Well what did we learn this week in WWE? A certain fan makes more WWE appearances than Brock Lesnar.
Ronda Rousey will be at Extreme Rules, and definitely not accidentally cost Nia Jax the title. The way to get Roman Reigns over is to book him in multiple drawn-out segments on Raw. Team Hell No still need anger management classes. Kevin Owens does not like toilet humour. Jeff Hardy is still alive. Bayley and Sasha Banks will never make it in Hollywood. And Kurt Angle is still in charge of Raw… Somehow.
Here’s the Top 10 from both Raw and Smackdown this week:
- Battle Of The Sexes Ends In Double Count Out.
I think we all knew this one wouldn’t get a conclusive finish. WWE couldn’t bring themselves to allow a woman to defeat a man, no matter what revolution is taking place, and even if the man in question was James Ellsworth. He’s funny, and he kind of made it work, but it was too quick and too lame for my liking. They should’ve just had Ellsworth taunt for a bit, then get kicked in the skull by Asuka for the loss. That would have been a lot more satisfying.
Carmella continues to be an hilarious foil to Asuka as Champion. She might not be the most talented when the bell rings, but she’s better than most give her credit for. I can see her keeping the title past Extreme Rules, as WWE seem to be building up Becky Lynch to take it from her. At least I hope that’s what they’re intending to do with Lynch.
- Bayley And Sasha Banks Entered Counselling.
While Team Hell No in anger management classes worked, this did not. Their acting was terrible, their force-fed lines weren’t much better, and Dr. Shelby was too obnoxious and annoying to be likeable. Why WWE went down this route with these two is anyone’s guess, but it’s simply not working. In Bayley and Sasha Banks you have two of the best performers in the world today. Just let them do what they do best, and leave the “comedy” to others.
We all remember what Bayley and Sasha Banks achieved in NXT with their epic rivalry. That can happen on the main roster, if they’re allowed to be released from their shackles. It’s such a shame to see talented superstars put in embarrassing situations. This segment will definitely be on the blooper reel of their respective careers when it’s all said and done, that’s for sure.
- Becky Lynch Def. Peyton Royce.
Not a strong as showing from Becky Lynch as last week, but still good nonetheless. She’s finally on a winning streak, one that will hopefully culminate with her capturing the Smackdown Women’s Championship. She’s got everything it takes to be the cornerstone of the division except for Vince McMahon’s backing.
As for Peyton Royce, she showed signs of improvement here. The Icconics are so much better on the microphone, though. Just give them a live mic every week and let them have a five minute segment where they verbally rip the women’s division apart. It would be hilarious, and make them stand out from the crowd instead of just being fed to more over superstars.
- Rusev Destroyed AJ Styles.
As good as AJ Styles is, every time he’s WWE Champion his feuds are always mid-card level, all except his tremendous battles opposite John Cena. Maybe Styles would be better off without the title, as it seems to weigh him down. I mean, what has he done interesting in the last, I don’t know, ten months? Absolutely nothing is the answer. This is the Phenomenal AJ Styles we are talking about here. But it’s not going to improve anytime soon with his latest title defense set to be against Rusev at Extreme Rules.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m a big fan of The Bulgarian Brute, but he’s a mid-carder in WWE no question about it. He’s never going to be anything else either, Cena made sure of that at WrestleMania 31. His attack on Styles was good, but it doesn’t make me believe he’s going to become champion. Everything is paint by numbers in WWE these days. I’m not saying to bring back Vince Russo, but where’s that creative writer with enough ideas and balls to confront Vince McMahon and tell him his product sucks? Because it does.
- Nia Jax Def. Mickie James.
Nia Jax is continuing her aim of breaking Big Show’s record for most face/heel turns in one year. For anyone that cares, she’s well on course to break that record. For those keeping score, she is also a babyface again. Absolutely ludicrous booking. Her win over Mickie James was rudimental. Nothing to see here.
The pre-taped interview with Ronda Rousey was way more entertaining as she revealed she would be buying a front row ticket to Extreme Rules to watch Alexa Bliss defend the Raw Women’s Championship against Nia Jax. Expect some fireworks there, as it seems Rousey is the only female superstar WWE can be bothered to book correctly.
- Braun Strowman Threw Kevin Owens Off The Stage While K.O Was In A Portable Toilet.
Yep, you read that right. (Sighs) when did Monday Night Raw become such a pile of crap? No pun intended. This was absolutely terrible. Yet another pointless vehicle to demonstrate how powerful Braun Strowman is. Yes, we get it. He’s freakishly strong, but seriously do we need stuff like this to prove it? Absolutely dire television.
I feel for Kevin Owens too. Not only is he being ridiculed in real life for being a Shania Twain fan (why, I have no idea. She rocks… this country) but now he’s being treated as a test dummy for Strowman’s latest feat of inhuman strength. I bet Owens wishes he was back under the stewardship of Shane McMahon now.
- Roman Reigns & Bobby Lashley Def. The Revival Via Disqualification.
Seriously, WWE went to the well for a third consecutive week? What the hell are they thinking? Or maybe they aren’t thinking at all, and that’s the problem. It’s basically deja vu everytime you tune into Raw. How is this meant to attract new viewers to the programme? All its succeeding in doing is driving their current fans away.
Roman Reigns will face Bobby Lashley at Extreme Rules in what will undoubtedly be a good match, but did we need to see them beat up The Revival for three weeks to get there? And where’s the stakes for this bout? If there’s no stakes, why should we care? Maybe that’s the point. WWE don’t want us to care anymore. They just want our £9.99 every month.
- Team Hell No Def. The Usos.
Smackdown kicked off with Team Hell No harkening back to their disagreeing days and it worked, to a degree. Daniel Bryan certainly isn’t as over as he used to be, and some of his interactions with Kane felt forced to get the fans to join in. They do so half-heartedly. The Usos interrupting to set up the main event worked. And it also gave us a high-stakes main event.
Onto that main event, and while it was good, it was a little one sided for my liking. The Usos were treated as inferior to Team Hell No which was strange considering The Usos are the number one team in all of WWE right now. I also don’t get why WWE seem to be re-doing Bryan’s career bit by bit. It’s like a live highlight reel. Very odd.
- Seth Rollins & Roman Reigns def. Dolph Ziggler & Drew McIntyre Via Disqualification.
This was a great way to kick off Raw, if it had actually kicked off the show. Unfortunately WWE went with the tired trope of having an opening segment set up the match which could have just as easily been announced online beforehand. Let’s just say, if Vince McMahon was booking Raw this way during the Monday Night Wars, we’d be watching Nitro right now.
It’s good to see Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre get the career resurgences that they deserve, and it looks as if it’s leading to the return of Dean Ambrose which will inevitably lead to The Lunatic Fringe’s long awaited heel turn. Fun times ahead, that is unless WWE change their minds and simply rebook a Shield reunion to get Roman Reigns over again.
- Jeff Hardy Def. The Miz To Retain The United States Championship.
A great match for what it was. I genuinely expected WWE to call an audible and have The Miz go over to allow Jeff Hardy a much needed holiday. The poor guy looks out on his feet and in so much pain. And with Shinsuke Nakamura (his next rivalry) out with a dog-inflicted injury, this seemed the perfect time for WWE to hit the reset button and give a proven commodity like The Miz the title to calm things down, but that didn’t happen obviously.
The Miz is in that rare form right now where he can have a great match with just about anyone. Hell, I’m sure he could get something passable out of The Great Khali. Okay, maybe not but you get my point. Hardy going over clean was a surprise, as they could’ve kept the title on him as well as keep Miz strong. Miz is in danger of stagnating while waiting on Daniel Bryan. Let’s hope the creative time find something for him do other than looking up at the lights for face painted risk takers.