A good go-home episode of RAW before WrestleMania, but there were a few disappointments: namely the announcement of the Cruiserweight Championship match being on the pre-show. We saw Austin Aries defeat Noam Dar in a good bout for which Neville was on commentary, before the champion himself beat Jack Gallagher later in the night. It's a shame, really, because it's a great, great match potentially and I am honestly of the opinion it will steal the show.
There were some interesting developments in the tag arena, too, with Enzo and Cass, Sheamus and Cesaro and Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows clashing with ladders. WWE likes having a ladder match at WM, so will we see their three-way feud be a ladder match? If so, I'm very excited. That'll be a great, fun bout, full of high spots and good action, and I'd also be very tempted to say we could see a Hardy Boyz appearance. But maybe that's wishful thinking.
I think it's odd the Andre the Giant Memorial Trophy Battle Royal hasn't been showcased more. We saw an over-the-top rope challenge on Monday night (a complete waste of time) featuring Jinder Mahal, Bo Dallas and The Shining Stars, Goldust, R-Truth, Curtis Axel and Braun Strowman. The latter refused to enter the ring, instead waiting to face Show at Mania. I mean, Show deserves a good spot on the card, he's in the shape of his life, and he deserves a fitting farewell on the big stage, but what a waste of Strowman. Likewise, Sami Zayn entered the contest too - a complete waste of his talents, not to mention Samoa Joe's (I thought we were heading to a singles contest between the pair at Mania) after he pinned a distracted Kevin Owens after the match of the night, which saw the duo brawl and violence erupt. It was almost a PPV-esque match-up, and Zayn got the pin when Chris Jericho and Samoa Joe clashed to distract him.
There were other high spots, mostly centred around talking: Seth Rollins and Triple H's feud got more personal, with the former signing a Hold Harmless agreement to make their match at Mania that bit tastier (I'm worried, though, that WWE's 50/50 booking means HHH is going over after Rollins stood tall following the Game's attempted attack), and Roman Reigns (who teased a heel turn YET AGAIN) clashing with the Undertaker on the mic. Reigns as a heel is just money waiting to be made. He's born for that role, and really, we've seen time and time again how a great babyface can only be a great babyface once they've been a heel. Seeing The Undertaker materialise in the ring was just spine-tingling, and I think their bout could steal the show come Sunday. The lasting image was Goldberg spearing Brock Lesnar, in a defining moment pre-WM. Surely, he'll relinquish the belt Sunday. He has to. Paul Heyman's promo was sterling beforehand, as ever.
The night started with a fantastic tag team bout, which saw Nia Jax stand tall after she delivered blows to Charlotte, Sasha Banks and Bayley. The match this weekend is an Elimination Fatal 4-Way, so it makes sense for Bayley to pin the two heels before Banks turns heel and costs her the championship, thus strengthening her position as an underdog champion.