Raw began with Cody Rhodes asking San Antonio what they wanted to talk about. WE all knew the obvious answer. He invited Seth Rollins to the ring and the two accepted The Rock & Roman Reigns' invitation to come to SmackDown this week. Cool Cool. That's not really what I want to talk about here. What caught my eye was Seth.
Cody gave him a logical way out if Seth decided against teaming with him against Rocky & Roman at Mania. The man has a match with Drew McIntyre who deserves all his attention. Ironically, that's the same thing Drew said last week when he discouraged Seth from worrying about what happens on Friday night. Seth told Cody the same thing he said to Drew: defeating the Bloodline at this point is more important than anything else. If he were Captain Jean Luc Picard, he would have said that the line needs to be drawn here!
The way Seth dismissed Drew as someone he could easily get along with speaks volumes. Seth is clearly not focused on the big man and I understand why. Roman is more than personal with him; He feels responsible for the last few years and wants to put an end to it. The way Seth sees it, he brought Roman into this world and he can take him out. He believes that with Rock's position in the company, if they don't stop Roman now, his former SHIELD partner will gain the absolute power he has always craved. Yes, that's enough to make me, or possibly anyone else, forget about Drew.
It's a character-driven story that opens a track where Seth loses his title because he really focuses on the bigger picture. The only reason the championship around Seth's waist exists is because of Roman; Seth's mission statement is a reign that looks nothing like his counterpart on Friday nights. Raw illustrated in a simple but effective way during the main event how this could potentially lead to Seth's downfall.
Jey Uso vs. Drew. Drew wants the apology he never got, while Jey thinks Drew is a whining, disrespectful baby. There's enough history between these two that the game doesn't need much setup. The only question was when the bloodline would show up and how they would screw over Jey.
They were a little misleading when Solo showed up first and Cody made the save. But then Jimmy appeared out of nowhere and upset Jey. Once again, Drew took advantage of the shenanigans of the bloodline he swears he despises and got a W. He pointed out his hypocrisy and made it clear.
But then Seth rushed into the ring to fend off Jimmy and protect Jey. He did this while Drew was still in the ring, lurking behind him the entire time. Then this happened:
This is exactly what Drew warned Seth about. As Drew said earlier in the show, Seth doesn't listen and he's a junkie for the spotlight. He cares so much about destroying Roman and co. that he is neglecting a very dangerous opponent.
This is all very solid stuff that ties all these stories together in a loop. I really love this style of storytelling and it's something WWE does very well when they put their mind to it. Seth is in trouble and instead of just saying it, they keep telling us.
B-sides
lucky Star
If I'm the Kabuki Warriors, I'm not impressed with Shayna Baszler and Zoey Stark's victory over Katana Chance and Kayden Carter. While I didn't expect them to dominate the former tag team champions, I wanted a more decisive win. Katana & Kayden beat their opponents with the afterparty. And if Shayna doesn't save at the very last second, they lose the match. Actually, they wouldn't have won if Zoey hadn't surprised Katana with a quick roll-up.
It amounts to a comeback win, which isn't usually a bad thing. But as I explored Damage CTRL and then gave Zoey and Shayna the championship match they wanted, I wanted a bigger W from the future challengers. They earned victory in a match that seemingly made the champions feel like they were worthy of a title shot.
Meh.
No tears
On the other hand, there's Nia Jax versus Becky Lynch. Liv Morgan's shadow loomed over this match due to Becky's interference in Liv's match against Nia last week. Quick addendum for those who missed it or just don't remember (a lot happens in a week): Liv seemed to have Nia where she wanted her, but Becky stepped in to get some of that sweet revenge on Nia practice. Liv lost the match by DQ and then got in Becky's face. Liv had every right to remind Becky that not everything is about her.
Fast forward to this week and Liv returned the favor. Before Becky lost the match via DQ, she and Nia put on a pretty good performance. Nia dominated early, so it was just a matter of Becky withstanding the onslaught and coming back. It was violent and Becky suffered severe beatings. It turned into a hard-fought and exciting match between two titans. Becky had the advantage right before Liv intervened and ruined everything for her.
This led to some backstage conversations between Liv and Becky, which of course led to the two making a match.
This is cool and anything but real? I want more of Becky vs. Nia. A sentence I never thought I would type, but here we are.
Counter-speech
Officially welcome Andrade back to Raw! With the Judgment Day crowd in attendance, Andrade defeated Apollo Crews in his first match on the red brand.
Timeout: Where did they find Apollo? I haven't seen this man in months! After watching his entire NXT run, it's strange to see him without a notebook. I guess you never know what you've got until it's gone.
Apollo has a good hand, so it did what it needed to do without impressing me. I'm excited to see how Judgment Day impacts Andrade's future. Is he a future member or is he making himself their next target?
Good night
If there's one company that can turn Judgment Day into good, it's IMPERIUM. Seriously, San Antonio cheered on Damian Priest and Finn Balor like they were the rockers back in the day. People really don't like these IMPERIUM cats, do they?
What I liked most about this fight was how easily Finn and Damian were able to fit into their “good guy” roles. After Finn took a cheap shot at Giovanni early in the match, it feels like someone called an Audile as soon as the crowd started chanting for the prince. He fought from below. They fought from below and sold everything Giovanni Vinci and Ludwig Kaiser did as if they were world champions. Especially Finn, who took the brunt of the blows and felt every second of IMPERIUM's methodical attack. He bought himself some time with a nasty Sling Blade after IMPERIUM almost botched their tandem move.
Damian got the hot tag and it was pretty much over from there. Damian is one hell of a hot guy and if Judgment Day ever turns away from the dark side, it might look like this.
Judgment Day got the W thanks to a South of Heaven, and IMPERIUM crept away into the moonlight.
Stay tuned
My favorite moment of Sami Zayn and Ivar's great fight was the third act. It was something simple, but it's a detail, and I love matches that take care of the details, no matter how small. Sami tried an exploder into the turnbuckle early in the match, but I mean we all saw Ivar. When that didn't work, Ivar regained control and Sami lost his slight advantage. When Sami got another chance to make this happen, he tried a different strategy. He hit Ivar's back with several forearm strikes, weakening the big man and making him more susceptible to falling over.
Mission accomplished.
It's simply about smart psychology and character development throughout a game. Plus, it feels like a real battle where strategies evolve because they have to.
Sami eventually got the W, which was part of his need for momentum heading into next week's gauntlet for a spot at WrestleMania against GUNTHER.
And here I mention the gauntlet:
I love gauntlet fights and this one has an incredible amount at stake. Sami made his arguments as to why he should get GUNTHER before the game, but Bronson Reed said “no” to all of that:
Sami talked. Chad Gable was talking, and he was incredibly passionate and made probably the best commercial of his career when he talked about taking GUNTHER's smile and giving it to his daughter. But Bronson spoke with his actions. This works for him because while the Australian can speak, he lets his fists handle the verbs. He doesn't have the emotional thinking like Sami or Chad; He just wants gold and wants to fight.
Just for the record, I reach for Chad and think he gets the nod. He has the most compelling story, he and GUNTHER set up a clinic last fall, and the reaction he'll get in Philly after defeating Ring General could show that the city actually has a heart. I still can't say much about their taste since they're on the trail of the dirty birds, but it will at least prove they're human.
Aside from that tag match between Katana & Kayden and Shayna & Zoey, there was little for me to complain about on this show. The Seth and Drew thing is really fascinating to me at the moment. It's a thoughtful story, subtle at times but not unnoticed.
And finally, kudos to Michael Cole, Pat Mac and Cody for singing the praises of Sting. Although Cody's wasn't as obvious as the commentary team, it was still noticed and appreciated.
What do you say, Cagesiders? Did you enjoy this week's show? And would you have expected Pat to call Sting's final match “epic”?