Raw or ‘The Kevin Owens’ show came to us live from Kansas City this week. As is tradition, WWE followed up the excellent show from last week with a show that had its moments, but left fans disappointed overall. Except for a few angles, there was so much filler on this episode, that it could have been a Main Event or Superstars show.
But as responsible journalists, we will bring you our analysis of what worked for this show and what didn’t. Caution: we will pull no punches.
THE GOOD: Here’s what we liked about the show.
1- Raw finally has a top babyface and heel
Fans have wanted to cheer for Seth Rollins, ever since his big return from injury. Sadly, they’ve never been given the opportunity to as Raw hasn’t had a top babyface (except maybe Finn Balor), for a while now. Kevin Owens looks like he’s the new ‘Triple H guy’, in his suit and with his belt; and has taken the role of the top heel from Rollins.
The dynamics have changed, and Seth finally gets to have matches against top heels such as Jericho and Owens. Can’t say we mind this at all, honestly.
2- Seeds of future conflict
Gone are the days when we thought Mick Foley and Stephanie McMahon could co-exist. While they’re still amicable, we know there’s going to be dissent down the line. The same can be said for Charlotte and Dana Brooke, and Nia Jax/Alicia Fox (although nobody cares about this).
While this week was a disappointment, who knows...maybe the coming weeks won’t be. The power struggle could end up in a feud between Foley and McMahon and possibly a big change on who calls the shots on RAW.
3- How Sasha Banks swerved us with reality
For weeks, we’d heard about Sasha Banks getting pulled from live events after her Summerslam match, and when she announced that she had bad news for the WWE Universe, we feared the worst. When The Boss walked to the ring and started delivering a heartfelt emotional speech, we thought she was done.
When Dana Brooke’s music hit, we realized things weren’t as bad as they looked. It was a work and boy, did she work us. In fact, a show that was becoming unbearable became tolerable thanks to this angle.
4- A match with stakes, next week
Of course, you cannot keep Roman Reigns away from the main event spot. But bear in mind that he too was wronged by Triple H last week. Next week, he faces Kevin Owens on Raw, and if he goes over; the main event for ‘Clash of Champions’ becomes a Triple Threat match. Hey, Roman delivers in big matches and we're sure this encounter won’t disappoint.
We’re curious to find out what will happen on the next episode of Raw...sorry, The Kevin Owens Show.
THE BAD: Oh boy, there was quite a lot of this for sure
1- Lack of depth for a 3-hour show
All of Raw seemed focused around the Rollins-Owens rivalry, with filler in the middle. While Smackdown passes like a breeze because it's an hour short, Raw feels like a chore to sit through during a bad week. There were so many matches that had no significance that even Corey Graves could not save the show on commentary.
To be honest, the repackaged Bo Dallas does not seem half bad, but how many squash matches can one take in a row?
2- The Titus O’Neil vs Darren Young feud
Unlike Zayn and Owens who can put on classic matches every time they step into the ring, Darren Young and Titus O’Neil just stink up the joint. Sadly, their feud continues with no end in sight. And what can make a stale feud even worse? Jinder Mahal of course.
We hope the two of them slug it out once and for all next week on Raw or at Clash of Champions, and we move on to better things.
3- The Old Day Segment
The New Day is not cutting it anymore. They used to be funny once upon a time, but those days are long behind us. So, how can a cheap knockoff of the New Day be any good then? The Old Day segment was horrendous and made our eyes bleed. The Club has looked irrelevant since splitting up with A.J. Styles.
Fresh feuds please, or the tag team division is headed for disaster. Hey, we want some new feuds.
4- Enzo Amore’s labor day joke
Ummm, there’s only one word to describe this segment- LAME.
In conclusion, today’s episode of Raw felt like a snoozefest after the winner last week. To end this review on a high note, we leave you with the picture of Bayley hugging a little kid.
