WWE Set Up The Eater Of Worlds Against The Demon King Last Night, Annnnd That Sounds Like A Game Of Thrones Episode

Welcome to this week’s RAW recap.

I always forget how I intro these, but I think that was it. Pretty standard, right to the point, hey I’m doing a recap. If you clicked on the blog because of the electric headline but didn’t see the thumbnail and you don’t want to read about wrestling, you’ll know from the first sentence what to expect. I’m proud of it.

RAW opened with the new RAW Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss berating the entire division right to their faces. It was a great showcase of Bliss on the mic, and it’s refreshing to have such an organic heel talker that gets you to rally behind her opponents. I love Alexa, but I started to hate her when she started talking about Bayley’s family watching her lose. I finally started to get that “It’s still real to me, DAMMIT!” itch.

A tag match broke out after the brawl, and the girls were stiff as fuck with each other. That’s becoming a running theme in the RAW Women’s Division, and it’s good I suppose, but if they all start working like Sasha, they’ll all be on the injured reserve very soon. The thing I enjoyed the most about this segment/match combo is how it felt like the division had depth, which it hasn’t in past months. I also hope Alexa starts using the Snap DDT as an additional finisher, because Jake The Snake will probably get a few years added to his life if it starts ending matches again.

Gallows and Anderson attacked Enzo and Cass before the Gallows/Enzo singles match, putting the smaller man in a tricky spot right away. Enzo rallied his way up and almost secured a victory, but Anderson’s distraction Gallows to hit his finish for the three count. Amore actually really thrived in this match, and looked better and more comfortable in-ring than he has in a while. For those complaining that the “Bullet Club” is being underutilized, I’d like to point out that their current roles in the WWE are extremely similar to their roles in NJPW. Not the best team, but they get the job done with smoke, mirrors, and shenanigans.

I spoke to my brother about the Intercontinental Championship this Sunday. We talked about how it (of course) used to be the workhorse title, and no matter what was going on in the main event scene, you could always count on the IC Title holder to have a fantastic match. Daniel Bryan tried to bring that back before suffering his final concussion, and John Cena tried the same with the United States Championship, but it nothing has REALLY worked. So my brother asked me how I’d elevate it, and I fell onto this scenario: Miz beats Ambrose, is used as a transitional champ, and Rollins takes it from there. The Miz will help Seth succeed as a babyface and Rollins will then help the title succeed while Lesnar’s off with his thumb in his ass. It looks like that’s a possibility now!

This segment was well thought out, and Rollins was possibly the most over he has ever been as a babyface post-Shield. Finn Bálor made his legitimate claim for the Universal Title, and Ambrose said “Fuck that title, THIS is here every week”. All really good. So the main event was set: The Miz vs Finn Bálor vs Seth Rollins for #1 contendership to the Intercontinental Championship.

Sheamus works much better as a heel, which we’ve known, but I forgot how well Cesaro does as a heel. He’s a natural babyface, but having direction in this role should eventually bring him to the next level he’s been destined to reach for about 5 years now. Maybe proving himself on the mic will help Vince see that this guy is one of the best in the world and needs to be capitalized on. The whole look of this new “We are the bar” duo is very unique, too.

This was spooky silly nonsense. It’s a shame that Bray, a guy who is pretty good in the ring, and is really good on the mic, has been wasted his entire career. His material sucks, leading me to be disinterested in any and all promos he cuts, despite his superb delivery. He has literally never had a good feud. He has lost 99% of his feuds. It’s a waste and a shame.

Now, time for our main event, which was super enjoyable. The triple threat match to determine the #1 contender for Dean Ambrose’s IC Title divulged into chaos on the home stretch, when Samoa Joe assaulted Seth Rollins, screaming “WE’RE NOT DONE YET!” and Bray Wyatt ambushed Finn Bálor because Demon vs Demon King. Uggggghhhhhh. The Joe thing was cool, and his delivery was perfect, but I just really don’t want to do more spooky Wyatt shit. Don’t drag Finn into that, he’s above it. Just let him be a cool Demon guy sometimes.

SmackDown’s tonight, and I won’t be watching live because I’ll be shitting my pants over the New York Rangers, but it’ll be cookin’ on the DVR and the recap will be up tomorrow as always. Pray for Rob, and pray for the New York Rangers.