Raw is at its best when it restlessly catapults you from one segment to the next, never allowing you to linger long enough on any one angle. Because it’s in those stationary moments, where you get a chance to properly analyse what’s going on, that things start to fall apart. It’s sort of like Westworld in that sense. Also, I’m fairly sure the backstage area is populated by humanoid robots… Charley Caruso.
Last week’s Raw was an excellent example of this principle in action. Tired of hearing Michael Cole’s boring sales pitch? Roman Reigns returns next! Not into seeing Kurt Angle struggle to beat Jinder? Stay tuned for Aleister Black and Ricochet! Checking out of the latest Lacey Evans appearance? Don’t miss Ric Flair’s birthday celebrations! Raw was always enticing you to stay tuned, with the promise of better segments ahead.
But this week we didn’t get that rush treatment. There was no promise of a big payoff at the end of the rainbow. So instead we were just left to linger in the mediocrity last night delivered. Through the same Shield related tensions we witnessed six months ago. And a year before that. Through McIntyre, Lashley and Corbin cutting long promos and even longer beat-down segments. And through ‘hilarious’ backstage antics featuring B-list celebrities with C-list jokes. While nothing felt offensively bad last night, everything just felt like a tedious slog.
IT'S OFFICIAL: @WWERomanReigns @WWERollins & @TheDeanAmbrose will do it one more time as #TheShield battles @DMcIntyreWWE @BaronCorbinWWE & @fightbobby at #WWEFastlane! #RAW pic.twitter.com/RcHvRoaM1l
— WWE (@WWE) March 5, 2019
The thorough line intended to captivate us this week was twofold: the Shield reunion and everything surrounding the vacant Raw Women’s Championship. The problem was that neither of these stories were presented in an especially engaging manner. We’ve seen the Shield pull a Humpty Dumpty all too often in recent years – not to mention that having to secure the buy-in of a reluctant Dean Ambrose is exactly how this story played out six months ago. Despite that though, it’s the kind of familiar territory that could be forgiven if not for the fact that the catalyst of this reunion was the League of Extraordinary Goofs: McIntyre, Corbin and Lashley. Even at WWE’s biggest pay-per-view of the year, Fastlane, this match doesn’t excite me.
The women’s narrative didn’t fare much better. The main source of tension was whether Becky (newly reinstated by Stephanie) would elect to sign an agreement holding WWE blameless in the event of unintended injury or… God, does anyone care about this legal mumbo jumbo? I mean, what’s next? A minority shareholder dispute? A mishandling of Curt Hawkins’ retirement annuity? This was every flavour of bland until the very end, when Ronda was allowed to show a bit of personality. Her violent assault on Becky – while perhaps harming the Irishwoman – made Ronda interesting for the first time in months. She finally cut loose and unleashed the ruthless animal we’ve been waiting to see since her debut. How this plays into the Becky / Charlotte bout at Fastlane remains to be seen. But I am intrigued.
Has @RondaRousey just ended @BeckyLynchWWE's hopes of defeating @MsCharlotteWWE at #WWEFastlane and making it to #WrestleMania? #RAW pic.twitter.com/07ZaItCALz
— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) March 5, 2019
On a separate note, if we never get special celebrity guests appearing on Monday nights again, I’ll die happy.
Raw wasn’t all bad though, so before we get too stuck in the weeds… stay tuned for the best of the red brand after the break!
What was your favourite moment from Raw?
Emma Heeley
I know over the past few years we have seen the Shield reform and disband a couple of times, but that fist bump still sends my little fangirl heart a-flutter. However, the match being dubbed as ‘One Last Time’ and commentary finally acknowledging Dean’s contact situation, makes me a little suspicious about his legitimate future with the company. (My Is-it-a-work-or-shoot-O-meter strongly pointing at work after this week.) Either way, I’m excited to see my boys team up again.
If there was anybody born to portray a heel, its Ronda freakin’ Rousey! I never fully got behind her babyface shtick, but I am 100% invested in her as a heel. That closing segment has now ramped up my excitement to see the triple threat at WrestleMania and hopefully the start of the Four Horsewomen vs Horsewomen feud that we’ve all been waiting for. Also, honourable mention to Otis Dozavic – that promo made me laugh out loud. Moral of the story: don’t hurt his feelings.
Dylan Kapisky
Roman Reigns. I’m bloody tired of Shield reunions. They’ve happened so often over the last three years that it’s become a bit tiresome. That said, Roman’s plea to reunite the trio for “one last ride” was excellent. His line about wanting one more moment with his brothers, because tomorrow isn’t a guarantee, was an incredible comment, given the current rumors of Dean’s exit, and of course, Roman’s recent cancer scare.
Before that, though, Roman and Seth shared a brilliant moment. Seth believed that Reigns wanted a shot at Brock Lesnar. But Roman said that his priorities are different now, instead wishing luck to his Shield brother. This seemingly confirmed that Reigns will not be inserted into the WrestleMania Universal Title match, but was done in a clever, touching way. An absolutely golden promo from WWE’s golden boys.
Kyle Payne
The Rousey / Lynch / Flair segment was absolutely phenomenal and the best part of the show. Each woman played her role perfectly. Charlotte – the heel who refused to get involved as Becky got destroyed by Ronda. Becky – who tried to fight back despite being injured. And Ronda – allowing herself to reach the breaking point after being second in the eyes of the fans to Becky. From a storyline perspective, it all makes complete sense and all of these women need to be commended because they captured and portrayed it all spectacularly. My favorite part was when Ronda kept yelling if Becky was going to tweet about this and at the very end, Lynch smiled that smug grin that has probably gotten her in more trouble than she cares to admit.
The tag team match between Ricochet and Black versus The Revival was great and the no finish was the right call because Revival shouldn’t be losing their belts and the new NXT stars shouldn’t be losing so early in their debuts. Elias is great and I adore Heavy Machinery. I appreciate them addressing Ambrose’s potential leaving and reforming The Shield might finally give him direction and a more natural change in character.
#RAW #TagTeamChampions #TheRevival, NOR @REALBobbyRoode & @WWEGable, have seen the last of @WWEAleister & @KingRicochet. pic.twitter.com/Ka0voDewG0
— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) March 5, 2019
Nicholas Holicki
Fleeting as it was, I’ll always enjoy seeing Ricochet and Aleister Black in the ring. I have no idea why they were thrown into a tag title match so early, essentially guaranteeing the non-finish, but I was entertained by the match regardless.
Ricochet is simply electric between the ropes and Black is a phenomenal performer. I hope they don’t get too bogged down in the depressing tag division, as ultimately both men would be better served as singles stars, but at least they’re being booked in prominent matches and aren’t losing.
What was the worst part of last night’s episode?
Emma Heeley
I’m getting fed up with this lazy booking that Raw always seems to have fall victim to. While the promos and actual in-ring action is getting stronger week by week, the repetitive match-ups are dragging down the show. How many times are we going to see a variation of Riott Squad vs Natalia or Corbin / McIntyre / Lashley vs Strowman / Bálor before everyone goes insane? They have a wide roster on Raw with a lot of talent barely getting any air time. Why aren’t those boys and girls getting a look in?
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Dylan Kapisky
‘This is how I walk. This is how I turn around. This is how I walk away.’ Lacey Evans, sort it out. This whole ‘music plays, Lacey enters, Lacey leaves’ schtick accomplishes nothing other than creating disinterest in Evans’s character. It’s awful. I won’t dwell on it much longer, as just about everybody is saying the same thing, but this is far from an interesting story.
Kyle Payne
The first thing that comes to mind is the poor management in that opening 6-man tag match. I was actually excited that it was happening but I knew things were going to be off when the entrances were weirdly done. I hope I’m not the only one who noticed Finn and Kurt come out, then the heels with Corbin’s music when they came back from break and then Braun. For those new to wrestling, they might have thought it was four versus two. Then, during this same match, there was a blatant disqualification that the ref saw. Hell, Stevie Wonder himself saw it. For some reason, the match was left to continue and that pretty much sums up what Raw is if you think about it.
The whole concept of two SmackDown wrestlers fighting for the Raw Women’s Championship makes more sense than you might think, given the state of the red brand’s division and that’s just sad.
Nicholas Holicki
There are only two periods of time in this world. Before Baron Corbin, Bobby Lashley and Drew McIntyre became a team… and whatever fresh hell we inhabit today.
But I’m not going to go with those three goofs this week, it’s too easy (and not nearly offensive enough). Instead, I’m going to highlight the frustrating mess that is the Raw women’s title picture.
There was a point when this build was by some margin the most intriguing aspect of Raw. But then the decision was made that ‘more is more’. So we got knee injuries, suspensions, apologies, more suspensions, replacements, a heel turn, an arrest, title abdications, reinstatements, another heel turn, and now a ‘Hold Harmless’ Agreement. Because apparently for decades WWE has been living in fear of getting sued if one of their wrestlers gets too badly beaten up.
Compounding this booking mess was the decision to advance the story in the least inspiring way possible. Simply having Stephanie McMahon announce that Becky was reinstated and would face Charlotte for the vacant Raw Women’s Championship at Fastlane. Followed by Stephanie just announcing that the title would be returned to Ronda and the Becky / Charlotte match would instead be for a spot at WrestleMania. Meh.
How would you rate the show overall? (From best to worst: RawSome, Cor, AvRAWge, Poor and RawFul)
Emma Heeley
I feel conflicted by this week’s Raw. Considering it was supposed to be the go-home show for Fastlane, it didn’t do anything to amp me up or get even remotely excited about this Sunday’s pay-per-view. However, as a show on the road towards WrestleMania, it was more than an adequate affair. Rivalries are starting to be foreshadowed for the big showcase (even though it’s over a month away, I am way more excited to see that than this Sunday’s show).
This week’s Raw didn’t feel too bogged down and kept up with a decent pace. Yes, there were some repeat matches from last week (just in a different presented variant) and some backstage shenanigans that probably could have gone without, but you’ve got to fill that 3-hour show somehow.
But with that being said, once again for me this week, all the good outweighed the bad. This week’s Raw was Cor.
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Dylan Kapisky
AvRAWge. This show was a tale of missed opportunities. The Becky reveal was anticlimactic and plain baffling. The Shield reunion came at the expense of seeing the same old heels doing the same old things. Even the Triple H promo, while good, didn’t resonate with me, as it felt like a half-hearted attempt to inject realism into a feud that already had plenty.
Having said that, apart from Lacey Evans, and Tamina vs. Banks, nothing on this show was offensively bad, and there is certainly plenty to talk about.
Kyle Payne
AvRAWge. Nothing really special happened on this show besides the centering women’s WrestleMania main event. Triple H and Batista exchanged words, in a way, and the deep meaning of Ric Flair to Triple H was great. That 6-man tag match was decent despite some major hiccups and Lio Rush getting absolutely murdered was a great spot. Heavy Machinery running through the tag division and seeing them get over naturally is great to watch. Roode and Gable turning heel feels long overdue and it’ll refresh them. Overall, nothing special but some nice elements.
Nicholas Holicki
I was somehow surprised every time someone pointed out that this was a go-home edition of Raw. Because nothing of any consequence happened!
Sure, the Shield reformed to take on the Legion of Dorks this Sunday and Becky was reinstated to challenge Charlotte, with a spot in the WrestleMania match up for grabs. Then Ronda beat up Becky for a while. But both of those ideas were more exciting on paper than they were in practice. With nothing else even remotely worth talking about coming out of last night’s show, this Raw was Poor.
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