If you ignore all the bs that has surrounded the Women’s title the last month or so, you would believe that this is finally the era of women’s wrestling we’ve been pining for on the main roster for years. From the beginning of the show, to the end, they made this seem like a big deal. More of their shows will be serviced a great degree if they try and do this going forward. Look at Smackdown last week for example. Yea, yeah we all know Smackdown had been kicking Raw’s ass in the quality department, but they didn’t really treat Ambrose and Styles with the respect they gave the women tonight.
I was waiting for them to screw it up, especially after the Sasha and Bayley segment. Sasha almost seemed ‘so honored’ to be in the Raw Main event. It’s why stars these days are never seen as stars, because they’re always “so blessed” to be here performing in front of all these fans. Let me talk about the match before I get too far on a tangent.
These two always work a stiff style, sometimes to a point where it sort of scares the hell out of us. With that being said; Sasha Banks has the best suicide dive on the roster. It doesn’t look like a flying tickle fight; she launches herself like a missile, and she’s a better salesman than Ziggler. After Charlotte did that crazy corkscrew moonsault, we all knew that they were going for it in this match, and boy did they get it.
Having Sasha win feels like a great moment if you forget that this happened like 6 weeks ago, and sometimes it’s good to forget and just live in the moment of two awesome performers doing what they do best. From what they did with Dana Brooke and Bailey to showing the agony of defeat in Charlotte’s face is all they needed to do to make me invested in the Women’s title in the future.
Our Friendship is Better Than Yours
So Chris Jericho, in all his heel glory, is over as hell. After that teased tension between him and his BFF, it’s pretty clear where they are going. It fits so perfectly. It was a very subtle moment that showed what Jericho is capable of, and Kevin Owens quickly cowering and opting for a tag match was a nod to how much of a coward he is. Just like a heel should be. But after all that, everything was honky dory, back to the fun.
The List (I put it in caps because I respect The List) is so great. Not The List itself but the reaction everyone has to being on the list is what made all the List segments gold. The Match with New Day was ok, but the booking was just too weird for me. Multiple people ganging on poor little Jeri-KO is not the right direction. They did get more heat on the champ after leaving Jericho to fend for himself. Come to think of it, Jericho’s babyface turn is going a lot smoother than Seth’s. Speaking of which…
All Alone
Seth Rollins keeps talking smack (see what I did there?) to Stephanie and getting away with it. It feels good to see that but I’m not a huge fan of the turn. Seth hasn’t really been sympathetic, he’s just sort of whiny about the fact that he’s been kicked out. It’s hard to root for that. Of course, a good babyface turn doesn’t happen overnight, but they are going a screwy path. Tonight they made an attempt to right those mistakes by creating a new dynamic for the situation Seth is in. He’s alone now, and he actually might start seeing the error of HIS ways before he starts burning a bunch of stuff to the ground. So there’s hope.
The RR Championship
As a character, I can’t stand Roman Reigns. And they certainly aren’t giving me any reasons to like him. He disrespected Rusev and his wife Lana. Beat him up a bunch, and took his title and continues to make fun of him. LA doesn’t like Roman either. So this whole thing is weird. The crappy thing is, this SHOULD be cool. The fact that the WWE US Title is being defended in a Hell in a Cell does wonders for the title, but we all know damn well if he wasn’t holding it, it would be another throw away match. I don’t like the US Title playing second fiddle to this 5th or 6th try at a Reigns push. But hopefully the title will get some shine in the process.
The Tag Division
I don’t know if it was by chance or by design but Tag Team picture on Raw looked sexy tonight. For one reason; everybody seems to want the Tag Titles. Sheamus and Cesaro had a perfectly booked little squash match and furthering their story for a future title shot. It’s almost the same for The Club, rebuilding them as the dominant team they should be. Jeri-KO throwing their names in the hat too also helped make the titles something everybody wants. ultimately putting the titles and the division over, big.
Cruiserweights
I’m still not sure how this cruiserweight division is going to play out. The Kendrick and PJ story is fine (if you’re ok with the champ taking a pin) and Nese vs. Swann had a fun match. But I’m going to say the same thing every week until they give it to me… CHARACTER.
Next Week Off?
So if they don’t find Mr. Braun some competition, next week is not going to happen. So yea, make that happen.
Sami Zayn Won
Yea, Sami Zayn won. That’s cool, I guess. Oh, did you expect me to give a crap about whatever Titus is doing, because I don’t. But at least he’s being used. Honestly the match was pretty good. I like seeing smaller guys beat bigger guys because juxtaposition?
Overall it was a pretty good show. More superstars and less management is always good. And they seem to be aware of the mistakes they’ve made the last few weeks, so lets hope things will be on fire come Hell In The Cell.
My Grade: a solid B.
