A couple of facts about me. I'm a cradle WWE fan. I have been a consistent member of the WWE ThunderDome for several months. I am also a member of the WWE Fan Council. I haven't had live TV or cable since 2004. I stream everything via Roku. I also have experience working on a production team. So last night, I got to watch Monday Night Raw and this upcoming Friday night's Main Event as a member of said ThunderDome. When I watched the replay via Hulu today, not only were the matches not played in the order they aired last night, but some very highly promoted matches were missing! Also, because of these editing choices, some of the color commentary didn't line up.
When Monday night's entertainment began, I thought it was ladies night. The show opened with Alexa's playground where she informed us that Lilly is in timeout because of her actions with Shayna last week. Nia also stepped to Miss Bliss resulting in a match later in the evening.
Next, there was the match between Charlotte Flair and Nikki Cross. This was one of the matches that didn't air next day on Hulu. I can't tell you if this match will appear via replay on Peacock because they are still a month behind in uploading current episodes of Raw, SmackDown and NXT. This particular decision to remove Nikki and Charlotte's match from next day viewing led to some head scratching color commentary from Corey Graves and Jimmy Smith.
Graves: "...Charlotte was humiliated again tonight..."
Smith: "Both ladies had matches tonight..."
Huh? If you are a next day streamer, then you only saw Charlotte when she interrupted the match between Asuka and Rhea Ripley. You missed Charlotte's match where she entered the ring with her signature peacock feathers and her getting counted out which secured another victory for Nikki Cross.
Another match that was only shown live was the highly promoted return of Eva Marie. She was suppose to have a match against Naomi. Did you notice that I used the word "was"? Eva came down the ramp with someone I initially thought was the Blue Meanie's sister. Turns out, it was Piper Niven. Piper is known for her stint on NXT UK. I don't follow NXT UK so I was a little lost and the announce desk acting puzzled didn't help the situation. Anyway, Piper fought Naomi instead and picked up the win for Eva. Besides coming to the ring with Eva, there is chatter about her being called Doudrop. Hey WWE creative....please don't. Course correct and have her next tv appearance be as Piper Niven.
I also only saw the match between Jeff Hardy and John Morrison live. Jeff won but his celebration was interrupted by Cedric Alexander. Cedric issued a half ass apology and a challenge. A "retirement match" happened right then and there. If the veteran Hardy lost, then he would have to retire. Guess who's not retiring! Mr. Alexander is his own worst enemy and should never be allowed to be in possession of a live mic.
Continuing with the ladies, there was some jaw jacking between Nattie and Tamina against Mandy Rose and Dana Brooke. The Barbie dolls didn't like the champ's practice session interrupting their photoshoot. Needless to say, they learned good and quick that the second generation champs are "statement makers, bone breakers and truth tellers".
Alexa and Nia had their match. Besides remembering their friendship turned storyline from years ago, a question immediately came to mind: Will Reggie ever play with the big boys?
He was first introduced to us as Carmella's valet who had an eye for Sasha then he became involved with Nia and Shayna's storyline. Tonight, he seemed to be under Alexa's spell. The man isn't having much luck with the ladies.
I personally don't like the current evil evolution of Miss Bliss but she is getting over. Mind games and ring psychology have a place in sports entertainment and it's a fine line. The New Day and Randy Orton both have it in spades.
The New Day squared up against RK-Bro. The odd couple teaming of Matt Riddle and Randy Orton has built chemistry but eventually Randy will get tired of being saddled with Matt and gift him a very special RKO leading him to go back to singles competition.
Drew McIntyre vs. AJ Styles was the last match of the evening. There is somewhat of a power disparity between these two competitors. AJ's agility helped him earn some frequent flyer miles. He also got in some impressive combination strikes. Styles is no stranger to going up against guys bigger than him. Remember the Bone Yard match against the Undertaker?
McIntyre has this fan's heart. I love watching him in action. All the while the match was in progress, the executive lounge was fully occupied at the top of the ramp. Lashley threatens to interrupt the match but his plans are thwarted by the Viking Raiders. What started as a one on one main event quickly turned into a 6 man tag match. Bobby, AJ and Omos versus Drew, Ivar and Erik was a powerful match with omens.
At one point, Ivar and Omos had at it. Being in a tag team doesn't prevent a competitor from entering into a singles match. I would love to see Ivar v. Omos. The second omen was Drew pinning Lashley for the win. McIntyre will hold the gold up high this Sunday.
As I said at the beginning, I saw the taping of this upcoming Friday night's Main Event. Stop reading now if you want to be surprised.
The first match was Mace and T-Bar v. Lucha House Party. David and Goliath matches are always nail biting to watch. Despite rope intelligence and speed advantage of the Lucha House Party, the dangerous duo of Mace and T-Bar pick up the win.
The second match between Ricochet and Drew Gulak highlighted different in ring styles. Ricochet is a high flyer while Gulak is known for his submission ground game. However, Ricochet showed his intelligence by taking a page from his opponent's playbook. He gets Drew trapped in a submission move and scores a W. Mr. Gulak showed much love and respect in his loss and shook Ricochet's hand before exiting the ring.
Speaking of exits...#BringBackBraun
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