WWE Raw: Hit/Miss Jan. 18 – Ricochet vs. A.J. Styles

After last week’s widely-criticized closing angle with Alexa Bliss shooting a fireball at Randy Orton’s face, what did WWE do right and wrong on the Jan. 18 episode of Raw?

One would think, after last week’s ill-received fireball angle, that WWE would do their best to avoid reminding fans of those events. It would be quite believable if Vince McMahon scrapped the aftermath angle thinking we would forget it would happen (as he’s done so many times).

Not only did WWE keep the angle going, but they actually hyped Orton responding to Bliss’ attack as a focal point heading into the show, which he did while wearing a mask. Further, Bliss also hosted an “Alexa’s Playground” segment and faced RAW Women’s Champion Asuka in a non-title match, making it quite the busy night for Bliss.

Let us move beyond the fireball angle and examine a Hit and a Miss for the Jan. 18 episode of Raw with only one more episode before the annual Royal Rumble pay-per-view.

HIT: Ricochet and A.J. Styles put on what constitutes a classic for Raw (so about 3.5 stars)

Let’s just get this out of the way: that ending sequence with Styles hitting a gourdbuster on Ricochet across the top rope, causing the latter to bounce into the air and directly into position for the Styles Clash was one of the best sequences you’ll ever see. For a spot that could have gone so bad almost every second, it was as smooth as a video game animation.

The match itself was the top-tier of the matches you’ll see on WWE TV, and it’s no surprise that the two wrestlers involved on both Raw and SmackDown who are the anchors of these matches are A.J. Styles and Daniel Bryan. Styles is basically taking the role of Bryan on Raw, but the difference is Styles keeps winning while Bryan keeps putting others over in defeat.

Now, this doesn’t mean Styles isn’t putting anyone over while racking up wins. He definitely is (just watch his recent matches with Ricochet and Gulak); he’s just not in a position to be putting these wrestlers over by losing at this juncture, unlike those who Bryan’s been facing on SmackDown. What Styles is doing even while winning is giving his opponents just enough offense, just enough to show their in-ring skills that they gain some credibility, even when they come up on the short end.

Ricochet gained a lot for someone who had been defined down so much in recent months, particularly with how much the commentators praised his heart and tenacity to go along with his skill and athleticism. Ricochet inflicted a lot of offense on Styles, including some cool counters like hitting the Recoil to block the Phenomenal Forearm. As unnecessary as it is, Ricochet moonsaulting into a deadlift German suplex bridging pin was also impressive.

I will admit, though, that I gave a hearty laugh when Omos, who caught Ricochet after a springboard, literally just dropped Ricochet to the ground as the ref yelled at him to set Ricochet down. Omos holding up his hands like, “I didn’t do anything,” (any parent of young children knows the pose and look) only added to the hilarity.

In the end, Styles won with that sweet Styles Clash off of the rebound, and it’s another testament to Ricochet that Styles had to revert to his rarely-utilized Styles Clash to finish him rather than the more common Phenomenal 4-Arm or Calf Crusher.

Do yourself a favor and watch the match if you haven’t already. You won’t be disappointed.

MISS: ENOUGH with the bickering tag team partners stories!

Now to where you WILL be disappointed, at least if you have the same thought process as me. Just what is it with WWE and their reliance on the “tag team partners who hate each other” trope? What makes it worse on Monday nights is that there are TWO identical bickering partners stories ongoing between Shayna Baszler & Nia Jax and Cedric Alexander & Shelton Benjamin.

(Sure, I could have most certainly put that atrocious “The Dirt Sheet” segment as the “Miss” here, but I didn’t want to have to revisit such a terrible segment.)

I wouldn’t be so down on this sort of story if WWE didn’t rely on it so much. Having it concurrently with two separate teams is just baffling. The biggest issue is that it doesn’t make sense (or is too early) for one, if not both of these teams.

First, let’s look at Jax & Baszler. I can see why WWE insists on this angle between them since they unwillingly teamed together in the first place, winning the Women Tag Team Championship (and losing them) along the way. We’ve seen teams with two “alphas” (which both women certainly are) succeed before, so why not here?

The strife between the two continued on Raw as Baszler said she would eliminate her partner from the Rumble match if necessary, irking Jax. This continued after Baszler’s victory over Mandy Rose, leading to both women taking damage from a Dana Brooke attack. Rather than arguing, they should be working together to ensure the last two in the Rumble match are each other.

I will hand it to WWE for this, at least: they’re bickering over who’s better and more dominant and NOT over a man/love interest. That’s some progress.

The Hurt Business is where it makes even less sense. Like Baszler & Jax, Alexander & Benjamin are bickering Tag Team Champions. It really exploded on Raw as they spent the entire match yelling at and one-upping each other, almost to their detriment (again). If it wasn’t for Bobby Lashley basically “sonning” both of them, they may have lost another match.

Prior to the sudden dissension within the group, The Hurt Business had been booked as dominant and confident wrestlers with no sign of strife. Then, without warning, Alexander takes a character change and tries to become the alpha in a group that has both M.V.P. and Lashley.

Alexander becoming a bit too egotistical may coalesce with some of his mannerisms since regaining his confidence and winning ways since joining, but it’s a far stretch considering the shift happened so quickly and not over an extended period, which would make this angle more believable.

Further,  what purpose does the bickering serve? It’s not even like any other tag teams are being built off of the combustible situations. Lucha House Party win two weeks ago…and then Metalik taps tonight. Rose & Brooke haven’t done anything even though their foes are uncooperative with each other. It’s just bad, bad booking.

Hopefully, there are angles next week (or more realistically after the PPV) where M.V.P. and/or Lashley bring the Tag Team Champions together and settle things because they’re just too good to be undone by internal issues. I have a feeling that Jax/Baszler will eliminate the other, leading to a match between the two either at Fastlane or WrestleMania as they may want to extend it beyond Elimination Chamber.

Well, it was another lackluster Raw that at least had the Ricochet-Styles match to keep it from being a complete dud. Let’s meet back next week to see what the go-home show before the Royal Rumble holds.