Kam

I was thinking about how strange that was! Speaking of Sami...I can't remember the last time he had a noteworthy win. I thought that was a weird promo from Natalya, it sounded like she was going to turn heel...the proceeds to try and cry because it's the anniversary of her dad's death. I'm assuming she got some boos as fans thought she was just using it for the angle. Sasha was a nice surprise although I have to admit it felt awkward when the Canadian crowd were chanting 'thank you Sasha' while she beat down Natalya :oops: Dash Wilder looked like a chump when Truth pinned Dawson. He literally just sat there whilst Truth could barely get up - why didn't he pin him again? Someone screwed up there. I quite like Elias as the champ, although I don't expect him to hold on to it for too long. WWE seem to love doing these losing streaks - Finn Balor, now Rey. Asuka and Sane got almost zero crowd reaction :sad: Alexander/McIntyre was excellent, that Claymore at the end looked brutal! I hope they make an effort with King of the Ring this year, oh and PLEASE do not have Baron Corbin get past his first match :)

I'm not liking the Reigns angle, well, I like the idea of a mystery attacker but the segments come across a little too cringey. They keep pushing Joe like a beast then job him out...it's getting harder and harder to take him seriously. He looked like he was going to rip Reigns head off...then has to act all concerned when Reigns almost gets hit by a car. Speaking of cringey...they went all out on the set for the 24/7 title segment :p I don't know what to make of the Rollins promo...don't think it came across that well. Goldberg? Urg! :sick2:

So we're getting a 'Who attacked Roman Reigns' angle - I guess it will have something to do with Shane....which I don't care about. I'm not that fussed about Trish/Charlotte or HBK/Dolph. As cool as the new Bray Wyatt character looks...I still can't get excited about it as I'm expecting WWE to job him out soon after. Owens/McIntyre had some cool spots, they seemed to work well together.

The show has improved...but it still has a long way to go. I still don't care enough about the superstars and they still seem to be doing a rubbish job of building heels up (Brock and Charlotte seem to be the exceptions). I thought the Brock beatdown of Seth was good, looked pretty brutal. I hate 'The OC' name. I thought the AJ celebration was really cringey too. Thought the 24/7 title stuff was good, although that scene with Maria and Braun with him just growling was another cringey moment. I wonder who's going to take the title off her, I can't imagine she'll hold it for long...

The Bray moment was cool, the mask looks terrifying but I don't have much faith in them running with it. I would have preferred for him to go after someone other than Balor though. I can see him beating Balor at SummerSlam...but like Samoa Joe, never winning the big one.

Shelton Benjamin 0_O O_0 For anyone that missed it...

That was an interesting Raw! Opening with a nice little brawl. I thought they went a little OTT with the pyro during the stunt. With Graves shouting 'holy shit' (without even trying to censor it) you knew the night was going to be different to the usual Raw. I didn't like the sombre announcers afterwards - I think they should save that stuff for when there are actual accidents. I can still remember when Owen died and when King had his heart attack, always reminds me of stuff like that. So Viking Raiders are heels then? The Samoa Joe attack would have been better if he had been built up better, but for now, it didn't really mean anything (he's had SO many losses on PPV). I don't see Joe as a threat to Kingston, when I really should. I'm liking the Maverick/Truth angle - some nice funny moments. Although I'm getting a little sick of seeing the same group of superstars constantly made to look like chumps chasing Truth. I REALLY don't understand the need to bring the Street Profits up? They can't book the tag teams they've already got, why add another one in! The Maria/Mike Kanellis stuff was a surprise! I knew they had resigned but I didn't know she was actually pregnant again. I wonder when WWE found out - after they signed their renewal? When they first debuted together, she announced she was pregnant soon after, which I thought might piss off some at WWE. For it to happen a 2nd time, hmmmmmm. Calling Mike her bitch was a WTF moment. Then for her to lay into him like that during the match, I wonder if we'll actually see a big angle with them now. Although it still feels weird since they've been hardly used - besides their recent 205 LIve run. They've hinted at the AJ/Club heel turn for some time now, so that wasn't a surprise. Hopefully it's not too late for Anderson/Gallows, fans need to see them as a genuine threat. Overall - the first Raw in some time where I'm actually interested to see what happens next week, that has to be a good thing :)

Anyone watch Fyter Fest? Have to admit, I didn't think it was as good as DON, some random comments: - That was the first time I've seen or heard of Private Party, quite liked them, had some nice moves, good tag team and OK match - Didn't think much of Allie/Bates - The Nakazawa/Jebailey batch was TERRIBLE! Had no place being on the show. - Cima/Daniels was alright, nothing special. - The 3-way women's match was OK-ish, had some nice moments but a few botches also. Thought that flying knee from Rose looked awesome. - Four-way: Not quite sure why, but I love the idea of Jungle Boy with Luchasaurus :) MJF really stood out again, think everyone knew Page was winning this one. - Rhodes/Allin - Can't say I've ever heard of Darby Allin - I found it pretty slow to begin with but I did get more into it as it went on. The coffin drop move was insane! I hope he's not going to be doing stuff like that regularly, really don't want to see anyone hurting themselves seriously just for a quick pop. For anyone that missed it: Throughout the show I was wondering how long it would be before a match reaches that 20 minute time limit - I didn't think it would be as soon as this show :) By the time the match finished, I wanted to see/hear more from Darby, so that was good however I feel like they could have left out the attack from Shawn Spears. I would have preferred it if they just let the match to settle in, rather than just go straight into Cody's next feud. As has already been reported online, that chairshot was brutal - as I said above, they don't need to be killing themselves for us. I'm not too sure about pushing Shawn so soon also, I think it would have been better to build him up on the roster first. - The six-man match was OK - I thought the 3 team match from DON was better. - Moxley/ Janela was brutal - I've never liked it when they use thumbtacks/barbed wire - hate seeing them going through the skin. Was a good brawl but it was obvious Moxley was winning. Overall, it was OK but there could be a lot of improvement. It seems to be a contrast from DON where this event felt far more adult with some of the dialog/action. I know they might not want to be as PG friendly as WWE but I think they will need to definitely tone it down a little as I can't see them getting many sponsorships/advertisers with content like this. NXT has already proven that you can have a great show with exciting matches/feuds without ever needing to go too extreme. Speaking of which, I hope the talent try and tone it down with the risks also - no need to go crazy!

I should be happy that The Revival are champs again...but I'm just feeling meh! We got Lars vs Lucha House Party again - I wonder if we'll be lucky enough to see that again next week... Baron's still getting title shots :sleep:

[GALLERY=media, 536][/GALLERY] Still remember this from the Rumble :roflmao: It seems like they're happy to push Lacey like crazy...but not many of the other NXT stars who should have deserved a decent shot.

It was Peyton that said it. When they said Brock would be cashing in on Raw I thought they wouldn't be stupid enough to push fans to watch the show (after last weeks terrible ratings)...just to turnaround and say, nope, Friday. How silly did Brock look too? Seth was down, he could have just taken the title, there was no reason for him to say Friday - why would he want to go to Saudi to get the title when he can just take it there. We constantly hear about how difficult it is for WWE to fill the amount of programming time they have to do each week - yet they miss out so much of the roster. As you said @Zack T - why aren't they pushing Roode, Viking Raiders etc - they've got the time for it. It might even mean we don't need to see the same matches each week! I'm already sick of Lars and him squashing the Lucha House Party each week... Good point about Nikki Cross too - the best thing about her character was how unpredictable she is - she still does that crazy run to the ring in her entrance, but that seems to go against what we see in her backstage segments where she seems pretty calm/collected. As interesting as the Bray stuff is...I have zero faith in WWE booking him any better than he was before. I also thought it was weird Rey just handing the title over to Samoa Joe - when was the last time the champion just forfeited the title back to the former champion? I thought we'd get some kind of tournament at least.

YAY! It's Corbin vs Rollins for the title at Super Showdown :partysign: I know they don't need to give anything worthwhile away as its a Saudi show and they have Goldberg/Taker and Triple h/Orton...but it doesn't help Raw much. They told us they would listen due to the ratings/crowd apathy...it doesn't feel like they are.

That 24/7 title didn't look that good 0_O O_0 I'm assuming it's just going to the Hardcore title without actually calling it a hardcore title. I can imagine it bringing some light relief but...that could get boring rather quickly. Still not fussed about Brock.

It gets worse for The Revival... It doesn't look like Vince and Co can understand why the ratings are dropping. The idea of having Raw or Smackdown stars appearing on either brand isn't really a reason to tune in each week. I still can't believe how they can build up feuds/storylines so well in NXT but can't seem to manage to get it right on the main shows. It also seemed pretty desperate putting Kofi vs Bryan on Raw for the title.

More of Baron Corbin's push this week....I totally forgot him winning MITB previously! More brand swapping with Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows now on Raw... The segment with Usos/Revival was cringey! Didn't care for Miz/Lashley or Shane McMahon. The Women's MITB competitor announcement fell flat, was some awkward interactions there. It seems silly having all the women complaining about not having an opportunity when Lacey comes out of nowhere, attacks Becky and gets a title shot. I'm still not sure about Bray yet. Joe lost, again. He could have been almost as intimating as Brock Lesnar...but they dropped the ball with him, like so many others over the past few years. I wonder if AJ could turn heel now that Gallows/Anderson have been moved over... Overall, a pretty dull show.

There is so much talk about how they emphasised how safe the crypt would be in the last episode, I feel we're bound to get some dead Starks rising. I guess Gilly and/or Sam jr will go. Sansa could go....Varys is another possibility. I think we may see that little girl who said she wanted to protect the crypt turn into a white walker. I think Tyrion will live. I was thinking Brienne will die saving Jamie with possibly Tormund dying to save Brienne prior to that. I don't think Jamie will die in the next episode, but am not expecting him to survive until the end. I wouldn't be surprised to see Davos die either. I feel like we'll lose either Dany or Jon in the next episode too... There are so many people talking about the upcoming episode...I can't wait for it!

I was getting confused seeing Andrade and Black on Smackdown after hearing they had been drafted to Raw! I don't want a Reigns/McMahon & Elias feud. I'm glad they didn't keep Kevin part of New Day too long, we all knew he would turn.

It looks like WWE have changed their mind, The Viking Experience has been renamed 'The Viking Raiders'. We got to see Samoa Joe and Cesaro on Raw, with Andrade/Zelina moving back to Smackdown. Aleister Black and Lars Sulivan have also been switched to Smackdown. I wouldn't be surprised if we still see some changes next week. I thought Raw was ok, I didn't think they'd go straight into Styles/Rollins, thought that would have been saved for SummerSlam/WrestleMania. I don't know why they keep pushing Baron as much as they do. It was sad to see the Vikings not get much reaction from the crowd. I hope they don't go the same way as The Ascension. I'm not sure what to think of Bray yet...

Smackdown gets: Roman Reigns Intercontinental Champion Finn Bálor Elias Bayley Ember Moon Kairi Sane Lars Sullivan Buddy Murphy Liv Morgan Chad Gable Apollo Crews Mickie James Otis Tucker So Smackdown has both the US title and IC title currently... So happy for Buddy Murphy! With Liv Morgan moving over it could mean the end of The Riott Squad... Chad has also moved over, so no more teaming with Roode. On to the show... I'm just waiting on Kevin to turn on Kofi. I'm not sure how I feel about Paige manging Asuka and Kari, I think Asuka should be OK on her own, but I guess it gives her something to do. I can see how it would help Kari as Asuka seems to connect with the fans more. I knew Roman would be on Smackdown when AJ switched to Raw, not much of a surprise.

Gutted about Sanity, such a shame for them after having a good run in NXT. After all the talk about not mentioning 'WAR' on tv...when Ember Moon debuted on Smackdown, Tom Phillips called her 'The War goddess' :confused:

The Viking Experience? - My face when they came out to that name ----> 0_O O_0 They didn't call them War Raiders once! Then Hanson is renamed as 'Ivar' and Rowe as 'Erik'. I guess it adds to the whole Viking feel. I can seriously see Vince sitting there saying we can't have a Viking team with Hanson and Rowe as their names :p I don't get why they allowed the names in the first place if they didn't think they would/could be used on the main shows. Overall, I think it was a pretty good Raw, quite a few good moments. With AJ moving to Raw, I guess Roman could move to Smackdown? List of superstars moving to Raw: The Miz Andrade Ricochet Aleister Black The Viking Experience Rey Mysterio The Usos Naomi Zelina Vega Eric Young EC3 Cedric Alexander Lars Sullivan Lacey Evans AJ Styles We could see The Revival or Roode/Gable move to Smackdown. Eric Young drafted! So I guess Sanity will just be a tag team of Dain and Wolfe. I'm not sure Eric will be able to do on Raw, I can only see him taking an EC3 type of roll, getting squashed where necessary. There was no mention of Bray, so I wonder if he'll be on Smackdown or if they'll keep these vignettes running. I was just thinking Eric and Bray would look pretty cool together... I love that Cedric got moved to Raw, he's had some great matches on 205 Live, hopefully he'll get a decent opportunity on the brand like Ali has had on Smackdown. Plus it gives the stars of 205 hope of moving to Raw/Smackdown down the line.

I hope they leave Undisputed Era on NXT for now. When they debut, I want it to be a surprise. If Becky goes to Raw...I guess Lacey Evans would be on the same brand too. With Becky being double champ, I wonder if they'll just say she can appear on both shows and not fix her to a brand until she loses one of the titles. I'm not really fussed about anyone else as I can't see much changing.

Thought Smackdown was OK, they're obviously were trying to push the superstar shakeup for next week. Having Lars attack The Hardys was a little random, just like the Kurt attack. I would have thought he'd go after someone younger :P Any thoughts on who Paige will be bringing to Smackdown next week to face The Iconics? I'm guessing it isn't going to be an Absolution reunion. Maybe someone from NXT? I was worried for Samoa Joe for a minute there, great promo, he looked like a real threat...then Braun walked down. Luckily they're kept both looking strong. Hope we don't get a feud between the 2 as I imagine Braun would come out on top.

Listening to it on Smackdown...the laugh does sound like Bray, so yeah, I'm going with him. Roode attacked Ricochet after their loss and walked out with Gable, so they're still a team.

As soon as Kofi said about winner take all...I thought he'd lose to Seth and WWE would unify the men's title as well as the woman's. Good to finally see Lars although I didn't expect him to go after Angle. I knew Lacey would get more involved after WrestleMania, I just wasn't expecting her to go after The Man. Roode finally turning heel! Undertaker was a nice surprise, glad it was here and not WrestleMania. I thought Mojo was Eric Young at first :-O I thought having The Bar come out and spoil the final match was a cop-out, especially with Seth just making it a tag match. No idea what the below was about, something to do with Bray?