5 Ups & 5 Downs From WWE Raw: Day 1 (Results & Review)

2. Rock Puts Down Jinder, Sets His Sights

If one were to transcribe The Rock’s promo Monday night, it would have been a sloppy, silly mess that anyone reading it would have thrown it in the trash and declared there was no way they could get that material over with fans.

But Rock isn’t anyone, and he managed to have the San Diego crowd eating out of his hand as he played the hits with Jinder Mahal, shredding the former world champion. (Incidentally, that was a masterful troll job from WWE by having Mahal announced as the touted “former WWE champion” returning to Raw.)

Rock channelled the Iron Sheik, came up with a childish nickname for Jinder, led the crowd in a sing-along chant, and put Mahal down with a People’s Elbow. As mentioned previously, this wasn’t his best stuff and was skippable for anyone outside of devoted Rock fans.

What came next is the thing that will be talked about for days and weeks ahead, with Rock asking if he should sit at the head of the table. The obvious implication here is that the Brahma Bull has now thrown himself into the mix with Roman Reigns for WrestleMania season, but the question remains whether it will be for Mania itself or the Elimination Chamber, which is looking like a major show in Australia.

The newsworthiness of that closing comment is what will fuel WWE and get fans excited. It also will make some fans anxious about how Cody Rhodes’ story fits into everything, but that is something that will unfold in the coming days and weeks. Love it or not, this will generate a buzz heading into the Royal Rumble and Mania seasons.