WWE Raw Results, Highlights, and Review for February 18, 2019

After last night’s Elimination Chamber pay-per-view, the fallout was expected to come on WWE Raw. While we got that fallout, and some surprises, the show itself still struggled to deliver on the potential it possesses. The Road to WrestleMania is allegedly in full swing, but it just doesn’t feel like that.

WWE Raw opened with Triple H standing in the ring with a microphone. It’s not an uncommon choice for WWE, and not one that alone could hinder an entire episode of WWE Raw. Unfortunately, WWE engaged in an age-old storytelling flaw here that continued to plague a struggling show.

In the world of writing, it’s often stressed to “show, not tell” your audience things. The simple example in writing is just listing off details about characters rather than showing those characters in situations that illustrate those aspects of their character. It’s an issue that might not sound like it would carry over into a visual storytelling medium, but represents well where WWE constantly went wrong.

The Future of WWE Raw is Now, So They Say

One of the first things Triple H did when WWE Raw began was announce the debuts of multiple NXT stars to happen throughout the night. It sounds on the surface like a sign of WWE’s progressing forward, but he prefaced it with the announcement of this year’s first WWE Hall of Fame inductions. D-Generation X, consisting of Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Road Dogg, Billy Gunn, X-Pac, and Chyna, will be inducted into the 2019 class.

The move to induct D-Generation X feels completely valid, and is a worthwhile way to recognize the impact of stars like X-Pac, Road Dogg, and Billy Gunn, but also comes off as WWE using it to skirt a decision to induct Chyna by herself. Chyna has often been brushed off by WWE’s brass as a potential inductee because of her brief foray in the adult film industry, which even Triple H has said in the past. WWE has decided Chyna deserves the induction, but has bundled her with five other stars instead of giving her the platform her legacy has earned. WWE told us Chyna is going into the WWE Hall of Fame, but they aren’t showing us they really appreciate her impact on the industry.

Triple H continued the trend by announcing the debut of four of NXT’s most promising stars in a bland moment of simply listing them off one after another. Current NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa, current NXT North American Champion Johnny Gargano, former NXT Champion Aleister Black, and former NXT North American Champion Ricochet were all announced and ultimately made their debuts on WWE Raw.

On paper, it sounds like the formula for a fantastic show. While we ultimately got decent matches as Aleister Black took on Elias, Ricochet teamed with Finn Balor against Bobby Lashley and Lio Rush, and Gargano and Ciampa reunited as #DIY to take on Raw Tag Team Champions The Revival, those matches couldn’t make up for the poor execution of the debuts themselves. Four of NXT’s brightest stars were simply tossed out there and the fans were told they were important. They had decent matches, but felt like just another part of the roster, and not anything special. That’s a travesty for four potential future WWE Champions.

Showcasing the Women, So They Say

After capturing the WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles in a brutal Elimination Chamber match, Sasha Banks and Bayley were out on WWE Raw speaking once again about their new role leading this young division. They had a decent, although unremarkable, moment before being interrupted by Nia Jax and Tamina. Nia Jax took a moment to remind fans that Sasha Banks has a tendency to lose championships in her first defense.

It was a good reminder, but an attempted attack by Jax and Tamina was fended off without much effort at all from the champions. It feels like WWE has laid the seeds for a match between these two teams at Fastlane, making Sasha’s struggles in title defenses a key part of it, but again the moment just felt lackluster. It didn’t live up to the emotion or the storytelling of the title win at Elimination Chamber.

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Speaking of Elimination Chamber, that night we saw Raw Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey defend her title against Ruby Riott. In barely over 90 seconds, Rousey completely squashed Riott and made her tap out to the armbar. Rousey’s ability to deal damage or effectively use an armbar isn’t in question at this point, which made the choice feel very unnecessary. It also heavily diminished Ruby Riott’s abilities and potential.

The follow-up on WWE Raw didn’t help things, but somehow made them even worse. Ruby Riott got a rematch against Ronda Rousey, and it was even the main event of WWE Raw. Again, on paper, that should be a good thing. Rousey and Riott had a respectable match, but the decision to emphasize how helpful the ringside presence of Sarah Logan and Liv Morgan was to Riott only weakened her. Ruby Riott now appears completely incapable of being a threat unless she’s got significant backup. WWE told us Ruby Riott was a contender, but they showed us a superstar who can’t even be a valid challenger while alone.

WWE Raw and The Revival of Tag Team Wrestling, So They Say

Arguably the best part of this episode of WWE Raw came in the form of several tag team matches, seeming to reinforce the impact of The Revival’s alleged willingness to leave WWE for AEW. The night featured three tag team matches, all of which had some good moments and had the potential to be something great, but ones that ultimately couldn’t live up to their potential.

More from Raw

• WWE Raw Predictions: Seth Rollins Will BURY Jey Uso
• Three feuds for CM Punk on WWE Monday Night Raw
• Three candidates to take the Women’s World Championship from Rhea Ripley
• WWE Raw Predictions: LA Knight Will Return The Favor To Cody Rhodes
• Why Drew McIntyre turned heel during WWE Monday Night Raw

The most glaring example of this came with Lucha House Party taking on Zack Ryder and Curt Hawkins. Seeing Ryder and Hawkins reunited was an amazing moment for many fans, and harkens back to a team that was once at the very top of WWE’s tag team division. Since being put together, they barely feel like a team again. Instead, it continues to feel like WWE have found an excuse to put them on TV in a losing effort together, without doing much leg work in showing them to be valid contenders anymore.

We also saw Finn Balor team with Ricochet against Bobby Lashley and Lio Rush. It was a spontaneous match that on paper sounds like a great way to introduce “The One and Only” while highlighting the continuing issues between Balor and Lashley. The match was solid, and had some great moments, but lacked the impact it would’ve carried if Ricochet’s appearance hadn’t been simply told to us earlier in the night.

The night’s final, and best, tag team match saw a rematch of 2016’s Match of the Year. Raw Tag Team Champions The Revival took on the reformed duo of #DIY, Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa. It was easily match of the night, but was done no favors by the simple announcement of Gargano and Ciampa’s presence and their not really being a team again. It’s as if WWE wants to tell us #DIY is back and put them in matches, without showing us their actual moment of reformation. WWE has told us that tag team wrestling is important again, but shows us a tendency to revert to the same lackluster storytelling choices.

WWE Raw Quick Hits

• WWE Raw took place ten minutes from where I live, and the show’s tendency to disappoint as of late made me choose not to even get tickets to attend. When news of NXT debuts came out, I was disappointed I didn’t go. By the time the show was over, I felt I’d actually made the right choice.
• Heavy Machinery and Lacey Evans are just being tossed out in these weird segments where they simply exist, and it’s not doing them any favors.
• Not even Paul Heyman’s microphone skills could’ve made an introduction of a hype video something interesting. We all know who Brock Lesnar is. Now show him to us.
• Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose have seemed to just tossed away their bitter rivalry, and it’s not helping either superstar.
• Aleister Black’s interruption and defeat of Elias was great, but it would’ve been better if no one knew Aleister Black was in the building until that very moment his music hit.

WWE Raw Match Results

• Braun Strowman def. Baron Corbin
• Finn Balor & Ricochet def. Bobby Lashley & Lio Rush
• Lucha House Party def. Zack Ryder & Curt Hawkins
• #DIY def. The Revival
• Drew McIntyre def. Dean Ambrose
• Aleister Black def. Elias
• Ronda Rousey def. Ruby Riott