Just a quick note to start the recap of this week’s episode of Monday Night Raw, and it’s almost a tired refrain at this point but it’s worth saying anyway — when WWE runs venues internationally, the product feels fresh in a way it simply cannot Stateside. Roman Reigns and The Usos were out first, and we know the world heavyweight champion is the top star in the company but hot damn did this crowd make him feel like a legitimate SUPERSTAR.
Continued props to all the folks overseas who care so very much and put on every time WWE comes to their neck of the woods.
Now, the big story coming into the show was Jacob Fatu being forced to acknowledge his Tribal Chief after taking the L in Tribal Combat at Clash in Italy. How would Fatu respond to his defeat? Would he do what he was being asked to do by the man who defeated him, even without the assistance of Jimmy & Jey?
They actually managed to make Fatu into an even bigger babyface. He came right out and said it — he lost to his Tribal Chief but he’s a man of his word, and his family was right there to see him take the loss but do so while being a man of his word. And he would continue to do just that, acknowledging Reigns from one knee, his hand outstretched. Roman took it.
“You don’t understand this right now, Jacob, but I love you.”
Jimmy called it a warning shot to the locker room, that they’re the twos and these are the ones.
I know plenty of fans are fatigued with The Bloodline storylines, and that WWE is going back to this yet again is probably going to rile them up even more. The thing about it is these are characters with rich histories, and so much depth. People care about these characters. This isn’t the nWo. They can go back to this because it’s worth doing so.
Like it or lump it.
Later on, they also acknowledged the backstage confrontation between Reigns and Cody Rhodes. They’ve done too much there not to go back to that at some point. The main event of next year’s WrestleMania in Saudi Arabia, perhaps? We’ll see.
OOOOOBA
It took seven — count ‘em — F-5’s for Brock Lesnar to keep Oba Femi down for three seconds at Clash in Italy. He lost the match but the message was clear as day.
You cannot stop this man, you can only hope to contain him.
I was an advocate for putting Femi over Brock a second time in a row but the way they booked the match allayed my fear in doing a legitimate 50-50. The series is tied 1-1, sure, but it’s still something like 80-20 in Femi’s favor, as far as I’m concerned.
I was awfully curious how they would follow up on this loss, and they wasted no time. Femi worked a Fatal 4-Way King of the Ring first round match against Carmelo Hayes, Intercontinental Champion Penta, and Solo Sikoa.
They got it started just right by doing my favorite bit in all of pro wrestling — Femi makes his trademark entrance, wrestler attacks to cut it off, Oba smacks him away and finishes the entrance anyway. It’s such a boss move.
They also did right by him in the match. He was dominant once more, with only Talla Tonga getting him out of the picture for a short time, but even he was swiftly dealt with by getting slammed through a table before he wrapped it up with a definitive pinfall over Sikoa.
Before leaving, Femi grabbed a microphone and owned it before saying he’s going to win the King of the Ring and the coward Lesnar can remember it’s still 1-1.
This was basically the perfect way to play this after Clash in Italy. No notes.
Bron Break-ya
It sure felt like Bron Breakker and Seth Rollins, both finally fully healthy and eager for it, gave us the match they always wanted to build to and have at WrestleMania before injuries threw a wrench in those plans. They were given the main event slot and they tore the house down.
It turned into something of an overbooked mess but I don’t even mean that in a negative way. Austin Theory got involved, Montez Ford showed up for Rollins after so many teases of discord between the two, and the big spot of the match gave us Breakker hitting Paul Heyman with one soft spear through a barricade and commentary acting like they needed an ambulance and maybe even a coroner.
It was hilarious.
Breakker was pissed, so pissed he didn’t notice Rollins held one of the tag team titles around his waist, and he speared himself into a knockout to lose the match. This felt like a throwback to an Attitude Era main event with a super hot crowd.
Just a ton of fun all around.
Looking at the King of the Ring bracket, it will not be a surprise if these two meet again in the Final. I wouldn’t hate that one bit.
The rest of the show
- Has anyone looked as happy as Sol Ruca did when the crowd was chanting “you deserve it”? She’s doing the true blue babyface thing, giving props to Becky Lynch for giving her a hell of a fight and then saying she’ll be a fighting champion because it’s what the fans deserve. Pretty standard stuff here, just WWE getting her out front and center. She got a strong response. The future looks bright.
- This international crowd made even an Ethan Page & Rusev team up feel like a big deal. I can’t get enough of these fans. They lost to Rey Mysterio & Dragon Lee, which was done entirely to put over Rey on his way to an Intercontinental title match against Penta. Adam Pearce said he is going to make it happen soon. Hell yes.
- LA Knight is shouting conspiracy, now claiming Reigns as champion is a plot that stinks to the top. Pearce is dirty, and that’s that. It’s ridiculous, and you know what? I kinda love it. Hey, Knight isn’t going anywhere else in the current landscape. Might as well have some fun with this.
- Giulia, Iyo Sky, Lash Legend, and Roxanne Perez got together for a Fatal 4-Way in the first round of the Queen of the Ring tournament, and you will not be surprised to learn that it was Sky who emerged victorious. She’s easily one of the top wrestlers in the women’s division and I wonder if the play here isn’t to make her Queen and then send her off to break up the friendship with Rhea Ripley. Anyway, this was a damn good TV match and a fine way to get the tournament going.
- Later, Perez was licking her wounds when World Champion Liv Morgan came in a little too hot excited about her own opportunity to win the tournament. I’m not sure what they’re going for here, but they need to give Morgan something interesting to do much sooner rather than later.
This was actually a damn good show overall.
Grade: A-
Your turn.
