WWE Monday Night RAW Highlights 24/7/17
SummerSlam Main event Mad Official
With the second biggest pay per view on the WWE calendar looming last night saw the start of the final countdown before SummerSlam rolls around and this weeks episode of Monday night RAW started out with a huge announcement. For the past couple of weeks now general manager Kurt Angle has been on the hunt to crown a new number one contender to go on to face Brock Lesnar for the WWE Universal Championship at the biggest party of the Summer. Last weeks main event saw Roman Reigns and Samoa Joe go one on one with the winner of that match set to challenge the beast for the title at SummerSlam. However, there was one man missing from this little equation. The final moments of that much saw a very angry Braun Strowman storm down to the ring and by the end of the night it was the man himself left standing tall after taking out both Roman Reigns and Samoa Joe. Last nights RAW kick started with Kurt in the ring about to announce who will be facing Lesnar only for each superstar to make an appearance one by one and argue their point as to why they believe they should be booked in the main event and effectively given a title shot. With all three men making valid point Kurts hands were tied and finally announced that at SummerSlam Brock Lesnar will defend his WWE Universal Championship against Samoa Joe, Roman Reigns, and Braun Strowman in a huge fatal four way. Okay, so this came as no surprise. For the past couple of weeks now I have been predicting that this would be the outcome and announced as the SummerSlam main event. It was the obvious pick and the honest best root to go down and so I wasn't left surprised at all. However, as I've mentioned in previous blog posts this is a match that I really wanted to see headline SummerSlam and I'm glad the match is going ahead. You can check out how I think that match should end in a recent blog post that will be linked bellow. Little spoiler... I'm totally backing Braun Strowman! After the announcement was made the action was far from over as all three superstars broke out into a massive brawl that resulted in security attempting to break things up only for each and every single one of them to fall at the hands of Braun Strowman who went on some kind of killing spree. After the male locker room were sent out to put a stop to the carnage things slowed down and I have to say all together it was a good opening. Predictable but well done and Strowman in particular again looked amazing.Bayley has One more Shot
Keeping on the theme of SummerSlam matches being made official last weeks episode of Monday night RAW saw Kurt Angle announce that Sasha Banks and Bayley would be going one on one this week to determine the new number one contender to face Alexa Bliss for the RAW Women's championship at of course SummerSlam. When you put Bayley VS Sasha Banks in bright lights I'm going to be paying attention. These two have put on some of the best matches in NXT history and their amazing chemistry and massive following has them not only feeling like huge deals but grabs the fans attention every single time they are pitted against one another. So keeping that in mind I was looking forward to the match and despite being so tired I managed to keep myself awake for it. Looking back I kind of regret putting so much commitment into staying awake. Okay, so what I will say is that I liked the match. It could have and should have been longer but for the time they had they of course put on a great match that really did show the world why they are so massively spoken about and why we all want to see them have a full on proper feud and a big match while they are both on the same brand on the main roster. So as far as the match goes I didn't have a problem with it at all and like I said I enjoyed the action, what I didn't like however was the end result. After their match at Great Balls of Fire I really was interested in seeing Alexa and Sasha go one on one again at SummerSlam and a stronger story to really develop between the two women. Pretty much everyone I spoke to and I actually totally believed that Banks would be getting the win last night and heading off to Brooklyn with a title shot and so when Bayley picked up the victory I just kinda sat there like... what the fuck. I love Bayley, I really do, what she is capable of doing in that ring is amazing and over the years she really has been apart of some brilliant matches but since coming up to the main roster I haven't enjoyed much of her work at all and it's such a shame. I don't feel as though the right women was booked for this SummerSlam match at all. I think Alexa and Bayley will put on a great match and if Bayley wins it could set up Banks' heel turn which looks to be looming however, I do feel as though that there would have been more from Bliss VS Banks and I really am so disappointed with the end result. However, trying to keep things positive I am looking forward to seeing what the next month holds for all these women.Are things Looking up for the Cruiserweight Division
Honestly, I've lost track of how many times I've written about being hopeful for the future of the cruiserweight divison and created subheadings that ask whether or not things are improving in the divison, however, after last night and taking a deeper bigger look at things I honestly do feel as though things may be on the up and we may be seeing things turn around. The divison has been back for almost a year now and it's been a really long and difficult twelve months. It hasn't really come far and we haven't been given a reason to truly be invested in all the action the guys have to offer. However, this is something I really want to see the WWE work on and I really do remain so hopeful that eventually things will improve and we will see a massive turn around in how things are run in regards to the cruiserweight divison. I do believe that Neville as champion is still the right thing for the divison, there really isn't at the moment any other superstar that I believe should be holding the title and there really isn't a story that Neville has been involved yet where I felt as though there should have been a title change. At the moment however, I do think it's only a matter of time before we do get that one star standout and challenge Neville and it actually does feel as though we should see the title change hands. I have a blog post coming up next week where I will talk about who I think should be crowned the next WWE Cruiserweight Champion so keep an eye out for that. At the moment we have Akira Tozawa focused on becoming champion but honestly I don't believe he is the right guy to knock Neville of his throne. The pair will probably go one on one at SummerSlam but looking at the roster I do believe there are better men suited for the job and what the WWE should be doing is keeping an eye on Cedric Alexander and Enzo Amore...Emma and Nia Jax Both look to Prove a Point
I have said it a million times before and I will sit here and say it until my fingers can no longer move to type, Emma is one of the most underrated and underutilized superstars in the WWE today. A huge part of the women's evolution when you take a look back at what Emma was doing during both her first and second run down in NXT you cannot deny the amazing talent that she is. Her matches against the likes of Paige and Asuka have allowed her to showcase just how much of a strong in ring talent she is taking part in some truly amazing matches and the crowd reaction for her speaks volumes. The change in her character a couple of years ago was totally the right decision and god knows why they tried to change it again, but her what we have seen is her really show just how much of a big star she could actually be. With the childlike character now gone she's no longer limited in storyline's and ever since her change up she has been killing it showing her potential every single time the camera is on her. Emma really does have everything it takes to be a big name in the WWE from her look, to her character, to her wrestling ability, Emma has it all and her following insures that she is a talent fans around world would and do get behind her. I honestly do not have any idea why the WWE haven't given her a push yet but the fans are talking and so is Emma. Vocal on social media about the lack of opportunities she is being given it's clear that Emma and the WWE universe want to a change and her push is something the WWE really do need to be considering. In a backstage segment with Kurt Angle she did vent her frustrations and hinted at having to date Angles son, Jason Jordan, to turn heads and get what she wants. Honestly, thats something I can get behind. Emma can totally make it to the top on her own there is no doubt about that but we know she is manipulative, we know she can uses the more vulnerable and innocent newbies to her advantage as we have seen her do so with Dana Brooke in the past and honestly I could enjoy seeing her do the same to Jason Jordan, using him to get the attention and opportunities she so desperately wants. I really do think there is something there that can be developed and after losing to Nia Jax last night I'm really hoping that she can bounce back and find something new and exciting that edges her closer to a title shot.
As for Nia Jax, it was a pretty big day for her. Announcing along with Alexa Bliss and Carmella that she will be joining the cast of Total Divas its an exciting few months ahead for Nia and honestly the past year as a whole has been so big for Nia and I'm honestly so proud and happy for her. During last nights show she competed in a small match up against Emma and we already touched on the fact that she picked up the victory as expected. This match however really did see Nia set out to prove a point and she honestly did just that. I am going to be talking about Nia and a few other women on the RAW, Smackdown LIVE, and NXT roster in more detail in an up and coming post but I was brilliant seeing her throw a little middle finger up to her haters and doubters and seriously I think it's about time she got a little more credit for the improvements she is forever making in the ring and how far she has come over the past twelve months.
The Superstars We Can't stop Talking about
My final point a little jumbled up today but I couldn't decide who to focus on so I'm going to quickly run over the three other superstars that we cannot stop talking about following this weeks episode of Monday night RAW. First up, Jason Jordan. Okay, so I didn't like his little backstage promo he cut during an interview and the poor response he got from the crowd was not a good sign at all but I am going to stay positive. His booking was weak last night taking on Curt Hawkins but I do still believe the next year in particular is going to be really strong and interesting for the former tag team champion. The Kurt Angle is my daddy announcement wasn't the best but it opens plenty of doors for Jordan and at the moment I can really see a handful of storylines that will work to his advantage and actually be a huge success. He has a brilliant look and we know he can deliver some amazing performances in some brilliant matches all you have to do is give him enough time and the right
Elias Samson was another superstar that really stood out for me this week and has done for quite a few months now. I honestly was not expecting him to be so well booked and treated upon his main roster debut. As I have already mentioned in the past, I haven't been a fan of his previous work and I for sure was not rooting for him during his time in NXT but since coming over to Monday night RAW he has been competing in some strong matches against Finn Balor and really made an impact proving a point.
Finally, we have Big Cass, I'm not really a fan of him VS Big Show at SummerSlam but at this point I can totally see that happening. I was half expecting Cass and Enzo to collide once again at next months pay per view but as you will see in an up and coming blog post I do think there are other booking decisions for Enzo that he could benefit from. This weeks episode of Monday night RAW again saw Cass look dominant as he took out the big show. The beat down did go on for quite some time but Cass looked good and I really can't complain. He's singles run has got off to a good start and I am interested in seeing how is booked over the next six to twelve months.
I thought this weeks show was okay, we had a couple of good segments but it wasn't one you needed to watch and I don't believe it was worth staying up for. you can let me know what you thought of Battleground and RAW by leaving a comment bellow or by dropping me a tweet over at @TezangiVictoria.
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