The 5 Things We Learned From RAW Last Night

Three hours is a long time to do anything. Think about it, what task could you do for 180 consecutive flawless minutes? It’s impossible. Some weeks, Vince McMahon and WWE can wave their magic wand of relativity and make three hours speed by. But that was not the case for the latest episode of RAW.

If expectations are the root of all disappointment, then I supposed I can blame my optimism for last night’s let down. RAW had been so good as of late, and I totality forgot that WWE is due a flaccid show every now and then. I made the mistake of assuming that wouldn’t happen three weeks before WrestleMania.

Look, what WWE does on a weekly basis is hard to put into perspective. The amount of quality content they produce in seven days is something we’ve been taking for granted for decades. To their credit, their shows rarely suck.

Despite featuring Brock Lesnar, Paul Heyman, John Cena, Roman Reigns, and three US Marshalls, RAW was highly skippable, though. Let’s break down why:

Roman Goes Backwards

I like Roman Reigns. I think he gets a bad rap from fans, but the bitterness towards him is not unfounded. WWE rarely puts Reigns in likable positions, and last night was yet another confusing data point in his trajectory.

Roman is not Stone Cold Steve Austin. He’s not John Cena either. Nor is he The Rock, Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart, Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage or any other top guy WWE wants his character to parallel. However, WWE has shown no inclination of letting Roman incubate naturally. Instead, they rip a page out of someone else’s play book, (namely Austin’s) and hope it works.

Look, at this point, you could set Roman on fire and fans would still cheer for his demise—no amount of sadism will cultivate sympathy for Roman Reigns.

People love to see Brock Lesnar destroy things in the same way we like to watch a lion kill on Nat Geo. So when he wrecks Roman, we can’t help but to be captivated.

Tag Team-A-Palooza

I get it, WWE is doing their best to get everyone on TV. But deploying a swath of arbitrary tag matches in one of the last episode of RAW before ‘Mania is a weird way to get us excited.

Last night’s tag-a-thon proved that RAW rarely needs to be three hours.

John Cena Flashes Some Heel

The worst part about John Cena’s string of Undertaker promos is the reminder that no one else (outside of the Miz) in WWE can evoke a poignant crowd reaction by simply talking.

Cena’s promos have been masterful. While maintaining notes of his normal self, Cena is playing heel in this story. Yeah, he’s not cheating or insulting the crowd, but he is getting us excited fro The Undertaker to show up and Tombstone him straight to hell.

And just three weeks ago I wanted no part of that.

Nia Jax and Alexa Bliss Prove Less is More

Without uttering a word in two weeks, Nia Jax is the hottest babyface the women’s division has seen in a long time. Now, most of that is due to Alexa Bliss and her profound ability to be rotten. However, Jax’s pain has been well conveyed and we can’t wait to watch her dismantle Bliss as ‘Mania.

Anyone who says heels and faces are a thing of the past can be dismissed. Simple stories with thoughtful details always work. That’s why this match, despite playing second fiddle to Asuka and Charlotte, will get a better reaction in New Orleans.

Buh-Bye Bray?

So the Ultimate Deletion is something we’ll all love in 10 years. But airing it so close to ‘Mania felt awkward. Unless this directly contributes to the evolution of Bray Wyatt, Woken Matt’s magnum opus may have been a one-off.

We’ll see in the coming weeks, but it’s too early to totally debase the segment. If anything we can applaud WWE for trying something new.