Monday Night Raw – June 1, 2015: Stop And Think For A Second
Monday Night Raw
Date: June 1, 2015
Location: AT&T Center, San Antonio, Texas
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield, Booker T.
We had some interesting developments last night at Elimination Chamber with Kevin Owens pinning John Cena completely clean in the middle of the ring and Dean Ambrose winning the match by DQ but leaving with Seth Rollins’ World Title anyway. There are now two weeks left before Money in the Bank, and we already know six of the competitors in the ladder match. Let’s get to it.
The opening recap only focuses on the World Title match.
Here’s the full Authority to open things up. Stephanie asks the fans how they should punish Dean Ambrose for what he did last night. Maybe it should be a fine or a suspension, but maybe they should just get rid of him altogether. HHH calls Ambrose out to the ring but gets Roman Reigns instead. Roman says Dean isn’t here tonight and he might not be back again unless he gets one more match against Rollins. He wants one more match for the title and he wants it to be a ladder match.
Reigns lists off all the people that have beaten Rollins and says he might be the worst WWE Champion of all time. That’s too far for Seth and the rematch is on for Monday in the Bank. He’ll do it all by himself too because he doesn’t need the Authority. Rollins storms off and Stephanie goes beast mode on Reigns (hide your balls!) until HHH calls her off. HHH brings up Reigns being in the Money in the Bank ladder match and says Roman has to earn his spot in the match right now.
Money in the Bank Qualifying Match: King Barrett vs. Roman Reigns
They want to take the spot away from Reigns and this is the best they can do? Wait, wouldn’t the Authority have selected the people in the match in the first place? Reigns is already in the match but the spot is on the line. Barrett tries a rollup to start but Roman takes him down with a headlock. The King escapes a Samoan drop and throws Reigns to the apron, only to get kicked in the chest a few times. Back in and a clothesline puts Barrett on the floor but Barrett jumps over the steps and whips Reigns into them as we take a break.
We come back with Barrett holding a chinlock before he avoids a charge in the corner and kicks Reigns in the ribs. Barrett cranks on both arms with a knee in Roman’s back before switching back to the regular chinlock. Roman fights up again and Reigns nails a Samoan drop before winning a slugout. Against a former bare knuckle fighter of course. Winds of Change gets two for the King but the Bull Hammer is countered into a rollup into a sitout powerbomb for two. The second attempt at a Bull Hammer misses and Reigns nails the spear for the pin at 14:10.
Rating: C. Well at least it wasn’t Big Show. This is another example of having a match with a stipulation that is there for no reason other than to fill in time before the obvious ending. I’m not a fan of this kind of TV show more often than not (and yes there are exceptions) and seeing Barrett lose didn’t help things. The match wasn’t bad though as Barrett can wrestle a good one, even though there’s no reason to believe his push is going to last.
Post break Roman Reigns runs into the Authority and is told he has to win another qualifying match against Mark Henry. So it’s the Chris Jericho Intercontinental Title story from 2000, also involving Stephanie.
Nikki Bella is honored to be the longest reigning champion in WWE today when Paige comes in and asks for a one on one match for some point in the future. Nikki says let’s do it tonight and Paige is game.
Here’s the new Intercontinental Champion Ryback with something to say. No one likes an emotional Big Guy, (I did. The speech he gave about his injury was the best stuff he’s ever done) but he’s honored to be the new Intercontinental Champion. That’s enough talking though so it’s time for his first title defense.
Intercontinental Title: Ryback vs. Miz
We even get big match intros. The bell is about to ring…..and Big Show is back. Well at least it’s in the midcard. He KO’s Miz and says if anyone is beating Ryback for that title, it’s going to be him. Ryback calls himself the Big Guy but he has nothing on the Big Show.
Here’s Kevin Owens for his victory speech. An interesting note here: Owens has complained about Cena having so many shirts and is now in his third different shirt in three appearances on the main roster. That’s a very nice touch. Owens brags about doing everything he ever says he’s going to do, whether it’s winning the NXT Title, taking out Sami Zayn, or beating John Cena in the middle of the ring.
Last night he talked to his wife who was proud of him but his son is still a big John Cena fan. Cena is portrayed as a living superhero and while Owens was traveling the world for ten years, Cena became the hero to his son that Owens should have been. He became Super Cena. Well last night, he beat Super Cena and now the words hustle, loyalty and respect are being uttered by a shell of a man. Owens is going to beat him again in two weeks and he’s going to make sure that his son watches every minute of it. A real role model is the kind of person who promises something and then delivers, just like he does.
Cue Cena for the big showdown. Cena gets right to the point: he got beat last night. Until Owens ran his mouth, Cena was about to come down here and hand Owens the US Title because he earned it last night. But now, Owens doesn’t deserve either the US or NXT Title. Owens is so worried about being a role model that he doesn’t even realize he’s not a real man.
According to Owens, his son is a Cena fan because of the WWE machine. If that’s the case, Owens’ son would be wearing a Funkasaurus shirt and want to grow up to play in the XFL. We hit Serious Cena mode as he talks about how the fans believe in him because he’s for real, including the kid in the crowd holding up a sign saying “I’m beating cancer” and wearing a John Cena t-shirt. Cena: “You keep fighting man. And that’s from me.”
The three words that define Owens shouldn’t be Fight Owens Fight, but Never Give Up. Cena wants to give Owens a bit of advice from a man to a non-man. In two weeks, Owens is going to have to explain why a really good wrestler got beaten up by a man. Owens teases a fight but walks away. That’s one of the best promos I’ve seen in years. Go find this and watch it in full.
New Day comes out to brag about their win. Xavier Woods says this city now has champions they should be proud of, because the Spurs are old and Tim Duncan needs to retire. The New Day is on fire and in two weeks, Kofi is going to become Mr. Money in the Bank. CHA-CHING! Kofi: “That’s a cash register!” Big E. says it would mean they’re all Mr. Money in the Bank because NEW DAY ROCKS!
Kofi Kingston vs. Dolph Ziggler
No exaggeration: these two have fought close to thirty times on TV alone. Lana is out with Dolph and that’s exactly who the fans want. They grapple to start until Kofi does his double leapfrog and stops Dolph with a kick to the face. We hit the chinlock on Dolph but he fights up and hits a quick neckbreaker. Dolph misses the superkick but grabs the running DDT for two, followed by a quick rollup for the pin on Kofi at 3:16.
Rating: C. What can I say? These two have fought each other such a ridiculous amount of times (I can’t imagine any pairing has fought more times, and yes that includes Cena vs. Edge) that there’s almost nothing left for them to do out there. They kept this short enough though and it was fine enough to help build to the ladder match.
New Day comes in but the Prime Time Players make the save.
Prime Time Players/Dolph Ziggler vs. New Day
Joined in progress after a break with Young hitting a seated senton on Kofi but getting tripped by Woods, allowing Big E. to hit a belly to belly. Off to Kofi who is sent into the corner for a seated dropkick before it’s off to the chinlock. The actual trio triple teams Darren and Big E. knocks Dolph off the apron for good measure.
E. takes too long running the ropes though and splashes Young’s knees, setting up the hot tag to Titus. A powerslam gets two on Woods with Big E. making the save as everything breaks down. Titus boots Woods in the face and Dolph adds a superkick to Kofi, setting up a pumphandle powerslam to pin Woods at 5:36.
Rating: C+. Just a six man here to set up the Players as the next challengers and there’s nothing wrong with that. We’ve covered Tyson/Cesaro as the challengers so it’s time to advance on to someone else, as the tag division….well there actually is one at the moment. This did what it was supposed to and that’s all you can ask it to do.
Money in the Bank Qualifying Match: Mark Henry vs. Roman Reigns
Wasn’t Henry a face last night? These turns are getting slower. Again, Reigns is already in but has to defend his spot here. Roman pounds away to start but Henry takes him over to the ropes for some choking. Reigns seems to be having issues with his left eye after Henry gave him a big right hand. That’s fine with Roman as he comes back with some clotheslines in the corner and a shoulder to put Henry down. A Samoan drop sends Mark outside and Roman nails a Superman Punch for good measure, giving him the countout win at 3:46.
Rating: D+. Power brawl here with Reigns’ story being very clear tonight. Henry is one of those guys that is only there for one purpose and it doesn’t mean he’s the most interesting guy in the world to watch. At least they aren’t hiding the fact that Reigns isn’t done tonight and that’s a fine story.
Post match Henry gives him the World’s Strongest Slam and a big splash.
After a break, Reigns, Authority, Bray Wyatt is next.
Various wrestlers audition to be the face of Sonic Shakes. Hilarity ensues.
Divas Title: Paige vs. Nikki Bella
Nikki is defending and they cut away during her entrance because WWE doesn’t get why she’s out there. Paige gets shoved into the ropes to start and Nikki does some jumping jacks. Off to some pushups before Nikki drives Paige into the corner. Nikki cranks on both arms before hooking a leg lock of all things.
Paige gets to the ropes and kicks Nikki to the floor, allowing her to do some situps. The PTO is countered and Nikki gets two off the Alabama Slam. The Rack Attack is countered and Nikki goes to the middle rope, only to get pulled down with a Rampaige. Nikki rolls outside and they actually bust out Twin Magic with Brie coming out from under the ring for a small package to retain at 5:48 because WWE referees are stupid.
Rating: C-. Well they turned face with no explanation so why not turn heel again with no explanation? I love how they did a whole Total Divas episode about how they don’t look the same and now the Bella with lighter skin, less plastic enhancement and difference hair is still a dead ringer for her sister. Only in WWE because the script says so. Nikki doing exercises isn’t a bad gimmick though.
Sheamus vs. Randy Orton
So yeah Orton is back after not being mentioned for two weeks. Orton grabs a headlock to start and rolls Sheamus up for two, sending the pale one out to the floor. Back in and they slug it out before both guys go outside with Orton dropping him back first on the announcers’ table.
We take a break and come back with Sheamus in control and dropping a middle rope knee for two. A chinlock doesn’t get him very far though as Orton belly to backs him down to escape. The ten forearms are countered and Orton nails the powerslam, followed by the elevated DDT. An RKO attempt is countered and Sheamus knees him out to the floor. Orton throws him into the timekeeper’s area but Sheamus nails him with a chair for the DQ at 12:16.
Rating: D+. Gah I hate these matches where they just pair up people who are in a big match down the line. It’s the same stuff that got annoying last week with the Elimination Chamber people and it doesn’t help that Sheamus and Orton do not have good matches together. They’re not horrible but I’ve never seen these two do anything interesting.
Sheamus Brogue Kicks Orton and throws him over the announcers’ table post match.
Rusev says he is a broken man with a broken spirit but he’ll get it all back. Yo Rusev! Get in here so we can keep ruining you because we want monsters to be three dimensional characters or some garbage like that!
Kevin Owens will have an NXT Open Challenge this Thursday on Smackdown.
Here’s Bo Dallas to say he tried to help Neville but now he just wants to hurt him.
Bo Dallas vs. Neville
Rematch from last night where Neville won. Bo hammers him in the corner to start and throws him out to the floor. Back in and we hit the cravate with Bo yelling at Neville and then quieting down to call some spots. Neville fights up with some forearms, a kick to the head and the Red Arrow for the pin at 3:09.
Rating: C-. Yeah whatever man. Just get on to the next match so we can finally end this show. This was a shortened version of the match we saw last night and Dallas is ready to move on to something else. At least it wasn’t Neville against someone in the ladder match to freshen things up a bit.
Tough Enough videos.
Money in the Bank Qualifying Match: Roman Reigns vs. Bray Wyatt
For the third time, Reigns is already in. Roman slugs away to start but Bray runs him down and slows the pace. The Authority comes out to watch as Bray stops a comeback with the running cross body. Roman bails for a minute but Bray takes his head off with a clothesline as we take a break. Back with Bray still in control until Reigns explodes out of the corner with a clothesline.
After a quick trip to the floor with Reigns sending him into the barricade, Bray comes back with a big clothesline of his own for two. They trade slaps until the Samoan drop puts Bray down. The Superman Punch connects and here come Kane and the Stooges. Kane gets up on the apron but the distraction into Sister Abigail doesn’t work as Bray is sent into Kane, setting up the spear for the pin at 13:14.
Rating: C. Nice power brawl again but did they really need to have Bray take the loss here? I hate to say it, but this was the perfect spot for Kane. Wyatt won at Payback, then lost to Ambrose last week and now to Reigns here and for what? To advance a main event feud when the Authority has minions? As usual, this company refuses to think anything through.
Post match the Authority surrounds the ring but Ambrose comes out (to a MONSTER pop). He actually gives Rollins the title back, only to hit him with Dirty Deeds before leaving with Reigns to end the show.
Overall Rating: D+. The show was far better than last week but this was one of those episodes where the show felt like it was going on for nine hours. It just kept going and going and you could see they had nothing to go on so they were just throwing stuff out there. This is a show that would have been really entertaining if you cut out an hour. Stuff like Ziggler vs. Kofi, the Divas Title (with that STUPID ending), Neville vs. Dallas and maybe even Orton vs. Sheamus could have easily been cut to get us down to a much shorter and better paced show, but such are the perils of three hours every Monday. Not horrible, but insufferable.
Results
Roman Reigns b. King Barrett – Spear
Dolph Ziggler b. Kofi Kingston – Rollup
Dolph Ziggler/Prime Time Players b. New Day – Pumphandle powerslam to Woods
Roman b. Mark Henry via countout
Nikki Bella b. Paige – Brie Bella switched with Nikki and pinned Paige with a small package
Randy Orton b. Sheamus via DQ – Sheamus hit Orton with a chair
Neville b. Bo Dallas – Red Arrow
Roman Reigns b. Bray Wyatt – Spear
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of Complete Monday Nitro Reviews Volume III at Amazon for just $3.99 at:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00XOUNBEA
And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:
Oh got a few more for you:
13) Had Vickie Guerrero faint during a match to mock AJ Lee for passing out due to dehydration on a house show. Real classy 14) Used Paul Bearers death in the Undertaker/CM Punk feud 15) Used the recently deceased Jerry Lawler’s mother in that stupid Lawler/Cole feud 16) Had Paul Heyman fake a heart attack in the ring to mock Jerry Lawler just months after HE ALMOST DIED FROM A HEART ATTACK!
There you go. Anxiously awaiting you fools to defend all that
Like Eric said nobody is questioning some of the weird stuff they have done over the years. I just find it hypocritical of you as usual that despite all that stuff you listed what John Cena did for a kid who survived a horrible disease in Cancer is where you call it a new low. What would it take for you to stop watching? Seeing as how none of that has chased you away.
Wow what a bunch of butthurt pansies you all are. Giving me the moral high ground? LOL
Let me remind you that you are all watching and cheering on a wrestling company that has: 1) Turned the death of Eddie Guerrero into a storyline. 2) Had their principal owner mock God on television and even book him in a match(which included him going to a church and doing Triple H’s water thing with holy water. 3) Faked a Gay wedding and even told GLAAD that it was legit and wasn’t a storyline. 4) Did a storyline where an old man died due to sex induced drugs 5) Did a storyline that involved Necrophilia which involved the future co-owner of this company. 6) They mocked Mickie James for being fat. 7) Mocked Vickie Guerrero for being over weight numerous times 8) Turned Road Warrior Hawks alcohol problems into a storyline and did an angle where tried to commit suicide. 9) Ditto for Jake the Snake Roberts alcohol problems. 10) Hung Big Boss Man from the Hell in a Cell and used that image even after he was dead to promote a HITC match. 11) Mocked Bertha Faye for being fat at the RAW 10th anniversary show and she was dead years prior to that. 12) Turned Adrian Adonis in a homosexual character cause he put on some weight
And that was just off the top of my head. So get off your high horses.
Defending a man, not a company. Nobody would debate that the company has done some weird and messed up stuff. I certainly wouldn’t debate that. What I would debate is you calling John Cena’s real moment with a kid going through cancer insincere. Having met the guy (and not in a passing way like a fan), that IS who he is, and you saying that it was a company based thing to get a promo over is absolutely wrong. Dude, we get your schtick but you went to far. Instead of continuing on your tirade, just own up to going too far on this one.
Damn, I think Gracie just owned all of you. That’s actually some messed up shit this company has done when you list them like that.
lol @ the rustle
You seriously questioned cancer….are you kidding me?
You know what? I’m not going to bother, you won’t listen anyway; so i’m not going to expose your flaws.
What I AM going to say is this;
Question Wrestling? Fine.
Question Booking? Fine.
But if you’re going to question someone having CANCER? That is a low even for you,
I’m sorry, but if what you are saying is true; then are the worst excuse for a wrestling fan I have ever seen.
You; are the worst wrestling fan in history; you’re not even a class 3 anymore, you’re in the absolute bottom of the barrel.
Screw you Jamie, no seriously; Screw you.
https://youtu.be/xrY_JV77N0E
Thank you for posting that because I was about to say something to him about how ignorant his statement was about how he thinks WWE is making a kid fake Cancer. James Gracie is one miserable son of a bitch.
I mean, we all know it’s an act and it’s fine if it’s just complaining about booking. When you take it to this length and question the company and more than that, question Cena in that a KID IS FAKING CANCER, that’s going too far. Question wrestling, question booking, but don’t question the morals of a human being like John Cena who actually cares about kids and families and helping those in need. Gracie, you went to far and you should really be ashamed of yourself.
You optimistic about how WWE will book KO? A lot of people are thinking Owens will lose at MITB and then WWE will bury him, given that happens to anyone who loses a feud with Cena not named Orton these days, but I’m trying to remain optimistic about this. They’ve done a good job pushing new NXT talent lately, and it shocked me how strongly Owens has been made to look like.
I’m optimistic but cautious. Owens getting the win should have been it but this is WWE where the idea of building a match a few pay per views down the road is nonsense so we’re stuck with a rematch two weeks later.
50-50 booking ftw yay!
Not a big fan of Bray Wyatt, but it’s quite impressive how much they have screwed him up since he debuted.
Oh fu©k, I watched a few minutes of that promo in near-mute before turning it off because mom was sleeping :'( Turns out it was that damn good. Gonna have to stay up till 12:30 AM to watch it now…
By the way, were my eyes deceiving me or was Cena holding the United States title on his shoulder? Isn’t Owens the champion?
The match on Sunday was non-title.
I see… Thanks
I’m not here to cause any problems. Its been almost 2 years to the day that Not Jay and the Not Jay-ces and Eights made a statement. We put KB through a table which led to Not Jay’s suspension from the comments section. I don’t regret anything we did. We had a mission to take out TNA and expose it and some were collateral damage in our quest.
I find it fitting that just days after Not Jay’s untimely passing, word came out that TNA would be going out of business. I know he’s smiling from that comments section in the sky.
I’ve got just one thing to say: Not Jay, we did it buddy!
*tears roll down Bully Jays face*
I love you buddy! And we will never forget you!
*Bully Jay opens a can of beer for one final toast to Not Jay. He leaves the can of beer in the ring and exits*
That Ambrose pop was awesome. It’s the perfect amount of his popularity/Rollins’ heat that’s making Dean fire right now.
It’s getting to the point where every time Owens is on screen I can’t help but get giddy. Cena’s almost definitely going to win at MiTB but I’d like to see them have one more match after that, where a very POed KO can get the last laugh. Just food for thought – who’s the last wrestler to have a match of the year candidate and a promo of the year candidate so soon? I get that Cena is a large reason for both of those, but still.
As for the rest of the show? Let’s just say I stopped watching after the PTP/New Day match and after reading these results I have no desire to watch the rest of the show. Cannot say how sad I am to see the state of Barrett right now considering I’m a huge fan and feel like he could be so much more. I don’t mind seeing Big Show come back as long as he’s putting Ryback over – has Ryback ever shell shocked him? Do you think he’d be capable of it?
Also, with this Kevin Owens challenge on Smackdown, the ‘E might finally have me watching Smackdown for the first time in a while. I’ve also read that Samoa Joe wrestled a dark match with Tyson Kidd at the start of the show that might be on Superstars. If they’re trying to get people to watch some of these smaller shows, it’s working.
So is Cena going to beat Owens?
I think so but I’m thinking Owens might just walk out because he’s proven his point already.
That would be awesome. Owens comes to ring and just says he has no reason to wrestle. He beat Cena, Cena doesn’t get a rematch and has to live with it.
Also Cena’s promo made no sense. He said Owens is a better wrestler but not a better man. So seeing as how Owens is a man he is a better wrestler right? It just sounded like bitter Cena, trying to justify to his kid army how and why he didn’t lose.
In what way did he try to justify how he lost? Sounded like to me he came out and said he lost fair & square. I heard no excuses in that Promo which was excellent by the way. I think you are poking holes in something that’s not there.
The rest of RAW was fine,not great but not bad either. I am giddy about the Rollins/Ambrose Ladder Match at MITB. I did like Roman Reign’s gauntlet and was glad he didn’t have to beat Kane again to get through it.
By saying he’s not a man? Which is something a 12 year old would say. Also saying he won’t give the us title to him because he ran his mouth.
Wouldn’t that make Cena a sore loser? The title is on the line in every match “if you want some come get some”. Owens did beat him and now Cena is refusing to follow the rules Cena himself laid out.
IT was a good promo not questioning that but I still got a bitter sense from cena. Maybe it’s just me.
This next match is for custody of Kevin Owens son, Owen Owens.