WWE Monday Night RAW Highlights
RAW Kick Starts with Backstage Segment
One of the things I and many other people love about Smackdown LIVE is the opening. Almost every single week we are given something completely different with most shows opening with the superstars set to compete later on in the night. When the show does kick start with general manager Daniel Bryan and/or commissioner Shane McMahon ninety-nine percent of the time it is done so in the form of a very quick and casual backstage segment, this is something that in the past as gone down extremely well and last night's episode of Monday night RAW saw the red brand take a leaf out of their competition's book with Stephanie and Foley opening the show in a very quick, straight to the point segment. While the dominating topic of conversation was the Undertaker with Stephanie expressing her worries with Taker in regards to the fact he was last seen on Smackdown LIVE and there was a lot of talk of whether or not he would even be appearing on the show this week. Now, I'm sure this is something I will be going into more detail about later on in the post but I honestly was not a fan of Taker appearing on Monday night RAW. I would much rather he stood by what he said several months back when he called Smackdown LIVE his home. It just didn't sit well with me seeing him come over and work a RAW show. He's one of the biggest parts of the Smackdown LIV brand despite only ever having one appearance on the show. As for the rest of the opening segment, I thought it was okay. We saw Strowman do his usual Strowman thing and demand something from Foley, this week it being revenge after being speared by both Goldberg and Roman Reigns. His interruption came about moments after Rollins announced he wold be entering the Royal Rumble match. A heated brawl between the two superstars occurred and the pair would go on to compete in singles action against one another moments later. I think I've made it perfectly clear that I'm big on Strowman. I believe he is someone worth the investment, worth the time and worth the push. He's someone the WWE have been using so well since the brand split and I am hoping they keep this pace up with him. As for Rollins, it angers me massively that they are not focusing more on creating a story between him and Triple H. Sure there will be plenty of time after the Royal Rumble pay per view but I do believe they are missing out on some crucial build up time and moments.Cruiserweight MVP's are Highlighted
I have sat here far too many times and complained about the WWE Cruiserweight division and so I'm going to take the day off and actually make a few positive comments about the division. Now, while it still has to introduce more men to the roster, some of which have been featured on 205 the standouts of the division are very very clear. First up we have Jack Gallagher. As you will hopefully know by now, I'm currently hosting British Wrestling season here on my blog, something I spoke about in more detail in the opening of today's post and one of my personal favourite talents to come out of the UK Wrestling scene has to be Jack Gallagher. I've been following his career for a few years now and he has always been someone that has caught my eye. A brilliant, entertaining character matches with fantastic charisma and outstanding in-ring skills, Jack is someone who has always been destined for good things. I, of course, was so excited to see him apart of the Cruiserweight classic last Summer and even happier to see him apart of the Cruiserweight division. During the classic, he was without a shadow of a doubt one of the most talked about talents to take part. While he didn't compete in one of the standout matches of the tournament he's character was enough to turn heads and his all round performance saw him gain plenty of fans in the WWE Universe and this is something that has followed him up on the main roster. As we continue to say, this division still has a long way to go but Gallager week in and week out continues to shine and remain one of the most over men on the roster right now. Last night he was able to pick up another victory when he defeated Drew Gulak. He's also working a solid feud that seems to be working for him at the moment. The other man I have to talk about is, of course, Neville. There really is no stopping this man right now. The former NXT Champion has kept away from the division for a while but after making his return last month Neville has been unstoppable and given the division the spice it has been craving. He really is exactly what the cruiserweights needed and he has not stopped impressing since that return. He's the biggest talking in the division, he's providing us with solid match after solid match and remains very close to capturing that title. Last night he picked up, even more, momentum scoring another win this time via submission which is a little different for him but I did like it. Honestly, I change my opinions on the Cruiserweight division every single week. I really really with everything in me want this to succeed but there is so much work to be done. However, these two superstars, in particular, are just killing it right now and with there being so much talent I do believe this could be a strong year for the division if done right.WWE Legends Make RAW Return
During last week's episode of Monday night RAW it was announced that both the Undertaker and Shawn Michaels would be making an appearance on the show this week and as a massive massive fan of both these superstars there was no chance in hell I was going to miss out on this, even though the cheap plugs for Michaels movie was going to kill me inside for all the wrong reasons. Now, Shawn's part of the show was kept very much on the comedic side. It was simple, he was here to plug his movie but the little promo he cut did actually keep me entertained. He knows exactly how to work the crowd and he did change the feel of the show without a doubt! I also did actually really enjoy the segment between Michaels and Rusev and co. It just worked for me however in my personal opinion it was Rusev who kept me entertained the most here. I thought he just shined so bright last night. He was funny, he was getting a reaction out of the crowd and he gave us a new side to his character we all love to see. Later on in the night we had the moment I was most excited for, the RAW return of the Undertaker. There have been so many rumours in regards to the Undertaker and Wrestlemania as always but no one really knew what he was going to do or announce on the show last night. Throughout the night we saw the WWE focus on Foley having to finally prove himself and impress Stephanie with Takers performance being key and the deciding factor. There was great emphasis on how important this was for Foley's role on RAW which may have seemed pointless but it did tie in with a few comments The Undertaker made during this promo. Now, when the lights went out I really did get that same chill I get down my spine every single time Takers theme hits. It's such an iconic entrance and the feeling is still the same regardless of how old you are or how long you've been watching the product. As always the future hall of Famer kept things short and sweet making the huge announcement that he would be entering the Royal Rumble match. Now, apart of me does think it's pretty cool he isn't leaning more to one brand than the other, it kinda keeps the unreliability there for if he doe walk out the Royal Rumble match the last man standing. I also really do believe this year's Royal Rumble match is shaping up to be one of the best in years and one of the most predictable in at least five or six years.Nia Jax Picks up Much Needed Momentum
Again, I have sat here time and time again and spoke aout how much of a huge Nia Jax fan. Everyone and their mother knows how much I love this woman. Following her career for so long I have been desperate o see Nia succeed and make an impact in the WWE from day one and as time progresses she really is becoming a huge star, it may be a slow build up but she certainly is getting there. Over the past twelve months, she has shown huge improvements in the ring, however, there is no denying the fact she does need to work massively on her character and getting over with the fans. At the moment shes suffering the same problem Smackdown LIVE's Carmella is facing in the sense that she just can't seem to get a reaction from the live crowds. However, she did pick up some reaction last night during a backstage brawl that saw her and Charlotte take out Sasha Banks and Bayley. It was the moment that saw Nia take a shot at the champ that allowed her to pick up a reaction from the crowd and so it gives you a little insight as to the direction the WWE could and should be going in in the future and hopefully they take a look at the changes they can make from now onwards. Later on in the night she picked up more momentum when she pinned Bayley in tag team action. Personally, I wasn't expecting this match to end the way it did but I was so so glad to see Nia pick up the victory. She really did need it and I don't believe Bayley will suffer from taking the pin and in actual fact it just helps both feuds dominating the women's division at the moment on Monday night RAW.
A New United States Champions is crowned
I think the entire world knows by now how much I have hated seeing Roman Reigns as the United States Champion, I've pretty much moaned about every single week. I did say all those months back when he won the title that this is exactly what he needed and I stick by that a hundred percent, the WWE just got it all wrong. This should have been the moment they gave Reigns the time to really grow as a character and work on slowly winning the fans over and making his way back up to the main event picture. I do believe he had it in him to really bring something big to that title but he's run was one big disappointment. He rarely defended the title, he held it like it meant nothing and most of the time he was seen without the god damn thing. It was just one big mess and fans have been desperate to see a new champion crowned for months. The man we all wanted as champion? Chris year Jericho has been on fire! He has completely changed up his character and performed some of the best work we have ever seen from him. He has without a shadow of a doubt been one of the most entertaining men on the roster. His alliance with Owens has been golden with their promos and segments being the highlight of many many shows. Last night the pair were set to team up in the main event challenging Roman Reigns for the United States Championship.The man who pinned Reigns would go down as the new champion. Now, the match itself I struggled to get into and that may just be because of the time here in the UK but I struggled to find myself seeing this as on the edge of your seat action. The last five minutes did grab my attention but the closing moments just happened so quickly and so out of the blue, there didn't feel like there was much hype or energy from the commentary team and so I actually missed the moment Reigns was pinned and I had to dart my head up so fast to see what had actually happened and I was so surprised yet so so happy to see that a new champion had been crowned in Chris Jericho. This was without a doubt the best decision the WWE could have made. I don't really understand why they didn't just give Jericho the win last week but I guess this does work with his alliance with Owens. Are you happy to see Chris Jericho as your new United States Champion? Let me know down in the comments bellow!Jericho. Over the past
I do think that this week's episode of Monday Night RAW was much much stronger than last weeks. We didn't really have a standout match but there were a couple of brilliant moments that I did really really enjoy. I will of course be live tweeting throughout tonight's Smackdown LIVE so make sure to go follow me over at @TezangiVictoria.
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