Raw has had its shining moments in the past few weeks. Unfortunately, this week the show dipped in quality and failed to deliver a compelling program. Live from the Resch Center in Green Bay, Wisconsin; Raw went downhill after a pretty good opening segment.
No match was really compelling and there was a lot more filler tonight than we’ve seen in recent weeks. Let’s take you to the heart of the matter and tell you why this Raw episode did not work for us. Presenting our weekly countdown.
#1 Worst: CM Punk chants
CM Punk was certainly one of the best things about WWE in recent years. Unfortunately, he’s gone and will not be returning anytime soon. Unfortunately, the crowd still dwells on the past and ruins promising segments with CM Punk chants, quite frequently.
What should have been a touching promo from Seth Rollins was bombarded with CM Punk chants. Thankfully, professional that he is, Rollins did not lose his composure. To make matters worse, the Green Bay crowd was way more silent than they had any right to be, sucking all the energy out of the show. Can those annoying chants stop already?
#1 Best: Rollins may be back for Wrestlemania 33
We believe that WWE is uncertain whether Rollins will be cleared in time for Wrestlemania 33. From the promo, however, it looked like things would fall in place. Triple H cut a very passionate promo and Rollins fired back on all cylinders.
We could be wrong but it looks like Joe is also being primed to be Rollins’ replacement in case he doesn’t make it to Wrestlemania. We sure hope he does, though. Missing two Wrestlemanias in a row can’t be fun.
#2 Worst: Everyone buries Mick Foley
As fans of the man, it is really disrespectful to see how Mick Foley gets treated on WWE Television. Stephanie McMahon has a segment every week in which she talks about just how inept he is.
This week she was joined in her quest by Samoa Joe and Braun Strowman too. So, in three segments Mick Foley got yelled at by three different talents. How demeaning, really!
The worst part about this is that Foley will be written off TV in the coming weeks because he needs surgery. So there won’t be a chance for retribution either. What is the whole point of this burial then?
#2 Best: Owens as an evil, vicious heel
Gone is the Kevin Owens of the past that would get the crowd to pop with jokes and jibes. In his place, we have an evil, calculating heel who will do his best to take Goldberg down. We think that if any version of Owens had a chance, it is this one and not the former incarnation.
This Owens seems like he means business and is not looking for a pop from the crowd. The saddest thing about this whole scenario is that we’ll see very little of this vicious heel before Goldberg strips him of the Universal Title soon on Fastlane (if rumours can be believed.)
#3 Worst: WWE mocks The Oscars
The moment it happened, we knew WWE was going to put its own spin on it the following night on Raw. The New Day were supposed to face The Shining Stars but sadly they’d read from the wrong card.
Their opponents were actually Rusev and Jinder Mahal. Nobody in the crowd popped for this joke, perhaps because they knew these segments mattered even less than the Cruiserweight ones.
The match was what it was, but it really seems like WWE has no direction for New Day. Because of this joke, we also had to endure a pointless Shining Stars vs. Big Show handicap match.
#3 Best: The brawl at the end
Hey, it wasn’t the Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels street fight but it was better than Natalya vs. Nikki Bella on Smackdown Live last week. The contract signing between Braun Strowman and Roman Reigns, as expected, resulted in a fight between the two men where they brawled into the crowd as well.
There were some cool spots, including Roman Reigns spearing Strowman through the barricade, taking out ring security. Strowman pushing Reigns into the turnbuckle, bringing it crashing down to the floor was just the icing on the cake. Let’s be optimistic and hope they’ll have a good match at Fastlane, this Sunday.
WWE has better Pay-per-views than shows and we're certain Fastlane will be a power-packed one. For now, we leave you with Charly Caruso looking gorgeous.
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