I’m back! And bette… that’s so overplayed at this point.
Hi! Big Money Drew here and I want to thank Geno Mrosko for covering for me last week.
So! Raw.
Raw.
Alright, so I’ve said over and over for months this show is lazy and uninspired. That Vince McMahon is the end all be all and it doesn’t matter who does and doesn’t like his shows, because they’re really for him. That it won’t change until he’s gone.
None of that has changed. We just have to try and get past it somehow.
What I do? I see some good stuff and support people I care about. This is my outlet to tell you what I liked and didn’t like, and the comments section is for you to do the same. It feels… apathetic? Yeah.
USA Network, please drop the third hour of Raw.
Let’s get to the main hits and misses of this show. For a full rundown of Raw check out the live blog by Rev. Claire Elizabeth!
We had to get there somehow
If you’ve watched one, you’ve watched them all.
Last week, Drew Mac asked for a 2 on 1 handicap match against T-BAR and MACE. The moment the former RETRIBUTION members had the advantage , Strowman ran down to make the save, and that led to a tag team match. That match ended in a ref stoppage with the heels as the winners.
This week, angered by not getting thanked for helping out, Strowman told McIntyre he was going out to the ring to have a 2 on 1 handicap match against T-BAR and MACE. The moment the former RETRIBUTION members had the advantage, McIntyre ran down to make the save, and that led to a tag team match. This match ended in a count out with the heels as the winners.
Only this time, Drew Mac clotheslined Strowman by accident, and T-BAR was able to get back into the ring before said count out. And then Strowman attacked Drew.
Why can’t we all just get along?!?
McIntyre walked up to Adam Pearce and said he wanted a match with Strowman, and Pearce said he’d make it happen. Later, Strowman said he should sweeten the deal and if he should win, he should be added to the WrestleMania Backlash match between McIntyre and Lashley. And Pearce made that official, too.
In the main event, McIntyre went for the Claymore, and Strowman picked him up and power slammed him. MVP was at ring side telling McIntyre to put Strowman away to save the match for both him and Lashley at WrestleMania Backlash. Strowman did a top rope superplex and then Lashley and MVP saved McIntyre from the running powerslam.
McIntyre went for the Claymore and MACE and T-BAR distracted McIntyre and Strowman got his power slam for the win.
We got a replay of that, and then that was it. Neither Lashley, MVP, Drew, or Braun acknowledged what happened, and the show went off the air with Braun and Drew pointing at Lashley.
Uh…. why did they do that? Why would they bother? It would have made much more sense if they attacked both men and disrupted the match. Are they going to align with Strowman? Actually wouldn’t be a bad idea for all three men.
Let’s… let it play out?
She’s back
Last week, Charlotte Flair was suspended for attacking referee Eddie Orengo by Adam Pearce on Raw Talk. However, other official Sonya Deville decided to reverse that, and brought Flair back to the ring.
Flair apologized to management and Eddie, and Eddie accepted the apology saying he was at fault. Flair made him apologize to her and also hold the ropes open for them, and that was great.
In the back, Pearce was waiting for the two women and it’s clear now that there’s a riff between the two officials. I’m very intrigued to see where this goes.
Later, Deville walked up to Mandy Rose and Dana Brooke and said that Mandy was going to be Flair’s opponent. Continuity! That’s so welcome these days.
Rose had some good offense here, and took advantage of Flair’s new rivalry with Orengo to sneak a win, but Flair kicked out and gave her the Natural Selection.
I’m intrigued to see where the Charlotte and Sonya relationship goes, since Sonya took it upon herself to get Charlotte back. If she gets control of the show, maybe Charlotte becomes her handpicked champion? We know how that goes, and with this new iteration of Charlotte, I’m all for it.
R-K-Bro
There was a lot of good, and one bad part in particular about this.
Riddle was being interviewed backstage and said that he was “riding high” after his win last week, and Orton rolled up asking what planet Riddle was from? Of course, Riddle answered “I’m from Earth” and Orton immediately said “Shut up” hahahaha. Orton said if Riddle wants, he’ll give R-K-Bro a try out later, and Riddle was gleeful. This was a phenomenal interaction.
Riddle started their match with Cedric Alexander, and Riddle was trying to get feedback from Orton and Orton was trying to get him to focus. As Ced was taunting Orton, he was trying to hype up his partner to make a tag. Both heels worked Riddle’s leg and Riddle finally got an opening to tag Orton.
Awesome RKO by Orton to Alexander in mid air, and as he was setting up Benjamin for the DDT, Riddle wanted to tag in. Orton actually entertained it, and Riddle hit the Floating Bro to win. Orton didn’t attack him afterward, either. I actually want R-K-Bro.
The one bad part about all of this – why did Cedric and Shelton have to be the tag team to take the fall? They’ve been on a real losing streak since splitting with The Hurt Business, and that really sucks. They don’t deserve this.
The Rest
Get off the stage (Priest and New Day defeated Miz, Morrison, Elias, and Ryker)
Miz TV, the wonderful show that it is, saw the worst singers in the company start to do Hey Hey Hop Hop unplugged, and thank the heavens for Damian Priest and New Day. They brought tomatoes. They threw those tomatoes because I guess catering was going to throw them out? At one point in the match, Saxton told Graves that he wished he could wash his mouth out with soap. That’s the state of commentary these days. Priest went for his finisher but had to clothesline Elias instead. Miz made the save and he ate a Broken Arrow for his troubles. Kingston took out Elias so Woods could get the win for the group.
Carrillo’s revenge
Sheamus came out recapping last week and said he attacked Humberto Carrillo before the bell because Carrillo doesn’t deserve to be in the ring with him. Carrillo responded by getting beaten down, but blindsiding Sheamus and shooting himself out of the ring as if it were a cannon and he were a cannonball right at Sheamus, knocking him over the announce table. I’m all in on this.
This shit’s dumb (Ripley, Jax, and Baszler defeated Asuka, Lana, and Naomi)
The entire Raw women’s division, with the exception of Charlotte and Alexa, have been tied up in this silly storyline for months with a bunch of distractions and now… slipping. There are women involved here that deserve better.
We can’t blame Alexa Bliss for what happens next
Okay. Sure.
Grade: C+
What were your thoughts, Cagesiders?