This weeks RAW & Smackdown LIVE Highlights
RAW
Braun Strowman Back On Track
The past couple of months, unfortunately, have not been the best for the Monster Among men. After the decision was made for Lesnar to retain the Universal Championship during his short-lived rivalry with Strowman the man himself was found wondering around the roster looking for something new and a way to keep his momentum strong. However, his Wrestlemania booking was extremely weak and right up to the Backlash pay per view things just hasn't been all too great for Braun. On this weeks episode of Monday night RAW, however, Strowman found himself competing in a one on one contest against Kevin Owens and I have to say this has got to be one of the Strowmans best performances to date. A highlight match of the night it was a brilliant way to kick-start the show but his sheer dominance once again throughout this match was simply beyond impressive and reminded everyone why he really is the monster Among men. With that kind of performance, I'm hoping things will improve for Strowman as he finds himself right back on track! His win does mean Strowman qualifies for the men's Money in the Bank aldder match.The Road to Money in the Bank
One of my personal favourite WWE pay per views has always been Money in the Bank. On this weeks episode of Monday night, RAW fans got to witness two qualifying matches, one from the women's division and the other of course, the men. First up we had the female talent as Ruby Riott, Sasha Banks, and Ember Moon competed in a fatal four way with the hopes to securing their place in the Money in the Bank Ladder match. I did find this pretty interesting considering all three of these women would make for excellent additions to this match but the triple threat itself was hands down one of the best matches of the night. The three women worked amazingly well together putting on one heck of a contest! Ember Moon was the women to find herself picking up the victory which I of course, have no complaints about. Ember is such an amazing talent with so much to deliver and her style fits Money in the Bank perfectly and she is sure to be one of the standouts of this match!And main eventing the show this week was the first Men's Qualifying match for the Money in the Bank ladder match. Finn Balor, Roman Reigns, and Sami Zayn took the biggest slot of the night closing the show in another standout contest. This was yet another match I had so many opinions on in regards to exactly who I believed should have walked out as the winner. I am the bigger Finn Balor fan out of all these superstars and so I was rooting for him not to mention that a place in the Money in the Bank ladder match is exactly what he needs as he really is yet another talent who finds himself in need of getting back on track and finding momentum, however, Sami Zayn is also such a perfect fit for this kind of match. The end result was super interesting and very satisfying; with Jinder Mahal costing Roman Reigns the win and Balor walking out with that very win things were pretty interesting. Sami Zayn was for me the standout of this match but I was glad to see Balor get the victory and the new work between Reigns and Jinder is exactly what both men can benefit from.
Stop with the Disappointing Booking
One thing that really did frustrate me while watching this week's episode of Monday Night RAW was the awful booking for a number of stars on the roster. The likes of The Revival, Drew McIntyre, and Baron Corbin continue to be failed and it's extremely worrying. These all superstars fans want to see do well. They're top talents with so much potential and so much to offer and so joke tag team matches and pointless bouts are doing nothing for these guys who should be booked in the biggest and best matches the WWE has to offer. I'm really hoping we get to see a turnaround. A push for Corbin, The Revival used as the biggest tag team on the roster, and McIntyre given the big time main event star push he has deserved from day one!Overall, I did think this weeks episode of RAW was pretty strong. There was a lot I enjoyed and we got a few really strong matches. The likes of the women's qualifying match, Elias vs Bobby Roode, and Strowman vs Kevin Owens all are added to that very list! As I just mentioned, however, a lot did frustrate me throughout the night in terms of booking decisions for top stars however, it was a decent night and I can honestly say I'm super excited for Money in the Bank as per usual!
Smackdown LIVE
The Miz Done it Again
As of right now there really is no one up on the WWE main roster who is grabbing my attention for all the right reasons more than the Miz. From his Greatest Royal Rumble to this past Sundays Backlash pay per view to literally only last night on this weeks episode of Smackdown LIVE. Facing Jeff Hardy in the opening contest the pair both looked to cement their place in this year's Money in the Bank ladder match. Once again, just as I did with Sunday's IC Championship match I wasn't expecting this to be a massive standout however, it did turn out to be one of the best matches from Smackdown LIVE this year so far and hands down the bout of the night. The back and forth contest yet again saw both men come so close to putting things to an end, however, it was the Miz who was able to score the quick victory surprising everyone. I have to say, I was really happy with the end result. The clean win over Hardy allowed him to regain some momentum and as I've said in previous blog posts and tweets he is one of my favourites to walk out Mr. Money in the Bank this year. I do believe Randy Orton should have some involvement in this match last night but I will be talking about Orton in detail in an up and coming blog post.Money in the Bank
Over on Smackdown LIVE Qualifying matches continued on for both the men and women's Money in the Bank ladder matches. We've already touched on the fact that the Miz defeated Jeff Hardy to earn the third spot in the men's ladder match and later on in the night we saw Peyton Royce take on Charlotte Flair in the hopes to take the second spot in the women's Ladder match. Now, this was actually a pretty decent match and exactly the kind of showing Royce needed. The end result, however, did see Charlotte pick up the victory which, to be honest, I did feel was the right decision and I'm glad to see the Queen's momentum get the boost it deserves. Ember and Charlotte? This women's ladder match is shaping up to be a damn must see!And this week's Smackdown LIVE main event saw two of Smackdown LIVE's most over stars go one on one for a chance to be apart of this year's men's Money in the Bank ladder match. Rusev vs Daniel Bryan, of course, has all the potential to be a highlight contest of the year and I would love to see these two collide in a longer match up in the future. This weeks bout, however, was yet another highlight of the night. It was evident both men wanted this win and the fast-paced action ran right from the very start and throughout. The crowd was strong from start to finish with fans split as to who they wanted to see get the win. In the end it was Rusev who picked up the surprise clean victory over Brian becoming the fourth man in this years Money in the bank ladder match and I could not be happier with the result. This is the moment fans have been waiting for. No one is more deserving of the win and a place in this match than Rusev and he of course is yet another big time favourite.
Overall, once again I thought this was a pretty decent show. Just like on Monday night we got some great matches throughout the night and it was brilliant seeing a stronger contest in the women's division. I also really liked all the little backstage moments, segments, and promos from the likes of Shinsuke Nakamura and the Bar which really did add to why this was such a decent show.
Now as always, I would love to know what you guys thought of both episodes of RAW and Smackdown LIVE this week so feel free to leave a comment below or tweet me over at @TezangiVictoria. As always, any recent blog post will be linked below including my Backlash review!
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