WWE Raw Analysis of January 23, 2017: Lesnar, Goldberg and Undertaker share a ring...Triple H tease
Stop the presses!
I came out of Monday's Raw mighty pleased.
It was a good show, with some good segments, good build to Sunday's Royal Rumble, and left us with a good cliff hanger moment of something we haven't seen before.
We even got a little Wrestlemania build...
Raw wasn't all perfect though. After one week of finally looking like a bad ass by taking out Roman Reigns, Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho were back to looking like idiots. The opening promo by Reigns was his typical promo, which is not a good thing. Why would he be all smiles one week after being put threw a table? This "big dog" persona is really stupid, and I have to struggle to control my gag reflex when the announcers talk about it. Owens and Jericho were their usual mid-card, comedy selves. They've got a good act, but not main event level. The Jericho/Reigns match was fine, and probably the best one I've seen between the two.
Man, Owens was dick to Byron Saxton. Maybe if it wasn't Saxton I might've felt some sympathy.
The DQ finish was fine, as I'd like to see Jericho with a good United States Championship reign, and I figured Reigns would come out smelling like roses. I did not like how Reigns got the better of Owens and Jericho, and the Universal Champion ended up locked in the shark cage. You knew, though, with the shark cage involved that Reigns would not end up locked inside...that'd make him look like an idiot, and you just can't have that.
By the way...the shark cage is a stupid gimmick.
The match of the night was Seth Rollins versus Sami Zayn. These two performed well together, as expected, and I liked that there were actual stakes to the bout. Rollins not being in the Rumble saves face for him, and can actually lead to a better build once Triple H finally returns. The move of the night was that Pedigree on the ring apron. While I don't like Seth using the Pedigree, I do like how he adds variations to how he executes it.
The other major segment was the main event with Goldberg returning to Raw. Even though he flubbed his lines at the start, I thought it was a breath of fresh air because it caused him not to seem overly scripted. I heard that Brock Lesnar was in the building prior to, so seeing him was not a surprise. The Undertakers return was, and was a great cliff hanger to end the show. A lot will probably complain because neither Lesnar or Undertaker were advertised, but I have no issue with it. I think it's good to have some surprises every now and then, and resist the urge to pop a rating...no matter how much they need to.
The rest of the show had it good, to mildly entertaining moments. I liked the sit down interviews with Charlotte and Bayley, instead of having them in the ring. Bayley's character still seems forced on the main roster, but is fine. Charlotte is just great at being a cocky heel. The New Day segment with Enzo and Big Cass was fine, but I thought Rusev stole the segment by being more entertaining. The match that followed did its job by showcasing the dominance of Braun Strowman, and it was also a good use of The Big Show afterwards. Congratulations to the guy for looking in incredible shape. Luke Gallows and Cesaro has their match, and all signs are pointing to Sheamus and Cesaro retaining this weekend, and then of course there were the Cruiserweights. Other than Neville there is nothing appealing about their segments on Raw.
All in all I give the show an 8 out of 10. The booking errors on talent are still present, but WWE did it's best to compensate for that by having decent matches, a Wrestlemania tease with Triple H's music, the return of The Big Show, and an incredible hook at the end to get you excited for the Royal Rumble. I applaud Raw for actually maintaining my interest during all three hours this week. Let's hope they can keep it up, and develop some consistency, especially heading into Wrestlemania.
