Pretty solid Raw... Seems like the right time for Reigns. I loved how the show had an attitude era feel to it, Vince out there, a title match and an extreme rules match. They need to just keep trying to top themselves every week and I think they are headed in the right direction.
It's honestly not that hard. Matches with actual purpose. More matches where it's clear that if another wrestler wins or loses they clearly move up or down the ladder or there is some kind of advancement of a story. WWE gets really lazy sometimes with their tag team matches. I get why they do it. They have the best roster in wrestling and they want those guys on TV...so 8 man tag, 6 man tag, etc etc...but those matches have no stakes involved really. This one the stakes were huge, and whether Roman lost or won it gives you a hook into next week. If Roman lost then you wonder who was going to step up in that vacancy for the time being or how they were going to slip him back into the picture...and now that he's won you can wonder how the McMahon's will get back at Roman and the fallout of the entire thing. Too many times WWE seems to book for the next PPV instead of the next show. During that old Attitude era they had to book for the next show of course because of the competition. I think for a while now they have just been booking to lead up to the next PPV which makes a lot of the shows feel like filler IMO.
Hearkening back to the old days of unpredictable raws. Blading and a 70 year old, looking smaller than ever btw, VKM playing heel like he should be. It's annoying how Reigns spams his finisher and it always echoed by Michael Cole calling the spot in the same tone, and the finish was predictable once they put Reigns' job on the line, but still the fact that it was on raw was great. It's 5 weeks till the Rumble, hopefully they didn't fire all their bullets on this buildup.
i was pretty certain it would be Reigns/HHH at WM now I'm wondering if it'll be the title match. Really hoping for Reigns v Wyatt v Lesnar though
Really have no problem with Reigns getting the belt. His ring work is much improved, he's been putting in the miles at the countless live shows, and as long as he keeps the promos short that one shortcoming of his is tolerable. But much like I feel about Randy Orton, there is nothing compelling about him as a babyface IMO. I don't have a problem with him anymore, but I never feel like a Reigns segment is must see TV, or that I want to watch a PPV because he's in the main event. This him v authority angle feels so hollow to me, becuase I know that the authority has fired every bullet in their chamber trying to get him over. This isn't like Bryan 2 years ago where there was so much realism in the angle. Having said that this is 2 solid shows in a row, lets see if they can keep it going without having the crutch of hardcore matches with huge spots, those are a blast but you can't do them all that often.
NXT is the closest thing on the planet that rivals New Japan Pro. That crowd was red hot, the chants were through the roof. I really thought every title up for grabs could have changed hands and I would have been okay with any of the outcomes. Every match delivered. Asuka is the best women's wrestler I've ever seen. Emma was just great. Enzo/Cass v Dash Wilder was a lot of fun. Dash & Wilder deserve a run. Enzo & Cass are so ready for RAW. Crews/Corbin went beyond expectation. Have no problem with Corbin winning. Bayley using Asuka's guilloteene to win following the Nia Jax/Asuka stare down really has me thinking Asuka has some magical ability to channel herself. I really thought Nia Jax was going to win and she saved a ton of great new stuff for this match. Finn Balor's Jack the Ripper entrance! This is also the best Samoa Joe has looked since his early days in TNA. The 40 lbs he has lost since coming to the performance center is showing off. NXT TakeOver: Dallas tix go on sale Sat at 10am. The night before WM. I'm thinking it's going to have this: Balor/Zayn/Joe Bayley/Asuka/Jax The Mechanics/Jordan & Gable/Enzo & Cas/The Vaudevillains #1 Contender NXT title
This is their biggest problem I think... They finally are having to go all in for RAW because the ratings are slipping. I really hope they continue this next week, you don't need a Title match every night but RAW needs to feel unpredictable. To often the storytelling is to formulated from one PPV to the next, to the point where you don't even have to watch RAW more than once a month. But hopefully that will change
NXT is on Friday, the Hall of Fame will be on the night before WrestleMania. I see you left out Blake and Murphy. Possible breakup or Alexa Bliss leaving so she could go for the women's title on her own or maybe find a new valet/manager to replace Alexa?
I cannot stand Blake & Murphy, I think they are the only undeserving champions in any NXT title lineage. They've not developed anything since becoming champions. And they have terrible haircuts. Alexa Bliss is great and she should be just wrestling. But there are many NXT women I'd still put ahead of here (Bayley, Asuka, Emma, Nia Jax, Billie Kay, maybe Peyton Royce. I don't think Adrienne Reese has been on NXT tv yet. I missed a week or two before Takeover)
Dean Ambrose week! d. Sheamus (Steel Cage) main event on RAW d. Kevin Owens & Dolph Ziggler (IC Title) main event on SD Live grabbed the pinfall w/Reigns, Usos, Dudleys, Kane & Ryback vs. Wyatt Family & League of Nations main event on Tribute Too The Troops. So much for not being booked
Gable and Jordan are crazy over right now. Crowd is gonna be insane when they take the belts off the mechanics. I'm not sure if they're gonna do it at the Rumble special, or hold off until the Wrestlemania special. Good to have Sami Zayn back on my TV as well. I imagine his time in NXT is basically just a rehab assignment and he'll be on the main roster very soon. May even be a Rumble entrant.
This week felt kinda like a throwaway week because of holidays/slammys, but a guy can hope this is the start of a nice booking push. He's just won the IC, so to me it's unrealistic to think he'd win the Rumble.
I guess they might as well make the Rumble a squash match since the last two years have felt so lackluster or even insulting.
Cena, VKM both scheduled to make appearances tomorrow (and I think Cena is back for good). Not sure why they don't hold the Slammys on the last Raw of the year, but whatever.
