WWE Raw preview (Feb. 18, 2019): Follow through

WWE heads east from H-Town and brings Raw to Lafayette, Lousiana on President’s Day.

The Headliner(s)

After weeks (or was it months? maybe years?) of drama, The Revival finally captured main roster gold last week. Dash Wilder & Scott Dawson defeated Chad Gable & Bobby Roode to become Raw’s Men’s Tag champions.

If you aren’t the kind of diehard who sits through all three hours every Monday night, you might have missed it. WWE didn’t promote it ahead of time, even on the broadcast itself. The match happened inside the 10pm eastern hour of the show in a spot that could be viewed as the cool down before the payoff of the episode long “will Becky Lynch apologize?” angle.

These points were brought up by more than a few folks. Personally, as a long time Top Guy mark who really enjoyed the match - pretty sure Dash, Dawson & Gable are incapable of not putting on a hell of a show - I chose to accentuate the positive on The Revival’s big night.

This week, however? The cynical glasses are on.

We’ve heard a lot about WWE wanting to pay more attention to their tag scene in general and their new Raw champs in particular. That’s supposedly because they know All Elite will focus on pairs wrestling with a division centered around Executive Vice-President’s The Young Bucks. Dash & Dawson wanting their releases so they could have that match against the Jacksons that’s been teased online by all involved is supposedly a factor, too.

If we’re really about to get a push of the tag division(s) and The Revival, not promoting title matches and running them at 10:20 isn’t going to cut it - no matter how kick ass the match or how pleasing the outcome.

Re-matches are passé for a reason, but I’d take one of last week’s title bout because of the teams chemistry. Beyond that, Zack Ryder & Curt Hawkins are laying the groundwork for what could be a great comeback/underdog story. Heavy Machinery could finally pick a brand. There are good feuds out there for the Top Guys now that they’re on top.

We’ll see if WWE is serious about telling, and showcasing, them.

The title scene

While on a “that was awesome... now what?” tip, the new Women’s Tag belts are around the waists of Sasha Banks & Bayley, just as it should be. And before we even get to who their first challengers should be (I’m pulling for a crossover with the black-and-yellow brand for a little Sky Pirates vs. Boss ‘n’ Hug action myself), we’ve got questions about what brands they’ll be on, how often... stuff like that.

With what was sadly just a formality in Ruby Riott out of the way, we’re back on the march to WrestleMania main event between Women’s titleholder Ronda Rousey and Charlotte Flair... and eventually Becky Lynch, too. Especially since Rowdy is going to be lobbying even hard to have The Man back in the match after she busted her open with a crutch shot at Elimination Chamber.

The good news is, Finn Bálor is Intercontinental champ. The less good news is, Bobby Lashley just split off from the most interesting part of his second run in WWE. Not that his ongoing alliance with Baron Corbin & Drew McIntyre isn’t great, but... hopefully he and hype man Lio Rush make up tonight.

#1 contender Seth Rollins didn’t show up last night. Universal champion Brock Lesnar isn’t supposed to be back until next week. We wouldn’t suggest holding your breath for much advancement in this ‘Mania program tonight.

Other stuff to keep an eye on

- Since Triple H & Stephanie McMahon were going to let Becky come back, and Vince McMahon is the one who suspended her again and replaced her with Charlotte, we could be on the verge of some McMahon family feuding!

- Kurt Angle didn’t make the save when Corbin rounded up his heel posse to kick Braun Strowman’s ass on pay-per-view (PPV) last night. Some teammate he is. The Monster Among Men will either be flipping cars tonight, or we’ll get another injury update on him this afternoon.

- He didn’t have to deal with Jeff Jarrett & Road Dogg last week, but Lucha House Party was there to fill in making Elias’ life miserable.

- Once again a babyface, Dean Ambrose made EC3’s second main roster match much less than his first one.

- Mojo Rawley hates mirrors.

It’s the Elimination Chamber fallout show!

What will you be looking for on Raw tonight?