WWE gave us a fantastic episode of Raw this Monday out of the blue. After weeks of sagging ratings of even the post-WrestleMania Raw, WWE finally dug deep and produced the best episode of Raw so far this year.
It was so good that I almost didn’t complain of the show being three hours long. Shane O’Mac took charge once again and continued giving opportunities to new Superstars and giving the fans fresh match-ups.
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Whether Shane remains at the helm of Raw in the future remains to be seen, but fans are definitely behind him. With that being said, lets take a look at the 10 best crowd signs from Raw for April 11, 2016.
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10: Throwback Monday
Many fans will only identify Triple H as his sledgehammer-wielding, pedigree-delivering heir to the WWE throne. Many fans will be unaware that Triple H wrestled in WCW back in the mid 90’s under the absolutely terrible ring-name Terra Ryzing.
With Triple H off WWE television since WrestleMania 32 loss to Roman Reigns, it was even more surprising too see this fan at ringside during last monday’s Raw paying homage to Triple H’s beginnings.
9: Raw is Shane
When Shane McMahon returned to WWE in the lead-up to Wrestlemania 32, many fans including myself, lost our minds. Shane’s big return was legitimately one of the biggest returns left for WWE to orchestrate.
However, when it was announced that he would be wrestling The Undertaker at WrestleMania for control of Monday Night Raw, many expected Shane’s return to be a one-time deal to promote WrestleMania.
Since then, Shane has lost at WrestleMania, and still been allowed to take control of the two Raws that have followed. Regardless of plotholes in the story and lack of logic, fans have rallied behind Shane and his cries for change in the company. This fans sign illustrates fans thoughts of Shane perfectly and the hope for change that he brings with him.
8: Bullet Club signs in the house
Since Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows signed with WWE, fans have been eagerly waiting for them to finally make their WWE debut. When rumours of them being backstage started flying around, this fan came to Raw with a “BC 4 Life” sign, clearly showing us where his allegiances lay.
The Bullet Club are one of the most popular factions in the modern history of pro wrestling and they lay on the cusp of something unique: if WWE go with some form of a Bullet Club storyline, then they will ply their trade in both WWE and New Japan at the sametime. None so far could boast of that.
7: Dr. Phil for president........what?
In the opening segment, when Kevin Owens came out to interrupt Shane McMahon’s promo demanding an IC title rematch, a sign popped up in the crowd behind them that made me go wtf??!!
I know that Dr. Phil is popular, but President? People didn’t even want him to guest host Raw and reacted mostly negatively to the announcement last week. But I guess if Donald Trump can run for president, why not Dr.Phil? Atleast he won’t be building any walls.
6: Captain Charisma will be pleased
Even though he unofficially retired at the end of 2014, Christian still remains popular with most WWE fans and is considered a surefire Hall of Famer. He is one of the original innovators of WWE’s TLC matches along with his kayfabe brother and real-life best friend Edge.
Edge and Christian recently appeared on WWE Fastlane to promote their new WWE Network Exclusive show ‘The Edge & Christian Show That Totally Reeks of Awesomeness’ which has received mixed reviews.
5: No one else wants Chris Masters back, I’m sure
This sign brings back memories. I remember watching Chris Masters debut when I was a kid and his Master Lock being almost unbreakable. Even though he had the ‘look’ he wan’t a very good wrestler, nor did he have much personality.
WWE tried to give him a big push to try to get him to be near the main event but it never really worked. Why this fan wants Chris Masters back in the WWE is beyond me. I for one, haven’t missed him.
Keep calm and
With all the negativity surrounding the Roman Empire in the weeks after WrestleMania, it was nice to see that the LA crowd had its fair share of Reigns fans. You could see Roman getting visibly annoyed with negative crowd reaction he’s received over the last few weeks, including WWE mixing the boo’s out of the sound for the WrestleMania 32 main event.
In Roman’s defense, it’s not completely his fault. He’s a hard worker who’s improved a lot in the ring over the last few months. He does lack charisma, but WWE’s booking has left him exposed and having to cut long promos, instead of playing to his strengths.
Hopefully, with Reigns abandoning the squeaky clean imagine over the last two weeks, he can develop his character and give fans a reason to care in the future.
3. WCW Nitro sign turns up on Raw, and not in a good way
Raw has failed to impress for most of 2016. Even in the lead up to Wrestlemania, when WWE are supposed to be their hottest, Raw was disappointing. Fan, critics and ex-wrestlers criticized WWE for the lack of storyline development and surprises (other than Shane’s return).
Since WrestleMania, WWE has tried to correct this by changing up the format a little and debuting more NXT Superstars but this fan sent a clear message to WWE that Raw was on the verge of being on the same level of terrible as 2001 Nitros were before WCW went out of business, before being acquired by WWE themselves.
2. We want AJ!
When AJ Styles signed for WWE last January many fans worried that WWE wouldn’t treat Styles like the international superstar he was since Vince McMahon didn’t ‘create’ him. They worried that his ceiling would be in the midcard and he would never reach the main event.
However, since his debut AJ has moved through a series of uppercard programs from Y2AJ to feuding against Chris Jericho. Even though he lost to Jericho at WrestleMania, he won the #1 contendership to Reigns’ World Heavyweight Championship the next night. With his popularity ever-increasing, it was hardly surprising to see the above fans at Raw, with these elaborate AJ Styles cutouts.
1. The Cesaro Section is back!
Cesaro is one of the most popular stars in WWE right now. Even though he isn’t the most charismatic, he’s one of the best wrestlers in the company, and one who connects with a large section of the audience.
After being sidelined for Wrestlemania because of surgery, Cesaro returned to a monstrous ovation the night after Wrestlemania 32. Cesaro’s return brought with it the re-emergence of the Cesaro Section signs.
Cesaro came out again last night to fight Kevin Owens for the #1 contendership for the Intercontinentall Title to a flurry of Cesaro Section signs and a huge reaction from the crowd. The Cesaro Section signs look like they’re here to stay.
