RAW Review: 23rd February

Hello, welcome to another RAW Review- it was a weird scenario with two RAWs one day after the other, but hey WWE wanted to go for it; more power to them. After the underwhelming "PPV" we moved on to a RAW that was the first step on the now open path to Wrestlemania. But did it do much to build Wrestlemania, or much like Hideo Itami was it on the verge of sending us to sleep?

Randy Orton & The Authority Promo
It was a babyface Orton Promo, with no real "oomph" behind it- so it was pretty much exactly the same as every single Orton Promo in 2012 with the names switched out. Just when you thought the opening segment couldn't get even more repetitive and dull- we had The Authority in their 237th Opening Segment. The promos were probably good, but I've just disengaged completely to Opening Segments with The Authority featured- because once you've seen one; you've seen them all. The "Orton Position" angle is pretty much (in recent terms) the build Ryback got for Survivor Series- but they have longer to execute it.

Dolph Ziggler v Bad News Barrett
I like Dolph Ziggler, everyone with a brain-cell at least respects Dolph's in-ring work. But (albeit with shenanigans) was the guy who was pinned last night. Barrett was destroyed by Ambrose last night, he retained the belt because Ambrose just decided to kill him essentially which made him look bad enough. Then we get the guy who was pinned last night, pinning the guy who was already made to look weak last night clean. It looks like their angling for a Fatal 4-Way at Mania with Ambrose, Dolph, Truth and Barrett; which I'm not necessarily against in the grand scheme of things because it gives Ambrose & Dolph a spot on the card- not with 28 other guys in the same spotlight.

Seth Rollins, Randy Orton Backstage Promo
This was a more interesting dynamic, Rollins and Orton both knew how to sell the tension between them without saying much; a consequence of both guys being as experienced as they are. Stephanie having a go at Rollins was a bit of a dodgy development because when Orton inevitably turns it'll leave Rollins in a weaker spot to where he's started with regard to his standing in The Authority- and when they inevitably start backing him it'll seem weird because they in effect position Orton above Rollins.

Primetime Players v The Ascension
Let me get this straight in my head. The Ascension have come onto the Main Roster beaten Miz & Mizdow (former Tag Champs) on their debut- gone on to beat a load of jobbers before beating the New Aged Outlaws at their first PPV. Now they've lost to a team of Darren Young who's been injured for the best part of a year and Titus O'Neil who's lost every match he's been in since even before he turned on Darren. Way to build the NXT guys eh? Even though The Ascension got their own back- they lost their "streak" on a Random RAW that didn't mean anything, which was also what happened with Bo.

One thing I do want to see with regard to the Primetime Players is Slater trying to get into the group and doing an overly emphasised Black gimmick- lets face it; we've had Cryme Tyme.

Roman Reigns, Daniel Bryan Promo
It was the "Lets have Daniel put Roman over" Promo, that literally nobody bought. Thankfully the Roman promo was kept short and sweet- and if WWE are smart they'll keep his words limited and just let the person "on the other side" do all the talking no matter who it is. I've already said my piece with regard to Roman in the Main Event on his own- so I'm going to move on; if it works out for them great, but if it doesn't its not like the warning signs weren't blatant.

Paul Heyman, Roman Reigns Promo
If anyone can get this feud to where WWE wants it to be, its Paul Heyman. You only have to gauge the crowd reaction when Heyman got into full flow to know Heyman can get Reigns over as the babyface. I was expecting some kind of interaction between Roman & Brock tonight because I thought he was advertised- but perhaps its best to keep the from interaction wherever possible because it'll be a fine balance to keep both guys "looking strong" at the same time.

The Uso's v KiddSaro- Tag Title Match
The match wasn't a touch on the previous nights RAW, but it was still pretty good. The finish was pretty much what I'd expected at the PPV but with Naomi and Nattie trading places and keeping the belts on The Uso's setting up a 6-Person Intergender for Mania- which still looks likely, just with the shoe on the other foot.

Mizdow Backstage Promo
It'll be interesting to see where this angle goes, just in terms of execution- the endgame is obvious but it seems like a jealousy angle is the way they're going- which I personally don't agree with because they should keep Miz on the front foot with regard to standing over Mizdow to work the gimmick.

Bray Wyatt Promo
As a longshot I tweeted last night if they'll go this whole feud without coming face to face (until Mania) now I go on the Dirtsheets and it seems thats the way they're going. The only thing I'll say is if anybody can pull it off Bray can.

Jack Swagger v Stardust
Nothing says "You Need to Re-Evaluate" like losing to Jack Swagger.

John Cena, Rusev Promo
There was a lot of Promos last night wasn't there, Jesus. This one was on the better end of the scale purely because its put Cena in the unusual position of having to chase someone headed into Mania. It'll be good for his character and the feud- and I'd hold off on "giving" Cena the match until the very last minute to give Cena's character an edge- and an air of desperation to it. It won't be completely new- but if as I suspect Cena will indeed win (LOL) they should keep Rusev on the front foot going into the match so it doesn't affect him too much.

The Bellas v Paige & Emma
When we did have matches they were "Blink and You'll Miss Them". I'm not quite sure how Nikki getting the better of Paige does anything for either when she had been the dastardly heel the night before- but I'm beyond caring with the Women by this point #GiveDivasAChance and all.

Ryback v Curtis Axel
AXELMANIA! AXELMANIA! AXELMANIA! AXELMANIA! AXELMANIA! AXELMANIA! AXELMANIA! AXELMANIA! AXELMANIA! AXELMANIA! AXELMANIA! AXELMANIA!AXELMANIA!AXELMANIA!AXELMANIA! AXELMANIA! AXELMANIA!

Roman Reigns & Daniel Bryan v Randy Orton & Seth Rollins
I had completely disengaged by this point of the show. I was posting pictures of Pandas- and everything was going crazy. The swerve of this segment was the lack of a swerve, because I'm sure everybody was expecting it. I like them stringing this angle out a bit- because when we do get the payoff it'll mean more.

Thanks for reading as always, I hope these Reviews aren't as underwhelming as the show itself. The product is pretty uninspiring- but I truly do hope they pick it up soon. There are some good moments, its just the surrounding mediocrity that brings the whole show down. Anyway, I'll be soldiering on- so stay tuned for future reviews and the like. AXELMANIA 4 LIFE.