The hits were thin on the ground on Monday night’s holiday edition of RAW, to say the least. Read on as I search for the positives in the carcass of a dead-as-a-doornail, completely phoned-in edition of the WWE’s flagship show.
— The Hits —
Food fight!
Beginning a holiday edition of RAW with a comedy segment like this is tantamount to telling your audience not to bother, but I’m only mildly ashamed to admit that I loved it. While I understand that Bo Dallas inadvertently pouring punch over himself is change-the-channel heat for many, I firmly believe that wacky bits like this help to add color to the WWE’s cast of characters and get them over.
Remember, it was a holiday edition of SmackDown on which John Cena began his transformation from a ruthlessly aggressive bore to the Vanilla Ice wannabe that ultimately broke the glass ceiling.
Little touches like Cesaro dispassionately arm-wrestling Apollo Crews through the chaos, or Kevin Owens eating chips under the table to avoid the melee, make me laugh and more inclined to watch those involved again in the future. Even Fandango sensually spraying whipped cream on himself raised a chuckle as did the ultra-wacky first-person pie-facing that Owens sustained at the segment’s conclusion. This would never happen on Canada Day, indeed.
Xavier’s apprehension about a trip to the woods
I enjoyed the contrast between Big E and Kofi Kingston’s naivete and Xavier Woods’ apprehension in the face of the Wyatt’s invitation. Woods, who has looked far more uncertain than his wisecracking buddies in recent weeks, did a great job of angrily warning against the dangers of complacency ahead of their impending trip to the Wyatt compound.
One can only assume that the WWE are looking to outdo the viral buzz garnered by the Hardy’s recent exploits in TNA with this New Day excursion. Let’s hope it doesn’t turn out as poorly as things usually do when this company tries to piggyback on a trend.
— The Misses —
Team USA vs. The Multi-National Alliance
Look, there were positives to this 16-man omnishambles, namely the Pop-Up Powerbomb delivered by Owens to Mark Henry, and the heartstring-tugging Real Americans callback. Those aside, I find it difficult to care about a match that involves a large part of one’s roster getting pinned in short order with recent US champion Kalisto getting squashed by Henry like a bug being a particular lowlight.
Not that I was very keen on the lesser-spotted, retirement-verging Big Show quickly pinning Chris Jericho and Alberto Del Rio, especially given the fact that his mobility appeared even more limited than the last time we saw Mr. Wight. Cesaro and Sheamus were also both sacrificed at the altar of giving Zack Ryder his biannual moment in the sun with the former’s elimination generating strong boos from a bemused crowd.
Protecting Owens by having him disqualify himself for using a chair on Sami Zayn was fine, but it was hilarious to see Kane be given the same treatment. God forbid Kane is pinned.
Cena/Club rehash
Once again, AJ Styles and John Cena had impeccable delivery, but the material they had to work with again left much to be desired. An unnecessarily long talkfest saw both men rehash prior arguments, including Styles breaking out the “shovel” references again.
Credit goes to Cena for trying manfully to rouse a crowd that had sat through an appalling first two hours of RAW. “You’re not as fired up as you normally are!” complained the weary 15-time champ. And hey, at least Karl Anderson got to brag about his “hot Asian wife” again.
On a positive note, the Enzo & Cass rescue of Cena, paired with the later announcement of a 6-man tag for Battleground is good news. The prospect of another Cena vs. Styles singles match so soon after the first was not an enticing one if you recall how much the quick turnaround hurt Owens last year after his debut victory over the unseeable one.
Throwaway matches befitting of a throwaway show
Main event aside, this show featured six matches, four of which – including the Rusev U.S. title defense against Titus O’Neil – were total squashes. The other two, featuring the remaining unsuspended participants in the Battleground triple threat, were unnecessarily long 10 minute-plus affairs given their totally predictable outcomes.
Both Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose surprised no one by emerging victorious from competitive back-and-forth matches against Dolph Ziggler and The Miz respectively. Ambrose then predictably equalized Rollins’ beatdown from last week by giving him a Dirty Deeds on the Spanish announce table. Boring.
Vickie Guerrero’s appearance goes nowhere
In a further sign that the writing staff were phoning it in, Vickie Guerrero’s appearance on Monday’s show was easily the weakest of the recent ex-SmackDown general manager cameos.
She basically said her “Excuse Me!” catchphrase several times and screeched for a bit about running SmackDown before being carted off by security. Even Ziggler’s St. Peter-esque denial of his former squeeze couldn’t save this. Although I did enjoy that Dolph’s phone conversation featured an admission of another defeat: “I tried very hard…I was close!”
The definition of a Boss
While Charlotte’s whiny heel delivery was again effective, I was not a fan of the confrontation the Women’s champion had with Sasha Banks. Banks’ scripted promo, in which she rapped on the definition of a Boss was the definition of cringe for me, only matched by the awful Dana Brooke’s inability to get removed from the ring competently.
Banks’ air kick to a prone Brooke whiffed just as much as the material the writing staff stuck her with. Keep this up and they won’t be able to manufacture those “We Want Sasha” chants for much longer.
With the fact Raw will struggle badly in the ratings this week due to July 4th and next week’s Major League Baseball Home Run Derby, WWE is trying something new for the next few weeks on their flagship show.
– They have advertised a champion vs. champion match with Dean Ambrose vs. The Miz, with neither title at stake — a match they just did on last week’s Smackdown.
– They’ve also announced Rusev vs. Titus O’Neil for the U.S. title.
The other match announced is a USA vs. The World 16 man elimination match.
What that tells us is that they can isolate a member of the writing team who came up with that suggestion and find out that he ACTUALLY WATCHES WRESTLING. CMLL did that exact same match Friday night except it was Mexico vs. The World in a 16 man elimination match. It also went 51 minutes and was pretty great. Just make sure Volador Jr. and Kushida are the world team.
There will also be the return of a former Smackdown General Manager.
For those thinking Paul Heyman, Heyman arrives in Las Vegas tomorrow and his doing promotional work for a bikini contest much of the week at the Hard Rock, as well as spending time with Brock Lesnar who faces Mark Hunt a week from today at UFC 200. While it’s not impossible for him to go to Columbus, OH from Vegas for one show, I would doubt that would happen because there is bikini contest activity on Monday.
With the WWE spinning its creative wheels until next month’s brand split, Monday night’s edition of RAW felt very much like a time-filler with little happening of any consequence. Given that there are three shows remaining until Battleground, it’s difficult to avoid the suspicion that things aren’t about to get any more interesting in the short-term either!
— The Hits —
The Highlight Reel
Aptly named for once, Chris Jericho’s regular hosting gig was the clear highlight of Monday night’s show. Sami Zayn showed exactly how much his promo delivery has improved since his NXT debut with a fiery polemic against the jealousy and bitterness of Kevin Owens. Owens’ reply was equally strong, proving that heels are always more effective when they can make a convincing argument in their favour.
Jericho, of course, agreed with Owens’ view that Sami was an unsupportive friend, capping a great segment off with his delicious arrogance. Despite a clean Owens victory in their last singles encounter, this is the one match on the Battleground card I can’t wait to see.
New Day Mocks
Regular readers will know that I view the New Day as a more-miss-than-hit act, but Monday’s roast of the Wyatts, complete with fake Erick Rowan booty and unicorn horn lantern, was genuinely hilarious.
What a shame that Bray had to ruin the segment with his usual overlong speechifying. Still, I am mildly intrigued to see where the writers will take the trance-like state that overcomes Xavier Woods whenever the self-styled cult leader is near.
Becky Lynch
As moribund as the so-called Divas Revolution so clearly is, the Irishwoman’s performances continue to be a consistent highlight.
Becky’s attack on newly-minted heel Natalya was surprisingly entertaining with her threats to “smack the head off” the Canadian a delight for Irish viewers like yours truly. It also helps that the nice-but-dim Natalya, with her bountiful levels of misplaced smugness, is way more of a natural heel to me. And, hey, the inevitable match between the two at Battleground should be pretty good too, right?
— The Misses —
Recycling 2013’s awful Daniel Bryan storyline
I know the bearded one is a big recycling mark, but even he must have cringed at the interactions between new WWE champion Dean Ambrose and Stephanie McMahon. Steph declared the “unkempt and unshaven” Dean’s current status as the “face of the company” to be an “absolute embarrassment” in scenes eerily reminiscent of the Authority’s weekly burials of Bryan three years ago.
Given the champ’s relapse into wackiness this week, including mentions of the “New Day’s time machine” and ramblings about parades, telling your audience that he’s not fit to be the company’s figurehead is probably not the greatest idea in the world.
Back to boring basics in the lower card
After an entertaining show of fire from Titus O’Neil last week, his ongoing feud with Rusev returned to the bottom of the barrel on Monday night. Titus “earned” another title match at Battleground in an extremely unconvincing manner, thanks to a lame countout finish.
Later, Apollo Crews pinned Sheamus in a short tag team match to cancel out the latter’s countout victory on last week’s Smackdown. As per usual, no one gets over.
Vince wants the wave for his very own
In what was surely the worst segment Enzo & Cass have been involved in since their main roster promotion, one of the hottest acts in the company was asked to go out in front of the Tampa audience and request a Mexican Wave.
Forcing inorganic crowd reactions is always the worst, as is the underlying suspicion that Vince McMahon wants to disassociate the wave from boredom in the manner of Randal Graves from Clerks’ obsession with saving a certain racially offensive term. Following up that, and the subsequent jobber squash, with a “long-awaited” Social Outcasts comeback that centred around the hilarious double meaning of the word “hard” was not my idea of a good time by any means.
Predictable marquee matches
First of all, let’s give credit where it’s due: calling attention to the Roman Reigns Wellness violation was as surprising as it was admirable. From there, however, things took a deeply predictable turn with the outcomes of both Battleground main event qualifying matches obvious to anyone who’s watched wrestling for five minutes.
While the long Seth Rollins/John Cena bout was extremely entertaining, particularly for two performers who have looked sluggish since returning from long injury layoffs, the distraction finish caused by The Club was visible from a significant distance.
Further, doing an equally long Ambrose and AJ Styles match to close this three-hour show was an extremely bad idea as the Club interference and Cena distraction combo was arguably even more obvious, rendering the 18 minutes of grappling that preceded it completely pointless.
The Big Takeaway: The show was built around if John Cena or A.J. Styles could win their respective singles matches, they would receive a spot in the main event of Battleground. Cena wrestled Seth Rollins. Styles wrestled Dean Ambrose. Cena and Styles both lost after each inteferred in the other’s matches. Roman Reigns was mentioned in the opening by Rollins, and is still slated for the main event of Battleground. Cena and Rollins had among the best Raw matches of the year. Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn, billed as the blowoff to the program, is official for Battleground, the only match added to the card tonight.
Show Recap:
Seth Rollins came out and brought up Roman Reigns getting suspended. Reigns’ tweet from last Tuesday apologizing for his actions was shown on the TitanTron. Rollins ran down Reigns’ statement of “owing it” is appropirate because Rollins owns Reigns because he’s beaten him once. He said Reigns doesn’t deserve a second chance or to be in the main event of Battleground. Rollins wanted to face Dean Ambrose one-on-one.
This brought out Ambrose. Michael Cole called him “the Dude.” Ambrose said we all make mistakes, and said he used to be friends with Rollins, that was a huge mistake. He said Rollins wears skinny jeans, which is another mistake. Ambrose said as far as he was concerned, the triple threat match was still on.
A.J. Styles came out and said he agreed Battleground’s main event should be a triple-threat match, but he should be in Reigns’ place. Fans chanted “Yes” to that. Styles brought up beating John Cena is a dream match. Ambrose said Reigns is still in the match. Styles said it should be changed to a Fatal Fourway and have him included. Ambrose said that was fine with him, but Rollins objected.
Cena arrived and said Ambrose was a fighting champion, he was fight a friend, he will fight a foe, he will fight a fraud, but will he fight the franchise? Cena brought up today being his 15th WWE birthday and he lived the last 12 years in Tampa. Cena said the last time he faced Ambrose for a championship, he won. Cena wanted to make it a five-way match. Once again, Rollins objected.
Stephanie McMahon showed up. She said having Ambrose as WWE World Heavyweight Champion was an embarrassment. She announced that Shane McMahon was on vacation and wasn’t there tonight. She arranged Rollins to face Cena tonight. Styles would take on Ambrose. If Cena and Styles are victorious in their respective matches, they will be added to the Battleground main event.
A Brock Lesnar commercial with Paul Heyman doing the voiceover for W2K17 aired. As mentioned earlier on the website, Lesnar will be on the cover.
The Spanish announce team was introduced. JBL chimed in that they tried to explain how Lionel Messi could drill that free kick agains the U.S. last week but miss the penalty against Chile last night. Cole later mentioned that today was the 12th anniversary of JBL defeating Eddy Guerrero for the WWE Championship at the Great American Bash.
Sasha Banks & Paige defeated Charlotte & Dana Brooke via submission (8:38)
Sasha Banks made Dana Brooke tap out to the Bank Statement. Paige made the hot tag to Banks, who delievered a double knee drop against the ropes on Brooke. Outside the ring, Paige laid out Charlotte with a superkick. Banks hit a stiff knee to the face and the bank stabber as a prelude to the finish.
Lana introduced Rusev, which is really all she does now. After that, she’s background scenery.
Titus O’Neal defeated Rusev (C) via countout, so Rusev retained the U.S. championship. (4:08)
They did the same finish that Rusev did with Jack Swagger a month ago, except Rusev lost this time. Titus O’Neal and Rusev clotheslined each other on the floor and O’Neal beat the count back in the ring. Once again, O’Neal showed off a more aggressive edge after what happened to his sons at Money in the Bank. Rusev pulled off a standing dropkick with plenty of air underneath. JBL said it was the biggest win of O’Neal’s career. Looks like they’re building up a blow-off match at Battleground.
Stephanie talked on the phone when she ran into Kane. She wanted to pretend he wasn’t there. Kane thanked her for meeting with him and asked for a chance to run SmackDown. She said she was going to be the one running SmackDown. The Miz and Maryse walked up and said they had been gone for a month and there was no red carpet and a poor limo. Kane brought up he was in a new movie called “Countdown.” Miz said Kane shouldn’t be comparing big budget released to straight to DVD featured. Miz said he was a star and Kane looked like the Devil’s favorite insurance agent. Kane suggested Miz defend the Intercontinental Championship tonight. He cited “Rule G-1 of the WWE Rulebook” and said Miz had gone nearly 30 days without putting up the strap. Stephanie thought that was a good idea, but said Miz’s opponent would be a mystery.
Seth Rollins defeated John Cena, denying Cena a spot in the Battleground main event (16:00)
Cena hit the AA after reversing a crossbody block, but Rollins got his foot on the ropes. He went for another AA, but Rollins escaped, only to have Cena lock in the STF. Rollins nearly made the ropes, and Cena pulled him back into the center of the ring. He was about to clamp the STF on again until Styles, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson came down to ringside. Cena was distracted as Styles got on the apron, but Rollins got up and hit the Pedigree for the pin. Maybe the most heat for a Raw match this year. Crowd was roaring with dueling chants before they squared off and all throughout the match. Earlier, Rollins missed a frog splash, Cena went to the top rope, but Rollins recovered to hit a superplex, then turned that into a Falcon Arrow for a great near fall. Cena got near falls after a tornado DDT and the Five Knuckle Shuffle.
Enzo Amore and Big Cass defeated Greg Rains and Cassidy Reynolds (:40)
Enzo Amore said they were riding a wave that will carry them straight to the top. The wave was the people. Amore told the fans to do the wave while the match was going on. Amore pinned Reynolds after the Rocket Launcher.
Social Outcasts came out. Bo Dallas said there was only word to describe Social Outcasts “HARD.” Heath Slater said they were fresh off the set of Marine 5. Curtis Axel told Enzo and Cass to get out of the ring. Cass wondered which one of the three was the hardest. Dallas wanted to get in the ring to show them who was really the hardest. Cass knocke Slater off the apron with a big boot. Dallas and Axel backed off as Cass told them they were SAWFT.
Life Lessons with Bob Backlund featured Backlund reviewing Darren Young’s goals. Young said he wanted to be a singles champion and headline WrestleMania. Backlund said he was a tag team champion with Pedro Morales and said his era was called the Bob Backlund era. He said he wants to make Darren Young great again.
There was a highlight package showing The Big Show, Kalisto, Cesaro, Banks, Becky Lynch and various other stars training with Special Olympics athletes. Those athletes came out on the ramp with Show and Renee Young handling emcee duties. Show has always been underrated as a talker and he was very good presiding over this segment.
Natalya came out for commentary. She said she jumped Lynch at Money in the Bank because she was in the wrong place at the wrong time. She was tired of being a nice person because that only gets you stepped on. Lynch came out for a match with Summer Rae, but before it could start, Lynch went after Natalya, who tried to walk off. Lynch jumped on her again and had to be pulled off by the referee. Natalya went to the back and they forgot about the match.
Former Heisman Trophy winner Jameis Winston was at ringside.
The Highlight Reel with Chris Jericho had Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn as guests. Jericho brought up Ambrose putting 69 thumbtacks in his back at Money in the Bank. They had a long staredown. Jericho brought up that Zayn was the best man at Owens’ wedding, which must have made it hard when Owens stabbed Zayn in the back. Zayn said he wanted to end the program with Owens because it was limiting their careers. He brought up various times where they cost each other chances for championships in the past four months. Zayn wanted to put an end to the feud at Battleground.
Owens stood silent. Zayn said this was the real Kevin Owens, a coward who hides behind lies. Just like the lie he’s been telling for two years about why Owens stabbed him in the back. Zayn wanted Owens to tell the truth, that it drove Owens nuts that Zayn was signed by the WWE first. He told Owens to grow a set, who prompted a small chant. Owens finally said that he’s told Zayn the truth many times. He turned on Zayn because it was the right thing for his career. He said Zayn ruined their friendship because everything they’ve done since they’ve met was done to get to the WWE. Owens said he was happy for Zayn when he got to the WWE. He said Zayn was mad when he won the NXT championship, which proves he was always a better friend to Zayn than Zayn was to him. But that doesn’t matter now. Owens said he would fight Zayn at Battleground.
Jericho put that announcement over and said Owens was right, Zayn was a terrible friend and a terrible example of what it takes to make it in the WWE. Jericho said Owens is still trying to follow his lead, but Zayn hasn’t figured out it doesn’t matter what the fans think. Jericho said he wanted to slap Zayn in the face over it, but he was going to let Owens do it. Jericho said announcing the match on the Highlight Reel puts the match on a higher level, so they were both welcome. Jericho offered to give both men “The Gift of Jericho, Drink it in, Man.” Owens and Zayn both kicked Jericho in the face. Owens and Zayn glared at each other as Owens walked off.
Kane defeated the Miz (C) by countout, so Miz retains the Intercontinental Championship (3:27)
The Demon Kane was the surprise opponent. He was about to chokeslam Miz when Maryse jumped up on the apron. After a few seconds, Kane very audibly said to Maryse “Get down!” At that point, she took a bump on the apron though no one touched her. Maryse wound up selling her right knee. Miz attended to her at ringside and carried her to the back. No heat at all.
Miz and Maryse were in the back. Maryse was still limping when she started laughing. In the shock of shocks, Maryse jumped up and down to reveal she wasn’t really hurt. Miz put her over saying it was the best acting he’s ever seen and it was an Oscar winning performance. They laughed over it. No follow up to this at all, except Miz is hosting an episode of MizTv on Thursday with a guest who isn’t Kane.
Apollo Crews & Cesaro defeated Sheamus and Alberto Del Rio (4:58)
Alberto Del Rio and Sheamus broke up two months ago, but were back tagging here. They did the “faction that just broke up now tagging again” gimmick. They also did the “partners that don’t get along” gimmick. Del Rio slapped Sheamus, then gave him an enzuigiri for some reason. Del Rio watched from the ramp as Apollo Crews pinned Sheamus with the spin-out powerbomb to complete silence.
Ambrose did a promo with Jojo about how the last two weeks have been the best of times. Stephanie walked in and said it was appalling that Ambrose was the face of her company. Stephanie said if Styles wins tonight, she’s one step closer to ending this appaling nightmare. At least Ambrose got the last word, saying “Deep down, she really likes me.”
What appeared to be the Wyatt Family promo was instead the New Day dressed up as Wyatts. Kofi Kingston threw down Erick Rowan’s goal mask and wondered how he breathes in that thing. Kingston said no one wants to hear the Wyatts’ negativity anymore. They need a big ol’ bowl of Booty-Os instead. Big E, who was wearing overalls, a cowboy hat and a ZZ Top-style beard, said the Wyatts smell like a rotten piece of cabbage left beside a Tampa highway. E. said he was born in Tampa at Tampa General Hospital. Xavier Woods was noticeably quiet in all this and wanted to wrap up the segment. Kingston and Big E. wanted to keep going, but the Wyatts came out.
Bray Wyatt screamed “It’s a New Day, yes it is.” Wyatt said the masses line up for the New Day because they tell them everything they want to hear instead of everything they need to hear. Wyatt said his sole purpose was to tell people what they need to hear, because the world isn’t full of rainbows or unicorns. It’s a dark world full of evil. Wyatt said what would the New Day tell the man who lost his job? Kingston said the power of positivity flows through your body and Big E. said positivity was a way of life. Woods looked uncertain.
Wyatt asked Woods if they agreed with him, because it looked like he was shook. Wyatt said Woods could trust him. Wyatt said in this game, there are no winners or losers, there’s only malice and destruction. And in the end, New Day Falls. Woods didn’t say anything as the screen went black.
New Day walked in the back. Young walked up and asked if it was a good day to make fun of the Wyatts tonight. Kingston and Big E. were laughing over it, but Woods never smiled and walked off.
Dean Ambrose (C) defeated A.J. Styles in a nontitle match, so Styles was denied a spot in the main event of Battleground (15:32)
Rollins was on commentary. He said he felt divided because he hated Ambrose but didn’t want Styles to win because it would make the Battleground main event a four-way. Ambrose hit a blockbuster, but came up selling his knee. Styles put on a calf crusher. Rollins was actually rooting for Ambrose to make the ropes, which he did. Ambrose knocked Styles to the floor with a forearm and followed with a tope. Styles hit a Pele kick, but Ambrose hit a rebound clothesline. At that point, Anderson and Gallows came out. Ambrose was distracted and Styles hit a brainbuster for a two count. Cena ran out to brawl with Anderson and Gallows. As Styles was distracted by Cena, Ambrose hit Dirty Deeds for the pin. Rollins stood and applauded the finish.
Anderson and Gallows jumped Cena. Then Rollins went after Ambrose and gave him a Pedigree. The Club pounded Cena 3-on-1. The brawled to the top of the ramp, where Anderson and Gallows gave Cena the Magic Killer on the ramp. Cena had a rough landing, too. Back in the ring, Rollins gave Ambrose another Pedigree, then stood on top of Ambrose with the championship belt.
Monday night’s post-Money in the Bank edition of WWE RAW certainly had its moments including the new World Heavyweight champion Dean Ambrose grabbing the spotlight impressively and Big “Johnny Laryngitis” (thanks, Enzo) making his glorious return. As always however, those diamonds were surrounded by a lot of rough spots too.
— The Hits —
DTA Ambrose
While it’s probably too early to tell, Monday’s RAW showed encouraging signs that the WWE may see Dean Ambrose as more than just a transitional champion. Ambrose was given ample opportunity to play to his strengths, demonstrating his natural line delivery in the opening segment and shining on commentary at the end of the show.
While his in-ring work remains a frantic and often sloppy work-in-progress, Ambrose’s bountiful charisma, paired with a new harder edge to his character, makes him a very realistic candidate for the role of top babyface. That added grit, which saw Dean back up his threats to take out Roman Reigns if necessary, must remain if the transition from upper-midcarder to main eventer is to stick. “Stone Cold” Steve Austin wasn’t exactly too interested in making friends or being wacky either.
Fight Forever
No, I’m not referring to the en vogue crowd chant. Rather, the seemingly neverending beef between Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn, complete with the always hilarious, and cartoonish, fist-flailing dust-ups.
Although only five minutes aired, the match between these two, who the announcers again claimed are “destined to fight forever”, was a very enjoyable taster for what will presumably be a rubber match at Battleground. The finish, with Zayn reversing the Pop-Up Powerbomb into a cradle, was particularly enjoyable.
Angry Dad
I’ve been as critical of the paint-by-numbers Rusev/Titus O’Neil feud as anyone, but Monday night’s resumption of hostilities between the two was a major improvement.
Titus’ impassioned backstage hollering about the Bulgarian having the temerity to disrespect his kids was excellent, ensuring that the former Prime Time Player actually received a reaction for running off the US champion for a change. While I’m not crazy about the idea of another PPV match for a guy that has no business working matches of that calibre, one must award credit where it’s due.
People Power!
Recent unsolicited auditions of Teddy Long and Kane for the role of Smackdown general manager were both leading to this glorious moment — the return of John “Big Johnny” Laurinaitis. Hearing the hoarse one protest that “Big Johnny loves change!” was music to my ears, as was his hurried “People Power!” before Shane McMahon ushered him off the stage. What a preview for those of us literally counting the days to his debut on Total Bellas.
— The Misses —
The Apology Club
Following on from the crummy finish to their match on Sunday, everything about the Cena/AJ Styles dispute fell completely flat on this show.
While AJ’s promo delivery remains great, the material he, Cena and The Club had to work with was wafer-thin, centering mostly around an insincere Styles looking to extract an “apology” from his buddies. Cena of course rejected it, but not in nearly as brief a manner as might be expected. The subsequent 3-minute encounter between he and Karl Anderson was also terrible, with Cena making his opponent look like a geek by destroying him despite gawking at the entrance ramp the entire time. Weak.
Rollins’ characterisation (again)
Seriously?! Let’s get this straight — Seth Rollins works the Money in the Bank main event as a babyface, reverts to whiny heel mode in Monday’s opening segment, and then cuts a rousing “prove myself” promo in the second hour!? The characterisation of The Man/The Future is even more inconsistent than that of his former leader Stephanie McMahon at this stage.
The kind of predictability we saw in his plodding main event against Reigns — complete with Chekhov’s (unbreakable) Spanish announce table and obvious double countout finish — would be very welcome here.
“Oooh, the Wyatts are mad at me. I’m so scared! Oooh, the Wyatts!”
The Wyatts, sans the injured Luke Harper, made their return on Monday night, threatening to ensure that “New Day Falls”. Colour me underwhelmed. The fun-loving New Day should be too, given that Bray Wyatt and co. have delivered on precisely zero of their threats to date.
In fact, it’s difficult to think of a non-jobber heel group with a lower success rate than these jamokes. Hey, at least our tag champs’ interruption prevented us from enduring some of Bray’s patented rambling windbaggery. No buys for anything involving him until the way he’s booked improves drastically.
The Big Takeaway: The main event of Battleground will be Dean Ambrose defending the WWE World Heavyweight Championship against Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns in a Triple Threat match. That match was ordered after Reigns and Rollins fought to a double countout in tonight’s main event. The Wyatt Family made their return to set up a new program with The New Day. Xavier Woods appeared to be put in a momentary trance by the Wyatts. Sasha Banks also returned and went after Charlotte. The show also built up the draft on Smackdown. It was a show run by Shane McMahon as Stephanie McMahon had the night off.
Show Recap:
Dean Ambrose opened the show in a pretape, getting out of a taxi cab wearing all black. He really is a lunatic because it reached 120 degrees in Phoenix this weekend. He tossed the cab driver a wad of bills. Just as the cab pulled away, Ambrose stopped him and pulled the WWE World Heavyweight Championship out from the backseat.
Ambrose did an interview with “You deserve it” chants. He said last night was a long night and dropped a reference to the Cleveland Cavaliers winning the NBA World Championship. He told Seth Rollins that last night was a lesson where what goes around comes around. He said if Roman Reigns called himself “The Guy,” does that make him “the dude?” He said the reason why he patched himself together after getting knocked down every time was because he wanted to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
Reigns came out. He got booed before he started speaking. Reigns said last night wasn’t his night, it was Ambrose’s night. He congratulated Ambrose, then asked “What did it feel like to cash in against Seth?” Ambrose said he would have cashed in against Reigns, too. Fans started a loud “You can’t wrestle” chant. Reigns told all the dudes to relax, take a sip out of their beer and shut up. Reigns brought up that he had a rematch clause. Then Rollins showed up saying he rehabbed his injured knee for seven months, beat Reigns fair and square, but Ambrose had his championship moment stolen from him. Reigns said “it doesn’t feel good, does it?” Rollins said at least he did to to Reigns’ face.
Rollins claiimed he never lost the championship. Reigns wondered why it was then on Ambrose’s shoulder. Reigns said there was an easy way to settle this and wanted to fight Rollins, who shot back there was nothing to settle because he beat Reigns. Shane McMahon came out and said Reigns and Rollins should wrestle to determine who faces Ambrose first. Rollins wanted to know if Shane consulted Stephanie first. Shane pretended Stephanie was there, then said she wasn’t here tonight so he’s running the show tonight. So Shane ordered Reigns vs. Rollins tonight for the #1 contendership tonight.
Michael Cole announced the draft on Tuesday, July 19th. JBL told Byron Saxton that he could get drafted to ECW.
They aired the HHH tweet congratulating the Cavaliers on winning the NBA Championship. They’ll be getting the next custom made WWE World Championship strap. They also showed LeBron James getting off the airplane wearing an Ultimate Warrior t-shirt. That led to one writer tweeting that Stephen Curry should wear a Renegade t-shirt.
Sami Zayn defeated Kevin Owens (8:47)
Sami Zayn won when Kevin Owens attempted the Pop-Up Power Bomb, but Zayn reversed it into a victory roll. They opened with a hockey fight sequence which Zayn got the better of. Owens spent the first part of the match trying to walk out, including trying to get away through the crowd. Zayn chased him back in, but was thrown into the dasherboards. Owens hit a Superkick at the end for a near fall.
Postmatch, Owens attacked Zayn as he was celebrating. Owens tried to power bomb Zayn off the ramp to the floor, but Zayn blocked it with a double-leg takedown and they had a pull-apart brawl. They continued to fight backstage, where Owens threw Zayn into trunk cases. Zayn recovered, then took a page from Larry Holmes’ brawl with Trevor Burbick where he ran onto the cases and jumped on Owens again. Finally, Fit Finley came in and pulled Zayn off.
John Laurinaitis was this week’s throwback authority figure. He came out wearing a red blazer, red pants and white shoes. JBL said he looked like Craig Sager. Shane wondered what John was doing there. Laurinaitis said he wanted to run Smackdown. Shane said SmackDown wouldn’t be run by a corporate yes man. Shane said he was running SmackDown. John said he wanted to run Raw and mentioned “People power” as he disappeared.
Enzo and Big Cass came out with Enzo Amore comparing sneakers with Shane. Enzo called him Johnny Laryngitis and did his “No dimes” line saying that’s the amount of money he would have every time something worthwile came out of Laryngitis’ mouth. Cass said Laurinatis may have been “Ace Dynamic Dude” back in his day, but in the new era he was “Sawft.”
Enzo and Big Cass defeated the Vaudevillains (2:55)
Amore pinned Aidan English after the Rocket Launcher, which has been redubbed the “Bada Boom Shaka-Laka.” Vaudevillains lost in less than three minutes and didn’t get a ring entrance.
Returning to the Cleveland celebration, they showed Kevin Love in the locker room copying Steve Austin where he guzzled two beers at once.
A.J. Styles came out after his win over John Cena. Styles said he should be happy because he’s envisioned beating Cena for years, and then it became a reality. But the win was tainted. Styles maintained he beat Cena and repeated it twice. But it didn’t go down the way he dreamt it would because Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson had no business in his business. He called Gallows and Anderson to come to the ring and give him a public apology.
Anderson and Gallows came out. Styles said he didn’t need their help. Anderson said they were just trying to help. Styles said they gave Cena an excuse. They dragged his name through the mud by interferring. Styles asked for Karl to look him in the eye and apology. Anderson looked at Styles and, in the most condescending way to the fans and Cena, apologized to Styles. Gallows did the same. Styles acted like that was proof he had no idea he knew about it and then asked them to apologize to Cena.
Cena came out in his new t-shirt designed after the PBR logo. Cena said he didn’t need an apology because he and Styles had a signed agreement and Styles broke it. Gallows said Styles didn’t know about the interference. He apologized. Anderson said Cena and Styles signed a contract last week, but he and Gallows didn’t. Anderson said he was sorry. Styles tried to pass that off as proof.
Cena wasn’t hearing any of it. He said Styles is struggling to survive in the WWE and got a win last night by any means necessary. Styles said he was using the apology only to hide he isn’t as good as he says he is. Styles says he was using the Club as an excuse because Cena isn’t as good as he says he is.
Cena says he respects the win because that’s how you advance in the WWE. But above the win is your win. And when you’re a champion and your back is against the wall, you have two things: your balls and your word. Last night, Styles proved he had neither one of them. That got loud “Cena” chants.
Styles said Anderson and Gallows did Cena a favor by giving him an excuse. Styles said he would give Cena a chance to fight any member of the Club he wanted. Cena immediately said Styles. But Styles said he couldn’t fight him because he has to do the Stone Cold Podcast. And he’s already beaten Cena. Cena asked if it even mattered because one will be in the ring and the other two will be at ringside. Styles said Cena was wrong. The Club huddled and Styles said Anderson would fight Cena one-on-one and would prove Cena isn’t as good as he thinks he is.
John Cena defeated Karl Anderson by DQ (2:22)
Match was a total squash with Cena getting all of the offense. He hit the AA on Anderson before Styles and Gallows ran in for the DQ. Anderson and Gallows delievered the Magic Killer on Cena, following Styles orders. Styles followed with the Styles Clash on Cena and they posed over him to mostly boos.
JoJo interviewed Rollins about his match with Reigns. Rollins said last night was about proving things to the world, and when he defeated Reigns he proved he was the best and Reigns didn’t deserve to be champion. He said Ambrose also proved something last night. When he stole the WWE Championship from him, Ambrose proved he was a cockroach and a thief. Rollins said he’ll beat Reigns tonight and prove who the best member of the Shield really is.
Becky Lynch did an interview with Renee Young after Natalya turned on her last night. Lynch said she’s had three friends turn on her since debuting on Raw. She said she was going to start looking out for herself when Natalya came up and jumped her from behind. Natalya said for the first time in years, she’s going to worry about herself.
Baron Corbin defeated Zack Ryder (3:02)
Baron Corbin won with the End of Days. Zack Ryder had a chance to do the Randy Savage elbow before losing.
They showed the press conference in China. It was the first appearance by HHH on Raw since the Monday before WrestleMania. Cena was also featured. They also highlighted the first Chinese athlete signed to a developmental contract, Bin Wang.
Paige started to do an interview with Young, but Charlotte and Dana Brooke interrupted her. Charlotte said when Team PCB broke up, she rose to the top of the women’s division while Paige sank like a rock in the ocean. Brooke said “Timber!” Paige treated her like an airhead and said Charlotte’s championship would look great around her waist when she beats her tonight.
Charlotte (C) defeated Paige to retain the WWE Women’s Championship (8:23)
Finish appeared to be somewhat screwed up. Paige hit the Rampage. Brooke was supposed to put Charlotte’s boot on the rope. But Brooke couldn’t do that before the referee finished the three count. So whent the referee looked up, he had to pretend he didn’t see Brooke holding on to Charlotte’s boot, which the viewers at home did. The referee looked like he had someone screaming in his earpiece because he belatedly ordered Brooke to the back. Brooke didn’t go to the back. In the midst of all this, Charlotte hit Natural Selection for the win.
After the pin, Sasha Banks came out to a huge pop. Charlotte ordered Brooke to go after her, but Banks decked her with one punch. Banks went after Charlotte, but Brooke jumped Banks from behind. Paige awakened and sent Charlotte and Brooke out of the ring. So they’re finally getting to the Charlotte-Banks program.
Reigns did a promo with Jojo saying tonight he would be the guy for defeats Rollins.
Bray Wyatt, Erick Rowan and Braun Strowman made their return. They got “Welcome Back” chants. Wyatt asked if the fans missed him? Wyatt said they had been locked away, but through it all they have never forgotten what they stand for. He said the Wyatts are as strong as they have ever been. Then the New Day came out with their regular routine. They have rainbow socks now.
Xavier Woods siad Bray had been talking way too long “you need to cut it.” Big E. said Rowan has a big, ole booty. Kofi Kingston said whenever the New Day comes out, the fans have fun. It wa the power of positivity that allowed them to be WWE Tag Team Champions. However, as Kofi talked, Woods walked towards the ring like Wyatt had put him in a trance. Big E. had to snap him out of it, but Woods again looked like he had fallen under Wyatt’s spell.
Wyatt said he saw the New Day’s future. And it goes “New Day Falls. New Day Falls.” The segment abruptly ended. So they’re forgetting about Wyatt’s face turn when he teamed with Reigns just before his injury in April.
The newest Life Lessons with Bob Backlund featured Darren Young saying that he had been reading lots of poetry that motivated him. Backlund said Young shouldn’t take advice from anyone. Young asked if that includes Backlund, who said he doesn’t give advice, he gives orders. He then ordered Young to do 100 knee raises.
Lana was in the ring, as Ric Flair would say, looking as only as she can look with a black dress. She introduced Rusev. This led to a Titus O’Neal interview. He was furious over Rusev telling his kids last night that their father was a loser. He screamed that Rusev should never disrespect his family. He would have made his point much better if he had looked in the right camera when delivering that line.
Rusev vs. O’Neal never started. It was simply a brawl around ringside. O’Neal was much more intense as they traded hard knees and punches. O’Neal ended it when he whipped Rusev towards the timekeepers table and clotheslined him over the barricade. Rusev walked to the back.
The Miz and Maryse did another promo from the set of the Marine 5. Miz talked about how he liked to enjoy lunch with the members of the crew. Then someone walked up to him with a plate of food. Miz threw it back in his face because the plate didn’t contain quail. Maryse fired him. Miz screamed how no one on the set can do anything right as the rest of the crew stared at him blankly as they were eating. Miz did an about face saying everyone was doing a great job, but everyone still glared at him.
Chris Jericho met Shane backstage. Jericho claimed that Shane had hated him for 16 years. Shane cancelled the Highlight Reel and hadn’t made him #1 contender for Ambrose’s championship. Shane brought up that Jericho didn’t win the Money in the Bank match last night and lost to Ambrose at Extreme Rules. Jericho said he had 60 thumbtacks in his back after that match. He went on to say he’s drafted to the brand that Shane isn’t on because he would rather work with 10 Stephanie McMahons than one of Shane. Shane warned him that he would be running both brands and Jericho would be a loser either way.
Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins went to a double countout (17:26)
Very good match that ended with the Spanish announce table coming into play. Reigns speared Rollins onto the table. I’m not sure if the table was supposed to break, but it didn’t. Neither man could get back in the ring before the ten count. Lots of good near falls, including Rollins kicking out of the Superman punch. Rollins hit a springboard knee that Reigns escaped from. Earlier, Rollins attempted a kneedrop off the apron, but missed and Reigns gave him a big boot. Fans had a loud “You can’t wrestle” chant aimed at Reigns early on. Ambrose was on commentary. Though he threw in a few jokes, he wasn’t acting like Reigns’ little buddy anymore.
After the finish, Shane came out and said there had to be a number one contender. Ambrose’s stepped in and said he would face Reigns and Rollins on the same night. Shane then ordered a triple-threat match between the three as the main event for Battleground. Reigns looked like he had something to say to Ambrose, but Ambrose gave him Dirty Deeds, then started to leave. Rollins was about to deliver the Pedigree on Reigns, but Ambrose ran back in and gave Rollins Dirty Deeds, as well.
Three entertaining top-of-the-hour promo exchanges just about managed to save Monday night’s Money in the Bank go-home edition of RAW from being a total dud. Here, as always, are the show’s highlights and lowlights:
— The Hits —
Cena and Styles sign on the dotted line
Although I could have done without John Cena’s laboured Bullet Club references, the promo exchange between he and AJ Styles at the top of the third hour was very impressive. Cena delivered the goods as usual, namedropping PWG and ROH in an effective monologue, designed to get Styles over.
Styles’ bitter rejoindre, delivered forcefully with convincing fire, was even more impactful as it further banished the notion that the former IWGP champion can’t hang with the best on the stick. Cena goading AJ into banning The Club from ringside was another big positive as it tied into the insecurity of AJ’s character, and ensured that we should get a wonderful, shenanigan-free, match between the two this Sunday.
The Ambrose Asylum
I certainly never anticipated that this segment would ever appear in the Hits column, and yet here we are. Ambrose’s jarring wackiness aside, this was another example of two talents delivering on the microphone when it mattered.
Admittedly, the primary goal of the segment, and the first-hour ‘Shield Revisited’ clips, failed. Despite the constant reminders of Rollins’ responsibility for the breakup of that popular faction, the crowd still cheered Seth and booed Roman Reigns throughout the Ambrose Asylum.
Having said that, we must still credit both performers’ delivery. Rollins’ superiority complex-driven promo was excellent, as was Roman’s confident reply. And, although the Dirty Deeds from Ambrose to Reigns to close the segment was a bit off-kilter, I thought the Money in the Bank tease worked well too, building some much-needed anticipation for that match.
The New Day meets The New Era
This segment really belongs in both halves of the column, as the solo contributions from the New Day, The Club and the Vaudevillains all fell flat.
It was only when Enzo and Cass arrived in the ring to confront the New Day that this tag team championship build clicked in a big way. The Jersey boys taunting Xavier Woods about a promiscuous “Frannie”, culminating in the Woods line “I’m the only one who blows my girl!”, was fantastic. As was Cass comparing Kofi Kingston’s shoes to those of Jerry Seinfeld, the only one of many footwear-based insults that even raised a smile from this columnist.
Life Lessons
Look, the Darren Young and Bob Backlund vignettes have been awful from day one, but who among us did not laugh at Bob’s “This is my only pair of clothes!” line? Great delivery.
— The Misses —
The 50/50 booking-laced MITB ladder match build
Thank God that the Money in the Bank ladder match is this Sunday, lest we have to sit through another weekly five-hour serving of pointless matches involving the six participants.
Backstage bickering segments with Sami Zayn/Cesaro and Kevin Owens/Alberto del Rio at least showed that the company is aware of the problem. But it was still impossible to care about either of the two matches involving the four — Zayn’s spectacular Code Red victory aside.
The stipulation that Owens and Del Rio were putting their spots in Sunday’s match on the line against the Lucha Dragons certainly didn’t help as it was completely unbelievable. Plus, Kalisto and Sin Cara looked like even bigger geeks for losing to two guys who couldn’t get along at all.
Speaking of geeks, the 50/50 booking that has permeated throughout all in-ring interactions between the six is pretty much the professional wrestling equivalent of socialism. (Some level of inequality is necessary to get people over, you know!) Nowhere was that more obvious than in the main event, where Ambrose avenged his pointless loss to Jericho on last week’s Smackdown. Meanwhile, Owens saved the segment with his sarky commentary, while Zayn, Del Rio and Cesaro all looked like jabronis. Terrible.
Paint-by-numbers lower card booking
The build-up to Rusev’s US Championship defence against Titus O’Neil has been incredibly basic and incredibly dull. After weeks of Titus run-ins, the Bulgarian Brute attacked O’Neil from behind on Monday before he could compete in what I was assume was supposed to be a match.
This ambush got little reaction from the live audience, and I’m sure the audience at home didn’t appreciate the immediate post-commercials replay either. All I could do was sympathise with Titus, as Jack Swagger clearly wasn’t interested in returning last week’s favour and saving his ass. Harsh.
Elsewhere, in a reprise of that Swagger segment from last week, Apollo Crews ran in to save Zack Ryder from a post-match beatdown at the hands of Sheamus. Yawn. Sure can’t wait to watch that pre-show.
Bickering McMahons
I just don’t care! Every time Stephanie and Shane are onscreen with their weird incestuous sexual tension, I just want to shut off my television. It is literally impossible to care about who runs what show; the outcome will be the same regardless. Even Corporate Kane with his arson and testicle electrocution callbacks couldn’t save the segments involving these two from getting my dander up.
The Divas Devolution
Far from the lofty heights of top-of-the-hour segments and long matches upon its glorious inception, the so-called Divas Revolution is now reduced to a tag team program that no-one cares about on one of the biggest PPVs of the year.
Attempts to build tension between Charlotte and Dana Brooke are also doomed to fail, as the latter is far from ready for a program of that magnitude. Although, given that the Women’s champion got just three minutes to lose to Paige on Monday night, that magnitude may not be so great.
The Big Takeaway: Mainly tying up loose ends for the Money in the Bank PPV. While Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns had a faceoff to build their main event match, Dean Ambrose teased potentially winning the Money in the Bank briefcase and cashing it in that night to beat one of his former Shield mates. The relationship between Shane and Stephanie McMahon is growing more prickly as they bickered throughout the show. Charlotte and Dana Brooke are teasing a breakup after a whole month together. Last half of the show was driven by the six Money in the Bank participants. Really, the program was focused on trying to get Ambrose to be taken seriously again instead of a comedy figure.
Show Recap:
As trivial as it may seem at a time like this, Raw will have its go-home show for Money in the Bank tonight in New Orleans. Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins are expected back for the final push for their main event match at the PPV. After the curious decision to air that Rollins video last week, the question isn’t how much will he be cheered, but how much? Was last week any indication that they’re finally willing to give up the ghost on Reigns being a babyface?
This is also another show going head-to-head with the NBA Playoffs. Last time that happened was two weeks ago and it led to a wrestling-oriented program where Shane and Stephanie McMahon were limited to cameos. Last week was full of interviews, so perhaps they’ll even it up tonight.
Our coverage starts at 8 ET.
To open the show, the entire roster lined up on the ramp for a moment of silence to honor the 49 killed in the Orlando nightclub shooting. Again, Vince and Stephanie McMahon appeared but no HHH, who was in England over the weekend at the Download Festival hosting an NXT show. He also was the first recipient of the “Spirit of Lemmy Award” in honor of Lemmy Kilmister.
The New Day came out and discussed their title defense in a Fatal Fourway. Xavier Woods noticed that Kofi Kingston was wearing Stephen Curry’s Under Armour’s ridiculed shoes. Kingston joked Kingston was wearing the “I’ve Fallen and I Can’t Get Up 12s.”
Enzo and Big Cass showed up. When Enzo Amore asked “How you doin’?,” New Day muttered they were doing fine. Cass said they were going all-in in Vegas and walking out with the WWE Tag Team titles. Cass asked Kingston if he was serious with those “Jerry Seinfeld joints” he had going. Cass talked about Francesca 2, the trombone, and asked where was Woods’ girl last night? Cass said Francesca 2 was with Enzo last night, and he had his lips all over her. Enzo said he had Franny on Bourbon Street, where he played her like Louie Armstrong. He said “Enzo Satchmo had her going all night long.” Basically, Amore was dropping lots of double entendres straight from 1980s Ric Flair promos, except this was about a musical instrument. Woods said “I’m the only one who blows my girl.”
Enzo and Woods teased a verbal showdown before the Vaudevillains interrupted them. Aiden English sang like the leader of a barbershop quartet about how they were going to be the new champions. Then Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows finally came out to say they were going to be the new champions. Gallows said it would be easier than scoring a touchdown on the New Orleans Saints. This built up an eight-man tag for the night’s opening match.
Luke Gallows, Karl Anderson and the Vaudevillains defeated The New Day and Enzo & Cass (13:27)
Gallows pinned Kingston after a Magic Killer. Kingston tried an O’Connor Roll on Karl Anderson, but Gallows had just made a blind tag. Action spilled out to the floor at the finish, where Big E gave English a belly-to-booty suplex. The highlight was Kingston doing a spectacular flip tope over the post onto English and Simon Gotch that the crowd loved. First spot was English trying to flip Kingston, who landed on his feet and he pointed to the Curry shoes for a pop. Pretty good match, but this crowd was dead most of the way and we still have 2.5 hours to go.
Tonight’s series of flashback clips feature the rise of the Shield. They opened with the Shield’s debut at Survivor Series 2012, which they also aired last week during the Seth Rollins profile.
Life Lessons with Bob Backlund featured Backlund asking how Young was going to celebrate many of his upcoming wins. Young said he was going to bring back the Millions of Dollars dance. Backlund said his next lesson would be about saving money. Young asked Backland how he saved money. Backlund said this was his only pair of clothes. Young asked if that was his only pair of underwear? Backlund screamed “You gotta want it!”
Shane McMahon walked in with Stephanie talking on the phone. Tensions are rising again. They argued over who would get Raw and who would get SmackDown. Stephanie wanted both. Shane said she and HHH ran both into the ground. Corporate Kane showed up and offered his services, and handed him his resume and a letter of recommendation from the Undertaker. Stephanie left Shane alone to talk to Kane, who dropped as many references to fire as possible to let us all know he’s also the Demon Kane.
Zack Ryder talked to some unknown backstage visitors about Apollo Crews hitting Sheamus from behind on Smackdown when Sheamus walked up. Sheamus said he would give Crews a Sheamus kick and make him a joke. Ryder blurted out “Hey Apollo!” Sheamus turned his head in concern, but Crews wasn’t there. When he turned around, Ryder was gone. Sheamus vowed to kick Ryder’s head off tonight while the visitors chuckled at him.
The next Shield flashback was their face turn against HHH, Randy Orton and Bautista from 2014.
The Shining Stars did a vignette saying they take care of the beaches of Puerto Rico and don’t litter, unlike the trash infected beaches of America.
Titus O’Neal made his ring entrance for a match when Rusev jumped him from behind. As Lana watched on from the background, Rusev put him in the Accolade several times before a group of referees ordered him off. Rusev screamed over a fallen O’Neal that he was the champion.
Next Shield highlight was Rollins turn on Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose. This was to set up the Ambrose Asylum with Reigns and Rollins, and really to reestablish Rollins as the heel again in the program.
They showed a tweet from HHH congratulating the Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins, who will be sent a gorgeous WWE World Heavyweight Championship belt with the Penguins logo on it.
Ambrose came out and said the Ambrose Asylum was back by popular demand. He put over the entire Money in the Bank card then brought out Rollins and Reigns. Rollins got roundly cheered despite Ambrose calling him the “scum of the Earth.” Reigns got mostly booed, and Ambrose had to clap into the microphone for him to drown out the jeers.
Ambrose was smiling and clapping as Reigns and Rollins stared at each other. Ambrose asked Rollins how his knee was doing? Rollins curtly said if Ambrose had seen his documentary on the WWE Network? He said his knee was fine. Ambrose asked how was Rollins’ face? Rollins didn’t know what he was talking about. Ambrose said Rollins’ face was killing him.
Reigns spoke up briefly but was drowned out by booing. He said it was fun on Bourbon Street last night. Rollins looked wary of Ambrose and Reigns, and Ambrose called him a party pooper. Rollins brought up past memories of beating Team Hell No and the New Age Outlaws. Rollins smiled and brought up seeing Ambrose passed out beside a dumpster one night in Salt Lake City.
Rollins said the best times inside the ring came with the Shield. He even brought up beating Bautista, and Dave hasn’t been seen since. Then Rollins said his best ever moment in the ring was when he took a chair and hit Ambrose and Reigns to end the Shield. That was supposed to get him booed. It didn’t.
Ambrose asked Reigns what we can expect on Sunday. Reigns said the big dog would walk in as champ and the big dog would walk out as champ. Rollins said he was never defeated as WWE World Heavyweight Champion. Ambrose tried to keep the two from fighting. Reigns said if Rollins was the champion, why does he have the belt? Actually, he said “this.”
Rollins said Reigns has the championship because he beat Ambrose. He beat Sheamus and he beat HHH. But Reigns has never beaten Rollins. Rollins said Reigns would have never won the championship without him. On the other hand, Rollins said everything he’s accomplished, he’s done on his own. And he will win the championship on his own. Ambrose brought up J&J Security, the Authority, Kane, etc.
Reigns said Rollins was right. Rollins broke up the Shield on his own. But the Shield had Rollins’ back, the only ones who did. And for what reason? So he could hog the spotlight. After Sunday, fans would call Reigns “the guy” not because he’s the champ, but because he beat Rollins. Ambrose wrapped up the segment by saying he could win the Money in the Bank contract on Sunday, and whether it’s Reigns or Rollins, he could cash in on Sunday to walk out as champion.
As Ambrose’s music played, Rollins pushed Ambrose into Reigns. Rollins punched Ambrose. Reigns gave Rollins a Superman Punch. Then Ambrose gave Reigns a kick to the stomach and Dirty Deeds and ended the segment looking up at the Money in the Bank briefcase. Good segment with the best mic work from Reigns since he became champion.
John Cena was shown talking to Shane backstage. Cena will have a contract signing with A.J. Styles later tonight.
Stephanie met Ambrose in the back. She mentioned that Shane was the one who brought back the Ambrose Asylum. Stephanie said that Ambrose would face Chris Jericho later tonight. It led to Ambrose saying that Stephanie had a lot of hatred and bile flowing through her veigns. Stephanie said having hatred within you can be a good thing if you know how to use it.
Paige defeated Charlotte (C) in a nontitle match (2:28)
Charlotte went for the Figure Eight, but Paige kicked her out of the ring. Dana Brooke threw Charlotte right back in the ring, where Paige gave her the Rampage for the pin. They’re already teasing a Brooke-Charlotte breakup. Natalya and Becky Lynch were at ringside on commentary. This leads to Charlotte & Brooke vs. Natalya & Lynch on Sunday. Charlotte took the face first Flair flop, which the crowd enjoyed.
Cesaro did an interview with Renee Young. Sami Zayn walked in, which made Cesaro mad. Cesaro said he was acting like a child. Zayn said, as far as he was concerned, they were equals. Cesaro said he’s been in the WWE for four years, while Zayn has been in the WWE for four months. He said Zayn still has a lot to prove and he should start tonight.
Backstage, Charlotte chewed out Brooke for costing her the match. Charlotte said she gave Brooke a chance to be part of her legacy, but if she makes the same mistake again on Sunday, there will be no room for her in the history book she’s writing.
Sheamus defeated Zack Ryder (1:54)
Sheamus won with the Brogue Kick. He put punches and boots to Ryder until Crews ran out. Crews scored a double-leg takedown, knocked him out of the ring with a forearm and Sheamus ran out through the crowd.
Another series of flashbacks, this one featurin famous monents from Money in the Bank. The opener was from 2010 Kane winning the briefcase, then cashing it in to defeat Rey Mysterio 50 minutes later. He’s still the only man to win the briefcase and the world championship on the same night.
O’Neal was shown in an Ad Council PSA paying Go Fish with his kids.
Kane talked with Shane backstage when Kevin Owens showed up. Owens wanted to see Stephanie, but when he heard she wasn’t around, he said that Alberto Del Rio only showed up to the building 20 minutes ago. Owens felt Del Rio should be taken out of the Money in the Bank match. Del Rio then walked in and said someone called airport security on him, which caused him to be held up for five hours. Del Rio blamed Owens. The two started jawing at each other with Del Rio speaking Spanish and Owens speaking French. Finally, Kane spoke up and ordered them to team together tonight against the Lucha Dragons. If the Lucha Dragons won, they would get Owens and Del Rio’s spot in the Money in the Bank match. Owens didn’t like the idea, but Shane did and it was done.
Sami Zayn defeated Cesaro (8:11)
Very good match where Zayn won with the Code Red. Fans got into it after Cesaro did his suplex from the apron into the ring. Had the most crowd heat of the night. Cesaro knocked Zayn to the floor early, blocking a springboard move with an uppercut. Zayn had a look on his face after he scored the finisher that put over the importance of finally getting a win on Raw.
There was a new feature called WWE Technology, which showed off the company’s video production truck. They also put over using green power to energize the trucks.
Cena came out for the contract signing with Styles. Cena said Money in the Bank might as well be WrestleMania, which wasn’t the first time someone has made that comparison tonight. Cena said for 15 years, people have wondered what would happen if he faces Styles. He said he loved the WWE, but year after year, the decision makers in the company said Styles didn’t belong. But through Ring of Honor, PWG and New Japan (using those names on the air), Styles has proven he belongs. Cena said he’s won 15 world championships, but Styles has won more over a 15-year span. Now, Styles has been given a chance thanks to Shane McMahon and that this would be a history making match.
Cena said the contract signing would be a little different tonight and told Michael Cole to leave. There was a table set up with a chair in the ring. Styles came out and there were the usual dueling chants. Styles said he turned Cena’s world around two weeks ago. At Money in the Bank, he would do it again. Styles said he would be the one saying “You can’t see me” because Cena couldn’t beat him.
Cena explained that there were two contracts on the table. One would guarantee a singles match between Cena and Styles with the Club barred from ringside. The other contract would have Cena vs. Styles with the Club allowed at ringside. If Styles signed the one that included the Club, it would prove how much of a bitch Styles truly is. But if he signed the one-on-one match with the Club barred from ringside. they would finally have an answer to the question of what if Styles faced Cena.
Styles brought up what would happen if Styles had been in the WWE 15 years ago? Then Cena wouldn’t have been a 15-time world champion, wouldn’t have won the Royal Rumble twice, wouldn’t be in movies and wouldn’t be on the cover of magazines. Cena screamed enough. He said he had heard the same routine from dozens of independent geeks for years and that Styles’ Club wasn’t full of bullets, it was full of bull. Cena said it was time for Styles to man up and try to prove him wrong. Cena said if Styles signed the contract with the Club, then they would need to put Styles on a fast track on Japan because he left his balls in Japan. Styles signed the contract for a one-on-one match with no Club at ringside and Cena followed.
Styles said this independent geek would beat Cena’s K-Mart shopping ass and prove it Sunday.
They aired highlights of the 2013 Money in the Bank, captured by Orton. He used it to defeat Daniel Bryan a month later.
Kevin Owens and Alberto Del Rio defeated Lucha Dragons to keep their spot in the Money in the Bank match (8:25)
Owens and Del Rio argued and nearly came to blows throughout the match. Kalisto used Salida del Sol on Del Rio, leading to the hot tag to Sin Cara. Owens was forced to use a save after Cara hit Del Rio with a Swanton, then dragged Del Rio to the corner for a tag. Kalisto attempted a tope on Del Rio, who threw Kalisto into the dasherboards. Owens pinned Cara with the Pop-Up Power Bomb. Del Rio gave Owens a Superkick afterwards and spit on him.
The Miz did another Facebook interview from the set of the Marine 5: Battleground. A stagehand gave him coffee, which Miz said was too cold.
Owens complained to Stephanie about Del Rio giving him a cheap shot. Stephanie listened to him instead of burying him. Owens said Zayn was going to be a commentary for the Ambrose-Jericho main event and asked if he could join him. Stephanie approved it. Del Rio walked up, said Owens was kissing up to Stephanie and demanded to be on commentary, as well. Stephanie said Del Rio could be guest timekeeper instead. Del Rio and Owens argued some more.
Shane and Stephanie bickered about their respective decision making. Shane said Cesaro will be the guest ring announcer for the main event. Stephanie said that Kane would be the wrong choice to run SmackDown. Kane walked in and Shane broke the news to him that he would not be running SmackDown. Kane asked if Shane’s decision was based on the whole “Jumper cables to the testicles” thing. Shane said it didn’t. Finally, Shane said Stephanie could run Raw, but he was going to run SmackDown this Thursday.
During Jericho’s ring entrance, Cesaro said he originally was from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, but currently lives in Stupid, Idiotville. He went on to say that Ambrose looked like he had just rolled out of bed.
Dean Ambrose defeated Chris Jericho (11:53)
Jericho got the Walls of Jericho but Ambrose made the ropes. After the elbow clothesline, Ambrose blocked the Codebreaker and won with Dirty Deeds. Owens largely stole the show on commentary putting down Byron Saxton. Del Rio held the bell hammer meancingly throughout the match, but never used it.
Owens ran in and jumped Ambrose afterwards. Zayn jumped on Owens, but Del Rio gave Zayn the back stabber. Cesaro ran in and gave Del Rio a springboard uppercut. Del Rio and Cesaro brawled around ringside. Meanwhile, Owens pulled out a ladder, but Ambrose gave him a baseball slide. As the four men fought, Zayn gave them a somersault plancha. As the only man not involved in the brawl, Jericho set up the ladder in the ring and climbed to get the Money in the Bank briefcase. He unhooked it and posed on top of the ladder cross-legged.
Despite a promising opening half hour, Monday night’s edition of RAW ultimately flattered to deceive. Here are the weekly sparse hits and myriad misses from this week’s Money in the Bank build-up show:
— The Hits —
The comedy-laden opening segment
Given the scriptwriting standard we’re accustomed to, six men reciting lines at each other in the ring should have been a disaster. Instead, highlighted by Owens’ interruptions and Jericho’s obnoxiousness, Monday night’s opening segment was consistently amusing.
The other members of the MITB ladder match finally challenging Jericho on his record in the match he created was wonderful. Jericho maintaining that he won “the first one….the sixth one!” in “Apple…..Appleton…..Stupididiotville!” was hilarious, as was Chris responding to Cesaro’s “your hometown?” rejoindre with: I’m from Winnipeg, idiot!”. That of course led to the crowd chanting “stupid idiot” for the second consecutive week, to which Jericho delightfully responded: “I know you are, but what am I?”.
While I could do without wacky Dean Ambrose talking about fighting polar bears, at least we also had Owens’ “Ooh, Spanish!” as soon as Alberto Del Rio opened his mouth. It was nice to see Teddy Long too, despite his flubs, if only to hear the on-fire Jericho insult him. Great stuff.
Backstage segments
Further credit must be directed towards the writing staff for the quality of this week’s backstage segments. From Del Rio cutting a strong heel promo on Zayn in the locker room to Long dancing along to his theme on his smartphone to Ambrose finally getting serious in response to Owens, they all worked really well.
Big Cass’ intensity
I wasn’t crazy about Enzo & Cass’ Ali-laden tribute promo, but I really liked the idea of using Aiden English’s attempt to repeat the events of Payback to fire up Cass. Cass showed signs of being able to exhibit believable aggression during his short-lived recent singles run, and that was on display here again as he dismantled the Vaudevillains. I didn’t even mind the cheap DQ finish for not responding to the referee’s instructions.
— The Misses —
Meaningless matches
It was very difficult to care about any of the seven matches on this show, particularly the three matches involving the MITB participants. All six men are already in a key match at the PPV, and nothing is going to change regardless of the results of their singles bouts. Why, therefore, am I supposed to get invested? At least all three matches were fine, with those who most needed credibility picking up the victories.
Repetition, repetition, repetition
There was so much on this show that I’ve seen before, with much of it as recent as last week. Rusev’s match against Swagger was a repeat from last week’s Smackdown as was the Life Lessons promo. Enzo & Cass fought the Vaudevillains on last week’s Main Event too, while Ambrose vs. Owens is a match that I really never need to see again for a very long time. News of another Ambrose vs. Jericho bout on this week’s Smackdown only increases my jadedness.
Reigns/Rollins “History Revisited”
Although last week’s WWE 24 documentary on the returning Seth Rollins was a fantastic piece of television, airing clips of it here only underlines how utterly boneheaded it was to bring “The Future of the WWE” back as a heel. If this two-part video package was intended to get the crowd to boo him and cheer Roman, it failed as anyone who saw it would surely be inclined to get behind Seth.
Getting Rollins to call Reigns a “placeholder” and reminding us of his Wrestlemania cash-in is unlikely to build sympathy for a champion that few like.
The Cena/Styles follow-up
The feud that the company is billing as a “Wrestlemania match” did not have a great sophomore outing this week. Their promo was as meta as a bad episode of Community with Cena’s jorts self-awareness and AJ’s talk of getting the shovels. The explanation that Styles recruited the Club to help him best Cena out of fear of getting “buried” is weak sauce in the extreme. Very disappointing.
Stephanie’s characterisation
So apparently Stephanie McMahon is an all-out heel this week, in Shane’s absence, abusing the doddery Long and stealing his ideas. She did deliver one piece of big news however, informing us that she will be the head honcho of Smackdown when it goes live on Tuesday nights. Hands up who laughed heartily at the laundry list of the qualities she supposedly possesses: “intelligent, young, vivacious, smart, has business acumen, and can usher in the New Era!” That’s a no-hitter for you there Steph, I’m afraid.
The Golden Truth follow-up
One Smackdown repeat I would have liked to see was the karaoke version of R-Truth’s new song, complete with a bobbing Goldust head to help you sing along. If the company was willing to spend months filming vignettes for these two, it might be an idea to get out of the way and let them get themselves over. Not only were the lyrics not on-screen, but Michael Cole talked over the song for the second week running too!
The Big Takeaway: It was a night of Money in the Bank qualfiers, returns and breakups. Of course, the big news was the return of Seth Rollins. Despite the wishes of the fans, he’s going to be a heel in his program with Roman Reigns. Those two will be facing each other in the main event of the Money in the Bank PPV for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Enzo Amore also returned. Kevin Owens, Cesaro, Chris Jericho, Dean Ambrose, and Sami Zayn all qualified for the Money in the Bank match at MITB. Charlotte broke up with Ric Flair, saying that he had been living in her spotlight for months. It was an angle that hit on various points very close to home, but Flair’s performance was fantastic. A.J. Styles also split up with Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows. Shane and Stephanie McMahon were limited to cameos, which was a welcome change.
Show Recap:
Seth Rollins started the show getting a huge ovation, though there were some scattered boos. He was playing up to the crowd as a babyface and got “Welcome back” chants. Rollins said he’s waited 200 days to step inside his ring once again and he’s back. He’s waited for seven months to take back the title he never lost and he fired the first shot last night when he gave Roman Reigns the Pedigree. Crowd chanted “Thank you, Rollins.” Rollins asked if the fans missed him? That got “Yes” chants. Rollins said that was interesting because when he put a chair against Reigns’ back, the fans booed him. Then when he captured the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, fans said he was the weakest champion in history.
Then something profound happened: his knee buckled from carrying the company for so long. That was supposed to get boos. It got cheers instead. Rollins said he got so much fan mail he didn’t know what to do with it, so he put it all in the garbage can and lit it on fire. So Rollins went heel in the interview, saying he never needed the fans when he was going after the World Championship, and he doesn’t need them now. He said there was only room on the Seth Rollins bandwagon for one dude, and it was him. Rollins claimed the fans were never with him during the process to rehab his knee for seven months, which was harder work than the fans have ever put in in their entire lives.
Rollins said he, and he alone, would take back the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. That got a mixed response. Reigns’ music hit. Suddenly Rollins’ response seemed like Ric Flair in Charlotte by comparison. Booed beyond belief.
Rollins acted like he wanted to fight, but when Reigns got in the ring, Rollins left, saying he was going to fight on his time. Shane McMahon showed up. Rollins reluctantly got back in the ring and Shane’s request so they could have a conversation. Shane brought up Rollins has had several defining moments, including breaking up the Shield and winning the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 32. Shane said Reigns would defend the WWE World Heavyweight Championship against Rollins at Money in the Bank. Both men were content with that announcement. Reigns held up his title to get booed some more.
Later tonight, a series of Money in the Bank qualifying matches: The Miz vs. Cesaro; Chris Jericho vs. Apollo Crews; A.J. Styles vs. Kevin Owens along with Sheamus vs. Sami Zayn.
Renee Young did an interview with Sheamus, who denounced the “new era” in the WWE. He made fun of Zayn’s name and the fact he was form Canada. That was a weird thing to say since Canadians have been carrying a good portion of the company’s workrate lately. Young started to mention she was from Canada before Sheamus interupted her and instructed parents to get their children out of the room because what he would do to Zayne wouldn’t be suitable for all ages. They brought up Sheamus winning Money in the Bank last year, then cashed it in at the Survivor Series and defeated Reigns for the title after Reigns had just defeated Dean Ambrose in a tournament final.
Sami Zayn defeated Sheamus in a Money in the Bank Qualifying match (10:02)
Zayn won with the Helluva Kick, moments after attempting a tope which Sheamus blocked with a right hand. Lots of selling by Zayn, but the two didn’t click as well as you would think. The announcers played the result up like an upset, explaining Sheamus didn’t even qualify for Money in the Bank one year after winning it. I credit it to lousy booking last June. Sheamus was furious after the match. At one point, Zayn did satellite head scissors, which Michael Cole called a huracanrana.
Crews did an interview with Young. She asked him if he felt like he had an advantage after the damage Jericho suffered against Ambrose last night. For some reason, Sheamus jumped Crews from behind. Sheamus screamed about the new era as he rammed Crews’ head into a truck case.
The New Day came out. They’re up to 274 days as tag team champions. There was a Happy Birthday cake in the ring. Kofi Kingston said the cake was there to celebrate Raw’s 1,200th episode. Xavier Woods said Raw is over 23 years old. Big E. said a WWE ring is never safe from a cake, so they decided to take the cake out of the ring. Woods said they would never want the cake to wind up in anyone’s face. Big E. teased throwing it in someone’s face at ringside, then JBL, then Byron Saxton. Then Social Outcasts (sans Adam Rose, of course) jumped Woods and Kingston. The Vaudevillains are out of a tag team title program after one PPV.
The New Day defeated Social Outcasts (1:50)
Kingston pinned Heath Slater after the Midnight Hour. Highlight was Slater taking the Unicorn Stampede. He rolled out of the ring barely able to stand, so Bo Dallas called for a Bo Train. Slater made it about three steps before collapsing. Of course, the cake had to end up in somebody’s face before the segment could end. So Kingston and Woods threw Slater into the cake, which splattered everywhere. They showed three highlights of the cake spot.
Miz and Maryse came out. Miz said he was still the Intercontinential Champion and a future Money in the Bank winner. He compared himself to the movie “Rudy” by overcoming overwhelming odds to retain the championship at Extreme Rules against Zayne, Owens and Cesaro. He wondered who could play him in an underdog movie, and brought up Brad Pitt and Dwayne Johnson. Maryse pulled in for a kiss, but Cesaro came out before they could get it on. Saxton said Cesaro looked like someone from “The Professional,” a weird reference to a 1994 film featuring a 12-year-old Natalie Portman. JBL then compared Cesaro to Roger Federer because they both have genetic superiority. Roger Federer pulled out of the French Open last week because of injuries.
Cesaro defeated the Miz (C) in a Money in the Bank Qualifying match, as well as a nontitle match (11:16)
Another solid match with these two, ending when Miz jumped off the top rope into a Cesaro uppercut, leading to the Gotch Neutralizer. Miz did the usual spots working over Cesaro’s injured left shoulder. Cesaro tried the Giant Swing, but couldn’t complete it because of the shoulder. Maryse has totally revitalized Miz’s career. He’s working better than he has in years, his promos are entertaining, and it has even helped the Intercontinental Championship, which really seemed on the backburner again after WrestleMania.
Rollins did an interview with Young. He said it would be fitting if he defeated Reigns for the Money in the Bank championship since he won it 2 years ago, leading to him cashing it in. Rollins walked up to Stephanie McMahon. Rollins wanted to hug her, but she said things have changed around here. She just wanted a handshake, and a confused Rollins complied.
Chris Jericho defeated Apollo Crews in a Money in the Bank Qualifying match (7:37)
There was a mixup near the finish. Jericho went for the Lionsault. Crews did a nip-up while Jericho was in midair, but didn’t get out of the way. Jericho’s knees hit Crews on the head and they both fell to the mat. Looked like the rest of the match had to be ad-libbed from that point. Jericho won with a codebreaker. Finish kind of buried Crews since Jericho was supposed to be less than 100% after the Ambrose match last night. Jericho was all taped up from last night’s thumbtacks bump. Crews came out without selling anything from the Sheamus beating. Crews didn’t get much of a reaction and looked disappointed.
The latest from Darren Young and Bob Backlund, who chastized Young for taking notes. Then Backlund ordered him to recite all the presidents in honor. Young said he couldn’t do that. Backlund started to do it, and Young said “Damn, coach!” in a way to put Backlund over. Backlund got mad at him for swearing and ordered him to do 100 jumping jacks.
Baron Corbin did an interview with JoJo. They showed Corbin delivering a Draymond Green-caliber low blow to beat Dolph Ziggler last night. Ziggler walked in and said Corbin couldn’t beat him in a technical wrestling match. Corbin said he wasn’t worried about technical wrestling, he was worried about handing out beatings. You haven’t heard mechanical delivery of promos until you’ve heard Corbin. Ziggler said he was going to face Ambrose tonight and do something Corbin could never do: steal the show.
Big Cass came out. Then he waved toward the entrance and Enzo Amore made his return to a huge pop. They did the usual routine with the fans singing along. Amore had Michael Jackson’s jacket from the Thriller video on. Amore claimed he forgot to pay his electric bill and they cut his lights out. The doctors diagnosed him with a concussion, which he calls a hard sneeze. Amore said if he had a dime for every time he got knocked down and didn’t get back up, he would have ZERO DIMES! Amore said as for Bubba Ray and Devon Dudley, “do us a favor and don’t do us no favors.” Cass said throwing his size-17 boot was going to be like throwing a basketball into a swimming pool, because he wasn’t going to miss. If 10% of Amore’s interview ability could somehow transform over to Crews, he’d headline WrestleMania before 2020.
Big Cass defeated Bubba Ray Dudley (2:46)
Devon hit Amore from behind at ringside. This led to Cass’ comeback, which spilled out on the floor. Cass threw Amore into Devon. In the ring, Bubba Ray took the Ric Flair slam off the top rope, and Cass pinned him after the Empire Elbow.
Charlotte, Dana Brooke and Ric Flair came out for a “State of the WWE Women’s Championship Address.” JBL talked about how the Fabulous Moolah started her championship reign in 1956 in Baltimore. Flair took the mic and how proud he was of her. Flair looked emotional, which signaled something was up since this was suppsed to be a heel promo. Some fans started to chant boring. Flair compared Brooke to “Charlotte’s Uncle Arn.” Charlotte said she wanted to thank one person, “and it was obviously me.” She also thanked Brooke, who thanked Charlotte and put over Flair as the “dirtiest player in the game.” Charlotte brought up what she remembered growing up. She remembered various holidays and birthdays where her father wasn’t around for her. She had to watch him on television. Fans chanted “What” at Charlotte and she was getting really mad and appeared to lose her train of thought. Charlotte said she understood why her father missed those holidays because she was the champion. She then turned to her father and ordered him to get out of her ring. Flair didn’t understand what she was talking about. Charlotte said everyone from Flair’s generation was the same because they never wanted to leave the spotlight. Charlotte said Flair never understood how it felt to walk into a room and hear people say “There’s Ric Flair’s daughter.” She said now Flair was Charlotte’s father. Flair started to cry. Charlotte said Flair was “the 2nd dirtiest player in the game” and she doesn’t have time for people who come in 2nd place. She said she doesn’t need him anymore.
Charlotte accused Flair of neglecting her. Flair was in tears. Charlotte said Flair was an immortal to everyone in Baltimore, but to her he was dead. Now, Flair can watch Charlotte on TV just like she watched him through her childhood. She ordered him to leave the ring, which Flair did with remorse. Flair walked to the back and Charlotte crowed about how she was the champ. Flair’s facials were excellent. Charlotte had to work hard to get through this despite al the hecklers, but she’s very skilled on the microphone and did a good job getting this breakup over. JBL, Cole and Saxton sold this heavy, speaking in hushed tones wearing long faces like they had just seen a career-threatening injury angle.
For those who complain that this angle hit too close to home and was uncomfortable to watch, this isn’t the first time Flair’s parenting skills have been used in an angle. One of the few good segments of WCW Thunder in 2000 featured Flair and Arn Anderson in a microphone dual that centered around their personal lives and children. Not to mention Flair wrestling his son David in 1999 & 2000. Granted, that was among the worst booked programs in history, but it was still a subject. Flair himself, as a shoot, called that program “a nightmare.”
Dean Ambrose defeated Dolph Ziggler in a Money in the Bank Qualifying match (12:10)
Ambrose won with Dirty Deeds after blocking the Zig Zag. It was a scientific match to get over Ziggler facing Corbin in a “scientific match” next week. During an Ambrose comeback, JBL said “Can you imagine what it would be like to have two former members of the Shield fight for the championship?” How many times did we see that last year? Then Ambrose did his ricochet off the ropes into the clothesline spot and Cole belted out “How in the world did he do that?” We see that spot every week.
A distraught Flair walked back stage where he came across Arn Anderson, who consoled him and said he was sorry. Young walked up and asked if he had anything he wanted to say. Flair, who tried to smile, declined and left the building.
The Shining Stars put over their debut last week and invited everyone to Puerto Rico, “The Shining Star of the Carribbean.”
Styles came out and said you never know how good someone is until you get in the ring with them. Styles said Reigns is every bit the man he says he is, which got him roundly booed. Styles said Reigns was one of the best he ever got in the ring with, but he still wasn’t phenomenal. Then Styles did another subtle heel dig, saying if it wasn’t for the Usos, Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows, you would be looking at the new WWE World Heavyweight Championship. This brought out Anderson and Gallows. Anderson was upset that Styles would say they cost him a chance to beat Reigns. Anderson accused Styles of changing since their days in Japan. Gallows said if he and Anderson hadn’t dropped every person that wanted to fight Styles, there would be a lot of bars that Styles would have never made it out of. Styles tried to be amicable and said they needed to seperate. Styles said, for now, they were done as a team. But nothing can seperate them from being brothers. Gallows wasn’t going for it, saying they weren’t brothers anymore. Anderson said they weren’t friends anymore. Styles said if that’s the case, they don’t need to be in the ring together anymore. He said, as of right now, this was his ring. Anderson and Gallows took the cue to leave and did without shaking hands. Another breakup angle.
Kevin Owens defeated A.J. Styles in a Money in the Bank Qualifying match (16:30)
Owens won with the Pop-Up Power Bomb after Styles attempted a springboard move, but Owens kicked Styles’ legs out from under him. Styles hit the Pele Kick after escaping an attempt at the Pop-Up Power Bomb. Earlier, Owens missed a moonsault and Styles nailed a springboard 450 splash for a near fall. One night after bumping all over the place for Reigns, Styles wasn’t having an off night. Biggest spot came outside the ring when Styles ran up the steps, but Owens caught him over his shoulders and slammed him across the top of the steps. Later, Styles ran towards Owens, who power bombed Styles on the steps, leading to a countout tease. It was like Styles was 30 again and was in TNA putting over Kevin Nash. And yes, that really happened. Clean. Crowd seemed to be waiting for the near falls, but got more involved towards the end. Finish seemed to catch them by surprise.
SUMMARY: Very solid wrestling show. Frankly, this should be a pattern for the summer because the roster is going to be as deep as ever once John Cena, Randy Orton and Neville return. It’s just a question of which programs are made and how to gain the most from them. The Reigns-Rollins program isn’t really unique. Fans have booed Cena for years and cheered various heels against him. Rather than make a new superstar out of Reigns, the WWE has just made him a Cena clone. And the fans will treat him as such, as well as whoever is in a program with him. the good news is there’s plenty of guys he can have quality matches with that won’t expose him.
