Monday Night Raw
Date: September 27, 2021
Location: Heritage Bank Center, Cincinnati, Ohio
Commentators: Jimmy Smith, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton

We’re done with Extreme Rules and the biggest changes involve a doll and this show. First up, Charlotte destroyed Lillie the doll last night, sending Alexa Bliss into an emotional breakdown. Other than that we have a WWE Championship match set for the top of the show, because Monday Night Football is going to kill them otherwise. Let’s get to it.

Here is Extreme Rules if you need a recap.

We open with a recap of Big E. cashing in Money in the Bank to win the WWE Title, plus pinning Bobby Lashley again last night at Extreme Rules in a six man tag. The rematch is set for tonight.

WWE Title: Big E. vs. Bobby Lashley

Big E. is defending and after the Big Match Intros, we’re ready to go. Lashley powers him into the corner to start so Big E. fires off a slap to the face. That earns him a beating in the corner and a snap suplex for less than one. A clothesline puts Big E. on the floor but he snaps off a belly to belly to send us to a break. Back with Lashley hitting a Downward Spiral into a big clothesline to put Big E. in even more trouble. Lashley takes him up top but Big E. blocks the superplex.

That’s fine with Lashley, who knocks him off the top and down onto the apron for a crash instead. The double clothesline on the floor teases the double countout but they make it back inside. That means the slugout can be on but Lashley has to go to the ropes to avoid the Big Ending. The spear through the ropes drops Lashley….but here are Shelton Benjamin and Cedric Alexander in Hurt Business shirts. Lashley hits a spinebuster and seems pleased but here is New Day to go after Alexander and Benjamin. The spear cuts Big E. down as the other four fight inside for the DQ at 10:00.

Rating: C+. I’m not sure how many people expected a clean finish here so it wasn’t like it was a disappointment. Giving Big E. a DQ loss doesn’t exactly make him look great but I’m sure you are going to see something else from him later tonight. They mostly delivered a nice match though and that’s all they needed to do.

Post match the brawl is on and security comes out to break it up. Actually we’re not done as this match is happening again later tonight inside a steel cage (which they just happen to have lying around).

Erik vs. Angel Garza

Ivar and Humberto Carrillo are here too. Erik powers him around to start but gets caught in an armbar for his early efforts. That’s broken up and Garza is back with his knee to the face. Garza TAKES OFF HIS PANTS, which Carrillo teases throwing in. That brings Ivar over but the distraction lets Garza hit a superkick into the Wing Clipper for the pin at 2:01.

We recap Charlotte beating Alexa Bliss last night and destroying Lillie, plus beating up Bliss again, because it has been so long since Charlotte accomplished anything.

24/7 Title: Reggie vs. Ricochet

Reggie is defending. Feeling out process to start with Ricochet working on a wristlock but they need to trade moonsaults over each other out of the corner. Ricochet sends him outside for the big flip dive as the 24/7 goons are watching from the front row. That’s enough for them to jump the barricade and jump Reggie for the DQ at 1:20.

Post match Ricochet fights back but Drake Maverick has a walkie talkie, telling someone to do it now. Cue Akira Tozawa to go after Reggie, who escapes anyway. Note that Ricochet is the one who is a guest star but we have a continuing story involving four morons trying to catch an acrobat to win a comedy title.

Riddle is on his own tonight because Randy Orton is probably taking a week off to have some Skyline Chili. Or he needed to take a break from Riddle because he wanted to RKO him on the concrete. Riddle thinks that’s a bad idea because it could hurt Orton’s back. It’s cool though, because Riddle has his headphones with Orton’s theme song. Singing ensues.

Akira Tozawa is still in the ring and wants a match with someone.

Keith Lee vs. Akira Tozawa

Yes it’s Bearcat and it’s a splash into the Big Bang Catastrophe for the pin on Tozawa at 35 seconds.

We recap the opening match and a very serious Big E. promises to beat Bobby Lashley again, just like he did when he promised to cash in. A serious Big E. is a good Big E.

US Title: Sheamus vs. Damian Priest

Priest is defending and it’s no countout/no DQ. Why Priest needed to have his entrance before that big recap is beyond me, but letting the US Champ stand around in the ring for three minutes certainly isn’t a bad look or anything. Before the match, Sheamus says this won’t be pretty, but it will be pretty ugly as he gets the title back. They go with the power to start with Sheamus headlock takeovering him down.

Priest fights up but gets elbowed in the face to cut him off. The Broken Arrow is broken up so they head outside, where Priest hits a quick suplex. There’s a big boot and it’s already time for a table. Sheamus isn’t having that and sends Priest into the steps but the ten forearms on the apron are broken up. Instead, Sheamus hits the White Noise through the table in a big crash to send us to the break.

Back with Priest fighting out of a kendo stick choke, because White Noise off the apron through a table is just a spot. Another table is set up in the corner but Priest is back up with kendo stick shots. A chair is brought in but Priest is sent head first into it in the corner (that sounded great). Priest is back up with South of Heaven for two and they slug it out from their knees. An enziguri gives Priest two but he jumps into the jumping knee to the face for the same. The Reckoning is loaded up but Sheamus slips out, only to be sent through the table in the corner. Now the Reckoning can retain the title at 15:50.

Rating: B. This was a heck of a fight and the match they should have had last night at Extreme Rules. I’m not sure what the point was in having an extreme match on Raw when you had a regular match on the extreme pay per view. The other problem here: Sheamus, a multiple time World Champion, just hit his secondary finisher off the apron and through a table. It sent us to a break and we came back with Priest being fine. You could do an injury spot or a title change off of that, but it might not even be the biggest spot in a Raw match.

Mustafa Ali isn’t happy with Mansoor signing the two of them up for a six man tag with Jeff Hardy. Ali rants about Hardy, who pops up behind them, asking what Ali would say to them. After Ali backpedals hard, Hardy talks about how they are up against some scary monsters. He’s ready to twist their fates.

Jinder Mahal/Veer/Shanky vs. Mansoor/Mustafa Ali/Jeff Hardy

Shanky sidewalk slams Ali to start so it’s off to Mansoor, who gets elbowed by Veer. We hit the neck crank for a bit but Mansoor fights up in a hurry and brings in Jeff to clean house. Everything breaks down and Veer’s baseball lariat finishes Ali at 3:44.

Rating: D+. So yes, we really are reheating Jinder Mahal and the final form of the Singh Brothers. This hasn’t worked before and it isn’t likely to work now, but that has never stopped WWE before. Maybe focusing on Veery and Shanky would help, but I have no reason to believe that will be the case.

Karrion Kross promises to hurt people.

Karrion Kross vs. Jaxson Ryker

Kross knocks him into the corner to start and mocks Ryker’s military history. A suplex takes Ryker down but an armbar is broken up. The Doomsday Saito set up the Krossjacket to make Ryker tap at 1:37. That’s good for a smile.

Doudrop is going to answer Charlotte’s Open Challenge for a Women’s Title match.

Bobby Lashley rants about Big E. winning the title with the Money in the Bank briefcase. Tonight, he isn’t injured and he can hurt Big E. even more in a cage.

Riddle vs. AJ Styles

Riddle suplexes him down for an early two but gets hit in the face for a trip to the floor. AJ hits a sliding knee off the apron and we take a break with Riddle in trouble. Back with Riddle striking away but getting caught in a pumphandle gutbuster to cut him off. Riddle kicks him to the floor and hits a big dive to take AJ down again.

Back in and the Floating Bro is countered into a Calf Crusher (that was sweet) but Riddle slips out. The comeback is on as Riddle gets all fired up, even knocking Styles down a few times. That’s fine with AJ, who counters a running knee into a Burning Hammer (geez) into the Styles Clash for the pin at 12:10.

Rating: C+. This match right here might embody Raw’s troubles more than anything else. There is no reason for this match to happen. RKBro beat Styles and Omos for the titles and we have seen several combinations since then. It is continuing just for the sake of having matches and filling in time now. The match will be fine, but find a reason for them to fight other than “they’re fighting again”.

Post match, Omos plants Riddle again with the chokeslam.

We look back at Shayna Baszler snapping on Nia Jax and putting her on the shelf with an arm injury last week.

Shayna has no comment, but does have a nifty deck of cards.

Women’s Title: Charlotte vs. Doudrop

Charlotte is defending. Doudrop shoves her around to start and Charlotte can’t manage to slam her. The big running backsplash crushes Charlotte….and here’s Eva Marie because WWE absolutely refuses to move on from ANYTHING. Charlotte gets in a chop block and Natural Selection retains at 1:52.

Post match Eva poses over Doudrop and gets decked by Charlotte.

Goldberg (OH HERE WE GO) is back and talks about how he and Bobby Lashley are both fathers. He doesn’t know what kind of a father Lashley is but Lashley attacked Goldberg’s son at Summerslam. Now he is going to fulfill the vow he made when his son was born and hurt Lashley a lot. I’m so excited for this. It’s right up there with a bad infection.

Eva Marie is still in the ring and complains about the disrespect. She can beat anyone in the locker room so here is Shayna Baszler. The Kirifuda Clutch knocks Eva out in a hurry and the fans approve. Shayna lets go and unloads on Eva’s arm ala last week with Jax for a bonus. I could go for face Shayna.

Nikki Ash and Rhea Ripley say they have nothing in common except the titles. Nikki thinks they need matching blue gear, but Rhea says it’s a good color on Nikki only. Hey, remember when Riddle and Orton were a team who didn’t agree on anything but they worked well together and one of them was really excited about the team and wanted them to have matching gear and a wacky name but the other wasn’t interested?

WWE Title: Big E. vs. Bobby Lashley

Lashley is challenging in a cage and jumps Big E. before they’re both inside. Big E. is sent into the barricade and the cage as this is one sided before the bell. A posting makes it even worse and we take a break. Back with the bell ringing and Big E. sending him into the cage over and over. A running clothesline drops Lashley again but he’s back up with a trip into the cage wall.

The spear is countered into a hiptoss into the corner but Big E. has to fight out of a Hurt Lock attempt. Lashley settles with a suplex for two and goes up but Big E. is right up there for an attempt at a super Big Ending. That doesn’t quite work as Big E. comes back down but gets caught in a dragon sleeper over the ropes. That’s enough for Lashley to go for a climb but Big E. is back up for the save.

Big E. goes up but the Hurt Business is there to cut him off. Lashley goes for the door but here’s Xavier Woods to slam the door on his head. New Day gets rid of the Hurt Business, with Kofi hitting the trust fall off the cage onto both of them. We take a break and come back with Big E. ducking an elbow and hitting the trio of belly to belly suplexes. The spear cuts Big E. down for two though and Lashley goes for the door. That’s broken up so Lashley tells him to stay down, only to walk into the Big Ending for two. A spinebuster plants Big E. so it’s time to climb but Big E. pulls him back down with the super Big Ending to retain at 16:31.

Rating: B. This was a pair of big strong guys hitting each other very hard and that’s what it needed to be. Setting up the super Big Ending earlier and then actually doing it in the end worked well and it felt like a major victory for Big E. He needed this to solidify himself as the champion and it was a good fight that felt like a pay per view level title match.

Post match the cage is raised, but here’s Drew McIntyre to stare Big E. (who is fine with this) down to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. In something I’ve had to say far too many times over the years, there is a good two hour show in here somewhere, if you trim off a lot of the fat. By fat, I mean a lot of the repetitive stuff that has been done so many times that it doesn’t feel like it matters anymore whatsoever, such as Eva Marie vs. Doudrop, Jinder Mahal and company, the 24/7 Title, Styles/Omos vs. RKBro and probably Karrion Kross. It’s either not going to happen or it has happened so many times that there is no reason to be interested anymore.

The rest of the show did have some good moments, which tended to be when they were focusing on what the talented wrestlers can do in the ring. There were good matches and it felt like important things were happening here. The problem is there was so much other stuff that didn’t work and dragged the good down. That happens far too often on Raw, but it does seem like they are getting out of the horrible depths they had reached a few months ago. I’ll absolutely take that, but the Draft is going to change everything anyway so I’m not sure if it matters.

Results
Bobby Lashley b. Big E. via DQ when Kofi Kingston and Cedric Alexander interfered
Angel Garza b. Erik – Wing Clipper
Reggie b. Ricochet via DQ when R-Truth interfered
Keith Lee b. Akira Tozawa – Big Bang Catastrophe
Damian Priest b. Sheamus – Reckoning
Jinder Mahal/Veer/Shanky b. Jeff Hardy/Mansoor/Mustafa Ali – Baseball lariat to Ali
Karrion Kross b. Jaxson Ryker – Krossjacket
AJ Styles b. Riddle – Styles Clash
Charlotte b. Doudrop – Natural Selection
Big E. b. Bobby Lashley – Super Big Ending

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

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

Monday Night Raw
Date: September 20, 2021
Location: PNC Arena, Raleigh, North Carolina
Commentators: Jimmy Smith, Byron Saxton, Corey Graves

It’s the go home show for Extreme Rules and in theory that should mean that it is time to actually add something EXTREME to the card. It would be nice to have the show actually live up to its name, though I think you can guess what kind of stipulations we are going to be seeing. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of Big E. cashing in Money in the Bank to win the WWE Title last week.

Here is New Day to celebrate Big E.’s title win. Big E. is rather emotional as he soaks in the YOU DESERVE IT chants and says this feels like Thanksgiving to him. He is thankful for everyone who has been here chanting New Day Rocks and (and those who chanted NEW DAY SUCKS).

There are some great people here to celebrate with and one more above watching down (cue the BRODIE chants, and Big E. has to pause for a second). As for tonight though, it is time for some business because the New Day has to deal with the Bloodline. This is their show though and they will send Bloodline packing, because…..and they take so long loading up the catchphrase that the Bloodline cuts it off.

Bloodline vs. New Day

Kofi and Jimmy start things off with Roman Reigns pausing to point at the ceiling a lot. Jimmy gets snapmared down and Kofi adds a running kick to the chest, setting up Woods’ middle rope elbow for two. It’s time to start in on the arm but it’s off to Jey in a hurry. Kofi makes a blind tag though and springboards in with a high crossbody for two of his own. Reigns is sick of this though and pulls Kofi outside for rams into the announcers’ table and the post.

A big staredown takes us to a break and we come back with Kofi crawling for the tag but Jimmy knocks Woods off the apron. Kofi gets sent into the corner but runs up the buckles for a spinning top rope dropkick. The double tag brings in Reigns and Big E. for the heavyweight showdown. Overhead belly to belly suplexes send Reigns flying and a regular belly to belly drops him again. Big E. has to get rid of Jey though and Reigns is back up with a release Rock Bottom.

The Superman Punch is countered into another belly to belly but Reigns slips out of the Big Ending. It’s back to Woods as Big E. tosses Kofi onto the Usos but Reigns is back up with the Superman Punch. Woods superkicks Reigns for two but here is Bobby Lashley to take out a lot of people, with the referee watching the whole thing. Since we can’t have a DQ in this thing, Reigns spears Woods for the pin at 13:04.

Rating: B-. The ending really dragged this down, as this is the kind of match that could have just as easily ended with a DQ, but instead the solution is to make the referee look like an imbecile. Lashley being all ticked off about losing the title is a fine way to go, but could you at least make it look better? The match itself was the kind of big time showdown you would expect from these teams, but the ending just made my head hurt (for the first time tonight).

Post match Lashley spears Reigns down and hits another one to drive Big E. through the barricade.

Post break Bobby Lashley goes to see Adam Pearce and Sonya Deville to rant about Big E. Lashley insists he can beat Big E. or Roman Reigns, so the bosses stare at him.

MVP is out of action with a broken rib after Randy Orton gave him an RKO last week.

Riddle has made sure that he and Orton have the same Spotify playlists and talks about how they are on a roll. Orton isn’t impressed, even as Riddle talks about how Orton can beat AJ Styles tonight. Riddle wonders what his spirit animal would be, thinking it might be a mongoose. Orton thinks Riddle is confusing a movie with real life and says he’s ready for AJ tonight. Oh and the headphones Riddle gave him? Pretty cool. Riddle responds by singing Orton’s theme song.

We recap Eva Marie vs. Doudrop.

Eva Marie vs. Doudrop

Hold on though as Eva says this isn’t a fair match because she’s put together and Doudrop is a mess. Girls like Doudrop can’t beat women like her but we ring the bell anyway. Doudrop chases her around the ring to start, catches her, and finishes with the basement crossbody at 1:19. This is in no way, shape or form different than their previous match, except that it was more recent.

Post match, Doudrop declares the Eva-Lution dead. Until their next three matches I’m sure.

Big E. storms into the bosses’ office and says he wants Bobby Lashley and Roman Reigns tonight. They still say nothing.

Post break, Paul Heyman comes in to see the bosses and goes on about how people have come in here and complained about everything tonight. Heyman doesn’t do that, because he has a message from Roman Reigns. Sonya Deville cuts him off and makes a triple threat match for tonight. Now go tell Reigns that it is official.

AJ Styles vs. Randy Orton

Omos and Riddle are here too. Orton wastes no time in taking AJ down with a headlock but it’s broken up in a hurry for a staredown. The armbar with some hand cranking has AJ in trouble again but the threat of an RKO sends him bailing to the floor. Back in and Orton grabs a suplex for one as this is total dominance so far. Orton starts the Garvin Stomp, allowing Riddle to strike Orton’s pose.

Omos offers a bit of interference though and that means it’s an ejection, with Riddle getting beaten up for dancing in celebration. AJ finally gets something going by knocking Orton outside for the slingshot forearm. Omos finally leaves and we take a break. Back with Orton whipping him chest first into the corner and hitting some clotheslines. Orton snaps off the powerslam for two and knocks AJ out to the apron. The hanging DDT is broken up though and AJ tries the Phenomenal Forearm but has to settle for a sleeper.

That’s broken up as well and Orton busts out a t-bone suplex of all things. AJ is back with a shot to the head but the Styles Clash is countered with a backdrop, which is countered into a cradle for two. A Lionsault of all things gives AJ two so it’s time for the Forearm. Orton teases the RKO counter so AJ drops back to the apron, allowing Orton to kick him down and hit the hanging DDT. The RKO finishes for Orton at 14:57.

Rating: B. You had two talented wrestlers doing their thing here and it worked out well, even with the extra time that they had. I know Orton might not be the most popular, but he can have a quality match with just about anyone and that is an incredibly valuable thing to have on your roster. The same is true for Styles, but he loses points for not having the mustache.

We recap Nia Jax vs. Shayna Baszler. They teamed together, they argued, they won, they argued, they lost, they argued, they lost some more, they argued, they did the same for about six more months before we FINALLY got to this match.

Nia Jax vs. Shayna Baszler

Nia brags about how she is the talented one and grabs a Samoan drop, only to put Shayna down and say it was that easy. Baszler knees her way out of the corner and a big kick to the head puts Jax down on all fours. Another kick to the face sets up the Kirifuda Clutch, which is countered with straight power. Shayna gets it again so Jax drops back onto her….and passes out at 2:22. I didn’t see that one coming but I’ll take it.

Post match Shayna takes her outside and kicks the mostly out cold Jax in the head. Shayna puts Jax’s hand in the steps for a running stomp to make Jax scream. Shayna looks conflicted but stomps on the arm anyway, meaning it’s higher pitched screaming. This was total destruction of Jax and should mean a pretty lengthy hiatus, which is a good thing at the moment.

Angel Garza/Humberto Carrillo vs. Mansoor/Mustafa Ali

Garza and Carrillo say they’re family and both rather handsome so why not team together. Ali gets taken down in a hurry to start, setting up a double slingshot suplex for two. Carrillo grabs an early chinlock but Ali is back up in a hurry for the tornado DDT. Mansoor and Garza come in with the former kicking him in the head. A belly to back suplex/top rope double stomp combination gets two on Garza with Carrillo making the save. Everyone heads outside with Garza posting Ali HARD (that was a great sound) and it’s a Muta Lock/dropkick combination to finish Ali at 2:43. I’ve wanted more Garza for a bit and this worked.

Video on Karrion Kross.

Rhea Ripley and Nikki Ash come out to tell us about how great Connor’s Cure really is. They dedicate their Women’s Tag Team Title shot to the sick children and hold up a V for victory over cancer. Ignore Rhea partially forgetting her lines here, as she seems to be rather emotional about the whole speech.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Natalya/Tamina vs. Nikki Ash/Rhea Ripley

Natalya and Tamina are defending (for the first time on TV for the first time in about four months) and I don’t like their odds here after that promo. Nikki gets knocked into the corner to start and Tamina stomps away as the champs control early. The Superfly Splash misses but it’s back to Natalya to cut Nikki off. Ripley takes Tamina outside and Riptides her onto the apron. That leaves Ash to small package Natalya for the pin and the titles at 2:15. That’s about as much hype as Natalya and Tamina’s reign deserved as it came to an end.

We recap Charlotte throwing her version of Lillie in the trash.

It’s time for Alexa’s Playground. Alexa Bliss brings out her guest for the week, and it’s a doozy: Charlotte. After picking up a microphone off the rocking horse, Charlotte says she would rather remind people that Bliss used to be a competitor. Bliss: “There she is ladies and gentlemen: the fun police.” Bliss wants a girl’s night between the two of them and Lillie, but there is no Charlie (Charlotte’s doll).

Worry not though because Bliss has Charlie….who gets a chant of her own. Charlotte wants the real Alexa Bliss, because this is just a way to hide how fragile Bliss really is. Start by getting rid of the black lipstick and then realize that Lillie is more popular than Bliss. How did Charlotte go from main eventing Wrestlemania to playing with dolls on Raw? She has beaten everyone and now she has to beat an adult who has to dress like a kid. Should she beat Bliss up tonight or wait until Sunday?

Bliss mocks Charlotte for being the best ever and points out that Charlotte has lost more titles than any woman ever. Without a title, who is Charlotte anyway? Without a title, she doesn’t have anything and her insecurities are stamped right on her forehead. Bliss says that’ not original, with Charlotte saying they don’t want to get into the whole lack of originality thing. Bliss calls her a narcissistic little b**** and says at least she knows who she is. You can call her crazy, but on Sunday, you can call her champion.

Charlotte shoves her so Bliss charges, earning herself a big boot. Charlie is ripped apart but Bliss gets up before Charlotte can get to Lillie. The DDT sends Charlotte running. The stuff where they were actually saying things to each other was good, but then it becomes about the dolls all over again and any positives are completely lost.

Drake Maverick and the usual band of idiots have a whiteboard plan to capture Reggie. A net is involved and they capture Drew Gulak instead. Reggie escapes and Maverick is livid.

Sheamus vs. Jeff Hardy

If Hardy wins, he’s in the US Title match at Extreme Rules and Damian Priest is on commentary. Sheamus grabs a headlock takeover to start and then hits a shoulder to put him down again. Jeff drives him into the corner but has to elbow his way to freedom. That’s enough to send Sheamus outside but Poetry in Motion is countered into a drop onto the apron. Sheamus rips the face shield off and we take a break.

Back with Hardy hammering away and getting two off a middle rope splash. Sheamus kicks him in the face and nails the top rope clothesline for two. The knee to the face gets the same but the Brogue Kick is countered into the Twist of Fate. The Swanton hits knees though (egads that looked bad) but Hardy grabs a sunset flip for the pin at 9:02.

Rating: C+. I can go for these two having a nice match like this and that’s what we got here. Hardy being added to Sunday is a good idea as we’ve done Sheamus vs. Priest before and it is a good idea to add something fresh. I’m not sure what to expect on Sunday and that’s the right way to go.

Post match Sheamus goes outside to yell at Priest and the fight is on.

Bobby Lashley vs. Roman Reigns vs. Big E.

Non-title and Lashley and Big E. start brawling to start fast. Big E. takes him to the apron for the splash as Reigns stands back and watches. Some trash talking takes too long though and Reigns hits the apron dropkick on Big E. as we take an early break. Back with Big E. grabbing an abdominal stretch on Lashley until Reigns breaks that up. Reigns’ jumping clothesline drops Big E. for two but Lashley breaks up the apron dropkick.

They head back inside with Reigns hitting a heck of a Samoan drop for two on Big E. as Lashley is back up. Reigns takes Lashley up top but Big E. turns it into a Tower of Doom as we take a break. Back with Big E. throwing Reigns around with some suplexes until Lashley breaks that up. A delayed vertical suplex drops Reigns bug Big E. takes them both down and hits a double Warrior Splash.

The Big Ending rocks Reigns but Lashley pulls Big E. outside and puts him through the announcers’ table. Back in and Reigns Superman Punches Lashley to break up the spear but Lashley’s second attempt connects. Big E. breaks up that cover but has to block the Hurt Lock. Reigns makes the save with a Superman Punch and Big E. hits the spear to drive Reigns through the ropes. Back in and the Big Ending hits Reigns but Lashley breaks it up with a chair. Lashley unloads on Big E. with the chair….and walks into a spear to give Reigns the pin at 20:10.

Rating: B. This worked very well as they followed the formula for most good triple threat matches: let a bunch of people hit each other really hard until one scores a fall. At the same time, this probably sets up a chairs match between Lashley and Big E., which certainly works as a Raw main event. Reigns winning over Lashley is fine here as a champion didn’t take a fall and it came at the end of a very hard hitting match. Rather good main event.

Overall Rating: C+. I rather liked this and I can’t remember the last time that has been the case with Raw. The biggest positive here was the lack of anything terrible. There were certainly flaws and some of the stuff didn’t make a ton of sense, but what matters the most is there was no moment where I wanted to switch to a good folk dancing competition. I have no reason to believe that the show is getting better in the long term (though the destruction of Nia Jax gives me a bit of hope) but for a one off show, I will absolutely take this over the drek we’ve been seeing for….well years really.

Results
Bloodline b. New Day – Spear to Woods
Doudrop b. Eva Marie – Basement crossbody
Randy Orton b. AJ Styles – RKO
Shayna Baszler b. Nia Jax – Kirifuda Clutch
Humberto Carrillo/Angel Garza b. Mansoor/Mustafa Ali – Muta Lock/dropkick combination to Ali
Rhea Ripley/Nikki Ash b. Tamina/Natalya – Small package to Natalya
Jeff Hardy b. Sheamus – Sunset flip
Roman Reigns b. Big E. and Bobby Lashley – Spear to Lashley

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: September 6, 2021
Location: FTX Arena, Miami, Florida
Commentators: Jimmy Smith, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton

It’s time to start getting ready for Extreme Rules as the show is in less than three weeks. You can probably guess where a lot of the card is going and that should make things a bit easier. There is some stuff taking place tonight as well, in the form of a rematch between Charlotte and Nia Jax. You know, since the first one was such a smashing success. Let’s get to it.

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

New Day is ready for Tag Team Turmoil. They’ll win because New Day Rocks.

The Viking Raiders will raid the entire division tonight.

Mansoor is ready for Tag Team Turmoil but Mustafa Ali tells him to follow his lead.

Lucha House Party says it’s LUCHA TIME.

Mace and T-Bar say Tag Team Turmoil means six more victims.

Jinder Mahal and Veer are going to be the next champions.

AJ Styles and Mansoor can’t imagine Riddle (AJ: “Old Smoky Brain himself.”) being in charge of anything so they’re taking the titles back. Bring these things back regularly! It’s a ten second sound byte and you get to know the characters just a little bit. Why is that so much to ask for week to week?

Here is RKBro for a chat. After looking at a clip of the two of them retaining the titles over MVP and Bobby Lashley last week, Randy Orton says the win was due to Bobby Lashley being a greedy son of a b****. That’s behind them though, because it’s time to find out who they are facing next. Riddle goes over some of the teams, thinking they should borrow the look from various other teams. Orton looks like he is about to bite through is lip as Riddle suggests going on a raid and drinking ale, even though Orton looks like he has never had a carb in his life.

Cue MVP and Bobby Lashley to interrupt, with Lashley not being pleased with what Orton did to him last week. Lashley wants Orton one on one and he is interested because it has been 10-15 years ago since they fought. Orton is down, if that WWE Title is on the line. Lashley and MVP have a chat and the match is on for Extreme Rules.

That’s not all though, as Lashley and MVP are going to get into Tag Team Turmoil so Lashley can be a double champion. Cue New Day to say Lashley and MVP better hurry up because Tag Team Turmoil is starting right now. The odds are against them, but that was true a few weeks ago when Xavier Woods beat Lashley.

Tag Team Turmoil

RKBro is watching at ringside and New Day is in at #1 and the Viking Raiders are in at #2. Kofi jumps over Ivar a few times to start and elbows him into the corner. Ivar sends him into the corner instead though and Erik drives Ivar into Kofi for the big crash. Back up and Kofi slips away, allowing the tag to Woods. That’s fine with Erik, who sends Woods flying with a suplex. Woods is back with a tornado DDT into a superkick, with Kofi adding a spinning kick to the head for two.

Erik sends Kofi outside but Woods blocks the knee and comes up with a discus forearm. Kofi comes back in and dives onto the Vikings on the floor, only to be caught and thrown into Woods as we take a break. Back with Kofi striking away at both Raiders and hitting the Boom Drop on Erik. Ivar comes back in for the springboard elbow/belly to back suplex combination for a near fall. A hurricanrana gets Kofi out of trouble though and it’s back to Woods…who is powerbombed by Erik. The top rope splash gets two but Kofi takes out Ivar, allowing Woods to small package Erik to advance at 10:06.

Jinder Mahal and Veer, with Shanky, are in at #3 and Woods hits a fast high crossbody for two on Mahal. Veer comes in to run Woods over but Kofi gets cut off by Shanky on the floor as we take a break. Back with Woods kicking Mahal away and Kofi coming in with a kick to the head. Everything breaks down and Daybreak gets rid of Mahal and Veer at 17:17 total.

Lucha House Party, with new music, is in at #4. The luchadors start fast and moonsault off the apron onto New Day on the floor. Metalik splashes Woods from Dorado’s shoulders and Dorado wins a chop off. Dorado goes up for a high crossbody but Woods seems to counter into a Codebreaker….I think.

Commentary doesn’t seem too sure either but Metalik cuts off the tag anyway. The tag goes through a few seconds later anyway though and Kofi comes in with the top rope splash to Metalik’s back. Woods comes back in and gets taken down again, with Dorado hitting a moonsault for two with Kofi making the save. Woods cuts Dorado off with a faceplant though and Kofi cuts off the save for the pin at 21:46.

Mace and T-Bar are in at #5 and we take another break. Back again with Woods fighting out of Mace’s chinlock but getting chopped back up against the ropes. A running knee in the corner sets up a nerve hold to keep Woods in trouble. T-Bar comes in with an elbow to the face and a chinlock of his own as this is grinding pretty badly. Woods kicks his way to freedom but T-Bar sends Kingston into the barricade to cut him off. That leaves T-Bar to load up Feast Your Eyes, which is countered into a rollup to give Woods the pin at 30:15.

Hold on though as the big beatdown is on from Mace and T-Bar until Mansoor and Mustafa Ali are in at #6. Mansoor goes after Mace and T-Bar out of sportsmanship while Ali stays on the floor and asks what he’s doing. Mace and T-Bar wreck Ali and Mansoor, which somehow isn’t a DQ because reasons.

Mace holds up the steps and Mace is sent into the steps as Graves says Mace and T-Bar can’t be disqualified. That’s not how DQ’s work but it’s not like consistency matters in WWE. Everyone is down and we take another break, coming back with….well the match is on hiatus actually, as Sonya Deville and Adam Page have ruled that they will continue after New Day and Mansoor/Ali have had a breather.

Drew McIntyre vs. Sheamus

The winner gets a future US Title shot. Sheamus grabs a headlock takeover as Damian Priest is watching backstage. The forearms to the chest send McIntyre outside and Sheamus hits the top rope forearm to the head. Back in and McIntyre grabs a spinebuster for his own breather. McIntyre heads up top but Sheamus catches him with the top rope superplex and we take a break.

Back with McIntyre making a comeback and sending Sheamus into the corner, only to charge into a shot to the face. Sheamus pulls himself up top but gets belly to belly superplexed back down for two. McIntyre tries the Glasgow Kiss but hits Sheamus’ mask to knock himself silly. The Alabama Slam gives Sheamus two but he takes too long setting up the Brogue Kick (complete with McIntyre style countdown). The Futureshock gives McIntyre two and he sends Sheamus shoulder first into the post.

An armbreaker sends Sheamus to the ropes and the bad arm is snapped over the ropes. Sheamus is right back with a jumping knee to the face for his own very near fall. McIntyre grabs his own White Noise for two and they slug it out from their knees. McIntyre takes the mask off and kicks Sheamus down, setting up the Claymore, which is countered into a rollup with trunks to give Sheamus the pin at 14:49.

Rating: B. Two big guys beat on each other with one big spot after another for about fifteen minutes. That’s what you expect from a match like this and that’s what they gave you. Good match too, but would you expect anything else from them? Sheamus vs. Priest II should be fine, though it wouldn’t surprise me if McIntyre is added in to recreate last week’s triple threat.

Post match McIntyre hits Sheamus in the face with the mask and drops him with the Claymore.

Damian Priest is impressed by what we just saw because that was a fight. He’s going to enjoy Extreme Rules and he has Sheamus’ number. That means Sheamus is going to be hearing something new at Extreme Rules: “AND STILL United States Champion, Damian Priest.”

Nikki Ash is very happy about teaming with Rhea Ripley, who isn’t that enthusiastic. Ash thinks the team should be dubbed SUPER BRUTALITY and Ripley has to smile a bit.

Charlotte says she didn’t get splatted by Nia Jax last week so tonight she is going to beat Nia to retain the title. Not even the irresistible force can resist the Queen.

Rhea Ripley/Nikki Ash vs. Tamina/Natalya

Champions Contenders match as I guess Shotzi and Nox’s title shot is on hold for the moment. Tamina powers Nikki around to start but Nikki is smart enough to take her down by the legs. Ripley comes in and ducks a swinging Nikki to kick Tamina in the face. The brawl is on but Natalya comes in. That’s fine with Ripley, who puts Nikki on her shoulders to swing into Natalya’s face.

Tamina sends Rhea into the steps though and we take a break. Back with Nikki kicking away from a Sharpshooter attempt and handing it back to Rhea for the clotheslines. A bridging northern lights suplex gives Ripley two and Nikki’s high crossbody gets the same with Tamina making the save. Natalya blasts Nikki with a discus lariat but Rhea makes the blind tag and hits Riptide for the pin at 9:29.

Rating: C-. I don’t care. The Women’s Tag Team Titles are the biggest joke in wrestling as Shotzi and Nox have beaten the champs THREE TIMES NOW but still can’t get a freaking title shot. I know WWE can’t keep their minds straight for more than two seconds because of the star power of TAMINA, but I’m sorry for not getting excited over another thrown together joke of a team who doesn’t see eye to eye but happens to win together getting a title shot. Maybe. One day. When WWE gets around to it. I mean, Natalya and Tamina haven’t defended their titles on TV since May 24, so I wouldn’t expect it soon.

Earlier today, Karrion Kross was on Moist TV. John Morrison asked what he was going to do next, with Kross saying he was going to make Morrison suffer. Morrison asks about going for various titles or opponents, with Kross saying that all sounds good. He’ll do all that, after he hurts Morrison tonight.

Karrion Kross vs. John Morrison

The Doomsday Saito drops Morrison to start but he gets to the ropes before the Krossjacket goes on. Morrison tries the Drip Stick and that does not seem wise. Kross backdrops him over the post for the crash and the Krossjacket knocks Morrison out at 2:00. Total destruction.

Video on Nia Jax.

Nia Jax doesn’t care about Charlotte and isn’t going to be bashed in the head with a crown this week.

Women’s Title: Nia Jax vs. Charlotte

Charlotte is defending and Nia has Shayna Baszler in her corner. The bell rings and Shayna grabs the mic, saying that she’s interested in seeing if Jax is going to choke. Charlotte jumps Nia and it turns into quite the scrap as we try to recreate last week. Nia tells her to pull her hair and Charlotte bails while seeming to throw in a crotch chop. Charlotte grabs her title and goes to leave but stops to yell at Shayna.

That’s enough for Nia to pull her inside and run Charlotte over. A superplex is countered into a powerbomb out of the corner to give Charlotte two and we take a break. Back with Charlotte hitting(ish) her moonsault to the floor but she has to stop and yell at Shayna. They head inside again where Nia hits a headbutt into a splash in the corner before taking Charlotte up top. Shayna offers another distraction though and Charlotte hits a super Natural Selection to retain at 8:22.

Rating: C-. I’m not sure what to think of this one but it’s nice to see Nia and Shayna seemingly being FINALLY ready to split. Charlotte and Nia teased another worked shoot deal here and while it wasn’t good, it was on a different planet than last week’s all time disaster. Charlotte gets away from Nia for now (in theory) and that’s the best thing for everyone involved.

Post match Alexa Bliss pops up on screen to invite Charlotte to come to the Playground. Lillie wants to try on one of the robes! Charlotte says no, with Alexa asking if Charlotte knows what it’s like to be stuck with a maniac. Bliss: “Of course you do. You’re a Flair.”. They’ll just bring the Playground to her, so here is Alexa, with Lillie, in the ring. Charlotte asks if Bliss wants a title match and says fine, but this is her playground.

We recap Reggie running away from R-Truth and Akira Tozawa over and over.

24/7 Title: Reggie vs. Akira Tozawa

Tozawa is challenging and Reggie is in street clothes. Reggie kicks him down and hits the running flipping seated senton to retain at 35 seconds.

Post match the usual gang of idiots comes in to go after the title so Reggie flip dives onto them and runs off. Drake Maverick cuts him off but R-Truth stops Maverick, allowing Reggie to run away again.

We recap Doudrop attacking Eva Marie in their non-match last week.

Doudrop liked beating up Eva last week and wants a rematch next week. The beating will be part of the Doudrop-alution.

Tag Team Turmoil

RKBro is at ringside again. We’ll continue with New Day vs. Mansoor/Mustafa Ali as Ali low bridges Kofi to the floor to put New Day in trouble. Woods comes back with a dropkick to Ali’s back though and Kofi grabs a superplex (off of Mansoor’s back) on Ali to send him outside. Woods’ back is too banged up for a fireman’s carry so Mansoor wants to give him a break but Ali tags himself in and kicks away. Kofi is right back in for a high crossbody on Ali but going after Mansoor takes too much time. Ali gets in a superkick and goes up top, only to miss the 450. Trouble in Paradise into Woods’ top rope elbow finishes Ali at 4:18.

AJ Styles/Omos are in at #7 and we come back after a break with Woods being whipped into the corner to damage his back even more. Omos comes in to stand on Woods’ back and send him into the corner again. A running splash from behind crushes Woods again and Styles grabs the chinlock. Woods fights up and sends Styles outside before a double clothesline gives us a double breather. Omos knocks Kofi out of the air though and we take a break. Back with Kofi hitting Trouble in Paradise for two on AJ with Omos making the save. With Woods down, the Styles Clash finishes Kofi at 21:42.

Bobby Lashley and MVP are in at #8 to complete the field and it’s Lashley vs. AJ to get going. Lashley kicks him into the corner but AJ is back up with the Phenomenal Blitz into the Pele. Styles might have banged up his ankle though and it’s off to Omos to face Lashley. Omos wants the test of strength but has to pull his arms back in so Lashley can reach both hands.

The fans are WAY behind Lashley as he drives Omos into the corner for the shoulders to the ribs. Lashley can’t suplex him though and Omos picks him up for a delayed gordbuster. Lashley heads outside and starts yelling at Orton, allowing AJ to dive off of the announcers’ table onto both of them. Omos sends Riddle into the barricade and AJ takes out MVP. Back in and the Phenomenal Forearm misses Lashley, who spears AJ down for the pin and the title shot at 27:50 (2:28:27 total).

Rating: C+. That’s for both parts of the match as I try to figure out what I thought of the whole thing. It was certainly good with solid action and a nice story with New Day, but at the same time, it wasn’t like there were more than three teams with a real shot at winning. You knew it would be AJ/Omos, New Day or Lashley/MVP, and it wasn’t going to be New Day as soon as they started. What we got was good and I understand the break in the middle (a match that long is going to tank ratings in a hurry without one), but it was about a third of the show and that’s a long time on any one match.

Post match Omos gives Lashley the double chokeslam before leaving. Lashley gets up and it’s an RKO to leave Lashley laying to end the show.

Overall Rating: D+. The women killed this show and there is no way around it. You had the worthless Women’s Tag Team Titles, the Nia vs. Charlotte match, Bliss vs. Charlotte continuing and Doudrop vs. Eva Marie II being set up with only a two minute Karrion Kross squash to break things up. The wrestling was far from bad but the storytelling is so horrible that it is dragging down everything else.

As for the rest of the show, it ranged from good to quite good, with Sheamus and McIntyre having a hoss fight, Kross continuing his very slow and unlikely road to redemption, Reggie being crazy athletic and a really really really long gauntlet match. I like where some of the show is going and it is far from a disaster, but they need to blow up the women’s division and fast, because it is killing so much every week.

Results
Sheamus b. Drew McIntyre – Rollup with trunks
Rhea Ripley/Nikki Ash b. Tamina/Natalya – Riptide to Natalya
Karrion Kross b. John Morrison – Krossjacket
Charlotte b. Nia Jax – Super Natural Selection
Reggie b. Akira Tozawa – Running flipping seated senton
MVP/Bobby Lashley won Tag Team Turmoil last eliminating AJ Styles/Omos

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 30, 2021
Location: Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Commentators: Jimmy Smith, Byron Saxton, Corey Graves

We are on the way to Extreme Rules and that means we need some things to set up for the show. That could take some time, as Raw has a tendency to not exactly rush things. There isn’t much going on with this show though, as we need something other than RKBro and waiting around for Goldberg to show up for the Bobby Lashley rematch. Let’s get to it.

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

Here is Damian Priest to get things going. He welcomes us to the show and talks about how he is going to show the title the respect it deserves. We hear about some famous US Champions, including Rey Mysterio, Jeff Hardy and John Cena, because the title’s history is about six years old. That’s unlike WWE Champion Bobby Lashley, who ran away from a challenge last week. Therefore, let’s have an open challenge.

US Title: Damian Priest vs. Sheamus

Sheamus is challenging but hang on because he needs to say he agrees with “Damo”. He promises to kick Priest in the face and take back his title but here is Drew McIntyre to interrupt. McIntyre thinks it’s time for something fresh and new because he has never been US Champion. Priest sounds game but Sheamus gets into it with McIntyre….and here are Bobby Lashley and MVP to interrupt.

The GOLDBERG chants cut MVP off as he tries to talk about Lashley wanted to issue his own open challenge. What’s good for business is Lashley becomes the new US Champion. Now Randy Orton and Riddle interrupt, with Orton saying he thought everything MVP said sucked. Riddle: “But not like a Rumba, because that’s what it’s supposed to do.” Orton thinks Lashley is a greedy son of a b**** and Riddle asks how you would even hold a second title.

Lashley says he could use a second title, but maybe it should be the Tag Team Titles. Riddle says the word of the day tonight is Open Challenge, they can have an open challenge one on one against Bobby Lashley and MVP. Orton tries to explain the concept of an open challenge but MVP says they accept. McIntyre, Sheamus and Priest are ready to fight so here are Adam Pearce and Sonya Deville to interrupt. We’ll have a triple threat match for the title, plus the Tag Team Title match. We’re STILL not done though as Rhea Ripley comes out…for her scheduled match. Well that’s less exciting.

Rhea Ripley vs. Shayna Baszler

Nikki Ash (uninvited it seems) and Nia Jax are here too. Hold on though as Nia promises to crush both Rhea and Nikki, just like she’ll do to Charlotte tonight. Shayna takes Rhea to the mat to start and cranks on an armbar. Some kicks to the head rock Ripley but she grabs a small package for two. Ripley tires the hand in the ring skirt and stomps away to send us to a break.

Back with Baszler kicking at the arm some more but Rhea tells her to bring it on. Some clotheslines and a headbutt rock Baszler and a basement dropkick connects. Baszler is fine enough to try a cross armbreaker but can’t get it on before a rope is reached. The Kirifuda Clutch is broken up as well but Jax crushes Ash on the floor. The distraction lets Baszler grab a pretty awesome torture rack into a rollup, which Ripley counters into a small package for the pin at 10:30.

Rating: C. The frustrations continue around here as they were having a pretty good match and the rollup Baszler used was cool. That’s where the good ends though, as this was still about Nikki being around and Jax getting to beat both of them up rather than letting Ripley have a moment to shine. Why is that so much to ask?

Post match Jax Samoan drops Ripley, just to make sure you remember who the star is.

The Viking Raiders are ready for you to join the raid.

Viking Raiders vs. Jinder Mahal/Veer

Shanky is here with Mahal and Veer. Ivar and Veer start things off with Veer hitting a heck of a Thesz press to take Ivar down in a hurry. Mahal comes in to stomp away, setting up the chinlock, because that’s what you expect from a former World Champion. Ivar fights up and brings in Erik to clean house. Everything breaks down in a hurry and Ivar Cannonballs off the apron to take everyone out. That leaves Mahal to get caught in the Viking Experience for the surprise pin at 4:48.

Rating: C-. The match didn’t have much time to go anywhere, but it gives me some hope that Mahal took a clean loss in a pretty nothing tag match. Maybe WWE is finally realizing that Mahal just isn’t that interesting and there is no point in wasting him in a higher level on the card. As has been the case since he returned: there is a place for him in WWE, but it isn’t that high up on the card despite what WWE thinks.

US Title: Sheamus vs. Damian Priest vs. Drew McIntyre

Priest is defending and it’s Sheamus getting stomped down in the corner to start. Sheamus is sent outside for a step up flip dive from Priest, with McIntyre joining in for some chops. A backdrop sends Sheamus over the barricade and into the timekeeper’s area, leaving us with McIntyre vs. Priest as we take a break. Back with Sheamus hitting a top rope clothesline for two on Priest but the Irish Curse is countered into something like a triangle choke.

That’s broken up and the Irish Curse sets up some shots to the face, even with Priest going for the mask. The forearms to the chest keep Priest in trouble and he crashes out to the floor. McIntyre gets back in though and some clotheslines put Sheamus down. The Futureshock is countered though and McIntyre is sent shoulder first into the post. It’s Priest getting back in for a spinwheel kick to drop Sheamus but McIntyre clotheslines Priest to the floor.

That leaves McIntyre to hit the big flip dive onto the two of them for a bit of a breather. Back in and McIntyre plants Priest with a Michinoku Driver for two. Priest is sat on top but Sheamus knocks McIntyre into the Tree of Woe. The big situp German superplex (nearly a Tower of Doom this time) sends everyone flying though and we take another break. Back again with McIntyre and Sheamus slugging it out until Sheamus gets two off the Alabama Slam.

Priest comes back in to break up the Texas Cloverleaf on McIntyre, setting up South of Heaven for two on Sheamus. McIntyre and Priest slug it out again until Priest loads up the Reckoning. Sheamus breaks it up with a Brogue Kick though and McIntyre rolls Sheamus up for two. Futureshock drops Sheamus but he cuts off the Claymore with a knee to the face for a heck of a near fall.

The fans deem this awesome as Sheamus hits a super White Noise for two more with Priest making the save (which you couldn’t really see until the camera changed to a wide shot). Priest drops Sheamus onto the turnbuckle and ducks a Claymore so McIntyre kicks Sheamus’ head off. The Glasgow Kiss rocks Priest but he counters a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker into the Reckoning to retain at 21:30.

Rating: B+. I can always go with three big bruisers beating each other up for over twenty minutes and this was a heck of a match. They had me believing that you might see a surprise title change and that’s the idea of something like this. Priest pinning McIntyre means a lot for him and they all looked quite awesome. Sometimes the solution to a lot of your problems is to have a good, long match and that’s what they did here.

Post match, Priest and McIntyre shake hands in a show of respect.

We look back at Goldberg losing to Bobby Lashley at Summerslam, because that’s how you keep the momentum going.

Goldberg says he needs knee surgery but he’s coming for Lashley’s soul.

Reggie is in the park when he sees R-Truth in a wig and Akira Tozawa in a dog costume. The chase is on but Reggie uses a Frisbee to escape. Reggie Parkours away but they corner him on a bridge. Tozawa crawls after him like a dog but Reggie flips away again. Tozawa thinks the dog is a bad idea and leaves.

Video on Eva Marie vs. Doudrop, with Eva bringing her in but Doudrop not liking her and rebelling.

Eva Marie vs. Doudrop

Doudrop runs her over, sits on Marie’s chest and hits the basement crossbody for her own count. No match.

Doudrop announces herself as the winner as Marie isn’t sure what happened.

Charlotte laughs off the idea of Nia Jax squashing her.

Karrion Kross vs. Humberto Carrillo

Carrillo starts fast with a crossbody but Kross clotheslines his head off to take over (he hit him so hard that Smith thought Kross was fighting Ricochet). Kross runs him over again and sends Carrillo flying with a northern lights suplex. The chinlock goes on but Carrillo makes the comeback, only to get forearmed out of the air. The Doomsday Saito into the Krossjacket finishes Carrillo at 4:18.

Rating: D+. Near total squash here and that makes it so much more frustrating. WWE clearly knows how to push someone like Kross (in-ring gear aside) but they let him waste a few weeks with those early losses. It continues to make WWE look like they have no idea what they’re doing week to week and that is going to cause a problem in a hurry.

Nia Jax promises to do something painful with Charlotte’s invisible crown.

Riddle thinks a win over Bobby Lashley/MVP would make for a good win on RKBro’s resume….but how do you make a resume? Randy Orton says just be a good tag partner and let him do his thing. That’s cool with Riddle, who lists off some more of his own skills. Talking and scootering are included.

Charlotte vs. Nia Jax

Non-title and Charlotte bails from a charging Jax to start. Back in and Charlotte dodges again before slapping her in the face. Jax sends her into the corner but misses a running hip attack. Charlotte grabs a headlock to get as far as she can before switching to a dragon sleeper over the ropes. Jax is right back with a spinebuster (THUD) and Charlotte needs a breather on the floor. They change places and Charlotte takes her down with a dive as we take a break.

Back with Nia dropping Charlotte hard in a belly to back drop (not suplex, but just a drop), only to miss a charge in the corner. The moonsault hits knees and Nia hits a Samoa drop. The running legdrop misses and Charlotte kicks her in the face. Charlotte gets on her back for a delayed reverse DDT for two more. With nothing else working, Charlotte starts in on the knee, including the DDT to take it down. Charlotte mocks Jax’s hip based material and gets kicked into the corner. Back up and Jax hits one of the hardest powerbombs I’ve seen in a long time to win at 13:46.

Rating: F. This was horrible in every sense of the word and I’m not sure how much they were working together at various points. Charlotte looked completely bored, Jax could barely move, and Charlotte got dropped hard more than once. Simply put, Jax cannot go this long at this size and it showed bad here. She is nearly immobile and can only do so much. Throw in Charlotte looking like she would rather be having gum surgery and this was a total disaster. Have fun with the Extreme Rules rematch!

We recap RKBro’s celebration last week.

John Morrison’s match vs. Miz has been canceled for no apparent reason, but he wants to prove he can act anyway. Therefore, he’ll face Omos tonight. Omos: “Sucks to be you.”

John Morrison vs. Omos

Morrison’s Drip Stick is smacked away and he can’t quite strike away at the giant. Omos shoves him outside so it’s time to bust out the Parkour. A bit of a slip lets Omos hit a clothesline, setting up the double chokeslam for the pin at 2:03. This was really not good while it lasted.

Xavier Woods vs. AJ Styles

Woods starts fast with a Russian legsweep and AJ needs to head outside. That means a big dive from Woods but AJ gets in a shot to the face back inside. The threat of the Phenomenal Forearm sends Woods outside so AJ hits a hard dropkick through the ropes. Back in and AJ starts in on the leg, including something like a Stunner out of the corner.

Woods grabs a rollup for two, followed by a northern lights suplex for the same. AJ can’t get the Styles Clash as Woods flips out and ties him in the Tree of Woe. The dropkick in the corner gives Woods an awkward looking two (it’s like they couldn’t get the cover right) but Styles is right back with the Calf Crusher for the tap at 7:13.

Rating: C-. This was another awkward one and I’m not sure if it had to do with the crowd not being thrilled after Charlotte vs. Jax. Styles beating Woods is fine as it isn’t like losing to a multiple time World Champion is some kind of a career killer. Not a bad match, but it seemed more like a way to get Styles onto the show than anything else.

Tag Team Titles: RKBro vs. MVP/Bobby Lashley

RKBro is defending and AJ Styles, with Omos behind him, is on commentary. MVP drives Riddle into the corner to start but Riddle is right back with some shots to the face. That’s enough to put MVP on the floor, setting up the big springboard Floating Bro as we take a fast break.

We come back with Lashley working Riddle over until a hot tag brings in Orton. The hanging DDT hits Lashley but MVP is still legal and gets in a cheap shot. It’s back to Riddle for a knee to Lashley, setting up the Floating Bro for two. Everything breaks down and AJ decks Lashley, only to have to deal with Omos. The distraction lets Riddle hit a jumping knee to MVP, setting up the Floating Bro to retain at 10:49.

Rating: B-. Now this was more like it with much more of an action packed match. They had a bunch of stuff happening throughout and the ending was the right call. There wasn’t much doubt about a possible title change, but at least they got in and did their thing with some time. Not a great match, but it was good enough to get the show out of a bit of trouble.

Post match Lashley goes after Riddle but walks into an RKO to end the show. Orton vs. Lashley could be interesting.

Overall Rating: D+. I don’t remember the last time I saw a Raw this up and down. The triple threat match was one of the best matches Raw has had in months (if not longer) but the Jax vs. Charlotte match might be the worst WWE match I’ve seen in ten years (ignoring matches with people who have no business being in a ring). The rest of the show wasn’t exactly good either, and the result was another week where I was wondering how bad things could get. Raw continues to be a miss, as they seem happy with running off in whatever direction they want and not caring how bad things get.

Results
Rhea Ripley b. Shayna Baszler – Rollup
Viking Raiders b. Jinder Mahal/Veer – Viking Experience to Veer
Damian Priest b. Sheamus and Drew McIntyre – Reckoning to McIntyre
Karrion Kross b. Humberto Carrillo – Krossjacket
Nia Jax b. Charlotte – Powerbomb
Omos b. John Morrison – Chokeslam
AJ Styles b. Xavier Woods – Calf Crusher
RKBro b. Bobby Lashley/MVP – Floating Bro to MVP

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 23, 2021
Location: Pechanga Arena, San Diego, California
Commentators: Jimmy Smith, Byron Saxton, Corey Graves

It’s the night after Summerslam and we are going to be dealing with a lot of the fallout. We have a long road to Extreme Rules and there were a lot of things at Summerslam worth talking about. The problem is that most of them had to do with Smackdown so we might not be in for much going on. Let’s get to it.

Here is Summerslam if you need a recap.

We open with a long recap of Summerslam.

Here are MVP and Bobby Lashley (in a snappy orange jacket) to get things going. After another recap of Goldberg vs. Lashley, because Raw needs more montages than a Rocky movie, MVP says he’d like to explain what happened on Sunday at Summerslam. We all know about Goldberg’s extraordinary history but not so much about his recently unextraordinary history.

What we didn’t know was that his son would be at Summerslam. Maybe he needed a good luck charm or something but Goldberg did score a couple of two counts. Either way, Lashley beat up Goldberg and won by referee stoppage. Goldberg quit like a coward and Lashley would have done that to anyone, including everyone here in San Diego. Lashley doesn’t owe Goldberg or his son an apology but here is Damian Priest to interrupt.

Priest doesn’t care about Lashley and MVP calling people a coward. Well Priest isn’t jumping him from behind and the challenge is on for tonight. Lashley seems interested but MVP tries to talk him out of it. Priest suggests that Lashley is the coward for not saying yes and the fight is on. A big boot sends Lashley outside so MVP says the match is on.

Damian Priest vs. Bobby Lashley

Non-title and Lashley starts fast with the shoulders in the corner. A running shot to the face in the corner rocks Priest again but he makes the comeback….and here is Sheamus to jump Priest for the DQ at 1:28.

Post match the beatdown is on but Drew McIntyre runs in for the big brawl. A suplex puts Lashley onto the announcers’ table and I think we have a Teddy Long special.

Damian Priest/Drew McIntyre vs. Bobby Lashley/Sheamus

Joined in progress with McIntyre hammering on Sheamus until he gets taken into the wrong corner. Lashley comes in for a hard whip into the corner but McIntyre comes out with a clothesline. A shot to the throat cuts McIntyre off but he gets over for the tag to Priest anyway. Lashley takes him outside in a hurry and it’s a hard ram into the post. Back from a break with Priest fighting out of Sheamus’ chinlock but Lashley comes in for a head and arm choke.

That’s enough to drag Priest back into the corner for the tag back to Sheamus as the beating continues. Priest elbows his way to freedom though and the hot tag brings in McIntyre to clean house. The numbers game lets Lashley knock McIntyre down but the missed charge in the post puts Lashley in more trouble. Sheamus comes back in and catches McIntyre on top for a super White Noise and a near fall. Priest comes back in to clean house with the variety of kicks but Priest knees him in the face as Lashley walks out. McIntyre comes back in and Claymores Sheamus for the pin at 14:00.

Rating: C+. Nice power tag match here but I’m more curious about where this is heading for Lashley. They aren’t going to do another match with Goldberg at Extreme Rules, but a four way hoss fight between these four could be an interesting way to go. At least Priest didn’t lose in his first match as champion either.

We look at Doudrop turning on Eva Marie at Summerslam.

Doudrop says she made a mistake associating with Eva Marie but she likes the name Doudrop and that is who she is. Marie rolls in an anvil case to hit her in the ribs and the beatdown is on. Marie puts a boot on her and says this is Evaloution.

Karrion Kross vs. Ricochet

Kross now has what looks like a bedazzled hockey mask during his entrance. Once the bell rings, he has a big studded X over his chest, looking like the back of a pair of suspenders on either side. Ricochet gets knocked into the corner to start and a clothesline cuts off his comeback bid. A powerbomb into the Doomsday Saito sets up the Krossjacket choke for the fast win at 1:18. Dominant win, but the entrance gear was too laughable to make it matter.

Backstage at Summerslam, Big E. and Logan Paul interrupted a Baron Corbin interview. Paul suggested that Corbin was an a******.

Sheamus and Bobby Lashley argue in the back and have to be separated.

It’s time for MoistTV because THEY REALLY ARE RUNNING WITH THIS. John Morrison brings out Logan Paul, who tries to keep the crowd from killing him. Morrison asks what is next for the Paul Brothers but here is Miz to cut them off. Miz says he knows he’s Paul’s favorite star but Paul says he is more of a New Day fan. Paul talks about getting to put Floyd Mayweather on his highlight reel and this weekend, his brother is boxing former UFC fighter Tyron Woodley.

Miz isn’t impressed and asks what round Paul’s brother is getting knocked out in. Miz: “Bettors want to know.” Paul says his brother is doing the knocking out and threatens to knock Miz out. Morrison has to separate them and says that Miz always makes everything about himself. Miz goes on a rant about how this is a spinoff of MizTV and Paul leaves while the two of them argue. The argument is on, with Morrison accusing Miz of faking his knee injury. Cue Xavier Woods, who high fives Paul on the stage and it’s match time. I love Miz and Morrison, but they need to go away for a long, long time.

Miz vs. Xavier Woods

John Morrison is here with Miz. Feeling out process to start until Woods, in NWO Wolfpac gear (as the Scott Hall tributes continue) headlock takeovers him over. Back up and Woods starts going after the knee, including some shots in the corner. Hold on though as Miz has to be checked on by the referee, allowing Miz to pop up and knee Woods in the ribs. They head outside with Woods being sent hard into the barricade, allowing Morrison to spray a bunch of water on the floor. As expected, Miz is sent sliding into the steps and we take a break.

Back with Miz firing off the YES Kicks but the big one is countered into a rollup for two. A neckbreaker out of the corner gives Woods a breather and he fights up with the variety of strikes. Miz is knocked outside for the big running flip dive. Back in and a high crossbody gives Woods two but Miz loads up the Skull Crushing Finale. Morrison gets on the apron for no logical reason with the Drip Stick. That misses everyone and the distraction means the referee doesn’t see Miz’s rollup. Instead, Woods grabs a small package for the pin at 11:41.

Rating: C-. The match itself was good as Woods and Miz could probably have a passable match in their sleep, but then they had to do the stupid gags to put the focus on anything else. It wasn’t a great match by any means, but this was a good example of how Miz and Morrison’s shtick has gotten really old because of how long it has been going on.

Post match Miz and Morrison argue but finally seem to get on the same page. The Drip Sticks are loaded up but Miz jumps Morrison to finally split things up. The Skull Crushing Finale leaves Morrison laying.

We look at Charlotte regaining the Raw Women’s Title at Summerslam.

Nikki Ash came up to Rhea Ripley to ask if they could be partners tonight. Ripley is in. This might be more dramatic if the match had not already been announced.

Earlier today Reggie tried to go get some ice cream but Akira Tozawa and R-Truth attacked. Reggie jumped into a tree, jumped out, and landed on top of an ice cream truck. Reggie jumped into the truck and they got away.

We look at RKBro winning the Tag Team Titles at Summerslam.

Riddle comes up to Randy Orton and says he understands Orton not being a hugger. He knows Orton is going to love their celebration tonight, but Orton says he isn’t quite into it. Just do him one favor: don’t do anything stupid. Riddle: “Would I do something stupid?”

Earlier today, Mansoor asked Mustafa Ali to not interfere no matter what. Ali seemed cool with it but didn’t seem to think Mansoor was making the right move.

Jinder Mahal vs. Mansoor

Veer, Shanky and Mustafa Ali are all here too. Mahal hammers away to start but Mansoor snaps his neck across the top. A high crossbody gives Mansoor two but Mahal forearms him down again. The chinlock goes on as Ali doesn’t seem pleased. A superkick rocks Mansoor and Ali stays unpleased. Mahal is so annoyed that he unloads in the corner for the DQ at 2:17. This was mostly a squash and that isn’t exactly making Mansoor look like a star.

Post match the beatdown is on and Ali only gets in after the villains leave.

Drew McIntyre and Damian Priest seem to get along and are off for some drinks. Er, pints. Yeah pints.

Here is Charlotte for her championship speech. She told us it would happen and now she has her twelfth title. There is no one as talented as she is and she is going to hold this title as long as she wants. She doesn’t need friends, family or the WWE Universe because she only needs the title.

That’s enough for some pyro to go off and Charlotte talks about how great she looked in the mirror this morning. She knows how amazing she is and she is here because she is starting the new Women’s Evolution (there’s a Stephanie McMahon joke in there somewhere). Long live the Queen….but here are Alexa Bliss and Lillie, who are just here to say hi.

Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler argue again, this time over Nia Jax teaming with Charlotte last week.

Elias walks away from his grave. This time he’s wearing a hat.

Nikki Ash/Rhea Ripley vs. Shayna Baszler/Nia Jax

Baszler takes Ripley to the mat to start but the big stomp on the arm is broken up. Nikki comes in for a rollup on Baszler and a headscissors sends Baszler into the corner. Now Baszler can stomp her down though and it’s off to Jax for a fireman’s carry drop. Baszler drops Ripley and knees Nikki in the head as we take a break.

Back with Ash fighting out of Jax’s chinlock but getting caught in a side slam/running knee combination. Jax hits a running hip attack into a Stink Face but the Banzai Drop is broken up. The hot tag brings Ripley back in and house is cleaned, including the missile dropkick. Everything breaks down and Nikki flips down onto Nia, leaving Riptide to finish Baszler at 10:36.

Rating: C-. The wrestling was competent, but this was a good example of the lack of character work in WWE. There is no logical reason for Jax and Baszler to keep being a team. They haven’t won anything of note in a good while, they have literally argued since they started teaming, and Baszler loses over and over. Why are these two still a team? The answer would be because the script says they are, and that has been obvious for a long time now.

Oh and how cool is it that Ripley got her token three month title reign, never pinned Charlotte, and has now been dropped into a tag team while Lillie and Bliss go after the title? That is a story that could have been taking place without the title while Ripley got to be the star for a bit, but that would mean Charlotte isn’t the star so the last few months have basically been erased.

We look back at the Miz/John Morrison switch.

Morrison says that’s it for all of the shows and music videos, because he wants Miz next week.

Here is Riddle for the RKBro title celebration, complete with balloons and a red mat. Randy Orton comes out, looking rather annoyed. After a bunch of pyro and a special introduction as champions, Riddle has a present for Orton: his own scooter, complete with his name and tassels! Cue AJ Styles and Omos, with AJ calling this stupid and promising to beat Riddle right here, right now. Riddle admits that he lost last week but that was before he had Orton in his corner. Riddle promises to win with the three most dangerous letters in wrestling: RKBRO! Orton looks like he has a headache.

Post break, we have a few recaps, including announcements of Bobby Lashley vs. Sheamus, Doudrop vs. Eva Marie and John Morrison vs. Miz for next week.

Riddle vs. AJ Styles

Omos and Randy Orton are here too. Styles charges straight at him and they go to the mat for the technical off. That’s broken up and Riddle looks just fine with the whole thing. Riddle kicks him to the apron and then out to the floor but the springboard is broken up. AJ still can’t get anything going as Riddle rolls some gutwrench suplexes for two. A sunset flip can’t set up the Styles Clash so Riddle hurricanranas him over the top for the big crash to the floor instead.

We take a break and come back with Riddle kicking him in the head, setting up the Broton for two. The bridging German suplex gets the same but Riddle is favoring his hamstring. AJ is back with the middle rope moonsault into the reverse DDT for two of his own. The Phenomenal Forearm is broken up but AJ gets him into the Calk Crusher on the bad leg. That’s reversed into the BroMission but AJ flips back for another near fall.

Riddle goes up but another Omos distraction breaks it up (just like last week). This time Orton goes after Omos, earning himself a toss into the barricade. A Burning Hammer gives AJ two as Orton unloads on Omos with the scooter. The distraction lets Riddle hit a jumping knee and the Bro Derek for the pin at 14:22.

Rating: C+. The talent lone in this one is going to make it work but Orton getting in there and helping Riddle out made things that much better (especially with the scooter). Riddle gaining energy from Orton makes for such a great story and I’ve liked the whole thing. It was a good main event and probably the best match on the show, which shouldn’t be that surprising.

Post match RKBro poses and AJ gets the RKO to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. Well there was nothing big and new and the only major change seems to be in the Tag Team Title scene. What interests me is that you really can see a dividing line on Raw with the good and the bad. In essence, it’s almost anything involving the women’s division and Miz/John Morrison on the bad side, and just about everything else is on the good side (with Jinder Mahal in the middle depending on how high he is on the card).

The problem is the stuff that is bad is REALLY bad and it drags everything else down. If you had the opening matches, Kross’ squash, the women’s tag (maybe) and the main event, you have a pretty watchable show. There is a path to making Raw a watchable show. The problem is that it involves getting rid of a lot of bad things and I don’t think WWE sees them as negatives. Until that changes, Raw isn’t getting any better in any significant way.

Results
Damian Priest b. Bobby Lashley via DQ when Sheamus interfered
Drew McIntyre/Damian Priest b. Bobby Lashley/Sheamus – Claymore to Sheamus
Karrion Kross b. Ricochet – Krossjacket choke
Xavier Woods b. Miz – Small package
Mansoor b. Jinder Mahal via DQ when Mahal attacked in the corner
Rhea Ripley/Nikki Ash b. Nia Jax/Shayna Baszler – Riptide to Baszler
Riddle b. AJ Styles – Bro Derek

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Summerslam 2012
Date: August 19, 2012
Location: Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
Commentators: Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler

Pre-Show: US Title: Santino Marella vs. Antonio Cesaro

Dolph Ziggler vs. Chris Jericho

Time for a recap of Lesnar vs. HHH, this time being from Monday with Shawn getting his arm broken.

Daniel Bryan vs. Kane

Kane chases Bryan into the back and destroys Josh Matthews for talking to him.

Intercontinental Title: The Miz vs. Rey Mysterio

An attempt at the sitout bulldog on the floor is countered by Miz throwing Rey into the barricade. Back in and Rey escapes a belly to back suplex into a cross body for two. Miz hits a kind of Abyss Shock Treatment for two which was a good looking move for him. Off to a cravate from the champion followed by the corner clothesline. Miz loads up his top rope ax handle but Mysterio crotches him to get a breather.

Rey heads up and hits the seated senton, only to get caught in a sitout powerbomb when he tries a rana. Rey kicks him in the head for two before countering a slam into a spinning DDT for the same. Rey ranas him off the top into the 619 but the top rope splash misses. The Finale is countered into a rollup for a very close two. And never mind as the Skull Crushing Finale retains the title for Miz at 9:13.

Smackdown World Title: Sheamus vs. Alberto Del Rio

Some soldiers are here.

HHH told the referee earlier to only end it on a pin or submission. Let them fight apparently.

Tag Titles: Prime Time Players vs. Kofi Kingston/R-Truth

We recap the events in LA before the PPV. Basically, BE A STAR!

HHH vs. Lesnar is main eventing. Is anyone really surprised by that?

Raw World Title: CM Punk vs. John Cena vs. Big Show

Show loads up the WMD but Cena goes after Show to break it up. Show spears Cena down for two and the small guys are down again. The Vader Bomb aimed at both only hits Cena but Punk saves the pin. Show and Cena go to the floor and the Big Bald catches Punk in mid suicide dive. He throws Punk into the ropes and heads back inside. Cena loads up his finishing sequence on Show to huge boos, only to get taken down by Punk.

Cue AJ who says restart the match. Show chokeslams both guys and gets two on both. Cena pops up and hits the AA on Show, but Punk throws him to the floor and pins Show to retain at 12:38 total.

Fred Durst, Piers Morgan, Rick Rubin (music producer), David Arquette and Maria Menounos are here.

We recap the pre-show match.

Time for the annual Summerslam concert as Kevin Rudolph performs Be A Star. I have never heard so much silence when a musician takes the stage Some Divas come out and dance with him. The announcers dance too. This just came and went.

Time for the BIG recap of Lesnar vs. HHH.

HHH vs. Brock Lesnar

Brock charges to start ala vs. Cena but HHH punches his way out of the arm. Brock gets the arm hold on and even jumps onto a standing HHH with it but HHH punches out of it again. A clothesline puts Lesnar on the floor and a jumping knee puts Lesnar down again. Lesnar gets sent to the floor for the second time and this has been almost all HHH in the first two minutes.

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Summerslam 2011
Date: August 14, 2011
Location: Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
Attendance: 17.404
Commentators: Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler, Booker T

Adam Jones, some guitarist from Tool, plays the Star Spangled Banner. WE WANT MAN MOUNTAIN ROCK!

The opening video is about how Summerslam being where dreams are made. We shift to a shot of dominoes falling over. Punk talks about being the first domino being knocked over and starting a revolution. HHH is guest referee tonight because what would a major match be without him?

The Miz/Alberto Del Rio/R-Truth vs. Kofi Kingston/John Morrison/Rey Mysterio

Cole IMMEDIATELY freaks out over Miz being on Summerslam. Miz keeps talking about how awesome he is until Truth cuts him off. This was when Truth was insane so he complains about things that start with the letter S, like spiders, Summerslam, Cee Loo Green and Conspiracy. Del Rio is the Raw MITB winner. The fans are WAY into Del Rio here for some reason. Mysterio gets a title shot at Punk or Cena tomorrow on Raw. Miz and Kofi get things going and the fans are actually behind Miz as well. Kofi hits a nice monkey flip followed by a dropkick before bringing in Morrison.

A double clothesline puts Miz down and the good guys do stereo nipups in a nice visual. Off to Truth who is tackled by Morrison but comes back with right hands to the face. Truth sends Morrison to the floor as the announcers talk about wigs. Thankfully Booker is there to get us back to the action by shouting BACK TO THE ACTION! Miz comes in with a kick to the head and puts on a chinlock, only to have Morrison kick him in the head to escape.

Mark Henry vs. Sheamus

Trailer for Killer Elite which is probably sponsoring the show or something.

Now a 7-11 commercial. My goodness get to something else.

Divas Title: Kelly Kelly vs. Beth Phoenix

Kelly gets dropped throat first on the top rope for two Eve plays cheerleader. This is a lot of standing around with Beth glaring down at Kelly before hitting a running Umaga shot in the corner. We hit the chinlock followed by the second over the shoulder backbreaker of the night. Kelly finally slips out and hits a quick neckbreaker to put both of them down.

Beth sends her into the Tree of Woe for no follow up before getting two off a side slam. Kelly gets in a knee to the face and goes nuts on Beth, only to have the handspring elbow countered. The Glam Slam is countered into a victory roll for the pin, just like every time Kelly beat Phoenix.

BUY TWIX!

Wade Barrett vs. Daniel Bryan

Daniel takes it to the mat and spins out of a wristlock before dropkicking Wade down. Cole says Barrett is a submission master as Bryan does the AJ Styles drop down into a dropkick, right down to the same overblown drop down. Back up and Bryan hooks a dragon screw leg whip and a running dropkick in the corner for two. Another kick to the chest gets two and Bryan backflips over Barrett, only to charge into the Winds of Change for two. A slingshot belly to back backbreaker gets two for Wade and we hit a reverse chinlock.

Smackdown World Title: Christian vs. Randy Orton

Remember this is no holds barred. Orton takes him into the corner and stomps him down before hitting a quick clothesline. Christian rakes the eyes and gets a quick one count off a middle rope elbow to the face. A backdrop puts Christian down and Randy stomps away but the champion chokes away on the ropes. Orton loads up the Elevated DDT but gets backdropped to the floor. Really back and forth so far.

Christian goes after him but is sent knees first into the steps to put him down again. Orton takes forever to set up the steps but gets sent face first into the steel again. Christian loads up the other announce table and blasts Orton in the head with the announce table. The champion tries an RKO through the table but gets caught in the real thing to destroy the table instead. Back in and Christian hits a quick Killswitch for two and Christian is furious.

Some HARD kendo stick shots to the back have Christian in even more trouble and the Elevated DDT crushes a trashcan. Christian tries one more rush but his sunset flip out of the corner is countered into the RKO (same move that gave Orton the title in the first place) onto the steps for the pin and the title.

Rating: A-. Much like the Undertaker vs. Edge Cell match a few years earlier, this was the perfect way to blow off a feud with Orton being the definitive winner. This feud did a great job of building upon itself with the extended sequences carrying over from match to match and building a deep psychology. Great match here and the whole feud is worth checking out.

Video on Axxess.

Raw World Title: John Cena vs. CM Punk

Back in again and Punk cranks on a neck lock but Cena stands up and suplexes out of it. Cena tries to speed things up but the shoulder block is caught by a knee to the head for two. The running knee in the corner misses and now Cena can initiate the finishing sequence, only to have Punk hit a knee to break up the Shuffle. CM tries a kick but gets caught in the STF, only to get to the ropes and counter the ProtoBomb into a downward spiral and a Koji Clutch.

Cena rolls out and puts on the STF but Punk slips in an arm to block most of the pressure before countering into the Anaconda Vice. Cena rolls out of THAT and tries the STF again but Punk crawls out before it goes on full. AWESOME sequence there as the gear has shifted hard. Punk backdrops him to the floor and hits the suicide dive but he bumps his own head in the process. HHH starts counting and gets to nine before going to the floor and throwing both guys back inside.

Raw World Title: Alberto Del Rio vs. CM Punk

Kick to the head, Del Rio wins the title to end the show. This would turn into one of the stupidest and most ridiculous stories ever with Nash showing a text asking him to lay out Punk but it turned out he sent it to himself for one more moment in the limelight after a big fan reaction at the Royal Rumble. The end result of all this: HHH beating Nash and Punk.

Overall Rating: A. This is a GREAT show with some awesome matches and some great drama at the end. Now to be fair no one knew what the drama would lead to, but it blew my mind when I watched it at first. The rest of the show is awesome though with the worst match being the Divas. If the biggest torture I have to go through all night is looking at Kelly in those shorts and Eve looking gorgeous all dressed up, so be it. Great show here and well worth seeing.

Ratings Comparison

Kofi Kingston/John Morrison/Rey Mysterio vs. Alberto Del Rio/The Miz/R-Truth

Original: B-

Redo: B-

Sheamus vs. Mark Henry

Original: C

Redo: C+

Beth Phoenix vs. Kelly Kelly

Original: C+

Redo: D+

Wade Barrett vs. Daniel Bryan

Original: B

Redo: B+

Randy Orton vs. Christian

Original: B+

Redo: A-

CM Punk vs. John Cena

Original: A+

Redo: B+

CM Punk vs. Alberto Del Rio

Original: N/A

Redo: N/A

Overall Rating

Original: A+

Redo: A

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2011/08/14/summerslam-2011-that-was-i-need-a-cigarette/

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Summerslam 2011
Date: August 14, 2011
Location: Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
Commentators: Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler, Booker T

^{The Miz/Alberto Del Rio/R-Truth vs. Kofi Kingston/Rey Mysterio/John Morrison}

Sheamus vs. Mark Henry

The pale one fights out of it and manages to take Henry down for a moment. Emphasis on the moment aspect though as Henry takes him down again. The Vader Bomb misses though and Sheamus starts his comeback. A flying axehandle puts him on the mat and Sheamus starts dropping some knees. He fires off the forearms to the chest when Henry is caught in the ropes.

Ad for some movie.

Divas Title: Kelly Kelly vs. Beth Phoenix

Wade Barrett vs. Daniel Bryan

Mat stuff to start with Barrett in control. Booker talks about Bryan having his lunch today. We had breakfast talk on Friday and now this? Jerry calls Barrett a carnivore which is a decent enough line. SICK looking arm hold into a pin attempt by Bryan. Cole is way off tonight, calling Barrett the submission specialist and thinking Bryan was the carnivore Jerry was talking about.

The California National Guard is here.

Smackdown World Title: Christian vs. Randy Orton

Orton catches him in the crowd and hammers away. Back to ringside now and Christian finds a kendo stick to pound on Orton. He chokes away and shouts a lot and gets two. Christian charges at him in the corner and gets rolled up into a VERY close two count. Spinebuster gets two for the champion. Orton fires off a dropkick to block a kendo stick shot from the middle rope.

The table is already broken but Orton puts it in the corner anyway. Yes slap a cracked table with some of the legs already broken. Nothing could go wrong with that idea. Christian counters the toss into it and hits the reverse DDT. He loads up the spear but Orton jumps over him. RKO is countered and we go back to the floor. Christian goes into the steps and does a nice flip over them.

^th world title at 24:36.

Raw World Title: John Cena vs. CM Punk

Raw World Title: Alberto Del Rio vs. CM Punk

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Summerslam 2010
Date: August 15, 2010
Location: Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
Commentators: Matt Striker, Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler

Well we’re back again for the *insert Summerfest joke here* show. This is the epitome of a one match show as EVERYTHING has been about the Nexus invasion. The theory is that Cena turns tonight but I’m not sold on it. Nexus more or less has to win tonight or the angle is worthless. I’m not sold on this card very well at all, but it’s starting now so let’s get to it.

The opening is of course all about Nexus, which makes sense. The arena and set look great as this really is a huge show.

Intercontinental Title: Dolph Ziggler vs. Kofi Kingston

Pretty clear that Dolph retains here. Vickie does her usual whining and catchphrase here just to be annoying. Nice pop for Kofi but nothing great. We’re in MALTA BABY! Kofi misses a dive to start and is in trouble early on. Apparently the tag titles either aren’t major titles or his win is forgotten into the Rocker Tag Title Book of History. King makes a joke about liking 11s or 12s. On a 1-10 scale you freaking perverts.

Dolph is mostly dominant here as he hooks a chinlock. Kofi can’t get the “controlled frenzy” going according to Cole. Does everything have to have a name now? Dolph gets two on a roll thru of a cross body. We get a Fameasser reference from Striker as it makes Kofi famous. Even Lawler chuckles at it. He’s more energetic tonight for some reason. Trouble in Paradise misses, which might be because OF THE MASSIVE CHANTING OF BOOM BOOM BOOM by Kofi.

Sleeper goes on….AND HERE THEY COME? Yes, Nexus hits the ring and beats them up before circling Kofi. The big beatdown follows as I have a bad feeling about where this show is going. Barrett says this is a preview of later tonight. Expect a Kofi run-in later. Nexus is united apparently.

Rating: C+. Not a bad match for what they had, but the ending is very strange. This wasn’t bad, but with no ending like this it really hurt things. I really do expect the Cena turn now for some reason, which is why it likely won’t happen. Anyway, this needed a finish to be good but even still it’s decent.

Jericho wants Miz on the team tonight and so does Edge. Edge eating a Slim Jim is epic for no reason at all. They say he could be a huge star but doesn’t say yes.

Alicia Fox vs. Melina

Well at least this should be short. Melina has a freaking headdress on and she looks like a freaking idiot. Fox is attractive with straight hair. Shame that’s not the case here. Melina is in the skin colored tights which are always weird looking. Melina is the hometown girl so she’s all awesome and such apparently. Yep this is boring. It’s not bad, but seriously does ANYONE care about this match?

Still waiting on something to happen here. Melina might have hurt her knee on a move from the ropes. Alicia of course does nothing about it. Nice superkick by Melina. This is just boring me to death but Melina’s gyrations are helping a bit. That girl could make a KILLING as a stripper. After FAR too long, Melina wins with more or less a weird snapmare. Apparently it’s called the Mind Trip. Ok then.

After the win, cue Laycool to annoy Melina. They say this is awesome and want to take a picture with “two champions” in it so hopefully this will lead to a unification thing soon. Brawl ensues and the worst kick every by Michelle misses by at least 8 inches. Laycool’s music continues to be awesome. Michelle does a knee into the tables to put down Melina for a good while.

Rating: D. This was pretty bad. The ending came out of nowhere but thankfully it ended a bad match. I’m very glad to see that there might be a unification soon, but will anyone care even after that? It’s definitely the right move but with people like Fox chasing it then the whole thing is in trouble. Not a good match.

After a quick recap of the SES vs. Show, we go to this.

Straightedge Society vs. Big Show

How appropriate to have this after that video package. It’s Mercury, Punk and Gallows. Show dominates Mercury and Gallows in about a minute to get us to Punk, who gets face cheers. Oh and Show’s hand is fine. Gallows and Mercury get back up and the 3-1 beatdown begins.

Show comes back of course as it occurs to me that Punk has the most hair of anyone out there. Punk goes for the springboard clothesline and gets caught by the throat. He kicks Show in the head which was cool looking. Cole calls a bulldog a DDT because he’s a stupid man. Punk does a bunch of strikes to the hand and it just ticks Show off. Punk gets knocked to the floor and leaves. Mercury gets chokeslammed and pinned while on top of Gallows. Here lies the SES.

Rating: D+. Pretty weak here as more or less we knew it was just going to be Show winning in the end due to his huge size advantage. This was an ok match and the ending advances the story, but dang man why do they have to crush the SES again? For once could they actually let something go on for more than a month without crippling it?

Kane talks to the casket and Sheamus of all people comes up, saying he’d like to borrow the casket to put Orton in. Kane says no. Sheamus says stay out of his way and Kane yells at him. Odd moment but cool potential.

And here’s Miz. The Raw title match is next so he has a reason to be here. He wants to know if he should be on the team. The fans cheer but he doesn’t care what they think. Allegedly Hart and Cena begged for him to be on the team. He talks about every person on the team and how they’ve all done things to get him on the team. Awesome promo but he wants the fans to admit it. After a HUGE delay, he says yes he’ll be on the team. Cole orgasms loudly.

We recap Orton vs. Sheamus, which isn’t much at all. Orton won a match and now he’s the number one contender. The hype for this has more or less not existed.

Raw World Title: Sheamus vs. Randy Orton

Orton is in purple and Sheamus is in green, making this just freaking weird looking. Sheamus powers him back to start which is odd since he’s kind of quietly powerful. Slow start here which should be a good sign but I’m not sure here. They tease a countout and Orton is dominating which is a weird formula for a match.

This is just boring as they’re going WAY too slow. Orton’s arm gets worked on and the elevated DDT is reversed into a backdrop. Sheamus is in control and not much is going on. He hits basic moves and covers. This is apparently the main event and it started about 5 minutes after 9. He gets technical with a drop toehold to put Orton down.

Sheamus likes to use a double axehandle which is kind of a cool move for him to use. More people should use it. When I say more I mean like one total. Sheamus at least works on the arm which is the right idea if nothing else. Orton gets the backbreaker as this is just DRAGGING. The boo/yay cheers start up for punching. Orton does his usual array of clotheslines as I fight off sleep due to this.

Middle rope suplex gets two for the guy with non-mayonnaise colored skin. Sheamus hits his backbreaker for two which of course Cole is surprised by when the kickout happens. Brogue Kick misses though and Sheamus hits the floor. There’s the DDT but the RKO is countered which surprised me. He shoved him off and it legit looks like he hit it from both angles. Clearly countered though which was cool.

High Cross and RKO are both countered but Orton walks into the Brogue Kick for two as the fans are into this now. That’s the issue with WWE Title matches: you don’t have to get into them for a long time and everyone knows it so for the first ten minutes no one cares. Sheamus gets a chair and shoves the referee out for the CHEAP DQ.

Rating: D+. Oh this was bad. The ending crippled the actually solid last 5 minutes or so as the rest of this was just flat out boring. The slow style of both guys crippled each other and the ending had me shaking my head at how freaking dumb it was. I don’t get this at all as if nothing else have Sheamus get the chair shot and win that way but dang man, this was freaking stupid.

Post match Orton snaps and hits the RKO on the table. Good for him. Table didn’t break so at least it looked good. Sheamus is announced as still champion which should make us wait for either HHH or Miz’s theme music. Naturally we get the Legendary trailer.

We recap the way overdone Rey vs. Kane issue, which comes down to one thing: how would Rey know who did it? This took almost five minutes.

Smackdown World Title: Rey Mysterio vs. Kane

Kane brings the casket with him. Striker even throws out a quick summary of the Taker/Kane childhood which you NEVER hear anymore. Kane goes right for him and gets kicked in the knee. They talk about the keys to victory and King says that Rey’s potential innocence should help him win. Uh, what? Striker thinks this is speed vs. power. You can’t buy commentary like this people!

Kane takes over and we slow it down again. He gets a baseball slide which is cool looking. Can you imagine Kane playing baseball? That’s just funny for some reason. 619 is blocked and Kane takes his head off with a clothesline. We’re clearly just filling in time until the finish. It’s been mostly Kane here and as soon as I say that Kane goes into the post. Rey hits a flying battering ram move but Kane takes over AGAIN with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker, a cool move.

Cole likes to talk about people being in the box. Kane wants the referee to ASK HIM. He’s been chilling with Jericho I guess. Top rope rana is blocked and Rey’s knee might be hurt. Wait wasn’t his ankle hurt on Smackdown? Springboard Splash misses so Rey just kicks Kane in the head. Well that works if nothing else. After more uneventful stuff, the 619 is blocked and Rey gets thrown into the casket.

The casket is closed and you know Taker will be in it soon. Chokeslam is blocked and 619 hits. Rey gets two off a counter to a counter to the springboard splash as the end is clearly near. Chokeslam hits to retain THANK GOODNESS!

Rating: C-. Better than the last match as at least this had an ending. It was still boring but Kane winning clean is a nice perk. You know it’ll wind up being Kane vs. Taker but Kane getting a clean win like this is good for him because he flat out needs them for some credibility. Not horrible but I’ve seen worse.

Post match Kane says he’s going to put Rey in the casket and opens it, showing that it’s empty. Two chokeslams and a tombstone (sick one too) and of course Taker is in the casket. He goes for Rey and asks if he’s heard of an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth? Taker asks him why he did it but Rey insists it wasn’t him. Hand around throat and the throat slit sign but he turns to Kane. Kane breaks Taker’s grip and tombstones him, leaving him laying. These guys are on and off more than all the high school relationships in history. Yep Kane is the heel again.

Ad for Smackdown on Sci-Fi.

Clips of Summerslam Axxess which looks awesome.

Recap of Nexus vs. Cena’s Army. If you don’t know this by now, go read the Raw recaps since I’m sick of this story.

Nexus vs. R-Truth/Edge/Chris Jericho/Miz/John Cena/Bret Hart/John Morrison

Remember that this is elimination. This should go for a LONG time. New shirt for Cena. Miz comes out last and Cena has something to say. Cena has a replacement, and it’s DANIEL BRYAN. The really weird thing here is that there was an article up on WWE.com where it spoiled this half an hour before it happened. That’s very freaky and I can’t imagine the speech he got because of it.

Nexus vs. R-Truth/Edge/Chris Jericho/Daniel Bryan/John Cena/Bret Hart/John Morrison

BIG brawl to start as Cole runs down Bryan every second because he has to. The official starters are Bryan and Young. This should be quick. Hey I’m right as Bryan gets a crossface and Young is out in like 30 seconds. That evens things out since Hart is more or less worthless. Gabriel and Jericho are in now and don’t expect every tag to be mentioned since it’s going to be very fast paced.

Tarver comes in and throws a lot of punches. Morrison gets a nice pop as the hometown boy. Flash Kick and Starship Pain put Tarver down to make it 7-5. He landed on his back this time so we’ll call that a success. Barrett wants a huddle. Sheffield comes in and boxes with Morrison kind of as Nexus takes over. The fans want Bret as it’s all Sheffield. Morrison makes a comeback but walks into a kick by Gabriel and the clothesline from Sheffield to make it 6-5.

Sheffield hits Truth in like 30 seconds to tie it up. Jericho comes in and gets beaten down. Why do they keep calling them Team WWE? Nexus is in WWE officially right? Jericho vs. Barrett is an interesting match actually. Bret and Slater come in as Cena hasn’t been in yet, which is rather interesting. Bret does basic stuff and gets the Sharpshooter but there’s a chair in. Sheffield gets the tag and Bret pops him with the chair for reasons of basic stupidity. That’s the best way to get rid of him since he can’t take a power move due to his health so there isn’t another way to do it really.

As a recap it’s Cena/Edge/Jericho/Bryan vs. Sheffield/Barrett/Slater/Otunga/Gabriel. Sheffield gets up and walks into the Codebreaker. Spear ties us up at 4. Gabriel gets a SICK spin kick on Edge. The kick itself was just ok but the impact looked great. Barrett and Edge slow us down a bit. Edge gets a spinwheel kick which is one of his old moves. I haven’t seen him use that in forever.

Otunga comes in and is booed out of the building. Edge hits the Edgecution and gets a face pop for it. Not sure whether it’s for Edge or against Otunga but whatever. Edge gets the tag but STILL no Cena. This is certainly compelling. Lionsault hits and Striker says HE HIT IT! Jericho loses the Walls for a bit but Otunga eventually taps to get us to 4-3 Team Cena. Jericho is wrestling like Lionheart here and a BIG Y2J chant starts. I still want a Jericho face title run.

And he runs into Cena, resulting in Slater hitting his Zig Zag for the tie. Cena and Edge both want in and Edge yells while Bryan plays peacemaker. Slater runs Edge into Cena and rolls him up to get Jericho and Edge in less than a minute. Edge and Jericho beat up Cena before leaving. Jericho: YOU’RE A STUPID MAN! Cena/Bryan vs. Slater/Barrett/Gabriel. Cena is finally in now and gets his head kicked in.

Very good match so far as Nexus has looked STRONG. Cena can’t get anything going and Cole will not shut up about Bryan. Gabriel gets a DDT on Cena that looked good. Everyone beats on Cena and as I say that we get a double clothesline. Bryan comes in and cleans house, using a freaking big boot. Striker wants Cattle Mutilation. Where’s PETA when you need them?

Cena is down on the floor which makes me wonder where this is going. Cena as heel vs. Bryan as face? After a lot of GOOD stuff from Bryan he gets Slater to tap. And cue Miz with the briefcase to blast Bryan and make it 2-1 with Barrett/Gabriel vs. Cena. Cena is more or less dead though despite not being beaten down past anything overly special. He goes into the ending sequence though after a missed Gabriel splash in the corner.

FU doesn’t work as Gabriel makes the tag and Nexus takes over again. It’s a massive beatdown here as Cena has NOTHING. The two guys pull the mats on the floor back and Barrett hits a DDT on the exposed concrete. Gabriel gets tagged in and the 450 MISSES! Cena rolls up Gabriel and instantly gets the STFU on Barrett for the TAP AND THE WIN!

Rating: B+. This was very good. They booked it perfectly, including the ending. As I said in the LD, Cena moved, covered, did a drop toehold, laid on Barrett’s back and pulled. THAT’S IT. That’s how he beat them both. He wasn’t doing an FU to both guys after escaping their finishers and hitting 4 shoulder blocks each. He outmoved them and it worked fine. Nexus looked solid out there and the whole thing looked fine. This was a good match and well done. It certainly wasn’t bad and is nowhere near what people are making it out to be. I loved this and it made the show for the most part.

Overall Rating: B. This was a good show, but it’s a kind that would need a footnote. This is the definition of a one match show. I don’t mean one match is great and the rest suck. I mean this was built around one single match and nothing else on the card mattered at all. Other than the 7 on 7 match, what else was hyped at all?

Luckily, that match was very good and hit on all cylinders. The rest of the card is ok, but it could have been better. The Orton/Sheamus ending was just bad. Kane overpowering Taker is interesting as it actually gives us some intrigue. This was a good show overall, powered mainly by the main event’s success. Not worth seeing much other than the main, but that’s expected with a show like this.

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Monday Night Raw
Date: July 26, 2021
Location: T-Mobile Center, Kansas City, Missouri
Commentators: Jimmy Smith, Byron Saxton, Corey Graves

It’s time to find out how bad Raw can get this week, which tends to be the new low every week. Last week’s show was one of the biggest head scratchers I’ve seen in a very long time and it could be terrifying to see just how low things can get. We are less than a month away from Summerslam and it’s time to build things up. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of last week’s Women’s Title match and Nikki Ash cashing in Money in the Bank to win the title.

Here is Nikki Ash to get things going. She finally gets to welcome us to Raw and talks about how she didn’t believe she could get here. Nikki has worked to get here and once she finally started believing in herself, she accomplished her goals. If she can do it, everyone can do it and we can all be almost superheroes. Cue Charlotte to talk about how last week wasn’t fair and she is getting her rematch at Summerslam. Charlotte knows that everyone is tired of having people better than them around but they need to get used to it.

Cue Rhea Ripley, now smiling and high fiving (a few) fans. Ripley talks about how Charlotte only held the title for a day and promising to win the title herself. Nikki asks why she is being left out and here are Adam Pearce and Sonya Deville to interrupt. The triple threat match is on, and we’ll throw in Nikki vs. Charlotte tonight as well. Charlotte jumps Ripley but gets knocked outside by Nikki, who stands tall. This didn’t do much about making Nikki feel important.

Damian Priest doesn’t think much of Sheamus bullying Humberto Carrillo so he’ll deal with Sheamus tonight.

Damian Priest vs. Sheamus

Non-title but Priest gets a shot if he wins here. Sheamus shoulders him down to start so Priest is back with an armdrag into an armbar. Back up and Priest sends him outside, where Sheamus drops him onto the apron. We take a break and come back with Priest fighting out of a chinlock and hitting a heck of a clothesline.

Another shot knocks off Sheamus’ mask but he gets his boots up in the corner to cut Priest off. Sheamus goes up but gets chokeslammed down for two. Back up and Sheamus grabs an Alabama Slam for two, meaning it’s time for the Texas Cloverleaf. That’s broken up by some kicks to the head so Sheamus knees him in the head for two more. Priest kicks his way out of the forearms to the chest though and the Reckoning is good for the pin at 10:05.

Rating: C+. I can go for two big men beating on each other until one of them can’t get up and that is what we got here. This was what it should have been, maybe save for the champ taking a clean loss. I’m really not wild on the Champions Contenders deal, as it just gives you a non-title match to set up the same match with the title on the line. There are a lot of other ways to do this, but why use them when you can take the easy way?

Post match Sheamus shouts that he rebroke his nose and he wants a doctor.

Tag Team Titles: Viking Raiders vs. Omos/AJ Styles

Omos and Styles are defending. Ivar starts fast and runs Styles over, setting up the seated senton out of the corner. Erik drives Ivar into Omos to knock him off the apron and the Viking Experience connects early. Omos breaks that up at two and sends the Raiders into the barricade to take over in a hurry.

We take a break and come back with Omos cranking on Erik’s head. That’s broken up and it’s back to Ivar to clean house. The cartwheel gets Ivar away from the Phenomenal Forearm and he runs AJ over again. Ivar’s charge in the corner hits boots though and AJ gets two off a tornado DDT. Erik comes back in to run AJ over but a Pele kick drops him again. The hot tag brings in Omos and the double chokebomb crushes Erik. AJ’s springboard 450 retains the titles at 8:35.

Rating: C-. Remember when Styles and Omos won a tag match because no one, including the Vikings, couldn’t stop Omos? Well Styles and Omos just won a tag match because no one, including the Vikings, couldn’t stop Omos. Yeah it’s repetitive, but the tag team division has all of three decent teams in it at the moment, and I’m not sure what else they can do at the moment.

We recap Jinder Mahal and company attacking Drew McIntyre in Money in the Bank. As a result, McIntyre annihilated part of the company last week.

Here’s Drew McIntyre for his match with Veer but here are Jinder Mahal and someone in a suit instead. Mahal talks about how Shanky was taken out by an angry McIntyre, so this man is Mahal’s lawyer. McIntyre is being SUED, so McIntyre can do the right thing. That makes Drew think: should he take everyone out for a steak dinner and apologize? Or should he beat Veer down just as bad? McIntyre asks for a DREW IS GONNA KILL YOU chant and we’re ready to go.

Drew McIntyre vs. Veer

They slug it out to start with Veer actually dropping McIntyre with a right hand and a slam. The jumping elbow sets up a neck crank but McIntyre fights up. Jinder Mahal throws in a chair, which is Claymored into Veer’s face for the DQ at 3:50.  Er actually Veer is disqualified for holding the chair.  Huh?

Rating: D. This feud is already on the brink of disaster and now McIntyre can’t even Veer? I don’t know why WWE thinks 3MB imploding in 2021 is interesting but that’s what the guy who carried Raw throughout the pandemic is getting. I know he seems interested in the idea, but shooting it down is a good idea at times too.

Post match Drew Claymores the lawyer too.

We recap Eva Marie and Doudrop in Alexa’s Playground, with Alexa Bliss seemingly finding a new target.

Eva Marie/Doudrop vs. Natalya/Tamina

Non-title, but it’s a CHAMPIONS CONTENDER match. Doudrop takes Natalya down for two to start and Natalya comes up favoring her knee. It’s off to Tamina, who gets taken down by Doudrop. Eva comes in to get the cover…and Alexa Bliss takes over the screen for a video on the Lillylution. The distraction lets Tamina hit the superkick for the pin on Eva at 3:10.

Rating: D-. Hopefully Natalya is ok as her knee didn’t look good. This was another match which wasn’t going to be very good in the first place and was then made worse with the dumb interference. The Lilly thing was dumb in the first place and now it’s back because it must be a good idea….somehow. Now just get rid of the Champions Contenders things and the show can be that much better.

Karrion Kross vs. Keith Lee

Non-title. Kross can’t pick him up to start but Lee can toss him with a release belly to belly suplex. A clothesline puts Kross outside, where he posts Lee to take over. Kross hits his own suplex on the floor and we take a break. Back with Kross choking in the corner and hitting a DDT for two. The Krossjacket Choke goes on but Lee powers out of it and starts hammering away. Lee hits the hard running shoulder but the Spirit Bomb is countered into the Doomsday Saito. The running forearm to the back of the head sets up the Krossjacket to make Lee eventually tap at 8:52.

Rating: C-. That’s better than last week for Kross, and he should have beaten Lee here. At the same time, if they want to do anything with Lee at any point in the future, he shouldn’t have been in this spot. I’m not sure what is going on with Lee, but it is pretty clear that something has gone wrong. I’d still love to know why he was gone, but right now I’d rather know why WWE seems to have given up on him.

We recap Nikki Ash winning the Women’s Title, plus her big celebration.

Nikki Ash believes in herself and no one can take away that feeling, win or lose. She wants all the boys and girls to believe that things are worth fighting for and no matter what, she will be defending her title at Summerslam. Rhea Ripley comes in to says he can respect the confidence, but she is leaving with the title. Tonight though, she wants Nikki to give Charlotte h***.

Mace and T-Bar are ready to eat the smaller people, because people like Mansoor and Mustafa Ali exist to be devoured by them.

Mace/T-Bar vs. Mustafa Ali/Mansoor

Before the match, Mansoor talks about wanting to show how good the team can be. Ali says follow his lead, get the win, and we’ll see about the future. Ali hammers on T-Bar to start but the Cyclone Boot kicks Ali’s head off for two. Mace comes in to plant Ali with Mansoor having to make a save.

That earns Mansoor a shot to the floor and a running big boot gets two on Ali. A shot to the face gets Ali out of trouble and he brings Mansoor in to take over. T-Bar makes a save of his own and sends Mansoor outside, where Ali hits a suicide tornado DDT for the save. Ali yells at Mansoor for not being ready but Mansoor saves him from a chokeslam. A victory roll gives Mansoor the pin on Mace at 3:04.

Rating: D+. I’m curious to see where this goes as Ali doesn’t like Mansoor but Mansoor is really into the team. At the moment, it isn’t like there are many teams to contend with so throw some people together and see what they can do. Mace and T-Bar seem to be the latest lost causes and I’m not sure why, but it’s another shame.

Here are Bobby Lashley and MVP to respond to Goldberg’s challenge (which Lashley already did on Twitter last week). MVP recaps the challenge and asks Lashley for his answer. Lashley isn’t going to dignify that with a response, but says this is his ring. Cue Cedric Alexander to say he didn’t like the disrespect when Lashley broke up the Hurt Business. Now it’s Shelton Benjamin coming out to say Alexander’s voice is annoying before challenging Lashley as well. Lashley says he’ll fight them both at once.

Bobby Lashley vs. Cedric Alexander/Shelton Benjamin

Non-title and Lashley runs them over to start. Cedric is sent outside, leaving Lashley to go after Benjamin. Back in and Cedric trips Lashley up, allowing Benjamin to hit a running knee. A springboard tornado DDT plants Lashley for a double two but he is back up with the spinebuster to Alexander. The spear cuts Benjamin down and it’s a Jackhammer to plant him again. The Dominator puts Alexander onto Benjamin for the double pin at 2:44.

John Morrison and the Miz are ready to make this city Moist AF but AJ Styles and Omos interrupt. They have something to talk about, with AJ doing the talking and Omos blocking out the camera.

John Morrison vs. Riddle

Miz is here too and it’s a Drip Stick to Saxton before the match, which actually makes him sound angry. Riddle takes him down by the leg to start and snaps off a suplex for two. The kicks in the corner rock Morrison and a fisherman’s suplex gets two more. Miz Drip Sticks Riddle so it’s a jumping knee to Morrison. Riddle kicks Miz down, turning the wheelchair over. That means mocking Miz for being stuck on his back as we take a break.

Back with Miz upright and Riddle striking away in the corner. The threat of a running kick in the corner sends Morrison outside, where Riddle hits a springboard flip dive. Cue AJ Styles and Omos so Morrison can get in a shot to the face for two of his own. That just earns Morrison the Final Flash for two and Riddle goes up top….as Omos breaks the scooter. The distraction lets Morrison grab a Razor’s Edge spun into a hard slam. Starship Pain finishes Riddle at 9:56.

Rating: C. This was about storyline advancement, as Riddle needs his partner to save him from the numbers game. RKBro getting the title shot at Summerslam could be a great moment, especially if Orton finally gets in on Riddle’s antics. You know, assuming Orton doesn’t take months to get back like so many others.

Post match (after Miz sprays the Drip Stick in celebration) Styles stomps on Riddle and plants him with the Styles Clash.

We recap Reginald winning the 24/7 Title last week.

24/7 Title: Reginald vs. R-Truth

Reginald, with an unseen trampoline to get him over the top, is defending and Truth has a headset on. Truth hits him in the face and takes Reginald’s jacket off, so Reginald flips into the corner. Some shots with the coat miss due to some well timed flips and Truth misses a charge into the corner. The side kick misses as well and Reginald’s running flip seated senton is good for the pin at 1:31.

Post match the usual gang of idiots are here so Reginald flip dives to the floor and backflips up the aisle.

Charlotte vs. Nikki Ash

Non-title and Charlotte chops her into the corner to start. Charlotte goes after the mask and chokes on the ropes to keep Nikki in trouble. Nikki is sent outside, allowing Charlotte to ask if this is your champion. Back in and Nikki’s comeback is cut off in a hurry, as Charlotte fires off more chops. Some rollups give Nikki two each and a headscissors sends Charlotte outside. There’s a dropkick through the ropes but Charlotte throws her over the announcers’ table as we take a break.

Back with Nikki still in trouble so Charlotte can grab the chinlock. Nikki fights up and hits a quick crossbody for a breather so Charlotte misses a bit boot. The leg is snapped across the top but she blocks the sunset flip without much effort. There’s a bulldog for two on Charlotte but she chops Nikki into the corner. Nikki is sat on top, only to come back with a tornado DDT. Charlotte rolls through the high crossbody though and pins Nikki at 12:33.

Rating: D. What is there to say here? Nikki is trying to be a star and gets beaten down, with Charlotte selling absolutely nothing for most of the match. I’d like to think that this leads to Cross overcoming the odds at Summerslam and retaining, but that isn’t going to matter if this is what happens to her on the way. This was a long form squash and Charlotte reminded us of that every chance she could.

Post match Charlotte laughs at Nikki and grabs a mic to say no one is in her league. Nikki grabs the mic and says she knows she lost but she showed she ALMOST could have won. Therefore, Charlotte gets a rematch next week. Charlotte accepts and beats Nikki down again, yells some more, and drops her one more time to end the show.

Overall Rating: D. I was thinking that this show was a fair amount of good things with some bad sprinkled in, but the more I look back on it, the ratio is reversed. There were quite a few bad parts to this show with only a few positives and that isn’t enough. The Women’s Title stuff is insufferable, Mahal is the same boring heel he has been for years and the Lilly stuff is awful. There were a few bright spots here and there, but it was another bad show as Raw focuses so much on the terrible stuff that it drags everything else down. Another awful show, mainly thanks to the focus being on the worst parts.

Results
Damian Priest b. Sheamus – Reckoning
AJ Styles/Omos b. Viking Raiders – Springfield 450 to Erik
Veer b. Drew McIntyre via DQ when McIntyre kicked a chair into Veer’s face
Natalya/Tamina b. Eva Marie/Doudrop – Superkick to Eva Marie
Karrion Kross b. Keith Lee – Krossjacket Choke
Mustafa Ali/Mansoor b. Mace/T-Bar – Victory roll to Mace
Bobby Lashley b. Cedric Alexander/Shelton Benjamin – Double pin
John Morrison b. Riddle – Starship Pain
Reginald b. R-Truth – Running flipping seated senton
Charlotte b. Nikki Ash – Rolled through high crossbody

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

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