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After an eventful two-night Summerslam, this week’s Raw from Brooklyn is where all the fallout took place. Fresh off revealing that his knee injury was all a ruse to cash in his Money in the Bank on an exhausted C.M. Punk, new World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins opened the show along with his stable now known as The Vision. His celebration was interrupted by LA Knight, who had a case for deserving a title shot after he defeated Rollins at Saturday Night’s Main Event. Although Rollins refused, he was quickly overruled by GM Adam Pearce, who made the match official for later in the night. As Pearce also banned Bron Breakker & Bronson Reed from ringside, Rollins had his back against the wall in his first title defense.
With Punk wanting revenge for what happened at Summerslam, he played a huge factor in the match’s outcome. All of that was followed by loads of chaos to end the show that planted the seed for what’s to come at Clash in Paris. In addition to that, we had another hard-hitting match between Sheamus and Rusev, a rematch from Summerslam for the women’s Tag Team Titles, and a heated segment between Becky Lynch and Nikki Bella.
Sheamus vs. Rusev
Latest developments:
On the June 30 Raw, Rusev pulled the throat of Sheamus into the exposed part of the turnbuckle and that led to him picking up the win over him following a Machka Kick. Two weeks ago, the two of them faced each other in a rematch where Rusev attempted to win the same way until it backfired and he was slammed into the exposed turnbuckle. Rusev attempted to use a shillelagh as another unfair advantage, but Sheamus nailed him with the Brogue Kick before he could use it to get the win. Last week after Sheamus defeated Grayson Waller, Rusev attacked him with the shillelagh and trapped him in the Accolade before officials broke it up. Monday afternoon, it was announced via social media that Sheamus and Rusev would face each other again this week.
As Rusev ran towards Sheamus outside the ring, Sheamus caught him and slammed him on top of the announce table. After Sheamus back dropped him over the railing, Rusev grabbed him by his arms and hit him with his own Ten Beats of the Bodhran. Sheamus then grabbed Rusev as he was distracted and returned the favor with the Ten Beats of the Bodhran, but both men were counted out as this all happened. Despite officials coming out to separate them, both men continued to brawl throughout ringside and even backstage throughout the night. Their brawl interrupted a promo from Sami Zayn where Rusev hit Sami in all the commotion, which led to a match between Sami and Rusev being made for next week.
Analysis:
When this match was made official for this week, it felt like now was too soon to have the final blow off between these two. Considering how the match ended, it is clear that this feud still isn’t over. While count out finishes are usually a letdown, it made sense here as it was a way to extend the feud and it led to a fun brawl after. Seeing them brawl throughout ringside after the match ended was fun, but it was even more entertaining to see them brawl backstage at various parts of the show. In many ways, this brawl was reminiscent of the one between Brock Lesnar and the Undertaker in 2015 that set up their Summerslam match for that year.
While Clash in Paris seems like the ideal place for this feud to have its blow off, the lack of spots available for that card don’t make it a guarantee that it’ll happen there. With Raw being overseas in the next few weeks, having the match on any of those shows with it being announced a week or two ahead of time would also work. This has been the perfect feud for Rusev to reintroduce him into the company and has shown how much he still has to offer. Both he and Sheamus especially prove with every interaction they have with each other that there will always be a place on the show for physical, hard-hitting matches like the ones they’ve been putting on. As fun as this feud has been, it’s one that doesn’t need to extend past Labor Day.
Grade: B
Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss vs. Raquel Rodriguez & Roxanne Perez
Latest Developments:
At Summerslam, Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss challenged Raquel Rodriguez & Roxanne Perez for the women’s Tag Team Championship. Despite a miscommunication where Alexa accidentally hit Charlotte, the two were able to rebound and win the titles after Alexa took down Perez with the Sister Abigail. This week, the new champions were in the ring celebrating their title win when they were interrupted by Raquel & Perez. Raquel mentioned that the two of them didn’t come out there to not take those titles back tonight, and the champions accepted their challenge. Adam Pearce came out and said while title matches normally take time to put together, this night wasn’t normal and he made the match official.
As Alexa attempted a Cannon Ball onto Raquel on the floor, Raquel caught her and slammed her into the railing. Alexa eventually recovered and got the hot tag to Charlotte, who hit Raquel & Perez simultaneously with a Cross Body. Charotte maintained the advantage over both as she hit them with a Moonsault simultaneously, but Raquel kicked out of the pin attempt. Perez pulled Alexa off the apron as Charlotte tagged her in and then tossed Charlotte out of the ring. As she was about to hit Charlotte with a Suicide Dive, Alexa caught her before she could and hit her with the Sister Abigail to retain the titles.
Analysis:
In many ways, this match between both teams was better than the one they had at Summerslam. The only thing that really stood out more about Saturday’s match compared to this one was the title change. As surprising as it was that Raquel & Perez lost the titles so soon, putting them on Charlotte & Alexa does make sense with how much their tag team has been clicking lately. This storyline has done wonders for Charlotte and is arguably the best thing she’s been involved in since her 2018-19 feud with Becky Lynch. Just seeing how they played off each other tonight in their promo before the match, having them be the champions for the foreseeable future is the right decision.
Now that Raquel & Perez aren’t champions anymore, the question arises about where they go from here. As it would be wrong to split them up now considering they just started teaming up, it feels like we’re going to see more tension between them in the coming months after these two big losses. Even though it was obvious that this team wasn’t going to be a long-term one, there still feels like there’s more that you can get out of them. With Raquel beginning to stand out more in her matches recently, perhaps the two of them losing the titles was a sign that she’s gonna be doing more singles matches going forward. While she could still do that on the side, this tag team with Perez has become too entertaining to put a stop to it now.
Grade: B
ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW…
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Dominik Mysterio vs. Dragon Lee
Latest developments:
At Summerslam, Dominik Mysterio defended his Intercontinental Championship against A.J. Styles. While Styles had Mysterio trapped in the Calf Crusher, Mysterio’s boot came off. While the referee was distracted, Mysterio hit Styles with the boot followed by a Frog Splash to retain the title. This week as Dominik and the rest of Judgment Day were walking backstage, Dominik confronted the L.W.O. and asked why they were standing in his hallway. After telling them to show him respect as he was the King of the Luchadores, Dragon Lee challenged him to a match later in the night, which Dominik agreed to.
Dominik maintained the advantage until Lee made a comeback, which included Lee jumping from the apron into the ring to kick Dominik in the face as he sat against the turnbuckle. Dominik hung from the top rope after he attempted a Superplex, which allowed Lee to jump from the top rope and stomp on him. El Grande Americano then jumped on the apron to distract the referee followed by another El Grande Americano, but Lee knocked them both down. A third El Grande Americano jumped on the apron on the other side of the ring to kick Lee in the head while the referee was distracted, which led to Dominik hitting him in the back of the head with his boot to get the win. Dominik attempted to hit Lee with his boot again until Styles came out to make the save and he attempted to hit Dominik with the boot before he escaped.
Analysis:
While this match was fun, the main take away from it was the interference of the multiple El Grande Americano’s. Like mentioned last week, El Grande Americano is now becoming the modern version of Doink as there’s now multiple versions of him running around. With first Rey Mysterio and now Chad Gable recently being injured, it feels like this storyline has been stretched out much longer than it was intended to be. As odd and confusing as this feels now, perhaps there’s a chance that they can do something good with it. After what we saw here, it should at least be given a chance to play out a little more before people completely write it off.
Between the win over Styles at Summerslam to this win here over Lee, this was a strong weekend for Dominik. In the three years since he’s been a part of Judgment Day, this has arguably been his best year to date. As great of a heel as he has been and still is, it seems like the crowd is getting more behind him. At the rate he’s going now combined with those positive crowd reactions, he’s bound to be a babyface by WrestleMania season. Until then, this feud with Styles is still entertaining enough to stretch out a little longer.
Grade: B-
Becky Lynch vs. Nikki Bella
Latest developments:
At Summerslam, Becky Lynch defended her women’s Intercontinental Championship against Lyra Valkyria. As Becky was about to use a pipe as a weapon, Bayley came out to stop her. Becky tried to talk Bayley into using the pipe onto Lyra, but Bayley refused and the two of them brawled. As Bayley attempted to hit Becky with a chain wrapped around her head, she accidentally hit Lyra. This allowed Becky to hit Lyra with the Manhandle Slam to retain her title.
This week, Becky came out to gloat about her win until Nikki Bella came out to interrupt. Nikki brought up how she felt it was ok to take a step back from the women’s division because she felt like it was in good hands with Becky, but then Becky turned out to be a disappointment. Nikki brought up how Becky’s supposed to be raising a generation but is instead handcuffing them and went on to say that she’s a liar just like her husband. Becky said that her and her husband are the greatest wrestling couple of all time and how that was once Nikki and her ex whom she can’t see anymore (referring to John Cena). Nikki then challenged her to a match for her title and as Becky was explaining why they never faced each other, she sucker punched Nikki.
Analysis:
Much like the segment she had with Liv Morgan before Liv got hurt, this was another great segment involving Nikki Bella. Also, like Liv did in that segment, Becky killed her on the mic here. Since Liv got hurt before that feud could really take off, it’s clear that they’re doing this feud instead to make up for it. Seeing how well this segment went and the fact that this is a feud that hasn’t been done before, this looks like it’s going to be one of the better storylines on Raw over the next few weeks. With Clash in Paris coming up, it’s inevitable that these two face each other there.
Now that Becky’s going to feud with Nikki, her retaining the title at Summerslam now makes more sense. As great as it would’ve been for Lyra to have that big crowning moment, there’s clearly more that can still be done with Becky as the champion. While Ronda Rousey did make fun of Nikki for John Cena breaking up with her back in 2018, it didn’t hit as hard as the way Becky did here. On the mic, it feels like there’s no woman or even few men for that matter that can touch her. Even as a heel, how great Becky is makes it hard not to be a fan of hers.
Grade: B+
Seth Rollins vs. L.A. Knight-C.M. Punk-Roman Reigns
Latest developments:
On the July 12 Saturday Night’s Main Event, Seth Rollins was defeated by L.A. Knight after Rollins seemingly suffered a knee injury during the match that would keep him out of action. Immediately after C.M. Punk defeated Gunther to win the World Heavyweight Championship at Summerslam, Rollins came out to reveal that his injury was all a set up as he then cashed in his Money in the Bank on Punk to win the title. This week, Rollins along with his stable of Paul Heyman, Bron Breakker, & Bronson Reed known as The Vision opened the show with a promo as they were interrupted by Knight. Knight challenged Rollins to a title match as he was the last person to defeat him before he won it, but Rollins refused. Adam Pearce then came out to overrule Rollins to make the title match official for later in the night, with Breakker & Reed being banned from ringside.
In this week’s main event, Rollins was about to Curb Stomp Knight on the exposed concrete floor until Punk appeared through the crowd and attacked Rollins to end the match on a disqualification. Knight pulled Punk off Rollins as he attacked him in the ring and as the two of them argued, Breakker & Reed came out and Breakker Speared Punk in the aisle way followed by Knight inside the ring. Rollins Curb Stomped Punk and as he and the rest of The Vision stood in the aisle way, Roman Reigns came out to hit Reed with a Superman Punch and throw Breakker into the steps. Rollins ran away before Reigns could confront him and as Reigns took down both Breakker & Reed single handedly, Rollins Curb Stomped him. Rollins & Reed held up Reigns as Breakker Speared him and then Reed hit him with three consecutive Tsunami’s as he once again took the sneakers off Reigns to end the show.
Analysis:
As never ending as this feud between Rollins and Punk felt recently, what happened at Summerslam did give it a much-needed shot in the arm. While many predicted that Rollins would get the title when he started this new faction, the way it was done was far more effective than if he had just won it in a regular match. With Rollins just winning the title a few days ago, there was no way he was going to lose it here. Although this was another main event match that gave us a non-finish, the chaos that followed in many ways made up for it. For the second straight week, Reigns took a brutal beating that ended with Reed once again stealing his sneakers.
As random as it was when it happened the first time, the fact that it happened again and the nickname they’ve since given Reed as the “Tribal Thief” are signs that they’re on to something with this. With Reigns taking the beating he took here including three Tsunami’s, it felt like this was a way to write him off TV (even though he just came back three weeks ago). If by some chance Reigns sticks around a little longer before he leaves again, what happened here will likely lead to a big Six Man Tag at Clash in Paris. If not, Punk costing Knight the match the way he did and both having issues with Rollins is an easy path to a Triple Threat for the title. Out of both of those scenarios, the second one feels more likely to happen.
Grade: A
Penta vs. Grayson Waller
Latest developments:
Penta went one on one with Grayson Waller in a match where New Day showed up at ringside in the middle on Waller’s behalf to do commentary. Penta and Waller exchanged knees and kicks to the face, which was followed by a double clothesline that took them both down. As Waller attempted to back drop Penta over the top rope, Penta reversed it into a Mexican Destroyer to pick up the win. After the match, the New Day confronted Penta in the ring and as Xavier taunted him, Penta pushed him as he fell over Kofi and threw them both out of the ring. Penta then put on the black sombrero that Xavier had been wearing, tossed it at them, and leaped over the top rope onto Xavier & Kofi.
Analysis:
Surprisingly, this was the first match Penta won on Raw in two months. Even though it was against someone like Waller who loses more often than not, it was at least great to see him get a win here. From what we saw here, it’s clear that this storyline involving Waller and New Day is going to go on for a while. While it doesn’t feel like anything to take seriously now, all three of them are entertaining enough to make something good out of it. As much of a disappointment as New Day’s heel turn has been, maybe this could be something that could help breathe new life into them.
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