7 Ups And 9 Downs From WWE Raw (Jan 20)
Watchable Raw fails to sell Rumble, jobs Rusev, makes Ricochet look foolish.
It really is amazing how WWE can get so many things right and then so many things wrong during the same episode of Monday Night Raw. Sometimes, these diametrically opposed things happen in back-to-back segments.
We might get really good character development with Seth Rollins, and a smart storyline development with he and his new follower Buddy Murphy being successful at capturing gold. But then we might get a geeky Ricochet getting laid out, a disappointing ladder match, a horrific Street Profits segment and another bad Rusev/Lana/Bobby Lashley segment.
Raw had its moments, but the wheels came off in the final hour, as it sputtered to a rushed ending – the main event lasted less than five minutes – and did not do a great job really selling the Royal Rumble matches for Sunday.
Oh sure, we had Kevin Owens and Samoa Joe casually declare themselves as being in the Rumble, but these things are done in an almost antiseptic way, a cookie-cutter announcement rather than a wrestler giving a compelling reason for why they have to win.
Raw certainly is watchable, but you might find yourself poking holes or grumbling a few times throughout. But hey, your mileage might vary.
With that said, let’s get to it…