With just about all of its plans in stone just two weeks out from WrestleMania 34 in New Orleans, WWE kept its focus Monday on tying up some loose ends as the major storylines steer closer to consummation on April 8.  The result was an episode of Raw which teased the spark of electricity without ever being able to sustain the heat for too long across the three-hour episode.  

Both Brock Lesnar, in a repeat beatdown of Roman Reigns to open the show, and John Cena, who continued to cry for The Undertaker to "do something" following a main event victory over Kane, kept their respective storylines in neutral by rehashing the previous weeks.  

Instead, the show's true high points came in the development of the build toward former UFC champion Ronda Rousey's debut match.  Not only did a prepackaged video interview from Triple H and Stephanie McMahon perfectly set the mood for the storyline opposition Rousey and teammate Kurt Angle will face, the "Rowdy" one was up to the task physically later on in an in-ring skirmish with Absolution that perfectly sold the physical dangers she possesses.  

The rest of Raw was a hot mess mix of squash matches and physical attacks, including Bayley and Sasha Banks brawling backstage and The Miz feigning the break up of his own faction to take out his intercontinental title challengers.

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Ronda Rousey's road to WrestleMania heats up 

A sitdown interview, filmed at the WWE Performance Center, featured Triple H and Stephanie McMahon blaming the "idiot" Angle's ego for their WrestleMania feud with Rousey. The two heels put over their work ethic and year-round physical shape. McMahon also stressed Rousey's vulnerability in a world she knows nothing about. "We have a completely different set of rules in our ring," McMahon said. "She hasn't had one match. I grew up in a WWE ring. It is my ring, I own that ring."  Triple H recalled his history of beating Angle in 1-on-1 matches. McMahon, meanwhile, continued to boast how Rousey should be afraid of her. "I'm a McMahon, which means Ronda Rousey will simply work for me," she added. Triple H and McMahon closed by laughing about how they will repackage Rousey after they defeat her. "At WrestleMania, we will humble Rousey the same way we have humbled every single superstar at WWE," McMahon said.

Later on, Angle and Rousey entered the ring to address the crowd. After calling McMahon "trust fund tough," Rousey said she will get everything she deserves at WrestleMania, "which is me ripping her arm out of its socket." Out came Absolution to make an offer as Paige invited Rousey to join the faction. Rousey declined, which caused Mandy Rose and Sonia Deville to corner her in the ring.  After decking Deville, Rousey blocked a Rose kick and suplexed her fallen teammate. Rousey then turned back around just in time to hip toss an attacking Rose before placing her in an arm bar. Angle pleaded with her to relent, which Rousey ultimately did after an intense stare.  

This was exactly what this feud needed to reinject excitement. Triple H and McMahon were simply brilliant in their delivery and Rousey looked much more impressive and believably dangerous than her online skirmish with Dana Brooke that was held back from the Raw broadcast. Introducing Absolution as one-week foils was a nice touch to the story as well, planting potential seeds for the future. But the key to Monday's success was Rousey's presentation, and the maniacal backbone her babyface character was given.

Lesnar beats down Reigns for second straight week 

Lesanr's advocate Paul Heyman announced that although Reigns' temporary suspension from Raw had been lifted, he wouldn't be on the broadcast. He went on to verbally undress Reigns' manhood until the "Big Dog" himself interrupted by limping through the crowd with a chair in hand.

Lesnar exited the ring to lay him out with a stiff clothesline. Reigns countered by driving Lesnar face first into the post and hitting him with a chair. But the momentum turned back for good when Lesnar intercepted a Superman punch attempt off the ringside chairs and hit a belly-to-belly suplex on the floor.  After four chair shots to the back and two brutal hits to the face with the ringside steps, Lesnar exited the ring, spit on the ground and left Reigns with an intense stare. He quickly returned to deliver an F5 on top of the ring steps in the center of the ring. Lesnar then stood on them and posed with the universal title on his shoulders.

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The booking may have been a rehash from last week, but the segment worked because of how vicious Lesnar was in his delivery. From his facial expressions and red face to his stiff offense, this was Lesnar bringing his fastball. That doesn't necessarily take the storyline, which is stuck in neutral, off the hook.  Last week, WWE erred in its attempt to get Reigns sympathy cheers by booking him too closely to a heel. This time, it went back to the well to double down on getting Reigns sympathy by booking Lesnar so strong. Once again, the crowd chose against playing along and largely cheered for Lesnar. In the end, it doesn't really matter and WWE knows it: The crowd still made noise, Reigns will still get his hand raised at WrestleMania and fans will get every bit of violence being promised.

John Cena gives The Undertaker one more week 

Despite brawling into the crowd and eating a suplex onto a ringside barricade, Cena largely handled Kane in a no-disqualification match main event. Along the way, he mimicked The Undertaker's mannerisms -- from sitting up in the middle of the ring to his throat slash -- in hopes of securing a road to WrestleMania. While Cena's chokeslam wasn't enough to secure a three-count against Kane, his Attitude Adjustment through a table did shortly after. After the match, Cena called out an absent Undertaker for being willing to let his fans down. "Where are you?!" Cena said. "I know you're not deaf, you are just a coward." Urging the Deadman to do something, Cena gave him one more week to decide before angrily dropping the mic and walking way, delivering one more throat slash as the closing credits ran.  

Let's hope the payoff of The Undertaker finally answering the call is worth how stretched out this storyline has become. If Cena's whining wasn't enough to annoy you, how about 50-year-old Kane in a Raw main event two weeks out from WrestleMania in 2018? At the very least, the storyline holds up and makes sense. But with Cena forced to carry the load almost exclusively, WWE will need a strong go-home to keep the original excitement brewing from when this match was first teased. Somebody get Kid Rock, a doo rag and a motorcycle up in the bullpen.

What else happened on Raw?  

  • Nia Jax def. Mickie James via pinfall: With Alexa Bliss at ringside to stir up the pot, Jax won in dominant fashion by grabbing James off the top rope and hitting a Samoan drop for the 1-2-3. A brief attack by Bliss was turned away from Jax's dirty looks. She gave chase but couldn't catch Bliss, calling her a "little bitch" as the Raw champion escaped.  
  • Cedric Alexander & Mustafa Ali def. Drew Gulak & TJP via pinfall: Cruiserweights returned to Raw for the first time in weeks, giving shine to the Alexander-Ali vacant cruiserweight title match at WrestleMania. The babyface duo recorded a quick win as Alexander hit his lumbar check on TJP without realizing Ali had tagged himself in. Ali followed with the inverted 450 he calls his "054" for the pin.  
  • Miz TV -- Intercontinental title triple threat heats up: The Miz interrupted the start of his own segment to call out Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel for not being there to prevent him from recent attacks. Out came Seth Rollins and Finn Balor to help stir the pot. Dallas became angry, calling Miz "a phony A-lister who can't fight." Axel also took issue with The Miz implying he's a better IC champion historically than Axel's father, "Mr. Perfect" Curt Hennig. But the anger turned out to be a ploy as The Miztourage attacked Balor and Rollins instead as The Miz laughs. Out came Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows to even the sides. In the end, Rollins and Balor teamed up to take out The Miz before Balor blindsided Rollins from behind.   
  • Asuka def. Jamie Frost via pinfall: Frost, a local enhancement wrestler, cut a pre-match promo during an interview saying Asuka wasn't ready for her. Two punches and a slap was the only offense Frost was able to land. Asuka hit a single kick to the head to knock her cold in this brief squash.
  • Matt Hardy announces WrestleMania plans: A backstage video promo saw the "Woken" one celebrating his Ultimate Deletion victory last week, leaving "the essence of the vessel known as Bray Wyatt as no more." Declaring the great war finally over, Hardy announced he is entering the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal.  Check out the completely updated slate of WrestleMania 34 matches.
  • Bayley, Sasha Banks brawl backstage: A locker room argument between former friends escalated into Bayley calling out Banks for being a selfish friend. Banks made no apologies for being "The Boss," and told Bayley she should act the same "so everybody doesn't think she's a loser." After Bayley said Banks only screws her over because she knows she can't beat her, Banks threw her head first into the lockers. A wild and physical brawl ensued with both getting tossed into garage doors and tables until a group of referees broke it up.  Both will be competing in the women's battle royal, not fighting one-on-one at 'Mania.
  • Braun Strowman def. Sheamus via pinfall: In response to The Bar asking Strowman who his partner will be in their WrestleMania title match, Strowman said Sheamus would have to beat him to find out. "Maybe you will get an answer but I guarantee you will get these hands," he said. The match was physical and even, with the announce team selling a "tweaked knee" that slowed down Strowman. After fighting off distractions from Cesaro, Strowman packaged a running splash and a powerslam for the win.  
  • Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson def. The Miztourage via pinfall: Good showcase chance to shine back up the Good Brothers. In a match that was a continuation from their brawl outside the ring earlier on Miz TV, Anderson's neckbreaker off the top rope on Axel set up the Magic Killer to end it.  
  • Elias def. Rhyno via pinfall: A pre-match guitar promo saw Elias rip the city of Cleveland. "I am truly embarrassed to be here tonight," Elias said. "But I'm in good company. My brother LeBron James told me he felt the same way when he came back from Miami. Just like I'm going to leave tonight, LeBron is going to leave you again." The match was quick and painless. Elias hit a Drift Away for the 1-2-3 before hitting the same move on Heath Slater afterwards.