Raw kicked off with Cody Rhodes asking San Antonio what they want to talk about. WE all knew the obvious answer. He invited Seth Rollins to the ring and the two accepted The Rock & Roman Reigns’ invitation to come to SmackDown this week. Cool, cool. That’s not really what I want to talk about here. The thing that struck me was Seth.
Cody gave him a logical out if Seth decided against accepting teaming with him against Rocky & Roman at Mania. The man has a match with Drew McIntyre, who deserves all of his attention. Ironically, that’s the same thing Drew said last week when he advised Seth against worrying about what happens on Friday nights. Seth told Cody the same thing he said to Drew: Defeating the Bloodline at this juncture is bigger than anything else. If he were Captain Jean Luc Picard, he would’ve said the line must be drawn here!
The way Seth dismissed Drew as someone he’ll easily handle speaks volumes. Seth clearly isn’t focused on the big man and I understand why. Roman is more than personal with him; he feels responsible for the last few years and wants to end it. The way Seth sees it, he brought Roman into this world, and he can take him out. He believes that with Rock’s position in the company, if they don’t stop Roman now, then his former SHIELD partner will obtain the absolute power he always craved. Yeah, that’s enough to make me or possibly anyone else forget about Drew.
It’s a character-driven story that opens up a lane where Seth loses his title because he truly is focused on the bigger picture. The only reason the championship around Seth’s waist exists is because of Roman; Seth’s mission statement is a reign that looks nothing like his counterpart does on Friday nights. Raw illustrated how that will possibly to Seth’s undoing in a simple but effective way during the main event.
Jey Uso vs. Drew. Drew wants the apology he never got while Jey thinks Drew is a whining, disrespectful baby. There’s enough history between these two where the match doesn’t need much set up. The only question was when would the Bloodline show up and how would they screw Jey.
They ran a little misdirection with Solo showing up first and Cody making the save. But then Jimmy popped up out of nowhere and threw Jey off his game. Drew, once again, capitalized off the Bloodline shenanigans he swears he detests, and got a W. Foreshadowing and hammering his hypocrisy home.
But then Seth hit the ring to fend off Jimmy and protect Jey. He did this with Drew still in the ring and lurking behind him the whole time. Then this happened:
This is exactly what Drew warned Seth about. As Drew said earlier in the show, Seth doesn’t listen and he’s a junkie for the spotlight. He cares so much about destroying Roman and co. that he’s neglecting a very dangerous opponent.
That’s all very solid stuff that converges all these stories together in one circular fashion. I genuinely love this type of storytelling and it’s something WWE does very well when they commit to it. Seth’s in trouble and rather than just saying it, they’re telling us repeatedly.
B-Sides
Lucky Star
If I’m the Kabuki Warriors, I’m not impressed with Shayna Baszler & Zoey Stark’s victory over Katana Chance & Kayden Carter. While I didn’t expect them to dominate the former tag team champs, I wanted a more decisive victory. Katana & Kayden had their opponents beaten with the Afterparty. And if not for Shayna making the save at the very last second, they lose the match. Actually, if not for a Zoey catching Katana off guard with a quick roll up, they don’t win.
It’s the equivalent of a comeback victory, which normally isn’t a bad thing. But with Damage CTRL scouting and then granting Zoey & Shayna the championship match they desire, I wanted a bigger W from the future challengers. They eeked out the victory in a match that seemingly made the champs think they’re worthy of a title shot.
Meh.
No Tears
On the flip side, there’s Nia Jax vs. Becky Lynch. Liv Morgan’s shadow loomed over this match based on Becky interfering in Liv’s match against Nia last week. Quick catchup for those who missed it or just don’t remember (a lot happens in a week): Liv seemingly had Nia where she wanted her but Becky jumped in for some of that sweet revenge on Nia. Liv lost the match by DQ and got in Becky’s face afterwards. Liv had every right when she reminded Becky that not everything is about her.
Fast forward to this week and Liv returned the favor. Before the Becky los the match by DQ, she and Nia put on a pretty good outing. Nia dominated early so this was all about Becky withstanding the onslaught and making her way back. This was violent and Becky took a serious beating. It turned into a competitive and compelling match between two titans. Becky got the advantage right before Liv interfered and ruined everything for her.
That led to some backstage words between Liv and Becky, which of course resulted in the two making a match.
This is cool and all but on the real? I want more of Becky vs. Nia. A sentence I never thought I’d type but here we are.
Back Talk
Welcome Andrade back to Raw officially! With the Judgment Day watching, Andrade defeated Apollo Crews in his first match on the red brand.
Timeout though: Where did they find Apollo? I haven’t seen that man in months! After watching his whole NXT run, it’s weird seeing him sans notebook. I guess you never know what you got until it’s gone.
Apollo is a good hand so this accomplished what it needed to do without wowing me. I’m curious how Judgment Day plays into Andrade’s future. Is he a future member or does he make himself their next target?
Good Night
If there’s one entity that can turn Judgment Day into good guys, it’s IMPERIUM. Seriously, San Antonio cheered for Damian Priest & Finn Balor like they were the Rockers back in the day. People really dislike these IMPERIUM cats don’t they?
What I liked most about this match was how easily Finn & Damian blended into their “good guy” roles. After Finn took a cheap shot on Giovanni early in the match, it feels like someone called an audile the minute the crowd started chanting for the Prince. He battled from under They battled from under and sold everything Giovanni Vinci & Ludwig Kaiser did like they were world beaters. Specifically Finn, who took the brunt of the beating and felt every second of IMPERIUM’s methodical offense. He bought himself some time with a wicked Sling Blade after IMPERIUM almost botched their tandem move.
Damian got the hot tag and it was pretty much over from there. Damian is a hell of a hot tag and if Judgment Day ever turns away from the dark side, this is what it might look like.
Judgment Day got the W thanks to a South of Heaven, and IMPERIUM slunked off into the moonlight.
Hold the Line
My favorite moment from Sami Zayn and Ivar’s awesome match came in the third act. It was something simple but it’s a detail and I love matches that take care of the details, no matter how small. Sami tried an Exploder into the turnbuckle earlier in the match but, I mean, we’ve all seen Ivar. Once that didn’t work, Ivar regained control and Sami lost his slight advantage. So when Sami got another chance to make it happen, he tried a different strategy. He pummeled Ivar’s back with multiple forearm shots, thus weakening the big man and making him more susceptible to getting flipped over.
Mission accomplished.
It’s just smart psychology and character development during a match. Plus it makes it feel like a real fight where strategies evolve because they have to.
Sami eventually got the W, which was part of his need for momentum going into next week’s gauntlet match for a spot at WrestleMania against GUNTHER.
And this is the part where I mention the gauntlet match:
I love gauntlet matches and this one has incredible stakes. Sami stated his case for why he should get GUNTHER before the match, but Bronson Reed said “nah” to all of that:
Sami talked. Chad Gable talked, and he was incredibly passionate and cut probably the best promo of his career when he talked about taking GUNTHER’s smile and giving it to his daughter. But Bronson spoke with his actions. That works for him because while the Aussie can talk, he’s lets his fists handle the verbs. He doesn’t have the emotional reasoning like Sami or Chad; he just wants gold and wants to fight.
For the record, I’m pulling for Chad and think he gets the nod. He has the most compelling story, he and GUNTHER put on a clinic last fall, and the reaction he’ll get in Philly from defeating the Ring General might show that city actually has a heart. Still can’t say much for their tastes since they root for the dirty birds, but it’ll at least prove their human beings.
Outside of that tag match between Katana & Kayden and Shayna & Zoey, this show left very little for me to complain about. The stuff with Seth and Drew really intrigues me right now. It’s thoughtful storytelling that is subtle at times but not unnoticeable.
And finally, big props to Michael Cole, Pat Mac, and Cody for shouting out Sting. While Cody’s wasn’t as obvious as the commentary team, it was still noticed and appreciated.
What say you, Cagesiders? Did you enjoy the show this week? And did you expect Pat to call Sting’s last match “epic”?
Carol Dennis is an entertainment aficionado with an eye for all things pop culture. She dives into the glitz and glamour of the entertainment industry, from movie premieres to music festivals. Carol’s passion for storytelling extends beyond her reporting, as she’s an aspiring screenwriter in her free time.
