PWP Nation’s, Zack Heydorn, discusses five things we learned from the 5/29/17 edition of Monday Night Raw.
5. Dean Ambrose and The Hardy Boyz ooze chemistry and charisma when teamed together
It’s sad to say this, but its been a long while since the WWE opened with a segment on Raw that deserved the 2o plus minutes that its allotted. Tonight was refreshing as The Miz, Sheamus, and Cesaro called out Dean Ambrose and his partners, The Hardy Boyz. Sparks flew everywhere. The premise for their interaction made sense and the match was fun and well put together too. How about the chemistry between Dean Ambrose and The Hardy’s though? That was something to behold. Watching the three of them in the ring made me think that if Ambrose was in the WWE locker room during the Attitude Era, Team Extreme would have had a fourth member. The three guys worked incredibly well together tonight and their pairing opens up endless possibilities between them in the future.
4. Pro wrestling is at its best when rooted in reality
Never in the history of Monday Night Raw has an on-camera announcer ignore his cue, get up out of his chair, and walk off-screen. It happened tonight on Raw and immediately when it happened it grabbed the attention of everyone watching. After the opening six man tag team match, Corey Graves while on camera discussing the match, abruptly left the shot after appearing to read concerning news on his phone. This worked perfectly and the fact that it did should be eye opening to the WWE. Why did it work? It felt real. Sure, we know it was a work, but it had an element of realism to it. Pro wrestling is at its best when that reality infiltrates storylines. Its makes them feel bigger, better, and important. Tonight, we saw that first-hand on Monday Night Raw and this storyline with Kurt Angle is now one of the hottest parts of the show moving forward.
3. Sasha Banks deserves better than storylines with Alicia Fox
So, who did Sasha Banks piss off backstage? Real life backstage heat is the only fathomable reason she would be entrenched in a feud with someone of Alicia Fox’s caliber. Fox is a valet on 205 Live and throwing down with one of the best women wrestlers on the planet during Monday Night Raw? It makes no sense. Banks is a multiple time champion and a true pioneer of women’s wrestling in the WWE. She deserves better than Alicia Fox and is more valuable to the WWE if she is working with someone on her level. I get it, its not possible for her to constantly be involved in the title picture. That said, it is possible for her to consistently be doing relevant work on television. Cheers to ending this Alicia Fox thing quick and moving on to bigger and better things.
2. The Revival truly look the part of “Top Guys” on Monday Night Raw
How great was it to see The Revival back on Monday Night Raw? For the first time in six weeks, The Revival appeared in an official backstage segment to give an update on their status after being off TV due to injury. Tonight in that segment, Dash and Dawson both looked like the Top Guys that they say they are. They appeared comfortable and cut the best promo of the night. As they get reintroduced to the WWE it appears that they’ll be involved in the “who beat up Enzo” storyline right out of the gate. As rudimentary of a story as that is, The Revival showed tonight with one simple two minute promo that they will be game changers in the tag team division on Raw. They have a natural talent to draw attention in a unique way. They are already over after being on Raw only twice since their after-WrestleMania debut. Feuds with teams like Enzo and Cass, Gallows and Anderson, and eventually the Hardy Boyz will catapult the Raw tag team scene instantly.
1. Final build for Extreme Rules = Success
In case you forgot, tonight was the go-home Raw episode for Extreme Rules on Sunday. Tonight’s Raw, minus the Bliss/Bayley segment, built that show nicely. Especially the main event which pits Seth Rollins vs. Roman Reigns vs. Samoa Joe vs. Bray Wyatt vs. Finn Balor in a extreme rules match where the winner will be number one contender for Brock Lesnar’s Universal Championship. Wyatt, Joe, and Balor had a nice triple threat match that saw Samoa Joe pin Bray Wyatt and Roman Reigns beat Seth Rollins after a spear in what was the match of the night. Tonight’s episode of Raw did a fantastic job at positioning all competitors in this Extreme Rules match as winners. The show was booked in a way where the WWE Universe can cheer on any of the five guys as they all are viable and credible opponents for Lesnar. This not only made Raw interesting tonight, it will make the match on Sunday interesting as well.
