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Monday Night RAW returned to us live this week from the 'City of Brotherly Love', Philadelphia, after a newsworthy show last week. It definitely looks like WWE is well on its way to WrestleMania.
After a few months of boring and lackluster episodes, WWE has clearly pulled its socks up. This was the go-home episode for the Fastlane PPV, which is the last stop before WrestleMania 35.
Tonight's episode did drag a bit but the bigger moments were nicely done to make it a memorable episode. It's good to have Roman Reigns back in the fray, as it definitely felt like WWE was missing its biggest star at the top of the card. He opened the show tonight, and it set the theme for the rest of the show, with fans anxiously waiting for a Shield reunion.
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Triple H came out at the top of the second hour to build his feud with Batista, in what was quite a compelling promo. The show also featured a match for the RAW tag-team championships between 'The Revival' and the team of Ricochet and Aleister Black.
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It was officially announced that Torrie Wilson is set to enter the WWE Hall Of Fame class of 2019, joining DX and the Honky Tonk Man.
The main event was reserved for the RAW women's title picture, wherein Becky was supposed to sign a 'Hold Harmless Agreement' for her match against Charlotte Flair at Fastlane, announced earlier in the episode by Stephanie McMahon. These are covered in greater detail later in the review.
Nothing else significant took place on the show, apart from the six-man tag team match between Balor, Strowman, Angle vs Corbin, McIntyre, Lashley. The latter picked up the win, in what was easily the 'match of the night'.
The heels then beat down the babyfaces after the match to draw heat from the Philly crowd. RAW also featured 'Saturday Night Live' stars Michael Che and Colin Jost, who were involved in a number of skits, which were mostly not amusing, except the Braun one.
The crowd was hot throughout the night, which helped the big moments feel even bigger. In this review, we are going to cover the 'hits' and 'misses' of tonight's show.
Grade: B+
MISS: The RAW Tag-Team Scene
In what continues to be an ongoing trend, the tag-team division of Monday Night RAW is in shambles. The show featured a gauntlet match between The Ascension, Heavy Machinery, The B-Team, and the team of Ryder and Hawkins.
Heavy Machinery had minimal build and zero stakes. They went on to win the match despite being one of the teams that started the match. Throwaway matches like these don't bode well for anyone involved. This was one instance where even a crowd in Philly remained silent throughout.
After picking up a win over the Champions, 'Revival', last week, Aleister Black and Ricochet got an opportunity this week for the RAW Tag-Team Championships. Roode and Gable coming down to ringside to get a view of the proceedings totally gave away the finish of the match, as 'The Revival' retained via disqualification.
It looks like we are headed for a three-way match for the RAW Tag-Team Championships. Black and Ricochet should be involved in showcase encounters at this point in their run, rather than being subjected to poor finishes.
On the women's side, Sasha Banks, with Bayley on her side, wrestled Tamina, who was accompanied by Nia Jax. The two teams are set to clash this Sunday for the Women's Tag-Team Championships. This match didn't do much to build the match for Fastlane and felt like filler. Surprisingly enough, Tamina picked up the win over Sasha.
HIT: Triple H's promo
After last week's jaw-dropping ending, fans worldwide went into a frenzy seeing 'The Animal' Batista back on WWE TV. In an attempt to grab Triple H's attention, Batista crashed Ric Flair's 70th birthday party. Triple H came out this week to respond to Batista's heinous attack.
Triple H cut a very passionate and compelling promo to continue the build to this feud. He brought real-life elements to talk about his lifelong friendship with Ric Flair, how they rode together, how they stood together in each other's difficult times, and so on.
Triple H even choked up a little bit. Fans sometimes forget how good Triple H can be on the mic, but it is moments like these that truly showcase his all-around abilities as a performer.
Towards the end, he called out Batista and told him that the next time he looks him in the eye, he won't be seeing 'Triple H' the character, he would be looking at the man behind the character.
Batista and Triple-H are set to face off next week on RAW, i.e. if Batista shows up. But, nonetheless, it sure seems to be a must-see episode, as this feud reaches a new high.
HIT: SHIELD's BACK Y'ALL!!
If the way the heading for this page is written isn't enough to tell you how excited I am for the Shield reunion, let me articulate it. There is something mesmerizing about this trio of individuals, that no matter how many times they turn on each other, it always feels special to see them on the same page again.
Roman Reigns opened the show this week and immediately called his brother-in-arms Seth Rollins to join him. While it was initially hinted at something to do with the Universal Championship match at WrestleMania, Reigns went about asking Rollins to forget about what had happened between him and Ambrose while he was gone and to get the band back together.
Rollins initially refused, which made sense from a storyline perspective, but after Reigns talked about how uncertain life can be, Rollins agreed. Then, Dean Ambrose entered the fray, but before he could talk, he was attacked by Elias. This was a solid way to start the show, building intrigue for viewers and at the same time, adding some human touch to the overarching story.
Elias picked up a win over Ambrose, who was still recovering from the attack, in the latter part of the show. The match was nothing special, as the entire focus was on the post-match segment.
Ambrose was joined by his brothers who offered him one more opportunity after Dean rebuffed Rollins' proposal in a backstage segment earlier. Ambrose refused again and was about to leave the arena through the crowd.
But before he could do so, Corbin, McIntyre, and Lashley made their way to the ring and started beating down Reigns and Rollins. Dean, in a moment of truth, made the save and the babyfaces left the heels scurrying away. The segment closed with the iconic Shield fist-bump.
It was later announced that the Shield will face the team of Corbin, Lashley, and McIntyre at Fastlane. This made it incredibly exciting to tune-in to Fastlane this Sunday and added interest for WrestleMania, and the future of Ambrose, in particular.
While some may sour over the hot-shot booking that led to the eventual reunion, I felt WWE did well to continue giving fans big moments on the 'Road To Wrestlemania'.
HIT: ROUSEY TURNS HEEL!!
After Ronda Rousey lay her RAW Women's Champion across Stephanie McMahon's feet, fans were waiting with bated breath, as to how WWE would address the state of the RAW Women's Championship.
In a backstage interview, Stephanie McMahon announced that WWE is dropping all charges against Becky Lynch, and reinstating her.
She further added that Becky will clash with Charlotte one-on-one at Fastlane for the vacant RAW Women's Championship, provided Becky signs the 'Hold Harmless Agreement', which will exempt WWE of being held responsible for whatever happens to the Lass Kicker at Fastlane.
In the main event slot of the show, Stephanie McMahon introduced both Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch to the ring. She asked Becky to sign the agreement in order to make the match official, and 'The Man' obliged. Just when we thought things were done for the night, the camera panned to a shot of Ronda Rousey making her way to the ring.
The Baddest Woman on the Planet entered the ring and asked McMahon to give her title back. As the title was no longer vacant, McMahon changed the stakes of the Charlotte vs Lynch match at Fastlane, announcing that if Becky wins, she gets to be part of the RAW Women's Championship match at WrestleMania, but if she loses, she's done for good.
Before the show could come to a close, Rousey cut a promo where she turned on the crowd, calling them ungrateful despite her numerous attempts to win their support. She went on to beat the life out of Lynch, putting her in the arm-bar, while Flair looked on from the ramp.
This is the Ronda Rousey fans have long been clamoring for. The heels and face dimensions are now rightly aligned in this feud. This angle really intensified this feud, which has been mostly well-built from the start.
Fastlane gets one more interesting match-up added to it, making it a must-see PPV. We are most likely headed towards a triple-threat match for the RAW Women's Championship at WrestleMania 35, which will undoubtedly be the match that will steal the show.
