The following editorial was written by Geoffrey Rowland and does not reflect the opinions of WrestleZone as a whole. We encourage you all to discuss Geoff’s thoughts in the comments section at the bottom of this post or by tweeting him @Geoff_Rowland
With Roman Reigns making a triumphant return, Batista making a shocking appearance and Kofi Kingston getting the honors of earning the McMahon’s as an enemy, the WWE had one of its stronger two-show weeks in a long time.
RAW was emotional and electric on Monday as The Big Dog announced his leukemia was in remission and he was ready to return. He punctuated the night by getting some in-ring work with Seth Rollins as they saved their former Shield brother Dean Ambrose from a Baron Corbin, Bobby Lashley and Drew McIntyre beatdown.
It was predictable, and really continues to drag McIntyre down a bit, but it was needed and a solid release for the fans and for Reigns as it moves the show into his full-time return.
If he is actually in shape to compete at WrestleMania, it is really going to be interesting to see what they do with him. Hopefully, they still feel comfortable with Rollins vs. Brock Lesnar and Rollins is certainly capable of winning that match. But, considering it took the Big Dog years to conquer The Beast, it would not be shocking to see WWE move toward Reigns chasing Lesnar again.
Obviously, Reigns vs. Ambrose would be solid and a good way to send The Lunatic Fringe out if he is, in fact, leaving the company. But, WrestleMania matches with someone known to be leaving have turned into quite the circus before.
The ending of the show was also pretty well done with Batista making a shocking appearance to get the attention of Triple H. Ric Flair’s 70th birthday bash proved a perfect spot for a shocking moment like this as the Evolution intrigue adds a ton to what is going to be a solid WrestleMania attraction match. Batista is a legitimate movie star at this point and he will draw more eyes to the product. Should be a fun feud and a good way for The Animal to go out.
As for the rest of RAW, obviously Becky Lynch’s attack on Ronda Rousey and subsequent “arrest” helped lead to the story of the week … the fantastic Twitter war between The Baddest Woman on the Planet and The Man. It was a strong segment that helps push everything toward what appears to now be a triple threat match coming at The Granddaddy of Them All.
it is still not very clear where Finn Balor is going with the Intercontinental Championship. Lio Rush is enjoyable to watch in the ring, but Balor topping him in a match does not push anything forward.
Oh … and Ricochet and Alister Black are a tag team now, apparently?
