Opener
4/5⭐ Raw starts with a recap of Bray and Seth from last week and The Fiend attacking Seth and Kane last week! It was done like a horror movie trailer.
Then Seth Rollins makes his entrance and looks concerned on the way to the ring. He cuts a promo on The Fiend, whilst saying The Fiend is a “Living embodiment of a Nightmare” and that Hell in a Cell is gonna be terrifying but he basically just ended up doing the whole “buuuuut, I’m still gonna win” thing. Braun Strowman interferes and he’s still pissed at Seth for losing the Tag Titles. He mocked The Fiend too (bad move!), Rollins and Braun had a heated exchange, it was good. It had many tints of realism. Rollins vs Strowman announced for later!
Viking Raiders vs The O.C. w/ AJ Styles
5/5⭐ The OC have new music. It is a proper Heavy Metal track too. The match was pretty damn good, both teams were able to show off their repertoire. Once Ivar got in and started his high-flying the fans got up and started rooting for him! He may actually be getting over pretty quickly. Which is amazing! It’s great to see both teams get showcased appropriately too!
AJ got ejected from ringside after grabbing Ivar’s leg, then he got beat up by an angry Cedric Alexander on the ramp. This match had so much going on! But the biggest moment to come out of it was who won, The Raiders won via some epic tag team moves and got a huge pop too! Could very well be the most entertaining team on the roster today. I’ve been a fan since their ROH days as War Machine and STILL to this day reckon that AOP will be their greatest rivals given the chance.
Becky Lynch Interview
3/5⭐ Becky is getting booed for some reason.. Becky lays down a fantastic promo.
EC3 vs Rusev
2.5/5⭐ Not technically a squash match, EC3 got a great start, but then got whooped and tapped to The Accolade. 5 minutes tops. Still not enough to make up for signing EC3 again after failing him last time and now doing it a second time. Great to see Rusev again though. His tash earned an extra point.
Sasha Banks w/ Bayley vs Nikki Cross w/ Alexa Bliss
4/5⭐ Nikki Cross had a great showing again, She and Sasha have some great chemistry it seems. Sasha won via a rollover Banks Statement on Nikki. But Nikki had some amazing moments, she is so entertaining. 20 minute match too! Nikki is super over right now, even when the crowd is about as lively as Thomas Cook’s . Boss N’ Hug beat down Alexa after. I’m guessing The Boss N’ Hug Connection get a Women’s Tag Team Title shot now?
🎉 Congratulations to The Miz & Maryse 🎉
5/5⭐ Their Daughter, Monroe Sky, became a big sister on Friday when Maryse gave birth to a healthy baby girl, Madison Jade Mizanin. Massive congratulations to them all!
Also, Miz announced that next week he will be hosting a Miz TV with Hulk Hogan (who got booed to Hell) and Ric Flair (WOOO!).
Lacey Evans vs Ember Moon
4/5⭐ Lacey got clocked in the throat in the first few seconds and it may have hurt her quite a bit as she was favouring it during the contest. They had a pretty quick match, but it was a really good showing. I am a huge fan of both of these ladies, but I do not like Ember’s promo style or that horrible wobbly wailing shout thing she does. Ember lost via a Sharpshooter, I think that’s actually her 6th loss in a row now. Yeesh.
Firefly Funhouse
5/5⭐ Creepy as always but not the most thrilling we’ve seen this week. He did explain how loving something too much leaves you exposed to weakness, loneliness and sadness, so he snapped a Seth Rollins toy in half and told Ramblin’ Rabbit & Huskus the Pig Boy to share. Rabbit said they loved Seth and didn’t want The Fiend to hurt him, Bray got mad and said that maybe The Fiend wants to save him. Then said he’d see us in Hell and waved goodbye.
24/7 Championship Shenanigans
5/5⭐ Consistently incredible stuff here. I love this championship. Carmella and R-Truth run into the ring and say that they can’t run anymore. The rest of the 24/7 hunters are outside when Mella asks them to stop as the last 4 months have been Hellish for them. Mella says she’s done, then out of nowhere she pins Truth and takes the 24/7 Title! Truth helps her escape on his back when Tamina, Sarah Logan, Dana Brooke and, I think, Mickie James ran after them. I guess the Women’s Division are holding the 24/7 title for a while now. Not a bad shout at all.
King Corbin vs Chad Gable
5/5⭐ Corbin looks amazing as King. He has a Ned Stark inspired robe that he apparently killed and skinned a Dire Wolf from GoT for, a black crown and scepter too. Corbin said once he wins this match he will declare as King that he never has to face anyone under 5ft 5in again. Gable inaudibly says to the Ref that he is 5’8.. that tickled me.
The match was great. Corbin threw Gable over the railing and took out 2 security guards. Awesome.
Roughly a 25 minute match! It got the dead ass crowd on their feet! Gable was incredible as the underdog and Corbin is the best Heel anywhere in wrestling in my opinion and I love him dearly.
There were near falls everywhere and Chad’s struggle against the brutality of the new King was a narrative we all got behind. Gable is an absolute star! He is so much like Kurt Angle it is scary. Such a shame it ended in a DQ after Corbin used the scepter to get out of an Ankle Lock. Corbin put him down with a shot to the back of the head! Brutal! Cannot wait to see this again at HIAC. Hope it’s Street Fight or something!
Authors of Pain Return Promo
4/5⭐ Fantastic. They talked for a moment, went out, beat up Heath Slater and No Way Jose as you do, came back and talked a bit more. Give us AOP vs Viking Raiders! Now!
Fatal 5 Way Elimination Match
5/5⭐ Rey Mysterio vs Shinsuke Nakamura vs Ricochet vs AJ Styles vs Robert Roode – Winner faces Seth Rollins next week on the “Season Premiere” of Raw for the Universal Title. The ‘Go Home’ Raw before HIAC.
Theory: So this could be a way to avoid putting the Universal Title on Bray Wyatt prematurely. Over-exposure is like a plague to gimmicks like this. But if Seth drops the belt, that wouldn’t end The Fiend wanting to torment Seth Rollins because he “stole something very important” from The Fiend.. So.. this would mean whoever wins this match would go on to win the title next week, then Rollins would face The Fiend the in a Hell in a Cell match just not for the top belt and the new champion would have a new challenger.. OR.. I could be totally wrong.
This match was awesome! Near falls, crazy moves, mental spots galore, ‘TNA’ chants for a Roode/AJ stare off and finishers everywhere! A real mishmash of styles too! Japanese Strong Style, Lucha Libre, Acrobatics, Showmanship.. This match was really, really fun and the finish was not at all what I expected – Nakamura hit a Kinshasa Knee Strike to Ricochet and eliminated him first. Next was Nakamura out by Styles. Then Styles by Roode. Then Roode by the winner, Rey Mysterio! Emotional win for Rey and, if my theory comes to fruition, he could very well win the title next week!
Seth Rollins vs Braun Strowman
6/5 ⭐ Just awesome. Rollins and Strowman had a great match, it was only 15 minutes or so but it was full of content! They went 0-100mph in seconds! Back and forth, until Rollins went for The Stomp, then.. as if from nowhere, they ended up outside the ring after a reversal from Strowman that lead to him laying Rollins out with a vicious Powerslam on the floor. Once he rolled him into the ring for a final Powerslam. He hoists him onto his shoulder and the trons turn off. The crowd begin to rise to their feet and chant “Yowie Wowie!” as the sound of failing electronics echo through the arena. Then we hear the nerve-shredding static sound and see the hypnotic flashing lights that follow The Fiend’s arrival and, once he appears, he grabs Strowman by the face and violently shoves a hand down his throat until Strowman goes unconscious, all the while Rollins recoils and yells in fear at the sight of The Fiend crawling towards him, Strowman begins to stir and once conscious takes a run at The Fiend only to be halted with a Mandible Claw that was slapped on so fast it took 6’8, 385lb Strowman clean off his feet and he is stuck there until he fades to black again. Bray laughs and Raw goes off the air as the lights abruptly shut off. – This is how you fucking do it, folks. Bray Wyatt is an absolute genius. Storytelling at it’s finest and it’s so unique! Fair play to WWE for going with Bray too. It’s the best creative decision they’ve made in a decade I think.
Conclusion
Stars Achieved: 57.5/65 ⭐
RAW SCORE: 88.46% 🔥🔥🔥
YOWIE WOWIE indeed! Raw is absolutely killing it now that Paul Heyman runs the show backstage. He has turned this whole thing around in mere weeks. I’m finding myself more and more excited to see what happens next. Like I did when I was a kid! This is what Pro Wrestling is all about. The drama, the shock, the awe, the edge and blurring the line between fact & fiction. This is the WWE we have been demanding for 10 years or more! It’s finally here and it’s about damn time we Let Him In!
