SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
Coming off the heels of an incredible Evolution show on Sunday; we had all the fallout from it take place on Raw. After cashing in her Money in the Bank at the end of Evolution to win the Women’s World Championship, Naomi came out to open the show this week. As she sent a warning to the rest of the women’s locker room, she was interrupted by both Rhea Ripley and Iyo Sky. With Naomi’s cash in happening in the middle of their historic match the night before, both women were out to stake their claim for a shot at the title. The bickering between all three women got so out of hand that Adam Pearce had to come out to put a stop to it.
By the time the segment was over, we had our answer to whom Naomi will be defending her title against at Summerslam. In addition to that, we had the women’s Tag Team Champions in action, a Two out of Three Falls match to decide who will face Becky Lynch at Summerslam, and a Five Man Gauntlet match to decide Gunther’s next challenger at Summerslam. With the second biggest show of the year less than three weeks away, this week’s Raw let us know what we should be excited for going into it.
Naomi vs. Rhea Ripley vs. Iyo Sky
Latest Developments
At Money in the Bank, Naomi climbed the ladder to retrieve the briefcase that guaranteed her a title shot at any time within the next year. At Evolution, she was defeated by longtime rival Jade Cargill in a No Holds Barred match. Later that night, Iyo Sky defended her Women’s World Championship against Rhea Ripley in the main event. As both women were down, Naomi came out to cash in her briefcase to make the match a Triple Threat. After throwing Rhea shoulder first into the ring post, Naomi hit Iyo with a Springboard Moonsault to win the title.
This week, Naomi came out to open the show with a promo where she warned the rest of the women’s locker room to “proceed with caution.” Rhea and Iyo both came out to interrupt as they both demanded a shot at the title. Naomi told both of them to get to the back of the line, and this led to a big argument between all three women. Adam Pearce then came out to calm everyone down and mentioned that Summerslam needed to be as big as possible coming off the success of Evolution. In order to make that possible, Pearce announced that Naomi will defend her newly won championship against both Rhea and Iyo in a Triple Threat match.
Analysis
It’s crazy to see how drastically the Women’s World Title scene on Raw changed within 24 hours. Naomi’s cash in at Evolution was one of the most shocking in recent memory and served as the biggest moment of her career. While it was bittersweet considering her cash in resulted in the Iyo and Rhea match not having a decisive winner, it was the perfect way to end that show with all the buzz it’s generated since. With her being the champion and now on Raw, she’s now the number one heel in the women’s division and has filled the void on the show left by Liv Morgan’s injury. In all the years she’s been in and out of WWE, this was the first time Naomi ever opened either one of the weekly shows with a promo.
This segment succeeded in establishing Naomi as the new champion of Raw and in giving us the answer on what the Women’s World Championship match will be at Summerslam. While they could’ve made an Iyo and Rhea rematch for night one to decide who challenges Naomi on night two, the Triple Threat we’re getting with all three women does make sense as both Iyo and Rhea were both screwed by Naomi. For as much momentum as Naomi has right now, it’s tough to say whether or not she keeps the title beyond Summerslam. With there being a case for any of these three women to win, the outcome for that match will be something to watch for. More than anything, this recent shakeup has at least made the Women’s World Title feel like a big deal again.
Grade: B
Raquel Rodriguez & Roxanne Perez vs. Kabuki Warriors
Latest Developments
Last week, Kairi Sane was attacked by Raquel Rodriguez & Roxanne Perez after Kairi’s win over Perez. Coming to Kairi’s rescue was her former partner Asuka, who helped her fight off both foes. Later that night, Adam Pearce announced that Asuka & Kairi would reunite as the Kabuki Warriors at Evolution and be added to the Fatal Four Way for the women’s Tag Team Titles against Raquel & Perez, Charlotte & Alexa Bliss, and Sol Ruca & Zaria. At Evolution, the Kabuki Warriors put in a strong performance in the match that showed they haven’t missed a beat since the last time they teamed up over a year ago. Despite that, Raquel & Perez picked up the win in their first match teaming together to leave as the champions.
This week, the champions faced the Kabuki Warriors in a non title match. After getting the hot tag, Asuka single handedly took care of Perez & Raquel with several strikes and kicks. As Asuka set up Perez for an Insane Elbow Drop from Kairi, Dominik Mysterio distracted the referee on the apron. After Dominik got back on the apron again, Asuka nailed him with a back hand to knock him down. Perez then rolled up Asuka as Raquel pushed her foot against her for extra leverage to pick up the win.
Analysis
While the match was fine, it was more used to give the new champions another win. This new team of Raquel & Perez has been clicking so far, which made it the right move to have them keep the titles for the time being. Raquel looks as if she took Kevin Nash’s recent criticism of her seriously and has been working more like a powerhouse than she previously did. Combining that with Perez’ s ability to bump around and the story of Perez trying to stay on her good side has made this new team work out better than expected so far. With all the uncertainty that surrounded Liv’s injury, it feels like Perez has done a great job in taking her place in Judgment Day.
From what we saw at Evolution, a match between them and Charlotte & Alexa seems like the natural direction. While the Kabuki Warriors are great and can still be in the mix, they don’t have momentum on the same level as these two teams do. For as interesting as the Charlotte & Alexa team has been recently, it would be a mistake not to have them in a feud involving the titles going into Summerslam. As fun as that Four Way match was the other night involving both teams, a match with just them has the potential to be even better. With both teams consisting of one partner that’s significantly bigger than the other, they can tell some great stories in the ring together and even extend the feud long term.
Grade: B-
ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW…
Check out the latest episode of the Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Post-show covering the latest episode of Raw: CLICK HERE to stream (or search “wade Keller” on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or any other iOS or Android app to subscribe free)
Bayley vs. Lyra Valkyria
Latest Developments
Three weeks ago, Lyra Valkyria attacked Becky Lynch during her women’s Intercontinental Title defense against Bayley to end the match on a disqualification. This caused issues between Lyra and Bayley that resulted in the two of them facing each other the following week in a number one contender’s match. The referee counted both women’s shoulders down at the same time to end the match in a draw. As a result, it was announced that both women would face Becky for the title at Evolution in a Triple Threat match. At Evolution, Becky trapped Bayley into a Backslide as she was occupied with Lyra to pick up the win and retain her title.
This week, Bayley and Lyra faced each other in a Two out of Three Falls match to decide who will face Becky for the title at Summerslam. After Bayley won the first fall following a slap in the face and a roll up, Lyra picked up the second fall when she reversed a Rose Plant attempt from Bayley into a pin. Lyra continued to have the advantage with a Fisherman’s Suplex on the apron, but Bayley rebounded with a Sunset Flip into the steps followed by a Top Rope Elbow Drop for a near fall. Bayley had Lyra trapped in a Crossface until Lyra rolled out of the move and hit her with the Nightwing for the win. After the match, Becky came out to hold up the title as her and Lyra stared each other down
Analysis
Much like the Triple Threat the night before, this match was incredible. For as great as her chemistry is with Becky, Lyra has shown recently that her chemistry with Bayley is every bit as good. While it seemed like they would possibly do a rematch between all three women at Summerslam, it looks like things are going in the direction of another Becky and Lyra match instead. With the work they’ve done in recent months, this feels like a marquee match more than worthy of being on that show. As this feud has clearly been used to get Lyra to that next level, Summerslam feels like the night where she’s going to have her big moment.
With Bayley seemingly out of the title picture, there’s the uncertainty of what’s next for her. Her heel tendencies throughout this match were very noticeable and with her losing this match, that could be what finally pushes her over the edge. She could end up attacking Lyra after Summerslam to kick off a feud from there, or she could be added to the Summerslam match as a referee and then attack her after the match. After this loss, it just feels like Bayley has gone as far as she can go as a babyface in this run. Having her turn heel to feud with Lyra would be the best scenario for her and it would make for a great feud that would give us more great matches like the one we got here.
Grade: A
Nikki Bella vs. Chelsea Green
Latest Developments
At Evolution, Nikki Bella appeared as one of the participants in the women’s Battle Royal. During the Battle Royal, she crossed paths with Chelsea Green and her Secret Hervice of Alba Fyre & Piper Niven. Eventually, Nikki eliminated Chelsea from the match as she threw her over the top rope. Nikki made it to the final four before she was eliminated by Lash Legend. After hitting Lash with the Devil’s Kiss onto the apron, Stephanie Vaquer won the Battle Royal to earn a title shot at Clash in Paris.
This week, Nikki Bella went one on one with Chelsea Green after Chelsea confronted Vaquer backstage before the match. Chelsea attempted an Unpretttiher on Nikki before she reversed it into a Bella Buster. Alba & Piper jumped on the apron before Nikki knocked them off, and Chelsea failed at another Unprettiher attempt as Nikki hit her with the Rack Attack 2.0 for the win. Piper knocked Nikki down after the match and she along with Alba double teamed her. Vaquer then came out and cleared the ring of both of them as she then helped Nikki up right after.
Analysis
Funny enough, this match capped off what was the first time that the first 90 minutes of Raw was only segments/matches involving the women. While this match was fine for what it was, it’ll be remembered most for Vaquer coming to Nikki’s rescue after it was over. With her wrestling back-to-back night, it seems as if Nikki is going to be sticking around for a while. With her potential feud with Liv Morgan now off the table, it now seems like Nikki’s going to feud with Chelsea and her Secret Hervice instead. Although it won’t be the same, Chelsea is a good replacement as she has the strong character work to pull a feud like this off. Even though she lost here, Chelsea is clearly not going to take this one lying down.
As Vaquer came out to save Nikki, this feels like it’s setting up for a Six Woman Tag match for Summerslam possibly. While Nikki & Vaquer are one person short, there’s a good chance their partner could either be Bayley or a potential call up from NXT. With Vaquer now challenging for the title at Clash in Paris, it would be smart to use this scenario to keep her featured regularly until then. Winning that Battle Royal at Evolution was a real turning point for her as it feels like she’s about to be elevated to that same level as Becky, Rhea, Iyo, etc. As this year has been one where we’ve seen women such as Lyra and Tiffany Stratton become bigger stars, there’s no reason why Vaquer shouldn’t be in that mix too.
Grade: B-
C.M. Punk vs. Jey Uso vs. Bron Breakker vs. L.A. Knight vs. Penta
Latest Developments
Two weeks ago, C.M. Punk had a brief confrontation with the World Heavyweight Champion Gunther where he shoved him down and told him to stay out of his way. At Saturday Night’s Main Event, Gunther successfully defended his title against Goldberg in Goldberg’s retirement match. On Sunday, it was announced that Punk, Knight, Bron Breakker, Penta, and Jey Uso will compete in a Gauntlet match this week to decide who will challenge Gunther for his title at Summerslam. Before the match as Gunther was in the ring cutting a promo, he was interrupted by Breakker & Paul Heyman. As Breakker stared down Gunther, Heyman told Gunther that Breakker will break his ass at Summerslam and will be the new long-term champion.
Breakker started the Gauntlet and proceeded to go through Penta, Knight, and then Jey thanks to Bronson Reed with the Spear before he faced Punk in the final round. After Jey came back out to counter interference from Reed, Punk kicked Breakker as he went for a Spear and hit him with the GTS to punch his ticket to Summerslam. Reed & Breakker attacked Punk & Jey after the match and as Reed was about to hit both of them with the Tsunami, Roman Reigns came out to a huge pop. In his first appearance since the night after WrestleMania, Reigns hit Breakker with a Superman Punch followed by a Spear to Reed to clear them out of the ring. Reigns then helped up Jey and stared Punk down as the show ended.
Analysis
With the injury to Seth Rollins on Saturday clearly throwing a lot of plans up in the air, they were able to turn a negative into a positive here. This was a solid Gauntlet match that gave us a satisfying outcome and a big return immediately after. As strong as Breakker looked throughout it, Punk winning was the right way to go as Punk vs. Gunther is the bigger match to do on a show like Summerslam. While it’s not ideal to have less than three weeks to build this match up, to see these two in back-and-forth promos leading up to it are going to make for great TV. Even though Rollins is injured, the fact that Heyman said his timetable for return is irrelevant since he still has a year to cash in the briefcase among other reports leave a lot of room for suspicion on what could result from this.
In addition to getting Gunther vs. Punk made official for Summerslam, we also got the return of Roman Reigns. While it was expected that he’d be back around this time, the execution of his return was well down. As mentioned in last week’s review and from what we saw here, this seems like it’s leading to a tag match at Summerslam where it’ll be Reigns & Jey against Breakker & Reed. It’ll make for a fun attraction match and it’s a natural story with the scores that Reigns & Jey have to settle with them. While it’s uncertain how long he’s back for, having Reigns back automatically spices things up and the reaction he got here is a clear example of how big of a star he still is.
Grade: A
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.