This weeks RAW and Smackdown LIVE Highlights
Another Historic Match for the Women's Divison
It has been speculated by many that at this years Wrestlemania pay per view we will be given two memorial battle royals. The first of course being the mens Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal which has taken place over the last three to four years, however, on this weeks episode of Monday night RAW it was revealed that the women's division will have the opportunity to compete in the first ever Fabulous Moolah Memorial Battle Royal. Now, I will be talking about who I want to win and going into far greater detail during prediction week here on my blog but what I will say is that I am honestly super excited for this battle royal. I'm not by any means expecting pure excellence but this is yet another brilliant moment for the division and with women from not only RAW and Smackdown LIVE being given the opportunity to compete it opens the doors for women down in NXT including Nikki Cross, Kairi Sane, the Iconic Duo and Candice Le'rae to have a special moment and spotlight on the grandest stage of them all. Now, I do have an issue with the fact that battle Royal is in hounour of Moolah for the obvious reasons but this is something I'll be getting into in another post!Roman Reigns Sends a Message to Vince McMahon
I tweeted out this past Monday that there is nothing the WWE can do to make me gain any kind of interest in the Roman Reigns/ Brock Lesnar feud in the build to Wrestlemania. However, not even I can deny the fact that the opening to this weeks episode of Monday night RAW was damn good. I can honestly say I was entertained and for a moment I found myself backing Reigns. If the WWE's goal is to have fans backing Reigns heading into Mania then it may just be working as pointed out by many others on social media. Reigns took to the mic in the opening segment attacking not only Brock Lesnar for missing yet another show by aiming his words at Vince McMahon. It was an interesting twist but everything he said did make sense. Reigns brought some valid points and gave this feud some heat and an interesting twist it really needed to draw fans in. Roman being sent home by McMahon after stating Lesnar was "his boy" and is given special treatment was an excellent turn for the story and a brilliant step in really gaining fan interest."I Challenge the Undertaker to a Match at Wrestlemania"
My personal favorite moment of this weeks episode of Monday Night RAW saw John Cena challenge the Undertaker to a match at Wrestlemania. Now, I'll be honest, if I was booking this I would have had a slightly different approach to the build. I love what the WWE has done with Cena during Mania season. Losing every chance he's had at getting on the card right at the last minute has been excellent and made for a brilliant story on Cena's road to Wrestlemania. However, I would have liked to have seen him break a little. A mini breakdown, a torn down Cena, something slightly different to show that this was a man on the verge of losing it all. Desperate and willing to put anything on the line including his career in a career vs career match on the grandest stage of them all. Saying that what we have gotten has also worked. I was completely hooked to my TV screen and I found the promo really entertaining and well done. Cena announced that at Mania he may be attending as a fan but also, as a fan, he wants to see John Cena vs the Undertaker. Revealing that it isn't the WWE stopping the match from happening but in fact the Undertaker and after sending a direct message to the dead man we now await a response from Taker as to whether or not he will accept Cena's Wrestlemania challenge.Not the Direction we Expected
I'll be honest, I do not like the Wrestlemania direction the WWE has gone in for Braun Strowman. Extremely disappointing I haven't been satisfied with what the WWE has done with arguably their greatest and most promising star on the roster right now heading into the biggest event of the year. This is a man that should have been in the main event competing for the Universal Championship and so when he won the tag team Battle Royal on his own this week on RAW I was just left sat there disappointed. Sure he could walk out with the titles with whoever he chooses as his partner which does look to be the direction they are going but it's extremely weak booking in comparison to what fans believe he should be doing.Shanes WrestleMania News
This weeks episode of Smackdown LIVE closed with an announcement from Shane McMahon. After preventing both Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens from being able to walk out of the Fastlane pay per view as WWE Champion he revealed that the pair would be going one on one at WrestleMania. The news came about after Shane had also announced he would be leaving Smackdown LIVE for a while. Now, of course, things didn't go smoothly and Owens and Zayn did not forget what had happened at Fastlane nor were they willing to let it pass by. Attacking Shane, both Zayn and Owens sent yet another message and this was another case of Owens taking out another McMahon. Okay, so I don't know where the WWE are going with this but I was really entertained. I felt as though the whole segment was done really well, the attack was very convincing and Owens and Zayn came across exactly how they should have. Next week, Daniel Bryan is set to return where this story should be turned up even more.Royal Rumble Winners set their Sights on gold
This year both the male and female Royal Rumble winners are chasing after titles from the blue brand and this was a strong focal point on this weeks episode of Smackdown LIVE. With Asuka making her presence felt at the Fastlane Pay per view this past Sunday, the empress of tomorrow made her Smackdown LIVE debut this week when she came face to face with the Queen explaining why she chose her to face Mania. The pair engaged in a solid promo that highlighted why both these women are two of the best of the best. Asuka said she wanted to face the best champion in the WWE and that no one was ready for Asuka while Charlotte promised to end her streak and walk in and out of Wrestlemania the Smackdown LIVE Women's champion. Now, a slightly different approach has been taken with the WWE Championship. We are getting a more complex story where the tension between Styles and Nakamura is growing as the weeks past by and with the pair possibly looking at having to team up next week to take on Rusev Day... things may just be getting even more interesting and hopefully, we can see things heat up.And that was this week on RAW and Smackdown LIVE. I can honestly say that I really enjoyed both shows this week. This was the first time in a while since I enjoyed and was able to get into an episode of Smackdown LIVE so much and I do believe that the Fastlane pay per view had a lot to do with that. It was amazing seeing Jimmy Uso and Big E team up to take on Harper and Rowan following their attack and was a brilliant way for the former Wyatt family members to gain even more momentum. We had an interesting end to RAW and a lot to look forward to on both shows! As always, any recent blog post will be linked below and you can tell me what you thought of both shows by leaving a comment below or by tweeting me over at @TezangiVictoria.
Recent Blog Posts:
Last Week in Wrestling
WWE Fastlane 2018: Full Review and Reactions PART 1
Last Month in NXT (February)
5 Steps in Saving the Cruiserweight Division
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