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After a lackluster road to WrestleMania, Raw for the first time actually delivered an episode that felt like it would be worthy of such a build. With the announcement of Roman Reigns' return, we knew we were in for something notable, but what we got exceeded those expectations.
Who got the most and least out of last night's show?
Winner: Roman Reigns
It seemed incredulous to think that Roman Reigns would be announced for the show unless he had good news to share. His news was better than expected. To a raucous ovation, he announced that his cancer is not only in remission, but that he's been cleared to return to action.
Later in the night, the Shield reunited once again in favor of Dean Ambrose.
Where Roman Reigns goes from here is still anyone's guess. His return might also negatively effect Seth Rollins' prospects of winning the Universal Championship on April 7th, which would be another disaster.
But all of that is in the future. This was instantly one of the year's most memorable segments and if WWE plays their cards right, they will solidify the crowd finally getting behind Roman Reigns. There's a reason to care about him now that the company could never have manufactured themselves.
Losers: The Revival
For the second week in a row, the tag team champions lost to the new NXT debutantes. This certainly devalues the Raw tag team titles, although their credibility was in the gutter anyway. Even as champions, it's hard to ever take the Revival seriously.
Pairing Aleister Black and Ricochet together is more concerning, as these two should not be randomly stuck together. They should be mainstays in the upper mid card and main event. However, they are teaming in the forthcoming Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic episodes on NXT, so I'll give this a pass for now.
Winner: Ronda Rousey
Ronda Rousey has felt too much like the third wheel in this program, as the Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair feud has extended into territory where fans feel it doesn't belong. That started to change last night. Granted, the first part of this was a generic pull-apart brawl where Becky Lynch was arrested. It would be great if we didn't see it so many times before.
What was really notable was Rousey delivering one of her career best promos on Stephanie McMahon, demanding that Lynch get reinstated to WrestleMania so that she could get her hands on her.
The promo played up the rumors that Rousey would be leaving after April 7th, as she told Stephanie McMahon that she couldn't just keep expecting to throw money at her and keep her coming back. She even called the title, somewhat accurately, a "gaudy accessory."
This was a good step in bringing Rousey back to relevance.
Losers: Kurt Angle and Jinder Mahal
Remember - less than two years ago, Jinder Mahal reigned as WWE Champion for six months. Now, he's back to the place the cynics said he would always be.
While Mahal won't have a prominent WrestleMania match, Kurt Angle might. If the olympian is on his way to retirement, as the narrative of his washed up career seems to suggest, then why would he pick up a victory here?
Perhaps it's to look strong enough for somebody else to get a bigger rub. However, this still felt like a filler regardless of anything else.
Loser: Braun Strowman
Is there anyone more irrelevant now than Braun Strowman? Last week, he was in a nothing match with Baron Corbin. This time, he was in a filler match with Bobby Lashley that ended in a draw. Maybe the company wants to extend the program, but it hardly feels WrestleMania worthy, not enough to take a spot on the card from somebody else.
Will Drew McIntyre be the next to get put into a meaningless match with Strowman?
Winner: Batista
Last night was supposed to be Ric Flair's birthday celebration. Everyone expected to see Becky Lynch crash it. We got something else instead. Credit to WWE, this time, the swerve was well-done.
Batista made sure that the "Nature Boy" wouldn't even make it to the ring, as he laid his former Evolution mentor out backstage, after a touching video package to celebrate his career.
This means that a WrestleMania clash, a rematch from WrestleMania 21, is in the works. It means Triple H will be cleared in time. It means Batista will be with the company again at least for a little bit.
Although it might not be the most exciting choice, given that it again relies on the presence of part-timers, for others, it's a welcome program. WWE also got the feud started off on more than the right foot. Actual effort was put into this and that's often hard to come by.
