Monday Night Raw
Date: August 16, 2021
Location: AT&T Center, San Antonio, Texas
Commentators: Corey Graves, Byron Saxton, Jimmy Smith

It’s the go home show for Summerslam and that means it is time for the big final push towards Goldberg vs. Bobby Lashley. That’s the big focal point of this show, no matter how uninteresting it might be. Maybe they can come up with something to set up their three minute match on Saturday. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

The opening video looks at Randy Orton returning last week and attacking Riddle to end the show.

Here is Randy Orton to open things up. Orton talks about how he does not need fans but has to stop for the RKO chants. This is still his world and tonight he promises to take Omos out with the RK…..and here is Riddle to cut him off before the O. Riddle thinks that Orton was trying to teach him something last week.

Orton isn’t sure what that means, but Riddle says that he gave him the RKO last week to show Riddle how it is really done. As Orton tries not to strangle Riddle, the offer to reform RKBro is tossed out again. Cue AJ Styles and Omos, with AJ saying how about RK NO! Tonight, no one is saving Orton from Omos but that’s not enough for AJ. He wants to face Riddle right now, so Riddle, calling AJ Skipper, accepts.

AJ Styles vs. Riddle

Omos stays at ringside but Randy Orton turns his back and walks away. Hold on though as he stops on the stage as AJ grabs an early suplex. Riddle takes AJ back though and hits the quick backsplash, only to have Styles come back with an abdominal stretch. With that not working, it’s time to work on the leg but Riddle grabs a triangle over the ropes.

Styles gets pulled outside for a crash and the apron kick puts Styles down again. There’s the springboard flip dive and we take a break. Back with Riddle grabbing a German suplex for two but another backsplash is countered into the Calf Crusher. Riddle makes the rope and knocks AJ down again. The Floating Bro is loaded up but Omos offers a distraction, allowing AJ to take the leg out. The Styles Clash finishes Riddle at 10:57.

Rating: B-. Rather good match here with the story being told as it should have been. The idea of Riddle being in over his head but never giving up despite being in over his head is a good story. Now just go with whatever you want for the payoff, and either option could go just fine. The action itself was good too and that’s a nice way to open the show.

Nikki Ash talks about how the outfit makes her feel confident and when you believe in yourself, you can be almost a superhero. She is so confident that she knows she can retain the title at Summerslam. These promos are getting more and more insufferable every week. As goofy as it was, just go full Hurricane with it and have some fun. This “ALMOST” a superhero deal having to be explained every week is getting worse and worse. Stop trying to have some brilliant concept and do what has worked before.

Riddle says he never gave up on RKBro, but now he’s just sad.

Nikki Ash vs. Rhea Ripley

Non-title and hold on though as here is Charlotte to join commentary. Ripley starts fast with a quick toss to send Nikki flying. Back up and Nikki sends Rhea outside, setting up the big dive off the apron as we take a break. We come back with Rhea hitting a delayed vertical suplex but missing a charge into the corner. A tornado DDT gets two on Ripley but she is right back with a suplex. The Riptide plants Nikki for the pin at 8:26.

Rating: D+. Another week, another chance for Nikki to be the most pathetic face on the roster. Ripley should be beating her but Nikki shouldn’t be the champion at this point so there was no way around this. I cannot wait for this deal to be over so we can move on to whatever else they have, as bad as it might be. Just get Nikki out of this stuff already because it isn’t working, at least as it is being presented.

The big brawl is on post match with Nikki kicking Charlotte to the floor.

Jinder Mahal tells Veer and Shanky to get this right, because he has given them a great opportunity. Now get rid of Drew McIntyre and his sword.

Video on Bobby Lashley.

MVP orders supper for Lashley and isn’t worried about tonight’s face to face with Goldberg.

Veer/Shanky vs. Drew McIntyre

Jinder Mahal is here too. McIntyre punches Veer into the corner to start so it’s off to Shanky to take over. The big elbow from Veer sets up the chinlock, causing McIntyre to fight back up and take over. There’s the neckbreaker to Veer and a Michinoku Driver to Shanky, setting up the Futureshock. The Claymore finishes Shanky at 3:33.

Rating: D+. I’m sure this will set up some big showdown at Summerslam where Mahal gets the win because of the sword somehow, meaning it’s time to set up a bunch of rematches. I still have no idea why this is supposed to be some hot feud, but McIntyre has a sword named Angela. That might not be interesting, but it is certainly a thing that is happening.

Post match Veer goes after the sword but McIntyre takes it away and has a message from Shanky: he wishes he could be as amazing/sexy as McIntyre and has seen the error of his ways. Now Shanky wants McIntyre to win at Summerslam. McIntyre promises to destroy Mahal and we get a quick audience poll supporting the idea.

Charlotte wants revenge for Summerslam so she can find a partner for a tag match against Nikki Ash and Rhea Ripley tonight.

We get what looks to be the same “Elias Is Dead” vignette from last week.

It’s time for, I kid you not, MoistTV, with John Morrison bringing out the Miz for answers about his suddenly fine knee. Morrison asks about Miz’s favorite movie, which is every time he was in the Marine. When asked if he was really hurt, Miz goes into a bit about how he would never lie to you.

Cue Damian Priest to call Miz a liar (in Spanish) and promise to win the US Title at Summerslam. Miz goes on a rant about how this is his first injury and lets it slip that he has been cleared for weeks. Morrison isn’t happy and Priest talks about Miz running off last week. As Miz goes on, Morrison asks why he wasn’t told about Miz being healthy. The solution is clear: Miz vs. Priest tonight, which works for Priest. It works for him so well that he shoves Miz in the kid’s pool (because there is a kid’s pool).

Damian Priest vs. The Miz

Sheamus comes out to join commentary and Miz is in street clothes. Miz starts fast and actually hits the top rope ax handle but Priest punches him in the leg. Priest charges into a boot but Morrison won’t give him the Drip Stick. Instead, Priest gives him a hard clothesline and it’s a Brogue Kick to finish Miz at 2:40.

Post match, Sheamus shouts about this being his title. No one is ever going to take it from him, especially Priest. Sheamus does have a broken face but after Summerslam, Priest will have a bleeding head.

We look at Doudrop being scared by Lillie winking at her, giving Alexa Bliss a win.

Eva Marie doesn’t want to hear it and thinks they should go to the playground. By that, she means bring her Lillie.

Alexa Bliss plays with Lillie.

John Morrison and Miz agree that things are ok, all while New Day plugs their shirts behind them. Miz and Morrison have a very wet idea for Summerslam.

It’s time for Alexa’s Playground with Alexa Bliss pushing a Lillie dating show. Doudrop comes in and tries to steal Lillie, stops and stares at her, and hands her back to Bliss before walking away. Bliss: “See you at Summerslam!”

Mace vs. Mansoor

T-Bar and Mustafa Ali are here too. Mace hammers away to start but misses an elbow, allowing Mansoor to make the comeback. The sidekick misses for Mace but he shoves off a Dudley Dog attempt. Mace counters a sunset flip in the corner so Ali dropkicks him down, giving Mansoor the pin at 1:57.

AJ Styles and Omos are ready to destroy RKBro.

Randy Orton vs. Omos

An early RKO attempt doesn’t work and Orton has to try something else. Right hands in the corner don’t work either as Omos throws him down and grabs the neck crank. Orton fights up to knock him into the corner but Omos knees him in the ribs. A missed charge lets Orton fail at the RKO again, with the shove sending him outside this time. AJ goes after Orton on the floor and that’s good for a DQ at 3:38.

Rating: C-. That’s about all you can do here as you don’t want Omos to lose but you don’t want him beating someone of Orton’s caliber right before a title shot either. The reason for the DQ was kind of lame but it was the right way to go with a match like this one. It’s also smart to leave Omos in there for a short burst instead of a long match, as he just isn’t ready for anything beyond that yet.

Post match, Omos tosses Orton over the barricade with ease. AJ loads up the Phenomenal Forearm but Riddle runs in for the save, including a dropkick through the ropes to take Omos down. AJ gets kneed in the face so Omos carries him away. That leaves Riddle to help Orton up, leaving Orton to say respect is earned. He respected Riddle at one point but that does not mean he respects him today. After everything he has done in the last week though, Riddle has earned his respect. RKBro is BACK and Riddle is so happy that he throws out the title challenge for Summerslam.

We recap Jeff Hardy vs. Karrion Kross.

Jeff Hardy has spoken to his higher power and got the wrong answer. He’s bringing everything against Kross tonight….and here is Kross to jump Hardy.

Karrion Kross vs. Jeff Hardy

Non-title and Hardy starts fast…..but gets pulled into the Krossjacket for the tap at 42 seconds.

Eva Marie isn’t happy with Doudrop for failing to get Lillie so it’s a pair of slaps to the face. Doudrop is so angry that she stands that glaring as Eva leaves.

Earlier today, Reggie went to the park and talks about how he learned to do his flips and tricks here. R-Truth, in a grass costume, and Akira Tozawa run up for the chase and fail miserably. Reggie flips over the top of the car (Reggie: “Too easy.”) and drives off. Truth and Tozawa yell at each other.

Summerslam rundown.

Elias goes to his own grave. Elias is still dead.

Rhea Ripley/Nikki Ash vs. Charlotte/???

The partner is Nia Jax, who laughs at Nikki for trying to take her down. The power game has Nikki down in a hurry instead and the villains take over. Charlotte comes in for a big boot on the floor to send us to a break. We come back with Nikki hitting a bulldog out of the corner, allowing the hot tag off to Ripley. Everything breaks down and Ripley gets Samoan dropped. The Banzai Drop is loaded up but Charlotte tags herself in, knocks Nikki down, and hits Natural Selection for the pin at 7:28.

Rating: D+. Another match where Nikki is basically an afterthought, because that’s all she is in the division. Ripley isn’t that much better, and now it seems that we might be heading for Charlotte vs. Jax down the line. I’ve given up hope in this division and the title match on Saturday isn’t exactly making that any better.

AJ Styles is ready to destroy Riddle and Randy Orton.

Here is Goldberg for the face to face with Bobby Lashley, but first of all, he gets to talk, because GOLDBERG is so known for his verbal dominance. Goldberg brings up MVP and Lashley talking about fatherhood, which brings Goldberg to his son Gage. It’s true that Gage can see videos of Goldberg wrestling, but Goldberg wants him to see it in person (Haven’t we heard him say that like FIVE TIMES NOW?).

Lashley and MVP come out with MVP saying Goldberg has been talking a lot lately. Lashley gets in the ring and says this is his house and the house always wins. Goldberg calls that BS and spears him before posing with his son (who seems to have his high school football team with him) to end the show. This was as bad as everything else has been in this feud, because it is the same story they have told with Goldberg and his son before and it isn’t exactly interesting to hear Goldberg talk (or wrestle, but that’s a different problem).

Overall Rating: D-. I can’t call it a complete failure because some of the wrestling was good and the AJ/Omos vs. RKBro angle is working well (more on that later). The problem is everything else, as this show has some of the worst plot devices and storytelling I’ve ever seen. We have feuds based on someone being ALMOST a superhero, a sword, a water gun, a sentient doll, and someone’s son who needs to see his dad wrestle despite having seen his dad wrestle several times in his life.

That’s where everything falls apart on Raw: the stories are not good. It also doesn’t help that with those stories, we’re getting (in order): more Charlotte dominance, Jinder Mahal, Miz and John Morrison every week, Alexa Bliss and Lillie the Fiend and more Goldberg main events. This show was supposed to make me want to see Summerslam, meaning this is their best foot forward stuff. This is their BEST, making me scared of what it is going to be like when they aren’t trying to get me to give them money.

It’s also what makes the Tag Team Title feud stand out. As out there as Riddle is (and he’s out there), he’s displaying a human emotion. Riddle wants Orton to be his friend, Orton won’t do it, Riddle stays at it and gets what he wants through hard work. That is something people can relate to and that is what is lacking everywhere else on Raw. The rest of the characters and stories are not things people are going to relate to and it comes off more as WWE just doing whatever they feel like instead of putting on good material. That’s how we got in this situation and I have no idea how to get out of it. Another awful, horrible Raw.

Results
AJ Styles b. Riddle – Styles Clash
Rhea Ripley b. Nikki Ash – Riptide
Drew McIntyre b. Veer/Shanky – Claymore to Shanky
Damian Priest b. The Miz – Brogue Kick
Mansoor b. Mace – Sunset flip
Randy Orton b. Omos via DQ when AJ Styles interfered
Karrion Kross b. Jeff Hardy – Krossjacket choke
Charlotte/Nia Jax b. Rhea Ripley/Nikki Ash – Natural Selection to Ripley

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

Monday Night Raw
Date: August 9, 2021
Location: Amway Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Jimmy Smith, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton

It’s a homecoming of sorts for Raw as they are back in the original Thunderdome about a year after they arrived in the first place. We are less than two weeks away from Summerslam and while most of the card is set, there are still a few adjustments that need to be made. Now just don’t have a horrible show. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Here is the returning Randy Orton (now looking like Dexter Lumis with the mustache) to a heck of a face reaction. Orton grabs the mic but here’s Riddle to cut him off. Riddle is REALLY happy that Orton is back because now they can be a team again. Riddle wants to know where Orton has been because his stepdad left like that too and never came home. Orton asks why Riddle thinks Orton wants to be a team with someone as goofy as Riddle. He talks about how ridiculous Riddle is, prompting Riddle to ask if that means Orton doesn’t want to team with him.

Cue Omos and AJ Styles, with AJ talking about how Orton is a snake and of course he’s done with the team. AJ keeps going until Orton cuts him off, saying the only thing bigger than AJ’s ego is this jackass right here next to him. The challenge is thrown out for tonight and Orton uppercuts AJ. The RKO to Omos is swatted away and Riddle’s attempt doesn’t go much better. A chokeslam (and not a good one) leaves Riddle laying and Orton walks away, with Riddle staggering behind him.

We look back at Drew McIntyre wrecking havoc with his sword (Angela) last week.

Baron Corbin, here via the Brand To Brand Invitational, is still down on his luck and is basically homeless. Then Jinder Mahal called him with an offer for money if he can take out Drew McIntyre. Yeah McIntyre could cut his head off with the sword, but it’s risk vs. reward.

Drew McIntyre is ready to beat up Corbin tonight because he once saw Corbin take a man’s money and his dog.

Baron Corbin vs. Drew McIntyre

Graves: “I tried to Venmo Corbin money this weekend but his phone was out of minutes.” Corbin looks defeated to start and Drew sends him into the corner. A suplex into a clothesline sends Corbin outside, where McIntyre sends him hard into the barricade. Back with Corbin hitting a superplex but the under the ropes clothesline is cut off with the Glasgow Kiss.

McIntyre snaps off the belly to belly into the neckbreaker….but McIntyre grabs the mic. McIntyre says he feels sorry for Corbin and wants to do something nice for him. How much would it cost to get him a meal, a bed and a shower for a few days? Corbin says $100,000, which McIntyre says is reasonable. How about $200,000? $300,000? It turns into the Claymore countdown so McIntyre can kick his head off for the pin at 9:48.

Rating: C+. See what happens when you try something new with a character? Corbin was one of the least interesting people around because he was doing the same things every week. Now they’ve mixed it up a bit and things are that much better because they’re actually trying something. Granted I’d bet that it was Corbin’s idea because WWE creative isn’t creative, but I’ll take what I can get.

Post match here are Jinder Mahal and company but McIntyre grabs the sword to hold them off.

Riddle comes up to Orton and says if they can’t be a team, can they at least be friends? Orton can’t mean that. Of course he does, and don’t call him bro. There’s your weekly Airplane reference.

Karrion Kross vs. Jeff Hardy

Non-title. Kross goes aggressive to start and knocks Hardy outside. That earns him a toss into the barricade though and they head back inside, only to have Kross knock him off the top. We take a break and come back with Hardy hitting the legdrop between the legs (Graves: “All these years, I’m still not sure how that move is legal.”), followed by a middle rope splash for two. Hardy’s rollup (with trunks) gets two but Kross pulls him into a hard Doomsday Saito. The Krossjacket Choke makes Hardy tap at 8:01.

Rating: C-. What does it say that it’s a breath of air to not have Kross, the reigning NXT Champion and the kind of guy that WWE would love to push, lose to Jeff Hardy? The match went as it should have and they teased a near fall more than once. At least Kross won, but I’m still more than a bit scared for his future.

We recap Alexa Bliss tormenting Eva Marie.

Video on RKBro. These two are still great together and deserve the music video treatment.

Riddle is depressed, but he’s still a stallion so he’ll get through it.

Alexa Bliss vs. Doudrop

Lillie is here with Bliss, meaning it’s a WE WANT WYATT chant, which is mysteriously cut off. Eva Marie is here with Doudrop, who runs Bliss over to start. A choke doesn’t do much good for Bliss, who gets sent outside. An Eva Marie distraction lets Doudrop jump Bliss from behind and they head inside. Doudrop runs Bliss over….but we go to a closeup of Lillie, who winks at Doudrop. The fear allowing Bliss to grab a rollup pin at 3:35.

Rating: F. But NXT is the show that is a complete failure and needs an overhaul. Doudrop just lost to a lame special effect and I think Bliss is supposed to be the face in this mess. Raw now has its own Twilight Zone angle because this is somehow better than Alexa Bliss being….anything else apparently.

Sheamus doesn’t want Miz and Morrison to screw up and it’s a staredown over the Drip Stick.

Ricochet vs. Sheamus

Non-title and Ricochet starts fast by sending Sheamus outside. Back in and Sheamus runs him over into a quick chinlock. Ricochet fights up and sends him outside again, this time (after a slight delay for balance gathering) for a heck of a springboard crossbody onto the announcers’ table.

Back with Sheamus working on an armbar as an excuse to grab Ricochet’s face. Ricochet gets up and manages to head to the apron for the springboard clothesline into a heck of a Lionsault for two. For some reason Ricochet tries a middle rope headbutt but crashes into the mask to knock himself silly. The Brogue Kick finishes Ricochet off at 10:35.

Rating: B-. Questionable logic from Ricochet aside, this was a good back and forth power vs. speed match, which is going to work every time. Sheamus might not be the biggest star in the world, but he is just about perfect in this role: he can be cowardly, but he can also hit people really hard. Ricochet….I’m not sure if he makes it to the end of August, but if he winds up getting cut, someone is getting a heck of a star.

Post match here is Damian Priest to get in Sheamus’ face. Sheamus back off and his attempt at a cheap shot gets him sent to the floor. Cue Miz and John Morrison and it’s a staredown in the aisle with Sheamus.

Damian Priest vs. John Morrison

Miz is here with Morrison, who takes Priest down for a headlock to start. Priest fights up and blasts Morrison in the face over and over. The Broken Arrow is countered and it’s a movie martial arts style scene until they both hit kicks to the head for a double knockdown. Morrison sends him outside for a corkscrew crossbody and they head back inside. Priest gets in a kick to the head and, after no selling the Drip Stick, hits the Reckoning for the pin at 4:26.

Rating: C-. Another match which came and went, but it seems we are getting Priest vs. Sheamus for the US Title at Summerslam, which is certainly a good thing. Priest needs to be built up and that has seemingly been the endgame of Sheamus’ title reign the entire time. Letting him be the bull until someone stands up to him and takes the title makes sense, so let us see what he can do for Priest.

Post match Priest goes after Morrison and sprays him with some Drip Sticks. Priest turns to Miz…who pops to his feet and runs off. Now Priest has something to say to Sheamus, who comes out to say Priest needs to say this to his face. Priest issues the challenge for the title at Summerslam and Sheamus says it’s on. Morrison tries to run in and gets kicked in the face, with Priest saying that’s what’s coming for him at Summerslam.

Mansoor gets Mustafa Ali a special jacket to make up for last week’s loss. Ali likes it but says he would rather have Mansoor learn. That’s what he needs to do tonight: watch and learn.

Mustafa Ali vs. T-Bar

Mansoor and Mace are here too. T-Bar sends him flying with a backdrop to start but Ali comes back and sends him outside. The dive is pulled out of the air though, setting up a heck of a toss into the barricade. Back in and a backbreaker gets two but Ali’s foot is on the ropes. The chokeslam is countered and Ali hits the tornado DDT, only to get crotched on top. Feast Your Eyes finishes Ali at 3:04.

Rating: C-. What the heck happened to Ali? He is crazy athletic and can cut good promos with an interesting backstory but he’s here in this worthless story. I don’t know if they’re setting up some big moment for Mansoor in Saudi Arabia or what, but it would be nice to see them doing something that isn’t so lame.

Reggie is doing a photo shoot when Akira Tozawa and R-Truth, in costumes, come after him. Reggie Parkours his way to freedom and escapes. This joke really needs to be retired already.

AJ Styles doesn’t care that Randy Orton is back because he is a champion who deserves respect. Orton made a colossal mistake so tonight, they need to break Randy just like Riddle’s scooter.

Here are MVP and Bobby Lashley for a chat. MVP recaps last week with Goldberg defending his son from him, which was a huge mistake. If Goldberg has to defend his son, maybe the son shouldn’t be here. After Summerslam, Goldberg will have all the time in the world to be with his son because Bobby Lashley is taking him out. Lashley says that at Summerslam, Goldberg isn’t next, because he’s done.

We recap Nikki Ash beat Charlotte last week.

Rhea Ripley is ready for Nikki tonight and to get the title back at Summerslam.

Nikki knows she might lose but she is ready to believe in herself. She is going to retain her title at Summerslam, even if her dream might turn into a nightmare.

Nikki Ash vs. Rhea Ripley

Non-title and Nikki has banged up ribs. Nikki headlocks her down to start but gets faceplanted in a hurry. Ripley sends things outside and Nikki goes ribs first into the apron. We take a break and come back with Ripley planting her down again and hammering on the ribs. A flapjack is countered into a DDT though and both of them are down. Nikki rolls her up for two and counters the Riptide into a crossbody for two. Ripley catches her on top but the superplex is broken up, only to have Charlotte come in to shoves Nikki down for the DQ at 9:20.

Rating: C. The match was starting to cook but then it was Charlotte coming in to be the big monster. I can go with the idea of neither of them losing because they both need to win something. However, maybe it would be better if we weren’t at the point where the champ and former champ both need to avoid losses so desperately.

Post match Charlotte takes out Ripley with Natural Selection. Charlotte holds up the title, because she is smarter and better than everyone else.

We get an Elias video, showing flashbacks to his battles with Jaxson Ryker. Then he burns his guitar and says WWE stood for Walk With Elias, but Elias is dead. Ok then.

Charlotte laughs at people who think she is done and promises to win the title back at Summerslam.

Randy Orton is ready for AJ Styles.

Randy Orton vs. AJ Styles

Omos is here with Styles. Orton takes him down to start and gets in the big stomp before sending Styles outside. An Omos distraction lets AJ send him into the apron though and there’s the slingshot forearm to send us to a break. Back with Orton fighting out of a chinlock to start the slugout. The powerslam and backbreaker get two each but Orton comes up favoring his knee.

After blowing a kiss to Omos, Orton loads up the top rope superplex but AJ slips between the legs and pulls him down. The Calf Crusher goes on, sending Orton straight to the rope. The hanging DDT plants AJ but Omos offers a distraction to break up the RKO. Cue Riddle to post and choke Omos, who drives him into the post for the break. The Phenomenal Forearm is countered into the RKO to give Orton the pin at 11:19.

Rating: B-. The ending alone boosts this one up as that was a heck of a finish. Orton got a heck of a face reaction here and that isn’t a surprise given how long he was gone. It helps that he wrestles a style that can change so quickly and that was on display here. Good match, with the post match stuff with Riddle likely to make it even better.

Post match Orton yells at Riddle for coming out here but Riddle wants a hug. Orton tries to leave but eventually gives in to the hug. The fans love it and they pose….until the RKO lays Riddle out. Yeah you knew it was coming, but I’m not sure if that was the team breaking up (assuming they were a team in the first place).

Overall Rating: C-. The wrestling was pretty good for the most part but this show was boring. It set up or advanced things for Summerslam and did some character development, but it was such a long show that I was losing focus by about the halfway point. That being said, this show only had one really stupid part and that means they tightened things up at least for this week. There are still parts that need fixing and the show still needs a huge overhaul, but things have been slowly crawling back over the last few weeks. It’s really, really, really slow progress, but it’s progress.

Results
Drew McIntyre b. Baron Corbin – Claymore
Karrion Kross b. Jeff Hardy – Krossjacket Choke
Alexa Bliss b. Doudrop – Rollup
Sheamus b. Ricochet – Brogue Kick
Damian Priest b. John Morrison – Reckoning
T-Bar b. Mustafa Ali – Feast Your Eyes
Nikki Ash b. Rhea Ripley via DQ when Charlotte interfered
Randy Orton b. AJ Styles – RKO

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

Monday Night Raw
Date: August 2, 2021
Location: Allstate Arena, Chicago, Illinois
Commentators: Jimmy Smith, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton

So remember last week when Nikki Ash got beat up by Charlotte but didn’t lose the Women’s Title? Then she talked about how she got close and wanted to do it again? Well tonight is her chance to prove that she is ALMOST good, because that’s the best we’re getting these days. Oh and Goldberg, because of course. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Might want to edit that WOO out of the opening these days people.

Here are MVP and Bobby Lashley for a chat. MVP is glad to have the fans back and knows they are all excited to see Goldberg. A few weeks ago, Goldberg challenged Lashley for the WWE Title but Lashley has yet to acknowledge the challenge. Goldberg is a legend who can destroy any man on any night, but Lashley is not just any man. MVP asks how Goldberg wants to….and here’s Goldberg to cut him off. Goldberg asks Lashley what kind of a gladiator he is. The first time Lashley saw Goldberg, Lashley thought he was a victim. Fans: “WE WANT WYATT!”

Goldberg lives by the spear and at Summerslam, Lashley dies by the spear. Goldberg leaves so MVP goes out to get in the face of Goldberg’s son. That brings Goldberg back out and the spear drops MVP. Goldberg: “You mess with my son, I’ll kill you!” The fans did not care about Goldberg here and it’s kind of hard to disagree. This whole thing feels forced and there isn’t much of a way around it.

Drew McIntyre vs. Veer/Shanky

Jinder Mahal is at ringside too. McIntyre gets sent shoulder first into the post to start and Shanky clotheslines him down. Veer comes in and gets clotheslined as well as McIntyre cleans house. Everything breaks down and the Claymore is loaded up, only to have Shanky grab the leg. Mahal comes in with the chair for the DQ at 2:57.

Post match The villains all grab chairs so McIntyre grabs the sword and cleans house. Shanky is left alone so McIntyre threatens to slice him to pieces before Shanky runs off.

Mahal and company run off, with Mahal saying karma is coming for McIntyre.

Post break, McIntyre says Mahal can pick the hospital the graveyard or the sword (which is named Angela).

Nia Jax vs. Rhea Ripley

Shayna Baszler is here with Jax. Ripley kicks her way out of the corner but staggers herself on a headbutt attempt. Jax gives her the real thing into the corner and posts Ripley for a bonus. Ripley gets crushed against the post and sent into the post again for a bonus. Jax’s running hip attack misses though and Ripley dive off the apron….and onto Baszler by mistake. The Samoan drop drives Ripley into the barricade though and we take a break. Back with Ripley fighting out of a torture rack and forearming away.

A springboard hurricanrana drops Jax again and she seems to be bleeding from the eye. There’s a kick to the face to make it worse and Ripley hits a missile dropkick for two. Jax misses the sitdown splash but manages to run Ripley over. The legdrop gets a lazy two as the right third of Jax’s face is covered in blood. Baszler gets on the apron for a distraction but drops down, only to have Jax charge once she is already on the floor. Ripley grabs the rollup pin at 8:35.

Rating: C. Jax wasn’t too bad here, though that was a heck of a nasty cut on the eye. Thankfully she was able to finish and seemed fine enough so it might not have been too bad. Ripley got the win, despite the pretty terrible timing at the end. At least they didn’t have Jax beat her somehow and it all could have been worse.

Post match Ripley goes to the floor as Jax yells at Baszler, who takes her jacket off. Baszler leaves and Ripley gets back in to kick Jax again. The Riptide leaves Jax laying.

Mace/T-Bar vs. Mustafa Ali/Mansoor

Rematch from last week where Ali and Mansoor won their debut as a team. Ali gets the very warm hometown reception but gets knocked outside hard to start. T-Bar blasts him with a clothesline on the floor and drops the top rope elbow for two on Mansoor. Back up and the hot tag brings in Ali so everything can break down. Mansoor and Ali hit stereo dives, leaving Ali to hit a tornado hanging DDT. The 450 is loaded up but T-Bar kicks Mansoor into the ropes to crotch Ali. The cyclone boot finishes Mansoor at 2:40. Ali only kind of loses in his hometown, and that’s the best result he could ask for here.

Post match Ali gets taken out by High Justice, just in case the fans were still ok.

We look back at Charlotte destroying Nikki Ash last week.

Here is Charlotte for a chat. She talks about Simone Biles backing out of most of the Olympic Games. After cutting off a Becky Lynch chant with promises that this is going somewhere, Charlotte talks about how Nikki Ash won the Women’s Title thanks to the Money in the Bank briefcase.

That had Charlotte ready to have her own mental breakdown as she walks to the floor and says cashing in Money in the Bank is theft. She has been cased in on THREE TIMES since the briefcase became a thing, and throws in a kendo stick, a broom and a chair. Last week, Charlotte beat Nikki in this ring, but Nikki wanted a rematch anyway. Charlotte punched her in the face like a loser and tonight, Nikki is sacrificing herself in a No Holds Barred match. Cue Nikki from behind to blasts Charlotte with a chair to send her running.

We look at Tamina beating Eva Marie/Doudrop in what amounted to a handicap match.

Eva Marie thinks Doudrop can be scary. She even asks where Doudrop is from but cuts off the answer to promise that Tamina will pay, just like Natalya did last week.

Doudrop vs. Tamina

Eva Marie is here with Doudrop and offers an early distraction. Tamina superkicks Doudrop anyway and hits the running hip attack in the corner. Eva’s distraction lets Doudrop get in a shot of her own and a bottom rope elbow gets two. Doudrop adds a backsplash to set up the chinlock, which is broken in a hurry. Tamina sends her into the corner and ducks the Eva suggested crossbody. The Samoan drop finishes Doudrop at 3:49.

Rating: D+. Yeah what else were you expecting here? The match was nothing but Tamina ran over Doudrop, even with Eva Marie helping, without much trouble. The Natalya injury is going to slow plans down a bit, but you are only going to get so far against Marie and Doudrop in the first place.

Post match Eva Marie and Tamina are annoyed so Alexa Bliss, with Lilly, pops up on screen to declare Eva the loser of the match. Laughter ensues.

We look back at Damian Priest beating Sheamus last week.

Riddle comes up to Priest to offer some congratulations. They exchange some pleasantries, with Priest wishing him luck tonight against Omos. Riddle warns him to watch out on MizTV, but Priest promises to be ready.

It’s time for MizTV with Miz being rather annoyed at what Damian Priest did last week. This brings out Priest with Miz bringing up that it was Priest who put him in a wheelchair. Miz and John Morrison didn’t last Priest going after Sheamus’ mask but Priest says they’re nuts. Sheamus wrestled hurt and that’s a bada** in his book. What is up with Miz’s knee though? Priest wants to know if the problem is between Miz’s legs, which has Miz threatening to slap him in the face.

Priest gets up and tells him to try it but Miz just looks terrified. Morrison gets up to say kids want to grow up and be like them, which Priest finds suspicious. The challenge is on, with Priest wanting to just fight right now. Morrison seems to accept but first Priest has to block the Drip Stick. After dropping Morrison, Priest sprays Miz for a bonus.

Damian Priest vs. John Morrison

Miz is at ringside as Priest kicks his way out of the corner to start. Priest heads to the apron for a kick to the head, followed by a top rope kick to the chest for two. Morrison’s kicks give him two of his own and it’s off to a crank on the arm. That’s broken up and Priest runs him over again, only to get Drip Sticked. Morrison gets in a cheap shot for two but Priest takes him down again. The South of Heaven chokeslam gives Priest the pin at 4:02.

Rating: C-. This is the formula you can follow with ease, as Priest gets another win on his way towards the likely Summerslam title match. Priest is a big guy with some good physical gifts and they let him show those off here. Another short match which did what it was supposed to do, with the Drip Stick appearance as a bonus.

Post match here is Sheamus to jump Priest but Ricochet runs in for the save.

Sheamus/John Morrison vs. Ricochet/Damian Priest

Joined in progress with Ricochet fighting back, including a springboard crossbody to Sheamus. There’s a Lionsault to give Ricochet two more but Sheamus knocks him off the top for a crash to the floor. Back in and Sheamus hammers on Ricochet’s back before handing it to Morrison. A German suplex gets Ricochet out of trouble and it’s back Priest, for a backbreaker to drop Morrison. South of Heaven connects for two with Sheamus having to make a save. A clothesline puts Sheamus on the floor so Ricochet moonsaults onto him. That leaves Morrison to get pulled into the Reckoning for the pin at 3:49.

Rating: C. More of the same from the previous match as Ricochet and Sheamus add enough to the match to keep things interesting. Sheamus vs. Priest is going to be a showdown and Ricochet….well at least he got on Raw. Morrison and Miz can be slotted in with anyone, but I’m not exactly seeing a future between them and Ricochet.

Bobby Lashley accepts Goldberg’s challenge for Summerslam and hopes Goldberg’s son is there to watch the beating.

Riddle vs. Omos

There is no AJ Styles here as Omos shoves Riddle into the corner before the bell. We officially start with Riddle being sent outside and then over the barricade. Riddle gets back in at nine but gets sent back to the apron and then knocked to the floor again. Back in again and Riddle hits a few jumping knees, including a springboard version which doesn’t drop Omos. A clothesline drops Riddle though and the chokebomb finishes at 2:33.

Alexa Bliss claims Lilly influenced Jack the Ripper and the Zodiac Killer but Doudrop blasts Bliss with a chair. Eva Marie says Lilly is gross and the two leave. Lilly sits up on her own.

Karrion Kross promises more violence.

Karrion Kross vs. Keith Lee

Non-title rematch from last week. Lee powers him into the corner to start but Grizzly Magnum doesn’t get to launch. Instead, Kross chops and knees away, only to get shouldered down a few times. Lee gets sent to the apron but comes back in with a slingshot crossbody, because of course he can. Kross kicks him in the face though and it’s an exploder suplex into the corner. They head outside with another suplex sending Lee into the steps as we take a break.

Back with Kross hitting a clothesline but Lee elbows him in the face. Now the Grizzly Magnum can connect and Lee gets to run him over. The Spirit Bomb is blocked but so is the Doomsday Saito. Instead Kross hits him in the head and grabs the Krossjacket but Lee powers out. The Spirit Bomb gives Lee the clean pin at 9:24.

Rating: C. So Kross loses, then wins, the loses, while Lee loses, then loses, then wins. This is a good example of what fans mean when they talk about 50/50 booking, but at least Lee isn’t being treated as a total loser anymore. It’s still a weird way to go, but I can go with Lee winning. Kross….I have no idea what they’re doing here, as the losing streak without Scarlett made sense, at least until he won last week.

Rhea Ripley thinks tonight’s main event will be brutal but she’s coming for the Women’s Title at Summerslam.

24/7 Title: Reggie vs. Akira Tozawa

Reggie is defending and we get an inset promo from him, explaining that he went with the French thing to get his foot in the door. Now he is the champion so he can be himself. I can actually go with that. We start with a mini dance off until Tozawa misses a kick to the face. Reggie gets low bridged to the apron, where he moonsaults to freedom. Tozawa misses a charge into the barricade as Reggie keeps running away with the greatest of ease. Back in and Tozawa calls upon NINJA POWER but gets knocked down again. The running flipping seated senton retains the title at 2:02.

Nikki Ash isn’t sure what to expect in a No Holds Barred match but she’ll give it everything she has. If she wins, she can prove that anyone can be almost a superhero.

Nikki Ash vs. Charlotte

Non-title and No Holds Barred. Ash (who has changed gear from earlier) starts fast and hits a quick crossbody for two but Charlotte is back up to send her into the corner. The backbreaker into the Downward Spiral into the corner has Ash in more trouble and it’s time to throw her outside. Charlotte rants about how there will be no more cashing in on her and clears off the announcers’ table.

The fans want tables and Charlotte pulls one out to the reaction of the night. Ash manages a quick posting but Charlotte shoves her down again as Rhea Ripley is watching backstage. The BECKY chants start up again so Charlotte tells the fans to suck it (sans gestures). Charlotte spears Nikki through the barricade as this is mostly one sided so far. Back with Charlotte hitting a boot to the face for two, only because she pulls Ash up. Charlotte grabs a chair but gets baseball slided in the face.

That lets Ash get in a good ten whole second of offense until Charlotte takes her down again. The fans want CM Punk but settle for Charlotte countering another crossbody off the apron into a powerbomb through the announcers’ table. Back in and Charlotte slowly puts her foot on the chest for two and can’t believe Ash is doing this. A missed spear sends Charlotte through the table in the corner and Ash gets two. Ash grabs a hanging swinging neckbreaker for the pin at 14:34.

Rating: C-. Well…..it was better for Nikki than I was expecting. She did get the pin on her own and that’s quite the surprise. This actually gets Nikki somewhere and makes her feel like something of a threat for once. As for the match itself, it was a hard hitting beating, as it should have been. Charlotte partially beat herself, but Nikki hit a big move and won after Charlotte cost herself the win, so this could have been much, much worse.

Ash celebrates in the crowd to end the show.

Overall Rating: D+. This was an improvement over recent weeks, but that’s not exactly saying much. There was nothing on here as horribly bad, but overall it was pretty boring. The first half hour focused on Goldberg and Jinder Mahal and was followed by a bunch of uninspiring stuff. The biggest problem with this show was that it was boring, which is often worse than being bad. There were some good parts, but this isn’t a show that would make me want to come back next week. One good idea was to keep things moving out there, as a long and boring match can be crippling to a show. Not good, but a step up over recent efforts.

Results
Drew McIntyre b. Veer/Shanky via DQ when Jinder Mahal interfered
Rhea Ripley b. Nia Jax – Rollup
Mace/T-Bar b. Mansoor/Mustafa Ali – Cyclone boot to Mansoor
Tamina b. Doudrop – Samoan drop
Damian Priest b. John Morrison – South of Heaven
Damian Priest/Ricochet b. John Morrison/Sheamus – Reckoning to Morrison
Omos b. Riddle – Chokebomb
Keith Lee b. Karrion Kross – Spirit Bomb
Reggie b. Akira Tozawa – Running flipping seated senton
Nikki Ash b. Charlotte – Hanging swinging neckbreaker

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Monday Night Raw
Date: July 19, 2021
Location: American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas
Commentators: Byron Saxton, Corey Graves, Jimmy Smith

The week of the fans continues as we have the first Raw in front of a crowd since March 2021. Smackdown and Money in the Bank seemed to go pretty well but this is the big test. This is the Raw that WWE has literally had months to plan for and they can put on their best show possible. John Cena is back and opening the show so they should have a good start. Let’s get to it.

Here is Money in the Bank if you need a recap.

Here is John Cena to get things going as they’re starting fast tonight. Cena says he can still see some people coming in so come on down. After acknowledging a kid’s “I’m turning 11 and I’m here to see John Cena” sign, Cena says he missed us. Cena talks about what a group effort Raw is and how he was here last night for the end of Money in the Bank.

Paul Heyman panicked, Roman Reigns didn’t know what he was supposed to do, Michael Cole was really happy and Pat McAfee still didn’t know where Cena was. Cena is back for Reigns and he thinks about five weeks from now in Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada sounds like a safe bet. He could talk about how important Summerslam is and how great it would be to win his seventeenth World Title, but it is a lot simpler than that: “Roman Reigns is an a******.” (WWE censored it too this time).

Reigns is an overhyped gimmick who isn’t as great as he says he is, “and that’s coming from ME”. Cena asks to hear the fans a bit more and says the saying goes if they’re great, the people will tell you. He’s going to be at Smackdown on Friday and he’ll see Reigns there. Cue Riddle and it’s time for a Bro Off (WWE version, not the Impact version).

Riddle/Viking Raiders vs. John Morrison/AJ Styles/Omos

Riddle takes Morrison down to start and puts on something like a YES Lock. It’s off to Erik for a knee to the face and Ivar is slammed onto Morrison for a bonus. Everything breaks down and the Viking are sent outside, where they catch Morrison’s slingshot hurricanrana. Morrison gets crushed between then but Omos throws Styles onto them for the huge crash as we take a break.

Back with Omos powering Riddle around and handing it off to Styles for two off a suplex. Morrison comes back in to crank on the neck but Riddle flips out of Styles’ suplex and brings in Erik. The strike off goes to Erik and he crushes Styles in the corner. Ivar comes in for a running corner dropkick to Morrison but misses a good looking moonsault. Starship Pain misses but Morrison steals Miz’s Drip Stick and sprays Omos, leaving said stick with Miz. Morrison goes to save his buddy but Omos throws him back inside. AJ goes to deal with things and the Viking Experience finishes Morrison at 12:07.

Rating: C. I can go for a pretty good six man tag and that is what we got here. They took a feud and two others and put them together to give us some fresh combinations, which is often a smart idea. Distracting Omos made sense as there was no other way around him, so at least they did things the right way here.

The very intense Jaxson Ryker is ready to do something else to Elias, because feuds just kind of keep going until they stop around here.

Elias vs. Jaxson Ryker

Symphony of Destruction (music theme and falls count anywhere), with Ryker promising to silence Elias before the match. There are instruments around the ring and Ryker hits him in the back with a keyboard. Elias is back with a guitar and a jumping knee to the face for two but gets sent through the gong. Ryker hits him with the guitar and we take a break.

Back with them fighting on the apron until Elias sends him into the post. Ryker drops him onto a piano for two as this just keeps going. Then Elias drops Ryker onto the piano for two of his own. Elias breaks the cello over Ryker’s back for two more and they finally get back inside. That doesn’t last long as Ryker superplexes him through two tables at ringside for the pin at 12:45.

Rating: D. This was WAY longer than it needed to be, which is to say it was about 12:45 too long. The feud was over with the strap match a few weeks ago but they did this so they could have something else added on to the show. The ending bump was good and that’s about the extent of the positives here. Now let them be done already.

Mansoor has gotten himself and Mustafa Ali a tag match next week, which does not please Ali. Mansoor talks about how he has seen that Ali was right so Ali tells him not to screw it up. Sheamus comes in to complain about his match against Humberto Carrillo tonight but has to do it anyway.

Here is Charlotte for her big celebration of winning the title again. Rhea Ripley can rip off as many of Charlotte’s moves as she wants, but Charlotte won the title anyway. After explaining that Becky Lynch isn’t here because she’s at home taking care of her baby, Charlotte brags about all of the congratulations that she has received and talks about how she has won eleven women’s titles (at least they’re keeping it at main roster singles titles this time). She can beat Rhea Ripley any time so here is Rhea to say she wants the rematch tonight.

Charlotte says no, so Adam Pearce and Sonya Deville come out to make the match for tonight anyway. Charlotte kicks out Rhea’s knee and leaves. Somehow, this took nearly ten minutes instead of “due to her actions in the title match, Charlotte will be defending against Ripley in a rematch, per orders from Pearce and Deville” taking fifteen seconds to start the show.

Video on the Money in the Bank ladder matches.

Nia Jax/Shayna Baszler vs. Tamina/Natalya

Non-title and they’re actively torpedoing the show at this point. Joined in progress with Natalya knocking Baszler outside, where Jax hits a Samoan drop into the barricade. Back in and some double teaming has Natalya down, setting up the stomp to the arm. Jax goes shoulder first into the post though and Natalya’s discus lariat gets two. It’s off to Tamina, who gets caught on top. Reginald’s distraction gets Natalya’s attention so Baszler kicks her down, leaving Tamina to hit the superkick for the pin at 3:45.

Rating: D. Just in case you didn’t get the idea the first dozen or so times. The match was short and bad, but at least Tamina got to pin Baszler. I would like to believe that Nox and Shotzi will take the Tag Team Titles, but it isn’t like there is any reason to believe that will be the case. Another bad match, as Raw continues its downward spiral.

Post match it’s another argument, but this time Jax headbutts Reginald down and leaves with Shayna. Cue the 24/7 goons with Akira Tozawa running into the ring….where Reginald takes him down and hits a running flipping seated senton to win the title. Reginald Parkours his way out. If he has to be on TV, this is about as good as it’s getting with Reginald.

Sheamus vs. Humberto Carrillo

Non-title. Sheamus pounds him down to start but Carrillo gets up top for a high crossbody. That doesn’t work either, as Sheamus takes him outside and poses to send us to a break. Back with Sheamus hitting the forearms to the chest but Carrillo bites him. A bunch of kicks is capped off by a jumping kick to the face but Sheamus goes up top.

After grabbing his hand, Sheamus is pulled down with a super hurricanrana. A missile dropkick gives Carrillo two but he punches Sheamus in the STEEL mask. After that brilliant move, Sheamus Brogue kicks him for the pin at 10:13. Note that Sheamus is still favoring his hand, which might not be good.

Rating: C-. Somehow, this was the best thing on the show for the last hour plus. I was nearly stunned when this was non-title and then Carrillo just lost anyway. It wasn’t great, but Priest vs. Sheamus down the line sounds good enough for me. Sheamus is a talented guy and it would be nice to see him getting the chance to have a hoss fight with someone who can hang in there with him.

Here are MVP and Bobby Lashley for an open challenge. MVP mocks the Dallas Cowboys (gah) and says that Kofi Kingston was right: Lashley had been getting soft because of the women and the champagne and the good life, but no more. Now no one is beating Lashley for the champion so tonight it is time for the ultimate champion to face some loser. Lashley says bring it on and…..it’s KEITH LEE.

Keith Lee vs. Bobby Lashley

Non-title, though Graves suggested it was a title match before the bell. The GOLDBERG chants start us off as they shove each other around to start. Lee powers him around but the Spirit Bomb is countered into a Downward Spiral. A running clothesline puts Lee on the floor but Lashley can’t lift him up for the ram into the post.

Instead Lee splashes him against the post but an MVP distraction lets Lashley knock Lee off the apron. The spear cuts Lee in half and Lashley hammers away back inside. The Hurt Lock is blocked though and Lashley gets flipped over. That’s fine with Lashley, who hits a spinebuster to take him down again. Another spear gives Lashley the pin at 5:53.

Rating: C-. So much for that, as this was little more than a squash for Lashley. Lee got in a few shots here and there but then he lost in less than six minutes. I’m not sure what he is going to do from here, but this is not exactly something that gives me hope for Lee’s future. Not the worst match, just rather disappointing.

Post match Lashley poses so here is the expected Goldberg return. Goldberg says he’s next and Lashley is ready but MVP holds them apart.

Post break, MVP says they aren’t acknowledging the return.

Here are Jinder Mahal, Veer and Shanky for a chat. Mahal, who is celebrating his birthday, is proud of what he did to Drew McIntyre last night because McIntyre embarrassed him last week with the fake sword. Then McIntyre destroyed Mahal’s motorcycle, but this isn’t about a motorcycle. Mahal wants McIntyre out here, so cue McIntyre from behind with a chair to clean house. Veer and Mahal bail, leaving Shanky to take an insane twenty chair shots to the back (with twice as many camera cuts because that’s how Raw works).

Karrion Kross video.

Karrion Kross vs. Jeff Hardy

Non-title (a theme tonight) and no Scarlett with Kross, because why keep what is working with Kross in NXT? At least Hardy has No More Words back for his theme music, which is quite the plus. Kross starts fast but gets sent into the post. It’s way too early for the Swanton but the big forearm is cut off. They go into the corner with Hardy grabbing a rollup and putting his feet on the ropes for the pin at 1:40. My jaw dropped on that one and I’m not even going to pretend to understand this.

Post match Kross promises that Hardy made a mistake and will fall and pray.

It’s time for Alexa’s Playground and LILLY IS BACK. Eva Marie and Doudrop come in, with Eva threatening to have Doudrop beat Lilly up. Bliss wouldn’t recommend that but Eva leaves, only to trip over Doudrop’s foot. Bliss thinks Lilly did it.

Women’s Title: Rhea Ripley vs. Charlotte

Charlotte is defending and gets faceplanted to start. A whip into the corner has Charlotte shaken up again but she comes back with right hands to the face. Ripley shrugs them off and snaps off a German suplex, setting up a running basement dropkick for two. They head outside with Charlotte hitting a chop block to the bad knee, sending us to a break. Back with Charlotte taking the knee out again and crushing it on the mat.

Ripley manages a northern lights suplex but Charlotte boots her in the face. The moonsault hits raised knees though and Ripley grabs her own Figure Four. Charlotte turns that over for the break but Ripley hits a superkick into the Riptide for two as Charlotte gets a foot on the rope. That’s enough for Charlotte, who tries to walk out, only to hit Ripley in the face with the title for the DQ at 12:24.

Rating: C. I was watching this match and wondering if putting the title back on Ripley here would make up for last night, but then the ending was hardly the biggest surprise. WWE does not seem interesting in having Ripley be a big prop for Charlotte and little more. But hey, at least Ripley “beat” her here, right?

Post match Ripley jumps Charlotte again and lays her out….and we have a cash-in!

Women’s Title: Nikki Ash vs. Charlotte

Nikki is challenging and a high crossbody gives her the title in 10 seconds.

Nikki celebrates in the crowd to end the show.

Overall Rating: D-. I’m being as generous as I can with that because getting rid of a briefcase makes up for a few of the problems this show had. The thing is this show had A LOT of problems, with one bad idea after another. There were some good parts, such as the Cena promo (and that pop), the six man tag, about thirty seconds of excitement over Lee’s return, and the briefcase being cashed in for the title change. That stuff was pretty good.

Then it’s everything else, and that’s where the problems come in. You have things like Elias vs. Ryker going for nearly thirteen minutes, Natalya and Tamina continuing their roll, Sheamus vs. Carrillo (which might have been a highlight with some better structuring), the return of Lilly, whatever Kross’ debut was, Ripley being tossed aside (seemingly to set up Bliss vs. Nikki), Goldberg getting ANOTHER World Title shot (because he needs them on the second and third biggest pay per views of the year) and the explosion of 3MB, because that’s what people are begging to watch.

Last week, I heard someone say WWE fights with its fans on Raw and that is a perfect description. This show doesn’t feel like it’s about what the fans want to see, but rather whatever WWE has decided is going to work. If you like it, that’s fine, but if you don’t, get over it because that is what you are getting anyway.

See Mahal for example. He didn’t work as WWE Champion and he didn’t work as US Champion. Then he goes away for the better part of two years (not his fault of course) and comes back as….pretty much exactly the same guy, but with bigger lackeys. There’s no development, there is no evolution and there is no change. WWE has just decided that you are getting Mahal as a guy on the show and if you don’t like it, too bad.

This show was the one they had months to prepare for and set up something for the fans to care about but instead of something good, we got a lot of the same old WWE tropes (Goldberg returned for the second time this year for a World Title shot) and a few bonuses thrown in to try and take away some of the pain. I was sitting here watching this show with my mouth hanging open more than once, wondering how this is the best that WWE can do. Smackdown was pretty good and Money in the Bank was great, proving once again that this is a Raw problem, not a WWE problem. As I’ve said many times: fix it already, but it isn’t happening.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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AND

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It’s time for one of WWE’s biggest pay per views as the briefcases will be hung above the ring for some ladder matches. This time though there are going to be fans in attendance, which means that one of the biggest spectacles on the WWE calendar is going to have a live audience. Money in the Bank is always one of the harder to predict shows of the year so it’s guessing time. Let’s get to it.

Kickoff Show: SmackDown Tag Team Titles: Rey Mysterio/Dominik Mysterio(c) vs. The Usos

The Mysterios have defended the titles against the Usos twice now so a third title defense makes all the sense in the world right? That is how Tag Team Title stories go in WWE and I’m not sure what other idea they could have here. Hopefully they have something good here, as the teams should work well together, though putting them in this spot is a little bit weird.

The Usos are getting those titles sooner rather than later so I’ll say they get them here. The big point of the Mysterios getting the titles was the novelty of having a father and son hold them together and that has come and gone. There is not much of a reason for the Mysterios to hold the titles any longer and the Usos are locked into the main event scene at the moment. Let them be the champions as they should be, while trying not to think about how Jimmy Uso is going to get pushed harder despite his legal issues.

Raw World Title: Bobby Lashley(c) vs. Kofi Kingston

This is an interesting one as we have a former WWE Champion in Kingston, who has overcome the odds to win the title before, getting a shot against a heck of a monster. As has been the case when he is given the chance, Kingston has been nailing it on the microphone as of late, though I’m not sure how much good that is going to do for him when it comes to the match itself.

I’ll go with Lashley winning here without much trouble, though Kingston will likely get more than one near fall. Lashley has been champion since the beginning of March and there is nothing to suggest that he is dropping it anytime soon. That’s because he doesn’t need to, as he could be champion for quite a long time given the roll he has been on as of late. Barring a surprise cash-in, I can’t imagine anyone but Lashley leaving as champion.

Raw Tag Team Titles: AJ Styles/Omos(c) vs. Viking Raiders

Much like the SmackDown counterparts, the Raw Tag Team Titles are not exactly the most thrilling parts of any given show. The division barely exists and there is nothing to suggest that it is going to get any better in the near, immediate or even distant future, at least not that you would know from watching the show in recent years. Styles and Omos are a fine team to hold the titles until the next big thing comes along, but I’m not sure when that is going to be the case.

I’ll take Styles and Omos retaining here, though I’m really not sure if that is the right choice. The Raiders are a good team who can have some good power matches, but they don’t have anyone to face at the moment. Tag team wrestling is just such a weak spot in WWE these days (or almost any days for that matter) and while it would make sense to change the belts (assuming it doesn’t split up Styles and Omos), I don’t think that is going to happen.

Universal Title: Roman Reigns(c) vs. Edge

I know the story isn’t the most interesting, I know Edge is old and I know this isn’t going to be what it could have been from Edge’s glory years, but DANG that pop on SmackDown made me want to see this a lot more. I was an Edgehead a long time ago and the energy that he brings is a big reason why. There is something so cool about hearing that song with everything he does that makes it work and it should again on Sunday.

Now of course that is fairly limited in impact, as there is no way Edge is winning the title here. Reigns is coming up on a year as champion and he could be in for his huge showdown for the title at Summerslam, so Edge isn’t getting the title here. Besides, Edge is going to be getting ready for his feud with Seth Rollins, leaving this as a fairly clear ending to what should be a good match.

Raw Women’s Title: Rhea Ripley(c) vs. Charlotte

How are these two still feuding? It feels like this has been going on even longer than it already has and that is not a good feeling. Ripley has been put on ice for several months now as she waits on her big win over Charlotte, because Heaven forbid Charlotte put her over to make up for last year’s WrestleMania. Charlotte even got the win last month at Hell In A Cell, because of course she did.

I’ll go with what should have happened months ago and assume that Ripley FINALLY gets her win here, even if Charlotte is going to have some kind of way to look good in defeat. I’m trying to resist the thoughts that Charlotte might even get the title back here, but that is always a possibility. For the sake of my sanity though, I’ll take Ripley to retain here, as she should do with a decisive win.

Women’s Money In The Bank Ladder Match

Oh boy. This is the kind of thing that is almost impossible to predict and that is where the confusion begins. There are eight women involved (because the SmackDown women’s division apparently has the depth to put four women in) and I could see more than one of them winning here. That makes for some interesting outcomes, but it really could go in a bunch of different ways.

I’ll take Bliss, as much as I’d like to see Liv Morgan win, just for the sake of FINALLY giving her something. You can write off Asuka, Naomi, Natalya and Tamina, leaving you with Zelina Vega (a very real possibility), Nikki Ash (maybe, but I doubt it), Morgan (not going to happen) and Bliss, with the latter being the most likely to pull it off. The idea of this Bliss winning the title scares me, but it is likely where they are going.

Men’s Money In The Bank Ladder Match

As unsure as I am about the women’s version, I’m even less sure about this one. Again, there are eight entrants here and a lot of them could win, though I’m not sure if any of them really stands that high above the rest. There are still some names that you can write off here, but even with them out of the way, it could go in a few different directions, which is a good thing.

You know what? Let’s take a completely ridiculous gamble (which I do not think will really happen) and say Ricochet just for some fun. You can write off John Morrison (PLEASE write him off as we just did the Miz version for eight months), Drew McIntyre (probably thanks to Jinder Mahal because reasons), Kevin Owens (already had a long feud with Reigns) and maybe Shinsuke Nakamura (though maybe not). That leaves you with Ricochet, Riddle, Big E. and Seth Rollins. Since the other three are the most likely candidates, I’ll go with Ricochet just because I like him a lot. It’s going to be wrong, but let’s have some fun.

Overall Thoughts

This is a show that always gives me mixed feelings. I can’t stand the build (though this year’s has been nowhere near as bad) but the show itself tends to be quite good. I don’t know if there is any drama to the non-ladder matches but at least we could be in for some entertaining stuff. This is the first pay per view with fans back and it will lead into the much bigger Summerslam, so maybe we are in for a good, or at least over the top, show for a change.

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Monday Night Raw
Date: July 12, 2021
Location: Yuengling Center, Tampa, Florida
Commentators: Byron Saxton, Jimmy Smith, Corey Graves

We are finally, and I do mean finally, coming to the end of the Thunderdome and that means a taped go home show for Money in the Bank. The card is mostly set, at least on the Raw side, but it is time to build some serious momentum for the show’s namesake matches. Maybe Nikki Cross can even take another pin. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

In Memory of Paul Orndorff. That one hurts.

We open with a long recap of Big E. vs. Kofi Kingston, including last week with the New Day beating Lashley and MVP.

MVP gives Bobby Lashley a pep talk.

Xavier Woods vs. Bobby Lashley

Non-title with Kofi Kingston/MVP at ringside. I’m really not sure what it means to have a Cell match two weeks ago, then a tag match, and now a regular match. It’s almost like they might want to come up with some fresh ideas to set up these programs. Lashley throws him into the corner to start but Woods takes the leg out. A step up backsplash gets two but seems to just annoy Lashley. They head outside with Lashley sending him hard into the steps as we take a break.

Back with Woods still in trouble but managing a superkick. A tornado DDT sends Lashley outside and there’s the big flip dive to take him out again. Back in and a missile dropkick puts Lashley down, followed by the Crossface to make it worse. That’s broken up so Lashley hits the huge spinebuster into the spinning Big Ending for no cover. Instead Lashley takes him outside for a hard ram into the post and the spear connects back inside. Lashley still doesn’t cover though….and gets small packaged for the pin at 10:19.

Rating: C. They did a nice job with the surprise as they kept teasing the idea of Lashley costing himself but I didn’t think they would actually have Woods pin him. It’s certainly an upset and while I’m not wild on a champion losing, I can live with the idea of one of the most decorated tag team wrestlers ever scoring a fluke pin when Lashley got too cocky. Just have Lashley smash Kingston and things should be fine.

Lashley stormed off during the break.

Post break, MVP says it’s not a big deal and Lashley had to blow off some steam. Lashley will be in the VIP Lounge later tonight.

We look back at Jinder Mahal and company stealing Drew McIntyre’s sword.

Mahal arrives on his motorcycle and is handed the sword.

It’s time for Alexa’s Playground, with Bliss talking about how much fun she could have with the Money in the Bank briefcase. Eva Marie and Doudrop interrupt her, with Eva wanting to know when she’ll be asked a question. Alexa suggest Doudrop could win the briefcase and Eva storms off. Bliss doesn’t think much of them.

Here are Jinder Mahal and company with something, allegedly the sword, under a blanket. Mahal tells Drew McIntyre to come out here like a man and he can have his sword back. McIntyre pops up on screen instead, so Mahal pulls the blanket back to reveal the broken sword. That’s funny to McIntyre, because that’s a replica. The real thing is right here, just like Mahal’s real motorcycle is right here. McIntyre rips/smashes the motorcycle apart and Mahal panics.

Riddle runs into Nikki Ash, who he thinks should just fly up to grab the briefcase. This turns into a discussion of Riddle thinking he could fly into space but he was just at the mall.

Nikki Ash vs. Alexa Bliss vs. Asuka vs. Naomi

Naomi sends Bliss into the corner for the shoulders to the ribs. Bliss is right back with a quick crossbody as Ash and Asuka come back in. Naomi and Asuka trade kicks to the face for a double knockdown and Bliss crawls back in to face Nikki. A double shot to the chest staggers Bliss but here are Eva Marie and Doudrop to watch. Bliss uses the distraction to DDT Asuka for two but it’s time to channel Doudrop. A scream scares Eva but Doudrop is back up to toss Bliss over the barricade. Eva goes over to look at her….and Bliss has disappeared as we take a break.

Back with Naomi stacking up Asuka and Ash for two. Asuka is sent outside and Naomi grabs her reverse Rings of Saturn. That’s broken up by Asuka’s kick to the back but Nikki breaks up Asuka’s cross armbreaker to Naomi. More rollups get two each until Naomi is sent outside, leaving Asuka to Asuka Lock Ash. This time it’s a reversal into a cradle to give Ash the pin at 13:02.

Rating: D+. This was your standard final week build to Money in the Bank match, meaning there was nothing of interest to see, including Bliss disappearing. I’m sure that will play into something later, but I can’t wait for the fans to be back so that hopefully they can cut it out with this stuff. Another messy match, as Asuka gets to take another fall.

The Viking Raiders don’t like being called smelly barbarians and are ready for AJ Styles and Omos tonight.

AJ Styles vs. Ivar

Before the match, AJ, with Omos, apologizes for calling the Vikings smelly. He should have called them hairy and various other mean things. Tonight Ivar is tapping to the Calf Crusher and then Omos is beating Erik in his first singles match. Ivar spins around to start and runs AJ over, but an early Omos distraction lets AJ get in a kick to the head. The moonsault into the reverse DDT gets two on Ivar but Ivar fights up with a tilt-a-whirl powerslam. The low crossbody crushes AJ again and a big elbow to the face gives Ivar two. AJ scores with the Pele to send him into the corner but Ivar hits a seated senton for the quick pin at 3:43.

Rating: C-. Quite the upset here and Ivar winning actually is building momentum for a change. Pinning the one champion you might have a shot at beating is a good thing, though I don’t quite buy the Raiders as having any kind of a chance on Sunday at the moment. At least they threw us a bit of a curve for once.

Erik vs. Omos

Erik tries a waistlock to start and is thrown down in a hurry. Omos runs him over again but Erick slips off the shoulders and kicks at the leg. A bearhug has Erik in more trouble and Omos throws him into the corner without much trouble. Erik is right back with some running shots to the face to stagger the giant. That earns him a hard clothesline and Omos gets to shout a lot. The two handed chokeslam finishes Erik at 3:24.

Rating: C-. Two matches. One team’s representative won a match each. They combined to last a little over seven minutes. Oh and AJ Styles called them smelly. That is your build for a Tag Team Title match on pay per view. Again: maybe they need to come up with a better playbook for some of these programs. Omos did his usual giant stuff and it worked out rather well, as has tended to be his case.

We recap Humberto Carrillo injuring Sheamus’ nose, putting him out of action for six weeks.

Sheamus, in a protective mask, yells at Sonya Deville and Adam Pearce for making him defend the title tonight. They don’t seem to mind.

Lucha House Party and New Day share some nice compliments in the back. With the luchadors gone, Kofi Kingston is not surprised that Bobby Lashley will be back tonight for the VIP Lounge. Xavier Woods is a bit surprised, as Lashley already lost to the video game guy. Winning the WWE Title is not about the champagne and fame, but being a representative. After Sunday, Kofi gets to do that again.

Video on what Money in the Bank means for the winners. It’s like Rumble By The Numbers, but without the Rumble or Numbers.

Sheamus jumps Humberto Carrillo and leaves him laying.

Post break, Carrillo says he can go, even with Damian Priest asking if he is ok. Sonya Deville and Adam Pearce say they can postpone the match but Carrillo insists.

US Title: Sheamus vs. Humberto Carrillo

Sheamus is defending and wins with the Brogue Kick in 17 seconds. Carrillo is no Daniel Bryan.

Post match Sheamus comes back in to go after Carrillo again. Sheamus loads up a stomp to the face but Damian Priest runs in for the save.

We recap Ricochet vs. John Morrison over the last two weeks.

Riddle scooters up to Ricochet in the back and talks about how he is excited to go out west this weekend. He’s going to make spaghetti burritos and watch his favorite western movie: Toy Story 2. Riddle likes it when the cowboy finds a snake in his boot, not that Randy Orton is a snake in his boot. Ricochet was talking about the briefcase but Riddle thinks he and Orton can cash it in on the Tag Team Titles. John Morrison and Miz show up with Drip Sticks before running over Riddle’s foot.

John Morrison vs. Ricochet

Falls Count Anywhere and Miz is here with Morrison. Ricochet gets sent into the ropes to start and a neckbreaker over the ropes gives Morrison two outside. Miz uses his wheelchair to give Morrison two more and they head back inside. Morrison starts to go up but gets caught in a bridging German suplex for two. They head outside again with Morrison planting him for two, followed by a trip over the barricade.

Ricochet rams Morrison into the video fans and they climb onto the barricade. A slip sends Morrison down and Ricochet busts out a 450 off of said barricade for two. Back in and Morrison rolls away from the threat of a springboard, allowing Ricochet to hit a shooting star forearm to the head in a big crash.

We take a break and come back with a ladder now bridged between the ring and the announcers’ table. Ricochet jumps over it to hit a forearm to drop Morrison for two. Morrison bails over to the other side, where he hides behind Miz’s wheelchair. That’s fine with Ricochet, who hits a big flip dive to take Morrison down for two more. They fight up to the stage where Ricochet gets two more and they head backstage. Morrison scores with a superkick and a running knee to the face for two and it’s back to the stage.

This time Ricochet knocks Morrison down the ramp but then stops to shove Miz’s wheelchair down the ramp. The distraction lets Ricochet run Morrison over for two, followed by a kick to the face back inside. The Drip Stick distracts Ricochet again though and Morrison grabs a rollup with his feet on the ropes for two. Morrison’s Moonlight Drive gets two but here is Riddle to turn Miz over in his wheelchair, leaving Miz on his back. Morrison springboards into the Recoil but Ricochet can’t cover. Instead he puts Morrison on the bridged ladder for a huge splash and the pin at 16:01.

Rating: B-. This was rather eventful and Riddle making his third appearance of the night was a bit much. The good thing is that Ricochet got a win, even if it means nothing going into Sunday. Ricochet is someone who can thrive in a match like this and Morrison, despite being a bit up there in years compared to his heyday, can hang with him almost every step. Fun match, even if Riddle didn’t need to be out there.

Tamina and Natalya are ready for Money in the Bank as Natalya wants to hold the title and the briefcase at the same time. Mandy Rose and Dana Brooke come up to call Natalya a fool. Threats are made and Dana has to be held back.

We recap Drew McIntyre breaking Jinder Mahal’s motorcycle.

Drew McIntyre’s history lesson of the week is about Icarus, who is going to fly towards the sun, which is the Money in the Bank briefcase. His wings are going to be made of Grade A Scottish beef and nothing is stopping him from becoming Mr. Money In The Bank.

Money in the Bank rundown.

We recap Rhea Ripley and Charlotte’s battle of the crutches last week.

Rhea Ripley is ready for Charlotte on Sunday.

Rhea Ripley vs. Natalya

Non-title and Tamina is here too. They go with the grappling to start and Natalya grabs some rollups for two each. Rhea takes her outside and hits a quick dropkick to Tamina as we take an early break. Back with Natalya being knocked off the top, allowing Rhea to hit a good looking missile dropkick.

A bridging northern lights suplex gets two but Shea gets sent into the corner with her head hitting the post. Natalya powerbombs her out of the corner for two but the Sharpshooter is blocked. Natalya tries it again and is reversed into the Prism Trap. With that broken up, Natalya finally gets the Sharpshooter, only to be rolled into the corner for the break. Riptide gives Ripley the pin at 9:28.

Rating: C. This is where Natalya keeps her job: she can have a fine match with just about anyone on the roster and is completely dependable. As long as you keep her away from any microphone, character stuff or storyline, she is a rather valuable member of the roster. Good stuff here, as Ripley broke a sweat but won in the end.

Post match, Charlotte comes in to chop block Rhea and the Figure Four over the apron makes Ripley scream.

MVP preps the ladies for the VIP Lounge.

Charlotte promises to win the title.

It’s time for the VIP Lounge with a bouncing MVP saying this should be the Lashley Dome. Next week we are back on the road (which the fake fans appreciate) so here is Lashley….or at least MVP introducing him. Eventually cue a slightly disheveled Lashley to ask the women to leave. He doesn’t like what happened earlier and from now on, it is time to be serious again.

Lashley destroys the entire set, including throwing the love seat out with no trouble. Sunday is the end of Kofi Kingston, as Lashley is going to take care of him like he should have done a long time ago. Lashley leaves and MVP looks scared to end the show. This was straight fire from Lashley and one of his best promos ever.

Overall Rating: C-. This was more what I was worried about for the Money in the Bank build. It wasn’t a very interesting show and almost nothing on here was worth seeing. Instead, you got a bunch of people “building momentum”, whatever that is worth and talking, some of which was a bit better than the rest. It’s a show you really did not need to watch, though some highlights (Ricochet vs. Morrison, Lashley’s promo and maybe some Riddle shenanigans) could be a good option.

So that’s it for the Thunderdome. It was nice while it lasted but it did overstay its welcome. That being said, it was such a huge upgrade over the Performance Center that it was absolutely worth looking at all of these fake seats. Above all else, it felt like you were watching an episode of Raw without fans rather than watching a show from a closet, which made all the difference.

Results
Xavier Woods b. Bobby Lashley – Small package
Nikki Ash b. Asuka, Naomi and Alexa Bliss – Rollup to Asuka
Ivar b. AJ Styles – Seated senton
Omos b. Erik – Two handed chokeslam
Sheamus b. Humberto Carrillo – Brogue Kick
Ricochet b. John Morrison – 450 onto a ladder
Rhea Ripley b. Natalya – Riptide

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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AND

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Main Event
Date: July 8, 2021
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Kevin Patrick, Byron Saxton

Our random wrestling show of the week is back and I’m really not sure what that is going to mean. In a reversal of things that I said for years about Main Event, I’m running out of ways to say that things are different around here and that is a very good thing. I’m curious to see what we get, though it might not wind up working out. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Veer vs. Jeff Hardy

Shanky and Jinder Mahal are here with Veer. That isn’t surprising as Jeff Hardy and Shanky doesn’t have the same ring. Veer powers him into the corner to start and Jeff knocks himself down while trying a shoulder. Hardy is sent throat first into the middle rope and we’re already in the neck crank. Jeff fights up but gets taken down by the hair, which seems to be the consequences of a bad appearance choice.

The nerve hold goes on again but Hardy fights up with a sitout jawbreaker. This time Hardy’s comeback actually works, including some shots to the head but the Twist of Fate (possibly with a botch as we cut to Mahal and Shanky) is blocked. Veer sends him into the corner for some running clotheslines and the baseball clothesline finishes at 4:31.

Rating: C-. They’re doing a nice enough job of making Veer feel like a monster, but then you remember that he is (at least currently) little more than Mahal’s lackey. That could go in a few different directions, but odds are it winds up being nothing more than another Mahal push, because of course that is what it is going to wind up being. As for Hardy….egads it’s still weird to see him like this.

We look back at Edge returning to challenge Roman Reigns. This still isn’t working.

From Smackdown.

Here is Jimmy Uso to call Edge out. Cue Edge, who asks Jimmy if he gets what is going on. Jimmy is doing everything Roman Reigns wants, because he is Reigns’ b****. Yeah this is a trap, but it’s a trap for Jimmy. Edge goes to the ring and the fight is on, with Edge sending him shoulder first into the post twice in a row. Jimmy is back with a superkick and a ram into the steps, followed by a bunch of right hands. A big boot cuts Jimmy off and it’s a crossface (with a sleeper for a change) to make him tap. Edge grabs a piece of chair for the regular Crossface to mimic the Wrestlemania photo from earlier to end the show.

From Raw.

Nikki Cross/Alexa Bliss/Asuka/Naomi vs. Eva Marie/Doudrop/Shayna Baszler/Nia Jax

Oh boy. First of all, it has gone from Nikki Cross to Nikki ASH to Almost A Superhero Nikki Cross. Second, this could be an all time train wreck. Reginald is here too because you just need nine people here for a match. Doudrop and Naomi start but Eva tags herself in and actually drives Naomi into the corner. A single forearm sends Naomi into the corner and it’s already back to Doudrop. Naomi kicks Doudrop to the floor and hits the dive onto everyone else.

The parade of dives is on until Eva is left alone in the ring. Bliss comes in and screams her to the floor as we take a break. Back with Bliss forearming Doudrop but getting headbutted down for her efforts. Jax comes in to hammer on Asuka and it’s off to Baszler to work on the leg. That doesn’t last long so Bliss channels Reginald, with Baszler breaking things up. Eva comes in, ducks a kick from Asuka, and hands it back to Baszler again. Everything breaks down with Nikki’s top rope splash connecting for two, only to have Jax (Nikki Jax according to Smith) Samoan drop her for the pin at 12:24.

Rating: D-. There were botches, there were timing issues, there were too many people involved at once and none of them were interesting, plus Cross loses so NIA JAX can get some momentum? This division is in a complete nose dive and feels so silly most of the time these days. It’s turning into the Divas Era where most of the women are either goofy or horrible in the ring and that’s a scary thought. It’s also very disappointing, though I really don’t think WWE cares.

Angel Garza vs. Shelton Benjamin

Benjamin grabs a headlock to start but gets armdragged down for an early standoff. This time Shelton tries wrestling him down to some better success, only to have Garza slip out again for another reset. It’s Garza’s turn as he hiptosses Benjamin down, leaving him rather stunned. Benjamin is back up and sends him over the top to the floor as we take a break.

Back with Benjamin running him over and grabbing a half camel clutch. With that not working, Benjamin grabs a snap suplex for two. The reverse chinlock goes on, with the reverse being dropped in a hurry. Garza fights up and hits a kick to the head but Benjamin rolls through a rather high crossbody. A whip into the corner has Benjamin in trouble though and the delayed Lionsault is good for the pin at 9:15.

Rating: C. As usual the formula of taking a pair of talented wrestlers and giving them some time works out well for everyone involved. This wasn’t a great match, but it was something fresh and that is often welcome. I could go for more from Garza and Benjamin is still good for putting someone over. It’s a perfectly nice match and that there are far worse ways to fill in about ten minutes.

We look back at Kofi Kingston’s rather good argument with MVP, setting up this week’s main event.

From Raw.

New Day vs. MVP/Bobby Lashley

MVP works on Xavier Woods’ arm to start and then powers him down without much effort. Woods goes after MVP’s recently healed knee though and hammers away on the mat. Kofi Kingston comes in off the top with a shot to the knee and then slaps on a hammerlock. That doesn’t last long so Lashley comes in to unload on Kingston in the corner.

A neckbreaker gives Lashley two but Kingston slips power of a powerslam and kicks him in the face. Lashley isn’t having that and pounds Kingston down in the corner, allowing MVP to come back in for some right hands of his own. Kingston knees his way out of a delayed vertical suplex though and it’s into the corner for a short form Unicorn Stampede.

New Day sends them outside for the big dives and we take a break. Back with Lashley snapping off a suplex to Woods, setting up an armbar. MVP comes in to work on the arm as well but Woods shoves him away without much effort. If’s back to Kofi to clean house, including a Ballin Boom Drop to MVP. Everything breaks down with Lashley being knocked outside, allowing Trouble in Paradise to finish MVP at 14:36.

Rating: C-. This felt like a house show main event and I believe it is the match that was advertised for the house show main event when things come back later this month. The match itself was a fine way to get Kingston ready for the title match, but it wasn’t exactly something that got my interest up very high.

Overall Rating: D+. All this did was remind me of how bad Raw was this week. I know the fans being back is the big goal and that’s when things are supposed to get better, but egads people. Do we really need to waste so much time with one horrible show after another? As is almost always the case, Smackdown is watchable enough and serves as a fine show, but Raw is dreadful and makes me not even want to watch the highlights. With this as example, the lowlights might be a better way to go.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Monday Night Raw
Date: July 5, 2021
Location: Yuengling Center, Tampa, Florida
Commentators: Jimmy Smith, Byron Saxton, Corey Graves

We have two Raw’s left before both the return of fans and Money in the Bank, meaning that it is time to start kicking things into a higher gear. WWE needs some momentum on their way back into normal and I’m not sure if they know how to do that at the moment. We are also likely getting some more hard pushes towards the ladder matches so let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

We open with MizTV with Miz and John Morrison in the ring. Miz’s guests this week will be the four entrants in the men’s Money in the Bank match, starting with Morrison as you might expect. Morrison says it is time for the Aquaholics to get soaked as he becomes Senor Dinero En El Banco. This brings out Drew McIntyre to say he has been fighting back to the title since Miz cashed in Money in the Bank. McIntyre recaps the Money in the Bank concept and since the show is in Texas, it is time for McIntyre’s History Lesson. This week is about the Alamo, because he is a distant relative of Davy Crockett. Morrison: “……REALLY???”

McIntyre hopes that Morrison is wet for Money in the Bank, because McIntyre is sticking Morrison’s head inside Miz. Morrison says you can kick the ocean and all you’ll get is wet, but here is Ricochet to cut them off. Miz calls Ricochet rude and reckless and we see a clip of Ricochet’s huge dive last week. Ricochet promises to do whatever it takes to win but here is Riddle to interrupt this time.

With his foot taped up, Riddle climbs the ladder because this is the Money in the Bank edition. Riddle: “I’m really high.” He failed last week so now he is dedicating his Money in the Bank performance to Randy Orton. That’s too far for Miz, who wants to know why Orton hasn’t kicked Riddle’s head in yet. Riddle: “Because we’re best buds!” McIntyre can respect that but Miz wants Jinder Mahal to take McIntyre apart tonight. Cue AJ Styles and Omos to say last week’s triple threat shouldn’t have happened because Orton was out. But no, instead of Styles vs. McIntyre, it was a triple threat where he wasn’t pinned.

Riddle thinks AJ is really annoyed down there, hopping around like a little rabbit all nimbly bimbly like (Ricochet can barely hold it in on that one). That’s enough for Omos to shove the ladder, and Riddle, over for a crash onto the bad foot. The ladder is thrown out and it’s a big circle staredown. AJ kicks Riddle in the leg and the brawl is on with Ricochet throwing Morrison out. Omos gets clotheslined outside by McIntyre and Ricochet hits a triangle dropkick to put Morrison down again. This was your standard, long, everyone come in and chat about the match before fighting segment and it wasn’t very good.

Ricochet vs. John Morrison

Ricochet has even made this one personal by BREAKING THE DRIP STICK. Morrison gets sent into the corner to start and there’s a running clothesline to put him down. We hit the reverse chinlock with a knee in Morrison’s back but Morrison reverses into a chinlock of his own. This is so thrilling that we look at Ricochet’s big dive last week until Morrison hits a flipping neckbreaker for two. The chinlock goes on again but Ricochet fights up and sends is sent outside, with Ricochet sliding back after him.

Ricochet has to jump over Miz (in his wheelchair), only to have his hurricanrana countered into a powerbomb against the apron. We take a break and come back with Ricochet hitting a faceplant but walking into a Spanish Fly. A crucifix gives Ricochet two but he gets caught in the ropes. Morrison misses a slingshot elbow and Ricochet hits a running crossbody to take Morrison down HARD to the floor. Morrison rolls back in but Miz wheels in front of Ricochet so he can’t beat the count at 12:13.

Rating: C+. Yeah it was another countout ending but they certainly had a creative way to get there. Miz interfering to help Morrison at least helps up set that prospect for Money in the Bank, though I wouldn’t trust those two to be smart enough to make a cheese sandwich. Ricochet is only going to be in the match for the high spots, but that’s better than slumming on Main Event.

Jinder Mahal arrives on a motorcycle and talks about how he and Drew McIntyre were friends once. McIntyre was there with him when he bought this motorcycle to celebrate a WWE Championship victory. The other day, Mahal sent McIntyre a text asking if he wanted to go riding for old times’ sake. McIntyre took THREE DAYS to reply, saying he was “2 busy”. And yes he used the number 2! Tonight, Mahal is proving that he was always the better man.

Reginald comes up to Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler, saying Alexa Bliss is behind them. Bliss is nowhere to be seen, so Baszler yells at him for being a mostly grown man scared of shadows. The three walk off and of course Bliss is there now.

We look back at MVP and Kofi Kingston’s argument last week.

Last week, Nikki Ash (just go with it) pinned Shayna Baszler thanks to an Alexa Bliss distraction.

Asuka and Naomi are happy to be part of a team with Nikki Ash, but she insists that she isn’t a hero. Now she has a chance to win Money in the Bank, though the other two aren’t so thrilled with the idea. Nikki runs off for her match when Alexa Bliss comes in to say Naomi and Asuka should lower their expectations for Money In The Bank.

Nikki Cross/Alexa Bliss/Asuka/Naomi vs. Eva Marie/Doudrop/Shayna Baszler/Nia Jax

Oh boy. First of all, it has gone from Nikki Cross to Nikki ASH to Almost A Superhero Nikki Cross. Second, this could be an all time train wreck. Reginald is here too because you just need nine people here for a match. Doudrop and Naomi start but Eva tags herself in and actually drives Naomi into the corner. A single forearm sends Naomi into the corner and it’s already back to Doudrop. Naomi kicks Doudrop to the floor and hits the dive onto everyone else.

The parade of dives is on until Eva is left alone in the ring. Bliss comes in and screams her to the floor as we take a break. Back with Bliss forearming Doudrop but getting headbutted down for her efforts. Jax comes in to hammer on Asuka and it’s off to Baszler to work on the leg. That doesn’t last long so Bliss channels Reginald, with Baszler breaking things up. Eva comes in, ducks a kick from Asuka, and hands it back to Baszler again. Everything breaks down with Nikki’s top rope splash connecting for two, only to have Jax (Nikki Jax according to Smith) Samoan drop her for the pin at 12:24.

Rating: D-. There were botches, there were timing issues, there were too many people involved at once and none of them were interesting, plus Cross loses so NIA JAX can get some momentum? This division is in a complete nose dive and feels so silly most of the time these days. It’s turning into the Divas Era where most of the women are either goofy or horrible in the ring and that’s a scary thought. It’s also very disappointing, though I really don’t think WWE cares.

MVP isn’t sure how Kevin Patrick keeps getting into his dressing room but promises to take out New Day tonight. Bobby Lashley promises to do the same.

Mustafa Ali vs. Mansoor

Ali takes him down with an armbar to start, including some trash talk, but Mansoor is right back up. A spinebuster out of the corner gives Mansoor two and he whips Ali into the ropes, with Ali’s foot getting tied up. Mansoor helps him out….and gets rolled up for the fast pin at 2:54. Ali: “I TOLD YOU! THE HIGH ROAD WILL ONLY GET YOU SO FAR!!!”

Drew McIntyre explains that his sword is made from the Loch Ness Monster’s tooth and a great story talks about how a warrior will use it….to beat Jinder Mahal and go on to Money in the Bank in Fort Worth, Texas.

Drew McIntyre vs. Jinder Mahal

Veer and Shanky are here with Mahal. McIntyre drives him into the corner to start and hits a running shoulder to drop Mahal. Another shoulder does it again and McIntyre runs him over a third time, setting up a release overhead belly to belly to the floor. The goons offer a distraction though and Mahal drops McIntyre onto the announcers’ table as we take a break. Back with Mahal holding a chinlock but McIntyre is right back up with another suplex. There’s a nip up into a 3MB reference and Futureshock plants Mahal again. The Claymore is loaded up so Veer and Shanky come in for the DQ at 10:13.

Rating: D+. Yep, he’s still Mahal and he has some enhanced Singh Twins. That’s not a good sign for what we’re going to be seeing in the future but WWE loves Mahal and we’re getting him no matter what. I hope this isn’t the start of some kind of a story but it feels like exactly what we’re getting.

Post match the beatdown is on….and Mahal steals McIntyre’s sword because this is continuing.

New Day is ready to fight Bobby Lashley and MVP because they are not going to stay down. What matters is getting to Money in the Bank and seeing the fans’ pleasure at watching Kofi Kingston becoming WWE Champion. Kingston channels Kevin Garnett by shouting ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE and says after Money in the Bank, MVP and Lashley can take some vacations because they won’t have those championship responsibilities.

Mace/T-Bar vs. Lucha House Party

Lince Dorado is in a Kane inspired mask. Dorado hammers on T-Bar to start and snaps off a running hurricanrana. T-Bar catches a high crossbody without much trouble though and Dorado is sent outside. Mace sends him into the announcers’ table, setting up a heck of a big boot from T-Bar back inside. Gran Metalik saves Dorado from High Justice though and hits a step up dive to drop T-Bar on the floor. Back in and a hurricanrana finishes Mace at 3:35.

Rating: D+. What even is this show anymore? I’m not sure what WWE thinks of Mace and T-Bar, but losing to Lucha House Party is not a good sign for their future. This was another short and not awful match, but it does not exactly seem like something that is going to be leading anywhere.

Riddle checks on his foot but Damian Priest interrupts. Priest is worried about Riddle’s foot but Riddle says he has fallen off higher things than that. One time he dive off a roof and broke his foot diving into a pool. Priest: “That’s rough. Not sure what it has to do with tonight.” Riddle isn’t done though because he did it again the next year and landed in the deep end. He isn’t scared of ladders and he’ll win tonight. For Randy Orton.

AJ Styles vs. Riddle

Omos is here with Styles, who goes straight for Riddle’s injured foot. An armbar attempt sends Styles bailing to the ropes so he takes the foot out all over again. Cranking ensues but Riddle is back up, meaning it’s another shot to the foot to take him back down. Riddle hits a jumping kick to the chest and hammers Styles down in the corner for a bit of a surprise. A gutwrench suplex drops Styles again but Omos sweeps the leg to take over.

We take a break and come back with Styles grabbing an ankle lock. The Calf Crusher is broken up though and Riddle blasts him with a knee. The Broton gives Riddle two but Styles is back up with something like a reverse Death Valley Driver for two. Then the Viking Raiders pop up to distract Omos and Styles, allowing Riddle to grab a rollup for the pin at 13:01 (though Styles’ shoulder was very close to being up in time).

Rating: C. This match had the most potential of anything announced tonight and this is the best they can do? I get that it’s just a Money in the Bank momentum match, but the ending felt like it was stapled on, which was about as good as you would expect. They were rolling until then but the legs being cut off like that didn’t help things.

Here is Charlotte, on a crutch after getting chop blocked by Rhea Ripley last week. She talks about the NBA Playoffs being ruined because of all of the injuries, and now she might miss Money in the Bank. Ripley must be scared because she is trying to hurt hurt in advance and that is exactly what Charlotte would do. Cue Ripley with a crutch of her own (Charlotte: “You’re taking my entrance too?”) and it’s time for a crutch fight. Charlotte knocks Rhea’s away but Ripley gets it back and sends Charlotte running (with the knee looking fine). I guess that counts as Ripley outsmarting her?

Cedric Alexander/Elias vs. Jaxson Ryker/R-Truth

Hold on though as 24/7 Champion Akira Tozawa runs into the ring so Truth can roll him up for two, with the usual gang of imbeciles chasing after him. Truth joins the chase and that means a handicap match. Ryker throws Alexander around to start and it’s off to Elias…..who runs off. The swinging Boss Man Slam finishes Cedric at 1:03.

Bobby Lashley is warming up.

Next week: Ricochet vs. John Morrison falls count anywhere and Sheamus defends the US Title against Humberto Carrillo.

In two weeks: the Viking Raiders get their Tag Team Title shot against AJ Styles and Omos.

New Day vs. MVP/Bobby Lashley

MVP works on Xavier Woods’ arm to start and then powers him down without much effort. Woods goes after MVP’s recently healed knee though and hammers away on the mat. Kofi Kingston comes in off the top with a shot to the knee and then slaps on a hammerlock. That doesn’t last long so Lashley comes in to unload on Kingston in the corner.

A neckbreaker gives Lashley two but Kingston slips power of a powerslam and kicks him in the face. Lashley isn’t having that and pounds Kingston down in the corner, allowing MVP to come back in for some right hands of his own. Kingston knees his way out of a delayed vertical suplex though and it’s into the corner for a short form Unicorn Stampede.

New Day sends them outside for the big dives and we take a break. Back with Lashley snapping off a suplex to Woods, setting up an armbar. MVP comes in to work on the arm as well but Woods shoves him away without much effort. If’s back to Kofi to clean house, including a Ballin Boom Drop to MVP. Everything breaks down with Lashley being knocked outside, allowing Trouble in Paradise to finish MVP at 14:36.

Rating: C-. This felt like a house show main event and I believe it is the match that was advertised for the house show main event when things come back later this month. The match itself was a fine way to get Kingston ready for the title match, but it wasn’t exactly something that got my interest up very high.

Overall Rating: D-. The opener was pretty good, AJ vs. Riddle was ok and the main event was acceptable. The rest of the show on the other hand was what happens when Raw does not try. WWE has made it clear that NOTHING matters until they get the fans back next week, which made this show feel even more pointless than usual. As bad as this was, that has me terrified for next week, which could be an even bigger chore to sit through.

I can handle bad shows and bad ideas, but the worst thing is when it feels like no one cares. That is what we had here, and it made for one of the worst shows I have sat through in a good while. Outside of the eight woman tag, nothing was overly terrible, but it felt like a show where most of the stories and segments were there because they had to be, and that is an awful feeling.

All night long, the message this show went was that what you’re watching doesn’t matter and keep waiting until next week. That’s fine in theory, but based on this show, I have no reason to believe that anything is going to be getting better in the near future. WWE, at least Raw, is just so bad right now and there is nothing to suggest that it is improving. What on here is supposed to make me want to keep watching? The scary part is I think WWE believes everything is supposed to, and that isn’t going to improve things.

Results
John Morrison b. Ricochet via countout
Nia Jax/Eva Marie/Shayna Baszler/Doudrop b. Nikki Cross/Asuka/Naomi/Alexa Bliss – Samoan drop to Cross
Mustafa Ali b. Mansoor – Rollup
Drew McIntyre b. Jinder Mahal via DQ when Veer and Shanky interfered
Lucha House Party b. Mace/T-Bar – Hurricanrana to Mace
Riddle b. AJ Styles
Jaxson Ryker/R-Truth b. Elias/Cedric Alexander – Swinging Boss Man Slam to Alexander
New Day b. MVP/Bobby Lashley – Trouble in Paradise to MVP

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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AND

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Main Event
Date: June 24, 2021
Location: Yuengling Center, Tampa, Florida
Commentators: Kevin Patrick, Byron Saxton

It’s back to the land of random as this show continues to be all over the place. You never know what you’re going to see around here and I can’t believe I’m saying this after watching this show for so many years. I’m not sure what to expect this week and I like that feeling. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Bronson Reed vs. Drew Gulak

Non-title and it must be time to get ready for the Draft. Gulak can’t do much with the huge Reed to start as he gets thrown down a few times. Reed lifts him up for a piledriver and then throws him down instead. There’s a rather heavy headlock to set up a knockdown into a backsplash as it’s all Reed so far.

Gulak’s trip to the floor lets him snap Reed’s arm across the top but an Irish whip doesn’t work. Another shot to the arm works a bit better but Reed calmly gorilla presses him. Gulak jawbreaks his way to freedom and starts in on the arm again, only to have Reed crush him. A suplex into a Death Valley Driver sets up the Tsunami (needs more Wade Barrett) to finish Gulak at 4:15.

Rating: C. This was the kind of a match that you need to have to make Reed look good. He felt like a monster with the Tsunami looking like the great finisher that it needs to be. It wasn’t a great match, but this felt a lot more like it was there to give the bosses something to see, which isn’t going to be the biggest problem on a show like Main Event.

We recap Roman Reigns vs. Rey/Dominik Mysterio.

From Smackdown.

Universal Title: Roman Reigns vs. Rey Mysterio

Reigns is defending inside the Cell. Rey grabs a chair to start and knocks Reigns down, setting up a fire extinguisher blast to the face. A toolbox off the head knocks Reigns silly again and we take a break. Back with Rey wrapping a chair around Reigns’ throat and sending it into the Cell wall. That isn’t enough as Rey sends the chair into the post as well, leaving Reigns reeling even more.

Rey sets up a table and avoids a spear to send Reigns through it, but a hurricanrana is countered into a swing into the Cell. Reigns tosses him face first into the Cell and we take another break. Back with Reigns firing off knees in the corner and nailing the Superman Punch (Heyman: “HE’S GOING TO ACKNOWLEDGE YOU!!!”).

The spear is cut off with a dropkick though and a 619 connects in the corner. Some chair shots to the back and arm have Reigns down again and the frog splash onto the chair onto Reigns connects….but Rey can’t cover. Rey adds another splash just onto Reigns for two but a top rope hurricanrana is countered into a toss powerbomb over the top and into the Cell (well that was awesome). Back in and Reigns grabs a choke to make Rey tap at 16:02.

Rating: B. It was hard hitting and violent with the frog splash being a nice near fall and that toss powerbomb looking awesome. Reigns wasn’t going to lose here but it was a little more dramatic than I was expecting. It’s not like Mysterio is going to be hurt in something like this either, though I’m still not sure if it needed to be inside the Cell. Heck of a TV main event though, and it would have been fine on pay per view as well.

Post match Jimmy Uso comes out to acknowledge Reigns. That’s not enough for Reigns, who chokes Mysterio out again. Reigns: “HAPPY FATHER’S DAY!”

From Raw.

Here are Adam Pearce and Sonya Deville to deal with the Rhea Ripley/Charlotte fallout. Ripley comes out and wants to know why that was a DQ, but here is Charlotte to promise to destroy Ripley soon. Deville gets to the point and makes the rematch for Money in the Bank. They kept this really short here and there wasn’t much of a reason not to.

Video on Karrion Kross.

Karrion Kross vs. Shelton Benjamin

Non-title and Kross’ entrance is completely stripped down to just a fire background and music with no Scarlett. They go with an aggressive fight over a lockup to start with neither being able to get very far. Benjamin takes him down with a waistlock but Kross fights up to pummel him into the corner. An elbow to the back lets Kross talk trash but Benjamin is right back up. That doesn’t last long as Kross sends him into the corner, only to come back with a neckbreaker.

A Cactus Clothesline puts them both on the floor and we take a break. Back with Kross hitting a running clothesline for two and choking on the rope. We hit the armbar but Benjamin grabs an armdrag to escape. That just seems to annoy Kross but Shelton hits a quick Stinger Splash. Kross is ticked though and snaps off a suplex, only to get caught in the Dragon Whip for two. That’s too far for Kross, who pulls him into the Krossjacket Choke for the win at 8:03.

Rating: C. I’m not as sure on this one as Kross was going 50/50, albeit against a firmly established name like Benjamin. Kross popping up after everything Benjamin did worked out well enough. It wasn’t a great showcase, but I can live without Kross squashing Benjamin. This was another way to get Kross some time in front of the bosses and it could have been a lot worse.

From Raw.

Here are Bobby Lashley and MVP, flanked by his latest group of women, for the VIP Lounge. MVP brags about Lashley retaining and hands him the floor. Lashley says he was pushed to his limit last night but proved that he is still the Almighty. They brag about their win and load up a toast but here is the New Day to interrupt, complete with a plate of toast. Said toast is thrown into the ring, prompting MVP to talk about how this is more proof of what goofs these two are.

MVP accuses Kofi Kingston of not taking things seriously and hanging out with his video game obsessed friend. Kofi says not so fast but Lashley talks about being on a higher level than the two of them. That makes Kofi laugh as he talks about becoming WWE Champion at Wrestlemania XXXV and then beating Lashley last week. We see a clip of said loss and Lashley isn’t cool with that. The challenge is on Lashley accepts for Money in the Bank, but he wants to make sure it’s one on one. Therefore, he can beat up Xavier Woods tonight.

That’s cool with Woods, who cuts off MVP from talking down to him. Woods runs down his own accolades, which mainly include being on YouTube and G4. Oh and let’s make tonight’s match inside the Cell. I’m surprised they didn’t put a USA NETWORK APPROVED sticker on the screen, as that could not be more of WWE appeasing them over FOX getting a Cell match if they tried.

We take a rapid fire look at the Money in the Bank qualifiers.

From Raw.

Bobby Lashley vs. Xavier Woods

Non-title with MVP and Kofi Kingston here as well. Woods tries to start fast but gets powered out to the floor. That means it’s time for a chair, which Lashley punches into Woods’ face. The running charge hits the post though and Woods is able to dropkick Lashley into the Cell twice in a row. A running chair shot drops Lashley again and we take a break.

Back with Lashley hammering away until Woods misses a charge and falls out to the floor. Woods’ charge lets Lashley tie him in the ring skirt though and the beating is on again. Lashley stops to yell at Kofi though and Woods gets back inside. A forearm to the leg cuts Lashley down for a second and Woods gets in a hard kendo stick shot. Woods gets in more shots with the stick on the floor and a victory roll faceplant is good for two back inside.

A tornado DDT gives Woods two more so he sets up a table. Lashley’s quick powerbomb attempt is broken up and a superkick puts him on said table. The rope walk elbow sends Lashley through the table for two (with Woods almost overshooting him) but Lashley sends him face first into a chair in the corner. The spear sets up the Hurt Lock to finish Woods at 13:37.

Rating: C+. This was another match that didn’t need to be in the Cell as it was little more than a street fight for the most part. The fact that it was the fourth match in the Cell in four days didn’t help either, but I would bet on this being a way to appease USA more than anything else. There was never any doubt here and that’s ok, as Woods got to look good for a bit.

Post match the beating stays on with MVP getting inside the Cell and locking it back. Lashley puts Woods up against the Cell as Kofi can’t do anything to end the show. That was an effective use of the Cell for a change, though I’m not sure why Kofi didn’t get the referee to unlock the door again.

Overall Rating: C. I’m trying to get my head around two of the biggest names in NXT being on this show but that does keep things looking better for Main Event going forward. The matches were nothing to see, but that wasn’t the point around here. For once it was about the original wrestling, which says a lot when you had two matches inside the Cell on here.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Monday Night Raw
Date: June 28, 2021
Location: Yuengling Center, Tampa, Florida
Commentators: Jimmy Smith, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton

We’ll wrap up the first half of the year as we are on the way towards the Money In The Bank. A lot of the spots have already been filled in and this week we are finishing up the Raw’s men’s qualifiers with a triple threat match. I’ll take that over the building momentum matches so let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Adam Pearce and Sonya Deville tell us that Randy Orton is out of the triple threat match for reasons beyond WWE’s control. Therefore we are going to have a battle royal for the spot….but here is Riddle with a (football shaped) letter from Orton, saying Riddle should get the spot. The bosses think Riddle wrote the letter, mainly because most of these words aren’t real and there is a viper drawn in the corner. Riddle offers to wrestle on Orton’s behalf and giving Orton the spot if he wins. Deal.

Battle Royal

Riddle, Erik, Ivar, Jinder Mahal, Angel Garza, R-Truth, Mustafa Ali, Drew Gulak, Akira Tozawa, Damian Priest, Jeff Hardy, Cedric Alexander, Mansoor, Shelton Benjamin, Humberto Carrillo

Only Riddle gets an entrance and it is good to see Priest back in the ring. Gulak is out early (duh) and Cedric does his best Road Dogg impression by wrapping all four limbs around the bottom rope. Mahal dumps Benjamin and Mansoor throws Garza over, but Garza lands on one foot and hops around to get back in. Garza goes to eliminated Mansoor but Ali makes the save and dumps Garza instead. Then, as you might have expected, Ali tosses Mansoor.

The eliminations are teased among everyone else until Mahal tosses Truth. Mahal sends Tozawa out as well in a scary landing, allowing Gulak to steal the 24/7 Title. Then Truth gets it back from Truth and Tozawa takes it from him because this is still a thing. Cue Omos to pull both of the Vikings out and then beat them up as we take a break. Back with Hardy, Priest, Mahal, Riddle and Cedric still in.

That means a Priest vs. Mahal slugout with Priest kicking him out in a bit of a surprise. Cedric reverses a Twist of Fate and tosses Hardy out, setting up a lot of trash talking. Priest gets rid of Cedric and Priest starts striking away, only to get German suplexed down. The Bromission goes on but Priest sends him to the apron for the break. Riddle hangs on and grabs it again but Priest gets back inside. They fight to the apron again and this time Riddle knocks him out for the win at 14:48.

Rating: C-. They kept it fast paced enough here and moved some stories forward, but it’s rather tricky to rate these things. That being said, this was a battle royal for a spot in a match to determine a future shot at a champion at any time, with a wrestler appearing in another wrestler’s place. That should be enough to downgrade it a bit.

Riddle demands Randy Orton’s music be played.

Video on Shayna Baszler vs. Alexa Bliss.

Shayna Baszler is shuffling a deck of cards (there is a Shayna Baszler Queen Of Spades deck but it’s not them) when Nia Jax and Reginald come in to mock her for it. Baszler says it keeps her from hitting people in the face but now she needs to deal with Alexa Bliss and the doll. They all leave and Bliss is watching.

AJ Styles is ready for Riddle and doesn’t like the suggestion that Omos cheated the Viking Raiders in the battle royal.

Nikki Cross loves being a superhero and is so glad that she is in Money in the Bank. She is one win away from being a superhero, making her Nikki ASH: Almost A Superhero. There’s your reference to the released WWE writer.

Nikki Cross vs. Shayna Baszler

Reginald and Nia Jax are here too. Cross starts fast with a crossbody but Shayna sends her hard into the corner to take over. Cue Alexa Bliss for a distraction though and Cross dives onto everyone as we take a break. Back with Shayna kicking the knee out and hitting a gutwrench faceplant for two. A running knee in the corner connects but a Bliss distraction lets Cross hit a tornado DDT. Jax goes over to glare at Bliss, who starts mind controlling her. Reginald breaks it up so Bliss kicks Jax in the leg and gives Reginald a low blow before leaving. The distraction rollup gives Baszler two so Cross grabs la majistral for the pin at 9:42.

Rating: D+. Another match where they got their weird supernatural deal in and moved on, all while making sure to turn Baszler into even more of a lower. I like the idea of Cross winning something for a change, but egads man. What did Baszler ever do to deserve losing so much in this horrible angle?

We look back at Bobby Lashley destroying Xavier Woods last week.

Here is Kofi Kingston for a chat. Last week, his best friend Xavier Woods was locked in the Cell with Bobby Lashley and put in everything he had, like he always does. Woods showed he can hang at that level and he should get the respect he deserves. Kofi was forced to watch Woods in the Hurt Lock from outside the Cell and now it is time for some revenge.

Cue MVP, with Lashley’s women, to laugh off the idea that Kingston is going to be able to beat Lashley. Kingston thinks Lashley is going soft though, and that is coming from a unicorn wearing, pancake tossing hip swiveler. MVP had to save Lashley from losing the title a few weeks back and Kingston knows he can win. Every week, a layer is stripped away from Lashley and by the time we get to Money in the Bank, Lashley might look like MVP.

Kingston talks about never taking time off as WWE Champion, including taking the title to his hometown in Ghana to show that anything is possible. MVP has Lashley on vacation and taking days off and someone is going to take the title from him. That is going to be Kingston at Money in the Bank. MVP thinks Kingston did all that stuff to feed his own ego and is sounding as confident as Woods did last week.

Kingston says Woods is going to be back next week and thinks MVP has been milking his knee injury for the better part of six months. MVP says he isn’t cleared for combat or else he would take Kingston down. That’s enough for Kingston to go to the floor and, after ducking a cane shot, hit Trouble In Paradise. That’s a bit aggressive over someone not medically cleared.

We recap Doudrop turning on Eva Marie last week.

Eva Marie says Doudrop made a mistake last week so tonight it’s a rematch so the Eva-Lution can continue. Doudrop looks annoyed.

Asuka/Naomi vs. Doudrop/Eva Marie

Doudrop plants Naomi to start but misses a backsplash, allowing the tag off to Asuka. That means a missile dropkick into the corner and a kick to the face staggers Doudrop again. The Asuka Lock goes on but Doudrop walks over for the tag to Eva…who drops to the mat. Asuka goes after Doudrop but gets knocked down. Naomi gets the same and it’s a seated crossbody to give Doudrop the pin on Asuka at 2:19.

Eva Marie claims victory and Doudrop isn’t happy.

Miz and John Morrison talk Money in the Bank cashing in strategy. Ricochet comes in to say not so fast and steals the Drip Stick to spray them down.

Ricochet vs. John Morrison

Miz is on commentary as Ricochet blocks a kick to start and hits a slam. Morrison takes him down into an armbar but Ricochet fights up and kicks him to the floor. The baseball slide hits but Ricochet can’t bring himself to hit Miz. Instead Ricochet dives over said chair and hurricanranas Morrison, setting up a Drip Stick blast to Miz.

We take a break and come back with Ricochet striking away, including a knee to Morrison’s chin. A dolling Death Valley Driver and a basement clothesline get two on Morrison but Morrison is back with a knee to the face for the same. Starship Pain misses and Ricochet knocks him to the floor, with Morrison bailing over the barricade to avoid a dive. Morrison sits on the barricade so Ricochet hits a dive for a crazy disappearing crash. They’re both done and that’s a double countout at 10:04.

Rating: C+. The ending alone deserves a boost as those two disappeared over that barricade. That being said, this was the same thing that WWE does every year with the Money in the Bank participants: nothing matches which change nothing for the pay per view, which will reset everything and ignore what has happened in the previous few weeks.

We look at Charlotte beating Rhea Ripley via DQ at Hell In A Cell.

Charlotte talks about how she and Natalya and Tamina know what is expected from them.

Charlotte/Natalya/Tamina vs. Mandy Rose/Dana Brooke/Rhea Ripley

Hold on though as a huge brawl breaks out before the bell. Everyone fights on the floor and we take a break before the match starts. Dana headscissors Natalya to start but gets sent outside where Tamina offers a distraction. Charlotte gets in a shot to the back of the head of her own, allowing her to hit a cheap shot on Ripley. Back in and the beating continues, with Tamina stomping away in the corner.

Charlotte goes after the ribs but a slam is reversed into a cradle for two. The kickout sends Brooke into the corner for the tag to Ripley though and it’s time to pick up the pace. Natalya comes in and gets kicked in the head as everything breaks down. Mandy slips out of a pair of Sharpshooter attempt but Charlotte makes a blind tag. The big boot to the jaw finishes Mandy at 5:33.

Rating: D+. The pre-match brawl was good but things go downhill as soon as the bell rings. There is only so much you can do with a couple of losers like Rose and Brooke and that was apparent here. I’m sure they’ll get some fluke win and that’s going to be enough for the title match, but it isn’t like they have done anything to make the build work.

Post match Charlotte poses but Rhea chop blocks her. Charlotte is limping.

Jaxson Ryker whips himself as the 24/7 goofs come in. R-Truth stops to ask if Ryker hates himself or something. Ryker explains the idea of his strap match with Elias and says he is exploring the ways to inflict the most pain. Truth: “Thank you for sharing man.” He asks if can borrow the strap after the match so he can lasso Akira Tozawa. Ryker keeps whipping himself and Truth runs off. Your new Raw star people.

Elias vs. Jaxson Ryker

Strap match and Elias jumps him before the bell. Ryker gets tied over the post so Elias can pull him up by his arms for some pain. Back in and Elias hits a jumping knee to knock Ryker out of the air for two. That’s enough to fire Ryker back up though and a few whips set up the swinging Boss Man Slam for the pin at 3:31.

Rating: D. So yeah the push continues as Ryker’s entire deal seems to be that he’s really serious and intense. The strap added a few spots here but these rather short gimmick matches are always kind of hard to take. Pretty much nothing to see in this one, but Ryker is probably going to be pushed pretty hard going forward.

Riddle, channeling Randy Orton, is warming up when Damian Priest comes up to give him a pep talk. After a Burger King plug, Riddle holds out his hand to do the lock and key deal, but when Priest doesn’t get it, Riddle admits that he isn’t Orton. Priest knew, and wishes him luck.

Drew McIntyre talks about how tonight’s triple threat match is like the Scots vs. the English vs. the Irish. They were all fighting once (Drew: “I can’t remember why.”) and tonight he is going to win. I’m not sure if I like these history lessons or not but they’re energized.

Money In The Bank Qualifying Match: Drew McIntyre vs. Riddle vs. AJ Styles

Omos is here with Styles and if Riddle wins, Randy Orton gets the spot. McIntyre starts fast with the overhead belly to belly suplexes, followed by the crazy high backdrop to Styles. It’s too early for the Claymore so they go outside, where McIntyre loads up a powerbomb onto the announcers’ table. Riddle dives out of the air to break that up but Styles posts both of them to take over. Styles and Riddle fight to suplex the other through the announcers’ table until Riddle settles for one on the floor.

Back up and an enziguri drops McIntyre, allowing Riddle and Styles to slam him through the announcers’ table. We take a break and come back with Styles working on Riddle’s leg but wisely going outside to stomp on the still down McIntyre. Back in and a half crab has Riddle in trouble, with Styles being smart enough to keep it on when Riddle makes the rope. A brainbuster gives AJ two but Riddle is back up with a hanging DDT. The RKO is loaded up but AJ is back with something close to a Burning Hammer for two.

McIntyre is back in though and gets rid of AJ, setting up the reverse Alabama Slam to Riddle. The Claymore misses though and Riddle dumps McIntyre out to the floor. Riddle is back up with a penalty kick to each of them and the springboard Floating Bro hits both of them for a big crash. Some kicks to the chest have Styles and McIntyre down again but Styles sends a kick into the steps.

Riddle thinks his (bare) foot is broken so it’s time for some medics to take him out. We come back from another break with Riddle gone and McIntyre possibly tweaking his knee. A neckbreaker takes Styles down but he slips out of a superplex attempt. The fireman’s carry neckbreaker gets two, as does a Michinoku Driver to Styles.

A quick Calf Crusher has McIntyre in trouble but here is Riddle with a taped up ankle for the Bromission to break things up. AJ goes for the ankle for the save but McIntyre is back up. An enziguri, with the bad foot, drops McIntyre to the floor and Riddle jumping knees AJ out of the air. The RKO hits Styles but Omos pulls him out at two. The Claymore gives McIntyre the pin on Riddle at 26:41.

Rating: B-. This was really long and the ending was a bit disappointing, but at least they had some solid action to fill in a large chunk of the show. Riddle fighting for his best friend is a good story and I could go for more of that in the future, though I don’t think Orton is going to be overly happy with his partner taking the fall. Good main event overall, but they could have chopped it down a bit.

Overall Rating: C-. The main event bailed out a good bit of this show but the warm streak came to an abrupt halt here. A lot of these matches were pretty dry or had annoying results (again, mainly the women’s division, which has fallen off a cliff in recent weeks, and it is still not the wrestlers’ fault) and a lot of this felt like filler instead of building to the pay per view. That is where this season starts to get hard to watch and you could feel it starting here. It wasn’t the worst (the lack of Lily continues to help a lot) but it was also not a show that you needed to see.

Results
Riddle won a battle royal last eliminating Damian Priest
Nikki Cross b. Shayna Baszler – La majistral
Doudrop/Eva Marie b. Asuka/Naomi – Running crossbody to Asuka
Ricochet vs. John Morrison went to a double countout
Charlotte/Tamina/Natalya b. Mandy Rose/Dana Brooke/Rhea Ripley – Big boot to Rose
Jaxson Ryker b. Elias – Swinging Boss Man Slam
Drew McIntyre b. Riddle and AJ Styles – Claymore to Riddle

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