Who were the biggest stars from the latest edition of WWE Raw? Here are my top five picks from the night.
Braun Strowman took center stage throughout the first half of WWE Raw this week. The Monster Among Men was unquestionably the biggest star of the night. The show started with Angle firing Strowman for his actions from the previous week. This is the kind of opening segment that we have not seen in years. It instantly created a buzz about what could happen with a mad Monster inside the compounds of the WWE.
From there, Strowman’s rampage throughout the backstage area was one of the best moments in recent times. He was oozing charisma and reminded many fans of the stars from Attitude era. Who else was chuckling when Strowman came face to face with the guy carrying the cake? There was much else from the show too. The Revival made their return to in-ring action as a tag team. From the looks of it, they are bound to get trashed by a pair of returning legends next week. It seems quite possible that they take the role of Gallows and Anderson, before they aligned with Balor.
Nia Jax and Asuka competed in a match that gave the Empress of Tomorrow a run for her money. Elsewhere, Sonya Deville picked up an impressive victory over a four-time Women’s Champion. Titus Worldwide continued to build momentum and Jason Jordan continued to build his character. His interference in the main event and the referee messing up a definite three-count could be major swerves leading up to the week ahead. With so much happening all around, who were the biggest stars from the night? Here are my top picks.
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5. Woken Matt Hardy
Hardy faced off against Heath Slater this week. This was the first real showcase for the Woken One inside the ropes. It surprised me that Wyatt did not make an appearance at any point before, during or after the match. Perhaps creative wanted the Woken Matt Hardy to have all the spot light for himself.
Hardy did exactly that. Heath Slater is always a lovable loser. Picking up a win against him does not necessarily spell out credibility at this point in time. However, this was a good outing for Hardy regardless. After weeks of segments the crowd welcomed the idea of seeing him in action. Hardy brought even more character to his act in the WWE. It is true that many of the elements that made the gimmick special are missing. Regardless, the crowd’s reaction to what was unfolding in the ring was generally warm.
However, at this point in time, Matt Hardy doesn’t have much to do as a singles performer. The Universal title picture seems like a far-fetched idea. However, he could be a strong contender for the IC title against the Miz or even Finn Balor for that matter. At the Royal Rumble, Hardy may be the recipient of a nice pop and score a few eliminations. At the 25th anniversary edition of Raw he might have an entertaining run-in with one of his old foes. But apart from that, I am not sure what else lies for him at the moment, once he is done with Bray Wyatt.
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4. Jason Jordan
As Jason Jordan continues to settle into his character, he seems to be doing a better job with every passing week. He plays the whiny and self-absorbed son of the General Manager role almost perfectly. The character work that was missing from his side is slowly finding its place and Jordan is finding his own stride and pace as far as the act goes.
Though he did not compete in any matches last night, much like Braun Strowman, Jordan was factored into multiple matches. First, there was the Bar taking on Titus Worldwide. This was supposed to be a way for Cesaro and Rollins to redeem themselves from the upsetting loss they suffered the past week. However, Jordan would show up midway through the match, which was enough of a distraction to help Titus Worldwide pick up another victory.
Later in the night, his presence at ringside during the main event, where his tag team partner Seth Rollins competed against Finn Balor would result in chaos. The Bar would come out looking for revenge and end up fighting with Anderson, Gallows and Balor. In the midst of all the confusion that arose, Jordan would trip Balor from behind, eventually setting him up for the Curb Stomp (by the way, when was Rollins allowed to use the move again?). It needs to be seen how the Bar and the Balor Club react to Jordan’s actions next week.
More importantly, how will Rollins react to Jordan’s actions? Will he be okay to know his coveted victory over Balor was a fluke?
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3. Sonya Deville
Monday night Sonya Deville picked up the biggest victory of her WWE career. She faced off against Sasha Banks in a singles match, with the rest of Absolution and Mickey James and Bayley watching from the sidelines. Banks is an established performer in the WWE at this point in time. Moreover, she is one of the cornerstones of the division. A four-time Women’s champion, Banks is no underdog in the ring.
As such, Deville’s clean victory over the Boss suggests big things could be on her way. A superstar of Banks’s caliber can easily shake off this loss. However, for a new star in the making, such as Sonya Deville, Monday’s performance could be one of the defining moments of her young career. I expected the match to end in DQ or with Banks going over. Seeing as how early in the match she applied the Bank Statement on Deville made me wonder if she was gonna lose then and there itself.
With Paige’s recent injury and the rumors surrounding it, the future of Absolution is up in the air. As such, seeing Deville pick up a clean victory without any smocks and mirrors, against a former Women’s champion is a welcome sight. She has the charisma and the skill that is required from a future star. Let’s hope creative makes sure she carries this momentum into the Royal Rumble and beyond.
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2. Seth Rollins
Seth Rollins faced off against Finn Balor in singles action for the first time ever since their historic SummerSlam match to decide the very first Universal Champion. Rollins powerbombed Balor into the barricade at one point in the match. Hence, despite defeating the Architect that night, Balor had to relinquish his title the very next night. That right there is enough history to shine the spotlight on this match.
Moreover, Rollins’s loss against Balor is one rare blemish in his celebrated career. In some way, last night was his shot at picking up that one win that eluded him throughout his stories career. By the time the night ended, Rollins had done the job he had set out to. However, that win came under questionable circumstances to say the least.
At one point, Balor had Rollins down for the count and after the match, as the commentators played it up, the referee counted to three-and-a-half before Rollins broke the count. It seemed like Balor was deprived of a win that he earned by all means. Then there is all the interference and distraction at ringside that resulted in total chaos.
To cap it off, Jason Jordan tripped Balor from behind which then set him up for the Curb Stomp. Was Rollins aware of this? If so, how will he react when he realize he had already lost to Balor earlier in the match and that his hard-earned victory was nothing but a fluke? Those are harsh words to use but seeing as how Balor sat in the middle of the ring following this match, you had to feel that way. Regardless, Rollins added another impressive performance and an even more impressive victory to his career. For that alone, he is the second biggest star of the night.
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1. Braun Strowman
As if anybody had a doubt who the biggest star of the night was. Braun Strowman was head and shoulder above the rest of the pack by a mile. He didn’t even need to step into the ring to do that either. Strowman rampaged across the backstage area like a video game boss who was running around on God Mode.
He three security guards around like rag dolls. He put Curt Hawkins through a table and then proceeded to eat some cake from a terrified guy. You need charisma akin to the legends of the Attitude Era, like Stone Cold Steve Austin to pull off stuff like that. Here we have Braun Strowman, in all his might, strength and rage, finding time to enjoy some cake. Tell me that did not remind you of something that the Rattlesnake would do. Bleacher Report was one of the first to point this out and I just couldn’t get that idea out of my head.
"Strowman’s character now is a monster version of Austin. As WWE proved Monday when Strowman took a piece of cake instead of smashing it in someone’s face, he is still capable of having comedic elements in his segments. That’s where Austin fits perfectly."
As if that wasn’t enough, after pulling off the entire set on to Lesnar and Kane last week, the Monster Among Men outdid himself this week. He flipped a trailer truck for God’s sake. Strowman does these super-human acts and at the same time looks so convincing while doing them. Despite not winning a title yet, he has that undefinable aura around him.
Next: WWE Raw: Highlights and Grades for January 15
The big question now is whether he will be able to get the job done at Royal Rumble. All this rage fueled backstage actions can work only for so long. At some point in time, Strowman needs to win the big one. Will January 29 be his coronation?