Before I get to the meat of Raw’s main story thread that opened and closed the show, I have to address WWE through Michael Cole referencing “the hood.” Why did that happen? Well, Royce Keys got himself a pair of soldiers in the form of OTM. Bronco Nima & Lucien Price are now Raw wrestlers. More importantly, they’re taking orders from the man who saw himself on the wrong end of this ongoing Bloodline war.
Royce and OTM interrupted the tag match featuring Solo Sikoa, LA Knight, and The Usos. And during said match, we heard from the announce table that there are stories about the three men from “the hood in Oakland.” Listen, I understand growing up in Oakland is part of their story. OTM’s NXT segments made that clear, as did Royce whenever he spoke about his past. But they never referred to it as “the hood.” Besides being stereotypical, those words feel wrong when coming out of Michael’s mouth. Referencing the hood in this way automatically paints a portrait of these men. The same men who ran to the ring with bandanas covering their mouths and Timbs covering their feet.
I’m sensitive to these things if only because I don’t trust the people writing the checks to handle it with nuance and care. Historically, melaninated people don’t fare well whenever a white person is in charge of telling their story. Especially when their upbringing in less than stellar conditions is the foundation.
All that said, I hope this works well for all three men. I just don’t want them coming off as thugs or anything else that typically scares people because they’re big with dark skin.
Now that I got that off my chest, let’s talk about the story overall. I don’t mind Royce getting his revenge on The Usos because, well, duh. And with Jimmy & Jey telling Jacob Fatu to stay in the back, that left them wide open for a beat down. Apparently Royce yelled that Solo got the smoke because he didn’t have his back when Jacob took him out. I buy that but I wish we got some build towards that reveal. And also that it came in a moment where he wasn’t yelling it in the midst of chaos.
As for OTM, it definitely feels rushed on their part. NXT just teased some tension between them. They worked it out a bit. Now they’re on Raw working with their guy. Okay then.
Before we got this match, I loved everything between Solo and LA. Loved the way they played off one another, the way they complemented each other’s comedy stylings, and the heartfelt moment between them backstage. It’s great character work on Solo’s part; he’s leaning into the things fans love while adding layers so not to purely be comedic relief. Plus the man imitated Neo when Jey sent his warning shot. He wins the week for that alone.
I like the idea of another faction going against The Bloodline since their motivation is revenge. I’m anxious to hear the rest of the reasoning, how OTM hooked up with Royce, and how this plays into the larger narrative.
This was a solid Raw. While I think the Keys & OTM team is rushed, especially with Ottawa responding with nothing when it happened, I always enjoy a good beat down. Especially when it introduces a new element into a long running story.
What say you, Cagesiders? Are you looking forward to OTM and Keys running roughshod over The Bloodline?
