This Week In WWE

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  • Raw started with, and was dominated by, the awesome gauntlet match. It was one of the better TV matches in recent times and was the longest match in WWE history.
  • The first two in the gauntlet were Rollins and Reigns and they put on a really good 20 minute back and forth that Rollins won with a roll up. 
  • Next up is John Cena. He and Rollins go nearly 30 minutes and it was excellent. Cena once again sold his exasperation at not being able to put his opponent away brilliantly. Rollins would not die and picked up the win. 
  • Elias is next out. No fucking about here, he goes straight after the tired Rollins. Rollins tries to continue but he finally succumbs after 65 minutes. This was an incredible showing by Rollins and it made him look great heading into the Chamber match.
  • Finn Balor is out next and he puts on a good near 20 minute effort before beating Elias. 
  • Miz is out second to last and he beats Balor using typical heel tactics. Miz celebrates but he has forgotten that there is someone else in the match and his facial expression when he realises are brilliant.
  • Braun is out last and Miz tries to run away but Braun is like a fucking massive cheetah and catches him easily. This final segment lasts over 10 minutes but Braun picked up the win easily enough. Braun cuts a good promo following the match and then destroys the Miztourage. 
  • Everything about this match was great, from the layout to the order to the wrestling. Excellent. 
  • Jeff Jarrett is Hall of Fame bound. Crazy times. 
  • Asuka cut a promo about her match with Nia Jax. Jax gets her attacks in to make it appear that she has a chance this Sunday.
  • Titus Worldwide beat The Bar again. You would think it would set up a title match at the PPV but WWE is yet to acknowledge it on the website.
  • Their was a promo between Wyatt and Hardy. It was dog shit. All they do is laugh at each other. 
  • The main event was a 6-woman tag, because what we need is more of that. It was pretty sloppy but it ended with James and Bliss standing tall, despite being on separate teams.
  • Raw was great this week. Completely due to the gauntlet match. You can skip the last hour.
  • The show started with Styles cutting a promo that was fine other than one terrible joke. Not sure if he adlibbed it or someone wrote it for him. Either way, nope.
  • Kevin Owens faced, and beat, Dolph Ziggler in a good match. It ended with a predictable distraction finish though. 
  • Jinder Mahal talks shit about Bobby Roode, saying he is afraid of Orton and some other shit. Roode disagrees with everything he says. Orton turns up to do some scuffling. Finishers are hit, intrigue for a title match is not increased.
  • Backstage, Bryan wants Jinder to get the title shot but Shane thinks Orton deserves it because he has been attacking people randomly. Assault basically. Neither has won a match to earn a title shot because that would be too sensible. Bryan basically says 'whatever' and lets Shane have his way. Shane is one of the worst characters on TV.
  • Riott Squad beat the faces of the roster in the award winning one millionth 6-woman tag since the brand split. The match was alright but it is hard to get invested when it happens so often. We are set for Riott vs Charlotte at Fastlane, which should be good.
  • Sami Zayn tells Kevin Owens that they will take out everyone in the title match then he will lay down for him. Owens looks bewildered. A heel turn is coming. Well, he is already a heel so maybe a defacto face turn. 
  • The New Day beat Gable and Benjamin in a number 1 contenders match. It featured another overbooked finish. 
  • Bludgeon Brothers once again continue the bludgeoning. 
  • There is a video for Nakamura because god forbid you would have your number 1 contender for WrestleMania on the show.
  • The main event was AJ Styles vs Baron Corbin and it was fine. Styles doesn't put on actually bad matches. Corbin only has one match structure though. Styles won. 
  • Smackdown was once again a show that appears to be booked by randomly selecting things out of a hat. For two weeks in a row we have had no Rusev or Nakamura. Explain that.
  • We continue the title tournament with Ariya Daivari taking on a debuting (on 205 Live) Buddy Murphy. Murphy looks great and he showed some signs that he will bring something good to the division. He won with the Whale Hunt (as it was called when Shuji Kondo used it). It's a great looking move.
  • Lucha House Party beat some jobbers in a nothing match. It only lasted 4 minutes though.
  • The main event saw Mustafa Ali beat Jack Gallagher in a really good match. It was maybe a touch below the Strong vs Itami and Gulak vs Nese matches but it was still very good. 
  • This week ws basically just matches and I approve. 205 Live continues to be a fun, easy show to watch.
  • We get a hype video for Almas vs Gargano to open the show. 
  • Velveteen Dream beat No Way Jose in a solid match for what it was. I'm not sure where they are going to go with Jose now. He has no real place on NXT but I'm not sure he will have a place on the main roster either. 
  • Regal announces that the Dusty Classic will be returning and the winner will get a title shot at TakeOver: New Orleans. 
  • Nikki Cross beat Vanessa Borne in short order. Borne has improved since I last saw her but she still isn't on the same level as Cross. 
  • The main event was the NXT Title match between Almas and Gargano. It was probably the least excellent of their matches but it was still a superb TV main event. It ends when a ref bump allows Ciampa to interfere and cost Gargano his job in NXT. I can only assume that this feud ends with an unsanctioned match at TakeOver. I approve of that wholeheartedly. 
  • NXT was a run of the mill show with a great main event. 


Show of the Week - Raw

This is based entirely on that gauntlet match, which was spectacular TV that came out of nowhere. 

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