There's an age-old question regarding trees and acoustics that could likely be applied to Monday's episode of Raw: If a good segment happens and no one in the crowd makes a sound, was it actually good?
A dead Green Bay, Wisconsin, crowd certainly helped corroborate the lack of buzz and intensity felt in Monday's go-home show, just five days out from WWE's final pay-per-view before WrestleMania.
But aside from the moments where the crowd inexcusably went into business for itself, including chants of "CM Punk!" during Seth Rollins' in-ring interview with Corey Graves, the final buildup to Fastlane felt much more like a slow burn. Segments which appeared strong on paper failed to translate the same level of energy in their execution, making it feel like most superstars were going through the motions.
How else might one explain the fact that Raw featured lengthy rants between the likes of top superstars Goldberg and Kevin Owens, Rollins and Triple H, Charlotte and Sasha Banks, and a match between Samoa Joe and Cesaro, yet still failed to truly resonate with excitement?
The episode's coda proved to be its strongest stretch. Roman Reigns and Braun Strowman stirred up the heat between them ahead of their Fastlane match with an explosive contract signing that was more pain and carnage than pomp and circumstance.
After their brawl spilled into the crowd, Reigns speared Strowman through the outside ring barrier, taking out a security guard in the process.
At their #WWEFastLane #ContractSigning, @WWERomanReigns and @BraunStrowman brawled throughout the ringside area. #RAW pic.twitter.com/oT8EBl5L9M
- WWE (@WWE) February 28, 2017
But just as it seemed like Reigns would sign the contract alone, finishing the episode as the last man standing, a final in-ring brawl ensued. Strowman intercepted a spear attempt from Reigns and fired him into the corner, exploding the turnbuckle and unhinging the top rope in a creative spot.
As Strowman walked up the ramp towards the stage, a seemingly broken Reigns still had enough fight left in him to crawl toward the contract and sign it, providing a memorable visual ahead of Sunday.
It's still uncertain exactly where Reigns and Strowman are headed entering WrestleMania, or whether their destination involves each other, as rumors of The Undertaker's involvement continue to swirl online. But that uncertainty only adds to the anticipation entering Fastlane, as "The Big Dog" and "The Indomitable" Strowman have the opportunity to steal the show with a physically impressive match.
For whatever mistakes or missteps were had throughout the first two-plus hours of Raw on Monday, Reigns and Strowman commanded the full attention of viewers and left them eager for more.
Hits and misses
While the crowd failed to embrace it, Triple H's appearance on Raw and the promo he laid on Rollins was arguably the highlight of the program. We have long vented about the plot hole that inexplicably developed when Triple H abruptly disappeared from Raw last August, failing to make another appearance in 2016. He remains among the company's best at delivering a believable message and certainly raised the property value on Monday. A main reason for the poor crowd reaction may have been how Rollins was portrayed. The feisty "Architect" consistently performs with a chip on his shoulder whether heel or babyface, determined to prove doubters wrong. But he failed to showcase the depth needed as an actor on Monday to pull off a storyline in which he openly doubted himself and willingly presented his character as being weak.
Decked out in a suit with his WWE Universal championship over his shoulder, Owens landed a small helping of memorable jabs against Goldberg in their opening segment, including, "I don't speak Neanderthal very well, but I'm assuming you want to fight right here, right now." But overall, their interaction came off as fairly vanilla and neutral. Protecting Goldberg and limiting his in-ring scuffling to when it matters most -- on the pay-per-view level -- is a smart strategy in order to make each match retain an extra-special feel. That doesn't mean WWE succeeded in building the necessary anticipation to get there, however, which could have been accomplished had they, at the very least, gone nose to nose.
For as unmatched as Raw commissioner Stephanie McMahon is as far as her ability to verbally undress WWE talent with a scathing rant, viewers often take umbrage with how hard she actually buries the company's top talent. But Monday's takedown of Mick Foley (see more below) was fantastic, with Foley continuing to tease throughout the episode that his days as Raw general manager was likely numbered. The eventual payoff to his angle has a WrestleMania feel to it, and circles back to the original warning from Shane McMahon last July about Foley accepting a position working under Stephanie.
If Jinder "Hard Body" Mahal ends up becoming "a thing," there's sort of a shameless hook to it. The tease of his breakup with Rusev also leaves a certain level of intrigue moving forward considering how well they have worked together of late despite a lack of fanfare.
Cesaro held up well in his backstage trash talking segment opposite Samoa Joe, which included a fun jab at Cesaro still chasing "the brass ring" (which was a sly reference to Vince McMahon's 2014 comments about Cesaro on "Stone Cold" Steve Austin's podcast). The chemistry that Cesaro and Samoa Joe built in Ring of Honor was evident during their match on Monday. And the Tope Con Hilo off the stage from Sami Zayn during his post-match run-in on Samoa Joe was fun to see.
Outside of Nia Jax being booked strong in her almost single-handed destruction of both Sasha Banks and Raw women's champion Bayley on Monday, there wasn't a whole lot to like about the continued forced nature of how the Raw women's division is currently being presented.
For as good of an idea as it may have looked on paper, WWE's attempt to play off the fanfare from Sunday night's Academy Awards gaffe fell a bit flat. A ringside producer entered the ring with an envelope to interrupt The New Day before their match with The Shining Stars, informing them they had the wrong opponents. Xavier Woods then announced Rusev and Jinder Mahal as their replacements. All that was missing was Warren Beatty, "Moonlight" and some reaction of any kind from the crowd.
Cruiserweight veteran Brian Kendrick's creepy obsession with newcomer Akira Tozawa has manifested into a fun feud that took another step forward Monday when Kendrick attacked Tozawa following his victory over Noam Dar. Say what you will about how the cruiserweights have been presented on Raw overall, but the simplicity and consistency of its storylines are beginning to resonate.
Luke Gallows was essentially squashed by Big Cass in their short singles match on Monday, as the unnecessary jobbing out of the Raw tag team champions continued for the third straight week.
Move of the night
Akira Tozawa is not only the master of the snap German suplex, his commitment to leading with his head (instead of his hands) while executing a suicide dive onto the floor is stunning. Tozawa laid out Noam Dar during their cruiserweight bout, launching himself through the ropes like a missile.
When @TozawaAkira is coming at you full speed, don't be like @NoamDar... #RAW #205Live pic.twitter.com/D82QlcOteg
- WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) February 28, 2017
Line of the night
"Seventeen years ago, my husband ended your career on this very night. I'm not apologizing for that. Every year, Triple H seems to get stronger and stronger while you Mick, you just do the opposite. You seem to just keep getting weaker and weaker. I don't think that I calculated just how far you have fallen from grace into the abyss of despair and misery. You're a shell of yourself, Mick. I know you don't measure up to my expectations, but now? I don't think you even measure up to your own expectations. I don't know what you see in the mirror when you look at it every single morning. The only thing I can think is you recognize with every step you just get more feeble and more pathetic. So Mick, I apologize from the bottom of my heart that I put you in this position that the man who could stand up against anyone and anything can hardly even stand at all." - Raw commissioner Stephanie McMahon to general manager Mick Foley.