WWE had another new Raw on Monday, what did the Pulse Wrestling crew think of the show?
Darren Paltrowitz
Maybe I’m sounding like a broken record but:
– New Day keeps stealing the show (and I’m going to be bummed if The Usos take their titles away)
– Cesaro is underutilized, especially when considering how many “Cesaro Section” signs you see every week
– Dean Ambrose was a smart addition to the main event, but is without a meaningful feud
– Sasha Banks is great, but the Divas division is getting more stale each week
– Seth Rollins is an excellent wrestler, but it’s the same thing every week without ever making him look like a deserving champion
– Roman Reigns clearly isn’t over in an organic way
– Kevin Owens is doing very well with lackluster creative
– The Lucha Dragons is a fun tag team, but where’s the logic in them beating the Money In The Bank winner and the King Of The Ring?
– The Miz has more “go away heat” on the roster than anyone I can think of
– Tyler Breeze is fantastic, but Summer Rae nearly attracts “go away heat” to Miz proportions
– Alberto Del Rio hasn’t done much to generate proper heat, and could afford to borrow some from Miz and/or Summer Rae
– The Wyatt Family is involved with a storyline that is probably captivating to a lot of fans, but it’s not for me
– Where’s Mizdow?
– Why is Bo Dallas still M.I.A.?
On the positive end, I really enjoyed the first episode of “Breaking Ground” and some of these “Table For 3” episodes are very enjoyable. Also, the “Legends With JBL” two-parter with Eric Bischoff was captivating. So there’s no reason that the writing for RAW has to be so lackluster.
Philly Phil
Brittney Soban
Team Reigns (Roman Reigns, The Usos, Ryback and Dean Ambrose) v. Team Rollins (Seth Rollins, The New Day and Kevin Owens): We saw Seth pick his teammates throughout the night but Roman’s team was a secret until the music hit. Seeing Reigns smirk each time a partner of his came out showed his confidence in his team. Seeing everyone, especially the New Day, freaking out at the sight of the returning Usos was entertaining. Two early eliminations of New Day members Woods and Kingston made Reign’s team look like they would steamroll their opponents that night. Team Rollins came back to eliminate the Usos back to back. Ryback eliminated Big E with the Shell Shock and Rollins used the Pedigree to eliminate Ryback. Ambrose eliminated Kevin Owens with the Dirty Deeds. It was down to the former Shield members when Rollins, in a panic, hit Ambrose with a chair, disqualifying himself. Reigns retaliated with a Superman Punch that sent Rollins out of the ring and back up the ramp. As Rollins shouted “Looks familiar, doesn’t it?” after his chair shot to Ambrose fans booed, drawing the perfect heel reaction. The setup for Survivor Series was looking good and I hope that, as long as things stay on even keel, we’ll be well set up for the next pay per view.
This wasn’t my favorite Raw but it had great moments that could further push feuds and improve the standing of the superstars involved.
Check out my full 10 Thoughts on Raw!!
JT
Reigns seems to be getting a little better on the mic, although to be fair he started from a low base. Rollins is owning his role as a smarmy heel, but he’s been booked so weakly throughout his title reign that a change seems inevitable. Oh, and f**k the Authority, particularly Steph and her grating voice.
Speaking of heels, it’s time for one of the best in Kevin Owens. Ziggler never really got into the match as Owens worked his injured knee, and I’m not sure how making Dolph look soft sets him up for a good program with Tyler Breeze. Ziggler loses in the stupidest way possible. FTS…
nice Survivor Series flashback, and it’s good to see a bunch of old timey guys with mullets and beer guts in the ring. Old school!
Cesaro vs the Miz gave the crowd what they wanted as the Swiss Superman once again demonstrated that he is one of the best pure wrestlers in WWE. I like the swing into sharpshooter finish, as it gives the move a bit more impact, so to speak. While I don’t give a crap about the Ascension, the Stardust Section thing is pretty funny, and I’d like to see a program between Cody and Cesaro.
Bray Wyatt talks for a while, and I fast forward, and then they show a video package that tries to hide the fact that the Brothers of Destruction have a combined age of 97 years old. Just. Don’t. Care.
The Lucha Dragons vs Shamus & Barrett was a mismatch of styles, with a rather surprising finish – maybe Vince has finally realized how much Shamus sucks. And speaking of sucking, Jack Swagger is back! It looks like they’re setting up a feud with the super-jacked but still personality free Alberto Del Rio, who beats the somehow still employed R Truth to absolutely nobody’s surprise.
the Divas fatal 4 way was fun if a little shambolic, but was probably the match of the night so far. Brie’s kicks to the chest look like they wouldn’t hurt a four year old, but she can only get better being in the ring with workers like Paige, Banks and Lynch. Hey, nice tower spot! Paige wins to set up a title shot, and I’m totally okay with that.
The Survivor Series tease with team Reigns vs team Rollins was a decent main event, although I can’t help feeling that New Day are falling deeper and deeper into minstrel style racist parody (no fault of theirs of course). Fine wrestlers, questionable gimmick.
The returning Usos made a splash, although Jey looked like he went head first into the ground on that double suicide dive spot. Hey, Reigns has learnt some new moves, including a butt-ugly suplex! Is it just me, or is Ambrose looking a little skinny these days?
Overall not a great episode of Raw for me, with three hours of programming but about 30 minutes of decent wrestling. Pull your shit together, Raw!
