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Happy New Year to one and all. Thank you to everyone who's been an avid follower of my 'Best and Worst' lists, as well as any sports entertainment coverage we do on this website. It's such a thrill to be able to discuss sports entertainment with you folks on a weekly basis. I've been doing this from 2016, so I'm honoured to be doing 'Best and Worst' columns in 2019 as well.
What did I think of this week's episode of RAW? To be honest, I did not mind it. It really felt fast-paced and easy to watch overall.
Maybe there is something to the McMahon family promising us that they will shake things up on the show. Maybe 2019 will be a good year for the WWE Universe.
As always I've listed what I particularly enjoyed about this show, as well as some aspects I did not:
#1 Best: Unleashing Seth Rollins' inner beast
Once upon a time, Triple H took Seth Rollins under his wing and made him the top star. He made him go heel and pushed him to the top of the food chain in the company. This week, Seth Rollins asked for an Intercontinental Championship opportunity. Triple H denied it.
He said that under the new regime things would not be handed to Rollins. Rollins would have to earn every single opportunity. He brought out a side of Seth Rollins that we have not seen in quite a while.
I also loved the fact that Seth Rollins referenced Brock Lesnar in this segment as well. This leads me to think that he'll be in a Universal Championship feud very soon.
Does this mean he's winning the Royal Rumble?
#1 Worst: Taped show
I did mention that I liked the show. However, I'd have liked it a lot more had the show not been taped in advance by WWE. I know that WWE superstars were given the day off to spend some precious time with their families. But somehow the fact that spoilers were out, ruined the experience somewhat.
There are two kinds of fans. The kind that knows the results beforehand. And there's also the kind of fan who likes to wait to see all the action on TV.
When I actually covered the spoilers for the other article, I remarked to my colleagues that it did not seem like a very exciting show from the results alone. But after watching the episode, I have changed my mind completely.
This is a shame because I wonder how many others did not watch because the spoilers didn't excite them enough.
#2 Best: Rebuilding Drew McIntyre
I will praise Drew McIntyre in this section. But before that, I would like to compliment just how good Ziggler made McIntyre look. He made each and every Claymore kick seem like it was ripping him in half, putting McIntyre over in the process.
Of course, Drew McIntyre emerged from the cage and announced himself as the 'King of the Jungle. He also made it clear that he planned on winning the Royal Rumble match. It is quite clear that Drew McIntyre will get the push of a lifetime going forward, from the WWE brass.
This was a much-needed victory because McIntyre seemed to have lost a bit of momentum ever since he was pinned clean by Dolph Ziggler. It is abundantly clear that the company remains high on McIntyre, and will build him as a top heel, in coming weeks.
#2 Worst: Wrong tag team match?
Now, Vince McMahon announced that the Women's Tag Team titles would be launched last week. Sasha Banks and Bayley also cut a promo saying how much they were excited about the same. The two of them have really been the favourites to become the inaugural champions.
And yet, despite their promo, they were booked in a 6-woman tag team match. The match in itself was fine and full marks to Michael Cole for mentioning the teamwork between Sasha Banks and Bayley through the contest. But then, they put Ronda Rousey and Natalya in a tag team match.
Don't tell me that it was to promote Nia Jax and Tamina as they lost the match quite comprehensively. Sasha Banks and Bayley should have been in a tag team match against 2 members of the Riott Squad.
#3 Best: Finally pushing Apollo Crews
Apollo Crews can do things inside the ring that nobody his size should. He is truly a marvel of exemplary athleticism. This week, he eliminated 8 men to win a huge battle royal. The battle royal's objective was to determine the next number 1 contender for the Intercontinental Championship.
Crews also had a good showing against Ambrose. Ambrose is no Ziggler, to sell for Crews and make him look like a million bucks. But the fact that the two had a competitive match speaks volumes for the man.
I don't ever see him becoming the Universal Champion, even with this push. But I can certainly see him as Intercontinental Champion someday in the future if this momentum continues.
This could be the night where Apollo Crews broke out and became a singles star.
#3 Worst: Slater, Rhyno, Mahal and the others
I think Rhyno and Slater are an entertaining act. I loved their Tag Team on SmackDown Live. But what made that act compelling was their backstory. Now, Slater and Rhyno are just bodies filling up time on the show.
Jinder Mahal took the world by shock when he became WWE Champion. It takes a lot to get a heel over. They already have a credible heel in Mahal.
Instead of just throwing a match together on RAW where the crowd is not invested in the action at all, it would have made sense to maybe have these men in the battle royal. They could have had some kind of a storyline that leads to a match like this in the near future.
Rhyno's return as Santa Claus wasn't enough to get the audience interested in this contest.
#4 Best/worst: Alexa Bliss' new talk show
Alexa Bliss is simply amazing. I am all for her getting more screen time. But I'm just worried that introducing a Talk Show for her may indicate that she's not cleared to compete. WWE loves her so they probably want her to be on screen even when she's injured.
But by not having her physically engage with the women that she's interviewing, much of the charm of the talk show may be lost. And we know that WWE won't allow anyone who's injured to take bumps. Let's hope that Alexa Bliss makes a full recovery soon.
Bliss has the charisma to make almost anything work. And therefore, I'm curious to see what surprises lay in store when Ronda Rousey is her first guest.
Once again, wish you a very Happy New Year!
