SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
The first Raw for the month of July helped set the stage for what will be a stacked weekend for WWE. With an upcoming match with L.A. Knight at Saturday Night’s Main Event, Seth Rollins along with his stablemates Bron Breakker & Bronson Reed were all over the show this week. Throughout the night, they established their dominance on anyone that stood in their way. As Breakker & Reed were set for matches against Sami Zayn & Jey Uso respectively, Rollins went one on one with Penta for the first time in the main event. To no one’s surprise, these two put on a thrilling contest that came down to the final moments.
While Rollins and the rest of his stable were ready to send another painful message to end the show, a certain someone appeared to ruin their plans. In addition to that, we had a heated segment between Becky Lynch, Bayley, and Lyra Valkyria as well as Goldberg confronting Gunther one last time before their big match this Saturday. With a loaded weekend of wrestling ahead of us, this week’s Raw provided a positive sign of things to come.
Bron Breakker vs. Sami Zayn
Latest Developments:
Last week, Sami Zayn was brutally attacked backstage by Karrion Kross before he was set to team with Penta to take on Bron Breakker & Bronson Reed. Despite the attack, Sami made it to the ring for the match where he was eventually Speared by Breakker and took the loss. With a match between Breakker and Sami scheduled for this week, Breakker opened the show along with Reed, Paul Heyman, & Seth Rollins for a promo. As Heyman was about to hand the mic to Rollins, Breakker took the mic out of his hands to rant about how much he dislikes Sami. Breakker told Sami that he had an expiration date, and this was the night that he was going to put a stamp on it.
As Sami came out for the match, he was once again attacked by Kross in the aisle with a pipe. Just like last week, Sami still competed in the match with Breakker despite the attack. As Sami jumped from the second rope at one point in the match, he was Speared in mid-air by Breakker. Breakker followed this with a running Spear outside the ring and then another one inside the ring to get the win. Later backstage, Heyman informed Breakker, Rollins, & Reed that Sami would be out of action indefinitely as they all laughed.
Analysis:
While this was more of a squash than an actual match, it all played out well considering the story they were trying to tell. All of this succeeded in making Breakker look like even more of a killer, and in continuing the feud between Sami and Kross. Even with Heyman revealing that Sami is out indefinitely, it’s hard not to see him coming back in time for a rematch with Kross at Summerslam. Although Sami’s been great in this feud with Rollins, Breakker, & Reed, what happened here this week felt as if he’s moving away from that to fully focus on Kross. This storyline has done wonders for Kross and for it to likely lead to a match with Sami at an event as big as Summerslam is a good sign of where things are headed for him.
In addition to the beat down he gave Sami, what also stood out about Breakker this week is how he took the mic from Heyman before Rollins could speak. He really showed how good of a promo he can be and taking the mic away in the way he did planted the seed for the eventual split between him and Rollins. Allowing him to talk for a few minutes made that segment much more interesting than it would’ve been if Rollins had talked the whole time. As it was clear that this whole stable was started to get him to that main event level, it now looks like it might be happening sooner than we thought. If there was any doubt of how big Breakker is going to be, the way he came off tonight put all those doubts to bed.
Grade: B
Becky Lynch vs. Bayley vs. Lyra Valkyria
Latest Developments:
Two weeks ago, Lyra Valkyria attacked Becky Lynch during her women’s Intercontinental Title defense against Bayley to cause the match to end on a disqualification. A frustrated Bayley argued with Lyra about what she did while Becky smiled outside the ring. Last week, Bayley and Lyra faced each other in a match where the winner would get a shot at Becky’s title. The referee counted three as both women had their shoulder’s down, and the match was ruled a draw. Over the weekend, it was announced that Becky will defend the women’s Intercontinental Championship against Bayley and Lyra in a Triple Threat match at Evolution.
This week as Becky was in the ring cutting a promo, she was interrupted by Bayley who was then interrupted by Lyra before she could even get to the ring. Lyra pointed out that Bayley is just like Becky for admitting that she doesn’t care about friendships when it comes to championships anymore and said she has to rescue the title at Evolution from two massive disappointments. Bayley then brought up how she watched Lyra build all the momentum she did only for her to lose to Becky and raise her hand like a little bitch. Lyra and Bayley started brawling and Lyra dropkicked Bayley through the second rope after throwing her out of the ring. Becky snuck up from behind Lyra and attempted a Man Slam, but Lyra reversed it into a Nightwing. Lyra then hit Bayley with a Nightwing after she got back into the ring and she raised Becky’s hand as she told her it’ll be the last time her hand’s raised for that championship and then threw the belt onto her.
Analysis:
While this match at Evolution feels very rushed, all three women sold the match well here. As great as Lyra has been in her back-and-forth promos with Becky, she was every bit as good with Bayley in this segment. With the talent and all the bad blood between all three women, there’s no way the Triple Threat on Sunday won’t be good. As good as it will be, this feud has to continue beyond that. This feels like too good and too personal of a feud to simply end it at a PLE that’s only been given two weeks of promotion.
Ever since WrestleMania, this feud involving Becky, Lyra, and now Bayley has been the most consistent part of Raw. In many ways, it’s made the women’s Intercontinental Title more important than the Women’s World Title as Iyo Sky’s has barely been featured on TV since the middle of May. For as much doubt as there was when the women’s mid-card titles were first introduced, the women’s Intercontinental Championship has now become a major prize. This feud has been a prime example of how a great feud/storyline can make a championship feel more like a bigger deal. With how bad the build has been for Evolution, it feels like all three women are going to have a point to prove on that show and are going to give us a match we come away from it raving about.
Grade: B+
Jey Uso vs. Bronson Reed
Latest Developments:
Three weeks ago, Jey Uso hit Bronson Reed with two consecutive Uso Splashes to defeat him and advance in the King of the Ring tournament. Last week as Bronson Reed was about to hit Sami Zayn with a Tsunami, Jey came out to make the save. After hitting Bron Breakker with a chair in the aisle way multiple times, Jey threw the chair at Reed’s head. Over the weekend, it was announced that Jey and Reed would face each other this week.
Before the match as Reed was cutting a promo in the ring about how Jey doesn’t respect him, he vowed to Tsunami the respect into him. As the match progressed, Jey hit Reed with a Suicide Dive that caused him to go over the announce table. Although Reed recovered and was about to put Jey through the table, Jey super kicked him as he fell into a chair and then super kicked him off the chair. Jey went for another Suicide Dive, but Reed threw the chair at his head to end the match on a disqualification. After the match, Reed hit Jey with two consecutive Tsunami’s before Adam Pearce and several officials broke it up.
Analysis:
Much like the Breakker match earlier, Reed really came out of this looking like a monster. Also, like the Breakker match, this was more about the beat down than the actual match. This week’s show seemed like it was all about Rollins, Breakker, & Reed establishing their dominance throughout the night and what happened in this match further played into that. Reed throwing the chair at Jey’s head was the perfect receipt for what Jey did to him last week. From that and the two Tsunami’s after; this is clearly leading to an eventual rematch between these two.
That rematch will either take place at Summerslam or on Raw within the next few weeks before then. If the latter happens, that will be the night where we likely see the return of Roman Reigns to save Jey from a beating by Reed & Breakker. Considering that Heyman mentioned Reigns during the promo at the start of the show, it felt like that was done for a reason. As Reigns has a score to settle with Breakker and Jey now has one to settle with Reed, having them team up to face them at Summerslam would be a fun attraction match. If that ends up happening, then what Reed did here was the right way to further build that story up.
Grade: B
Gunther vs. Goldberg
Latest Developments:
On the June 9 Raw, Gunther regained the World Heavyweight Championship from Jey Uso. The following week as Gunther was in the ring celebrating his win, he was interrupted by Goldberg. Goldberg reminded Gunther of how he insulted him in front of his family back at Bad Blood in Atlanta and vowed to make him pay for it. He then told Gunther that he would finish what he started in Atlanta at Saturday Night’s Main Event. The match was later made official for the World Heavyweight Championship at Saturday Night’s Main Event with it being billed as Goldberg’s last match.
This week, Gunther came out to cut a promo about how Goldberg has done nothing about him verbally abusing him in recent weeks. As Gunther said he can only assume that Goldberg is afraid of him, a car was seen arriving outside the arena. Coming out of that car was none other than Goldberg, who came to the ring to confront Gunther. Goldberg staired Gunther down and slapped the mic out of his hand as he was about to speak. Goldberg dared Gunther to hit him and as he attempted to, Goldberg knocked him down with a right hand. Goldberg was about to hit Gunther with a Spear, but Gunther got out of the ring before he could.
Analysis:
Although nothing really major happened here, it was smart to have Goldberg here for one last appearance before the big match this weekend. The most impressive thing that happened in this segment was Goldberg slapping the mic out of Gunther’s hand, which the crowd really popped for. Regardless of how long he’s been around, Goldberg can still get that huge reaction from the audience. If Providence can cheer him as loudly as they did in this segment, there’s no way that Atlanta won’t also cheer him on Saturday. While many have their feelings about whether or not this match should even happen, it’s been promoted strongly enough where it feels like something worth watching.
No matter how the match turns out, the Atlanta setting and it being billed as Goldberg’s retirement match are going to make it feel special. This is by far the best scenario for Goldberg to retire in, but it shouldn’t end in anything but a loss. With Gunther being in his prime and the fact that he just won the title back a month ago, he should not be losing it to 58-year-old Goldberg in his retirement match. The last two times Goldberg won a title in WWE made no sense, and him winning the title here would make even less sense. The only logical conclusion for Saturday is for Gunther to win in a very short amount of time and Goldberg to give one last goodbye to that Atlanta crowd immediately after.
Grade: B
Seth Rollins vs. Penta
Latest Developments:
Two weeks ago, Penta was defeated by Bron Breakker after Breakker hit him with a Spear in mid-air. After the match as Penta sat in the corner reeling from the damage done to him, Seth Rollins warned him that this was his only chance and to stay out of his way. The following Saturday at Night of Champions as Rollins came out along with Breakker & Bronson Reed in an attempt to cash in his Money in the Bank, Penta came out to counter Breakker. Last week, Penta along with Sami Zayn lost to Breakker & Bronson Reed in the main event. Over the weekend, it was announced that Penta would face Rollins one on one this week.
In this week’s main event, Rollins hit Penta with a Gut Buster followed by an impressive Frog Splash for a near fall. Penta later rebounded with a top rope Hurricanrana and a Penta Driver, but Rollins found a way to kick out. Rollins caught Penta in mid-air and hit him with a Buckle Bomb, but Penta nailed him immediately after with a Mexican Destroyer that Rollins avoided defeat from by grabbing the bottom rope at the last second. Rollins then hit a low blow on Penta while the referee wasn’t looking and took advantage of it with a Curb Stomp to get the win. After the match as Breakker & Reed came to the ring to help Rollins do further damage to Penta, LA Knight appeared and put Rollins down with the BFT as he escaped through the crowd before Breakker & Reed could get to him.
Analysis:
This was an incredible main event and hands down the match of the night. It is mind blowing to see how far Penta has come after only debuting on Raw six months ago. With Rollins about to face Knight this Saturday and possibly be in the title match at Summerslam, a win for him in this match made the most sense. Regardless of wins and losses, the fact that Penta main evented Raw for the second week in a row says a lot about his current standings. From the performance he put on here with Rollins, he’s clearly making the most of the opportunities he’s been getting lately.
Having Knight attack Rollins from behind after the match was the perfect cliffhanger for their match on Saturday. No matter how that match turns out, it feels like this feud is going to continue beyond that. After what happened between the two of them along with Gunther and C.M. Punk last week, we’re likely to see a major angle involving all four of them happen on Saturday. Turning this into a Four Way for the title would make for a strong main event for night one of Summerslam and be a way to tell multiple stories involving these men at once. Between all four men, there doesn’t seem like there’s any better scenario for them to be in for Summerslam than this one and to do anything else would seem like a letdown.
Grade: A
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)
Other Raw Highlights:
Roxanne Perez vs. Kairi Sane
With her new women’s Tag Team Champion partner Raquel Rodriguez in her corner, Roxanne Perez went one on one with Kairi Sane this week. As Raquel pulled Perez out of the way as Kairi went to the top rope, she paid for it as Kairi took her out with a Cross Body from the top rope outside the ring. Perez immediately took advantage after and as she was about to hit the Pop Rocks, Kairi reversed it into a Backslide to get the win. After the match, Kairi was attacked by Raquel & Perez until Asuka came out to her rescue. After Asuka took out Raquel with the Empress Impact through the second rope, Asuka held Perez in a Dragon Sleeper position as Kairi nailed Perez with the Insane Elbow Drop and the two former partners embraced. Later in the night, Adam Pearce announced that Kairi & Asuka would be added to the Fatal Four Way for the women’s Tag Team Titles along with Raquel & Perez, Charlotte & Alexa Bliss, and Sol Ruca & Zaria at Evolution.
Analysis:
While the match was fine, it was all an afterthought to Asuka & Kairi reuniting afterwards. The two of them always made a great team as the Kabuki Warriors and having them as part of the Four Way at Evolution will make that match all the better. Despite the two of them just getting back together, there should be no other outcome other than Raquel & Perez winning that match at Evolution. With Perez now being an official part of Judgment Day and taking the place of Liv Morgan as Raquel’s partner, having them keep the titles for a while is the best way to play out the story of Perez taking everything away from Liv. From what Perez has done in this storyline so far, it’s going to be interesting to see what else she does to blatantly replace Liv until she gets back.
El Grande Americano vs. Dragon Lee
Despite Chad Gable being out with a shoulder injury, El Grande Americano was in action this week against Dragon Lee. As Americano went to the top rope, Lee put him down with a Sit Out Powerbomb for a near fall. Lee kept the advantage as he drop kicked Americano in the face against the bottom turnbuckle and later stomped on him as he hung from the top rope. After Lee leaped onto him over the top rope, Americano put a piece of metal in his mask when he got back in the ring and the referee was distracted. Using the metal in his mask for an unfair advantage, Americano hit Lee with a running Head-butt to pick up the win.
Analysis:
This was a fun match that helps to continue the El Grande Americano storyline while Chad Gable is out. Even though Lee is used as an enhancement talent more often than not, he showed here why he’s a very valuable one. As we all know it’s Ludwig Kaiser now under the mask, this feels like the best way to utilize him right now considering he hasn’t been on the show much since March. While this is probably not the most ideal scenario for him on paper, at least this is something that will get him regular TV time. Although it won’t be the same as Gable, Kaiser has enough personality and charisma to pull this off until Gable eventually comes back.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.