Photo Source: WWE.com
On WWE Raw this week, a handful of superstars had a rough night. Who needs to find a way to bounce back?
As much as we’d all like to think everything is sunshine, roses, and kittens, sometimes people hit a rough patch. It’s no different for WWE superstars. Sometimes, they’re just in a funk. After WWE Raw this week, there’s a few superstars who fall into this category.
This isn’t to say there’s no hope for these particular superstars to come back to the promised land. It’s WWE – things can change in a heartbeat. But at the present, here are three Raw superstars who are in need of a big boost in the coming weeks.
Brock Lesnar
We might as well get this one out of the way right off the bat. See, I actually don’t mind talking about the elephant in the room. Or, I guess, the elephant not in the room.
As has been well documented by now, Brock Lesnar was a no-show this week on Raw. This, despite being advertised ahead of time as appearing. Instead of the promised face-to-face confrontation between Lesnar and Roman Reigns – Brock’s WrestleMania opponent – The Big Dog cut into Lesnar with a fiery promo.
Despite Lesnar’s absence giving us the best Reigns monologue in his career, it still makes Brock look like a chump. What was the purpose of advertising the rare and elusive Lesnar appearance if he wasn’t going to show up? It’s WrestleMania season, and the Universal Champion should start appearing once in a while.
Of course, I’m working on the assumption that this whole thing is a work – Lesnar was never really scheduled to appear, and this was all a ploy to give Reigns a good talking point. Brock should show up on Raw next week, tell Roman to SAY THAT TO MY FACE PUNK, and everything’s back on track. Or, Lesnar – through Paul Heyman – can explain that Reigns isn’t worth his concern.
If this was a legit no-show – which I think is highly unlikely, though not out of the question – then Brock looks like even more of a loser. One of the toughest superstars in recent WWE history bails on an opponent he’s already beaten? Why not show up just to give him a piece of your mind?
Photo Source: WWE.com via Twitter
Kurt Angle
Kurt’s had a few of these kinds of nights in his tenure as GM. He hasn’t really had many really bad nights lately, but it’s definitely been an issue for the Olympic hero. This week, it’s two very separate incidents that land Angle his dubious spot.
First, Angle’s treatment of The Miz is borderline criminal. Sure, The A-Lister is a heel – and a cowardly one, at that – but Angle’s doing him dirty, man. Refusing to let Miz know who his WrestleMania opponent is? How is this not a huge scandal? Former GM Mick Foley at least tried to be up front with the superstars. But Angle playing coy? Not cool.
Then he forces Miz into not one, but two matches the night after the Elimination Chamber. Miz’s opponents? Seth Rollins and Finn Balor. You know, two of the hottest acts going.
Worse than that is the second reason for Angle’s inclusion – his rambling, sometimes incoherent “apology” for “lying” to “Ronda Rousey” so he could make “Triple H” and “Stephanie McMahon” “look better.” It’s doesn’t really make sense, since the initial “lie” was Angle’s likely payback for what happened at Survivor Series.
Instead, Angle looks like a goober who wants his job very badly, so he’ll grovel for it. And for his troubles, he got punched in the face. Because that’s a fair tradeoff.
Titus Worldwide
A few weeks back, in one of my articles, I referenced former Major League Baseball pitcher Steve Howe. He was most famous for being banned from baseball for life – seven times. Howe is second most famous for being referenced in Naked Gun, where the filmmakers make light of the “Steve Howe Last Chance.”
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I don’t think the tag title match on Raw this week was a Steve Howe Last Chance. Titus Worldwide is (un)officially out of the running for the Raw Tag Team Championships.
It wasn’t a bad match – just very repetitive and reminiscent of the entire series of matches between Titus Worldwide and The Bar. The 2 out of 3 Falls stipulation injected a bit of life into the match in the early portion of the match. But even though it was something fresh, it didn’t really matter in the long run. The Bar won 2-0 – with Sheamus scoring the first pinfall almost immediately when the match started.
Apollo and Titus O’Neil just ran out of luck at the worst possible kayfabe time. A string of “lucky” victories got them their title matches, but they couldn’t convert. With WrestleMania fast approaching, it may be time for the duo to look towards the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal.
Next: WWE WrestleMania 34: Predicting the Card
Who do you think is struggling after this week’s WWE Raw?