WWE RAW REVIEW 03.12.2018
Ronda Rousey & Natalya vs. Tamina & Nia Jax: This was all angle to allow Jax to get some heat on Rousey and likely set up a tables match at TLC with the Riott Squad vs. Natalya and two partners, I’d guess Bayley & Banks as they have nothing to do. It wasn’t particularly good, but at least it had a purpose behind it.
A Moment of Bliss: So they basically ran the same bullshit as last week, with a slightly different outcome, and it wasn’t good either time.
Sasha Banks & Bayley vs. Mickie James & Alicia Fox: This was ok, but like much of the shows these days, felt like more of the same. They desperately need to shake up the women’s rosters.
Now we take an “inspirational” look at Corbin’s rise to power.
Corbin meets with Roode & Gable, they want a rematch with AOP. Corbin says they can have a shot if Roode beats Maverick tonight. Gable & AOP are banned from ringside.
Lucha House Party vs. Scott Dawson: Again, none of this makes any sense, and the Revival are in the right as they just want to have a proper tag match, while the Luchas have special, and unexplained rules. God forbid we have the Revival vs. Luchas in a proper 10-minute tag, because that might be good.
Corbin meets with a backstage goof, who brings him a present for McIntyre.
Drew McIntyre Appreciation Night: It was nice to see McIntyre get some time to talk and he did well. Also, any chance someone gets to bury Ziggler, I am all in.
Drew McIntyre vs. Dolph Ziggler: They made a big deal of this being McIntyre’s first singles pin loss since arriving on Raw. I get that the booking is that Balor cost him the match, in theory giving some extra heat to the match, but having McIntyre lose ahead of the PPV, to a Ziggler that was doing nothing and isn’t booked on the PPV felt like the wrong call to me. On one hand it was nice to see the faces not get owned, but not in favor of hurting Drew’s momentum; good match, with questionable booking.
Drew walks backstage and is pissed. Dolph was never his friend, and now he’s his enemy. He basically promises to kill Dolph and says Balor is a marked man.
Elias is here. He’s been searching for Lashley so he can wrap a guitar around his head. He knows Lashley is afraid, but before he can play his tune, Lio & Lashley interrupt. Lio says Lashley will dominate Elias at TLC and praises how great Lashley is and Lashley poses. Elias gets pissed and charges Lashley. Lashley cuts him off, but Elias slams Lashley into the LED board and chases Lio & Lashley away. Balor tosses Lio back on stage and Elias gives him the El Kabong to stand tall. I did like this, Balor & Elias have had issues with these two for a long while so them coming together for revenge made sense.
Roode & Gable vs. AOP & Maverick: More overbooked heel authority crap and the AOP’s tag title run continues to be a complete joke.
The Inoculated Dean Ambrose Arrives: Once we got past the wacky Dean and his inoculation bullshit, this was a good segment, playing off of recent weeks and building to the upcoming TLC Match.
Heath Slater vs. Rhyno: I love that they went to the trouble of setting up this angle to give them 75-seconds. At least Rhyno has his marina in Monroe, Michigan, which he named Big Daddy’s Boat Yard.
Finn Balor vs. Jinder Mahal: This was okay, the right man won, and the babyface actually got to stand tall; it’s been an oddly good night for Balor.
It was a good night for Balor until Drew attacks and kicks his ass backstage.
Ronda Rousey & Ember Moon vs. Tamina & Nia Jax: This was really rough, Moon & Rousey looked good, but Jax and particularly Tamina were bad.
