The 5 Things We Learned From RAW Last Night

Last night was a great reminder of how much fun WWE can be. RAW was packed full of surprises, suspense, raised stakes, and garbage monsters. Toeing the line between the surreal and reality is where WWE should live.

I feel that most of this wackiness is a product of Roman Reigns‘ absence. While The Big Dog certainly has a crucial role in WWE’s ecosystem, his illness has forced WWE to get creative on the fly. So far, Reigns’ battle with the mumps has been a blessing in disguise.

With the return of Stephanie McMahon, Samoa Joe, Braun Strowman and Nia Jax, RAW feels like a totally different show than it did a week ago. This is a good thing.

We have plenty to discuss so let’s get rolling. Here are The 5 Things We Learned From RAW Last Night:

Kurt Angle is More Wrestler than General Manager

Including Kurt Angle in the RAW vs. SmackDown Survivor Series match was an easy choice. 

First, it allows RAW’s biggest babyface in Angle get back on stage. Second, Angle will literally be fighting for his job, which gives us some juicy stakes. Third, and most importantly, a 5-on-5 tag match is a thoughtful way to make sure angle stays healthy. 

Eventually WWE will use Angle in singles competition, but right now they have the luxury of easing him back into the ring. 

Angle will once again monopolize fan’s attention at Survivor Series as we all still can’t believe he’s back. Look for WWE to capitalize on this.  

 

Much Needed Returns

We’ve already established that WWE got some of its players back, but we haven’t talked about how perfect it is.

With Steph, Nia, Braun, and Joe all back, 4 separate tiers of WWE improved instantly. This brings WWE to an entertaining state of equilibrium. Stephanie’s resuming her scathing promos gives RAW a heel in the front office, Nia bolsters the Women’s Division, Braun gives WWE another main event segment, and Joe fortifies the upper-mid card. 

This comes at a time where WWE in flux. On top of Reigns being gone, so are John Cena and (mostly) Brock Lesnar. As WWE is fighting for viewership with Monday Night Football, getting some of their better players back is a huge swing in WWE’s favor. 

 

Daniel Bryan Goes Bump in the Night

While Daniel Bryan getting “chokeslammed” was perfect. 

WWE knows that fans know that Daniel Bryan neck/head is a fragile place. So, by having Kane slam him by his dome WWE is quite aware of what they’re doing. This accomplished several things.

1. Established Kane as a rotten bastard.

2. Supplies a reason for Daniel Bryan to get revenge

3. Makes fans want to see what happens next.

This is just another subplot to WWE’s magnum opus of RAW vs. SmackDown. Daniel Bryan is acting on his own accord, not SmackDown’s and his choice to sneak over to RAW will cause a rift between him and Shane McMahon. 

This is going to be good. 

 

Asuka Already Sliding

This may be a little premature but I’ll take the heat. 

Asuka dominating jobbers isn’t going to too much for her. It worked for Braun Strowman as it proved that no mortal man could stop him. It was even more effective when he was beating 3 at a time. But for Asuka, beating a local jabroni with a submission cannot be the answer. 

She’ll have another decisive victory next week and Alicia Fox will skip out and add her to team RAW for Survivor Series. I suppose this is logical booking, but it’s hardly remarkable. 

If Asuka is the supreme dominance and eccentric character, WWE should book her like one. Don’t confine her to the squash match – let her be weird.

 

WWE Punts 3rd Hour

This isn’t as much of a criticism ad it is an observation. But aside from Braun Strowman’s comeback, WWE mailed in the 3rd hour of RAW.

Here’s a list of what happened: 

A Trick or Street fight, Drew Gulak vs. Kalisto, Alexa Bliss vs. Mickie James in a formality of a match, then, of course, Strowman’s revenge.

It all evens out as the first 2 hours of RAW were packed with action and story along with its closing moments. I suppose it’s just another testament that even in their best shows, RAW still feels like it’s about an hour too long. However, any argument for WWE to scale back to a 2-hour show will always be in vain.