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Well, the Royal Rumble pay-per-view is in the past now. We move on towards Elimination Chamber and other pay-per-view events on the road to WrestleMania. Fallout episodes of RAW are always fun to watch, more often than not. This wasn't the most exciting show but it was still an eventful one, overall.
So, here is my analysis of what went right and what did not click from this episode. As always, I invite you to leave a comment and share your thoughts. Did it live up to your expectations or did you think the show was a waste of time?
RAW was fairly easy to watch and I hope WWE continues this momentum all the way to WrestleMania 35 and beyond. Only then will the audience continue to support a product that has seen a decline in TV viewership.
That said, here are my observations about this week's episode.
#1 Best: Becky Lynch invades RAW
What a swerve WWE pulled this week. It was advertised that Seth Rollins would make his decision as to whom he'll be facing at WrestleMania 35. While he did not do this during the show (it was confirmed later through Twitter), it was Becky Lynch who ended up choosing her WrestleMania opponent. Not surprisingly, it was Ronda Rousey.
I loved just how animated the audience in the building was for Becky Lynch. Lynch was at the bottom of the barrel not long ago, always in the conversation but never at the top. She has scratched and clawed her way to the top of the women's division where the WWE Universe is now firmly behind her.
Lynch vs. Rousey feels like a WrestleMania 35 main event. And moreover, it likely is.
The hype is real, ladies and gentlemen!
#1 Worst: Ronda Rousey gets rattled
Ronda Rousey has only been an active sports entertainer for a year now. It is easy to forget just how new she is to the business. She's such a natural in the ring, that one tends to ignore the fact that she made her debut at WrestleMania 34. And this week, she let her inexperience show big time.
The crowd was obviously against her and pro-Becky Lynch. When Ronda Rousey opened her mouth to cut a promo, they all booed her quite mercilessly. Ronda Rousey stumbled on her words and there came a point when she could not get a single line out.
WWE actually sent in Bayley early to cover up the mess in the ring. But even Bayley's no Alexa Bliss on the microphone and stumbled on her words.
It was a mess.
#2 Best: Jeff Jarrett and Road Dogg reunite
Jeff Jarrett and Elias had quite the showdown at the Royal Rumble. This time, Elias was confronted once again by Jarrett, but he had a friend accompanying him too. Enter The Roadie or Road Dogg, a name Attitude Era fans may remember him by.
When the audience started chanting Holy you-know-what, Road Dogg hushed the WWE Universe up saying it's a family show making everyone in the arena laugh out loud. I also loved the rendition of 'With My Baby Tonight' by the two men. This was a feel-good moment all around.
I'm not sure if Elias is supposed to be a babyface even after he's the heel in most of these 'legend cameo' skits. That aside, this was a big surprise and a moment that most fans will cherish for a long time.
#2 Worst: Teaming Corbin and McIntyre again
It made sense for Corbin to have McIntyre as an ally back when he was acting General Manager. He surrounded himself with some muscle to keep Braun Strowman at bay back then. But I don't like the idea of teaming Corbin with McIntyre at the current juncture.
McIntyre is guaranteed to be a Universal Champion down the line and has been on a tear ever since his return. But being a sidekick to Corbin will only bog him down, I feel. If anything, McIntyre needs to adopt the lone wolf gimmick that Baron Corbin was once known for.
I did not even like how easily Corbin beat Kurt Angle, who's been on a losing streak suffering one embarrassing defeat after another, to put younger talent over. The decision was right, but it reminds us how far Angle as fallen as a performer these days.
#3 Best: Finn Balor enters the Intercontinental Championship picture
We can talk about how Finn Balor puts on great matches all the time. But unless he ends up winning a few of them, he'll be the ordinary man who does ordinary things!
Therefore, I like the fact that he and Lashley are entering a feud. It is clear that Finn Balor is in line for an Intercontinental Championship shot and I will not be surprised if he ends up winning the title soon.
Balor could use the title to elevate some of the mid-card on the show by stealing the show with good matches. Imagine the feud between Balor and Apollo Crews down the line with the title on the line.
If Balor doesn't win the title soon, then I'm afraid that the fan support for him may die as well in some time.
#3 Worst: NXT stars go missing
Remember how Vince McMahon promised us not long ago that we will see new faces on RAW and SmackDown Live very soon? Well, we saw glimpses of them in weeks past but they went missing this week.
EC3 wasn't even a part of the Royal Rumble match, unlike the women. Heavy Machinery was in a backstage segment this week, but that hardly does anything for them.
Sometimes it seems like WWE only brings Superstars up to the main roster to have them disappear for months on end altogether. I would have loved for Lacey Evans to cut a promo during the show about her Royal Rumble performance or for EC3 to gloat in the mirror next to Mojo Rawley, where the latter was talking to himself.
Let's hope that the characters make a proper comeback on next week's show.
#4 Best/worst: Announcing the match after the show
I liked the show going off with a proper cliffhanger. Seth Rollins did not know whether he would challenge Daniel Bryan or Brock Lesnar at the top of RAW. He respected Daniel Bryan, a man who'd come up the same way as him through the independents. He's been in the ring with The Beast and knows about his dominance.
I even liked the visual of Rollins being the underdog in front of Lesnar. I like just how easily he was obliterated by The Beast Incarnate. The build to WrestleMania 35 will obviously be his comeback story.
But I don't really know what I think of WWE making the match official shortly after the show. I wonder how many people even check social media after switching off their TV sets.
The announcement could have easily been made on the next episode of RAW.
