For example, Monday’s Raw was highlighted by returning stars and then a big show-closing angle with Braun Strowman, Kane (really?) and Brock Lesnar. SmackDown featured a lackluster women’s match, a very generic singles match to highlight a tag-team feud and then some other miscellaneous pieces. SmackDown suffers from less hype. The match quality I’d actually argue is better, for the most part, but Raw has been and will always be booked as the “A” show. That stands out more in situations like pay-per-views, where both Raw and and SmackDown have matches, and Raw‘s just feel more important. Chad Gable beat Jey Uso Naomi beat Liv Morgan Ewww, not a very good match. If this is what WWE had in mind as a final build for the history Women’s Royal Rumble this Sunday, then good luck to them. That’s not about to get anyone excited. Overall, I’d say the build to what’s supposed to be something historic like this has felt awfully lackluster. I’m officially scared. Randy Orton appeared out of nowhere (because that’s how Randy Orton always appears!) and RKO’ed Nakamura to end the match via disqualification. What’s scary is that the announcers were really putting over the Royal Rumble during the match, and Orton’s appearance felt like an exclamation point to that Rumble hype. I do NOT want to see Randy Orton win the Royal Rumble on Sunday … Repeat: I do NOT want to see Randy Orton win the Royal Rumble! As for the match itself, it really wasn’t bad. Nakamura and Corbin had some stinkers this past summer, but this match was fine and you can tell they’ve worked out some of the kinks. The finish was exciting, but I’m personally not a fan of wrestlers abruptly ending matches through interference without any negative reaction. It was exciting, the ending, but shouldn’t one of the announcers be upset that the interference didn’t allow us to see an actual conclusion? I’d like to see that wrinkle worked in more. New Day & Bobby Roode beat Jinder Mahal & Rusev Day Even when they pair Rusev Day with Jinder Mahal, Rusev and Aiden English get cheered. Say what you want, but the crowd loves Rusev Day. I can’t tell why, to be honest with you, but that doesn’t matter. If the people are into them, the people are into them. AJ Styles beat Kevin Owens Wow, this was essentially a squash match with Styles picking up the win in under two minutes, and it was a clean finish. Styles kicked Owens in the leg and applied the Calf Crusher, to which Owens rather quickly tapped out. Sami Zayn beat AJ Styles This was a much longer match — almost 20 minutes — that ended when AJ went to the outside to follow Zayn, and then knocked over the gurney that Owens was being wheeled out on. Honestly, AJ was acting a little heelish in the match, first now letting go of Owens and then knocking him off the stretch. But, the anti-hero is still a hero, right? The whole sequence — both matches — were a lot of fun and a great way to end the show. Styles acting semi-heelish on the heels isn’t a big deal, but Styles acting dumb and getting caught is a big deal, and that’s happening a little too often for my taste. On top of Styles acting heelish on the heels, it’s a little strange that the two heels want to be co-WWE champions. Heels are usually selfish, aren’t they?
