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Ultimate Deletion is one week away, Braun Strowman single-handedly destroyed an entire division of tag teams to earn a title match at WrestleMania, and John Cena gave a stellar promo that gave hope that one more Undertaker match could happen and maybe it won't be terrible. These were among several highlights to this week's Raw. It was a show that wasn't heavy on great in-ring action but was nevertheless mostly entertaining.
With the good also comes the bad and there were several botch-tastic moments from the night. A few of them were highlighted in this article, including when Curtis Axel had difficulty eliminating Dash Wilder during the main event battle royal, Roman Reign suffered a backfire during this hopeful drive to 'Mania as a fan favourite, and Jonathon Coachman may not be able to identify Bo Dallas in a lineup. All of these and more will be dissected, so let's dive right into a misfire by The Boss against Sonya Deville.
#5 Sasha's glancing blow
The long story of what will happen to the most likely un-salvageable friendship between Sasha Banks and Bayley may be the most pressing issue for those two, but that didn't change the fact that The Boss had to face Sonya Deville in singles competition. That match featured this knee attempt by Sasha from the apron that mostly missed the mark.
There was a noticeable gap between Sasha's knee and any part of Sonya's body, so much so that Corey Graves tried to cover for it by calling it a "glancing blow" that was at least "enough to daze her momentarily." Losing Bayley's friendship must really be messing with Banks' head. At least Bayley hung around long enough to prevent Absolution from an unfair victory.
#4 A pop for Roman's suspension
When Renee Young tried to get clarification regarding the closed-door meeting between Vince McMahon and Roman Reigns, the Detroit crowd could be heard chanting "We Can't Hear You." Vince's voice was fine for the at-home audience, but the paid attendees could not say the same thing.
One thing they did at least hear loud and clear was when the CEO of WWE announced that Roman Reigns was temporarily suspended. Despite doing their best to present him as the hero in the build to WrestleMania, a loud reaction was heard from the crowd. While it did sound like some boos were in the midst, it mostly sounded like a pop.
Hopefully, WWE realizes that the plan to make people finally cheer for Roman at WrestleMania isn't working like they hoped for. If they stay the course, Brock vs. Roman may expect more of a Brock vs. Goldberg from WrestleMania XX response, one in which both guys get jeered heavily.
#3 Caught on the ropes
Braun Strowman may have decimated the entire tag team division during the main event of Raw, but The Revival did not suffer any eliminations at the hands of The Monster Among Men. Their WrestleMania Tag Title hopes instead ended thanks to The Miz's pals, Bo Dallas & Curtis Axel. Bo sent Scott Dawson over the top rope after side-stepping his charge. However, Curtis had greater trouble ridding Dash Wilder.
The Ax-man failed to throw out the remaining Revival member on his first attempt. Dash got caught on the ropes, buying himself a few brief seconds more in the match. He didn't use that as an opportunity to collect himself because Axel didn't give him any such chance. One more hurl was all it took for Dawson & Wilder to get completely eliminated from this contest.
#2 A Triple Threat what?
MizTV became an effort by The Miz to turn his upcoming WrestleMania opponents against each other. He used all of his cunningness to protect his Intercontinental Championship from both Finn Balor and Seth Rollins, but they wouldn't fall for his tricks. For this highlight, Seth tried to call him out for this very act but flubbed his lines in the process.
Rollins rebounded without much trouble and continued on with the promo segment. The Miz eventually received a thumping by Balor, then Finn took a stiff strike from Seth. Balor later had the last laugh when he defeated Rollins in one on one competition. Momentum is currently on his side.
#1 Bo is not Rhyno
It probably takes a while to shake off whatever rust commentators accumulate after an extended break from wrestling. Jonathan Coachman demonstrated that he wasn't quite as sharp as he used to be when he inadvertently called Bo Dallas by the wrong name. Both Miztourage members tried their best to send Braun Strowman over the top rope as The Coach pondered whether or not Rhyno was about to punch his ticket to WrestleMania.
After being immediately corrected by his colleagues, Coachman defended himself by saying that Bo looked like Rhyno from the back. He's not completely off base with the physical comparison but he still should've been more aware of who was still in the match.
Corey Graves also referenced Jonathan's post-ESPN endeavours when he asked him if he was on Periscope again. The Coach tried to blame the camera operators for his botch but Michael Cole put a stop to that.
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