5 Disappointments From The RAW After WrestleMania32

It’s a well-known fact that the RAW after WrestleMania is one of the best shows of the year. The crowd is hot and the night is always full of surprises. However, every great show has its downfalls. Here are the top 5 most disappointing moments of the Raw after WrestleMania32.

  1. Rematch Clause? What’s that?

The WWE has been known to acknowledge its rematch clause only when it serves the plot and the fans don’t usually make a big deal out of it; we are simply used to it. However, the RAW after Mania was ridiculous when it comes to that.

First, Kevin Owens, who had lost his IC title the night before, showed zero interest in retrieving it. Yes, he was involved in a #1 Contender’s match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship but that doesn’t mean he couldn’t have asked for his own title anyway. Technically, nothing stops him from being both an IC and WWE World Heavyweight Champion at the same time. Seth Rollins had both the US title and the WHC at one point. Therefore, Owens, not going after a jobber like Ryder, to get his title back seems void of logic.

Then, Triple H and Stephanie were nowhere to be found. Vince gave Shane RAW and Stephanie didn’t care apparently but that’s another topic. It’s equally strange that the Game decided to not show up after Mania. He has a rematch clause to invoke against Reigns but that was ignored and a new #1 Contender was chosen. Triple H’s absence prevented him from doing anything about it. Then again, Roman had to fight for his spot at Mania, as his rematch clause was also ignored, so I guess they are now even.

And last but not least, Zack Ryder, who suffered a pitiful one-day reign, seems to have difficulties with the rematch clause too. In a Raw Fallout video Razor Ramon asked the Miz to consider giving Ryder a rematch. He shouldn’t have to consider it; he simply HAS TO do it.  Ryder has a rematch clause in his contract.

Overall, too much ignore for the rematch clause at the post-Mania RAW for me to ignore.

  1. Zack Ryder Champion…No More

What was that? No, really, what was that?! In all honesty, it wasn’t a surprise that Ryder lost his IC title the very next day after he won it. The night of WrestleMania, one of the highest-rated comment on YouTube under the video, showing Zack win was:  “He’s going to lose it tomorrow, isn’t he”.  Yet, when Ryder actually dropped the belt on RAW, it became real and incredibly annoying.

I get it, the WWE wanted to surprise the fans at Mania. No one saw Zack Ryder, winning that ladder match.  That victory caught me off guard. The crowd was pleased because despite Zack, being a jobber, he’s known for being over with the fans. Most of us still respect the guy for making it through a YouTube channel when YouTube wasn’t yet considered a lucrative business. Ryder’s the ultimate underdog, so allowing him to experience a WrestleMania moment was priceless. Many superstars never get that.

Yet, using Ryder only for the shock factor and then, stripping him off the gold was a bad move. The fans like the guy. He actually had the potential to become a champion the people cared about. A one-day reign is not bad only for Ryder. It’s bad for the title, as well. When Miz said he was a 5 times IC Champion, everyone was surprised but half of those reigns were just like Ryder’s. It was at the time when the Miz and Ziggler were playing hot potato with the title. Worst part is, it seems like it will happen again.

Whether it’s because of the rematch clause or it’s because of Razor Ramon’s taunts, Miz will give Ryder his shot and if Ryder wins, this will continue the vicious cycle of tossing the IC title around. This championship will never ever be credible again if it’s treated like that.

  1. US Championship Missing

As the IC title was getting some bad treatment, the US championship was getting none whatsoever. From a kick-off show match before Mania to a complete lack of appearance on the RAW after, the WWE has totally dropped the ball on Kalisto, his title and his reign.

The RAW after WrestleMania is the show that’s supposed to start all the new, big storylines in the company. It only seems logical that with the very limited amount of titles the WWE has at the moment, all of them will be featured on the show but no, not the US championship.

The only hope is that someone will take it off Kalisto soon and will do it some justice. If the WWE won’t give Kalisto a chance, despite the fact that he totally deserves it, I’d be glad if, at least, the championship was saved. I’d give it to an NXT guy. I’d give it to Tyler Breeze, as you already know, I’ve talked about it before but if the WWE won’t give Tyler a chance either, let it be Baron Corbin. He can grab the gold and carry it as a monster heel, allowing for the championship to gain more value and prestige over time.

  1. No Ambrose. No Lesnar

Ambrose vs. Lesnar was in the top 3 most hyped matches on the WrestleMania32 card. Yet, it was one of the most disappointing ones, mainly, due to the booking. The entire build-up of the fight before WrestleMania was meant to lead to Ambrose, the fan-favourite underdog, to find a way to scrape his way to victory in the meanest, dirtiest way possible.

Ambrose needed that victory for himself and for the WWE. He has the potential to be one of the top faces in the company and that one win over the indestructible Beast would have given him the credibility he needs to get to that level. Also, allowing for the barbwired bat to get into play would have raised the hopes for some sort of a future for hardcore in the WWE. However, the WWE chose to book Ambrose to lose. It was ridiculous that the Street Fight, sold to the fans as a dirty, prop-using bout ended up, seeing less weapons used than the Undertaker vs. Shane match later that night. And all of that, just to see another boring victory for Lesnar. Losing in a Street Fight wouldn’t have hurt the Beast because he would have never been defeated clean. But no, the WWE decided to screw Ambrose and the fans out of a victory at WrestleMania32.

The RAW after didn’t even feature Ambrose or Lesnar. This suggests that Brock will show up only for the next big PPV and that the WWE’s asking Ambrose to keep a low profile, so the fans won’t notice when he comes back and swiftly moves on to yet another rivalry he’ll be booked to lose. Such a waste of talent!

  1. Shane’s RAW GM and What?

What was the point of the Shane vs. Undertaker match, if Shane was going to get RAW anyway? For no reason whatsoever, Vince made Shane the RAW GM, despite his loss and it just killed the importance of the WM storyline. Taker hypothetically risked his WrestleMania career, while it appears that Shane risked nothing at all.

The crowd still cheers for Shane and deservedly so after his jump off the Hell in a Cell. However, he can’t be considered as a carrier of hope any more because he has no power in the company, according to the storyline. Yes, he is a GM but it’s generally Vince who calls the shots, therefore the regime will stay the same. Stephanie still has more authority than her brother and she could overthrow all his decisions. Let’s not forget that Brad Maddox was a GM under the Authority. How much power did he have?

After all the talk about Shane, changing everything, and despite Stephanie not being there, he didn’t do anything on RAW. He barely was on TV throughout the show. With the expectation of the short exchange with Vince in the beggining and a few brief cameos backstage, Shane was nowhere to be found.

The entire McMahon feud plot created loads of hype before WrestleMania, only to end up in absolutely nothing new.

 

What do you think? Comment below with your thoughts, opinions, feedback and anything else that was raised