SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
BRAUN DEBUTS A STABLE…
Recap: The show opened with Braun Strowman coming to the ring with Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntire. He played a recap of last week’s heel turn, and explained that he had joined forces with Ziggler and McIntire because he knew that without them, he’d be outnumbered by The Shield in his feud with Roman Reigns.
Dolph Ziggler then took the mic, and emphasized that their new alliance was better than the Nation, Degeneration X, and The Shield.
The Shield then made their way to the ring, coming through the crowd. Upon seeing this, GM Baron Corbin brought out the locker room in waves to try to keep the two factions apart. A long pull-apart brawl ensued. Eventually, The Shield were arrested and removed from the arena in a police van.
Later backstage, GM Baron Corbin told Finn Balor that he was too busy for a rematch and instead set a match between Balor and Braun in the main event.
In the main event, Braun defeated Finn fairly easily. After the match, a police siren sounded. A police van drove into the arena, with Roman Reigns at the wheel. As The Shield made their way down the ramp to confront Braun, Dolph, and Drew, they were attacked from behind by the locker room heels. The heels decimated The Shield. Spots included Braun beating Reigns with the steel steps and Seth being thrown through the van’s window and then having his face smashed into the door.
The show ended with the heels victorious as The Shield were knocked out on the ground.
Evaluation: Having Braun come out with Ziggler and McIntire was key if they are trying to get him booed. Braun did get cheered early in the opening segment, but the reaction did seem to turn slightly more toward boos as it went along. The end of show beatdown on the entire Shield seemed to further solidify heel reactions for Braun.
Having Braun tell the fans that he needed Ziggler and McIntire to counter Shield triple teaming was probably not great in terms of getting him heel heat, as it was both reasonable and logical. Luckily Ziggler then took the mic to insult fan favorite stables of the past to try to build some better heat.
Having The Shield enter through the crowd in the opening segment was smart, as it helps the fans mentally associate Roman’s entrance music with the positive reactions of the early Shield era entrances.
I’m not sure why Drew Gulak from 205 Live was one of the locker room heels in the main event attack. He normally wouldn’t be traveling with the Raw roster.
Forecast: I’d expect that next week will be similarly structured as stable vs stable, keeping the Reigns-Strowman one-on-one confrontations to a minimum. This is the best strategy to avoid a bad reaction for Reigns. Obviously I expect Roman to retain the title at Hell in a Cell.
NEW TAG CHAMPIONS…
Recap: Backstage, Dolph Ziggler asked Baron Corbin for a tag title match against the B Team. Corbin said that since the title match between The Revival and The B Team had already been promoted, he couldn’t set the match unless the Revival were unable to compete.
During a backstage interview, Ziggler and McIntire took out The Revival, allowing them to fill in for the title match against The B Team. In a competitive match, Ziggler pinned Curtis Axel after the combination Zig-Zag/Claymore.
Evaluation: Ziggler and McIntire essentially had to win this match considering B Team are portrayed as fluke champions and a comedy act. Having Ziggler and McIntire end the “feel good” story of the underdog B Team helps bring more heat onto their stable with Braun Strowman.
Forecast: I expect this probably helped get a little more heat on Strowman’s new stable, and may have a minor positive effect on Roman Reigns’ reaction at Hell in a Cell.
THE UNDERTAKER RETURNS…
Recap: At the top of the third hour, Shawn Michaels came to the ring. He recapped the various retired wrestlers who had made predictions regarding the Undertaker vs Triple H match coming up in Australia. He disagreed with the majority that had predicted an Undertaker victory.
The Undertaker’s bell then tolled, and he approached the ring. Undertaker told Michaels that the match had become personal, as Michaels and Triple H could not accept that the Undertaker had taken them both out.
Michaels disagreed, reiterating that he was one of the few people in wrestling to keep his word by not going back on his promise to stay retired after his loss to the Undertaker. Michaels said he did this out of respect for Undertaker. As the audience chanted “one more match”, Michaels recounted turning down millions of dollars and requests from other wrestlers to wrestle again.
Undertaker retorted that Michaels’ retirement was driven by fear, not respect. He said that if Michaels came back, it would only be to face him, and that Undertaker would put him down. Undertaker then reiterated that he’d put Triple H down in Australia.
Evaluation: The build for this match has been great, and tonight was no exception.
Shawn Michaels was a little goofy and all over the place in his promo, but that’s not unusual for him.
The Undertaker’s pop was huge, showing that there is still demand to see him wrestle. I personally have zero desire to see it, but I am in the clear minority.
Forecast: WWE seems very focused on protecting Undertaker since he’s become a part timer, so I would expect Undertaker to win in Australia.The more interesting question is if tonight set the stage for a match between Michaels and Undertaker down the line.
RANDOM THOUGHTS…
For whatever reason, the Bellas were not booed tonight as they had been over the past several weeks….
Brie Bella’s botched tope suicida was very scary, and I hope she does not attempt it again….
Hopefully Kevin Owens attack on Bobby Lashley is the start of making him look stronger….
It was good to see Authors of Pain look strong again, but Drake Maverick isn’t the right mouthpiece for them. Just bring back Paul Ellering….
NOW CHECK OUT LAST WEEK’S COLUMN: TOP 3 DEVELOPMENTS – RAW 8/27: Braun Turns Heel, KO Quits, Bad Sitcom Tropes
You say bring back Ellering at the end. Does Ellering want to come back?
I can’t find the Tweet right now, but I thought I remembered Ellering tweeting after the angle where AOP ditched him that he was willing to go on the road but WWE wasn’t interested.
I’d heard the opposite that Ellering didn’t want a full time gig at his age. But you who is available and has never really managed a monster team…. Paul Heyman.