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The Good, Bad and Ugly: WWE Raw (03/11/2019)

Was Raw Good, Bad, or Ugly?

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WWE Raw Seth Rollins Shelton Benjamin

It’s the WWE Raw after Fastlane, as the company kicks into high gear on the Road to WrestleMania. What stood out on the Good Bad Ugly scale?

After a red hot Fastlane Sunday Night, it is time to get serious.  The homestretch to the biggest night in Sports Entertainment, WrestleMania.  We had a lot happen at Fastlane, however nothing permanently impactful.  It was a solid show, and the Raw after should be equally impressive, if not, even a little turned up.  However will the Raw brand, continue to be “red” hot?  Or will they fissile out so close to WrestleMania?

GOOD

Ladies and Gentlemen, The Shield

Big Opening with the talk of the town, The Shield.  “The Final Ride” were the words used.  It is a farewell address of one of the most dominant groups in WWE History.  This is a great way to open things up this week.  I personally will not be surprised is the “lunatic fringe” is seen down the road as a part-timer at some point either. 

Now onto bigger business.  The Architect has a WWE Universal Championship Match at WrestleMania.  Rollins about to start getting everyone more hyped, was quickly interrupted by Paul Heyman.  Heyman hyped his boy, The Champ, the Beast.  Rollins obviously loves to talk trash as well and went back and forth.  Rollins made a good point that guys his size are Lesnar’s weakness and he will Win and bring the Title back to Monday Night Raw Full Time!  A random Lesnar hype video then was played, and although it was pretty Good, it was unnecessary.  Then out of no-where Shelton Benjamin appeared and gave Rollins a little taste of the German Suplex.  This was unexpected and absolutely awesome, as anything with Benjamin and Rollins should be fantastic.      

Seth Rollins vs. Shelton Benjamin

As expected or at least, it should have been expected, this was a great showing by two tremendous athletes.  Shelton Benjamin is a freak of nature and a “beast” in his own right.  Rollins is on fire and has proven himself as a true leader in the WWE.  This was a clinic. Benjamin looked impressive in there.  He was sharp and did some pretty hard work.  Nothing is perfect but it was at the least a very solid showing.  Rollins looked to be in trouble most of the match as Benjamin was very aggressive and took him down.  Rollins had bits of hope throughout but finally got a break with a hard “superkick” to the gut followed by “the stomp” for the victory.  GOOD stuff right there!  Hell of an opening match after a decent opening segment.

Intercontinental Championship Match- Finn Balor (C) vs. Bobby Lashley

Out of everything that can happen it seems safe to say that this feud is the most unpredictable Pre-WrestleMania.  Finn Balor is a fantastic I.C. Champ, and Lashley with the strap although short lived, would have done a great job with the belt as well.  Lashley was better with Lio Rush though, but Rush was physically pushed to the limit last week with Balor.  Lashley and Balor had a Good match, as Lashley just crushed the Champion with his massive size and strength advantage.  Whenever Balor seemed to get a little steam the bigger Lashley would just get smashed down.  Out of the blue we hear the ring bell, by Lio Rush.  Lashley hits Balor with a “spear” in mid-air for the Win, and the Intercontinental Championship.  This was unexpected and insane!  Really crazy twist and I can’t wait to see how this will go, and if anyone else will be involved in the feud. 

Aleister Black and Ricochet vs. Bobby Roode and Chad Gable

NXT stars Black and Ricochet have been on fire and an a pleasure to watch every week.  They bring so much to the show and have been a great addition.  NXT is huge.  Roode and Gable are pure talent, Roode is a Champion caliber Main Event talent just simply being wasted on his spot.  This was a Good Match.  Roode and Gable did all they could and controlled the match but it was a “Black Mass” to Bobby Roode’s face that ended it.  Aleister Black and Ricochet Win!  Of course the heel Champs made the run in and beat the hell out of the NXT upstarts. This will be a great feud to come and we may see some Gold change hands soon enough.

Kurt Angle vs. Apollo Crews

Angle in his hometown, Pittsburgh PA, can it get better for the Olympic Gold Medalist and Hall of Famer.  Angle had a big announcement.  Angle emotionally started announcing a farewell.  With tears and thank you’s.  One last match in Pittsburgh against an absolute talent, Apollo Crews.  This was a safe and solid match.  Apollo can work, Angle no question is in his element.  This wasn’t supposed to blow anyone away, it was meant as a tribute to a man with a sensational career, in his hometown, doing his job well.  As it had to be, Kurt Angle Wins with an “Olympic Slam.”

Roman Reigns

Set to face Baron Corbin, Roman Reigns was crushed by Drew McIntyre.  A “Claymore Kick” completely knocked the Big Dog down and out of it.  He had no chance of fighting back after that.  McIntyre loudly mocked Reigns.  A second “claymore kick” this time into the post, ended the violence.  McIntyre made his mark and set his sights on the biggest possible target.  Good move and a major rivalry. 

No D.Q. – Dean Ambrose vs. Drew McIntyre

After his boy Roman took a whooping, Ambrose demanded a No DQ/Falls Count Anywhere from HHH.  It was granted and it will be a treat.  This was Good and very physical.  These guys held nothing back.  McIntyre brutally went off on Ambrose who put him through the ringer.  Ambrose simply got his ass kicked by the bigger, stronger, and more vicious Drew McIntyre.  The beating was finally over with a “claymore kick” while Ambrose was stuck in a railing.  It was brutal.  McIntyre simply killed the “lunatic” and made huge leaps and bounds in the statement against The Shield.  This will be awesome and will catapult McIntyre to new heights.  Ambrose got up somehow from that and got another “claymore kick for his trouble to end the show. 

BAD

Raw Women’s Champion Rowdy Ronda Rousey

Rousey, bad attitude and all made a fool of herself trying to heel out.  She just doesn’t have what it takes to pull major promos.  She is definitely making headlines and getting a ton of attention.  It will be Good, but Rousey is horrible on the mic.  The layer of cheese like after eating a bag of Cheetos is thick.  Then everyone’s hero Dana Brooke came out.  She essentially had enough of the disrespect and had enough of Miss Rousey.  This was horrendous as well though.  Dana Brooke is a great athlete, and has improved in the ring but just doesn’t get any time on TV.  This was emotional but it just was very cheesy.  Brooke asked for an opportunity, and got pounced by Rousey.  She straight bitch slapped a ref and cleared out.  Rousey is a brat right now, that part is Good, the rest, not so much.   

“A Moment of Bliss” w/ Alexa Bliss

We need way more Alexa Bliss, this much is a fact, but not doing this.  We need her back in the ring.  She did all this to present that Alexa Bliss herself will be the host of WrestleMania.  We would much rather see her work it but as a host, it really is pointless.  Who cares really!  We love Alexa Bliss but this is a waste of time. 

Triple H/Batista

The machine, the King, the COO of WWE came out in a leather jacket, completely ready to throw down.  HHH was all business waiting for his rival Batista to show.  Batista was there with a full security like entourage.  This went about how it was expected too.  Batista is obviously playing the heel in the fight and of course will be showing up doing his job well.  Batista slayed on the mic and HHH is almost always pure gold.  This served its purpose and was entertaining.  HHH hit him hard with shoot like comments, and came right at the big guy.  Batista wasn’t having any of it.  He wants to do it his way.  Batista wants HHH at Mania, and he will do anything for it.  The match is on!  This was bizarre and absolutely unnecessary but damn that will be Good.  The Game vs. The Animal, No Holds Barred. 

UGLY

Braun Strowman’s Camaro

Braun Strowman was bought a Camaro from Colin Jost and Strowman literally went “Street Fighter” on it but it looked but and was purely for comedic value.  It was very stupid though and again was very pointless.

Nia Jax w/ Tamina  vs. Natalya w/ Beth Phoenix

FINAL

  • Good- 7
  • Bad- 3
  • Ugly- 2

Overall

Good Raw.  However we saw a Good chunk of Bad and even a hint of Ugly this week.  The first major Raw on the final stretch to Wrestlemania was action packed and even saw a title change which was very much unexpected.  It was a Good Raw mostly because of the usual top guys that carry the show, but again it wasn’t all Good stuff.  Raw squeaked by this week, but a Win is a Win! 

Next as expected is SmackDown who rarely disappoints and NXT after that who doesn’t know failure.  WrestleMania is sitting on top of the mountain waiting patiently for the rest of the world to arrive on the big night, and the weekly WWE programming is sprinting toward it.  All content needs to be tight from here on out, and will be getting the highest of the “Good, Bad and Ugly” standards, only at thechairshot.com.  Stay tuned boys and girls, keep your hands and feet in the vehicle because we are on our way to the Greatest Night in Professional Wrestling!

About Chairshot Radio Network

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Opinion

TheChairshot.com PRESENTS: WWE Bash In Berlin Immediate Reactions

Join DJ and Tunney for their immediate reactions to WWE Bash in Berlin. For the latest, greatest and up to datest, ALWAYS #UseYourHead and visit THECHAIRSHOT.COM

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Join DJ and Tunney for their immediate reactions to WWE Bash in Berlin. For the latest, greatest and up to datest, ALWAYS #UseYourHead and visit THECHAIRSHOT.COM

Powered by RedCircle

@TheMindlessPod @PCTunney @ChairshotMedia

prowrestlingtees.com/TheChairshot – TONS of Great designs…MAKES A GREAT GIFT!

About Chairshot Radio Network

Launched in 2017, the Chairshot Radio Network presents you with the best in sports, entertainment, and sports entertainment. Wrestling and wrestling crossover podcasts + the most interesting content + the most engaging hosts = the most entertaining podcasts you’ll find!

 MONDAY – Bandwagon Nerds (entertainment & popular culture)

TUESDAY – Musical Chairs (music) / Hockey Talk (NHL)

WEDNESDAY – The Greg DeMarco Show (wrestling) 

THURSDAY – Keeping the news ridiculous… The Oddity / Chairshot NFL (NFL)

FRIDAY – DWI Podcast (Drunk Wrestling Intellect)

SATURDAY – The Mindless Wrestling Podcast

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CHAIRSHOT RADIO NETWORK PODCAST SPECIALS

Attitude Of Aggression Podcast & The Big Five Project (chronologically exploring WWE’s PPV/PLE history)

TheChairshot.com PRESENTS…IMMEDIATE POST WWE PLE REACTIONS w/ DJ(Mindless), Tunney(DWI) & Friends

Patrick O’Dowd’s 5X5

Classic POD is WAR

 


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About Chairshot Radio Network

Launched in 2017, the Chairshot Radio Network presents you with the best in sports, entertainment, and sports entertainment. Wrestling and wrestling crossover podcasts + the most interesting content + the most engaging hosts = the most entertaining podcasts you’ll find!

 MONDAY - Bandwagon Nerds (entertainment & popular culture)

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CHAIRSHOT RADIO NETWORK PODCAST SPECIALS

Attitude Of Aggression Podcast & The Big Five Project (chronologically exploring WWE's PPV/PLE history)

TheChairshot.com PRESENTS...IMMEDIATE POST WWE PLE REACTIONS w/ DJ(Mindless), Tunney(DWI) & Friends

Patrick O'Dowd's 5X5

Classic POD is WAR


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Opinion

AJ’s Top 3 Favorite SummerSlams

AJ is back with his annual opinion article, and this time the SummerSlam buzz got him wondering about his personal Top 3.

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It’s been a while since I have done any form of writing and SummerSlam is this Saturday. Of all the SummerSlams I’ve seen over the years; which ones are my favorites? While it’s not a revolutionary idea, I figured everyone loves to debate favorites of well, anything. Don’t worry though because this isn’t just going to be pure recency bias. I’ve watched the majority of them so with the ones I put on the list, it hit me more in some way shape or form whether it was story, a really good match or it just felt like a solid event.

At least this proves WWE is trending in a good direction for me, when it gets the ol’ brain juices flowing just because a show is around the corner!

#3: 2022 (Ol’ Brock Lesnar Has A Farm)

r/Wrasslin - when did Brock lesner begin his farmer and cowboy gimmick and when did he stop doing the gimmick ? is it worth watching I believe it was 2021 but not sure when he stopped the gimmick
Starting off the show, we get Bianca looking for a rematch against Becky from last years SummerSlam and it was better than the 21 second affair that everyone claims was a squash. This time Bianca holds her own and beats the Man in a fairly decent match, good way to get the event started. Next up is the heat seeking missile, Logan Paul against the former heat seeking missile because, well he wasn’t cut out for it and wasn’t a guy in everyone’s eyes, The Miz. After they had their blow off at Mania with Logan coming out on top which… isn’t awful, I just don’t like Logan Paul because he has that dude bro aura and swagger to make him more hateable than any other person on the card. Which I suppose is his gimmick…so…kudos?

First Championship match is for the US Championship and it’s as expected that in Theory, he should never beat someone to the caliber of Bobby Lashley which is no surprise. Dominik and Rey still back when Dom wanted the good fight against the Judgement Day before joining them later. The former Colts players, which they hammered it dahn in this match up showed that the canal swimming, trash talkin’, podcastin’, current RAW Color Commentatin’ goofball we all love, Pat McAfee came out on top again Bum Ass Corbin.

Usos putting the Street Profits on lockdown in the penitentiary since I believe this was peak Bloodline with the belt collecting and running all of WWE. Liv beat Ronda Rousey which isn’t astonishing but it’s not something people had on their bingo cards for anything with WWE so it was a nice little shock factor. The most memorable part of the night is obviously the Main Event, Lesnar brings the tractor, Roman catching the Microphone and Brock stands on top of the vehicle. Damn good match that showed off what they do in the ring since Roman caught his stride as the main bad guy and Brock… liked people after all of this? That is still a weird statement in my head. Brock being a good guy people person. If Liv wasn’t on bingo cards for wrestling, that is not on bingo cards in any aspect of life really.

That is more of the event that had solid matches and story going for it. No weird double count out, multiple people involved, 5 tag matches on the card. Things made sense and weren’t convoluted, had shocking moments that were great to see like Liv actually getting a title defense and there were the results we all expected at the time like Theory losing in 4 minutes to Bobby Lashley.

#2: 2009 (Are You Ready for The Return?)

10 Greatest Summerslam Entrances in WWE History - GameSpot
This event wasn’t that strong. It was strong with the star power involved in 2009 with guys like Rey Mysterio as Intercontinental Champion, Orton and Cena for the WWE Championship as it was becoming as stale as month old chips and CM Punk was facing Jeff Hardy before he ultimately returned to TNA at the beginning of 2010 after this PPV. For me, it’s not so much of the show itself, it was more of the memories because the Balai as our friends Chris Platt and Rey Cash like to call my brother and I, we were just coming back into wrestling and we were TNA Fans. We didn’t watch WWE that much really, it was just what came on after another channel had old ROH shows before they moved to three hours and swallowed the 8pm Eastern Slot. No, the reason why this has so many memories for me is three main reasons. First, Orton and Cena. They have had their rivalry since the beginning it seems, being each others foils like Hogan and Piper before them and there had to be a stipulation where if Randy was Counted Out or DQ’d, he’d lose the championship regardless. This was prime Viper Randy and the obvious joke we had of Super Cena where he very rarely lost, unless it was SummerSlam surprisingly enough.

Number two reason was CM Punk and Jeff Hardy. Hardys known for the Ladder and TLC matches in the past and this being the penultimate match for this feud and it was a banger of a match. If you didn’t know Punk before, it was a great introduction to his wrestling. I used to like Punk a lot because of this match because he could talk, wrestle… and not insanely personal with things in wrestling. In all seriousness, this was a great match. Ultimate risks, high reward for Punk grabbing the World Heavyweight Championship and he was given his next feud because of the final boss of SmackDown at that time. Thanks, Teddy Long.

The main and final reason though why this match gave me the memories flowing back is more of the fact that one of my closest and longest termed friends of 23 years, also loves wrestling. Back when we were younger, he’d do MoCap videos on YouTube with his figures. We’d have friends come over for parties at his house and we’d do the one thing WWE always told us not to do and that was try it at home. He was always stronger than me, I was always more charismatic. He had the power aspect and did things with brute force, I could talk my way out of trouble with parents if we did something wrong. There was always one thing that our respective mother’s always called us though… it’s on the tip of my tongue… oh right, ‘Degenerates’.

As soon as we were called that, we kind of parodied the DX line. I was limber enough to do the HBK pose and do a Superkick before it became the new DDT and he would just Spinebuster people and knew how to do the water spit. So what do you think was the main reason we even ordered this PPV for his 13th Birthday? I think the two guys we were pretending to be were set to return on a tank and toss out some glow sticks. The return of DX, Shawn Michaels coming back after Mania with Triple H to deal with the Legacy problem was an amazing return for them and made everything so much fun.

So we have the solid card and this one has a personal story… what’s my number one SummerSlam? Is it personal? Well yes but not going into that. Is it a good card? To me, it was a phenomenal card! Is it memorable? Seeing how wrestling fans still mention at least three matches to this day.

#1: 2005 (Octopus in the Washer, Lover’s Quarrel and Where the F%#$ is Vickie?)

Vickie Guerrero on Rey vs. Dominik Mysterio: 'I wish I was part of it' -  Cageside Seats
Quite possibly some of the best matches I’ve seen and one that was just the most hilarious moments of overselling in wrestling history, I know why I love this SummerSlam but it’s also a really good card at the same time. Redacted beats Orlando Jordan in 25 seconds for the US Title and they made jokes about it like, he can make a coffee faster than he beat Orlando and stuff like that, it’s pretty funny. Angle getting sick of Eugene’s antics for his Gold Medal was also a great bit they had play up, the Year long feud of Randy Orton and Undertaker was still going on where Orton comes out on top this time around to get the win back from Mania, Jericho returning for the match with Cena in a whole promotional thing for each other’s groups, Fozzy for Jericho and the Chain Gang doing Bad, Bad Man for Cena leading up to a match for the WWE Championship. JBL won a 20 man battle royal on SmackDown to win the Championship…… Opportunity to face the newest member of SmackDown, Batista but the three main matches that a lot of people talk about to this day; Edge vs Matt Hardy, Rey vs Eddie for Dominik and Hogan vs HBK in the Main Event.

I have reasons to enjoy the Hardy/Edge match but it looked like a real fight, it really made us believe that Matt Hardy was going to kill Edge because real names were dropped during this tirade from Hardy. It wasn’t Edge and Lita, it was Adam and Amy. Matt was so dead set on beating the hell out of Edge that they made a situation into gold and it was a great moment for this match to happen, I believe it was also an Unsanctioned Match too which added the intensity until matt got concussed and knocked senseless that it looked like he couldn’t fight for anything but the build up was what made it seem like a marque match. It made it feel real, it made it feel awesome and it made it feel personal.

Eddie kept tormenting Rey Mysterio about Dominik not being Rey’s but Eddie’s for the summer. That’s all you heard from Eddie being the weasel he was is hanging out with Dominik, making the world believe it’s his son and what not (Let’s not do a fast forward to today where he has the mullet, mustache and everything like Eddie) but they settle this in a Ladder Match where the top of it is a document for the custody of Dominik and my god, this match is better than it should have been. I expect nothing else from Eddie because the man hated having a bad match, Dom got involved and stopped Eddie, Vickie was late and stopped Eddie. The whole match was good it was just very weird with the premise but was a great match. I wonder if Rey regrets his decision to win the match now…

Octopus in a Washing Machine… those five words have resonated with Shawn Michaels’ performance in this match, forever. It was supposed to be an amazing match up between Hogan and Michaels, Icon vs Icon it said and suddenly Hogan’s back gives out, can’t do a trilogy of matches so we can only do the one and then pull out of everything after. This match was set up to be a classic and instead turned into the most unbelievable sell fest ever. A Hogan big boot caused Shawn to tumble 3 or 4 times, getting crotched on the ropes had HBK bouncing higher than he should have, being tossed out of the ring made it look like Shawn never broke his back in 1998 from how much he flopped and flipped around like crazy. It’s bad… or maybe even good that a lot of current wrestlers watched this match that went, “I can sell like that, I want to be a wrestler” and did. So good or bad, I don’t know but for some reason this PPV has always had a place in my heart for how memorable it was.

Those are my top three SummerSlams so far but who knows, 2024 has potential to maybe bump something or at least get me to consider a shift. Should be fun to see how the show plays out! What are some of your favorite SummerSlams?

About Chairshot Radio Network

Launched in 2017, the Chairshot Radio Network presents you with the best in sports, entertainment, and sports entertainment. Wrestling and wrestling crossover podcasts + the most interesting content + the most engaging hosts = the most entertaining podcasts you’ll find!

 MONDAY - Bandwagon Nerds (entertainment & popular culture)

TUESDAY - Musical Chairs (music) / Hockey Talk (NHL)

WEDNESDAY - The Greg DeMarco Show (wrestling) 

THURSDAY - Keeping the news ridiculous... The Oddity / Chairshot NFL (NFL)

FRIDAY - DWI Podcast (Drunk Wrestling Intellect)

SATURDAY - The Mindless Wrestling Podcast

SUNDAY - The Front and Center Sports Podcast 

CHAIRSHOT RADIO NETWORK PODCAST SPECIALS

Attitude Of Aggression Podcast & The Big Five Project (chronologically exploring WWE's PPV/PLE history)

TheChairshot.com PRESENTS...IMMEDIATE POST WWE PLE REACTIONS w/ DJ(Mindless), Tunney(DWI) & Friends

Patrick O'Dowd's 5X5

Classic POD is WAR


Chairshot Radio Network Your home for the hardest hitting podcasts... Sports, Entertainment and Sports Entertainment!

All Shows On Demand


Powered by RedCircle


Let us know what you think on social media @ChairshotMedia and always remember to use the hashtag #UseYourHead!
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