WWE Roadblock is officially in the books, and it provided us with several positive things to talk about. For one, there were a few title changes that were definitely needed. Cesaro & Sheamus were the fresh faces to capture the Tag Team Championships in a fun opening match, while Charlotte regained the Raw Women’s Championship in the final contest (for now, at least) of her feud with Sasha Banks.
The Tag Division was very overdue for a title switch and Charlotte is simply the best competitor in the Women’s Division right now. The right people left with the belts.
In addition to the title changes, there were also several fun spots including Braun Strowman playing human wrecking ball with a barricade and a semi-Shield reunion for the sake of Powerbombing everybody’s favourite best friends. This was a show that had no shortage of highlights, and that always makes for a solid night of wrestling.
Even though there were many good things to like about Roadblock, there were definitely a few not-so-positive things to sift through as well. A few of these moments include when the crowd gave the destruction of the Cruiserweight Division a roaring ovation, some thought-provoking trash talk while Kevin Owens was in chin lock city, and a gruesomely bloody grill sported by the now-former Raw Women’s Champion.
So get ready for stuff that WWE might wish they could take back as we dive into the botches, slip ups, and outrageous moments from the final Pay-Per-View of the year. First up are the Cruiserweights...
#5 Sasha’s bloody face
It took a few rewinds to find out what exactly happened but it appeared that the very first roll-up in overtime, is what caused Sasha Bank’s face to turn bloody. Charlotte’s heel connected with Sasha and that’s all it took. For the rest of the time remaining in the contest, Sasha looked gruesome.
The bloodiness of this innocent slip up added so much character for this last match in this rivalry. Astonishingly, the announcers never once addressed the blood. It was this weird elephant in the room that the producers in Cole & Co.’s ear must’ve been instructing them to not talk about.
#4 “Thank you, Neville”
WWE’s Cruiserweight Division has been tepid at best since coming to Raw and desperately needed something new to spice things up. Neville returned after the Triple Threat contest for Rich Swann’s title, and he was there to make a statement.
As Neville assaulted the competitors, the crowd showed their appreciation by loudly thanking him. Pittsburgh’s appreciation is shared by much of the WWE fanbase, who have been subjected to the terrible botch that has been the entire presentation of this class of wrestlers.
They were so good and talented in the Cruiserweight Classic, yet Raw’s creative has been clueless over what to do with them. Here’s hoping that Neville can help correct the mistakes made thus far.
#3 Roadblock fan reaction of the night
Are these fan reactions plants? They have to be. There were several close-ups of faces that were just a tad too over-the-top, including this guy who was seen during the first third of the Women’s Ironman Match. There hadn’t yet been any falls, and there was still over 20 minutes remaining on the clock, yet his eyes were straight bugging out of his head.
If this were this guy’s face during overtime when Sasha was all bloody, that would be way more believable. I’m calling plants on at least some of these people.
#2 KO makes a valid point
The longest reigning Universal Champion makes sense here. Why wasn’t Roman Reign’s United States Championship on the line? Kevin Owens had to defend his title, so he had quite a lot on the line. However, Roman had everything to gain and nothing to lose.
The Big Dog should think about defending that strap of his a little more often, especially in these big match situations. Title vs. Title could’ve looked cool on the marquee, Roman.
#1 Jump higher, Rich!
Either Rich Swann didn’t jump high enough, or Brian Kendrick needed to duck a little lower. Either way, it looked like The Outlandish One was attempting a clothesline using his quadricep muscles.
I feel like I might be a little hard on the poor Cruiserweight Division by starting this list out with a botch from their match but then I think of Neville’s return and what he did to the three guys in Cruiserweight Title picture and realise I'm not being that mean at all. Since when did Neville get so vicious anyway? Speaking of The Man That Gravity Forgot...
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