There are four more Raw’s before the Battleground PPV on July 19th. This week’s episode needed to lock in the key matches and create excitement for the coming weeks. Instead, on a show that featured Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman, Raw fell horribly flat. The depressing part is with just a few minor story tweaks and the show could have created more buzz and given some energy to the current story lines.
The first great failing of the show was that Heyman and Brock opened with a promo that suggested you might not see them again for the rest of the show. While there is an element of surprise to Brock coming out for the final segment, the WWE would have been better served to set the stage for that. Heyman should have stated that Brock wanted to talk to Seth about their match and later in the show and he would meet him in the ring.
That promises fans that Brock is going to come back out which would keep everyone hooked. This allows for a segment where Seth tells the Authority he’s not afraid to meet Brock in the middle of the ring. It also gives Seth a more aggressive reason to get back J&J and Kane back on his side.
It would have been better if the show ended with a match and not a segment. Fans are always likely more excited to wait on a big time main event then having a segment that could misfire to end the show. That’s why it would have been best to have the Seth/Brock encounter during the third hour.
Until that point Seth could work very hard behind the scenes to get Kane and J&J back. The WWE chose to have Kane get over on Brock and swing the encounter in the Authority’s favor. This was a questionable move considering the lack of loyalty between Kane and Seth and the perceived power of Brock. Seth and Brock would have benefited from a different strategy.
They could open the segment with Seth coming out first because he’s not scared to walk alone. Brock then comes out to a huge pop. As Brock enters the ring Seth slips out. Heyman grabs a mic and provokes Seth. Getting Heyman more mic time is a good thing. As Seth stands on the outside somewhat backing down J&J with Kane gather at the entranceway. Brock encourages them to come to the ring, but then suddenly Big Show, Mark Henry and the New Day also join them. All these men then surround the ring. Brock fights them off for a time, but they quickly overwhelm him. Heyman eats a few shots as well.
Seth grabs the mic and explains to Brock that the Authority rules the WWE and that going against their power is a huge mistake. This could also be used as a way of building up Brock’s match for Japan. If it has to be Kofi having that match you could have him get a little over zealous with Brock during the beat down. This establishes Seth as a strong champion as he wields some power with the additional Superstars having his back.
Brock would benefits from this because it takes so many guys to take him down. He doesn’t need to be made to look any stronger, but reminding the audience that he is a beast never hurts. Also, he is stronger than J&J and Kane, so this is a much better way of issuing the beat down.
To open the second hour it would have been better to have Cena come out and cut his promo, but the theme of it is that he doesn’t want to give Owens a match. Owens rejected his challenge for the NXT title and Cena beat him at the last PPV. Why should he grant Owens a match under those circumstances? Cena needs to get the upper hand a little bit on Owens and not feed right into everything as he has the past few weeks.
This brings Owens out and he is not amused by Cena, but he still wants the match. Cena offers Owens a challenge. Owens must find a tag team partner and meet Cena and a partner of his choosing in the main event. If Owens team can beat Cena’s team then he will grant Owens his title shot at Battleground. The rest of the night Owens scouts partners with very limited success.
The Bellas worked a match against heels Naomi and Tamina. The problem is the Bellas are heels. It was utterly pointless. What should have happened instead is the Bellas should have had an in ring promo. It’s a totally crazy concept where the Bellas come down to the ring and condemn Paige for trying to gather all the Divas against them. They can talk about how they are the backbone of the Divas division and the other girls own them a debt of gratitude.
They can threaten that any Divas that join Paige will be blackballed. That should be the extent of the promo. WWE would typically have Paige come out, but this needs to simmer a few weeks, so instead Paige won’t respond until Smackdown or the next Raw.
A Bellas promo would probably not be the best promo ever, but them talking is so different it will freeze viewers to hear what they have to say because they almost never do in ring promos. Also, they have a simple avenue to create more heat by acting as if they are entitled. It should work to get people a little more invested in the Divas and finally clearly define the Bellas as arrogant selfish heels. No amount of Divas matches is going to help the division at this point. The WWE needs to establish who everyone is at this point and allow the fans to connect with them through promos.
Dean Ambrose lost to Kane with the help of Seth Rollins on this show. Ambrose losing to Kane one week removed from almost becoming the Champion is an awful idea. That match should be scrapped in favor of Ambrose versus any middling heel that he can have a good 10-minute match with. Then he can tease Owens about possibly being his partner. Seeing interaction with Owens and Ambrose backstage would be interesting and again hold people’s attention.
The most important thing here is that Ambrose looks strong and should look strong going into whatever feud WWE has coming up for him. He should not be losing on Raw even if the loss is tainted. Any other course of action causes him to be diminished in the eyes of the fans who already feel like he is not that hot now that he lost to Rollins.
Owens spends the entire show having interesting conversations with various Superstars heels and faces, but appears to not have a partner. Cena comes out with Neville, which makes sense since Neville almost beat Cena for the U.S. Title and featuring Neville here helps him in the eyes of the fans seem more important. Owens comes out grabs a mic and reveals that he does have a partner and it’s someone that has contempt for Cena that he found lurking in the shadows.
Bray Wyatt then comes out and we have a very interesting match. Wyatt does hate Cena. There’s no doubt they have a past and it’s usually a good idea to use your history whenever you can. They two sides battle for about ten minutes. At one point Neville gets hurts. It could be an apron powerbomb or something with a knee, but an injury gets the odds in favor of Owens. Then an angry Roman Reigns hits the ring and chases off Bray leaving Owens alone.
Owens grabs a mic and proclaims that this is unfair, and he says he will not continue, but out comes Steph. She agrees with Owens, but the match must continue. So she’s going to even the sides. She tells Cena his team must go down a member, but states that it will be Cena that will be left out. This of course pisses people off as Neville is injured and will be easy picking. If Steph is going to be there it’s never a bad idea to use her to stir the audience up.
Neville puts up a heroic fight, but Owens wins. Cena immediately hits the ring post-match to help an injured Neville, but Owens gets away and we end the show with Cena helping Neville while glaring at a victorious Owens.
That card gives fans more bang for their buck and elevates all those involved. Owens gains more heat. Rollins looks more legitimate. Wyatt looks like a bigger deal. The Bellas getting any mic time can only help them. This is what WWE needs to do to hold people’s attention. All those characters were on the show last night, but the way they were used was bland and predictable. This really isn’t that hard.