Here are my Raw Thoughts:
Since I was working on my WrestleMania Preview this weekend, I didn't get a chance to work on my Weekly Records, so I will do a WrestleMania Sized Double Column next week. And tonight, I will be posting 1 Fact for every match announced at Mania, as they are promoted throughout Raw.
Great MizTV with Lita, Becky Lynch, & Trish Stratus & Damage CTRL. Everyone did great, especially Becky. [MANIA FACT: It will be the 14th 6-Person Tag Team Match at WM, the 1st since The New Day VS The League of Nations at WM 32, & the 1st All Woman 6-Person Tag Team Match in WM History, as other 6-Person Tag Team Matches at WM that had women were Mixed Tag Team Matches with men.]
Becky Lynch VS IYO SKY was an excellent match.
Great recap of last week's promos.
Excellent Video Package on Asuka. [MANIA FACT: Asuka has never won at WrestleMania.]
Seth Rollins' promo was good, but Mustafa Ali is horrible with this gimmick. Please make it stop. But, we're gettin Rollins VS Ali which should be awesome. [MANIA FACT: This will be Logan Paul’s 2nd WrestleMania in a row, making him the 1st celebrity since Mr. T at WM 1 & 2 to wrestle at consecutive WMs & the 1st time in WM History that celebrities will wrestle at WM 3 years in a row.]
Seth Rollins VS Mustafa Ali was such a disappointment. It should have not been a short squash like that. I get what they were going for, but Ali should have had some offense it. Good promo. So, we now know 2 matches for Night 1. Please announce the rest.
Funny segment with Chelsea Green, Adam Pearce, Baron Corbin, & Sonya Deville. I like Chelsea & Sonya Deville together, though I don't know what happened to Carmella.
Another bad segment with Brock Lesnar & Omos. I still don't give a crap about the match & do not want to see it at WrestleMania [MANIA FACT: It will be the 1st time Brock Lesnar will be wrestling a 1-named wrestler since he defeated Goldberg at WM 33.]
Excellent video package on Charlotte Flair and good promo by Rhea Ripley. [MANIA FACT: This will be Charlotte Flair’s 7th Women’s Championship Match, which is the most in WM History & the 1st wrestler since herself at WM 34 & 35 to defend the Smackdown Women’s Championship at back-to-back WM, making her the only Women’s Champion in History to defend the same Championship at back-to-back WMs twice.
Awesome promo by Finn Balor. I can't wait to see The Demon inside the Hell In A Cell at #WrestleMania [MANIA FACT: This will be the 1st time that there will be a Hell In A Cell Match at WrestleMania without The Undertaker. Edge & The WM are the only wrestlers to wrestle in a Hell In A Cell Match at both WM & SummerSlam.]
Ricochet, Braun Strowman & The Street Profits VS The Alpha Academy & The Viking Raiders was a fun 8-Man Tag Match & it proved once again that Opponents Can Co-Exist in a Tag Team Match. [MANIA FACT: Erik, Ivar, Otis, & Ricochet is the 4th time that 4 1-named men’s wrestlers wrestled in the same Tag Team Fatal 4-Way Match at WM, after WM 18 (Billy, Bradshaw, Chuck, & Faarooq), WM 30 (Cesaro, Diego, Fernando, & Ryback), & WM 35 (Cesaro, Ricochet, Rusev, & Sheamus).]
Another excellent Cody Rhodes Promo. [MANIA FACT: VS Roman Reigns will be Cody Rhodes' 1st Championship Match of any kind at WM since he won the Intercontinental Championship in a Ladder Match at WM 32.]
Awesome Goodfellas Parody with The Bloodline. This is now my favorite WrestleMania Parody. So it's 1) Goodfellas, 2) 40 Year Old Virgin, 3) Top Gun, 4) Joker/Batman, 5) Stranger Things 6) Titanic.
Excellent Video Package on Bianca Belair. [MANIA FACT: Bianca Belair will be the 1st since Charlotte Flair at WM 32, 33, & 34 to wrestle in 3 Women’s Championship Matches in a row at WM & the 1st to defend the Raw Women’s Championship after winning it the previous year since Becky Lynch at WM 34 & 35.]
Very good promo by Austin Theory. I like that it was done in an empty arena so there was no crowd to boo Theory. [MANIA FACT: This will be the 2nd United States Championship Match to open WM & the 1st since John Cena VS The Big Show at WM 20, making this Cena’s 2nd WM opener & Theory’s 1st WM opener.]
Stacy Keibler didn't have an Hall of Fame Wrestling Career. The only reason she's getting inducted is because of her legs. She really didn't do much to deserve an induction.
Candice LeRae & Mia Yim VS Sonya Deville & Chelsea Green was short but decent. At least Green & Deville won a match & it completes the 4-Way Match. [MANIA FACT: Shayna Baszler & Natalya are the 1st time in WM History where partners from one WM were opponents at the following WM in a Fatal 4-Way Match.
Good recap of the 1st WrestleMania. I didn't start watching wrestling until WM 3 (I will more on that on Wednesday on the 36th Anniversary).
Another classic Paul Heyman Promo. [MANIA FACT: Roman Reigns is the 1st Champion of any kind to defend the same Championship at 3 consecutive WMs.]
Incredible Dominik Mysterio promo. It might be the best promo in his Career. Rey Mysterio VS Damian Priest was pretty good and I had a feeling that we weren't going to get a clean finish or a DQ. I love Legado Del Fantasma making the save for Rey. [MANIA FACT: Rey & Dominick will be the 1st wrestlers in WM History to be Tag Team partners & then opponents at back-to-back WM.]
Good video on Andre The Giant & the Andre Battle Royal. It's funny that they didn't show the 1st winner, Cesaro. Why are the wrestlers surprised that they are in the Battle Royal on Friday? Didn't they see the graphic on Smackdown? But it was a good way to promote the match.
Dolph Ziggler VS GUNTHER was a fun way to showcase GUNTHER. Ziggler is awesome at selling, so he was a perfect opponent. Good promo by GUNTHER afterwards. [MANIA FACT: GUNTHER VS Drew McIntyre VS Sheamus will be the 3rd Men’s Triple Threat Match in WM History to have 2 wrestlers with 1 name after The Big Show VS Kane VS Raven at WM 17 & Goldust VS Maven VS Spike Dudley at WM 18.]
[MANIA FACT: Roman Reigns will be the 1st wrestler since John Cena at WM 25, 26, & 27 to wrestle in 3 WWE Championship Matches in a row & the 1st to wrestle in 3 Universal Championship Matches in a row.]
. @codyrhodes VS @wwesolosikoa was an amazing main event. I can't believe Cody wrestled that hard 6 days before his #WrestleMania Main Event. Cody was the perfect person to give Solo Sikoa his first pinfall loss on the main roster. I thought we would have gotten Cody, Kevin Owens, & Sami Zayn VS Solo & The Usos in a 6-Man Tag, but this was a perfect way to close Raw.
Here are my RAW Match Rankings:
1) Cody Rhodes VS Solo Sikoa
2) Becky Lynch VS IYO SKY
3) The Street Profits, Ricochet, & Braun Strowman VS The Alpha Academy & The Viking Raiders
4) Dolph Ziggler VS GUNTHER
5) Candice LeRae & Mia Yim VS Sonya Deville & Chelsea Green
6) Seth Rollins VS Mustafa Ali
The Final Raw Stop in Phoenix on the Road to WrestleMania was another fun one. Everything was great & got me more excited for Mania. The only 2 matches that I'm not into is Lesnar VS Omos & the Women's Fatal 4-Way.
And enjoy the final episode ever of Chrisley Knows Best. Good riddance to the criminals.