-Right out of the gate, it’s pleasant not to have the bizzaro world WWE crowd for the Raw after WrestleMania. That bit had it’s time and place, but it’s past and I’m glad it wasn’t forced into the show by the audience or the company this week.
Don’t hide Femi
-Oba Femi is a huge star, got a huge win at WrestleMania over Brock Lesnar, and a massive presentation on Raw this week. He and WWE missed on the actual promo itself. It worked for what it was. “The ruler has arrived!” Totally fine, but more Brock Lesnar or early Roman Reigns-esque than it needed to be. Femi can talk. One of his best attributes is that he brings strong promo skills to the table to go along with the fact that he’s enormous. That’s an asset. Femi can have a deeper connection with the crowd because of his ability to communicate. It seemed like they wanted to hide it here for his first big victory promo and they don’t need to.
-It was fun to see Rhea Ripley and Iyo Sky tag up again before Ripley heads over to SmackDown because she won the WWE Women’s Championship from Jade Cargill at WrestleMania. A total feel good moment for them and the audience. Glad to see WWE put the elbow grease in and acknowledge the fact that they are essentially splitting up.
From The Takedown on SI
-I loved the CM Punk promo this week coming off the loss to Roman Reigns at WrestleMania this past weekend. Punk was reflective AND upset about losing the championship. It’s important for WWE talent to articulate what it means to win and then lose the world title. It’s an important plot point that frames that championship as the most important thing to have in the company. Punk was likable, while also putting himself back on the title path. Fans can now join him in that journey.
-Cody Rhodes was good too. Also, a little … off. His demeanor was interesting to watch. Obviously, he was selling the eye injury from WrestleMania, but he also appeared to be more solemn than he usually is — especially coming off a win. The point of them interacting was to plant seeds for an eventual match and they were near perfect in accomplishing that goal.
Hello, Ethan Page
-Ethan Page is a strong addition to the Raw brand. He’s likely not going to be a guy who wrestles in main events at WrestleMania, but his type of heel act typically has longevity in the company. Page will be collecting main roster checks for a while if he wants to.
-Liv Morgan was pretty much presented as a babyface at WrestleMania, so it was nice to see her pivot back to a heel and work to get heat. Sol Ruca was the babyface opposite her and capitalized on that heat.
-Specifically regarding Ruca, she had a strong good main roster debut. Ruca showed off her athleticism and cool moves, while also countering Oblivion in a memorable way. She’s someone that stands out and will be a face of the women’s division for many years to come. In NXT, Ruca hadn’t clicked on the microphone very often, but held her own this week just fine. As for Zaria interfering, that’s about right. Not only was it a way to protect Ruca, but also a way to get a few more eyes on their Last Man Standing match this week on NXT.
Bron Breakker AND The Vision
-Anyone else catch the pivot with The Vision? What originally was a group made up of top singles stars, now just has one. Bron Breakker. Paul Heyman’s promo this week didn’t neutralize Logan Paul and Austin Theory, but it clearly put Breakker out ahead of them in terms of importance. That’s the exact definition the group needs. Breakker vs. Rollins is on deck and that got a nice additional jolt of momentum with the Rollins attack this week.
-Finn Balor vs. JD McDonagh was a blast. I could watch McDonagh sell various moves all day long. He and Balor had smooth timing. Clearly, Balor had to win this one and he did. Plus, the Dominik Mysterio involvement signals that their feud isn’t over.
-Ok, Roman Reigns. He tries to be likable, but just isn’t very often when he talks. He has a propensity to come off as arrogant and in this championship promo he certainly did just that. Jacob Fatu is a fresh challenger and face to the main event scene. That’s a good reason to do this match with Reigns.
The antenna is up on The Bloodline
-What’s the bad reason? Well, if we’re slated to get a retelling of The Bloodline story with Fatu and Reigns. Reigns realigned with The Usos this week, so the antenna should be up on all things Bloodline. Reigns and Fatu is a fine lane to travel on, but one that once again asks fans to choose between two babyfaces. That should be the exception to the rule and not a regular occurrence. Plus, it has to traverse it’s own way and not just copy everything that already happened in the first go around with The Bloodline.
What did you think of this week’s episode of WWE Raw? Let us know in the comments!
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