Opening Segment: Braun Strowman is FIRED!
This was a surprising turn, in my opinion. I didn’t expect Strowman to be fired, but the way Strowman handled it was great. I really liked how he wreaked havoc throughout the show, sparing no one. Tipping over the truck really showed how strong he can be.
This was the perfect way to keep the crowd on their toes throughout the night. Braun Strowman will always be entertaining as the intimidating babyface and I believe that if he gets the opportunity to re-enter the title match (which may come at Raw 25 next week), he could win the WWE Universal Championship.
Sheamus and Cesaro vs. Titus O’Neil and Apollo Crews
Winner: Apollo Crews and Titus O'Neil
This match was pretty average, and Crews and O’Neil have been pretty good at putting people over whilst being entertaining themselves. I found it interesting to see Jason Jordan come out to “interfere”. Week by week, there are more and more rifts in the forced “friendship” between Jordan and Seth Rollins.
This could be leading to a potential heel turn on Jordan’s end by losing the titles at the Rumble—I find it hard to believe that they’ll retain, and I hope their match doesn’t keep either of them out of the rumble.
Tony Nese vs. Cedric Alexander
Winner: Cedric Alexander
Once again, Cedric Alexander put on a great showing. He fills every match with entertaining flips and kicks and he really deserves to be champion. However, this match wasn’t much different than anything else that has been on cruiserweight TV the past few weeks.
Enzo could’ve done more in this match other than limping around and being scared off by Golddust. I’m sort of over the Goldust appearances in the cruiserweight division. Like anything he’s done in the past 5-10 years, it’s briefly somewhat entertaining and then quickly becomes irrelevant.
Throughout the night, Braun Strowman is seen destroying catering, production, and even Michael Cole until Kurt Angle stops him to tell him that Stephanie rehired him. I thought it was a funny touch to throw Michael Cole into the security guards anyway. This was just a preview of the problems Strowman could cause if he actually was fired (or even suspended).
Jury seems to be out on if he’s back in the championship match. If he isn’t, he could put on a fantastic showing in the rumble match, but that leaves Raw’s main event as a pretty dull one.
Nia Jax vs. Asuka
Winner: Asuka
This match offered a pretty goof back and forth for the first time in Asuka’s main roster career. Nia offered a lot of powerbombs, and Asuka was successful with some of her kicks. But when Nia caught her leg, Asuka didn’t know what to do. It threw her off a bit, but she fought back by kicking her in the leg on top of the stairs. Nia’s leg gave out (pretty convincingly), and the ref had to stop the match.
Alexa runs out to the ring to check on what the commentators call her “frenemy”, and later, they’re talking backstage. Enzo comes in to check on Nia and Alexa gets dismissed. I find it interesting how they’re slowly letting Enzo come between them, likely leading up to a rivalry of their own.
Dash and Dawson vs. Jobbers
Winners: Dash and Dawson
Dash and Dawson returned to the ring and beat two unnamed jobbers. They displayed excellent tag team work and then bragged about it to Charly Caruso, who tried to interview them after the match.
The team calls out several legends—Shawn Michaels, the New Age Outlaws, even Stone Cold Steve Austin—and said that they could beat them all. They mention that they weren’t “created in the WWE boardroom” and were strictly here to be the best tag wrestlers in the business. This set up a good confrontation between the legends and this team next week.
Roman Reigns vs. the Miztourage
Winner: Roman Reigns
Before the match, Elias introduces the Miztourage via a song that insinuates that he’ll target John Cena at the Royal Rumble. This is the second time Elias has introduced the Miztourage, meaning he’s technically an honorary member by now.
Miz promises that he will be remembered for the next 25 years, a notion that I definitely believe. Reigns comes out and the match starts. Not too long after, he dominates the members of the Miztourage,
Sonya Deville vs. Sasha Banks
Winner: Sonya Deville
Note that at the beginning of the match, it was announced that Paige cannot compete in the Royal Rumble due to a neck injury. Last week, WWE said she wasn’t able to compete again at all, but now they’ve loosened it a bit.
Sasha seemed focused at the beginning, but Deville’s kicks and holds seemed to throw Sasha off, getting her the pin. Absolution looks more dominant than ever now.
Matt Hardy vs Heath Slater
Winner: Matt Hardy
Hardy kept up with his aggressive fighting style and strange mannerisms. He’s very good at maintaining his character during matches, especially when he bites his opponents. Also, Rhyno debuted a new “You Can Do It Heath Slater” t-shirt that, in my opinion, could sell pretty well if they have a little more TV time to promote it.
Finn Balor vs. Seth Rollins
Winner: Seth Rollins
This match was fantastic and deserves to main event a pay per view. It could’ve gone way longer and was a great main event—it weaved together many storylines (Rollins and Jordan, Rollins and Jordan against the Bar, Balor Club) in a fifteen minute period.
However, it seemed like a weird time to bring the Curb Stomp back. At a time where Rollins has been weakened by Jason Jordan, there was an opportunity for the Balor Club to pull off the victory, and they need as many as they can get right now in order for them to rise to the top.
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