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Next week is the 25th anniversary of WWE Raw. It's a night that promises to display many faces tha we haven't seen in quite some time. However, we were treated to a huge return one week early as Seth Rollins brought back his formerly banned finishing move. Some of these legends will have a tough time bringing as many smiles to the fans' faces as that Curb Stomp to Finn Balor did. That was one of the outrageously good moments from last night's Raw, but not every moment featured in the following pages were positive. There were a few botches, and those lie ahead as well.
Braun Strowman proved that violence and rampant destruction is the best way to get what you want, The Revival introduced a philosophy that shouldn't be merely a gimmick and Enzo Amore had a moment of reflection with his stomach. All that and more is ahead, so let's kick it off by giving a menacing look towards Kevin Dunne or whoever it was ordering the plethora of camera cuts from the production team.
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#5 Too many camera cuts
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There is never anything wrong about Braun Strowman tipping over a multi-ton vehicle with his bare hands. After learning that he was fired by General Manager Kurt Angle, he went on a path of carnage that included this toss of a semi-truck. If one of his foes ever boards a passenger train or a jumbo jet, let's all hope that a camera is rolling... but only one camera.
The botch here is completely at the end of the person who is in charge of switching the cameras. There was a constant flipping back and forth between angles from what had to have been at least a dozen cameras. If the viewer is aware of the many camera cuts, then surely that means it's too much. It's bad enough to endure a cut literally every time there's a strike or impact inside of the ring, can we get a break outside of the ring?
#4 Stephanie who?
Before pointing out the silliness that is the outcome of Braun's actions on Raw, here's a slight mispronunciation from Kurt Angle. He was trying to save Michael Cole by announcing the good news for Strowman that Commissioner Stephanie McMahon called to announce his rehiring. He somehow inserted an 'r' into her last name. It was a pretty intense moment, so we're only slightly nodding in disapproval for this offence.
More importantly, what lesson is being taught here? Braun was fired at the start of the show for creating an unsafe work environment then went on a tear throughout the backstage that may have cost the company millions and endangered the lives of many non-wrestlers. Surely there will be many lawsuits for his actions, right? He deserved to be arrested, even if no law enforcement agency on the planet has that kind of capabilities. To calm this behemoth, the solution was instead to restore his employment as well as his upcoming title match at the Royal Rumble.
So the lesson here is if you don't get what you want, break everything and harm everyone to get what you want. Got it, WWE.
#3 Enzo didn't measure up
Tony Nese has an incredible physique. While many strive for the coveted six-pack abs, he went above and beyond and somehow chiselled eight into his torso. He works hard to maintain his impressive look, even finding time to get in a few crunches while pummeling opponents in the corner.
After doing this crunch/kick combo against Cedric Alexander, this 'Zo Train' member caused his leader to check the progress of his own belly. Enzo Amore was shocked to find what every one of us would, that we are all at least a few abs short of 'The Premiere Athlete'.
Despite his look, Nese fell short to Alexander after taking a Lumbar Check at the end of the match.
#2 Professional wrestling... what a concept!
It's great that The Revival is back. They have had many amazing matches on NXT but have failed to rekindle that magic so far on the main roster due to injuries. Now that they're both healthy, they're looking to bring something different to their division. Sadly, that something different is 'professional wrestling.'
It's sad because 'professional wrestling' has been so far removed from the core philosophy of what happens on the most watched weekly wrestling promotion on the planet that it's become a unique gimmick. It's outrageous that it's a point of interest that Dawson & Wilder have to put down the term 'sports entertainment' in favour of the term that the core audience prefers is a telling take on the product.
#1 The Curb Stomp is back!
The most buzzworthy moment from Raw definitely wasn't a botch but it was still beyond outrageous. After roughly three years in exile, Seth Rollins' Curb Stomp made a huge return during the main event of Raw. Finn Balor impressively took the taboo manoeuvre, erasing Neville's previous acclaim of being the last person to ever receive The Architect's finisher.
Seth has played around with other finishers in recent history, including The Pedigree and a New Japan-style knee strike, but nothing had near as much pizzazz as the Curb Stomp. The joy of seeing it once again was high, so fingers are crossed that the move is back for good.
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