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Last week saw a clear step in the right direction for Monday Night Raw. This week, it was imperative that WWE continue that momentum, to demonstrate to fans that have lost faith in the product that the ship was finally turning around. That this week's episode was a go home show made it even that much more important.
Unfortunately, the company failed on almost every measure. This week's episode of Monday Night Raw was more of the same. More meaningless matches. More Shane McMahon shenanigans. More "wild card" nonsense throughout the show. More duds.
The show failed to generate any excitement for Extreme Rules (which it could have easily done because Sunday's show actually has a decent card). It's going to be very interesting indeed given that the pay per view is only a day after All Elite Wrestling's latest show, Fight for the Fallen. This was not the foot WWE should have wanted to put forward ahead of a competitive weekend.
Did anyone manage to get anything out of this show? Who got the least out of it?
Losers: Zelina Vega and Andrade
Sure, there was no way that Zelina and Andrade could or should have defeated the team of Becky Lynch and Seth Rollins ahead of their Extreme Rules match. Unfortunately, that just telegraphs the point about Andrade's career on the main roster (which Zelina is attached to). He's there to make the bigger guys look good. He's a jobber to the stars.
This match was just more of the same for him and his fortunes. It's difficult to see him breaking through the glass ceiling hanging over his head anytime soon, which is a shame because he's capable of a lot more, and doesn't have any promo problems because of the presence of Zelina Vega.
Losers: The Revival
The Revival are once again tag team champions. They're once again losing non-title matches, which is the norm for most of WWE's titleholders. Maybe these two still haven't signed those new contracts. I wouldn't blame them.
That they took a pin from The Usos suggests that these two teams are going to have a match at SummerSlam together, which should be awesome if the company lets them go without any of the usual nonsense. Unfortunately, that isn't a guarantee. They sure do love ruining good things.
Winner: Cesaro
Cesaro getting a squash match suggests that there are bigger plans in store for him. I think those plans are to lose to Aleister Black at Extreme Rules, even though they're supposed to be on separate brands. So this probably doesn't mean anything in the long term.
For this week though, it at least opens up the possibility that there are bigger plans in place for Cesaro. Maybe we'll all be surprised on Sunday and it isn't Cesaro that "knocked on Aleister Black's door."
Winner: Ricochet
Ricochet defeating both Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson was a nice touch that really builds up his credibility. This is how champions are supposed to be booked and Ricochet remains the surprising success story of this year's NXT call ups.
After the match, the two and AJ Styles laid out Ricochet and stood tall over him, suggesting that this feud still has long life left in it. No one should be complaining about that. It's one of the few consistently good things on Monday Night Raw these days. Ricochet has a good claim for being the Red brand's MVP of 2019.
Winner: Nikki Cross
Though this wasn't executed well, Nikki Cross' entrance into the title match at Extreme Rules should mean that she's about to vault onto the next stage of her career. Though a victory on Sunday is unlikely, this match should mean the beginning of the end of her alliance with Alexa Bliss, who is acting as the gatekeeper on her push right now.
If Cross beats Bliss, she'll cement herself as one of the stronger players in the women's division.
Loser: Cedric Alexander
The Shane McMahon show claims another victim.
For a little while, "Gary Garbutt" impressed in this tag team match, despite the ridiculousness of the act. Then he lost without fanfare to a Claymore from Drew McIntyre.
So what was the point of any of this?
It's easy to see why Cedric Alexander misses 205 Live. There, he was once the ace of the brand and put on showcases with the likes of Buddy Murphy. Now? He's dressing in a mask and then losing like a meaningless cog.
It's all another good advertisement that the main roster "promotion" isn't all that it's cracked up to be and why an increasing number of fans don't want to see their favorites leave the "smaller" stages of NXT and 205 Live. Cedric Alexander is yet another example.
Does anybody remember that Buddy Murphy still exists? That would be another example of waste.
