SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
With less than five weeks until WrestleMania, this week’s Raw featured another heated confrontation in the main event segment. After his cousins Jimmy & Jey Uso got into the face of World Heavyweight Champion C.M. Punk last week, Roman Reigns was back this week to confront Punk himself.
Despite what Punk said about his late father two weeks ago, Reigns was all smiles as he told his cousins he was proud of them for standing up for their family. As he gave his family permission to deal with Punk however they want until WrestleMania, Reigns came out for the main event segment. Following several minutes of going off on the mic, he then called Punk out to the ring.
By the time the segment was over, Reigns would say something that pushed Punk over the edge. In addition to that, we had Oba Femi answer Brock Lesnar’s open challenge for WrestleMania, A.J. Lee defending her Women’s IC Title against Bayley, and Women’s World Champion Stephanie Vaquer in a nontitle match against Raquel Rodriguez.
Oba Femi vs. Brock Lesnar
Latest developments:
On the February 23 Raw, Brock Lesnar appeared along with Paul Heyman as Heyman issued an open challenge for anyone to face Lesnar at WrestleMania. The following Saturday at Elimination Chamber, a mystery man in a black hoodie showed up during the Chamber match and attacked Heyman’s client Logan Paul. After Paul was eliminated from the Chamber match, the mystery man revealed himself to be Heyman’s former client Seth Rollins. On the March 2 Raw, several mystery men in black hoodies were chased away by Paul & Austin Theory, leaving Heyman by himself. After one mystery man in a black hoodie kept him from leaving the ring, another showed up behind him to reveal himself once again as Rollins. With a chair in his hand, Rollins hit Heyman in the back with it and then hit him with a Curb Stomp.
This week, Rollins came out along with a group of men in black hoodies and declared that anyone associated with Heyman was marked for death before Heyman came out to respond. Still feeling the effects of the attack from Rollins two weeks ago, Heyman repeated the phrase FAFO until he said FAF5 as Lesnar then came out. Lesnar single handedly took out all of the men in black hoodies until Rollins was the only one left but before anything could happen, the lights went out and Oba Femi’s music hit. Oba entered the ring and as Lesnar was distracted by Rollins leaving the ring, Oba picked him up once he turned around and planted him on the mat with the Fall from Grace. Later in the night, it was announced that Oba vs. Lesnar is official for WrestleMania.
Analysis:
For as odd as the way this segment started, it definitely ended with a bang. Oba manhandling Lesnar the way he did here is exactly the kind of shake up that the WrestleMania build has been missing. If Oba wasn’t a big deal before this, he clearly is now. While Lesnar vs. Rollins would’ve made sense storyline wise, it’s a match we’ve already seen at WrestleMania before. Oba vs. Lesnar is not only an appealing match on paper with how they match up with each other, it’s also a fresh match that now has fans excited for Mania in a way they haven’t been this year.
From how well this played out, this could be the beginning of a long feud between these two. Their match at WrestleMania could potentially be the first of many between them throughout this year. In all honesty, this is already the most appealing match Lesnar has been put in ever since he came back last summer. Unlike the other feuds and matches he’s been involved in; this actually serves a purpose as it feels like a big match that can help someone new be elevated to the next level. With Lesnar being laid out the way he was in this segment, seeing what his response will be next week is going to make for some fun television.
Grade: A
A.J. Lee vs. Bayley
Latest developments:
At Elimination Chamber, AJ Lee had her first singles match in over a decade as she challenged Becky Lynch for the Women’s Intercontinental Championship. After throwing Becky into an exposed turnbuckle, AJ trapped her in the Black Widow and forced her to tap out to win her first Women’s Intercontinental Title. The following Monday on Raw, AJ vowed to be a fighting a champion and issued an open invitation to any of the women who wanted a title shot. Last week, a Gauntlet match featuring Iyo Sky, Bayley, Lyra Valkyria, Raquel Rodriguez, Asuka, and Ivy Nile was held to decide who would be AJ’s first challenger. After it came down to Bayley and Asuka, Bayley pickup the win with a Rose Plant to earn a shot at the Women’s IC Title.
This week, AJ had her first title defense against Bayley in a match where Bayley countered a Shining Wizard into a Half Boston Crab before AJ escaped. After AJ escaped a Rose Plant and Bayley to Belly attempt, Bayley succeeded with her second Bayley to Belly attempt for a near fall. Both women later exchanged blows until AJ hit a Shining Wizard but as she went for a Black Widow, Bayley countered it with a Sidewalk Slam. After Bayley missed an Elbow Drop from the top rope, AJ trapped her in the Black Widow until she tapped out and AJ retained her title. After the match, AJ was attacked by Becky as Becky proceeded to hit AJ in the face with the title.
Analysis:
While a fine match between AJ and Bayley, the outcome was never in doubt. As predictable as this may have been, it was refreshing to see AJ wrestle someone other than Becky. As her and Bayley already have a history and Bayley hasn’t wrestled for a singles title since the summer, she was the right person to have in this spot. Hopefully, this will be the first of many other fresh matches AJ will have going forward. However, from what happened after the match, it looks like she won’t be having a fresh opponent at WrestleMania.
While it seemed like they were going to move on from this feud, it’s clear from Becky attacking AJ the way she did here that it’s not over. Whether people are still into this feud or not, it does make sense to run this match back at Mania. For all the times AJ has gotten the better of Becky, it would be odd to end their feud that way. In addition to that, it’s probably best if AJ doesn’t have a long title reign if she’s not going to be around full time. For how long this feud has gone on and the way it’s played out, all roads now lead to Becky getting her revenge at the biggest show of the year.
Grade: B
Penta vs. Dragon Lee
Latest developments:
On the March 2 Raw, Penta challenged Dominik Mysterio for the Intercontinental Championship. After Finn Balor kept JD McDonagh from giving Dominik the timekeepers hammer to use as a weapon, Penta leaped over the top rope onto both of them. As Dominik then missed a 619 attempt, Penta nailed him with the Mexican Destroyer to win the match and his first title in WWE. Last week, Penta came out to give a speech about how much he appreciated the fans support and how much being the IC Champion meant to him. Immediately after, he defeated El Grande Americano for his first successful title defense.
This week, Penta once again defended his title against Dragon Lee in a match where Lee leaped over the top rope onto him. After Lee threw him back into the ring, Penta then proceeded to leap over the top rope onto him. Paying tribute to his former partner AJ Styles, Lee turned a Sunset Flip into a Styles Clash for a near fall. After kicking Penta off the apron, Lee nailed him with a Corkscrew Suicide Dive over the announce table. After kicking out of Lee’s Dragon Driver, Penta hit him with a running Mexican Destroyer to get the win and retain his title.
Analysis:
In ring wise, this match was leaps and bounds the best thing on the whole show. In just two weeks, Penta is already showing that he’s a fighting champion who will put on matches that everyone walks away from the show remembering. Honestly, this match was even better than the match Penta had with Americano last week and even the one where he won the title from Dominik two weeks ago. As it was said in last week’s review that Penta needed fresh opponents, Lee was the perfect person to have him wrestle this week. Not only was Lee a fresh opponent, he’s also someone who’s every bit as impressive at pulling off those high risk moves.
With four weeks left until WrestleMania, Penta’s direction for it is still unclear. As it looks like Dominik is going to be occupied with Finn going into WrestleMania, he has no real feud going on right now that would warrant an IC Title match at WrestleMania. While there’s a chance they could do a Triple Threat with Penta, Dominik, and Finn, having Dominik and Finn as a singles match would be a better idea given their history. The only three names that would make for an appealing opponent for Penta to defend the title against at Mania are Gunther, LA Knight, or Seth Rollins. As none of those men have a clear direction for WrestleMania either, any of them against Penta would be a way of making the best out of an unideal situation.
Grade: A
Stephanie Vaquer vs. Raquel Rodriguez
Latest developments:
On the February 2 Raw, Raquel Rodriguez challenged Stephanie Vaquer for the Women’s World Championship in a Philadelphia Street Fight. Despite Raquel telling Liv Morgan to stay in the back during the match, Liv showed up any way to try and distract Vaquer. The distraction attempt backfired as Raquel was distracted by Liv’s appearance and Vaquer pushed her into a chair, then later hit her with a Corkscrew to retain her title. Last week, Raquel was defeated by Iyo Sky during a Gauntlet match after Raquel was distracted by Vaquer and Liv fighting in the aisle way. Immediately after she was eliminated, Raquel attacked Iyo and planted her on the apron with a Tejana Bomb.
This week, Vaquer faced Raquel in a nontitle match where Raquel caught Vaquer on her shoulder and threw her headfirst into the post. After Vaquer later recovered and hit Raquel with the Devil’s Kiss, Liv got onto the apron to distract her and that led to Raquel taking Vaquer down with a big boot. Iyo Sky came out to even the odds before she was pushed over the announce table by Raquel. Vaquer then hit a Cross Body onto Raquel from the apron, and she then threw Liv over the timekeeper’s area. Raquel later caught Vaquer and mid air and slammed her but as she was about to hit her with the Tejana Bomb, Vaquer reversed it into a roll up to pick up the win.
Analysis:
As we’ve seen these two women wrestle each other a lot in recent months, this match was fine for what it was. With it not having the title or any stakes on the line, there wasn’t much about this match to get that emotionally invested in. What really stood out most here was Liv and Iyo getting involved as well as Raquel pushing Iyo over the announce table. Considering what happened between them last week and here, it looks like we’re getting Iyo vs. Raquel at WrestleMania. While it’ll be a fine match and it’s at least something that’ll get them on the show, it doesn’t really feel like a WrestleMania match.
With WrestleMania roughly a month away, they also need to do more to spice up the Vaquer vs. Liv match. Ever since Liv picked Vaquer as the champion she’s going to challenge, not much has happened between them. Other than a brawl in the aisle way last week and Vaquer throwing her over the timekeeper’s area this week, they haven’t done anything to add more fuel to this feud. As this is one of the marquee matches, it’s lacking the heat that it needs to feel like one. As many of the other storylines heading into Mania are heating up, this feud also needs to be given some of that attention.
Grade: B
C. M. Punk vs. Roman Reigns
Latest developments:
On the February 2 Raw, Royal Rumble winner Roman Reigns chose World Heavyweight Champion C.M. Punk as the champion he will challenge at WrestleMania. On the March 2 Raw, Reigns came out to cut a promo before he was interrupted by Punk. After both men traded insults for several minutes, Punk vowed at WrestleMania to bury Reigns next to his late father Sika. Last week, Punk was confronted by Reigns’ cousins Jimmy & Jey Uso as they both demanded Punk apologize for what he said about Sika. After he instead apologized for all the wrong things Reigns did in the past that he was never forced to apologize for and then refereed to Jimmy & Jey as Reigns’ young boys, Jey shoved Punk and then Jimmy knocked him down with a right hand.
In this week’s main event segment, Reigns called Punk out to the ring. After Punk appeared and also admitted that he deserved what happened to him last week, he asked who the real Tribal Chief was. Reigns then accused Punk of never coming up with any original insults and told him not to waste his time until he’s able to. Punk stopped Reigns as he tried to leave multiple times and told him that he can only come and go when he says he can. Punk then told Reigns that this year will be the last time he main events WrestleMania and vowed to split his ego in two when he beats him. Reigns then said Punk can’t do anything he can do in the ring and called the title being around Punk’s waist an embarrassment because of the fact that he’s old and then Punk knocked him down with a right hand as security got in between them.
Analysis:
While a solid segment, this was the weakest of all the interactions between Punk and Reigns. Especially compared to what Punk said the last time these two were face to face, nothing in this segment came close to that level of heat. After Punk said what he said about his dad, it seemed like Reigns was going to make a reference here to Punk’s dead dog Larry. Instead, he mentioned his wife briefly and then just called Punk old. Crazy to think that of all the things to say to cause Punk to react the way he did here, calling him old was what did it.
Honestly, that response would’ve worked better had Reigns had said something about the dog. While he could still say something about Larry in their next few interactions, it was odd that he chose not to here. Even if this segment wasn’t as strong as the other ones, the build for this match has still been stronger than the build for most of the other matches for Mania have been. As they still have a month and Reigns is going to be on the show for the next two weeks, there’s still things they can do to heat this feud up even more. As any good storyline should do, this segment at least succeeded in making one eager to see what will happen between the two of them next.
Grade: B+
El Grande Americano vs. OG Americano
Latest developments:
For the first time ever, El Grande Americano went one on one with OG Americano this week. As the match progressed, OG went for a Moonsault off the top rope before Americano put his feet up, and OG then trapped him in the Ankle Lock. After Americano grabbed the ropes to break the hold, OG hit him with a German Suplex as the referee was distracted by Rayo Americano. OG clotheslined Rayo over the top rope for his troubles and as the referee was also distracted by this, Bravo Americano gave Americano the piece of metal to put in his mask. OG Americano hit the piece of metal as he went for a diving head onto Americano and Americano put his arm over him to get the win.
Analysis:
While this was a decent match, this feud just gets less and less interesting by the week. With Americano winning how he did here, this is clearly going to lead to a rematch where OG gets his win back. Once that happens, they’ll likely do a Mask vs. Mask match to blow this off at WrestleMania. With that still being a month away, it’s only going to get harder to have to watch the rest of this feud play out. As good as the in-ring action is between these two, it’s just not enough to make this storyline worth getting invested in.
Nattie vs. Maxxine Dupri
After weeks of attacks from behind and potential matches that never got going, Nattie and Maxxine Dupri finally went one on one this week. As the match progressed, Nattie hit Maxxine with a Sling Shot into the second rope and then trapped her in a Sleeper. Maxxine was able to escape and trapped Nattie in the Ankle Lock before she was able to escape as Maxxine later regained the advantage with a Spinning Heel Kick. Maxxine missed a Cross Body attempt from the top rope and Nattie laid her out with a vicious clothesline. Nattie then trapped Maxxine in the Sharpshooter until she eventually tapped to give Nattie the win.
Analysis:
For how much potential this feud had when it first started, the way this match played out was a clear example of how far it’s fallen since then. While there was nothing wrong with the work in this match, it just didn’t have any heat. It was clear to see the crowd felt the same way as they were literally dead throughout this. Considering that this feud was designed to further establish Maxxine, it doesn’t seem like it’s been working so far. While Nattie did win this match decisively, this feud will likely continue so that Maxxine can eventually beat her
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.