Welcome for Wrestling’s weekly look back at “WWE Raw,” the show that isn’t understanding how a 52-year old R-Truth became the show’s main character! We’ve got a lot to discuss this week (though maybe less than you’d expect) and, as usual there are issues we’ll keep off our list of topics. (Sorry, New Day vs. Imperium; you were great fun!) If you’re interested in knowing what they were the live coverage/results pages is highly recommended. This area, on the other hand is dedicated to our most passionate opinions on both the positive and negative side on the scale.
What did the editors and writers of WINC have to say about Seth Rollins’ opening announcement? Were we drawn by the slugfest that took place between CM Punk as well as Cody Rhodes? Most importantly did they make the video package that included everything from the Royal Rumble statistics again? Here are three things that we disliked and three things that we enjoyed about the 1/22/24 show on “WWE Raw.”
A couple of weeks back, I gave Otis and Ivar their bouquets of flowers to celebrate an unforgettable match. This evening, Ivar and Chad Gable were so good, I briefly considered buying flowers from my local florist. Even a large number of flowers might not suffice.
Gable is among the wrestlers in WWE that are under-rated. He’s a hidden gem Gable has the technical expertise as well as physical power as well as agility and sociability to be a main-event superstar. Like everyone else Gable’s formidable arsenal could be a bit stale if not challenged out of his comfortable zone. Ivar was the ideal opponent to challenge Gable and Gable contributed to making Ivar look good.
Both wrestlers showed a fresh approach to offenses and were committed to presenting to the New Orleans crowd a never-before-seen show of the wrestling power that they’d never seen before. Ivar’s blitz on the outside was awe-inspiring to witness from someone of who is his size, while Gable’s blockbuster was an amazing surprise. The two men did not sacrifice their execution in these innovative techniques, and their battle was not just impressive but also entertaining and a testament to the hard work of both men and knowledge.
Ivar and Gable’s fight did not come with an extended promo so when the two wrestlers were able to convey a tale of determination and strength in their own movements, I was thoroughly impressed. Gable’s first attempts at picking off Ivar to perform one of his famous suplexes didn’t just fail and provided Ivar an opportunity to slam Gable. It may at first seem like a proof to how large Ivar can be — not too bad however nothing extraordinary. The final moments of the fight however, when Gable was on the brink of the line and had nothing for him to loose, he put all of his strength to pull Ivar off the mat to make a near-fall with the beautiful German suplex. In this ring microcosm of an argument, full-circle moments such as these serve as a reminder that wrestling is a story telling sport, even from the smallest of options.
In the beginning I was downhearted by the end of this game. Valhalla’s interference was not desirable however, in a game so stalemated like Ivar and Gable’s were, maybe it was needed to ensure an authentic ending. When Valhalla took on Ivar’s Doomsault by using she made her Spirit Bomb motions, I gradually came to accept the outcome was essential to establish Valhalla along with Ivar as a legit team and an actual threat. If they wish to be considered a serious threat by anyone else, besides those at the Alpha Academy, they need to win as well as bolstering their team’s energetic. As annoying, boring and sloppy as outside interference may be important to ensure to ensure the Viking Raiders’ upward mobility.
The show that was the home-coming one for The Royal Rumble, WWE also promoted the upcoming “WWE2K24” game, and on the “Forty Years of WrestleMania” Edition, Hulk Hogan is featured alongside The Rock and Undertaker. Who better to advertise it than Hulk Hogan himself? There’s a connection for “Forty Years of Hulkamania.” We as a species have moved on from the need to have Hogan on television, video games or even WWE Shop (new Hulkamania merch was also promoted on this show). In the episode that was telecast in the show “Raw,” Hogan implied that he could be part of his own Royal Rumble match, teasing “You never know — I might have one more left in me.” To which the majority members of WWE’s WWE Universe replied with “please, no.”
WWE enjoys relying on nostalgia, and it’s difficult for them to not make money from Hogan, who was a pop-culture icon during the 1980s. There’s a long list of reasons not to like Hogan for who he is including his outright racism, to his reluctance to allow the early days of WWF to join forces this was a large reason why wrestlers are classified as independent contractors today.
WWE must face the fact that many of the men who led their organization forward and transformed the face of professional wrestling are suspect individuals. Both of these are true. They don’t have to be praised in 2024. Don’t snatch away another’s place in the Rumble and give it to a man who is 70 years old suffering from health issues who isn’t worthy of the honor.
The first episode of “Raw” started this evening I honestly believed it would be a an outlier when it came down to the go-home angles before Rumble on Saturday. Rumble on Saturday. That’s because it’s typically “SmackDown” that does that better, especially since it’s the night prior to all the live events that are of the highest quality. But, I was wrong at least with regards to the women’s aspect of things. While the storylines and angles were mainly set within the first hour or more of this show, the overall experience was enjoyable enough for me and I was pumped eager to watch the women perform.
The most notable segment that did it was Nia Jax stepping out of the ring and opening her mouth on the fight (to an audience of “what” chants, which I believe she was able to fight and at one point, even acknowledging them with her ear to her and also changing her pace at one point, so kudos for her!) Before Becky Lynch’s music exploded. The two were in a constant dispute over words following Jax recently defeated Lynch to the delight of a lot of people, but it also gave her the credibility to move to the Rumble.
The battle for promotion then resulted in Bayley Lynch, my favorite to win the Royal Rumble match. If you examine odds on BetOnline betting odds of the ladies’ Royal Rumble, Bayley and Lynch are the top two and two respectively, and have the best odds of winning. I’m not sure if the scheduling tonight was based on the odds or not, but anyone who has taken a look at the odds for each match out of curiosity I found it very intriguing. Adam Pearce even subtly acknowledged Bayley in her rousing speech about her Rumble match, saying during an interview backstage with Damage CNTRL that’s exactly what Bayley was invited to “Raw” to do before Kairi Sane and Asuka were spotted leaving the line.
Lynch has also been spotted in an interview backstage with Rhea Ripley following their stunning fight in the ring the week before in the show “Raw” that I wrote about how much I loved. The segment was short and concise, with Ripley talking about speaking to Lynch she may need an overhaul of her plan to prepare for WrestleMania before speeding off with Lynch appearing anxious. Ivy Nile even got a well-deserved Rumble mention in a interview on the backstage prior to her match against Valhalla. The backstage reporter was able to see the amount of work she put into practicing before her first match during the contest. Though I don’t think the build-up for the male Rumble event was especially great apart from the opening segment featuring GUNTHER (and don’t not even get me started on the face-to-face between CM Punk and Cody Rhodes which would cause a lot of negative vibes to my affection for women in this segment) The ladies of “Raw” absolutely crushed it and I’m excited to watch them perform on Saturday.
Ah, another excellent “Raw” main event with an end that puts an end to the remainder of the contest.
It’s becoming more common for WWE to conclude their final match by disqualifying the wrestler due to an outside interference or someone causing trouble in the game while officials are distracted. It makes everything seem very predictable and hinders the fun of the remainder of the show. This night was no exception in that Damian Priest shoved R-Truth after being irritated with his presence in the ring. This resulted in Truth not noticing that the referee was prevented from watching Priest wrestler McIntyre which in turn enabled McIntyre to take the win.
The match was not only a little confusing, but it was almost like retconned what WWE was doing with regards to the growing relationship among Truth as well as Priest. It was a bit unnatural from a story perspective and was totally unneeded for a match that featured two of the best performers in the world of “Raw.”
In the event that the fact that I love video packages could likely be a clue about the way I felt about the whole episode, then congratulations You’re my hero and you’ve hit the idea. I had hoped for more from the initial “Raw” running unopposed by “Monday Night Football” since August, in a “go-home” episode prior to the “Big Four” PLE like the Royal Rumble (but I suppose “SmackDown” will have something to say about it come Friday) as well as an episode that promoted a promotional match that featured CM Punk as well as Cody Rhodes, which didn’t make me feel any better, whatever it’s worth. However, it was not enough.
However, I extremely enjoy watching the “Rumble by the Numbers” video series every year. In a way, breaking down the official beginning to WrestleMania season in such numerical details helps to highlight the history of the Rumble and boosts the excitement for the matches of this year -I mean they both as it’s the ladies’ Rumble is long overdue for it’s debut in 2018 and is an absolute must-see ever since.
Tonight, I logged in on a few numbers higher than other people:
Just 34 out of 1,310 stars (2.6 percent) who have played in the Royal Rumble have won. This is a great thing, and it’s going to be a rare thing indeed.
A superstar has not had consecutive wins in Rumble matches for 26 year (since “Stone Cold” Steve Austin in 1997 and 1998). This isn’t great news for Rhodes there is it?
Punk will take part in the Rumble 3,653 days since his last appearance in the same venue … well it’s likely that they’ll spend lots of time discussing Punk along with the Rumble. If he’s not with Cody as the two finalists I’ll be stunned at this point.
It’s ridiculous that these programs never mention performers who are no longer with WWE (or at the very least, those who have signed elsewhere) since what’s the harm in stating “Former WWE superstar Chris Jericho still holds the all-time ironman record, having competed in an average of four hours and 59 miles …” Do you know what? Do not answer this. Perhaps it’s better not to discuss this guy for a while here.
In case you weren’t able to tell the fact that a large section from the WINC staff wasn’t impressed by “Raw” this week, in spite of the fact that a lot of us entered the show eager to see what might take place. In the wake of “Monday Night Football” finally removed for the second time, WWE had incentive to attempt to use the red label at first since the beginning of September, and many of us were hoping for big results. What we received was lots of talk and very little new information and this was best captured by the two main shows we all came to watch.
Seth Rollins’ opening segment was probably the most boring version of a medical announcement I’ve ever seen. He stated that he had torn the meniscus and MCL and the meniscus. That jibes with what’s reported of his doctor, who has informed that it will take 3-4 months to recovery following surgery. He didn’t mention that he would miss WrestleMania However, the guy didn’t say “to hell with the doctors, I’ll be at WrestleMania” neither. He stated “to hell with the doctors, I’m going to try my best to be at WrestleMania.” That’s just ridiculous. If WWE realizes that Rollins will return for Mania He ought to have stated that on his chest. “I will be at WrestleMania, I will defend this title,” etc. It could have been a major moment but Instead, it was a weak sauce. If Rollins is out for a few months but is expected to return after Mania as is my current belief that they’ll have to deal with the injury in some way and they’re trying to make drama out of what they call the “maybe he won’t make it back in time” question even though we know that he’ll be back on time, or else he’d have renounced the title this evening. This means that there’s nothing to explore as we’re left with a dull segment that doesn’t have Rollins engaging with the Myriad of characters who could be able to comment on staying in his “workhorse” championship at home for two months (like Drew McIntyre) and not following the advice of a doctor and possibly triggering litigation (like Adam Pearce). Instead, he interacting with GUNTHER. For no reason. Baffling.
If that wasn’t enough Cody Rhodes and CM Punk appeared later and did the most boring and boring Cody Rhodes / CM Punk interaction. Punk was telling an account of Cody’s father (how interesting!) and then they proceeded to show mutual respect for one another for what seemed as a long time (I am tired of wrestling with mutual respect could we return to the past where guys simply did not like each one another). Although they did get more intense, it was just the typical stuff that you’d expect. “Hell Froze Over” CM Punk does not have a personality that goes beyond “famous wrestler who was gone for a long time and is back now”; the guy is supposedly “controversial,” but nobody can explain why. They only throw out a few hints to the internet and end the day. In the event of being a sly that he’s a distinctly controversial persona, with none of the edge. And Cody is no different in his memes, descending more and more into obscurity every when someone mentions the fact that his father has been Dusty Rhodes, stubbornly refusing to acknowledge that the phrase “finish the story” isn’t really a characteristic of the character. There’s nothing here that we can grasp the hold of or connect to. It’s just narrative mush. And when one of them takes home the Royal Rumble, I cannot imagine finding a reason to feel any.
