Official Raw/Smackdown Aftermath, Ratings and Review Thread

[The Fabulous Rougeau's]

Another solid show on the road to Mania. Even though they kinda strung along the Orton turn on Rollins and it was real obvious the execution at the end of Raw was spectacular. Orton was vicious and he even got the table to break on his first RKO (something that if you follow Randy's career he always has to go for a second RKO to break the table). I also enjoyed the aspect of him breaking down the Authority with Kane and Show blowing up in their match and having Rollins send J&J to the back because of his trust of Randy.

Based on the post match main event segment last night, Rollins/Orton is probably the match I'm looking forward to the most on the Mania card.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

I watched about the second half of Raw and didn't like what I saw. I turned it on when Khalifa was out there. I hope others enjoyed the musical performance but that just isn't for me.

The most interesting part of the show I saw was the way they carried the New Day tag match through the Matadores tag match. It was a cool idea to have half of the competitors out for the next match back to back to back. It almost felt like they were rushed for time and the execution was weak but it was a cool idea. I don't remember them ever doing that before. Funny how now that Kidd and Cesaro have the belt they lose. Makes it feel like WWE is going to run a huge multi team tag event for Mania (Gauntlet?) but they still have a lot of spots to fill for the Battle Royal.

Heard Heyman cut another gem, I would have liked to see it but the fact that Brock just stood there makes me not care enough to go on YouTube.

#AxelMania is dead. Zack Ryder had a better run with a joke gimmick that fans fake supported. Weird that Rusev has become my favorite wrestler on the mic. I would rather listen to his short angry rants that bounce between English and whatever else he is speaking (Bulgarian? Russian?) than anything else the roster has to offer. Wait! That's not true, abusive husband Randy Orton beating up his bitch Seth Rollins had some more entertaining lines. But Rusev is doing a good job and along with his disdain for America actually getting Cena cheers. That being said Cena taking Rusev out was lame. The most interesting part was Lana showing what came off as love in trying to save Rusev. That foreign language argument they had in the back was too good of acting for WWE, I felt like I was 14 again, up late and watching some foreign flick on TV hoping it would have a boob in it.

The AJ/Summer Rae match was painful. The best part was seeing Eva Marie. She was born to be on stage. What stage I am not sure but she just looks good out there.

Sting's promo about throat cancer was a waste. I don't care. It sounded more like Nash. This staying home bullshit is terrible. Complain all you want about part time Rock. At least he was around more than this and entertained when he was around. This UT, Lesnar, and Sting crap is too much.

Roman Reigns ring entrance was sad. It is good to know Pittsburgh doesn't have a problem with crickets. The match was fine. While Orton's turn was entertaining, it feels too late and stupid.

I doubt I'm in for Mania this year. I just don't care.

 

[Kyphael]

I agree, part-timers that are THIS MUCH part-time are hurting the Wrestlemania 31 build, badly. How can Lesnar/Reigns be in the same building and not be in the same segment!? How the hell do you make a good promo video when they've been face to face ONCE, and it wasn't even in the ring!?

Why didn't Reigns come out when Heyman was running his mouth? Is he scared? Was he busy? I mean, we know why, but logically, from a booking stand point, from a storyline standpoint, from established kayfabe, why didn't Reigns come out? We don't know! WWE just expects us to accept it for what it is.

This is the least excited I've been for a Wrestlemania in years, and that includes the awful Wrestlemania 27. Why the hell isn't Sting showing up? He was on freakin' Impact every week just under two years ago. Can WWE not afford him!? He shows up less than Lesnar!

Undertaker I understand his absence, the man has given us more than anyone in the business ever, and Wyatt is doing a great job promoting it by himself, Taker has earned his true part-time status, he doesn't need to be traveling, if he shows up at WM in good shape, and gives us a half-decent match, I'll be happy. But Sting... I just don't get it, and the Lesnar/Reigns build has been awful. They pay Lesnar millions so he can show up and stand there for 10 minutes, it just doesn't make any sense!

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Last night's Raw was a strong episode featuring a hot crowd, several strong matches, a couple of well received debuts from NXT, some beacons of hope for WWE's mid-card scene as a whole and a couple of very memorable segments featuring Brock Lesnar. Probably the weakest part of the show was the last 15 minutes or so.

Viewership for Raw reached over 5 million for the first time since WrestleMania season last year. The first hour drew an average of 5,597,000 viewers, the second drew an average of 5,227,000 viewers while hour 3 drew an average of 5,267,000 viewers for an overall average of roughly 5,364,000 viewers, so the Nielsen Ratings should be somewhere in the 3.5 to 3.8 range. Last night's Raw was the most watched episode since the first 3 hour episode on July 23, 2012. Last night's Raw was also #1 in terms of overall viewership, beating the Comedy Central Roast of Justin Bieber by nearly a million viewers, though the roast was #1 in terms of the male 18-49 demos.

 

[steve115657]

So a little late because I just got the chance to watch, but did anybody else think that was the best raw in a while? Rollins and Neville only touched on what them two can do together in the ring and was still a good matcg.

Stardust and cena put on a good show, guessing they are going to have someone "step-up" every week and put on a great match to raise the us titles prestige.

Sheamus beat Mark Henry and I personally like the reboot and the new look. Side note I've never been huge on Barrett or Sheamus but I really like the idea of them being a tag team, I know its a long shot but I think they could really help the tag scene and I don't think the midcard will miss them.

The prime time players promo was hilarious and showed that the wwe knows that their current gimmicks aren't over. They would be too insecure to make fun of it otherwise.

The main event was good. I'm tired of the authority but the Reigns big show interaction was pretty good. Reigns just keeps taking a beating. Earning his stripes before going Back to the main event. and Rollins ends the night on top, looking like a strong 'weak heel' champion.

not that anybody cares for my review of a show haha, but I just wanted to see if anyone else thought that raw seemed a cut above the raws of the recent past

Oh and we got to see Kalisto again. That dude is awesome

 

[OYDK]

I thought Raw was a decent show last night, kind of lacked a strong ending but included a good amount of interesting segments. However, this isn't a Raw review so I'll abstain from talking about the show's quality. There were a few particular parts about Raw last night that caught my interest and I thought I'd share:

New Day Getting Over?

I don't want to jump the gun, but it really is amazing how a turn can almost instantaneously shift public opinion. Now that New Day is actually receiving the crowd reaction they are meant to receive, everything has seemed to click these past few weeks. Big E. and Kingston worked really well together last night and the crowd was all over them. I'm actually invested in New Day vs Cesaro/Kidd. Lucha Dragons will be just fine.

Fandango Transitioning

Maybe it's just me, but WWE seems to be slowly trying to faze out the Fandango gimmick, or at least make it a little bit more multi-dimensional. Cole called Fandango, Curtis (referring to his old moniker) for the first time ever on Raw and I guess they're trying to turn him face? We'll see where this goes I guess...

Announcers Trolling Bellas

I found it kind of hilarious how Nikki originally went out to the table as a face and COMPLETELY shifted into heel mode once the announcers started to get on her nerves. It was like a complete 180 and I'm sure WWE was more than a little upset about it. Still though, part of Nikki's tantrum seemed to be directed towards the announcers disrepsect of Brie, and their attempts to get Naomi over at the cost of her. The whole match was Cole, JBL, and Booker praising Naomi while ignoring Brie. Booker especially showed a good amount of immaturity when he began to egg Nikki on with proclomations of, "How many Bellas does Naomi have to beat to get a title shot!" and "She didn't even break a sweat in that match!" It was kind of awkward to listen to, and the announcers really should have shown more professionalism instead of feeding Nikki.

Return of the Big Red Machine?

Kane showed a bit of his old self in his promo with Rollins. He seemed more comfortable on the mic in those 10 seconds than he has the past 4-5 months. Now rumors of Kane feuding with Roman may put a halt to the return of the old Kane but I think it's only a matter of time until he comes back for one last run. If anything, at least this adds a little bit of intrigue regarding Kane's role at Extreme Rules. Does he do what's "best for business" and help Rollins win? Does he screw him? Or does another member of the roster take Kane out and replace him in The Authority? I sincerely hope that Corporate Kane vs Roman Reigns does not await us.

Bo Dallas...

...is back on Raw with a new beard! Definitely the best part of the night.

 

[chuckmdubya]

New Day - They've been trying hard to get over for a while, seems they are having a little success finally. As best I can remember, there have only been two guys who have earned a regular "sucks" chant, John Cena and The Rock, they are in good company.

Fandango - I'm sorry but a ballroom dancer gimmick will not ever really get over, maybe I'm wrong, but I doubt it.

Bellas - I was thinking as I was watching that Nikki is a natural heel, while Brie is a natural face, and the new heel Naomi is a pretty good character. Looks like a double switch is coming, and the last couple of raws have looked kinda like the Bellas might split again. Some fairly good drama is developing here.

Kane - He gets a lot of heat from younger fans, but he is still very good. His in ring performance hasn't changed much in 20 years. I want to see him get pissed and chokeslam half the roster, do the random run ins and empty the ring. Having him job out all the time has gotten old. The fit of anger and telling Rollins like it was last night was best I've seen in a while also. Their wasting his talent having him as an Authority subordinate, this guy should be a rouge monster again.

Bo Dallas - I still BO-Lieve he could be a top mid carder and an IC champ, hope he gets there.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

New Day SEEMS to be gaining some ground as they're in the process of a slow heel turn. It's still too early to tell, in my opinion, but I like that WWE is making fans wait for the Lucha Dragons to get their first title opportunity. I think we might see a bit more of a transition in terms of look and overall attitude from New Day as time goes on.

As for Fandango, he's gone as far as he's going with the gimmick. A gimmick like that has a short shelf life and can only take a guy so far. He's worked hard with it and has gotten over to a decent degree, but he's not someone that fans are going to take seriously as a threat to a singles championship and putting a singles title on him will only be met with derision and criticism from most fans.

In terms of The Bella Twins, Nikki has always struck me as one that's more of a natural heel. How she's portrayed on Total Divas, though I'm sure some of it is exaggerated, is she comes across as much more shallow and materialistic than Brie. Brie comes off as someone that's generally more down to earth, doesn't spend money as if it's about to go out of style and prefers a generally "simpler" sort of lifestyle. As far as Naomi, she's got potential as a heel. She's got personality and she's entertaining in the ring, at least most of the time, though she needs to ditch her current entrance theme and should adopt a new finisher. The Rear View is one of those goofy finishers that just doesn't really make much sense and it just doesn't strike me as a heels finisher.

As far as Kane goes, he's someone that's never gotten as much credit from fans as he deserves. Since the late 90s, Kane's been a very strong and reliable presence in WWE's upper mid-card picture. He's been very good in his role over the course of the past few weeks and when he injects that angry passion into his promos, he's highly entertaining. I could see Kane leaving The Authority before too long due mostly to Rollins' constant needling of the guy. I don't see him costing Rollins the title, another Randy Orton title run just doesn't hold a ton of interest for a whole lot of people, but he might come close.

As far as Bo Dallas goes, much like Fandango, Dallas' gimmick is one that's only going to take him so far. While his character can be pretty entertaining sometimes, fans aren't gonna take him seriously as a credible threat to a champion. Given a more serious sort of character, I think fans could get behind him as he has a good deal of personality. As far as his in-ring stuff goes, to be honest, we haven't really seen a whole helluva lot out of him, but he doesn't strike me as anything special. However, Dallas as IC or US champ right now will only undo whatever progress has been made with them over the course of the past month or so because, as I said, he's just not someone who comes across as a serious threat to anyone and the Intercontinental Championship especially has had more than enough lame duck title runs over the past few years.

 

[JoVilla21]

As best I can remember, there have only been two guys who have earned a regular "sucks" chant, John Cena and The Rock, they are in good company.

You forget the most important one, Kurt Angle. lol.

 

[Mustang Sally]

He's been very good in his role over the course of the past few weeks and when he injects that angry passion into his promos, he's highly entertaining.

Agreed, and when you consider that recent months have had folks on this forum urging Kane to retire.....or presuming he'll be doing so soon.....I think it's terrific that, once again, the guy has given us cause to talk about him.

I'm enjoying the subtle maneuverings, rather than simply just turning him. Didn't you think it was possible the change was coming last week when he beat up Seth Rollins.....before lying down for him? How about last night when he formally submitted his resignation, only to be eased out of it by Triple H?

In the old days, when something angered the Big Red Monster, he exploded. Now, not so much. Instead, he creates drama.

When he headed to the ring to answer the US Heavyweight title challenge, I couldn't even guess what would result. Sure, you figure he's not suddenly taking the belt from John Cena, yet I reasoned he couldn't keep the strange momentum that's been carrying him if he simply loses straight out.

Instead, that's exactly what he did. I enjoyed the subtlety there too, when a frustrated Kane encounters Triple H backstage and neither of them say anything. You figure they have matters to discuss......but they don't.

It all keeps us guessing, and what a great thing that Kane can still do that.

 

[chuckmdubya]

You forget the most important one, Kurt Angle. lol.

That's right, lol I forgot. The "You Suck" to his music was classic and better than the other two I mentioned.

 

[Vanilla Midget]

New Day - they're all talented, no doubt. The corny babyface happy-go-lucky thing was never going to get over. Flip the script and the same gimmick as coniving heels, and they'll get over. We need more uncool heels. The edgy heel of yesteryear is the basic babyface of today. Love where this is going.

Fandango - the face turn came out of left field, and it was overdue. He had a Yes-esque moment coming out of that one WrestleMania, which I think was 29 or 30 not sure, where the crowd started "Fandangoing." It's great when a talent gets a chant over with the crowd, one that can be greater than the talen themselves.

Fandango isn't Bryan though. He's destined for mid-card comedy, and there's nothing wrong with that. I think he'll have a good career, give us some memorable under-card moments, maybe team up with someone for a fun tag team. The guys entertaining, main event, no, nonetheless he's doing what he should be.

Announcers and Bellas - I have no idea what's going on here. I thought the angle was dumb and WWE needs to figure out the aligments in the Diva's division. Aren't the Bellas done after their current contracts? I have a lot of trouble caring about them when they announce that in interviews.

Big Red Machine - It's being teased, but I'm going with not yet. I like Corporate Kane, when he's far away from the main event and fulfilling his role as a stooge. I'd rather see Kane and Rollins on the same page, them feuding would be a snorefest.

Bo Dallas - I like Dallas, as I said above with New Day, we need uncool heels. Dallas is annoying, but also has a good thing going. I wouldn't mind a sub-feud, mini-feud between Bo and Roman. Not saying a match should go to PPV but example would be while Roman feuds with the Authority would be fun. Bo-lieve that.

Bo will have a solid mid-card career. He might have an angle with Wyatt some day when Wyatt eventually turns face.

 

[MartialHorror]

New Day: Yeah they're working well as heels, but my problem is that this feud has been uninvolving. Have New Day and Cesaro/Kidd even really clashed? I watch Hulu-Raw, which edits the show, so maybe I just missed it. I don't mind 'Heel Vs Heel', but the build up seems to have been focused on the Lucha Dragons and their tensions with both teams. A three way would be logical, but I'd rather a traditional "Team Vs Team" match.

Return of the Big Red Machine: While I actually do like the teasing and thing Kane's freakout was freaking awesome, I think it's more like a Big Red Herring. Rollins will defeat Orton at Extreme Rules and I suspect Kane will be the reason why. He might adopt the mask once more, but he'll likely remain a heel.

Bo Dallas: I suspect it was a one-shot deal and he will return to floundering in obscurity. Furthermore, the crowd didn't react much during his 'return'. His 'episode 1' reference was kinda funny, but it didn't sound like anyone got it. Yet oddly, they booed when he got attacked by Reigns. It was strange. But was Bo's role that much different than what Slater or Ryder got in that same episode? Do you think we'll see more of them?

 

[Nada]

They barely did a 2.6 rating. The oppening segment was a giant "Why are you watching this?!" segment, because they teased a rift between the Authority and now everything is fine. There is no proggression in the story. If you tease something in wrestling, the audience expects it.

Last month was the worst ratings month since 97, think about that for a second. This month looks even worse.

Look i think its great that people on WZ are so positive about WWE, contrast to the negativity everywhere else. But there is a fine line between positive "glass is half full, not half empty" attitude, and a complete disconnection why RAW has been so stale and the ratings reflect that.

WCW did equal ratings with Vampiro, "Double J", New Blood, Russo and that whole fiasco that RAW is doing today with very talented performers, only game in town and NO competition from any other sport.

 

[laodaron]

So, because I'm younger than 67, I understand that television ratings are basically worthless, because cord cutters are increasing weekly, less people are watching cable television than ever in the past, and in general, more and more people are getting their viewing through internet sources.

The WWE is still making mad cash through the Network, merch, ticket sales, and advertisements. Worrying about ratings is a fool's game at this point.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

I DVRd Raw last night for the first time in a while to see Lesnar's return and it did not disappoint. The show had a nice balance of humor, story, sex and violence capped off with a terrific main event.

The biggest turnaround was the Dolph/Lana/Rusev/Summer quadrilateral. Those four put out a highly entertaining segment. A huge improvement over the week before. I still don't know what they are trying to do with Lana but I do know that her panties matched the rest of her outfit.

Lesnar's stuff was worth watching. Heyman did a good job as always. The car destruction was fine although ripping off that door and throwing it gave me a little chub. I still had flashbacks to Goldberg stupidly injuring himself years ago by putting his fists through the windshield. Part of me was worried Lesnar would lose his grip on the axe after hitting the car and it fly back and get impaled in to a fan. Fortunately the worst that happened was that he only hit a fan with a car door (oh, and Joey Mercury might be dead). Good TV, good TV.

Kane photos were stupid but fun along with the stooges detailing their car and driving through Chicago. Did they drop the Paige Revolution thing? Has anyone come up with a racially insensitive name for Alicia Bella? Miz was kind of entertaining. I like Truth's plunger although I ffwd through that match. Bo Dallas' face is still car crash fantastic. Gotta love New Day and Mucha Lucha. Titus wasn't great on commentary but it was cool when he was telling JBL to call the match and stop talking about cars. I'm pretty sure I ffwd through the rest.

Then there was the main event. I know we've seen it before but those guys are terrific together. If only they gave Cesaro the Eugene character he could be featured so much more and be so much more successful (I'm only half joking with this comment). But they really put out an entertaining match and left me questioning whether or not Cena could lose clean. I just hope Cesaro isn't legit hurt. It looked like he took that last move rough.

 

[Mustang Sally]

Bo Dallas' face is still car crash fantastic.

I keep a bedpan handy in case Bo gives us that nauseating smile, but it's supposed to look like that, so I guess it stays. But, he's growing all-around flabby and his gut is getting bigger and a bit untidy......and he's too young for that. Ugh.

But they really put out an entertaining match and left me questioning whether or not Cena could lose clean.

I figured Kevin Owens would interrupt the match again, leaving us with no winner, so it was pleasing to see a clean ending. Still, for a guy who "can't wrestle" and a guy who "....just doesn't have it" they put on two amazing matches in two weeks. Man, Cesaro is strong.

As for Cena, while I figured he wouldn't lose clean to Cesaro, the thing with him isn't that he doesn't lose, but that he doesn't quit. A lot of folks on this forum don't seem to make the distinction.

 

[laodaron]

Good lord, that main event tonight. I really can't express how great of a match that was, in a generally pretty decent Raw. I mean, it was nothing spectacular, but that main event put this Raw on the map.

 

[kadroan]

Good lord, that main event tonight. I really can't express how great of a match that was, in a generally pretty decent Raw. I mean, it was nothing spectacular, but that main event put this Raw on the map.

I just hate the WWE WHC lost clean on RAW. You didn't see Orton, Brock, Cena lose clean like that. Yes, it's Cena he lost to not a WWE newcomer like Owens but still Rollins could have gotten DQ'ed or counted out.

 

[laodaron]

I feel like that's what sets up the Cena v. Rollins one off match, leading to the Rollins v. HHH match.

I can agree, but how many times can Rollins evade a pin before it becomes boring?

 

[George Steele's Barber]

Ffd through most of the show last night so most of my judgment is probably pretty unfair but I didn't really feel good about what I did watch last night.

Rollins and Cena felt far from a classic. It felt broken and choppy. Not that it was bad, and Cena's nose will forever be etched in my memory but the hype I see it getting doesn't resonate with me. Maybe it was the doctor stopping the match, maybe I didn't want to see Rollins lose so cleanly, I don't know, I just didn't find myself so interested.

Orton/Owens was good for a Raw match but probably is about half of what they could really do. The finish was fine. It is nice to see Cesaro get another chance.

I'm sorry. I realize that these new Divas are better than a lot of what we have had over the past 10 years but they still don't interest me.

The Rusev stuff was so bad it was sort of good. Lana's attack was pretty fantastic. Summer Rae's face in the fish was a new one for me. Lana's slap was stiff.

The biggest letdown for me was Wyatt's promo. It does seem like something is happening there but that was a long promo that wasn't very interesting but mostly just too long.

Anyway, the biggest problem with the show was no Brock and Heyman and maybe no Taker. They made me care last week only to lose my attention since both men are so at odds with one another that they didn't show up. That's great.

Raw was fine, and has been better over the last month but I still find myself not caring as much as I should. The biggest draw for me to next week's show is to see what Cena's nose is going to look like.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Personally, I thought last night was an entertaining show that featured a lot of strong wrestling content, a couple of good promo segments that didn't drag on for eternity and a distinctive lack of filler. For me personally, the only things that really struck me as filler was Neville vs. Fandango and the promo segment with Rusev, Summer Rae and Lana.

Ambrose vs. Show was surprisingly entertaining with Ambrose doing a great job of selling Show's offense, Show got to look like a badass and Ambrose came off as a scrappy, never say die tough guy.

Both Divas matches were entertaining, especially the singles bout between Paige and Sasha Banks. Sasha getting the clean win is exactly what needed to happen, the loss didn't hurt Paige and the win will only help build Sasha's credibility on the main roster.

The Lucha Dragons vs. Los Matadores was a solid match, nothing spectacular and neither team really has much to offer right now in terms of characters, but it was still an energetic match that was used to help set up what will probably be a fourway dance at SummerSlam for the tag titles.

Orton vs. Owens didn't blow me away, I got the notion that they were holding back quite a bit. It was a solid TV match, though we know that they're capable of much more. At least the ending came when it looked to be pretty much even, neither guy looked to be in any real trouble and in no danger of losing. The big downside here was we're getting the continuation of Orton vs. Sheamus.

Cena vs. Rollins was a helluva match, though I understand some of the frustration with Rollins losing clean when you consider he hasn't won all that many matches as champion without a shitload of interference. This is a set up to Cena getting his shot at Rollins at SummerSlam, though I think Rollins will retain. Personally, I hope Rollins retains with a clean win as such a win isn't going to hurt Cena but I have a feeling that J&J Security will pop up for a surprise return and help Rollins win.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

So much to comment on from last night.

The Dudleyz return was fantastic. Both guy looked great. I tired of them like a lot of others by the end of their run 10 years ago but I'm happy to have them back.

The new Wyatt makes me actually care about them for a bit. He is massive. Seemed comfortable in a beatdown but can be more? His outfit doesn't feel very Wyatt-like but I'll get used to it.

Bo Dallas took Lesnar's throws like a champ. Those scare the shit out of me but I was happy with how he took them. I assume he is alive today which is a nice feeling after someone has an altercation with Lesnar.

Heyman was great again. Not having UT show up was the biggest disappointment of the night. He can have all these great matches but this uncertainty and stalling in his feuds makes me not care and not want him around.

The Divas match was fine, the promo was pretty bad. Miz was actually funny and served some softballs up to the ladies but the ladies could not knock them down.

The eight man was very good. Ziggler took the bulk of the action but I didn't mind since it gave the heels a chance to show off their offense. It seems like Orton and Cesaro have a budding bromance. The finishers on show were highly entertaining. I wonder if he is taking a break for a while.

Stardust turning on Barrett was interesting. I have no idea where this is going.

John Stewart was very good. He played his part well and took the AA nicely. I could almost see him playing the part of Heenan to Hogan's Cena (or is it Cena's Hogan?)

Flair was fine. I always like the entrance and his mic work was OK. Him and Stewart seemed a little lost together but Cena came out before it got too muddled. Cena was OK, I just am not sure where he goes from here. I don't expect Stewart to become a full time employee of WWE but I also think he needs to seek revenge on Cena for his AA. Seriously, where does Cena go from here heading in to NoC?

The Happy Birthday was pretty cool. The statue presentation was fine. Sting's reveal was cool but being a member of the IWC I kind of knew it was coming. The Sting beatdown of Rollins had a good level of energy and seeing Sting hold the belt was really cool. Sting is a great fit for an event like NoC. It is nice to see Vince dividing his part-time draws up instead of just throwing them in to the top PPVs (except Mania will always have all the big names). Not as a fan but as someone who wondered why he blew his was on the biggest events instead of spreading out the drawing power of the part timers.

Lana's outfit was horrible. I like that they are trying new things and it fits with Ziggler as a giant cheese ball but it looked bad. Straight of a Robin Sparkles video.

Not sure if I'm forgetting anything but if you actually read this whole post I will reward you with the highlight of the night and maybe of the last two years - THE FUCKING TROMBONE! I fucking loved that, Woods and New Day doing more shit that makes me smile. So clever, with the TROMBONE and the song and Woods continuing to play during the match. I want more TROMBONE. Then again, I am the guy that thinks they should try having a match while they have one of those musical guests. Long live New Day, long live Xavier Woods, and long live the TROMBONE.

Really good Raw. I doubt WWE can keep it going but the show overall has been a lot better lately than what they were putting together post and even pre-Mania.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

The last couple of weeks have seen the return of a more Triple H oriented booking of Raw than we've seen in a while. What that means is that the last two shows, for the most part, have given me the impression that Vince has allowed Triple H to make final creative calls, Triple H has convinced Vince to go with his ideas, Vince has approved some ideas that seem more like what we see out of Triple H or something along those lines. There are times in which we'll get a lot of episodes with that sort of feel to them consistently and we may be in the midst, or possibly the beginning, of one of those streaks now.

What I mean by that is that there's been a distinct lack of "sports entertainment" segments & nonsense, a definite uptick in both the overall quality of the wrestling matches & the time they're given, sensible progression of ongoing storylines and overall solid mic time, etc.; essentially, it seems more like the sort of consistency we see on NXT. There were still some "McMahonerisms" on last night's show, less than what we saw on last week's show as well, but the ones that were there didn't detract from the show's momentum.

Basically, the episodes of the last two weeks of Raw have had a consistent, focused purpose with good wrestling, mic work, storyline progression and a distinct lack of silliness and unnecessary filler all on one show.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

I forgot about this thread.

The person that left the best impression on me last night was Becky Lynch. I really though her backstage stuff with Renee and then Brie was terrific. It made me think that either woman had a chance in the fourway when I originally just defaulted the win to Paige (which ultimately happened). That match itself was pretty good, the lying around was kind of lame but I guess you can excuse it competitors resting up but overall it worked. I could see any of those women winning to compete for the title in under two weeks. Although I figured they will save Sasha for something bigger.

The other thing that stood out was New Day's backstage segment with Rollins. That was fun, funny, and creative. I'm just waiting for someone or team to counter New Day's TROMBONE antics with cowbell antics (see SNL).

Otherwise a decent show. Good to see WWE is not burying Cesaro by referring to his fans as the abbreviated C-section. Wyatts "powers" are either an incredibly major development or gimmick in another otherwise dull promo. These UT feuds just don't resonate when he is never around. I would like to see more development in whatever they are doing for a SS match. Roman is so cool when he isn't talking. His material is fine, he has just such a dull voice. He is better than in the past but he is not living up to what it seems they want him to be. The Usos return was cool. I like Breeze's selfie schtick and thumbs up to wardrobe for Summer Rae's new look but Breeze just seems terrible and out of place. Del Rio's new stuff is working fine but I have no interest in Swagger or Mexamerica. However, Swagger's comments made me think Zeb is up to something bigger.

I'm not sure what I am forgetting, Owens did fine blah, blah, blah, "all WWE does is push ROH rejects", can we stop complaining about 20 minute Authority promos, something, something, pretty good show overall.