RAW Review and Reactions

Hello everyone and welcome back to Talk Wrestling World, I hope you are all well and good. I'm back today with this week's RAW Review and Reactions and we have tons to get through after a busy Monday night RAW. To be completely honest this week wasn't best show we have seen this year. There was a lot to talk about but not for the best of reasons. There were a couple of disappointments that included Sting travelling all the way to Baltimore only to remain backstage stuck with a statue of Seth Rollins. By the end of the night we had a couple more matches added too the Night Of Champions card witch was good to see and it was a better night for the female talent of the WWE. The stand out's of this weeks show that brought the most to the night included the New Day, Ryback, Randy Orton, Seth Rollins, and Sheamus. There was also a great deal of storytelling yet again this week and we had a couple of strong matches but the show was a weak on. In today's blog post I'm going to be taking you back through all of last nights action, telling you what I thought of every single match, promo, and segment that took place. Now, before we get into this weeks review I have a couple of updates and reminders for you. Next month I will have a new series on my blog. July and August was of course NXT month (and I still have a couple of blog post to upload from that) but next month it will be a new series here and I would love to know what you would like to see, so let me know down in the comments bellow. You have two weeks to let me know what you want next month to be dedicated too. I also would really love to know what posts you would like to see here on my blog before October. I really want to start uploading more regularly and writing more diverse blog posts so let me know as well what you would like to read every day. I will link bellow any recent posts including last weeks RAW Review and Reactions. Finally, you can all get the conversation going down in the comments section bellow, telling me what you thought of this weeks show or you can tweet me at @TezangiVictoria.

Yet again, this weeks Monday night RAW kick started with the WWE World Heavyweight and United States Champion, Seth Rollins and the crowd had no hesitation in showing there displeasure and to be completely honest I cannot blame them for their "Boring" chants. Week after week we are seeing the same style of in ring promo's from Rollins, all with the same all round message and feel to it and even I tweeted out that despite being a huge fan of he's I was not happy about having to sit through another promo from Rollins for another week. Anyway, in true, Seth Rollins style, the double champion talked up all he's accomplishments in the WWE including becoming the first ever WWE World Heavyweight and United States Champion and knocking off John Cena to do so, witch was nothing new to anyone. He would grow with rage as he moved he's attention on to the fact that Sting was still keeping he's statue captive and the icon himself would soon appear on the titron to push the buttons of Rollins even further, urging the champ to come and get he's statue if he wanted it that bad. Rollins would claim that he would take down both he's opponents in two weeks time at Night Of Champion. However, Sheamus would soon come down to the ring to remind Rollins that he was still Mr Money In The Bank and he could cash in on him at any time highlighting that Night Of Champions would be the perfect night to make that cash in. The promo from Rollins was solid. I know I have said it before but he has improved massively when it comes to he's mic ability and last night was another example of that. The problem I and pretty much everyone else had was that the opening was far too repetitive and predicable. We are seeing the same opening with the same promo week after week and the WWE universe made it perfectly clear that they were growing bored with the whole ordeal. I didn't like the fact that Sting spent the whole show backstage but I did like seeing a more playful side to Sting. I do hope that it's something that doesn't stick however. I want to see more of that dark, almost supernatural side to Sting to keep that serious and intense feel to the storyline. As for Sheamus and he's role in the opening segment I was personally a little up and down about the whole thing. I have been extremely disappointed with how Sheamus has been booked since becoming Mr Money In The Bank. He just isn't coming across like a serious threat to Rollins and the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. It's easy to give him the briefcase but to keep he's momentum at a high and have him come across as someone we should all be keeping a double eye on is another thing. It was clear that Sheamus did save the opening to last nights show.The fact he came out and confronted Rollins advanced the story and gave us what we needed and what Sheamus needed. He made us all second guess who would actually be leaving Night Of Champions the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.

After last weeks god awful beat the clock "match" between Paige and Sasha Banks the two competed in a rematch during last night's show and I could not have been happier about the booking decision. I did mention in my prediction post last night that I was expecting this match to take place so I wasn't surprised. After their horrible bout last week both divas needed to get back on track and get the WWE universe back on their side. The crowd were much much more respectful towards both women last night. They both received a decent reaction and the Baltimore crowd showed a great deal of interest in what was going on in the ring. The start of the match saw Paige take the early upper hand with viscous strikes, however the smaller Banks would soon turn the tables, taking control and slowing down the pace of the match. Throughout the girls would be back and fourth with submission after submission hold and heavy shots after heavy shots but what was clear from the start to the end of the match was how tight of a unit Team BAD actually are. Time and time again we saw both Naomi and Tamina distract and take sneak blows at Paige to give Sasha the upper hand. The closing moments would see Naomi use the ultimate distraction by getting in the ring for a brief moment that would give Banks the time to get the quick victory in a similar fashion to what we saw during the Main Event divas tag team match last week. While the match this week was far better than what we saw last week the WWE once again missed a huge opportunity. These two have a great deal of chemistry thanks to their work with each other down in NXT and they are by far two of the most gifted female wrestlers that the WWE have. There was a great story to be told and the foundation was set but once again the match failed to live up to expectations. This could have been the match that we have all been waiting for since the start of the divas revolution. The WWE should have let these girls go at it for a lengthy time so that they could really showcase their skills and prove that they are far better than what we saw last week. The match ended far too early and it only felt like it was hyped as a big match but failed to live up to that hype witch is such a shame.

The first tag team match of the night was up next as Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns went on the hunt for some momentum when they took on the longest reigning NXT Tag Team Champions, the Ascension. The match was very predicable but much needed. Ambrose and Reigns have spent a couple of weeks take a monster of a beating from the Wyatt family and more importantly the new guy on the block, Braun Strowman. So this week they needed to get back on track, gain some momentum, and send a message to their Night Of Champions opponents. The baby faces took full control of this match with Konnor and Viktor having very little offence throughout. Ambrose brought the speed witch the the Ascension struggled to keep up with and when Reigns got into the ring the physicality increased even more. He had no problems over powering both Konnor and Viktor. They both took full control of the match and did what they needed to do. The closing moments saw Reigns take care of Konnor and Ambrose hit a fresh dirty deeds on Viktor to pick up the victory. This match was a perfect way to showcase their brotherhood of Ambrose and Reigns. Their team work was stronger than other and you could feel their connection and chemistry. They needed to get back in control after taking so many beatings and before next Sunday's pay per view. After the match, the Wyatt family all appeared on the titron, warning Reigns and Ambrose witch was the icing on top of the cake for this part of the night.

With two huge matches coming he's way in less than two weeks time, Triple H wanted to prepare Seth Rollins for the task ahead and so gave him a taste of what was set to take place at Night Of

Champions. So he was booked for two matches for this weeks Monday night RAW and the first would be a champion VS Champion match when he took on the holder of the Intercontinental Championship, Ryback. I liked this idea a lot to be honest. It was a great way to allow Rollins to prove he is capable of defeating two future hall of famers in one night and also allowed the WWE universe to get a taste of how Rollins can handle two big matches in one night. I was glad to see Ryback booked stronger. I have hated he's recent work and I'm so glad that we are starting to see something new begin between the big guy and former NXT Champion Kevin Owens. Taking on Rollins was a great booking decision and I was very interested in seeing how things would play out. Rollins knew that out working Ryback was almost impossible so he attempted to out smart him, retreating as often as possible to avoid facing the IC champion, however, eventually, Ryback would catch up to him and the real action would get going. We saw Ryback dominate a great deal of this match and told a decent story as well. It took sending the big guy into the ring post and the steps to create a shift in momentum and for Rollins to gain control. From that moment onwards we saw Rollins attempt to keep Ryback down taking away all he's air and testing he's conditioning. Rollins also really pushed Ryback to he's limits and as a result we saw one of Ryback's best matches to date. It was very back and fourth with both Superstars showing it to be a struggle to kick out of each others signature moves. The match was far better than I was expecting to be and that put a huge smile on my face. After a drawling, boring feud with the Big Show and The Miz taking up so much of he's time over the past couple of months it was refreshing seeing Ryback compete in a match that showcased he's skills to a whole other level. The closing moments were predicable but led to a disappointing ending. With the closing moments seeing Sting cause the distraction it left an almost empty feeling. I was expecting a much stronger finish to what was a great match but it did make sense and fitted with the theme of the night. Rollins loss was very symbolic and was a huge victory for Ryback.

Throughout the first hour of last night's show one of the heaviest stories sold to us was the love square between Lana,  Dolph Ziggler, Summer Rae, and Rusev and what happened during last weeks show witch saw Summer enter Ziggler's locker room and run out crying moments later. Last Thursday on Smackdown, Summer claimed that Ziggler seduced her and as a result she wanted to come out last night and apologise to Rusev for giving in to temptation. Before she burst into a flood of fake tears beginning Rusev to forgive her, she would showcase her photo gallery in the recent edition of Iron man magazine witch she told Rusev he gave her the courage to do. The former United States Champion would eventually accept the apology and label both her and Lana as victims of love rat Dolph Ziggler. The show off soon made an appearance, rushing down the ring to defend himself and send a message to Rusev by super kicking him and clearing the ring of the pair of them. We learnt yesterday that Lana has suffered a wrist injury and is looking at four months out of action but a one on one match between Rusev and Ziggler was added to the Night Of Champions card. The segment wasn't the best in the world. The poor acting and predicable lines from Summer (not to mention the promotion of the Iron Man magazining shoot she did) made this difficult to watch and the crowd once again showed their displeasure reminding everyone what blonde we really want to see in the ring.

As seen early on in the night,Triple H had booked a one on one match between Sheamus and Randy Orton witch did not sit well with the WWE universe. I spent a long time defending their feud last month. Continuously saying that because of their history and chemistry the feud was working just fine but even I could not hide my displeasure of yet another match between the two of them. It didn't feel like it was doing anything for either superstar and it was a huge downfall for Sheamus who was shaping up to have a great night. The match was slow paced but was a good one. I may not have had a great deal of interest in the match but the pair put on a decent bout. Throughout the match the crowd's insults to Sheamus' appearance would prove to be difficult to handle and would distract the Money In The Bank holder allowing Orton to pounce and take control. Once again, it was very back and fourth like their previous matches with each one fighting to get the upper hand. There were a couple of intense moments that included Sheamus applying the Texas clover leaf submission hold and Orton hitting Sheamus with a superplex both of witch were not enough to take the other out. The closing moments saw Orton sneak out of a pin fall and hit an RKo to pick up the victory. This was one of the stronger matches of the night. It was slow and intense and the two superstars as usual worked amazingly well together. Sheamus brought bags of character by reacting to the fans "you look stupid" chant. It felt like I was watching a pay per view match and while I wasn't impressed with Sheamus picking yet another loss it was a well crafted match and was the longest of the night. What happened after the match was what made this part of the night even better. Before he's match against Sheamus we saw Orton backstage with Ambrose and Reigns discussing the possibility of him teaming up with them at Night Of Champions. As a result mid way through he's celebration after defeating  Sheamus, the Wyatt family appeared in the ring and Strowman would take out Orton, sending a huge message to Ambrose and Reigns and anyone who wishes to be stupid enough to side with them.

The smaller matches of the night included a tag team match between the Dudley Boyz and Los Matadores witch I predicted in my RAW Predictions (witch will be linked bellow). We learnt last night that the winner of the tag team championship match between the New Day and The Prime Time Players would have to put the titles on the line against the Dudley Boyz at Night Of Champions. So last night it was all about Bubba and D-Von picking up momentum before their big championship match up. The match last night was short and sweet. Los Matadores had some solid spots but with tensions amongst their team the Dudley Boyz used that to their advantage to pick up the victory. I didn't really understand what was going on with Los Matadores. They haven't been clear heel or baby faces in a while and I have no idea what the WWE are doing with them at the moment but I have heard rumours of them being re-branded. Maybe this is the early steps in doing so. The other smaller match of the night saw Cesaro and The Miz go one on one. Yet again, I was personally not a fan. It felt like really poor booking for Cesaro. It looks as though the WWE are once again going backwards with Cesaro but I'm hopeing this was just the start of a quieter week for the Swiss superstar.  He did look every strong and dominate as usual throughout the match and I do think that if they were given longer it could have been a decent one on one. Cesaro is someone that can bring out the best in any superstar and it would have been interesting seeing how the match could have developed as it went on. However, with the Big Show coming down to the ring and chasing The Miz around the ring the match ended with a double count out witch I thought was lazy booking. It would have made much more sense for Cesaro to have made it back in the ring in time to get a count out victory at least but instead he remand aiding he's injury and revived a KO punch from the Big Show. Show's whole role last night was confusing. I had no idea if he was or is working as a baby face of a heel right now. It really does feel like the WWE are getting very lazy with the writing for all three of these superstars.

There was then a promo from Nikki Bella who cam down to the ring with her Team Bella team mates. She would of course begging gloating about fastly approaching the record of becoming the longest regaining divas champion were she promised she would be suppressing AJ Lee's two hundred and ninety five day reign and hosting a huge party to celebrate next week on Monday night RAW. However, the early celebration was cut short by Team PCB who came down to the ring with some unsettling news for the champions. After becoming the number one contender last week during the beat the clock challenge, Charlotte made it clear on Smackdown last Thursday that she was not prepared to wait until Night Of Champions and had gotten the permission from the Authority to challenge Nikki for the championship next Monday on RAW instead of Sunday at Night Of Champions so she could stop her from becoming the longest reigning champion. A brawl would eventually break out with Charlotte leaving the champion tapping out yet again to the figure eight. Nikki had a decent showing on the mic last night and did a great job. The whole segment was very well done and the WWE did a great job getting the WWE universe excited for the big divas championship match. They are hyping it up very very well and I'm hopeing that the match itself lives up to the expectations.

Finally, the main event this week saw Seth Rollins compete in he's second match of the night when he teamed up with the tag team champions, the New Day to face the team of the Prime Time Players and John Cena. When the match began we heard Xavier Woods play the trombone and Big E dancing around in the ring in true New Day style. Talking of the New Day they spent most of this match in control of the action with Big E once again being the top stand out of the entire thing. The tag team

champs worked perfectly well together keeping Cena grounded and as far away from he's partners as possible. Rollins would enter the match whenever we saw Cena at he's worse or in the corner of the heels team. Working as the cowardly, sneaky champion, letting the New Day do most of the work. However, when Cena was eventually able to make the tag the tables turnt and we saw a shift in momentum as the pace fastened. Titus went on a rampage taking everyone out in sight, Young focused on Kofi Kingston, while John Cena was able to finally get he's hands on Rollins once the tag was made yet again. While Darren Young focused on taking down the rest of the New Day, back inside the ring, Cena soon hit the Attitude Adjustment on Kingston to pick up the victory for he's team. A predicable ending but a decent match up. It was great seeing the tag team champion and the prime time players booked so strongly, I hope that is something that sticks around in the weeks to come. After the match Sting showed up on the titron again and dumped Rollins statue into a garbage truck witch of course led to the tantrum of all tantrums from Seth Rollins. I liked the more playful Sting we saw last night. He tested the patients of Rollins and pushed he's buttons. The statue meant a lot to the champion and he's reaction next week is going to be one to watch.

This weeks show wasn't the best in we have ever seen but it was far from the worse. We had three solid matches that I enjoyed a heck of a lot and there was good amount of storytelling that helped last night show and the build up to Night Of Champions. I would personally rate the show a seven and a half out of ten but I want to know what your opinions are! Let me know what you thought of last nights show by leaving a comment bellow or by tweeting me at @TezangiVictoria.

RAW Predictions 7/9
RAW Review and Reactions