5 key talking points from WWE Raw (19 February, 2018)

WWE Raw is all about memorable moments, and it’s fair to say nobody is going to forget the 19 February 2018 episode of the show in a hurry.

The first two hours were taken up by a record-breaking gauntlet match which divided fans on social media, with some thinking it went on far too long and others feeling it was the perfect way to set up Sunday’s Elimination Chamber match.

The final hour featured promos from Asuka, Bray Wyatt and Matt Hardy, plus two tag matches, and whether people liked it or not, the show certainly made for a surprising change to what we’ve come to expect on Monday nights.

In this article, we take a look at five key talking points from the episode.

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#5 Longest match in Raw history!

Seth Rollins spent 65 minutes in the match, which was won by Braun Strowman

When WWE announced in advance that Monday’s episode of Raw would feature a gauntlet match, one imagined it would last quite a while, maybe taking up the last hour of the show.

We didn’t, however, expect the non-stop seven-man match, involving Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, John Cena, Elias, Finn Balor, The Miz and Braun Strowman, to kick off the show and last an incredible 97 minutes from bell to bell, making it the longest match in the history of Raw (even though, technically, it was more than one match).

The previous longest Raw match came in July 2004 when Chris Benoit successfully defended the World Heavyweight Championship in a 60-minute Ironman match against Triple H.

#4 Ronda Rousey is ready for the squared circle!

Triple H revealed in a conference call before the Royal Rumble that Ronda Rousey has been training in pro wrestling “on the side” for the best part of four years, so it’s safe to say she’s going to be ready for action by the time WrestleMania 34 comes around.

WWE fans were given a glimpse of what the MMA star can do inside a squared circle on this week’s Raw when a promotional video showed her running the ropes, hitting a suplex and locking in an armbar during training.

The reaction to Ronda’s name being mentioned on WWE programming has been mixed over the last few weeks, so it’ll be interesting to see how the Las Vegas crowd greets her when she signs her contract at Elimination Chamber on Sunday.

#3 Finishers mean very little in modern-day WWE

John Cena's Attitude Adjustment isn't the force it once was

Once upon a time, the finishers executed by WWE’s top Superstars were well protected and we only saw people kick out of somebody’s trademark move on rare occasions, like SummerSlam, WrestleMania or the main event of another pay-per-view.

Nowadays, however, finishing moves don’t seem to count for quite as much, and the talking point was raised again on this week’s Raw when, for the second week in a row, John Cena’s go-to Attitude Adjustment finisher was unable to put away his opponent (The Miz last week, Seth Rollins this week).

The list of best-protected finishers in modern-day WWE right now is very short. Outside of Roman Reigns’ spear and Brock Lesnar’s F5, the only certain moves to end a match appear to be Seth Rollins’ Blackout and Randy Orton’s RKO.

#2 Which title will Asuka challenge for?

Asuka was attacked by Nia Jax on Raw

When Asuka was celebrating her historic win after the first-ever women’s Royal Rumble match in January, she was given the choice to challenge for either the Raw or SmackDown Women’s Championship at WrestleMania 34.

However, Ronda Rousey appeared just as Asuka was about to make her decision and, while it’s been announced that Nia Jax will be added to the Raw Women’s title match at ‘Mania if she defeats “The Empress of Tomorrow” at Elimination Chamber, we still don’t know which title the Rumble winner has set her sights on.

WWE’s announcers stated once again on this week’s Raw, which saw Nia attack her Chamber opponent during an in-ring interview, that Asuka will have “a championship match” in New Orleans this April, which opens up the possibility that she could switch to SmackDown Live to take on Charlotte Flair.

#1 Seth Rollins sets new pinfall record

Roman Reigns has now been pinned 23 times in televised matches

John Cena and Roman Reigns are notoriously difficult to defeat clean and via pinfall – so much so that only nine men have pinned them both in WWE history – but Seth Rollins was able to do the unthinkable and pin both of them clean in the gauntlet match on Raw.

The statisticians among you may find it interesting to know that Rollins has now picked up more pinfall wins over Reigns (5) than any other WWE Superstar, breaking the record that he previously held with Bray Wyatt (4).

“The Kingslayer”, who also set the record for the most time spent in a match on Raw (65 minutes), has now pinned Reigns three times on Raw (March 2015, August 2016 and February 2018), as well as at WrestleMania 31 and Money In The Bank 2016.