WWE Raw Power Rankings: Braun Strowman Climbs to Top After Smashing Ladder
By Bryan Heaton
20. Bobby Lashley (last week: 17)
19. Sami Zayn (last week: 18)
Once again, I’m lumping these two together. It’s not so much that they’re comparable in their rank, though they are. It’s not even because Zayn and Lashley are involved in a storyline together. No, I’m keeping these two on the same slide because I can’t bear to think on their segments more than once. If they’re both on the same slide, we can move on very quickly.
The longer Zayn and Lashley keep going back and forth, the more I feel like every week is just a double down on the previous week’s misadventures. Lashley has no program or story? MAKE HIM A FAMILY MAN! Wait, he came across more like a sociopath than a loving family man? PUT LOCAL INDIE WRESTLERS IN DRAG, IT’LL BE HILARIOUS! Wait, people thought that skit was terrible, transphobic, and a waste of time? SUPPORT THE TROOPS!
The larger issue is that Lashley has no discernible character at the moment. A while back, I wrote about the need to develop characters consistent with a performer’s personality. Bobby Lashley is a monster — why isn’t he just throwing people around like stuffed animals? At least Sami, bless his heart, is trying his best to salvage this mess, but there’s only so much he can do.
I’m looking forward to their MITB match for a few reasons. I think it’s going to be pretty good, all things considered, so I want to see what they can do. But mostly, I want this feud to end and never be mentioned again.