SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
WWE RAW PRIMER
JUNE 5, 2018
CORPUS CHRISTI, TEX. AT AMERICAN BANK CENTER
AIRS LIVE ON USA NETWORK
PREVIEW BY FRANK PETEANI, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Arena
Is it time to get ready for Smackdown Live this evening as it will take place at the American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, Tex. WWE previously brought its signature blue brand to this arena on January 31, 2017. WWE.com is advertising a start time of 6:45 p.m. local time.
Main Story of Last Week
We continued our journey to the Money in the Bank PPV which will take place in just under two weeks. One more participant needed to be decided for the men’s match, which came out of an unexpected triple threat match between Daniel Bryan, Samoa Joe, and the suddenly medically cleared Big Cass. Originally, we were supposed to get what some would classify as a “dream match” between Bryan and Joe to determine the final entry; however, during their promo in the opening segment Big Cass made an appearance. He claimed he had spoken to G.M. Paige, and she decided to cancel the match and restore the original match between he and Joe leaving Bryan out of the picture. Paige, in a backstage interview with Renee Young, booked the triple threat cited earlier for the main event.
While we may have wanted to see Joe vs. Bryan, considering they never collided one-on-one in a WWE ring, the triple threat did not disappoint. You could have made the case that all three men at one point could have won the match until Samoa Joe put the leader of the “Yes! Movement” in his signature Coquina Clutch. Bryan did not submit but did succumb when his arm dropped three times. Following the match, Big Cass went after Daniel. We can all assume this led to the announcement by WWE that Daniel Bryan will go one-on-one with Big Cass at the Money in the Bank PPV.
Samoa Joe is not one of the advertised wrestlers, but it’s hard to imagine him not being there in some capacity.
The Usos & Naomi vs. Rusev & Aiden English & Lana
Dancing With The Stars? So You Think You Can Dance? Folks, just tune in to WWE programming and they have all the dancing you need. Last week we got a dance competition to be judged by the fans between Naomi and Lana, two of the participants in the upcoming women’s Money in the Bank Ladder match. Naomi came out with the Usos (her husband Jimmy and brother-in-law Jey). Lana was escorted by her husband Rusev and Aiden English. Depending on how you look and judge dance, I would say both women put on a fine performance. They even started dancing together until Lana showed her true colors and gave a reverse neck breaker to Naomi. This lead to a brawl between all parties involved, ending in Naomi giving Lana her signature Rear View. Later in the evening WWE announced the mixed tag match for tonight.
There’s more of a history than we may realize here. Lana unsuccessfully challenged Naomi three times for the Smackdown Women’s Championship last year. Ironically, one of those matches took place at 2017’s version of Money in the Bank. Both women will partake in this year’s ladder match. Rusev & English unsuccessfully challenged the Usos for the Smackdown Tag Team Championship as part of a Fatal Four-way at Clash of Champions this past December. I’m not certain WWE is playing off old feelings resurfacing in this situation, but these items are of note and could come up if they want to extend these rivalries beyond Money in the Bank.
Charlotte Flair vs. Becky Lynch
Anyone who has followed WWE in the last five or so years knows the history between these two top-end competitors. They were part of the Four Horsewomen of NXT before coming up to the main roster in 2015 as part of the women’s revolution. They were part of team PCB which included current SmackDown Live! G.M. Paige. While Charlotte and Becky are certainly playing nice these days, Money in the Bank brought out their competitive nature as they were discussing their upcoming opportunity in a backstage conversation. Paige happened to be passing by. She liked the spirited nature of the dialogue, reminisced about their time together, and made a match between the two for this week.
This is a match I would expect to take place on a bigger stage; however, seeds could be planted for a long-term story arc between these two especially with MITB around the corner and SummerSlam not too far behind. This past Thursday Becky tweeted:
Friend, as much as you need it, after sitting on the sidelines for a year, I need it even more. The climb back to the top has already started. It continues on Tuesday for Smackdown.
A.J. Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura Contract Signing
On Sunday afternoon, both WWE and Paige tweeted that she will oversee a contract signing for the Last Man Standing match between WWE Champion A.J. Styles and his Money in the Bank challenger Shinsuke Nakamura. You could say last week the King of Strong Style trolled his upcoming opponent by counting flashcards numbered 1-10 in the back, as well as counting his opponent Tye Dillinger any time he was down in the ring. In a backstage interview, A.J. acknowledged how dangerous Shinsuke could be in this match; however, he touted how he’s overcome odds throughout his entire life and claimed he will be the last man standing.
Looking at the history of Last Man Standing matches, the last time we got one for the WWE Championship was back in June of 2013 between champion John Cena and challenger Ryback at Extreme Rules. I’m not 100 percent sure WWE would bring this up on commentary at any point, but that match ended in a no contest. Ironically that’s the way the last two title matches between A.J. and Shinsuke turned out (double countouts).
Other Items
As expected, Andrade “Cien” Almas and his business manager Zelina Vega graced us with their presence backstage. They ended up in a verbal confrontation with Sin Cara. It’s possible we get a match between these two.
The Good Brothers, Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson, discussed their upcoming title opportunity against the champions Bludgeon Brothers. Harper and Rowan were shown in a video saying the bodies of their opponents will be “liquified.” Break out the jars, people!
Speaking of tag teams, we still haven’t seen Sanity make their debut.
Smackdown Women’s Champion Carmella was a guest commentator for a match between her upcoming MITB challenger Asuka and Mandy Rose. This week The Staten Island Princess promises to reveal “the truth” about The Empress of Tomorrow. (Is she one of Bobby Lashley’s sisters?!?!)
Finally, The New Day won an outstanding and highly competitive six-man tag over The Miz & The Bar. They still haven’t decided which of the three will go to the MITB ladder match. Let’s look to see if this decision is made and what The New Day has on tap this week.
Wrestlers Advertised/Dark Match
The American Bank Center has likely not updated their website. They are advertising Bobby Roode, Jinder Mahal, Ms. Money in the Bank Carmella, Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair, and General Manager Daniel Bryan. This is out of date, of course, since Roode and Mahal are on Raw, Carmella is of course Smackdown Women’s Champion, and Daniel Bryan is a full-time wrestler. There are no dark matches advertised on the website, and of course 205Live will follow.
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