The WWE universe has just about recovered from mourning the demise of Jeri-KO.
Who am I kidding? No we haven’t.
But nevertheless, things move on and there was a lot of interest and many questions heading into this past week in WWE. What’s next for Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho? And after Randy Orton’s shock relinquishing of his WrestleMania match, who will go on to face Bray Wyatt at the showcase of the immortals?
We got answers to these questions and much more over the past 7 days, but were these answers good or bad…?
#1 Good – Owens promo
I’ll start with the good this week and with the opening segment of Monday night Raw which saw Kevin Owens cut an in-ring promo. The first thing to point out is that Owens was universally booed by the audience this week, there were no cheers whatsoever as fans have turned completely against Owens for his actions last week against Chris Jericho. He is now 100% heel and that was further established in his dark, gritty promo this past Monday.
Owens came across as a cold-hearted individual and he feels more legitimate than he did a few weeks ago, there were no fun and games, it was strictly business and there was no reason for the fans to be on his side. As much fun as Jeri-KO were, this is exactly what Owens needs to establish himself as a dangerous, top-level heel in the company.
#2 Good – Intense Usos
Another great promo this week came from The Usos on Smackdown Live.
Not normally known for their mic work, Jimmy & Jey impressed when given the chance to talk.
After American Alpha had won their match against Breezango, The Usos came through the crowd and cut an intense promo where they mocked the Tag Team Champions and threatened that they would soon be taking their belts.
They also kept a cowardly, heelish element to their promo by staying behind the barricade so American Alpha could not get to them.This was by far The Usos best promo to date and sets the wheels in motion for their expected WrestleMania feud with American Alpha.
#3 Good – Strowman impresses
Who else feared the worst when Braun Strowman vs Big Show was advertised for Raw? Especially when it became evident that it would be closing the show. But, shockingly, it turned out to be a great match, not a classic by any means but certainly a lot better than most people were expecting.
There was some decent chain wrestling, which was surprising in a match with two giants, and both Strowman and Show looked in great shape – Strowman even did a kip-up!
Braun Strowman continues to improve and impress with every passing week and Big Show looks to be in the best shape of his career, this match was certainly a pleasant surprise this week.
#4 Good – Pete Dunne vs Mark Andrews
For those who do not follow NXT and didn’t watch the U.K. Championship tournament on the WWE Network, I highly recommend checking out this week’s NXT match between Pete Dunne and Mark Andrews.
Dunne lit up the aforementioned U.K. Championship tournament and continued to impress on his NXT debut along with his long-time friend, Mark Andrews. The two Brits have faced each other many times and have developed a fantastic chemistry, so much so that you’re almost guaranteed a great match whenever they are in the ring together.
While it’s great to see competitors of the UKCT featured on NXT, it’ll be interesting to see what the long-term future holds for the British wrestlers from the tournament.
#5 Good – Aries is coming to 205 Live
As has been rumoured since he joined the Cruiserweight commentary team, Austin Aries will soon be joining the division in an in-ring capacity. After reportedly being cleared to return to the ring, a vignette aired on this week’s 205 Live promoting Aries’ upcoming debut on the show.
‘The greatest man that ever lived’ will certainly add some experience and much needed star power to the division and an anticipated match against Neville at WrestleMania already has the fans excited for Aries’ imminent arrival.
#1 Bad – Naomi relinquishes her Women’s Championship
Just over a week after winning her first ever championship in WWE, Naomi was forced to relinquish her title after suffering the most untimely of injuries.
In an extremely real and emotional promo at the beginning of this week’s Smackdown Live, Naomi would hand over her championship belt to General Manager, Daniel Bryan, but not before vying to regain the title when she returns.
Although this is clearly a hard time for Naomi, it could be a blessing in disguise for her as the fans will be firmly behind her when she recovers. Also, if she is able to recover in time, regaining her championship in her hometown of Orlando, Florida at WrestleMania would make for a great story.
#2 Bad – Ziggler again
I’m afraid Dolph Ziggler makes the ‘bad’ list once again this week after a truly awful backstage promo this past Tuesday on Smackdown. Short promos were aired throughout Tuesday’s broadcast of the ten competitors who would go on to compete in the battle royal which would determine Bray Wyatt’s opponent for WrestleMania.
To be fair, none of these promos were particularly good, but Dolph’s stood out for all the wrong reasons.
After cutting a bland promo on how he refuses to be replaced by the new crop of talent in WWE, he would then superkick a green screen, before exclaiming “replace that”.
It was painfully bad and just when you thought Dolph’s heel turn couldn’t get any worse, he superkicks a green screen… a green screen! Oh, Dolph, what happened to you?
#3 Bad – Battle Royal botch
As for the battle royal, it was ok-ish. People like Mojo Rawley or Kalisto were never going to headline WrestleMania so it didn’t get interesting until we got down to the final few, but I guess that’s true of most battle royals.
The finish of the match was somewhat of a cop-out as it ended in a draw when the final two competitors, Luke Harper and AJ Styles, hit the floor simultaneously. At least that was the plan, in reality, it was clear to everyone, including Stevie Wonder, that Styles’ feet hit the floor first and that Harper was the clear winner of the match.
I understand that this mistake put WWE in a tough position as things didn’t go according to plan, so I can sympathise with them. However, that didn’t stop this from being a very awkward conclusion to this week’s Smackdown Live.
#4 Bad – Belittled Bayley
Bayley’s Championship victory last week was somewhat overshadowed by other events, so it was important to make her look like a star this week in order to establish her as a legitimate champion.
Instead, we got the opposite when the momentum-stopping, superstar-crushing commissioner of Monday Night Raw, Stephanie McMahon, came out to confront Bayley this past Monday. Steph would belittle Bayley’s accomplishment and ask her to return the championship as she hadn’t won it fairly, then instead of Bayley standing up for herself, Sasha Banks would come out to stand up for her.
I understand that this is part of a storyline, but that doesn’t stop Bayley from looking weak, while also undermining the Championship.
#5 Bad – Reigns is a heel!
Roman Reigns has been a heel in the eyes of the fans for a while now, but now even his actions are cowardly and paint him as a heel.
This past Monday, he firstly resorted to using a steel chair against Gallows & Anderson when he was getting double-teamed by them, although he had earlier agreed to face the Tag Team Champions in a handicap match.
Then, he would try to cheap attack Braun Strowman once his match with Big Show had finished.
Although Strowman would turn the tables on Reigns and end up standing tall, this was certainly a questionable act for a supposed babyface and wasn’t the brave hero side of Roman that we usually see.
Is this the beginning of Reigns’ much awaited heel turn, or is this just more illogical booking on behalf of WWE?
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