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With Clash in Paris just a few days away, this week’s Raw was the final selling point for the international PLE. Emanating live from Birmingham, England, Roman Reigns opened the show. As Reigns dug deep into all that he’s lost in recent years, he was interrupted by his former wiseman Paul Heyman and Bronson Reed. With their match this Sunday on the horizon, Reed let Reigns know what’s going to be in store for him. Their words would soon turn into blows as the two gave us a wild preview of what to expect in their upcoming match this weekend.
As heated as this brawl became, it took a swarm of officials to try and separate both men. In addition to that, we had another fiery segment between Becky Lynch and Nikki Bella, Rhea Ripley taking on Roxanne Perez, and a main event between LA Knight and Bron Breakker with huge implications for the upcoming Fatal Four Way at Clash in Paris. As hot as the crowd in Birmingham was for this show, the crowd in Paris this Sunday will have one tough act to follow.
Roman Reigns vs. Bronson Reed
Latest developments:
On the July 28 Raw, Bronson Reed & Bron Breakker brutally attacked Roman Reigns and his cousin Jey Uso. Following the attack, Reed stole the sneakers from the feet of Reigns and started wearing them around his neck. The following week, Reigns was once again attacked by Reed, Breakker, & World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins and after hitting Reigns with multiple Tsunami’s, Reed stole the sneakers off the feet of Reigns once again. Last week, Reigns attacked Breakker & Reed during Breakker’s match with Jey and the assist from Reigns led to Jey picking up the win. Several days later, it was announced that Reigns will face Reed at Clash in Paris.
Reigns received a huge ovation as he opened the show this week to cut a promo and as he was about to turn his attention to Reed, he was interrupted by Reed & Paul Heyman. After Reed said Reigns would soon find out why he was the Samoan his family warned him about, Reigns challenged him to come to the ring. Reed said if he did, he would force Reigns to acknowledge him as his Tribal Thief. Reigns then told him he would meet him in the aisle as the two ran to each other and started brawling. Reed eventually got the better of Reigns and as he went for a Tsunami, Reigns hit him with a Superman Punch while he was on the top rope. Reigns jumped off the steps onto Reed outside the ring as he attempted to leave, and the two continued to brawl as the segment ended.
Analysis:
With a lively crowd combined with the back-and-forth promo and the wild brawl after, this was one hot way to start the show. No matter what city it is, the reactions for Reigns from the audience are second to none. It’s incredible to see how the crowd reacts to him now compared to how they would react to him during his forced babyface run ten years ago. Although he didn’t change much about his character when he initially turned babyface again last year, he feels much more like one now with a connection with the audience. Whether part time or full time, he’s still one of the biggest stars in the company.
Despite how much bigger of a star Reigns is, Reed held his own against him here from the brawl to even his work on the mic. No one expected much to come from Reed initially stealing the sneakers off the feet of Reigns a month ago, but it’s since turned into one of the better storylines on the show that’s added a new layer to Reed’s character. While The Vision stable has clearly been put together to elevate Bron Breakker, Reed has shown with his work in this feud that he can also be in the main event mix. Although he’s been in big matches before like the ones against Seth Rollins last year and the WarGames match at Survivor Series, Reed has never been in a match as big as the one he’s going to be in on Sunday. Regardless of what the outcome is, being in a match against Reigns at a PLE in front of a hot international crowd will only elevate him higher.
Grade: A
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Becky Lynch vs. Nikki Bella
Latest developments:
On the August 4 Raw, Women’s Intercontinental Champion Becky Lynch had her promo in the ring interrupted by Nikki Bella. After Nikki challenged Becky to a match, Becky responded to her with a sucker punch. Last week, Becky successfully defended her title against Natalya but after the match, she attacked Natalya and Maxxine Dupri. As she had Maxxine trapped in the Disarmher, Nikki came out to confront her. Gaining revenge for what happened weeks earlier, Nikki laid out Becky with a Rack Attack 2.0.
This week, Becky was in the ring cutting a promo on the city of Birmingham before she was once again interrupted by Nikki. As Nikki once again challenged her to a match, Becky said she wasn’t going to give a shot to just anyone and referred to Nikki as Broke Neck Barbie. Nikki then told her that she may be a champion, but she’s another C word and that C word is a coward. A fired up Becky then agreed to face Nikki for her title at Clash in Paris instead of Birmingham as she said the only good thing that ever came out of Birmingham died a month ago. Becky once again attempted a cheap shot at Nikki that she countered this time and as Nikki went for a Rack Attack 2.0, Becky escaped.
Analysis:
So far, this feud has turned out much better than many expected it to. Every segment they’ve been involved in together so far has delivered, with this one arguably being the best. This recent heel run Becky’s been on has really clicked and it really showed with her mic work here. She really let the city of Birmingham have it in this promo, with the line about Ozzy Ozzbourne hitting the hardest. While some may complain that that line went too far, it accomplished what it needed to in putting heat on her.
Even though Becky and Nikki are set to face each other on Sunday, it doesn’t feel like this feud is going to end just yet. Considering the star power of both of them and the fact that the match was literally just added to the show, it would be too soon to end their feud now. There’s still a lot that they could get out of this and extending the feud for another month or so wouldn’t be a bad idea. With that being said, their match on Sunday will likely not have a clean finish. As disappointing as that will be, it’s a necessary evil to extend the feud and set up an eventual rematch.
Grade: B
Rhea Ripley vs. Roxanne Perez
Latest developments:
Last week, Iyo Sky defeated Raquel Rodriguez despite constant interference from Roxanne Perez at ringside. After the match, Raquel & Perez attacked Iyo until Rhea Ripley came to her rescue. Backstage afterwards, Asuka confronted Iyo over Rhea coming out to help her after Iyo had told her & Kairi Sane earlier that she didn’t need their help. After Iyo stormed off, Asuka told Rhea to stay out of their business. This week, Iyo told Rhea that it would be best for them to have distance from each other and as they hugged at the end of the conversation, Asuka & Kairi could be seen in the background.
Later in the night, Rhea went one on one with Perez in a match where Perez took out Rhea with a Suicide Dive while she was distracted by Raquel outside the ring. Perez continued to build momentum with a Hurricanrana and a knee to the back of Rhea’s head for a near fall. Rhea recovered with a Razor’s Edge and later countered a Russian Leg Sweep attempt with the Riptide for the win. Raquel & Perez attacked Rhea after the match until Iyo came out to help her fight them both off. Later backstage after Rhea thanked Iyo for coming to her rescue, an angry Asuka & Kairi confronted Iyo as Asuka told Iyo to stop talking to Rhea.
Analysis:
This issue between Iyo and Asuka just keeps getting better and better. The segment where Iyo hugged Rhea while you could see Asuka & Kairi watching in the background was very well shot. After being gone for a year, this is something interesting for Asuka to sink her teeth into that’s opening the door for an eventual first-time match with Iyo. After what happened here, it feels as if we’re going to see Asuka & Kairi officially turn on Iyo as early as next week. Either that will happen or they’re going to attack Rhea and that’s going to force Iyo to take Rhea’s side.
What we’ve been seeing invoking Rhea & Iyo coming to each other’s rescue in recent weeks is setting the stage for some fun tag matches we can see in the coming weeks. Since Iyo defeated Raquel last week and Rhea defeated Perez this week, this is likely going to lead to Iyo & Rhea facing Raquel & Perez next week. After that match and the eventual split between Iyo and the Kabuki Warriors, that’ll set the stage for Iyo & Rhea to team up and face them. This storyline is a prime example of how you can have the women involved in major feuds without there having to be any titles involved. Like any good storyline, this one has succeeded in creating anticipation for what will happen next.
Grade: B
A.J. Styles vs Finn Balor
Latest developments:
At Summerslam, Dominik Mysterio retained his Intercontinental Championship over AJ Styles after hitting him with his boot while the referee was distracted followed by a Frog Splash. At Triple Mania, Styles interfered in Dominik’s match under a mask and cost him the AAA Mega Championship. This week during a match between JD McDonagh and Dragon Lee where Dominik interfered, Styles appeared and attacked Dominik. Later backstage, Dominik asked Finn Balor to take care of Styles on his behalf in a match later in the night, which he agreed to.
Later in the night, Styles faced Finn in a back-and-forth match. After Styles missed a Phenomenal Forearm attempt, Finn hit him with the Sling Blade followed by a drop kick against the turnbuckle. Finn went for the Coup De Grace, but Styles moved out of the way and the two exchanged holds until Styles reversed one into the Styles Clash to get the win. Later backstage, Adam Pearce informed Dominik that he’s going to defend his title against Styles on Raw next week. As Pearce gave Dominik the news, Finn could be seen smiling in the background.
Analysis:
Although thrown together and short, this was a good match for the time it lasted. While it would’ve been great to see Finn and Styles have a longer match considering the hot crowd they were in front of, this match was clearly designed to give Styles a credible win to further his feud with Dominik. The main story coming out of this was the news that we’re going to get the rematch between Styles and Dominik for the IC Title next week. This feud between them has been one of the better storylines Styles has been involved in recently and despite not being put on Clash in Paris, it’s still going to happen in Paris with Raw being there next week. While Dominik has been doing a great job with the title and is the younger of the two, there’s a strong chance that Styles could dethrone him next week.
One of the reasons why that could happen is due to the potential involvement of Finn. Considering that Dominik talked Finn into facing Styles and the fact that Finn could be seen smiling when Pearce put Dominik in the match against Styles for next week, it looks like they’re stirring up the issues between the two of them again. Let’s not forget, it was Dominik who pinned Finn in that Four Way at WrestleMania to win the title in the first place. As a measure of revenge, Finn could cost Dominik the title and play it off as an accident. With all these factors involved, it’s making the outcome of the match between Dominik and Styles feel very unpredictable.
Grade: B
L.A. Knight vs. Bron Breakker
Latest developments:
On the August 4 Raw, LA Knight challenged Seth Rollins for his newly won World Heavyweight Championship in a match where C.M. Punk attacked Rollins to end the match on a DQ. The following week, it was announced that Rollins would defend his title against Punk, Knight, and Jey Uso in a Fatal Four Way match at Clash in Paris. Last week as Jey faced Bron Breakker in an Extreme Rules match, Knight came out to counter the interference of Bronson Reed. As Punk and Rollins later came out and Punk was about to hit Rollins with the GTS, Rollins pushed Punk into Knight as he fell off the apron through a table. Over the weekend, it was announced that Knight would go one on one with Breakker this week.
In the show’s main event, Knight chased Rollins around the ring after he came out to distract him until Breakker Speared him and then followed that with another Spear in the ring to pick up the win. Rollins & Breakker attacked Knight after the match until Jey came out to even the odds. Rollins hit Jey with a Pedigree before Punk showed up to throw Breakker into the post and he then brawled with Rollins in the ring until Breakker pulled him away. Knight and Punk got into each other’s faces and fought as Punk pushed Knight into Jey, which led to Jey hitting Knight with a Super Kick. Sending a message that they won’t be allies come Sunday, Jey laid out Punk with a Super Kick and stood tall as Rollins taunted him in the aisle way to end the show.
Analysis:
While the match between Knight and Breakker was good, it was an afterthought to everything that followed it. As we had a wild start to the show with the brawl between Reigns and Reed, we had a wild ending to the show here with all the participants in Sunday’s main event going at it. The main topic coming out of the ending to this show was all the dissension between Punk, Jey, and Knight. While in recent weeks they’ve been really building the issues between Punk and Knight, they did a good job here in adding Jey into that mix. Considering that many people have been saying Jey doesn’t belong in this match, it was smart to play off that and have him be the last one standing here.
They did as good a job as they could at the end of this show to sell the main event for Sunday. From having Punk, Knight, and Jey all go at it to Rollins smiling in the aisle way as it all happened, this created as much interest as possible in seeing that Four Way this weekend. With this being the go home show, it accomplished everything that it needed to. As predictable as the outcome for this match is, it should still be an incredible match with all the pieces involved. If what we saw here is any indication, what we see on Sunday is going to be pure chaos in the best way possible.
Grade: B+
Dragon Lee vs. J.D. McDonagh
Latest developments:
Coming out to new theme music, Dragon Lee went one on one with Judgment Day’s JD McDonagh this week. Lee took the advantage with various moves including a brutal Sit-down Powerbomb for a near fall. Lee then stomped onto McDonagh as he hung from the top rope, but McDonagh had his foot on the ropes as Lee attempted to pin him. Dominik Mysterio appeared and tripped Lee as he ran to the ropes as AJ Styles then came out and attacked Dominik. Lee hit McDonagh with a running elbow as he was distracted by Styles and Dominik followed by the Operation Dragon for the win.
Analysis:
It seems from the new entrance music and the fact that he picked up a win here that there might be big plans in store for Lee. This was a fun match for the time it lasted and the win for Lee was a nice surprise. With Lee recently feuding with El Grande Americano, it’s shocking that multiple Americano’s didn’t come out to interfere like they have been in Lee’s recent matches. Whenever their match eventually happens, at least Lee will have some credibility going into it that could lead to him potentially winning that match too. Although it’s only one win, Lee’s new presentation and the fact that this was his first singles win in almost a year provide good enough reasons to be optimistic.
Penta vs. Kofi Kingston
Latest developments:
After defeating Grayson Waller and Xavier Woods recently, Penta faced Kofi Kingston this week. Penta went for a Mexican Destroyer, but Kofi countered it with a backdrop and a Fameasser for a near fall. Penta recovered and hit a Penta Driver, but Kofi surprisingly kicked out. After taking out Waller with a kick to the face, Penta leaped over the top rope onto Kofi & Xavier. Waller distracted Penta as he stood on the second rope, then Kofi tripped him and followed that with the Trouble in Paradise for the win.
Analysis:
As weird as this is to say considering Kofi is a former WWE Champion, the fact that he defeated Penta here felt like an upset. Since they clearly want to keep this story going, it wouldn’t have made sense for Penta to defeat Waller, Xavier, and Kofi consecutively. Kofi winning here and the three of them using the number’s game on Penta opens the door for Penta to recruit some back up. Since Rey Fenix doesn’t seem to be doing much right now on Smackdown, having the Lucha Bros get back together on Raw would be a no brainer. As Andrade has been teaming with Fenix in recent months and also doesn’t have anything going on, adding him as their partner against the New Day & Waller would make for an entertaining Six Man Tag.
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