RAW LD, February 25th 2019 - Superman Returns

[FunKay]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSSLHiWpe0k

Four months ago, Universal Champion Roman Reigns opened Monday Night RAW to a chorus of boos. One announcement later, those boos turned to deafening silence as he announced he had been living as a survivor of leukemia for over a decade and much more devastatingly, that it had returned. He announced that he was taking a leave of absence and vacated the title, meeting his heart-broken SHIELD brethren atop the ramp and embracing them in a painful, heartbreaking and shocking scene. Fast-forward to tonight and the "Big Dog" has an announcement. The wrestling world holds its breath as it hopes for nothing but the best for and from Roman.

Elsewhere: Ronda Rousey is still scheduled to face Charlotte in the main event of WrestleMania, and there was no sign of Becky Lynch last week (actually selling a suspension angle... bloody hell!). Expect an appearance from "The Man" tonight to try and rectify this. NXT had four of its prized assets stripped as Tomasso Ciampa, Johnny Gargano, Ricochet and Aleister Black all made their main roster debuts winning matches across RAW and SmackDown. What more will develop out of this weirdness? Seth Rollins still isn't 100% as he prepares for that showdown at WrestleMania with Brock Lesnar, Finn Balor and Bobby Lashley are on a crash course for an IC title rematch, and Braun Strowman will likely continue his never ending feud with Baron Corbin (and Drew McIntyre, who I think we all feel sorry for at this point).

Oh, and its Ric Flair's birthday or something, but that's scarcely been mentioned...

[Jeff Deliverer of Mail]

Don't forget, Paige supposedly has a new movie coming out that we'll hear about two or six times an hour.

[smarkmouth]

Don't forget, Paige supposedly has a new movie coming out that we'll hear about two or six times an hour.

This will make it easier on the writers when they need to segue into a joke about the Oscars.

[klunderbunker]

I'm not sure what to expect here but it's cool to see Reigns again.

[BaconBits]

I’m hoping to hear good news from Roman.

[klunderbunker]

Imagine if he turned heel here. It would be incredible. I mean, he won't, but it would be amazing.

[BaconBits]

He looks great.

[Jeff Deliverer of Mail]

Was that David Arquette?

[smarkmouth]

I'm sure they told him to take all the time he wants, but you can tell he missed this.

[klunderbunker]

And now, for your horrible thought of the week:

"Thank you for that reaction, but my doctors have said I have about two weeks left. Bye everyone."

[BaconBits]

I'm sure they told him to take all the time he wants, but you can tell he missed this.

Absolutely.

[klunderbunker]

The arms are looking a little smaller but other than that he looks awesome.

[Jeff Deliverer of Mail]

Tells the crowd to fuck off...

[BaconBits]

The neckbeards booing him are fucking pathetic.

[BestSportsEntertainer]

I really hope we get some good news, but unfortunately I have a bad feeling we won't.

[klunderbunker]

The neckbeards booing him are fucking pathetic.

The day this was announced I saw a few people saying it was a big work. I didn't know what to think, other than having a very bad headache.

[BaconBits]

The day this was announced I saw a few people saying it was a big work. I didn't know what to think, other than having a very bad headache.

I’ve seen idiots claiming it was all a work from day one.

[BaconBits]

When he eventually comes back, he’s gotta cut promos more naturally like this.

[klunderbunker]

I’ve seen idiots claiming it was all a work from day one.

Same. This is the same company that can't keep its stories straight week to week and they can do that? They would be crucified if it ever got out and it certainly would.


When he eventually comes back, he’s gotta cut promos more naturally like this.

Yep. It's a huge improvement.

[BaconBits]

It’s good that he’s coming back. The show has missed him more than any of us jaded fuckers want to admit.

[BestSportsEntertainer]

Please don't ruin this by giving him the belt at WrestleMania

[smarkmouth]

Roman's going to win the Universal Title and the Warrior Award this year!

[BaconBits]

Please don't ruin this by giving him the belt at WrestleMania

Brock retains at Mania and drops it back to Roman at Summerslam...

[Awesome_Miz]

So, where was Dean for this one?

[Jeff Deliverer of Mail]

So, where was Dean for this one?

He should have come out too.

[BestSportsEntertainer]

So they're jobbing the Revival out again?

[MF Doom]

great time to go to the ads...

[BaconBits]

I’d still rather see Black Velvet than Black + Ricochet.

[Wildcat66]

Aleister Black and Ricochet is a team I didn't know I wanted.

[Jeff Deliverer of Mail]

Very good crowd this week compared to the corpses last week.

[MF Doom]

Thank god the Revival won the titles, done wonders for them!

[Wildcat66]

I am never getting over how sick that Black Mass looks.

[BaconBits]

Very good crowd thos week compared to the corpses last week.

This show also has way more starpower than last weekâ??s show. Thereâ??s that.

[BestSportsEntertainer]

Is Elias officially a tweener?

[BaconBits]

Is Elias officially a tweener?

He really always has been on the main roster.

[smarkmouth]

Very good crowd this week compared to the corpses last week.
Atlanta on a high from great news. Lots to get loud about!

[smarkmouth]

Lacey Evans' gimmick;

https://media.giphy.com/media/fDO2Nk0ImzvvW/giphy.gif

Oh fuck, there it is, first Oscar joke of the night.

[BestSportsEntertainer]

Ambrose's heel turn was the worst thing to happen to him

[Awesome_Miz]

This whole Lacey Evans walking up and down the ramp is so some stupid character development.

[smarkmouth]

SHIELD vs Corbin, Lashley and McIntyre at Fastlane?

Makes sense, but Seth taking a backseat doesn't do much for him going into a marquee Mania match.

[Jeff Deliverer of Mail]

I have to agree with Renee, I just want to hear a full song by Elias now.

[BestSportsEntertainer]

SHIELD vs Corbin, Lashley and McIntyre at Fastlane?

Makes sense, but Seth taking a backseat doesn't do much for him going into a marquee Mania match.

I don't think they want Seth wrestling until Mania

[klunderbunker]

I don't think they want Seth wrestling until Mania

Off house shows until April.

[BestSportsEntertainer]

Why didn't Liv go back in the ring there?

[BestSportsEntertainer]

Natalya's ring gear is the most underrated in WWE

[BestSportsEntertainer]

WWE really needs better security

[Spidey]

How they gonna let a one legged chick get passed them twice in a row

[Jeff Deliverer of Mail]

Tazer her, this is so unrealistic lol.

[BaconBits]

They should just drop the injury shit with Becky. She hasn’t sold it worth a fuck ever.

[Spidey]

"I need these hands to hold the Womens title!"

[BestSportsEntertainer]

This story just hasn't felt right for some reason

[Spidey]

Cuz they jumped the shark.

[BaconBits]

The more they fuck with this bullshit, the less I actually want to see whatever match they’re planning.

[BestSportsEntertainer]

Thinking about it, the #1 problem is the inclusion of the McMahons

[Jeff Deliverer of Mail]

Why are they saying its the main event at Mania?

[klunderbunker]

This story just hasn't felt right for some reason


Cuz they jumped the shark.

Yep. It's almost like building up April's match from January-March with two pay per views in between and the suspension, house show attack and Elimination Chamber attack in six days is way too much.

[smarkmouth]

Thinking about it, the #1 problem is the inclusion of the McMahons

Every, fuckin', time.

[klunderbunker]

Every, fuckin', time.

But then it might be an historic moment without Stephanie involved and she makes it historic.

[smarkmouth]

But then it might be an historic moment without Stephanie involved and she makes it historic.
She'll be the ref. I've been saying it forever. I'm 80% sure.

[BestSportsEntertainer]

What exactly was the point of that?

[klunderbunker]

Well.

Bliss still has it.

[Spidey]

India really didn't pan out for them eh

[smarkmouth]

Actress, Reality Series.

[klunderbunker]

Actress, Reality Series.

Which has writers. Oh and the awards break stereotypes. Like Nikki being the airheaded moron with fake boobs who golddigs while acting like she did every single thing herself? Those stereotypes?

[BestSportsEntertainer]

LIO NOOOO!!!!

[Spidey]

Idc, I love this exchange.

[klunderbunker]

That's a good example of being flirty/somewhat sexual without going too far with it. There's more to Bliss than her looks and that makes this much easier to watch.

[BestSportsEntertainer]

Since when can Alexa make matches?

[BestSportsEntertainer]

Corey made me legitimately lol there

[Spidey]

I wonder how many fans get smacked across the face by the people doing the Demon arm thing.

[Spidey]

A little too competitive given who was in there but still a fun match

[Jeff Deliverer of Mail]

How anyone can lay there with a guy jumping with a high double stomp is beyond me.

[smarkmouth]

I'm positive there was no fucking door there. I'm forced to believe Otis can walk through walls.

[Spidey]

HOLY FUCK IT'S CHRIS FARLEY

[smarkmouth]

Lashley came back hoping for a match with Lesnar. Now he'd be lucky if Swagger comes back from Bellator.

[Jeff Deliverer of Mail]

Wooo Purple Skeletor is here!

[smarkmouth]

"Running out my contract" has been such a great character choice for Dean Ambrose.

[Jeff Deliverer of Mail]

He took his belt off.....but he still had a belt on?

[Jeff Deliverer of Mail]

Definately a glitch in The Matrix there with his belt.

[Spidey]

I thought it was fairly smart. Brought a weapon without having to pull up his jocks like Bubba Ray.

[smarkmouth]

He took his belt off.....but he still had a belt on?

The jokes on you. He's also wearing two pairs of jeans.

[Jeff Deliverer of Mail]

That new Roman guy could be pretty good.

[Awesome_Miz]

So that's the story now I guess, Dean being the new Seth looking to getting back with his buddies. Even though Seth's reason was worse due to him becoming a corporate stooge while Dean did cause...... he thought cities were smelly?!

[Jeff Deliverer of Mail]

It seems like WWE wants to pull the trigger on a Bayley vs Sasha feud as they've been teasing it for 15 months....then make them friends again...then kind of an attraction for a week....then friends again.....hopefully they can get a Mania match this year, they work well vs each other.

[Jeff Deliverer of Mail]

Ric Flair is going to announce that he's officially retired from wrestling.

[Jeff Deliverer of Mail]

HBK is drunk.

[MF Doom]

Can someone ruin this please

[klunderbunker]

Flair laid out by someone?

[shafe_41]

Yeah so I'm watching about two hours behind and haven't watched much Raw the last bunch of weeks... but is Dean Ambrose a face again? Like... what the fuck?

[MF Doom]

Batista to lay him out

[BestSportsEntertainer]

Batista vs HHH at WrestleMania. Ok then.

[klunderbunker]

I thought that was Shane when it was on a wide shot.

[Spidey]

oh shit

[Jeff Deliverer of Mail]

Somebody should have gotten the doctor when he stepped out of the limo, he was just as purple then.

[BestSportsEntertainer]

Interesting story, but I really don't want to see HHH vs Batista

[smarkmouth]

Fuck yes! FUCK YES!

[klunderbunker]

I mean....Batista is going to be in the biggest movie int he history of ever in April so you can imagine WWE wanting the cross promotional stuff.

[smarkmouth]

I'm a Bruce Pritchard Guy.

[Spidey]

I look forward to it really. I just wanted a reason and they gave us one.

[Jeff Deliverer of Mail]

Now they should have Batista destroy DX at the Hall of Fame ceremony.

[klunderbunker]

Monday Night Raw
Date: February 25, 2019
Location: State Farm Arena, Atlanta, Georgia
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Renee Young

It’s another big show this week with a double shot of huge. First up, we have the return of Roman Reigns, who will be making some sort of a major announcement. It’s the first time he’s been on television in months, having vacated the Universal Title in October due to leukemia. In addition to that, it’s Ric Flair’s 70th birthday and there is going to be a celebration, which of course means a lot of guest stars. Did I mention it’s Wrestlemania season? Let’s get to it.

Click on the link below for the full review.

Story Over Here, Story Over There (http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/02/25/monday-night-raw-february-23-2019-story-over-here-and-story-over-there/)

[Storm Trooper]

I love the finish to RAW but the execution is ridiculous.

Management: "Hey roster, lets celebrate Ric Flair, everyone is to stand on the ramp."

Everyone: "Sure we like Ric Flair we'll do that.

We see Batista beat down Ric Flair and stand over his body.

Everyone: we're just gonna stand here. The guy we respect is being disrespected by a former superstar but I'm not getting involved.

Legends specifically invited to the event to stand in the ring: I'm not gonna go help the guy I love and respect enough that I specifically flew from various parts of the country.


As soon as Batista ran into that room clearly with ill intent the entire horde of superstars should have been running to help Ric.

[FunKay]

Really enjoyed that episode. Batista is one of my all time favourites so I'm all in on him versus Haitch, especially with heel-Tista, and that angle at the end was grand anyway!

[Jeff Deliverer of Mail]

I love the finish to RAW but the execution is ridiculous.

Management: "Hey roster, lets celebrate Ric Flair, everyone is to stand on the ramp."

Everyone: "Sure we like Ric Flair we'll do that.

We see Batista beat down Ric Flair and stand over his body.

Everyone: we're just gonna stand here. The guy we respect is being disrespected by a former superstar but I'm not getting involved.

Legends specifically invited to the event to stand in the ring: I'm not gonna go help the guy I love and respect enough that I specifically flew from various parts of the country.


As soon as Batista ran into that room clearly with ill intent the entire horde of superstars should have been running to help Ric.

That would have looked hilarious. Batista decimated by 50 wrestlers immediately before HHH can even get half way up the ramp, angle ruined.

[Jack-Hammer]

Overall good storytelling and storyline progression for last night's show. The wrestling, for the most part, wasn't all that much to speak of but WrestleMania this year already seems more interesting to me than last year.

Roman Reigns is the healthiest looking cancer patient I've ever seen. I don't know what sort of treatments he underwent, couldn't have been chemo or he wouldn't have any hair, but they must've found the cancer extremely early and I wouldn't be at all surprised if he undergoes several screenings a year. I'm not going to pretend that Reigns is a favorite wrestler of mine or anything, but I'm glad he's in remission. It looks like Vince might finally have fans accepting Reigns as the babyface he wants, it just took a life threatening illness.

Becky Lynch showing up was a lot of fun, she's really found the character that she should spend the rest of her career playing, with a few tweaks here and there to keep it fresh. I also liked how they used some reality with Ronda's interaction with Stephanie last night where they didn't try to pretend that Ronda needs WWE, it's something I wish they'd do more often rather than do the whole "your job is in jeopardy" angles with some stars at times who people have long since known have managed their finances well. Ronda Rousey was set for life before she signed with WWE, she was making some $3 million per fight towards the end of her MMA career, not counting the various endorsement deals, so it's nice to see WWE not insulting the collective intelligence of fans here and it's something I wish they did more often.

It's fun seeing Aleister Black and Ricochet do their thing but the Revival might be worse off now than they were a month ago. When they were being jobbed out a month ago, they weren't the Raw Tag Team Champions; I just simply do not understand the logic of having what's supposed to be your top tag team jobbing out when there are plenty of teams like the Ascension, the Singh Brothers, Ryder & Hawkins and a few others primed for the roles of jobbing out to make others look good.

The IC title and no DQ matches were pretty fun, nice to see Lio Rush get a chance to show some of what he can do. The no DQ match actually protected Dean Ambrose a bit by having Elias come out with a guitar shot towards the end, a nice little piece of continuity considering Ambrose embarrassing him earlier in the night. I can honestly say, however, that I'm really bored with Elias as he does the same thing week after week, he's nothing special in the ring and he just seems to be permanently mired in the mid-card doldrums.

The final segment felt like it was extremely rushed, though it probably didn't have to be if Vince wasn't so gung-ho about cramming in as much content as is humanly possible. It was nice seeing the Big Gold Belt on WWE TV again, I just wish they'd bring it back or some variation or something as the Big Logo titles just don't remotely have the pizzazz a World Championship should. As far as Batista showing up, it was a cool surprise but I can honestly say that I am not interested in Triple H vs. Batista to any degree at WrestleMania. I was never a huge fan of Batista in the first place and I'm just not interested watching a copule of 50 year olds rehash a feud from 15 years ago.

[SSJPhenom]

That was the best Raw in a long long time. It's almost like someone who is great at writing wrestling angles is back in the company................(Bruce Prichard anyone?)