By: Keila Cash
Hello everyone and
welcome to another installment of The Raw Exposé. Tonight’s episode of Raw
emanated from the Philips Arena in Atlanta, GA. I am a proud ATLien who is not
ashamed to admit that the hometown crowd tends to lack energy at times. Some fans
think they are watching the opera or ballet which kills the overall vibe of the
show. However, Raw was a pretty damn good show last week and that positive energy
could easily translate in Atlanta to keep the hot streak going. Or did it flame
out like an ember erasing all the goodwill the red brand’s creative team built?
The answer to this pressing question can be found throughout this blog. Without
further ado, let’s dissect tonight’s episode of Raw in no particular order.
·
What the hell is growing on Chris Jericho’s
face?
·
It was refreshing to see Sasha Banks and
Charlotte kick off Raw. They threw a few verbal barbs at each other that made
the crowd ooh and ah, but things got weird when Jericho and Enzo Amore got involved. Enzo is always golden on the microphone and tonight was no different.
Jericho was pompous and annoying as usual. I just felt that the segment went
too long until Mick Foley came out to book a mixed tag team match between
Charlotte and Jericho vs. Enzo and Banks. Besides that minor hiccup, I thought
it was a good way to start the show.
·
Quick Tip to Sasha Banks: I love her to
pieces, but she needs to improve on enunciating her words. Banks has a slight
case of mush mouth where certain phrases are jumbled which messes up the
cadence in her promos. It will leave a crowd deader than dead if she keeps this
up in a live setting. I am guilty of having a slight stutter when it comes to
talking too fast. Nerves is the usual culprit, but it can be corrected with
practice. Maybe Enzo can give her some tips so she can be a complete boss in
the verbalization department as well.
·
I am not a huge fan of seeing a newly crowned
champion pinned so quickly during his or her title reign, but Banks gets the
out due to Dana Brooke interfering on Charlotte’s behalf. Banks and Charlotte
traded a couple of rollups which kept the match alive until Banks lost her focus
and slapped Jericho which allowed Charlotte to nail Sasha with a kick to the
leg from behind followed by Natural Selection to pick up the win. The match was
decent while it lasted, but everyone was holding back a bit which is
understandable.
·
Big Cass came out to save Enzo from Jericho
which plays into a storyline that took place between the two of them a few
months ago. Cass was supposed to face Jericho on an episode of Raw, but it
never happened. Therefore, logic was used to play into their quasi feud which
is a miracle. If not, it’s pure happenstance. Either way, I am glad that small
detail was acknowledged.
·
Dear, sweet Evan...At least he can take
comfort in the fact that he made $1,000 in one minute by getting destroyed at the hands of Braun Stroman. It’s noble and idiotic at the same time.
·
Stroman and his ponytail...No comment.
·
Mark Henry is fighting his demotion until the
bitter end. I admire his passion. He is totally going to fail in his quest to
win the United States Championship from Rusev, but it’s the effort that counts.
Right? Right?!?
·
The Shining Stars win and no one cares.
Literally.
·
This Pokémon Go gag involving the Golden Truth
is getting on my nerves now. I know they are playing it for laughs, but I am
not seeing the humor in it at all. They are a joke tag team who will continue
being perceived as such until they take themselves more seriously. This
sophomoric crap is not going to carry over into the tag team title scene if the
creative team vaults them into that position in the immediate future. I like
both men as individuals, but their talent is being wasted by doing silly stuff
like this.
·
Seth Rollins gets instant heel brownie points
by saying that the Atlanta Braves suck. He’s not lying. No amount of tomahawking
is going to change that. For now, at least.
·
Finn Balor and Seth Rollins had a nice promo
exchange to kick off the second hour of the show. Balor held his own on the mic
while Rollins was at his wormy best. When Balor vows to kick someone’s ass, he
sounds so proper and classy. Rollins got a quick demonstration of that when
Balor countered his sneak attack with a series of kicks followed by a Pele Kick
to shoo Rollins away.
·
I am looking forward to seeing Rollins later tonight
as he faces Sami Zayn. If they are given enough time, that match should be
great.
·
The Redemption of Roman Reigns is in full
effect. Reigns is temporarily out of the main event scene, but that doesn’t
mean he’s shut out of the upper card as he embarks on a feud against Rusev. If
WWE wants Reigns to get unanimous cheers, this is the way to do it. If both men
can cut loose, they should have one hell of a fight. A down and dirty brawl at
SummerSlam can definitely help both guys. If fans still want to boo Reigns, so
be it. I am going to enjoy myself nonetheless. I am sucker for smash mouth
wrestling. Plus, the United States Championship needs some much needed shine.
It’s a win-win.
·
Titus O’Neil is a shady Florida Gator by
questioning Darren Young’s greatness. He has a valid point, though...
·
Titus, Titus, Titus. He pulled Young’s tights
to pick up the tainted win. I am shocked. If they are trying to re-create the
Young-O’Neil feud from a few years ago, I hope it is not a giant pile of suck
this time around.
·
Mick Foley using draft board strategy to explain
why Cesaro and Sheamus were drafted so low a couple of weeks ago made complete
sense. Cesaro’s bum shoulder would be a major cause for concern when it comes
to positioning him as a top tier talent if he’s susceptible to injury. Sheamus
has been stale for quite some time and he needs to find something to get him
back on track. Therefore, Foley booked them in a match against each other with
the winner receiving a title shot in the near future. That seems fair enough.
And it makes SENSE. WWE using logic twice in one night is a little jarring.
·
Thanks for coming, Ariel Monroe! Nia Jax
claims another victim. Short and sweet.
·
The sexual double entendre of the banana and
the ball shaped nectarines by The New Day was positively filthy, yet nutritious
at the same time.
·
The New Day might have won the match, but Karl
Anderson and Luke Gallows won the war by kicking their asses. Big E. got nailed
with two Boots of Doom. Xavier Woods tried to make the save, but he got his
head kicked off as well. Figuratively, of course.
·
To add insult to injury, The Club pulled Big
E’s legs and rammed his family jewels into the ring post to end the segment.
Anderson and Gallows sent a message that they are after the tag team titles.
The New Day can’t joke their way out of this one. It’s time for the two- time
tag team champs to take their opponents seriously for a change.
·
Cesaro is in line for a title shot by
defeating Sheamus in an entertaining match. They were slotted in the 10:00 p.m.
lull period of death, but Cesaro and Sheamus managed to wake the crowd up down
the stretch. Here’s hoping that Cesaro can build on this win. More importantly,
let’s hope that the Celtic Warrior can find a meaningful sense of direction as
well. He’s been swimming in mid-card hell for a few years now. It’s mainly due
to injuries, but Sheamus has not been able to recapture what made him special
in 2011 and 2012. He needs to find that fire and set it ablaze for the world to
see. He has it in him. Some semblance of creative direction wouldn’t hurt him
either.
·
It looks like Heath Slater is trying to reform
3MB by recruiting Jinder Mahal.
·
So much for the reformation of 2MB. Mahal’s
Employment > Mahal’s Friendship with Slater. It’s basic mathematics.
·
Y2J and Kevin Owens teaming up to take on Big
Cass and Enzo sounds like a summertime treat. The buildup leading up to their
presumed match at SummerSlam should be fun.
·
I would personally like to thank Sami Zayn and
Seth Rollins for waking up the sleepy Atlanta crowd. Their match kicked into
second gear after the commercial break. Zayn had a couple of hope spots, but
the outcome was never really in question. Rollins picked up the win with a
pedigree to build momentum towards SummerSlam. Simple, but effective.
·
Oh my damn...Randy Orton hit Brock Lesnar with
an RKO out of nowhere.
·
Paul Heyman was great as he talked about how
Lesnar was going to beat Orton’s ass at SummerSlam and drag him to Suplex City
in the process. I figured that he was laying it on a bit too thick as Orton had
an answer for The Beast right away. It was a great moment that sent fans into
an absolute frenzy inside Philips Arena. Stephanie McMahon and Mick Foley came
out to diffuse the situation, but Orton already ran into the crowd to soak in
the moment shirtless as Raw went off the air.
·
This was a hot way to end the show and one can
only assume that Lesnar will be paying a visit to SmackDown Live! in the very
near future to cash in his receipt on Orton with an F5. Let the games begin,
ladies and gentleman!
·
Overall, I thought tonight’s episode of Raw
was decent at best. There were a few moments that captured the crowd’s
attention, but the biggest area of concern is the lower mid-card scene. The
crowd was dead for a few segments because some wrestlers are cold as ice. They
need to be revamped in order for fans to invest in the action unfolding in the
ring. Otherwise, I thought the show didn’t fall off the rails for the most
part. WWE scored big check marks with Rollins-Balor, Reigns-Rusev, and
Lesnar-Orton. These feuds have been doused with some hot sauce which will only
get even hotter in the weeks to come. The secondary titles have been
spotlighted in a meaningful way as well. This is shaping up to be a stacked
SummerSlam card and WWE is playing with house money if they don’t screw things
up. Raw is not going to be a blockbuster show every week. If they mix in enough
good segments to placate fans, the boring stuff will be negated. They need a
long-term fix to ensure that these three hour shows won’t drag, but I get the
feeling that the Cruiserweight Division will fill that void in due time.
Fingers crossed!
On that note, this wraps up another edition of
The Raw Exposé. I hope you enjoyed it and I will be back tomorrow night with
brand new installment of The SmackDown Files. See you later, boys and girls!
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