This was an entertaining episode, just a few too many matches. A few of them are decently entertaining and serve to establish a superstar’s dominance for the foreseeable future. However, seeing that many in one three-hour show becomes a bit repetitive.
Seth Rollins is developing a new wrinkle to his character that is very perplexing yet intriguing and marketable as a result of his encounter about a month ago with “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt. He seems to be playing the role of a character who cannot seem to get over with the WWE universe no matter what he does.
This level of unpredictability regarding Seth’s character could potentially lead Monday Night Raw to gain more viewers each week because it will constantly have the WWE universe wondering whether he will be a heel or face every week. However, it feels organic because his character seems to still be very genuine and his actions don’t seem to be with malicious intent. He is just being very blunt with people, maybe a little too much, and I along with many others can relate to that personally.
Lana started off the night with Kevin Owens by using her chaotic personality and somewhat annoying voice to make a surprisingly entertaining mess out of the first segment. One almost has to have sympathy for Bobby Lashley because of the predicaments Lana seems to drag him into, like getting arrested this week. Who knows? Maybe this storyline will organically lead to him turning face.
AOP is on a tear. There is always the possibility they could align with Seth Rollins and create a new Shield. Another reason for this (besides the fact that just last week when they attacked Kevin Owens, they chose to leave Seth alone) is because AOP used to wear the same vests that the Shield wore back in their heyday. They discarded that attire for whatever reason.
Maybe I misheard it, but I think Kevin Owens cussed on Raw. I love it! Edgy programming!
Randy Orton seems to have turned reluctantly into a face. He has expressed to WWE management how he really prefers to be a heel. Unfortunately, Monday Night Raw needs faces. There are already plenty of heels on the Raw side of the roster, with guys like Brock Lesnar, Bobby Lashley, Drew McIntyre, along with Seth Rollins sometimes playing the role of a heel.
Raw dwindled a little bit in the face department, so they needed an established superstar like Randy Orton to turn face right now. Apart from the three main who competed in the six-man tag match this week, you’d be hard-pressed to find many other faces on Monday Night Raw. Orton’s impending rivalry with AJ Styles will seemingly begin at TLC, and Drew McIntyre next in line after that.
It’s so great to see The Kabuki Warriors finally being treated somewhat similarly on the main roster to how they were in NXT (separately). They are both obviously talented enough to deserve a push like this. The spotlight they are being thrust into doesn’t seem too big at all for either of them.