4 Mistakes WWE made on RAW from Brussels
John Cena appeared on tonight's episode of RAW from Brussels, Belgium. He explained why he turned on Cody Rhodes and aligned with The Rock after his shocking heel turn at WWE Elimination Chamber.
The live crowd jeered at Cena for almost 10 minutes before he finally spoke up. He said he was tired of pandering to the fans who wanted too much from him.
The live crowd certainly ate up everything that took place, including Penta's victory over Ludwig Kaiser in a street fight.
The fans also sang Seth Rollins' theme for several minutes. Although the show was relatively good from start to finish, WWE still made the next four mistakes on RAW from Brussels.
#4. Matches that don't involve current RAW champions
RAW from Brussels did not feature either the Tag Team Champions, The War Raiders, or the Women's Intercontinental Champion, Lyra Valkyria.
Instead, the episode featured stars who had already been defeated by both champions. American Made lost to Rey Mysterio and Dragon Lee of the LWO.
Dakota Kai defeated Ivy Nile. Valkyria has already beaten both women but will face Raquel Rodriguez on next week's RAW.
Ivar and Erik beat American Made twice. Why aren't the titleholders being featured regularly ahead of WrestleMania?
#3. Bianca Belair and Rhea Ripley misunderstand respect
Bianca Belair and IYO SKY were scheduled to have a contract signing for WrestleMania 41. After SKY slapped her last week, Ripley crashed things to say she wanted a piece of her.
The EST said the same thing, but both women forgot they ignored and disrespected the champ during last week's segment by talking as if she wasn't present. They both shoved SKY in the face first, leading to the aforementioned slaps.
Belair even claimed she had great respect for SKY before stating she wouldn't allow the champ to disrespect her by slapping her. She wouldn't need to talk circles about respect if she hadn't started things herself.
Bookers are clearly using how The EST and The Eradicator overlook The Genius of the Sky, but the rationale doesn't make sense. Belair even piefaced the Japanese star once again.
#2. Jey Uso squashes Austin Theory in less than three minutes
Grayson Waller and Austin Theory won the WWE Tag Team titles in a ladder match at WrestleMania 40 last year. They held the titles for several months before losing them to DIY.
Since then, Theory and Waller have been booked as little more than jokes. They lose to everyone, including LA Knight, Jimmy Uso, Jey Uso, Oba Femi, and everyone else in between.
Both stars should be major players by now, with Theory already having won mid-card gold and Money in the Bank.
The Atlanta native is great in the ring, while Waller is a younger, more athletic version of The Miz. There's no reason why Jey should be squashing someone like Theory in less than three minutes.
#1. Roman Reigns and CM Punk don't show up after last week's big finish
The big talking point from last week's RAW was the return (one of many) of Roman Reigns. He pulled Seth Rollins out of the steel cage, giving his rival the victory over CM Punk.
The OTC then attacked both men, stemming from issues from the Royal Rumble. Perhaps WWE felt they didn't need either star in Brussels since Cena and Rhodes made appearances.
Making a big deal out of the major ending on last week's RAW, only to have one of the three names appear, feels like a big misfire. For Reigns, it's business as usual.
He shows up once or twice to sell a program and disappears for a few months. Punk works more than he does. Having Rollins do the heavy lifting feels a tad unfair, even if all three will be in the same building for SmackDown.
