The introduction to this week’s Raw Roundtable took me a lot longer to write than usual.
Not through indifference or apathy towards the show but because the opening segment was so emotionally impactful that it left me at a loss for words. One little sentence that drove the air out of us like a collective punch to the gut.
Roman Reigns has leukaemia.
From that point on, Raw became difficult to watch and even harder to adequately encapsulate in what, by comparison, is a silly little weekly wrap-up of what went down on our favourite wrestling show.
Regular readers will know that I usually try to keep these openings lighthearted and fun. After all, that’s exactly what wrestling is meant to be. It’s the reason we watch; for the goofiness, the melodrama and the spectacle. Irish Lass Kickers, Scottish Psychopaths and Truth TV.
But every now and then, the real world will burst our little bubble and remind us that there’s something larger at play beyond this small, exciting sport that we love so dearly. There’s real people who devote their lives (and sometimes their health) to entertaining us.
One of those people is Roman Reigns. To say that the 2015 Royal Rumble winner (and multi-time, multi-division champion) has had a polarising career is an understatement. The ‘Big Dog’ has endured a ton of abuse in recent years as a result of many fans, myself included, feeling like he was unjustly pushed to the top of the WWE card at the expense of wrestlers we felt were more deserving.
And there was simply nothing he could do to redeem himself. He reformed the Shield, we booed. He entered the Royal Rumble at 30, we booed. He defeated the Undertaker, we really booed.
But when Roman delivered his heart-wrenching news last night, not a single disparaging word could be heard. Not one boo, not one insult. Because this wasn’t about something as trivial as booking or pushes. It wasn’t even about Roman Reigns, the wrestler, the title he held or controversial pay-per-views. This was about something far greater: Joe Anoa’i, a man who throughout his career has demonstrated nothing but unrelenting strength and spirit.
Even the most critical of us would acknowledge that Reigns has never once shirked his responsibilities as a champion, never once crumbled under the weight of a vitriolic fanbase. Instead he has held his head high throughout his WWE run, poured his soul into every promo, and without hesitation continued to put his body on the line in each and every match. He carried championships with pride and by all accounts never turned his back on the fans, even when when we turned on him.
It’s painfully difficult to find the right words at a time like this. How do you properly salute a man who gave everything for this business, only to potentially watch it all slip away in the most agonising of circumstances?
Perhaps the crowd in Providence, Rhode Island, summed it up best last night in a simple chant: “Cancer sucks”. I don’t know whether that’s enough, but I am sure that I speak on behalf of everyone at WrestleTalk (and every wrestling fan) when I say that we wish Roman the best in his recovery and look forward to seeing him back soon.
Because we know you’ll beat this, Leati Joseph Anoaʻi. You always do.
What was your favourite moment from Raw?
Eric Stites
My favorite moment last night was Paul Heyman’s promo. The beginning where he put over Roman and gave his condolences was very touching. Additionally the switch to talking about the Crown Jewel match was done perfectly. I loved Braun Strowman’s intensity when he came out to threaten Heyman and Lesnar.
Marie Benavides Eckmann
When Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose were holding the Championship titles high in the air, I knew I was going to be writing about how this was the highlight of the night.
Then came Dean’s heel turn, and suddenly I had no idea how to feel. I’m listing this as the best because while this was also one of the worst parts of Raw tonight, it was the worst because of how we felt about it. The heel turn had been coming for weeks and now that it’s here, it is pure anguish, even more because it came on the heels of Roman Reigns departing the ring to deal with his leukaemia.
I feel betrayed as a person, but am I excited to see what happens next? Hell yeah, I am.
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JP Wood
That entire main event, from the match to the cluster-expletive at the end. It isn’t often that WWE takes me on any kind of an emotional roller-coaster, but that’s what it was all about. What really impressed me though were the chances being taken.
Tonight, for the first time in a long time, Raw had a ‘must-watch next week’ ending. Seth and Dean winning the tag titles just before the hard turn left people, myself included, completely breathless. Tonight, I was that guy with his hands on his head and his mouth making a weird O shape. I loved every freaking second of it. This is why I freaking love professional wrestling.
Dylan Kapisky
DISCLAIMER: I did not put anything involving Reigns (and by extension The Shield or Universal Title) in this spot, as the whole situation is too real and important to be treated the same as the rest of the show. #ThankYouRoman
With that out of the way, we are finally supposed to “Walk With Elias!” After being interrupted by, and then defeating, Apollo Crews, Elias returned to his music. However, this time he was interrupted by Baron Corbin. The acting GM informed Elias that there wasn’t enough time on the show for a concert, and the guitarist needed to leave.
Elias responded by drilling Corbin with his guitar, to a massive pop from a previously subdued Providence crowd. The ‘Drifter’ has been beloved for so long since coming to Raw, and seeing him turn babyface is amazing. My only fear is that as a babyface, he becomes a watered down version of the character that got him over. But until that happens, this is a welcome change.
What was the worst part of last night’s episode?
Eric Stites
Although I loved Dean’s heel turn, the one thing I really didn’t understand was why he and Seth won the titles if Dean was just going to turn afterwards. It makes no sense to me. What do they do with the titles now that he turned? Can Seth really defend them with a guy that viciously attacked him? I just don’t get it.
Marie Benavides Eckmann
Since Evolution is this Sunday, I came into Raw having high expectations for the women’s matches. Unfortunately, the one that showed the most promise ended up being the biggest stumble today and that was the four way women’s match.
Nia Jax looked confused the whole time; Dana Brooke is just boring (they clearly haven’t figured out what to do with her yet); Tamina, who seemed to have a huge break out and return from injury last week, ended up looking weak; and Ember Moon was amazing as usual.
However, for a match that hosted some of the women that are expected to compete in the Battle Royale this weekend, I ended up unsatisfied and annoyed with how quickly the match ended. If this is a preview of the Battle Royale, I don’t want to watch it anymore.
THIS SUNDAY: A HUGE #BattleRoyal will determine a future #WomensChampionship challenger at #WWEEvolution! #RAW pic.twitter.com/POR7x6laIH
— WWE (@WWE) October 23, 2018
JP Wood
The expression on Roman’s face was the same look we’ve seen on guys like Daniel Bryan and Edge on their way down to the ring to tell their fans that they were leaving. The former two, thankfully, have a chance to return. Edge was out for good, and he knew it.
This was the worst moment of the night because we watched a man we all feel like we know walk away from his passion (boo or cheer him, the guy loves the business). I’m not ashamed to say that I was sobbing big manly anime-sized tears while I watched.
This could have gone down poorly with the crowd. As soon as people started to sense his sincerity, you could hear the noise in the arena fade away. At that moment, we saw real humanity on display from everyone involved. The performer in the ring and 10,000 or so people just hoping he’ll be okay.
“Thank you Roman” chants broke out.
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Dylan Kapisky
Is Evolution here, yet? I’m not asking because I’m excited, but because it will hopefully mark the end of WWE forcing women’s storylines that don’t exist.
The women’s four-way match was one of those storylines. In the exact opposite of what the company is touting by holding the pay-per-view (or whatever they call them now), four female wrestlers were given hardly a minute of screen time for a fatal four-way match. The purpose? To promote the Evolution “let’s get all the women on the card” Battle Royal.
Instead, it exposed just how little care WWE has put into the show. While matches like Ronda vs. Nikki, and the six-woman tag received proper screen time, and had weeks of development behind them on Raw, this combination of four were forced into a thinly-veiled attempt at a storyline last week, and it did not stick. If there was ever an example of a 3rd hour match, this was it.
How would you rate the show overall? (From best to worst: In Awe, Cor, AvRAWge, Poor and Bore)
Eric Stites
This was one of the best episodes of Raw in a while. It definitely wasn’t perfect but it was an emotional roller coaster due to Roman’s leukaemia speech, Seth & Dean winning the titles, and then Dean’s heel turn. The wrestling was fantastic as well throughout the whole show. I’m giving it a rating of Cor.
Wait… WHAT?!#RAW @TheDeanAmbrose pic.twitter.com/yyXBvTVHPN
— WWE (@WWE) October 23, 2018
Marie Benavides Eckmann
Book-ended by some of the most emotional material, both personal and in kayfabe, this week was gut-wrenching. The last match was acrobatic, inspiring, and beautifully crafted by men that are well aware of how to work with each other and tug at your heart strings.
The reason I’m not rating this In Awe? Way too many promotions and the matches outside of the last one weren’t the best and didn’t do anything for the storyline. You could easily almost forget about the Bobby Lashley vs. Finn Balor match but, no matter what, it must’ve been the men shaking off the shock of Roman’s announcement.
I think it wasn’t until the Ruby Riott vs. Sasha Banks match that the audience (and myself) really started coming back into groove of Raw. I loved tonight for the men, but being so close to Evolution, I should’ve been loving the women’s matches too. My rating: a high Cor.
JP Wood
This week’s Raw was Cor. This show made me cry, jump out of my computer chair in excitement, and then slowly descend back to the chair, hands on my head and in total shock.
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