(Credit image to WWE.com)
General thoughts and musings on tonight’s edition of Monday Night Raw:
- We kick off Monday Night Raw with The Authority – shocking. I guess considering this is the season premiere, they’re really pulling out all the stops to boost ratings.
- That last thought was all sarcasm.
- For the first time in history Sting will wrestle on Raw. His opponent? The Big Show. Is this 1995? Am I watching WCW Nitro?
- Speaking of WCW Nitro, the New Day is looking a little Harlem Heat-esque in those new tights.
- Triple was obviously mocking Vince McMahon with the dancing. It looked too much like his impression of him when DX re-united in the mid-2000s.
- This is worth saying every week: New Day is awesome; one of the best things WWE has going.
- Ric Flair cutting the most Ric Flair promo ever is hilarious, and surprisingly, I think he’s sober. He did his job, putting over Charlotte’s opportunity and how special this night truly is for the supposed Divas revolution.
- If Sasha Banks wants any sort of career longevity, she’ll quit taking those impactful suplex bumps on the back of her neck. Still, she’s the best in world.
- The MizTV segment was the most painful tease I can remember in recent history. We still don’t know who is going to join Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns against the Wyatt Family at Night of Champions, and I’m super frustrated by it. I don’t know if I should applaud WWE or curse them.
- If The Rock comes out at Night of Champions to help little cousin out, I’m going to shit my pants. I won’t even try to make it to the bathroom in time. I’m just going to do it, and not even be ashamed about it.
- I caught myself groaning at the idea of John Cena vs. Sheamus…I’m beginning to think maybe it’s not the repetitive booking that I’m groaning at, but just….Sheamus, in general.
- These backstage diva segments are awful – Nikki Bella shown stretching backstage, Brie Bella and Alicia Fox are clapping for some unknown reason.
- Ryback being force-fed garbage promos is so frustrating. A program with Kevin Owens could be very valuable to his development, but the creative team is doing him no favors.
- “The Master of the Feed Me More” is both the best and worst nickname I’ve ever heard. I kept waiting for “WHATCHA GONNA DO!?!?” to come out of Ryback’s mouth.
- I’m okay with the Cosmic Wasteland faction. It makes the Stardust character more imposing, and gives The Ascension something to do besides being the punching bag of the tag team division.
- So, arguably the biggest Divas Championship match in the last few years, a program that has been building for months, a moment that has been building since Survivor Series (November 2014), and it doesn’t get the main event? Give me a break. Does WWE really wonder why this “Divas revolution” hasn’t taken off the way they wanted?
- The match was okay but it certainly showed us why the Divas Championship wasn’t the main event, and the finish is another example of why these divas matches and segments continue to fall flat.
- Sad Ric Flair is something we should never be subject to seeing.
- Cesaro had the crowd eating out of the palm of his hand. Dozens of “Cesaro Section” signs, but still – no push.
- Honestly, I zoned out on Twitter. I had no interest in Sting vs. Big Show, which is actually a pretty accurate summation of the entirety of Raw. It was a bad show with a lot of poor finishes and boring promos, resembling a late-90s episode of WCW Thunder. See you all next week!
Stoney Keeley is the editor of the SoBros Network, Tennessee Titans Featured Analyst for Pro Football Spot, and covers the WWE for WrestlingNews.co. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley, @PFSpot, @WrestlingNewsCo
