Best and Worst of Raw: 22nd May, 2017

Last night, the landscape of SmackDown Live changed for good. Not much changed for Raw this week, honestly.

Raw had its ups, and it certainly had its downs.

Let’s just state for the record that unlike Backlash last night, where Jinder Mahal shocked the world to become WWE Champion, Raw was not a memorable affair. It was a show with highs and lows, crescendoing into an absolutely brilliant main event contest.

With Extreme Rules less than two weeks away, things fell into place as we geared up for the pay-per-view event. There were some components of the show that we enjoyed and others that simply irked us, and we shall detail them for you in this article. Read on.

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#1 Worst: Botchfest

The amazing main event match suffered from a rather embarrassing production botch

Botches are bound to happen in a live environment. Unfortunately, there were just too many in this week’s episode of Raw. The most notable one was at the start of the main event when Seth Rollins’ music was played during Samoa Joe’s entrance (thankfully, announcer Corey Graves and his presence of mind saved this fiasco on commentary).

Finn Balor was tongue-tied at one point during his promo, and could not get the word- ‘Fatal’ out. Michael Cole too was at his botchy best, as he referred to Alexa Bliss as ‘Bees’ at one point, and just flubbered at another during Matt Hardy’s encounter against Sheamus. We could nitpick and pick out more botches, but let’s move on with the review.

#1 Best: Brilliant main event match

Definitely, a gold medal winning wrestling showcase, this week

Despite the fact that three hours of Raw always ends up feeling far too long, this main event made us sit up and pay attention once again, with some high intensity, furious action. Seth Rollins was the absolute star of the match, following the hot tag, and we got a glimpse of the Seth Rollins of old.

The storytelling was great, and it was amazing how the babyfaces, originally united, were at odds at the conclusion of the fast paced match. The heels, however, seemed to have found common ground. The dynamics next week should be very interesting.

#2 Worst: Just too much filler

Raw cannot program three hours of weekly content, and it definitely shows

The third hour of Raw earns WWE millions of dollars in revenue. However, because of it, there is a sharp decline in the quality of the show, almost every week. It is nigh impossible to program three hours of interesting content on a weekly basis, and the declining viewership is a testament of the same.

Be it Sasha Banks' feud with Alicia Fox or even the underwhelming Alexa Bliss vs. Mickie James match, the show suffered from an overdose of mediocre content.

#2 Best: Paul Heyman's return & praise for Balor

There is really nobody better on the microphone

Paul Heyman's return made this episode of Raw feel important. By keeping the Universal Championship as a special attraction, WWE has made it seem larger than life, and Heyman's return just catapulted this show from ‘just another event’ to a Raw of significance.

The Beast's advocate cut a brilliant promo and put Balor over as the best in-ring performer in the company right now. This is honestly the best thing that Balor could have hoped for, heading into Extreme Rules as the underdog in the Fatal 5-way.

He does not have the size or the physique to be a believable opponent for The Beast Incarnate. However, Heyman’s testimony made him appear as a main event player, and for this, we are grateful as sports entertainment fans.

#3 Worst: Bray Wyatt’s promos

He had the whole world in his hands, and then he began speaking...

This is 2017, and while it’s a good attempt at being different, people do not have the attention span to sit through Bray Wyatt's mumbo jumbo. Raw began this week with Bray Wyatt's mysterious music and the fireflies were out in full force.

Unfortunately, their attention began drifting during Wyatt’s promos because quite honestly, his prophetic monologues make no sense. His character is losing steam every day, and because he’s just a decent in-ring worker at best, even his matches cannot get him over with fans.

Wyatt needs better promo scripting to connect with the audience and make them sit up and pay attention. 

#3 Best: Old is Goldust

Goldust went old-school following his heel turn

If you missed our feature detailing the oldest WWE Superstars on the current roster, you’ll find that Goldust (48) is the oldest full-time performer in the locker room, as of right now.

In the sunset of his career, Goldust is presumably embarking on a singles run, against his former tag team partner. Today, we saw him take us back in time to 1995, when this enigmatic character and his wife, Marlena wreaked havoc in professional wrestling. We’re curious to see how this storyline plays out, over the coming weeks on Raw.

#4 Worst: Just a steel cage match?

Matt Hardy teased us with his ‘Broken’ accent, one more time

C’mon! The Hardyz had a chance to pick a stipulation for their Extreme Rules tag team contest and they chose a steel cage match? While a match at the Hardy compound may have been too much to hope for, a ladder match would have sufficed.

Oh, well, let’s just be thankful that we get to see the Hardyz on WWE television.

We end with a picture of the gorgeous Alicia Fox!

WWE News: Becky Lynch responds to rumors of her joining Total Divas

The former Smackdown LIVE Women's Champion talks about the possibility of joining the seventh season of Total Divas.

Becky Lynch will be in for a fight when she teams with Charlotte and Naomi to take on Carmella, Natalya, and Tamina .

What’s the story?

Becky Lynch recently spoke to Josh Barnett of USA Today where The Irish Lass Kicker talked about finding the perfect balance between humour and intensity on Smackdown LIVE. She also addressed rumours of her joining the cast of hit reality series Total Divas.

In case you didn’t know...

The sixth season of Total Divas ended in May 2017. Brie Bella, Nikki Bella, Natalya, and Naomi were confirmed as regulars for the next season, while Renee and Maryse will also resume their roles for the seventh edition of the show.

However, Eva Marie is reportedly done with the show. Moreover, Paige’s current status in the company has been under a lot of speculation and doubts were raised about her Total Divas future.

The heart of the matter

When asked about a possible opportunity to join the cast of Total Divas, Becky said that she had no idea of such a development and ruled out the possibility of her appearing on the reality series.

She revealed that there was a certain mystery to her personality and she envisioned on keeping it that way. Becky mentioned that she never saw herself as a star of a reality show and it was beyond her realms of exploring.

“When I envisioned my life as a little girl, that was never in my horizons. I’m going to stay with what I want in the future. I don’t see that being reality TV.”

She also spoke about the contrasting experiences of competing in singles matches and tag team matches. Becky revealed that she would rather worry about herself and this made her a bad team player when it came to tag team matches.

What’s next?

Becky will be competing in a 6-woman tag team match with fellow Horsewoman Charlotte Flair, and Smackdown Women’s Champion Naomi, against Natalya, Tamina, and Carmella, at WWE Backlash.

The trio will have their task cut out as the ‘Welcoming Committee’ have managed to take down Charlotte, Becky, and Naomi on separate occasions and will be looking to replicate the same at the PPV.

Also Read: shane McMahon talks about who actually came up with Undertaker gimmick.

Shane McMahon talks about who actually came up with The Undertaker gimmick.

Author's Take

In the past, all members of the Four Horsewomen have opted to be competing in the ring rather than appear on Total Divas. There is an emerging mindset that Total Divas focuses more on the glamorous lives of the WWE superstars and shifts away from wrestling.

Perhaps that is a reason why superstars such as AJ Lee never appeared on the show. However, this does not take away from the fact that Natalya and Naomi, who have been regulars on the show, also happen to be brilliant performers in the ring.