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Last night's Raw had a lot of filler, but did a better job than most of the recent episodes in building up a WrestleMania that has lacked excitement. Some matches were made official and we saw some memorable promos. Who got the most and least out of last night's Raw with less than two weeks to go?
"Winners:" Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, and Ronda Rousey
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I put the word "winners" in quotations because last night just confirmed what we already knew a long time ago - these three would main event WrestleMania. Congratulations. The build is still bad.
The three engaged in a beat the clock challenge which Becky Lynch won, but it was just the latest bit of wheel spinning and overexposure that has watered this angle down so significantly. It's far from the most exciting match heading into the Show of Shows this year and it will be a relief when this saga is over so we can all move on.
The momentum of the women's division has stalled since the Royal Rumble and I'm looking forward to the reset that will come after WrestleMania.
Winner: Finn Balor
Finn Balor defeated Bobby Lashley and Jinder Mahal in a handicap match last night, punching his ticket to WrestleMania and another shot at the Intercontinental Championship. The fact that this looks like it will be a singles match is significant, and Balor should be the favorite to win there, maybe by breaking out the Demon in a surprise.
That would be the only way to put an exclamation point on this angle, because the build has been pedestrian from week to week. I still can't figure out the reason for taking the title off of Balor in the first place if he was only going to win it back at WrestleMania, which seems likely.
Losers: Aleister Black and Ricochet
It looks like the curse of the debut WrestleMania performance is set to occur once more, as Aleister Black and Ricochet defeated the Revival in a non-title match last night. This certainly earns them a title shot, but we know what that scenario almost always means for the challenger. The challenger beats the champion and then loses when it matters.
Perhaps it's for the best in the long run. Black and Ricochet shouldn't be in a makeshift tag team when they're both better as singles competitors. Still, it would be a blow to them for them to take their first real main roster loss on the biggest of all stages.
It also might be possible that this time will be the exception, but the combination of a WrestleMania debut and standard booking practices weighs heavily against them as they head into MetLife stadium this April.
Winners: Drew McIntyre and Roman Reigns
Credit to WWE for pouring gasoline on the fire of a lackluster build. This is the kind of stuff that Roman Reigns should be doing for a while - being a badass going up against another badass, without the need for a title or to make him an underdog hero.
This was a great segment. Undoubtedly, the two men's similar appearances enhanced it. That Drew McIntyre ended the segment standing tall might suggest he's losing at WrestleMania, but it would actually be better if Reigns were to have a crisis of confidence with McIntyre walking out the winner. That way, Reigns' slow climb back through the ranks is emphasized and Seth Rollins would have an instant competitor should he win the Universal Championship.
We'll just need to see what happens in the go-home show next week. This was just what was needed to fortify a weak midcard.
Winner: Beth Phoenix
Nia Jax and Tamina, as usual, played the spoilers and broke this matchup, but Beth Phoenix came to the rescue, to the delight of the fans, who were chanting "you still got it."
Phoenix's involvement with this angle is the major hook and though she obviously won't win on April 7th, she can give a huge rub to Sasha Banks and Bayley, who need a kick in the rear with their title reign flagging through otherwise unexciting opponents and standard fare bad booking.
Loser: Braun Strowman
Has anyone fallen further in the last year than Braun Strowman? He's stuck doing Moment of Bliss segments with usually awkward celebrity guest appearances, all en route to WrestleMania's yearly most forgettable match.
Will Strowman ever be able to recover from this? He got a huge pop last night, suggesting that he's still popular, but WWE just refuses to ever capitalize on it.
Winner: Seth Rollins
Seth Rollins delivered an address that put himself in the position as the man of the people going up against the irredeemable champion. He talked about the icons of the past and contrasted them with Brock Lesnar having no admirable qualities. Using the term "we," Seth Rollins vowed to walk out as champion.
This was the kind of stuff he should have been doing all along, but Brock Lesnar's routine absences make it almost impossible to get the build into high gear. Paul Heyman just doesn't cut it. Seth Rollins' chances of victory are thankfully ticking upward, but you never know, especially with Lesnar in the picture.
Hopefully, we get that reset at WrestleMania 35. Forget the Raw women's or WWE titles, this is the title that needs to change hands the most. Not pulling that trigger will pile new catastrophe on top of already existing catastrophe.
Loser: Samoa Joe
I understand why Samoa Joe appeared on Raw for a spell to do battle with Kurt Angle, as they have a long history. But this loss harms Joe much more than it helps Kurt Angle. Joe is in an already delicate position and was just beginning to find his groove again as US Champion. This was yet another big loss on his resume and one which was unnecessary. Why do it when Kurt Angle is on the way out and his match with Baron Corbin is about the least exciting match at WrestleMania this year?
Winners: Triple H and Batista
Triple H vs. Batista wasn't exactly exciting beyond the callback to a long time ago at WrestleMania 21. Frankly, Triple H matches at WrestleMania are rarely exciting. Last year was very much the exception and even that didn't look great going in.
So Triple H threw a curveball by putting his career on the line.
That means he'll probably win, but with his ever-expanding executive portfolio, you can't be too sure. That new bit of intrigue will help this a lot.
