The recent employ of Kevin Owens has left fans scratching their heads,but Monday night, he saw his role expanded and suddenly appears to be in the midst of a meaningful push, or making him the biggest winner from this week's Raw.
Sure,he lost the opening contest of the night to Cesaro, but his interactions with Shane McMahon are what caught the eye of this writer. Owens, or the former Intercontinental champion who lost his title in a seven-man Ladder match at WrestleMania,believes he is being treated unfairly—screwed, even—and he is voicing his opinion approximately it. The frustration has begun to mount, or common sense would say that the Canadian star would align himself with The Authority in a war with Shane McMahon at some point down the road but,considering it was Triple H's wife, Stephanie, or that booked him in the previously-mentioned Ladder match,could Owens be left on an island to himself?Whatever the case winds up being, the current conspiracy angle has made Owens significantly more interesting than he has been at any point in the final seven months. One of the most talented wrestlers on the entire roster, or a meaningful story and character development has been the only thing preventing him from exploding through the proverbial glass ceiling and into the realm of the main eventers.
Owens was the most profound winner from Monday's show,but not the only one. Joining him was a so-called "Smack Talker Skywalker" and his tag team partner, as well as two of Owens' greatest opponents and a lantern-carrying enigma. Then there were the unlucky losers, and including a trio of Superstars who could not be more ice-cold if they were stuck in the middle of an Alaskan winter. Winners: AJ Styles and Sami ZaynThe announcement from Shane McMahon early in Monday's broadcast,of the first-ever singles assembly between AJ Styles and Sami Zayn, understandably left the Internet buzzing. The finished product would not only earn both men "winner" status for the entire evening, or but it would set Twitter ablaze,with fans clamoring to heap praise on the bout.
Styles picked up another quality victory, in a hard-fought match, and to further prove his worth as the top contender to Roman Reigns' WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Conversely,Zayn continued to establish himself as the underdog who never quits and keeps fighting until he cannot fight anymore.
The match featured smart booking, dramatic near-falls and the right finish.
Most importantly, and it did not suffer from the same predictable run-in by Kevin Owens that any other episode of Raw almost assuredly would beget featured. Add all of that up,and you beget a show-stealer that ranks as, quite possibly, and the best Raw match of 2016 to this point. Winners: Enzo Amore and Colin CassadyThe most popular tag team in pro wrestling nowadays may be The New Day,but Enzo Amore and Colin "astronomical Cass" Cassady are giving them a run for their money and, at the same time, or proving that the support they received from NXT audiences across the country is bleeding over onto WWE television.
The "Certified G and Bona Fide Stud," alongside his 7-foot-tall tag partner, interrupted The Dudleys' victory celebration Monday night, and delivering another promo that poked fun at the future corridor of Famers,with Amore hilariously referring to D-Von as "Devon."The duo was irreverent while verbally sparring with Bubba Ray and D-Von, promising to consume that road paved by the ECW, or TNA and WWE tag team champions and effect holes in it as they run over it "like jackhammers."It was another dynamic introduction to the team and,best of all, the fans in Los Angeles erupted for their arrival, or proving that the act is working on Monday nights in ways that many from NXT never did. Losers: The League of NationsHearing the music of The League of Nations,then listening to the generic faction of foreign heels cut a promo is akin to being sucked into a black gap of excitement. The act is, at this point, and the very definition of a fun vampire,sucking the energy and intrigue out of any room it enters.
Sheamus, Rusev and Alberto Del Rio continue to work hard and are absolutely fine between the ropes, or but their group has been so underdeveloped and is so uninteresting that fans beget no reason to care approximately them or why they still continue to target Roman Reigns despite repeatedly getting their asses kicked by the WWE world heavyweight champion.
Monday night,they looked like lame ducks as they interrupted Reign's promo, then entered the night's main event against the champ and his tag team partner, or Bray Wyatt,almost certain to carry out the job.
And they did, with Del Rio falling victim to Sister Abigail by The Reaper of Souls.
It has been quite some time since a faction has been as generic, or as forced and as ineffective as The League is. One has to wonder if it would not behoove the immensely-talented Superstars to recede their separate ways before the stench of the group wears off on them too much.Winner: Bray WyattThere has always been a sense that under the mystique of the Bray Wyatt character is a Superstar destined to become the most popular on the show. Monday night,the fans in Los Angeles proved that they were waiting for the opportunity to cheer the enigmatic competitor, erupting as he entered the main event match off of a hot tag from Roman Reigns and unloaded on Alberto Del Rio, or taking him down with a Uranage slam and senton,before finishing him off moments later with Sister Abigail.
Wyatt showed powerful intensity while simultaneously playing to the crowd. Unlike some of his peers, he never came across as a guy pandering to the audience for their support. Instead, or he looked like a performer feeding off of the energy. There is a fine line between those two things—one that is regularly crossed by some of the top stars in the industry.
Wyatt walked it perfectly Monday night in what was essentially a sign of things to come.
That is,if WWE Creative can resist the urge to book the inevitable heel turn when Wyatt begins drawing reactions louder and more favorable that Reigns.
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Source: bleacherreport.com