The Official UKFF RAW thread (part 2)...

[Loki]

I don't think it should pass unnoticed that Rhea Ripley fought and beat Tozawa one-on-one.  Yes, it's a jobber but the WWE has always been very reluctant to do intergender matches, and I'm really hoping this is the direction they are going with Ripley.  She looks more physically impressive than most of the male roster, and it will propel her to genuine stardom if they let her go the Chyna route and start regularly competing with men, even as far as putting the IC title on her.

[Snitsky's back acne]

4 hours ago, air_raid said:

I can’t believe they rehabilitated Alexa from all the Wyatt crap and now… here we are.

She loved all that stuff though didn't she?

If this is HHH wanting to boost morale/listen to talent maybe he is doing it at her request? 

[westlondonmist]

4 hours ago, Loki said:

I don't think it should pass unnoticed that Rhea Ripley fought and beat Tozawa one-on-one.  Yes, it's a jobber but the WWE has always been very reluctant to do intergender matches, and I'm really hoping this is the direction they are going with Ripley.  She looks more physically impressive than most of the male roster, and it will propel her to genuine stardom if they let her go the Chyna route and start regularly competing with men, even as far as putting the IC title on her.

She should have been a major star in the women's division due to her size, and she is very physically impressive but that doesn't mean physically imposing on men. I think it would be difficult to go full Chyna with her because she is nowhere near as big as Chyna was. 

[TildeGuy~!]

1 hour ago, westlondonmist said:

She should have been a major star in the women's division due to her size, and she is very physically impressive but that doesn't mean physically imposing on men. I think it would be difficult to go full Chyna with her because she is nowhere near as big as Chyna was. 

Completely agree on her being a star in the women’s division but at the same time the roster is a lot smaller in size today then it was back then.

Also Bronson Reed turning up to zero reaction after being made such a big deal in New Japan this summer was a bummer, I don’t think pairing him with The Miz will do him any favours.

Edited December 20, 2022 by TildeGuy~!

[Jonny Vegas]

9 hours ago, Loki said:

I don't think it should pass unnoticed that Rhea Ripley fought and beat Tozawa one-on-one.  Yes, it's a jobber but the WWE has always been very reluctant to do intergender matches, and I'm really hoping this is the direction they are going with Ripley.  She looks more physically impressive than most of the male roster, and it will propel her to genuine stardom if they let her go the Chyna route and start regularly competing with men, even as far as putting the IC title on her.

I always felt the issue with inter gender matches in WWE was that previously other than with Chyna they had been presented as mis matches where the males were going to give the females "what they had coming to them". 

Largely it would be heels dragging them by the hair before hitting them with devastating power moves as they were defenceless.

Females would be relying on shenanigans to stand a chance and avoid a beating which set an unsavoury tone all round.

If Ripley is presented as a capable and credible threat who just happens to be female and males involved in matches with her aren't chasing her around until they eventually get their hands on her and obliterate her then I don't see much issue that could be raised with it.

Surely presenting her as a female so skilled and capable that she can compete with the males should actually be something that's seen in a positive light.

[DavidB6937]

I think Jonah/Bronson has a big upside so I'm happy they brought him back. But that was a properly shit way of doing it. Why do they keep putting people with the Miz? First Ciampa. Now Bronson. Some very weird choices.

And again a rubbish choice for a surprise return. The RAW crowd isn't going to give a shit about what he's done since leaving because they mostly didn't know who he was in the first place.

[DCW]

Makes the rest of the womens divison look a bit crap though. If Rhea can batter the lads, then she could beat Becky or whoever is womens champ handily. Like Chyna did with Ivory when she finally was demoted to the womens belt.

[mim731]

5 hours ago, TildeGuy~! said:

Also Bronson Reed turning up to zero reaction after being made such a big deal in New Japan this summer was a bummer, I don’t think pairing him with The Miz will do him any favours.

 

1 hour ago, DavidB6937 said:

I think Jonah/Bronson has a big upside so I'm happy they brought him back. But that was a properly shit way of doing it. Why do they keep putting people with the Miz? First Ciampa. Now Bronson. Some very weird choices.

I don't believe it was on the broadcast, but this backstage segment suggests Bronson Reed is more of a mercenary-for-hire type than actually allied to Miz. If that's the direction they go, as a big, nasty bastard hired gun, that could work quite well. We shall see. 

[Shane O' Mac Version 2]

16 hours ago, Nick James said:

Fuck, there was absolute silence to Bronson Reed appearing. Not even a glint of shock. HHH would have been better off bringing most of them back to NXT first, rebuild that brand back up, then move them over. 

I get bringing in the women as that roster was threadbare, remember last year's women's rumble and how they had to scrape the barrel? 

Bronson Reed wasn't even over in NXT before he left and most people who watch Raw, probably don't watch NJPW, and if they do, they're the ones that will moan about Raw anyways. 

The thing is, the show was actually pretty good as well, but that's the main take away from the show.

To be fair, most of Bronson's run happened in pandemic era NXT. Came in at the tail end of 2019 and didn't get a proper push until they were in front of trainees and a select few super fans in the area.

JONAH/Bronson is a talented guy. Had he came in a couple of years earlier, in front of proper audiences and before NXT took a nose-dive going to the USA Network, I feel like he'd be "over."

[Vamp]

19 hours ago, DCW said:

Makes the rest of the womens divison look a bit crap though. If Rhea can batter the lads, then she could beat Becky or whoever is womens champ handily. Like Chyna did with Ivory when she finally was demoted to the womens belt.

Isn't that what you're bringing to it though? 

Lot easier to batter Tozowa than it would be to beat Becky. 

[The King Of Swing]

Just watched the YouTube clip of Rhea Vs. Tozawa.

Never mind making the rest of the women look weak, maybe they just had an off day but I was more concerned with how sloppy they were.

[Fatty Facesitter]

A thoroughly enjoyable Raw to kick off 2023. All of the Bloodline content made for fantastic viewing. The setup at the top of the show, destroying the set and then being set up for matches later in the show was an excellent way to set the tone and provide a strong narrative for the rest of the broadcast. Solo Sikoa looked like an absolute destroyer yet again. No-selling the guitar shot made him look like a complete monster, and just when you thought Elias might go over with a distraction, Sikoa looks even more badass by putting him through a piano. Fun stipulation, good match, great finish. Hope that country bumpkin Hardy chap gets a Samoan Spike at the Rumble. The tag match was good too, and no issue with the Drew/Sheamus run-in at the end - they've got a tag match on Friday to promote after all. 

The Alexa Bliss/Wyatt business won't be everyone's cup of tea, but there is at least some intrigue as to how it will conclude. Didn't think much to the match itself or the beatdown, but like most WWE angles I'll let the hope of a satisfying conclusion to the angle play out before the inevitable crushing disappointment. 

The Becky/Team Bayley shenanigans were good fun. Io Sky is mesmerising to watch - every time she bumps her limbs fly all over the place, which makes for a fantastic visual. Interesting that they teased Bayley's teammates being dissatisfied with her - interested to see how that develops down the line. I'm guessing we're getting Becky/Bayley at the Rumble too, a welcome development if so.

I enjoyed the Dexter Lumis/Chad Gable match even if the crowd were virtually silent. Dexter's offence is so bizarre and yet so strangely brilliant that I really hope it catches on with audiences in the long term. Gable and Otis are always a delight to watch, but also to listen to - there were some funny audio captures throughout, such as Dexter sliding out of the ring and Gable scurrying away before saying 'What the hell is this crap?!' out of blind fear. Later, Gable applies a hold and Otis encourages him on the outside 'Yeeeah, get that leverage!' Treasures, the pair of them. 

Theory/Rollins was a decent title affair - Rollins will likely reset now and declare himself for the Rumble. It'll be interesting to see where Theory goes from here now he has some momentum behind him again. 

The Cody recaps are surely leading a Rumble return. Maybe we're getting Cody vs Roman after all? 

Overall, I enjoyed this Raw far more than I expected to. 

EDIT - Cathy Kelley. Goodness gracious me. 

Edited January 3, 2023 by Fatty Facesitter
CK

[DavidB6937]

Only made it through the first hour so far but:

Has Alexa always been shit in the ring? She seemed a bit off. To the point where I was actually glad the Bray stuff was happening because it meant she could stop trying to wrestle.

Solo/Elias was really enjoyable and Solo should have an insanely bright future. He's slotted in so quickly and doesn't feel like an afterthought or a newbie in the whole Bloodline stuff. He's really great.

[Nick James]

Fantastic stuff.

[mim731]

10 hours ago, DavidB6937 said:

Solo/Elias was really enjoyable and Solo should have an insanely bright future. He's slotted in so quickly and doesn't feel like an afterthought or a newbie in the whole Bloodline stuff. He's really great.

 

18 hours ago, Fatty Facesitter said:

Solo Sikoa looked like an absolute destroyer yet again. No-selling the guitar shot made him look like a complete monster, and just when you thought Elias might go over with a distraction, Sikoa looks even more badass by putting him through a piano. Fun stipulation, good match, great finish. Hope that country bumpkin Hardy chap gets a Samoan Spike at the Rumble.

Sikoa is really impressing me, to the point where I am starting to wonder if they don't have Sami/Cody/Rock end Reigns' title run, they could opt to keep building Solo for another 6 months to a year until he is the one to beat Roman. Thinking of something in the vain of the Batista/Triple H story. He's destined to be a big star, it's just a question of when they pull the trigger.