RAW

It’s officially Post-WrestleMania time, so events will slow down a bit and we can take time to catch our breath. This is also a time for newer, younger superstars who we may not be quite as familiar with to receive a plethora of opportunities. With that being said, let’s get to the weekly events that took place.

First and foremost, how amazing is it that AJ Styles is going to challenge Seth Rollins for the Universal Championship at Money in the Bank. I think it’s safe to say the WWE universe has been desperately yearning for this match to take place ever since Styles debuted at the Royal Rumble in 2016. There is absolutely zero doubt these are two of the best performers in the world. This match will be a pure spectacle without a doubt. The Styles Clash to Rey Mysterio on top of Samoa Joe was also ridiculous.

The next topic I will bring up is how Sami Zayn’s entrance is a perfect contradiction of his heel character. When he makes his entrance, you can’t help but smile because the music is so upbeat and uplifting. Zayn is also a true one-of-a-kind when it comes to cutting promos.

A little sympathy would have to go out to Cedric Alexander because he did not get a great opportunity to showcase the moves in his arsenal that truly make him unique, and those moves obviously involve his highflying ability.

Cesaro, on the other hand, is the true cream of the crop. If any superstar wants to truly test their abilities, they will have a match with the bruising Swiss Cyborg. Cesaro may be a dark horse candidate to win this year’s Money in the Bank ladder match, although WWE likely will go with a more popular star to get the victory. This would be a KofiMania moment for Cesaro.

Sheamus’ concussion is also worth noting. The possibility is worth considering that this could mean the end of The Bar. Sheamus is 41, and it’s widely documented that he has not been 100% for the last several years due to spinal stenosis.

The return of Bray Wyatt in a vignette is a welcome addition to Monday Night Raw. It’s great for business as well as for selfish reasons. The #ImissRoman on Twitter may also be foreshadowing that he will move to SmackDown and begin a feud with Roman Reigns sooner rather than later.

A change in character may have been just what Bobby, or… Robert Roode needed. The Glorious gimmick had run its course, Roode is a natural heel anyway (as he was in NXT as champion), and the new character will completely disassociate him from his TNA days. The mustache makes him look like a completely different person, and his personality in the ring seems to be much more authentic.

The final topic I will discuss from this week is the hilarious comments made by Becky Lynch regarding her opinion (kayfabe) that Lacey Evans receives favors from management in the form of championship matches by doing what I don’t need to repeat, but all of us adults know what was insinuated.

Considering Raw historically focuses more on the mic work and promo ability of its superstars, and SmackDown generally provides a heavier concentration on the in-ring work of performers, this dynamic may be in for somewhat of a change with the likes of Andrade and AJ Styles switching brands. A surprising number of superstars switched brands, including The Miz, Ricochet and Aleister Black, The Viking Experience, Cedric Alexander, Andrade, Rey Mysterio, Lars Sullivan, The Usos, Naomi, and AJ Styles. Each one of these will be covered in depth.

The Miz’s rivalry with Shane McMahon will likely be moved over to Raw, which doesn’t make much difference as it will be entertaining on either brand.

It looks like WWE has finally found a home for Ricochet and Aleister Black. They will do just fine and surely are both future champions.

Next is The Viking Experience (I don’t know about you, but I’m not digging that name; War Raiders was a good name). They will be major players in the tag team division, nonetheless. Cedric Alexander has money written all over him. The cruiserweight division is being elevated over the last couple months, and these guys deserve it. Alexander becomes the second cruiserweight to debut on the main roster (the first being Ali, and his name was in fact shortened from Mustafa Ali, as Vince has done with several superstars over the last several years).

Andrade is someone who could be a major player over the next decade or so since he’s the closest thing WWE has to the second coming of Rey Mysterio. This was also evidenced by the fact that Andrade scored a pinfall victory this week over the Intercontinental Champion Finn Balor, and he is surely in for a title match at Money in the Bank. There is a very conceivable scenario where Andrade could win the title and Balor subsequently wins the Money in the Bank ladder match.

My own personal pick to win it this year is Roman Reigns. I’m just putting it out there that it is a conceivable scenario. Several superstars have a realistic chance of winning this year.

Monday Night Raw may be the place where Rey Mysterio wraps up his WWE career because he is 44 and has said publicly that he only envisions himself wrestling for a couple more years. No one can blame him as he has been doing it for 30 years and has given his heart and soul to the industry. In the meantime, however, if they are anything like me, fans couldn’t help but feel bad for him as he was slaughtered by Lars Sullivan. Sullivan is sure to be a major force in WWE for years to come.

The Usos also made an appearance on Raw beating Roode and Gable, so the Samoan Shield with them and Roman Reigns is still a viable option.

Alexa Bliss teased this week that she may be headed to SmackDown but it is likely that she will stay put because she is a perfect fit for the type of contact that they look to create on Raw.

Sami Zayn is flourishing in his new role since returning last week. The new wrinkles to his heel character were inspired by the self-discoveries he made during his time off due to injury. He is blaming WWE’s most passionate fans for his character’s shortcomings. He has corrected these problems in his own personal life and decided to insert them into his WWE character. These character changes were inspired by Robert Evans, the WWE writer who recently quit and is very good friends with Zayn. It’s also genius that he came up with the catchphrase “see you in hell” (being directed toward the WWE universe).

Naomi has also been moved over to Raw, probably a request to be closer to her husband. Anyway, she teamed up with Bayley to defeat The IIconics after Sasha Banks no-showed like she said she would. The obvious question then becomes “will Bayley and Naomi receive a championship match against The IIconics despite the fact that they are not formally a tag team.”

Some strange vignettes have appeared in recent weeks on WWE TV for what I’m assuming will be the return of Bray Wyatt. Wyatt last appeared at Starrcade in Cincinnati, which I attended back in November. It will be great to see him return in any capacity.

It looks like EC3 has finally been assigned to Monday Night Raw after a few months of being in WWE’s version of purgatory. It was incredibly exciting to see AJ Styles come back to Raw after nearly three years away. It was great seeing him build SmackDown Live into what it is today, but the timing felt right for him to come to Raw. Someone like him could be a potential candidate to challenge Seth Rollins for the Universal Championship in the coming months.

This episode lived up to its billing as the single most exciting episode of the year, headlined this year by Seth Rollins, Kofi Kingston, and Sami Zayn. WWE may be thinking of unifying the men’s and women’s championships. This may be a somewhat ill-advised decision if this is indeed the route WWE is going given the amount of talent they have on the main roster.

• It might be a little too much talent to have just one major champion for the men and women.
• It may be unfair to the superstars and WWE risks creating unhappy relationships because stars may feel they are being underutilized.
• This is a problem because with other wrestling organizations gaining prominence, now the employees have decent options to go elsewhere and make a good living.

Lars Sullivan debuted after being scheduled to do so a few months ago, but it was delayed because of a panic attack. It’s great to see however that he has gotten his mental health back in order. Vince McMahon is sure to give him a major push considering how much he loves big men.

This is unforeseen in terms of what WWE did with Lacey Evans and having her attack Becky Lynch, presumably ensuring that she will challenge for both Women’s Championships at the next pay-per-view. She is extremely talented and is more than capable in the ring.

A very shocking event was when Elias was interrupted by none other than The Undertaker. I don’t think anyone is ever certain about the future of The Undertaker in terms of in-ring competition. It was just so strange seeing The Undertaker miss WrestleMania for the first time since 2000.

The final major event last night was the return of Sami Zayn, who proved to be a worthy first challenger for Finn Balor. It was a smart decision to keep the Intercontinental Championship on Balor as WWE has several champions right now who should hold their titles for an extended period. This is truly a new era for WWE.

After the match though, the returning Zayn cut a brilliant promo with a whole lot of truth to it. WWE should appreciate how articulate he is when he talks. His promo was about how members of the WWE universe are judgmental and critical of others to mask the ugliness inside them. This is extremely true because we have all met people like that. That is exactly what I try not to do on this blog. I try to refrain from too much judgment or criticism of Vince McMahon or anyone else who works for WWE. I attempt to take a holistic viewpoint and to understand where people are coming from in their choices. That is what we should all strive for.

Dean Ambrose did his due diligence and put over Bobby Lashley, and after the show got a great sendoff from his Shield brothers.

It would be reasonable to estimate that Braun Strowman will be involved in a somewhat high-profile match at WrestleMania next year in Tampa, maybe even a title match. He has been on the main roster for four installments of WrestleMania now and has had underwhelming performances at all of them (when your biggest accomplishment at ‘Mania is winning the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, it may be time for Vince to examine the way Braun is being booked and to make strides to improve his status within the company. He might fare better moving to SmackDown during the Superstar Shakeup.

In addition to suffering a broken hand at WrestleMania, Ronda Rousey is reportedly going to take a break from WWE and attempt to have children with her husband, Travis Browne. She reportedly signed a multi-year deal with WWE, so she isn’t going anywhere and will return hopefully as soon as possible. She is penciled in as of now for a rematch with Becky Lynch at WrestleMania 36 next year in Tampa.

The final touches are being put on storylines heading into WrestleMania. I will begin by talking again about the women and the stipulation that was added to the main event. The fact that both titles will be on the line is awesome and tells me, as well as all other fans, that the two WWE Women’s Championships will almost certainly be unified sooner rather than later (it will probably be Becky Lynch who comes away with both titles).

Dean Ambrose may have made his farewell appearance on Monday Night Raw, coming out to deliver Dirty Deeds to Baron Corbin as Raw went off the air and subsequently bowing to the crowd as if saying goodbye.

Finn Balor’s Demon character may have officially lost its luster. Finn sticking out his tongue during his promo was just weird. Vince McMahon has historically had a rough time integrating different and sinister acts like this on to the main roster (just ask Bray Wyatt, or “Woken” Matt Hardy as the most recent examples, or Mordecai if you want an older example. Mordecai, however, would have worked if Kevin Fertig had not gotten into a bar fight in Louisville, Kentucky in 2004. He was originally scheduled to face The Undertaker at WrestleMania 21 in 2005 at the Staples Center instead of Randy Orton).

Also, congratulations to Samoa Joe on making his first WrestleMania appearance after over two years on the main roster. Joe missed WrestleMania 33 due to injury, and he missed the event last year because the creative team had nothing for him. This had to be a disappointment, because he was healthy and he had to feel let down because he was missing out on a huge opportunity, but it was due to circumstances that were out of his control. He should definitely retain his title at ‘Mania against Rey Mysterio, as he deserves a pretty long run with the belt to help elevate the title.

I am now able to officially confirm that John Cena will in fact have a match at WrestleMania, according to Dave Meltzer on the most recent edition of WOL (he has virtually all the inside scoop on professional wrestling). No one knows, however, who his opponent may be. Lars Sullivan may show up after the match and decimate Cena’s opponent after whoever loses the match. This idea just came to me on this beautiful Tuesday afternoon: Cena’s opponent may be a returning Sami Zayn, since he should be about healed from surgery to repair both of his rotator cuffs which he underwent in June of last year, right after the Money in the Bank pay-per-view and a loss to Bobby Lashley. Cena and Zayn have had just one previous match in May 2015 for Cena’s United States Championship (Zayn answered Cena’s U.S. open challenge).

The women finally get an official opportunity to headline WrestleMania. Many people thought this should be the main event, and it makes perfect sense for Vince McMahon to place Ronda Rousey in this situation because she is arguably his biggest star, other than Brock Lesnar. That whole “beat the clock challenge” last night made no real sense at all. Ronda hit the nail on the head with that one, it is absolutely a BS gimmick. I love WWE and wouldn’t trade it for the world, but I don’t think anyone is a fan of beat the clock challenges (those can probably be done away with).

I couldn’t be happier for Finn Balor on earning an Intercontinental Championship match versus Bobby Lashley at WrestleMania. See my post in The Business of WWE on this match.

Ricochet and Aleister Black definitely deserve a Raw Tag Team Championship match at WrestleMania; they beat The Revival in a non-title match on Raw last night.

The situation with Apollo Crews is somewhat tricky, because he may hit his stride in a year or two in which he gains enough momentum to win some Championships. WWE will have to capitalize on this rather quickly because I have a feeling it may not last very long. He is just such a great athlete, truly a one-of-a-kind, and it would be a huge let down to see him walk away from the company without ever winning any Titles, but that scenario is foreseeable.

Triple H did some excellent work last night on the mic (there was an absolutely hilarious moment when he was quoting the 1996 song “Wannabe” by the Spice Girls). There was a more serious moment where he put his career on the line at WrestleMania, but I’m not too worried, Triple H’s career is safe considering that he is the COO.

Lastly, good luck to Dean Ambrose in whatever he endeavors to do if he does in fact leave WWE, whether he enters some other wrestling organization or decides to pursue another path in life.

Side Note: I’m still holding out hope for an Angle vs. Cena match at ’Mania, as it would be a major draw. I’m officially ruling out the possibility of The Undertaker appearing in a match at WrestleMania. He still may make an appearance, but it won’t be in a match (this is not a fact by any means). He is simply getting older to perform at a level that is acceptable to him. Let’s face it too, The Undertaker’s entrance is what fans really want to see anyway, so he can make a small appearance for five or even ten minutes, sending fans home happy.

To start things off this week, I would like to discuss what transpired at the beginning of Raw in the confrontation between Brock Lesnar and Drew McIntyre. If Lesnar retains his title at WrestleMania, and, unfortunately, that possibility needs to be acknowledged, then this very well may be the main event at SummerSlam. I have nothing against Brock (it’s the opposite in fact: I think he is a fantastic performer), I just wish he would show up more often. It may have been cool at some point during Lesnar’s career to see him take a little more ownership of his character and not rely so much on Paul Heyman, but that ship may have sailed since Brock is so late in his career.

I also humbly think that Kurt Angle deserves better than what McMahon is giving him with the booking for his retirement match at ‘Mania. It makes sense from a storytelling standpoint, but, in my opinion, he deserves a much better opponent from a wrestling standpoint than Baron Corbin, maybe someone like Finn Balor. Corbin has not done a whole lot to stand out in his three years on the main roster.

I guess Beth Phoenix is going to come out of retirement for at least one more match at WrestleMania to challenge for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships along with Natalya against Sasha Banks and Bayley. Personally, I have never been all that impressed with Natalya. I have never resonated with her (I know this would hurt her feelings. It’s not that I don’t want to, I just don’t).

It has become apparent that Ricochet and Aleister Black are the No. 1 contenders for the Raw Tag Team Championships at WrestleMania, and they should win because they are much more over than The Revival.

One other thing that deserves mentioning is the strength of Drew McIntyre’s booking as of late. It went through a little bit of a rough patch in the Fall of 2018 but has made a full recovery. McIntyre’s match with Roman Reigns should be a great one at WrestleMania (in part because it’s such an easy story to relate to. I read an article about it on Forbes.com written by Blake Oestriecher, one of my favorite authors on the Internet regarding the business of WWE). If I were Vince, I would use this opportunity to book McIntyre to come out of this match as the victor, cementing him as the top heel on Monday Night Raw. Roman Reigns would not be too badly hurt by this loss.

Side Note: Congratulations to Alexa Bliss on hosting this year’s WrestleMania, and also to Elias, for that matter, on being the headlining musical act at WrestleMania this year. It may be beneficial to Elias’ career and possibly solidify him as at least a mid-carder if he is booked in the future closer to the way he was immediately prior to the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view in 2018 in which a slightly more serious side of his character is explored and developed. Otherwise, WWE runs the risk of having him turn into No Way Jose (I love No Way Jose, but let’s be honest… he’s a slightly more tolerable version of Adam Rose from a few years ago), and no one wants that. Elias deserves better. He is fun, but he needs to develop a slightly more serious side to his character in the future if he wants to become a multiple-time champion one day.

It’s a pleasant surprise that WWE is finally finding something productive to do with Shelton Benjamin. He is clearly one of the most talented superstars on the roster but is rarely used for some reason. I’m not questioning the decision about how often he is used, it’s just rather unfortunate to see him not being utilized a whole lot. Management surely has their reasons.

Lio Rush officially redeemed himself in the eyes of Bobby Lashley by essentially winning the Intercontinental Championship for him.  This move effectively locks in an Intercontinental Championship match at WrestleMania between Finn Balor and Bobby Lashley. This makes sense because WWE has proven over the years that they really like to draw out feuds.

The situation with Kurt Angle retiring is a little bittersweet because he has always been near and dear to my heart. The entire WWE universe will be anxiously awaiting to see who his opponent is for his farewell match at WrestleMania.

I’m really not sure what to make of the Roman Reigns situation, so I’m not going to give commentary on it until it unfolds. I pray he’s ok. The second Claymore Kick he received from Drew McInyre, causing his head to collide off the rain post, was somewhat scary to watch. McIntyre went on to have a match with Dean Ambrose afterward and went on to prove that he could potentially be the top heel that Monday Night Raw is searching for to build its programming around.

The biggest topic of discussion from Monday Night Raw this week is the reuniting of The Shield. It’s a smart decision for WWE and for Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns respectively. From the standpoint of Ambrose, it’s easy to figure out why this is a good decision because he is leaving the company after WrestleMania. This will be the final opportunity WWE has in the foreseeable future to capitalize on this faction and get a big pop from the audience. For Roman Reigns, it will be a great way to ease back into in-ring competition by having him compete in a six-man tag team match after coming off of his illness (it warms my heart to see him back and doing what he loves). Seth Rollins is the odd man out, because he is the one who had to forgive Ambrose in order to make this work, but he was a standup guy for the sake of his brother.

Moving on, I need to give props to Ronda Rousey because she may indeed be a better heel than a babyface. It seemed like WWE was trying a little too hard to force Ronda into being a fan favorite, much like they were trying to do with Roman Reigns in recent years. She was beginning to come off as a white meat babyface that wasn’t authentic (that term has been largely done away with and was much more popular in the 80s he and 90s). Jason Jordan had the same problem (remember him? – he is now working backstage behind the scenes). WWE tried to solve the issue by bringing in Charlotte Flair to play the role of the villain but not even that worked, so WWE turned its top star classically rogue.

Triple H got emotional while talking about Richard Fliehr to better sell his feud with Batista. This is one of the main matches that will be at WrestleMania. I bet it will get some pops from the audience. I would not be surprised at all if Ricochet and Aleister Black win the Raw tag team titles from The Revival, who are just not meshing well with the WWE universe. It’s a shame, but it’s pretty easy to name off the list of incredibly talented athletes who WWE has had to let go. Not everyone resonates with a live audience (for the longest time, not even Roman Reigns did, and he’s the face of the company). Finally, will someone please give me the information on where Lio Rush’s funeral is located after being run over by Braun Strowman.

Roman Reigns has never strayed too far from any fan’s mind from the time he was re-diagnosed with leukemia to right now when he announced his return. I had absolute faith in him that he would come back sooner rather than later. I was getting very emotional when he was talking in the ring. I could hardly even look at the TV because it would make me cry. It stirred up feelings of the support I have received over the years with the neuromuscular condition I have (I don’t like the wording of “disease” because I view it as more of a case of “dis”-“ease” within the body. But anyway, that was a great way to open the show and get positive emotions flowing through the WWE universe right from the start. It was also great to see Reigns deliver a few moves as he and Seth Rollins proceeded to save Dean Ambrose from the attack by Drew McIntyre, Bobby Lashley, Elias, and Baron Corbin.

It’s important to note that WWE is trying to devalue the character of Dean Ambrose a little bit before he leaves the company. His return to TV is also sure to increase viewership for Raw as it was tanking without its top star, probably because his polarizing presence forces people to respect him combined with the fact that one can feel the energy Reigns permeates into an arena when he walks out – they don’t need to see him.

It was beautiful to see Ric Flair (or should I say the stylin’, profilin’, limousine ridin’, jet flyin’, kiss stealin’, wheelin’ dealin’ son of a gun) electing to give back to the business some more, even on his 70^th birthday and letting Batista have the spotlight. This makes perfect sense because Batista was a part of Evolution with Flair. It also makes perfect sense from the standpoint of Batista wrapping up his career because he has said on multiple occasions that he would like to have one more big feud with Triple H before he officially retires from in-ring competition. He even turned down being inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2017 for this reason. So expect a match to be made for WrestleMania between Batista and Triple H. I imagine Batista has more left in the tank than The Undertaker.

Ronda Rousey did a great job furthering her storyline with Becky Lynch this week by giving Stephanie McMahon an ultimatum saying that if Becky Lynch is not reinstated and put into the match at WrestleMania, then she will basically relinquish the Raw women’s championship. Lastly, the four call –ups from NXT may indeed be here to stay. This is great to see because the business is evolving right before our eyes. All of these guys bring a different feel to WWE. It’s a shame they had to make a name for themselves at the expense of The Revival, but that’s the way it goes in WWE. It will bring new and fresh matchups. It’s very exciting to see and gives one hope that the future of this industry is in good hands.

Lio Rush looked very good too. WWE may overlook him because of his size, but it’d be a crying shame because he’s incredibly talented.

Side Note: I love getting information about how the company is doing in terms of TV viewership from Forbes.

I don’t have much new content to write about from Raw this week. I don’t want to waste my readers’ time going over something that I have gone over many times in the past. With that being said, I am a huge fan of the way WWE is evolving how they open Monday Night Raw each week in 2019. As I have mentioned before, it was getting kind of stagnant. Triple H is doing an excellent job running things and seems to be much more in tune with today’s generation of wrestling fans. Another thing I am happy to see is how they are seamlessly transitioning between segments and not taking a break to settle everyone down. I’m also extremely excited for the future with probably the top four guys in NXT all debuting last night.

The future looks bright for WWE as Triple H may be implementing his version of a WWE territory system in which superstars are virtually interchangeable between brands. This will be a great way to freshen things up. It’s unclear as to how much or how often they will do this, but I am excited for something different at least on occasion. In terms of the crowd last night, they weren’t too into the action but that’s going to happen sometimes. One more thing for fans to potentially get excited about is the imminent return of Kevin Owens and who his WrestleMania opponent may be.