time and time to actually wrestle. The control of the match didn't last long for Axel and Slater with Styles and Jericho working amazingly well together to pick up the victory. It was nice seeing Jericho the one picking up the actual win. One hundred percent the right booking decision.

On Sunday, at the Fastlane Pay per view, the Wyatts received the worse booking of the night when they lost their six man tag team match against Ryback, The Big Show and Kane. It's Tuesday and I'm still super pissed about this booking decision. It just made no sense what so ever. Its as if the WWE actually want to fuck up one of the best things they have right now. It honestly makes me so mad I can't even think about it too much. Anyway, last night we saw the Fastlane rematch however this time Bray would compete instead of Strowman witch I thought was interesting and sent a rather odd message but also letting everyone know how key and important Bray Wyatt actually is. I'll be honest, I wasn't really looking forward to this match at all. Yes, it was sure going to be a physical match and could have been pretty entertaining but I personally, was so annoyed at what had happened at Fastlane that I had next to no interest in the rematch. Kane did take early control of this match dominating both Harper and Bray in the early stages. Now, I'm not the biggest Ryback fan, in fact I really really dislike him but I'm going to have to admit that he has been impressing me recently. He has been showing off some great new skill in the ring, widening he's move set and showing some great improvements in the ring. I'm not claiming I'm a fan just yet but I am impressed for sure. First I talk nicely about the Usos and now I'm talking highly of Ryback, what is happening?! The big guy was impressive last night, once again very dominate, showing a lot of actual wrestling skill over power and strength all of the time. He was without a doubt the stand out of this match with Harper also being very impressive as usual. I'm still waiting for Harper to get that big push he so rightfully deserves, and I do really want to see Harper VS Neville in a long twenty minuet match. Rowan was someone who also grabbed my attention last night. I really do think he has potential and he does have something but he's also missing something. There's always something just not complete with Rowan, I don't know if any of you reading this understand what I'm saying. The match did go on longer than I was expecting but it was a lot better than I was expecting it to be also. I found myself much more interested and entertained than I was expecting to. I found it super weird that Ryback walked out of the match. It made no sense what so ever but it did allow Wyatt to work on the distraction to pick up the victory pinning Kane. I still have no idea why on earth Ryback just walked out for no reason.

Sasha Banks was in action next receiving a strong reaction from the crowd as always she was set to go one on one with Naomi. Now, I was looking forward to this match. Naomi and Sasha are two extremely talented female competitors, you put them in the ring together your going to get something very special but I really do want to see Sasha move away from her feud with her former Team B.A.D partners and focus more on Wrestlemania and the divas championship. A win over Naomi in a fantastic match however would be the perfect way for Sasha continue her momentum build as she still stands undefeated on the main roster yet to be pinned or submitted. Naomi did take early control of this match. Sunday at the Fastlane pay per view Naomi was very very impressive delivering a fantastic performance and we saw that continue last night in her match up against Sasha. What is so great about these two women is they are so amazingly talented and athletic, if they were given fifteen to twenty minuets to compete they would easily blow everyone away and put on a match of the year candidate style bout. However, this was Monday night RAW and the girls were not given as much time as I would have liked but they did make every single second they had count and really did put on a solid match that did make me crave more. Sasha used the same impressive spot she used at Fastlane and in the end hit the Banks statement to pick up the victory. After the match Charlotte came out to make the announcement that Becky and Sasha will go one on one at some point to decide who will face her at Wrestlemania for the divas championship. Hmm.. I wonder who I will be backing...

Main event time, and of course Roman Reign found himself heading the show once again, this time going one on one with a man he knows all to well, the Celtic warrior, Sheamus and with all members of he League of nations at ring side, the odds were not looking good for Reigns. Of course this was a very predicable main event and it did take a lot for me to actually sit back and watch this match and have any interest. However, Sheamus and Reigns have a lot of history, great chemistry and have had some pretty good matches in the past so I tried my best to give it a go and pay as much attention as possible. I am planning on writing a blog post talking about how much the WWE have failed and

gone wrong with the League of Nations and an even bigger post on Barrett so keep an eye out for those in the up and coming weeks. Sheamus took early control of this  match targeting the injured arm of Reigns and looking for an early victory. Throughout the match the league of nations assisted Sheamus fitting in a couple of cheap shots when the ref wasn't looking, another predicable move that did fit into the match well of course. The crowd had very little interest in this match and they were very vocal about that throughout but as the match went on they did start to gain more of an interest. From the start right through to the very end we saw Reigns favour he's arm. Triple H did make a much needed appearance during this match and the fact that he was not wearing he's suit meant that shit was about to go down. Over the next six weeks, the WWE are really going to have to work hard at getting the WWE universe fully invested into the main event but the brawl between Reigns and Triple H was a fantastic start, predicable yes, but really well done and the Champion standing tall with the crowd firmly behind him was a great way to close the night. A busted open Reigns allowed everyone to see just how ruthless Hunter is and how much little mercy he will be showing Reigns.

Last night the road to Wrestlemania really did kick start. It really felt like Wrestlemania season. We had a massive opening to the show that left me beyond happy and marking out like crazy and an ending that sent a huge message to the fans and to Roman Reigns, with Triple H proving why he is an all time great. That savage beat down really opened everyone's eyes as to the level of brutality  this feud has reached and gave Reigns an insight as to what is to come over the next six weeks leading up to Mania. I was very very tired during the final hour but this was a solid RAW and I did enjoy it a lot. Some great story development. As usual you can let me know what you thought of the show by leaving a comment bellow or by tweeting me at @TezangiVictoria.

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