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 so far have had a great week! Okay, so we have reached the middle point of yet another week and of course, we are even closer to Wrestlemania which means we still have plenty to talk about! I mentioned in last weeks edition of RAW and Smackdown LIVE Highlights that I enjoyed both shows and I have to say that a week later I feel the exact same way. Once again I really enjoyed both RAW and Smackdown LIVE and I don't have many bad things to say. The build we are seeing on each show has me entertained and captivated and each week I'm gaining more and more of an interest in each storyline and feud. In today's blog post we are going to be taking a look back at this week's episodes of RAW and Smackdown LIVE dissecting all the standout moments and biggest talking points. We have so much to get through this week from new Wrestlemania matches, must see segments, story development and of course... The Hardy Compound. As always, any recent blog posts will be linked below including this weeks version of "Last week in Wrestling". Finally, you can get involved and tell me what you thought of this weeks episode of Monday Night RAW and Smackdown LIVE by leaving a comment below or by dropping a tweet over at @TezangiVictoria.

Monday Night RAW

Reigns gets Lesnar's Attentions 

Okay, I'm gonna say it... The WWE has done it, they've done what they needed to do have me as a fan invested in Brock Lesnar vs Roman Reigns. Now, I do still have my issues. It does feel forced and I do believe there were names better suited to this Wrestlemania match up but the build this past couple of weeks has been done fantastically well. The story has focused on the fact Lesnar just isn't ever around. He is the champion but fails to represent the company, the title, and the Wrestlemania main event while Roman is here every single week yet is suspended for speaking the truth. Reigns has shined on the mic, told the story well, and the WWE has done a brilliant job and actually making us interested in a story that we all had negative things to say about. This week Reigns once again kick-started the show when he interrupted Kurt Angle after the RAW GM stated that Reigns would not be on the show tonight and is still suspended. Ording Angle to go to the back and find a way to get Lesnar in the ring, refusing to leave, Reigns was soon left being forced out of the arena once again this time in handcuffs, however, before he could even be assisted out of the ring the big dog attacked the security and moments later was faced with Brock Lesnar. Picking the perfect time, Reigns was defenseless. Still handcuffed it was impossible for Reigns to fight back and gain control and instead took a beating at the hands of his Wrestlemania opponent.

I actually felt as though the opening for this weeks show was strong. There wasn't much that felt very original at all and it was partly expected following what we saw last week, however, the whole segment was done well and I have to admit that as the weeks go by I am gaining more and more of an interest in this story which is exactly what was needed. 

RAW Women's Championship Mania Official 

The women's division both on RAW and Smackdown LIVE has it's red-hot storyline's at the moment I have to say that there is so much to enjoy week in and week out! The right decisions have been made for the division heading into Wrestlemania in terms of the Championship picture on both brands and this week we saw Alexa Bliss given her Wrestlemania opponent which of course is former best friend, Nia Jax. The WWE has done a brilliant job with this story and while I'm not the biggest fan of the body shaming element but the story writes itself and both Nia and Alexa have such brilliant chemistry and work so well together and I do have high expectations of not only the match but the build up. There's a lot of emotion here and the fans have really got an interest. This week on RAW, after escaping a match with Asuka ending the contest in a count out Bliss was faced with Jax and while she just about got away it's evident that at some point over the next three weeks, Jax will get her revenge and even bigger revenge at Wrestlemania. 

Ultimate Deletion

Oh boy, where do I begin? Ultimate Deletion has got to be one of the best and worse things I have ever seen in the WWE but... I loved it. I am laughing as I type this but let's think about this for a second; Was I entertained? Yes. Was this better than the Impact version? In my opinion, maybe.  Did I question my life choices? Yes, for over twenty minutes but like I said, I loved this. It was by far the highlight of the night and one of the biggest WWE highlights of the year so far. Explaining this match to a non-wrestling fan is borderline impossible and you will sound completely insane but while it is massively controversial and you will either absolutely love it or hate it more than anything Wyatt and Hardy Provided us with something that was nothing short of entertaining. From start to finish I genuinely could not keep my eyes off the screen and that's what I want week in and week out. I did feel as though this was a tad more intense than what we saw in the Impact version and what really grabbed my attention is just how much of an intense and brilliant all-around performer Bray Wyatt is. Over the past few hours, I've seen so many people talk about Matt and commend him on his performance this week but let's not take anything from Wyatt who brought so much character, so much story, and so much intensity from start to finish. Matt, of course, was on another level. He was extremely convincing, massively entertaining and took control of this entire thing. What made this so phenomenal was simply how well of an introduction this was to the Hardy compound and that includes Reby, Senior Benjamin, and of course Brother Nero as well as adding more depth and understanding to Matt's Woken gimmick. Ultimate Deletion left us all wanting more, questioning whats to come next and more importantly entertained. Different, exciting, and simply bonkers the introduction to the Wyatt compound has got everyone talking and the weeks and months to come look to be very very exciting!

To Conclude 

I really really enjoyed this weeks episode of Monday Night RAW. I felt as though the majority of segments were needed and I didn't feel as though I had wasted three hours of my life. I was entertained, left even more excited about the up and coming Wrestlemania pay per view and I felt as though we were all left with plenty to enjoy! One of the highlight moments we haven't touched on yet is, of course, Cena's promo. Once again I was totally hooked and entertained. It was intense, personal segment and with Kane coming out right at the end and hitting a chokeslam it just added more heat and interest to this story and out of all the matches on the Mania card this is the one I'm most excited about writing the predictions for! Talking of promos, I think it's appropriate to take a moment to appreciate the Miz once again. The little digs he made about Rollins and Balor's days on the indie scene, referring to them as Prince Devitt and Tyler Black was a brilliant touch! We also saw things heat up once again between Sasha Banks and Bayley.

Smackdown LIVE 

Daniel Bryan 

Moving over to Smackdown LIVE and I don't think I have ever been happier writing something here on my blog as yesterday the news broke that Daniel Bryan has been medically cleared to wrestle again. Honestly, writing that does give me goosebumps. It's the news we have been waiting to hear for two years, the news that we all wanted and so when the former Champion kick-started this weeks episode of Smackdown LIVE his passionate, honest, and real promo that gave me chills from start to finish. I watched with a tear in my eye as Bryan stood in the middle of the ring and took us through his journey leaving everyone in the arena full of emotion. After a long two years, Bryan has finally been cleared and the new chapter in his career has just begun. As everyone in the arena and at home made it clear that Wrestlemania is where we want to see Bryan make his return but whether or not that will happen is something we still need to sit back and wait to find out. Both finishing and closing the show this week fans were taken on an emotional rollercoaster as during that final segment the attention was once again brought back to Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens.

Following their attack on Smackdown LIVE Commissioner Shane McMahon last week it was time for Zayn and Owens to face the consequences. Starting things off by congratulating Bryan on his news and spoke of how highly they thought of him and thanked him for his support over the years especially in recent months. However, Daniel soon brought things back to last week and the actions of Owens and Zayn. Bryan again complimented the pair on their talent but stuck by Shane McMahon and fired the pair on the spot in the middle of the ring. Done really well, the segment was convincing and entertaining and of course, the whole thing ended as expected which was an attack on Bryan at the hands of Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn. Just like last week, the attack was convincing and very very well done and while Bryan did try to fight back he was outnumbered. Seeing Daniel move around the ring and fighting back did honestly get me a little emotional but I liked that he didn't walk out on top this time round and Owens and Zayn once again took the momentum.

To Conclude

There was, of course, a focus on Wrestlemania on this weeks episode of Smackdown LIVE as well as to be expected. We learned that Randy Orton will defend the United States championship in a triple threat on the grandest stage of them all against Bobby Roode and Jinder Mahal as was expected too.

We also saw talent such as Charlotte and Shinsuke Nakamura gain momentum while Rusev suffered yet another loss on the road to Wrestlemania. There is a focus on guys like Dolph Ziggler, Baron Corbin and of course, Rusev heading into Mania but it's evident only one of those guys will get a standout moment. The women's division had a decent showing but again, it's not on the same level of the RAW talent.

Like I said, both shows this week were strong once again. I did personally enjoy RAW better this time around simply because I was more entertained and I felt as though we got a lot more! Bryan's news and the Ultimate Deletion have been the biggest talking points this week and as always I would love to know what you guys thought so feel free to leave a comment below or tweet me over at @TezangiVictoria. 

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