The return of the Authority brought with it a pretty brutal edition of Raw. There were many reasons why this Raw was terrible which came on the heels of at least an interesting Raw to close out 2014. There was a change to Royal Rumble main event, the continuation of terrible booking for Roman Reigns and end of a disappointing Ambrose and Wyatt feud. It really was disappointing and for those who sampled NJPW they had to be scratching their heads. I did not think Wrestle Kingdom was as awesome as others did but in comparison to what we saw on Monday night, it was mind-blowing difference in the products. So let’s dive into it and figure out where this is all heading.
1. Roman Reigns Continues To Be Killed By WWE’s Pushing of Him: People blame Roman Reigns for not getting over but in reality, he has been handcuffed and I am not sure anyone could get over with the crap he has been given. Booking him against the Big Show is the first part of the problem. Name me the last person Big Show actually got over in a feud. The WWE is booking him strong against the guy in Reigns they are trying to push to the moon. Every time Reigns has to sell to Big Show, it kills him a little more.
There could be some debate about that but not much that makes sense. What can’t be debated is terrible writing that has been given to Reigns in terms of promos. People talk about his lack of ability to get over a promo. I suggest to you that you need to have the material to have a chance to get over. The latest Reigns literal Superman promo was the worst yet and trust me you can BELIEVE THAT!
2. Seth Rollins Added to Royal Rumble Main Event: Perhaps the most debatable point in recent months is if Rollins is over as a heel. WWE has booked him into the Royal Rumble Championship match with John Cena and Brock Lesnar. No one really wanted to see Lesnar vs. Cena III straight up for the title. So adding Rollins to the mix is interesting and does make sense based on how the second Cena vs. Lesnar match ended.
Maybe I am in the minority but I have a hard time buying Seth Rollins as a serious threat to become the World Champion. I can’t imagine Rollins as the Champion in the Main Event of Wrestlemania 31. Perhaps putting him in his title match is a step to making folks like me buy Rollins as a legit contender for the WWE World Championship. The Authority returning does not help him though as in their absence at least he was booked as the top heel. In the large shadows of Triple H, Stephanie not to mention Brock and Heyman, he quickly becomes irrelevant.
3. The End of Ambrose vs. Wyatt: When it first was set up even with the wacko hologram, many people myself included, still thought this could be a great feud. In the end, we saw some good to great matches but not a great feud. Tonight’s ambulance match was ok but seemed out of place on this horrible show. It also didn’t stand out from any of the other brawl-based matches they have had. Wyatt got the better of this feud in terms of wins and losses. Ambrose who was very hot coming into this feud comes out of it not nearly as hot. It really failed to deliver what fans had expected going into this feud.
Wyatt seems to be being protected for some big Wrestlemania program. The rumors have been if Taker comes back, he would face Bray Wyatt. Which is a wrong move considering Sting will also be on Wrestlemania as well facing Triple H by all indications. Fans have clamored for a Sting vs. Taker match for over a decade. This will make both matches fall flat. What about Dean what is his future for Wrestlemania? I have no idea other than if Seth is not your Champion perhaps another match with him for the briefcase at Mania would work. In the end, Wyatt and Ambrose the first time around did not set the world on fire.
4. John Cena Attempt To Get Him Over Number 1.734.204 fails: John Cena was once again a focus for the Authority as they attempt to build sympathy for John Cena who that is just not possible to do at this stage. After being forced to bring back the Authority to save Edge, now in the conclusion of Raw former members of Team Cena were fired after being screwed with earlier in the night by the Authority.
Ziggler was booked in I-C title match with Wade Barrett by Triple H. Ziggler would win the match and Barrett would have a vicious attack on his shoulder. Corporate Kane came out and informed us that this was actually a two out of three falls match. Barrett would win quickly in the second fall. Ziggler would put up a good fight but eventually lose. Barrett wins the I-C Title, which in reality is actually nice, as he never lost the title.
Rowan was booked against Harper with special guest refs the Stooges 2.0 Jamie Noble and Joey Mercury. They screwed Rowan and joined in on a three-way beat down with Harper on Rowan. While Ryback originally booked in a one on one match with Seth Rollins ended up being in a handicap match with Kane and Seth. He would fight hard but eventually lose.
They all end up fired and John Cena is made to be held responsible for these people being fired. It is another failed attempt to build sympathy for John Cena. Wrestling fans have seen these firing angles to many times to take them seriously. Cena is just not a sympathetic character at this point. Will see what corny way John Cena saves the jobs of his supposed friends.
5. Bad Gimmicks Continue to Be Bad: The New Day, The Ascension and Adam Rose. They all suck for different reasons but are all proof of the fact the WWE can’t come up with interesting gimmicks in 2015 for mid-card or lower card talents. What all of these gimmicks have in common is they were dead literally a couple weeks after being launched. The latest being the Ascension who have become a joke by their own hand comparing themselves to Demolition and Road Warriors.
Honestly it is so terrible what we have seen lately if you are in NXT you should consider yourself fortunate and not be in any hurry to get up to the main roster.
It’s a new year but Raw is stuck in the same place drowning in it’s own crap at this point. For those hoping for Daniel Bryan to be some savior to all of this it should be noted there was zero reference to his announcement last week that he is returning in the Royal Rumble. That is not a good sign for the Yes movement.
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