With due apologies to Rich Swann, we ask you- can you handle this? We certainly could not! WWE followed up a below-average pay-per-view which mind you, had some really great wrestling, with a really weak episode of Raw. Three hours of a dreadful, awful show!
To be quite honest, we couldn’t wait for the show to end so that we could see AJ Styles and Dolph Ziggler tear it up on Smackdown, our preferred brand, in less than 24 hours!
There were very few positives on the show, but hey, we are an optimistic bunch at Sportskeeda Wrestling News. It’s time for the Best and Worst of Raw.
#1: Worst: Foley visits the wrong city (and other botches)
Mick Foley hasn’t had the best time on the microphone recently. From losing his teeth live on air, to beating around the bush on the ‘State of the WWE Universe’, his botches have indeed been of the most legendary magnitude.
This week, Raw came to us live from the Schottenstein Center in Columbus, Ohio. Something that Foley forgot!
Also read: Twitter reacts to the Raw after Roadblock - December 19th, 2016
Mick Foley came out to the ring in support of Santa Claus (don’t ask, just watch the episode) and referred to Columbus, Ohio as Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
It took him a while to realise his error and admit his mistake. Jericho and Owens tried their best to cover up the botch with their heelish ways. But the damage had been done. The babyface General Manager was drowned in a loud chorus of boos.
Another surprising botch this week happened from the otherwise reliable and trustworthy Bayley. The huggable one tried to perform a kip-up and stumbled badly. Following this, she rubbed and rolled her body in a strange manner that made Noam Dar’s creepy heelish lines seem tame in comparison.
Hey, what’s wrestling without botches though?
#1 Best: Giant consequences
As intimidating as he is physically, Braun Strowman has grown. Not in terms of size (he doesn’t need to), but in terms of character building and in-ring work.
In an era where you are probably just as big as your favourite wrestler, Braun Strowman stands out. WWE, for once, have actually told a good story of a rampaging beast who threatened consequences if he didn’t get his hands on Sami Zayn (who had, in the storyline, been given the night off).
This allowed Strowman to get involved in the main event to take out Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins. We’ve seen the same bunch of wrestlers in the main event spot for a long time now, and Braun will certainly be a breath of fresh air.
#2 Worst: One big happy family
When Sasha Banks came out to cut her promo after the loss of her Women’s Championship, we could tell how much the belt meant to her. We saw a dejected New Day at the start of their segment, and we were convinced that they were truly heartbroken.
Voila! Soon afterwards, the former champions and the new champions chose to team up in a meaningless 8-man tag team match! In fact, they actually worked together and defeated the heels who were working quite cohesively? Makes no sense!
The New Day should be furious that they’re not champions anymore and demand their rematch. Not teaming up with a unit that just took their coveted titles!
#2 Best: Sleazy Noam Dar
Imagine how bad an episode of Raw must be if we consider a sleazy promo as one of the high points of the show.
Noam Dar, after losing a match to Cedric Alexander, said that all he wanted for Christmas was the real prize - Alexander’s girlfriend Alicia Fox. Hey, we don’t encourage this behaviour at all. We’re just saying that in a division with just one title belt, it’s great to see new prizes. Even if it is Alicia Fox!
The more characters there are in the Cruiserweight Division, the more will the crowd care about the matches.
#3 Worst: The burial of Enzo
Now that the whole debacle of setting records is done, we’d assumed that Enzo and Cass would rise up the ranks in the tag team division.
However, sometimes it seems like Enzo is falling even further down the ranks. The sensitivity training room he was at, was filled with jobbers and Bob Backlund. Are we really going to see Jinder Mahal as a credible opponent for Enzo Amore? It just seems like a complete waste of time.
#4 Worst: Where is Emmalina?
Is she never going to show up then? Was this all just a ruse? Don’t be breaking our hearts, Emmalina!
In conclusion, this Raw episode was like a Lana slap.
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