Monday Night Raw Live

[surely not!]

Enzo is good enough on the mic that he can think on his feet and keep it fresh.

Anyone else think that there's definite signs of the much fabled Roman heel turn going on last night's show. The wee arrogant speech, the dismissal of Sami Zayn when he entered, the fact that they're putting him up against someone who is a clear fan favourite in the shape of Styles?

Was on the today show yesterday and although he was issuing a 'come and get it' to anyone re the title, he specifically mentioned cena. Not sure if it was a deliberate ploy or coincidence that Cena helps with that show, but it was little crumbs of what could be in store

[Ira Gaines]

Watched Mania and watched last night's Raw as it's usually a belter post-Mania.

Safe to say I won't be watching again into probably next Mania.

I thought RAW was okay. But I'm with you in that I'm probably done with it until this time next year.

[Guest bernardblack]

I really can't describe what I'm trying to say here so bear with me....

It seems that "raw after mania" has become a horrible little event of its own.

Just because there are returns/debuts expected, doesn't mean you have to shove them all in one night. Save some for throughout the year.

The crowd also seems like they HAVE to be incredibly smarky because it's the night after mania.

I just didn't enjoy the show at all, maybe it's just me being a grumpy old man!

Edited April 5, 2016 by bernardblack

[JamieStevenson]

Highlights for me were: Miz win & Maryse return, Enzo & Cass debut. Cesaro return/AJ win. Crowd seemed shite but had volume low anyway as it was late.

[port-ton]

I really can't describe what I'm trying to say here so bear with me....

It seems that "raw after mania" has become a horrible little event of its own.

Just because there are returns/debuts expected, doesn't mean you have to shove them all in one night. Save some for throughout the year.

The crowd also seems like they HAVE to be incredibly smarky because it's the night after mania.

I just didn't enjoy the show at all, maybe it's just me being a grumpy old man!

 

 

It used to be the case and somewhat still is that Mania was the culmination of the years worth of storylines, so it made sense that they'd introduce a decent amount of new players into the new year to freshen up the roster.

 

I also think with regards to the crowd that it's more that it's hardcore fans who travel from around the world and have been partying all weekend as it's an event weekend rather than 15,000 people from Omaha going to RAW from their houses, so by definition they are going to be passionate and smarky.

[Francesc Fabregas]

Tremendous stuff from the boys on commentary - during the tepid match between the Usos and the Dudleys, the audience start chanting for Chad Gable and Jason Jordan; "The crowd are chanting 'get the tables!'" yelps Michael Cole.

 

Never seen the commentary team so at odds with reality before.

[Sherrif John Bunnell]

What did Shane actually do last night?

 

The Authority had left loads of paperwork for him to do.

[Lyle Lanley]

[Poet of the Macabre]

Got to laugh at people thinking they don't like the crowd going against them. Aye, I'm sure they hate having a show that sells out every single year without fail and also moves a ton of merch. Disaster.

 

RAW was a partial "hit the resut button" show. As has been mentioned, a lot of it totally negated what happened at Mania. Enzo and Cass and the Fatal Four Way were the undoubted highlights, although the crowd singing the Bayley song and Charlotte/Sasha/Becky being unable to stop smiling as a result was lovely.

 

I'm thinking Roman/AJ is either an attempt to get the crowd to respect Roman or the title shot will get taken away and they'll try and give AJ the "Daniel Bryan" push by making it seem like he's getting screwed. Even more baffled that he lost to Jericho at Mania now though.

[PrestersKTID]

Enzo and Cass were class, real throwback to quality promos. Not watched much Nxt so knew nothing about them.

 

Loved Bubba losing it when they rung the bell too early.

JBL trying to justify Reigns booing was pathetic.

 

Was Cesaro always meant to be in main event or did Zayn get injured?

[TheGreenMonster]

was happy for any of the 4 guys to get the number 1 contender match, odd that it's AJ given his face status which means he'll probably be buried on RAW in a couple of weeks unless Reigns goes heel or AJ goes heel (only seen his WWE work, is he a decent heel?).

 

Enzo's promo was class looking forward to seeing him and Cass on the main roster, Hopefully the Vaudevillans are decent on Smackdown. Crews debut was a bit unusual surely they're are others on NXT ahead of him.

Daft to see Ryder drop the title already, The Dudley's are great as the bad guys   too bad they're pretty past it though.

 

Think with them not wanting to bring up the top guys like Joe, Finn etc just yet there was probably a feeling that with all the new people coming in to NXT they had to promote Crews, Corbin & the Vaudvillains now or there was a very good chance they would have been totally lost in the shuffle in developmental, 

[Francesc Fabregas]

I think this must be the start of the Roman Reigns heel turn. I don't think there'll be one definitive moment to signal the turn, just a subtle shift into a smug, arrogant champion (I hope that's the case anyway, his character his flim-flammed so much over the last year or so).

 

Decent show overall. The highlight was Enzo and Big Cass' first appearance on Raw - Enzo's promo was sensational ("I've got the gift of the gab and the gift of the jab") and I really hope the pair of them do well. No 50/50 booking, just put them over the Dudleys and set them up as a credible threat for the tag-team title. The New Day aside, the tag-team division is really stale and needs refreshing. I'm pleased to see the Vaudevillians called up, I think they're fantastic wrestlers. Not sure how well the gimmick will go down on the main roster, right enough.

 

The four-way match at the end was pretty good too. I thought Big Match John would be the mystery fourth competitor but I was delighted to see Cesaro back in action. Get that guy at the top of the card at once.

 

The only real headscratcher was at the top of the show. Shane McMahon's bid to control Raw was quietly swept under the carpet and some stuff about a lockbox put to one side. That whole angle was confused as heck but they seemed to change what they were fighting for on a week-by-week basis until nothing was at stake. And then, despite losing his match against the Undertaker, Shane is given the chance to control Raw for the night anyway. It just didn't make a lick of sense.

 

The commentary team were dreadful too. I know they get a lot of heat but they were noticeably awful on Monday. Enzo and Cass were described as an "acquired taste" by Michael Cole despite coming across as the most popular people on the entire show. 

[forameus]

I thought it was an alright show, but thought it still seemed pretty random and thrown together.  That might be just a hangover from my thoughts on Mania though.

 

One thing it did show was that WM effectively meant nothing.  With one show, they've managed to erase most of what happened. 

 

Shane lost, but got control of at least one RAW anyway.  To be honest, if he'd just come out and it ended at his thank you to the fans, it would've worked better.  They could be building an angle to have Shane somehow go against the traditional authority, but then was having him have a match - and a loss - with taker really the way to go about that?  Just seems like they have no idea or long term plan for what they're doing.

 

Ryder losing...what's the point?  It was a good moment, and certainly a surprise, but was it really worth it to have him lose it the next day?  And Miz retains on Smackdown too.  If they have him go back over at Extreme Rules in a decent program, fair enough, but just seems like they wanted a surprise, but didn't want anything long-term.

 

Reigns' supposed heel turn will also make the main event pretty pointless too.  Why not just have him do it at WM itself?  Looks like they knew exactly what reaction they'd get but (say it in McMahon voice) Dammit he's going to get his moment!  So he gets it, a middle finger stuck up to a lot of fans, and NOW he can turn heel.  WM for me would have improved markedly had the final visual been him as a heel Champion. 

 

Apart from that, there were a lot of positives.  Enzo and Cass - well, let's face it, Enzo - were amazing.  Great mic work, and we know from NXT that if given a chance they'll be great in the ring too.  Only unknown is how they'll be booked.  Have the Dudleyz put them over, then let them work their way up to the top.  Not sure if a match with the New Day would really work, so maybe they'll drop the titles to a heel tag team (are there any left?) before that happens.  Thought it was setup for a Bayley debut during the women's segment.  Natalya should be a good feud for now though.  The "face" promo they tried to make Charlotte cut was a bit brutal.  Had to be done, but she's clearly not good at cutting them, despite managing to improv her way around crowd chants.  When she reverted into her heel promo, it was a lot better.  Corbin looked good on his debut, but a little puzzled as to why they've promoted Apollo Crews.  Is he good enough?  Or, conspiracy theory, are they now treating NXT less like a feeder system and trying to make it as strong as possible by keeping the good ones down and sending up a few of the average ones?  Not that Crews is bad, just think he could do with a bit longer before he's thrown up to the main roster.

 

Great to see Styles win the number one contendership, and it makes a heel turn pretty much a lock.  If they play it right, they could really build Reigns into something better with this.

 

The commentary team were dreadful too. I know they get a lot of heat but they were noticeably awful on Monday. Enzo and Cass were described as an "acquired taste" by Michael Cole despite coming across as the most popular people on the entire show. 

 

To be fair though, wasn't it JBL that said that?  He's the heel commentator, it's his job to run down the popular ones.  (EDIT: Just saw you said Cole, and you're right actually.)  However, they were clearly being fed lines - we heard the "they'll boo the ones who get cheered and cheer the ones that get booed" line several times, which was clearly being fed in preparation for Reigns coming in.  I know what they were trying to do, but it's just so transparent.  Had it been dropped in once, fair enough, but it opened the show, and then got sprinkled in later.

 

Having said that, JBL was on fire I thought.  When the crowd were Mexican waving, his retort to Saxton was "I hope you drown in it".  After Enzo and Cass, when Saxton called him sawft, he stared at him for a long while and then said something along the lines of "I will slap you right out of your chair".  Although I feel sorry for how they're bullying him, it's still good heel work.

Edited April 6, 2016 by forameus

[Dave1875]

I think this must be the start of the Roman Reigns heel turn. I don't think there'll be one definitive moment to signal the turn, just a subtle shift into a smug, arrogant champion (I hope that's the case anyway, his character his flim-flammed so much over the last year or so).

 

Decent show overall. The highlight was Enzo and Big Cass' first appearance on Raw - Enzo's promo was sensational ("I've got the gift of the gab and the gift of the jab") and I really hope the pair of them do well. No 50/50 booking, just put them over the Dudleys and set them up as a credible threat for the tag-team title. The New Day aside, the tag-team division is really stale and needs refreshing. I'm pleased to see the Vaudevillians called up, I think they're fantastic wrestlers. Not sure how well the gimmick will go down on the main roster, right enough.

 

The four-way match at the end was pretty good too. I thought Big Match John would be the mystery fourth competitor but I was delighted to see Cesaro back in action. Get that guy at the top of the card at once.

 

The only real headscratcher was at the top of the show. Shane McMahon's bid to control Raw was quietly swept under the carpet and some stuff about a lockbox put to one side. That whole angle was confused as heck but they seemed to change what they were fighting for on a week-by-week basis until nothing was at stake. And then, despite losing his match against the Undertaker, Shane is given the chance to control Raw for the night anyway. It just didn't make a lick of sense.

 

The commentary team were dreadful too. I know they get a lot of heat but they were noticeably awful on Monday. Enzo and Cass were described as an "acquired taste" by Michael Cole despite coming across as the most popular people on the entire show. 

 

Agree with all this. Outside of Cesaro, Enzo and Cass probably got the biggest pop of the night. I was worried that the crowd wouldn't follow along with Enzo and Cass like the NXT crowd does week in week out

 

I do like the Vaudevillians, it's a gimmick that could've soo easily bummed out but they've both done extremely well to make it work, just hope, like you said, the gimmick goes down well on the main roster.

 

Disappointed that Bayley didn't come out for the Charlotte segment. Come to think of it I would've also loved if Charlotte went into a "There isn't any other woman big enough to defeat me" and then Nia Jax comes out  

 

Fuckin' Michael Cole when Enzo and Cass come out "Some would say you're in for a treat", meanwhile Byron is (as the Yanks would say) marking the f**k out (To be fair I was as well when their music hit) 

[Francesc Fabregas]

I thought Cass was excellent as "the muscle" of the duo - the line "It seems like you two don't like what he's saying, so how about you come down to this ring and do something about it?" was brilliantly delivered. The pair of them have looked a million dollars on their two main-roster appearances (Roadblock; Raw).

 

As for Apollo Crews, there's zero doubt he's ready for the main roster. He looks amazing, he's got tonnes of charisma and he can mix the high-octane stuff with a harder, bigger move set. One slight concern is his ability on the mic but I wouldn't let that put anyone off.

[Sherrif John Bunnell]

Amore and Cass have everything needed to be a huge sucess. They will get over huge if they are allowed mic time very week. I can't remember a newcomer being as confident and charismatic as Amore since Mr Kennedy's debut.

 

I reckon Crews will fit into the talented and jolly midcard fan favourite spot that Kofi and Truth occupied for years. A feud with Ryback could be good fun.

 

I think the Vaudvillains are going to flounder on the main card unfortunately. They seem to be in a similar position to The Asension and Breeze in that their gimmick worked well on NXT, but are going to end up condemned to Main Event and Superstars every week. A best of 20 series with Primo and Epico awaits.

[Poet of the Macabre]

I think this must be the start of the Roman Reigns heel turn. I don't think there'll be one definitive moment to signal the turn, just a subtle shift into a smug, arrogant champion (I hope that's the case anyway, his character his flim-flammed so much over the last year or so).

 

Decent show overall. The highlight was Enzo and Big Cass' first appearance on Raw - Enzo's promo was sensational ("I've got the gift of the gab and the gift of the jab") and I really hope the pair of them do well. No 50/50 booking, just put them over the Dudleys and set them up as a credible threat for the tag-team title. The New Day aside, the tag-team division is really stale and needs refreshing. I'm pleased to see the Vaudevillians called up, I think they're fantastic wrestlers. Not sure how well the gimmick will go down on the main roster, right enough.

 

The four-way match at the end was pretty good too. I thought Big Match John would be the mystery fourth competitor but I was delighted to see Cesaro back in action. Get that guy at the top of the card at once.

 

The only real headscratcher was at the top of the show. Shane McMahon's bid to control Raw was quietly swept under the carpet and some stuff about a lockbox put to one side. That whole angle was confused as heck but they seemed to change what they were fighting for on a week-by-week basis until nothing was at stake. And then, despite losing his match against the Undertaker, Shane is given the chance to control Raw for the night anyway. It just didn't make a lick of sense.

 

The commentary team were dreadful too. I know they get a lot of heat but they were noticeably awful on Monday. Enzo and Cass were described as an "acquired taste" by Michael Cole despite coming across as the most popular people on the entire show. 

 

I actually hope this was meant to be a subtle burying. They had Shane promoting guys from NXT and Cole is maybe going to be an Authority guy who isn't happy with the change to the status quo. Long story short, I think this is all leading to another attempt at Raw vs Smackdown, with Shane in charge of SD and Hunter/Steph on RAW.

 

I don't get why we're supposed to think Apollo is a big deal. He does some cool moves and looks great but so do lots of people on the roster. I've not once seen him say anything interesting or display any unique characteristics. 

[djchapsticks]

Enzo and Cass are great. Unfortunately we've seen this story before though. Vince sees a guy who is tall and put together and a smaller, charismatic guy as his partner but that just won't do. Give it a year and they'll try and split them and give Big Cass a singles push. Like the New Day though, they are as a unit will undoubtedly be better together and should be the cornerstone of a revamped tag division. The fact that they've known one another legit since they were young kids and not in the wrestling business really shows as they work well together as well.

[djchapsticks]

I don't get why we're supposed to think Apollo is a big deal. He does some cool moves and looks great but so do lots of people on the roster. I've not once seen him say anything interesting or display any unique characteristics.

I liked Uhaa Nation as felt he offered something so different to the normal indy look, build and style.

But yeah I definitely agree with you, he's not impressed me as Apollo Crews so far.

[JamieStevenson]

Seems like Payback and Extreme Rules have swapped places. Here is my Payback card so far:

 

Baron Corbin vs. Dolph Ziggler

Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady vs. The Dudley Boyz

The Wyatt Family vs. The League of Nations

The Miz © vs Zack Ryder

Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn

Dean Ambrose vs Chris Jericho

Charlotte © vs. Natalya

Roman Reigns © vs. AJ Styles

 

Leaves Cesaro, Kalisto, New Day & the rest of the women with nothing. Every chance that a couple of matches above will reach its climax on Raw though. I'll start a thread once WWE makes something official, which is likely to be Monday.

 

There are only 2 credible heel tag teams right now and both are a bit busy, so I think New Day are just waiting on a certain baldy duo to arrive.