#GoingInRaw: Reigns to Styles: You Aint ish Without Ya Homeboys

Hello True Believers and welcome to another edition of Going in Raw! This week’s episode of Monday Night Raw was taped in London, England. The WWE is on tour in Europe and the Middle East so it was interesting to see just what would take place on a taped show. In the past, the WWE has been known to take some chances on tour that they wouldn’t take in the States, making it hard to tell if anything would technically be “canon” storywise. With the danger of spoilers, any show would want to hold their cards close to the chest. However, even having known the results of the matches beforehand, this was a very entertaining Raw. Maybe Shane is the lucky charm, but so far I would count his run at 3-0.

The show started with the charming little talk show, The Ambrose Asylum. Dean has a carpet and the plant made a return. How much you want to bet he’ll be talking to that plant and making it a part of his gimmick in the next month or so? It probably already has a twitter account like @DeansPlantWWE. Dean welcomed Shane McMahon back to Raw who as I eluded to earlier, was in control of the show for the third week straight. Obligatory mention of WrestleMania’s stipulations. But the show has been a lot more fun. Then JBL actually said,”What’s wrong with predictable?” Frustrated Emoji. Then the two of them were interrupted by some angry Canadians. Sami And KO had their squabble about who was copying whom. Jericho yelled about losing his Highlight Reel to the Asylum. Shane made some dates for Payback seeing as how the fellas wanted a piece of each other. Fighting broke out and the heels headed for the hills.

Sami Zayn vs. Chris Jericho
Raw returned from the break with Sami Zayn and Jericho locked in combat. The match itself was great. But because of the previous barnburners the two of them have recently had with other SuperStars (especially Sami) this one seemed to barely scratch the surface of what the two of them could really do with each other. Sami lost after taking a thumb to the eye and a Code Breaker to the chops. While I don’t mind Jericho winning, I don’t like Sami losing…again! He is basically the second coming of Daniel Bryan already. He’s an underdog. He has a metric ton of moves in his arsenal. He’s nice on the mic and he is so over with the WWE fanbase. WWE really lucked out because Daniel was a one in a million kind of talent and it took them forever to recognize that. Let’s not make that mistake again. Fortunately, the Universe is going to lift him up and his in-ring talent will lift him even higher. Just get that boy a couple Ws, though.

AJ and the Gang
AJ met up with his homeboys from NJPW Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows. The boys congratulated each other on their current success. But before they could have a convo that the little ears in the WWE Universe couldn’t unhear, AJ swept them all off camera.

Later he had a face-to-face with thee guy, Roman Reigns, who assured the audience (who boo’d a picture of Reigns without mercy) that they really were not going to like him when he beats their favorite, AJ Styles. AJ promised the contrary much to the glee of the fans in attendance. As he walked away from the ring the aforementioned Anderson and Gallows showed Roman the sole of Karl Anderson’s boot, much to the supposed chagrin of AJ Styles.

Reigns caught up with Styles and confronted him about siccing his dogs on him. Styles tried to assure Roman that he had nothing to do with it, but Reigns didn’t buy it. He mentioned that his cousins got jumped last week and now he was on the receiving end of a Bullet Club beatdown.

If the WWE played this right, there could be huge repercussions stemming from this one storyline. But so many things have to go right. That room full of writers will have to be working in concert. Things will have to be stuck to. Events will have to be seen all the way through. I still want them to explore the relationship between Roman and the Wyatts. It works out even better with an injured Bray because Roman could act as the hand of the Bray Wyatt after being seduced by the power of wielding the whole Wyatt family. AJ should get back with the Bullet Club, but reluctantly. They want it to be business as usual, but Styles wants to play by the rules. He’s being seduced by the darkness as well, but he can’t be corrupted. Then this could open the door for a full demon Finn Bâlor.

And I’m sure once Seth Rollins makes his return, which will be a hero’s welcome, there will be the matter of his rematch clause. Whether he’d get straight to Roman or tangle with the Authority first would be a matter of timing. It’s more likely that Reigns would end up with the Authority himself. So while that’s slightly compelling, it wouldn’t have as much life as my original plan with the Wyatt family.

Miz See TV
I have always been a big fan Maryse. Her looks are actually a small proponent to what makes her so hot. That awful attitude fits her character so well. It also helps that she’s a sweety on Twitter, so it makes her on-screen persona easier to cheer for. A couple weeks before she made her return on Raw the day after Mania, the Miz was barely trading water. While he wasn’t unwatchable, he most certainly wasn’t “must see”. But with his wife in his corner, the IC champ is the man you love to hate again. When Maryse knocked the domestic water out of his hand before he could sully himself with it? I howled. She makes him so much more believable as a Hollywood dbag with a hot blonde wife. I was made about Zack Ryder before, and I’m still kind of sore. But I like what they’re doing together.

Anyway, they got interrupted by WWE’s Swiss Superman/James Bond/All of Jason Statham’s characters, Cesaro. The two have a date to decide the Intercontinental Title at Payback. Not long after the a League of Nations rolled out to support Rusev (who looks like he’s drinking Dick Gregory. He looks amazing!) in a match against C-Murda, but Cesaro turned the tables with another Shane McMahon announcement that pit the Miz and the lads against Cesaro and wait for it… THE NEW DAY!

The match was as good as you’d expect. Xavier Woods took a lot of abuse before tagging out to Cesaro. Everyone but Woods and Sheamus landed their finishers. Cesaro ended it with the neutralizer to pick up the win and the momentum going into Payback.

The Best Uncle There Ever Will Be
Charlotte did an interview where she said every other woman in the division is a failure because none of them have been able to knock her off the throne. Natalya butt in to not only remind her that she tapped out to the Sharpshooter last week, but to inform Charlotte she got a rematch at Payback and Bret Hart himself would be in Nattie’s corner. Charlotte looked to her father, Ric to do something about it.

Let me start out by saying no one in the world loves Bret “The Hitman” Hart more than me. And it is precisely that reason that I don’t want him anywhere near ringside in any match, in any capacity. Furthermore, we don’t need two old guys puttering around outside the ring, having any bearing on this bout whatsoever. Nat would have probably done better to get Dr Phil to watch her back. He seemed to have Flair in check by simply wooing at him.

The 8 Div… WOMEN’S tag match (I love correcting myself there) had so many cool moments in it. First of all, they each got to make separate entrances. Paige received a hometown hero’s welcome. Charlie received a huge pop and might have even blushed a little. She turned to Ric Flair and was shaking her head in disbelief. Miz See TV
I have always been a big fan Maryse. Her looks are actually a small proponent to what makes her so hot. That awful attitude fits her character so well. It also helps that she’s a sweety on Twitter, so it makes her on-screen persona easier to cheer for. A couple weeks before she made her return on Raw the day after Mania, the Miz was barely trading water. While he wasn’t unwatchable, he most certainly wasn’t “must see”. But with his wife in his corner, the IC champ is the man you love to hate again. When Maryse knocked the domestic water out of his hand before he could sully himself with it? I howled. She makes him so much more believable as a Hollywood dbag with a hot blonde wife. I was made about Zack Ryder before, and I’m still kind of sore. But I like what they’re doing together.

 

 

Other Stuff

It looks like the Tag Team Title Tournament is going to be the NXT Bowl as Enzo and Big Cass got past the Dudleys and The Vaudevillains beat the Usos. It’s awesome because we’re guaranteed to see someone the New Day has yet to vanquish. It may be the beginning of a great feud one way or the other. I’ve enjoyed the ride with the Unicorns, but all great things must come to an end…unless they sell shirts and get outside casual fans to watch the product. Right now it just doesn’t seem like the best move to make. But the Jordan of Jargon is so over, he and Big Cassady might be ready. How much you want to bet those shirts are going to be hideous though? How U doin’?

Apollo Crews beat Heath Slater in a match with the stipulation being if Heath could beat Crews, Apollo would have to join the Social Outcasts. Crews did every flip known to man to ensure he stayed all the way out of that stable.

Baron Corbin made all the dancing stop when he beat up Fandango for a win. Daaah dah. Dah dah dah daaaaah dah dah daaaaah dah… Remember when everybody was Fandangoing? Sometimes the WWE Universe really doesn’t know what it’s talking about.
Dean Ambrose took on Kevin Owens in an awesome match. I keep thinking I can’t be more impressed with KO. Then he has another match. I know one day, he will slow down to a more conservative style to lengthen his career. But as of right now, I’m going to enjoy these matches. On the other hand, he’s the heel version of Sami Zayn. The boy needs to pick up a win or two in these slobberknockers he keeps having. Maybe he’s winning on Smackdown and I’m just not paying attention. Every week he keeps me in stitches, whether he’s wearing JBL’s hat or he’s telling Michael Cole what to call while he’s flat on his back under the announce table. Dean turned in a great performance as well, but it’s not like a frog splash from the ring apron to the outside of the ring. DD was enough to win but after the match, Jericho hit the Codebreaker on Dean Ambrose to end the celebration and the show.

So much hard work got done on Monday and I’m hoping they continue to build on it. “Build” being the operative word. We’re starting to see things take shape, and while it can’t be the Attitude Era (So please stop wishing it was), there are some promising things on the horizon. I like the idea that with the top guys still recuperating, the WWE has to make some sort of long term plan for the available roster. It’s not about dribbling out the clock til Cena comes back. It’s about looking for the next “thee” guy. Obviously it’s not Reigns, but if they really want him to be, the answer is simple in turning him heel and turning him face later. How many times did they do it with the Rock? People wanted Rocky Maivia to die, bro. Will it take “Die, Roman, Die!” chants before WWE gets the message. He can always save a cat from a tree or make up a dance to get back in the good graces of the fans. WWE fans are fickle, except for when they are not. If it’s one thing that they are steadfast on, it’s the fact they hate your babyface champion. I had to explain to my aunt, who had not watched wrestling (because that’s what it’s called) in a while why the fans were booing Reigns. I honestly could not come up with anything besides the fact he’s being forced down the fans’ throats. Let him earn some of those boos so they can get it out of their systems. Hulk Hogan, Diesel, Undertaker, Shawn Michaels, The Rock, The New Day and a whole host of others had to take a step back and be heels before they could launch forward into beloved babyface status. Why not take that step back when you have the future of the company riding on this guy? It’s an investment.