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Even with the Coronavirus pandemic taking over the world at the moment, WWE has not shied away from trying to deliver some entertainment to the fans, despite things being extremely worrying.
Live from the Performance Center in front of no crowd, RAW tried to deliver as much as it could on a night that was missing several top stars, saw the appearance of many icons, and tried to deliver amid travel issues.
Yet, the brand was able to pull through with some great promos this week, even though the in-ring action was barely there. WWE used this week’s show to build solely towards WrestleMania 36, which will now take place at the Performance Center too, and simply pushed the rivalries that will unfold at The Show of Shows.
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With Edge, The Undertaker, and Stone Cold all scheduled for the show, fans were compelled to tune in even if they didn’t feel like they wanted to. While the show wasn’t explosive, it was still extremely good for building storylines.
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With that in mind, we will look at the 5 things the company got right on this week’s episode of RAW.
#5 The only match
While RAW did not cut down on the minutes it was aired for this week, it did cut down on the in-ring action quite a bit and fans got to watch only a single match during the night!
Seth Rollins, Murphy, Ricochet, Drew McIntyre, Riddick Moss, and several other stars were all missing from the show, and that gave the company a chance to book a non-title match between Rey Mysterio and the United States Champion Andrade.
The two men have had a long rivalry and Andrade had defeated Mysterio a few months ago to win the United States Championship.
Andrade took the fight to Mysterio from the opening bell and continued to dominate in the match through the commercial break. Mysterio fought back thereafter and set up the 619 while an animated Asuka watched on commentary.
While he couldn’t get it right the first time, he soon set Andrade up for another 619 and then picked up the victory after delivering a top-rope splash. This was a good fast-paced match on a night where no other Superstars competed and possibly sets up a clash between the two men for the title at WrestleMania 36.
The only thing WWE could have done differently is having Humberto Carrillo or Angel Garza at ringside looking for an opportunity to get in a rivalry with the US Champion.
#4 The Phenom’s rage
The Undertaker and AJ Styles were scheduled for a contract signing for their match at WrestleMania 36 on this week’s show.
Surprisingly, The Undertaker seemed to have ditched his gimmick and gear and appeared driven by anger. He did not go through with his theatrical entrance and appeared wearing a black knit cap on his head. Once in the ring, he was even more furious when he saw the contract signing table without any contract on it.
The Phenomenal One’s music then hit twice but he did not appear in person. The screen then showed Styles in the backstage area mocking The Phenom and showing him the contract in his hand.
He taunted Undertaker, signed the contract, and then gave Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson the responsibility of handing the contract to The Phenom to sign. The two men entered the arena but were met with The Deadman’s rage who beat down both Superstars before signing the contract.
While the segment could have done much better with an audience, it did what it had to do and showed fans a relatively new side to The Undertaker decades after his debut. On a night where little action took place, it was good to watch the legend deliver a few moves and appear as dominant as ever before the final clash.
#3 The WrestleMania challenges
The night kicked off with Edge appearing on the Red brand after going through some travel issues. He did not let that hurt his emotions as he was crystal clear when he stated what he thought of Randy Orton. Edge believed that Orton was lying to himself and did not love him or care for him.
The Rated-R Superstar also revealed how the past month has been a torturous one for himself and Beth Phoenix, and he wasn’t ready to back down now.
Staring through the camera and into the soul of The Viper, Edge issued a challenge to Orton for a Last Man Standing match at WrestleMania.
While Edge has returned to the ring after nine long years, he has not forgotten how to deliver an intense promo. Bringing Mick Foley’s name into the promo could mean that the legend might also get involved in the clash somehow.
Later in the night, Kevin Owens also appeared more determined than ever. He took the microphone from Charly Caruso and accepted a challenge from Seth Rollins for a match at WrestleMania.
KO wasn’t shy to mention that the match will take place in the Performance Center itself and used the scenario to great advantage. Both men have spent years in the arena training and it could prove to be the perfect setting for the match.
Both promos were great at setting up the two grudge matches for WrestleMania 36!
#2 Riding like The Man
When Becky Lynch was just another Superstar in WWE, looking for an opportunity to break out and become a bigger star while competing in the mid-cards, not many Superstars knew how to put others over.
After The Man broke the shackles, got the backing of the fans, and got her once-in-a-lifetime moment at WrestleMania 35, it looks like Lynch has been trying to give back and help other stars rise with her.
Just a couple of months ago, Lynch was working tirelessly to put Asuka over as a big threat to her and her RAW Women’s Championship belt even when fans were convinced that Asuka wouldn’t win the title.
Now she has her focus on NXT graduate Shayna Baszler who will be facing The Man at WrestleMania 36 after ripping through her opponents at Elimination Chamber.
Lynch arrived in style this week in a huge 18-wheeler truck and wasted no time in addressing her match with Baszler once again.
While the same kind of promos become stale after some time, Lynch managed to keep the quality up and vowed to defeat the woman who scored a victory over her and Bayley at Survivor Series.
Baszler watched the entire thing from the backstage monitor and seemed determined to beat The Man and end her reign as Champion. The short and sweet promo did well to add heat to their rivalry without getting them involved physically again.
#1 Asuka on commentary!
Last week on SmackDown, fans were treated to a pleasant surprise when Triple H decided to join Michael Cole on the announcers’ desk and become a commentator for the night.
Triple H was excellent at the job, just like he is at everything else he’s tried in the company so far, and made fans wonder if any other Superstar could top him behind the mic.
Surprisingly, Asuka emerged as a real competitor to The Game as she took to the commentary table for the only match that took place during the show. Asuka, who is a Japanese born Superstar and mostly converses in her native language, was excellent behind the mic.
She was animated, funny, and added a unique dimension to what was going on in the ring. Her comedic side has really uplifted her character, and it seems like the company has found the real side to her.
Even though we saw several top Superstars and legends appear during the night, Asuka to me was the MVP as she uplifted the mood and gave fans something to smile about at home while watching a pretty serious episode of the show.
