5 Biggest Takeaways from Raw (October 4th, 2021)
I like to keep things as positive as possible.
I like WWE.
I like AEW.
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The draft is officially over and now WWE will turn its attention to getting the fans ready for the Crown Jewel event. Once that event is over, all talents that were drafted will anchor down on their new brands and the refresh button can finally be pushed. Crown Jewel is shaping up to be a major event with several big time matches already being announced as well as the King of the Ring and Queens Crown tournaments. Not much outside of the draft happened last night, with some time eating segments and a few matches sprinkled throughout the night. So let’s not waste anymore time and jump right into the 5 Biggest Takeaways from this week’s Raw:
#5: Willow is Coming
Jeff Hardy has been on a roller coaster this past month. From chasing the 24/7 Title to getting a victory over Sheamus to being involved in a United States title match at Extreme Rules to now being drafted to Smackdown. If we went even further back we could talk about those few weeks where he caused a meltdown on Twitter when he was the first man in WWE to defeat Karrion Kross, only to end up with Covid for the next 2 weeks and then get beaten down by Kross for 2 more weeks. You could say it might be his most eventful few weeks Jeff has had in well over a year.
A change of scenery has been what Jeff has needed for quite some time now. He has never really recovered from losing the IC Title last year. That reign itself was nothing to brag about either with the lone, great moment being the triple threat with Sami Zayn and AJ Styles. He got moved over to Raw in hopes of finding some footing, but it just never happened. Recent weeks have shown he still has the ability to put on decent matches but the character is dead. It’s boring and has no direction, which is leaving the fans disappointed. They want one more Jeff Hardy run and now is the best time to pull that trigger. He seems a little refreshed, he’s changing brands and has been teasing the idea of Willow for awhile. Last night he made the reference that the crowd may be seeing a new side of him soon. It is happening. Willow is coming.
#4: The Odd Couple
Drew was away from the WWE Title picture for several months. With Big E as champion, it has opened the doors for Drew to challenge for the title once again, and he wasted very little time in letting it be down. Unfortunately for McIntyre, it’s a matter of too little too late. He has been drafted to Smackdown and with his time on Raw coming to an end, it is very unlikely we see him winning the WWE Title from Big E.
That’s not going to stop him from trying though. After ending the show pointing his sword last week at the champion, Drew returned this week to confront him face to face. With rosters remaining until after Crown Jewel, it is more than likely that we will be seeing these two face off at the event in Saudi.
.@HEELZiggler is here to remind @WWEBigE of all that happened in 2013!#WWERaw pic.twitter.com/tVeyLaIUCW
— WWE (@WWE) October 5, 2021
But before we get there, we were treated to a stroll down memory lane last night. The Dirty Dawgs crashed the party and Dolph Ziggler gave everyone a refresher course on how Big E and Drew got their breaks in WWE. Dolph wanted all the credit and all the thanks from the two former bodyguards, but that’s not what happened. We ended this segment with a tag team match which saw The Odd Couple of Big E and Drew McIntyre who would not only defeat Dolph Ziggler but would have a stare down after Drew stole the pinfall from Big E. Expect this match to be added to the already stacked Crown Jewel event, which will give Big E the rub from Raw’s biggest star over the last year.
#3: Goldberg. Goldberg. Goldberg.
The last 4 matches Bill Goldberg has had have all been title matches. He won the Universal Title, he lost the Universal Title. He then challenged for the WWE Title two times and lost both of those matches as well. The fans are over seeing Bill go after the title and luckily, that’s what we are getting right now.
Continuing the feud with Bobby now that he no longer carries the WWE Championship is great. It gives the fans in Saudi a marquee matchup that doesn’t come attached with a worst possible case scenario attached, Goldberg becoming champion. The heat has been turned up, as Bill delivered a very intense promo full of fire last night. Two weeks in a row he has referenced murdering Lashley, letting everyone know this man means business. For all the crap we give Bill, I think a little praise is due here. He is delivering arguably the best promos of his career and he and Lashley are building upon this feud without having to put their hands on one another.
With 2 matches left on the contract, we are inching closer and closer to that inevitable retirement match. I wouldn’t be mad seeing Bill get one final victory over Bobby before ending his career, challenging Big E and giving one of his biggest fans(E) the last ever rub from Goldberg early next year.
#2: Women on Top
Drew McIntyre is gone from Raw. Roman Reigns is staying put on Smackdown. You’re two biggest male stars are now on one night, leaving a gap on Monday nights. Sure, Big E will do just fine atop the main event scene on Raw but he is not at the top of that food chain just yet. Who will fill the void?
How about Becky Lynch and Bianca Belair. The Man was the biggest star in wrestling 18 months ago and Bianca has been built up as the biggest babyface in WWE over the summer. We now have polarizing talents from the women’s division who are very capable of carrying the show headlining Monday Nights, and ready to carry this brand through the next year. I love the idea of giving these women the opportunity to prove themselves. A lot of chatter was made about Sasha and Bianca being a current era version of Austin and Rock. I think this duo has a much better opportunity of creating that magic.
#1: Draft Conclusion
We’ll break this down in three parts;
We’ll start with the Tag Team division, since that has been one of Raw’s focal points as of late. They lost more teams than they received but the addition of two teams like the Street Profits and The Academy makes up for that. Two very capable teams that can carry the division if given the opportunity. With RKBRO, AJ & Omos, Dirty Dawgs and The Hurt Business, we still have a very nice Tag division that shouldn’t lose a step moving forward.
The women’s division on Raw has been in bad shape for quite some time now and it was very clear that the WWE wanted to fix that in the draft. With Alexa, Carmella, Doudrop, Mia Yim, Liv Morgan, Tegan Nox, the women’s tag team champions and Zelina Vega joining Becky and Belair, you have a division that is stacked with a variety of talents that will hopefully be able to fill out the show on Monday nights and give us an entertaining division once again. Here is to hoping that a lot of those names finally get a chance to shine over the next year, and new stars can be made amongst the Women.
A what?! https://t.co/MzBiJs13vI
— Kevinn (@FightOwensFight) October 5, 2021
The men’s single division is in fantastic shape. Raw kept Damian Priest and Big E as their champions while at the same time adding new faces to challenge these guys. The beauty behind Big E as champion is that not many names needed to be added to give us a new set of challengers. Him being on Smackdown for a year means he hasn’t had much interaction with that roster. We just have to hope he and Apollo Crews stay away from each other for a while. As for Priest, there are some names that have come over that can really elevate his status from mid card champion to main event player. Kevin Owens, Finn Balor and Seth Rollins are three guys I hope find themselves in the ring with Priest. Give us fantastic matches while continuing to build Priest up as one of the top guys moving forward.
For all the crap Raw had been getting for months and months, this last month has proven that they do in fact still know how to give us a great show. As the clear winners from the draft, I really look forward to seeing what Monday Nights will be looking like a month from now leading up to Survivor Series.
Agree? Disagree? Let me know, I would love to hear from you about your own ideas. Hit me up on Twitter or Wrestlebuddy. If not, I’ll see you again next week with more Raw Takeaways.
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