WWE Raw- A Night of Fantasy vs Reality and that Jim Duggan battle cry

Trust Paul Heyman to really sell a story. Trust Paul Heyman to bring back logic and trust Paul Heyman to put everything that is haywire and give it some perspective.

Brock Lesnar made his umpteenth return to WWE Television and it is imperative to note that there isn’t a time when he makes his way to the ring and it doesn’t have an impact. Lesnar has a strong presence even if it is just standing, while Heyman succinctly puts everything in balance in the WWE Universe with respect to the main event scene.

Heyman talked about how probably everyone in the Universe lives in a world of fantasy while reality is something very different. As Calvin from Calvin and Hobbes said, “Reality continues to ruin my life”. For the WWE superstars, that reality is ever-present in the form of the beast incarnate Brock Lesnar.

There are some things in the WWE that will never get old. Whether it is the glass cracking and a certain beer drinking toughest SOB making his way to the ring or Real American playing or Vince Mcmahon saying ‘You’re Fired’. And rest assured the way Heyman says ‘Brock Lesnar’ falls in that category. Just like that famous Jerry McGuire quote which the Joker also used to describe his relationship with Batman – Heyman and Lesnar complete each other.

The ‘Fantasy’ was that there is no one alive that could beat the Undertaker’s streak at Wrestlemania. Fantasy was that the Supercena juggernaut will never be trampled.

‘Reality’ finally set in, in the form of Brock Lesnar.

Rollins- The Money In the bank?

And then Heyman got that big question out there –“Seth Rollins is the future of the WWE- fantasy or reality?”

And surely, Rollins delivered in grand fashion. John Cena was no more the hero of this story or any other story. Rollins stood tall at the end of the night after delivering a curb stomp to Lesnar which the champion took really well. And there it was, the answer to the question Paul Heyman posed – Rollins stood in the ring and stomped the fact that he belongs in the ring in the company of the absolute best.

The Lunatic fringe and The Billion Dollar Princess

Now, over to Ambrose.

Ambrose had his series of backstage segments, two of them with a psychiatrist and one with Stephanie McMahon. There was something in it for both the poles of the WWE fan demographic. The last segment saw him executing some toilet humour. But there was this hilarious segment before that while taking the picture test, and speaking on the pictures on basis of random association. His reaction to Stephanie’s image is something that was made a chant of later in the evening when she squared off on the mic against Daniel Bryan.

And that is when Heyman’s Fantasy vs Reality theme rung again. According to McMahon, ‘Fantasy’ is Bryan becoming an A+ player while reality remains that he’s a B+ player.

OH YEAH!!!

This night will be remembered, though, for the announcement that took years in the making. Years of waiting, I mean.

Macho Man Randy Savage is finally an inductee into the Hall of fame. He’ll be inducted by his bittersweet rival Hulk Hogan. Don’t know how Macho would have taken to it if he was alive, but the move seems to have been given a nod by his surviving family members.

This Raw was better than the past few Raws. Rollins and Ambrose and Rusev had a great night. Roman Reigns should really get something else to speak about. And The Ascension desperately needs a manager. They look too awkward.

Overall, it was a giant stride towards making the audience believe that this is the year when the torch will finally be passed.