Monday Night RAW Highlights

Hello everyone and welcome back to Talk Wrestling World, I hope you are all well and good! As we kick stat another week today we once again take a look at the action from last night's Monday Night RAW and with yet another stacked show full of more superstars getting bigger pushes, must see segments, and more matches and hype surrounding the up and coming Clash of Champions pay per view. This past weekend the WWE put on a strong Backlash pay per view hosted by the Smackdown LIVE roster and after the stars of the blue brand set the bar so high last night it was time for the reds to make their impact and get everyone excited for the first Monday Night RAW only pay per view. I thought last nights show was an okay one. I don't believe there was anything huge and I don't believe this was one of the strongest shows of the year but it was a solid one and we have loads to talk about in today's blog post. I'm going to be taking you through five of the top highlights from the show this week as per usual. I know yesterday I uploaded a full Backlash Review and Reactions post but I did mention last week that I was going to be sticking to Highlights posts and best and worse moments for Monday night RAW and Smackdown LIVE and hopefully with pay per views we can have full review and reactions posts. Before we get started with today's post I just need to quickly mention that I might not be live tweeting throughout tonight's episode of Smackdown LIVE. I have a super early morning tomorrow and I'm also not sure if I will be uploading a Smackdown Highlights/best and worse moments this week. As always any recent blog posts will be linked bellow including last week's top five and my Backlash Review and Reactions. Finally, you can let me know what you thought of this weeks show by leaving a comment bellow or by tweeting me at @TezangiVictoria.

Who Is Heading to Clash of Champions to face Charlotte 

I mentioned in last week's Smackdown LIVE Highlights post that if there is one thing the blue brand has been doing so strongly since the split it has been portraying all it's women strongly. This past weekend at the Backlash pay per view all six women of the Smackdown LIVE roster were showcased in a fantastic championship match to crown the first ever Smackdown LIVE women's champion, setting the bar very very high. This week on Monday night RAW we got to see the red brand up their game a little and put their women in the spotlight too centering the opening to the division. Opening the night with Foley congratulating Becky Lynch on her victory at Backlash on Sunday he went on to declare that the RAW women's division remains the dominate and after calling out the current Women's champion, Charlotte, and interesting opening segment took place that allowed the women to take center stage. After Bayley defeated the champ during last week's show and with Sasha Banks back from her injury and due a rematch general manager Mick Foley had some big decisions to make regarding the Clash of Champions pays per view and Charlotte's opponent. However, a little twist was thrown into the picture after Dana Brooke finally cracked, slapping Charlotte around the face and effectively getting a rather amazing reaction from the live crowd. Foley eventually came to a conclusion and announced that Sasha, Bayley, and Dana would all compete in a triple threat match in the first bout of the night to determine the new number one contender. I tweeted out that I was really looking forward to this match. I loved that RAW opened with the Women's division this week and the chances of a strong match from these three women were exactly what the RAW women needed. Thankfully they were given enough time last night to deliver an impressive match-up that allowed Dana to finally compete in a strong match and for the division to really stand out. We had a couple of fantastic spots throughout this match and I genuinely believed that all these women wanted to win and get that number one contender ship. In the end, however, it was Sasha Banks who was able to quickly pin Bayley (even though both their shoulders were on the mat) in what was a well-done ending. I wasn't surprised to see Sasha pick up the win at all but there definitely were moments where I questioned who really would walk out as number one contender. It's going to be really interesting seeing what goes down at Clash of Champions in a sure must see championship match up. 

Battle of the Canadians 

This week Chris Jericho was back in is hosting shows with a brand new edition of the highlight reel and with special guest fellow Canadian and rival of Jericho's best friend Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn. I'll be honest, I wasn't super excited for this. I'm a big big fan of both of these superstars but this just wasn't something I was looking forward to very much at all. However, once things really got started this actually became one of my favourite segments of the night. I have to say that Jericho's attitude and facial expressions were what was keeping most entertained but the mic work between the two was just really good and the storytelling was great. Sure, I will not deny the fact that they continued to talk about the never-ending feud between Zayn and Owens pissed me off a little but with Jericho and Zayn entering a little program together the whole story works together really well. I loved the chemistry between the two last night and while I don't think we will get a great story between the two we certainly will be getting a great match between them as the pair look to go one on one in two weeks time at the Clash of Champions pay per view. 

Nia Jax Changed the Game 

Since debuting on Monday Night RAW a week after the brand split Nia Jax has been nothing but dominate. Taking out every single woman that has stepped into the ring with her she has been making an impact ever single week. She has however only been facing local competitors and so has been made to look like a dominate monster from day one. On last week's show, the WWE finally started giving Nia a little more and gave her some kind of story to go off. After defeating the friend of Alicia Fox a backstage segment between Nia and the former divas champion took place and  after a heated confrontation, the two were set to go one on one on this week's episode of Monday night RAW. Now, there is no denying what so ever that this was the night Nia really did arrive and make a huge huge impact. Stepping in the ring with a veteran like Alicia who really has done it all is exactly what Nia needed to look even stronger and what a brilliant job she did. Since her debut Nia has taken a lot of crap from many fans with so many doubting her and just not getting as over as she should be but last night she really did change the game and turn heads when she delivered her best performance to date and while we didn't get this fantastic wrestling match that could rival what we saw open the show she showed her dominance better than ever before completely annihilating Fox. Sure there were moments Alicia got a little offence in with some striking kicks and working off of adrenaline and momentum but in the end, the really was no stopping Nia who was on her A game last night. Handling Alica like she was a rag doll all I could see in my head was that one scene between the Hulk and Lockie back in the Avengers. You know what I'm talking about. The closing moments of this match saw Jax sent Alicia flying through a barricade after devastating spear that had everyone on their feet and all eyes on Jax. This was the first time she really has gotten such a big reaction and really made everyone pay attention to her. She really is looking amazing right now and I have to say that I'm super excited to see what is coming up for her. 

The Shining Stars Continue to Shine 

Let's not beat around the bush, the Shining stars are one of the worse things going in the WWE today. Sure there's potential there without a doubt and there is still a part of me just waiting for Carlito to make a return and work alongside them but since their character debuted they have been picking up next to no response from the crowd and been making zero impact. Up until last week they had bee jobbing for much bigger teams on the roster, however, a win over Enzo and Cass last week gave them the momentum they needed and while the decision may not have been a popular one amongst the WWE universe it was pretty nice to see a change and something for both the shining Stars and Enzo and Cass works just fine with me while neither team is currently in the title picture. A nice little feud between these teams will allow them both to gain some momentum and for one to go over and eventually make their way to the tag team title picture. During last night's show, we saw a backstage segment between the two teams that showed them talking about last week's action from the tag match and I have to say that I actually found myself liking what I was seeing from the Shining stars. I like that little moment between them and R-truth and I liked the way the held themselves during that segment with Enzo and Cass. That segment did lead to a one on one match between Enzo and Epico which surprised me a lot! The match was far from one of the best of the year but it sure was entertaining and we got some amazing spots that resulted in this being one of my favourites of the night. I'm also still thinking about that brutal boot to the face from Cass to Primo. The match showed us what the Shining stars are all about as they once again cheated to pick up the win with Primo helping out his tag team partner by holding down Enzo's legs behind the refs back giving the Shining stars another victory of the NXT graduates. Again, I don't believe this will be a stand out feud or a big story but it does have potential and with enough time they could easily put on a great tag team match in the future. 

Rusev Makes a Surprise Return in Huge Main Event

There's no doubt about it, my match of the night was hands down the main event between Kevin Owens and Roman Reigns. After an epic conclusion to the fatal four way WWE Universal Championship a thew weeks back that saw Triple H cost both Reigns and Rollins the title, Roman was back in action this week looking to get his hands on one more opportunity to capture gold...okay red. With Rollins already set to compete against Owens in the main event of the Clash of Champions pay per view last night it was time for Reigns to earn his opportunity all it took was one win victory over the champ and that one on one match would become a Triple threat in two weeks time. The
match itself last night was amazing. Easily the strongest bout of the night the pair tore each other apart, bringing out the best in one another they raised the bar and delivered a five-star quality match that closed the show perfectly. The two styles worked so so well together and Reigns was able to prove himself once again holding his own perfectly in the ring against a man as skilled as Owens. What I also loved was the storytelling throughout this match. That was so much going on in this match from Rollins interference, the amazing wrestling, and the match being restarted. The closing moments ,however, saw United States Champion Rusev make his return briefly distracting Reigns which effectively allowed Owens to take the opportunity to set up a winning powerbomb meaning that at Clash of Champions the main event will remain Kevin Owens VS Seth Rollins. After the match Rusev continued his attack on Reigns, sending a message to the leader of the Roman empire. I don't know about you but I was very very happy to see them bring this story back to life. For a moment I was worried that they were getting rid of the feud completely and moving on so I was so so glad t see Rusev return and for this feud to kick start again. 

I thought this week's show was entertaining one. There was so much that I loved throughout the night from the opening to the main event that had me truly on the edge of my seat enjoing every second. The build up to clash of champions is looking strong thanks to the show last night and I was left genuienly excited fo next weeks show. As always you can let me know what you thought of last nights show by leaving a comment bellow or by tweeting me at @TezangiVictoria. 

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