By: Keila Cash
Hello everyone and welcome to the first Raw Exposé of 2018. Tonight’s episode of Monday Night Raw emanated from the American Airlines Arena in Miami, Florida. The New Year represents a fresh start for WWE as the Road to WrestleMania makes its first pit stop at the Royal Rumble in a few weeks. It’s a new year that should bring change in the best possible way. Did the E give us a sampling of what’s to come or did they drag along the carcass of 2017 instead? The answer to that question can be found throughout this blog. Without further ado, let’s dissect tonight’s show in no particular order.
· The first Raw of 2018 kicked off with Kurt Angle making a major announcement regarding the men and women’s Royal Rumble matches. The rules for the men’s Rumble match will apply to the women’s as the inaugural bout will feature 30 entrants with each elimination consisting of the women being tossed over the top rope with their feet hitting the floor. Parity is alive and well!
· Sheamus and Cesaro interrupted Angle mid-promo and blamed him for costing them the Raw Tag Team Championship last week. The Bar accused Angle of favoritism as he gave Jason Jordan a title shot based on his DNA alone. They wanted a rematch tonight, but Angle turned them down.
· Jason Jordan came out to defend his father by referencing his track record for earning a shot at the Tag Team Titles last week. Cesaro and Jordan got into which resulted in Angle booking them in a singles match which took place after the commercial break.
· Seth Rollins came out to support Jordan, but he didn’t do it out of the goodness of his heart. Rollins accused Jordan of being self-absorbed which could result in his downfall if he wasn’t careful. Despite winning the Tag Titles last week, there is still tension between Rollins and Jordan which could lead to a heel turn from the latter sooner rather than later.
· Jason Jordan defeated Cesaro with an Elevated Neckbreaker thanks to an assist from Seth Rollins. Jordan and Cesaro had a good match, but it lacked crowd heat because the fans are not buying Jordan’s goody-two-shoes act. Cesaro targeted Jordan’s left knee and dominated the action from the mat with a series of submission holds. Jordan made a comeback by dropping Cesaro with back-to-back Northern Lights Suplexes for a near fall.
· Cesaro countered by putting Jordan in the Boston Crab, but Jordan grabbed the bottom rope to break the hold. Sensing that Sheamus was about to take another cheap shot at Jordan behind the referee’s back, Rollins laid him out at ringside which led to the finish moments later.
· Rollins wanted to celebrate the win with his tag team partner, but Jordan hogged the spotlight for himself instead. WWE is not veering off course when it comes to turning Jordan heel. It’s a slow burn process that feels inevitable based on his shaky partnership with Rollins. He still needs to draw the right kind of heat because the fans should want to see him get his ass kicked instead of chanting “This Is boring” during his matches. Jordan is getting better, but there is still room for improvement when it comes to fleshing out his quasi-heel character.
· Bray Wyatt defeated Apollo Crews with Sister Abigail in a solid match. Crews got in a surprising amount of offense and almost won the match when Dana Brooke climbed on the ring apron to distract Wyatt. Brooke’s plan backfired when Wyatt scared her off the apron which caused her to fall on top of Titus O’Neil. The distraction allowed Crews to nail Wyatt with an Enzuiguri which stunned the Eater of Worlds. Crews tried to finish him off with the Spin-Out Powerbomb, but Wyatt countered with Sister Abigail for the win.
· After the match was over, Woken Matt Hardy appeared on the big screen and dropped some whimsical knowledge on Wyatt before laughing manically to end things on a bizarre note. The Great War of 2018 is upon us, ladies and gentlemen.
· Asuka defeated Alexa Bliss with an armbar in a good match. Asuka dominated in the action early on, but Bliss took control after the commercial break when she targeted Asuka’s midsection. Bliss’ ground game was impressive as Asuka did a great job selling the rib injury.
· Bliss’ cockiness got the best of her when she slapped Asuka in the face which resulted in the Empress of Tomorrow returning the favor. Asuka nailed Bliss with a serious of stiff kicks and knee strikes before making her tap out for the win.
· This was one of Asuka’s better matches since coming to the main roster. If both ladies are given more time to clean up the choppiness, they can deliver an even better match down the road. All in all, this was an enjoyable non-title bout.
· Samoa Joe throwing shade in front of Renee Young when it comes to Dean Ambrose living off her paycheck was awesome. Joe is the best heel in WWE because he gives zero fucks about other people’s feelings. I love it!
· Braun Strowman defeated Rhyno with a Running Powerslam in a quick match. Heath Slater got involved at the behest of Strowman, but he took both men out with the greatest of ease.
· After the match was over, Strowman put on a show as he dropped Slater and Rhyno with a series of powerslams that popped the crowd something fierce. This was the best thing on the show by far. Big Hoss FTW!
· Jason Jordan trying to talk tough to Roman Reigns was hilarious. The best part was Reigns and Seth Rollins giving Jordan the side eye after he left the locker room. My theory of Jordan trying to become an honorary Shield member might come to fruition after all…
· Roman Reigns retained the Intercontinental Championship when he nailed Samoa Joe with the Spear in a very good match. It was a hard-hitting bout that had the crowd hooked from start to finish.
· It should be noted that Reigns could lose the IC Title if he was disqualified. He was tempted midway through the match when Joe slammed his head into the steel steps. Reigns wanted to retaliate by throwing the steps on top of Joe, but the referee talked him down. Reigns eventually nailed Joe with a pair of Superman punches for a near fall.
· Reigns had the match in hand when Joe shoved Reigns into the ref. The official was about to disqualify Reigns, but Joe took advantage of the situation by dropping the Big Dog with an Urnage for a near fall.
· Joe tried to put Reigns in the Coquina Clutch, but Reigns rolled through and hit Joe with the Spear for the 1-2-3.
· This was a strong match, but it hurt Joe because his tough talk rang hollow in the end. This would’ve been the perfect time for a title switch unless WWE is holding it off until the Rumble. It should be interesting to see how Joe gets a rematch after losing so decisively tonight.
· Cedric Alexander and Goldust?!? defeated Drew Gulak and Ariya Daivari when Alexander pinned Gulak with the Lumbar Check. I guess the 205 Live weight limit doesn’t apply to Goldust…The match was fine while it lasted.
· Luke Gallows, Karl Anderson, and Finn Bàlor defeated Elias, Curtis Axel, and Bod Dallas when Bàlor pinned Dallas with the Coup De Grace in a decent match. Seeing The Bàlor Club team up was “too sweet” (pun intended). A part of me wants to see them feud against The Shield, but Dean Ambrose’s injury has put the kibosh on that for now. *sniff*
· Paul Heyman cut a fiery promo about how WWE likes to stack the deck against Brock Lesnar by booking him in a match against multiple opponents. Back in the day, the challenger would face the champion one-on-one. In 2018, the challengers didn’t have to pin the champ in order to win the Big One.
· Therefore, the odds would always be in Lesnar’s favor because no can beat him. Heyman was bold enough to say that Lesnar would destroy everyone in the Royal Rumble match which caused Corey Graves to say that such an assumption was a slight exaggeration. Heyman read Braun Strowman and Kane their last rites in Latin before dropping the mic like a boss.
· Kane came out to confront Lesnar. Both men eyeballed each other until Kane dropped Lesnar with a chokeslam. The Big Red Machine was about to leave the ring when Lesnar sat up and laughed at Kane for not finishing the job. Lesnar grabbed the Universal Title and knocked Kane off the ring apron as both men fell to the floor.
· Kurt Angle called for reinforcements as the locker room cleared out to separate both men. Lesnar got in one more cheap shot as Raw went off the air with The Beast standing tall.
· This was an anti-climactic way to end the show. The brawl between Lesnar and Kane was fine, but it ended abruptly. Strowman watched the action unfold backstage and kept his word that he would take care of Lesnar on his own time. The Triple Threat Match featuring Strowman, Kane, and Lesnar for the Universal Championship should be a beautiful disaster if it’s booked properly. The Philly fans will either push things over the top or hijack the Rumble PPV because they want to see Finn Bàlor vs. Brock Lesnar instead. We shall see how it all plays out soon enough.
· Overall, I thought tonight’s episode of Raw was decent at best. The first hour was so-so, but the second and third hour featured good wrestling action that kept the crowd awake. The nail-biting conclusion of the Rose Bowl probably drew viewers away from the USA Network early on, but the rest of the broadcast gave diehard fans a reason to tune in once the insanity was over.
· The build for the Royal Rumble continues with more stars on the men and women’s side throwing their names in the proverbial hat. It should be a star-studded night in Philly if everything goes according to plan.
· Meanwhile, the Jason Jordan Heel Turn is back on track based on his actions tonight. Jordan tried to elbow his way into The Shield as Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins brushed him off.
· Jordan turning heel should remain the end game because it helps him generate heat for all the right reasons. Rollins doesn’t trust him while Angle remains the doting father who is blind to his son’s underhanded ways. It’s a good storyline that can go in several directions if the creative team plays their cards right.
· Besides The Miz’s return, nothing else was advertised on next week’s show in Memphis. The College Football Playoff Championship Game is going to kill WWE in the ratings unless they load up the broadcast. Here’s hoping the social media team generate some buzz online because I have zero incentive to watch the show at the moment because my Georgia Bulldogs are one step away from winning their first national championship since 1980. Go Dawgs! Just saying…
On that note, this wraps up another edition of The Raw Exposé. I hope you enjoyed it and I will be back tomorrow night with a brand new installment of The SmackDown Files. Happy New Year, boys and girls!
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