{"id":64086,"date":"2018-08-06T12:56:31","date_gmt":"2018-08-06T17:56:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/?p=64086"},"modified":"2018-08-06T12:56:31","modified_gmt":"2018-08-06T17:56:31","slug":"wwe-raw-primer-8-6-rousey-vs-fox-reigns-lesnar-heyman-dynamics-roode-vs-rawley-rollins-ziggler-mcintyre-revival-vs-b-team","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2018\/08\/06\/wwe-raw-primer-8-6-rousey-vs-fox-reigns-lesnar-heyman-dynamics-roode-vs-rawley-rollins-ziggler-mcintyre-revival-vs-b-team\/","title":{"rendered":"WWE RAW PRIMER 8\/6: Rousey vs. Fox, Reigns-Lesnar-Heyman Dynamics, Roode vs. Rawley, Rollins-Ziggler-McIntyre, Revival vs. B-Team"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"pwtor-1153896957\" class=\"pwtor-before-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><hr \/><b>SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)... <\/b>\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/widget.spreaker.com\/player?show_id=3076978&theme=light&playlist=false&playlist-continuous=false&autoplay=false&live-autoplay=false&chapters-image=true&episode_image_position=right&hide-logo=false&hide-likes=false&hide-comments=false&hide-sharing=false&hide-download=true\" width=\"100%\" height=\"140px\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\r\n<hr \/><\/div><h3><strong>WWE MONDAY NIGHT RAW PRIMER<br \/>\nAUGUST 6, 2018<br \/>\nJACKSONVILLE, FL. AT JACKSONVILLE VETERANS MEMORIAL ARENA<br \/>\nAIRS ON USA NETWORK, 8:00PM EDT<br \/>\nBY FRANK PETEANI, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h3><strong>Arena \/ Opening Thoughts<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Tonight, WWE Raw returns to the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena for the first time in over eight years.\u00a0 SummerSlam has continued to take shape and we can expect more pieces to fall into place as the big summer event sits less than two weeks away.<\/p>\n<p>There are three matches of which we know tonight which includes the first of Ronda Rousey\u2019s on a Raw broadcast.\u00a0 According to <a href=\"http:\/\/wwe.com\/\">WWE.com<\/a>, we can expect follow-up on two big championships matches to take place at SummerSlam.\u00a0 The big story out of last week was the situation between Roman Reigns, WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar, and his advocate Paul Heyman.\u00a0 We\u2019ll start with that and then take a look at the matches on tap for this evening.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Roman Reigns Response to Lesnar &amp; Heyman<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>As we know, Roman Reigns will challenge \u201cThe Beast\u201d Brock Lesnar for the WWE Universal Championship at SummerSlam.\u00a0 Last week, Lesnar made his return after not appearing on Raw for over three months.\u00a0 He of course was flanked by his advocate Paul Heyman.\u00a0 To recap last week, Reigns called Lesnar out to the ring at the beginning of the show.\u00a0 Heyman instead responded saying Lesnar will come out when \u201che feels like it.\u201d\u00a0 (Can I adjust my report times at work to \u201cwhen I feel like it\u201d\u2026just curious).\u00a0 Throughout the night we saw Lesnar on a couch, comfortably reading a magazine refusing to come out despite Heyman\u2019s pleas.\u00a0 At one point, G.M. Kurt Angle told Heyman he would be fired if he couldn\u2019t get Lesnar to come to the ring.\u00a0 Meanwhile Raw commissioner Stephanie McMahon ordered Angle to have Reigns removed from the building.\u00a0 At the end of the show, Angle and \u201cConstable\u201d Corbin awaited Lesnar\u2019s appearance.\u00a0 Heyman came out instead saying he tried but couldn\u2019t convince his client to come out.\u00a0 Angle proceeded to fire Heyman, until Lesnar\u2019s music hit and out came \u201cThe Beast.\u201d\u00a0 Lesnar proceeded to F-5 Angle, scare Corbin out of the ring, and in a big shocker put his hands on Heyman eventually shoving him down to the mat.\u00a0 We were treated to \u201cwe want Roman\u201d chants.\u00a0 Lesnar walked out with his Universal Championship belt.\u00a0 Tonight, we can expect a response from Reigns.\u00a0 Here\u2019s a tweet from him a few days ago:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Whenever I\u2019m in the ring, I hear the noise. <br \/>It doesn\u2019t shake me. <br \/>It doesn\u2019t anger me. <br \/>I don\u2019t run from the noise. I thrive in it. I hope Brooklyn\u2019s ready to get loud because I\u2019m ready to give them a show. <br \/>And take the <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/UniversalTitle?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#UniversalTitle<\/a>. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/SummerSlam?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#SummerSlam<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Roman Reigns (@WWERomanReigns) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WWERomanReigns\/status\/1025097948504510464?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 2, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><em>\u00a0<\/em><em>Thoughts:\u00a0 There\u2019s a lot to digest after last week.\u00a0 Before anything is said, let me state that Paul Heyman knows his job better than anyone is the industry.\u00a0 There\u2019s no debate about that.\u00a0 Despite everyone playing their part incredibly well, there\u2019s no doubt Heyman was the glue to it all.\u00a0 If Lesnar is in fact done with WWE after SummerSlam, I hope they find a role for Heyman that works for both sides.\u00a0 With that said, the big picture here though is WWE\u2019s continued effort to get Roman Reigns over as its top babyface and get a positive reaction if and when he wins the Universal Championship.\u00a0 Their method is to get Lesnar to look like a complete out-of-control monster, so much so he\u2019s willing to take down his own advocate.\u00a0 The problem is we\u2019ve seen this before in the run-up to WrestleMania earlier this year where Lesnar was framed as a part-timer by Reigns who didn\u2019t care about the WWE or its fans.\u00a0 They didn\u2019t go quite as far then as they did last week, and thus getting the \u201cwe want Roman\u201d chants indicates what they did worked on a level.\u00a0 Ultimately though, they still need to get to Brooklyn, N.Y. where SummerSlam will take place.\u00a0 It\u2019s fair to say that no matter what was done last week or what happens in the two Raws coming up, the reaction will likely not be positive from that crowd for Reigns.\u00a0 WWE is of the belief that getting heat on Lesnar is married to getting a positive reaction for Reigns.\u00a0 It may have happened in Miami last week, but the reality is those are two separate issues and you won\u2019t fool the people of Brooklyn, N.Y. <\/em><em>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Ronda Rousey vs. Alicia Fox<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Ronda Rousey wrestles her first match on Raw tonight against long time competitor and former Divas Champion Alicia Fox.\u00a0 Last week Fox, flanked by Raw Women\u2019s Champion Alexa Bliss, defeated Natalya who was accompanied by her good friend Rousey.\u00a0 Following the match, Rousey got into it with both Fox and Bliss but eventually would be thrown into the barricade by Fox.\u00a0 Later on, Rousey told Kurt Angle she was looking for a fight, to which he granted the match with Fox which will take place tonight.<\/p>\n<p><em>Thoughts:\u00a0 This is a good start for Rousey in terms of having a single\u2019s match on Raw.\u00a0 Fox has been around for a long time and even though she may not be the most polished in-ring competitor, her character has use especially when trying to get a bigger wrestler over.\u00a0 She can certainly further enhance Rousey as she gets ready for her championship opportunity against Alexa Bliss at SummerSlam.\u00a0 I\u2019ll never forget Stan Hansen\u2019s Hall of Fame induction a few years back where he mentioned we need to bring back the \u201ccarpenters.\u201d\u00a0 For those who may not be familiar, these are wrestlers that don\u2019t necessarily win matches but are competitive enough to make you believe they can while building up their opponents.\u00a0 <\/em><em>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Bobby Roode vs. Mojo Rawley<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>After a few weeks of jaw-jacking, Bobby Roode takes on Mojo Rawley.\u00a0 Last week in the locker room, Rawley was giving a speech about his recent run to various wrestlers which included his former Hype Bros tag team partner Zack Ryder.\u00a0 Roode came in and gave mock applause, which lead Rawley to get in his face.\u00a0 After asking Roode \u201cWhat are you going to do, catch phrase me into submission?\u201d\u00a0 A brawl would then break out.\u00a0 Later on, WWE would announce a match between Roode and Rawley for next week (tonight).\u00a0 Rawley has been taunting Roode on practically every day this past week, stating what he just did and saying it was glorious.\u00a0 I\u2019ll pick out a few as examples:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">I just tied my shoe laces. It was glorious.<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Dean \u201cMojo\u201d Muhtadi (@MojoMuhtadi) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MojoMuhtadi\/status\/1026098214716493825?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 5, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">It\u2019s 2:44PM here right now. Isn\u2019t that just so glorious?<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Dean \u201cMojo\u201d Muhtadi (@MojoMuhtadi) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MojoMuhtadi\/status\/1026177162263633920?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 5, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">It\u2019s 2:44PM here right now. Isn\u2019t that just so glorious?<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Dean \u201cMojo\u201d Muhtadi (@MojoMuhtadi) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MojoMuhtadi\/status\/1026177162263633920?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 5, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><em>Thoughts:\u00a0 Thank you Rawley for that question!\u00a0 Anyway, this may be a lower-end rivalry but Rawley is certainly going out of his way to put heat on himself.\u00a0 If the plan for Bobby Roode is to continue as the veteran jobber, as has been apparent based on his run since coming over to Raw, he could go a long way to put Rawley over if there are bigger plans in fact for Rawley.\u00a0 In an environment where the company\u2019s mission is to put \u201csmiles on people\u2019s faces\u201d it\u2019s nice to see a heel act in a way a heel should; talking trash, acting no-nonsense, and not smiling.\u00a0 As Todd Martin said about Samoa Joe on the PWTorch VIP show The Fix last week, \u201cmore of that please.\u201d<\/em><\/p><div id=\"pwtor-1257164569\" class=\"pwtor-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<h3><strong>Raw Tag Team Champions B-Team vs. The Revival<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>The Revival (Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder) will take on Raw Tag Team Champions the B-Team (Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel) according to Dash Wilder\u2019s Twitter account.\u00a0 <a href=\"http:\/\/wwe.com\/\">WWE.com<\/a> is not advertising this match and it\u2019s not clear if it\u2019s for the titles or not.\u00a0 Last week, the Revival interrupted a verbal confrontation between the B-Team and Bray Wyatt &amp; Matt Hardy. \u00a0The Revival would go on to have a match with Wyatt and Hardy and come out victorious.\u00a0<strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>Thoughts:\u00a0 Last night on the PWTorch Livecast\u2019s Wrestling Night in America, I was a co-host with long time columnist Greg Parks and we discussed this situation.\u00a0 The Revival has had a start-and-stop since their arrival on the main roster a year and a half ago mostly due to injuries.\u00a0 It seems like things are on track now and they\u2019re getting their opportunity at the top of a weak Raw tag team division.\u00a0 I personally like seeing that, however the problem is the match last week was met with chants of \u201cCM Punk\u201d and \u201cRusev Day.\u201d\u00a0 That could have been fan fatigue as the match took place deep in hour number two.\u00a0 I would be curious how the fans react to tonight\u2019s match if it\u2019s put on earlier in the show.\u00a0 I recall a relatively positive reaction to the championship match between the B-Team and Hardy and Wyatt which lead off Extreme Rules a few weeks ago.<\/em><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Seth Rollins<\/strong><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>There\u2019s nothing specific on <a href=\"http:\/\/wwe.com\/\">WWE.com<\/a>, but they\u2019ve made it a point to say they will follow up on Seth Rollins as it relates to the dynamic between Intercontinental Champion Dolph Ziggler, Drew McIntyre, and himself.\u00a0 Of course, Rollins gets another crack at the championship at SummerSlam against Ziggler.\u00a0 Last week he defeated McIntyre by DQ due to outside interference by Ziggler.<\/p>\n<p><em>Thoughts:\u00a0 This is where a three hour gets exposed.\u00a0 A match between Seth Rollins and Drew McIntyre would seem like a bigger deal and could even headline a card.\u00a0 With TV being such a driving factor in WWE\u2019s revenue, this is why we get matches given away as such.\u00a0 With that being said there\u2019s no stipulation for the SummerSlam match nor has there been discussion of whether or not Drew McIntyre will be in Ziggler\u2019s corner.\u00a0 It\u2019s possible McIntyre has to win a match to do so, perhaps even against Rollins.\u00a0 This is similar to what was done in the run-up to the match between Ziggler and Rollins at Extreme Rules.\u00a0 McIntyre won the right to be in Ziggler\u2019s corner then, so it\u2019s possible the opposite happens this time around.<\/em><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Other Items<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Bobby Lashley made his singing debut joining Elias in a really bad rendition of Rockin\u2019 Robin.\u00a0 Not happy with Lashley\u2019s singing, Elias attacked him only to be hit back with a belly-to-belly toss.\u00a0 Considering Lashley made his return a few months ago interrupting Elias, a rivalry could be developing here.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Bayley and Sasha Banks continued their winning ways defeating Liv Morgan and Sarah Logan of The Riott Squad last week.\u00a0 Nothing is shown on <a href=\"http:\/\/wwe.com\/\">WWE.com<\/a>, but a rematch is expected for tonight.\u00a0 If the rumored Women\u2019s Tag Team Championship comes to fruition, Bayley and Sasha would be perfect candidates to be the first title-holders.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>\u201cConstable\u201d Baron Corbin defeated Finn Balor in the opening matchup.\u00a0 Balor continues to get the \u201cwin some lose some\u201d treatment while his popularity remains intact.\u00a0 It\u2019s not exact, but similar to the treatment Rey Mysterio got for many years.\u00a0 Following the post-match beatdown Balor received at the hands of Corbin, a return of the Demon isn\u2019t out of the question if WWE decides to do another match between Corbin and Balor at perhaps SummerSlam.\u00a0 This would be the third straight SummerSlam we see the Demon if that holds true.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Authors of Pain\u2019s Akam lost a quick match to Apollo Crews of Titus Worldwide.\u00a0 I don\u2019t want to read too much into this, but in a weak tag team division you would have thought AOP would have more success to this day.\u00a0 This seems like just a way to stretch out the rivalry and eventually have AOP come out on top.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Kevin Owens made a case to \u201cConstable\u201d Corbin that Braun Strowman not be allowed to cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase prior to their match at SummerSlam, where Owens has an opportunity to take the briefcase from Strowman.\u00a0 Corbin said he\u2019d see what he could do.\u00a0 Later on, Strowman lost his match to Jinder Mahal via count out when Owens swiped the briefcase at the start of the match followed by Strowman chasing him to the dressing room.\u00a0<strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>We learned Brock Lesnar likes his steak medium well.\u00a0 That\u2019s just wrong.<strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>Start Time<\/strong><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>On the arena\u2019s website, start time shown is 7:30 p.m. but they do not indicate when doors will open.\u00a0 Once again, a \u201cmassive\u201d eight-man tag is advertised.\u00a0 This time the participants shown are Reigns, Strowman, Rollins, and Balor vs. Ziggler, Corbin, Owens, and McIntyre.\u00a0 Judging by what has been said by recent on-site correspondents on Wade Keller\u2019s PWTorch Raw post-shows, I don\u2019t suspect this match will take place.\u00a0 The other wrestlers advertised (Rousey, Banks, Bliss, Roode, etc.) make sense based on what WWE has planned.<\/p>\n<p><em>Follow me on Twitter @FrankPeteani.\u00a0 Thank you for reading!<\/em><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>NOW CATCH UP ON LAST WEEK&#8217;S RAW:<\/strong>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2018\/07\/30\/heydorns-wwe-raw-report-7-30-alt-perspective-coverage-of-the-live-show-including-ronda-rousey-and-brock-lesnar-returning-rollins-vs-mcintyre-and-more\/\">HEYDORN\u2019S WWE RAW REPORT 7\/30: Alt Perspective coverage of the live show including Ronda Rousey and Brock Lesnar returning, Rollins vs. McIntyre, and more<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"pwtor-end-article-groups pwtor-entity-placement\" id=\"pwtor-1112587954\"><div id=\"pwtor-4208295685\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\nTHANK YOU FOR VISITING<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>WWE MONDAY NIGHT RAW PRIMER AUGUST 6, 2018 JACKSONVILLE, FL. AT JACKSONVILLE VETERANS MEMORIAL ARENA AIRS ON USA NETWORK, 8:00PM EDT BY FRANK PETEANI, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR Arena \/ Opening Thoughts Tonight, WWE Raw returns to <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2018\/08\/06\/wwe-raw-primer-8-6-rousey-vs-fox-reigns-lesnar-heyman-dynamics-roode-vs-rawley-rollins-ziggler-mcintyre-revival-vs-b-team\/\" title=\"WWE RAW PRIMER 8\/6: Rousey vs. Fox, Reigns-Lesnar-Heyman Dynamics, Roode vs. Rawley, Rollins-Ziggler-McIntyre, Revival vs. B-Team\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":57003,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[52,4354,27,5893],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-64086","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opnionandanalysis","category-raw-primer","category-specialists","category-tvprimers"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/post\/2018\/03\/RouseyRonda-Entrance-3x2-600.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64086","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=64086"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64086\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":64090,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64086\/revisions\/64090"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/57003"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=64086"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=64086"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=64086"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}