The Raw after Elimination Chamber aired last night from San Antonio, and it was pretty good. The Raw’s after pay per views are usually some of the best ones, and luckily for us, WWE seems to be putting on pay per views every couple of weeks now. We have a new IC champion, Twin Magic returned & John Cena yelled things. Let’s get to the 5 stars from last night’s Raw.

1. Roman Reigns

At this point, I don’t understand anyone who hates on Roman Reigns. If you wanted to hate on him for his John Cena-esque rise to the main event at WrestleMania, fine. If you wanted to hate on him for winning the Royal Rumble over YOUR favorite wrestler, that’s dumb, but fine. But at this point, all the guy has done is work his ass off on the microphone and in the ring, so you’re petty hate is unwarranted. During last night’s show opening promo, Reigns looked as comfortable as I’ve ever seen him on the microphone, and it was the first time that I can remember him speaking without sounding like he was reading a script. He got right to the point, and actually made a lot of sense, and bonus points for getting his best buddy a title match at MITB. After the talking was over and Reigns sufficiently pissed off the Authority, he was put in 3 separate matches, all of which came with the stipulation that if he lost, he’d be out of the MITB ladder match. He won all 3, beating King Barrett, Mark Henry & Bray Wyatt. His match with Wyatt was the main event and my favorite match of the 3, but Reigns just looked great all around last night. At this point, I’d have to assume he’s going to be the frontrunner to win the MITB ladder match, and then we’ll have a 3 way feud for the title with Lesnar and Rollins heading into Summerslam.

2. Kevin Owens

Let’s have a little talk about Kevin Owens. He’s the best character in the WWE right now and he’s fresh off a couple month span where he won the NXT title and beat John Cena clean with a power bomb in his main roster debut. He wrestled a hell of a match against Cena at Elimination Chamber, easily the match of the night, and followed it up with a short but great promo on Raw. Owens is slowly breaking down the John Cena façade, and even though Cena followed it up with a promo inexplicably calling Owens “less than a man”, KO came off looking better than Cena once again. As a side point, if Owens is less than a man, and he beat Cena fair and square last night, what does that make Cena? The tricky thing with Cena is that we’ve been programmed to believe that Cena always wins in the end. You might beat him initially, like Rusev and Bray Wyatt before him, but he will come out on top so decisively that the initial loss doesn’t end up mattering. I think Owens is different. He’s not a character. He’s a guy with a wife and a son. His son, much like other kids, loves John Cena, and instead of asking him how daddy was feeling after his match Sunday night, his son asked how John Cena was doing. If that’s not the best motivation to beat somebody up then I don’t know what is. I hate that they announced the rematch for MITB right after Owens won Sunday night, but for the first time in a long time, I’m not worried about a guy in a John Cena feud.

3. Titus O’Neil

During the 6 man tag match, Titus O’Neil got the hot tag and just started catching and tossing guys around like rag dolls. WWE has decided to push the PTP, and that 2 minute stretch during the tag match last night shows how easy it is for fans to get behind a person or team. Titus O’Neil is bigger and scarier than most of the guys on the roster, so put him in matches where he can be big and scary. I was amped up watching him toss guys around and scream like an animal, and I bet other fans were too. The tag team division is so boring at times because WWE is afraid to let teams show some emotion and get fired up. The talent is there, just like it’s always been, but the match quality has to be there too if the division is ever going to get back on track. Putting teams like Cesaro/Kidd, PTP & New Day together is a step in the right direction.

4. Neville

As much as I love Bo Dallas, this was great. Neville beat Bo clean Sunday night at Elimination Chamber, and now Bo is done with the inspirational talk and just wants to hurt Neville. 2 minutes later Bo is flat on his back and Neville is twisting through the air like a god damn gymnast on his way to another win. Neville might not win MITB, but I can’t think of anyone else in the match I’m more excited to watch.

5. Bray Wyatt

This is more a pity star, as one guy (Reigns) was in half the matches on the show. When Bray Wyatt is on my TV I’m happy, and since he wasn’t on the card for Elimination Chamber and is in limbo again, I was just happy to see him. Now let’s put the Wyatt family back together and have him win some important matches.

– Ryan