This was not a Raw filled with action, really. This was more of a prelude to the action, that’s going to hit us in the coming weeks, presumably at Hell in A Cell and Survivor Series. The calm before the storm if you will. Raw came to us from the Oracle Arena in Oakland, CA.
While we were excited to see how Hell in A Cell Builds Up; the real news this week was that Paul Heyman would address the comments made by Bill Goldberg on ESPN, in which he challenged Brock Lesnar to a rematch many years later. Let’s find out exactly what transpired this week, in our recap of the ‘Best and Worst of Raw’.
THE GOOD: Here’s what we liked about today’s show:
#1 A huge return planned for next week
Paul Heyman came out and made it official. The Beast collides with The Myth in an icon vs icon match once again, most likely at Survivor Series. And to kick off the proceedings, Bill Goldberg returns to Raw after 12 years, next week. It’s bad form to begin this week’s recap with next week’s news, but hey, it’s the biggest bit of news in forever.
Whatever your opinion of Goldberg may be, this is truly monumental news indeed. This is awesome!
#2 Totally blistering main event
There really wasn’t a lot of memorable wrestling in today’s episode of Raw. But there was an awe-inspiring main event, by two of the best workers in the industry right now. Chris Jericho and Seth Rollins tore the house down, with Kevin Owens providing ample support on the outside.
The stipulation that Jericho would join the main event at Hell in A Cell, were he to win, made it all the more interesting really. Sadly, Jericho won’t be part of the merry gang inside the cell, but for what it’s worth, this match was a worthy main event.
Kudos to Rollins for also dropping the word ‘obsolete’, and making the WWE Universe chant ‘Delete! Delete! Delete!’
#3 New feuds were made official
Whether it was The Club interrupting Enzo and Cass’ match against the odd pairing of Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel, or Dana Brooke attacking Bayley from behind, or Braun Strowman asking for a serious opponent in the weeks that follow, the seeds of great feuds have been planted that will culminate at Hell in A Cell.
Each of them, so far, is a non-title feud, but still interesting enough to stack up the mid card at Hell in A Cell, or Raw in the coming weeks for sure.
#4 Historic matches at Hell in A Cell
Three matches at the Hell in A Cell pay-per-view will happen inside ‘Hell in A Cell’. These are Roman Reigns vs Rusev for the U.S. Heavyweight Championship, Seth Rollins vs Kevin Owens for the WWE Universal Championship, and for the first time ever, Sasha Banks vs Charlotte for the WWE Raw Women’s Championship.
We’re really happy for all the performers involved, especially the girls. This announcement does count as the highlight of this show!
#5 Sin Cara joined the Cruiserweight Division
We had seen a clear divide between the Cruiserweights in the roster, and the main roster talent. Sin Cara was the first wrestler to jump to the purple division. This really gives him something to do, and we hope this brings wrestlers like Neville, Sami Zayn and Xavier Woods to the division as well...to lend it more credibility.
THE WORST: And here’s what we didn’t like about the show today
#1 A ‘heel’ authority figure is a total buzz-kill
We love watching Smackdown Live every week, because Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon are the first babyface authority figures in a while, who give the fans what they want. While Stephanie McMahon does play a detestable heel, her very presence and negativity make Raw a total chore to watch.
Sure, we know that we’re building to a power struggle between her and Mick Foley, but as of today...she is boring.
#2 Botches in the ring
The talent in the current Raw roster is really deep and they rarely, if ever, both moves. Today was an exception to the rule, with both Kofi Kingston, and even Bayley botching some basic wrestling moves. We’re sure this was a one-off for both talents. To make matters worse, even Seth Rollins botched a springboard knee in the main event.
IN CONCLUSION: This wasn’t a bad Raw at all, and we did not feel the 3 hours pass by, as much as we do otherwise. This image helped too!
