10 Tiny Thoughts on Raw

WWE continued it’s post-Money in the Bank hot streak on Monday by uncorking another exceptional episode of Raw. Since the Superstar Shake-up, Raw has fallen victim to an identity crisis of sorts, however, those days look to be officially behind us.

Raw had an air of continuity as it zipped from story to story even using folks like Roman Reigns to advanced multiple narratives. WWE is doing a great job of staying out in front of the fans by keeping their direction a mystery.

But it’s not just the Universal Championship picture that’s driving the three-hour show. WWE has invested in every portion of Raw’s card and that makes a long show feel short.

Anyways, here is a collection of thoughts form Monday’s edition of Raw.

Just Kidding!

Last week, Kurt Angle proclaimed that we’d have a multi-man match at Extreme Rules to determine Brock Lesnar’s next opponent. But thanks contractual complications with Lesnar and Paul Heyman, that Extreme Rules match is now gone.

However, it does look like WWE will move forward with Roman Reigns and Bobby Lashley. At this point, we can cautiously expect them to face off at the July pay-per-view with a SummerSlam shot at Lesnar on the line.

Claps for The Revival

Upon promotion to WWE’s main roster, most NXT stars stumble out of the gates. Why so many fail to translate is worth a dissertation, but the ones that are supposed to make it usually do.

I think The Revival may fall into that category.

I’m not exactly ready to call them Hall of Famers, but I believe in this old-school duo. Their win over Reigns and Lashley say that WWE might too. 

Jinder Mahal’s New Character

Maybe he’s been reading Deepak Chopra, but Jinder Mahal is acting differently. No longer is he antagonistic guy in a turban that irked WWE’s simpler fans, instead, he’s showing signs of a sherpa-like transition.

After the Riott Squad ruined his photoshoot, both Mahal and Sunil Singh chanted a calming mantra. My wrasslin’ instincts say Mahal may be headed towards a run as a babyface, but it’s a little early to tell. 

Raw is Better With Alexa Bliss as Champion

I like Nia Jax—I think she’ll be one of the more important female characters in WWE’s future. However, Alexa Bliss is the evil queen we all need.

During her 10-minute promo, Bliss demonstrated why she’s arguably WWE’s best talker. Her perpetual sneer and scathing sarcasm make it really easy to dislike her, and this keen ability to be hated makes Bliss one of WWE’s most imported employees. 

The B-Team

I like the B-Team. That said, I’m fully aware they may not exist by the end of the month, so I’m soaking in every second of their existence—specificiallly these impersonations.

Curtis Axel’s version of Matt Hardy is by no means bad. However thanks to Bo Dallas’ uncanny imitation of his brother Bray Wyatt, Axel’s is forced to take the silver medal. 

I’ll imagine Bo has been working on that impression for decades. It’s just a shame that the B-Team will soon be Deleted.

Bayely Blows Up

Don’t call it a heel turn! As sexy a heel turns are, Bayley’s explosion was hardly a manifestation of evil, rather a violent episode of her standing up for herself—or at least, that’s how the San Diego crowd interpreted it. 

This shot of adrenaline was well past due for Bayley—her character is relevant for the first time in a year. I’ll guess that her beatdown of Banks will keep her cheered for the rest of the summer. It’s not that we want to boo Banks, we’re just happy to see Bayley get an opportunity to do something new.

Kevin Owens: Babyface?

Look, Kevin Owens will spend the rest of the summer being tormented by Braun Strowman. But KO is routinely showing that he’s hilarious, and sooner or later, WWE fans are going to love him for this.

Even more, his frog splash may be the most crowd-pleasing move in WWE right now. It’s a little early, but don’t be surprised if Owens is acting much differently by Survivor Series

I’m Happy for Dolph Ziggler

I’ve always carried a bias that favored Ziggler. Sure his gimmick is an unapologetic callback to Shawn Michaels, but I can’t remember the last time I didn’t enjoy one of his matches—wait, SummerSlam 2016 was objectively bad.

Regardless, I think Ziggler is one of WWE best, and I’m glad to see him in such bright spot—espcially after him being jailed in SmackDown’s basement for most of 2017. 

Seth Rollins is Still WWE’s Best Bullet

I was worried that without the Intercontinental Championship, Seth Rollins would start to lose a little momentum. But there’s no need to worry because right now, Seth Rollins is the best performer in all of WWE.

I’m not sure where he’ll finish 2018. He could easily be Universal Champion. Or WWE could use him to be the king of the upper-mid card. All I know is that Rollins is wrestling at such a high level it really doesn’t matter where WWE sticks him.

Projecting Roman Reigns

After the first hour of Raw, it looked like Reigns and Lashley are on a collision course. But it Regins re-appeared in the shows closing segment to bail out Seth Rollins from Ziggler and McIntyre.

WWE definitely teased something between Reigns and McIntire and I won’t be surprised if they have a match next week. I still consider Reigns the favorite to meet Lesnar in Brooklyn, but clear  WWE is trying him out for several different scenarios.