At times, it felt like Raw was specifically designed to put on the strongest in-ring show it could, with three excellent TV matches leaving viewers salivating over the quality of the wrestling on offer.
The first was a strong encounter between fan favourites Kevin Owens and Cesaro, the latter of whom looks every bit as impressive as he did prior to his shoulder injury. It was a refreshing change to see Cesaro involved in a good match that he actually won, rather than in his usual role of coming up short.
His Superman-inspired entrance where he rips off his suit en route to the ring to transform into the ‘Swiss Superman’ is a nice addition. The only shame is that he is now forced to work a programme with The Miz, though if anyone can get a decent match out of him then it is Cesaro.
In truth, The Miz was perhaps the most tolerable I have seen him in some time. His partnership with real-life spouse Maryse works, with their collective pretentiousness succeeding in making them hated heels.
The women’s division continues to thrive since the rebranding, with Charlotte and Natalya putting on yet another good match to add to their already strong body of work. The way they worked to incorporate MMA-esque grappling added a degree of realism to the contest that the likes of Alicia Fox, Summer Rae, and Eva Marie can only dream of.
It is clear that WWE are trying to go down the UFC route with their women, but that is not a bad thing. UFC is absolutely the model to follow in this case, and after months of fans having to suffer through Nikki Bella’s record Divas Title run, and the forced Divas Revolution, it is finally starting to work.
WWE listened to the audience in this case, and with the female talent they have at their disposal I am more positive than ever that they can make the division not just meaningful, but an integral part of the show. If I was the aforementioned trio of scrubs or any host of the other expendable, no-talent eye-candy on the books, I would be worried.
