Posted in: Doctor's Orders
Doctor's Orders: WWE Monday Night Raw PROS and CONS (February 23, 2015)
By The Doc
Feb 23, 2015 - 11:08:35 PM


The Snowman is a genius




QUESTION OF THE DAY: What did you think of Monday Night Raw? How are you feeling about Daniel Bryan being left out of the WrestleMania main-event?


Pros

The running story throughout the show involving Randy Orton and The Authority was solid. Orton picked up where he left off months ago with a convincing dose of charisma largely unseen from his mic work throughout his career. Stephanie McMahon's attempt to reconcile was amusing in its ultimate ineptitude, but it made for a nice way to accentuate the storyline and ensure that it was front and center for the main-event of at least one Raw between now and Mania. As a result, the feud looks much better and the match between Orton and Seth Rollins looks like a bigger deal. I'm a long-time Orton supporter and a new school Architect mark, so this match has a feel to it reminiscent for me of Orton vs. Punk from four years ago. I loved that Mania 27 match and expect to have fond memories post Mania 31 of Rollins vs. Orton, too.

Daniel Bryan did more to put over Roman Reigns in two nights than WWE was able to do in nearly a year. Though I've written on this website and said on my podcast, ad nauseum, for the last several months that Roman's character was becoming an unrelatable turd, I always liked the guy and wanted him to succeed, if for no other reason than to help us transition out of the John Cena Era and fully into the next generation. WWE did not seem to know how they wanted to book Reigns. Well, backed against the wall after the Royal Rumble controversy, they put Bryan in there and let him do his thing. If Bryan didn't prove he was an “A+ Player” last year, then surely he did over the last 4 weeks in putting over the next face of the company as strongly as he could. Tonight, he verbally echoed what he said loud and clear last night with his physical actions and I, for one, totally dug it.

Paul Heyman and Roman Reigns got the hype for the World Championship match back on track with strong promo work. I truly hope that the people antagonizing Reigns will give the guy a chance after last night. He proved that he can have a great match. Not everyone may see it that way, but anyone looking at it objectively couldn't have missed it. It wasn't perfect, but it was an outstanding effort worthy of praise. Tonight, he backed it up with solid work on the microphone to jeers after Heyman's verbal barrage elicited cheers. This is going to be a very interesting build on many levels because of the added dimension of the crowd dynamic.

The focus on the mid-card heading into this year's Mania 31 is a welcome addition to the proceedings. My Cons listed below about the general booking of the mid-card title divisions aside, I am actually quite enjoying the fact that we have several feuds from the mid-card that could make for solid matches at Mania or make the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal really interesting. I don't personally see Miz vs. Sandow, Goldust vs. Stardust, and Ambrose vs. Barrett all being featured singles matches. I think we'll be fortunate to see one make the cut. I think that the fact that all of these feuds are happening so close to Mania, though, ensures that the Battle Royal will, again, be a very good match that adds something to the card without subtracting time from the plethora of headlining matches.

John Cena's position at WrestleMania reflects where his position at WrestleMania should be at this stage of his career. For years, I've been hoping that the day would come in the not too distant future that Cena would phase out of being the week-in, week-out dominant force in the industry. Well, he's there; he's on the brink of being a special attraction once he's done with this transitional phase. He is the ideal guy to step in and have main-event matches against top level wrestlers when the time is right, but his days as “The Man” need to be over. For a second straight year at Mania, he will be in a major match as he certainly deserves to be, but that match won't be a match that suggests that he's still “The Man.” Instead, he'll drop down and face Rusev in a rematch for the US title. It should be great and it'll be a great platform for the Bulgarian Brute to continue showcasing his skills.

When you don't treat WCW like a joke, there's plenty of benefit, as evidenced by the impressive video package on Sting. The production department often hits homeruns. The Sting video was no exception. Excellent work, making Sting look like a major player. I'm excited for the Sting-HHH match.


Cons

R-Truth is a jobber who belongs nowhere near the Intercontinental Championship. Good for him that he was able to draw considerable social media attention tonight. He still serves his purpose after all these years, but putting him in the IC title conversation brings the belt down a notch, which leads us to the next Con...

The reversion back to the formula of “IC Champion loses every non-title match” is a change for the worse. WWE had toned down the use of that tactic in the last year, dating back to the tournament that crowned BNB the champ before his injury. Since regaining the title, Barrett has done nothing but lose. It's a strategy that has never done anything but harm to the champion and his championship.

While we're on the topic of mid-card divisions, the Tag Team scene isn't looking so good either. The Usos losing the belts to a duo that started tagging together less than two months ago can supposedly be forgiven because the internet likes the guys in the new team. Perhaps its passable because Kidd and Cesaro have been showing personality and deserve a shot, but it still doesn't make the division look very strong. The Prime Time Players being back together could be construed as a good thing, as it puts a solid tandem in play that never really should've broken up in the first place, but it feels like going backwards. The Ascension have flopped and if they managed to reach the spot they once seemed destined for at the top of the division, it would be forced and it would be a step back for the entire division.