There was no Goldberg this week on Raw. Nor was there Brock Lesnar. However, this meant that the younger talent had a chance to shine and they performed to the best of their ability. While this wasn’t the perfect show by any stretch of the imagination, there were more positive moments than negative ones.
Sadly, we’ve now become accustomed to the fact that whenever there’s a Charlotte Flair vs Sasha Banks match on Raw; Sasha is picking up the victory. This is presumably to keep Charlotte’s winning streak intact on pay per view, presumably for a later day pay off.
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Enough rambling. Let’s move to the action then, shall we?
#1 Worst: Botch after botch
There were so many botches today, that it was hard to keep track. Kevin Owens surprisingly made a massive botch in the opening segment when he had trouble saying ‘Universal Championship’. Jericho managed to cover for him by saying that English wasn’t even really Kevin Owens’ first language (which is true).
Then, during a passionate promo between Sami Zayn and Mick Foley, Foley’s teeth would fall out (he mentioned the same in a tweet later during the show).
And Mr. Botchmaster himself, Michael Cole would get confused between Sasha Banks and Charlotte in the main event. Thankfully, Corey Graves did correct him live on air.
#1 Best: Hard fought main event
Earlier tonight, we were thrilled at the thought of the Sasha Banks- Charlotte Flair feud ending so that we could move to something new. However, these two women tore it down in the Raw main event. They just prove every time they step into the ring why this is the best era in women’s wrestling history.
With kendo sticks, table spots and a falls count anywhere stipulation, this was a historic main event in any case. But these two women ensured that they did deliver and make us proud wrestling fans. This was certainly better than their HIAC match.
#2 Worst: Hometown losers?
Earlier tonight, we saw Cedric Alexander lose to Tony Nese in front of a hot home crowd at Charlotte, NC. Later the same evening, Charlotte would tap out to the Banks Statement after a hard fought match! Is someone booking these talents to lose at home, deliberately?
Why would WWE booking want to deprive the hometown heroes of their ‘moment of glory’? Remember how Sasha Banks lost in front of her home crowd too at Hell in a Cell? As did Noam Dar in Scotland. What’s up with this trend? Is someone in WWE booking getting a kick out of this tradition?
#2 Best: The Beast begins to Rumble
We have traditionally known Paul Heyman as an arrogant, self-assured man. After Goldberg dominated Brock Lesnar at Survivor Series, squashing him in 1.26 minutes; Paul Heyman broke down in tears in an interview with WWE.
But the outcome of the same was that Brock Lesnar is the second entrant in the Royal Rumble match at the Alamodome, come January. This is a great way to continue the Goldberg-Lesnar rivalry without Goldberg having to wrestle an entire match at the age of 49.
All said and done, Paul Heyman proved why he is the greatest in the world at cutting promos by showcasing a side of himself that we had never seen before. An emotional side.
#3 Worst: Why is Rusev a heel?
So let’s get this straight. The whole roster misbehaves with a man’s wife, and he is the bad guy? First, it was Roman and then it was Enzo Amore, who said some choice words we do not even want to repeat here. Is Rusev the heel simply because he hails from Bulgaria and his wife from Russia?
Also, more importantly, why is Rusev being wasted in such meaningless feuds when he could be doing so much better, considering his immense talent? WWE needs to build new stars so that there’s a Goldberg in the future, and these meaningless comedy feuds are not helping Rusev at all.
#3 Best: Out of the ring action
When a 3-hour show only happens inside the ring, it can get boring at times.
We were glad to see action in the parking lot and inside a bar this week. Jericho getting Pedigreed on a car and Cesaro sending a man through the wall, get A+ reactions from us!
Did someone just say Attitude Era?
#4 Baffling: Positive reaction?
Roman Reigns got a babyface reaction from the crowd at Charlotte, North Carolina whereas Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho got booed! Are you kidding us?
Were they all on the same substances that Eva Marie is? Are they spending some time with Nate Diaz? Somewhere, Vince McMahon is celebrating with a bucket load of champagne.
#5 Bestestest: Huggable moment
Much like this picture, Raw this week was a solid 7.5/10. Hugs all around, especially for our new Raw Women’s Champion!
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#2 Worst: Botch after botch
There were so many botches today, that it was hard to keep track. Kevin Owens surprisingly made a massive botch in the opening segment when he had trouble saying ‘Universal Championship’. Jericho managed to cover for him by saying that English wasn’t even really Kevin Owens’ first language (which is true).
Then, during a passionate promo between Sami Zayn and Mick Foley, Foley’s teeth would fall out (he mentioned the same in a tweet later during the show). And Mr. Botchmaster himself, Michael Cole would get confused between Sasha Banks and Charlotte in the main event.
Thankfully, Corey Graves did correct him live on air.
