Monday Night Raw – June 15, 2015: Exit F5

Monday Night Raw
Date: June 15, 2015
Location: Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield, Byron Saxton

It’s time to start the build towards Summerslam as a lot of stuff was wrapped up last night. Rollins successfully defended his World Title against Dean Ambrose in a very close ladder match and John Cena evened the score against Kevin Owens, only to be powerbombed on the apron after the match. With Sheamus as Mr. Money in the Bank, it’s going to be interesting to see where things go from here. Let’s get to it.

We open with the ceremony from last night in Dusty’s memory, followed by the video tribute.

Opening sequence.

Here’s Seth Rollins with something to say. After a break, he thanks us all for coming out here tonight to Monday Night Rollins. He gets right to it and talks about Dean Ambrose coming so close to winning the title last night but coming up just a bit short. Ambrose’s A game is very good, but it’s not as good as Seth’s. Last night he took back what was his but it took a great team to get him where he needed to be.

Rollins has a list of people to thank, starting with Seth Rollins, followed by Seth Rollins and Seth Rollins. Oh wait and just so he doesn’t leave them off: Seth Rollins, Seth Rollins and Seth Rollins. He didn’t need Dumb and Dumber or the devil’s favorite dinosaur or HHH and Stephanie, because that’s how good he is. After last night, he’s a lock for the Hall of Fame and parents all over the world are going to be naming their children after him.

He holds up the title and says Johnny idiot face over there (Cleveland Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel in the front row) isn’t bringing this city a title and neither is LeBron James. He didn’t even acknowledge the Indians, and as a big Indians fan……I can’t say I blame him. Cue Ambrose for a brawl in the aisle but Dean is limping badly. Seth goes for the knee but winds up leaving when Dean won’t go down. Dean gets a chair and the mic and says he isn’t leaving until Rollins gets back out here to fight him like a man.

We come back with Dean still sitting in the ring and Rollins talking to the Authority in the back. Rollins asks if they’re just going to let Ambrose sit out there all night but Stephanie doesn’t like that Rollins seems to think he’s still in the loop. HHH says that the next challenger for the title will be determined by the end of the night and it very well could be Ambrose.

Back in the arena with Sheamus coming out to talk to Ambrose. Both of them made bold predictions last night and Sheamus actually lived up to his promises. That’s enough to make Dean throw the chair away and it’s time for a match.

Sheamus vs. Dean Ambrose

Dean is ready to fight but gets taken into the corner where Sheamus wisely goes for the knee to start. The knee is slammed into the apron to put Dean in even more trouble but he just dives at Sheamus and hammers away, only to be knocked back to the floor as we take a break. Back with Sheamus holding a Brock Lock to stay on the knee but Ambrose fights up with chops and punches against the ropes. There’s no way he can run the ropes though and Sheamus chop blocks him down.

Back up and Dean’s bulldog out of the corner gets him a breather and it’s time to go up top. Again it takes too long and Sheamus slams him down, setting up the Cloverleaf. Dean gets a rope to annoy Sheamus but he takes too long on the ropes, allowing Dean to hit some forearms to the chest of his own. Now the top rope elbow drop connects for two but Dirty Deeds sends Sheamus running to the floor. Cue Orton for a distraction, allowing Ambrose to grab a rollup for the pin at 10:50.

Rating: C. Logical match but my goodness I don’t want to see Sheamus vs. Orton again. Having a match twice isn’t a good way to make me want to see it at third time, at least not when the first two matches weren’t very good. Also, who thought it was a good idea to have Mr. Money in the Bank get pinned in his first match with the briefcase?

Orton beats Sheamus up but can’t hit the RKO.

Rollins brags to the Stooges about the win last night but asks if they know who the Authority is picking for him. Noble says they haven’t heard but wouldn’t say anything if they did. He thinks it should be Joey Mercury though, which Rollins laughs off. Mercury thinks Seth is afraid of him because Rollins is all alone.

Video of Dusty pinning Harley Race to win the NWA World Title in 1979.

R-Truth vs. King Barrett

Truth comes out in a homemade king outfit, consisting of a paper crown, a bed sheet and a plunger. He sits in on commentary but JBL tells him that he has a match to get to. Truth: “What you talking about Willis?” Barrett slugs him down and gets rolled up for a pin in 21 seconds.

Barrett lays Truth out and says this is serious. All hail King Barrett.

The Divas and some low level guys talk to Machine Gun Kelly before his performance later.

Here’s Kevin Owens to brag about John Cena not being here tonight. The only man to blame for that is John Cena himself because Cena forced him to do what he did last night. When Cena offered him a handshake last night, Cena said Owens belonged in this ring. How dare Cena tell him something he already knows and talk down to him like that. Cena was a bad winner last night because Cena always has to be the big man. Owens deserves one more match, but this time he wants the US Title. As for tonight though, how about an open challenge?

NXT Title: Dolph Ziggler vs. Kevin Owens

Ziggler gets a kiss from Lana to motivate him before we get going. Before the match, Dolph says he’s going to be the one to give Cleveland a championship right here and right now. We get the big match intros but Owens cuts Lillian off and says he never made this a title match. Ziggler goes right for him to start and gets thrown to the floor as we take a break.

Back with Ziggler fighting out of a chinlock but getting draped ribs first over the top rope. Owens talks some trash until Ziggler comes back with a Cactus Clothesline (popular move recently) and they slug it out on the floor. Dolph is thrown over the barricade (with a very nice jump) but crawls over everyone to dive back in at nine. Back in and the backsplash misses, setting up the running DDT to send Owens outside and us to a second break.

Just like last time we come back with Ziggler fighting out of a chinlock and nailing a superkick for two (with Dolph laying on the legs for a cover). The Pop Up Powerbomb is countered and the Fameasser gets two. A wicked release German gets two for the champ but Ziggler escapes another Pop Up Powerbomb and hits the Zig Zag. He can’t cover immediately though, allowing Owens to finally hit the powerbomb for the pin at 15:35.

Rating: C+. Dolph has to change. There is nothing here that we haven’t seen a dozen times before and it stopped being interesting a long time ago. I have no idea why Lana being with him is supposed to help him, but Ziggler needs to change something up or there’s little need to have him around.

Paige tries to rally the Divas against the Bellas but they can’t trust her. She has a handicap match against the Bellas tonight but no one will team with her. The twins come up and Nikki implies she’s champ because she’s friends with Stephanie. None of these other Divas would want to fight against the Authority would they? Everyone leaves and Paige is all by herself.

Randy Orton vs. Kane

Kane takes Randy down to start and slaps on an early chinlock, followed by the side slam for two. Back up and Orton nails a clothesline but here’s Sheamus before the elevated DDT can connect. Kane grabs a mic and makes it no holds barred. Sheamus comes in to make it 2-1, allowing a Brogue Kick to give Kane the pin at 4:19.

Rating: D. Given that the match was just four minutes long and a good chunk of that was spent on Sheamus coming out and Kane’s announcement. At least they kept it quick instead of letting this drag out when it was almost a guarantee that Sheamus was going to come out there. Oh and now we get a feud between two losers. Nice job guys.

In the back, Rollins flags Kane down and brags about winning last night but Kane reminds him that he has to win night after night after night, all on his own. If Rollins doesn’t understand that, he isn’t an architect but rather an idiot. Rollins says Kane has always had someone holding his hand, but a mention of Paul Bearer and Undertaker gets Kane all fired up. Rollins wants Kane to be the next opponent.

Clip of the Dust Brothers inducting Dusty into the Hall of Fame.

Big Show vs. The Miz

Ryback is on commentary. The sunglasses removal is broken up by a charging Big Show but Miz gets in a boot as they get back in. That sends Miz running away again as there isn’t much to do against a guy that big. Back in and Show is limping, but it’s all a ruse so he can chop Miz’s chest in half. Show charges into a boot in the corner, only to casually throw Miz outside again for another loud chop. He throws Miz at Ryback and the staredown allows Miz to beat the count back in for the countout win at 2:55.

Big Show runs from a Meat Hook post match.

Here’s Roman Reigns to find out what happened last night. He wants to fight Wyatt right now but gets Bray on screen instead. Bray talks about one star telling the truth and the other telling lies. Roman: “Shut your mouth and get out here right now.” Bray says the briefcase should have been his so he could be the beacon of hope that the world needed but Reigns took it away from it. It’s Reigns’ ego that makes him so dangerous and it reminds Bray of someone he knew. It was someone who believed he would be the chosen one to lead his people.

That man had been chosen but the other was cast aside, and it was clear that the people were wrong. Just look outside and you’ll see that they made the wrong choice. The two of them are opposites who balance everything out. They need each other and last night Bray was the justice that Reigns always promised to be. Bray will ultimately destroy Reigns, but not tonight. What sort of an example would that be with Father’s Day right around the corner? Bray holds up a picture of Roman playing with his daughter, saying their fun is just getting started. Run.

Bella Twins vs. Paige

Handicap match. Nikki does the jumping jacks but gets punched in the face. Some knees to the chest on the ropes have Nikki in trouble until Brie trips Paige up to take over. It’s off to Brie for a chinlock followed by the BRIE MODE knee for two. Back to Nikki for a kick to the back and figure four headscissors, complete with pushups to put Paige face first into the mat.

Paige sends the Bellas into each other and does her clotheslines spot to Brie before kicking her in the head in the corner. Brie is sent into her sister again and the Rampaige gets two with Nikki diving in for the save. The big forearm and the Rack Attack finally put Paige away at 5:33.

Rating: D+. As JBL put it: the Bellas win again. This is almost all we see these days and I have no idea why I’m supposed to care anymore. We know that they’re going to hang on for a few more months to make Nikki the greatest Diva of all time so they can have another storyline on Total Divas, so just get us there already.

Machine Gun Kelly performs for a long, long time. Kevin Owens comes out to congratulate him but Kelly’s offer of a handshake earns him a powerbomb off the stage. Like two feet off the stage but still. The fans don’t seem that upset.

Here’s a clip from Terminator: Genisys.

New Day vs. Neville/Prime Time Players

The New Day is positive that they’ll get the titles back because, after all, today is a new day. Woods and Young get things going by running the ropes until Darren just hits him in the face. A neckbreaker gets two and it’s off to Kofi, who has some very taped ribs. A single kick to the bandages sends Kofi over for a tag to Woods, who is knocked down just as quickly. Titus comes in and suplexes Darren onto Woods before a big backbreaker plants Kofi. Neville adds a big flip dive to take New Day out and we go to a break.

Back with Woods holding Young in a cobra clutch before it’s off to Big E. as New Day keeps cutting off the ring. Darren pops up and dives over for the tag off to Neville, who turns on the jets and kicks away at Woods. Xavier escapes the German but charges into a boot to the face. The Red Arrow is loaded up but Neville dives at Kofi instead, allowing Titus to plant Big E. with a spinebuster. Kofi offers a distraction and Woods hits a Downward Spiral on Neville with Darren making the save. Kofi’s reverse suplex is countered and Young hits the double knee gutbuster, setting up the Red Arrow for the pin at 9:39.

Rating: C. This was fine and I love that the champions didn’t just lose immediately after getting the belts. Also, nice touch on having Young’s finisher play into the rib injuries. New Day can be back with a simple promo and cheating to win so there’s little lost here. It’s also nice to see Neville continuing to be pushed as something special, even though he’s probably going to slip into the midcard where he belongs.

We look at Owen’s actions over the last 24 hours.

Ambrose is throwing darts at a picture of Rollins when Kane comes in. Dean laughs at the idea of Kane being the #1 contender and brings up Kane’s days as the monster. It’s just a job for Kane but this is Ambrose’s life. Dean says he needs the title and walks away.

One last batch of Dusty clips.

Here’s the Authority to say that Owens will be disciplined because it’s best for business. It’s time for the #1 contender though, and it’s not going to be Noble, Mercury, Kane or Ambrose. Rollins comes out to say there’s no one on the roster that can beat him. HHH agrees that Seth has beaten everyone put in front of him. Stephanie thinks Rollins has something left to prove because Seth has pushed them a bit too far.

They’ve invested a lot in the future and now they need to take a step back and look at the investment they’ve made. Is the investment worth it, or is it just another cost? The real test is to see if a lump of coal turns into a diamond when you put it under pressure. I believe that’s what HHH said to Orton back in the Evolution days. The pressure is on……and HERE’S BROCK, complete with a Suplex City (Cleveland, Ohio, Exit F5) license plate shirt.

Heyman shakes hands with the Authority and everyone leaves. Rollins looks as terrified as you would expect and Brock very slowly backs him up against the ropes. The champ wisely leaves and walks away to end the show. Maybe he’s off to try to figure out why Cole has completely forgotten that he was suing Lesnar for breaking his neck or whatever it was.

Overall Rating: C+. I liked the show for the most part but again they really need to cut this down to two hours. It’s cool to see Owens hurting lame rappers but do we really need to sit through a five minute performance to get there? They’re firmly into the summer season though and it should be cool to see how we get from here to Summerslam. Lesnar being back immediately picks things up though and we should be solid going forward. Good show but man alive it needed to be trimmed down.

Results

Dean Ambrose b. Sheamus – Rollup

R-Truth b. King Barrett – Rollup

Kevin Owens b. Dolph Ziggler – Pop Up Powerbomb

Kane b. Randy Orton – Pin after a Brogue Kick from Sheamus

Miz b. Big Show via countout

Bella Twins b. Paige – Rack Attack

Prime Time Players/Neville b. New Day – Red Arrow to Kingston

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