There was something noticeably different about the way Raw started last night. For the first time in several weeks, the show didn’t kick off with some combination of Baron Corbin, Drew McIntyre and third-wheel Bobby Lashley in the ring, cutting lengthy promos about… I don’t know, things and such.
Instead, what we got was the red brand’s biggest star, Ronda Rousey, and the announcement of a match about to take place. It was a welcome change of pace for the Monday night show, clearly designed to distance itself from the historically abysmal offering it put on seven nights ago.
The revelation that last week’s abomination was exclusively written by Vince McMahon himself should come as little surprise to anyone familiar with the eccentric billionaire’s vices. The show was crammed wall-to-wall with all of the elder McMahon’s favourite things: big sweaty men, toilet humour and the systematic burial of the company’s babyfaces. WWE‘s efforts then to resuscitate the red brand were not only welcome, but desperately needed.
Unfortunately, and as much as it pains me to say, the freshness of this new formula soon faded, giving rise to another problem. Where last week’s Raw was plagued by heels utterly demolishing their babyface counterparts, this week’s show suffered from not allowing anyone to get over at all.
To illustrate, the show started with Nia Jax beating down Rousey in a segment clearly designed to build anticipation ahead of their encounter at TLC. It was a decently executed segment – barring some unnecessary Tamina-shaped nonsense – that served its purpose of getting heat on Nia. It’s completely baffling then why all this tension would be defused by the end of the night, with Ronda getting one over her title challenger in the main event. Does Ronda look more dominating now than she did a week ago? Is Nia any more of a threat to take the title away? Have we moved the needle in any meaningful way?
And these two segments only bookended what ultimately became an extremely flattened out wrestling pie. Bobby Roode beat up Drake Maverick before getting pinned by the diminutive piss-master; Lucha House Party managed to defeat the Revival again, but this time in an even more lopsided three-on-one handicap match; McIntyre beat up Dolph for a bit, then lost the match; Bálor spent most of the night outsmarting heels, yet ended the show flattened by McIntyre; and Dean Ambrose, looking like the villain from a WWII-themed video game, initially ran away from Seth Rollins but then decided to lay him out. Everyone got their licks in, everyone got beaten up and no one got over.
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After a promising start, this show disappointingly devolved into the wrestling equivalent of being a member of Oprah Winfrey’s live audience. You get heat! You get heat! Everyone gets heat! And yet, for that very reason, no one looks any the better for it.
Despite this initial gripe though, the question remained whether Raw had done enough to separate itself from the horrific past few weeks. Have we finally turned the corner and started to build some much-needed momentum heading towards TLC?
Only time would tell. And, on a three-hour show, we’ve got a lot of time to get through. So in an effort to distill the good from the bad, we’ve recruited three of our WrestleTalk writers to take you through each of the most significant moments of Raw. What worked? What didn’t? And most importantly, was the show better than it has been in recent weeks? Each of those questions (and more) are answered on the next pages.
What was your favourite moment from Raw?
Eric Stites
My favorite part of last night’s episode was the Drew, Dolph and Finn storyline throughout the night. I’ve been getting all this heel heat in the last few weeks, so it was very nice for a change to not only get a Dolph face turn but see him and Finn come out on top in the first segment.
And even though Drew did end up getting the better of Bálor at the end of the night, it does make me really look forward to their match at TLC. Even if Finn is going to lose.
Dylan Kapisky
“You can’t come to my birthday party, Dolph!” Thank you, Drew McIntyre, for being the ONLY good thing on this week’s Raw.
During a celebration in his honor, McIntyre cut a good promo about his accomplishments since returning to Monday nights. He claimed he was the only person in WWE who had ambition, and who wasn’t waiting for a handout. When Ziggler came out to point out the lack of Shawn Michaels impersonators in Drew’s hype package, the Scotsman stepped his performance up even more.
He admitted that teaming with Dolph was never about friendship, but simply a means to an end. It was about getting himself into a key role on Raw, and nothing more. This was a solid promo, and by officially betraying Ziggler, it set Drew up to be the top heel on the red brand… and then he lost… to Ziggler… why do we even try?
"This business relationship…ain't working for me anymore." – @DMcIntyreWWE to @HEELZiggler #RAW pic.twitter.com/rAniXCRUub
— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) December 4, 2018
Nicholas Holicki
For the most part, I thought the opening moments of Raw were fairly effective. I still have no idea why Natalya and the Riott Squad are involved in this feud, nor what that mute goof Tamina’s role is. But there was some purpose behind this madness.
Heading into TLC in two weeks, WWE needed to establish Nia Jax as a legitimate threat to Ronda Rousey. Of course, she’s never going to take the title off the Raw Women’s Champion, not in a million years. But at the very least we need to believe that there’s a tiny chance that she could win. I mean, she obviously won’t, but – you get the point.
So having the ‘Irresistible Force’ decimate Rousey was a good decision. I just wish we had less chaos around ringside – I know, I can’t believe I’m saying about the Riott Squad either – and that the segment had ended with ‘Rowdy’ Ronda getting thrown through the table instead of Natalya. Jax needed to leave the champ laying, and unfortunately we didn’t quite get that. Despite not going far enough, it was a smart move and well executed angle.
What was the worst part of last night’s episode?
Eric Stites
My least favorite part of the show was the third week in a row with these absolute bogus “Lucha House Rules”. Why the hell are Lucha House Party the babyfaces in this feud? They’re getting a clear unfair advantage over the Revival week after week and we’re supposed to cheer them on because of it? And we’re supposed to boo the Revival when they rightfully complain about it? That makes no sense!
Dylan Kapisky
Bayley-to-Boredom. Because the ‘Open Forum’ segment was so wonderfully successful last week (yawn), WWE decided to run an extended version on this week’s show. It did not get better.
Although Banks and Bayley teased the long-awaited Women’s Tag Titles, they did little to make me want to see them. They aren’t very strong actresses, and the concept of planted fans asking tedious questions exposed that fact horribly. It was awkward and impossible to buy into. This was awful.
God bless Alexa Bliss for trying to save it by taking quick verbal jabs at Sasha, but there was no fixing this segment.
Nicholas Holicki
Everything Bayley and Sasha Banks. Just everything that they represent as people, characters and wrestling entities. This segment physically pained me.
Their chemistry with Alexa Bliss, underpinned by some of the most abysmal acting we’ve seen since… well, since Nia Jax’s promo last week… made me so uncomfortable that I wanted to change the channel. I understand that this was meant to be a landmark moment, being the first direct reference Raw has made to new women’s tag belts. But the only thing I’ll remember about this exchange is how sickeningly bad it was.
This wasn’t just the worst segment of the show, it was the worst segment of the year as far as I’m concerned.
How would you rate the show overall? (From best to worst: In Awe, Cor, AvRAWge, Poor and Bore)
Eric Stites
This show was a huge improvement over last week’s abomination. But that’s really not saying much. There were still a lot of boring and bland things that happened on this show. There were however some good bits and, like I said, it was much better than the last couple weeks of Raw. Therefore I am giving this week’s Raw a low AvRAWge.
Dylan Kapisky
Bore. This show sucked. Last week’s show at least had the decency to throw in a great match (albeit one we’ve seen a million and ten times). This week, there was no redeeming factor.
Even the lone good thing on this show (Drew McIntyre) was ruined by losing his match. I try to like Raw every week, but the last month of shows has made it virtually impossible.
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Nicholas Holicki
This was a long three hours, but nevertheless still a marked improvement over last week. Perhaps I’ve just become completely desensitised to the usual Raw awfulness, but I didn’t even flinch when I heard the words “Lucha House Rules” last night. I felt absolutely nothing seeing Bobby Lashley point to his butt for the third week in a row. Truthfully, the only really offensive segment was that Sasha / Bayley / Alexa trash heap.
On the other hand, I somewhat enjoyed the Drew / Dolph match, as well as Drew’s promos either side of it. Finn Bálor popping up like a toothy, Irish Whack-a-Mole was unexpectedly entertaining, as was the Rollins / Ambrose confrontation. However, these good flashes were few and far between.
So while the show was still bad, there’s reason to be optimistic that at least we’re heading in the right direction. Last night’s uninspired, yet improved, effort scores a low Poor from me.
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