6 Ups And 5 Downs From Last Night's WWE Raw (Jan 1)

A boring brawl, a 'too sweet' reunion and a Monster unleashed. Welcome to 2018.

By Scott Carlson /

WWE.com

WWE wrote the first chapter of 2018 Monday night with a new episode of Raw that picked up where last year left off… with some positive direction, but some moments where you were forced to scratch your head.

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We learned that the Royal Rumble PPV will feature 60 superstars in two 30-person battle royals, which sounds awesome in theory until you realize that WWE hasn’t booked a really good Rumble in several years. Someone better have Pat Patterson on speed dial.

We learned once again that Roman Reigns and Samoa Joe have great chemistry and are capable of making both look like world-beaters, even if one has to emerge victorious. We learned that Seth Rollins is now the wise veteran dispensing advice to overeager wrestlers. (Oh the irony.) And we learned that Goldust apparently has lost a lot of weight.

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We saw a teaming-up that many thought would never happen in WWE, which provided a pretty cool moment, even if it was a throwaway deal. And we saw what could be a WrestleMania title match preview – for free.

There’s a lot to like about Raw at times, but as with past weeks, even when there are more positive moments, there really wasn’t a huge, standout moment that will stick with you in the future.

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So let’s find out what got the job done, and what did the job. Let’s get to it…