WWE had another new Raw on Monday, what did the Pulse Wrestling crew think of the show?
Darren Paltrowitz
I only watched the last 20 minutes of the show. In turn, I caught up on the Roman Reigns saga. The match itself was compelling, and I finally find Roman compelling as a tough babyface, now that he has proper opposition. But The Authority really needs to go away.
It was nice to see Vince McMahon back, although it’s very hypocritical of a man in his 70s taking bumps yet Daniel Bryan not being cleared to wrestle because of concussion-related fears.
Brittney Soban
WWE World Heavyweight Championship Match, Sheamus (c) v. Roman Reigns: Did we time travel for this segment? A cheating Vince McMahon who pulls the referee out of the ring, a good back and forth match with injuries (hello Roman being busted open), and fan support where it is meant to be made me feel we were watching something from about ten years ago. Sure, as I said, Vince isn’t as intimidating as he once was but the lengths he went to in order to keep Roman from winning, and then paying for it with a Superman Punch felt very much like the days when Stone Cold Steve Austin stunned Vince McMahon and would get the victory anyway. Fans, myself included were anxious to see the winner and it should be noted and Sheamus and Reigns did a great job of selling for each other and working together to give a great main event match. A great show of what WWE can do when things are done correctly it was nice to see some of the old ways coming back into play. We’ll have to see what happens next but, for the first time in a while I wasn’t completely disappointed by the end of Raw.
Check out my full 10 Thoughts on Raw!!
JT
1. We kick off with a recap of the craptacular TLC, maybe to set the bar low to start. And then Steph comes out talk, and I push fast forward… And now Reigns is talking, and I’m wishing there was a faster speed than 30x on my DVR.
2. Ambrose vs Ziggler was fine for what it was, with some good pin combinations and near falls. The Kevin Owens walk-in was a nice continuation to their feud, and the powerbomb of Ziggler on top of Ambrose was a nice finishing touch.
3. It’s ECW nostalgia time, and for some reason I don’t see things ending well for Tommy Dreamer tonight.
4. R Truth vs Bo Dallas is more like a Superstars match than Raw, and is sensibly interrupted for the arrival of a car. Oh, and it’s Vinnie Mac! How very exciting. Two more minutes of filler wresting and Vince hits the ring, because fuck these guys. The crowd seem to agree.
5. Vince compares himself to god, which is always good for a laugh, then takes a comfy chair by the announce table, ostensibly in order to ‘let Reigns sweat some more’. For the length of an ad break, conveniently. Shamus comes out to ensure the quality stays rock bottom, and Reigns starts talking about Vince’s testicles. Compelling viewing, this…
6. So Ryback and Swagger are a team now, because why not. They’re facing some evil foreigners from the League of Nations, who cunningly use their superior wrestling skills to defeat the all-American combo of stupidity and xenophobia.
7. Breeze vs Neville was slightly out of place on Raw as an actual wrestling match, save for the annoying presence of the Miz outside the ring. Surprising win for Neville does not look promising for Breeze’s on/off push, but I wonder which poor bastard will end up feuding with the Miz.
8. Wyatts vs ECW originals was a predictably shambolic treat for the Philly crowd, and it was amusing to see Rhyno telling Strowman what to do multiple times through the match. Credit to Dreamer for not breaking Harper’s neck with that Death Valley Driver through the tables. Nice win for the Wyatt Family, but Strowman continues to suck.
9. New Day / Usos / Dragons segment was fun, with initial respect quickly giving way to over the top celebrating. Then the face teams hit the ring and beat down the heel champs, because wrestling doesn’t need to make sense, does it?
10. The Divas match was as pointless as ever, and whoever thinks the presence of the Nature Boy is going to get Charlotte over is kidding themselves. And then Reigns wins the championship despite the interference of Vince, because he’s the new Stone Cold, don’t you know? FTS.
