I said in my recap of the Royal Rumble that I was worried that the show and beyond would be bad.
I was wrong because Raw, for the first time in weeks (and honestly, maybe even months) was a good show! Showing long arcs and staked matches 3 hours ago … slightly shorter.
However, a concern of mine from the past has surfaced and I really feel bad about it. I am very much against the Alexa Bliss Fiendette stuff. It is very welcome. If you like it, more power for you.
The reason I don’t like to say this is because I feel that we must support the fighters by being happy and stimulated creatively in wrestling. Alexa is a horror fan, so this is right in her wheelhouse. You can even see that she is enjoying herself. I’m not more. I want this to end. The magic thing was way I trusted it too much and I’m sick of it.
I can’t handle this for another 2 months.
Let’s go to the main hits and mistakes of this show. For a complete summary of Raw, check out Rev. Claire Elizabeth’s live blog!
The black cloud is gone, but the blood remains
Edge came out and interrupted Drew McIntyre.
He did something very right that we didn’t know was true until a few minutes later – he caught McIntyre’s attention. He just won Rumble and, instead of kicking his head, McIntyre is all happy and losing his memory. When you have the title, you should always be aware.
Sheamus then left and stood in Edge’s face, but McIntyre told him to back off. Edge said he would let McIntyre know his answer and left. Drew kicked Brogue. After the commercial, Sheamus told Charly Caruso that he is no longer friends with Drew McIntyre. Later, an emotional Drew questioned Sheamus’ actions, but … seriously, man? I mean, it should be obvious that this guy was going to turn on you.
Obviously that’s how WWE booked it, but a normal person would have seen it from a mile away. Sheamus was an idiot for weeks and never got along with Drew’s other best friend. They even fought last month. I did not like that.
Then Orton and Edge were announced for the main event, and Orton congratulated Edge on winning the Royal Rumble. But Edge made him look like a liar when he said Edge would never come back. So now he needs to end this forever.
Edge got a few hits right, even reversing an RKO in one to almost fall. Edge sent Orton to the apron barricade, and then Orton went to the advertisers table and raked Edge. Orton hit the DDT and set up the RKO.
And then the scary music played and Alexa was sitting on the upper tensioner behind Orton. What I presume was blood spilled from his mouth, and Edge threw Orton at the distraction and won.
The opening comments said it all. I’m not a fan of that anymore. I still feel bad for saying that, but damn it. Happy for Edge, though, because his presence on this show helped. He even rubbed Damian Priest! I know now that I’m really not enjoying Alexa’s things when Edge’s victory here was not as good as it should have been for me.
Please, let’s get Bray back and finish this at the next pay-per-view. I can’t take 2 more months.
Bad Bunny and Damian Priest arrived
Miz finally got the biggest guest on Miz TV he could ever have.
Miz and Morrison rummaged through the usual rubbish to recap and then brought the big star. Bad Bunny had a pink microphone and a not-so-excited expression on his face. Miz apologized for his part last night and asked … Bunny (I think that’s what I should call him?) If he had anything to say.
Bunny said no. Miz said she heard about him wanting to be a WWE superstar and that they could help him if Bunny helped them get a record deal. They then sang. Ugh.
Bunny said he was not interested and Miz was annoyed by that. Bunny said he was really here because Damian Priest wanted to be on Miz TV.
And that led to a match between Priest and Miz. Priest took an impressive dive using the middle rope, but Miz gained momentum. Miz was distracted by Bunny with the comments and Priest took advantage. Morrison teased Priest and Miz went to get the folder. Bunny grabbed him and hit Morrison with the microphone.
This was a very fun and compatible segment and, for my life, I have no idea why people regret Bad Bunny. Guys – it’s Bad Bunny. Why is this, for lack of a better word, bad? The guy is very popular and likes wrestling. It has a decent cross body too! Bunny interested me in Miz and Morrison. And he’s helping Damian Priest on the main list!
Instead of debuting as Kevin Owens’ best friend out of nowhere and being the third in that rivalry, he is debuting as a friend of the Grammy nominee, winner of the Billboard Latin Music Award, winner of the MTV VMA Bad Bunny.
This is a victory in my book!
The rest
The Hurt Business defeated Lucha House Party
Benjamin started with Dorado and threw him like a rag doll. Metalik came in and Alexander was cool. The very old story was that the Lucha House Party is a cohesive unit. Benjamin showed his strength and agility against the luchas. Metalik and Alexander went for a run. Lucha scored twice and Metalik would have won the victory if Benjamin had not arrived in time to split. Alexander was about to finish and Benjamin entered. Ced was not happy about that. They are obviously making a rupture angle. It’s … it’s been long, for sure. I’m in conflict because I really don’t want them to end, but if it gives Cedric a strong singles race, I’m in favor.
Fun House Bliss defeated Nikki Cross
This started as the last match between them. Bliss didn’t care when Cross frowned and yelled at her about being his best friend and she doesn’t care anymore. Bliss started not to care about the fight and alternating between smiling at Cross and being happy to fight. The most stupid part of it was Bliss jumping over to Cross and kicking her in the ribs. Bliss turned into BlissCross Bliss and this time Nikki didn’t fall for it. Bliss transformed again and then made a new twisted version of Sister Abigail to win. It looked like DOPE! Best part of the whole match.
Lana and Naomi defeated Mandy / Dana and Asuka / Charlotte
Clear. Charlotte told Asuka that she is just concentrating on retrieving the tag titles, but as soon as her father’s music played, she left the fight and went up the ramp. Like … why? In fact, I was enjoying the game and the right women won, to be honest. There is something fun about Naomi and Lana. And Lana’s involvement makes sense, considering who the champions are. Asuka looked worse here because of Charlotte’s nonsense, which is also no surprise. I almost wouldn’t mind Asuka attacking Charlotte now.
Jeff Hardy and Carlito defeated Elias and Jaxson Ryker
Carlito is back! Ryker pulled on Hardy’s pants and Elias took advantage. The jumps managed to isolate Hardy and Elias almost sent him away. Ryker missed a header and Hardy hit Carlito who had a hot catch and hit Elias in the back. Hardy with Swanton to take the win. Carlito is back. Carlito IS CRAZY. This show is looking even better.
Xavier Woods defeated Mustafa Ali
Ali was focusing more on Kingston outside the ring, but that wasn’t distracting him much. Woods dropped a knee and made a clothesline with which he would have won if the T-Bar did not interfere. Kingston jumped out of the T-Bar and took off Slapjack, and Woods reversed Ali’s pin to win. We are 2-2 now. I thought this was happening, but it made it a little less sweet to see Ali being the loser.
Bobby Lashley vs. Riddle ends in disqualification
Riddle was very smart in every match with Lashley, always going after him the moment the bell rang. Unfortunately, not much has happened, except a lot of Hurt Locks and a disqualification. But, man, Lashley looked mean and scary. This is definitely not done.
Serie B-
What were your thoughts, Cagesiders?