Welcome to the Braun Strowman Show – A Raw Recap for 2/12/18

Tonight’s Raw comes to us from San Jose, CA.

RAW is Strowman

The image above will most definitely be part of Braun’s Hall of Fame montage when he’s inducted in the class of 2035.  It’s a moment that proves that not only can Braun be the scary monster, but he can play for comedy too.

Braun interrupted a kimono-wearing Elias set with a song of his own…with an upright bass (side note: Mark Andrews invited him to play cello in his pop punk band.  A cello is different than a bass, Mark.). It instantly fell apart as soon as he tried to play it.  It didn’t matter, Braun improvised and sang acapella.  He’s here to intimidate his Elimination Chamber opponent and play his own mind games.

And as you can guess from the poorly constructed bass, Elias was going to be on the receiving end of it.  It looked brutal, marrying the comedy of the bit with the sheer force of the monster.

Braun might be the best big man of all time.

Bayley Has Fire

You’d be forgiven for forgetting about Bayley.  Sure, since making it to the main roster, she has been Raw Women’s Champion, but she’s been quickly forgotten about.  There’s rumors that, like another NXT darling Finn Bálor, Vince wasn’t too high on her.   On one hand, she’s not a great promo.  She never has been and never will be.

On the other hand, she’s excellent in the ring…against the right people.  Bayley can’t pull off a great match with just anyone.  Just look at any of her matches with Alexa Bliss.  They simply lack the chemistry required to put on a compelling match.  But if you put her in there with Asuka or any of the other Horsewomen, you’re going to get gold.  Particularly if you put Sasha in there.

This match is exactly what Bayley needed.

Ultimately, Bayley pulled off the win here with a great Avalanche (?) Bayley-to-Belly off the middle turnbuckle for the win.

I hope we see more of this fire, hopefully in the Elimination Chamber.

Shortly after, Nia Jax blindsided both of them to prove the point that she can destroy too people that can’t beat Asuka.

The 6th 7th Man

Kurt Angle announces that Jason Jordan will be out of commission for months due to some neck issues and surgery.  The Olympic hero chastises the audience for cheering Jason Jordan missing Wrestlemania.  Seth uses the time to try to figure out his own Wrestlemania moment.  Without a tag team partner, he might be on the shelf himself.  He convinces Kurt to add him to the “Last Chance Fatal Four Way” to make it a Fatal Five Way instead.

So now we’re at the main event with Crews, .  It’s a fine match, but it ends with Bálor and Seth both getting a pin on Bray Wyatt?  Why?  So they can add Rollins to the Elimination Chamber to make it a 7 man affair.  I kind of think it’s dumb…but oh well.  Also, what are the logistics of the new Chamber?  Are they going to add a pod?  That doesn’t seem practical.

Here’s the best solution: Since we already know Elias is the last one in the chamber, just have him hang outside, perhaps improvising a song about what’s happening in the chamber.  You still have the 4 pods randomized entry, and then when it’s Elias’ turn, the refs just open the regular door for him or he gets loaded into one of the empty pods after the other four have been opened.

Everything Else

• Lots of solid matchups tonight.  I actually wonder what they ended up cutting for the Hulu edit?  My guess is either the women or The Revival, as we’ve seen this match several times already.
• John Cena defeated The Miz.  The Miz now is the first entrant into the Elimination Chamber.
  • Before the match, Miz claimed that he could beat Brock Lesnar.  I kind of believe that he could with all his sneaky tactics.
  • Cena celebrated with a disabled kid at ringside.  He reportedly told the kid that he would beat whatever is ailing him and that “your wheelchair is going to need a wheelchair”.  It’s the most Cena thing to say and it makes absolutely zero sense.  I love it.
• The Revival defeated Gallows and Anderson.  I’m sure Anderson and Gallows will win it next week.  And we will go back and forth to the end of time.
• Mandy Rose & Sonya Deville defeated Alexa Bliss and Mickie James.  Alexa is concerned that Absolution is going to win the Women’s Championship at the Chamber and just trade it back and forth with each other.  It’s sound reasoning from the Women’s champ.
• Roman Reigns defeated Sheamus.  What a vicious looking spear as Sheamus jumped from the top rope.  Not a spot I would advise someone to take if he indeed has spinal stenosis.
• I feel like maybe there was a Titus Worldwide segment that I’m forgetting about.