-Man, Brock Lesnar has a helluva contract doesn’t he? Lesnar signed the contract to fight Oba Femi at WrestleMania to open the show this week and that was literally it. Paul Heyman did the rest of the work to give that match a final chapter. Heyman was excellent. He spoke strongly and confidently on behalf of Lesnar, but was believable in articulating that confidence in Lesnar. Heyman also sold for Femi when the time came. All facial expressions. Heyman is a master with them when he needs to be and struck the perfect tone all show long.
A money promo for Oba Femi
-As for Femi, he also signed the contract to fight Lesnar, but unlike his opponent, he himself cut an absolute money go-home promo. Femi was tremendous. Smooth and spoke in a way that was tied into his character. He dropped in his marketing gimmicks like “The Ruler,” but did it in a way that fit the story. Femi is new, but so effective in making it seem like his promos are off script. They aren’t, but his delivery sounds like he’s speaking directly to each and every person in the audience.
-Keeping Lesnar and Femi away from one another was the smartest thing WWE could’ve done this week. Physicality and the outcome of that physicality would have fueled certain opinions on what the finish at WrestleMania would be. Leaving that open keeps those opinions at bay.
-Why is IShowSpeed involved with The Vision? Speed isn’t particularly likable as a babyface right now, but he looks totally out of place as a heel. He doesn’t have the heel aura of Logan Paul that pulls out an instant negative reaction from the crowd. It feels like Speed is involved just because they want Speed involved and that isn’t a good reason.
From The Takedown on SI
-Charlotte Flair and Lyra Valkyria had a nice match together this week. Valkyria is tremendous in the ring. It’s a shame that she can’t come close to finding a strong gimmick that suits her personality.
Brawls on display
-Hell yeah. Liv Morgan and Stephanie Vaquer went for it during their pull apart brawl. Both women screaming at the other felt genuine. There wasn’t another storyline beat for this feud to have, but emphasis on the hatred they have for one another was a smart thing to focus on to give the match one final chapter of build.
-Ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhh the pain is real. The Usos and LA Knight were victorious this week against The MFT’s. Does this mean IShowSpeed is getting a win at WrestleMania? Speed’s involvement with The Vision takes away some of the serious tone that surrounds them. There isn’t a faction in wrestling that has had a worse 12 months than them.
-WWE did a really nice job building the Gunther vs. Seth Rollins match at WrestleMania. Everything was working against them, yet we still have a premiere level match set for the big show. There is context around why the match is happening and why the crowd should want to see Rollins win. Simple stuff, but effective and after this week, the WWE Universe is ready to see these guys go at it.
Less bloated is better
-Kairi Sane vs. Iyo Sky was a good match. The fact that WWE didn’t announce Sky vs. Asuka is a bummer, but not everyone can make the WrestleMania card. Those women won’t like not being included and why would they? Long term, it’s better if WrestleMania stays less bloated.
-Liv Morgan has become a very good pro wrestler. Why the music video? Hopefully she at least got paid a lot of money for whatever that was.
-Damn, Rusev got the monster booking behind him this week. He didn’t win his tag match, though, so the wild assault on everyone after it only takes him so far. A fine hoop to jump through, but Rusev has been defined down for too long for this kind of angle to be taken seriously.
Guards down
-This week’s main event promo exchange between CM Punk and Roman Reigns was their best yet. They needed a home run in the bottom of the ninth and got it. The promo was about both Reigns and Punk owning the old haunts of their histories as it pertained to the other. Punk remiss about the fact that he’s envious of Reigns and hates him for that. Reigns pining for a crowd reaction that Punk gets and hating on Punk for getting it. Both guys were real. They let their guards down in an effort to “not tell lies.” It set a dramatic foundation that their WrestleMania match can build on.
What did you think of this week’s episode of WWE Raw? Let us know in the comments!
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