-Am I crazy? Like, was Roman Reigns more of an actual babyface this week? First, Reigns didn’t do his usual “acknowledge me” bit at the front of his promo. That’s always been heelish and originated during his big heel run in the first Bloodline faction. Second, early in the promo, Reigns’ armor cracked a bit and he said that he cared about the audience. Not just in his head. He said it out loud for the world to hear. Man, he was better off for it because he was vulnerable. Reigns can still do a stronger job in that department, but even this slight tweak this week made for a better promo segment opposite Sami Zayn. You want fan support to load up on Roman’s side opposite Zayn and this week was a step in the right direction. Zayn and Reigns still bickered and that was annoying, but the overall promo landed better because Reigns had his guard down a bit.
Champ and a chase
-Yes. Yes, yes, a million times yes. Ethan Page is the new WWE Men’s Intercontinental Champion. Can’t believe it took this long to get here. Look, Chad Gable had a memorable run as the champion. His matches were appointment viewing on Raw for months. This title loss is the best thing that’s happened to him in a while. He’s chasing Page now. Page, a true heel. Gable will thrive in the chasing babyface role and Page will do the same as the running arrogant heel. Mark my words, a massive IC championship match will headline some type of WWE show in the next six months.
-A strong women’s six-person tag team match this week. Team Judgment Day vs. Team Chelsea Green was a sensible match to go with. The booking was even more sensible. Morgan beating Green gives Green something to try and win back at Crown Jewel. She’s now the underdog more than she even was before. Thumbs up. This match helped the Morgan and Green story going into Saturday.
The John Cena what?
-John Cena returned to Raw and revealed details about the first-ever John Cena Classic tournament. NOT. Cena gave the where, when, and part of the who regarding the tournament, but failed to address a key component. What is it?????!??!!??!?!? He revealed Club WWE members are going to vote on a winner? If that’s the case, how is it a tournament? Cena also revealed the John Cena Classic title belt. Great!!! What does it mean and what is it for?! Fans aren’t going to get excited about this tournament and certainly will not join Club WWE in order to vote unless they are told what the tournament is going to be about.
-Cody Rhodes is the first invitee to the John Cena Classic because of course he is. Cena and Rhodes have enough of a history together where this announcement makes sense, but it’s not going to help the perception that Rhodes has become WWE’s chosen one. I can see Rhodes getting a massive heel reaction if he somehow wins this tournament that nobody actually knows anything about.
-Rhodes didn’t do much on Raw this week, but Randy Orton sure did. Damn. He was spitting some fire on the microphone. It’s nice to see someone like Orton talk about wanting to just be a pro wrestler. Not a movie star — just a wrestling star. Everything he said was total babyface skewed, so he and Rhodes continue to adopt muddy roles in their feud. That said, the intensity of Orton’s promo gave their Last Man Standing Match at Crown Jewel a little sizzle.
Breakker needs to break The Vision
-The Vision won their six-man tag match this week ahead of Crown Jewel. Breakker got the victory and did so over Je’Von Evans. At least it wasn’t Penta. Going in I had my money on Dragon Lee doing the job, but behind all this tag team title drama is a solid feud between Evans and Breakker. This finish helped tell that story a little further.
-Breakker looks weak with The Vision. His character doesn’t jive with their goofiness and it’s jarring.
-I hope you didn’t expect the Royce Keys vs. Solo Sikoa main event to have a real finish to it. This match had to end the way that it did, which was in total chaos. That’s the story of this feud and the payoff match is going to be at WarGames. WWE was smart not to giveaway the visual of someone in The Bloodline beating 946 too early.
Welcome to the show, Cruz Montana
-Good for Cruz Montana. That guy has been through a lot and is now on one of the biggest wrestling shows in the world as part of the biggest storyline in WWE. He fits nicely alongside Royce Keys in 946. What does this mean for him in NXT? Well, he’s likely losing to Dion Lennox this week and after that, it doesn’t matter all that much. NXT is a breeding ground for main roster talent before it’s anything else. If Triple H sees a main roster resource down there that he can utilize, he’s going to without hesitation.
What do you think of Cruz Montana joining 946 on this week’s episode of WWE Raw? Let us know in the comments!
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I find myself unwillingly being drawn into the 946 storyline
Sami barred Roman up the second he turned his match with Johnny Knoxville in Dallas from a punchline to a badge of honor. Which is more than he can say about Reigns v Lesnar for the umpteenth time. For the first time in what feels like forever, Roman sold for the 946 (especially Cruz Montana) and made 'em all feel like a real threat and Sami got to look good because he made Roman pay for taking him too lightly. Gable v Page was a throwback IC title match with a big focus on psychology. It was the right time to switch hands.
I'm still left wondering who will NXT build a top babyface around (it should be Elio LeFleur or EK Prosper since Cruz is already out the door). Let's face it; Waller's point about the male roster draggin' its feet gets truer by the day.