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I've been doing this column for three years now, and sometimes it's a chore to sit through WWE RAW. Not this week, when WWE packed the show with a lot of good and very little that was bad. I shall still list out the good and the bad, like I always do, in this column. And like always, I invite your thoughts and views.
WWE decided to step it up on the road to WrestleMania 35. And they proved that when they decide to put on a show, they put on a show for the ages. I just wonder why they don't do this every single week like we know they can.
Fastlane should be a good show now that the whole complexion of the show has changed. And WrestleMania should be an even bigger night.
Here is the good and the bad from the three hours of action we just witnessed this week.
#1 Best: Reigns announces that he is in remission
Roman Reigns made his long-awaited return to RAW this week. The WWE Universe awaited his announcement with bated breath and he did not disappoint. Just like he had promised, he let the WWE Universe know that his cancer was in remission again.
This is not just good news for WWE fans, but also for fans of The Big Dog. Like him or not, nobody deserves to suffer from such a dreaded illness and I'm glad that he is back in action. When he returns to the ring is anyone's guess.
In the year 2019, we all know that WWE is scripted entertainment and therefore we long for those few rare moments that are real. This was one such moment and I'm sure there was more than one moist eye.
#1 Worst: Teasing a big Shield reunion
In another article, I have detailed why a Shield reunion may not be such a good idea. I mean they could always come back, but whom will they feud with? There is a serious lack of contenders on RAW at this moment.
Moreover, it just waters down the Universal Championship match in my honest opinion. The focus should be on Seth Rollins and Brock Lesnar, because there's very little buzz for the Universal Championship match at the moment, I feel.
Reigns too should be on his own, because his own comeback is a much bigger story than any Shield reunion is. And in kayfabe, can Rollins and Reigns just forgive Dean Ambrose for betraying the trust that the three men share?
They gave Rollins hell to pay for doing so, and they should act in pretty much the same manner with Dean Ambrose as well.
#2 Best: Ric Flair's birthday bash
The other big news coming out of WWE RAW this week was Batista's big return. The stars were all in attendance to commemorate Ric Flair, whom many consider to be the greatest WWE Superstar in the sports entertainment business ever. Shawn Michaels, Ricky 'The Dragon' Steamboat, Kurt Angle and the icon Sting, all came for the big night, to felicitate the legend.
And while they waited for Ric Flair, they realised that something was amiss. Batista was shown backstage, taking out the 'Nature Boy'. The seeds have been sown for a match between Batista and Triple H at WrestleMania 35, in what should be a marquee contest.
How can you call this development anything but a 'best', considering the hype that's existed around this match from the staredown at SmackDown 1000? I would love to see how this angle developments in the days and weeks that follow.
#2 Worst: Not doing this angle on SmackDown
I'm all for this angle. But I would just have liked to see it happen on the blue brand. It just seems like everything of consequence happens on the red brand and not on SmackDown Live.
I mean, while you have the hottest angle in women's wrestling play out on RAW, Asuka has no credible contenders at all on SmackDown Live right now. The United States Champion R-Truth has not been seen in weeks and the United States Championship has felt unimportant ever since he won the title just a few weeks back. It would have made sense to carry out this angle on the blue brand since it pretty much began there.
WWE goes to FOX later this year and there's literally no excitement around the second brand. I think that this is a pretty significant mistake and could cost the company, over the long haul.
#3 Best: Ronda Rousey lays the RAW Women's Championship down
Everyone in Sportskeeda and a lot of our readers expected Becky Lynch to crash Ric Flair's birthday celebrations. I loved the fact that WWE swerved us all, by having her show up earlier, to attack Ronda Rousey.
Becky Lynch has been arrested and Ronda Rousey wants her added to the match at WrestleMania 35. The current Champion seemingly relinquished her RAW Women's Championship as well in hopes of having Becky Lynch added to the match at WrestleMania.
Listen, we all knew that Becky Lynch would be inserted into the match at WrestleMania but what we didn't know was how it would be done. Having Rousey demand that Becky Lynch come back is a very nice and interesting way to make it happen, in my honest opinion.
The future of the RAW Women's Championship is also a nice hook to keep the viewers engaged.
#3 Worst: Makeshift teams defeating the Tag Team champs
I thought that The Revival and Aleister Black and Ricochet put on quite a show on WWE RAW this week. I thought it was the right decision to have the two new NXT call-ups go over the tag team champions in this case.
My whole point is that this match shouldn't have happened in the first place, to be quite honest. The Revival lost their first match since winning the titles last week and they lost again this week.
Is it any wonder that they wanted to walk out of the company not long ago, and were probably rewarded with the Championships to make them change their minds about the decision? It is amply clear that WWE does not take the Tag Team Division seriously and sees them as a filler for time.
Why couldn't Black and Ricochet have squashed The Ascension?
#4 Best/worst: Heavy Machinery
I am glad that The Ascension and Heavy Machinery got TV time this week. And that has to be a plus. I mean the B-Team were tag team champions not long ago and look at how forgotten they are right now. Even if it's a backstage segment, it's still better than not making it to TV.
But the lines and the dialogue genuinely made me cringe quite hard. There is no way in hell that anyone will take Heavy Machinery as a threat in the weeks that follow. To say that they've been portrayed as a joke is a massive understatement.
However, not all hope is lost and it is clear that Otis Dozovic could figure in WWE's plans because of his unique look. Let's hope that WWE wrongs all rights from this week.
Didn't Alexa Bliss look extra gorgeous this week, even more than she usually does?
