Raw recap & reactions: Join the club!

WE returned to the USA network for Monday Night Raw last night (April 18, 2016) from London, England, and while there are still some of the same old problems there is plenty to be excited about as we head for Paybacknext month.

Click here to get full results with the live blog. Let's get to reacting to all the night's events.

The deadman's hand

Shane McMahon is, apparently, the personification of what Triple H represents to NXT, at least in the eyes of the fans who love the developmental brand. Triple H can't play the role, and you know a McMahon has to be given the credit, so they've attempted to channel the praise Haitch gets into Shane O'Mac.

It's working.

Kind of.

The reality, though we may be loathe to admit it at times, is that Triple H is an exceptional performer and Shane McMahon is not. He's beloved for a number of reasons, and none of them have anything to do with his leadership abilities.

Sure, it's nice to have a babyface authority figure, if only because it's a nice change of pace, but how much longer are we going to watch Shane fumble through his promos without acknowledging that fact? Why does the authority figure have to be an on-screen presence at all? Why not just let the issues between wrestlers play out in such a way that decisions can be made behind-the-scenes without fans needing to give some sort of undeserved credit?

It is entirely unnecessary to the success of the show itself. You are not watching Raw to see Shane book a match. Triple H is beloved, and that comes through during certain segments/matches, but it has nothing to do with the Triple H character. That character starts at its ceiling. There is nowhere to go but down.

And we're already seeing that.

They've also completely stopped pretending to care about giving us a reason for his running the show, which is actually as honest as they've ever been.