This week, Raw came to us live from the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas. In what has been a promising trend off late, the flagship brand has picked up in terms of quality after a disappointing fall season; and has been delivering absolute belters, in terms of maintaining our interest throughout the show’s duration.
Today followed in a similar vein, with good storytelling, interesting plots and actual developments for the next pay-per-view Roadblock: End of the Line (on December 18). So let’s examine what worked, and what did not, in our post show ‘Best and Worst’ recap countdown.
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#1 Best: Edgier Content
WWE has been pushing the boundaries in terms of edgier content, even in the PG era. First, there was the whole segment with naked Enzo meeting Lana in the hallway to set up the match between him and Rusev. The Bulgarian Brute possibly injured Enzo by hitting him with a vase on his head. Nudity, unprotected head shots and foul language; we are liking the new non-PG era!
Even when it comes to language, words such as ‘bastard’ and ‘bitch’ are liberally being thrown around on both Raw and Smackdown. Of course, the pictures of Emmalina have been steamy as hell.
While the swerve was predictable, the whole scenario with Enzo and Lana in the hotel room was not something we’ve seen in a while. It’s a heartening sight, simply because, the only stakes in every contest have been title belts, in recent times.
Fighting for a woman adds a delicious twist to our favourite wrestling programme, each week.
#1 Worst: Hey, we want more Bayley
Make no mistake about it. Sasha Banks and Charlotte are creating history in Women’s Wrestling right now. Unfortunately, they’ve been doing so week after week, since absolutely forever.
While we’re excited at the thought of Sasha Banks and Charlotte Flair raising the bar at the upcoming pay-per-view Roadblock: End of the Line, with the first ever Iron Woman match in the main roster; can’t we mix things up slightly?
Maybe introduce Bayley or Nia Jax into the mix! Is a talented performer like Bayley really wrestling Alicia Fox over Cedric Alexander and Teddy bears? Even Austin/The Rock did not wrestle each other at every pay-per-view.
#2 Best: The debut of Jack Gallagher
Anyone who was blown away by the hard hitting action on the Cruiserweight Classic, and expected the same to continue on Raw, must have been greatly disappointed with the eventual outcome. So, if we’re not getting the same high-flying action... maybe some gentlemanly action is what the division really needs.
Jack Gallagher has a unique look and style. He is unprecedented and perhaps, the most unique wrestler in the whole roster. It is only a matter of time before he catches on, and the Cruiserweight Division catches fire.
Salutations to the gentlemanly Jack Gallagher!
#2 Worst: Tussle in Texas
A few weeks ago, we had reported that the confrontation between Mark Henry and Titus O’Neil would result in a match. Our fears were confirmed as the two glorified jobbers locked up in a contest that made even the Goldberg vs Lesnar match seem longer in comparison.
This match served no purpose other than to get a hometown pop for the local hero - Mark Henry. We would have complained about Henry not putting younger talent over; but heck, it’s Titus O’Neil. So we really don’t care.
#3 Best: A power packed US title match
Say whatever you want to about his unconquerable booking, Roman Reigns cannot have a bad match even if he tries. Today, he put on another show stealer against Chris Jericho. At several points during the match, the crowd kept chanting ‘This is awesome’.
Through the deafening crowd, Jericho and Reigns put on a contest for the ages. Even though Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens had a great match (like they always do), in our opinion this was the match of the evening.
A title change would have been the perfect touch, but hey... we cannot have it all, can we?
#3 Worst: Killing time until the record breaks
The New Day’s time has been glorious indeed (with due apologies to Bobby Roode). But it just seems that week after week, they make every other tag team in the roster look weak and insignificant. This is just boring to watch.
WWE has been advertising challengers for the title every single week, but it just seems like a waste of time. We cannot wait for them to break the record currently held by former tag team champions - Demolition just so that we can move on with life.
We rate this show 7.5/10. But Emmalina’s debut will be 10/10.
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