Who were the big winners and losers on this week’s episode of WWE Raw?
After WWE Raw on Monday, there are a handful of superstars who are seeing their stock rise. Likewise, a couple of superstars look like they’ve hit a rough spot. A pro wrestler’s career is always full of peaks and valleys, but in WWE they get magnified because of the number of eyes on them at all times.
With that said, let’s take a look at some superstars on the move after Raw this week.
Winner: Kane
Let the record show that I am 110% against another Kane run in WWE. His mayoral run was supposed to signify his well-deserved retirement from in-ring competition. And, to me at least, 2017 Kane is a far cry from 1997 Kane, or 2004 Kane, or even 2010 Kane.
With that said, it’s hard to argue that Kane returning doesn’t make him look like the biggest badass on the roster right now. Well, aside from Braun Strowman, at least. A typical Kane appearance from through the ring led to an assault on Roman Reigns, the likes of which haven’t been seen in a long time.
If I had to venture a guess, I’d say Kane’s reappearance to whoop Reigns is due to WrestleMania 33. Roman retired the Undertaker, right? Kane’s brother? Wouldn’t you want to get retribution for your family if the chance presented itself? (It’s WWE, so that probably won’t happen, but I can dream, can’t I?)
Winner: Mickie James
There’s a lot going on with Mickie James after this week’s Raw. First off, she picked up a win over Alexa Bliss heading into TLC. It was a tag match, so there was a bit of distraction involved. And I’m firmly against champions losing non title matches before the championship gets put on the line. But I’ll let it slide.
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Later in the night, Mickie was walking backstage with her partner, Bayley. Charly Caruso stopped the number one contender for an interview, and it was absolutely the best thing that could have happened to Mickie. The talk started with her thoughts on Alexa’s nasty comments over the past several weeks. But it quickly pivoted to Mickie’s personal life, and it was touching.
Mickie explained that she was very hurt by the comments about her age. Well, duh. She’s 38! But she added that she’s got the best reason for success at home waiting for her – her three year old son. It was a heartwarming segment that really humanized Mickie, and adds another layer to her upcoming Raw Women’s Championship match at TLC.
By adding that human element to the TLC match, the Women’s Championship match becomes about more than just a title. It’s about family, pride, self-worth, and proving one’s self. Sure, championships are great, but personal victories are sometimes more important.
Loser: Kalisto
Boy, what a difference a week makes. Last week, Kalisto not only won the Cruiserweight Championship, but I tabbed him as one of the top performers of the entire week in WWE as well.
But then we hit this week. Kalisto didn’t compete in a match this week, but his segment was one of the worst of the entire show. We’re going to work backwards on this one, because the end wasn’t nearly as bad as the beginning.
Apparently, former Cruiserweight Champion Enzo Amore found more friends in the past week. He had already recruited Ariya Daivari to his cause, but this week Noam Dar, Tony Nese, and Drew Gulak were standing up for The Realest Guy. The whole crew beat down Kalisto, and then Mustafa Ali when he tried to save the new champ.
But worse than the beating was Kalisto’s promo. It was terrible. The Lucha Dragon spoke way too fast, stumbled over his words in both English and Spanish, and made little to no sense. It was a little better than his infamous “good lucha thing” promo from last summer, but he should definitely find someone to do his talking for him for a while. As an example, he stated he would leave TLC as “the new Cruiserweight Champion,” despite already being the Cruiserweight Champion. Whoops!
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Who do you think came out as winners and losers on WWE Raw this week?