The Bash Sisters really should have put over The Riott Squad at WrestleMania...
I agree. I think that it would've been one of those win-win scenarios. Riott Squad isn't just 2 people thrown together a week prior. They could also use the victory to cement their status as a team of worth and not just the Bushwackers.
Then you could split up Nia and Shayna and give the singles aspect of the women's division something more. They've done it all and right now I do see them dropping the titles to Tamina and Nattie. Hopefully that would then see the Riott Squad turn heel and win the belts from them the next day. Tamina is terrible and Nattie is cringey as fuck.
April 29th, 2021, 5:27 PM
BuffyRocks
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nash Diesel
I agree. I think that it would've been one of those win-win scenarios. Riott Squad isn't just 2 people thrown together a week prior. They could also use the victory to cement their status as a team of worth and not just the Bushwackers.
Then you could split up Nia and Shayna and give the singles aspect of the women's division something more. They've done it all and right now I do see them dropping the titles to Tamina and Nattie. Hopefully that would then see the Riott Squad turn heel and win the belts from them the next day. Tamina is terrible and Nattie is cringey as fuck.
Riott Squad doesn't even need to turn heel. People are solidly behind them as a team, and it seems every casual fan of women's wrestling is beyond baffled that they haven't held the tag titles yet. While it does like Nattie and Tamina are going to win the titles, I'd love for their reign to be exceptionally short so Ruby and Liv can finally get some payoff.
Good lord, Tamina is just horrible in the ring and on the mic. Everyone loves her backstage and I think that's wonderful (she seems like a sweet person in the real life), but being nice and being there for a long time doesn't mean you should hold a championship.
April 29th, 2021, 5:49 PM
Nash Diesel
Quote:
Originally Posted by BuffyRocks
Riott Squad doesn't even need to turn heel. People are solidly behind them as a team, and it seems every casual fan of women's wrestling is beyond baffled that they haven't held the tag titles yet. While it does like Nattie and Tamina are going to win the titles, I'd love for their reign to be exceptionally short so Ruby and Liv can finally get some payoff.
Good lord, Tamina is just horrible in the ring and on the mic. Everyone loves her backstage and I think that's wonderful (she seems like a sweet person in the real life), but being nice and being there for a long time doesn't mean you should hold a championship.
I think Riott Squad were better as heels. We want to see them win the belts but that doesn't mean they have to be babyfaces. Fans are behind them getting that payoff and I don't think the way WWE books babyfaces works for these 2. We've had plenty of time to compare what they were like on both sides of the fence and heel seems to be their calling.
The problem is, the babyface teams they have outside of RS are weak as fuck lol. Naomi and Lana? Really? That's the best they have for Naomi....Lana, she isn't doing it in the ring. Worst part is, she fucking sucks on the mic as a face too. Incredible playing the Russian gimmick, dogshit doing everything else.
Tamina would be someone that gets released and people will be like "WHAT ABOUT NIA JAX!?!?!?" Her and Alicia Fox, they're in that same boat for me. IDK, maybe they're like Titus and do a bunch of charity work for the WWE and on their own time for the community. Titus is fucking terrible in the ring, they won't make him a heel because he wasn't very good as one to begin with and all the charity stuff he does.
But imagine you're in 5th grade and Titus shows up....That dude is a prime example of the WWE brand being bigger than the actual wrestler-in the eyes of WWE. If the WWF sent Sam Houston or Barry Horriblewitz to my class I'd be fucking pissed.
April 29th, 2021, 6:58 PM
BuffyRocks
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nash Diesel
I think Riott Squad were better as heels. We want to see them win the belts but that doesn't mean they have to be babyfaces. Fans are behind them getting that payoff and I don't think the way WWE books babyfaces works for these 2. We've had plenty of time to compare what they were like on both sides of the fence and heel seems to be their calling.
The problem is, the babyface teams they have outside of RS are weak as fuck lol. Naomi and Lana? Really? That's the best they have for Naomi....Lana, she isn't doing it in the ring. Worst part is, she fucking sucks on the mic as a face too. Incredible playing the Russian gimmick, dogshit doing everything else.
Tamina would be someone that gets released and people will be like "WHAT ABOUT NIA JAX!?!?!?" Her and Alicia Fox, they're in that same boat for me. IDK, maybe they're like Titus and do a bunch of charity work for the WWE and on their own time for the community. Titus is fucking terrible in the ring, they won't make him a heel because he wasn't very good as one to begin with and all the charity stuff he does.
But imagine you're in 5th grade and Titus shows up....That dude is a prime example of the WWE brand being bigger than the actual wrestler-in the eyes of WWE. If the WWF sent Sam Houston or Barry Horriblewitz to my class I'd be fucking pissed.
You're right about WWE and their treatment of babyfaces. And Ruby and Liv did work really well as heels. I'm not saying I don't want them to turn heel again at some point, but I just think they could be really effective faces for the time being. Just personal preference. If it takes them turning heel tomorrow to become tag champs, then I am all for it. I think Ruby and Liv deserve multiple runs with the belts, but I'm also a huge Ruby Riott/Heidi Lovelace fan. I think Ruby, like Nikki Cross, is criminally undervalued by WWE and the general fanbase.
I love the idea of Naomi and Lana being this colorful babyface team. But Lana is just not good in the ring. And I don't want to take anything away from her, I get that she is training to become better in the ring, but mama just aint there yet.
April 29th, 2021, 9:11 PM
Tyson
Quote:
Originally Posted by BuffyRocks
I think Ruby, like Nikki Cross, is criminally undervalued by WWE and the general fanbase.
The company’s mistreatment of Nikki Cross is a fucking travesty; Alexa got her big angle with Bray and Nikki just got forgotten about.
April 29th, 2021, 9:14 PM
Nash Diesel
I have not been sold on Nikki Cross other than her time in Sanity. I wasn't a fan of her pairing with Bliss, it dragged on forever and the payoff was what? A couple weeks of nothing. Plus, her call up was just random. One day she's just standing on the ramp while Stephanie takes all the credit for starting the Women's (R)Evolution.
She was like the female Crash Holly and it didn't work for me. She needs to recapture whatever magic she had in NXT. If that means going back to NXT, so be it.
April 29th, 2021, 9:40 PM
BuffyRocks
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nash Diesel
I have not been sold on Nikki Cross other than her time in Sanity. I wasn't a fan of her pairing with Bliss, it dragged on forever and the payoff was what? A couple weeks of nothing. Plus, her call up was just random. One day she's just standing on the ramp while Stephanie takes all the credit for starting the Women's (R)Evolution.
She was like the female Crash Holly and it didn't work for me. She needs to recapture whatever magic she had in NXT. If that means going back to NXT, so be it.
I'm an odd duck in that I actually liked BlissCross as a face tag team. I also think Nikki is a hell of a wrestler, is fantastic on the mic, and has an interesting look. I recently thought about what if she went back to NXT, but I think there's just so much more they could do with her on the main roster. Personal opinion, but I don't think they've yet to scratch the surface of what she can bring to the company if given the proper chance. I hope she can win you over one day!
April 29th, 2021, 10:12 PM
Nash Diesel
Quote:
Originally Posted by BuffyRocks
I'm an odd duck in that I actually liked BlissCross as a face tag team. I also think Nikki is a hell of a wrestler, is fantastic on the mic, and has an interesting look. I recently thought about what if she went back to NXT, but I think there's just so much more they could do with her on the main roster. Personal opinion, but I don't think they've yet to scratch the surface of what she can bring to the company if given the proper chance. I hope she can win you over one day!
I just felt like the Cross-Bliss thing was mega forced. Cross got called up with no plans, just look at what she was doing when she debuted, the random tag-teams. IDK, I think the babyface turn ruined it completely. As heels I could get into it but Bliss sucked as a straight up face.
For Nikki I just think she's ruined. The main roster turned her into a comedy gimmick. I used to tell my son that Otis and Nikki Cross are cut from the same shit cloth. Maybe if they make Nikki more serious she could be something but right now it just feels like Crash Holly and Molly Holly had a kid and well, when cousins have kids they don't exactly turn out that great lol.
April 30th, 2021, 12:37 AM
BuffyRocks
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nash Diesel
I just felt like the Cross-Bliss thing was mega forced. Cross got called up with no plans, just look at what she was doing when she debuted, the random tag-teams. IDK, I think the babyface turn ruined it completely. As heels I could get into it but Bliss sucked as a straight up face.
For Nikki I just think she's ruined. The main roster turned her into a comedy gimmick. I used to tell my son that Otis and Nikki Cross are cut from the same shit cloth. Maybe if they make Nikki more serious she could be something but right now it just feels like Crash Holly and Molly Holly had a kid and well, when cousins have kids they don't exactly turn out that great lol.
Secretly hoping that this Lily doll of Alexa's turns out to be a deranged, NXT Sanity like Nikki Cross. :)
April 30th, 2021, 1:32 PM
Sasori
I've been wondering if they'll actually have Bliss wrestle or put someone else under the mask as Lily. Alexa barely wrestles, so it would be better for someone else to handle to in ring action while she does the playground stuff.
April 30th, 2021, 1:47 PM
Nash Diesel
I have a strong feeling it'll be like how Al Snow was with Head. She'll have conversations with the doll and put her in the corner of her matches. Plus it'll also act as Urndertaker's urn, some source of power. Once someone destroys the doll, they "free" Alexa of whatever is controlling her.
April 30th, 2021, 2:23 PM
3puppies
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nash Diesel
I have a strong feeling it'll be like how Al Snow was with Head. She'll have conversations with the doll and put her in the corner of her matches. Plus it'll also act as Urndertaker's urn, some source of power. Once someone destroys the doll, they "free" Alexa of whatever is controlling her.
This is probably a bit more likely than my thought, which was that we will see her get in the ring much more, and that we will find out that among the things she's stolen from the Fiend will be the Mandible Claw. It will be a way to help keep her matches short. I don't think she's gotten enough credit for carrying the Fiend's end of his feud with Randy. It seems ironic to me in that Bray Wyatt single-handedly carried both ends of his feud build with Taker, yet he was missing for most of his latest feud with Randy
April 30th, 2021, 2:37 PM
Nash Diesel
Quote:
Originally Posted by 3puppies
This is probably a bit more likely than my thought, which was that we will see her get in the ring much more, and that we will find out that among the things she's stolen from the Fiend will be the Mandible Claw. It will be a way to help keep her matches short. I don't think she's gotten enough credit for carrying the Fiend's end of his feud with Randy. It seems ironic to me in that Bray Wyatt single-handedly carried both ends of his feud build with Taker, yet he was missing for most of his latest feud with Randy
They've definitely taken a less is more approach with The Fiend. With Bray v. Undertaker, it was the other way around. Taker-albeit a contracted part time talent, wasn't there much but Bray held it down.
May 3rd, 2021, 11:03 PM
BGMaverick
This was...a show.
AJ Styles and Omos (c) vs. The New Day: Tag Team Championship Match
Hey, thank goodness the champs came back! It was a lame/lazy explanation to say they were celebrating during this time where they were absent. I don't mind that New Day ultimately got first crack at the champs after losing at Mania but this is another case where short-term booking could have helped. If you were going to have New Day come back around, I probably wouldn't have Kingston lose to Elias a few weeks back. I do like how they had Omos in there early, avoiding the prolonged anticipated at Mania. Not sure I like the flow the match still, where it feels like he's built as a hot tag. Weird ideology for a heel team, but it made sense from a storyline perspective. They retained and now we hopefully don't have to wait another three weeks to see them again.
Eva Marie return video
After months of speculation, she's finally coming back. That said, I don't know what we're doing here. This kind of feels like a remix of Carmella's reveal when she re-debuted. They had a really good hook with Eva before she left suddenly left, so I'm curious to see what they do here. Her delivery was fine and the Eva-Lution bit seemed like a nice closing line.
Charlotte Flair versus Dana Brooke
Dana had a new theme and it wasn't that memorable. Considering what happened this week and last week, I do hope this crystalizes the fact that Dana and Mandy Rose don't need to be a tag team anymore and Mandy is the one that needs to be pushed. This match wasn't much of anything and Dana flubbed some of the little offense she had in the match.
Charlotte, Asuka, and Rhea Ripley Promo
Initially, Sonya Deville came out and wanted to give Charlotte a chance to speak her mind. The interesting wrinkle here initially as that after some hostility delivered from Adam Pearce earlier (and more later in the show), they're driving more of a wedge between these two. I'm fine with Sonya running Raw and Pearce running Smackdown. Charlotte wanted Sonya to be "fair to Flair" and to make it a triple threat match at the PPV for the Women's Championship. The other two ladies came out, basically both saying this was crap. A quick physical skirmish ensued. This feels pretty rudimentary for three top talents.
John Morrison vs. Damien Priest
Miz and Morrison cut a promo before the match. It wasn't much of anything but the two interesting bits were the Miz easily associated himself amongst the best of the best in WWE (Cena Rock, Austin, and Hogan), and they went back to the subtle dissension between Miz and Morrison. It could be a decent slow play to break them up but I don't have high hopes at this moment that it will do wonders for Morrison. Priest had an inset promo prior to the match. Still overly-scripted shtick but this felt a little more natural. The match wasn't a banger but these two had a good match. Miz inadvertently caused the ref to miss a pinning opportunity for Morrison and Priest ultimately won. Those seeds are being planted.
Lucha House Party vs Cedric Alexander & Shelton Benjamin Not a great sign when both teams get jobber entrances. I do appreciate the fact tag teams are being sprinkled in more now. This was a quick one and LHP got the win. Alexander was ready to bounce after the loss but he spoke his mind instead. I guess this (probably inadvertently) played into the cavalier attitude Alexander had several months ago with Benjamin when they were in The Hurt Business. Alexander was quite good as he was berating Benjamin. Catching up backstage, Benjamin was asked about the harsh words and talked about how he's a survivor and Alexander is just going to be one of the many "new stars" who fizzle out.
Angel Garza vs. Drew Gulak
It's surprising that we got this match and it's also surprising that Garza got the fancy camera entrance. Drew Gulak wishes it was 2019, when he was squaring off with Daniel Bryan. The "payoff" came as Garza delivered on his prematch promise as Gulak got a rose shoved up his butt. Garza placed the rose in his trunks and then kicked him. "Highly unnecessary" said Byron Saxton. Indeed...
Randy Orton & Riddle vs. Jaxson Ryker & Elias
This was set up because Ryker and Elias wanted to throw tomatoes at New Day in the back after they lost their championship match but ultimately Orton got in the way and took the tomatoes. The comedy between Orton and Riddle wasn't as heavy-handed in week two for them but it was still good (props for Riddle trying to lip synch Orton's theme and do the pose). It followed the same formula where Orton got the hot tag. Elias somehow figured out how to mess up an SOS and the table spot with Orton. Geez. The finish saw the same thing as last week but Orton was much more willing to tag Riddle in for the finish (looked kind of nasty on the Floating Bro as it landed pretty much on Elias' head). R-K-Bro is 2-0.
Sheamus (c) vs. Mansoor: Open challenge for the US Championship
Humberto Carrillo had a promo earlier in the night but got jumped by Sheamus. I feel like we should care more about Carrillo getting his ass handed to him but I'm not feeling it. Later, Mansoor was brought up onto Raw and signed his contract with Adam Pearce. Sheamus mocked him and said he should accept the open challenge. Entrance wasn't very different for Mansoor and he didn't look overly nervous with the big opportunity. After nearly 30 TV matches, seeing Carrillo cause a DQ in favor of Sheamus is a tough way to see Mansoor get his first loss lol. Yeah Mansoor > Carrillo at this point.
Alexa's Playground
They talked about how Lilly had been lurking around and someone caught her eye. For those who didn't see, she was in the background when Pearce and Sonya were bickering. Sonya was wearing red and Alexa said Lilly's favorite color was red so maybe there's a connection there.
Lana & Naomi vs. Nia Jax & Shayna Baszler (c): Women's Tag Team Championship Match
It was incredibly brief but I thought the challengers looked good here. Reginald cause a distraction while Lana was going for a pin. Lana got caught and tapped out to Shayna. What a thrilling two-minute championship match!
Bobby Lashley vs. Braun Strowman
So a coin toss decided who would face Lashley tonight out Strowman and Drew McIntyre. All of the key players here had various promos over the course of the night. Looks like Strowman is pulling a Tommaso Ciampa from NXT and growing out his hair. While it might not age him as it did for Ciampa, it appears to follow the same prognosis to Ciampa: It doesn't look good lol. This match didn't hit as hard as Strowman/McIntyre last week but it had its moments. Weird that McIntyre was out and he essentially called out Mace & T-Bar earlier but they were nowhere to be found here. Lashley won via distraction from McIntyre essentially. Strowman did a terrible job taking the Claymore after the match, haha.
May 3rd, 2021, 11:40 PM
Tyson
Positives:
-Omos is pretty comfortable on the mic and actually pretty smooth doing basic big man things.
-Kayla Braxton. Does she get hazard pay for getting constantly spit on by Mr. Angry Shouty Wrestler?
-Morrison v Priest. Would love to see them pull the trigger on Priest v Sheamus for the US title.
-RK-Bro. Riddle is growing on me and face Orton intrigues me. The 2021 Rock n’ Sock Connection?
-Love me some Alexa Bliss but eventually she has to do something, right?
Negatives:
-Who’s brilliant idea was it to have RAW’s Carmella ruin that exquisite car by standing on it in high heels?
-Why did Eva Marie decide to return? I don’t recall her being overly enamoured with the business during her first go-around. That was totally a rhetorical question because McMahon money talks.
-Eva Marie taking future screen time from Asuka and Rhea.
-When wrestlers use moves that take way too long to set up (hi Dana) and you can feel their opponent trying to make time stand still.
-Charlotte Flair. Why is she acting like a petulant child at her ally Sonya? Mrs. Andrade, for all her in-ring talent, isn’t a very good talker.
-Sonya is Adam’s equal?
-Was NXT Rhea a better talker than RAW Rhea?
-Poor Shelton.
-Drew Gulak talking about win-loss records. Bruh.
-I’m going to pretend I didn’t see that post-match shit with the rose. Ugh.
-Sheamus squashing both Mansoor and Humberto.
-Nothing says serious competitor like raving it up en route to a title match. Who is the fucking degen booking this women’s division?
-The Botch Sisters. Boring.
-Starting to get a little tired of Drew, to be honest.
Not a great show...
May 4th, 2021, 12:32 AM
mth
I can try to make peace with Eva Marie being back but inspirational babyface Eva Marie isn't going to make it easy. If she were doing the shit she was doing during the tail end of her previous run, I could do it a lot quicker 'cuz that was actually pretty amusing. Guess we'll have to see how it goes...thankfully, I don't watch RAW so it'll only really be a problem when she starts making PPV cards.
May 4th, 2021, 1:03 PM
Tyrone
On the plus side, RAW has been consistent of late. The problem is it's been consistently bad for long stretches. RKBro intrigues me but expecting an inevitable feud leading to a blowoff match at Summerslam.
May 4th, 2021, 1:19 PM
3puppies
I barely remember Eva Marie. That is, I remember the name, and the face/body kinda look familiar, but I couldn't tell you anything about her character or history or any prior stories. She's been forgotten like the dozens of other hot women that have come and gone.
I would have said Mansoor deserves better than this, but he would have been in this exact same spot within a few weeks anyway. Carillo should have attacked Mansoor, then said he did it just so Sheamus took the loss. Either way, Mansoor looks weak, but they could have build something off of that better.
Dana took a huge step back this week. She had been steadily improving in the ring but this was not a good showing for her.
I am not sure if we are supposed to dislike Sonya or Adam, or both, or even understand any of the issues they appear to be having.
May 4th, 2021, 2:00 PM
Tyrone
With Pearce and Sonya this will probably lead to some silly matchup at summerslam where they each pick a person for a match and whoever's choice wins gets control of RAW. Like we haven't seen that a couple times before. Would be the least interesting power struggle ever.
May 4th, 2021, 2:13 PM
BGMaverick
This seems like a very good episode to earmark to see what comes of people 4-6 weeks from now.
For example, you've got...
Monsoor
Alexander
Garza (Pelé kicking roses into people's butts)
May 4th, 2021, 2:18 PM
virms
Quote:
Originally Posted by 3puppies
I barely remember Eva Marie. That is, I remember the name, and the face/body kinda look familiar, but I couldn't tell you anything about her character or history or any prior stories. She's been forgotten like the dozens of other hot women that have come and gone.
I would have said Mansoor deserves better than this, but he would have been in this exact same spot within a few weeks anyway. Carillo should have attacked Mansoor, then said he did it just so Sheamus took the loss. Either way, Mansoor looks weak, but they could have build something off of that better.
Dana took a huge step back this week. She had been steadily improving in the ring but this was not a good showing for her.
I am not sure if we are supposed to dislike Sonya or Adam, or both, or even understand any of the issues they appear to be having.
I liked her gimmick where she was going to debut but each time something happened to prevent it. The bts gossip was she wasn't ready to wrestle so they delayed it, the gimmick got good heat so they kept doing it. Then she quit or something. That I don't remember. Hopefully she has been training.
May 4th, 2021, 2:52 PM
BGMaverick
Quote:
Originally Posted by virms
I liked her gimmick where she was going to debut but each time something happened to prevent it. The bts gossip was she wasn't ready to wrestle so they delayed it, the gimmick got good heat so they kept doing it. Then she quit or something. That I don't remember. Hopefully she has been training.
She got popped for a wellness violation, which she ultimately disputed. She started pursuing her own thing and eventually left.
May 4th, 2021, 3:06 PM
virms
RK-Bro has totally made me a fan of Riddle. Kudos to Randy for the rub but even more so to Riddle for flipping me on his character I absolutely hated. I know it probably won't happen this way but I really hope when the time comes it is Riddle who turns on Orton.
May 4th, 2021, 4:17 PM
PurePlayer
Quote:
Originally Posted by mth
I can try to make peace with Eva Marie being back but inspirational babyface Eva Marie isn't going to make it easy. If she were doing the shit she was doing during the tail end of her previous run, I could do it a lot quicker 'cuz that was actually pretty amusing. Guess we'll have to see how it goes...thankfully, I don't watch RAW so it'll only really be a problem when she starts making PPV cards.
she's going to be a face?
May 4th, 2021, 4:21 PM
Nash Diesel
"I don't watch Raw"
May 4th, 2021, 8:29 PM
mth
Quote:
Originally Posted by PurePlayer
she's going to be a face?
That's the vibe I got from the vignette. She was talking about giving back and wanting to be a role model/inspiration for people pursuing their goals and shit like that. I suppose she could swerve it and be a jerk about it somehow but didn't get any hint of that here.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nash Diesel
"I don't watch Raw"
But I do watch YouTube clips and they've got her vignette on there.
Giving your opinion on something based on youtube clips is like reading the front page headlines and assuming you know the entire article's intention.
WATCH RAW
:)
May 5th, 2021, 12:21 AM
mth
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nash Diesel
Giving your opinion on something based on youtube clips is like reading the front page headlines and assuming you know the entire article's intention.
WATCH RAW
:)
Yeah, that would maybe apply to anything other than Eva Marie's vignette. It was a vignette. i saw the whole goddamn thing. There's nothing else to it, you goofball.
May 5th, 2021, 9:13 AM
BGMaverick
:lol:
May 5th, 2021, 11:48 AM
PurePlayer
Quote:
Originally Posted by mth
That's the vibe I got from the vignette. She was talking about giving back and wanting to be a role model/inspiration for people pursuing their goals and shit like that. I suppose she could swerve it and be a jerk about it somehow but didn't get any hint of that here.
But I do watch YouTube clips and they've got her vignette on there.
You could say the same about Kurt Angle or Hassan. I think the point is for you to hate her based on her vignettes and past character. Maybe that's just me.
May 5th, 2021, 7:55 PM
mth
Yeah, like I said, it could swerve and be like Angle where she's oblivious to how arrogant/asshole-ish she comes across while she toots her own horn about being an inspiring role model. That could work. But if they just try to role with her as a babyface, it's gonna backfire real quick.
May 5th, 2021, 11:14 PM
Sasori
The way Eva Marie said she wanted to go back to where she started, I felt like she was going to announce another Diva Search with her as the host. That would be preferable to her in the ring.
May 6th, 2021, 7:17 AM
Caito
But if you don’t watch the nuance of the three segments before, how will you ever form a proper opinion on a completely independent vignette that you can watch on YouTube?
May 6th, 2021, 7:47 AM
Murphy
I have no recollection of who Eva Marie even is.
Is she the one who was with Ryder back in the day?
May 6th, 2021, 8:13 AM
Caito
No, she was miss All Red Everything
She wasn’t good. At all.
May 6th, 2021, 8:14 AM
Caito
Unless you mean on screen. Offscreen i have no idea
May 6th, 2021, 8:15 AM
Badger
Quote:
Originally Posted by Murphy
I have no recollection of who Eva Marie even is.
Is she the one who was with Ryder back in the day?
A good way, I think, to utilize all the female talent for Raw, and make use of the three hour format, is to do a Queen of the Ring. It pretty much writes itself, you can have qualifiers for two weeks, the third week is the tournament, and the fourth week is the PPV, where the winner takes on the champion. No, this isn't like Mick Foley's idea of having an all women brand, but if they're going to have all these people employed, I say make use of them in logical ways, and not just random matches with no stakes.
Currently they have on Raw:
Champion: Rhea Ripley
Charlotte
Asuka
Alexa Bliss
Nia Jax
Shayna Bayzler
Mandy Rose
Dana Brooke
Lana (or is she Smackdown?)
Naomi
Liv Morgan
Ruby Riott
Nikki Cross
Mia Yim/Reckoning
That's more than enough to do a tournament on tv. I dare say even have some of the NXT women in there. Obvious story is Charlotte thinks she should be a shoo-in to win. And she does make light work of the first two opponents. But you have a dark horse (that isn't hyped up as one, just keeps collecting quality wins, not surprise roll ups). And then when the winner is declared, Charlotte, in a fit of jealous rage, attacks her. Ala, Jerry Lawler did to Bret after his KOR (one of my favorites, btw).
May 7th, 2021, 2:34 PM
Sasori
Riott Squad are on Smackdown.
May 10th, 2021, 1:42 PM
Nash Diesel
Is there anybody currently on Raw that is being criminally underused that fans are really into?
May 10th, 2021, 1:50 PM
Kdestiny
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nash Diesel
Is there anybody currently on Raw that is being criminally underused that fans are really into?
Ricochet?
Mustafa Ali?
Dijakovic?
Those would be the top ones I can think of, with the latter two being stuck with a stupid, stupid gimmick.
May 10th, 2021, 1:51 PM
PurePlayer
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nash Diesel
Is there anybody currently on Raw that is being criminally underused that fans are really into?
Ricochet maybe? He was over and I think he's being underused or not used at all.
Ali is good in the ring, has a good look, and good on the mic. I think he would make a great midcard heel or face.
May 10th, 2021, 2:00 PM
Nash Diesel
Quote:
Originally Posted by kdestiny
Ricochet?
Mustafa Ali?
Dijakovic?
Those would be the top ones I can think of, with the latter two being stuck with a stupid, stupid gimmick.
Would Ricochet benefit from turning heel?
Dijack needs a complete overhaul. Hooking up with The Hurt Business was the right step, but he's still T-Bar, he has even worse shit on his face lol.
Quote:
Originally Posted by PurePlayer
Ricochet maybe? He was over and I think he's being underused or not used at all.
Ali is good in the ring, has a good look, and good on the mic. I think he would make a great midcard heel or face.
His stable had serious potential but they botched it as soon as they tried to alter everyone else's persona. It didn't make any sense for him to recruit these people then change their names, put masks on them, etc. They could've been what Punk was going to originally do with The Shield where he found the top 3 guys in NXT and brought them up as his muscle.
May 10th, 2021, 2:08 PM
BGMaverick
Quote:
Originally Posted by PurePlayer
Ricochet maybe? He was over and I think he's being underused or not used at all.
Ali is good in the ring, has a good look, and good on the mic. I think he would make a great midcard heel or face.
They're both on Main Event, facing each over the last two episodes.
May 10th, 2021, 3:03 PM
Nash Diesel
Quote:
Originally Posted by BGMaverick
They're both on Main Event, facing each over the last two episodes.
And?
May 10th, 2021, 3:18 PM
3puppies
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nash Diesel
Is there anybody currently on Raw that is being criminally underused that fans are really into?
Aleister Black is my top pick, if we can't count Keith Lee (whose absence has not been explained) Isn't that what Raw Talk is for?
We don't want to see Black giving cryptic promos or sit behind a door, we want to see him in the ring. So it counts as underused.
May 10th, 2021, 3:20 PM
BGMaverick
Quote:
Originally Posted by 3puppies
Aleister Black is my top pick, if we can't count Keith Lee (whose absence has not been explained) Isn't that what Raw Talk is for?
We don't want to see Black giving cryptic promos or sit behind a door, we want to see him in the ring. So it counts as underused.
He's on Smackdown. He's been reintroduced over the last couple of weeks.
May 10th, 2021, 5:46 PM
Sasori
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nash Diesel
Is there anybody currently on Raw that is being criminally underused that fans are really into?
Jeff Hardy? Doesn't seem to be doing much of anything.
May 10th, 2021, 6:02 PM
Nash Diesel
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sasori
Jeff Hardy? Doesn't seem to be doing much of anything.
Yo...
Let's not even talk about Jeff Hardy right now. Did you see what happened to him against Jinder?
The fucked up part man is that I can't really complain because this is all Jeff's doing. He should be thankful A-his fans are so fucking forgiving and B-so is the wrestling industry. The guy has fucked up left and right, no regard for himself, his family, or others and still somehow manages to be a top draw. It's crazy. Probably because he's not a brash guy in public. I've seen a few of his drugged out vids that were released on the internet so he can be a prick but for the most part, very well liked.
All that said man, the WWE should be draining every ounce of $$$ they can get because he could be a top guy still just like Rey. Rey might be in a tag-team but he was in a main event feud and is still heavily featured. Jeff could be that guy too but he's not reliable and here we are, watching do a job to Jinder that you know won't turn into anything.
May 10th, 2021, 6:40 PM
VHS
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nash Diesel
Let's not even talk about Jeff Hardy right now. Did you see what happened to him against Jinder?
Three years ago?
May 10th, 2021, 7:01 PM
Nash Diesel
Quote:
Originally Posted by VHS
Three years ago?
Homeboy you make this too easy. Do you even watch WWE programming?
A week ago genius. A WEEK AGO Jinder Mahal returned on Main Event and beat Jeff Hardy.
3 years ago.....
May 10th, 2021, 7:21 PM
VHS
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nash Diesel
Homeboy you make this too easy. Do you even watch WWE programming?
A week ago genius. A WEEK AGO Jinder Mahal returned on Main Event and beat Jeff Hardy.
3 years ago.....
Nope, don't watch it regularly. Didn't even know Main Event was still up and running actually. I was asking a question, not attempting some kind of gotcha.
May 10th, 2021, 10:32 PM
Sasori
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nash Diesel
Homeboy you make this too easy. Do you even watch WWE programming?
A week ago genius. A WEEK AGO Jinder Mahal returned on Main Event and beat Jeff Hardy.
3 years ago.....
And Jinder beat Jeff again tonight. Yes, Mahal is a former World Champion, but they shouldn't be feeding someone like Jeff to him.
May 10th, 2021, 10:53 PM
BGMaverick
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sasori
And Jinder beat Jeff again tonight. Yes, Mahal is a former World Champion, but they shouldn't be feeding someone like Jeff to him.
An ideal option is busy as he's questioning the motives of a rose being put into his butt.
May 10th, 2021, 10:59 PM
Sasori
Quote:
Originally Posted by BGMaverick
An ideal option is busy as he's questioning the motives of a rose being put into his butt.
Now that I think about it, Jeff got the better deal. At least he doesn't have to pick thorns out of his butt crack.
May 10th, 2021, 11:01 PM
BGMaverick
My preview on USA said Raw was announced by Vic Joseph, Jerry Lawler, and Dio Maddin. I kind of wish I could listen to that team rather than this one.
Asuka, Mandy Rose & Dana Brooke vs. Charlotte Flair, Nia Jax & Shayna Baszler
With this being the last show before the PPV, it makes sense to have the singles champion not involved here and this actually being the idea (it doesn't make sense). The lone positive was the fact that Raw actually started with a match, which feels rare. Dana and Mandy got new music and it didn't seem very good. Alexa Bliss just lurking on stage and having most of the women being concerned doesn't bode well for an already underperforming women's division. Asuka pinned Shayna because it doesn't matter lol.
Side note: Where is Bray Wyatt?
Jinder Mahal (w/Shanky & Veer) vs. Jeff Hardy
I'm glad these two worked out the kinks for this grinder of a technical masterpiece on Main Event. Now Indus Sher got their true punishment for leaking the result of NXT's GAB main event: leaving losing Malcolm Bivens, leaving NXT, and going to Raw to team with Mahal. At least for Hardy, the check clears when it's time to get paid.
AJ Styles, Omos, Elias & Jaxson Ryker vs. Riddle, Randy Orton, Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods
Orton has a very dark sense of humor. He thinks it's funny to kill legends, kick people in the head, and light things on fire but he doesn't think tomatoes are funny. It is good/funny that Riddle keeps marking out during Orton's entrance. There's wasn't a whole lot here to the match. The highlight was New Day treating Styles (with his new goatee) like a Merry-Go-Round on the outside. It seemed way too convenient to have Orton teaming with New Day and being alright with that, so I'm glad they went through the fact that Orton got the win then RKO'ed them. Riddle yelling at Randy, "how are we ever going to have friends if you keep doing stuff like this" was on the nose.
Sheamus vs. Humbert Carrillo
The match wasn't much of anything, though it was alright, but the story was pretty much the finish. It came suddenly as Carrillo looked to be in a world of hurt as he attempted a sunset flip powerbomb to the outside. The rotation wasn't clean and he landed hard on his tailbone and Sheamus landed on his lower abdomen. Have to imagine Carrillo's tailbone got rocked in the worst way imaginable with all of that sudden impact occurring. The match ended due to ref stoppage.
Lucha House Party getting a video package? They sure did. It's not ideal if most of the in-ring work was from NXT lol. Who knew that getting Styles and Omos to the top would actually trigger more motivation to utilize the tag division.
Eva Marie's vignette was just a replay but Corey Graves made it better by saying he thought he was dreaming by watching it then looking over and Byron Saxton was still there.
Shelton Benjamin vs. Cedric Alexander
Alexander was way too cocky for his own good in this match. To be fair, he looked pretty good and in control for most of the match. Alexander was aware, by being his tag partner, of what Benjamin was wanting to do so he kept cutting him off, but he got caught. Benjamin lived up to his words from last week by proving he's a survivor and showed he had the veteran savvy to get a win.
Angel Garza was doing a photoshoot, because that's what you do when you're not actually on the show, and Drew Gulak told Garza he was humiliated after last week. Garza threatened Gulak (and the audience) by suggesting there could be a next time between the two of them.
Asuka vs. Rhea Ripley
This was set up as Sonya Deville was given the idea to have these two square off. These two had a little better chemistry this time around but it still had its clunky moments. Charlotte was her usual egotistical self while she was on commentary and egged on both opponents during the match. Neither of them really took the bait to physically attack her during the match. Rhea ultimately won the match, which makes it less exciting to have a triple threat. I guess that could be a zag but it seems like Rhea or Charlotte are winning on Sunday and Asuka will meander.
John Morrison vs. Damien Priest
Priest had the idea that the winner of this match would name the stipulation for the match between Miz and Priest on Sunday. Miz wasn't excited about the idea but Morrison accepted the challenge. These two have really good chemistry together and are more than comfortable trying some zany stuff. I like Priest's pop-up right cross. It looked and sounded good, and Morrison sold it well. History repeated itself as Miz broke up a chance for Priest to win but kept going too long and ultimately cost Morrison. I hoped Priest would pick a Punjabi Prison Match but he picked a Lumberjack Match. He's a man of the people as he made sure the catering crew got a PPV on-air payday.
A new Eva Marie vignette aired. She wants to be a super role model. Bayley ain't going to be happy.
Bobby Lashley vs. Drew McIntyre
Another big, meaty men slapping meat main event. It was a pretty good, physical match. The story of the night was basically that MVP was trying to recruit Strowman to take McIntyre out before the PPV. Glad to see Strowman realized letting the hair grow out wasn't a good idea. Strowman did in fact come out and hit the running powerslam on McIntyre to force the DQ and then delivered one to Lashley for good measure. He hit another one on McIntyre, then another on Lashley through the barricade...and then another on McIntyre lol. Little too repetitive for the action after the fact but this kind of Strowman is much more appealing to watch.
Just get us through Sunday so there can hopefully be fresh stuff on the horizon.
May 10th, 2021, 11:03 PM
Sasori
If Dio Madden was back on commentary, maybe he could finally address what's going on with him and Dijak constantly messing with McIntyre.
May 10th, 2021, 11:56 PM
Tyson
Positives:
-The announce trio tonight
-Jinder Mahal returning with some big (green) dudes in his corner. Where are the Singh brothers though?
-Riddle as Orton’s hype man, I’m down.
-Tweener Orton, fucking love it.
-Alexander v Benjamin
-Priest v Morrison
-Lashley v McIntyre, Drew is a very good worker for a big man.
-THIS is how you book Braun Strowman. Fuck yes, put the strap on the dude while he’s white hot.
Negatives:
-Whomever is booking the women’s division needs to figure it out.
-Whatever legit injury Humberto received did not look good...fuck. Hate to see these athletes get hurt.
-Can’t say I’m overwhelmed with Rhea’s reign, she really needs to go over and look good doing it this Sunday.
-Why does Lashley try the Hurt Lock on big dudes?
That was a real good show, by RAW standards since like early January. 7/10.
May 11th, 2021, 12:15 AM
BGMaverick
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tyson
-Jinder Mahal returning with some big (green) dudes in his corner. Where are the Singh brothers though?
The Bollywood Boyz are on 205 Live.
May 11th, 2021, 1:05 AM
VHS
Just caught the Humberto spot, ughh that looked really bad. Could be a shoulder or maybe hip injury, but he was definitely knocked loopy... hope my dude is ok.
May 11th, 2021, 10:23 AM
Nash Diesel
Jinder Mahal is someone who ruined a good run the WWE had of pushing the talent we wanted. Bray finally wins the World title, does it by beating arguably the 2 best of the modern era in Cena and AJ Styles....then has to drop it to Orton so Orton can put over Jinder. Nakamura shows up, does the fuckin job. I actually cheered for Corbin to cash in his MITB and win the belt but they said naw fuck you Corbin.
And for what? A pointless attempt to lure fans from India? They were already with you! It's like making Orton champion again because they want the fans in St Louis to watch Raw......
May 11th, 2021, 10:26 AM
Donald
So, I take it Drew McIntyre is going to win the title on Sunday, and then feud with Mahal, culminating in a match at SummerSlam?
May 11th, 2021, 10:34 AM
Donald
I recently got rid of cable, but it's not like I was watching RAW anyway :lol: I think at this point even reading the recaps is a waste of time. I'll just watch the PPVs and get caught up on everything from the video packages they do.
May 11th, 2021, 10:58 AM
Nash Diesel
Quote:
Originally Posted by Donald
So, I take it Drew McIntyre is going to win the title on Sunday, and then feud with Mahal, culminating in a match at SummerSlam?
I don't mind Drew winning, but I definitely will not participate in anything involving Jinder Mahal in the main event. He can have his two giant greenhorns with him and win the US title from Sheamus or something.
May 11th, 2021, 11:03 AM
Donald
They have the tie in with 3MB, and also there were rumors last year that Drew was going to feud with Jinder but then Jinder got injured.
May 11th, 2021, 11:58 AM
Nash Diesel
Quote:
Originally Posted by Donald
They have the tie in with 3MB, and also there were rumors last year that Drew was going to feud with Jinder but then Jinder got injured.
I respect the tie in but a stable of jobbers where the real memorable guy of the group was fired last year doesn't really appeal to me.
I do remember hearing about a possible feud. Luckily for us Jinder was injured and luckily for WWE because those ratings would have been terrible.
May 11th, 2021, 12:41 PM
VHS
Quote:
Originally Posted by Donald
I recently got rid of cable, but it's not like I was watching RAW anyway :lol: I think at this point even reading the recaps is a waste of time. I'll just watch the PPVs and get caught up on everything from the video packages they do.
It's pretty much how I stay minimally informed about what goes down on RAW and SD, even though SD seems to be miles better than RAW. The recaps on the front page read like someone is trying to write wrestling fan fic so I pretty much look over BGMaverick's reviews and then I'll swing over to the Youtube page and watch what sounded cool. :yes:
May 11th, 2021, 12:47 PM
BGMaverick
Quote:
Originally Posted by VHS
It's pretty much how I stay minimally informed about what goes down on RAW and SD, even though SD seems to be miles better than RAW. The recaps on the front page read like someone is trying to write wrestling fan fic so I pretty much look over BGMaverick's reviews and then I'll swing over to the Youtube page and watch what sounded cool. :yes:
thank you :yes:
May 11th, 2021, 1:33 PM
3puppies
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nash Diesel
I respect the tie in but a stable of jobbers where the real memorable guy of the group was fired last year doesn't really appeal to me.
I do remember hearing about a possible feud. Luckily for us Jinder was injured and luckily for WWE because those ratings would have been terrible.
THIS.
I hate to see guys get injured, but I can't say that I missed Jinder. I respect how he got himself into phenomenal physique, because there is no doubt he's worked hard. I am willing to give him credit for not butchering his comeback promo, and I hope that over the past two years he has learned a bit more about ring psychology / storytelling, how to sell, but more importantly, how to transition between moves better. In his Raw Talk appearance he seemed more comfortable on the mic - he used to look so scared of being interviewed, frightened that he'd forget something or say something wrong. I don't think the duo of Shanky and Veer are going to help make him look nearly as good as the Bollywood Boyz helped him, but on the other hand, they might become the next version of the New Day - something I don't think any of us expected to become nearly as good as they were. Sometimes, a good bit of time away really helps someone get more comfortable in their role - look what it has done for MVP.
Not sure what to think about Miz/Johnny Drip Drip yet. The only certainty here is that Priestly will come out on top at the lumberjack match, as Miz was shown to be an idiot for not attacking JoMo for the DQ. Hard to believe Miz held the top belt just a few months ago.
Add me to the list really enjoying the Riddle/Randy pairing. Both guys are really making this enjoyable.
Omos takes his first L, but in an 8-man tag match, not being involved in the decision doesn't hurt him.
May 11th, 2021, 2:13 PM
Tyrone
I wasn't wondering what happened to those two clowns that showed up with Jinder, then there they are. Would like to see Viking Raiders paired up with Drew if we're going that way having most tag teams associate with a singles guy.
May 11th, 2021, 2:29 PM
VHS
It's still astounding to me why Jinder is still around, still in 2021. His entire tenure w/ WWE has ranged from below average to mediocre.
NeverDrewADime.gif
May 11th, 2021, 3:07 PM
Sasori
Quote:
Originally Posted by 3puppies
Add me to the list really enjoying the Riddle/Randy pairing. Both guys are really making this enjoyable.
I thought Riddle should have retained the US title at 'Mania, but this angle with Orton is more interesting than what Sheamus is doing right now. It also gives fans a chance to see more of Riddle's character work and if he goes over Otron when they finally clash, then that will go a long way towards portraying him as someone to take seriously in the ring.
May 11th, 2021, 3:12 PM
Nash Diesel
Sheamus as US champion has been completely pointless.
May 11th, 2021, 4:25 PM
3puppies
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nash Diesel
Sheamus as US champion has been completely pointless.
On the other hand, prior to his US title win, he had been coming off a run of terrific matches over the past several months. His feuds with Jeff Hardy, then his friendship angle leading to his terrific matches with Drew, and his matches against Lashley were all very very good. Even his brief stuff with He was deserving, but once he's gotten the title from Riddle, instead of Riddle trying to win it back, they're forcing us to sit through Carrillo and Mansoor trying to step up. Neither of these two have any credibility, so it's not fair to blame Sheamus for that.
May 11th, 2021, 4:30 PM
Nash Diesel
Quote:
Originally Posted by 3puppies
On the other hand, prior to his US title win, he had been coming off a run of terrific matches over the past several months. His feuds with Jeff Hardy, then his friendship angle leading to his terrific matches with Drew, and his matches against Lashley were all very very good. Even his brief stuff with He was deserving, but once he's gotten the title from Riddle, instead of Riddle trying to win it back, they're forcing us to sit through Carrillo and Mansoor trying to step up. Neither of these two have any credibility, so it's not fair to blame Sheamus for that.
Exactly. I don't even see why he needed the US title. Let's be honest, it seems far fetched that the idea this whole time has been Riddle being a transitional US champion to work a tag-team angle with Orton. Sheamus feels very forced in this position because of how well he'd been doing with the top tier stuff against Drew, Lashley, Hardy, and Keith Lee.
Now it's like...Do we really give a shit that he's fighting Mansoor of all people? Or vanilla "I look like I'm a 9 year old boy in a 17 year old boy's body" Humberto?
Trust me I'm not putting any blame on Sheamus but nobody is disagreeing that him as US champion has been completely pointless.
May 11th, 2021, 5:17 PM
3puppies
I wonder if the point was that they expect Keith Lee back any moment, and want him and Sheamus to beat the snot out of each other for a few months.
The other possibility is that Strowman will come step up after he needs a consolation for not winning the top strap.
But to say giving Sheamus the US title is pointless isn't really fair either. The point was pretty clear that they felt Sheamus consistently losing to the very top card guys, led to him needing to regain some credibility himself.
Since we don't yet know what the future plans are, it is fair to say his current title reign has been underwhelming at best.
Most of us enjoyed his feud with Jeff Hardy. Since Jeff came out on top of that, its kind of surprising to look back and see what each has done since then. I would not have expected Sheamus to do as well since then, and Hardy to be the afterthought jobber barely being used.
May 11th, 2021, 9:14 PM
Mazer
Just watching Raw now. Loved Riddle after that match
He reacted like he was the adult in a mentos commercial. Fantastic
May 12th, 2021, 1:11 AM
Sasori
There were so many Spinebusters in that 8 man tag, I thought I was watching a WWE video game stream. Even AJ hit one and he never uses that move.
May 12th, 2021, 8:47 AM
3puppies
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sasori
There were so many Spinebusters in that 8 man tag, I thought I was watching a WWE video game stream. Even AJ hit one and he never uses that move.
It is one of the few offensive moves that Elias (and Ryker, too) can pull off convincingly. And Woods seemed to take most of them, because he sells it better than most.
May 12th, 2021, 10:13 AM
Nash Diesel
Quote:
Originally Posted by 3puppies
I wonder if the point was that they expect Keith Lee back any moment, and want him and Sheamus to beat the snot out of each other for a few months.
The other possibility is that Strowman will come step up after he needs a consolation for not winning the top strap.
But to say giving Sheamus the US title is pointless isn't really fair either. The point was pretty clear that they felt Sheamus consistently losing to the very top card guys, led to him needing to regain some credibility himself.
Since we don't yet know what the future plans are, it is fair to say his current title reign has been underwhelming at best.
Most of us enjoyed his feud with Jeff Hardy. Since Jeff came out on top of that, its kind of surprising to look back and see what each has done since then. I would not have expected Sheamus to do as well since then, and Hardy to be the afterthought jobber barely being used.
But at the expense of Matt Riddle? I personally don't see how Fiend v. Orton leads to Orton teaming with Riddle in terms of that being something they had planned awhile ago. Were they thinking, Ok we'll have Riddle win the title but then lose it a month later because him and Orton are going to start being a tag-team after The Fiend angle is done.....
If that was how they went about then it explains why Sheamus winning the US title hasn't mattered. It's been over a month and we're not talking about a guy we have never seen in this position. It's Sheamus....He's been in the company for almost 15 years so we have seen what he brings to the table. Rewarding him for having a handful of good programs doesn't make sense as the expense of Matt Riddle.
Sheamus as US Champion feels like when Orton was US champion. I mean I think it's obvious what the plan is here with Sheamus. Have a veteran carry the US title, have him work with up and comers and hope they get the rub. But IMO, you don't need Sheamus to be champion for that to happen. He's won and lost so many championships, it would be like if in 1992 they put the IC title back on Greg The Hammer or Tito Santana instead of keeping it moving with the talent like HBK, Bret, Perfect, etc.
Honestly, I would've rather seen Riddle retain and feud with Orton over the title, maybe add a little more prestige to the belt instead of passing it back to another 40+ year old who already had it several times and did nothing to elevate the division.
May 12th, 2021, 12:11 PM
Badger
Orton/Riddle is one of the few highlights of Raw these days. I like how they've not just had Orton immediately brush off his nonsense like everyone else does.
It's kinda like Orton is stringing him along then eventually he's going to turn on him and destroy him (maybe with punt). This could lead to Riddle coming back with a more serious edge for revenge. I don't think that would need the US title.
May 12th, 2021, 1:16 PM
Nash Diesel
Quote:
Originally Posted by Badger
Orton/Riddle is one of the few highlights of Raw these days. I like how they've not just had Orton immediately brush off his nonsense like everyone else does.
It's kinda like Orton is stringing him along then eventually he's going to turn on him and destroy him (maybe with punt). This could lead to Riddle coming back with a more serious edge for revenge. I don't think that would need the US title.
The US title needs a good feud. How do you increase the value of the US title if you're just passing it around and having nothing feuds? I don't think Riddle v. Orton NEEDS the US title...Nerf gun to my head I would rather see Riddle with the US title feuding with Randy Orton than Sheamus with the US title doing whatever it is he's doing with nobodies like Mansoor and Humberto.
With Sheamus they're going to try and hope that by one of these lesser guys beating for the US title it'll make that person bigger. A year ago they were doing the same storyline with Apollo Crews wrestling MVP and Lashley. It did Crews no favors because more often than not it fails miserably when you force these situations.
RKBro is withou a doubt a great angle, the US title not being part of it definitely hurts the US title's position on the show more than anything.
May 12th, 2021, 1:26 PM
Badger
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nash Diesel
The US title needs a good feud. How do you increase the value of the US title if you're just passing it around and having nothing feuds? I don't think Riddle v. Orton NEEDS the US title...Nerf gun to my head I would rather see Riddle with the US title feuding with Randy Orton than Sheamus with the US title doing whatever it is he's doing with nobodies like Mansoor and Humberto.
With Sheamus they're going to try and hope that by one of these lesser guys beating for the US title it'll make that person bigger. A year ago they were doing the same storyline with Apollo Crews wrestling MVP and Lashley. It did Crews no favors because more often than not it fails miserably when you force these situations.
RKBro is withou a doubt a great angle, the US title not being part of it definitely hurts the US title's position on the show more than anything.
If it leads to somebody like Lee or somebody completely unexpected or a new signing/call up from NXT then I can get behind Sheamus as champ. RKBro is a great angle but it can be argued that the US title wouldn’t add anything either as it’s a hot enough angle as is. At least Sheamus is being up front about being a prize fighter and not wanting to give a shot to just any old schmo so there is value in that.
May 12th, 2021, 1:39 PM
Nash Diesel
Quote:
Originally Posted by Badger
If it leads to somebody like Lee or somebody completely unexpected or a new signing/call up from NXT then I can get behind Sheamus as champ. RKBro is a great angle but it can be argued that the US title wouldn’t add anything either as it’s a hot enough angle as is. At least Sheamus is being up front about being a prize fighter and not wanting to give a shot to just any old schmo so there is value in that.
If it does lead to Keith Lee (who I think was probably penciled in to win it from Lashley) getting the strap I'm down. If it's someone from NXT that depends on who it is. Adam Cole shows up and wins the US title I'm retiring from WWE.
With Orton and Riddle it's not really about the US title adding something as it is the feud elevating the status of the US title. You have a fresh face in Riddle and arguably one of the absolute greatest in WWE history feuding. I think the US title gets a little of that main event dust sprinkled on it because you want the man to make the title almost more than the title making the man. Riddle beating a guy like Orton is huge on it's own but if we're trying to make titles matter I don't think it would've been a bad thing for it to be in the mix.
The argument would then be "Why is Orton going from a main event feud with The Fiend to challenging for the US title?" I guess that shows how we view Orton in comparison to his long time nemesis Sheamus.
Sheamus has already been US champ. I'm actually shocked he has never been IC champ. Now if he were IC Champ doing what he's doing now I could get behind that more because it's original. It strengthens the legacy of the IC title while also boosting up Sheamus who could add this to his long list of accomplishments. Now he's just doing something we've already seen Lashley doing 2 months ago.
May 12th, 2021, 1:48 PM
Badger
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nash Diesel
If it does lead to Keith Lee (who I think was probably penciled in to win it from Lashley) getting the strap I'm down. If it's someone from NXT that depends on who it is. Adam Cole shows up and wins the US title I'm retiring from WWE.
With Orton and Riddle it's not really about the US title adding something as it is the feud elevating the status of the US title. You have a fresh face in Riddle and arguably one of the absolute greatest in WWE history feuding. I think the US title gets a little of that main event dust sprinkled on it because you want the man to make the title almost more than the title making the man. Riddle beating a guy like Orton is huge on it's own but if we're trying to make titles matter I don't think it would've been a bad thing for it to be in the mix.
The argument would then be "Why is Orton going from a main event feud with The Fiend to challenging for the US title?" I guess that shows how we view Orton in comparison to his long time nemesis Sheamus.
Sheamus has already been US champ. I'm actually shocked he has never been IC champ. Now if he were IC Champ doing what he's doing now I could get behind that more because it's original. It strengthens the legacy of the IC title while also boosting up Sheamus who could add this to his long list of accomplishments. Now he's just doing something we've already seen Lashley doing 2 months ago.
Next Superstar shake-up, I would agree get Sheamus on there and after the IC title.
As things are, as much as it sucks as to what happened to Carillo with that spot, if they’re smart they’ll use this opportunity to put more heat on Sheamus taking credit for what happened to build extra heat for whoever does take him down.
May 12th, 2021, 1:51 PM
3puppies
Since Daniel Bryan has left Smackdown, I would be down with him coming to Raw to step up to Sheamus. I also would have liked to see Samoa Joe vs. Sheamus, both in tweener roles, beat the hell out of each other. But since both are gone, not sure what's next.
If it won't be Lee, then maybe Braun will limp out of the main event scene after Backlash, but to rehabilitate him they will give him the US title.
May 12th, 2021, 2:14 PM
Badger
Quote:
Originally Posted by 3puppies
Since Daniel Bryan has left Smackdown, I would be down with him coming to Raw to step up to Sheamus. I also would have liked to see Samoa Joe vs. Sheamus, both in tweener roles, beat the hell out of each other. But since both are gone, not sure what's next.
If it won't be Lee, then maybe Braun will limp out of the main event scene after Backlash, but to rehabilitate him they will give him the US title.
As nice as a loophole as that would be, it was probably done so Bryan could spend more time with family and his new born son so not likely.
May 17th, 2021, 9:42 PM
Tyrone
Hope it's Keith Lee for the open challenge, but we're probably getting Gillberg.
May 18th, 2021, 12:09 AM
Tyson
Positives:
-Riddle throwing away the key. LOL.
-Alexa Bliss
-Riddle going fanboy over Orton, I’m so down for RK Bro.
-Ricochet bumping his ass off for Sheamus.
-Asuka v Charlotte. Wow, that was a PPV main event quality match there.
-That Superplex to the outside. Holy shit.
-Priest v Morrison.
-What I said for Styles also stands for Kofi.
Negatives:
-Love me some Drew Mac, but I need a bit of a break from him monopolizing the WWE title scene.
-Really want to see one last face run with one of the big belts for AJ Styles before he retires. They’re booking him as a heel, but I’m still marking out for him.
-Angel Garza
-Still not sure what Carmella RAW is going to bring, other than taking ring/screen time from more deserving women’s workers.
-I hate it when the champion comes out first.
-Corey Graves had the annoying turned up to 12/10 tonight.
A pretty good RAW by RAW standards, 6/10.
May 18th, 2021, 12:12 AM
BGMaverick
A surprising face got two wins in one night against two top competitors on Wrestlemania Backlash Raw.
Bobby Lashley and MVP Promo
Not sure if the ladies were necessary for this segment but MVP wanted to treat the CEO of The Hurt Business with some females. I like the idea, in theory, of Lashley wanting to issue an open challenge. It made sense that Drew McIntyre came out but it was good on MVP to put McIntye in his place, more or less. Yes, McIntyre didn't get pinned but we've been there and done that enough. Doesn't mean logic was going to maintain throughout the episode but it made sense here.
AJ Styles vs. Elias
Oof. Styles is really good but it's asking a lot for him to carry Elias to a 10-plus minute match with a DQ finish (Ryker pulling Styles off the apron before he hit the Phenomenal Forearm). This match was nothing but ultimate filler.
Promoting NXT during an actual episode of Raw? Wow, the idea that Raw is the lead-in for NXT so they should promote it being lost on them for this long is beyond me.
Alexa’s Playground, with special guests Natalya and Tamina
Natalya pretty much played this segment straight and answered Alexa's questions, and Tamina looked around and was acting like she was freaked out. They eventually walked off as Alexa was on a tangent about flies. Alexa seems to be floating between storylines amongst all of the ladies. The scary possibility is if they go with Alexa (and Lilly) as a tag team and they ultimately win the gold. I can see why the creative would want to do that because they'd be able to fill up a lot of time across Monday and Friday with Alexa.
Angel Garza vs. Drew Gulak
Garza getting the 8k interest feels like a misallocation of resources. That was my biggest takeaway. Garza won in less than three minutes, and shoved a rose down Gulak's throat. Yuck (to everything here).
It had been a while since the 24/7 Championship was mentioned. Funny bit of humor by R-Truth about the open challenge and getting confused with Lashley's open challenge. As usual, Akira Tozawa sneaked up on Truth and pinned him.
Kofi Kingston vs. Randy Orton
Nice premise to have Riddle try to bring New Day and Orton together to try to bury the hatchet between the three of them earlier in the show. It obviously didn't work but the setup was nice. Riddle riding his scooter slowly as Orton methodically walked down to ringside was good. Clunky start between Kingston and Orton but they seemed to regroup after that. The match wasn't much of anything but I don't think it was intended to be extravagant. Kingston won with a schoolboy off the distraction of Xavier Woods playing the trombone. Riddle tried to separate Orton and New Day as they were jaw jacking. The interesting bit was that Riddle pushed Woods as Woods was continuing to try to reason with Riddle as Orton walked off (though it seems like Orton was poised to strike someone before he thought otherwise). Is Orton's surly attitude rubbing off Riddle?
Natalya & Tamina (c) vs. Nia Jax & Shayna Baszler: Women’s Tag Team Championship Match
Not a surprise, but this match wasn't as good as their Mania match or the match from last Friday's Smackdown. Hard to see them finding more gears between these two teams and then Alexa and Lilly lurking didn't help matters. Baszler had her submission on Natalya but fire shot out of the ring post near Reginald. That caused a distraction and the champs retained. Lilly's chuckle played over the speakers as the champs were confused at what was going on. Yeeeesh.
Sheamus vs. Ricochet
Once again, this wasn't for the championship. I get that Sheamus was humiliated after Ricochet stole his jacket and hat. I guess someone really liked Ricochet in jeans last night because he wore the same thing this time around. As he should, Ricochet has looked the best in battling with Sheamus compared to Humberto Carrillo and Mansoor. The promising component is that we've probably seen the biggest hint of some personality from Ricochet in the last 48 hours compared to the rest of his time on the main roster. Commentary made it messy with Ricochet kicking out of the pump kick. He eventually lost again, with a nasty Brogue Kick this time, but things finally may be starting to look up for Ricochet.
Mace and T-Bar reappeared after their trip to Parts Unknown and suggested they may answer Lashley's open challenge (after some rough promo work by the two of them).
Asuka vs. Charlotte Flair
Earlier, Sonya Deville and Adam Pearce said that Charlotte could be a No. 1 contender for Rhea Ripley's championship if she were to beat Asuka tonight. This match got the most amount of time for the night and it probably deserved it. This wasn't a classic but it certainly had its good moments. These two were very comfortable attempting to beat the crap out of each other. It was a special edition of rollup Raw so Asuka rolled up Charlotte (after she got preoccupied with Rhea) for the win. Transitive property suggests Rhea has no worries when it comes to Charlotte and Asuka at this point lol.
Damien Priest vs. John Morrison: Lumberjack Match
Prior to the match, Morrison dedicated this match the Miz's memory lol. Not sure why Nikki Cross was the only female lumberjack but she was (and she threw Morrison back into the ring at one point). These two have had a lot of time over recent weeks to build chemistry and that was one display, once again, in this match. I appreciate the fact that Morrison seems to be extremely comfortable with his athleticism now and is trying a bunch random stuff and hoping to see if it can stick. Good spot with Priest superplexing Morrison to the outside, onto the lumberjacks. Good match by the two of them, and promising to hear Priest say he's ready to move on from Miz and Morrison.
Eva Marie's new vignetted talked about being a heroine. Alright.
Shelton Benjamin and Cedric Alexander tussled during the Lumberjack Match, which was a nice mini-story within the match, and Benjamin was asked to comment on that after the match. He didn't want to talk about that and wanted to talk about challenging Lashley. Alexander walked up and mocked the notion of Lashley being challenged by Benjamin. I don't know what the upside is for the winner of a continued feud between Alexander and Benjamin, but the matches should be good.
Bobby Lashley vs. Kofi Kingston: Open Challenge Match
The writing was on the wall for Raw in the sense that the cupboard was near empty on faces who could challenge Lashley so they went with a notable option in Kingston. Despite being announced that it was, MVP noted that this wasn't for the championship. As I said at the PPV, I'm a homer for Lashley's one-handed spinebuster and Lashley had a great one early here. It seemed pretty apparent that Kofi was going to win the match when they came back from the back just outright reiterate (via replay) that the open challenge wasn't going to be for the championship. Woods was ejected after attempting to get further involved in the match. With that distraction, MVP got into the ring and attempted to use his cane of Kingston. McIntyre intercepted him and hit Lashley in the midsection with that cane. Schoolboy Kingston got the win again. McIntyre posed with New Day to end the show.
McIntyre may want to still be in the championship picture, but Kingston certainly established himself in one night that he needs to be in the championship picture. After being booked so strongly for several months, it's fairly surprising (no matter how it happened) to see Lashley lose here.
Side note: Good thing we got that Jinder Mahal match last week. Perfect followup on that this week. Oh wait...
May 18th, 2021, 4:02 PM
3puppies
AJ/Omos are heels, but they played the face role against Elias/Ryker. Omos has been protected, and built well, so he's getting crowd pops. I wouldn't mind seeing them in the face role more.
I love Charlotte interrupting the ladies tag teams com. Ripley's promo to Charlotte was pretty heelish. Charlotte and Asuka had another match where they both showed they are miles ahead of the other ladies on the roster. Asuka deserved a solid win like that after several recent losses.
Riddle trying to get Randy to apologize felt contrived with the two headed snake, but Randy and Kofi took the promo spot over and it was ON. The match was kept short, and Randy losing to a rollup is lame, but it made sense to keep it short given that Kofi would appear later to challenge Lashley. I also liked Riddle jawing with Woods after the match.
Nikki Cross deserves better that being a LumberJill in a Lumberjack match.
I enjoyed the Bliss Playground segment, and I'm sure I wasn't the only one expecting her to cause a distraction in the tag match. I'm glad the champs retained as Shayna should move on to the singles title scene. BG's thought of Bliss and Lily winning the tag titles worries me. I wanted Nattie/Tamina to win on Smackdown, but I hadn't thought it would mean they'd both be appearing on both Raw and SD - too much Snuka for me.
May 18th, 2021, 4:06 PM
Nash Diesel
I'm blown away that the WWE pulled the trigger on Tamina and Natalya winning the belts. Of all the teams that they could've put the belts on.....
I find it very disgusting in a way reading positive comments about Tamina finally winning a belt and it's long overdue. Based on what? Seriously....Can't wrestle, can't talk, looks like shit even with showing some titties and she's paired with someone who can somewhat wrestle but is about as exciting of a character as Lance Storm's singles run in the WWF.
I'll take Alexa Bliss and a little doll as champions over Tamina even being in the WWE. I get Vince felt like he owed something to Jim Snuka but why at our expense??
May 18th, 2021, 8:27 PM
mth
I'm starting to think the Eva Marie vignettes are going the old Kurt Angle route after all...which might be alright.
Alexa and a doll winning the tag titles would be pretty stupid but ND is right, it would be better than Tamina/Nattie as champs.
Nice to see Kofi possibly getting back into the title picture. :yes:
May 18th, 2021, 9:19 PM
NWo4LifeOr2Years
I’m not much on Alexa plus Niki Cross as a doll winning the tag titles.
...but then again, I haven’t watched an (entire) Alexa Bliss segment in months, they’re all just cringeworthy.
May 18th, 2021, 11:13 PM
Nash Diesel
Quote:
Originally Posted by mth
I'm starting to think the Eva Marie vignettes are going the old Kurt Angle route after all...which might be alright.
Alexa and a doll winning the tag titles would be pretty stupid but ND is right, it would be better than Tamina/Nattie as champs.
Nice to see Kofi possibly getting back into the title picture. :yes:
Eva has to be a heel. The biggest problem with Eva was simply experience and desire. Like many wrestlers in the past, most used the platform of pro wrestling to do other things. She was gifted so much without any real training and instead of fans (for the most part) being sympathetic and understanding, they just used it as a way to project their own shortcomings.
So you make Eva a heel, let the fans get it out of their system. If she does a good job-which I think she will if you ever saw her character work in NXT (Wasn't Nia Jax her bodyguard for a minute?) it's only a matter of time before the fans are praising her work. She just needs to get the experience because there is serious potential.
As far as the tag titles go.....I don't think we can get any lower than Braun and the ref's kid. That practically derailed everything for Braun and made the Raw tag belts look stupid. If Bliss and the doll win holy shit, DDT will probably have to bust out the blowup doll again.
I like Kofi in a Jericho type role. Obviously he is a great worker, any style any match. Tag, singles. His build up and reign were special. I think that you know, sometimes people forget that it took Macho Man Randy Savage and Bret Hart 17 years to win their first World title.
Think about that. Macho and Bret, both men in practically any respected wrestler and fans top 10 of all time. Now we're seeing Kofi, Drew, Lashley, guys who put in the work and the stars didn't align until these last couple years and it made great stories.
Quote:
Originally Posted by NWo4LifeOr2Years
I’m not much on Alexa plus Niki Cross as a doll winning the tag titles.
...but then again, I haven’t watched an (entire) Alexa Bliss segment in months, they’re all just cringeworthy.
Nikki Cross as a doll?
May 20th, 2021, 2:38 PM
Sasori
Quote:
Originally Posted by BGMaverick
AJ Styles vs. Elias
Oof. Styles is really good but it's asking a lot for him to carry Elias to a 10-plus minute match with a DQ finish (Ryker pulling Styles off the apron before he hit the Phenomenal Forearm). This match was nothing but ultimate filler.
Angel Garza vs. Drew Gulak
Garza getting the 8k interest feels like a misallocation of resources. That was my biggest takeaway. Garza won in less than three minutes, and shoved a rose down Gulak's throat. Yuck (to everything here).
Instead of that boring 10 min. AJ v Elias match, they could have given Garza and Gulak more time. I'm pretty sure those two could put together some entertaining matches, but instead of treating this like a real feud, it's just a way to heat up Garza and that's a waste.
Quote:
Originally Posted by 3puppies
Nikki Cross deserves better that being a LumberJill in a Lumberjack match.
I enjoyed the Bliss Playground segment, and I'm sure I wasn't the only one expecting her to cause a distraction in the tag match. I'm glad the champs retained as Shayna should move on to the singles title scene. BG's thought of Bliss and Lily winning the tag titles worries me. I wanted Nattie/Tamina to win on Smackdown, but I hadn't thought it would mean they'd both be appearing on both Raw and SD - too much Snuka for me.
If Riddle wasn't paired up with Orton, I'd almost want him to do something with Nikki. They're both out there characters and could have some fun segments.
I can't even remember what brands Nia and Shayna were originally on.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nash Diesel
I'm blown away that the WWE pulled the trigger on Tamina and Natalya winning the belts. Of all the teams that they could've put the belts on.....
I find it very disgusting in a way reading positive comments about Tamina finally winning a belt and it's long overdue. Based on what? Seriously....Can't wrestle, can't talk, looks like shit even with showing some titties and she's paired with someone who can somewhat wrestle but is about as exciting of a character as Lance Storm's singles run in the WWF.
I'll take Alexa Bliss and a little doll as champions over Tamina even being in the WWE. I get Vince felt like he owed something to Jim Snuka but why at our expense??
This is typical left field booking from Vince. Instead of putting the belts on an established team and rewarding them for their work, he puts two random people together and they win them almost immediately. He broke up Peyton and Billie and then released them, has kept the Riott Squad in limbo, and Mandy and Dana are reduced to jobbers. But Tamina really needs a push. Is this some Total Divas bullshit? If that's the case, they could have at least had Naomi and Lana win.
May 24th, 2021, 11:04 PM
BGMaverick
Smackdown's acknowledgement of WWE going back out on the road in July was somewhat subtle. Raw's attempt hit you over the head with it, with quick promos by Braun Strowman, Damian Priest, Mandy Rose, Dana Brooke, John Morrison and Jeff Hardy. That would mark the lone appearances for those individuals.
Bobby Lashley and MVP Promo
This ultimately turned into the parade of interruptions. Drew McIntyre was the first, then Kofi Kingston was the next one. At least there was some truths that came in the form of Kingston saying that McIntyre has had multiple chances and someone new needed to step up. The idea of Kingston not really getting his rematch when he lost his championship has some merit but we've definitely exceeded the statute of limitations for that being a gripe. Adam Pearce coming out and setting up a match between the two of them, with the winner being the No. 1 contender for Lashley at HIAC made sense.
Drew McIntyre vs. Kofi Kingston
This was a very solid an entertaining match. This did harken back to Kingston's performances when he was the champion. He wasn't banging out 5-star matches but they were quite good. Having a guy like McIntyre to rag doll him a bit certainly helped. As I said, the premise for the match made all the sense in the world but alas, this is WWE and they want to book stupid finishes. This match was too long (20-plus minutes) and too good, early in the show, to have a DQ finish. Lashley took an inadvertent attack from Kingston via a dive from the top rope to the outside. An interesting bit was that neither guy hit their finisher in this. This somehow got worse later.
We got a rehash of Eva Marie's vignette from last week.
Rhea Ripley vs. Nikki Cross: Beat the Clock Challenge
Charlotte Flair was bickering with Rhea Ripley about HIAC and Nikki Cross came up and challenged either to a match. For some reason, two minutes was the arbitrary time that was brought up by Charlotte in regards to how fast she could have beaten Nikki but she had a match already set up with Asuka later in the night. Rhea accepted the match but it was accepted under the premise of beating her in two minutes. Why? I don't know. Rhea, more or less, was in control but she didn't win in 2:00 or less, so Nikki was announced as the winner.
A "Resolution"
McIntyre and Kingston went into Pearce's office, ticked off about the finish to their match. Pearce said the answer to that was in the form of running it back next week. Pearce eventually brought Lashley and MVP into his office to explain that if they got involved in the match he would get suspended for 90 days. I guess that helps next week but created a waste of time this week.
Asuka vs. Charlotte Flair
Certainly cheapens the top of the division when you run back this match for back-to-back weeks (a total of three times within a month) but that's WWE. This didn't have a great peak to it but it was a pretty good match. It certainly hurt that commercials got in the way of this. I'll give them credit to some extent because they gave a clean finish here with Charlotte pinning Asuka. Of course that gets mired in the fact it's 50/50 booking lol. That win was good enough to set up a match between Charlotte and Rhea at HIAC.
Cedric Alexander vs. Shelton Benjamin
Good on them to build up a video package, truly detailing the length of time this has been building for and displaying the tension between the two of them. Then BOTH of them got proper entrances? Alexander needs to drink tea or something before he talks because his voice sounds like he's in literal pain when he has to cut a promo. He has a microphone at his disposal. Don't project so forcefully, man. You can pretty much Copy + Paste what I said about the previous match in terms of the quality and the issue with it.
Riddle vs. Xavier Woods
Really impressive that 'Avid Gamer' popped up on the chyron for Woods lol. I can't remember a time where Woods was given ample time and he didn't find ways to impress. If Kingston (and Big E) is able to get some shine as a singles guy, the same should opportunity should be available for Woods. The icing on the cake was the fact that he was going up against Riddle, who is just fantastically wonderful in the ring. We got ourselves a chef's kiss moment when Riddle busted out an RKO out of nowhere to finish things off. He even did the Orton pose on the turnbuckle after the win. This was an extremely fun match.
AJ Styles vs. Jaxson Ryker
Talk about a comedown after that banger match...Yuck. This match was gross and the finish was gross. The ref was distracted by Ryker, and Elias hit a knee on Styles that led to a win for Ryker. Gross. Omos came out afterwards and literally chased off the goons. Omos pounced Elias into the video wall. Kind of a cool visual but not worth the result of the match lol.
Sheamus vs. Humberto Carrillo
First, good to see that Carrillo is okay after that nasty bump a couple weeks ago. This wasn't an evenly-fought match but it wasn't exactly a squash in favor of Sheamus either. He ultimately had a handful of tights to secure the win. He was beating Carrillo down before Ricochet made the save. The two of them went on with a barrage of flying attacks on Sheamus. Carrillo hit a moonsault from the top that looked to be fully absorbed by Sheamus' face lol. Other than Carrillo's health being restored, the only positive seemed to be that Ricochet wasn't cast aside unceremoniously with Carrillo back.
Eva Marie Vignette
This week, she's an aspiring athlete/trainer. Cool.
Natalya & Tamina (c) vs. Nia Jax & Shayna Baszler: Women’s Tag Team Championship Match
This felt rather ambitious to be the main event of the night. Of course, Nia and Shayna were bickering prior to the match. The reason: Reginald (of course). Shayna demanded that they stay focused during the match and that meant Reginald needed to stay in the back. Probably hard to see, but Lilly was watching from the ceiling as this interaction happened. Shayna pretty much had things in control in the early going but that flipped the instant that Reginald came out from the back. This was the fifth time these teams have squared off over the last 6-7 weeks. That's less than ideal. Also duplicating as less than ideal: the times where Nia and Tamina squared off. Those two seemed to lose their chemistry as these matchups continued over time. Reginald pulled a Miz as she caused a distraction as Shayna had the match won. She shooed him off and he ran into a wall of fire on the ramp. Natalya won with a small package. Shayna was lived and confronted Reginald and challenged him to a match next week. Yikers.
May 25th, 2021, 12:32 AM
Supernovametalstar
Quote:
Originally Posted by mth
Nice to see Kofi possibly getting back into the title picture. :yes:
I tried to watch some of the show, but I just couldn't most of the time. But, truth be told, IF they put the title back on Kofi, I would be for that. The man is your only other legit contender and people will boo Drew if they keep this up, so put it back on Kofi to diffuse some of that. Plus, people would pop for that if it's a live crowd since they were none too pleased with him losing the title in 8 seconds. Even if it's just a month long or short reign up until Summerslam, it would be far better than rehashing Drew and Bobby. He beats Lashley, retains against Lashley, maybe has a feud with Xavier, but after that, they hug and are still friends. Then at Summerslam, defends and actually beats Drew to retain. They celebrate. But then Bobby comes out and annihilates him for revenge. Build that until Survivor Series, and have Bobby regain the title. Boom, you got July, Aug, Sept, Oct, Nov, Dec, and Jan covered up until Royal Rumble if done right. And with no repeats.
I guess I'm biased since I just watched the Warrior profile they did on A&E and they showed him going against Slaughter, and there was shot of Macho Man, and I think someone else at the time. Yeah, there were some lower tier guys he feuded with when he had the title, but they were all new match ups.
Nikki really should be trying to get Alexa back, only to get turned into a Fiend zombie. This random shit ain't gonna work. And fuck Charlotte for getting a title match for beating Asuka, when Asuka beat her last week. Logic would dictate that Asuka would get the shot, but whatever. They've made me not care. What is this dampening field that seems to encase NXT people when they come up to the "main" roster. And I put that in quotes because it feels like NXT can have consistent good matches, not do too many repeats, and everyone feels like a real character as opposed to just an automaton on Raw (not so much Smackdown).
May 25th, 2021, 1:22 AM
Tyson
Positives:
-Kofi getting some shine
-Asuka v Flair, those two work really well together.
-Alexander v Benjamin
-Riddle v Woods
-Omos got some wheels, yo. Holy shit.
-Carrillo is one lucky dude, I thought for sure he was done for a year.
-Sheamus letting the young ones get shine after the match.
-FWIW, Natalya and Shayna are passable if not solid workers; Tamina and Nia are not.
Negatives:
-Nikki deserves better.
-Rhea forgetting about the clock after arrogantly pointing to her watch multiple times. Who is booking this shit?
-How does Charlotte get the title shot against Rhea at HIAC after splitting matches with Asuka?
-Styles should never be doing the job to JaKKKson RyKKKer. Ever. Fuck this shit.
-Who is booking the women’s division? For real.
-I realize Tamina is a Snuka, but please stop making Tamina-to-the-top-rope a thing.
-Shayna v Reginald next week? For fuck’s sakes.
-LOL at Nia just standing there like an idiot watching as Shayna confronts Reginald.
-Unless Eva suddenly became a competent in-ring worker during her hiatus, Eva-lution is going to fall flat on its face.