The episode of Raw that WWE brought us following Payback blew a little hot and cold. It had good matches and important plot continuity but there was also a lot of filler. At least Tyler Breeze finally got a televised win in 2016.
The main event brought us a great match between Roman Reigns and The Usos versus AJ Styles and Co. The main event story between Roman and AJ might have a slow build, but it's one of the most intriguing main event stories WWE has had in recent times.
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The intrigue is genuine. Other than this, it was mostly the Kevin Owens show and it seems like we’ll be seeing a Fatal 4-way match for the Intercontinental Championship at Extreme Rules.
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WWE threw up a weak segment explaining the ‘Chicago Screwjob’ and the Jericho-Ambrose feud continued to be underwhelming. There was also the #1 contender’s battle royal for the US Championship. More on that later.
Let's get into the 5 best Twitter reactions to Monday Night Raw:
5: Oh, Titus
Earlier this year, Titus O’ Neil got handed a 60 day suspension for grabbing Vince McMahon following Daniel Bryan’s retirement. The whole situation was absolutely bizarre with the original 90 day suspension that WWE handed out being the same as a second Wellness Policy violation. The move led to a public outcry from fans on social media and forced WWE to relax the suspension.
Titus recently completed his suspension and made his comeback to WWE programming recently. He finally made his Raw comeback on this week's episode of Raw as a participant in the #1 contender’s battle royal. @WWECreative_ish tweeted this in regard to Titus’ return and I say that I approve of their puns. They’re excellent.
4: No luck for the broski
Zack Ryder got the moment of his career earlier this year when he won the Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania 32. He promptly lost the title the following night and since then has gone back to being forgotten despite being really popular with fans.
Fans of the ‘Broski’ were hopeful once again during the #1 contender’s battle royal on Raw where he put in a good performance, reaching the final two. Fans were once again left disappointed when Rusev countered his Irish Whip and threw him over the top rope to win.
@WWECreative_ish is once again back on this list, because their tweet about Ryder’s disappointed fans was gold. They say that anyone who was gullible enough to believe Zack Ryder would win, would be gullible enough to think they can buy the Brooklyn Bridge, and stupid enough to be convinced to buy TNA.
3: Puerto Rico Travels Inc.
What's with all the Primo and Epico vignettes? We get it WWE, they’ve been repackaged. And no, we don’t care. The last time Primo was relevant was when he was teaming up with Carlito. Their last run as Los Matadores was boring and the fans never really cared about them. They have received time over the last month for their Puerto Rico themed vignettes.
The build for them seems to have lasted much too long. @Wrestling_Memes agree, tweeting that it was as likely that the duo had actually been released and WWE were continuing to air the vignettes to promote tourism in Puerto Rico for some reason, maybe to help boost their crumbling economy.
2: The least popular babyface champion in WWE history?
Roman Reigns and AJ Styles had a fantastic match at WWE Payback. However, WWE are still pushing him as their top babyface including airing make-a-wish videos during Raw. Fans are refusing to let WWE shove Reigns down their throats.
Although some of the hate is unjustified, seeing that Reigns is constantly improving in the ring and is a hard worker, negative fan reaction right now is basically gag reflex. WWE are refusing to let the fans accept Roman Reigns organically and are trying to manufacture fans reactions. In today's day and age, fans see through this and the hate on Roman grows.
Things came to a fore on this week’s episode of Raw, when Anderson and Gallows held a beaten down Reigns after their main event. As Styles held a chair over the company’s top babyface, still deciding whether to hit him or not, the rabid crowd yelled at Styles to take the shot as pointed out by @nodqdotcom.
Side-note: Angry, out-of-control, maniacal Reign is the best Reigns.
1: The Bullet Club are taking over
AJ Styles, Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows main evented Raw this week while their former Bullet Club brethren held prominent spots at NJPW Pro Wrestling Dontaku in the same week.
The Bullet Club and its former members are currently in prominent positions in the two biggest pro wrestling companies in the world. The last time this happened was when the members of The Kliq were at the top of both WCW and the then WWF; Triple H and Shawn Michaels as a part of DX and and Scott Hall and Kevin Nash with the NWO.
@DeathToAllMarks tweet following Raw really hit the spot for all Bullet Club fans. Their ascent to the top of professional wrestling has been nothing short of, no pun intended, phenomenal.
