{"id":9131,"date":"2018-05-14T23:55:20","date_gmt":"2018-05-14T23:55:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/?p=9131"},"modified":"2018-05-14T23:55:20","modified_gmt":"2018-05-14T23:55:20","slug":"wwe-raw-uk-review-analysis-14-05-2018","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/2018\/05\/14\/wwe-raw-uk-review-analysis-14-05-2018\/","title":{"rendered":"WWE RAW UK Review & Analysis \u2013 14\/05\/2018"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Mark Armstrong@MarkArmstrong<\/a><\/p>\n

Raw returned to British shores, as we continue the slow build to Money In The Bank, and I was in attendance at the O2 Arena to see it live. The main questions coming into this show were: which other wrestlers would be added to the two MITB Ladder matches, and how would the presumed feud between Roman Reigns and Jinder Mahal progress?<\/p>\n

After a tease of a Ronda Rousey\/Nia Jax interaction from earlier today in New York, Roman Reigns marched out to the usual reaction of some cheers being overwhelmed by major boos. Cutting to the chase, Reigns called out Jinder Mahal, but instead Raw GM Kurt Angle answered the call. Seemingly influenced by the Authority, Angle explained that Jinder wouldn\u2019t be coming out because he\u2019d be facing Elias and Bobby Lashley later on in a MITB qualifier, and Reigns wouldn\u2019t be receiving another chance.<\/p>\n

Roman said he understood that Kurt did what he had to do, and now he was going to do whathe\u00a0had to do. Finding Mahal backstage, Reigns actually took the initial punishment from Jinder, but he soon took control and sent him to the stage, where he drilled him with a Superman Punch having damaged Jinder\u2019s ribs, putting his main event status (hah!) in doubt.<\/p>\n

Intercontinental Championship<\/strong><\/p>\n

Seth Rollins (C) vs. Kevin Owens<\/strong><\/p>\n

Starting slow and building to a crescendo, this was by far the best match of the night. There were some great spots in this one, including an Owens senton blocked by Seth\u2019s knees, an attempted frog splash by Rollins, and a brutal suplex sit-out slam on the apron by Rollins, which must have hurt like hell. Some fans were behind Owens, many behind Seth, but all were in agreement that the match itself was a cracker.<\/p>\n

In the end, Rollins caught Owens with the Stomp as KO was re-entering the ring for the pinfall win. Later on, Kevin demanded another title shot, which Kurt Angle rejected, though KO claimed that he would have Stephanie McMahon intervene. Owens\u2019 night wasn\u2019t over, but not for the reasons you may think …<\/p>\n

Ronda Rousey meets Nia Jax<\/strong><\/p>\n

Recorded earlier today back in the States, this brief exchange of very positive words alongside Charlotte Flair set up these two clashing for the Raw Women\u2019s Championship at Money In The Bank. Rousey herself acknowledged that she\u2019s only had one match, which should stop fans turning on her Reigns-style for now. Looks like UK fans will have to wait until November in Manchester to see Ronda in person.<\/p>\n

Money In The Bank Qualifier<\/strong><\/p>\n

Bobby Roode vs. No Way Jose vs. Baron Corbin<\/strong><\/p>\n

No Way Jose was really over in London. Roode was popular too. As for Corbin, he seemed to be an object of derision more than anything; one of the many memorable chants from this show was \u201cHe\u2019s going bald, he\u2019s going bald, he\u2019s going, Corbin\u2019s going bald.\u201d Match quality was fine if a bit forgettable. Roode won by drilling Jose with the Glorious DDT, and he had an exchange of glances with an angry Baron afterwards.<\/p>\n

Breezango vs. The B-Team<\/strong><\/p>\n

This followed an amusing backstage segment where Kurt Angle refused to give Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel a Raw Tag Team Championship opportunity because they\u2019d never won a match as a team ever, and compromised on giving the \u201cB-Team\u201d (for \u201cBest Team\u201d) a match against another combo. A comedy match was enhanced by fans chanting the A-Team theme (this was a suggested name by Axel). And following some double-team offence, the B-Team finally won a match! The celebrations of the former Miztourage were suitably over-the-top.<\/p>\n

Sasha Banks, Ember Moon & Natalya vs. The Riott Squad<\/strong><\/p>\n

Though largely unmemorable, save for some fine moves by Moon and a bit of Ma-Trish action from Liv Morgan, this was a decent match nonetheless, even if it does little to change the statuses of anybody involved. Natalya claimed the submission win by making Morgan tap out to the Sharpshooter. How Natalya\u2019s on-screen alliance with Ronda Rousey is impacted by Rousey facing Nia Jax remains to be seen.<\/p>\n

Matt Hardy & Bray Wyatt vs. The Revival<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dash Wilder and Scott Dawson must be wishing that they had been traded to SmackDown, because their Raw careers are still going nowhere, and they lost again here in a match that few will have remembered when the evening had ended. A double Sister Abigail sealed the victory for the Raw Tag Team Championships; as ever, their crowd interactions were the highlight of the match.<\/p>\n

Though the women\u2019s MITB qualifier was promoted as being next, Sami Zayn came out for a promo, following prolonged fan singing of his entrance theme. Zayn notes that Bobby Lashley was out to get him, and he would rebound by having Bobby\u2019s sisters (who Lashley discussed at length last week) appear on Raw next week to reveal the truth about Bobby. Oh my!<\/p>\n

Money In The Bank Qualifier<\/strong><\/p>\n

Bayley vs. Alexa Bliss vs. Mickie James<\/strong><\/p>\n

Despite some occasional \u201cHey Bayley!\u201d chants, the fans weren\u2019t into this bout as much as WWE would have liked. The effort was definitely there, but it felt like something was missing (possibly the Raw Women\u2019s Champion?). Alexa and Mickie\u2019s friendship was tested here with the two scrapping multiple times. Bliss won with a DDT to Bayley. Afterwards, she pointed up to the MITB briefcase, as Roode had earlier. Briefcase-pointing is about to replace sign-pointing as the \u201cin-thing\u201d.<\/p>\n

Backstage, Roman Reigns speared Jinder through a makeshift wall. You read that right. The unexpected visual meant that Mahal was now definitely out of the main event. But who would replace him?<\/p>\n

Braun Strowman & Finn B\u00e1lor vs. Dolph Ziggler & Drew McIntyre<\/strong><\/p>\n

As you might have guessed, Strowman was mega-popular here. McIntyre also got a good pop in his first televised UK appearance since his WWE return. I was thinking that the Dolph\/Drew combo were being unnecessarily sacrificed here, but instead, the heels won: after Braun mowed through Drew at ringside (knocking his own Greatest Royal Rumble trophy over in the process), Ziggler dragged B\u00e1lor off the top for the win.<\/p>\n

Money In The Bank Qualifier<\/strong><\/p>\n

Bobby Lashley vs. Elias vs. ?<\/strong><\/p>\n

With Jinder destroyed, Angle needed a replacement for him and apparently had one lined up … only for Stephanie to allegedly intervene and provide the opportunity for none other than Kevin Owens. It helps Kevin to have friends in high places, though it makes Angle look weak that Stephanie can still overrule him at any moment.<\/p>\n

The match itself was most notable for the fans being completely behind Elias (KO had interrupted Elias\u2019 introduction, thus depriving us of a song), and they were hoping for an Elias tune as much, if not more, than an Elias win. Lashley was booed, which is a shame. He had the match won with a Dominator on Elias, only for Sami Zayn to drag him out of the ring and nail him with a Helluva Kick at ringside. Meanwhile, KO hit Elias with a frog splash to claim Raw\u2019s final spot in the men\u2019s MITB match.<\/p>\n

I definitely enjoyed this show as a spectator live, though I feel like it will be less enjoyable on television. The show had its moments, but the Rousey-Jax announcement and Seth-Owens are the main reasons to check this show. The remaining content is entertaining, but not quite must-see<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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