5 Surprising moments from Raw and Smackdown Live this week

Now that we are on the road to WrestleMania, Raw and Smackdown Live are starting to heat up with more twists and turns being implemented along the way. While the quality of Raw and Smackdown Live differ drastically from each other, they both have one goal in mind, and that is to build up the Wrestlemania match card.

From shocking moments that alter the state of Wrestlemania this year to booking decisions that don't make a whole lot of sense, this week has been a busy time for the WWE creative team, and now that we are inching closer to Wrestlemania expect things to get even crazier.

As the surprising moments set up, we witnessed from Raw and Smackdown this week sets up a thrilling ride to the showcase of the immortals.

#5 The IIonic's victory

This week on Smackdown Live the WWE Women's Tag Team Champions were on the blue brand as a team for the very first time, as they were sick of hearing Billie Kay and Peyton Royce exclaim that they were ducking them in fear of losing their tag team titles.

So a match between the two teams ensued on the blue brand this week, and while the game was not the full extent of what these two teams can do in the ring, it did provide a surprising moment that raises a lot of questions.

After being distracted by Billie Kay's shenanigans, Peyton took advantage of Sasha Banks and rolled her up for the easy way. This was a decision many didn't see coming as WWE has reasonably protected banks and Bayley in the last few months.

And now that The IIconics have recorded the biggest win of their WWE careers, this undoubtedly means that they will be in line for a title shot, and perhaps that could be at Wrestlemania 35.

#4 Angle's Last Opponent

The career of Kurt Angle is well documented, as this is a man that has contested more legendary matches in the prime of his life than some superstars will have done in their entire career. And we don't need to go on about the most significant moments of Angles career, as there is not enough time to appreciate his achievements in one point of an article, but we would expect WWE to actually to consider that notion.

Just a few weeks ago, Angle had announced he would retire at WrestleMania 35, and that raised a lot of speculation on who will be the wrestler to put an end to the legend's career. Everyone from John Cena to The Undertaker had been considered for this role, but in typical WWE fashion, the WWE creative team gave us what we did not need, and that was Baron Corbin as Angle's last opponent.

This was a decision that had fans shocked, angry and full of frustration, as many believed Corbin is not fit to be Kurt Angle's last opponent. But, many people feel this may be a swerve by WWE and let's hope that it is, as this would be the biggest mistake that WWE can commit at Wrestlemania.

#3 A Blast From The Past

WWE created the Women's Tag Team Titles with the intention of generating more opportunities within the women's division, as the superstars of the Raw and Smackdown Live women's division were struggling to stay relevant outside of the World Title picture.

But now with the tag titles in implementation, we are seeing more tag teams forming and superstars getting the chance to be involved in stable narratives, as teams like The IIconics and the team of Nia Jax and Tamina are some of the superstars that are benefitting from the existence of the Women's Tag Teams Titles.

But if there were one team fans thought they would never see in the WWE again it would be the team that existed before the women's evolution, and that is the team of Natalya and Beth Phoenix. This is a blast from the past no one expected WWE to pull off a move like this, as these are two superstars that are from a forgotten era in women's wrestling, but now they seem to have risen to prominence.

As WWE has given us the indication on Monday Night Raw this week that Beth Phoenix and Natalya will challenge Sasha Banks and Bayley for the Women's Tag Team Titles at Wrestlemania. This was a surprising decision to many fans as many expected Trish Stratus and Lita to be the veteran tag team that challenges for the Women's Tag Titles at Wrestlemania, but WWE has swerved us once again.

#2 Another Huge Mistake

Who would have thought in 2017 that the hottest superstar in WWE would be on the Wrestlemania pre-show just two years later? Braun Strowman might be the most mismanaged superstar in WWE, as WWE's creative team's refusal to commit to Braun Strownman's rise as a future World Champion dented his credibility immensely, which led to his current state.

How can the company not have Wrestlemania plans for Strowman for the third year in a row? As many fans expected Strowman to be involved in some of WWE's most prominent narratives heading into Wrestlemania season, but we were sadly mistaken as on Raw this week we found out what was WWE's plans for the monster.

While this may come as a shock to you, it isn't such a big surprise as some fans knew that the creative team had no intention of creating a compelling narrative for Strownman, but to be thrown into the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal on the Wrestlemania preshow is just ridiculous.

#1 Ronda's Booking

Ronda Rousey's wrestling career has been a roller coaster of a ride as many didn't expect Rousey to make the impact that she did on women's wrestling. Hard strikes, hard talk and a hard character, Rousey has displayed some moments of brilliance during her short run as a main eventer in the WWE.

On Monday Night Raw this week, we saw a surprising side of Ronda that we have not really seen before, a vicious, unforgiving and relentless Rousey was presented as the world class ass-kicker that she truly is. Many knew going into Rousey's title defence with Dana Brooke that there was no chance Rousey was going to drop her title to Brooke, but no one knew the type of beat down Rousy was going to inflict on Brooke, the referees and the security.

What was even more surprising was the fact that Rousey's husband got physically involved in the altercation, which leaves an important question lingering, will Rousey's husband have a role to play come Wrestlemania. Well, we just have to wait and find out.