RAW is Samoan SWAT Team v. BULLET CLUB

[Niners Fan in CT]

I only saw the last hour but it seemed like a good show.  Emma vs. Becky was good.  The Jericho and Ambrose segment rocked.  The main event six man was cool.  Good build moving forward..

[Dolfan in NYC]

So we've got 3 more months of muted crowds, huh?   Boy howdy.

[Charlie M.]

That was some good stuff in the Main Event and the post-match.

[Craig H]

I didn't think the crowds sounded muted. They sounded like they were booing the shit out of Reigns. I really hate the contrived bullshit of AJ not wanting to chairshot Reigns.

[Niners Fan in CT]

If Shane was just a bit more of a douche this would be the exact same storyline as Hardcore Pawn.

[zev]

I hope that social media traffic of RIP Mitch somehow leads to people discovering Hedberg performances on YouTube.

Congrats to Chad 2 Badd Allegra. Used to see him during commercials for a local indie fed, now he's main eventing RAW.

 

[Niners Fan in CT]

I don't hate the Nattie/Charlotte stuff but it does feel like someone in the back said "Oh fuck, we still have 3 months until SummerSlam what do we do?"

[nate]

3 minutes ago, Niners Fan in CT said:

I don't hate the Nattie/Charlotte stuff but it does feel like someone in the back said "Oh fuck, we still have 3 months until SummerSlam what do we do?"

We thumb Becky in the eye and maybe build Emma toward Sasha to keep her busy?

[Charlie M.]

I wouldn't mind seeing AJ embrace the dark side at Extreme Rules, take the title and have Reigns chase him until SummerSlam.

I think with Cena, Rollins, Orton all slated to return in the coming months, the heel side needs a workhorse. While AJ is popular, he'll probably sell a bunch of merch working heel and stay in the top mix.

[Michael Sweetser]

 I cannot mention how hilarious I personally found the Becky vs. Emma match, and a lot of those reasons make me sad.

[nate]

Does Orton *have* to come back??

[Charlie M.]

6 minutes ago, nate said:

Does Orton *have* to come back??

I don't mind him so I'd like to see him back. I think he and Styles would mesh really well. It never hurts to have another face around who actually gets a positive reaction from the crowd.

[Burgundy LaRue]

Really enjoyed the main event.  There's no face or heel in this, just shades of gray.  Gallows & Anderson keep trying to bring AJ over to the bad side, but he won't go.  G & A are the worst guys in the bunch, but even they do so in hopes of helping their friend. Roman honestly thinks AJ is in cahoots with his Bullet brothers but he has a certain amount of respect for Styles' talent.  Both AJ and Roman want to rip off each other's heads, but their grudge appreciation for each other won't allow them to be immoral.  They have layers, they feel real--that segment was very well booked and they were laying into each other HARD.  Reigns/Styles at Extreme Rules should be outrageous.

They're going to build up Rusev, have him win the US title--just to be fed to Cena again.  I hope not, but I got a bad feeling.

[evilwaldo]

The fans are the worst.  They boo Roman when he comes out.  Count his punches in the corner and cheer (you can see the fans cheering in the background) when he comes back only to boo when he hits his finisher on AJ.

They deserve to be muted.  

 

[Charlie M.]

I'll give this crowd credit for one thing and that's chanting "CHEATER!" at Charlotte in 2016. That completely caught me off guard.

[nofuture]

Pretty amazing that not even 4 months in and AJ is the focal point of the main event.  He and Reigns have great chemistry together and they have so many directions the can take this angle that hopefully they won't mess it up.

[Niners Fan in CT]

I think Rusev and Lana are an act that still have a ton of mileage especially if this split brands thing goes through.  They are so much more than foreign heels now. They can do comedy as well as pure hate and violence when necessary.

[piranesi]

Just now, Niners Fan in CT said:

I think Rusev and Lana are an act that still have a ton of mileage especially if this split brands thing goes through.  They are so much more than foreign heels now. They can do comedy as well as pure hate and violence when necessary.

Having a gigantic beast screaming at a little guy like Kalisto while an enormously tall blonde woman points and mocks all while he stands there all alone and tiny in his little suit trying not to cry does really underscore the underdog factor if you want to go that way.

[The Green Meanie]

Had a good chuckle when Eden called Big Cass Colin Cassidy. It's the second week in a row but at least it was a different person this time.

[(BP)]

2 minutes ago, piranesi said:

a gigantic beast screaming at a little guy like Kalisto while an enormously tall blonde woman points and mocks all while he stands there all alone and tiny in his little suit trying not to cry 

Kalisto's lucky. Usually you have to pay a lot of money for a role play that complex. 

[caley]

Thought this was a really fun show all around.  I love the various dynamics at play in the main: AJ's buddies being bad guys but him not wanting to embrace the dark side until the Usos used the chair on him, then Roman seeing it and snapping and destroying AJ.  

 

I'll be honest, I was never a big Styles fan outside of WWE, even his ROH stuff felt really contrived to me, but I will cop to being wrong.  He's very good at the professional wrestling.

I'm curious if this Kevin Owens repeatedly calling out Shane McMahon thing leads to anything, or is just lazy writing.  I'd hoping for the former, betting on the latter.

[Niners Fan in CT]

2 minutes ago, The Green Meanie said:

Had a good chuckle when Eden called Big Cass Colin Cassidy. It's the second week in a row but at least it was a different person this time.

This is why JOJO is the #1 ring announcer. Let's see more of her.

[Rehabilitated Rick]

So Flair can just bribe Charles Robinson based on some weird affection Charles may or may not have for the Flair's stretching back to their WCW days? I'm sorry I'm not buying it, I could at least accept it if little Naitch was suspended pending further inquiry or something, but the way it panned out was garbage/lazy and didn't tie up any loose ends. Actually, the whole feud sucks. I'm sick of the Harts at this point and Ric should have left the ring 10 years ago. Nattie is the most overrated female worker on the roster, plus she's a terrible actress, to the smug look on the ramp to her forced entitlement based on being a product of the Harts every time she talks. So much for the coronation of a new era for the women when this is the best creative can come up with. 

The WWE title feud is the complete opposite, all of the characters involved are finally getting more depth and complex, AJ taking the belt and having Roman chase until SummerSlam could be a real fun summer. 

[Greggulator]

31 minutes ago, Charlie M. said:

I'll give this crowd credit for one thing and that's chanting "CHEATER!" at Charlotte in 2016. That completely caught me off guard.

I love the reactions both women's matches got. They're very 1988 in the best way possible. I loved the crowd clapping to rally Becky and the "cheater" chant at Charlotte. It feels like things little kids are into and very cool.

[Michael Sweetser]

As much as I love the focus on the WWE women's division, Ric Flair is literally the only thing making me give two fucks about this storyline, Bret included.