The Brian Kendrick def. Akira Tozawa by Count-outFar too often does it feel like Cruiserweights are limited in terms of what they can do in the ring, but it seemed Tozawa and Kendrick were able to let loose a bit and contest a pretty entertaining opener. As I've noted before, Tozawa is quickly winning over the audience with his charisma and exciting in-ring arsenal. In addition to the action being enjoyable, the psychology was solid as well and Kendrick tying up Tozawa's leg under the ring isn't something we see too often from heels. Thus, it was in line with what his character would do and kept the program alive. Noam Dar def. Mustafa AliThese two seem to be in a bit of a holding pattern at the moment, but at the very least, both of them are excellent athletes and this was a fun match. The biggest issue with having these guys trade victories back and forth is that they don't build any real momentum. And officials wonder why the crowds don't care about them for the most part. On a side note, the commentators acknowledged Alicia Fox's absence from ringside and Corey Graves said she was out sick.
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Naomi Vacated the SmackDown Women's ChampionshipI hoped the injury Naomi discussed last week was a work, but apparently it's legitimate after all, which is a massive shame. She finally won the belt and then had it taken away from her because she got hurt. Bummer. She also must be out for a while if they're taking the title off her now and not waiting until WrestleMania. The emotion she showed here was real and was easily the best promo she has cut in her career. Alexa Bliss attempting to convince Daniel Bryan to simply hand her the belt back only for Bryan to put her in a match with Becky Lynch was well done. Alexa Bliss def. Becky Lynch to Win the SmackDown Women's ChampionshipThese two work well together, so although this was a good match, I don't understand why this wasn't a Triple Threat match also involving Mickie James. Didn't James beat Lynch on last week's SmackDown Live, anyway? It's a bout we've seen countless times before, so while it was nothing new from them, their latest in-ring encounter was solid for what it was. Bliss regaining the gold was the right call since she's the strongest character in the division at the moment.
By RJ Marceau Since his debut, I have been a big advocate of Braun Strowman. I even wrote an article last year that people needed to give Braun Strowman a chance to become his own character. Since the Brand Extension he is one of the best utilized talents on the main roster. They gave his look a small tweak and ran with his moniker of the “Mountain Amongst Men” aura.
His build was ideal. He went from squashing jobbers, into the 5-on-5 Survivor Series elimination match, his feud with Sami Zayn, into the Royal Rumble and now Roman Reigns. Strowman has been a true monster heel and to me has been the best part of Monday Night Raw. Bo Dallas def. Sin CaraI had a sense of deja vu watching this match. I literally thought I was watching last week's episode. These two have faced off countless times before, but not last week. Clearly, not enough time has passed since their last face-off, whenever that might have been. In all honesty, this was a pretty decent match and they seemed to put forth a bit more effort than usual, but neither of these guys have anything going for them at them at the moment and therefore I will likely never care about their matches. Cedric Alexander and TJ Perkins def. Noam Dar and Tony NeseAgain, I was having flashback to last week where we saw a similar match from the Cruiserweights, except there were a few different competitors this time. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the in-ring action immensely as all four guys played their roles well, and I liked how two different feuds were mixed in. Alexander and Dar have had their rivalry going for a while, and Nese and Perkins had their bad blood for a time as well (whatever happened to that?). I would much rather take the Cruiserweights on Main Event than the other undercard talent from Raw.
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