Remember when Raw after Mania was truly the wildest night of the year? It felt like anything could happen and it almost always did. Dolph Ziggler’s cash-in comes to mind. Eventually, WWE co-opted and branded “Raw After WrestleMania” and made it just like any other Raw on the calendar. That’s not inherently objectionable but it does take away some of the excitement. Eventually I’ll get to my main point for this week’s proceedings, but I needed to address this first. We got some call ups, some title pictures refreshed themselves, but this was a serviceable edition and not the unpredictable two-hour thrill ride WWE frames it as.
Okay, back to business. Roman Reigns is the new champ, and spent his promo addressing his cousins. Jimmy & Jey Uso. Bottomline? He wants them back at his side. Several months ago, Roman said they couldn’t get the old days back, but I suppose having the championship on his shoulders truly makes him miss the old days. Does he truly miss them like he said or does he want the protection now? One can never tell with the Tribal Chief, but we’ll find out.
Roman did make a good point about them being stronger as a unit. They instilled fear as a crew. Solo? CM Punk talks trash about the family, The Vision talks about The Usos with reckless abandon, and “some rapper from the ‘90s” runs his mouth about Jey. I cackled at that. I cackled harder when he called Cam’Ron “washed” without mentioning his name. Only hip hop heads of a certain age will understand what I say next, but there’s some weird poetry to Roman sending shots at Killa Cam while Jim Jones sat ringside.
All that talk about family and I wondered who is Roman’s next challenger? LA Knight and GUNTHER staked their claim in a backstage segment, but neither showed up during Roman’s TED Talk. No, it was “little cousin” Jacob Fatu. And he showed, once again, how awesome he is.
Jacob needs everything afforded to the Tribal Chief. I love that he took it back to his family. He needs a bigger house for them. He needs more money to put his kids in better schools. He’s not doing this for his glory but to take care of his family, even if that means going through other family members. It sounded real and contrasted perfectly against Roman’s cool demeanor.
Is Jacob ready for that responsibility? That’s Roman’s angle. Being the head of any table comes with certain strings. Everything that glitters ain’t gold; that includes championship belts and Rolexes. Heavy is the head that wears the cliche so you get the point. But again, is Roman really looking out for his young cousin or just getting back to his old mafia ways? He’s giving Jacob a week to think about it because Roman “isn’t sure he’s ready” to win or lose the championship and accept what comes with both. At the same time, he wants Jimmy to “talk to him” and “handle it,” which gets us right back to the mob boss era.
I didn’t think WWE would go back to the Bloodline well so quickly. This always feel like their break glass in case of emergency angle. Jacob is a new wrinkle, and maybe Roman is a changed man, but it’s more of the same family drama.
At least that’s how it seems now. It’s very early days and I don’t want to jump too many guns or let go of my horses just yet. Maybe Haitch has something up his sleeve that will shock and amaze me. Or maybe he’s just out of ideas and hoping he catches lightning in a bottle one more time.
This didn’t feel “Raw After WrestleMania” worthy but it was still a solid show. It moved enough pieces around to feel like a reset. They reinstated the Bloodline, welcomed Ethan Page and Sol Ruca, then told us Joe Hendry will soon appear. Not the most exciting week of Raw but I didn’t hate it.
What say you, Cagesiders? Does Jacob take the title shot or join his cousins?
