Raw begins with a video package about the WWE championship.. then the 24/7 Championship broke into it and we got a video package on the 24/7 Championship!
5/5🌟 I cannot and will not lie. This was kind of epic! It reminded me of the WWE Raw of old. Cheesy but wonderful. It has been a long time since a video package for anything has made me feel this happy.
R-Truth & Carmella vs Drake Maverick & Renee In A Mixed Tag Lumberjack Match for the WWE 24/7 European 7/11 Heavyweight Championship
Cracking way to start Raw! Drake Maverick has ring gear and everything and finally we are getting to see him wrestle for real and his wife wrestle on the main roster! This must’ve been such a cool moment for them as a couple too.
Truth and Mella got a HUGE reaction from the crowd, this was honestly just such a lovely thing to see! They have worked so hard on this and knowing that Truth and Maverick have been responsible for 90% of what we have been seeing in the 24/7 scene creatively just makes it so much sweeter. They have well and truly gotten this 24/7 Title over! There were about 20 or so other people around the ring, all part of the 24/7 Title picture.
The match began with some pushing and shoving and such like. It was fun and fresh, over in minutes with Truth busting out a Gourdbuster for the win to retain! What happened next was all the Lumberjacks climbed up on the side of the ring and Truth looked like he’d seen a ghost! He’s got fantastic comedic timing. They all proceeded to pile on top of him.. I mean that literally. 20+ dudes all jumped on top of Truth and he got pinned by someone! Your winner & NEW WWE 24/7 Champion, Mike Kanellis! My guy!! I popped like crazy for this. I’ve been a big fan of his for many years prior to him joining WWE. He was running around backstage trying to hide, when the 20 guys then persued him as Truth stayed behind to get confused about losing. Which even that made me chuckle. When Mike ran into the WWE Officials locker room and managed to lock the door before anyone got to it. When everyone surrounded the door, Maria was off camera shouting that there was a “Pregnant lady coming through” and she needs to see her husband. Absolutely perfectly done with the feigned abdominal pains too. She then bangs on the door and says “Michael, let me in!” She tells him it’s his wife and “Michael” then responds that he doesn’t know if it is his wife because it be Carmella pretending. So Maria says that if he doesn’t let her in right now, she is going to break down the door and kick him in his vagina.. brutal, funny and fresh!
5/5🌟 I remember feeling how inexpliciably strange it was that having genetalia mentioned in the first 15 minutes of Raw could be indicative of a new era of Raw.. still! But I was thoroughly entertained by this opening to Raw. As you can see from the amount I have written about it. Does the rest of the show have the chops to follow this?
5 Superstar Gauntlet Match
This will determine AJ Styles’ US Title contender for Summerslam.
Rey Mysterio vs Cesaro is the first matchup! This is going to be done as a mystery to who each entrant is! That is a lovely touch!
Amazing, amazing, A-EFFING-MAZING! This went for 12 Minutes or so! It was wonderful and the spots were masterful and there was a moment of suspended belief when Rey hit his patented Mysterio Style Bulldog from the bloody top rope!! Followed that up with a 619 and a Frog Splash for the win!
Sami Zayn was next, he got rolled up in roughly 6 seconds. – That was sucky. Zayn deserves to at least put on somewhat of a showing!
Andrade & Zelina Vega are out next! Two of the best Luchadors in the industry. Every single time this match happens it is incredible. Andrade is a tremendous Heel, but if he wins, would a Babyface turn be imminent? He beats Mysterio after a valiant effort and some devilish moments of pure Heel goodness from Andrade as he hits Rey with 3 Amigos and shakes his shoulders like Eddie Guerrero did, Hammerlock DDT and that was it. Rey was eliminated. Andrade then ripped the mask off of Rey! Like… tore it open! We saw his face for a second.
The final entrant in the match was Ricochet who made the save! This match was absolutely exquisite! Andrade vs Ricochet is every single bit of what I want to see on a weekly basis. This whole Gauntlet style match was something else entirely too! I love this concept. I hope it continues. It got really interesting when Vega got involved which turned the tables for a while. The back and forth was balanced and well put together, these two are so well matched. Ricochet won with a picture perfect 630 Senton and will face AJ Styles in a US Title rematch at Summerslam. Well.. This Raw has so far left me salivating..
6/5🌟 despite the Sami Zayn burial, this match was bloody excellent! If you saw this and went away STILL complaining then you are impossible to please and should go watch something else. Because this right here is where WWE will come out swinging for the ratings and for the product. Sure, they care more about money and fan population more than anything else, but this is how you do that & care about the fans and, most importantly, the Wrestlers too!
Maria & Mike Kanellis Backstage
Mike says Maria can be proud of him now… but Maria tells him to lay on his back “like you normally do” and calls a Ref over. She wants the title. Mike lays down and Maria wins.. she is the first ever pregnant champion. She flaunts it in front of everyone, because nobody will pin a pregnant lady.. right? Although she invites them all to her OBGYN appointment Thursday to try.
2/5 🌟 Still not a fan of the verbal, mental & physical abuse from Maria onto her own husband. It’s sort of glamourising domestic abuse a bit. For that reason alone, I have to give this a smaller score. It got 2 because this was a really cool direction for the title.
A Moment of Bliss
Nikki & Alexa are out and give praise to the new WWE 24/7 Champion, Maria. – Glorifying abuse.
Alexa shows footage of Becky attacking Finlay and Natalya during a training session, she locked on the Disarm-Her and didn’t let go. Cheers came for Lynch, who showed up on the tron to tell Alexa that she will pay for all she’s done later on when they go one on one. She also berates Nikki for being a glorified assistant for Alexa Bliss.
2/5 🌟 Cool accelerant for the Becky v. Nattie feud, but everything else was SO cringe.
The USOs vs The Revival vs The OC for the WWE Raw Tag Team Championships
This match was incredible! The multi man spots were crazy and the Superplex to the outside onto everyone was insane! This all ended with The O.C. hitting a Magic Killer from nowhere and winning the Gold! NEW WWE RAW Tag Team Champions!
They partied with AJ after!
4/5🌟 It carried all the weight of a major PPV match and the action flowed like it too. It was utterly brilliant in terms of WWE style and utilising their teams a little better. Putting gold on all 3 members of The O.C. is awesome. Losing a point for The Usos making light of yet another recent DUI arrest. It’s not cool. It’s not funny. You could have killed someone, you reckless moron.
The Viking Raiders vs More Jobbers
Nice offense. But still unimpressive in terms of who they’re destroying. It doesn’t make them look strong beating unknowns.
1/5🌟 They don’t need Jobbers.
Street Profits Segment
They run down what’s happened, talk about Maria and Montez tries to spark the rumour that Dawkins is her babydaddy! Seriously love these two. It made me laugh. Then Seth Rollins shows up and they hug and laugh and tell Rollins the locker room is behind him against Dolph Ziggler.. Montez Ford tried doing the “Burn It Down” thing but Rollins shut him down and told him it was his line.. BUT if he is gonna do it then he better do it right, so they all did it together and Rollins was all pumped and marched to the ring!
5/5🌟 It was funny, sure.. but the main take away is that we finally have a 3rd dimension to Rollins! That zany side of him last week wasn’t just a flash in the pan. It’s sticking around & I like that.
Becky Lynch vs Alexa Bliss w/ Nikki Cross
The match was really surprisingly good! Not a throw away at all! Bliss gave it her best shot, but she tweaked her ankle and when she took a Bex-ploder her ankle hit the ground with a lot of force and she was forced to forfeit the match and the trainer took her boot off and assessed her at ringside. Nikki Cross got in Becky’s face and challenged her to a fight. This got a lot of positive noise from the crowd!
5/5🌟 Its just like everything has had so much life breathed into it! I’m loving the show.
Nikki Cross vs Becky Lynch
Alexa at ringside with ice and her leg up on a chair so I’m assuming this is ALL kayfabe now.
Becky beat her in minutes. Then Bliss attacked her from behind and Cross joined in, then Natalya came out and locked her in a Sharpshooter and wouldn’t let her go. She did eventually and then walked away. Backstage Nattie had an interview and said she would challenge Lynch to a Submission only match for Summerslam, but then says she won’t accept because Lynch is too scared so she won’t issue it.
5/5🌟 I liked this a lot. Continuity is on point this week!
Dolph Ziggler vs Seth Rollins
The match itself, golden. It was very well paced and since Rollins was fighting for Shawn Michaels’ honour, it had a little more of an edge to it emotionally. Just as Seth was setting up the Stomp, Brock Lesnar showed up and beat the living shit out of him! Theres no other way of putting it. He Suplexed him everywhere. On the floor, on the canvas, he F5’d him into the LED post and 4 times more onto an unfolded steel chair! Rollins was bleeding from the mouth and gagging after each cough, Rollins got taken away by EMTs and put into an ambulance, which was stopped by Lesnar standing in front of it, he then pulled Seth out whilst he was on the stretcher and he sort of rolled away down the hall a bit, then Lesnar caught up, tipped him over and F5’d him onto the underside of the stretcher. Just metal, bolts and wheels. Looked absolutely gnarly!
5/5🌟 THIS! Just this! It was exactly how to book this! Major sympathy for Rollins and mad heart for Lesnar. Honestly, if Rollins isn’t actually hurt for real, I will be stunned.
Samoan Summit
Yep. Joe came out and said it was cancelled and invited Reigns out for a fight. Roman obviously acquiesced so then Drew McIntyre got involved, Cedric Alexander saved him, The OC then stopped Reigns from putting Joe through a Table, The Usos then even it out when all are at the top of the ramp. Cedric jumps from 15-20 feet off the stage and takes everyone out. Joe takes two Superkicks from the Usos and Reigns Spears him and Raw goes off with the Samoan Dynasty on top!
5/5🌟 Again, this was thoroughly entertaining! Not exactly how I thought the show would end, but it delivered and I have signed for it.
Conclusion
Stars Achieved: 50/60🌟
RAW SCORE: 83.33%
Superstar of the Night
Rey Mysterio. He had the best showing of anyone and that Gauntlet Match was white hot!
