Returns, Title Changes, and Legends: 8 Lessons Fans Learned this week on RAW
The past couple of weeks I have really enjoyed watching and writing about Monday night RAW and that continues this week after yet another actioned packed entertaining episode. This past Monday fans witnessed both good and bad moments throughout the three hours as per usual however there were certain big lessons learned that we will be discussing in today’s blog post as we head even closer to both the Super Showdown and Hell in a Cell! We have plenty to discuss today so let’s not waste any more time and jump right into it!
The Shield Are Best for Business
Regardless of what you may think and feel about Roman Reigns, I believe many struggle to say many negative things about the current Universal Champion while aligned with Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose. The Shield have gone down as one of the best factions in WWE/pro wrestling history and every time we see them on our screens they prove exactly why. This week’s opening to Monday night RAW, of course, focused on Braun Strowman’s heel turn and new alliance with McIntyre and Ziggler which would soon involve an appearance from the Shield. While the rest of the Locker room may have been instructed to break up the confrontation, but the brawl was a damn entertaining start the show. As the segment concluded with the Shield being arrested it was made perfectly clear that these guys remain best for business and keeping the Shield together even for short time benefits both them, the RAW product and many current and future storylines massively!
Brie Bella Should Never Do a Suicide Dive Again
I am going to touch on the in-ring return of the Bella Twins in a little more detail later in today’s blog post, but I do want to get the negative comments out of the way first! Now, it must be said that it has been quite some time since Brie Bella has competed in a match of this scale. She’s been away from the ring, had a baby, and focused on many other produces and so some ring rust was sure to be expected, however, the botch of not one but two suicide dives left fans cringing. In all fairness, Brie cannot be held totally responsible (we’re looking at you Sarah Logan) it did show just how much more time Brie needs back in the ring to jump back into the swing of things and hopefully her performance is stronger in her up and coming PPV/Live Special shows!
Alexa Bliss is Ready for Ronda Rousey
If I’m being totally honest, I do believe that we could, in fact, get a brilliant championship match between Alexa Bliss and Ronda Rousey at the Hell in a Cell PPV. This week a strong focus was put on the point that Alexa Bliss is truly preparing for this battle against Rousey. Developing and making the right adjustments to her move set and getting in the head of Rousey and it was a perfect little addition to this build. Bliss did an excellent job selling her Evolution match against Trish Straus, working with Elias, and hitting an Arm Bar on Natalya to not only pick up the win but send a big message to the champ!
Keep Backstage Corbin Segments a Minimal
If you know me you know that I have been obsessed with Baron Corbin for literally years and to this day believe strongly that he has some seriously amazing potential, however, if there is one area Corbin continues to struggle in it's his mic work. With his role as constable Corbin going up a notch to the position of temporary general manager Corbin is being thrown into more talking parts of the night and throughout the show this Monday I was left cringing and muting my TV. This is an area Corbin needs to work on more or does this further emphasizes the fact this may not be the best role for him and ditching the script is exactly what he needs? Either way, keeping his talking segments to a minim is the right move heading forward.
Nikki Bella is Back and Stronger than Ever
While Monday night may not have been the best of return nights for Brie Bella her sister Nikki had one damn strong performance. Not her best to date yet Nikki managed to impress and standout for her strong performance, character, and skill. Props must be given to Liv Morgan who sits as one of the best sellers/strongest bump takers in the division but there is no denying just how good and clean Nikki looked during this tag team match. The crowd was hot for her (as they were for Brie) and she proved the fearless one may just make for an interesting rival for the baddest woman on the planet with rumors continuing regarding their possible future match!
Drake Maverick Has Arrived
It wasn’t all too long ago that the WWE universe was introduced to British Star Drake Maverick as he became the new 205LIVE General Manager. This week fans on an even larger scale were introduced to the WWE newbie this time as the new manager of The Authors of Pain. Now, this has seriously grabbed my attention. Maverick is a huge personality and has bags of character, sure to have exactly what it takes to take AOP to the next level he promises to bring something very different, interesting, and entertaining to Monday nights and I’m super happy he has a bigger role within the WWE. This is a move that does all good for everyone involved!
The Plot Thickens
The biggest story currently being told over on Monday nights, of course, focuses on the Shield vs Braun Strowman and Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre. The night started out with these six guys as The Shield was arrested and later on in the night fans witnessed McIntyre and Ziggler were crowned the new RAW tag team champions. I absolutely love the way this story is being done. The babyfaces being arrested, McIntyre and Ziggler being champion and Strowman’s new role as a heel. There was plenty of depth added to this growing story and all six superstars remain at the top of the roster, even higher after this week! The decision to close the show following the huge beatdown of the Shield was simply excellent and the closing segment as a whole as a perfect way to finish off a strong show!
Talking of plots thickening, the WWE also announced this week on RAW that the historic Evolution pay per view two of the best female wrestlers of all time, Mickie James and Lita will go one on one. I will be writing more about this in an up and coming blog post!
Super Showdown, Renee Young, and The Undertaker
And to round things up I wanted to look at RAW as a whole and discuss the final points that made this week’s RAW even more must-see. First up we had Renee Young back on commentary. Young proved herself a few weeks back to be perfect in this role and it was brilliant to see and hear her back behind the desk. She does her job amazingly well and the fresh new voice gives RAW a little edge and hopefully the WWE consider giving her a more frequent position here. We then must touch on the up and coming Super Showdown event! Backstage segments involving the Bella twins and Ronda Rousey father hinted at the twins turning on Rousey at this event as well as a deeper build for the show as a whole! The Night also saw Kevin Owens attack Bobby Lashley and while I believe we could get some great work from these two I do feel as though it would have been best to keep him away from TV for a while.
And finally, the Undertaker. The WWE universe was left totally stunned when the Undertaker made a huge surprise appearance this week on RAW. Confronting Shawn Michaels this was for me was one of the standout segments of the entire year. Not only true nostalgia but I was left on the edge of my seat throughout and even more excited for the Super Showdown Event. From start to finish I was hooked on this in-ring segment between two stars that MADE my childhood. This was personal, intense, and damn right entertaining!
And that was this weeks Monday night RAW! Worth watching? One hundred and ten percent. I have no idea what is going on right now, but this is the third week in a row I have been able to sit here and say I genuinely enjoyed the product! But what did you think? What are your honest thoughts? And do you think it was worth the watch? Let me know down in the comments below or tweet me over at @TezangiVictoria 😊
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