PWP Nation editor, Zack Heydorn, discusses five things we learned from the 5/22/17 edition of Monday Night Raw.
5. The voice of Elias Samson is going to get him over, big time.
Everyone heard those boos right? When Elias Samson started singing in the middle of the ring before his match with Dean Ambrose? Those boos were louder than a Roman Reigns reaction. And people hate Roman Reigns. Tonight’s reaction for Sampson is something to keep an eye on moving forward as it was impossible to ignore. Sure fire boos for a sure fire heel isn’t something that we get on a regular basis during Raw. This was refreshing and if other crowds do the same, Elias Samson is quickly going to be the most over heel on the Raw roster.
4. Finn Balor got the endorsement of a lifetime from Paul Heyman
If you were worried at all about Finn Balor’s push or place in the WWE, stop worrying. Paul Heyman put those worries to bed with a simple three minute promo. In a surprise visit, Heyman confronted Balor in the ring on Raw. After dismissing four of Brock Lesnar’s potential opponents, Heyman outright advocated for and told the world that Finn Balor is the only credible opponent for Lesnar because he is the “best in-ring performer” that WWE has today. At no other point since Lesnar’s return to the company has a WWE star been put on the same pedestal as the Beast. Heyman propped Balor right up there tonight. It remains to be seen who will win the Fatal-5-Way Extreme Rules match in two weeks. Maybe it will be Balor, maybe it won’t. But tonight’s promo by Heyman solidifies the fact that Finn Balor will be a major impact player on the Raw brand.
3. Alexa Bliss = fifth member of the four horsewomen of NXT
Look, plain and simple, Alexa Bliss is outperforming Sasha Banks, Bayley, Becky Lynch, and even Charlotte. It’s not really all that close either. Bliss has taken the ball that Vince gave her and is still running down the field with it. Her promo tonight on Raw was delivered in expert fashion that not only furthered the “is Bayley capable of going extreme” story, but she told it in a way that boosted her character. She consistently does that with everything single chance that she gets. Sasha, Bayley, and Charlotte sometimes seem overly thrilled with the fact that they just made it to the WWE. It’s clear that to Alexa Bliss being in the WWE isn’t the end goal, making her time worth it is.
2. The Hardy Boyz need to do more
Tonights match between Sheamus and Matt Hardy was fun. Overall though, I’m underwhelmed with the Hardy’s since their return at WrestleMania 33. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a big fan of Matt and Jeff, but they just need to be doing more on a regular basis during Monday Night Raw. Sure, they don’t have the greatest opponents right now in Sheamus and Cesaro. That said, when you have as much star power that the Hardy’s have that shouldn’t matter. The WWE needs to give Matt and Jeff time to truly connect with fans again. Right now, they connect on nostalgia alone. That is good for a while, but the Dudley Boyz would tell you, it wears off. Whether its a promo or a major match, the Hardy Boyz need prominent time so they can show what they do and highlight who they are in 2017 to the WWE Universe.
1. The tag team main event of Roman Reigns/Seth Rollins vs. Bray Wyatt/Samoa Joe sold Extreme Rules
This type of tag team match is one that we see regularly when upcoming PPV’s are based around multiple stars in one match. The good guys team up to fight the bad guys and then go their separate ways for the big PPV match. Those matches have a lot of star power but rarely do they actually sell the upcoming event. Tonight’s main event did. The four performers were able to tell a story that made sense for the match itself while also laying a foundation to build off of when they compete against each other at Extreme Rules. The dissension between Reigns and Rollins will be a point to watch next week as they go one on one and we’ll likely see dissension between Wyatt and Joe as well in their match with Finn Balor. The upcoming fatal-5-way match at Extreme Rules is already big with the winner facing Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship. The foundation laid tonight makes it bigger and the match itself more exciting to watch.