5 Positives From Monday Night Raw
1. Hardy Boyz successfully defend Raw Tag Team Championships
In the second segment of Raw, we see The Hardy Boyz compete in a tag team title match against Gallows and Anderson. After a good match, The Hardyz defeat Gallows and Anderson via a twist of fate from Matt on Karl Anderson, followed by a Swanton Bomb from Jeff before Matt scored the pin. I was pleased to see The Hardyz made to look competent and strong on their first standard tag match since their return. Going into Raw, I was worried they would drop the titles and that their Mania win was just for a big pop before Matt and Jeff went solo. However, WWE showed they want to build a story with them as Tag Champions which I am very happy with. However, it is a shame to see Gallows and Anderson forgotten about; I hope they get drafted to Smackdown next week.
2. Kurt Angle Named Raw General Manager
During the first hour of the show, we see a limo pull up in the arena before Vince McMahon exits the vehicle, sparking huge excitement amongst the crowd. McMahon strutted down towards the ring to a raucous reception and announced that 'unfortunately' his daughter Stephanie McMahon would be out of Commissioner duties for a few weeks and a new Raw General manager must be announced. He then announced the General Manager was inducted into the 2017 Hall of Fame, sparking delirium in the crowd. Then... out comes Teddy Long! Holla holla holla! After a humorous exchange between McMahon and Long, Teddy was informed he wasn't the man and he danced backstage. It is then announced that Kurt Angle is to be the new general manager of Raw! Angle's music hit and he walked down to the ring and said 'it's true- it's damn true'! This whole segment was absolutely brilliant and mixed together comedy with genuine happiness and I think huge credit must be given to Vince for his comedic timing and cheeky wit. Kurt Angle is back, it's true- it's damn true!
3. The Revival Debut On Main Roster
Finally! The Revival got their call up to Monday Night Raw last night in a a segment which the crowd absolutely loved! The New Day entered the ring and said they were issuing an open challenge to face anyone after not competing at WrestleMania the previous night. Who answered the call? The Revival! The crowd went into meltdown and it was brilliant to hear them all participating in Revival's theme music. The Revival have a subtle pure wrestling gimmick that won't necessarily translate to the casual fan, but I hope hearing the ovation they got from the Orlando crowd will make The Revival look like absolute superstars. They put on an entertaining match against The New Day and won the match with a shatter machine on Xavier Woods. The best part of the segment came after the match however; The Revival focused on Kofi Kingston in a beat down. Scott Dawson grapevines Kofi before Dash Wilder stomped on his ankle from the top rope. This makes The Revival look like proper heels and can play into a nice story with The New Day in the upcoming weeks.
4. Sheamus and Cesaro Become No.1 Contenders
In an entertaining segment, Enzo and Cass contested the decision to place The Hardy Boyz in the tag team title ladder matcha at WrestleMania with Kurt Angle. In response, Angle set up a No.1 Contenders match for the titles later on in the night. Cass went on to claim that Sheamus and Cesaro were S-A-W-F-T... sawft! As they left the room the camera panned backed towards Angle who, with perfect comedic timing, said 'that's not how you spell soft?'. Brilliant. In a pretty decent match later on, Sheamus and Cesaro won and will be No.1 Contenders for the titles and will presumably have a match with The Hardy Boyz at Payback. I, personally, find it very exciting to look forward to a match between these 4 as I think they could put on a really great match if given good time; which they should be seen as Payback is unlikely to even have a world title match...
5. Finn Bálor Returns
Early in the night it was announced that Kevin Owens & Samoa Joe would be facing Seth Rollins & Chris Jericho in a tag team match in the main event. As we have already seen variations of this plenty of times I wasn't particularly amused. However, during an interview, Chris Jericho was attacked by Joe and Owens and power bombed through a backstage table (which didn't look like the usual easily breakable tables). We then saw Kurt Angle outside the doctor's room informing Seth Rollins that Chris would be out of the main event and there would be a new partner found. Of course at this point, everyone knew Bálor was returning but it didn't make the moment any less special. He came out last to an incredible ovation and looking super cool as always. The match itself was fairly entertaining and Bálor hit the Coup De Grace on Kevin Owens to win the match. After the match, Seth Rollins raised his hand as a sign of respect. It was brilliant to see Finn back and on a side note, I really like his new 'Bálor Club' armband he is wearing now. I am super excited to see where he goes from here.
Raw Rating- 8.5/10