Raw finally delivered on some of the promised NXT call-ups we’ve been hearing so much about in recent weeks, albeit that they were made to look like extras in a fairly lacklustre game of Where’s Waldo?.
Rather than debut these characters front and centre, in segments designed to create immediate impact, most of these new faces were confined to the background, not even given an opportunity to speak. In fact, if you weren’t a regular viewer of NXT, you’d still have no idea who this bunch of lurkers were.
The first three developmental faces we saw were EC3 looking dapper as anything, Nikki Cross already getting locked into the customary multi-person feud with the Riott Squad and Lacey Evans looking dapper – hey! That’s EC3’s gimmick, lady! Take your well-dressed shtick somewhere else.
Who do YOU spy with your little eye?#RAW @LaceyEvansWWE pic.twitter.com/KztKloI3KD
— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) January 15, 2019
It was all rather underwhelming, particularly for ‘EC-3 weeks until he’s in a mid-card feud with Elias’. While Lacey Evans and Nikki Cross have as good a chance as anyone of stepping up in a Raw Women’s division that’s recently announced new tag team championships, the former Impact star’s future looks decidedly more murky. At least based off of his first mute appearance, which was relegated to picture-in-picture while a tag match was happening on the main screen.
It was the kind of worrying introduction we’ve seen far too often among NXT call-ups of late. The type of first step that makes you wonder whether EC3 thinks that the ghost of jobber future has come to pay him a visit whenever he runs into Bobby Roode backstage.
The entire spectacle was frankly bizarre. Although admittedly not quite as bizarre as our introduction to Otis Dozovic. It all started with Mr ‘Steaks, Weights and Pretty Ladies’… ummm, so he… well, you see… just do yourselves a favour and watch it.
Triple H once proudly claimed that WWE never debuts an NXT call-up without having a clear storyline plotted out. I’m not so sure. In my view, WWE has turned into that one kid in middle-school who always bragged about his new girlfriend. But unfortunately you couldn’t meet her because she goes to another school, works a gruelling holiday job and lives in Canada. Essentially Raw has become all show and no go. But when that show is three hours of lacklustre NXT debuts, you’re really left with nothing at all.
Speaking of lacklustre, did you know that Glass is in theatres this Friday?
But what else happened on last night’s Raw? As always, our WrestleTalk writers are here to take you through the main goings-on on the red brand. Starting off on a positive note, let’s get to the good.
What was your favourite moment from Raw?
Bryan Eseppi
My favorite part about Raw last night was the main event match. The match itself wasn’t anything special, but it goes into what WWE is trying to present as “The New Era”. Even in the build-up to the match earlier in the night, Finn brought up the fact that Vince doesn’t see him as a main event guy. He just isn’t big enough. On top of that, Finn had to win his entrance back into the match by beating Jinder earlier in the night. So, not only did the right person win that four-way match, he went over John Cena to do it.
The match also left Drew looking strong and a very capable monster to dethrone anyone for that title down the road.
Emma Heeley
I actually like that Lashley is now the Intercontinental Champion, in fact, I think it’s a great move on WWE’s part. It’s definitely what he needs to legitimize his character right now. But what intrigues me more is what they do with Ambrose. Ignoring the brief stint where he was a germaphobe, I am loving heel Ambrose, and I’m quite excited to see where this will lead him heading into the Royal Rumble.
I’m also stoked that Finn finally got his title shot. Sure, it might be a year too late, and he’s most likely not picking up the W at the Rumble, but it’s nice to see him in the spotlight again.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BspE_sMIvUv/
Kyle Payne
I thought I would hate the opening segment because it started with talking. On Raw, segments like these drag but, surprisingly, this segment was actually masterfully crafted. We got a pretty sweet scenario where Braun walked into the parking lot while Elias played the guitar and the twist of the limo belonging to Vince McMahon was great. If I’m being honest, I really didn’t want to see Braun vs. Brock again.
The tag matches on the show were also great. We got Jax & Tamina vs. Rousey & Banks and the finish was exactly what it needed to be. The gradual dissension between the latter two was nice, they both came across as two alphas vying for the top spot. I only wish this feud had more time to build.
John Cena making an appearance and cutting a great promo which eventually led to a great fatal four-way that had the right finish and the right guy go over. Lesnar vs. Balor is such an intriguing match-up and shows that the company actually is listening to the audience. Also, McIntyre looking strong throughout the show keeps his credibility. I know the tentative plan is for Cena to face Sullivan but I’d much rather see Cena put over McIntyre.
The rest of the show had some good to it as well. Seeing EC3 and Lacey Evans slowly builds hype for them and having Nikki Cross wrestle as a mystery partner for Bayley and Natalya was great. Seeing No Way Jose and Jerry Lawler make appearances was also nice, mostly because I didn’t know either of them were still with the company. The three-way between Lashley, Ambrose, and Rollins was great (with one exception), and the finish was the right one. Hopefully they finally move on from one another.
The Women’s tag titles were nice with a better design then most of the belts on the main roster, the Riott Squad is great, pre-match interviews are making a welcome return, and The Revival got justice.
Oh, by the way, I loved that Otis segment at the end of a Moment Of Bliss.
Nothing to do with it. https://t.co/QT3PkqbaBF
— Dave Meltzer (@davemeltzerWON) January 15, 2019
Nicholas Holicki
Call me delusional, a mark, a hopeless optimist, but I feel good about Bálor’s seeming elevation to the main event. The Irishman triumphed in a fairly entertaining Fatal 4-Way last night, granting him a shot at Brock Lesnar’s Universal Title at the Royal Rumble.
Will he win that match? Almost certainly not. But this might be the kind of shot in the breathtakingly-chisseled arm that Finn has been looking for. A competitive bout against Brock in a couple weeks time could (hopefully) beckon Bálor’s return to the upper echelon of Raw, cementing his future at the top of the card.
I believe
— Finn Bálor (@FinnBalor) January 15, 2019
What was the worst part of last night’s episode?
Bryan Eseppi
There are a few spots I was not thrilled with last night. The first is the fact that they interrupted a match with a trailer for a movie. This wasn’t the usual “let’s have an ad break in the middle of the match and come back after the commercials” break. This was a full-screen trailer for a movie we are helping promote. This also leads into Michael Cole interrupting himself or someone else while they are calling a match to remind us that “Glass is in theatres Friday”.
The next part that I found to be strange was the “Moment of Bliss” segment. It started out great, we got to find out more about the Women’s Tag Team Championships and when they will crown the new champions. Paul Heyman comes out and the segment starts out like any other interview segment from Raw or SmackDown. Then seemingly out of nowhere, Otis Dozovic comes walking out, grunts a bit, and then his tag team partner Tucker Knight comes out and removes him from the stage. After all that awkwardness, Bliss looks like she is about to continue on with her segment with Heyman, and the bell rings, and the ring announcer begins to announce the participants for the main event match. Alexa and Paul just sort of walk off stage.
This brings me to the last part, the NXT call-ups. Outside of Nikki Cross, none of the other NXT call-ups actually gave you an idea of why we should care about them. EC3 was just kind of thrown on screen while they cut backstage, during a match, to show a line outside of Mr. McMahon’s office. If you blinked during a backstage segment you might have missed Lacey Evans talking with a few of the women on the Raw brand. Heavy Machinery was mentioned above.
During the match including Nikki Cross, Michael Cole said that the NXT call-ups were going to be on both shows so the WWE Universe could see what they were about. Well, if I didn’t watch NXT, I wouldn’t have even known half of them were in the building. And I certainly didn’t learn anything about them, or why I should care about them coming up to the main roster.
Emma Heeley
I cannot be the only person in the world that rolled their eyes and groaned loudly at the prospect of Lucha House Party vs The Revival… again. But what made this match even worse was having that pointless interview segment halfway through that lent absolutely nothing to the match itself. Why distract our attention away from a match? I get the ad breaks have to show (got to get that ad revenue in somehow) but to showcase an utterly pointless “interview” segment during a match was pretty much a slap in the face of everyone involved… at least the Revival won, I guess.
The second thing that I really didn’t like about this show was the Moment of Bliss segment. Why do I get a strange feeling that this was some kind of foreshadowing on how the WWE will treat the female tag-team division? Built up with tremendous hype, only to peter out into the background of something else involving the men…
While it was only slotted into the show to unveil the new shiny (totally not stolen design from NJPW) female tag belts, this whole promo was an utter disaster. What has Lesnar got to do with the female tag division? Why were Heavy Machinery involved? Did Bliss and Heyman just give up or did someone call an audible and axe the segment as it was dying on its ass? The whole bit left me scratching my head in utter confusion. Also, can someone please explain to me why Nikki Cross is on Raw, and not with SAnitY over on SmackDown?! Answers on a postcard, please.
Kyle Payne
They interrupted a match for a commercial for Glass and then went right back to the match. To me, that was pointless and disrespectful to the performers. Also, showing the line waiting to talk to Vince while a match was taking place was equally pointless and disrespectful. These segments are fine if they pertain to the match currently happening, to further that story, but that wasn’t the case tonight. That Alexa Bliss moment where her secretary walks in on her getting dressed was similarly pointless and nonsensical. It goes into this section unless there is a larger story at play, but let’s be honest, there isn’t. They need to let Bliss wrestle, she’s way too good for this. Also, Riott Squad should not be losing this much. They should be building the three women up.
With all of that said, my biggest issue with the show is still Dean Ambrose. I know he’s a heel because they tell me he is but I still don’t get his direction. His promos are all over the place, one minute he’s the Penguin then he’s burning his vest, I mean, I just don’t get it. They need to do something that establishes him as the heel that he can be because everyone knows, especially pre-WWE, that there is a truly sadistic heel underneath. I also didn’t like how he teamed up with Rollins to take out Lashley momentarily. Yes, it makes sense and we’ve seen it done in other triple threats but given their history and their supposed hate for one another, it makes zero sense.
Everything about tonight's #ICTitle #TripleThreat Match is WRONG to @TheDeanAmbrose… #RAW pic.twitter.com/PYf2OUEx0m
— WWE (@WWE) January 15, 2019
Nicholas Holicki
I’m genuinely starting to worry about Braun Strowman’s future on Raw. Not because of his health – although there have been concerning reports on that front as well – but because the ‘Monster Among Men’ has once again seen a shot at the Universal Title slip between his fingers.
After chasing Baron Corbin through the backstage area, a chase which ultimately culminated in Braun ripping a door of Vince McMahon’s limousine, the WWE Chairman fined the big, sweaty man $100,000 and stripped him of his shot at Brock Lesnar at the Royal Rumble.
Not only does this mark yet another wasted opportunity for Strowman, but it also highlights a frustrating lack of consistency. Bobby Lashley assaulted Seth Rollins last week. Shortly before that, AJ Styles sucker-punched Vince on SmackDown. Around this time last year, Braun was dropping scaffolding on top of Kane and Lesnar. Those guys were all given title shots in the wake of their actions. But Strowman rips a door off a limo and apparently that’s where we draw the line.
The latest reports indicate that this was always the plan, with Finn Bálor instead tipped to be the challenger in two weeks, the question then is why put Braun in this position to begin with? As if to underline the fatigue created by these constant half-pushes, McMahon’s announcement that Braun had been removed from the title picture was greeted by indifference from the live crowd and the least impassioned “that’s not fair” Renee Young could possibly muster.
This wasn’t just a bad segment, it was yet another damaging chapter in a harmful year for Braun Strowman.
How would you rate the show overall? (From best to worst: In Awe, Cor, AvRAWge, Poor and Bore)
Bryan Eseppi
I give the show on the whole an AvRAWge. Despite all the negatives I found with the show, it still moved along various storylines. We have a Universal Championship match at the Royal Rumble that I am personally very interested in seeing. It’s nice to see Finn get a push to that level, even if it is only for a short period of time.
We had a new Intercontinental Champion, in Bobby Lashley, crowned during a triple threat match. His teaming up with Lio Rush has been a nice change of pace from what we saw when he first made his return.
We also now know that at Elimination Chamber, we will have the first Women’s Tag Team Champions crowned. It will be in an Elimination Chamber match and will be three teams from both SmackDown and Raw. The belts look great on top of it. With the “New Era” WWE is trying to usher in, they still need to work on things quite a bit. They need to stop interrupting matches to try and promote something else, especially if that something else isn’t a part of the story being told in the ring.
Emma Heeley
I normally like to stay quite positive when it comes to reviewing the shows (why watch it if you don’t enjoy it?) but this week’s show was lame. While last week it felt like change was in the air, this week sadly did not feel either new or exciting. Same old repetitive matchups, dull and pointless promo segments that lead to nothing. It would seem that Raw has fallen into the January curse of “New Year, New Me.” And, just like the rest of the world, have already broken all their New Years’ resolutions before the month is even over. This week’s Raw is Poor.
Kyle Payne
I think, overall, the show was a solid Cor. For as much as they did wrong or that I didn’t like, they did double on what I did. The matches were competitive, had stakes, and the finishes were largely unexpected.
Lashley became a champion and that’s fantastic, Bálor is finally getting a push, and it looks like we are finally done with Ambrose / Rollins. The women’s Elimination Chamber Match has meaning and it’ll be interesting to see which teams qualify, leading to another main event for the women on PPV. Ronda and Sasha should be a classic and I’m interested to see where the Braun Strowman and Vince McMahon storyline goes next.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BsoxuMwFKU8/
Nicholas Holicki
Some decent matches, including the triple threat for the Intercontinental Title and the Fatal 4-Way to determine Brock’s Royal Rumble challenger, were almost enough to overcome some confusing, often disappointing booking.
That said, why is Bobby Lashley the Intercontinental Champion and how does this advance the Seth / Dean feud? After weeks of build-up was last night really the best way to debut NXT stars? And a question I never thought I’d have to ask: WHY WAS ALEXA BLISS NAKED?
I remain interested to see whether any of those questions can be answered in future, but I have to grade Raw based on what we did get to see. And in that context, last night’s Raw was no more than AvRAWge.
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