“I’m Better Than You, And You Know It”

"Every Man Has A Price For The Million Dollar Man"

"The Best There Is, The Best There Was, And The Best There Ever Will Be"

"Whatcha Gonna Do, When Hulkamania Runs Wild On You"

"And That's The Bottom Line Because Stone Cold Said So"

<h3><strong>A Classic Revisited</strong></h3>
<div class="youtube-embed" data-video_id="Xwseq5D77GM"><iframe loading="lazy" width="696" height="392" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Xwseq5D77GM?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<p>The show-opener today was Roman Reigns clashing with Bray Wyatt for a spot in the Elimination Chamber. WWE RAW started with a match-included segment, not a long-winding promo battle that usually leads to nowhere, and that is always a plus. A mediocre feud back in the days, yet it produced more-than-satisfactory matches, and the showing tonight reminded us of the 2015 rivalry.</p>
<p>The two powerhouses bust out brutal-looking offences and counters, Bray Wyatt even got a Sister Abigail (damn, the finisher kick-out pandemic resurfaced), but in the end, as we had expected, Reigns speared his way to the Chamber. The Matt Hardy assault was a logical next-step to build the Broken – Wyatt story, but just like last week, it was not too inspiring. Somewhat predictable. Nonetheless, the whole segment was an OK way to kick off Monday Night.</p>
<h3><strong>A Warning</strong></h3>
<p>Rollins did the right thing here. He acted as the bigger man, forgiving Jason Jordan for the monstrosity he had done, but also did his tutelage role well – he gave a stern warning to Jason Jordan, reminding him that it was not about Jason, it was about the duo. They seemed to be gluing by the end of the segment, giving us hope on their reclaiming the WWE RAW Tag Team Championship in Seth Rollins’ hometown.</p>
<p>But to be honest, Jason Jordan and Seth Rollins is an off pairing, so we will be fine with The Bar retaining…</p>
<h3><strong>What Now?</strong></h3>
<div class="youtube-embed" data-video_id="D9qsFSMV72k"><iframe loading="lazy" width="696" height="392" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/D9qsFSMV72k?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<p>The Revival came out after Balor Club’s entrance, talked some trash, and then…got beat up handily by Balor and Anderson? That was horrible booking for The Revival. Sure, rubbing with a upper-midcarder like Finn Balor might give The Revival some exposure, but the trade-off in the form of a total and complete defeat was too much. Two alleged “masters” of tag team wrestling, yet losing to a barely-tagged-before duo? Where do The Revivals go from now? Just as we thought the writers had made some progress with Wilder and Dawson, they knocked them right back to square 1, and that is what makes WWE programming so frustrating to watch a lot of the time.</p>
<h3><strong>2-on-2 | 205 | 2 Lame</strong></h3>
<div class="youtube-embed" data-video_id="d061EphBWrI"><iframe loading="lazy" width="696" height="392" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/d061EphBWrI?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<p>Nothing to see here. It was just a run-of-the-mill tag team match between 2 faces and 2 heels of the Cruiserweight division. Looks like they went right back to where they were before Enzo Amore joined 205 Live, and arguably worse. Rockstar Spud appeared but no one cared, and neither did we. Let us move on.</p>
<p></p>
<h3><strong>Alexa Went Full SJW</strong></h3>
<div class="youtube-embed" data-video_id="aXPCtdRxnGY"><iframe loading="lazy" title="Who will enter the first Women&#039;s Elimination Chamber Match?: Raw, Feb. 5, 2018" width="696" height="392" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/aXPCtdRxnGY?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<p>She pulled out her gender AND preferential treatment cards at Kurt for putting her inside the Chamber to defend the championship but not Brock Lesnar. Nice play – until you realize that she has not defended her title since October. Had to agree on that one. However, our claim for inequality came from another source, and that was the fact Kurt Angle just came and straight-up announced the participants inside the Chamber instead of doing what the men are doing – they even had a match to determine who was coming out last!</p>
<p>You want equality so much, WWE; this was your chance! Having 5 preliminary matches would add some spices to a bland division. At worst, those matches would emphasize how much the women wanted the chance to make history (again), and at best, those matches could weave storylines to be paid off at WrestleMania or Summerslam. Even the participants announced did not make much sense. Why put 2 members of Absolution in the same match while Nia Jax was left out? Besides, if Asuka vs Nia Jax has a clear winner, who would benefit? If Nia Jax loses, all her dominant aura rebuilt since the Rumble would vanish, and if Asuka loses, her streak is gone, and for another year, WrestleMania will happen without a streak on the line.</p>
<h3><strong>Gourmet at a High School Cafeteria</strong></h3>
<div class="youtube-embed" data-video_id="k6COXlp_Yyg"><iframe loading="lazy" title="Asuka vs. Bayley: Raw, Feb. 5, 2018" width="696" height="392" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/k6COXlp_Yyg?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<p>We got a little literary there, but it was a decent metaphor to describe the situation that has been going on with the RAW’s women division the past few weeks. We were given Asuka vs Banks AND Asuka vs Bayley – two WrestleMania-calibre matches – on 2 consecutive episodes of television shows. What makes us tick is that both matches happened with little to no build at all, as if they were just 205 Live tag team matches (sorry to use this comparison, but this has become a trope of its own now). For Asuka vs Banks last week, it was understandable – RAW needed a great follow-up to the historic Women’s Royal Rumble, and Asuka needed a strong opponent to prove herself. But this week, we felt Bayley was unnecessarily sacrificed here.</p>
<p>We feel really bad every time WWE just throws dream matches on free television, especially with this high a frequency. Unless this loss is played into the slow-burn disintegration of the Banks-Bayley friendship, we say Asuka vs Bayley tonight was a waste.</p>
<h3><strong>The Chamber Just Got a Little Bit More AWESOME</strong></h3>
<div class="youtube-embed" data-video_id="RHxTdQW1VGo"><iframe loading="lazy" title="The Miz&#039;s stars have aligned: Raw, Feb. 5, 2018" width="696" height="392" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/RHxTdQW1VGo?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<p>Miz had the compulsory Super Bowl promo before his match against Apollo Crews, but we did not oppose that. We enjoyed every second of Miz enunciating words using his AWESOME vocal cords.</p>
<div class="youtube-embed" data-video_id="IR4BW3URywo"><iframe loading="lazy" title="Apollo Crews vs. The Miz - Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match: Raw, Feb. 5, 2018" width="696" height="392" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/IR4BW3URywo?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<p>Who would even for a second think that Apollo Crews could beat Miz to enter the Elimination Chamber? He was barely a jobber before this match, bar (*ba-dum-tss*) a couple of tag team wins against Cesaro and Sheamus. Bad pairing, to begin with. Elias vs Crews and Miz vs Matt Hardy would have been better qualifiers, we feel. Hey, at least Miz won cleanly. And Dana the secretary went all-white today.</p>
<h3><strong>Good Replacement</strong></h3>
<div class="youtube-embed" data-video_id="8SKLlzMuirU"><iframe loading="lazy" title="Kurt Angle sends Jason Jordan home: Raw, Feb. 5, 2018" width="696" height="392" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8SKLlzMuirU?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<p>Another chapter in the story between Jason Jordan and Seth Rollins had unfolded, and to be honest, with every passing week, we look forward to Seth Rollins vs Jason Jordan at WrestleMania even more. Jason admitted at the very last minute to Seth that he was not cleared to compete tonight, which, predictably, infuriated Seth Rollins. Hometown glory and all. But then Kurt made probably his best (kayfabe) booking decision in a while – he replaced Jordan with Roman Reigns! This was a great twist to the main event. All of a sudden, we were having The Shield vs The Bar! No more Jason Jordan in the way! Or would it?</p>
<p></p>
<h3><strong>That Bastard</strong></h3>
<div class="youtube-embed" data-video_id="OD83OTMRQBI"><iframe loading="lazy" title="Cesaro &amp; Sheamus vs. Roman Reigns &amp; Seth Rollins - Raw Tag Team Title Match: Raw, Feb. 5, 2018" width="696" height="392" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/OD83OTMRQBI?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<p>Nope. The former one half of American Alpha HAD to come out and ruin everything. All was going smoothly when Jason Jordan turned his vigilante mode on and decided to prevent The Bar from leaving by punching them himself. That caused the disqualification and infuriated both Rollins and Reigns. Even worse, Angle protected his “son” after all was said and done! This was another great progression to the Shield – Jordan story, further cementing Jason’s position as the spoiled child, thorn-in-the-eye presence to all those he interacted with. He now is officially in Seth Rollins’ bad book for having robbed him of his potential hometown victory. Seth Rollins even called him “son of a b*tch” afterwards, so that was intense. Wait a minute. If we consider this within the WWE universe, then… DAMN, WHAT A SICK BURN!!!</p>
<p>On a side note, until Jordan came and ruined the fun, the match was very good. Exactly what you would expect from Shield vs Bar.</p>
<h3><strong>Weird Decisions Galore</strong></h3>
<p>That was a lot of women featured on today’s WWE RAW. After the tag titles match, we had 2 consecutive women’s matches. The first was Nia Jax crushing an enhancement talent, so normal business there. But the second match was where curiosity-inducing developments were galore.</p>
<div class="youtube-embed" data-video_id="a0-cIzvFQ28"><iframe loading="lazy" title="Nia Jax vs. Vanessa Floyd: Raw, Feb. 5, 2018" width="696" height="392" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/a0-cIzvFQ28?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<p>First, you got Mickie James defeat Sonya Deville via a roll-up. We thought the writers were trying to build Deville up? Well, to be fair, there was one way this could be justifiable. The match could have intended to let us see that Sonya was physically superior to Mickie (since she dominated her with vicious kicks and knees through most of the match), but nowhere near as experienced (since Mickie only barely had the pin with a roll-up). Okay, maybe if seen in that vein, this would be acceptable, even slightly genius.</p>
<p>But then out came… Alexa Bliss to save Mickie James from the post-match Absolution assault? The same person that lashed out to the General Manager a few segments ago? What is even going on here? The only logical explanation we could offer is that Alexa Bliss was trying to get more protection for herself against her former “friend”, Nia Jax.</p>
<div class="youtube-embed" data-video_id="OCimi7PpcaE"><iframe loading="lazy" title="Mickie James vs. Sonya Deville: Raw, Feb. 5, 2018" width="696" height="392" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/OCimi7PpcaE?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<p>Weird decisions, but they raised questions (hopefully) to be answered next week, and anything that made us want to tune in for another episode is good booking to us.</p>
<h3><strong>Walking Out Last</strong></h3>
<div class="youtube-embed" data-video_id="v3UrBcJaczQ"><iframe loading="lazy" title="John Cena vs. Braun Strowman vs. Elias - Winner Enters Elimination Chamber Last: Raw, Feb. 5, 2018" width="696" height="392" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/v3UrBcJaczQ?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<p>Elias’ victory here came straight from the classic ending to a Triple Threat match: Big guy did finisher and sneaky guy dumped big guy out of the ring for just long enough to get the pin. Solid main event nonetheless, and it was good to see Elias actually win a big match. But it was better to see BRAUUUUUUN Strowman deliver a total of 6 Running Powerslams, evenly split to John Cena and Elias. Frankly, Braun could powerslam a different person every week for the rest of the year and we would not be bored of his sadism in the slightest. A very satisfying way to end WWE RAW.</p>
<h3><strong>Overall Review:</strong></h3>
<p>We liked today’s show for many reasons. First, the Jordan – Shield storyline was added a new layer of complexity. Second, the women’s division had a bigger presence on the show, and they left us curious for next week. And third, BRAUUUUUN Strowman. Oh and Dana Brooke’s secretary outfit, too. However, there were still plenty of space for improvement: The Revival’s revival (*ba-dum-tss*) is far from over (or from beginning properly), and more weirdness is needed for the Matt Hardy – Bray Wyatt feud, because it is fading away and classifying itself as obsolete.</p>
<p>Damn were we good at references tonight.</p>

WWE Monday Night RAW Review & Results: February 5th, 2018

Related Posts

Related Posts