"RESET: Into Darkness": Monday Night RAW (4/25/16)

All good things must come to and end. After having 3 back-to-back shows of Authority-free content, Stephanie McMahon returned to Monday Night RAW (sans HHH) to interrupt Shane. She announced that this was Shane's last night to run RAW because this Sunday at Payback, Vince McMahon will decide if Stephanie or Shane will take control of RAW. Once again, it's another weird stipulation that teases the end of The Authority storyline but at least it has a better and concise buildup, and this doesn't require Shane to do another death-defying stunt.

That opening segment with Stephanie really sucked the air out of the room, as Shane phrased it, and that disinterest affected the rest of show. Sad to say that the show really felt like a chore again, with more segments and promos than actual wrestling matches. The results can be found here.

The major highlights were:

• Chyna, who passed away last week, was acknowledged on RAW via a graphic and a touching video package. Despite their publicly estranged relationship and the personal problems she's had, WWE went out of their way to pay their respects to her. They focused on what she accomplished when she was with WWE and showed clips of her with DX and as Eddie Guerrero's beloved Mamacita.
  
• League of Nations have quietly disbanded and was put into single matches: AJ Styles vs Sheamus, Sami Zayn vs Rusev, and Roman Reigns vs Alberto Del Rio. And they all lost.
  
• The much-awaited in-ring debut of Karl Anderson and Doc Luke Gallows. They got wrestling gear and outfits that matches pretty closely to their NJPW attire. Even their entrance theme sounded similar to the Bullet Club theme. After a lengthy match, they defeated the Usos and started to beat them down until Reigns came out to make the save. Reigns is so tainted that the normally cheered Usos got boos and "USOS SUCKS" chants.
  
• The New Day, The Vaudevillains, and Enzo and Big Cass all came out to do their respective promos. It should be noted that the Tag Team Championship title will not be defended at Payback.
  
• There was a video package that talked about the 14-year history between Owens and Zayn's blood feud featuring commentary from the two. Not only did it explain the feud to casual fans but it also showcased a unique feud that has carried over from several wrestling promotions to WWE. It was a great opener to Sami and Rusev, who had a great match. Sami won, which infuriated Lana enough to throw her shoes at him, and got blindsided by Kevin Owens.
  
• For some freaking reason, there was only one Women's wrestling match again and it was just Natalya defeating Emma. Charlotte was on commentary. Becky, Sasha, and the other women were nowhere to be seen.
  
• Dean Ambrose abandoned his Ambrose Asylum talk show (and potted plant) to call out Jericho for attacking him from behind last week. Although their feud stemmed from Ambrose Asylum taking over The Highlight Reel, the real issue is that Jericho had become an egomaniacal top heel who brags about being untouchable. Ambrose is back in PPV mode and taking on Jericho because that's what he does. Their segment ended with Ambrose trapped in the Walls of Jericho on the announcer's table. Jericho has one-upped Ambrose a few times, so hopefully this means Ambrose gets a win at Payback.
  
• As I mentioned earlier, Reigns is tainted. The problem is that even though Reigns has taken on this tweener-ish persona, WWE isn't helping his image by showcasing a video package where he's meeting with Make-A-Wish kids. Those same kids were there at ringside and Reigns was smiling and interacting with them. When he went into the ring, the crowd resumed booing at him. Gallows and Anderson jump Reigns after he defeated Del Rio. Styles makes the save and tries to keep his brothers out of the ring and ends up getting Superman punched by Reigns. Just when it looked like Reigns was standing tall after taking out Gallows and Anderson, Styles comes back with the Phenomenal Forearm and lays out Reigns.
  
  

By the way, the crowd for this go-home show was pretty bad. AV Club pointed out that they only chanted a few times because the casual fans were supposed to. It's a lukewarm response for a go-home show which sort of takes you out of the matches. Nonetheless, the last 3 weeks for Payback has been handled quite well and the card this Sunday is full of new talent, save for WWE veterans like Jericho, Natalya, The Miz, and Ziggler. The only sad news about Payback is that the promotional materials still features The Wyatt Family and neither Bray or the rest have been seen since his injury.

RIP AMBROSE ASYLUM & POTTED PLANT

2016 - 2016