The return of the Cruiserweight Division, Daniel Bryan and Mick Foley and plenty of Battleground drama led the way to an eventful RAW that in spite of some missteps, got the job done.
Check out this week’s RAW Power Rankings to see who else got some much needed momentum before the WWE’s Brand Extension Draft and next event this Sunday.
Honorable Mention: Darren Young: A win over former WWE World Heavyweight Champion Alberto Del Rio this week on RAW gives Young a huge boost in momentum before his Intercontinental Title match against The Miz at Battleground.
5: Enzo Amore and Colin Cassidy: These guys are hilarious. Amore’s frenetic energy and Cassady’s size make them one of the most promising tag teams in the WWE in quite some time. Regardless of their affiliation with John Cena, they are more than ever. It’ll be interesting to see where they go after the draft.
4: The Cruiserweight Division: This is huge. With the success of the Cruiserweight Classic, this just makes sense. A reason to watch RAW, away from the performers drafted to each brand, the Cruiserweights can and will add much-needed layer of depth to RAW.
3: The Club: The “Beat Up John Cena†movement is in full swing. With the draft coming up and Finn Balor’s eventually call-up, expect The Club to be rejuvenated and ready for blood at Battleground.
2: Seth Rollins: The promo work from “The Architect†this week on RAW was stellar. Add in another high-quality match this week on RAW and Rollins looked primed to win back the title he was “screwed†out of.
1: Dean Ambrose: He’s ready to defend his title and the returning Roman Reigns and surging Rollins will have a tough time trying to pry it out of his hands. Don’t let the replays and bad booking fool you- Ambrose has the ability to be a dominant champion.
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports.
Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders.
His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023.
Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief.
Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale.
Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.
The return of the Cruiserweight Division, Daniel Bryan and Mick Foley and plenty of Battleground drama led the way to an eventful RAW that in spite of some missteps, got the job done.
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