This Weeks RAW and Smackdown LIVE Highlights

Hello everyone and welcome back to Talk Wrestling World, I hope you are all well and good and have had a great start to the week so far! We, of course, have reached the middle point of yet another week which obviously means it's time to take a look back at this week's episodes of both RAW and Smackdown LIVE. Now, it feels like forever since I last wrote this post. Usually, I upload my weekly highlights every single Wednesday but with so much going on in my personal life this post has been the one that has fallen back mainly because it isn't one that I can pre-post. However, as I've been mentioning all week, I am trying my best to get back on track and get back to uploading more frequently and bringing you better content. We do have a quite a bit to touch on from this week's RAW and Smackdown LIVE especially with the blue brand focusing on building up to the Fastlane pay per view while over on RAW Wrestlemania has been the focal point! Now, I am going to be uploading more Wrestlemania content towards the end of the month so keep an eye out for those posts! For now, however, any recent blog posts will be linked bellow including my Elimination Chamber reviews. And finally, you can get involved and tell me what you thought of this week's RAW and Smackdown LIVE by leaving a comment bellow or by tweeting me over at @TezangiVictoria.

Ronda Rousey's Official Wrestlemania Match Confirmed

It's been nearly two months since Ronda Rousey made her huge arrival in the WWE and only a couple of weeks since she officially signed her WWE RAW contract at the Elimination Chamber pay per view. It was on that night that it was revealed she would be competing at Wrestlemania but fans have been left wondering just how exactly she would be booked. Obvious signs pointed to a mixed tag team match which is exactly what was confirmed this week on RAW. And in ring segment originally started out by Kurt Angle and Stephanie McMahon resulted in complete chaos. Rousey decided to name who she wanted to face at Mania in the middle of the ring and of course, it came as no surprise when she picked Stephanie McMahon. Looking for loopholes, both Stephanie and Triple H argued that the match was impossible, however, after Kurt pointed out both had WWE superstar contracts the match could in fact happen and with Angle wanting to get his hands on Hunter following last weeks actions the mixed tag team match was made official. Okay, so this didn't come as any surprise what so ever. We all saw this coming and to be honest I don't mind. This won't be the standout wrestling match of Wrestlemania this year but it's a big attraction and the build so far has been pretty damn strong. Rousey finally got her hands on  Stephanie this week and it was interesting seeing things heat up with this rivalry. The next five weeks are going to be key in keeping this as a must-see match and the build regardless will be important but I can honestly say I really liked the opening to this week's RAW and I'm still crazy hyped over Rousey being in the WWE!

Welcome to The Ultimate Deletion

Okay, so I have been moaning and complaining about the Bray Wyatt/Matt Hardy feud pretty much from day one. This is a rivalry I have been wanting to see for the past year and I've touched on how disappointed I've been with how the WWE has done it several times. Saying that I have still tried to enjoy what has been presented to me and on this weeks episode of RAW things got very interesting. After scoring a victory over Rhyno, Hardy appeared on the titron and made a big announcement! Fans of Impact Wrestling will remember Total nonstop Deletion, one of the most insane wrestling hours in history! This past Monday we saw the compound return with Hardy inviting Wyatt in what is sure to be an epic collision if the WWE can get it right. Now, at the moment I'm not the most optimistic person when it comes to this. The feud has been rather disappointing and the booking hasn't impressed either. This, however, is a big deal. The crowd reaction was huge and I am really excited! Hopefully, the WWE can give these guys more time and focus more on this because it is exciting and it is something fans want to see! Maybe, just maybe, this could save the feud between these two insane characters. 

This week on RAW

To be honest, quite a bit happened on this weeks episode of Monday night RAW and me personally, I actually enjoyed the show. We saw a dominant performance from both Nia Jax and Braun Strowman in their singles matches this week but in terms of the women's division, we still don't know who Asuka is going to be facing at Wrestlemania. I mentioned on Twitter this week during the show that if I could book the show I would have Asuka vs Charlotte and Bliss vs Nia, especially after Jax's performance this week on RAW. Keeping on the theme of champions, the Miz looks to have found himself in an uncomfortable position with some serious contenders coming forward to challenge him for his Intercontinental championship. Following a tag team match this week on RAW, it was announced by general manager Kurt Angle that at Wrestlemania the Miz will defend the title in a triple threat against Seth Rollins and Finn Balor. Brilliant booking. Honestly, if these guys are given enough time at Mania this really could be a strong strong contest and possibly one of the best matches of the night and a highlight of the year! This will be a growing story and so I will be talking about it more in the coming weeks building to Mania! Overall this was a solid episode of RAW. There wasn't really any big standout wrestling match but plenty of development and the road to Wrestlemania is looking strong!

Jinder Mahal's Big Victory

If I'm being honest I actually still really like Jinder and I do feel as though he is in the best spot right now. The US title scene is exactly where he should be right now and probably where the WWE should have started his push from int he first place. This weeks episode of Smackdown LIVE saw Jinder get a victory over the number one contender to the US Championship, Randy Orton. The match itself was something I really struggled to have any interest in at all but the end result was interesting. As I write this, Mahal hasn't been added to the title match this weekend but his victory over Orton will edge him closer to a title opportunity and I do believe he will be involved in a match regarding the championship heading into Wrestlemania.

The State of the Smackdown LIVE Women's Divison

This is a topic I will be talking about in more detail very soon in a big blog post here but I did want to touch on this subject briefly today. The RAW women's division is very very strong right now. They clearly have a bigger division and the talent is insane ranging from the likes of Asuka and Sasha Banks to Ronda Rousey and Bayley and when you take a look at the Smackdown LIVE women's divison it's evident it is far far weaker. We need more names and the booking needs to be stronger and that does include longer matches. This week we saw Becky Lynch and Carmella square off in a decent match but again it just wasn't long enough or effective while the show did open with Charlotte and Ruby Riott. There is a lot of work to be done here and I do believe the WWE is doing some of the best they can do with the very small roter they have right now but after Mania, I do really want to see things change!

This week I decided to keep the Smackdown LIVE section of this post very short because on Friday I will be uploading my Fastlane predictions where we talk about this weeks show in even more detail. I did think we got a pretty decent and very typical go home show this week but as always I would love to know what you guys thought so feel free to leave a comment and any recent blog posts will be linked bellow.

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