It's kind of my gimmick to get upset, to think irrationally, and to swear uncontrollably for the sake of comedy. It's what we do around here. I've bought into the bandwagons, I've used the hyperbole. And along the way I've realized something: what exactly does this accomplish? It's an interesting thought process to go down, to wonder about the impact of the things we do and the things we say. And with that, I've managed to take longer to write an intro than an entire review.
- Sami Zayn may have a written clause in his contract that forces him to open every pay-per-view. And I'm not complaining; the energy he brings in the ring always hypes the crowd. Samoa Joe has been great on Raw, and I'm interested to see what's planned for him at Mania.
- Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson are pretty great, and got a decent match out of Enzo and Cass. Although it wasn't a clean win, I'm glad that the Good Brothers will head to WrestleMania with the belts.
- Sasha Banks finally got a win on a pay-per-view. It was a major shocker, as she defeated Nia Jax with a roll-up, keeping the Boss looking strong for a future title match.
- With extra time to fill, Raw tossed on two filler matches. Not much to say here; neither was great, and both lasted way longer than they should've.
- The cruiserweights have had a difficult time, to say the least, getting over on Raw. Neville's heel run has been incredibly good, and he and Jack Gallagher stole the show. I've not been too much into Gallagher's work in the past, but he won me over tonight. Those headbutts, man.
- It's been a long time since Roman Reigns has gotten a big win. He was pinned at Survivor Series, lost twice to Kevin Owens, and was eliminated at the Royal Rumble. Unfortunately for Braun Strowman, Roman needed to get his heat back heading into a likely clash with The Undertaker at WrestleMania. These two put on a hell of a match, and for those worrying, Braun will be just fine.
- Not quite as confident about Raw's women's division, though. I'm glad there was no title change, but having face Bayley knowingly cheat to defeat Charlotte just felt wrong. This was a waste of a potential big moment.
- I know lots of people will have unfavorable opinions about the main event, but I won't be one of them. Before I get eviscerated, I'll give you my reasoning. First off, Kevin Owens' run as champ was getting stale. Raw's main event scene lacks any real heat, though it's not entirely his fault. I felt the story they gave us worked well. KO wasn't an idiot. He stayed out of the ring, and played his mind games. Then, when he was finally ready to go, former BFF Chris Jericho returned to cost him the belt. The loss wasn't clean, and Owens will transition into a heated rivalry with Y2J.
But try as I might, I can't support the decision to put the belt on Goldberg. I'm sure he'll pass it along to Brock in a month, which should open up some great matches(I still want Brock vs Balor). Goldberg just isn't right as a transitional champion. Give the belt to Sami Zayn, or Seth Rollins, or Roman Reigns, and let them face Lesnar. Goldberg-Lesnar won't be a great match, and shouldn't have the belt attached to it.
5/10
This was a fun night overall. We had two great matches, and the cruiserweights are starting to get over. Bayley didn't lose to Charlotte, same goes for Gallows and Anderson, and Samoa Joe looked great. I'm not a big fan of Goldberg winning the belt, as it's a means to an end. Transitional champs are never fun, and a 50-year old part-timer is a bad choice for a transitional champion. The whole point of bringing Goldberg back was to pop ratings; I suppose we'll just have to wait and see if it worked.
- Sami Zayn may have a written clause in his contract that forces him to open every pay-per-view. And I'm not complaining; the energy he brings in the ring always hypes the crowd. Samoa Joe has been great on Raw, and I'm interested to see what's planned for him at Mania.
- Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson are pretty great, and got a decent match out of Enzo and Cass. Although it wasn't a clean win, I'm glad that the Good Brothers will head to WrestleMania with the belts.
- Sasha Banks finally got a win on a pay-per-view. It was a major shocker, as she defeated Nia Jax with a roll-up, keeping the Boss looking strong for a future title match.
- With extra time to fill, Raw tossed on two filler matches. Not much to say here; neither was great, and both lasted way longer than they should've.
- The cruiserweights have had a difficult time, to say the least, getting over on Raw. Neville's heel run has been incredibly good, and he and Jack Gallagher stole the show. I've not been too much into Gallagher's work in the past, but he won me over tonight. Those headbutts, man.
- It's been a long time since Roman Reigns has gotten a big win. He was pinned at Survivor Series, lost twice to Kevin Owens, and was eliminated at the Royal Rumble. Unfortunately for Braun Strowman, Roman needed to get his heat back heading into a likely clash with The Undertaker at WrestleMania. These two put on a hell of a match, and for those worrying, Braun will be just fine.
- Not quite as confident about Raw's women's division, though. I'm glad there was no title change, but having face Bayley knowingly cheat to defeat Charlotte just felt wrong. This was a waste of a potential big moment.
- I know lots of people will have unfavorable opinions about the main event, but I won't be one of them. Before I get eviscerated, I'll give you my reasoning. First off, Kevin Owens' run as champ was getting stale. Raw's main event scene lacks any real heat, though it's not entirely his fault. I felt the story they gave us worked well. KO wasn't an idiot. He stayed out of the ring, and played his mind games. Then, when he was finally ready to go, former BFF Chris Jericho returned to cost him the belt. The loss wasn't clean, and Owens will transition into a heated rivalry with Y2J.
But try as I might, I can't support the decision to put the belt on Goldberg. I'm sure he'll pass it along to Brock in a month, which should open up some great matches(I still want Brock vs Balor). Goldberg just isn't right as a transitional champion. Give the belt to Sami Zayn, or Seth Rollins, or Roman Reigns, and let them face Lesnar. Goldberg-Lesnar won't be a great match, and shouldn't have the belt attached to it.
5/10
This was a fun night overall. We had two great matches, and the cruiserweights are starting to get over. Bayley didn't lose to Charlotte, same goes for Gallows and Anderson, and Samoa Joe looked great. I'm not a big fan of Goldberg winning the belt, as it's a means to an end. Transitional champs are never fun, and a 50-year old part-timer is a bad choice for a transitional champion. The whole point of bringing Goldberg back was to pop ratings; I suppose we'll just have to wait and see if it worked.
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