Raw has a major problem.
Now I know that sounds like the beginnings of a rant against the Monday night brand, but I promise you it’s not.
In fact, I thought last night’s show was fairly decent. We were served up a few good matches, some generally ok segments and an intriguing exchange between Drew McIntyre and Dean Ambrose that may bear fruit down the road.
"Maybe I'm just overreacting, it's not like @WWERollins has ever stabbed you in the back before." @DMcIntyreWWE bringing up bad memories for @TheDeanAmbrose… #RAW pic.twitter.com/zJmbJrNqGN
— WWE (@WWE) September 25, 2018
But therein lies the problem.
As things stand, Ziggler and McIntyre are the tag team champs, Rollins holds the Intercontinental gold and Roman Reigns is lugging the Universal Championship around like a sack of old potatoes. With the Shield involved in a prolonged rivalry with the Dogs of War (are we really calling them that?), it means – for the foreseeable future at least – that three of the brand’s main titles are wrapped up in a single feud.
Allowing such a concentration of power to get trapped in one rivalry can only render most of what happens during the rest of the show fairly hollow.
To illustrate: what were Finn Bálor and Jinder Mahal fighting for last night? What did Konnor gain by defeating Chad Gable? What was on the line when the Riott Squad took on the Bellas and Natalya (apart from Liv Morgan’s wellbeing of course, and boy do I have something to say about that later).
Traditionally, matches should revolve around a title, a future shot at a title or a personal grudge. With all of the major men’s championships locked up in one feud, however, that seriously handcuffs what Raw is able to do with its weekly three-hour allotment. How do you book matches with no stakes, no build and nothing on the line?
Despite that, there are no shortage of talking points coming out of last night’s episode. And that’s the purpose behind the WrestleTalk Roundtable. We look at Raw and have a chat about what we liked and what we didn’t. Then we give you our overall impressions of the show and invite you to share your thoughts with us. It’s a foolproof recipe… which is for the best when I’m in charge.
So let’s kick things off with the good.
What was your favourite moment from Raw?
JP Wood
You, me, and everyone’s dog knew that The Revival weren’t going to defeat team ‘ZigglyDrew’ on Raw last night. Normally a foregone conclusion kills a match for me. When I saw the match’s announcement, I couldn’t have cared less. But I’m man enough to admit when I was wrong, and this was one of those times.
I haven’t enjoyed a Raw tag team match that much in a while. It felt like watching Dash and Dawson back in their NXT days. Even if ‘Dolphentyre’ came out the winners, The Revival looked like a top tier tag team again, and I’m looking forward to whatever they do next.
Nicholas Holicki
I’m a big fan of tag team wrestling done right, and in Ziggler, McIntyre and the Revival, we got four of the best. It was a cracking, back-and-forth contest that hung in the balance right until the end.
Of course, the result was hardly ever in doubt (knowing that Braun, Dolph and the Scotsman are due to take on the Shield at Super Show-Down), but that didn’t detract from what was a well-worked match. Plus, the lingering uncertainty surrounding Ambrose’s allegiance added another dash of spice to a solid TV bout.
Dylan Kapisky
The Hugger Club. How could you not like this? Bayley and Finn Bálor brought their Mixed Match Challenge partnership to Monday nights for Finn’s match against Jinder Mahal (who had his partner, Alicia Fox, at his side). The result – despite threatening to be an average, but ultimately forgettable match – was the most entertaining segment on the show.
It started when Finn went to hit the shotgun dropkick on Mahal, but was tripped up by Alicia Fox (it may have been Sunil Singh, I can’t remember). This frustrated Bayley, who tripped up Mahal when he ran the ropes to hit a prone Bálor. Fox tried to get in Bayley’s face, but the ‘Hugger’ dropped the ‘Captain’. Sunil then stepped up to Bayley and received a Bayley-to-Belly for his troubles. The distraction allowed Finn to get a roll-up win, and the pair celebrated on the ramp.
I loved this, and hope they continue to team the two together on “main” WWE programming, as the NXT stuff they did together (mostly on live events) is adorable and hilarious in equal measure.
Eric Stites
It was nice to finally see AoP get put in a significant match. I also really liked Braun, Dolph, and Drew coming out and watching the match on the ramp. The match itself was pretty good too. AoP and Corbin looked good and it was awesome to see the Shield competing together again.
I really liked the build-up to Seth’s hot tag to Dean, although it was weird that Corbin seemed to undersell the curb stomp and dirty deeds in order to give Roman the final blow with the spear and the pin, but other than that the match was solid. The angle at the end with Dean choosing to stay with the Shield instead of joining the heels was a nice touch.
What was the worst part of last night’s episode?
JP Wood
I’ve lost all track of what any of the storylines are actually building toward. Seriously.
It’s the build to Super Show-Down, unless it’s building to Crown Jewel. If it’s a women’s division segment, is it building toward Super Show-Down or Evolution? For sure it isn’t Crown Jewel though, because beautiful Saudi Arabia won’t allow women to compete as a matter of law. If it’s a man and a woman, they’re probably building for Mixed Match Challenge.
I’m not saying WWE has too much going on, and no idea how to organize it. No, that is what I’m saying.
Nicholas Holicki
Brie Bella straight up booting Liv Morgan in the schnoz. I understand this is a dangerous profession and the risks are self-evident, but there are dangers… and then there’s Brie Bella.
We all know that accidents happen. And I have all the coordination of a toddler on a trampoline, so to a certain extent I can empathise with the odd mistake. But at this point Brie just poses a life-threatening presence in the ring – both to herself and her opponents.
She has since issued an apology for the incident, but this is the third possible injury she’s responsible for in the last few weeks. Enough is enough.
Dylan Kapisky
Well this was quite sloppy now, wasn’t it? Seriously, WWE, the Bellas are not famous for their in-ring ability, and should be booked around wrestling matches, not thrown into as many as possible. Their bouts should be treated as novelty acts, and occur infrequently, so as to protect their star appeal. It’s not only harming their image, but also the women they compete against.
This match made the entire Riott Squad look slow, sloppy, and unsafe, despite Ruby Riott and Sarah Logan being very talented performers and Liv Morgan having improved drastically since her NXT days.
Brie accidentally kicked Morgan a bit too hard in the face, and potentially injured her, as Liv had to be carried to her corner to make a tag, and was then tended to by nearby medical staff. Then there were mistimed spots and tepid comebacks, before a mediocre finish. It was not fun viewing.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BoIVSdVFKUF/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet
Eric Stites
The Connor’s Cure segment. Now I know what you’re thinking: Who does this guy think he is to criticize WWE for giving money to charity? Trust me, that’s not what I’m doing so please hear me out.
I hated this segment. Not because of what they did, but because of how it was executed. I didn’t like how they brought the whole roster out onto the stage, babyfaces and heels alike, for the entire segment. That should never happen on WWE TV. I also thought the segment dragged on far too long.
I think it’s awesome that WWE is giving so much money to help fight pediatric cancer, but this segment felt like it should have been done as a WWE.com exclusive. That way it would be more acceptable for the wrestlers to appear together out of character.
How would you rate the show overall? (From best to worst: In Awe, Cor, AvRAWge, Poor and Bore)
JP Wood
Tonight’s RAW was Cor. Sure, some of the storylines were confusing. Sure, a couple of matches were less than stellar. But tonight WWE went the long way around to tell a deep and engaging storyline that culminated in the main event.
The storyline not only involved the primary players (Shield vs Dogs of War), but also managed to tie in The Revival and AoP, making both look like legitimate threats. Storytelling style (not substance) was a big part of what made WWE fun to watch. It’s nice to see a return to shows that make sense, and fights that have context. I hope they keep it up.
Can’t take anything away from AOP. Two guys trying to make a name for themselves…but The Shield is what and where we belong. Running the main event. #Raw #Workhorses
— Roman Reigns (@WWERomanReigns) September 25, 2018
Nicholas Holicki
This was a tough one to judge. The first half of the show was all nothing matches and PR segments. But I felt that it really picked up towards the end, with a good tag match, some entertaining moments from Lio Rush, Kevin Owens and Elias, and ultimately a solid main event. All things considered, last night’s Raw is AvRAWge.
Dylan Kapisky
A low Poor. Despite having an awesome narrative flowing throughout, and a fun Bálor / Bayley segment, Raw was very hard to sit through this week.
If you weren’t involved in the six-man Super Show-Down feud – this week including the Revival, who battled Dolph and Drew – you were simply put in filler segments. Roode and Gable battled the Ascension in some combination, again, while Lashley and Elias continued their feud with a match ending in DQ. How splendid.
Eric Stites
I’m going to give this show an AvRAWge. It really was not a bad show, but I found it to be quite boring. There really wasn’t much to get excited about.
There were only a couple truly bad segments (a huge improvement from the last few episodes) but there really weren’t any good segments either. Practically the entirety of the show was just okay, which made it pretty boring.
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