5 Biggest Takeaways from Monday Night Raw (January 24th, 2022)
I like to keep things as positive as possible.
I like WWE.
I like AEW.
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Monday Night Raw continues to deliver shows that the fans can walk away from feeling pleased. They are still batting 1.000% in this new year with no show being out of this world exciting, but no showing being unwatchable as well. They have become the most consistently well done wrestling show on tv(that I watch) and that is something nobody thought would be possible just 6 months ago.
They do a great job of featuring their women’s division each week. Whether you agree with short matches or cheesy segments, it doesn’t matter. The women’s division is getting heavily featured. They had a total of 4 segments, 5 if you include the Miz/Maryese/Edge/Beth Phoenix saga. They did a proper job of reminding people that the Royal Rumble is this Saturday and that anyone can win without going overboard. It seems pointless but for the new fans, it’s appreciated. We even had two match of the week candidates on the show which is becoming a more common place thing on Monday nights. And let us not forget, Farmer Brock is the most entertaining wrestler in the world right now.
So with that, we move on to the 5 biggest takeaways from this week’s Raw!
#5: Time for Change
Miz is awesome. I think he is over hated by a country mile. But this feud with Edge is proving something; Miz needs an overhaul. He has been playing the character for over a decade with minor tweaks and it has finally run its course. I’ve been trying to place what the problem with this feud with Edge has been because when you have 2 future Hall of Famers, it shouldn’t be this bad… but it is.
GOT YA.@mikethemiz & @MaryseMizanin really love that brick. #WWERaw pic.twitter.com/VPLEOMb8QQ
— WWE (@WWE) January 25, 2022
Now, I’m not saying we need to throw him in pink tights and grow his hair out while changing every single aspect of the character. He just can’t continue to go on with this arrogant yet chicken shit heel schtick no more. When television shows make it to season 7 or 8 and have yet to evolve into something different, they get canceled. Miz is too good of an entertainer for that to happen but for the love of all that is right in this world, MAKE A CHANGE!
#4: Chad Gable
It’s time to put some respect on this man’s name! That is, if you haven’t already. He can wrestle with the best and the worst, and still make the match entertaining. His skills on the microphone have increased so much over the last few months that he has become can’t miss television no matter what the segment and/or match is. This week, he ate up almost 45 minutes alongside Orton, Riddle and Otis and not once did I grimace at the fact that it was taking too long. It has been long overdue for this man to get a chance at this kind of opportunity and he is knocking it out of the park. His pairing with Otis is perfect as it allows him to really talk down his opponents and amp up the heel heat while the big man Otis does the heavy lifting. I only hope that when this pairing splits, and we know it will eventually, that Gable doesn’t get lost in the shuffle again and continues to get these opportunities to prove that he is among the best the company has and can be an asset in any place on the card.
#3: Say It Ain’t So
And with that, we lead right into RKBRO. I’ve been a fan of the pairing since its inception and have enjoyed damn near every last second of it. We have all known it was leading to a break up that would eventually put Riddle over and catapult him into the main event scene and with Wrestlemania season upon us, it is happening very, very soon. I’m not ready though.
.@RandyOrton will go to that paper if he has to!@SuperKingofBros#WWERaw pic.twitter.com/qqOQzwpFzB
— WWE (@WWE) January 25, 2022
As crazy as it sounds because of how entertaining they have been, I think Riddle and Orton are just now hitting their stride. The chemistry as a team in the ring is finally starting to show and the segments have just gotten better. Orton is clearly having fun and I dare say that for the first time in his career as a babyface, he is incredibly over. Orton has the crowd eating out of the palm of his hand every time he has the microphone in his hand and his hot tag is the best in the business today. And Riddle is playing the dopey, happy to be there character to perfection. It’s his selling and carrying the load of the matches that help get Randy that massive pop when he tags in. It is the Riddle punch lines that set up Orton’s snappy replies that make the audience burst into laughter.
As I said in my Raw recap, this story could go on another 5-6 months with the work they are doing now and it wouldn’t get old. They are just that good and in my opinion are not just the best story on Raw but in all of WWE at the moment. But it will come to an end soon, probably at the end of this Alpha Academy program and the question still remains: who turns on who?
#2: Pick a Side
The Damian Priest hype train is slowing down and it’s no fault of his own. The booking started out good, became great and was steadily riding that momentum for a good minute. But now the honeymoon is over and something needs to be corrected before it is too late. They have decided to alter his character to play into Jekyll and Hyde for some reason but with the name Damian Priest, I gave it a chance. Damian playing the dark side where he loses control and Priest being the light hearted guy that knows how to handle his business in a respectable way. Here’s where the problem lies. This “Damian” side is coming out far too often and stacking up the losses, completely destroying the impressive win percentage that Priest had in the year 2021. The DQ losses are starting to become far too predictable and is also dragging down the United States title, a title that I think he had done a good job of bringing back a tad of credibility to.
HERE COMES DAMIAN!@ArcherofInfamy#WWERaw pic.twitter.com/2wUwXmz9w4
— WWE (@WWE) January 25, 2022
Here’s the good news though. This week, after ANOTHER disqualification, Sonya Deville told Damian Priest that he needs to get his act together. These kinds of actions will not continue to be tolerated and if things don’t change, she will be forced to step in and do something about it. This shows that there is a plan to all this nonsense and if executed right in the end, there was no harm done to the character. Whether they follow through with it is what we will have to wait and see, but this could end up being what takes Priest to the next level and makes him a mainstay in the main event scene.
#1: AJ Styles is Winning the Royal Rumble
This might be a stretch but at this point, who is the clear cut winner? We don’t know. Why AJ Styles you might be asking. Something I found very weird about Raw was the Austin Theory/Vince McMahon segment. When Vince told Theory he would be facing Styles, Austin made it a point to run down all of AJ Styles accomplishments during his WWE run. It was very out of place yet also perfectly placed at the same time. There was no reason for Austin Theory to do that other than remind people of who AJ Styles really is. He’s not the guy that just got squashed by Omos. He’s not the guy playing the weak link in a tag team. AJ isn’t a guy we should ever be taking lightly. He is the Phenomenal One and he should always be treated as a threat to win it all. He could be a great challenger for any of the 4 superstars that wind up being champion. It’s also worth noting that AJ just re-signed with the company, so what better way to reward him than by having him get that one last run on top.
If you missed Raw, no need to worry. Check out the Wrestlebuddy Raw Recap with the Drip King below!
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