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WWE RAW delivered a disappointing show once again. There were very few positives, including a face turn, a new tag team, and a massive change in the WWE Championship scheduled for WrestleMania Backlash. The rest of the segments were average and hardly benefitted any of the top talents that were involved.
In this article, we will take a look at superstars who impressed us on WWE RAW this week and those who didn’t.
#1 Impressed on WWE RAW: Randy Orton
Tonight’s episode of WWE RAW had a handful of redeeming moments, and Randy Orton was responsible for half of them. He had a great match against Riddle on the Red brand last week. As it turns out, Riddle’s performance impressed The Viper enough for him to consider the former’s proposal to form a tag team, R-K-Bro.
During a backstage segment on WWE RAW, Orton said that he would team up with Riddle if they beat the former tag team champions Shelton Benjamin and Cedric Alexander. The four superstars then locked horns in the most entertaining match of the night, and Randy Orton looked brilliant throughout the match.
He dominated both his opponents with ease and put on a ridiculously amusing display inside the ring. Orton was brutal, but his timing with Riddle was remarkably efficient. The two worked well together as a tag team, but The Viper stole the show. At one point, his devastating powerslam on Benjamin had the latter lie motionless in the middle of the ring for a few seconds.
In the closing moments of the match, Orton was stalking Benjamin as he prepared to deliver an RKO. Alexander decided to interfere with a dive off the top rope. However, Riddle alerted Orton right in time for him to deliver an RKO mid-air that took Alexander out of the equation. He then hit a draping DDT on Benjamin and tagged Riddle into the match. The former United States Champion then delivered a Floating Bro to seal the match on WWE RAW.
The match also confirmed Orton’s face turn. Fans are excited to see two superstars with polarizing personalities working together as a tag team. Their interactions were hilarious, and they are expected to have an entertaining run on WWE RAW. It will be exciting to see what is in store for R-K-Bro on the Red brand going forward.
#1 Flopped on WWE RAW: Elias
This week on WWE RAW, Elias teamed up with Jaxson Ryker and The Miz to take on Kofi Kingston, Xavier Woods, and Damian Priest. This match was way too long and got tedious after a while. The match had sporadic action-packed moments. Unfortunately, Elias got the worst of it as he came across as the weakest performer in the match.
Despite looking like a strong contender against all three of his opponents, Elias’ role was mostly limited to putting over Priest. He deserves credit for doing the job well, but the creative should invest more in his character on WWE RAW. It has been a long time since he picked up a good win on the Red brand. Instead, he constantly falls prey to weak bookings on the show.
The budding feud between Elias and Ryker and The New Day can account for a good rivalry on WWE RAW. This would allow the creative to explore Elias and Ryker’s potential as a tag team. The latter has had his fair share of impressive moments inside the ring and can use a good run alongside The Drifter. Hopefully, we will see them involved in more matches that can help in showcasing their strength.
#2 Impressed on WWE RAW: Braun Strowman
Braun Strowman and Drew McIntyre teamed up on WWE RAW to face T-Bar and Mace this week. The two superstars then faced each other in the show's main event to deliver an entertaining clash between the two powerhouses. Eventually, Strowman emerged victoriously and won an opportunity to challenge Bobby Lashley for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania Backlash.
Strowman and McIntyre delivered a well-balanced match that saw them both take an equal amount of punishment. At one point in the match, The Monster Among Men delivered a suplex off the top rope and surprised the viewers. He even had creative counters for McIntyre’s Claymore. Despite interferences from MVP, Bobby Lashley, T-Bar, and Mace, Strowman fought well for his title shot on WWE RAW.
The WWE Championship match at WrestleMania Backlash will now be a triple-threat battle featuring Lashley, McIntyre, and Strowman. The Monster Among Men deserved this opportunity, especially after undergoing a complete transformation and working on his in-ring skills to go up against the most agile monsters on WWE RAW. Lashley will now have to battle against two equally threatening challengers at the upcoming pay-per-view.
#2 Flopped on WWE RAW: Mandy Rose
WWE RAW Superstar Mandy Rose is not having the best of runs on the Red brand. This week, she first interfered in a six-woman tag team match that also featured Nia Jax. Rose arrived with her tag team partner Dana Brooke, and they threw a bucket of water at Shayna Baszler. There are no points for guessing that Jax would come running and slip, once again. Despite the distraction, Nia Jax won the match for her team.
After the match, Rose’s former best friend and WWE official Sonya Deville confronted the duo for their prank. Deville had previously brought Charlotte Flair back from her suspension from WWE RAW. As punishment for Rose, Deville booked a match between her and The Queen. It was an underwhelming encounter that featured very few moments in which Rose looked dominant.
The match was unvaried in every sense, allowing Flair to pick up her routine victory. Rose had a couple of moments to shine, but the match still looked one-sided. The WWE RAW creative should have done a little more to establish Rose as a strong contender. She is feuding with the current Women’s Tag Team Champions, but her recent booking has repeatedly undermined her.
Hopefully, things will turn around soon, especially now that the women’s tag team division is in desperate need of credible challengers.
#3 Impressed on WWE RAW: T-Bar
Last week on WWE RAW, Drew McIntyre and Braun Strowman unmasked T-Bar and Mace. The former RETRIBUTION members returned tonight with a vengeance. First, T-Bar and Mace faced Braun Strowman in a two-on-one Handicap Match. However, The Monster Among Men won that match via disqualification after T-Bar and Mace kickstarted a brutal assault.
Soon, Drew McIntyre rushed to Strowman’s aid on WWE RAW, and they faced T-Bar and Mace in a tag team match. Although the four superstars put up a decent match, T-Bar stood out with his impressive performance tonight. He carried himself confidently inside the ring and posed a genuine threat to the former world champions. T-Bar and Mace won the match after Strowman and McIntyre collided at ringside and couldn’t make it back in time.
T-Bar also took a lot of punishment at the hands of Drew McIntyre. Their exchange inside the squared circle gave us a glimpse of a possible feud between the two WWE RAW Superstars in the near future. T-Bar needed a match on the Red brand that could show why he was called up on the main roster. He seems to be getting the right kind of push at the moment. Hopefully, the creative will make the most of his potential on WWE RAW.
