Very rarely do you get to say that you witnessed an event that fundamentally changed the wrestling landscape. The rise of Hulkamania, Austin’s 3:16 promo, CM Punk’s ‘pipebomb’ – these moments are as indelible as they are uncommon.
And yet, without getting too far ahead of ourselves, that may quite possibly be how we look back at All In in a couple of years. As an event that, with a nod and a wink to the past, shaped the future of professional wrestling.
Whatever your personal feelings about the overall match quality that was delivered on Saturday night (and it wasn’t without its hiccups), it’s safe to say that the world took notice. Cody and the Young Bucks threw down the gauntlet and dared the industry’s big boys to take up the challenge.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5igzfvawMw
So you had to know that WWE would respond. With it being the Labor Day episode of Raw and the final show before the start of Monday Night Football, this was sure to be memorable. Vince and Co. would use every trick in the book. They would pull out all the stops, bring out the big guns. They would call on… the Bellas?? Shawn Michaels, Triple H and The Undertaker?
The former weren’t particularly good before their three-year retirement, and feel hopelessly out of place next to today’s standout cast of female wrestlers. And the latter are three current or future Hall of Famers with a combined age of 155… the same age as Jerry Lynn, Raven and Tommy Dreamer.
This is precisely why #HBK @ShawnMichaels will have a LOT to say on #RAW tonight… pic.twitter.com/GMKu0AOIco
— WWE Network (@WWENetwork) September 3, 2018
Without turning this into an indictment of Raw, those moments alone serve to highlight the subtle difference in philosophy between All In and WWE. One acknowledged the importance of history while blazing a path into the future – the other tries to convince us that the only way forward is by travelling back into the past.
You’re probably tired of my rambling, and to tell you the truth, so am I. And Raw was a lot more than simple nostalgic returns this week. So I’m going to turn over to our excellent WrestleTalk team, to give you the rundown of what happened. As part of our regular Roundtable discussion, we gathered the views of four of our writers, who each selected their one favourite and one worst moment from last night’s episode. We share our thoughts with you and you, in turn, leave your opinions with us. It’s a wonderful symbiosis.
Let’s get to it!
What Was Your Favorite Moment From Raw?
Dylan Kapisky
B-TEAM! B-TEAM! DIE! DIE! DIE! Even though there were bits of the show that were more entertaining, executed better, and more surprising, those aren’t the segments I enjoyed the most. When the night started, there was one thing I wanted more than anything else on this episode of Raw, and that was for Curtis Axel and Bo Dallas to drop the Raw Tag Team Championships.
While I would have much preferred to see the Revival – who were scheduled to challenge the champions – claim the gold, watching Drew McIntyre and Dolph Ziggler rip the belts away was just as sweet. In fact, it may even be more beneficial to the titles in the short and long term, as it allows them to become a focus in the Shield vs. Braun & his goons storyline. Being associated with six of the red brand’s top stars does add value to the titles, and creates an interesting scenario in which all of Raw‘s championships are in play in one rivalry. More importantly though, the one-week wonders known as the B-Team no longer possess tag team gold, giving some credibility back to a division on life support.
Brian Farrell
McInDolph beat The B-Team. A solid match that can help rebuild the tag team division. I would have preferred the Revival to win, but nevertheless, this provided a much needed pick up to what had been a painful Raw.
Richard Margerison
Surprisingly it was the tag team titles being won by Dolph and Drew. I’d like to see the division rebuild and this seems like a solid step towards doing that. Dolph and Drew could be great champions and they both looked phenomenal here. I also really enjoyed the setup for the match, with the Revival getting blind-sided backstage. It really added to the chaotic vibe that the show had last night.
Sean Patrick Eckmann
Alexa Bliss. The hometown hero of the Ohio show had absolutely fantastic chemistry with Elias and a good match of her own. As Elias ragged on Columbus (“If Christopher Columbus saw the city you’d make in his name, he’d have turned back around“) and Ohio State University for a typical heel reaction, it seemed that Bliss would save the city’s reputation and the ‘Drifter’ would be a woman’s punching bag for the second week in a row. However, the two would, in fact, play off of each other (Alexa wants to walk with Elias!) and she would have a good showing in her match against Natalya, appropriating Ronda Rousey’s Armbar.
What Was The Worst Part Of Last Night’s Episode?
Dylan Kapisky
What the hell was that Bobby Lashley / Jinder Mahal segment? For one, they’ve reduced Bobby Lashley, a man who returned to the company with a lot of momentum behind him, to a comedy character who tells Sunil Singh to be calm like water, while making fun of Jinder’s meditation practice. But WWE also wasted a major storyline, too. Kevin Owens returned just seven days after quitting the company. There was no special feud, no build, no promo, no Heyman, no title match, no Sami Zayn, no nothing. He just showed up and beat down Lashley. It was a complete waste. Nobody looked good after this segment, as Lashley was treated as a joke character, Mahal was portrayed as a literal joke, and Owens went from super intriguing last week, to showing up this week as if nothing happened.
Brian Farrell
KO returns. I can get by with Bobby and Jinder doing meditation, fine, whatever. But why in God’s name did Kevin Owens come back after one week? He needed Jinder’s distraction to beat up Lashley, and I can’t think of any reasoning that can save this. Why WWE? Why?! This Owens return saved the ‘SHIELD in Prison’ storyline from getting my vote for the worst thing on the show.
Richard Margerison
The Bellas match was the low point of the show. It was sloppy in multiple places and never really ramped up the excitement level. It did not get me interested in more Bellas matches to say the least.
Sean Patrick Eckmann
The Ending. How desperate can WWE possibly be to keep Roman Reigns an underdog? We just found out. Because falling under attack from Strowman, McIntyre, and Ziggler wouldn’t be enough, the SHIELD were instead beat down by EVERY HEEL IN THE COMPANY. I’ve already made my thoughts on heel Strowman clear (see last week) but in what universe is it necessary to bring out everyone ranging from Jinder Mahal to Curt Hawkins for this? Is there anyone left who isn’t involved in this feud? And of course, the first man leading the assault on the SHIELD was Kevin Owens. The same Kevin Owens who hates Braun Strowman with every fiber of his being. In what world does this make any storyline sense? How many more characters and storylines must be sacrificed to keep Roman and his SHIELD brothers the underdogs?
How Would You Rate The Show Overall? (From best to worst: In Awe, Cor, AvRAWge, Poor and Bore)
Dylan Kapisky
AvRAWge. I was originally going to say Poor, because there was a lot of bad on this show, between the Bellas’ return, the Lashley segment, and the continued misuse of Sasha and Bayley. However, there was a fair bit of good too. The opening was excellent, ‘HBK’s promo with Undertaker was amazing, and the B-Team dropped their belts. In the end, it balances out to a low AvRAWge from me.
Brian Farrell
A low AvRAWge. Raw was like a burger: the meat (middle) was very good and juicy, but the bun on the top and bottom were stale, and made the whole burger rather unappetizing. You could have just had the meat and that would’ve tasted good, but you ordered a whole burger, and that’s what you should’ve gotten.
Richard Margerison
AvRAWge. The show was enjoyable. I enjoyed the chaotic moments and the tag titles changing hands most of all. There were some mediocre segments which brought the average down for me, though.
Sean Patrick Eckmann
Some of Raw was surprisingly entertaining – Chad Gable looked great, and Alexa and Elias blended so well. Shawn Michaels’ promo, and the Undertaker’s appearance, were fantastic aswell. And new matches were booked that we hadn’t seen before. But the ending just left an incredibly sour taste in my mouth, as though regardless of what else happens, every other character on the roster will always be secondary to Roman Reigns. Rating: A low Poor.
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