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For fans of high-quality in-ring action, the February 19th edition of Raw was easily one of the best episodes in a long time. The ridiculously long Gauntlet match that featured a memorable performance by Seth Rollins highlighted this night. It was also the longest Raw match in history, which was cool to witness. We can only hope that WWE takes note of the positive feedback and tries to emulate what worked from this show.
As amazing as this Raw was, there were still several outrageous and botchy items to remark on. Moments such as Mickie James' noticeable spot calling, Asuka's forgetfulness during her promo, and a few grown men in the front row who were ready to fight over free John Cena merchandise all get their time in the spotlight of this article.
First up is one fan's audacity to challenge Vince McMahon's second attempt at an alternative to the NFL.
#5 No love for the XFL
Some people are brazen... and patient. This individual saved this sign the entire night, only to flash it during the post-match brawling of the main event. While Alexa Bliss, Sonia Deville, and Mandy Rose collected themselves after losing the 6-woman tag match inside the middle of the ring, this person's take on Vince McMahon's side project was brandished for the entire world to see. Surely the production truck was having a freak out that this sign was just to the right of the middle of the backdrop of the hard camera.
If this sign had been showcased earlier in the night, it would've been confiscated in a heartbeat. But since it was saved until the final few minutes of the broadcast, no members of security were seen frantically trying to get it away from the hard camera.
#4 Talking to herself
Mandy Rose has been surprising in the ring. What I mean is that she didn't come to the main roster with high expectations yet has proven that she can hold her own when the bell rings. It helps that she has veterans like Mickie James to guide her along, even if the camera mistakenly zooms in while she's yelling out instructions.
This happened directly after Rose gave her an inverted gut wrench suplex. It was so noticeable that Michael Cole felt the need to cover for her on commentary by remarking that Mickie was caught "talking to herself."
#3 Trouble in the corner
Mandy Rose Irish Whipped Bayley into the corner and things did not work out as planned. Bayley vaulted herself into the air with the hopes of Mandy running underneath her. Mandy instead tried to catch 'The Hugger' but didn't quite get a hold of her like she had hoped.
The catch was awkward. Rose's right arm was underneath one leg while the other was wrapped around the outside of the other. She was stuck holding her in a sort of wheelbarrow style position. There was a moment where the ladies had to be wondering how they were going to handle this situation. Rose had enough sense to simply flatten Bayley to the ground and move along.
#2 Forgetting lines
It has to be difficult to come to another country that speaks a language completely different from your native tongue. Even with this barrier, Asuka has still risen to the top of the card, becoming one of the hottest acts while remaining unbeaten. Her promos are typically still good because they're kept brief and to the point. Unfortunately, WWE tried to push the boundary too far on Raw.
There's nothing wrong with Asuka's pronunciation of English words and she seems to grasp it well enough, so that's not what's at fault here. The problem is that she simply forgot her lines. She noticeably was adding in several pauses because she was trying super hard to remember what to say. She smoothened it all over with a charming smile at the end, which admittedly does get her at least partly off the hook.
Also, there was a brief wardrobe malfunction by the 'Empress of Tomorrow' during Raw. That's not getting covered in this article, so you can search for that on your own time.
#1 Fighting for a shirt
It's always intriguing when a couple of competitors get carried away with themselves and deliver a few legit stiff shots to each other. Usually, moments like that happen inside a match featuring a couple of tough guys like The Bar. However, this instance happened outside of the ring after John Cena tossed his shirt to a couple of dudes in the front row.
The guy in the grey shirt clearly didn't catch the lime green prize but still got stiff and grabby in the heat of the moment. Perhaps he thought the fellow sitting next to him was being greedy. He was sporting the exact same shirt that Cena threw, after all. How many of those does one person need? In the end, the Cena fan held onto the duplicate shirt.
If you're a grown adult and you're ready to get physical over worn and likely sweaty clothing then perhaps you might need to dial it down a notch. Oh, who am I kidding? I'd probably throw down for a Heath Slater "I've Got Kids" shirt.
