SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
This week’s episode of WWE Monday Night Raw has wrapped. Let’s take a stroll down memory lane and relive some of the madness.
-I don’t know what’s worse, the fact that the major hook for this week’s Raw centered around an egg or that said egg storyline is more over than half the show.
-Ok, more on this damn egg situation. WWE needs to be careful with this type of sponsorship integration. Pizza at ringside, though obnoxious, is one thing. Baking in a plot line of a movie you’re helping promote into the fabric of your show is something entirely different. Fans and/or viewers don’t want to be a prop in that type of revenue generation. The eventual backlash to this strategy will be strong, leading to ineffectiveness of the sponsorship at best and damage to cash cow television ratings at worst.
-You caught me! I admit it. I chuckled at the Riddle impersonation of Randy Orton. I swear I didn’t want to, but there I was. It was a funny a moment and the audience ate Orton and Riddle up. Sometimes there’s nothing to say other than that and this is one of those times.
-So, Becky Lynch cut a really nice promo coming out of her Survivor Series win over Charlotte Flair. She admirably addressed the Charlotte stuff as a babyface, but then pivoted back to the heel side of the aisle in running down the audience ahead of a match with Liv Morgan. To what end, though? Lynch got the biggest babyface pop of the night and clearly is the most over act on the show. Can she make the heel thing work? Probably, she’s supremely talented. Should she be trying? A different question and based on the crowd response on Raw, the answer is no.
-It’s on. Bianca Belair vs. Doudrop. At this point, Belair is defined down in this feud ahead of what is likely to be a championship presence in the lead up to and at WrestleMania. If Doudrop can really dig in and make it as a viable heel, that will help matters for Belair, but it remains to be seen at this point.
-In a different era, the guy who attacked Seth Rollins would have had other significant physical issues to address outside of the multiple legal charges he’s likely to endure. There isn’t a place for this at wrestling shows. Stop it.
-Yay …. Zelina Vega and Carmella are the new WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions. The Raw announce team can try to make that win seem important, but until someone in WWE takes those titles seriously, no win around them will truly feel that way. It’s a pat on the back for Vega and Carmella, but that’s it.
-Who had Austin Theory as the end game of the Vince McMahon egg insanity? Liars.
-It’s a shame that Rey Mysterio isn’t booked like the legend of the business that he is. That said, Bobby Lashley has looked really strong the last two weeks. With Big E as the champion and been there, done that with Lashley, it begs the question of where does Lashley direct all his momentum?
-The more intense Damian Priest has significantly more range and depth to him. It could work as a heel, but there is money in this character as a babyface too.
-Not a bad promo at all from Austin Theory ahead of the main event. More of that and he’s going to find himself on the Vince McMahon fast track to a high place on the card.
-A solid television main event title match between Big E and Theory. I could have done without the distraction, but it’s Raw, so … Anyway, Big E having both Seth Rollins and Kevin Owens to play off of is helping frame his babyface character in a strong way and in a way that gives off the perception he’s the true top player on the show. An important distinction and one that is easy to lose on a whim. Ask Drew McIntyre.
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