I haven’t been doing RAW and/or Smackdown reviews for a number of months, but when the show was as good as it was…why not?  Monday night RAW took place from WCW’s old stomping grounds of Atlanta, Georgia last night.  The crowd was great, but they knew they were in for a good show.

The Big Dog is Back!

The night started off with Roman Reigns making his return.  It felt like it took nearly ten minutes for him to actually get in the ring, but it was worth the wait.  Reigns received an ovation that was reminiscent of an attitude era pop.  “The Big Dog” went on to tell the world that his leukemia is in remission!

It’s good to see Roman Reigns back on tv.  Whether you like him or not, you can’t deny that he is needed, especially on RAW.  In his absence RAW has struggled, with tv ratings hitting all time lows.  I found it interesting that he and Rollins helped out Dean Ambrose in a segment last night, hinting at yet another Shield reunion.  I would be ok with one more Shield match before Ambrose leaves.

What?

The only thing I didn’t like about RAW last night was the very first match.  The Revival, who are the current RAW tag team champions, had a tag match against Aleister Black and Ricochet.  If the WWE didn’t already let you know how little they valued their RAW tag titles, they made it abundantly clear last night that the titles mean nothing.

I absolutely hate the way they defecate on the tag titles on RAW.  First of all, you have The Revival, The TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS come to the ring during a commercial???  Seriously?  I understand getting Ricochet and Black over, but don’t do it against your best tag team!  Two weeks in a row this has happened, if I were The Revival I would ask for my release and go somewhere that cares about tag team wrestling.

Swerved

Aside from that match, I thought RAW was pretty good.  The WWE swerved us all thinking it was going to be Ric Flair’s birthday celebration, when in actuality it was to re introduce us to “The Animal” Batista.  If you didn’t hate Batista before, you have to now.  We thought we were going to get “The Nature Boy” and he didn’t even make it to the ring.  Well played writers, well-played.

It would appear that we are now going to see Batista vs Triple H at WrestleMania, I was wondering who his opponent was going to be this year.  I had heard rumors that Batista was a front-runner, now we know it’s no longer a rumor.  Clearly Batista will be playing the heel role in this angle, and it makes sense to have Triple H be the baby face considering DX will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame this year.

Did Rousey relinquish her title?

To no ones surprise, Becky Lynch made an appearance last night during Ronda Rousey’s tag team match.  Rousey and Natalya were in a tag team match against Ruby Riott and Sarah Logan of the Riott Squad, when Becky Lynch came hobbling through the crowd with a crutch, intent on taking out Rousey.

The two women scuffled for a while but were eventually separated.  Once things settled down, is when things became confusing.  Lynch was escorted out of the building in handcuffs for violating her suspension, and Rousey returned to the ring and demanded a microphone.  Rousey’s promo’s are very awkward to me.  She talks to fast and has little to no inflection in her voice.

Her words didn’t come out clearly to me, but from what I could understand she want’s Becky Lynch reinstated.  She want’s a triple threat match at WrestleMania, like all of us do, and she won’t be defending the title unless she gets it.  I think if she would have slowed down and said it just like that, the segment would have been a little easier to understand.

One thing that was clear was her derogatory comment about Lynch.  Honestly, it made me laugh, and I was surprised it wasn’t edited out.  I think it was the line of the night and could have received a pop, but Rousey talks way to fast and it was probably not heard.  But go back and watch the interaction with Stephanie, even Rousey and Stephanie have a hard time not laughing at the comment.

Final Thoughts

I don’t think there was any question that overall, RAW was a really good show compared to weeks and months prior.  A lot of good news and surprises last night, left everyone feeling good about the direction of the product.  Unfortunately we didn’t get Ric Flair to cut a promo on tv, but in a weird way he was able to give Batista “the rub” as they say.

RAW finally did somethings right last night, leaving a lot of angles open for growing a storyline.  What’s the deal with Rousey?  Will Becky be reinstated?  What’s happens next between Batista and Triple H?  When will Roman Reigns have his first match?  Good job writers, you did it!  You made us want to tune in next week to see what happens.  I am proud of you!

As always thanks for checking out GoHomePWB.com, the people’s wrestling blog!  Be sure to check back tomorrow for the weekly top ten.