You just had to know where to look for them. Here's a
hint: they weren't in the Nikki Bella and Alicia Fox v Naomi and Sasha Banks
match, or the throwaway Bad News Barrett, Sheamus and Rusev versus Dolph
Ziggler, Cesaro and Adrian Neville six man. Nor were they in Kevin Owens versus
ark Henry. Although, for the record all three good for what they were. Nikki
over as the serious title contender she should be considering her tenure and
status as longest reigning Divas champ ever. The six man was a fun match which
got some over lads on the show and gave them time to do their thing. And Owens
v Henry featured Owens hitting his pop-up power bomb on 'The World's Strongest
Man', establishing that he's strong enough to hit Ryback (his HIAC opponent)
with it should the opportunity arise.
But, as I say, these things weren't anything noteworthy.
The big segments from this week's RAW were the Undertaker and Lesnar
confrontation, a dressing down of WWE champ Seth Rollins by Shawn Michaels, and
an impromptu Shield reunion and match opposite their old foes the Wyatt Family.
 |
| This was fun to see but what an unbelievable waste. |
The Shield reunion wasn't. It was Rollins agreeing to
team up with Ambrose and Reigns to demonstrate to Shawn Michaels that he could
"stop the show" then turning on them at the end of the match. Because
the whole point of Rollins' character is that he's a dick who deserves a slap.
In theory this worked but in practice it was incredibly wasteful. The first
teaming of 'The Hounds of Justice' since their split in the summer of last year
should have been a huge deal.
Instead it was a transparent attempt to increase ratings
and it didn't even get that right. The least WWE should have done if this was
their plan was to announce the match a week in advance and plug it non-stop to
get people watching next week. Okay, that may have made some people think it
was a full-time reunion but the answer to that would have been simple: have
Rollins give a promo about not needing Ambrose and Reigns and Ambrose and
Reigns say they don't trust Rollins but need him for this one match. It would
have made time for word to spread and people to get excited about the match,
increasing the chance of a larger viewing figure.
But it was more than that. The Shield shouldn't be
something tossed out as a ratings grab. It will devalue their inevitable
full-time (until the equally inevitable second split at least) reunion whenever
it comes. The three men, though particularly Rollins and Reigns, are all
clearly going to be big parts of the WWE landscape for years. They should be
protected. And that means planning things like a reunion far in advance,
working towards it and getting it right when it happens, not giving it away on
free TV with only an hour's build-up.
On top of that things just felt off. Erick Rowan
returning to the fold is fine. It actually helps get across Wyatt's cult leader
deal because he slotted in with new lad Braun Strowman beautifuly. But Luke
Harper not being involved was wrong. He and Wyatt are more over than Rowan and
Strowman by a significant margin. He clearly should have been in the match yet
he wasn't even at ringside. Rowan and 'The Black Sheep' are both very good in
their roles but they can't hold a candle to Harper's ring skills and compelling
weirdness.
 |
| Strong mic work from HBShizzle here. |
HBK dressing down Rollins worked. The gist of Michaels'
argument was that 'The Future' is content with the accolade of being the new
Shawn Michaels when he should be concentrating on making his own name mean more
and creating a legacy for himself. Which is hard to argue against (although
it's worth noting that comparisons between Rollins and Michaels haven't been as
frequent as this segment would suggest). Not to say that Rollins' doesn't have
name value of his own, he clearly does, but he seems content to accept mediocre
booking in exchange for getting to be world champ. Stories of 'The Heartbreak
Kid' from the 90s make it hard to imagine him standing for this sort of
booking.
Of course WWE now is different to the WWF then. And,
perhaps more importantly, Vince McMahon has some bizarre attitudes towards the
"millennials" that make up the bulk of his roster. That he was about
as close to a Michaels mark as he could be in the 90s is a factor here too.
Vince was less inclined to knock 'The Heartbreak Kid' than he is his current
stars. But these political undertones, Michaels acting as Vince's mouthpiece,
just added another layer of enjoyment to the situation.
It worked on the intended level of a respected veteran
returning and condemning the current champion and as an insight into the
backstage manoeuvrings of the promotion. Michaels and Rollins were both
excellent. Particularly 'The Showstopper'. The only bad thing about it is that
it made people (by which I mean me) want a Rollins v Michaels match that will
never happen.
The showdown between Undertaker and Brock Lesnar was good
because of how everything was slotted together. Despite having basically become
a guy obsessed with avenging the loss of his WrestleMania Streak and being
willing to make cheap shots to do it 'The Dead Man' was presented as the face
here. The reason for that is that he was introduced by 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin
(hey, he was there anyway, I've been saying since the podcast specials started
that I think it makes sense to put him on RAW) and they were in Texas. Despite
being announced from Death Valley he's a Texan and this audience was not going
to boo him.
 |
| In Your House: Mind Games. |
'Taker was basically there to remind anyone who's
forgotten what is motivation is and to react to Brock Lesnar's advocate Paul
Heyman. He gave 'The Last Outlaw' plenty to react to, explaining the story of
the rivalry one final time, making clear what both men stand to gain from a
win, and, of course, hammering home that his client, Brock Lesnar, conquered
The Streak. 'Taker tried goading Lesnar into leaving the ramp and getting into
the ring to fight. Hothead Lesnar was ready to accept this challenge before
being convinced to hold off by Heyman. This framed 'The Beast' as a coward to
the live crowd but the wider point was that Heyman knew 'Taker was trying to
get inside Lesnar's head to gain an advantage going into their match, another
cheap move by 'The Phenom' (although not one out of character, to be fair). The
segment worked as a hype job for the Hell in a Cell main event and left the two
men ready to take their correct roles: Lesnar the monster face and 'Taker the
subtle heel desired desperate to win at any cost.
It wasn't the most exciting episode of RAW ever. But it
was memorable and significant because of and for these segments. With such a clear
unwillingness from WWE to formulate a long term creative plan, alter the way
they present their performers, or do something different to what they've been
doing for the last fifteen years, that's the most that we can realistically
hope for on a Monday night.
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