He was rather awesome.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/10-summerslam-weekend-moments-not-awesome-braun-strowman/

Monday Night Raw
Date: August 21, 2017
Location: Barclays Center, New York City, New York
Commentators: Michael Cole, Booker T., Corey Graves

With Summerslam behind us, it’s time to start heading towards No Mercy, which ultimately leads us to Survivor Series. The big story is a combination of Brock Lesnar retaining the Universal Title and Braun Strowman arriving as the new monster as he manhandled Lesnar last night. If that’s not a title program at some point in the near future, I have no idea where WWE’s head is. Let’s get to it.

Here are Lesnar and Paul Heyman to open things up. Heyman says this isn’t a tape delay because we’re live with Brock Lesnar still your reigning and defending Universal Champion. He talks about the conspiracy against Lesnar, who fought off everyone else last night to keep his title. For the first time in his life, Lesnar was taken off the battlefield in an attempt to get rid of him without having to pin him or make him submit. But Lesnar wouldn’t have any of that and marched back down the aisle so conquering could ensue. As for tonight, there is no one in WWE or UFC history, like Lesnar himself.

Cue Braun Strowman and you can see Lesnar wince a bit. The fans cheer for Strowman as Brock gets in his face. A chokeslam is countered but Braun kicks him in the face and hits a powerslam to put Lesnar down. He starts to get up so it’s another powerslam, leaving Strowman to hold up the title. Strowman is the only person who should be challenging Brock right now and they would be crazy to wait any longer than Survivor Series (and even that’s a stretch) to do this match.

Enzo Amore vs. Big Cass

Street fight as this feud MUST continue. Before the match, Enzo talks about his history with Cass, including the two of them breaking bread together as his family’s house. Enzo grabs a shopping cart full of weapons, which he throws at Cass, who easily dodges and clotheslines Enzo down. A shopping cart shot to the ribs drops Enzo and they head inside with Cass throwing Enzo a chair.

That just earns Enzo a big boot to the face and we take a break. Back with Enzo hitting a jawbreaker but getting crushed in the corner again. A big boot misses though and Cass falls out to the floor. Cass kicks the chair away from Enzo again but seems to have hurt his knee on the fall. The knee gives out and the referee throws up the X and stops the match at 8:55.

Rating: D-. In a way I hope that was legit as I really, REALLY don’t need this feud to continue. Enzo has gone from being entertaining to one of the most annoying people I’ve seen in years as there’s just no point to have him fight Cass over and over again. The match was a squash anyway with Cass losing via basically slipping on a banana peel. He deserves better than that while Enzo deserves a root canal with no medication.

Emma is annoyed at Sasha Banks getting all this attention and complains to Dana Brooke about it. She runs her mouth about Nia Jax as well, who just happens to be standing right behind her. I think you know where this is going.

Nia Jax vs. Emma

Emma goes after her to start but gets run over and crushed with some elbow drops. A dropkick has no effect and it’s the Samoan drop for the pin on Emma at 1:14. So yeah, the division has three active wrestlers of any value but let’s make sure to squash Emma over and over and over to punish her for daring to question the company’s oh so brilliant planning. As usual, WWE would rather cut off its nose to spite its face and then wonder why people stopped caring about the division.

Here’s Elias for a song. He teases singing R-Truth’s song but says he’s kidding and it’s time for some real music. The song mocks Truth so here he is to interrupt.

R-Truth vs. Elias

Truth takes him down to start but runs into an elbow as Booker’s microphone isn’t working properly. Drift Away ends Truth at 1:22.

Here’s Kurt Angle to announce a new surprise: John Cena, who is now back on Raw. Cena isn’t sure why he’s here before saying he was asked to come here by Angle himself. That’s what Cena wanted because he wanted to go face to face with a certain superstar. Cue Roman Reigns and I’m rather curious to see who the fans will boo more. Cena says that’s the man he was looking for but Reigns says Cena has only been running his mouth on Twitter.

Reigns wants to know if Cena will run his mouth to his face. The fans chant for Undertaker, which Cena says is them holding a bit of a grudge. Cena didn’t come here to talk though and the mic’s are dropped. The fight is teased but here are Miz and the Miztourage to interrupt. Miz: “So this is what a sold out Barclays looks like. I wouldn’t know.” He asks how many moments Cena and Reigns get, earning himself a round of applause.

Miz wants to know why the two of them get this time while he was stuck on the Kickoff Show last night. A quick fan poll says Cena isn’t welcome here so Miz says there are 18,000 people wanting him to leave. Cena goes to leave but Miz spins him around and says he’s not done yet. Miz rants about how no one knows what to do with Cena or Reigns and that hurts him, the only champion in this ring. He wants to know when he gets his moment because he’s spent twelve years earning it.

Cena suggests he team up with Reigns to face Miz and either of Miz’s lackeys. Miz says no because that would be a moment for Cena and not him. This brings out Samoa Joe of all people to say that he’s going to be Miz’s partner whether Miz likes it or not. Joe doesn’t want to waste his time on Reigns because he owns Roman one on one.

Instead he slugs away at Cena as Reigns beats up Miz and the Miztourage. The AA is countered into the Koquina Clutch with Reigns making the save via a Superman Punch. Roman and Cena are left alone and the fans tell them that they both suck. I fully support these two singles matches, especially at No Mercy.

Drew Gulak/Noam Dar/Tony Nese/Ariya Daivari vs. Rich Swan/Mustafa Ali/Gran Metalik/Cedric Alexander

No one gets an entrance and it’s Metalik walking the ropes to dropkick Gulak down. It’s quickly off to Ali vs. Daivari for a quick strike exchange. Swann comes in for the threat of a spinning kick to Daivari, which sends him over to the corner. Dar won’t tag in so Nese does it instead, earning himself a dropkick.

Nese runs Swann over though and we take a break. Back with Swann slugging away at Dar but not being able to get over for a tag. The fans are doing the wave as Cedric gets the hot tag and starts cleaning house with kicks to the head. Everything breaks down and Metalik moonsaults out to the floor, leaving Cedric to Lumbar Check Nese for the pin at 8:45.

Rating: D+. So that’s a thing that existed and that’s about all I can say about it. Really, the cruiserweight division is a big waste of time save for maybe the champion and his top challenger, which makes 205 Live an even bigger waste of time. It’s not even an entertaining match where most people didn’t even get involved. Just nothing to say here.

Neville is in the back and says the fans are hilarious for wanting someone else as champion. Cue Titus O’Neil and Akira Tozawa to say Daivari gets his rematch tomorrow night on 205 Live.

Jason Jordan comes in to see Angle and says he wants Finn Balor tonight. Kurt reluctantly agrees.

Here are Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose for a chat. Rollins is glad that they got back together and now they’re champions. Dean says he slept with the title under his pillow last night, which confuses Seth for a second until he says this is one big party. Seth says he wants to get the rematch with Cesaro and Sheamus out of the way but here are the Hardys to interrupt instead. Matt understands that brothers fight and thinks it’s time to make things wonderful. They’ve revolutionized tag team wrestling for twenty five years and it’s time to do it again in Brooklyn. Here’s a referee and we’re ready to go after a break.

Dean Ambrose/Seth Rollins vs. Hardy Boyz

Non-title. Dean headlocks Matt to start but an early double team slows Ambrose down. It’s quickly off to Rollins for a kick to Jeff’s chest for two. The Spin Cycle gets two on Rollins but he drop toeholds Matt into a knee drop from Ambrose for two more. Neither finisher can hit though and it’s off to a stalemate.

A big slugout takes us to a break and we come back with Rollins enziguring Jeff. Matt and Dean come in with both champs being sent outside. Jeff nails Poetry in Motion over the top to drop them both again. Back in and Seth pulls Dean out of the way of the Whisper in the Wind before grabbing a front facelock. We hit the chinlock for a bit until Jeff dropkicks both of them down.

It’s back to Matt as everything breaks down. A Sling Blade drops Matt so Dean can get two before the Hardys are sent outside. There’s the double suicide dive but Matt hits a Side Effect on Rollins on the apron. Another Side Effect gets two on Dean but he comes back with an attempt at a super Dirty Deeds. That doesn’t work of course so it’s the Twist of Fate to set up the Swanton, which hits raised knees. The wind-up jumping knee to the face sets up Dirty Deeds to end Jeff at 17:45.

Rating: B. Good, long match here with Seth and Dean getting a big win over a much more high profile team. They’ve got something with that jumping knee into Dirty Deeds too, which is a lot more than a lot of teams can say. The Hardys definitely seem to be shifting into the role of putting other teams over and there’s nothing wrong with that for them, especially at this point in their careers.

We look at the opening sequence again.

Here’s Sasha Banks for her first comments after winning the title. She may be from Boston but she’s always left her heart right here in Brooklyn. Like when she and Charlotte tore the house down last year at Summerslam, which allows her to wish Ric Flair well. Sasha plans on defending the title the right way but here’s Alexa Bliss to interrupt. She laughs off the idea of Sasha being the right kind of champion but wants nothing to do with a rematch tonight in front of these Brooklyn fanboys. They’ll fight soon enough but for now, Bliss is fine making Sasha wait.

Jason Jordan vs. Finn Balor

Jordan takes him down to the mat to start and a rollup gets two, earning Balor a quick smile. Another technical sequence puts Jordan down, only to have Finn hit a dropkick to stagger Jason. Balor wants nothing to do with a handshake and snapmares him down instead. A leapfrog is countered into a powerslam to give Finn two and we take a break.

Back with Jordan putting him down again and dropping an elbow to the ribs. They fight over a butterfly suplex with the fans very upset about something that seems to be off camera. Balor stops a charge with a boot in the corner before sending Jordan to the floor for a baseball slide. The running apron kick has Jordan in more trouble but Jason comes back with the belly to belly.

The shoulder in the corner looks to set up the wheelbarrow neckbreaker, only to have Finn counter into a crossbody. A Pele drops Jordan again and both guys are down. Jordan drives him into the corner but gets caught with a Sling Blade. The shotgun dropkick puts Jordan in the corner and it’s the Coup de Grace for the pin at 11:45.

Rating: B. Definitely Jordan’s best singles match to date and it made him look like a bigger deal. Balor winning was the right call as Jordan shouldn’t be beating a former World Champion just yet. It was a good, competitive match though and that’s much better than what you usually get from Jordan at this point.

Alexa gets her title rematch next week.

Miz/Samoa Joe vs. Roman Reigns/John Cena

Cena bulldogs Miz to start and the fans are very pleased as it’s already off to Joe. The fans go nuts over something and Cena actually pauses to look at it…..because it’s a freaking beach ball. It seems that the ball is taken away with Cena looking annoyed, earning himself a beating from Joe. Miz comes in to stomp away and it’s time for the wave again. Now Cena joins in the wave, earning himself a quick DDT for two.

The cheering and booing continues as a beach ball is put into play and confiscated as the match continues to be ignored. Cena gets ax handled for two as Miz stops to tell the fans to pay attention. Miz misses a charge and it’s off to Reigns to clean house with clotheslines to no reaction. Roman gets taken down as well for the YES Kicks. The last one is countered into a powerbomb though and both guys are down again.

Joe Rock Bottoms Roman but Reigns heads outside to beat up the Miztourage. Back in and the hot tag brings in Cena for the finishing sequence. Joe cuts off the Shuffle though and it’s off to the Koquina Clutch. Reigns tries a save with the Superman Punch but Joe sidesteps it, causing Cena to get hit instead. The second Superman Punch hits Joe but Cena pops up and grabs the AA to pin Miz at 13:03.

Rating: C+. I hate beach balls, I hate beach balls, I hate beach balls. As usual, whenever you ask a crowd to pay attention for this long (to something they paid for of course), it’s bound to cause them to lose their interest and set off something like this. Naturally their response is screw anyone who doesn’t like it, because wrestling fans are selfish creatures by definition. I couldn’t stand this stuff in Orlando and it’s really annoying now, much like WWE encouraging this nonsense. As for the match, it was exactly what you would expect though Cena pinning Miz made me roll my eyes.

Overall Rating: B-. The wrestling was much better tonight with two very good matches but there was also a lot of stuff that felt like filler. As usual, if you cut out an hour of this show, it gets far better in a hurry, though at least the stuff that was good was very good. Strowman vs. Lesnar should be amazing and it would be even better if Cass’ legitimate knee injury isn’t serious. Good show tonight, which is a positive sign after last night’s hit and miss effort.

Results

Enzo Amore b. Big Cass via referee stoppage

Nia Jax b. Emma – Samoan drop

Elias b. R-Truth – Drift Away

Rich Swan/Mustafa Ali/Gran Metalik/Cedric Alexander b. Noam Dar/Tony Nese/Ariya Daivari/Drew Gulak – Lumbar Check to Nese

Seth Rollins/Dean Ambrose b. Hardy Boyz – Dirty Deeds to Jeff

Finn Balor b. Jason Jordan – Coup de Grace

John Cena/Roman Reigns b. Miz/Samoa Joe – Attitude Adjustment to Miz

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Complete 2002 Monday Night Raw Reviews in either E-Book or Paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/07/21/new-e-bookpaperback-kbs-complete-monday-night-raw-2002-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

Summerslam 2017
Date: August 20, 2017
Location: Barclays Center, New York City, New York
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Booker T., John Bradshaw Layfield, Byron Saxton, Tom Phillips

It’s finally time for one of the biggest shows of the year as WWE takes over New York City all over again. This time around the big main event is a four way for the Universal Title with Brock Lesnar defending against Roman Reigns, Braun Strowman and Samoa Joe. The rest of the card is too deep to break down in short order so let’s get to it.

Kickoff Show: Hardy Boyz/Jason Jordan vs. Miz/Miztourage

The idea here is that Miz wants to be defending his Intercontinental Title against Jason Jordan but is stuck in this for reasons that aren’t clear. The section opposite the hard camera is MAYBE ten percent full because we’re about an hour and a half away from the start of the pay per view.

Jeff takes Axel into the corner to start and hands it off to Jordan to work on the arm. Dallas comes in and gets the same treatment, sending the Miztourage outside for a breather as we take a break (with empty sections of seats being shown on camera). Back with Jeff in trouble with Miz hammering away and working on the arm.

Matt comes in and throws some right hands but the Twist of Fate (with Matt shouting TWIST OF FATE) is broken up. Miz gets in some YES Kicks but gets sent into the corner, setting up the hot tag to Jordan. The suplexes send the Miztourage flying as everything breaks down. Jordan hits the running shoulder in the corner to Axel but Miz makes a blind tag, setting up the Skull Crushing Finale to put Jordan away at 10:31.

Rating: C-. Ridiculous looking non-crowd aside, not much of a match here. In theory you would have Miz lose the fall to Jordan here to set up the title match but it wouldn’t shock me if they had Miz beat him and then set it up anyway. This match didn’t need to happen and only served as a way to have some of these names on the card.

Kickoff Show: Cruiserweight Title: Neville vs. Akira Tozawa

Tozawa is defending after winning the title on Monday. The crowd is looking far better already with the section opposite the hard camera now mostly full. Neville, in white trunks for a change, gets knocked outside so Tozawa can do his shouting. Tozawa follows him out but gets sent into the LED apron as we take a break.

Back with Neville throwing on a chinlock until Tozawa throws him outside for a suicide dive. A hard belly to back suplex drops Neville and an Octopus Hold has him in even more trouble. Neville makes the ropes and cuts off a charge with an enziguri, only to get kicked down as well to put them back to even. Back up and Tozawa rocks Neville with a right hand but it’s still too early for the backsplash. The superplex is broken up but the backsplash hits raised knees. The Red Arrow gives Neville the title back at 11:47.

Rating: C. And that would makes them 2-2 in 50/50 booking on the Kickoff Show so far. Neville lost the title on Monday and gets it back on Monday for whatever reason, despite having no one left to defend the thing against. I’m sure this is going to thrill the fans so far, now that they’re at least in the arena.

Here’s Elias to sing two songs, one of which insults Brooklyn in general and the other of which insults local singers. No match or anything but this is a thing that happened.

Kickoff Show: Smackdown Tag Team Titles: Usos vs. New Day

New Day is defending with Big E. and Woods in the ring. Before the match, Kofi (in Red Lantern inspired gear) talks about New Day’s history in Brooklyn, which is the first place they sang to the crowd and the birthplace of Francesca. Woods forearms Jimmy down to start and snaps off some rights and lefts in the corner. A raised boot cuts him off though and we take a break.

Back with Woods fighting out of a chinlock before coming up with a dropkick to Jey. Jimmy pulls Big E. off the apron though and it’s a Death Valley Driver into the corner for two. A modified Demolition Decapitator gets the same and we hit the chinlock. Back up with Woods getting in a faceplant for the tag off to Big E. as house is cleaned in a hurry. The Warrior Splash hits Jimmy and Big E. powerbombs Woods onto him for good measure.

In a real twist, Woods puts Big E. on his shoulders for a splash. JBL: “That’s what you’ve come to expect from the New Day!” A move they’ve never done before? Jey comes in off a hot tag and a double spinebuster gets two on Big E. It’s back to Woods who sends Jimmy into Big E. for a Rock Bottom/Backstabber combination and a near fall. Everything breaks down with the twins being sent outside for a dive from Woods, only to have Big E.’s stopped by a superkick.

The Superfly Splash gets two on Xavier but he’s back up with a Koji Clutch on Jey. A Shining Wizard gets two more and the Midnight Hour plants Jey with Jimmy diving in at the last second for the save. Woods charges at Jey, who launches him over the top into a Samoan drop on the floor. Big E. spears Jey through the ropes, only to have the Big Ending broken up by a blind tag. Five superkicks and a double Superfly Splash gives us new champions at 19:09.

Rating: B+. Heck of a match here as the three people/teams who won during the week go to 0-3 on the Kickoff Show. I have no idea what the point is in putting the titles back on the Usos as they cleaned out the “division” in recent months, pretty much leaving New Day alone as a good face team. Breezango barely wrestles anymore and we’ve done the two of them vs. the Usos, but that’s never stopped WWE before.

We get a KFC ad featuring various people auditioning to be the next Colonel Sanders. This cuts to the arena where Shawn Michaels comes out in a sleeveless Sanders outfit, dances around, slides over the announcers’ table, and nothing else. This is one of the most random things I’ve ever seen.

The opening video looks at every match under the slogan Go Big.

No pyro again, but let me introduce you to the ridiculous amount of commentary teams and all their equipment to broadcast live in various languages.

John Cena vs. Baron Corbin

Cena cost Corbin his Money in the Bank cash-in on Monday. For a change of pace, Cena slides to the floor and grabs JBL’s hat while saying Corbin is shaken up. Back in and Cena’s headlock is broken up with some knees to the ribs. Corbin’s slide underneath the ropes into a clothesline gets two and it’s time to yell at the referee.

A World’s Strongest Slam gets two and triggers a WHERE’S YOUR BRIEFCASE chant. That earns Cena a chokebreaker as this is mostly one sided so far. Cena fights out of a superplex with a tornado DDT but the AA is broken up. Deep Six gives Corbin two but Cena comes right back with the Attitude Adjustment for the fast pin at 10:18.

Rating: D. I don’t remember the last time I said this about a Cena match but this sucked. This was Cena getting beaten up for eight minutes and then coming back with a single AA for the pin (which NEVER happens). I don’t know if Corbin ran over Vince’s dog or something but he’s been crushed in the last week for no apparent reason. This was really odd and a big letdown, at least partially due to time.

Smackdown Women’s Title: Natalya vs. Naomi

Natalya is challenging after winning an elimination match last month. Naomi starts fast and knocks her outside, meaning it’s time to shout a lot. Back in and the champ’s leg gets snapped over the top rope and then over the turnbuckle for good measure. A suplex gives Natalya two, followed by a small package to give Naomi the same.

Back up and Natalya blasts her with a clothesline, followed by a Michinoku Driver for two more. The discus clothesline drops Naomi again but she comes back with a Russian legsweep. Naomi declares it GLOW TIME and does her dancing kicks (the ones that make almost no contact) but Natalya pulls her down to the mat instead. Back up and the reverse Rings of Saturn is reversed into the Sharpshooter for the surprise tap out at 10:49.

Rating: C-. Natalya looked far better out there but sweet goodness this division is getting less and less interesting all the time. The longer we wait for Charlotte and Becky Lynch to be in the title picture, the worse this division seems, mainly because it feels like a big waste of time. This match should have been on the Kickoff Show or not on the show whatsoever, but that might mean someone doesn’t make the card and that would just be unforgivable.

There’s no Carmella appearance.

We recap Big Cass vs. Big Show. Cass turned on Enzo Amore for running his mouth too much (gee I’m stunned) so Enzo brought in Show to help deal with him. Tonight Enzo is locked in a shark cage and Show’s hand is broken due to an attack by Cass.

Big Cass vs. Big Show

Enzo runs his mouth before the match and sucks up to Brooklyn, furthering his status as my least favorite person in the company. I don’t think I need to explain to you why Enzo is really annoying but he’s been even more so lately. Show slugs away with his left hand as Enzo runs his mouth about how we’re going to work tonight while dancing in the cage, causing it to rattle loudly. Show hurts his hand on a missed Vader Bomb as Enzo is now jumping up and down.

Cass hammers on the hand and grabs an armbar for some psychology. The fans think this is boring as Show fights up with a left handed chokeslam for two. Cass knocks him down again and Enzo is taking his pants off. He pulls out some hidden oil and covers himself with it, allowing him to slip through the bars. Enzo gets down so Cass kicks him in the head but the big boot only gets two on Show. A second big boot sets up the Empire Elbow for the pin on Show at 10:28.

Rating: D. I don’t remember the last time I couldn’t stand someone as much as I can’t stand Enzo. Stephanie maybe? Cass winning helps a lot here and hopefully he can now move on to ANYTHING else. He looked good in his win and now he can move on to a fresh feud. Show is actually really acceptable in this role as he’s just putting people over on the big stage and there’s nothing wrong with that.

Daniel Bryan comes in to see Kurt Angle to say he thinks Smackdown will steam the show. Bryan: “It’s true, it’s true.” Angle thinks Raw will be better and starts a YES chant. This turns into one heck of a YES/NO battle until both guys get winded.

Randy Orton vs. Rusev

Not much of a story here as Rusev wanted competition and Orton answered him. Rusev jumps Orton during the entrance and beats the heck out of him before the bell. Orton says he can go and it’s an RKO for the pin at 9 seconds.

That right there is the perfect example of why I can’t stand these huge cards. This is obviously, and I do mean obviously, a case of cutting something for time. Why is it being cut for time? It’s so we could have a Cruiserweight Title rematch and a six man rematch on the Kickoff Show. Neither match was good and both matches pretty much advanced nothing (the Cruiserweight Title match actually took us back in time) but they ate up time that could have gone to this match, which could have been interesting. Instead Rusev looks like an idiot and the match barely exists. Just don’t put someone on the card. They’ll be ok.

Sasha Banks is coming to the ring when she runs into Bayley, who gets booed while wishing Bayley good luck.

Raw Women’s Title: Sasha Banks vs. Alexa Bliss

Banks is challenging as a replacement for an injured Bayley. They brawl into the corner with the fans booing the heck out of Sasha. Bliss hits the hardest right hand she’s ever thrown but gets caught with a crossbody for two. Banks gets caught in the corner and faceplanted down to the mat. The New York fans are of course pleased with the woman from Boston getting beaten up, including having Bliss stand on her hair.

Alexa chokes in the corner and hits some double knees to the back. Some more choking ensues but Banks flips her out of the corner for a breather. Sasha makes her comeback with some clotheslines and a dropkick. Bliss tries a sunset flip out of the corner, only to have Sasha flip her backwards and head first into the buckles.

The Bank Statement goes on but it’s way too close to the ropes. Bliss takes her outside and sends her hard into the barricade, possibly injuring Sasha’s shoulder. Banks is back in at nine so Bliss is right on the arm, followed by Twisted Bliss for two. Some shots to the shoulder break up another Bank Statement, only to have Banks grab it again for the tap and the title at 13:17.

Rating: B-. Bliss did most of the work in the match and looked far better than I ever would have believed just a few months ago. This run has turned her into a completely acceptable worker, which isn’t what you would have expected. Banks winning is the right call long term, but they did a pretty lame job of building the match towards the finish. Still though, best thing on the show by a few miles so far.

We see the Shawn Michaels KFC bit again.

Long recap of Finn Balor vs. Bray Wyatt. Bray seemed to think that Balor was a false idol and promised to destroy him. Wyatt beat him this past Monday and then poured “blood” over him for some extra effect. Balor then said that Bray had his demons, but he did too. I think you know what that means.

Bray Wyatt vs. Finn Balor

After Bray’s full entrance, a voice starts singing He’s Got The Whole World In His Hands. That means the Demon King returns for the first time since last Summerslam to easily the reaction of the night. Finn crawls around and Bray takes an early breather on the still smoky floor. Back in and Balor hammers away, kicking Bray right back to the floor. Balor jumps over him in the corner so Bray leans over backwards for a scary look of his own.

That’s fine with Finn who sends him outside for a flip dive but it’s too early for the Coup de Grace. A suplex onto the floor knocks Balor silly though and we hit the chinlock for a bit. Balor pops back up and knocks him outside for a kick from the apron, followed by a Sling Blade back inside. Bray boots him in the face for two and declares that he has him. Balor gets in the shotgun dropkick against the barricade and throws him back inside for a quick Coup de Grace at 9:42 in another weak finish.

Rating: C+. As has been the case all night (and ever for the most part), it’s such a waste of a match to do it once on Monday and then again on Sunday. Why should I care that Balor won here when Bray already beat him earlier in the week? Either way, this was hardly a great return for Balor, who was the most obvious winner in the world here. Bray loses on the big stage, again, and it’s time to start his cycle all over again.

We recap Cesaro/Sheamus vs. Dean Ambrose/Seth Rollins, which has very little to do with Cesaro/Sheamus. Ambrose and Rollins were tired of getting double teamed and teased getting back together for weeks. It FINALLY happened earlier this week and they were granted an immediate shot at the Tag Team Titles.

Raw Tag Team Titles: Sheamus/Cesaro vs. Dean Ambrose/Seth Rollins

Sheamus and Cesaro are defending. Ambrose headlocks Sheamus to start and it’s a blind tag from Rollins to set up a knee drop. A dropkick staggers Cesaro and the champs are knocked to the floor without too much effort. Sheamus pulls Dean outside for a Brogue Kick though and Seth gets slammed on the floor for good measure.

Seth grabs a Blockbuster for a breather but hang on a second as Cesaro is running into the crowd. He grabs a beach ball that a fan was batting around and rips it to shreds, drawing a heck of a YES chant. I certainly love him a lot more now. Cesaro suplexes Seth down for two but seems to have tweaked his knee.

Rollins gets taken outside for a double beating, only to have Ambrose come off the top with the elbow to put everyone down. Back in and the champs are clotheslined over the top, setting up the double suicide dives. A Hart Attack with a Sling Blade (not a Blockbuster Cole) gets two on Cesaro and the rebound lariat puts him down again. Sheamus gets caught on top for a superplex with Rollins tagging himself in for a frog splash and a near fall with Cesaro making the save.

Cesaro breaks up the double bomb out of the corner and Dirty Deeds is countered into the Sharpshooter. Dean is almost in the ropes but Cesaro switches to a Crossface in the middle of the ring. Since that’s not going to work, it’s a powerbomb/top rope clothesline combination for two instead. White Noise is loaded up but Seth hurricanranas Cesaro off the top into Sheamus for the crazy save. A jumping knee to the face knocks Sheamus into Dirty Deeds for the pin and the titles at 18:35.

Rating: B. Heck of a match here with the ending looking great. That ending was a great touch as the Shield guys worked so well together. I’m not usually a fan of having two guys put together to become champions but it helps to have such a strong history between them. Now all they need is Roman as a surprise and things should be great all over again.

We recap Kevin Owens vs. AJ Styles for the US Title. They’ve traded the title in recent months but Owens blames his recent loss on bad refereeing. This meant Shane McMahon was appointed as guest referee, so Owens started bringing up Shane’s history as a crooked referee and his issues with AJ. The question is will Shane screw someone over and who will it be.

US Title: Kevin Owens vs. AJ Styles

AJ is defending with Shane McMahon as guest referee. Owens jumps him at the bell and hammers away with AJ’s comeback being cut off without much effort. The Cannonball gets two and Owens yells at Shane. A chinlock and backbreaker get two more on the champ but AJ says bring it. Styles wins a slugout and hits a belly to back faceplant for two but can’t follow up.

Back up and AJ manages the Phenomenal Forearm, only to hit Shane by mistake. That means there’s no one to count the Pop Up Powerbomb so Owens yells at Shane. As you might expect, AJ gets back up and knocks Shane to the floor by mistake. The Calf Crusher goes on and Owens taps to no avail.

Everyone gets back in and AJ forearms Owens down, only to get caught in the spinning superplex for two. AJ comes right back with the Styles Clash for a close two. Owens grabs the Pop Up Powerbomb for the pin but AJ’s foot was on the ropes and Shane calls it off. That means an argument and Shane shoves Owens into a rollup for two. The Pele sets up the Phenomenal Forearm and a second Styles Clash retains the title at 17:25.

Rating: B. This was too much about Shane and they’re not exactly being subtle about the upcoming Owens vs. McMahon match. AJ retaining is the right call here as there’s no need to put it back on Owens if he’s going to be feuding with Shane in the coming weeks. It wasn’t quite the blow away match I was expecting but it was a good, back and forth fight and a definitive ending, which is the most important thing.

Some fans won a sweepstakes and got to go to the show.

We recap the Smackdown World Title match. Jinder Mahal won the title in May in a huge upset and has continued to defy his critics ever since. Shinsuke Nakamura became #1 contender by pinning John Cena clean. There’s also no Baron Corbin to cash-in his Money in the Bank briefcase any longer.

Smackdown World Title: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Jinder Mahal

Jinder is defending and Nakamura is played to the ring by a live violinist. The threat of some kicks brings Mahal close enough to grab a wristlock, only to have Nakamura spin out and send Mahal outside. Nakamura says bring it on so Mahal gets back inside, only to get caught with Good Vibrations. Shinsuke is getting a little too comfortable so the Singh Brothers offer a distraction, allowing Mahal to pound him down and grab a chinlock.

Back up and Nakamura gets in a spinning kick to the jaw and a cross armbreaker but Jinder makes the ropes. Some hard kicks to the front and back of the head have Mahal reeling but here are the Singh Brothers for another distraction. This time it allows the Khallas to end Nakamura at 11:25.

Rating: D+. And Mahal retains to bore another day. I have no idea what’s supposed to interest me about Mahal but it’s really missing. Nakamura might not have been ready to win the title but the Singh Brothers distraction into a Khallas is about as lame of a finish as there is in WWE right now. If he had a great finisher or something it would make a big difference, but sweet goodness this let the air out of the place.

We recap the Universal Title match and simply put, this is going to be chaos. Brock Lesnar is defending against Braun Strowman, Samoa Joe and Roman Reigns with basically a guarantee of pure anarchy. I don’t think you need much more of an explanation.

Universal Title: Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns vs. Samoa Joe vs. Braun Strowman

Lesnar is defending, anything goes, and he leaves WWE if he loses. Naturally Paul Heyman handles Lesnar’s Big Match Intro and we’re ready to go. Joe goes after Lesnar while Strowman and Reigns head outside. The first suplex sends Joe outside but Reigns posts Strowman to set up the first showdown. The first German suplex drops Reigns and Joe comes in to take the second. NOW it’s the real showdown though with Strowman vs. Lesnar and the fans are way into this one.

Joe and Reigns cut it off though and we’re forced to wait a bit more. The wait is only a few seconds though as Reigns and Joe are knocked outside and it’s Strowman LAUNCHING Lesnar into the corner and clotheslining him hard to the floor. Reigns comes back in and clotheslines Strowman, who calmly shoves Reigns away. Joe grabs the Koquina Clutch on Lesnar but sidesteps a spear, sending Lesnar HARD through the barricade.

Joe Rock Bottoms Reigns onto the announcers’ table but Strowman runs Joe over, leaving him as the last man standing. Strowman goes to load up the table as Graves hopes he uses Saxton as a weapon. A running powerslam drives Brock through a table but Reigns dropkicks Strowman down. Joe’s suicide elbow drops Reigns so Strowman throws a commentator’s chair at both of them.

Lesnar is getting back up so Strowman powerslams him through the second announcers’ table. Fans: “ONE MORE TABLE!” Strowman obliges by turning the last table over on top of Lesnar, drawing a bunch of referees and agents to save the champ. Heyman: “NOOOOO!” We get a stretcher for Brock as Heyman is absolutely losing his mind. Lesnar is taken out and Strowman wants to know where the Beast is now.

Strowman picks up some steps and decks both guys but Reigns slows him down with a few shots. A shot with the steps has Strowman reeling and a third sends him outside, only to have Joe come in with a rollup for two on Reigns. Roman gets two off the Samoan drop but the Superman Punch is countered into the Koquina Clutch. Strowman is right back in though and a double chokeslam gets two.

The Undertaker chants start up and here’s Brock again. Strowman gets taken down and a running forearm knocks him to the floor. It’s Suplex City time with both Samoans being sent flying. Strowman, with a bloody ear, breaks out of a suplex attempt so Brock goes with the Kimura.

Reigns makes the save with a Superman Punch, followed by another one to both guys. A weird looking spear (Lesnar didn’t really go backwards) gets two on Brock but Reigns gets caught in the Koquina Clutch. That’s broken up by a Strowman dropkick (Cole: “Is there anything he can’t do?”) for two on Joe. The Pop Up Superman Punch gets two more on Strowman and Reigns is almost scared by the kickout.

Braun gets two more off the powerslam with Lesnar making a save. Lesnar can’t F5 Braun but Reigns spears Braun out to the floor, leaving him alone with Brock. Joe is back in with the Clutch on Lesnar but Brock reverses into the F5 for two with Reigns making the save for his only positive reaction of the night. Three straight Superman Punches drop Brock but the spear is countered into the F5 to retain the title at 21:01.

Rating: A. I need a breather. You can tell they’re setting up something special for Strowman here as he didn’t take the pin, nor did he have anyone really get the better of him all match. Lesnar vs. Strowman is REALLY tempting right now and I’d love to see it happen at some big match. Like at Survivor Series or so.

That being said, WOW what a fight. These guys beat the heck out of each other for a long time and Lesnar looked incredibly vulnerable at times. It’s amazing how much better these matches are when he’s not the unstoppable machine and it looks like WWE is starting to learn that. It was great stuff here and Strowman looked like a monster, which is all he needed to be here. The fallout from this is going to be interesting and Reigns taking the fall hopefully means a bit of a downgrade for him.

Lesnar looks like he just fell out of a building to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. The first hour of this show was awful and came as close as you can get to sinking what was an otherwise very good show. For once it helps when you have that much more time after the first hour to save things, but hopefully this shows WWE (it won’t) that four hours is too long for a regular show. If you cut out some of the bad stuff, this is a classic. As it is, it’s just a very good show with a great main event. In other words, good, but WWE gets in its own way again.

That being said, I really liked parts of this with the main event obviously blowing away everything else on the show. They have some serious options going forward, assuming they can manage to get Lesnar to show up more than once every few months. Strowman looks like the star of stars at this point and if they don’t do him vs. Lesnar before the end of Wrestlemania XXXIV, they’ve lost their freaking minds. Good show, but it needs an hour or so shaved off to bring it to that next level.

Results

John Cena b. Baron Corbin – Attitude Adjustment

Natalya b. Naomi – Sharpshooter

Big Cass b. Big Show – Empire Elbow

Randy Orton b. Rusev – RKO

Sasha Banks b. Alexa Bliss – Bank Statement

Finn Balor b. Bray Wyatt – Coup de Grace

Seth Rollins/Dean Ambrose b. Cesaro/Sheamus – Dirty Deeds to Sheamus

AJ Styles b. Kevin Owens – Styles Clash

Jinder Mahal b. Shinsuke Nakamura – Khallas

Brock Lesnar b. Roman Reigns, Braun Strowman and Samoa Joe – F5 to Reigns

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Complete 2002 Monday Night Raw Reviews in either E-Book or Paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/07/21/new-e-bookpaperback-kbs-complete-monday-night-raw-2002-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

This is going to be a long one. We’re less than two days away from “Summerslam 2017” and there are a staggering thirteen matches on the card. I know three of them are going to be on the Kickoff Show but sweet goodness that’s a lot of wrestling in one night. The card has grown on me in recent weeks and I’m more excited about it than I used to be so hopefully it’s going to be good. Let’s get to it.

Kickoff Show: Hardy Boyz/Jason Jordan vs. Miz/Miztourage

Let’s get this one out of the way first because we’ve already seen it. This is a case of just trying to get people on the card, which is rarely a good idea. I have no idea why we’re seeing this match on pay per view just six days after we saw it on “Monday Night Raw” but that’s WWE for you. I get why we’re seeing the match but watching it twice in a week is a bit of a stretch.

I’ll take the Hardys and Jordan to win, likely with Jordan pinning Miz to set up a future Intercontinental Title match (it wouldn’t surprise me if it was as soon as the following night’s TV). Jordan hasn’t exactly been thrilling in his singles run (but hey, at least it wasn’t the predictable choice of Chad Gable, because surprising people is better than going with the right move) but putting him with the Hardys is a good idea. That being said, the fact that Jordan needs support less than a month into the new run.

Kickoff Show: Smackdown Tag Team Titles: New Day(c) vs. Usos

This is the third match in their trilogy and the previous two have both been quite entertaining. I’m not sure why this feud is continuing (well outside of having no one else to go after the titles) but it makes sense to get someone as popular as New Day on the show. The might not be as big as they used to be but the merchandise sales alone validate keeping them around.

I think New Day retains here as there’s no reason to put them back on the Usos. Unless Breezango suddenly wraps up their story and moves on to the title picture again (like they probably should), there’s no major face team for the Usos to fight. Hopefully this wraps up the feud though as there’s no reason to keep this going, especially if some new teams could be put together out of necessity.

Cruiserweight Title: Akira Tozawa(c) vs. Neville

Speaking of matches we’ve seen recently. Tozawa won the title just six days before the pay per view and Neville has already shown signs of unraveling from the loss. My guess is we’ll be seeing another hard hitting, entertaining match but the question is whether or not this is the ending of the story.

Tozawa should retain here and I think he likely will, sending him forward to have some fresh matches for the title. The problem with Neville as champion was that he was so awesome that he prevented a lot of wrestlers from being realistic challengers. That’s not the case with Tozawa, who is still good but feels like someone who the masses could threaten. This should be entertaining, though it needs to wrap up the feud already.

Randy Orton vs. Rusev

We’ll start the main card with a match that I don’t think anyone is actively looking forward to. This is a great example of a match where it feels like both guys are thrown into the match due to a lack of anything else for either of them to do, plus a need to get them onto the card. That’s going to happen on almost every show but it feels like it’s happening multiple times on this particular show.

I’ll actually take Rusev to win the battle of losers of last month’s terrible gimmick matches. Orton has the RKO and that’s really all he needs to bounce back. Rusev on the other hand still needs some extra support to get higher up the card and a win over Orton would help him along the way. Then again never underestimate the amount of time and effort WWE will put into Orton. It actually goes somewhere in his case but it gets a little tiring after awhile.

Big Show vs. Big Cass

Enzo Amore, who is apparently scared of heights, will be hanging in a cage over the ring and the word on the street is that it’s due to a punishment for him being so annoying backstage. As someone with a similar fear, allow me to say SCREW OFF WWE. Now that the personal bias is out of the way, let’s get down to the problem with this feud: we’ve established that Amore isn’t a threat to Big Cass but the feud is continuing anyway. Big Cass needs to move on to something else and hopefully this wraps up the feud once and for all.

If it’s not clear, I’m taking Big Cass to win here. Unfortunately I could imagine them getting there by having Big Show turn on Amore after the match for the sake of mentoring Big Cass. That story seems played out, which is why WWE is even more likely to go with it. As long as it gets Big Cass away from Amore though, things will be picking up in a hurry. Big Cass wins, as he should be doing.

Smackdown Women’s Title: Naomi(c) vs. Natalya

This is a thing that exists as well. The match has next to no heat and it’s clear that Natalya isn’t an interesting challenger. I have no idea why Naomi, who has turned into a much better champion than I was expecting, is stuck fighting her while Becky Lynch and Charlotte are both on the roster. Either of them would offer ten times the match on their worst day but for some reason we’re getting Natalya.

I’ll go with Naomi to retain, though I don’t think they’ll do the Money in the Bank cash-in. They’ve been teasing it far too much lately and as a rule, that means we won’t be seeing it just yet. Naomi needs better challengers and until we get to Lynch or Charlotte, that’s just not going to be the case. If nothing else give us Carmella, who has some charisma and personality to her, neither of which Natalya has ever been able to claim.

US Title: AJ Styles(c) vs. Kevin Owens

Shane McMahon is guest referee and somehow this seems to be a way to set up Owens vs. McMahon down the line. Styles and Owens have been feuding for months now and they haven’t quite gotten up to the top level that I think we all believe they’re capable of reaching. I have a feeling this is going to be the match where they do it, though the time issues might cause them some issues.

I think Styles retains, likely due to some kind of shenanigans with McMahon. Odds are we’ll be seeing those two fighting in the near future, which doesn’t do much for me though I’ve calmed down a bit on my dislike of McMahon getting in the ring. Styles retaining and fighting various challengers over the next few months is a great way to set him up for another World Title push and there’s nothing wrong with that.

Raw Tag Team Titles: Sheamus/Cesaro(c) vs. Seth Rollins/Dean Ambrose

This has somehow turned into one of the biggest stories on the show with Ambrose and Rollins finally reuniting for the first time in a few years. That granted them an immediate shot at the titles, which actually works for a change. I can live with the idea of two former World Champions with a strong history together being pushed as a top team in such a hurry, especially two as over as these guys.

Ambrose and Rollins should get the belts here with the only possible reason not to go that way being a potential singles feud between the two. I don’t think WWE would set them up like this for the sake of splitting them again this fast, but you can never give WWE that much credit. Sheamus and Cesaro never felt like long term champions anyway so Ambrose and Rollins getting the belts would be the best move, if nothing else just for some fresh blood.

John Cena vs. Baron Corbin

This match took on a new life this past week when Cena cost Corbin his Money in the Bank cash-in attempt. When you also factor in Cena pretty certainly leaving for “Monday Night Raw” as soon as this show is over, it should make for an obvious ending. That being said, never underestimate WWE’s ability to do something overly stupid.

I’ll go with Corbin getting the biggest win of his career but Cena just lost a clean fall to Shinsuke Nakamura a few weeks back and WWE probably isn’t too gung ho about having him lose so soon again. Corbin needs to win this one far more than Cena (who could go his whole career without ever winning another big match) as he looked like a moron earlier this week.

Raw Women’s Title: Alexa Bliss(c) vs. Sasha Banks

Now this one depends on how you look at it. If you’re looking at the long term story, you go with Banks winning the title for the sake of building towards Banks vs. Bayley for the title at “Wrestlemania XXXIV”. If you want to go short term, you have Banks win the title for the sake of Bliss running out of potential opponents.

So yeah, this is all about Banks winning the title and I see next to no reason for Bliss to retain. She’s defended against most of the important women on the “Monday Night Raw” roster (yes I know that means all of two people) and there’s no reason to have her hold the title much longer. That’s the danger of such a thin division: you’re only going to get so far with so few people on top, especially when one of them is injured.

Finn Balor vs. Bray Wyatt

We’ve seen this one already but now there’s a bit of a twist. After Wyatt defeated Balor earlier this week, Balor promised to bring the Demon King back on Sunday. Why WWE went this straightforward with the idea instead of letting it be a surprise isn’t clear, but my guess would be that they didn’t think its fans were smart enough to put the idea together for themselves.

Of course I’m going with Balor, as you don’t bring out the Demon King character for only the second time ever on the main roster and then have him lose. Besides, Wyatt has won his last few big matches and that means it’s time to rip the carpet out from underneath him and turn him back into a choker all over again. Balor wins, as he should, though it should be in the first match between the two of them instead of the rematch.

Smackdown World Title: Jinder Mahal(c) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

I know this is supposed to be one of the biggest layups on the show but it seems that WWE is pushing it a bit too hard as the big layup. Nakamura seems to be ready to win the title but I could see WWE letting Mahal keep it just a little longer for the sake of a surprise. Nakamura hasn’t exactly lit the world on fire since he came up to the main roster but at least he would be a change of pace.

I’ll go with Nakamura winning the title as Mahal just isn’t working as champion. He’s held the title for three months but his biggest issue continues to be the firm ceiling he’s stuck underneath. On his best day, Mahal is little more than average either on the microphone or in the ring. Nakamura might not have been the best in the world so far, but he’s a lot better than Mahal no matter how you look at it.

Universal Title: Brock Lesnar(c) vs. Samoa Joe vs. Braun Strowman vs. Roman Reigns

And then, there’s this, which is what the show is almost entirely built around. If they let these four go nuts and tear the house down, there’s a good chance that this will be one of the best matches of the year. These four have some amazing energy and chemistry together in any form and the idea of getting rid of Lesnar no matter how he loses the title is a great incentive. Now the question is where you think this is going.

I’ll go with Strowman winning the title, with the eventual goal of Reigns facing Lesnar in the main event of “Wrestlemania XXXIV”. Lesnar can come back at the Royal Rumble (perhaps winning the thing) and get the shot at Reigns (who can be champion by that point) with Reigns winning the one on one match to dispatch Lesnar once and for all. I could see Samoa Joe winning as well, but I’ll go with Strowman here, as he’s been built up very, very well.

So that’s going to be “Summerslam 2017” and sweet goodness there’s a lot of stuff to get through. It’s almost tiring to just look at the whole card but hopefully that doesn’t become a problem tomorrow night. The key to the whole thing is going to be how well they pace the thing, though there’s only so much you can do with this many matches in one night. There’s a lot of potential though and if they can live up to it, everything is going to be great.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Complete 2002 Monday Night Raw Reviews in either E-Book or Paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/07/21/new-e-bookpaperback-kbs-complete-monday-night-raw-2002-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

Main Event
Date: August 17, 2017
Location: TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Corey Graves

It’s the go home edition of Main Event and that has to be worth something. I mean, I have no idea what it would actually be worth but there must be something there. Odds are we’re looking at another batch of cruiserweight matches this week, which might not be the worst thing in the world. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Kalisto vs. Curt Hawkins

Kalisto goes with the kicks to start but eats an elbow to the jaw for his efforts. Curt gets sent outside for a teased dive, only to get kicked in the head on the way back in. A pull of the leg brings Kalisto off the ropes though and we hit the chinlock. Kalisto gets planted with a spinebuster for two but Hawkins misses a split legged moonsault of all things. Things speed up again and Hawkins gets caught by the springboard corkscrew dive, followed by the Salida Del Sol to give Kalisto the pin at 4:27.

Rating: C-. It’s a shame that Hawkins is stuck as a jobber to the stars (though steady employment and TV time are nothing to sneeze at) as his entrance alone is worthy of a chuckle. Kalisto seems to have become a regular on Main Event and while that might not be the best usage of him, at least he’s here instead of on the sidelines.

Package on Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose’s recent issues.

From Raw!

Here’s Dean for an opening chat. Dean wants to talk to Seth in person so here’s Rollins (still with the BURN IT TO THE GROUND in his music). Seth gets right to the point: they would be unstoppable as a team. He’s done playing games and sticks out his fist. Dean isn’t sure but then says Seth has to be kidding.

He rants about Rollins not being there for him last week but Seth says that their differences are why they work so well together. Seth goes to leave but Dean stops him and puts out the fist. It’s turned down AGAIN and Dean takes him down for a fight. They fall out to the floor so here are Sheamus and Cesaro for the beatdown.

Ambrose and Rollins eventually fight them off and clear the ring, drawing one heck of a YES chant. Now Dean puts out the fist….but Seth isn’t sure. Then Seth puts out the fist but Dean isn’t sure. They finally put the fists out together and NOW we have the eruption that the fans have been holding in for weeks. Hang on a second though as here’s Kurt Angle to make the Tag Team Title match with Rollins and Ambrose getting the shot at Summerslam.

Again from Raw.

Bray Wyatt vs. Finn Balor

Another Summerslam match coming early. They go right after each other to start with Bray doing his hop over the ropes for a kick to the head. A right hand drops Balor onto the apron but he gets in a kick to the face and we take a break. Back with Bray hitting a gutbuster for two and hitting a hard clothesline. It’s off to a chinlock for a bit until Balor kicks him in the head for a breather.

Bray gets caught with another running boot for two but comes right back with his running crossbody. The backsplash gives Bray two more but Balor adds a quick double stomp to the ribs. They head outside with Finn getting the running dropkick against the barricade but the Coup de Grace is broken up. Sister Abigail gives Bray the clean pin at 11:23.

Rating: C+. That’s Bray’s third straight win over a former World Champion (two wins over Seth Rollins) but for some reason it feels like he’s still going nowhere. That loss at Wrestlemania really did cripple him and it’s going to take another big win, like winning the World Title, to bring him back. Balor losing clean is surprising here, but I really hope they don’t just have him beat Wyatt again on Sunday.

Bray gives him another Sister Abigail after the match. The lights go out and come back on with Balor sitting unconscious in the corner. Bray has a bucket and pours what looks like blood (or barbecue sauce) all over Bray.

Gran Metalik/Lince Dorado vs. Ariya Daivari/Drew Gulak

Gulak charges into Dorado’s knee to start and gets ankle scissored down. Metalik gets launched into a dropkick to put Gulak down again but Drew grabs a headlock to slow things down. Back up and Metalik spins around the ropes into a wristdrag to send us to a break. Back with Dorado hurricanranaing Gulak down and getting two off a high crossbody.

Drew finally slams him head first onto the mat and puts on something like an inverted Sharpshooter. That doesn’t last long either though as Metalik makes a save, allowing Dorado to hit a double handspring Stunner. Metalik dives onto Daivari, leaving Dorado to hit the shooting star to pin Gulak at 8:21.

Rating: C-. They mixed the formula up here a bit and that’s a good thing after doing the same thing so many times. There wasn’t even a hot tag to Metalik at the end. I have no idea why Metalik and Dorado aren’t being used as a low level tag team on the main rosters. They work well together and it’s not like the technico luchador team is a hard act to pull off. But hey, let’s just let them flounder on 205 Live and Main Event instead. I’m sure nothing bad will come of it.

We’ll close it out here.

Angle is in the ring, which is surrounded by security, to bring out all four participants for Sunday’s Universal Title match. First up we have Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman with Paul talking about how unfair Sunday’s match is going to be. It’s going to be all three challengers going after Lesnar and as a fan, Heyman thinks that concept sucks.

One day, a very long time from now, someone is going to be man enough to defeat Lesnar and become the new guy. However, it’s not going to be the false Samoan Samoa Joe or the Monster Among Men Braun Strowman, or the man who conquered the Undertaker, Roman Reigns. Heyman sees two possible options for Sunday.

Option A is Lesnar having the title stolen from him, meaning you might as well put him in a cage (Heyman: “HINT HINT!”). Option B is Lesnar wins and it turns out that Heyman has been underselling him all these years. This brings out Samoa Joe to say he’s putting Lesnar to sleep on Sunday.

Braun Strowman, now with his own shirt, comes out to say he’s always the last man standing. Joe takes credit for last week’s win and it’s FINALLY Reigns coming in as well. Roman takes Joe down but walks into the powerslam, leaving Lesnar vs. Strowman. Security comes in to break them up but are quickly dispatched. The locker room comes out and can barely hold them back to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. Pretty easy show to watch here, which is more than you can say about a lot of Main Events. This time around we had a completely watchable cruiserweight match and a forgettable singles match (I can already barely remember that Kalisto beat Hawkins) to go with recaps from a watchable Raw. I’ll take what I can get though and call this one fine.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Complete 2002 Monday Night Raw Reviews in either E-Book or Paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/07/21/new-e-bookpaperback-kbs-complete-monday-night-raw-2002-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

The closest thing to fantasy booking I do, which isn’t saying much.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/kbs-review-go-2/

Monday Night Raw
Date: August 14, 2017
Location: TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Booker T.

It’s the go home show for Summerslam and that means we’re in for the hard sell job. Aside from the big main event stuff, the main story tonight is the crowning of a new #1 contender to the Raw Women’s Title as Nia Jax will be facing Sasha Banks. The winner will replace the injured Bayley in Sunday’s title match against Alexa Bliss. Let’s get to it.

The opening video looks at the recent issues between Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins. Dean isn’t sure if he should reunite with Seth and refused to save him two weeks ago. He did save Seth last week, but Rollins wouldn’t do the Shield pose with him.

Here’s Dean for an opening chat. Dean wants to talk to Seth in person so here’s Rollins (still with the BURN IT TO THE GROUND in his music). Seth gets right to the point: they would be unstoppable as a team. He’s done playing games and sticks out his fist. Dean isn’t sure but then says Seth has to be kidding.

He rants about Rollins not being there for him last week but Seth says that their differences are why they work so well together. Seth goes to leave but Dean stops him and puts out the fist. It’s turned down AGAIN and Dean takes him down for a fight. They fall out to the floor so here are Sheamus and Cesaro for the beatdown.

Ambrose and Rollins eventually fight them off and clear the ring, drawing one heck of a YES chant. Now Dean puts out the fist….but Seth isn’t sure. Then Seth puts out the fist but Dean isn’t sure. They finally put the fists out together and NOW we have the eruption that the fans have been holding in for weeks. Hang on a second though as here’s Kurt Angle to make the Tag Team Title match with Rollins and Ambrose getting the shot at Summerslam. At least they didn’t waste any time doing the obvious.

The announcers talk about Ric Flair’s condition and wish him the best. Nothing wrong with that at all.

Nia Jax vs. Sasha Banks

The winner gets Alexa Bliss for the title at Summerslam. Before we get going, here’s Alexa Bliss to sit on her throne (which looks like a lifeguard chair) at ringside. Nia runs Banks over to start and we’re off to an early break. Back with Nia swinging Sasha HARD into the barricade to leave her laying. Nia drops the big leg for two and tries a double chickenwing, only to have Sasha reverse into a kind of standing camel clutch.

That’s reversed into a Samoan drop for two, followed by a second to send Sasha rolling out to the floor. Back from a second break with Banks not being able to get a sunset bomb out of the corner but kicking Jax off the ropes instead. The double knees in the corner get two but Sasha charges into a boot to the ribs. Nia gets pulled into the Bank Statement (which now has an arm trap, making it a Crossface) and starts for the ropes, only to have Sasha switch arms. Jax powers up but gets DDTed back down, setting up the Bank Statement again to make Nia tap at 16:46.

Rating: B. They were working the David vs. Goliath style here and as usual, it worked incredibly well. This wasn’t quite up to the levels of Bayley vs. Jax but the fact that Banks kept fighting until she beat Jax clean is huge. It makes her look like the dragon slayer, meaning there’s no reason that Banks shouldn’t run through Bliss to become champion on Sunday.

The Hardys are in Angle’s office where the boss tells them they won’t be facing the injured Revival at Summerslam. Cue Miz and the Miztourage to ask what Kurt is going to do about Brock attacking them last week. Angle: “Nothing.” Kurt does say though that Curtis Axel will have his match with Jason Jordan tonight after it was canceled last week. Miz says he’ll take Axel’s spot, which is fine with Kurt. Miz is ready to yell about something when a referee comes in to say there’s a problem with Finn Balor and Bray Wyatt, sending Angle running off.

Back from a break with referees breaking up Balor vs. Wyatt. Angle comes in and says they’ll just have their match tonight.

Here’s Elias to sing a song about how terrible clam chowder is and how Boston is wicked cursed.

R-Truth vs. Elias

Elias jumps him before the bell and hits Drift Away, which is now a fisherman’s neckbreaker. No match.

A shark cage is lowered into the ring and here’s Big Cass for a chat. He tries to talk about what’s going to be happening at Summerslam but the fans keep booing him out of the building. Cass finally talks over them and says Enzo needs Big Show because Enzo knows he’s nothing without a guardian looking out for him. He doesn’t get why Big Show is hanging with Enzo lately, nor does he get why people cheer for Enzo. The fans are laughing at Enzo, even if they don’t get the jokes. Cass can’t wait for Summerslam when Enzo has the best seat in the house to watch his new buddy take a beating.

Cue Enzo to mock Cass being cut off so many times. He says Cass is rambling like a man who has been knocked out two weeks in a row. More insults are exchanged until Big Show comes out. The brawl is on until Anderson and Gallows come in to help beat Big Show down. They slam the cage door on his hand and Cass stomps on it for good measure. Cass showed much better fire and emotion than usual here but more importantly the fans were reacting to him, which is a very good sign for his future.

Cruiserweight Title: Neville vs. Akira Tozawa

Neville is defending in a match that was scheduled for Sunday. Tozawa grabs a rollup for an early two but the champ grabs one of his own. That means a face to face staredown in the middle until Neville gets kicked out to the floor. Back with Tozawa fighting out of an armbar and sending Neville outside for a suicide dive. He adds a second one and Titus O’Neil is all fired up.

The standing backsplash looks to set up the top rope version but Neville gets up for the save. They both head to the top with Neville drilling the superplex for no cover. Instead he gets up, only to get kicked in the head. Tozawa goes up again but Neville is up again and hides behind the referee. A leg trip sets up the Rings of Saturn but Tozawa reverses into a rollup for a VERY close two. Neville posts him though and the Red Arrow…..actually misses. Tozawa drops the top rope backsplash for the pin and the title at 11:26.

Rating: B-. I’m rather surprised and I’m not sure I get why this happened here. Are they really just trying to get a match off of Summerslam? I mean, the card is going to be pushing fourteen or so matches and this would be pretty low on the totem pole so it’s not the worst idea. That being said, they do realize THERE’S A CRUISERWEIGHT SHOW THAT NO ONE WATCHES THAT COULD USE A BOOST LIKE A SUMMERSLAM MATCH COMING EARLY RIGHT???

The announcers preview this weekend’s events.

Show has his hand examined and the medics think it’s broken. Enzo comes in and suggests they call the match off but Show says no way. I really hope this isn’t setting up a SHOCKING turn as they said they think it’s broken but have to wait for an x-ray.

We look back at Sasha winning earlier.

Mickie James is in the back when Emma comes in to complain about fans loving Sasha winning. She started the Women’s Revolution and runs her mouth a lot but Mickie doesn’t want to hear it. A match is made for later tonight.

Bray Wyatt vs. Finn Balor

Another Summerslam match coming early. They go right after each other to start with Bray doing his hop over the ropes for a kick to the head. A right hand drops Balor onto the apron but he gets in a kick to the face and we take a break. Back with Bray hitting a gutbuster for two and hitting a hard clothesline. It’s off to a chinlock for a bit until Balor kicks him in the head for a breather.

Bray gets caught with another running boot for two but comes right back with his running crossbody. The backsplash gives Bray two more but Balor adds a quick double stomp to the ribs. They head outside with Finn getting the running dropkick against the barricade but the Coup de Grace is broken up. Sister Abigail gives Bray the clean pin at 11:23.

Rating: C+. That’s Bray’s third straight win over a former World Champion (two wins over Seth Rollins) but for some reason it feels like he’s still going nowhere. That loss at Wrestlemania really did cripple him and it’s going to take another big win, like winning the World Title, to bring him back. Balor losing clean is surprising here, but I really hope they don’t just have him beat Wyatt again on Sunday.

Bray gives him another Sister Abigail after the match. The lights go out and come back on with Balor sitting unconscious in the corner. Bray has a bucket and pours what looks like blood (or barbecue sauce) all over Bray.

We look at the opening segment again.

Mickie James vs. Emma

No entrance for either one. Mickie gets in an early kick to the face for two but Emma knocks her to the floor. Back in and a seated full nelson keeps Mickie in trouble. The comeback doesn’t last long as Mickie fights up, only to get pulled off the ropes for two. Mickie’s spinning kick to the head is good for the quick pin at 4:08.

Rating: D. Hey, did you know that Emma complained about not getting enough time on TV? Well now she’s getting it but HAHA she’s losing all the time now. That’ll show her, and it’s totally not counter productive whatsoever! Mickie winning isn’t going to move her anywhere, making this more about punishing Emma and filling in time than anything else.

Balor leaves Angle’s office and says that he has his rematch on Sunday. Balor: “Bray has his demons. At Summerslam, he’s going to find out that I have my demons too.” The fans ROAR at that mention.

Miz vs. Jason Jordan

Non-title. Cole reads off Jordan’s resume, which includes a degree in biology and THREE minors, which is really quite impressive. The threat of an early suplex sends Miz outside for a breather. Back in and Jordan hits the running shoulder in the corner but the Miztourage comes in for the DQ at 1:46.

Post match the beatdown is on until the Hardys make the save.

Hardy Boyz/Jason Jordan vs. Miz/Miztourage

Joined in progress with Matt working on Axel’s arm before it’s off to Matt to crank on the other arm. Jordan adds a chop and it’s off to Dallas, who charges into a fireman’s carry slam. Miz gets pulled back in for some shoulders to the ribs until Axel pulls his boss out of the way.

We take a break and come back with Jordan rolling away from a middle rope elbow and bringing in Matt off the hot tag. Axel takes him down though and grabs a chinlock before bringing Miz back in for some left hands to the head. Matt sends him into the corner to escape though and the hot tag brings in Jeff for a good looking Whisper in the Wind. Everything breaks down and Jordan suplexes all three of them around. The Twist of Fate into the Swanton puts Dallas away at 14:45.

Rating: C. Now this one felt like filler, which a lot of stuff has been tonight, although it hasn’t exactly felt like such. The idea here seems to be to put Jordan with someone more popular to hide the fact that a lot of people don’t really care for him. That idea has worked for years so it’s hardly a big stretch here.

The Demon King is confirmed for Summerslam.

Neville will get his rematch on Sunday. Dang that’s going to be a packed card.

Angle is in the ring, which is surrounded by security, to bring out all four participants for Sunday’s Universal Title match. First up we have Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman with Paul talking about how unfair Sunday’s match is going to be. It’s going to be all three challengers going after Lesnar and as a fan, Heyman thinks that concept sucks.

One day, a very long time from now, someone is going to be man enough to defeat Lesnar and become the new guy. However, it’s not going to be the false Samoan Samoa Joe or the Monster Among Men Braun Strowman, or the man who conquered the Undertaker, Roman Reigns. Heyman sees two possible options for Sunday.

Option A is Lesnar having the title stolen from him, meaning you might as well put him in a cage (Heyman: “HINT HINT!”). Option B is Lesnar wins and it turns out that Heyman has been underselling him all these years. This brings out Samoa Joe to say he’s putting Lesnar to sleep on Sunday.

Braun Strowman, now with his own shirt, comes out to say he’s always the last man standing. Joe takes credit for last week’s win and it’s FINALLY Reigns coming in as well. Roman takes Joe down but walks into the powerslam, leaving Lesnar vs. Strowman. Security comes in to break them up but are quickly dispatched. The locker room comes out and can barely hold them back to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This felt like the last show before one of the biggest shows of the year, mainly because most of the bigger names weren’t wrestling tonight. That makes good sense as you don’t want one of the four main event participants getting injured before the big night. I liked a lot of the extended attention that some of the less important stuff got tonight as it makes those things feel more important. It’s a different way of doing Raw and that’s one of the best things that they can do at the moment, especially when things get stale so frequently around here.

Results

Sasha Banks b. Nia Jax – Bank Statement

Akira Tozawa b. Neville – Top rope backsplash

Bray Wyatt b. Finn Balor – Sister Abigail

Emma b. Mickie James – Spinning kick to the head

Jason Jordan b. Miz via DQ when the Miztourage interfered

Jason Jordan/Hardy Boyz b. Miz/Miztourage – Swanton Bomb to Dallas

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Complete 2002 Monday Night Raw Reviews in either E-Book or Paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/07/21/new-e-bookpaperback-kbs-complete-monday-night-raw-2002-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

Monday Night Raw
Date: August 7, 2017
Location: Air Canada Center, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Booker T.

It’s one of the last shows before Summerslam and there’s a big main event on tap. This week will feature Roman Reigns vs. Braun Strowman in a last man standing match with Brock Lesnar in the house as well. Other than that we need a new #1 contender to Alexa Bliss as Bayley is out of Summerslam with a separated shoulder. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

We start fast this week as Miz and company are in the ring for MizTV. Miz is tired of being blindsided on his own show so he wants Jason Jordan out here right now. It’s Kurt Angle instead, who has his own guest for the show: Brock Lesnar. The place goes coconuts for Lesnar and Paul Heyman, but Miz cuts Paul off because this is his show. Miz talks about how it’s almost a guarantee that Lesnar is losing the title because all three challengers are going to gang up on Lesnar. And remember, if Brock loses, he’s gone for good. If Miz is a betting man, he’s picking one of the challengers to leave as champion.

It’s time for Heyman to talk and he gets straight to the point: “Do you and your wife ever role play?” Heyman loves the idea of role play so let’s have Miz play Roman Reigns, Bo Dallas play Samoa Joe and Curtis Axel play Braun Strowman. Now let’s preview Summerslam. Three F5’s later, Lesnar calmly leaves.

Seth Rollins vs. Sheamus

Seth charges at him to start but gets knocked outside for a fireman’s carry from Sheamus. Back in and Seth slugs away to knock Sheamus outside again. Sheamus powerslams him onto the apron though and we take a break. Back with Sheamus missing a Brogue Kick and taking an enziguri to put both guys down. Sheamus pulls himself to the top but has to fight off a superkick. That’s fine with Seth who gets two off a superkick. Seth grabs the Sling Blade and heads up top for the frog splash but has to go after Cesaro. The distraction lets Sheamus grab a rollup for the pin at 8:39.

Rating: C-. This didn’t have the time to go anywhere and having them trade wins doesn’t help either of them. Of course this is about the post match stuff and whether or not Dean Ambrose will make the save so the result doesn’t make the biggest difference. Not a terrible match or anything but it was just there to fill in time.

Post match Seth goes after both of them but gets beaten down. Ambrose doesn’t make a save.

Post break Rollins yells at at Ambrose in the back but Dean says he’s not helping Seth because of getting stabbed in the back three years ago. Tonight Dean will face Cesaro, alone.

Jason Jordan vs. Curtis Axel

Jordan gets SILENCE from what has been a white hot crowd all night. Hang on a second as Axel is too banged up to wrestle. Angle isn’t happy but there’s a random wrestler nearby and Angle sends him in instead.

Jason Jordan vs. Jean Pierre Goulet

The LET’S GO JOBBER chants start things up. Jordan throws him down without any issue and starts with the suplexes. Goulet’s offense has no effect so the straps come down. Jordan hits the shoulder in the corner and the belly to back neckbreaker gives him the pin at 1:21.

Here’s Bayley with less emotion than you’ll ever see from her. She’s been through all kinds of emotions this week and all the messages from the fans have touched her. The fans boo Bayley out of the building and she even acknowledges it before continuing. We need a new #1 contender for Summerslam and Bayley wants it to be Sasha Banks.

Sasha Banks vs. Alicia Fox vs. Emma

Alexa comes out to do commentary to one heck of a reaction. Sasha gets sent outside early on with Emma dropping her back first onto the apron. Fox gets kicked in the face for her efforts and Emma takes her down for two. Alicia comes back and kicks away, setting up that perfect northern lights suplex for two of her own. Sasha is right back with a Shining Wizard to drop Emma and the double knees to Fox in the corner. Emma steals the cover and gets a VERY close two with the fans booing the kickout. Fox gets caught in the Bank Statement but Emma tries a rollup, only to get caught in the Bank Statement for the tap at 3:48.

Rating: D. This was pretty sloppy and I’d assume that Emma taking the fall instead of Fox was another part of her punishment for getting out of line and daring to want to wrestle more often. Banks winning was the most obvious thing ever of course and at least they kept it short, which is one of the best things they could have done here.

Enzo Amore brings out Big Show to talk about Show knocking Big Cass out last week. Cue Anderson and Gallows of all people to say Enzo and Show haven’t won a thing. How about a match, with Anderson and Gallows having a chance to beat up two more nerds. Enzo says they look like Dr. Evil and Mini Me so the match is on.

Anderson and Gallows vs. Enzo Amore/Big Show

Show throws Anderson outside to start and we take a break fifteen seconds in. Back with Enzo in trouble (of course) and not being able to get over for a tag. Cue Big Cass to distract Show, allowing Gallows to kick him in the head. Gallows kicks Enzo in the face and Anderson gets the pin at 6:38.

Rating: D. Really not enough to rate as a lot of the match was in the commercial and another long part of it was spent watching Big Cass come to the ring. I’m not sure where this is heading for Summerslam but I’d hope it’s not Show turning on Enzo to mentor Cass as a big man.

Cass kicks Show in the face again but Enzo dives through the ropes to take him out. Enzo gets beaten up but draws Cass into a chance, capped off by the KO Punch from Show.

Here’s Finn Balor for a chat. After some required TOO SWEET chanting, Balor talks about kicking Bray’s teeth down his neck last week. If there’s one thing Finn knows, it’s that you have to kick fear in the face….and here’s Wyatt to interrupt. Bray appears in the ring but Balor is on the top. They fight for a bit until Bray disappears, only to reappear on screen to say he enjoys Balor’s bravery.

Cesaro vs. Dean Ambrose

Ambrose takes him down in a hammerlock to start as Booker compares the Rollins/Ambrose issues to being cheated on. Booker: “You ever had a girlfriend Cole?” Cole: “I’m actually married Booker. Twenty five years.” So…..yes you have? Cesaro slugs away as Booker says Cesaro wants to be a champion. After Cole yells about how Cesaro already is a champion, Booker clarifies that he meant heavyweight champion but Cole says he has no idea what Booker is talking about.

Ambrose gets in some right hands in the corner but is dropped face first onto the hook between the buckle and the post. A neckbreaker gets Dean out of trouble and he puts Cesaro on the floor for a dive. Sheamus offers a distraction though and Cesaro uppercuts Dean down as we take a break. Back with Dean breaking up a superplex so Cesaro stands on top of the post and loads up a superplex to the floor.

Since that would mean a bad case of death, Ambrose superplexes him back to the mat instead. Cesaro pops up and hits a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker, followed by some forearms to the back. An uppercut rocks Ambrose for two but he hammers away to comeback. Cesaro gets knocked to the floor but blocks the suicide dive with another uppercut for a very close two.

Another superplex is broken up and Dean grabs la majistral for two. Cesaro is right back with the Sharpshooter but Dean crawls over to the ropes for the break. Dean sends him outside for a suicide dive and both guys are down again. Back in and Sheamus offers a distraction but Dean is smart enough to ignore it and grabs a rollup for the pin at 19:15.

Rating: B. Heck of a match here with more time than anything has gotten on Raw in a good while. Ambrose winning is a fine call but again the story is whatever is going to happen after the match. It’s hard to imagine that anyone but Rollins and Ambrose are getting the shot at Summerslam but it’s interesting to see how they get there. This is one of the better stories in WWE at the moment and it’s nice to have a good match as well.

Post match the champs attack but Rollins immediately runs out for the save. Ambrose looks at Seth and eventually holds out the Shield fist. Rollins looks at it….but shakes his head and walks away.

We look back at the opening sequence.

We look back at Akira Tozawa defeating Ariya Daivari to become #1 contender for the Cruiserweight Title.

Titus International celebrates when Neville comes in to say Tozawa might not be getting the shot.

Akira Tozawa vs. Ariya Daivari

Titus jumps in on commentary and calls Tozawa his property. Daivari is smart enough to go after the previously bad shoulder to start, followed by a clothesline in the corner for two. Tozawa comes right back with a suicide dive to take Daivari down, followed by the snap belly to back suplex. The top rope backsplash ends Daivari at 3:51.

Rating: D+. So you know those other matches where Tozawa beat the heck out of Daivari and it wasn’t very entertaining? This was roughly the same thing. Titus has revived his career with this Titus International thing and Daivari has been a good choice for one of his clients. I’m not buying Tozawa winning the title but at least he’s gotten a shocking amount of mileage out of what looked like a stupid gimmick.

Roman Reigns says he retired Undertaker and he’ll be happy to retire Brock as well.

Nia Jax vs. Mickie James vs. Dana Brooke

The winner faces Sasha next week for the title shot at Summerslam. Nia runs both of them over to start but misses a charge and gets knocked out to the floor. Mickie escapes a slam and gets two off a neckbreaker but Nia is getting back in. The monster wrecks everyone in sight and drops the leg on Dana for the pin at 3:04.

Rating: D. Well what else were you expecting? This was little more than a squash with Mickie vs. Dana being little more than filler while we waited on Nia to destroy them. Nia vs. Banks could go either way but I’d bet on Sasha winning it at this point. Nothing match here, but that’s to be expected.

Goldust is ready to unveil his greatest creation in the near future.

Cass wants Show at Summerslam but he wants Enzo suspended above the ring in a shark cage. Angle makes the match and hopes Enzo isn’t afraid of heights.

Braun Strowman vs. Roman Reigns

Last Man Standing. Reigns meets him n the aisle but gets thrown from the floor into the ring. It’s too early for a Samoan drop as Strowman pounds Reigns down for an early five count. Reigns is sent outside and we take a break. Back with Strowman throwing the steps inside but Reigns slugs away for a breather. A pair of big boots stagger Strowman and a shot with the steps puts Strowman on a knee.

Reigns hits him in the face with the steps and Strowman goes down, allowing Reigns to hit him in the chest with the steps over and over. Back up at seven and Strowman blocks the Superman Punch by sending Reigns into the corner. That spinning Big Ending gives Braun a breather but Roman gets in a quick Superman Punch to put both guys down. Strowman is back up with a dropkick of all things but he misses a charge and hits the post, knocking him out to the floor.

Reigns gets in the apron dropkick and it’s table time. He takes too long with it though as Strowman clotheslines him down again and sets up the table in the ring. Again it takes too long though and Reigns hits a Samoan drop through the table, only to have Strowman roll outside to get on his feet. Reigns goes after him so Strowman LAUNCHES the timekeeper’s chair at him, knocking Reigns completely silly for nine. Great visual and if Strowman doesn’t win, I have no idea why he didn’t do it there.

They fight into the crowd and up to the announcers’ table with Reigns hitting another running dropkick. Strowman is up again and throws Roman into the screen. The announcers’ table is loaded up but Reigns gets to his feet for two Superman Punches. The spear is blocked with a big boot, only to have Reigns pop back up and hit the spear. Reigns pulls himself up….and Samoa Joe reaches out from the crowd to put Reigns in the Koquina Clutch. The THANK YOU JOE chant starts up and Strowman is up at nine for the win at 22:00.

Rating: B-. This got going once they brought the table in and I REALLY like that ending. Strowman wouldn’t have gotten up without the delay in the count thanks to Joe and Joe himself looks like the real winner, which makes sense considering he wasn’t even on the show so far. It’s not a classic or anything but the ending was the perfect call, outside of MAYBE a double knockout.

Overall Rating: C. This is another great example of a show that needed an hour cut out, which was the case last week as well. It’s not a horrible show by any means but my goodness it dragged at times. There were multiple moments that felt like it was just continuing for the sake of continuing and that’s not a good sign. There’s good stuff setting up for Summerslam though and I’m more interested in the show now than I was coming in, which is the entire point here. Watchable show, but it needed some major tweaks.

Results

Sheamus b. Seth Rollins – Rollup

Jason Jordan b. Jean Pierre Goulet – Belly to back neckbreaker

Sasha Banks b. Alicia Fox and Emma – Bank Statement to Emma

Anderson and Gallows b. Enzo Amore and Big Show – Big boot to Amore

Dean Ambrose b. Cesaro – Rollup

Akira Tozawa b. Ariya Daivari – Top rope backsplash

Nia Jax b. Dana Brooke and Mickie James – Legdrop to Brooke

Braun Strowman b. Roman Reigns – Samoa Joe choked Reigns out

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Complete 2002 Monday Night Raw Reviews in either E-Book or Paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/07/21/new-e-bookpaperback-kbs-complete-monday-night-raw-2002-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

Main Event
Date: August 3, 2017
Location: PPG Arena, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Corey Graves

With less than three weeks before Summerslam….odds are nothing is going to change around here. We’ll likely have the same kind of Raw moments and highlights to go with the original content. That being said, there’s a bit of hope after last week’s rather strong show. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Gran Metalik/Lince Dorado vs. Drew Gulak/Brian Kendrick

Dorado speeds things up on Gulak to start but eats an elbow to the face to cut him off. A sunset flip gives Dorado two and it’s off to Metalik for a dropkick. Kendrick comes in and runs Metalik down so it’s time for some springboards into an armdrag to drop Brian again. Metalik keeps things going with a springboard elbow to the jaw and a dropkick for two. A moonsault hits knees though and it’s time for the villains to take over.

They start in on the arm until Gulak misses a charge in the corner. Metalik joins the I Use The Sling Blade Club to drop Kendrick and the hot tag brings in Dorado to start cleaning house. Gulak counters a leapfrog with a sunset flip (sweet), only to have the luchadors hit stereo moonsaults (off the same buckle). Back in and Dorado drops the shooting star press for the pin on Gulak at 6:52.

Rating: C+. Dorado and Metalik had some good looking high flying stuff in there with those moonsaults looking awesome. It’s also nice to not have the villains win at the very end after getting beaten down for most of the match. I still like Metalik a lot though Lince leaves a few things to be desired.

We get Roman Reigns’ video to hype Monday’s triple threat.

It’s time for MizTV with the Miztourage out in full. Jason Jordan is brought out as the guest but Miz keeps cutting him off to ask about the fans booing Jordan. Jason says he’s ok with the booing because he’s just going to keep going. Miz likes the attitude and offers him a spot in the Miztourage. Jordan says thanks but he’s good. We hear Miz’s resume but Jordan passes again. That’s cool with Miz, who thinks Jordan is cool with his dad handing him everything.

Jason would rather be chewed up and spit out than be associated with someone like Miz. That’s not cool with Miz, who doesn’t have to latch on to a different Olympian every week or rely on someone who was given a job out of pity. Jordan gets in Miz’s face over the Kurt insults but Miz calls off the Miztourage. A charge at Jason is countered into a belly to belly, sending Miz straight into the Miztourage and Jordan bailing before he gets destroyed.

Also from Raw.

Big Cass vs. Big Show

Before the match, Enzo says he’d rather eat a banana peel before he associates with Cass again. Show jumps Cass during the entrances and hammers away, including the loud chop in the corner. Cass can’t whip him so Show sends him outside instead. It’s too late for a break though so an elbow drop gives Show two. Cass starts taking out the leg though and it’s off to a leglock. A big boot to the jaw just seems to wake Show up though and he chops Cass out of the air. Another big boot drops Show….and Enzo comes in for the DQ at 5:07.

Rating: D. What the heck was that? I guess we’re setting up a handicap match at Summerslam, which could be a good win for Cass though I’m really not needing to see Enzo vs. Cass again. Cass has already proven himself over Enzo and there’s no need to keep doing the same thing over and over again.

Post match Cass throws Enzo down but walks into the KO Punch to end the show.

Samoa Joe’s video hyping the triple threat.

Emma vs. Mickie James

Mickie headlocks her down to start and easily flips out of a headscissors. A pinfall reversal sequence gives us some near falls, followed by Mickie getting two more off a neckbreaker. Emma misses a charge in the corner and gets kicked in the face as we take a break. Back with Mickie not being able to hit the MickieDT but it’s a flapjack into a nipup to keep Emma in trouble. Mickie’s middle rope Thesz press gets two but she gets sent face first into the middle buckle for the pin at 7:03.

Rating: D. That felt like they had to go home REALLY fast as they were starting to roll and then Emma hit one move for the pin. This was more out of the pre-Women’s Revolution playbook and I don’t think anyone wants to go back there. I’m assuming Emma is still being punished for wanting more screen time because Heaven forbid anyone want something like that.

Strowman’s video.

Recap of the triple threat, including Monday’s in-ring segment.

And of course, to wrap things up.

Roman Reigns vs. Braun Strowman vs. Samoa Joe

Strowman starts running both of them over in the early going, sending both of them out to the floor. Back with Strowman missing a charge and getting kicked in the head for his efforts. Joe kicks Strowman in the head and gets in a fight with Roman, who he pulls down into a Fujiwara armbar. The fight heads outside for a bit with Joe grabbing the Koquina Clutch on Strowman over the barricade.

Strowman is almost out but Joe lets go to fight Reigns inside. The Rock Bottom is broken up and Reigns loads up the Superman Punch, only to have Joe roll outside in a smart move. That’s fine with Roman who hits the Superman Punch off the steps but Strowman is back up to block a spear with a big boot. Strowman LAUNCHES Reigns from the floor back inside but Joe gets in another kick.

The steps are put inside as Joe grabs the Clutch on Roman with Strowman making the save. There’s the powerslam for two on Joe as Reigns has to make a save this time. Strowman is back up with the steps but a Superman Punch knocks them away. The steps knock Strowman outside and the spear ends Joe at 14:38.

Rating: B. I certainly don’t think this means that Reigns wins at Summerslam but MY GOODNESS they have more guts than I thought if they actually go with that. Joe was the only option to eat the pin here (unfortunately) because you don’t want Strowman losing more than he ever has to. Reigns winning is another attempt to troll the fans (in theory) but I’d really hope they don’t mess this up at Summerslam.

Overall Rating: C. This was back to business as usual for Main Event as there was almost nothing worth seeing with the original content being very forgettable. That being said, it’s still really hard to complain about a show that covers the big stuff from Raw and gives you two original matches in about forty five minutes. Nothing great of course, but completely watchable.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Complete 2002 Monday Night Raw Reviews in either E-Book or Paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/07/21/new-e-bookpaperback-kbs-complete-monday-night-raw-2002-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

Monday Night Raw
Date: July 31, 2017
Location: PPG Arena, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Booker T.

We’re in Kurt Angle country tonight and it’s already a stacked show. As announced last week, we’ll be seeing Roman Reigns vs. Braun Strowman vs. Samoa Joe in a triple threat match, along with Jason Jordan appearing on MizTV. If that’s not enough for you, Brock Lesnar is here too. Let’s get to it.

We open with a long recap of last week’s announcement of the four way for the Universal Title at Summerslam.

Opening sequence.

Here’s Angle for the hero’s welcome to open the show. Angle is glad to be here and runs down tonight’s card. On a more personal note, it’s twenty one years to the day that he won an Olympic gold medal WITH A BROKEN FREAKING NECK. He wouldn’t be here without any of us and he thanks the fans before leaving….and here’s Lesnar.

Heyman knows what Angle is up to and sees the “angle” that he’s playing here. Kurt has to get the title from Lesnar so he put him into a four way with the most stacked heavyweight division in WWE history. There’s the power of Strowman, the Undertaker slaying Reigns and the Samoan disgrace, the latter of whom Heyman thinks Angle favors.

Angle’s bosses want to make sure that Lesnar loses the title so all three of the challenges are going to beat him down at once. Heyman thinks Angle has been told to pay the “ultimate” price so how about this: if Lesnar loses the title, he and Heyman are both gone from WWE. It won’t matter because Lesnar is going to be winning at Summerslam, whether Angle likes it or not.

Hardys vs. Anderson and Gallows

Revival is on commentary as we hear about the three way feud between these teams. Apparently Matt has been calling Dash an obsolete mule on Twitter. The brothers start in on Karl’s arm with a variety of wristlock. House is quickly cleaned and Poetry in Motion to Gallows sends us to an early break.

Back with Jeff Twist of Fating his way out of trouble but Anderson breaks up the slowest crawl to a corner ever. Karl misses a charge though and Matt gets the hot tag to clean house. Another Twist is broken up and Gallows kicks Matt in the back of the head. Dash: “See, we would never fall for that.” The Magic Killer is broken up and the Twist into the Swanton puts Gallows away at 9:09.

Rating: C. Not a bad match and the three way feud helps a bit, but I could still go for another face team besides just the Hardys. As long as this doesn’t wind up with ANOTHER ladder match I’ll be fine as the story isn’t bad, but it could use a few tweaks to really make it work better.

Post match the Hardys get in a brawl with the Revival. Anderson and Gallows come up to the stage as well, only to have all four villains sent to the floor for a big dive from Jeff.

Renee Young asks Dean Ambrose if he’s getting back together with Seth Rollins. Ambrose isn’t sure but Rollins come up. Dean says the people might want it and even Dean does to a degree, but he’s not getting burned again.

Post break Sheamus and Cesaro laugh at Seth for having no friends. He could even star in his own episode of Ride Along. Seth challenges either of them for tonight and Sheamus accepts.

Rich Swann/Cedric Alexander/Akira Tozawa vs. TJP/Ariya Daivari/Tony Nese

Only Tozawa gets an entrance. Cedric headscissors Nese around to start and snatches Ariya in an armdrag. Tozawa comes in and adds a backsplash but Ariya goes after the bad arm to take over. Back with Daivari holding the bad arm in an armbar for a bit until the diving tag brings in Swann. House is cleaned and everything breaks down with Alexander and Swann busting out stereo dives to put Nese and Daivari down. Tozawa adds one of his own, leaving Swann to trade rollups with TJP. A big kick to the head sets up Tozawa’s top rope backsplash for the pin at 8:48.

Rating: C. Not bad here, though Daivari continues to feel out of place with his really basic style compared to these high fliers. Tozawa is pretty clearly getting the next title shot against Neville, though I’m not sure he’s going to be the guy to get the title off of him. Why Cedric can’t get a shot isn’t clear but it could make for a good story.

It’s time for MizTV with the Miztourage out in full. Jason Jordan is brought out as the guest but Miz keeps cutting him off to ask about the fans booing Jordan. Jason says he’s ok with the booing because he’s just going to keep going. Miz likes the attitude and offers him a spot in the Miztourage. Jordan says thanks but he’s good. We hear Miz’s resume but Jordan passes again. That’s cool with Miz, who thinks Jordan is cool with his dad handing him everything.

Jason would rather be chewed up and spit out than be associated with someone like Miz. That’s not cool with Miz, who doesn’t have to latch on to a different Olympian every week or rely on someone who was given a job out of pity. Jordan gets in Miz’s face over the Kurt insults but Miz calls off the Miztourage. A charge at Jason is countered into a belly to belly, sending Miz straight into the Miztourage and Jordan bailing before he gets destroyed.

Good but not great stuff here from Jason, who is still finding his rhythm with the talking. Having him hit the one suplex and bail is a good idea as him cleaning house wouldn’t have made the most sense. I could live with him winning the title, though a clean win over Miz would be a big stretch at this point.

Roman says tonight is about sending a message. No matter what those two do, the Big Dog isn’t going anywhere. He’s the only one who can beat Lesnar and tonight he’s going to prove it.

Sheamus vs. Seth Rollins

Seth’s music now features a voice screeching BURN IT DOWN. Just….no. I didn’t like the song in the first place and that makes it even worse. Sheamus headlocks him down to start as the announcers compare their careers. A Cesaro distraction sends Seth outside though and Sheamus posts him to take us to an early break.

Back with Sheamus hitting a super Regal Roll for two, only to get sent face first into the middle buckle. An enziguri knocks Sheamus to the floor and there’s the suicide dive. The Sling Blade sets up….a shot to knock Cesaro off the apron, followed by a rollup to put Sheamus away at 8:30.

Rating: C. I could go for these two having a longer high flier vs. power brawler match but as it is, this was just watchable. I don’t think there’s any secret to what’s coming post match so the match was more along the lines of just a time filler to get to that point. Ambrose and Rollins vs. Sheamus and Cesaro should be fine at Summerslam but I hope we don’t have a bunch of singles matches to get there.

The beatdown is on with Rollins being left laying. Ambrose FINALLY comes out for the save but takes a beating as well. Ambrose tells them to bring it so Cesaro beats him down some more.

Samoa Joe says he’s been putting people to sleep for twenty years and that’s what he’ll do to Brock at Summerslam.

Video on a Special Olympian.

Here’s Bray Wyatt for a chat. There is no escape for anyone, including Finn Balor. Everyone is held down by humanity’s shackles, doing everything they can to deal with pain. You can’t hide from him though because Bray Wyatt is everywhere. He’s right there when the honest man tries to validate stealing and he’s right there when everyone declares themselves as part of the Balor Club.

It’s a sickness that makes everyone think their life can be special. People think they can be like Balor and rise from the ashes but Bray sees Balor as the shell that he’s always been. Bray laughs at this I CAN DO IT attitude and here’s Balor, who appears behind Wyatt in the ring. Wyatt laughs at this as Balor poses with his back to Bray. An enziguri drops Bray to the floor and the brawl is on in a hurry. A dropkick sends Bray into the crowd and Balor stands tall without even taking off his jacket.

Strowman isn’t like most men because he breaks things when he doesn’t like people. Tonight he’s turning Reigns into a pile of broken bones.

Roman Reigns vs. Braun Strowman vs. Samoa Joe

Strowman starts running both of them over in the early going, sending both of them out to the floor. Back with Strowman missing a charge and getting kicked in the head for his efforts. Joe kicks Strowman in the head and gets in a fight with Roman, who he pulls down into a Fujiwara armbar. The fight heads outside for a bit with Joe grabbing the Koquina Clutch on Strowman over the barricade.

Strowman is almost out but Joe lets go to fight Reigns inside. The Rock Bottom is broken up and Reigns loads up the Superman Punch, only to have Joe roll outside in a smart move. That’s fine with Roman who hits the Superman Punch off the steps but Strowman is back up to block a spear with a big boot. Strowman LAUNCHES Reigns from the floor back inside but Joe gets in another kick.

The steps are put inside as Joe grabs the Clutch on Roman with Strowman making the save. There’s the powerslam for two on Joe as Reigns has to make a save this time. Strowman is back up with the steps but a Superman Punch knocks them away. The steps knock Strowman outside and the spear ends Joe at 14:38.

Rating: B. I certainly don’t think this means that Reigns wins at Summerslam but MY GOODNESS they have more guts than I thought if they actually go with that. Joe was the only option to eat the pin here (unfortunately) because you don’t want Strowman losing more than he ever has to. Reigns winning is another attempt to troll the fans (in theory) but I’d really hope they don’t mess this up at Summerslam.

We recap Big Cass vs. Big Show.

Enzo comes in to see Show and apologizes for getting him into this. Show says Cass needs to learn a lesson and he can teach that.

Here’s Elias (yes just Elias now), who happens to be a hometown boy. He grew up here and it was the people of Pittsburgh that inspired him to write this song. Of course it rips on the town and its sports teams until Kalisto cuts him off for a match.

Elias vs. Kalisto

Elias starts fast and throws Kalisto to the floor for a break about a minute in because THAT’S HOW EVERY MATCH HAS TO GO NOW. Back with Elias holding a chinlock and booting Kalisto square in the mask. We hit an over the back backbreaker before Elias just drops him down. Kalisto gets in a few kicks and a springboard seated senton sets up the hurricanrana driver. He might have hurt his back though and it’s a quick swinging neckbreaker (Drift Away) to give Elias the pin at 8:13.

Rating: D. Is it just me or has almost every match tonight followed the exact same formula, even down to the same time frame? Samson winning is a good thing though they actually had me believing they might pull the trigger on the upset. I’m still not sure what they’re going to do with Elias but he’s certainly being protected, at least a lot more than he was in NXT.

Alexa Bliss mocks Sasha Banks for the loss to Bayley last week. Banks isn’t here tonight so there’s no one to help Bayley against Nia Jax.

Rollins comes in to thank Ambrose for what he did but Dean still doesn’t buy it. He knows Rollins wouldn’t have done the same for him and walks off.

Bayley vs. Nia Jax

Nia throws her to the apron but Bayley slips back in and scores with a shot to the jaw. That just earns her a headbutt and an attempt at a powerslam. Nia slams her down hard and throws her outside for, say it with me, a break a little over a minute in. Back with Nia grabbing a double chickenwing and dropping Bayley flat on her face.

With Bayley on the floor, Nia throws her hair up in a side pony tail for a somewhat odd look. Bayley’s arm is banged up but she’s able to fight back with a bulldog and a dropkick. Another dropkick puts Nia on the floor and there’s a crossbody from the apron. Cue Alexa for a failed distraction though and Nia goes into the steps for the countout at 8:39.

Rating: D+. As usual, WWE shows they have no idea how to use Bayley. Down in NXT, Bayley got over so strongly because they treated her like an underdog. Now on the main roster she’s already had all those big moments (the title win, successful defense at Wrestlemania) and THEN lost to Bliss.

The problem though is instead of having her be the fallen hero who has to fight her way back to the top, she just started winning again and is suddenly in a huge match at a major show. Characters aside, that’s poor storytelling. Outside of some videos on YouTube, we didn’t ever hear Bayley talking about how she had to rise back up the card or how she had to get back to her roots or how devastated she was. It’s Point A to Point D or so with nothing in between and that doesn’t work.

Big Cass is ready to teach Show a lesson.

We recap MizTV.

Big Cass vs. Big Show

Before the match, Enzo says he’d rather eat a banana peel before he associates with Cass again. Show jumps Cass during the entrances and hammers away, including the loud chop in the corner. Cass can’t whip him so Show sends him outside instead. It’s too late for a break though so an elbow drop gives Show two. Cass starts taking out the leg though and it’s off to a leglock. A big boot to the jaw just seems to wake Show up though and he chops Cass out of the air. Another big boot drops Show….and Enzo comes in for the DQ at 5:07.

Rating: D. What the heck was that? I guess we’re setting up a handicap match at Summerslam, which could be a good win for Cass though I’m really not needing to see Enzo vs. Cass again. Cass has already proven himself over Enzo and there’s no need to keep doing the same thing over and over again.

Post match Cass throws Enzo down but walks into the KO Punch to end the show.

Overall Rating: D+. The show really needed some variety and it was showing badly here. There were five matches that all ran within about 45 seconds of each other in time and each one featured a toss to the floor leading to a break about a minute to a minute and a half in. The other problem is that if they kind of ran out of stuff to do after the triple threat as the last hour or so really wasn’t that interesting. They also need to start add some more stuff to the pay per view because the title matches are only going to carry them so far. Not a horrible show here but it REALLY needed to lose an hour or so.

Results

Hardys b. Anderson and Gallows – Swanton Bomb to Gallows

Rich Swann/Akira Tozawa/Cedric Alexander b. TJP/Ariya Daivari/Tony Nese – Top rope backsplash to TJP

Seth Rollins b. Sheamus – Rollup

Roman Reigns b. Samoa Joe and Braun Strowman – Spear to Joe

Elias b. Kalisto – Drift Away

Bayley b. Nia Jax via countout

Big Cass b. Big Show via DQ when Enzo Amore interfered

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Complete 2002 Monday Night Raw Reviews in either E-Book or Paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/07/21/new-e-bookpaperback-kbs-complete-monday-night-raw-2002-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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