The March 18 episode of WWE Raw continued laying the groundwork for WrestleMania 35, featuring announcements for major matches at The Showcase of the Immortals and working overtime to put heat on a rising villain ahead of a high-profile fight with the company's franchise star.

Kurt Angle revealed the opposition for his retirement match, drawing harsh criticism across social media, while Drew McIntyre continued to wreak havoc as he eyes a showdown with Roman Reigns in East Rutherford, New Jersey. 

Batista explained his hatred for Triple H, and Finn Balor sought revenge for a losing the Intercontinental Championship to Bobby Lashley, with the assistance of Lio Rush, of course.

What about those four segments of Monday's show made them memorable or put them into perspective so close to the most prestigious pay-per-view extravaganza of the year? More importantly, how might they affect the WWE product on the Road to WrestleMania 35 on April 7?

Find out with this recap of the noteworthy broadcast.

Drew McIntyre Excels Ahead of Roman Reigns Fight at WrestleMania

Drew McIntyre recovered from a questionably booked opening segment, which saw him endure an unrestrained chair attack by Seth Rollins, to have another stellar night creatively as he prepares for one of the biggest matches of his career at WrestleMania.

An intensely passionate promo in which he challenged Roman Reigns to a fight at The Showcase of the Immortals gave way to a victory over Rollins in a strong Raw main event.

Did that aforementioned promo have to include Reigns' leukemia battle? Absolutely not, but the manner in which he utilized it in comparison to the fight The Big Dog will not win against him added to the emotion of the promo and sets up a red-hot match between two guys whose feud came relatively from out of nowhere.

Reigns, his real life made light of by a McIntyre seeking to send a message, will return seeking vengeance and the result should be explosive.

The Scottish Psychopath has been nothing short of extraordinary of late, really seizing the opportunity that has been presented to him.

In post-WrestleMania WWE, do not be surprised to see the Scot rise to the top of the brand and become the heel that the entire show is built around. As it is, Rollins' babyface push to the Universal Championship feels like it is less about him and more about providing McIntyre with a hero to conquer en route to his first major singles title with the company.

Kurt Angle Underwhelms with WrestleMania Opponent Announcement

Yes, Kurt Angle's announcement that he will face Baron Corbin at WrestleMania made sense within the context of the storyline that we have been watching for months now.

Yes, his reasoning for choosing The Lone Wolf made sense. No, we should not be so critical of the revelation given the fact WWE Creative continued a storyline with a sensible development.

With that said...Baron freaking Corbin?

Angle is an all-timer. He is as good as anyone to ever lace a pair of boots and the fact his advertised last match will be against Corbin, when potential showdowns with John Cena and The Undertaker are right there, is ridiculous—and totally underwhelming.

How Vince McMahon and Co. can sit back and actually feel comfortable sending someone like Angle out with such an underwhelming, Raw-quality match is incomprehensible.

Kudos to Corbin for busting his ass over the last year and putting in some fine work to get to this point. The backlash to the announcement is not his fault.

Instead, the blame lies at the feet of a writing team who, for whatever reason, did not feel it owed Angle the opportunity to go out against the highest quality of competition, despite a resume that ranks among the very best in company history.

Batista Uses Established Backstory to Enhance WrestleMania Match with Triple H

Batista called Triple H out on his crap Monday night, and everything he said made sense.

Unamused by the idea that The Game is anything but a scheming, manipulative man looking to further his own career and better himself at the expense of the people he used to get there, he lashed out in frustration.

While there is still no explanation for why he attacked Ric Flair, a guy he has repeatedly said was so influential in his career and he was so respectful of at SmackDown 1000 last September, this was a money promo from a guy who has been among the more underappreciated talkers since his heel turn back in 2010.

Most compelling about the entire promo was that Batista was right about every accusation he hurled at The Cerebral Assassin. It played off the established relationship between the Superstars, something that needed to happen given the rich history between The Animal and Triple H.

How The Game is supposed to remain the good guy when Batista has now called him out for surrounding himself with muscle, manipulating them to get what he wants and throwing them out when they are no longer of any use, is the biggest question.

Hopefully, WWE addresses it next week.

Finn Balor's Revenge Overshadowed by Presence of Braun Strowman

What should have been a showcase for Finn Balor and a bit of revenge after last week's title loss was, instead, a showcase for Braun Strowman, as The Extraordinary Man and The Monster Among Men teamed up to defeat Bobby Lashley and Lio Rush.

While there is nothing inherently wrong with that given he could use some momentum, the fact of the matter is Strowman has some sort of WrestleMania program with Colin Jost and Michael Che lined up while it is becoming more and more likely Balor and Lashley will settle their differences in an actual match.

Instead of spotlighting Balor in a way that suggested he is deserving of one last match against Lashley for the IC title, he was the babyface-in-peril who was never allowed to get his heat back, making this a curious case of misguided booking.

It may not seem like much on the surface, but it is that sort of booking that has ensured the only thing consistent about Balor is his inconsistent creative.