WWE RAW & SMACKDOWN REACTION
Wednesday, March 28, 2018
Check out my great, good, bad, and pathetic from WWE TV this week.
GREAT
Wow, they pulled the trigger on the Sasha and Bayley spilt and it was quite great. I wanted to hate it, because I think Sasha deserves so much better than a Battle Royal at Mania, but the brawl was very good and looked pretty intense. Of course they gave Bayley the better script, but Sasha should be used to that. The intensity was great though.
That video package with HHH and Stephanie was absolutely sensational. I loved the smugness, the attitude and the audacity!!! It was excellent and makes you want to see these two get their ass beat!!! Phenomenal!!
That Asuka squash was exactly what they should've been doing with her for weeks. She has been given up far too much in these matches lately and should be dominating people. She's been booked horribly since the Rumble and we need more domination.
GOOD
I liked the segment with Ronda, Kurt and Absolution, but Ronda just isn't good enough on the mic yet. Paige was great though, and I loved the amber threat, as she could have snapped it. She can't talk but her presence when she stops smiling is unmatched.
Heyman cut a hell of a promo to open the show which of course brought out Reigns to try and get some revenge. Of course he failed, and got his ass beat again, but it was a very good but to their title match. I think they are doing a good job building Reigns this time.
They are building Nia up pretty well for her match with Alexa but I think Mickey got far too much offense. Nia should be killing people.
BAD
This whole Miz, Balor, Rollins feud really sucks. The babyfaces constantly look like idiots and Balor and Seth suck on the mic. Balor needs to be a heel, cause this smiling shot has to die. Seth was so hot after that gauntlet match about a month ago, and now he's just another guy again.
Again, Braun Strowman should've either ran through Sheamus alot quicker, or been double beat down by the Bar, building to the point that he needs a partnet to beat both of them. This was pointless and went far too long. Either book him as a monster or the Bar as a dominate team. This helped nobody.
The Cruiserweights don't stand a chance and it's largely due to booking. You have small, fast highflyers who wrestle slow matches just like The big guys. They should have these guys out there doing big spot fest matches popping the crowd. Instead we dont. And the two guys facing each other at Mania should actually not be best busdies. Smh. It's ok to hate the guy you want to beat, so it actually feels like it matters.
PATHETIC
This Cena vs Taker build has been below par for awhile now, but this was plain pathetic. First, who the hell wants to watch Cena vs Kane in 2018 and actually thinks that makes anyone excited to see Cena vs Taker? Kane was horrible in this match, pathetic. But worst, we are less than two weeks from Mania and they still won't just announce the damn match!?! It's ridiculous at this point and I rather they say to helm with it and have Cena replace Shane, and team with Bryan against Owens and Zayn.
GREAT
I really enjoyed the build to AJ vs Nakamura with Nakamura playing mind games. It was fun to watch his charisma working at a high level, the highest since he was in NXT. I loved when be told AJ he's too emotional. For some reason his promo, especially the one backstage, was a lot clearer and easy to understand. Good job.
It was so good to see them finally give Rusev a good win and add him to the United States title match at Wrestlemania. Rusev is so underappreciated and he should be in the match and win it. The guy is over, and when the fans tell they want somebody, go with it. Nobody gives a shit about Jinder. Orton is a made man who doesn't need a title, and Roode can feud with Rusev after Mania with a issue to settle. Go with the hot hand. He will be super over at Mania.
GOOD
Bryans promo on Owens and Zayn was pretty good, but not blow away. I'm kind if confused on why they would announce the tag match when Shane is legit in the hospital and condition in real danger. Maybe he won't show up, and they will make it a storyline handicap match, but I think they could have gone another route. I'm just not sure about this, though I'm still excited to see Bryan back in the ring.
Becky Lynch looked good in her win over Ruby Riot, and I thought they presented her as a legit contender for the Battle Royal at Mania. The riot squad have reverted to being just another act on the roster, after they were booked so strongly initially. But really they aren't that good, and Ruby Riot doesn't come across like a star to me.
BAD
First of all, these dumb was letters on the screen during promos has to stop!!! It made the New Day entrance ridiculous. I don't like that the New Day and Usos keep getting beat up and laid out by Harper and Rowan every week. I get it, you want to put them over strong, bit you don't have to destroy the champs every week. Beat up some geeks.
PATHETIC
It didn't find anything pathetic and the show was pretty focused on building to Mania.
Final Thoughts: The build to Mania from both Raw and Smackdown hs been pretty good overall, and its shaping up to be one of the most stacked cards in history. There are still a few question marks with just one week of television to go, the biggest being what will happen with Shane McMahon. He is legit hurt and I really think it's crazy for him to try to get in that ring, so I think they should have went a different direction. But much like with the decision to delay the announcement of Cena vs Taker until clearly the very last minute, they must feel the show is so stacked that your getting bang for you buck no matter what, so you shouldn't feel bad. Which in a way is true.
Smackdown has a great advantage being a two hour show, over the longer RAW that tends to drag most weeks. But this week I felt like Smackdown wasn't all that interesting. It wasn't bad, but it just wasn't interesting. I loved seeing Rusev shine, and AJ and Nakamura had a few good moments too. But they clearly had to change plans with the last minute injury to Charlotte, as she was supposed to be on this show facing Natalya and had to be pulled due to surgery on her mouth. You could just feel the show was missing something. The lack of Owens and Zayn hurt it as well.
On the RAW side, we got some great angle advancement with Sasha and Bayley finally brawling and heating things up, and that for me was the highlight of the week.
Smackdown has a great advantage being a two hour show, over the longer RAW that tends to drag most weeks. But this week I felt like Smackdown wasn't all that interesting. It wasn't bad, but it just wasn't interesting. I loved seeing Rusev shine, and AJ and Nakamura had a few good moments too. But they clearly had to change plans with the last minute injury to Charlotte, as she was supposed to be on this show facing Natalya and had to be pulled due to surgery on her mouth. You could just feel the show was missing something. The lack of Owens and Zayn hurt it as well.
On the RAW side, we got some great angle advancement with Sasha and Bayley finally brawling and heating things up, and that for me was the highlight of the week.