Though nowhere near perfect, I feel RAW last night was a pretty solid show for the most part. Granted, we still got some crap throughout the three hours but for the most part I can honestly say this was the first time it felt like Wrestlemania season, which is why I may have given my rating a bit of a bump with a 7/10. Thoughts/Notes:
- "Let's start RAW a bit different this week, let's have the women open the show"...."Ah, yes, what a brilliant idea and while we at it, how about a six woman tag? That ought to do it"........You know, I'm actually wondering if Teddy Long is booking the woman's division....
- On a more serious note, and while still on the same topic, I think Alexa Bliss delivered a very good promo, which we all know by now is one of her strong suits anyway so no surprise there. Now, the way WWE had this play out is making us fans believe that it's going to be Asuka vs. Bliss at Wrestlemania when, really, that's not the case at all otherwise why hasn't Asuka made her decision yet? By keeping Asuka silent as to whom she will opt to face at Mania pretty much tells us that at some point she will show up on Smackdown to challenge Charlotte instead, likeliest scenario in my mind being the Tuesday after Fastlane. I think it makes all the sense in the world plus Asuka vs. Charlotte, as discussed already, speaks more Wrestlemania rather then Asuka vs. Bliss. Not that Asuka and Bliss wouldn't deliver a great match (I'm sure it'd be a cracker) but Asuka vs. Charlotte just has that bigger vibe to it and feels like the bigger deal, you know?
Meanwhile, the more they talk about Nia Jax not having a match at Mania, the more they pretty much confirm it and something tells me Alexa Bliss won't be all that happy when it becomes official.
- Nice little twist during the woman's tag when Bailey backed down when Sasha was reaching for the tag. Like I noted yesterday after Elimination Chamber, hopefully this is another little part in a slow build to a grudge match between these two that could culminate at Mania. One may ask "three woman's single matches on the main card of Mania?" My reply, why the fuck not?
- John Cena being one of the best in the business when it comes to his mic work is no surprise so him delivering yet another awesome promo was business as usual. Him going back to SD in order to "figure this out" i'm not sure is the best option but rumor has it WWE are going to book Cena vs. Nakamura for Fastlane and if that's the case, I would not be surprised whatsoever if Nakamura were to put his title opportunity won at the Rumble on the line cause...that's what a dumb babyface traditionally does in WWE. Even if any of this is true, don't kid yourseld, Cena is still losing cause your're simply not pinning Nakamura and you surely ain't taking away the dream match that all fans want to see. So....
...again assuming all the above will happen, Cena will then come out just like I predicted he would do a day earlier and how he indeed did last night, talk about failing again and then...GONG....Mark my words, barring any kind of injury, Cena vs. Undertaker IS HAPPENING, 100%. Wanna know why? I'm pretty sure I've said this before but anyone who's followed the show long enough and "knows" Vince, the man has one golden rule...well, one of many....and that is NEVER TEASE ON SOMETHING YOU CANNOT DELIVER...Keep that in mind....
- Roman Reigns segment: by far, BY FAR like a million miles away far, THIS was his best promo ever.....If only WWE were more consistent with him, maybe Roman would have been over by now the way they want him to be over. Strong words though and a promo that felt genuine, real. Hm, I wonder why...
- There's a lot of talk and/or speculation as to why Brock Lesnar did not show up as advertised last night. I would not be surprised if this turned out to be a Paul Heymann idea from the getco that ultimately led to Roman's promo. Given that WWE creative is the shit lately, yeah, it probably sounds farfetched of a thought and something they couldn't possibly be capable of coming up with. True, however we also know the mastermind that Paul Heymann is so don't be surprised if it eventually comes out that it was his idea all along, adding to the storyline.
- As for the main event segment, they pretty much cemented what we already know: Steph&HHH vs. Ronda/Kurt. I'm sure we all would much rather prefer the Rock instead of Kurt but that sucker punch in the end (and ugly one too) by HHH pretty much tells us Rock won't be available...unfortunately....They had already teased the idea of HHH and Angle having a go at Mania so its basically a two birds with one stone situation...
- Everything else....like Bar vs. Titus Worldwide...I just didn't care....And why is it that Titus and Apollo get another opportunity already? Gee, I wonder why...
