₦airaland Forum

Headline says explosion, story says gunmen. What are we to believe? Regardless i send my condoloemce to the victims. The question now is, what do we do about this? Cos I'm tired. God knows I'm tired.

Purpl3:
Nothing to talk about really, it is just want it is - aggressive marketing.

That was probably Nick Khan's idea.

Purpl3:
And with Cody's face on it.
Talk about aggressive marketing

yeah. I forgot to add that part. Talk about it though.

WWE had a truck advertise Money In The Bank , by rounding the arena where Double Or Nothing was held.

Congrats to CM Punk for winning the AEW World Champion at Double Or Nothing.

.

Purpl3:
You want wrestling to become like UFC but scripted. 15 minute long matches with the same competitors over and over with no storyline or gimmick? Nah bro it's a slippery slope and it would get boring quick.
Wrestling products especially WWE are still being massively consumed despite all the complaints. Personally I think the complaints are a necessary evil and would forever be existent no matter what happens but those same people complaining would still consume the product too so there is no point in changing what works and has been working for years.

I'm complaining and I don't consume their product. I get all I need on YouTube. That's the point. I'm glad you mentioned "has been working for years". I don't know whether you've noticed, but the popularity of Pro-wrestling has reduced over the years drastically. And the reason is people are simply no longer enjoying the product anymore. You see it in the ratings, in the views, from the sound of the fans in the arenas, from the empty seats at arenas, you see it everywhere. Hell, you see it when you tell an absolute stranger that you're a wrestling fan and they look at you like you're an absolute retard. It's everywhere man, and we can't deny it. Its not now, it's 100 years from now, it's 200 years from now. Then and only then will everyone understand what I'm talking about. And the ultimate proof to my claim is that the product lacks LOGIC.

samistry:
Lmao wtf did I just read?
Stone cold, rock, undertaker, Kane all incorporated gimmicks.
Heck Ric Flair is a rich,stylish and narcissistic character.
Will you accuse orange Cassidy of being a bad wrestler because he has a lazy gimmick?
Let's even go to Japan the land of puro wrestling.
Have you ever questioned why kazuchika okada is called the rain maker with his face on money notes?
Tetsuya naito changing from squeaky clean Babyface to adopting the mexican tranquilo gimmick, forming a faction of anti-authority outcasts Los Ingobernables de Japon.
Jushin thunder liger also has a dark gimmick called Kishin liger where he sprays poison mist at opponents.
Wrestling is a show business and will always be. All wrestlers are gimmicks with some more nuanced than others.

fair point. You even went to Japan, my newest fav, but let's leave sentiments aside. I have been talking about this for quite some time now, but very few are getting it, the rest think I'm crazy when I say wrestlers don't need gimmicks and the proof is the less gimmick wrestlers have better success over a long term period than those heavily gimmicked - emphasis on "long-term". Sure, even in Japan that seems to be where the most sports based product live they still have gimmicks, what that means is that no wrestling company is perfect yet. From the dictionary meaning of "gimmick" to it's effect on TV is a clear sign that it should never have been implemented in the first place. The only reason promoters had some success with it is because we were DECEIVED to believe the product was real, so gimmicks and excess storylines brought out a fascination of such movie-like element going on in real life in the eyes of the then ignorant fans. Now they are smart, we have to dump the whole thing and actually take in what will work, that is, making pro-wrestling sports based - a wrestling product, though Entertainment, but is mirrored to look like a real sport. I can explain more on that if you want. If not, we'll have to dump the product totally, cos in the next 100 years, it will heavily decline cos people will stop caring about it.
With this few points of mine I hope I have been able to convince you that gimmicks are bad for wrestling.
I can confidently say that there is no one and I mean absolutely NO ONE that can truthfully say he/she fully enjoys pro-wrestling in any company in the world.

Purpl3:
They would have run down to the ring and begged Vince to stop maltreating Stone cold

okay this is funny.

Purpl3:
Rk-bro are the most Over faces in the company right now and the way the match was built they had a legit chance of winning hence, the tears from the kids and some adults too that were worked

fair point, and that's the aim of wrestling also. But again it looked weird. What would they have done if they saw something from the attitude era. Even The Shield's debut was more intense. Modern wrestling fans I guess.

samistry:
I agree the name change is dumb. However, I disagree with you stating his gimmick has nothing to do with wrestling.
Rick Martel, Tenille Dashwood/Emma,
Tyler breeze have all done the model gimmick.

and that's why they never made it in the business. A good athlete sells himself with wrestling ability and good acting. Those guys with gimmicks can't cos they aren't good. YOU DON'T NEED A GIMMICK TO BE A SUCCESSFUL WRESTLER, especially in 2022.

They also turned Eli Drake to LA Knight then from LA Knight to Max Dupri? What tha... He also has a stupid gimmick that has absolutely nothing to do with wrestling and you can tell as he is trying so hard to force the narrative to fit in with the sport. This is so ridiculous. When will WWE stop doing this to us? Thank God I don stop to dey follow sef. My mental health is important.

Yes. This is a real show, not that nonsense BBN.

Purpl3:
Your prophesy came to pass bro... They did it.

They did it soo brutally they had kids crying in the crowd

thank you for this write-up. I didn't watch the match, infact I'm just seeing the YouTube clip. What exactly was the ruckus about? Haven't they seen faces loosing before or people getting a beat down? Cole wanted to spoil my ear drums with his shouting. The faces sold it well, but that's about it. You're the WWE review expert, what exactly was special about it? Because since I heard it, I knew Usos were winning. It's not like a shock or anything if you've been watching the product since Roman came back.

I still can't believe if you want to watch something remotely close to a good wrestling show in person, you'd have to go all the way to Japan, cos the American Wrestling companies believe entertainment over sport is what's best for business. I'm enjoying New Japan right now and it's not even perfect, it's just more sports based than a regular American pro-wrestling show.

DanieBlinkz:
It's not just wrestling but an entertainment based show, it's called WWE for a reason.

it's actually a sports and entertainment based show and not just entertainment. I don't spend years learning how to work a match with rules and skillsets involved to be called an entertainer at the end. That's a sports entertainer.

Movie storylines don't belong in wrestling. It never did and never will. Have a typical sports based story of a good and a bad guy facing off to find out who's better and you'll have yourself the only storyline you need. Build it like would any normal sports match, with interviews and that will cut it. The more sports based it is, the better.

I've been following it. A great show you showcase talents, unlike...you know what.

Dem don sack Dakota and Dexter Lumis with 8 others including Malcom Bivens(he refused to renew).
My advice, since it's a developmental, get NXT off TV. The inconsistencies now will be glaring.

It depends on what they were playing before. Nothing wrong in Christain songs though.

Purpl3:
Those are screenshots of people's comments from both Twitter and YouTube, they are talking about it cos they are excited about it.

you didn't need to quite frankly. If some people are talking about it what can I do? No matter what happens they will always be people that watch the WWE product and we know that. Punk mentioned that in his Pipebomb promo in 2011. It doesn't mean they are truly enjoying it. Some are addicted, like many. Others just watch since their kids like it and so much more. Again no conversation there looks excited except maybe 1 or 2. That's was I see anyway. Atleast it's on RAW and not PPV.

Purpl3:
If you don't like Chad Gable's current body of work right now then I can't help you...it means your issues are too deep rooted and you need to just boycott the product totally.

I'm not invested in the product. I pick what is good like Cody, Roman and Brock and I'm good. The rest are short YouTube clips if need be.

samistry:
Aew is the minor leagues and catered to
hard-core fans.
Wwe is a mega conglomerate with long tenured history.
They are the defacto name when anyone thinks wrestling. Just the way every one thinks ufc when you call mma.
They may have abysmal storytelling but don't think for a second that vince mcmahon doesn't have a good eye for money making.
A public traded company with
Netflix collaboration, Crown jewel shows in Saudi Arabia are what AEW dreams they could be.

this isn't about AEW. They have their problems. So if the stories are abysmal how did he make 1 billion dollar last year. Cos I'm sure it's not because he produces good wrestling cos according to you the stories are abysmal and I concur. So how? Vince is definately not catering for true wrestling fans. That I know.

dahmie2013:
All na story, all na gimmick! We're simply being entertained.

so where do we keep sport in this your defination. If it's just entertainment only then Hugh Jackman will do a better job than any of the wrestlers. Abi? It's sports and entertainment. It only becomes a problem when one overshadows the other. And that's what I'm against. Storylines and characters should not insult our intelligence. And that's why gimmicks and unnecessary story scripts have to go.

Purpl3:
Speak for yourself man.

why the pic? No one there seems excited. They are just taking about it, with some focused on other things like Xia Li and Asuka.

Purpl3:
Roman Reigns head of the table Gimmick is what you're calling natural?
Looks like you're being conflicted on something. There is no single wrestler in WWE currently that isn't a Gimmick and many of them are killing it from Edge to Seth to Chad...

I knew Reigns would be an issue, but still he's more natural than gimmicked you would agree. Edge? Lol. I can't take him serious now, and he was awesome when he came back till before Wrestlemania. He talked and acted natural and connected with the fans that way. It's so sad how he's being booked now. Chad is killing it? Lol. A comedy act that says "shoooosh" every week for absolutely no reason. He even has it written on his shirt. I remember when Vince stood in front of a camera and said "the era of say your prayers and eat your vitamins is now passe" and he wasn't going insult our intelligence anymore as fans; so much for that.

Purpl3:
As long as Pro wrestling is concerned there should and will always be gimmicks, the main issue fans have is when you try to insult their intelligence.
Cody is a walking breathing Gimmick, he is getting all those reactions cos WWE was his home and he is having sort of a prodigal son welcome party. Seth's gimmick is also helping to elevate Cody cos Seth is very good at being annoying, don't make it all about Cody.

show me one gimmick that does not insult people's intelligence then I'll drop the argument. Cody left as Stardust. The last time I checked Stardust wasn't receiving this sort of reaction. And it's 3 weeks now. Seth is unwatchable. I don't know who can take him serious. Thanks a lot Vince. You ruined my fav wrestler. Did you also hear that Seth and Vince were in a heated argument over his gimmick, some months ago? That says a lot. Cody is being natural. From the way he talks and all. Brock is more natural, same with Roman. Riddle is not, Chad Gable is not, you can easily tell the heavy gimmicks from the natural wrestlers.

Purpl3:
Check again Gee...it interests alot of people, Sonya is a great heel and a very good talker....she was a bit rattled by the crowd yesterday but they saved it.
And no one is seeing Bianca as an underdog anymore Gee.

let's look at it logically. Who wants to watch a fresh champion, who has yet to prove much face off against a failed wrestler turned manager(that's she's not even great at) in a lackluster build. She surprise attacked her and the other got revenge and was fined 1 dollar. How is that suppose to interest anyone? Now compare that with something from the attitude era. And you talk about how good a heel she is. Lol. She was a good one against Naomi, but over the past months management and Pearce have drained her heel power away. She is a joke now. The feud is lackluster. I'd like to hear what other guys on this thread think.
Yeah Bianca is not a underdog. That's what I said.

Purpl3:
Just clocked that Bianca broke the recorded of having the smallEST fine in WWE history...

that was abuse of power by Pearce. The feud itself is not interesting me ND I don't think it interests anyone. The honeymoon period is over. She has beaten the Four Horsewomen. She's no longer the underdog. She's now at the top. It's time to draw money or else, you know what Vince will do.

Purpl3:
WWE RAW REVIEWS RECAPS AND REACTIONS


Mystery Meat
Seth Rollins set off Raw this week pulling the card we figured he had at the top of his deck: He wasn’t ready for Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania. Cody knew his opponent but Setuh didn’t know his, therefore Cody had a competitive advantage. While Seth is a crazy villain, he’s also correct. Cody doesn’t think any of that makes a difference but he’s ready to see Seth at WrestleMania Backlash regardless.
The opening promo battle between the two meandered a bit for my taste. The ultimate point of their back and forth about the Rhodes family, Cody’s last six years, their Mania match, and their upcoming match, was Seth challenging Cody to take on an opponent of Seth’s choosing. Cody didn’t come back to WWE to duck or dodge challenges, so of course he accepted.
For anyone questioning if Cody is Raw’s number one good guy, this promo, along with the crowd’s response to the American Nightmare, answers your question pretty emphatically.
Our main event saw Cody wrestle Kevin Owens, Seth’s best friend. KO came to the ring, already filled with frustration over this Ezekiel nonsense, but more on that later.
KO and Cody started the match actually wrestling. This eventually devolved into a slugfest and KO taking control after hurting Cody’s back. KO worked that back a majority of the match. Backbreakers, suplexes, powerbombs, and anything else he thought of to cripple Rhodes.
The second act saw Cody shake off that pain and withstand the punishment. Kevin tried everything to keep the American Nightmare down, but to no avail. Cody blocked the Pop up Powerbomb with a Frankensteiner, and when the match went to the outside, that’s when trouble struck.
Seth Rollins sensed his plan fraying at the seams, so he made his way to ringside to ensure it didn’t. Eventually, that backfired on Seth. After Cody survived a massive Frog Splash, thanks to his foot on the bottom rope, KO went to pull out his very last drop. Now, the outside factor here was Seth, who vocally cheered on his pal while also questioning why Cody kept surviving.
While not blaming it on KO directly, he did have slight shade for his supposed best friend. I don't know about you, but I don’t tell my best friend to “figure it out” while trying to conquer a seemingly impossible task. But, to be fair, I’m not a psycho.
KO thought he figured it out. A powerbomb to the ring apron probably finishes off Cody. Instead, Cody countered with a back body drop that put Owens on the outside of the ring. While the ref issued his count, Seth but his nose in again, this time telling his best friend to “get his fat ass up.” Well, that was that for Kevin, who walked out but not before telling Seth “this is your match. I don’t need this!”
Cody walked away with the W in a messy and unsatisfying finish. Seth, seemingly as frustrated as the rest of us, attacked Cody from behind as Raw went off the air.
Meh. I wanted an actual finish here and as of now, this story between both men isn’t anything special. Maybe it will get there, but the next premium live event isn’t far away.


Remember Me?
You know what I love about Edge? Everything he does now incorporates his own continuity. WWE isn’t exactly known for remembering its past storylines, but it always makes me grin when at least one wrestler superstar remembers not just what happened last week, but what happened several weeks ago.
While the initial reveal that Damian Priest can do spooky ish during his match with AJ Styles was lackluster, Edge’s promo damn near saved it in retrospect. Plain and simple, Edge is capable of such mind games because he’s the same guy who ran with The Brood and The Ministry of Darkness. How he can pass those powers to Damian wasn’t a part of his promo, but I let it slide because Edge did the work.
Of course Edge can do those types of mind games. He did them for years as part of two horror-inspired factions. Edge used our disbelief and displeasure with last week as fuel to comment on the audience’s terrible attention span.
It’s that same fickleness—shoutout to BD—that Edge saw as fans wanted him back for years only to complain when he finally showed up. He’s here too much, he’s not here enough. He wrestles every week or he’s a part-timer.
Edge said kill all that noise and decided to do him. While stating the purpose of the group, again, wasn’t necessary it made sense considering Edge taking us on a trip down memory lane.
To put an exclamation point on this story, Edge and Priest used more spooky ish to attack AJ in the locker room and enact severe punishment on Styles’ left arm.
This is my favorite thing on Raw right now and it’s all because Edge isn’t insulting anyone’s intelligence.


The Rest
WHO WANTS TO HEAR ZEKE SPEAK?
Chad Gable? And Kevin Owens? In a segment? Gold. This entire lie detector segment was incredible from start to finish.
KO hired Chad to administer the lie detector test, paid him in Canadian dollars, and the two made magic.
Elias was there too. And yes, despite what the lie detector test said, I’m still calling him Elias. Anyway, Elias/Ezekiel played straight man, answering the yes and no questions and proving that yes, he is Ezekiel. I loved Ezekiel asking the crowd “Who wants to hear Zeke speak?” because it was so silly and so perfect. The fact he did it in the same cadence as “Who wants to walk with Elias?” was the cherry on top of this absurd sundae.
Kevin refused to listen to the test and confronted Ezekiel. No, we didn’t get a match between the two, but we did get the prelude to one.
Instead, Zeke and Chad locked up. The latter planned to beat the truth out of the former if he lied, and the match was his chance to back up those very big words.
Chad and Zeke wrestled a pretty good match, too. Truthfully, it’s pretty hard for Chad to do any wrong at this point, so that comes as no surprise. “Ezekiel” picked up his “first” W as result of a DQ. With Chad in an ankle submission and teetering on the verge of tapping, Otis somehow snuck up on everyone and bulldozed “Zeke.”
Props to everyone involved. They took something ridiculous and made it entertaining and, dare I say, compelling.

Tag Team Trickery
During this match, I thought about differences between this one and any other tango between The Street Profits and RK-Bro. Besides the fact the Profits can’t keep losing big tag matches. Especially to the same team.
And the match played out the way it normally does: The Profits beat up on Riddle, Riddle has a hope spot, makes the hot tag to Randy Orton, and Randy dominates. Then came the wrinkle in the story that put me in full Calvin Candie gif mode.
Riddle sets up the RKO while Montez Ford motions to the back for The Uso’s to show up and show out. Cue that familiar “Day One” tune and both members of RK-Bro turn away from the match.
The Profits take advantage. Ford dropkicks Randy off the apron, Angelo Dawkins surprises Riddle with a bum rush attack, whips him to the corner and catches him on his shoulders when Riddle goes for a counter.
This sets up their finisher, and The Profits actually walk away from Raw with a damn W. Color me a lot of things, but shocked is the main shade at the moment.
The Profits took to the mic after the match and said the music cue was their idea. Their point? Show RK-Bro there’s more than one tag team to fear in WWE.
I like the aggression from The Profits and more importantly, I love someone using that wrestling trope as a crutch for their opponents. We all know wrestlers aren’t immune to hearing theme music. Especially theme music of their chief bad guys.
Wherever this thing between RK-Bro and The Uso’s go, The Profits, like Outkast back at the 1995 Source Awards, have something to say about it.

Pronounce You Committed
The Commitment ceremony was great. That’s all you need to know.
Okay maybe you need to know more stuff. R-Truth is incredible, as he carried most of the segment by playing to and with the crowd. Sasha Banks and Naomi, as Tamina’s bridesmaids—yay continuity!—were great as emotional wrecks. Sasha in particular wiped away so many tears and caught so many vapors.
Tamina swapped husbands and a bride, Reggie and Dana Brooke went all in on their kiss, allowing the former to pin his new bride for her championship. Tamina then pinned Reggie, Tozawa pinned Tamina, and finally, Dana pinned Tozawa to get us back to square one.
Purveyors of joy should watch it immediately.

Your Winner...and New...
Theory—still a stupid name—is your new United States champ. Was the outcome ever in doubt? Of course not. We all saw this coming from miles away since Theory has Finn Balor’s number.
The two wrestled an even match until Theory issued a pretty neckbreaker on the outside of the ring. Finn nursed that neck injury the rest of the match. It affected his ability to gain any momentum, and caught up to him when he missed the Coup de Grace. The jolt from the miss shook his whole body, including his neck, and gave Austin Theory the opening for an ATL.
Out came the locker room—some of them—to celebrate the new U.S. champ. And then came Vince, who posed for a selfie with his young mentee.
The match didn’t do much for me, which was probably due to the fact the ending was telegraphed weeks ago.
And, as is customary now, poor Finn.

It’s Not Me, It’s You
It finally happened. After a brief interlude last week, Rhea Ripley turned on Liv Morgan after they lost their tag title match to the Boss & Glow. For me, because it was obvious where it was going, the match itself felt like prolonging the inevitable. It was fine by, but it played out similar beats to their last encounter.
Sasha and Naomi overpower Liv, Rhea evens the odds, Rhea and Liv can’t get on the same page, Sasha and Naomi own real estate on the same page, and the tag champs win because they communicate better their opponents.
Post match, Rhea called her partner a failure and clubbed Liv in the back. Yes, clubbed. The beat down continued until Rhea simply got tired of swinging and walked away.
An official heel turn for the Nightmare (not the American one) and for this writer it’s about damn time. Rhea has a natural...edge...that gets dulled as a goodie good.

Consequences and Repercussions
Sonya Deville came out this week to talk some trash to Bianca Belair. A for effort but whew, the delivery just wasn’t there. Sonya seemed genuinely rattled by the Buffalo crowd, and cut a plodding promo as a result. The segment was almost saved when Bianca entered the chat and threatened the WWE official. Of course, nothing came of it, as Sonya told Bianca she would “lose title quickly” if The EST KOD’d an official of WWE.
Roughness aside, we got a date for their championship match: next week in Bianca’s hometown of Knoxville, TN. I’m with it because Bianca, duh, and I’m curious to see Sonya in action after three years.
To make matters worse for Sonya, Adam Pearce informed her the “higher ups” are looking into her conduct while Bianca was fined all of $1 for laying hands on a WWE official.
That little bit of backstage business made everything in the ring just a tad better.

Veer Keeps Coming
Remember when we were told for weeks Veer was coming and he didn’t come? Now he’s on TV every week! This week, he beat up on local jobber Jeff Brooks, who was then carried out of the ring on a stretcher.
They’re selling Veer as a monster so, yeah, I get it. Mission accomplished.

Arm Wrestling Entertainment
Bobby Lashley and Omos arm wrestle next week to see who is the all mightiest.

Abrupt and unsatisfying ending aside, Raw was enjoyable this week! I wrote a lot already so that’s the most you get.

Grade: B

AEW is absolutely no minor league in the sense of quality wrestling and wrestlers. Look at how one of their former employee is getting crowd reaction in the big fish company. E shock me o, make I no lie. Went from getting booed to getting cheered heavily. Anyway it's not magic. He's being himself. Compare him with that other one standing in the ring with him for that promo. It's so polarising. One is natural, the other is a gimmick. Natural is better and gimmicks should never have been introduced in the first place. It did more harm than good and ultimately ruined wrestling. I'm talking quite different than what you would expect because I like to focus on things that actually matter. I want segments on RAW to be like segments with Cody. I want wrestlers to be like him, real, natural and not fake actors with ridiculous gimmicks; which NXT 2.0 is filled with by the way. Cody is getting as big and even bigger reactions than guys like Roman. I wish him well, but yet again Vince should adjust his product to look more real at the same time entertaining.

pu7pl3:
WWE RAW REVIEWS RECAPS AND REACTIONS


Wrestlers x Superstars
Walk with me for a bit. Cody Rhodes and The Miz created an interesting angle for their match this week on Raw. Miz, jealous that Cody got all the social media attention during WrestleMania, didn’t take kindly to his guest hogging the spotlight on his show. This might be a shock Miz, but Cody is a little self-indulgent. Cody used that opportunity to, again, state his purpose: Getting the Undisputed WWE Universal belt.
Miz, in a line that sounds directly from Vince McMahon’s lips, noted it’s a “title” and a “belt is what holds up your pants.” Cody dismissed that and kept going. Cody talked about coming to WWE to battle the best “wrestlers.” Miz countered with “superstars!” Cody retorted with “superstar wrestlers.”
That one segment quickly established an AEW vs. WWE vibe without calling it that. On a larger scale, it established Cody is in WWE but not really a part of WWE. Miz symbolizes WWE. He is WWE. Miz is, more or less, everything Cody rebelled against when he started AEW. These two are diametrically opposed and see the game very differently.
It’s like Pusha T and Drake. Sure, they’re both rappers, but they have very different goals with Hip Hop along with juxtaposing views of what a good rapper does or doesn’t do. I love philosophical battles and Miz vs. Cody is, at its core, dripping in different perspectives.
The two put on a fine match. Nothing to write home about except the moment where Cody poked Miz in the eye. Is that Cody leaning into the heel aspects of his Homelander cosplay? Maybe. The WWE crowd is eating him up right now though, so displaying any heel tactics befuddles me. OR, it’s laying seeds for the future.
Either way, thee biggest moment was Seth Rollins challenging Cody to a rematch and Cody accepting. Not sure if we’ll get the same “wrestler vs. superstar” battle between these two cats, but they have an interesting story to tell as well.


Title vs. Title...Eventually
RK-Bro made relatively quick work of Alpha Academy. You know how these matches work at this point: Riddle works from underneath, Randy gets the hot tag, match over after Randy hits his big moves. Before RK-Bro walked out of the arena, The Uso’s arrived. The Bloodline members made their way to the ring and challenged RK-Bro to a title unification match.
But wait, there’s more!
After a lot of stalling from the four men, The Street Profits hit the ring. Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins stated they should get title shots. In fact, they have no problem seeing Jimmy and Jey for a title unification match after defeating RK-Bro. Randy said “nah.” Instead, the Viper insisted the Profits and The Uso’s get it on this week.
And get it on they did.
This wasn’t about contrasting styles since both teams love to fly but can brawl with the best of them. But the match established Jimmy and Jey as a smarter tag team. Randy and Riddle keep winning because collectively, they outsmart everyone. If The Uso’s want any shot at those Raw tag titles, they have to be just as clever if not more so. It helps that they’re ruthless also, which is Randy’s calling card in Raw’s tag division.
To that end, The Profits had their chances. Once the match hit its third act and broke down—as most tag matches do these days—the Profits of the Street hit not one but two big moves. Their Doomsday Device finisher and Montez’s Frog Splash. The former resulted in a kick out while Jimmy broke up the latter.
Shortly after that, Montez missed The Uso’s make the quick tag. Losing track of the legal man, Montez found himself on the wrong end of the 1D.
Someday, soon I assume, RK-Bro and The Uso’s will defend their tag titles against each other. WWE didn’t announce the when, but WrestleMania Backlash seems appropriate.
The Uso’s and The Profits wrestled the best match of the night. But what to do with Angelo and Montez? How many shots at glory can they get before they either break up or fans stop believing in them? They see the two teams on top of their respective brands have an aggression they lack. Maybe adopting that puts them over the top. It’s just weird keeping them in this position for this long where they keep talking the best game around but can’t back it up.



The Rest
Here Comes a New Challenger...
Sonya Deville is Bianca Belair’s new challenger. After Bianca embarrassed Queen Zelina while the latter bides time until Carmella comes back form her honeymoon, Sonya came down to the ring. The WWE Official heaped praises and flowers on the Raw Women’s champ, and mentioned the litany of potential challengers to her title. Bianca, who fashions herself the EST, is wiling to fight whomever whenever. Sonya told her to sign on the dotted line and her unknown opponent will reveal themselves.
Bianca turned her back on Deville and got a beatdown for her troubles.
I’m digging this because it’s a new match with new-ish blood. Bianca being so over with the people primes her for a story against the establishment, and it’s not the first time Sonya abused her power.

Veer Keeps Coming
Quickness vs. power. That was the story when Veer and Dominik wrestled performed this week. Dom wanted revenge after Veer took out Rey Mysterio last week. For all of about five seconds, Veer dominated and young Mysterio’s quest for vengeance went unfulfilled. In fact, it was so unfulfilled that a stretcher carried Dom out of the arena after Veer kept choking him after the 1-2-3 ding. Why? Because he strikes fear into the heart of any man.
Hey, I didn’t say it, Veer did. You want to tell a man that big with hair that magnificent that he’s wrong?

Protocol Audible
If you watched last week, you know Liv Morgan and Rhea Ripley talked their way into a tag title match even though they lost their title qualifier match. I almost threw a flag on the play but it looked like the prelude to Rhea turning on Liv and possibly hooking up with Edge’s disciples. So I allowed it.
But Rhea is in “protocol” this week, so Liv took on Naomi instead.
This was a fun match between two really athletic women who are also good wrestlers. It wasn’t a long match at all, but like I said, fun for what it was and the time it had. Naomi got the W and celebrated in the middle of the ring with Sasha Banks. Any time you put Sasha on my tv, I’m happy.

KO is Incensed
Tommaso Ciampa made his official debut this week! Elias Ezekiel interrupted Ciampa, and Kevin Owens wasn’t far behind. KO feels like Mugatu in Zoolander when it comes to Ezekiel: He’s the only one who notices the obvious and questions how no one else sees this is just Elias. Even Ciampa is in on the hustle!
Next week, KO is putting Ezekiel through a lie detector test. It sounds silly but these two will make it work.

Bliss
Props to WWE for dressing up their backstage area to look like a gentleman’s club. Kinda. But I take those props away for not shooting at a club in Detroit for at least an exterior shot. Seeing R-Truth, Reggie, and Tozawa walk out of a random door backstage into what is clearly the backstage hallway with one velvet rope looked cheap. WWE programming is better when they take things out in the real world or at least places that look like the real world.
Tamina and Dana Brooke’s bachelorette party faired a bit better, if only a bit. But it devolved into Nikki A.S.H. breaking the agreed upon truce, and going for a pin on Dana. All hell broke loose, R-Truth brought everyone back together, and announced he is officiating a dual wedding ceremony next week.
Dammit, this 24-7 stuff won me over. Especially on a show like this where the actual serious stuff fell flat. The double wedding should be insane in all the best ways.

Colossal Explanation
Bobby Lashley wanted an explanation for MVP’s treachery and he got one. MVP, accompanied by a dapper Omos, put it bluntly: It was MVP who made Lashley “All Mighty” and if not for MVP,” there is no Bobby Lashley. Lashley having a WrestleMania moment without him was insulting.
Lashley disagreed, obviously, had some harsh words of his own for MVP, then challenged Omos. But, the main course is MVP and Lashley is about due for a snack. This is right out of Streets of Rage 2, with Omos playing the role of a mid boss and MVP as the main boss. Will Lashley get through Omos to get to his version of Mr. Big?

Now You See a Match, Now You Don’t
This was the worst moment of the night for me. Edge sent Damian Priest to handle his light work in the form of AJ Styles. AJ focused on doing everything but kill Priest as a way to get to Edge. And Priest showed a newfound edge and comfort in the ring without worrying his silly darker half gimmick.
But right when Priest took control of the match and had AJ dead to rights, the lights went out and Priest kneeled in the middle of the ring. That blue spotlight hit the Priestly one, eliciting a devilish grin and then just like that, we go to commercial.
Match over. No explanation from commentary, no explanation from anyone. The match just ended. Did Damian walk out? No clue. Did he teleport like a Power Ranger? Maybe. Just nothing.
Whatever it was stunted Raw’s momentum for the night, while turning one of the brand’s most interesting angles into an annoyance.

What’s in a Name?
Austin Theory is now just Theory. Why? Mr. McMahon believes “Austin” doesn’t fit him anymore. And within the storyline, it makes complete sense. Outside of that storyline? It’s silly. Theory sounds like a Polytechnic course, not a wrestler. And next week, Theory takes on Finn Balor for the United States title. Guess who is losing that match? Poor Finn

Let’s not bury the lede: This was a boring episode of Monday Night Raw. There were a few bright spots but for the most part, it left me uninspired, unenthused, and underwhelmed. To answer that famous question from Gladiator, no, I was not entertained.
Also, not for nothing, but WWE needs to figure out what they’re doing about their Undisputed WWE Universal Championship situation. Another Raw without the main heavyweight champion is just unacceptable. We got plenty of those on the road to WrestleMania and at this rate, we might get a lot more. The show suffers without the main champion and it’s a void no one else can fill. Or, is given the chance to fill.

Grade: C-

I think that's just an early sign. Cody will have no option than too be fully indoctrinated back into the WWE system, else he loses his job. Too bad, there is no AEW vs WWE going on here, it's going to be just WWE at the end. He still seems to have the freedom to do what he wants. Let's see to the next 6 months from now.

Blame the people watching and supporting it. Mediocrity is being encouraged on a daily. They can't make naturally funny skits but depend on sex to gain viewers. Same with their music videos.