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My Thoughts on RAW (2/20/17): No More Heroes

  • The opening video package for this show was a recap of the Festival of Friendship because this company just wants me to be sad forever. Actually, I just realized it...you know who's fault it is that Owens & Jericho stopped being friends...it's Friendship the Magician's fault!
    It was his terrible magic that made Owens end the greatest thing about wrestling for the past six months. Shame on you, Friendship the Magician...you monster...THEY WERE SUPPOSED TO BE BEST FRIENDS FOREVER AND YOU RUINED IT!
  • We open the show with Kevin Owens, sitting in a single spotlight to nothing but boos. Kevin Owens managed to turn heel...while he was already a heel. He says the spotlight is finally on him and only him. He doesn't address what he did to Jericho and proceeds to talk about how he'll beat Goldberg at Fastlane. He says Goldberg is all hype and he never believed it for a second. He says Goldberg never impressed him and he won't take him lightly like Brock Lesnar did. He says no one thinks he has a chance of retaining his title, but he knows he'll walk out of Fastlane with the Universal Championship. He says this won't be a 90-second squash and that all he has to do is outsmart Goldberg. He says he won't let Goldberg make his title a prop in his superhero story and he'll prove that superheroes don;t exist. He says Goldberg is nothing before leaving the ring. Phenomenal. That was fantastic. Kevin Owens is without a doubt one of the best in WWE today.
  • Cesaro & Sheamus vs Enzo Amore & Big Cass-#1 Contendership for the RAW Tag Team Championships-Cass & Sheamus start off trading blows before Sheamus hits a spinning heel kick in the corner. Sheamus goes for 10 Beats of the Bodhran, but Cass avoids it. Sheamus & Cesaro manage to keep control until Cass bodyslams Sheamus. Cass tosses Enzo into Cesaro before throwing him into Sheamus. Enzo goes to the top rope, but Sheamus knocks him off and tags in Cesaro, who uppercuts him against the barricade before the commercial break. We come back to Sheamus beating down Enzo. Sheamus & Cesaro beat down Enzo until Enzo dodges an attack from Cesaro and tags in Cass. Cass runs wild on Sheamus until Sheamus tags in Cesaro, who uppercuts Cass and hits a double jump corner crossbody for a near fall. Cesaro goes for the Neutralizer, but Cass blocks it, only for Cesaro to hit a springboard uppercut. Cesaro goes for the Cesaro Swing, but Enzo stops him. Cesaro throws Enzo out of the ring, but he turns right into the East River Crossing by Cass for the win. Pretty good match. After the match, Enzo mocks Cesaro until he gets Brogue Kicked by Sheamus.
  • Kevin Owens is preparing to leave RAW when Mick Foley walks up and tells him he's facing Sami Zayn tonight. Owens tells him that he better be careful or else he'll have a lot of people on the disabled list.
  • Roman Reigns walks up to Mick Foley. Foley says he can't face Strowman until Fastlane and Strowman already has a match tonight against the Big Show. Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson walk up and say they have unfinished business. Reigns says he'll take them 2-on-1 tonight...again.
  • Brian Kendrick vs Akira Tozawa-Kendrick clotheslines Tozawa before the bell and rams his head into an exposed turnbuckle. Kendrick locks in the Captain's Hook before putting his jacket back on and walking off. Side note, how do you think the ring crew feels changing the color of the ropes just so they can change them right back less than two minutes later? Probably not good.
  • Charly Caruso interviews Kendrick when he gets to the back. He says he won't be disrespected and that he taught Tozawa a lesson tonight.
  • Roman Reigns vs Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson-Anderson goes right after Reigns when the bell sounds, but Reigns takes control with a shoulder tackle. Reigns run through both Gallows & Anderson, hitting a Drive-By Dropkick on Gallows until the numbers become too much, getting roundhouse kicked by Gallows on the outside. Back in the ring, Gallows beats down Reigns until Reigns sends them both out of the ring, but they quickly regain control. Gallows grabs a chair, but Reigns is able to fend them off. He takes the chair and hits Gallows & Anderson with it, causing a DQ. Reigns beats down Gallows & Anderson, hitting a Superman Punch on Gallows and a mid-air spear on a diving Anderson. Man, they really don't want Gallows & Anderson to look even remotely strong, do they? So far as Tag Team Champions, they've only won two matches, both of which by DQ'd, and have gotten their asses kicked at every turn. It's ridiculous.
  • We find out that the New Day will be hosting WrestleMania this year.
  • Handsome Rusev & Jinder Mahal with Lana vs The New Day with Xavier Woods-Apparently, Jinder Mahal's got a new nickname..."Hardbody Mahal." Maybe not the best name to go with..."hardbody" has a bit of a tainted history in wrestling. The New Day say they put the blueprints for their ice cream machine back together and now they have them on a super secure IPad. However, Lana reveals she got the plans on her IPad. Get it, because she's Russian...actually, that's pretty funny, I'll give them credit for that. That match starts during the commercial break and we come back to see Rusev locking in a bear hug on Kofi. Kofi breaks free, but Rusev drops him with a dropkick. Rusev & Mahal beat down Kofi until Kofi hits a tornado DDT. Big E gets the hot tag and suplexes Mahal around the ring before hitting the big splash. Big E goes for the Big Ending, but Mahal avoids it and Rusev superkicks Big E. Kofi sends Rusev out of the ring and hits a dive to the outside, where Lana yells at him to get up. Woods takes the opportunity to scare her by playing Francesca II up close to her, causing Lana to toss the IPad up in the air. Woods catches it and destroys it before Big E & Kofi hit the Midnight Hour on Mahal for the win. Fine match, nothing special.
  • We get a tribute video for George "The Animal" Steele.
  • It's time for a contract signing between Jack Gallagher and Neville for their Cruiserweight Championship match at Fastlane, complete with tea & biscuits, officiated by Austin Aries. Gallagher signs the contract before Neville comes out. Neville comes out and signs the contract without saying a word and walks off, but Gallagher insists he stay for tea & biscuits. Neville returns and says Gallagher is an embarrassing stereotype of what an Englishman should be and he should be ashamed of himself. He says he represents what an Englishman is, not Gallagher, who is what the WWE Universe wanted him to be. He says the fans are laughing at him, but they won't be after they see what he does to him Fastlane. Gallagher says he is exactly who he portrays himself as and says he won't stand for Neville believing he's a king. Neville flips the table and gets in his face before shoving him. The two brawl before Gallagher headbutts Neville out of the ring. Neville tries to get back in the ring, but Gallagher keeps him at bay with William the Umbrella.
  • Nia Jax vs Sarah Pierce-Pierce tries for a dropkick, but Nia doesn't budge and hits a Samoan Drop for the win. After the match, Charly Caruso interviews Nia, who says she deserves a shot at the RAW Women's Championship. She says she's putting Bayley on notice before walking off.
  • Outcomes the new RAW Women's Champion Bayley. She says all she's ever wanted was to be the champion and she achieved her dream last night. She then addresses Charlotte's demand that she give her back the RAW Women's Champion, saying she won't, but she gets interrupted by Stephanie McMahon. She calls Bayley's title win tainted due to Sasha Banks' interference last week. She says she's a great role model for the kids in the audience but says keeping the title after winning it the way she did would go against everything she stands for. She says Bayley should do the right thing and relinquish the Women's Championship. Bayley considers it while Stephanie tells her to take the higher ground and relinquish the title. Bayley is about to do it before Sasha Banks comes down to the ring. Sasha tells her not to before Stephanie questions why Sasha gets involved in Bayley's business. Sasha says she doesn't want Bayley to give up the title, but Stephanie says she's only doing this because Sasha knows she can't beat Charlotte...what? Has Stephanie not watched the show for the last...six months or so? Sasha's beaten Charlotte for the title three times. Stupid idiot. Bayley contemplates it but decides...not to do it. She says she'll defend the title for all the fans anytime, any place before Charlotte comes out. Charlotte apologizes to Stephanie for Bayley & Sasha being disrespectful to her and says she doesn't want the title handed back to her...even though she's the one who wanted Bayley to hand it back to her. Stupid idiot. She says she's invoking her rematch clause at Fastlane before Sasha challenges her to a match. Charlotte agrees, so Stephanie makes the match for right now.
  • Sasha Banks vs Charlotte-Bayley is on commentary for the match.The match kicks off with Charlotte targeting Sasha's knee. After a series of near falls, The two continue to go back and forth until Charlotte drives Sasha's head into the mat with her knee. Charlotte works over Sasha until Sasha hits a wheelbarrow bulldog for a near fall. Sasha goes for a double knee drop in the corner, but Charlotte avoids it by leaving the ring, only to take flying double knees from Sasha on the outside. Dana Brooke jogs down to try to interfere, but Bayley stops her. Sasha locks in the Bank Statement for the win. Fine match, nothing special.
  • Diamond Dallas Page is announced as the next inductee into the WWE Hall of Fame. Needless to say, his underwhelming WWE run got no mention in his video package.
  • Charly Caruso interviews Sami Zayn. He says he warned Chris Jericho that Kevin Owens would turn on him, but he doesn't feel any joy in seeing it happen. He also says Samoa Joe is just like Owens and his story with him is far from over.
  • Kevin Owens vs Sami Zayn-Samoa Joe attacks Sami Zayn as he makes his entrance, throwing him into the ring post twice before throwing him back into the ring. Zayn says he still wants to go through with the match and Owens goes right after Zayn as soon as the bell rings. Owens gives Zayn two big clotheslines in the corner followed by two cannonballs before finally finishing him off with a Pop-Up Powerbomb for the win.
  • Backstage, Stephanie McMahon admonishes Mick Foley for not coming out to defend her against Bayley & Sasha Banks. Foley starts to give out about how trusting her has only gotten Seth Rollins injured and he refuses to let her greed get in the way of what's right.
  • Michael Cole interviews Brock Lesnar & Paul Heyman. Cole starts to talking about Goldberg, but Heyman warns him to watch himself because Lesnar is not in the mood for it. Lesnar then sizes up Cole before sitting down and staring right into the camera. Heyman says that Kevin Owens is not the most violent champion in recent memory. Brock is. Heyman says he thinks Kevin Owens has a shot against Goldberg. Brock doesn't think so. Heyman says that Lesnar will defeat Goldberg at WrestleMania...and so does Brock.
  • Braun Strowman vs Big Show-The two stare eachother down before locking up. Big Show locks in a wristlock, but Strowman escapes by rolling through and impressively kipping up. Strowman forces Show into the corner, but Show shoves him off. Strowman takes Show to the mat with a headlock before flooring Show with a clothesline. Strowman continues to control the match until Show catches Strowman and goes for the chokeslam, but Strowman hits a DDT before he could get slammed. Strowman continues to dominate until Strowman goes for a suplex, which Show blocks. The two try to suplex eachother before Show finally hits it. Show hits a big shoulder tackle on Strowman and hits the chokeslam, but Strowman kicks out. Big Show goes to the second rope, but Strowman yanks him down and goes for the powerslam, but Show rolls out and throws Strowman into the corner. Show sets up Strowman for a superplex, but Strowman knocks him down and goes for a double axe handle. Big Show is able to catch him with a knockout punch, but Strowman kicks out at two. Show goes back to the second rope for a Vader Bomb, but Strowman goes under him to try to catch him for the powerslam. He doesn't get their quick enough, but Strowman picks him up and powerslams, only for Show to kick out. Show goes for the chokeslam again, but Strowman easily fights out and hits a powerslam for the win. My expectations were pretty low for this match, but this was actually pretty dope. Roman Reigns immediately hits the ring and Superman Punches Strowman twice, but Strowman dropkicks Reigns when he goes for the spear. Strowman plants Reigns with the running powerslam before screaming in his face.

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