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A new year, a new Raw? Well maybe not, as this week's episode of Raw did not live up to the monumental targets it set, but there was still some good booking prevalent in the show, as WWE is making small steps towards making the product good again, and even if the terrible outweighs the good we can still hope things will get better on the flagship show.
From a new contender for Ronda Rousey's title being decided to Seth Rollins proving why he is truly the hottest star in the company right now, Raw had its fair share of moments that set up some pretty good television for next week.
#1 A good opening
The opening segments of Monday Night Raw have not been great over the last few years, as the 'authority' segment, locker room brawls and unnecessary shenanigans are things that really dominated the broadcast, this week we got something familiar to that, but it was not all that bad. As Seth Rollins and Bobby Lashley's feud got out of hand, as they decided to take one another out in a chaotic brawl.
While this brawl could have been much crazier than it actually was, Seth Rollins was a busy man on Raw this week, so it's understandable. Also, the main reason why this worked was due to Rollins character arc at the moment; he is a loose cannon that will take out anybody in his way to reach the main event.
#2 Finn picks up steam
Finn Balor is one of the most underused stars in WWE right now, and that is not a surprising thing as WWE have shown fans in the past that they have no intention of making Finn a top-tier star in the WWE.
But after a few rumours got out that Balor is in line for a push his fortune as changed, as Balor is on a roll as of late and this week that continued. Balor teamed with Rollins and Cena to take on the team of Bobby Lashley, Drew McIntyre, and Dean Ambrose.
Balor looked impressive in this match as he helped his team to pick up a valuable win, as this win puts Balor on a hot streak, and with the Royal Rumble coming up, Balor is one of the odds-on favourites to win the entire match. Moreover, after his performance last year in the Royal Rumble, it would be a mistake if WWE didn't use him properly.
#3 Sasha cashes in her ticket to the rumble
Alexa Bliss debuted her new show this week on Raw, and for the fans that were expecting this to be the new Highlight Reel, well, one could say it was not that bad, as Bliss was entertaining in her role while her guest Ronda Rousey was not that convincing on the mic. While Rousey stills needs a lot of work on the mic, her promo was quite interesting, as she put over Sasha Banks big time.
And this prompted everyone's 'favourite' Nia Jax to come out and deliver another channel changing promo, Jax took Rousey's words as an offence as she feels she is so much better than Banks. This would prompt Banks to come out and request a match between the two of them to determine who will face Rousey for the title at the Royal Rumble. After a back and forth bout Banks picked up a hard-fought win.
Banks vs Rousey will certainly be a nice change of pace as superstars like Banks, Charlotte, and Becky Lynch are perfect opponents to carry Rousey to a great match, and at the Royal Rumble that would be the case as well.
#4 Seth 'freakin' Rollins is on fire
There are a few things that wrestling fans actually look forward to on Monday Night Raw, the first being Seth Rollins tearing it up in the ring, second is Seth Rollins being an absolute genius on the mic and the last thing to look forward to is Seth Rollins being Seth 'freakin' Rollins.
You get the point, Rollins is the only superstar on the red brand that seems to get better as each week passes, and this week he was truly the man of the moment. From beating the hell out of Bobby Lashley to start the show to then proceeding to steal the show with his performance in the six-man tag team match, and then taking Dean Ambrose to the limit in the main event, what cant this man do?
Rollins is truly WWE's best bet for Raw's bright future, and he should be the man to take on Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship.
#5 A great main event
This was the match that Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins needed to have at TLC 2018, as the boring snoozefest these two men had at the event destroyed their feud. But this second chance to craft something truly awesome was the right decision by WWE, as these men really crafted a hard-hitting affair.
From broken tables to flying ladders this match has some truly awesome moments, but it was ultimately ruined by Bobby Lashley costing Seth the chance to regain the IC Title. While it was a cheap decision, it did give fans some clue of the future of WWE's plans, as this could be Rollins wrapping up his feud with Ambrose and now he looks forward to bigger things.
