So, Super Show-Down was a thing that happened on Saturday. The Australian mega event was a surprisingly decent, if largely unremarkable spectacle, where the biggest shock was seeing John Cena’s ability to wrestle with the top part of a feather duster glued to his head… and you keep telling me he’s not the greatest of all time. Open your eyes, people!
And yet, just like a trip to Human Resources after your first meeting with Randy Orton (allegedly), every big show is inevitably followed by another Monday Night Raw. If you were looking for a roundup of what happened during last night’s episode, you’ve come to the right place! Every week, we look at the best and worst moments of WWE programming and present it to you in our neat, occasionally self-indulgent, Roundtable discussion.
However, before we dive into our analysis of Raw, I’d like to share a few observations I had while watching the ‘Greatest House Show of the Spring’ over the weekend.
Now, I don’t want to work up a comprehensive review any more than you want to read it. Those are all over the place (including the best one above), and you’ve probably had your fill. Instead, I wanted to pick out some facts that you might find interesting, throw them at you in quick fire fashion, before arriving at a personal opinion (which you’re free to criticise).
Here are my (mostly) factual observations:
1) Becky Lynch and Braun Strowman are heels. Charlotte and Roman Reigns are babyfaces. Not even Road Dogg knows what story they’re telling.
2.a) Long-haired John Cena looks like he’s auditioning for the role of Ned Flanders in the live action remake of The Simpsons.
2.b) These observations become more interesting, I promise.
3) Following his abrupt roll-up win over Miz, Daniel Bryan revived his old nickname of ‘Mr Small Package’. It took less than a minute for someone to ask the obvious.
….is that what Brie calls you?
— Jacob Fonseca Ŧ (@g2Drummer) October 6, 2018
4.a) Paige announced that Daniel Bryan would get his shot at AJ Styles at Crown Jewel. This was immediately followed by the announce team crowing about Evolution.
4.b) Crown Jewel will be taking place in Saudi Arabia, where laws prohibit women from competing in the ring. Evolution is notable for being WWE‘s first ever all-women’s pay-per-view.
4.c) Expect every mention of Crown Jewel going forward to be followed by a reminder of Evolution – WWE is so beautiful and progressive!
5) Long-haired John Cena also looks like a wrestler who’s body has been possessed by the ghost of the coolest dad at your local country club.
6.a) Prior to facing Charlotte at WrestleMania, Asuka was riding a two-plus year undefeated streak.
6.b) Since suffering that defeat, she has lost matches against Carmella (twice), the IIconics and drawn with James Ellsworth.
6.c) She again lost to the IIconics on Saturday, in the process bringing her overall win percentage since WrestleMania to 60%.
6.d) That’s equal to or worse than Charlotte (70.5%), Becky Lynch (73.5%), Ronda Rousey (100%), Nia Jax (69%) and Zelina Vega (60%), amongst others, over that same period.
7.a) Buddy Murphy, who won the Cruiserweight belt by defeating Cedric Alexander, is the first Australian to hold a title in WWE since 2015.
7.b) That last Australian to hold a belt? Also Murphy, who won the NXT Tag Team Championship with Wesley Blake.
7.c) No other Australian has ever held gold in the promotion.
7.d) Both he and Cedric Alexander are phenomenal wrestlers who put on the performance of the night at Super Show-Down. 205 Live is an unbelievably underrated show and deserves a larger audience.
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8.a) The WWWF was formed in 1963. Less than two years later, The Undertaker was born. A ‘Baby-Taker’, if you will.
8.b) I promise to never use that name again.
9) Triple H fought the ‘Dead Man’ for the first time in September 1997. Although his last one-on-one victory against the ‘Phenom’ came sixteen years ago, the pair have only wrestled one another in singles competition three times since then, most recently at WrestleMania XXVIII in 2012.
10) Their encounter on Saturday went over 27. (That’s minutes, not years.)
11.a) If you aggregate the ages of the four men who featured in the main event, you arrive at 206.
11.b) The aggregate age of the SIX men involved in the Shield vs Braun, Dolph & McIntyre match? 203.
12) In terms of average age, at 51.5, this was the oldest main event the WWE has put on at a pay-per-view since… ever.
13) The total list of people over the age of 50 to main event a WWE pay-per-view prior to Saturday: Ric Flair, Bret Hart, Sting and Vince McMahon. That’s it, that’s the list.
14.a) Mae Young is the oldest person to ever compete in a match for the company, when she took on the team of Lay-Cool in a 2010 episode of Raw. The average age of the competitors in that match was exactly 50.
14.b) Mae Young was 87 at the time.
14.c) None of the competitors in Saturday’s main event fell within three decades of that number – and yet, on average, Saturday’s match-up was older.
15) All four men are certain to join Coco B. Ware in the WWE Hall of Fame one day.
Now for the opinion:
They should never wrestle again. Watching The Undertaker, Triple H, Kane and Shawn Michaels hobble around the ring was not nostalgic; it was a painful and depressing reminder of how the ravages of time affect even the greatest of all time.
I love all four men involved in this match – they played a major role in getting me into wrestling in the first place. But their legacies were solidified years ago – they have nothing to gain by competing now, and their presence ultimately robs those who are more deserving of the spotlight. I had no desire to watch them face-off at Super Show-Down, and I’m actively dreading their now confirmed encounter set for Crown Jewel.
#HBK @ShawnMichaels is coming OUT of retirement when he teams up with @TripleH at #WWECrownJewel to take on The #BrothersOfDestruction! https://t.co/RfQ3ykFC7x
— WWE (@WWE) October 9, 2018
For now, what did we think of the post-Super Show-Down episode of Raw? Did it successfully build on the momentum of that show? Read on for our opinions and then share your views with us in the comments.
What was your favourite moment from Raw?
Eric Stites
My favorite moment of the night was the battle royal. Baron Corbin continues to be fantastic in the corrupt GM role and Kurt Angle played his swerve (although obvious) very well. It was a nice fun segment that did a great job of setting up the feud for the rumored Team Corbin vs. Team Angle match at Survivor Series.
Brian Farrell
The Bobby Lashley heel turn. This solid match told a great story of Lio Rush slowly getting Bobby Lashley to turn more violent. It was an enjoyable match, and I think Rush could be quite good as a ringside manager, with maybe a little less yelling. But the attack after this showed to me that Lashley and Rush could be a great pair, and reboot Lashley’s WWE run.
JP Wood
There was quite a bit to like in this week’s Raw. I’ve got to give my highlight of the night, though, to the Bobby Lashley heel turn. Finally, Lashley can be used the way he should be: as a machine of destruction, instead of a sister-loving guy who grins like an idiot for no apparent reason.
I enjoyed the fact that they didn’t foreshadow this, they didn’t draw it out in a ‘will he / won’t he’ storyline. They just fixed the mistake they made in ever booking him as a babyface to begin with.
I’m not often pleasantly surprise by something I see on Raw. Tonight, I was a believer again.
Nicholas Holicki
There was only one first-time ever match that we had the privilege of witnessing last night. Of course I’m talking about the Global Battle Royal.
Corbin had scoured all four corners of the globe to assemble the best talent we’ve ever seen inside a Raw ring. Forget Seth Rollins or Finn Bálor – I’m talking living legends like the ‘Sultan of Shawarma’, Stanislaw ‘The Squeezer’ and Franz ‘the Belgian Waffler’.
Ultimately the ‘Spanish Conquistador’ accomplished two notable victories last night, by winning the match to secure a place in the World Cup tournament at Crown Jewel and also, perhaps more impressively, fitting his rather large frame into the men’s medium full-body suit that WWE had been holding in storage since the early 2000s. The masked man then revealed himself to be none other than a returning Kurt Angle! This segment, much like the bodysuit, was pure gold.
Also, who could ever forget Cole’s immortal words upon seeing ‘the Sickler’ get eliminated: “Well, there goes that guy.” Still got it, Cole.
What was the worst part of last night’s episode?
Eric Stites
My least favorite moment was the match between Nia Jax and Ember Moon. This match just seemed totally pointless. Two baby faces having a random meaningless match in the middle of the show. It was more than obvious that it was just filler and to make it all worse, Ember got a jobber’s entrance and the match ended in a countout. I love Ember and I find it really sad to see WWE continue to waste her talent.
Brian Farrell
Roode and Gable vs The Ascension. Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: Gable takes damage, tags Roode in, who is about to win when Gable his a rolling German suplex on Victor for the win. It’s cool that AOP beat them up after, it’ll be good for both teams, but are WWE aware they have other tag teams? I’m just tired of seeing these same four guys have matches for the 4th or 5th week in a row?
JP Wood
Tonight’s Raw seemed to be taking place in Rematch, USA because part of the card was just lifted straight from Saturday morning’s. This included the main event pitting the Dogs of War against the Shield. The only clear reason to do that seems to be the 50/50 booking philosophy that says that the Shield’s win on Saturday required a Dogs win on Monday.
Then there was the second rematch between the Bellas & Ronda Rousey and the Riott Squad. This one was clearly held so that they could generate the predictable finish they wanted on Saturday, but didn’t pull the trigger at the time. The Bellas turn on Rousey.
I mean, I get the Nikki thing. They had to set it up that way to make the match work. By why did Brie turn too? What happens when she is needed to play wife on SmackDown? Is she a face again?
Nicholas Holicki
Bayley and Bálor teaming up to face Jinder Mahal and Alicia Fox, again. I didn’t hate this match this first time I saw it. I didn’t even mind when we got a rematch the week thereafter. But by the time we were served a third encounter between these two teams, I started to wonder how much longer this would go on for.
Last night’s Raw marked the fourth time that Bálor and Jinder have shared a ring in the last eight weeks. And if you’re going to tell me that this is the end of their feud – remember what felt like the best of sixty-three match series he had against Corbin a few months ago?
How would you rate the show overall? (From best to worst: In Awe, Cor, AvRAWge, Poor and Bore)
Eric Stites
I give this episode a solid AvRAWge. The episode was fantastic storyline-wise. Just about every segment did a great job of setting up or continuing a feud leading up to any of WWE’s many upcoming pay-per-views.
The wrestling on the other hand was not so great. Most of the matches were pretty boring. Some were pretty pointless like I previously mentioned. The only matches I liked from last night were the battle royal and the main event.
But @TheDeanAmbrose… where you going? #RAW pic.twitter.com/TubYz6aFhy
— WWE (@WWE) October 9, 2018
Brian Farrell
Cor. This was the first Raw I’ve watched in a couple of weeks, and I enjoyed it very much. The Angle return, Lashley’s and Bellas’ heel turn, and Dean’s walkout, are all good and surprising. DX reuniting was cool, main event was good, Elias was good, and I think the women’s tag team match for evolution could be decent. Minus the mixed match challenge advert, and the Ascension facing ‘Rable’, it was a solid, enjoyable show!
JP Wood
Cor. Overall, a very entertaining Raw. There were moments that I genuinely didn’t see coming, a number of returns from the likes of Kurt Angle and Nia Jax, not to mention Trish and Lita.
Most importantly, though, this Raw felt like it was building toward the right number of things as storylines for both Evolution and Crown Jewel started to separate themselves from each other as we put Super Show-Down behind us.
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Nicholas Holicki
A high Cor. This was a really entertaining episode of Raw. And, for a change, it felt like events on this episode were designed to lead into storylines unfolding over the next few months, as opposed to simply being random filler moments.
Bobby Lashley turned heel, the Bellas turned on their BFF Ronda, Kurt Angle returned in a solid gold bodysuit to book a place in Crown Jewel and the Shield, Strowman, Dolph and McIntyre put on another great main event.
With all of that goodness, it was easy to overlook some of the weaker elements of the show, like Nia Jax / Ember Moon, the tag match between Bobby Roode & Chad Gable and the Ascension, and the Trish Stratus promo segment.
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