WWE Raw Results: Highlights, Analysis, and Grades for March 20

Raw, Source: WWE.com

Raw continued the march to WrestleMania 33 from Brooklyn. Roman Reigns took on Braun Strowman, and Chris Jericho hosted The Highlight Reel.

Previously on WWE Raw, “underwhelming” was the word of the night. Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman opened the show and did less nothing than usual. And the show ended with Seth Rollins confronting Triple H – but getting beaten down by The Game.

In between, Roman Reigns got distracted by a gong, because it’s WrestleMania season and that’s how Undertaker rolls. Reigns then got annihilated by Braun Strowman in one of the few bright spots of the episode.

There was a lot of wrestling on the show last week. In fact, there were eight matches last Monday night. That’s good! But there were only about 10 minutes of actual wrestling in those eight matches, which is not so good.

This week on Raw, Reigns got a chance for revenge against Strowman in Brooklyn. We’ve seen Shawn Michaels try to convince Roman to keep Taker out of his head. Did the Deadman loom over The Big Dog’s match again this week?

In addition, Raw this week featured Chris Jericho hosting The Highlight Reel. His guest? The “real” Kevin Owens. As the two former friends barrel towards a United States Title match at WrestleMania 33, what exactly did Y2J mean by the “real” KO?

There was also some followup on the Mick Foley/Stephanie McMahon/Triple H saga, which also features Seth Rollins. Is Foley still the Raw General Manager? Or did his actions last week earn him a pink slip?

Related Story: Predictions for WWE Raw March 20, 2017

Please continue reading for all the highlights from Raw on March 20.

Mick Foley Quits?

Someone call Robin Thicke, because the lines between kayfabe and reality are blurred.

Foley reading off index cards was a bit weird, but the guy’s been reading crib notes off his hand on Raw for weeks, so whatever. Then before he gets fired, he gets emasculated by Stephanie McMahon one more time for tradition’s sake.

It was a bit strange that a segment where an authority figure fires another employee was stretched out over a week, but this is WWE. Gotta keep people tuning in for all the HR drama! Foley taking a “leave of absence” or getting fired or quitting or whatever has been a long time coming. There’s a certain Olympic hero making his long-awaited return to WWE who has some history with Stephanie McMahon, after all. So I get all of that.

What was refreshing in a sense was Sami Zayn remembering his True Babyface roots and standing up to Stephanie. He didn’t come out with a bunch of snark and balls in purse jokes or anything like that – Sami just straight up said, “This is wrong, and you should do the right thing.”

Foley trying to get Sami to leave before irreparably damaging his career was a great final act for the Hardcore Legend. And obviously, Samoa Joe was going to come out because a) he hates Sami Zayn, and b) he’s one of Triple H’s attack dogs.

And no matter what, I’ll never complain about a Sami Zayn vs. Samoa Joe contest.

Sami Zayn vs. Samoa Joe

Result: Samoa Joe defeated Sami Zayn via submission

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Poor Sami, is there a single fat guy with a beard who doesn’t hate his guts?

Kidding aside (because I’m a fat guy with a beard, too), this match was exactly what you would expect from it. Zayn could make offense from James Ellsworth looks devastating, so of course Joe looks like the strongest man in the universe here.

I particularly enjoy that in most Sami Zayn matches, he always starts a run where it looks like he’s going to build momentum, but one move smacks him down. Here, it was the snap powerslam Joe hits. Such quickness from a big man, and Zayn’s momentum was snuffed out.

And the continued teases of Joe hitting a Muscle Buster makes me think we’ll see very few of those in this run. Whether it’s a good thing or a bad thing, it makes sense to save that as a last resort finisher. It’s the same thing happening with the Red Arrow lately – Neville only uses it when all else fails. It helps to make the move more special – more superstars should have a “super finisher” that is bulletproof and rarely used.

The look of disgust on Joe’s face when Sami avoided getting counted out was pitch perfect. I know Joe made his NXT debut as a hero, but he is so perfect as a brutal monster who doesn’t care about his opponents. It was nice of him to let Sami think he could prevail, but there’s no way Joe is losing matches right now. He’s on fire, and he’s got the backing of Triple H.

Foley’s Victory Lap

Look, there’s no denying that Foley is a legendary performer. It’s great that he’s finally going to (hopefully) get that hip fixed and get some well-deserved time off. But the “victory lap” he took backstage? It was a mixed bag for me.

Foley was definitely one of Sami Zayn’s biggest supporters, but did he really need to put Foley over on the way out the door? The Cesaro and Sheamus bit was much more appropriate, since (kayfabe) Foley put them in a position to excel at this year’s WrestleMania.

After his hug with Bayley that clearly wasn’t blocked out at rehearsal, Triple H is the biggest jerk he’s been in a long time, and that actually made me laugh. Sorry, folks, I’m a sucker for mockery.

Seth Rollins Injury Update

Is it just me, or was that literally the same rehab footage from a few weeks ago? I feel like Seth is definitely working out, but they only filmed it once and said, “Ah, screw it, just reuse it, no one will notice.” I NOTICED, WWE.

The conversation with the physical therapist was the most ridiculous thing ever. I work in the health care field, for one thing, so that doctor either got Rollins to sign a truckload of paperwork or he violated HIPAA privacy laws. (Or the whole thing is a work, but whatever)

Second, what kind of doctor says, “No one will clear him for WrestleMania” in one breath, then follows it up with, “Well, if he makes it to compete at WrestleMania…”? Which one is it, doc?

Charlotte Flair vs. Dana Brooke

Result: Charlotte Flair defeated Dana Brooke via pinfall

Rating: 2.0 out of 5 stars

I’ll say this for Dana Brooke: She’s got enthusiasm. She very clearly wants to be a great performer, and she’s got the potential to be one. But somewhere in her brain, there’s a disconnect between what she’s thinking of doing and what actually gets done.

Here’s an example – after the double leg takedown and a handful of punches, Dana looked lost for a second before she went for a pin. Then two seconds later, she went for another pin. Why? What’s the purpose? It was almost like her brain froze between the offense and the pin.

But she covers it up most of the time by yelling. And yelling. And yelling, yelling, yelling. It doesn’t matter what she’s doing, she just emotes like crazy and, I guess, hopes it distracts from any shortcomings.

The match itself was okay. Dana got a lot of offense in, and the announcers made it seem like Charlotte was surprised by it. But because Charlotte has a big title match coming up at WrestleMania in two weeks, she recovers for the victory.

I question the wisdom of Charlotte struggling against Dana Brooke so close to Mania. No matter what, Bayley and Sasha Banks (and maybe Nia Jax?) are no comparison to Dana. And, in theory, Charlotte is the most decorated superstar in the Raw women’s division at the moment. Shouldn’t she be able to walk all over Dana, even if she did underestimate her?

The Highlight Reel with Chris Jericho

I have to admit that when Y2J announced the “real” Kevin Owens as his guest, visions of lame Photoshop jokes danced through my head. And I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised by what we got here.

The pandering at the beginning was, thankfully, short-lived. It’s always been a knock on Jericho as a face, that he is super cheesy and panders too much. But given where things went, I’ll give it a pass this week.

Apparently, the theme for tonight really is blurring the line between fiction and reality. The picture of KO doing the Y2J pose as a teenager was a great opening salvo. (I’d be lying if I said I was sure there were no pictures of me from the same time period doing the same kinds of things.) And posting DMs from 2014? Impressive.

Then Jericho started spitting fire, and it was incredible. This has easily been one of the better built Raw feuds for WrestleMania. And Jericho is almost as on fire as Kevin Owens has been.

But the end of the segment was equal parts amusing and heartbreaking. I’ve said before, KO is the biggest jerk on the planet, even if it comes from insecurity. But ripping up The List? That’s crossing a line.

It’s saved by the Y2J pose at the end. In fact, if KO was wearing a Y2J shirt, it would have been a clear-cut top promo. But I understand having to push merch, so the KO-Mania 2 shirt is acceptable.

I really can’t wait for these two to throw down in Orlando. It’s going to be great.

TJ Perkins vs. The Brian Kendrick

Result: The Brian Kendrick defeated TJ Perkins via pinfall

Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

Very disappointed in the Brooklyn crowd tonight. This match didn’t exactly set the world on fire, but it deserved a little better than deafening silence.

I feel like we’re about two-thirds of the way through a slow burn to a TJP heel turn. He’s been a little less exuberant than normal, for one thing. And in the match tonight, he seemed to get upset with the official for, you know, being in the ring and doing his job.

Kendrick, on the other hand, didn’t really have a lot to do in the match, He just had to run around and stay upright long enough to hit Sliced Bread No. 2 for a victory.

In a “why would you do that” moment, Kendrick then admits to a felony in front of 16,160 people plus a live television audience. Okay, so he claims that he found Akira Tozawa’s passport, but let’s be real – he stole it.

As for Kendrick’s claim that Tozawa’s not in the country, well, let’s break that down. If Tozawa left the passport on the floor of the locker room last week, that was in the United States. Did Tozawa go home to Japan? Okay, how’d he get out of the country without a passport? Otherwise, he’s still in the US – just not in Brooklyn.

Personally, I think Kendrick is just out of his damn mind.

Roam Reigns is Confident

Because of course, he is.

Goldberg vs. Lesnar Preview

The ironic thing about the Goldberg portion of the video package? It’s about twice as long as the combined ring time the current WWE Universal Champion has seen since returning to WWE.

In typical WWE fashion, though, it’s a tremendous preview package. The Goldberg story is actually heartwarming, if you can believe it. I mean, aside from basically admitting he doesn’t have a WWE Network subscription, Goldberg comes across as a great guy, great husband, and great father.

Goldberg’s attitude about the whole thing is refreshing, too. He wants to show his family what he did because it was such a big part of his life. But he wants to do it while he still can – he doesn’t want to Funk it up and stick around too long (not a knock on Terry’s ring ability, just the sheer number of retirements the dude has gone through). Good for him for knowing his limits.

Later in the show, we got the Brock Lesnar half of the story. It basically focuses on the F5 Brock delivered on Raw the night after Fastlane. Which makes sense, since that’s really the only time Lesnar has ever had an upper hand over Goldberg.

The two are announced as being in the house for Raw next week in Philadelphia, and – oh, man, Raw‘s in Philly next week? That should be interesting.

Bayley vs. Nia Jax, No DQ Match

Result: Nia Jax defeated Bayley via pinfall

Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

Earlier in the evening, Stephanie McMahon confronted Bayley backstage. The Raw Women’s Champion was informed that she had a no disqualification rematch against Nia Jax. It seemed punitive after Bayley hugged Mick Foley on his way out of the building. With Nia earning a spot in the WrestleMania championship match if she won tonight, it seemed even more punitive.

The early part of the match was pretty much all Nia. She used her considerable size advantage to keep Bayley at bay. Nia really only wrestles one match over and over, but she does it well and improves it each time.

Of course, the match ends with “[INSERT NAME] HAS PINNED THE [INSERT CHAMPION]” result. There was no way Nia Jax wasn’t getting added to the Raw Women’s Championship match. The no disqualification stipulation makes it a bit more palatable, but still, it’s not the best way to treat a champion.

What aggravated me here was the absolute terrible crowd. Brooklyn was just a hot mess tonight. DELETE chants, CM Punk chants, the wave, We Want Paige chants – you name something awful, it probably happened at Raw in Barclays tonight.

Cesaro & Sheamus Feel The Commissioner’s Wrath

First: Yes, Cesaro, Sheamus is definitely carrots.

Second: UUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH.

Evil authority figures only work if they eventually pay for their terrible treatment of others. Does anyone see Steph getting some kind of comeuppance? Didn’t think so.

Women’s History Month: Mae Young

Without question, Young is one of the greatest women wrestlers in history. It’s always nice to relive her great career.

Triple H Responds to Seth Rollins Situation

Ever the spin doctor, Triple H can manipulate any situation to a point of view he sees fit.

He takes exception with Michael Cole saying Seth’s injury is “partially” his fault. Honestly, I expected him to take full credit for the injury. But instead, he initially puts blame on Rollins.

The turn comes when he blames the fans. It’s a good way to stop them from chanting for CM Punk, I guess. If you’re booing, you can’t really say anything else. He compares the Rollins situation to Mick Foley – when superstars do things to get a positive response from the fans, they do harm to their career in one way or another. Foley broke his body because he kept getting cheered for practically killing himself. Rollins keeps getting hurt because he stopped listening to his mentor, and instead did things for fan response. It’s an interesting theory.

Eventually, Triple H has an epiphany. Rollins won’t be cleared for WrestleMania (*cough*), but still wants to fight Triple H. And Hunter wants to fight Rollins. So he proposes a “non-sanctioned match” (which doesn’t happen nearly often enough) if Rollins agrees to waive liability for injury. It was a really long, drawn-out, round about way to get to the match that anyone knew was coming after last week’s “re-injury”.

Part of me still expects this to break down into a quasi-tag team affair, with Samoa Joe and Sami Zayn getting involved. But that remains to be seen based on their WrestleMania direction.

Source: WWE.com

Cesaro & Sheamus vs. Enzo Amore, Big Cass, Karl Anderson, & Luke Gallows

Result: Cesaro & Sheamus defeated Enzo Amore, Big Cass, Karl Anderson, & Luke Gallows via pinfall

Rating: 1.5 out of 5 stars

The stipulation per Stephanie McMahon – Cesaro & Sheamus need to win to keep their spot at WrestleMania in the Raw Tag Team Championship match. The question entering the match – would Enzo & Cass be able to coexist with Tex Ferguson & Chadd 2 Badd Gallows & Anderson?

That question would be answered even before the bell rang, as The Club jumped Enzo & Cass before they got into the ring. Cesaro took the opportunity to isolate Anderson while Enzo and Cass worked over Gallows outside the ring. A Hart Attack-esque Brogue Kick later, and Cesaro & Sheamus were able to keep their spot in the triple threat tag match.

The question after the match – why was this even a thing?

The New Day Sell WrestleMania

If you hadn’t already realized that WWE had nothing planned for New Day once they dropped the tag titles, this segment should be the proof you need. It’s literally three minutes of them making “jokes” while reading the WrestleMania card. That’s a good way to spend three minutes of a three hour Raw. Much better than giving a match three extra minutes.

Kudos to WWE for not keeping New Day or Xavier Woods off television this week. There was no real reason to do so, but given the leaked pictures and videos released this weekend there was a slight chance he’d get a week off. Keeping them backstage was probably a good move, though, especially with how awful the crowd was all night.

Source: WWE.com

Austin Aries vs. Tony Nese

Result: Austin Aries defeated Tony Nese via pinfall

Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

I haven’t mentioned this over the past few weeks, but I really like Nese’s X-Men colored gear. Everyone always says he’s got no charisma or character, so maybe some bright colors will help him to develop one. Stranger things have happened.

But this match actually has some history behind it. Aries had his first match on 205 Live when he defeated Nese. And last week in the five-person eliminator, Nese put Aries through the barricade near the timekeeper’s table.

Since returning to action from his injury, Aries has been especially ruthless in competition. He looks like he’s always mere inches away from concussing someone with the discus “five-arm.” But beyond that, he’s looked great in the ring.

And poor Tony Nese, who just can’t build any momentum for himself. Hopefully, after WrestleMania, he’ll get a chance to put some victories together and move up in the division.

After the match, Neville comes out and says stuff. It’s typical heel stuff, nothing different than what he said before facing Rich Swann or Jack Gallagher. But Aries will have none of it and gives it right back to him. Austin says he can see that Neville knows that he’s not at his level, King of the Cruiserweights or not.

The sheer fact that Austin Aries is getting a match at WrestleMania is still kind of shocking to me. But the bout with Neville is going to be off the hook.

Source: WWE.com (via Twitter)

Roman Reigns vs. Braun Strowman

Result: Braun Strowman defeated Roman Reigns via disqualification

Rating: 3.0 out of 5 stars

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Before the match, Braun Strowman takes the next step towards permanent main event status when Charly Caruso tries to interview him. He’s so matter of fact talking about literally murdering Reigns, it’s incredible. Guy’s a natural.

As for the match itself, I didn’t really get why it was done, but I loved it. Yeah, Strowman attacked Roman last week, I get that part. But why on earth would you let your current monster destroy the future golden boy two weeks before he faces the legendary monster? Yeah, Roman was about to win, but he still took a massive beating in this match.

Is this supposed to show that Shawn Michaels was right last week? Roman let the Undertaker get into his head, so he’s not thinking straight? Getting annihilated by Braun is a side effect of his Undertaker obsession, maybe?

I don’t know, but the clothesline counter to Roman’s drive-by dropkick was tremendous. Braun has really put together all the little pieces of his abilities over the last few months. He’s got size, agility, speed, charisma, and “the look” of what it takes to thrive in WWE. I’m really digging everything he’s doing lately.

Eventually, Reigns makes a comeback, and hits a pretty nice Superman Punch on a reversal of a two handed chokeslam. He’s lined up for the spear when the lights go out along with a gong. Gotta tell you, the Undertaker teleporting will never cease being cool.

Also cool: Did you see how fast the ref bailed when he realized Taker was standing in the middle of the ring? He couldn’t get out fast enough.

Not sure why Taker was upset at himself for chokeslamming Strowman. Maybe it was because he ate a spear right afterward. But he’s a zombie, so he sits up and stares Roman down. And that’s where we stand with one episode of Raw to go before Mania.

Related Story: WWE WrestleMania 33: If Undertaker Loses, What's Next?

What did you think of this week’s episode of Raw?