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WWE TV 7/13 - 7/19


goodhelmet

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I liked that the women of NXT got to show up on RAW and do some stuff. I don't like that most of the shine from the segment is going to go on how smart Stephanie McMahon is...whom also took the opportunity to verbally run down the dominant Divas champion. Just because she can and that's what she does, I guess?

 

Whatever. Becky & Sasha got to be on RAW. Cool by me.

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Okay, NXT girls on the main roster, fine. But Steph basically co-opting the debut for her own PR campaign and giving herself the spotlight as the forward thinking feminist executive is annoying as fuck and sort of ruined it for me. The triple submission spot was still cool, very over and felt significant.

 

Can't complain too much because although there were great options to bring in the NXT girls and make it feel like a huge event, zero of them were going to happen.

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Too early to be all "they are doomed or "the revolution of the divas have begun". I don't care how great Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks is, if she is doing 4 minute matches then they are basically Emma 2.0 and 3.0.

 

It kind of looked like Becky Lynch was getting the crap beat out of her by Brie because everyone else was running wild and she was hurting for a while

 

I liked that they decided to put Sasha Banks with team Naomi and not try to make her something different than the "Boss"

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So Stardust comes back in his first match since dusty passes away and the crowd just doesn't seem to care. I think they were being respectful in the beginning but they don't want anything to do with Stardust. They want Cody Rhodes

 

His first appearance since Dusty's passing and he enters to crickets. Stardust is an abomination of a gimmick that wasn't getting any heat before and definitely isn't going to now. I thought that recent events would have been a natural way to end it and bring Cody back. I'm not a Cody Rhodes fan in the slightest, but surely there's a story to be told here that should be writing itself.

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Very good raw this week. Stephanie can be overbearing but the fact is I would have skipped straight past that segment if I didn't catch her with a mic. Glad I stuck around, the NXT women making their mark was a cool moment. Orton was hilarious again with his jerky goofiness. Quite enjoying him in this stripped back role. Ambrose has no direction but it's semi promising he's not jobbing.

 

The U.S. title stuff was epic. Rusev is a phenomenal performer at this point. He has the range, the dimension, the credibility. He's a guy you could plug into various roles, we saw him play a good babyface last night. His perfomance leapt out, especially in contrast to Cesaro. Cesaro is Jack Swagger with some added awe inspiring spots. And that's cool and often exciting, but he's not a guy they should be pushing towards the top.

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So Stardust comes back in his first match since dusty passes away and the crowd just doesn't seem to care. I think they were being respectful in the beginning but they don't want anything to do with Stardust. They want Cody Rhodes

Nah, they don't want Cody Rhodes, either.

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It really hit home to me how odd the US title angle was when Rusev pinned Cesaro. You had the heel, having just taken on two top guys in a match, picking up a clean win and now lying flat on his back exhausted. Meanwhile, the face champion has just finished some commentary and does a few stretches before entering to pick the bones of what is left. Despite this, the heel puts up a valiant fight and manages to lock in his submission hold, only to get screwed due to interference. Between that and keeping Ziggler off my TV by breaking a crutch into his trachea, Rusev is the biggest face in the company.

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They love booking Rusev like a babyface. Think about last year when he was a man fighting for the pride of his country against a giant (Show), then another monster (Henry) interfered to help the giant, and he overcame them both using only his skills to triumph and wave the flag. That's a fucking Hulk Hogan storyline right out of 1988!

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NXT ladies debut:

 

Pros:

-- Everyone got their own intro. During a quarter hour that's usually reserved for marquee segments. Clearly trying to position them as a big deal.

-- Crowd took to everybody like a legit player from the intros to Charlotte's chops. Banks got a true major player reaction.

-- Sasha Banks looked like a goddamn star. I've liked her in NXT. Perhaps the setting caused me to view everything there as the minors, but her presence is incredible and someone who can be a star on a 3 hour wrestling television show, as long as you have others in the division that look at least competent.

 

Cons / Open Questions:

-- Steph. From setting the table for the intros to the cutaway to her look of approval standing on the stage it felt like this was more about her moving pieces on the chessboard than those pieces themselves. Hopefully now that she's birthed this she can slip away and let them take center stage.

-- Becky Lynch - minor quibble, but it looked like she didn't realize just how far the ring was from the stage as she had to adjust her run and entrance a bit. Means nothing big picture, but stood out.

-- Aligning Sasha with Naomi & Tamina? I know Alicia Fox is with the Bellas because diversity and such, but why is Sasha lumped in with the 2 divas of color despite having zero background with them? Hopefully its just a quick springboard for whatever they do at Summerslam but it was the one thing that prevented Sasha from looking like a standout here after coming out last.

-- Timing: Seemed odd on the go-home for Battleground with no match announced. Why not wait for next week to start fresh and build for a hot match at Summerslam?

 

High hopes, but as hammerva noted, if this just switches out some characters in the same segments and matches we've gotten it means nothing. But have to think they'll at least try to change that based on the positioning tonight.

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Kane is turning face. With .Steph acting like a face maybe they are going to do face HHH v Rollins at Summerslam

 

Steph wasn't acting like a face though she was just acting like Steph. Everybody on the entire roster is below her, face or heel. She's been pulling this crap for years now. And the Bellas have switched face and heel numerous times with no explanation.

 

Good Raw this week. Rusev has been sorely missed.

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Maybe it should be taken as a sign that WWE is really serious on making women's wrestling important when Steph gets to emasculate (or whatever the female version of that would be) their babyfaces too. Nothing like going from having Paige being on a one person campaign to take down the Bellas to have her need Mom to get some new friends to play with her.

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Someone said last week that not being emotionally invested in WWE makes watching the shows easier, because you can walk in, enjoy the good matches and walk out.

 

That's where I am now. I couldn't give a shit if Steph wants to take all the credit and take all the agency from the girls, I don't care if it all goes to shit when Vince is next distracted, don't care if they don't book it right. I just had a whole bunch of awesome girls brawling around and forearming each other in a cool segment that got awesome chants. That's good enough for me.

 

The triple threat was amazing, I actually enjoyed it more than any single other match this year, except maybe Sasha-Becky. Fucking awesome all the way through. I kept biting on everything, I would think they had done everything and then they'd pull out something else. Plus so much cool shit every single second. Wowzers. I think my favourite moment out of a million favourite moments was when Cesaro nailed the Tornillo dive and almost fell over himself in celebration.

 

The Cena aspect was fascinating, and another cool checkpoint in the John Cena Midlife Crisis. He couldn't even pretend to feel bad about beating the shit out of a defenseless dude who's just been through hell. He was just relieved to have an easy night in the ring for once, without having to renege on the Open Challenge. And then he STILL almost lost (the man can't win when he works heel). I love everything.

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