Raw started 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 the ring. Smack down this week. Cool cool. That's not really what I want to talk about here. What struck me was Seth.
Cody gave him a logical exit if Seth decided not to agree to team up with him against Rocky & Roman at Mania. The man has a match with Drew McIntyre, which deserves his full attention. Ironically, that's the same thing Drew said last week when he advised Seth not to worry about what happens on Friday night. Seth told Cody the same thing he told Drew: defeating the bloodline at this point is more important than anything else. If he had been Captain Jean Luc Picard, he would have said that we had to draw the line here!
The way Seth dismissed Drew as someone he would easily deal 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 these last years and wants to put an end to them. The way Seth sees it, he brought Roman into this world, and he can take him out. He thinks that with Rock's position in the company, if they don't stop Roman now, then his former SHIELD partner will get the absolute power he's always dreamed of. Yeah, that's enough to make me or maybe anyone else forget about Drew.
It's a character-driven story that sets a path where Seth loses his title because he's really focused 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 unlike that of his Friday night counterpart. Raw illustrated how this could harm Seth in a simple but effective way in the main event.
Jey Uso vs. Drew. Drew wants the apology he never received while Jey thinks Drew is a crybaby and disrespectful. There's enough history between these two that the match doesn't need much build-up. The only question was when the Bloodline would appear and how they would fuck Jey.
They made a little misdirection with Solo appearing first and Cody making the save. But Jimmy appeared out of nowhere and knocked Jey off his game. Drew, once again, capitalized on the Bloodline shenanigans he swears he hates, and got a W. Foreshadowing and hammering home his hypocrisy.
But then Seth hit the ring to push Jimmy away and protect Jey. He did this with Drew still in the ring and hiding behind him the entire time. Then this happened:
This is exactly what Drew warned Seth about. As Drew said earlier in the series, Seth doesn't listen and he's a spotlight junkie. He cares so much about destroying Roman and co. that he neglects a very dangerous opponent.
It's all very solid and makes all these stories converge in a circular way. I really like this type of storytelling and it's something WWE does very well when they commit to it. Seth is in trouble and rather than just saying it, they tell us repeatedly.
B-sides
Good 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. Although I didn't expect them to dominate the former tag team champions, I wanted a more decisive victory. Katana and Kayden defeated their opponents with the Afterparty. And if Shayna didn't make the save at the very last second, they would lose the match. In fact, if Zoey doesn't surprise Katana with a quick roll-up, they won't win.
This is the equivalent of a comeback victory, which normally isn't a bad thing. But with Damage CTRL screening and giving Zoey and Shayna the championship match they desire, I wanted a bigger W from the future challengers. They were victorious in a match that seemingly made the champions believe they deserved a title shot.
Meh.
No tears
On the other hand, there's Nia Jax vs. Becky Lynch. Liv Morgan's shadow loomed over this match due to Becky's interference in Liv's match against Nia last week. Quick catch up for those who missed it or just don't remember (a lot happens in a week): Liv apparently had Nia right where she wanted her, but Becky launched into this sweet revenge against Nia. Liv lost the match by DQ and then found herself facing Becky. Liv was absolutely right when she reminded Becky that it wasn't all about her.
Fast forward to this week and Liv returned the favor. Before Becky lost the match by disqualification, she and Nia had a pretty good outing. Nia dominated early, so it was all about Becky resisting the onslaught and coming back. It was violent and Becky was seriously beaten. This turned into a competitive and compelling match between two titans. Becky had the advantage RIGHT before Liv steps in and ruins everything for her.
This led to some backstage words between Liv and Becky, which of course led to the two having a match.
Is it cool and anything but real? I want more Becky vs Nia. A sentence I never thought I would type but here we are.
Impertinence
Welcome to Andrade Raw officially! As Judgment Day looked on, Andrade defeated Apollo Crews in his first match on the red brand.
Timeout though: where did they find Apollo? I haven't seen this man in months! After watching his entire NXT run, it's weird to see him without a notebook. I guess you never know what you've got until it's gone.
Apollo is a good hand, so this accomplished what it needed to do without blowing my mind. I'm curious how Judgment Day plays into Andrade's future. Is he a future member or will he become their next target?
Good night
If there's one entity that can turn Judgment Day into good guys, it's IMPERIUM. Seriously, San Antonio cheered for 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 loved most about this match was how easily Finn and Damian blended into their “good guy” roles. After Finn takes a low blow on Giovanni early in the match, it feels like someone called an audile the minute the crowd started chanting for the Prince. He fought from the bottom. They fought from the bottom and sold everything Giovanni Vinci and Ludwig Kaiser did as if they were the winners of the world. Specifically Finn, who took the brunt of the blows and felt every second of IMPERIUM's methodical offensive. He bought 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 tag and if Judgment Day always turns away from the dark side, this is what it might look like.
Judgment Day got the W thanks to a southern sky, and IMPERIUM snuck by the moonlight.
Stay on the line
My favorite moment from the awesome match between Sami Zayn and Ivar came in the third act. It was something simple but it's a detail and I like matches that take care of the details, no matter how small they are. Sami tried an Exploder into the turnbuckle earlier in the match but, I mean, we've all seen Ivar. Once that didn't work, Ivar regained control and Sami lost his slight advantage. So when Sami had another chance to do it, he tried a different strategy. He hit Ivar's back with several forearm strikes, weakening the big man and making him more susceptible to getting knocked down.
Mission accomplished.
It's just clever psychology and character development during a match. Plus, it feels like a real fight where strategies evolve because they have to.
Sami finally got the W, which was part of his need for momentum heading into next week's gauntlet match for a spot at FightMania against GUNTHER.
And this is the part where I mention the gauntlet match:
I love gauntlet matches and this one has incredible stakes. Sami explained why he should get GUNTHER before the match, but Bronson Reed said “no” to all of that:
Sami spoke. Chad Gable spoke, and he was incredibly passionate and probably cut the best promo of his career when he talked about taking GUNTHER's smile and giving it to his daughter. But Bronson spoke out about his actions. This works for him because even though the Australian can talk, he lets his fists manipulate the verbs. He doesn't have the emotional reasoning like Sami or Chad; he just wants gold and wants to fight.
For the record, I support Chad and think he gets the nod. He has the most compelling story, he and GUNTHER held a clinic last fall, and the reaction he gets in Philadelphia after defeating the Ring General could show that the city actually has a heart. I still can't say much about their tastes since they go for the dirty birds, but this will at least prove that they are human beings.
Outside of that match between Katana & Kayden and Shayna & Zoey, this show left me with very little to complain about. The Seth and Drew stuff is really intriguing me at the moment. It’s thoughtful storytelling, sometimes subtle but not unnoticeable.
And finally, a big shout out to Michael Cole, Pat Mac and Cody for shouting out Sting. Although Cody's was not as obvious as the commentary team's, it was still noticed and appreciated.
What do you say, Cagesiders? Did you enjoy the show this week? And did you expect Pat to call Sting's final match “epic”?