The Lunatic Fringe avenged the beatdown from last week by getting temporary payback against the BeastThis Raw episode came on the heels of a terrible announcement.Daniel Bryan announced his retirement from wrestling and in the night’s last moments he revealed why. After months of speculation about his condition, this wasn’t unsurprising but was a major blow to anyone who’s followed his career before or during WWE.Brock Lesnar made his second consecutive appearance on Raw and again owned the show, but not before a certain man named Dean Ambrose showed him that Suplex City is just passe for the time being.Also, Triple H and The Beast had a staredown and Stephanie McMahon was such a great heel. Here are the 5 promising developments from this week’s Raw-
#1 Unbroken
The entire night was a showcase of Dean Ambrose, that despite Lesnar reigning supreme and beating the heck out of him, he still got back up.
He’s not following the John Cena routine and Ambrose really isn’t the kind of opponent Lesnar has ever faced before; the likes of whom can take as much pain as possible and still manage to get back up and invite the beating that further awaits.
Nobody does the ‘I welcome the beating that awaits me’ shtick better than Ambrose and his unhinged attitude further adds depth. He wasn’t the last man standing tonight but he sure did a great job of making a statement that he’s ready to face The Beast.
#2 Heel suprieur
It was refreshing to see a contract signing start the show, but it got even better to have Stephanie McMahon oversee the segment.
One of her best moments came when she interrupted Paul Heyman’s customary introduction of himself – by saying, “Paul, everybody knows what your name is”– and then after getting everyone to sign the contract, she scooted off allowing them to beat the heck out of each other.
Her entrance was marred by the very overwhelming ‘Daniel Bryan’ chant and one has to remember their iconic rivalry and how great a heel Stephanie was during that time. Actually, throughout his entire great career, his feud with Stephanie McMahon was the best.
She drowned the chant out by saying that Seattle is confused which was some Great heel work.
#3 Heading somewhere?
The losses Kevin Owens is taking at the hands of Dolph Ziggler should better be leading somewhere, because the two talents involved are performers who have been majorly over in their particular gimmicks.
Either this is just a filler for Fastlane or they really don’t know what to do with these guys heading over to Wrestlemania. They had another decent match, which Owens lost and had another meltdown – something that the announcer’s area is accustomed to by now.
Anyway, this is a hit and miss thing but since they’ve continued this for more than two weeks, there can be something interesting ahead.
#4 Must see Miz TV
Miz is so good as a heel that Jericho – who’s gimmick is becoming a bit stale, interrupting him was a welcome moment. Jericho freaked out The Miz by completely and utterly replacing the Miz Tv set to the ‘Highlight Reel’.
This segment went from being funny to completely mean business when Styles and Jericho clashed. This feud between the two certainly matters because of how recent Styles has arrived.
Also, Miz has played quite an integral role in this entire feud by being a great catalyst, and here is where his heel work should be commended.
#5 Second storyline
The women are not having a great bit of storytelling going their way, but it is monumentally better than what the main roster was dishing out for the last few years.
Banks and Lynch are reluctant partners and The Boss is all happy being by herself, but she’s got a lot of payback coming from her former teammates. This in a way accentuates how great a babyface Lynch has been and continues to be as she once again came to the aid of Banks
Tamina and Naomi looked strong in this episode. This certainly will set up a second womens match at Fastlane that was made official soon after the segment ended – and that’s alright.
