Don’t look now, but WWE has produced 2 consecutive good to great episodes of Monday Night RAW. They’ve so easily crafted compelling shows, making us wonder how they can go months producing only clunkers.
Last night was no clunker. WWE brought out its star(s) for the Hollywood-based episode. We actually got to lay eyes on Brock Lesnar! Samoa Joe was so eager to see Lesnar that he choked him out.
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In the quieter areas of L.A., I bet you can still hear the thud of Roman Reigns‘ body slamming against that ambulance. I don’t know if an Ambulance Match has ever been exceptional, but given that I’ve seen Braun Strowman physically lift an emergency vehicle, I’ll give it the benefit of the doubt.
If this were November, RAW would have stopped there, but we were given so much more. The Big Cass and Enzo saga doubled-down on heartbreak, Sasha Banks is our new number 1 contender, and LaVar Ball and his family tried to one-up Alexa Bliss’ “This is Your Life” segment in the race to 2017’s worst segment.
But these are all the highlights – you can go anywhere for such observations. This article is about the subtlety from RAW. With 3 hours of the show, there’s plenty to miss. Luckily for you, I caught them all, or at least 5 of them. So here they go, 5 Things You Missed From RAW:
Don’t Call it a Heel Turn
For the second week in a row, Roman Reigns has presented us with a heel promo to open RAW. Does this, in fact, make him a heel? No, because they’re just words. Until Reigns does something dastardly, he’s merely pretending to be a bad guy.
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So unless Reigns poisons Dean Ambrose’s apple juice or catfishes Bayley, we can’t actually believe he’s turned. That doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy this new layer. The darker, sarcastic Reigns is more believable and likely more profitable for WWE.
Racial Epithets!
It’s hard to say the LaVar Ball segment was a disaster. WWE will get a lot of play on networks that typically pay no attention to wrestling.
But the Ball trio’s moment under WWE lights definitely wasn’t good.
On top of LaVar improvising to a level of high inconvenience, his son, LaMelo cut off Dean Ambrose’s promo. With what you ask?
Just the most incendiary word in the English language. Twice. On a hot mic and loudspeakers. On live TV. Whoops.
WWE issued a statement on LaMelo’s reckless and poorly timed exclamations.
“The inappropriate language used by a guest during the ‘Miz TV’ segment was not scripted nor reflects WWE’s values,” WWE said in a statement to The Los Angeles Times.
Needless to say, we won’t be seeing the Balls on WWE programming again.
The Return of the Masculine Soap Opera
Who says WWE can’t tell stories anymore? They broke our hearts twice in 2 weeks!
Things got pretty bro-mantic last night, thanks to an inspiring performance by Enzo Amore. When he and Cass reunited, we all bought it. But as the cameras lingered we all got the same creeping sensation.
As Enzo’s carcass tumbled down the ramp, it was pretty clear: there will be no reconciling.
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Big Cass has been phenomenal in these segments, really everyone has. Casual observers of wrestling are quick to label it as soap opera for dudes. And they’re right. Without the melodrama, it’s just wrestling.
And when WWE is at its best, it’s never “just wrestling.”
Big Cass is Onto Corey Graves
Of everything on this list, this is the bit you most likely missed. Sure, you may have seen Big Cass threaten Corey Graves but how intently did you listen to the dialogue?
“I don’t know what you have over him.”
Cass was instructed by Kurt Angle to not harm Corey Graves. Being the manipulative heel that he’s become, Cass thinks that Corey Graves has Angle in a compromising situation. Maybe Graves a has bunch of dirty Snapchats of the Olympic Gold Medalist, or maybe even some fraudulent tax returns.
And Big Cass knows it. He’s right, too. Because this is the longest running story in WWE currently: Graves and Angle have a secret.
WWE has gone out of their way to underline this message every week. Something big is brewing, and I think it involves Triple H.
Kurt Angle: Thunder Stealer
Sasha Banks had a moment last night, but she had to share it not once but twice. Alexa Bliss coming out for a mean mugging was fine, if not obligated. But why, oh, why did Kurt Angle come out?
Was it a nice gesture? Sure. But it was totally unnecessary. Sasha Banks and Nia Jax just finished bringing down the house. Nia was booked perfectly and Sasha got to be a star. So, let the star have her moment.
That said, Sasha vs. Alex Bliss will be huge. It has to be. Hopefully, this can be the feud that truly launches the Women’s Revolution into a higher stratosphere.
