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Matt Hardy's Broken Brilliance finally invaded WWE in its fullest capacity. For many, this was the moment we've all been waiting for. But even as great as it was to see a proper battle at the Hardy Compound with Senor Benjamin, Vanguard 1, and the entire gang, it still paled in comparison to the previously off-the-charts wackiness that's been offered.
Maybe this reserved step back was merely a chance to re-introduce this peculiar universe to a wider audience? Or maybe it suffered slightly from having Michael Cole chump it out right before it aired? Cole definitely didn't try to help it out with his snide remarks, whether that was his personal call or the recitation of the voices barking in his ear.
There were tons of posts of praise on social media for the Ultimate Deletion, so maybe any disappointment is solely the position of this author and nobody else's. That's fine if so, so this is the end of criticisms from an otherwise well-executed departure from the norm.
As for the rest of the broadcast, there was the usual share of missteps and flubbed lines. Kurt Angle, The Miz, and even the outlaw Roman Reigns have their moments in a spotlight that nobody wants shined on them. So without further delay, here are the botchiest and most outrageous moments from Raw.
#5 Sort of a tag
The Revival may be tag team mechanics, but their chemistry was off just a hair during this tag attempt. The two were facing off against Titus Worldwide when Apollo Crews lifted Scott Dawson up into the air. Scott blindly reached an arm backwards, expecting Dash Wilder to tag himself in.
Wilder definitely swatted at his partner's hand, but it appeared that contact never happened. The Coach even remarked that this was "barely a tag" from commentary. Dawson & Wilder went on to defeat O'Neil & Crews, an ending that they'd have every right to dispute after seeing this non-tag.
#4 Prince who?
Before his 6-man tag match alongside his Miztourage buddies against The Balor Club, The Miz talked about the lack of respect he's been getting lately. He showed a WrestleMania magazine that lacked his face on the cover and complained about the potential of losing his Intercontinental Title without being pinned in his upcoming triple threat match against Seth Rollins and Finn Balor.
The Miz also addressed Balor and Rollins by their pre-WWE names, or at least he tried. He mispronounced Devitt, which happens to be Finn's real last name. Despite being a botch, this actually worked in the context of the promo. Miz talked down to their bingo hall days, so not being an expert on pre-WWE monikers fits with his angst.
#3 Roman Reigns committed a felony
Judging by the storyline progression from this episode of Raw, it appears that WWE still thinks that they're booking Roman Reigns as a babyface leading into WrestleMania. A couple of plot devices contradicted their intentions, one of which was this attack by Roman Reigns against a few U.S. Marshals who in no way look like indie wrestlers playing dress up at all.
Reigns can be heard telling one of the fellows that he knew he was just doing his job. It's hard to think of Roman as being a man of the people if he'd whoop some average joes so easily.
The other plot point that didn't help Roman's pursuit to be the hero that we all deserve is that Brock Lesnar went savage on him. Broc can be cool when he does stuff like that and that was the case here, at the expense of whatever likability Roman has. Reigns is still on pace for massive boos at Mania, whether WWE wants to admit it or not.
#2 Tongue tied Kurt
It's not a good idea to go into Raw General Manager Kurt Angle's office and make demands, especially on a night that Roman Reigns somewhat got arrested. Already perturbed about how the opening segment turned out, he was determined to not take any lip from Women's Champion Alexa Bliss.
After telling Bliss that he wasn't going to arrest Nia Jax, he tried to tell her that he saw her disgusting comments from one week prior. Kurt stumbled over his words a little before telling Bliss that even his daughters heard her shameful comments. Before leaving, he informed Alexa that she'd be defending her title in a singles match against Jax at WrestleMania.
#1 Miz's DDT
The Miz tagged himself into the action during the Miztourage vs Balor Club multi-man tag match and went right for Karl Anderson. He kicked him in the gut to drop him to his knees, then went for a DDT in that position like he's done hundreds, if not thousands, of times before.
Somehow, Anderson's head slipped out of the grip of MIz's arm. Miz flopped to the ground noticeably before the Good Brother. Karl still sold the impact, even though there was a delay compared to the person administering the manoeuvre.
Balor Club went on to win this match but fell subject to a post-match beatdown. Thankfully for them, Seth Rollins was close by and ran to the rescue.
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