Isenberg Reacts: WWE RAW “Who is Next and Who Left As Universal Champion?”

November 22, 2016

The Highlight Reel

(Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

A sad Chris Jericho comes out and talks about Team RAW’s loss, as well as what happened to his list. This brings out his best friend, Kevin Owens, who talks about taking one for his friend last night. Jericho talks about how much the list means to him and Owens says the list is meaningless. This infuriates Jericho, as he and his best friend seem to get to a point of breaking up. They both yell at each other, but fool us all when they blame Roman Reigns for destroying the list and losing the match.

Seth Rollins comes out and says he wants a championship match, then Roman Reigns comes down and saves his former Shield buddy. Mick Foley makes a Universal Championship match for tonight, no DQ and Rollins/Jericho are banned from ringside.

This was an excellent segment, hyping up a championship match later and planting the seeds for Jericho to eventually turn on Kevin Owens. I think they have a similar Rock/Foley comedic relief to them, always knowing how to work off the other. To say this could be Chris Jericho’s best work might be the most accurate thing in this article. Him and Owens are perfect together and they are giving fresh life into each other. Kudos to them and kudos to Seth Rollins for trying his damnedest to win the Canadian crowd over. He had a handful, not good effort either way.

WZ 8

Cedrick Alexander and Rich Swann Win

We had two Cruiserweight matches on RAW, with Cedrick Alexander picking up a victory over Daivari and Rich Swann becoming number one contender by winning a Triple Threat Match. There was good and bad in these matches.

I believe Scott Fishman tweeted something along the lines of how Cruiserweights are not getting much reaction because the matches don’t have much direction or meaning. I would have to agree with what he is saying, as some of these bouts have no real reason or rhyme behind them. Alexander is a stud athlete, but how can WWE utilize him in a different way? How about putting Alicia Fox with him, maybe moving forward with a relationship of some sort. Let Fox be the crazy girl she was so good at before and have Alexander be the calm guy who is into it? Why not?

As for Rich Swann, he oozes charisma and has a great gimmick. He might be the most developed, but would a quick feud with Brian Kendrick really help him right now? What if he loses? What if he wins? Would it be too soon? I want WWE to do right with the Cruiserweights, but I always fear that they are not giving them details to their stories. The only guy that I really understand is the champion. We are beginning to understand Swann, but everyone else needs specifics.

WZ 6

Josh controls most of the creative writing and ideas for the show on a weekly basis, as well as an on-air talent.

Aside from working with WrestleZone, Isenberg began his career in Broadcast Journalism interning at ESPN and worked with CBS Radio for three years. He has also had the opportunity to interview some of the best athletes and performers alive, including Andrew McCutchen, Ben Roethlisberger, Chris Jericho, Billy Gunn, Karl Anderson, Matt Hardy, Steven Strasburg and others.

Currently, Josh Isenberg works for Major League Baseball in their Advanced Media Productions. He grew up in Pittsburgh and went to Point Park University, which is where Chair Shot Reality is filmed each week.

His life outside of his obsession with wrestling include being a savant for Seinfeld, NFL, NBA, MLB and many television shows. He also has an undying love for musicals, which includes many shows he was a part of in high school. Some of his favorite wrestling moments can be linked to such superstars as Edge, The Rock, Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels and The Great Khali.