RAW Deal: Moving at the speed of life

 

DENVER, USA —Somebody’s learned their lesson real fast.

The Royal Rumble was an exercise in forced, lifeless “storytelling,” where Roman Reigns was shoved down the Universe’s throats as the One True Handpicked Future of the WWE. In that match, which many felt was the worst Rumble in at least recent memory, there was no dramatic preface, no real reason given as to why we should go along with it other than we have to go along with it, because it’s right there. That goes for everyone else the crowd was rooting for in the match: Daniel Bryan, Dolph Ziggler, Bray Wyatt, hell, even Rusev. 

Everyone, even Roman Reigns himself, was and felt like a prop for Roman Reigns’s victory, which just felt like a place we all had to get to instead of an honest-to-goodness moment we could all bask in.

Well, I’m not sure what it was—if it was the barrage of reactions and discussions and threats and everything in between post-Rumble, but somebody (and I’m hoping it’s Triple H) finally realized what they had to do. Last week on Thursday Night SmackDown, Hunter hyped a huge announcement for this week’s episode of RAW regarding the so-called Royal Rumble “controversy” (their way of metastasizing the unanimous booing into an actual onscreen storyline). First thing on the show, it was revealed to be a match at Fastlane, pitting Roman Reigns against whoever won between Daniel Bryan and Seth Rollins later that night, all for Reigns’s title shot at WrestleMania.

Before we get into that, let’s talk about what this decision really is: it’s a way to make it feel like Reigns actually earns his shot. I speak of it like that because here’s the thing—Reigns has to win the match, because they need to stand by their decision and lay in the bed they made. Backing out of what they’ve done out of panic is an even worse look, trust me.

Yes, it’s a last-ditch effort to save the show. Yes, it should not have come to this. Yes, he still might not deserve it after it’s all said and done. But you can debate all the what-ifs all day long and it’ll be all for nothing; as much as it is tired and clichéd, there is not a machine out there that’ll let you go back and change the past. So the best thing to do, then, is the one thing they’re doing right now. 

On top of that, we’ve also got to shine a light on the subtle rewriting of the Roman Reigns character. It’s an under-the-radar gritty reboot, finally humanizing him by allowing all the negative reactions to visibly get to him. It’s the one freedom Cena never had—and probably because Cena never wanted it anyway—and the same reason why he has his haters. Who wouldn’t be shaken after getting booed out of the building? Who wouldn’t be pissed and defensive? I know I would. 

If Reigns gets a step closer to being relatable (and back to being a badass along the way) then he gets a step closer to winning his fans back. This is all he needed, really: a story we could believe. This is the key, Vince. You say you’re a storyteller; step up and tell actual stories. Get us excited to turn the page. 

High spots:

• And speaking of stories, this was a strong episode of RAW due to the great balance of solid action and actual plot progression all across the board. I don’t even mind the opening segment going 20 minutes, because it established some pretty high stakes for both the end of the show and the big picture, and it even established them logically. Bryan picked a good time to ask for the rematch he never had, and Rollins picked a good time to heel it up and swagger his way into an opportunity.
• Rollins costing Reigns the match against Big Show was a good way to set up the main event’s finish later.
• Finally, an Intercontinental title feud with some momentum. When was the last time a contender not playing for the World title actually went out and declared he was coming for a champion and his title, instead of beating a guy and randomly getting a title shot 15 minutes later?
• The Stardust/Goldust rift is starting to get really interesting, with the added wrinkle that Cody Rhodes is now more than completely devoted to being Stardust: he actually believes he’s Stardust, lashing at his brother when the latter calls him Cody. That little detail implies that in the beginning, they were simply playing characters and that Dustin had always thought that that’s what they were doing all this time (something that was hinted at in their heel turn and subsequent feud with the Usos, where Goldust spoke to them normally). But Cody is apparently so far gone. That’s a comic book-villain done right, and Stardust could even be a main event player if the character is turned up a few notches more.
• Their stories were a bit lacking and repetitive (more on that in low blows), but Ryback/Luke Harper and Dolph Ziggler/Bray Wyatt were some great second-hour action. Add to that Cesaro/Jimmy Uso, and you’ve got a pretty loaded hour #2. (Still wish RAW was back down to two hours, though.)

 

• The Erick Rowan and John Cena backstage segment was pretty touching—Rowan is a decent actor who really plays to the strengths of his character. Savant Rowan is not like everyone else, so he doesn’t have to act and talk like every other wrestler out there. He can talk slow and really get his message heard, maximizing his character buildup and the audience’s empathy (for those who care). It works.
• I dig that the Rusev/Cena match at Fastlane is for the U.S. Championship. Because why not, right?
• Wonderful save by Lana and Rusev on the Russian flag botch. Anyone else would’ve stared dumbfoundedly at the half-hanging flag and not know what to do then.
• Miz and Mizdow getting some really good steam. All they need to do now is pop it at the right time; I’m afraid they might go far too long with the tease, like the failed Adam Rose/Bunny program. Mizdow needs to snap before or at Fastlane, and not a show later. (Okay, I can still go for the RAW after.)
• And… that main event. By god, that main event. Daniel Bryan is out there, still proving why the WWE needed him on every show as soon as possible. He’s just that damn good. Let’s take the time to point out that since Rollins was the smallest wrestler out of the others he’s had to face recently, he could be a little more of his old self again. His old, dominant technician ROH self. The Daniel Bryan who dissects the arm and hits double underhook powerbombs that transition into cross armbreakers. And since he’s so good, he’s able to transition right back into fast-paced WWE Daniel Bryan by the end of the match in order to finish strong. It’s the right call, as well—it’s a huge win that would satisfy unsatisfied Bryan fans, but not a big enough win that it looks like a cop-out. This Fastlane main event really is the way to go.

• This spear. 

 

Low blows:

• It’s so weird that the WWE keeps hyping Triple H’s appearance on the Steve Austin Show right after—not only through actual advertising, but also through in-character promos. There’s such a huge disconnect between the two environments that is especially evident if you watch RAW and the interview in one go. The podcast clearly butchers kayfabe, while WWE programming still keeps a semblance of it; Hunter even uses his appearance as a plot point to address the main event result, and that’s not what happens at all because Austin has his own agenda for his show. Hunter even lets go of kayfabe in it from the very beginning. It’s like they’re trying to contort the podcast into another storytelling avenue, but failing miserably because they don’t truly own the operation. If that’s what they really wanted to do, they should’ve just hired Austin or someone else to do a regular post-RAW interview show.
• I feel like unceremoniously killing the heat Curtis Axel built up from not being truly eliminated from the Rumble was a huge waste. It was a little detail error the WWE made that he was able to capitalize on, get something out of, and could have gotten some real momentum from, so to kill it without even trying to explore what could’ve been done with it was an unnecessary waste. I’m not saying Axel was finally on the cusp of true stardom with that little angle, but it was something, and it was something different. That’s holding someone down, if I do say so myself. 

• Whatever Ziggler, Rowan, and Ryback are now doing, it’s still tied to the damn Survivor Series main event. Can we just let it go? I mean, really? It doesn’t matter how good the matches are, but we really have to move on. Cena’s moved on (somewhat). Rollins has moved on. Big Show has moved on. Why can’t we do anything new with these guys?
• Speaking of Rowan, it’s a shame he was just used as fodder for Cena/Rusev. That guy, as talented as he is, is really getting the short end of the stick.

• And speaking of Cena, why didn’t Cena come out to save Rowan? #ScumbagCena
• Also, this little broadcasting botch. 

• Do Cesaro and Kidd have no one else to beat around? The Dust Brothers are doing their own thing and Miz and Mizdow are in the midst of breaking up, but surely there are other tag teams to beat up. They’ve already done the New Day, so maybe they can toss around Los Matadores? Man, the WWE needs to get to making some new tag teams real quick.

Do you listen to podcasts? Would you want to listen to a local podcast about pro wrestling? If the answers to most of those questions—especially that last one—are yes, then you should check out the cleverly-named Smark Gilas-Pilipinas Podcast—featuring Mellow 94.7 DJ and PWR General Manager Stan Sy, wrestling writer Romeo Moran, and all-around multimedia person (and voice of the PWR) Raf Camus! Their latest episode deals with the Royal Rumble fallout! Listen to it here!

– Rappler.com